#saved my life + made editing them as little dudes so so fun

[laugtherhyena]

Woah,, little guy-fied

[betweenthescarletmoon]

Random Thoughts on the Arcane Fandom about Jayce

this is gonna be a mess but I have nowhere else to talk about this.

I've recently noticed how Jayce Talis has been subjected to all kinds of sexualization since the drop of Act 2 of the second season. People have mentioned many times how trauma has made him "hot". A good and well-known example of this is Danny Motta's reaction to episode 5, where he said, "Holy shit, they made Jayce hot! [...] My dude went from looking like a Muppet to the king of Rohan, and all it took was a little bit of trauma."

This isn't entirely new for him? If people didn't hate Jayce back in S1, they ogled him in the scene where he works on the Forge shirtless, which IS kinda the point because the animators are making him very obviously attractive. But most importantly, he as a character has been reduced to his sexual or romantic relationships since the beginning of time.

It seems that S2 is a response to this in a way. His arc from the ending of S1, where he took responsibility of his actions out of guilt for the child he killed, was slightly set aside for Viktor. Well, ALL of his life, dreams, decisions, everything about him was eclipsed by Viktor's shadow because of the whole "all times, all possibilities" twist. He wasn't expected to show up as a Councilor in any of the meetings, and we must assume he quits at some point, but he surely hasn't resigned from his position by the time Viktor wakes up. Apart from that much needed scene between him and Cait, and the one where he attends the memorial (and is attacked by a vengeful mother), we don't see many of his decisions or what leads him to make them, other than Viktor. This is beautiful in a way because we can SEE how it is a trauma response to losing him. He is obsessive by nature, and he clings to what keeps him and his loved ones safe excessively, but I still had to do a bit of mental gymnastics as to why he went back on the second promise: to not build Hextech weapons again. (Hint: it has to do with the fact that VI saved him with HIS weapon, but it went so fast it's hard to process in the first watch.)

Now back to the sexualization problem. Every time I look up his name and trauma, or PTSD, 95% of the results are thirst edits on Tiktok about how hot he is. No joke. One of the more serious results is my own edit. Of course, a lot of people connect with his suffering without naming it as trauma, and that is great. My concern is that there has been so much focus on Jinx's trauma, Viktor's trauma, even Silco's trauma (which are all valid and fascinating to explore), but there's less attention for other characters who clearly show how their own traumatic experiences has shaped them. Vi, Caitlyn, and Jayce are some of the clearest examples of this, and they've experienced some truly heinous things in the show. Trauma cannot be compared, ever. But why is it that Jayce, who lived through an apocalypse that HE knows HE caused, and lives in complete isolation except the "company" of metal watchers, to the point that he loses touch with reality, and is changed so irrevocably that he loses the naivety and starry-eyed optimism that has always defined him...is seen as hot? And more importantly, why is it that there is very little attention to his experiences on that cave? Every scene between him and Viktor is uploaded in 1080 HD quality, but the scenes of him alone? Fighting to survive? Showing remarkable resilience in the face of his suffering? No, that's not as fun. Not a single one of those scenes is uploaded fully, and I have checked many times. (Some people have actually skipped those scenes to focus on Timebomb. I'm...)

I went online and looked up "why do people sexualize traumatized characters" because let's face it, it's real, it's interesting, and I cannot judge or else I am a hypocrite. Bucky Barnes, Loki, Ellie Williams, Dean Winchester, Vi herself, the list goes on much longer but I can't think of others off the top of my head. We connect with their suffering, and we are pulled by their experiences.

However, Jayce is such a complicated case because he is usually thought of as the greedy himbo that fumbled two baddies, or the confused bisexual, or the guy who lost it because of a situationship (much like Vi, who DID NOT lose it because of a failed romantic endeavor bfr). And then the plot goes and tells us, "Actually, yeah, his life outside of Viktor doesn't matter, he's not even supposed to be alive, because Viktor saved him. All of time is completely inextricable from Viktor." People hate meljay because she manipulated him and "trapped" him in a relationship or something, only to celebrate it when something suspiciously similar happens with the male romantic interest? I initially thought it was beautiful too, bc Soulmates, but man. Mage!Viktor really left the man he loved to rot in complete isolation, eating raw reptiles until throwing up, losing his mind. Say what you want about the allegory for Viktor's life, at least Viktor's isolation was metaphorical up until the Glorious Evolution.

Despite us being shown this, people make thirst edits of him in his black fit, and fighting with sexual tension with Viktor. I fear...that I am the only one who finds this tragic. The man forced to create a larger than life persona to sell his work and be seen as an attractive pawn of the system, has become the attractive pawn of the narrative. Viktor's narrative.

Perhaps Viktor was forgotten by the world. But Jayce's kind heart, and brave soul, were forgotten by us.

Just some thoughts to chew about my favorite character and my wish that more people focused on his arc with me

[squarebracketsmileyface]

I don’t remember if I or anyone else has given this song yet… but Tongues & Teeth by The Crane Wives is so Alex

I love this song, but i usually relate it to Desert Duo (from third life and double life, idk if you know what that is but it's a cool minecraft series and its amazing so you should lol) so I'd never even thought about it in the context of Sorry, It's Locked.

But oh my god?

You're so right?

It's so Alex?

Anyway, uh, Too long and very armature analysis incoming. As usual lol. I have far too many thoughts, as always, about my babies, and I've been writing sorry its locked Jam for the last couple days so I need to remind myself of the dumpster fire of a relationship the fic started with :D (I'm kidding, i love Jaylex in this fic and wish I hadn't done them so dirty, they could have been amazing. but also i love angst)

This whole song feel's like Alex kinda, like, reminiscing over his and Jay's relationship? Or, like, how it ended, but like, reminiscing in the moment? Do you know what I mean? Or is reminiscing over something while it's still happening just a me thing lol. Anyway, super long thing incoming (I'm so sorry, it's so long. This song has me in a chokehold).

I've grown a mouth so sharp and cruel It's all that I can give to you, my dear And when you come in quick to steal a kiss My teeth will only cut your lips, my dear

As far as Alex is concerned, his relationship with Jay didn't start out bad. Back in college, when they started their fwb situation it was pretty healthy (though that did go downhill relatively quickly) It started out fine, but tension grew as soon as Alex realized that Jay actually liked him and that he couldn't bring himself to like Jay back, or to allow himself to like Jay back. That started the friction between them, but they kept fucking because it was fun, they both enjoyed themselves, and Jay didn't call it off yet. Alex definitely liked Jay, but he didn't necessarily know he liked Jay back. And didn't know how to express it, so he just didn't.

Then obviously the stuff with the Operator started, and that changed Alex's personality a lot, making him irritable and unpleasant to be around, even for the people he'd been friends with the longest. His mouth grew sharp and cruel, but he didn't break off his thing with Jay because it was the one place where he actually felt in control of his life. Jay did what Alex told him to, and Alex didn't have to wrestle with himself to not be unkind to him, because that was what Jay wanted (as far as he'd made Alex aware, that was what he wanted out of their dynamic)

If Jay tried to initiate anything softer, or more romantic with Alex back in college (or even just mentioned it, sometimes) Alex would shut him down. His teeth cut Jay's lips when Jay went in to steal a kiss, because Alex couldn't let himself get attached, and if he let Jay kiss him without it being used as something to spur them on to acts where Alex was definitively in control, he wouldn't be able to cope with it.

(jesus this is already so long. im so sorry if you decide to read all of this dude)

And I know that you mean so well But I am not a vessel for your good intent

Jay trying to help Alex after they meet up again is pretty much the last thing Alex actually wants. He asked Jay for help to find Amy while his thoughts were being edited and glitched out by the Operator, so when he first got in contact with Jay again, he did it so he could try and kill Jay. Then he regained his senses a little and realized that the absolute worst thing Jay could do was stick around. Like, obviously Jay meant well in trying to help Alex, but Alex hadn't meant well when he'd asked for help.

Jay wants to help, and he want's to rebuild the friendship he once had with Alex. He wants to help find Amy, despite Alex leaving him for her. He wants to help figure out what happened to Alex back in college. He wants to help figure out how to save Alex from what he's figured out happened. But Alex isn't the person Jay's well intentioned helpfulness should be aimed towards.

Alex doesn't really think he needs saving, he's convinced he has to save everyone else. But he has a twisted understanding of what it means to save people, and his idea of saving people often directly lines up with the things the Operator edits his thoughts to make him do. He doesn't (can't) realize that the things he does to save people (killing them) and the things the Operator edits his thoughts to make him think it's okay to do (killing those same people) are the same thing.

When he has a bit more sense about him, he realises that killing because it's what the Operator put in his head is awful and not something he wants to do. But he doesn't see killing people to 'save them' as the same thing. He barely even sees it as killing half the time, and even when he does, it's for the greater good.

So he doesn't think he needs help and he doesn't think he needs saving. And even if he did realise he needs help, Alex doesn't believe himself worthy of being helped or saved, not when he knows what he really intended to do when he first asked Jay for help.

I will only break your pretty things I will only wring you dry of everything And if you're fine with that You can be mine like that

SO i have two lines of thinking about what this verse could mean

Post College:

Alex doesn't break pretty items that Jay owns (he doesn't have any that Alex could break, really) but he does break Jay in a way. After they argue in the parking lot, he realizes that Jay isn't going to stop trying to help him, no matter what, so he'll have to force him to, by breaking Jay's heart and making him hate him.

Jay's heart is a pretty thing: It was loving even when Alex was giving it nothing but a good fuck in return. It made Jay help Alex with his student film even as Alex became more and more unbearable to work with. It made Jay come back to help Alex all over again when his girlfriend 'disappeared'.

Alex had to save Jay, and his own (deeply buried) feelings for Jay stopped him from just killing him like he had to save Amy, and Seth, and Sarah, and all the others. He had to find another way, and the only way he could think of was to wring Jay dry of every ounce of care he still held for Alex.

OR

During College:

Alex wasn't trying to hurt Jay and break his heart, if anything he felt constantly like he was doing nothing but breaking his own heart over and over again by denying himself the chance to actually date Jay. So he kept up the fwb situation with Jay because it 'suited' both of them (aka neither of them voiced the issues they had with it to the other) until he'd wrung Jay dry and an opportunity to escape having to deal with his own sexuality (Amy) came along.

But, if Amy hadn't come along and offered Alex the perfect way out, he would have kept the fwb going for as long as he could, not willing to give up having Jay in the only way he felt he could until he absolutely had to. If Jay could be fine with that, he could be Alex's like that, with their relationship never progressing and only ever wearing the two of them down until they resented each other and couldn't take it anymore.

They were never not going to go down in flames, but they could light the fire with wet wood and suffocate slowly on the smoke until the fire finally took and burned them up quickly and painfully.

Abandon all your stupid dreams About the girl I could have been, my dear 'Cause in the night I know you burn with feelings I cannot return, my dear Oh, my dear

In college, Alex was silently begging Jay to give up his hopes of ever actually dating him, of them being together officially. He knew what Jay wanted him to be to him, but he also knew that he couldn't be that. He wanted to, somewhere squashed deep down, he really really wanted to be the soft, loving, romantic partner that Jay was waiting and hoping he'd turn into, but he knew it wouldn't happen. Maybe he didn't realize all of that consciously. Consciously he probably just thought he didn't like Jay like that at all, that he was just a good lay and that was the end of it. But he had one too many dreams about taking Jay on quiet, gentle dates for him to really only see Jay as a good fuck.

The thing is though, that he knows what Jay wants them to be to each other. He knows from the way that Jay looked at him whenever he messes up and starts treating him a little nicer, a little gentler, a little softer, when they fuck.

He knows that during those moments where they still together and catch their breaths, and Jay looks up at him like he's hung the stars just because he's brushing his sweaty hair out of his face, that Jay has those feelings and those hopes. And he knows he can't return those feelings. He can't return the love that Jay lavishes on him by not telling him to fuck off and going and finding someone who is willing to treat him the way he really wants to be treated. It kills him, but there's nothing he can do about it.

(Also good news, you're about half way through :D whoooooo, the torment isn't eternal!)

You gotta know that this won't last Desperation will erase the fact I'm keeping all Of the answers in my cigarette box Yeah, the answer's in the second before the other shoe drops And if you're blind to that I am fine with that

Back in college, Alex needed Jay to know that their arrangement couldn't last, that as much as Jay wanted it to work and wanted Alex to magically sort out the shit in his head that left him too scared to even properly date Jay in secret rather than just being fwb, it wouldn't. Alex needed Jay to know that it wouldn't change unless it was to break the whole thing off entirely, which is what happened, it was what was always going to happen. But if Alex could have made Jay realize that that was what he should have expected, and that nothing he could do would 'fix' that, maybe the not-breakup wouldn't have hurt Jay so badly.

Alex didn't want to hurt him, he wasn't trying to hurt him back in college, he was just trying to stop himself from hurting by continuing their fwb relationship. Alex's life was spiraling out of control, his own thoughts were spiraling out of his control, as were his actions sometimes, and the only time he felt secure in his control over himself and his life, was when he was controlling Jay in scenes.

The answers he always gave Jay when Jay got up the courage to try to talk about their relationship, and what he hoped it could become, weren't the truthful answers. Alex told him he didn't like him back, told him he was just a good fuck, when the real answer was that he was terrified out of his mind, and the idea of changing their relationship even a little felt dangerous. Because their fwb relationship worked and it gave Alex the control he needed, if they started dating that would bring in a huge amount of unknown variables, and if it ended up not working? That would leave Alex with nothing. Not to mention the general internalized homophobia, and the homophobia all around them meaning that it could be genuinely dangerous for both of them if the wrong people found out.

So he keeps all the real answers hidden away in a place Jay won't look for them, in a 'cigarette box' (behind the lies he tells instead) because it's something easily hidden, its something that wouldn't look out out of place, just like the lies he tells don't look out of place. Jay has no real reason to question the answers Alex gives him, they make sense and Alex's behavior seems to back up the idea that he doesn't like Jay the same way Jay likes him.

And Jay's desperation to have a relationship with Alex blinds him to the fact that it could actually be possible if only Alex would stop lying to him. Any time Jay sees a crack in Alex's facade he second guesses himself, insisting that it's just wishful thinking and that little glimpse behind the walls Alex has built was just something his hopeful, lovesick mind made up. It's always a split second, something so tiny and easy to miss that Jay automatically dismisses it.

Oh, I will ruin you Oh, I will ruin you It's a habit, I can't help it I know that you mean so well But I am not a vessel for your good intent

After college, when Jay and Alex meet up again and everything that happens after the argument in the parking lot happens, Alex knows that it's a terrible idea. He knows that all it'll do is reopen old, half healed, half festering wounds and rub salt in them, but Jay wants it, and he wants Jay so he doesn't stop them. He's lost all of his friends (whether to death or just distance), he's lost Amy, and the only thing he has left is an old, already failing not-relationship with Jay. So to tries to make himself feel better by rekindling that.

He and Jay fuck in the parking lot and Alex realizes that this is most likely going to be the last chance he ever gets to have Jay back, even just for one night. And if this is the last chance, he doesn't want it to be exactly the same as it was in college, so he takes Jay back to his house and does all the things he'd been too scared to back in college. Because who would find out? And if anyone did? Why would it matter, Alex's life had already fallen apart and become controlled by fear and a monster, what was getting beaten up for being queer in comparison to that?

This was his last chance to have Jay back, and Alex knew he had to make sure of that. He couldn't drag Jay into all of this, so he had to ruin everything in the worst way possible, and having taken Jay back to his house and treated him so nicely was (instead of coming back to bite him in the ass) going to work in his favor. Even in being nice, he was going to be hurting Jay, but that was what he had to do. Hurting Jay is a habit he can't kick, it's woven into his dna at this point and there's nothing he can do about that other than try to twist it into being something that's for Jay's own sake.

If he can just make Jay hate him enough, he can save him, he can drive him away and Jay won't be a target of the man in the black suit.

I will only break your pretty things I will only wring you dry of everything But if you're fine with that If you're fine with that

Same as earlier :]

I will poison all your happy thoughts I will love you like the ashes in my cigarette box And if you're fine with that You can be mine If you're fine with that You can be mine, oh

Jay's 'happy thoughts' that Alex is poisoning are the memories of how nicely Alex treated him when they got back to his house. In the moment of it all, he wasn't thinking of anything other than showing Jay how much he actually cared about him and how he should have been being treated all along. In the moment he just wanted to be good to Jay. It was only afterwards that he realized what he'd have to do, and he took the next morning to spit poison into their breakfast, which could have been a turning point in their relationship if only they weren't doomed by the damn narrative.

So Alex ruins the night before for Jay by telling him he hadn't even wanted to remember that it was him he was fucking. He poisons those memories forever, as well as poisoning the idea of being treated well in general for Jay.

Alex loves all those truthful answers that he kept hidden away behind lies back in college. Those truths are what he was trying to finally finally let out when he and Jay spent the night together at his house.

He loves Jay like he loves those truthful answers that he never got to give him back in college, bitterly. Those truths were things he never thought he'd get to, never wanted to get to tell Jay, they sat rotting behind the lies he told, and now he can only look at them with a painful sort of nostalgia because it's too little too late.

[hydrangeyes]

Bleach Rambles

So if you don't know, Yes this already existed, my old account was deleted (accident but I can tell I won't be getting it back), and am reposting my old x male reader works!

I don't know if I saved all of them but here is one that was saved to my AO3 account.

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edit Nov.8.2023: THE WAY I MADE THIS JUST AS THE SHOW WAS COMING BACK

"I just reawakening my intense adoration for this series but for once I'm taking it slow here's a headcanon" headcanon

So I got back into bleach and am taking my sweet time rewatching it before I read the manga also, but hear are some headcanons as I read fanfic

Current 10/7/22: Back when I bout almost the complete manga series as an impulse buy when I had money lmao, I made this. Now the war is being animated and I'm HYPED (That and desperately looking forward to witch hat atelier anime)

Anyway I'm in love with most of the characters but i do have my fav 3.

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

If you wanna romance ichigo, you have to be blunt about it

No beating around the bush, this dude is so oblivious unless your shoving a dick or tit in his face

💫Please don’t do that 💫👍🎉

But when you do confess, 100% no doubt in my mind he’s gonna be flustered and so confused

He’s got that “where such good friends.” While both of you are holding hands on a date vibe

Not saying he’s stupid but ya boi isn’t very bright either

It’s something you and tatsuki bond over in 2 ways. The first, “our orange haired babes are so oblivious and cute.” And the second, “God ichigo how dumb can you be?”

Don’t get me wrong it’s all in good fun but man, I feel like the whole confession scene will not go as expected, not even close

To add abit of drama maybe some tension between you and orihime? Before you both become good friends

Like there’s a jealousy over how close the other is to ichigo but in different ways

I think after a sorta awkward talk that turns earnest things smooth out and you’re best friends

Not a day goes by where anyone is able understand why you still try orihime’s off the wall cooking

Hmm ichigo can cook? But like he’s no master chef

Oh! Okay okay so confession scene

You both definitely get attacked by a hollow, up to you if you can see or interact with them

But I think it would be hilarious if you see ichigo trying to get away to fight, and you misunderstand, demanding him to just say he’s not interested instead of just trying to ditch you

Of course, of course that’s when the attack happens and you have bigger things to worry about

After everything ichigo gone over what you said, finds you, and before you can ask if he’s okay he kisses you

It’s actually really nice

Depending on some things I think you do get involved in the whole shinigami half life

Either as a fellow worker in Urahara’s shop or training to fight with ichigo (secret? On pay roll? Either works)

Oh! And Rukia surprisingly is the one to give you the “if you hurt my little brother/son/best friend” speech

It was horrifying and the art work she showed to demonstrate felt surreal

[miniimapp]

4*TOWN As Foods

Gen ;; Crack - Headcanons

Warnings ;; this shit is bizarre

Proofread + Edited ;; no bc let's just add to the shitshow

Auth. Note ;; WELCOME TO DAY 11 OF THE 4*TOWN CHRISTMAS COUNTDOWN !!

Listen,, I know some of these last couple days have been.. chaotic at best but I promise I'm just saving the good stuff for later on and really I'm just struggling bc the good stuff always takes way longer to write than I first anticipate lmao

Anyways,, enjoy !! <3

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Aaron T - Party Rings

You know those really fun biscuits that everyone always has at every party

Like,, the ideal party finger food fr

ESPECIALLY WHEN THE HOLE IN THE MIDDLE IS COVERED BY THE ICING

Oml I always feel like I've won the lottery when that happens lmao

Literally never seen someone turn down a party ring before tbh

The biscuit of choice for any kid with sense

Literally so fun and they make me so nostlagic

But yeah,, sweet, fun food for a sweet, fun guy :DD

Jesse - Prawn Cocktail

Hear me out 4*townies,, hear me tf out

It's hard to explain but I swear he just has the same vibes as prawn cocktail,, okay ??

Idk like,, kinda zingy with the sauce (I sound fucking stupid rn it shhh) but like,, and can feel a little fancy at time right ??

BUT I ain't never seen prawn cocktail without bread and butter with it

Bread and butter is a classic staple,, simple yet delicious and never bad

That's kinda how Jesse is to me,, he's got his different sides,, to the public he's flashy and flirty, puke the cocktail

But to those he knows he's a basic bitch

Jk jk, he's familiar and simple

Aaron Z - Ham and Cheese Toastie

Listen,,

Warm. Comforting. And literally my favourite food

LITERALLY WHAT IS NOT TO LIKE ABOUT A HAM AND CHEESE TOASTIE

I'm craving one so bad rn writing this ffs hhhhhhh

And he's not one out of a toastie maker !!

No, a hand-made, lovingly crafted ham and cheese toastie that always makes you feel better

I would literally die for a toastie

And I would die for Z so yknow

DID I MENTION WARM AND COMFORTING ??

This is the only choice, agree or prepare to die

Robaire - A Cheese Board

Cheese boards give the impression of sophistication to me and so does Robaire

But equally there are lots of different sides to Robaire as there are different cheese on a cheese board

Dude,, they just feel expensive to look at but also really simple and comforting yknow ??

Like,, I could pay hundreds for one at a fancy restaurant but also make one at home for really cheap

Some of these don't have much of a reason and more of just a gut feeling and this is what this one is tbh

Plus,, I could say some basic shit like a croissant or escargot but then I wouldn't be speaking the truth

Ro simply isn't either of those,, he's a cheese board

Though, tbf ik if they are but cheese boards do feel French so there's also that

Tae Young - Frubes

Idk if this is a purely a thing in my country but these things are a fucking nightmare to open

It's basically russian roulette tbh

There is such anxiety,, they could go everywhere, just not open without a fucking chainsaw or be completely fine,, depends on the day

They feel like they're playing a prank on you tbh

Like they have a life of their own

It's giving Tae vibes,, I have to honest

They are really good tho,, especially after the near heart attack trying to open them and they open just fine

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Hope you enjoyed !! <3

[citrinesparkles]

cat.

jason todd, eventually x gender neutral reader. 1,388 words. notes: this is part one of i don't even know how many and i cannot believe how wildly out of hand this got. this was a 500 word idea and it's gonna be at least three parts someone help (thanks to @angelz-dust for being so patient with me and encouraging on this!!! would never have made it out of the drafts without you <3) warnings: danger to kids, mention of a couple arguing, animal illness (spoiler alert: it'll be fine i Promise), a little (lot) different than my usual edit: part two here!

"let me be perfectly clear: if you even think about showing back up here, i will know, and i will make your life a living hell until i finally put you out of your misery. understood?"

"yes! yeah man i get it. understood."

"then i'd get going, if i were you." the man scrambled to his feet and bolted off across the playground, leaving jason to shout after him. "and warn any buddies you might have, too!"

he picked up the discarded knife and pocketed it. he then turned around slowly, hands visibly empty in a careful attempt not to scare the two kids behind him- well, careful not to make it worse, anyway. they, understandably, seemed a little shaken already.

"are you both alright?" he asked softly, slouching just a little to seem as harmless as possible.

probably would have been easier if they hadn't just watched him threaten someone.

the older kid- probably fifteen, if jason had to place a bet- nodded silently before glancing back at the little girl he was still hovering in front of protectively, who was just... staring.

she couldn't have been older than six.

"jazz?" the boy asked, voice tight. "are you hurt?"

he was ignored. "are you superman?"

the question, innocent and earnest and a little timid, made jason laugh. "not quite, kiddo."

she tilted her head like a curious puppy, furrowing her brow. "why are you wearing a jacket?"

jason glanced up at the boy, who seemed comforted by her mini interrogation. good.

talking was a good sign, too, so jason crouched down to meet her at eye level.

"because it gets cold out here!" he said, raising his hands up with a small wiggle of his fingers. "gloves, too."

"well, duh," jazz said with a giggle- a win, jason thought. "no fingerprints."

he nodded. "also helpful."

"and the hat to hide your face!" she said proudly, stepping forward a little to point at his helmet.

"wow, you've got the whole thing figured out, huh?"

"mhm! my friend ricky loves batman and his friends. he talks about batman and nightwing and spoiler and robin and red robin and red hood and batgirl all the time! they hide their faces like you, ricky thinks it's because of bad guys."

"they're kinda cool, huh?"

"nightwing's my favorite," she said firmly, as though it was something she had considered at great length and was fully prepared to defend.

"not red hood?" jason smacked a hand to his chest in mock hurt, shifting back dramatically. "i'm crushed, truly."

"no, ricky says red hood used to be an alien, but then got bored and now he annoys batman for fun instead. that sounds mean."

...well, okay, maybe he did annoy the big guy for fun a little. "that's an interesting theory, all right."

"ricky's got all kinds of theories. he thinks batman's a robot-" jason snorted- "and that nightwing was like pinochle."

"you mean pinocchio," the boy corrected quietly. "pinochle's what gramma plays."

"pinocchio!" she exlaimed, with a "ch" sound in the middle that made jason smile. "a doll that got turned human. that's how he does all the flips and stuff, he's got magic."

"hm, ricky seems like an interesting guy," jason said thoughtfully, making a big show of rubbing the chin of his helmet. "what do y-"

he was cut off by a loud, insistent meow, and jazz gasping even louder before taking off to the bushes.

"w- hey, don't rush off like that!" he said, shooting up off the ground as the boy sighed.

"there's this cat that she's been taking care of," he explained quietly. "the thing's got attitude for days but i think it's sick or something. jasmine's been bringing it little bits of tuna and chicken, but it's not like we can get it to a vet."

jason hummed. "why do you think it's sick?"

"it's thin, with its eyes all watery and sunk."

"might just be malnourished," he muttered.

"she's been trying to find it a home, y'know."

there was a wink-wink-nudge-nudge quality to the kid's voice that did not go unnoticed.

on one hand, it was good to hear something other than fear from him, but on the other... "what part of the tactical armor makes you think i'm an option?"

"the part where you just stuck around to check on us instead of running after that guy."

okay. maybe the quiet thing hadn't been so bad. the cocky 'amateur psychologist' thing was a little grating.

"you the real red hood?" the kid asked suddenly, shaking jason from his internal grumbling.

"what do you think?"

"i think you just saved our lives, and i wanna know who i'm thanking."

jason turned to him with a flourish. "red hood, baby saver extraordinaire. at your service."

"baby- dude, i'm seventeen!"

okay, so he would have lost his bet. "noted. still a baby, trust me."

"what are you under there, twenty something? whatever, grandpa."

jason chuckled, turning back to watch jasmine pet a small cat under one of the yellow lights littering the park. "you did well, looking out for her with that guy. you got a name?"

he scoffed. "would've been better if i'd kicked him between the legs right when he opened his mouth, instead of letting him get started on the whole 'what're you kids doing out so late?' bit," he muttered darkly, pausing for a moment before answering. "my name's jordan."

"well, jordan, what are you guys doing out so late?"

"mom works nights, and the neighbors were fighting. it was loud enough to wake jazz up, and it wasn't the kind of thing she needed to hear. i figured a trip to see her cat would be less awful than hearing them call each other things i wouldn't even call my friends." the breeze picked up, rustling the trees and catching on jason's jacket. "and then the asshole with the knife decided to make a bad night worse."

"is jazz your sister?"

"yeah, she's a good kid," jordan said, fond and warm. "sorry about the whole ricky thing, though. he's obsessed with those vigilante conspiracy videos and tells her all about them at school."

"no, no, it's fine. i can't wait to tell wing about his new origin story, he'll love that."

jasmine suddenly came bounding back towards them, grabbing their hands and yanking them to follow her. "c'mon, you need to meet cat!"

"you call it cat?"

jordan bristled subtly. "is there a problem with that, red?"

"no, no, it's an appropriate name. just making sure." jason waved his spare hand at his head. "helmet makes me hear things sometimes."

jordan opened his mouth, but his sister plowed right over whatever he was going to say, pulling on jason's hand again. "cat, meet... what's your name?"

"red hood."

"you can't be red hood!" she whirled around, indignantly putting her hands on her hips. "there's already a red hood in gotham. besides, you're not even wearing a hood, so it doesn't fit anyway."

jason turned his head to jordan, who was smiling- a good sign, but probably a bad omen for whatever he was about to say. "she's right, man. it's not a hood."

"tough crowd," jason muttered. "uh... then you can call me, uh-"

"bucket!" jasmine suggested happily, tapping his helmet. "because this looks like a bucket."

if there was one thing vigilantism had taught him, it was that sometimes you actually do need to pick your battles. this...

this was not worth fighting.

"sure, fine, whatever. hi, cat, i'm red bucket." he turned away from the kids- both of whom looked entirely too happy about the whole 'bucket' thing, he thought- and crouched down to finally look at the cat.

it did look a little sick, actually.

it was gray, and thin, and-

and now it was headbutting his knee like it was trying to push him over.

"cat likes you!" jazz cheered.

"sure does," jordan said pointedly. "isn't that interesting?"

jason opened his mouth, but his snarky comment died in his throat when the cat settled down right in front of him and blinked slowly up at him with a sweet tilt to its head.

...shit.

just- shit.

he sighed, standing up and looking back to jordan and his stupid, entirely-too-pleased-with-himself grin. "so, jazz," jason grumbled reluctantly, "where does cat live?"

[zozophoenixxx]

Serotonin Booster :D🐉

How to train your dragon edition

Here are some things I had forgotten or little details I just noticed on my rewatch, maybe even Unpopular Opinions 🤭👀

✨Defenders of Berk✨

Not Astrid being pissed bc Fishlegs called her mean lmaooo

OMGGG "I would never call my father ridiculous. I'm calling my chief ridiculous" THE POWER OF THIS SCENE

The way Toothless just sat to look at the sunset.. Me too bby me too 🥺

Toothless and Thornado's shots combined was amazing!

"The first rule about the dragon flight club is that there is no dragon flight club"

Istg Meatlug and Fishlegs are made for each other

Baby whispering deaths!

OMG THEY JUST CAME UP WITH GRONCKLE IRON

I love seeing the origin of things ☺️

Wowww I just realized that Gobber has a unibrow

Sandstone makes glass

That shiny black rock makes another shiny black Rock, it also has Meatlug boiling

WOW a combination of multiple rock makes Meatlug a magnet

The way Hookfang pays more attention to Fishlegs than Snotlout is funny

Fishlegs on Toothless!!!!

"TOO MUCH FURY, TOO MUCH FURY!" JAHDHDHAH

Awwww love how Fishlegs feels happy abt being needed

DAGUR'S BACK AHH

I never understood why Dagur called Hiccup his brother but it's kinda funny

Young hiccup actually fighting is pretty badass and that shield 🥴

The way they were all trying to get Gobber to shower lmaooo

Gobber saved Gustav's life and Fishleg saved Astrid's

Am I the only one that finds the whispering deaths kinda funny, like yes they're scary but these mfs have tiny wings, a big ass head, are covered in spines and can't see like-

Newly hatched whispering deaths can be more deadly that adults bc they can't control their jaws or spines

WOW WOW WOWWWW A WHITE WHISPERING DEATH - Titanwing whispering death with red eyes OMG NO NO THIS IS THE SCREAMING DEATH I KNEW IT ‼️‼️

Wow but the pain in Snotlout's eyes 🥺

Monstrous nightmares are stoker-class dragons

Fireworms get brighter the closer they get to each other

Ohhhhh now I get the history behind Hookfang and the fireworms queen's connection

"You're not just another sword, Hookfang"

Awww the fireworm queen saved Hookfang, I ship them now JSHDHSHS

BABY ASTRID!! 🥺🥺🥺 AWWW

Flightmare - follows the glowing algae caused by Aurvandil's fire, sprays a paralyzing mist to those who it considers a threat to its survival

Aurvandil's fire = Aurora Borealis

YES ASTRID BEAT SNOTLOUT UP

Hiccup: Well, you know, Astrid, uh, training dragons isn't the only thing I think about.

Astrid: Are you actually saying that to me with a straight face?

JAHSHAHAJAJ I SWEAR I LOVE THESE TWO the way both of them said these lines I can't ✋🏼😂

The way she said the exact same thing as her uncle and even took on the name I-

I have this headcanon that bc I'm pretty sure Astrid's parents were barely mentioned in the shows or movies that her uncle was the person that was there for her the most which is another reason why it upset her to see people making fun of him

Why does whenever Astrid gets shot by a dragon she always tries to hit it off like her axe is a baseball bat? 😂

Hiccup saving Astrid in the flightmare ep🥺🥺🥺🥺

GLOWY TOOTHLESS AND GLOWY STORMFLY AND GLOWY MEATLUG ARE ADORABLE

Awww I love how Hiccup makes sure to mention the fact that "Fearless Fin Hofferson was indeed fearless, just like all the Hoffersons" 🥺🥺🥺 STOP AND THEN SHE SMILES AND HE PROCEEDS TO PUT HIS HAND ON HER SHOULDER I-🥴🥴🥴

I love how they're always interrupted whenever they're about to say a bad word

Lil terrible terrors are adorable 🥺

The fact that what they were trained for was actually useful it's crazy

Astrid: "no one is kissing me on the lips ever!!" HHSHAHAH ASTRID WHY U LYING

I feel like we don't appreciate how smart Hiccup actually is, and I don't mean that dragon-wise or building stuff-wise I mean in general. I'm in ep9 and they're finding old dragon traps to get rid of them and there was a lil breeze and he was like "there's a dry hot wind coming in from the north. It hasn't rained in 2 months. This is definitely fire weather." like how- am I the only one that would've been like okok a nice warm breeze 😩

Dude the typhoomerangs are so scary and huge wtf

I KNEW HE WAS TORCH

Torch actually built a lil relationship with Tuff just for that but of time I love it

WE'RE FINALLY GONNA SEE THE SKRILL!! I love it it's one of my favorite dragons :D

I never understood why fishlegs says his name when he's excited

Skrills - The skrill was first found frozen, it's the symbol of the Berserkers, it can stay safely frozen for decades because of their internal body temperature, can't redirect any lightning if it's in the water 😳

Y'all the skrill and the nightfury have gotta be related somehow, they're probably like cousins or sum. I mean the night fury is the "unholy offspring of lighting and death" and the skrill can control lightning AND TECHNICALLY TOOTHLESS CAN TOO REMEMBER HTTYD 3 + they also have similar physical characteristics at least Imo.

Dude this dragon is so badass 😌🤩🥰😩🥴❣️🤍🤝 I'm literally so obsessed

Wow one of the first times I see the twins actually doing sum useful

The way the shots combine🥴

Dagur has misophonia - condition where people experience intense negative emotions for sounds such as eating, chewing, loud breathing or even repeated pen-clicking [ep11]

Oh wow so they originally trapped the skrill in this show i didn't know

Wait but baby Gustav is actually adorable wtf and the fact that he and Snotlout have matching Viking hats

OMG SEE NOW I'M SEEING GUSTAV'S ORIGIN WITH HIS DRAGON AND HIS DESIRE TO BECOME A RIDER

Fanghook🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺

Ruff puts fish oil on her hair to get "a greasy unwashed look"

Really hate when Snotlout doesn't accept no for an answer

THE HAND THING AHHHH I LOVE IT this time is Ruff and a scauldron

Ok guys so I did this with mi friend's puppy who I accidentally scared enough to make him piss himself and I'm pretty sure I traumatized him and now when I'm around the poor dog tries to get as far away from me as possible but one day we were kinda bonding although he still wouldn't let me pet it AND I DID THE HAND THING BECAUSE WHY NOT AND THIS LIL MF ACTUALLY PUTS HIS FACE IN MY HAND- I screamed and he left again🥺😂 BUT IT DID WORK

Scauldy🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥰😌☺️🤩🤍

Ok but ruffnut with short hair 🤩

Speedstingers

Also the way Astrid ran up to Hiccup in the ep14

Wait but the scene whenever they're fighting the Speedstingers and Fishlegs says they're too fast but Hiccup's like "not for a nightfury" and then they show Toothless dodging the Speedstinger's attack AND THEN THEY SHOW HICCUP PROTECTING HIMSELF WITH HIS SHIELD WHICH GETS THROWN AWAY BUT RIGHT THERE TOOTHLESS CATCHES IT AND THROWS IT BACK TO HICCUP who's like "Thanks bud" 🤩🤩🤩 literally so badass go watch it!! It's ep14 frozen min 17:40

I really liked the relationship Snotlout and Astrid created with each other's dragon 🥺

HOOKFANG'S WINGBLAST AND STORMFLY'S SINGLE-SPINESHOT ARE HELLA BADASS... I love how they worked together this time 🥺

DUDE JAHDHSJAJJJSA ppl really underestimate Ruff's cleverness, this bish really gets Tuff to do the dumbest things just to enjoy looking at him hurting himself JAHDHSJAH😂

TOOTHLESS REALLY JUST BIT AN EEL'S HEAD OFF TO SAVE HICCUP🥺

Baby toothless is high🥺

"Uh, okay. That one was a little close to the one good leg" JAHDHAHSHA ISTG I LOVE THIS DUDE

Johan hates Snotlout for breaking his stuff

Tuff got Macey the Mace from Trader Johan

Astrid looks hot without her shoulder pads

Ok but Dagur looks so weird without his viking hat in this show

The baby thunderdrums are adorable - BING BAM AND BOOM

NOOO STOICK JUST LEFT THORNADO 🥺

OHHH SO ALVIN WAS ACTUALLY FROM BERK and he was Stoick's best friend

Snotlout and Hiccup are parallels of Alvin and Stoick

Ok but that trick Snotlout did was amazing, he really had Hookfang do a lil typhoomerangs move and then the wingblast🤩

I FINISHED IT OMG NOW ONTO RTTE!!

[dittomckiddo]

You mentioned a Dark Choco harem at some point. I need an elaboration on all of that please

Dude. Tumblr crashed on me after I wrote put the Whole answer and just deleted all my hard work. I'm gonna scream.

Ok, so.

This is based off mostly the kingdom storyline (spoilers) after Enchantress is defeated the Cookies of Darkness kind of just get taken in by the heroes and/or Vanilla and make it clear "Our evil plans are not over they're on hold" and so Dark Choco mingles with heroes, old and new friends killing time (end spoilers).

Darkmint is based off this glorious headcanon/canon:

So basically they have history, had and currently have mutual crushes, and bond over the good times in life.

Darkwolf is based off the fandom's interpretation that Dark Choco is the friend Werewolf speaks of hurting and scaring and then running off they have history and I believe they would've met again as Werewolf could've easily ended up in either the heroes or CoD's care and how I interpret it is Dark Choco sees them both as monsters "We can find comfort in each other when no one understands us".

Darkwhip is basically like a little delusional magical fairytale where I see the fandom use Whip's ability to negate Dark Choco's curse so he can see not only the sky but the shining sun as well so Whip feels like the hero in the fairytale that lifts the Beast's curse and Dark Choco certainly feels like the Beast and that Whip is somewhat curing him for a time they both get caught up in a fantasy.

Now Darkmilk is my favorite because it had Milk who is my Favorite I've basically gone "my city now" for Milk's character it's unbelievable the Devsisters cannot stop me anyways when Dark Choco saved Milk all those years ago it inspired baby's first crush/love that helped inspire and mold him into everything he is today he owes Dark Choco everything for who he turned out to be and when they met he excitedly welcomed him with open arms which didn't turn out too well given Dark Choco is always on edge, sword trigger happy, and hates being reminded sometimes of who he used to be especially when it's flaunted so they don't get along for a while despite Milk trying to until Dark Choco overhears Milk explaining it one day to someone "Oh I know he's awful now he needs so much work it's not even funny but he was there for me when I needed him and I'll be there for him at his lowest you cannot choose who you love unconditionally but you can do your best to set them straight! And as tough as a job this is I am strong and determined!" so Dark Choco take aback a bit leaves and starts opening up to Milk a little more knowing Milk doesn't in fact see him as perfect he just wants to help.

Now! That's just what I have now if anyone has any other ships I'm unaware of that can work I can definitely squeeze them in. Other than that I love (hate) Dark Choco he's a super fun and great character to play with (he's so pathetic and sad) and he doesn't deserve a harem but everyone involved loves and wants him even of he doesn't deserve them and they deserve better if it makes them happy I'll give him to them afterall it has good chances to make him better not saying that love fixes everything just that they'd be some good influences.

[sparxwrites]

Scar for the ask game? And maybe Joel?

unfortunately i don't really know enough about joel to do hcs for him :( however... sure, let's do scar for a third time! last life edition this round.

Headcanon A:  realistic

He just wanted some fucking friends, man. He just wanted some fucking friends! And sure, he said "friends" and followed it up with "allies" and "binding contracts" and a knowing wink, but- that's why Scar lies so well. Because, most of the time, he's telling the truth. "Let's get ourself some friends," he says, and smirks, and winks, and uses confidence scams to trick people out of their possessions, and then he sits up there in his little windswept hut as the darkness closes in and tries not to think about how the table feels far too big for one and how fucking cold he is. After all, all good con men know that the easiest way to trick someone is to be entirely honest with them, and lie to yourself instead.

Headcanon B: while it may not be realistic it is hilarious

Dude just... slept through the whole Wither incident. He'd slept in a little bit that day, anyway, wiped out from bouncing back and forth between red and yellow lives so much for the past several days. And when he woke up, and immediately saw the Wither boss bar on his comm... He just muttered "absolutely not" to himself and rolled straight back over and went back to sleep.

(How did he sleep through the griefing of his wizard's hut, you ask? He's paranoid as hell and has a little bunker down below he sleeps in. The entrance is well-hidden and got missed during the trashing process. It's pretty deep and therefore pretty soundproofed, too, so the voices and stomping and such didn't even wake him up!)

Headcanon C: heart-crushing and awful, but fun to inflict on friends

He wanted Grian as a friend, specifically, but he was too scared to ask. For a lot of reasons: you don't just ask for things, good lord, that's crazy people talk; the first thing Grian did was take a life of his, and run off with it whilst promising to take good care of it, which made Scar's heart skip a beat; he still has nightmares about Grian's face wet with tears and screwed up in misery as he beat Scar bruised and bloody and dead. But he was drawn to him like a compass needle to north, no matter how hard he tried to ignore it - and then he died, after Grian took his things and ran. Again.

Headcanon D: unrealistic, but I will disregard canon about it because I reject canon reality and substitute my own.

He genuinely is a wizard, and the crystals genuinely did work. Sometimes, you try to tell a funny little joke, and the universe is listening, and tells a funny little joke about you instead. If Scar had tried, he would have discovered a world of power at his fingertips - ways to save himself from the lava trap, to breathe underwater at the tower, to ward off Rendog's arrows, maybe even to break through the world barrier and set them all free. But he didn't try. Stupidity, maybe; or a lack of self-confidence, maybe, to think that it's only the stories he tells about others that come true, self-fulfilling prophecies through some kind of chance rather than innate gift; or, perhaps, like all the others, he was simply too caught up in playing along with the game to even think of trying to escape it.

[jaefluenza]

A Roadtrip with a Stranger | J.jh

one important rule: do not fall in love 🍑

🔅 4,831k words

🔅 fluff, overseas student!characters and more fluff!!!

🔅 youtuber!jung jaehyun x reader

🔅 warning: i didn’t proofread this :(

Hey! It’s been so long since I write on this platform. I hope you guys still like my work cause I’ve been working hard to get the desire to write again. Things has been rough for me mentally that makes me kinda lost the feeling of writing. But I decide to write again, yay! Oh and this work was inspired by an admirable travel vlog by Valspire Family where he went on a roadtrip with a stranger. I’ll put the link to the video at the very end of this work. Hope you like it, and I’m sorry that it’s not gender-neutral but you can use your own imagine from this one i guess :) love y’all.

Jaehyun swam through his e-mails. Okay, no more AdSense pouring in... He wondered. It seems like he needs to create a new content. So, Jung Jaehyun right here is a travel youtuber, where he often travels from place to place, all by himself. He loves traveling. He did it even before he discovered a whole new thing called YouTube. Yeah, that time, he travels by the help of his parents. As an abroad student, he relied a lot on his parents back in their hometown. So he saved some money to travel from close places to places before he eventually wanted to travel overseas as well. Jaehyun learned that he can’t keep using his pocket money to travel forever, he needs to look for a better way.

So when his friends told him to start a YouTube channel, he didn’t even hesitate. As luck sides with him, he started to look through his old memory card where he put all of his videos and photos of his traveling journey. He was so glad that he kept all of them, even though he would reminisce on how he almost drop his camera on a cliff while doing a cheap vlog. Jaehyun uploaded the videos that he edited at 2 am, after doing the assignment he got from college. Such a model student, indeed... And guess what? People love him! His first video got 10,000 views and 167 comments about how he captured the moment beautifully. He even gained 450 new subscribers on his first day of being YouTuber.

Now, after two months of uploading his old local travel videos, he gained more than 23,000 subscribers and thousands and thousands of views, he finally gained independent money from all the ad-sense he received from his videos. So, he’s ready for a new level of adventure, of course, on his own. “Where would I go....?”

He dives through the mailbox again as he only looks randomly at the screen, and suddenly a notification pops up to his surprise. “Y/n (surname)?” He clicked the new e-mail right away, unbothered to look at the subject line first.

“Hey, do you want to go on a roadtrip with me, I guess? this my number, 0xxxxxxxxx text me 🤙”

“Holy shi-” Jaehyun almost cursed before he closes his mouth, shocked by the new thing he discovered on the Macbook screen. A stranger, asking him to go on a roadtrip? Wait, is this real? Well, it has been one of his goals to travel with a stranger, but when he actually goes through it, his head feels like falling into the floor.

He typed the number on the dial pad and add the new contact on his phone. He clicked the message app but before he’s even able to type what he’d want to say, his hand shakes in nervousness. I mean, this isn’t the first time he’s talking to a stranger. He has several moments where he needs to ask some other students he doesn’t know because he has to finish the group project given, but this one feels so different. The thought of going with someone you don’t know if it’s a he or she, spending time with them in the coldness of the night, holding hands with them when you reach the top of an abandoned tower, or holding on an urge to kiss them when it gets too warm in the car... Well, Jaehyun is now thinking so hard when he doesn’t need to. “Okay, okay, let’s get this done. Ask her what’s up and you’re done,” He reassured himself.

“Hey, it’s me Jaehyun. I saw your mail. What’s up?” Sent.

“Okay, okay. That’s good, you did it. Now let’s just eat some chips before they actually reply-” A familiar notification pops up and he can’t push his head away from his phone anymore.

“Omg hi! That was such a fast response! Thank you so much for texting me, I’m such a fan! Uh anyway, i’m (y/n). I want to know if you’re interested to go to the national flower festival with me which is happening in 10 days and if we’re heading there by a van it will be a 4 days travel and we still have 5 days to prepare and tour around the city.”

“Fantastic. Sure. So when do we meet tho?”

“Tomorrow, I guess?”

“Sure. See ya!”

“So, what makes you so excited today, Mr. Jung? I’ve never seen you this cheerful around college since the first day of your youtuber life.” Johnny chirped at the young man. “I’ll be meeting someone new today,” he replied. Johnny rubbed his ears together to listen more carefully simply because he doesn’t believe that his friend’s gonna meet, possibly a new girl?

“I don’t know, john. They could be a he or a she. They only sent me a mail.”

Later that evening, Jaehyun finds himself waiting in the restaurant where she told him to meet up. He glanced at his watch as he waits patiently and he naturally feels like he’s going on a blind date. He holds himself not to order anything until the person’s arrived.

“Oh my god, it has been only 15 minutes but why do I start to feel like I’ve been scammed?” Almost a minute after he said that, a cheerful young lady walked towards his table and asked, “Jaehyun Jung, am I right?” Damn. This is real. “Uh yeah. Hi! Nice to finally meet you, (Y/n.)” He nervously reach out his hand for a shake and she gladly shakes his hand in return. 

“So, guess we now have to set some plan, do we?” Jaehyun said. Afterall, suggesting a plan making seems to be a meaningless idea because when the girl explained the route plan to the festival, he only got mesmerized, lost in her excited eyes. “Hey, are you listening?” Her gentle accent got him right back into his senses and he only laugh while scratching his nape awkwardly. “Woah, I can’t believe a famous travel youtuber like you aren’t that prepared for a kinda long roadtrip like this. Are you even experienced?” She teased him a smile.

“Hey, that’s mean,” he pouted. “I’m ready, more than ever, if you would know. But, well, this traveling with stranger thingy is kind of new to me so... bare with me, please?”

She smirked, “Hell yeah. It’s my first time, too.”

The two then decided to go buy the things they would need in the van. (Y/n) was the one to rent the van and it was decided when the two agreed that they can only afford an old small camper van fit for two people to sleep in the back seats. So they got almost everything such as blankets, sleeping bags, some little decorations to set the mood, and of course, some snacks and beverages. “I’m surprised that you hate redbulls.” Jaehyun teased the younger lady. 

“Dude, me being overly happy doesn’t mean that I drink redbulls... I only drink eight shots of coffee.”

“Damn, that makes sense, too,” he replied with a cheeky smile.

On the first day of a long drive through so many lonely highways, things weren’t going awkward, thank goodness. She comfortably talks to him like he’s an old friend, and he only replies with grins and smiles. It’s all good, until things got deeper as the sun emerges down the ground.

“Alright, let me set my other camera before we grab dinner.” Jaehyun shot up from his camping chair to the van after he set the campfire to warm them both. “Sure, indie boy.”

“Stop calling me that.”

“But you are.. an indie boy.”

“Okay, you won’t stop calling me that, huh?”

(Y/n) put her hand under her chin, looking blankly at the fire, reflecting so hard about how she actually starts to enjoy this trip, when she only meet him yesterday. “Hey, what makes you look so serious like that?” The man sat back on his chair after he successfully brought her back into her senses real quick. 

“Nuh-uh, do you really want me to think out loud?” “Oh, no thanks. Now I regret for worrying.” She chuckled lightly. 

“You know what, when I told you that I’m a fan of your channel, I really meant it. I’ve been a subscriber since you only have, uhm, from what I remember, 242 subscribers, I guess? And fun fact, I’m actually in the same major as you but you won’t notice me, anyway. I’m too quiet.” Jaehyun nearly drop his foldable cup when he heard that. “What? Seriously? You’re in the same college- no, same major as me? How could I- Oh don’t worry, I also am way too quiet for my own being. I don’t really make a lot of friends at college. No one really knows who I am if it’s not for my public channel.”

“I can see that you have such a nice personality. I always love how you expressed your hidden feelings through your vlogs. They’re beautiful.”

“Is that a way to say that I’m pretty?” He winked. “Oh come on, (Y/n). Just diss me like you’ve been doing for the past two days of us knowing each other better.” Again, she laughs.

“Do you know what’s the coolest thing ever in this trip?” She asked. “What is it?”

“It is how I made one significant rule in this trip, that is... to not fall in love with each other.” And somehow, Jaehyun lost his smile for awhile. “Oh, really? Well, it’s not quite hard,” he faked a smirk. “You’re mean.”

“Huh, actually, what makes you think that?” He asked sheepishly. He doesn’t want her to catch what’s happening, like how he actually doesn’t really agree with the ‘significant’ rule. “I don’t know. It’s just, my actual purpose of this trip was just to... you know, gain a friend. And that friend turns out to be you! And falling in love means you’re going to lose someone at the end and I hate to lose a friend I just gained from this trip.”

“Ah... that makes sense. But love doesn’t always goes into an end, Y/n.”

“It does,” she smiled with a visible hint of pain, and Jaehyun hates that. “I had the experience. I’m not trying to act like a sad bitch or something, but falling in love sucks. It means you’re ready for a freaking goodbye and farewell.”

He was going to say something but she cuts him up by getting off her chair, possibly ready to cook instant ramen for dinner. “Alright, my stomach’s grumbling. I’m boiling the water, and you, mister, help me open up the packs, please?” And when he looked at her pair of watery eyes, he decided not to say something and replied with a smile. “Yes, maam.”

The night gets colder and now both the youngsters are heading to bed– the back uncovered seats in the van. “So, this is where we’re going to sleep. As you can see, (Y/n) over here is alread inside her sleeping bag. This is going to be such a great sleepover, I guess?” He snickered. “Don’t lie, Jung. I’m gonna put a bug inside your bag tonight when you’re asleep.”

He turned the camera off and lay down beside her sleeping bag, dropping more blankets around him to cover his body better. “This is our first sleep, you know?”

“That’s true. We might wake up like dead.” She said something gibberish after that along with a yawn. “It’s getting hot in here.” She added. (Y/n) wriggled out of her sleeping bag to get more cool air but Jaehyun only looked at her with a weird look. “I’m curling my body into a ball like a caterpillar and you said it’s getting hotter? You’re unbelievable.”

“You clearly haven’t found yourself getting stuck in a snowstorm in Everest, have you?” “I am not that experienced yet. Have you either?” “Nah, I would die.” “Gosh.”

Jaehyun keeps his glances trained at the younger lady, wanting so much to feel the warmth of her body next to him, to warm him- or maybe each other. “Are you sure you’re not cold?” He asked. “Yeah, I’m getting comfortable- not really, actually. Urgh, what am I talking about...”

He chuckled. “Come here. There’s only both of us here, so practically, I am your heater. Besides, it kinda sucks that we cannot afford a van that has a cool heater inside. Uhm.. what I mean is.. do you want to cuddle?”

(Y/n) turned her body to face him. She actually shifted closer but Jaehyun caught the signs that she actually doesn’t want to show her consent. “Come here,” he said gently. “B-but, what about the rule?”

“Cutie, we cuddling doesn’t mean that we’re falling in love. We only need warmth.” Jaehyun put his arm around her without hesitance and she accepted his secure arms. She found herself getting sleepier than ever and now the screen in her sight went black. Jaehyun smiled at the peaceful sight, and he carressed her cheeks gently, not wanting to wake her up, as he says, “Now I’m actually glad that we get this non-heater van. I can become your warmth everytime.” That night, he slept with a smile plestered on his face.

The sun rises on sight better than yesterday as it prisms over the medium-sized windows of the van and light starts to fill in the narrow space, replacing the coldness. She wakes up first, feeling the ray hits her face warmly. Oh my, it’s already morning...

As cliche as it looks like, when she wants to get up she could feel a pair of strong arms securing themselves around her body. Well, she’s not that stupid to not realize who���s the owner, the only guy she has been with over the past few days. She wanted to wriggle out of his arms, but her brain failed to command her body when the heart does what it wants. And it gets what it wants.

(Y/n) feels something different when she’s about two centimeters away from his face, and it surely feels so different when it comes to only seeing him through her iPad screen. But she doesn’t get it. Why is he... so gorgeous? She was about to stare longer but then he opens his eyes beautifully. “Why are you staring at me?” She flinched, not because she was shocked when he woke up, well actually that’s one of the reason, but, actually, because of his raspy morning voice. They sound kind of.. angelic.

“Wake up, let’s see the sunrise.” She finally wriggles out of his arms and goes to open the door. The cool breeze started to hit her lightly, almost makes her flying aesthetically, as she wished that she could wake up breathing this kind of air every morning. “Well, I didn’t know the sun could look this pretty, and we paid for nothing at all.” Jaehyun stood behind her while doing some stretches because his arms were stuck cuddling her last night, not something he could complain about, though.

“Get your camera out, bud. This will definitely get you hundred thousands of view, I’m sure.”

They ended up playing under the warming sun around the van, the camera only watching them. It feels like they are owning the world and she feels so wonderful. She feels so blessed, and it amazes her that she could have this happening with a complete stranger, a young man that starts to fill in her empty insides. She was reassured that impossible things could happen.

“So where are we heading now?” Jaehyun put the camera on the dashboard while he stole a glance at the driver besides him. “We’re passing a small city near here and we’re gonna walk around to see if there’s anything fun to visit.” (Y/n) was so glad that she’s the one driving, otherwise she wouldn’t have any other reason for not looking back at his eyes.

“Or maybe we can just rely on Google.” Jaehyun added. “Nah, that’s just not fun. We still have 14 hours of free times before we have to catch up to the festival.”

“So, yeap. I think we’re being super rebellious right now, slowing down our trip, or maybe (Y/n) right here loves to stay longer with me- Ouch!”

They drove past the yellowish trees and even though it’s in the middle of the day when the sun’s supposed to be up right above the van, the yellowish sky around them doesn’t support the cool breeze Jaehyun feels whenever he put his hand out of the window.

“Okay, I’m trying to wake myself up! Ready?” Jaehyun chuckled before he wobbles his head lightly, preparing himself to press the play button. The girl nodded excitedly, trying a little bit hard to not get so excited because she’s driving. Jaehyun pressed the button and the rock and roll song starts to fill in the car. She laughed at how he vibes so hard to the song, and honestly, she never had anything like this. Chilling past the long highway with yellow trees and the hidden sun makes the whole day so calming. She truly feels so blessed.

“Hey, look!” Jaehyun pointed at a petite tea shop across the street when they both walked around the small city to take a break. The little shop looks very nice with a cute vintage look interior which is visible from the outside. “Do you want to have some tea, like the british?”

“Nah, we should just take some pictures there. I’m going to go get redbulls.” “Seriously?”

After nearly four hours of driving, the both of them finally comes to the hours of the sunset. They pulled over and set the camera to the angle where they can get better view of them chilling under the sunset, or maybe just playing around the van like they did in the morning.

“You know what, I think it’s gonna be pretty cool if we climbed on top of the car and pose to get some footages?” Jaehyun suggested. “Are you crazy? We can’t scratch the car, otherwise we will get charged,” she argued.

“Nah, who the hell cares? It’s not like they will bother themselves by checking all over the car. Come on, I’m gonna go first.” Jaehyun climbed through the back of the van and she only laughed as a response. Sometimes, he’s unbearable.

“Okay, you should climb up now.” Jaehyun reached out both of his hands to help her get to the top of the van, and when she did, she didn’t regret doing his suggestions at all cause, the view is so goddamn pretty. “Woah,” she murmured. They both sat down and try to enjoy the view despite the less time that they have right now.

“What made you want to go on a roadtrip with a stranger?” Jaehyun asked. “Um, I’ve taken a semester off this year, and I don’t really have any friends at the moment to spend time with, so... decided I could go out and gain some randomly.” She chuckled bitterly. “I wanted to do something fun. I wanted to go on a roadtrip, but that’s not very fun alone. So I was like, who is the most spontaneous person I can think of... and so I asked you.”

Jaehyun laughed with his whole heart. “It’s really crazy.” His dimples are showing through and she swears, they are driving her crazy. “And you followed through!”

“I can’t believe we’re doing this.” “I know!”

Jaehyun encouraged himself to look at her, this time with deeply moved eyes, and he now realizes that he really admires her young and free figure. “So, are we friends now?” She asked.

When she turned at him, there she goes, with those pair of eyes, looking through his eyes in return. Jaehyun flinched, shocked by how mesmerized he is by her every movement. Like how her hair moves along with the evening breeze, and how her eyelids stutter beautifully, also how her lips turned into a little smile when she opened her mouth. And he smiled back, “Yes, we are.”

Three days have passed and now they are gonna arrive at the city which is the final destination where the national flower festival will be held, how amazing is that. They visited random cities while taking a break, grabbing lunch at a motel in the middle of nowhere, and stopping by at midnight just to lay down on the empty big road to see the stars. 

As strangers, both of them have been going through a lot of things together, only in a few days. Though the ‘significant’ rule was not so forgotten throughout the trip, they can’t help but feel flattered by each other. The young man, who has been broken inside, admitted deeply inside that she had never experienced anything like what she has been doing with the complete stranger, and neither does the young man. 

Jaehyun knows that she is straight up serious about what she said. It was that one significant rule that keeps him held back, to not fall in love with each other. It kinds of frustrating him that he couldn’t touch her like his brain told him to. He respected her without a doubt, and breaking or hurting her would be the least thing he ever wanted during this trip.

The most ironic thing Jaehyun has ever think of is, how his main goal of this trip was to gain a friend. Now he doesn’t want to be just friends. He wishes for more than that. He fell in love with her.

“I can’t believe it! We’re almost there! I can’t wait to see all the beautiful flowers!” She holds the camera up to his face as he drives to the final destination in the city. “Do you really like flowers that much?” He asked.

“Yeah, they’re beautiful, calming, and entertaining. Whenever I pick one, I always got reminded that wherever you are and whatever you’re being, you can still look pretty and graceful. I mean, sometimes people step on some petite flowers on the street but that doesn’t mean they’ll look uglier and unworthy.”

“That’s true. I mean, look at you, still shining even though your surroundings are dark.” He instinctively moved his fingers to the side of her face, gently brushing her hair aside and she only stuttered nervously.

“Jaehyun,” she faintly murmured. “Okay okay, I know that you have made the one significant rule in this trip and I want you to know how much I respect you for that. I’m also very glad that I’m able to gain a friend like you but... during this trip,” he sighed. “I can’t help but think about you... more than I think I should do.”

She keeps her mouth close, not knowing how to respond to the sudden confession. It’s not like she didn’t expect this to happen, anyway. When it comes to the first time she saw him at the cafe, her insides turn upside down. However she kept it in her heart that she signed up for this not to look for a boyfriend or someone to sleep with, but a friend.

“What if I do the same too?” She replied with her consciousness. With that one sentence, Jaehyun steps on the brake so hard that their things in the back almost sprung themselves to the front and (Y/n) cursed. “What the heck, are you trying to get us dead?!”

“Shit, I’m sorry,” he said breathlessly before pulling over in the middle of the long road. “Gosh, what did you say earlier?”

“I said, are you trying to get us dead?”

“No, the other one before that,” he pleaded.

“Huh? W-what if I do the same too?” She tilts her head.

“So you’re saying... that you like me too? No, that’s too soon. Are you thinking of me too?”

She can’t help but chuckle when she saw his eyes grew big with excitement and... a little bit of expectation. “Yeah,” she replied. There’s a long silence after that and doubt starts to grow inside her heart but then... “So, can I?”

“What-”

He immediately attached his lips to hers, heart pounding so hard that it feels like he’s going to die because of the thrill. For the girl, his lips taste like... excitement? Happiness, and perhaps love?

A few people that she thought would give her sunshine and happiness actually have never been anything like this. She’s actually glad that his kiss made her close her eyes to the feel. No matter how much she keeps saying it, never in a way that it gets her bored to say no one has ever made her experience something like this. Kissing in the middle of nowhere, under the burning rays of sun, nothing other than the camera witnessing what’s happening between the two of them and it really, really feels like they are owning the world.

Nice. Now they’re in a motel near the festival as tomorrow is the exact time they would open the gate to all the flowers collected from all over the world. (Y/n) loves flower so much that she decided to check into a motel that has a flower pattern on its wall.

“You can’t just choose this one just because they have a flower pattern on the room’s wall! The review is just so-so!” Jaehyun complained.

“Hey, didn’t you say that wherever I go, you’ll go, and wherever I’ll be, you’ll be?”

“But I won’t be at the same place as you if it’s not guaranteed that they don’t have any bugs at all.”

Booking a room for two which has a twin bed, both of them entered the room, though Jaehyun had to insist to book a room with a queen bed, but failed miserably.

“I’m going to shower first.” (Y/n) goes to prepare her bathing kit and of course, her clothes. “Yeah, sure.”

While she showers, the man wondered if he should officially ask her out, since she said she’s gonna transfer schools soon which means that he might not seeing her again after the roadtrip so maybe an official relationship will make it easier for him to contact her often.

“Should I really do it, like, tonight? I don’t think I should,” he kept the promise ring he bought yesterday at a little jewelry shop when they stopped for a restroom break. 

Before they went to sleep, they spare some time to get a little cute footage for Jaehyun’s travel vlog. “So this is my bed, and that one’s (Y/n)’s bed. I chose this one because it’s quite far from the bathroom since I hate bugs. But you know, I don’t really trust her with keeping me from bugs and- Okay! Okay! I’m sorry don’t hit me with the pillow!”

“Pffftt! Pillow fight!!”

“No! Don’t- my camera!”

A goddamn eyecontact. Hands tangled against each other, eyes both stuttered in shock, as the girl with the pillow accidentaly fell on him. Jaehyun’s free hand instinctively hold her to prevent her from getting hurt, though his brain listens better to his heart, as he feels his heart pounding like crazy against her body.

“I’m... sorry.” “That’s okay.”

“Do you want to sleep with me tonight?” He asked, and later that night, the idea of booking a twin bed room seemed to be a meaningless idea, either.

“So everyone, here we are today aaat... not the exact final location we wanted to go to at the first place, let me tell you the story. When we checked out from the flower pattern motel we immediately leave to the national flower festival which was supposed to be held just 15 kilometers from where we stayed the other night, aaaand guess what?” he paused and you can hear her faint laugh in the background. “Yeah, there is no festival at all. HAHAHAHHAHAAA- Ouch stop hitting me! Are you that embarrassed?”

“That was what happened, everyone. It turned out that the festival was held at December 16, 2019 and before we started this roadtrip, she read only the date and the month, wow. How can you be so cute and stupid at the same time... I am sooo mad!”

“Well, they put the year 2019 sooo small and my minus eyes couldn’t see it- stop giving me that look!”

“Okay, so because miss (Y/n) over here was quite angry that-” “Really angry.” “Okay, she was really really angry for not being able to see the flowers so, I decided to take her to somewhere as an alternative destination. Am I being too good for you?”

“Yes, you are,” she replied with a smile. “Stop paying attention to the flowers! I’m also here, yo,” he pleaded, somehow nervously. “Why-”

“And this is why I kept insisting to take you to a place with lots of flowers... to pick one among all the pretty petals out here, the prettiest petal I’ve ever seen. So, be mine, please?”

the end of video.

a/n: thank you for reading. honestly, I didn’t know whether to post this one cause it’s really been a long time since I write and it really worried me about how much you guys will like it... also, i’m really really sorry for those who put a request into my ask box since I haven’t completed all of them, like trust me, it worries me every single day bcs I feel like I have a debt to pay lol but don’t worry, I promise you I will complete all the requests but please give me a lot of time! once again, big thanks from me.xoxo

Valspire Family - I Went on a Roadtrip with a Stranger

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[beevean]

Now let's talk about that time Megaman decided to have a Power Rangers/Sailor Moon phase :P

Not even Megaman can escape from The Superpower of Teamwork™ :P

Megaman ZX is fun! And honestly after some of the last games I had to go through, I'm glad I can just say “yeah it’s fun”.

The tonal whiplash from its prequel series Zero also helps. I admit, I barely tried to follow the plot, because in my mind it all merged together in “YEAHHHH THE POWER OF FRIENDSHIPPPPPP MAGICAL GIRLS TRANSFORMATIONSSSSSSS YOU’RE THE CHOSEN ONE MY DUDE/GAL SURE YOU HAVE POTENTIAL FOR EVIL BUT YOU’RE THE PURE HEARTED HERO/INE WITH A TRAGIC PAST WE NEED TO SAVE THE WORLD FROM THE BAD GUY”. Which, well, that’s fine by me! Although that heavily clashes with the realization that Reploids, a minority that was sent to concentration camps a couple of centuries ago, now are forced to follow a “death date”, and even get triangles on them to distinguish them from normal humans... and nobody says a thing about this in game. Oops...

Well, anyway. The game is basically Z1 but much, much more fleshed out, and much more fair. They brought back the interconnected world, they brough back the mission system, and there’s even a bit of Metroidvania here - you can’t reach some Data Disks until you find the right Model, for example Model H that makes you dash upwards. Thankfully it also has a much more reasonable life system, if you lose all your lives you get to retry from the start (and keep everything you collected so far, yay!), from the last checkpoint, or abort the mission (which thankfully doesn't make the mission unplayable later :^) )

But speaking of Models! The Biometals are the main gimmick of the ZX series. And, lore wise... they feel a little cheap? Like, I cried when Zero died, I felt so bad when X didn’t reappear in Z4... and now they’re basically Macguffins? Along with the previously-mysteriously-disappeared Guardians? Did they just rip the souls of all these dead Reploids from the Cyberspace to stuff them in an object and forcing them to become costumes for the Chosen Ones? Please let them rest.

But who cares, I get to play as not-Leviathan best girl, I’m happy :D

I like the balancing of the Models. Model ZX is just Zero from the Zero series but with a chargeable boost, and it’s just as great as the guy’s always been, the Kuuenzan is just as OP as I like it <3 Model H is super fun, it’s mainly a close range Model but the Air Dash and the gliding give it great mobility, love to traverse areas with it. Model L is of course mainly useful in water, but boy is it useful, you can swim everywhere (with a goofy animation though) and the swirling halbert move is OP - Area J was a blast to go through only for this model. Model F, I didn’t get to use it much, but I like how not only it shoots upwards, but you can also edit the trajectory of the bullets yourself, it made the miniboss of Area K much easier lol. Model P... is alright, I like the super fast kunai, but the ability to see in the dark feels gimmicky and I didn’t find a use for the ability to hang from the ceiling.

However. The biggest criticism I have is that, while I still think the life system is fair, the backtracking you have to do if you get a game over (especially if you died at the boss) is rather annoying. The only zone that gives you a save point more or less before a boss is Area O, the second-to-last one (and even then you’re forced to fight the most boring miniboss ever before getting to the boss)! And you might say, well yeah it's been the case in every Megaman game, but this one wants to be a Metroidvania, and save points are much more plentiful in that genre for a reason. Your character is not as agile as Samus or Alucard, the areas are long stretches filled with enemies and Megaman obstacles, savepoints/teleporters feel rare, minibosses don’t stay dead for some reason, and sometimes it's even hard to remember which door leads where - there is a “map”, but it’s more of a suggestion.

This ain’t a real “map” chief.

At least with something like this I could tell which door leads where.

So it's not really fun to dash through the entirety of the very long and nearly barren Area A or Area C, the main “hubs”, to get again to one of the many doors that lead to your objective. It doesn’t help that some transervers don’t even act as teleporters, for some unexplainable reason. Area H and Area J force you to take the long way back rather than just... teleport back to where you want. Why.

(I admit I'm saying all of this because one time I got through an entire area, down to the boss room, and it wouldn't open. Turns out that I had selected the wrong mission. I won't blame the game for this dumb mistake, but it’s both annoying and hilarious that this can happen lmao)

The level design is alright, the levels do feel a little long but they were clearly determined to create a large world full of secrets, and the various zones are fairly memorable: some are submerged in water, some are on fire and you have to rescue people, some have a tense lava chase sequence, some have missiles raining on you, fun stuff. The bosses are just as complex as the ones in the Zero series, and not as horribly broken because elemental attacks cost you energy! Man did the boss rush kick my ass :^) Even some the minibosses are a fair challenge.

I like the inclusion of humans you can interact with. Not only it gives a purpose to the Human form (which otherwise is only used to crawl through tight spaces), it makes the world you live in feel more alive, instead of just a nebulous entity in the background like Neo Arcadia in the Zero series. There are even some sidequest, which mainly give you small bonuses and flesh out even more the cute world, which I appreciate. The idea of doing errands in a Megaman game is just funny to me. I appreciate a little less the fact that one of the Sub Tanks is locked behind a fairly long and boring quest, though :\

The graphics are gorgeous. Instead of going for a pseudo-3D look they stuck to the original Zero style but beefed it up, and the game looks colorful and detailed and a pleasure to the eyes - Area J is just <3 And the anime cutscenes are well done and I’m genuinely surprised that the DS could handle them! Maybe some of the backgrounds lack some parallaxes? I’m thinking mainly of the city area. But it’s a nitpick.

The music is... not very Megaman, but it fits the more happy-go-lucky tone of this game! Just beautiful, catchy compositions all around, perfect for areas you’re going to be stuck in for a while :D definitely high up in my top list. My favorites are:

Green Grass Gradation and its strong “a new adventure awaits!” vibes - and when it plays before the final boss? What a great moment <3;

the absolute futuristic earworm that is Brilliant Show Window;

the mysterious Wonder Panorama, oddly reminescent of Water City from Z3;

the rocking Ogre Claw, very in tune with all the guitar-heavy tracks of the Zero series;

the soothing Misty Rain, which gives big Rusty Ruin Saturn vibes - and the rearranged version with the woman wailing? *chef’s kiss*;

the serene Ultramarine Meditation;

Doomsday Device which seems to be a more serious remix of Final Count Down from Z3;

the somber but determined Black Burn, the beginning of which seems to recall Straight Ahead from Z4;

the dance-y Snake Eyes, continuing the Megaman tradition of having catchy bangers for the last level (and being a remix of the “sad/game over” theme lol);

the appropriately named boss theme, that I imagine being the Megaman answer to Metal Scratchin’;

the oddly named miniboss theme;

the super boppy Sky High - I love how the “resistance base” theme went from scrappy, to militaristic, to determined, to peaceful, to finally cheerful and feels-good, saying a lot about ZX as a whole;

the badass and jazzy Trap Factory;

the epic and threatening Pallida Mors.

(also love how Weil's creepy leitmotif lives on in Deep-Seated Grudge, really drives the point home that the old nightmare isn't over yet)

However, I have another nitpick: the soundfont sounds straight from the GBA, just less crunchy. It has its charm, but if the graphics have been updated so much, I kinda expected to music to follow suit.

So yeah, ZX was fun. Not mindblowingly awesome, probably a step back from the peak reached by the Zero series, and it certainly tried to do a lot which ultimately clogged the experience. But it was an enjoyable experience, very cheesy, very earnest, and with a lot of heart put into it :) I heard that Advent fixed some of the problems I had here, so we shall see.

[kareofbears]

A really long post about my relationship with persona 5 

On the crisp day of november 29, 2019, i bought persona 5 on sale for six dollars. It was the last one on the shelf and i had to fight a random guy for it, even though i had only ever heard of persona from a game theory video. Played it, finished it in four months, thought it was great, but i promised myself i wouldnt play royal because “alex, you just spent 150 hours on this, are you really going to do it again?” so i was like nah, i wont play it. Thats just a waste of 85 dollars CAD, especially when you compare that to the six dollars i spent initially

And then a quirky little pandemic hit the same month that persona 5 royal dropped. 

So yeah, i bought royal pretty quickly once i realized that university was going to be completely online. Finished it in 250 hours in 28 days; less than a quarter of what it took me for vanilla. 

But the pandemic was not finished in 28 days. 

Basically, just like a whole lot of people during 2020 and 2021, i was really fucking depressed and just Not Good At All. 

Theres two reasons why i stuck with p5 for so long—one was obviously the timing of it all. Being stuck at home and playing a game that is pretty much a second life because of how in depth the world building and characters are was exactly what i needed at the time. It was the best escape i could have ever asked for. Second, its just a really really good game for me. As someone who literally majors in Cognitive Science with a minor in Political Science, yeah, this game could not have been more perfect for me. Its a game that reradicalized me, that retaught me what its like to see anger as a good thing, and especially fucking everything that happened in 2020, it was literally perfect dude. I mean, ryuji, the angriest boy in the world, became my favorite fictional character, period.

Weirdly enough, the game being so flawed probably also helped me stick around in the fandom for so long. Being angry about something was almost as fun as loving something completely. Ranting about something was as fun as making loving posts about my favorite character. Pointing out flaws in the narrative gives me the same rush as praising the music to high heaven. Hating the fandom was as great as finding someone and befriending them on discord. Everything about p5 sucked me in and kept me in, whether or not it intended it. 

Persona 5 is the type of game that is so jam packed with things to talk about that theres no way youll play it and come out of it unscatched. There really is something akin to a ‘post-persona depression’, something that makes you want to keep living in this intricate world with its characters and never-ending playthrough length and its villains and billions of themes that dont make a whole lot of sense. It was easy, so fucking easy to poke fun at it, and i absolutely did. Still do. Will keep doing.

I jumped into fandom head on during that time (that time being 2020). Ive been in many many many fandoms before p5, but i jumped into this one with a fervor in a way that i never had before. I made video edits, learned to gif, lived on pinterest/tumblr/twitter/instagram/pixiv intensely, combing through each and every thing i can find related to persona 5. For months, probably over a year, persona 5 was my saving grace. My lifeline. The call a friend option when you’re in a game show. Id be nothing without it. 

I gave my whole life to it. Every video edit took at least 6-12 hours if not more. Gifs took me a week to learn how to do and im still really bad at it (like. Really bad at it. My laptop keeps crashing cause it can barely handle photoshop lmfao). Dozens of spotify playlists, watched every youtube video i could about it, had made youtube videos about it. I talked everyone’s hear off about it—rip my beta, who knows literally every intricacy about the symbolism of running and a broken leg but not knowing jack shit about yaldabaoth (shes never played/watched p5). I made so many posts, fought so many people, befriended so many people. 

And writing. Fucking hell did i write. In 2020 alone i posted over 100k—posted. Thats not counting the dozens of half written scribbles i have between google docs and Daiso notebooks (one of them being 23k—rip that Hades AU. rip that NSFW one too). I wrote blinding lights for over three months by hand, escapril in one month, one shots consistently. I had more growth as a writer in the span of a year than i had in my whole life and i thrived at it (even though i wasnt, and still not, very good, i still improved rapidly. Even i can admit that).

For awhile, this was good. Great. I was keeping afloat, mentally, and thats all i needed. 

But then my spring semester of 2021 hit. it was by far the worst semester id ever had in my entire life. 

My gpa dropped a lot, and for one the classes i was in i was doing so so horribly that i was at a cool 30% for most of the semester, and another i was at a nice 24% for most of the semester, and as someone who is asian and has asian parents with asian mentalities, it was a huge blow to me. Top that off, my best friend and beta had left for six months to go abroad and i started doing not great things. honestly, that was an All Time Low For My Mental Health. 

I had taken a break from all social media, and had heavily leaned on persona 5 even more than i was. Anytime I wasn't strapped to my textbooks I was staring at my office wall, or longingly looking outside where i wish i was (at this point, canada had almost no access to vaccines), or thinking about p5. Over and over again, even when there was nothing to think about, I thought about p5. I was at a point where i had well and truly milked everything that the p5 fandom had to offer. I felt that i had seen everything, read everything, had formed every opinion i could, and was just grasping at air. It was so wack—i would literally get fucking sick of thinking about it because everything i was thinking of, i had already thought about hundreds of times before.  

I wanted to stay in p5, i was desperate to stay in p5, because i would much rather think about something obsessively and religiously to the point where i was nauseous than think about...life. It was a combination of hating my real life and hating my “alternate reality” that is persona 5. 

Strikers came out the same day i had failed all my midterms, but i didnt know it at the time. Actually, that was a really good two weeks—i didnt know i failed my midterms since marks werent out yet, and i got two weeks of NEW persona content. Woohoo! Score for Alex four months ago. She was so happy for a while. 

Fast forward a bit. April of 2021? Absolute hell. I had completely stopped participating in p5 at this point to make room for classes, which basically took away the only thing that even remotely made me happy. Not great, besties. 

But hey, some good news: i passed all of my classes! I literally cried for half an hour in public and called my mom immediately. She cried too. 

May was good, actually. I got my first vaccine, so I could see my friends again. I worked more, got more financially stable after taking so much time off for school. Restrictions were a little more loose, so i went out more. My beta was coming home soon. Got some sunlight. It got better, but you know, depression sticks like glue and refuses to let go. But it got better. I dabbled a little into p5 again, but it was half hearted. I still loved the game, but i didnt know what coming back to the fandom would do for me. It felt like a chore to do, and i was mad at myself, almost. Why am i not enjoying p5 anymore? I love p5. 

But p5...wasnt just p5 to me anymore. Its a symbol. It was...everything, i guess. Its a game with so much baggage to me personally. It went from a game that gave me the will to live and turned into something i needed to let go in order to live. I realized, really, really sadly and really, really painfully, that i didnt need p5 anymore. And that hurt. I always knew it would hurt when id eventually leave p5 behind. 

So i processed this in the only way i knew how—writing. I said that i would write something that represents everything i was feeling, every ounce of depression and anguish and loneliness and self hatred, and id put it in one, neat little story that also works as a goodbye to my favorite game. I gave myself a time frame: one month. July 3rd. Ryuji’s birthday. 

And i did it. Its the longest fic id ever written, my magnum opus, my starry night. The rawest piece of me, in one big google doc. I had given this everything i had, because it is everything i had. 

I felt like fucking hamilton bro. I had never written so fast, and felt so free doing it. I wrote things i had always been too scared to write—a yusuke and futaba scene (yusuke in general i was terrified of writing cause i felt i could never get him right), haru being cool, ann being a little more selfish, ryuji hating himself so so so much. Emotional kissing scenes, more argument scenes, more battle sequences, a poetic ferris wheel love scene, a mystery box type of narrative, an unreliable narrative. Jokes that i thought were funny but i was worried other people might not think it was funny. Cool scene transitions, so many em dashes, so many semi colons. Ten million metaphors. 

This was it. This was going to be my goodbye to these characters who had kept my company during the worst stage of my life (thus far). It didnt matter what sort of reception i got for this fic—whether it got a thousand comments or one. A million kudos or none. It literally doesn't matter. Because this wasnt for anyone but me, processing my own problems, and the characters i wrote about. It was my swan song. It was my tribute to these kids, but they felt more than that. It was saying goodbye to, and this may sound really sad, but it was like saying goodbye to real friends that had saved my life.

And im not saying i dont love p5 anymore, no fucking way. It will always be my favorite game, because of everything it means to me. Ill probably be buried and have p5v/r in my coffin with me as i'm lowered in. but theres nothing more for me here. I cant give anyone anything anymore, whether if its for the hypothetical you or myself. I feel like the end of the lorax, where the forest is all gone and its just me, looking at an empty field of stumps and dead grass. 

Hell, this doesnt even mean that im completely done with p5. I mean, when it comes to the pc and the switch or whatever else atlus is planning on doing, im sure there’ll be a mini fandom boom which will be cool. But i want to get to the point where p6 news will drop eventually and ill think “wow! Fantastic!” instead of being relieved at finding another thing to cling to. I want to enjoy it like a normie for once. 

I'm actually enjoying lots of different content now, which i had been too scared to do before in fear of “losing my love of persona” (wow, that sounds crazy looking back on it, but i was super serious about this). Im in the middle of playing assassins creed odyssey and im going to play Nier automata next. Im almost done watching violet evergarden (ive cried at least five times in ten episodes, its so good). I finished rewatching JJK with my beta whos finally home. I discovered lots of new artists and new songs, and i'm going to a lake trip with my best friends next week, and a trip with my family in two weeks. Im going on hangouts with my coworkers, which had been impossible to do in the past because i was so scared of the idea of being with new people. And i took a break from school for the summer, because thats the healthy thing to do.

I'm doing a lot better, i promise. 

I dont know what this post is supposed to be. Telling you my mental health? No, not really. Maybe its because i wanted to give you guys a heads up that im peeling away from p5? Eh, i guess, but not that either. This isnt a cry for help, or written so that someone out there would pity me or worse, made so that this would make you want to read my fic. God fucking forbid you think i made this so i could get a handful more kudos on ao3 asoiajdasasidjao

I think this post is more of...a diary entry for my future self, and anyone who bothers reading it can go ahead and read it if theyd like. Maybe you felt the same as me at some point, and take solace in the fact that someone out there feels the same about a random jrpg?

If you actually read this, that probably means that youre probably one of the people who made being in this wasteland of a fandom really fun and worth it.  So thank you, friend. We’re probably friends by now, right? At least a buddy. Maybe a coworker? Basically, thank you, whoever ‘you’ is. Thank you for reading, thank you for being there (even if you never interacted! I still thank you!), thank you for....existing in the same space as me. 

I hope you find comfort in your life, and are healthy. I hope you get some sun. i hope you’re doing well. 

[figonas]

Twilight Re-watch Notes Pt. 1 - A Contest for the Worst Movie Quote in History

I'd like to think I'm funny so please enjoy my scene-by-scene notes from a recent Twilight Saga re-watch.

Hey Catherine Hardwicke, opening with the death of an animal was probably not the best choice but go off I guess??

There is a lot of general Bella awkwardness that I'm skipping over here but the scene in gym class is so horrifically, painfully uncomfortable that I almost passed out from the second-hand embarrassment.

Jessica trying her best to be fake nice to the human embodiment of a crumpled soda can: "Aren't people from Arizona like....really tan"

Bella with all the cadence of a child who just found out Santa isn't real: "yeah..I guess that's why they kicked me out"

Mike clearly just trying to get his dick wet: "HAHAH you are funny"

no mike she is not.

I'm not gonna go into the biology class scene because god knows tumblr has beaten that particular horse to death. BUT the scene in the administration office immediately after that is a TRIP. Edward has one of his most dramatic lines here when they won't let him switch classes: “I’ll just have to endure it” ?!?!?!?!?!?! This is INSANITY, he sounds like he's going to burst into tears like Edward please chill you aren't even being a little subtle.

I will never get over Bella trying to put Ketchup on her burger and then just???? giving up???? when it doesn't come out after she limply shakes it approximately once.

“HOW YOU LIKIN DA RAIN GIRL” Is our first contender for the worst and most unnatural line in movie history, and trust me there are plenty more.

Bella accusatorily saying “you were gone” to Edward as if this dude who she met for approximately 30 minutes 2 weeks ago owes her even a PALTRTY SCRAP of an explanation about anything???????

Actually, this whole scene is a horrific nightmare of awkward intrusive conversation:

“You’re asking me about the weather” HOE WHAT ELSE ARE YOU GONNA TALK ABOUT YOU DON’T KNOW EACH OTHER

“hey did you get contacts” WHO JUST ASKS THAT?!?

and of course; “it’s the fluorescents” [RUNS AWAY]

Charlie and Bella have the only organic-sounding dialogue in the entire movie. Any awkwardness they have is BELIEVABLE father-daughter awkwardness and not like "I'm being forced to film this against my will" awkwardness like every other exchange in this film series.

Bella asks Edward ALL OF ONCE about him saving her from the truck and Edward gets so haughty and smug thinking that Bella won't figure it out

“you’re not gonna let this go are you?” “no” “then I hope you enjoy disappointment” [storms off] MY DUDE LITERALLY 2 SCENES LATER SHE FIGURES IT OUT IN 3 GOOGLE CLICKS

“I had an adrenaline rush, it’s very common you can google it” contender number two for the terrible dialogue award.

Edward saying “if you were smart you would stay away from me” AFTER HE APPROACHED HER LIKE FUCK OFF [skeleton throwing its own skull gif]

Kstew got a lot of flack for her performance in this movie but when she has a good partner to exchange lines with she SHINES. The scene with Angela and her at the beach where she tells her to ask Eric to prom is GOOD. EVERY scene with Charlie in THIS ENTIRE FRANCHISE is GOOD. It is nothing but pure misogyny that Rpatz didn’t catch any flack for his truly, horrifically awkward performance

I cannot believe Stephanie thought it would be a good idea to have Edward save Bella from potentially getting gang r*ped like I get it girl is about the drama but still this is just a TOOOUCH too far

“your hand is so cold,” WHO SAYS THIS TO SOMEONE THEY BARELY KNOW COMPLETELY UNPROMPTED???

SHE TRIES TO REFUSE CARRYING BEAR MACE WHEN SHE WAS ALMOST R*PED NOT 4 HOURS PREVIOUSLY LIKE SIS CARRY A KNIFE?!?!?!?!?

The “you’re impossibly fast & strong” monologue is so bad I want to barf

“I’ve killed people before” “doesn’t matter” BITCH YES IT DOES WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU

“MY OWN PERSONAL BRAND OF HEROIN” IS SO BAD. Like we all recognize how bad this is right? Especially when one considered the target demographic for these films, i.e. teenage girls, have NO FUCKING FRAME OF REFERENCE FOR THIS WHAT.SO.EVER.

“And so the lion fell in love with the lamb” YOU’VE KNOWN EACH OTHER FOR ALL OF 3 SECONDS I CAN’T WITH Y'ALL. AT LEAST THE BOOK HAD SOME BUILD-UP JESUS GEEZUS

Who thought this meadow scene was a good idea, they need to be sent straight to hell. WHY ARE THEY LAYING DOWN LIKE, SIT MAYBE?????? IT’S SO WEIRD AND UNNATURAL THEY LOOK LIKE DOLLS I HATE IT

The scene where they get out of the car and Edward puts his arm around Bella while Spotlight by Mutemath plays in the background is TOP TIER teen drama bs and I love it. Far and away the best shot in the movie apart from The Baseball Scene(TM).

I will never get over the fact that Edward's bitch ass rats Bella out for already eating when she comes over to meet his family. BE FUCKING COOL EDWARD FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE, GOD!!!

Esme is too pure for this world I can’t deal with her, & Emmet waving the knife is my favorite thing in all 5 of these movies

Why tf are Alice and Jasper fucking off doing god knows what in a tree and not helping with dinner like everyone else? Y'all ain't special even Rosalie is helping

Esme talking to Rosalie “Clean this up..now” I LOVE YOU BE MY MOM

Earlier they talk about the fact that vampires don’t sleep BUT the first thing Bella says when she walks into Edward's room is “no bed” girl we know what you after you ain't slick.....

WHAT IS THIS DANCING SCENE IN HIS BEDROOM IT’S HORRIBLE TO WATCH and I want to find whoever thought “well I could always make you” was a good line for Edward to say and slap them directly in the mouth.

“hold on tight spider monkey” excuse me while I VOMIT

Mike offering his opinion on Bella dating Edward HOWEVER justified is automatically invalidated by A. his own romantic interest in Bella and B. the fact that he has also know Bella for all of 10 minutes & has no bearing on her personal life whatsoever

THE PAST COUPLE OF MONTHS THIS MAN HAS BEEN COMING INTO HER ROOM AND WATCHING HER SLEEP THIS IS RED FLAG CITY LIKE BELLA WATCH A TRUE CRIME DOCUMENTARY OR READ THE NEWS FOR FUCKS SAKE

THIS FRANCHISE HAS THE MOST HORRIBLE KISSING SCENES IN MOVIE HISTORY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU CAN HEAR LITERALLY EVERY BREATH, EVERY AWKWARD PRESS OF LIPS. You're telling me THIS was the best take of this???? CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW AWKWARD THIS WAS TO FILM

The whole scene when Bella is telling her dad about her date with Edward is absolutely god tier. Charlie snapping the barrel of the shotgun closed, him motioning that he has a halo on, asking her if she still has her pepper spray. BILLY BURKE LIFTED THIS MOVIE UP AND TRIED SO HARD TO CARRY IT ON HIS BROAD, MUSTACHIOED DAD SHOULDERS, WE STAN

WHERE TO START WITH THE BASEBALL SCENE:

Supermassive Black Hole in the background, Alice going AWF with her pitching, Rosalie getting all pissed when Bella says she's out and Emmett yells "c'mon babe it's just a game" like the puppy dog of a person (vampire?) he is, CARLISLE WEARING A SCARF WHILE PLAYING BASEBALL, I WILL NEVER EMOTIONALLY RECOVER FROM JASPERS BAT TRICKS, EMMET AND EDWARDS LAUGH AFTER CRASHING INTO ONE ANOTHER.

A TRULY IMMACULATE MOVIE SCENE. This scene isn’t long enough

“My monkey man” might be the worst line in this movie, I’m so torn between which one is the worst. Also, I'm just now realizing that this is the second time someone has compared a loved one to some type of monkey and I really don't like it.

Bella's defeated “I can’t hurt him” breaks my heart every time. AND FUCKING BILLY BURKE pulling out his acting chops with Charlie’s poor little broken sounding “I know I’m not that much fun to be around we can do more stuff together” & “I just gotcha back” LIKE LITERALLY EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS SCENE HURTS ME ON A PHYSICAL LEVEL AND I AM ENTITLED TO FINANCIAL COMPENSATION

I know I've skipped over a lot but it's just a lot of like star wipe level montage of nonsense, so we are mOVING ON to what is possibly the biggest plot hole I've never recognized before now: How in the hell was James planning on luring Bella out if he didn’t find that videotape of Bella's mom looking for her????? Or was he just going to bust up in the holiday inn, metaphorical guns blazing & toss Bella out a window???

This fight scene between James & Edward is VERY poorly choreographed and you can practically see the stunt wires pulling on their clothes but no one is surprised..this is Twilight after all.

Who the fuck starts the fire in the ballet studio if Carlisle & Edward are with Bella, Jasper and Emmet are holding James's arms and Alice is ripping his head off???? Esme and Rosalie aren't there so the only explanation is that Emmett's power Stephanie never told us about is his ability to start small, controlled, indoor bonfires with his mind.

If Bella was losing blood from her femoral artery it is HIGHLY UNLIKELY that she would have been cognizant enough to tell them her hand was burning + THERE’S A BIG ASS BITE HOW DID THEY MISS IT???

Let Me Sign is such a good fucking song. Actually, while we're on music every song on every Twilight Saga soundtrack SLAPS. At least 1 department at Summit Entertainment was staffed with competent people. (side note, why the fuck do I know the studio by name that made this movie. I need to go lie down)

Bella acting a damn fool in the hospital bed like clingy much

CHARLIE IS SUCH A GOOD DAD FUCK!

The Edward/Jacob beef is so dramatic at prom can you both chill for 5 minutes we haven't even gotten to y'alls bullshit yet that's not until New Moon.

Bella really thought this mfer was gonna turn her at prom in the middle of the dancefloor??????????

Flightless Bird American Mouth. That's it, that's the bullet point

Victoria coming to prom, like we stan a dramatic bitch.

I will almost CERTAINLY post my New Moon (Extended Edition) notes in a few days. & yes I do have notes on the entire franchise.

[allthefilmsiveseenforfree]

Wonder Woman 1984

The first 3/4 of 2017’s Wonder Woman was my favorite film of that year. The last 1/4 was my least favorite film of that year. What can I say, I have a complicated relationship with the DCEU, and the part I keep getting disappointed by is the big smash-em-up, explosions everywhere, muddy mess of orange/blue filter in the “climactic showdown” between hero and villain. I just don’t have the patience for it anymore, and I was so hoping that the Jazzercise vibes of Wonder Woman 1984 would do something different. 

As it turns out, this movie was trying to warn me like so many stories that have come before - be careful what you wish for. Just how badly did my wish go bad? Well...

I’d already heard some questionable things about the movie before I tuned in, so my expectations were tempered but I guess it was on me. I should have known better than to wish for a story with reasonable pacing, some kind of consistent tone, villains with discernable motivation, or a Wonder Woman movie that was actually about fucking Wonder Woman. I’m not even mad as much as I am puzzled. That and tormented by Pedro Pascal’s manic televangelist energy in my dreams. 

Some thoughts:

I have never wanted to go anywhere as much as I want to in 2020, and the place I want to go more than any other is Themyscira. Love this first sequence. Why is the whole movie not about Themyscira??

If the Olympics were like this whole long Amazonian warrior triathlon, I would be WAY more into track and field. 

Also I legit don’t understand the problem with her taking the short path? Like, it’s there for a reason? She just caught up to her horse? Someone explain this to me.

So this mall...basically the hub of American commerce in the 80s that was practically printing money, it made it so fast...is secretly a front for antiquities trading on the black market? And these unorganized-ass dipshit criminals who seemingly just walked in off the street and decided to engage in some light robbery today are after antiquities? Sure, Jan.

Ohh I miss Waldenbooks so much!

This thwarting of crime sequence in the mall feels so...cheesy. Schlocky, almost. Like a 50s comic book come to life. I dunno, it just doesn’t feel like the tone I was expecting. In the context of the whole film, we really blew our action load in these first 2 sequences, and also this is the last point in the movie in which Diana actually resembles her character from the first film.

I would also be stammery and blushy when talking to Diana Prince for the first (and second) time, but I’m kinda getting a gay vibe from Barbara. This meet-cute + date is definitely playing up romantic vibes. Kristen Wiig is so good at characters like these - in less than 2 scenes, I have such a clear picture of who Barbara is, what she wants, what she fears, and that’s all down to Wiig’s choices. [ETA: This makes it all the more infuriating when Barbara suddenly is like “I want to be an apex predator” when nothing about her character’s reaction to getting positive attention indicates she would want to start shitting all over everyone else.]

Pedro Pascal is skeeving me out as our villain Max Lord, which really just shows his range, because normally I love him and find him wildly charming in everything. But he’s playing this oil baron creep to the max, as they would say in the parlance of the 80s, and it makes my skin crawl. 

The mechanics of how Steve Trevor returns are wildly confusing. Why is this other guy involved at all? Are we supposed to be ok with the idea of Diana fucking *some other dude’s body* without his consent just because Steve’s spirit/consciousness/whatever is inside the guy? Also that guy DEFINITELY got fired from his job after going AWOL for a whole week, right? 

I am thrilled with Steve’s clothes montage. One of my favorite things in any 80s film, and his enthusiasm really sells it.

I do really like Diana and Steve playing detective, following clues, crafting theories. In spite of the absolute dumbassery of how Steve came back, Chris Pine and Gal Gadot have incredible chemistry and I do find their scenes together delightful. 

I think that’s why it’s so frustrating to me the way their entire relationship was handled. If the whole point of the wish going bad is that it has a cost, wouldn’t it have been better, instead of making Diana weak, to have Steve slowly start to be more and more of an asshole - aka not the Steve Diana remembered and loved? Make her realize that the Steve she knew and loved is really gone and she has to stop letting his memory hold her hostage. Maybe his last moment of self-awareness would be realizing that this wasn’t who he really was, and she was better off just remembering who he was and moving on rather than trying to hold on to this thing that isn’t good for her? 

The sequence with the fireworks made me emotional. The only time I’ve ever been on a plane on the 4th of July was when I was coming back from a visit with my uncle in Dallas. He had flown me, my mom, and my grandma down for a whirlwind trip, and we flew back the night of the 4th. I got to see fireworks from above for the first time, and it felt so magical. My uncle passed away 2 months ago, and feeling that magic again (via Diana and Steve) made me miss him and all the adventure he brought into my life something fierce.

Am I supposed to be like...anti- the idea of Barbara absolutely kicking the shit out of this drunk catcaller who attempted to assault her earlier in the movie? It feels like the film wants us to be like “oh no that’s bad” but my empathy goes on vacation for attempted rapists. 

Like...did anyone do ANY kind of fact-checking on this script? The Maya haven’t been “wiped from the face of the earth” there are still 6 million of them living in Central and South America. Escalators were invented in the 1890s for fucks’ sake. PLANES IN THE 80S DONT WORK LIKE PLANES IN 1918. YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT ALL THOSE SWITCHES DO STEVE. Also...just because the plane is invisible doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist anymore. Isn’t the whole point of radar to detect things that you can’t, y’know, SEE? Seriously, how many people fiddled with this script until it turned into an incomprehensible mess?

Did I Cry? OK yeah, I did when Diana and Steve had their conversation after they escaped the White House. But I feel like I should have cried more then, as well as earlier when Diana tells Steve that she only wants this one thing. I love Gal Gadot in this role, but I do wish her acting expressed a little more emotional depth and honesty for the moments like this that should really tug on the heartstrings.

I know Wonder Woman is bulletproof, but are we saying she’s also...immune to electricity? 

If there’s one thing that living through a global pandemic has taught me, it’s that we can’t rely on the inherent responsibility of every individual person to do the right thing in order to save their community (or the world). So the climax of this film really feels like a big ol’ fictional FUCK YOU to every person who has been quarantining since March as the US government twiddles their thumbs and relies on personal choice to lower infection rates. I know they made this film during 2019 and had no idea what would be coming, but this entire sequence was the most horrifying, short-sighted, offensive way to have good overcome evil I could imagine for a 2020 movie. “Just count on people to do the right thing and everything will be fine!” We’re WELL FUCKING PAST THAT, Diana. 

And maybe this is my debbie downer pessimistic ass, but the message “the world is a beautiful place the way it was” feels like some real bullshit. Do you mean the world is a flawed, complicated place where beautiful things exist DESPITE all the violence, inequality, and poverty? Ok, that I’ll buy, for sure. But “Everything was fine the way it was!” is uhh not what I would have gone with. That’s a first draft edit if ever I heard one. Seriously, how did this make it through MULTIPLE studio drafts and no one thought to point this out?  

I literally had to go back after the credits were over and rewind to figure out what happened to Pedro Pascal at the end. If I not only don’t care, but also can’t remember what happened to the villain at the end of the movie, that’s a big motherfucking problem.

I was giddily delighted by that first post-credits scene though! Probably the biggest moment of joy I felt during the film.

For being a Wonder Woman movie, it feels like there’s so little actual Wonder Woman IN the movie. The first film is rooted firmly in Diana finding her place in the world, understanding and coming into her power. This feels like she’s a bystander in her own life, and her most significant moments are always in the context of someone else’s narrative arc. And there’s nothing that comes even close to the breathless wonder of that No-Man’s-Land scene, aka one of the best superhero movie moments of all time. 

This doesn’t have the knowing wink of Aquaman or the nuanced character arcs of Birds of Prey. It doesn’t have the childish glee of Shazam! or any of the nonsensical grimdark bullshit of Zack Snyder’s entire ouvre. It feels like Wonder Woman 1984 suffers the same fate as its protagonist - a profound lack of presence or drive. Sure there are some fun sequences, and the actors are doing the best they can with a weak script, but it’s just not enough to save it. In a year where I saw so few contemporary films (focusing more on catching up on past films I’d missed), I can’t think of one that disappointed me more. 

[kuronanox]

Childhood promises - Hisagi Shuhei

"Shuhei wake up! It's snowing!" (Your Name) says putting on her torn up shoes while running outside. Rukongai in the winter was harsh and they were poor but it didn't mean they weren't happy.

"I'm coming!" He calls out putting on his robe and touching the white floor.

She was playing with the snow and smiling. He shyly watched. "Come on!" She yelled out and grabbed his hand.

"Ahh!" He protested and stood next to her and she smiled.

"Let's make something!"

They made a snowman and laughed as it fell apart from their poor attempt of it.

"I'm hungry (Your Name)." He says clutching his stomach.

With a worried face she walks back into their house and looks at what they had left. "Here eat this."

It was the last of their rice balls they had.

"But you won't be able to have any."

(Your Name) smiles and gives it to Shuhei anyways. "It's okay eat it."

Looking at the rice ball he broke it in half.

"Thanks." She smiles and eats it in one bite.

Shuhei zones out in the office and smiles sadly to himself. He had missed (Your Name) deeply and regret being a weak friend at the time.

He remembered he thought of her as family, they had no one. Although she was 5 years older than him (Your Name) worked hard for them.

Shuhei remember she worked at a small stall in rukongai and she made enough money for them to live enough to survive. Although they starved from time to time they were happy.

Kensei walks in with papers and places them on Shuhei desk. "Need these done by tomorrow."

"Okay Captain."

Kensei stares at Shuhei and walks out the office. He noticed that his Vice Captain had been spacing out recently but he didn't want to push any matters that were unnecessary.

"Are you okay (Your Name)?" Shuhei asks with teary eyes as he watched her wrapped a cut she got from work that day. "I'm okay thanks."

She smiles and sets down some hot soup she warmed up, although there was no rice today.

"What did you do while I was gone?"

"I played out in the fields with some friends."

"Fun, I'm glad you made it back safe."

"Actually... we were almost killed by a hollow."

"What?! Shuhei you could have gotten killed!"

He looks down and starts to cry. "I know, I'm sorry I was so scared. I couldn't do nothing. It was so big and strong. I didn't want to leave you either."

(Your Name) pulls him to an embrace like a mother would and kissed his head. "It's okay you are safe now."

"I met a Captain, and he saved my life. It made me realize that I wanna be a Shinigami when I'm older. I can take care of us and get strong!"

(Your Name) laughs and ruffle his messy hair. "Okay one day, promise me."

"I promise!"

The next morning they were rudely awakened when their door was knocked down and a group of men came in.

Shuhei eyes frighten as (Your Name) became alert and pulled him behind her.

"Your the bitch that sold us the fake metal." One said and grabbed her harshly.

"(Your Name)!" Shuhei yells and runs after her but she stops him.

"Don't come after me!"

He panics and watches as she struggles to get off the grip of the men. They were dragging her somewhere unknown.

"Leave her alone!" Shuhei screams and grabs the stick to hit the men.

Shuhei was sent flying a few feet in the air as they punched him and his nose bleed. He wanted to cry but he was losing (Your Name).

As they dragged her off Shuhei was left with one other dude as he beat Shuhei black and purple.

Lying on the floor (Your Name) was out of sight as he cried and ran to find her.

He screamed and fell to the ground.

Shuhei grips his hand in a fist as he laid in bed looking at the ceiling. He thought about (Your Name) wondering if she ever survived.

Rubbing his eyes he pushed the tears threatening to fall. She had sacrificed everything for them and he couldn't even save her that day.

The next morning Shuhei walked into the publishing office and greeted everyone with a smile. It was a new day and new opportunities waited for him.

"Me and Renji are giving some rookies a tour of Soul Society wanna join me?" Kira asks him as Shuhei had to pass. "Um nah seems kinda boring but good luck though!"

(Your Name) ended up stuck with a group of new comers like her as they toured the place, the blonde dude was kinda bland and gloomy but he showed everyone the important stuff which was the only thing that mattered.

"What squad do you wanna join?" A girl as her as she looked around amazed at the place.

"I'm not sure yet! I guess any that accepts me!"

Passing all the barracks Kira goes into the editing room. "And this is where we publish all the paper work, stories and headlines. The head of editor and chief is Lieutenant of Squad 9."

Shuhei greets everyone and smiles talking about how fun and hard working the publishers are.

(Your Name) looks at him with confusion. He didn't state his name but he looked familiar to her. "My name is Hisagi Shuhei! I can't wait to see what squad everyone joins!"

"What a minute? That's!"

"Okay everyone follow me." Kira boringly says and walks them out as she turns to find Shuhei but he was already gone talking to a few coworkers.

"I guess I'll catch up to him at another time. He's so grown now."

She smiles knowing that he successfully took care of himself. Although the scar and 69 was new.

"(Your Name)?" Shuhei calls out as she washes the rice for them that night.

"Yes?"

"Will you ever leave me for someone else?"

She tilted her head in confusion and laughs. "What do you mean?"

"Like if a guy came and you liked him."

"No silly, we have each other."

"Promise?"

"I promise! Trust me when you get older all the ladies will swoon for you."

"He's so hot!" A few girls giggled to themselves as they continued the tour.

By night time came they entered a dorm place for all new comers. Tomorrow was the day that they picked their squad whether they wanted to be in it or not.

(Your Name) was placed under the 6th squad, which to her seem pretty good because her Captain was a noble and everyone seemed fairly strong. Although she wasn't nearly as good as a seated officer she didn't mind working her way up.

"Abarai Fukutaicho?" She calls out one day as he turns to her. "Um? Do you know where I can talk to Shuhei?"

"Uh?? You mean like the Lieutenant from squad 9? Are y'all close like that?"

"Yes, I'm his childhood friend. We lost contact a long time ago but I just found him."

Renji was bewildered, he didn't know much about Shuhei past but it sounded a lot like him and Rukia so he couldn't reject her.

"Yeah I'll let him know."

Shuhei was in the middle of a rush when Renji walked in. "Yo! Someone was asking for you!"

"Not now! I'm kinda busy." Shuhei states skimming through the papers rangiku messed up on.

"It's (Your Name) she really wants to see you." Renji says as Shuhei drops the papers and looks up shocked. "You mean it?!"

"Yes, like she's in my squad and everything."

"Where?! Where is she!" Shuhei yells with a big smile on his face as he gets up from his desk.

"Woah woah calm down!" She's over at the fields training-" without letting Renji finish his sentence he made a run for it.

Renji smiles and scoffs. He was happy knowing that the reunion was going to be a good one.

Shuhei saw her with her sword training hard as she sweated and concentrated on her spiritual energy. "(Your Name)!" He yells out as she turns to him.

She smiles and ran towards him as they pull each other in a embrace.

"Shuhei! You're so grown now!" She says and he crushes her with his inhuman strength now. "Well you're so tiny!"

They let go as they both couldn't stop smiling. "How?" He says as she sat on the grass as he took a seat next to her.

"Remember when they took me, I managed to escape but we were so far away I couldn't find the way back home."

Shuhei groans and looks down. "If only I was strong back then, I would have saved you."

"It's fine, you were a kid. I don't blame you."

He smiles softly as she touches his face and he starts to blush. "What happen to your face?" She asks with concern.

"Don't worry, just battles and the 69 is something I got from the man that saved my life. He's actually my captain now."

She laughs and lets go. "Well you succeeded, now you can protect me from now on."

2 years later

"Why don't you tell her!" Hinamori pouts at Shuhei trying to push him into the restaurant.

"Be-because it's weird! She was like an older sister to me."

"But you like her right?" Rangiku jumps in unintentionally popping her breast out as Shuhei looks away in awkwardness.

"Better tell her before someone else beats you to it." Kira adds looking into the restaurant spotting (Your Name) dressed in a nice kimono waiting for a certain childhood friend.

"Come on! Renji even asked Kuchiki Taicho to reserve the best restaurant in Seireitei right now!" Hinamori says making Shuhei feel a bit guilty that Renji made the effort to beg his captain.

"Oh fine fine fine! I was going to do it my own pace but since everyone is telling me to."

Shuhei takes a deep breath and enters the restaurant.

"Shuhei!" She calls and waves him over.

"Sorry I'm late, how was your day?"

"It was good! I can't believe you got a place like this for us!"

Shuhei sweats a bit and drinks some water before answering. "Yeah me too."

"Ahh little Shuhei is so handsome now." (Your Name) smiles and push the messy part front of his hair away from his eyes.

He blushes and grabs her hands with his. "You've grown to a fine lady also... but you kept your promise."

"What promise?"

"Remember when we were little, I didn't want you to leave me for another man."

(Your Name) laughs and covers her mouth with her free hand and tighten her grip with his hand.

"Of course, why would I want anyone else?"

"I wouldn't want anyone else but you (Your Name)." Shuhei confesses as she drops her smile.

They had been through so much she could see a life with him and he could see a future with her. A future with laughter and happiness where they no longer starved or lived poor.

"I'm making enough money for us and I'm strong enough to protect you now. That means I'm the man I told you I wanted to be and the man you deserve to have."

She chuckles and set their hands down on the table as she rubs it softly.

"Always, I don't see why we wouldn't work out. The future tied us back together."

Shuhei grins like the child he once use to be and boldly kisses her from across the table.

"I've been waiting for this for years, our first kiss."

"And many to come." (Your Name) adds with a blush.

[screamting]

Wonder Woman 1984 spoilers.

I feel like WW1984 suffered from a lot of the same editing issues that WW 2017 did, but with only enough content for a 90 minute movie. It's only 10 mins longer than the first movie, but it feels like it goes on for much longer, and part of that is a lot of superfluous scenes that could've been cut or done differently to tighten it up, and made themes a lot more apparent and maybe have fewer confusing messages. (Again, not 'complex' messages, just confusing.)

For example: the opening scene is beautifully shot and whoever is doing the 'from below as Diana runs over rooftops/poles/etc' shots? Amazing, change nothing. But also the opening scene is pointless and doesn't really tie into anything. They try to shove in something about 'the truth' when they really should be like 'this is a competition, don't cheat.'

But also a competition is not what Max is trying to 'win.' He just wants it to be 'his turn' to 'win' at... Liiife? They make a couple attempts at "we people who have been beaten down deserve to have something for ourselves finally, and you've never had to want for anything diana so you don't get it." And like, they're right ish? Diana's left her homeland behind and lost a lot of people, but as far as we know she's only really ever been surrounded by kind people out to help her, and didn't really have to worry about money or survival as she either existed outside of society's rules or she kinda slid her way in over time.

That's not saying she hasn't struggled and that she doesn't care, but she doesn't have the same experience as Max or Barbara of being abused and physically powerless. They are right about that. They also are starting a nuclear war and I feel like Diana can say "correct but also literally you do need to stop" and still come out pretty spotless morally. "First of all yes you're right but also if you just replace the oppressor with yourself then you are the oppressor now; yes that man needed to go but also you beat him near death and left him in the road, that's not cool"

I think maybe her time without powers might’ve been more effective too if it was clearer that the tradeoff wasn't "my powers are what's most important to me" as much as "my powers are what give me the power to protect and being able to PROTECT people I love is what is most important to me." Like, she has Steve back, but he almost dies like 3 times immediately because she doesn't have powers.

(Also, Diana, goddess of truth and shit, please face the fact that if Steve stays alive you are committing a homicide on his body's previous inhabitant. At least MENTION that he's body snatching and that definitely is something they should try to fix somehow. Maybe have it weigh in during the conversation about renouncing her wish-- Steve is dead, and also his bodyhost is alive and they have no right to kill him like this. What if he had a family? They're lucky no one recognized him or called him in to ask why he wasn't at work. Unsolved mysteries: the disappearance of This Dude Who Doesn't Even Get A Name At The End To Remind Us Of His Personhood. Imbd lists him as "handsome man." Talk about a slab of meat my guys.)

So Diana, even though she still has a comfortable enough life, loses her powers for about a day and it woild be very funny for her to be like "ugh I hate not being able to DO THINGS SO EASILY and my shoulder hurts I was shot" and chris like "lol yeah sorry I also miss feeling that extra safety layer around you" and it's not exactly "humbling"(???) as mentioned in the opening scene, but it is a reminder of what it feels like to nit be the strongest person in the room. Maybe that's where a flashback to Themyscira would have worked well, where she's eager to prove herself and outclass everyone but she has to be reminded that even though she's special even among amazons there's still like.. I don't want to say great power comes great responsibility, but maybe ‘we would love you even if all you did all day was stare at the sand and even then you would be precious and protected,’ but also that is a gift the amazons are giving her, because when they were enslaved in the world of man, they saw no love or protection given to those who needed it most. Maybe just, sometimes you don’t lose because you ‘deserved’ to lose. Maybe you just slipped and lost it all.

Maybe the film ends with Diana being Othered again, like how in the first movie she is clearly a goddess and showing magical stuff for the first time but she has her posse. In this one she's alone at the end but a little more able to connect with the little things. It's already sort of there with that very saccharine ending, but again, more explicit might be better.

For scenes that would just tighten things up and get us moving along though:

cut Maxwell absorbing the crystal. Diana figures out what happens later and in the meantime is confused what's happening. We can join in on that mystery.

Cut every kissy thing by at least half

No unnecessary park scene. The homeless man is a nice hint into Barbara's like personal life I guess, but ultimately it doesn't really do anything, and the rapist dude just takes up space honestly. Like, she could kick the ass of any of the catcallers and just roundhouse kick them into a pole and go "huh." Creepy smile. End scene.

Mall scene useless. Vigilante diana confusing and useless. Open us up immediately with Barbara being bullied and Diana appears as a savior first thing in the movie. FBI raid still happened and they just have rocks and shit. Diana still hesitant about contact with people but Barbara is so obviously in need of a friend she kinda saviors herself in again. Gets a clingy friend but also someone who maybe is able to appreciate Diana's archeology feelings.

I don't remember anything that happened in the museums but agree Steve should see the air and space museum, but maybe it would've worked better if one scene he just shows up decked out head to tow in NASA merch

That is NOT how flying works but I'm gonna be honest I think they didn't need to go to Byalia/Egypt(??) much at all. At the very least the car could’ve swerved into the town as a crisis instead of having the kids in the road to be saved. Diana feeling bad after being hit by a humvee would indeed show more clearly than the bullet-- we don’t know if she is or isn’t bulletproof because she’s deflected all of them before. She doesn’t do any extra superstrength before. She doesn’t seem any less powerful than earlier in the movie. It ends up trying to ‘show’ but instead it ends up NEEDING to be told later on.

I can go either way on this I guess, but the plane section can be... At the very least shortened. Coffee cup joke was good tho.

Acceptable answers to "how do fly?"

"Flying is easy, it's landing you have to worry about."

"Aim for the ground and miss"

Ultimately WW 2017 was a war movie that happened to have a superhero in it, amd WW1984 was a superhero movie that had trouble finding where it's plot had to go I think. With World War One, like, there's stuff to say and talk about automatically, but in 1984 it feels a bit like they knew mutually assured destruction and how it was ultimately real bad as a strategy and if we all just agreed itd be... Fine? I guess? Again, unless you go to a specific incident there's not much to say about the cold war except 😬

Patty Jenkins and Geoff Johns both got into their teenage years in the 80s so it's totally possible they were going off personal memories instead, but it definitely had some trouble translating onto the screen I think.

There is some good stuff as well, it's just getting to them while buried under all the other stuff mostly. Pedro Pascal did extremely good at making me hate Max Lord Immediately. Steve Fashion Show was fun. "Topaz is such a lame rock lol". Kristen Wiig is holding this movie together more than anyone else and it's great. I like how her becoming an Alpha Bitch doesn't mean she immediately hates Diana but still wants to be her friend and be seen by her. The entire "You seem like you'd be out all the time and like never go on ever" sounds a LOT like a closetedness conversation.

There is a lot of good stuff in it but it's just... Not what the first one was. I think probably the constant delays on release didn't help the hype at all. They went powerful sappy at the end (gooshy feelings? In my wonder woman movie?) which I understand theyre trying to make Diana a hero who doesn't murder the tiny earthlings over stuff... But I am also left just kind of wondering if everyone's memories were erased with the nukes or if the cold war ended VERY differently in the DCEU, and I am far too distracted by that to think about how people are good at their core and stuff. It just feels like it brings up lots of things, and decides that if they have enough emotions, it's fine to brush them aside.