#the casting on this show was top notch okay

[flxmekeepr]

& juliette nichols.    —     11     /    ??       mutuals   can   reblog.

[vanteguccir]

you do not know how bad i need either tooth rotting fluff or sunshine x grumpie of matt from you🤯 the last time you wrote one of my requests i literally went feral for it… i will literally give you a kiss and call you mommy😘😘 PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

- sincerely,

matti.

then you can start calling me mommy bc here it goes your sunshine x grumpy 🤭😚

── ୨୧ !　a small blurb with grumpy!matt who has a soft spot for you

　　　　　𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒐𝒍𝒐 x sunshine!reader

The house was quiet, save for the hum of the air conditioner in the living room, a soft symphony to the lazy Sunday afternoon. Sunlight streamed through the blinds, casting gentle stripes on the hardwood floor, adding to the cozy atmosphere. Y/N hummed a cheerful tune as she flitted around the living room, picking up scattered dishes and fluffing the pillows on the couch.

Matt was sprawled on the sofa, pretending to watch whatever it was that the television was showing, arms crossed, his usual grumpy expression firmly in place. His tousled hair and the slight pout on his lips made him look even more endearing, though he would vehemently deny it. He watched Y/N with a mixture of amusement and impatience, his eyes tracking her every movement.

"You gonna lay with me already or not?" Matt grumbled, his voice low and gravelly. He rolled his eyes dramatically, trying to maintain his tough exterior. Y/N turned to him, a bright smile spreading across her face, and her eyes sparkling with mischief.

"Matt, you don't have to ask so nicely." She teased, setting down the book she had left at the kitchen table in the day before. She crossed the room in a few light steps and plopped down beside him, her warmth instantly seeping into his side.

Matt huffed, trying to appear annoyed, but the corners of his mouth twitched upwards. He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her closer until her head rested on his chest.

"Yeah, well, you took long enough." He muttered, but his voice softened as he buried his nose in her hair, inhaling her familiar scent.

Y/N snuggled into him, her fingers tracing lazy patterns on his chest.

"You love cuddles, you big baby." She said with a knowing smile, her voice a gentle murmur.

"Whatever." Matt replied, his tone gruff. "It's not like it's the highlight of my day or anything." But even as he spoke, he tightened his grip on her, holding her as if she might slip away.

She giggled, her laughter a sweet melody that always managed to soothe his grumpy demeanor.

"You know, you can drop the macho act. I know you're just a big marshmallow."

Matt scoffed, but the sound lacked conviction.

"Sure, sure. Just don't go telling anyone, okay?" His fingers began to play with her hair absentmindedly, a small smile finally breaking through his facade.

They lay there in comfortable silence for a while, the only sounds being their breathing and the occasional rustle of fabric as they shifted. Y/N could feel the steady beat of Matt's heart under her ear, a reassuring rhythm that lulled her into a state of contentment.

After a few moments, she shifted slightly, preparing to get up, her stomach begging for some snack. But as soon as she moved, Matt's grip tightened around her.

"Hey! The hell are you goin'?" He demanded, his voice rising a notch.

Y/N looked up at him, her eyes wide with amusement and surprise.

"I was just going to get something for us to eat, baby."

"No, you're not." Matt said stubbornly. "You're staying right here."

She chuckled, pressing a kiss to his chest.

"Alright, alright. I'm not going anywhere."

"Good." He mumbled, his grumpy facade slipping away entirely. He nestled his chin on top of her head, closing his eyes as he allowed himself to relax completely in her embrace.

Y/N smiled, her heart swelling with affection. Matt might be grumpy on the outside, but she knew the truth. He was her big, cuddly marshmallow, and she wouldn't have him any other way.

[whumpsoda]

A Weak Mind

I’m going insane I’ve been writing so much lately it’s crazy

I reallyyy like this one, so I hope you enjoy!

I wrote a part two as well :D Part two

cw: restraints, mild cursing, hypnosis/conditioning, pet whump

———————————————————————

Villain couldn’t move.

The countless restraints made sure of that.

They also ensured his instinctive panic upon gaining back consciousness. He struggled, fought against the leather straps, but of course the fight was futile. Even while squirming so determinedly, he was stuck.

Almost immediately upon his awakening, the room echoed with boisterous screams and shouts. Some were made from confusion, some anger. “Where am I!? What the fuck’s going on!? Let me out! Let me out! I’m going to fucking kill you!” Furious spittle flew from his mouth.

He could barely make out the area around him, only being able to make out a few cluttered tables. Villain continued spitting malicious roars at seemingly nothing.

Minutes passed.

So many minutes, he had no way of telling how many. 

His voice had become hoarse and strangled from the screaming. His words were slowing, quieting, coming to a stop. No one was there. He was alone in a strange place, strapped rigidly to an uncomfortable chair.

“Just fucking… show yourself already… asshole…” No response.

A click.

Villain would’ve looked if he could, but the noise came from behind him, and his head was currently not allowed that type of movement. Or any, really. 

His raspy voice picked up slightly. “Fight me… dickhead…” The determined steps approached closer, until the mysterious figure had walked right past him, practically ignoring the man strapped to the chair.

As the figure walked past, Villain caught a mumble stumbling from the figure’s lips. “Fuck. I missed the best part.” In return Villain forced his voice to return out of pure rage, but continued insults did nothing to catch the attention of the person rummaging around the room. 

A faint hand reached to the ceiling, and with another slight click a singular lightbulb lit across the room. Villain could make out the person a bit better now, their stretched frame, their long silky dark hair. Every step of theirs was determined, made with purpose as they circled around several locations. 

Superhero.

“Hey, fucker-”

“Hush. I’ll be with you in a minute.” Villain recoiled. She was speaking to him as if he were an elementary school child. 

The woman flicked a simple switch, and blue light cast upon the room. Half of one entire wall was filled top to bottom by what appeared to be some sort of giant computer. Superhero mumbled to herself comfortably, as if there wasn’t a man subdued in a chair mere feet away. “Where’s that setting… ah, here it is.” They carefully turned several notches on a large dial.

Villain was quiet, too quiet. He couldn’t ignore the fear anymore, his voice wouldn’t conjure up noise any longer. So many terrified thoughts ran through his mind, blocking out the fact that the woman was now walking his direction. 

She had something wrapped delicately in her hands, a mask-like object. Wires sprouted from all sides, running to who knows where. 

She lifted the bulky box up to Villain’s face, easily slipping it over his head despite his struggles. “Hey, hey! What the hell is going on!? Get this shit off of me!” The mask felt like a mix between a pair of goggles and a VR headset, enveloping his vision and nose. His vision was filled with complete darkness.

A finger rested over his thin lips, ceasing his yells. “Hush. It’ll be okay soon.” Villain could only hear the person’s steps stalking around the room, now. 

Seconds later, he heard yet another mechanical click.

His vision was overwhelmed by a bright lavender light. Villain urgently squeezed his eyes tight, refusing to open them. As he sat there, the color trying to seep into his eyeballs, a pair of bulky headphones slipped over his ears, and nimble fingers began massaging his head.

He could hear faint voices at first, or maybe all the same one, he couldn’t tell. Not until they grew louder, and louder. They blocked out any of his thoughts, a tight grasp leaking into his brain. 

Most of the voices Villain did not recognize. One of them though, the very loudest, he definitely did.

“Hero…?”

“Open your eyes, Villain. Let the light in. It’s meant to help, Villain, it won’t hurt. Open your eyes.” All of the voices robotically chanted the same words in his ears, constantly looping back to the beginning.

Villain held back, he held back as long as he could possibly manage, but soon, he wanted to do it. To open his eyes. He wanted to see it. His curiosity got the best of him. At least that’s what he believed. 

As soon as his eyes fluttered open, he never wanted to shut them again. He couldn’t even make out the images, the words. His brain was clouding, the visuals taking a hold on him.

As soon as his eyes opened, the voices picked up. “Good, Villain, so good. Such a good boy.” An intense, pleasurable feeling spread throughout Villain’s body upon the praise. The scratching upon his head mixed with the traveling feeling felt better than anything ever had before. It had to have been the most enjoyable feeling he had ever felt. It felt like heaven.

Villain yearned for more.

He continued to focus on the screen, the words and imagery becoming clearer and clearer. He was so focused, so obsessed.

“Focus, Villain. Relax, focus.” His body cuddled into the chair, it’s once uncomfortable feel being replaced with an unhealthily beautiful one. “Focus, Villain. You’re doing so well, so good. Read the words, Villain, repeat them.” 

The words began to spill out of Villain like water. 

“Obedience.”

Good.

“Submissive.”

Good boy.

“Do…cile.”

Good boy, Villain.

“Oh…obediencccceee…”

Good boy, Villain.

“Sub… submisshivvvee…”

Good boy, Villain.

“Da… da-docillllleee…”

Good boy, Villain.

“Pettt...”

Good boy, Pet.

The constant praise was filling his senses completely, overriding everything else, liquefying his brain. The pleasure he felt was constant and unimaginable. The words, the voices, the ideas, mixed together in a mix of marvelous pleasure. 

Any previous feelings of fear or anger had melted away so long ago, not even an afterthought to Villain. He wanted this. He wanted the good feels. He wanted it to continue forever. Submitting didn’t feel so bad anymore.

Each new flashing image, surrounded by the tender purple color, pulled Villain in deeper. His brain was melting, turning to mush. He couldn’t think. He shouldn’t think.

He didn’t want to think.

The words didn’t make sense anymore. To him the images were now accompanied by symbols completely foreign to him. The meaningless words though, they pulled him in, comforted him.

The voices continued, whispering sounds, some nonsensically to him, just like the words on the screen.

Except on the screen and in the voices, there were a few he could make out. The words he did understand, the ones he wanted to.

Obedient, submissive, docile.

Sit, stay, rollover.

Good boy.

Sweet pet.

They swirled in his mind, plastered across the walls of his brain. 

Villain sniffed vigorously. A scent had been released in front of him, released from the mask. He was caught completely in the familiar smell that filled his nose. 

“Sweet pet. Be so good for me won’t you? Your best behavior?” It was just one voice now ringing through his ears. The familiar voice. The one that had constantly remained the loudest. 

The scent matched the voice perfectly, causing Villain’s head to go wild.

“Heeeroooooo…” His voice didn’t even feel like his anymore. 

The voice, the scent, the words.

He could muster no thoughts, his head empty and smooth, enforced by the firm massaging of delicate fingers.

The imagery looped, so did the familiar words. Over and over again. The many voices returned behind the main one, filling his ears. Villain had no desire for it to end, not a drop in his whole body. 

His being was encased in a pure sense of bliss, relishing in the sweet buzz of the voice.

As soon as it had started, the experience stopped. Villain barely even noticed, his mind too compromised to understand. The fingers lifted from his hair, the headphones  gently being slipped off. The mask stayed on.

“What are you?” Villain recognized the voice instantly, one of the many that had been feeding him praises only moments ago.

He wasted no time mulling over a response.

“Pppetttt…” his words were slurred, coated in a fuzzy glaze.

“Who do you belong to, Pet?”

“Hhheerrrooooo…” Each time an automatic response exited his mouth, a feeling of intense satisfaction spiked inside him once again.

“Good boy. You’ve done so well, Hero will be so pleased. We only have a little more to go.”

Villain’s smile, desperate for the praise, stretched.

“Once you can’t so much as speak, it’ll all be over.

You’ll be fixed.”

—————————————————————

Soon enough, the mask finally slipped from his flushed cheeks.

Villain had no idea how long it had been, hours, days, maybe even weeks, the concept of time no longer carrying any meaning to him.

As the restraints he had gotten so used to were all unclipped, his whole body slumped, sliding out of the chair and onto the tiled flooring. He stationed himself on all fours, instinctively. Villain’s eyes sat half-lidded, heavy after being open for so long. He was still, prepared for instruction.

A thin, tall mirror was stationed several feet in front of him. Superhero was positioned next to it, guiding his eyes into the reflection. Someone, the one staring back at him, looked unruly and unkempt. Their hair was a mess, their clothes wrinkled and slipping. Their eyes were hollow, blank. Something sat on around their neck, something thick and irritating. 

A dog collar.

Villain didn’t even comprehend the fact that it was himself he was looking at.

“Do you like it?” No response. The words meant nothing to him, not registering in his feeble mind. “Too easy,” the person flipped around, stepping to a hook on the wall. They slipped a long, thin piece of fabric off, with a clip on the end. “I was really hoping for more of a fight.

At least I’ve got a wonderful gift for hero.”

[poorlittleyaoyao]

do you have any cdrama recs?

I haven't watched many! My attention span for just-for-fun reading is abysmal when school's in session, and that sadly includes subtitles.

HOWEVER. I HIGHLY recommend Story of Yanxi Palace, a historical drama that follows a young woman named Wei Yingluo who enters the Qianlong Emperor's court as an embroidery maid to avenge her older sister's murder. Yingluo is a FANTASTIC protagonist because she's a top-tier manipulator capable of being absolutely ruthless; however, for all that she's trying (and generally succeeding) at being a Gaslight Gatekeep Girlboss, she has an unshakeable sense of justice, and often undertakes personal risk to protect people dear to her. I always like it when a hero gets to scheme and lie unabashedly and the scheming and lying is acknowledged as such.

Beyond that--and what REALLY appealed to me coming off of The Untamed--is that the cast is overwhelmingly women. There are, like, four guys who matter in the entire 70-episode series. The other principals are the women of the palace complex: the empress, the concubines, the consorts in the harem, the maids. The series is first and foremost concerned with the relationships between these women and how the repressive environment of the Forbidden City (and the precariousness of their own positions) stifles their abilities to be themselves and encourages them to turn on each other. There's a lot of love! There's also a lot of mess!

And if you're like "hm, this sounds like a serious and depressing prestige drama," it also includes some BUCKWILD plot moments. At one point a character summons bats to murder someone. At another point, a character goads another into being struck by lightning.

(Also, because this made me very anxious: when a tiny dog shows up, DON'T WORRY, THE DOG IS FINE. THE DOG IS OKAY.)

I will admit that I haven't finished the series; there's a point around 2/3 in where some major plot threads are resolved and the ones intended to take their place come out of NOWHERE and involve what I feel is some genuinely OOC writing for the new antagonists. But it's just so ENJOYABLE to watch a historical drama that centers on women's experiences, isn't a romance (there are romances in it! but that is deeply secondary), and lets its characters be absolute disaster humans instead of Cardboard Picturesque Sad Historical Ladies(TM). I am grateful to @maester-of-spreadsheets and @tavina-writes for recommending it!

The whole thing is on YouTube with top-notch subtitles. (They translate terms of address! They translate the idioms and scientific/cultural/historical references verbatim and then add footnotes for context because they correctly assume that yOU ARE WATCHING THIS ONLINE, YOU CAN PAUSE TO READ IF YOU WANT. Netflix would NEVER.) There's also a remarkably thorough Wikipedia page if you lose track of the characters, since many of them undergo changes to their official titles and are referred to by those exclusively.

[chemicallywrit]

Audio Drama Sunday!!!

Again this is far from comprehensive because I am a feral podcast monster, but here’s what stuck out to me this week! Mostly spoiler-free, unless you count vibes as spoilers!

🗡️ Cry Havoc! Ask Questions Later managed to have a happy? Ending? Honestly the way it managed to be a hilarious historical sitcom with an ending that chilling was MASTERFUL. Great job writers, y’all are fantastic. It is obviously not absolutely true to what we know about Roman history, but it is true to the spirit of it in a way that’s really satisfying for me personally.

🦀 @thesiltverses oh MAN. The way this story says again and again that you cannot earn your way out of being trampled by a system that doesn’t care about you hits every. Single. Time. And what are you going to do, try to remake that system? There are always going to be people who can’t handle that and fight against you, to their own detriment. This story is fantastical and exaggerated, but it’s always so real at the same time.

👁️ @hellofromthehallowoods is trying to kill me, straight up. I have no idea what Halloween will bring for this show and i’m dying. It’s very difficult to predict storylines on Hallowoods and that’s something I love about it. Will this pair break up? Will this pair die for their cause? Will this pair find each other again, even through death? Shoutout to the great guests this episode, I always enjoy seeing who Mx Wellman invites into the world.

🔎 @knovesstorytelling okay look, y’all, I have never read Northanger Abbey, so I don’t know why Kit’s being told to pack her bags and get out, and I am so UPSET. What’s going on????

📉 Within the Wires is back!! And my WORD, the juxtaposition of this season being motivational tapes while listening to the current season of The Dream about life coaches?? I am transfixed and horrified, let’s GO.

🎟️ @longcatmedia Mockery Manor. I love these clowns so much. I love that Bette is really smart and really dumb at the same time. Everyone’s acting is top notch, but I’m especially a fan of Karim Kronfli in this show. Everyone knows he’s got the range, but it’s so fun listening to him be this fussy little guy.

👻 One of the shows I’ve been catching up on is Ghosts in the Burbs, a deceptively spooky and delightfully witty single-narrator ghost show. I’m listening through the Lilith arc and….woof. WOOF. I know how it ends and it’s still terrifying.

🩸 IT’S HEMOPHOBIA DAY, omg, everyone please check out Hemophobia, I am so excited for Hemophobia. It’s sitting in my queue staring at me with that creepy-ass logo art. I’ve talked with CSW about this show and heard the trailer—religious trauma horror with amazing sound design and an amazing cast??? You kidding???? I am drooling over here. Join me, won’t you?

🧟‍♀️ This week is also the premier of The Dead! As soon as that feed appears I’ll be putting it everywhere, and I’m so excited to show everyone the first series. You’ve heard of snakes on a plane….

💐 On my end, as Re: Dracula continues its march to the finale, this week I find myself recording Inn Between and The Dead. I am still trying to make rent ahead of my new job’s first paycheck, so if you liked this post or the other things I do, would you consider sending me a ko-fi?

Now if you’ll excuse me, I will be listening to Hemophobia very quietly and very scared by myself in the dark. Until next week!

[stormyoceans]

We are really that good? I'm scared off by the large number of couples. Is each of the couples sufficiently disclosed in the script? You're so excited about this show. I'm skeptical, but maybe I should try?

I MEAN. MUST A SHOW BE GOOD. IS IT NOT ENOUGH FOR IT TO SPARK JOY AND GIVE YOU A BRAINROT SO DEEP THEY HAVE TO GET YOU INVOLUNTARY COMMITTED BECAUSE OF IT

but all jokes aside, let's talk about it. when it comes to reviewing shows, i always try to be as honest and objective as i can, so im not just gonna lie to you and pretend we are is a masterpiece. it's very much not. if you enjoy plot driven stories then this series is very much not for you because the plot is basically non-existent, or rather.. all the different dynamics between the characters ARE the plot. to me the show is a slice of life in the connotation that's given to it in anime and manga: a narrative that takes place in a recognisable everyday setting, often in a school, and that focuses on interpersonal relationships. this isn't to say slice of life shows with a character driven story can't be masterpieces, they absolutely can, but we are is not..very refined, there are some things that do not make much sense to me and the way the story is told can be a bit frustrating at times, not to mention that for a director who likes to show a million angles of the same moment you'd think the editing would be top notch but it's just. it's not, okay, it looks like my hair after i chop it off over the bathroom sink at 2 am when i cannot sleep, that shit's ROUGH

all this being said, im still enjoying this show TREMENDOUSLY. and believe me, no one is more surprised about this than i am. tbh i can't quite explain to you why it works for me when other (maybe even better) shows don't, it just feels very genuine, the humor isn't over the top, the characters are all extremely likeable, and i love that they're giving the platonic relationships the same weight and importance as the romantic ones. and i mean..im mostly insane about phumpeem because apparently that's THEE Dynamic™ for me, but since there are four different pairings i feel like there's something for everyone

although when it comes to development, since you asked, i do want to point out that pondphuwin and winnysatang's pairings are clearly the main ones (before anyone comes at me, i do remember the cast saying this), but aouboom still get a fair amount of screentime and they're the heart of the show tbh. the only pair that's suffering in this regard is marcpoon, but honestly it makes sense considering they had to reshoot stuff

so, um. yeah ;;;;;; this is way too long and it's probably a mess but i wanted to give you an honest and complete overview so you know what you're getting yourself into if you do decide to give it a chance. i actually started to like the show more and more after episode 3, so maybe if you have a free evening you could just try it out and see if you can get into it!!!!!!

tl;dr: it's not a masterpiece and it has its shortcomings but it's highly enjoyable and although not all couples have the same amount of screentime and development i think everyone could find something to like in the show

[strangerthingssimps-blog]

Dacre montgomery x Reader

You and Dacre met on the set of stranger things 2, you were playing Dustin’s older sister in the series. You met at the meeting when filming first began. You were sat in between him and Joe keery. Most of your scenes you filmed were with Dacre, Natalia and Gaten.

During your first time interacting with him you recognized him from the power rangers movie that came out a couple of years ago.

“Wait a minute didn’t you play the red power ranger in the new power rangers movie” You say to him and he instantly smiles. “Yeah I did, you watched the movie?” he responds by starting a conversation with you.

“Yeah, I took my younger brother to go watch it. It was quite a good movie” You say to him. You two then started talking which was good since your Characters would be love interests on the show.

The first day of shooting was a really hard and long day. You were in the dressing room getting your hair and make-up done when Dacre came in to get his wig done and he saw you in your costume. Your hair was now really curly and was put in a ponytail for the shot and you were wearing a black top and ripped jeans and some black boots.

“Hey Dacre or should i say Billy” You say getting into character, he was wearing his first outfit and was getting his wig done. “Wow you look nice C/N” says as he finishes getting his wig done. You finally got a good look at Billy's character and you could tell he was the bad boy type.

Over time everyone could tell that you and Dacre had chemistry on set and off cameras. When it was the first romantic scene between you two you were a bit nervous since you had caught feelings for him and instead of an on-screen kiss you thought it was a real kiss. When it came to the kiss all the girls were hyping you up saying you could do this especially natalia she knew about your crush on Dacre and could tell dacre liked you too.

When it came to the premier of Season 2 it was revealed that you and dacre were dating when you came out the limousine holding hands and had matching outfits, at first the fans thought it was because of your characters but then it hit them that they were dating.

Season 3 was the hardest for you both to film because Dacre had to pretend to choke you in a scene when Billy was flayed and Your character was protecting Max, Mike and El. Your acting was that good. He actually thought he was hurting you and had to stop to make sure you were okay.

After Season 3, You and Dacre moved to Australia to live together, in 2020 You were called back in to act in season 4, Dacre went with you because he missed the other cast members especially Sadie and Joe. The duffer brothers decide to take it up a notch and decide to make the character you're playing pregnant with Billy's Child and kill you off as one of Vecna's victims.

It was shocking and heartbreaking to the fans when it was revealed by Nancy when she said “We need to bury them with Billy”. When it was time for the season 4 premier Dacre was your date again and the paparazzi loved seeing you together since they haven't heard anything about you two since the season 3 premiere. After that you and dacre went back to Australia.

In 2026, You and Dacre returned for a 10 year anniversary of Stranger Things. It was nice to reunite with the cast members, Most people pointed out that you had a bump. You were indeed pregnant with Dacre’s child. It was also revealed that you had gotten married in 2024, you had a beach wedding and both of your families were invited.

Let me know if you want a Stranger Things cast x you romance with any other characters

[blade-liger-4ever]

Just saw this last night, and HOO-BOY, I LOVED IT!

So, I won't really get into the plot, at least for now, because I just gotta get the cast talked about first.

The casting of Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief is perfect! Pierce Brosnen nailed Chiron, and I get the feeling he would have stolen more scenes if he'd had more screentime (the moment he said "Are you kidding? This is the best part", he became one of my favorite background characters.) The kid doing Percy made me really like the character; I never read the books until recently, and even then I skipped straight to the second arc where the Romans are involved, but even with this current book where Percy is a POV character, I did and do not care for him as much as Movie Percy. Kid was great, ten outta ten acting.

Annabeth struck me as far more interesting in the movie than the books. Heck, even before I read from her viewpoint she didn't interest me at all; in the movie, she's rather arrogant and snobbish, but it works in the character's favor and makes her far more compelling. The actress did great, and props to her for endearing Annabeth to me: that was a feat.

Grover was THE BEST of the trio, I will not take criticism. He protected Percy, took everything in stride, and figured out what they were dealing with on the fly easily - all without being Mr. Perfect and still being humorous (e.g. when they leave Medusa's severed and sunglasses-laden head in the hotel sink, Grover responds, "Guys, really? I cannot pee with her staring at me." Top notch comedy, I need more films with this actor.)

Sean Bean was good as Zeus. I don't have much to say about his part, honestly; he wasn't there much, but 1 he made Zeus tolerable, and 2 he had the most presence out of all the actors, with Kevin McKidd being a close, and I mean close, runner up.

Speaking of, Kevin McKidd, AKA Fenn Rau from Star Wars Rebels (and the big draw of this film for me), was. Absolutely. AWESOME.

And he only really had ten minutes in the film!

Seriously though, he played Poseidon so well. You could tell he was thousands of years old, still in his prime, and resisting every instinct to run over, hug Percy, and never let him go when they were within a hundred feet of each other. Even when all you could get from him in the movie was his voice, the care and urgency for his son's safety carried through beautifully.

The other actors - Hades, Persephone, the mortal actors in the background - they were all equally great. They made the characters likable, despicable, or somewhere in between. Bravo, people!

And then there's the second draw of this film for me: Jake Abel as Luke, son of Hermes, and the true lightning thief.

If there was ever anything that showed how much wasted potential the writers of Supernatural had when consistently throwing Jake Abel out the window after having him appear like six times in the show, this film was it.

He made Luke funny, likable, and mischievous, garnering the love of the audience, and then broke the hearts of those who liked him when he turned around and revealed he was an angry, hurt young man who wanted to overthrow the Olympians and take over in their stead in order to "right" their wrongs of being neglectful jerks (the only one who wasn't actually completely neglectful on purpose was Poseidon. My guy was trying his hardest to stay in touch with Percy and did everything he could to help him out.)

Jake Abel, I'm sincerely sorry you never got the next four films that should have come after Sea of Monsters, and even more sorry that you got so dissed in Supernatural. Consider this post of mine a letter of apology.

Okay, plot discussion time - well, at least the gushing of how it was handled.

So, setting up the whole war between the Olympians actually doesn't strike me as horribly handled. Yes yes, there's more "concrete" reasons for it in the book, but for the public who have never heard of these books, it's not all that farfetched. I mean, public opinion of Hades is always bad (I'm sorry Hades, you really don't deserve that rep), Poseidon doesn't particularly care for drama, and his mood tends to switch on a dime, and Zeus? Please, we all know how much of a jerk-butt he is. Be honest: Is it really all that hard to believe Zeus declaring war if his master bolt isn't returned in two weeks? And as for him jumping to the conclusion of Poseidon's son stealing it - just look at the opening scene of the film. The way Poseidon got physical that fast, and moments before was practically spitting venom at Zeus for banning him from seeing his son, it's no wonder Zeus thought Poseidon would've done something to make Percy steal it from him.

Now before you come at me, let me put it this way.

Think of yourself in Zeus' mindset. You're a capricious jerk, who won't take the blame, don't care for your offspring at all, and are constantly at odds with your brothers over power/territory struggles. Using your kid is gonna be as natural as breathing to you, so why wouldn't you assume your brothers would do the same? Hmm?

Now, the family and school drama was done excellently as well, especially that moment where one of the kids at the school grabs another and slams him against a locker while Percy and Grover make tracks. Gabe was perfectly detestable, and it was immensely satisfying to see Grover wallop his butt. The race to Camp Half-Blood was done well, although the Chevelle didn't deserve that fate (I will, however, accept the obvious fact that it only got dinged up and lost the hood. A modern day car would have exploded on impact with the ground and sent shrapnel everywhere.)

The scenes with the camp were good, especially how it was quickly yet subtly established that everyone there had lived there for some years and were already pros at combat and other physical activities. Hades' entrance was great, the progression across the country was well-paced, and Luke's help throughout was done neatly and in a manner where the audience only got a glimmer of resentment from him before the bolt was found in the shield.

Speaking of, the scene in the Underworld is severely underappreciated. The effects were grand, the acting well-done, and the positioning of the Underworld in Hollywood is genius on many levels.

The fight scene in Manhatten was good, though I confess Luke's aerial combat was a bit spotty at the beginning. Otherwise it was great, and the first show of Percy's powers was magnificent. No joke, that CGI and other effects are gonna hold up for another thousand years.

Olympus was beautiful, quite honestly, and I love 1 the sheer difference in scale they showed between the humans and the Olympians, and 2 how Poseidon "sheds" water to shrink and appear more normal. More effects that are spectacular and underrated.

The last scene - the return to camp and training - not much to say, other than that it felt really organic, natural, and beautiful. All in all, a great film that's unfairly hated on.

Okay, now for some personal gushing on my part.

So, I'm sure you guessed by now that I was here for Kevin McKidd, mostly because I knew him first in Star Wars Rebels. This is my first time watching him onscreen, but it was amazing and captivating on his part. Not only did he make me believe that he was the Greek god of the seas, but he made me feel Poseidon's pain of not being with Percy and his desire to connect with him, and he certainly made me believe that Poseidon would do anything in his power to help Percy, no matter what loophole abuse he had to commit lest raising Zeus' ire.

As for the dynamic itself, I'm so so happy.

I love how Poseidon risked so much to physically be at the museum while Percy was across the street from him, just to make sure that he could both warn Percy completely and see him in case something went wrong. And although it's a sore spot for the fans, I love how Chiron shows Percy his own little home at Camp Half-Blood, and outright states that Poseidon built it for him. Just Percy, no one else; that's like a father making a specific room for his son, and the fact that they allowed Poseidon to be shown to love Percy more than anything through little things like that is enough to make me burst in happiness.

I loved how Poseidon guided Percy to the water to heal him and give him a second wind in Capture the Flag, and that he woke up Percy and refused to let him be lulled back into the Lotus Eaters' trap until he was sure Percy was back to his senses and able to get out on his own. And when Percy's in the hall of Olympus, Poseidon is practically begging Zeus, his younger brother, to let him speak with Percy, because he knows a chance like this won't arise again for a while. And the sheer relief in his face when Zeus allows it, man, I could've died at that.

The talk between father and son, it was beautiful. It makes sense that Percy has some remaining resentment toward Poseidon for leaving, for not kicking out his stepfather, and the fact that Poseidon doesn't even hold it against him is wonderful. The moment he explains why he couldn't see Percy, and the second Percy realizes the law forbidding the Olympians from seeing their children had been passed because Poseidon loved him so much he was abandoning his duties is golden. And Poseidon telling him that he was always watching Percy and helping him as best he could, and how he promised to always be there for Percy, even in his thoughts and dreams - beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.

And the icing on the cake? You remember that I mentioned a training round at camp at the end? It's between Percy and Annabeth, and they're on a hill, but guess what can be seen below the hill?

The lake.

Where Poseidon can watch his son training, and has an easier time of making contact with him.

This movie is a masterpiece, and if you're not a fan of the books and have never seen it before, please, go give Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief a watch! You won't regret it!

[hellsbellschime]

Sapochnik (and his wife) pls come back, I'm sorry I blamed you for the lighting (they hardly improved it in s2 anyway, Aemond's scene from ep1 was so dark). At least the directing was impressive, the pacing was better, editing was great and not awkward, acting was top notch because most people in the cast had their moments to shine, not just the main 3-4, the actors were allowed to improvise etc. Condal is a hack who thinks he is a genius.

Yeah, honestly I have enjoyed season 2 enough but it's also a situation where like okay, if these six episodes were part of a 16 episode season then I'd be pretty satisfied, but knowing that there are TWO episodes left is baffling. Like, next week is the penultimate episode, which could be the climactic episode of the entire season. And... what it be a climax to? I'm actually pretty surprised that they decided to cut the season by two episodes because so little has happened, and after a two year break I don't know if the show is going to be helped by ending off on kind of a weak note like it seems like it will.

[andie-cake]

earlier i Finally sat down and watched the ybc musical, and while i wasn't sure what to expect when i heard the show was only 45 minutes long, it's a super interesting version of the narrative. it's more of a retelling than an adaptation, and i wasn't sure if i was vibing with it at first, but it didn't take me long to warm up to it. the choreo was top notch- especially for a production on such a small stage, and the cast were all great. also got quite a few laughs out of me, shout-outs to that gag in the beginning with joe trying to quietly zip up his guitar case without disturbing patrick, and pete and patrick's banter in heaven ("patrick, patrick?" "i know, i know" "no, patrick, where the fuck ARE WE?" and "okay, but who the fuck are you?" "pete, i think that's god" "oh, fuuuuck..." in particular really got me). i'll prolly have more in-depth thoughts whenever i get around to doing a rewatch, but for now i'll just say it was a super neat twist on ybc's narrative and a really fun watch!

[ncisladaily]

Okay, we’ll admit we were among those hoping for an appearance from Special Agent Kensi Blye tonight, considering the episode was directed by Daniela Ruah, who played the badass agent on NCIS: LA from 2009 to 2023.

But we’re happy to have Ruah (who previously directed episodes of NCIS: LA) bring her knowing eye to helming NCIS. “It was the first time I was directing on ‘the mothership’ as we lovingly call it,” Ruah tells us in Case Closed, our NCIS aftershow. “It almost didn’t matter what came my way in terms of storyline, I just wanted to be part of it and work with the crew and cast of NCIS. I was received with open arms – like a wonderful, warm hug.”

Her passion for directing showed in this classic case-of-the-week storyline where the team chased down a petty officer’s murderer, who turned out to be someone a little too close to home. It also included a comedic through line about Torres (Wilmer Valderrama) trying to hide the fact that he sometimes cheated on his strict fitness regimen from his new temporary roommate, boss Alden Parker (Gary Cole). “Wilmer’s a funny guy,” Ruah says. “He brings a comedic timing. My job is just to capture it. Maybe I throw in a possible improv.”

Sonja Flemming/CBS

Considering we last saw Kensi in the NCIS: LA series finale, discovering that her dream had come true, and she was finally pregnant with hubs/fellow agent Deeks (Eric Christian Olsen), we had to know if Ruah wonders as much as we do what her alter ego is doing now. As Ruah was sharing with us that she calculated Kensi’s due date and would always love the character she’d played for so long, she realized she was wearing an outfit she’d taken home from set that had been part of Kensi’s onscreen wardrobe – sweater, jeans, and signature boots. She cracks about how the writers might have worked Kensi’s motherhood into a script: “Do we now have an episode with Kensi fighting with a baby in her arms? I wouldn’t put it past her. Or is she out of the game for a couple months?”

Ruah also told us how she feels about the upcoming Paramount+ series (nicknamed) NCIS: Europe which reunites beloved NCIS couple Tony (Michael Weatherly) and Ziva (Cote de Pablo). “I think it’s the best thing ever,” Ruah says. “They had time to go off and do other things. These roles are so establishing for us who have been cast members on the show. For them to pick up these two characters that people fell so madly in love with — even I was shipping ‘Tiva’ —  it’s a wonderful idea, and I’m so excited to watch it.”

As for a Kensi and Deeks spinoff? “I don’t know that I could see one in the near future,” Ruah says. “Eric’s really busy doing what he’s doing and loving that. I’m loving this. I would never say never, but in the near future, that’s probably not on the table. It’s important for us to go and find ourselves in other things. The show was important and special to us, but it’s like leaving the nest.”

You’ll get to see Ruah’s behind-the-camera talents again in an episode of NCIS: Hawai’i coming up in April. Ruah, who does not appear in the hour, reveals that the plot takes deep dives into the characters and, “I think it’s the darkest episode they’ve ever had. The crime that’s committed and what we find out over the course of the episode…it’s not a pleasant story.”

Check out the video for more from Ruah about working with Sean Murray and LL Cool J; what Agents Kensi, Knight (Katrina Law), and Ziva have in common; and more of her thoughts on what it takes to direct a top-notch hour of TV. Hey, we may even see her pulling double duty at some point. Ruah tells us, “I am not opposed at all to showing up as Kensi in one of the NCIS shows.”

[skyhawkstragedy]

okay so Reindeer Games is REALLY GOOD

I do think while individually the cast may be mixed, they do gel well together and you do get the sense that they want this to be fun and positive while playing to win. We finally get a good balance between fun and cutthroat after so long and it’s with a spin-off 😂

Also the comps and the editing has been top notch and I didn’t think BB had it in them to slay this hard at creating a show 😳 these first three episodes brought IT in terms of entertainment and drama, I’m impressed!

I really think they should bring it back yearly I’m dead serious

[beesnutz]

How the Star Trek: The Original Series Cast would react to you having a tapeworm!

KIRK: This.. Worm, it is... hurting you... and you caught it.. on this ship..? (pause). The medical team in sick bay will help you. Ah.. How i feel? A captain.... A captain is not allowed to get involved with anyone personally, even if what they have is a tape worm. I am deeply sorry. I promise you, we will do what we can to figure out how this tapeworm managed to get into your body. It is our duty.

UHURA: Tapeworm?! Of all the... You poor thing.. we must get you to sick bay immediately. I'll open up a channel.. You know, I've too caught a nasty bug, when i was a child. But I don't remember the ailment as much as I do my doting mother taking care of me as I healed.. I hope you too, have someone special near you who will be there by your side.. (she looks away shyly). Perhaps I will come to check up on you at some point, as well...

SPOCK: Fascinating... To be infected by a tapeworm in space is quite a difficult, if not impossible feat. Unless it is some alien variety, of course, although you have not joined us in many away missions as of late. Quite illogical.. No matter, as it would be more illogical for you to lie about your condition. For the sake of efficiency of the ship, please take control of your situation as soon as possible.

SULU: Phew... a nasty little bug you caught there, let's hope the living conditions in that belly aren't up to standards, maybe it'll move out.. Jokes aside, tapeworms are a serious thing, so don't put it off any longer. Don't worry, I'll take care of your post, there's only so many flowers i can prune in the botany bay before my mood gets just as thorny! (laughs). Be strong, pal.

CHEKOV: Grr.. Yes. The "Tapeworm". We have many tales about the nasty thing in Russia. Gah, If only I was small enough to go in there myself, I'd strangle that slimy little thing with my own hands to make sure it would NEVER try to bother you again.!! Huh? Ah.. yes. It seems i've become too heated over it - but it hurts to know that thing is destroying your body! I apologize...

JANICE: Ehh, a tapeworm, how gross is that?! Oh, sorry.. Well. I've never seen anything fall ill to anything like that on this ship, the medics are all top notch professionals. Nothing to worry about!... I'll go back to work now...

SCOTTY: Aye, I'm no gonna lie to ye, the chances of pickin' up a TAPEWORM o' all things on here.. Is hard to believe! I'm already swamped with work over here, and now, to worry about you.. Nae, trust me, I like'ta worry about you!

CHAPEL: Now how did you manage to get yourself a pet tapeworm? Ah, stranger things happen on this ship almost every day, I shouldn't even be suprised! Listen, run off to Dr. Mccoy to give you a proper examination, I'm stuck here with this job.. But, hey, afterwards, come to my cabin, okay..? ..I can make a lovely soup that's perfect for any rainy day.

MCCOY: What the devil are you talking about? All that my tricorder shows is a "hard" case of BOWEL OBSTRUCTION. Take this pill and call me in the morning.

[readsquirrel]

Oh, Rozemyne... you accidental minx. (Spoilers for later chapters of Ascendance of a Bookworm part5vol9 incoming.)

I keep trying to think of a way that the magic things that couples do alone in Yurgenschmidt could possibly be contextualized for her using her original world understanding of the birds and the bees. Toning it down a notch to PG-13, maybe this...

Rozemyne: We can solve this problem using this spell I created. Ferdinand: Show me. Rozemyne: *chastely kisses him on the mouth* Ferdinand: *frowns* Hm. Well, this is very important, so I guess if this is what will solve the problem efficiently... *hands over chapstick and a glass of wine* Okay. Rozemyne: Alright, lay down. *Proceeds to climb on top of him and cast spell <sloppy makeouts>. Hands and tongue are involved. So much hands and tongue.* Ferdinand: *is not unaffected, and lays there trying to think of the Zent of Yurgenschmidt, the saving of the country, and more importantly--future happiness, should he live through this experience* Rozemyne: *much later, climbing off primly* Good work us! ...Ferdinand, you don't look so great. Are you okay? Ferdinand: *sitting back up, hair disheveled, and currently rocking a thousand-yard stare* ...I'm fine. Rozemyne: Well, if you're okay... then it's your turn. You do me. Ferdinand: *sweating* ...No. Rozemyne: You're smart. I'm sure you figured out how. Just don't forget the stuff with the hands. And the tongue. Especially the tongue. Ferdinand: *sweating increases* ...No. Rozemyne: Okay, be like that. Give me your hand then. Ferdinand: ...For what? Rozemyne: If you're not going to try at least, I can do it myself. Don't worry. I'll just move it around all over and suck on a finger or two. Ferdinand.exe has crashed.

[deadendtracks]

okay oppenheimer first impression

the best thing about the film is the structure: i think that is brilliantly done. and it doesn't feel 3 hours long at all unlike the dark knight, which i remember questioning how long it was going to be lol.

weirdly i think it could have been longer and that might have served the film better but my guess is no studio is going to let anyone release a 4 hour movie period.

my big critique of the film as far as filmmaking goes is that the pace is unrelenting from start to finish: it could have used some moments that broke that up a bit. I get why the pace is like that for most of the film and it thematically makes sense, but at the same time, what i really needed from it was a bit more breathing room in a few places.

the performances are uniformly great. i had my doubts about matt damon but i'm pretty sure the trailers used takes of scenes that they didn't use in the movie, and he worked a lot better than i expected in the takes that actually were in the film.

rdj was OUTSTANDING give that man an oscar. i hope he keeps taking roles like this.

i absolutely don't think the film is in any way interested in making a hero or a martyr out of Oppenheimer; it's actually quite critical of him, so that was also a relief.

having read the book the film is based on there's a few little things I wondered about the film leaving out or changing, but i also don't think it was in the service of making Oppenheimer out to be a better person than he was, so it bothers me less than it would otherwise.

As per usual with Nolan the (few) female characters aren't all that well served, especially Jean Tatlock, but Kitty has some good scenes. I think the film could have given better context to them and to her relationship with Oppenheimer, though.

as for Cillian's performance and Oppenheimer as a character (in the film, rather than a real person in history) i need to see it again to really articulate anything useful, but i think there just needed to be a bit more breathing room in the pacing/editing to do his performance justice, if that makes sense. it's so frenetic and there's constantly so much information coming at you it's hard to really absorb what he's doing, because his performance is very internal.

i think criticisms about not showing what happened to Japanese civilians might have some points but also not showing it may have been the right choice, i'm not sure. I need to think about it and read a bunch of reviews.

it was sort of an entire movie about exposition, lol. which isn't necessarily a criticism, it's a very dense story. I definitely didn't catch everything because it moves so fast.

I think this actually would have made a better limited series than it did a movie, but that might have undercut the structure and impact? idk. there's just *so much* to fit in. It would have been interesting to see someone take Nolan's structure and see what they might have done with it, idk.

None of this is to say it's a bad film, it's definitely an interesting film. I think there's a lot to criticize in it but the structure and the cast were really top notch.

[mentorcrown]

okay i have slept on it and now have somewhat coherent thoughts about the dawntrail msq... less mad than i was when i first finished the game lmao

tl;dr overall it was an okay expansion. not a great one but not bad either. im looking forward to seeing where the game takes us

in terms of where id rate it in my personal scale-- where my personal scale does not indicate i hate an expansion, just that i dont enjoy it as much as other ones-- its below stormblood but above heavensward.

personal scale now: shadowbringers > endwalker > stormblood while zenos is on screen > rest of stormblood > dawntrail > heavensward while ysayle is on screen > ARR > rest of heavensward)

rest is under a read more because it contains blatant spoilers for the MSQ

things i loved

i loved all the ff9 references. ff9 is my most beloved game

i love you wuk lamat. i love you koana. i love you erenville.

the dungeon/trial design is top notch. lots of fights in endwalker feel very flat and not at all challenging. not this time. everything was great. it was engaging. parts were difficult in a good way. loved how even it was basically the same mechanics we've seen before, it was presented in interesting ways

dragons?? in MY dawntrail??? more likely than you think aka mission status sick cutscene

gripes(??)

the pacing was off. some parts felt completely unnecessary. especially the weird cowboy bandit thing ill be honest i could not have cared less than i did. i think that entire map could have been better spent focusing on the nomadic cat tribe(s).

first half of the story was stellar i loved that. it was a bit too expositiony in parts but i still loved every part of the first half (desert story not included). (this was at least partly because by my wife is an anthropologist and was fangirling the entire time)

second half was weak as fuck. i dont know why they needed to rehash the same thing we've seen the past 2 expansions. we did not another emet-selch archetype. i feel like the entire S9 stuff could have been handled so much better than it was.

the theories that people had pre-release about how s9 was likely a hidden city that did trade with the rest of tural. and that one of the brothers were likely working with them to destabilize tural; that story would have been so much better. they still could have had it be a shard idc. they could have kept the azem stuff too. i just did not care one little bit to have emet-selch/amaurot 2.0.

hated the "we have to save the world but lets fuck around as much as possible while our friends hold open the gate" plot sooo much. i get why we did it but holy hell the pacing shift from 'this is world ending' to whatever the hell was going on in the golden city was like Why.

did find the krile parents and erenville mother thing soft though. even if i am still livid about how they dangled erenvilles mother in front of him several times. the poor guy

i dont care about the scions. i DONT CARE about the scions. STOP SHOWING ME the scions. why are these old people not retired yet. rehash the scions. give me a new main cast. the twins and graha can stay.