#i love zero so damn much and his portrayals are always on point!!! | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

chloeangelic · 11 months ago

Text

Long overdue, I’m finally giving Vic one of my High Effort Reblogs and I thought it would be for TCC but I have to do it for At The Restaurant and then I can suck her off even more in my TCC reblog cause I have more to say.

Here’s the thing, I wasn’t really that into Din until I read TCC. I watched the show, I liked the character, but I just… Didn’t wanna fuck him, like, I just didn’t have much of a fascination with the man under there, so I think seeing him through Vic’s eyes was what I needed to do in order to get it and now I GET IT!!!!! I rewatched the show after reading TCC and I see him in a completely different light now, it’s wild. As dramatic as it sounds, I never really saw him as human until I read her portrayal, I couldn’t look past the armor somehow. I have never read a Din AU before this so I had no idea what to expect but I am IN LOVE with this Din, truly - more on that later.

Spoiler related stuff and me being a simp under the cut cause this is gonna be long !!!

I think everyone can agree that Vic is a phenomenal writer, and I’m terrible at formulating my thoughts about writing cause I have zero technical knowledge, so all I can offer is that her writing makes me cry and also cream my panties because she embeds so much emotion into her words, her descriptions of people and places and situations are so vivid that I can see them crystal clear in my head, and everything just feels so god damn real. Fics hit different when you can tell that the writer has a love for their characters and their stories. Vic never wastes words, ever. She has this absolutely insane range - every fic has a different tone and yet it’s still so clearly her writing, you know? I think it’s difficult to create a well fleshed-out dynamic in a one shot and capture a couple’s spectrum of emotion and experiences with each other in a such a short fic, without doing all kinds of logistical explanations, but then fics like At The Restaurant happen and it’s just this perfectly succinct story weaved into the action itself, and you’re fed their history as you go along and it’s all just so smooth and PERFECT ugh

Vic’s descriptions of a man’s physicality will always be 10/10, no matter who it’s about. I will be on my knees, in love, mouth AGAPE for any Pedro boy she writes cause their characterizations are always so amazing.

Sorry, my big smut speech will have to come with another RB cause this shit is gonna be too long lmfao. I also think the relationship and Din himself in this story just fucking got me more than anything, like.. hardcore got me. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely want to fuck and suck with this Din for 24 hrs straight, and I felt it in my coochie when he said “Now” so obviously he owns me but I have debased myself enough to Vic, telling her about getting a massive nut off to her fics so I’m gonna cool it this time ok

Grogu and The Mandalorian being worked into this was absolute fucking GOLD. Legit my fav part. It was cute and creative and funny and such an amazing use of canon material, GOD BLESS !!!!! The focus, going into it, is easily gonna be on Din being a fuckboy, so I think the portrayal of him as a brother was so fantastic that no more convincing was needed that he’s actually a good guy, and that’s what makes me as the reader look back on the MC’s narrative and be like okay, maybe I judged him too quick. Learning about his parents/his family constellation in general is the point where 1) your stomach hurts, and 2) you’re like oh shit okay everything makes sense, and even so, it was still portrayed in a way that wasn’t oversimplified.

I was feeling all demonic and hihi haha until the end and basically I feel like I got chewed up and spit out cause now I want to be a whiny part 2 commenter, begging for a crumb of them together.

Ok that’s it for now love u bye

Actual footage of me thinking I knew where it was going and then getting thrown by the end

At the Restaurant

Pairing: Din Djarin x F!Reader

Summary: It’s three days til Christmas, and you’ve never known want like this, and his eyes are glossy with emotion and everything he won’t ever let himself tell you or anyone else, and you so badly want to tell him that it’s only that it’s hard to be casual when your favorite bra lives in his dresser, and also that you’re in love with him.

-OR-

the Christmas situationship AU

Rating: Explicit 18+

Content Warnings: Modern AU; Christmas fic; Angst; Fluff; Miscommunication; Emotionally unavailable idiots; But also idiots in love; Toxic relaationships; Situationship; There is nothing well adjusted about any of this pls don’t come into this house if that’s what you’re looking for; Trigger warning for man with an avoidant attachment style; Condolences to all my fellow victims of The Situationship; Unprotected Sex; Creampie; Oral Sex (F!Receiving); Frankly some pretty pathetic behavior; Girl stand UP; Fuckboy Din; Plan B and Delusion as a form of birth control; Pull and pray baby pull and pray; Possessive Behavior; Jealousy; Insecurity; Trigger warning for Right Where You Left Me by Taylor Swift references

A/N: Hello and welcome to my contribution to the holiday fic pool! This is not at all what I was planning as my holiday piece, but I woke up a few mornings ago and was just completely taken hold by this. Much love and thanks and gratitude and all the kisses in the world to my friend @f0rlornmyths for all the help on the idea and brainstorming and for the gorgeous edits she made for this little story. Mai baby, this is all for you, and I know it's not the Christmas gift I promised you, but I swear, one day that too will get written.

I’m wishing you all the happiest and most relaxing of holiday seasons. I think of you all constantly and wish you all the best always, and I hope you’re taking care of yourselves during this time ❣️🎄✨

Word Count: 8.2K

Read on AO3

He gets this sparkle in his eyes when the bar’s extra busy, cheeks flushed and curls damp with sweat and this shine that speaks; that tells of all the things he does that make a woman belong to him whenever he’s giving her his singular attention. Eyes that laugh and crinkle at the edges with happiness. Eyes that tell you how much he does or does not want you at that specific moment. And he’ll laugh and blind the room into seduction under the Christmas lights, and then he’ll turn, suddenly remembering you’re here for him, and look at you all serious-like, while you sip on your tequila soda, with two limes always because he knows that’s how you like it, and it’ll be a serious, cool look for just a second before it blooms into the best smile anyone’s surely ever had in all history, and you love him.

It’s three days til Christmas, and you’ve never known want like this. You’ve never practiced restraint of this kind either. A restraint that suffocates and kills and could probably be taken as a form of self harm were you in a righter, more clear mind, but it’s the only thing you have left against him. Din. A control over yourself that falsely feeds you the illusion of power. You never call him. Never. Any interaction, any late night fuck, any time he comes over and comes inside you, it’s always, always because he calls you, he looks for you. You never beg, not with words at least, and you never text first and you never ask him if you can see him, and it’s the only way you tell yourself you maintain even a semblance of control. And at night, when you’re alone and it’s dark and you’ve only got the cat for some sad company, or you’re crying in bed because he hasn’t called, and you know he’s not at work and he’s obviously not at home, so he’s somewhere you don’t want him to be, that false sense of control that says you’re never the one reaching out, it’s always him coming around so surely that must mean something… it’s all you have at the end of it.

He’s not your boyfriend. He never has been. And there’s always been that excuse you use to soothe yourself with of, well, we’ve never really talked about it, and he’s not really my boyfriend, so it doesn’t really matter. Does it? Doesn’t it? You’re sure you don’t know anymore. And you tell yourself, lie to yourself, comfort yourself, whatever it is your tired heart needs in that moment, because it truly is so tired, the push and pull is the most exhausting game in the world, that if he’s coming to you it’s because Din’s choosing you. Even if just for a night, even if just for now, even if tomorrow he’ll be with someone else, he chose you for tonight, and so surely that must mean something. It’s the worst thing you do to yourself, but it feels so good in the moment. You just can’t help yourself.

“Another one?” He calls over his shoulder with a smile.

You’d had a little bit of a… well, you don’t really know what to call it. A falling out, perhaps, because the two of you never have fights. You never fight, you never discuss the things the two of you should discuss, like feelings or anger or resentment or boundaries and wants and needs. Nothing. Nothing that indicates anything that might define what it is the two of you’ve been doing for two years with each other now. Fights are something couples do, and you two are not a couple. But up until three days ago, you’d not heard from him for two weeks. Two weeks of nothing, of hearing from your friends that they’d seen him out with his friends and other girls who you know probably mean nothing, even less than you do, but still. It’d made you insane. A little bit irrational, and so when you and your friends had gone out over the weekend, picked up a group of guys at the new bar you’d chosen for the night, since Din’s bar was off limits at the moment, and brought them back to your apartment at your roommate, Bo’s, insistence, well, you’d thought you’d give him a taste of his own medicine. After a slightly tipsy, teary eyed rant, explaining to your new friend for the night, a one Toro Calican, who had a very nice smile and very pretty eyes and not at all bad arms, all about your terrible situation with this man who you were not really in a relationship with, but who you have sex with, and only with him, regularly, unprotected, enthusiastically, but who is still not your boyfriend and not even anything close, he’d arranged himself very nice and cozy-looking in your bed with your twinkly lights sparkling in the background and your pink pig stuffy which Din loved to make fun of you for, and you’d taken a very tasteful, in your opinion, picture of him for your Instagram story. Again, a taste of his own medicine.

Din had been at your front door forty five minutes later, angry. Angrier than you’d ever seen him before, and not at all trying to hide it. Pushing past you and into your apartment all tall and broad and wearing your favorite dark blue hoodie he knows you love, curls mused as if he’d been pulling his fingers through them in agitation. There’d been a sneaky, smarmy little devil inside of you doing a happy dance at that moment, and his eyes when he’d turned to glare at you after giving poor, Toro – casual, entirely unbothered, Toro with his big smile stretched across his handsome face as he’d looped an arm over Bo’s shoulders where he’d been sitting beside her on the couch – a look that said Din had half a mind to take him outside and wipe the floor with him. But your new friend had laughed him off, taking Din’s terribly cocky onceover, the sort he liked to set people down with, in stride. All arrogance and the sort of self assuredness only a man who knew what he was made of and how to take care of himself could possess. He was too hot for his, or your, own good.

And when he’d turned and pushed you into your bedroom, a little tipsy, a lot desperate and pleased and wet, because yes, finally you were getting exactly what you wanted, exactly as you’d asked for it, and he’d flipped your skirt up and ripped your panties down and buried his face in your cunt from behind, all: this pussy’s mine, what the fuck was another dude doing in your bedroom? You’d been nothing but pleased giggles and hiccupy little moans as you’d come on his tongue just as he’d demanded of you.

It was wrong. The two of you were wrong and maybe even bad for each other, but also, and this was only your own personal, fanciful discernment, addicted. A mutual addiction. The way he fucked you, hard and deep and possessive, like you belonged to him. Tugging you up by the hips and pulling you back onto his hard cock, the wet slap of your pussy dripping for him so that it surely echoed through the thin door of your shitty little apartment for the man who’d threatened what Din saw as rightfully his could hear exactly what was happening in here. You should have cared more about this ridiculous display of a pissing contest. You should have been bothered by it. You absolutely were not. And when he’d gone harder than stone, shoved deeper than you could comfortably take him so that you were coming around his cock one last time from the stretch and sting of it, and he’d filled you to leaking without even asking, you’d not even blinked at it, had been nothing but contented sighs.

It was all wrong, wrong, wrong.

Even worse, you’d never been on birth control. It made you sick, tired, moody, and the two of you worked around it… sometimes… kind of. Condoms when you remembered, usually ripped off mid fuck, pulling out… also sometimes. Never very responsible or dedicated to the practice of safe sex and level headedness, more focused on how fucking good it always felt when he was inside of you like this all bare and wet and hot and his. And if he fucked other girls, well, you tried not to think about that. Got tested, told yourself you were the only one he didn’t use protection with because you were special when they were not. And if there was, that last horribly misguided whisper that said, well, if he’s taking this risk with you, then obviously that means something too, right? Then so be it.

Again, like you’d said, bad for each other.

But he always gave you so many reasons to be stupid, delusional, like the way he’d kissed you before he’d gone the morning after, while you were still sleepy and warm and a little sweaty from where you’d been pressed together so close through the night, wet and sticky between your legs from his come. He’d wrapped his arms around you and pressed you so, so close to his chest, nipples bare and tight against hard muscle and wispy hair. The musky sleep smell of him as he’d started at your shoulder, mouth slow and damp, kissed and nibbled his way up your collarbone, your throat, your jaw, settled at your ear to taste that soft place behind, pressed his tongue there to feel the echo of your pulse moving through your whole body, the flutter of his long lashes against your skin because he’s just that close. Your toes had curled and spasmed, little and cold, bracing against his hairy shins and big feet, hard cock nestled between the warmth of your thighs. And he always makes the best sounds, you know, deep and rumbly and all man. Familiar sounds that you’re able to replay again and again in your mind afterwards when he’s gone, sounds that make it easy for you to pretend he’s yours because you know them so well, and you want to keep him so bad it makes your stomach hurt. Gotta go get the kid, he’d said, by way of explanation for why he wasn’t pushing up into your come soaked cunt and having you one more time again, but he’d stayed and kissed you. And when he’d finally found his way to your mouth, sipping on you, tasting behind your teeth, along the wet of your tongue, that was all that really mattered anyway.

Sometimes, he kisses you like he loves you, and it makes you hate him.

He hadn’t called in the three days since then, but he’d been kind enough to DoorDash you a Plan B and a bag of your favorite Dove dark chocolate bites, and you want to hate him and maybe even run him over with you car, you really do, but then tonight, out of nowhere while you’d been at home telling yourself you weren’t going to cry, tired and sweaty from lying under your duvet for too long, fingers slippery between cunt and cotton, too many unsatisfying orgasms and a tear worthy film already chosen as your excuse for later, he’d sent a: come to the bar tonight, baby, I want to see you. And well, he’d come looking for you, right? He’d texted first. So really, this was all him wanting you and choosing you.

You need help, electroshock therapy, a lobotomy, anything. But you’d gotten your butt up and dressed, begged Bo to come out with you, and now here the two of you sit, good friend that she is, waiting for him to finally come over and say more than three stringed together words to you. Shaved, lotioned, perfumed, pathetic little ass sitting at the end of his bar in a too sticky, too uncomfortable stool waiting for him. Always waiting for him.

You shake your head no at him and his proffered next round. No you don’t want another fucking drink. What you want is his attention.

And the worst part is, probably the worst, for there are so many bad parts to this, is that you don’t truly think he’s a terrible person, Din. He’s just so… he’s just– you don’t know. Sad, busy, exhausted, selfish, overwhelmed, so many things. But not bad, not actually a bad person. You’re sure of it. And it might look so differently from the outside, like you’re nothing, like he uses you, and sure, in ways, he does. You’re not so stupid or naive to not see this for what it is, because if there is one thing that is crystal clear here, it’s that you’ve always known what this is and what it is not. But you also see him. You also know him, as hard as he’s tried to keep you at arms length, to not let you see, to not let you in, you’ve weaseled your way inside anyways, or, better said, and something you don’t let yourself dwell on too much for the things it makes your stupid brain and heart feel, he has never been very good at not letting you see him. Because despite all the truths of how this thing between the two of you is, or is not, there is also something, as small as it may be, that is real here.

So no, Din is not bad, or not all bad. And it’s easy to call them excuses, but you’re not so sure that’s the only thing they are, the ways in which you justify his behavior or yours. Because there is also context to him, and his life, and the things that drag his attention away from you when you so desperately need and want it, why you know he won’t commit to one single thing because he knows how easily lost a good thing can be.

You take a pull from your straw, paper, and it’s already coming apart in wet flakes on your tongue because this dumb bar he works at pretends to be swanky, and paper straws are obviously a signifier that it’s not the cheap, shitty dump it actually is. Mean, but you’re in a bad mood tonight. Peli, the owner, had him string up multicolored lights and decorations everywhere for the holiday season, and it sort of looks like Santa threw up in here, but it’s also nice. Cozy or comfortable or welcoming, something happy and cheerful about the crowd surrounded by the sparkle of the holiday and loose from the heavily poured liquor. Or maybe it’s just that you know he put up the decorations. That he’d been good and patient and helpful as the older woman, eccentric and curly haired and a little stern and potty mouthed as she is, but always kind to him, had directed him as she pleased. Giving orders so that the bar could look as lovely and warm and cheerful as it does now. He always looks at her with such care and warmth, and you alway see it, as much as he tries to hide it.

He’d added a splash of sweet grenadine and a maraschino cherry into your drink tonight, and called it your slutty Shirley Temple, said you looked like you needed something sweet followed by one of those cocky little winks he thinks make him look hot, they do, but you tell him only make him look like an asshole. All of which you know is only his way of telling you, without actually telling you, that he’s going to be shoving his cock down your throat later tonight. Something sweet… yeah, sure. There’s nothing sweet about him.

He always tells you so many things neither of you want the other to know with his eyes. The stupid things, the silly things, the real things, it doesn’t really matter. He can’t ever help it.

The first time he’d told you about his parents, you’d thought: this is it, this is something real. The come down had been a singular type of devastating you don't think you’d recovered from to this day. They’d died in a home invasion, a robbery gone terribly, terribly wrong, when he’d been two months shy of eighteen; left him with too much responsibility and too much grief for a boy of seventeen to bear, to ever be able to grow into without growing a little bit skewed in the process. When he’d introduced you to his little brother, the first time, you’d been better prepared, better in control of yourself and your expectations. But still, still you’d let a small, small part of you let it mean something. Grogu, Greg, but they used to watch this cartoon together about this man, a warrior, a space cowboy of sorts, who finds a little green baby, more frog looking than baby looking, called Grogu and takes him in as his own, bringing him along on all his adventures through the big, wide galaxy. They’d always joked that Greg looked like the frog baby, and so, Grogu.

The first time he’d asked you to come over, you’d forced yourself to not throw up as you’d seen the text come in, had to force away thoughts of this has to mean something, please, please, let this mean something more. And the kid had been asleep already anyways when he’d smuggled you inside, quick and quiet, locking the door to his bedroom behind you, messy and lived in and Din, Din, Din everywhere, pressed you into his rumpled mattress, and fucked you til you’d cried and bit your tongue until you’d tasted blood to keep in all the things you had inside to tell him. And in the morning, when he’d made you a cup of coffee and oh, isn’t he nice for that? The kid had stumbled out of his bedroom, dinosaur pj’s and sleep rumpled curls the same warm mahogany shade as his older brother’s turned pseudo father, and he’d had his waffles while you’d sat there between the two of them as Din’d clucked around making lunches, sipping from your mug trying as best you could to be a good girl and not whip around and scream at the man that this has to mean something more, please.

The kid had eyed you skeptically, as if you’d had two heads, little fuzzy brow cocked high up towards his curl covered hairline while he chomped loudly on his waffles. More syrup than bread, but who were you to judge?

“Are you Din’s girlfriend?”

And rather than drop dead on the spot or bear the devastation of hearing the refusal come out of his older brother’s mouth, the second you’d seen Din’s own eyebrows shoot up towards his hairline, mouth falling open to probably tell him no, absolutely not, she’s nothing even close to being my girlfriend, you’d said as easy as you could manage, “No, we’re just friends.” Even added in a fake, tepid smile as you’d said the words. And now, as time’s passed since then, when you think back on the memory, you tell yourself that you’d imagined the frown and scowl that’d pulled Din’s face down into something that looked a little like annoyance or anger or confusion. He’d never done anything to make you think you were anything otherwise, and so what good did it do to dwell on the maybe false memory of his look of disappointment at your words? None at all, surely.

But you’re pretty sure you’re the only girl that’s ever been let into their space like that.

He’s at the other end of the bar now, engrossed in a conversation with someone who’s too sparkly and too pretty and too blonde to be anything but trouble for you. His tall, deceptively lanky form that you know beneath the dark baggy, long sleeved tee he’s wearing is strong and muscled and warm as a furnace, curved over the lip of the bar to lean further towards her. They’ve been talking for about five minutes now, yes, you’ve been counting, and your heart is doing that horrible thing it does where it hurts so bad it feels like it’s ripping in half all on its own. You want to look away, especially as you watch the long, gorgeous form of his hand, big, strong hands that you know exactly what they feel like wrapped around your throat, clutching your breasts, lift slowly towards the glowing Christmas lights necklace the girl’s got hanging around her neck, the cheery red and green lights nestled deep in her cleavage. He plucks at the necklace, giving it a little tug and says something to her that has her throwing her head back, and she sparkles, she really does, with those sort of laughs that tinkle like bells or something equally fucking ridiculous.

“We should just go, babe,” Bo says from beside you, glaring down at him so intensely you’re shocked he hasn’t keeled over dead at this point.

“Just a little bit longer, Bo, please.”

“God, I can’t watch this shit anymore.” She pushes up and out of her stool with a roll of her eyes, but passes a loving hand down the back of your hair as she goes. “I’m gonna go try and pick up that red head sitting in the back. She’s been eyeing me all night,” she smirks at you.

“You cannot date another ginger. That is too much ginger for one household.”

“Oh, shut up. You’re in love with the devil, I can do whatever I want. And I can’t watch him anymore, I don’t have the stomach for it.”

You try and protest as she walks away from you, tell her that you’re not in love with him, that he’s not the devil, that you don’t have the stomach for it either, but she’s gone before you can muster your lies. When you turn back towards the bar he’s abandoned his Christmas lights blonde and is pouring drinks for a group of frat guys, checking I.D.s and making easy, charming conversation. He’s strange in that way, quiet and reserved by nature, which you know now because you know him, but he puts on a face in here, in Peli’s bar in front of the customers and the pretty girls and the people expecting him to perform for them, making nice and pleasant. It’s just one more thing that feeds your delusion, the fact that you see his smile for what it is, the too handsome, too shiny version you know isn’t the real one.

You know that despite the fact that Bo loves you, she also thinks you’re a little sad, a lot weak, when it comes to him. Maybe even, and you know she’d never say this because she’s a good and loving friend, but maybe even a little pathetic or desperate. And maybe you are, or definitely, you don’t really care about the details of it at this point, but maybe there’s also something about him that’s slightly desperate too. Desperate for love or attention or companionship. Maybe that’s why he always feels the need to search for it in so many different places. Maybe he wants it so bad he’s scared of it. Or maybe he’s just easy. Maybe he’s just a whore.

You don’t know if the why’s of it all really matter anymore.

He serves the group their shots and beers, all of them clinking their glasses together loudly, hooting and wishing each other a Merry Christmas, and you want to snap that it’s not Christmas yet, it’s still the twenty third, it’s a special day that should be remembered, but you turn away. Try to swallow the heat in your face and throat, take deep breaths. Bo’s right, the two of you should go, but when you turn to search for her, she’s deep in conversation with the red head, gorgeous, strong and tall and just her type. Their two heads huddled closely together beneath the red lights that turn their hair both brighter shades of auburn. And you know you can’t interrupt. At least one of you should have a good night tonight. But when you turn back around, ready to join the frat bros in on their shots, he’s there.

You swivel in your stool, catching yourself on the lip of the bar, digging your nails into the wood grain until it hurts, staring at him in silence.

“What?” he asks with that slightly provoking smile he forces on you when he knows you’re bothered and refuse to open your stubborn mouth and just speak up.

“Nothing.” Stubborn, sullen. Terrible.

He hums, laughter dancing in his eyes that pisses you off. He knows you’re bothered, knows you won’t say anything about it either. “Want another?”

“Sure.” You might as well get drunk if you’re going to have to watch him be a jackass all night long.

He starts to move about, gathering the things for your cocktail. “You like the grenadine I added?”

“Yeah, it’s good.”

He looks at you with a half smile and a cocked brow as he measures the shot. He never makes your drinks as heavy handed as the others, says you’re a bad drunk. Whatever. “Yeah? You like the Christmas decorations?”

“They’re nice.” He hums again at your sullen tone. And you want to be nicer, happier, peppier, whatever it is that would be enough to make this all right and better between the two of you, inside of you, but you just can’t. You can’t force yourself into a shape that’s okay with being without him, and it’s getting harder and harder to pretend it’s something you’re capable of.

He adds your two limes and tops the drink off with a Santa printed mini umbrella Peli had gotten an order of in bulk, pushing the glass into your hand. He braces his hands against the bar edge, watching you as you bring the drink up to taste, peering over the edge to keep your eyes on him. The lights twinkle over head, washing him in a glow of greens and reds and warmth, and his eyes do that terrible sparkle you hate in return.

Sometimes you think he likes it when you’re pissy. Turns him on or something which sickly, stupidly, in turn, riles you up, knowing he’s turned on by your anger.

You take a long pull of the fizzy, mildly sweet drink, licking your lips of the tang and bubbles when you pull it away, and watch as his eyes go a little hazy, glassed over as he watches the wet of your tongue peek out to lick up the drops of sweet liquor. You watch a swallow pass through the strong column of his throat, and his gaze is still on your mouth when he cocks his head at you. “C’mere,” he murmurs, eyes shifting to take in the crowd, the customers and the status of their drinks before he’s tugging at your hand over the bar, drawing you out of your seat and along the length of it from the other side.

“To where?” You whisper at him, nerves of excitement, of want, fluttering in your belly and throat all fizzy and sweet. He tips his chin at the cracked open door of the stock room, the warm glow from within peering out, and then back again once over at the crowd before you’re at the end of the bar, and he’s tugging you inside after him. You tip your chin over your shoulder just before he kicks the door shut behind you, taking in Peli’s knowing look and the laughing shake of her head, and then it’s just the two of you. Hungry and hurried as he’s pulling you into himself, big hands immediately cupping your ass to tug you up into him with a cracked groan. “Want to fucking kiss you so bad,” he licks into your mouth, tasting like the coffee he drinks too much of and the cinnamon gum you know he’s always chewing.

“Din–” and you’re about to protest, say that everyone’ll have seen the two of you come in here, Peli, the blonde Christmas light girl, that the whole bar is going to think he brought you in here for a quick fuck, but you and he both know you don’t really care if anyone thinks that. That probably, if you’re really honest, you’d be glad for everyone to think you’re his that way. So you kiss him back. Arms looping around his neck to hang off of him, fingers twining in the thick curls at the nape of his neck, the hair there so silky smooth, cool at the ends but warm and damp at the roots. And this is what you were talking about, when he kisses you like he loves you which makes you hate him. All tongue and teeth and desperation. His mouth sliding against yours, spit slick and heat heavy. Big hands kneading at your ass, clutching at the short skirt of your dress, pulling it up so he can shove his palm between the nylon of your tights and your warm skin and cup you over the wet mound of your cunt.

“Fucking warm and soft for me, baby.” He kisses his way down your neck, licking at your cleavage, tugging at your ear. “You smell so good,” and he squeezes you against himself, dragging his palm back and forth over your pussy as best as the constricting tights let him. “I can’t wait to fuck you later.”

“Me either, Din,” you say because there’s nothing else to say besides, I love you. Please, love me back. He groans into your mouth, pressing you back into a little arc hooked over his arm, something frenzied and a little sloppy about the way he kisses you like he wants you so much he can’t control himself. And when the two of you stumble out a few minutes later, hair tousled and flushed with heat, the shine of your lipgloss transferred onto his own lips and those sparkly eyes of his cranked up to blinding so that the whole bar can see what it is the two of you have been up to in the stock room, there’s nothing but sweet, fizzy pleasure suffusing your belly. Even if it isn’t real, everyone else thinks it is, maybe for tonight that can be enough.

“The tree’s really cute,” you say as he helps you out of your coat, unwrapping the scarf from around your neck, round and round until he lets it slither from his hand onto the messy floor of his bedroom.

“Yeah, well, G wanted a real one so… my ass went out and got him a real one.”

You reach up to card your fingers through the floppy curls falling over his forehead, pushing them back to twist in your fingers and pull his head down towards yours. “Good brother,” you murmur against his mouth. You want to ask him if he remembers what tonight is; wanted to ask him all night but kept your mouth shut for fear of that utterly vacant look in his eyes when he’d have no idea what you were talking about.

He settles into your kiss, knees bent to come down to your level, sighing deep and long as he licks at you slowly, sucks on your bottom lips, a gentle nip. “Looked so pretty for me tonight,” he says, and he’s such a good kisser, and all you can say is a breathless thank you, trying to swallow the immediate lump in your throat back down because the only other thing to say would be you’re right, it’s all for you, or I hate it when you say these things to me, I hate it when you’re nice to me and then turn around and act like I’m a stranger, like I’ve never meant anything to you at all. You press up higher, insistent, on your tiptoes, trying to get closer, more of him. He runs his hands up the length of your spine, one arm banding around your waist, the other coming up to twist in your hair, tugging your head back sharply and pulling your mouth from his.

“What do you want, sweet girl?”

And what a cruel, terrible question. You, is what you should say. Ruin the moment or the false magic, glass shattered on the white cloth. And so, “Fuck me,” is all you say instead because that’s all this is anyway. He peers down at you, fathomless look on his face, no more bright sparkle in his eyes, something more like an ember. You think you like this look better, it’s more for you, and there's something satisfying about that.

“Okay, baby. Whatever you want.”

He pulls your clothes from you slowly, and he can be so tender sometimes, slow and precise in the things he does, the way he moves. Sometimes he fucks you hard and fast and sloppy. But not always. Other times he does it in a way that is much, much worse. Slow and deep and intentional. He lays you out across his messy bed and spreads you open for himself. Starts at your feet, kissing the soles and the creases and marks over the arches and around your ankles from your tights and boots. Up the slope of your calf, teeth dragging sharply, a little too hard over the muscle. He kisses the backs of your knees, a place only he has ever thought to kiss, and you won’t cry, but you’d like to. His tongue along the soft of your thighs, stubble chafing and tickling, and when he finally gets to your cunt, soaking wet, glossy with your slick for him, his tongue drags up your slit slow and teasing one second, deep, fucking inside of you the next. He makes you come on his face twice before he even thinks of being nice and letting up. Sucking on your clit, taking each soft lip gentle, gentle between the edge of his teeth and tugging so soft you almost don’t feel it. He licks and licks and slurps up your wet, and you know he enjoys this because of his own sounds. When he rips his t-shirt over his head because he’s steaming with sweat and want, the zip of his jeans ringing so that he can get his fist around his cock and jack himself while he licks up the splash of your second orgasm.

He kisses you everywhere when he’s had his fill, twists and turns you this way and that, groping and kneading and taking every inch of you in so that no spot of skin is left uninspected or untasted. Pulls you up and under his arm so he can peer down at you from behind, lemme look at that little asshole now, he says all nasty the way he gets sometimes, and spreads your cheeks apart. You brace yourself against the column of his throat and hold on to the bulge of his bicep and try and breathe through your mouth and pray for control and temperance and the will to not spill all your truths to him. Difficult, when he manhandles you like this, when he pets and licks and kisses you all over and tells you how pretty all your holes are for him.

His cock is so hard when he finally settles on his knees between your spread thighs, on your back again so that you can see his pulse in the tiny, subtle beat of his erection as it stands up, curving towards his flat belly. No condom, and you want to say thank you for letting you feel him like this.

He pushes your knees wide and grips his cock, twisting his fist around the sticky glossed head, flushed red almost purple. You love it when he’s this hard, when you know it’s all for you, when you know you’re the only one in this moment that can fix it for him.

“Get it wet for me,” he nods his head at your slick cunt, parted and bared to him just like he likes. You dip your fingers into the well of wetness, play in it, watch the shiny string of slick stretch between your pussy and fingers, and no one makes you as wet or as desperate as he does, and like he can read your mind he tells you, no one makes me as hard as you do, and you do not tell him that that isn’t something you want to hear, that that isn’t something that makes you feel good. The reminder that there are others.

You wrap your slippery fingers around his cock, coating him in yourself and when you pull him towards you, notching him at the mouth of your cunt, and finally – finally, I’ve been waiting for this all night, and you can’t even tell who says it – it’s so fucking good that all the rest of it is worth it for this singular feeling right here.

He pushes in, in, in, heavy balls pressed against the wet curve of your bottom, and you’re so soaked it’s slid down between your ass, marked his sheets with you, swings his hips back all smooth and wet and shoves back inside. His mouth is at your tits, folded over you, caging you in, biting and sucking on bare, tight nipples he tells you belong to him, cunt he fucks hard and deep he tells you also belongs to him.

He pulls an ankle up over his shoulder, changes the angle and drills into you hard and fast, other knee hooked over his elbow so you’re pressed and folded and presented to him just how he likes and needs, and he makes you say his name over and over, tells you exactly how he wants you to come on his cock just for him. His pelvis bumps your clit on every push forward, too thick cock wedged inside your cunt so that you’re stretched around him and no matter how many times you do this, it always hurts just a little. Like everything else the two of you do together.

“You feel so fucking good,” he groans. “You take it so fucking good. Don’t come yet– don’t come. With me– wait for me. I want it together.” And you do cry at that, when he changes the angle once more and shoves in hard against your g-spot, the fat tip of his cock punching against it over and over so that there’s heat pooling at the base of your spine, stars flashing behind your closed lids, your breasts going hot and heavy and tight, stomach clenching with the effort to stave off your orgasm and do as he asks. He breathes into your mouth, and it’s all hot and damp skin and your sweaty limbs sliding against each other, open mouth to open mouth.

“Now,” he says, pulls you onto him deeper with a tight grip on your ass, long fingers wrapped over the curve so that he can feel the wet, stretched place where he takes you, makes you his. “Take the whole fucking thing,” he whispers against your lips, and as your cunt goes tight as a knot, painful in that way that only he can make it, that’s so good, that way that always keeps you coming back for more, you finally start to cry real tears. Not just from his cock but from the whole of him, from everything he does to you. Your heart beats fast, fast, fast, and you count the days in the month til your period, the little game you like to play with yourself when the two of you are bad like this, and then decide you don’t really give a fuck as he starts to fill you with the heat of his come.

He stays inside of you for too long after the last throb of his cock. Rubbing his lips all over your neck and shoulders and tits, tasting you and giving you too much time to memorize the pattern and cadence of his breathing. And when he pulls out and pulls back to look at the slick, puffy sight of your cunt full of his come, he bends to lick you clean like he always does. Gives you one more orgasm, the last nail in the coffin or your heart.

Sated and spent, you glance at the clock, and it’s officially Christmas Eve. You know he goes all out for Grogu, milk and cookies for Santa, stockings and gifts, the works. He is an exceptionally good brother, all a child could need in a father figure, and there had never really been any chance of you doing anything else besides loving him.

When you pull the gift from your bag, heart in your throat and halfway to regret but more resolve than you’ve ever had in his presence, you tell yourself that if this brings on the end of everything, that you’ll find a way to be okay with it. If you’ve gone too far, done too much, you’ll accept it, count your losses, and what great losses they’ll surely be, but you’ll move on as best you can.

You’d picked some pretty, baby blue paper with little red robins on it, a soft gold ribbon tied around the package. The sight of it makes you want to cry. You’d tried so hard, you really had.

He’s quiet when you put it into his hands, staring down at it like it’ll reach out and bite his head off if he blinks even once. Swallowing several times before he says, “You didn’t have to get me anything.”

“I know. It’s– it’s for the both of you, kind of.” Him and his little brother.

“I didn’t get you anything.”

“No– that’s okay. I know. You didn’t have to.” Your voice comes out all breathless and full of nerves. You should’ve put your clothes on before you did this, made for a quicker, easier get away if necessary.

He pulls the wrapping apart slowly, gently untying your ribbon, long fingers carefully picking at the little pieces of tape at each end so that he doesn’t tear the paper and disturb the robins.

“Where did you get this?” He says when he’s finally unwrapped it, his voice telling you instantly that you’ve made a terrible mistake.

“It– it was in your drawer. I–”

“You went through my stuff?” He says, eyes snapping up to yours, finally looking away from the photograph you’d copied and framed for him. A picture of him and Grogu and his parents. Grogu, a baby, Din, a boy of maybe eight, gap toothed, cheesy grin and messy curls between his smiling parents. They looked, very much, like a deliriously happy family, and you’d thought it such a shame it was stuffed in his sock drawer when you’d found it, left to be forgotten. You’d only wanted to do something nice for him.

“N–no. I mean… not intentionally. I was looking for my extra clothes – the ones you told me to leave here – and I–” your lashes flutter, overwhelmed. He suddenly looks so angry. “I saw it in your drawer. I didn’t mean– I didn’t mean to… I’m sorry, I–” You don’t know what to say. All of your falsely held control in tatters at your feet and tears in your eyes as you take in the horrible look on his face. Shocked, angry, hurt, but his gaze leaves the photograph again, shifts back to your face at the crack in your voice.

He presses forward, as if to reach for you, realizing you’re about to cry. “It’s fine.” I’m sorry, Din, you murmur again. “It’s just–” He shakes his head, a frustrated noise in his throat, his voice all graveled and cracked like yours. He seems so much like a boy in this moment. A child confronted by a past he was too young to lose when he did, forced into the shape of a man too soon. “You know that this–we–” He motions between the two of you.

“Yes. I do,” you cut him off quickly. Assuming what he’s going to cut down here between the two of you before he gets the words out. He doesn’t need to say it, not out loud. He doesn’t need to be that cruel. The strength it takes the both of you to bite your tongues in that moment, as you take each other in, swells to a near painful pressure, and there is something so sick here between the two of you. His eyes are glossy with emotion and everything he won’t ever let himself tell you or anyone else, and you so badly want to tell him that it’s only that it’s hard to be casual when your favorite bra lives in his dresser, and also that you’re in love with him.

“Thank you,” he finally says quietly, and you can’t answer, looking away out at the dark night through his murky paneled window. It looks like it’s about to snow, all the ingredients for a perfect Christmas at play. The room is so warm and his bed is so comfortable, and you feel so full of fragile and soft things inside. “You’re going to see your family tomorrow?” He still has the picture frame in his hands, fingers smoothing methodically over the edges, thumb swiping gently over the happy faces inside.

You clear your throat, “Yeah, tonight. I’m going to my parents house, spending the night there.” And it’s on the tip of your tongue to invite the both of them to come too. You know your parents would love to have them, you would love to have them there, him, but the words stick in your throat with the fear of his rejection, and the two of you fizzle awkwardly into a heavy silence.

You look out at the window again, too much of a coward to look into those bright eyes, but you can feel his gaze on you, singing the side of your face, and suddenly you feel him scoot over towards you. Deep sigh, dragging the duvet with him, wrapped around his bare shoulders all messy hair and flushed cheeks still steaming from your sex. No one should look like he does. No one. It’s the most unfair thing that’s ever happened to you in your whole life. He grips you around the bend of your bare knee, pulls you halfway into his lap, and your eyes are still fixated out on the night, the dark much safer than anything that lives inside this room.

“You remember when we met?” He says. The tears are back. “It was tonight.” Two years ago.

You tip your chin at the window. “At the restaurant…”

“...Down on eighty seventh street. Two years ago.”

“Yes.” You finally look at him. “I remember,” you whisper. Your mouth feels so dry, your heart so flinty.

“The place had all those string lights put up, and we sat at that table outside in the back behind that group having their Christmas work party. You remember?” Of course you do. You only can't believe he remembers. He’d been wearing an olive green half zip sweater, and he’d smelled of laundry detergent and whiskey and cinnamon gum when he’d kissed you for the first time.

“I had the best old fashioned I’ve ever had at that place. We should go back. And it was so cold, you remember? You never stopped shivering.”

“Yes, Din. I remember.”

“That was a good night.”

“Sure it was,” and it comes out with a bite you can’t help, for so many reasons you can and cannot explain.

He gives one of those non committal hums he loves to provoke you with, that little glint back in his eyes. “Sure it was? What?”

“Nothing.”

“Is there something you wanna talk about?” The white elephant in the room, come to ruin everything, shatter all the glass, disturb the dust in your hair and break your heart.

He tips your head back by your chin, two fingers holding you there, never letting you go. You shake your head at him caught up in his grasp like that. “No. I don’t want to talk about anything.”

And he gives you the strangest look, and for one second you wonder suddenly if that look you’ve always taken as provoking is not so much teasing, but more pleading, more knowing. “No…” he says, chews on his thoughts, strong, scruffy jaw with the heart shaped patch moving side to side. “I know you don’t,” and leans forward to press one single soft, chaste kiss to your open mouth. “You know what you are?” He says then, and the look is now entirely unknowable, confusing.

Your eyes flick back to the window. “What?” Back to him again, breathless.

“You’re my girl.” And out of the corner of your eye, you can see that there, finally, is the Christmas snow.

Netherfeildren's Masterlist

Updates Blog!

#chloe recs

398 notes · View notes

maverickbackalley · 2 years ago

Note

i need to hear you talk about krisnix

What why? I'm totally normal about them ahahahahahhaha..haha.. 😞

Okay so I don't waste hours of my time (Future Mav: LIAR) and yours: I love them, your honour. It's not a relationship anyone should put up with in real life so there is a shock and appeal to their dynamic that none of the other main ships can offer. Krisnix ooze venom, animosity, and this indescribable tension that's fascinating to see blossom in these two powerhouse attorney's dynamic. The pair is just so damn diabolical, manipulative, and ideally comes with so much psychological horror that makes you question your own sanity and realise how quickly you would lose the game if you were swapped out with either of them. Underneath it all though, Krisnix is basically a pathetic pissing contest between two cunning individuals and that's stupid enjoyable for me to watch from the sidelines. I love how many different routes people can take with their actual romantic relationship too. Is it all an act? Rivals with benefits? Do they care about each other? Are they just keeping their enemies close and maybe at some point took the saying a little too literally?? Are there genuine feelings there after 7 years and one or both of them absolutely hate themselves for it??? So many possibilities and it's so riveting to think about. Like, 7 years is a LONG TIME to put up with someone purely out of spite. These idiots routinely ate dinner together in canon for crying out loud! Neither of them seem the type to happily put up with that with zero gain or case development for that long. (For my own reference: My longest relationship was almost 8 years and while it feels like no time at all looking back in the present, if I sit down and truly dissect it so much positive and negative change and development took place during that timeframe that it's actually quite jarring. I think that's one of the things that makes it hard for me to believe that nothing happened between them.) Kristoph is such an enigma and so full of sinister potential that his clash with an established bleeding heart like Phoenix is so compelling. I honestly have a hard time describing their appeal and always feel like there is more that I just.. can't quite put into words. So hopefully even an ounce of this makes a lick of sense outside of my head.

On the flip side, I will say I'm not the biggest fan of every portrayal of the ship. I feel like some people lean too heavy on physical domestic abuse (not talking BDSM. I don't want it misconstrued that I see these as one and the same since I believe there is also a large chunk of BDSM!krisnix out there) and completely neglect the brilliant minds at play. Or focus too much on making Phoenix an absolute pushover like he's too dumb to catch on to even the bare minimum attempts of Kristoph manipulating him. To be honest, some of these feels like throwing Dahlia-era Phoenix at Kristoph and it's like.. hmmm.... noooo. He's not that same person if you're writing for Beanix. I think that would probably be my personal gripes with the pairing if I had to be critical of it. There is a fine balance to their dynamic that's hard to capture, in my opinion. Like I don't even feel I could properly do them justice outside of memeing it up. Which is partially why I haven't done any real art for the pair despite them being one of my personal favourite and being all too aware that they have little to no content. They are like the definition of "It's Complicated" and I love canonically knowing how the story starts and ends. But that 7-year gap is just a juicy wealth of knowledge soup that I and others can throw whatever the fuck we want into it and boy does almost every spoonful taste delicious.

...Well that was more than I expected to write. ENJOY. Feel free to let me know your krisnix thoughts as well!

#asks #roundhousekickingheight #ask game #thanks for the ask!#krisnix #hopefully that wasn't disappointing since two of y'all asked for my take :')#Open to giving my opinions on other ships still but they definitely won't be this long I'm sorry pfft #ace attorney #aa #kristoph gavin #phoenix wright #beanix

109 notes · View notes

plasticnightmaredoll · 4 years ago

Text

Mortal Kombat (2021) Review

Well, well, well....here we are, a Mortal Kombat movie -- not the first, obviously. I will say, it's much better than both films from the 1990s. I will also say that, for the most part, I enjoyed it more than "Mortal Kombat 11" and its garbage DLC "Aftermath."

Come for me all you want, but I am standing by my thoughts on that game and its DLC.

Overall, I did like this new "Mortal Kombat" movie. It was entertaining. However, I have...a lot of issues with it, too, pertaining to lore, acting, and special effects.

What was the best part of this movie? If I had to pick one? Oh, definitely Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi/Scorpion. He is one of the best Japanese actors working today. He's one of the best actors working today. Having him play such an important character was probably the best choice the producers made.

Also, quick side note: Hiroyuki is 60 years old. HOW?! I mean, he doesn't look 20, but 60? I have my doubts.

Also, this is the first time I've heard him speak English. Interesting.

Another wise decision the producers made for this movie is casting Josh Lawson as Kano. I don't like Kano. He's a dick, but Josh gave the idiot a sort of douchebag charm that you couldn't help but be amused by.

So, what did I like, broken down:

Josh Lawson and Hiroyuki Sanada

The opening scene and final fight were the best scenes in the movie. Fantastically done, both of them.

Some cute little references to MK lore: a picture of Nightwolf, the use of "flawless victory," the use of "fatality," some suspiciously MK-sounding music cues, the massive statue of Shao Kahn...There were some nice fan service moments.

The fights, even the training ones, were all entertaining. Kind of like with "Godzilla vs Kong," the action is one of the strongest points of "Mortal Kombat" (2021).

The concept of the dragon brand to indicate who would fight in MK tournaments was actually a great choice. It does give the writers an excuse to not worry about including EVERY MK character; only the ones who have been "chosen" can fight at this time. It makes sense, it works, it's intriguing.

Kung Lao slicing Nitara in half (Sorry, Nitara -- love ya, Girl!) with his "spinning hat" technique was probably the most Mortal Kombat kill of the movie. It was extremely graphic, bloody, gross, over-the-top...it was perfect.

Hanzo toasting Bi-Han with his classic fire breath was a badass move if I ever saw one.

I did like how Mileena's mouth "worked" in this movie. She had sharp teeth and reddened skin(?) around her mouth to indicate that there was something not quite right with her face. Then she gets pissed later in the movie and opens her jaw completely, revealing an almost snake-like mouth, the skin tearing in the process. It was pretty badass. I liked it.

I actually liked Raiden a lot in this movie. I don't particularly like him in the games (don't come for me -- it's just my opinion) but I thought he was awesome in this movie, a truly intimidating but wise presence. His lack of full assistance made more sense in this movie, too (again, don't come for me because this is just my opinion).

The special effects were sometimes quite good. Sub-Zero's ice powers were well made, for example. Another example is Goro, who was fantastic (so much better than he did in the 1995 movie).

The backstory behind the main weapon of Hanzo was a pleasant surprise: it was a gardening tool to being with, and he just so happened to find it and turn it into a weapon.

Mixed thoughts:

The acting was decent overall. The only two I thought did great were Josh Lawson and Hiroyuki Sanada, but everyone else was ok. Some of the performances got a little hammy at times, but...I'm not going to take too many points off for that.

I liked Mileena but also was disappointed. She wasn't as malicious and flirty as she normally is; like she was watered down in this movie for some reason. However, she still was a dangerous fighter and her mouth was crazy! 👄

What I didn't like:

Some things didn't look so great. When Jax lost his arms, it looked...well it looked like blatant CGI. The lighting barrier Raiden created to protect his fighters from Shang Tsung looked pretty cheap as well. Some set pieces looked a bit too much like set pieces. I know we're on a set because this is a movie. However, when it looks kind of obvious, it really distracts you. I know this is a Marvel movie or something, but I think the special effects and sets could have looked a bit more refined.

I preferred the Quan Chi twist in regards to the death of Hanzo's family. It provided a much more complicated revenge story, and...I just think it was a better choice than making Bi-Han the murderer, like in this movie. I get that if they did use the Quan Chi twist, this movie would have become, like, 5 hours long or something, and would have had yet another character to develop (or attempt to develop). Still, it's not my favorite take on the Sub-Zero vs Scorpion story. So...meh.

Reptile looked impressive. He was more like a ... reptile than usual, you know, as opposed to a humanoid reptile creature. However, he didn't speak and didn't wear any armor, and his role in the movie seemed forced. It felt more like a badly executed fan service moment, like, "Heeeyyyy, it's Reptile, Guys! Ok, kill him because we have too many characters already...."

Cole was a likable guy, but I didn't see a point in his character being in the movie. He isn't an MK character from the games, and this just doesn't seem like the time to make a new character for the franchise. There are so many more MK characters to choose from, I think they could have avoided making up someone.

At the same time, though, this movie does suffer from having too many characters to focus on: Cole Young, Kano, Sonya Blade, Jax Briggs, Liu Kang, Kung Lao, Reptile, Mileena, Reiko, Kabal, Shang Tsung, Raiden, Hanzo Hasashi/Scorpion, Bi-Han/Sub-Zero, Goro, Nitara...I mean, damn, that's a bunch of characters to cram into one two-hour film. People who know little to nothing about MK may not be bothered by this, but fans like myself most likely will feel disappointed with how certain characters were handled in the movie.

Reiko, what...did they do to you? Did...he even need to be in the movie? I mean, he was just.....there.

Having the concept of "arcana" was just...I don't know. It wasn't a terrible idea but it also made things even less believable. No one got their unique traits due to some sort of weird-ass prophecy or whatever in the games. I suppose the writers used this "arcana" thing as a way to keep the movie flowing and avoid having it be hours long. However, it just didn't sit right with me.

I know this movie is only two hours but I would have liked a little more development for Mileena, Reiko, and even Kabal. Kabal gave us the short version of what happened to him but, again, it was so quick. Like, blink and you'll miss it. I think Mileena and Kabal are two very interesting characters in MK, and having them be so one-dimensional was disappointing.

Hanzo was barely in this movie. It seemed....weird to me. Bi-Han was out there wrecking everyone's shit and Hanzo was somehow trapped in the Netherrealm until Cole was forced to fight Bi-Han one-on-one? I mean, eh? They chose the absolute best actor to play Hanzo but didn't use him much.

I was so disappointed to see Kung Lao killed off. I mean, characters that die in MK games don't always stay dead but still....he was so much fun in this movie (as he should be).

I didn't care for the portrayal of Nitara at all in this movie.

I didn't hate "Mortal Kombat" (2021), but I didn't love it, either. I'd watch it again, and I would watch a sequel, but there is definitely room for improvement. There is a lot of potential for the next MK movie(s) to be much better (this movie had clear potential, too, to be honest). I just hope that maybe the writers will realize this if a sequel is made.

Final grade: C+

#mortal kombat #mortal kombat 2021 #mk #liu kang #shang tsung #raiden #cole young #hanzo hasashi #bi-han #sub-zero #goro #kabal #mileena #kung lao #sonya blade #jax briggs #kano #reiko

38 notes · View notes

suhmayzooka · 4 years ago

Note

Drop your daisuga thesis monarch

asking me about daisuga on iwaoi day smh

oh well....if you insist.............oh no my hands are on my keyboard............i guess i have to talk about daisuga.............

the thing about daisuga is i feel almost everyone ships it but not many people have it as their number 1 otp, you know? i actually discovered the otp:true search function on ao3 just to filter out allllllll the fics that have them as a background pairing. there is a dedicated daisuga fanbase responsible for some of the loveliest works i’ve had the pleasure of consuming, but aside from them a certain majority of hq fans completely mischaracterize daisuga and then have the nerve to complain about daisuga based on their mischaracterizations!!

“daisuga is boring” ???? “daisuga is heteronormative” ???????!?!??!?!?!?!!?!?!?!??!???!?!?!?! i feel like non-daisugaists live in an alternate world because how. HOW do you look at daisuga and have THESE be the top two thoughts that come to mind??

there’s this amazing compilation of some canon moments so i won’t rehash everything there, just pointing to it because this!!! this is not boring!!!!!!!!!!!

people look at daisuga and see the parents of karasuno, off to the sidelines while the main relationship has its ups and downs. and that’s okay......but daisuga literally have their own angsty story too!!! they’ve got some drama!!! they’ve got some development!!

WHO stayed with karasuno when the team was the flightless crows??? WHO stayed on karasuno after the failed second year ??? WHO stayed on the team after the fallout with asahi and noya ?????? when everyone was thinking that karasuno had lost its glory, that there was no hope left in sight, that they should give up and quit, WHO STAYED ON?????? WHO WAS DETERMINED TO SUPPORT KARASUNO NO MATTER WHAT???? DAICHI. AND. SUGA.

they could’ve quit. at multiple points. but they DIDN’T. they support each other and they support the team. when daichi suggested quitting the team after they lost to seijoh WHO encouraged him to stay? SUGA.

AND. HOW. IS. DAISUGA. ANGST. FREE?????

SUGA’S WHOLE CHARACTER ARC IS ABOUT FEELING WORTHLESS. HE’S SURPASSED BY KAGEYAMA. HE’S IN HIS FINAL YEAR OF VOLLEYBALL AND HE’S NOT EVEN ON THE TEAM’S STARTING LINEUP. HE’S GIVING OVER HIS POSITION TO A FIRST YEAR WITH ZERO EMOTIONAL/INTERPERSONAL SKILLS. do you know how HUMILIATING this is??? how ASHAMED he feels???? he’s the vice captain, he’s supposed to be the guy people look up to, and instead he has to hand it all over to a NEWBIE. he’s selfless and able to recognize it’s for the better, but STILL...

holy FUCK, in my opinion this is the opposite of the boring flavorless team parents thing certain people make it out to be. people praise haikyuu for its realism and attention to characterization and development, but somehow when it comes to suga they look away ??? your uwu sugamama has this whole arc going on, did you all forget??????

and daichi KNOWS. hE KNOWS SUGA FEELS INSECURE LIKE THIS. SO HE GOES OUT OF HIS WAY TO HYPE HIM UP. that proud “well, suga is a pretty darn good setter!” scene plays in my mind at random times.

rent. free.

he treats suga so gently. so sweetly. so much care and devotion in everything he does. suga’s always looking out for the team, but he’s always looking out for suga. in return suga’s the only person who really gets daichi. he’s the only one who can lecture daichi!!! because they have that bond, that trust between them, built ONLY OUT OF THEIR STRONG RELATIONSHIP AND BELIEF IN EACH OTHER.

and while i’m on the topic. can we talk about the way fandom depicts suga?

a bunch of hq characters have this fandom portrayal that’s so completely different from their canon personalities (e.g. fanon kuroo’s a sex god, fanon hinata is an innocent baby who can’t do anything. etc etc). but MY GOD. WHERE THE HELL DID SUGAMAMA COME FROM???? the suga that I KNOW isn’t an uwu soft angel who loves his little children....he’s a fucking CHAOTIC MENACE!!!! yes, he’s warm and kind to the first years, and is well-liked by the team because of this (he may not be an exceptional player, but he’s able to get karasuno to a good point when they play because of the respect and trust the rest of the team has in him).....but he’s also really mischievous?? and playful?? and just overall this really cool example of “hey, this guy seems like a nice, responsible upperclassman—oh shit, no he’s just as wild as the rest of them.” the guy. is EIGHTEEN. he’s an EIGHTEEN YEAR OLD DUDE. HE’S NOT A MOM. HE’S A SHIT WITH A HEART OF GOLD. he’s not running up to his children like “oh no! my poor babies! whatever have you gotten yourselves into?” he’s the INSTIGATOR.

OUR FIRST IMPRESSION OF SUGA IS HIM HELPING KAGEYAMA AND HINATA SNEAK INTO THE GYM FOR PRACTICE???????? THIS IS YOUR SOFT ANGEL��‘no swear words dear children~!” MOM???????

canon suga would bully fanon suga.

BUT HE’S STILL. SWEET. HE’S SO KIND. THERE’S STRENGTH IN KINDNESS. HE CAN BE BOTH. AND CERTAIN FANS DON’T GET THAT AND INSTEAD JUST BOX HIM INTO BEING A BORING HOUSEWIFE. AND THEN COMPLAIN ABOUT HIM BEING BORING. BRO .... FURUDATE DIDN’T MAKE SUGAMAMA THAT’S ALL ON YOU.....

KINDNESS!!!! DOES NOT!!!!!!!!! MAKE SOMEONE BORING!!!!!!!!!!!! FLAT CHARACTERIZATION MAKES SOMEONE BORING AND SUGA!!! ISN’T!!!! A FLAT CHARACTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IT’S NOT EITHER/OR IT’S NOT ONE OF TWO EXTREMES!!! he’s a BADASS but he’s also KIND!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOW!!! IS!!!!! THAT!!!!! BORING?!!!!!!

anyway back to daisuga.

suga is NOT some weak-willed housewife who can’t function without his husband. HE’S the one constantly knocking sense into daichi!!! they need each other, in the least codependent way.

daichi’s,,,,, a bit of an airhead??? he’s so obivious to yui’s feelings omg it’s so painfully funny to watch. and isn’t,,, isn’t he ALSO a bit of a mess?? i know i didn’t hallucinate him SETTING OFF THE FIRE ALARM WHILE FIGHTING WITH THE BASKETBALL CAPTAIN??? HELLO??????

BRO??!?!?!??!??!? THIS is your uptight responsible boring father figure??????

suga knows daichi’s a damn dork. he TEASES him about it because yes.....they have jOKES. they BANTER?? SUGA’S THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN DO THIS TO DAICHI.

and in return, DAICHI is the one who can really understand SUGA’S insecurities.

daichi keeps suga grounded (side note i learned daichi’s name means earth which is so fitting because he’s literally the strong core of the team....he holds it all together and that extends to suga).

and then people say they’re “boring” for being “bland and domestic?”

do you know what domesticity is a sign of?? a foundation of TRUST. a longstanding buildup of learning each other, of adjusting to letting another person into your life and heart. of letting yourself feel love and be loved in return, to a point where you don’t need flashy signs of love or extravagant displays of affection. because you know that you love and you know they love you back, and you know that it’s the deepest love from the innermost part of your soul that won’t fizzle out because you’re not constantly on edge, waiting for the next big event in your relationship. because you know that the love you feel now isn’t dependent on anything but the time and dedication you’ve put into cultivating such a relationship, and you make the decision to keep loving even if it’s “boring” or not as “exciting” as before. it’s not about sparks and butterflies at the sight of your partner anymore, but a steady assurance that this is the person who makes you feel like home.

that’s daisuga.

daichi keeps suga grounded, but suga keeps daichi looking onwards.

and that’s why, no matter what, daisuga is the relationship i have always come back to in my seven years as a haikyuu fan. it’s not about feeling the sparks of passion. it’s about feeling at home with the person who understands you best.

#daisuga #daichi #sugawara #haikyuu!!#meta #asked #anon

22 notes · View notes

thecorteztwins · 4 years ago

Text

@lgbtincomics - A pre-Marauders reading list for Shinobi Shaw! X-Factor (1st series) #67 - First appearance, kills his father (good for him) Uncanny X-Men (1st series) #281-283 - Bisexuality first implied. Tries to offer Fitzroy help with the Upstarts competition, Fitzroy responds by cutting off his finger and throwing the decapitated head of Donald Pierce in his bed. In revenge, Shinobi accidentally rescues Trevor Fitzroy from X-Men, thinking he’s in fact sabotaging Fitzroy killing the X-Men and gloats about that Uncanny X-Men (1st series) #299 - Other Upstarts are fighting, Shinobi just goes for the liquor cabinet while scolding “boys, boys!” X-Men (2nd series) #21-23: Shinobi invites a Japanese crime boss, Lord Nyorin, to his penthouse late at night. Nyorin is greeted with what I can only describe as an upskirt shot of Shinobi in a tiny towel, surrounded by scantily-clad men and women. Shinobi then stumbles around drunkenly while trying to convince Nyorin to kill the X-Men for him, saying “this is about your wants and my needs” and Nyorin calls him “unsutble”. Draw your own conclusions about that. He then attends a meeting with other members of the Japanese underworld to tell them just to leave his mother out of their schemes (what his mother had to do with this is never revealed) and then later Beast and Gambit burst in on him while he’s in the bath to interrogate him about the Upstarts. New Warriors (1st series) #43-44: Recruits Justice of The New Warriors as a lackey to do his dirty work because Shinobi is so damn lazy even other villains make fun of him for it. Justice takes him up on it in X-Men (2nd series) #29: Shinobi invites Archangel to attend a Hellfire ball. The invitation is written in loopy pink ink and has a lacey border. It’s also perfumed. Jubilee makes a “Liberace” comparison in case we’re still not getting it. We learn that Shinobi and Warren were childhood friends (well, friends from Shinobi’s POV, Warren just remembers him as this kid who was always tagging along after him) and now Shinobi wants him to be his White King. A confrontation ensues between Archangel and Psylocke, who came along, revealing in Psylocke’s powers revealing Shinobi’s traumatic childhood at the hands of his abusive father, and they leave Shinobi alone in the Hellfire Club basement. This one broke my heart, you guys. X-Force (1st series) #32: The Younghunt contest has begun among the Upstarts,in which they compete to kidnap other mutants. Not being one to do his own work, as mentioned, Shinobi asks Justice to bring him Firestar. Firestar is Justice’s girlfriend, but Shinobi points out that at least with him, Firestar is safer than she would be with the other Upstarts. New Warriors (1st series) #45 - Justice delivers Firestar to Shinobi, who promises him that they’ll use Firestar just like they discussed: as bait to get them inside the assassination parlor, and from there to use the other captured young mutants to overthrow not only the Upstarts but the Gamesmaster himself! Shinobi also makes the hilarious claim that he’s not an idiot. It’s hilarious because he absolutely is. X-Force (1st series) #33 : Shinobi once again gets ambushed and interrogated in the bath, this time by X-Force. They also throw Bantam, Fitzroy’s sidekick, in there with him. Bantam says he hopes Shinobi is wearing swim trunks...and I don’t think he is. [X-Men Annual (2nd series) #3: Being an X-Men villain, Shinobi of course has to try to brainwash Storm into joining him. Also he grows drug plants in his apartment penthouse, which surprises me zero, Shin absolutely strikes me as a pot-smoker at the least. Generation X Annual 1995: Cordelia Frost shows up in lingerie at the Hellfire Club trying to get Shinobi to give her Emma Frost’s former position of White Queen. Shinobi, who regards her as a child (and rightly so, she’s sixteen here) refuses, and she tries to buy her way in by offering him a powerful mutant, Mondo. This also does not work, and Shinobi lazily drinks his champagne as a bunch of other bad guys burst in and kidnap Mondo while Cordelia screams at him. It’s hilarious and I love them, I wish they had been a baby Hellfire Club together! X-Force (1st series) #62: Hearing that his father might not be so very dead, Shinobi fearfully begins funding a machine that can deprive mutants of their powers. As test subjects, Karma’s younger siblings are used. This is the first time I think we see Shinobi be truly evil/heartless---previously, he never actually hurt anyone in the Upstarts besides his abusive dad, and he comes off more as trying to make friends in a weird way. Likewise, his conflicts with the X-Men were from botched recruitment attempts. But this is straight-up hurting children because he’s afraid of the man who hurt HIM as a child. Also features the sole appearance of Mindmeld, his gender-ambiguous bodyguard. [X-Necrosha #1, X-Force (3rd series) #21-22: Poor Shinobi, it seems his father got him after all, because he turns up as one of the zombies that Selene resurrects during Necrosha. He comes after Sebastian, but alas does not succeed in killing him again. Uncanny X-Men (5th series) #20: Randomly alive again with no explanation, Shinobi and the other Upstarts kill the Nasty Boys so they won’t be manipulated by Emma Frost, and Shinobi kills himself for the same reason. No, it doesn’t make any sense and it’s very upsetting. X-MEN ‘92 (second series) This series, which was published in 2017 but takes place in 1992, is an alternate universe setting that nonetheless captured a lot of true Shinobi-ness in this portrayal, hence why I list it in addition to his 616 appearances #2: First appearance in this series, drawn with Wolverine hair because the artist seems to have mixed him up with MATSU’O TSURABAYA who was another Japanese X-Men character from the 90s. I wrote in about this and he was drawn probably ever since. I’m not saying it was definitely because of my letter but I like to think it was. #8: Shinobi Shaw and Trevor Fitzroy were presumed dead, it turns out Shinobi decided to fuck off on a Thailand cruise for weeks and bring Fitzroy with him and I LOVE THIS IDIOT SO MUCH. In his own words, “Who wants to spend all day thinking up ways to kill the X-Men when you could be playing shuffleboard with Miss November?” And then Cassandra Nova and Apocalypse crash on to his boat. #10: The Upstarts join the X-Men to save the world. Shinobi, the voice of reason for once in his life, asks his teammate whether anyone has thought about what happens when this is over, and the X-Men remember that they have been trying to kill them. Shinobi is a delight and a personal fave of mine! He’s definitely a product of the time he was written in, and has done a lot of very bad things, but he’s also very much a stupid, harmless villain who is too dumb, cowardly, and traumatized to really take seriously as truly “evil” so much as very messed up and emotionally stunted due to abuse. At least that’s how I feel about him. But by all means, read and decide for yourself!

#shinobi shaw #xmen #x men #xmen villains #lgbtincomics #masterlist #reading list #out of cortez

42 notes · View notes

ofhomeland-a · 5 years ago

Text

hello happy new year ! even though i’ve been on tumblr on and off for almost like 8 years or something , i’ve only been writing dinah on tumblr since october 23rd and even though i don’t interact with nearly as many people as i’d like to , it warms my heart that this many people enjoy what i write ! they enjoy my portrayal and they share the same love that i have for my muse , and that means everything to me ! because dinah madani ? oh , boy ... she stomped into my own home and snatched my own heart from my chest ; i love her so much , and i love writing her character so much . so uh , i know this is such an ugly post , but i was taken by surprise when i took a quick look through my followers this morning .

first of all , i want to thank each and every one of you for following me and wanting to interact . i appreciate you all not only for enjoying my content and portrayal , but just for existing and getting through it all . you’re here , it’s about to be a new year , and i’m proud of you for that .

second , i do want to shout at a few people real quick because that’s what people do on these things , right ?

CLOSEST FRIENDS

@agentstein / @catwalksilhouette / @brightwasright / @finaldisorder — we’ve been at this for almost a decade . we met on this hellsite and we formed a relationship on this hellsite and now you’re my best friend and fiance . you support me and indulge all of my weird ass ideas . nothing is too ‘ far out ’ for you ; you never make me feel insecure about my characters or ideas . love that for me . love that for us . you’re the best and i’m just so thankful we met on our jim and molly blogs so feckin’ long ago . you’re the light in my life , and the main reason i continue on . as with every relationship , there are bumps , but god damn we work through them like the champions we are . keep on keepin�� on , you funky little love bug . i love you more than life .

@kingoftheravens / @apogexn — *slaps top of head* this bad boy can fit so many creative ideas in it !!!! no but really , no matter how often i disappear , vicious is DEADASS always here to welcome me back with open arms with zero guilt trips or anything like that . we met ( briefly ) on this blue hellsite like 5+ years ago , and i always really looked up to her as a person and her amazing world building . she was actually one of the first people i met when i made loki all those years ago , so ofc when i saw her url floating around once i made brock , i had to reach out despite being scared to , and i’m so glad i did . <3 vicious , ily and you’re just spectacular . thank you for being such an awesome friendo .

@kupale / @hadncchoice — GOBS i know you aren’t here , but i miss you terribly . we’ve been through ... a lot together LMAO but we came out stronger because of it ! i’m so glad you decided to stick around , and i’m so glad we stuck with each other through it ! i know i speak for milo too when i say this , but you’re amazing . you’re a trooper and you’re going to keep trooping on . i miss you !!!! <3

@soulstcne — !!!!!! this is another one that is literally always here and ready to welcome me back with open arms whenever i disappear and decide to come back . i can never repay your kindness and patience , but i absolutely appreciate it more than anything . shauna is always ready to plot and just spitball ideas ALL day and i love it so much ! also ashley ?? whew , she’s just as amazing <333

BABES

@zombleeds / @griefends / @whisperswar — MELANIE . ICB !!! i know i’ve said this 100 times , but i remember being in awe of your frank when i wrote on my bucky and i’m just SO glad i decided to reach out to you !!! i know once i stop being a massive potato , we are going to write beautiful and heart breaking things >) thank you for being so positively amazing !!!

@jigscw — i know we don’t talk often , but i just wanted to thank you for always indulging my random IM’s screaming about either dinah & billy or krista & billy . you’re honestly really easy to talk to , and your billy is just CHEF KISS . i love him !!! i love the way you write him ! the tone !!! HHHH everything . thank you for writing with me !

@cynicomplex — listen i know we don’t talk a whole lot , but i appreciate you so much ! i love how open you are to my dumb ideas , and you always support them ! i also love how much i love our two idiots here ..... they’re so dumb and i just can’t with them . i know we’ve only written a few things together , and haven’t really gotten too far in any of them , but the chemistry between dinah and devrah is undeniable ! soon they’ll see they belong together ... soon ...

@affcgato / @readyforyours / @idumean / @takeseffort / @huntersprayer — i’m so glad i accidentally liked a random thread between you and someone else , because it MADE me reach out in order to apologize for being awkward . i’ve always loved your characterization , no matter the muse . you’re such a sweet and amazing person , i’m really glad we’ve started talking !! also , i just want to point out that fact that you’re incredibly strong , and i am so proud of you !! for getting through the BS that you did !!! and the fact that you’re able to come back ,,, <3 i really hope to plot with you very soon ( with any of your muses ! ) but i just ned to stop being Potato first !!!

@tocxmply — I KNOW I’M A SLOW ASS POTATO , but we’re 2 replies into our thread and it’s already got me feelin’ some type of way . i love your take on bucky , i love your writing , and i love your dedication . thank you so much for not only following me , but also entertaining my ideas and helping me plot something wonderful . you’re wonderful !

@hakune — !!!!! we haven’t written yet , but when we do .... oh the dash isn’t prepared for it !!! i love your characterization , your write all of your muses with such dedication and love , it’s amazing to see . also your energy on the dash ? top notch . i’m living for it !!

@warhunting / @blcckbiird / @knifesavvy — i’m sorry you have to put up with so much from shitty people in your inbox . every time i see it , it makes me so angry . but honestly , you’re such a strong person and i’m proud of you for continuing to do what you love ! also rick and dinah ? cuties . i hope to continue developing them in 2020 !

@ikumkani / @sundiety — wow ... your conviction . your energy !!!! your writing !!!!!!! i really admire you and T’Challa , like ... you write him and about him with such a dedicated passion , i can FEEL it radiating from every word ! i love the fact that i can hear his voice in my head with every word , and those headcanons ??? i can’t . also hold on a second , SOL CAME INTO MY OWN HOME and stole my heart , okay . i love her concept , i love her ! i love reading about her , and learning more about her . thank you so much for blessing my dash with your wonderful creations .

@putrifyre — i’ve said it once and i’ll say it 100 more times : I LOVE TASS . I LOVE HIM !!!! I LOVE EVERYTHING YOU HAVE ABOUT HIM . i love how emotional he is !! how loving he is toward his SO’s ! how Soft™ he can be !!! one wouldn’t expect it coming from someone like him , and that really just adds so much to his character ! i’m in love with everything you have for him !! and then you !! oh , you’re a gem ! i know we’ve only spoken a few times , mainly because i’m Shit with keeping up w people , but you’re so ,,, nice . you’re so easy to talk to !!

@arrowfcrged — !!! omg I LOVE victor , and I LOVE his and dinah’s dynamic so much . and i LOVE how sweet you are ! you’re very welcoming , very fun , and you’re always up for plotting and tossing ideas around ! love that ! thank you so much for writing with me , and for inadvertently helping me figure out dinah’s own sort of vigilante verse . writing with you definitely assisted in fleshing her reasoning out , and it’s wonderful that i was able to do that with you <3

LOVELIES

@cthlicdevil / @warstrike / @boundedbygrief / @elataan / @lcdiablcblanc / @stormweathered / @riddel / @deferentially / @rouqehair / @deivll / @venomtm / @hoyled / @prcsopa / @sniperwithasmoke / @br6vo / @detectiev / @dunnithole / @wardogsong / @hittcr / @fbiartist / @huntreborn / @becomedeviant / @craene / @warcharged / @lasw3ll / @childhealcr / @standsready / @tlmebreaks / @codedhonor / @marredset / @aresblessed / @avocadefense / @fairdoves / @wristful / @falsedking / @hlekter / @miserybled / @cadisfly / @brightprofiler / @healsiick / @thestarskiller / @palespyder / @shitgiven / @ashtouch / @awbartonno / @hopeswrath / @geneticempath / @conflyct / @lucifeyr / @tapewormking / @suppetior

happy new year , everyone ! let’s make it a great one <3

#ooc. / oh worm?#(ooc.)#long post.#aaaa here's this

37 notes · View notes

heymusings · 5 years ago

Text

The Mummy and Mummy Returns need more appreciation in terms of sheer cinematic value. It may not seem like a work of art compared to large budget films that have rocked box offices but I think of it as an example of perfect cinematic enjoyment.

Genre and Gender--- these movies are unique in the adventure and action genre. First, I could probably count on one hand the number of films that feature a woman in a leading role within the genre-- let alone one that I enjoyed. Second, I love that Eve is arguably the lead character and she isn’t overtly sexy or constantly fighting off the bad guys while ridiculously clothed. She is not given some incredibly ridiculous skill set. In fact, most female leads that I can think of in this genre are presented in order to appeal to male audiences; meaning, many of the action/adventure films that feature female leads are actually films made to appeal to men over women (because why would I want to watch that genre...I am only allowed to watch chick flicks). These women are often expert fighters but they do their fighting in a way that is constantly reminding audiences that they are women or their skill set is so high that it is unrealistic (and would be even if the character were male).

Instead, The Mummy concentrates more on building realistic female characters that suite the genre and story being told (not appealing to the male gaze or even the female gaze).

Rather than being a femme fatale, the female lead is an intelligent, witty, and bookish woman who literally knows more about Egyptology than any man there. It is actually Evelyn's brains rather than brawn or weaponry that is more necessary to defeating the mummy. It is her intelligence that is emphasized-- in an adventure film-- that isn’t often seen, especially for a woman. Funnily enough, Evelyn in the first film is rather awkward in many ways-- through the entire film. She doesn’t have this miraculous transformation into a badass who can kill you with a single punch.

Evelyn even wears more practical clothing and never once becomes scantily clad (for whatever reason). It is her intelligence rather than her sexuality that pushes the story forward and attracts the male protagonist Rick to her. But damn if she isn’t physically attractive as well...it’s just not the most important thing.

It isn’t until the sequel where Evelyn, still arguably the focus of the film, becomes more physically able. However, this transformation makes more sense seeing as it is several years after the first film and it is implied that she has been involved in several expeditions and learned some fighting skills from Rick. Her skills remain on a realistic level and still, her gender is not a focus. Even with her new skills, it is still her intelligence that is emphasized.

All that really needs to be said: The story concentrates on a fun adventure science fiction rather than perpetuating gender stereotypes.

Characters--

I can actually see every character in this film as being real. These are not characters who are not impossibly skilled in seemingly all things nor are they what I would call “Hollywood perfect” by falling neatly into one stereotypical role and having their looks be a major factor in their portrayal. These characters/people even look realistic-- a fact that I find makes them much more attractive. They all have there own individual skills but they do screw up far more often than other action heroes do, yet they are able to realistically get out of the dangers they find themselves in.

Rick is far from the typical heroic character-- he spends a great deal fo the film screaming. He is quippy, which is typical of heroes within the genre, but the true difference is that I find him actually likable and his quips don’t come off as...arrogant or sexist, which is also typical within the genre. He is skilled in combat but not in seemingly every form of combat, and the combat he is skilled in isn’t often useful to him in the situations he ends up in, forcing him to get creative (also showing he is smart and resourceful).

Johnathan is bumbling and often clumsy (similar to Evie) which often leads him to be under estimated, but he is actually highly intelligent, which you see signs of throughout the films, he just simply doesn’t have much interest in intellectual pursuits to flex how smart he can be. He can even be a quick thinker when necessary. But where Evie is fairly ruled by intellectual pursuits Johnathan is not, in fact, he is mostly lazy...he’s just looking for his opportunity to get rich and live it up; treasure hunting seems to be the best way to accomplish that for him.

What I love even more is that he actually doesn’t let his interest in riches interfere with his relationships. You don’t see a lot of characters who have an interest in gold come out on top or be particularly good people, especially in this genre of film.

Comedy---

I find it continuously difficult to enjoy comedy, even in comedy films. Comedy becomes dangerous in other film genres if not used appropriately. I can honestly say the Mummy brand of humor is top notch and arguably the best in film. It is perfectly suited for the adventure film and works with the characters rather than seeming out of place or out of character, and it certainly doesn’t take the humor too far (which is often the main issue I have with humor in most movies). The best humor comes from how the very different and very real character interacts with each other and react to the events taking place-- their reactions are often used to create humor, but to also emphasize their characters and the situation and it is not over the top reactive or obvious (like LOOK AT ME I AM BEING FUNNY). What I mean is, the humor is purposeful and used sparingly where it makes sense; it’s not there just for a laugh and that makes it all the more humorous.

Supporting Characters

Unless they are villainous characters, which are fairly cut and dry, want to take over the world it might be a little more difficult to pick out supporting characters. The vast majority of the characters in the films are purposeful and well developed to the point of arguably being equally important and not pushed to the side near as often as is often the case of such characters. Ardeth and Jonathan come to mind-- they are obviously not the main characters but without them, the story would turn out very different. Because they are also given nearly equal if not completely equal screen time

Romance--

Romance is constantly a sub-genre in adventure film...one which I both love and hate. As a woman, I admit I like a little romance filtered in. What I absolutely despise in how it is almost ALWAYS depicted as...well, underdeveloped and focused almost solely on the idea that “hey, you look good, I look good, let’s do it and at some point, you’ll the damsel and I’ll be manly and brave enough to save you.” These films have REAL romance. Sure, Rick and Evie are physically attracted to each other, but there is zero sex and their attraction is emphasized more by their intellectual connection and genuine appreciation for each other than their physical attraction. Even better, the get to know each other in traditional ways-- talking, arguing, awkward and adorable shows of affection, and gifts that clearly represent an understanding of the person being gifted (such as Rick giving Evie a set of archeology tools).

#the mummy #the mummy returns #period #rick and evie #film #things fangirls say

218 notes · View notes

killjoy-loveit · 5 years ago

Text

Just As The Sun Rises

A/N: I would like to clarify that everything written in this story is complete fiction and isn’t to be taken as a true portrayal of reality. This is written in 2nd POV, and is a request. Though I wasn’t sure if they meant Enemies to Lovers instead of Lovers to Enemies so I decided to write both. This is the first part, however the next will be Lovers to Enemies so if you want a happy ending do NOT read the part that comes after this.

Excerpt: That night you called your best friend the second you were at home; the phone ringing in your hand as the shoes on your feet were kicked off by the door. By the time she answered you had a large glass of wine in your hand, sitting on the balcony, watching the night sky. Of course it was natural for you to rant and rave about Jun, just as it was for her to soothe your frayed nerves before the tables were turned.

Word Count: 2,947

Genre: Office AU, Coworkers AU, Enemies to Lovers AU, angst, fluff (towards the end)

Ever since you can remember… Wait, no, that’s not right. Approximately five years ago, you landed the job of your dreams- in one of the top companies in its field. That’s much better. And of those five years, only two were spent peacefully. That is not to say that after those first two years work became unenjoyable, but rather that a person was added to your department that mixed things up. He was as close to your opposite as a person could get, personality-wise. This guy was loud and outgoing, whereas you were quiet and reserved. He was the type of person that grated on your nerves, despite being a charmer that could befriend everyone else. And his name was Jun.

Over the next three years at your company after Jun was hired, you did your best to avoid him. There was only so much you could do to put off working with him, as you were in the same department. Except it was evident to the point he recognized your efforts to steer clear of him, to which his response was to be around you as often as possible. This only proved to annoy you further, and from then on you gave up trying to avoid him. Tensions rose between you, slights whipped at each other upon almost every encounter. All of this is what has aided in the inevitable blow out that’s occurring right now.

It’s about eight at night, every other person apart from yourself and Jun have since left work. This situation was unavoidable; actually, it’s astounding you’ve made it this long without ending up like this before. To be more detailed in what’s currently happening, there’s a screaming match happening between the two of you. Something that had started so small, as a slight difference in opinion over the color scheme that would be best-suited for a major sport’s brand ad campaign, has spiraled into a full-blown verbal sparring.

“It doesn’t matter what shade of red it is- it’s still red!” You shouted, arms flying up into the air in aggravation.

“But a darker red would give off a completely different feel than a bright red!” Jun’s voice was tight with frustration.

You rolled your eyes at his attempt to justify using red in this advertisement. “I don’t care, Jun! The emotions we want to be evoked would be destroyed if we use red. Have you forgotten that we’re trying to invoke the sense of luxury and trust? That our brand has been around for close to a hundred years, and in that time they’ve always had a sterling reputation!”

“No, I haven’t. I just think-.”

You cut him off. “You think you can change the emotions that colors evoke? I’m sorry but even if we could, it’d be to risky for this campaign! The company trusts us, not to mention the amount they’re paying for this is more than we’ve received before. If you don’t recall that we’re still a relatively small company, such a huge project is our chance to prove ourselves! Do you want to risk our company’s future on the color red?”

Jun let out a frustrated huff, set his jaw and crossed his arms. But you could see it in his eyes- defeat. He knew you were right. “Fine.”

Just like that your argument was over and you both went back to putting the finishing touches on the draft that you’d present to the sports company. Within the next hour the draft was finished and you were packing up for the night. Normally when one of you left you never said a word to the other, lest it turn into another sparring match of insults. However, tonight seemed to be an exception.

Right as you reached the elevators, Jun’s voice rang out. “Night. Don’t yell at the colors you see as you go home because they don’t match their specific themes, you might come off as odd.”

You snorted. “Better to be obsessed with the right color themes than not give a damn and screw everything up.” With that you stepped into the elevator and watched the doors close, leaving Jun in the office alone.

That night you called your best friend the second you were at home; the phone ringing in your hand as the shoes on your feet were kicked off by the door. By the time she answered you had a large glass of wine in your hand, sitting on the balcony, watching the night sky. Of course it was natural for you to rant and rave about Jun, just as it was for her to soothe your frayed nerves before the tables were turned. See, that was just what the two of you did; one would rant and the other listen and calm them, then it would switch so the other could vent.

When the call eventually ended, the sky had become significantly darker- an indication that it was high past time for you to make your way to bed. As you prepared for bed, your mind strayed to a world where you went to work happy and stayed that way. Not that your job didn’t make you happy, it was one of the best things about your life. It’s just that anger wasn’t something that was meant to be ever-present in line with a dream job such as this. But just as the sun would rise tomorrow, your vehement feelings of animosity towards Jun would continue- that fact was undeniable in your eyes.

Weeks passed by. The project you’d been fighting with Jun about that one night had since been completed, which had provided more than enough fodder to fuel your jibes for the next couple of months. Scornful remarks between the two of you had become so commonplace that none of your coworkers, nor your boss, ever batted an eye at your antics. That all changed when she was hired. If there was something you disliked more than loud people who knew no boundaries, it was know-it-all snobs that refused to hear a different opinion.

That’s the type of person she was, Annie, the new hire you wanted to strangle more than Jun- which in itself was a magnificent feat. Luckily, you weren’t in charge of training her, or that might have become a very real possibility. Even though you had her on your radar, and she grated your nerves like nothing else, the feud between Jun and yourself raged on. Before moving on to what happens next, you should recall that no one was ever as harsh to Jun as you were- that was something reserved to you and you alone. This is probably the reason you reacted the way you did.

Jun had the absolute pleasure (sarcasm, my dear) of working with Annie before you did, about a month after she was hired. Annie was still green, but she acted as if she’d been present in the advertisement field for years- despite already making a plethora of mistakes on the small responsibilities she had. There was no doubt in your mind that she wouldn’t last long, she’d eventually make a large mistake and get fired for it.

It was about noon, a lot of your coworkers had already left for lunch, but a couple remained trying to iron details out before losing their train of thought. Among those were Annie and Jun, and from what you could hear, they were arguing. You tried to push their argument to the back of your head, but that proved difficult as voices rose. Realizing that you’d never get to finish your proposal for a cat food company’s campaign until their argument was resolved, you steeled yourself and headed over in an attempt to get them to shut up.

You walked over just in time to catch the rest of Annie’s rant, which was completely undignified. “-And you can’t even choose the right colors for this project! You never seem to be able to shut up, and you kind of lack professionalism what with your volume always being raised above an appropriate manner for an office. It doesn’t even seem like you do anything important around here either, I just don’t understand why you work here or why they keep you around.”

Annie flipped her hair over her shoulder and crossed her arms, lips pursing as she stuck Jun with a look that screamed superiority. Something about hearing her tear into him that way left your blood boiling. Who did she think she was? Coming in here all of a month and thinking she knew anything about any one of your coworkers enough to berate them. Especially as a newbie at that, a person hired straight from college, who had zero experience in this industry. Before Jun could form a rebuttal to defend himself, you stepped up next to him, a fire burning in your eyes.

“I’m sorry,” You snapped, head tilting to the side in annoyance. “But who do you think you are? I get that Jun’s use of colors is unusual, but there are some clients who actually love his differing view on colors. Not to mention that he’s been in this company for three years because he’s good at his job. I’ve been around long before you, and even him, and I know that there have been times where he pulled all-nighters to finish a project before the deadline.

“And yes, he’s loud, and that can be annoying, but sometimes that’s just what this office needs. You on the other hand,” You snarl, taking a step forward and pointing your finger directly at her. “Have yet to prove your worth; what with your little mistakes here and there that you don’t see as a big deal. Those mistakes, if they weren’t caught by your superiors, could prove to be a disaster for some campaigns. So how about you turn that snark onto yourself and figure out how to do your job properly before you get fired for being an ignorant snob.”

There were a few remarks you said in addition that are far too cruel to write down, and by the time you finished your rant she had tears in her eyes. A part of you disliked making her cry, but another, larger part, felt a twisted sense of satisfaction upon seeing the tears slip down her cheeks. Turning around you grabbed Jun’s hand and pulled him to the elevator with you, punching the button to call it to the floor you were on. Once inside, you pushed the button to take you to the roof, which you reached in dead silence- your hand burning hot around Jun’s wrist.

After standing on the roof for a minute, calming yourself, you twisted your head to look at Jun, who stood beside you with a perplexed look on his face. But before you could say anything his mouth was open and he asked a question that froze you in place.

“Why did you do that?”

Why did you do that? It shouldn’t have bothered you so much to see someone berating Jun. You, after all, were always annoyed at him and throwing jarring insults his way. There was only one thing you could say to justify your actions, and even to your own ears it sounded like a pathetic excuse just a few words from the truth. “She doesn’t know you, she has no right to make such assumptions of your character.”

“And you do?” Jun crossed his arms, fixing you with a stare that spoke volumes.

“I know you better than she does.” You retorted, annoyed that he was questioning you like this.

“What do you know about me?”

“I know that you’re annoying, for one. But other than that, I know that you’re a professional. You care about others as much as you are loud. You’re more hardworking than a lot of our coworkers, but you never say anything to them about it. And I know that you shouldn’t have let Annie speak to you like that, so why did you?”

His stance changed from defensive to insecure. “There was some truth in her words.” Jun whispered, eyes on the ground.

You rolled your eyes at him. “Just because I get pissed at your volume problems doesn’t mean everyone else is. Besides, you’re like the energizer bunny at work. You can somehow manage to recharge everyone’s energy with one of your energetic words- that’s not something to be taken lightly. So,” Stepping forward you patted his shoulder. “You shouldn’t let her walk over you again. Next time you should knock her down a peg or two.”

The words you left unspoken were left hanging in the air, much too loud for words that never left your mind. Before the elevator doors shut, Jun replied. “I think you already did.”

From then on, your never-ending battle of insults with Jun cooled down. It didn’t stop entirely, it just wasn’t as intense and bloodthirsty as it used to be. You even started to joke around together, which was an odd sight for all of your coworkers who were used to you being at each other’s throats twenty-four seven. Slowly, you spent more time together, starting with lunch. Jun would drag you out to his favorite places nearby most days, and he never let you get away with saying you had to work through lunch. His rationale was that everybody needs a break, otherwise you can’t put forth your best effort.

Eventually you even started making plans together after work, something that was prompted by you rather than Jun. Where he would drag you to lunch, you tended to drag him to clubs or bars to unwind after stressful projects. During this time you learned of each other’s habits, pasts, and dreams of the future; all of the small things that made you tick. How he took his coffee, what he liked in a good wine or whiskey, his favorite color. How you dreamed of becoming an executive of the company, that you thought dark chocolate was divine, what managed to calm you.

This new friendship grew to the point where you couldn’t understand why you’d held such vehement feelings of anger toward him. Obviously you still understood that he could be annoying, but isn’t everyone? Your teasing became more light-hearted, no venom laced into the jibes you made towards each other. Walks in the late evenings became a ritual for the two of you on the weekends, talking of work was forbidden on these walks. They were meant solely for unwinding, taking in the scenery, the surrounding environment. It was on these walks that hidden feelings brewed, the kind you tried to deny but knew were true in the back of your mind.

To mark the time, it’s been about a year since your knock-down drag-out fight with Jun in the office about the color scheme of that sports campaign. The sun is low in the sky, such a beautiful blend of yellow and orange hues with the encroaching deep blues and purples. Wind blowing gently as to softly rustle your hair in the cool evening. In the background you hear people milling about, laughing and chattering, yet somehow their liveliness doesn’t reach the two of you.

No, you are both caught in the serenity of watching the water flow and focused on the sounds of nature around you. You look at him out of the corner of your eye, it’s not the first time you note his beauty, but it is the most prominent. Lost in thought, you hardly notice that you’ve turned completely to look at him. He’s too entranced by the sun setting over the river to notice where your gaze lay.

“It’s so beautiful.” Jun whispers, eyes glimmering.

The words that come out of your mouth next came unwittingly. “You’re beautiful.”

For a moment he doesn’t react, and you think he might not have heard you. A relieved breath is cut in half when he slowly turns his head to look at you. “You think I’m beautiful?”

“I- Well, I…” You trail off before ramping up the nerve to say it outright. “Yes, Park Junhee, I think you’re one of the most beautiful people I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

He looks away, smiling bashfully, a blush covering his cheeks. “Thank you.” Time passes by in a comfortable silence as you watch the sky gradually darken. It’s when the sky has turned a royal blue with stars beginning to appear that you hear him say, in a voice so soft you’d think it’s in your head, “I think you’re beautiful too.”

Meeting his gaze, you see a sort of adoration shining in them. Your next move is fueled by the air surrounding you two; a heady blend of calm, simmering attraction. Lips pressed gently against his for a brief moment, before pulling back to gauge his reaction. Worry began to filter through your being as the thought crossed your mind that you might have been alone in your feelings. However that growing concern was dashed when he stepped forward, hand cupping your face, and kissed you.

Never in a million years would you have expected to be kissing Jun, your annoying coworker and best friend, someone you used to harbor feelings of hatred for. Then again you never would have expected to be working the job you do, or living in the apartment that is your current abode. But isn’t that just what life is, always filled with the unexpected? Sometimes in less than desirable ways, and others in the most whimsical fashion. And now you knew, that just as the sun rises, your feelings towards Jun would remain.

#a.c.e #a.c.e fanfic #a.c.e scenarios #a.c.e scenario #a.c.e jun #a.c.e jun scenarios #a.c.e jun scenario #a.c.e junhee #a.c.e park junhee #acewritingsnet

63 notes · View notes

ultimatemoonshadow · 4 years ago

Text

THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; mun & muse.

fill out & repost !

tagged by: no one lol tagging: @musingchaos (whichever muse/s you want), @a-bitter-resentment and anyone else who wants to do this!

my muse is: canon / oc / au / canon-divergent / fandomless / complicated

Is your character popular in the fandom? YES / NO

Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom? YES / NO / IDK.

Is your character considered strong in the fandom? YES / NO / IDK

Are they underrated? YES / NO / IDK

Were they relevant for the main story? YES / NO.

Were they relevant for the main character? YES / NO

Are they widely known in their world? YES / NO/ KINDA?

How’s their reputation? GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL / COMPLICATED AS FUCK

How strictly do you follow canon? — canon? What’s that?

SELL YOUR MUSE! Aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutuals. — Do you like edgy badass characters with a tragic backstory and unhealthy coping mechanisms? Then you came to the right god damn place bitches! Over here we got one premium Shadow “Moon” the hedgehog ripe for the picking! And if you order now, you get 10% off on the emotional baggage! He’s a soft spoken introvert with a deep love for nature and animals but he will not hesitate to kick your ass if you disrespect him or those he cares for. He’s kind hearted and loyal, always stepping forward to help those in need, even at the cost of his own physical or mental wellbeing. Plus he’s soft! Extra floof! Much floof must buy!

Now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?). — He’s very traumatized and depressed and this often makes it hard for him to open up or trust others. He’s quick to push others away and distance himself when he fears he is getting to close. Also it’s another Shadow blog. How many fucking blogs for him even exist at this point?

What inspired you to rp your muse? — I’ve always loved the broken characters with a hard personality and dark backstory. When I first got into Sonic, Shads was the first character I was drawn to. Writing him comes so naturally and I can very easily relate to him.

What keeps your inspiration going? — inspiration? What’s that? No, but in all seriousness, I have to say my mutuals/friends and fanart and the like. And music. Music always helps.

Some more personal questions for the mun.

Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters. So I tend to go from very clingy to completely distancing myself. This is due to some past trauma that makes me both desperately want friends but also push said friends away out of fear. I also lose inspiration so easily and tend to go days or weeks without writing replies. This is due to irl crap, mental health issues and just zero motivation.

Do you think you give your character justice? YES / NO / I’D LIKE TO HOPE SO

Do you frequently write headcanons? Ehhh. I don’t write them. I create a shit ton but never really write them down. They mostly float around in my head, lost in the void that is my mind.

Do you sometimes write drabbles? YES / NO

Do you think a lot about your Muse during the day? YES / NO

Are you confident in your portrayal? YES / NO

Are you confident in your writing? YES / NO.

Are you a sensitive person? YES / NO.

Do you accept criticism about your portrayal? About my portrayal? No. It’s my portrayal and I would die for Moon. I do however accept ideas, your thoughts and opinions, etc. And constructive criticism on my writing of course. I’m always up to learn how to write better!

Do you like questions, which help you explore your character? — Absolutely!

If someone disagrees to a headcanon of yours, do you want to know why? — Eh depends on the headcanon. Again, my portrayal, my headcanons. I’ve spent a long time creating my boi Moon and I’ve made it clear that he is very heavily headcanon based and canon divergent. So if someone disagrees, that’s alright, but don’t be an asshole to me about it.

If someone disagrees with your portrayal, how would you take it? — Unfollow me if you don’t like my portrayal. There are plenty of other Shadow rpers out there that you may prefer.

If someone really hates your character, how do you take it? — Then why the fuck are you here? If you don’t like the character, then don’t bitch about it. Instead go to a fandom you enjoy.

Are you okay with people pointing out your grammatical errors? — Absolutely. I’m very scatterbrained and often forget words when I type super fast. Always let me know if there are errors in my writing!

Do you think you are easy going as a mun? — Yep. I’m really shy and socially anxious when it comes to interacting with others, but I’m quick to offer help or plot ideas if anyone needs it. Although I will not hesitate to snap your spine if you harm or hurt any of my friends or you shit on the things I hold dear.

#All Hail Shadow~Dash Games #Out of Chaos~ooc #I am the Ultimate Lifeform~about #Munstuff #it's 2 in the morning #insomnia is fun

3 notes · View notes

upthehillask · 5 years ago

Note

i’d love to hear your cursed child opinions!

Oh boy, well now you’ve unleashed me :D lol I don’t know if you’re interested more in what I loved or in what I’d critique, so I’ll go for both I guess? And you can read whichever you like :) But tbh you won’t hear anything new from me that you haven’t heard other fans talk about. Anyways, here are my thoughts on the actual play: [Spoiler alert I guess!]

Things I loved:

- THE MAGIC!!! The effects were EVERYTHING. The time warp, the telephone booth, the floo, the underwater, the dementors, the writings on the walls, and so much more… Really cool!!! And I loved the whole vibe and aesthetic of the play too, it felt authentic and fitting! THE SWISHY CLOAKS!! I want them!!

- The scenes I especially enjoyed were Harry’s nightmares, glimpses into his past and scenes from the books in general. I think they executed those quite well, made me really soft! Especially the scenes of little Harry in his cupboard and also him in the graveyard. Gripped my heart. Oh, I also loved that they finally showed Cedric in the end, he was so perfect!!

- Draco. Yes yes yes to dad Draco. Still bitchy, pretentious, and petty, trying so hard to play cool and tough, but a pained softie deep inside—we STAN. The relationship between him and his son I CRI EVRITIEM!!! Draco in the alternative timeline letting Scorpius do what he believes in, Draco in the real timeline hugging his son, I LIVE. And oh my god that scene where Draco walked in to Harry crying.. GOD. Yes emotions, yes vulnerability, yes bonding, yes yes yes. (Though I still can’t get over the ponytail. Would’ve been more than fine if Lucius hadn’t been portrayed with long hair lol)

- I loved Albus!! He’s a good Slytherin boy! That’s all I have to say. He’s a good friend and son who tries his best. I liked him a lot, more so now after watching the play. He really did remind me of Harry in a lot of ways. (Also, unpopular opinion, but I always loved Albus Severus’ name and I always will, fight me.)

- And just all the dad-son relationships, parenthood themes, friendship between the boys, related conflicts… Loved all of them. Touching, inspiring, couldn’t get enough!

- McGonagall was fcking ON POINT. Fcking QUEEN. Get it girl. Show em how to understand and respect children 👏👏👏

- I really loved Snape too! It was nice to finally see him being his self that only Dumbledore got to see in the books. I loved his demeanor too. I know actors change, but the one I saw portrayed Snape in a way that felt more canon. As much as I love Alan Rickman, he was a bit too graceful and sophisticated for canon Snape. In the play, however, Snape was kind of more rough, more rash, less pulled together in a way that he spoke and moved. It’s subtle but I lived for that. Also he was finally short. Yes.

- I feel like I have to mention Harry too. I actually quite liked him, so I’m gonna put him under this list as well. Yeah, that one scene where he threatened McGonagall into strict surveillance of his son is a bit much, errr 😅😅😅 But overall, I like the idea of him struggling as a father, making mistakes and learning from them. He’s a good egg.

- Ron and Hermione, my babies!! I had issues with Ron’s characterization, but I did mostly enjoy the portrayal of their relationship. I liked that their roles within the play were mostly to be together or to find their ways to each other. Since so many fans are against their ship, I was really excited to see them. And I just loved Hermione in general. They got her characterization almost on-point too, I think. I just love her 🥰

- In general, I enjoyed a lot of the dialogue. I liked all those strong, emotional one-liners that make you gasp. Harry saying things, Albus saying things, Scorpius, Draco, Ginny, others… There were good examples of lines they’d say that perfectly articulated everything that they embodied or felt or were dealing with. Well done there.

Okayyy I’m sure there’s more I could think of, definitely, but I’ll stop here since this is already a lot 😁

Things I questioned:

- So the one single biggest thing that I am the most critical of has to do with the plot itself, and it’s about Cedric turning into a Death Eater. I’m sorry but I just can’t. I could write a whole essay on how this makes no canonical sense (and I probably will if you ask me lmaoo), but to sum it up, Cedric eventually turning bitter and evil because he was publicly humiliated directly contradicts his canon character development. Cedric’s humility, kindness, and fairness are the core qualities around which Cedric’s personality was developed in the books. He almost explicitly places popularity, glory, and reputation second, and that’s critical, because if failure and humiliation were to affect him so drastically, his primary core values needed to be broken down and changed beforehand, but they never weren’t. So presenting the Triwizard incident as the turning point for him does not make any sense, and as a result the rest of the narrative falls apart. This is a plot hole and hasty writing.

- Yeah, Bellatrix having a child is still kinda weird 🙃🙃 I just hate that because in the books Bellatrix played the archetype of this anti-mother, the antithesis of motherhood and motherly love. I feel like having her voluntarily bring a child into this world destroys that symbolism. It makes me unsatisfied.

- I had some issues with the very beginning and the whole “montage” of events leading up to the fourth year. I found it overwhelming and disorienting, even though I’ve already read the script and knew what’s going on. Still, I felt like I was hit by a train, watching all the fast-paced scenes, cliché chaotic small talk going on, years going by… It felt messy for some reason. I feel like I need to watch it again in order to fully catch up and process everything I saw, and that’s not a good sign. But I didn’t hate it, I just wish we were more eased into the story.

- Scorpius. Now listen. When I read the script, Scorpius was my favorite character. I LOVED him, this awkward nerd who loves his dad and best friend with all his heart. The way I grew to imagine him was quite not how he was portrayed in the play. I know the dialogue and everything’s all the same, but idk, Scorpius in the play was way more hyper, bolder than I pictured, and worst of all, he was going out of his way to be this wannabe player. He seemed so all over the place, even acting a bit arrogant sometimes, celebrating moments of over-confidence, chasing after girls, trying to be everything BUT himself. But that honestly might just be my takeaway alone. There’s nothing actually wrong with his character, I just found myself slightly disappointed with him in the play specifically. I wish I could see the play again to actually analyze things more thoroughly to explain why I feel this way, but I can’t. I still like Scorpius, but a different version of him. (tho damn did I love those skinny pants on him lmao 👌👌)

- Moaning Myrtle. Like, I laughed, it was funny, but it just wasn’t very tasteful lol and I was left feeling a bit uncomfortable from the idea of this young murdered girl writhing and thirsting over literally everyone. The play really blew that out of proportion and idk it’s kinda awkward when I think about it 😅 And in general, there was just so much thirsting… with Rose, Polly Chapman, Delphi… Not to mention Albus kissing his AUNT… Like damn chill JK please 😂 Weird cliches and teenage hormones aren’t the only source of comedy okay?? 😂😂😂 Also, speaking of Myrtle, I kinda wish there was something mentioned about Draco having had been friends with her in sixth year. Idk it would’ve been nice to see that relationship somehow reminisced since we didn’t really get to see it :)

- Craig Bowker Jr... If he was supposed to be a parallel to Cedric, both being the spare, why did he get literally zero attention?? We don’t really know who he is, we don’t see anyone hurting because of his death, he’s killed with such apathy. We don’t even see his parent grieving, like we saw Amos (who also happen to be an integral part to the plot of CC!). The whole parallel is so incomplete. Poor Craig and his unsymbolic death..

- Ok I am obviously elaborating way too much so let me just quickly summarize the rest of things I don’t actually hate but might wanna rant about: RON IS NOT A JOKSTER—GEORGE IS. RON IS A FIGHTER. HE IS ALSO HARRY’S BEST FRIEND, NOT HERMIONE, BUT HE WAS MADE USELESS AND UNNEEDED, WHICH IS HIS ACTUAL WORST FEAR, SO WHO THE FUCK DARED. ROSE IS MORE THAN A BITCHY ROMANTIC INTEREST AND A BAD FRIEND. WHERE THE HELL IS HUGO. GINNY’S EVEN COOLER THAN SHE WAS PORTRAYED, I PROMISE. THE SURPRISE SECOND TIME TURNER ERRRR LOUSY PLOT DEVICE I’M SORRY. LACKLUSTER PLOT IN GENERAL, THE ONLY ACTUAL TWIST IS DELPHI’S REVEAL—NOT ENOUGH, JKR KNOWS BETTER THAN THIS, THE BOOKS WERE FULL OF TWISTS AND TURNS (but that’s kinda okay with me because the relationships between characters in CC really made the whole story worth it).

Alright enough :’D I’m not actually upset, just exaggerating haha Because overall, I liked the play. I wanna see it again. And I wanna analyze it more, too. I’m so excited I finally got to watch it. It’s far from flawless, but I’m still happy with it overall and want to approach it positively! Sure, I’ll rant when it’s ranting time, but I do love it (:

#the cursed child #cursed child spoilers #Q&A #Anonymous #upthehillask

26 notes · View notes

senboago · 4 years ago

Text

THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; Mun & Muse - Meme.

fill out & repost ♥ This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OC’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multi-Muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm.

My muse is: canon / oc / au / canon-divergent / fandomless /

Is your character popular in the fandom? YES / NO / IDK

Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom? YES / NO / IDK.

Is your character considered strong in the fandom? YES / NO / IDK.

Are they underrated? YES / NO

Were they relevant to the main story? YES / NO

Were they relevant to the main character? YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG.

Are they widely known in their world? YES / NO

How’s their reputation? GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL. ( more like mixed but eh )

How strictly do you follow canon? — I may not roleplay him as much as I like, but I do try to stick to as canon as possible. However, Mizuiro is a very side character, with very little screen time, so much of it is also left to my own interpretation of his whole character. We’re at least lucky Kubo included a chapter about him, Keigo, Chad, and Ichigo when they first became friends, and the little snippet of his personal life in that chapter. So that’s at least something to give more depth into him rather just one of Ichigo’s school pals.

SELL YOUR MUSE! Aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutuals. — Look I’m not gonna try to oversell my boy. But understand that he is absolutely precious and must be protected at all cost. In what is known, he’s had a rough childhood and be hooking up with older ladies like a gigolo, and that’s at least been since he was in middle school. He’s also a tactical person, very smart even if isn’t academically but street-wise, and so fucking brave. He was literally the calmest of the group when Aizen came to the real Karakura Town. The guy literally threw a fucking bottle at one of the biggest baddies in the Bleach universe and deadpans at the results-- like bitch what? And let’s not even mention how he chucked a homemade bomb at him too. Like, I wouldn’t be shocked if Aizen saw Mizuiro again and got petty af at this lowly human that gave zero shits in that little scuff. My boy was probably scared af, but took charge like it was no one’s business in order to save his friends.

Now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?). — He’s such a side character. Him and Keigo are introduced at the beginning of the series, and then left to have nothing to do with the main story. Sure there were some scenes in which they interacted with Kisuke or Shunsui, or that little fight between them and Aizen. But there wasn’t anything major. Nor did Mizuiro get his own moments, like Keigo did with his sister and Ikkaku. The most he got was one single chapter that took a single glimpse into his home life. And it’s really sad and tragic, even if most of it was implied.

What inspired you to rp your muse? — Well... I have thing for unpopular side characters. Mizuiro happened to be one of them, especially since the scene between him and Aizen. He appears as such an interesting character, yet is left on the sidelines so much. There’s so much unknowns with him, things left to be implied and speculated outside of Ichigo’s and the other main character’s pov. Like when did he start seeing ghost? Why were he, Keigo, and Tatsuki in Kisuke’s basement when Ichigo and the gang left for Soul Society the first time? When did Kisuke even approach them? What exactly prompted Shunsui to approach them, offering them a ticket to the Soul Society if things went south in the war? There’s a lot more that runs through my head with Mizuiro, and this includes Keigo and sometimes Tatsuki, since they’re together so much. I want know, understand him, get an idea of what’s been going on while Ichigo and the gang are playing hero in the Soul Society.

What keeps your inspiration going? — Honestly... I’m not entirely sure. I don’t play him often, and part of that is the lack of Keigo and Tatsuki. But I love him too much to abandon him again. His character is so underrated, and I just wanna do him justice. Bring a light to an untold story.

Some more personal questions for the mun.

Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

Do you think you give your character justice? YES / NO. ( at least I hope)

Do you frequently write headcanons? YES / NO. ( i want to, but i never know how )

Do you sometimes write drabbles? YES / NO. ( again i want to, but... )

Do you think a lot about your Muse during the day? YES / NO.

Are you confident in your portrayal? YES / NO. ( maybe if i gave him more spotlight )

Are you confident in your writing? YES / NO. ( i’m always concerned about my descriptions and grammar )

Are you a sensitive person? YES / NO.

Do you accept criticism well about your portrayal? — Constructive criticism, of course. Sometimes I may get defensive, but that’s just a human instinct. I do take it to heart, making note of it for later.

Do you like questions, which help you explore your character? — Yes! Always! Even if it means making me think on the spot or just actually putting into thought on the subject. Development is always great in a character, because it brings more depth into them, and I’m always into that!

If someone disagrees to a headcanon of yours, do you want to know why? — It would depend. I would love to discuss it. However, if it’s something that completely diverts him from canon, goes against the universe, etc. then I’m not so sure I’m interested. And with my shinigami au, I’m much more hesitant. But I am open to their take of the au, such as his possible rank and division from where I have him at now.

If someone disagrees with your portrayal, how would you take it? — I mean... There’ll always be different opinions about a character. And again, it would depend on what it is they disagree with. I’m a hesitant person on this, as I try to keep my muses as canon as possible. And while Mizuiro doesn’t get a lot of backstory or scenes, there are some canon things I prefer to keep in my portrayal and I will defend it no matter what.

If someone really hates your character, how do you take it? — Honestly I don’t understand why they would. He’s never really been shown with a negative lens in the series, except when dealing with his home life in one chapter. But, if someone really does hate Mizuiro, then that’s on them. I won’t waste the energy to change their mind, nor be stressed about. I’ll still be confused, but that’s about it.

Are you okay with people pointing out your grammatical errors? — Please! Do this!! You’d think since I’m a native English speaker, I’d know how to properly write in my own damn language. But truth is, I’m really bad at it! Most my writing I feel turns more poetic because of this-- or some details are often missed because I didn’t write it properly.

Do you think you are easy going as a mun? — I try to be, and for the most part am. I’m one of those writers willing to dive into more sensitive topics, if for the sake of character development and exploration. Not to mention, I have a very thick line drawn between the writer/mun and their characters/muses. At least in the case of myself. Also, good reminder that I’m extremely shy, so more than likely I’m being anxious about whether I should pm you or if sending this or that ask from one of my muses is okay or not, even if you say otherwise.

That’s about it, congrats for filling out!

Tagged by: no one. i stoleth off of @ryusxnka Tagging: you wanna steal it? do it. i dare you.

#;whispers and rambles [ ooc ]#;you're a womanizer [ mizuiro kojima ]

2 notes · View notes

thiskindofshootingstar · 5 years ago

Text

My thoughts on the finale

Okay so, I'm gonna try to keep this as a list and not go off too much, but basically my thoughts on the 100 s6 finale

Overall, found it pretty anticlimactic. ESPECIALLY the Madi/Sheidheda and Russell plots. It was just like, one second they're totally gonna rule everything and the next Madi is Madi again and Russell is arrested. Like.... Okay? That's it? That's how we're resolving what have been the two main villains of the entire season? Cool.

Octavia is the best and I will love her for all time and she better not be actually dead (I don't believe she is, but still). This is gonna need a sub-list so here we go: 1) she is the ONLY one to volunteer to go with Gabriel to save his people. They made it a point to show each and every one of spacekru not saying a damn thing, but it was Octavia who said no, I won't let people die if I can do something about it. She is still the ONLY character that tries to save EVERYONE regardless of whether or not they are "her people". Only after O declared she was going and entreated her brother, only then did the rest of them join. Because my girl is an inspiration. 2) her and echo, amazing, "I like those odds" and then echo grinning like I always knew I liked you. 3) she is a warrior queen! 30 on 3? Easy. Dude was hiding behind a shelf and runs out? Take down the bitch like it's nothing. Woman sets herself on fire to light up the building? JUST EFFING TACKLE HER. Iconic. 4) "Hope?" That one line and it was Confirmed that Octavia helped Charmaine raise little Hope in the Anomaly. Also she totally knew and accepted it and was there for her, I just. Yeah. 5) SHE IS THE KEY TO THE ANOMALY AND ACTUALLY ESCAPED IT AND SPENT YEARS IN THERE AND SHE SHARES HER NAME WITH THE FINAL SYMBOL AND JUST AHHHH SHE IS LITERALLY MAGIC THIS SEASON I LOVE IT SHE EVEN TURNS INTO GREEN SMOKE AND INSTANTLY STOPS THE ANOMALY SPREAD WITH HER "DEATH" LIKE COME ON IT'S LIKE THIS ENTIRE THING WAS SET UP FOR HER, and we've got this mystery villain dude who sent Hope to kill her as the only way to save Charmaine, of course because he Knows O will come for her and to destroy him, she is too powerful to let live. Lexa knew it, azgeda knew it, literally everyone who has ever opposed her knows there is no stopping her unless she is killed or incapacitated. This is also why I def don't think she's dead because girl has taken a lot worse and been fine so one little stabby stab ain't gonna be enough. She a Bad Bitch, you can't kill her. (I think she was actually like sent back into the Anomaly or something along those lines, maybe it's a parallel dimension/timeline/astral space whatever that she sort of merged with or something)

I'm still not okay with Bellamy for two reasons: 1) they still treat him like he's the moral authority which is still laughable. I hated Clarke asking him "it was worth it right?" for multiple reasons (the above, and because it always seems to be women asking men for moral judgment as if they are the authority and I'm not about it. I'm def a lot more sensitive about this one since got though so that may just be me) and 2) because they keep trying to show the Blakes as okay and soft and trusting with each other again even though BELLAMY HAS YET TO APOLOGIZE! He literally tried to kill her and told her to kill herself half a dozen times in the (show-time) past week or so. That is not okay. Moving past the fact that Octavia is the only character in the show's history that has had to earn her forgiveness/redemption, she has multiple times over and Bellamy still can't apologize for telling her to go die when she felt like a monster and like life had no meaning and I will never accept him trying to act all easy around her until he apologizes for that. So yeah, I didn't like his "side by side. Like it was meant to be" because one: he wasn't gonna go with Gabriel until Octavia said she was, he doesn't get to have equal credit in this, and two: he literally left her to die two days ago and didn't fully forgive her when she bared her heart and soul and apologized to him.

The flame. Besides the fact that in trying to "defeat a monster", in replacing Osleya/Octavia/Blodreina with a child commander they didn't know whose family had hidden her away to avoid this very thing, Indra Gaia and Bellamy created an even worse monster in Sheidheda is so ironic and they didn't even mention it at all that those three were responsible for turning Madi into this. Besides the fact that Gaia and Indra literally plotted to kill Madi. Besides the fact that Raven found a magic kill code not in Becca's notes to remove Sheidheda and the flame but then it subsequently uploaded something so we'll probably get Sheidheda as Alie 2.0 because this show can apparently only come up with 3 storylines and simply recycles them. I'm glad that the flame is gone (for now). I was sick and tired of that storyline. It should've been over and done with in s4 but hey better late than never (even though they're definitely still gonna use it in some manner but hopefully no more commander bs). But for real why was Raven of all people the one like "but it'll delete the flame" like yeah bitch, delete all of it, you have literally no connection to this whatsoever you should have absolutely zero compunctions about it what was that?

Did I mention I love Octavia? Because I do, her storyline was the only one I really cared about this season (mostly because it was actually different and not the same recycled storyline from five years ago) and I'm glad that going into the next season it will kind of all be about her. I just hope it's not all Bellamy and the gang trying to find her and we don't see o for the majority of the season. I want it to be two simultaneous storylines of o in the Anomaly trying to save Charmaine and take out this mystery kidnapper, and then Bellamy and Gabriel and co figuring out how to save O. But one things for certain, I NEED OCTAVIA AND DIYOZA TO REUNITE! I need my dream team back, it was taken too soon.

Jordan wtf? Where did you get that stupid chip. I swear if I never see another damn chip or infinity symbol in my life it will be too soon.

Why does no one in Hollywood understand that SPACE IS A VACUUM?! Clarke would've been dead, and so would everyone else anywhere else on the ship that wasn't behind an airlock because as soon as she opened that door all the oxygen would've been sucked out and they would've frozen to death if they didn't die of asphyxiation first. It just bugs me so much that it is the year 2019 and sci-fi is still so dumb about space still. I would've forgiven if it they had at least tried to show a little of the effects, like no sound or frost gradually growing on Clarke or her at the very least being very weak/hard to catch her breath afterward, but literally nothing. She just plopped right on up and ran off like nothing happened. It just irks me.

Emori rocks that look and if she wanted to keep it forever I would support her.

Gabriel's solid. I like him. I think he's the first accurate portrayal of a scientist that has that curiosity and excitement but still cares about and values life, but may be a little reckless sometimes in the pursuit of solving a mystery. Also, he likes Octavia so I will hoard my in-show Octavia defenders to the end.

Well, I tried to do an even 10 but that's all I've got. Overall I thought it was all a little anticlimactic and a lot of characters kind of fell by the wayside or were downright ooc (Jordan, Niylah and Echo to some extent for the former, raven and Miller for both but mostly the latter) all season. We are finally rid of Kabby and the flame and for that I am grateful, but if the cost is Bellamy's continued misrepresentation as the moral authority of the show when he has never had to seek redemption then I'm not sure it's worth it. This season strengthened my love for Octavia, got me back onto respecting and liking Clarke, and turned Bellamy (who used to be my favorite character) back into my least favorite (like he was beginning of s1) so we'll see how it goes with s7.

But ultimately, bring back Diyoza and Octavia!

#ignore me #the 100 thoughts #I'll tag it as #antibellamy #so hopefully stans dont try to start shit again #octavia blake #the 100 spoilers #the 100 finale

34 notes · View notes

seyaryminamoto · 6 years ago

Note

I've been browsing your blog for Sokkla research as I feel like it has similarities to what I'm trying to write with Azula and Soren. I haven't begun tackling Gladiator yet, as it looks a little daunting, but I feel I should since I keep hearing so much. I am a little hesitant over accidentally using anything you wrote for my own story. I'd be proud if I could make it as long and epic as yours. It's very personal to me. What motivated you to write Gladiator and keep writing for so long?

Yeah, I saw your post about your crossover ship having potential similarities with Sokkla and I agree that it would, since Soren shares a few traits with Sokka, character-wise. Admittedly, Azula interacting with a character like Soren would present quite a lot of fun possibilities, so it seems to be an idea worth exploring :)

As for reading Gladiator and accidentally using similar tropes… well, I don’t know if it will ease your mind much, but there are several tropes that I’ve run into in many Sokkla fics, mine, other people’s, just… lots of them xD and it’s not really a problem. Storytelling can lead to similar places, but usually, every writer handles their tropes and character development differently.

My plan for a certain, poignant scene in Gladiator’s 96th chapter was set in stone in my head back when I started plotting the fic (like I said in that ask I answered yesterday). The scene in question is one I depicted in some artworks for Gladiator’s second anniversary: Sokka defeats Azula in combat for the first time, pins her down, aims his sword at her, and they just stare at each other before things take a pretty heated twist...

A few months after planning this, I read another fic where practically the same thing happened between them (it’s a Spanish fic, I hadn’t tried reading it yet because it was incomplete, sometimes I still scold the writer in question for never finishing it), only, rather than it happening when they could no longer resist the attraction between them, it happened when they were barely getting to know each other: Azula followed Sokka into a forest clearing, where he was training on his own. Upon noticing someone was hiding in the bushes, he leaps at her and pins her down, aiming his sword at her as well. Of course, he freaks out upon realizing it’s her, she isn’t very happy, and no heated things happen other than a lot of blushing, especially on her part xD

So, as you can see, even if the trope is “Sokka holds Azula down, at swordpoint”, the context was entirely different, the outcome was completely different and heck, the wording and even language we used was 100% different. I came up with the idea for Gladiator before reading Majesty, later on I found out that someone had written a very similar scene already (and it was a close associate of mine, no less xD). As much as I didn’t feel like I was all that original anymore… I didn’t change my plans because of that. As long as I didn’t pull a Cassandra Clare and copy-pasted the whole scene my friend wrote into Gladiator, where was the harm in trying my own hand at it? I wrote the tropey situation in my own way, with my own words, and it’s completely my own thing.

There was something else that happened with Gladiator, another friend read it and thought I was taking inspiration for my portrayal of Sokka and Azula from a couple in a TV show she loved. Turns out I’d heard about the show, but I hadn’t watched it until she nudged me enough to do it (no regrets!), and after watching it I understood where the similarities were, but the context was all different. More than that, a certain situation (Sokka admitting his love for Azula for the first time, she asks him to say it again) was close enough to what happened between the main couple in said TV show…

… But I actually had been inspired by another couple, in ANOTHER TV show, that had a slightly similar exchange too xD

Therefore, tropes are tropes. I’ve recycled so many tropes in so many things I’ve written that people could probably psychoanalyze me and figure out all my brain chemistry damn easily if they did. I tend to have a very particular structure when writing, too (the original story I wrote and finished had 3 parts, Gladiator has 3 parts too, to name the most superficial similarity only), and I’ve frequently explored similar topics in them. It’s hardly a crime to do it again, but as long as you do it in a unique way, there’d be no harm in testing how some tropes would turn out with Soren and Azula. It could be worrisome if you portrayed Soren reacting to events exactly the same way Sokka does, but that’s not very likely to happen. As similar as they can be, they’re also different in several ways and in the post where you compared them you seemed to see those differences pretty clearly.

Therefore, I don’t think there’s any real harm in trying your hand at certain tropes and situations. If the context is different, if there’s logic to what you’re writing, and of course, as long as you write it yourself, there’s absolutely no need to worry about repeating things other people have done before.

That being said, don’t feel pressured to read Gladiator at all. I’m glad people have recommended it, but I understand if it feels not only daunting but that maybe you won’t be sure what to write if you see all the stuff I’ve done so far. Gladiator is many things, and one of them is my playground for testing Sokka and Azula’s relationship in just about every way I can xD it’s so long that I’ve been free to play with all sorts of possibilities with them, to fulfill all my shippiest wishes for these two. Therefore, if you’d rather be true to your own ideas and not get too influenced by it, it’s absolutely understandable not to read it until you feel comfortable about giving it a shot (presumably, once you’ve plotted plenty of own story and feel like you won’t be at risk of taking too much inspiration from it).

As for what motivates me… well, I guess there were many factors. One of them is that Gladiator was an idea worth digging into, with so much to explore that I was completely overwhelmed by the possibilities and I got completely caught up in it. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted the story to exist, so I decided I needed to make it happen. As it’s practically a full re-write of ATLA’s storyline, I had a chance to just… handle everything on my terms. And that meant the developments I didn’t like from the show could change: I could improve on things I thought needed improvements, I could add things that I felt the show needed, and so on and so forth. There were nearly no limits, really, and as I was absolutely lost in the beauty and glory of my OTP, I couldn’t help myself and I decided to dive right in.

It helps a lot that Gladiator’s kind of a multi-faceted thing: as I’ve been developing my art too, whenever I was bored in class I’d sketch things related to it and then, if I had a chance and the sketch was good enough, I’d finish the art digitally later. I have a lot of music that inspires me, so sometimes I just sit down, listen to it, and I let myself evoke scenes that I want to write or draw. Fact is, the whole fifth anniversary project was a mix of art and music: the songs that inspired many arcs of Part 1, along with images that referenced them.

Lastly, though… I generally know where Gladiator’s going, so I don’t usually reach a point where I’m like “Woah I have zero plans for what to do next”. I plot things for the story whenever I have nothing to do (when I’m traveling places, when I’m showering, when I’m waiting for something? Just, whenever, wherever). If an arc isn’t shaping up to be particularly fun, I try to figure out what to do to make it more interesting and appealing for me to write. Whenever I come up with something I’m hyped about writing, it helps me keep on writing until I get there. Sometimes that’s also a curse because I go overboard and write like… 12K in a single day because I am that hyped about whatever I’m doing :’D happened a couple of weeks ago xD

Anyways, always try to fulfill your own needs with your story, first and foremost. Sometimes your public won’t be 100% receptive to your ideas, but sometimes they’ll actually want exactly what you’re putting out there for them. The magic of fanfiction is that, if someone doesn’t like what they’re getting, there’s absolutely nothing to stop them from taking to writing a story they do want, right? So, why should we try to please other people instead of writing what we’d want to read?

Make your story something you can revisit and smile about, make your story something you can find value in, regardless of whoever tries to undermine it. Make it yours, make it everything you want it to be. Want humor? Set up humorous situations (I mean, your lead couple would be Azula and Soren, humor’s basically guaranteed xD). Want tragedy and angst? You can have it too. You really can do anything, as long as you make up your mind to get it done. Figure out what it really is you want to write, the key scenes, the development you’re looking for with your main characters, come up with plans on how to get them where you need them to be, and once you feel you’re in solid grounds for it, feel free to start writing and always keep on looking forward to the big things you’ve wanted to write for your fic.

#crackship-azoren #I've always thought the most important advice is to write what you want to read #because so many people are so busy trying to please an audience #they start privileging the wrong things over what really matters (shock value over storytelling for instance)#stories will have conflict and tension and big moments and small moments #let your own ideas be your guide though #no one will know your story better than you #if you don't write what you want to read #there's a pretty big chance no one else ever will #... this got long #oops #well not as long as other things I've answered at least #if someone wants a read more let me know...

12 notes · View notes

dailybestiary · 6 years ago

Text

Patch Has Issues: Dungeon #2

Issue: Dungeon #2

Date: November/December 1986 (Pretty sure my Christmas haul that year was full of dope toys from The Transformers movie/show.)

The Cover:

(Use of cover for review purposes only and should not be taken as a challenge to status. Credit and copyright remain with their respective holders.)

Ah, Clyde Caldwell. He, Larry Elmore, Jeff Easley, and last issue’s Keith Parkinson were the mainstays of TSR’s amazing stable of artists. I have a soft spot for Caldwell. He did the covers for the D&D Gazetteer series, which means his work emblazoned some of my absolute favorite books from my middle school years. (At the time I had the whole series except the two island books, GAZ 4 & GAZ 9 (which I’ve since collected), plus the Dawn of the Emperors box set. My favorites, for the record, were GAZ 3, 5, 10, and 13. I...may like elves...a little too much.) And even as I sit here, other covers demand to be named. The very first Dragonlance adventure, the iconic Dragons of Despair? The Finder’s Stone trilogy? The first Ravenloft box? Dragon #147? Yep, he did those covers too. He was amazing.

But hoo-boy, we also have to talk about the not-amazing parts. Once Caldwell settled on a way of doing things, that’s how he did them. Points for consistency, but man, he had tropes. Even his tropes had tropes. He had a way of painting dragon’s wings. He had a way of painting swords and boots. He had a way of painting jewelry, and belts and coins—ovals upon ovals upon ovals.

And his way of painting women was with as few clothes as possible. Everything I said about Parkinson last entry? Yeah, that goes double for Caldwell. He never paints pants when a thong will do. His take on the reserved and regal Goldmoon—thighs as long as a dwarf and bronzed buttcheeks exposed—reportedly left Margaret Weis in tears. Magic-users (God, I hate that term) famously couldn’t use armor in D&D and AD&D, but Caldwell’s sorceresses pretty much stick to gauze just to be safe. And the Finder’s Stone trilogy I mentioned above? Yeah, the authors of Azure Bonds took one look at Caldwell’s cover art and literally had to come up with in-text reasons why the heroine Alias—one of the most surly woman sellswords in existence—would wear armor with a Caldwell boob hole.

Don’t get me wrong, I love cheesecake as much as the next dude. (Actually that’s not true; I came up in the grunge ’90s—our version of cheesecake was an Olympia brunette in three layers of thrift store sweaters reading Sandman while eating a cheesecake. Hell, that’s still my jam.) But context matters. The sorceress from “White Magic,” Dragon #147’s cover, may barely be wearing a negligee, but she’s also in the seat of her power and probably magically warded to the hilt—she can wear whatever she damn wants; it’s her tower. So no complaints there. But this cover’s pirate queen Porky Piggin’ it seems like an unwise choice. (The friction burns alone from clambering around the rigging…)

It’s clear from reading The Art of the Dragonlance Saga that TSR was trying to turn the ship around when it came to portrayals of women in fantasy, however slowly. And in Caldwell’s defense and to his credit, he definitely delivered women with agency—in nearly every image, they are nearly always doing something active and essential. They just tend to be doing it half-dressed.

Which is all a way of saying I dig this cover—the explosion, the churning sea (even if it does more look like snow drifts than waves), the sailors all running to the rail to look—but yeah, that pirate captain needs to put on some damn pants.

The Adventures: Before we get started, I have to note that though we’re only an issue in, already the magazine feels more noticeably like the work of editor Roger Moore. This is 100% a guess, but it really feels to me like Dungeon #1 was made of adventures that the Dragon office already had laying around, whereas Dungeon #2 was composed of adventures that Roger Moore and the new Dungeon team had more of a hand in sifting through. (He also has an assistant editor this time in Robin Jenkins, which had to have helped.) Even the cartography looks better. Again, I have zero confirmation of this, but the feeling is strong.

“The Titan’s Dream” by W. Todo Todorsky, AD&D, Levels 5–9

PCs visiting an oracle accidentally walk right into a titan’s dream and must solve some conundrums to escape. What an awesome concept this is! (Spoilers for “Best Concept” section below.) It’s a shame I don’t like this more.

First of all, dreamworld adventures are really hard to do well. And for them to work, there usually need to be real stakes—and not just “If you die in the dream, you die in real life!”—and/or a real connection to the PCs in your campaign. The latter, especially, is really hard to pull off in a published adventure; typically it’s only achieved through tactics that critics deride as railroading. (For instance, @wesschneider’s excellent In Search of Sanity does a great job of connecting the characters to their dream adventures...but it does that by a) forging the connection at 1st level, and b) pretty strongly dictating how the adventure begins and how the characters are affiliated. It works, but that’s high-wire-act adventure writing.)

Being a magazine adventure, “The Titan’s Dream” doesn’t have that luxury—it’s got to be for a general audience and work for most campaigns. That unfortunately means the default “Why” of the adventure—a lord with a child, a wedding, and an alliance at stake hires the PCs to chat with a wise titan—is little more than that: a default.

On top of that...I cannot get excited about anything Greek mythology-related. To me, just the fact I’m seeing it is a red flag.

Look, Greek mythology is why I got into this hobby. Hell, it’s why I got into fiction, period. (For some reason I somehow decided I had no use for fiction books targeted to my age, with the exception of Beverly Cleary. Then in 4th(?) grade, I got a copy of Alice Low’s Greek Gods and Heroes, and the rest is history.) But Greek mythology is often the only mythology anyone knows. When people think polytheism, that’s where most people’s minds go. Which is why, if you ever played D&D in the ’80s, I pretty much guarantee your first deity was from that pantheon. (In my first game, my first-level cleric pretty much met Ares and got bitch-slapped by him, because that’s what 4th-grade DMs do.)

So to me, putting Greek deities or titans in your adventure is the equivalent of putting dudes riding sandworms into your desert adventures—you can do it, but you better blow me away, because that is ground so well trod it’s mud. And this one doesn’t do the job.

The format is three dreams, each with five scenes. Parties will move randomly—a mechanic meant to represent dream logic (or lack thereof)—through these scenes, until all the scenes from one dream have been resolved. This is actually kind of fascinating, and I wonder how it would play at the table—I have a feeling observant players will dig it, but others may find the mechanism’s charm wears off quickly, especially if they have difficulty solving the scenes or get frustrated with the achronicity of events. I also like that every scene has a number of possible resolutions, so the PCs aren’t locked into achieving a single specific objective like they were stuck in a computer game.

But...I can’t shake the feeling of weak planning and execution (or even laziness?) that stayed with me throughout the adventure. Like, okay, the first adventure is a cyclops encounter out of the Odyssey. Cool! But then...why does the Titan follow it up with pseudo-Norse/Arthurian encounter? Did the Odyssey not hold the author’s attention? (Nor the Iliad, the Aeneid, or Metamorphosis? Really?) And then why is the third dream “drawn from the realm of pure fairy tale”? Like, were you out of pantheons? Horus didn’t return your calls? Or be more specific—why not German fairy tales, or Danish, or French Court, or Elizabethan? It feels like a class project where one group was on point, one group got the assignment a little wrong, and one didn’t even try.

Again, it’s not even that this adventure is bad—I honestly can’t tell if it is or not; I’m sure a lot of its success is determined at the table. And I could totally see throwing this at a party if I was out of inspiration that week or we needed a low-stakes breather before our next big arc. But the instant I think about it for more than a second, it all falls apart for me.

Have any of you tried this one? Let me know what you thought. And for a similar exploration into dream logic/fairy tale scenarios, I recommend Crystal Frasier’s The Harrowing for Pathfinder.

“In The Dwarven King’s Court” by Willie Walsh, AD&D, Levels 3–5

Willie Walsh is a name we’re going to see a lot more in issues to come—he’s a legendarily prolific Dungeon contributor, delivering quality, typically low-level, and often light-hearted or humorous adventurers issue after issue after issue. His first entry is a mystery with a time limit: A dwarf king is supposed to make a gift of a ceremonial sword to seal a treaty, but the sword has vanished. Brought to the king’s court courtesy of a dream, adventurers must find the sword and the surprising identity of the culprit before the rival power’s delegation arrives.

At first I was going to ding this adventure for its “What, even more dreams this issue?” hook...but here’s the thing with Walsh—never judge his modules until you reach the final page. Nearly every time I’m tempted to dismiss one of his sillier or more random adventure elements, it turns out that it makes sense and works just fine. In this case, the cause of the dream is haunt connected to the mystery, and I feel dumb for being all judgy.

So anyway, the PCs are given leave to search for the stolen object and the thief, but of course it turns out there is a whole lot of light-fingeredness going around. As Bryce (see below) puts it, “It’s like a Poirot mystery: everyone has something to hide.” This castle has as much upstairs-downstairs drama as any British farce, with nearly every NPC having either a fun personality and/or a fun secret (and with the major players illustrated by some equally fun portraits) that should make them memorable friends and foils for PCs to interact with. Not to mention the actual culprit is definitely a twist that will be hard explaining to the king...

GMs should be ready to adjust on the fly, though—a) it’s a lot of characters to juggle, and b) since the PCs are 3rd–5th level, the right spells or some lucky secret door searches could prematurely end the adventure as written. You may want to have some last-minute showdowns, betrayals, or other political intrigue outlined and in your back pocket if what’s on the page resolves too quickly.

Overall though, I’m a big fan of this adventure, and look forward to the rest of Walsh’s output. Also, given the dwarven focus and the geography of the land, this adventure could be a very nice sequel to last issue’s “Assault on Eddistone Point.”

“Caermor” by Nigel D. Findley, AD&D, Levels 2–4

Look at this author’s list of writing credits! Findley was amazingly prolific, and his work was pretty high-quality across the board, as far as I know. I particularly loved the original Draconomicon, one of the first and only 2e AD&D books I ever bought as a kid. I also loved his “Ecology of the Gibbering Mouther” from the excellent Dragon #160, and some of his Spelljammer supplements are currently sitting upstairs in my to-read pile, recently purchased but as yet shamefully untouched.

Now look at his age at the time of his death. Life is not always fair or kind.

(Speaking of unkind, man is the bio in this issue unfortunate in retrospect: “[H]e write for DRAGON® Magazine, enjoys windsurfing, plays in a jazz band, and manages a computer software company in the little time he has left.” As Archer would say, “Phrasing!”)

Anyway, this adventure is simple: An otherworldly force has been murdering the locals. The locals have pinned the blame on a handsome bard from out of town, and their own prejudices and general obstinacy are sure to get in the way of the investigation—that is, if the true culprits, some devil-worshipping culprits and and an abishai devil, don’t get in the way first.

All in all, this is a tight, well-written adventure, so I don’t have much to say about it, other than that if you like the idea of sending your party to help out some young lovers and save some faux-Scots/Yorkshiremen too stubborn to save themselves (and maybe slip in a valuable lesson about prejudice and xenophobia as well), this is the adventure for you.

One thing that does jump out to a contemporary reader, though, is the comically overpowered nature of the baddie pulling the strings in this adventure: Baalphegor, Princess of Hell (emphasis mine). Overpowered, you-won’t-really-fight-this-NPC happens with a lot of low-level adventures, when the writers want a story more epic than characters at the table can handle or are trying to plot the seeds for future evils. But still, any princess of Hell would already be a bit much...but an 18-Hit Dice, “supra-genius”, the Princess of Hell? Like, what the f—er, I mean, Hell?

If you use the adventure as written, the only way to have Baalphegor’s presence make sense is to eventually reveal that the area is an epicenter of some major badness. (Maybe that explains the lost nation of evil dwarves in the adventure background.) For a good model on how to seed early adventures in this matter, Dungeon’s Age of Worms Adventure Path and Pathfinder Adventure Path’s Rise of the Runelords AP, both from Paizo, are exemplars of small-town disturbances that eventually have world-shaking implications.

It’s also fascinating in retrospect to note Ed Greenwood’s massive impact in the hobby. Any article that appears in Dragon has the sheen of being at least semi-official, but it’s clear that Greenwood’s content was a cut above even that. In this case, an NPC from a three-year-old article of his is not just treated as canon, but also supplies the mastermind behind the adventure! It’s no surprise that in the following year his home campaign, the Forgotten Realms, would soon become AD&D’s newest and then its default setting.

Two final thoughts: 1) There’s some fascinating anti-dwarf prejudice in this article. Nearly every mention of dwarves paints them as exceptionally greedy and/or villains. And 2) how did one even begin to balance adventures in those days? This adventure is for “4–8 characters of 2nd–4th level.” There are a lot of difference at the extreme ends of those power scales…

“The Keep at Koralgesh,” by Robert Giacomozzi & Jonathan Simmons, D&D, Levels 1–3

One of the problems of BECMI D&D being known as “basic D&D” is that writers often assumed the players to be basic (that is, younger/new) as well. Which probably accounts for some of the early suggestions to the DM we get at the beginning of this adventure—like some pretty patronizing advice along the lines of not immediately announcing to PCs what the pluses are on their magical swords.

Fortunately, after that the article settles down and gives us Dungeon’s first real D&D adventure. In fact, not just real, but massive: 20 full pages of content��nearly half the issue! It’s a fully fledged dungeon crawl that has the PCs taking advantage of the summer solstice to open a shrine door that will lead them inside a long-ruined keep said to hold great treasure.

Now, I imagine in the coming installments it’s going to seem to many of you like I’m grading D&D adventures on a curve, because of my love for the system and the Known World/Mystara. That’s a fair accusation, but a better way to consider it is that I’m reviewing D&D adventures for what they are—adventures from a separate system, with a more limited rules system and palette of options than AD&D. You don’t go to a performance of Balinese shadow puppetry and compare it against Andrew Lloyd Webber; you look at it for what it achieves in its own medium. Since they appear side-by-side in the same magazine, comparison is going to be inevitable, but that’s with the understanding that AD&D was the kid coloring with the 64-crayon box of Crayola, while D&D was getting by with just eight.

On its own terms then, “The Keep of Korgalesh” is a decent, if not superlative, success. I love that it’s practically module-length and that we get three complete levels—a far cry from the previous issue’s side-trek-at-best, “The Elven Home.” We also get two new monsters, which absolutely fills my inner BECMI D&D player with glee. And I like that what starts as a dungeon crawl/fetch quest evolves into a “kill the big bad thing” and “find out what really happened to this city.”

There are issues, though. If the whole city was destroyed, getting to see some of it besides the keep would have been nice. Some of the ecology for the dungeon inhabitants is questionable. There pretty much wasn’t a single pool or fountain in this era of D&D adventure design that wasn’t magical, and this adventure was no exception. One of the new monster’s names makes no sense except that “tyranna” and “abyss” are cool words (I mean, I guess you could read that as “tyrant of the depths,” but still…) And there are painfully obvious borrowings from other works, especially Tolkien—a door that only opens at solstice, a lake monster, an orc with a split personality that is clearly a Gollum homage, etc.

What this adventure really needs is stakes—just something to give it a bit more oomph beyond the dungeon crawl. (Finding a blacksmith’s lost hammer is the hook offered in the adventure but it’s pretty flimsy.) Perhaps the PCs are some of Kor’s last worshippers, and clearing out the dangers here and resanctifying his temple is one of their first steps toward returning him to prominence. Maybe the PCs’ grandparents were involved in the city’s demise and restoring Koralgesh will restore the families’ honor. Or you could keep it simple and have a band of pirates or a rival adventuring group also trying to clean out the keep, turning it into a race (with the tyrannabyss causing the scales of fate to wobble at appropriately cinematic moments).

So the final analysis is this is a decent dungeon crawl upon which you can build a good adventure. The real reward of this module isn’t treasure; it’s finding out just what happened to Koralgesh. But for that to matter, it needs to tie into the PCs’ pasts, futures, or both.

BONUS CONTENT FOR KNOWN WORLD/MYSTARA NERDS: Kor is almost certainly a local name for the sun god Ixion. The chaotic deity Tram is probably a local version of Alphaks, though Atzanteotl is another strong candidate, especially since deceit was key to the pirates’ success. Koralgesh could be located somewhere on the Isle of Dawn, the northern coast of Davania, or an Ierendi/Minrothad Isle that those nations haven’t made it a priority to rebuild.

Best Read: “Caermor.” Nigel D. Findley was a pro.

Best Adventure I Could Actually Run with Minimal Prep: “The Keep at Koralgesh,” as a well-written, straight-ahead dungeon crawl. Every other adventure here relies on a pretty strong handle of very mobile NPCs and their motivations, or a Titan’s dream mechanics.

Best Concept: “The Titan’s Dream,” as noted above. It’s a great idea very worth exploring, even if I wasn’t about the execution we got in this case.

Best Monster: This was actually a monster-light issue. Despite some awesome art for the tyrannabyss, I have to go with the epadrazzil, a scaly ape from a two-dimensional plane of existence that has to be summoned via a painting. All of those details are just so wonderfully and weirdly specific it has to win. (Extra points for anyone who noticed the thoul—a classic D&D monster (though it did make its way into AD&D’s Mystara setting) born from a typo.)

Best NPC: Since this is a role-playing-heavy issue, there are a bunch of contenders, and the final verdict will go to whoever your party sparks to at the table. Obviously King Baradon the Wise should get the nod for [spoiler-y reasons], but I also really like the opportunity the executioner Tarfa offers, thanks to his incriminating goblet and how it might bring the PCs to the attention of a far-off assassin’s guild at just the right level.

Best Map: All together the maps from “The Keep at Koralgesh” form an extremely appealing whole. But for best single map I have to go for the palace of Mount Diadem—that is a bangin’ dwarven demesne.

Best Thing Worth Stealing: Jim Holloway’s illustrations of dwarves. Good dwarf, gnome, and halfling art is hard to find, and even the good stuff often leans stereotypical. While Holloway’s art is often humorous—I have a feeling he and Roger Moore jibed really well, though that’s totally a guess based purely on what assignments he got handed—his dwarves, especially in this issue, are fresh, specific, and unique. You could identify them by their silhouettes alone—always the sign of good character art. If you need an image of a dwarf NPC to show the players, “In the Dwarven King’s Court” is a great first stop.

Worst Aged: Female thong pirates on magazine covers. Also using the actual names of actual mental illnesses in game materials.

What Bryce Thinks: “This seems to be a stronger issue than #1, although half of the adventures are … unusual.”

Bryce actually almost likes “The Titan’s Dream,” confirming my loathing of it. He in turn loathes “In the Court of the Dwarven King.” Like me, though, he is pro-”Caermor” and sees potential in “The Keep at Koralgesh.” (Also credit where it’s due: I might have missed the condescension at the start if he hadn’t called it out.)

So, Is It Worth It?: If you’re a Clyde Caldwell fan, this issue might be worth searching out in print. So much of Caldwell’s work from this era was dictated by product needs, cropped and boxed up in ads, or shrunk down to fit on a paperback cover. So to get this cover in full magazine size, with only the masthead tucked up top to get in the way—that could be well worth a few bucks to you.

Also, if you’re BECMI/Rules Cyclopedia-era D&D fan (or know someone who is), again, this one might be worth having in print. “The Keep at Koralgesh” is a legit, proper BECMI D&D adventure, spanning 20 whole pages and with two new monsters to boot. I would have practically have cried if someone had given 7th-grade me this.

Beyond that you can probably just rely on the PDF. But both “Caermor” and “In the Dwarven King’s Court” have strong bones worth putting some modern muscle and skin on.

Random Thoughts:

The Caldwell cover painting was also used for the Blackmoor module DA4 The Duchy of Ten. PS: I’m not trying to tell you what to do or anything, but if you do happen to run across a physical copy of The Duchy of Ten or and of the DA modules, holla at ya boy over here.

Since this is our second issue, we now have a “Letters” column. Turns out Dungeon had been announced in Dragon #111 with a really detailed set of writer’s guidelines; most of the correspondence is questions re: those. In the process of answering, we get some surprisingly frank talk about payment. The $900 for a cover seemed low until I converted it to 2018 dollars, and ~$2,000 does seem right to my ignorant eye. I then made the mistake of converting my current salary to 1986 dollars and felt a lot worse about myself and what I’ve achieved.

Apologies this took so long to post. I had the issue read by early October and most of this review written with the next week or two after...but then I got involved in dealing with a 4.5 week hospitalization and aftermath...and then a second still-ongoing hospitalization...and even though I only had about four paragraphs left I just couldn’t find time to put a bow on it.

Notable Ads: The gold Immortals Rules box for D&D. (I also still don’t have that one yet, and Christmas is coming. Just saying, guys, if you happen to find one in your attic.) ;-) Also an ad for subscribing to Dungeon itself, starring “my war dinosaur, Boo-Boo.” No, really.

Over in Dragon: Beneath a glorious cover, Roger Moore is the new editor of Dragon #115, three authors (including Vince Garcia, who I like a lot) share credit on a massive six articles about fantasy thieves, a famous article proposing that clerics get the weapons of their deity (people were still talking about it in the “Forum” column when I was buying my first issues two years later), and a look at harps from the Forgotten Realms (notable because behind the scenes Ed Greenwood’s home setting was being developed for the AD&D game for launch in 1987.) A photographic cover and a 3-D sailing ship are served up in Dragon #116, along with maritime adventures, more Ed Greenwood (rogue stones), and articles for ELFQUEST, Marvel Super Heroes (Crossfire’s gang), and FASA’s Dr. Who game (looking at all six(!) doctors). (Incidentally, I had an Irish babysitter around this time who first mentioned Dr. Who to me—I wish I’d explored more but I was too young to understand what I’d been offered.)

PS: Yes, I’ve heard about the upcoming Tumblr ban. It is a terrible idea that will affect way too many of my readers. It shouldn’t affect me much (and I have all my monster entries backed up at the original site), but I will keep you posted as I learn more, particularly if I find you, my readers, packing up and going elsewhere.

#daily bestiary #patch has issues #pathfinder #paizo #3.5 #dungeons & dragons #dungeons and dragons #d&d #dnd #ad&d #becmi #dungeon #dungeon magazine

95 notes · View notes