#just like.... ruined any chances for the film to feel genuine

[burst-of-iridescent]

I'm writing this as a big Katara stan. I just found out that a new film about an adult Gaang is planned to be released, and Katara, like Aang, will be given a leading role there. I am so excited and glad that finally Katara will be given due respect as a character!

But for some reason, after searching on Tumblr, I saw joy about a new film in the entire Atla fandom except for our zutara community. on the contrary, there is a lot of discontent and bitterness. But why is that? Is it because zutara won't be in the movie? Well, yes, zutara is a fanon ship, it will never be anywhere but our fanfics and fanart. But after all, Zutara is not in the original ATLA show, and we still love it! This is no reason not to rejoice at the opportunity to see our favorite characters on the screen again, to see Katara again (God, I'm screaming with delight😍😍😍😍). Yes, there is a chance that the writing will be bad, but there is always such a chance before the release of any film. I'm just so happy to see Katara again, and the whole gaang too, and her new design for this movie seems so great to mе!

i mean this genuinely, anon: i love that you love katara so much, and i am really happy for you that you're looking forward to the new movie. i truly hope you enjoy it.

i don't want to speak for the rest of zutara fandom, but i can't share your feelings because - to put it point-blank - i don't trust the creators with katara's character. ever since they lost their writing team, nothing they've created post-atla has proven to me that they understand katara's character, or how to create a good arc for her. it's telling that the only post-canon comic featuring a decent story for katara (katara and the pirate's silver) came out in 2020, twelve years after the original show ended (and which was also, notably, the first comic that bryan and mike were not involved with).

i'm sure some people are salty that they won't see canon zutara, but personally i'm relieved that i won't have to see bry.ke ruin romantic zutara like they did with their friendship post-atla. i'm sure they'll do their damnedest to fuck up what remains of zuko and katara's platonic relationship in the new movie, which is why canon ended for me with the final agni kai. no magic pointy rock or canon ships in this household, thank you.

i wish i could share your excitement for the movie anon, but i just don't have faith in bryan and mike to do justice to the characters (especially zuko and katara) after everything they've said and created over the last decade. like really, calling zuko a bad boy in the year of our lord 2023? please watch your own show.

besides, nothing they can do for katara in this movie will retcon what they did to her in LOK. i already know she ends up as a sad, lonely housewife without any real power, impact or legacy; that can't be changed, no matter how they try to "fix" it. it looks like the movie has been delayed so my hope is that it just gets cancelled in production. atla has been milked to filth anyway; leave the og characters alone and do something new with the universe, or just let it rest in peace and find another story to tell.

[cyjammy]

Angel’s Early Struggle

Can we talk about Angel being bothered by Sir Pentious being praised by Charlie? Because I don't think that's been talked about enough if at all.

Angel up to this point and well past episode two puts up a front. His persona empowers him, gives him a shield against his abuser, critics and even himself. Angel's self-imposed egocentrism gives him the opportunity to gain attention whether that be positive or negative. He wants to play the part of a self-assured, overly-sexual porn star because he knows that's how he has to be.

All of this we know already after episode four.

This skepticism and refusal to change is a byproduct of his negative self-image caused by his circumstances. Valentino has ruined Angel up to this point. He allows Angel to continue his self-destructive tendencies and isolated him to the point where his only friend was Cherri Bomb - someone who also enables him. Valentino does this all for his own benefit. Angel is a toy to him - one that makes him money. To Valentino, his feelings are non-existent, what matters is what he can get out of him, how much use Angel is to him.

Whether that be through physicality or being an entertaining plaything, Valentino doesn't care.

When Angel uses his persona, that pleases the person he spends the most time around. Valentino considers him worthy of the little bit of praise he will give before taking it away at the first opportunity. The inconsistent treatment Angel receives from Valentino is traumatic in itself, couple that with sexual and physical abuse and Angel is barely hanging on. Nobody can remain sane from that without having some way to cope.

After all of that mistreatment that solidified Angel's thought process, his fears and insecurities, he finds someone else who gives him attention with zero strings attached through Charlie. Angel is obviously skeptical at first, considering the things Valentino did to him. He knows Hell is unforgiving, that he had already made a mistake trusting a ruthless overlord, so it was a no brainer that he wouldn't trust Charlie, at least not right away.

So Angel emulates Valentino's behavior, he uses Charlie for a free place to stay with minimal intentions of trying to be redeemed. At any opportunity where Charlie doesn't have Angel under watch, he took the chance to do drugs, start fights, and simply revert back to the way he was when he was on his own. Angel does show some kind of remorse, unlike Valentino, before reigning himself back in to pretend he doesn't care.

Even in the pilot you could see the beginnings of character development in Angel. Not everything was as it seemed.

At this point, Angel has no reason to stop this behavior. This is Angel's rationalization: It's Hell, nobody else is going to try Charlie's plan, redemption doesn't exist, why try?

In this endeavor, Angel can't be considered a failure or disappointment. There aren't grave actions for falling short in the Hotel like there would be if he failed Valentino. There is no threat of physical harm, verbal or emotional abuse and manipulation. He may get yelled at by Vaggie and Charlie, but he had just met them, he doesn't care about their opinions or feelings to the point that it would viscerally affect him.

However, Charlie did whittle him down by being genuine. She cares for the hotel’s patrons and her plan for redemption. Charlie stays consistent in a way that Valentino doesn’t.

After a long night of filming, Angel gets to return to the hotel. Charlie and Vaggie are there and Angel stays unbelieving of her plans for redemption. After Alastor joins, Angel also has Nifty and Husk.

He doesn’t have to stew in his misery within the same vicinity as his abuser. He gets to have a distraction and a support system no matter how dysfunctional they may seem.

When Sir Pentious joins the hotel as a spy for the Vees, Angel has to compete for attention where he never had to. Sir Pentious is the patron of Charlie’s dreams. He appeals to her notion of instant conversion by obediently following her orders no matter how nonsensical or small.

Angel continues to put up the same front since it hasn't stopped working for him before. Charlie starts a group activity, Sir Pentious succeeds, and Angel says it's stupid.

Charlie has them act out a scene, Angel is critical of it and Sir Pentious plays the part perfectly.

Charlie freely gives him praise.

Angel has never received praise from Charlie up to this point. At least, nothing direct. Charlie would placate him, use language that wasn't insulting, but those comments weren't compliments.

They were meant to redirect, produce a productive conversation and ultimately help Charlie achieve her goal. She never checked in on Angel's well-being. With everything going on, she was so concerned with her plan that she didn't focus on anything else.

Angel doesn't make an event out of it. He states that he's leaving and when the attention is off him he doesn't try to bring it back.

There is simply defeat.

Angel doesn't process these feelings well. He momentarily considers the hotel just as bad as any place in Hell. He considers returning to Valentino. At least in the studio he's the center of attention, he is good at what he does. There is no need to think of ways to be better or earn redemption, he can be a degenerate and a sleazeball all he wants.

While he is certainly being used at least he is of use. He has a purpose and he isn't disregarded because he doesn't measure up. Angel has his part and he plays it well.

So there is that choice to return back to the studio until he is snapped out of his stupor by remembering his reality. There were good moments with Valentino, but those would never outweigh the bad and the downright horrible. The voicemails Valentino left him highlighted that too well.

Angel had no choice but to stay.

But where did that leave him? He felt like a disappointment. Charlie wouldn't see someone as broken as him worthy for redemption. Sir Pentious had that role and he was better in that department. Angel firmly believed that he couldn't change.

Valentino's hold on him remained strong in the earlier months of his departure. Angel struggled with this mindset of self-destruction. He continued to ruin opportunities for himself, but it was so deeply ingrained in him he couldn't stop himself.

So, he goes to cope. He wants to drown his misery away.

And through that he discovers Sir Pentious's true intentions. He wasn't this perfect patron taking Charlie's attention. Angel's skepticism was justified. He didn't have to be perfect nor did he have to try because Sir Pentious was in the same boat as him.

He prioritized his interests over redemption.

And I wish we could have seen the change with a few more episodes because there is no way this distrust faded in a day.

Knowing that there were months of development in between these moments clears up a few things, but it wasn't on screen so we're left to speculate.

Now, instead of being spiteful, Angel is back to acting as he would with anyone in the Hotel. Sir Pentious has been brought down off his pedestal, he didn't have pure intentions, his dreams of becoming a powerful overlord were crushed and he was cluelessly following an untested path to redemption because he had nowhere else to go.

Angel's attitude persists until Loser, Baby. This is the second moment where he realizes that Hell is shit and nobody is better than anyone, especially if they ended up here. Husk is there for Anthony, a guy who isn't putting on a front and just made a few shit decisions.

As the months go on and Angel only has to interact with Valentino in a business capacity, he gains confidence. There's a system in place that's benefitting him, he has friends and a reason for being.

He even goes as far as to defend his new friends - his faux family - against the biggest threat to his wellbeing.

He has hope for the future and I love that all of it was revealed in Season 1. All you have to do is pay attention.

[tragicbeauty1991]

So I know I’m extremely late to the party, but I FINALLY got around to watching Wish now that it’s up on Disney+ and…I genuinely don’t understand why it got so much hate?? Sure, maybe it wasn’t on par with things like The Lion King or Frozen in terms of the lasting effect it’ll have on pop culture but it was still a good, fun film with original characters and plot and catchy songs. While I can see where some of the complaints are coming from, I feel like ultimately most of them blow the issues out of proportion. As for my personal thoughts on the film…

- The songs were good overall. Maybe not as memorable as some of my favorite ‘90s Disney jams, but topping Phil Collins and Elton John is admittedly hard to do. Ariana DeBose and Chris Pine were great, though. I honestly had no idea Chris Pine could sing so well. “At All Costs” was by far my favorite song of the entire film. I would have loved to see it as a love duet rather than singing to the wishes but regardless, it’s beautiful. “This is the Thanks I Get” got a lot of flak, but honestly, I thought it was catchy and fun—rather reminiscent of Gaston’s pub song about himself.

- Speaking of Magnifico… More backstory, please! I would love for a sequel to do what they did with Frozen and explain all the things that were not fully developed in the first film. I want to know details on what happened to Magnifico’s family… But man, oh man… Was I EVER happy to get a “real villain” again with more of a classic Disney feel—dramatic, over the top, a little unhinged…and just FUN. I think the reason so many people seem to be having a problem with him is that they don’t quite know how to categorize him, though, before his ultimate downward spiral after being possessed by the book. (I think after that point, no one would argue about him being a villain.) But before…while he’s definitely narcissistic and has a temper…he’s not straight-up evil. There’s a big difference in being a bit of a jerk and being someone who makes you legitimately fear for your life. In fact, we have several heroic characters in the Disney canon who at least start out their story in a similar vein. Prince Naveen, Peter Pan, and Emperor Kuzco, for example, are all full of themselves and entitled…but they ultimately choose to do the right thing when it comes down to people they care about. That is to say, Magnifico’s less than ideal character traits we see early on in the film shouldn’t automatically qualify him as a villain. He could frankly go either way. And then when he does “go dark” it’s ONE stupid decision on his part (going for the book) that ruins any chance he had of being like the aforementioned characters. Personally, I like the complexity…and the tragedy of what it means for Queen Amaya. Which reminds me…

- Yes, a villain power couple would have been fun. But honestly, I think I like this better. Partly because of the angst potential here. For all his faults, Amaya DOES genuinely love him, and watching him slowly lose his mind and himself to the power-hungry monster he becomes has to be absolutely heartbreaking for her. Also…maybe it’s just because I identify with Amaya here. I have been in a bad relationship where I did truly love the other person and thought they loved me…but ultimately, they seemed to love themselves more. And I made excuse after excuse for his behavior for a long time because I couldn’t see what he was doing to me…didn’t want to see it…because I loved him. People say Amaya had to have known sooner that something rotten was going on but I don’t know that she ever allowed herself to think anything other than the best of him. Amaya has a good heart…and sometimes those people see the best in others even when it isn’t there. What I really would have loved is to have Amaya and Magnifico sing a short reprise of “At All Costs” in which Amaya is asking, “Really? You’ll hoard all these wishes for your own selfish reasons even at the cost of losing your people’s love? Of losing me?” And Magnifico is just…stoically resolute. That would have hurt but it would have been so good!

- Similarly, I don’t get the complaint about Star. I wouldn’t mind seeing Star Boy like he was in the concept art and having a romance with Asha. But also…Star is ADORABLE, okay?? He may not speak but he has so much personality. Makes me think of like…Pascal in Tangled or even Tinkerbell.

- I know a lot of people complained about there being too many references to other Disney films but this just seems like a silly argument to me. Disney has always liked to leave little Easter eggs in their films and have some fun with crossovers. I am thinking of the Genie imitating Pinocchio and pulling Sebastian out of nowhere in Aladdin. Hidden characters in the background of other films like Flynn and Rapunzel showing up in Arendelle. Hidden Mickeys. And of course shows that were all about a Disney multi-verse that sort of pokes fun at itself like Once Upon a Time, House of Mouse, and even Ralph Breaks the Internet. With this being a special anniversary film, of course we ought to expect more nods to other films and Disney animation history. I thought it was cute. Especially Magnifico’s jab at Asha’s little moving drawing. (“Is that a talent?”) Made me literally laugh out loud.

- I think the one complaint I do agree with at least in part is the, “But Magnifico was right, though??” Some dreams shouldn’t come true. Especially if it’s a wish you’re making when you’re 18. There are definitely things I wished for at 18 that I am glad I did not get in hindsight. Sometimes what we wish for isn’t what’s best for us or others. And while Asha’s wishes are selfless and for others…she seems to assume that everyone else will also have equally harmless, selfless wishes. It’s sweet but perhaps a bit naive. Also…Asha has good intentions but it is rather funny and frustrating as the adult to watch this teenager come in and try to upset the whole system thinking she knows better than the person who has been running the kingdom for years. That said… Asha isn’t totally wrong either. The wishes do ultimately belong to the people who made them and it’s better even if it’s painful to have a dream in your heart than to be lacking purpose. It may be easier to forget the wishes entirely but certainly not healthier. Ironically, if only these two could have worked together, they actually would have made a great team.

Overall, I liked the film. And I think if I was still a child myself, I would have enjoyed it even more.

[booktomoviebrawl]

We are not judging how bad the movie is, we are judging which adapted the book the worst. There are good movies that are bad adaptions.

Propaganda below the cut (spoilers may apply)

Persuasion:

They massacred my girl!! That is not Anne Elliot!! The whole point is that she's beaten down and thinks she's missed her chance at happiness and is bullied by her family, not making mean and snarky nods to the camera :( They completely missed the whole point of the dynamic and it's SICKENING! They also cut Mrs Smith who is arguably one of the most important characters as she highlights Anne's lack of focus on title and rank and her family's comparative obsession with it + it's only through her that Anne learns about Mr Elliot's true nasty nature. Also they cut the 'I am half agony, half hope' line from Wentworth's letter at the end so what's even the POINT of adapting it if you don't have that!! Oh my god!! My poor favourite Austen novel :( (I do want to make it very very clear that my issues with the movie come from the writing and adaptation and not in any way from the race blind casting. The casting is superb and I'm genuinely so disappointed that they got such a bad adaptation bc so many of the cast are literally perfect)

Where do I even start? They tried to 'modernize' both the protagonist and the love story and managed to take out everything that made it good in the first place. Anne Elliot in the novel is quiet and good and helpful, full of regret. In the movie, she constantly turns to the audience to mock everyone around her, feeling so much better than everyone, to the point where nobody understands why Captain Wentworth would still be in love with her, or have fallen in love with her in the first place. Eight years before the plot starts, she broker her engagement to him because she was persuaded by a family friend that it was a bad idea. No way would movie!Anne have let herself be persuaded. They just tried to do a Fleabag/Emma type of thing without understanding what made either the novel or those two things work and thereby ruined it completely

Whoever made this didn't understand the point of the novel at all. They completely screwed up the character of Anne Elliot (the protagonist), which in turn screws the rest of the movie, as the original story only works because Anne is the way she is. Also, it's a period piece but the characters are talking in modern slang the entire time. And not in a clever way but in a very cringey one. If Jane Austen knew, she'd probably turn in her grave, and rightfully so.

Maximum Ride:

The storyline makes absolutely no sense, and the movie is nothing like the book. You could've given the movie an entirely different name and and keep the plot I wouldn't bat an eye

the movie's just bad mate

Horrendous low budget netflix movie with effects so bad they make me feel physically ill and acting so wooden the cast is in danger of being attacked by lumberjacks. The story already wasn't the best and the film somehow made it worst. I came in with nostalgia for my dear kids with bird wings and left never to be the same again.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children:

While Miss Peregrine was one of my favorite books as a kid and incredibly unique in the way the story is written (The author basically took a box of weird antique photographs and created an underlying story behind a handful of them) the movie is incredibly boring. Like seriously I can't remember a single goddamn thing about the movie besides my extreme disappointment with it after leaving the theatres. It's probably because the original is a trilogy but they didn't want to make it a trilogy for the movie so they just scrapped the ending of the first book and rewrote a shitty climax where they threw snowballs at the nightmare child eating creatures or something. I remember THAT scene perfectly because it was so, so dumb. It was so stupid oh my God- ALSO, thank God I have a copy of the book from before the film came out because new copies don't have one of the photographs that the actual book uses as a base anymore and instead have the shitty movie poster! We truly do live in a society.

Changed way too much so it doesn't feel like the same thing. The main characters are these kids with different abilities (called peculiarities) and the movie switches around their powers and changes almost everyone's age. Emma and Olive switch powers so that Emma now floats (they also added that she can kind of control air to some extent) when she's supposed to have fire powers to match her fiery personality. Olive can make fire now and she's also aged up from an eight year old to a teenager and put her in this weird romance with Enoch. Enoch is also aged up from a grumpy thirteen year old to around the same age as Olive. Bronwyn, one of the older kids in the book and sort of a motherly figure to the younger kids, is now one of the youngest kids. Hugh and Fiona are aged down and basically have no interaction at all in the movie, even when their book counterparts had such a good relationship. The only one they didn't really change was Horace and Jacob. They also added these gorgon twins that do like two things. The antagonist in the movie is Mr. Barron who honestly isn't super memorable and isn't in the books whatsoever. The ending of the movie is weird too because they manage to turn back time somehow so Jacob's grandfather isn't dead and then he hops through loops so he can be with Emma and the other peculiars. I guess the problem of wights and hollowgasts is magically eliminated and we do not have to deal with the consequences. It took six books to fix everything. I appreciate that the movie engaged me enough to read the series but once I did, I could not believe they did my kids that dirty.

Yikes where to start. The 3 girl characters are all mixed up. There are 2 teens, one who's super strong and has a brother (I'll get back to him) and one who controls fire and is the love interest named Emma. The third girl is a child called Olive who floats. She's lighter than air.

In the movie, strong girl is the child, olive is now the fire girl and is for some reason super introverted, and Emma the love interest floats and gets given a super breath??? Power?? Like she rises a sunken ship by blowing in and keeps a man blown against a wall by blowing air at him. He makes a remark that she'll run out of breath eventually, which happens here because plot convenience, but not when she's blowing in the sunken ship.

The enemies in the book are terrifying Hollows. Creatures who have lost themselves and devour souls of those with powers... The movie decides they eat eyes now. And turn human again. And get busted up in a fair for the final act of the movie. Ugh.

The movie also decides randomly that time travelling through the loops is a thing; a loop being a pocket of time that replays the same day over and over. But apparently this means Main Character can travel back in time and stop his grandfather dying??? What?? His grandfathers death is the whole start of the movie and motivation for the character.

The movie undermines many of things that made the book amazing and even decides it's not a trilogy anymore!! Fuck the other 2 books, right?!

Tldr; it is terribly hollywood-ised and t tim Burton ruined a franchise by trying too hard to make it quirky and fun when the books already had a brilliant sombre and interesting tone to them.

[enhastolemyheart]

BROKEN — P. SH

pairing sunghoon x reader

genre angst, unrequited love (?)

synopsis who knew that you would be too late when it came to confessing to your childhood crush?

warnings crying, overthinking, proofread but lmk if any mistakes

word count 1.2k

networks @k-films @/hyfenet

note HI! I'm back with a fic!! I wanted to write something out real quick and was feeling like angsty saur this is the result!! Hope you guys like it :)

Why can’t I just say how I feel? Why can't I just let Sunghoon know?

It shouldn’t be hard. It should be natural. The most natural thing on earth. Everyone does it, right? Everyone’s always done it. It’s nothing. Just one small step. A few words. A few taps of a keyboard, even.

I reach for my phone. I’m gonna do it. I could call you, or… no. I’ll text. It’s less stressful that way, for me and for you. It lets us make sure we say precisely what we mean. Less chance for misunderstandings.

I open up my messages and scroll to your name. It’s not hard to find. I could pick your face out of a crowd anywhere. Opening the conversation, I start to type.

Hey Sunghoon, I was just wondering, would you maybe-

No.

That’s not good. It’s too weak. Too apprehensive. You’d smell the fear through the screen. I need to project confidence. I try again.

Hey, do you want to go to dinner with me sometime?

I ponder this for a while, eventually shaking my head. It’s too abrupt and unclear. You might not realise that I mean as a date. You might think I’m talking about a casual platonic meetup. That’s not a mistake I want to make. I want you to know what I’m asking. I want to know what your answer means. Sighing, I glance around my room, searching for inspiration. It’s a waste of time. Hundreds of books and movies, yet not a single one can give me the answers I need. In desperation, I turn to the world’s most treacherous source of advice. The internet.

Sure, there’s a lot of garbage on there, but if you slog past the cheesy pick-up lines and pseudo-psychology, there really are a few hidden gems. Not that I can find them. Almost everything I read is about dating in person. Standing up straight. Projecting confidence through physicality. Maybe even a bit of light contact, a hand on the arm, that sort of thing. Solid advice, but utterly useless to me since, you know, you’re halfway across the country right now. Still, slowly but surely, I cobble something together that sounds more or less decent.

Hey, I know you were back in town recently. How about Friday we go for dinner at that pizza place you like, then afterwards take a walk through the park? They’ve revamped the gardens, and I think you’d love them.

Dinner and a romantic, moonlit walk. That sounds like a date, I suppose. I’ve managed to make my intentions clear. Plus, I sound confident. No umming and ahhing, no self-defeatism. The best thing of all is it gives you an easy out. If you’re not interested, you can say you’re busy that night. If you genuinely are busy, you can suggest another time. It’s not like the park is going anywhere.

The message is perfect. I’ve done it.

I’m ready.

Now, there’s only one thing left to do.

It’s just a shame it’s the hardest thing of all. My finger hovers over the send button, unable to take that final step. I keep telling myself to just press it and get this whole thing over with. But that annoying little voice in my head keeps arguing. What if they say no? What if they decide they hate me? What if they don’t want to talk to me anymore? It’s times like this that I wish I drink. A little bit of liquid courage is exactly what I need right now. That’d shut the damn voice up. But I don’t take a drink. Instead, I do the stupidest thing possible. I give myself time to think. Yeah. I’m an idiot.

Before long, that little voice is running rampant. What am I doing? This is stupid. So, so stupid. Sure, I want more from our relationship. But what if you don’t? What if, by doing this, I ruin our friendship? I don’t want to lose you. I tell myself again and again that I’m overthinking. That you aren’t like that. That it would take more than a bit of awkwardness to drive a wedge between us. But I’m not convinced.

Sure, maybe we’d be fine for now. But what if you find someone else? Will they be okay with us being friends, knowing how I feel about you? I’m not so sure. Besides, I know that you’re not exactly looking for a relationship right now. Truth be told, it’s probably not the best time for me either. But that shouldn’t matter, not really. If two people are right for each other, they can overcome anything, can’t they? The timing might not be ideal, but we can get past it.

Then again- I almost scream in frustration. I can’t do this anymore. Picking up my phone, I delete the message, deciding to wait until you’re back and tell you how I feel face to face. It’ll be better that way. I can put all that advice to use and win you over with my charming smile.

I’m lying to myself, of course.

I know the odds are good that I’ll still find a way to bottle it. I’ll still talk myself down. But maybe, just maybe, I won’t. Maybe I’ll find a way to beat that annoying little voice. Do you know what the worst thing is? You probably think I won’t say anything because you don’t mean enough to me. That my fear of rejection is stronger than my feelings for you. You couldn’t be more wrong. In a weird, paradoxical way, the strength of my feelings for you are what stops me from saying anything. You’re amazing. The most perfect human being I’ve ever met. Every time I see your smile, my heart soars like an eagle. And when I hear your laugh, dimple on display, my body glows with happiness. Even when I’m just listening to you vent about your troubles, I feel like I’m hearing a classic tale equal to anything Shakespeare, Austen, Hemingway ever created.

Because you’ve nailed the most important part of storytelling. You’ve made me care about the protagonist. You’ve made me care about you. And I couldn’t bear it if I did something stupid enough to drive you from my life.

The next couple of weeks pass in a blur. I throw myself into school work, glad of the distraction. In the brief moments I let myself think of you, I begin to convince myself that I really will tell you how I feel. That by not saying anything, I could be robbing us of so much time together. By the week before you’re due back, I’m certain. The next time I see you, I’m asking you out.

My muscles finally relaxing, I slump back into a chair. I’ve spent a long day at my desk and am ready to unwind. Turning on the TV, I grab my phone and begin mindlessly scrolling through social media to catch up with what my friends have been doing. I see some pictures of you celebrating a friends' birthday. I smile. You’re happy, and that makes me happy.

But then I swipe to the last picture and see you wrapped up in somebody else’s arms, your rosy lips pressed against theirs.

Fuck.

My head spins. My chest tightens. I feel like I’m about to pass out.

Putting down my phone, I put my head in my hands and start to cry. Why didn’t I tell you how I feel? Why didn’t I atleast try to see if you felt the same way? Why do I have to be so damn broken?

a/n: tysm for reading!! Hope y'all liked it

perm taglist: @jak-ey ; @snoowhore ; @hsgwrld ; @seungiesluv ; @1-800shutthefuckup ; @heeseungshim (send an ask to be added)

[witheredoffherwitch]

I was genuinely taken aback by the trailer! I wasn't expecting such a lighthearted tone from the Green council. Only Alicent and Rhaenyra are unhappy, while everyone else is enjoying themselves.💀 It's a bit confusing to me. What did you think about it?

Hey nonnie 🤗

Thanks for this ask - and quite frankly, I LOVE this new trailer. If you'll allow me a moment to delve deeper, let me explain my thoughts on this further 🫣

To be fair, it's understandable why some may have misinterpreted these settings, particularly when comparing them to the vastly different tone of the teaser trailer. The editing of Green/Black scenes made it seem like everyone was miserable 🤣 However, I believe this was due to the limitations in post-production that restricted the use of other scenes. Most of the footage used in teasers were filmed in a volume or closed setting, lacking any scenes featuring dragons despite showcasing characters such as Rhaenyra, Aemond, Daemon, and Baela riding them. This could be partly due to incomplete dragons that still needed rendering. But now in March, they have polished up more scenes and completed major renderings for Sunfyre and Moondancer, who are the new entrants in this trailer.

NOW, the show is not likely to stray from its main focus in season 1, where the women strive to *avoid* this war while men (especially Targaryen men) continue to hinder their efforts. This will surely anger some die-hard book whores who cannot separate HoTD from F&B. However, as seen in marketing and interviews with Ryan Condal, it becomes increasingly clear that the creators have chosen this direction for the show. F&B is most likely a biased retelling by maesters who pinned the blame for the realm's deadliest political civil war on two women, when in reality the situation was much more complex. The marketing seems to be emphasizing the idea of having to choose a side because both the Greens and Blacks will probably rely on this strategy in season 2 (as indicated by Daemon's “bend the knee or burn” line in the Black trailer). Just like how Aemond's murder of Luke destroyed any chance of negotiation between Greens and Blacks, I have a feeling that Daemon's escalation with B&C will ruin Rhaenyra's chances of gaining any bargaining power against the Greens. In the funeral scene, we can see that the smallfolk are mourning alongside Alicent and Helaena, which shows that their propaganda has been successful despite Aemond's actions. This will play a significant role in Rhaenyra's short reign as she becomes increasingly unpopular with the masses.

Alicent, in the Green trailer, is understandably upset as she realizes their bargaining power has been lost to the Blacks. Meanwhile, in the Black trailer, Rhaenys acknowledges how war often leads to a continuous cycle of bitter revenge, while Rhaenyra conveys guilt at what she may have started. The men, however, are all focused on gearing up for war - Daemon is fully armoured and rarely seen with Rhaenyra, Corlys suggests escalating actions against the Greens, and Aegon and Aemond are just as eager to cause chaos. As Targaryen men riding dragons with fire at their command, diplomacy may not come naturally to them in this situation.

In the end, this story is a strange mix of hypocrisy, entitlement, and long-standing grudges that could have been resolved if Viserys wasn’t such a pathetic limp-dick cuck. Alicent is a giant hypocrite while Rhaenyra is both entitled and callous. It was foolish of Rhaenyra to not anticipate a war that was looming in the distance, especially considering how she always relied on her father - the King - to protect her and her sons from any consequences within their feudal system. Similarly, Alicent is a hypocrite to expect any reconciliation when all she has taught her kids through her years’ long paranoia is how they will be killed if their half-sister were to rise in power. This explains why both Rhaenyra, Alicent, and even the Strong boys were caught off guard when the men around them were more prepared for this inevitable war for quite some time.

That's all! 😇

[slashingdisneypasta]

I thought up this after you and 🦊 anon talked about how hard it is to make a villains backstory and how it effects the fear factor. I hope this is ok to add (I don't want to take either of your guys' spotlight, I'm just trying to add to it.)

It can honestly be pretty difficult when you add layers to a character, regardless if they are a villain or a hero or an average Joe. You have to consider each layer and do your best to make sure none of the building up you have gets lost in the end, and also make sure it's not the core focus on the big screen/story.

When you give a villain a tragic backstory, it implies that you can negotiate with them and they'll listen if you play your cards right, and that removes some, if not all, the fear because now you know you could potentially survive. A villain that didn't have a tragic backstory, or at least only follows his own morals, is scarier because the only way you could survive that is if you fight physically instead of diplomatically. And since in general humans try to avoid confrontation as much as possible (for the most part), this is more frightening then if you had a chance with the tragic villain.

In the end, it all really depends on the character and whether or not it's necessary to show their backstory. Either it is necassary and part of the whole story and not just their own, if you show too much it could potentially ruin or derail the story and/or character, and it is completely unnecassary. A few examples I thought of were:

Jason, as you stated before, would fall in the first category. His backstory shows us why that specific camp is being targeted, why this huge undead guy is walking around killing seemingly innocent people, and why his mother and him have pretty much gone cuckoo. It, along with that scene of him holding the teddy bear of his childhood (I haven't seen any of the films, but I saw a picture of him doing that on Tumblr, it was like in his old home? Maybe that was just an extra and not a real scene of the movie? I'm not sure), shows us that he does show emotion and isn't mindless, which for us not only means his story will impact us even more since it makes it much sadder, but it also shows he isn't just brainlessly killing the camp counselors, he is feeling rightfully wrong and, with his mother's guidance who also was wronged, is willing to take it out on others, and that part of backstory can make him even more scary. That is how he can be scary and sad; you can still negotiate him, but it would take alot on your part.

Tiffany Valentine would fall in the second category (from what I've seen. Idk if more of her backstory was revealed in the series, I'm just going off of what I've noticed in Bride and Seed. I'll try to keep spoilers of Bride out since I'm not sure if you've seen it yet). We can see that even though she's a viscious and apathetic killer, she still longs to find love, get married and start a family, abd how much she loves her mother with how she quotes her alot and tries to follow her advice as best as she can. Not only that, but we see her trying to cut back on killing for her child Glen (they didn't know about Glenda at that point so I'm gonna exclude her on that). However, when you think about it, we don't know her backstory. We know she's Chucky's lover, and she respects her mother, and she's a killer, but what else do we know that we don't see on screen? We do know see that Tiffany has lost some marbles of her own, as seen when she kills the nanny in Seed for calling Glenda a devil child. We also see that she genuinely enjoys killing and doesn't care for those she doesn't love throughout the franchise. It makes us wonder how and when did she become this monster? Was it before or after meeting Chucky? Why is she so obsessed with having her perfect family? Was it because of her own childhood? All these questions make us lose the upper hand in diplomacy since for all we know, nothing happened and she's just bat shit crazy, or she doesn't care about what happened in her backstory and won't be trapped into whatever emotional traps we can set up for her. We may be able to use her children against her, but look at what she did to the nanny for simply wanting to quit.

And now, for the third category, I'll go with the Driller Killer I know you don't know him, but hear me out. In the movie, the only backstory we get on him is that he came from the girl's head, and even then that's questionable. We don't know how or why he became a killer, we don't know what his life prior to the movie was, assuming he even had a life. Hell, we don't know if he's even human. All we get are the clues in his personality, and even then for all we know it's just a facade (I doubt it, but again, we don't even know what he is, who knows if he's secretly a mastermind?). That's how he's scary because we simply do not know, and the closest to negotiation we have on him is dream sex, and even then for all we know he'll just kill us anyway, not to mention that not alot of people would would be willing to negotiate with their bodies (not that i blame them). We can't even run away since he'll always find you no matter where you are (the final girl was locked up in what I'm guessing is an asylum at the end of the movie, and we see the Diller killer drilling into her room through the floor). To put it simply: you're fucked no matter what you do.

However, there is a way to balance it out, and not just by revealing too much. It's why I like your Slasher Edward so much: he was actually wronged by a girl, and we do sympathize with that, but he's made it clear that at this point he's just using it as an excuse to do what he's probably fantasized about doing before. It can be nigh impossible to change someone- I'm not talking about flaws or quirks, I'm talking about who they truly are deep down, so the fact that he's going this extreme implies that he was already a killer in the making, that girl just so happened to be the final push and his excuse. Hell I'm willing to bet fifty bucks that he's the kind that goes "BuT i'M a GoOd PeRsOn DeEp DoWn! 🥺". Yeah Eddie, if you were really a good person, why are you making these girls that have nothing to do with your or so tragic backstory suffer?

(Please note: there is a difference between fantazing about something harmful and putting it into action. I'm certain we've all wished we could smack a rude person or harm a bad person in out lives. But whether or not you act it out and your emotions about it afterward show whether or not you really are a good person. Psychology is extremely complicated, and I'm not saying that if you think anything bad that makes you a bad person, I'm just explaining my theory on the psychology of how a tragic backstory can make a villain less scary and how balancing it out works.)

So, that's my thoughts. I kind of went a bit overboard I suppose 😅 but what do you guys think? Do you have more to add to this or your own opinion on why tragedy is less scary?

Oh no no, you are always MORE then welcome to add your thoughts! This is AMAZING!! You wrote a whole essay!! Top marks, too, because its entertaining, well written and REALLY REALLY INTERESTING XD Boy, you're so smart. I absolutely don't mind receiving this, this is really really amazing and I'm sure Fox Emoji Anon agrees!!! ^^

Okay okay- so- I had to take a moment to let everything here sink in and then read it again XD First of all- that last paragraph- I tooootally agree. There is a GIGANTIC difference between thinking something and doing something. You're not a bad person for the things you think- just don't go letting them fester inside you until you carry them out in real life- like most villains do.

Absolutely agree on your takes!! Especially Edward- you're making me actually really wanna build on him 😅 I think he always had the seed of evil and disgust in him- it just took the woman he feels that he's been wronged by to give him that 'excuse' to snap and be a 'hero' by hurting people like her. With the backstory, I was thinking though that it wouldn't really be revealed per say?- it would just be referenced (Either by the two old guys or by Ed himself) that 'one day some girl didn't want him back i suppose' or 'I've been spurned before and you can thank her for what's about to be done to you', and as an audience member you'd sorta gather more of an idea about why he is the way is by the way he acts, reacts to and treats other women in the story.

This way I think audiences have enough to go on about him that they can make their own theories as to what happened and his fucked up psychology- it would put you in his head. Which is also I think why villains with a certain amount of backstory (Like a said with Freddy- only that first bit) are interesting and still quite scary actually. It makes you think more about it and wonder why that made them be this way and then you're in a sicko's head and its terrible but also fascinating.

But yeah, audiences would have enough to be disgusted by Ed- but not enough to take the anonymity away. Like you said at the start, we'd have little enough on him that you wouldn't have a clue how to, uh, talk it through with him? The diplomacy option you outlined would be null and void with him. Because you don't know the root of the story, the key elements that force him to commit the atrocities he does. He would sorta fit into the category Tiffany is in.

I hope that all makes sense??? Haha XD 😅 Also- I would love to see the Driller Killer drilling up from the floor, that sounds hilarious and a great ending to the movie XD Might have to watch, now!! And THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR THOUGHTS!! They are amazing and so intriguing and really really intelligent!!!

Fox Emoji Anon! Do you have anymore thoughts on the subject? You may be going to sleep soon I know- but the talking stick is all yours now if you want it! XD Or even later ^^

[considerablecolors]

Hiii! I recently started one of your fics (the anderperry Tumblr au) and I was so sad to see it wasn't finished! I was wondering if you were going to write anymore, I guess. Have a nice day!

this ended up being kind of long lol- so im putting it under a read more, and i have a tl;dr at the end for anyone who wants the broad strokes without the whole backstory :)

hi! first of all, thank u so much for reading, i hope you've been enjoying it! tbh, this is probably something i should have addressed ages ago, so genuinely thank u for reaching out and motivating me to finally talk about this lol. so to be 100% honest, this question is kind of a hard one for me to answer?

dead poets society is a piece of media that means a lot to me and will always be a key piece of me, but it also sort of represents a part of my life that i don't like dwelling on if that makes sense. tbh it's probably obvious that i was going thru a rough patch just by reading some of my earlier dps stuff (neil perry is not okay is... yeah... lol). additionally, dps is something that i associate heavily with someone that's not really a big part of my life anymore, so sometimes it honestly feels wrong to write certain characters without thinking about that. it's also prolly obvious that dps is not really my main special interest anymore and hasn't been for a little while now.

ALL THAT BEING SAID- dead poets society will never not mean the world to me. despite all the mixed feelings i've come to associate with it, i keep rewatching with the film and engaging with content in small ways specifically because i don't want to let my past struggles ruin something i love. even if it's not the main interest of this blog or ao3 account, i'm definitely still fond of it.

but what does all this mean in terms of content? i'm not really sure. one thing is certain- i intend to write for dps again. i actively have been, in fact. ive been working for a while on a long dps fic and am probably around 1/3 done with it, but im holding off on uploading it until it's completely done specifically to avoid leaving people hanging with a WIP. i have absolutely no idea when it'll actually be finished, but i am really excited for u all to read it.

as for the current dps WIPs i have? unfortunately, i don't think i can say they're getting finished :(. we'll kick it when i hit the ground (anderperry tumblr au) and the whole "being dead" thing (ghost neil au) are both still in the very early stages of their stories and sadly i just don't think i have the energy to finish them. i'd be more than happy to talk a bit and summarize what i had originally planned for the stories if anyone would like that, but i think the stories themselves are probably done for now. as for the neil perry is not okay series, another long, full-length fic like there will be light is definitely a no, but i'd say there's a good chance of me writing a one-shot or two at some point.

in general, i'd say other than the big dps fic im working on, expect any future dps fics from me to be short one-shots that are much lighter in tone. probably still some hurt/comfort cause that's my jam, but less of the heavy angst i typically wrote lol.

lastly, i do want to just take a minute to say thank you to everyone who's still reading my dps fics. like i said, a lot of them represent a pretty bad time in my life, but i can never bring myself to hate them or resent them sheerly because of the outpour of love and appreciation they've received from the fandom. even if im slow to reply to comments sometimes, i promise i read every single one and they mean the world to me. while it's hard to think about some of the things i was going thru while writing things like there will be light, those fics provided a safe place and a source of comfort for me to work out my feelings and find solace, and nothing in the world makes me happier than seeing my writing create the same space for other people. from the bottom of my heart, thank you to everyone that's even clicked on and glanced at a fic of mine. it means the world to me <3.

while it does make me really sad to say that i likely won't return to some of the writings i put so much love into, im really proud of some of the things ive been working on lately, and i hope you all will enjoy it as well! if not, that's ok too, im eternally grateful to anyone who's gotten something out of any of my past work too.

TL;DR:

unfortunately, any WIPs i had for dps are probably going to remain unfinished. if people would like to hear a summary of what id had planned for the remainder of any of these, id be happy to provide that. while i am taking a break from the dps fandom, i still love dps and would be happy to chat about it with anyone that wants to, and i do intend to return to creating dps content- i just don't know when exactly that will be. thank you from the bottom of my heart to anyone who's enjoyed my content in the past, and im wishing you all the absolute best. carpe diem <3

[the-far-bright-center]

@aloveacrossthestars , @padme-amitabha , @spacesureisviolenthuh , @nerdychristianfanboy , @roselani24 , @an-angels-fury , @faeriefully , @zorosnavigator , @milverton , @alyraa-undomiel , @mysterystew , @coruscanting , @lyanna-skywalker , @nebraskagirllackswanderlust

Wow, thank you everyone for all the responses, I was not expecting so many— it's been overwhelming, in a good way! Not to mention reassuring to know I'm not so alone as I thought. :')

In case of any confusion, I just wanted to clarify that I have no issue with people watching, enjoying, and even accepting various supplementary material (whether Expanded Universe/Legends or current Disney content) into their own personal headcanons/preferred canons. I myself have supplementary material from both Lucas-era and Disney-era that I don't mind (and of course, some things that I outright loathe). I simply don't view anything other than the six original Lucas films (PT x OT) as 100% canon. (For more detail on what I specifically consider 'canon' vs. 'supplementary material', see my pinned post.)

Why do I feel this way? Well, first of all, I'm a genuine fan of Lucas' work. Yeah, not just ironically, I actually like his filmmaking style and appreciate him as a storyteller. I also view the core story of Star Wars to be the one that he told—aka the Skywalker saga, which is the story of Anakin's rise, fall, and redemption—and I am, amazingly enough, a fan of that story as it is. No disclaimers needed. I've never had any desire for any additions or continuations to it in the first place. No shade to those who love and cherish post-RotJ EU/Legends, but even the pre-disney post-RotJ EU was not for me. I don't mind that it existed or that others liked it, but it's not something I personally engage in (with some rare exceptions). In my eyes, the saga ends with RotJ. I take Lucas' word that the PT x OT form one, fully complete story, and I'm happy with it. So obviously, Disney's Sequels were anathema to me from the start, but I gave TFA a chance, and welp, never again. It almost ruined Star Wars for me forever. So from there on out, I decided I'd only subject myself to Disney material if it was set prior to RotJ. I had aleady been watching Rebels when that series had first came out, and didn't mind it, and I eventually also watched Rogue One in cinema. I liked aspects of both, and was happy to take some of it into my personal headcanons.... but not all of it. And eventually, I became fed up and disillusioned with Rebels*** in the final two seasons and, for the sake of my mental health, decided to quit watching Disney SW for good. I've stuck with that resolution ever since, and I have not watched a single piece of Disney SW media since 2018. Just mentioning this because some people assume everyone is up to date on all the Disney output, when in reality I've been avoiding it like the plague and would rather not see spoilers for it everywhere.

Which brings me to my next point. When I'm asking about finding a fandom that has this similar view, I don't meant to suggest that no one should enjoy other material set in SW universe, I just mean that I am craving discussions and meta analysis that begin from the same starting point as I do, aka the view that only the PT x OT are the core canon. Again, this doesn't mean I don't ever want to encounter supplementary material being mentioned in meta posts (goodness knows I bring it up sometimes myself!), but just that it would be nice for people, whether fans of Lucas Star Wars only, Disney material, EU/Legends, or a bit of all of the above, to remember that there is a core essence of the story and characters that Disney and co. shouldn't be allowed to just trample on or reframe and reinterpret as they wish at every turn. And if Disney does insist on doing this, then at the very least, fans should be bearing this in mind when engaging in discussions and not just assuming that everyone is accepting Disney's version as some kind of authentic addition or interpretation of the story. If I'm writing a post about [insert topic here], I'm only going to be basing this on the PT and OT films and maybe some of the original novelizations. I'm NOT going to want to engage with discussions that are passively accepting disney's 'reframing' without question and then trying to act like it is has always been canon. So this is what I'm lamenting, because it's almost impossible to do this. Even when I try to hold disussions with fellow anti-Disney fans, somehow the topic still ends up veering into spoilers for the Sequels or Disney+ shows or other things like that. I get the feeling that sadly, for some fans, the Disney material has become so ubiquitous that they can no longer conceive of Star Wars without it, even if discussing the Disney content in a negative framework. It would be so nice to be able to hold focused discussions that analyse the original Lucas saga on its own merits and on its own terms. What always strikes me as so tragic is that the PT and OT were only just finally starting to become more appreciated as one, single complete story when the Disney Sequels came in and just completely halted that progress in its tracks, almost before it had truly begun. My main purpose in running this blog since 2016 has been to memorialise the Lucas saga so that at the very least it is not forgotten. But it would be amazing if it could also be appreciated in more depth, also.

Again, this doesn't mean I'm against people enjoying additional supplementary material, just that I wish my fellow SW fans would be more mindful towards what truly constitutes canon (instead of just passively accepting what Disney tells them), and would approach discussions of the Lucas material less disingenuously and more respectfully. The Lucas saga may be what inspired both the Expanded Universe as well as the subsequent Disney 'canon' after it, but it is ultimately its own thing. The Skywalker saga is a singular created-myth and its meaning is not dependent upon or subject to the whims of a giant corporation.

(***Note: I can be highly critical of Filoni, but I’m not an outright Filoni hater, either. In fact, I'm constantly quite torn over his contributions to Star Wars. While I have zero interest in whatever he's been doing under Disney, I did always find parts of the Lucas-era Clone Wars seasons to be fun and entertaining, and I adore the original TCW version of Ahsoka's character (seasons 1-5). My issue is simply that I just don't accept all of TCW point-blank as canon because there's just too much ridiculous OOC nonsense and fourth-wall-breaking silliness in it to do so. It's only entertaining to me if I view it as the non-canon, self-indulgent vanity project that it is.)

Where is the fandom that only views the Prequels and Original Trilogy as canon? Where can I go to escape the constant onslaught of terrible hot takes that are clearly influenced by Disney's attempts at 'reframing' the saga through their unending stream of churned-out content? Is there anyone left who not only still likes but also still UNDERSTANDS the real Skywalker saga? Who sees the PT x OT as the only true canon and the rest as just optional (and thus not having any requisite bearing on characterisation, plot, themes, etc), and just sees it as the glorified fanfiction that it is?

And especially... where are all the OG Anakin x Padme fans who actually understand the characters and their relationship? Did they disappear? Get fed up with tumblr? Recently, I even went looking for some old Anidala fan vids from the 2000s and early 2010s, only to see those had been deleted, too. It's like a ghost town out here...

Almost everyone I used to connect with over (the real) Star Wars seems to have disappeared over the years and I'm left adrift here in this sea of awful misinterpretations, which I blame mostly on Disney but also on the general obtuseness of tumblr fandom culture.

Ahhhhhh. I'm so tired of it all.

[post-futurism]

ok so thoughts on Happiest Season under the cut - full spoilers ahead.

i love clea duvall and altho her directoral debut with The Intervention did not succeed critically, i had heard various good and bad things about Happiest Season. As a bi person i was ambivalent to watch it at all after hearing concerns of it being v traumatic for LGBTQ+ people to watch given that Abby is forced to go back in the closet and fake not-dating for her gf’s sake who lied about having come out to her family already is.... Very Bad and very much does happen almost uncritically. John’s honesty about what Abby had gotten herself into was very necessary and I’m so thankful that someone vocalised the absurdity of the situation, but the traumatic & homophobic plot device of pretending to be straight at your gf’s house for christmas isn’t the only thing that makes this a bad film. or at least, it ties in with what really made me disillusioned with Clea Duvall’s storywriting skills... and that’s Harper. 

We’re introduced first to a christmas-loving Harper who displays an adventerous, daring streak by climbing on top of someone’s house to watch the christmas lights with her gf, who is not so into the christmas spirit. When Abby falls off the roof and is hanging on to the gutter by her mittens, it’s really such a perfect metaphor for what happens to Abby in the rest of the film, so perfect that I’m not fully sure if it was even intentional or not. The scene goes like this. Harper says “I’m going to help you!” then promptly disappears. Abby is left hanging from the gutter and the lights in the window she is facing are turned on exposing Abby in a totally vulnerable position before she falls to the ground, an inflatable snowman cushinoing her fall. Harper then appears from nowhere and the two scurry away. And this is what the film basically is. Harper endangering Abby, repeatedly. Calling Abby ‘clingy’ when she’s trying not to fall. Then Harper trying to cushion the fall by her “i love you”s as if that’s really going to fix the trauma/micoaggressions/homophobia she has, repeatedly, allowed to be inflicted on the person she claims to love.

Harper’s mistreatment of Abby throughout the film is disgusting and the fact that the film somehow sweeps it under a rug is as odd as it is astounding. Happiest Season wants to tell a story of a tall cute gay coming out to her parents at Christmas and ending with her family and lover still happily together. It instead tells a story that no matter how badly Harper treats her gf, or how badly her parents have treated their daughter, the love they share for each other will triumph over all the transgressions and all is somehow forgiven. I’m really not buying the genuinity of that for a number of reasons. 

The obvious one being, of course, Harper making her gf go back in the closet. Other reasons are little things that really add up - Abby being forced to sit on a child’s chair at the dinner table at the restaurant which was meant to be funny i guess but underscored how out of place she was in that family, in the role of being a straight person, in even being associated with Harper. This scene showed me how Abby is willing to put up with anything for someone she loves. She is completely selfless in comparison to Harper who time and time again shows how truly selfish and unkind she is. In the same scene there’s Harper’s ex-boyfriend rocking up, there’s Harper’s ex-gf too, and it’s Abby first noticing that she’s not the only person pretending to be someone else. 

The next red flag for me was Harper’s relationships with her sisters. Full disclosure, I don’t have any siblings and i don’t like to be competitive, so i get that sometimes sibling rivalries are a legitimate Dynamic, but i was so unsettled by how vile Harper was to her sisters, in paricular to Sloane. It’s not an act, it’s learned behaviour. If Harper could treat her own sister who she supposedly loves like dirt, then what’s stopping her from one day treating her gf that way? 

then there’s also the whole thing where it seems like Harper didn’t even talk to Abby about her family before at all? Like the only thing Harper really told her was there was some kind of past with Riley, and everything else it seems like Abby found out on her own. ie looking up the speech that Harper’s dad made just so that she could talk to him about it. this is another red flag that i think is not explored well enough in the film. Harper has some serious trust issues that are completely ignored. 

but what’s more odd is that the film tries to make us believe that the drama of making Abby pretend to be straight so that Harper can delay coming out is all somehow a purely Harper problem. As if Harper’s actions don’t affect Abby. John justifies Harper’s drama too when he explains to Abby that this is just Harper’s coming out story and that Abby doesn’t get to control how it happens. Which, ok, i get it but it would be 1000% more valid if Harper didn’t bring Abby along. When Abby does question this, it’s in front of Harper who then steers the conversation to be all about her again. How it’s either losing her parents or losing Abby, and even still she doesn’t vocalise any acknowledgement of how she is mistreating Abby. She doesn’t validate Abby’s feelings, doesn’t apologise, doesn’t think critically about her actions. She’s just a rich girl expecting everyone to be on the same page as her and then is sad and confused when they don’t wanna stick around. 

and that whole thing just makes me so crazy!!! Like yeah, the issues with Harper not coming out IS a Harper issue but it’s not like her behaviour isn’t affecting anyone else. Honestly when Harper did come out (of her own voilition), Abby said “It’s too late” and she should have left because Harper’s whole justification for why they should still be together was just “I was a bastard to my highschool gf and i regret it to this day, and i don’t want to be a bastard to my current gf because i love her.” Like the whole speech really came off as insensitive and clueless. i think that the only reason why Abby ended up forgiving Harper in the end was because she got the go ahead from John. I feel that if John wasn’t in the film at all, it would be totally different. It might have forced Abby to listen to herself and make her own decision about her relationship. Because this person that she loves is actually a selfish, lost person who subjected a whole other person to a traumatic experience when Harper should have been protecting Abby! She didn’t do that ONCE! 

just all in all.. for a film playing up a v traumatic experience that too many LGBTQ+ people know too well, it does nothing to repair the damage. the film assumes that though awful things have been said and done to each other, love and family trumps, and it can all be swept under the rug for happy days. I can excuse a family that loves each other no matter what but i can’t excuse it for THIS family, that has done NO work to earn that as a believable resolution. 

in conclusion, kristen stewart hot and very good actress. clea duvall hot but questionable storywriting skills. 

[immaturityofthomasastruc]

IOTA Reviews: Wishmaker

Goddamn it... 

It's bad enough Astruc tastelessly axed Lukanette, but now he just had to show up to give a sarcastic eulogy at the funeral.

Let's get into the fourteenth (chronologically the eighteenth) episode of Miraculous Ladybug's fourth season: Wishmaker

Right out of the gate, we get a “Chloe bad” joke with her insulting Marinette for being poor or whatever as she hands out flyers for an upcoming career fair. Chloe doesn't have much of a role in the episode, but she will be important towards the end, trust me. We also get a funny “Marinette stares lovingly at Adrien” joke while she sees him, so it's good the writers are at least trying to get their strange habits out of their systems now instead of later.

While reading over the flyer in his room, Adrien ponders a possible career as he doesn't want to keep being a model.

(The episode came out in English first, so I'm just going to be using quotes instead of screenshots of subbed scenes for this review)

Plagg: Don't you wanna continue to model?

Adrien: I don't think so, Plagg. I'm doing it now because my father asked me to. But now I realize I don't know what I'd want to do. I've never asked myself that question.

This is a really interesting dilemma for Adrien. Unlike other episodes that just have him feel sad for entirely superfluous reasons like Ladybug turning him down or generally moping about his mom, it feels like something you can really understand. He genuinely isn't sure what he wants to do with his life because he's had everything chosen for him before. I also like the use of the English dub saying Adrien modeled because his father asked him to, as if he couldn't actually say no. I also like how Adrien is still starting to lose faith in Ladybug for giving out Miraculous to everyone, which makes even more sense after his view of her was shaken in the previous episode chronologically, “Rocketear”. I also like how Plagg suggests ideas for a career for Adrien, like the two of them opening up a cheese shop together, which shows how Plagg cares for Adrien and wants what's best for him, ultimately highlighting how healthy their relationship is. He's almost like a big brother who gives advice to Adrien, even if it isn't the most sound advice at times.

On the other hand, Marinette already knows what she wants to do with her life, but the Kwamis start to argue over what she actually means by it by saying they know what she wants to do, a painfully accurate metaphor for the writers dictating Marinette's actions no matter how inconsistent they are.

Pollen: What's a career, dear Guardian?

Marinette: Oh. Well, it's... your job! Something really important that you do and gives meaning to your life!

Roaar: Oh! So, your job is being the Guardian of the Miraculous!

Mullo: Of course not! It's being a student!

Xuppu: Not at all! It's making presents for Adrien!

Marinette:Well...

Longg: She said “something important”, like when she crafted the big doll house to hide the Miracle Box!

Wayzz: Or when she designed the alarm for this room! What a masterpiece!

Marinette: Sure, I love crafting but—

Ziggy: You guys don't get it! What gives meaning to her life is to be in love with Adrien, or Luka, that's her job!

Fluff: Luka's the one with the guitar, right?

Kaalki: Her real career is being Ladybug and carve her name in history by her glorious deeds, of course!

Of course, their bickering somehow makes Marinette realize she isn't sure what she wants to do in the future after all.

We then cut to a reality show hosted by TV personality, Alec Cataldi. He's generally an asshole to the people on the shows he hosts and takes pleasure in humiliating or just being a dick to them, making you wonder how he still gets work with that attitude. Basically, he's the Alec Baldwin of the Miraculous Ladybug universe. The current show he's hosting is one where he roasts people for their jobs, making Andre a target by pointing how counterproductive his “business” is.

Alec: Here's a perfect example: Andre, the Ice Cream Maker, the ice cream man that is never around! Let me remind you how this goes: Andre doesn't have a shop, no one knows where he is, it takes forever to find him, and he gets to pick a flavor of your ice cream! You've gotta be kidding, Andre! Give me one reason why I should bother to chase after you when I could get my choice of ice cream in any corner supermarket!

Andre: Well, people don't just come for ice cream when they find me. They come to share their love and experience of magical moments! A supermarket cannot do what I do! I am a creator of magical moments!

Alec: “Creator of magical moments?” You've gotta be kidding!

I'm pretty sure that's what a lot of people thought of Andre when they first saw “Glaciator”. The idea behind Andre is that he chooses ice cream for you representing something about yourself, so he gives Alec a scoop of lime to represent his sour exterior and chocolate cinnamon to represent the dreams he still has within. Alec flinches a little at the ice cream, presumably because of how terrible of a combination that is, and decides to go to commercial to think.

Marinette talks to Andre about what he does, and he explains he used to be an office worker, with the only highlight of his days being making ice cream for himself after work. It eventually inspired him to quit his job and start making ice cream for everyone. It's a nice backstory, and I think a lot of people watching who are struggling to think about their future can relate to this like with the earlier scene with Adrien. It's also a nice touch for the flashbacks to reveal Andre has served ice cream to some of France's most famous couples.

(Jean Coutau and Jean Marais)

(Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin)

(Marion Cotillard and Guillaume Canet)

Granted, I'm wondering how old Andre is to have even met some of these people given Jean Cocteau died in 1963, but seeing how Master Fu is 186, I'm guessing the Miraculous Ladybug universe just has really good healthcare. Either that, or the people in this universe take Jay Kordich's diet very seriously.

Andre gives some ice cream to Marinette, who is soon joined by her ex-boyfriend who she never loved according to the writers. Actually, judging from her face when Luka talks about the very first guitar he made, the writers made another 180 regarding Marinette's feelings for Luka.

Of course, because the show wants to remind the audience Alec still exists, he makes fun of Luka for taking two years to perfect the delicate craftsmanship it takes to sculpt any instrument when you can just download an app on your phone. Your inner boomer is showing, writers, even if you were born after the time period for that generation. Luka retorts with some vague philosophical line he's known for that's one of the reasons why people are so mixed on him as a character

Luka: Musical instruments fill the space and space fills the instruments. No phone in the world will ever be able to do that.

Despite it being incredibly confusing, it gets to Alec, causing him to run off in tears. Luka and Marinette continue to talk, but it turns out that's Adrien decided to sit down nearby because of course he did. Though, like the last scene, it's a pretty interesting one as the three discuss what they want to do with their lives. There's also a really nice visual of a blimp with an ad Adrien was in passing by while Adrien talks about his father dictating his life, a really nice symbol. Of course, the scene is somewhat ruined by Luka suddenly deciding to be an Adrienette shipper.

Luka: You two will eventually find what's already in front of you, but you can't hear it clearly. Just let the melody flow.

He's referring to their uncertainty of their futures, but earlier on, Luka wanted to help Marinette be honest with her feelings about Adrien, and even before that, Andre was saying that Marinette and Luka didn't have to be in love to enjoy his magic ice cream. It's here when I realized this episode is subtly trying to end any chances of Lukanette still happening with so many little details. Right when the two spend time together, that's when they decided to help Adrien who showed up for no reason, preventing them from potentially coming to terms with their feelings for each other or at the very least discuss how hard it is to be friends with their history. And things only get more frustrating towards the end, where you'd swear someone decided to smother Lukanette with a pillow in its sleep.

Back to Alec, he's roasting a wig salesman (does he even have permission to film any of these people?) for his job, but as soon as the salesman puts a wig on him, Alec immediately gives us his life story.

Alec: When I was a kid, I used to have long hair, but everyone made fun of me. That's why I shaved it all off. I've been making the wrong choices my whole life. My TV shows are nothing personal. I make fun of people when they make fun of me when I was a kid. (Starts to tear up) I should've been the person I always wanted to be, trying to change the world instead of mocking it! (Falls on his knees) I've wasted my life!

I didn't paraphrase this at all. This is seriously what happened. He goes from mocking everyone he meets, to slightly doubting himself after seeing an ice cream vendor and a young musician, and then he starts having an existential crisis about his tragic backstory. It's not a bad idea, but if there was some more buildup in previous episodes, I'd understand. But this goes from confusing to straight out insulting towards the end. I'll get to that later on.

Shadowmoth notices Alec's emotions and akumatizes him into Wishmaker through his microphone.

Wishmaker has a pretty cool design. The grey skin color coupled with the mostly black outfit really highlights Alec's broken heart, and he looks pretty sinister. His powers... leave a lot to be desired.  Like the name states, Wishmaker has the power to make everyone's childhood dreams come true, like this one guy's dream is to be Santa Claus, so he transforms into Saint Nick without any hitch. Wouldn't it make more sense if Wishmaker twisted the dreams of his victims like a genie and made them miserable while they ironically lived out their fantasies by twisting around their words? Instead, all of his “victims” seem pretty happy, which doesn't really do much to make him a threat in my opinion.

So the aforementioned Santa starts dropping presents like bombs near Marinette, Adrien, and Luka, and they're separated by a giant robot. Marinette quickly transforms into Ladybug, and gets Luka to safety, though as soon as she leaves, Luka goes to check on where he told Marinette to stay for safety, and doesn't see her there. Instead, he sees his deadbeat father (transformed into a crocodile) drowning and goes to save him.

Ladybug meets up with Cat Noir (who transformed off-screen) and the two easily incapacitate the robot before engaging Wishmaker, avoiding his blasts. Apparently, they'll get their secret identities revealed if they get hit, so Ladybug goes to get Luka to help out as Viperion while Cat Noir holds off Wishmaker. Ladybug goes to get Luka, leading to the funniest joke in the episode.

She gives Luka the Snake Miraculous and he transforms into Viperion, immediately activating his Second Chance. For newcomers, Second Chance allows the user to set a point in time when activating it and if something goes wrong, they can go back to that checkpoint in up to five minutes. Ladybug also summons her Lucky Charm, a stuffed dinosaur toy.

Back with Cat Noir, as he engages Wishmaker, the Akuma starts to tempt him with the idea of living out his childhood dream, because he genuinely doesn't remember his. As Shadowmoth orders Wishmaker to use his powers on Cat Noir, Ladybug and Viperion show up, but in the chaos of the fight, Ladybug gets hit by Wishmaker, revealing her childhood dream as the “Knitting Fairy”, and exposes her identity to Viperion, who uses Second Chance to undo the timeline.

In the new timeline, Cat Noir's vulnerability gets to him, so he willingly lets himself get his by Wishmaker, not only exposing his identity as Adrien, but tragically reveals his childhood dream, to be whatever his parents wanted him to be. I feel like this works a lot better than some of the other moments where Cat Noir defied orders or screwed around on the battlefield because it's clearly framed as a moment of weakness on his part, and it was naturally built up over the course of the episode. The reveal of Adrien's childhood dream is a real gut punch too, as it shows just how much Adrien's life has been controlled by his family.

In the third timeline, Viperon deflects Wishmaker's blast meant for Cat Noir and redirects it toward a man whose childhood dream was to become a giant stuffed dinosaur. The stuffed dinosaur in question goes to give Wishmaker a hug, restraining him long enough for Ladybug to steal for Cat Noir to cataclysm (It's a microphone, how hard is it to break???) before she de-evilizes the Akuma. Ladybug uses Miraculous Ladybug to force everyone to stop living out their childhood dreams, she gives Alec a Magical Charm, and Luka decides not to tell Ladybug he knows both her and Cat Noir's secret identities. Why did Ladybug expect Luka not to know her identity when the whole reason she recruited him was to make sure nobody else found out her identity?

Now, while it isn't outright said, it's hinted at that now that Luka knows Marinette is Ladybug and Adrien is Cat Noir, judging from his dejected look after finding out the latter, he may be giving up on all attempts at the idea of getting back together with Marinette, and may or may not start shipping the Love Square now, just like how Kagami decided to ship Adrienette in “Mr. Pigeon 72”. I'm not saying the idea of Luka knowing someone's identity is bad, but it feels like this only happened specifically to stop him from having feelings for Marinette because now he knows Adrien loves her alter ego, and vice versa. Maybe it'll be touched upon in a later episode, but this was just a dick move by the writers in terms of ending all chances of Lukanette like this in order to ensure the Love Square has absolutely no competition.

So the episode ends with Marinette and Adrien deciding to focus on their futures while Alec starts a new show where he helps people live out their childhood dreams, albeit dressed like Style Queen for some reason.

Eh, he still picked a pretty cool Akuma to dress up as in my opinion. A lot of people have viewed this ending as evidence Alec is a drag queen with how he dressed up, coupled with the fact that he said something that was very similar to famous drag queen RuPaul.

Alec: And now, we're gonna love one another, starting with everyone loving themselves! Because how are you gonna love other people if you don't love yourself?

Though Astruc, being Astruc, once again decided to be vague when asked about the subject on Twitter, though at least the subtext is better than when he said he didn't make Juleka and Rose girlfriends because of censors while making it seem like a noble act.

Overall, this was a really good episode, though there were some underlying issues that really kept me from actually liking it. For the most part, it had some good drama with the main character, a rare scene where Marinette didn't stammer around Adrien, a creative (albeit flawed) Akuma with some good action, and an interesting idea with Luka knowing everything about the Love Square now.

There are just two big problems that really got to me about this episode. Let's get the obvious one out of the way, Luka. Honestly, he really didn't need to be in the episode. Sure, he gave some sound advice to Marinette and Adrien about their careers, but it felt kind of strange to see someone their age talking to them about their future when Andre, someone who actually had experience struggling to figure out what he wanted to do with his life, was pushed to the side. And like I said earlier, I think the only reason Luka found out about Marinette and Adrien's identities was to discourage him from thinking about getting back together with Marinette. After all, now that he realizes how “made for each other” they are, he can't stand in the way of the Love Square.

The problem is that in the context of the episode, we don't really see what made him see things that way. At least in “Mr. Pigeon 72”, Kagami consistently viewed Marinette's attempts to get her and Adrien back together as a subconscious desire to be with Adrien. It was dumb with how she decided to go to Team Adrienette at the end of the episode, but it was something. I'm glad the episode didn't force in too many Love Square shenanigans, but I think more should have been done to contextualize Luka's feelings towards the reveal. I get the writers wanted to make sure Lukanette had no chance of coming back, but this just feels rushed.

And then there's Alec's redemption arc. While it's not a bad idea in concept, the problem is that it flies in the fact of a recurring theme this season, that being redemption. Because, here's the funny thing: Alec blatantly said he became an asshole TV personality because of his history of bullying, and decided to retaliate as a result, but he eventually saw the error of his ways and turned over a new leaf. For long time readers of this blog, I apologize for bringing this up yet again, but what exactly makes this different from everything Astruc said about Chloe? You know, when he said that you make your formative choices when you're fourteen? Just like how Alec decided to become a reality TV host making fun of people after a troubling experience from when he was a kid?

Let's say that I agree with Astruc's views about Chloe. How is Alec different from what Astruc's said about Chloe for almost two years at this point? What makes Chloe, someone who was the victim of a troubled childhood who never got help, an irredeemable monster while Alec, someone who also had a troubled childhood and had even more time to get help while never getting any, capable of change? I thought he Alec made a formative choice when he was young and stuck with it, just like how Chloe started to fully develop at the age of fourteen. I mean, Astruc, you yourself said that Chloe's troubled childhood “was no excuse to treat people like shit”, according to you.

I'm just saying, dude, if Chloe can't be redeemed because of the stuff you yourself said, then that shouldn't apply to Alec either. When you really think about it, it's almost like Astruc either made up a bunch of excuses to not redeem Chloe, or he's a massive hypocrite for going back on his word. You can't really justify this kind of hypocrisy relating to Alec's redemption when you remember just how much of a hardass Astruc was when explaining why redemption was impossible for Chloe.

This coupled with the treatment of Luka really drags this episode from really good to blatantly insulting to certain viewers. Then again, these two choices just got to me personally. I feel like if those two things weren't there, things could have made this episode a lot better for me personally. I can see why a lot of people in the fandom still like this episode, but I'm honestly not a fan of it.

[prcttylittlebirds]

openpassionates​:

THE DELICACY OF chris’ voice gains her attention and venus reluctantly decides to work harder at calming down; however, the accusations that he has spoken aren’t being taken lately by her. “don’t act like i abandoned them then. i’ve been here for them even though i don’t find their attachment healthy. when you just finished yelling at me and when you just finished putting your hands on me, i pushed those to the back of my mind plenty of times and i still helped them when you weren’t even aware of it. telling me that i ditched them and that i’m half in and half out is bullshit and you know it.” venus can’t help but to get defensive whenever someone falsely insinuates something about how she is as a mother or a parental figure in general. although she consists of many insecurities, that was one part that she loves about herself and that she would defend any day. she goes back over to the vanity to grab a tissue to quickly wipe her eyes. luckily, a tear has yet to slip even with how sensitive she is due to her pregnancy hormones. “i love them and i deeply care about them and their well-being. that’s in my nature. but i have a lot on my plate already and as unfair as it seems, you are connected to them. you’re their father. you have more of a say than i do because i don’t have any at all since i’m an ex and only an ex because we didn’t get married or have any children together. i hope you get things together and make things up to them because it didn’t have to be like this for you or for them… or for us. they’re safe with your family. you have a big and beautiful family that’s so funny and so full of culture and life that the boys should be more connected with. give them that chance. they’re already deprived of their parents. don’t rob them of the chance of being connected with everyone else. it sucks. believe me.” she vulnerably advises. she can only hope that chris lets his guard down and allows the twins to be with their cousins. venus knows how it feels to grow up feeling disconnected. she crosses her arms, her natural glare following him as he comes closer within her perimeter to relocate the roses that she chose to move. “it was a mistake because you still don’t know how to talk to me without trying to make me feel like shit for something. saying that i pushed them out was really rude and fucked up. you didn’t even give a fuck about my children enough to tolerate their father so the entitlement is confusing,” she looks away from him, “i like the flowers but it’s clear that your therapist should’ve taught you how to talk to people or me in particular since i’m always your punching bag. maybe genuinely apologize and start over or just leave.”

“i’m not acting like you abandoned them, venus. from their point of view that’s what it is. i’m not blaming you for that. you’re right they’re not your children. i should’ve never introduced you to them as early as i did.” chris is honest with his regret. the twins’ attachment only reflects his decisions that he made early on in his relationship with venus, but then again, he didn’t really have anyone to watch them during that time so, the boys meeting her was pretty much unavoidable, given that the only time he had someone else to baby sit was when he was on set filming and his former friend had agreed to stay in town for majority of the time. he partly wishes she hadn’t ruined their friendship because then there’d be no question of who’d he’d trust to keep his kids. “if you and i weren’t together anymore you shouldn’t have helped out if this was going to be the outcome. you didn’t separate yourself from them immediately and now you are after they���ve built a relationship with you on their own. no one asked you to put anything aside to help during that time. i didn’t say look out for the twins. that was your choice. their attachment issues is partially my fault for allowing it to happen in the first place, but we were supposed to be getting married we lived together so, you can’t be surprised that they gave you the role of mom after all of that. you weren’t just some random girl i was fucking on and bringing around my kids. so, you can’t be surprised that i’d consider giving them to you full time.” he can feel himself getting emotional because everything isn’t how it should be and he hates it. he hates that he has months, maybe even years to regain primary custody of his children (if he’s even allowed to do so). the stress he’s been under is only building up, the longer he sits here looking across from him at the woman he thought would be his wife. “you’re not just an ex venus, but if that’s how you view everything then who am i to disagree right?” he’s angry, but surprisingly, he still hasn’t yelled at her, or called her any names. “i have no other choice, but to give them to my cousins, venus, but thank you for that advice. i should’ve just asked them first. i had planned to ask you, not here. not today, that’s not what i wanted, but there’s no point in continuing what i was originally here for, i’m just not in the same mood anymore. i hate that you thought that i came here solely to get you to take the boys, that’s crazy. even if i was considering it, you know i would’ve called first and asked you to meet me somewhere. this was literally supposed to be a nice, light conversation. i could leave and i probably should leave.”

[booktomoviebrawl]

We are not judging how bad the movie is, we are judging which adapted the book the worst. There are good movies that are bad adaptions.

Propaganda below the cut (spoilers may apply)

Persuasion:

They massacred my girl!! That is not Anne Elliot!! The whole point is that she's beaten down and thinks she's missed her chance at happiness and is bullied by her family, not making mean and snarky nods to the camera :( They completely missed the whole point of the dynamic and it's SICKENING! They also cut Mrs Smith who is arguably one of the most important characters as she highlights Anne's lack of focus on title and rank and her family's comparative obsession with it + it's only through her that Anne learns about Mr Elliot's true nasty nature. Also they cut the 'I am half agony, half hope' line from Wentworth's letter at the end so what's even the POINT of adapting it if you don't have that!! Oh my god!! My poor favourite Austen novel :( (I do want to make it very very clear that my issues with the movie come from the writing and adaptation and not in any way from the race blind casting. The casting is superb and I'm genuinely so disappointed that they got such a bad adaptation bc so many of the cast are literally perfect)

Where do I even start? They tried to 'modernize' both the protagonist and the love story and managed to take out everything that made it good in the first place. Anne Elliot in the novel is quiet and good and helpful, full of regret. In the movie, she constantly turns to the audience to mock everyone around her, feeling so much better than everyone, to the point where nobody understands why Captain Wentworth would still be in love with her, or have fallen in love with her in the first place. Eight years before the plot starts, she broker her engagement to him because she was persuaded by a family friend that it was a bad idea. No way would movie!Anne have let herself be persuaded. They just tried to do a Fleabag/Emma type of thing without understanding what made either the novel or those two things work and thereby ruined it completely

Whoever made this didn't understand the point of the novel at all. They completely screwed up the character of Anne Elliot (the protagonist), which in turn screws the rest of the movie, as the original story only works because Anne is the way she is. Also, it's a period piece but the characters are talking in modern slang the entire time. And not in a clever way but in a very cringey one. If Jane Austen knew, she'd probably turn in her grave, and rightfully so.

Maximum Ride:

The storyline makes absolutely no sense, and the movie is nothing like the book. You could've given the movie an entirely different name and and keep the plot I wouldn't bat an eye

the movie's just bad mate

Horrendous low budget netflix movie with effects so bad they make me feel physically ill and acting so wooden the cast is in danger of being attacked by lumberjacks. The story already wasn't the best and the film somehow made it worst. I came in with nostalgia for my dear kids with bird wings and left never to be the same again.

[helloalycia]

my patient’s neighbour [three] // wanda maximoff

summary: your relationship with Wanda gets a little bumpy when her work life crosses over with your personal life.

warning/s: implied kidnapping, mentions of anxiety

author's note: so the ‘i love you’ confession was actually inspired by an incorrect quote on @aquamarinescarlet’s page! i thought it would be cute aha

part one | part two | part four | part five | part six | part seven | masterlist | wattpad

It was two months into our relationship when I knew I'd fallen in love with Wanda. I can't remember the exact moment when it hit me – I guess it had happened gradually over time – but I remember the embarrassing moment when I told her.

She'd brought me as her date to an Avengers party thrown by Tony Stark. I'd been to one of them before, about a month into dating her, as she'd wanted me to meet her friends from work AKA the freakin' Avengers. They were actually really great and (somewhat) humble people. I didn't expect to become 'friends' with any of them, more just be friendly whenever I saw them through Wanda. To my surprise, I became quite good friends with Natasha Romanoff.

We had the same dark sense of humour, both had an unexplainable obsession with horror films and she was genuinely just really easy to talk to. I wasn't expecting it, but it was nice to gain a new friend in addition to a new girlfriend.

So, I was at my second Avengers party with Wanda by my side, but the party had ended about half an hour ago and I may or may not have been drunk.

We were sat on the couch, conversing with the other Avengers, and I was sat between Wanda and Natasha. The others were involved in their own conversations and I was too dazed to realise what I was doing until it happened.

"Wanda has no idea I'm in love with her," I said (not-so) quietly, leaning over to my left, into Wanda's ear unknowingly.

Wanda, who was playing with my fingers in her hand, paused and glanced to me with bright eyes, a surprised expression on her face.

"You're in love with me?" she asked, lips twitching into a smile.

I blinked, her words settling in, before I licked my lips. "Oh, sorry." Turning to my right, I moved to Natasha's ear, whispering loudly, "Wanda has no idea I'm in love with her."

Natasha glanced to me with a quirked brow, amused smile on her lips. "She doesn't? You sure about that?"

"You're in love with me?" Wanda repeated, sitting forward and earning my attention.

I gasped, wondering how she knew, before slapping Natasha's arm and looking to her with a frown. "You told her?! I trusted you!"

Natasha ignored me, instead looking to Wanda with an encouraging look. "I'll leave this one to you. Good luck."

She stood up, heading over to Thor and Bruce Banner on the other couch, and I booed her as she left.

"Yeah, run away, you secret-give-away'er!" I called after her with a pout, before crossing my arms.

"I think it's time I take you home," Wanda said decidedly, trying not to laugh as she pulled me up off the couch.

"I don't like Natasha anymore," I mumbled, allowing Wanda to take me away.

She bid her goodbyes to her teammates before leading me to the lift. I don't really remember what else happened until we were suddenly at my house – well, my parents house, but they had given it to me as they travelled the world with their retirement money. She was leading me inside and to my bedroom, getting me dressed like the sweet girlfriend she was, before tucking me into bed.

Of course, being the clingy drunk I was, I pulled her on top of me and didn't let go as I wrapped my arms around her.

"Stay," I mumbled into her shoulder, closing my eyes.

She chuckled, trying to pull away. "Y/N, you need to sleep, c'mon."

"I will," I whined, not letting her leave. "If you stay with me."

She paused, before giving in with a sigh. "Fine."

Tiredly, I smiled. "Yesssss." I patted the spot next to me. "Right here, please."

In the light of my bedside lamp, I saw her roll her eyes playfully, before turning off the lamp and jumping under the covers with me. I sighed with relief, cuddling into her side without hesitating.

"I love you," I mumbled, barely thinking about it.

She tightened her embrace and I felt her kiss the top of my head. "You're probably gonna forget you said that in the morning. But I'll remind you. And if you still think it, then I'll reply."

Her words went into one ear and out the other. I hummed in response, not knowing what I was answering to, and let myself get lost in her scent as I drifted into a peaceful slumber.

When I woke up the next morning, I quite liked the idea of sharing bed with Wanda and waking up to her dishevelled hair and our intertwined legs, even though I didn't remember inviting her to stay. Of course, I also had a banging headache and felt like someone had hit me with a train, so I didn't get chance to appreciate it much.

"Fuck," I mumbled, pulling the duvet over my head to block out the sun streaming through the slit in my curtain.

Wanda, who was shuffling beside me, yawned and stretched her arms. Suddenly, I heard quiet laughter, before she spooned me, wrapping her arms around my stomach and pulling me closer. Her leg raised and clung to my waist, and as much as I appreciated the way she fit perfectly against me, I was still in pain.

"Why did you let me drink that much?" I groaned, squeezing my eyes shut.

"I believe that was your own conscience decision, dorogoy (darling)," she said in that know-it-all voice of hers, and it was hard for me to be annoyed at her because she had a raspy, morning voice and her accent was especially thick with fatigue and damn, Wanda Maximoff was pretty sexy in the morning.

"Whatever," was all I said, but I placed my hand on hers and joint our fingers together.

"You know," she started, tucking her head comfortably into my neck, "I quite like waking up to you like this. You're very cute, even if you're cranky."

Despite aforementioned crankiness, I cracked a smile. "I like this, too."

It was very domestic, something I didn't get the privilege of experiencing with Wanda because she worked a lot, and it felt good.

After hanging around in bed for a little while longer, I got up and showered whilst Wanda offered to make me some breakfast – "Pancakes are a hangover's cure! Or at least according to Tony". After getting ready, I came downstairs to find a stack of pancakes and maple syrup waiting for me.

"You are a Godsend," I told her, pressing a haste kiss to her lips before sitting at the table with the pancakes. "Thank you."

She chuckled, grabbing her own pancakes and sitting opposite me. "Anything for you."

After I dug in, complimenting her on how delicious they tasted, a comfortable silence fell between us. Well, until Wanda spoke up cautiously.

"So, does anything from last night ring a bell?" she asked, making me look up to see her staring eagerly.

My content expression fell. "Shoot, did I do something embarrassing?" I facepalmed. "God, what was it? Did I fall asleep on somebody?"

She smiled with adoration, eyes twinkling in the morning sun. "No, nothing like that."

I could tell there was something though, judging from her hesitant expression. I scrunched my face with regret.

"What did I do?" I asked, unprepared to hear it. "Did I say something to you?"

She played with her fork, twisting it around in her plate nervously, which was very unlike her. "Yeah, actually, you did."

I waited, feeling like the silence was deafening the longer she stayed quiet.

"You said you were in love with me," she said, voice so soft and quiet that I barely heard it.

I felt my heart drop to my stomach. "I what?"

"I mean, technically you said I had no idea you were in love with me, but I think you were supposed to tell Nat that," she continued, eyes avoiding mine. "Then you told Nat and you got mad at her because you thought she told me."

I facepalmed for the second time that morning. "Oh, God..."

"Then you invited me to stay the night and told me you loved me before you fell asleep," she finished rambling. "I just, er, wanted to check if you meant that..."

I raised my eyebrows with disbelief. "Are you kidding?" I reached over the table to grab her hand. "Wanda, of course I meant that! But I hoped to tell you at a better time than by accident whilst I was drunk."

Blue eyes flickered to mine, excitement creeping onto her face. "You meant it."

I breathed out, realising what exactly I'd just said. "I– yeah. I meant it. I'm in love with you, Wanda."

Her smile widened. "I'm in love with you, too."

My heart fluttered in my chest as I relaxed my shoulders. "You love me."

She giggled, squeezing my hand. "We just did this."

"Right! We did," I said, shaking my head, grin forming on my lips. "Sorry. I'm just so happy right now."

"Me, too," she said in agreement, thumb stroking the top of my hand.

I didn't think things could go wrong from here. I was on top of the world! But of course, the world had a funny way of ruining things.

—

Dating a superhero had its pros and cons, I suppose, but neither really showed themselves to me often as it was as if Wanda's superhero life was separate to the one we shared. When she and I were together, it was just us. And she would leave for work and I wouldn't think about it. Then she would return and it would be us again.

If I took a moment out of my day to stop and really think about where she was, what she could be doing, the danger she could be in... I just couldn't do it. Even when she would show up to our next date with a fresh bruise from training, or a broken bone from a mission gone too far, I'd worry about it for the time being then try to let it go. Those weren't superhero perks, those were reasons to be concerned. And I couldn't handle imagining the time when she'd come back to me in a worse state, or to not even come back at all.

So, her superhero life rarely overlapped with our shared one. And I was happier that way. Until it did.

I was running errands one day, little things that required me to run around the city – dry cleaning, grocery shopping, picking up some DIY stuff for my house. It was a pretty relaxing, fun day. I'd treated myself to lunch, was soaking in the sunshine and planning to unwind with some Netflix on the couch.

"Hold on, I need to unlock the front door," I mumbled into the phone. I was talking to Wanda, catching her up with my day as I returned home.

"Try not to drop your phone this time," she teased from the other end, and I could just imagine the smirk on her face.

"So funny," I said with an eye roll. "Real comedian."

She laughed as I placed my phone in my pocket, not quite hanging up. Pulling my keys from my shopping bag, I fiddled with them, attempting to find the key for my front door.

Suddenly, something metal and cold pressed to my back and I jumped, dropping my keys with surprise.

"Don't draw attention," the person said, and I went rigid, looking up to see a reflection of someone unrecognisable in the glass of my front door. "You're going to leave your things here and come with me."

"Who are you?" I asked, trying to turn around, but the object pressed harder into my back, making me wince.

"Leave your fucking things here and give me your hand," the man ordered, ignoring my question. "Phone included. And don't even think about making a call."

I swallowed hard, panic settling in as I listened to the threatening stranger. Pulling my phone from my pocket, I realised that the stranger had no idea I was already on a call. With an Avenger nonetheless.

"I'll put it down," I narrated my actions, soon coming to realise that the object behind my back was in fact the barrel of a gun.

Hoping Wanda was still listening in and could hear the exchange, I put my phone on the ground and placed my shaking hand in the man's outstretched one. He tucked his gun back into the waistband of his jeans before tugging me down the steps and to a black van parked opposite my house.

Too paralysed with fear at the sight of two more strange men getting out the van, I felt my throat go dry and words get stuck at the bottom. Looking around, I hoped to find a neighbour's eyes or dog-walker's lost gaze, but nobody was here. Whoever these men were had timed their entrance perfectly.

When we reached the van, the back doors were opened and the man spun me around roughly before placing a bag on my head and shoving me inside. Hot tears ran down my face as I squeezed my eyes shut, wondering what the hell was happening and who these people were. But mostly, I hoped Wanda was already on her way.

—

The whole incident was over soon. That's what we were calling it now. The 'incident'. Of course, it could have been called other things... the kidnapping, the abduction, the capture. But we settled with the 'incident'. It was less explicit, as if minimising how utterly terrifying the whole experience was.

I never did find out who those men were. Wanda offered to tell me, feeling a need to explain herself and blame herself and drag herself down in the dirt to make me feel better, to bring me out of my silence and give me something to feel good about. I recalled her mentioning they were after her, getting to her through me – her girlfriend.

She rescued me quite quickly. Being tied up and locked away and left to cry like a child, wondering if I was going to die any minute at the hands of captors whom I had never met nor done anything to in my life, wasn't fun. People always wonder what they would do in those situations; maybe they would square up and put up a fight; maybe they would scream and shout and get everyone's attention; maybe they'd even retort with sarky remarks and go out with a blaze of glory.

I never imagined what that would be like, but I discovered I could do neither of those things. I just let them take me, let them threaten me and point their guns at me and tie me up and lock me away and–

I let myself cry and feel terrified and shake and lose my words and imagine the worst. Some would call that giving in, but this wasn't something you could prepare for. Surely my response was justified? I wasn't sure. I just knew that when Wanda burst onto the scene, taking out the men with ease and taking me out of there, taking me home, I was momentarily safe.

But then as she began to ramble off her explanations and apologies and regrets, I found myself turning in on myself, unable to hear her out. I didn't blame her one bit, but I also couldn't listen to one more second. So, I tuned her out.

I sat on the couch, staring at the way the thread was coming loose on one of my cushions. I thought about how quickly the whole 'incident' had happened. How one minute I was sat in a cell and now I was sat on my couch. How I was then shaking with fear and now I felt nothing.

"...you listening? Hey, are you okay?"

I only tuned back in when she sat on the cushion I was looking at. Her fingers rested on my cheek, guiding my head upwards so I was looking her in the eyes, glassy and red and swollen from crying. I probably looked the same, though I was all out of tears.

"I promise you nobody will be back here," she said with certainty, thumb stroking my cheek. "There's S.H.I.E.L.D. agents posted all along the street. And I'm happy to stay here if you need me to. You're safe now."

I knew I was. And despite my calm exterior, my heart was still racing in my chest, adrenaline still pumping through my body as if expecting to make a sudden break for it.

"What are you thinking?" she muttered, eyes flicking between mine curiously. "Talk to me. Please."

I shook my head, looking away. "I'm okay."

"It's okay not to be," she said quietly, squeezing my hand.

"I know."

So, we kept that bit up for a few more days, maybe a week. Me pretending I was okay, though still distant from Wanda as if she'd caught the plague, and her pretending she knew I was telling the truth.

But I knew she sensed the nightmares I had, waking me up in cold sweats. I knew she saw the way I tensed when a shadow cast along the wall from a moving object. Or the way I never faced the front door when unlocking it to get inside.

I guess she couldn't take it anymore at some point, possibly a week or two later, as when I was mixing my soup in a bowl after heating it up in the microwave, she sighed loudly.

"You okay?" I asked, glancing up at her. She was stood by the counter, seeming tired.

She'd been staying with me since the incident happened, obviously, and it was nice having her around so much, despite the circumstances. But I knew she was worried and had been keeping it in. I just didn't have the energy to acknowledge it.

"I'm fine," she said quickly, though her fingers still drummed on the countertop.

I let it go, shrugging, before paying attention to my soup. Her impatience was obnoxiously loud, filling the house with a discomfort she was dying to express. Eventually, she did.

"I'm not fine," she decided, and I stopped stirring my soup as I looked to her tugging on her sleeves distractedly. "I'm not fine because you're not fine."

"I've told you I am," I said monotonously, eyes boring into hers.

"I know you're not," she said, crossing her arms and hugging herself. "I've noticed you and..."

I quirked a brow. "And?"

She frowned, eyes softening with empathy. "Don't make me say it, Y/N."

I pressed my tongue to the back of my teeth as I looked down to my steaming soup.

"Talk to me," she pleaded, rounding the counter and leaning beside me, searching for my eyes. "I just want to help."

I swallowed hard. "I have nothing to say, Wanda."

"A really scary thing happened," she began hesitantly. "The fact that you don't have anything to say– that you've not said anything, isn't right."

"Well, I guess there's something wrong with me," I said dismissively, before grabbing the pepper grinder before me and using it.

"No, there's not," she reassured, not giving up. "You just need to talk.”

I set the grinder down, turning to face her abruptly. She straightened up with surprise, taking a small step back.

"What do you want me to say?" I asked, voice calm but full of unintentional malice. "Huh? What do you want me to tell you? That I'm terrified somebody is watching my house, waiting for a quiet moment to break in? That I have to follow you into every room you go in because I don't want to be left alone? That I can't fucking sleep because I'm scared that when I close my eyes, I'll be locked in a nightmare I can't escape? Is that what you want me to tell you? Does that make you feel better, Wanda? Because it doesn't make me feel any better. It just reminds me how fucking terrified I am."

I pocketed my shaking hands, blinked away the tears that threatened to fall, swallowed down the lump rising in my throat. She watched me, unsure what to say at first and I didn't blame her. It was an outburst waiting to happen.

"I'm–"

"Don't say you're sorry," I snapped, before flinching at my tone. "I know you're sorry. And I don't blame you for what happened. I just– I don't know what to do anymore."

Her eyes were studying me like green lasers burning holes into my skin and I hated that I couldn't meet them. I hated even more that I couldn't leave the kitchen out of anger or frustration because I was too scared to be left alone without her by my side.

So, I leaned against the counter, turning away from her, and let out a shaky breath, eyes burning and heart thumping in my ears. Her arms suddenly wrapped around me without question, and I let her take me into her chest, squeezing me so tight so I knew she was there.

Closing my eyes, I felt tears rolling down my cheeks, but no sound came out. I struggled to breathe, unable to take in air through my nose as I stuffed my head so hard into her shirt that I couldn't see a thing except darkness. I knew I'd eventually be okay, that I'd eventually get back to some sense of normalcy. But for now, having her here with me was okay. And I found it much better to just be with her then have to go over and talk it out.

She was warm and strong and smelt like home and God, I loved her. I was lucky to have her.

—

It took about a month and a half to get over the incident. And after that, we never brought it up again. It was just easier that way. We continued on like usual, falling back into our old routine of having a separate us and her separate superhero life.

At some point, I thought it would be nice for her to meet my parents. They were back in town for the week, wanting to check in and see how I was. It was nice having them around and I was excited for them to meet Wanda, who I'd mentioned in some of our Skype calls.

"We don't have to make it a thing," I said as I proposed the idea. We were cleaning around Anna's apartment as she napped in her bedroom. "It's not like an 'oh, meet the parents' thing. They just happen to be in town and we're having a dinner, so I thought you might want to come. If you don't, it's not a big deal. I haven't told them to expect you. Not unless you say yes. Which you don't have to."

She chuckled, eyes gleaming with amusement. "Dorogoy (darling), calm down. Breathe."

I neatened the cushions on the couch with a bit too much force. "Am I not breathing? I'm pretty sure I'm breathing."

Her hands slipped into mine as she spun me around to face her. An amused smile on her lips, she said, "You need to relax. If you're like this now, then who knows what you'll be like on the night of the dinner?"

It took me a second to realise what she'd said and when I did, my eyes widened. "Wait, the night of the– does that mean you're going?"

She laughed, tugging me closer to her. "Yes, I'm going. I'd love to meet your parents!"

My shoulders relaxed as her fingers played with mine mindlessly. A smile appeared on my lips as I said, "Thank you. I– it'll be fun. No pressure. Just a dinner."

"Just a dinner," she confirmed, before kissing my forehead gently. "Can't wait."

And so on the day before my parents left for Scotland, yet another trip on their never ending retirement travels, I waited for Wanda to pick me up so we could go to a restaurant to meet my parents, who were already there after spending the day shopping in town.

She arrived at the door with a beautiful smile and bright eyes, looking me up and down.

"Just on time," I teased, tilting my head to the side, before being serious. "You look amazing tonight, Wanda."

"As do you, moya lyubov' (my love)," she said sweetly, leaning forward to kiss my cheek, before stepping inside. "Also, these are for you."

She removed her hand from behind her back as I closed the door, revealing a gorgeous, colourful bouquet of flowers.

"I saw them and thought of you," she began to explain without even realising how cute she was; a smile crept on my lips as she continued, "but then I realised I've never gotten you flowers before which is very dumb of me because a pretty girl deserves pretty flowers, right?"

There was no doubt that my face was heating up from the attention, flustered yet honoured at her words.

"Wanda, I love them," I said, accepting the flowers and meeting her gaze. "And to be fair, nobody has ever gotten me flowers before."

"You're kidding," she said with disbelief, stepping forward and wrapping her arms loosely around my waist. Reading my serious expression, she added, "Not even for your birthday? Or a celebration?"

I shook my head. "Nope."

She gave me a knowing look. "Well, that's very unfortunate. But I'm glad I could be the first."

I held her gaze, amusement dancing in her smile. Mirroring her expression, I leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her nose, making her scrunch it up delightfully.

"Me, too," I said, and I meant it.

"Come on, we should get going," she said, squeezing my waist before letting go. "Don't want to be late, do we?"

"We do not," I agreed, before putting the flowers in a vase of water and leaving them by the door.

"You ready?" she asked, holding open the front door.

I intertwined our hands and met her smile with my own. "I'm ready."

Taking the girlfriend to meet the parents. What could go wrong?

[storiesforallfandoms]

dirty little secret ~ jade west;victorious

word count: 1223

request?: no

description: in which someone who is supposed to be her friend reveals her deepest, darkest secret for some internet clout

pairing: jade west x female!reader

warnings: swearing

masterlist (one, two)

If I had to hear the word “Robarazzi” one more time I think I’d lose my mind.

I don’t know why Robbie thought the brightest ideae was to bully his friends on his shitty TMZ rip-off show on TheSlap.com, but he was getting good viewership from it. Everyone was loving the show, it was the talk of the school. At the expense of our friend group.

Luckily, Robbie was smart enough not to air anything to do with me on his show. He was too afraid of me, he knew my bite was much meaner than my bark.

Walking into school, I didn’t notice everyone looking at me. I walked up to my locker, my headphones blasting some All Time Low, and unlocked it. I was grabbing my books when Tori raced up to me, immediately trying to tell me something.

I took my headphones out. “What?”

“Have you seen the new episode of Robarazzi?”

I rolled my eyes. “Of course not, I don’t watch that garbage.”

Tori gave me a look I couldn’t read as she got her phone from her pocket. The episode started as usual: Robbie and his stupid lackeys sat around their filming room.

“What do you guys have for me today?” Robbie asked.

“I overheard a pretty secretive conversation between Tori Vega and (Y/F/N),” a lower grade boy responded.

My eyes widened as I snatched the phone from Tori and watched as a video of the two of us by Tori’s locker popped up on the screen.

“Are you going to tell her now?” Tori was asking me.

“No,” I responded, nearly rolling my eyes at her question.

“Why? She’s finally single!”

“Yeah, she was single a month ago too, and remember what happened? They got back together the next day.”

“But this is different. It’s very final now.”

“I’ve heard that before.”

“(Y/N), come on. You have to tell her eventually. You can’t just keep this secret for your whole life.”

“I can try.” Tori gave me a look at this. “Tori, I appreciate your concern, but the fact of the matter is I don’t even know if she likes girls. I could ruin this friendship and I don’t want to do that. I will take this secret to my grave. Jade West will never know I have a crush on her.”

I shared a look with Tori as the video ended before shoving her phone back into her hands and making my way to Robbie’s locker.

He knew he was in trouble the moment he saw me. He tried to make an escape, but I shoved him against his locker. Tori and I surrounded him, making sure he couldn’t leave.

“Take the video down,” I demanded.

“But it’s the best episode of Robarazzi yet!”

“That doesn’t matter, Robbie,” Tori said. “What you did to (Y/N) is not right!”

“What I did? I helped her admit her crush to Jade!”

“That wasn’t your secret to tell!” I snapped, feeling my body shake with rage. I was so ready to beat the shit out of him in this moment. I didn’t care if he was my friend.

“Hey!”

As if the moment couldn’t get any worse, Jade came around the corner and also stormed up to Robbie, grabbing his shirt collar and violently shoving him up against his locker. If fear was Robbie’s primary emotion when I was getting mad at him, whatever Jade was making him feel was much worse.

“Take the episode down,” Jade hissed, her voice dangerously low.

“But - ” Robbie started.

“TAKE THE EPISODE DOWN!” Jade basically screamed.

With a shaky hand, Robbie pulled his tablet from his bag and deleted the episode in front of us. When he had, Jade let him go and he quickly scurried away, his bag still hanging open as he raced off.

“Well,” Tori said, “that went well.”

“Thanks,” I said to Jade.

“No problem. What he did was wrong on so many levels and so not fair to you. If I were you, I’d never be friends with that little creep ever again.”

“I’m debating on it.”

An awkward silence fell over the three of us. I had some hope that Jade hadn’t seen the video, but of course I should’ve known better. Even if I could’ve gotten the video taken down before Jade saw it, the gossip would spread throughout the school like wildfire.

Tori looked over at me before smiling awkwardly. “Well...I’m gonna go.”

I tried to secretly grab hold of her arm to get her to stay, but she managed to escape before I could. It was just me and Jade, stood awkwardly together.

What do I say? Do I leave? Pretend this never happened?

I decided on the final two options and nodded to Jade before attempting to leave.

“(Y/N), wait.”

I cringed to myself as I turned back to Jade.

“Do you want to talk about it?” she asked.

I sighed. “I want to melt into the floor and cease to exist, actually. Or get a concussion and forget any of this happened.”

Jade smiled a little and nodded. “I get that. I was mortified when Robbie shared that video of me and Beck.”

I tried not to flinch at the mention of Beck’s name, but the concerned look on Jade’s face told me I didn’t conceal it very well.

“Tori was right, you know,” she told me. “About the breakup. It is permanent this time.”

“I’ve heard that before, Jade.”

“I mean it this time. It’s over. Beck and I don’t love each other anymore. Well, we love each other, but we’re not in love with each other.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

Jade smiled at me. It was genuine and not awkward. “You’re a smart girl, (Y/N). You’ll figure it out.”

I knew what she was implying, but I couldn’t believe it. Jade had never shown interest in women before. Maybe it was because she was with Beck, but she had never even mentioned being into girls before Beck.

“You’re...you’re straight,” I said. “Aren’t you?”

“I don’t have a label,” she responded with a shrug. “I just love whoever I love.”

“Oh.” My response was lame, but it did make her laugh, which was a win in my eyes.

“Is that why you never told me? Because you thought I was straight?”

“There was so much more than that. I was afraid to ruin our friendship, and you were so in love with Beck I didn’t think I’d ever have a chance.”

Jade nodded. “Well...I can’t tell you that I’m ready to date anyone right now...but if you’re willing to wait at least a month for me, I’d love to give things a shot.”

I took my phone from my pocket and opened the calendar app. Jade watched, a little confused, as I set a date.

“A reminder,” I announced, “for one month’s time: take Jade on the best date of her life.”

Jake smiled as the warning bell rang. “I should get to class.”

“Yeah, me too.”

There was a moment where neither of us moved, we just stood smiling at one another. Finally, Jade went towards her first class. I did a quick victory dance before racing off to my own class.

Robarazzi finally did something good.

[arvinsescape]

Impossibilities.

A/N: I hope you guys enjoy this one, bit different of a topic to deal with. I have read a lot of stories of these things happening, I have put warnings in and if the topic is too much please don’t read. I will accept constructive critiscm. (I understand that what happens throughout this writing is not a reality for some but it is a work of fiction and I absolutely hold no intent to offend anyone.

Warnings: Mentions of sex, talks of infertility, language.

W/C: 5K... there may be typos.

You were almost in shock as you stared at the test in your hand. Impossible. There was no way that this was true, it couldn’t be, you’d been told as much. You furrowed your brows as you looked up at the doctor.

“This isn’t, this can’t be right.” You stumbled out.

“It is, we’ve tested you almost every way possible. You’re pregnant.” He confirmed and you still couldn’t work out how it made you feel.

You’d never considered this as an option, you were told when you turned sixteen that you couldn’t have children, that you were infertile. You struggled with bad periods and when you went to the doctors they ran full tests on you and that’s how you found out. You’d never thought about children, why would you have? The idea of being a mother wasn’t something you ever considered and now you were faced with it, well you didn’t know how to feel.

You were terrified, you’d come here today because you thought you were ill, not pregnant. You wondered if you were dreaming, you were so sure you’d turned your alarm off and rolled out of bed this morning for this appointment. It must have been a dream, there was no way this was possible.

The doctor continued to look and you and you looked up at him, you couldn’t speak, you didn’t know what to say. You didn’t even know how you should feel, let alone what to say about it. “Would you like us to call Mr Holland?” The doctor asked, he’d grown concerned over your quiet demeanor.

“No,” you shook your head. “He’s away.” You continued quietly.

“Would you like me to call someone for you?” He asked again and you shook your head.

“No, I’m okay. I just, I don’t know. I’d never considered this a possibility. Will it make it? The baby I mean?” You asked quietly and the doctor gave you a small smile.

“You stand the same chance as every other woman who falls pregnant.” He offered, it was almost a comfort to you, the worry setting in that you’d miscarry because you genuinely believed the universe didn’t pick you to have children. You nodded slightly as you stood. “You should talk to your husband.” He added.

“I will.” You confirmed, you just didn’t know how and when. You’d told him about your infertility early on in the relationship so you could save a broken heart down the line, save him getting his hopes high as the relationship progressed. He’d mentioned the idea of adoption, but it was something you both wanted to wait for and hadn’t fully decided if you were going to, what if this hindered the plans you’d made together?

Being a married couple who seemingly couldn’t have children, you’d planned your lives to work a little differently. It never involved a family in your mid-twenties. You’d been with him for three years, married six months and now you were about to become parents. Where would this leave you?

You suddenly felt guilty, you were part of an extraordinarily rare group of women. Shouldn’t you be jumping for joy? Maybe you would be if you weren’t so shocked. You hadn’t exactly been trying, of course you’d gone three years having unprotected sex with no birth control but there was never any need. You were never doing it for the purpose of procreating. You didn’t even track your period, that’s how much you believed you couldn’t conceive.

You made your way out of the doctors, sitting in your car as you pressed your forehead against the steering wheel. You debated telling Tom your appointment was over but ultimately decided not to. He was only an hour ahead of you from where he was filming, you knew he’d be waiting for your text or call but you weren’t ready to have the conversation, you still had a lot to process first. The drive home was almost a blur, making your way back to your shared house.

Tess greeted you, jumping up at you as you mindlessly stroked her head, making your way into the kitchen, she was hot on your heels, your greeting towards her wasn’t what she wanted, it felt off. It was like she always sensed when you were out of sorts or having a bad day, she’d follow you around, make sure you were okay. Pouring yourself a glass of water you thought about what you should do.

Your thoughts spiraled more the more you thought about how you were going to tell your husband. You wanted to feel complete and utter joy, but you couldn’t, so many emotions running through your mind at once. It was almost head ache inducing. Your phone buzzed on the side, bringing you from your thoughts as you picked it up, opening a message Tom had sent you.

Tom: You finished yet? Seems like a long appointment. You okay? I’m getting worried not hearing from you xx

You stared at the text, how do you respond? You can’t tell him news like this over a text or a phone call, it didn’t seem right. You needed to tell him in person, but he wasn’t due back for a month, you swallowed thickly as typed out your response.

You: Yeah, sorry, I forgot to message, got distracted. I’m okay xx

You read his reply, he was happy you were okay, a light scalding about scaring him like that. You needed to see him, but you couldn’t ask him to come home, he’d only worry more, and he was filming, his schedule was tight. You sighed as you pulled up Harry’s contact, it didn’t take him long to answer.

“Y/N? Hey.” Harry said, his usual chirpy self.

“Hey Harry. Can you send me the details of where you’re staying? Want to surprise Tom.” You said as normal as you could muster.

“You missing him already? He’s only been gone a week.” Harry teased with a short laugh.

“Yeah, I just want to see him.” You confirmed, tone dropping slightly.

“You okay?” Harry asked worriedly, he knew you were always up for a laugh, but you’d not taken the bait, so he knew something was off.

“Yeah, like I say I just miss him.” You sighed, hoping Harry wouldn’t press further. “Just don’t tell him I’m coming, yeah?”

Harry promised he wouldn’t ruin the surprise, giving you the location of the hotel they were stopping in. You put the phone down and booked your flight, the next one wasn’t until tomorrow and you needed to talk to someone about this, you also needed to find cover for your shifts. You killed two birds with one stone as you called your best friend, asking her to come over if she could.

“Y/N? What’s up? You okay?” She asked as she made her way into your home. She knew something was off when Tess didn’t greet her like she usually would. The dog only looking at her to make sure she wasn’t a threat before placing her head back in your lap.

“I don’t know.” You answered honestly, you felt tears brim your eyes, the emotional confusion was becoming too much for you. She sat next you, carefully as not to disturb the dog in your lap, who huffed, leaning her head onto you more. She became almost jealous when anyone else tried to comfort you, Tom found it endearing and infuriating at times.

“Have you had a fight with Tom?” She asked carefully, the pups ears pricking up at the mention of her owner. You shook your head in response. “You just missing him a lot?” She pried, trying to get to the bottom of your problem.

“No more than usual.” You answered as you slightly scratched Tess’s head.

“Help me out here Y/N/N, what’s wrong?” She asked and you looked at her, she noticed the tears in your eyes and furrowed her brows. “Y/N/N?” She asked softly and you let the tears fall, you couldn’t help it. Tess standing on your lap as she nudged at your face. She assumed you were missing Tom, she was always so attentive and tried to cheer you up when you cried.

“I’m pregnant.” You said through your tears, pulling Tess into a hug as she placed her head on your shoulder. Your friend looking at you, shocked expression on her face.

“Are you, are you sure?” She asked carefully. Of course she knew about your supposed infertility.

“The doctor said so. I don’t know. I didn’t think it was possible. I know I should probably be happy but it’s so much to take in. I didn’t know this was possible.” You got out. Your friend waited for you to calm down, watching as you cuddled Tessa, the dog licking your cheek every now and again until you calmed down.

“Sorry,” you said as you sniffled, eventually calming down. Your friend smiling at you, in a comforting way. “I just, I don’t know how this is supposed to make me feel.” You said, Tess now peacefully back in your lap.

“I don’t think there’s a hand book for this sort of thing.” Your friend said. “Look, you’re just confused. The impossible has just become possible for you, of course you’re not gonna know how it makes you feel. You told Tom yet?” She asked.

“No, I don’t know what to say. I don’t even know if it’s something he wants right now.” You said, tears welling your eyes. “How do I tell him?”

“I think you should just come out with it. Just say it. He loves you, I’m sure he won’t leave you. This is a good thing.” She reassured as she placed a hand on your shoulder. “A really good thing. Just tell him. I’ll cover your shifts this week, just go and tell him.” She said with a smile.

“You really think he’ll be okay with it? That we’ll be okay?” Being pregnant was already scaring the living hell out of you and the thought of doing it alone? You couldn’t think too much about it right now.

“I know he loves you and I know that the two of you are solid. You guys can work through anything. I think he’ll be over the moon. You’ve been given a chance that not many people in your position do, I know that means you’re scared but you don’t have to be, you’ll be okay. Just let the excitement in.” She said and you took in her words.

Maybe you did need to relax, this was a good thing. You didn’t feel ready to have a child, but you were given a gift that not many other women in your position are. You should be excited, you thought about it for a while, letting the excitement flood you. This felt like a miracle, an absolute gift from the universe.

**

After a relatively short flight you were met with your brother-in-law’s arms, as he picked you up from the airport.

“I could’ve gotten a taxi.” You smiled and Harry shrugged.

“Toms on a closed set, spoilers and all that. Didn’t have anything better to do.” He teased as he nudged your shoulder and you smiled. “Right, out with it.” He said after your lack of usual response.

“What?” You asked, furrowed brows.

“Something’s off. What’s wrong?” He asked, concern written all over him as he opened the passenger door for you, making his way to the driver’s side.

“I just want to see him.” You shrugged, bringing a hand up to play with your bottom lip.

“I appreciate that, I do. But, you had a doctor’s appointment yesterday and all of sudden you’re rushing to see him.” He observed, he cared for you just like he would his own sister.

“How’d you know about that?” You asked and Harry gave you a knowing look, of course Tom will have spent the last few days worrying about it. “Can I tell you when I’ve told Tom?” You asked quietly.

“Wait, are you sick? Like actually ill?” He asked as he pulled into the drive of the hotel. He turned the ignition off and looked at you. “Y/N/N, are you okay?” He asked again and you couldn’t help as you burst into your second fit of tears in two days. He placed a hand on your shoulder. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to pry I’m just worried.” He furrowed his brows, when you didn’t respond he sighed as he pulled you into a hug.

“I don’t know what to do.” You said vaguely.

“About what?” He asked as he hugged you tighter, it was awkward positioning, but you felt slightly better.

“Harry I need to tell Tom something and I don’t know how he’ll react.” You sobbed, something about being in the hotel grounds had your nerves shooting through you, you weren’t far off Tom right now.

“Hey, whatever it is it’ll be okay.” He said as he rubbed your back, you silently calmed yourself and he pulled you back to look at him. “Come on, let’s get you to your husband.” He said as you both exited the car.

The walk through the hotel didn’t feel long enough, your nerves felt like they were eating away at your heart, making your breathing more difficult as you tried to calm them. Harry was quiet as he led you through the halls. When he stopped outside the door you knew was Tom’s hotel room, you felt panic rise, you couldn’t do this.

“Harry, I can’t.” You said as you stopped him opening the door. He whipped to look at you.

“Y/N/N, when has there ever been a point in your relationship where you haven’t been able to talk about something?” He reassured and you sighed.

“This is different.” You said and Harry smiled sadly.

“It’s nothing you guys can’t handle. You’re a strong couple you know.” He reassured as he grasped your hand in his. You’d always been close to Tom’s family, they became like your own brother’s. “Come on.” He said as he opened the door with the second key, Tom had his back to the door.

“Harry? Where’d you go?” He asked, knowing it was his younger sibling.

“Went to pick up a present for you.” Harry smiled and Tom turned with furrowed brows.

“Wh- Y/N/N?” Tom let out a breath of surprise. Seeing him after almost eight days apart still brought that feeling of excitement in you as your feet moved before you could stop them. Running to him as he opened his arms, ready to catch you. Your body collided with his as he picked you up, your legs instinctively wrapped around his waist as he buried his head in the crook of your neck.

You inhaled his scent, letting it calm your nerves, it always did. His scent and being in his arms, grounded you, kept you sane. It wasn’t long before the panic set in, what if he wouldn’t be there to ground you anymore? What if he didn’t want this? It was hard, you knew everything about him apart from his want or lack of when it came to children. You didn’t know how he was gonna react.

“I’m just gonna.” You heard Harry excuse himself as he heard your sobs start again. Tom stiffened slightly, holding you tighter.

“What’s wrong? Hey, it’s only been eight days, we’ve done more.” He said as he lightly shrugged his shoulder, forcing you to look at him. He took in your face, how tired you looked, it wasn’t until he settled on your eyes that he saw the fear in them, he didn’t miss a single detail when it came to you. “What’s happened?” He asked and you shook your head before stuffing your face back into his neck.

He held you, let you cry, he knew you’d talk but he wouldn’t push you. As worried as he was he’d wait for you to calm down, wait until you were ready. You stayed like that for a good five minutes before he heard your breathing calm and sniffles quieten, running a hand through your hair and running a hand up and down your thigh in comfort.

“Tom?” You whimpered and his heart shattered, he couldn’t decipher what the fuck was going on and it scared the shit out of him. You’d seen him and cried your eyes out, your sobs shaking your body in a way that had Tom’s heart hammering in his chest.

“What’s wrong baby?” He asked, voice soft as he kissed your temple. “What happened?” His grip tightened when you tried to get down, your body had still clung to him like he’d disappear. Hands relaxed as you let go of the tight grip on his t shirt. He didn’t want to let you go.

“Can I get down please? You might want to sit for this.” You said and Tom furrowed his brows as he did as you asked. He studied you for a moment before you gestured for him to sit on the edge of the bed, wiping at your sore nose. You’d rubbed it so much after all your crying that it felt a little tender. He sat and you sat next to him, taking his hands in your shaking ones as you played with his fingers, he knew you did that when you were nervous or extremely relaxed and he deciphered the reason easily.

“Hey,” he said as he let you continue playing with his digits. “You can talk to me, sweetheart you’re scaring me here.” Tom said, voice incredibly soft, he was scared if he talked any louder you’d break, he’d never seen you so vulnerable.

You breathed in, you had to say it, he’d find out eventually, it wasn’t exactly something you could hide. On top of that you and Tom didn’t do secrets, not between each other. You let out a shaky breath as you looked at your husband, nothing but worry and care reflecting in his eyes.

“I,” you started, voice hoarse from all your crying. “I don’t know how to say it.” You admitted and Tom’s heart dropped, he’d never in your entire relationship seen you so vulnerable, never seen you at such a loss for words.

“Just say it. Rip the bandage of?” He offered in aid, and he heard you take in a deep breath before speaking.

“I’m pregnant.” You breathed out in a whisper. Tom didn’t catch it as he pulled one of his hands from your grasp, eyebrows furrowing as you pulled it back into your grasp. You were grounding yourself, using his hands as a way to keep your emotions in check. He knew that which is why he left his hand he’d previously tried to free.

“Sorry darling, I didn’t catch that.” Tom said as he placed his chin on your head. You played with his wedding ring on his finger for a moment, twirling it on his finger, it wasn’t as mindlessly as you usually did it, before you spoke again, it was still quiet, but Tom didn’t miss it. The words echoing around the silent hotel room. Of all the things he expected to be wrong, this was not it.

“What? How?” Tom got out, shock taking over his system. He didn’t think this was possible, didn’t think you could.

“I’m sorry.” You said, voice quiet, no tears but Tom would be surprised if you had any left. You placed your head on his chest as you waited for his response. You were nervous, incredibly so and Tom was shocked.

It was your fingers playing with his more harshly as you grew more nervous of his silence that brought him crashing back to Earth. His heart hammering in his chest, excitement bubbling through his system. He felt like he’d just been told he was King of the world, felt like every good piece of news had come back to him all at once. This was a miracle.

“Say it again.” Tom said with a smile on his lips, he needed to hear you say it again, just so he knew it was true.

“I’m pregnant Tom.” You said and he couldn’t help himself as he let a tear fall, his chest filling with a happiness he hadn’t felt since you’d said, ‘I do,’ and he was sure this was even happier than then. You’d done something you were told was impossible. “Are you angry?” You asked, voice small as you grasped a hand around his wedding finger.

“Angry? Princess this is the best news in the world. We’ve been given a chance, one most couples don’t.”

You looked up at him and studied his face, it was full of nothing but joy and adoration, you smiled sadly as you let the excitement settle in your chest. You didn’t have to do this alone, he wanted this. You both did.

“I’m scared.” You voiced your concern.

“You’ve got me, and I’ve got you.” He said reassuring as he kissed at your cheeks. “We can do this. Together, like everything else.” He said again and you let go of his fingers as you hugged him, strong hands finding your back as he pulled you tight against him

**

A month later and Tom had quit the role, the director and his agent understanding, he needed to be here for this, he couldn’t and wouldn’t miss it. He didn’t care if it gave him a bad name, you and your baby came first, always. Luckily everyone understood, well everyone involved in making the film. You still needed to tell your families, your mum and dad had cried at the news, your dad unbelievably so. Your sister was nothing but ecstatic for you, it was not time to tell Tom’s family, Harry had been worried after your exchange when he picked you up, but he stopped pushing when Tom reassured him you were okay.

“What? I thought?” Harry started as he looked at the couple in shock, of course Tom had told him that you were unable to have children. He’d told all of his family to stop the questions about them cropping up.

“So did we.” You said with a smile, nothing but excitement was left now, all your fears and concerns leaving your system.

“Are they certain?” Sam asked, he was just as shocked as Harry.

“Yeah.” Tom said, you’d been to a couple of doctors to confirm the news, the two of you both lived for a solid week thinking you were dreaming and almost needed it confirming as many times as was possible.

“I’m so happy for you.” Harry said with a wide smile, engulfing you in a hug, squeezing you tight.

“Have you told mum and dad?” Sam asked, smile matching his twin’s.

“Not yet.”

“Mum’s gonna cry.” Harry smiled.

**

“What?” Dom asked, like everyone else, nothing but shock evident.

“Oh Tom,” his mother said as she hugged him, smile on her face as she cried tears of happiness. “This is a miracle.” She said and Tom smiled as he hugged his mother back.

“I thought it wasn’t possible.” Dom was still in disbelief.

“So did I.” You said and Dom pulled you into a hug.

“I couldn’t be more happy for you.” He said into your ear.

His parents understood this was different for you, Tom had made the choice where you’d not had one. As harsh as it sounds Tom could have called it quits in the early stages of your relationship when you’d told him. Whereas for you, you’d lived your life thinking it didn’t matter who you married you’d never have the choice and here you were. Nikki was the next to pull you into her chest.

“I’m so unbelievably happy for you, you have no idea how happy I am for you right now.” She cried into your shoulder, and you smiled, Tom mouthing a slight ‘sorry’ over her shoulder before his dad pulled him into a hug.

**

It wasn’t until your three month scan that things got incredibly emotional, when the nurse had placed the gel on your stomach to listen for a heartbeat. You all heard two and the only person who didn’t catch on was you, you assumed it was your own heartbeat. Tom cried when he heard them, cried so incredibly hard and you assumed it was because he’d heard his child’s heartbeat for the first time and it was, but it wasn’t only that.

“I knew twins ran in the family but Jesus fucking christ.” Tom muttered as he sniffled, and you looked at him confused.

“What?”

“Darling, there’s two heart beats.” Tom said as he looked at you, how had you not caught on. You looked to the nurse for help.

“Mrs Holland, you’re having twins.” She smiled and you almost screamed in joy. How had you gotten so lucky? You couldn’t help as you pulled your husband into your arms, he let out a slight breath as you pulled him to your chest and cried into his hair.

**

Neither you nor Tom cared the gender of your child, male or female, you were ecstatic. The baby reveal was incredible, it brought tears to everyone’s eyes as they watched the two of you with your little confetti canons.

“Okay, darling. On three?” He asked, nerves kicking in for the both of you. He whispered out the numbers and on three you both set your canons off. Blue confetti showered everything in its path, they were both boys. You heard as Harry and Paddy practically roared in excitement, Sam clapping his older brother on the shoulder with a ‘congrats.’

Tom picked you up and cried into your chest, you were both over the moon. You ran your hands through his hair as you kissed the top of his head, you’d never seen him as emotional in the last few months, he cried at everything do to do with your pregnancy.

“We’re gonna have nephews!” You heard Paddy scream as he fist bumped Harry, the two had been adamant they were both boys. You smiled at their excitement.

**

The labour was long and hard, you felt like you couldn’t carry on through the last four hours. Both boys being born, half an hour apart, you both cried, Tom cutting the umbilical cords with shaky hands.

“I’m so proud of you.” Tom said as he kissed your temple, you were sweaty and in your opinion probably looked like shit, not to Tom though. You looked like an absolute angel.

“I never thought I’d have this.” You said in a small and tired voice, a wave of emotions hitting you.

“I know sweetheart.” Tom said, he knew there really was nothing else to say, no ‘if’, ‘buts’ or ‘maybes.’ What had happened for the two of you was an absolute miracle, a chance not many were given.

“I love you.” You said as a tear slipped, and Tom was quick to wipe it away as he moved the sweaty mess of hair from your forehead.

“I love you to, more than anything.” He said as he rested his forehead against yours.

“Tom, I’m all sweaty.” You groaned as you tried to calm your onslaught of emotions and he laughed.

“How do you think these guys were made, we had to get a little sweaty then didn’t we?” Tom teased and you lifted a tired hand to slap his shoulder. He laughed as he pulled away to hold your hand.

“Thank you.” You said as you played with his fingers, particularly the wedding ring that rested on his finger. Although this time, it wasn’t out of nerves, you were content, happy, in pure bliss.

“What for?” He asked, the gratitude confused him.

“For staying with me, sticking by me.” You said as you closed your eyes slightly, you were so tired, a long labour having caught up with you.

“I told you when I asked you to marry me, I’m never going anywhere, no matter what. Get some rest darling.” He said but it fell on deaf ears, your breathing evening out as you looked the most content and happy he’d ever seen you in his life, sleep consuming you. Your hand didn’t leave his, your two healthy boys were currently sleeping next to your bed. As Tom looked around the room at his family that was much bigger than he’d anticipated at the start of the year he counted his blessings that whoever was up there had given you a chance.