#scenes that inspired this whole monstrosity.

[apocalypticdemon]

for the wip title ask game:

'the droning engine'

oh boy, this is my super self-indulgent fic, lmao. I've been super into IndyCar my whole life, as is the rest of my family, so it's my IndyCar AU for the Terror (with a focus on fitzier as the narrative drive behind it).

It's kind of unwieldy and a bigger project than I thought it would be, so it's still very much in the works/in the planning stages while i draft prose as it comes to me, but I've been poking at it in my free time. The basic premise is Crozier is an older driver, signed to team Terror, a smaller team, but one that generally is in good standing. He's got a really odd rivalry with Fitzjames, and this comes to a head at the start of the work, when the Terror management signs James on as a driver. Basically, the plot is going to stretch over the entirety of an IndyCar season, and I'm going to try to hit major plot beats from the show in this story as the characters all vie for the championship for the season. Some stuff gets changed around, just to make things work, but that's the general premise.

I have it planned for the final driver lineup for team Terror to be Crozier, Fitzjames, Silna, and I think Little, but that's still in flux. Hickey was on the team, but gets let go after publicly starting a fight with Silna and suffering the consequences, lol. He continues to scheme in the background as the season continues to unfold, because a different team snaps him up pretty quickly. Is it conventional for how drivers are passed around and contracts are signed? no, probably not, but I do what I want, lol.

I have plans for general plot beats, how I want to draw narrative similarities for things like the no good, very bad wardroom dinner from the first episode, carnivale, and character deaths in the show without...... actually killing anybody, because I can't really have that.

I want the vibes for the fitzier part of the story to be the kind of "they would absolutely fuck several times before actually talking about their feelings" kind of dynamic, so I think that's the route I'm going to take and have their relationship really blossom towards the end of the season, but i'm also still planning out the specifics of that one. I really like the added tension of a secret relationship, given that they're on the same team and that motorsports doesn't necessarily have the most.... open-minded audience (it's very fun being an unpatriotic queer person at these events. i am....... very much in the minority there), so I want to play with that a bit, too. I thought I had a neat and tidy plan, but it rather started crumbling in my hands when i sat down to actually try to write it, so I think I'm going to be wrangling this one for a bit.

but i'm very excited to actually get to it someday! i know this write-up is very rambly and a bit unhinged, but i truly have so many thoughts about it that it's hard to organize into a coherent, short summary, lol. I have a lot of personal history tied up in this, too, so it's hard not to just go on cool tangents about the sport. this project has taken a back seat as my master's work ramps up, since it's just.... so much bigger than i thought it would be. but i really want to work on it over this winter break, creative juices willing.

and as thanks for reading........... all of this rambling, lol, here's a snippet from my draft of the "birdshit island"-cum-team-dinner scene:

Francis is at the end of his patience with the man, at this point in the day, and snaps. “Why don’t you tell us all about that crash in Monterey, James? That one was rather spectacular, if I remember right.” Fitzjames sours immediately, frowning and gritting his teeth. Francis has exactly a half a second of deep satisfaction at the expression before Blanky viciously kicks him in the shins under the table. Francis winces and glares at him, leaning down to rub at the spot. It had hurt, damn it. That prosthetic leg wasn’t soft by any stretch of the imagination.

[miwiheroes]

Dropping Byler Evidence Every Day Until Season 5

. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁ Day 6: Parallels with Rovickie . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . ݁

Other than the obvious one--being that Vickie has a boyfriend and Robin is jealous/ put between them--there are actually way more parallels to Rockie than I originally thought, which is why I decided to make a whole post about them!

Again, I'm gonna be stating how intentional I think each parallel is. Even if it's not intentional, it's still a proof because it's the fact they are using the same tropes for two pairings shows that they are both supposed to be seen as romantic.

1. Being Between Them

Very very intentional. The framing is the exact same except Robin is not blurred while Will is blurred. AND the fact that it's a queer character between a straight relationship as well what the actuallllll freak. The difference is the fact that Wills blurred but Robin isn't. Robin is shown to be miserable in this scene, while Will is actually happy in this scene because he is seeing El again.

2. Basically the same conversation

I also think this is kind of intentional, it's tooooo similar not to kind of be inspired by Mike's speech. Obviously, Mike is more of a main character than Vickie so I think that they decided to make her do the same thing as him because the writers see this situation as similar. It's also interesting that she, in this conversation, is talking about how much she should have broken up with her boyfriend earlier. Maybe that gives us a little insight into what Mike is feeling too :)))

ALSO ALSO the bit at the end where Vickie goes "sorry I am rambling while there are people suffering" is literally THE SAME as what Mike says when he goes "it's so stupid given everything that's going on", basically showing they both don't view their relationships as important.

3. The Gay Food Jokes

The 'try before you deny' joke is already kindofsus, but it can easily be argued against as just a little throw away line that is just meant to be a lil bit of banter. Then you see the way that Vickie says "I've made a peanut butter on peanut butter monstrosity" while both queer women are talking to each other. You see the way this kind of sounds similar to Mike going "That's blasphemous, putting fruit on pizza" before the people around him go "Try before you deny" like HAJHDGAJHSGD..... So they have the potential to make queer jokes do they??? Ones that are kind of subtle enough that only queer people pick up on them?? Yessir

4. The Same Look

I don't know if this is totally intentional but it's so perfect <3 Just two gays giving a little smile before looking away quickly teehee giggling kicking my feet.

(im not even adding analysis at this point lmao)

5. 'Cool'.

(also couldnt get a caption for this one but u know what they're saying)

Oh my god I literally yelled when I came across this while watching the scene, not expecting anything else to come up ADGAHJSDG

This is intentional to me. I think the way that the camera is right on Robin's face, the way she says the words, she just seems so IN LOVE and you can definitely see the same (if not more) in love look on Byler's faces when they say the same words. If you can see Robin saying this to Vickie as romantic and as evidence for reciprocated love, then you should definitely see the same for when Mike and Will both say it to each other.

Now that we have gotten confirmation that Robin, Vickie, Will and Mike will all be in the same scenes during season 5, I am even more excited for more parallels between two different flavours of queer couple living their best lives <3 thankyew

GUYS IVE DONE SO MUCH BYLER ANALYSIS TODAY HOLY FUCKING SHIT MY BRAIN IS FULLLL EVERYONE CLAP ME ON THE BACK AHDGAHSJGDHA

[seas-of-silver]

Hi guys! I know it's been a while since I've done one of these, but last year was a bit insane, so I'm back, and so is this ask game!

This is a request from Ardvarkeating101, who doesn't have Tumblr but wanted to still play in the "first sentence then scene" ask game, so here's my response to their submission!

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

In retrospect, Adrien probably should have figured out that his father was Hawkmoth before a SWAT team burst through the doors of the mansion. He couldn’t believe he hadn’t put it all together before now.

Well, there was the laughing, for one. Father’s laughter had always sounded a little evil for as long as Adrien could remember, but it had been taking on a more maniacal quality in recent months. He had picked up on the change because initially he thought that maybe Nathalie had developed a funny bone and Father might have been finally warming up to her, especially since the more cackle-like laugh had become increasingly frequent. Also, the whole mansion is covered in pristine marble, meaning that his father’s cackles from the atelier carried and echoed throughout the mansion, and those random maniacal cackles would startle Adrien out of his focus when studying… as did the akuma that almost always soon followed.

And then there was Father’s recent designs. Adrien would be the first to admit he’s far more creative than artistic (seriously - his drawings were more of stick figure quality), but that didn’t stop him from being able to tell the quality of a design when he saw it - perks of growing up in the fashion industry, he supposed. After all, it was that exposure to fashion that enabled him to spot the quality of Marinette’s designs, and how they rivalled junior designers ten years her senior.

But Father’s designs had been on a steady and rather concerning decline. It had started with what Adrien could only guess was attempts at making fashion faux pas fashionable, such as the “sandals with socks” designs that didn’t quite capture the imagination, but with every visit he made to his father’s atelier, he witnessed the quality of the work and ideas continually deteriorate. Just last week Adrien saw a most ludicrous design that incorporated the currently in-trend of brightly coloured pants in combination with steampunk and fairy design elements that made for a painfully eye watering monstrosity. If it wasn’t for his father’s distinctive art style in the drawing, Adrien wouldn’t have believed his father was capable of something so repulsive.

Adrien had attributed it to grief, and thought his Father would eventually be inspired enough to break out of this slump, but it seemed that his artistic decline was far worse than Adrien had ever realised. His akumas proved that it was possible for his father to have no artistic integrity.

Then there was Ladybug herself suspecting his father, but he didn’t want to entertain that suggestion. And he had become an akuma, so that had settled that debate, but in retrospect the timing was unbelievably convenient.

And then there was the most damning piece of evidence of all - Father had an increased interest in Adrien. Father had always been a distant man; Adrien always knew that Mother was the only person he would actually show love for, and while Adrien yearned for his father to be more expressive in his affection to him as his son, he understood that this was just the way his father was. Though, that didn’t stop Adrien from wanting to get closer with his father and to know him better.

But then Father started to visit him, talk to him - and not just about his performance at the most recent photoshoot or runway show. He was asking about how Adrien felt. He was asking about school. He was talking about Mother. And he was asking about his ring, his Miraculous, not that his father knew about the true nature of the ring.

…or perhaps that’s why he asked? Did Father suspect he was Chat Noir? He had asked about it in multiple occasions, after all. It was unnervingly intense to experience at the time, so it was likely he suspected him, and Adrien wondered now how he had managed to convince his father that he wasn’t the Black Cat hero of Paris.

What made his father’s behaviour all the more bizarre (and all the more damning) was the constant hopscotch between being hot and cold. Father had berated Adrien for talking about Mother, but then offered to watch his mother’s movie with him and told Adrien that he “didn’t have to hide anything from him”.  Father had refused to let him go to New York, changed his mind and let him go, and then ordered him back home over the course of three days. Father had repeatedly given him permission to hang out with friends, and had rescinded his permission at the last minute just as frequently. It was baffling, confusing, and had made Adrien wonder whether Father was doing this on purpose, or whether the man was slowly losing his short-term memory.

…could abusing the Miraculous lead to damaged short-term memory? He’d have to ask Plagg. But that would have to wait until after the SWAT raid was over.

Adrien wished he could talk to Nino or Alya or Marinette, but with him being under the protection of four SWAT guards (or was he a prisoner? He wasn’t sure), he doubted he’d have the permission to call them. And transforming into Chat Noir and escaping to Ladybug was completely out of the question. So Adrien sat in overwhelmed silence as troops swarmed the mansion, investigating every nook and cranny of every room.

…or at least he was silent until he saw his very disheveled father, who looked like he fought a leaf blower and lost.

‘Why, Father?’ he asked, ignoring the stinging in his eyes as his father was being escorted in handcuffs with SWAT soldiers on either side of him. ‘Why would you do it?’

‘You would never understand,’ Father snarled, fighting against his restraints. ‘You don’t love her like I do.’

‘Who?’ Adrien asked desperately. ‘Mother?’

Just then, Nathalie emerged, restrained and disheveled just like his father was.

‘Nathalie?!’ Adrien yelped, disbelieving. ‘What- why? How? You knew?’

Nathalie looked away, silent.

Father and Nathalie were read their Miranda rights and informed of their charges being the magical terrorists Hawk Moth and Mayura respectively, shoved unceremoniously into the back of a SWAT vehicle, and were driven away with an armoured entourage. The remaining SWAT soldiers continued to scour the mansion, while two intimidating men approached Adrien and his guards.

‘Adrien Agreste, I am Corporal Jean Briand, the leader of this SWAT Unit. How are you coping with all this?’

‘I- I…’ Adrien stammered, trying to form a sentence as his mind screamed incoherently. ‘I don’t know.’

‘That’s understandable,’ Corporal Briand said sympathetically. ‘I can only imagine it’s a lot to take in.’

Adrien thought that was a bit of an understatement.

‘Am… am I under arrest, sir?’ Adrien asked.

‘No, no you’re not,’ the Corporal reassured with a small smile. ‘Chat Noir may be a vigilante hero, but that’s hardly a reason to charge you, especially since you protected millions of civilians with your selfless bravery against a magical threat.’

Adrien’s eyes popped out of his head.

‘You… you know?’

Corporal Briand and the other SWAT soldiers chuckled.

‘You really need to find better hiding places to transform than behind a bush, tree or park bench,’ the Corporal chided gently. ‘But so does that friend of yours.’

‘My friend? You mean Ladybug?’ Adrien asked. 

‘Yes, a young Miss-‘

‘WAIT!’ Adrien exclaimed. ‘Don’t tell me!’

‘Hang on, so you seriously don’t know who she is?’ SWAT Guard 1 asked, amused. ‘I thought that was just a gimmick.’

‘Of course they didn’t know! Were you even paying attention during surveillance?’ SWAT Guard 3 asked.

‘Of course I was!’ Guard 1 protested. ‘But with how close they were, it was hard to believe they didn’t know!’

‘Didn’t stop you from betting on their reveal though,’ SWAT Guard 4 muttered with a smirk, and Guard 1 glared at them.

‘Huh?’ uttered Adrien.

‘Come one, man,’ said SWAT Guard 2, ‘did you really think they were going that far to hide their identities from the world if they really had revealed to each other? They don’t have that kind of intricate level of forward planning.’

‘Oh really?’ Guard 1 retorted. ‘What about Ladybug’s battle plans?’

‘What about the transformation hiding spots Adrien and Ma-’

‘No, it’s true!’ Adrien piped up, cutting off Guard 2 from revealing his lady’s name. ‘We really don’t know, and I’m not going to betray her trust by learning who she is from you guys, no offence.’

‘None taken,’ said Guard 1. ‘But now I’m looking forward to that reveal for more than just the bet.’

Adrien was reeling, his head spinning like a tornado from emotional whiplash, the million and one questions he had about the events and information revealed over the past hour and a bit, and wanting to know what kind of bet these SWAT soldiers had made about him and Ladybug. He suddenly felt very sympathetic with Dorothy and Toto.

‘So how did you find out about Father and Nathalie? And about me and Ladybug?’ Adrien asked.

‘We started investigating into Hawk Moth as soon as he made his dramatic debut in September,’ Corporal Briand began, ‘and kept a keen eye on events as they occurred. We don’t take kindly to terrorists of any kind, and that includes magical ones. We reached out to a few specialist groups as we tried to narrow down the nature of this magic, as UNIT confirmed it wasn’t alien of origin, but it wasn’t easy. All we had to off was your friend’s Ladyblog, and our own observations, including the fact that you were interacting with a creature that didn’t register on any electronic devices.’

‘Creature?’ he echoed.

‘The black cat-like wingless flying one that has an affinity for Camembert,’ the Corporal replied. ‘Our snipers had spotted you taking to what seemed like thin air, until they switched their digital scopes for analog ones.’

‘Right, smart,’ Adrien conceded dumbly.

‘But what really helped us find Hawk Moth and Mayura was, rather simply, CCTV,’ the Corporal admitted. ‘Just because we couldn’t see the floating creatures on video didn’t mean we couldn’t see things like transformations or where people travelled to and from. All it took was unlimited access to Paris’s CCTV network, using social media posts of people’s sightings, and good old fashioned investigation to solve the puzzle. Well, that, and Shanghai and New York.’

‘What about those?’ Adrien asked.

‘Because Hawk Moth and Mayura made very few in-person appearances in battles, it slowed our investigation considerably, but we still had a selection of possible suspects,’ the Corporal explained. ‘But after Hawk Moth’s attacks in both China and the US, the only one from our suspect pool who was present in both countries during both attacks was your father. We already had all our main suspects under 24 hour surveillance from before New York, but we had to make sure we had enough indisputable evidence to take to court before we could make the arrest.’

‘Oh,’ he uttered. ‘So were Ladybug and I under investigation?’

‘Initially,’ Corporal Briand admitted, ‘but once we discovered you two were just teenagers who had taken on the mammoth responsibility of using magic to protect the city and fight the terrorists, you two got downgraded in priority, but still kept under surveillance, just in case.’

‘Right,’ muttered Adrien, just as another SWAT soldier emerged from some sort of van and approached them.

‘Sir,’ the soldier said, ‘the magical items are clean, yet the Peacock one shows signs of damage. We’ve completed our assessments on the items to submit as evidence.’

‘Excellent,’ Corporal Briand said, and the soldier handed him two plastic evidence bags. ‘Now we just need to ensure they’re the real deal. Adrien, can you do the honours?’

Corporal Briand held out the plastic bags to him, and Adrien tentatively accepted them, and sucked in a sharp breath when he saw two broaches within them.

Adrien’s throat suddenly felt like it had swollen, and it was harder to breathe or swallow.

‘Um, before I do,’ Adrien said hesitantly, ‘what will happen to these Miraculouses? Recovering these Miraculouses and other lost or stolen Miraculous-related items was a major part of Ladybug’s and my job. Will we be able to take them back to their rightful place, or will you be taking them for evidence? And will we be able to retrieve them if you do take them for evidence?’

‘Don’t worry, Adrien,’ Corporal Briand told him with a smile. ‘You can take the Miraculouses with you. We just need proof that those are the real deal, so that we can confirm we got the right people and that the threat is well and truly over… and maybe, where possible, answer a few of our questions just in case we find ourselves facing a similar threat in the future. And don’t worry about yours and Ladybug’s identities - we’ll keep them secret.’

Adrien nodded warily, wishing he had the comfort of Ladybug’s presence beside him, and put on the Miraculouses. Immediately, two kwami emerged.

‘Yes, Mas- wait - Adrien?’ the purple butterfly kwami asked disbelievingly.

‘Adrien! It’s Adrien!’ cried the blue peacock one. ‘It’s soooo nice to finally meet you! Em- bleugh! I hate those bubbles! Ugh, your mum used to talk about you all the time!’

‘Duusu!’ scolded the purple one while Adrien spluttered.

‘Mum? My mum? What- how did you know her?’ Adrien asked, the words practically falling out of his mouth in frazzled sudden desperation.

‘Well-’

‘Before that,’ interrupted the purple one, looking warily at the soldiers, ‘who are these people?’

‘Oh!’ Adrien exclaimed. ‘Right, sorry - this is Corporal Braind and his team. They’re the ones who rescued you two from, um, Father and Nathalie.’

‘Woohoo!’ cried Duusu, waving their stubby arms in the air as the purple one relaxed somewhat. ‘Rescuers! Nooroo, we’re saved!’

‘Yes, apparently,’ Nooroo commented.

‘Oh!’ Duusu gasped. ‘If you’re rescuers, you can get Em- bleugh! I hate those bubbles! You can rescue his mum, then, right?’

This time, it wasn’t just Adrien’s eyes that popped out in shock.

‘Wait, what?’

[krokodilsredimudil]

the Poltergeist trilogy | Stranger things

It's super obvious how the first Poltergeist movie inspired Stranger Things, a girl gets lost in another dimension (kidnapped by ghosts, that is). Both the movie and the show were inspired by this episode of the Twilight Zone.

However, for some reason I've never watched the last two movies. So let's have a look at parallels.

Here I'm talking about some similar scenes, the new leak, Holly, Henry, trope subversion and some other things.

The main character Carol Anne is clairvoyant, as are her mother and grandmother. She senses ghosts and' knows things'. In the first movie she was kidnapped into 'the other side', her parents had to travel there to save her.

In the second movie her clairvoyance is shown more explicitly.

Carol Anne is drawing 'the Beast' (the main ghost-antagonist) however, she is not aware who that is at the moment

both scenes are referencing the one from Poltergeist. Henry's drawing scene does that as well

Also it's interesting that Holly is present in the scene with Max, because she looks like Carol Anne and she sensed Demogorgon (?) in s1 and the episode is literally called 'Holly Jolly'.

As for the newest leak with 'Henry' and 'Holly' (we still don't know anything about these characters so '')

This is the scene people are talking about:

This creepy looking dude is a ghost stuck between worlds, he's trying to get lots of souls and enter the afterlife. He seeks Carol Anne for that, she's like a beacon for the lost souls and her innocence can lead him ‘into the light’

His name is Henry Kane.

But that's like Henry Creel!!!! Evil Henry is collecting kids' souls, you'd probably say?

Not really. While the Duffers love their references, they also love their trope subversion.

Let's have a look at Damien Thorn (Omen) and Henry as seen in s4 flashbacks (from this post)

So back to the leak. 'Henry's wearing a hat and is talking to a blonde girl = that's enough for the audience to draw the similarities between the two scenes.

I believe it's another trope subversion by the brothers, in the video (which i can't link) 'Holly' is smiling?? Totally very creepy and uncomfortable, sure

As for the whole plot, of course love and family can beat the bad guy.

From the First Shadow animated teaser

Some other things I noticed in Poltergeist II:

There's a tunnel system underneath the house where the main characters lived in Poltergeist I.

The father of the family, Steven, threw up a slug which developed into this monstrosity.

As for Poltergeist III … It’s terrible, let’s not talk about it lol

Okay, I still have to

Kane this time can't enter the real world and travels through mirrors using reflections against the characters

Love wins of course

Something something how Will was saved because there were people who loved him and never gave up

[yonderghostshistories]

I’m gonna do my own lil tag game, this time…..it’s-

……MONTY PYTHON RELATED!

SPECIFICALLY,

How did you (yes, you, the mutual and/or other Tumblr user reading this) get into Monty Python?

To elaborate, what is your Monty Python Fan Origin Story? To further elaborate, how did you become aware of and become a fan of Monty Python? Tag 6 or more (or less, it’s absolutely fine either way!) of your mutuals!

I’ll start first. I first became (properly) aware of Monty Python when I was (and still am) in the Six Idiots/ThemThere Fandom (if you don’t know who the Six Idiots/ThemThere are, they’re a British Comedy Troupe consisting of the following 6 members; Mathew Baynton, Simon Farnaby, Martha Howe-Douglas, Jim Howick, Laurence Rickard and Ben Willbond. They were first originally together in the children’s historical comedy sketch show “Horrible Histories” which ran from 2009 to 2014, and since then have went on to create, write and star in the following projects, such as the fantasy comedy “Yonderland”, the Shakespeare comedy film “Bill” (2015) and the supernatural family BBC sitcom “Ghosts”) and I saw a video compilation on YouTube comparing clips/scenes from various Six Idiots/ThemThere projects and their inspirations from clips/scenes from various Monty Python projects, which really cemented in my head (especially after becoming a Python fan) that the Six Idiots truly are the “Monty Python” of this generation, or at least the Six Idiots are like Gen Z Monty Python (imo that is).

Anyway, starting in 2023, when I was on holiday with my family to see my grandparents in India, I started watching the MP films (specifically Holy Grail (1975) and Life of Brian (1979)) for the first time on my (barely working) laptop when both movies were freely available to watch in their entirety on YouTube (shocking, I know right?). And tbh, they were absolutely HILARIOUS! (Plus it was at this time that I had realised my first actual proper bisexual awakening when especially watching LoB, specifically the scenes where both Brian and Judith were naked, and thankfully my parents weren’t there to witness this absolute monstrosity (to them at least) and I have to say, thanks LoB :))👍🩷💜💙)

Then when I came back home to England, I watched The Meaning of Life (1983) (because pirating it on my nearly battered old laptop was really hard cuz it kept annoyingly pausing at random points in the movie) and so I asked either my mum or brother (I can’t remember exactly lol) to rent the movie MoL on Amazon Prime, and after watching it, I have to say, it was also pretty amazing! I think MoL is my personal favourite movie of the bunch tbh, cuz in a weird, surreally Pythonesque avante garde way, it was very emotional and cathartic (to me at least) and it felt fitting as a finale to Python as a whole (at least at the time).

After that, I became REALLY, like, REALLY into Python, I watched some of the sketches, some clips of the films, I bought some of the merchandise, I watched and bought DVDs of some of the Pythons’ other projects, etc.

My first Python crush was Terry Jones, but now my 2 absolute crushes are now firmly Graham Chapman AND Terry Jones, BUT….my 3-way Python crushes are; Graham Chapman, Terry Jones AND Michael Palin (tho I do love them all tbh as (as my mum says) im a diplomat lmao, so I do love Eric Idle, John Cleese, and Terry Gilliam equally too, but for the latter 3 I’m not as attracted to them as the former 3, if that makes sense?). Also, I absolutely STAN Carol Cleveland, Connie Booth and Neil Innes, THEYRE THE BEST FR AHHHH

Plus being in the MP fandom has genuinely made my life better, as I met some of my most WONDERFUL and LOVELY and KIND mutuals of all time, especially my bestest of ALL online bestie friends, @commonguttersnipe !! (Love you Commie darling <33, and she also makes pretty great MP fanfics imo too :))🫶❤️)

Ok, so uhh…..that’s my Monty Python Fan Origin Story.

I now tag: @commonguttersnipe @thehistoryone @michael-palin-is-the-loml

@knoxoverstreet16 @chapmanzz @vilhjalmr

[aliusfrater]

I so agree with you on your panic room post like the dehumanization and humiliation alone is sickening and as someone new to the show I've seen people and fanfiction when they make this as sam getting darker or being monster while whole episode he is just begging dean and also tells ruby that he just wants dean to trust him and when people say Sam manipulates dean by using puppy eyes always gets his way is just wrong because in whole show i think this is only time we see sam properly verbalise his issues that dean always takes the wheel and he trusts him because he is his brother and wants that reciprocated and dean just so cruel this whole episode in the beginning he calls sam 'weak desparate pathetic ' and fandom like yeah sam is the one self righteous and monsterous sorry for this tangent lol but i just this episode reveals such crucial struggle of sams character and most people only see last part of dean lying and say this is why he started apocalypse

i think the crux of it is that the audience quite simply lives within the box that is the same dichotomy of monstrosity that both dean and the narrative subscribes to. edlund and singer themselves hold similar fascist beliefs which is reflected in the way they direct and write; they too, subscribe to the ideal of us vs them/innocent or hunter vs monster as well as the narrative relevant structures that surround and perpetuate them. in 4.21, when sam is attempting to negotiate being looked up in the panic room, while dean insults him in between promises of protection and that the circumstances are for his own good, sam is lit by red lighting—similar to the car scene in 3.06 when a demon attempts to talk him up with the concept of leadership—representing an acknowledgement of monstrosity. sam's identity is being compartmentalised through the dichotomy of monstrosity; sam, his monstrosity, is encroaching upon sammy, dean's little brother to be protected and saved (and dean calls sam sammy while dean speaks down to sam before closing the latch and leaving sam in the panic room to 'dry out' as dean puts it) and sam's inclination towards monstrosity does indeed give dean the right to take sam's life as per 'save him or kill him' and as far as dean, bobby, sam, and much of the audience (and their concept is how monstrosity works or is dealt with) is concerned. the dehumanisation of the circumstance regarding the general state of the panic room is, i think, part of this; it's representative of exactly how compartmentalised sam's identity is regarding his monstrosity. like, 4.21 "then at least he dies human," / "most likely, he would become the next creature that you would feel compelled to kill." even 5.14, "that's not him in there. not really." / "i know." quite frankly i think his addiction is conflated with his independence as well as his relationship with ruby (especially when the role she plays for sam and how their relationship works is considered) and therefore, is also conflated with his monstrosity. like, 4.04, "use the knife!" 4.21 "it's not something you're doing it's what you are," + dean comparing sam's escape and relapse to his leave for stanford in 4.22; thesis it was never particularly about the blood. anyway, i feel like there's Much of dean's character especially relating to the way his and sam's relationship works, especially in conjunction with the aspects of the original john-dean-sam dynamic that is relevant in 4.21, that you could get into if you extract yourself from dean's conflations of many factors of sam's arc for season four that's ultimately missed by much of the audience observing through dean's perspective. there's definitely a way that lines up with many of sam's motivations to portray sam's monstrosity, the agency it inspires within him, and culmination of both of these ideas into his addiction relating to the aspects of the dichotomy of monstrosity as well as his nonrole that he breaks the boundaries of which all lead into his independence (the examples you mentioned + others like 5.05 "dean, one of the reasons i went off with ruby... was to get away from you. [...] it made me feel strong. Like I wasn't your kid brother.") and the straying of him + a post-hell dean from the dynamics of their relationship (which post-hell dean was looking for while he felt like he was losing control over himself!) but it is impossible to do so from within that box. i genuinely believe that you have to spectate the imaginary structures that supernatural imposes upon itself if you're really going to understand how sam and dean's dynamic works. the audience suffers from a chronic ignorance of sam's perspective i fear <3 (this even applies to people who are generally charitable to sam as a character usually because sam himself has a tendency to compartmentalise his own perspective in favour of dean's) welcome to the fandom lol

[lockdaisy]

How Resident Evil 4 Remake Makes it More Explicit that Leon’s Life SUCKS

While Resident Evil 4 Remake's new introduction insinuates it, supplemental material makes it explicitly clear that the ONLY reason Leon joined the government as a special agent after the events of RE2 was because they threatened to MURDER Sherry, a little girl, if he refused to work for them. In other words, Leon gave up his freedom for Sherry's safety. Actually, to put it even more bluntly, it means that the US government essentially enslaved Leon, who was already severely traumatized by the events of Raccoon City, and forced him to continuously re-traumatize himself over and over again by forcing him to undergo brutal training and throw himself into life-threatening missions where he endlessly has to fight against bioterrorist monstrosities

(I’ll add the rest under a read more to avoid cluttering the tag)

This fact adds a lot of tragic irony to the story and a lot of tragic elements to Leon's character as a whole. First, Leon, who the government enslaved into working for them by threatening a girl he viewed as his daughter figure, was assigned to rescue Ashley, the daughter of the president of the US government, and I can barely believe that the government had the temerity to give Leon that mission in light of his circumstances

Second, it makes the scene where Ashley, inspired by Leon, excitedly talks about her desire to become an agent "just like Leon" and go on missions "protecting the US from any and all threats" take a far more tragically ironic, painful turn since, unbeknownst to her, Leon very much did not willingly join the government, and she's talking about protecting the very government that enslaved her savior

Third, it really highlights Leon's inherent kindness. Although you could argue that Leon had no choice but to save Ashley, there was nothing that forced him to be kind to her. Even though Leon has all the reason in the world to hate her, since she's the daughter of one of the men who enslaved him, he nevertheless was nothing but kind, patient, and selfless to her, which emphasizes the intrinsic goodness of Leon's character

Fourth, it really makes RE4's ending a lot more bittersweet and Leon's character a lot more tragic. Considering the fact that Leon singlehandedly rescued the President's daughter, you'd think that that would've been enough for the government to grant Leon and Sherry their freedom, right? You'd think that President Graham, who must have known about Leon's circumstances and who is completely beholden to him for saving his daughter's life and preventing a huge bioterrorist catastrophe in the United States, would set Leon and Sherry free, right? Wrong. From what we saw in the other games and movies, Leon is still enslaved. In fact, in RE6, it was even made clear that they not only refused to grant Leon and Sherry their freedom, but that they didn't even allow Leon to watch Sherry, the girl he sacrificed his freedom for, grow up, and they put him and Sherry under the control of the legitimately monstrous Derek Simmons. So even though Leon sacrificed his freedom for Sherry, just because Simmons hated him due to the fact that he thought that he was “stealing” Ada from him, he was basically NEVER allowed to visit Sherry. And since RE6 made it clear that Leon became highly suicidal and that the only reason that he forced himself to stay alive was to protect Sherry, it really just makes Leon's life all the more tragic. He saved the President's daughter, he saved the world, again and again, but nobody will ever save him, and he will forever remain enslaved by the U.S. government

And... overall while I love the fact that they did imply it, since they never even did that much in the original RE4, I do wish that the game made it more explicitly clear that Leon was forced to work for the government against his will because 1) it adds a really fascinating element to Leon's character since he is the only member of the cast who was essentially enslaved in the fight against bioterrorism, 2) it would have really strengthened the parallels between Leon and Krauser since it would make it more clear that the US government screwed them both over in their own ways, and 3) it really explains Leon's grumpier, more cynical attitude in the game

I also think it's strange that Capcom goes back and forth between acknowledging and ignoring this part of Leon's character and lore, and I think it's kind of sad since it distorts the perception of Leon's character as a whole in the fandom. For example, in Infinite Darkness, it can basically be argued that the reason why Leon did what he did at the end was because he CAN’T go against the government's wishes without endangering Sherry's life. (And I’m not blaming Claire for being mad at him, either, since there’s a good chance that he kept the fact that they’re holding Sherry’s life over his head a secret from her in order to protect her from being targeted by the government). Instead, because Capcom doesn't really focus on his circumstances, it just makes it look like he's a government shill

It’s just... so tragic. Unlike Jill, Chris, and Claire, Leon literally had no choice in his career against bioterrorism. He didn’t become a special agent of his own volition; he was enslaved. And the only reason Claire didn’t end up in the exact same circumstances was because Leon, knowing that she still needed to find her brother Chris, encouraged her to go look for him, promising that it would be ok for her to do so since he would look after Sherry. And because of that, Claire left before she could get captured by the government like Leon and Sherry did, and so she got to have her freedom. And the only reason why Leon is still enslaved to this very day is because he cares about Sherry’s safety so much that he was willing to sacrifice his freedom for her. In other words, Leon ended up suffering because of his kindness. He was punished for being kind

And despite all that, even though his kindness directly contributes to his suffering, Leon still chooses to be kind and selfless anyway, and that’s just so... 

I love him

[steddieunderdogfics]

This week’s writer spotlight feature is:  Capriciously_Terminal! @capriciouslyterminal has 106 fics on ao3 in the Stranger Things fandom and 105 of them are in the Steddie tag!

@mustardyellowlilac recommends the following works by Capriciously_Terminal:

Where the Sun Can't Reach

Spit Me out, You Don't Know Where I've Been

It's the Ritual of the Thing

Baby I'm Your Man (Don't Fear the Reaper)

It's as if she writes memories, rather than stories, and that makes them tangible and devastating -- @mustardyellowlilac

Below the cut, @capriciouslyterminal answered some questions about their writing process and some of their recommended work!

Why do you write Steddie?

I started writing Steddie because the characters of Steve and Eddie have such specific and human voices that I literally couldn’t get them out of my head after watching the first drop of S4. (Also I’d just gotten a new puppy who didn’t love sleeping through the night so I had plenty of time to think). The more I wrote for them the deeper I found myself in their voices and thinking about what they could do and I had to keep going until I ran out of steam.

What’s your favorite trope to READ?

I love a good “Steddie interwoven into previous seasons’ canon events” story. Especially if an author makes it SO specific. I want Steve and Eddie in Starcourt. I want Eddie Munson popping up at the pumpkin patch. I want Eddie Munson in the background at Starcourt drooling. I want him to spend this whole time watching Steve’s character growth and finding it impossibly hot before getting twisted up in the horror.

What’s your favorite trope to WRITE?

I definitely love adding Eddie Munson to canon (thinking about him and life-guard Steve Harrington is where this all began, afterall). However I think that I, as a person, am just as obsessed with The Horrors. As such adding monstrosity/new flavors of spooky to this show was my favorite thing to do.

What’s your favorite Steddie fic?

I can narrow it down to two! My favorite piece of Steddie fic that changed my brain chemistry has got to be fastcardotmp3’s “that’s just wasteland, baby!” (https://archiveofourown.org/works/42351597) because the scene in the lake? The genuine wonderful take on in media res apocalypse living? Dot’s talent for characterization/love? I’ll never live it down. Actually, go read everything by fastcardotmp3. Do yourself a favor. The other has to be “every mistake was made purposefully” by birthdaycandles (https://archiveofourown.org/works/41795838/chapters/104862381). It turns out I’m a sucker for excellent narration and watching Steddie/plot shenanigans from Tommy Hagan’s prickly point of view. It gave me everything I’ve ever wanted.

Is there a trope you’re excited to explore in a future work but haven’t yet?

I always wanted to write a When Harry Met Sally AU about Steve and Eddie meeting throughout their lives/development. I don’t know if I’ll ever pick it up again but it’s still there knocking at the back of my mind. I’ve also got like fifteen of the drabbles in i love you you dope with bits of continuation in my head too.

What is your writing process like?

In general, my writing is a very all or nothing process. It’s either going to go all day, through meals, and not stop until the idea is finished OR I’m going to be stalled completely. Generally, though, if I’m in my crazy inspired phase I’ll have an idea (specifically the beginning of something) and if that idea sticks in my head for more than a single day then I probably can’t leave it until it’s done. However, this did change with my writing i love you you dope. I decided to answer p0ck3tf0x's "100 Ways to Say I Love You" list one prompt at a time. Once a day. RIP. This led to a writing process which was more of a sit down after work and immediately write the first thing you could think of until it’s done kind of affair. I can’t recommend that style lol. It led to some pretty intense burnout by the end but I am proud of how many ideas came because of it. It showed that, through tenacity, most ideas could be something worth pursuing.

Do you have any writing quirks?

I can’t help but put first and second person pronouns in descriptions as if speaking to the reader and I’m a frequent and blatant tense shifter. It’s all over the place at times lol. I also LOVE a good stream of consciousness description, flitting from one image to another, which probably lead to these grammatical quirks and a shit ton of run-on sentences.

Do you prefer posting when you’ve finished writing or on a schedule?

Before I started writing i love you you dope I very much preferred finishing my writing before I posted it. It took ages but nothing felt worse than having to leave something unfinished because I’d lost the plot (which has happened several times).  However, part of the draw of i love you you dope was that (as a challenge) I had to write and post daily. While I learned I can write on such a grueling schedule, I can safely say after finishing it that I prefer having the time to ensure something’s to my standards. Or, at least, until I’m tired of looking at it and just want other people to see it.

Which fic are you most proud of?

If we branch outside of my Steddie work it’s a fic for a little show called Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency that I think I’ll never top. A Road Song in Quartet that Smells like a Trio is basically my novel/brain-child about my favorite rowdy vampire boys and I have to shout it out everywhere I go. However, to stick to the Steddie, I had such a great time with characterization in writing It’s the Ritual of the Thing. Some of those descriptions are still some of my best work. Or, I’d have to say, Can We Both Be Lonely If We’re Both Looking at Each Other? It’s an AU modeled after the world of The Magnus Archives Podcast and not only was I proud of the way I was able to layer monstrosity on both Eddie and Steve but I just loved the world. I actually planned out a whole main plot for the world that never saw the light of day.

How did you get the idea for Baby I'm Your Man (Don't Fear the Reaper)?

I can’t remember which came first, the title or the idea of Eddie meeting Death as played by Steve Harrington, but the song title by Blue Öyster Cult had definitely been sitting in my head for a while. The idea initially started as a Seventh Seal reference with Eddie having to challenge Death with Steve Harrington’s face to a game of basketball but that scene wasn’t working so instead we got a trip through various S4 locales and a fun Death with good hair.

When writing Spit Me out, You Don't Know Where I've Been, what was something you didn’t expect?

I honestly didn’t know if anyone would vibe with the language/story. For a fic that focused a lot on unease, offal, and how hard it would be to picture a future in a small town I was waiting for people to not touch this one with a ten foot pole. So to hear that it actually channeled people’s feelings or that it was something that people enjoyed (as opposed to just me shouting stressful things at the sky) was a big expectation dodge.

What inspired It's the Ritual of the Thing?

When I was in high school I had a friend who asked me out once, the first person to ever do so, and my first instinctual response was to genuinely ask him why he was really calling me after school. He insisted that he really did want to ask me out and for some reason that made my blood run cold. The date did not go well, obviously, but I remembered the gut punch to think someone wouldn’t want you/the desire to say no just because it frightened you for years afterwards. It felt like such an Eddie thing to feel, especially if Steve Harrington was the one to ask him out. Honestly…I poured a lot of my own worldview into Eddie Munson as I wrote him and that’s where a lot of this came from.

What was your favorite part to write from Ritual of the Thing?

I’d have to say it’s a toss up between two parts. Firstly, I’ll never get over the descriptive imagery in the beginning (I’ll never forget lines like “Suddenly it’s like he’s a Jack-O-Lantern with his mouth carved open. A candle sits on his tongue and its light is shining out of his eyes”). It was the kind of sentence I was thrilled to read after I wrote it. Secondly, I was really proud of Eddie and Robin’s conversation after Steve told her about his asking Eddie out. I loved both of their voices in that moment and the thought of Robin trying to explain how much Steve could love you even after you’d had to let him down…and her little fake nightmare discussion.

How do/did you feel writing Where the Sun Can't Reach?

On one hand it felt like I was exorcizing something because I show my class The Sandlot once a year and that means for one day I watch the scene where the kid fakes drowning to make-out with the lifeguard four times. That’s too many times. I had to process that. But I do remember that feeling of loneliness that could come with summer. That could come with wishing for a room somewhere with someone you loved when it felt impossible. I remember when the smallest of things could mean the world when you had nothing else…so in a way maybe I was exorcizing that too.

What was the most difficult part of writing Where the Sun Can't Reach?

Besides the jokey answer of reliving the aforementioned scene from The Sandlot on purpose, I’d have to say trying to accurately consider the physics/feelings of Eddie’s trip into the water. The feelings/actual consequences of hitting his head. I’m not too sure I got the details right but I remember working on it so many times that I eventually threw in the towel and went with what I had.

Do you have a favorite scene and/or line from any of your fics?

I think…it’s gotta go to my lone vampire Steddie fic I Go Hungry Every Night. The whole thing’s one big treatise to Upside Down skinned vampires and food/service as a love language? And also the fact that I love vampires/monstrosity. I just went way too hard with the line: “If you asked Steve what the opposite of tracing constellations in someone’s freckles in the afterglow would be he’d say this, making shapes in the pieces of the wound they’ve given you. The one that weeps red slowly.”

Do you have any upcoming projects or fics you’d like to share/promote?

While I wish I did, and I’m always thinking about various unfinished fics in the strangest moments of my life, I think I’m pretty knocked from my Steddie writing mojo. I love you you dope was an incredible process and I am so proud of it…but I think it cauterized my writing brain for Steddie. I’d love for people to poke around the fics I wrote and I will say that other people’s intrigue sometimes pulls my attention back to old ideas…but I do believe I’m a bit out to pasture here lol.

Outside of these questions, Is there anything YOU would like to add?

Writing Steddie was something that kept me sane during a really stressful transition from college to adulthood. These characters and all the people I got to meet/talk with in this fandom have been one of the greatest joys in my life. I’m so honored, like honestly floored, that anyone would nominate me for something like this. The thing about writing fic is that oftentimes when you start it can feel like you can’t possibly amount to what other people do. Like you’re just a little voice that doesn’t have anything special about it even when you tried so hard. But I stand as someone who felt that way and still found that people did enjoy what I wrote and if I can do it, honestly, anyone can. <3

Thank you to our author, @capriciouslyterminal, and our nominator, @mustardyellowlilac! See more of Capriciously_Terminal's works featured on our page throughout the day!

Writer’s Spotlight is every Wednesday! Want to nominate an author? You can nominate them here!

[emotionalsupportaudino]

Spoilers for Chuck Tingle's Bury Your Gays

I can't stop thinking about the bride. The scene with the bride. Spoilers ahead.

These scenes written as scripts itched my brain in a lot of ways. There was something surreal about them, I couldn't figure out if they were telling the future or if they were on another world or if they were Misha trying to puzzle through what was wrong through scripts.

And when I realized what they were like three minutes ago, I realized it was fucking brilliant.

It was a script because it was an AI nanobot of Misha. He was literally moving on a script. Holy shit. Holy shit that was brilliant and such a clever way to explain what was happening without explaining what was happening, I can't believe I missed it at first.

But there is something so haunting about the bride, because she is a horror of, well, straightness. And I feel like there's so many layers to what she says to the guards at Misha's house:

"Lately I've been noticing something strange about the things I do. There's an inertia to it all. Like, I know what's going to happen before it happens, because it's already written."

There's a lot of ways to read that. The obvious: she's literally on a script. But I think, also, The Bride being the one to point that out really speaks to growing up socialized as a woman. So much of life feels plotted out for you, you're expected to start planning your wedding when you're barely old enough to write, kids are given dress up wedding gowns (I had one! It was from a my size barbie). There are so many expectations placed on women, and so many different ways that it feels like you're stuck on a track.

But I am a little haunted by the way I see the scene play out in my head. There's this vicious killing of two guards, this woman in a white short gown with lace sleeves, with a skintight white sequined mask all but glowing in the moonlight. And just utter silence as she lugs away her bodies and unmasks herself and vanishes into the night. This understanding that she maybe didn't necessarily want to do this, as a character. The understanding that, really, she has no wants as an AI monstrosity.

But I can't help but bring myself to have some pity for her. This woman in white who exists in the story for less than ten pages, massacres guards to leave characters I actually care about open for serious harm, and just... leaves, in near silence, passing the plot and moving on. (seriously though i did NOT enjoy when I realized, no, Tara was actually getting hurt I will fight people over Tara for the rest of my life I am love her.)

And I wonder what Misha was thinking when he wrote The Bride. I wonder if the inspiration for her, which had to have been his pressure to be straight, changed over his life. I wonder if being out would make him look back on her and think that it wasn't her fault, like how he told the Smoker it wasn't his fault. I wonder if he would develop more story for her, more reason for her to be the way she is, I wonder what the story for Wedding Night was. I'm imagining him going back and writing a prequel, like X and Pearl where The bride gets a story to be understood.

I am going to be spending so much time thinking about this specific one. Maybe it's because we get so much about Mrs. Why and The Smoker, but I am intrigued by the bride. She terrifies me. I see her moving in a way I can't explain, but I desperately want to.

Nine pages. There's a whole ass novel, but those nine pages. I'm fixated on them. It makes no damn sense.

... Compels me, though.

[pilot-nobody]

Director's commentary on "Hell is What you Make"!

So, that monstrosity started when miguelryan left a very nice comment on "Love and Loathing" which said that it was sad that Tessie wasn't around to see what her boys became.

And I said, you know what! She should see the whole tragedy that is the O'Reily brothers; that would be fun! Many months later and I finally got "Hell is What you Make" done!!!!!!

That said it went in a few directions that I wasn't expecting...

But first the title was inspired by the song "This Is Gonna Hurt" by Sixx:A.M. (there is a slower acoustic version that I really love and that is kinda perfect for Tessie, I just can't find it anymore....)

And originally the main ghost that I wanted Tessie to interact with was Dino Ortolani instead of Ricardo Alvarez. But Dino was too antagonistic and distracting (plus I didn't want to go into mafia politics) and I wanted Tessie fall collapse into herself by herself, not having some one "push" her to it, if that makes sense. And then I remembered Ricardo and he fit sooo much better.

Also he is a character that I felt semi-comfortable writing just because I figured that there was less for me to mess up....

And then Tessie just had soooooo much to say and do, much more then I had originally anticipated! Had to cut some things out because of it. Like I wanted a scene where Cloutier or Meehan tried to comfort her and basically she feeds him to the "cold hell". Again I just thought it was too violent for where she was currently at so...

And I have some thoughts on the whole epilogue and the Ricardo/Tessie situation like Tessie wanted to just kill EVERYONE and Ricardo wanted to spare Eduardo and Miguel. Dealers choice on if he succeeded or not. (also dealers choice and if Eduardo and Miguel are trapped with Ricardo a la Cyril style) But I see that as the one major contention between them And that Ricardo's territory is generally higher up closer to the sun and he lets pigeons hang out on the roof sometimes. And Tessie is very much in the bowels of Oz.

Another way that it could have ended was Tessie trying to make a new family with Ricardo and Cyril in the most unhinged way possible. But I think the ending I went with works better!

Ok, sorry for the rambling, hopefully this all makes sense!! :P

[mxmollusca]

for the "get to know your fic writer meme"! 4, 17, 46, 54! and if you have one that you REALLY want to answer but no one's asked it yet, this is your wild card to answer a question of your choosing 😌

4. Where do you find inspiration for new ideas?

Whatever I'm currently learning about worms its way into my writing. An Arm and a Leg and The Sticking Place are rooted in my love of cephalopods, and my philosophical interest in body neutrality and self-love through self-discovery. In Favor With Their Stars and The Ship of Theseus stem from my interests in AI, space exploration, engineering, humanism, bodies, neurodiversity, and personhood. Wave Hello to the Void is an ode to monstrosity, gender, the interrelationship between hyperfixation and passion, interconnectedness, and physics. A lot of my stories are seeded by poetry I read. I get a lot of inspiration from images, metaphor, and turns of phrase that make me reconsider how I view the world. I love the ways in which Rae Armantrout, Jane Wong, Maggie Nelson, and Robert Wood Lynn have made me reconsider my POV in particular.

17. What do you do when writing becomes difficult?

Body doubling and rubbering ducking with my betas. Most of my problems with writing come from being slow and struggling to initiate the task. With a buddy writing at the same time (Discord sprinties ftw), I am able to at least get something on the page, and having the cheerleader there to give some immediate feedback will usually be enough reinforcement to unstick me. Same works for my original writing, which is why I find having a writing group to be indispensable.

46. How would you describe your style?

Lyrical? Maybe a bit self-indulgent. I'll get a turn of phrase stuck in my head and sometimes I'll write a whole scene just so I can use it. But that's one of the great things about fanfiction---at the end of the day, I'm writing it for myself. I am going to write it in the way that feels best to me, and sometimes that way is floridly.

54. What's your favorite part of the fanfiction writing process?

I love the editing process. I love getting feedback and implementing it. I love seeing something from another perspective, making tweaks, and seeing the quality improve. I also love it when my betas yell at me in the comments. A well-timed 🔥 emoji does so much for my motivation.

get to know your fic writer challenge

[lunarsilkscreen]

The complexity of "The Incredibles"

Buddy Pine looked up to Mr. incredible as a father figure, and instead of teaching this kid exactly how to help people the right way; as he was inspired to do. He stated outright that the burgeoning Eminem was an inferior person not capable of helping anybody and should just go away.

Bob Par treated him like the poor little red headed step-child he saw him as.

Exactly how to help people, what counts as helping people, and what is the right way in which to help others is the *key theme* to this movie. And while working at his soul crushing job, Bob lost his temper and took it out on his boss.

Of course; his boss didn't know he was a super. The Supers were all in witness protection. From his perspective; Gilbert Hugh was protecting Bob from his *own* mistakes.

Par on the other hand was a direct cause in the firm he worked for to lose a lot of money; because he didn't follow the protocols, and authorized every claim that passed by his desk.

He never verified if any of his customers were at fault; as far as Gilbert knew: Bob was a lazy worker who didn't do anything besides approve the applications on his desk.

This comes to a head, when Hugh stops Bob from stopping a mugging. This scene is framed as the Boss going on a power trip against somebody who is superior to him. Bob felt like a dog on a leash. But Gilbert was protecting him from himself (and racking up his own insurance bill the company would have to pay for.)

And there's another take; Bob didn't know if this "Mugging" was self-defense and he didn't care to find out.

He just wanted to live out his "Hero" Fantasy. The same attitude he had when Incrediboy got in his way.

Why were the supers all in witness protection you ask? Because they had a habit of doing damage first and asking questions later. Living this sleek nighttime fame, while taking on none of the responsibility or consequences for the negative outcomes of their actions.

The government was essentially paying them to stay out of the way and to stop doing damage. That was their Job.

<aside>Let's take a step back and admire the naming choice "incredible" as in "Not Credible". It's an excellent naming choice.</aside>

<aside>If this sounds familiar to another movie by Mike Judge; "Office Space" you've got it. Where the unreliable protagonist abuses the power he's entrusted with.</aside>

<aside>This style of messaging being purely entertaining to kids, but attempting to appeal to parents and older audiences with much deeper messaging and imagery is really an amazing construct that is prevalent in all of Judd's work.</aside>

And this extends well past this; after losing his job, Bob is contacted by a secret organization in order to "relive his glory days" and jumps at the chance to do so.

However; this is where the story loses coherency. We as the audience don't actually know what is the right thing anymore. We start to see the entire plot through the eyes of the unreliable narrative.

Because Bob sees all of these things as his own person enemy, and worries about how he's getting old and obsolete. And starts literally fighting the future that will make him obsolete; we as the audience can no longer discern right or wrong and we root for the good guys.

Because Syndrome, and his monstrosity literally built to make Supers obsolete, becomes a weapon for evil as far as the story goes.

But if we look at it from an alternate perspective; Syndrome had worked his whole life to protect the world. He started at a young age, and when he was rejected by his hero; he started seeing the world differently. He started seeing the damage and the reckless behavior that Supers routinely displayed in the pursuit of the clout that comes from being "The Hero".

He was protecting the world from the threat supers demonstrated, and something even stronger than they were. Possibly even stronger than Jack -Jack.

Syndrome didn't have the experience or wisdom that the Incredibles had, but he still showed a work ethic and dedication they did not. He probably shouldn't've called child services on them though... That was a bad move.

After tearing apart his dreams, treating him awfully, Mr. Incredible [terminated] his biggest fan, without any evidence at all that he was the cause of the other Super's death.

<aside>A lot of the spin-off stuff tries to create a solution for this, including creating a kind of jumping point for "brain in a jar" or matrix style world building. But the truth is; Bob didn't even know how old the deceased were, as far as he knew he was watching simulations of heroes who died of old age in Incredibles 1.</aside>

Instead of helping out the next generation of superhero; the Incredibles showcased a war between generations. One that Bob Par started with his inability to let go of the feeling of superiority and being the only one who can do the right thing.

What did Syndrome do? He created a situation where the supers, and his Hero didn't have to live in hiding anymore. He played the heel because despite the Par family's intense self-absorbed nature; they were in fact being treated like second class citizens.

He created a world where people were free to be Super. Just like he said he would, and unlike Mr. Incredible; he didn't do it for the clout.

"Oh noo, I've lost control of my custom built robot with millions of safe guards against this exact thing happening. WHATEVER WILL I DO?" - Syndrome Sarcastically

[thatonesongyouretryingtoremember]

SONG SONG SONG SONG

tell me what you mean by angela is jane ives pleaseee

EHEHHEHEHEHE MY BAYBEE ANGELA IVES

BASICALLY this revolves around

When El was trying to become Jane, she used Angela as her inspiration.

The real Jane Ives (or at least the girl Terry thought was hers who she flashed back to- I believe that this IS Jane bc how else did Terry find her and because El's birth memory does not match Terry's) is blonde and wore normie clothes. While it is possible she was moved to the Gown Facility, likely, in fact, based on a convo in NINA, her hair color would not change all the way to dark brown in the consecutive four years necessary to become Killer Ellie, aka the El we see at the very END of NINA who was the HNL Murderer. Since Jane is not Killer Ellie, she can't be El since El's initial flashback is of Killer Ellie pre-NINA

As a blonde (via flashback), Jane Ives is likely El's "opposite" like when Will's eyes changed to symbolize his new personality, or the Blonde Mother pattern, and any number of inter-timeline hair/eyes clues of that nature. Angela fits the bill as an opposite since she is popular and a bully.

Angela likely developed her bullying patterns because of trauma, and I realized that it lines up with the lab, ie: wanting to be the teacher's favorite, so much so that she is paralleled to 002

As @/henrysglock so kindly pointed out to me, Angela's outfit is the inverse of El's. She wears a ring on the opposite finger, a watch not a hairband, same hairstyle as El but with a high pony, etc.

Angela is weirdly obsessed with Hopper. The writers chose for El's school project to be about Hopper, and for Angela to pick on her for this project not once but twice, AND for Angela to bring up Hopper again at the Rink-O-Mania. She then targets El's lack of this supportive father- and I believe this is because whoever adopted Angela isn't like him, or because they are and she feels insecure in maintaining her situation thereof. Either way, growing up with a Brenner and losing Kali make her fixate on someone like Hopper, who El specifically says protected her, a fact Angela points out at the rink.

Angela and Troy, are like, the only bullies who don't get backstory. HOWEVER, Troy got a scene with his mother in ST1, which is already more exposition than Angela, plus if he's actually on the basketball team, then he might get screentime next szn. If Angela is accrual the outlier here, what was the reason? /rhetorical

The fuckin angst potential. I'm biased as fuck and I admit it. Not only that but the narrative potential. The whole point of timeline theory within a show who's meta is about the cycle of abuse and bigotry? The whole Multi Henry thing is meant to show how variables can affect outcome- ie: some Henrys become Vecna. SOME older brothers become like their fathers and others don't. This carries over to SOME Ellies kill more than others (including our lovely leading lady, whose arc about accepting her supposed monstrosity as a part of a whole is looking suspiciously complete) and SOME Ellies become Angelas.

ANGEL. HER NAME HAS FUCKIN ANGEL IN IT. As we know, as "Angel" is the person whom the memory of brings a Curse victim back to reality via the victim's will to live. Victor's Angels are his family members, and Max's are- get this, Lucas and El and her wider friend group. Not only this, but Max sang Madonna's "Angel" in El's bedroom in ST3. I'm not sure what the implication quite is here, if it's more than "She's an alternate timeline version of a girl who is somebody's angel", but I think it had to mean SOMETHING.

I THINK that's all for right now. I'm still kinda obsessed though

ALSO WELCOME BACCK

[tinypandacakes]

Me when trapper keeper updated: *tears my shirt into pieces* *gnaws the bars of my enclosure* ITS HEREEE

ahem, ok anyways THAT CHAPTER WAS A ROLLERCOASTER GODDAMN it felt like i was walking on eggshells when i read through, the mood was literally 'scared & horny' i screamed when the reader was caught like ofmdnfjdjd the fucking secondhand embarassment im gonna cry

The last part tho... 👀

P.S thank u dear author for having a sexy brain and for updating the fic which was a mood boost, amazing writing as always, may the both sides of your pillow be cold always 🛐

Ahhhh I’m so glad you liked it!!! Scared and horny is definitely the vibe :3

This whole fic was inspired by 2 scenes (one of which was the ending scene of chapter 5) that are in my catalogue of scenes/stories I play in my mind as I’m falling asleep. And now it’s ballooned into a 22 chapter monstrosity lol

Thank you for the kind words 💕 It always makes me so happy to hear that people like my stories too! No longer just trapped in my head on repeat :3

[soullessjack]

yeah! like whether he’s aware of it or not, jack thrives way more in frenzied chaotic situations than he does in normal/mundane situations—the only question is if that speaks to his true innate nature as a Nephil being the “dominant” heritage over the nurture of Kelly and TFW.

and ofc that’s not to say he doesn’t have natural qualities from Kelly or their human heritage, or even that all their outward kindness and positivity is a total farce. They really are a sweetheart, and even a bleeding heart sometimes, just one whose bleeding heart can twist up horribly with anger or grief. like, take this whole scene where they look Like That—

at jack’s core all they really want is to be loved and wanted and accepted, and the fact that this is a direct reaction from Sam and Dean rejecting him, that this utter monstrosity is only lashing out in a pain of being rejected and betrayed. the way something so innocent and simple as wanting to be loved can be twisted into something like this, really is one of the key elements of his character I think.

and I also think that that balance between those parts of himself is always what he’s struggled to find and maintain, because as soon as he thinks he’s either mediated or found a side to settle on, something happens that rips him out of place and says “No, you don’t belong there actually.”

and going back on the “primitive fear response,” thing, I’ve always considered jack to have a very defensive nature overall; throughout 13x01, he never outright attacks or shows hostility to anyone unless it’s a direct reaction to them acting first—Dean shooting at him, Sam tasering him in the back, etc. I’m not sure if you’ve ever seen the iron giant, but if you haven’t, watch it. it’s a literal masterpiece of both animation and storytelling and is rife with sooo many parallels to jack that it almost sickens me.

but anyways, without saying too much, one of the details of the iron giant is that he’s a 50 foot tall childlike amnesiac robot with a defense mechanism that completely weaponizes him and is triggered by the sight of other weaponry—particularly guns, for the narrative’s sake. the film was directed by Brad Bird and morbidly inspired by the death of his sister via gunshot, as in his grief he wondered “What if a gun was alive and didn’t want to be a gun?” and thus we got the iron giant! Even without seeing the movie I’m sure you can see the Jack parallels in that sentence alone anyways lol. but basically, the Giant reacts purely out of defense and is otherwise not an active threat when shown kindness, like jack.

I had somewhere to go with this but I just lost it. Oh well!

todays tally on the “things about jack that have been almost erased by the baby au” is just how truly genuinely insane (and funny) they are. they pretended to be a coke addict to sneak into rehab and get kaia. their attempt at making friends was teaching the Lebanon kids knife combat because he hasn’t had any other socialization outside of constant war and violence. he loves hunting and he loved the war torn apocalypse refugee camp despite their constant risks of death and loss and suffering.

he straight up fucking decapitated a Gorgon with a fucking sword and just stepped over the headless corpse like an ugly carpet. they disobeyed Death Herself just to save someone they vaguely remember caring about and having responsibility over, then blackmailed the fucking reaper that was sent to watch him into keeping quiet or else Billie would kill her for failing to keep him in line. he attempted to strangle someone in a fit of rage that was so bad it took three gunshots fired into his back to snap him out of it.

some of his personality trait in the fucking wiki are literally how his “protective instincts are in fact, so strong that he will retaliate or turn against anyone if they have hurt someone he cares about” and how “because of Jack’s desire to protect his loved ones, he can show a ruthless side to himself at times.” he used necromancy, magic so evil and dark and potent that the self proclaimed evil skank Rowena Macleod wouldn’t dare to use it, just to bring Mary back.

they were smiling the whole time they fought Michael and especially when they exorcised/killed him. they were smiling and enjoyed torturing Nick and it was literally canonically in-script described as a cathartic kill. when the last Grigori had him bound and held at knifepoint in the church he smiled and said “You can’t kill me” and was still smiling while talking about the other Grigori he’d killed and eaten the literal fucking hearts of.

jack is canonically wanted by the fbi since dean opened a file at some point after Mary’s death + jacks disappearance, and alongside having multiple charges pending on said file, they’re considered armed and dangerous, too. They’re also literally personally hated and personally murdered by God Himself.

But we stay silly :3

[imnotwolverine]

Stuck

Henry Cavill x reader fanfiction 

Author’s note: A little drabble inspired by me and my boyfriend getting our Christmas tree yesterday. We’re a little early this year, but being in another lockdown, I convinced my boyfriend that a few weeks earlier wouldn’t hurt. And goodness do I love anything Christmas! I hope you do too ❤

Warnings: fluff, some horniness 

---

‘It’s not gonna fit!’ I yelped, flailing my arms out to stop the Christmas tree from squashing me into the hallway wall. Behind the large green mass of piney scent I could hear Henry’s iconic little chuckle. 

‘That’s what she..’ 

‘HEN!’ 

‘Okay hold on love. Just lead it into the corner--yes--NO hold!’ 

The tree scraped and fought its way through the narrow corridor, making it near impossible to guide as Henry’s mighty arms just kept pushing the thing on. Nasty branches poked and stabbed in places where I had preferred they hadn’t. 

‘STOP! Henry!’

‘Love you gotta..’

‘HEN!’ 

Finally the tree stopped moving and a large hand brushed through, pushing aside some branches so he could see me. ‘What?’ He raised an innocent eyebrow. I sighed with exasperation. 

‘It’s not gonna fit!’ 

Henry smirked. ‘I’ve managed to get bigger inside.’ 

‘Well, that’s what he said.’ 

He chuckled in disbelief. ‘Is that cheeky talk young lady? It’s that some tree is in the way. Otherwise --’

I rolled my eyes, then decided to play along, moaning playfully. ‘Oh Henry! It’s soooo BIG! It will --’ I writhed against the doorpost behind me, just far enough away so he couldn’t reach me. ‘..never fit!’ 

‘Love..! The neighbour--’ His hand disappeared and a moment later I heard the front door being shut. Oh damn I forgot about that! Smirking, I waited for the next thing to happen. Would he try to get this darn monstrosity of a tree in the living room, or would he just plow it down to get to me? I cooed softly, luring him in. 

‘You okay there babe?’ I asked. Henry muttered, softly scolding himself for living in a Mews-home with a hallway “made for hobbits”. Finally the tree started moving and I could not help but laugh as I watched a scene unfold of Henry trying to push his large body through a very stubborn mass of spiky branches that slapped and scratched where-ever they could. 

‘Need some help?’ I pulled a branch away so I could see his face as it stood there all squashed and awkward. 

‘Darn this tree.’ He muttered, pushing even harder, but only making the whole tree move into an even more awkward position. It looked quite hilarious with his limbs half sticking through, face squashed between two particularly stubborn branches. 

‘Is it too big honey?’ 

Henry shot me a warning glance. 

‘Need me to fetch some lube maybe?’ 

‘Sweetheart..’ 

I sniffled, biting my lip. ‘Okay, okay.’ Stepping forward, I used all my not-so-mighty power to pull some more branches aside. 

This was all it took, along with some cracking branches, for Henry to make his way to my side of the tree. It was still very much stuck in the middle of the hallway, but at least he had escaped. Henry gasped, looking back at the tree like it had just totally betrayed him. 

‘You oka--?’ 

Before I could reach out a hand he was already on me, cold lips fighting me back into the wall. This time there was no escaping. Not with a tree blocking the exit anyway. I hummed into his kiss, challenging him a little more. 

‘So-mm-jealous of a tree now hmm? Just because I think it’s ...mmm...big?’ 

He leaned back for just a moment, then shrugged his boulder-like shoulders. ‘Well, might have overshot it with the tree a touch. But I’ve got something else that’s big...’ He put both hands around me, his face a mixture of playful, eager, arousal. 

I played along. ‘Mmm?’

He leaned back in close, lips hovering over mine, teasing. ‘And I’m quite sure..’ 

‘What?’ I looked into the blurry haze of his lustful eyes, smiling mischievously. 

‘..might have to check though..’

‘Ooh..!’ My smile grew as well. 

‘..that it will fit.’ He whispered, kissing me.This time more slowly. 

Outside London roared in all its endless zooming of cars and busses, engines and people. But inside it was just us. Together, warm and cosy. 

And quite stuck, too.