#sure Diego has his flaws

[pepperf]

Pop quiz, hotshots! Which would you rather have:

A relationship that, when it goes wrong, you can tell the other person that you need a break to reassess your relationship, and they will discuss this calmly, let you go, and then go away and think about what you said, agree that they were in the wrong, and start working on ways to fix their own behaviour;

OR

A relationship that, when you want to leave, they tell you that you don't really want to go, that you're happier with them, that you should isolate yourself from your family and friends so you can stay with them - and when you disagree and tell them the relationship is just a matter of necessity, they start in on your other relationship (which they have apparently decided is the reason you're going back, despite you making no mention of it), telling you that it's broken, that you shouldn't go back to him - and when you tell them to butt out of your personal business, they tell you they're entitled to have an opinion because you've been stranded alone together for a long time...

Is that or is that not what happened? Because I remember Lila making herself pretty clear on these points, but apparently a bunch of people think we should disregard a woman's expressed opinion about her own life, and go with what she's being told. Because Five knows best, amirite? Gosh he's so smart and clever! And he deserves this - he deserves Lila, no matter what Lila herself says. He's owed it by the universe, because he had a bad life.

Lila did have another relationship like that, where she was told what to do, kept in the dark, told that the other person knew what was best for her...and it wasn't Diego.

[maibeenot]

Last one about TUA season 4, for now.

(I talked about this in the tags of one of my RBs before but I wanted to elaborate)

I don't like how they keep trying to make Five a badass.

I find it especially frustrating as doing this constantly, bogs down any form of character development we could've had from Five.

For whatever reason, the writers seem to be allergic to acknowledging Five's biggest character flaw, his arrogance. Five always has to be right. He always has to be capable of everything and never needs any help. Despite the fact that Diego also has a very similar flaw (and is punished for it consistently), Five's seems to go completely untouched.

(A part of me thinks that the reason why they punish Diego so much more is because he comes off as the hot-headed impulsive one. While that's true, it certainly doesn't negate Five's ability to make mistakes or be incompetent)

Instead, they keep trying to invent a new flaw for Five in that; he is obsessed with the apocalypse. In reality, he's not obsessed with the apocalypse. He's obsessed with keeping his family safe. It just so happens that their most immediate threat (in his eyes) tends to be the apocalypse. (I really don't understand what they're trying to get at with this, especially considering the fact that he already has an extremely apparent flaw)

While this isn't an issue I take with season 4 specifically, it has definitely amplified this issue like crazy. Five's arrogance is vaguely addressed by his siblings in season 1, but it never seems to get him in trouble? Or at least he doesn't seem to have learned from it (except for the time-travelling thing from when he was 13, and when he bled out also in season 1)

Season 1 (and 2) handled it the best out of the four. Five never seems to ask for or accept help unless backed into a corner (telling Viktor about the apocalypse, asking Klaus to help him get the prosthetic eye). Or if he is literally incoherent or unconscious (him passing out from blood loss, him being drunk and telling Diego and Luther about what's happening).

And outside of that, Five's arrogance still had brutal consequences within this season (him not noticing Viktor's declining mental state because he was so sure about the apocalypse (but this was partially because this man tunnel-visions like crazy)).

(there are probably more instances of this with s1 & 2, i just can't think of them off the top of my head so tag them if you'd like)

Season 4 is extra mean with this. From the 'Five getting to work for the CIA at 19' to 'Five randomly figuring out what's causing the end of the world with a bunch of other Five's' while he was off moping.

And when he does make mistakes, it's not because he's actually not capable of everything and anything.

Noooo, Ben really really sneakily stole the marigold and spiked the sake. Five couldn't have possibly noticed. (and none of the other siblings for that matter)

Noooo, it's because Luther is actually super smart in figuring out that Five's boss is a Keeper (no shade to Luther btw, I like him. They just don't treat this moment as Five being a complete dumbass).

Oh no! Five (and Lila) can't figure out a way back from the metro! Never mind, another Five managed it.

Five being a homewrecker? That's him being an asshole, not incompetent so it doesn't count (lighthearted).

Five's arrogance one of his defining flaws, yet it's not really challenged. The fact that he gets away with a lot of bullshit is simply because he can! When he doesn't face failure, he doesn't find growth. He doesn't learn to stop being self-destructive just because he thinks he can do anything. He doesn't learn to reach out.

This stunt in growth is obviously not only present in Five but also everyone else. I just find his to be particularly grating since he's my favorite.

Feel free to add your thoughts to this, not just about Five's fucked up character growth but everyone else's too!

(I'll make long a ass post/video essay going into detail about all of them one of these days)

I'd love to read them :)

[ereardon]

Before I Knew [Jake Seresin x Reader] Chapter Three

A Jake Seresin unexpected pregnancy fic

Overview: On your first night after moving to San Diego to spend more time with your brother Bob, you unknowingly have a one night stand with his teammate Jake Seresin. For the first time in his whole life, Bob has a closely knit friend group and you’re desperate not to rock the boat. But an unexpected and unplanned pregnancy upends your world, forcing you and Jake closer together, against Bob’s wishes. What will happen when you find yourself actually falling for the father of your unborn child? 

Pairing: Jake Seresin x Reader; Bob Floyd x Sister!Reader 

Warnings: Pregnancy, cursing, eventual smut, alcohol

Chapter summary: Y/N grapples with her pregnancy; Phoenix alludes to a previous relationship with Jake; Jake is shocked to find out he's going to be a father

Masterlist here; previous chapter here

Your first thought when the test turned positive was what Bobby was going to do to Jake. 

Your second thought was how sorry you felt for Jake to pull him into your disaster of a life. 

Because that’s what you were. A disaster. Bob said it in not so many words and always with a compliment attached because the two of you were Southern and you didn’t outright flaunt people’s flaws to their faces. But it was no longer cute to be out of work and aimless. 

Especially since you were about to be pregnant on top of all of it. 

***

“Can I borrow your truck again tomorrow?” you asked, swirling a piece of spaghetti around your plate. The smell of the tomatoes was making you sick, but you refused to show it. 

Bob nodded. “Sure. What for?” 

“Job interview.” 

“For what?” 

“Librarian.” 

Bob frowned, chewing his garlic bread thoughtfully. Then, “Is that what you want to do?” 

You sighed, putting your elbows on the small dining room table. “I don’t know. I need a job. I like books. How bad can it be?” 

He paused. “I can float you for a while,” Bob said quietly. “You don’t have to take a random job. I’d rather you find something you’re passionate about.” 

“I don’t want to be your burden.” 

“You’re my sister,” Bob said. “And I love you and I want what’s best for you.” 

“I’m a big girl, Bobby,” you whispered, a tear springing to your eye. “I need to figure out how to take care of myself?” 

“Why?” 

You shook your head. “I just do.” 

***

“Floyd!” Bradley clapped Bob on the back as the two of them headed back toward the training room. “You coming out tonight?” 

Bob shrugged. “Not sure. Y/N is acting a bit odd. I don’t know if she’ll want to go out.” 

“Odd?” Phoenix popped out of the corner door, shaking out her hair from her helmet. “How so?” 

“I don’t know. She’s normally pretty bubbly, happy. She’s been sad almost. I think she’s stressed about finding a job.” 

“Didn’t she go to Sewanee?” 

“Yeah. But she got a history degree. And it’s more than that.” Bob poured himself a cup of tea and sat down on one of the nearby couches. “She’s aimless. It’s not that she doesn’t have a job. It’s that she doesn’t know what she wants to do or who she wants to be.” 

“Do any of us?” Phoenix asked. 

Bob frowned. “I’ve wanted to be in the Navy since I was six.” 

Bradley nodded. “Same here, but younger than that. The first time I remember seeing my dad in his flight suit.” 

From across the room, Jake added, “I’ve wanted to be an aviator my whole life.” 

Phoenix rolled her eyes. “You three are so cliché I want to throw up.” Bradley laughed. “She’s twenty three. Don’t you meatheads remember what it was like being twenty three?” 

“She’s different,” Bob said quietly. “She acts tough, but she’s still just a little girl.” 

“Maybe you just see her like that because you’re her brother,” Jake interjected. Bob shot him a dark look. “What? I have sisters, I know how it is.” 

“You have no idea,” Bob replied. 

Phoenix raised her eyebrows. “How about I take her out,” she said. “Girls night or whatever.” 

“That'd be great.” 

She smiled at Bob, before shooting Jake a glare. “It’s a date.” 

***

“So, what made you move to San Diego?” 

You and Phoenix had exhausted the usual questions within the first twenty minutes of your friend date. What your favorite color was and if you liked Taylor Swift and whether or not Bob snored when he slept. You tapped your fingers against the table as the two of you waited for your drinks to come. The waiter shot you an impatient glance over his shoulder as he delivered a dish of calamari to the table three down from yours. “Spend more time with Bob,” you replied. “Change of pace.” 

“What’s Tennessee like?” she asked. “Bob doesn’t talk about it too much. He talks about you, but that’s it.” 

That felt like a loaded question from the way Natasha was looking at you. There were two ways to answer her question. You could talk about the mild weather, the hordes of bachelorette parties in Nashville, Graceland, how good hot chicken was, what it felt like to drive through the mountains. 

Or you could tell her what she actually was curious about. Why Bob was the way he was. The fact that he had practically raised you as his own child, while being a child himself. That your mother was a single mom, an ER nurse by day, and sometimes by night. That more than once, Bob had been the person to go out to the store to buy mac and cheese and stir it for you while you finished your homework at the chipped kitchen table. How the two of you had become a team, united, from a young age. 

“What do you really want to know?” you asked, leaning across the table. 

Her gaze softened as she said, “How you’re doing.” 

How were you doing? You were twenty three and pregnant out of wedlock, a secret that no one yet knew. Usually, Bob was the first person you told your secrets to. But this one was too big to burden him with. 

Instead, the secret was weighing you down. A small, egg-shaped secret buried within your center. “Tell me about Jake,” you said.

Phoenix leaned back, crossing her arms over her chest. “I told you, you don’t want to go there.” 

“Humor me.” 

She sighed. “Jake is Jake. He’s cocky. He’s confident in himself. Too confident. He’s a bit of a jackass.” 

You heard something in her voice. “But?” 

“But underneath it all, there’s a guy who wants people to like him. Who is desperate for it. That’s what you don’t see at first. It’s why he gets dismissed or boxed up as simply an asshole.” 

“Did you love him?” you asked. 

Her gaze found yours. “No. But I probably could have.” 

You nodded. “What’s the story between him and Bobby?” 

“That I don’t know,” she said as your food arrived. “You’ll have to ask your brother.” 

“He won’t tell me. He’s weirdly coy about that kind of thing.” 

“Then maybe it’s best you don’t know.” 

“Maybe.” The smell of the chicken in front of you, which had sounded delicious on the menu when you ordered it twenty minutes before, made your stomach churn. You felt a wave of sickness running through your stomach, up your throat. “Excuse me.” 

You dashed out of your seat, Phoenix’s voice trailing after you as you practically jogged toward the bathroom, bursting through the open stall and emptying your stomach into the basin. The wave of nausea subsided and you leaned back against your heels, wiping at your mouth. Thankfully, the bathroom was empty and you rested your head against your arms, breathing in for a moment, collecting yourself. 

Back in the dining room, Phoenix looked up, eyes wide with concern, her veggie pasta cooling in front of her, uneaten. 

“Are you alright?” she asked. 

You nodded, sitting back down, draping your napkin over your lap, hoping to God that you didn’t smell like vomit. “Yeah, totally. Just really had to pee.” 

Phoenix’s eyes were laser sharp as they scanned your face, searching for the lie. But instead of calling you on it, she turned her gaze to the plate in front of her and started eating. 

Keeping this secret was going to be harder than you thought.

***

“Sure you don’t want to come?”  

You looked up from where you were sitting on the couch wearing a pair of sweats, a bowl of popcorn on the coffee table in front of you. “Yup.” 

Bob stood in the doorway, frowning. He had on a button up shirt and a pair of jeans and boots, hair combed neatly, glasses crooked on his nose as always. You took a mental photo of him in that moment. Once he found out about the baby, nothing would ever be the same. 

“I’m fine,” you assured him. “Go, please. Meet some girl, buy her a drink. Enjoy being a cute Navy guy for once.” 

Bob rolled his eyes. “Text me if you want me to come home early, OK?” 

“Go have fun.” You waited for the sound of the front door shutting softly before melting into the couch in an exhausted heap. You were tired all the time. And nauseous. 

27 Dresses played in the background as you dozed in and out of consciousness on the soft couch. It wasn’t until the scene in the bar when you heard the doorbell ring, waking you from your light slumber. 

“Fuck off!” you groaned, closing your eyes but the ringing picked up and you grunted, pausing the movie and pushing yourself upright toward the door. “What?” you exclaimed, tossing open the door. 

Jake stood in the doorway, eyes wide. “God, you’re crabby.” 

You stepped back. “Oh, it’s you.” 

“It’s me,” he replied. “Can I come in?” 

You frowned. “I guess.” Stepping back, you let Jake in before closing the door. Your hips pressed against the kitchen counter as you crossed your arms over your chest. “Well?” 

“You really don’t like me, do you?” he asked. 

“Like has nothing to do with it.” 

“Then what is it?” Jake demanded. 

“What are you doing here?” “I came to check on you,” he replied and you felt your heart leap in your chest. “Bob was worried. But he also was talking to some girl and hitting it off, so I said I'd save him the trip home.” 

“And he let you?” 

“She was pretty hot.” 

You rolled your eyes. “Well I’m fine. So neither of you has to babysit me.” 

“You know what?” Jake ran one hand through his golden hair before pulling it down over his face, massaging his temples with his eyes closed. “You’re fucking hot, too. But you’re absolutely insane. You sleep with me. You tell me to pretend it never happened. Then you jump me in the Hard Deck bathroom before running away. Now you act like you can’t stand the sight of me. I don’t even know what I’m doing here to be honest.”

Jake turned, putting one hand on the door. Your voice stopped him. “I’m pregnant.” 

He turned, slowly, green eyes wide. Terror filled every inch of his beautiful face. “Is it?” 

“Yes.” 

“Are you sure?” 

“I’m not a slut,” you snapped. “You’re the only person I’ve been with in six months.” 

Jake was as frozen as a statue. You watched the color drain from his face. “I have to go,” he said, grabbing for the door handle, yanking it open. “I’m sorry.” 

And then he was gone, disappearing into the California night. Your breath in your chest felt heavy. And that’s when you realized you were going to do this alone. 

Please follow my library page @ereardonlibrary as that will largely serve as my tag list. Anyone I previous promised to tag is here:

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[fivewantscoffee]

So, Five x Lila. I need to get this out of my system so I can maybe finally move on:

I don't like the ship.

I don't like the characters together. I find the pairing a baffling one, and I don't like what it does to the show (and characters) either.

First of all, that wasn't Lila. I don't know who it was, but it wasn't the woman we saw off at the end of S3, or even the one we started off S4 with.

It just wasn't her.

You can blame trauma, or six years of being on the move. That's going to change a person, for sure, but this wasn't about giving Lila any character development.

It was about giving Five a love interest.

Because that life? Yeah. I could see it for Five. I could see him deciding to settle down and take life slow, I could see him being sweet and domestic with a partner should he have one. After he's had some time to heal, now that he's finally free of the apocalypse, I could see that for Five.

But Lila? She was unhappy in her marriage, at least partly because the domestic, stay-at-home-mum life has proven to be something that doesn't fulfil her. She wants more out of life, which is why "bookclub" happened, which is why she ended up in the subway with Five in the first place.

And okay. For the sake of argument, let's go with this. Let's say Five x Lila happened so they could cope with their situation. It was survival, like Lila said. If we were going to have to endure this bad, messy plot point anyway, (which we didn't, we really, really didn't), it should at least have been treated with the seriousness it deserves.

Because, Five? The complete, callous lack of remorse on his part? What the fuck was that?

Even if you pick through the crumbs and try to make it make sense, this wasn't a romance. At best it was survival, and coping, and kind of a tragedy all at once. Five shouldn't be picking fights with Diego. He shouldn't be acting like a spurned twenty-something-year-old.

And yeah, characters can be flawed and in the wrong, but why like this? This didn't feel like Five to me. He is brusque and, when looked at it from a certain angle, I can see why some would call him selfish (which I don't necessarily agree with, but that's a different conversation), but under all his layers, he does love his family. To me, that's the core of his character and has been since S1. Everything he's done, he's done to ensure their survival, then when he agreed to give up in S3, he was content to simply die by their sides.

So, you're telling that this Five, the one we've known and followed for three seasons, had a fling with Lila and didn't even feel guilty or conflicted about it? You're telling me loved this woman, yet was willing to keep her from her family, her children?

"Five is selfish" "Five is tired" "Five is finally moving on"

No. Not like that. To me, the Five from previous seasons (S2 specifically, because that's where a lot of it goes wrong) is only "selfish" in that he wants his family to survive and is willing to go to any lengths to achieve that. He's not exactly compassionate about Allison and Viktor having to leave Ray and Sissy behind. And yeah, he leaves Diego in the asylum because he doesn't want him messing with the timeline.

Is he in the wrong for that? Answer this any way you want, but I don't think it matters to Five. Does he want his siblings to be happy? In my opinion, of course he does, but they're not going to be happy if they're dead.

That's not the same as what S4 does. Not by a long shot. Five cares deeply about those he loves, and granted, he is pretty bad at showing it, but he does care.

He nearly worked himself into the grave trying to solve the first two apocalypses, with little regard for his own well-being. When he realised a third apocalypse was happening, he didn't say fuck it and continue his Pennsylvania retirement road trip... he immediately dropped everything to try and fix it.

So how did we get to S4 Five, who got with his brother's wife, found a way home, didn't tell Lila, AND THEN, after he finally gave her the notebook and they went back, he acts like that?

Yeah, no. That's not my Five.

Also, five x lila happening isn't Five moving on. If anything, it's how he copes with the situation they're in. That's just his Delores 2.0.

Anyway, all of this is moot because the fact of the matter is, they chose to make this happen. Five and Lila getting stuck in the subway together for seven years didn't have to happen.

I don't know.

This used to be a show about family. It also used to be a show about the effects of child abuse on this group of siblings. This started to fall to the wayside after S1, but the family aspect of it still remained.

At its core, tua has always been about family, so what was the point of making S4 at all if this is what they were going to give us?

It's not just Five x Lila. They messed this up across the board, with how flippantly the absence of Sloane and Ray was treated, how shallow and surface-level all of the rest was. They gave us some crumbs with Klaus and Allison, but they couldn't even do that without retconning their entire relationship. That's not even mentioning the ending. The Hargreeves all sacrificing themselves in the end could have worked, but this was not the way to do it.

Anyway, this rant is over. S1 Five, you'll always be famous to me.

[translatemunson]

file 002 — brand new bar, same old problems

chapter two of death defying acts

previous chapter | masterlist | next chapter

cw: MDNI thank you, fem!reader, afab!reader, no descriptions of reader (i'm really trying to keep my descriptions of her and her background to a minimum so i can be inclusive to all people, but let me know if i can improve), no use of y/n, reader has a call sign (i had to pick one, it makes sense for the story), innacuracies about the navy, topgun and army (i did my best guys), this takes places after the events of the movie, yes don't kill me but reader has a fling with another aviator won't say who, implied smut.

If surviving Captain Pete ‘Maverick’ Mitchell and the Dagger Squad would be required for you to be sent overseas, you were not sure there was gonna be a lot of you left to fit in a plane seat.

In just two days and one quick chat with Maverick, you had to recognize there was no easy task in front of you. Maverick didn’t show any enthusiasm in your work or questions on that quick meeting, which was somewhat discouraging. You had been spending your morning reviewing previous logs of all of the fighter pilots, your afternoons watching them live on radar, taking notes of their data, style and skills, your evenings analyzing all of your notes and coming up with plans for the simulation.

You were in bed way past your normal schedule on Saturday morning. Your belongings would definitely sit on boxes for another week or two if you didn’t do anything regarding it. You had the essentials out — uniforms, underwear, laptop, hygiene products, and a picture of you with your parents —, but that was it. Even your kitchen was getting appliances as you started to need them.

You grabbed a clean change of clothes, your bag and headed out to do groceries and get your mind out of work. There were a lot of things to get done before you were back to base on Monday: firstly you needed some real food in your fridge, including new tea blends and pasta for when you’re too tired to cook anything that takes longer than 20 minutes. Then you had to pick up more pills for your headache. Maybe some flowers for your living room would make the place livable — and also push you to unpack a few boxes with your books and portraits.

Also you had to call your parents and brief them on your first days. Well, maybe that was easier said than done: while you couldn’t share much details about what you were doing, you knew they were ready to pull some interrogation tactics or whatever to get all the intel. Your father was the one helping you with the moving — because he was free in between flight classes —, but your mom was the one texting people to know why now they wanted to transfer you to San Diego.

Once the call sign Maverick was brought to the table, your father did all he could to get you another opening somewhere else. And as soon as you got the bigger picture of why you were being moved to work with Maverick and his team, the puzzle made sense. Even though they were successful on their mission, they had one more challenge ahead, and there was no margin for errors or close calls for this one — you were gonna receive more information about it after the first few weeks.

Maverick and the Dagger Squad were definitely a lot to deal with. Excellent pilots, an amazing sense of a team — maybe almost being killed does this to a group —, but you could see some flaws slipping through the cracks of their personalities. Maverick still hated authority and being told to follow orders. Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin — not Bagman, unfortunately — could be a team player only if that benefited him, otherwise his wingman was the first to go down during training. Natasha ‘Phoenix’ Trace was an excellent pilot, and Robert ‘Bob’ Floyd as her WSO was a great combo, but if paired with someone else, it was a hit or miss — you asked to change pairings on Friday morning, just to check if there was margin for new combos. Reuben ‘Payback’ Fitch and his WSO, Mickey ‘Fanboy’ Garcia, were also a great combo, but they needed a strong flight leader to shine and succeed. Javy ‘Coyote’ Machado was a good pilot, but only on good days — and that was something you couldn’t risk on a mission. And Bradshaw was living for his call sign Rooster, even though he had amazing decision making skills, he was always waiting for the last second to make a move. And that, in the field, meant death.

And those were just a few observations you could get from a few hours in front of the radars and live data from their training exercises. 

You went through your shopping list in no time, stopping for headache meds and some flowers just after you got lunch. Back at your one bedroom apartment, you, once again, found an excuse to avoid a Facetime call with your parents, but you made sure to text them some pictures of your progress — and thank your dad for finding a good place for you to stay, a 20 minutes drive from the base, and also in a walking distance of the Golden Hill Park.

Clothes on drawers and hangers, cutlery in the right places, uniforms in the washer, books in the shelves. You were slowly bringing together the sense of home to San Diego. Your last few weeks in Nevada were crazy: you were back from one deployment in the Pacific just to be called for another quick job in Alaska. Thankfully your dad had a few weeks off to go to Nevada and help you pack, driving all your stuff three days before your arrival and saying he would take care of housing. All you had to do was sign a few papers, pack the stuff you could send ahead and get ready for a quick stop up north.

The sun was setting when you realized you were almost done with things. Maybe you should let some for Sunday, so you could also keep your mind off of work. You got up from your bedroom floor, took a long shower and checked your messages.

On Friday, you were able to catch up with Bob over lunch, asking him about his journey after training. You also got close to Phoenix, kinda relieved she was just as nice as you remembered. You got their numbers, they got yours, and that’s how you end up with an invite to join them at a bar called Hard Deck in an hour. If you were gonna be around for at least ten weeks, you might as well do something else besides working.

 So you went through your clothes, searching for a black top, some jeans and a jacket for when it got chiller from the autumn air. Just some casual clothes to share a few beers and a few more stories. Still getting used to San Diego streets and skyline, you drove like you weren’t in no rush to get to the bar, appreciating the change of scenery from the desert to the beachside.

You parked outside the Hard Deck just a few minutes late. For a Saturday evening, the place was pretty packed, and you could see some clients were proud to walk around in their work khakis — something you avoided as much as you could. After all, you were just a few minutes away from the station. Texting Bob back to ask him if they were already there, you didn’t even hit send before you were able to pick your new colleagues amidst the crowd.

Nat was holding a pool cue on the side of her body, explaining something to Mickey and Bob. Hangman and Coyote were trying to impress some ladies on the darts board — and you were very sorry for those two poor souls, if they knew everything you’ve been hearing while on duty. You stopped by the bar, getting yourself some bar soda and starting a tab.

“You’re sure I can’t fix you anything else?” The lady behind the bar asked you.

“I’m good for now.” And then you turned to your colleagues and thought better, “Do you happen to remember what they’re getting?” You pointed to them.

“Sure thing, they’re just having beers. Are you friends with the Daggers?”

“Not exactly,” you watched her grab six bottles, serve some ice in the bucket and hand it to you. “I was relocated here to work with them. I know Bob and Phoenix from previous training, but that’s about it.”

“Oh, so you’re part of Maverick’s team?” She definitely knew them, not just because they would be spending their down time on Hard Deck.

“I’m part of the Intelligence Team working with them.” It didn’t get easier every time you talked about it. “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.”

“It’s Penny, honey. Well, let me know once you decide to try something else.”

“Thank you, Penny.”

You took the drinks with you to the high top table just on the side of their pool table. Your upbeat spirit died down as soon as you realized Bradshaw was there. After being lectured about Maverick and Goose, Bradley’s father, you weren’t looking forward to tolerating him outside of work. His short temper and slow decision making was something that got on your nerves easily. But you should’ve expected this, since he’s a long time friend with Nat.

“Look who’s out of that desk, guys.” And unfortunately, Hangman was the one to announce your presence. “I thought you were the type to wear your uniform everywhere since you’re a goody-two-shoes, Hyde.”

“Unlike you, Seresin, I have a life and personality outside of base.” You pointed to his khakis. “And don’t worry, I’m not writing down your lack of hobbies, outside women and pissing others off of course. I could already tell that based on your flight maneuvers.”

“Looking forward to reading the file you’re writing about me.” He reached for a beer, and you rolled your eyes. “Thanks, honey.”

“I’ll be surprised if you can actually read,” you bit back. “But I’m not here to work. And these beers are a peace offering. I’m not the enemy.”

“So you just like to point out our weaknesses for fun.” Mickey approached you, but you could tell it was more of a lighthearted comment than a critique. “Thanks, Hyde.”

“Thank me next week when you ace the mission simulation.”

You passed them their beers. There was only one left, but since Bradley was more concerned with his pool game than a beer, you moved the bucket aside and turned to Bob, asking “Is this every Navy favorite place to go?”

“Kinda. It’s close to base, and the service is nice and fairly priced.” Bob looked at his water. “How long have you been here?”

“I arrived this week. My father helped me move, but I had zero time to wander around.” But who’s fault was that? Definitely yours. “They are a tough crowd, I fear.”

“Don’t worry, they eventually warm up to strangers,” he explained. “We’re still fresh from last mission, and fresh blood always disturbs a little of a group’s balance.”

“I guess I would know that if I worked closely with fighter pilots,” you confessed. “Most of my missions consist of assisting with data and probabilities when tracing plans and assessing risks. Sometimes I don’t even know who is receiving my reports.”

“But you’ve been training with pilots, right?”

“No real missions, just simulations, mostly with graduates from Top Gun back in Fallon.” This job could be the perfect blend of what you’re good at and your passion, but even though you had extensive training with Air missions, you were stuck with assessing risks for admirals and captains to take charge. “It’s my first real chance to be on a mission where I’m able to build a relationship with the people I’m working with, not just being briefed on the mission and its goals.”

“I see. Yeah, I believe you’re gonna do a great job, not just because I know you, but because there’s still room for improvement and you’re gonna be the key for it.” Bob tried to cheer you up, and even though you wanted to believe his words, the first few days were tough on you.

“Thanks, Bob. But I’ve meant it when I said I’m not here to work,” you laughed, leaving the pressure of your relocation for another time.

“So you better start sharpening your pool skills, Hyde.” Natasha passed you her pool cue and smiled. “Do you even play it?”

“Who do you think I am, Phoenix?” You gasped, as if her words were the biggest betrayal you ever faced. “It’s been a minute since I last played, tho.”

“It’s ok, you don’t need to be good at everything you do, you know.” She joked. “Ok, cutthroat rules. You, me and Rooster.” 

She reseted the table as she explained how it was going to work: she was protecting balls 1 to 5, you were in charge with 6 to 10, Rooster had 11 to 15 to himself. The goal was to pocket any opponent's balls while protecting yours. If a foul occurred, the other players had the right to place a ball back at the table.

Natasha breaks, and one of hers was pocketed right away. On her shot, she aimed for the 7-ball, but it lacked strength to send your ball to the pocket. You took a look at the table, spotting a chance to pocket the 12-ball. You walked to the other side, passing just inches away from Bradshaw, and sending his ball to the pocket. He looked unimpressed when you checked for his reaction. You tried to get one of Nat ball’s, but you picked the wrong angle.

Bradshaw fixed his sunglasses on the neck of shirt, assessed the table and went for the 8-ball. Everyone was tied on losses. He sent the 1 straight to the pocket. His third shot scratched the 6-ball and moved it to a dangerous spot, and you held your breath.

“Don’t worry, I’m on your side,” Natasha aimed for the 15-ball and sent it straight to the corner pocket. But it was still a risky position for your 6-ball, and you watched when she pocketed that one as well. “I mean, I took one of his first, which makes us even, right?”

“That’s not what I’ve learned on Math 101, but ok.” You shook your head. “What are you gonna do next?”

“I’m gonna,” she elongated her words, “maybe this one,” she pointed to the 5-ball, “or a small challenge with the 14.” She positioned herself, and missed the latter for a lot. “Your shot, Hyde.”

You sent the 14-ball straight into the pocket, then missed your shot. Bradley took the 3-ball out, followed by the 10, and missed the 7. Nat got the 9-ball, then missed. You tunnel vision on the 13, in the middle of the table, with a huge chance of error. The white ball hit all the wrong corners and you miss it. And it got the white one on the perfect spot to send your last ball to the pocket.

“It was nice playing with you, fellas.” You turned over your cue and crossed your arms, destiny sealed since Bradshaw was a way better player than you. You watched the 7-ball disappear inside the pocket. 

“Wait, Hyde, someone could get a foul, and you can come back,” Nat tried to pull you back to the table.

“I’m good with my loss, don’t worry. I’m not leaving, just wanna get something from the bar.” You took the now empty bucket — did Bradshaw get his beer or someone stole it? — to the bar and returned it to Penny.

“How is it going?” She smiled and motioned her head to the group.

“Could be worse. Can I have a tequila shot?”

“Sure, honey.” Penny checked something under the bar. “Is house tequila ok?”

“Yeah, it’s fine. Can you get me one water and two more beers as well?”

“Coming right up.”

You took your phone of your pocket, and checked your messages: you were setting the family group chat aside for tomorrow morning; Lisa, your roommate from Fallon, was sharing updates on the gossip you were missing — not even three days and they didn’t failed to surprise you — while in San Diego; Ashton, still unaware of your transference, was asking if you were free. Yeah, things would never change.

“Here.” She laid your order on the counter. “I know you’re an Officer, but do you happen to have a call sign?”

“It’s more common to hear people calling me by it than my own name,” you shared, and she laughed. “It’s Hyde, a character from a gothic novel.”

“Oh, I believe I’ve read this book in high school.” She pressed her lips together and stared at you, like she was trying to put the pieces together. “Do you need some lime and salt for the shot?”

“No, not really.” Maybe not a smart idea since you’re driving, but that was the Hyde in you: nice face, good manners, but short tempered and always down to some trouble. “Thanks, Penny.”

You balanced your shot and the water in one hand, held the two beers in the other and moved carefully between the crowd to your friends. Back to the pool table, you watched Rooster send Nat’s last ball to the pocket.

“Oh no! And I thought you were each other's lucky charm,” you pointed out between her and Bob. You sat by her WSO’s side and passed him a water. “Or do you want a beer?”

“Water’s fine, thanks,” he offered you some nuts, and you gladly took a few.

“Here, a consolation prize for you.” You slid a beer for Nat as soon as she joined the table. You looked over her shoulder, seeing Bradshaw walking to the piano. “Is he always like that?”

You looked over your shoulder to Bradshaw. He carried a lot of resemblances to his parents — you could tell after hours looking through your parents’ photos, and seeing Goose and Carole in a few, with a kid Bradley closer. This was way before you were transferred to San Diego or decided to join the Navy.

You thought Bradshaw was just like you, until your father told you what happened to him. Father died after a failed ejection, his mom died of cancer, Maverick pulled his papers and set him back. You felt sorry about it, but if he was raised by Pete Mitchell after all of that, you were expecting to meet the younger version of the captain.

“Give him some time, Rooster is not much of a fan of changes,” she explained.

“As long as this doesn’t interfere with my job, I’m ok with not being friends with everyone.” You drank the tequila shot without making an ugly face, and quickly moved to your beer.

“Do you happen to know anything about our next mission?” Nat asked.

“I’m afraid I’m just as in the dark as you,” you shook your shoulders. “I know about the uranium mission though, which was pretty dangerous. I would’ve done a thing or two differently.”

“What exactly?”

“I mean, they could’ve timed the missiles to hit a few SAMs as you were leaving the valley, and make your way out of there smoother.” They were already flying a dangerous zone on less powerful planes, and exposed the hell of their jets, so not having at least a few bombs to help out was a little dumb.

“You’re kinda right,” Bob threw another nut inside his mouth. “Do you think they considered it?”

“Nah, I bet 20 bucks Admiral Simpson was looking for an opportunity to get rid of Maverick.” You took a sip of your beer.

“That’s cruel. But hey, if you have the chance to make our mission less dangerous, you have my approval.” Nat smiled.

“I’ll remember that.”

“Hey, have you always been part of Intelligence?”

You and Bob shared a look. “No, I joined the Navy after graduating from college. My parents are from the Navy, and they gave me the chance to choose. So education, then enlisting. My records say I graduated from Flight School because I completed the training successfully, but I got in an accident during the last week. Then, because of my college degree, they gave me a spot as part of the Intelligence, and I liked it there.”

“Oh, I’m sorry for your accident. I bet you miss being in the sky sometimes.”

“Thanks, Nat. My dad is a flight instructor nowadays, and everytime we’re in the same base, he finds a way to let me fly for a few minutes.”

“So you’ve been keeping your flight skills in check? Why don’t you apply to Top Gun?” Bob inquired.

“I really don’t see myself doing what you guys do on a daily basis,” another sip, waiting for them to be convinced. You were way past that Top Gun chance now, anyway.

“A pretty thing like you fits better as a Top Gun pilot's wife,” Hangman came up to the table, a beer in hand.

“I rather crawl naked over hot tarmac than date an aviator, Bagman.” Maybe if the aviator wasn’t part of your team, but just maybe. “You guys are just trouble. Can’t keep your missiles in your pants, and flee as soon as possible.”

“You’re funny, Hyde,” he pointed his beer’s neck at you.

“Don’t let it fool you, Hangman, they don’t call her Hyde for nothing,” Bob warned him.

“Don’t have a lot of Jekyll going on, hun?”

“Oh god, you’re insufferable,” Nat exited the table as fast as she could.

“No wonder those girls left you hanging on the darts,” it was kinda undeniable that there was some tension in the air.

“If you’d excuse me, I think it’s the perfect time to call my girlfriend.” And Bobby was smart to take his cue to leave you two alone. He motioned to his phone, and you noticed the picture on the wallpaper: the WSO with his arms around a beautiful girl. But she didn’t look like anyone you’ve seen around at base so far.

“Needs babysitting, Bob?” Hangman teased.

“Should I remind you who fell for the feral koalas story, Seresin?” Bob biting back? That was a first for you.

You looked between the two men, intrigued.

“Go talk about pandas or whatever, Floyd.” Jake waved his hand.

“See you later, Hyde.” Bob walks to the external deck, phone in his ear.

“What did he mean with feral koalas?” You inquired.

“His lady is Australian, and one time she told us about how koalas got a disease and were attacking people, and she sounded very scared.”

“And you believed it?”

“I mean, there was a lady in distress!”

“Jeez, we should legally change your call sign to Himbo.”

“Him-what?”

You laughed and stared at Jake, “I’m dead serious about not dating aviators, tho.”

“Who said anything about dating?”

One thing led to another. Coyote left the bar with a girl on his side, Hangman was left without a ride. You offered to drive him there, since it was on your way home, but you were none the wiser after a tough week and a few tequila shots.

When the sun started to peak over the waves, you were far away from Jake’s bed and still very much sure of your promise. You were in San Diego with one goal and one goal only: earn that promotion. And nothing or anyone was stepping into your way.

a/n: hello aviators! first of all, thank you SO MUCH for the support on the first chapter. yes, i wrote what i wrote and i don't regret it (hyde hooking up with hangman, but it was mostly implied so don't worry, it's almost like it didn't happened haha). also even tho we know who the daggers are, hyde is still getting to know them, i couldn't pass on a hard deck introduction scene (top gun: maverick movie style!). well, let me know what you guys think about this chapter, don't forget to reblog, vote and comment! see ya soon!

[micamicster]

Micaaaaaa I am in need of a good TV show. IWTV left me craving for some good writing, please help 💙 I know some of your all-time favourites are Black Sails and The Wire, I gave them a try, but I'm afraid they're a bit too bleak for me :(( Any good recs?

Bestie this is a great question and im honestly a terrible person to direct it to because the truth is I really don't watch a ton of tv! But I'm gonna do my best!

Beneath the cut find a list of shows I think are particularly well written, divided into vague and confusing categories based on how similar to iwtv they might seem?

<3 <3 <3

(Totally get Black Sails and the Wire feeling too heavy. The wire in particular is imo the single most upsetting thing thats ever been put on television so I completely get not being up for it. But if anyone else is looking for shows I think are really well written those would be good places to start! Black Sails would be my first rec for iwtv fans tbh)

Dramas with syfy/fantasy elements:

Russian Doll: for literally anyone other than you (who's already watched it!) this would be my number one rec. One of the best (and specifically best written) shows of all time, has those spec fic surrealist elements, combines comedy and drama, just love it.

Andor: I know, I was surprised too. But despite being a star wars tv show it actually has writers that do a? good? job? And Diego Luna is spectacular. (If black sails was too grim this might also feel that way given our knowledge of the main character's fate, but it might be worth checking out anyway)

I forgot what i was going to put here

Not sf:

Reservation Dogs: Taika Watiti can be hit or miss for me, but this show is the best of his particular combination of humor and pathos. Also he's just really good at writing kids? (I would be remiss if I didn't point out that he has been (rightfully!) criticized for the antiblackness of couple of minor characters who appropriate black culture pretty egregiously, iirc they don't feature after season 1? But it is a flaw to be aware of). Why didn't I put this with the sitcoms? My mind is mysterious even to me

Bad Sisters: great 1 season irish show about a group of sisters trying to murder their sister's abusive husband. Again a really strong writing combo of humor and genuine emotion!

The Get Down: still not over this cancellation it hurt me in ways I can't even begin to explain... anyway a great show about the birth of rap in 70s nyc with beautifully thought out costumes, music, writing, visual style <3

The Americans: two russian spys undercover as an american suburban couple in the 80s is actually a vehicle for a probing exploration of marriage and intimacy. Also pretty grim (the cold war. yeah.) so idk if it would be for you.

The Knick: nobody ever watches this when I rec it because it's too gorey but I don't care! I love it! Period drama about a public hospital in early 1900s new york.

Sitcoms!: (sorry I know you've watched half of these just wanted to include them in case anyone else looked at this list!)

Derry Girls: this show is just hit after hit. Best written show about teens in the world!

We Are Lady Parts: See this entire blog. Genuinely one of the best shows ever made

American Vandal: Ok technically this is more of a mockumentary than a sitcom but i wasn't sure where else to put it. Season one in particular is some of the best tv show writing I've ever watched it is perfect in every way!

MASH: 70s sitcom about a US military field hospital during the Korean War. At its best it's hysterically funny, absurdist, and bitingly furiously anti-war. (At its worst it's racist, sexist, and boring. It was the 70s) This show was a cultural phenomenon, but it has literally over 200 episodes so I would recommend just googling for a best-of list and watching a handful to see if it works for you.

Atlanta: Donald Glover's surrealist sitcom about trying to manage his cousin's rap career in Atlanta. That's such a bad explanation of what this show is about i'm sorry but I'm not sure how to do better.

Shows I've watched between 1 episode and 1 season of, thought to myself "wow! this show is amazing!" but can't in good conscience recommend because I never really watched enough of them to qualify as an expert:

The Sopranos: everyone says it's the best tv show of all time and i watched season one, said wow they're right! and still haven't managed to get back to it! The pilot itself is so fucking funny like... mobster goes to therapy for his anxiety had to have been the pitch of all time

Station eleven: LOVED the book, heard really good things about the tv show, thought the pilot was amazing, got busy and couldn't finish it.

Babylon Berlin: this has the darkly romantic, opulent qualities of iwtv so it might be for you! Unfortunately I've seen less than half of it so I can't promise it doesn't go off the rails.

Breaking Bad: people are right! it's good! It's also (at least in season one, the only season I've watched so far) like someone made a slapstick comedy about a man cooking meth. In a good way!

You might want to just watch a couple gothic romances to scratch that iwtv itch! Check out an adaptation of Jane Eyre or Wuthering Heights!

WOW this is too hard. Just watch supernatural i guess

[strawberrystainedd]

Hi!! Got excited when I saw your comment on the Queer Christians unite post, about sharing christianity through a queer lense!! Exactly what I've been looking for as a bi Christian looking for the vouch-for-queer-community-through-the-bible :):) Any tips?

hi so sorry for taking so long to answer!! this ask makes me so happy:) i’m answering this one on this acct but just btw i have a religion sideblog @blessedjudas which is what i usually post all my christianity stuff on!

my biggest tip is to look up churches in your area, find a queer-affirming one (they will usually say it on a website/have a flag in front of the church), and join a group there. my church in san diego is AMAZING and honestly the diocesan events and youth group in hs saved my life and relationship with god!! truly i doubt i would still be a christian if it wasn’t for them!!

if you can’t find a church community near you that is queer affirming, finding a community online is the next best thing!! just finding other people who are queer christians (and queer religious people in general) is the BEST thing you can do- it reminds you that queer christians exist!! and can love god fully!! without sacrificing any part of yourself!! and you also end up learning SO much from them. if you feel safe to do so, you can also try to create a group in your town!! i’m sure it would help other people in the area who might not feel comfortable being the first to reach out.

reading books is also great! there are so many that analyze the bible from a queer lens. here are just a few:

- called out by e carrington keith

-tenderness by eve tushnet

-god and the gay christian by matthew vines

- this i know by jim dant

-hearts ablaze by rolf nolasco

if you have instagram, following people on there is also such a comforting thing. some of my fav accts:

-belovedandqueer

-belovedarise

-marymagdalenestan

-liturgy (my old youth leader from hs/ms actually:))

-andhersaints (who also has a tumblr!! @and-her-saints )

-blackliturgies

-liberating_christianity

when you surround yourself with people who are deconstructing a very white, cishet pov of christianity, you start to realize how anti-jesus that rhetoric truly is. there are so many bible stories and quotes that just aren’t even taught because they aren’t deemed “important” (they are). nowadays i read passages of the bible and find so much more LOVE in it than i used to, because i’ve joined communities of people who truly care about love for the sake of love. once you realize it’s ok and holy to love always, you find so much more love in the bible in so many places!! (you also get a reality check on how flawed the bible can be, and how not everything should be taken literally as it was written by ancient human men in a different language. doing research to find true translations is also a great, if difficult, thing to dig into!!) it just makes me feel so much more connected to jesus and god and the holy spirit, and that feeling of true love is what keeps my faith.

when i was younger i kind of felt like i shouldn’t take the bible very seriously at all because it was so fallible- but now i view it differently, because the more i studied it with other queer people, the more i realized how truly wonderful it is and how warped it had become in translation by american christianity. context is sosososo key when reading such ancient texts and it should not be taken lightly!! pretty much all of those passages that alt-right christians use only make sense in certain context or have been mistranslated. i view the bible as a diary of christians in the past, and in a way i find that even holier. it’s a treasure and the gospel feels even more real to me because of that!!

things just started to make so much more sense when i looked at the bible with a queer eye. when two women who lived together are blessed, that turns from a seemingly pointless story into a story about a romantic couple being blessed by the lord. when it’s mentioned that two men who live together are very close and do everything together, it makes so much more sense to think that they were together. everything just clicks into place! and it fits the image i have in my head of jesus so much better: someone who preached radical love and kindness of COURSE would never say it was a sin to love ANYONE, no matter who it is.

ok this was really long post and honestly i could go on for so much longer but i hoped this helps!! ily and if you have any other questions/musings feel free to ask!!❤️

[ocedy]

Grand Hotel is amazing and underrated

Today I wanted to talk about one of my favorite TV show : the spanish soap opera Grand Hotel. I've known this show for 6 years but I'm rewatching it so all the great feels are back. It is full of mysteries, plot twists, romance and humor and the main couple is one of the best on TV. I am talking about Julio and Alicia and I wanted to mention why this relationship is compelling and entertaining.

First of all, both characters are amazing. I could read about them on their own which is quite rare. They are very sympathetic, well-written and have qualities and flaws. Julio's charm is convincing and his falsely innocent personality when searching for information is endearing and funny. Alicia is split between her heart and her duty and I love how she balances it out. She is pushed to marry Diego, whom she does not love, but who is a good match for the family's interests. It's never a question of Alicia loving Diego and of a love triangle but the difficult choice of family vs love. Alicia's and Julio's determination are what pushes them to stick to their own values while helping the other. And nothing would have happened if Alicia wasn't so close to the downstairs staff in general. Her affection for the domestics and her empathy is her most beautiful trait.

Then, their chemistry is off the charts thanks to the beautiful acting : the way Julio looks at Alicia melts my heart. I love how he so obviously loves her and does not try to hide those emotions. Alicia also has incredible moments such has the time where she is with Diego but keeps her eyes on Julio. You can feel the pull and the longing between them. The difference of social status and the fact they had to keep their relationship secret helped making it spicier and more exciting.

Another important point is that they have more time on screen as a couple than pining. Their pining is succulent but they are anything but boring together. What a good surprise was that kiss near the end of S1. Earlier than what is expected in this kind of show but necessary to make their relationship progress. After that point, it was all about hiding their relationship from others and it might be even better than pining. They continue to fall more and more in love with each other as time passes. I love how the relationship's interest didn't stop at the kiss but was merely a step in their journey together. They have real discussions and communication. And sure there is angst because of the situation and sometimes their interests conflict but I thought it made the show more interesting (and longer which was appreciated). Their relationship is based on a need to help the other and they solved mysteries together. I love that there is substance to their connection and that we can feel why they love each other.

This couple feels real, not born out of pure lust or toxic attraction but something deep and sweet. They compliment each other very well as they both fight for the truth but Alicia keeps Julio grounded while he offers her a trust and freedom her family never gave her. He gives her the opportunity to use her intelligence to her full potential during their mystery solving and she makes it someone better because she keeps him from making some bad decisions. They evolve in an exciting environment, surrounded by danger, and yet they always find a moment to share their discoveries together. There is some angst sparkled across their romance and a few moments they could have broken up but they way they make up feels genuine and never out of character. I love how nor Alicia nor Julio play hard to get and how they are generally open about their feelings.

They also have a lot of moments shown on screen. Be it hugs, kisses, longing glances or small intimate moments that made the relationship very convicing and beautiful to rewatch again and again. It's obvious that they truly love each other. You can see it in their eyes, their gestures, their actions, their words. Their love is so strong you can only wish to live it. I love how they overcame the difficulties and the adversity together. Plus they have a totally happy ending and I'm a sucker for those.

So that was my rant xD if you didn't watch the show, I'm sorry for the lack of context but this post is mainly here to give great points about them so that you can discover the story by yourself :) Of course, Julio and Alicia are not the only good part of this show which is very captivating in general. I wish more people talked about it! The fandom is very small and deserves to be known.

[mylifeincinema]

My Week(s) in Reviews: January 1, 2023

First and foremost... Happy New Year!!

Okay... now let’s get into it. I’m keeping these short because I have little to say about them or they’re going to be featured in My Best of 2022 shortly, anyway, so let’s just go with the old three things format for most of these, yeah? Good.

The Fabelmans (Steven Spielberg, 2022)

1. Wholly feels like the film Spielberg’s been working toward.

2. That final shot is the reason (as if I needed another one) why Spielberg is my favorite director.

3. I’m going to be genuinely shocked if this lands anywhere other than on top of my top films of 2022. - 10/10

Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (Rian Johnson, 2022)

1. What a cast!!

2. A ton of fun, and it chooses an approach and sticks with it. If you’re underwhelmed with the ‘twists’, that’s kinda the point.

3. Seriously, though... what a cast!! - 8.5/10

Babylon (Damien Chazelle, 2022)

What a clusterf*ck…

It’s very clear Chazelle lost the thread about 40% in. Cutting that whole Tobey storyline would help. Also cut the opening scene, just start on the party. Tighten up Margot’s arc, we didn’t need that snake shit. Cut Jovan’s arc complete, there’s enough there thematically for a separate film. Give that to someone who can tell it in a way that’ll actually resonate. Leave everything with Brad Pitt alone. He was fantastic and his arc is the only one that felt like it progressed and ended naturally. Beautiful, tragic, interesting shit, right there. Actually loved the ending, but a bunch of other late moments for Diego felt sloppy/rushed. The phenomenal editing helps some of the more upsetting issues throughout, but can’t save the film from the total loss of cohesion in the those final acts. Despite all its many flaws, though, I still pretty close to loved about 65% of this film. - 6/10

Avatar: The Way of Water (James Cameron, 2022)

1. Visually stunning. Probably the easiest VFX win since the last, right?

2. Someone should give Fincher the money for his 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea... if this film is anything, it’s proof the tech has reached the point where Fincher’s vision is not only possible, but feasible.

3. Has James Cameron actually ever heard two people talking to each other? My God, that dialogue is atrocious. (The screenplay all-around, really.) Yikes. - 6.5/10

Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (Eric Appel, 2022)

1. This is not only the perfect approach to a Weird Al biopic, I’m pretty sure it’s the only approach to a Weird Al biopic.

2. Very funny if you’re familiar with Yankovic as a person, downright hilarious if you go in only knowing his music.

3. Evan Rachel Wood as Madonna... I repeat, Evan Rachel Wood as Madonna. My God! - 7.5/10

Emily the Criminal (John Patton Ford, 2022)

1. Aubrey Plaza is really damn good.

2. So is just how terribly things go in that third act.

3. The rest... not so much. I really don’t get all the hype. - 5/10

Black Adam (Jaume Collet-Serra, 2022)

1. This is a very bad movie. Very easily one of the worst of the year.

2. Any promise Dwayne Johnson had every shown has been tossed in the garbage for terrible line delivery and tough-guy stares.

3. Pierce Brosnan deserved better than this. An interesting character and perfect casting completely wasted in favor of whatever this shit was supposed to be. - 2/10

The People We Hate at the Wedding (Claire Scanlon, 2022)

1. Not a good movie by any stretch.

2. But Kristen Bell.

3. And Allison Janney. - 5.5/10

A Christmas Story Christmas (Clay Kaytis, 2022)

1. Corny as f*ck.

2. But the type of corny I can get behind.

3. And that Christmas morning was the obvious tear-jerker material I’m a sucker for. - 6/10

The Shop Around the Corner (Ernst Lubitsch, 1940)

1. James Stewart really is one of my all-time favorite actors. Just always so damn good.

2. Love me some Lubitsch, yet for some reason I have so many blind spots with him.

3. I know we live in completely different times, but even looking through the scope of the time, that ending seemed a bit forced. Still a delightful film overall, but she must’ve been really desperate to let the shit he pulled go. - 7/10

Elvis (Baz Luhrmann, 2022)

1. Significantly better than I expected. But painfully overlong.

2. Austin Butler is fantastic. Tom Hanks is (somehow) borderline awful.

3. Baz Luhrmann’s direction is god-awful. But there’s a shit-ton of it, so I guess the Golden Globes look at Directing like the Academy does editing, now. - 5.5/10 (Almost all of those 5.5 are for Butler and the early performance sequences only.)

Enjoy!

-Timothy Patrick Boyer.

[theultrablog]

Pulp Storytime #60: Pros and CONFERENCE!

Kisses are a form of chemistry... As usual, we had a last-minute new player, who brought to life Zahir Al-Adwani! A janitor at the American University in Cairo, he had fooled many people into believing that he was a mathematical prodigy, and not someone who emptied the dustbins. An overwhelmed every-man, he was a great contrast to the arrogant heroes he joined this week, Australian songstress Florence Zee, and inventor-professor-pilot, Winston Callahan. The characters were in the most southern city in the world, Ushuaia Chile, for an academic conference. It was a social minefield, as egotistical intellectuals try to get the better of erudite gossip columnists. Also on the scene was mustachioed midget "Diego", who looked suspiciously like a certain 13-year-old millionaire who didn’t want people bothering her for money. Completely different person though; Diego was a hard-working cabby who didn’t want to speak Spanish because it "felt like a showoff thing to do".

NOT DIEGO! The players’ troubles started at the cantina. Outlaw academic Callahan responded some gentle razzing with screamed expletives, getting formally banned from an event he wasn’t even invited to. Zahir tried to show off, and was so impressive he was booked to give a 20-minute lecture on the subject he had only sort of heard about. Meanwhile, Florence tried to play interfere to keep Beatrice the gossip columnist from interrogating Maude Brown’s father, the radio genius. He was terrible at lying, and new details about his daughter's exploits that could bring scandal to the party. (Abandoning her radio show to become a princess in an ancient Roman city in Tunisia and being mind controlled, then throwing her butler down the stairs were among the top no-no’s.) Also an issue was Jennings Petrie, an agitated scientist who was fighting expulsion. Surely Florence could persuade everyone he was a good guy and that all the rumors were false? The rumors weren’t false. The Gold Coast chanteuse worked the venue, discovering Dr. Petrie repeatedly ignored ethical standards and had experimented with something called "cold fire". The question was, how to let a psycho down gently? Meanwhile, Zahir and Winston put their heads together. Winston would write the speech, Zahir would perform it. While Callahan wrote, janitor Zahir snuck around and secured a custodial disguise for the pigheaded professor. The speech was a huge hit! For all his flaws, Winston Callahan was an excellent and clearheaded writer, and Al-Adwani a skilled deceiver. It went so well, that Zahir was able to get Callahan readmitted to the conference. After failing to prep Professor Brown with technically correct deceptions, Florence headed to the bar. Beatrice cut her down with a series of cruel and accurate barbs, yet Florence rose above it. The gossip columnist knew she and Trudy were a certain way… Florence asked, was 'Trice at all curious to see how it worked? In the main hall, everyone wanted to kick out Petrie. He was dangerous and uncouth, as well as unsociable! Unfortunately, the doctor had predicted this outcome, storming into the room prepared to threaten them all. Zahir, used to professorial tantrums, backed his rolling chair into Petrie’s path. A small silver canister slid across the floor, landing at Callahan‘s feet…

Now, Callahan has a trouble that hasn’t come up before. In fact, I forgot he had it until just this moment. It’s "I look with my hands.". So while the villain was ignominiously defeated, Callahan opened the canister… UNLEASHING COLD FIRE! Thermophilic ice spread across the ceiling, causing the chandelier to buckle and crack. Wallpaper separated from wall, and architecture started to buckle under the suddenly increased weight. Nearby, Trudy Florence and Beatrice were lazily sorting through their clothes. The mood turned to panic when one of Trudy’s stockings froze solid! Once again, Florence found herself fleeing a rendezvous through a hotel window. Down below, Callahan and Zahir told everyone to stay back. They had science to do! They could use electrical wiring and the synthetic fabric of the hotel furniture to reverse the effect, creating a chemical thaw. Everyone assembled cheered as the freezing agent reversed, and the hotel was merely wet instead of collapsing. Wait, did anyone have eyes on Professor Petrie? Zahir used one of his stunts, allowing him to make a notice check as if he was anywhere he had been that adventure. This allowed him to remember where Jennings had parked. TAXI! "Diego" was straightening her mustache on the curb. Callahan jumped behind the wheel, speeding off into traffic. They were behind, and the mad Doctor was on a motorcycle, But the trio had something better. Something to prove! Zahir unfolded the road atlas in the backseat. If they took a shortcut, they could… Petrie had jumped over a rising bridge. But of course Winston Callahan could follow. He was a pilot. Nothing could stop the Outlaw academic. His taxi was a missile, ignoring spilled instant-ice, careening through narrow alleys...They almost caught up as Petrie prepared to ramp his bike onto a getaway boat. Stomping the gas, Callahan brought the car right alongside, and ZAHIR OPENED THE DOOR! Instead of an easy escape, the Madman crotched himself on a pylon. And people think academics are boring. ---

In the second part of the adventure, the players were shot down over a mysterious island, escaped*, and reached Rura Tonga. François made a brief cameo; the Canadian outdoorsman never knew how much he would learn to love sunscreen! Everything was relatively hunky-dory, until Devika revealed that there were three spies on the island, and she didn’t know the identity of any of them. Anyone up for some volleyball? *The second part of the adventure is not particularly noticeable. Here’s a warning that’ll save us both a lot of time: it’s super hard to run zombie adventures, especially in Fate, especially in open areas (for example, a cursed island in the South Seas). Players are just too smart and flexible to really make Zeds scary. It can get gory in places… But not thrilling, because it’s so hard to set up social and ethical stakes. Two people got bitten in half by a zombie shark and this sentence is the only mention of it. Thanks for reading!

Zahir Al-Adwani:

[thinktank909]

I am NOT smiling with Cargile

As a local activist who was a county party committee member due to running in the past for State Senate in our shared district, I wanted to make sure that my vapid Congresswoman Norma Torres (D-Pomona) had a challenger. I signed the petition for Mike Cargile to become candidate for Congress in his first run in 2020 not knowing how much of a loose cannon he is. I was one of his nomination signers during that run not knowing that he was outside the establishment where he would later gain national attention for having his endorsement yanked by the state party.

I thought it was unjust for him to have his endorsement yanked by the state party in the first place because he symbolized the base of the party. However his social media was the bane with individuals such as Jessica Patterson, the two term chair of the state party where she felt he was a liability to our statewide ticket. They were afraid of his viewpoints would be smeared to the other nominees like Jay Olbernolte and Mike Garcia. He fairly won the primary and I felt the first yanking of his endorsement was just a way to weaken him in the general election and she wanted to decrease the number of potential delegates he may earn in the year ahead.

I can agree that the state and county parties are not representative of the grassroots, but the fatal flaw of Cargile and his friends is the lack of inclusion. I noticed that when the meetings in Rancho Cucamonga were held in a church that has doctrine beliefs that were not inclusive to non-straight people, which was a sign that perhaps I was wasting my time associating with Cargile and his friends even before his diatribe before the second time his endorsement got yanked. I defended him the first time, but I was about to defend him a second time until he wrote his diatribe before the hearing to yank his endorsement, using the party’s first transgender delegate Regina Roberts of San Diego County as a wedge issue saying that transgenderism is a perversion of truth, yes you can disagree with leftist LGBT people like the health official in the Surgeon Generals office Rachel Levine, but Regina believes in many issues that most Republicans could agree and support on such as the second amendment.

Not all of us in the LGBT community agree that smutty graphic novels belong in our public K-12 school libraries or public libraries in the children or teenager department. Not all of us in the LGBT community agree that teenage girls should get their breasts lobbed off at the age of 15. Not all LGBT people believe that we should let kids see drag performers do sexually explicit content no matter if it’s a monologue or a dance routine. Painting people like Regina Roberts in a broad brush is very irresponsible.

Mike wants to run for Congress for a third round, but before that could happen he wants to run for State Party chair. The job pays a decent wage and I can agree that he can motivate the Republican voters better. However the problem I see, is he wants to shoe horn the political culture of Oklahoma and Idaho into California. I agree that there are systematic failures in the California Republican Party. We have done a horrible job in statewide elections since 2006, we have done a horrible job in voter registration, a horrible job in getting candidates elected into the state legislature and a horrible job in places such as San Diego County where NO Republican is representing the San Diego city council, the majority of the Board of Supervisors has been lost since 2018.

I am worried that if Cargile had a prayer of winning, that he would want to get rid of the Log Cabin Republicans charter, the platform plank I helped put in with Reagan’s son-in-law will be yanked and all the clauses with animus to LGBT people will return. Cargile and his friends will basically tell someone like me that they are not wanted in the party, but political parties are operated like an orchestra where its not just one element that drives its success. I seriously do believe in the mantra that “Inclusion Wins”, if we want to reach out to young and highly educated voters in places such as CD-27, CD-41, CD-47 and CD-49 we have to bring the inclusion of Jessica Patterson and the reformer attitude of Mike Cargile.

Unfortunately, you cannot separate the best elements from both leading candidates for Chairman in the election in March 2023. We must choose Rob Bernowsky our 2022 Secretary of State nominee for chairman. Sadly, the California Republican Party is a trainwreck and the casting office should have delivered us someone more worthy to be elected chair of the state party like Harmeet Dillon.

[specialability]

I finished rereading like the entire last 1/3rd of Jojo Steel Ball Run last night because I couldn't sleep and then I wrote some stream of consciousness rambling about Diego Brando aka Dio aka DinoDio, a real blorbo of mine

I love Dio from the original universe too, but I have a special place in my heart for DinoDio. In the original universe, Dio is still arrogant and vengeful, but he is "changed" by the mask at a pivotal moment. And he actually became something other than human. This Dio didn't. He is still strictly human, with human ambitions. I mean I love DIO, there seriously are no villains doing it better. He is the epitome of the "ore-sama" character. DinoDio is still excruciatingly aware of the fact that he is inferior. No matter how much he wins as a jockey, he is still disposible to people with real power. He is one of those people who have suffered so much from people who have power that all he can think about is taking that power for himself, not eliminating the power altogether. No one cared about him or his mother, so he won't care about anyone. Perhaps there is a universe where Dio becomes an anarchist. If there are infinite possible universes then there must be.

One of the reasons why DinoDio is my blorbo and gets my especial fascination is because of course he turns into a dinosaur. We have established that I like reptiles and I especially like feathered dinosaurs, for many reasons. Dio does not turn into anything that might remotely be called an "accurate" depiction of a dinosaur, but in general you cannot expect realism from Jojo. Also Araki is criminally bad at drawing animals, like sometimes I think it must be on purpose because it's clearly not a lack of skill.

But what really caught me is the "cracking" of his skin right before he changes. I have psoriasis so things like that attract my attention. I wish I could crack all my skin off and emerge as a dinosaur. I mean I absolutely love the early scenes when he's just transforming for the first time and is making weird sounds in his throat and eating rocks and can't see the coffee mug but won't admit it. He's being unquestionably very weird but also refuses to acknowledge it in any way. Like if you think something's wrong with him maybe there's something wrong with you, eh?!

Dio's main quality, his fatal flaw, is his self-conviction. He absolutely 100% believes that he is come out a winner in every situation. And the fact is that he is very intelligent, he now has superhuman physical abilities, and the conviction to reach his goals no matter what. That's really attractive in a person don't you think? His complete lack of self-doubt. Like you can say it's a sign of a very deep-seated self-loathing, but even as he is literally cut in half laying on the train tracks he thinks "I won". That is how he has gotten so far. Every time he has lost, he has turned it into a win somehow. He never loses his pride. It is a sort of delusion, but in the same way that hope is a delusion necessary to life.

He is ruthless towards other humans and is perfectly happy to kill someone or let them die while using them. But even when his horse gets exhausted during the race he chooses to rest it and doesn't choose to pull any tricks like trading it for a new one. He is more likely to use another human being to reach his goals than endanger his horse. He really is still that kid who grew up in a stable. Like, sure, there are rational reasons why he would be careful to take care of his horse in order to win. He lets his little dinosaurs die, but he also praises them when they do well. You can see how he would attract followers. He's kind of like another ore-sama character, Gilgamesh from Fate/Grand Order (not the historical/mythological one). Gilgamesh, especially Caster Gil, is a ruler but if he is going to be a ruler he is going to be the wisest and best ruler on the planet. His people are going to be the most prosperous and happiest. His city is going to be safe and strong. It doesn't matter how much effort it takes from him, this is absolutely essential. Achieving that through something like brainwashing would be cheating and beneath him.

[amazingspake]

I don't really like self-reblogging but I put a lot of work in this, so I settled on sharing some of my thoughts on their relationship while I'm at it

Disclaimer: English is not my first language and I talk a lot

So, consider this: UR-1 happened about 2 years after Hazakura incident. Diego is more or less free from his inner demons, but is lost and has no purpose — there's nothing for him to live for, he doesn't hate Phoenix anymore, he can't really protect Maya from prison, and we all know what happened the first time he tried to protect her, so he really just, well, exists.

And then Blackquill arrives. Sure, he can be a master of psychology and a prosecutor all he wants, but he's only 21, practically a boy still, who has just been through a very traumatic experience and basically signed his own death sentence. And I really like this thing with Simon that, sure, he's selfless and heroic and risked everything for a better cause, but his reasoning is flawed and the decision of going to prison while the real perpetrator is still around isn't the brightest one. If Metis's killer was the same person who sabotaged the HAT-1 launch, how in the world did Simon believe that Athena killed her mother? And moreover, if he wanted to protect her, why didn't he stay at her side? And I'm not talking about Aura, because Aura's feelings clearly weren't the focus here. There was that psychological profile thing also, I suppose — but I don't think he specifically needed to be in prison to preserve it. I may be wrong, as DD's plotline is a freaking jungle of a mess, but still: Simon's decision isn't perfect, and that's what makes him a better character than he already is. I've actually read a post which explored this idea on PW Kinkmeme, but I don't think I'll be able to find it again. Anyway, this view on Blackquill's character made me like him even more: he did what he thought was best at the time, and was committed to it, like a samurai, until the end. And, to quote Mr. Coffee himself: "To err, is human, to forgive, divine. Humans aren't machines, the have souls, feelings. They live, they die, they love, they hate... and, yes, they even make mistakes".

So, back to prison. Blackquill arrives, and Diego sees this scared kid who, however, has the guts to claim he's a murderer and keep a straight face. It takes him one glance at Simon, and his lawyer instincts tell him that he's innocent. So, as he seeks a new purpose in life so much, he decides to look out for Simon, protect him, if you like. He is a defence attorney at heart, he knows better than most how to bluff, how to smile in the hardest of times, and how to keep a facade that won't falter. So he guides him: carefully, without too much pressure, to have Simon figure out himself what is best for him. He guides him and watches as the Twisted Samurai emerges, dark, stoic, and cold, and no longer sees a lost boy, but a man who is fearless and fearsome, and can stand his ground, and Diego feels at least a little bit proud.

And now that I think of it, let's make it a bit more angsty: Diego, because he is Diego, compares Simon to Mia. He sees someone who is reckless in their desire to avenge someone they cared deeply about (Misty/Metis) by putting the true culprit behind bars (Redd White/the Phantom), while trying to keep safe someone else they care about, but ending up abandoning them (Maya/Athena). Diego sees these parallels, and, although he accepted that he shouldn't blame himself for Mia's death, he still may feel responsible that he didn't protected her from this reckless vengeance. So maybe he becomes afraid that Simon will follow the same path, and thus at least tries to warn him and teach him to be more cautious.

And so, as he's out of prison, earlier than Blackquill (I believe his sentence wasn't too long due to it being a manslaughter rather than murder, and due to health complications; and I just want my guy to have a happy ending, whatever, it's not about him today) and maybe he contacts someone he knows, who was an annoying brat in his youth, but grew up to be a respected man, aiming to be the next Chief Prosecutor. Maybe he says to him, hey, frilly boy, do me a favor and look up that case involving Blackquill in detail for me, will you? And Edgeworth, being a smart man, probably already had his doubts regarding that case, so this is just another confirmation and an incentive to dig deeper.

Godot figures out Blackquill

Aa3 & aa5 spoilers, mild blood ig

If you have seen this no you haven't tumblr did some weird shenanigans and separated the images

I'm not rewriting whatever I said before but I adore their weird prison friendship

[gravity-barbie]

(Platonic) Protective Hargreeves siblings HC's

Aka: The Hargreeves reaction to their sibling dating a pattern of trash men

Set season one

(A/N: this is very loosely based on Euphoria’s Cassie Howard)

Masterlist

Luther Hargreeves

-Luther is the most overtly protective, afterall he considers his siblings his responsibility

-You've received a lecture from him about every boyfriend you've had but he's so overbearing that it can do more harm than help

-Would be the type to forbid you from seeing someone but it never works since you know he doesn't have any actual authority

-He's actually very socially awkward so if he met one of your boyfriends he probably wouldn't say anything but he'd give them a dirty look

-Unless they did something completely out of line in which case he'd take full advantage of his stature to scare them off

-Hes tried to verbally explain to you that you could do better than that type of men but it never comes out right

-Despite all his flaws you know that if things got bad and you needed anything you could rely on him

Diego Hargreeves

-Diego is just as protective but he pretends he doesn't care

-Whenever you see each other he inquires on the state of your relationships in a disinterested or even mocking way but really he's trying to make sure you're doing okay

-He gets background checks on the guys that seem particularly shady

-Has straight up got one of your boyfriends arrested

-He insults you for your awful taste, sometimes in good fun and sometimes quite meanly

-He's definitely the first to get violent if your boyfriend does anything to hurt you

-He doesn't have it in him to give you a pep talk but he would ask Grace to

Allison Hargreeves

-Allison was never a very protective person during your childhood but that changed once she had her daughter, especially over you and Viktor

-Early on she'd try setting you up with nice guys that seemed like better alternatives but they never worked out

-She constantly tells you that you deserve better or that you should spend some time being single

-She invites you on all kinds of hang-outs to clear your head

-Venting about your shared men problems together is a nice little bonding experience

-If she ever got a especially bad feeling about one of your boyfriends she'd make it her life's mission to expose him

-She's the best person to go to if you're going through a hard time

Klaus Hargreeves

-Klaus falls a bit more into the 'needs to be protected' than protective camp

-Mostly you two get drunk and vent about your problems

-He'll rant about how much your current boyfriend sucks and tell you why you shouldn't forgive them for whatever they've done this time

-Though all his hatred for your partners is based on what you yourself have told him

-He attempts to be comforting but since most of your heart-felt talks happen when he's high it comes out as jumbled nonsense- still the laugh is good to lift your spirits

-He's not especially confrontational but he has no qualms insulting your various boyfriends to their faces

-Or doing some spooky stuff to psych them out

Five Hargreeves

-When Five gets back the last thing he wants to do is deal with his siblings romantic drama

-He's vaguely aware you're unhappy in your relationship but doesn't pay it much mind

-You complain about your boyfriend in passing but he doesn't take it seriously

-But if he actually sees your boyfriend acting up it's a whole different story

-He might have a bad case of tunnel vision but his priority is always his siblings well-being and he is very protective

-He will wound and sincerely threaten to kill the man to get him out of your life

-Afterwards he makes it a point to tell you that you can do better- in a unemotional, backhanded-compliment kind of way

Ben Hargreeves

-Seeing you be mistreated and down in the dumps is especially hard on Ben since he can't do anything about it

-He doesn't want to confront any of the guys he just wants to comfort you

-He was always great at giving you advice when you were kids and you had often wished he was there to talk to as you grew up

-He's had a motivational speech for you brewing for nearly fifteen years

-But the closest you come to hearing it is Klaus saying "Ben, shut up, she doesn't need to hear that soppy stuff right now."

-Little do your boyfriends know, whenever they're near Klaus there's a ghost in the room glaring at them

-Within the day of realising he can touch things he starts trying to write you a letter

Viktor Hargreeves

-Viktor (assuming you actually keep up a relationship with him) is a thoughtful and sympathetic listener

-He tries to give you advice but its nothing you haven't heard before

-He's the sweetest when you're distressed, holding you and telling you how great you are and that he wishes he was more like you

-You didn't think he had it in him but when he met your boyfriend and he started acting like a jerk he actually told him he needed to leave (you couldn't protest, too amazed by his sudden confidence)

-You're experience makes you suspicious of Leonard

-But because you've been in Viktor's place so often you accept it when he tells you to drop it

[obsidianstrawberrymilk]

oh defo agreed on leonard, part of why viktor frustrates me sometimes much as i love him because it feels like the tua writers keep trying to make him *the* main character (despite it being a cast show) and they keep bringing up the fact that he has trauma, and they erase his flaw’s because they’re telling you more that he’s a dysfunctional and traumatized but sympathetic character without actually showing that

like viktor having what’s effectively a mental breakdown in s1 finale and deciding to cause the apocalypse (imo he was trying to cause the apocalypse ((esp since he literally killed a guy for honking at him and went to the concert knowing his powers feed on sound)) once his siblings started attacking him but the exact way he caused the apocalypse was an accident) but that’s not really brought up and when it os, they talk about it like he took his dad’s car and had a joyride and accidentally crashed it, not causing the literal apocalypse

Viktor’s trauma w leonard isn’t addressed, nor is him literally getting tortured by the fbi (absolutely not surprising given klaus’ torture not being addressed, but not any less frustrating), his anger issues and bit of a victim complex, and his years of anger and resentment towards his siblings are magically wiped away thx to the fact that he has powers now apparently

the latter bits are esp frustrating, bc y’know, wiping away his flaws is wiping away a good chunk of what makes him interesting. I feel like s2 really dropped the ball w the amnesia storyline bc it just served as a reason to not address s1. imo it could’ve been good, if they played into the “oh viktor’s amnesiac and all his problems are solved now” and have the siblings kind of think that when they see viktor happy w sissy and carl but then they slowly realize viktor defo vv much still has his resentment issues. the only reason they didn’t see it is bc who pr what does viktor have to be jealous of the farm (or maybe viktor could be jealous of carl not just bc of sissy but bc of him being important at his job but i digress)

like diego mentions having to save keneddy and viktor’s like “what so you can get patted on the back for being extraordinary for saving the day?” And instances like that which make the siblings realize that viktor’s issues defo aren’t a quick and simple fix, they’ve always been there and it’s not something they can blame solely on leonard. leonard was merely only the one who lit the match to the bomb, he didn’t create it. and if they really wanna address viktor’s issues they have to address their own and the family’s issues as a whole

You just outlined basically all of my issues w how Viktor is treated in the show.

It's like the showrunners have forgotten who he was in S1, tbh: Viktor is angry. He's angry, he's kind of ruthless, he's selfish. He destroys the world because he's angry at his siblings and doesn't give two shits about who he could hurt. Was part of that Leonard? Yeah, sure. Was it also years of repressed anger just bursting out? Yep.

He thinks he had it the worst out of his siblings, he thinks he was the only one who's trauma really matters and he's a victim, and like... the show never addresses or even contradicts this?? It's like they want us to think he's right, that Vik was the only one with trauma and it justifies everything he does.

The thing is- Viktor is kind. He's sweet, he's passionate when he finally gets off his pills, he's a good person. But he's not perfect. He's far from perfect. Those flaws I outlined above? They didn't make me hate him at all. They make him interesting. They make him realistic. Abuse isn't pretty, trauma isn't pretty - they're awful and people have to work to get away from the affects of them. That's what we saw with Allison in S1, what we should have seen with Viktor.

I've mentioned before that I think S2 and 3 sanitized a lot of the characters, and this is what I mean.

Look, Leonard was horrible for Viktor. He was manipulative and abusive and terrifying towards the end. How is he just... not affected by that? How does he not close himself off even more, even subconsciously, terrified and wary of someone treating him like a tool to manipulate and use again? Or maybe he does the opposite: throw himself into love just to try and get rid of it's association to him?

And for that matter: how is Viktor not affected by anything from S1?? Holy shit, he ended the season trying to murder his siblings!! And yet when he meets them again they're all... fine? No resentment? No anything?

I feel like S2 was trying to show us who Viktor could have been; the person he could've been without the abuse and trauma, and yk, I do appreciate it. But if that was the case, then S3 should've been when it all came back - all the resentment and anger and abuse. But it... wasn't?

The narrative treats him with kid gloves, ngl. And that's so, so bad for his character, bc it robs him of the complexity that made me love him. I love Viktor because he's angry and selfish and good anyway - because he has his flaws but he's kind, but he's patient, but he's trying to figure out this family with everyone else.

But the thing is, the show doesn't show that. Because Viktor's flaws are suddenly gone, his trauma isn't addressed, and everything is now a joke. His powers aren't explained or elaborated on, most of his development is just a suggestion.

I love the idea you had about the resentment that Viktor could show even with his amnesia, tbh. Small things here and there - easy enough to brush of but that could explode later, just to show us it's not gone, not (totally) healed, because you can't just fix trauma by ignoring it. That resentment is still there. That's fantastic.

Something interesting, imo, could have been that Viktor was faking his amnesia. Like, he's suddenly in the 1960s without any idea where anyone is, and now he's staying with a woman he's growing to love, and a kid he really, really cares about. There's no one to compete with or feel inferior to, no siblings he has to sort out his emotions about, and no one to hold him accountable for ending the world.

Why would he want to leave?

It could sort of be like what Allison learns pre-S1: you have to take responsibility for your actions, and if you want to make up with people, you have to take steps as well. You have to be the one who wants reconciliation, not just the other people, or else relationships can never fix.

Also Viktor Allison parallels did I mention how much I love them yet-

Anyway, yes, you're absolutely right. The show has watered down everyone ngl, and that very, very heavily includes Viktor.

[mrcrawly]

more umbrella academy headcanons cuz im lazy and id rather do this

🌕 Klaus is an insomniac. the ghosts often keep him awake and he often doesn't like to fall asleep when they're loud because it often causes him to have nightmares.

🌕 Five has nightmares, but he loves sleep. he can't function without at least 5 hours, even with coffee. since he and Klaus tend to be up at the same time during the night they spend time together then. since Klaus usually isn't tired (or at least not as much as Five is), he keeps him company. sometimes he reads to him, but usually just rambles and stays in his general vicinity until one of them falls asleep. usually, it's Five, and being around someone helps him to not wake up screaming during the night.

🌕 Ben writes poems. or, he comes up with the words, and Klaus writes them down for him.

🌕 Diego really likes romance novels. not necessarily because he's soft or whatever else, but because he likes just reading about two people who are very different falling in love despite their flaws.

🌕 Klaus likes enemies to lovers books (or fanfics) for similar reasons. he likes the idea of two people knowing all the awful things about the other person but still seeing just enough good to fall in love with them despite all the others bad things about them.

🌕 Five really likes 80's music, especially Billy Joel and Queen. he also likes some Frank Sinatra, but only certain songs.

🌕 maybe i'm projecting, but i kinda like the idea of autistic Five. i do not support "functioning" labels because i think they're kinda ableist just in their premise, but i guess you could consider him being a high-functioning autistic? or he's just used to masking it constantly? whatever you wanna think. or you can disagree, fine with me.

🌕 Luther has a sweet tooth, but doesn't know how to bake very well. he once tried to make Allison her favorite cake for her birthday, but it was really dry and he couldn't get it out of the pan because he forgot to grease it. it didn't taste bad, to his credit.

🌕 Vanya is anxious (which comes as a surprise to nobody). but a lot of her anxiety comes from failure or not measuring up, because she feels a need to prove herself, even now. so when she tries something new and isn't good at it almost instantly, she gets really frustrated.

🌕 surprisingly, Allison and Diego are the most understanding of her issue with perfectionism. Diego once found her in frustrated tears because she was trying to teach herself to sew so she could mend something for Five (an old quilt that ripped that he was really attached to, but never had time to fix). he was confused at first and she was really embarrassed, and tried to brush it off, but he just sat down with her and taught her the basics and she picked the rest up herself.

🌕 Allison noticed when she realized that Vanya didn't really play the violin anymore like she used to like to do, so she asked and Vanya told her about how she didn't feel like she was any good at it, and they talked about it a little.

🌕 Five not only has issues expressing affection openly, but also has a hard time being open with his emotions. he has a sort of complex about protecting his family from things, and he worries that it'll upset them. but he ends up bottling up frustration and anger and sadness until he snaps at people. he feels really bad when he makes his siblings upset by doing it, so he tries to compensate by doing things for them and picking up slack (doing chores for them, helping out with things, spending time with them, making sure they eat).

🌕 a lot of the time, Five tires himself out trying to deal with all his emotions. nobody knew how to push him to talk about it without upsetting him. then one day, Five came up to Vanya when she was up reading one night and said, "can I talk to you?" in a way that wasn't hostile, or guarded, or nervous. so Vanya let him and listen to him finally go into detail about the things that happened to him when he was gone. she didn't really know what to say about it, so they just kind of sat like that until Five fell asleep in a chair across from her bed. it was a little better after that.

🌕 every once in a while, Klaus conjures Ben in front of the family so they can talk to him. it gets easier every time they do and Klaus can keep him in the physical realm for over half an hour if he concentrates.

🌕 Ben talks during movies and shows and tends to get really excited. a lot of the time when they sit down to watch movies Klaus is going "shhh!" even when no one else is talking, but they already know who he's talking to

🌕 Ben still has a lot of things he likes and tends to ramble about them. Klaus always humors him and does his best to listen since he doesn't have anyone else to talk to. Klaus never mentions it, but he notices that when Ben rambles about his interests, he tends to pace around the room, pull at the strings of his hoodie, rocks back and forth, sometimes he flaps his hands a little or bounces on his toes. it doesn't bother him, and Ben doesn't seem to notice when he does it, so he just listens and nods along. he wants Ben to feel like somebody cares about him and wants to listen to him. he may not be alive anymore, but Klaus still loves his brother, and he thinks it's important that he shows that whenever he can.

🌕 Ben sometimes asks Klaus to conjure him for a couple of seconds so he can have a hug, and Klaus always does. it doesn't take too much strength anymore, and Klaus needs a hug as much as Ben does some days.

🌕 Ben is really physically affectionate, so not being able to touch anyone or anything without Klaus around kinda sucks.