#we have been talking about this for YEARS imagine if the movie does well enough and it actually happens

[mxauthor]

Not Of The Imagination

Summary: Spencer claims he has a girlfriend. Derek does not believe him at all.

Word Count: 1,614

Warnings: fluff, a bit OOC Derek

Derek Morgan is a ladies man. He knows how to talk to women, charm them into a flustered mess and get a number from them with ease. His charm is a weapon, something he knows how to use better than his gun. 

Spencer Reid is not a ladies man. He rambles people away and becomes flustered so easily that people think his skin tone is red. 

Derek Morgan is a charmer. Spencer Reid is the charmed. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Friday afternoon. Everyone was ready to go home and spend the weekend doing whatever they wanted. Weekend plans were the topic of conversation at the moment with the bullpen attendees.

“So pretty boy, where are you doing this weekend?” Morgan asked. A teasing smile playing on his lips. Derek Morgan wasn’t a bully. He was anything but a bully, however, he was a brother. And brothers are known to tease their little siblings to no end. And Spencer was lucky enough to become Derek’s little brother. 

 “There’s this Korean Film festival happening throughout the next week. All foods, music and movies will be played in korean. Which is exciting since my girlfriend had wanted to brush up on her language skills and I thought this would be a great surprise for her.” Spencer missed the look of surprise on his friends faces when the word ‘girlfriend’ had left his mouth. Especially Morgan’s face. 

“Girlfriend?” Emily questioned softly. She was still a bit new to the team, but this was the first time a girlfriend was mentioned, especially attached to Spencer’s name.

“Wait what! Spencer, you have a girlfriend?” Derek questioned in disbelief. It’s not like he didn’t think that Spencer couldn’t get a girlfriend, but it’s still a complete shock that the shy, can’t talk to college kids his age, stuttering mess actually has a girlfriend. 

“Yeah, Her name’s Y/n. We’ve actually been dating for about 3 years now.” The goofy grin that broke out onto Spencer’s face was convincing enough for the women. But apparently not enough for Derek. 

“Really?” Spencer could hear the disbelief in Derek’s voice. He knew that the proclaimed ladies man, didn’t believe that he ‘scored’. But Spencer really didn’t care if he believed him or not. 

He still had you at the end of the day, that’s all that mattered to him. 

“Okay, what’s her last name?” Morgan asked.

“L/n.” Spencer answered without hesitation. He had a feeling that some of the asked questions are going to be the same that his mother asked him when he confessed that he was seeing someone. 

Derek nodded, trying to look convinced. “What’s her-” 

Before he even had the chance to finish his next question Spencer beat him to it. “She’s working as a barista at the moment because she’s going back to school to be a teacher. We met when we were 20 and started dating at 22. She’s kind and patient. She also really loves me and we are talking about moving in together after she graduates with her masters.” 

The small group was stunned at the flood of information. Emily, JJ and Penelope all began gushing about his girlfriend, happy that their resident genius had found someone that is making him happy. 

Derek, happy for his brother, still didn’t believe him. The girl sounded perfect for him, too perfect. Almost like he had conjured her up. 

“Do you have a picture of her?” Penelope was the first to ask. 

“No, sadly. All the pictures we have together are taken on her phone and they don’t transfer well when she sends them to me.” Spencer explained. The women deflated a bit hearing his explanation. 

“How convenient.” Morgan muttered. Penelope was the one who heard him. She snapped her head in his direction, fixing him with a glare. Derek only held his hands up in mock surrender. 

The group slowly began to disperse when paperwork began to pile up on each of their respective desks. The new shift of conversation began to fizzle out. Everyone now began to focus on the important work ahead of them before they could go home at 6. 

Except for Derek Morgan. The new revelation, still fresh in his brain. The Spencer Reid, the boy genius that stutters when given a simple compliment, has a girlfriend.

He has to see it to believe it at that point.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Derek didn’t get his confirmation until 3 months later. When he had almost forgotten that Spencer had claimed he had a girlfriend. 

A beautiful h/c had walked into the bullpen with a visitor badge clipped to her turtleneck sweater. She had a drink carrier in on hand and a plastic bag in the other. 

She stood near the glass doors, clearly looking for someone. A small frown appeared on her lips as the object of her delivery seemed to not be in the room. 

Morgan saw the contemplation on her face whether she was on the right floor or not. She took a step back towards the double glass doors, before Derek got up to give a helping hand. 

He calmly approached the pretty woman before calling out to her, “Excuse me miss, is there something you need help with.” 

The h/c turned at his voice, Derek could see slight recognition within her eyes. A small smile graced her lips before she spoke, “You must be Derek Morgan.” 

The named man furrowed his eyebrows. He had never met this woman before in his life, even if he had Derek would’ve remembered her face. 

The woman saw the confusion on his face as well as the slight guard he put up after she said his name. The h/c’s realization kicked in and her panic set in. “Oh no, I’m not dangerous. My boyfriend had told me a lot about you. Even showed me a photo of you. Well not of you but a group picture and pointed you out. And I’ve always been good at remembering faces. So when I saw you I just knew that you were Derek Morgan. Again I’m not dangerous.” 

Her lengthy explanation reminded him of the resident genius that was approaching the two of them. 

Spencer was very confused when he saw Derek Morgan speaking with his girlfriend of 3 years. He was even more confused when he saw her panicked expression and the slight wave of her hands as she tried to explain something. 

Spencer pulled open the glass doors to the bullpen and turned towards the interesting conversation that was happening. He didn’t get much of it, just the last bit where Y/n said ‘I’m not dangerous’. 

“What’s going on here?” The brunette male asked. He looked between his favorite people waiting for one of them to answer. 

“Oh, hello love. I was just coming over to see if you wanted to have lunch with me. I had a half day at work for class but then my professor canceled class last minute because he wasn’t feeling well.” Y/n had gestured to the food in her arms at the mention of lunch. 

She had swung by their favorite Thai place. Having not been there for a few weeks because of Spencer’s busy schedule and Y/n’s guilt for eating it without him. Spencer smiled widely at the offer of food and his lover for his break. 

“I’d love to honey. We can eat at my desk if you’d like.” Spencer offered. Grabbing the drinks from her to make the load easier to carry. 

Derek watched the exchange between them. Only putting everything together when you call Spencer ‘love’. 

“Holy shit she’s real.” He had meant to say it in his head. But the statement slipped out, causing the two of you to look at him with confusion. 

“You didn’t think she was real?” Spencer asked.

“Well, no. Just that she sounded really perfect for you so I had a hard time believing it at first. But then I met her and she literally reminded me of you.” Derek tried to explain but it didn’t sound all too convincing. 

Spencer and Y/n looked at each other before laughing. Y/n had just met Derek and he thought she was someone that Spencer made up. Their giggles made Derek feel stupid.

And that’s something he doesn’t feel often (not counting the times Spencer made him feel stupid). 

Y/n had calmed down first before holding out her free hand for Derek to shake, “Hi, my name is Y/n L/n. I’m going back to school to be a teacher but currently I’m working as a barista. I’ve been told I’m patient and kind. Spencer and I have been dating since we were 22 but we met when we were 20.” 

Y/n then spared a glance at Spencer before asking, “Same intro you gave him right?” 

Spencer nodded with a smile before kissing the crown of her head, “Yep same one you gave to my mom.” 

Derek looked between the young couple content on the evidence presented to him. Derek took Y/n’s hand and shook it giving a greeting of his own, “It’s nice to meet you Y/n. I’m Derek Morgan and I’ve become Spencer’s big brother. So don’t you go breaking his heart.” 

The toothy smile was answer enough, but Y/n couldn’t resist her response, “Wouldn’t dream of it.” 

Spencer had excused the two of them to go eat lunch at his desk. Spencer was happy that his lives were starting to blend together.

He’s especially glad that his favorite people were able to meet each other once and for all. Even though one of them thought the other was a figment of his imagination.

[bookished]

( a collection of fun and adventurous dialogue prompts. adjust phrasing as necessary.) feel free to make edits to better suit your muse, but please don’t edit or add on to the original post <𝟑 if you like, please consider supporting me through tips, it's highly appreciated.

"Want to try sneaking into the movie theater?"

"There's this exclusive sky bar on the top floor. I bet if we act confident enough, we could just walk right in. Ready to blend in with the high rollers?"

"You know the 'Staff Only' areas in aquariums always look so intriguing. I've got an idea involving lab coats and clipboards. Interested?"

"There's a secret passage in this art gallery that leads to a hidden exhibit. I overheard the curator talking about it. Shall we go exploring?"

"I've always wanted to see a movie from the theater's projection room. I've got a friend who works here – you get what I mean?"

"So, that exclusive restaurant is fully booked for months, but I may have 'borrowed' a couple of names from the reservation list. Feeling adventurous?"

"The old amusement park's been closed for years, but I know a way in. Imagine having all those rides to ourselves under the moonlight."

"I heard there's an underground speakeasy in this library. Apparently, you need to whisper a password to the librarian. Wanna try our luck?"

"Remember that fancy pool party we weren't invited to? I've got two waiter uniforms and a brilliant plan. You in?"

"There's a secret rooftop garden on top of that skyscraper. I bet we could talk our way past security if we pretend to be lost interns."

"I know this sounds crazy, but I found a hidden door behind the museum. Want to see where it leads after closing time?"

"The local TV station does live broadcasts from that studio. I bet with the right timing, we could sneak onto a set during a commercial break. Ready for your 15 seconds of fame?"

"I discovered a hidden hot spring in the woods just outside town. It's a bit of a hike, but imagine a midnight dip under the stars."

"There's a secret room in the library that's usually locked. I copied the key while volunteering. Want to see what forbidden books they're hiding?"

"Remember that fancy cooking class that was full? Well, I may have found a way for us to observe from the kitchen's back entrance. Hungry for some culinary espionage?"

"I know how to get onto the roof of the tallest building downtown. The view of the sunset from up there is incredible. Shall we?"

"There's a masquerade ball at the governor's mansion tonight. I've got two masks and a wild idea. Care to crash a high-society party?"

"My friend works at the zoo and says we could help feed the penguins after closing time. Interested in a secret animal encounter?"

"I heard this old theater is supposedly haunted. Want to sneak in after hours and do some ghost hunting?"

"There's a secret beach hidden behind those cliffs. The catch? We'll have to climb down a rope ladder to reach it. You up for it?"

"I found an old map of the city's underground tunnels. Fancy a subterranean adventure date?"

[honeybunhottie]

How do you think it would go if Josh was with Chris’s younger sister

How it would be if Josh was dating Chris’s younger sister

Oh my gosh, I love this request! I actually had some friends in this situation last year, so it’s kind of funny to be writing about it now. Also, this will be before Josh’s sisters go missing, or an AU where they never do. We need everyone to be silly and happy here

Chris’s side of things

Josh and Chris are best buds, they have been since the 3rd grade

They’ve been with each other through thick and thin, they share everything with each other!

Jokes, clothes, food, the list goes on

One thing that was never on the table, though, was their younger siblings.

Chris was fine in that aspect. He’d never felt anything romantic towards Beth and Hannah, as sweet as they were. He’d had his eye on Ashley for a while.

But when Josh starts leaving lingering gazes toward his baby sister, he subconsciously begins feeling a little protective.

(she’s only a year younger, but it pisses her off when he calls her that so he continues to do so)

There wasn’t concrete evidence yet that Josh liked her, but Chris's suspicion grew when he started inviting her to join their group hangouts.

and when he saw Josh taking his spot next to her at the movies, whispering into her ear instead of cracking jokes with him

and when he always seemed to be searching the crowd for her at parties

and when he kept not so subtly asking Chris questions about what she was into, if she was single, etc

(His hackles were raised with that one, but Josh rushed to say he was joking) he wasn’t

But… Josh couldn’t like HIS little sister, right?

Josh was his best bro, but… c’mon! He’s kind of a perv. And he had a few…issues. Definitely NOT the type to bring home to her high-strung mother.

But that didn't matter, because Josh definitely doesn’t like his baby sis

At least that's what Chris chooses to believe

Ignorance is bliss, as they say

Until he is forced to acknowledge it when he’s heading to the bathroom at a party and sees you and Josh making out in the hallway

All previous bladder needs are out the window as he freaks out at both of you

Eventually, he gets over it, he knows Josh well enough to know he won’t hurt you intentionally. And if he does, he’s sure Hannah and Beth will join him in kicking Josh’s ass <3

Josh’s side of things

Josh has known Chris since he was like 9, and they’ve been locked in ever since

He knew Chris had a little sister, but they’d never spoken more than 8 words to each other in one sitting

Except for the one time he stayed at Chris’s house and she “beat” him at Mario Kart

IT WAS TOTALLY HIS WIN UNTIL SHE BLUE-SHELLED HIM

needless to say, he still held a slight grudge

It didn’t help that they didn’t go to the same school as them, staying with her mother during the week and Chris’s family on the weekends

The messy dynamic was lost on Josh, but it worked for them

It wasn’t until the summer of junior year that he met her again.

There was a party, there was banter and there was dancing, and there was this beautiful girl who he might’ve been a little in love with

and also he may have been a little drunk

So imagine his shock when his best bud comes around and reintroduces the pair

Josh fought very hard to control his facial expression from contorting into shock

He bit his tongue and forced a grin with only one thought on his mind as he looked between the pair, noticing a few similar facial features

‘Oh shit’

Of course, Josh isn’t a quitter

So when he woke up in the morning with a text from her, thanking him for the dance and for the invite to hang out with everyone next week, he cursed his drunk perseverance

It would be the smart thing to leave his best friend's sister alone

It never ends well in all of the movies he watches

Betrayal, fistfights, arguments, the whole shebang he would gladly like to avoid with Chris

He resolves to see her at the hangout, have a good time, then never talk to her again

except that doesn’t happen

Somehow she charms another invite out of him, and another, and another

And before he knows it, Josh is in deep

He tries to be subtle about it, inviting her to group outings, asking Chris questions about his sister, real lowkey stuff

When he casually asks her on a date, with just the two of them, they mutually agree it’s best if they keep it quiet for now

And when they officially start going out, they try even harder to hide their relationship until the time is right for Chris to find out

“the right time” ended up being at Holly Becker’s 4th of July party as they made out in the mostly empty hallway

Never in his life had Josh been so freaked out

thankfully, Chris seemed to take it well

It feels like a weight is off his chest now that he can be honest with him again

Plus, now he can go back to making horny jokes without feeling weird about it

(he is dodging Chris’s punches each time he opens his mouth)

Your side of things

You’d always thought Chris’s best friend was kind of cute

Of course, as all childhood crushes go, the best way to show it was in competitiveness and aggression

You absolutely demolished that poor kid in Mario Kart, many times in fact

But when things between your parents got more tense, you stopped being able to hang out as much

It was weird at first, but soon with your new school your mind was filled with other things and you nearly forgot all about that Josh guy your brother always hung out with

Aside from a few photos he posted on his socials or the rare glimpse of them on the weekends, you hardly even saw him

So when the summer of Sophmore year comes up and Chris invites you to go to one of his friend’s infamous parties, the guy is the last person on your mind

You’re in your hottest outfit, your hair and makeup immaculate, your glasses traded for contacts, and ready to let loose

And let loose you do! Before you know it there’s this funny guy who’s kind of cute dancing with you the entire night

and when Chris comes trotting over introducing the guy as his best bud, you giggle a little inside

You’re about to be the main character of one of those brother’s best friend stories, and you can’t wait!

I feel like there's way less risk for you in this, because 1. Chris can’t stay mad at you, and 2. You’re kind of your own person at this point, free to date who you want to

So you gladly accept all of the charming Josh’s invitations to parties and hangouts

and you lean into him when he throws his arm over you at the movies, and laugh as he whispers jokes into your ear

and laugh it off when Chris finds you both in the hallway at Holly Becker’s party, because you know that he won’t stay mad at Josh forever

Lil fun things

You and Josh fight who can have him as your best man/man of honor

(Josh wins and counts that as revenge against the Blue Shell incident of 2006)

Holidays are the best with the two families combined

When you guys announce that you’re pregnant, Chris is ecstatic before being immensely grossed out

He enjoys being the best uncle ever though

I loved writing this! Hope you enjoyed too! Please send more requests!!

[paradise-vine]

Hey, can I request a Seth lowell or Wise x reader? Like, them introducing you to their family/siblings

im so sorry i didn’t see your ask sooner, yes ofc!!

i havent played zzz in a while though since i had my first exam sesh of the year but ill do my best!

Introducing you to their families

cw: mostly fluff, seth doesn’t get along with his brother and he’s not exactly happy about it, that’s about it

Seth Lowell

(I couldn’t find out if his brother had an actual name or not so I gave him one, if anything I’ll just change it later. also might be a little ooc considering i havent played a whole lot of the game so far)

So we know that he isn’t on good terms with his brother right?

So I imagine you meeting him would be an accident mostly

You’re both hanging out, walking down the street together, maybe having a coffee or something

When you hear a voice from behind you

“Hey there Seth, it’s been a while hasn’t it?”

You can hear your boyfriend groan before turning around to face a man you don’t recognize but who does look somewhat similar to him

“What do you want?”

The man’s gaze jumps from Seth to you, eyeing you up and down and smiling slightly

“I didn’t know you had a partner!”

Seth seems even less thrilled than he was before, an unusual look on him

“Yeah well there’s a lot you don’t know, and I’d honestly prefer to keep it that way”

“Aww come on little, aren’t you even gonna introduce me?”

The man turns to you, grinning, a stark contrast to your boyfriend’s current mood

“I’m Tyson, Seth’s brother, pleased to meet you!”

He extends his hand towards you, which you awkwardly shake

And this is the moment Seth decides he’s had enough of this and grabs your hand

“Yeah sorry but we have stuff to do.”

And without saying anything else, he drags you further down the street and away from him

He’s more embarrassed than actually frustrated however, embarrassed that you where forced to meet someone he doesn’t really want in his life at the moment

But it’s all good, he just hates that it wasn’t on his own terms that you got to meet his brother

Just give him a lot of affection to make him feel better because you know he’s not gonna feel super great after that happened

Wise

I feel like you’d get to meet Belle pretty early in the relationship

Since they’re pretty close, are co-owners and let’s be honest there’s a high chance you two met either because you wanted to rent a movie or because you’re a hollow raider and in both cases Belle would probably be aware of your existence since day 1 or so

In any case, I think Wise wouldn’t do a proper introduction per say iykwim

I think you two would be hanging out in his room or in the store and Belle would just walk in and ask who is this?

And Wise just casually says “this is my partner (name)”, no fancy talk or anything

Just plain and simple

Belle would adore you though

You’re nervous at first, the usual ‘well what if she doesn’t like me, what if she doesn’t think im good enough for her bother’, shit like that

But she’s just genuinely happy her brother found someone

And if (what I personally think is more likely to happen) you and Wise aren’t dating yet when you meet, she’s giving Wise the Look™

She’s his number 1 wingwoman, rooting for you both as soon as she’s aware of your existence

Belle is a really chill person in general, you’re anxious for exactly two seconds before you realize there’s nothing to worry about

Overall Wise’s family is wayyy easier to meet than Seth’s lmao

hope this is good, it’s my first time actually writin x reader stuff so i hope you like it <3

[spyskater]

With the casting of David Krumholtz and Emily Beecham as Supergirl's parents, this is the perfect time to talk about a thought that's been floating around my head the last 24 hours: It's a stroke of brilliance to not show the destruction of Krypton in the new Superman movie and to instead save it for the Supergirl movie immediately after. Like Martha and Thomas Wayne's murder in a Batman movie, the destruction of Krypton has been rehashed enough times for the audience to not need to see it again for a while. But doing it in a Supergirl movie changes our perspective of it and recontextualizes the catastrophe. Clark's perspective of the event is that of a baby sent down the galactic river by his parents (Moses imagery) and filmmakers often end up padding from there (Zack Snyder's Krypton sequence is 20 minutes and might as well be its own short film). But Kara was cognitive and fully experienced the destruction of her planet.

If you haven't read Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow (which is the series the movie is based on and I highly recommend), Kara is a teenage girl when Krypton is destroyed. She watches as the streets of her city go up in flames, witnesses people die in the explosions. But Argo, the capitol city and Kara's home, survives the wreckage and floats out in space. What luck! Her father, being a prominent scientist, does everything he can to keep the city thriving, but wait! A disease pops up as a result of the destruction and begins killing everyone left. So not only is Supergirl traumatized by the destruction of her planet and the loss of her friends and neighbors and mother, but she then has to watch the rest of its survivors slowly die of disease until her father makes the hard choice to send her away on the space ship he manages to build for her.

We have spent years watching Clark being sent off in the final moments of Krypton, but imagine how devastating and heart-wrenching it's going to be from Kara's perspective, losing a home and culture and memories in a different way than Clark. We learn about Krypton through Clark with him as our stand-in. But through Kara, we experience Krypton.

[ploppythespaceship]

Uglies - Movie Thoughts

On a whim, I decided to start re-reading the Uglies series a couple months ago -- so imagine my surprise when I found out it was getting a movie! Said movie is now out, and it was interesting to watch with the book being so fresh in my head.

Overall, it's... eh. It's not a complete train wreck, the way most critics seem to want you to think, but it is fairly bland and uninspired. It's a very watered down version of the book. It also has the misfortune of feeling like yet another a Hunger Games wannabe, despite the original book pre-dating that series by several years.

Spoilers for everything under the cut.

What I Liked

Based on reviews, I seem to be in the minority here, but I thought the cast was pretty good. People seem to hate Joey King as Tally, but I thought she was fine. Brianne Tju is easily the best in the cast, stealing the whole damn movie as Shay. Laverne Cox also gives an excellent performance as Cable, though I do think she should not have been given that role for other reasons (which I'll get into later).

I've also seen complaints that the characters aren't ugly enough. They talk about how ugly they are and point out their specific ugly features, when they don't actually appear that ugly. And I think everyone complaining about that is completely missing the point. The "Uglies" aren't actually ugly -- they're just normal people, who've been conditioned to think their imperfect features are hideous.

I was honestly unsure how the Pretties would be visualized -- in fact, I wondered if the book would just be fundamentally unadaptable because of it -- but they did a fairly good job. I think leaning on CGI and unnatural affectations was the right way to go. All the Pretties have this uncanny quality to them that suits the story perfectly.

The overall production design was solid as well. I like how Uglyville is all gray concrete and muted tones, while New Pretty Town is shimmering golds. Then upon reaching the Smoke, all the colors of nature finally come through. I do think that could have pushed that last one a little bit more, but it still works well.

Apart from that, I don't really have much to shout out. It's competently written, well-performed, well put together. I know it doesn't sound like I have much praise, but it is a competent movie.

What I'm Mixed On

By far the biggest change from the book is Peris becoming a Special. And I'm torn on it. On the one hand, it does make him a bigger part of the story -- he's honestly not much more than an inciting incident in the book. It gives him and Tally a unique arc that's probably the strongest through-line in the story. On the other hand, the Specials as a concept are so under-cooked (more on that later) and the actor is so bland that it still doesn't quite land the way it's supposed to.

What I Didn't Like

The pacing of this movie is by far its worst issue. We are flying through this plot. There is no time for anything to breathe, for characters to develop meaningful connections, for the bigger moments to feel earned. Some things do make sense to condense -- Tally's journey to the Smoke would have been incredibly boring without her internal monologue, so condensing most of that into a montage makes sense. But I do feel we lost too much. That's where a lot of Tally's characterization comes out, where we can see her bravery and ingenuity -- none of that comes across in the movie.

A lot of important beats are rushed. Tally agreeing to help Dr. Cable is over in a flash. It feels like Tally's in the Smoke for all of fifteen minutes. Tally and David barely interact, so their relationship has no real stake. Everyone is kidnapped by Special Circumstances, and then rescued immediately after. I almost think a 5-6 episode mini-series would have worked better -- but that might have introduced the opposite problem, where everything takes too long.

The movie also has frequent montages that don't really work. It seems like they were trying to show the passage of time, but it just makes everything feel even shorter.

The beginning of the movie has an exposition problem, as well. It opens with a montage explaining the entire setting... before leading into several scenes that also explain the setting through dialogue. We get fed the same details about the surgery and the Rusties and the flowers at least three times at the start, and it gets grating.

As already mentioned, Tally is pretty severely underwritten. In the book, she has a distinct personality and a unique presence. In the movie, she's just the main character because she happens to be the main character. Her intelligence and resourcefulness are pretty much gone.

I also think changing her motivation for going to the Smoke did her a disservice. In the book, Tally goes to the Smoke so she can have her surgery, and because she's convinced herself that Shay needs her help. In the movie, Dr. Cable tells her that the Smokies have a weapon, and she will be saving lives by helping to find them. I think giving her a more selfless motivation robs her of her character arc. She always comes across as someone trying to help, who wants to best for other people, rather than someone who had to consciously learn that.

The Specials are barely even a presence. I'm not sure they were even directly called Specials. People who hadn't read the book would never realize that there was an entire separate status of person here. You never see their disturbingly beautiful faces or their terrifying strength. Considering how pivotal the Specials are to the overall story, especially in the later books, it's really odd not to see them properly established here.

Like I said, Laverne Cox gives an excellent performance as Dr. Cable... but I think they should have thought twice before casting a trans woman. It's not necessarily that there's a trans woman in the villainous role, but that there's a trans woman in the villainous role who specifically wants to force people to have surgeries to brainwash them. Like... did the optics of that really not occur to anyone? At all? I think Cox could have played David's mother, instead.

[rottenaero]

Family video was slow, as it always was on Mondays. Steve’d been stuck on shift by himself, and he passed time by flipping through the same five magazines that have been sitting in the desk drawer since before Robin and him had arrived.

Movies became a-lot less entertaining when you had to watch them 24/7, and you start learning the difference between a good film and a wannabe-camp.

Internally, he winced.

Robin was definitely rubbing off on him. All those days where she sat on the counter beside him, pointing directly at the screen, ranting about how unrealistically the girls are portrayed.

“Whiney and boy-obsessed, Steve!” She yelps. On the screen, Back to The Future is playing, and Marty’s mother is insisting he stay in her room.

He leans forward, onto the counter, and tilts a twizzler towards her. “Pretty sure it’s meant to be hot to people. Like imagining that it’s you she’s saying this shit to.”

“Of course it’s hot! But if it’s my mother then I wouldn’t be hanging around.” She hisses. At the same time Marty runs out of the door.

Instead of an action movie, or romance, he’s got The Parent Trap playing. It’s sweet enough that the occasional parent with a ‘sick’ child wadding behind them doesn’t scream at him for violent or sexual scenes.

The sound isn’t loud enough to disrupt him reading, which he’s thankful for.

The bell rings, and he throws out a, “Welcome to family video, I’m here if you need anything!” Without looking up.

“Harrington!” A familiar voice crows, and he rolls his eyes. Sets his magazine down open on the counter. He eyes Eddie, who has a grin already lining his face.

“Aren’t you supposed to be at school, failing your forth year?” He tuts, no real malice in his voice. Eddie sighs dramatically. “It hurts me that you forget. They let me off the hook! Free graduation baby!”

Steve stands, approaches where the register is, and leans his forearms onto the counter. “And, uh, when was this?”

He gets an unimpressed look. “You were there.”

“Was I?” His voice lilts, and he has to hold back a laugh at Eddie’s furrowed brow.

“You helped me get ready.”

“Does not ring a bell.”

“You talked me down from giving Higgins giving me the finger!”

“Hmm…” Steve hums conspiratorially. “You know, still doesn’t ring a bell.”

“Shithead!” Eddie yelps. A college girl from another aisle, that definitely should be at school, giggles. He sends a little finger wave to her while he speaks. “Munson, you better be glad that it wasn’t a mother.”

“Steve, Stevie, Steven-”

“Not my name.”

“Steven, you remember.” Eddie grins, and the girl starts walking towards them with two tapes in her arms.

“Is this all?” Steve asks with his customer service voice, as he shoos Eddie to the side. The girl smiles sweetly. “Yes, well…Actually I don’t have an account. Don’t you need a number for that?” She asks. Eddie scrunches his nose from the side.

“Yeah, what’s your name?” Steve slides to the create an account, and she spews out her name, and her number. “It already exists.”

“Oh,” Her voice isn’t shocked at all, “Well, how about you keep the digits to yourself? Maybe give me a call?” Eddie backs up, and fake gags out of her view. Steve gives him a glare. “Alright, well, your total is 5.27.”

She hands him the change, lets her fingers brush his before walking out with her discs. As soon as she’s gone, Steve lets his face fall. He rounds on the metalhead.

“Dude!”

Eddie tilts his head, “What’d I do?”

“What if she saw you?”

He sighs, leans onto the counter dramatically. “So I make one little face.”

“Are you going to actually buy anything?” He asks, cutting off the conversation before it just turns into a loop.

“Right, yeah! Where’s the-“ Eddie smirks, eyebrows raised, and rings the service bell before he lifts a hand like he’s using a salt grinder? “-Adult section.”

And that was definitely not salt. His nose scrunches, “Gross dude.”

Eddie shrugs innocently. “We all do it.”

“Robin doesn’t.”

“Robins not a guy.”

He’s about to bring up one of the kids, before pausing.

They’re highschoolers now, he doesn’t know what they do and he frankly doesn’t want to.

“Jonathan?” He suggests.

“Argyle has made a little too many right hand jokes about him for me to believe that.”

“God, whatever,” He sighs, points to the corner, where there’s a bead covered doorway. “Sections over there.”

He gets a salute in response before Eddies practically skipping away.

He’s so fucking weird.

Two people come in by the time he comes back out.

Which means that he was in there for a while.

He’s got three tapes in his hand when he walks back to the countertop, slams them on there. And Steve,

He really tries not to look. Because while some of the films in there are just R-rated, there are still some pornos and he doesn’t really wanna know what Eddie’s into.

But, it’s unfortunately difficult when he’s trying to scan the titles in. Eddies swaying back and forth, hands in pockets as he gets a glance at-

“Rocky Horror?” Dark brown eyes snap to him, and he nods approvingly. “Good choice.”

It doesn’t exactly fit his and Robin’s non-whiney-and-boy-obsessed-women regime, but they both enjoy it. It’s funny enough.

“You’ve- You’ve seen it?” Eddie asks, voice high pitched for a reason he can’t pin point. “Yeah, a couple times.”

“You’re sure you’ve seen this one, and not Rocky wrestler?” Eddie asks again. Steve huffs, “Yes, Janet, Brad, Tim Curry and Rocky.”

A “Huh.” Is muttered as Steve types in the title name to Eddie’s account, and moves onto the next movie. Poor Pretty Eddie, he’d never seen it, and flips it over, reading the description.

“What are you doing?”

Steve’s eyes squint as he nears the end of the paragraph. “Dude this sounds graphic, you seriously watching this with Rocky of all things?”

“I like my variety.” He states, slowly, sounding out every syllable.

Blood Thirsty Butchers is next, and Steve quickly types in the names. “What even are these movies?”

He gets a shrug. “I don’t know, I’ve only seen Rocky. You know,” Eddie smiles, leans over the counter further. “It more fun to watch a new movie with someone.”

Steve hums, “You want Darla’s number? Bet she’d watch it with you.”

“Steven,”

“Not my name!”

“Stephano!”

“Whatever,” He sighs, runs a hand through his coiffed hair. “Sure, I get off at four.”

“Seems a bit early, but whatever. What about work?”

“Ew, dude. Chill out, this is Family Video.”

“Is that why I saw a bunch of pornos back there?”

“Adult section- Just-“ Steve shoves the metalhead lightly off the countertop. “What time do you want to do this?”

An older lady walks in as Eddie talks, “How about five? You buy the pizza, and ring my shit up.”

“Or-“ Steve slides the tapes to him. “-You buy the pizza, I use my employee-free-rental on these.”

“Works for me, it’s a date, Steve.”

He shoos him away as the lady steps into the romcom section, “See you at five, freak.”

Eddie blows a kiss, “Miss you already!”

He shakes his head, grabbing his chair and magazine and dragging them to near the register.

What a weirdo.

[romanarose]

Hi Roman! Loooove your HCs re: the TF boys. Could I pls ask you what you think would be the biggest sources of contention when it comes to each guy and their SO & how they handle relationship conflict?

Hello, wonderful human! Sorry it took so long for me to respond. Been cranking out fics to catch up and prepare for everything lol!!!

Happy to answer you! I'll be focusing mostly on the guys issues, not so much readers, but we all bring out own things into relationships.

Warnings: Addiction, ptsd, general relationship issues

I think everything should be gender neutral, correct me if i missed something.

More HC's here

Santiago

Commitment.

My dude can't commit to a thing.

I imagine after the movie events he went to see yvonna.... and then left after a few months bc he's a mess.

First arguement you get into he;s like "fine! I'll just leave then, clearly this isn't working"

And you give your best ????? face.

Santi you dumbass.

But you don't give up that easily! You're a menace to society.

You make him face down the issue, talk to you, and *gasp* share how he feels!

When its resolve, you tell him he can't just threaten to leave when he gets frustrated. If he wants to leave he needs to be honest, but he can't hide away under one small issue.

You ask if he really wants to leave. He says no so fucking fast.

He admits he hasn't had any stability in his life like... ever. Immigrant family, military, then his less-than-legal missions... but he wants to make it work with you

You have to work to find a balance between not letting him run away but not forcing him to stay.

But it works. Santi finds you easier and easier to talk to about things and soon enough, he's been with you for a year and theres still no itch to leave.

Ben

Benny Miller is a goof ball.

That's why you fell in love with him in the first place!

But he's not the most mature. He struggles to be serious, even when he wants to. That's the issue. You don't want to dampen his shine, you love him how he is

Thing is, you've been together 6 months and you still feel like you're casually dating.

There was no big "I love you".

He simple kissed your cheek saying goodbye, said "love you!" and dashed off to his friends.

But you did love him, you loved him so much but you weren't sure he was invested as you were. Maybe he wasn't ready for a serious relationship or you were more of a casual date to him...

Benny notices your mood change pretty quickly. He may be dumb but he's not stupid

(This is a joke Benny is canonically a highly skilled and talented individual I love him so much.)

"What am I to you?"

You ask him and it starts a whole discussion. You're surprised to find he's listening intently to what you have to say, takes in your words well.

You express how it hurts that every time he says "love you" It's the same tone of voice he uses with his friends or brother. He makes you feel like you're "one of the guys" but you're having sex.

Benny pauses and gathers his words before expressing that he does love you, very deeply. He thinks about marrying you... he just struggles to express it verbally. After some talking, you introduce him to the idea of love languages.

You figure out Benny loves receiving with words of affirmation and thats what he gets stuck on. He can't express well through words, so he thinks he's fucked.

You take the time to talk about the other four, and ways he can express through those.

After this talk, you feel much better and Ben makes you feel so, so loved and special.

(He also makes sure to say his "I love you" during sex or more initmate moments, not just in passing, letting you know that he really, really does.)

Will

Fear.

You probably expected PTSD, didn't you?

Well thats a part of it. His PTSD does affect his life but I think he's scared to lose you and scared to hurt you.

Will keeps you at arms length. Maybe you're a friend of Ben's and are around a lot and clear chemistry!! But nothing is happening

Finally you confront him. Bestie you can't keep lingering touch on my arm if you're not gonna fuck me about it.

Will is def the most straight forward and self aware so he's gonna be honest.

"I choked a man out in a grocery store for not moving his cart fast enough and almost killed him, my fiance left me after that, I've got 33 confirmed kills and also I watched one of my best friends die and carried his dead body over the fucking Andes, man."

A lot to unpack there!!!!

He tells you he's afraid he's going to lose you if he lets you get too close. He's afraid of hurting you.

You tell him he's sweet but he should also go to therapy.

You go with him to the first appointment.

Will I think is the easiest bc I just think hes the most mature and open

Frankie

Addiction

My dude hates himself.

And literally any feeling he's like "well time to do some coke about it."

It wasn't a big deal when you just started dating. You knew he did coke sometimes on weekends and rationalized that it can't be that big a deal, it's like drinking, right?

(Im 26 now and realizing how many people casually do coke is wild to me. None of my business tho.)

But soon you realize just how bad it's gotten. He's high almost all the time. Then his liscense comes under review. Then the trip to south america...

You don't think he's ever even sober, and you're worried about him, worried his heart is going to give out. Sometimes you stay awake watching him breath just to be sure.

Finally you can't take it anymore. You never wanted to to be the ultimatum party but you can't do this, you're suffering and so is he. He either gets sober or you leave. You didn't care how long it took, you didn't care if he relapsed but he needed to start trying.

Frankie ops to go to rehab. It's best, because he's gonna need to detox first.

You visit often, almost every day, making sure his friends all knew when visit times were and sometimes going as group, sometimes separate but always making sure someone came by every single day so he knew he wasn't alone.

90 days later, Frankie comes out a new man. He's cheeks fuller and pants tighter but his smile bigger.

He's gonna be okay and so are you.

Tom

He's dead

THANK YOU FOR THE ASK!!!! I love tf boys head cannons <3

[angelshizuka]

I actually think Hazbin Hotel and Helluva Boss being so called "problematic" (though, what tf does that word even mean anymore, with the way it's being used for literally anything someone personally doesn't like) is exactly why I love it so much.

Modern media has gotten way too "pure" and "wholesome" for my liking. I mean, I like it from time to time, but I'm sick of it being shoved down my throat as the only meal option. Because god in heaven forbid characters have flaws and arcs anymore. Nowadays they're expected to always have been good little beans from the start, with nothing to learn, because they're already right and everyone else is just wrong. Even villains, the characters we are supposed to enjoy hating, now commit some of the mildest crimes imaginable, because godforbid evil characters are shown doing evil things.

It's all thanks to the kind of people who act like showing fictional characters "committing a crime" in a fictional world is the literal same thing as that crime actually being committed in the real world... I need people to tell me they know the difference between those two things, common sense can't be THAT dead... right??

This is also one of the reasons I'm so happy these shows are for mature audiences, because the "think of the kids" arguments can finally fuck off and there's no need to "dumb things down for the kids" (despite kids who grew up decades ago being able to handle it just fine). Either you're mature enough for these shows or you're not, but it's not our problem if your media literacy hasn't matured beyond kindergarten.

Like, I grew up with movies that showed the villain literally burning down an entire city, because he had a boner for a woman who didn't want him. Or heck, when they had the balls to show the main character literally killing the co-lead's mother, because of his own bigotry. (A cookie for the people who know which movies I'm talking about!) Modern "kids media" could never.

The best way I can describe HH and HB is the fandom of a 2000s show, so like the best of both worlds. With a bit of modernization sprinkled in, because yes, I can acknowledge the 2000s wasn't perfect either. I just feel like these shows really know what tropes to ditch and which ones to keep. As someone who grew up with shows in that era and has been active in online fandoms since the mid 2000s, it just makes it right up my alley.

And considering Viv is barely a year older than me, this doesn't suprise me. I also think it's why she understands her fandom so well, because she's literally been on the fandom side of this sorta thing.

[n04hfiction]

Dating Loona Headcanons

Content/Warnings (If applicable): Sexual Content (MDNI, there’ll be a split between the NSFW content!), Profanity, Implied!Male Reader (Usage of “guy” once), OOC(?) Loona

Proofread: ✅

SFW:

Loona spent years in the adoption center, infact, a good chunk of her life, and she had only been with Blitzø for a few years now, so it’s safe to say you’re her first partner

She was most likely very awkward during the talking stage, she doesn’t talk to many outside of IMP, so honestly, it may not be easy for her at first

A talking stage with Loona consists of her being extremely awkward and nervous, borderline geeky in a sense, whether you realized it or not. She probably found you attractive from the start, like before you guys ever properly spoke, so it’s not even like she had something to start off of with you.

Going back to her life in the adoption center, we can tell that she wasn’t seen as something or someone important, and let’s be real here, she probably knew they thought that — So I can see her love language being words of affirmations, after so many years, the only thing she really needs is to be told she is enough

I can also imagine Loona’s love language in terms of giving being physical affection, she’s probably very clingy after her years in the shelter, and she just wants to hold you and never have to let you go, because she feels like if she does she might lose you forever

In terms of petnames, I can see this going two ways, Loona won’t really call you petnames aside from “babe” or maybe “hun” cause she feels like a lovesick teenager otherwise, but if you call her something she absolutely FOLDS!! Loona really gets into it whenever you call her something with “my ____”, or anything with “dear” or “sweet” - Which might surprise you, because she doesn’t use petnames BECAUSE she thinks they sound cheesy, but when you call her the cheesy petnames, she folds like a piece of paper!

An ideal date for Loona would be staying in and just cuddling while watching a movie, as much as Loona is down to party, her social battery can get drained pretty easy, so she’d much rather stay in with the one person she knows gets her - Except at your place, she’d rather die than cuddle with you infront of Blitzø

Speaking of Blitzø, she’s hesitant to introduce you both, she knows how Blitzø can be, especially when it comes to her and a guy, but she knows she has to have you both meet at some point.

Blitzø is protective (as well as defensive) at first, which honestly, is fair enough, but once he gets to know you he ends up liking you just fine! Especially if you let him ramble about his horse fantasies, he’ll really like you then!

This might be a surprise, but Loona isn’t much of a hand-holder, it’s just not her thing — and she really only kisses you in private, but she loves hugging you! This girl loves hugs! She hugs you goodbye after every date, she hugs you as her way of saying thank you when she can’t form the words quite right, she loves hugging you

NSFW:

Along with being Loona’s first partner, you are also her first time, which comes with a few different things to unpack here.

Firstly, Loona is very insecure when it comes to sex (at first), and she hardly ever even touched herself before you. The first few times of even attempting sex she’ll back out, she’s really insecure and overall scared of being abandoned, the shelter really did do a number on her.

I also personally headcanon that Loona has body-image issues, she’s a bit thick in certain places, and she’s covered in fur - So if you’re not covered in fur, she’ll get very anxious about how you’ll choose to handle it. (Occasionally she’ll slip into her human disguise specifically for sex, because she is terrified of you getting annoyed by her fur for whatever reason).

Loona is very subby for the first few months of having sex with you, but as she starts to grow and get used to it, she can definitely start to dom, maybe even lean towards it, I see her as a softer but also teasing dom, but I can also see her being rougher when and if the situation calls for it

She fucking thrives off of anything to do with her clit (fingering, eating out, ect) - It’s also probably her more sensitive area. Making out with Loona while fingering her and fondling with her breasts is probably one of the things that gets her off the most, and (as long as you’re not opposed), she is definitely into the idea of riding your face

In contrast to her love language, she definitely has a degradation kink, she gets the biggest kick out of being called a whore or slut or a bitch or anything of that sorts (even if in non-sexual situations things would be much different)

Another thing, Loona isn’t one to cry or get overly vulnerable in a relationship (although she does from time to time), making her cry during sex is definitely something you do a lot (in a healthy and consensual way, ofc)

[phoeebsbuffay]

Imagine you work with Hayden Christensen and… you fall in love with him.

Warnings: fluffy, comfort/light reading, filled with old cliches.

***

You are in that moment of your life where daydreaming about men in general has long lost any sense; when flirting happens you sabotage it: when you just enjoy solitude, even though there is this small part of you that never really quit that romantic side.

Nevertheless, at long last you are working hard, so there is little time to think about those things. You work so hard, however, that family and friends warn you about your mental health. But you dismiss their concern. You just like occupying your mind, is all.

Hayden thinks likewise. After divorce, romance has long disappeared out of his sight and mind. Of course, he engages in casual flings every now and then, but even so it’s been… what? Two, three years since he actually got laid?

Not that he minds. His return to “Star Wars” saga, or rather his come back to acting in general, besides his daughter, have been the main reasons to let him busy enough to such nonsenses.

But it so appears that destiny holds something different, though… And so, dear reader, we are invited to investigate how this will roll.

Today is the first day of the filming of a movie that Hayden is starring after finishing his work at “Ahsoka”. So as he arrives and you too, such paths collide.

You, distracted, just tumbled when Hayden, who happens to be nearby, quickly comes to aid you, thus preventing a worse fall to occur.

“Whoa whoa, calm down, take it easy Miss”, so he says, concerned.

“Oh thank you, sir. Disastrous me, uh?”, you joke in response, getting a smile from your savior.

“Aren’t we all sometimes?”, he chuckles. “Glad I could be of help, otherwise that would be such a fall.”

“Indeed. Mondays are…Mondays. Suppose my body has been, well, getting used to the routine”, when you realize this handsome man is talking to you, actually engaging to a silly conversation like this, you start to ask yourself if being that far from the single market got you mental.

But this is not a thought shared by Hayden, who, however, does find you a beauty, quite taken with your y/c eyes and your smile.

“It happens to the best of us", he agrees. "Specially after vacations. I'm Hayden, by the way. What's your name? I'm afraid we have not been introduced."

You smile, somewhat shy mostly due to the embarrassment of the situation. Nevertheless, you offer your hand for him to shake. As he takes and shakes it, you speak:

"Nice to meet you, Hayden. I'm Y/N. Are you working with us on this project?"

"Yeah. I got the main role, in fact."

It's when you realize...

"Oh." You try to mask your shock, but Hayden sees it--and truthfully he finds your disconcert adorable. "Of course. Welcome, welcome. It is indeed not a most appropriate moment for us to meet".

"Allow me to disagree, Y/N. The timing could not be better."

One smiles to the other. This is where the fun begins indeed...

***

You should know by now that if a conversation was merely enough you wouldn't keep every single detail running in the back of your head. What are you, 18? But could you help yourself, though?

When you speak, he actually listens; he does pay attention, he is there. He is not asking nonsense questions or anything of the sort. Because Hayden is interested in what you have to say.

Despite finding himself a handsome man whose company often brings you delights, you don't dare to harbor any sort of feelings mostly because of your old scars.

Yet, there is one detail that keeps hammering your head, bringing you to reason so you don’t get yourself too dreamy about it: he is, for all effects, your coworker. Therefore, all he can be for you is a friend.

And you force yourself to content with that.

“Hey Y/N, can I talk to you?”, he asks you one day. There is concern in his eyes, which leads you immediately to wonder it’s related to work, but the way he smiles at you at the same time makes your knees weak.

Oh, holy shit.

“Of course, what is it?”

“I would like to know what are your thoughts about these lines”, he shows you the script. “I’ve been considering changing some to this. Listen up.”

It’s difficult not to be captivated by his passionate speech. You don’t think you’ve met someone as interesting as him, or as intelligent. He loves what he’s doing and is always seeking to improve. You learn from these traits too, aware that you have always to be the best in what you do, but not in a competitive way: only in one where you overcome yourself by getting better daily.

Unbeknownst to you, Hayden appreciates that you do actually hear him, seeing him as who he really is and what he aims to be. You are sincere, kind and decent: qualities he appreciates in a woman.

But because you two are co-workers, all he can do is find excuses to speak to you because insofar he lacks the courage to ask you out. Specially because he’s still unsure how to get himself in a possible relationship after he got divorced—even though he’s been divorced for a long while now.

“I think you are doing a great job”, you tell him after you two share some ideas. “But I also think you are working too hard. I mean, so am I, it’s been crazy days. Do you like coffee?”

And just like that it comes out. You don’t even think twice, it blurts out naturally. Hayden doesn’t see it coming too, finding rather charming the panic that starts to rise in your eyes once you realize what you said.

So it’s reciprocal.

“I do, yes. This weekend my daughter is staying with her mother because it’s her grandparents’ wedding anniversary, which means I’m good with hanging out after work”, his smile spreads when seeing a blush coloring your cheeks. “Does it work for you?”

“Coffee on a Friday evening? 5pm?”

“Yeah.”

“It works just as fine”, you beam.

“Great. I’ll see you soon!”

***

It’s Friday. You try to act casually, giving double focus in your job. But whether you spot him acting or speaking to someone of the crew, your heart races and your body reacts in a teenage manner that makes you blush violently.

You struggle to be discreet but damn it, that owner of such a pair of blue eyes is too handsome. You sigh deep down and there you have it: the return of your romantic side.

“Hello, hello! Back to Earth, Y/N Y/LN”, you hear your boss teasingly calling you.

You don’t know, but there is already gossip between some of the ladies of the production part, because apparently you are not entirely discreet when it comes to Hayden. Naturally, however, no one is speaking it in front of you even if your boss is tempted to tease you about it.

“I’m sorry. I’ve been a little out of…”

“…the radar? Yeah, I can tell. Is there something amiss?”

“Not at all”, you lie. “It’s been an intense week, is all.”

“You’ve been working hard indeed”, he agrees. “Keep going, you’ll go far, my dear”.

He pets your shoulder before leaving you to your thoughts: certainly you didn’t expect to hear such a thing. But what do bosses know?

You sigh. At least Friday is coming soon.

***

Hayden dresses fancifully for this day, even though the coffeeshop you are going is one like Starbucks. He does want to impress you, though. Curious is how he feels alive after a long time off the market for some silly reasons.

But today is the day. Once his filming ends, he comes after you, praying he’s not entirely antiquing in matters of dating. However, every doubt dies when seeing how big your smile is and how sparkly your eyes are. Clearly you don’t know how expressive you can be.

“Hey, Y/N.”

Your heart races when he addresses you. A smile comes naturally as a result.

“Hey, Hayden.”

“Let’s go?”

“Yeah.” As you two walk side by side, you start to wonder whether you are a grown woman or what, because this man makes you weak every time his eyes are set on you. “How was your day?”

As he side eyes discreetly at you, you cannot know that Hayden is thinking almost the same. Charmed by your presence, your enigmatic aura draws him to you, despite his fears of starting a new relationship—or perhaps is he misleading himself in desiring so?

“It was good, thank you for asking. Had fewer scenes today, but those were more intense per usual. I suppose you could tell that because I didn’t have the time to come to you as the rest of the days…”

He smirks at how adorable you look when going pink.

The coffeeshop is not so far, so it doesn’t take you a long time to reach it. Once you do, you and Hayden pick a discreet table that are not too much at the people’s sight.

It’s not until both of you order for black coffee and a piece of lemon cake that you engage in proper conversation.

“Indeed I’ve noticed you’ve been quite busy. That’s what you get for being the main star”, you smirk in tease, pleased for bringing him to laughters.

“What can I do? I try my best”, he responds in an amusing tone.

Does it feel like it’s going too fast? Neither could tell. You and Hayden speak as if you’ve been more than friends over years. Without your notice—or even his—, he takes your hand and gently locks fingers with you.

Between one exchange of glances here, some laughters there, you just know. It’s scary, it’s frightening for sure, but you know.

He is the one.

So what now? Well, you panic internally and opt not to tell anything. Just in case…

***

“You’ve been dating her for what, five weeks now?”, says Ewan when meeting Hayden for some heads up.

“Yeah, I have. She’s a really nice girl, I mean… I haven’t brought to laughters for a long time”, Hayden smiles as he remembers the last date you two had together. “She’s funny and her wit doubles her beauty, you know.”

He chuckles.

“Hayden, my friend”, Ewan places a hand over his friend’s shoulder. “Why are you wasting your time? Ask her to be your girlfriend. I am surprised she’s this patient, honestly.”

“Well me too”, he admits it. “But I wasn’t entirely sure…”

“It’s always appropriate to have some good sense and caution, but fear only holds back for living… Don’t sabotage yourself. Go for it.”

Hayden looks thoughtful, but in truth… Maybe it’s just time to be impulsive again. Or not so impulsive since he comes to discover he’s in love with you.

***

And here come your insecurities again. You start to question yourself whether you got yourself in this too fast, if there’s something wrong with you, or even if you haven’t learned with your previous experiences in failed relationships yet.

All of this because… you’ve been going on several dates with him and nothing gives you the certainty that he corresponds you. At the same time, if this was casual he’d drop you on the first weeks because you are openly against casual sex.

So today you decide to break things with him. You don’t like uncertainties and your heart is already pained with disappointment when Hayden surprises you by paying you a visit right after you had breakfast on a Saturday morning.

“Hey, Y/Nickname. May I come in?”

“Hayden!”, you cannot conceal your surprise and Hayden may have detected your suspicious, perhaps waiting for the worse. “I wasn’t expecting you coming this early! Is everything all right?”

“Yeah, it is. I know this is unexpected but in truth there is something I wanted to talk to you.”

He hesitates, probably waiting for some reaction from you. As you say nothing, he proceeds:

“I know we’ve been hanging out more than a few weeks. I know it may seem I haven’t made my mind yet about us… The truth is always cliche, too predictable to be denied”, he hurries to short the distance between you two.

“Then tell me if it’s worth the waiting, Hayden”, you whisper, staring down to his eyes as he cups your face. “Or else I will leave…”

“No. I am not losing you, Y/N.” He murmurs firmly. “I love you.”

Your eyes go wide and your mind goes blank.

“You w-what? Are you sure? Are…”

He decides to give you an answer that will shush your doubts, doing so by kissing you fervently as he holds you in his arms.

From that day you both held the certainty in your hearts that you two are meant to be…

***

Epilogue: a year later.

Hayden watches as you take his daughter for a horseback ride, proud of how easily you bonded with her. The scene is precious before his eyes.

“Show me that trick again!”, she exclaims at you as you do some magic with a coin you had in the pocket of your jeans.

You are leading her over her mare in a green scenario, mixed with blue skies and different shades of colors that paint the walls of Hayden’s farm house. There, you live with him, occasionally joined by his daughter, precious Brie Rose, whom you get along just fine—and adore like she was your own.

And to spoil her a little more, you do as requested and she is brought to laughters. Not much later, Hayden joins you two.

“What are my favourite women in the world doing?”, he asks, hugging you from behind as he laces his daughter with a free arm, pressing a kiss on top of her head before doing the same to you.

“Riding a horse”, she tells him excitedly. “All by myself, see? Auntie Y/N taught me well.”

You cannot help at how she calls you and giggle softly. Hayden smiles brightly upon the affection she has developed to you.

“You know what, Brie? Do you think we could do this forever?”

When she turns her face to you two, you see a spark in her eyes.

“Of course! What do you think, auntie?”

You giggle quietly.

“That depends of your father, my darling.”

Hayden gently pulls you against him, a smile growing on his lips.

“Is that a yes?”

“When did I ever see refuse you anything, my love?”

And just like that a new beginning rises in the horizon for this family that you grew devoted to. One kiss and unspoken vows are sealed…

[rovingotter]

Expanding on my thoughts from this post:  https://www.tumblr.com/rovingotter/763436728814075904/heavy-spoilers-for-joker-folie-%C3%A0-deux-beneath-the?source=share

More spoilers for Joker: Folie à Deux beneath the cut.

The original Joker left it sort of ambiguous as to whether Arthur becoming the Joker was a good or a bad thing.  I mean, obviously it was bad for the people he killed and the people affected by the in-movie violence he inspired, but there was some indication that this was actually a positive thing for Arthur’s mental health.  He started the movie miserable and powerless and ended it smiling and surrounded by admirers.  In the final scene, he seemed at peace with his new self, even if he was behind bars.

Folie quickly dismantles the idea that this represented a positive shift for Arthur.  In fact it’s one of the first things the movie does.

The opening cartoon shows Arthur’s shadow coming to life, committing crimes in his name and then Arthur being blamed and beaten up as a result.  When we see Arthur himself, he’s regressed back into his meek, quiet persona.  He is, if anything, in worse shape than he was at the beginning of the first movie.  He’s lost many of his endearing quirks, like his offbeat sense of humor.  It’s hard to imagine this Arthur playing peek-a-boo with a random baby on the bus.  He seems almost robotic.  And this isn’t surprising, considering he’s spent two years being abused in the hellhole that is Arkham.

Some viewers were disappointed with this character regression, but it seems kind of inevitable.  Like, he’s in a place where he’s locked in a room most of the time and is not even allowed to shave himself.  He’s completely at the mercy of his handlers, and when he misbehaves he gets thrown into solitary confinement.  He’s heavily medicated, on top of that.  Of course being the Joker is not sustainable in this environment.  It’s a reality check:  the catharsis was temporary.  Now he’s just trapped in hell, utterly alone.

(Though, still, they give us a moment where a fellow inmate asks for a kiss from Joker and Arthur just gently, nonchalantly kisses him on the lips.  Kinda surprised no one else has talked about that?)

Enter Lee.  From the beginning there are signs that she’s probably going to be a bad influence on him, but of course he latches onto her when she shows interest because for one thing she may very well be the first person to ever show romantic interest in him (Folie pretty much confirms many viewers’ headcanons that Arthur is a virgin who’s never had a romantic relationship) and for another, she’s a small ray of sunshine in a very dark place.  But of course she’s specifically obsessed with the version of him from the TV movie…which is one of the many elements that makes this movie feel like meta commentary, because even though it’s probably not identical to the Joker that exists in our world, it’s a movie called Joker, about this Joker, which has inspired an obsessed fan who thinks it’s pretty cool that he killed those assholes and hopes that he’ll engage in more mayhem.

The movie also introduces Arthur’s lawyer, who from the beginning is pulling him in the opposite direction.  She’s trying to get him actual medical help and reintegrate him into society, but first they have to convince the jury that it was the Joker personality, not Arthur, who did that stuff.  Does she really believe that Arthur has DID?  Who knows?  But she’s working within an imperfect system, she knows that he is genuinely ill and wasn’t fully responsible for his actions, and she also recognizes that this is his best chance for avoiding the electric chair, so she tries to coach him on the right things to say to the press and the jury.  Which Arthur is clearly not comfortable with, because it involves lying, presenting himself as weak and helpless, and also cooperating with a system that’s been fucking him over his entire life.

Soon enough, Lee is telling him to stop taking his meds, she’s setting stuff on fire and encouraging him to get into trouble, she’s bribing the guards so she can sneak into solitary confinement and fuck him, she’s telling him to wear his clown makeup to the trial and to fire his lawyer.  Arthur’s lawyer, meanwhile, is like, “Listen I know she’s cute and all but this bitch is insane and you need to stop listening to her” and Arthur is like, “BUT DADDY, I LOVE HER.”  Even after he finds out that Lee basically lied about her entire sad backstory in order to manipulate him, HE DOESN’T CARE.  Because she makes him feel good.  She’s the only person who makes him feel good. Even if she's probably going to get him killed.

Which—again, I think is a really interesting central dilemma for a movie!  People say stuff like “nothing happens in this” but this is a shit ton of material to work with.

So I guess the question is, how did it go so wrong?  Obviously, this movie did not work for most people. The reviews are abysmal. While there were aspects I liked, I left the theater feeling like I’d just been kicked repeatedly in the balls and the soul by a cackling Todd Phillips marionette. And not in a good way, in a “fuck you, I already have your money” kind of way.  Is it just the ending?  I mean, that’s definitely part of it. 

I guess it’s the overriding sense that this movie is not pro-Joker but also not pro-Arthur.  He makes the choice to be true to himself—and himself is Arthur—and then the movie viciously punishes him for that, even though it’s set this up as the right choice.  Is the movie pro-anything?  Is the message just “fuck everyone”?

I know people made the same complaints about the first movie—that it was nihilistic, that it didn’t have a message—but to me the first movie was a pretty straightforward exploration of how violence creates more violence.  I did not think Joker was pro-Joker or pro vigilante murder, but the first movie did paint Arthur as a sympathetic figure who had snapped under pressure and made the wrong choices, and yet now, here—in Folie—he makes the final choice to reject his violent persona and reclaim his humanity, or at least take the first step towards that, even knowing it will probably cost him the love of the only person who cares about him.

And what happens as a result?  More violence.  Buildings explode, Lee abandons him, Arthur gets stabbed, the end.

Violence creates violence, and nonviolence also creates violence. Apparently.

In the end it just felt like the movie was delighting in its own sadism toward a character who'd already suffered tremendously, and not for any real purpose. I don't know what happened behind the scenes here. Artistically, I can still respect the chances this movie took. But I also fully understand the anger and frustration with it.

[macabresymphonies]

With the news of cancellation of Good Omens S3 into a 90 minute finale I sort of find myslef reminicing about where does the border between seperating art from the artist lie.

As a preface I'm gonna say I don't have any particular attachment to Gaiman's body of work as a whole. Western comics were never really popular where I'm from outside of extremely niche circles that graduated into standard niche circles only recently, with Gaiman's visual and literary works included. So this opinion does not stem from any particular nostalgic place. As far as I'm aware the situation is currently still under investigation, but there is concrete proof that Gaimain is, by the traditional definition, no longer considered a "good person" or at least not aligning with his previous public persona. I'm not really an authority to speak on the topics involved in the scandal and I'm really here just to ramble on my own personal blog about art and artist relationship, I'll leave the rest to people who know what they are talking about. Good? Good.

I know it's easy for to denounce, degrade or disprove work made by people we find out were some sort of morally corrupt or did awful stuff in their life. This usually stems from the fact it's hard to believe someboy who's in empathetic and introspective enough to write about topics that resonate with many people so well would still choose to hurt vulnerable people around them or to generally engage in activities that mean to do harm to others.

If we take JK Rowling for example, as heartbreaking as it must have been for most fans of her works to find out about her hate campaigns and such, if we look objectively at the body of work in question it was already brought many times it was a bit problematic. Class issues, race issues, character development and morality weren't really well handeled topics in her books and the whole pedestal was really based more on the whimsy of it or mythos that people enjoyed getting immersed into. Even that was put into question with many plagarism allegations, as such, while flabbergasting from a fan's perspective, from outsider's perspective it wasn't really that thought provoking. "Bad person's books turn out to be pretty bad after all" type of situation that's pretty common among people, especially with writing that's generally consider to be "cool", but ultimetly hollow when it comes to emotional stakes.

Another thing is actors that did bad or immoral things. Generally unless an actor doubles as a writer for stuff they star in, it's not hard to imagine that they are actually wicked people behind the curtain. It was a "funny movie trivia" for years that some actors who played the sweetest most innocent characters on screen were awful when the cameras stopped rolling so it's not that hard to detach yourself from their work. Especially when you consider that it's technically not their work to begin with, just because Bratt Pitt plays an important character in Fight Club, does not mean the whole movie should be shunned, because that's just punishing other actors, director, screenwriters even the OG book's author for sins of one person who's personal life was irrelevant to the work in question.

Gaiman is a special case to me, because despite his actions, his work has been universally regarded as very emotional, empathetic and generally very introspective. I was not an avid fan but I did see merit in his work and ideas he helped create. To write stuff like that you need to be in some way selfaware of your own morality and emotions while also being an empathetic enough to be able to imagine how your characters feel. He touched upon a lot of topics, including stuff he's accused of, while also getting praised on how he handled them.

We want to seperate art from the artist and claim it's impossible only when that art relates directly to the artist's immoral deeds (like in Jeepers Creepers), but to me it's just that we don't want to consider the fact that somebody can be so introspective and emapthetic and STILL use their position to hurt people. To write about the emotional damage caused by cruelty and malice of others and then do the same is incomprensible to us and it either speaks really badly about the person or about our understanding of what it means for somebody to be a "bad person".

[mkstrigidae]

APWH preview snippet!

Since I'm actively trying to work on getting the next few chapters out, I thought I'd share a little future scene with some hints of Jonsa with all you lovely people! This bit is from like, a few chapters in the future bc it's the in-between that's giving me fits right now :) (Fair warning: this is unedited and subject to change! That being said, it's such a fun scene that I can't imagine ever nixing it :D)

“Does he even know that they have to avoid the press?”

“For the last time-“ Sam sighed, sounding completely exasperated, “Dickon knows what they can and can’t do- he’s got enough practice not being photographed from when our dad was the secretary. Not to mention spending time around you when that exposé on your crazy grandfather came out two years ago.”

“I just-“ Jon sighed, blowing a stray curl out of his face. “You didn’t see how freaked out she was when the press caught us at that performance in White Harbor. I thought she was going to have a full-blown panic attack.”

He was immediately derailed by Gilly plopping little Sam down in his lap and shoving a bottle into his hands.

“What’s this all about?” he raised a brow, adjusting the baby on his lap, allowing him to latch onto the cuff of his flannel shirt and start gnawing at the fabric. “You going somewhere?”

Gilly shot him a withering look, but he saw the amusement in her eyes.

“I-“ she gestured, imperiously, “Have not had time by myself to shower all week-“

“Sorry, love.” Sam winced, looking up from his pile of paperwork. “I can take a break from these-“

“Not your fault, Sam.” she waved him off. “You warned me about this conference at the beginning of the summer.” a grin played at the corners of her mouth. “Besides, it works out well- Jon needs a distraction right now from the fact that Sansa’s on a date with your extremely hot and conventionally attractive brother.”

“Hey!” Sam looked wounded, and Gilly rolled her eyes, pressing a kiss to his forehead.

“You know you’re my favorite Tarly.” she wrinkled her nose. “How long have you been working on this presentation? You smell like the baby spit up on you.”

“Guess I’m next in line for showers.” Sam said, mournfully. “Unless-“

“Nope- I need my own time right now, Samwell. Did you even hear what I said about why Jon’s bent out of shape?”

Jon had known Gilly since Sam and she had met up north while the two of them were in college. Sometimes, it was hard to reconcile the timid, scared girl she had been with the woman who was currently devoting all of her remaining energy to busting his balls.

“Don’t tell me you’re worried about Sansa with my brother.” Sam snorted, shotgunning another cup of coffee next to him the way Jon was used to seeing undergrads do with jaeger shots. “I mean, this is Dickon we’re talking about. Used to bring wounded animals home to take care of them Dickon? The same guy who cried when we had movie night and Gilly and Rhae wanted to go see ‘Love, Simon’?” He shook his head. “Look, as far as guys she could be out on a date with right now go, Dickon’s kind of the best case scenario. She’ll have a nice time, and he’ll be a perfect gentleman.”

Jon blinked at him, silently turning to look up at Gilly, who rolled her eyes and sighed.

“You’re hopeless, sweetie.” she kissed him on the forehead again, wrinkling her nose. “He’s not worried that things will go wrong- he’s worried they’ll go a little too well.”

“You’ve been spending way too much time around my sister.” Jon muttered, narrowly avoiding little Sam’s grasping reach for his glasses, managing to get the baby to latch onto the bottle before he destroyed any more of Jon’s eyewear. “You even sounded like her just then.”

Sam blinked for a second, his head whipping between Jon and Gilly.“You’re jealous?” He asked, incredulously. “Of Dickon? Wait- you like Sansa?”

“Got there in the end.” Gilly sighed, affectionately patting him on the shoulder before going to shower, leaving Jon and Sam behind with four cups of coffee, one baby, and approximately five brain cells total between the two of them.

“You like her.” Sam repeated, like it was a giant revelation.

“What are we- in middle school?” Jon hissed, immediately turning his head down to smile and make faces at little Sam while he fed him, before glaring up at big Sam again. “I don’t- I mean-“

Sam was just shaking his head.“Of course you do.” he laughed. “Should have guessed- red hair and a damsel in distress? You were doomed from the outset.”

“Shut up.” Jon muttered, flushing. “It’s not like that.”

“Then why are you worrying about Dickon for fu-“ Sam glanced nervously at the baby, “-god’s sake? When Gill was meeting my family for the first time, I remember you told her not to worry- that my brother was ‘one of the best guys you know’ and ‘practically a golden retriever’.”

Jon could tell that Sam, who could not raise one eyebrow without the other, was desperately trying to do just that.

“I don’t know.” He muttered, moving little Sam to his shoulder to start burping him. “Look- I’m attracted to her, alright? It’s a fu- er, a giant disaster that I’m gonna ignore for the rest of my life.”

“Seriously?”

“Stop trying to do that with your eyebrows.” Jon complained. “It’s giving me motion sickness. And yes, seriously. I’m not even going to consider that- it’s just a stupid crush. Besides,” he sighed, rubbing little Sam’s back comfortingly, “Robb’s already dealing with enough right now with this whole Sansa situation- can’t imagine telling him I think his sister’s attractive while he’s being forced to suddenly confront all of his guilt and self loathing every time he looks at her.”

“That whole bro code thing of never dating your friend’s sisters never really made sense to me.” Sam shook his head, gulping down more coffee. “I mean, I’d be thrilled if you decided to date Talla, because I know you’d be good to her.”

“Yeah, don't think she'd quite go for that, mate.” Jon snorted, standing to bounce little Sam around gently. He was just grateful Sam hadn’t said anything else about Robb.

“Eh, wouldn’t count you out completely.” Sam shrugged, smirking. “With that hair, you’re pretty enough to be a girl- maybe that’d be enough for her.”

“You are so lucky i’m holding the baby.” Jon muttered, still bouncing little Sam, who picked that moment to spit up spectacularly down Jon’s back.

“Well, that’s three of us who’re gonna need showers now.” Sam grinned, looking thrilled as all get out that it hadn’t been him. “Wow- his aim is getting better.”

“I’m going to remind him of this when he’s a sulky teenager.” Jon grumbled, wiping spit-up off his shoulder as best he could. “Look- no gossiping with Rhae about this, please. She thinks she’s such a good clandestine agent that she doesn’t always realize that Robb is better at sniffing out her plots than she thinks.”

“Alright-“ Sam sighed, looking back down at the massive stack of paperwork in front of him. “I make no promises for Gill, though.”

“Gilly could give some of my Uncle’s colleagues at the WIA a run for their money when it comes to withstanding interrogation.” Jon snorted.

“Probably true.”

“Where did your brother take Sansa?” Still holding onto a now much happier baby with one hand, he reached down the other to take a gulp of his own coffee.

“He said something about going out towards the Tyrell Estate.” Sam shrugged. “They probably drove out there to see the gardens- he’s said it’s a good road to take his bike out on.”

Jon promptly spat out his entire sip of coffee, staining the front of his shirt as well as the back, and frightening little Sam enough that he started to cry.

“He took her on his motorcycle?”

Gilly picked that moment to reappear, completely clean and with wet hair, blinking at the scene in front of her.

Sam, who couldn’t seem to stop laughing, was desperately trying to calm down the baby, who had started wailing, while Jon’s entire front was covered in coffee and his entire back was covered in baby vomit. Not that he seemed to notice, as his face was white and he was making a series of angry looking hand gestures at her husband.

“I really can’t leave you three alone for five minutes, can I?” she sighed. “Do I even want to know?”

[kylieswift31]

The lightning tree

There has been a consistent recurrence of trees throughout Taylor’s videography over the years. The hunger games series is particular could contain the missing context to understand what the trees represent.

(This was originally posted on X in reply to a comment about the invisible string running through various eras as a fuse for a string of TnT set to go off in succession once triggered. It was also noted that this may extend outside of the TSCU, which I agree with.)

In the hunger games, the wire or thread used throughout the arena (invisible string) is repurposed as a conductor to blow everything up to end the cycle of torturing the next generation. And the sequel ✌🏼catching fire is based on the Truman show. “Moves and countermoves.” It’s planning three steps ahead in a chess game against an opponent who is playing checkers and trying to back you into a corner. The predictability of those around them is what made it possible to plan so far in advance to dismantle the system.

Extending it beyond the TSCU (Taylor Swift Cinematic Universe) creates more connections while leaving no evidence, but it’s just subtle enough that those who are in the know can see it. Just like Truman found a way to communicate with his best friend in plain sight.

The visuals of the mastermind performance echoes the predictable clockwork pattern seen in catching fire. Just like Chely Wright said it would take someone with a level of fame and influence like Taylor has now to enact lasting change within the industry. And just like Truman and Katniss, Taylor is the one standing in the spotlight waiting for the perfect moment to strike when the storm is at its very peak (11.59pm) so her attack creates as much damage/impact as possible. We saw this play out with endorsing Kamala and mentioning Travis in her speech.

“Imagine this. You are sitting on a beach, cold and windswept. The sea is dark and angry before you. The sun sets in muted colors. You finish scrawling on the parchment. Your pen dries up as you reach the end of a story in 11 parts. None of it makes sense anyway. You're sick of having to dilute everything so far beyond recognition. But a story told through metaphor is still a story told. Even the great poet Sappho is survived by stilted fragments and mistranslated lyrics. Maybe that is the beautiful curse people like us must all share. Perhaps loving someone the world doesn't approve of forces you to be clever.” - 🎃 anon

Spider web

Honourable mention: Presley Cash with the spiderwebs that replicate the pattern of the clocks mentioned above. I’ve said this before, but the wheel of the year isn’t talked about enough when discussing clocks. In this case midnight is the end of all hallows eve and marks the beginning of the pagan new year. Does this make Presley the black cat version of the white rabbit? 🪞🕸️🐈‍⬛

The trees

There are so many tree references throughout Taylor’s music videos. I had this list saved for a while but wasn’t sure what direction it was going in until now. And for context these are the trees referenced throughout the hunger game series.

Fearless

Fifteen

Speak now

Sparks fly

Red

All too well

Begin again

1989

Out of the woods

Evermore

Willow

Willow

Midnights

Karma

Other

Safe & sound

Christmas tree farm

Miscellaneous

Tree Paine

Spotify

The Lorax

The Lorax

For context: The Lorax movie begins with Mr O’Hare taking advantage of the fact that all the trees were cut down to begin creating a town reliant on bottled air to survive. The main character Ted tries to impress his crush Audrey (Taylor’s character) and begins the search for a real tree. With the help of his grandmother, Ted embarks on a journey out of town as he learns about how the Once-ler instigated the destruction of the trees despite many warnings from the Lorax (who speaks for the trees).

The Once-ler (the anti hero) spends his life as an outcast on the edge of town. “When I picture my hometown there’s a bronze spray-tanned statue of you, and a plaque underneath it that threatens to push me down the stairs at our school.” He’s the magician that put on a show to impress everyone out of desperation to fit in. In the end he redeems himself by giving Ted and Audrey the last tree seed so that they can plant it in the centre of the town for all to see. In the process the golden statue of Mr O’Hare falls over and creates the first crack in the fake grass, revealing the real soil underneath. “Touch grass” -Katy Perry. The town comes around to the idea of changing the way things are done after they see the real tree with their own eyes.

In the end Audrey was the first one to speak up and question if there was a better way to live and Ted (who became her boyfriend) ended up being the one who created change by taking her idea from a dream to reality. I can’t help but wonder if this is what happened with TNT?

There are so many elements of this movie that are applicable to the bigger picture, but viewing the trees as a metaphor for what celebrities endure is eye opening to say the least. ❤️‍🩹

“My beloved ghost and me. Sitting in a tree. D-Y-I-N-G.” -How did it end?

Animal crossing

Honourable mention -Hayley Williams referencing the trees from Animal crossing. The trees and the game in general have a similar fake look to them as the scenery in the Lorax movie. This feels like an acknowledgement of the fantasy vs reality so many experience throughout the industry and that not everything we see is as it seems.

Real vs fake

To circle back to the connection between the trees and the invisible string, the willow music video is where these two elements come together. At first I thought the communal nature of the orbs represented the New Romantics, but viewing it through the context of the Lorax it now feels like a reference to everyone who benefits from the system staying the way it is. The real vs manufactured trees.

Unravelling the thread and sharing it around ensures that artists can thrive without being dependent on sticking to the old ways. In an interview Taylor mentioned how she likes to network at parties and how easy it is to share contact details and group photos etc through airdrop without leaving a trace. I feel like this is one of the ways experienced artists are sharing their wisdom with the new generation like Ice Spice, Gracie Abrams, Sabrina Carpenter and Chappell Roan.

And for all of us watching it all unfold from home, we have the opportunity to choose which narrative to focus on. We can either sit back and wait for a grand reveal or pay attention to the cracks gradually forming in the facade.

“Please picture me in the trees”

A tortured poet,

Kylie x

[msfbgraves]

The first Godfather movie is on Y*utube for free now! I rewatched it and it was just as great as I remember, so on to Part 2. But then I went on redd*t to check out some Godfather threads, and was disappointed to see so much discourse on who was hotter, Apollonia or Kay. And why there is so much hate against Kay, mainly because she is “too feminist” and “educated”, doesn’t “obey or support” Michael, and that she’s not as beautiful as Apollonia. All in all a disappointing experience. I didn’t see any male characters reduced to how handsome they were or were not : /

Let me help you there, then, Nonnie - of course Michael was destined to become the new Don - he is far prettier than Fredo, Sonny or Connie. And Vito was prettier than Don Fanucci all along! 😎

All this "Kay isn't good enough for Michael" discourse - he pursued her. Both in film 1 and 3. And the only time I felt Kay was weak, was when she said yes when he returned. Imagine, here is your war hero boyfriend who says he wants a clean American life... and then he shoots two people, leaves the country, ghosts you for a year, tells you he has become a career criminal and then proposes marriage. She should have said no, she really isn't open to this, but is this man, who she knows has people killed with no repercussions, a man she can refuse? As little as Vitelli could really refuse Michael's request to court Apollonia. The first thing Michael says to him is: "If you don't do what I want, I will kill you, and what I want is meet your daughter."

But alright maybe love isn't rational. Maybe they loved each other still. Kay really wasn't suited to mob life and that is on Michael. He knew who she was and it didn't matter, he wanted her. He had barely a clue who Apollonia was, her with no English and he with broken Italian. It didn't matter, he wanted her. Kay would have been perfect for Michael Corleone, aspiring senator, which is what he was when they met. But he didn't care Kay was not suited for who he was now. Why didn't he grieve Apollonia and find another mob wife? Why didn't he remarry after their divorce? Even when he proposes Kay is already reluctant and Michael pushes and pushes and pushes. She must represent something he actually does want, still.

But it's always the woman's fault when relationships don't work out, isn't it? No Kay wasn't a good mob wife. She didn't want to be one. She got out with her children - that is something Michael never managed. And Apollonia is something many men imagine they want, but when they have it, they get bored. I am not saying Apollonia wasn't intelligent, but if you get told to completely erase yourself into motherhood, which means you can't offer more than comfort and sex - that's not enough for a lot of people. And it's not like these women wouldn't have had more to offer but everytime they try they get shut down. And what you get then is Carmella, which may have suited Vito - that man who craved domesticity above all else - but even Sonny and Michael needed more input from her than she could give. So Michael fell for the total opposite. And maybe Apollonia was a fierce presence who might have become to Michael what Connie became, but we can't know. We don't know what she and Michael talked about. We know she was very beautiful and made Michael laugh, and she may or may not have had a slight independent streak. That's it.

I feel that they might have worked because they clicked emotionally and Apollonia knew the life. But Michael didn't look for someone like her again. He looked for Kay, again and again and again.

If she doesn't suit him - and no, she doesn't suit a Don - Michael should try to figure out what itch he was trying to scratch with her. Oh, and that obedience shit - in my experience, boys who go on about that are deeply insecure about something. They couldn't get a well trained dog to obey them, let alone a person!

All these men who think they're owed power while being unwilling to do what they'd have to to obtain it, always want women to fawn. Men who have what it takes to gain power, should they aspire to, usually spend time honing a skill. They rarely throw their weight around putting others down. No matter where they start, the bottom or the top - they put the work in. Michael did, Sonny did, and Fredo mostly complained. As much as we see anyway. If Fredo had done a good job with what he was given, or would have found himself an opportunity, he would have won Michael's respect. Not position,but respect, like Tom. Instead Fredo demanded respect for his position as an older brother.

That's the type of man who whines about having women obey him.