#but i highly believe he shouldn’t be given the choice to at this point LOL

[akkivee]

arguably the best piece of merch coming out of the xmas collab are the christmas ornaments with a surprise lmao

#this is vee speaking #or the free them xmas decorations if pokemon is on the brain or something lmao #i’ve kinda been picturing kuukou yeeting these as like a christmas surprise except the casing inside tells me the decorations are metal #like kuukou im sure has the upper body strength to have the decoration open upon impact #but i highly believe he shouldn’t be given the choice to at this point LOL #c: rapping boys

[itsclydebitches]

RWBY Recaps: Volume 8 “Ultimatum”

Welcome back, everyone! We had an unexpected break last week due to the horror going on in Texas. I'm glad we did. Not because of any salty "RWBY is bad right now yay free Saturday" feelings, but because keeping to a schedule for a fictional webseries should never take precedence over peoples' safety. I can't believe I need to type that sentence out, but it's true! Over the last seven days I've seen fans who are not merely disappointed by the mini hiatus (understandable) but outright hostile towards the crew because they... were ensuring everyone survived during an unprecedented emergency? Yeah. Given the highly critical nature of these recaps — including today's! — I want to be clear that my thoughts towards Rooster Teeth's creative choices are distinct from any thoughts about the crew itself, including the most basic forms of compassion like, “I sure hope everyone is okay over there.” In an age where it has become horrifically common to harass creators and even send them death threats over stories, it has likewise become necessary to remind people: Don't do that shit. Never do that shit. If I can teach anyone anything at all, let it be that!

Anyway, dark fandom reminders out of the way, let's dive straight into our delayed episode. It was certainly a doozy. Titled "Ultimatum," we open on a trigger warning for flashing lights. Good on Rooster Teeth for including that, though I do wonder if creators shouldn't be including time stamps as well? Or perhaps a note that you can find those time stamps in the credits, avoiding any (minor) spoilers for everyone else? I'm not photosensitive myself, so I certainly don't mean to speak for that group, but my first thought was, "So how would I watch this episode if I was? Hand on the pause button, hoping I stop fast enough as soon as the lights start?" Hard to do given the surprise nature of the scene. Really, my answer would be, "Wait for the fandom to post warnings of their own, likely including where it happens so I know when to skip" which is perhaps an indication that this information that should be included from the get-go.

But I am glad the warning exists, regardless. The episode itself begins with a shot of Ironwood looking down at the kingdom. He's used his windows as a vantage point since Volume 7, so that's nothing new, but something about this particular shot reminded me of Ozpin, looking down from his tower. I'm sure the response from many would be simply, "Ah yes, the two power hungry dictators watching over their victims," but I think there's a much more nuanced reading here about leaders being expected to fix the literally unfixable and what that responsibility does to an individual. Of course, it's a nuance that is absolutely obliterated by the episode’s end, but the implication existed for a hot second!

Two other soldiers are in the room with Ironwood, reporting that Cinder has helped Watts escape. They try to soften this with news that they still have Jacques in custody, but receive only a, "I don't give a damn about Jacques Schnee." Which, fair. He's pretty useless at this point. It's when Ironwood learns that both Qrow and Robin escaped too that he really gets mad, something his subordinates have been expecting given their scared expressions.

Now, I'm treading lightly here because I realize how this is going to sound given the end of our episode, but I still want to note that outside of that ending... this is a weird take? Just hear me out. Since Volume 7 the show has worked very hard to make Ironwood seem scary and unstable — bad setup for what we end with today — but the problem is that none of it works in context and it certainly doesn't work when compared to other characters' actions. They are literally in the midst of an unwinnable battle and thousands of his people are dying. If the audience wants a human being — who also just lost a limb and was betrayed by half his allies — o remain perfectly poised and polite during that, sorry, but that's not how human beings work. But even beyond this, what’s the message here? Ironwood raises his voice, so does Yang. Ironwood hits his desk, Qrow hits a child. If we're going to examine how Ironwood handles his stress and anger, he often handles it better than many of our heroes. Namely, by continually taking that anger out on inanimate objects. I kept waiting for him to attack his subordinates or attack Winter this episode, especially given where we end up, but it never came. Ironwood always has enough control to break the desk or punch the wall, not the person in front of him. Which, of course, would not be a good thing in the real world. I want to be clear given these sensitive subjects that if someone is breaking things in your presence that's a major problem to address. But this isn't the real world. This is a fantasy world in the middle of a war, populated by other characters who express their anger by punching people, slamming them into walls, or screaming at them until they run away. The story wants us to fear Ironwood long before he makes his objectively horrific choices and it tries to achieve that by showing us characters who are clearly terrified in his presence, by giving us a string of broken objects in his wake. But those details don't land well when we compare them to other instances of stress. In the same volume I have watched Ironwood take a deep breath to calm himself down when things have gone horribly wrong. I've also watched Weiss start a conversation by threatening her defenseless brother. So again, what’s the message here? It can’t be that acting violently towards someone = villainous behavior because, as established since Volume 6, that’s common for the heroes. Why are these subordinates terrified about Ironwood slamming his fist on a table, but Whitley has no problem hugging the woman who threatened him? Obviously there is a HUGE difference between our main group and Ironwood when it comes to other actions (cough-bomb threats-cough), but these day-to-day moments don't match up. The show wants to use violence as a way for us to easily identify the Bad Guy while ignoring all the times when our heroes do the same thing. 

All of which isn't meant to be a defense of Ironwood. As we'll see in a bit, there is no defense for what he's done. Rather, it's a way of acknowledging just how badly he's been written. Why does a man who consistently reins in his anger and takes it out on objects suddenly shoot a councilman for literally no reason? Why does a man defined by wanting to save as many people as he can suddenly threaten to bomb his city? Ironwood's characterization is all over the place, in the sense that they keep writing him as the morally gray, sometimes harsh, but ultimately compassionate man he started out as... up until they need a villain. Salem isn't here yet, so Ironwood can shoot Oscar. Salem isn't attacking yet, so Ironwood can shoot the councilman. Salem is currently reforming, so Ironwood can threaten YJR and Mantle. He's the B-plot villain whenever Salem is out of commission, which is a problem for both their characterizations. This filler doesn't make sense for Ironwood and it severely undermines the threat of Salem. You finally introduce the Magical Big Bad and our heroes are facing more of a threat from a guy with a broken army and three loyal allies left? Hmmm.

The tl;dr is that Ironwood's arc is a disaster and, frankly, it's gotten old reading simplified takes of, "It's just a realistic look at what white U.S. men will do in power sweetie :) " RWBY does not have the context capable of conveying that sort of critical take because our world is not besieged by literal monsters and an immortal witch, to say nothing of how real life good guys do not get deus ex machina canes that fix the problem instantaneously. Ironwood is not an example of anti-U.S. imperialism, he's an example of writers who don't know how to write.

Anyway, I'm getting severely off topic. Obviously Ironwood is a major part of this episode, but the problems demonstrated here are two years in the making. This is the culmination of things I've been discussing for months across hundreds of posts... so I should probably stop trying to summarize it all in a few paragraphs lol. Perhaps when RWBY is over — or Ironwood has died — I'll do a single meta on his character, try to pull everything into one, unified argument.

For now though, we have an episode to analyze.

While Ironwood is receiving this news we get flashbacks to Qrow and Robyn. Qrow attacks a soldier in his bird form, which is hilarious. Someone GIF that please. It does raise some interesting questions about this magic though: does Qrow retain his aura and strength in this form (something I thought given his choice to transform during the explosion), or was that soldier just so shocked at being attacked by a crow that he went down easy? We'll never know, because that would require establishing concrete rules for this world. The point is Qrow is going feral in his freedom, throwing punches left and right — did he kill that guard? — while Robyn watches it all from under a rock. They're apparently still somewhere in the facility since all the exits are guarded, but that's not the good thing Ironwood seems to think it is. After all, Qrow is out to murder him. He wants to be there.

We all see where this is going, right? The show is going to ignore Qrow's crazy belief that Ironwood got Clover killed in favor of a "Qrow saved Mantle by murdering Ironwood"/“Qrow got revenge for Mantle by murdering Ironwood” ending. Who cares why Qrow wanted to kill him in the first place now that Ironwood has his finger on the trigger? If RWBY is good at anything, it's writing moments that encourage you to ignore everything that came before it. We'll be seeing more of that in just a bit.

"Damn it!" Ironwood yells, because the show is leaning into its cursing. He orders that the subordinates not return until "you have Qrow Branwen in custody." Here we have another great example of the show conflating what the audience knows with what other characters know. See, we know Qrow has a vendetta against Ironwood. We know their relationship is the important one to the story and that Robyn is incidental. Ironwood doesn't know that. There's no reason for him, as a character, to specify that they only bring Qrow back, but it makes sense for the audience who has the whole, thematic picture. Our understanding of the situation is influencing Ironwood's dialogue, which is... not great.

This entire scene we've had creepy music to hammer home just how evil Ironwood is. Except, as said, he takes a breath to calm down and the music fades. Instead of flying into a rage, hurting someone, or doing anything the music suggests he might, Ironwood calmly calls in for an update — which is when the explosion hits.

It's MASSIVE, seeming to originate from a lightning strike, which is weird, since it's coming from inside the whale, but whatever. The animation is very dramatic and pretty, as we've come to expect of RWBY, but the actual plot is lackluster at best. It's funny though because I thought for a hot second, when Winter and the Ace Ops were caught in the blast, that RWBY had actually done something exciting. I mean, holy shit! There are the deaths we expect from a battle like this. My god, what is everyone going to do when they realize that Oscar's needless attack took out five characters, including Weiss' sister —

No wait, never mind. They're fine.

Let's talk about that "needless" descriptor for a moment though. Do you all remember, two weeks ago, when I went, "Hey, why isn't anyone telling Oscar that that Ace Ops are approaching with a bomb? They're on a time limit! If someone would just mention that Very Important Information then Oscar wouldn't keep standing around to fight Salem." See, at the time I was frustrated because of how the plot was needlessly allowing Oscar to put himself in danger (especially when the whole point of this mission was to rescue him). Now, I'm frustrated because that same plot needlessly wasted the most powerful weapon the group had. There was no reason for Oscar to use literal lifetimes worth of stored energy when the heroes already had a bomb to do the same job! What was the point of that? I guess he took out the other grimm too, but without the whale that still would have been a challenge with a finite end, one Ironwood's army and the remaining huntsmen should have been able to handle. It doesn't feel justified to have Oscar use a weapon kept on the bench for lifetimes when there was another option literally minutes away.

There's so much wrong with this I need another list. So:

Ozpin's cane supposedly stores kinetic energy, which may contradict what we've seen from it before. Regardless, we’ve never heard about this. The all powerful weapon comes out of nowhere

It also begs the question of why Ozpin wouldn't use that power at Beacon and why he wouldn't insist that they try to get their cane back while captured. You had an out this whole time! But we’re going to ignore that because Oscar is a little hesitant? 

Which makes YJR's presence even more useless than it originally was, which was already pretty useless. Oscar essentially rescued himself

This kinetic energy miraculously doesn't hurt any people or buildings, just grimm

So what is the point of Silver Eyes? That's been their MO since they were first introduced. Sure, Silver Eyes can be used far more often than Ozpin's cane, but it still feels like a let down to learn that the Big Secret behind this weapon is... the exact same thing Ruby has been doing for years

Like Ruby, Oscar likewise didn't need any practice or training. He just set off this massive attack perfectly and without issue

We have now eliminated the biggest threat to the cast instantaneously — the whale and the other grimm — with no effort from the rest of the heroes. Like the Hound, the stakes are obliterated with no satisfying work on the part of our protagonists 

Instead, as said, the actual plan already in place never happened. The bomb just... goes back. Kind of like how Cinder attacked and then just went back to Salem. Penny woke up and then just got knocked out again. We continue to go in circles 

This is because no one took two seconds to tell Oscar, "There's a bomb on the way"

Because this threat is gone the show needs a new one, hence Ironwood randomly threatening Mantle with said bomb

The one way we might have justified Oscar blowing up the whale instead of Winter is if he did it to save Hazel, but Hazel is implied to be dead

Maybe he's alive, but if he's not that happened off screen and we're not sure how. It couldn't have been because of the blast itself — everyone else is fine — so what, Salem somehow killed him before she was blasted to bits? While he was holding her? 

And there's no body?

Salem was torn apart multiple times during that fight and reformed instantaneously, yet now, conveniently, she's taking her time

None of the characters mention the issues above. None of them admit that there was no reason for Oscar to waste LIFETIMES worth of power when they already had a solution in the works. Fantastic

I need to take a moment to acknowledge that so far this recap feels... bad. Disjointed. Bit all over the place. Which makes a certain amount of sense because that's where my thoughts are at. There's so much going on in this episode — so much wrong with it — that I don't know how to boil it all down into a few, neat claims. This episode is a mess! We're barely a few minutes in and the combined issues of Ironwood's characterization and Oscar's choice have left me reeling. So if you're still reading this, bless your patience, I think we'll both need it for the rest of this journey.

Let's snag a neater plot-point to discuss. Amidst all the chaos Neo literally skips away with the Lamp, clearly thrilled at how her own life is going. Later in the episode she'll text Cinder with the obvious: Salem is going to be pretty pissed when she realizes this is gone. “If you want her name you know what you owe me." 

So wait... what is Neo leveraging here? Is she agreeing to give the Lamp back so Cinder doesn't get in trouble with Salem? Give Salem the password she's been looking for? Or give Cinder the password to use the Lamp for herself? What would Cinder even want the Lamp for when she's after the Maiden powers? I'm confused about what Cinder is being blackmailed with. Regardless, she needs the lamp for something and presumably what she "owes" Neo is Ruby. We get a cut to her just to hammer that home.

(Side note: both pictures of Neo are hilarious.) 

Before that though, back at the whale, everyone is taking stock of the situation when Marrow cries, "Hey, they were still in there!" I feel like this is another scene meant to make him look like the one good guy in the group — he cares about YJOR while the others can’t be bothered — but as always, that reading doesn't fit well with the situation as a whole. The others have barely had time to realize they're alive. I don't think it's a moral failing that they didn't instinctually worry about four betrayers, one of whom attacked them, while they're still checking that they have all their limbs intact. Besides, why does Marrow assume they're dead? The Ace Ops were caught in the blast as well, yet miraculously came out unharmed. They clearly didn't set their own bomb off, so it's logical to assume that YJOR did something themselves. It feels weird to have a "Marrow mourns them and Winter is the only other character who cares" moment when everyone is recovering from bomb shock and no one even knows if the others are dead. But, of course, the show is out to portray only two of these characters as good people, so ignore the logic and run with the emotion of the scene.

All of which is bolstered by Elm pulling away when Vine puts a hand on her shoulder. Why is she acting cold towards him now? Because they're not friends, remember?

While we get more ridiculous relationship dynamics, Ironwood calls in and congratulates them on the bomb working, but tells them to get back because they have another problem in the works. That would be Qrow and Robyn. Winter decides to tell him about the bomb in person.

We cut to Watts and Cinder watching the remnants of the blast from a rooftop. Cinder has tried calling, but no one answered. Unsurprising, given that Salem doesn't have any other allies left. Cinder says that the plan hasn't changed, she's still going to take the Winter Maiden's power for herself, and Watts can help her by bringing Penny here. He explains that he doesn't have full control over her. Rather, he implemented a virus that is setting her on a single path: open the vault, then self-destruct. Cinder, as one might expect, is furious.

She snags Watts by her grimm arm and threatens to toss him over the side of the building. Thus begins the best part of the episode, hands down. Despite the danger he's in, Watts throws common sense out the window in favor of dragging Cinder in the most satisfying manner possible. 

“You think you’re entitled to everything just because you suffered, but suffering isn’t enough. You can’t just be strong, you have to be smart. You can’t just be deserving, you have to be worthy! But all you have ever been is a bloody migraine!”

It's true! You know what else is true? This speech could apply to our heroes as well. Accusations of entitlement and reminders to be smart as opposed to just strong hit hard, considering those are the same flaws our protagonists are struggling with. The difference is that Cinder, miraculously, listens, pulling Watts back to safety and going to cry by herself. That moment is simultaneously more growth than Ruby has gotten and more sympathy than Ironwood has gotten. The woman who murdered Pyrrha is treated more kindly by the narrative than one of our initial heroes and our very first villain has taken more time to reconsider her choices than our title character. You know a show is falling apart when excellent choices are applied to the worst possible character.

So Cinder is crying while Watts looks guilty and we cut back to YJOR's group post-blast. Yang is finally able to answer a call from Blake who is obviously overjoyed to see her. Weiss gives them directions to the mansion and they ask what in the world they'll do with Emerald, currently on her knees, mourning Hazel.

Thus begins the third most frustrating part of this episode. See, on the way back the group continues the conversation about what to do with Emerald, with Yang and Jaune distrusting her vs. Ren and Oscar encouraging cooperation. I can't believe I'm saying this after's Ren's speech and Oscar's entire existence... but I'm team Jaune and Yang here. Look, what Oscar and Ren say — the literal words coming out of their mouth — is nonsense. Ren goes, “We can’t let all of our actions stem from fear," as if Yang and Jaune are being ridiculous for mistrusting Emerald, one of the established villains, after years worth of harm from her. It’s weird that Yang points to her arm as something Emerald is responsible for, rather than being framed or the deaths at Beacon, but the general sentiment of, “She’s done horrible things!” is true. Ren’s perspective is the same simplification that was applied to Ironwood last volume, wherein everyone acted as if he was crazy for fearing an attack on his kingdom... post an attack on another kingdom and pre an attack on his kingdom. Putting generic lines in Ren's mouth about not being afraid makes him sound willfully ignorant, as if choosing to believe that someone is good will magically make them so, to say nothing of thinking it will erase all the harm they've already done.

Oscar at least acknowledges the difficulty here, but then follows this up with, “You don’t have to forgive her… just give her a second chance."

Oscar, honey, that amounts to the same thing in this situation. Allowing Emerald a second chance means working with her, which means trust, which means emotionally reaching a point where these characters can put aside the harm she's done them in an effort to give her that chance in the first place. This actually ties into a post I saw last night, one I've come across before, that claims redemption arcs don't require any suffering on the part of the person who has done wrong. I agree in theory, that prolonged suffering doesn't help anyone, but the problem is that people tend to conflate suffering with consequences and someone who has done this level of harm should face consequences for their actions. The problem with redemption arcs is not that the bad people suffer too much —  emotionally and physically beating on them as a form of revenge  — but that the people they've harmed are put into situations like this one. If Yang and Jaune let Emerald go like she suggests, they are agreeing that she doesn't have to face any consequences for the damage she's done (which, keep in mind, involves multiple deaths, not including all the lost lives here in Atlas). If they agree to give her a second chance, they are forced to jump straight to some level of forgiveness. We might claim they don't have to forgive Emerald to work with her, but from a practical perspective how are they meant to function, especially during a warzone? Anything she provides them with — information, watching their back in a fight, undertaking missions, etc.  — requires trusting her enough to allow those things to happen: working with that info, letting her protect them, allowing her that responsibility. It's all about trust, trust she has yet to earn. In order for a redemption arc to be successful, the power has to be in the hands of the victims. They need to be able to see some justice for what was done to them, be offered some proof that the person in question has truly changed, and have the ability to walk away if they decide no, I don't forgive you, glad to hear you've improved, but please stay out of my life. Jaune and Yang have none of that. There are currently no systems in place for Emerald to face consequences for her choices, she has offered them no proof of her remorse or true motivations, and the other half of the group is pressuring them to give her that second chance without closure or reassurance. None of that makes for a good redemption arc and reducing that to, "So you want to see poor Emerald suffer, huh?" ignores the suffering she has already caused. The group are her victims and they are under no obligation to give her a second chance, particularly under these circumstances, which makes the story's choice to have Ren and Oscar act like Yang and Jaune are being stubborn or inconsiderate a problem. The conversation boils down to, "Give the woman you know to be a liar, manipulator, murder accomplice, and servant of our enemy a second chance based entirely on unfounded faith. If you don't you're letting yourself be ruled by fear."

RWBY's touchy-feely themes really don't sit well within its realistic, morally gray premise. We cannot continually have these characters go through hell one moment and then have others accuse them of being paranoid the next. The fact that all of this is wrapped up in the group trusting Robyn, Emerald, and Hazel over their established allies remains beyond frustrating.

Because yeah, you know how Oscar finishes his speech? “I’ve already gotten a lot of help today from someone I don’t exactly trust right now." Meaning Ozpin.

The story is trying to compare Emerald and Hazel to Ozpin.

"Oh hey, I kept a secret from you after lifetimes of watching that secret lead to betrayal and death. I keep apologizing for my mistakes while ignoring that I had no reason to trust a bunch of kids with such world-shattering information and also that you tore it from me in the most traumatic way possible."

"Oh hey, I willingly joined our world's version of the devil and helped her destroy your school, leading to numerous deaths including your friend and headmaster. It was his death that put Oscar in this position in the first place! I then continued to attack your group, leading to another near death of a friend, and a kidnapping, and the destruction of Amity, until I became scared enough to make a run for it."

Which one of these characters is granted an instant second chance? You'll never guess who!

And I do think the word "instant" is important here because just like Jaune and Yang have the right to have distance and justice from Emerald, they had that right with Ozpin too. The difference is they got it. They had the power in the situation, as evidenced by their use of the Lamp and physically attacking him. Ozpin heard what they needed from him — leave us alone — and did that without complaint. They were given months to come to terms with the secrets he kept. They were offered apologies and acts of service to demonstrate intent: saving them in the airship and continually saving Oscar. I don't believe Ozpin ever needed a redemption arc, but even if we think he did, he had it. After three volumes of material Oscar's perspective is still "I don't exactly trust [him] right now" but Hazel and Emerald have earned at least the same amount of trust in a matter of hours? They're really having my boy look at the guy who has tried desperately to do right by him despite unimaginable circumstances, and the guy who tortured him to get information for Salem, and went, "That first guy. He's the one we need to watch out for."

To make things even worse, Oscar tells the others that Ozpin took on all the torture so he wouldn't have to. So he did that and they still don't trust him? If you had told me back in Volume 6 that two years later the group would still be hostile towards Ozpin, while simultaneously urging one another to trust Emerald, I would have said you were lying. RWBY has its problems, but it's not that bad. Yet here we are. I suppose the one silver lining here is that Ren smiles when he realizes Ozpin is back? So at least one of them isn't prepared to draw their weapon at the mere mention of his name.

Both these moments raise more questions though. How in the world did Ozpin take on that torture when we clearly saw Oscar getting pummeled for a good portion of the kidnapping? Is that a weird merge thing the story hasn't bothered to explain? I wouldn't be surprised, considering Oscar said last episode he didn't want to use magic because it hastened the merge, he uses the biggest explosion of magic we've ever seen, and nothing has changed. Ozpin is still in the back of his head, thanking him for the tinniest shreds of decency they get. Ren, meanwhile, seems to be back to mindreading. How in the world does he know that Ozpin is back? I assume it has something to do with his semblance, but we don't know what. They could have shown us Oscar from Ren's perspective, perhaps with two distinct emotions swilling around to imply that he sees two different people now, not a useless shot of Emerald with purple flower petals, whatever purple means.

Oh, but no, we shouldn't have gotten either of these scenes. Remember that Ren's aura broke a very, very short time ago? Is it back already? Can he use this part of his semblance without it? Considering it was near impossible to see Ironwood's aura breaking in the Watts fight and we were then mistakenly told he used his semblance in the office, I'm going to go with, "The writers forgot."

Oscar explains that the cane had "lifetime after lifetime" of power in it and though there's still some left, "we have to be careful with how we use the rest." He says that Ozpin trusted his judgement and of course he did! Ozpin also didn’t know that there was a bomb on the way. Yet funnily enough, no one else mentions that, whoops, your choice made in ignorance was a waste and that's due entirely to us prioritizing hugs over basic mission information.

Also, all these explanations take place in front of Emerald. Half the group doesn't trust her, but they'll freely discuss their powers and limitations here. Remember how the group once wanted to talk about magical relics in front of the old lady they'd just met? Yeah, they've learned nothing.

Combine all this insanity with the fact that Ozpin's magic saved the day before Ironwood's bomb could do the same... while Ruby sat in a mansion drinking tea. Who's our hero again?

So things are a hot mess, to put it lightly. Their conversation finally ends when they hear voices and round the corner to find all the Atlas citizens huddled in the subway. For once the show actually writes them in a sympathetic manner, emphasizing how terrified and helpless they are. This image doesn't lead the group to any revelations though, certainly not anything that would tie back to Ren's earlier speech in the snow. No, once again the justified criticisms here are ignored as we hear that “However this fight ends, we could really use someone like you, [Emerald.]” That's it then. Discussion over. We knew as soon as it started that blindly trusting her was being presented as the "right" thing to do and now here we are, deciding that conclusively, despite Jaune and Yang's complaints. By the time the group reaches the mansion, Oscar is defending Emerald from Ruby. We're supposed to just accept that she's a part of the group now, only minimal pushback allowed.

Before that though we return to Ironwood getting news that their bomb never went off. He briefly wonders who else could have done that, but puts the currently unanswerable question aside for what he does know. They still have the bomb and it could be "useful." See, this moment — like shooting Oscar and the councilman — is when Ironwood just randomly goes off the deep end. One minute he's talking about what they've lost and cradling his new arm, 

the next he's saying that he should have tortured Qrow to get Penny to obey him! Which doesn't even make sense since I'm pretty sure Penny hasn't ever spoken to Qrow. She wouldn't want anyone to suffer, true, but it's not like Ironwood had a close friend like Ruby to use as leverage. Qrow is just Some Guy to her. Regardless, he thinks Yang, Jaune, and Ren are decent replacements, despite Penny also having no relationships with them. This is what happens when your characters only start breaking up their teams eight years into the story, the response to Ironwood wanting to torture Ren to hurt Penny is, “Does Penny know Ren exists?” But, you know, torture is torture, right? Maybe. Probably not. I mean, if they're going to turn Ironwood into a cartoon villain, they could at least keep him smart.

Because all of this is just the height of stupidity. Ironwood wants to torture people Penny barely knows to make her listen (so just grab some civilians? It would do the same job...). Ironwood wants to shoot down empty ships, even though no one, including us, knows where in the world those ships would have gone. Ironwood wants to destroy an entire city to try and save another city. He wants to use a bomb meant for a comparatively small whale and acts like that alone will take out the majority of a kingdom. None of it makes sense! And I know the easy comeback for that is, "Well yeah, Ironwood is crazy and evil" but he's not. I mean he is. Threatening torture and bombings is obviously evil, but he's never been insane, or stupid. As said before, his arc (or lack thereof) is an absolute disaster. The fandom assumes so many things about Ironwood given the opportunity — the whale is a suicide mission. He expects the Ace Ops to die on his order — and the writing hints at so many things that never happen — he's going to hurt his subordinates, attack Winter for disobeying him — and every time what we actually get is a far more compassionate, level-headed character... until he randomly does a 180 and goes, "Let's murder a whole city now!" I never wanted Ironwood to be the bad guy, but they could have at least given me a persuasive decent into this level of horror.

So... yeah. Ironwood has got to die by the end of the volume, yeah? Between Ruby warning the whole world about him and him going into full villain mode, there's no coming back from this.

Neo sends her text to Cinder and the group makes it back to the mansion. Remember Yang's criticisms of Ruby's leadership? The ones she conveniently forgot about when Ren started to agree with her? Yeah, those are entirely gone as the sisters hug it out and, presumably, forgive one another for... daring to admit that things are bad? Look, I'm not going to deny that Ironwood's scene with Winter was creepy as fuck, 

but I'm not of the opinion that the heroes are any better when it comes to the theme of obedience. They've attacked one another, screamed at one another, and any dissent from Ruby's leadership results in the questioner being left behind in the snow. We'll accept you again when you fall back in line. I used to adore the relationships in this show, but watching them now is just discomforting. The show might be 100% more obvious with Ironwood, using creepy music, a smile, and that hand on Winter's shoulder, but the concept of, "Sorry I dared to question you before! We won't ever do it again :)" isn't healthy either. The fact that the show keeps erasing theses problems with hugs — Weiss hugs Whitley now, Yang hugs Ruby, someone will probably hug Emerald soon — doesn't make the circumstances any less uncomfortable.

None of this even gets into the Blake and Yang hug. First of all, why is Blake acting like they had a fight and Yang might not want to see her? She's hiding inside rather than rushing to greet them, ears down in a devastated expression until Yang touches her. Combine this with Yang's "Do you think she's mad at me?" and it feels like the writers cut a fight in the final script and then didn't bother to remove the fallout from that. Seriously, where did any of this come from? You can't just have characters act like they've been fighting when they haven’t.

Also, can't forget this.

At this point there's nothing more I can say in regards to RWBY's almost-queer baiting. Is touching foreheads more intimate than the hugs Yang gave the others? Absolutely. Is that an appropriate stand-in for overt representation? Absolutely not. This would have been a perfect time for them to kiss. Take out Blake's nonsensical fear and replace it with them both reuniting after their first separation since Volume 5, working under the knowledge that either one could have been killed, finally admitting their feelings. Hell, they don't actually have to kiss. Not all girlfriends are interested in kissing! But they could use the terminology that makes things unequivocally canon.  Another forehead touch when we got that in Volume 6? It's not enough, especially not when our straight couples have all been allowed their rep.

Ren at least wants to know where Nora is. He's presumably told what happened off screen as Oscar tells Ruby that Emerald is their friend now.

Then an emergency call from May interrupts the reunion and the group learns that Ironwood is bombing the Schnee ships. “Those ships… they were going to save people” Weiss whispers. How? Tell me how they were going to save anyone. Where were you going to take these people where they would be safer than where they are now? RWBY continually asserts things without explaining them, meaning there is precisely zero emotional weight here. Again, Ironwood is far past the point of defense, but I'd be a whole lot more critical of this particular action if I had a better sense of why it's bad. He appears to be endangering the people given May's shout to run — falling debris? — but the further implication is that Ironwood has doomed the people of Mantle by denying them these ships. It's that part that makes no sense based on what we've been told.

Which finally comes to the ultimatum of our episode title: Penny opens the vault, or Ironwood bombs Mantle. Great! So glad this plan is wicked smart and works well for his characterization. It's definitely not a nonsensical, unfounded, overblown change that feels like it belongs in a child's cartoon, complete with dramatic spotlight. Nope. Excellent writing choices all around.

Our final line of the episode is, “I hope you live up to the title I gave you," referring to Penny's job as the Protector of Mantle, and you know what? That line could have been very cool if it was delivered by an Ironwood with a persuasive fall and a halfway decent plan in place. I love that we've twisted the concept of a protector and turned the title into a horrifying, rather than honorable responsibility... I just hate everything surrounding those details. 

So, usual RWBY fare.

(At least we get to see that Nora is awake!) 

Will things get better over the next four episodes? I doubt it. We're still expecting the rest of the Ace Ops + Winter to ditch Ironwood, someone getting the vault open, the fall of Atlas, now the potential destruction of Mantle, and none of that includes Salem who should reform at any moment. Frankly, I'm not looking forward to any of it. The final leg of a season should make its audience excited to see how everything turns out, not dreading it. I've heard from multiple people that this is the volume that finally got them to drop the show and honestly? I'm not surprised.

As a final (happier?) note: we've finally got a bingo! I completely forgot our board last time, which was a terrible oversight, but we can update it now.

Our army of grimm can't kill anyone now that it got KOed by Oscar (that is the third one hit defeat of a major enemy we've seen this volume. Yes, I'm including the Hound considering it was obviously on its last legs after Ruby's eyes.)

I'm likewise including "Ozpin apologizes for everything including his existence" because he's done nothing but apologize since he came back. The emotion is there even if the literal words are not. Oscar reminded everyone of how untrustworthy he is, but kept the group from jumping them again. And Ozpin thanked him for it.

Neo didn't literally backstab Cinder (shame), but the Relic still counts.

So a triple bingo! Is that how bingo works? Idk, I've never played. I feel like I should have thought up some sort of humorous prize, but sadly I've got nothing. If you think of anything, let me know lol

That’s all then, folks. Until next week! 💜

#rwby #rwby spoilers #rwby volume 8 #rwby ultimatum #rwby recaps #mymetas

[smndragon]

HI HI HI HOW ARE YOU?

ME:fine

My big three are Pisces sun 11th house (if houses are allowed), capricorn moon 8th house (💀) and Taurus rising!

And yes most of my planets are in detriment 🥲

Thank you luv! Take your time 💞

First off I had to sit up in bed it's so late here (I'm fine I'm watching history stuff rn on the Victorian era)

Second off let's go hm. This is honestly gonna be awkward. My methods are confusing I'm sorry and sometimes I may mix energies😭 Pisces sun, Capricorn moon, and Taurus rising. Have to turn my tv down to connect. (Took my hair down so I'm feeling more energy and I love it)

NO MORE STALLING I NEED TO DO THIS. the Pisces sun and Capricorn moon are reaching out more than Taurus rising. (Possibly form reading those first lol) when I see the pisces I see flames for some reason? Something cold along those lines, the fire feels like I could pass through it dancing and it wouldn't burn me one bit. The Pisces sun is retracting it's touch so going to come back in a bit. Multiple marionettes are in the distance of the Pisces sun home, women and men all alike in fashionable ballet poses. Hung up on the walls with black paper. The walls of a weirdly enough idol? I see fairy lights of cool colors and bright lights. The walls are blue and white, color changing over and over. I don't see the Pisces until typing this, in the middle of the room, on pillows of all arctic tones. (My screen broke so typing this hurts my eyes kinda sorry for typos) the Pisces takes the form of a wise and authentic sheep or lamb. Fish in bottles cover the rooms shelves and book holdings. Many jars of items never seen before by modern eyes or old. (Though they do seem modern in a way I just ramble and write this all at once sorry) from the dancers I believe you may enjoy the finer arts of things related, or stand in your kitchen with songs or silence somehow making your own music. The pictures move on the walls creating fairytales and stories of all kinds. Leaning towards probable loss of childhood or the indulgence in stories close to your heart. The Pisces sun may be placed in the chest, lower stomach, or left hip? It cools your heart sometimes but you do seem very warm. I keep thinking of Hans Christian Andersen and his stories in my mind, possible Disney adaptions. Your Pisces sun offers warm hot chocolate to it's passerbys, the walls turn to the form of an iced igloo (possible misspelling) the place your Pisces sun offers in other people's hearts is undeniable, true to their beliefs and nature, sweaters adorn it's wool. Possible love for warmth and bigger clothing unless parties come around. I feel the Pisces sun could offer difficulty in relationships because of its worrying nature at times, the Pisces is more fiery than common belief but it still holds meek under certain presences. "Hide me" it keeps saying, moving from it's pillows to behind me. It loves it's host too much, it has been with you in more cases than just this lifetime, I feel it new it would reach you someday as most zodiacs do. The sun's eyes are so wide they hold galaxies, love for stars and hearts or heads filled with the knowledge of them. Curiosity has killed this sign so many times it stopped looking on its own. Your host body helps it explore and it thanks you for that.

THIS IS SO LONG ALREADY.

Your Capricorn moon is dear to you. It sometimes pushes the Pisces sun over in order to make room for itself. It takes the form of a bull, headfirst hitting your heart with it's passion and longing. It shakes the core of your other zodiacs, waking them every morning like an alarm. This could possibly cause headaches, pain in your sided, or heartburn? The dark sleek hairs on the bull have gifted you the roots of your hair (not color just strength and devotion to grow). I now see the possibility of baldness at some point? Either by choice or you've thought "f*ck it why not?" But didn't go through. The bull had a golden cow ring, it shines in distance. The light creates a desert image to the people witnessing it. The Capricorn moon entices the mystery and wanting form others that gods had gifted its patrons. Your hair is a natural element of your being. I see messy mornings with a toothbrush in the holder. Standing in front of the mirror a host looks into their eyes looking for the Capricorn. A tiny bit of reminiscence is the eyelashes of your eye and the marks on your skin either moles or beauty wise. I saw an image of a cow looking birthmark and that's adorable but not a probable so ignore. "Love" it tells you this with every hit of its horns on your heart. Love until you're bleeding but not when you're burnt. Carry it's fire and temper and show it to anyone who pains your loved ones or crosses its borders. Don't flush people out, just learn that you will always matter and the Capricorn moon will always be there. It has engraved it's initials in the form of hooves so far deep into your flesh you will never not feel it. I see clear skin which could have been helped with facial products or natural and pure sweat. The bulls hard work always pay off, and the sweat at the end of the day will always be a sign of its natural influence. Highly intelligent and most utterly gorgeous. Okay well while I was writing this it took a turn and started coming after me so we'll leave it there. I keep coming back here god, sickness or flus were common once to your body or mind, the pain has washed over (past current or future?) Placement definitely near the heart or lungs. They seems cracked in the future, avoid smoking.

I feel I haven't given enough information hopefully it'll give more later on.

"hold me" "me, me, me" I keep hearing it form your signs. The Taurus ascendant loves the fire of your Capricorn moon. It admires the reigning image of the zodiac and wishes to connect with it. Often they hide away from you in dreams, enjoying thoughts and snacks, talking of what's to come in the next hosts life. (They still love you don't worry) you leave them wondering how they got here, how their host became the person they are now. They whisper congratulations to you in your sleep, sometimes wandering your housing area, looking for parts of you in every little thing. The Pisces sun seems more isolated from the rest but they force them to deal with their presence. (Pieces secretly loves it) the Taurus rising works exactly well with the bull Capricorn, waking the same and sleeping the same. It love to chat and talk the boots off of your conscience. Arguing it should be able to hold some power and that the consequences will be worthit. They honestly need to take a break, I thought of them in stripper boots and heels pointing at the sun💀 I'm guessing that's the house of your mind in the desolate desert. The Taurus rising offers crops and room for experience and experimenting growth. Crops of corn, greens, and etc. It carries fields and fields of cropping on its back. Dealing with your struggles by coating them in salt and good food. This makes me think there's a possibility people think you take things too lightly. That's not always the case you just worry over and are both tired of it at the same time possibly. You've down your work and you don't owe much to this world unless you offer. Retract your hand if you need please you deserve it. Lay back with shades and swim wear even in the broad neighborhood those people's thoughts shouldn't matter. The Taurus rising has taken your burdens, it worries not for your future as it plans on keeping close eyes on the plants and fields in your chest and body. Vines of fruits of all kinds grow on the legs area, possible things associated with that area in life or mind.

All in all your signs balance you with love, kindness in the form of drinks, handshakes between all time friends, warm goodbyes, lovely future meals, and more. They care for you and no matter what your decision is they appreciate your thoughts. Your method is precise, always carry on and back it up.

For future health I see fevers and malnourishment, not to worry with your friends and loved ones in the future or from the past. Possible miscarriage if heavily dosed on certain things, I see birth control, pain relievers, and stuff to take the edge off involving cars. Careful driving. Honestly, hit your head on the steering wheel when you're stressed it's been a long time coming and it'll heal🤍 you have a good proportioned body. Skin is soft and loved by all who see it. Your smile is so intoxicating it should take place of the sun. "Hold your friends close and your enemies closer" I saw that and I love the vibe it gives off, feels like a mob boss person and I dig it. Keep doing you, I don't see many problems just keep going you're doing great and the afterlife that you believe in or even if not at all is prepared with roses and decorative caskets filled with all your most fashionable items. The Taurus brings out fashion and luxury so it's not a surprise you may like the finer afterlife you've got all set up. Kiss the devil if you see him he adores you (not wishing bad just saw it). I keep seeing people form peaky blinders. Possible other zodiac influence is Gemini, Virgo sun or moon, I see the weird word hysteria, other Capricorns tend to attract so gl I think you may know some placements. Based on the houses with my knowledge your sun in the 11th is a good place to be it gives a communal and work influenced life. People like your ideas and the friendships are worth while, you bring a hope to people that isn't needed sometimes but is always there, feels like an office friend situation. Possible job friendships and popularity. Capricorn moon in 8th tells me you have cardinal secrets, both zodiac and sins. It's not on my knowledge just a feeling, but it isn't wrong you've been redeemed in almost every culture and religion, I see you may not have strong religion in the basic stuff but you do care for culture. You spend your time admiring the loves of other nations, countries, religions, lifestyle, and more design and architecture came up 3d modeling too I feel like the little baby 3d model kit is something you need to try with a family member, lover, or friend, it's gonna be a bit messy but you'll like it some bit. I don't get know what detriment is sorry but I feel I got somewhat through that it made me think of mental health, hardships, and overall security somehow idk. Ask for more if you want I feel I forgot stuff and this has been so long sorry.

COMING BACK TO REALIZE I MISSED ENERGY COLORS! Taurus ascendant is a warm orange, dry sun rays and heated lamps are seen, the colors loved by those in hot weather used to it. The Pisces sun is cool with blues, grey's, whites, and a tiny smudge of yellow in soft swirls. Particles surround it. Capricorn moon is overly intimidating me right now. It glares so much god. It's color is dark blues mixed with purples and sea refuge vibes. Deep sea diving why don't they. The colors could create pallets only seen by me. They are honestly really beautiful.

HONESTLY WHAT AM I DOING ITS 4 AM NOW. okay description wise. I see short it average person. Possibly tall but idk I doubt myself during these but they seem to be right when I do???? Hesitation is a problem with me. I'd say 5'2-5'6 possible 5'7 or even 6'0 your energy says I'm huge don't ignore me so what's happening. Age could be somewhere to late teens through late or mid twenties (using basic knowledge it's not likely you aren't so open as a young teenager but your aura says you're young as ever. Your skin I want to say is dark tanned yet still seen as white but the Indian part makes me doubt. My mother is what looks white you'd never guess so I thought possible brown to black hair maybe even possibly a light brown? (Vague I'm so sorry) I see a beauty mark on your arm, inner thighs somewhere. Your lover now or in the future has a possible tendency to kiss you all over at times? Random. Your clothing style is bold yet meek. You wear things not expected in the season but still fits within the cultures of seasonal beauty. Rock hair would suit you ngl in my mind it's the smallest maybe. You have many boots and few heels possibly, possibly to add height though given since duh that what they're kind for. I see a red car somewhere idk ignore that. Possible relations to the goddess Hera in some way, she gifts you with few of her talents, some being a pathway of unseen gold. Do more crazy poses don't care if it's weird do it. Memories do it for the memories. I see many Taurus themes possible soulmate bond placement if you believe in that (I have theories against the basic soulmate thing but I still like it).

[dc41896]

POV

So I’ve been wanting to write something based on the song pov by Ariana Grande and then a certain someone decided to attack my heart strings yet again playing the piano so this is an idea I thought of lol. Also this is a sequel to Between the Lines.

Pairing: Chris EvansxBlack Reader

⚠️: None, all fluff! (Well maybe a teensy amount of sad times because of the lyrics)

“There she is,” Chris smiles entering the small make shift studio holding two steaming mugs. Joining your bundled form on the grey loveseat, he hands one to you before sweetly kissing your cheek and moving your legs to stretch across his lap. “So how’s my two-time Grammy nominated superstar doing?”

That’s pretty much all he called you now, besides his usual baby and honey, ever since the list of nominations were announced a couple months ago. Every time the words left his mouth, you found yourself giddily smiling and feeling as if you were in a dream you were bound to wake up from any moment.

Like other artists, winning a Grammy was always one of your ultimate goals and now that there was a possibility you could take home not one but two, you felt immense pride and excitement that your hard work was paying off. This excitement soon turned into stress though with the added preparations you needed to complete as the big day quickly approached. Since you were also performing, you and your team had been busy thinking of what the perfect song choice would be as well as concepts that would match.

So far everything was perfect until your pianist had an unfortunate accident requiring him to have surgery on his wrist. Now you were even more stressed wondering if there were any other people you knew that could fill in.

“A little overwhelmed honestly,” you sigh placing your phone down before noticing what exactly was in your mug. “How did you know I was craving cocoa?”

“Well knowing how stressed you’ve been lately, I figured you’d want some since that’s when you crave it most.”

“Aww thank you baby,” you smile leaning over to wipe his mini chocolate mustache before kissing his lips.

“Still looking for a piano player?”

“Yea but with it coming up so soon, we might just have to do the backup song which isn’t entirely a bad thing, but then I’d have to think of a totally new concept, outfit, then we have to rehearse, I’d have to tell the producers at the show we changed it-,”

“Hey let’s take a break from that okay?,” he speaks trying to calm your rambling and very apparent nerves. Taking your hand, he pulls you closer to sit on his lap guiding your head to fall on his shoulder. “I know things aren’t going how you want, but everything will work out. You’re gonna have an amazing performance that people are gonna talk about for the rest of the year, and no matter what, me, your family, friends, and fans will be so proud of you.” Bringing your hand to his lips, he peppers kisses along your knuckles and fingertips making you smile as you snuggle closer to his neck.

“Thank you.”

“No problem, you know I’m always here.”

Soothingly rubbing circles in your back the way you loved for him to do, you nearly let the vibrations from his humming lull you to sleep before an idea makes you sit up, staring at him now confused.

“Honey? You okay?”

“Yea...yea I just thought of something. What about you?”

“What about me?”

“You play piano for me! I mean you know the song you’ve heard it plenty of times, heck you even helped with the melody. Then that way nothing has to get changed!,” you excitedly answer holding onto his shoulders.

“Yea all of that is true, and I’d love to help but are you sure? Y/N that’s your night, I don’t want anybody trying to say I’m somehow tied into your success when that’s not true.”

“Chris, you and I both know people are gonna talk no matter what, and as long as I’m with you sadly someone’s gonna think that and try to spread it everywhere. But I don’t care what anyone says, and you shouldn’t either,” you smile moving your hands to rest on his partially bearded cheeks. “Like you said it’s my night and sharing it with the man I love will make it even more special. Especially if he’ll be right beside me the whole time.”

“Whether I was physically on that stage with you or not, you know I’m always beside you.”

Closing the gap between you, his lips capture yours in a quick yet passionate exchange before he rests his forehead against yours.

“Now if you win, does that mean my name goes on it too? I mean as you said I helped with the melody and I am providing my services,” he states as you both laugh holding onto each other.

“I don’t know about the name inscription, but we can work that out later,” you answer.

———

“Alright five minutes guys!,” Gina announces fluffing your curls one last time. Noticing your infamous lip bite as your knee rapidly bounces, Chris places both hands on your knee quickly kissing your cheek before being swatted away by your best friend giving you a much needed laugh. “Hey relax, no smudging the makeup until after they say cut.”

“Two minutes!,” a voice yells as you try your best to breathe.

“You got this alright? You’re gonna do great!” Giving you a quick hug, she disappears behind the cameras and soon you hear the cheery presenter in your ear as she begins introducing your performance.

“Alright now I’m not trying to be biased, but this next performer is one of my favorites! She’s been killing it this year with the release of her highly anticipated debut album which led to her two Grammy noms tonight. Performing from her personal studio, here’s Y/N.”

The piano softly plays in the background as the camera focuses on you perched on a wooden bar stool. Pulling the sleeves of your pullover sweater over your hands, you take a quick deep breath as your cue to start approaches.

It's like you got superpowers

Turn my minutes into hours

You got more than 20/20, babe

Made of glass, the way you see through me

You know me better than I do

Can't seem to keep nothing from you

How you touch my soul from the outside

Permeate my ego and my pride

I wanna love me

The way that you love me

Ooh, for all of my pretty and all of my ugly too

I'd love to see me from your point of view

I wanna trust me

The way that you trust me

Ooh, 'cause nobody ever loved me like you do

I'd love to see me from your point of view

Glancing over at Chris in his backwards cap, grey tank, and sweats a small smile forms on your lips watching his fingers delicately press against each key. He could feel your eyes as he looked up with a smile himself winking at you and making you innocently giggle.

I'm gеtting used to receiving

Still gеtting good at not leaving

I'ma love you even though I'm scared

Learnin' to be grateful for myself

You love my lips 'cause they say the

Things we've always been afraid of

I can feel it startin' to subside

Learnin' to believe in what is mine

I wanna love me

The way that you love me

Ooh, for all of my pretty and all of my ugly too

I'd love to see me from your point of view

I wanna trust me

The way that you trust me

Ooh, 'cause nobody ever loved me like you do

I'd love to see me from your point of view

Standing from your seat, you slowly make your way beside him on the bench resting your head on his shoulder while the camera pans around to catch your cute exchange.

I couldn't believe it or see it for myself

Know I be impatient

But now I'm out here, fallin', fallin'

Frozen, slowly thawing, got me right

I won't keep you waitin', waitin'

All my baggage fadin' safely

And if my eyes deceive me

Won't let them stray too far away

I wanna love me

The way that you love me

Ooh, for all of my pretty and all of my ugly too

I'd love to see me from your point of view

I wanna trust me, ooh

The way that you trust me, baby

'Cause nobody ever loved me like you do

I'd love to see me from your point of view

As he plays his last few notes, your arms gently wrap around his bicep and your chin rests on his shoulder before you peck the corner of his mouth. His lips twitch into that adorable smile you love so much after mouthing “I love you” and all those around cheer with claps and whistles.

“You did amazing honey,” he whispers cupping your cheek with his warm hand.

“Thank you, and you too Mozart.”

“Nope, we’re not making that a thing. We both know I literally could never,” he replies making you both laugh before being startled by Gina’s squeals.

“Girl you won best new artist!”

“Wait what?”

“You won! They just told me so you can go ahead and make your acceptance speech! They’ll play it when the category comes up.”

You have to be nudged by a chuckling Chris being in such a state of shock. Oh course you hoped and wished you’d win, but you didn’t expect it to actually happen. Returning to your barstool, you try to collect yourself as the signal is given that the camera was rolling.

“Wow, um hi everybody! I honestly didn’t think this would happen,” you nervously laugh. “Um first off thank you mom and dad for your support even though I was probably really annoying singing all over the house all hours of the day. Thank you to the fans, of course, for your support as well from streaming to buying my music and all the other ways you guys have been so amazing to me. I may not be able to respond to every single post, tweet, or DM but I see you guys and from the bottom of my heart I truly thank every single one of you. My friends and my team, I love y’all so much and appreciate all that you guys do to help and keep me sane.”

“And to the one who inspired the song that helped me get this award,” you sigh peering past the camera to see a glossy eyed Chris leaning against the wall. “Thank you for being exactly what I need when I need it, whether it’s a cuddle buddy, a partner in crime for late night food runs, or a friend to remind me to love myself when I’m doing the opposite. I love you and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you.”

Rotating the silver band on your ring finger, you hold up your hand with a shy smile to reveal a sparkling princess cut diamond making everyone around beam with excitement, and surely those who would be watching at home.

Taglist: @fumbling-fanfics @honeychicanawrites @honeychicana @lady-olive-oil @themyscxiras @melinda-january @lovelymari4 @maxcullen @literaturefeen @damnitaa @curlyhairclub @plokyu23 @fullofmelaninsarcasmandepression @nunubug99 @felicity-x0 @ellixthea @jojolu @jnk-812 @brwn-sgr @captainsamwlsn @wildfirecracker @nina-sj @iammyownlover @chaneajoyyy @scoop93535 @secretmysteriousperson

If anybody wants to be tagged, has asked to be tagged but don’t see your name, only want to be tagged for certain people I write for, or no longer wish to be tagged just let me know🤓!

#chrisxblackreader #chrisxwoc #chrisxreader #chris evans

[vagrantblvrd]

Super self-indulgent FAHC AU wherein for whatever reason Geoff doesn’t come to Los Santos to start the FAKE AH Crew until ~later.

Meanwhile, everyone ends up in Los Santos anyway - because reasons - and have to scrape by without the support of the crew behind them?

Like, hacker/thief/??? Gavin ends up in Los Santos via a series of unfortunate events in which he is a total shit and sticks his nose where it doesn’t belong?

Cue his ~fleeing to the US and meandering his way along - getting in trouble along the way, because of course he does, but also amassing a rather impressive list of contacts and such as well - to Los Santos.

Where, lol, of course he gets in over his head yet again? Young and stupid and tries to get one past the wrong guy and before he knows it he’s got himself an arrangement, right?

Work for the guy he tried to fuck over or be horrifically murderized, and oh, hey? The family and friends he left back in England? Sure would be a shame if something happened to them, you know? They seem lovely.

(Why would you just look at the pictures and videos this guy has of them doing all sorts of everyday things and accidents happen, you know. Awful, that.)

Anyway, anyway, Gavin keeps his head down and plays good little hacker/thief/???.

Gives his new boss what he asks for out of him and no more, doesn’t volunteer information or skills or anything he may have himself or know someone who knows someone who might be useful.

No.

Gavin does what’s asked of him and lets his boss’ goons and thugs push him around - little weasel, a coward and so on?

But also Gavin is making a list (or two or three) that has all kinds of interesting information to be had in them? Things his boss’ enemies or other such interested parties could use to utterly ruin the bastard.

Gavin’s got plans, you see, it’s just a matter of time and all that.

Until then he’s meek and mild and does his part whether it be hacking or off to steal some shiny little bit of interest to his boss or whatever else his boss knows he’s capable of. (Nasty stuff, when you get down to it, strange how his boss never wonders how Gavin knows how to do any of this stuff or rest easy thinking they won’t be used on him, but arrogance will do that to people, I guess?)

ANYWAY.

Things are going along...well enough when Gavin’s boss brings in a new hacker.

This kid (not really a kid, if anything a couple of years younger than Gavin at most, but he seems young) who buckles down and plays nice without the rough treatment Gavin and the handful of other hackers and “specialists” like him that have been through the base where Gavin works most of the time.

Gavin would let things run their course for this “Matt Bragg” but he’s not like the others Gavin’s been forced to work with?

They were always the same kid of wrong as his boss and his boss’ favorite goons and thugs. Mean and cruel for the sake of it and didn’t worry who they were hurting so long as they made a profit off it.

But Matt Bragg, okay.

Quiet kid, keeps to himself and gets this pinched look on his face when their boss decides whatever information he handed over to him was to be used in the most “efficient” way possible.

Matt gives their boss two different routes to obtain whatever shiny he’s after, one with minimal casualties on all sides but it’ll take a little longer. The other requires guards and security to be killed, but it shaves a hefty chunk of time off the entire operation, and no bet which one their boss chooses.

And, look.

The fact that Matt took the time to come up with two different approaches like that - contingency plans, yeah, sure, that’s a given - but Matt went out of his way to devise a tactic to avoid having to kill people.

Other things like that crop up from time to time, and Matt gets into trouble for it sometimes, taking too long to get the boss the information he wants because he’s concerned about having to kill some hired guns in a batch of mercs or rent a cops or whatever.

But he keeps on looking for those alternatives, and Gavin takes an interest.

Realizes Matt’s in the same boat as him with regards to working for their boss. Details might not be exactly the same, but whatever they are he ended up here same as Gavin, and that’s.

Interesting?

interesting.

Enough for Gavin to take that interest in Matt, sabotage him here and there so the boss gets pissed, yeah, punishes Matt by restricting his “privileges” and so on?

But there’s a good reason for that.

Because Matt’s good at what he does, too good, and there have been others like him through here before.

Got chewed up and spat out and left to fend for themselves when the cops (or worse) came looking.

Got set up, put on a job and left high and dry in the middle of it while the boss and his flunkies got away with the shiny they were after and a pretty little scapegoat/sacrifice left behind.

It’s where Matt’s headed if he’s not careful, and he isn’t.

Careful, that is.

Goes along with what the boss wants, but he’s the stubborn kind of idiot, you know?

Mouths off when he shouldn’t, and it gets him knocked around a bit. Gets him noticed by their boss’ goons and thugs when it’s the last thing people like them need or want.

Matt’s not stupid, realizes what’s going on and goes to confront Gavin about it, grabs his arm and freezes when Gavin lets out this little hiss f pain, pulls his arm back when Matt’s left staring at him.

Because in all the commotion Gavin’s sleeve got pulled up and there are these marks, bruises and worse and faded scars and -

“What - “

Gavin scowls at Matt, because rude, and also, idiot.

“Leave it alone, Matt Bragg,” he says, meaning Gavin deliberately fucking Matt over and everything else, because you know, because.

Those jobs and tasks and whatnot of Matt’s that Gavin sabotages him on?

Have to get done by someone, and Gavin’s reliable about things like that, isn’t he. (Has to be with everything he’s got on the line and all.)

So Gavin does the jobs/whatever Matt was supposed to and since Gavin has certain skills and the whatnot Matt doesn’t he ends up in the field when Matt would have remained at the base.

Gets hands on experience with whatever conundrum was posed to Matt, and sometimes that means he gets hurt because like hell will his boss offer him helpful support and such, you know?

It’s Gavin thieving about in hostile territory and with the odds stacked against him and shit always goes wrong.

And if it’s not the job/whatever where Gavin gets hurt you can bet their boss’ goons and thugs have something to say about things. (Gavin’s got a mouth on him even now, and makes enemies like you wouldn’t believe without trying.)

So anyway, anyway, Matt is like !!! and oh, you fucking moron, and drags Gavin off to get propery patched up.

Cue Friendship montage in which they realize they’re more or less working towards the same goals - Gavin wants the fuck out of this arrangement he was forced into and would rather do that than burn things to the ground while he’s still inside.

But Matt?

Lol, fucker would cheerfully burn the place down around him and figure his way out from there.

So.

Montage sequence in which they team up and utterly wreck their boss and his operation.

And, you know, because hackers end up filthy rich afterwards.

Fuck around for a while because Freedom and Choice and :DDDDDDDDDDDDDD but then they get word their boss had enemies who are looking to take over his territory and such and Gavin and Matt are like “...wait.”

Between them they have the resources and connections to set themselves for life in Los Santos, so they do?

Start setting up their own little criminal empires in the remains of their former boss’, and they start by bringing in assholes like this Rimmy Tim guy Matt met out at a bar one night?

Recently liberated from their boss and getting a drink to celebrate while Gavin was making sure things were good back in England and his boss’ allies/whoever couldn’t touch them and Matt’s more than a little tipsy, you know?

Mouths off to the wrong guy and almost gets the shit beat out of him but this weirdo in purple and orange (”I remember yellow, too?”) comes along and plays white knight for Matt.

At which point Matt has to buy him a drink as a thank you and the two of then end up getting shit-faced drunk.

Also you know.

Smooches are exchanged because oh, hey, he’s cute/hot/I like his face a lot before the alcohol kicks in and they end up snuggled together on a bed and passing the fuck out.

Not important whose bed, so much as the !!! the morning afterward realizing they went home with some weirdo and...smooched? Before snuggling and passing out???

And then awkward dating, because of course, and hey, since we’re building a criminal empire I totally know a guy, Matt says to Gavin, and then has to add, “It’s uh. We’re dating? But he’s exactly what we’re looking for for the whole...criminal empire thing???”

Gavin would be highly critical of Matt and his everything if it weren’t for the fact a bounty hunter he tangled with a ways back finally tracked him down?

Michael is super not thrilled with him, because of course?

This whole Thing where Michael got sent after this asshole hacker/thief/whatever in Gavin and they ended up being all 80s movies romcom/action flick flirting while avoiding the legit hitmen sent after Gavin?

Saving one another’s lives - at one point administering mouth-to-mouth - and getting matching flesh wounds in a shootout followed by a teensy amount of torture by some baddie?

And then!

Michael rethinking turning Gavin in only for Gavin to make that decision moot when Gavin knocked him out and chained him to a motel radiator before fleeing to parts unknown?

Only not so unknown as Michael finally found him.

There’s a cat and mouse game that ends up with both of then soaking wet - caught out in a rainstorm/went for a swim in a river/body of water - and Michael scowling at Gavin like he’s about to beat the shit out of him?

Only he kind of does...not that, what with the Angry Kissing that’s happening and Gavin’s !!! that turns to :DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD and Michael’s >:((((((((((((((((((((((((((( that turns to >:((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((( becuase Gavin is a piece of shit and Michael hates him so fucking much, stop laughing you little shit!!1! >:(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((

Anyway.

Gavin and Matt have Jeremy and Michael, and then the rest trickle in?

Like.

Gavin worked with a gang a while back that hired this sniper - odd sort, but damn good with a sniper rifle and the kind you can trust to keep their mouth shut.

Ray’s not in it for the long-haul, not looking for a crew, but he’s always up to do a favor for friends and such.

And then Michael meets Lindsay through -

“Don’t fucking ask, seriously.”

And then!

Some friend of Jeremy’s in Trevor - this !!! You!!1! - moment between Gavin and Trevor because Thieves!!1! who may or may not have run into one another in the field and ensuing shenanigans as they were after the same shiny and oh, what a fun night that was, eh?

Alfredo just.

Suddenly fucking there???

Seems to know Michael who is like, “Oh, this fucker,” and no one can tell if he likes Alfredo at first? But then it comes out Alfredo used to be a bounty hunter too before he decided it was more fun being a “bad guy”

(Extenuating circumstances in which he was hired by some people to bring in some poor bastard who was innocent of whatever crime they said he committed because reasons? Alfredo finding out and then shenanigans in which he saved the poor guy’s life and set them up with a new life somewhere and ended up being framed for crimes he didn’t commit and all that. And since he was being framed for crimes he didn’t commit, why the hell not go out and commit actual crimes?

But.

Like.

Fun crimes.)

And then!!1!

Just as things are going smoothly, Gavin and Matt’s old boss manages to hire some assholes to kill Gavin? Matt would be great, sure, but the focus is on making Gavin super fucking dead, and everyone is freaking out, right, because for whatever reason they all like the little shit?

General sort of panic/mayhem until one of the assholes hired to kill Gavin actually gets their hands on him?

Catches him alone somewhere and while everyone is panicking trying to find Gavin, Gavin himself is :DDDDDDDDDDDD because the asshole who caught him is the fucking Vagabond.

When everyone gets to where they are Gavin’s like ??? at all the fear/panic he’s seeing and is like. “Guys, it’s my ex!”

Because this whole thing way, way before Michael and such where Gavin met Ryan and somehow wasn’t murdered?

Managed to make friends with the bastard that turned into something more and it was good, really, really good, until it wasn’t.

Someone from Ryan’s past gunning for him and Ryan ran Gavin off - “Bastard shot me!” but Gavin’s not mad, not anymore.

And it wasn’t like Ryan ran him off so much as dumped him at the ER and left Gavin to deal with the gunshot wound and explaining how he came by it to the authorities and then trying to find the bastard again afterward.

Which...he didn’t, but after months looking for him his contacts told him the Vagabond had set up shop in a city somewhere and seemed to be doing well for himself?

And Gavin was like :(((((((((((( because oh, well then, thinking maybe Ryan was better off without him weighing him down and such?

(Because hey, Vagabond and some hacker/thief/whatver in Gavin and honestly, no doubt who the more capable/dangerous one of them was.)

Thinking if Ryan wanted to, he could have come back for Gavin, or at least looked for him, but he hadn’t,so.

Gavin left him to it, kept on his way towards eventually arriving in Los Santos and everything that happened since - including Michael, oh shit - and then, uh.

Super awkward inching towards Mavinwood with Gavin and his feelings for Michael and Ryan and Michael and Ryan with their feelings for Gavin? But also bonding over the fact they have feelings for Gavin, because the guy’s a little shit, you know?

Complete asshole, and oh my God, do you want to hear about this one thing he did once?”

And so on, and also other reasons such as oh no, he’s hot and oh no, he’s an unbearable dumbass, why do I always fall for them?

Fiona comes along because Gavin’s old friends in England get curious about what’s going on with him and there’s a misunderstanding and she kid of, sort of, tries to kill him?

Like.

A lot.

Worse than that time every asshole in the city (and beyond) were after the price on Gavin’s head and persistent as hell and “Wait, Dan told you to what?”

And Fiona’s like “He said, and aI quote, ‘Take care of the wanker, for me, would you, Fiona? I’ll owe you,” and other such things and Gavin almost dies from laughing so hard while Fiona’s like “What? What are you laughing at, you asshole?”

More shenanigans and such and by the time Geoff and Jack do get to Los Santos they’ve heard about this weird as fuck crew  - dangerous, rumors say they took out the biggest name in Los Santos’ history to get where they are - and are greeted with Gavin and Matt and all the other assholes, what even??

#ragehappy #mavin #mavinwood #jerematt #possible alfreyco because of course there is #and other fun things #¯\_(ツ)_/¯ #late night thoughts??? #technically not a fic #vagrant fic #long post

[beautifully-tuan]

for my dream - 1

Masterlist

Mark Tuan x Reader arranged marriaged!au, angst, eventual fluff Warnings : one or two curse words and Mark has a girlfriend lol Word count : 1980

Requested by anon :)

 As expected, when Mark’s parents announced that he would have to marry you, he thought it was a joke. Well, actually, not entirely. Part of him already had a weird feeling from the moment he stepped into the living room. The atmosphere was heavy, and everyone was looking at everything except him. The tension was palpable, and he knew something was off. But his parents’ demand was way beyond what he could’ve imagined.

 At first, he laughed. Then, seeing his parents’ dead serious expressions, he began to panic. He protested, obviously. Accepting wasn’t even an option to him. He’s in a relationship, he has plans, he’s not ready for marriage, and even if he was, it should be his decision to take, not anybody else’s. He explained all of that the best he could, not too angrily, although he was infuriated. He explained that there was no way in hell he was going to marry you. He was convinced that there was nothing his parents could say or do that could change his mind, which is normal. An arranged marriage is not and will never be acceptable in any family, except that Mark’s family isn’t any family, and he’s about to remember it the hard way.

 His father starts by saying that you, the woman he would have to marry, didn’t hesitate a single second before accepting. That’s no surprise to Mark, considering this company is your entire life. Of course you would accept. What’s a marriage compared to an empire, right? To you, he’s just a puppet, another echelon for you to climb so you can make it to the top. That’s why, despite you and Mark’s parents being the closest of friends, he’s never been close to you. On the opposite of you, he’s a simple man, with simple dreams and simple plans. He couldn’t care less about money, business and all those things you’d sacrifice your life for. He just wants to make music. He wants a home and a family, he wants love, and you want power. Just for that, he couldn’t even imagine being friends with someone like you. And now they want to two of you to get married. And you didn’t even hesitate a second before accepting.

 Marks defends himself, tells his father that he is not you. And he is right: no matter how hard his parents tried to get him involved into the family business, unlike you, this company has never meant anything to him. He even dropped out of college just so he wouldn’t have anything to do with it. At that time, his parents weren’t happy with him, of course, but they understood. They let him live his simple life, away from their home, pursuing his dreams. And now he is asked to give all that up. But then his father starts talking about being grateful, and that’s when Mark’s determination to win this argument starts fleeting. His father reminds him of the sacrifices he made just so he could make his son happy. He reminds him how hard he’s worked, how hard he’s tried, how patient and understanding he’s been when Mark refused to get the education he deserved... And Mark can’t talk back because he’s right. His father has done more than enough for him. And for the only, the only thing he asks in return... can he really refuse? Sure, he can. We’re talking about marriage after all, nothing can justify such an important choice being taken away from someone.

 - “That’s not... I can’t...”

 And that’s when his mother opens her mouth to speak:

 -“ We’re not asking you to love her. A blank commitment, a white lie. A façade. That’s all we ask from you.”

 This is unexpected. Of all people, Mark has always admired his mother the most. He shares common values with her, and she’s by far the most upright person he has ever known, even more than his father who is already hard to top on that part. The fact that she’s crying and begging his son to marry a woman against his will is disappointing in some way, but Mark knows she wouldn’t do it if it wasn’t necessary.

 - “You just have to marry her, and that’s it. It doesn’t have to mean anything. If you refuse, things will only get worse. It’ll start with losing the acts of the company, and next will be our power to make decisions. Then we’re going to lose money, and we’ll end up losing everything. Your father will lose everything he has worked so hard to build. So will Y/N’s family. This is not just about you or us, Mark. Other people are concerned-”

 - “But that’s not right!” Mark yells. “Why can’t you understand? You can’t ask me to do this! This is so unfair, I should get to choose, I should have a say on this! I shouldn’t even have to explain myself!”

 - “You’re given a choice, Mark.”

 Something in his father’s tone hints that this conversation is coming to an end.

 - “You can choose not to do it. You can choose to refuse and continue being the selfish little kid you’ve always been. But if you do, we’re gonna need to save money. We won’t be able to afford you and your lifestyle anymore.”

 - “What’s that supposed to mean?” Mark asks, although he already knows the answer.

 - “That means you won’t get anything from us again if you refuse. Understand that? Nothing.”

Mark was right: as soon as those words leave his father’s mouth, the conversation is over. Without another word, he storms out of the house, not even sparing a glance at his crying mother. He can’t believe his parents really thought they could buy his obedience with their money. He’s not an object. He has a job, he can live for himself. He doesn’t need them to “afford him and his lifestyle”. In fact, there’s a satisfying aspect to this situation: it’ll be his chance to finally break free from his parent’s grip, his chance to finally do what he wants without any restrictions. He won’t owe them anymore.

 As he drives back to his apartment, he grabs his phone and calls the only person he can turn to at the moment. She picks up quickly, and it doesn’t take long for her to understand that the situation is critical. She arrives in no time, expecting the worst, but somehow managing to stay calm and collected. If she crumbles, Mark will crumble too, and she knows that better than anyone. She lays next to him and he tells her everything, from start to end, including how angry he feels and how much he opposes to his parents’ plans, expecting her to agree with him. He genuinely believes this horrible day is over now that he’s finally next to the only person who truly matters. Little does he know...

 - “Do it” she says.

 Once again, Mark thinks it’s a joke. Once again, he laughs, but it’s different from the first time at his parents’ house. It’s a laugh that’s tainted with deception, caused by a strong and deep sensation of deja-vu.

 - “You did not say what I think you just said.”

 At this point, he just wants to understand why everyone seems to go against him and his freedom of choice. He doesn’t want to fight anymore, especially not with her. Anyone but her.

 - “You heard me” she says, too calmly for Mark’s liking.

 He turns to her with pleading eyes.

 - “You think I’m crazy, right?” she asks with a little laugh of her own. “But I’m serious. You should do it.”

 - “No I shouldn’t. And I won’t. Do you realize-”

 - “I do. I realize how difficult this must be for you. It is for me too. But I really think you should do it.”

 Mark truly can’t believe what he’s hearing. He lifts himself on his elbow to look down at her dead in the eye.

 - “There are other ways around this. Listen Jess, you need to trust me on this. I have a job, I can earn money, and I have you. We have each other, right?”

 He grabs her hand, holding onto what’s left of his own conviction. She closes her eyes and slowly shakes her head. How is she going to tell him? How is she going to tell him that yes, he has a job, but soon enough it will no longer suffice? Without his parents’ help, he can barely pay his rent, feed himself, afford gas for his car. He doesn’t seem to realize, but Mark is still highly dependent to his parents’ money. And once that stops, he’s going to start depending on himself, and on her. Having each other is oh such a beautiful concept, but will that be enough? Especially for people like her and Mark? She’s not stupid, she’s been in the music field for years. A sound engineer at a music bar and an underground singer who’s still studying cannot afford a household. It will work on the first months. Both of them will be great at making concessions, but then reality will take over. All this motivation will turn into bitterness, and Mark’s bitterness will be directed towards her. He’s going to look at her and wonder if she was ever the right decision. And there is nothing in this world that could hurt her more than watching Mark hate her more and more each day.

 - “You need to do what’s best for you, Mark.”

 Mark can literally feel his strength leaving his body from her words.

 - “What’s with everyone thinking they know what’s best for me?”

 - “You’re gonna do it Mark. You’re gonna marry her.”

 - “Nonsense.”

 - “You said it yourself. Nobody’s asking you to love that girl. You just have to marry her, for everyone’s sake, including yours.”

 - “Fucking nonsense.”

 She sighs and gets off the bed.

 - “You know, it’s just my opinion, but you really should do it, considering you won’t even have to worry about me anymore.”

 Mark sits up and looks at her, alarmed.

 - “What do you mean?”

 Gathering whatever strength she has left, she inhales and says:

 - “I’m leaving, Mark. For the States. Next week.”

 Discouraged, unable to argue, he doesn’t say anything.

 - “I received a mail from a guy whose label is seated in California. He went to one of my concerts, and he wants to sign me in. This a once-in-a-lifetime chance for me, Mark”

 The rest of the night goes by in a flash. Protests, at first, and then arguments, all of that leading to a long and meaningful discussion, and, finally, goodbyes are said as the sun starts to rise. Of course, Jessica leaving for the US isn’t a lie. Except she’s not obligated to leave next week. She had planned to tell Mark first, and then give him some time to prepare himself before leaving. But that, of course, she didn’t tell him. Because now she has to leave and he has to do what’s best for him, although he may not understand just yet.

 After she’s gone, Mark spends the entire day in his apartment, stuck in a state between sleep and thought. It’s only late in the evening that he finally decides to pick up his phone and call his parents. He exposes his opinions – which haven’t changed since last night – without trying to contain his anger this time. After that, he exposes his conditions – no love, no real commitment, “no fucking grandchildren” – and they don’t argue. At the end of the phone call, it takes him another hour or two before realizing what he just did. Although, twenty-four hours ago, he couldn’t even imagine doing so, he just accepted to marry you.

Part 2

a/n : so this was the first part of the "for my dream” series. this part is more centered on Mark and his perception of the events. part two will be different, and will (hopefully) be posted this weekend. i struggled to write this so i hope you enjoyed x) please keep in mind that english is not my mother tongue so i apologize for any mistakes. thanks again to the anon who requested this! feel free to leave any comments or remarks, they're very much appreciated.

#got7 #got7 imagines #got7 scenarios #got7 angst #got7 mark #got7 mark tuan #mark tuan #got7 mark angst #got7 mark tuan angst #mark tuan angst #got7 mark scenario #got7 mark tuan scenario #mark tuan scenario #got7 mark imagine #got7 mark tuan imagine #mark tuan imagine

[serenagaywaterford]

1) Hey, it's me again. The idiot rambling anon. I wasn't gonna spam you again, but then I read your responses. At this point, I'm convinced you're my alter ego, lol. My thoughts are all over the place, but I'll try to organize them. So, about Nick. I've purposely avoided talking about him so far, but why the hell not? Let me make one thing clear: I'm NOT of of those thirsty fangirls. But even if I was? I wouldn't get offended or butthurt, because another person likes different fictional

2) characters (of all things) than me. I mean, big fucking deal. Each to their own, no need for apologies. ;) (My tone is a little aggressive, I know, but I’m sick and tired of some people on social media –in and out of fandoms– acting holier-than-thou and sending hate messages and even actual death threats (!) to creators or people that express unpopular opinions*. It’s reached a point where many people feel the need to put disclaimers in their posts so as not to be attacked.)

3) Back to Nick. I liked him just fine back in early S1, when he was all mysterious and his background story was unknown to us. When we did learn about it and the fandom started acting like he’s that pure, handsome angel uwu? Nah. Obviously, he’s no Fred/Serena/Lydia,but he’s not a “cinnamon roll” either. (Imo, the only decent dude on that show is Luke.) I mean, if Nick was SO altruistic, he wouldn’t have joined this job. Or even after everything went down, he could have tried to help other

4) handmaids without expecting anything in return. But no, he only helps June and that’s because he’s in love with her. I’m not blaming him for trying to survive under such circumstances, but I won’t idolize him either. Now, in s2? I’m kinda neutral about him. I don’t hate him, but I can’t say that I’m a fan either. Not gonna lie, he bores me at times, because he’s just… there. No sparks, no fireworks. Not sure if it’s the writing that doesn’t do the actor any favors, but his acting hasn’t

5) really drawn me in yet. A counterexample to this? Aunt Lydia. Her personality is despicable 98% of the time and yet. Dowd’s captivating performance makes me want to know so much more about her character.) On the other hand, I’m glad that June has someone (besides Rita) to back her up in that hellhole. She needs comfort and allies. But the whole ‘tRu Love 5eva" fanon thing? No, thanks. Not only it doesn’t fit the tone of the series, but I also believe that sharing an intense, forbidden love/

6) during such a shitstorm is not the same thing as keeping it alive after all is said and done (post-Gilead). Maybe they’ll stay together (as long as Nick doesn’t die), maybe they’ll fall apart. I can’t really see June romantically reconnecting with Luke either. After everything she’s been through… She’s a completely different person now. Unfortunately, the same things goes for Emily and her wife. Even though I’d love to see her interact with both her wife and her child in S3.

———

My inbox is so beautiful right now! Never, ever call yourself an idiot, my friend. (If you are, then so am I!) Brain twins, you see.

(Also sorry about this being out of order lol.)

I was trying not to talk about him too cos generally I just … I prefer not to think about him much. The fangirls, just, *sigh*. I try to avoid as much as possible in this fandom, esp on tumblr. Just hang out in my quiet little, not-Serena-hating corner. I always feel a need to put disclaimers these days cos as much as I don’t really care about random hate, I’d prefer not to have to deal with dogpiles or to look at it lmao. Like people can go around just hating on any character here–especially if they’re women–but say one critical (not even hateful) thing about their male fav and things just go off. 

I’m more than aware the majority of people don’t like Serena and think she’s the worst thing ever. And fair play! (I get it… cos I’m not delusional. She’s awful.) Each to their own. I don’t go around bitching at people who say shitty things or stuff I don’t agree with, or blocking anybody who doesn’t like her. (There are a few posts I do engage with cos normally they seem like they want to go deeper in The Discourse but most Serena/Lydia/Eden/Janine/June-hate I just ignore.)

ITA. S1 was, like, okay. That’s Nick. What’s he up to? What’s his deal? (I don’t really care but I’m not opposed to him either. Just like I didn’t care about Luke’s backstory/escape.) He’s trying to be good to June and she needs that.When we did learn his backstory I was not pleased cos he seemed like a twerp but whatevs. Grey characters are grey. It wasn’t until S2 that I started to get irked by him (and the hypocrisy of his fans but that’s a whole other issue). 

I can’t agree ANY more with your assessment of Nick. Like that’s EXACTLY what I’ve been saying! Firstly, he was RIGHT THERE when the Handmaid/Ceremony thing was first suggested and was like “Oh, yeah, great idea!” to Fred. I get that perhaps he was pressured to go along to keep his job but that’s a stretch imo, and if you can give him that sort of leeway, why can’t characters like Eden, Serena, Lydia and June get the same benefit of the doubt for certain things? Why is Nick’s pressure to keep his job more important and forgivable than anybody else’s pressures? It’s like that entire scene doesn’t exist to fangirls and Nick is so precious and in love and wonderful. Then there’s the rape of June. Like I know it’s pretty controversial to look at it that way, but that first time, with Serena overseeing it like a fucking creepy pimp (YUUUUUUCCCKKKKK I HATE IT THANKS) was rape. June barely knew the guy and I’m pretty sure if she wanted to have sex with him it wouldn’t be like that! And sure, after that, it was totally consensual but that first time was not. And I’ve heard the justification and excuses of “Well, Nick didn’t have a choice either!” which I call bullshit on, cos Nick is not some powerless delivery boy. 

He’s a fucking Guardian who is tight with the top Commanders. He’s a man, if nothing else. Serena can act all high and mighty but she’s still a woman in a highly misogynistic society. I’m not convinced Fred would take his wife’s word over Nick’s tbh, especially if it was like “Dude, your crazy wife asked me to fuck the Handmaid you’re obsessed with”. If he really didn’t want to do it that badly, he could have taken that chance to report Serena. Even if Fred wanted to keep it hush hush away from other Commanders, he would have gone after Serena. Men are far more likely to turn on women than each other, esp in THT. But that’s just my take. Maybe I am missing something about Nick’s status. To me, it was like double rape. Neither of them wanted to do it, like that anyway. But Nick also did fuck all to stop it when IMO he did have some power to do something. He is not a helpless victim in that society, imo. Again, probably not a well-received opinion. 

Don’t even get me started on his “Poor me!” routine in S2 when June tells him to have sex with Eden. I’m glad she called him on that bullshit. (But again, over the fangirls heads. Enough about them!)

Basically, everything Nick has done wrong isn’t his choice; he’s just a victim. In a story about women, Nick’s victimhood at the hands of these nasty women and men is the real issue. Blah. Whatever.

I just find Nick lacks total self-awareness about being part of the shitty ass system. He kind of just floats around thinking nothing is his fault and he’s blameless for it all, and he certainly can’t seem to see it from anyone’s perspective except his own. He’s upset about Fred & June’s Jezebel trips, not for her own safety or well-being but mainly he’s jealous. Of course he’s concerned about her safety but I believe it takes a backseat to his jealousy. He just seems to never take any responsibility for anything.

And BINGO about the previous Handmaid. Nothing we’ve been shown has given any hint he cares about any other woman’s plight in Gilead other than June, and only cares about her cos he had a crush/fucked her/is in wuv wiv her. Basically, she’s HIS so suddenly he cares about her. Look how fast he dumped that Martha as soon as he got brooding about June. He’s done fuckall for anybody except himself and that alone makes me dislike him. He’s no better than Fred in that way for me. But where Fred can occasionally be an interesting villain, cos Fiennes is nasty good, I find the actor who plays Nick just… not engaging. And he’s not SUPPOSED to be a villain! He’s meant to be a good guy! It’s crazy. He’s not compelling, he’s not interesting. He’s bland. He’s not even good looking, lol. I was watching with a friend once and mention I thought Fred was way better looking than Nick and she just stared at me and said, “You shouldn’t say that. But me too.” So, count me in the camp that just does not get the appeal of the character OR the actor.

I don’t hate Nick generally. I am just totally indifferent to his existence. If he left the show tomorrow, I’d shrug and probably be a little glad I don’t have to see that bland moping anymore. If he stays, oh well. Shrug. And I just don’t want his and June’s star-crossed romance shoved down my throat. It’s so… I dunno. I’m not opposed to June finding solace and hope but making it some beautiful forbidden romance, I’m not buying it. Like you said, it’s all well and good in Gilead–but it doesn’t strike me as something that can be sustainable outside it. To borrow from you last time: It’s the Handmaid’s Tale, not The Guardian + the Handmaid’s Tale.

Okay, enough about that pipsqueak. I don’t even like talking about him, tbh. He’s not worth it when there’s so much else going on.

ITA about Luke/June too. I feel like the level of disconnection and trauma that they’ve sustained, especially June, they can try to reconnect but it’s pretty difficult and I think especially with June having a sexual/romantic relationship with Nick pulls that really tight. It’s just two different planets they live on now. I don’t doubt that she still loves Luke, but actually reforming the relationship they previously had seems like an impossible task considering everything both of them have been through. It’s sad, but … sadly true for many people. Relationships can fall apart for far less.

And on the same page about Emily/Sylvia too. She is just soooooo fucking broken, and hopeless, that if they have them just rekindle with no issues, it’ll be bad writing. (I dunno if you see spoilers but there’s one about them.) She needs therapy so much more than a cutesy feelgood storyline.

Back to Lydia: Exactly! There’s a character we know very little about and who is a horrible person, yet the performance by Dowd makes almost everyone go, “TELL ME MORE!” With Nick, it’s the opposite for me. I’m just like, “Please, less of this.”

#Anonymous #rants and raves

[cutegirlmayra]

On one hand I get it but on the other hand it's so bizarre to me that to understand exactly how the sonic franchise works you need knowledge of the way the company functions?? case and point: how it kinda seemed Shad/Amy could've been a thing in earlier games (Knux/Rouge as well) but then never came up again being explained by a replacement in the higher-ups at sega??like that's absolutely bizarre. if you leave a fan to just figure it out from the games-good luck bc the writing doesnt address it

(Our friends at IGN have some research done for you: x Take it with a grain of salt.)

“As SEGA’s star has faded, some are quick to whitewash their history; to act as if their success was the fluke and their failure inevitable. It’s natural – the victors always write the history books – but that isn’t the way it happened. This is the story of SEGA; the good, the bad, and the possibilities of what could have been.” -IGN

Ah, I see you’ve done your research, my friend! indubitably so, our friends at SEGA have been making ideas and scrapping them mid-way for some time now. If you study any companies ‘fundamental personality’ with running a certain franchise you will see how that affects production.

Always remember!

 History is affected by how the Pre-Production is handled.

This can be for any number of medias, but I think it mostly affects the film industry. Games are different, mind you, but they also have a cinematic field/feel to them that shouldn’t be overlooked. Scripts, animators, directors, etc. Just to name the familiar ones.

Marketing, managing, and running the ‘behind the scenes’ for a lack of a better word- productions is incredibly complex and extremely psychological but crucial for the creation of practically anything marketable.

SEGA’s learned a lot through the years and has kept afloat by more than loyal fans. They don’t shut things down, they keep going and count their losses with a sense of “We’ll excel to the future” instead of just falling down and sprawling out because they feel they’ve run out of their luck.

For this, I admire some of their staff and officials. But for other reasons, I wish I could just say- “Hey, this is a good idea. Develop this further.” Or “Don’t do that. I promise you, that’s a waste of time.” There’s a lot of things that they haven’t considered or haven’t recognized ‘silent successes’ that I believe is the key to moving them forward.

Sonic characters are highly influenced by choices. Inexperienced writers or fans that haven’t worked in the particular genre of Sonic will find it difficult though fun to try and mess with it. However, this isn’t meant to be a fun project to fiddle with. They’re being PAID to write a SUCCESS GAME. Most writer’s today write to hit deadlines and sip their drinks. They have passion, but it’s for particular things, and when those things aren’t there they run wild for the jokes to keep themselves and possibly their friends entertained.

I know this sounds harsh, lol. But reality never was sugar-coated in the grand scheme of things.

If SEGA allowed fans to view their history. A documentary or even an insightful look at how characters were created, plots for stories were formed, games were designed, and problems they faced… I think the fandom would be more emphatic to their circumstances today. (They’re not in extreme peril or anything- or the abyss of debt like they used to be, but do have their struggles. Much like the Japanese, they keep this on the downlow, as most companies do.)

If you look into the history of many companies, not just games, you can see how their franchises shift with the ‘Company Personality’ changes that occur too. Either to new staff changes, tragedy, loss, paranoia, lack of experience, etc.

SEGA overall has been a survivor with gritted teeth, yanking his competition down and climbing to where he’s made it today. At first brutal, he is now a silent admirer, hands in his pockets, only pulling them out to make and show new things he’s quietly content with. Recently, he’s been extremely excited about Sonic Mania, and confident in showing that off to people.

I could literally personify SEGA for you. A hard worker with a loud mouth that has slowly grown quieter over the years, more refined with age. He’s never stopped learning nor given up, and the once restless teen has become a contender to grab at long-lasting fame and this time- hang onto it like a football.

SEGA is trying to re-identify many things about himself, and this process is long and tiresome for most of those working for him, wanting the benefits fast and him delivering it as soon as he can. But he’s slowed a bit and tried to refine himself in his old age. I have high hopes that with good people patting his back and whispering, kindly, great ideas that he’ll excel with a running start up that cliff to success and fame again- where he silently now longs to return. (The fall was rough, lol he hurt his shoulder. He rotates it ever now and then to remind him that he was once tall, and he’ll be okay as long as he keeps pushing through.)

This is just the trends I’ve seen. So when I see things like- “Sonic Boom” I think, “SEGA is having an identity crisis in America again.” Or when “Sonic Mania” came back- “He’s not only reminiscing, but inventing again. He’s got his spark of passion/enthusiasm again. Looking at things in a new light and in new times.” When I see the news about “Sonic Forces” I see SEGA taking a stride in the new time, trying. Always desperately trying without showing too much of his struggle in doing so.

A once punkish kid who picked his nose and flicked it to other companies is now wearing a more casual business attire and making a Rocky Movie change. This has been happening for years now.

I’m excited for this little guy’s progress but hope his speedy intents slow down further to think things through and really put everything he has into finding pride at the end of his creations again. and with that-!

DO YOUR RESEARCH MY FANS!

“Not all stories have a happy ending. SEGA is not dead, but they may be in shackles. Since the Sammy takeover, the flow of internally-developed SEGA games has slowed to a small fraction of what it once was. Arcade operations have been pared down sharply, and Western developers have been handed the keys to SEGA's franchises, even when the original creators are still on staff. Many industry legends still work there, but too few are being allowed to do what they do so well. Occasionally we are allowed glimpses of SEGA's potential greatness in games like Yakuza, but more often we simply wonder what they could possibly be working on for so long.

Either way, we know it will never be the same. Whatever we have to look forward to, it will be different than what it was. The important thing is that we don't let the present color the past. It's a tendency of writers, and perhaps just human nature, to focus on the victors and their glorious paths to conquest, but it often doesn't reflect the complexities of history. SEGA was one of the most active, creative, and productive developers the industry has ever known, and nothing that can happen to their name since will change that.“ -IGN

that is all~

#sonic the hedgehog #sonic #sega #cutegirlmayra #cutegirlmayra ask #ask cutegirlmayra #SEGA of america #SEGA of japan #japanese sega #american sega #IGN #sega personaified #sonic mania #sonic games #sega sonic #sega sonic the hedgehog #sonic forces #sonic boom

[4reverendgreen-blog]

(I’m sorry this is long and I’m sorry I number and list everything, it’s the only way I can really organise my thoughts on this bc I have a fair amount I’d like to get across. This is probably overkill but I do this kind of thing privately all the time bc it helps me personally learn too. Yh.)

 A preface to fen, addressing her reaction to the last redline submitted and some of the arguments she had/retweeted on twitter regarding it:

Critique is only a bad thing if you choose it to be. You can take this (and future and past pieces of criticism) as a personal attack or a free lesson. It’s entirely up to you. I’ve done this to draw attention to mistakes you’re making that you probably don’t realise you’re making and I’ve tried my best to give you some tips to give a boost in correcting those mistakes.

Nothing is above criticism. It doesn’t matter how long it took you, how proud you are of it, etc. I understand being attached to your work and defensive of it especially if it’s something you’re really proud of. But if you aren’t going to take critique then you aren’t trying to get better and that’s not something I do understand at all. You’re lucky to be in a position where people are freely giving you advice on how to improve.

That retweet of the tweety pie pic really rubbed me the wrong way. This is essentially the “its my style!!!” excuse and if you seriously believe that a redline pointing out the anatomical flaws of your work is equal to this then you have little understanding of how styling art works. Tweety pie works because he is consistently highly stylised and makes sense within the parameters that have been set out for him. The styling of your work is clear and it doesn’t allow for the twisted posing, disproportion, and anatomical flaws that are seen – if it did, then those things wouldn’t look out of place and wrong. I touch more on this in one of my redlines. I’ve also tried to draw in my own more realistic style (in blue) while redlining in a style similar to yours to show how these things translate between styles.

You argued on twitter that the previous redline submitted just didn’t understand that in one of the pictures the character was lifting one of their legs. If that isn’t clearly communicated in the picture then you haven’t done it correctly. A viewer only has what’s in front of them, they don’t know what your intentions with the pic are. If something like the position of a character’s legs is confusing to the viewer, chances are it’s not their fault. Hopefully this will dispel any arguments that I just didn’t understand what you were going for in these pictures. Again, I’m only going off what I’ve been given – if it doesn’t make sense you haven’t provided the visual info to make it make sense.

Obviously, art is subjective. Art is whatever you want. At the end of the day if you want to continue doing what you’re doing then that’s great and I’ll stand by that decision with you. All of this critique is assuming these are mistakes (i.e not intentional choices that you understand are going against things like anatomy).

All of these redlines are addressing issues with posing and anatomy that I’ve seen are consistent over fen’s work. If any of it’s old work then sorry. It’s difficult to tell with twitter.

The issue with anatomy and posing that fen consistently seems to have is that she doesn’t think of the character as a whole and this leads to essentially several poses in one if that makes sense e.g. the legs will be posed/facing in a way that isn’t coherent with the body which = impossible and broken looking anatomy.

REDLINES

1.  There are two fairly minor anatomical issues with this piece: the head looks as if it’s off kilter and sliding down the chest almost (I had difficulties trying to pinpoint this in the pic), and the upper arms are two different lengths. There’s the possibility that the shoulders I drew in on the left picture there aren’t what fen originally drew and there’s the possibility that the arm closest to the viewer is meant to be foreshortened. However, there isn’t any visual information to suggest these are the case.

The posing in this picture is its biggest issue. It’s not wildly incorrect or anything but it’s one of those cases where it’s just off enough to throw the whole picture off balance. Essentially, it looks odd because the back isn’t curved and the shoulders are held high. While it is possible to sit in that position with a straightened back, its really unnatural, doesn’t go with the emotion of this character, and just isn’t possible with highly held shoulders. I’ve tried to illustrate with the blue drawings how when in that position, in order for your shoulders to be held high, you need to lean forward/arch your back even more. My advice to fen from this pic alone is to consider what the spine is doing in a pose bc it’s literally the backbone (WOWEE ZOWEE) of a pose. I personally start with the spine, ribecage, and pelvis when drawing a pic. If that’s not something you do, then try it. Remember to keep in mind the overall pose and its flow – if you isolated the spine from the pose in your drawing, you would assume it was someone more alert, with their arms at their side or on their lap or resting on a table in front of them.  

2.       I had a lot of trouble understanding this picture. The legs in particular made it unclear to me whether this is an anthro or feral (sorry if those aren’t the right terms lol) character so I did both to cover all bases. Leg 1 is drawn as a feral dog leg while leg 2 is drawn as a more humanoid leg. I don’t really understand why this is but I assume fen had trouble drawing a feral leg in the position that leg 2 is in. The shorter foot and the way the legs looks like it widens from a humanoid ankle to a calf before being obscured by the character’s tail all make leg 2 appear as a humanoid leg. Another glaring anatomical problem is the spine (the red dotted line), which jerks from one position to the other as the body twists, rather than being one flowing line.

Fen’s biggest and most consistent posing issue is apparent in this character’s legs and lower half. The lower half of the body is facing the left. The upper thighs of this character follow the lower half and are also facing left. But then the lower half of the legs and feet twist so that leg 1 is facing towards the viewer while leg 2 is facing almost completely away. These components aren’t coherent with one another…

3.       I’m going to use this redline to go into details of the twisted leg poses fen draws. The thighs of both legs are spread open and apart, but the lower legs attached to them aren’t coherent with this posing. The lower leg of leg 1 should be completely side-on to the viewer as the thigh is, however it’s twisted so that the back of the calf is facing the viewer and the foot is the same. Leg 2 is similar, the patterning on the belly and the lack of foreshortening suggests the thigh is also practically side on to the viewer, but then the lower leg and foot is shown facing the viewer. Fen seems to do this a lot so that the back of one of the feet is in view, but she doesn’t pose the character in a way where this is possible. Instead, she will just twist the lower leg in order to force the underside of one of the feet into view. My drawing I’ve labelled b. is to show how the legs should look in the position fen has drawn this character, while a. is an overall more natural posing of the legs as the original has the thighs spread uncomfortably open and wide.

OK so the green picture I’ve drawn is where I’m going to talk about the styling stuff I mentioned in the preface. This is a very uncomfortable and unnatural pose that, like fens original drawing, is breaking anatomy by having the furthest leg twist in such a way so that the back of the foot is facing the viewer. This drawing works however, because it is consistently unnatural and anatomically broken. The foot may still register as not possible in real life, but it makes sense within the rules that the rest of the drawing has set out and therefore doesn’t stand out as ‘wrong’. Fen’s original drawing is not stylised enough for its leg posing to make sense. Everything else about the character’s proportions and pose make it look as if its legs should not twist that way.

My advice for this is: again, think about the entire pose as a whole to avoid things like lower legs not fitting with upper legs. If you want to show the back of a foot in your drawing, then the rest of the pose should accommodate for that. If you want to successfully break anatomy, then your poses are going to need to be more dynamic and less life-like. You need to understand the rule book before you can effectively throw it out, though.

4.       This one is probably pretty self-explanatory. The leg furthest away is longer than the closest leg. This is because the hips are straight – in order to bend one leg and put weight on the other, the hip of the bent leg needs to lower. Again, every other aspect of this drawing suggests this character is standing normally. The posing of the rest of the body doesn’t accommodate for the leg posing. The anatomy ends up wrong (two different length legs) as a result.

Again again, try to think of the pose as a whole. A good tip for posing that has helped me a lot is that the hips and shoulders shouldn’t be parallel to one another and neither of them should be parallel to the ‘floor’ your character is on. Try starting off a drawing with a hip line (like the one I’ve drawn in the pic) and one for the shoulders too. The less parallel they are the better. Draw the spine between the two and then build off of that frame.

I hope this is helpful to someone at all and I’m sorry if I sound like a complete prick. Obviously, I’m not any authority on any of these things but who is? This is all stuff that works for me so it might not work for anyone else. Just throw shit at the wall basically and see what works for you. Find a PDF of Loomis’ Figure Drawing For All It’s Worth.

[thesinglesjukebox]

SELENA GOMEZ - BAD LIAR [7.29] Qu'est-ce que c'est?

Claire Biddles: That borrowed Talking Heads bassline works so well in the context of contemporary pop that I'm amazed it hasn't been used before. In "Bad Liar," the paranoid creeping of "Psycho Killer" is twisted into coquettish flirting, but I wish the excellent tentative almost-spoken verse built up to a recognisable hook or chorus, rather than an empty punchline. Still, this is sexy and fun, and I'll probably play it tonnes over the summer. [7]

Katherine St Asaph: Given that Top 40 radio is a nonstop supercut of variations on tropical hell, one cherishes the novelties that make it through. Like, Bruno Mars is reliable; no matter what R&B corpse he re-animates how shamelessly, it will sound like nothing playlisted before or after it. And as ludicrous as Harry Styles' Mick Jagger cosplay is, at least it, too, sounds like nothing on the radio. But who would have thought Selena Gomez would be an outlier? The Talking Heads sample is great, but predictably so. What makes "Bad Liar" is how unpredictable its referents are. Much -- too much, given her prior work -- has been made of Selena Gomez's supposed vocal limitations, but her delivery's perfect for "Bad Liar"'s introvert in a feedback loop of shame-crush, latching onto the closest brilliant bassline for borrowed confidence; the effect's a little like Christine and the Queens. The verses evoke the twitterpated word-vomit of Maria Mena's "You're the Only One," which also felt like a sugarcube dropped into pop radio. With stream-of-consciousness like that you get Trojan clunkers, but you also get perfection like "if you want you can rent that place, call me an amenity, even if it's in my dreams," a whiplash from coyness to self-loathing to wishful thinking much like Transister's similarly obsessive "Head." It's the greatest Carly Rae Jepsen single Carly Rae Jepsen is too far gone maximalist to ever release; it's a damn good thing for my hopes of having listened to anything else that this didn't come out in [SPECIFIC MONTHS LOST TO CRUSH REDACTED]. [9]

Ryo Miyauchi: "Bad Liar" sounds like "Hands to Myself" turned inside out with the awkward insert of "I mean I could but why would I want to?" of the latter as the former's main form of delivery. Her clunky speech makes more sense narrative-wise in this flustered pop where she's way too occupied to keep beat. Perhaps she's taking cue of Talking Heads' nervous stiffness as much as their bass line. [5]

Maxwell Cavaseno: There's nothing in particular about "Bad Liar" to pinpoint about why it feels just so weird. Yes, there's the crisp and spartan production which does bear a certain resemblance to the beat and brittle quality of "Psycho Killer". You also have Gomez's conversational mumble of a murmur, vocal tone sounding like the rubber stopper on cheap chairs squeaking against linoleum floors (in a good way), occasionally processed into dazed vocal space-outs. It's got a slackness despite all of the rhythmic tension that refuses to either become purely laconic or tight, and with that weird sort of in-between you've got something that truly doesn't resemble anything you'd expect to hear nowadays. [7]

Thomas Inskeep: Best vocal of her career. Best single of her career. Best song of her career. And certainly the most surprising: I might not've caught the bassline sample unless I'd already read about it. Gomez is big enough now that she could've gone down any "one size fits all" route with a new single and been rewarded with a summertime smash. But instead, to her credit, she swerved where it wasn't expected. This is jagged pop, underproduced in the best way, and basically a success across the board. Which might be the most surprising thing of all. [8]

Ramzi Awn: The most impressive thing about "Bad Liar" is that Selena Gomez now has a brand. A perfectly good ear worm cloying enough to justify its crush, the single was the top streamer on Spotify upon its release, and it's easy to hear why. Ms. Gomez, a co-writer of the song, is carrying a mature career on her shoulders, and "Bad Liar" helps to establish her as a true contender in the business of making music. Featuring Ian Kirkpatrick, who wrote and produced one of Britney Spears' strongest songs of late ("If I'm Dancing" off the recent Glory), her vocals are on point, and the song is made for earbuds on the beach. [9]

William John: Selena Gomez' vocals are often criticised for their bloodlessness, but in the midst of the foggy doom of "Good For You,", or at the moment where the coquettish verses to "Hands To Myself" are interrupted by the bridge's ominous synth, they provided successful contrast. The production on "Bad Liar," unfortunately, is far less striking. The chorus instrumentation in particular sounds like something from a fifteen-second web advertisement for private health insurance or home loans. Whether the Talking Heads sample is intended to signify obtuseness or a reverence to art rock royalty, or a combination of the two, I'm not sure. In any event the song's vacant dullness overrides any kudos it earns. [3]

Alfred Soto: Stumbling up the sidewalks of a city, like the anonymous frightened person in Suzanne Vega's "In Liverpool," trying to immerse in her Spotify playlist, the character in "Bad Liar" interrupts herself with asides, rewritten statements, and ebullient admissions (it helps that I thought she said "Guess I'm a bad lawyer"). The detritus of pop culture: musical cues from Laurie Anderson and Talking Heads compete with hand claps and a throwaway about the fall of Troy. A genuine wtf moment. [7]

Leonel Manzanares: The "Psycho Killer" bassline is an attention grabber, for sure, but it's Selena's incredibly confident, breezy, sultry delivery that turns this into an absolute Song of the Summer candidate. "Bad Liar" sees Gomez doubling down on the soft-but-solid approach of previous single "Hands to Myself," and boy does it pay off. Gomez' singles track record is one of the finest in mainstream pop, and every release plays to her fundamental strengths -- her mild, charming tone, especially -- without being too repetitive. "Bad Liar" feels like those elements have been finally taken to the highest point -- it's the sound of consecration. [8]

Stephen Eisermann: Having been referred to as "extra" and "the most" many times in my life, it shouldn't come as any surprise that I love this song. It's campy and try-hard, yes, but I choose to believe this is what Selena was going for. I mean, she can't actually think anyone buys these faux-clever lyrics (lol at the Battle of Troy reference) and anime-character affect she's put on her voice, right? And even if she does, this is something I can groove to and her attempt at actually singing after the second chorus reminds me of one too many of my failed shower belting attempts, so that makes this... relatable? What I'm trying to say is: I know this is bad, but it's a serious guilty pleasure and has secured a spot on my summer playlist, much to the chagrin of my friends, I'm sure. [7]

Joshua Minsoo Kim: Producer Ian Kirkpatrick fills the dead space on "Bad Liar" with just enough musical quirks to keep your brain entertained as it's lodged into the "Psycho Killer" bass groove. He doubles down on the minimalism that was explored on "Hands to Myself" while striving for a mood that's just as tantalizing. The miracle here is that he succeeds in spite of Selena Gomez's anonymity, something that's plagued her since day one. Her presence is retooled such that her vocal affectations and winding melodies are reduced to their bare musical elements. When a song privileges that over anything else, and extracts every bit of driving momentum possible thereafter, you get a bonafide dance hit. And as such, this should be played LOUDLY. [8]

Will Adams: Following in the sonic concept that made "Hands to Myself" great -- immediate closeness via minimal reverb and clipped percussion -- "Bad Liar" finds Selena Gomez whispering to herself in a tight space, her emotions slowly chipping away at the walls around her. The pivotal moment comes when she unexpectedly bursts out with "Oh, baby let's make!" and the walls implode. If ever there were a sound to describe the knee-shaking anxiety of a crush forcing you to show your hand, this is it. [7]

Mo Kim: Most of the points are for that blood rush of a chorus, "i'mtryingi'mtryingi'mtryingi'mtryingi'm trying" one of the most simple and effective earworms I've heard all year. But there are small pleasures to be found in every corner of "Bad Liar," from the blink-and-you'll-miss-it allusion to the Battle of Troy (like, what?) to the moment on the bridge Gomez's voice swells into barren want on "OH BABY LET'S MAKE" before snapping back into the same register of studied indifference she's been playing for the entire song. It's a remarkably rich emotional portrait, wrought from little more than a clever hook and some very smart vocal choices; more importantly it's a song that'll sound as crisp in winter as it does now in the throes of summer. [9]

Joshua Copperman: Michaels/Tranter/Gomez, with producer Ian Kirkpatrick, create something obtuse but mesmerizing, with handclaps, vocal layers, and that inspired Talking Heads sample coalescing into an extended reverse-onomatopoeia for "bop." Michaels and Tranter recently worked on Linkin Park's underwhelming One More Lights, and it makes me wonder if Gomez was always the secret ingredient; everyone seems to bring out the best in each other here. There's Michaels' quirky way with a phrase (what even is the "battle of Troy" line?), Tranter's campy humor (leave him alone for five seconds and he's off writing "Cake By The Ocean"!), and Selena's thin, flexible voice that reshapes itself, Dollhouse-style, into whatever it needs to be for a given song. The initial online reaction was that Selena went 'experimental' here, but that's not fully accurate -- in fact, it's highly reminiscent of Regina Spektor's more polished music. It's not until the final minute, where Selena moans that "oHh bAaby" line, that "Bad Liar" truly comes into its own, and the trio reaches its current apex as a team. [8]

[Read, comment and vote on The Singles Jukebox ]

#Selena Gomez #Bad Liar #TSJ Best of 2017