#perhaps it's just me relating to jinx quite a lot like we can all read her character in different ways

[bean-spring]

"Ekko is in love with Powder, not Jinx, so it wouldn't have worked out either way" is such a dumb argument against Timebomb.

Because yes, Ekko had a crush on Powder when they were kids. Yes, he tried to save Powder from her fate and ended up as rivals instead. Yes, he fell in love with Powder in another universe.

But that doesn't mean he was not willing to fall for Jinx too or that he didn't care about her. He continuously shows, despite not agreeing with her, full respect and acceptance for her decision. He agrees on Powder being dead but still cares enough to refuse to kill Jinx. He cares enough to go back and make amends with her and fight next to her. He cares enough to see her instead of Powder when he comes back from the alternate universe.

"But he still sees her as Powder and that's why he does this. He's driven by melancholy" aren't we all? Isn't Vi, too? And her love couldn't be questioned in any way, either.

Upon seeing the life they could've had together, Ekko goes back to team up with Jinx. Not the way he tried to do in season 1, seeking to save her and then becoming "savior boy". No. This time he goes to see Jinx and Jinx only.

People keep bringing the whole "he loves her past self" argument to fight this but it doesn't really mean anything when he was clearly willing to fall for the girl she is now. We keep forgetting that despite Powder and Jinx being different, they're two sides of the same coin and entity. Jinx is not Powder and viceversa, but Ekko knows that. People act as if he didn't but he's probably the one character respecting that the most while struggling with the change.

He ends up dressing with Jinx's colors. Mourning both Powder and Jinx.

To say he only loves Powder is to ignore his efforts to learn about Jinx because, if he only cared for her past self, he wouldn't have tried to help Jinx instead.

[pluviophile-bookworm]

High School Musical: The Musical: The Series: The Rewatch pt.3

Ok, full disclosure: I should not be doing this right now. But I've been thinking about it since yesterday and, well, I reckon I can go over 1x4 and 5, and then move on to my actual work. So here we are. I'm really, really excited for these two, so without further ado, I'll dive right into:

1x4: It's hard to believe that I couldn't see... the majority of what happens in this episode when I first watched it

Why is Nini such a pro at making a scene with whoever her current boyfriend is in the middle of a public place? I mean, I get it that she's upset about EJ going through her phone — who wouldn't be — but maybe - and this is just a friendly suggestion — she could try and discuss that in private, not start a shouting match within view of all their classmates. Just saying.

'Ricky would never steal my phone' — well, perhaps not, but he's not quite above deleting stuff from it, either... I wonder if whoever is writing this show knows that there are many other ways to make a relationship unhealthy... it's not funny anymore. Just repetitive.

Ahhh Natalie and her emotional support hamster! At least there's one good thing about this scene.

Sure, Ricky, blame Big Red for the fact that you misplace your stuff... a very nice best friend he's got, indeed.

Gosh, everything is so awkward and there is just so much tension all over the place — Ricky's parents, then EJ and Nini, and then Carlos just being oblivious to the fact that they just broke up... you know, that last part just made me laugh. And then Ricky's reaction to his parents legally separating just broke my heart. That boy's been through too much.

Big Red being completely clueless about theatre terms is super funny and endearing, but let me just put myself in his shoes for a sec. He's followed his best friend into a badly thought-out scheme to get back together with his ex, got dragged into joining the crew, and is now expected to know what everything is. I would not put up with that... ok, who are we kidding, I'm a massive pushover and would put up with anything, but my point is... he shouldn't have to. At least people are doing the bare minimum to help him learn and nobody's laughed at him for not knowing. That's the good thing about this crew.

Ok, so I have posted about my thoughts of their take on What I've Been Looking For before, back when the episode was brand new, so I won't go into detail about that. In short, I think they've got the arrangement all wrong considering that it is a plot point in the original movie, but... the execution is funny. The scene is about Nini and EJ's post-breakup tension and it shows. I just kind of wish now Miss Jenn had pulled Nini out and put Gina in, even just for this rehearsal — and I might or might not be saying this as a Portwell shipper.

Miss Jenn is done with the students' personal drama and honestly, I'm right behind her. These kids are being completely unprofessional — and well, I realise that we can't expect them to be professional at this stage, but... they could at least try to concentrate on rehearsal and not their personal lives for a second.

Ricky hugging a cushion is my spirit animal. That's it, that's the comment.

Ahhh the tension between EJ and Gina though... 'around here seniors don't follow sophomores' — well, we'll see how it goes, Mr. Senior.

What gives Nini the right to shout at strangers about their relationship? I am honestly so frustrated with her these days. Wonder why I never was during season 1. The reasons are all there.

'He loves you' — yeah, like a little sister, he does. Also, Ash is so precious, always trying to see the good in other people. EJ 1.0 is so lucky he had her as an example.

Ok, I'm not going to go into what an amazing best friend Big Red is because we all know that (plus I'm saving it for a certain scene in 1x5), but this must be so hard for him. I mean, he's trying his absolute best to help Ricky feel better and distract him from his problems, and Ricky is turning everything down. I mean, I guess I understand where he's coming from too, but I'm unable to look at things through the lead-centric lens alone anymore. I'm more aware of non-lead characters now (some more so than others) and this is putting a whole new spin on my perception of everything that happens.

I've got no idea how Big Red can sleep with all this noise, though. I could never. But to each their own.

'perfect on paper' — that's EJ 1.0 to a T. I've got to give Nini that.

Ricky wearing the pride t-shirt... we love to see it.

See, this is why I keep forgetting why I ever shipped Rini and then remembering again... their chemistry is just so on-again-off-again, and here it's definitely present, but I just need a couple with consistent chemistry, you know. Hey, isn't that kind of what All I Want is about? Kind of. I don't know. I've been unable to listen to that song ever since it got big irl. I have this... problem with media that becomes popular and mainstream... I mean, I never hold a grudge against things just for being popular, but I just... relate to underrated stuff much easier. Not because it's underrated, but it just so happens that nearly everything I like and relate to is underrated in some capacity. Even HSMTMTS itself — it's practically unheard of here in Bulgaria, so I would not have found it if I hadn't been looking for it specifically. Ok, this comment got derailed several times. I guess I'll just stop here and move right on to 1x5 at this point.

1x5: A bedazzled tablecloth, a perfectly balanced unicycle and bad reception at the barn... not the perfect ingredients, but they can still... Work This Out

'Miss Jenn says that's a life in the arts... well, that and almost constant unemployment' — alright, I know this line is not supposed to be funny, and that it's a painful reality for a lot of people, but... maybe it's the delivery. I just laugh every time.

See, this is what I mean when I say I want to see consistent chemistry — Seblos have it. I mean, I really don't want to jinx things, but... they do.

Big Red seems to be in a more... outspoken mood today, I guess you could say. Too bad Ricky is still shutting everything he says down. Seriously, Big Red and Seb should start a club for people who try their best to be there for their loved ones and still keep being shushed.

I might be super frustrated with nearly everything Nini says and does (can somebody please tell me why that is?), but... flushing her dress down the toilet? Major mood.

Listen, I love Miss Jenn and that she's close to her students, but... emerging from a toilet cubicle and inviting herself to Kourtney and Nini's girls' night was... Will Shuester level of questionable.

Ricky being the mature one about his parents separation is... I mean, it's admirable, but how did he move past the impending depression of last episode and towards being the one who tells his dad to get up and move on? Well, I mean, good for him. But I think the issue is far from buried yet.

'Friend of the year'? Ricky? I don't think so. First of all, if he were, he'd know that Big Red does not have two left feet. Wasn't it you, Ricky, who was stumbling over the steps in HSM a couple of weeks ago? You're one to talk. Plus Big Red's been listening and trying to help while you've just been spouting off about your personal problems for... how long has it been now? I get it, Ricky has issues that he needs to work through, but he's almost legally blind in both eyes when it comes to Big Red.

Ok, but Ricky is the epitome of 'cannot solve his own problems but has a suggestion on how everybody else should solve theirs' in this episode. Maybe take a step back and listen to your own advice?

'My parents think I'm bonding with the livestock' — I've got no idea why I find this line so funny, but I do. And I've got so much love for this entire scene. Carlos' reaction to Seb's response to his invitation is just... the most adorable thing ever! My heart might just burst. Especially given what we're about to go through tomorrow in 2x10... I am. Not. Ready.

The entire karaoke scene just reminds me of... pretty much every extended family reunion on my mum's side. Her cousins love karaoke and are also completely tone-deaf. I love it that they're able to have fun with it, but my ears are still recovering from my great aunt's birthday party two years ago.

'When did you become Nini?' — Why does Mr. Mazzara know so much about his students' dating lives? I mean, Miss Jenn does, too, but he doesn't strike me as someone as invested in them as her. Idk, it just struck me as kind of weird.

'I didn't agree to photos' — please, EJ, I'm sure you'll want memories from your first fake-dating gig with Gina... once you're no longer fake-dating, you know. Boy, these two are going to have stories to tell to their grandchildren.

I've said some stuff about Nini, but... 'a bedazzled tablecloth' is the funniest description I've heard for Gina's homecoming dress.

'Maybe it's not actually about you at all.' Yeah, you tell him, Reddy! Ricky needs to get over himself.

The way Big Red sniffs out the drama, though... I was not-so-randomly reminded of that moment in 2x9 where Seb was like Carlos. and Big Red was like, 'Are you guys fighting?'...

Big Red doing a comedic lip-reading of Gina and EJ's dramatic scene is absolutely hilarious. I might or might not have sold my heart and soul to him after seeing that scene for the first time. But I just remembered how he said earlier that maybe he can't read lips and that just makes this 100% funnier — he was basically like a child who can't read yet making up a story based on the pictures in a book, and I mean it in the best way possible. He's a theatre dark horse, this one, and they should all be intimidated — or inspired, whatever they choose — by his hidden talents. Gosh, I love this guy. But can you blame me?

'You think I'm actually going to confide in you?' — Absolutely. You can't bully someone from your position of authority over them and then act like you're their friend. I do know now that Mr. Mazzara has hidden depths, but he had no right to be as rude to Carlos as he was in 1x3. He was right about one thing, though — Carlos doesn't need a dance partner to dance.

Ricky saying he was going to apologise to Gina and counting that as an apology is giving me major TJ/ Buffy flashbacks. I wonder why that is... * sarcasm *

Nini feeling like a fraud makes me actually sympathise with her for a second. But I feel like Nini's flaw of defining herself through boys and Ricky in particular has been addressed one time too many now, since it was first addressed here in this episode. If they make her and Ricky get back together again in season 2, I will riot. [side note: I feel like the Born to Be Brave scene says a lot about both Rini and Seblos as couples. Nini and Carlos both feel, in the moments leading up to the song, like they are incomplete without their partners. Ricky, too, has built his personality entirely around Nini at that time (and is still not completely over that in s2). And then the song comes in to remind them that they don't need a partner to be happy. I'm just thinking of Big Red's 'perfectly balanced unicycle' comment from the promotional materials, and of how he and Ashlyn, even when they're dating in s2, are never portrayed as being incomplete without each other. I guess there's a reason why they're the Beta Couple of the show — their relationship drama is nearly non-existent, and when it does exist, it's just caused by them caring too much about each other. Every other couple on the show should learn from them.]

Everybody supporting Carlos during the Born to Be Brave number just warms my heart so much... I am actually crying real tears. And then the end, when Seb finally shows up, right in time for the slow dance... I have a lot of feelings about this scene.

Seblos' dialogue here still kind of makes me cringe a little... but like, in a good way.

Yikes... Miss Jenn's getting into trouble... I mean, it was bound to happen sooner or later. But she's lucky she's had enough time with her students for them to love her enough to fight for her. Still, this is a topic for another episode, and so I won't expand on it in this post.

Well, that's it. That was 1x4 and 5. Those were pretty much my favourite episodes when season 1 was airing. And I can definitely see why, even if my views on some things have changed due to stuff that happens later. But, as I constantly say, that's what rewatches are for. In other words, 'once more, with feeling this time' as my choir director used to say.

[retvenkos]

i just read your tags are you anti-snape?

(so i just saw that my tags were cut off halfway through my rant, so if you want me to finish that, just send in an ask and i will write out my whole thoughts)

okay, so anti-snape is a strong word, with a lot of different connotations to it, and while i wouldn’t brand myself as anti-snape because of all of the strong feelings attached, i would say that i don’t think that snape deserves all of the recognition that he deserves.

why?

what i firstly want to say is that snape is emotional abuser. my case in point here is neville, who had parents that were literally tortured to insanity, proving that his worst fear is snape - his teacher. how many times was snape unusually cruel to neville and harry? how many times did he humiliate hermione - an already bullied, muggle-born student (and possible poc)? snape is established to be cruel, and when you look at his actions, it is clear he is emotionally abusive to his students.

why did i start with this? because i relate with neville - i know what it is like to have your worst fear be an abuser that you face every day. so, therefore, i am biased against snape, and a lot of my dislike for him comes from the fact that no matter how you dice it, this man was in a position of power, abusing those students that looked up to him. 

he especially hated harry, who was an abused kid himself (and there is some kind of narrative in there, an abused kid growing up to hate and alienate an abused kid. i’m not going to get into that. but just think about that for a second and tell me you don’t want to at least dislike snape.). 

and perhaps you want to argue that snape couldn’t know that harry was abused over at privet drive. fair, okay. not everything about a kid can be seen on their face, right? but, one could argue that if snape took the time to look at harry and see him as a kid for a second, he could see hints of it. i have family members who are teachers, and they say that they can never be 100% sure, but they can at least have a good idea of who is abused at home, just based off of the way they interact with other people - especially adults. OR, if you don’t like that idea, you can think of it like this: the teachers at hogwarts are probably close to each other, right? mcgonagall knew (at least to some degree) what the dursleys were like - furthermore, she is close with harry and perceptive. she would have known that harry was abused, and if you don’t think that she wouldn’t have at least mentioned it to snape, i would disagree and say you don’t know mcgonagall. also! dumbledore! there is literally so many opportunities for snape to figure out that harry was abused at home. he just didn’t care.

so, snape is an emotionally abusive man in a position of power, picking on literal children as an outlet for his misplaced anger. this is the set-up for snape, and had he never had an in-depth redemption arc, we would literally all dislike snape.

and i feel like, then, the only reason that we have this snape/anti-snape discourse is dependent on whether or not you think his redemption arc is reason enough to excuse his actions.

and so here we talk about his childhood. which is definitely important and gives good insight, but should not be the only reason as to why he is seen as a good character. childhoods are formative and important, but they are not all encompassing. let’s not forget that snape is a grown man when the story starts. he is 31 years old when we are introduced to his character.

snape had a terrible childhood. he was neglected. he was abused (or so it was implied). he was friendless. he was lonely. he was poorly socialized. he was in a hogwarts house that seemed against him, almost, so he had to work to carve his place out and prove his worth. he wanted to stay at hogwarts all year, if he could.

(sound familiar? harry? neville? you two are here?)

but, school is not always great. at school, there are bullies that are terrible to him - it goes beyond teasing sometimes, snape getting hexed and jinxed and publically humiliated. he has one friend - lily, but sometimes he wonders if she really understands or if she really cares. no one has ever cared for him before, so why should she? he falls in love with her, but she does not reciprocate his feelings. instead, she falls for his tormentor - the person who has made his one safe place terrible, the person who treats him like he’s nothing.

now that is a compelling background. when he falls in with the wrong crowd, we can see why. he is desperate for some kind of belonging, some kind of importance. 

(is that... draco?)

he gets more violent as time goes on. those spells he created? levicorpus? sectumsempra? he’s going down a dark path and he wants to cause pain. he becomes a death eater, and while we don’t get a lot of detail what happens here, he rises in the ranks, which means he had to have done terrible things. at this point, he is clearly a bad person. and maybe he feels remorse during this time, but it’s clearly not enough to push his conscience out of where it is. he is still on voldemort's side.

what changes him? the power of love, of course. because even in this terrible time, he still loves lily - right? but is it love? or is it more like obsession? jk would tell us it’s love, but i would disagree. 

at the beginning, yes. snape loved lily. but after so much has transpired? things changed. snape is no longer as pure as he once was. he changed. any maybe he didn’t notice it, sure. but wasn’t he different, after everything?

if he loved lily, he would have cared about (even minorly) the things she cared for. yes, he could still hate james with a burning passion, yes he could let that ruin his and lily’s relationship,,, but could he become the very thing she feared and abhorred? could he become a death eater, literally killing people she loved? people just like her? could he have gone to her house, stepped over her dead husband, ignored her crying child to mourn her dead body?

this feels more like obsession. if you love someone, you care about them - their wellbeing, their peace of mind. love means you need to have an awareness for who your loved one loves, and you can accept them for the fact that they love someone else. snape shows he doesn’t. he only cares for her.

here we are, now, at this point is snape's story, and the natural progression in his redemption arc is for him to actively try to amend his terrible actions.

and... he does? kind of?

he becomes a double agent which is perfect. he vows to protect harry, which he does, physically... but he has a clear disregard for protecting harry emotionally, which one could argue is most important in harry’s story.

to defeat voldemort, harry has to come to terms with the idea that love is his strongest weapon against the dark lord, right? so snape being horrible to harry is not only bad because emotional abuse is real, but it’s also part of why harry is so angry and bitter in the sixth book, the exact opposite of what he needs to be if he wants to defeat voldemort.

also, snape preaches “control your emotions” but snape... is emotionally unstable and takes out all of his anger on children half his age? idk. that just bothers me.

so i feel like snape kind of half-asses his way through his redemption arc. he has chosen a different side, yes, but he doesn’t make a lot of intrinsic changes. he’s still angry. he’s still bitter. he’s still emotionally manipulative and abusive. 

so really, the question is: is a redemption arc dependent on a change of heart? or is a change of action good enough?

if you haven’t already picked up on how i feel about this issue, i don’t think a change of action is enough.

redemption is the act of saving or being saved from sin, error, or evil (thanks, google). it’s absolution for your crimes. i feel like redemption is an intrinsic transformation, and jk preaches that love can do such an act. i’ve already covered that i don’t think snape loved lily, at the point of his big character changing moment. he was obsessed. it was more a change of action, than of heart.

BUT, that doesn’t mean that i don’t think he couldn’t have been redeemed. toward the close of his story, i kind of saw him as going through another arc as a character - i saw him start to care for harry more as harry rather than the child of the woman i’m obsessed with. i think, here,  he’s starting to show that love that jk insists he has. 

i think that if he had more time, he could have had a more full, more satisfying redemption arc. and that’s the tragedy of his character, right? we could always sort of trust him, but we could never fully trust him until the end. he was never really quite redeemed, it was cut short.

so, basically, i grapple with the fact that jk is adamant that snape is the good guy, he’s the redeemable character, when... he’s kind of only halfway there. AND, this is coupled with the fact that i believe draco was halfway there to a complete redemption arc, and jk is equally as adamant against draco getting a redemption arc.

jk has said that she thinks that the people who want draco to be redeemed are just girls obsessed with the bad boy having a heart of gold (which is fair, to some extent), but... isn’t she the exact same with snape? isn’t she equally obsessed that her readers know snape as being the emotionally scarred, bad boy with a heart of gold? food for thought.

also, where i draw a clear distinction between the crimes of draco and the crimes of snape is that draco is a teenager alongside the teenagers he bullies and emotionally abuses (draco, too, is an abuser! if you want an analysis on him, hmu.) draco is a 15 year old abusing other 15 year olds. this is terrible, and it can’t be excused. i agree. BUT, snape is a 31 year old man abusing 11 year olds. he is also their teacher. there is a clear power imbalance coupled with the fact that snape is an adult, who is supposed to be wiser and smarter.

so... long post, forgive me. i could go off about the crimes of jk rowling's depiction of slytherins forever and never be fully satisfied. i’m sure that in a weeks time i will have more i want to add onto this post. but for now, these are my thoughts on snape’s redemption arc, and my answer to whether or not i am anti-snape.

i am sure that after reading this, there are some of you who will think that i am anti-snape. that’s fine. you can have your own opinion, but if you are going to say that, know why.

no opinion is good if you can’t explain why.

[lydiaandarry]

{The Murder of Alternative Character Design}

Hello there!

    My name is Arabella, but you can call me Arry if easier. You may be looking at the title and feeling a bit confused by it. “The Murder of Alternative Character Design” may be quite a confusing title and leave others wondering what the hell it even means. But that is why I am here to spread awareness about this horrible phenomenon that is going on in recent pop culture. Especially with superheroes. ‘Alternative Character Design’ to me is when a character (usually a superhero) looks different from the traditional standard of the type of character they represent. I can name quite a couple of alternatively dressed superheroes who get made into more traditional wear or boring wear in their live-action debut. So let’s invade the topic!

(The poor costume design recently...)

    I don’t know if you have noticed but the quality of costume design and the importance of comic accuracy has lowered in demand. It seems now like live-action adaptations of a comic book character just throw whatever they can to seem “different” or “out there”. Yet it murders the costume design to begin with. Recently in “Birds of Prey”, one of my favorite DC female characters ‘Black Canary’ has had her main outfit leaked on set. And there are no fishnets to be seen or a bodysuit or anything that represents the character in the comics. I personally love Black Canary for that reason with how different she looks and how she isn’t afraid to wear leather, fishnets and reveal skin, things that could be seen as hooker-ish. She rocks and makes it look stylish and badass. Yet in Birds of Prey, it seems like they went for a more ‘preppy’ approach where nothing about her screams ‘Black Canary’ but perhaps the colors. Even then, black and yellow in DC and especially to non-comic book readers just screams Batman. Netflix recently released a show called “The Umbrella Academy” and I don’t really know much about the comics except that it was created by My Chemical Romance babe Gerard Way who I grew up listening to his music. Even after they broke up. It saddened me to see the complete difference from the comics to the actual live-action adaptation. The art is nearly killed with the inaccuracy as Allison Hargreeves doesn’t have her awesome purple-blue hair. Klaus didn't have his awesome skull shirt, ouija pendant necklace and signature bright orange hair. Diego’s long, blond hair is completely disregarded despite the lack of longer hair on dudes in superhero shows. All of this is disregarded for a more preppy, modern and “up to date” look that kills the character design that made the comics look so different in the first place. And it’s Gerard Way’s creation for crying out loud! He was part of an alternative group! They didn't look nearly as normal as the people in the show look. Even Klaus looks normal compared to how these people used to look. It’s changed for diversity and relatability to other characters but where’s my representation? Where’s my second personality’s representation? And this isn’t just on DC’s end. Marvel does this as well with my favorite X-Men character, Kurt Wagner, a.k.a Nightcrawler. Who seriously wore a Thriller jacket in X-Men Apocalypse. It was the worse outfit I have ever seen on Nightcrawler. Nightcrawler in the comics is basically Gothic. He wears dark clothes, looks kind of scary to the point where people fear him on a daily basis, and has hints of red here and there. The usage of color in Kurt’s design is usually creative and done justice. Now I could understand if they were going for a more X-Men Evolution Kurt but even then, the outfit was better and Kurt is rarely seen as blue in that outfit because when he is blue, it is shown to hardly work with being blue.The colors don’t go well with his skin. Also, his personality is a lot different to X-Men Apocalypse’s but we are talking about character design not writing. And can someone please show Legion FX how to dress punk people? Don’t say David Haller is punk when you hardly dress him as punk.

(Why is this an issue?)

     So, why is this an issue? You may ask me when reading this post. They’re characters, Arry. They aren’t always going to be comic-book accurate. Why are you so upset over all of this? As an artist, to me, character design and clothing choices is just as important as personality. Appearance is the first thing you see of anyone and it can say a lot. You express yourself through your appearance more than you think. When creating a character, I always make sure that I have the character design down pack. It’s my favorite thing to do. I am not against preppier clothing or modernizing things. I understand that this is something that has to be taken into consideration when taking a character and placing them in live-action. There are some things that are too difficult to carry over. But why make a live-action adaptation of something if you are not going to use the version that everyone who reads the comics is familiar with? What’s wrong with having abnormally colored hair? I get that diversity is a hot topic right now and it’s amazing that everyone is getting representation in one way or another. But diversity goes deeper than just skin tone. I have never seen a true alternative like character outside of cartoons that was done right. And I have tons of favorite goth girls in cartoons (Gwen & Crimson from Total Drama, Sam Manson from Danny Phantom, Mandy from The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy, Triana Orpheus from Venture Bros, Jinx & Raven from Teen Titans, The Hex Girls from Scooby Doo, Rogue from X-Men Evolution, Joan of Arc from Clone High, Marceline from Adventure Time, Marie from Ed, Edd, and Eddy.) the list goes on. These aren’t characters you see in live-action though. These aren’t female characters that are even considered in live-action or even superheroes for that matter. And comic books are incredible for the reason that you don’t have to conform to normality. You can make any character you want. That’s why we have such unique characters in comic books and even in cartoons. Justice Friends has a colorful witch named Miss Spell and Valhallen is a metalhead. This is one of the many reasons why Neil Gaiman has been picky and harsh over making his Sandman comics into live-action because Sandman features so many subgenres of styles. Goth and punk, mostly. These characters aren’t represented in live-action adaptations. They are forgotten about or normalized. Kurt Wagner is a background character and they still couldn’t dress him how he is in the comics. The Umbrella Academy normalized its characters a lot in clothing choices. And it’s sad. There are people who dress like this and should be able to see themselves in at least one superhero. Kurt Wagner teaches us that not all goths are gloomy and depressed or dangerous. He’s a goth with a pure soul and good heart. Sandman comics make Death and Dream and Delirium seem normal, like they don’t have to change to be liked or good-hearted. They are who they are. The Umbrella Academy basically showed that you could wear abnormal costumes, have colored hair, have longer hair for a dude and still be an awesome superhero. X-Men has tons of abnormally colored hair characters that rarely make it onto the big screen, they are usually brought to small screen like Blink and Polaris in The Gifted. And in Legion FX, the most evil and villainous character is a punk. David Haller is not a good person on Legion nor can he be considered an anti-hero anymore. He is a despicable being with a god complex. Punks already get the bad rep of being dangerous, angry, and mean-spirited. Do we really need a character in mainstream media to be punk while also had killed multiple people and raped his girlfriend? That’s not progressive, that’s moving backwards. Superboy doesn’t even have his leather jacket, leather gloves and black circle sunglasses anymore with his undercut. He’s just narrowed down to a tee shirt and jeans most of the time.

(How can we change this issue?)

     I am not exactly sure. I know it seems kind of lame to like… bring up an issue and then not offer a solution. I feel like the best way to fix this problem is to hopefully notify costume designers that the world is in need of different styles. Their designs are not “out there” or “different”, as the comic book characters designs were already out there and they completely changed them. I am a huge judge when it comes to costume and character designs in live-action adaptations and I may make a post on why that is. I feel like we need to open our eyes to newer looks. To give some representation to those who dress differently from others. The issues that I brought up are already done and over with. Bad representation for punks as evil and villainous. The Umbrella Academy normalized every character, even Klaus. And hopefully Marvel can give us the Nightcrawler that we deserve as Fox no longer has the rights. All we can do is hope that this comic inaccuracy is a pasting phase and that creators will soon give the outcasts a voice and a chance for better representation. To stop being the villains or bad guys.

     This was a short rant that I felt had to be done and I had to explain some issues. I hope you enjoyed my post and agree with some points that I made. If you have any questions on the matter, feel free to message me. If you like this post and want to see more like this, feel free to follow our Tumblr! And if you liked the post, feel free to reblog and like. I post every Wednesday and Saturday! I will see you on Wednesday. Peace out!

[funhaversclub]

At this point anyone who is a Pokemon fan has seen screenshots and sprites from the leaked Pokemon Gold Beta released at Space World 97′... Thank you... Thank you so much... you gave us fans something incredibly special.

(if youre curious you can download it yourself here: https://tcrf.net/Proto:Pok%C3%A9mon_Gold_and_Silver)

Above is a screenshot of the title screen and all the sprites from that demo (in color). I figured I would take this time to go sprite by sprite and analyze them. I’m sure you’ve already watched at least 5 youtube videos and read 100 posts on this BUT here’s my take.

This generation of Pokemon was the second in the series. In the official release, they introduced a lot of pre and post evolutions to Pokemon we had already seen from Red and Blue but from what we’ve seen here it looks like they were ready to cap off a lot more Pokemon evolution lines. So without further adue lets get into Beta Pokemon Gold and Silver: the Missing Links.

(note: I wont mention Pokemon that are the same as their official release or close enough -- ALSO updates to theories with NOTEs)

First we have the grass starters. Whats interesting to note is the secondary evolution. At first this seemed weird but if you think about it, it’s as if the leaf on Chikorita’s head is mid bloom. Then the final evolution is the flower fully bloomed. Also to note is that the second evo could've been used for a future Floette? ALSO note how the beta art below the sprites looks more oddly shaped. Like more of a plant thing than a little creature. This makes the second evo feel a little more natural.

For the fire starters, instead of Cyndaquil we have this fire bear looking creature. It’s looks as if it could burst into flames following the classic fire theme. Below is the beta art we saw years ago and now we get to see where it fits in! 

Then we have the water starters which, just like the fire starters, we have our answer to yet another beta design. Interesting little dragon seals but kind of basic.

Hoothoot is relatively the same only with different patterns on it’s body. As for the evolution, it’s completely different displaying a very sharper and sleeker design.

Like I stated in the intro, this game was all about filling the pre or post evolutions of many Pokemon. This is our first example. It appears to be the pre evoluton to the Vulpix line. 

This has been speculated as the pre and post evo of the Tangela evo line which it very well could be. The pre having one eye showing which evolves into Tangela having 2 eyes. Then into the final evolution having no eyes but a mouth showing... but we will never officially know.

Here we have a complete new Pokemon. You could say it resembles Mantine as it looks like a manta ray BUT there’s something special here. Its underside  shown in the first sprite is all light whilst it’s back is all black with an evil looking face. Could this have been some sort of dark/light type?

Here we have Quilfish’s and it’s evolution. Quilfish looks the same despite there being beta art out there (feature below the sprites) but it’s evolution is brand new. It seems to resemble some sort of goofy sea mine.

Now we have another baby Pokemon. What i can only presume is the first look of the pre evo of Pikachu, Pichu. only here Pichu looks to be more of a cute little ball.

Next on the baby train is the pre Cleffa which I’ll say looks a lot more alien which is great and relates more to the origins of the Pokemon coming from space.

...Igglybuffs beta... kinda the same... just bubblier! yeay!

This is clearly Quagsire BUT with no pre evo. Which seems to be another part of what the game was going to be. Either a pre evo a post evo or something new. I think when Gamefreak redesigned the game for release they got rid of a lot of the babies and added new evos to push the games forward.

Another baby. What looks like a guppy Goldeen. a pre evo to Goldeen. Yet another of the many babies we are going to see.

The beta to Marill which was known at one point as Pikablu. which was also known earlier to at least me and my friends as Pikapink. This is another example beta Pokemon that had never seen the light of day, now getting its time to shine. Below the sprite is that beta art.

These are original new Pokemon. It looks like a small fish that evolves into an anchor shark but just like so many Pokemon when evolved a certain way it could instead of evolving into the anchor shark, evolves into a deep sea eel type. Before the drop of this Gold beta a few early design sprites surfaced. One being the black and white image below the sprites. You can see Game freak was really working on combining an anchor and a shark.

NOTE: It doesn’t look like the deep sea eel is apart of this evolution but still cool.

This is interesting. It looks as though this could be a pre evo to Paras. It looks like a larva breaking out of a mushroom. The idea being that before Paras gets taken over by a mushroom it actually emerges from one in the first place... and the circle of life is complete! Babies!

This is the Spinarak line only with new patterns on the backs of these spider Pokemon. Also featuring new positions.

I could be wrong here... BUT I heard Ditto was supposed to have an evolution. This could be the second stage in Ditto where not only would it be able to transform, mimicking other Pokemon, but it would also maintain it’s aggressive attributes and aggressive demeanor. 

NOTE: Apparently you need a metal coat or metal item to evolve Ditto.

This seems to be an original Pokemon... BUT... Possibly a pre evo to Doduo? It resembles baby birds in a nest with feet which would make sense to Doduo and Dodrio. The body is only hidden by then “nest”

...just Sunflora... but odd... no pre evo. Maybe Game freak was saving all the 2nd round babies for the 3rd generation of Pokemon?

This is great because we get to see Donphan and ALSO it’s pre evo in a new baby form. A softer more bubbly form.

Here we have an original Pokemon that looks like a ghost type but could possibly be a branch off evo of Gastly? Where instead of moving on to haunter it becomes a duel ghost Pokemon? Maybe? who knows...

NOTE: SOOOO this is crazy. I was totally wrong... This thing evolves into Giraffarig! HA! That’s so cool.

This is Giraffarig only in this beta version we see how it’s back end wasn't a strange tail creature but more like the darker version of it’s original head. Dark Pokemon started in gold so maybe this was another half dark type Pokemon?

Next up is most likely the pre evo to Meowth. it’s interesting that it looks like it’s eyes are closed but a third eye where the coin would be is open. There are also 3 coins or bubbles or eyes? above it. Perhaps it was little psychic kitten?

More originals are these cat like Pokemon with little bells on thier tails. They also have a very dark tone. Could this be an alternate to Meowth’s evo line? The dark side?

NOTE: Doesn’t look like this is a Meowth evo...

Polioad was an alternate evo to Poliwrath and we can see here the beta version of what it became. Not as friendly this time around.

Another interesting thing. It seems as if Lediba didn’t have an evolution but maybe an alternate version? Perhaps Gamefreak was leaning into the dark/light versions more than we thought and these were the 2 types versions?

Like Vulpix’s baby evo, it looks as if this could be a ponyta baby. Dawwww... 

This surprised me the most. We finally get to see the spiral Shelder. The version of Shelder we see when it attaches to a slowpokes tail evolving it into a slowbro as seen above... only now... we get to capture just the mean ol’ shell!

NOTE: This is rather interesting... Apparently this isn’t a spiral Shelder BUT Slowking’s Shell/Crown... hmmm...

This confused me at first but thinking about it... this is a baby... a little baby Grimer. People seem to think that it has an open mouth with a tooth but I think it’s a little nubby nose and the white is the shine. 

This is one of the most interesting of the reveals. Remoraid and Octillery were always supposed to be shaped after weaponry, a gun and a tank... welp... here is your proof! The hand gun Remoraid and the tank Octilery. It’s very clear with these sprites. You can see where the bullets would be and the trigger fin on Remeraid. On Octillery you can see it’s tentacles curled up like tank treads and it’s head looks more like the top latch and cannon of a tank.

These are the beta Tyrogue and Hitmontop. In my opinion you can really see a lot more of the relation in Tyrogue to Hitmonlee and Hitmonchan. The pre evo looks like a little fighter in a helmet and gloves, like a basic fighter starting training. As far as Hitmontop’s beta goes it looks a little bizarre... probably for the best they toned it down a bit.

Following along side the rest of the babies... here we have puppy Growlithe! I can see why they ditched some of these though. They are pretty basic and unless the babies had some new abilities I agree they were probably not necessary BUT adorable.

Here we have the beta forms of Hoppip evo line. They’re close to the final version but remind me more of how Digimon were designed.

I’m not certain but I think this is the pre evo to the mr. mime evolution line. A little clown egg :)

Following the baby lines we have the pre evo to jinx...

The beta of Electabuzz... which looks much different...

Magby... who looks a little different.

I’m not quite sure what this is supposed to be but following in line with all the branch off evoltutions I’d have to say this might be if Weepinbell didn’t evolve into Victreebel... but this? I don’t really know but it totally looks like a weird Bellsprout.

NOTE: Apparently this evolves from Weepinbell with Poison Stone! 

Here’s a brand new original Pokemon. Possibly a water/fire type? It looks like a seal that balances a fireball on it’s nose.

Delibird looking a lot more like Santa!

I don’t know if this was supposed to be a different Pikachu but it defiantly looks like an electric mouse Pokemon.

This is one of the more interesting pokemon designs. It looks like the evoluton of Farfetch'd possibly holding a different plant instead of a leek. Or possibly the leek has become part of Farfetch'd? Interesting.

NOTE: Confirmed! 

This is a strange new design. It resembles a voodoo doll Pokemon that evolves into some sort of japanese zombie Pokemon. Can’t wait for the fan art of this guy!

This seems like a new take on Mercorw. Notice there’s no secondary evo along with it’s new design. This just goes along with the idea of pre post or new singular...

I’m a little torn on this. It’s either a pre or post evo of Chansey. It’s size makes me think pre but the double egg sack makes me think post... 

NOTE: Turns out this is the EVOLVED for of Chansey. Pretty cool.

This is an early Scizzor design. It resembles more of Scyther which i think is great. It also seems to look like it’s claws have eyes on them. I think I like this more than the original design

This has to be Pinsor’s early evo. I don’t know if it has no eyes or that’s a small mask on its face? Either way it’s nice to see the early design of Heracross.

Here’s another GREAT original. It looks like a creature wearing another creatures fur which is fantastic! It’s a great design and i’d love to see more of this character.

This is just... bizarre... a toy orb lion? I dunno but i like it!

NOTE: Another WOW moment... this evolves from Porygon with Up-Grade. Makes sense. Upgrading a digital monster to look more “real” I guess. That’s pretty cool.

This has to be an evolution of either Lickitung or a Slowbro somehow. Clearly There’s a huge tongue but the little hat and odd shell hat design makes me think Slowbro... maybe a new shell leads Slowpoke to this form?

NOTE: So it’s defiantly Lickitung’s evo at level 32

I think this is an early Kingdra design. It seems to resembles more of a genuine dragon which is a nice touch.

These are beta designs of the legendary beasts... These are weirdly fantastic like old anime creatures. Not much to say here. Just look at them! Sharp Sassy and Sappy.

I think this Pokemon was replaced by Lugia but more of a small Mew type. Instead of 2 large beasts we have the Mew/Mewtwo dynamic. Or maybe a Mew evolution?...

NOTE: I was very wrong here lol. this is just an early Sneasel design. Makes sense.

This seems to look like Aipom. The monkey with a hand tail but a very early form... I don’t know why it would be so late into the Pokedex though. Is it a legendary? 

...and finally we have the Leafeon beta... it’s different in that its arms and legs look like roots and the body looks like wood resembling a more earth like form. Perhaps this being the last Pokemon means this wouldv’e been a promo give away for a special eevee event? We’ll never know!

That ends our look back through the beta of Pokemon gold. Filling in the gaps of all the missing post and pre evolutions plus new things we’ve never seen!

If this has peaked your interest why not also check out a little game idea I had for a Pokemon that took place before Red Blue and Green. 

http://funhaversclub.tumblr.com/post/48832670099/so-heres-my-little-project-in-lue-of-all-the

http://funhaversclub.tumblr.com/post/49093816290/beta-pokemon-the-starters-of-the-cinnabar

http://funhaversclub.tumblr.com/post/49147031388/to-continue-on-here-are-more-capsule-monsters-you

http://funhaversclub.tumblr.com/post/49391556862/just-like-before-with-every-picture-ive-added

http://funhaversclub.tumblr.com/post/50761038816/got-the-laptop-working-this-is-the-final-post-for

(check out a few articles here!)

[hardcore-evil-regal]

Blades of Steel - Chapter 4

Blades of Steel

They Call Me the Cavalry (BadassNinja)

Chapter 4

Summary: A day in the life of Phil...

Notes: It's been ages between updates, I know and I do feel slightly bad about that but I have been on a kinda unofficial hiatus as I'm doing my final year of school so that's been taking up a lot of my time. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter :)

You can keep reading this here or on AO3 or ff.net.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter 4

Rubbing a hand over his tired eyes he refrains from banging his head against the desk. It’s only eleven in the morning and already he is ready to pack up and go home, leave this awful job behind him.

“You ok Phil?” Maria his co-worker and friend pops her head around the thin wall separating their cubicles.

“Yep,” he replies, voice muffled by the desk which his head is now resting down upon.

“Annoying client?” She says with sympathy having experienced her own fair share of frustratingly irritating clients.

“Uh huh,” he moves his head on the desk in a vague gesture of a nod.

Sometimes people can be really stupid, a fact that they have to deal with on a daily basis in their job.

“Guess some people shouldn’t worry about insuring their brains?” she jokes trying to make light of the situation.

Usually Phil is so good at dealing with their… more difficult customers. He has a way of handling them that makes it seem so easy, but it looks like the idiots in the population have finally begun to take their toll on the great Phil Coulson.

“Is he hungover or dying?” Victoria Hand, their manager asks, casting a critical glance towards the slumped over Phil.

“Moronic clients,” Maria answers in a voice akin to what one might use to tell a family that their loved one was terminally ill.

Victoria lets out a snort before taking a sip of the coffee in her hand, “well try to see to it that the damage isn’t irreparable,” she smirks before walking off in the direction of her office.

“At least the boss cares about your well being,” Maria pokes Phil in the back as he stays slumped over his desk.

“Ermgh!” He grunts as her finger jabs painfully right between his shoulder blades. “Ah you crazy woman!” He bats her hands away as she continues poking him, straightening up in his chair.

“Ah good, you’re alive,” she smiles earning a glare from him.

“I just wish it was Saturday already,” he whinges as Maria rolls her eyes.

“Why? It’s not like you do anything exciting on your days off,” she teases earning herself another glare.

“Hey, the Smithsonian is awesome alright,” he defends, because of course anything related to Captain America is awesome.

“Right,” she agrees sarcastically, drawing the word out.

“And actually,” he adds with the slightest hint of a goofy grin on his face, “I have a date.”

Maria’s jaw drops open.

“What?! Tell me all the details..”

He laughs at her reaction and shakes his head teasingly, revenge for her poking him in the back.

“Philllll!” She draws his name out whining at him as he grins triumphantly.

Eventually he relents, unable to hold out on his friend for too long.

“Her name’s Melinda and we’ve already been on two dates so far. I met her at the club that Clint works at, The Playground, but I actually first saw her when I went to a figure skating tournament the other week when my date bailed on me again.”

“Oh, so she’s into figure skating?” Maria raises her eyebrows in interest.

“You could say that,” he shrugs with a shy smile, “I mean, she did win the tournament.”

Maria’s eyes widen in surprise as she punches him in the arm for holding that game changing piece of information back from her.

“Wait, so you have somehow managed to date a figure skater?” His friend asks incredulous.

He looks at her a little puzzled, not quite sure what the significance of dating a figure skater is. Regardless, he nods yes to her question.

“Damn,” she smirks at him with a mischievous glint in her eyes, “I bet she’s flexible,” she winks.

“Maria!” He exclaims, playfully pushing his friend so she rolls a short distance away from him on her wheely desk chair. “I am a gentleman.”

“Oh I’m sure,” she agrees in a tone that suggests she thinks otherwise.

Throwing a mock scowl in  her directions he rolls his eyes as his friend laughs finding herself hilarious. Once she finally calms herself down she rolls back over nudging his arm with her shoulder.

“So where did you take her for your dates?”

He smiles just thinking about it.

“For the first one, I took her to this lovely Italian restaurant, very fancy. I picked her up from her place and drove her in Lola, she liked the car,” he has a dorky look on his face which makes Maria roll her eyes affectionately. “For our second date-”

“Wait, you didn’t tell me how the first date ended,” she interrupted sounding like he had committed the most horrendous of crimes.

“What? I just dropped her home afterwards, walked her up to her apartment and stuff,” he shares, bewildered by his friend’s horror.

“And stuff?” Maria asks with a face and tone of voice as if she were trying to weasel the truth out of a misbehaving child. “Really Phil?”

“Yeah,” he shrugged, the slightest colouring of pink spreading across his cheeks, “I did kiss her goodnight if that’s what you’re trying to get at.”

“Chaste peck or solid pash?”

“It was a good kiss,” he shares as she punches him on the arm.

“Phil Coulson you dog! I had no idea you had game,” she laughs, happy for him regardless of how much she might tease him, “so when can I meet her?”

He turns to look at her with eyebrows raised.

“Meet her?” He asks in an incredulous tone, “Maria, it’s not like she and I are getting married. That’s hardly the case, it’s only been a few dates.”

“Well I assume everything’s going well since you’re going to be having three dates in what, two weeks?”

“Don’t jinx it yeah,” he mumbles, actually now considering what might happen if he and Melinda were to continue and perhaps enter a somewhat serious relationship.

“Hey, I’m sure everything will work out for you,” Maria says gently, placing a hand on his shoulder, “she’d be an idiot to pass up on you.”

He smiles weakly at her caring attempt to soothe his sudden worries. He just really wants things to go well with Melinda, he likes her, a lot.

“Oh, look alive,” Maria tells him before scooting back into her cubicle.

Lifting his head he can see his boss Victoria Hand approaching, her figure tall and imposing. So he pushes all thoughts of possible future relationships from his mind and focuses on his work.

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

Shutting down his computer, he releases a tired sigh as he picks up his bag and rises from his chair to head over towards the doors. Everyone else around him is doing the same and he feels a rush of satisfaction run through him at the thought that the next two days are the weekend.

“Hey,” a voice says from behind him as a heavy hand clamps down on his shoulder.

He barely hides his grimace before turning to greet the owner of the hand.

“John,” he replies with a twitch of his lips upwards in a failed attempt at a smile.

“Thank God it's Friday eh?” The other man grins, his hand still gripping Phil’s shoulder almost painfully.

“Yeah,” Phil mumbles rolling his shoulder so John gets the message to let him go.

Releasing his shoulder with a forceful pat on the back, John walks with him to the door.

“You got any plans Phil?”

He shrugs nonchalantly, not really too keen to share many personal details with John Garrett. The man is a big mouth and lacks the understanding of discrete.

“Just gonna enjoy some down time,” he answers.

“Yeah yeah,” John claps him on the back again, “how ‘bout we go down to a bar tonight?”

Phil knows exactly what John means when he says ‘go down to a bar’ and he doesn’t really feel like being his wingman tonight, or any other night.

“Sorry John,” he tells the other man with what he hopes is a slightly regretful smile, “afraid I'm gonna have to pass tonight.”

John looks at his with an expression of genuine shock, as if he can't quite comprehend why any man might not want to go out for drinks with him on a Friday night.

“Alright then,” the main says raising his eyebrows and blowing out a deep breath, “your loss mate.”

Phil nods as if he actually is sorry to be missing out on drinks with his loud mouthed colleague. Sometimes he's too nice for his own good he thinks. Regardless, as they leave the building John claps him on the shoulder once more before separating from him to go and find the nearest bar. Shaking his head, Phil pulls his keys from his pocket as he moves towards his car. The buzzing of his phone in his pocket distracts him for a moment as he pulls it out and looks at the screen to see a text from Melinda.

Looking forward to tomorrow :)

He smiles at the message feeling a slow warmth spread through him as he taps out a reply.

Me too. How was your day?

Waiting for a moment, he feels his heart increase slightly as he sees the three little dots pop up on the screen.

Busy -_- You?

Nodding his head in agreement despite the fact that he is currently standing alone next to his car, he frowns at the realisation. He should actually get into his car he thinks to himself before unlocking the doors and sliding into the driver’s seat.

Boring. Happy to be going home now :)

Once again he waits, watching for those three little dots to appear.

Do you need to go? We can text later if you want.

A small breath of amusement escapes him as he reads her message. It’s sweet and thoughtful he smiles dopily to himself. Catching a glance of himself in the rearview mirror he does a double take when he sees the expression on his face. Wait, does he seriously look like that in front of other people? The discovery leaves him more than a little shocked. It makes him want to slap a hand over his forehead and groan. Has he been subjecting the world to looking at this without his even knowing? This is embarrassing. Taking a deep calming breath, he tries to ignore the stupid thoughts filtering through his head as he taps out a reply.

About to drive home now. I'll text you when I get there ;)

Locking his phone he puts it down before starting up the car and backing out. Luckily for him his workplace is not too far from his home, and within fifteen minutes he has his car parked in his parking spot outside his apartment. Phone in hand, he grabs his things out of his car and heads into the building. He texts Melinda again once he's settled back in his home and resting on the couch with a beer in hand.

They banter back and forth for a while and he finds himself enjoying it, her sense of humour making him laugh whilst he sits alone in his living room.  It's been quite a while since he found a girl that he thought he might have the possibility of a future with, and he thinks that there is a chance for he and Melinda. True, it's still early days and they've only been on two dates, but already he feels comfortable around her. It's like some sort of instant connection between them, and definitely some undeniable attraction. Phil doesn't think he's the only one to be feeling it either, which is really positive for him. Unrequited love is probably one of the worst things that could ever happen to someone in life he reckons. It's painful, awkward and embarrassing, something which he knows firsthand. Melinda however seems just as eager and excited to be seeing him which he takes as a very good sign and just hopes that it will last. After all, according to Maria it is not everyday that a man is able to find himself a figure skater to date.

A knock on the door disturbs him from his thoughts however, and he pads over quietly on bare feet to open it.

“Phillip Coulson?” the person asks uncertainly.

“Yes,” he answers with a slight hint of wariness in his tone, a puzzled frown knitting his brows together.

The man at his door opens up a bag and hands him a pizza.

“I didn’t order this,” Phil states as the man pushes the box into his hands.

“Well it’s all payed for and you’re the guy we were told to deliver it to,” the pizza guy shrugs, “just enjoy the pizza dude.”

He stands there a little dumbly for a moment as he watches the pizza guy walk away before retreating back into his apartment. Opening up the lid of the pizza, supreme with olives, he frowns at the fact that it’s also his favourite pizza. It’s weird, very weird. But then again perhaps he is trying to read too much into this. It could just be an honest mistake or a random case of coincidence. Telling himself he’s being paranoid, he ignores the voice in the back of his mind that tells him that the chances of something like this happening for no reason are incredibly slim. Shrugging the matter off as just a weird case of coincidence, he grabs a plate and a slice of pizza. As the pizza guy said, he should just enjoy the pizza.

x

x

Notes:

Well... that was a bit of an unusual end. Please let me know what you think, comments are greatly appreciated.