#they are disasters in the polar opposite ways DO YOU SEE THE POTENTIAL

[graceshouldwrite]

Writing Villains (Underrated Tips)

1. Variety

Not all villains have to be the next Darth Vader, Luke Castellan, John Wick, etc. Your villain’s arc doesn’t have to originate from the Big Traumatic Thing that happened when they were X Years Old. Here are some characterization ideas that still keep them interesting (no tragic backstory required):

misguided villain. They don’t think what they do is that evil/they think they are benefiting others (e.g. Thanos from the MCU)

IDGAF villain. They just don’t care about the disaster they leave behind them (e.g. Ozai from ATLA)

past bystander villain. Nothing bad happened to THEM particularly-- they just saw bad things happen to other people, and decided that they need to correct society (e.g. Light Yagami from Death Note)

I was bored villain. They were bored. And millions died for it. They’re probably also an ENTP. Oh, well (e.g. Ryuk from Death Note)

zealous villain. They do it for their cause--god, cult, organization, whatever--there’s a greater power that is their greater purpose (e.g. Cthulu cultists from Call of Cthulu)

staunch traditionalist (often allegorically racist) villain. They want to act according to, and preserve the statusquo (tends to be heritage, race, class, personality, etc.), and believe that any change is bad (e.g. Lucius Malfoy from Harry Potter)

These are just some examples of interesting villain characterizations that absolutely do NOT need a tragic backstory to function.

2. Spill the tea

Show how they treat the people closest to them.

Instead of just focusing on their actions, create moments where readers can see them interacting with their family, friends, etc. This is a powerful tool with the potential to humanize them in a softer way, or make them seem even more scary, merciless, corrupt, secretive, etc.

For example, the audience doesn’t just see Azula from ATLA fight people and conquer cities with a crazy amount of skill and power. The writers show how she interacts with her two best friends; the way she shamelessly belittles them to their faces, manipulates them as pawns, and has no problem putting them in incredible danger reveals a LOT more about her character in a way that only showing her actions cannot.

3. Polarize

Consistency isn’t always key. Sure, the cold and calculating overlord should generally make cold and calculating decisions, but to spice things up, find the thing that will make them snap. Change. Show weakness. Become their opposite, if only for a moment.

(SPOILER WARNING for Arcane)

Silco is a drug kingpin in an underbelly city that is full of gangs, criminals, murderers, thieves, and the sort (you get it).

He not only survives--he THRIVES in that kind of environment as one of the scariest authorial figures. He himself had to experience crazy backstabbing, and grew to be nothing but calculated, manipulative, and ruthless...until he unofficially adopted a daughter! He realized that she had “undone” him to the point where he refused to give her up for a dream he would have been willing to die for.

It DOES sound pretty inconsistent for the ruthless drug kingpin to sacrifice EVERYTHING he’d worked for to clean up after an insane daughter who runs around making murderous messes that attract flocks of authorities. And, it is. Like he says himself, he loses “nothing but problems.”

But, real humans are almost never 100% consistent, and this sort of polarity will humanize your villains without necessarily requiring a tragic backstory or a noble motivation.

∘₊✧────── ☾☼☽ ──────✧₊∘

instagram: @ grace_should_write

Hope this was helpful, and let me know if you have any questions by commenting, re-blogging, or DMing me on IG. Any and all engagement is appreciated :)

Happy writing, and have a great day!

- grace <3

[very-grownup]

NUMBER 1

Do you want to date the man who has it all?

Yes.

Even if "it all" includes the enmity of the emperor and so, so many other people?

Probably still yes.

Do you deserve to date the man who has it all?

Believe in yourself, because confidence is key if you want to date Xiao Duo.

Being a man disguised as a eunuch in pursuit of revenge for his murdered brother means Xiao Duo hasn't had a lot of time for romance, although he knows what it is, at least through the lens of court intrigue. You won't need to teach Xiao Duo about dating although you may need to be the one to kindle his interest in the idea of dating. Luckily, if Xiao Duo is the man for you, the best way to get his interest is to be your unfiltered self. Are you a disaster, a gremlin, a seed of chaos in the garden that is your life? Because Xiao Duo may not realize it, but that is his type.

Even if you aren't the perfect storm of trouble, be yourself, flaws and all, with Xiao Duo. His job involves dealing with backstabbing, front stabbing, underground stabbing, and stabbing from directions you don't even know exist. Unvarnished honesty will be refreshing and relaxing for Xiao Duo, even if the rest of dating you isn't.

Don't worry about being "too much". Xiao Duo will always rise to the occasion and the more you are, the more he's likely to pull his attention from his schemes and potentially deadly goals and focus on goals you can both enjoy, like finding the best spicy chicken takeout, buying and furnishing a recreation of your dream home, ensuring the care and well-being of your dog child, and learning to make kites.

Dating Xiao Duo doesn't involve him calling all the shots and doing all the work while you're being pampered, although he may profess a preference for that kind of relationship. Xiao Duo thrives on conflict; ideally there should be healthy push and pull between you. Xiao Duo wants a partner, not a dependant. Of course he'll protect you, but when he sees you've solved a problem on your own, especially if you've ruined someone else in the process, well. That's about as hot as you can be in Xiao Duo's eyes.

Xiao Duo is a tragic orphan, but if your relationship becomes serious you will be inheriting a significant number of Loyal Guys who may start looking to you as an alternate parental figure and general source of authority. Try not to think about how this might be dozens of human beings; pretend they're moderately smart dogs and Xiao Duo is just a guy with hoarding tendencies.

The hoarding may be the biggest problem with Xiao Duo. As a formerly poor tragic orphan and a man used to moving through the lives of the imperial family, Xiao Duo may tend toward excess, especially in the things he wants to give you to show his affection and prove he can take care of you. Never be afraid to tell him it's too much: too much food, too much jewelry, too much property. If there's a problem, tell him. It will be healthy and probably sexy to deal directly with your issues, communicating like adults.

Sex will be a fundamental part of your relationship with Xiao Duo. He's very excited by the opportunity to stop taking ancient Chinese t-blockers and if it takes some work to get the piece up, he probably knows a lot about achieving pleasure while keeping pants on.

You would be lucky to date Xiao Duo and should jump at the opportunity if it's presented.

Go back to Number 2?

Or return to the beginning and the polar opposite of Xiao Duo?

[3milesup]

as a (mainly post-war because to me, it is there that their relationship truly develops) luztoye shipper, i feel called to answer but i also feel like i’m not too good at this and mine are useless ramblings bsc i’m somehow biased by my own headcanons and rusty from being out of fandom for a while, so feel free to ignore <3 this became longish, so below the cut:

what got me is that they are polar opposites in ways that don’t make them clash. i mean, yes, luz has a loud mouth and toye is grumpy but they’ll get over it with a feeling of fond annoyance at most - which makes for a frizzy, but solid dynamic. because at the core, they have more in common than what meets the eye: they are loyal, damn brave, tough (it is obvious why toye is but let’s imagine for a while being RTO, carrying the heavy-ass radio on your back in combat - being a pretty easy target, for that matter - and having to be able to communicate coherently under a barrage… to me, it takes some guts and balls and there is a lot more to luz than just jokes and impersonations… but this isn’t abt him, this abt the ship, so let’s go back to that^^) and they hold up a pretence

in my mind, luz has much going on under that cheerful cover, understandably so with what they’d been through, and for as much as he might want to make believe he’s over it, he’s so not and he certainly can do with a shoulder to lean on when he inevitably breaks down, with a rational, grounding and unwavering presence by his side (talk about survivor guilt, for instance, but that’s just my hc… but i mean, we totally are on a stretch with luztoye because, well. you’ve seen the show.)

analogically, toye is a lot more fragile that he appears and luz has a way of wrapping that vulnerability in a light banter that conveys he understands and is there for joe, and giving it back intact. which is vital for someone with communication issues and inherent fear of letting go, showing their deepest feelings, needing someone etc.

what happened to joe toye is a hard blow for a man and by extension it is a hard blow for a relationship, under every thinkable aspect; especially a budding, shaping, not yet fully established relationship. take a man whose self-esteem was already staggering, add the difficulties he must have faced upon his return home, and you get a potential disaster.

unless… they work it out.

so, they are all about working out how to communicate, to me. because they can’t, for love of all that’s good and holy, do so by means of straightforward talking. they are all jokes and sulking and silences and too loud laughters - and gestures of love, because in between all that lie the real feelings, all the utmost respect and admiration and attraction…

basically, they are two wrecks that neglect their own issues while giving their all to be there for the other, and hopefully somewhere along the way they understand that they can be there better if they clean up their own mess first but in the meantime, if loving each other is what keeps them alive and going, then so far so good…

i don’t know if this makes it any understandable, i am so sorry if it doesn't and i hope someone more spot-on can lay it out better but... i feel that luztoye is quite an "abstract" ship, really... but they have a certain appeal of deep, deep love based on mutual respect and... and i could rant here forever xd so i tried to make it concise^^ i would sum them up as safe in each other's understanding of their respective pretences and seeing beneath it without tearing them down. anyways, if you have any observations or stuff, i'll love to hear them, or answer^^

does anybody wanna explain luztoye to me… like I see the vision but I just don’t get it yet. But I want to!

[ardenssolis]

continued from [ x ] || @tetsugyu

     A KING SHOULD KNOW how to have the most fun… Clearly the other did not know royalty very well if that was his assumption. If anything, the position of a ruler was often a stifling one, and though he could do pretty much as he pleased when he pleased to an extent, he had to come back down to earth every now and then to taking on the burden of what it meant to govern a country. Leaving it in the hands of countless officials without paying attention to what they were doing was a disaster waiting to happen, and relying overly much on his Vizier, even if he was his uncle, was also a potential future headache. Oh, but this bandit wouldn't know any of that. Who knew what assumptions went through that head of his? ❝I am catty, as you put it, because we are the very polar opposites in every single way, and yet that somehow does not deter you.❞

     Li Kui wanted to roll around in mud wrestling someone naked, Ozymandias wanted to sit and drink a glass of wine upon plush cushions. Li Kui wanted to see who could spit the furthest, Ozymandias would rather do something…very much not questionable like this man. But that wasn't important right now. This game seemed one that wasn't too atrocious…for now at least. ❝Heads or tails? Huh…that is…far simpler than I thought it would be. Tails, then.❞

[him-e]

what did you think of shadow and bone? have you read the books? i only read the duology

Thoughts on Shadow and Bone, now that you've probably seen it?

I think the show is alright? It lacks a real wow factor as far as I’m concerned, but it’s enjoyable. It’s especially enjoyable in those parts I didn’t anticipate to like / didn’t even know would be there. 

Whereas the main selling points leave a lot to be desired.

The good stuff: the visuals. The aesthetic. The overall concept. Production, casting and costumes are excellent, the setting is fascinating. The worldbuilding isn’t perfect and is sometimes confusing, which is probably due to the show jumping ahead of the books and introducing elements that happen much later in the book saga, but I’m loving the vague steampunk-y vibe of it mixed with more typical fantasy stuff and slavic-inspired lore, the fact that it’s set in dystopian Russia rather than your usual ye olde England.

I find it interesting that in this ‘verse the Grisha are simultaneously superstars, privileged elite, legendary creatures and despised outcasts, according to the context and the type of magic they wield. It’s A Lot, and so far it’s all a bit underdeveloped and messy, like a patchwork of different narratives and tropes sewn together without an organic worldbuilding structure. (there are hints to a past when they were hunted, but how did they go from that to being, essentially, an institutionalized asset to the government isn’t clear yet. There’s huge narrative potential in this, and I hope future seasons will delve into those aspects)

Many of the supporting characters are surprisingly solid. I appreciated that Genya and Zoya eventually sort of traded places, subverting the audience’s assumptions about them and their own character stereotypes, despite the little screentime they were given.

Breakout characters/ships for me were Nina/Matthias, and even more so the Crows, i.e. the stuff I didn’t see coming and knew nothing about (having only read the first book). (I thought the entire Crows subplot was handled in a somewhat convoluted way, at least in the first episodes; it was hard to keep track of who wanted Alina and why, but the Crows’ chemistry is so strong it carried the whole Plot B on its shoulders).

HELNIK. As an enemies to lovers dynamic, Helnik was SUPER on the nose, I’d say bordering on clichéd with the unapologetic, straight outta fanfiction use of classic tropes like “we need to team up to survive” and “there’s only one bed and we’ll freeze to death if we don’t take our conveniently damp clothes off and keep each other warm with the heat of our naked bodies” (not that I’m complaining, but i like to pine for my ships a bit before getting to the juicy tropetown part, tyvm). And then they’re suddenly on opposite sides again because of a tragic misunderstanding - does Bardugo hate high-conflict dynamics? It certainly seems so, because between Helnik and Darklina I’m starting to see a pattern where the slow burn and blossoming mutual trust is rushed and painted in broad, stereotypical strokes to get as fast as possible to the part where they *hate each other again* and that’s... huh. Something.

^That’s probably why I’m almost more interested in Kaz x Inej, because their relationship feels a bit more nuanced, a bit more mysterious, and a bit more unpredictable. (I didn’t bother spoiling myself about them, so I really don’t know where they’re going, but it’s refreshing to see a dynamic that the narrative isn’t scrambling to define in one direction or the other as quickly as possible)

-

Now, as for Darklina VS Malina... I found exactly what I expected. 

Both are ship dynamics I’m, on principle, very much into (light heroine/dark villain, pining friends to lovers) but both are also much less interesting than they claim to be, or could have been with different narrative choices. I’ll concede that the show characters are all more fleshed out and likable than their book counterparts, and the cringe parts I vaguely remembered from the books played out differently. And, well, Ben Barnes dominates the scene, he’s hot as HELL, literally every single second he’s on screen is a fuck you to Bardugo’s attempts to make his character lame and uninteresting and I’m LOVING it, lol.

But yeah, B Barnes aside, Darklina is intrinsically, deliberately made to be unshippable. 

It makes me mad, because it’s - archetypally speaking - made of shipping dynamite: yin/yang-sun and moon, opposites attract, COMPLEMENTARY POWERS AND SO ON. And what does Bardugo do with these ingredients? A FUCKING DELIBERATE DISASTER:

^ Placing the kiss so early on (season 1, episode five) effectively kills the romantic tension that was (correctly) building up until that point, and leaves the audience very little to still hope for, in terms of emotional evolution of the dynamic. 

Bardugo lays all the good stuff down as early and quickly as possible (the bonding, the conflicted attraction, the recognizing the other as one’s equal, etc) only to turn the tables and pull the rug so y’all sick creepyshippers won’t have anything to look forward to, because THEY’VE ALREADY HOOKED UP AND THAT BELONGS TO THE PAST, IT’S OVER, THEY’RE ENEMIES. This, combined to the fact that she falls for him *without* knowing who he really is, is the opposite of what I want from a heroine/villain ship (it’s basically lovers to enemies, and while that can be valid too, I wanted to see more pining and more prolonged, tormented symbolic attraction to the Shadow/Animus on Alina’s part). 

But here’s the trick: it’s not marketed as lovers to enemies - it has all the aesthetics and trappings of an enemies to lovers (the Darkling is, from the get go, villain-presenting, starting from his name), so it genuinely feels like a trollfic, or at the very least a cautionary tale *against* shipping the heroine with the tall dark brooding young villain, and I don’t think it’s cool at all. It makes the story WAY less interesting, because it humanizes the villain early on (when it’s not yet useful or poignant to the story, because it’s unearned) but it’s a red herring. The real plot twist is that the villain shouldn’t be sympathized with, just defeated: there’s a promise of nuanced storytelling, that is quickly denied and tossed aside. So is the idea of incorporating your Shadow (a notion that Bardugo must be familiar with, otherwise she wouldn’t have structured Alina and the Darkling as polar opposites who complement each other, but that she categorically refutes)

Then we have Malina. The good ship.

Look, I’m not that biased against it. I don’t want to be biased on principle against a friends to lovers dynamic that antagonizes a heroine/villain one, because every narrative is different, and for personal reasons I can deeply relate to the idea of being (unspeakably) in love with your best friend. So there are aspects of Malina that I can definitely be into, but it troubles me that in this specific context it’s framed as a regression. It’s Alina’s comfort zone, a fading dream of happiness from an idealized childhood, to sustain which the heroine systematically stunts her growth and literally repressed her own powers, something that in the books made her sickly and weak. But the narrative weirdly romanticizes this codependency, often making her tunnel vision re: going back to Mal her primary goal and centering on him her entire backstory/motivation, to the point that when she starts acting more serious re: her powers and alleged mission to destroy the Fold, it feels inorganic and unearned. 

Mal is intrinsically extraneous to Alina’s powers, he doesn’t share them, he doesn’t understand them, he has little to offer to help her with them, and so the feeling is that he’s also extraneous to her heroine’s journey, aside from being a sort of sidekick or safe harbor to eventually come back to. People have compared him to Raoul from Phantom of the Opera, and yeah, he has the same ~magic neutralizer~ vibe, tbh.

The narrative also polarizes Mal’s normalcy and relative “safety” against Aleksander’s sexy evil, framing Alina’s quasi-platonic fixation on the former as a better and purer form of love than her (much more visible and palpable) attraction to the latter. This is exacerbated by the show almost entirely relying on scenes of them as kids to convey their bond. I’m sure there are ways to depict innocent pining for your best friend that don’t involve obsessively focusing on flashbacks of two CHILDREN running in a meadow and looking exactly like brother and sister. LIKE. I get it, they’re like soulmates in every possible way, BUT DO THEY WANT TO KISS EACH OTHER?

Which brings me to a general complain: for a young adult saga centering on a young heroine and full of so many hot people, this story is weirdly unsexy? There are a lot of shippable dynamics, but they’re done in such a careless, ineffective way that makes ZERO EFFORT to work on stuff like slow burn, pining and romantic tension, and when it does it’s so heavy handed that the viewer doesn’t feel encouraged at all to fill the blanks with their imagination and start anticipating things (which is, imo, the ESSENCE of shipping). The one dynamic that got vaguely close to this is, again, Kaz and Inej, and coincidentally it’s also the one we didn’t get confirmed as romantic YET. Other than that, where’s the slow burn? What ship am I supposed to agonize over during the hiatus to season two? Has shipping become something to feel ashamed of, like an embarrassing relative you no longer want to invite in your home?

Anyway, back to Alina/Darkling/Mal, this is how the story reads to me:

girl suspects to be special, carefully pretends to be normal so she can stay with Good Boy

the girl’s powers eventually manifest; she’s forcibly separated from Good Boy

the girl’s powers attract Bad Boy who is her equal and opposite but is also a major asshole

girl initially falls for Bad Boy; has to learn a hard lesson that nobody that sexy will ever want her for who she is, he’s just trying to exploit her

also, no, there is no such thing as a Power Couple

girl is literally given a slave collar by Bad Boy through which he harnesses her power (a parody of the Twin Scars trope)

you know how the story initially suggested that the joint powers of Darkness and Light would defeat evil? LOL NO, Darkness is actually evil itself and the way you destroy evil is using Light to destroy Darkness, forget that whole Jungian bullshit of integrating your shadow, silly!

conclusion: girl realizes being special sucks. She was right all along! Hiding and suppressing her powers was the best choice! She goes back to the start, to the same Good Boy she was meekly pining for prior to the start of the story.

... there’s an uncomfortable overall subtext that reads a lot like a cautionary tale against - look, not just against darkships and villain/heroine pairings, but also *overpowered* heroines and, well... change? Growth?

Like, it’s certainly a Choice that Alina starts the story *already* in love with Mal. That she always knew it was him. The realization could have happened later (making the dynamic much more shippable, too), but no. 

[blazogirlsoneshots]

The Man Across the Way (Edmund Pevensie x Reader)

Everything in Edmund’s apartment was orderly and calm. Dishes were never left in the sink and all blankets were folded while not in use. Bookshelves were in alphabetical order with bookmarks tucked in each one. Every Saturday, Edmund would put on a classical playlist and attack almost no existence mess as if he were a soldier again. One could argue that the strict cleaning regime made the already empty apartment even more desolate, but Edmund would hastily deny it. No matter how lonely he truly felt Edmund would keep it to himself. He didn’t want his siblings to worry.

Edmund would start each morning with a cup of tea, a podcast, and laugh from observing the chaos from the apartment across from his. While Edmund’s home was orderly and something of a constant in the havoc around him, his neighbor’s home was the polar opposite. 

Their living room resembled a jungle with the number of plants strewn all over the place. Post-it notes covered the walls as a backdrop to the castle made out of coffee mugs. Every other day a newly formed blanket fort would go up and come down. Edmund was pretty sure that there was a cat somewhere in that mess, but never fully saw it. They would play their music a little too loud and have their TV on at some ungodly hour, but Edmund didn’t mind. The person across from him made his apartment feel less like some pod from some freaky sci-fi movie and more like something slightly connected to the rest of the world.

Y/N thought the man across from them was a little strange. He didn’t really seem to have any hobbies, just work. Honestly, he could be a robot and Y/N wouldn’t know the difference. Not to say that he wasn’t nice. They had interacted a couple of times at the convenience store across the street and he had nothing but pleasant. All little formal for a quick chat with someone purchasing far too many containers of ice cream while wearing pajama pants, but who was Y/N to judge. Y/N had even run into his siblings when he had first moved in. They were a nice bunch, if not a little loud and almost overprotective of their brother. 

Yes, Mr. Robot-Man-Across-The-Alley was a weird fellow, but that only intrigued Y/N even more. His siblings were full of life, so why was this one so different? He was the kind of person you wished would write a memoir because you just knew it would be a page turner. That wasn’t creepy, right? It was just Y/N’s version of people watching with a subconscious recognition that the man across the way was just as lonely as Y/N.

There is a reason we like zoos so much. We like that we can observe potential dangerous creatures without any fear of being hurt. It’s a quick no strings attached situation that most people can get behind with little to no thought. That’s why both Y/N and Edmund had been hurtling into a downward mental spiral as they examined the item sitting on their tables. 

It had started as a normal day. Edmund, going through the motions for the thousandth time while Y/N was ecstatic with the fact that they had managed to get out of bed before noon. They had departed their respective apartments around the same time with similar intentions. Edmund had run out of tea and had decided to treat himself at the corner coffee shop. Y/N had a meeting with an old friend that they were most definitely running late for. 

It had been an accident. Y/N didn’t mean to bump into Edmund and had most definitely never intended for his precious drink to go flying. There had been hurried apologies and the stuffing of cash into the other’s hand as they had hurried to get back to their day. It wasn’t until a very disgruntled Edmund had hurried away did Y/N notice the journal that had fallen on the ground. 

“Hey, Mr. What’s Your Face! You left your journal,” Y/N trailed off as Edmund ran off. He clearly wasn’t listening and now Y/N was left late for their meeting with a leather-bound journal that they now had the burden of returning. 

Edmund should’ve known better than to try something new. It was just one of those things that had a habit of backfiring on him. As he went to pull his keys out of his pocket, his fingers wrapped around something else instead. Bemused, he pulled out a golden bracelet that had been melded into a vine pattern. He felt slight stirring in his chest as he recalled seeing the dwarves creating other items similar in nature. He could almost hear the clinking of the harmers and the shouts of the workers. The feel of their soft wrist as Edmund wrapped the band around their wrist as his lips were met with a soft kiss. 

Edmund quickly snapped himself out his waltz down memory lane as the most important fact about this bracelet hit him, this was not his in any way shape or form and was most likely the person who had spilled his tea all over him. Yay.

Y/N didn’t think there was any way they could make their apartment any more a mess than it already was, but you know sometimes the universe likes to test you. After a rather hasty meeting with Jill, Y/N had noticed the lack of weight on their wrist and then proceeded to lose their shit. That bracelet was the last connection they had to a life that they never tried to remember anymore and Y/N wasn’t about to let that slip away too. Returning the journal had become the last thing on Y/N’s mind as they descended like a hurricane onto the poor, unsuspecting apartment. 

It wasn't until there was a soft knock on the door did Y/N stop their reign of terror. Y/N threw the door open to find Mr. Robot-Man-Across-The-Alley standing with a look of pure panic across his face.

“Um, hi. I live in the building next to you and-”

“Yeah, you’re the robot man. Can I help you?” Y/N interrupted with little to no thought about the annoyance flooding their voice. 

“So, I think I may have acquired something of yours. We bumped into each other earlier today. You spilled tea all over me.”

“Oh, shit. Sorry about that. Do you want some more money or something?”

“No, can I come in?” Y/N nodded and Edmund entered this enclosure of the subject he had been causally observing for a few months. 

His internal panic was cut off as Y/N let out a grown and smacked their forehead. “Aslan’s mane, I am so forgetful.”

“What?” Y/N made no acknowledgment of Edmund as he felt every system in his body shut down.

“Here, this is yours.” Y/N dug out his journal from under a pile of hand-drawn maps. “You dropped it when and I was meaning to give it back, but I may have gotten slightly distracted.” Y/N chuckled as they looked around the disaster zone.

“Funny you should mention it because I think I have something as yours as well.” Edmund slipped the bracelet out of his pocket and handed it to Y/N. He should’ve covered his ears. Pure joy flooded Y/N’s face as tears began to pour down their face. 

“Thank you so much. You literally have no idea how much this means to me. I was going to tear apart my whole apartment just to find this thing,” They squealed. “You are my hero now or something. In fact…” Y/N hurried into their living room and floated through the many plants. They then ran back to Edmund with a tiny succulent cradled in their palm. 

“Here,” They said breathlessly, “I want you to have this.”

“No. I couldn’t.”

“I insist. Besides you need something to liven up that barren wasteland you call an apartment.” Edmund blushed and smiled down at the small plant.

“Thank you,” he whispered. 

“No problem, I’m Y/N by the way.”

“I need to leave.” 

Y/N walking away as Edmund didn't do anything. 

Y/N crying as Edmund marries someone else. 

Y/N closing the door as Edmund tried to apologize.

Y/N’s tombstone causes all of the life to leave Edmund as he stares in horror.

“I’m Edmund.”

 A/N: I have been working on this for three weeks and I am so proud of it! It’s kind of a sequel to Not My Proudest Moment, but it can be read as a stand alone. I plan to part two to hopeful be up by next week. Thank you for reading and here is link for some petitions for you to sign.

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[builtonashes]

White Noise

So @qtmeryr​ asked the following:

Hello! I saw your post about fanfic requests so I’ve got one! Could you please write Higgs x Reader (Death stranding ofc) fic in which Higgs and reader are friends but suddenly she/he starts to feel something more so tries to ignore Higgs, and because of that he gets mad at her/him?

And who am I to deny such a nice request? ;)

WARNING: Takes place after the game, so spoilers are obvious.

Rating: T+

Pairing: Higgs Monaghan x Reader

Reader’s gender not specified.

You sat down on the grass, trying to collect your thoughts and relax before coming back to work. The weather was surprisingly pleasant; warm wind ghosting your face, some kind of sweet, flowery smell heavy in the air. Spring was in full bloom and you were so glad to have this moment outside. It wasn’t often that you could just unwind and sit down like that. You even made sure to bring a vacuum mug filled with tea to support you during the recess.

As it was, you really did have a lot to think about. You always knew that you were too nice for your own good. Too naive. You couldn’t help it at this point though; it was in your nature just like your parents’ before you, in the way they taught you to live and interact with society. You found yourself used and exploited by others many times, never truly able to read their intentions, always assuming that they were fueled by something good, by the will to do something right. The funny thing is, he was the first one you read right away. You knew it was wrong to even talk to him. You knew you should avoid him at all costs. You knew that his nature was an almost polar opposite to yours, incredibly selfish and arrogant, always focusing on his own gain. But even knowing all this you were somehow drawn to him, actually enjoying the time you spent together. You couldn’t really pinpoint the reason for that at first, but as time passed and as your meetings grew more frequent you realized it was because of the way he talked. He was a smart guy, very quick to learn new things, very attentive to whatever you would talk about. Truth was, he seemed to be the first person in a pretty long while to challenge you intellectually. And you liked that. You liked that because he made you see things in a new, fascinating light. Especially when it came to the events of the Death Stranding and the true potential of chiralium.

Now, you might have been naive, but you weren’t stupid. You knew of all that his ego has brought upon him. When he fell, he fell hard - putting everything on the scale and losing it all in the end. You saw the surprise, the desperation, the fear present on his face for the first time ever. And it did something to you - seeing him vulnerable, lost and defeated made you realize something you were trying to hide from all along.

It made you realize that you cared. Probably a little too much.

The realization dawned upon you as something so obvious you should’ve been able to tell a long time ago. But you made a pretty good job of pretending the feeling wasn’t there. Even though you knew he was just using you like all his other assets. Even though you knew you were as disposable to him as a paper towel. Even though you knew he was spending time with you just because he was bored. Yes, you were naive. But you were not desperate. It was time to let him go. You had to focus on other things, focus on your work; nothing good could’ve ever come of tending to him instead of the people who actually needed you. And you knew that getting attached to someone like him would just end in a disaster anyway.

So you stopped replying to his emails. You stopped taking his calls. You would send him an occasional message telling him how busy you were and that he should take the time to nurse himself back to health. That he should tend to his injuries. It was strange, not seeing him for nearly a month after spending so much time together. But you promised yourself to stay strong in your resolve. To not give in to something as trivial as missing him. You could do more good if you let him go.

Except now that he no longer occupied the space on your couch,he constantly occupied space in your head.

You sighed and took a long sip of your tea. You had to get through this somehow. Might have been easier if you had other friends to spend time with, but in this world connections were not something to be built easily. Most of your friends were gone. Some of them indefinitely.

But you still had your job to do. You still had your research and enough chiralium supply to run your tests. People needed you and distractions were not welcome.

You laid down on the grass with a heavy sigh, happy to feel the warmth of the earth beneath you. It calmed your nerves, soothed the white noise in your head. You took a few deep breaths to commit the smell of blooming flowers to memory. You almost forgot what it was like. Cooped up in your lab, rarely coming outside because of all the storms and BTs. It was much better now. Easier. But your heart was somehow heavier.

You had no idea how long you spent laying there with your eyes closed. You probably even took a short nap on the warm ground. You expected the warmth to pass soon, to give way to evening and ultimately to the cold winds of the night. What you didn’t expect was to see someone standing over you when you woke up.

You did not expect to see Higgs.

“Took you long enough,” you heard him say, an unnerving tone to his voice. “I’ve been standing here for the last what… ten minutes?”

You sat up quickly, blinking once, then twice. It wasn’t a mirage. He was really there.

“What are you doing here?”

“What, am I not allowed to visit an old friend now? Is this the way you greet all your visitors?”

“No,” you answered quickly, taking another sip of your tea. “Only the ones who are not welcome.”

“Now that is just rude.”

“It’s showing up here with no invitation what’s rude. I’m busy, you know.”

“I know. Or so you’ve been telling me. But I don’t see you working too hard.”

“I’m human. I need to take breaks.”

“Yeah right. Cut the crap. What’s up? Why have you been ignoring me?”

You rolled your eyes and focused on the tea again. What were you supposed to tell him?

Before you even managed to collect your thoughts, he sat down next to you and nudged you with his elbow. You sighed and turned to face him.

“I’m not ignoring you. I’m busy. I already told you.”

“Busy saving humanity? Busy laying on the grass? Busy ignoring me?”

“Not everything has to be about you.”

“Maybe not, but I’m pretty sure it is. At least now. So wanna tell me what’s going on or do I have to guess? I have time, you know. I can do this all week.”

“I can’t. I have to work.”

Was it… impatience that you were hearing in his voice? Or was he getting angry? You couldn’t really tell, but there was certainly a different undertone to his speech now. Something edgy. Something else.

“I called you seventy two times. You only picked up once. I sent you twenty long emails. You replied to two. You call this not ignoring me?”

“Higgs,” you sighed again, shaking your head. “I’m trying to focus on my work. I have a lot to do. I can’t be distracted now.”

“So you’re saying that I’m distracting you? I should probably take this as a compliment.”

“It’s not a compliment. It’s the best explanation you’re going to get.”

He went quiet for a while. That was something you didn’t expect.

“Why are you so distant, Y/N? Tell me. I’m worried.”

Worried. He’s worried. You almost laughed.

“I just… you don’t need me, Higgs. And I don’t need you. It’s probably for the best if we stay away from each other.”

You were suprised to feel his hand squeeze your shoulder. It was not a pleasant surprise, but it made you look at him nonetheless.

“Why are you saying this, Y/N? Why now? We didn’t really need each other before either. Yet I’m pretty certain you enjoyed my company during those long, boring nights filled with snowstorms.”

“I did. But that was before I knew who… what you were. Admit it. I’m just another asset to you. You never really cared about me. Just about what I could do for you. And I was stupid enough to actually help you.”

Wow. He looked really offended.

“That’s the stupidest thing I ever heard, Y/N. It would probably even hurt me if I knew you were telling the truth.”

“I am telling the truth. I don’t want to be used by you any longer. I have to focus on things that actually matter. You can go bother the porters if you’re bored. I don’t have time for this.”

His movement was sudden and actually a little bit startling. He moved up, reached out for your face and framed it with his hands. For a while you thought that he was going to headbutt you. Instead, he just looked into your eyes with intent so strong it almost broke your resolve.

“So this is it? You think I’m bored? You think we don’t matter? Are you for real?”

You hesitated. Probably for a while too long. But you were not going to break because of the anger in his voice.

“I think you use people, Higgs. And I think you were using me too. And I don’t need this anymore. I want to do things that help people, not bring chaos to their lives. You are evil. You always were. I just couldn’t see it that clearly before.”

He let go of your face, letting his hands fall down his sides. His facial expression was suddenly something between hurt and anger. You almost regretted saying what you did. Almost.

“Did you ever even care about me? About my feelings?”

You didn’t reply. What were you supposed to say? You did care. But you didn’t want him to know.

Suddenly, he stood up and started pacing back and forth. You could see that he was distressed. Angry. You were actually surprised to see that your words affected him this much.

“Higgs, I don’t…”

“And here I thought you were different. That you were not like other people,” he spat, not letting you finish. “I thought you liked me. I thought we were friends. I thought… I thought I had something to keep me here. Someone. But no, of course not. Higgs is the monster, it’s all his fault. I’ve learned my lesson. I should have never trusted you. You think I used you?” he suddenly stopped right in front of you and brought his legs down to a squat. His face was inches from yours now. “Well, I think you used me. How does that sound?”

You wanted to turn away from him, to hide from the piercing look in his eyes. You felt like he could see right through you, right through the walls you put up to not let him get any closer. You felt so wrong when he was looking at you like that.

“You’re delusional, Higgs,” you whispered through gritted teeth. “And you’re mad. You are known to make people your puppets and then discard them when you no longer need them. Do you need me to remind you what you did to Fragile?”

He moved closer. You scooted back. You were actually starting to worry. Would he hurt you? What if he did? There was nobody here to help you. When he grabbed your hands, you actually felt panic rising deep in your gut. Even stripped from his powers, Higgs could still easily overpower you with his bare strength. A shiver ran down your spine.

“Fragile,” he hissed, his nose almost touching yours, “Was not you. She was a tool. I was wrong about her. But you… you… I thought you were… all this time, I thought…”

The desperation in his voice was new. The shift in his speech was strange. Unfamiliar. It went straight to your heart, piercing it with searing pain. Was he… scared? Angry? Lonely? Or maybe all of that?

You tried to move your hands, but his grip was heavy, almost punishing. There was no way for you to escape. He moved even closer, kneeling between your legs. You were frightened.

“I don’t know what you thought,” you whispered, suddenly ashamed of the fear so obvious in your voice. “You never showed me. You never let me understand. You just took whatever you wanted.”

He pressed his forehead against yours. Cold. Another shiver went through your entire body.

“I never showed you,” he repeated, a weird laugh finishing the sentence. “That’s true. I never did. I didn’t know how. But I will. I’ll make you understand. I’ll make you see. That’s easy.”

When he pressed his lips against yours, he took you by surprise. You gasped. The sheer desperation of this gesture took your breath away. His lips were chapped but warm, not an unwelcome presence against your mouth. You closed your eyes. The worry didn’t dissipate at all.

He let go of your hands and brought them to his face, pulling you closer, teeth nudging at your lower lip. You moaned against your will, hoping he wouldn’t notice, but he did. He pressed into you even harder, licking into your mouth with wild abandon, not even stopping to take a breath. Hs hands were suddenly behind your back, pulling you closer, flush against his chest. You couldn’t move away, you couldn’t let go. But you didn’t want to.

You tried to pull away from the kiss to breathe, but he chased your mouth with his immediately, not letting you go. It was messy and ehxilarating at the same time. But you had to breathe. At least for a while.

“No, don’t, don’t go”, he whispered against your lips whenever you tried to put some distance between you. “Don’t turn me away. Please. Please. I’m begging you.”

You never heard this type of desperation in his voice. Broken. Scared. The kisses were grounding him, you could tell; and when you didn’t move away he pushed into you even more.

“I’m not,” you said between kisses, against your own will. “I’m here. I’m here.”

One final push sent you back on the grass with Higgs on top of you. His hands were in your hair, on your face, tracing lines against your hips. You fisted his shirt to bring him closer. You needed to make this right.

“Y/N, I’m…”

“Shut up,” you said, your lips ghosting against his. “I think I get it now.”

He leaned into your touch, chasing your hand where it reached for his cheek. You felt another sting in your chest at the look on his face. He was scared. So all this time... and he only showed you that now.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured, voice barely above a whisper. “I’m so sorry.”

He kissed you again, hard, grinding against you with his entire body. He was heavy, but you didn’t really mind. It was a welcome weight to counter the constant painful pull in your chest. When you felt his fingers in your hair again, you moaned. He was actually gentle. Desperate and so lonely, but surprisingly gentle.

Your moan made him moan too. The shiver that ran down your spine this time was something entirely different from the fear you felt not so long ago.

Biting your lower lip, he closed his eyes and nuzzled your nose with his. You bit him right back, sliding your tongue against his. Who would have thought this might be a better way to settle your argument. Pushing and pulling back and forth you made a hot, writhing mess of each other. It felt oddly satisfying in more ways than one. But you needed to settle this. And you decided to take him by surprise.

You managed to roll him onto his back, straddling his hips and locking him down with your thighs. He looked at you then; looked at you in a way you’ve never seen before. Admiring. Passionate. Desperate. Wanting. So many emotions visible on his face you didn’t even know he was capable of.

Who would have guessed. Maybe you were wrong about him after all.

“You can stay,” you whispered, trying to collect yourself somehow. “But we need to set a few things straight.”

“Anything,” he answered, reaching up to place his hands on your hips. “Anything you say. I’ll do anything.”

You were starting to like that side of him. Submissive, desperate. In a good way.

“You help me with my work. I let you stay at my place. You do the dishes.”

He nodded eagerly, a smile spreading across his lips. You lowered yourself to place a soft kiss on his forehead.

“I’ll even walk the dog.”

“I don’t have a dog.”

“Well, that’s something we could look into.”

You shook your head with a laugh. He was impossible.

But maybe, just maybe, you will be able to make this work.

You were definitely willing to try.

[amxwolf]

Here is why conventional healthful-thinking is not working on Millennials.

Have you ever had that terrifying dream where you are stuck in a dark forest or sketchy alley, frantically running for your life from some kind of feral monster or mad man? Most of us can personally recall at least once being roused from sleep in a cold sweat because their brain had spent the last few hours perfecting the latent image of a made-to-order nightmare. While that experience is certainly not exclusive to Millennials (rather quite the opposite), the waking reaction or at least how it is processed later by this roughly categorized group of mislabeled people is unique to say the least.

For years now, people in marketing have been fervently dissecting and attempting to recreate what has been loosely categorized as "Millennial Humor". And in all of their efforts to connect with this flock of black sheep, the grand majority of them seem to be missing a key factor in the psychology at work here. For all the unwarrantable bilge that modern advertising haphazardly cobbles together, only a small percentage of the nonsense is seasoned perfectly with the secret ingredient. What is this singular spice? Well, while indulgent to profess and speculative, from someone "sitting in millennial class”, it's obvious: A touch of salt.

Never will I sit here and cry to the general public about how unhappy I am that the modern advertising industry is just not scratching my itch for the wares it’s peddling, but I think it's important for us now to look at how this systemic lack of understanding is reaching beyond the world of subliminal profiteering. Society has other significant quality-of-life effecting systems that are also missing the mark when trying to aim and reach out to help this specific group of people. Puns aside, "a touch of salt" as I quipped, is flavoring the lives of a lot of people in their mid to late 20's and early 40's. And the most frustrating and difficult to reconcile attempts that I personally have made to better myself, have been those that were guided by people who just cannot seem to put their brain into that salty head space.

For example, trying to focus on and internalize a well-organized medical presentation about the encompassing negative effects of stress or insomnia and its seemly simple solution of just "changing your thinking", is about as easily digestible as a two-decade-year-old fruitcake for someone who is imprisoned daily by the symptoms of chronic stress. While I may sit there and give listening (ironically) "the old college try", the sound quickly turns to fuzzy white noise the deeper the lecture dives into positive thinking.

You see, Millennials are not generally fluent in positive thinking. More and more of them seem to be speaking a very distinctive dialect of realism, which incorporates a robustly cultivated sense of sarcasm and a somewhat grim shade of hopelessness. A lot of millennials grew up with a laughably poetic twist on "Growing Up" and "Being Successful", which in turn has colored their day-to-day interactions and created this defeatism-culture. Millennials will openly joke about their death as a needed release, their eulogy as a retirement card, or emotionally decompile themselves over something simple like saying "you too" in a situation that doesn't warrant it.

A good percentage of Millennials were old enough to understand the destructive consequences of the most recent housing market disaster on a very personal level; At an impressionable age, watching their own parents, who may have worked excruciatingly hard at the expense of any number of personal or family goals, lose just about everything resonated in a way that cannot be unheard. Then add the borderline criminal and unscrupulous "sheep-shearing" that became common place when the generation was herded off to college, trade school, or other form of career-building education. Not to mention the fact that upon completing said programs, a proverbial "step-in-the-right direction", a substantial number of these "hopeless wanderers" were faced with yet another barbed-wire hurdle when the job market in countless fields were oversaturated with potential employees. Many positions had not been vacated as they normally would have been with the age of retirement being stretched further and further down the road due to increased cost of living and financial demands; the finish line or lap marker was just not getting any closer. To add insult to injury, Millennials, sometimes unbelievably hardworking, are frequently being listed as perpetuators of the clashing reality we have today. This being what the modern media is calling "The Great Resignation"; a dubious combination of a labor shortage amidst an unemployment spike fueled by uncompetitive wages left unchecked, the government's inability to reel in the situation, and a general devaluing of laborers overall.

Oh. And also, we were killing the diamond industry at the same time. Or was it simultaneously the marriage and divorce industry? Wait! I think it was cinema? Or no....maybe it was fabric softener. For a complete dissertation of all the things Millennials brutally murdered over the last two decades, perhaps I'll include a link below if for no other reason to drive my point home.

You have this group of people who are conditioned to endlessly swimming upstream, against the current, with nothing but chastising and bitterness to listen to. So, when it comes to something universal like learning to "sleep better" or "problem solving", the indifferent but somehow time-honored approach of saying "it's as easy as just taking control" is over time if not immediately rejected as dissonant information.

These people don't feel like they have control; some of them feel like they never had any to begin with.

Why is this a problem?

Our society is not developing a taste for "salt" at a pace in which it can prepare social-sustenance for its population. We're not getting any younger, and neither are the generations in front of us.

Millennials are already, by some definitions the mass-population of workers, voters, and other titles that we've yet to embrace. And our lack of interest is not because we do not have a passion for positive change (even on a global scale). Millennials have voiced over time that they feel they are the silent majority amidst a group of people who will not give them breathing room and don't respect the validity of their opinions and ambitions. And it is by no means restricted to one region or country on this planet. This is a global phenomenon.

I could spin a vast yarn about the political ramifications of continuing to exclude the Millennials from the metaphoric Counsel of Elders, but I'm more concerned about the neglect that is spreading elsewhere. We need our leaders in the medical and social fields to really respect and dig deep into how to incorporate "Millennial Thinking" into their treatment and development plans. A large amount of the global population is going to need carefully tailored treatment for things as old as depression, bi-polar tendencies, or schizophrenia as well as newly discovered mental encumbrances like imposter-syndrome.

While “positive-thinking” may have been easily cultivated in the past, we may need to start from a more negative approach and build from there to educate and treat a group of down-on-their-luck millions. Pumping drugs into a populace is not going to permanently patch the leak either, so there truly is precedence for a rehashing of how we should prioritize mental health in modern society.

Stop spending so much time and energy assigning blame to modern technologies and social norms. Are these going away? No? In that case, those things are much like our other daily stresses that are unavoidable. Yes, you can change your nightly routine to de-stress the same way that you can change a job or a daily commute, but there needs to be a fundamental shift in accountability divvied to circumstances out of a person's control rather than scolding them for not being able to manage it.

Do I have all the answers? No.

But this was less about offering a solid a solution and more about opening a dialogue. A starting point.

So yeah. I've had that dream of being chased through the woods by a life-leeching alien. It felt very similar to being sucked dry of my pitiful wages for an education that was at the time, barely panning out. Even now, as a 32-year-old, slightly more successful version of the starving student I've become, I still feel as though my rat race will end when my heart gives out; and all I can hope for is enough money when I drop to cover the ambulance ride to the over-crowded emergency room and a large pit to rot in. But I just hope that the generation behind me has the benefit of a system that understands how to create and sustain “Millennial Inspired” social structures that will allow them to flourish in what little we can leave behind for them.

Also, could you pass the salt?

[angelsunflowers-fanfics]

Katsuki Bakugou x Female!Shy!reader (Amusement Park)

Requested? That One Nerd anime375

Request: *Katsuki Bakugou × Shy!Female!Reader- Amusement Park

Fandom: My hero academia

Pov: reader’s

Genre: Fluff

Linktree

~~~

A loud pounding on my door pulled me out of my studying trance. I pulled my earbuds out of my ears and cautiously answered the door. It wasn’t very late, but I usually went to my dorm almost after school on account that I didn’t talk to many people, not even those in my support class.

“Bakugou? What… what are you--um-- doing here?” I asked nervously.

I could feel heat flood to my face, I really admired him for his quirk and potential, along with his determination to be the best. It was really inspiring.

We had only talked a few times, usually when he got hurt, and I had to use my healing quirk to patch him up. He could actually be really soft, but then again… he was half asleep for half of our visits.

“Why the hell did it take you so long to open the door? You trying to hide from me?” Bakugou growled.

How long was he at my door? Maybe I should turn down my music when I study. This wasn’t the first incident after all.

“N-no, not at all. I, um, I was studying… And I-I like to study with Music.” I could hear my own voice growing quieter and quieter. I could be mistaken for a mouse. I bit back a surprised squeak as Bakugou propped an arm on my doorway, peering at me. He looked conflicted about something. “What… Um, did you need something?” I asked.

He peered down the hallway, glaring as always. Was this a confrontation? Am I going to have to fight Bakugou? I really didn’t want to do that.

I liked Bakugou. A lot. He was nice to me, and he waited for me to stop stuttering, unlike some other people who just get sick of listening to me and wander off.

“There’s this shitty amusement park that’s supposed to open tomorrow, do you…“ Bakugou trailed off.

I peered up at him, watching his eyes move from me to something down to the hall. He let out a deep sigh before he turned to the people I’m guessing down the hallway, yelling as per usual. 

“I don’t know what those gestures mean! I can do this myself!” He yelled down the hallway.

I glanced back at my room, it should be fine for him to come in for a bit, right?

I peeked my head around Bakugou to see Midoriya and Kirishima, doing some wild gestures. Are they trying to help Bakugou? I waved toward the two, knowing Midoriya for getting himself hurt so often. We had become friends.

“Hi, Midoriya,” I greeted. 

He waved back excitedly. The ash-blonde in front of me turned back to me, confusion spilled across his face.

“How the fuck do you know Deku?” Bakugou asked, confused.

I wrung my hands together in front of me and stare up at Bakugou, the back of my neck feeling flushed.

“Well he gets hurt quite a bit, me and Recovery girl have had to heal many times,” I explained. He glared at the two down the hall, his body still propped against my door frame. I hope I wouldn’t get in trouble for this. “Um, Bakugou?” I waited until he turned back to me, his eyes became soft once again and his yelling ceased completely. “Why don’t you come in for a bit? T-to get away from everyone? Only if you want to… that is.” 

I hated how my shyness went haywire when he wasn’t around. He didn’t take long to ponder over the decision, lightly pushing past me to stand in the center of my room. I lightly closed the door, not wanting to cause further trouble for the neighbors.

I turned to face him, my eyes widened at the sight of his red face. He was blushing? I didn’t think that was actually possible.

“Go with me!” 

I jumped back at his outburst but glanced at him. He was nervous, not as much as me of course but nervous. He was being genuine?

“T-to the amusement park? L-like a date?” I tried to clarify.

Bakugou narrowed his eyes slightly, grabbing one of my hands in a firm grip.

“Yes, Idiot,” Bakugou confirmed. 

I knew I should be insulted that he called me an idiot, but I knew this was a big step for him. I gave him a small nod of my head and watched as he gently walked by me and out of my room. 

As the door shut again I heard him yelling at his friends, “Told you I could do it myself, Shitty Hair!”

I sat on my desk chair and took a few moments to breathe. Saturday morning tomorrow, I had a date with Katsuki Bakugou.

We were polar opposites, but still… He was nice to me.

~~~~~~

I held my hands together as they started shaking out of nervousness. The walk from the school to where the Amusement Park was being held wasn’t far at all.

I had never been on a date before, I was actually really nervous, more so than usual.

“Hey!” I glanced up from my feet to meet Bakugou’s hard gaze, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his jeans. He was wearing casual clothes, that was good. He looked nice. “What took you so long?” I laughed nervously, fiddling with the single flower in my hand, morning glory, they meant brief love or bonding love.

“I saw a flower shop on my way here and… I got you one, here,” I explained myself almost being late.  

I toyed my bottom lip with my teeth as he slowly took the flower from my fingers. Please don’t burn it. My eyes widened as he hesitantly curled it into his hair, the flower set gently next to his ear.

“Come on, let’s head inside,” Bakugou said somewhat gently as he held out a hand for me to take. 

I guess he noticed me holding them together so tightly. I didn’t want this to end in disaster, so I slowly took a step closer to him and grabbed his hand with my noticeably smaller one.

We walked through the gates with him leading, he was talking much softer than usual. It was nice. He abruptly stopped only a few yards into the Amusement park.

“Bakugou? What’s wrong?” I asked, concerned for his well-being and sudden change in behavior.

His free hand clenched tightly, but he didn’t say a word. I looked in front of us to see Midoriya, Kirishima and a few other classmates. I didn’t know everyone from his class. They waved to the two of us, Kirishima ran over.

“Bakubro! You finally did it, congrats! How long did you say you were crushing on (y/n) exactly? 1 year? Middle school?” Before Bakugou could say anything, Kirishima’s gaze fell on the flower in Bakugou’s hair. He let out an exaggerated gasp, “Dude, I have to get a picture.” 

Kirishima pulled out his phone and took a picture of me pressed close to Bakugou, his expression one of pure anger.

A rush of boldness overtook me, I quickly leaned to press a quick kiss to the side of Bakugou’s head, hopefully calming him down and not angering him further. Another click, another picture taken. I hid my face in Bakugou’s shoulder, a redness overtook my features along with Bakugou’s, but he looked calmer at least. Kirishima took one last picture before he ran off with his classmates.

“Bakugou, are you okay?” I asked him.

He let go of my hand to quickly grab my face in his hands, my cheeks squished slightly at the pressure of his palms.

“Call me Katsuki,” Bakugou said. 

I couldn’t tell if that was a question or demand honestly. But calling him by his first name?

“I, um… O-okay. I’ll call you by your first name from now on.” 

The pressure of his palms tightened lightly, not enough to hurt but enough to gain my attention again.

“No, I need you to say it right now, or I’ll actually catch his dumbass hair on fire,” He almost demanded. 

He was really mad, I needed to do something before he did that in public. I released a small gasp and placed my hands over his, gripping onto his larger fingers tightly.

“Katsuki, No! Please, don’t do that,” I cried out. 

His eyes were wide. Why was he looking at me like that? He was so flushed, unlike him. At least he wasn’t trying to explode Kirishima’s hair now.

“You called me Katsuki,” He mumbled. 

The familiar red creeped up my neck and to my face.

“You asked me to.” 

Katsuki rushed to press a passionate kiss to my lips, I felt all tingly inside now. He was hesitant to pull away, a small smile present on his face.

“Come on, Let’s actually go do something here and hope we don’t run into those dumbasses again.”

[spiftynifty]

VLD Rewatch: Season 3

For a half-of-a-half season, season 3 packs quite a bit in and sets up a lot of plot. This shouldn't be surprising; Voltron was laid out as three 26-ep seasons, with each season bringing a new big bad and new theme. Season 3 is our beginning of the Lotor arc and there's a lot of setup and... a lot to unpack here.

For those who are still in "can't do it" mode about rewatching the series (which is fair), here's a quick summary to catch you up:

Shiro has been missing for (it's kind of implied) months. Without Shiro, Voltron and the group are fractured, especially with Keith's deep grief over losing Shiro preventing the recruitment a new Paladin.

Ultimately, Keith takes up the mantle of the Black Lion, Lance moves to Red, and Allura gets Blue. The group is clumsy and outmatched by Lotor and his generals who are definitely Up to Something. Keith tries to play leader and it's a bad look when he's making decisions via grief escapism. The team gets briefly trapped on a foggy wifi-less planet, discovers a bizarro alt-reality where Alteans rule the universe and Shiro is Swedish and doesn't mind Slav, and trails after Lotor and Co who have made off with the reality-breaking comet from Svavland.

Meanwhile Shiro escapes the Galra again, catches up with Voltron, shares a couple lowlit intimate moments with Keith while also awkwardly undermining his authority and jeopardizing the safety of the team, but no one suspects a thing.

Oh and there's a flashback episode about the OG paladins that I'll be honest I skipped since it turns out literally nothing that happened in the past is relevant to the present day and our only major revelations are that we (and Haggar) learn that she was once Honerva, Zarkon her husband was once kinda adorable, and turning evil swaps out your voice actor. Oh and Honerva had a cat who may or may not be as old as Haggar and potentially still kicking around.

Let's talk about season 3.

There's good and bad to be had with this season. Originally when I began my rewatch of the show I wanted to do it as though I were watching the season for the first time. Season 1 and 2 made that astonishingly easy; of all the seasons they seem the most confident about what the show is and what it's going for. Season 1 is for the mild setup and world building, season 2 is for the character building, relationship building, lion building, and problem resolving. Season 2 is arguably the show's strongest season overall so it's a tough act to follow. Season 3... makes an effort.

The good of this season is really good. Keith's grief over losing Shiro surprised and moved me the first time I saw the season and I was impressed with how long they held onto it given the show's habit of moving on pretty quick. Keith's grief holds the team back and endangers it; his early insistence on going after Lotor felt like a way to channel his anguish and maybe get a little revenge for his loss. Keith got one of his most significant character boosts in season 2, and following it through in this season sets up a complicated Keith that we will see for seasons to come.

The other good is Lotor. Lotor is handsome and charismatic and devastatingly cunning and is a polar opposite to his Saturday-morning-cartoon-villain dad. Zarkon was threatening, but Lotor is INTERESTING and his "wait and see" approach makes us the audience want to wait and see what he's up to. His band of generals are intriguing and colorful and I love the variation of their designs and personalities.

And of course, we can't talk about the good stuff in season 3 without discussing Shiro and Keith's relationship. Season 2 gave us some really fantastic growth and moments and entire episodes between them, but Season 3 brought a new level of intimacy that definitely bumped it up a notch. From the slow-moving reunion and closeups of only Shiro and Keith's faces, to their quiet moments alone in dimly lit rooms. This season gave us "as many times as it takes", which remains one of the most beautiful little exchanges between the pair in the whole series. The jury is still out on whether or not Sheith was a hopeful intention by the creatives on this show or just an incredibly happy accident, but looking at some of the decisions made in 3x05 and 3x06 especially lean more to the former. These scenes are more bittersweet now knowing how it all ends up.

There is a lot of setup for future things in general, and this is where it becomes difficult to separate what is in s3 with what will be by the end of s6 (and beyond) because some things we just can't unknow. It was really interesting to see how things that made me very hyped after this season now take on a bit of a disappointing and even bitter flavor because some roads really don't go anywhere. Lotor's mysterious plans for instance, only seem to get more mysterious, as do his allegiances. He spends most of this season clearly toying with the Paladins, clearly prepared to destroy them or let them destroy themselves, but later he sides with them and the Paladins seem pretty quick to forgive this and assume he's a good guy now. Lotor's "side" is never clearly established since his goals never are. The Lotor in s3 is interesting by virtue of the assumption that we will eventually learn all his secrets. But we never do, and that definitely for me taints him as a character.

Speaking of some mixed character motivations, s4 reveals that Narti was either a spy for Haggar the whole time or that Kova was, or both, and yet in season 3 Haggar sends a goon off to spy on Lotor. Even in Haggar's private moments she seems unsure of what Lotor is up to so this later reveal that she was aware the whole time is an odd one and still left very vague.

Similarly, major problems arise with Shiro in s3 but only via the hindsight of s4-6. Everything about the way Shiro is brought back into the fold in season 3 is highly suspicious. From a narrative standpoint I want to say it begins with Sven as foreshadowing, an alternate-reality Shiro who looks JUST LIKE SHIRO but is NOT SHIRO. Unfortunately I think this was less of an audience wink and more of an excuse to nod to the original Sven. But Shiro's Journey opens with scientists doing tests on him, Shiro's pupils dilating to the sound of camera lens adjustments, and Shiro literally seeing a dead-eyed copy of himself on a slab. The words "Operation Kuron" are repeated at least three times as the Galra let him escape. When Shiro meets the two aliens on the ice planet and they accuse him of being a traitor, Shiro protests, "I'm not a--" and never finishes. He does pilot logs into a Galra Cruiser as he tails Voltron. And that's just in one episode.

The next episode has him repeatedly undermining Keith's newfound leadership position (a position Shiro repeatedly encouraged Keith into in s1/2 to Keith's great reluctance), to the point of talking over him and shouting at him. He dismisses the safety of the team for the sake of the mission; something that goes expressly against the team Voltron way of doing things (Kolivan details this in s4) and is completely against Shiro's nature. It felt manipulative to me the first time and it still feels off when at the end of this he privately tells Keith "I'm sorry I had to step in back there", referring to Keith's failure (which was not a failure) and then in the next breath "you're good at this." This was the topic of many a heated debate when the episode came out but from my end there is just no way to see that the man presented here is Shiro and not an insidious clone.

There's a term for this that I forget where the storyteller essentially gaslights the audience for no real reason. Ultimately we will come to know that this is Shiro. A little more short-tempered but ultimately a good boy and not the potentially fully aware evil clone that season 3 hints at. It's bad writing; and the reason that it's bad writing is that the audience is privy to very little more than the characters are when it comes to Kuron and yet the characters are not in the slightest bit suspicious about the behaviour that we the audience sees as suspect. We end up gaslighting ourselves because of bad writing, only to learn that we were right the whole time. And genuinely, speaking as someone who loves all Shiros dearly, Kuron is a whole walking writing disaster. But more on that as we get further into the season.

I don't love the episode, but the Comet episode is a surprisingly adult-oriented one and presents an interesting flip to things and an intriguing hypothesis that I wish had been explored better, or longer, or something. As I've said 100x before, Galra aren't an inherently evil race; they're the result of a 10,000 yr universe takeover. This episode suggests that Alteans are no better, and the broader implications of this are massive and should have offered a much bigger fundamental shift in the characters and the way they viewed this war. In particular Allura, who previously immediately turned against Keith the moment his heritage was revealed, despite having become good friends with him. Her learning that her own people aren't immune to "absolute power corrupts absolutely" is a moment that is not given any real weight or consequence . This is a letdown especially since this potentially weightier-themed episode was self-aware enough of that weight to be the only episode outside of the Voldemort season to show imagery maybe a little too old for its younger audience (the repeated shot of the mummified Altean scientist).

From a production standpoint I noticed a lot of little things. There were a number of hookup issues; some hilariously drawn bg characters, some compositing that worked and some that decidedly didn't. Some of the editing was a little rough in places and some of the timing of things felt very off. There were some jokes that ran long and didn't land and threw the pacing off or stole time from other things. The editing on the Comet episode was particularly off and the characters were visually difficult to track at times. Also, there is definitely a different/longer version of the "As many times as it takes" scene even if it only exists in script or maybe board form. All of the Shiros in that scene were drawn by Ryu, who was often tapped for revisions (particularly for Shiro and Lotor). But the Keith in that scene is not a Ryu Keith; and Keith's "Well--" in "If you're feeling up to it" sounds like two lines spliced together. Ryu's fingerprints are all over 3x06 in interesting places; I definitely spotted his artwork in at least one shot of the Galra post leader and I think a Zethrid. He drew a few of the short haired Shiros as well. I think this episode underwent a number of changes; I remember too that Lance exclaiming "you're looking better" was originally Keith's line. At the same time we get little nice superfluous animations like the foreground gecko. Just a lot of inconsistencies.

Overall it's still an alright season but knowing what's coming means I just don't love this season the way I used to. The little moments that rock still rock but a lot of plot pawns were pushed forward that were ultimately just discarded. I can't wait to see if finishing the next 3 seasons will retroactively bump this season back up to where it once was in my heart. 

[mechabones]

WE NEED A SWAT!GAVIN FIC. Your art is 😤😤😤 A+ content. Imagining Swat!Gavin coming after Gangster Nines and all the potential angst and shenanigans.

First of all, thank you for liking my art, I appreciate it !! Second of all, with my Mafia!AU still in the works, I may have Gavin be in the SWAT rather than being a detective but I haven’t quite decided just yet but until then, allow my angsty ass to indulge you, just a little bit-

⚠️ALSO A QUICK EDIT! I’ve changed the ending because it was too open ended & was percieved as a major character death bc I wasn’t specific enough & I don’t want to upset anybody, my apologies!⚠️

There had been a lot of murmurs & talk about the DPD closing in on a current underground drug operation that was sweeping through Detroit like a chaotic storm, threatening to destroy everything in its wake. 

Red Ice; the latest drug carefully crafted from Thirium 310. Nobody knew who the mastermind behind the creation was, all they knew was that the drug was highly addictive, caused people to become violent & bodies were dropping. Fast.

It had taken months of planning, months of sleepless nights & crafting the perfect plan so that this time, there was no possible way for the bastards creating the drug to slip through their fingers. The SWAT team were finally, fucking finally, close enough to take out the whole operation by cutting the head off of the snake. 

They were going arrest the bastard who started it all.

Captain Allen had since stepped down from leading the SWAT since they had been given the all clear to take point on the investigation. Nobody was sure as to why SWAT were handling it, but it did make sense seeing as they had the men, the gear, the weapons. All of it.

These were tough, military trained assholes & at the front of it all was Gavin Reed. The man who took bullets, stab wounds & had been tortured on more than one occasion thanks to being too bullheaded to accept help. But, he always came out on top, ready to take out the bastard who crossed him. 

He was messy & arrogant but since becoming the leader of a team he put his full trust & faith in, he was becoming the best version of himself.

Or at least, that was until he met Nines. Notorious. Nefarious. Iniquitous in every way.

All it was supposed to be was an easy - straight in, straight out - recon mission to map out the basics of the warehouse in which they had calculated the mysterious Nines would be. Nobody knew what he looked like, or what he sounded like for that matter. All they knew was that he was the leader of it all.

But nothing could ever be easy, could it? Not when Gavin fucking Reed was involved. Wherever he went, complications followed.

A team of five - including Reed - had made their way through the warehouse, splitting off in separate directions to cover more ground quickly. Everything was going smoothly, radioing in their locations every so often to stay in check. 

But, as Reed found himself in a large, almost empty room, with simply a table, a chair, his radio tuning in static & a man standing, looking out of the window, he knew shit was going to get arduous. Fast. He could feel it. 

“Put your fucking hands up, asshole! You’re done! We’ve got every inch of this shithole covered!” Reed spat as he drew his gun, pointing it directly at the man’s back. His aim was steady, finger on the trigger. But, as the man raised one hand, that confidence quickly faltered as he felt the familiar, cold barrel of a gun being shoved against the base of his skull. 

Fuck.

Gavin swallowed thickly, frozen in place at the mild fear of his brains being blown out at one wrong move. So instead, he simply stood; gun still pointing at the mysterious man who seemed completely unphased by being held at gunpoint & he could have sworn he felt the air shift around him as the gangster turned to face him, covering the space between them in a matter of seconds.

“What the fuc-Wait, Connor?!” 

“On the contrary, hm, Reed, was it?” An inquisitive look sat on the face that so similarly resembled Connor Stern. The sultry voice he’d grown to love filled Gavin’s ears & all he could do was stare dumbly as the gangster took the gun Reed was pointing at him, tucking it into the back of his black dress pants nonchalantly, without bothering to click the safety back on.

No, this wasn’t the man he had been crushing on for months. This was the taller, scarier, icier version. And as much as he hated to admit it, this was far more his type. His features were more chiseled, sharper cheekbones, wider jawline. There were no puppy brown eyes, instead they were dangerous storms of grey. There was no softness to his voice; it was candid. Detached from emotion.

There were warning bells in his head, screaming at him to run away before he gets himself any deeper in the shit. But, he always did lack basic self preservation.

“How do you kn-”

“The one & only Gavin Reed. I’ve been waiting for you, Gavin. Watching your every move. All I needed was Allen out of the picture & I could have you all to myself. Have you follow the trails I had planted. Get your men on my side. Oh how easy it was to have you believing any of this at all was of your own volition. I hope I’m not a disappointment to the image you have built of my brother. But, my name is Nines.” A coy, maniacal grin played the gangster’s lips as he waved his left hand a single time & the gun that was digging into Gavin’s skull disappeared.

Only then did Reed let out the heavy breath he didn’t realise he was holding. Glancing over his shoulder, lo & behold, there was his team. Two guarding the door, two with their guns pointed directly at him. Of fucking course. 

He wasn’t sure which was worse. His team being fucking crooked or the detective he had more than a crush on has a psychopathic brother who he had been trying to throw in prison for months.

“How long?!” When no response came, he tried again. “How fucking long?!” 

Fuck, was he angry. Realizing that every step he had taken, every plan, every God damn breath he took was all a set up. Even Captain Allen mysteriously stepping down, leaving an open space for someone to step up & lead the SWAT was a ruse. To get him here. Right in the jaws of a hungry shark.

It hurt. He knew he didn’t have what it took to be a leader, he was a fucking disaster on a good day. But, the team were so quick to support him & listen to his ideas, to follow his plans. He would have taken a bullet for any one of these backstabbing pricks but as it turned out, they were the ones pulling the trigger.

“I don’t, I, fuck. I don’t understand.” He didn’t even bother to hide the way his voice cracked & wavered from the ache of knowing his team were corrupt. It was like the world was slowly falling apart around him but he was the only one who was falling into the abyss.

“Join me, Gavin. You don’t even have to get your hands dirty. You can keep your place in the SWAT or I can find you a place as a detective if you’d prefer. Although, I’d rather not have to see you drooling over that incompetent brother of mine.” There was a charming softness to the way in which Nines was speaking, as if he wasn’t a notorious murderer-drug lord. 

Gavin hated himself for it, he really did, but the way the ache in his chest ebbed away as the gangster spoke to him as if he were the only man in the room had him genuinely contemplating the offer that was being put on his plate.

But, he was no dirty cop. 

As Nines swatted a hand, barking out, “leave us”, the other men in the room filed out without daring to question his authority. Fuck, he really did have the whole of the DPD wrapped around his finger. It made Gavin wonder just how many of his actions had been Nines pulling at his strings.

Once the door was shut behind them, Nines raked his eyes over the officer, looking him up & down, causing Gavin to swallow nervously, as if it’d somehow stop his mouth from feeling so dry.

The gangster closed the space between them once more as he placed a hand on Gavin’s cheek. His touch was strangely warm, the polar opposite to what Reed had expected considering his icy demeanor.

“Join me, Gavin.” The gangster repeated, this time barely above a murmur, his eyes carefully studying every single one of the imperfections that littered Gavin’s face from the 36 years of poor life choices, his thumb gently brushing along a scar that sat proudly on Reed’s upper cheekbone.

“I can give you anything you desire, Gavin. Just say the word.” The words fell heavy in the air around them as Nines tilted his head very slightly, his grey eyes gleaming with the look that a child would have on Christmas. 

Nobody, not in the 36 years of being on this planet, had anybody ever looked at Gavin in the way Nines was right in that very moment. Gavin had spent months pining over Connor, dreaming of him looking at him in the same way Nines was doing. 

Connor barely even noticed his presence no matter how hard he tried. The only time Connor ever gave him the time of day was if he had been told to regarding a case. But, this brother, hell, this brother was giving him every ounce of his attention without needing to be told to. 

Nines looked at him like he was his property. There were those warning bells in his mind again. Reminding him to stop thinking with his dick for 5 minutes to realise how dire the situation he was in was.

Fuck it, what did he have to lose? It wasn’t like he had a team that relied on him or anything.

Without a word, Gavin’s hands wound their way into the lapels of Nines’ blazer, yanking the gangster forward so their lips pressed together like waves breaking at the shoreline. Violent, rough, messy. Just how he liked it.

The gangster deepened the kiss with no hesitation, swiping his tongue along Gavin’s lower lip as the officer worked at shoving Nines’ blazer from off of his shoulders. The man made a soft sound of disappointment as his white blazer hit the dirty floor, as if somehow his clothes getting dirty was more important than what was going on between them in the moment.

With a roll of his eyes, Reed pressed his body flush against the gangster, his hands dropping to the man’s belt, but, rather than undoing it, he ran his hands along Nines’ hipbones & around his sides, pulling away from the kiss barely an inch to catch his breath. 

“Y’know-” Gavin began, a small grin falling upon his face at the feeling of Nines’ warm breath on his lips. “-I prefer brown eyes...” As his sentence trailed off, in one swift motion, he used the hand that was on Nines’ hip to grab his gun that the gangster had sitting in the back of his belt, ready to point it directly at him.

But, as always, Nines was one step ahead.

Before Gavin had the chance to point the gun at the gangster, the taller man gripped his wrist, slamming the officer up against the wall, pressing on Gavin’s wrist until his arm was pressed against his own chest, the barrel of his gun pressing beneath his own chin.

“Such a shame. My brother always did have a thing for taking away my toys.” Mirth dripped from his words as he carefully wrapped his hand around the one that belonged to Gavin that was holding the gun, his finger finding it’s way over Gavin’s finger that was on the trigger.

The pure trepidation swimming in Gavin’s eyes had the maniacal grin returning to Nines’ face, ever so gently applying pressure to his finger, relishing in the way Gavin was trying to push back so he didn’t accidentally pull the trigger & shoot himself.

It felt as though the floor was falling through from beneath him, his heart hammering in his chest as he stared into those eyes that he assumed once had an ounce of emotion that had since been frozen over.

“I could have given you everything, Gavin. Anything at all & yet again, you had to make another bad decision.” The gangster sighed in disappointment, his finger tightening around Gavin’s that was on the trigger once more.

Click.

Gavin squeezed his eyes shut as he was forced to pull the trigger, heart thudding in his chest as he expected to feel everything then nothing all at once. But nothing came. No gunshot. No pain. Nothing.

Empty. The gun was fucking empty.

[ettadunham]

A Buffy rewatch 2x05 Reptile Boy

aka adulting and frat boys

Welcome to this dailyish text post series where I will rewatch an episode of Buffy and point out / hyperfocus on one detail in it in 10-3k words. Mostly. The rules are arbitrary.

And today’s episode managed to heighten the show’s ever present metaphor of Buffy fighting toxic masculinity and rape culture by adding some super disturbing and way too real moments to its supernatural spin. There’s also the question of adulthood vs. maturity, Willow’s totally not jealous, and Angel is starting to be aware of some... stuff.

Let’s start with our ‘gay watch’ which may or may not become a regular segment on these posts, and appreciate this exchange:

Buffy:  I'm not going with Angel. I'm going with... Ye gods. Cordelia. Willow:  Cordelia?! Did I sound a little jealous just then, 'cause I'm not really... Cordelia?!

Now, that being said, during my previous experiences with the show, I definitely noticed a pattern of Willow being jealous / hostile towards other prominent people in the Scoobies’ lives - specifically towards other female characters. It happens with all of Xander’s love interests, sure, but also with Faith (so basically... Buffy’s love interest), and it appears to point to a fear of being replaced / abandoned more than anything. Probably more on that later.

The Buffy/Cordelia train has definitely left the station at this point though. Like who is Cordy kidding (other than herself) - she just wants to hang out with Buffy. And maybe her friends...

Speaking of said friends, I had to include the above screencap, especially after I saw someone once pointing out the way Xander makes a fabulous braid on his end and Buffy is just fumbling and looking confused at Willow’s hair. I really love these little bits and exchanges on the show, it often builds character and establishes dynamics in unexpected ways. Right now for instance we can clearly see that Buffy never had a little sister whose hair she’d braid as a kid.

...Also more on that later.

But I also want to fold this onto my talk about maturity and adulthood. because of the context of this scene. Apparently the Scoobies are all out of money and don’t really have anywhere to go out as a result - so they’re staying at home, watching a Bollywood movie together instead.

Later on the episode this will be juxtaposed with the whole aspirational idea of going to a frat party, and doing ‘adult’ things like drinking and hooking up with your (slightly older young adult) date; as well as the dull repetitiveness and responsibility of having an obligation that other people rely on you to do. And yet, that scene at the beginning - staying at home watching movies because you’re too broke to do anything else - is actually the most adult experience I could think of.

And I guess that’s sort of the point. Adulthood is much more mundane than what we imagine in high school it to be; while college can be this weird Twilight Zone where you can not only suddenly do all the ‘adult’ things, but potentially have the freedom to do so as well. Especially if you live in a country where higher education is easily affordable and not in some dystopian landscape where apparently only the richest can focus on their studies and not their part-time jobs .

Speaking of dystopian societies that the American culture appears to be to me - what’s it with these fraternity clubs? And why are they so weirdly gender-specific? And why are Americans so obsessed with the idea of ‘legacy’ students? ‘My father and grandfather attended this same college and were part of this same fraternity club’ who the fuck cares, Chris, it’s college, not a cigar club.

You guys are weird. Like we have hazing rituals for freshmen and all these weird parties going down in dorms, but the whole structure of fraternities just seem to give way too much space to up the notch on the worst aspects of college life. Of course my exposure to it is admittedly only through pop culture, but it really does look like a cult from here, ngl.

Anyway, the point is that college is the part of your life where you can be legally an adult, but you don’t need to have the level of maturity that that entails quite yet. Which is basically the polar opposite of where Buffy is at this point - someone who hasn’t yet entered the age of adulthood, but has all these obligations and responsibilities that demand a certain level of maturity from her that goes well beyond her years.

There are two particularly insidious scenes in this episode, one where Obnoxious Frat Guy offers a drink to Buffy that she refuses to which he says: “It’s okay, I wasn’t into adult things at your age either.” And then on the other end of the spectrum, we’ll have Nice Frat Guy talk about how “mature” he thinks Buffy is. So when he offers a drink she finally ends up accepting, because she’s tired of being ‘mature’.

In both cases, these guys are being manipulative and predatory (especially given how the drinks are spiked... I know, this episode gets way too real). Obnoxious Frat Guy is trying to be condescending, and reaffirm the high schooler idea of conflating adulthood with doing ‘adult things’. Nice Frat Guy however is being more subtle in his approach and appeals to Buffy’s sense of being burdened by her responsibilities - if she’s already so mature and has to deal with so many adult themes, she might as well do some of the ‘adult things’, right? She’s earned the right to loosen up in the ‘adult way’ a bit... right?

And then she gets drugged and chained up in a basement because no girl can ever let her guard down in this society. As Buffy says, she went to one frat party and had one drink, and this is what happened. I do kinda wish that Giles’ reaction to that wasn’t just that “let that be a lesson” line, and instead offered a reassurance that this wasn’t on her. But he also promises to put less pressure on her in the future, and he’ll have a great line to Buffy later in the season that makes me want to cry even now, and that evens those scales for me.

Given how the show often deals in caricatures when portraying characters like these frat guys, I also kinda appreciate that Nice Frat Guy actually seemed like... well, a nice guy (but also, a Nice Guy). I mean, as the audience it was easy to see through his manipulative bullshit act but I could also understand why Buffy liked him and was able to trust him somewhat. (This will happen in s4 again, although with much less rapeyness and much more general doucheness.)

This episode also seemed to have heard my 2x02 rant and it kind of addresses my concerns of Angel seeing Buffy as a “kid”. Their conversations here basically leave out the whole vampire pretense, and skip right into what’s this really about... sex. As the older one in their relationship, Angel seems to have come to the understanding, that it’s his responsibility to put an end to things before they get too far. Apart from the obvious age difference thing as well as Buffy being underaged that I touched upon previously, there’s also just the idea that Buffy may not be ready yet. And I do kinda respect Angel for finally acknowledging that.

Again - there’s this idea of adulthood vs. maturity. And how the latter is often recognizing the difference between being able or wanting to do something vs. whether or not you should do it. Being in the moment vs. considering the consequences of your actions.

When I previously talked about their relationship, I mentioned how I saw Buffy being the slayer tilt the power dynamic between them toward her, and making me more prone to get on board with them together. This episode however starts bringing the older guy / high school girl aspect closer to the surface. Even if we look at vampires as beings in some sort of arrested development, Angel was still in his early 20s when he was initially turned - which is just enough to make this a little murky.

I guess no wonder that them eventually going down that road will lead to disaster... But more on that later.

Or not. It’s a lot to sort out and maybe I’ll just want to talk about something nice and cozy like Oz instead.

Let someone else deal with all the heavy stuff.

[davidhuzyk]

SURVIVOR 41 SEASON PREMIERE THOUGHTS

Here are my thoughts on the opening episode of the new season. Nothing I’m about to say is revolutionary, it seems like all these opinions have already been shared before, but I wanted to wait a few days to think on everything as well as talk to some family/friends before putting my final thoughts down. Overall it was pretty polarizing, lots to both love and hate:

PROS

Diverse cast: I don’t think there’s a dud among the whole cast, and the diversity allows for more dynamic chemistry and a lot of different stories to be told

Candid shots of production: I like that they are letting us in to that world. Previously in moments like the medical disaster in S32 Kaoh Rong they showed production, and it made a great impact as a viewer. I don’t find it breaks immersion, in fact the opposite. The average audience member nowadays is much more knowledgeable & initiative than back in 2000, when a show trusts its viewer in this way I think it helps them become more invested in the show, understanding the ins & outs of how it’s functioning

Editing/storytelling style: there was a lot of great moments playing with the edit this episode that previous seasons tended to stray away from. I enjoyed the edit showing/giving us as a viewer information the contestants don’t have yet, like hidden advantage locations. I also enjoyed how they presented the Prisoner’s Dilemma, leaving it a mystery until tribal council whether or not Xander & JD chose to risk or protect their vote. It’s nice that in yet another way production is trusting us as a viewer with more (or less) info

Fourth Wall Breaking: this is both a pro and a con for me (con to follow). I enjoyed the moments Jeff spoke to us as a viewer, explaining new rules or changes to the game. This reminded me of S1, and I think was a great way to help any new fans coming in to the show. Only new changes were discussed, and it was kept relatively brief, so even for super fans it didn’t feel bloated or like a time sink

Subtitles at tribal: while I have more to say on live tribals, I do at least appreciate this time having full subtitles for all conversations taking place. While contestants may want to obscure info from other players, us as viewers should never be left in the dark, so I appreciate this effort being taken this season

Penalties for losing challenges: I enjoy this twist, as it seems to carry the spirit of the game. This is Survivor, it should be about having to get by on less, not more. I always found it odd that there were “reward” challenges. There are two ways to give a team an advantage, you can boost them up with a prize, or you can penalize the opposition, and I’m happy to see this element come more into play. Similar ideas had been done before in previous seasons when a contestant would get to raid the opposing tribes camp for one or two items (ie. Sandra in S7 Pearl Islands) and that always seemed to make for great television

Footage from Home: I enjoyed the return of footage from back home like in the earlier seasons. It helps us connect and become more invested in the contestants, and I assume they will go away after the first episode or two, so long term they don’t seem to pose a problem

Shot in the Dark: this twist is just weak enough to be balanced. In essence I don’t see this really changing or impacting the game in any significant way, but it does at least maintain a glimmer of hope for each contestant so as a viewer you’ll never be bored. Should someone pull this off I think they are deserving of the free immunity for having read the situation properly, and would make for great television. Some may say this could make for an unfair moment with a separate contestant “wrongfully” going home, but that’s always been the case since hidden immunity idols were introduced. At least this way every contestant is aware of the confirmed, tangible (albeit slim) threat and not just the idea they “could potentially” have an idol

CONS

Cinematography: it seemed off, very different than last seasons. The confessionals all looked fine, but you certainly noticed it during camp life and challenges. There were no night shots used, a lot more static camera shots, and the slow motion during challenges was just overblown. There was maybe one good slow motion shot of Xander grabbing his buff and jumping in the water, every other one felt forced (Brad bellyflopping? Brad chopping bamboo? Naseer huffing & puffing a sandbag a couple feet?)

Shorter game length: an easy one to criticize, and I understand the reason why it’s only 26 days, but the condensing of the game seems to already have an odd ripple effect that I worry will make for a disjointed end game

Two Tribes Going to Tribal: this is most likely related to the 26 day time crunch, but if this is the standard this season it makes me worry how strong of a narrative we will get for each tribal. This premiere episode wasn’t too bad, but it was a 2hr premiere, regular 1hr episodes will surely have a hard time balancing every contestants narrative in that amount of time

Still Live Tribals: I know some people like these as they are exciting, but come on, this is chaos! In the early days Jeff would yell at contestants for trying to get up out of their seat. Jeff needs to maintain control again. Tribal is like a courtroom, Jeff is your judge and there is literally a jury, you wouldn’t see the defendant in a courtroom standing up, running around, whispering to others… there must be order!

Fourth Wall Breaking Moments: as mentioned above I enjoyed when Jeff explained new game dynamics to us as viewers, but when he would interrupt a conversation with the tribes to turn to the camera I just felt cringe. The worst was “alright, first tribal council”. It was so easy to leave that on the cutting room floor, the editors should have known better on that one especially

The Prisoners Dilemma: in concept this maybe wasn’t a bad idea, but the execution was horrible. Analyzing the setup, to me it only makes strategic sense TO risk your vote. The first problem is that a regular prisoners dilemma does not occur within a game, so normally you’re probably not as invested about the outcome of the other prisoners, only your own. But here because it’s a game it does make strategic sense to hinder your opponents. So risk your vote, because you either get an extra vote, or you’ve stolen two votes from opposing contestants for your one. Also looking at this specific situation, all three contestants who went on the boat were debatably the strongest physical player on their tribe, so it would make sense for each individual to want to weaken those other players and increase their risk of going home, in turn weakening their overall tribe. If they could trust their tribe than returning without a vote is not the worst thing, if they can properly articulate the situation and work it to their advantage (Xander was a great example of this, JD showed us the opposite lol). Overall it feels like a pretty flawed twist and needs reworking

No Shelter Building Focus: not a huge con, but I did miss the focus on shelter building. Through the conversation & act of shelter building we as a viewer usually get to see who is a leader, who might be confrontational, who is a team player, etc. But more so we’re reminded of the actual survival element of the show, which production seems to be putting less focus on

No Intro: not the first season to do away with the intro sequence but I would have liked to see it return

Production Challenge Errors: some of the recent staffing changes with CBS must have been on the Challenge Production team because there were some glaring problems with that first challenge. Firstly, Yase’s yellow oar completely blended in to the yellow rope, they had a distinct disadvantage. I know some people will say if they couldn’t notice the other two tribes grabbing their oar from that location it’s their fault, but that’s a crappy excuse, it should be completely level & fair entering a challenge. Also what was with the double anchors on the boats? Perhaps it was left on the cutting room floor but I don’t recall Jeff mentioning prior to the challenge beginning that the boats had two anchors. Now I’m certainly no expert when it comes to nautical knowledge but as far as my life experience I‘be only ever seen or heard one anchor being referenced on use in a boat. Clearly all of the Luvu tribe thought the same as they only unhooked their front anchor. Jeff however later in the challenge yells to the Ua tribe and reminds them to unhook both anchors. Luvu was further away having had a lead so they very likely couldn’t hear Jeff when he said that. It’s like Ua was given an extra advantage. It also was unclear what the objective with the boat was, I was surprised to all of a sudden see Ua paddling in the opposite direction back towards the ship. Production should have had them race in a circle instead of a straight “there and back”

Game Within the Game: I’m sorry, this is the lamest addition they’ve ever added. Really? A standard rebus puzzle? They don’t take up enough time/focus during an episode to actually have any impact, and the puzzles themselves have so far been extremely simple. Jeff says this is “for the kids”, but any child young enough to find that puzzle challenging certainly doesn’t have the attention span to sit through an entire episode and find the puzzle in the first place. For any adult wanting to play this game as well the answer will be online within minutes of it airing… what’s the point? Pure fluff that has nothing to do with the game

Within Episode Flashback: I certainly hope this doesn’t become a habit, but during JD’s confessional when he talks about building fire they actually flashback to him just minutes ago having built the fire. Seriously!? We literally just saw it, why waste screen time showing it again? That was a poor call from some editor and I hope this doesn’t become a storytelling pattern

And finally, the “Guys” debate: so much has already been said on this. Personal feelings aside from the use of the phrase, this is a discussion that should have been had off camera, and came off feeling way to pandering. Jeff literally says at the beginning of the episode “we are all going through what’s most likely the biggest world incident we will ever experience”, but yet we spend more screen time talking about the word “guys” than the pandemic and all the emotional trauma that may have caused? I know Survivor likes to be sensitive, but this was not the way to go about it. It doesn’t ruin the show for me, it’s just a phrase I know I can “survive” without it, but I hope this isn’t the first step in many changes like this down the line. I’m all for being inclusive, but the method in which the show decides to go about change can actually alienate their existing fan base, so I hope they make better decisions on how to implement change moving forward

[fivedayslater]

I’m bored and with no one piece chapter or episode this week I have to fill that void somehow

So I went onto ao3 and decided to rate the first 10 sanji pairings I came across

LETS GO

Zoro/Sanji: this ship. This ship right here. Is It. It’s the first ship you’ll find in the port and it’s the last ship you’ll ever need. What do you like in a ship? Do you like bickering? Check. Do you like teamwork so tight they don’t need to talk about it? Check. Do you like them trying to die for each other? Double check. They can be anything you want, friends t lovers? Got that. Enemies to lovers? Done. Enemies to friends to lovers? In spades. Skip lovers and go right to fuckbuddies? They can do that to, they can be anything you want them to be. They have that thing that chemistry that just clicks together with every part of each other. Yeah, they’re the ship you can’t escape but sometimes popular things are popular for a reason and it’s pretty great. You got something real specific - and I mean real specific - that you’re craving? Someone wrote that fic 10 years ago you are set for life with these two. 10/10

Katakuri/Sanji: listen I’ve been digging this since Sanji dodged his bean during the wedding and honestly? Still digging it. Polar opposites on some levels, the failure Prince/the favored son, but so similar on others. What’s that katakuri, your family’s turning their back on you because you’ve show a weakness? Sanji’s been there, Sanji understands let Sanji love you. The fact that they’re on opposite sides of this fight? Absolutely fansatsic. They fact that they aren’t the ones going at it personally? Disappointing. 7/10

Ace/Sanji: the OG flame boys. Remember in the anime when when ace shows up and just. Lights Sanji’s cigarette for him?? With his devil fruit powers?? Super casual like?? Absolute power move Sanji was super into that. And then when Ace was super polite?? And offered to help with shit?? That had never happened to Sanji before ever he was in love instantly. Not a lot of canon interaction between the but the potential, the potential people, it is there and it’s endless and Does Not Disappoint. 8/10

Luffy/Sanji: okay so this?? This right here?? Is the shit. I mean Luffy loves food, and Sanji? He makes the food. Match made in heaven. Also there’s that thing where Luffy literally gave Sanji his life back twice now and Sanji would straight up give it all away again and then some just to see Luffy happy and safe but JOKES ON YOU Sanji he’s never safe and he’s happiest with you. You’re stuck with this boy for life and neither of you would have it any other way. Yeah that’s every straw hat and Luffy on some level but with Sanji it’s like super personal. Remember “without you I can’t become the pirate king”?? Yeah I wish someone loved me like that. Pairings strive to be as perfect as this and fall short every time. And no one ships this outside of me and three other people?? Like are you all blind?? Can you not see how perfect they are for each other?? Absolute madness. The entire fandom should be Ashamed that this isn’t more popular. 10/10

Law/Sanji: this ship lemme tell you I was there Gandalf at the very beginning, when the only thing to ship them on was that they were both from north blue, but ship them we did, and it was Glorious. Then they interacted and that too was Glorious. Here’s the thing, you know how Sanji usually is around guys? Angry and cursing and kicking. You know how he is around Law? Thoughtful and polite and considerate. Why’s that, you wonder, but you know. Deep down you Know. But then Sanji fucked off to zou halfway through dressrossa, and law is just. Skipping WCI like it doesn’t even matter. No way to treat your boyfriend. 7/10

Nami/Sanji: the ship that sucks you In and never let’s go. You think, oh hey theyre kinda cute together and that’s it, it has you forever. Here’s the thing, Sanji loves Nami and yeah he likes all women but Nami is by and far his Favorite. Sanji is the runaway prince that has too much love to give and Nami is the renegade theif that doesn’t realize she needs love until she has all of his. One piece isn’t into endgames but if it was they’d be running a restaurant together by the coast with 2.5 kids and a dog. 8/10.

Shanks/Sanji: there were pairings I was expecting to find and there were pairings I wasn’t expecting to find and this is neither of them because I didn’t even consider it until i saw the words with my own two eyes. And now that I have honestly? I can see it. Shanks is real similar to Luffy except older and marginally more responsible, and Sanji would be super into that. As for Sanji, well he’s capable of cooking large quantities of delicious food with minimal time and ingredients - perfect for when all you wanna do is sail around and have parties - and is loyal enough to be endearing but feisty enough to be interesting. 6/10

Reiju/Sanji: no no nope no imma stop you right there. I don’t do incest I’m out -10/10 who’s next?

Usopp/Sanji: now this is my Shit. It’s the ultimate slowburn ship it’s right there bubbling below the surface and you don’t even realize it then BAM it’s becomes so obvious. Sanji is everything usopp wants to be and usopp is everything Sanji needs to be and it’s just. They’re so good together so good for each other. I’d write them more often but everytime I try it ends in tragedy and the deserve so much more. They deserve the world. 9/10

Pudding/Sanji: remember that episode of Hey Arnold! Where Delilah thinks that Arnold likes her so she gets a crush on him even tho he’s not that into her but then Arnold does end up crushing on her but by the time he realizes it she’s gotten over her crush on him? They are like that but with an attempted murder. There’s two versions of this ship, one where they end up perfectly happy and in love because honestly? They’re made for each other and one where everything ends up a dumpster fire because they are both human disasters. Either way 7/10

[cripplinganxietyflix]

I saw Valerian.

If you’ve ever spoken to me at length about movies, there’s a good chance my thoughts on “headache cinema” have come up. It’s an umbrella term I’ve come up with that encompasses the deluge of loud, obnoxious, brainless, neutered, hundred-million-dollar-budgeted trashfests that are destroying theater culture as we know it. I’m talking about the Disney’s Marvel franchises, the post-Matrix Wachowski migraines, the Transformers films- head-exploding visual fuckfests that leave the average adult feeling like they’ve crawled out some hellscape version of a McDonald’s play palace birthday party. This brand of film is easily my least enjoyed and most disliked. The vast majority of the time these movies are castrated down to a PG-13- or worse, a PG!, they’ve got bloated budgets, dumb plotlines, stupid dialog, and best of all: punching, loud noises, explosions, TOTAL SENSORY OVERLOAD. 

For many years I have hated superhero movies and glazed over at Hollywood’s air-horn retreads of movies like Clash of the Titans and Independence Day: Resurgence and the recent Ghost in the Shell mishap. I hate movies like this and I find them at least majorly to blame for the death of the hard R-rated action flick. There are exceptions to the formula, like Mad Max: Fury Road, the 2014 Godzilla, and Dredd, but generally speaking, they’re unwatchable. I will be the first to admit that I’m not a big fan of whimsy, but I will be happy to defend my position on this. Giant blockbuster action movies are generally dumb and boring if you’ve got more than two brain cells to rub together. I do try to balance my feelings about people who like brain-dead, ham-fisted, infantile PG-13 sci-fi action movies with my penchant for unrepentantly trashy, low-brow 70s and 80s exploitation horror films. I know for a fact that there’s a certain segment of cinema elitists who would see my interest in that subgenre as an undeniable sign of being a philistine troglodyte, which slightly tempers my extreme prejudicial judgment of those who love headache cinema. 

I can pick up the hanging thread to unravel this tapestry. It’ll lead you through all of the recent loud crashing DC fiascos and the rainbow of annoying apocalypse and disaster films and CG shitshows. Once you hit the Star Wars prequels, you’re getting close. But the film that started all of this hatred is Luc Besson’s The Fifth Element, easily in my top five most despised films of all time (that’s a list for another day!). 

It feels a little bizarre for me to say that I hate Luc Besson. Léon: The Professional is one of my favorite films of all time, and easily my favorite film of 1994. But aside from that and 1990′s La Femme Nikita, I find Besson wholly intolerable. His movies tend toward obnxious, incomprehensible, overwhelming, anxiety-inducing horse shit. And while many people are happy to agree with me, it seems no one outside of myself is willing to slaughter the sacred cow that is The Fifth Element. Some see a sci-fi fantasy classic, I proffer that it’s a grotesque panacea of ADHD, loud noises and cringey acting. To Besson’s credit, most of the time his films don’t take themselves seriously, and that’s fine. But The Fifth Element is the first film in my memory where I felt literally assaulted and invaded by the unfettered gaudy head-spinning madness of big, loud, overwhelming movies. My level of general calmness could be compared to a that of a frightened rabbit with combat shock, so I try to be cognizant that this dislike has less to do with objective quality and more to do with my personal preferences and tolerance levels. Let’s be real- I’m a person with severe, crippling anxiety. Headache cinema is not made for me. 

That being said, I saw the trailers for Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, and I immediately started getting Vietnam flashbacks of Chris Tucker in a wig and leopard print jumping out of my television and screaming into my face. My significant other has a much more relaxed attitude toward these things and a seemingly endless well of patience for Luc Besson, so I had a feeling I was going to end up seeing this film in theaters and I started mentally preparing for it. And I’m really glad that I did all that emotional gestation, because I found Valerian to be surprisingly tolerable, aside from being a chaotic discombobulation of ideas that all generally have the potential to be good but fail because Luc Besson must have the attention span of a squirrel. And squirrels plant trees because they literally can’t remember where they’ve left their nuts. I couldn’t dream of a better summation of why Luc Besson turns nearly everything he touches into abject shit.

Valerian is essentially a very straight-forward narrative about a couple of federal agents (?) in space (???) who uncover a conspiracy involving a group of displaced aliens. They spend the film unraveling a mystery surrounding an enigmatic void in the middle of a space ship (?) or man-made planet (???) that contains thousands of different species from throughout the universe that live in surprising harmony. The alien refugees and the void on the ship or planet are related, you will later find. 

That’s basically it. It’s a simple storyline with simple elements like “war is bad” and “the powerful oppress the powerless” and “love is universal and always wins.” If you dig down past all of the color and noise and distraction, that’s the basic bedrock. I think I was expecting this movie to be a convoluted mess, and to a great extent it absolutely was. But I wouldn’t say that the story was the weakest part of the film. 

What did some substantial damage was the acting and dialog. The two leads had no chemistry and the actor playing the title character (Dane DeHaan) had a stunning drought of charisma. I think that his opposite, Cara Delevingne, has the potential to be a fun leading lady, but she never had a chance in this movie. The love angle was hackneyed and totally unnecessary to the point that the film would have fared much better if Valerian and Laureline were friends instead of a ~~will they or won’t they???~~ couple. I thought it was insulting to my sensibilities, and that sucks since the romance thing was such an ingrained aspect of the movie. I couldn’t tell if they were even in a relationship with each other or if Valerian had puppy love and Laureline has simply spent their entire careers fighting off his advances only to reluctantly agree to marry him after the film’s climax. This film could have really used a competent screen writer. I think I even could have lived with some of the eye-rollingly dumb but baseline-acceptable dialog you hear in Disney’s© Marvel™ Avengers Part 2: Electric Boogaloo. The villain (played by Clive Owen) was such a stupid caricature of literally everything that is wrong with Bad Guys in major American cinema- instantly hate-able, predictable, no angle or point of sympathy, stupid rationale for his actions-type of shit. And what’s really frustrating is that the Owen’s villain had a completely rational and utilitarian motive for his actions. But that gets torpedoed by the giant flashing neon signs that say “HE’S THE BAD GUY” and “EVIL PIECE OF SHIT” hanging over his head in every scene he’s featured in. It absolutely felt like the characters were totally empty and needed to be reworked from the ground up. I even thought Rihanna’s character had more depth than either Valerian or Laureline. Valerian’s a by-the-books soldier with a heart of gold? Could have fooled me! Laureline’s a toughgirl with a penchant for violent overreaction but still maintains a balanced moral compass? Hard to see through the horse shit nonsense they wrote for her. Character development and the script were both a total, unmitigated disaster.  

Another thing that I think the film failed at was building tension. Everything felt a little too whimsical and inconsequential. In the beginning, a bus full of mercenaries (?) is attacked by a violent hexapedal alien and Valerian and Laureline watch all of them die savagely with nothing more than a smirking “glad we made it outta that scrape!” reaction. It never really feels like they’re in any danger or that there’s any emotional peak or valley for the characters, with maybe a single, small exception. You watch a lot of people get shot to death and even a head get blown clean off and another cut right in half, but it all seems so cartoonish and trivial that you can’t help but feel like nothing really matters and it’s all just a low-stakes video game. 

But I don’t want to give you the impression that this movie is a complete trainwreck (it tries, believe me). There were things that I liked and appreciated. The visuals and alien designs were inventive and there was never really a moment where you couldn’t get lost in the scene. It kind of felt like Rick and Morty without the nihilism and good writing. Everything was very colorful, the universe felt very inhabited. Around halfway through, Valerian and Laureline have an almost brilliant run in with a species of giant food-obsessed frogs (I actually went through the trouble of looking it up; they’re called Boulan-Bathors) and I found the whole scenario to be kind of charming and cute. I didn’t really mind Rihanna’s cameo. The refugee aliens, the Pearls, were cool and appealing in the same translucent way as the Engineers of Prometheus. While I definitely felt some Avatar vibes, the whole opalescent, iridescent aesthetic was visually pleasing and I really liked the semi-androgynous thing they had going on. 

I think the strongest part of this film is the first several minutes that lays out Earth’s journey into space. It was beautiful and touching and enough to make you feel really depressed about the state of our space exploration programs and the hopelessness and polarization of our world affairs. I would liked to have seen more of a thematic connection to the introduction because it felt extremely dissonant with the rest of the movie, which, by comparison, is hard to feel particularly emotional about. If you’re not planning on seeing Valerian, I would at least recommend watching the first few minutes. If the movie had come full circle to it, you can see how it could have been brilliant. 

Overall, Valerian is kind of a giant mess, and by all means I should have absolutely hated it, because it is textbook headache cinema. I think that there was a wide dearth of missed opportunities with the material, and with a more competent screenwriter, a better cast, and maybe someone else in the director’s seat, we’d be talking about a viable start to a franchise. But too often Valerian ties its own shoelaces together and eats shit and expects us to be engrossed and entertained. The relationship between Valerian and Laureline- both as a friendship, coworkership and romance- either needed to be reengineered from the ground up or scrapped entirely. I think Dane DeHaan was totally wrong for the part of Valerian and I could see this movie succeeding in more ways had someone with more charisma been the leading man. Valerian desperately needed some tension, and the total absence of crisis or consequence left an unbridgeable emotional void. It’s beautiful- but it’s a mess, and that seems to be Luc Besson’s calling card. I doubt we’ll ever see another Léon, but if Besson’s next film is as much of an improvement on Valerian as Valerian was on Lucy, then we might have the potential to see something really special. And maybe in five to eight years when everyone has forgotten about this spectacle, we’ll get a decent reboot for the Valerian material. 

★ ★ ½

[carveredlunds]

i feel like i’m arriving super late to the party, but i wanted to chime in and just rant about ed and lucius. (also, everyone should check out @rhavewellyarnbag​, @m4dh4ttey​, @millicentcordelia​, @sunlitroom​ and @littlehollyleaf​‘s discussion here which inspired this!)

so, lucius and ed are polar opposites. lucius is basically the person ed wanted to be -- he’s calm and collected, where ed is awkward and blunt. he’s content at the g.c.p.d., and seems to be well-liked and appreciated by his colleagues in a way that ed never was.

it makes complete sense that ed would turn to lucius as his nemesis, because lucius is his foil. he’s ed, if ed had social skills. he’s ed, if ed was successful at the g.c.p.d. i’d imagine that ed resents lucius, for basically living the life that ed believes he deserves.

also, again and again, lucius has proven himself to be ed’s intellectual equal. when they first met, lucius answered ed’s riddle, and ed was obviously thrown by this. he didn’t expect anyone in the group to get it, and then a total stranger almost immediately answers him??

and then, when ed was threatening lucius and bruce in arkham, lucius upstaged ed’s Grand Villain Moment by ignoring the threat, recognising ed’s voice, and calling him out on having a “funny name”. ed expected to remain an anonymous threat, and lucius not only unmasked him, but taunted him.

their quips when ed visited lucius at the g.c.p.d. are just beautiful. it’s obvious, from just this scene alone, that ed and lucius are evenly matched. it’s honestly no surprise that lucius is the one who “answers ed’s call” as cory put it here (when jim was too busy or w/e).

but, taking all that a step further, and putting on fanon goggles for a second, in the 2nd episode of season 2, lucius tells bruce “i loved your father. i regret that i never told him so.” a lot of people agree that this pretty heavily implies that lucius was in love with thomas wayne.

in that same episode, alfred and lucius have the gayest meeting ever. it honestly looks like alfred is trying to pick lucius up:

alfred: been here before then, have you? lucius: it’s my regular spot. alfred: oh, right, you’re a local? nice. don’t i know you? lucius: do you?

out of context, it just looks like alfred’s flirting with him. judging by lucius’ expression, he thinks so too. lucius has never shown any attraction to women, or had a relationship onscreen, so he could easily be not entirely straight (or not straight at all). i know this isn’t much canon evidence to go by, but, for the sake of argument, let’s go with it.

ed, on the other hand, is an infamous hot mess of enigmatic sexuality. is he straight?? is he bisexual??? at this point (canonically) we don’t know. whether you ship it or not, the sexual tension in nygmobblepot is ridiculous, and ed seemed to be pretty into oswald (before isabella showed up). also, if you look at ed’s interactions with jim in the right way, it could be said that ed had a crush on jim in seasons 1 and 2. (i wrote about that here, if you’re interested!)

so, continuing the idea that lucius is ed’s opposite, lucius is comfortable in his sexuality, while ed is a flailing disaster, denying his obvious feelings for oswald, and shouting No Homo at the top of his lungs.

if we push nygmobblepot aside for a second, and focus on the potential of lucius and ed as a ship, it makes sense that ed, who’s clearly confused and searching for an identity (whose symbol is literally a QUESTION MARK???) would gravitate towards lucius, who is self-assured and confident. he sees something in lucius that he wants for himself.

in this clip, the answer to ed’s riddle is “reflection”. (side note: thanks google!) it seems like ed’s going to spend most of 3.15 looking for his teacher, and then his enemy: lucius fox.

in almost everything, lucius is ed’s reflection, and his opposite. ed is searching for a nemesis, for someone to define him, for someone he considers worth his time and attention. he even says himself “the greatest villains have always been defined by the men who tried to stop them”. there’s a lot of shipping potential here and i am so excited???