#jimmy has many confusing emotions regarding his parents

[rambles-about-minecraft-ocs]

If you take thoughts about your arranged marriage au may I offer

Scott taking Jimmy to a meeting if some sort and Jimmy's parents being there. How would they react to their son being not only alive, but happier than he ever was with them?

And how does Jimmy feel seeing the people who abandoned him and practically left him for dead again?

Love it so far!

i'm gonna be honest, i haven't developed lizzie and jimmy's parents much past "they suck for the sake of kicking off the plot." they definitely would know already that scott didn't go with the "killing jimmy" thing, the way they half expected him to. but based on the little bit i DO have decided about them, the fact that jimmy is thriving with scott, not just scraping by, would be a pretty big shock to them! they kinda went "well, we don't really care about our kid, so we'll throw him to the wolves to stop a war" and then didn't think anything good would happen to him even if he did survive the marriage. they'd really mostly just be kinda confused, but shrug it off so long as there isn't a war brewing. i think, honestly, the part that would frustrate them the most is that scott still doesn't seem to like them that much? they don't get why he STILL hates them, seems to hate them even MORE now. didn't he get what he wanted? he agreed to their terms, after all!

and meanwhile scott just despises them for being so fucked up that they'd throw their son away like that, and the only reason he's honoring the terms of the treaty at all is because jimmy has made a point to clarify that there are many good, honest people in his home kingdom, who would suffer if scott started up a war on jimmy's behalf

jimmy, meanwhile....well. he knows his parents aren't great - he outright encouraged lizzie to run away when she got the chance, even though she couldn't bring him with her. he knows that what they did wasn't necessarily a good parent thing to do....but he didn't fully internalize that? like. there's a part of him that really wants his parents to care about him, to not be disappointed with him. and after some time, he sort of decided "if i have to die in order to keep my people safe, then....i guess that's a noble enough end. maybe mother and father are right, this is how it must be"

it takes a WHILE for him to realize that they were just plain wrong, just trying to save their own skin as opposed to doing this for the sake of their kingdom

basically, his feelings on his parents are a confusing muddle, and it would really depend on when in the timeline this happened! towards the start, he would probably kinda revert back into being "the good son" who listens to them and tries to make them happy and show that he's strong and capable and intelligent and useful(which would probably in turn unnerve scott, because scott has finally gotten jimmy comfortable enough to be more relaxed around him, and a relaxed jimmy is NOT a quiet and serious and solemn jimmy). if it were later on, after jimmy has come to terms with the fact that he was never going to be good enough for his parents? he probably would go out of his way to not interact with them, even if they're there in some official capacity and interacting with them would be what's Proper™. either way, it would hurt a lot to see them just standing there, as though they didn't horribly wrong him with their actions. like, yeah, sure, the whole thing worked out in the end and he and scott are friends now(and later actually in love, too, not just Married For Politics), but he's acutely aware of the fact that they didn't think he'd get this far

scott would probably let jimmy just get up and leave, honestly, instead of insisting he stayed, but i think that jimmy would want to stay in the room regardless, partially because there's that part of him that wants to keep making them proud even if he knows he shouldn't care, and partially because he's not positive they won't say something awful to scott that might start a war if he's not around to try to mediate. scott....really doesn't like jimmy's parents, and the way they talk about their son can wear on his patience very very quickly

[nocteverbascio]

the ways we meet: kara/lucy + miscommunication

Pairing: Kara Danvers/Lucy Lane Summary:  Lucy thinks she's the only one on Earth without a soulmate, while Kara constantly worries for hers. (the soulmate au where if you get hurt or your soulmate gets hurt you also get hurt) A/N: this is 7k words jsyk---i didnt intend for it to be this long or have so many emotions but IF YOURE DOWN FOR ANGST AND LOVE HERE IT IS 

ao3 link

When Lucy was growing up, she was told that she’d be connected to her soulmate physically. If they were to get hurt in any shape or form, she’d be able to feel it and see it. It sounded stupid to Lucy, a weird, twisted form of romantic tragedy. If they get hurt, I get hurt? Why would I want that? Why would I want them to feel that?

Lucy was always careful. She took care of her body like it was a temple. Health and fitness have always been important to her because she didn’t want her soulmate to get hurt on her account.

There were some accidents of course. Her broken arm when she was 7 years old. Her high ankle sprain when she was 15 years old. Her concussion when she was 17 years old.

Then she decided on going to West Point.

And there were plenty of nights, she’d lie in bed staring at the ceiling hoping that her apologies would reach her soulmate somehow.

In all those years, Lucy realized that she’d never gotten a response - a response being a bruise or mark from her soulmate getting hurt. She’d chalk it up to her soulmate being just as careful as she was. But she knew it was human to get into accidents sometimes.

When she shipped out for the war on her first tour, she started to question whether or not her soulmate even existed.

-------------

Kara landed on Earth when she was 12 years old, new to Earth customs and culture. The most interesting thing was soulmates. The Codex never existed for romance and Kara wondered if she’d be the only person on Earth without a soulmate.

However, five months living on earth, learning about her abilities that made her almost indestructible on earth, Kara collapsed in the middle of class, feeling like her head had been split into two. Alex says she’s being dramatic, but she was careful to call their parents to figure out what it was.

Kara had a huge bruise on the side of her head and all the symptoms of a concussion without actually doing anything.

It surprised everyone to realize that maybe, somehow, Kara had a soulmate just like any other person on Earth. So she’d grown up feeling comforted by the fact that there was someone out there on Earth that Kara had a bond with. Although, there were days that multiple bruises that would appear on her body, making her look like a punching bag. While it never hurt Kara much, she was deeply worried for her soulmate and took an extra effort to take care of herself.

By the time she and Alex were teenagers, they realized their soulmates had a knack for running into violent situations. Alex would go home after school some days with a split lip or black eyes. There were nights they’d go to sleep hoping that whatever situation their soulmate was in, they’d be safe.

-------------

The desert is hot and dry. Lucy wonders if she can ever enjoy the beach again because there are places where she still feels sand rubbing against her and she wouldn’t wish that on anyone.

She’s starting her second tour, being jostled in the back of a humvee next to a guy named Mike, who has been extra annoying.

“How’d you get that scar?” he asks, smirking underneath his sunglasses.

Lucy looks at him in confusion. “What scar?”

“The one at your eyebrow. You run into something?”

Lucy thinks for a moment about the little indentation at the beginning of her left eyebrow. “Don’t know, born with it,” she responds curtly, not really in the mood for a conversation when they’re in hot territory.

“Figured it’d be from your soulmate,” he notes before pushing off his glove briefly to reveal a scar across his palm. “That’s how I got mine.”

Lucy stares at him curiously and briefly wonders if her soulmate (if they exist) was the reason for that mark.

The thought it quickly pushed to the back of her mind when a rocket launcher gets shot 100 feet in front of them. There’s a cacophony of screams, explosions, and bullets ricocheting that Lucy would never forget.

-------------

Alex and Kara are at the beach enjoying Kara’s first summer from college when it happens.

One minute they’re wrestling in the sand and the next a sharp pain rips through Kara’s shoulder. Kara screams painfully because she feels something digging through her skin. She collapses onto the sand with Alex yelling her name. She’d never felt pain like this before and she clutches to Alex hovering above her, trying to control the bleeding.

She feels like she’s dying. “Alex---my soulmate---” she gasps raggedly, terrified at the thoughts running through her head.

“You’re going to be fine, Kara, we just have to stop the bleeding,” Alex tries to remain as calm as possible, pushing a dry towel onto her bleeding shoulder. She yells for someone to call an ambulance. “You and your person are going to be just fine.”

“Promise?” Kara clutches Alex.

Alex nods confidently. “You know how tough our people are.”

Kara finds out later from Alex that she--her soulmate--had been shot clean through the shoulder.  

“Guess you’re not entirely bulletproof,” Alex jokes.

Kara just rolls her eyes and sinks back into the bed, grateful that there were no major arteries or nerves that were hit. However, it’s one of the few scars that’s left behind on Kara’s alien skin on Earth.

There’s a sense of comfort in Kara’s heart to know that her soulmate didn’t have to go through that alone. Every second, she lied there bleeding, she’d pray to Rao for the safety of her person.

But it doesn’t get better right away and Kara fears the worst. There are bruises on her face, superficial cuts from fine blades on her body, and a couple of broken fingers for the following week that Kara doesn’t leave the house for the rest of the summer. She feels like a prisoner being tortured and Kara has half a mind to fly into a war zone the minute Alex alludes to the idea. 

She constantly worries for her soulmate after that.

Especially when there’s a significant lack of injuries afterwards. Alex reminds her that humans take time to heal and if the injuries have stopped, that maybe her soulmate is recovering.

It’s not until almost a year later that Kara gets a papercut that she cries for joy.

Over the next couple of years, Kara learns her soulmate must’ve stopped doing dangerous things. The bruises still come but not as frequently, her hands have random papercuts, occasionally, there are what feels like hot water burns on her hands and lap.

Everything was going to be okay because Kara is indestructible and her soulmate was healing.

Until she becomes Supergirl.

-------------

Lucy remembers staring at the sunlight, bleeding profusely from her shoulder as she tries to reorient her senses. She remembers being taken as a prisoner (later she finds out for approximately 8 days) and tortured for information. There were threats to her life and to her soulmate’s life.

However, on day 3, Lucy already admitted to herself that she doesn’t have a soulmate. Because there’s no chance in all of her life that her soulmate would be a perfect human to not get hurt in some shape or form, on purpose or by accident. And it’s fine. It brings her comfort to know that while she’s going through hell, at least someone else wouldn’t have to suffer with her.

When they find her and take her back home, Lucy does her best to move on. She honors the men she served with and takes on a new path in her life. She goes back to school, Harvard Law, asking herself for awhile if she’d ever really leave the army or if the change of environment would do her good. She fills her life with things that she wants to do, hobbies that don’t require a gun or gloves (she picks up kickboxing again for fitness of course), and resolves to find love.

She meets Jimmy and thinks he’s the one. She falls for his smile and charm; his kindness reminds her of some of the goodness left in the world. He tells her that at a young age, he’d have nasty bruises, sometimes almost angry. It scared him until one day they stopped completely and for a brief moment, he felt empty. Lucy sympathizes with him, holding his hand, leaning on his shoulder and says she’d never felt anything ever.

They stay together until one day Jimmy gets a bruise on his arm.

He smiles brighter than the year the spent together. Lucy feels her heart break but she still loves him and is happy she was able to be loved if only briefly. They break up, Jimmy finding a new position in National City at CatCo because of someone named Supergirl making waves and Lucy’s left on her own.

The job she tolerated with a bunch of stuffy rich white men becomes less tolerable now that Jimmy isn’t there. It takes about a week for the news to get to her father and she gets offered a position as his legal attache.

The work takes her to National City for Supergirl.

-------------

Lucy meets her for the first time and she isn’t impressed.

“Major Lane,” Lucy politely introduces after having slapped an executive order at Director Henshaw.

“Supergirl,” the taller blonde greets as she takes Lucy’s hand.

Lucy doesn’t realize that the ice blue eyes are studying her face until they widen imperceptibly. “Is there a problem?” she asks, startling the superhero.

“No, no! I’m sorry, just-I thought---nevermind,” Supergirl rambles---she rambles, before quickly letting go of her hand like it’s on fire.

It’s kind of cute.

Lucy feels her interest piqued. She’s read Supergirl’s file and updates herself on the news reports and Cat Grant’s articles. Supergirl is young and impulsive as she is pretty (Lucy tries not to linger on the thought). She still has a lot to learn that it frustrates Lucy.

Lucy is a soldier. She’s been trained to save lives. Supergirl is just a young woman going out there with no proper training or regard for the effect she has. But as much as Lucy dislikes Supergirl, there are things she can respect (and admire) like her verve, passion, and hope.

Supergirl always seems to have hope when things go south. She might not know what to do next, but she will damn well reassure the team they’d do the right thing. She smiles bright enough to even bring a smile to Lucy’s face.

-------------

Then she meets Kara Danvers and finds that energy and hope almost tenfold.

Lucy bumps into Kara in the lobby of CatCo, a hot latte spilling onto both of them. Lucy hisses at the hot liquid on her arm.

“Oh god, that was hotter than I imagined it would be,” Kara exclaims with surprise in her voice. She pauses briefly and her eyes widen upon seeing Lucy. “I’m so sorry!”

“It’s okay,” Lucy tries as she inspects her arm for any burns. “I think I’m going to be okay.”

Kara takes her hand and pulls her upstairs. “Come on, I just want to make sure you’re going to be okay and get you a new shirt so I can take yours to dry cleaning,” she goes off quickly.

Lucy follows after. “You don’t have to worry about that---”

“No, it’s okay, I insist,” she goes on. “I should’ve been more careful. Sometimes I space out.”

-------------

Lucy also insists that she’s fine but Kara doesn’t take no for an answer. It isn’t until they’re in the bathroom together as Lucy tugs on one of Kara’s spare button ups that she thinks to ask Kara if she’s okay. Kara awkwardly tugs her fresh shirt before nodding.

“I’m fine, my sister says I’ve got thick skin,” she jokes.

Lucy stares suspiciously, her eyes meeting the familiar ice blue ones that are hidden behind her thick framed glasses. “Have we met before?”

Kara’s face turns red and she shakes her head profusely. “No, no! I might just have one of those faces. I get mixed up for Blake Lively sometimes, which is kind of crazy because I don’t think we look anything alike but some people just randomly come up to me and call me Blake,” she rambles quickly.

Lucy actually laughs at how flustered Kara is and it only furthers her embarrassment. But it’s cute. And for once, Lucy feels like she’s around someone that fills her heart with warmth.

Eventually, Lucy mentions she’s there to see Jimmy and take him to lunch.

“Hey, you!” Jimmy greets enthusiastically as he gets up from his desk to hug Lucy. He takes in her appearance for a moment. “Did you come from a walk of shame? Because I know that’s definitely not your shirt.”

“Sorry!” Kara blurts out, red tinting her cheeks still. “I bumped into her earlier and got coffee all over her shirt, so I lent her one of mine. I thought I’d bring your soulmate to you in one piece as all.”

“Oh no, we’re not soulmates,” Lucy protests fairly quickly. She doesn’t know why she feels the need to dispel that idea quickly.

Kara stares in confusion before Jimmy adds, “We dated, but we aren’t soulmates. It’s kind of complicated.”

“His soulmate is somewhere out there waiting to fall into these gorgeous large arms and I don’t have one,” Lucy says flippantly that Jimmy slaps her shoulder.

Kara opens her mouth trying to process what Lucy’s said but just stares at her instead like she wants to say something.

“Shut up, your soulmate is out there too,” Jimmy chides, distracting Kara. “Sorry, she’s kind of a self deprecating human but she’ll be better when you get to know her.”

Lucy rolls her eyes and Kara goes with it. Although, she continues to stare at Lucy curiously before she says something about hearing Miss Grant call for her.

Lucy doesn’t realize she stares until Jimmy waves his hand in front of her. “What’re you doing?”

“You were staring at Kara,” he notes with a smile on his face. “Are you interested?”

Lucy scoffs. “Don’t be ridiculous. She’s probably already met her soulmate.”

-------------

They get to know each other while Lucy is National City. It was nice to have someone to talk to outside of the army and DEO other than James. She’d meet Kara for lunch and coffee occasionally.

Until there was a particular evening Noonan’s that Kara found her contemplating over a glass of whiskey about what to think of Supergirl.

“I don’t think she’s terrible, I think she just needs some guidance and support,” Lucy admits after four glasses. “Everyone sees her as a hero and she is one. She’s proven over and over that she’s here for the people of National City. She’s not some sort of creature that needs to be taken into the lab for experiments. That’s crazy, I can’t stand for that.”

Kara looks shocked at Lucy’s words and slightly scared.

“Oh god, I really shouldn’t be telling you these things,” Lucy grimaces as she polishes off her fifth glass quickly. “Don’t remind me I did this.” She orders a sixth, even though she’s bordering drunk.

Kara’s hand falls on her back, rubbing in comforting circles that catches Lucy’s attention, and the other hand reaches to stop Lucy from grabbing the sixth glass of whiskey. “Hey, it’s okay,” she soothes. “I know work can be really frustrating and it must be difficult to have all these conflicting feelings. For what it’s worth, I know your heart is in the right place, and if Supergirl were here right now, she’d appreciate you for defending her.”

Kara speaks with such certainty that Lucy almost believes her. There’s a hopeful look on Kara’s face as she takes a moment to stare, her eyes meeting the icy blue ones once more. They’re such kind and beautiful eyes that Lucy feels herself mesmerized.

For a fleeting moment, Lucy wants to kiss Kara. Kara’s eyes dart to her lips and Lucy leans in. She’s kissing Kara Danvers and it feels like her heart is soaring because Kara is kissing her back. It feels like they’ve been dying to do that forever.

Even though there’s a nagging thought in the back of her mind that Kara’s soulmate is somewhere still out there, waiting to meet her, Lucy can have this for now. She can have beautiful, hopeful Kara that makes her heart swell with life.

Kara can’t believe this. She almost wants to push Lucy back and tell her it’s a mistake and they shouldn’t be doing this.

She does just that and there’s hurt look written across Lucy’s face that makes her heart ache inside of her.

“I’m sorry I shouldn’t have done that clearly,” Lucy tries to brush off, even though her eyes are already tearing up. “You have someone…”

Kara opens her mouth and quickly closes it. “I--” she contemplates telling Lucy the truth, that she thinks Lucy might actually be her soulmate. But she isn’t sure. At least not entirely. All she knows is that she wants Lucy. And she settles it quickly with, “It’s not that...just I thought--I don’t want to take advantage of you because you’re drunk right now.”

Lucy laughs sardonically and reaches for that sixth glass of whiskey. Kara reaches for it and settles it back on the table gently.

“Come stay with me tonight?” Kara offers carefully. “No funny business…”

Lucy shakes her head. “It’s fine,” she smiles, despite not wanting to at all. “I have my own place.”

Kara turns Lucy to face her, clasping her hands. “I want you with me tonight,” she admits because the yearning in her chest is becoming unbearable. “Tomorrow we can talk about whatever this is.”

Lucy opens her mouth to protest when Kara leans in quickly, pressing her lips against Lucy to stop her. She’s so sure that Lucy’s hers and she doesn’t want Lucy to lose hope. She just needs to find a way to let Lucy know she has a soulmate.

When Kara pulls away, Lucy’s eyes are shut, lips pursed and she swallows as if she’s savoring Kara’s kiss.

“Lucy?” Kara asks softly.

Lucy nods. “Tomorrow,” she agrees.

-------------

When tomorrow does come, it’s awkward and messy. Lucy tries very hard to talk Kara out of whatever they’re going to try that it confuses the hell out of Kara. However, Kara clings to the hope that Lucy is her soulmate, she’s sure of it. Because the more she’s around Lucy, the more she stares at Lucy, the more she feels connected to her.

Until Lucy says it to her face, “One day, you’re going to wake up with a bruise, a cut, or whatever from your soulmate letting you know that they’re there. That they’re real and waiting for you find them. Trust me, I’ve been waiting for years for a sign and if they’re not here now, maybe they just never were.”

The words cut so deep into Kara that all she can do is blurt out, “That’s not true. I know it’s not. I am here for you Lucy! I want to be here for you now!”

Lucy looks up at Kara with such intense eyes that Kara is scared she’s said the wrong thing. But she stands firmly, staring back at Lucy just as intensely. While Lucy’s eyes shines like emeralds in the morning light, Kara notices the little indentation at Lucy’s left eyebrow.

The same mark and placement of when she ran into the corner of table back on Krypton and Kara’s heart swells, feeling more sure than ever that Lucy is hers.

Before she can say anything, Lucy throws her arms around Kara’s shoulders kissing her fully and Kara returns the passion quickly. If she has hope that Lucy is hers then she wants to make sure that Lucy can believe that Kara is hers too.

They decide to try--more like, Kara convinces Lucy to give them a shot--but it isn’t easy.

-------------

There’s an alien attack on the president that has everyone on high alert and the tarmac of National City Airport becomes a crime scene.

Lucy takes care of the press, Supergirl the president, and Alex the crime scene. But Alex is hanging behind Lucy as she signs off on official press statements.

Lucy finishes signing the last document before looking at Alex dressed as an FBI agent. “Is there something wrong, Danvers?”

Alex just purses her lips and crosses her arms. “My sister tells me you two are dating,” she notes aloud.

Lucy stands there impassively, but inside she shakes. “We are,” she straightens her back. “Is that going to be a problem?”

Alex looks her up and down carefully before leaning in. “If you hurt my little sister, I know ten different ways to get rid of a body.”

“Does your sister know that?” Lucy throws back playfully.

Alex reels back briefly in confusion, the same face Kara makes when Lucy says something particular. Lucy raises an eyebrow. “I’m a scientist, of course she knows,” Alex answers, almost sounding like a lie.

Lucy hums to herself before pointing behind Alex. “You better claim your crime scene before someone else does.”

Alex turns around to where Lucy is pointing to and sees a woman in a leather jacket with a badge strapped to her hip and angrily stalks over.

-------------

It doesn’t take long for a month to go by. After successfully capturing the bandits trying to attack the president and Alex finally meeting her soulmate, being with Kara almost becomes easy.

Almost.

Lucy feels her heart ache for Kara, like loving her has become too much in the year she’s moved to National City. She wants Kara and she knows Kara wants her too, through all of Kara’s declarations. Part of her hopes that when Kara finds her soulmate that maybe she’ll find hers also. The other half of her wishes that Kara was her soulmate because she doesn’t think she’ll ever feel this deeply for anyone else.

-------------

They have a game night because Kara wants everyone to meet Alex’s soulmate and she wants to celebrate a month with Lucy.

Yet, Kara starts acting funny. Almost restless.

It worries Lucy because she knows Kara well enough to sense that she’s hiding something.

Kara is zooming around the kitchen and Lucy swears she turns into a blur for a moment. She’s been fussing all night and all Lucy can do is stand by to make sure everything Kara needs is there.

It gets to be too much and Lucy reaches for Kara as she rearranges the board games for the umpteenth time.

“Is everything okay?” Lucy asks as she pulls Kara to sit down next to her on the couch. She reaches for her glass of wine to offer it to Kara.

While Kara doesn’t drink much or ever really, tonight she does and she takes the glass from Lucy and chugs it before setting it down.

Lucy stares in shock before she pulls Kara to face her. “What’s going on? Is everything okay?”

Kara nods quickly without looking at Lucy. She readjusts her glasses on her face. “I’m sorry, I just want everything to go perfectly tonight.”

Lucy smiles affectionately, pushing aside Kara’s hair. “We’ve had game nights before and they all turned out fine,” she comforts, moving closer to the blonde. “What’s really bothering you? You’ve been acting strange all week.”

“No, I’m not,” Kara protests quickly, staring at Lucy. She immediately apologizes. “I’m sorry, it’s just been kind of stressful and I don’t really know what to do about it.”

“You can talk to me,” Lucy assures as she pecks Kara. “We always talk about what’s bothering us.”

Kara shivers before nodding. “I know, I know,” she almost chastises herself.

Lucy shakes her head at Kara. “Maybe this will help calm you down,” she says mischievously as she wraps her arms around Kara’s strong shoulders.

“Huh?” Kara dumbly says before Lucy straddles her lap and kisses her. Whatever’s been bothering Kara gets quickly forgotten as Kara sighs into the kiss. She sits back into the cushions as Lucy deepens the kiss.

It doesn’t take long for both of them to feel hot. Kara’s hand finds its way underneath Lucy’s shirt and Lucy’s hands running through Kara’s hair. Kara moans into the kisses, as her hands roam around Lucy’s body. Lucy untucks Kara’s shirt to feel her hot muscled abs underneath her fingers quiver and slowly trails kisses down to her neck. Even if they haven't had sex yet, kissing Kara was addictive. 

“Lucy, people are coming over,” Kara breathily reminds as she lolls her head back onto the couch. She grips Lucy’s waist tightly.

“That’s okay,” Lucy smiles into Kara’s neck before nipping gently. It’s always hard to leave a mark on Kara that she’s given up on it, too afraid to break skin if she tried any harder.

“We haven’t--”

There’s a knock on the door and Kara sits up quickly that it almost knocks Lucy over. Lucy fixes her shirt and hair while Kara is already opening the door to Alex holding a bottle of whiskey.

Lucy comes up behind Kara to greet Alex.

Alex purses her lips between the two of them before saying aloud, “Lucy’s shade doesn’t suit you Kara.”

Kara turns around aghast, wiping her lips of Lucy’s lipstick and Lucy shrugs with a smug look to annoy Alex.

Winn and James show up with food not too long after that has Kara bouncing off the walls. Lucy just takes it all in, how normal it all feels with everyone in the room. It gets even better when Alex’s soulmate shows up because she instantly recognizes Lucy from the crime scene. So they bond a bit through teasing Alex’s no nonsense attitude because everyone knows Alex is a big softie.

After a couple of rounds of taboo (which James and Winn somehow dominate), a very competitive round of Settlers of Catan (because of Alex), a hilarious edition of charades (because Maggie is downright goofy), they finally decide to switch games.

Alex steals away Kara for the break and Lucy decides maybe it’s time for some coffee and tea if they’re going to be up any longer. James and Winn are too deeply enamored in conversation that Lucy lets them have their moment, while Maggie helps her in the kitchen.

“So we have a thing for the Danvers sisters,” Maggie jokes as an icebreaker.

Lucy laughs in agreement. “That we do,” she says as she pulls some mugs onto the island.

“When did you find out that Kara was yours?”

Lucy swallows, as she settles the kettle on the stove. She puts on a brave face as she looks at Maggie. “Oh, Kara isn’t my soulmate,” she admits as casually as she can.

Maggie stares at her in confusion. “Sorry, you’re not?” she tries to be understanding as she asks.

Lucy busies herself, looking for tea and coffee. “We’re not---we’re just dating,” she fumbles over her words as she pulls out the boxes. “It’s a little complicated.”

Maggie studies Lucy’s face briefly as she turns to put down the boxes next to the mugs. “Sorry, I just assumed you were.”

“What gave you that idea?”

“Well, I was a non-white non-straight in a small town of Nebraska, soooo getting roughed up came with the territory, and she mentioned you were in the army, so I just assumed if anything could explain the Danvers sisters’ bruises it’d probably be that,” Maggie explains. “I figured we’d also have to be really tough to handle them.” She says it so affectionately that Lucy is a bit jealous Maggie can speak so freely about Alex.

Lucy shrugs. “Sometimes, things aren’t what they seem.”

Maggie nods thoughtfully, reaching for the whiskey and pouring it into the mug in front of Lucy before pouring her own. “That I can agree with,” she says almost knowingly.

Lucy takes the mug of whiskey regardless and clinks with Maggie.

The kettle screeches for her attention and Maggie helps Lucy by asking the boys what they’d like to drink and Lucy goes to find Alex and Kara.

There’s a crack in Kara’s bedroom door and Lucy’s about to enter when she hears Alex.

“You should really tell her, she deserves to know.”

Kara groans. “Don’t you think I want to? It’s just so complicated.”

“You guys have been together for a month and you still haven’t mentioned it to her?”

Lucy feels her heart drop. Kara was hiding something from her.

“I just didn’t know how to. She doesn’t believe her soulmate is alive anymore and I couldn’t just give her false hope.”

“Now that you know for sure, Lucy deserves to hear the truth.”

“You weren’t there, Alex. You don’t know how hard it was for me that night. I thought I was just going to tell her everything then but I couldn’t do that to her; seeing her like that broke my heart. All I could do just let her know that someone was there for her, that at least I was there for her. ”

Her hand clenches at her side. She knew it. She should’ve steadfast to saying No to Kara, to not getting involved. Kara was with her out of pity and Lucy doesn’t do pity. She doesn’t stick around to listen anymore.

She doesn’t say goodbye as she grabs her jacket and walks right out of Kara’s apartment.

And now Lucy’s really glad that she doesn’t have a soulmate because they wouldn’t have to feel Lucy’s heart being ripped apart in that very moment.

-------------

Lucy won’t talk to her. Kara doesn’t know what kills her more, the fact that Lucy won’t talk to her or the fact that Lucy will never believe Kara is her soulmate now.

She’d heard the door slam shut and came out of the room instantly. When she looks around her apartment, Lucy was nowhere to be found.

Lucy is half a block away when Kara catches up to her.

“Lucy, are you okay? Where are you going?” Kara asks quickly, voice filled with concern.

Lucy whips around at her, eyes red from crying and she steps up to Kara. “I don’t ever want to see you again,” she seethes angrily.

“What?”

“I heard you talking to,Alex, and I can’t believe how stupid I was to think that we could’ve had something real,” Lucy spits out with disdain.

Kara feels her heart tighten inside of her. “Lucy, whatever you think about us right now, it’s not what it seems. I care about you and I--”

“Save it, Kara,” she interrupts furiously. “I don’t want your pity anymore.”

“Pity? What’re you talking about? Lucy, I want to be with you,” Kara argues as she reaches for Lucy.

Lucy steps back, heels stomping into the ground loudly. “You should’ve listened to me in the first place. Your soulmate is still out there, waiting for you, wanting to be with you. Stop wasting your time and my time and move on with your life.”

“Lucy, your soulmate is alive! Your soulmate is--”

“Don’t. Just stop. Stop lying to me. Stop speaking to me. Just stop. This is it. Whatever you thought this was is over,” Lucy declares with finality. She doesn’t wait for Kara to say anything else and continues to walk away.

Kara stands there feeling her heart ache painfully in her chest as she watches her soulmate walk away from her. She was afraid of this and now that it’s happened, she hates herself for not knowing what to do.

-------------

She tries. She calls and texts her a million apologies. Lucy ignores every single one of them. She doesn’t come to CatCo for lunch with James and doesn’t stop at Noonan’s for coffee at all. Not only has she cut herself from Kara, but everyone else as well. James hasn’t received any word from Lucy since that night. Alex hasn’t seen her at work for a few days.

Kara is at the DEO, in her Supergirl uniform, pouting next to Alex as she tries to dissect a baby alien spawn found dead in a Cadmus warehouse.

“Alex, what do I do?” Kara whines as she slumps on the stool next to Alex.

Alex rolls her eyes. “I told you to tell her the truth,” she reminds as she looks into her microscope.

“That’s not helpful,” Kara grumbles as she pushes her sister. “I was going to, I just didn’t know how I was going to do it. I was hoping that I’d be able to find absolute proof to show her.”

Alex glares at her sister. “I gave you proof. You wanted Maggie and I to look into Lucy’s army file and we did. She was honorably discharged after a tour where she was shot clean through the shoulder and tortured for eight days.”

Kara winces because she knows the grizzly details now and it only makes her feel worse.

“It’s not my fault you didn’t bring it up when you noticed the scar on her eyebrow that looked exactly like yours,” Alex adds the salt into the wound.

“I didn’t know for sure!” Kara argues. “How was I supposed to know she would be able to get that scar across a galaxy. Not to mention time? Because I was technically born before her!”

Alex puts her pen down and snaps off her gloves. “Kara, you know that we can’t explain any of this soulmate business. It’s not like all the rules are written in some book of truth. The only thing that we do know for sure is that when you meet your soulmate, in this universe that we are in now, you just know it’s them regardless of space and time.”

Kara sighs sadly. “I’m sorry,” she says softly. There are a myriad of things she needs to apologize for and most of them feel like her fault.

Alex pulls her sister into her chest. “I’m sorry too,” she returns, wishing she could do more for her sister. “I’m especially sorry if it seems like I am being hard on you about this because we didn’t think it could turn out like this.”

“You mean me being an impenetrable alien that moonlights as a superhero?” Kara tries sadly against Alex’s chest and wraps her arms around her sister’s waist.

Alex light laughs. “Yes, that,” she agrees. “We just didn’t take into account that if you could feel what she feels, that maybe she needed to feel like you were there too.”

Kara sighs, hugging Alex closer. “I just wished she didn’t give up on me so soon.”

“She didn’t, Kara,” Alex assures as she smooths out Kara’s hair. “She liked you for you, regardless of whether or not she thought you were her soulmate, Lucy wanted to give you a chance. You gave her enough hope that she could at least try to love and be loved.”

“I wish there was some way I could give her that hope and reassurance again, so she knows I’m not lying to her when I tell the truth,” Kara complains. “If I get to tell her the truth.”

“The whole truth and nothing but the truth?” Alex asks with a smile on her face.

Kara nods furiously. “The whole ten yards, about the pod, Supergirl, all of it.”

Alex sighs, wishing her sister caught the joke. “Alright, good, because Lucy is here.”

Kara jerks her head up Alex in disbelief before Alex points through her window. When she looks quickly, she sees Lucy in her tactical uniform, standing tall and proud, just turning the corner and scrambles after her.

Kara rushes down the halls to look around for Lucy and think Alex hallucinated until she runs into Vasquez, who tells her that Lucy took a turn into the armory.

“Lucy,” Kara breathes out as she reaches the doorway of the armory.

Lucy doesn’t jump in surprise but she slowly turns to the sudden voice. “Supergirl,” she greets curiously.

Kara looks at herself and huffs. Maybe she should’ve changed. She grumbles to herself.

“Did you need something, Supergirl?” Lucy asks.

Kara stops thinking a mile per minute and steps into the space. “Lucy, I want to tell you the truth. The whole truth and nothing but the truth.”

“So help you god?” Lucy jokes that makes Kara pause mid-thought. “Sorry, it’s a lame law joke. What’re you saying about the truth?”

“Oh right, yes, all of it,” Kara says, trying to form her thoughts as she goes along. “I want you to know about me and how difficult it is for me to get hurt.”

Lucy raises an eyebrow. “I’ve seen your performance, Supergirl, you’re known as the girl of steel,” she reminds playfully.

Kara runs her hands over her face in frustration. “Aghh,” she groans, “I am not explaining this well. I want to tell you the truth, about me being Supergirl, about the soul mate thing, and Kara Danvers.”

Lucy pauses and the playfulness slips away instantaneously. She crosses her arms defensively and steps toward Kara. “How do you know about Kara Danvers?”

“Because I--”

Kara’s words are cut off by the PA system with J’onn calling to the team to meet on the floor.

“Can I find you later to talk about this?” Kara asks Lucy quickly, who has a scowl on her face.

Lucy doesn’t respond as she brushes by Kara. “There’s nothing really to talk about. I’ll see you on the floor Supergirl.”

Kara throws her head back petulantly as Lucy walks down the hallway away from her again. There’s never going to be a good time for this is there?

-------------

Lucy is standing at the controls, simmering with annoyance as she keeps a close eye on the field. She and Supergirl were just beginning to have a good rapport, they would even consider one another friends. Obviously, not friends to go drinking with or shoot pool with, but friendly enough to talk.

They’ve had short conversations after a long mission before, most of them with Lucy reviewing her performance but Supergirl was always eager to learn from Lucy. Their teamwork was much more positive since their first meeting.

Even J’onn was pleased by their rapport.

Lucy even complained to Kara less about Supergirl, who was also very happy by the development or maybe relieved, which Lucy never understood.

By no means, however, were they close enough to talk about her personal life. So when Supergirl comes in wanting to talk about the truth about soulmates and Kara, Lucy is ready to step to the Kryptonian and give her a piece of her mind. Supergirl has no business in Lucy’s personal life.

“Supergirl, backup is two minutes out,” J’onn says into the comms beside Lucy.

Lucy keeps her eyes on the screens, accounting for all the assailants because there were reports of a luminous green substance lining their weapons. Just what they needed, Kryptonite toting robbers. One of them suddenly appears behind Kara and Lucy yells, “Supergirl, behind you!”

It doesn’t come quickly enough and they see a right hook to the hero’s face.

Lucy feels her head jerk to the side and hears something crack. She curses loudly at the sudden break in her nose and blood flooding her nostrils. “Shit, what the fuck was that?!” she yells without any care for decorum.

Everyone looks at Lucy in shock as she clutches her nose.

“Okay, ow ow ow, that really hurt,” Supergirl whines through the comm. “How far is back up now? Because that Kryptonite really hurt my face.”

Lucy gasps, choking on the blood that drip back to the throat. Alex is coming up beside her, shoving people aside to check on Lucy. She looks at the screen to see Supergirl standing there, blood pouring down from her nose.

“Supergirl?” Lucy stares in confusion.

J’onn smirks at Lucy.

“Sir?”

Alex redirects Lucy’s attention to get the blood flow to stop as soon as possible. “Supergirl’s nose is bleeding, you’re nose is bleeding, you do the math, Lane,” Alex huffs impatiently as she gently feels Lucy’s nose.

Lucy hisses at the pain. “Be careful would you?”

Alex hmms before using two fingers and resetting the disjointed part.

Lucy yells in pain and Supergirl also screams through the comms.

“Alex, what the hell?!” Both Supergirl and Lucy scream.

“Jesus, how she knew it was me, I don’t know,” Alex grumbles as she holds the gauze underneath Lucy’s nose to catch the blood. “Do you get it yet?”

Lucy’s attention is split between the screen and the woman before her. Everything seems to be moving so quickly that she can barely process it.

Supergirl is still complaining on the other end of the comm to J’onn until he and Alex both say, “Kara, stop complaining.”

Lucy’s eyes bulge out of her head comically and everything starts falling together. “Kara is Supergirl? She’s my soulmate?!” she exclaims.

“Uh..yeah, Major, took you long enough,” Alex quips.

“If I could get you for insubordination right now,” Lucy grumbles before it really hits her. “How come no one told me the Kryptonian superhero was my soulmate?” She then turns her attention to the comm. “You knew didn’t you? How come you didn’t tell me we were soulmates? What kind of person does that? ”

Kara visibly cringes on the screen that has J’onn suppressing a laugh. “I’m sorry?” Kara says. “I told you I wanted to come clean about this. There was just no right time and the first time we met you look like you didn’t even like me. It was really hard for me to just say, ‘Hey, I’m your Kryptonian soulmate, just in case you didn’t know.’”

Lucy listens to Kara rambling and just shakes her head. Everything feels like it falls into place as Lucy thinks back to all the time they’ve spent together. The subtle strange things Kara says or the way she dotes on Lucy to be careful. To think the time she felt imagining that there was a connection between them, only to turn around and find out there really was something, brings so much unbridled joy to Lucy.

All this time, she thought she was alone. Her soulmate was just strong enough so Lucy would never get hurt.

“Kara,” Lucy says lowly.

“Hmm?” Kara eagerly sounds to Lucy’s voice.

“Finish this and come home. You have some explaining to do,” Lucy orders with a smile on her face as Alex smiles at her.

“Lucyyy, you’ve got some ‘splaining to do,” Kara imitates proudly that makes everyone roll their eyes. “What? Was that not the reference?”

Lucy laughs. “Shut up, nerd. We’ve got a lot to catch up on.”

[movieswithkevin27]

20th Century Women

A step back from Mike Mills' terrific 2011 film Beginners, 20th Century Women is another somewhat autobiographical film from the writer/director. Yet, this one feels decidedly less assured. Embracing formalistic indulgences along the way that clash with the realistic and natural tone of the film, the film lacks cohesion at times and feels overly ambitious for its story. Fortunately, there is so much to enjoy about this film. From the style and general aesthetic feeling given by the film, as well as great characters and acting, 20th Century Women is an often moving and funny film about Mills' childhood surrounded by women in Santa Barbara. In many ways, it is a film about how people do not understand one another, in spite of all of our efforts to figure out what makes those around us, and ourselves, tick. In this endeavor, 20th Century Women is incredibly successful and finds a lot of resonance. Unfortunately, unnecessary style distracts from the film and feels more indulgent than anything.

These stylistic indulgences include montages of old pictures of historical events, the rainbow streaks following the cars as they drive on the highway, time lapse shots, and giving the future of the characters after 1979. Of these, the rainbow streaks seems to be the one that I have the most trouble with. It helps to create the drug induced, dream-like atmosphere of Santa Barbara, yes. Santa Barbara and 1979 are very much characters in this film themselves with the city coming to represent the loose, free thinking nature of the characters, and being just as influenced by drugs as they are. 1979 comes into play with the time, Jimmy Carter's speeches, and how it is a point of change and a turning point in their respective lives for a variety of reasons as shown in the film. Yet, the rainbow streaks feel indulgent. The film's character are supposed to reflect real people and its situations are somewhat real occurrences. Yet, the style hints at Mills indulging too much in artist tendencies. The out of place montages of old pictures that do not have much to do with the plot suffer from the same indulgence. It feels wholly misplaced in a film of this type and is not something I remember Beginners suffering from. If memory serves, that was a very grounded film, set in the real world and rarely diverting from that world. Instead, Mills attempts to create the same psychedelic and 1970s trip created in films such as Inherent Vice or The Nice Guys. The film is stepped with nostalgia and these glory days of 1979, but the film suffers from this style. The trippy atmosphere is interesting, but is ill-fitting for a story of this ilk. In the aforementioned films, it works because the films are clearly going for a certain aesthetic and very formalistic in its story. But, Mills' story here is very real, authentic, and raw. These nostalgic indulgences for a film as real as Manchester by the Sea feel more like something out of La La Land, which leaves it feeling incredibly jumbled in regards to its style and intent.

The film also suffers from its dialogue. Once more, it attempts to create great characters and it succeeds. The writing is glorious when it comes to these characters, but the dialogue lacks the punch of realism. It feels written and, again, feels ill-fitted for a story of this nature. Honestly, I may need a rewatch of this, but conversations often fall awkwardly flat. Such as:

"I like the way your hair smells." "I make my own shampoo." "Of course you do."

This dialogue feels more like Wes Anderson dialogue in a very formalistic setting. Instead, Mills tries to strike a balance between the two styles, but these lines just feel too quirky and purposefully odd to really resonate. Much of this film is like this and some of the dialogue does work quite well comedically, but feels as though it contributes to the tonal awkwardness of the film. Is it a realistic with real worlds, as the premise, characters, and situations would have you believe? It would also be in line with being semi-autobiographical. Or, is it an aesthetic filled joy ride through Santa Barbara's free thinking community with quirky dialogue? It is here where I struggle to rationalize why I still like 20th Century Women, even in spite of this tonal awkwardness.

The brilliance of 20th Century Women may reveal itself to me upon rewatches, but for now, it largely lies within its themes. Early in the film, Dorothea (Annette Bening) asks her son Jamie (Lucas Jade Zumann) to be there for Abbie (Greta Gerwig). Abbie rents a room from Dorothea and lives upstairs, but had been diagnosed with cervical cancer in the year prior and was going to see if the surgery had removed the cancer or not. Dorothea, knowing she would not be able to be there, wants Jamie to offer Abbie emotional support, regardless of whether the news is good or bad. In asking, she comments on how "men always want to fix problems for women", in order to steer him away from his male tendency to "fix things". As a man, I admit this is true. Women just want to vent and have understanding, while my mind whirs about trying to figure out how to fix the problems. My male neanderthal brain cannot comprehend not fixing the problems. It largely applies to women's problems, simply because men do not vent. Yet, in the film, Jamie does accompany Abbie to the doctor and offers great support to her emotionally. He listens and lets her vent after getting good, yet somewhat upsetting news. However, the encounter between Dorothea and Jamie, as well as the results of the encounter show how we really do not understand one another. Dorothea says men want to fix women's problems, yet later in the film, she asks Abbie and Jamie's friend Julie (Elle Fanning) to help guide him. She feels he is lost after a brush with death and needs guidance. Though hesitant at asking to parent him initially, the two eventually embrace the role and play the role of mentor and therapist, respectively. Perceiving that Jamie has issues, the women in the film try to fix him. In this portrayal, Mills shows how even Dorothea does not know women and their need to fix problems as well, or men's ability to not just offer solutions to women's problems.

This continues in the film as Abbie gets Jamie to read books about feminism. He has never had sex, yet he reads about female orgasms and sexuality. In a conversation with Julie, he learns something that the books never taught him: yes, teenage boys do not know how to satisfy a woman. But, there are other reasons for a girl to have sex beyond having an orgasm. He is flabbergasted. This confusion continues when he reads a book about aging women and reads aloud a portion to his mom. She rebukes the portion he reads and accuses him of believing that this women described was her and what he thought of her. He denies it, but it is clearly true. Through his books, Jamie believes he understands feminism and women, but as Dorothea tells Abbie, he is not old enough to comprehend either. But, Dorothea struggles from the same thing. She tries to understand her son by attending clubs and listening to music he likes, but she remains ignorant. She has no idea who her son is and feels as though she is constantly playing catch-up with his ever changing approach to life. William (Billy Crudup), another renter in Dorothea's home, sleeps around and never has understood women. In a brief encounter with a girl he sleeps with, he has sex with her, asks for a date, and gets rebuked. Abbie, meanwhile, is lost within herself. She does not even understand herself or her own actions, in spite of her knowledge of art and feminism. Julie sleeps in Jamie's bed, knows he likes her, knows she does not like him, and strips to her underwear in front of him. She may rebuke his advances, but the conflicting signals this young horny teenager receives causes his brain to short circuit. Julie does not understand men or what her own actions may hint at to those around her. Finally, a man at work asks Dorothea for a date and is shocked to see her say yes, as the men in the office thought she was a lesbian.

It is in these moments that Mills finds his true success in 20th Century Women. We, as people, try to understand everybody. We read, we listen, we live as them. But, we are not them. Though we try to see things from their perspective, we are doomed for failure. All those who try to understand anybody or anything in the film quickly realize that they do not understand anything. What we read in a book or see in a film does not always reflect reality, as real life has a lot of nuance and idiosyncrasies that cause each person to deviate from the beaten path. This is a lesson one must lesson and it is one taught in 20th Century Women. While the film is explicitly about the women it portrays and is ultimately a character study in how they treat this young boy and the issues he encounters, it is naturally a coming of age story for Jamie as well. It is through this engaging with women of various ages, learning the ropes in how pick-up girls, and learning about the world, that he grows up. But, he must learn to do, not read. To understand, one must go out and live it and experience what they read. Via his encounters with those around him, Jamie quickly learns that he needs to go out and experience these situations, rather than just read about them in a book about feminism. By living with women and seeing how they act, he learns an innumerable amount about how these women live, but they hardly represent all women.

One of the greatest achievements of 20th Century Women is its characters. Starring Dorothea, portrayed by Annette Bening, Mills creates a deeply lonely woman. Divorced from her husband and dating various male suitors, she compensates by talking to random people and inviting them for dinner. She rents out rooms in her home to keep it constantly filled with life. But, above all, she is a mother to Jamie. In trying to understand him, she embraces a free thinking and adventurous attitude. This comes very unnaturally to her. She is old school. As Jamie says, she believes in a village raising a kid. She chain smokes, because she was led into believing it was not unhealthy when she started and now she cannot stop and does not care to stop. She is not free thinking, even if she pretends to be. Instead, she is compensating for her lack of understanding. She has no idea how to parent Jamie, how to live, or how to relate to him. She throws things up at the wall and sees what sticks. Her experiment with the girls helping raise him seems to have mixed results, but she can never change who she truly is on the inside. When Abbie says she is menstruating at the table and Dorothea rebukes her for it, she reveals herself as not being quite as open to the world as she may seem. While I happen to agree that it is a bit personal for a dinner party, I am also not nearly as free thinking as the characters in the film. Dorothea sticks out like a sore thumb in this family and is the older woman trying to figure out what is cool with the kids these days. In portraying this character, Bening is outstanding. While I do not feel as though she was snubbed from an Oscar nomination, this has to be her best role in years and she certainly makes the most of the opportunity.

Alongside her is Abbie, portrayed by Greta Gerwig. A Greta Gerwig-type, Abbie is a former art school student, photographer, victim of 1950s medicine, and certified loose spirit. Abbie flies by the seat of her pants and is a bit of a wild child. She embodies the free thinking psychedelic aesthetic of Santa Barbara and the one that Mills pain-stakingly tries to cultivate. In portraying this character, Gerwig is in her natural habitat. She is a weird, quirky, and insists on role playing to have sex. She is an odd ball and stands as the true embodiment of Santa Barbara. In line with the theme of lack of understanding, Abbie has outbursts and does not know why she does. She cannot relate to her own mother and struggles to relate to Willie in any meaningful fashion, in spite of their sexual encounter. Though she may be free and in touch with the essence of the world around her, she barely understands herself, let alone the world. I cannot imagine somebody better for this role than Gerwig. Though she is very good here, I would love to see her play a less quirky and neurotic character. Either that or drop her in a Woody Allen film as the Allen character before he dies, please.

Finally, we have Julie. Honestly, aside from Jamie's perusing of feminist literature and his primitive understanding of women, Julie may be the character that most embodies the theme of not understanding. She is incredibly naive. Unaware of her sexual presence and impact upon men, she believes that men only want sex. She does not want Jamie because she does not want to have sex with him. Okay, that is fine, but there are other reasons to date. Sex can come later naturally. But, her encounters with men has led her to conclude that all men only want sex. In reality, Jamie just wants her, or what he thinks is her. As she points out, he only wants his image of her. Yet, she wants the same. She rejects that he has feelings and compartmentalizes them all into sexual desire for her. Her therapist mother is right on that compartmentalizing issue, as she believes that Jamie is like all men and just wants her body, rejecting that he is unique or could just want her. However, she freely believes that she understands and knows him better than anybody else. Her lack of self-awareness and naiveness when it comes to herself, what to expect from sex (she accepts not climaxing as a fact of life and finds pleasure in other elements of the act), and not understanding her friendship with Jamie show how she is incredibly naive. Taught to believe sex is the only element between men and women in relationships, she rejects Jamie not because she would not be interested in him, but because she enjoys talking to him and being close to him. So close that she should would not want sex to ruin the friendship. It is a naive position of love and relationships to believe that sex is the only part that adds onto a friendship. In portraying this character, however, Elle Fanning is glorious. Having seen all of her 2016 turns (The Neon Demon, Live by Night, and now this film), it is clear she is destined to become a star. She should solidify it with some killer roles in 2017 and I can only dream of what the future holds. As of now, it is incredibly bright as her star is set to explode.

Yet, while I do not necessarily like the addition of the character's futures, it is compelling to view it in conjunction with the lack of understanding possessed by the characters. In watching a the crisis of confidence speech by Jimmy Carter, only Dorothea finds power in the words of the soon-to-depart President. In discussing her future, she discusses how nobody among them knew that Reagan was next. Nobody knew that the Cold War would end. Nobody knew about Y2K. Nobody knew about the internet. It was the year 1979 and, in many ways, it was the calm before the storm of the last 20 years. In the last 20 years of the century, the change ushered into the world left it a dramatically different place and we are still coping with how to live in this world. The characters in 1979 are lost and have no idea how to leads their lives or what people around them are really like and truly want from life. Somehow, in 2017, we are even more confused and disconnected from the world, even if we are more connected to others than ever now. It is here that adding in the futures of the characters makes sense. We get to hear about what awaits them, while their 1979 versions go about happily or unhappily leading their lives, ignorant of what awaits them. It feels like time travel and offers unprecedented insight into the lives of these characters and one that will slowly unfold before their own eyes in the years to come. For all of the characters, however, their futures resemble that of the world. Things are set to really jump start and become some of the most important moments of their lives. Though they are all lost in life, the most important and life defining moments of their lives are awaiting them in the future and set to alter their perception of both the 20th Century and their own existence forever.

While the stylistic elements do not really work at times, Mike Mills does find success in creating a visually arresting film. It is subtly very well shot, in particular the sequence on the beach. With a group of kids walking on the beach at night, the scene is completely black except for the snapping of photos. The flicker of the camera's flash in the complete darkness is gorgeous. It is in these naturalistic shots and those of Santa Barbara's ocean, skyline, and the surrounding area that Mills finds great imagery. Highlighting the beauty and aesthetic of the area and the art of the world, these moments show a great foundation for a visually gorgeous film that really complement the realistic situations and characters.

20th Century Women is a good film. It will take some rewatches to determine how much of a good film I truly believe it to be, however. As laid out in this review, I have issues with the film. It is imperfect, but is there beauty in those perfections? Its portrayal of the mother-son relationship is powerful and truly hits home, especially as it has largely just been my mom and I for my entire life. Thus, the bond and connection between Jamie and Dorothea really hit home. Mills also finds great comedy in his odd characters and the situations they find themselves in throughout the film. Unfortunately, over indulgence in aesthetic and artistic montages of unrelated elements feel as though they distract from the point more than they contribute to reaching the finale. Though presenting well-written characters, it is lacks the dialogue punch needed to make it a truly powerful indie dramedy. Instead, it feels part classic indie dramedy and part artistic exercise in aesthetic and psychedelic 1970s style. The two make for an odd couple and one that is hard to embrace on an initial viewing.