#this is frankly not the first time i've forgotten but i do feel bad every time. and for what tbh

[vampyroteuthid]

forgot about the passage of time so thoroughly that i missed the 13th anniversary of my father kicking the bucket. but it's not like i ever really know what day it is any other time so he's not that special

[mintmatcha]

cw: baby, cisfem reader who recently gave birth

He has your eyes, you think. It's hard to tell. The baby is still in its squished phase, curled in on himself and grasping at whatever comes close. Closer to grub than human, you think. His cheeks are still ruddy from crying, but his glassy eyes have finally started to close and he sinks into sleep in your arms. With all of the care you can muster, you take the baby and ease him into the crib, praying that he doesn't wake again.

When he stays silent, you ease back away from the crib and back carefully out of the door. You close the door carefully and sigh as you relish the first moment alone you've had all day-- and then you burst into tears yourself.

"What's wrong?"

Ushijima stands at the top of the stairs, shedding his jacket where he stands. You're almost embarrassed for him to see you like this, disheveled and frankly dirty, your maternity bra undone. He's been your husband for years now, he's seen worse, but this feels worse. His brow is knotted with worry, eyes stone strong as ever as he watches you sniffle. When he steps in, arms outstretched, you step aside, giving way for him to see his baby. Instead, your husband comes to you. Wide hands cup your shoulders, thumbs rubbing up and down a bit too roughly to be comforting.

"Are you alright?"

You nod, lip quivering as you bite back your tears. He inspects you closely, brow raised.

"Are you lying?"

You nod again before bursting into sobs again. It's an ugly cry, all snot and coughs, but your husband doesn't pull away. Instead, he tugs you closer, tight into his chest.

"Tell me." Wakatoshi urges as gently as he can. At first, all you can be is blubber, every exhausted emotion coming to the surface at once. You're tired, you're thirsty, you're seventy other emotions that you can't pin down, but the one that comes out of your mouth first is:

"I'm a bad mom."

"Don't say that," he's quick to say.

"I am." His shirt is wet with tears, but you can't stop. "I'm so tired and thirsty and my boob really hurts and I'm not making enough milk- and, and--"

"I was supposed to love him, Toshi, and I just don't."

Ushijima chuckles, softly enough that you can't hear it, but you can feel how his chest shakes.

"It's not funny!"

"You do love him."

Of course you do. You wanted him more than anything in the world. Years of patience and love brought you this baby, and you wouldn't trade that for the world-

But it's just not what you had expected.

"Not the way I'm supposed to!" You pull back just enough to meet his eye. His brown hair is still mussed with sweat from his game. "It was supposed to be instant and special and perfect, but--"

You swallow down your rising panic and glance back at the door.

"I'm not connecting with him," you admit. You love your son, but he's just a baby. All he does is sleep, eat, and cry. There's no special spark about him, nothing that would make you lift a car or die in his honor. It's hard to feel anything when you're so exhausted.

"I think I'm broken."

Ushijima processes this for a long while, the rub of his thumbs much slower now.

"It's not the same," he says quietly. "But, I've never easily connected with anyone, not even you."

It's true. Ushijima is a good man, but he struggles socially to this day. He turns down outings that he isn't interested in, misses social ques and norms, and can be rude without meaning to.

And yet, people still manage to grow warm to him. Hell, you fell in love with the man after months of despising him.

"That does make me feel better."

"Give it time." He pats your back. "I'll take you to the doctor tomorrow."

"I don't need a doctor, I just need time."

He reaches down and grazss over the bare skin if your tit; you had forgotten it was out. "Your breast is hot to the touch. I can feel it through my shirt."

You pull back and feel for yourself. It is uncomfortably warm; you'd been so distressed that you hadn't noticed. That explains the pain.

"We can't. The baby's too little to bring to the doctor's-- there's too many germs, he'll get sick."

"Tendou will babysit," he replies, like it's simple.

"He lives hours away."

Ushijima's already pulling out his phone. "He will come. Go rest and eat- I'll handle everything tonight."

Coming from him, everything sounds so easy. You're frazzled over the fact you reached such a boiling point; does anyone else struggle like this? Or is it just you?

"Are you sure I'm not a bad mom?" You ask again.

He looks back at you and nods, a smile tight on his lips. "Of course I am."

You believe him.

[maxellminidisc]

I've said this for years but the way the community absolutely has an undiscussed dislike or idk disregard for closeted people has bothered me for years. Yeah theres that sheen of being understanding but I've seen and had to have so many conversations with people to have more empathy for closeted people, especially closeted partners because I understand full well how complicated that is. Btw I'll be using gay as an umbrella term for most of the following cause I'm sometimes uncomfortable with using the q word too much, please respect that.

Like it got especially bad after gay marriage became legal here in the US and most of Western Europe and like every mostly white gay living in liberal areas started acting like everyone should be out already and if you weren't you were idk probably ashamed of yourself, or worse someone faking it. You become some kind of half baked gay person who their behavior implied couldn't possibly connect to queerness in the right way.

But like it doesn't work like that. Some of us very much live in unsafe places to do that and we also don't have the financial privilege to leave to safer states/countries or move out of homophobic/transphobic households. I can't imagine especially how disabled and closeted members of our community feel trapped by these kind of circumstances.

Plus some of us live in cultures where the emphasis on family and community is an essential tenant of our makeup and learning to separate ourselves from the abuse present in those communities towards us is difficult, much like any abusive relationship. There is so much nuance, especially outside the lense of whiteness, that out people sometimes seem to forget or even dismiss instead of helping to foster relationships or community to help the people in their lives who are closeted find refuge safely.

And it really comes to a head when out people I know date closeted people. They seem understanding enough at first but then start questioning if the person they're dating "actually really loves" them if they're not willing to out themselves and the conversation can at time turn progressively meaner as if closeted people are all inheritly selfish. Yes it is a romantic notion for someone to risk everything to be openly with you, and its something frankly all of us deserve including closeted people, but life is far more dangerous and complex than that and I think some people have forgotten that.

And look, I even empathize with open people in that kind of circumstance cause yeah the pressure of having to keep something that incredibly special to you under wraps can be very daunting. But often I've found, most open people have a chosen community to fall back on and talk about it with because they're not as inhibited or cut off from the larger, while closeted people often dont have anyone except their partner because being closeted has severed most pathways of finding the community. Their partners are usually their first connection to the community.

I even sometimes think this sort of mind set extends into how white people perceive gay poc as inherently closeted too. We're either not open enough or being closeted is weaponized against us. Like we could be out and white people still presume we're not and act like were straight lite and we could talk about how we're closeted and white people, again, think it's ok to treat us like straight lite. This is especially evident when we say something that makes them uncomfortable and angry. Like the only time they take cultural nuance into account is to use it to dismiss us, as if all of us must be in hiding and cant be as gay as them.

Point is, being closeted is complicated and frankly miserable as someone whose got one foot in and one out lol and although some peoples only space to be open is online, it doesnt makes them fake, doesnt make them less gay or trans, or less part of this community. It doesnt make them less worthy or deserving of love and community despite their circumstances.

[solitalien]

AHHH!!!

Gotta let out some steam because I got it all bottled up by overwhelming myself with my thoughts. It be like that though.

So, first off, I want to start off by saying that I'm a bit disappointed with myself. I made a promise to myself a while ago that I would try and take better care of myself, and it hasn't really been working. I've come to the realization that I really just have zero motivation or energy to do anything, so my doctor has prescribed me with medication to help me with that. Hopefully it helps.

As off right now I don't really feel like typing to much about my day but every time I have that feeling it kills me. second guessing myself really does a number on me that I truly don't know what to do. I talk to God a lot now, and it scares me to go against him. Don't worry I'm not a crazy person who will shove my beliefs down your throat and try to convert you to anything because frankly I think that is disgusting. Those types of things should only come naturally and because like any relationship, it's a type of commitment.

Anyway, I've found my comfort in God because I do think he listens to me. All I ever ask of him is to guild me to the right path and it sometimes scares me if I ever go against him. Like today I didn't really feel like going to my friends, so I said I wasn't feeling good. After that I started to stress on it because I felt like I was lying but my dad reassured me that I wasn't feeling good enough to go so yeah, I wasn't feeling good. Then after that I saw an Instagram reel that was like "pov: you think you've received a blessing from God but realized it was from the devil... it was everything you thought you wanted, only to realized that very blessing was pulling you away from God.. (it was not a blessing)." It just made me feel bad about the whole situation and I started to think I was doing something wrong. I'll be fine though, and I do my best to be careful.

I would definitely say though that he has been my friend. Someone very close to me. He cares and listens to me and helps me in ways that real help with my mental health. I haven't read his book though because frankly I just can't and I'm not in the right state of mine to really pick up any book for that matter. I have this friend who's super into God and they highly encourage me to just go and read it because nothings holding me back, and while I do believe that I feel that desire should only come naturally. I have the interest just not the motivation, and right now all I have is faith, and I'm enjoying it.

I promised that I would write about my dreams that I've had recently, but I've forgotten about most of their contents so sadly no dream writings. All I'll say is that one was kind of space themed I think, and the other was Percy Jackson escaping a factory. Like usual dream stuff.

Although I would say my day has been good, I wouldn't say I feel good at the moment. My depression although getting better still makes my gut feel like I'm always doing something wrong, but even though I feel that now, I know today was a good day. I did a lot that I'm proud of, I went to the doctors, I gave my younger sibling my umbrella and jacket, ate pizza, organized the fuck out of my Tumblr (OCD is a bitch), and I showered.

It's going to be fine, it always is, and strangely I feel tomorrow will be a good day too. I hope yours is too.

[nicolascageisagoth]

Yeah, yeah, I freaked right out," laughs Martin Gore. The other members of Depeche Mode are teasing him about disappearing last week and, though they're all treating it like a joke, it's obviously quite serious.

"This business did my head right in," he explains frankly, aannnnnnnd I had to go away for a few days.

We've had quite a lot of work on recently, there's a lot of stress and I've been moving house as well. So he escaped alone to a rural area of Germany 150km north of Hamburg. Ive got friends there that I've known for about ten years and I hadn’t seen most of them for seven years so there were reunion parties every night - lots of schnapps!"

That's the first time Martin's ever gone missing but the others don't seem the least bit surprised.

"I think it does you good to freak out every now and then." says Dave Gahan. "I almost did at one point when we were recording the last album. I was moving house and then had a bad car accident and at that point I thought that's it, it's over. I eventually came through it with a lot of grief and lots of drugs from the doctor.

Alan Wilder, though he says he's never actually "done a runner» claims he's "in a permanent state of being freaked out. I don't know who I am a lot of the time" In fact the only one who’s never gone a bit nutty is Andy Fletcher who Dave describes as "sort of like the backbone of Depeche Mode. He keeps us together. He's like," sniggers Dave, "the Charlie Watts (anonymous drummer of The Rolling Stones) of the band!

But why all this stress? Surely Depeche Mode, being an incredibly successful pop group, should hardly have a worry in the world?

Apparently not. It seems that every time they have a hit they’re in a bit of a panic to follow it up and keep the momentum going - they almost seem convinced that if they take a long break like Spandau, Frankie or Wham! have, they'll be forgotten.

"It'd be nice, reflects Alan, "to work at a different pace. We do things a bit more rushed than we would otherwise.

"Speak for yourself," murmurs Andy, who obviously doesn't agree. "It's not that we're scared - I enjoy the pace that we work at. The reason I don't take a year off is that I don't want to take a year off." But he does admit that "if there's any sign that our success is going down then yes, we do worry a bit.”

There's no need at the moment though - their new single, "It's Called A Heart" has just shot into the charts for their thirteenth consecutive hit (of all which, bar The meaning of Love and "Somebody" which wouldn’t fit -are on their greatest hits LP out soon). As usual Martin wrote it. “Obviously we feel fairly dependent on him - I think about that a lot,”admits Dave. The song, says Martin, is about "the importance of the heart in mythical sense, as the part of the body where good and evil are supposed to start.” I’m not sure whether I believe in it but it’s a nice idea.”

And, whatever he thinks of that, Martin admits he's definitely in love with Christina, his German girlfriend for the last two years. As for the others, Alan has been going out with his girlfriend for five years but thinks "falling in love is a bit of a funny idea. Andy says "there's no-one I really hate in the world but, as for my views on love, I don't really want to go into them. I'll only get into trouble with my girlfriend."

And Dave's just got married. Kept that a bit quiet, didn't he?

"Aaaah, he's very much in love." teases Alan.

"Well basically, yeah!" laughs Dave. "I've met a lot of girls in my time and have been with a lot of girls and, sure, I've been in love before, but Jo's the only girl I've ever met that I could live with. I just get on with her. We have lots of arguments just like anybody else but somehow… we cross over, there s something about it that's special.

We've been going out for six years and I just got up one morning and asked her and she just sort of said “yeah, alright”. It was that casual.

So they had a quick registry office wedding followed by a big party in a marquee on the lawn of a country hotel with people like

Alison Moyet and Blancmange. But the main reason for getting married, he admits, 1s that they want to start having children fairly soon. “I just think it would throw a whole new perspective on life,” he gushes. enthusiastically. Having to bring up a child totally puts aside all the things that were important to you before. Things like being in the band would become secondary”.

While Dave's been getting married, Andy's been moving into a new flat -"a cardboard box with lots of plants" - in London, something which the other members of the band give him loads of stick about." teases Alan. "He's started investing in things like wine racks, you get the drift? He's even got a couple of books on caring for plants," he adds with disgust.

"He's moved from Baz to London," complains Dave who still lives in Basildon suburb. Fletch has always been known as a “man of the people," he titters, by the kids and the fans. And now he knows that he's lost that and he's scared. He's desperate to hang onto it." And on they go, continually taking the mickey out of Andy. He doesn't seem to mind perhaps because he's the most down to-earth and level-headed of them all. When he's got his glasses on he looks just like a friendly, over-sized schoolboy, Martin in contrast, would stand out in any crowd. Besides his hair - at the moment curly on top, shaved at the back with a long thin plait hanging down one side - today he's wearing blue mascara, a diamante necklace and chipped black nail varnish. The rest of his clothes are quite modest but, yes, he says, he still often wears dresses whenever he feels like it.

“I don't really like it when it's played on because I don't see it as such a big thing”, he explains. "It's just something that I enjoy doing. I never bring the subject up myself. I'think I like it because it is different and because find male dress in general very boring. Men are very restricted in what they wear, in what is acceptable. Obviously I wouldn't go shopping in a dress but if I go out to a club I usually wear one.

"One thing I've noticed." he reflects, "is that everybody considers you gay if you dress effeminately, but the thing most people seem to miss is that most girls these days - well, most girls I know - seem to prefer effeminate boys.

So how do the rest of the band react to all this? "Occasionally," he says, "when I buy a new article of clothing and present it for the first time I get a few laughs, sort of you can't wear that sort of thing. Like when I got some rubber leggings recently. That's all I've bought recently apart from a dress or two - nothing exceptional."

Once they've finished promoting this single and the greatest hits LP.

Depeche Mode plan to "start programming for the next LP, due out in March, which will apparently be "a lot heavier, harder and darker." And until then they are just going so carry on living rather the weird life that pop stars do.

"Its like im happy - Im depressed," explains Dave, switching his face from a smile to a frown. “There isn’t really anything in between. You never just feel alright, you’re either extremely happy or you’re extremely depressed. There’s no-one that can really understand that unless they’re in a successful band.”

1985

Depeche Mode for Smash Hits 25.09.1985, 📷 Steve Rapport

[therealvinelle]

Hello! I know you said you don’t care about Freaky Fred at all, but please consider this question. S Meyer said that he’s gonna appear in the next 2 or 3 books, and I suddenly thought - what if Renesmee and Fred fall in love with each other (I know, there’s Jake, but still)? Like Meyer wouldn’t let him be alive without a reason, and this reason should be good. I feel like he fits her more than Jake or Nahuel, and his gift could protect her too. What do you think about this possibility? Thanks!

How about none of these people, Renesmée is three months old where canon leaves us and was born in 2006, unless Meyer's setting the next book in the mid-to-late 2020's (which she has said she won't, to my recollection the plan is for the planned sequel to take place just a few years after Breaking Dawn. That's not two decades.) then Renesmée will be too young for me to feel particularly enthused about her entering a romantic relationship.

Yes, Renesmée has a different growth and maturation rate than human children, many in the animal kingdom are ready to start popping out babies after a year. However, I'm going to let my human sensibilities take heavyweight duty here. Renesmée would, as a sexually active woman in a relationship, be navigating the emotional and psychological complexities that come with a relationship between two people. Cats and dogs don't need to worry with that, for all that my cat got into a weird love triangle this one time.

A relationship between two people requires a certain iota of mental maturity, not just physical maturity.

And, quite frankly, given the weird, sped-up, secluded childhood Renesmée is looking at where she has no peers, no access to secondary socialization, and an adult man actively grooming her, I'm not sure Renesmée's going to be in a mental place where it's advicable she gets into a relationship anytime soon. She could, and this is where fic authors have to write her in such a way that I can believe it, but my point is that growing up will be easier said than done for her.

I'll admit I'm colored by the fact that my need to ship her with anybody is approximately zero.

So, with all that in my mind, what about Fred/Renesmée?

The first thing that comes to mind is that I don't see how they hit it off in the first place. Fred would be some random vampire they encounter who makes them all feel like he smells bad. I imagine he'd be curious about the yellow-eyes Riley talked so much about, and saddened to hear about Bree, but beyond that he really has no reason to stick around.

Even if he decides to hang out for a bit, he eats people blood, so unless he switches diets (something very few vampires do) he's not going to hang around for long.

Now to Renesmée, she has her family, she loves her family and in particular her mother. For her and Fred to become a thing, Renesmée will have to be attracted to this guy in the first place, which based on every description of the guy and his gift is... oh I've got it.

Scenario

Renesmée is still living with her family but growing increasingly resentful of certain persons. In particular, Edward stifles her, Jacob wants her to be his wife, and then Bella, whom she loves, doesn't truly see her as a person.

Along comes some guy named Fred, who says he was part of Victoria's dread newborn army. He ran away before the battle took place, and turns out he has a gift! It's the gift of, uh, making people feel absolutely sickened by you. He's the vampire equivalent of a skunk.

Gross, right?

Edward is immediately dismissive of him, while Jacob glares at his red eyes. This guy is a killer and not even a friend of Carlisle's, the only thing he's got going for him is Bree's dying plea to Edward that he be kind to Fred should they ever meet.

But Bree was a martyred young girl.

Fred is just gross.

Edward is nice to the guy, but with a heavy overtone of condescension.

Bella thinks he's alright, she'd kind of forgotten about Bree to be honest. Anywho, back to reading Wuthering Heights.

The rest are just as ambivalent - Rosalie makes it clear she hopes the guy finds the exit door out of her life at the earliest possible convenience, Esme starts to cry when he uses his gift because it makes her feel like the house isn't clean enough, Jasper struggles to let his guard down around the guy.

Renesmée, at first, is dismissive of Fred as well. Oh, he's nice enough, but she has no reason to care one way or the other.

Then she notices the way her family regards him.

This is not a man they approve of.

This, in fact, might be the last man in the world they'd approve of.

He's not Jacob, not even Nahuel, he's not even one of Carlisle's friends. He's the least kosher vampire in the world, without being dangerous, like giving Demetri a booty call would be.

At first she's just very friendly to the man, enjoying the way it makes Jacob glare. Heh, five points to Renesmée.

But Edward and Bella haven't noticed yet.

So she invites Fred on a solo hunt.

That gets a rise out of Jacob, but she argues that she just wants to hang out. He very begrudgingly agrees to stay at home while she takes off.

Edward has a bit of a frowny face at that, but nothing more. Bella just says "Have fun, Nessie!"

Screw it all. Halfway through the hunt, Renesmée makes Fred stop running. Summoning the essence of every flirtatious smile she has ever seen her mother direct at Edward, Renesmée walks right into Fred's personal space.

Suddenly uncomfortable and feeling very put on the spot, he instinctually starts oozing "you want to throw up" at her.

Renesmée has a teen rebellion to enact. She powers through the disgust. "I like you, Fred," she says, words slightly forced because she really does want to vomit.

Fred makes a squeak at the back of his throat.

Summoning every inch of courage and willpower that she has, Renesmée forces herself to ignore the violent urge to projectile vomit, and gives him the world's fastest, lightest, peck on the lips.

She then jumps ten feet back, and gives him a thumbs up. "Yup, I definitely fancy you," she lies.

Fred has no idea what just happened.

Jacob and Edward, who followed them because they did not trust this guy, later kill Fred.

Bella never notices her daughter.

Happy, anon?

[insecuritybreach]

Worthy of the Welcome pt2

hey, once more, the topic of abuse is present here but it's not nearly as prominent as it was in part 1. At least, not the nasty parts. Also, Moon doesn't appear in this section, so it's all Sun, but he hasn't been forgotten, he will be there more in part 3.

Sun wanted to cry, he really did. 

Staring at (Y/n), having just turned the corner from having Moon explain what was going on.

(Y/n) were just waiting on a Pizza Plex bench, the gentle breeze in their hair and the dim light of the evening beginning to set on them. Their legs were swinging idly, face indicating they also had a lot to think about, but the thoughts in his own mind occupied Sun. 

They'd been going through this for so long now they were used to it. They'd been walking in every day from a bad home since they first started working here. Every time he saw them with an injury they'd played off as being clumsy, this is what had happened. Mood had only known for just over a month, but… he just wanted to know why they couldn't tell him.

"Could I sit with you, Honeydrop?" He was still careful with them as ever. They were still fragile, after all. (Y/n) tugged on an expression more befitting of someone on a vacation than someone waiting for their friend to bring what was described to him as 'only about two suitcases' of personal items.

He took a seat, the feeling of the wind and remaining sunlight not lost to him. He remembered when he was first gaining sentience, first escaping his coding. It was all new feelings and new thoughts and a freedom he hadn't had before. It was both getting the desire for more freedom and getting it at the very same time. 

Maybe that's what this is to them? They'd thought themself trapped in a little box, a repetitive life that they couldn't change and stopped wasting time on wanting to. But now, they were feeling all kinds of things they probably haven't felt in ages and fulfilling the need for control over themself at the same time as they were going and taking it.

"If I could ask…" He started to talk and their attention turned to him, (e/c) eyes fixed on him. There was only warmth for him there, only fondness. The previous concern and worry and fear was washed away as that gaze met his. It was clear there was trust.

"You do know that you can always ask for my help, right?" He moved a hand tentatively to theirs and their shoulders tensed. Guilt rose to the surface of their being, but they didn't look away this time. It felt cowardly to avert their eyes from the hurt that had crossed him when he asked that question.

"I know. It's one of the only things I know for sure." They sighed. "And that's why it felt wrong. You do so much for me already, it seemed more like taking advantage of you to ask for something so much as staying here." They broke the eye contact, looking towards the car driving up to meet them. "And I'm sorry if that upset you. I really am." 

"No!" He was quick to jump in and they jumped a little. "Nonono, don't you ever be sorry, okay? If you mean well, you never need to be." He squeezed their hand. "Honestly, I'm really happy you're moving in. I miss you when you're gone." He had to look away as well, heating up significantly. "You do every bit as much for me as I do for you. Don't… don't question that if you can help it, alright?" He felt their hand turn in his so they could squeeze his hand back, a much more natural smile appearing on their face.

"I'll do my best." They suddenly started to snicker. "Though, I've only ever heard you use this soft tone on crying toddlers. Is that what I really look like right now?" They stood up as the car parked in front of them.

"What! No way! You're stunning as ever!" His normal, more cheery -and frankly extra- voice was back as he beamed. He always had a compliment ready to fire, didn't he?

"I only wanted to make sure you knew I always had a place for you and all that beauty." He was still grinning like he had no idea the effect that had on them.

(Y/n)'s face was pink as their friend passed them the suitcases, getting a few teasing remarks that fell on deaf ears. 

How is it a place can already feel so much like home that was so different from the last one?

[juniaships]

My Issues With Sam Manson

Or, please stop simplifying legitimate criticisms we have with this girl.

Lately I've also been seeing these same points talking about how the phandom dislikes Sam for the crime of being a teenage girl. There are legitimate problems with her character and the harmful message she spread. Frankly put I'm so sick & tired of seeing our complaints be reduced to "you only hate her because she's a woman!!"

We don't dislike Sam because she's a teenage girl (anyone who do has serious issues to work out) but because the narrative excuses her flaws and bad attitude.

What I mean by that is, she has flaws, which is perfectly fine, but rarely faces detriments for them and even gets rewarded. She got no chances of growing, in fact with each season she got worse. The writers wanted to put her on a pedestal at the cost of other female characters. ESPECIALLY nonwhite girls.

The writers do not develop her beyond confirming her endgame with Danny. She never learned to open her mind or being respectful of other girls' interests. Despite some episodes that COULD have had her views challenged & she grows from them. She never learned to temper her hypocrisy. Sam never made up with her parents - we don't even see their side of the story - her character remained the same. She ended up rewarded with a guy she called selfish and boring because he gave up his powers - to protect her & his own family. The overfocus of such romantic subplot came at the cost of literally every other girl in the series. They were put down to reinforce "Sam is Right." Heck Danny himself was dumbed down a bit to make Sam a well of wisdom.

In Girls Night Out she talked down to Jazz as if implying the latter didn't know how to handle ghosts. In her very first episode she changed the school lunch menu to food only SHE would eat without any consultation or mindfulness of allergies for that matter. In Phantom Planet she barely contributed beyond screeching at Danny for being just another boring human which only gives weight to the sentiment that she only loved him for his powers (ergo uniqueness). She was never made to held the same level as the male characters. In Fact half the time she had to get involved is a problem she started first. Sam fell in love with a guy because he looked similar to Danny's Ghost Form (again only adding more weight to the "she only loved him for his powers" argument).

Especially at the cost of characters like Valerie and Paulina. Valerie's arc never got completed because at that point the writers wanted to get the cogs going for Amethyst Ocean as quickly as possible. The last we see of her is standing in the background clapping and cheering. No resolution for her and Danny. She didn't even contribute in her Huntress Form. Valerie was a crucial part in the first two season of the show. She was relatable and sympathetic, she had challenges to overcome. Her flaws weren't excused and she had to LEARN and grow from a stuck up brat to a vengeful hunter to an understanding anti heroine. We were so close to seeing her arc get closure. Heck Valerie even gave up Danny because she wanted to protect him for her own secret life as a ghost hunter. Her chemistry with Danielle was also would've done wonders with her arc. But in S3 it was forgotten, she was forgotten, all to push the Sam as endgame. Weird considering she spied on Danny & Valerie out of envy when they went on their date. Then she had the nerve to call out Danny for spying on her & Gregor when the only reason did so to protect her form being targeted by an evil ghost or the Guys in White. Sam didn't even feel compassion for Val when her dad lost his job and she ended uo living in horrible conditions abandoned by fake friends. And Sam's supposed to be the nice one??

Paulina at least got comeuppance for her crappy behavior but again she was demonized as worse than Sam because of her femininity. You could say she and Sam were foils (which they are) but Paulina was written to be worse than she actually was while Sam did truly selfish things and never truly addressed.

The Beauty Pageant episode....boy that was a DOOZY of a plot. She willingly joined a pageant to complain about high beauty standards and shallow girls, when literally NONE of the other models pressured her into joining or bullied her. She even WON yet had the audacity to throw the trophy on the ground in an extremely unsportsmanlike act. The narrative supports her action despite her clearly being in the wrong.

Her having flaws in of itself is not the problem but, the way the show HANDLES her flaws as if they're strengths to be emulated. Yes you could say that Sam herself was wasted potential. Then again she was Butch's intended pet character and the main love interest so of course she had to be Perfect! She should've had a meaningful arc but no. She's still that same obnoxious excuse for a Strong Female Character that the show forces us to sympathise with.

This isn't me saying you should start hating Sam. This is me saying please take the time to read our legitimate complaints before strawmanning us. Sam reinforces the tired Not Like Other Girls Trope, the two biggest victims being WOC, and the show treats this as a good thing. It is not a good thing, seeing interesting female characters esp. Woc be put down to put a very poorly written character on a pedestal.

[robynqueenofstuff]

Star Wars sequels: replacing the prequels as the overhated trilogy with minuscule flaws in the Star Wars franchise. it's a cycle and you all fall into it. every. single. time.

Jurassic World Dominion: the best movie since the original it was like they set out to make both a nostalgia trip and a tribute to all those dumb bargain bin dino flicks and succeeded. wildly.

On Stranger Tides: I don't get the hate. it's not the first or second but it's not bad. it's got good action. humor. it's got a nice quest feel to it, Ian McShane and Penelope Cruz are cool plus it further cements my belief that Barbossa is the real focus of the series.

Frozen 2: this one is probably the one that confuses me - it's a delightful all-ages film with wonderful animation and music and interesting use of culture and magic. it's better than the first one honestly.

Lightyear: another one I don't get the hate for. believe me, it's much better than the rage critics would have you believe. even the twist villain thing I don't mind because not only is it cautionary it's not set in stone. It's charming. Sox is great actually all the characters are great, it's endearing, and honestly, I don't see the issue.

Wonder Woman 1984: I do get the complaints and I don't like those bits either but setting those aside this movie's still pretty great. it didn't top the first one but it felt like a Silver Age comic book movie come to life [unfortunate implications aside], Kristen Wiig and Pedro Pascal steal the show, it's nice to see COLOR, and Lynda Carter's cameo is "Chef's kiss"

Sugar and Spice: this criminally underrated gem was blasted upon release and forgotten about in an era of gems like Mean Girls and Bring It On. This is a shame because I adore it. It's funny with a nice dose of black comedy to it, the camaraderie between the lady leads is nice and keeps the movie fresh, I like the cinematography that leaves it looking colorful but with an underlying dirty feel to it. honestly, it's worth checking out.

Bridge to Terabithia: the stuff that is good about this movie is just so damn good, while grossly misadvertised as a family-friendly fantasy [nooo...] this movie does the combination of real-life drama with fantasy as a coping mechanism so well as well as good chemistry between the actors that I think it's easy not to mind the flaws.

Spiral: this is possibly the best SAW movie outside of X, II, and IV! Yet it was dismissed when it came out though it was an improvement on Jigsaw, this is one I would love to see a sequel to, and frankly, kudos to them for trying something new with this franchise.

The Uninvited: perhaps the only time an American remake was better than the original. A Tale of Two Sisters is an unsettling piece in its own right and The Uninvited manages the same. the changes are there but the way it is utilized makes this a chilling movie in its own right. it was dismissed when it came out but it is worth another look.

Not counting so bad that they are good such as Awake, Prom Night 2008, Crossroads, Ghost Rider, or ones that were critically dismissed but I've always met people that like them such as Gunpowder Milkshake, Lakeview Terrace, Deja Vu, Red Eye, Van Helsing, P2, Jumper, etc.

Top 10 movies I love that everyone tells me I should hate

I know we're all entitled to our own opinions. But it doesn't feel like that these days, especially on this hell site and social media in general. The loud majority of critics and fandoms seem entitled to dictate what movies and shows are good or bad. They spend endless posts on telling us exactly why these movies are either the greatest thing in the world or the worst. And God help you if you disagree, because that just proves you aren't a true fan.

Does any of this sound familiar to you? It should. Especially after the the new Avatar The Last Airbender series...

To give you a clear idea of what I mean, here are 10 movies I like that have gotten (unfairly or not) trashed:

1. Every Ghostbusters movie since the original: Seriously. Fine, nothing is as good as the original, but Ghostbusters II wasn't that bad a sequel and the latest sequels are fun, even if they coast on nostalgia. And don't even get me started on what you monsters put everyone that dared to like the 2016 movie through...

2. Star Wars: The Last Jedi: This movie was great, it's the Star Wars fandom that is the worst.

3. The Marvels: One of the best MCU movies in a long time. Cute and charming and with a strong female cast...and you guys let it bomb at the box office for reasons I'm too tired to even talk about. Enjoy getting crappy Captain Carter getting the lion's share of female MCU roles while more deserving heroines like Carol, Monica, and Kamala get sidelined, you jerks!

4. Red Notice: Fine, it was a dumb action movie. But it was MY kind of dumb action movie that I'd happily watch again. And I still want that sequel!

5. Thor: Love and Thunder: I get that people don't like the flanderized Thor, and even I'll admit that there were parts that could've been better. Yet contrary to popular opinion, this was far from the worst MCU movie we've had. A movie can be fun and flawed.

6. Thor: The Dark World: For all the complaining about goofy Thor, you don't seem to like the gritty, serious Thor movies either.

7. The live action Beauty and the Beast: It doesn't matter if the live-action Disney are good or bad. Liking both the originals and remakes doesn't make you any less of a fan!

8. The live-action Aladdin: Ditto.

9. Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny: I realize this stance might be hypocritical, since I don't want to dictate what movies should/shouldn't like, but come on, it was WAY better than Crystal Skull!

10. Damsel: The reviews for this movie weren't great, and I don't care. I don't make high standards for Netflix movies. A fun feminist fractured fairy is always welcome for me.

Your turn. What "unpopular" movies do you love?

[daydream-believin]

Flowers Have Feelings

summary: it's valentines and you're making some gifts for your good pal douxie,,, also confessing

warnings: swearing probably, no proofread cause tired

word count: 2659

a/n: i've been struggling with writers block. i guess. i've returned to this only to write like, a paragraph so many times. which is bad cause like cheese designed the bouqeut and this should have been done ages ago. idk idk bon appetit

tags: @yagirlcheesely, is for you

image below: sketch of the bouquet

You jumped out of bed and slammed your alarm. Today was the day. You had to get everything ready today. Tonight would be the presentation. The night you finally do it. The night you confessed to your closest friend and crush, Douxie. Also happened to be Valentine’s day.

Your friends may have told you: “Just be patient. Drop hints. If he likes you, he’ll let you know.” But you weren’t about that passive love life. You liked to grab that strawberry cow by the horns. Subtly was boring and took far too long. You were in love with your friend and you were gonna let him know frankly if it killed you. It probably would, to be honest.

As confident as this makes you sound, you were aware of the possibility of him not liking you back, and that was okay. Sure, your heart would be shattered and you might not be very peachy for, say, a month or six, but you accepted that. At first, you had resigned yourself to just adoring him secretly. But you quickly grew impatient with that. What were you afraid of, really? Him letting you down gently, and ushering you two into an era of awkwardness? Okay so maybe that was worth considering. But not really. You wouldn’t let it come to that. Even if he did turn you down, you weren’t about to let that fact taint your friendship like that. You two were very close, and Douxie wasn’t the kind of guy to suddenly treat you differently after such a thing. Just a few weeks of awkwardness at most before all was forgotten (on his end at least). Only a problem for you. But, boy, it would be really, really nice, and not awkward, if he reciprocated.

You and Douxie were thick as thieves. There wasn’t a thing you hadn’t told each other. Not a secret between a pair of buddies as close as you. Oh, one thing, you know. The fact that you had caught feelings, that was definitely something you had kept secret from him. As eager as you were to do so, you couldn’t just drop a bombshell like that at any old time. That’s why you chose today of all days to confess; a little extra luck from St. Valentine. A little magic to give you a boost, placebo or not. This was going to happen. This was going to work.

You strapped on your helmet, safety first, before heading out on your bike. You cleared your schedule for the day cause you weren’t really sure if everything would work out or not. You could have everything done and ended wrapped up neatly in a few hours, or you could have a complete disaster on your hands, which could take up all your time. Time you would happily give, since you were determined for everything to be perfect. It was also nice to know you didn’t have to come in to work later,, lest you spend the whole night, crying your eyes out. You shuddered at the possibility. You were gonna stop thinking about that now. Yeah, only confidence now.

You may be a teensy bit sleep deprived. Only a teensy bit. You chugged a monster this morning, you’ll be fine. It wasn’t your fault you were up all night researching flower language. There were so many flowers, and those flowers had so many feelings. Eventually though, you managed to settle on a bouquet of roses, daisies, and dandelions. Fern leaves for greenery too. Greenery was important for flower arrangements. It tied the whole thing together. While it wouldn’t be the most on theme color scheme, the yellows, whites, reds, and greens, would mix together prettily. You definitely didn’t have to go as far as this, and you were banking on the fact that Douxie even knew flower language, but it was sweet, it was romantic. And you were going to be romantic about this, dammit.

Daisies, for friendship. It was really important that you communicate just how much you valued Douxie’s friendship and how nothing would change between you two if he were to not return your feelings. Red, red roses, classic romance. There was a reason the blooms were so strongly associated with the valentines holiday itself; no one sees a red rose and thinks of anything other than love and romance. A clear message to your beloved. And well, the dandelions? Cheery, beautiful, resilient, common weeds, never to be approved of, finding the strength to bloom despite assholes like Merlin’s best efforts. Dandelions were Douxie’s favorite flower.

Too bad the florist didn’t even consider them to be anything but said common weed. You had included them in your order when you called it in and you could hear the florist laugh, but muffled as if he put his hand over the receiver, before returning to the phone to inform you that you would have to add them yourself. Pretty rude, if you say so. No matter, hand-picked dandelions would be romantic, anyways. Even if no one else knew about it but you.

You placed the bouquet neatly into the basket of your bike. You’d pick the dandelions to complete it later, right before the big confession, in order to keep them fresh. But as of now, the bouquet peaked out of your basket, the floral fragrance wafting up to your face as you made your way to the next store.

Last week, you had seen such an adorable little box of chocolates. It had chocolates shaped like little skulls, flowers, and ghost cats, and the box had a silly pun about death. Goth chocolate, def. It would have been perfect for the edgy wizard in your life, but alas, it was way too fucking expensive. Like obscenely expensive. But no matter, you’d just steal the idea. How hard could making chocolate be anyway?

You left the grocery store with your haul safe in your skull-patterned reusable shopping bag. Wizard-chic and eco-friendly, it was your favorite bag. The contents of the much-loved bag? Melting chocolates, a jar of marmalade, a jar of raspberry jam, a jar of strawberry jam, and a new roll of wax paper, since you were out. Now you weren’t as ambitious as to make your own jam here. This was a failsafe. There are only so many ways to ruin chocolates if you did not make the chocolate nor the filling yourself. Now just a quick run in the stationary shop on your way home for a cute box, and you were all ready to start your chocolatier career.

 * * *

Douxie was getting antsy. Not many patrons had paid a visit to his bookstore this afternoon. Which was strange for valentine’s. and it left him with nothing but his thoughts to entertain his anxious mind. Doux had a lot to worry about. His band had a gig in a new town, so he wasn’t sure how they would be received. He was waiting on a shipment of books that was supposed to show up days ago. It may have gotten lost. That Lake kid was getting himself into more and more trouble these days and it was starting to become hard to help out without overstepping his vaguely imposed bounds. But most of all, at the very moment, he was worried about you.

You had asked him to meet up for dinner tonight. Okay, pretty normal for a Sunday night. Not that the weekend meant anything to either of you, but you normally set aside Sunday for dinner hangout. So nothing to abnormal. But then. Then, you said, something… Douxie actually can’t recall what you said, per se, just that it was along the lines of “we need to talk.” And that your tone sounded nervous. He did not like that one bit, nope nope. He had spent a great part of the day just revisiting every interaction the two of you had had in the last month or so, desperate to figure out if he did something wrong. But he was coming up blank, for all his efforts. Across the room, the clock ticked on. It would be closing time soon enough, and then he’d no longer have to wonder just what he did wrong, as you would be there to tell him directly. Fuzzbuckets, he couldn’t wait.

* * *

You wiped the goopy chocolate off of your cheek with the back of your hand. So far this wasn’t a total disaster. You had at least seven chocolate skulls filled and drying in the molds. The white chocolate seemed to have melted smoother than the regular chocolate? The regular chocolate ones looked kind of lumpy. You hoped they came out of the molds okay. Not to mention the ones you already messed up. A little mountain of chocolate pieces and jam had started rising from your table top corner.

It had been lots of fun at the start. melting the chocolates with a double boil, planning out which molds would be which flavors. But actually filling those molds? A messy, messy ordeal. You had chocolate and jam all over your kitchen, up to your exposed elbows, and even a little in your hair. But that was okay. You’d clean the kitchen later. With the molds in the freezer to set, your priority now was cleaning yourself up rather than the kitchen.

And you cleaned up nice, if you did say so yourself. You got the chocolate out of your hair, and had on a fresh outfit, taking a little time to put effort into your style. You looked snazzy, but not too fancy. You needed to stay casual. Something that you hoped would make Douxie be like ‘wow they look pretty okay’ but not freak him out with formality. Yeah. This was good.

Your watch beeped. Okay, you needed to get out of here, no more dilly dallying. You pulled the candies you made out of the freezer. Moment of truth. Thank the stars, all of the chocolates came out of the molds smoothly without breaking. You arranged them in the cute circular box you set up earlier and folded the tissue paper over them. They all fit in perfectly. The cheesy valentine card, the most important part, didn’t quite fit on top of the candies, you’d have to put it with the bouquet. You slid the lid onto the box and fastened a bow around it with a blue ribbon. Maybe this was a bit overkill, but Douxie knew how to appreciate the dramatic. He’d love it, you were sure.

Last but not least, you headed to the greenspace across the street from your apartment for the final ingredient in your Douxie wooing, dandelions. You were lucky that the empty lot had recently bloomed an entire garden’s worth of the yellow things. The chilly breeze mussed up your newly-fixed hair as you danced about gathering the tiny flowers, adding to the bouquet until you felt like it was enough. Which took longer than you had hoped. You definitely could have kept adding in more dandelions but your watch beeped once again and you had no choice but to make peace with the level of yellow and book it to the bookstore where you and Douxie were supposed to meet before heading out for the night.

* * *

Hearing the ding of the door chime, Douxie turned around to kindly inform the customer who came in that he wasn’t open, but the words caught in his throat when he was met with your smile. There you were, standing in the shop with a box in one hand and flowers in the other. You looked cute. Really cute. But Douxie chased that thought away. He fumbled with the book he had been re-shelving. It fell out of his hand unceremoniously, landing with a thud.

“Hey,” Doux managed to get out. “What’s all-”

“These are for you!” you shoved the presents into his now empty hands. That courage you had earlier? Gone. Your resolve? Dissolving as we speak. You had to get this over with before you chickened out. He was just so good, okay. And why did you think this was a good idea. Douxie looked down at the gifts in his hands confused, before blushing. If he could have reached a hand behind his head and rubbed the back of his neck he would have.

“I didn’t know we were doing Valentine’s, uh. I feel bad I didn’t get you anything.”

“Oh! Don’t be. I just,, felt like doing something nice for you and uh, special,” Douxie tilted his head. You took the box, freeing up his hand. “These are chocolates I made, like, like you’re supposed to do.” You waltzed over to the counter to place them out of the way. “The bouquet is the real star here, uh, I picked them out very carefully.” You tucked your arms behind your back. “I, uh- I brushed up on flower language, and I hope I got it right.”

Now Douxie may have been a Victorian once upon a time but he had barely any surviving memory of the frilly flower language people socialized through in those days. But thankfully, the blooms in the bouquet in front of him were straight forward enough that he did in fact get the message without taking too much gear turning in that noggin of his. Although, the friendly daisies with the red roses were kind of sending him some mixed signals. He knew what he wanted them to mean, but he could just be misinterpreting. You seemed to notice his hesitation.

“Um, there’s a card too. In the flowers somewhere. That. Probably explains what I’m trying to say a little clearer.” You carded your fingers through your hair. You had anticipated not being able to really speak with your voice, as you barely could now, so you’d written it all out on the card as backup. But damn, that card had everything on it. You maybe got a little carried away. There wasn’t going to be any going back from this.

Douxie dug out the card from amidst the blooms. It was handmade, with a cheesy little drawing on the front complete with a pun. And then he opened it. It was almost solid black with ink. Yeah, you had written that much in there. Both sides. And a little on the back. Wow. Doux tried his best to keep up a poker face while reading it but failed quickly as the first few lines alone left him flushed. It was true, everything was on it. From how much you adored Douxie as a person, to how much you valued his friendship, to how pretty you thought he was, to how you longed for something more, with him? Douxie felt like his hands were getting the card all sweaty.

It was nerve wracking watching him read that card. It seemed like he was finished, since his eyes stopped raking through it, but now he was staring intensely at the words written on the pages, in a trance. He broke focus, looking to the bouquet, back to the card, and then finally settled on you.

“Wow.”

“… is that a good wow?”

Douxie caught you by surprise. He pulled into a hug. “Yeah, a good wow.”

You and Douxie’s first non-platonic hug? Yes please. You didn’t even mind the flowers pressing into your back. Okay so a few rose thorns were poking you but that was fine. Douxie smelled like something you couldn’t name, but it was spicy, and cozy. He let you go sooner than you were ready to, but he grinned at you as he left to rummage through his things in the back for a vase. He turned to you as he proudly displayed them on the store’s counter, right where he could look at them all workday,

“So, where are we going tonight? For our first date?” Doux chuckled, “and, technically, our first Valentine’s day too.”

[eryiss]

Ship: Freed x Laxus

Rating: Teen

Prompt: Demon in Disguise x Angel Undercover

Summary: Being a demon was boring, particularly in peacetime. For Freed, passing the time consisted of sneaking into nightclubs and forcing men off the moral path. Thankfully, the angel with beautiful wings and almost rigid set of morals was always there to make things interesting.

Notes: This is Day Two of Fraxus Week, hosted by @fuckyeahfraxus. Be sure to look at their blog, I'm sure there's lot of other great Fraxus content on there for the event already.

Links: Event Masterlist ||| Archive of Our Own, Fanfiction

Off The Moral Path

Year: 2025

Location: Paris, France

"Come now, Darling," Freed purred, gently stroking the raven-haired beauty on the cheek. "You know you want to."

To think he'd come to this. Freed Justine – Albion the Slayer, Absolute Shadow, The Nightmares of Angels – resorted to flirting with men in a bar. It was humiliating. He was a soldier, a demonic mage whose power was the stuff of legends, and by rights everyone in the damned club should be bowing for him, on their knees and begging for his mercy. He would have been kind to them, were they giving him the respect he was owed, and perhaps he would have made their night more interesting with a display of his power.

But he couldn't. The war between demons and angels had long since ended, humans had forgotten about the battles and all the people who had been part of it, and as such they didn't know him. To them, Freed was nothing but another human. Better looking of course, but otherwise no different.

Frankly, it was boring.

War between unkillable forces was fun. You didn't have to worry about being hurt, because you couldn't be, and a demon didn't care for guilt. It was simply posturing, and it had allowed Freed to show off the magic that he'd been slowly building from his creation. He was explosively powerful, and he'd sent many of the enemy forces back to heaven time and time again. It was fun seeing them disintegrate as they screamed, but now that was gone.

Technically speaking, he shouldn't have even been in the nightclub at all. Earth was off limits, but he was hardly doing anything too bad. He wasn't poisoning a water system, or luring a man to his death. He was just having a little fun. Nobody could begrudge him a little magically fuelled flirting.

Well, one angel might. But he hadn't arrived yet.

"I dunno," The raven-haired man shrugged, swirling his drink absently.

"I do. You want to do it and you know it," Freed smirked, and his eyes glowed red for a moment. He placed his hand on the mans exposed forearm, and magic flared in his next words. "I'll do it if you will. And you've got nothing to be ashamed of."

A lie, but a fun one.

"You know what," The man said, confidence in his words now. "You're right."

The man was standing up a moment later, walking towards the raised stage with a pole attached to it, removing his shirt. Hm, if the sounds of the cheering at the sight were reflective of the mood, Freed had been right about him having nothing to be ashamed of. It was good guess; Freed really had no idea what a human saw as attractive anymore.

Freed watched from the bar, drinking his wine with a smirk as the man began to gyrate over the pole. Men and women alike cheered, and Freed liked to think that he had done his good deed for the day. Of course, the dancing man might disagree when the spell wore off, but that was hardly a problem.

He'd dispel his magic as the man was dancing. It would be fun to see him crumple.

"The hell are you doing?" A loud rumbling voice came from behind, and Freed smirked.

Right on time.

"What does it look like, my dear," Freed said, not looking towards the angel looming over him. "Exercising my Devil given right to annoy you. Is it working?"

"Take the spell off him," The angel demanded. "Now."

"During his dance. Imagine the embarrassment, it would be debilitatingly humiliating," Freed laughed quietly. "Would he be able to look himself in the mirror? Would he be allowed back out of his home? Would he cry? Rather cruel, aren't you angel?"

"Shut it, devil," The angel growled.

"So rude," Freed tutted while grinning. When a hand planted itself firmly on his shoulder, Freed turned to look to the man. "Good evening, Laxus."

It was always disheartening to see Laxus disguised as a human. He was good looking in their terms, with broad shoulders, a thin waist, handsomely rugged features, and a damn cocky smirk when he used it. But Freed always missed seeing his wings. They were long stretching, tinged and scarred by lightning, with feathers so soft that Freed couldn't decide whether he wanted to stroke them or to pluck them out to see the man scream. He was a magnificent beast of an angel – the counterpart to Freed's demon – and very fun to annoy.

"Hypnosis on humans is fucking illegal," Laxus growled.

"Then it's good that I didn't use it," Freed dismissed, placing the wine on the bartop. "I only lowered his inhibitions. He's lost all doubt and regret, and he's simply doing what he wants to do. Hardly a war crime."

"Tell him that when the police come," Laxus murmured, and Freed laughed. Would the man be arrested before he was naked? Freed hoped not; human anatomy always made him chuckle. "You ain't supposed to be on earth. The hell is wrong with you?"

"You're here," Freed retorted, ignoring the question. "Won't you get in trouble too, angel?"

"I'm only here because I knew you were pulling this shit," Laxus whispered harshly, hand on Freed's shoulder tightening. "And I wanted to get you to cut it the hell out before," he jutted his chin up, "they figure out what you're doing."

"But the danger is half the fun," Freed smirked.

Laxus said nothing else, instead surrounding them both with a wave of angelic magic. As was natural for a demon, the overall holiness of the gesture sent a shooting of pain over Freed, but he grit his teeth and allowed the spell to take effect. A moment later, he was teleported to a blank, bland, nothing room nestled in the middle of limbo.

This was always how his little dance with Laxus went. Freed would sneak down to earth, annoy, and torment a human in a way with very few long-lasting consequences so that he could get a fill of fun, Laxus would somehow be informed of what Freed had done and would stop him before any other heavenly figures realised what he was doing, and he would be teleported away. It had happened hundreds of times, and always ended with Laxus yelling at him for his stupidity but never actually doing anything to stop him.

His face would soon be angry, and his wings would be spasming and flickering. Anger was a good look on the man.

But, truly, this dance was getting boring. They were all-powerful beings, opponents by very nature, who had met in the middle of battel and had underwent fights that would be studied for history in years to come. They shouldn't have gotten stuck in a rut. It was almost insulting.

"Why don't you leave me alone?" Freed asked before Laxus could begin shouting.

"What?" The angel asked, taken unaware.

"Well, I understand that your side likes to preach forgiveness and repentance and so on, so perhaps I can understand you trying to stop me the first ten or so times, but we've been doing this for years now," Freed smirked, leaning forward and leaning against a white table. He looked up at Laxus from under his lashes, flirtatious and smirking. "I'm not changing my ways, and you know it. So why not leave me to get killed by your darling overlords?"

Laxus tensed his jaw, grit his teeth, and let his wings shoot out from his back. What a lovely sight. Freed quickly removed his own human disguise, horns cracking from his skull and eyes turning a red and purple swirl.

"Everyone can improve," Laxus retorted. "I think that, given-"

"I've known you for centuries, Laxus, I know when you're parroting that ridiculous heavenly mantra," Freed cut off the argument before it could be made. "I want to know why you, angel supreme Laxus Dreyar, is being ever so kind to me so often."

He said nothing, and Freed grinned.

"May I offer my thoughts, since you don't seem to want to answer," Freed continued. "I think we're more alike than you think. You and I, you see, we're fighters. You can claim pacifism all you want, but I know you loved every moment of engagement. Showing off your power, proving yourself to be an overwhelming force of nature, it was everything you ever wanted. And then it was taken away from you, and you were at a loss of what you could do. Everything was peaceful and there was nobody to do battle with. Nobody to impress. Nobody but me."

"That ain't what happened," Laxus grunted. He walked towards a door Freed assumed would take him back to heaven, and Freed quickly intercepted.

"It's exactly what happened. I'm your opponent, in this little game we've created for ourselves," Freed smirked, took a single step forward so he was in Laxus' space and yet not quite touching him. "It was fun, as games go, but I think we should move past it. Flip the board and do something a little more," he smirked, and raked his claws over Laxus chest before hissing, "tactile."

Laxus' face held an expression Freed was familiar with. He was on the brink of doing something he wanted to do more than anything, but knew it was wrong. A look that, on humans, brought Freed a giddy thrill.

Seeing it on Laxus was euphoria.

The angel swallowed slightly, looking over Freed's face, his claws, his horns and then back to his face again. His eyes were dilated just a little, body tensing and muscles hardening as if he was trying to steel his resolve. He was so close to breaking, and making both of their lives both more pleasurable and much more interesting. He just needed a nudge. Freed was happy to oblige.

"That was the problem with the war, I feel," He purred, voice like silk and seductive. "Place men of unsurmountable power together and make them fight. It fuels passion. We were purpose built to feel strongly about one another. To obsess over one another. To rely on one another," He raised his hand and dug his claws into Laxus' jaw. "What did they think would happen when we could no longer fight? Falling for each other was inevitable."

"I ain't fallen, not for you," Laxus murmured as he leant close to Freed, tenseness giving way. He was even smiling, ever so slightly, and that was all the encouragement that he needed.

"Aren't you?" Freed grinned, stroking Laxus' cheek and loving the restrained mewling that bubbled in the angel's throat.

"No," Laxus murmured, bringing his lips closer to Freed, and his grin was just as unhindered as Freed's.

"Well," Freed purred, pressing into Laxus' chest. "Put your money where your mouth is then."

He closed the gap between them, and two millenniums of tension exploded to life in a slow, tender kiss. The mixture of magics gave their kiss a burning, fizzing sensation that spurred them both on. The contrast of their bodies stung and felt fantastic, addictively peculiar and driving them to kiss harder.

Laxus' wings outstretched behind him, then wrapped around them both. The comforting feathers tingled at Freed's back, and he leant against the man with a smirk as they pulled apart. Laxus was smiling at him, not a lingering sense of doubt in sight, and Freed grinned.

As fun as it would have been to taint an angel, bring him to his knees and make him turn his back on his culture, Freed had truly believed his words. They were fated to be together; it only made sense. Freed had broken countless rules set after the war, and he should have been struck down by lightning or burned at the stake for his crimes. Even with Laxus looking over him, the powers of fate were more powerful, and breaking of the rules came with immediate punishment. He hadn't been killed, despite his flagrant disregard of the rules. There was a reason for that, and he liked to think he'd been saved for Laxus. The fact Laxus had showed no regret, nor no fear about what he had done, seemed to suggest Laxus agreed with the sentiment.

Now, Freed was in a new game, a much more fun one. A game where it wasn't simply a demon fighting against an angel. No, this game had only one side. A flirtatious demon with an abhorrence for boredom, and his darling, virtuous fallen angel. Who would dare oppose them?

Le Parisien – 02.11.2025

Une Célébrit�� Populaire Prise Dans Le Scandale De La Nudité En Public.

Hier soir, le chanteur et danseur populaire Grey Fullbuster a été arrêté à Paris. Les rapports ont affirmé que, dans une démonstration de confiance ivre, il est monté au sommet d'une scène dans la discothèque Devil's Door, et a commencé à enlever tous ses vêtements et à danser contre un poteau. Les réactions à la situation vont du dégoût moral au plaisir divertissant. Dans une déclaration faite par le manager du chanteur, Fullbuster a affirmé que "Le diable m'a fait le faire".

[skiijumpinng]

ok ok i'm done gifmaking for now, which means it's debrief time! this fht felt very chaotic in comparison to others but frankly i think it's just a combination of the pandemic and the fact that i've forgotten the details of the other tournaments jgkfkgddf

obviously ryoyu is a legend and more than deserved the tournament win (i swear to god karl will get it one day!!!!!! ONE DAY!!!!!) - it's kind of a shame that he couldn't become the first double grand slam winner, but also who can begrudge dani huber his first win!!!

i'm slightly depressed about the viability of my "karl geiger for 21/22 overall winner" agenda now, although he's only something like 56 points behind; also, i wish that halvor had been a bit more consistent in the first part of the season so that we could have a proper three way battle for the overall!

lovro was absolutely awesome and i'm so sad about his fall ruining his chances of a fht podium! also, michi and manu have randomly started fucking killing it (i... didn't even notice that manu was in the world cup until bischofshofen dkfgjdfkg) and i hope that michi gets to keep a spot in the world cup team for now.

i'm beginning to get properly stressed out about olympic team selections now - there's a lot of tough choices to be made for loads of the teams (germany and austria in particular have too many strong jumpers), and then even once they've picked five to take, they'll have to narrow it down to four for the competitions and i just know that i'm going to be distressed no matter who does or doesn't make the cut. (also, do you remember the drama on tumblr when stephan and markus were being considered for the last place in the german team for the individual competitions in pyeongchang jkfjgkdfg everyone wanted markus to DIE)

also, holy shit, i can't believe we have to do it all again this weekend! i'm fucking exhausted, so i can't imagine how the jumpers are feeling (although maybe they want the extra competition practice before the olympics?). i'm kind of glad that the sapporo competitions were cancelled - obviously it sucks for people in japan that they won't get that competition, but i feel like the last thing all the athletes (not to mention technical staff!) need is to fly all the way out to asia for a weekend, come back to compete for two more weekends, and then head out to beijing.

(the secret other reason i need a break is that every morning for the past 10 days my dad has asked me what my plans for the day are and i have been forced to mumble "uhhh there's ski jumping on" while he laughs at me and i CAN'T TELL HIM THERE'S EVEN MORE ON THIS WEEKEND)

i have to mentally prepare myself to answere these im sorry it took so long

i literally have no more words about ryouyu it would have been TOO GOOD if he did another grand slam and honestly huber winning was so unexpected but also so overdue??? the pure happiness and the fact that it happened at home (giving me some stephan in willingen vibes) AND THE INTERVIEWS HE DID !!!

i can sense your karl geiger manifesting will come true, remember when pero was always second behind sevi and the next season pero won everything? yeah that

also i feel kinda bad for the germans because they really wanted him to win 20 years after sven's grand slam and on the 70th foru hills but maybe they were making too much pressure?? insert another rant about media here

and yes for lovro, although he seemed really chill about it in the interviews and he kept repeating that his goal was to make all 8 jumps BOY YOU WERE 3RD IN THE OVERALL so i don't think he is even a little bit disappointed but i can see great future for him

AND HOW DARE YOU MENTION OLYMPIC GAMES TO ME like i don't think about it everyday since november ahhhhhh

the decision is gonna be so stressful but i trust horngacher (more than i trusted schuster at that point) to chose the right 5 guys (pain) and then 4 for the team (more pain) and i also keep reminding myself that its JUST the olymoic games that only happen every FOUR YEARS (i really wanted to write a reasonable argument why i should not worry who goes but i can't find it) (also wouldnt it be iconic to go to your 4th olympic games at age 26???)

AND YES i remember that how could i forget??? i was checking the training results and every time sephan jumped good but schuster still didn't chose him for the competition my heart broke a little and at the team comp i was this close to going there myself and hiding markus somewhere just so he would get ONE chance (poor fannis was at the olympic games too and he did not compete once and i did not want that happening to stephan)

we need to stop with competitions during the week, i can't get anything done because my self restraint is not THAT good to miss 4hills which makes me spend 3 hours watching these guys jump - unhealthy

by the way the only day i could watch it without feeling guilty bc i was sick in bed it was cancelled!!

if it makes you feel any better the embarrassement about watching ski jumping for the 10th consequitive day is mutual

[connara-and-friends]

"Merry Christmas, friend."

Characters: Markus, Connor and North

***

"Connor sighed. His friend looked tired, but happy. In his hands, same as Connor, were beautiful celebrating packets with presents inside. They were standing in front of a coffee shop, waiting for theirs ginger friend. "

"– What time is it now? – Markus asked, wrapping his dark coat. It was cold enough. Little snowflakes were dancing around them, landing on the ground.

Connor looked on his wristwatch, rustle packages.

– Seven o'clock. What is she doing, really?

– She said she had forgotten to buy something important. – Manfred snorted. – As always, Con. Are you surprised?

Android only noded in understanding, gave his friend a little smile. Bright fluffy Christmas tree towered over them. Kids around the couple of friends were playing and shouting, throwing snowball in each others0. Detroit's streets were full of androids and people, walking on the Hart Plaza and talking to each other. It was so peacefully and happily – Markus didn't even get used to such kind of life. It was new to him, but he liked that. Very much.

Finally, after few minutes a loud cry came from behind them:

– Hey, guys! Are you bored? Sorry, just little troubles.

North went to the friends, giving each of them one more packet. Connor and Markus grinned without malice.

– What's inside it...? - RK800 looked into the packet with interest, but ginger devinat, seeing this, slapped his hand with displeasure.

– Auch!

– No-o, Con, it's for Christmas. – she smiled. Light breeze ruffled her hair. The guy sighned once again, breathing in the night air. Streetlights were illuminating his displeased face. – Come on, if you see it now, later you won't be surprised!

"Maybe she is right" - Connor thought. But still muttered:

- Me and Markus have been stucking in the cold for more than ten minutes! We have our rights to know, what's inside, don't we? And-

– Well, quite enough, – Markus decided to intervene, raising his hands in a conciliatory manner. – Come on, we must have time to do everything before Christmas. – his friends were agreed. No one wanted to have some king of argue before Christmas, right?

North pinched Connor's nose as a sign of reconciliation.

– Don't you dare to look at your present, sweetie.

He clicked and rolled his eyes.

– As you wish.

They walked pass the Hart Plaza and up the street, gazing in amazement at the city's New Year decorations. Detroit was really wonderful in that time of year.

Tall dark buildings contrasted with the crisp white trees lining the streets. Signs and banners, Christmas tree decorations and long garlands glittered everywhere. It seemed like a dream. Such a beautiful dream. The atmosphere into which they fell was literally created for happiness and comfort. No one couldn't believe that they were so lucky to have such kind of view.

– When will we come? – Connor asked while they were going past a clozed modern zoo.

– It's over there, don't worry. – RK200 gave him a smile, slapping a friend on the shoulder. – It's our fist Christmas together. Do you think everything will be fine?

– Of course, – Connor chuckled, intercepting packages in his hands tighter. – It'll be totally fine.

– Gu-uys, we've come. – ginger deviant gleefully pointed to a large mansion overlooking the Detroit River.

***

– What do you feel about that, mh?

They were decorating Markus's house now. It was a large, spacious building, having two floors and even its own chimney. Connor liked this house, frankly speaking. It was not uncomfortable or lonely here. (Maybe because his friends were with him now) The mansion was like a big, cozy ship, intended for only them that night.

Somewhere in the kitchen North was preparing Christmas sweets, occasionally publishing dissatisfied statements due to lack of experience in cooking. Connor and Markus were diligently decorating the Christmas tree in the middle of the living room.

– About what? - android slightly surprised.

– About new type of life, New Jericho, alliance with people ...and so on. – brown-hared deviant hung another toy on the Christmas tree, glancing at his friend with interest.

He chuckled. That deviant hit him more and more every second.

– Well... I don't want make plans for the future or something like that, but I think we're going the right way. – RK200 was thoughtfully unwinding a garland, looking at the fluffy branches of a Christmas tree. – I know how do you feel, Con. It's like... change. Big changes, huh?

Detective nodded weakly.

– I live with Hank right now and feel safe, but it's seems that I still don't know, what's really going on and... Oh, sorry, I didn't want to ruin everything. Everything was so good and I just got in with my chatter–

Connor felt so embarrassing for himself. He only wanted to talk with someone about all the events that happened, but at the same time he understood that this was not the right time at all. Oh, he is such a fool...

He turned away and was about to bend over the box with toys when suddenly felt someone else's hand on his shoulder. Markus looked at him without anger or irritation, but with sincerity and kindness in the eyes.

– It's okay. I understand. - he squeezed his shoulder knowingly. – That's hard to believe. You just need time to get used to. Everything will pass and fall into place. I promise.

He hugged him, strong and loving. Connor was lost - he knew that. They all were lost for a long time. But now it is in the past. And Connor will weather the storm, Markus was sure.

Without hesitation, Connor hugged his friend back, feeling invisible support.

– Hey guys. – a red crown emerged from the kitchen. – It didn't turn out as disgusting as I thought. At least you can eat it-

But when she saw two friends hugging, all her cheerful mood noticeably faded away.

– Boys... Are you alright?

Markus and Connor pulled away from each other, continuing to smile genuinely. Misunderstanding appeared on North's face, but it quickly gave way to gaiety, as the girl realized that everything seemed to be in order.

– Okay, if you finished, suggest you to finally hang this garland and start setting the table. – RK800 nodded in agreement, as did Marcus. The bad mood disappeared as quickly as it appeared.

***

– 3... 2... 1... Merry Christmas!

Glasses with thirium clinked, joyful cries were heard from living room and from outside too. The girl, screaming: "Merry Christmas!" blew up a firecracker. Bright multi-colored sparkles flew in all directions. Guys were laughing – the most happy Christmas has finally come.

When everything calmed down, they decided to start opening the gifts. Connor looked impatiently under the tree - and found two whole boxes there. Feeling the growing excitement, he placed them in the center of the room and began to open the first. Markus and North with smiles watched the picture.

– So... What is that? New T-shirt and nice black tie, as well as a set of ...coins! – android laughed, looking at coins with enthusiasm. – Aw, thank you, North. I just needed a new shirt.

– Yep, I knew that.

The next box was from Markus. Something inside it rustled suspiciously. Wasting no time, the guy opened the gift and found there a small black puppy, merrily wagging its tail.

– OH GOD!!!

Connor was as shocked as possible. The small animal licked his hand in satisfaction, and the guy could hardly resist bursting with happiness.

– I knew you would like it.

– Are you kidding? It is the most precious little soul I've ever seen, oh god, thank you, Markus, thank you so much!!!

He jumped up and hugged his friends with boundless delight. He definitely liked the gifts.

Now it was North's turn. The girl found two gifts under the tree. The first was from Connor - it was a small box containing sweet perfume, and another larger box containing a set of cosmetics. The second was from Markus. Inside the box, the girl found nothing more than her own portrait in oil on canvas. Deviant looked very belligerent and majestic on the porter, and North could not help but admire such skillful work.

– Oh dear, that's amazing! – in admiration, she could not take her eyes off the portrait. Markus looked embarassed. But Connor pushed a friend on the shoulder with smile.

– It is really amazing, friend.

– He's damn right! Exciting! – North kissed the guy on the cheek, and he felt his cheeks burn.

In his present from the girl Markus found two wonderful books about which he dreamed for – a novel about the heroes of Ancient Greece, and also small maintenance guide for musical instruments.

– Oh my god, North... That's... Oh, I have literally no words to say, – the deviant was unimaginably pleased with the donated items.

– Come on, it's Christmas! I knew you love this kind of books. Frankly, I wanted to buy you a guitar, but it was too expensive, so I decided to give you that... And I wasn't wrong.

Markus's eyes sparkled like two burning lights. He hugged her and buried his nose in a woman's shoulder.

– Tha-ank you, god, it is so wonderful...

In the second box from Connor he found a large canvas for painting and a set of brushes, watercolors, and a whole bag of colored crayons and pencils.

- That is all...for me? - Markus looked very excited. He didn't know that Connor had so much free time and money for his present.

– Of course, friend. Merry Christmas!

It looked like a dream, but it wasn't. They all were so happy. Happy and joyful.

Definitely this Christmas was awesome."

[gronjon44]

Welp... here we go...

If you dont want spoilers then I recommend you skip this entire post because I do not respect this film at all to not talk about the shit that happens in this film.

⚠️AFTER THIS LINE ITS ALL SPOILERS⚠️

This films wants to be an emotional gut punch but it is so... I your face about it. Emotional beats are either predictable or just... they don't hit. And the ultimate sacrifice from Bhgs at the end while sad just doesn't hit anything. And the plot of "Oh the main villain manipulates the kid to go against his dad and the villain ultimately joins the rival team" is really predictable. And I know that in the end this is a film targeted to kids and thats fine. But this film felt like it was trying to be too hip and too aware (the entire joke about LeBron acting hip and the 'don't dab' comment is just not funny)

The jokes

The jokes in this film do not land for me, albeit 2 (the joke about Sylvestar grabbing Michael B Jordan instead of the actual Michael Jordan was ok and the fact Wiley Coyote was in Mad Max was really cool) ; most the jokes either fell flat or completely missed the mark (this film tried to be hip and modern with its humor and honestly it was more cringe than anything else.

Also idk if this was intentional or not, but can we stop making jokes about how companies are stealing our info and spying on us? We get it Zuckerberg is trash Facebook and other big companies are taking our personal info but seriously it does get old. Mitchell's vs the Machines was at least clever because it was about a big tech company abusing it's power. Space Jam: A New Legacy is about an A.I trying to make himself feel better cause he doesn't feel appreciated and is projecting his issues on a kid he cyberstalked for a whopping 3 minutes.

The Plot

The films Plot is predictable, short, and a around not engaging. The idea of bringing another pro basketball player to aid the Tunes in another wild game for their survival isn't the problem, it's the rest of the Plot that's the problem.

The first film had a simple enough Plot that worked really well (The Tunes have to win a basketball game against roided up aliens or they'll become Amusement Park attractions, and they need a bow retired player to hp them win) Its short and sweet and it works.

This film felt the need to overcomicate it by forcing a dramatic subplot into the fold which, can work. You can have a dramatic subplot while still being a Zany and fun film. But SJ:NL can't seem to decide which to focus on; it goes from zany and over the top one moment moment then gives you tonal whiplash when it jumps to the dramatic bits in the plot.

I genuinely think that this film would've benefited from focusing on the zaniness over the drama, since frankly that's always been the focus of the Looney Tunes

Loony Tunes: Back in Action and Space Jam 1 are two tonaly similar films but both have better comedy and each have their respective dramatic beats, though their both saved for the climax of the film.

LT:BIA and SJ1 both have they're own dramatic subplots (M.J makes the deal with Smackhammer to raise the stakes of the game and J.D has to save his father from the Chairman and his plans. The difference here is that these films, while adding a level of drama, don't let the drama overshadow what tnis film is actually about (the Looney Tunes)

SJ:NL let's the drama completely overshadow the actual Tunes and isn't really engaging (to me anyway)

Also I'd like to say that, while giving this film a video game feel was an interesting concept it just reminded me more of Pixels or The Emoni Movie (though this wasn't NEARLY as bad as the Emoji movie I'll say that)

That's something else about this film. It feels like one big advertisement for everything WB owns (much like how Emoji Movie was one big Smartphone ad) and while that isn't inherently a bad thing it can be a hinderence to the film as well (I wanted to watch the films that cameod in this film more than the actual film itself)

The Characters

Look this is the Tom and Jerry film again, we don't go to this film for LeBron and his fictional family (if some people do then that's fine) but most of us go to see the film for the Tunes and the cartoon asthetic, and there's plenty of that here. But I'd like to actually care about the human characters in this film frankly.

Let's just get this out of the way, LeBron is not a great actor. He tries his best yes but he is not a great actor in this film; he reminds me more of Vin Deisel when he acts (he has a voice yes but he doesn't act physically. It's like he's trying to have his voice match the film but his body isn't in tune with it.

Now I don't wanna hate on kid actors, they do what they can and they're kids. But listen this kid was not interesting at all, and id have rathered the film not include him (or very least make him more interesting other than the "Gosh Dad stop pushing your ways and beliefs onto me" archetype.

The Tunes are fine I have no beef with how they treated the Tunes (all for ONE detail)

The way thsi film treats the Tunes in this film bothers me on so many levels. "Send him to the Rejects" "Losers" The fact that they treat the Looney Tunes like they're some forgotten property is really unsettling to me. The Tunes have never been forgotten the notion that they ARE forgotten bothers me so much, regardless if it's a plot point for the film. The Looney Tunes are some of the most recognizable faces in ask of media, and I get this is supposed to be a "New School vs Old School" message like with the Father vs Son but my God I do not like how this protrays the Tunes.

Speaking of the rejects, let's talk about AL G Rythm.

My God this is the most uninteresting villain and his whole plan is so easy to spot from the start of the film. "Oh look at me, I have a bruised ego cause I feel unappreciated in my time and im gonna project my issues on this kid I cyberstalked while praying KING JAMES would bless me with his support." Holy shit my guy you have a bigger ego than Tony Stark and its more bruised than Bruce Wayne's back after Bane was finished. He is one of the most bland villains I've seen in awhile, and the Goon Squad is no better. The Goon Squad is nothing but cool designs and a refderence to more popular Basketball players (and yeah they're supposed to be cronies but at least make them cronies with personality; the Nerdlucks were funny, had personality, and were an integral part of the story (also the fact that they ACTUALLY HAD THE NERDLUCKS CAMEO in in film but they were rooting against the Tunes just... Ehhhhhhhhhh) And the Goon Squad was boring and didn't add anything say for AL G. stealing the kids algorithm to make his own team.

Also sidenote, them constantly calling him "King James" got really annoying really fast. Like we get you gave yourself that nickname, you're the current too NBA player rn and all that but you don't have to keep saying it my God.

Now what did I actually like about this film. Well quite a bit actually.

For starters, the animation was top notch and everything looked great. I thought the 2D models were a little odd at first (too shiny compared to the faded sleek of the original) but they grew on me. All the CGI models of the Tunes looked really great, say for Sam who just looked really weird to me (probably cause he loses his hat by the end and a CGI Yosemeti Sam without a hat just looks strange)

The Tunes also felt exactly how they should in a Space Jam film, Bugs especially. Yes Daffy was his usual comedic self and I like how they had him try and be the manager of the team instead of a player, and every other Tune was just as zany as usual; honestly of all the Tunes I'm genuinely impressed with how they treated Bugs (till the end)

Bugs was the most interesting to see in the film, wherein every character left Tune World except Bugs and he kinda became this Castaway parody (with his own makeshift Porky Pig dummy) and he was just really lonely and stayed true to the Looney Way and he just wants his family back. That entire subplot is the most interesting part of this film hands down; the only thing about Bugs's arc I didn't like was the end which was predictable, but i was still more invested in Bugs's arc than anyone else's.

Also when they showed the Tunes on the other WB worlds in the Warnerverse that's not the name ik but it's basically the Warnerverse the only Movie refferences that i thought were clever were Mad Max, Austin Powers, and Themyscira. And as much as it pains me to admit it the Rick and Morty Gag with Taz was probably the funniest of them, and I don't even like Rick and Morty anymore.

The Matrix was just eh, Yosemite Sam just didn't land, Game of Thrones was just not funny and I won't apologize. As far as the cameos/refferences in the end I'll say it again, I wanted to watch the movies and shows that cameod more than the film itself. I'm not gonna try to list them off but some highlights were seeing Gremlins, the Mask, every Tim Burton Batman villain/Adam West Batman, Thundercats, and Scooby Doo. Aside from that this was all just one big add for Warner Bros.

So I'm gonna try end this on a note that I know alot of people are gonna bring up or use to say shouldn't be brought up: Nostalgia.

Listen. This film has the same issue that alot of modern film reboots tend to have, which is the fact that it has to match the same hype as the film that came before it.

Now I'd like to say that this isn't gonna be a Power Point on reboots, God knows this is long enough as is, but the issue with alot of reboots is that they try to remake something that more often than not did the media justice the first time around. Robocop, Nightmare on Elm Street, Ghostbusters 2016, litterally every Disney L.A Remake. This isn't to say these films can't be good, or even surpass their predecessors. But more often than not they tend to miss the mark either just barely or drastically.

And here's the thing, this argument can also apply to sequel films that are following up an iconic film that for fhe most part is still very prominent in modern media.

Space Jam has, for better or for worse, remained one of the most iconic films every made, if not for its premise alone. And when they announced a sequel it was only inevitable that people compare it to the original because, let's face it, we want the new film to live up to the original.

We want this new shiny film to live up to the film we all knew growing up as kids and adults, seeing the Tunes on a basketball court for the first time back in the 90s. And frankly, this film did not do that for me.

This film, to me, wants to be what Space Jam already is. But it felt the need to try and thats the first step it failed; it wanted to be hip and aware and make loads of refferences to the original

This film has a similar issue to Ghostbusters:Answer the Call I think, where in it wants to stand on its own two feet, but jt cant help but constantly remind us of a much superior film. We know they've done this before you don't have to keep saying it "We need help with a basketball game Lola!" Been there! Done that!" "So you want me to help you win a high stakes basketball game? One that could very well decide both our fates? Hmmmmm where have I seen that before?"

This film is like that one kid in class who already proved he was right, and is still trying to prove he was right.

If you think this film is great and you enjoy it just as much as the original that's perfectly fine, I'm not gonna try to overshadow your opinions, I just want to share mine.

In the end, I'm gonna rate this film a solid 4/10 (and most of that 4 is the comedy and the animation and the Tunes themselves.) Can you watch this just for the Tunes? Absolutely. Can you like this film more than me? Also absolutely. Do I think this film would've been worth it if I'd have seen it in theaters? No not at all I'm glad I waited for HBO Max.