#honestly they could be summed up in this one line from a movie i watched

[the-ultimate-puppteer]

This might be an unorthodox request, but how about a Team RWBY (or, if not all of them, then Blake and/or Yang) with a Boyfriend that is not at all shy about physical affection? One who really enjoys handholding, hugging, spooning, sitting on eachother's lap, and all that comes with it, even if it is just for the sake of doing it, and whose idea of "romantic evening for two" can be summed up with along the lines of "cuddling on the couch, wrapped in warm blankets, watching random stuff or talking, until they both doze off together in one another's arms"? Again, I know it might be unorthodox, but the colder weather got me into the mindset for some comfy, fluffy stuff.

Team RWBY with an openly affectionate Boyfriend who loves spending time with then

Weiss

•I think this is obvious but this girl gets flustered so easily with you

•She's just so unused to people showing her such open affection

•She does hate it though, in fact she loves it

•She loves how her heart beats faster from just holding hands or receiving something as simple as a hug

•While she gets incredibly embarrassed when it comes to sitting your lap so it's rarely done and only in private

•Her favorite form of affection is definitely kissing

• it's such a open form of affection and shows to everyone that she's yours and your hers

•When it comes to dates people would think she's the type that'd like to go out to a fancy restaurant

•They'd be wrong, dead wrong

•In fact she loves quality time above all else so she loves bring able to snuggle up on a couch and just talk or just watch a movie

•She loves when you fall asleep first since it gives her the chance to admire your peaceful face

Ruby

•Now ruby is the opposite of weiss, she actually doesn't really get that flustered from your affection

•She LOVES holding hands and while a bit embarrassing is totally on board with sitting on your lap

•Of course she does get embarrassed when yang starts teasing her about how adorable the two of your our

•While she certainly loves kissing she's actually loves cuddling more~

•I mean it's so comfortable to do and you can even kiss while doing that

•Or just talk while being embraced by the one you love~

•Honestly she loves it the most outta all forms of affection~

•When it comes to dates she similar to weiss with liking to spend them indoors but she'd rather play video games with her boyfriend them watch movies or talk

•Or if they get bored with that you could bake cookies with her~

•It'd definitely be one of the more fun dates to have with her~

•When you two get tired you clock out st the same times cuddled up on a couch wrapped in a blanket

Yang

•So obviously this girl loving the affection your giving her and returns it tenfold

•Also if you think she's sitting on your lap think again

•YOUR going to sitting on her lap

•Any time your happen to walk by her she just pulls you in and rests her on her lap

•You're actually the one who ends up flustered from this

•Same with thing such as kissing and cuddling she gung-ho about both of them but unlike her sister she favors kissing

•And doesn't mind doing it in public, whether it's a chaste kiss or making out she loves it

•While yang certainly loves the dates where you two cuddle up on the couch she prefers going out and letting loose in the city

•Whether it's going clubbing or just going to a fight club she's for either if them

•Though She does like when getting back from your big night you both will snuggle up on the couch and drift off to sleep

Blake

•Now blake is actually unique among the team in the she doesn't get flustered similar to yang but she's also not returning it tenfold

•She's actually pretty chill as expected and subdued when giving affection

•She doesn't mind sitting on your lap and is pretty relaxed about it

•When it comes to kissing or even cuddling she adores both of them

•This has to do with being a cat faunus but she loves when you scratch her cat ears

•It feels heavy to her and the same when it comes to simply stroking her face

•She feels so loved when you do these things to her

•When it comes to dates she similar to weiss and ruby

•but she actually likes reading a book together with you then playing video games or watching movies

•She loves seeing you drift off to sleep after trying to stay up with her

•Your incredibly adorable to her and she's glad that she said yes to dating you despite her reservations

#rwby #team rwby #rwby x reader #yang xiao long x reader #yang x reader #yang xiao long #blake belladonna #blake x reader #blake belladonna x reader #weiss schnee #weiss x reader #weiss schnee x reader #ruby rose #ruby x reader #ruby rose x reader

[popculturebuffet]

Lion King II: Simba's Pride Review (Birthday Review for WeirdKev27)

Hello all you happy people and it's time once again for that annual tradition where I celebrate Kev, my client turned friend and client who comissions much of the reviews you see on this blog, exactly how he likes.. by talking about lions for a while. And after covering the rather abismal interquel 1/2 last year, we're finally onto the sequel this year, Simba's Pride.

Simba's Pride is my first time covering one of Disney's various DTV sequels. And while many a kid can recalled having to suffer through these things , I honestly don't have a ton of experince with them. I saw about 6 as a kid: the aladdin sequels, extremley goofy movie, this one, pocahantas and hunchback. I saw them advertised sure but I was more a toy story kid. I watched and was scarred by that one way more than most other disney films outside of say Aladdin, which I remember watching all the time .That and the aristocats. MOstly for that bitching opening

So i'ts not a suprise the only ones I really remembered were the aladdin sequels.. and extremley goofy movie, which is likely responsible for me loving goofy so much. Yes over the orignal , I just headbanged to the aristocats what makes you think I just magically turned into this one day?

That said.. I was curious to revisit this one when the time came as Lion King II has one of the better reputations among the disney sequels, feeling both SLIGHLTY more necessary. It's well liked to the point that when lion king sequel series LIon Guard happened, Lion King 2 was kept fully canon, to the point season 3 goes out of it's way to explain why the new crop of chracters from lion guard are absent during this film.

So the question is does this film hold up... or is it simply good by comparison to Mulan II: Everyone Woke up On the Wrong Side of the Bed This Morning? Find out with me under the cut.

We're Doin a Sequel: I almost didn't have much of a production section this time, but thankfully wikipedia provides.. in this case an old LA Times article from when the movie was in pre-release. It's not DEEP into production but it least it gives me some insight into how the sausage was made on this one.

The first was this pretty damming line from Buena Vista Home Entertainment's president, which sums up the DTV boom in a nutshell

“We look at the feature animation business as a way to set up the original story,” said Michael Johnson, president of Buena Vista Home Entertainment Worldwide. “Their energies are absorbed completely in new productions. So we have set up a division through the television animation group to do the sequels. . . . That’s not to say this isn’t good enough to go theatrical.”

This.. may be one of the grossest things i've seen disney do. It's not homophobia gross, it's not "making a feature film next to a concentration camp" gross, but it's still horrible to make a division just to make cheap sequels you don't consider anything but money , not only discrediting the work done by the animators on these films, but also admitting your making a shoddy product just to get money from parents who trust your brand. Am I saying this is the first or last time any company, disney included, pulled this kind of shit? No. Not even close. Even GOOD movies have done greasy shit to their animators, see the shoddy conditions on across the spider-verse. But this is still a special kind of wrong and set up a whole industry of wrong in these cheap half assed sequels. If antyhing could remind me WHY we need the writers and actors strikes, this is a big flashing symbol as to why as execs haven't really changed how they treat animation, just the tactics for being shitty to it.

That being said as always it didn't stop the team from trying hard, as Sharon Morill, then vp of DisneyTVA which also ran these things, was determined to break the stigma. It sadly didn't happen, but I can't fault her for trying. And Lion King II did try. It had a four year development cycle, which for animation seems pretty normal, but for one of these films is twice the length. They also changed up some things along the way but we'll get more into that with the film itself. The film released to mostly good reviews, with no one liking it more than the first but still finding it a fine sequel. So what'd I think of it? Let's explore that shall we? A Good Idea at The Time The core of Lion King II isn't terrible. it has some cracks just from the foundation but it's a solid idea for a sequel: We focus now on Kiara, Simba's daughter, played by the star of one of my faviorite franchises and a huge get for the time, Scream star Neve Campbell, who was just coming off scream 2 when this film came out no less. She does a great job once we get to the present with what she has, suprising no one. This honestly wasn't a bad move: unlike most disney sequels the setup for one is there in the finale with Kiara's cornoation, which is where this film picks up before going into her life as a cub, then spending most of the film on her as a young adult. Not only that the film does have the clever idea to play off Simba's trauma: he's overprotective of his daughter and Nala can see it.. and it wears on her more and more with time, with her finding pride rock confining and being annoyed he constantly sends her gay grandpas to go spy on her. You can see both sides: To kiara the pridelands have become a cage her dad's keeping her in but you get that simba still has lingering trauma from both Mufasa's death and his own buffet of near death experinces. Simba is wrong to smother her like this, but you can at least see why he's like this.

This time though there's ANOTHER lead, Kovu, played by disney legend and goof Jason Marsden, which sets a trend: While Cambell is a big flashy name most of the cast are either returning form the first one or are vetran voice actors or tv stars. Nothing wrong with this as the cast with one glaring exception we'll get to all does a fantastic job. The only one not to return is Rowan Atkinson, whose replaced by Fraiser Vetran Edward Hibbert and who does.. fine. He's not as good as rowan, but he's not bad and Zazu isn't in the film enough for it to be a real issue.

Kovu is one of the outcasts, a group of lions who were banished from the pridelands for supporting scar wholeheartdly. I'm a bit torn on the outsiders as the concept: I like the idea Scar had actual supporters, that Simba, given how much scar had done to him, overreacted and banished them all instead of trying to work with them, giving them legit reasons beyond WE EVIL to hate Simba and want him dead. That said.. their also a MASSIVE retcon that makes zero sense in the context of the original film. What lionesses we saw hated Scar and resented him, the pridelands were dying so it's hard to see why anyone would support him, even a small pack , EXCEPT simply being evil, and NONE OF THEM did anything about scar being eaten by the hyenas nor against the rest of the lions, nor tried to start a war when Simba exiled them. The Hyenas are also conspciously absent as , despite Cheech Marin being tapped to return, they were apparently written out.

There's also a massive elephant in the room: See if you look at Kovu you notice he kinda LOOKS like Scar and his mom, the leader of the outcasts and one of the best parts of the film Zira, played by Suzanna Planchette to vllanous resentful perfection, acts more like a vengeful widow. Surely i'm just reading too much into this and Disney didn't SERIOUSLLY consider making a film about incest right?

Yes. I wish to Mufasa up above I was kidding. Granted this info is midly suspect as neither tv tropes nor wikipedia have a link for it.. but givne Kovu looks like scar, how Zira acts about her former leader and lover, and how it seems very weird Scar wouldn't just sire an heir outright and just pick some random baby, i'm feeling it's true and it's laughable they got as far as they did before someone said "Wait isn't this incest' Which yes, yes it is. It makes the romance between the two feel weird as even with the film trying to act like Kovu isn't scar's son just his heir... it still very much comes off like Kovu IS scar's son and no one brings it up becuase lions apparently give a much of a shit about incest as the writers of this flim did.

Zira and Kovu are fascinating though: Zir ais as clever as scar, has a swagger to her and seems just at all times like a snarling engine of vengance. Her husband is dead.. and so his murderer shall burn. She's not deeply complex, but she is incredibly fun to watch and sometimes tha'ts all you need. Kovu meanwhile has a LOT of fascinating layers: he shows up hostile to kira as a cub and it's clear with how the outsiders function that he's been raised as a weapon his whole life: only to fight an dsurvivie with what scraps they have out there. And his transition to adulthood is shattering: Kiara is just herself but older, simply less willing to take her dad's shit after a lifetime of it. Kovu by contrast goes from a fairly sweet innocent kid.. to a revenge engine modled by his mom to infiltrate the lions and kill simba. Marsden gives a truly awesome performance, with just what Kovu has become being clear.. but also that beneath that what he could get from Simba's side of things.. could be better.

The problem is that while the setup is really good, the first third of the film having the two as kids and setting up the situation, and it's enough that I just ignore the massive leaps needed for the outsiders to exist or the fact their basically the hyenas but as lions, the rest of the film... does almost nothing with it. Instead of diving into these two characters and especially Kovu's very complciated crisis of concious.. they just do things in the most most cliche and tired way possible: Kovu finds his new life almost instantly better and plans to tell Kiara asap but can't, his clan gets tired and attacks, Simba blames Kovu and tries to clamp down harder and kiara leaves, theyg o back to stop a war. it's basically west side story or romeo and juliet but speedran so all the actual conflict and emotoin is gone. Kovu dosen't even kill anyone, the death is on Simba for Kovu's brother.

Oh and since we have to talk about him at some point let's talk about Kovu's brother. His brother is Nuka, a shabby lion who thinks he should be heir but proves every second why he shoudln't and why his mom didn't choose him, basically being comedy relief. They then try to give him a tragic death scene which would work.. if it were not for one clear error. one horrible mistake that ruins the character. They cast Andy Dick to play him

Yeah even putting aside his harassment , general creepiness and the fact John Lovitz had FRESHLY punched him in the face for making a crack about Phil Hartman post death (AFTER also enabling Hartman's wife's drug addiction), WHY would , even for the price of a nickle, you cast ANDY DICK for a dramatic death. Even before we knew he was somehow even worse, Andy Dick's whole existance was to be a punching bag. you hire him to annoy your audience and your characters. You CAN have a comedy characters death mean something and be truly gutting, take 24's death in venture bros or even among disney hooty getting turned into a puppet during owl house. But you have to make us care about that character on some level beyond being a joke no one takes seriously first. With Nuka.. he's just a dick who envied his brother and stupidly challenged Simba to a fight. And even as much of a dick as Simba is in this film, more on that in a moment, Simba STILL tried to just bat Nuka away. Simba, despite being ambushed, despite his hatred of the outsiders, despite everything you'd expect.. WENT EASY ON HIM. He didn't want to kill anyone. He only started getting serious when Nuka, somehow, proved to be an actual opponent and didn't even kill him on purpose. The idea of Simba being forced to that is good, but it just dosen't work when the character is nothing and had no personality other than "Pralines and Dick". Fuck em. And most good ideas end up like Kovu or Pralines and Andy Dick. Kiara is mostly wasted, mostly just wanting to bone her cousin and having a fairly sterotpicla disney princess arc, Rafiki is just there to push the main couple together, and Simba .. simba gets done kinda wrong. While the idea of him turning to his worst impulses over trauma is good, the film has so much going on instead he just comes off as a massive prick whose prejduiced, judges Kovu because he , in the context of the film HAPPENS to look like his arch enemy and isn't related to him, and treats his daughter like shit. Brodrick tries but there isn't enough depth given to Simba or anyone for this flim to work. The film just feels half assed...

It dosen't help despite not really giving the story time to breathe.. it also spends a LARGGGGEEE MEATY CHUNK of the storytelling on musical numbers. There's about as many as the original.. but I can barely recall them, with all just feeling like half hearted rehashes of the originals And unlike the original films songs which were all vital to the plot in some way (Circle of Life set the tone and theme of the film, I Just Cant' Wait To Be King fully sets up Simba's character for the first act and has him ditching Zazu, Be Prepared fleshes out Scar and sets up his big plan to kill Mufasa while also revealing at it's start that Scar was working with the Hyenas and by it's end reveals the Hyenas as a real threat, Hakuna Matata handles the time skip and sets up Simba for the third act, and Can You Feel the Love Tonight? has Simba and Nala begin their romance, which is key in getting him to go home. ). In contrast while these numbers COULD commuincate key stuff, they all go on so long they just pad out a film that REALLY didn't need padding, it needed a liver and some kidneys to help it function better.

The one thing the film does really well.. is the animation. Seriously while you can tell this isnj't a theatrical budget.. you can also tell the animators stretched every dime they had to make this LOOK theatrical grade. While some shots i've seen, or some sequels i've seen outright look like they were made cheaply, Lion King II looks damn good and worthy of the original. Despite all the challenges it'd bring the characters still look expressive, colorful with just that hint of real animal movements that made the original's animation so damn good. It may not look as good as the original but for what they had to work with it looks as close as they could possibly get and that's DAMN impressive.

So yeah overall this film isn't great. I wanted to like it I did: It sounded good.. but the final product , even acknowlding the struggles they likely had, is so padded and full of wasted potetial it just makes me sad. It's still probably one of the better Disney Sequels as it both had a reson to exist, good ideas and the animation is again fucking beautiful. But it sadly isn't as much as it could've been. Hopefully when I get to Lion Guard at some point, we'll see what a lion king followup truly could've been. For now.. we can only watch this and see someone almost but not quite make it. Maybe if disney wasn't treating these like disposable money factories this could've actually worked.

#the lion king #the lion king ii: simba's pride #kiara #kovu #simba #zazu #timon and pumbaa #neve campbell #matthew broderick #jason marsden #andy dick

[snowblossomreads]

Treat Me Tenderly

Summary: In where [Y/n] tries to cheer her dear friend up after what was possibly the worst year for him. (Prompt 7 and 10 Hot Drinks & Sweet Treats + Gingerbread & Peppermints)

Pairing: Sinclair Bryant x FemReader

Tag(s)/Warning(s): mentions of incest, cheating, and divorce (if you watched the movie you know), implied past abusive relationship, angst/comfort (it's not as sad as it sounds I promise), a curse word or two, a sprinkle of pining if you squint real hard

Word Count: 4K (HOW?)

A/N: Choo choo🚂 Hello again! I'm cheating (is that a pun?) today and kind of combining the prompts from today (gingerbread and peppermints) and day 7 (hot drinks and sweet treats ) together I hope you all don't mind ☺

A/N+: I was looking forward to this particular fic as while I don't particularly care for Close My Eyes (it was wild ya'll) I did really like Alan's character Sinclair. He was just so dang cute and his personality was different from his usual baddy roles (which we do love). And they did him so dirty in it. So I'm here to fix that ✌

“I’m coming over for a visit Sinclair and I don’t want to hear another word about it! See you soon darling!”

[Y/n] chirped, hanging the receiver up before the man on the other line could protest that he didn’t need a bloody welfare check. She would disagree wholeheartedly considering what a rotten year this one had been for him.

While she didn’t view herself as much of a gossip, it was hard to ignore the little whispers that began to pop up late last year in their social circles about an affair that Sinclair’s wife Natalie had been having. 

What was even worse was that some of the people speculated that not only was she having an affair but it had been with her own brother. [Y/n] had noticed that the woman had been acting awfully bizarre whenever the two of them were together. But simply chalked it up to it just being a sibling thing when you hadn’t seen each other for a while.

Everyone who heard it simply brushed that allegation off as having an affair was already terrible but having it with a sibling was well… just too awful to even consider.

Though when Sinclair had suddenly, and to the shock of everyone at the New Year’s eve dinner he was hosting, announced that he and Natalie were divorcing. Well, that’s when [Y/n] knew it was bad because as brash and loud as he could be at times, the one thing that everyone agreed about when it came to him was that he was wise. 

That behind his brashness and loudness, there was a love for literature, a love for his work as a stock analyst, and a very deep regard for how one should be treated in a relationship of any kind. So to hear those words come out of his mouth, confirmed that something had irrevocably damaged their relationship to the point of no return. 

The procedure for the separation had been surprisingly speedy considering how unbalanced the marriage was when it came to assets. While it was thought that there might be some contesting about who got what, it had seemed in all his wisdom Sinclair had decided to give his soon to be ex a very healthy sum of money so she would be comfortable for a long amount of time. Honestly, it was probably better that way as it would allow them to quickly be on their way and get through such an unpleasant time.

“You know [Y/n] he seems remarkably calm about all this don’t you think? If it were me I would have given her nothing considering she was in the wrong.” 

“Well, it isn’t you Tom. And what do you expect him to do? Scream about it? It’s Sinclair we’re talking about. He may be a bit of a know it all, but he has never been anything but gracious when it comes to these matters.”

“You speak from experience don’t you?”

“None of your bloody business now shut up will you here he comes.”

She couldn’t help the smirk that spread across her face as she reminisced on the conversation that she and their friend Tom had. He had been right when he said that she must have been speaking from experience about Sinclair’s graciousness.

If it hadn’t been for his kindness, she was sure she would have been out of a job and living on the streets or worse, dead, after the hell her ex-boyfriend had put her through. It was only thanks to Sinclair’s charity and kindness that she was able to and he would never have it when she insisted she paid him back.

So as she finally arrived to her destination and pushed open the door underneath the brick archway that revealed a lovely home right behind it, [Y/n] had already formulated a plan to repay him in a more non quantifiable sort of way. She was sure it would drive him mad as he was someone who also liked to count things hence his job.

But It was almost Christmas after all and it was thanks to him that she didn’t have to go through her first one alone after her breakup. So of course she had to be there for him.

Adjusting the large shopping bag on her shoulder that had all sorts of goodies and things, she marched up to his door and rapped loudly on the wooden french doors before waiting for an answer. While doing so she took notice of the plants that stood lining the short stairwell she traversed to get to his door.

All of them seemed happy, bright, and well tended to, and to her, that seemed like a good sign. He at least was still having his gardener come to take care of the plants which was something she guessed. 

Standing quietly around waiting for an answer, she frowned and knocked at the door loudly again, this time hitting the glass pane of the door when no one came to let her in. And then after a few more moments of not hearing anything, she pursed her lips before smacking the door even harder, a glare in her eyes.

“Open up Sinclair or I’ll break one of your windows I know you’re home!” She shouted banging on the door again causing it to rattle under her assault. “It’s fucking freezing out here let me in!”

When there was still no answer from him, she took a deep breath of the cold English air before bellowing again,

“Sinclair Bryant open up or so help me!” 

Her squawking got someone's attention as the next thing she knew, the front door was flung open, and a slightly irate Sinclair, whose hair was a bit messy, was glaring at her as his arm shot out to grab and pull her inside the house. The door closed with a slam as he locked it back up before turning on her with that same annoyed look. 

“Jesus Christ [Y/n] are you trying to get the cops called on you with the noise you’re making? The whole neighborhood could probably hear your racket!”

A simper was on her face as she walked up to him ignoring his protest as she leaned in to give him a soft peck on his cheek (which was a bit prickly and not at all like his normally clean shaven features). 

“Well someone’s a bit prickly,” she teased, alluding to his attitude and his unshaven appearance. “But hello to you to Sinclair, I told you I was coming didn’t I? Rude of you to keep a woman waiting out in the cold.”

“Oh don’t give me that [Y/n],” he threw back rolling his eyes at her, “you didn’t give me the chance to tell you not to bother. Do you always find it a habit to invite yourself to other’' homes?”

“No, not all!” She giggled giving him a wink and grin as she invited herself further into the house. “But you Sinclair are special and I know you like the attention even when you say you don’t. Nasty habit of yours that is.”

He huffed at her words and trailed after her with an annoyed look yet never moved to stop her from going where she wanted. Familiar with the very fancy home and all its twists and turns, she made a beeline into the kitchen to put the goods she had brought with her onto the counter. One by one she pulled out different ingredients, sugar, flour, butter, cinnamon, (were those peppermints he saw?), and other items.

“Did you ransack a sweets factory [Y/n]?” He asked suspiciously as she finally pulled out a few more jars and cans of this and that before beaming up at him.

“No not at all,” she answered, tossing her sack haphazardly to the side before proceeding to drag him over to the counter (he protested a bit of course) and motioned to everything on the counter. “But I hope it will look like it when we're done here tonight!”

Glancing momentarily at everything that was on the counter and putting two to two together, he realized what was about to happen. And a little scowl revived itself on his face as he looked down at the woman who was holding his arm hostage.

“Absolutely not!” His objection was harsher sounding than it was supposed to be and it surprised him. But [Y/n] just grinned happily up at him, not at all affected by the storm clouds rumbling about around him.  “ You're not about to make a mess in my kitchen and then leave me with the aftermath. I already had to fight with the dishwasher the other day and I prefer not to repeat that battle.”

“Oh don’t start Sinclair.” Letting his arm go, she began to open up a few cabinets grabbing bowls from here and there and then going around and rummaging around in his utensil drawers.

“Are you listening-.”

Whipping around with two large spoons one held close to her, and the other held out to him, she tilted her head a bit. Her eyebrows were drawn together as she looked at him with puppy dog eyes and a tiny almost invisible look of sympathy was behind her smile as she started up at him. 

“Come on Sinclair, it'll be fun. And plus,” a little simper on her lips as she watched his eyes light up just a bit when he closer examined what all the ingredients she had pulled out could be used for. “I know how much you love gingerbread this time of year. It’ll be nice, just like old times.”

The look on his face was a skeptical one as he looked back and forth between the utensil and the pleading expression on her features. He was being stubborn and she was just trying to be a good friend and he knew that.

“Please?” She asked sweetly, puppy eyes still wide in a silent wish for him to join her in her baking adventures. “Tis the season for friends and food you know?”

He wasn’t sure if it was the soft pleading in her eyes, the thought of his friend trying to give him some happiness at such a time, or just the general feeling of not wanting to be alone on the approaching holidays and appreciating a distraction.

It may have also been how thankful he secretly felt that [Y/n] had been the one to come to visit as unfortunately for both of them, they had been through something similar so it made it easier to not have to explain. Regardless, what did matter is that he finally cracked, reaching out for the spoon offered to him and plucking it out of her hand.

“You do make a good gingerbread.” He admitted as he watched her eyes glitter with excitement while her tiny smile grew larger and larger. 

Walking up to him and giving him a playful kiss on the cheek, she pulled away before correcting him with,

“I make the best damn gingerbread cookies, and don’t you forget it.”

After that, it became a flurry of motion in the kitchen as they worked around each other, laughing and shouting at one another as they mixed ingredients, getting the once spotless kitchen a little messy.

“Sinclair, stop! You can’t eat that yet,” [Y/n] laughed out trying to yank the spoon away from him that had some raw dough stuck to it. He was faster though, turning his back on her and continuing to eat bits of the sweet unfinished product.  “Sinclair, I'm not taking you to the hospital if you get sick!”

“What and leave me to die?” He asked, whipping around and pointing his spoon at her, “I thought you said this was the season of friends? Not very friendly of you to leave me for dead.”

“And not very friendly of you to make me have to rush you to the hospital,” she giggled, throwing her arms around his waist in a hug and tiptoeing to put her chin on his shoulder to look over him. “Here give me some so at least both of us will have an excuse to be in the hospital.”

A throaty chuckle left Sinclair as he offered his spoon to her and she happily nibbled at the dark dough enjoying the subtle sweetness and spice that made the cookies so yummy.

“Mmm perfecto! Now we just have to bake them up! Oh, I’m so excited.”

Running over to the bag that was still filled with items, she rummaged around before pulling out cookie cutters of all different shapes and sizes. Spinning around she grinned at Sinclair who had been watching her and an equally sizeable smile broke on his features.

“Pick pick pick!” She exclaimed going over to him and letting him get a closer look at the little tools.

Giving them a once over, she watched as he picked a snowman shaped one, and to complement his choice, she went for a cute little snowflake one before grinning up at him.

“Alright, let's get punching these things out I’m starving!”

“We’re having cookies for dinner?” He half questioned half laughed as she moseyed over to the already rolled out dough. 

“Of course, we’re the adults here so we get to choose to ruin our appetite if we want to. Any problems with that,” she turned around and winked at him. 

And for the love of it all, he couldn’t help but let himself be sucked into her exuberant energy. So he strode next to her and bumped her hip causing her to giggle and return with her own hip bump as she looked up at him with excitement glittering in her eyes.

“You know I’m the last person to argue about having an abundance of dessert.” He answered with a smile before helping her cut out pieces and placing them into the baking sheet.

They repeated the process twice more, filling out two pans and putting them in the oven while also setting a little timer for them. Rolling the rest of the dough up, Sinclair put the rest of the mixture into a bowl before covering it and moving it into the fridge. [Y/n] on the other hand made another run to her bag pulling out a tin of hot cocoa mix and showing it off to Sinclair when he turned back.

“And of course, we can’t have those cookies with hot chocolate now can we?”

“Absolutely not it be a sin,” he huffed as he went to grab some milk and she to grab a pot and they once again met at the stove for some teamwork. 

It didn’t take long for everything to be done, and before they knew it they were both relaxing on the couch with their steaming drinks and sweet treats.  [Y/n] had allowed herself to lounge with her legs resting on Sinclair’s lap even though he had tried to push them off only to give up when she stuck her tongue out at him and continued to try to lay them on him. In her hands was her little mug of hot cocoa with a peppermint stick happily floating around it as she took a sip of it.

Sinclair, who was not a fan of such a mixture, eyed her each time she would pick her mug up and it wasn’t long before he was badgering her about it.

“You know you really ought to have your taste buds checked. Why in god's name do you enjoy mixing something that is fine on its own with a toothpaste flavor?”

“My taste buds are perfectly fine,” she countered, taking another sip of the chocolatey liquid that had a perfectly subtle mint flavor behind it, “you just have no taste for the finer things in life.”

His face scrunched up at her as he took another bite of his cookie. From where they were sitting, on his lavish couch, in his very lavish home that had those large stone columns, you could put equally large vases on, it was very much a joke about him not enjoying the fine things in life.

In fact, if it was one thing he knew how to do, it was how to enjoy a very lavish and fortunate life that he had earned himself and he did it well. Yet even though she was just teasing, it seemed to bring a dark cloud upon him as he slumped back onto the sofa and looked ahead with a somber expression.

“Hmph, while I can’t agree with you there, unfortunately, there are some who I can say the same about.” 

The bitterness and resentment in his words and expression told her immediately that she had accidentally rubbed some salt in a healing wound. And before she knew it she was putting her mug down and throwing her legs off him so she could crawl towards him.

“Sinclair.” His name was spoken with tender concern as she placed herself close to his side bringing her hand up to carefully cup his cheek. “I’m sure she enjoyed it. Who wouldn’t, especially with someone as brilliant and lovely as you? I don’t know what was going on in her head when she decided to…,” [Y/n] paused trying to think of a more delicate phrase to address what the woman had done to him and decided on, “step outside of your marriage. But I don’t think it was because she didn’t enjoy what she had been given.”

“Then what was it?” His voice wavered a bit as he turned to look at [Y/n] who noticed the telltale glassy eyes that had her heart shattering for her dear friend. “What was so bad about being married to me that she decided she had to go out and…and…” He couldn’t even finish his sentence before a sudden and terrible sob shook his form as he pulled away from [Y/n] touch to bury his face in his hands. “Was there something wrong with me? Did I make her so unhappy that she had to go and do this to me? Why? WHY?”

Her heart was shattered as she watched her dear friend weeping and breaking down after having been so calm for so long. She wondered briefly how long he had been holding the hurt in as he had been almost a master at hiding it from everyone. He still had people over for dinners and those things, went to work and continued to do as good of a job as he had always done, and just acted as if nothing had been amiss after the divorce had been settled. 

And she felt guilty as she leaned over and gently tugged him close to her so she could hug him that she hadn’t been the one to see through the facade. Of course, he hadn’t been alright. Who would be? But she was here now, and she was keen on doing anything to make sure he would once again become that brash, loud yet wise Sinclair who she had always adored.

“Oh darling no you absolutely did nothing to make her do such a thing!” She huffed going to defend him immediately while stroking his hair as he rested his head between her neck and shoulders.

Muted sobs wracked his form as she allowed him to dampen her shirt with his tears and she went to rub his back soothingly. 

“There is nothing wrong with being unhappy sometimes in a marriage but if she didn’t tell you, how would you have known? Never ever were you unfaithful to her, and you looked at her with all the stars in the sky so please don’t think you had anything to do with her indiscretions love.”

Her words were only met with more sobs, which she allowed him to pour out without interruption. If there was anyone who deserved a good uninterrupted cry it was him and she was happy to provide any comfort she could give to him. It may had been the reason she wanted to check in on him so she was content with comforting him.

It had taken a while for his cries to begin to quiet and his body to stop trembling under her hold and it wasn’t until she heard his muffled voice did she pull away a little.

“Did you say something Sinclair? I’m afraid I almost suffocated you.”

She was met with a chuckle as the man detached his face from her shoulder and looked up at her with red rimmed eyes and a sheepish smile.

“I said I’ve gotten snot all over your shoulder [Y/n].”

“Oh,” she snorted, looking down at the wet mass on her shoulder before shrugging, “I’ve had much worse, don’t worry about it! As long as you’re feeling better I’m okay.” There was a beat of silence before she added, “you are feeling better right?” 

The question was accompanied by her brows furrowing a little as she watched him wipe his eyes with his sleeves. For a moment there was silence between them and he seemed to have this thoughtful look on his features.

“You can snot up my other shoulder if you need to, it's pretty clean,” she offered up jokingly turning the other shoulder towards him as if to let him cry on that one too. 

This little action had him shaking his head as that familiar smile bloomed on his features. Her antics never failed to cheer him up when she had stayed with him for a while in their past and he shouldn’t be surprised about how light he felt now with her. He did miss it.

“No that’s quite alright I’m pretty sure I have some tissues somewhere I can use, or of course,” he added, raising his arm and looking at his sleeve before back up to her. 

“Are you sure I do make a good cry buddy,” she suggested, nudging him a little and making him scrunch his face up as if he was annoyed with her.  “And plus Sinclair you know I would do anything to make sure you were happy right? You’re quite a dear person to me after all.”

This seemed to catch his attention and she realized as soon as she had said what she did that it sounded a lot like a proposition that she wasn’t trying to make. But before she could catch herself, Sinclair had already raised an eyebrow with a teasing smirk on his thin lips.

“Anything you say?” 

“Anything within reason you perv,” she laughed gently, swatting his shoulder causing a feigned look of hurt to appear before he laughed along with her. “I don’t think we need anything more complicated as life already is at this moment don’t you think?”

There was a nod of agreement in her direction before he looked up thoughtfully. 

“Well, if you don’t mind I do have a favor to ask of you,” he said as he looked over with a sheepish smile to [Y/n] who nodded for him to go on. “As you said it is the holidays and well if it isn’t too much, I would appreciate some company.”

If she had felt delighted earlier when he allowed her to ransack his kitchen and dirty his dishes in the name of making cookies, then this was double that and she couldn’t help but throw her arms around him and hug him tightly. A bit startled, he quickly went to hug her back enjoying the warmth, and closeness of having her with him. 

“I’ll stay until you kick me out for driving you mad with my insistent need to bother you,” she mumbled into his neck. “Plus if not to make sure you’re alright, to eat the rest of those gingerbread cookies because they were fantastic.”

“Well, it’s a good thing I’m used to being driven mad by you, so it’s not something you’ll need to worry yourself about any time soon,” he replied to her as she wiggled away from his arms and slumped back on the sofa, a lopsided grin aimed at him.

“Hopefully I drive you mad in the ‘you’re so wonderful never leave me’ sort of way and not the ‘I’m going to bury your body in the backyard if you say another word’ way?”

“Well, we will see by tomorrow morning if you’re still above ground or not won’t we?”

“Sinclair!”

There was a twinkle in his eyes that had been missing as she tried to muster up a glare in his direction. But it quickly faltered and softened at how cheerful he seemed at the moment, and she couldn’t help but smile at him and flop her head down onto his shoulder. 

“You drive me mad to you know?” 

“What is it that you said earlier?” He asked, tilting his head to the side and resting it just on top of hers. “What are friends for?”

A/N: I'm sorry if my endings feel abrupt guys 🤣I just get to them and am like oh so now you know what keep it short means smh. Anyways another story in the books and they keep getting longer! Thank you for stopping by to read it ❤❤🥰and of course let me know how you liked it!

#sinclair bryant x reader #sinclair x reader #rickmas2022 #blossom writes

[bosquedemel]

so i saw oppenheimer. i feel like i just binge watched a 4-part miniseries cause it's so long and ambitious in its span that that's what it felt like. very documentary-like in its scope. at first it was exactly what i expected but then it turned into an unexpected legal drama which, while essential to his life, felt weirdly executed. i think the two parts could have been better balanced. or it should have been just about the second one. not a fan of the rapid-fire editing at some points.

that said, it's much more understated than i thought it would be. i think the focus on oppenheimer himself and on the backlash against him from the part of the US government for his "opposition" to the h-bomb was the right choice. they also presented oppenheimer in a very matter-of-fact way, it felt to me, showing his contradictions and not really excusing any of it. i think a key line is kitty's line about [spoilery plot point] that can also sum up his work. it goes something like: "you can't commit a sin and then expect people to feel sorry for you when you suffer the consequences". i think that's exactly how we're meant to feel about him and how he's thought of today. of course there are other issues at hand that are addressed and that explain from his point of view (plus the atmosphere of the time) what he did. and that was also a part of him but it really becomes irrelevant when his actions led to what it led.

the score is pretty good and, while they may seem corny, i liked einstein's scenes. there are so many famous actors in this movie - including oscar winners - that it honestly became a bit distracting, just like on the bear. i think casey affleck and rami malek only have around 8 minutes of screentime each; ken branagh (yes he's in this) much less. emily blunt was good but super underused. the infamous "sex as only nolan can stage it" is not actually a sex scene per se, nor is it anything revolutionary though it is unexpected, and i had forgotten that robert downey jr is actually a good actor. matt damon was miscast though.

on another note, the portuguese subtitles were absolutely atrocious. idk who did them but they fucked up so many lines including a seminal one at the end in a way that's truly mind-boggling. did they use an ai or something? i feel like filing a complaint

#text #oppenheimer #tagging bc i know people must be tired of it #EDIT: wait i just realized i forgot to mention cillian murphy; well of course he was great

[monkeydluffy19920]

Review: One Piece tv special 3

That cursed corona stroke on May so decided to spend time watching  old One Piece specials and movies for the nostalgia whenever there was energy for that and did scribble a few reviews for fun (i.e: here is quick review for Movie 6) and then left them to the draft pile to wait the queue and here we are, me babbling randomness :D  Might contain spoilers and probably will end up being a long post by the way:p

It was written in OP fan Wiki that Oda-sensei was not involved in these older tv- specials or films (he has been active part of production since Movie 10, Strong World). According to this, these specials and Movies until 7 are considered as non-canon since these have individual plots and these happenings haven’t been mentioned in manga (except Movie 9 and 8 which were adaptations of Drum Island and Alabasta) although some of the movies could be placed in the canon timeline, basically.  

One of the main reasons why this is one of my favorite from older specials is the humor. One Piece has always had good sense of humor and silly running gags but it felt like there was a bit more of that in pre-timeskip era. Well of course there is lots of going on constantly and I understand that Oda-sensei can’t put everything in these panes so something must be decreased and now it’s the humor part.

Of course there are still classical jokes but somehow it feels that there are not as many old shenanigans like in old days and things have become more serious after Time skip but anyway, back to the humor part. What I really love especially in this tv special is that everyone gets their share of it (instead of focusing on joking with one person only). First we have this part where Chopper gets frustrated when no one replies him what “theater play” means and he goes to his human form and then Zoro needs to calm him down like a old brother.

Then just a few moments later the dork trio casually rushes into the theater and of course pick the “forbidden door” (which is even more amusing that Usopp is actually leading them there instead of Luffy who usually is the “head dork”) and then there are Nami and Sanji who try to keep on track like they were parents or supervisors of those 3 kid hearted bois  *laughs*

Nami negotiates with the local staff so that each Straw Hats who wants gets a role in the play (Zoro wants to stay out and is the one who rotates the thingy that rotates the stage) and as expected, things don’t go as expected. Maybe the most memorable part of the special is the actual act and it’s because it’s hilarious.

First there is Usopp who did get one line in the beginning but wanted more so he kept hopping on that stage with various roles. Who knows he might feel home on stage by the way because he has been a storyteller ever since his youth and he delivers them full hearted so the sniper could indeed excel at that work if he only got the chance.

What I find cute is that even a character that is supposed to be serious and stuff like Robin is also thrown into the pit of comedy.  Robin is known for her dark humor but this running gag has become more popular after Time Skip and this special aired somewhere around Skypiea arc so her comedic side wasn’t revealed much in earlier arcs if I remember correctly.

So, out of the blue she threw a musical performance in stage and Nami’s comment summed up it well since everyone went like "wtf” (because honestly, I don’t think anyone expected to see her doing that).

One small detail I also liked in this tv special was Sanji’s entrance to the stage. Hard to describe but it was just cute to see such a confident appearing guy having a stage fright. They got those roles literally in a short time so no one would expect they’d do professional performances so his reaction was very human too and therefore relatable (because let’s face it, not many people enjoy speaking in front of a huge audience).

Despite the cheat note he couldn’t stay in his role (a pirate attacking the princess that was played by Nami) aand after that the rest of the play (or should we say remains of it) is history.

So, everyone goes solo (princess gets suddenly shot, Usopp bouncing around, Sanji being mad about Nami getting shot although he was supposed to be the bad guy, Robin keeps singing and leaves when she realizes it’s not a musical etc).

What makes this whole ruckus even funnier is that on of that Luffy comes around with a random monkey costume (which fits him incredible well xD) and when he is asked what is he doing Luffy simply replies “oh I just found it lying around so...” and keeps going which pisses Nami off who was prepared to go according to the script instead of all this chaos their improvising caused.

I think their dialogue they went summed up nicely the comedic side of Luffy’s nakamaships: Everyone knows that Luffy can be the most random dude ever but he still manages to surprise his crew mates with new shenanigans and his crew can’t stop or help his randomness.  This is one reason to love Luffy’s character and his chemistry towards his crew in general.

So, Luffy monkeys around, manages to accidentally make a little crash on stage which Zoro (the stage master) misreads as a signal to turn the thingy around and the chaos keeps going but the audience is having loads of fun (meanwhile the Marines are arriving).

Later the Strawhats learn that Rudolph, one of the actors is a retired Marine and having a sad past with pirates which causes him to go face to face with Luffy once he finds out who these new theatre “assistants” are.

Btw, must say that another reason I like the old specials is the animation because it looks hand-drawn instead of animating everything with fancy 3D stuff and don’t get me wrong, I like animation too but there is just something more nostalgic feeling in these non 3D-frames.

So the play is now on the pause and their little battle is interrupted because the actual bad guy is arriving. He is Randolph’s old Navy underling, nowadays a commander (named Governor) who is extremely salty for their shared past and wants to ruin ex Navy’s farewell performance and gets him arrested like he was arrested back then.

Luffy somehow randomly pops up to this Governor’s ship and wants to help Randolph (and for everyone’s suprise, he is not carrying him like a sack of potatoes like he does most of the time) and this makes this bad Navy guy angry.

Luffy orders Randolph to keep on playing the play while Luffy and his crew protects them which is a nice gesture and hereby teaches traumatized Randolph that there are good pirates too (just like Nami mentioned before that she could relate on Randolph disliking the pirates back in the days).

This battle was again one good example of their teamwork. Sanji and Zoro in separate boats battling the canon balls then Robin, Luffy and Chopper helping with the rest and Nami being in the watch tower and helping Usopp to aim with the right canons but they also fight individually at times.

One reason this Tv special’s Navy boss is extremely annoying is that he is basically just a zero with big talks. Usually bad guys (navy leaders and pirate leaders) are known of having some sort of notorious skills (like devil’s fruits or battling like mad) or they are badass just in general.

However, as said earlier, Governor is just a salty guy who keeps on repeating himself but on top of that his army credits are questionable. Seriously being a navy leader and he didn’t even bother to check out whether Luffy was considered a a threat or not (and by that time Luffy already had a bounty).

Frankly spoken, how he did even manage to rise in such a high rank?.  It was just a good thing the rest of this Navy group finally realized what was going on and had the bravery to dump their commander. If someone, that guy deserved it.

That bad guy was so actually bad neither the hand writers or the animation crew wanted to waste time or frames on a grand finale (a 1 vs 1 boss fight)  so Luffy simply sends him flying once and so the day is saved and Rudolph’s ending speech makes his retirement even more epic.

So all in all, the plot of this Tv special isn’t superior and the main villain is definitely one of the worst ones in OP history but despite that, this Tv special has a place in my heart because it’s one of the funniest specials and reminds of the good old humor most of us fans miss ever since Time Skip :)

#one piece #review #tv special 3 #luffy #zoro #nami #usopp #sanji #chopper #robin #nakama #long post #Protect! The Last Great Performance

[declanowo]

31 Days of Horror - Day 6 - The Devil Inside

06/10/23

My love for the horror genre started around 2018 or 2019, I can’t quite pinpoint when I fell deeply in love with it, but I remember staying up late under my covers watching films on Netflix, a handful come to mind such as the Babysitter and Before I wake. After those, I remember distinctly deciding on my love after watching the Chucky films, as well as a large sum of Youtube videos. When the Child’s Play remake was coming out, I remember asking my mum to buy it for me, with her refusing to as she didn’t want me watching “films like that”. Eventually, it came onto streaming, and I watched it while eating some takeaway food and found it to be nowhere as good as the others. 

Eventually, my mum understood my enjoyment more, viewing it as harmless, and word spread around to my family. During lockdown, one of my uncles dropped off a huge bags worth of horror DVDs he had accumulated over the years, and in an instant I was overjoyed. Most of these films were evidently collected during their weekly supermarket shops - low budget horror which you’d struggle to find much information about. One of these films was The Devil Inside. 

Initially, I had no interest in the film - why would I? Exorcism movies have never so much been my thing, and the cover art didn’t draw me in, yet this all changed after I watched another of these films a few months ago - The Boy. I found the film to be delightful, and my love for director William Brent Bell’s work was cemented after watching The Orphan: First Kill, a sequel to one of my favourite films, which I also found to be a very fun time. 

Both the directors previous movies have some things in common - they are both B-movies with phenomenal twists. Unfortunately my love for this film is nowhere near those two, in fact, I wouldn’t describe myself as loving The Devil Inside at all. 

My disappointment started when I began this DVD, finding no special features. Honestly, I was holding out so much hope to hear what Bell had to say about this film, but alas, we have not been gifted this much. Truly, that is the darkest thing about this film. 

All that aside, to me, this film was simply boring to me. A similarity it shares with The Boy is that the first two acts are fairly slow, mildly boring, and build up to a great final act. However, in comparison to The Boy, which feels offbeat yet loveable at all times, I couldn’t connect with this film at all. 

When starting this film, I found myself deeply excited that it was found footage - mixed with the exorcisms, it felt like an incredibly interesting combination! Yet, my dreams were crushed when it was revealed that instead this was a mockumentary. Although I don’t want to write off the whole style, I haven’t found a film that uses the framing device effectively - admittedly I haven’t searched far. For example, this film doesn’t feel too invested in making it feel like a documentary. Nothing about it feels strung together like a documentary, in fact, nothing in this beyond maybe the first act feels like it could be made into a documentary, from the weird cuts between characters to the swearing that just wouldn’t fly in a real documentary, which just completely took me out of any emersion I had. 

I also didn’t find myself connecting with these characters. This being said, I did feel a level of connection to our protagonist Issabella, at least, I did towards the beginning - after around the twenty minute mark I felt so disconnected from her and the rest of the characters. Yet one line stuck with me when thinking about her character, which was when she spoke about the feelings that come with losing both parents, and truly it made me feel something. 

The only other character I found interesting was the priest, mostly towards the climax of the film. I doubt I will think of anything in this film again after a week or so, except for his death scene, which, while not haunting or even too scary, it does leave a mark on the audience for sure. 

The exorcisms themselves were fine, yet I can’t find anything to say about them beyond that. I finished the film ten minutes before starting writing and yet, I would struggle to explain this film to many people in depth. 

Honestly, I was so hopeful this would be another hidden gem by the director, but it really just didn’t land for me. As I draw my discussion to a close, I feel like I am left with nothing to say, with so little to redeem it in my eyes, it makes me wonder if there are any other nuggets of gold left in my pile of DVDs left three years ago, or if I simply struck gold early with The Boy. I guess there is only one way to find out, but I can’t say I’m in a hurry to do so. 

2/10

#horror #horror movies #the boy #literature #review #halloween

[beninparis]

Blog Submission 3

I remember vividly the moment I realized we had a week left. I was sitting in my bed looking at the schedule and how many days we had left, when the realization hit me. I’m not sure I could call it a full on cry, but I did shed actual tears in that moment. Even if I were able to somehow see everything, I still don’t think I would be ready to go back. There’s something different about Paris. It’s all of what I stated before, but there might be something else that I can’t identify until after the fact. A few times now, I have considered making my return be a goal, either for another few weeks or even moving in for a good chunk of my life. I can’t guarantee it would be the same or better than this, but it’s probably worth a try.

Bastille Day was a bit of rush in the last few minutes, partially because of me. Aiden said “We were going to take the metro to the Eiffel Tower.” I said “We can watch from the Seine dude.” That we did. It was crowded, we had to walk for miles, and we didn’t really get the best view. Then again though, this was probably better so we didn’t have to take the hour walk home at 1 am.

The hill to MontMartre offered the second best view of Paris, with the third being the Arc De Triomphe. The kind of view that makes Paris seem smaller while simultaneously reminding you how big it is. I would say it’s fitting that the church be put here to remind Parisians of God’s position above them, but that metaphor gets ruined whenever you remember the church isn’t the highest thing in Paris. With that being said though, it’s one of the best and most grand churches I have seen in Paris. I don’t know if it’s the best church (I wish Notre Dame were open for me to compare) but I do know it’s the one church we went to that compelled me to pray beneath one of the statues. Something about the kind of power that the building has. The rest of the street is glorious too, but in a more secular way. The readings describe the hill as devoted to art and pleasure and that can be seen in the many artists at work and the various restaurants.

I went to the sewers. They stink. They're also probably cleaner than my old highschool’s bathrooms. It was fascinating to see how the city handles its water and to see another portion of Paris’ underground “city”. Honestly though, I think I was more fascinated by the rat monster, a weird chimera involving a rat, a mantis, and a scorpion. It just appears in one of the tunnels and is even acknowledged in the gift shop, but has no context or explanation. I tried Googling the thing and I think even Google is drawing blanks. I’ve become a character in a sci-fi B movie because I need to know more about the creature and its origins.

I don’t think anything is going to match Atelier des Lumieres. Even after the readings, I still didn’t know what to expect. I was presented with one of the most immersive presentations of art, history, and life I have ever seen. It’s presented in a way that surrounds you and becomes the only world there is for a moment. Firouzen insisted we watch from the railway upstairs, which was a nice break. Yet, I feel like there was just as much, sometimes more magic in standing below and facing the walls head on. Almost like you’re part of the exhibit too. Also, someone please recreate this kind of thing but with quicker animations and house music. That would be my kind of rave.

Now who could pass up a chance to graffiti a wall and not get arrested for it? Fortunately, I got to do that and have my first try and spray painting. We went over the basics first: lines, filling in shapes, and gradients. We had to choose a word or phrase for the workshop, something that would sum up Paris and our time with it. One of the first things that came to my mind was Lee Ann Womack, who said that if we had the choice to sit it out or dance, she hoped we would dance. I think the rest of the class were on the same page, whether they knew the song or not.

Of course though, I wasn’t going to end my trip to Paris without a certain stop. I mentioned the third and second best views previously. Here’s the first.

The tower was packed and I managed to get on in time to watch the sunset as I ascended. The fire of the sun was the warmest as it left the sky, dipping down below the city in an orange ball of light. The tower soon became as golden as the streets would become while the sky darkened from blue to black. It’s probably best that I did this in the last week, so that I have a little bit more of a relation with those golden streets. Despite the place swarming with people, nothing was going to take away from the climactic view. Except maybe the champagne price. Seriously, 46 euro for a glass? Either way, this view felt somewhat sacred, the thing that my applications, planning, travel, and classwork all built up to. The moment the sky blackens and the streets become gold is the kind of fantasy that so many movies and tv shows sell Paris on. Only it wasn’t a fantasy. It was Monday night.

Versailles was a decent follow up, not as impressive but still with its own charm. As an occasional hunter, I personally think an uppity lodge surrounded by gold is an insult to the earthy nature of hunting, but the royal family was wired differently. So differently that the queen thought make-believing as peasants with life sized playhouses was a normal thing to do. Either way, it was a lovely place and row boating was one the best things to do on a day like that. I also learned something about myself. I am not very fast.

I think my biggest concern is, who will I be whenever I come back home? Will I be better than I was or as I was? I’m told by Nancy that travel changes me and I sincerely hope she’s right. The closest I can think of to a change is in writing. I still remember the comment Nancy made to me after my first blog post and what it made me feel. I also remember the comment she and Herman made about the follow up post. They seemed like they were a little surprised with me and that made me surprised in return. It also made me write a bit more than I probably would have otherwise. I wrote in Cafe de Flore for extra credit and I wrote about the church where the concert was. Nothing earth shattering, just what I saw and what I felt and I tried to dress it up as fancy as can be. I know I shouldn’t seek validation and doing that can be a danger for many artists, but damn does it feel nice. If they have a knack for it, then I might go even further.

When people say that Paris is a city of love, they usually mean a romantic love. To me, it’s a love of life.

Tips:

Get to know your breakfast options, most of the time it’s just Boulangerie goods, but you can find other options if you look enough.

Learn how to work the transit system. The metro at the very least.

If the cheese has mold in it and its blue cheese specifically, you can eat it. If there’s mold on the rinds, avoid the rinds. In fact, avoid most rinds.

Be prepared for blisters. Blisters are inevitable.

Dance.

[biblically-accurate-soup]

khunbam really is about two people who care about each other so much and try to help shoulder each others burdens and stand by each other even when the rest of the world turns against them huh

#khunbam #tower of god #tower of god spoilers #these two are my comfort ship #the loyalty #the devotion #the unconditional trust!!!!!!!! #‘let me know where you are going so i can chase anytime’ #‘to go together... wouldn’t that be enough?’ #god!!! fuck!!! shit!!! ahhhhh!!! #they didn’t have to go that hard for us but they did ;-; #honestly they could be summed up in this one line from a movie i watched #‘i always thought of bam/khun differently than my other friends’ #because YES the friend squad is amazing! #rakhunbam is the BEST team and rak is the BEST leader and loves his turtles and they love him back #but what bam and khun have? is something different #the manwha all but explicitly says it #you can see it in their interactions #they end up ignoring everyone else and are in their own little world lol #they just care about each other so much leave me alone

[tuesdayintheservantshall]

2 downton 2 abbey: THOMAS THOUGHTS

I had to restrain myself from LITERALLY shouting “Thank God, it is my boy!” when Thomas first walked out in his brown suit. (Though there were some talkers in the movie and I vaguely regret not just going for it. But there were some other people who weren’t talking, so I wouldn’t want to add to the talking they heard.)

I was surprised by how emotional I got actually seeing that this time Fellowes had integrated Thomas’s romance plot with the rest of the story. I don’t often get emotional about steps forward in Representation(TM), but this one made my heart squeeze in my chest.

I really liked how they showed how fed up with Downton Thomas was. Would I also have enjoyed if they had gone another direction and had him building happiness there? Definitely! But this felt very real, and I was surprised to find how grateful I was that instead they made the full arc from season 6 to here be Thomas clinging to Downton out of desperation, then being optimistic to change how he relates to it, and then gradually discovering that it’s certainly better but it’s still the same basic place it was and that’s not a place that’s good for his thriving, even with his Bold New Attitude.

I uh, not to be overly whatever, but I feel really represented by that. I’ve developed a Bold New Attitude so damn many times because I believed that sticking it out and not “giving up because it’s imperfect” were the right choices or the healthy choices or the strong choices, and while I can’t say for sure that what I learned from doing that wasn’t worth it... what I learned from doing that was largely that it doesn’t work. And, perhaps more importantly, that other ways of continuing to try are better. A therapist once told me a really great reframing that I don’t goddamn remember the words of, but the gist of it was like “choosing to do/try one thing over another is as much about the thing you’re choosing as the thing you’re setting aside for it” definitely said way better but like. Okay in sum the idea that Thomas “gave up” by leaving Downton is complete anathema to me and it was the complete opposite of giving up, it was trying again.

That being said, it would be nice if, in addition to showing how frustrated he was with Downton, they showed him actively enjoying something about the filming process.

It would also be nice if they had given him a scene each with Baxter and the kids. (I only thought I’d care about the kids, but it turns out I cared about both.) Why Andy scene with kids instead of Thomas?! >:| >:| >:|

I didn’t hate Mrs. Hughes’s approach as much as when I watched it in the uploaded scenes. Big difference is, on the big screen her delivery of “And that’s... sad?” came across pretty differently. It felt more tentative, rather than almost... skeptical. Like perhaps she doesn’t want to assume that’s the sad thing or why. Which in turn made me parse the “brave but lonely” line as more comforting. (Though still, in my opinion, a bit scolding (not quite the right word but I still can’t think of the right one) - I think, honestly, if Mrs. Hughes is judging one of Thomas or Richard as making a worse choice, it isn’t Richard.)

While I still think that definitely wasn’t The Breakup Letter (if nothing else the line “I know it shouldn’t be (sad)” seems nonsensical if it is), I’m open to the interpretation that it was the... nail in the coffin letter. I think his sadness could be read either as sadness about the world and the lives men like him and Richard aren’t allowed to live, or as being about a final door being closed in regards to his and Richard’s romance. However I still think I prefer the first.

In context I actually do understand more why people were frustrated Guy wasn’t working class. The way he was specifically contrasted with Myrna, his ability to play the gentleman as opposed not just to her rudeness but her - rudeness. In the older sense. It made his middle-classness, and the distance between that and working class, seem more salient.

Also hm! Thomas’s reaction to the “Anything? That seems like a tall order,” now in context I’m not positive he understood it was flirty? Because he and the others had just been dealing with Myrna’s bossiness/rudeness, so it could have been an uh-oh moment of “Is he gonna be a Difficult Customer too?” rather than an uh-oh moment of worrying about how Guests go about their flirting. Of course, I still like the second interpretation better for reasons I’ve laid out. But I think they are both plausible.

I really liked Thomas’s hesitancy with Guy, that he takes a while to relax! More than I did, I think, in the collected clips. That being said... their romance was in fact the one plotline that did feel a bit rushed. I do wish we knew how long Guy was there - more than the initially estimated month, but by how much?

I still really like that they settled starting the “working friendship” part of things before starting the romance, to see them start both at once would feel really rushed, but I also still feel that I was cheated out of a kiss dammit.

And lastly: there were people in the theater who didn’t know Guy was into Thomas until the lapel touch. They “ooh”ed. Heh. I wonder how that reveal came across if you hadn’t realized.

#spoilers #DA2 spoilers #DA2 #downton abbey spoilers #thomas barrow #guy dexter

[makeste]

BnHA Chapter 303: And What, Pray Tell, Is a “One For All”

Previously on BnHA: The Todorokis (really just Enji) looked at their children and went “how can we screw up all four of them in uniquely different ways” and proceeded to do just that. Touya was all “just because practicing how to set myself on fire better hasn’t worked to win my dad’s affections YET doesn’t mean it will NEVER work”, because child logic. Turns out setting oneself on fire real hard isn’t so effective at winning affections, but is actually incredibly effective when it comes to burning oneself to death, so there’s that. Back in the present day, the Todorokis basked in their various misplaced (again, except for Enji) feelings of guilt, and were all “anyway but get over yourself already Enji, you still have to do something to stop this kid”, and Shouto was all “I’ll help too”, and Enji was all “(╥_╥)”, and Hawks and Jeanist were all “[surreptitiously listening in from outside the door]”, and that’s basically where we left off.

Today on BnHA: Hawks and Jeanist are all “mind if we join you on this family journey?” and proceed to stroll in uninvited with their puns and their perceptive insights. Hawks is all “so to sum everything up, we’re fucked, but at least you have us here to help you out! by the way, no clue why I’m the first person to ask this in three hundred chapters, but wtf is One For All.” We then cut to Deku, who’s still all “[(－－)]z”, and All Might, who is all “I’m just going to ignore the extremely loud racket going on right outside this room.” Which, btw, is happening on account of Bakugou, who is all “(╬◣Д◢)” as Satou, Tsuyu, and Mineta cart him away. Anyway so that’s a lot of antics, and also it looks like Hawks has gotten tired of the Todorokis refusing to put the pieces together on their own about OFA and so he is fast-tracking that shit. And meanwhile Deku is chatting it up with the Vestiges exactly like we all thought. And now we have to wait another whole week for updates on all of this. This really is not fair.

omfg lol

“our bad, we were kind of accidentally listening in on purpose.” like I said last week guys, no fuss. it’s a tradition

OMG

I am absolutely fucking floored. Hawks literally said that so casually that it’s impossible for me to rewrite it so as to be even more casual. that’s literally what I would write in the “today on bnha” section. in fact I probably will write that

(ETA: just for laughs I tried it and it really worked.)

a couple more things to point out about this panel: 

“TOP 3” omg yes. more like “top only” at this point, honestly. interested to see how that goes

Hawks’s phone is freaking the fuck out about something, calm down there

I know this is a standard Jeanist hair-fixing gesture that he does all the time, but I can’t help but form hypotheses about this being a stress reaction because Hawks’s hair is making him internally freak out. Hawks, if this man tries to get you alone with him and some hairspray and a comb, please for the love of god do not listen to him. get out of there and call the authorities

omg Shouto’s face

okay confession, I wasn’t really sold on the whole “Shouto has a schoolboy crush on Hawks” thing until exactly now, when I became 100% sold on it. that is adorable

and heck with it, gotta show Enji and Rei’s reactions here as well because lol

“omg my son who’s not my son, and he just overheard everything about me being a terrible shitty father and person overall, oh and plus my actual-son set him on fire and called him out on a national broadcast. I’m just gonna stare at him baffledly.” versus Rei, who is all “hmm, who are these people”

so Hawks is all “I got released from the hospital after one day for some reason so I made Jeanist drive me around places while we talked about life” but uh, heyyyyy, what’s Rei doing

okay, uh

SO FUCKING FORMAL OMFG. “SORRY MY KID TRIED TO BURN YOU TO DEATH, APPARENTLY HE DOES THAT” REI NO IT’S NOT YOUR FAULT

HAWKS IS ALL “I’M JUST GONNA LAUGH SINCE THAT’S MY DEFAULT RESPONSE TO BEING PROFOUNDLY UNCOMFORTABLE”

let me tell you a secret Hawks, it’s my default response too. ahahahahahahaha oh thank god Jeanist is helping her up -- AND MAKING A JEANS PUN, OF COURSE. IT’S BEEN ALMOST THIRTY SECONDS. MY MAN WAS DYING

“WTF IS ILLEGAL DENIM” he’s talking ‘bout them counterfeit jeans, Rei. Antoine Bugleboy knows

THANK YOU JEANIST!! OUT HERE ASKING THE RELEVANT QUESTIONS

damn straight. we’re not gonna sit around waiting another 300 chapters for this information on this man’s watch

now Hawks is telling Endeavor he used to watch videos of him all the time, and calling him his “childhood obsession” I can’t

OH MY SWEET STARS AND MOONS

1000% CANON. “SO CLOSE...” ARE YOU SERIOUS. YOU REALLY PUT THAT THOUGHT BUBBLE THERE AND EVERYTHING. “GOOD MORNING EVERYONE, SO JUST IN CASE YOU WEREN’T ALREADY AWARE, TODOROKI SHOUTO IS NOT ACTUALLY STRAIGHT.” HORIKOSHI KOUHEI I AM LITERALLY DUMBFOUNDED. THIS IS AMAZING

and meanwhile that look on Hawks’s face while he casually-but-not-really-casually-at-all asks this question. that phone app better be using his actual voice. I’m not sure I could take this scene in the anime at this point if it was like Alexa talking or something

that look in his eyes is basically saying that so far, based on the information he has absorbed up until this point, Hawks is prepared to view his former childhood obsession as a flawed but changed man. however I get the distinct feeling that depending on Endeavor’s answer now, he would be willing to drastically shift some of his opinions on him

(ETA: this is maybe my favorite panel in the entire chapter. the fact that his question isn’t addressed to anyone in particular, but his eyes are zeroing on on Endeavor. and the way his leaning-on-Shouto pose manages to be simultaneously nonchalant and yet ever-so-slightly protective. there’s so much going on in this one question and gesture and I’m mildly obsessed with it.)

however, Rei is all “that was me” and ONCE AGAIN WITH THE FACES IN THIS CHAPTER holy shit

Hawks definitely did not see that one coming sob. it’s so fun watching him frantically recalculate his ideas about this family every two seconds

DAMN IT HORIKOSHI I UNDERSTOOD THE PARALLELS ALREADY, YOU REALLY DIDN’T HAVE TO DO THIS

yes, Hawks, you get it. it’s not exactly the same, but it’s close enough. though unlike your shitty parents, Rei and Enji are at least trying

OKAY I SERIOUSLY CANNOT WITH ALL OF THIS

fljkdlaskfjlwkjl okay we’re doing the bullet-points breakdown here

first of all, the fact that poor little Shouto’s heart is still thumping away at this proximity and all he can think is “CLOSE” all intelligently as he stares at him with that face omg

and meanwhile Horikoshi has these STRATEGIC BANDAGES WRAPPED AROUND HIS CHEEKS TO HIDE ALL OF HIS SHOUJO BLUSHING omfg. SENPAI NOTICED YOU SWEETIE!!!

HAWKS YOU HAVE ABSOLUTELY ZERO OBLIGATION TO WASTE ANOTHER SECOND OF YOUR LIFE WORRYING ABOUT THESE TWO ASSHOLES WHO NEVER SPARED YOU THE SLIGHTEST BIT OF REGARD OR CONCERN IN THEIR ENTIRE LIVES. THE NICEST THING YOUR MOM EVER DID FOR YOU WAS BUY YOU A $2 ENDEAVOR PLUSH FROM THE DISCOUNT BIN TO KEEP YOU QUIET, AND YOU WERE SO AWED BY THAT ONE ACT OF SORTA KINDA APPROXIMATE KINDNESS THAT YOU SHAPED YOUR ENTIRE WORLDVIEW AROUND IT. PLEASE LET ME PICK YOU UP IN A BIG HUG FOR JUST A SEC, YOU DESERVE THE WORLD AND YOU WERE ONE THOUSAND PERCENT JUSTIFIED IN LEAVING THEM IN THE DUST THE SECOND THAT YOU COULD

but all that said, he immediately recognizes that Shouto would also have had cause to do the same in his situation, and yet hasn’t. and so he has that much more admiration for him all of a sudden, which is just super sweet, and fully appropriate. Shouto does deserve props. I’m choosing to take this as an “it takes a lot of strength to be able to forgive, and people who choose to do that even though they’re not obligated to are really amazing" type of thing, as opposed to “people who don’t forgive other people who severely wronged them are bad.” and if I’m wrong and Hawks’s line here is meant to be seen as actual failing on his part, well then fuck that, but we’ll move on

SO NOW, DOWN TO BUSINESS!

I am so, so curious as to what kind of strategy Hawks has for this (if he even has any), so I’ll just be quiet now and read

so Hawks is summing up basically what we already knew -- that Tomura and his inner circle (curious that there’s no mention of AFO, because if Hawks doesn’t know about him, that implies almost no one does) are still on the lam with a few PLF stragglers and some High Ends; that a bunch of prisons have been “liberated” (I assume this means all of the inmates escaped, so if that’s the case then where’s Kurogiri??); that the HPSC is fucked; and that heroes are resigning all over the place, and so civilians are taking matters into their own hands

OH DAMN!?

does this mean we’ll actually see some international heroes?? I will LOSE MY DAMN SHIT omg

(ETA: apparently people who paid more attention to the first BnHA movie than I did recognized the silhouettes as belonging to some background characters from Two Heroes. so maybe they were just cameos and they’re not actually new characters who are soon to join us lol. oh well.)

anyway so Hawks agrees with the other Todorokis that Endeavor has no choice but to fight

awww

DON’T WORRY ENJI THEY’VE GOT YOUR BACK. WITH YOUR FLAMES, AND JEANIST’S PUNS, AND HAWKS’S BOYISHLY GOOD LOOKS, THE THREE OF YOU CAN DO ANYTHING YOU SET YOUR MINDS TO

so Enji is very pertinently asking why they’re standing by him in spite of the... [gestures vaguely to everything]

oh my lordy lord

Shouto you had better do something to combat this soon, or this man will sneak past you on my favorite character ranking after all. his face. his cheeky lil finger gun. the fact that he sums it up so fucking simply. “if someone is trying to do the right thing, I want to support them.” exactly. exactly

(ETA: and one last thing I love but forgot to mention, which is the fact that Hawks calls it a team-up despite the fact that he is clearly in charge.)

meanwhile Jeanist is all “as for me, at this point I just straight up don’t give a fuck”

I can’t handle how fucking cool this chapter is you guys

so Hawks is all “you good?” at Enji. and Enji...

if anyone needs me, I will be building myself a discourse-proof fort made entirely out of problematic characters. I don’t even care. I will go on living my life very happily in here

lol at Natsu being all “BUT DON’T THINK THIS MAKES US FRIENDS”

I’m living for this weird and no-doubt entirely unintended implication that Natsu and them all are gonna join in the fight with the rest of them. I mean, they do presumably all have very powerful ice quirks. and Natsu has medical training on top of that, and Fuyu is skilled at getting eight-year-olds to behave which could be a useful talent for dealing with Tomura hahaha I kid, but I’M JUST SAYING. who needs hero licenses anyway

OH SHIT FINALLY SOME DISCUSSION OF AN ACTUAL STRATEGY. even if it’s just a PR strategy

WHAKLHL

and now for some reason we’re flashing back to Natsu and Fuyu’s attempts to navigate through the media crowd outside the hospital

well I guess this is why I’m not the mangaka. if I were writing this I would have done something trite and predictable like using that “One for All” line as an excuse to cut to Deku!! as opposed to this entirely unrelated scene!!

seriously though why do we need to see this lol

no one in this crowd has ever heard of Alexander Dumas huh. or even the popular 2007 Disney Channel original movie, High School Musical 2

so now there’s an entire page of Hawks saying they need to know what One for All is, and Endeavor having one of those patented Todoroki WHOOSH realizations lmao look at this

just wait until this man figures out that one of the scrappy new interns he took on three months ago was actually the main character all along

SKDFIOHWIERLKSJGLWLK!!

NOW IS PROBABLY A GOOD TIME TO ASK MYSELF WHY I CHOSE THIS CHARACTER WHO KEEPS DISAPPEARING FOR SIX OR TWELVE OR FORTY CHAPTERS AT A TIME TO BE MY FUCKING FAVORITE. WELCOME BACK SON PLEASE DON’T SCREAM YOURSELF TO DEATH YOU STILL HAVE A HOLE IN YOUR TORSO

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

(ETA: can we just take a moment to appreciate how Bakugou even got so close to Deku’s room in the first place though. in this giant hospital with no idea of where to even go. does he have Deku Radar or something.)

YOU SIX ARE OFFICIALLY ON MY HIT LIST!! SPARE ME YOUR GOOD INTENTIONS!! MY BAKUDEKU REUNION KEEPS GETTING POSTPONED WEEK AFTER WEEK!! YOU’RE SUPPOSED TO BE HEROES WHERE IS YOUR CONCEPT OF MERCY

(ETA: btw just to be clear, I’m not actually angry lol; it makes total sense that they don’t want this rampaging feral toddler who was still in his own coma all of fifteen minutes ago to come and start screaming at the other coma child until he tears all his stitches out. if there’s anything we Bakugou fans should be familiar with by now, it’s being patient.)

also, Tsuyu wrapping her tongue around Bakugou’s still-healing torso wound absolutely can’t be hygienic at all. also wait is that Inko??

(ETA: pretty sure it is her. she got all of one line smdh.)

Iida is all “thank god Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight pulled through, I thought for sure he was a goner back there”

for the record this is actually really sweet to see how relieved he is. he’s one of the few people who saw the original injury close up, back when he was still at the battlefield and unconscious, so I imagine it really did freak him out quite a bit

JIROUUUUUU

“sometimes I just like to stand here and tug on my imaginary suspenders, what of it”

how come you guys get to loiter around Deku’s room but Kacchan doesn’t. god fucking dammit. AND WHAT DOES THIS EVEN MEAN

I BET KACCHAN COULD WAKE HIM UP FROM HIS COMA WITH THE POWER OF RIVAL INTENSITY!! BUT NOOOOOOOO, [is dragged away back to my fort]

OH MY GOD!?!

"this seems to be an entirely normal and above-board situation that we have just stumbled onto”

I see Jeanist comes from the Iida Tenya school of respectfully using people’s full names

Jeanist becoming one of the main characters is the best thing to ever happen to this series

EXCUSE YOU, IIDA

BUT I’M SURE HE’D MAKE AN EXCEPTION FOR KACCHAN THOUGH!! [elbowing my way back out of the fort] HAWKS, PLEASE --

DON’T GO ALL OMINIOUSLY PUTTING THE PIECES TOGETHER ALL ON YOUR OWN GODDAMMIT

“there’s absolutely no way this angry wriggling shoulder burrito kid here could answer literally all of my questions, so I’ll just ignore him”

OH MY GOD WE’RE FINALLY CUTTING BACK TO HIM BUT THE CHAPTER IS ENDING

[jumps up, throws a folding chair at Iida and the rest of the gang, and then runs]

oh my god. actually this chapter was awesome. but I’m so fucking mad at this cliffhanger though lol

at least we got a couple of answers! and some hints and teases! poor Deku looks so worn out even though he’s asleep dlwkjl my little green baby. and is it just me or is his quirk activated?? All Might’s all “I can feel it” as if it isn’t obvious just looking at him, why are you trying to be all mysterious dude

anyway! so at least we finally have confirmation and a date for those vestige antics at long last. looking forward to meeting Mister The Fourth next week so we can finally ask him “hey dude, what the fuck”

#bnha 303 #takami keigo #hawks #todoroki shouto #todoroki enji #endeavor #best jeanist #todofam #bakugou katsuki #class 1-a #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #makeste reads bnha

[teukyo]

treasure reaction to: finding out they have to act in a drama alongside their actor!crush (you)

requested: yes !!

a/n: i made it with the thought that you two are the main leads for the drama !! i hope you enjoy ^_^

hyunsuk:

you know that expression he always does when he’s confused

that’s his initial reaction when the staff told him

in the long run while filming the actual drama, he would be very professional at keeping his feelings at bay, but he would be very flustered at first when finding out about the news

he’d look at the script,, rub his eyes and smack his head a few times,, look at the script again,, realize this isn’t a dream

“oh o-okay” he’d say, still shocked about the entire situation.

the members would definitely tease him the entire time

would scream a few times while looking over at the script, realizing he had to do with YOU— cuddle you, hug you, KISS you ???

cant help but get giddy when reading the scenes you two have together

jihoon:

“ohohoho, really? cool” he’d say, but you can tell from his eye smile that he’s elated about it

he’s honestly been waiting for the moment you two interact because let’s be honest, he’d be the one making YOU flustered

already has a few tricks up his sleeve to make you fall for him

he’d also be very boisterous about it to his members— bragging about how he gets to act alongside HIS crush

he would definitely be a bit alarmed when going over the script though

he would act like hyunsuk but a bit less flustered

“oh we have to kiss?! alright” he’d say, shocked at first but then plastering a huge smile on his face when reading the script

he would constantly hype himself up when practicing acting the scenes going “cmon youre THE park jihoon you got this” but he knows very well on the inside that he’s kind of nervous because he doesn’t want to mess up in front of you

yoshi:

he wouldn’t know how to react at first

he’d just muster out a tiny “okay” while holding the script with shaky hands

i feel like in general he’d be very collected about it but on the inside he would be all “?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!”

he would also be a bit afraid on messing up because not only does he have a crush on you but he genuinely sees you as an admirable figure with how amazing you act

so he would definitely be a bit bewildered at first that HE was the one chosen as the lead with YOU

he feels like he wouldn’t be up for the job at first because he’s just a sweet humble boy :((

but after realizing that it’s him who was chosen, he would work his butt off, constantly practicing every night to perfect every minute detail

he just wants to leave a good impression on you tbh (and he does !!)

junkyu:

he’d look at the script with wide eyes— “what?”

VERY shocked at first

he would keep asking the staff if this script was meant to be given to him lolol

after the staff telling him “yes” for the 15th time it would finally click in his brain that,, wow,, he’s acting with you

he’d read all the scenes you have together and be so appalled, hand over his mouth

if you had a penny for every time he said “HUH?!” you would honestly be a billionaire within the first 30 minutes

in all honesty though i think he’d be a bit like yoshi at first, thinking he wouldn’t be good enough (like in the behind the scenes of the tmap webdrama)

but he just uses that as a way to work harder so he does amazing (which he does in the end !!)

mashiho:

i don’t know why but my gut thinks he’d act the same as jihoon ?!

like he wouldn’t be AS confident but i think he would be pretty smug about it

i mean,,, it must be a sign he got picked as a lead yk

he would be all smiley looking at the script acting like it’s a precious baby

reading every cute scene you two have together and giggling because it’s just so ?!?!?! he’s doing this all with you ?!?!?!

other than that though he would definitely look over the script over and over and over and over—

he would put his huge crush on you aside and work really hard so he doesn’t feel like he’s holding anyone back because he really does admire you

so when i say he’s motivated he’s MOTIVATED

jaehyuk:

he would do that action he always does where he puts the back of his hand over his mouth,,, yeah that’s what he does

“woAH” and then he’d just look at the script for like 5 minutes trying to comprehend everything, the staff asking him if he’s okay

then he’d do his signature smile and nod because now he can finally see you act !!! even better that you’re acting with HIM !!!

the entire day he’d just be so happy,, like that smile would NOT leave his face

oh he stepped on a piece of gum ?? it’s alright hes acting with you ^_^

he would read the script like it’s some sacred book, reading every single word cautiously trying to immerse himself into it

to sum it up hes honestly just really happy :(( and he wants to impress everyone and you especially as an idol because yk the reputation idol actors have ,,

asahi:

he wouldn’t show any reaction at first, but you can tell from the dimple from his smile that he’s really happy

“alright” he’d simply say and then look at the script with sparkly eyes

he’s definitely made a few (probably a lot) songs with the thought of you so imagine the bangers he’d make now

he would be so inspired that night, writing lyrics for a new song as he reads the script

but the members would be very confused because ??? it doesn’t look like he cares that much lol

but he definitely DOES

the members would tease him and he would put on a blank face but in the inside his heart would be beating out of his chest

he’d put his feelings aside though, working really hard and getting advice because well,, he doesn’t want to screw up or mess up and he really does want to give a good impression on you

yedam:

“thank you” he’d say politely when the staff gives the script to him, his boxy smile plastered on his face

when i tell you he’s happy i mean he’s HAPPY

like asahi he also made a load of songs about you with the thought of hugging you, being with you, etc.

and reading the script makes him so giddy because !!! he doesn’t have to imagine anymore !!!

like yeah it’s technically all for the drama but it’s still real in his mind

his cheeks literally hurt from smiling so big he’s just so ?!?!?! UGH he cant believe this

he would also watch all the movies, shows and behind the scenes videos you’re in just to get the gist of how you act and how to act (and he just loves looking at you but we’ll ignore that)

he’d honestly just work so hard rereading the script over and over because he doesn’t want to let you or anyone down ><

doyoung:

ok so we all know that doyoung has been wanting to go into acting (and he’s very good at it from the looks of the tmap webdrama)

so tbh,,, he would be more happy at first that he got an acting gig like he would literally jump in joy

and then— wait? what did the staff just say ??

“i’m acting along with WHO?!”

then he’d be kinda flustered because,, wow,, his first acting gig with an actor he looks up to !!!!! and has lowkey developed a crush on

which in the end makes him even MORE pumped up because he’s been working so hard on acting and he can show off to someone he admires so much

and honestly just the thought of your presence being there makes him 1000x more motivated and he would practice any chance he gets— his dorm members getting tired of hearing the same lines over and over at the dinner table

he’s just so enthusiastic about the entire situation because he genuinely thinks this is the most perfect opportunity that could ever come to him

haruto:

‘oh wow i’m gonna start acting that’s so coo— EH?! i’m acting with WHO NOW?’ are his first thoughts

he honestly thought he heard wrong at first, asking the staff to repeat the name again

so when he realized he heard it well and clear he was,,, just,,

his mouth would just be agape, flipping over the pages of the script realizing you were the other half to him in the drama

but tbh though i think he would be the type to put his feelings aside and focus more on how to become a better actor (in general i think most if not all would be like this but haruto would be more if that makes sense ??)

like wow ,, you’re so cool !! amazing actor !! and you’re so lovely !! like he’s seen basically everything you’re in so yes has developed a bit of endearment to you

but he would rather just simply use that as a motivation to work harder because you’re an amazing actor and he can’t mess this up especially if he wants to do more acting in the future

which makes him work so much harder because he does want to be a good figure in acting

and if the shooting goes well then maybe,, just maybe he’ll act upon his feelings

jeongwoo:

he’d be a bit like haruto in this situation

wondering if his ears were doing him dirty and the staff didn’t actually say his most favorite actor ever

but no,, his ears work perfectly fine

he’d also be the type to not focus too much on his personal feelings mainly because he would honestly get sososo flustered just thinking about it

just thinking about how he has to talk to you is so ?! really ?!

he’d look at the script in awe because he genuinely can not believe it

like he’d probably have to imagine it’s not you and that this is all for a drama so he doesn’t constantly mess up or get flustered

which is why he really wouldn’t put too much effort into ‘getting’ with you because in the end it is a work environment and he does have to be professional

so he doesn’t think too much on his feelings and just puts all his focus on memorizing the script and becoming a better actor

a tiny part of him does hope you show some interest though hehe

junghwan:

poor thing would be so nervous at first

“really?! i’m acting with — y/n?!”

he’d just be so incredibly flustered at the spur of the moment, the staff would hand him water and ask if he’s okay

he honestly thought about rejecting the offer at first because he thought that he wasn’t good enough to act with you :(

but then he realizes that this is probably a once in a lifetime opportunity and he can do this !!

he likes to use you a lot for pep talks — “if y/n can do it so can i!”

which helps a lot in the end because you’re such a good actor in his eyes and he wants to be just as good as you

like doyoung he would practice literally any chance he gets

oh we’re having a restroom break ? here comes junghwan pulling out his script

he’d also ask the members to practice the script with him because he wants to be perfect as perfect can be

#treasure imagines #treasure imagine #treasure reaction #treasure reactions #treasure fluff #treasure blurbs #treasure #choi hyunsuk #jihoon #yoshi #junkyu #mashiho #jaehyuk #asahi #yedam #doyoung #haruto #jeongwoo #junghwan #treasure kpop

[clandestine-j]

Gossip Girl Reboot, EP. 3

Review/Reaction 

alright, we're here for ep 3 reaction and thoughts &

man, i must say, DRAMA.

love it. i'm going to try and make this short but i fail horribly at stuff like that soooo lets see how this will go. i think imma split it into three groups! adults, kids, other random shit.

adults

you know what? i was here for most of them. people talk about zoyas dad bad acting but he was fine in his little scene, i'm happy that he's forcing zoya to take time with obie or whatever. i know people hate her dad and zobie but it was a little nice scene.

i'm really loving julien's dad. i'm glad he can own up and apologize and i get where he was coming from. honestly 10/10 so far, i love the relationship he has with julien and how's he's learning to cope with her becoming an adult and seeing it happen.

fucking love max's dad and the whole family dynamic thing before it went to shit. obvi, the one day is shitty but his other dad, lovely, i love their relationship. parents are winning in this ep.

teachers? JAIL (maybe not rafa but we'll still see). honestly, i'm not hating the teachers being gg, i like that they put gg out there for other private schools so i'm enjoying it but still JAIL. JAIL. JAIL.

our mains

we didn’t get to see much of monet but her little blow up motion at the end was funny and when the chick offered her name, monet said no. queen. and home girl accepted it.

luna was #theebest from her doing the zoya glow up. i think everyone agrees that her holding up the phone is a fan favorite. luna is my best one liner girl. her delivery is on point.

obie, more of obie, i know people don’t like him but he’s an alright character for me. i see potential but we need to flush him out a bit more. i hope to see more of his interactions with aki, give us the friendship. i want him to take what he learns to heart.

zoya, yes girl, pop off. i guess she can when it comes to her passions but not to her. (just be catty once back) i love that she did call luna when it came to the hashtag and she realized who she couldn’t be fairly quickly. i wonder if the play wright is the new friend.

julien! honestly, she really is a queen and i’m loving her pushing back against monet and luna more and more. i also love the scheming and her night out with max. they’re great together and i just wanna see more of it. (all of the friendships) i also love her relationship with her dad. i like that they talk and work things out and while he shouldn’t have lied, i get why and i love that he thought about her so much.

idk how to even to the next few but here we go.

honestly, i found aud and aki funny this episode. their reactions were so alike but so different. the awkward wave and everything. i get that they’re lying to themselves but damn, if they could find a way to spice up their sex life they’d be good. i find them so cute as a couple when they’re all cuddly and just ugh. guys. talk. i will say that after though, when they met in the hall way, i like that once it was out there, aki was straight to the point. honestly, if they broke up...i don’t think it’d be bad, i think they’d be good friends and understanding of each other.

i saw people saying that they didn’t give enough (aki) but max was on his monologue shit and i think they were in two different mindsets. aki didn’t look blank, he looked pissed. and i would be too lowkey, you say you don’t wanna be in the middle of it but then you put yourself, right in the middle. and aside from the kiss, i don’t think aki tried anything more with him unless it comes out that he did. but a few days passed (julien jetting around) so i don’t if they were that thirsty. audrey probs thought that in that moment, she’d really lose aki and that’s what brought her too tears. i think aki already accepted what might happen and was just pissed while audrey, even when she told julien about it, she was disconnected in her head about what she had done.

max was a rollercoaster this episode. from the taking julien out to posting her with the coke to making the plans. it’s was all chaos. i think the moment i felt the worst from aside from the break down? when he didn’t realize the trouble with his parents marriage at the table but we could all see it. that was heart breaking and my dude though, his planning was on ten. making the profile, switching the seats, the hands on the thigh (aki licking his lips) and then his break down and just telling of the truth, exploding, spilling the tea. whatever you wanna call it. it was wonderful and his reasons for doing it, so childish and backfired but you get it. he just wanted the truth out with his parents and it all went to hell. really, heart breaking but amazing for the show and his character development.

my man is still messy though, even without telling the business. like aud and max were in a relationship but those were yo friends my dude. you legit blocked aki from sitting next to his girlfriend, im crying. (messy and he knows it and aki liked his lips. sick.)

now random thoughts that had no real place

audrey’s actress makes these strange faces sometimes...idk...it’s funny to me because i’m wondering why

the scene when max’s dads and rafa met, jesus

would you spell it buffl-ho?

it’s the least you could do

did aki say shenanigans, boy you are a kid 

the moment with max and his dad, still, thinking about and it still cute, all cuddly, idk if the og parents were like this but i love it

since we’re getting mostly reasonable parents i expect the worse ones to pop up soon

the way monet delivered that brad line, it sends

why would he put her doing coke on

aud / aki had reasons to think max would blab because he’s messy

my boy aki flirting with other dudes as rafa

i could see aud asking aki to make out with any boy while she watches, so guys get it together please

how did obie not see aki stops talking and suddenly look at max 

i wonder if someone has tried to take advantage of max because those words hit too hard

those teachers really set home girl up, omg, JAIL. 

aki needs new friends who’ll love his movie drops. he just gets bullied into things, maybe it’s his kink i won’t judge but he couldn’t change by himself, pushed into the bathhouse, the profile, obie won’t let the group chat name stick #stopgettingbullied

aki’s & max’s relationship summed up into one tweet, he really likes this boi, once i’m SICK (click the sentence) 

i haven’t loved all of at school looks but i really liked juliens at the end of the episode

was the music transitions a little jarring to anyone else?

thanks all for now, just my minds ramblings as normal. i could go more in depth about all of this but i’m sure ya’ll are sick of reading it now.

#gossip girl reboot #max wolfe #aki menzies #julien calloway #luna la #c;gg

[tooquirkytolose]

So I did in fact watch the musical when it came out and while I admit it deserves criticism and indeed is problematic, boiling it down to "kid uses another kids suicide to get popular" is leaving out a lot of key details about the musical (spoilers I guess)

- Evan himself suffers from anxiety and depression, his broken arm being heavily implied to be the result of a failed suicide attempt in the orchard not that long before the musical starts. The letters were something his therapist said he should start writing as part of his treatment. He didn't intend on anyone reading it, let alone have it be with Connor at the time of his death. (note: this is an explanation, not an excuse)

- He continues writing letters at first because people keep asking for more of them. The parents of Connor Murphey want some form of closure and think the letters give them that, while one of Evan's friends hops on it for an important cause. Even, still suffering from the anxiety and isn't used to the attention, rolls with it because he honestly didn't want to hurt anybody, especially a grieving family. After a while, he keeps up the charade because some of his own needs are being met in ways his single mom couldn't provide. (doesn't change the fact that what he's doing is wrong and doesn't excuse his actions)

- Despite how much attention he's getting, he still feels guilty about everything and struggles with whether to come clean or keep lying. Quite a few of the songs talk about this (including one they completely left out of the movie that honestly was vital to showing the nuance of the situation, "Good for You"). "Words Fail" probably sums it up the best, as he lays out his reasons why he did everything he did but agrees it's still no excuse for what he did.

- While he still gets off "scot free" by most people's standards, he still suffers consequences once he comes clean: He doesn't get the girl in the end and she wants almost nothing to do with him (rightfully so), he loses a full ride to college after being honest with Connor's parents and has to work to save up to go semester by semester, it's implied he no longer keeps in contact with most of the people he used to hang out with in high school. The charity project in Connor's name still goes on, but he has absolutely no say in it anymore.

The musical is hella flawed. With this I'm in 100% agreement of. And I do not blame anyone for disliking it and welcome criticism of it, as both a fan and someone who suffers from sever anxiety and depression. But boiling it down to just "kid uses another kids suicide to get popular" is a take that makes me shudder because that feels very disingenuine and ignores a lot of the good that this musical could be if the right people had been allowed to rework it.

it's almost like i wrote a funny HaHa post with the plot boiled down to one line instead of multi paragraph text on purpose

#my dude please i am aware #it is simply me going Wow these two movies have a lot in common to the point where it's funny

[aaronhotchnersquarterzip]

Meeting You Flipped the World Upside Down - Or Maybe Just Mine

This is it guys, I’m really proud in general of myself for finishing this and I hope you all enjoyed it as well. When I started this fic I honestly planned for a major character death or something dramatic like that. Never in my wildest dreams did I see this ending. I’m not mad though, I’ve had a rough time lately and this really summed up a lot of my feelings. There are people who will never truly leave your life and that's okay. You just shouldn’t let the thought of them hold you back. This has been my favorite thing to write ever and I want to thank everyone who has supported this and made me feel so good about my writing. I did leave this open ended if I ever did want to continue it but I think I want to write something a bit lighter next. I really hope you all enjoyed this as much as I have and remember to stay safe and drink some water today - Mya

Summary: Reader has been a rut, stuck in a never ending cycle of college worries and job interviews. Never did she think that SSA Aaron Hotchner, or Agent as she likes to call him, would walk into her favorite late night diner and flip her world upside down. And he for sure didn’t expect to fall in love so quickly with the soon to be college grad. They navigate finding love and working together to rediscover what that means for each of them.

Pairing: Aaron Hotchner X Female Reader

Word Count: 1.4k

Epilogue

Aaron Hotchner did flip your world upside down. Maybe just not in the way you expected. But in the way you needed. You watched your children chase their father around the backyard. It was nearly below freezing but they were going strong. You made hot chocolate for their impending arrival inside. In the meantime you curled up on the couch with a warm blanket and watched the fire burn. The Christmas tree was lit nicely in the corner of the living room, an abundance of presents spilling out. 

You pulled out your phone and scrolled through some old pictures. Baby pictures of your three children. Your wedding, it was a fall wedding. More than you could have ever dreamed of. You also looked at your college graduation pictures. Emily, JJ, and Penelope had surprised you and showed up to commencement. Screaming when you walked across the stage. You should call them soon. Finally, you found the picture you were looking for, you and Aaron at one of Dave’s dinners. It was a candid that Morgan took when you weren’t paying attention. Aaron has his arm around you while you’re talking to JJ about god knows what. It’s your favorite picture, beyond a shadow of a doubt. He looked at you like you were the only person in the room, you chose to remember nights that those. He changed you for the better, it was only fair you acknowledged that. 

Your thoughts were interrupted when your husband and kids ran inside from the cold. 

“There’s hot chocolate on the stove waiting for you monsters!” You yelled to them as they rushed to change into warmer clothes. 

When they had all settled and had their mugs of hot chocolate, your husband joined you on the couch. Soon followed by your children, two girls and one boy. They quickly turned on a pixar movie and snuggled up to you underneath several blankets. There was nothing you would change about your life. This was exactly where you were meant to be. 

By the time the credits rolled to Monsters University all three of them had fallen asleep. You carefully tucked in your youngest daughter, Greer. She was about to turn 2 in the spring. Your surprise baby. You couldn’t have been happier when you found out. Sure the stress of raising three kids got to you sometimes but they reminded you of all the good in the world. 

Next was Cheyenne, named after where you met your husband, Noah. You were travelling around the west and made a pit stop in Cheyenne and met the man you were meant to spend forever with. You couldn’t think of a better name for your first daughter, Noah couldn’t have agreed more. She embodied everything good about your husband, his compassion for sure. She was smarter than you by a long shot at just 8 years old. 

Finally you came to your oldests room. He had been a welcome surprise just a few months after your wedding. Your not so little boy mirrored you in a way you never thought possible. It scared you at first, everything about being a parent is scary sure, but nobody prepares you for raising your twin. He had your hair and eyes, Noah’s nose, but everything about him was you. His ambition never failed to wow you, he pushed himself to lengths you truly couldn’t believe sometimes. He however, did inherit some of your bad genes though. Sometimes he didn’t know when to stop, when to slow down and enjoy the present. You got better at that with age, you want him to achieve everything he puts his mind to but you need him to see when it’s happening. Not when it’s happened. 

You reached down and pushed some of his hair from his face so you could kiss his forehead. 

“Goodnight my sweet boy,” you whispered and he snuggled further into his blankets. You smiled softly and walked out quietly. He was already 12, sometimes you couldn't believe that you made it this far. You grew as you moved farther away, you knew that your life belonged out here. Sometimes it’s hard to trust fate but how could you justify meeting Noah and creating your dream life in your new favorite spot in America without believing at least a little bit in fate. 

You softly closed your little boy's door and ran your hand over the nameplate crested in the center of the door, Aaron, written in hues of blue. 

As you cuddled with your husband while he slowly fell asleep, you reached for your phone and scrolled through an album made just for you and Aaron. Noah may be your future, but Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner was the love of your life and you forever had a part of him. 

You pulled up his contact for the first time in 18 years and sent him the photo from that dinner at Dave’s a lifetime ago. You wrote a short message, 

I forgive you Agent - Y/N

The last thing you expected was a response, especially so quickly. It was a picture that you had posted on social media a few weeks prior, celebrating your 13th wedding anniversary. 

I’m happy you found better. What are their names? - Agent

My youngest is Greer, then Cheyenne. - Y/N

You wait a few minutes to respond, you know he read the message prior.

He’s named after the love of my life Aaron - Y/N

He called you then. You moved quickly and quietly from your bed and down into your living room. Answering before the line went dead. 

“You were the love of my life too Y/N. I just didn’t know it.”

There you sat, where just hours ago you were wrapped in blankets with your family, you were now transported to your life with Aaron. Staring into the fire with tears in your eyes. 

“It wouldn’t have mattered, Aaron, sometimes finding the love of your life doesn't mean spending the rest of your life with them. It means loving them for the rest of your life, even if that means watching them love someone else.” 

You could hear him sigh on the other end of the line, “I never stopped loving you. I won’t ever stop loving you Y/N.” 

“I will always love you too Aaron. I think I’m happier now than I ever was with you though. JJ told me you got remarried Agent. Congratulations. I’m sure she's perfect for you.”

“Yeah, pretty much. Her name is Beth, Jack loves her too.”

“I miss him. I’m happy he has someone again. You deserve to be happy Aaron. I forgave you days after. Hell hours even. But I knew that we both needed someone who understood us better. We both deserved that.” 

Just then you heard a door creak and the sound of feet pattering towards you, “mama,” Aaron’s voice squeaked out. 

“Right here, baby. What's wrong?”

“I heard you talking and wanted to talk with you too.” You laughed a little before putting your phone on speaker and introducing your son to Aaron. 

“Well alright, but I think you might need to know his name before you talk to him.” Aaron caught your drift, introducing himself through the phone. 

“Hi Aaron, I’ve heard all about you. My name is Aaron too and there is nothing I want more than to talk to you.”

Your little boy perked up at the idea that this man had the same name as him, Aaron was a good sport and talked to him for about 20 minutes before your boy was yawning between every word. 

“Say goodnight to Aaron buddy,” he murmured out a small goodnight and was helped back into bed. 

“He reminds me of you, I’m sure you know that already.”

“Everyone calls him my clone. Maybe it’s wishful thinking but sometimes I look into his eyes and swear I see you looking back at me Aaron. He’s how I imagined our children would turn out. Perfect in every single way.”

“Your husband is very lucky to have you Y/N. I’ll envy him until the end of time.”

You sensed this was the end of the conversation, you subconsciously wanted to never stop talking to him. That part of you that would always yearn for his comfort when you were breaking down in the bathroom or when you were so over the moon about something at work. You wanted to share those moments with him first. I guess some part of you always would. 

“I love you Aaron.”

“I love you too Y/N, goodnight”

“Goodnight Agent.”

#epilouge #aaron hotchner #aaron hotchner fanfic #aaron hotchner fanfiction #aaron hotchner x reader #aaron hotch x reader #hotch #hotch fanfiction #hotch x reader

[gold-kobold]

Hey, Goldie, did you watch RotT? If so, how did you feel about it?

ok so like

hear me out

i REALLY liked it

and don't worry, i think we can all pretty much agree that the m-preg was trash in every way and the ending was handled HORRIBLY, but like

i still??? had a great time with it despite those flaws????? like, i get why everybody's super mad, the ending of any film or series is essentially the most important part, and if you flub the ending, you're gonna get an ANGRY response, so the fandom's totally justified in that response, i think (save for harassing the writers or anything like that, don't do that shit oh my god you WILL be dead to me if you do that shit)

but like, i feel like there was a lot of good stuff in that movie that kinda got rug-brushed because of the "wtf factor" of the m-preg and the ending

(also, before i ramble on, let it be known that these are just my personal opinions and it's totally fine if you disagree!)

i feel like i don't even have to comment on the animation, that shit was HELLA good like omg THE ANIMATION WAS SO PRETTY I'M DYING except the staja babies those were nightmare fuel

anyways, the fights were REALLY amazing and suspenseful, and like, i've seen some people complain about nomura and strickler's deaths being pointless, and i do get that viewpoint a little (and btw they should've mourned nomura too like damn, okay main cast, glad to see who the favourite changeling is lmfao--) but honestly, i felt like their deaths were important in showing the sheer strength of the titans, and also in raising the stakes, if that makes sense?? i dunno, i thought it was a bold choice that kinda worked (for me, at least lol)

and hoo boy. toby. i'll, uh... i'll get into that in a minute. i'm gonna put it under a "read more" because a lot of my thoughts on THAT death and why it would've been really important to keep rather than reversing time involves some personal stuff on my side, so i won't bore you with those details yet lol

CAN I JUST SAY THAT QUEEN AJA WAS ONE OF THE BEST THINGS THOUGH--

Like, they really showed how tactical she's gotten in her new position, and hot damn, she just looked badass, i wish we got to see more of her shooting that cool gun afdgfdsfhdgjfhgk--

ALSO WANTED MORE ELI BECAUSE OMG I MISSED THAT DORK, he was also 10/10 amazing aaaaaaa

i honestly felt like the story itself was pretty solid most of the way through? it was kinda weird how they pretty much erased jim's "unbecoming" character development, but at the same time, it's like, worries and insecurities from your past CAN come up again even if you thought you beat them the first time, so it didn't totally throw things off for me because i kinda feel jim there in some ways -- i do wish they'd at least mention the similarities to the "unbecoming" episode, even if just in a throwaway line to show that it wasn't something completely forgotten about, idk

anyway, time-travel "fix-it" endings are the worst and i hate them vgfdasfhdjfhgh--

ON TO ME RAMBLING ABOUT WHY TOBY'S DEATH (AND EVERYTHING TBH) SHOULD'VE STAYED PERMANENT

there's honestly not that much more to say in how the ending of ROTT is basically just a slap in the face to everything we've watched so far. a lot of posts have summed up why this was such a frustrating writing choice better than i could. but oh boy, what got to me particularly was toby.

this isn't something i really like to talk about, so please don't message me about it or anything, but i feel like it's important to my point on this scene. so, to put you guys in context of the kind of feelings i'm about to talk about watching toby's death scene, i lost my best friend in middle school to a car crash. it's not totally comparable, obviously, but it's one of those things where like, as a kid, i didn't really think about death or loss of my peers as a thing that would happen, really? and then when it DOES happen it's like, "woah, what the fuck, i wasn't prepared for this on any fucking level" and it's just, like... a really hard-to-describe gut punch of mortality and loss at that kind of age.

the reason i mention this is because i can't recall a single fantasy-like tv show for young audiences in the same vein as trollhunters where they make a child main character's death permanent? like, i don't know how to describe this in a way that DOESN'T sound weird, when i saw toby's death, i felt a weird sense of, like... being seen, or something? like a life struggle similar to mine and similar to many other kids, though it barely gets talked about, was actually being recognized in a serious, long-lasting kinda way. i feel like a much stronger ending than reversing everything they did with a stupid time travel ex machina device is this, like...

just imagine, we get a shot of the characters a little farther into the future -- a stricklake wedding too, perhaps? but as a very end scene, the gang visits toby's grave, and acknowledge the loss, but also the times they all shared together or something--

idk. maybe people are just worried that's too dark a thing to show kids. but i feel like it'd be a really important thing to have in a media like this for those few that can relate to it and possibly move in the right direction about processing their own feelings about loss and stuff

anyway. there's also the complaint about how toby (and recently steve too) only ever got treated as comic relief as well, so this ending would've been more impactful if the writers had given more respect to toby as a character anyway, idk lol, i think i'm done rambling all the same

anyway, 7/10, not enough dictatious and notenrique

#trollhunters #rott #rott spoilers #text post #goldie post #long #RottThoughts #obviously i'm not the best person at wording their feelings very well lol but i hope this all made sense #Anonymous #feel free to ask me to clarify on anything movie-related that i liked or didn't like because i feel like i jumbled a lot of my thoughts here

[gesternchen]

Deleted footage: did Tsu’Tey’s Path change it for the better or not?

So here I am again, talking about a detail from Tsu‘Tey‘s Path comic book published by Dark Horse. I don‘t find it appropriate to spoil the entire comic, but, in my opinion, this particular moment intertwines with the scene from the original script and a bit with the episode from the extended cut. A very important moment which would add so much depth to the relations between the characters, I should admit. Yet we didn‘t get it in the final cut nor as one of the deleted scenes. And I don‘t get why, honestly.

First of all, the scene did remain the unedited one, no doubt in that, you guys can check it on Youtube. Still, if we followed the script, we‘d notice straight away that the moment when Grace meets Neytiri is skipped.

Here‘s an extract from the original script to Avatar. The meeting scene was completely left out: Grace‘s chat with kids is then cut to Jake and Neytiri being out in the forest.

Though the scene of Grace telling Jake about what actually happened in school did make it in the extended cut, the connection between Dr. Augustine and Neytiri didn‘t go beyond her image in the photographs Grace keeps on the fridge door.

Grace with Neytiri, Sylwanin (presumably), and other kids from the tribe.

The audience just weren‘t given any real life interaction between the two (except for when Grace faints in her avatar body and Neytiri rushes to her). The script literally tells us that it was supposed to be 'an awkward moment between them', and I can totally understand why. Along with her elder sister, Sylwanin, Neytiri was the best student Grace has ever had. She must have come to her school at a very young age, which I may prove by one of the pictures on the door, featuring Grace showing 'ears' gesture to her students.

The girl, copying the gesture, seems to wear a yellow flower-like headband, pretty similar to which Neytiri is used to wearing on special occasions. We could spot her wearing it during making out with Jake under the Tree of Voices and while being present at the ceremony of Jake’s consciousness transfer. I may suggest, it’s one of the early pictures of Neytiri taken in the process of learning. I haven‘t figured out yet who the boy on the table in the picture below is, however, it might be a younger version of Tsu‘Tey (I motivate my guess only by the alike hairstyle).

So how would it feel to meet the person you had spent years together, sharing knowledge, culture, and warm memories, who had suddenly disappeared from your life and had never come back until now? One would hardly find the right words to say, rather, it would be this uncomfortable moment of silence. I‘m not surprised that Neytiri and Grace just greet each other in formal way and that‘s it. Both would go through very powerful flashbacks. Neytiri may recall Sylwanin, falling dead in the doorway right before her eyes. Grace would feel guilty for letting all that happen, for not having checked on Sylwanin to reason her out of the idea of setting bulldozers on fire. Just a couple of seconds that would possibly make one of the most dramatic scenes of the entire movie.

Tsu‘Tey‘s Path is meant to tell the story from Tsu‘Tey‘s perspective. Not to spoil anything, the comic provides the opportunity to follow the character’s background and also gives a unique chance to observe some deleted footage. Let‘s see if it managed to make up for the lost.

So, what we can see in two pages down below (not gonna spoil which issue it is), is Grace meeting Tsu‘Tey instead of Neytiri. The reasonable question is if it’s good or bad for the narration. Well, hard to tell, since the comic story focuses on Tsu‘Tey‘s point of view, after all. Personally, I would answer in the following way: the short episode of Grace meeting Neytiri would be much more essential for the Neytiri’s character arc in the actual movie (and I‘m still unhappy about it having been cut out), while the comic does an incredible job in expanding the relations between Grace and the tribe of Omaticaya. Thanks to the comic, we know for sure that Tsu‘Tey matters to Dr. Augustine just as much as Neytiri and Sylwanin.

Grace is astonished at the fact that Tsu‘Tey still remembers everything she taught him in school, which suggests he may not have been the most hard-working student of all. Yet, since Tsu‘Tey calls Grace sa‘nok ('mother' in English), it‘s clear that he attended the same school as Neytiri and Sylwanin and so formed a strong spiritual bond with Grace. His command of English seems to be pretty good, as he‘s able to communicate with Jake throughout the movie and later translate Jake‘s speech at the Tree of Souls.

The only significant difference is in that Grace is wearing her casual outfit instead of the researcher’s one from the movie. She‘s also holding a baby na'vi, which doesn‘t appear in the extended scene, making us wonder if her encounter with Tsu‘Tey took place on another day.

The moment of holding Sylwanin‘s dead body recurrs in Tsu’Tey’s mind when Jake returns to Omaticaya as Toruk Makto. Tsu‘Tey seems to be a couple of years younger than his adult self in the movie, which again proves him witnessing the attack on kid rebels happen and being one of other students Grace managed to get out of school. Tsu‘Tey‘s latent fear of the Sky Person’s mightiness inside of Jake‘s avatar is way more comprehensible now, cause Jake, appearing on Toruk as a symbol of power, reminds him of how cruel and merciless humans can be. Hence he is sceptical about Grace coming back to the tribe, but his attitude changes as Grace calls his name.

To sum up, I believe, Tsu’Tey’s Path did succeed in reviving a rather important scene, which got unfairly edited out from the extended cut. It would certainly be ten times better if we were given the opportunity to watch Grace finally meet Neytiri after a while and their reaction to the encounter. Still, I also consider it a breakthrough that in just a couple of lines we were told the sad story of Tsu’Tey, having breathed so much life into his character.

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