#or whatever this person is implying because oh my gosh that's so sad

[cluescorner]

I doubt they would survive a day in their own communities. Like, have y’all ever interacted with LGBTQ+ people IRL?? It’s really cool. Genuinely was a wonderful experience for me. Met someone who went by it/its pronouns because it saw that as the only way to distance itself from the demand to fit into boxes implanted on it by humanity. Met someone who goes by any pronouns and faer does that for the exact same reason as the person above. He and it were besties, hearing their discussions on gender was really fucking cool. Made me question my gender, I found out I’m cis but it was still a good experience. More relevant to this post, you’ve also got a pack of wild lesbians who congregated once while I was volunteering: me the young’un (cis, she/her, femme lesbian, has sensory issues with penetration of any kind but isn’t ace), an elder lesbian (bacla, she/he/siya (no preference but one of those) likes penetrative and non-penetrative sex), and a lesbian roughly between our ages (trans, she/her, about 4 months into socially transitioning, asexual). We’re just...talking about being lesbians and our differing experiences. It’s great, we taught each other a lot in the day we knew each other! Siya helped teach me about ways to explore myself and my preferences without triggering any averse reactions, I helped the trans lesbian vibe with wanting to be more gender conforming and traditionally ‘feminine’ (teaching trans femmes the joys of spinning around in frilly dresses is so nice), and she helped our elder get caught up with modern gay news. We left our stations and I’ve never seen either of them again, but this shit is so fun and so much better than arguing with randos about whether or not they ‘count’ as a lesbian. Imagine if I did what tiktok does and spent that whole time saying that our elder couldn’t be a lesbian because siya doesn’t strictly identify as a femme-aligned person or that the trans lesbian was teaching him about the ‘wrong’ gay news because most of it involved ‘bad rep’. Say what you want about cheesy cishet friendly romcom fodder, but seeing my elder beam at the idea that non-LGBTQ+ people cared about our stories on a large scale made that mediocre movie worth existing. IDK, people need to get involved in their communities (online or offline) and meet gay people outside of their immediate bubble. 

TLDR; I’m 90% sure people involved in gay discourse have never actually spent time around gay people outside of their immediate bubble and that makes me sad. Talk to people y’all, it’s great. 10/10, would recommend. 

people on tiktok would never survive a day on tumblr

[moralesmilesanhour]

Heyy i hope you're having a nice day and I was wondering if you could do a Miles morales x black reader . When the reader has problems with relationships like they always fall in love with someone and it just gose wrong but miles is always there for them. but one day something happens then the reader gose to miles talking about how they think their never gonna have someone to love them but Miles is like that's Wrong because I love you and they kiss or whatever. Sorry it's so long I hope you have a good day and thx u sm!!<3

I kinda took some liberties with this one, hope you still enjoy it 🫡 (reader does have some set implied features if that's okay)

You lean back on the side of Miles' bed mid-conversation, and stare up at the ceiling.

"You ever had a crush, Miles? I'm always tellin' you about mine."

Miles pauses for a beat, eyes suddenly darting across the room before landing on your side profile.

Nervously tasting his own chapstick, he answers, "...One. I have one."

You turn to him and your eyes light up. "Oh my gosh, who? And why you ain't tell me?"

"Hey, I thought we were talking about your crush," he says skeptically, narrowing his eyes at you with a grin.

"Alright," you raised your hands in the air, "touchy subject."

"What's his name? This dude you won't shut up about."

"Jayden."

Miles' eyes go wide. "Hol' on, Nadja's boyfriend?"

You froze. Nadja was in the homeroom next door, easily recognizable by the neat braids that swung just above her knees. She never forgot her lip gloss at home, her face as smooth and shiny as her legs.

"That...makes sense," you say, shoulders slumped.

Miles quirked an eyebrow. "What does that mean?"

You shook your head, "Nothing."

"Look, it's plenty fish in the sea," your friend nudges you with his elbow, "and between you and me, I saw that nigga picking his nose in class the other day. I personally think you dodged a bullet."

The two of you burst into hearty laughter. When you caught your breath and it subsided, you sighed.

"You think any of them fish in the sea are ever gonna figure out I exist and ask me out?"

"Didn't Tyler do that last month?" Miles asked, with a curl in his lips like he'd just smelled rotting garbage. You fixed your eyes on the ground.

"Stood me up."

"Oh," Miles says quietly. "What about Michael-"

"He was joking." Your voice sounded tight, like a rubber band stretched too far.

Miles said nothing. All he could do was trace the slope of your nose with his gaze and wish he could make the pout on your purple-toned lips go away.

You brought your knees up under your chin. "I don't think I'mma have anybody to go to prom with."

"I could go with you."

"Miles, you don't count," you said with a sad smile. The boy felt a pang in his chest, but still said nothing and let you continue.

"I mean like...someone who's gonna pick me up at my house with flowers and shit, take me to the after-party, too."

"So you're saying I can't do that."

You look up, and a frown has settled on Miles' features.

"No, I mean like...cuz he wants to."

"I want to," Miles said under his breath. You blinked.

"One more time?"

He gave you a hard, determined look, taking a deep breath.

"I want to. All of it, I want to." His brows were furrowed like he was serious, but you didn't want to take your chances.

It's your turn to frown now. "Miles, don't do that. You just said you already had a crush-"

"Oh my God, Y/N, it's you."

Glassy, brown eyes were fixed on you as his words hung in the air.

"I..."

Your heart rate picks up until it's in your throat when the boy's expression doesn't change.

"For-for how long?'

Miles shrugs, gaze directed in front of him. "Ion know, got too used to the feeling to remember,"

He gave you a guilty sidelong glance.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to put you on the spot like that."

A warmth blooms in your chest and before you can have second thoughts, you lean in. Your lips make impact on the side of his mouth.

Miles jumps, head snapping towards you when you quickly pull away.

"Don't be sorry."

The boy bit his bottom lip to hold back a wide smile before it settles into a smirk. He cocked his head to the side.

"I thought you were still hung up on Jayden."

You cringe at the reminder and playfully smack Miles on the arm. "Shut up, I just kissed you."

Miles leaned in again, facing you this time. "Make me."

-

A/N: Okay that was longer than I anticipated 😭 as usual leave any thoughts or reactions in the comments/tags! Mwah 🫶🏾

[xecutivecucumber]

Executive Cucumber's Thoughts on The Bad Batch 03×12!

Spoilers under the cut

Let start out by saying holy heck that was the cool down episode I needed. My sister watched it before me and was able to tell me that Tech/CX-2 wasn't in it for a significant amount, so I was able to get past my disappointment and not be stressed out during the episode. Yes, I'm still on the 'Tech is CX-2 Bandwagon.' I do think they should have revealed him to the audience earlier, because I have to actively avoid Bad Batch social media (*cough*reddit*cough*) for my own mental health because of the negativity around the idea. It's really draining.

Anyway, on to the actual episode!

Today I realized that I might be triggered by Omega being trapped at Tantiss because of some past experiences. (And yes, if you've read my fics you know that I've done it to her too, but I have control over that and I think the problem is the lack of control I have)

Hi Tech! I love you! Please be un brainwashed soon!

I want to murder Hemlock. I don't know if I've ever hated a Star Wars villain like this before. It feels so personal.

It devastates me that they're going to take Omega's clothes away. Clothes that were given to her by people who love her. Ow.

Also you're playing a dangerous game, not keeping those binders on her, Hemlock.

'Is everything all right, Dr. Karr?' 'No, the Jango parent gene got awakened in me and that does not go away'

Why does Emerie think she HAS to do this?

I'm a little disappointed we didn't see Hunter find out about Omega. He's probably just in 'go' mode, honestly. Adrenaline and all that.

Crosshair is so proud of Omega oh my gosh.

PHEE MY QUEEEEEEEEEN

Oh my gosh Tech told Phee about Crosshair. That implies that had more time than we saw. That makes me so happy and sad.

Phee talks about Tech with such fondness. You can tell how much she cared about him. I feel like I'm watching a widow who's processed her grief but still talks about her husband because she loved him.

Also, looking at Phee, she doesn't really have any implied make up on. She's very natural. Good for her.

...Rampart looks kinda good with a beard.

Okay Tech would find the stunt Phee pulled extremely attractive.

This is the closest we've gotten to the original Batch we've gotten in a very long time. It feels good to see them go mission mode with Crosshair.

This is reminding me of Eriadu and I don't like it.

Crosshair asking Wrecker if he remembered whatever plan and then patiently waiting for him to remember lives rent free in my head he's so sweet.

WRECKER'S THEME IS BACK BABY

Also, Crosshair's theme is played in this really fun way?

Crosshair should be allowed to kick Rampart in the balls. As a treat.

Rampart you snake. Crosshair should have shot him in the leg instead of stunning him.

My sister pointed out that the juggernaut represents how the Batch is right now. You cannot stop them.

Man, it's nice to not to be as conflicted when the TK troopers die, as opposed to when clones were sent against them. Quick thought though, does Wolffe have all the remaining clones?

Man these guys get BRUTALIZED.

Them throwing around passed out Rampart is amazing and should continue to happen.

Okay Wrecker has his knife out HE IS READY TO TORTURE A MAN.

Frick you Rampart. He is the worst replacement for Omega.

Aww they probably didn't bring Batcher on the mission to protect her. (Plus she a half trained dog and it was a stealth mission)

And then the boys spent the next hour arguing over who has to call Echo and tell him.

Hemlock you FOULE you're giving Omega ALLIES. Also why are you telling her all this. She will use it against you.

Gall, I hate Hemlock.

Again, I really needed this cool down episode. Though I'm afraid the final three episodes are going to hurt. THIS IS MY FAVORITE SHOW WHY IS IT STRESSING ME OUT SO MUCH. ALSO WAITING A WEEK FOR EPISODES ALSO SUCKS. A LOT.

[robintherobiner]

Types of fics i need more of:

de-age fics. Baby Bruce? Teen Bruce? Baby Dick? Teen Dick? Baby Jason? Teen Jason. The list goes on and on. deage them all. is it sad? is it funny? is it cute? is it traumatic? i dont care, make them all little.

ghost fics. i want Jason to haunt the shit out of his family. he sees them all grieving, comes back to life, and instead of killing people he just leaves ominous notes like "i saw you trip on your cape." or "leave fifty bucks at *address* or i'll tell everyone about your superman body pillow."

Tim being an utter loser. I love him, but he should be incredibly put together in public and then he gets home and just... is a mess. never felt the touch of anyone, woman or man. can do complex mathematical equations but needs a calculator to solve 4 x 3. think Sherlock Holmes, who can tell everything about you from one look but doesnt know the earth revolves around the sun.

Alfred being called out for being an enabler! fuck that old man, i hate him. however if he made me a cup of tea, i would die for him. Im a very complex person.

Dick being Damians dad. so cute, i love it. Damian deserves to have his own taste of found family. fuck blood of the womb, lets go with blood of the covenent or whatever the quote says.

Jason being childish!!! i think his mental age should younger than his physical one cuz, trauma, being dead, being catatonic in some cases, also just being pretty young anywas? gimme a fic where he comes home covered in blood cuz he just killed four guys and then goes to have a shower so he can play with his rubber duckies.

kiddie crushes!!! gimme more Jason loving Wonder Woman and being an utter fanboy when he encounters her. "Oh em gee you're here to apprehend me? Wonder Woman, this is such an honor, can i have your autograph-" Young Dick meeting Superman for the first time and hiding under Bruce's cap because "He's so pretty Bruce, he's gonna hear my heart go fast!" Tim meeting Constantine and, to everyones despair, somehow adoring him. "So you do magic? Thats like, so cool! Tell me all about it. My parents were archeologists, we probably have loads of of magical objects, do you wanna check them? Do you like coffee? Did you really sell your soul to multiple people? Thats so hot- I MEAN COOL SHIT FUCK-"

Literally anything about Dicks time in the circus. I think i've only read like two fics about it? Compared to the hundreds going indepth on Tim and Jason's childhoods?

Similar to the last one, but gosh the culture shocks they all probably had! Dick was used to constantly moving from city to city. Jason going from being on the street to a mansion. Tim going from boarding school, a place full of kids his own age, to being alone in his house so that he could be Robin. Damian was used to being respected and honored, he was a prince after all, only to suddenly be told that everything he knew was wrong.

Babs and Tim. I think they would get along, i wanna see them bonding!

Joker Junior. i know its not canon and it was only in like one cartoon but oh my GOD i love it.

Trauma reveals!! i love them. Dick's time in spyral, his apprenticeship with Deathstroke, the multiple fucked up relationships he's been in. Everything Tim did during 'Brucequest', Jasons time with the LOA, literally anything from Damians childhood.

Jon being aged up and his relationship with Damian! i dont even need to add anything, you get the point.

Dana, Jack, and Janet. I want it so bad!!! Dana is implied but never confirmed to be dead so bring her back and let her and Tim mourn!! let Tim find out his parents both slept with Bruce and have Bruce be like "oops i forgot about that, soz sweetie-" let tim hate christmas eve because thats when his mother was buried!

if anyone has recs for any of these sort of fics, PLEASE GIVE THEM TO ME. i've probably read most of them already, but i have a terrible memory so i love re-reading fics. just, gimme gimme gimme

[desertfangs]

You know how Armand and Daniel are described as being over court and just wanting to go home and then during his big BC speech Armand tells Lestat how he absolutely can’t stand seeing his sycophantic hanger-ons because he wishes he were then? Well now I can’t stop thinking about Armand and Daniel walking around the castle and Armand being like “LOOK AT THEM DANIEL 😤 horrid little creatures 😡 following him around like wretched baby ducks 🤮” while Daniel rolls his eyes and makes an off-handed groupie joke and Armand actually laughs and starts seeing the humor in an otherwise humiliating situation (for him) and then all of a sudden court isn’t so bad anymore and making fun of Lestat’s groupies becomes A Thing for them. Daniel’s impersonations are next level (Lestat eventually finds out about them and even he agrees but shh don’t tell his fans) and that’s how Armand Learns to Cope

Oh my gosh, anon, I have so much to say to this I don’t even know where to begin. So let me just start with the premise of this is amazing and it should be a fic! I love it and I want to read the heck out of it.

Armand pining for Lestat is one of my favorite things and Armand and Lestat’s relationship in the series is easily one of the mostly fascinating and the most relatable. Armand is immediately taken with Lestat even as he yells at him that vampires can’t live like humans (‘you baffoon’ is not said aloud but heavily implied). Lestat represents something Armand doesn’t have at that point: agency and freedom. He’s just being a guy who happens to be a vampire which goes against everything Armand has been indoctrinated to believe. He shakes his world apart, literally. 

Armand spends centuries wanting to be someone important to Lestat. To be seen by him and to matter to him. They have love between them but it’s fraught and confusing and Lestat pretty much rejects him at every turn. And still, he protects Lestat and watches over him. It’s not until TVA, when Lestat allows him to drink from him when he’s comatose on the church floor, that they finally have some closure and connection there. It’s a beautiful moment!  

But then they go their separate ways and so later, at Court, Armand still harbors a little bitterness and sadness that he’s never quite been in a closer place with Lestat. And that’s relatable AF, right? We all have those people in our lives at one time or another whom we wish we could be closer with but for whatever reason, we don’t make the cut or it just doesn’t happen. And sometimes when you find yourself in that position you look at those people who are in their inner circle (or sucking up to them trying to get close) and think “Wow, what fools!” (BTW can we delight in how often Armand calls Lestat a fool in that speech? LOL!) But it ends happily! Armand is there at the end clapping in support, standing at Louis’ side. They exchange a look, Armand nods at Lestat in approval, all seems right in the world.

So back to your thing! I do think one thing Daniel offers Armand is a refuge and a place to have those feelings openly and unjudged. Armand can be his worst self around Daniel and vent those feelings and Daniel doesn’t love him any less. He gets it! I mean, President of the Vampire Lestat Fan Club Molloy over here and he's not even mentioned in the last book or the mural at the end?! So surely he understands the allure of Lestat and he definitely gets Armand’s frustration. 

I love the idea of Daniel making a groupie joke that lands and finally Armand can see that his feelings of envy are sort of silly. He has a centuries of unresolved feelings for Lestat, but of course, he’s better than a groupie could ever be to him. He means so much more to Lestat and Lestat does listen to him (even if he tries not to let Armand know that…). 

And listen, this is just my personal headcanon, but I think Armand and Daniel can run a joke into the ground. I can totally see them whispering to each other when Lestat’s gaggle of groupies passes or making crude jokes about sexual favors after meetings. Daniel doing impersonations that crack Armand up until he feels ridiculous for ever wanting to be part of that crowd. “You make a better heckler, boss, and Lestat needs more of those,” Daniel might tell him. And it’s true! Armand offers a viewpoint no one else does. Lestat needs that and the vampire court needs that!

I also love the idea of Lestat catching them out one night as they walk through the village, Daniel mocking someone in an exaggerated voice and then Lestat is in front of them. “Is that supposed to be who I think?” Daniel is abashed by Armand confirms it is, and if Lestat wants to surrounded himself with yes men that’s none of their business. Lestat smiles faintly at Armand and asks Daniel to repeat the impression. Daniel feels strangely self-conscious and tries to explain that they’re just having fun. Lestat admits the impression is spot on and really, Daniel should do more impressions. So Daniel does another and then the three of them are laughing and walking back to the Chateau and you know, maybe they could hang out there for a few more months… after all, Armand doesn’t want to leave Lestat ‘unsupervised.’ (Lestat pretends to be annoyed but you know he’s thrilled!)

WOW I am just going off on tangents! Tangent city! But thank you for the ask, anon!! Daniel and Armand having private in-jokes to cope with things is one of my favorite things. I feel like they had a lot of those on Night Island, too, and Court would be no exception!

[fancyfrogg]

-Because she got blood directly from Muzan she’s gained a bit of his maliciously violent streak. Apart from being a flesh-eating-demon of course.

-Her feelings while being turned and watching her family die were of helplessness and hatred. This causes her hatred of demons and the emotion she draws on when she fights them.

-her gentle caring side from before she was turned is still there but it’s much rarer to see it. And that makes her personality change all the more painful for Tanjiro and us the audience.

-Yah, I know that… … Fuck, what’s his name, hypnotized her to forget their family’s dead but that doesn’t erase the emotion caused by it. After fighting Daki, She briefly remembered that her mother was gone when Tanjiro sung her the lullaby and that’s why she cried.

-Tanjiro is like her anchor

-Personally I think this should have translated into aggression and frustration with Nezuko in general bc she can’t communicate, she doesn’t always understand what’s going on, she’s angry and sad and she doesn’t know why, and trying to match Tanjiros effort in training but being thwarted by her new circumstances, but whatever, it’s f i n e. (Teeth gritted)

-please Nezuko should have had a bit kicking Tanjiros back through the box it would have been so funny.

-also yeah no wonder Nezuko’s so protective of Tanjiro he’s the only person in her family left alive, she doesn’t always understand what’s going on but he’s a constant, he’s her anchor when the bloodlust kicks in

-Also if we established Nezuko had anger issues that she worked through in those episodes then that part where the Hashira tested her restraint would have been more meaningful.

-god I know that this is shounen manga but please could you imply something deeper for her characterization. You did it for shinobu you can do it for a main character. it would really sell the sibling schtick.

-and like actually have her relationship with Tanjiro grow and change as the show goes on.

-oh my gosh could Rui have hijacked Nezuko’s phantom feelings for her younger siblings to try to get her stay with him that would have been so cool

-…can we please just have Nezuko be more actively involved with things 👉👈 why would you functionally fridge her like this. It’s a waste of a character. Ok rant over.

Me: ugh you can’t just make Nezuko strong and use that as her whole characterization.

Nezuko: *grins derrangedly*

Me: Oke oke oke, I can work with this.

[demonslayedher]

Dream Analysis of Mugen Ressha

Spoilers for the movie, while it does not depart from the plot of the manga, they made adaptational choices which I may refer to within.

While Enmu has control over what kind of dream his victims see, ultimately, he would have no way of knowing all of the details of his victims' lives, so we can assume that he is prompting his victims to fill in a lot of the details themselves. These are the worlds they surround themselves with consciously, but their untouchable unconscious spaces say just as much.

I've said some of this before, but these dream sequences give us so much to say about Inosuke, Zenitsu, Kyojuro, and Tanjiro.

Into the dream: Did that "Rengoku-aniki" thing really happen???? It's animated like a fever dream (or drawn like a typical Gotouge-being-Gotouge panel), but both the movie and the manga leave this inconclusive. It can be interpreted two ways: 1. The two other demons were there all along as decoys, set to appear only when Enmu's blood technique slowly started to take effect so that they'd let their guard down. In this way, we'd know that the boys had a true way of witnessing Kyojuro's prowess and a true bonding moment, thereby making his death hit all the harder later. This would also mean that one of the cars was totally unusable for passengers, and many of the passengers were already thoroughly spooked before falling into sleep. It would also imply that they were all super excited, thoroughly relieved, returned to their seats, and then just passed out.

2. The moment the tickets were clipped, Enmu's very, very, very realistic dreams took immediate effect, but he still needed time before it took effect enough that their guards would go down. If this is the case, then it implies the following: 1. Enmu's illusions can be shared 2. Everyone syncs extremely well together to have all been sucked in by the same illusion (it's possible it was only Tanjiro's, but since we get in everyone's heads a little in this part, I believe they all experienced the same thing). Reacting in ways so true to how they would in waking like, they learned as much about each other as truthfully as they would have if they were fighting while awake. 3. The "Rengoku-aniki" thing is the moment they're falling into a deeper stage of sleep, when any bizarre thing will make sense. They've lost any sense of holding back and are embracing the emotions as they hit them. Even if that was all a dream, the bond formed was very real. But then, as they fall deep, they fall into their own headspaces. Inosuke: I love how bombastic this dream is. It moves at a very fast pace, and everything revolves around Inosuke. He is physically much larger than Ponjiro, Chuuitsu, and Pyonko, who clearly follow him as their leader, the most powerful person in this cave exploring world full of wonder and excitement. True to life, these underlings can at times be frustrating or stupid, but there is no one else Inosuke would rather have at his side to take on a hugely impressive foe. It's a relatively simplistic world, what Inosuke really cares about is his place in it, and who is there.

Taking it a step deeper, he should not be able to manifest in his self-conscious space, but Gotouge attributes his and Zenitsu's ability to do this and protect their cores from intruders to their strong senses of self. What's telling is that his subconscious space is practically identical to his conscious dream space; like there is no breakage between one stage of reality and the next. In its Zen-like simplicity Inosuke's mind is never at odds with itself, its interpretation of reality is fluid and seamless. However, being at this deeper state brings us to a deeper state of self actualization, with Inosuke manifesting closer to the ideal beast he views himself as.

Now, with Inosuke being so fully invested in what he sees as reality, he's still got a carry-over effect from dream after waking up, which one could interpret as not having fully shaken the effects of Enmu's blood technique. After all, Zenitsu simply never broke out of it, Tanjiro had to kill himself in his dreams each time to fully snap out of it, and Kyojuro was the only one powerful enough to have broken through its effects through his own willpower. When Tanjiro says the train is a demon, he buzzes with "I was right!" (a conviction that only got stronger in his dream), and Inosuke's declarations of being the boss and Tanjiro being his underling are indignantly plentiful and he fully believes what he is saying every time he brings it up, even if he's aware that he's no longer in the cave exploring dream. But, given that Inosuke is so at peace with his own version of reality, it's also just as likely that his conviction of being The Boss was also only compounded by the dream, and all that dream did was give him a more fun setting in which to play around in. But, what was so fun about the dream, what made him sleep-giggle with pleasure, was that everyone else was finally getting with the program and recognizing him as the boss, as they should. Finally. It's so frustrating in real life that he has to keep reminding them to get it right. Get it, Santaro?? GOOD. Zenitsu: What I love here is the contrast between subconscious and conscious space. Both of them have the same theme melody, but played in very, very different ways. They also both play with the same core desire in very different ways as well. Is it so much to ask that he can just spend some time alone with the girl he loves?? If we jump straight to the pitch black unconscious space, he specifies to the intruder that only Nezuko is allowed there. Not just girls in general, not a close friend like Tanjiro, only the one girl he loves, and even then, you'd have to love someone a lot to invite them into the deepest, darkest corners of your soul. And it is a very, very, very, very dark corner. Zenitsu's spent most of his life building that dark, pessimistic personality, compounded by the treatment he's always received throughout his life and what he believes about himself at his core. He's ugly and depraved there, and very defensive. Because he holds himself in such darkness, that makes him desire the bright, happy, completely idealistic world of his conscious dream world. It's rich with detail and warm and he knows it well, that places is the first place he ever felt someone have hope for him; it's Jiichan's home, that sunny place with delicious peaches and full of clovers and lush greenery and a charming stream. Of course he'd want to show it all to Nezuko, she deserves to see such a happy, pretty place! And, while the world is idealized and happy, Nezuko is e-x-t-r-e-m-e-l-y cute and actually wants to hang out with him too. She's willing no hold his hand, none of the girls who dated (read: used) Zenitsu in the past were ever willing to hold his hand. He even gets to show her that he can be cool, and she likes it!! She looks him in the eyes and is totally honest about enjoying his company!!

He just wants someone to want him back. He wants to belong in the sunshine too. So, even if he had it in him to wake up from Enmu's blood technique, who can blame him for staying there? (You know, besides Tanjiro, who has been desperately screaming for them all to wake up and help him protect the passengers. Zzzzz, five more minutes, Tanjiro, zzzzzzz----) Kyojuro: This... isn't really a happy dream. Kyojuro has accepted a lot of sad parts of his reality so wholeheartedly that he doesn't seek the comfort of a dream in which his mother is still alive, or a dream in which his father is proud of him. Instead, what Kyojuro was looking for was the chance to go back and say more to Senjuro. This implies that on the real day he knelt in that room, while his father faced away and read the book* while Kyojuro told him all about how he defeated Lower Moon Two and became a Pillar, and was met with his father's heartbreakingly unenthusiastic reply, he later went outside and...

...didn't say any words of comfort to Senjuro.

This regret, that he didn't do more for his brother whom he knew was hurting in his own silent ways this whole time, was what sat most bothersomely in Kyojuro's otherwise peacefully self-assured psyche (or fired-up psyche, if you go by his subconscious space) . It makes sense that in his dying wishes, the first thing he requests is that Tanjiro do this in his stead. *Speaking of that book, Kyojuro had forgotten about it until his memories pulled together to create the details of the dream, which was why he thought to mention it to Tanjiro later. This shows that Enmu is not an architect of people's dreams, he only sets them in motion. How believable they are depends on each victim. (Totally unrelated, I love the design of the Rengoku estate's garden??? It's primarily evergreen and unflowering trees, meaning it stays relatively steadfast throughout the year, a garden designed in samurai villa taste. Plus the details of the house also fit really well, I think??? Would need to review research of buke-yashiki architecture to say more.) Tanjiro: ...*deep breath* This boy really, really wants to go home. Like, the climax of the movie is amazing and all, but it's the scenes with Tanjiro's family that make me cry. Ugh, where do I start. Enmu probably just grabs on to whatever thread of a desire a person has, and then he just tugs on it and says "this way, let's go really far in this direction, show me where it goes, hmm, okay, nice, lovely. Have fun here, I've now seen enough to write my own angsty version for later." So... so I'm just going to work backwards a moment. Enmu screwed up here, thinking he could really read the depth of Tanjiro's family and his feelings for them. He thought he could make a convincing version of these "characters" cry and shove Tanjiro around and speak meanly to him and make him feel shame. And the cut to that dream, OH MY GOSH, truly horrific sound and color change. But Tanjiro's sees through it so fast that he wakes up immediately and uses that anger at how Enmu wrote them to cut off his "head." You screwed up, Enmu, you blew it, maybe other people would very so blown down by the shock that they wouldn't question how unreal that dream sequence is, but Tanjiro has honed his fighting spirit so much that it's been nagging him even throughout his happy dream. And he really, really, really wants to stay in that happy dream. Like, even though he's on guard at the beginning, so much so that he only focuses on the familiar feeling of a demon being around and does not notice the familiar landscape AT ALL. But the moment Hanako and Shigeru step in, convincingly made from Tanjiro's memories and unedited by Enmu, Tanjiro throws that all away in an instant. As he says when he's trying, after trying and trying and trying to rip himself away from the dream, he was never even supposed to had left this world. He was never supposed to had touched anything like a sword, they were all supposed to stay there together, living their simple life. If things hadn't gone wrong that one night. Tanjiro cares deeply about his mission, he's adopted his training deeply, he has serious desire to improve, which is why his subconsciously keeps trying to call himself back to reality, but it's so hard, because this is where he wants to be, and it's even harder because it feels so real. It's a little peeve of mine when families with lots of little siblings are written to be too angelic and idealistic, and there is some of that with the "let's make sembei, yaaaay" scene, but... but that's actually pretty true. I'm giving myself away with how close this hits to home, but it's a dynamic in a lot of large families, especially large families pretty happy to stay to themselves and people who live the same sort of conservative, traditional lifestyle, to foster in the older siblings some pride in taking care of the little ones and helping create that happy world for them, even if taking care of little kids can be rough. It's not to say that things are always happy and fluffy, they're not, and that's not to say even

happy kids don't resent being in a large family sometimes. But there's plenty of moments in daily life, especially in the presence of small children, that you get swept up into a sillier, happy, caretaker side of yourself, and since you all grow up with these silly moments together, you're going to naturally fall into into some silly, scripted-feeling moments of "then I'll be in charge of eating the sembei!" "no faaaaair!". So, I'll give the sembei scene a pass because that IS a moment that happens in years of moments with the same posse of kiddos around you all the time. But it's also so striking to me how each of Tanjiro's siblings, however idealized, has their own personality. The traits are so subtle but consistent and Tanjiro knows all of them. They pick up on things about each other, they grow realistically annoyed and surprised and concerned and scared like they would if they were real instead of only Tanjiro's memories of them. Those kids feel so real to me, even if they are annoyingly overidealized in some parts as Tanjiro is letting himself get swept away. And just when he's managing to part from it to go face reality, Enmu makes more attack: he brings in Nezuko, trying to make it feel like there's no point in Tanjiro running at all. She's fine. There's nothing left for him to fight for. Everything's fine. And all over again, Tanjiro just stops. He KNOWS it's not real, but he's hurting so much to hear her voice again that he just sto-o-o-o-ps. And his desire to stay with the others catches up to him all over again, and he's tempted all over again to stay, EVEN KNOWING IT'S NOT REAL and there are very, very, very pressing matters to attend to. Even if it was all a little happy and idealized, more than anything, it felt like life always did. It's telling that when Tanjiro finally, FINALLY pulls away from that that time, he doesn't look back, and the family stops chasing him. This is Tanjiro accepting reality, however much it hurts. He's already had a couple years to accept this, but it was all overwhelming to get such a vivid taste of it again.

Tanjiro wants to do well to his organization and honor Urokodaki's training and avenge the fallen and prevent anyone else from being hurt and see an end to Kibutsuji Muzan and make Nezuko human again, but more than anything, he wants that simple life. And it's so, so heartwarming that at the end of the manga, he gets it.

It's not the same. It'll never be the same.

He never wanted a life with a sword, but he's been working so hard at it anyway.

[oddsnendsfanfics]

Unraveling Over the Holidays

Genre: Fan Fiction

Pairing: Henry Cavill/OFC

Warnings: Fluff. Implied Pandemic world we live in

Rating: G

Length: Drabble

Disclaimer: a strict work of fiction, I own nothing except the original characters and the plot line. In no way am I affiliated to any of it.  

A/N: Inspired by the need to write more Henry and Nell, along with Henry’s latest IG post and here we have it. 

Henry Cavill Master List

“Almost have it, Wild Boy.” Henry announced looking into the abyss of the computer they were attempting to build.  This was their second this year, a true feat. Rarely did Henry and Ivan get the time to break down and rebuild their own systems. It was a welcome hobby, keeping them busy when there wasn't much else to do these days.

They had been working away on the project since breakfast. Frustrated mumbling and grunting seemed to be the only sounds coming from the other room. Nell listened, checking in on them from time to time, waiting for them to finish. Today was the day they were going to finally trim their Christmas tree. After days of waiting, it would finally be a sight to behold. Or as much a sight to behold as they could manage. All in all Nell felt that she decorated a pretty damn fine looking tree.

It was shortly after lunch, when Nell began to get annoyed. When she'd brought in a plate of sandwiches and asked her husband and son if they would be done soon, both had told her that they needed ten more minutes. Three hours and one boasting Instagram photo later...

“Dad, I think I have this backwards.” Ivan furrowed his brow staring at the piece that he was attempting to put in.

“Let me look.” Henry moved to take a closer inspection.

Not wanting the break anything, risking a costly repair. Ivan was learning fast and enjoyed working with his hands. More than that, he really enjoyed the uninterrupted time with his dad. “Not backwards, but the next slot over.” Instructing his son how to put the piece in properly.

Neither of them seeming to notice or care that Nell had drug out their boxes of Christmas decorations. Outside, she and Henry had strung lights in a few bushes and around their garden early in the month. Wanting to get it done in case they got an unexpected cold or worse. Inside Nell had put up her favourite battery operated candles, the old fashioned looking ones that stood in the windows. Every window in the farm house had a candle display. The kitchen had lights and a few decorations, the sitting room, the office, and even the bathrooms were ready.

All they needed was to get the tree decorated. Presents under a naked tree was plain wrong.

“Henry, Ivan.” Nell tapped her foot on the floor, her arms folded across her chest. Huffing at the two of them. She should have known better than to let them tear apart that damn computer this morning.

“I think she saw.” Ivan wasn't doing a very good job at whispering, his mother could hear him on the other side of the room. Nell rolled her eyes. Of course she had saw the photo, over 3,000 people had saw that photo and it had only taken five minutes.

“What is it, darling?” Henry leaned back in his chair, glancing over his shoulder at his wife. Smiling sweetly, his usual trick when he wanted to attempt getting out of something.

“Tree.” She gestured to the tree behind her.

“What about it? Is it too dry? Ivan, didn't I ask you to water that this morning?” Shaking his head, Henry glanced at his son.

“I did, dad.” Ivan huffed, holding the light at the perfect angle to see inside the box.

“Guys, can we please decorate this tree? It's been here since Sunday.”

“We'll get to it.”

“When? It's already Friday. Henry, we have had this in here for nearly a week. A naked, boring, lackluster tree.” Lecturing, Nell rubbed her temples, “Christmas is in a week! A week! This is the latest we have ever left the tree.”

Setting down his manual, Henry pushed his chair away from the desk, standing to observe the tree. He hadn't thought it was that big of a deal, they had gone last week and picked out the tree, Henry wasn't sure that this would be the final spot for the Christmas icon. Something Nell would assume was an excuse.

He should have taken the photo from the other side, oops. Had he not mentioned the bare tree to the world, his wife likely wouldn't have been making such a deal about it. Until now, Nell had been avoiding it as much as him and Ivan.

“Do you want to do it today?” Wrapping his arms around her waist, he kissed the back of her head. “The wild boy and I are more than happy to let you take over.”

If she wanted to decorate the tree, by herself, it would have been done hours ago.

“Nice try, but this was to be a family activity.” Nell furrowed her brow, huffing. “Why can't you stop fiddling with that damn box for twenty minutes?”

“I love you, Mrs. Cavill.” He knew exactly how to win this battle.

“Not working.”

“Worth a try,” Henry shrugged giving her a kiss on the cheek. Squeezing his arms tighter around his wife, he groaned. Caving to her whim. “I'm going to make us some cocoa, then we can get this tree decorated. Wild boy, help your mum get the decorations out, please.”

“Uh, no.” Shaking her head, Nell escaped his clutches. “I am going to make the cocoa,” gently tapping the tip of Henry's nose she grinned, “You and Ivan can untangle the lights. I have been asking you all week, get to work.”

Laying on the floor by the tree, Kal boofed and yawned. He had heard her asking multiple times over the week, but what could be do about it? Stretching, he stood cautiously to keep his wagging tail from smashing the tree. Nell really hated picking pieces of Christmas tree from his fur. Following her to the kitchen, he hurried when her steps approached the treat cupboard.

“You'd help me, wouldn't you bear?” Spotting her shadow, Nell smiled, tossing him a biscuit. “Honestly, those two are more and more difficult every year. I feel like I'm raising two children sometimes.”

Oh lovely, here she was, in the middle of the kitchen talking to the dog. Whatever, at least Kal would listen to her gripe. Pulling down a mug and two tumbler glasses, Nell set the kettle to boil and then picked up the bottle of Johnnie Walker that had appeared on the counter a few days ago. Likely a gift from someone.

One candy cane hot cocoa and two whiskey and rosemary sours, at the ready. In the other room, Nell could hear Ivan and Henry singing along to I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas. Loudly Ivan belted out the line about the hippo being a vegetarian, Henry swaying back and forth as he laughed and unraveled the lights. To Nell's credit, when she had put away their Christmas decorations the previous year, she had done a much nicer job than Henry.

“Looking good, gentlemen.” Complimenting their work, Nell smiled handing Ivan the cocoa. “Yours is on the tray,” she kissed Henry's cheek. “I decided to make use of the Johnnie Walker.” She winked.

Taking his drink, Henry smiled. “It's your bottle,”

“Mine? Did you buy it?” Nell sat on the floor beside Ivan, working at picking out more decorations.

“No, it came the other day. Some guy dropped it off, did you not read the card?” Henry laughed, joining his family on the floor. Nell shook her head. “Hold on,” He stood back up, groaning a little.

“Mum,” Ivan spoke pulling out another bundle of lights, “when the tree is done, can I watch a movie?”

“You don't want to help dad finish with the computer?” Sorting the other items in the box, Nell sat back on her heels reaching for her drink.

“I guess, but I think I'd like to watch a movie with you. If you have time.”

“For you, wild boy, I have all the time in the world.” Nell leaned over giving him a kiss on the head. Wrinkling his nose, Ivan brushed his hand over his dark curls, resetting them the way he liked them. “Which movie did you want to watch?”

“I don't know, we can find one.” Ivan worked away at the strand of lights, getting them ready to go on the tree, when Henry came back in. His mother wasn't tall enough to read the top, which meant his dad would have to start the lights.

Decorating the tree with his parents, the three of them, felt a little odd. For as long as Ivan could remember there was always a huge production to decorating their tree. This year was quiet, like most things throughout the year. They would be video calling family over Christmas Eve and Christmas Morning, instead of having them there in person. They were supposed to spend Christmas with the Stewart family this year, as sad as Ivan was to miss his trip he understood.

“Here you are,” Henry waved the small card around, crossing the floor to hand it to Nell.

One the outside was a fancy script, containing her name in gold lettering. Opening the small card, the kind one gets with a delivery of flowers, she admired the generic looking winter scene.

“To Nelly & Superman, Merry Xmas. May 2021 be better than whatever dumpster fire this is,” she read out loud, chuckling at the sentiment. “Love always, JPS. It's from Jordan.”

“How lovely, didn't he send one last year as well?”

“He did, but he sent that really nice Riesling.” Nell confirmed. Since Jordan hadn't been able to make it for the wedding, he'd sent the gift instead. “Along with the Ardbeg, for our wedding present.”

Henry nodded, he remembered drinking both vividly. Although he didn't get much of the Ardbeg, because Nell had deemed it off limits to anybody who wasn't her. Past and present gifts sorted and settled, Henry stood up with the first string of lights in hand. “I think it's time we get these on, what about you?”

“About time.” Sticking out her tongue, Nell pulled out the tinsel and a box of ornaments. “Gosh, Cavill, you have been taking forever.”

“Can't rush perfection, my darling.” Henry smirked, attaching the first string of soft white lights to the stout tree in the corner.

“Is that why we took so long?” Ivan teased helping his mother carefully lift ornaments from boxes.

“Of course.” Henry nodded, excusing his procrastination.  “You know, I do love this tree.”

“It is a lovely tree. It's the perfect size.” Nell agreed with her husband. “I'm glad that we didn't go with a monstrous tree this year.”

Henry and Ivan had a habit of going for the biggest tree in the lot. This year, Nell had put her foot down, demanding that they pick something reasonable.

“I thought you liked a big, thick one.” Snorting, Henry paused to watch Nell's reaction.

“You, stop.” She wagged her finger at him. “Wild boy, can you go over to that blue storage bin and get the crystal star, please?”

The tree topper had been a gift from Henry's parents, the first year she and Henry had “unofficially” lived together. Nell had used it every year since, upon Henry's insistence that she kept it. Their first Christmas married, last year, his mother had wanted to gift them a new one. Politely Nell had declined, saying that she loved the one they had. Although, she was more than happy to accept the matching ornament set that went with it, as a late Wedding present.

“I love this star,” Taking the carefully wrapped box from Ivan; Nell placed it safely out of the way of Kal and Cavills.

“Lights are on.” Henry happily announced, clapping his hands together. “What's next?”

“Tinsel and bows.” Ivan sprung up with a card of tinsel, waving it wildly at his father. “Can I help?”

“What if I put on the tinsel, while you tie on the bows?”

“Deal.” Ivan nodded grabbing the gold and silver bows that Nell had made. They would soon be in need of some new bows. “Mum, momma, mum.” he bounced, “Want to help?”

“Sure, you take the gold and I will take the silver?” Standing to join Ivan and Henry at the tree. Nell took the card of silver bows, carefully tying them on to the boughs of the tree.

Over the next half hour or so, their tree began to come to life. The soft colours adorning the vibrant green really stood out in the otherwise neutral room. Laughing and teasing one another, Henry grabbed Ivan around the waist, spinning him – a safe distance from the tree – while Kal danced around them barking excitedly. Nell watched them with joyful delight, after the year they had endured it was nice to see her husband and son still keeping their happiness.

[l-egionaire]

My Willumity Story

Ever since I started reading the pieces of @edasnest also known as @prinxlyart I've fallen down into the Willumity hole and have had this idea for how they got together brewing for a while o. So I thought I'd share it. In a story format a bit similar and a bit different to @prinxlyart pieces.

It started one day during Lunch at Hexside after Amity had yet another Luz induced gay disaster attack. While Luz doesn't notice, Willow (who has known about Amity's crush since the Grudgeby game) did and has had just about enough of seeing her old friend spazz out whenever the human girl so much as breathed on her. So she point blank tells Amity that she needs to just ask Luz out.

And of course, Amity says she can't just ask Luz out. It could scare her away, it could hurt their friendship. (Or, some secret part of her thinks, Luz would reject her and she wouldn't be able to handle that.)

But Willow was persistent and gave Amity an ultimatum: Either ask Luz out by the end of the school day or Willow would ask Luz out herself.

"W-what?! You can't do that!"

"Why not? Its not like she has a girlfriend."

"But-but its not fair! You know I like Luz!"

"Well then Witch up and tell her that. Or I'll take my shot at her."

*sigh* "Okay."

Amity could tell Willow was serious so she tried her hardest to ask Luz out but the words always end up getting stuck in her throat. By the time school was nearly over, she still hadn't managed to muster the courage to tell Luz her feelings. And unfortunately, her last class wasn't one she had with Luz. Once the bell rang, she raced over to where Luz's locker was and found Willow just a bit away from there too. They both noticed Luz getting her things from her locker.

Willow gave Amity a raised brow.

"Well?"

"I-I....just give me until tomorrow?"

Willow just rolled her eyes and before Amity could do anything, she walked straight over to Luz.

"Hey Luz. Would you like to go out on a date with me?"

Luz's eyes bulged out with shock.

"W-what?"

"Uh, if you don't want to its fine-."

"NO! No, I'd love to! Uh, where should we go? What time? Ooh, maybe we could-."

Meanwhile, Amity just watches the whole thing with a look of utter defeat on her face.

That night Willow and Luz went on a date to the Boiling Isles bazaar and Willow was shocked at just how much she enjoyed it. They went to all sorts of fun shops and spots and Luz ended the night by taking her flying on Eda's staff. And when she took her home, Luz even kissed the back of her hand. It was amazing.

Willow just assumed the date would be a one time thing but just two days later Luz asked her if she wanted to go out again.

"Really?"

"Well, yeah. I just thought that since you were interested in one date then maybe...you'd be interested in a second?

"....Sure. I'd like that."

So they went on a second date. And two dates turned to three. Then four, and five, and within a few weeks they became known around Hexside as one of the most popular couple. While some, like Boscha, made some mean jokes about "the two freaks falling for each other" everyone else just gushes about how cute the two of them are together.

But those first few weeks were also the worst of Amity's life. Every time she saw Luz and willow together her heart clenched with jealousy and anger. At school she avoided them whenever she had the opportunity. It had become common for her to go home and cry into her pillow over having lost her chance with Luz.

But, unbeknownst to either Willow or Amity, Luz was facing a crisis of her own. Luz had actually had feelings for Amity for quite some time and while she had come to love and care about Willow as they dated, there was a part of her that couldn't still help but think about how it would feel to go on dates with Amity or if Amity's kiss on her cheek would make her feel the same way Willows did. She felt so guilty that she was still thinking about these things even after dating Willow. Whenever she was around Amity and her heart started fluttering like usual did the sensation was followed by her guts twisting with guilt. It got so bad, she had even stopped having Azura book club meetings which only made them both more miserable.

Things came too a head one day when Amity once again went to a different table to eat lunch instead of going to eat with Luz, Willow, and Gus. Willow had become good at noticing Luz's emotions lately and she could easily see how hurt her girlfriend was from Amity not sitting with them. So she decided to go over to Amity's table and talk to her.

"Amity, you shouldn't be all by yourself. Come sit with us."

"No thanks Willow. I'm fine."

While she knew it was a bit of a low blow, Willow said. "Luz really wants you to sit with us."

Amity gave her a venom filled glare. "Well you would know what Luz wants wouldn't you?"

"Don't be like that."

"Oh I'm sorry, how am I supposed to be?"

"You're supposed to be happy that your friends are happy together! Not acting like a jerk."

"Well excuse me if I'm not thrilled that the two of you are dating!

"Well maybe you should've thought of that before you lost the bet to ask Luz out!"

Suddenly a loud crash came from behind them. They both looked and saw to their horror that Luz had come over to where they were sitting and was now staring at them with wide eyed shock, her tray having fallen from her hands and clattered against the ground.

""Luz! I was just telling Amity-."

"Willow, You....You only asked me out because of a bet?"

Luz's voice cracked with sadness and Amity and Willow looked at each other, trying to think of how to explain.

"No!....Yes? Not exactly-."

"It wasn't really a bet. It was more like a, a, a dare!"

Hearing that only made Luz recoil in shock. "A dare?"

Willow and Amity continued to try and explain but Luz's ears filled with a loud buzzing noise that drowned out anything else. The moment she heard the word "dare" her mind immediately flashbacked to 7th grade when a boy had asked her out on a date and she'd been so excited that someone actually liked her only to be crushed when she heard him and his friends laughing about him doing the dare of "asking out the freak."

Luz slowly started backing away and choked out "I...I have to go. " Before running off.

Willow and Amity immediately race after her. They found Luz curled into a ball at her locker. Willow went and sat by her side while Amity stood slightly off to the side.

Willow tried reassuring Luz that while the bet may have been why she'd asked her out, she'd come to love Luz and she truly cared for her.

And Luz manages to tearfully fire back that she shouldn't because she was a bad girlfriend.

"Luz, no. You're a great girlfriend-."

"If that were true, then I wouldn't be thinking about Amity the way I think about you!"

Their eyes widened at her response.

"I've had a crush on Amity since before we started dating. And even after we did I-I couldn't stop thinking about what going on dates with her might be like or what kissing her might be like. And I just feel so terrible because you've been so good to me and I don't deserve it!"

Luz continued to weep into her arms. Willow looked at Amity who was completely gobsmacked at Luz's admission and then turned back to Luz.

"Maybe I don't care about that."

Luz raised her head slightly while Amity raised an eyebrow at her.

"What?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Amity has a huge crush on you."

Now it was Luz's turn to be bug eyed while Amity made a sound like a mix between a choke and a gurgle

"What!?

"Yep. In fact, you were the one she wanted to ask to Grom."

It was then Amity managed to regain her ability to talk.

"Willow! You-I-What are you doing?!"

Luz stood up and looked at Amity.

"Is that true?"

"I, uh, well, you see,.....yes?"

"Amity...."

"Well the way I see it, I like you and Amity likes you and you like me and Amity. So maybe, you shouldn't have to choose which one of us you like more."

"Willow....are you implying what I think you're implying?"

"Yeah, I mean I love a good OT3 as much as the next person but would you really be okay with that?"

Willow rose up from the ground a pressed a quick kiss to Luz's lips.

"What I want most is for you to be happy. And if Amity is what would do that then..."

Willow pulled Luz along as she walked over to Amity was. Then, with a quick twirl and push, moved Amity in front of her so that she and Luz were now just inches apart from each other. Their faces burned bright at their sudden proximity to the other.

"Hi."

"Hi."

"So, you really like me?"

"Of course. I mean, your cute, smart, like Azura books, read to kids. What's not to like?"

"Oh. Wow. ☺"

"And you really like me?"

"Oh yeah. I mean your sweet, and kind, and funny, and brave, and so cool-."

"Okay, Jeezy. Heh. Such a flatterer."

Willow chuckled at how cute they were. "Are you two going to kiss or just stay here all day complimenting each other?"

"Uh, well, we don't have to kiss. I mean we did just start...whatever this is. We could wait if Luz doesn't-."

Before Amity could say another word, Luz pecked her lips against hers. Amity froze and her whole face turned the color of a strawberry, then she fell over.

"Oh my gosh! Amity!"

Willow just watched them with amusement. This looked like the start of a beautiful relationship.

[inessencedevided]

The Untamed, episode 35 - watching notes

Jin Ling just freed wwx for ... whatever reason. Wwx thanked him by knocking him out ... for whatever reason. Just so we all now where we're at right now ;)

Btw, I assigned wwx and lwj their own heart-colours for no goddamn reason other than boredom. Wwx is 🖤 and lwj is 💙

Aww, jiang Cheng has never hit Jin ling. At least that hasn't changed yet. He's all "tough love" in theory, but really, he never acts on his threats.

Speaking of Jin Ling: I feel like he tries really hard to emulate his uncle, but doesn't have the trauma to back that grumpy attitude up, so it just comes off as bitchy :D

Staring at your bro as he's standing on a britch, bathed in moonlight, the water facing shadows on his perfect hair ... you're so dreamy ... bro

You know why he's sticking with you, wwx?

Seriously though? Their love is one of the healthiest I have seen in any story in a long time. I'm sure others have already written meta posts about it that go way deeper and are way more well thought out than anything I could say at this point, but still ... at no point in the story so far (except maybe when wwx jumped off that cliff, but I'd say those were extraordinary circumstances) did they ask something off each other that they weren't willing to give. Wwx may have wanted lwj to stay and stand with him when he saved the Wens, but he accepted lwj's decision without question and didn't hold a grudge when they saw each other again, quite the opposite. And lwj? He was worried about wwx choosing the demonic path for what it would do to him, but he let him make his decisions anyway. The point is, their individual lives and the decisions they had to make, independent of each other, let them apart. But when fate made their paths cross again, they were right there, ready to lend a hand without question.

Their only flaw as a couple is that they are too goddamn emotionally damaged and/or closed-off to properly communicate their goddamn feelings ...

But I'm still not through with the show, so who knows, maybe I just wrote some bullshit 😅

Oh, I forgot the leg curse!

Quick! Get Snape! He'll fix you (for about a year)

Awww ... lan Wangji remembers how wwx wanted to carry him on his back and wwx doesn't 😭😭😭

The look on his face :(

Who would have thought that one day, wwx would be the one to reject physical contact, while lwj insists on it ...

This scene makes me weirdly emotional and I don't know why! 😭

No, I know why ... because wwx has learned not to ask for or expect help from anyone since these first days of them knowing each other and here lwj is, offering it anyway :')

Never has a piggyback ride been so romantic :D

Nie Huaisang!!!

His vocabulary seems to have shrunk to a single sentence

Lwj even readily gives wwx liquor ... 😱

You know who wwx reminds me of when he's in detective mode?

Okay okay lwj, you don't have to support his alcoholism quite as much

So Nie Huaisang just implied that he has some sympathies left for wwx 🥰

Than again ... that might be because their clan doesn't practice what the other sets would consider proper cultivation either, right? I get why wwx would scoff at that

I gotta ask: why, WHY would you become a grave robber in a world where seemingly every second dead person comes back to habit people???

That's just dumb

The flashback. Gosh ...

Is this a role reversal au? Now it's wwx who won't let lwj undress him to look at his wounds

Lwj's smile when they're playing together!!! 😭😭😭

Poor Nie Huaisang. He just wants to collect his Fans and have his ancestral burial grounds not repeatedly demolished by cultivators

*stressed fan waving increases*

Oh no

The fuck?

Is this was qui deviation looks like? 😱

Poor Nie Huaisang 😔💔

Okay so, the central question rn is: who killed nie Mingjue?

Jin Guangyao was there ... I have a suspect 🧐

Oh not again! (With the framing wwx)

I wonder if Nie Huaisang did recognize wwx after all. I'd be surprised if he didn't

How did lwj recognize him? Should I rewatch the first 2 episodes?

The same wine house they've been to before and this time it's lwj who "drags" wax into it. At this point, I'm pretty sure these parallels are intentional

Oh nice, wwx agrees with me :D

Wait ... is this ... because wwx's memory is somewhat lacking and lwj wants to refresh it ... if so, I'm sad now 😥

Oooohhh! They're talking about Xue Yang! When was that episode 6 or 7 or something? They expect me to remember that? 🙈

Oh so Xie Yang changed allegiance from the wen clan to the Jin clan. Why am I not surprised?

No ... what happened to Xiao Xingchen and Song lan? 😥

Did lwj just take a shot???? 😱😱😱😱😱

Ha! That's gonna be interesting next episode :D

You know what I liked most about this episode? Lan Wangji was so obviously happy!! (Maybe aside from the last scene) For him, the things he did this ep were practically bouncing around with glee. It warmed my heart 💙🥰

[wordpimp]

There was a pause.

“I hear ice cubes,” he said.

“Diet Coke.”

“Ah. Tell me more things. Tell me about the room you’re in. Tell me about the chain of events that led up to your calling this number.”

“Okay,” she said. “I’m not in the bedroom anymore. I’m sitting on the couch in my living room slash dining room. My feet are on the coffee table, which would have been impossible yesterday, because the coffee table was piled so high with mail and work stuff, but now it is possible, and the whole room, the whole apartment, is really and truly in order. I took a sick day today, without being sick, which is something I haven’t done up to now at this job. I called the receptionist and told her I had a fever. The moment of lying to her was awful, but gosh what freedom when I hung up the phone! And I didn’t leave the apartment all day. I just organized my immediate surroundings, I picked up things, I vacuumed, and I laid out all the silver that I’ve inherited – three different very incomplete patterns – laid it out on the dining-room table and looked at it and I gave some serious thought to polishing it, but I didn’t go so far as to polish it, but it looked beautiful all laid out, a big arch of forks, a little arch of knives, five big serving spoons, some tiny salt spoons, and a little grouping of novelty items, like oyster forks. No teaspoons at all. One of the dinner forks from my great aunt’s set fell into the dishwasher once when i was visiting her and it got badly notched by that twirly splasher in the bottom, and someone at work was telling me he knew a jeweler who fixed hurt silverware, so I’m planning to have that fixed, it’s all ready to go. And I even got together all my broken sets of beads – I sorted them all out – the sight of all those beads jumbled together on my bedside table was making me unhappy every morning, and now they’re ready to be restrung, the pink ones in one envelope, and the green ones in one envelope, and the parti-colored Venetian ones in one envelope – and I have them on my dining-room table too, ready to go.”

“The same jeweler who fixes silverware restrings beads?” he asked.

“Yes!”

“How did your beads get broken?”

“They seem to break in the morning when I’m rushing to get dressed. They catch on something. The jade ones, my favorite set, which my father gave me, caught on the open door of the microwave when I was standing up too quickly after picking a piece of paper up off the floor. That was the latest tragedy. And of course my sister’s babe yanked one set off my neck. But they can all be repaired and they will all be repaired.”

“Good going.”

“Anyway, this apartment is transformed, I mean it, not just superficially but with new hidden pockets of order in it, and I waited until the midafternoon to have a shower, and I did not masturbate, because the illicitness of calling in sick without justification made me want to be pure and virtuous all day long, and I had an early dinner of Carr’s Table Water crackers with cream cheese and sliced pieces of sweet red kosher peppers on them, just delicious, and I did not turn on the TV but instead I turned on the stereo, which I haven’t used much lately. It’s a very fancy stereo.”

“Yes?”

“I think I spent something like fourteen hundred dollars on it,” she said. “I bought it from someone who was buying an even fancier system. It was true insanity. I had a crush on this person. He liked the Thompson Twins and the S.O.S. Band and, gee, what were the other groups he liked so much? The Gap Band was one. Midnight Star. And Cameo. This was a while ago. He was not a particularly intelligent man, in fact in a way he was a very dimwitted narrow-minded man, but he was so infectiously convinced that what he liked everyone would like if they were exposed to it. And good-looking. For about four months, while I was in his thrall, I really listened to that stuff. I gave up my life to it. My own taste in music stopped evolving in grade school with the Beatles, the early early Beatles – in fact I used to dislike any song that didn’t end – you know, end with a chord, but simply faded out.”

“But then you met this guy,” he said.

“Exactly!” she said. “All of the songs he liked faded out, or most of them did. And so I became a connoisseur of fade-outs. I bought cassettes. I used to turn them up very loud – with the headphones on – and listen very closely, trying to catch that precise moment when the person in the recording studio had begun to turn the volume dial down, or whatever it was he did. Sometimes I’d turn the volume dial up at just the speed I thought he – I mean the ghostly hand of the record producer – was turning it down, so that the sound stayed on an even plane. I’d get in this sort of trance, like you on the rug, where I thought if I kept turning it up – and this is a very powerful amplifier, mind you – the song would not stop, it would just continue indefinitely. And so what I had thought of before as just a kind of artistic sloppiness, this attempt to imply that oh yeah, we’re a bunch of endlessly creative folks who jam all night, and the bad old record producer finally has to turn down the volume on us just so we don’t fill the whole album with one monster song, became for me instead this kind of, this kind of summation of hopefulness. I first felt it in a song called ‘Ain’t Nobody,’ which was a song that this man I had the crush on was particularly keen on. ‘Ain’t nobody, loves me better.’ You know that one?”

“You sing well!” he said.

“I do not. But that’s the song, and as you get toward the end of it, a change takes place in the way you hear it, which is that the knowledge that the song is going to end starts to be more important than the specific ups and downs of the melody, and even though the singer is singing just as loud as ever, in fact she’s really pouring it on now, she’s fighting to be heard, it’s as if you are hearing the inevitable waning of popularity of that hit, its slippage down the charts, and the twlight of the career of the singer, despite all of the beautiful subtle things she’s able to do with a plain old dumb old bunch of notes, and even as she goes for one last high note, full of daring and hope and passionateness and everything worthwhile, she’s lost, she’s sinking down.”

“Oh! Don’t cry!” he said. “I’m not equipped … I mean my comforting skills don’t have that kind of range.”

There was another sound of ice cubes. She said, “It’s just that I really liked him. Vain bum. We went dancing one night, and I made the mistake of suggesting to him as we were on the dance floor that maybe he should take his pen out of his shirt pocket and put it in his back pocket. And that was it, he never called me again.”

“That little scum-twirler! Tell me his address, I’ll fade him out, I’ll rip his arms off.”

“No. I got over it. Anyway, that wasn’t what I meant to talk about. I just mean I was here in my wonderfully orderly apartment after dinner and I saw this big joke of a stereo system and I switched it on, and the sky got darker and all the little red and green lights on the receiver were like ocean buoys or something, and I started to feel what you’d expect, sad, happy, resigned, horny, some combination of all of them, and I felt suddenly that I’d been virtuous for long enough and probably should definitely masturbate, and I thought wait, let’s not just have a perfunctory masturbatory session, Abby, let’s do something just a little bit special tonight, to round out a special day, right? So I brought out a copy of Forum that I rather bravely bought one day a while ago. But I’d read all the stories and all the letters and it just wasn’t working. So I started looking at the ads, really almost for the first time. And there was this headline: ANYTIME AT ALL.”

“MAKE IT HAPPEN.”

“That’s right. And I like the sound of the pauses in long-distance conversations – the cassette hiss sound. And yet I didn’t really want to talk to anyone I knew. So that’s more or less why I called. Now I’ve answered your questions, now you tell me something.”

“Do you want to hear something true, or something imaginary?”

“First true, then imaginary,” she said.

--from Vox, by Nicholson Baker

[maverick-werewolf]

(Resending in case your askbox turned into a werewolf and ate it) Going off of the angst anon, how much werewolf angst would you say is the Goldilocks of werewolf angst? Just asking 'cause I've read too many stories where all the main character does is whine ("ohwoeisme").

Oh man, there’s so much for me to say about this. It’s a topic close to my heart, one might say. I know there is no way I’ll get all my thoughts about this out in one post because my brain won’t consolidate all my thoughts at once like this and there’s always more I could add, but I’ll do my best.

I have very particular opinions on the whole “werewolf angst” thing because what the werewolf community talks about as “werewolf angst” is something I greatly enjoy writing.

I think it’s all about reframing what “werewolf angst” is - and figuring out why it can so often come across as just a character “whining.”

Bear with me. I’m going to do some breaking down, here. I promise I’ll get to the point. I’m a professor, I ramble a lot and wave my hands around before I finally make my final statement.

First of all, calling it “angst” isn’t doing it any favors. Referring to it as “angst” makes it sound immature and silly. Baseless. Unimportant. It makes them “whining” about being a werewolf seem ultimately like it’s not a big deal, and they need to focus on more important things.

So what do we mean by angst? People on the internet mean the very modern idea of angst, like teen angst. One informal definition of angst is as follows:

a feeling of persistent worry about something trivial.

The formal definition of angst is:

a feeling of deep anxiety or dread, typically an unfocused one about the human condition or the state of the world in general.

The root of “angst” comes from fear, and the root of that root comes from “tight, painfully constricted, painful.”

We have made the word “angst” into something base and trivial. It originally wasn’t. However, the werewolf fandom as a whole tends to refer to someone upset about their lycanthropy in this way, and they tend to mean the modern definition (as most people today do).

Personally, I prefer to refer to this as “werewolf anxiety” rather than “werewolf angst.”

Werewolf Anxiety vs Werewolf Angst

There are a few reasons I prefer calling it anxiety.

This - that is, being a werewolf, and not wanting to be a werewolf - is a big deal for the character. This isn’t something people should refer to as “angst,” because that implies a lot of things that, by nature of this issue, should not be true (i.e., all the things I said about it being unimportant/trivial/a passing thing/etc).

And, as we all know, anxiety is a big deal and a very bad thing. It’s not something we want to have. Likewise, being a werewolf is not something these characters want to have. And let’s face it: being a werewolf wouldn’t make you “angsty,” it’d make you anxious.

Think about all that’d come with it. It’s a lot. The not wanting to be discovered, worrying about how people would treat you differently, wondering if people would want to kill you, worrying about people hunting you, wondering about the things you might’ve done… the list goes on and on and on.

This is, of course, assuming the werewolf in question is the kind that transforms against their will and loses control of themselves. That is what I’m referring to throughout this post.

Secondly, let’s think about some of the characters and stories where we see “werewolf angst.” In a good werewolf story, it shouldn’t be something referred to as “angst” simply because, again, by nature, it would not be something trivial.

Worrying about this, or complaining about it (via narration, dialogue, or whatever else) is something they would do because it is a very big deal. Any reasonable character would be worrying and complaining about it, vocally or to themselves. They’d be upset more than “complaining.” Stressing over it horribly. It’s a bad thing, a bad situation, and they don’t like it and wish it was different.

Angsting is something you do over getting zits when you hit puberty. Complaining is something you do when you didn’t get a pickle at the drive thru and can’t go back to ask for one. Werewolf characters shouldn’t “angst” or “complain” because what’s happening to them is a much, much bigger deal than that.

So how do we make it feel that way?

The necessary balance to doing that and making it believable is to make werewolves themselves a big deal: they need to be scary and taken seriously. In a world where werewolves are not remotely terrifying and everyone makes constant jokes about them, then yes, of course the person upset over being a werewolf is going to come across as a whiner.

A werewolf’s problems in a world where the protagonist is genuinely upset about it shouldn’t include “lol, you turn into a dog, bro” and “lol ur biggest problem is chasing the mailman and pissing on fire hydrants” and “omg ur shedding, u smell like wet dog!!”.

Their problems are actually killing and eating people. Killing families. Causing destruction. Death. Devouring flesh. Doing bad, terrible, horrible things that any sane and even remotely good-hearted person would be deeply upset to even imagine that they do, especially if they cannot remember even doing it or who or what they did it to.

Does this mean they should complain about it constantly? No, not at all. Does doing so make them a bit of a one-note character? Yes, absolutely.

A character shouldn’t exist solely to show us what werewolves are like in a setting, they shouldn’t exist just so their lycanthropy can be a one-off mystery plotline or subplot. They’ll never once be an interesting character if they’re created for that purpose, and when that story is over, they’ll just whine and flail constantly.

I won’t name names and upset people, as I know he is a popular character, but there is one character I know of in particular who existed to be “omg, you’re a werewolf!” and when that plotline was over, he served no purpose and had nothing else to offer as a character. None whatsoever.

When he showed up once everyone found out he was a werewolf, he’d just shout and smack and go nuts saying “oh my gosh, how could you even be friends with a werewolf!?” and then try to push everyone away constantly and never let anyone close. He was always mad and upset about something. We never got to see him be a person, just “that guy who is upset about being a werewolf.”

Sure, a character can have phases of that, but they have to get over it (even if it takes multiple books!), or they’re making no character progression at all.

Why was this character upset in the first place? We only saw the werewolf growl at some people and yeet away into some woods. And oh no, people arguably treat him poorly for it (even though we never actually see that). Werewolves in that setting aren’t hunted like animals. They aren’t considered monsters incapable of being human ever again. And if they’re treated all that differently then, again, we never actually see it to feel like his complaining is justified.

So where is the happy medium found?

It’s found in making being a werewolf actually a bad thing that we can clearly see and making that character human and relatable enough to be upset about it - while also having a character of their own beyond “oh no, I’m so sad I’m a werewolf!” That should not be their only character trait. Show us they’re also human. Show us they’re like us, how upsetting this would be if it happened to us.

Make it real.

A werewolf is a person, too. They’re just like the rest of us. Imagine being put into this situation. It’d be terrifying.

Make a character who is a character first and a werewolf second. Make a character, make them a werewolf, and put them into this situation and see how they react. A good person will react naturally without the anxiety and upset going overboard.

They need to have things going on other than being a werewolf. Subplots, other character interactions, moments when the werewolf itself gets to shine. Moments when we build toward that character overcoming the werewolf anxiety. And intermittent in those moments, you can have the character being upset about it vocally, but the anxiety over it should be apparent in their thoughts and actions throughout. Anxiety lingers and flares. This would, too. But like anxiety, they’d also have moments when they overcome it - even if, like anxiety, it comes back to haunt them later.

Just put the reader into the character’s shoes and what people call “werewolf angst” becomes something much bigger, much scarier, much more upsetting, and much more real. It becomes werewolf anxiety. It becomes something they need to conquer, and I know there are a lot of us who can relate to trying to overcome anxieties... be they unreal, supernatural, and incredibly dangerous, or otherwise.

And we want to see the character conquer it somehow, and when they “complain,” they are justly upset and we feel sorry for them, because we see this and we see how terrible it is all the time throughout the story.

That is the difference.

Bottom line…

The moment werewolves and being a werewolf becomes trivial, being upset about it is made trivial, too.

[green-blooded]

So I watched Into Darkness and wrote out my reactions to it... Again, it's going to be negative, so if that'd bother you, please don't read! All Star Trek fans are legit, even if this is a portion of the canon I don't like.

A brief summary of my reaction:

And it's a Star Wars opening. This is a scene from a Star Wars film. The sound effects even sound like Star Wars. LIKE. I love Star Wars, but this isn't supposed to be Star Wars please stop.

I mean why should we give Uhura any characterization other than liking Spock. That would take effort or something.

I'll admit that I like Spock hanging out in a volcano wearing a disco suit. It's where he belongs. It is his home now that they blew up Vulcan. ('Cause it's a volcano, get it.)

Hey, hey omg they are almost doing a philosophical thing with Spock being willing to die for the needs of the many and McCoy yelling at him, then telling Kirk that if the situation were reversed, Spock would let him die. It's almost a Star Trek!

They're letting McCoy have lines. Wooow. I don't expect it to last.

Um... suddenly I'm in an episode of Black Mirror or something? I don't... wait holy shit that's Mickey? Who gives a shit about Sherlock, that's MICKEY. I didn't know he was in this!

Oh good, Kirk is having a threesome with alien twins. Cool. Love this. Love it. Great characterization.

OH GOOD more bickering between Spock and Kirk that is absolutely the worst and I hate it. :)

I just want McCoy in scenes. :( I just want Uhura with her own story. :( I just want to not look at Sherlock's face. :( Oh look, Mickey's already dead. :(

I don't... get Spock's characterization in these movies. I don't get what Kirk and Spock's friendship is. I don't... feel anything about it. I actually really love Kirk and Spock's friendship, and not having it work for me is a huge void, right up there with McCoy having lost his role in the trio.

So much of the sound design is Star Wars-y. It's really, really bugging me.

Chris Pine is such a likable guy. I really do enjoy when he's on screen. I don't like some of the characterization that he's been saddled with, but I like the character just fine outside of him being called Kirk.

... The conflict that made Kirk not the captain of the Enterprise and Spock not the first officer lasted for like five minutes and had no consequences wow.

OH MCCOY IS GRACING MY SCENE AND HAVING MORE INTERESTING INTERACTIONS THAN ANYONE ELSE AGAIN WOW THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR EXISTING. I really do enjoy him fretting over Kirk. It is really cute.

Ugh, please stop having Kirk take the place of McCoy in the arguments with Spock. I hate it. It does not work, especially with McCoy not taking Kirk's role of being mediator. It's just bicker bicker bicker but without actual ethics really being brought in because?????? WHO KNOWS. Why'd they have to mess up the trio? That was the easiest thing not to mess up.

Here's what it is. The conflict between Kirk and Spock in AOS is a pissing contest with the standard TWO MEN CAN'T JUST BE FRIENDS THEY HAVE TO BE COMPETITIVE. While the conflict between Spock and McCoy in TOS is ethical and moral differences with a core of (admittedly complex) friendship. Just. Let men be friends and have real disagreements instead of just trying to play Alpha Male.

As I'm typing this, they're doing the same with Kirk and SCOTT of all people????????????? This is so not Star Trek ugh. Let people be nice to each other what the hell. Kirk is such a nice person. Let him be NICE. Let Spock be NICE. They only one they made nice is McCoy, and they only managed it giving him 0% of his edge. He's just cranky instead of a super intelligent and philosophical guy who is also Real Southern and ready to argue.

... He just made Chekov his chief of engineering? What... are... who... why is everyone on this ship twelve.

Is it just me or do they write Spock as an android instead of a Vulcan? Like... he knows how Humans work. And yeah, he sometimes plays up being non-Human on TOS, but... it just seems so overdone. Maybe I'm being too picky idk.

I continue to hate the Spock/Uhura stuff wow.

Take McCoy On Away Missions He Has No Business Going On Like Real Star Trek!!!

Oh my god even the shuttles are fucking huge. Why are all these ships so big inside? It makes everything feel much more sterile and difficult to believe.

The McCoy and Sulu interactions are A+.

Oh good, now Uhura is having a McCoy argument with Spock. Don't let McCoy have any role in this whole movie, that's fine. I mean the Bread and Circuses talk about Spock wanting to die was way better and took less screentime, but that's fine. That's fine. Let's just bluntly talk directly about Spock's Feelings instead of any kind of subtlety. God I really hate the writing.

Wow, we almost had one (badly written) conversation without an action scene. Phew, they fixed that.

Why does every iteration of Star Trek feel the need to completely redo Klingons from scratch?

Oh no, they almost have diplomacy where Uhura got to show off her skills, couldn't have that. Time for an action scene!

Every interaction Kirk or Spock has with another man in this whole fucking movie is aggressive for no reason. And even in this alternate universe, McCoy refuses the toxic masculinity. This is why I love him. He just wants to be everyone's mom friend.

DID THIS MOVIE JUST IMPLY THAT KIRK FUCKED CHRISTINE CHAPEL I FUCKING WHAT THE FUCKING WHAT WHAT WHAT NO STOP SHE IS NOT A NAME DROP FOR YOU TO MAKE THE FANS HAPPY SHE IS A CHARACTER THAT I LOVE AND I DEMAND RESPECT BE PUT ON HER NAME AND SHE AND KIRK DID NOT FUCK AND IF THEY DID HE WOULD REMEMBER IT

Oh hey they did send McCoy on an away-- what? Did he just... flippantly refer to a Gorn? That's... they didn't... whatever. McCoy demanding to be left behind to die for the good of someone else just flies by unnoticed but it was a big deal for Spock. Okay.

Ok, the reveal that this is about Khan is more than an hour into the movie. Which is a reveal everyone knew before the movie came out and also a character that we're all familiar with. So I just kinda feel like every minute of the movie so far was just wasted on backstory. Again!

(McCoy should be in this scene where they confront Khan but whatever.)

Hey, AOS? We already know that Khan is a fucking monster, so trying to get us to feel sorry for him as if we don't know this is weird as hell. Like, these ethical quandaries it's trying to bring up are not working for me at all, because... if you're going to base this on TOS, you can't just pretend nothing in TOS happened!

Also love these reveals where I'm supposed to care what ship just showed up, but they're shining lights in my eyes so I can't even see what it is!

Nimoy was on my screen time to start paying attention again. I definitely kind of zoned out for a while there. I think I missed like five consecutive action scenes.

Again, why are we getting a reveal about Khan being evil? We... we know this. Even people who don't watch Star Trek know he's a bad guy. Why do we need Nimoy to tell us this? We're an hour and a half into the movie and still getting reveals that we should have known before the movie started!

~ This Is Dumb ~

Oh my gosh Khan betrayed them wow i didn't see that coming

Wow look at this disaster that shows why a huge fucking ship with endlessly huge corridors is maybe a bad idea because we're in space and gravity failures means everyone would fucking die. I hate this pointlessly large interior oh man.

How long do I have to watch the Enterprise fall apart before something new happens? This movie could be like half an hour long if we just cut the pointless action scenes.

Okay, time for the only actual reveal in the whole film; Kirk "dies" instead of Spock. It might be good if it didn't go on too long and make the Sad Music swell. They did hire good actors, so you'd think they'd let them use their Acting Skills instead of making it sappy and dumb with bad cinematography and overwhelming music.

So, for one thing, McCoy should be getting to Engineering to see to Kirk when he gets out, not Spock. For another thing, there is no history between this Kirk and Spock that makes this moment meaningful. Maybe it would be kinda, if you don't have Wrath of Khan (which I don't even like!) to compare it to where we have three seasons and two movies of history between two people who are actually friends! Kirk's actual friend in these movies is McCoy, WHO SHOULD BE THE ONE CALLED DOWN HERE THIS IS A MEDICAL SITUATION.

Like, it's great that you're feeling, Spock, but I'm sure not. This is so dumb.

NOW UHURA'S HERE. WHERE IS MCCOY? THE MEDICAL OFFICER AND FUCKING FRIEND OF KIRK?

Oh god did he just yell khan no this is so dumb this is so dumb now i AM crying this is so dumb

Love that they took the Khan storyline and drained it of any relevance by not really getting into the whole eugenics aspect.

Oh now I get to see someone who actually was Kirk's friend reacting to hsi death. Thanks for finally getting to something meaningful, movie. Oh man, I almost felt something, because Urban is a pretty good actor and McCoy's friendship with Kirk is the only relationship I care about in the AOS, but then there was a tribble and ruined it, so.

This fight between Khan and Spock is dumb, just. Dumb. It's dumb. This is dumb. Why does every action sequence go on SO LONG.

Spock's rage toward Khan makes no sense. He and Kirk barely tolerate each other in these movies, I don't get it.

McCoy and Kirk are really cute in these movies. That's all I have. Of course, we can't let McCoy talk too much, because this is the Kirk and Spock show.

OH GOD THE TRANSITION TO THE OPENING SPEECH WAS SO BAD I'M LAUGHING SO HARD.

Oh thank goodness, this movie is over. I am hoping I'll like Beyond, because people have said this one might not be awful. Probably going to wait until tomorrow because it's nearly midnight and I want to be in a better mood when I watch it.

[traphousebois]

Shower Fun

Requested: Yes

Summary: You go over to Colby’s house only to find him covered in this mysterious white substance. He convinces you to take a shower with and once your in Sam starts to look for ya’ll. You guys decided to mess with him. Just some fluff with some implied smut at the end lol. 

Colby’s Pov:

I had just gotten done filming a video with Jake. I was disgusting. I had this fake snow substance all over my body. I just shook my head. Jake and his video ideas. I swear this kid was getting weirder and weirder.

I was halfway up the step when I heard my name being called.

“Yeah?!” I responded back to the person.

“Your lover’s here!”

A smile broke out onto my face. Y/N must've gotten done work early.

“Be right down!”

Once I made it down stairs I saw her. She had her back turned and was talking to Sam. I took this as an opportunity to scare her.

“Boo!”

“Ah! Oh my gosh Colby you nearly gave me a heart attack!” She exclaimed to me while placing her hands on her racing heart.

I laughed. She was so easy to scare.

“Sorry babe, I saw an opportunity so I took it!”

She rolled her eyes.

“Whatever, Cole. Your lucky I love you.”

My heart swelled at the word love.

“I know I am, now why don’t you come on over here and give me a big hug and kiss? I haven’t seen you since last night!” I told her, arms outstretched reaching in her direction.

She just shook her head in disgust.

“Nope. Not until you shower and get whatever the hell that white stuff is off of you.”

Oh, I forgot about that.

“Fine.” I said my shoulder slumping. I was sad that I couldn’t kiss her.

“Up you go ya big baby.” She said practically dragging me up the stairs and into Sam and I shared bathroom.

While being dragged up the stairs I noticed that Sam had suddenly disappeared. Probably went to go talk to Jake when I came down.

We had finally made it to the bathroom and she started the water up.

“Hey, you wanna shower with me?” I asked her.

She laughed.

“I see what your doing baby. Tryna get in my pants now are we?”

I nodded.

“Of course babe.”

She put her thumb up against her chin and pretended to think about the answer to my question. After a couple of minutes she responded.

“Alright, I guess I will. But I’m only doing this because I feel disgusting after work.”

I jumped up in victory.

“Yes! Come on, let’s get in before the water turns cold.” I told her all but ripping the clothes off of her and leading her in the shower.

Your Pov:

I smiled to myself. Colby really was something else.

“Babe?” I called out to him.

He turned around at the nickname.

“Where’s your shampoo?” I asked him.

Normally I knew where it was since this wasn’t the first time that we showered together but it’s seems to be missing from it’s normal spot.

“Right here, duh.” He said while squirting some of the substance into his hand.

“Now, turn around.”

I did as I was told.

“Bossy much?”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. You love me for it.”

He wasn’t wrong there.

After the shampoo was done Colby and I goofed off for a little.

We would hit the water with our hands so it would go in another direction and hit the other person in the face, we would spray each other with the soap or we would simply just almost make each other fall. Of course we wouldn’t actually fall, one of us would catch the other before they fell. Showering with Colby was so fun.

After a while we decided that we actually needed to get on with the showering part.

Colby was about to say something but was cut off by a yelling outside of the door.

“Colby!”

It was Sam. He must've been looking for him.

After the yell we heard the door to the bathroom open. This of course should've led to the shower but Sam and Colby’s bathrooms were weird. Instead of it just being one room it was two. One for just the sinks and the toilets and the other for the shower.

“Colby!” Sam shouted again.

I was about to respond to tell Sam to go away but Colby placed his wet hand over my mouth.

“Shh.” He whispered, pointer finger on his lips. “I have an idea.” He told me.  

I looked at him in confusion. This couldn’t be good.

I was just about to mouth to him and ask him what his idea was but he cut me off by making a loud groaning sound.

“That’s it Y/N, right there, that’s the spot.”

I now realized what his plan was.

Make Sam think he walked in on us having sex. Nice one Brock.

‘Play along.’ He mouthed to me.

“Fuck Colby, go faster. I’m so closeeee.” I semi yelled while dragging out the e.

I could hear Sam gagging from behind the glass wall.

“You guys are fucking disgusting. I was about to ask you if you wanted to come get food with me but it seems as if your busy. See ya later.”

And with that he left the room, slamming the door behind him.

Colby and I laughed.

“That will teach him not to interrupt my shower time with you.” He muttered while going in for a kiss.

Once we broke apart I thought of another idea. One I knew for sure he wasn’t gonna wanna turn down.

“Hey, about we make them moans and yells real?” I asked wiggling my eyebrows at him.

He smirked down at me.

“Let’s do it babe.”

And with that he picked me up by my wet thighs and turned around so my back was against the wall.

This was for sure gonna give the roommates something to complain about. But hey, now they would never come looking for Colby again. 

Authors note: wow look at me knocking out these imagines left and right. The next one coming up should be a Jake one so get ready for that. It should be out Friday since I’m busy tomorrow night. Hope you enjoyed and sorry if it’s not what you wanted haha, I couldn’t think of any other ways Colby and the reader could tease Sam. Enjoy!    

[misfitsluug]

| 3 | callmefitz

mm yes, it’s only the third chapter and i make angsty shit, this is fine uwu also this chapter long wjbfhsd sorry if it’s kinda weird, i wrote this at 2am

/ cameron. /

▕▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▏

不安: apprehension.

anxiety or fear that something bad or unpleasant will happen.

eg: "I felt sick with apprehension."

(t.w - blood, bullies, drug mention.)

-

recap:

"No no, it doesn't ruin it at all. I'm glad we both like that garden." "Wanna hang out there after this class? I'm down to skip my last class whenever." "Hm, I don't know. I'm really going to have to think about this. Man, I've never thought this hard before in my life, what should I say?"

"Probably yes."

"Then yes, I would love to hang out there."

-

"The first thing we need to do, is we need to talk to a friend of mine," Carson explained, a smile on his face as he placed his hand on my shoulder. I decided to skip my seventh class like any other junior student. I mean, I got nothing else better to do, might as well hang out with Carson. "Is it that one guy I saw when I gave back your ruler?"

"Uh yes! It's okay, I got it all under control. He usually comes out to ask where Connor's at."

"Oh, that's pretty cool-"

"Carson! Hey, Carson has Connor-" His face changed, a gasp escaped him and a surprised smile his face formed. "Oh my gosh, Carson. You're a fucking madman! You're braver than I thought."

"Schlatt, you're gonna get in trouble if you keep shouting. You're ditching your own class to hang out with your partner in crime."

"Yeah? And what about you two, where are you guys off too?" Schlatt walked closer, I hesitated to answer but Carson answered for me. "We're going to that garden I always go too. You know which one, right?"

"Yeah yeah, I'm gonna let you guys go so have a good time," Schlatt ran off, screaming his sentence down the hallway. Carson scoffed and kept walking, mumbling under his breath. "What'd you say?"

"He's going to get in trouble. Schlatt is a dumbass sometimes, he'd tell you the same thing about me," He chuckled, I kept looking down at him, he's a pretty attractive guy. "So, uhm, why are you blind? Sorry if that comes off as rude, just trying to start a conversation."

"I get asked that all the time, it's fine," Carson mentioned. "Uh basically, I started getting blinder when I was fourteen, long story short, we went to the hospital and they diagnosed me with Glaucoma. I don't wanna say it was life-changing but it kinda was? I don't really know how to tell you."

"That's fine, I already knew that I couldn't expect so much out of a blind person," I replied, which got a laugh out of him. "Oh, so you're a little asshole, aren't you?"

"Actually I'm very much taller than you."

"How tall? I'm 6'3."

"Puny, I am 6'6. Top that."

"Fucking hell, that's insane, you are legit the tallest person I know now. Congrats dude," Carson answered shocked, laughter escaped him again. I forgot where the garden was for half the time we were talking until I found specks of dirt on the yellow marble square ground, people like to ruin the shit out of this garden but I still like it, I try and help but apparently I'm "too cool" to help so that was bullshit. "Hey, we're here by the way," I tapped Carson's shoulder, he turned to me and back at the entrance of the garden. "Okay, there's like this bench somewhere, do you see it anywhere?" He asked hopeful sounding. I looked around and walked across the soft dirt ground, toward a broken bench, half of it gone and scribbled with messy graffiti. "Looks like half of your bench is gone, sorry," I spoke slowly, a wave of guilt washed over me as Carson walked toward the bench, hitting it and stumbling a little bit before his hand brushed the black rusted handle and light brown wood bench until he reached the missing half of the other side. "Huh, you're right."

"You didn't believe me?"

"No- Well, yeah but it's very easy to trick a blind guy, especially me."

"Good to know, that will definitely come in handy," I stated, trying to get a laugh out of him but Carson didn't say anything, he just looked unpleasant and sad. "I liked this bench a lot, I came here whenever I felt like shit and now it's gone. Whoever did this is just a lowlife, I mean, I'm not the only person that likes this bench and yet they decided to ruin a bench provided by our shit school?"

"You really liked this bench, didn't you?"

"Yes, yes I did. Now I have nowhere to sit."

"There's always the school rooftop or outside of school, surely you can find a different bench, can't you?"

"Yeah but- wait, the rooftop? How do you expect me to fucking climb the school roof?" Carson inquired, I could sense his patience getting smaller with every word the comes out of my mouth. "I could help you up, it's nice up there."

"Oh yeah? I bet it's gorgeous," Carson retorted, still looking down at what once was a bench. "Do you really wanna climb the school's roof? Is it going to be better than the bench?"

"I don't know, it depends on you if you want to climb the roof with me. It's not like we're gonna get caught, everybody's in class," I reassured, I wanted to make sure I wasn't pressuring him but from the looks of it, I probably was.

"You know what? Fine, I'll do it. I'm not a little bitch boy," Carson admitted, a smile forming on his face and I smiled a little bit too.

"Okay, if you say so," I added, taking his hand and walking him over to the corner of the garden, past all the lush bushes, flowers, and other assorted plants was a stack of boxes against the fence that surrounded the garden. Fortunately, the boxes are strong enough to support the weight of one person, so that way people were able to climb up onto the rooftop. "Shouldn't there be ladders for this kind of stuff, like, this school has ladders, right? Instead of boxes," Carson implied, poking the boxes with his cane.

"Geez Carson, you ask too many questions. Ladders sorta loud, we could get caught."

"I thought you said everybody was in class?"

"Fucks sake, Carson, just trust me on this. Either way, we're gonna end up on the roof," I rolled my eyes, stepping onto the first box while still holding Carson's hands. He didn't say anything afterward, his grip tightened with each step onto the boxes. "One more mate, then we're on the roof," I mention, the wind grew colder standing from the roof. Not much could be seen, tall trees blocked most of the view. "I've never stood on a roof before, I'm losing my shit."

"That's gross but at least I could help you experience your first time on a roof," I lead him to the middle of the roof, the ground scattered with leaves and more cigarette buds along with dry pieces of gum and a few beer bottles at the very corner of the roof

"I didn't mean that literally," Carson pointed out. I looked down at Carson and he was smiling, his pale blond hair moved with the wind and his cheeks tinted a light red, then I looked down at my hand to see mine still holding onto Carson's so I let go slowly but his hand immediately swiped away. "Sorry, I was just-"

"It's nice up here, I can tell why you like it up here. The wind feels good," Carson changed the subject, the smile still on his face.

"I'm glad," I announced, taking off my backpack and throwing it on the ground, shoving my hands into the warm pockets of my hoodie. We stood for a bit longer, nothing was said and the only thing you could hear were the trees, cars and the wind. "Wanna head down? Schools' about to end anyways."

"Yeah, promise me your gonna bring me here more often, it's a good hideaway spot," Carson's grin faded when he turned around, voices coming close to both of us. "There are people coming up here," He said prior to a group of three people climbing up the boxes and their voices became more clear to me. "Carson we have to go now," I gasped, trying to look for a ladder or more boxes leading down but nothing was found. I felt sick with apprehension.

We're screwed.

"Yeah, I know it's bullshit," The voice said and stopped in his tracks, stopping the two behind him from walking. "Is that you Fitz?"

"Don't call me that," I cautioned, taking a step back as Carson stood still behind me.

"C' mon, Fitz, don't be so rude. We're friends, aren't we?"

"No, we aren't. I used to buy your weed because you're too much of a pussy to do it," I spat, he snapped and the boys behind him hesitated, I could tell they didn't want this but it was either me or them. I took my chance to leave.

"Mason, Jay," His voice grew more demanding and snapped again. The two suddenly lunged toward me, knocking me down as I tried getting back up but He just kept kicking me and held me down. "E-Eric, you're better than this," I whispered, but he only looked down at me with his cold brown eyes. I watched as he bent down and moved my face to watch Carson as he dropped to the ground and the two others kept kicking but stopped shortly after.

"See what happens when you leave, Fitz? At least those two are smart enough to stay and listen to me," Eric's gravely voice whispered, my ears were ringing and I couldn't really see. I didn't even care about what Eric said, I blocked out every noise besides Carson. I listen to him cough and groan, he whispers something I can't hear and I see his blue eyes look at mine.

I could tell he wasn't happy about the situation happening and neither was I.

"Hey! Are you listening?" Eric shouted, I didn't answer and waited for him to leave so I could go to Carson. "Whatever, I don't ever want to see either of you up here or this situation is gonna become repetitive, I'm guessing you don't want that, right?"

I don't say anything. If I answer him, Swagger might hurt me or Carson. I keep my mouth shut.

"Alright, I see how it is. Just remember, I don't want to see either of you up here again," Swagger mentioned, chuckling and leaving us as the two other boys fled, sad looks on their faces. I waited until they completely left and stood up, my legs wobbled as I stumbled to Carson, who was still lying on the ground but awake. His nose was bleeding along with a few scratches on his face and hands. I was also bleeding but I didn't care. "Hey, Carson," I shook him and he looked up at me, his ice-blue eyes expressed fear. "Cam, where are you?" Carson held his arm up as his hand searched for me, so I grabbed it and pressed it against my face, letting him feel my face although it was sort of uncomfortable.

"Sorry if this isn't normal, but it's just to get to know you better," Carson admitted, moving his hand away from my face slowly. I didn't answer him though, I realized he didn't have his glasses on. I looked around us and found thin glasses on the ground, dusted from the dirt. I grabbed them and cleaned it with my shirt, although I didn't need too. "Here are your glasses, they were on the ground."

"Oh, thanks," Carson replied, taking them and placing it between his eyes, he sighed and sat up properly. "What just happened? Who were those people?"

"That was Swagger, Jay, and Mason. They're involved in a gang and I left it behind," I explained. "I couldn't be apart of it anymore. I didn't want to be in the first place, none of us did but we ended up in a rough place. Swagger dragged us all down with him, except for me and another good friend of mine, Toby."

"Did-did you buy weed for him?"

"Yeah, he likes to be unrecognized. I don't know what the others do for him now, I try and avoid them as much as possible because I knew something like this would happen. I wasn't thinking and I'm sorry," I covered my mouth with my hands, I didn't want any of this to happen. I let it happen.

"We should get off this roof," Carson added, rubbing his head.

"Yeah, let's go," I helped Carson up and grabbed his cane from the ground along with mine and his backpack. Leaving the same way we came.

I hope this doesn't change anything.

=2274 WORDS=

[atamascolily]

lily liveblogs  watching “The Terminator” for the first time

I cannot believe no one ever told me the first ten minutes of The Terminator are filled with naked men roaming 1980s Los Angeles. In addition to full-front Arnold Schwarzenegger nudity, there's a chase scene in which Kyle Reese's actor (no slouch himself in the muscles department) runs through a clothing store, dressing himself as he goes. The narrative economy of this movie, I tell you.

Whoever decided that time travel does not involve clothing was clearly having a lot of fun. 

Also, I have no idea why the punks decided to make fun of a naked Arnold Schwarzenegger except they were probably drunk/stoned/high and fond of making poor life choices. Either that or they really were Too Stupid To Live.

Is the close up on Kyle Reese's stolen Nikes supposed to be product placement? I think it's product placement. This is the '80s after all.

OMG, a phone booth. This film was not supposed to be a period piece (or was it??), but it's unintentionally hilarious as such. Kyle Reese doesn't seem to know how to reach Sarah Connor otherwise... so the phone book gets to stand in for the Internet.

(god, if you're from his version of 2029, the fact that machines DON'T control everything seems both a) quaint and b) infinitely desirable by comparison.)

What's interesting is both the film's present and the film's future are dystopic hellholes. Yes, it's the middle of the night in Los Angeles, but the way it's filmed, with all the urban debris and trash and homeless wandering the streets very much parallels the future. The garbage truck in the present and the human-killing laser machine in the future are foils to each other.

EVERYONE'S HAIR, OH MY GOD.

It's kinda sad that food service is still visual shorthand for "sucky job" even in the present day, but you can tell Sarah Connor has spunk because she rides a moped and sasses her chain's mascot. Their outfits are terrible. And that kid putting ice cream on her--to the amusement of the assholes she's serving--what a nightmare.

Also, Sarah's friend is awesome and won my heart with one line: "In a hundred years, who's gonna care?" This takes on vast levels of irony given that Sarah Connor is the Chosen One--er, sorry, Chosen One's Mom. I really hope this friend doesn't die.

Child's toy truck getting run over by the Terminator's stolen car. NOT SUBTLE, Y'ALL.

Sarah's friend's first reaction to the news of another Sarah Connor being murdered is to track Sarah into the break room to watch. Efficient way of letting Sarah know something's up and another good character moment.

The contrast between the Terminator effortlessly starting the car and Kyle Reese's labored hotwiring is nicely done. The PTSD flashback as he watches the bulldozer thing is also very efficient way of conveying information without the need for infodumping dialogue. Of course he has a female friend who dies for added trauma. Sigh.

Oh, so she and the friend--whose name is Ginger--are roommates? Well, that explains a lot. Oh, nope, I’m wrong, different person.

SARAH CONNOR HAS A PET IGUANA, I'M CHARMED. She looks so sad holding her pet iguana while her date's voice mail message plays - no going out after she got all dressed up. But at least she has the Iguana of Consolation!

(his name is Pugsley omg omg omg asghkkfl)

Why the hell does Ginger's bf kiss Sarah on the cheek as she leaves? Are they that close to each other or is this a weird quasi-sexual harassment thing (like how he was only kinda embarrassed when she picked up the phone by mistake while he was doing his phone sex thing thinking she was Ginger?)

CREEPY PARKING GARAGE IS CREEPY.

The police are all, "shit, this is awful," and trying to do something, but it isn't going to go well. Also, you can tell it's the '80s because the police lieutenant just casually lights up indoors like it's no big deal.

Like, literally the plot of this movie depends upon a) Sarah Connor's name and address in the phonebook, and b) no cell phones. The fact that these two are intimately connected IRL amuses me greatly.

God, as soon as Ginger and her bf revealed they were staying home, I knew they were toast. The fact that they're shown having sex just makes it all the more inevitable.

I like that the police decide to get a jump on the press AND maybe alert the other Sarah Connors they haven't been able to reach by announcing it over the TV. Sarah's at a restaurant eating pizza so she actually sees it!

The only reason Sarah Connor survives is because the Terminator went very literally through the list and Kyle Reese went straight to the right person. The difference between human intelligence and AI?

I cannot BELIEVE the club doesn't check ID, but maybe it's an illegal club anyway? Nice relevant background techno.

Of course the police's gambit backfires because Sarah can't reach them when she tries to call...

OH MY GOD PUGSLEY THE IGUANA IS SO PRECIOUS (but seriously does not stay in his cage, lol). Please don't let the iguana die...

The dangers of earphones and not being able to hear your surroundings being illustrated literally as soon as the devices were invented.

OF COURSE SARAH IS GOING TO LEAVE HER VOICE MAIL MESSAGE WARNING GINGER OF DANGER AT THE WORST POSSIBLE MOMENT. And she's going to tell him her location, too. This is... god, I don't have words for this.

Sarah left her driver's license in her apartment, what? Or is that an old ID? I can't tell. Welp, now he knows what she looks like, which he clearly didn't before.

This scene where the Terminator shoots up the club with an automatic REALLY hasn't aged well. I feel sick to my stomach just watching it. Of course Sarah is the second-to-last one out and has a human shield, because of course she dies. Sigh.

"Come with me if you want to live." I think that's the first words Kyle Reese has spoken in this movie! Not that the Terminator has said much, either...

Of course the police show up at exactly the wrong moment and draw exactly the wrong conclusions. Of course they end up dead, too. Sigh.

I would say Kyle's driving is atrocious, but there's no actual roads in 2029 LA, so this is much better conditions than he's used to.

Gosh, what would this movie do without alleyways?

Sarah's like "Can you stop it?" and Kyle looks away sheepishly, all WELL I WOULD IF I HAD MY LASER WEAPONS FROM THE FUTURE INSTEAD OF YOUR PUNY '80S GUNS.

Oh, he says he's going to ditch the car, but instead Kyle finally explains things to Sarah, and we're in yet another parking garage. Parking garages and alleys, that's this movie. Oh, and hotwiring cars.

Kyle's monologue about the defense network computers setting off nuclear war is a very '80s manifestation of a very '80s fear. Several '80s fears, now that I think about it. (Wasn't this also the plot of War Games?) Not that it's not topical today, but I think it's expressed in different formats now.

I hate that Sarah is only special because she's the Source of the Savior instead of the actual savior herself. I hate this so much.

Kyle and the Terminator playing "who can shoot better while also driving" in a parking garage that seems to go on literally FOREVER, how is this possible. This is WHY shotgun is a thing.

Oh, good, he's finally letting Sarah drive while he shoots.

Ohhhh, now she's in police custody, and the Lieutenant is comforting her. I hope he doesn't die, but I know better than to hope that anyone other than the Final Girl survives this movie.

The "flex your artificial hand with a hole in it" scene is a bloody counterpart to Luke testing out his new prosthesis in ESB.

It says something about humans that the only way the machines could hunt them was to make them human-coated (human on the outside).

You can tell by the look on Kyle Reese's face when he says "Nobody goes home," that he knows he's on a suicide mission.

Why the hell doesn't John Connor go himself? Why was Kyle chosen? Because he had to lead humanity in the aftermath of Skynet's defeat or because it would make the upcoming plot twist that much more awkward? Probably both, but I wonder if they ever discussed this. "Uh... hi, dad? Dad-to-be?" (Reminder that Douglas Adams is right when he says the worst part of time travel is the grammar.)

Oh, god, the "eye repair" scene is nightmarish. Excellent job foreshadowing it, filmmakers. But still gross. So this is why he gets sunglasses.

(Does he have heat vision? Why do none of the future machines seem to have infrared sight? Wouldn't that be super-useful if you're human-hunting?)

Kyle Reese's "I DIDN'T BUILD THE FUCKING THING!" line is such a relatable mood. We the audience already knew that Time Travel = Mandatory Nudity, but I think it's a nice touch that Skynet assumed the Terminator could just work with whatever was available instead of needing to bring weapons. He’s weapon enough. 

Also, this implies the Terminator is just human ENOUGH to pass through the field, which might have been a reason they started working with human-augmented machines in the first place. The reasoning seems to be--no, really--if you put enough living human tissue over a machine, it's "alive" enough for time travel. I don't understand how this works, exactly, but fine.

Oh, good, the cops are giving her body armor now. That can only help. Oh, no, it's a fake-out to explain how the Terminator survived being shot.

I don't understand how this movie is not a walking billboard for gun control, I really don't.

Kyle Reese being all "things are going to shit and I'm going to seize the moment". I think the policeman he slugged might actually survive if he was knocked unconscious and otherwise stayed out of trouble? Don't think the Terminator's going to bother when he's got his real prey to deal with...

And the lietunant who was nice to Sarah is dead. I knew that was going to happen. Great, now the other detective is, too. Sigh. NO ONE IN THIS MOVIE GETS TO LIVE EXCEPT SARAH... and maybe Pugsley the iguana? I don't think he's dead...

Oooh, oooh, another visual theme of this movie is broken glass and smashing windows to unlock things. DON'T FORGET THE BODY ARMOR ON YOUR WAY OUT. (If that's not Chekhov's body armor, I'm going to be very surprised.)  

God, it's so weird to contrast the different fates of the Terminator franchise and the Star Wars films, especially given their similarities.

Oooh, oooh! Huddle together for warmth under a bridge! Fall in love!

Skynet has no freakin' subtlety. You can tell they're not human because they automatically decide the best way to keep Sarah Connor from having kids is to kill her, not to have her doctor give her a fake diagnosis so they can perform a hysterectomy or some other scheme. Or even just giving her birth control.

OR HOW ABOUT EVEN CREATING A SPECIAL MODEL TERMINATOR SHE COULD DATE WHO WAS STERILE AND THEREFORE SHE'D NEVER GET PREGNANT. And then Kyle Reese would be the obnoxious dude trying to break them up for the good of humanity and constantly trying to prove to Sarah her hot boyfriend is actually a robot, and Sarah just thinks he's delusional/trying to get in her pants.

(Oh, my god, I want this fic now.)

Oh, she just discovered Kyle's hurt now, ordering him to take off his clothes, there's only one way this can possibly end.

Nice contrast between the Terminator calmly repairing his bloodied self and Sarah feeling nauseous and having Kyle talk to her while she fixes him.

Oh, god, the way Kyle Reese describes John Connor makes me wonder if Kyle had a crush on HIM or if he knew he was John's father from the get-go. FICS FICS FICS, WHERE ARE THE FICS.

Oh, okay, so Reese volunteered because he wanted to meet "the legend--Sarah Connor". Please tell me she's a legend because she's a badass, not JUST because her son is important. Please. Or at least allow me to keep my illusions, okay?

The way Reese looks at her is distinctly hero-worshipping, which is kinda funny given their roles to date. Also, Sarah is pre-badass at this point -- she will become one as a result of the events of this film.

Sarah also has a problem with time travel tenses, I sympathize.

"Thank you, Sarah, for your courage through the dark years. I can't help you with what you must soon face except to say the future is not set.... You must survive or else the future will never exist."

LOL, John telling his mom she better level up or everyone is doomed... so why isn't SHE the savior again??

And--open question--what happened to HER by 2029? Why is it John and not Sarah who's in charge?

Ok, so the HKs DO have infrared, but what keeps them and the Terminator from finding people on various occasions? (Yes, plot, I know.)

"Tell me a bedtime story about your dystopic past-that-is-my-future and give me all kinds of Nightmare Fuel..." (That could have gone better.)

Where do Future Humans get their Future Guns and Gear?? Do they steal them from machines? How does that even WORK? Wouldn't it be easier for the machines to just, I don't know, get creative and kill them some other way?

Keeping with the machine-man parallels, Reese has his own "code numbers" rather like a serial number that he uses to ID himself.

DOGGIES! THERE ARE STILL DOGS IN THE FUTURE, yay!

Yup, the humans in 2029 live in squalor just like the homeless people in the film's present - which might explain why Kyle Reese is remarkably at home, with way less culture shock than you'd expect.

Too bad he and Sarah are on the run and can't go to a fast food restaurant or something fun he's never had before.

The future kids are watching a fire burn in the shell of a TV, OH MY GOD.

Like, it's kinda good the future isn't set because if this what humanity's come to, it might be better to send someone back in time and hope it goes differently? Of course, things can always get worse. Not that they had a choice - I think discovering the machines' plan forced their hand.

Kyle Reese has a photo - is that Sarah Connor? Or is that the woman who got killed earlier in the film? I can't tell.

Dogs barking at the fake people just like the dog barked at the Terminator in the '80s. Nice. Interesting they don't try to shoot the dogs.

Ahh,the photo is burning, the symbolism.... especially when Terminator's flesh melting is going to be a Thing coming up. Cut to: Sarah's sleeping face. Foreshadowing much? (Also: WORST BEDTIME STORY EVER.)

Okay, the way he brushes her face is kinda creepy and hasn't aged well. I hope Sarah has dogs in subsequent movies? I would if I were her.

OH MY GOD, the Terminator has suggested prompts for conversations and chooses "Fuck you, asshole". DYING.

Oh, he's got her address book... and her mom's address. That's how he finds her. Otherwise, there's no way this movie will end in thirty minutes.

Kyle stopping to pet the dog while Sarah gets them a hotel room is such a beautiful background moment.

Sad that even the shittiest '80s motel room is nicer than anything Kyle has ever seen.

AHHH, SHE CALLS HER MOM, this is the smart and appropriate thing to do, but there's no way this can end well for her mom.

I thought the scene was going to cut to her mom on the phone with a gun at her back (before the Terminator kills her), but she's talking to the Terminator mimicking her mother's voice and I... don't know what just happened, but pretty sure it isn't good for Sarah Connor's mom's survival. (Why they didn't go back in time and try to kill HER before she had Sarah... seems like there are so many ways to do this.)

LOL, you think Reese is going to be into food and instead he's into manufacturing explosives in the kitchen. Nice. What follows is Baby's First Improvised Weaponry Lesson.

"He'll find us, won't he?" "Probably." WELL MAYBE IF YOU HADN'T GIVEN SOMEONE YOUR ADDRESS AFTER HE TOLD YOU NOT TO, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN "LATER" RATHER THAN "SOONER", ughhhhhh.

Kyle's reaction when Sarah asks him about his previous lovers is HILARIOUS if you assume he's actually in love with John Connor. But this does answer the question of who the woman in the photo was: it was Sarah, he's been in love with Sarah the whole time (and now kinda embarassed/thrilled at the prospect of sleeping with his hero?)

I can't tell if Sarah genuinely thinks he's hot or if she just feels sorry that he's a virgin. I guess it doesn't really matter since they've been through hell together and sex is a valid way of coping. Also, while Kyle isn't  as muscular as the Terminator, he's no slouch in the shirtless department--and he's not wearing a shirt in this scene.

Kyle's admission that he "disconnects" to avoid feeling pain just heightens the machine-man continuum even further...

Oh, my god, John totally knows that Kyle's going to be his dad, and that's why he gives them the picture of Sarah. SO AWKWARD TO BE SET UP BY YOUR SON.

This is the '80s so they can't just have casual sex, he has to be in love with her, and have ALWAYS been in love with her, because this is ROMANCE, and she's the heroine (otherwise it would be morally wrong??). I get it, although this trope hasn't aged well and seems vaguely stalker-ish, even though relatively little stalking was involved.

So he loves her, but Sarah never says she loves him... but she's stressed out and exhausted and she feels sorry for him and he's hot, wtf not?

Hey, he lets her top! That was unexpected and also kinda sweet.

What was the point of Sarah telling her mother if her mother never called back and if they were only going to be there for a day? Shouldn't she be suspicious that her mom never called back? IDIOT BALL.

Kyle hears the dog barking and knows what's up right away. You can see the "oh shit" look on his face.

YET ANOTHER CAR CHASE... except now they're in a truck and the Terminator's on a motorcycle. Oh, goody. And he makes her drive once she pulls out the explosives. Oh, good, an underground tunnel!

I don't understand why the Terminator doesn't shoot out the wheels on the truck. He keeps aiming for Sarah, and I know that's his mission, but... seems like it might be easier to disable the truck first? IDK.

Of course leaning out the window makes it easier for the Terminator to shoot Kyle... now that he's delivered his Sperm Packet from the Future, his role is done and he's toast.

That's also the first moment that Sarah really takes agency by swerving and crashing the car. I think up until this point, she's just kinda gone along with everything...? NOT A COINCIDENCE.

Oh, great, now he has a tractor-trailer. Full of gas. And you have explosions. This will end well.

Wow, the Terminator didn't kill the passenger in the truck after all. Why waste energy, I guess?

I don't understand why he goes for the tractor-trailer instead of.. I don't know, just walking over and strangling Sarah? He's a lot stronger than she is and she's trapped in a wreck. I don't understand it. That seems WAY like overkill. And also gives her time to get her bearings and escape with Kyle.

Kyle jumping into the dumpster is oddly appropriate, given how often dumpsters and trash appear in this movie.

Sarah breathes a sigh of relief WAYYY too soon after the truck goes up in flames.

WHYYYY is she going so close to the flames, that's so dumb, it must be so hot and toxic fumes, whyyyyy? (So they can be RIGHT THERE when the Terminator wakes up, that's why!)

This time Sarah's the one to break a window and unlock a door. Agency! Character development! Whatever you want to call it.

Can you really turn an automated factory on that easily? Shouldn't there be... passwords, or something? But I like that Kyle does it "so he can't track us" - so the EMFs interfere with the Terminator's abilities??

And of course, there's the irony that the smart machine from the future is destroyed by by the dumb machines of the past.  Humanity's enemy is also its savior. (Can you imagine what would havehappened if the Terminator had been able to talk to them and convince them to kill the humans / figure out where they were?)

Hey, the Terminator busts down the door in its Final Form and does the EXACT SAME DOOR OPENING TRICK IT'S ALWAYS DONE.

Sarah pulls a chunk of shrapnel OUT OF HER OWN LEG. She gets to scream while she does it because she's female, but it's the foil to the other "repair/healing" we've seen - and a sign of her own transition/evolution.

Kyle's face wound mirrors that of the Terminator, AHHH I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE.

And of course the Terminator still isn't dead even after it's lost half its body and is just this metallic torso dragging itself across the ground with its arms. Because we're still not done yet. Both Sarah and the Terminator have leg wounds, so they're both crawling, I like it. EVEN MORE PARALLELS.

Oh, god, it's on a conveyor belt now. NIGHTMARE FUEL. And then some sort of ventilation shaft? Oh, god.

And she's able to press the button as it's strangling her and issue a snappy one-liner LIKE THE ACTION HERO SHE IS! And watch its red eye stare balefully at her the entire time.

Oh, and THEN the police show up and she's put on a stretcher and bundled away. Could be worse, Kyle's on a stretcher zipped up into a body bag.

CUT TO: Sarah driving a truck in the desert. A pregnant Sarah is narrating into a microphone a message/memoir for her unborn son. There's a German shepherd in the backseat. Sarah's wearing the same headband we've seen before in Kyle's photo of her. She's got a pistol in her lap that she handles coolly and calmly.

She's in Mexico, at a gas station full of chickens. She tells John she's worried about paradox, but he has to send Kyle. So John DOES know, and gave Kyle the photograph so he'd be primed to fall in love with Sarah, thus guaranteeing his existence. The German shepherd is a Very Good Dog.

Sarah's very blunt about the fact that she and Kyle only had a few hours together, but says "we loved a lifetime's worth" and I'm not sure that checks out, but okay. Maybe on Kyle's end? I feel like Sarah barely had time for any of this, and maybe some of it is retroactive, but... anyway, maybe it's a story she tells herself so she can live with it, especially since she may not be interested, open to, or willing to risk any more relationships in the future, given that she's a perpetual target.

While she's talking about Kyle, her face twists up and a kid snaps a photo with his Kodak camera, and claims if she doesn't pay for it, his father will beat him. She knows it's a scam but takes it anyway, talking him down to four dollars instead of five.

The kid takes the money and runs away, crying about a storm coming. Sarah sighs. "I know," she says, and puts on dark sunglasses as tumbleweeds roll and she drives away, waiting for the apocalypse, towards some mountains that look awfully early-CGIish.

Credits roll. Acknowledgment to the works of Harlan Ellison - that's cool.

Wow, okay. Well that was a ride.

Reading the Wiki: I like how James Cameron decided to cast Michael Biehn as Kyle Reese because he was famous at the time, even though he's nowhere near a household name compared to the film's other stars. O.J. Simpson was floated as a possible Terminator, irony. Harlan Ellison credit was added after he threatened to sue for infringment--oh.

Also, (male) critics talk about how the Terminator represents masculinity, and the ideal man is both machine and human? I guess I don't really see the Terminator as ideal masculinity, but that's a rant for another day...

Also: wtf happened to the iguana??