#why can’t Travis make adult choices !!! | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

ghostradiodylan · 2 months

Note

In general Ryan gets so mistreated and overhated by the fandom and it makes me sad because I really like Ryan even in my first playthrough :/ I get that the part where he was arguing with Laura about the existence of werewolves when he watched Nick transform and run out the window was kind of dumb but he’s all around a great character who’s brave and helpful and he helped save everyone’s lives in the best ending….

While I don’t agree with all of their actions I can’t bring myself to hate on any of the counselors. They’re all young adults who are stuck in a horrifying and traumatic situation, of course they’re going to be flawed and not perfect. It just baffles me how Travis, Constance, Jedidiah and Eliza do the most horrible things in the game yet people viciously hate on Ryan : (

Oh, the actual adults in the game are absolutely The Worst. (Even Chris, though I think he wants to help, is incredibly negligent at best).

I think there are a few things happening here that can turn people against Ryan (and I'm not saying anyone has to like him as a character, we all have characters we vibe with and ones we don't, but it's worth examining why we don't vibe with some characters especially when those characters are Black or other POC, LGBTQ, and ND-coded).

Ryan is a victim of some of the less compelling writing choices in the game IMO. They don't have anything to do with his character, really, he's generally well-written, but some of the things that were cut from the game, and the way the relationships unravel in the latter half of the game does Ryan kind of dirty.

First of all, his relationship with Chris Hackett isn't fleshed out enough for a lot of players to understand why he's willing to sacrifice so much on the hope that his mentor isn't actually a werewolf (or a deeply irresponsible asshole of a boss). If they'd left in the scene of Chris following up with Ryan about following his dreams and going to animation school and the initial confrontation with Chris that was patched out, where Ryan questions how he hid this from them all this time when he cared about them and Ryan trusted him (literally heartbreaking to watch tbh 🥺), it might have been a little easier for players to empathize with his loyalty to Chris. This kid has no known father, absentee mother, aging grandparents, a sister he clearly feels a lot of responsibility for, and his father figure who he goes to for advice left him in the worst possible situation. Of course he's going to be in denial about that and about him being a werewolf until he sees it for himself, and then Ryan has to kill him. It's so fucking tragic. And he doesn't even get a second to mourn or even react because the Silas plotline kicks in immediately (and they spent all the animated tears budget on Jacob).

Then there's Ryan's relationship with Dylan, which I could (and will) write about for days. Based on the game we got, plus the cut content, I don't think Ryan was ever supposed to have the option to get with Kaitlyn. I think that's a red herring that allows homophobic players to avoid a gay kiss (kind of a fucked up use of a BAMF character and Brenda Song's star power but, ok). I don't think he was ever supposed to get to romance Laura either. But I do think he was meant to be able to either end up with Dylan, or decisively not end up with him. If they'd kept the relationship system that we still have traces of but no actual structure for, then his ability to say 'maybe neither' to Laura wouldn't be something players held against him because it would have a basis in the choices we've made as Ryan (and Dylan) so far. As it stands, it feels like that is unsupported by what's happened in the game when we've had Dylan and Ryan flirting with each other and taking an obvious interest in each other since they were introduced.

Even if you choose the less favorable dialogue options, Dylan and Ryan are never really shown to be truly at odds (with the possible exception of the gun argument, but even that pretty much smooths over in the end). Even if you have them be hard-headed assholes to each other, they still have their heart-to-heart on the way to the radio hut (which I really think was supposed to have an alternative if they had low relationship stats).

Complicating matters is the fact that a lot of people really love Dylan. Obviously I'm one of them, I mean, look at my url and writing choices. I think Miles gives the best performance of the game, hands down (and I think all the actors did really well tbh). He's a great actor (his line reads are flawless and that sassy boy body language? I die.) but he also gets a lot to work with in terms of the script. Dylan is complex and compelling in a way that tends to be highly relatable for most people. He's probably neurodivergent (ADHD) but it's portrayed in a more palatable way for neurotypical people. Plus, as an audience, we are primed to empathize with the person who wants to be wanted, who is afraid of rejection, who has the cute crush that we want to see reciprocated and is trying not to get their heart stomped on. We've all been there! That's a centuries-old trope in drama and literature for a reason. And while Ryan does not owe Dylan reciprocation, we see some pretty clear signs of it at least being possible. So the game sort of dangles it in front of players like we can make that happen with our choices and then makes a half-baked attempt to snatch it away. That annoys people and, I think at least partially because Ryan's race and stoic demeanor (/autism) have people subconsciously primed to view him negatively, they take that out on him instead of the SMG writers who opted for that rather than fleshing out the relationships any further for the latter half of the game.

Like, yes, it's a horror game not a dating sim (Ryan and Dylan dating sim DLC when tho??), but you spend so much time building relationships that end up not mattering to the outcome of the game, I get why that's frustrating for people. It's frustrating for me! I just think being mad at Ryan over it is the wrong take. I still see people saying "Dylan deserves better than Ryan." Dylan and Ryan both deserve to exist in a finished fucking game where we have the option to get them together or not, but blaming whatever happens, or doesn't, on Ryan as a character is kinda trash.

#the quarry #ask bunny #hello beautiful anon #bunny rants #I have a lot of thoughts #and feelings #in this house we defend Ryan Erzahler #ryan erzahler #dylan lenivy #rylan #radioheads #they deserved the world #patpat ryan gif

40 notes · View notes

misty-caligula · 1 year

Text

I’m so pleased with the pacing of yj, in general. If it wasn’t for that pacing I don’t think it’d hit quite so well. It’s the slow burn that really sells how they get there.

I’ve been telling my friends and people about yj that ep 1 act 1 scene 1 is a promise, not only of the level of intensity that we’re going to, but also that when we get there we’ll understand why, how we got there, we’ll have opinions on if they’re right about hunting pit girl, it’ll all make sense in the end and we’ll have the catharsis of knowing and empathy for an extreme situation.

I think that s2e8 REALLY fulfilled that promise, really put a lot of those little pieces together.

(I have no idea if this is an intentional motif, but I think it’s interesting that Walter’s GIANT puzzle featured two completely filled in chunks, two sections that were absolutely solid, amongst the noise, now that this episode really answers a lot of little questions and puts it all together in a very satisfying way for us. Hmm)

We were right about the queen, about the necklace, the system for choosing. The hunt began organically, I love that. I love that they got INTO it, I love that the doomcoming needed them to be fucked up on drugs, but now they’re in the exact same place without it. Literally, the same hunting pack, the same style, AND ONCE AGAIN NATALIE IS ON THE OUTSIDE.

The stopping to listen, the whooping and howling, the call back to Travis’ sacrifice. All cool aesthetic choices, but also I wonder...

Shauna can’t just stand there and coldly kill Nat. She can kill Lottie if her blood’s hot, she can do a lot of things when she’s psyched up. But just standing there, coldly, and holding the knife and looking into her eyes? You’ve GOTTA make it a chase, get the blood hot, hit those predator instincts. I’ve been wondering SO LONG why they chased pit girl, why they made it into a ... a game. And now it’s so clear, they do it because they HAVE to, for their own sanity.

When Javi went after Nat too I genuinely thought he was joining the hunt for a moment. I am an idiot. Oh well.

Misty!!! Misty’s SO much. She’s out here, genuinely trying so hard to solve everyone’s fucking problems. She’s in the cold attic with Lottie trying to look after a starved, internally bleeding half dead girl all on her own. She’s covering up for the adults because nobody tells her fucking ANYTHING and then she’s judged for it. She’s saving teen!Nat’s fucking LIFE... like she’s done before and will again. Misty fucking Quigley, greatest of all time.

I’m so glad the adults just fucking TALKED and got their shit aired out. I’m glad that Misty and Nat are on the same side of the table.

They’re not gonna drink the kool-aid right?

right?

....

right?

#right?#yellowjackets #spoilers #s2e8

98 notes · View notes

juniperhillpatient · 1 year

Text

and I’m thinking about “does a hunt that has no violence feed anyone?” & the way that both Jackie & Javi were killed not with weapons but with cruel & deliberate inaction that was still violence in itself. thinking about “no return no reason” & the way that reason & societal rules will always lose.

laura lee died praying to a god that had no power in the wilderness & trying to leave when the wilderness didn’t want her to. but most importantly she died trying to save the rest of them. Jackie was their leader & she made them all say nice things to each other & she could make them get along when their drama was passive aggressive & material but she was useless in the wilderness. she didn’t participate in the doomcoming hunt & trying to kill Travis & it’s impossible to imagine her participating in hunting Natalie. because Jackie was kind & the wilderness does not favor kindness. Jackie & Laura Lee & Javi were too selfless for their own good.

Javi didn’t die because “it chose” - not really. “it” the wilderness was Natalie & the moment she let the selfish feral nature of survival win & stopped trying to save him. the “wilderness” chose in the moment of selfish desperation to survive that Natalie Scatorccio made. btw to be clear I’m not criticizing Natalie or any of them, I’m discussing the narrative of the show.

polite society would say you should probably save one of the only 3 people in the wilderness who isn’t actively trying to eat you (Javi, Travis, Ben) - the person who selflessly tried to save you - but baseline survival would say otherwise. all of them stopped being people who follow human social rules on that hunt. they became wolves fighting for survival. “if you save him the others will get you.”

adult Natalie is right. they survived but at what cost? their humanity. they’ve all done things there is no coming back from because that is the ONLY way any of them made it out. attempting to hold onto any level of humanity or societal expectations in the wilderness is a death sentence. but how can you ever go back to society after that? after watching your friend die & letting him die because if you don’t, it’s you, because you need to eat.

this is why I’m very curious about Ben. I think that his decision not to kill himself is very interesting & I wonder if it will matter? he didn’t eat Jackie. “he thinks he’s so much better than us.” the decision of whether or not he will eat Javi - & again, I think he will because he literally will not have a choice, he is actively starving to death like the rest of them & he’s just chosen not to kill himself so I can’t see him starving & watching them all feast - will be very important for Ben.

#ben scott #natalie scatorccio #javi martinez #coach ben #it chooses #yellowjackets meta #sort of??? I’m just word vomiting my thoughts lol #yellowjackets s2 #cannibalism #cannibalism cw

102 notes · View notes

bananathebookworm · 1 year

Text

TLOVM S2 Episodes 1-3 Ramblings

AHHH! So fucking stoked for this season!

EP. 1

- This is incredible. They’ve managed to translate the absolute terror of this moment so well.

- Uriel’s death... fucking gruesome..

- Interesting that the main focus is on Umbrasyl, with enough Raishan and Thordak sprinkled in to establish their status in the conclave.

- They managed to capture the “19 Misses!?” moment so beautifully. I love seeing how these game mechanics adapt from game to screen.

- Missed moment from the campaign: Vorugal collapsing the top of Allura’s tower. Vorugal doesn’t make a direct attack until VM is at their keep.

- The looting of the remains of Gilmore’s shop. Poor Scanlan being left with a broom. That can’t possible be useful for anything at all.

- The adventures of Grog and Kraven Edge begin... this will go well.

- The snowflakes as Vorugal approaches. Nice touch.

- Nothing but respect for Keyleth in this house.

- Green-eyed little girl... that’s not suspicious at all...

- And a moment of perspective for Vox Machina. Love seeing a team come together.

- Liam as Vorugal was a fantastic choice.

EP. 2

- I love the visualizations of their magic so much. Each character has their own colour scheme and style and I love it so much.

- Matt as the guard to Vasselheim.

- Bidet.

- Caduceus easter egg when Keyleth mentions the Wildmother. Which makes sense given that Caduceus is the only member of the Mighty Nein that would be an adult and not a small child at this time. Now I need a story about his adventures in Tal’Dorei.

- Raven Queen!

- Green-eyed individual pointing them to the Slayer’s Take...

- Forgot how much of an asshole Kash comes across as...

- The design of the Slayer’s Take is amazing.

- Love how long it took them to realize they lost their fucking Goliath...

- That combat wheelchair is fucking badass and I love it so much

- Grog and Earthbreaker Groon. One of my favourite moments of the campaign.

- “I just wanna put her in my pocket” I would also love a little pocket Pike giving me guidance and fucking up shitty people I deal with at work.

- “Where does your strength come from?” The ease with which Earthbreaker Groon can launch Grog across the room is amazing.

- Osysa the Sphinx... isolating them... reading their deepest fears and insecurities... fuck... Also the animation for her very clearly separating her as a being older than time.

- “No one cares about you. I’m no different.” Fucking. Brutal. And another wonderful foreshadow to Scanlan’s path later on.

- Pike my beloved.

- Interesting that they didn’t have Grog reach the answer to where he gets his strength in this encounter.

- This animation for the story of the vestiges is gorgeous.

- Viktor the Black Powder Salesman... I look forward to this recurring character. Also I’m really glad Matt is voicing him because I don’t think anyone else coudl capture that particular unhingedness...

EP. 3

- “A bird? How does that help!?” Well at least we’re still at the “thinking rationally about Wild Shape” point in time.

- I need Zahra to have a scene in every single episode.

- Canonical making fun of Purvan’s name. Love it.

- Grog’s Beard! I love the Travis squeal laugh.

- Zahra’s eye-twitch.

- “Do not go far from me.” Just stab me in the fucking heart why don’t you...

- Baby twins! Love these flashbacks we didn’t get to see in game.

- Fucking Syldor. Hate him so much. Feed him to Trinket.

- Separating the twins as well as Zahra and Kash, like the original Trial of the Take episodes.

- Grog going absolutely feral with Kraven Edge... I can’t fucking wait to see the culmination of this partnership.

- The Ladies of Critical Role continue to remind me of how gay I am...

- Pike’s concern over Grog’s change in behaviour in battle... this is going to hurt.

- Deathwalker’s Ward...

- They did change this ever so slightly. In campaign, Taliesin/Percy intentionally touched the armour without thinking about checking for traps. In the show, Percy accidentally touches it while distracted. Both resulting in the same devastating effect.

- Fuck that happened fast.

- The black feathers... the Matron of Ravens is coming...

- Liam... my heart can’t handle Vax’s sobbing...

---

What and amazing and brutal start to the second season of this show. I can only hope they continue to get picked up for the rest of Vox Machina’s story once the Conclave is done in season 3.

#critical role #cr spoilers #the legend of vox machina #the legend of vox machina spoilers #tlovm spoilers

125 notes · View notes

ratcatcher0325 · 2 years

Text

Nobody’s Fool (Chapter #20)

Chapter #20. After Penn’s triumph on stage, Eveline is forced to realize it’s all about to come crashing down.

Previous: Chapter #19

Next: Chapter #21

CW: Adult language, dehumanization

Reblogs > Likes, Thank you! ________________________________________

NOBODY'S FOOL

Chapter #20: Sinking Ship

Word Count: 2,150 Read Time: Approx. 17 mins

[Eveline's POV]

We returned to a triumphant dressing room, Travis was perched on the vanity counter, Riley sat in the swivel chair, Dani lounged on the upholstered chair in the corner. As was no surprise to anyone, they had drinks ready to toast as they shouted songs of praise for the tiny man held in my palm. He shouted right back in turn, raising his flask. Pinching it between my thumb and forefinger, I helped pull his guitar over his head (knocking his hat off into his lap in the process) and placed it on the vanity counter. We clinked glasses, tiny flask included, and drank. Everyone uttered their congratulations to Penn, and he was over the moon.

The night slid into a haze of cheers and congratulations from the other two bands. We quickly found ourselves at an absolutely gorgeous bar downtown, lights shimmering like rainbow off of the grand chandelier. The venue had our first round covered and had called ahead about the unique little visitor, so he was welcomed with open arms. He was delighted, chest puffed out. He’d been told he was less than nothing his whole life, and now he was the center of attention.

Crew, staff and a few in-the-know concert goers who’d been lucky enough to discover what bar we were at, all wanted to meet this little musical wonder. He went from being tortured and toyed with in his past life, to being fawned and fussed over. Everyone wanted to pet him, hold him, pinch his face or get a photo with him. His eyes dazzled as people shook his tiny hand and made a big deal over him. I watched with hawklike attention, ready to swoop in if anyone seemed to scare him or make him uncomfortable, but he seemed to be doing alright. Occasionally, as new fingers wrapped around his body or just in the aftermath of a bright camera flash, he’d peer up at me, as if to say ‘can you believe this?’ I always beamed back, glad he was getting his well deserved attention.

As I leaned against the bar counter, tilting my head back and enjoying the last dregs of my cocktail, Travis appeared over my left shoulder, on the opposite side of where Penn was. Tumbler of scotch in hand, he saddled up to me, shoulder to shoulder. “Hey, want another round? It’s on me…” I placed the glass back down on the polished wood as his deep voice reached me through the din of classical piano and enthusiastic voices.

“Sure. Thank you.” He nodded, grabbing the attention of the bartender. “So, how do you feel?” I asked, “What do you make of all this?” He smiled, passing me my freshly mixed drink. We clinked glasses.

“Honestly? I can’t fucking believe it. I mean, how lucky are we to have that little guy?” I smiled. “You wanna know what I think? I think he’s too good for us…” I scoffed, Travis sipped his drink, “No, I’m serious! I know he’s… well, he’s what he is, and he needs us right now… but I bet you he could make it all on his own in due time. I mean, you’ve seen him, you would know. You were just as… uh…” he faltered, tearing his eyes away, he cleared his throat.

“What? I was what?” He shook his head, I gripped his shoulder. I already knew but I wanted to hear him say it, “What, Travis?”

“I don’t wanna make you… feel bad…. I just… I was gonna say you were just as good. You could’ve… anyway, it’s all history now isn’t it? You made your choice…” The edge to his voice was undeniable. I grit my teeth. We sat in silence for a minute. In his defense, he had tried to avoid this, but I couldn’t help it, I hated the bitterness and judgement in his voice.

“You know why…. Travis, you know why I left. That was the most difficult decision I’ve ever made, okay? It’s not like I just up and quit…” he made a face as though he disagreed. That made my temperature rise. I gripped my glass tightly.

“Ya kinda did though… I mean, what you went through was horrible, devastating… but it didn’t mean it had to be the end of the work… you could’ve been… we could’ve… ah, why am I wasting my breath? You’re past convincing at this point, content to stay in one spot while the world turns slowly on without you…” My face flushed hot. His words hurt, deeply.

“Hold on a minute. Don’t turn my decision to leave into your personal sob story… I know you’re jealous, you always have been, still are. Your personal feelings won’t dictate the course I choose to take in life!” Things were getting heated now, I turned over my shoulder to hide our private conversation from Penn, clutched in Dani’s hands only a few feet away.

“But did you choose though? Did you? You weren’t planning to quit until that night… that phone call…”

“Travis, I can’t with you right now. Tonight’s supposed to be a celebration. What’re you trying to say that I’m a damsel in distress and can’t make my own decisions?”

“No, goddammit. No. I just… I care about you, Ev. I do. Still. I’m sorry. I know you don’t… and that’s fine. But I worry about you… I just wanna make sure you’re happy, not… signing your life away… you know? I’m sorry but… seeing you out on this tour, it’s the happiest you’ve looked in a long time. Don’t you miss it? That pet has done what I couldn’t do in a year and a half… you’re back on the road! We’ve all missed you, Ev. So much…”

I did miss it. Of course I did. But his wires were getting crossed and I’d already made up my mind to stay put in Seattle. “I… I just can’t, Trav. I made a promise… I really think the stress of touring is what did it… and I, I don’t want to risk that again…” I saw his jaw tighten.

“What about Penn, huh? What’s he gonna do without you? Sure, you’re here now, but what about the next tour? The press circuit? Studio recordings? He needs you…” I knocked back my drink. I didn’t want what he was saying to make sense. How dare he pull me in two directions like this!

“Fuck, Trav. What do you want me to say? I don’t know… I’ll take him home between gigs and... I’ll figure it out. But I won’t go jetting around the country with you guys all the time, no. I…” I was at a loss. I glanced over my shoulder at him, laughing and joking with Dani as she teased his hair and adjusted his tie. Why did that tiny smile make my heart skip a beat? Cheeks burning hot, I returned my attention to my drink. The image of his face was still visible behind my eyelids, I gazed at this phantom silhouette in my mind and wanted nothing more than to travel the world with him in my pocket…

I snapped open my eyes. Taking a long drink, until I reached the bottom of the glass. What was wrong with me? I had responsibilities, a promise to be kept. I couldn’t go running off with him into the sunset… I had a life at home to lead.

Travis continued to watch him as he sipped on his drink. “You know he’s in love with you, right?” His question cut through the haze and noise of the bar like a razor’s edge. I practically spit up my drink, scoffing at him.

“Don’t do this Travis. C’mon, that’s a low blow... Really? You’re gonna use him as a pawn to manipulate me into coming back? That’s fucked up, Trav. It really is…” Travis shook his head. He was deadly serious.

“Look, I get how it sounds… especially coming from me, but I mean it. You should see the way he stares at you when you’re not looking. He’s head over heels. You really haven’t noticed?”

“I’m sorry, but do you know how ridiculous you sound right now? I mean, even if, if, he thinks he’s in love, I’m sure it’s just misplaced appreciation for saving him. After all, I’m basically the first person to ever treat him kindly… how cliche is that? He falls in love with the first nice human he meets? Come on!” I shook my head, wishing I had something left to drink. I couldn’t help but continue, “He’s not—he can’t be— I mean, he’s just a—“ Why was it so warm in here all of a sudden? Why was my heart pounding in my chest? Why was I so steadfast in denying something I’d begun to vaguely suspect to be true, myself?

“He’s just a… what, Ev?” I bit my lip. Goddammit, Travis. He continued, “You’re his whole world… when are you gonna let him down?”

That awful reality stung like a knife slipped between my ribs. If I was going to stick to my guns, stay grounded, stay tied, I’d have to break that to him. I’d known this before Travis said it, of course, but I hadn’t been sure of the little man’s feelings… that lack of certainty had abdicated me of the inevitable responsibility. Besides, I hadn’t really believed such a thing was actually possible… a pet and a human… but glancing over at him, his face aglow as he laughed, completely unaware of this conversation, I couldn’t imagine hurting him like that. What was the harm in letting him live in false hope a bit longer?

“You’re gonna break his little heart, Ev.” I swallowed hard. His words ricocheted around in my head, long after his warm hand had left its place resting on my shoulder as he stepped away from my side. We both knew what had to be done, and why, but I couldn’t find the courage. Poor, sweet Penn. I drifted from his view to order another round in some private corner somewhere far away from his gaze that was already making me feel so guilty.

******************

I was in ecstasy. Everyone was so friendly, warm, gentle. This had to be the longest I’d ever been in a room full of humans that didn’t end in some terrifying mishap. No fear quickened my pulse as I was picked up and cradled, caressed, and fussed over by foreign hands. I’d won them over, I’d seized the day! Eveline watched over me, keeping me totally safe. God, she looked so beautiful tonight… what I wouldn’t give to be able to hold her in my arms and soft shoe around the dance floor, her head on my shoulder, my hand cupping the small of her back. I could barely wrap around her thumb, let alone guide her around the room. But what if… what if that didn’t matter and she could find a way to love me just as I was? Would I dare to dream?

I couldn’t stop thinking about the way she’d looked at me, cradled in her palm, after the show. It was as though time stood still and no one in the world mattered but the two of us. Her soft, warm lips had slightly parted, her eyes sparkling in that ever entrancing stormy swirl of color. Her heartbeat raced through the surface of her hand, and I found myself being lifted up, up, closer and closer to those lips I wanted so very badly to kiss. What was a bewildered pet supposed to make of that? I had this tiny, naive, stupid voice whispering in the back of my head that maybe... Just maybe… that raise in her pulse, that dreamy-eyed look I’d gotten three times before, the extra care she took, her protectiveness over me… perhaps it did all point to the impossible. That I was more to her than just a plaything, a pastime, a pet.

In between cracking jokes and making conversation, which felt like an overall distraction from these questions in my head, I glanced over my shoulder to see her talking with Travis. Good. Let her take a break from being my guardian angel. She deserved it. I hated the idea of being so tiny, weak and pathetic that she couldn’t ever interact with her friends while I was around. I had no interest in being a burden to her. I could tell those two were incredibly close, and I had nothing but the utmost respect for the copperheaded man. I wondered what they were talking about.

As I turned my attention back to the conversation at hand, I recognized Dani’s pink nails poking at my chest as she told some joke at my expense to the man leaning against the bar top to her right. She was flirting with him, and I was her adorable wingman. I didn’t love that. I felt sort of used. But, whatever, if it helped make Dani happy….

A good amount of time passed by, I politely engaged in conversation, allowed myself to be picked up and marveled at. But those familiar soft and lovely hands hadn’t brushed my hair from my eyes or rubbed my shoulders in a while. I looked around for the flash of blue velvet, and brown hair, but couldn’t find her. My brow furrowed. I missed her. Then, I felt a pit in my stomach. What a pathetic little shit I was. I couldn’t go 45 minutes without her soothing me? How sad was that! She was allowed to have friends her size and spend time with them. What was wrong with me? Why did I want her always at my side? Why did I have this sinking feeling like something was wrong?

As soon as I’d opened my mouth to get Riley’s attention (who had just now returned inside, reeking of weed) to ask if he’d seen her, there she was. Hello, my secret love. She fought her way to the bar, crashing her elbows down on the counter right before me, making me jump. She was drunk. I would be lying if I didn’t admit that a small part of my animal brain was firing off warning signals at the sight of her like this. I trusted her, completely. She’d never done anything to hurt me. But she was still a giant. I tried to keep my composure, while my knees threatened to knock, “H-hey, Eveline…” I waved sheepishly.

She smiled warmly, fingers cascading around me, clumsily. “Hiiii little man…. C’mere….” She lifted me up by my torso, gathering up my legs in her cupped hand. She cradled me against her chest, “There you go…. Sweet lil’ guy…. Y-you stay right there… c-close to me.” Okay, well this was wonderful. I felt pride warm my chest as I pressed my cheek against the incredibly soft velvet of her dress, one hand resting on her bare skin. This was how she acted around me when inebriated? She must really care about me. She knocked my hat off with the flick of her thumbnail, I caught it before it tumbled down.

“Woah… careful there, Eveline!” I chuckled, glad she didn’t accidentally box me upside the head while she was at it. I felt the world around me shift as she lifted me up before her eyes, the pads of her thumbs both resting over my chest.

She held me close, eyes closed, and kissed me, messily, all over my head, cheeks and neck. She breathed as the barrage of kisses continued, “I don’t wanna hurt you…. I’d never wanna hurt you….” I giggled through her display of affection. What on earth was she going on about?

“You won’t hurt me…. You never have, not intentionally….” It was true. I couldn’t believe I was able to say that about a human being, but it was, nevertheless, true. I placed a hand on her cheek, patting her reassuringly, unsure where this was all coming from. Before I had time to blink, she’d pulled me tight into her chest, pressing me flat against her sternum, her grip was just shy of being uncomfortable. In that instant before I was lowered down, I could swear I saw tears well up in her eyes. What on earth was on her mind?

Travis swooped in. I had to rely almost entirely on sound, as she had pressed me so tightly against her skin, that all I could see was her chest and a sea of velvet fabric. “Alright, time to call it a night, I think. Let’s get you back to the hotel, Ev.”

#Uh oh #What's gonna happen?#giant/tiny #g/t community #g/t writing #g/t angst #size difference

36 notes · View notes

aydaptic · 3 years

Text

Hot take: Androids are mentally children (until they gain experience)

WARNING! Controversial opinion, so if you get easily triggered + aren't open for civil discussion, just ignore this post (...and we both save ourselves from an aneurysm.)

EDIT: UPDATE 06.15.2021

The issue with trying to make a post as short as possible naturally results in a lot of misunderstanding about the points I’m making -- I have a disability where I struggle to express myself well, too -- so I clarified things a bit better in their respective places. Hopefully, that clears things up.

Now for the post itself...

I've seen this discourse plenty of times -- that child androids can't be compared to adult androids -- and I respectfully disagree. They can be compared up until the point said adult android has gained the mental/emotional maturity of an adult. Thus they need experience.

There's a huge difference between being physically adult and mentally adult:

Turning 18 doesn't make you mentally adult

There are plenty of old people out there with the immaturity of a child

Some people mature even before they turn 18

Some people don't mature at all

(Psychological) Definition of maturity: the ability to respond to the environment, being aware of the correct time and location to behave and knowing when to act, according to the circumstances and the culture of the society one lives in.

Sociopaths are often very empathetic. However, they are not sympathetic. Empathy is understanding while sympathy is feeling bad.

Maturity ties in with empathy which is a very important factor in this game. Empathy is what determines the ability to deviate. Empathetic choices have Connor's software instabilities go up. Apathetic choices have Connor's software instabilities go down.

Sure, androids can have the capabilities of an adult and the lexicon at their disposal, but capabilities/said lexicon don't determine mental/emotional maturity. Empathy -- determined by understanding the experiences you go through and act accordingly -- does. All androids (especially those that have yet to deviate) are, initially, mentally children regardless of what age they were designed to resemble. They're naïve, like a child, bc they don't have life experience. That's why even adult androids overreact to the situations they find themselves in.

They overreact bc they lack mental/emotional maturity.

Examples of adult androids acting like children/being naïve/being apathetic/lacking emotional maturity:

Daniel = takes a child hostage bc he found out he was being replaced by her parents. The point: He holds a child accountable for the actions of her parents.

North = wants genocide of all humans bc she was mistreated and wants to fight violence with violence. The point: She wants to kill all humans and not just the ones that abused her.

Josh = wants to risk extinction far too early by standing his ground (the public has yet to develop much of an opinion on androids, and even if it increases said public opinion, who's to say they wouldn't all go extinct in the process?) The point: He wants to risk extinction before having garnered enough sympathy from humans to stand by them at an illegal demonstration.

Markus = tries to protest without a permit and is shocked when they're gunned down by the police. The point: His reaction to being gunned down. There’s nothing wrong with demonstrating illegally for a just cause (again, my point is his reaction to it.)

[Addition by -Tatjana- on Reddit] Markus = can choose to trust Perkins to save him and North.

[Addition by -Tatjana- on Reddit] Kara = has a bad feeling about Zlatko and chooses to listen to him anyway.

"You deviants are so naïve." - Zlatko Andronikov, ‘ Zlatko’

Carlos Ortiz's android/Shaolin Being = hides in the attic after commiting murder. The point: He hid for over a week at the scene of the crime when no one knew that he committed it yet.

Rupert Travis = hides in the attic of a house he's squatting in. The point: He hid instead of escaping through the window. Naturally, that can be a fight/flight response. Yet that fight/flight response will leave in maybe 10 minutes so that he has collected himself.

Every other android at Jericho = is too scared to do anything and thus they all choose to follow Markus like children obeying their parent.

"You're lost. Just like the rest of us. All we can do now is deal with it." - Simon, ‘Time to Decide’

All androids lack empathy and experience from the get-go bc empathy is based on experience. Empathy determines emotional maturity. Even adult androids, being the majority we see in-game, have the mentality of a child until they gain life experience.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

SOURCES

In-game content

#dbh #detroit: become human #connor #daniel #north #josh #markus #kara #dbh meta #androids #*aydaptic

45 notes · View notes

werezmastarbucks · 4 years

Text

Whitmore Guy claims his last victim (it’s not Damon)

(moodboards made yet again by @stfudipz who gets me and Mal like no one else)

Whitmore Guy masterlist

word count: 2537

warnings: clinical insanity

music: good things fall apart by illenium, jon bellion and travis barker, afraid to forget by hammock, hope is gone by moby, a part of me by neck deep

this is the last chapter

She woke up to him singing. Her eyes were burning as if she’s been crying and then stopped, and Mr Sandman brought his dry salt and sprinkled some into her eyelids. Her head leaned against the door, vibrating with the friction of the wheels with the road. Sunrise was on. From the east, long coral pattern of light fog was stretching, lighting the sky. The air must smell like dew and tears, but there’s the sun behind the low roofs in the straight streets of Lavonia. She wondered how Kai (the name was strange; she had to remind herself it’s Kai, not Mal) hasn’t woken her up earlier, with the music blasting so loud, and with his unapologetic singing. He did have the sense of rhythm, but didn’t use it too often. He mainly preferred to squeal like tires.

“I know I can be dramatic, but everybody said we had it”, his head snapped to her, as he saw her move, “hmmm, hmmm. You’re up? What did you see?”

“Them two killing Atticus Shane”, she whispered. Kai’s vampire ears caught the sound. She could now explain a lot of things. Now that she knew. She looked at him. Her head was heavy, as if she’d banged it several times. Although she’s apparently been out for no less than three hours, she didn’t feel rested. It was like a fever that’s just stepped back, and the heavy afterglow was still lingering. Even blinking was hard.

“How did you give me that vision? And what was she doing, giving you magic? How?”

Kai frowned.

“Don’t say ‘she’. It’s you. It was you”.

“I’m sorry, she just felt like another person. I don’t remember her, either. Together with you, it’s like I’m robbed of the memories of myself”.

She looked at the long, thick scar on her hand, crooked like a hook. The cat’s sharp teeth. It was white and bulgy now, several years later.

“That’s what Malivore does. It robs of memories” he shrugged. Then he granted her with a long glance. Rows of houses were flying by outside, as they strode through a housing estate. There were fields ahead. Y/N didn’t want to think about where they were going. At the same time, she wanted to be there.

“But it can’t take away the feelings. I mean, you should record me say it, hehe”, he grinned, “me talking about feelings. Anyway, you kinda feel empty, right? All those times you told Mal… your best friend in the world and your lowkey crush… about you missing something, and that thing about the reverse doorframe syndrome. You were missing me, poor thing. But now it’s over. There’s no spell to reverse the Malivore effect, but thankfully, you and I, we were meant to be together, by nature. So, I will fix that. You know, I can just show you whatever you want”.

“And by nature, you mean that weird thing she… I was doing? The zip?”

“You’re feeling it?”

Kai smiled and took her hand. The light sensation was there again.

“It’s me taking magic from you. You’re a vessel. Ever heard of that?”

“That’s the first time I ever hear this. I think Bonnie would’ve told me if it was a thing?”

The witch vampire shrugged dismissively.

“Vessels are rare. They’re hidden. They’re only meant to feed siphoners. A vampire can’t spot it, especially if the vessel doesn’t know what it is. A witch can only detect it if she knows what she’s looking for. Bonnie could touch you all she wanted, you’re just a human on the outside”.

He bit his lip hard, and looked like he was deeply, fundamentally proud.

“You only work when I’m near you”.

She sat up, stretching her back.

“Is that why you are so obsessed with me?”

Kai shot her a warning gaze.

“And what’s with all the psychotic behavior? You think you can control me? Bae?”

He laughed out.

“Of course not. It’s just… now, unfortunately, I’m the only adult in this relationship. And you know I’m not very good at being an adult. I need to steer you in the right direction, but it takes patience and finesse, and honestly, I feel like I’ve used up all my patience while being that… Mal Osbourne. That’s us”.

He stopped the car where the housing estate ended, and the road took deeper into the countryside. The long line of fields stretched forward on, but on the left, below the whitening sky, there was a mass of trees so dark it mesmerized the sight. The motel Y/N stayed at last year was further on, about two miles down the road. Here, it was quiet and absolutely empty. No birds even.

She couldn’t wait anymore. She left the car, her feet trembling at the sensation of hard, cold asphalt cooled up during the night. The grass was already dry and pricky, ready to die for the winter. Kai slapped the door closed and went around the car.

She was looking at the forest.

“Is that where Malivore is?”

“Uh-huh”.

He was standing at the trunk of the car, looking at her. In the complete silence, she asked herself what he had there. Without another word, he opened the trunk, but she couldn’t see from here. Her heart sunk. It was pounding so hard her eyes went blind for a second. Kai bowed and started pulling something out.

God please let it be my things. Let it be a suitcase with my things.

It was Damon Salvatore.

She realized Mystic Falls was left behind, five hours exactly. And that her phone was still in the pocket of his jacket. It wasn’t a choice of one or two, it was now a complete mess. Her head was still numb with the night vision. She watched herself in the rearview mirror of the car, excited eyes, the mouth that keeps crooking in an entertained smile, the tilt of her head leaning towards Kai. She was completely smitten by him, he had possessed her. She was trapped.

“Up”, Kai threw Damon’s body on the ground and crouched above him, slapping him on the side of his face gently. “I want you to be awake for that. Come on, it wasn’t that much vervain”.

He looked up at her and smiled as if saying, what a weakling! and expecting her to share his scornfulness . She was mute, walking up to them. She knew that was exactly what Kai’s been talking about earlier. The choice.

Damon moved, his face distorted with pain, and opened his eyes slowly. He was weak. Like a wounded animal, he looked at them both, trying to focus, to make his limbs move, but the poison in his blood was too strong.

“Interesting how it took all of you, and a spell, to take me out”, Kai said, venom in his voice, “but it took only one of me to knock down both you and your little brother. I can’t help thinking you’re a bitch ass baby compared to me”.

He looked at Damon with indifference, his eyes opaque, like the vampire was an insect. Before she could say anything, he put his hand into Damon’s pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. He then handed it to her without raising his head. Damon’s eyes shifted on her, and he did what he always did. First of all, he checked up on her.

She took the paper with hard hand, unsure if she even wants to see it.

Listen here, Damon, it’s me. I mean, you. You’re sitting in your car outside the cave in Georgia right now, confused about what you’re doing here. The first thing you do now is, you leave and read this completely and utterly alone. Bon Bon wanted to know, too, because she’s a brave soul, but honestly, he’s not worth it. Don’t tell her.

The lines were jumping in front of her eyes. To take a breath, she looked at Damon whom Kai was trying to get to stand, pulling on his shoulders. Damon was forced to take his hand for support, and was furious about it.

“What is this? Is it a letter to yourself?” she cried.

Damon sniffed like a wolf, his eyes hard silver. He wasn’t sorry.

“I’m not sorry”, he said. Kai clicked his tongue.

Her heart was breaking again, and again, as she looked at Damon. Always, he has been there to cover her, and he’s always had that way about it, the way that expressed that he knew better. That he had it all under control, regardless of what others think. His decisions were always authoritative. He didn’t really care for her, he cared for his version of her wellbeing. She had to comply with what he thought was best.

How was Damon different from a psychopath kidnapping her barefooted then?

“Read it, read it”, Kai waved his hand, “I need to say something to Damon”.

“I’ll be damned”, the vampire growled. Damon was strong. He was a strong, skilled fighter. But apparently, there was something that broke in Kai, like a string that let out this hurricane of power. He seemed untouchable, like the earth itself was giving him strength. As her eyes were sliding down the lines, she realized he’s been to hell, she realized all the things Damon was describing must have made him the ultimate killer, inescapable.

Damon charged at him, his strong hands wrapping around the witch’s throat, but Kai motioned his hand like witches do.

“No touchy, please”, he said shortly. With a sweet whistle, Damon flew through the air and crashed on the field meters away. Kai followed him.

“You know what?” he said, a bit louder.

She walked after them both.

“Kai, please, don’t kill him!”

Damon was getting up. He got up again and again, as Kai put him on the ground effortlessly time after time. One was resilient and refusing to back down. The other had all the power in the world, fueled by anger.

“I almost had it all together, you know”, Kai snapped. He sure didn’t realize who he was yelling at.

“And then this”, he pointed at Damon, “took it all away from me. And I almost felt for you, bastards. You liked Mal so much, what a bunch of losers. I almost forgave you, can you believe it? I was about to call the whole thing off. Then I remembered how we were so happy and normal – a luxury that my girlfriend here”, in the heat of the moment, Kai grabbed her by the neck, and she yelped again, with surprise. He shook her like she was a ferret. “Doesn’t have. What am I supposed to do about her? You know, Damon, you’re the villain here. I was just trying to get it all together”.

“You’re a fucking psycho”, Damon grumbled. There was dry grass in his hair. Y/N fought out of his clutch. “I would chain you up to a mountain in Malivore myself if I had a chance, anything just to keep you away from here”.

“Joke’s on you, idiot”, Kai chanted, “there are no mountains in Malivore. No lakes, no cities, no nothing. There’s just… nothingness. And you. Alone”.

Damon panted, showing his teeth.

“All your family is dead”, Kai said, and the hammering silence fell again. Damon and Y/N froze.

“What?” Salvatore uttered. Kai snickered.

“They’re all dead. Your brother, Elena, the witch, the bossy blonde, the teacher. They’re gone. But you don’t get to join them”.

“Dead?” Damon repeated, like wind flew off his mouth.

“The hunters I brought into Mystic Falls. The FBI guys. They were mine”.

He turned to Y/N and looked at her. He reckoned, at that moment he had the same look that he usually gave Sandy when he didn’t want her to scream. He tried to imagine tearing Y/N’s jaws apart and was upset. She’ll be sore now for a long time. This whole relationship thing is such work.

She was clutching Damon’s letter in her fist so hard her nails were hurting her hand. She didn’t ask why. She knew why. She understood him perfectly, but at that moment, the last pieces of her were stomped away. She realized he took away everything from her, everybody, punishing her, somehow, for forgetting him. There was nothing now: only him and this eternal pink sky stretching in all direction of the cosmos. And nothing else.

She saw in a slow motion as Damon jumped forward, his face a mask of pain. Y/N was rooting then for Damon, knowing perfectly well the bad guy shall have the upper hand. Like in the movie, she felt distant, unpresent. She knew these were the last moment she would see him. She looked at his silhouette in the air, black ink spot on the light morning background. She thought of that time he ripped a heart out of a vampire to save her, and stood with it, scarlet blood dripping from his fist. She was falling into the abyss, slowly, her mind leaving her. As Damon reached Kai, they both disappeared, and she was left alone in the field, and only then she let out a shriek.

She decided she would kill Kai Parker. One day, when he’s lost caution. When he thinks it’s finally over, and she’s over it. When they live somewhere else, in Ohio, because Ohio is for lovers. When he thinks life is finally good, and everything he’s done is justified, that it’s all for love, she will kill him somehow. Of course, it will take a lot of thinking, because he seems like he has no weak points. But she’ll come up with something.

The sun was now blazing on her cheek with the first rays, rolling up above the field and spreading golden newborn light, brilliant and clear, over everything. She was shredded; like a vegetable, she was now peeled of her layers, and only the animalistic red core was left, all instincts and no reason. She undid her fists and pushed away some garbage laying at her hand.

She watched Kai return from the forest, picking and pulling at the flowers as he went. He rubbed his face like a sleepy child. She stood up, rubbing her knees, and took full lungs of air. She will kill him one day, that is how it will end. She has no choice. But now, she’s incapable of that. All she can do is love him, for now.

Kai approached her, taking her in his arms, and they kissed, morning sunlight sneaking between their lips. The car was waiting for them on the side of the road, warming up slowly.

“Where now?” he asked. His hand was slowly caressing her shoulder, and she shivered with pleasure, snuggling close to him. The air was still a little chilly.

“How about a shoe store? You fucking brute. My feet are cold”.

Kai chuckled. As they reached the car, he turned back as if admiring the sight.

“Babe, what was I doing there?”

She got into a car and tried to close the door but Kai was in the way.

“I don’t know. Taking a leak?”

Kai shrugged. He looked at his left palm, puzzled. Turned it and showed it to her, a smudged word in a black marker.

“Who’s Damon?”

She blinked.

“No idea. Get in! Come on, Kai”.

“You’re driving”, he winked. She puffed and crawled over to the driver’s seat. Kai Parker got into the car with a wide smile on his face and closed the door.

#kai parker #kai parker imagine #kai parker x reader #vampire diaries imagine #damon salvatore #tvd imagine

46 notes · View notes

andrebearakovsky · 4 years

Text

Capitals W Magazine: The Fanciness Scale

So my friend just gave me a copy of the Capitals W magazine, and oh man is there some content in here. Every player has his own page, and everyone is photographed in their own styles, from the super casual to the incredibly fancy. And after looking at them all, I felt the intense need to share my opinions about them all with you, as well as rank them on the casual/fancy scale. So below I have a review/interpretation of every player’s outfit, with photos I took of the magazine lying on my desk, along with their rating on the fanciness scale, with 1 being the most casual and 10 being the most fancy (note: this is not a rating of how “good” it is, just how fancy).

And most of this will be under the cut, cause boy will this be long.

Michal Kempny

Starting off strong. With Michal Kempny, there is no other option than to look good. He’s hot and sophisticated. The suit. The pose. The hair. The gaze. The mahogany background. I have no complaints here.

Fanciness rating: 10/10

TJ Oshie

TJ also opts for a suit, one which he admits in the attached article he did not pick out himself. A suit is a suit, but the colors feel strange to me and he gets points off for those shoes. It’s like he’s trying to have what Kempny has, but he just don’t have it. Also that pose makes this look feel a lot more casual.

Fanciness rating: 8/10

Radko Gudas

I’m a fan of Dadko’s tasteful weekend look. It looks like he’s ready to host a barbecue; but not like a small, casual barbecue for just your close friends, more like a big Labor Day barbecue that you invite everyone you know and also your in-laws to.

Fanciness rating: 4/10

Brendan Leipsic

I have never seen Brendan wear anything other than yoga pants and nothing looks to have changed here. I genuinely believe this is the outfit he wears every day, and not even a photoshoot can force him into nicer clothing. I can appreciate the attitude.

Fanciness rating: 1/10

Jakub Vrana

I can’t take this as seriously as I should because this pose is just too funny to me. It’s like he’s trying to be cool but oh man is he failing. I do love this jacket though. This is a jacket you put on deliberately for a Look. We’ve passed beyond the casual, but we’re not too fancy just yet, we’re still in jeans. This is an outfit for a fun night on the town with the boys.

Fanciness rating: 6/10

Garnet Hathaway

I had to lie down and have a moment to myself when I saw this photo. It’s as if he looked into my soul and said “I know exactly what you, specifically, want.” The suit. The vest - also the fact that the vest is blue is nice. The hair curl. The smirk off into the middle distance. The fucking carrying the suit jacket over the shoulder. This man went to a preppy college in New England and you can tell. This is every man I have ever wanted to sweep me off my feet. The attempts to keep my libido in check are failing. Please marry me instantly.

Fanciness rating: 11/10 yes i am biased

Tom Wilson

At first glance, this outfit looks well put together, but upon closer inspection, all it really is is a black t-shirt, black jeans, and sneakers. How does he make it look so good? Is it the pose? I think it’s just the fact that Tom is a hunk. Overall, this is an every day outfit, but like, a put-together one that looks nice.

Fanciness rating: 4/10

Nic Dowd

This is similar to the Vrana look. This is a very nice jacket, and when he puts on this jacket I know we’re going out to have a nice evening, but not too intense. Or maybe that’s just the vibe Nic Dowd himself gives off. Either way: excellent outfit.

Fanciness rating: 6/10

Lars Eller

This is the pinnacle of fanciness. Lars was told they were doing a photoshoot and went “this is my moment.” The suit is excellent. I love the colors. He, a pale blond Dane, does not look washed out. His hair is perfect. But what really makes it here is the pose. He’s a tryhard, but he knows exactly what he’s doing. This is a fancy man.

Fanciness rating: 10/10

Nicklas Backstrom

Who told him to stand like this. What even is this pose. I can’t get over this. “This is exactly how a human would pose.” And the outfit - a polo shirt and what appear to be slacks, right in the middle of fancy and casual. Whatever, the outfit is secondary to the completely unnatural pose here.

Fanciness rating: 5/10

Braden Holtby

How do I even begin to rate Braden Holtby. This outfit is certainly not “fancy,” but it is absolutely not casual, not in the slightest; Braden probably spent two full hours picking this outfit. Fashion is very important to him, and he has a very clear sense of style. This is a quintessential Braden Holtby outfit. The flared-open shirt, the hat, the sunglasses, the bracelets, the rings. The lounging pose. The fact that he’s resting his arm on a stack of books to show you how hipster he is. All that’s missing is his guitar. I love him, but I cannot even dream of rating him on the same scale as everyone else, because he is on a different plane than everyone else.

Fanciness rating: too cool for all of us

Evgeny Kuznetsov

Soft! Soft!!! Soft!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Fanciness rating: 3/10

Jonas Siegenthaler

Much like Tom, he looks put-together, but it’s just a black sweater. Simple is key, and it works here for Jonas. A comfortable look, an every day look, but one that looks nice.

Fanciness rating: 4/10

Ilya Samsonov

Team baby put on a suit, and he looks good! I like the checkers, the tie is a good color, the shoes are nice. He’s very tall, and the suit is a good choice to show off his long legs; the standing pose also helps show off how tall it is. He looks good. This is a good suit, a good picture. Very fancy, and I feel like a proud mama. Point deducted because his hair just a little bit messy, and the leaning against a wall just a tad casual.

Fanciness rating: 9/10

Travis Boyd

This picture just screams “I am highly uncomfortable and I would rather be anywhere else right now than here doing a photoshoot.” Someone save him. Not fancy in the slightest, but still gets a hair above Brendan Leipsic because this is still a put-together outfit that you can go out to a sit-down dinner in.

Fanciness rating: 2/10

Carl Hagelin

This is an outfit made for going out, but definitely not to a fancy place. This is what every adult male in your family wears when you’re on family vacation at the beach and you decide to go out to dinner.

Fanciness rating: 5/10

John Carlson

This one is a bit more difficult because it’s certainly not fancy, there is a far too much denim for that, but it’s not casual, because there is a deliberate Look going on here. All I can really focus on is the fact that he is squinting really hard and maybe this photo should have been taken inside.

Fanciness rating: 5.5/10

Nick Jensen

This would get more points if it weren’t for the rip in his jeans. I can’t get over the rip in the jeans. What are you trying to go for here. You would look so put together; the button-up and the jeans actually look pretty nice, but what are you going to do with that rip in your knee, Nick. What are you going to do.

Fanciness rating: 4.5/10 author’s biases against nick jensen may be evident

Dmitry Orlov

I’m in love with everything about this outfit tbh. The shirt and the shoes? Killer. It looks great, it looks pretty dressed up; about as fancy as a Cap could be without wearing a suit. The black outfit contrasting with the white marble background really helps up the fanciness factor. Also, I don’t think I’ve ever seen Dima wear any color other than black, ever. Which is fine - he knows his colors, and his color is The Void.

Fanciness rating: 7/10

Richard Panik

Getting some real Don Draper vibes here, but I’m okay with that. Maybe it’s his very angular face. He’s gone with the black and gray tones, which work for the vibe he’s going for. It’s a cool and sexy pose, and it doesn’t even feel ridiculous. I feel like he’s inviting me to come into a room in a 1960s lounge filled with cigar smoke and whiskey, and I might say yes.

Fanciness rating: 10/10

Alex Ovechkin

Frankly I’m surprised Ovi didn’t come in wearing sweatpants or sweans, so this is pretty fancy for him. The nice shirt and the jeans are a solid look, but I just know he’s wearing flip flops on his feet, I saw the behind the scenes video. The flip flops really bring the fanciness score down. I forgive him though, this is pretty good for him.

Fanciness rating: 5/10

BONUS:

Why are you in my home. 0/10

166 notes · View notes

dirosa · 4 years

Text

Travis Maldonado Memorial

I just got to the episode of Tiger King where they cover Travis’s death and I can’t put it into proper words of how sad and disappointed I am. This poor young man died so young. Travis didn’t deserve that at all. Travis didn’t deserve to be in such a strange relationship with Joe. Travis didn’t deserve to waste his young adult life trapped in the zoo.

No one is really talking about his death and it absolutely pisses me off. Yeah the show is supposed to be funny or whatever you want to call it, but I am disgusted with the lack of care that was shown. Travis deserves so much better than this. He was a real life person who had thoughts and feelings and was important to lots of people. He got a total of about 20 minutes of screen time surrounding his death. To me that is absolutely terrible. And you know what? Those 20 minutes were absolutely shit. The coverage was so half-assed I can’t help but feel absolutely terrible.

A lot of what was said about Travis was mainly focused around Joe. I don’t know who created this show, but whoever did can piss off; this boy is dead and you have the audacity to make it all focused on Joe. Yes Joe was his husband, but those moments were supposed to be about Travis, not him.

From the first moment that I saw Travis on that screen, I knew he was different. He was a young man who married a guy over twice his age. For gods sake he probably had gotten out of high school less than a year before he got married to this man. And then in later episodes it was revealed that all three of the husbands were addicted to meth.

Meth messes with your head. Just completely breaks your whole life apart. Travis married Joe for the meth. We all know that. He had said before multiple times that he was a straight man. First when he joined the park and several times to other park workers in secret. From the clips that were shown of him throughout the series, I feel as though Travis was trying to convince himself that he loved Joe, but there is no doubt that he mainly loved him for the drugs. The part where Travis hit Joe’s truck with his bare hands really got to me. You could hear in his voice how upset he was that Joe wasn’t treating him fairly. Again, Travis didn’t deserve this. He made the choice to stay with him because of the drugs, in a way it is his fault that he was in this situation, but we have to remind ourselves he was an inexperienced boy. Joe, the zoo, and meth was all that he knew.

Anyways, enough of my rambling. My main purpose of writing this was to shed light onto Travis’s sickening end and why more viewers should care about what happened. If people don’t want to touch on the tragedy, I will. I will keep talking about this until people care. This was an event that I will never forget. Of course I didn’t know Travis personally, but I feel so bad for him that I’m going to make sure everyone is reminded of this memorial every year until I die. He doesn’t deserve to be treated like this.

Travis Maldonado, you left this Earth way too soon. I hope wherever you are now that you are happy. You never deserved any of this and from what we could tell from your husbands show, you were a fun-loving soul. Please may you rest in peace.

#travis maldonado #tiger king #tiger #joe exotic #gw zoo #carole baskin #wildlife #jeff lowe #john finlay #bhagavan antle #erik cowie #don lewis #dillon passage

50 notes · View notes

samclownchester · 4 years

Text

Supernatural Rewatch 04x04

Metamorphosis

(Next Episode | Masterlist | Previous Episode)

Alright, we’re gonna look at this episode from two different perspectives:

1. Dean’s role as an older brother throughout the episode

Dean is in an extremely emotionally vulnerable place at the beginning of the episode, he just met his parents as young adults before they were destroyed but monsters, he watched his grandparents die, he saw his father dead and brought back to life by a demon who he knows is the one who will kill his mother. He was already filled with emotions, then Cas shows him that Sam has been lying to him and doing things that look unnatural with a demon Dean already doesn’t trust.

So, he’s emotionally vulnerable. And what does Dean do when he’s emotionally vulnerable? (say it with me class) that’s right, he responds with cruelty. He is so overwhelmed already, and he’s scared, Sam’s powers have always freaked him out, although he tried to hide it at first, and he’s worried, and he feels betrayed, so he lashes out. He says things rashly, he cuts Sam where he knows it’ll hurt.

DEAN Slippery slope, brother. Just wait and see. Because it's gonna get darker and darker, and God knows where it ends.… If I didn't you know... I would wanna hunt you.… tell me. If it's so terrific... then why'd you lie about it to me? Why did an angel tell me to stop you? … Cas said that if I don't stop you, he will. See what that means, Sam? That means that God doesn't want you doing this. So, are you just gonna stand there and tell me everything is all good?

And he succeeds, he hurts Sam because he feels hurt. Honestly, I think that this is less about what Sam is doing and more about the fact that he kept it a secret from Dean. I’ve talked before about how Dean rarely lies to the people who are important to him, and although both brothers have kept secrets from each other before, it was never about something this big, or this scary. John was the one who kept secrets, but Dean always knew that he and Sam would have each other’s backs. So, to find out that his brother had been lying cut him really deeply.

However, throughout the episode there are little moments where it feels like Dean is trying … to apologize, in a way? Trying to act like their just good brothers who didn’t have a hurtful argument just a few hours before: Some examples

Playful teasing like he normally does

TRAVIS You still a.. oh, what was it... a mathlete? SAM No. DEAN Yep, sure is.

When Travis is offended that Sam felt the need to do further research and not just trust Travis’s experience (it’s more teasing but he’s also trying to protect Sam from having to defend himself to Travis).

DEAN Sam loves research. He does.

Also, when Sam says he doesn’t want to talk Dean tries to playfully tease him again

SAM Look, if it's all the same... I'd really rather not talk about it. DEAN Wait a minute. What? You don't want to talk? You?

And I think there’s a few more instances like that, with subtle little signs of affection that show that Dean is trying to get things back to normal with Sam, although Sam reacts to all of these a little stiffly, because he’s not ready for things to be back to normal.

(Also, and this continues throughout the season, all of these instances are Dean remembering Sam as his nerdy little brother, poking fun at things that he sees as Sam’s defining attributes, but Sam isn’t the nerdy, emotional kid that Dean wants him to be. He’s tired, with harder edges and he doesn’t really want to be seen as the mathlete, research loving, emotional little brother. So, Dean’s attempts at brotherly bonding fall flat.)

But, he’s also a little passive aggressive:

SAM I should have told you. I'm sorry. DEAN You've been saying that a lot lately, Sam. But whatever. You don't want to tell me, you don't have to. It's fine.

…

TRAVIS John would have been damn proud of you. Sticking together like this. DEAN Yeah. Yeah, we're as thick as thieves. Nothing more important than family.

Then, because Dean’s not an idiot and he knows his brother and he can see the parallels to 01x14 as clearly as we can, he tries to bring it up. This is actually pretty big, because we know that Dean is not big on talking about feelings, so the fact that he is the one trying to open up a conversation about this stuff shows that he really does care about how Sam is feeling. I think he’s aware that he made a pretty deep cut at the beginning of the episode and he really is trying to fix it the best way he can (he just sucks at it). Which brings a heartbreaking monologue from Sam that we’ll discuss in a moment.

And then, to Dean’s credit, he tries it Sam’s way, much like he did in 01x14 and 02x03, despite his belief that they should shoot first and ask questions later, he stands down, tries to talk it out with Jack first. This, to me, was the biggest sign that Dean didn’t mean what he had said at the beginning of the episode. Because if he had lost trust in Sam, if he truly believed that Sam deserved to be hunted, he would not have even tried to have this conversation with Jack.

And I think he understands what it means to Sam that they failed, that Jack gave in to his impulses and that Travis died (largely because they didn’t take the preventative measure that Travis suggested). Dean knows that Sam is seeing this all as a metaphor and he sees how much it hurts him.

2. Now, Sam’s emotional journey throughout the episode:

At the beginning, with Ruby, he seems to be happy and proud of himself. He didn’t get a headache this time! They saved the vessel! Everything is going well. Until Dean ruins everything with his controlling, paranoid, attitude.

SAM I'm pulling demons out of innocent people. DEAN Use the knife! SAM The knife kills the victim! What I do, most of them survive! Look, I've saved more people in the last five months than we save in a year. DEAN That what Ruby want you to think? Huh? Kind of like the way she tricked you into using your powers? Slippery slope, brother. Just wait and see. Because it's gonna get darker and darker, and God knows where it ends. SAM I'm not gonna let it go too far.

And this is one of the things I really hate because Dean proves to be right, in the end, even though he’s the one acting irrational and jumping to conclusions, while Sam has some really good points! But it’s whatever…

And then Dean says something that shakes Sam to his core.

DEAN If I didn't you know... I would wanna hunt you.

If it's so terrific … Why did an angel tell me to stop you? … Cas said that if I don't stop you, he will. See what that means, Sam? That means that God doesn't want you doing this. So, are you just gonna stand there and tell me everything is all good?

This feels especially cruel coming from Dean, who’s never even believed in God, who insults every angel he meets. He has no reverence for heaven or their plan, so he only brings it up knowing that Sam has faith in God. Knowing that it will mean something to him, and scare him into stopping.

So, now Dean has effectively called Sam both a monster and a sinner (without using the exact words but that’s what he said) and the two of them have to shove that aside, not deal with it, and go hunt a man who has monster genetics and works as a perfect metaphor for what Sam is going through.

(I see you Chuck, and I hate you)

Sam sees himself in Jack, yes, but he also has an intrinsic belief that people are basically good. That, given the choice, people will choose to be kind and decent, and not give in to their evil nature. I like to think that, even if he hadn’t been struggling with his own “monster” nature, he would have fought to give Jack a chance.

However, Dean pokes at the problem and Sam explodes

SAM Stop the car or I will! … You want to know why I've been lying to you, Dean? Because of crap like this. … The way you talk to me, the way you look at me like I'm a freak … You know, or even worse, like I'm an idiot! Like I don't know the difference between right and wrong! DEAN Do you know the difference, Sam? I mean, you've been kind of strolling a dark road lately. SAM You have no idea what I'm going through. None. DEAN Then enlighten me! SAM I've got demon blood in me, Dean! This disease pumping through my veins, and I can't ever rip it out or scrub it clean! I'm a whole new level of freak! And I'm just trying to take this - this curse... and make something good out of it. Because I have to.

(Every time that Sam yells I find it very therapeutic. Like YAASS QUEEN tell them how it is!)

We haven’t really heard the word freak for a while. It was a recurring theme throughout the first 2 seasons, but it was mostly dropped in season 3. Here it is again, twice, reminding us that Sam’s always been afraid of being a freak, of being different.

At the end of the episode, Dean finally, actually says the words “I’m sorry” (I haven’t checked but I bet you could count on 2 hands the number of times Dean says those words throughout the entire series). But Sam doesn’t want to have a heart to heart about it.

DEAN Sam, I wanna tell you I'm sorry. I've been kind of hard on you lately. SAM Don't worry about it, Dean. DEAN It's just that your, uh, your psychic thing, it scares the crap out of me. SAM Look, if it's all the same... I'd really rather not talk about it. … There's nothing more to say. I can't keep explaining myself to you. I can't make you understand … Because this thing, this blood, it's not in you the way it's in me. It's just something I got to deal with. DEAN Not alone.

And exactly when Dean says “not alone” the camera cuts to a shot of Sam looking out the window, staring at his own reflection, showing us that, despite what Dean is saying, Sam really is alone in this.

But ... the events of the day have been enough to convince him not to use his powers. After all, if Jack couldn’t fight off his monstrous nature, who’s to say that Sam can?

8 notes · View notes

aforgottenballad · 4 years

Text

Feelings on Sally Face Episode 5

Under a read more for obvious reasons, includes heavy spoilers and potentially triggering subjects.

Disclaimer: I might miss-remember some parts of the story or have missed a piece of lore that would settle minor complaints. I am however disappointed in the ending as a whole and in some of the very harmful tropes included in it. But I’m also just some dude online with an opinion, and you can stop reading at any time.

Rant under cut.

Alright ya’ll. I’ve had a couple days to digest the ending to Sally Face. While playing, I genuinely enjoyed some elements of the game. The chapter started on a dark but nearly hopeful note. Neil and Ash were still working to bring the cult down. It seemed likely Sal would be resurrected. Todd had apparently escaped the hospital, and that had potential to be either a very very good or very very bad thing. Maple was possessed by whatever fucked up the souls of the other apartment tenants, but hey! At least her and Neil weren’t in on the cult like so many fans predicted. Unfortunately, this series has a way of getting darker and darker as it progresses. First thing that bugged me was the lore drop about how the cult was founded. A Native American tribe. Right. Because why wouldn’t Indigenous peoples be in a story without being part of some mystical occult backstory, portrayed as mysterious historical props who worshiped something dark and evil instead of being portrayed as human beings.

But I continued. I really enjoyed playing as Ashley and getting some insight into her character. I enjoyed the task of planting the C4 in the temple... catacomb... thing. We get to see Travis again! I was excited that a lot of us were right about him being indoctrinated but also working to fight the cult from the inside. We knew he had some good in him after all.

When Ash tries to resurrect Sal, we get even more insight into her character, and unfortunately a lot of it is “Grieving, distraught, and full of self-blame”. I want to hug her. Sal’s spirit is apparently revived by those pyramids, and he can dimension warp. We meet Jim, or what’s left of him, and he doesn’t give a fuck about anything anymore but agrees to help Sal anyway. This is, narratively speaking, weird as hell. His entire character arc for four episodes was “Loved his family so much he sacrificed himself to save them”, and suddenly he’s just some glowy dude attached to Magic Spirit Tubes who doesn’t give half a shit. I guess it makes sense as a way to wrap up why he’s been able to drift between worlds but... if he doesn’t care about any of that anymore why help Sal? And what about Rosenberg? Is she like Jim, or do we just have to assume she’s magical because her family helped found the cult? (Explained in an easter egg later on, because this game doesn’t just drop its lore. Not even the CRUCIAL lore. You have to achievement hunt for it.) Sal can enter various doors in the House In The Void to step into alternate realities, and this was my favorite aspect of the game. Each door has a different art style, and I really liked seeing these alternate realities. Steve probably worked the hardest and longest on drawing out and coding these scenes. I genuinely applaud the man for the work put into this endeavor I’m assuming all by himself.

Meanwhile, Ash tries to unbind Larry’s soul from the tree house he died in, which doesn’t work. Did we ever find out why his body was never found? No? Ok that seems important.

After each puzzle, Sal’s body is restored a little bit at a time, but even after turning on all the pyramids and solving the mysteries behind all three doors, he can’t make it back to the “real” world. So Ashley kills herself. Or tries to. Because apparently that’s the only way to complete the ritual, and also because she feels really bad about not unbinding Larry’s soul and about not fixing Sal. Again, I want to hug her, but I have to watch her hurt herself instead, cause Steve doesn’t let us have nice things.

Okay, so this is a gorey game. We know. But one of the BIGGEST no-nos suicide prevention networks will tell you when consulting them about mental illness and suicide in media is NOT to show a graphic suicide in progress. Steve is aware a lot of his fans are A) Young teens to young adults B) Struggling with mental illness.

His main character suffers from depression and anxiety and this fact has resonated with hundreds of fans. It’s irresponsible to purposefully include a graphic suicide attempt, but he did it last chapter, showing a gunshot suicide’s aftermath, then he did it again with Ashley. Call me a wiener if you like, point out the graphic scenes from earlier in the game and call me a hypocrite for not being upset by that, but you have to admit the Spongebob-close-up-shot look to those scenes have a totally different feel. Speaking as someone who actually has a pretty thick skin, but is concerned about the fans who might be in a worse place or who could be as young as 12, that was fucked up.

Anyway, Ash’s attempt doesn’t take, because she’s struck by magic lightning, which infuses Sal’s soul into her. Now her arm is one of those stretchy sticky hands, but with bio luminescence and the ability to kick cultist ass. I actually thought this part was really cool, and was super ready to go on a cultist smacking spree. But again, we can’t have nice things and before we get to do anything badass we have to look at gruesome imagery again.

You get to see Void Larry, who is now old and a wizard or something, but first...

Surprise! Maple and Neil are dead! Not just dead, but hung up from hooks covered in blood! And naked!

Hey?? Hey Steve????? You know how they’re both POC?? And that lynching imagery is EXTREMELY NOT GOOD?!!????

“Two white people are hung up with them” YEAH? WELL WE’VE NEVER SEEN THOSE CHARACTERS BEFORE. THEY’RE JUST RANDOM PEOPLE.

I’ve seen people arguing “The white characters go through terrible things too” but it’s still really fucked up that by the end of the game, every. Single. Person of color. In the game. Has died. Gruesomely. It’s a gorey, dark, bleak game, and white characters die as well, gruesomely; but not all of them. None of them that are named are shown strung up, naked. That’s fucked up. That isn’t okay.

There are also a total of three gay characters in this game. One is Todd, who goes through the standard “bad bad stuff” the game is used to, is the white one, and he survives. One is Neil, one of the aforementioned people of color who died horribly and who only really existed to be Todd’s boyfriend and therefore a source of angst for Todd when he dies. The third is Travis, another man of color, and an abuse victim, who dies to fulfill his character arc as an abuse victim, which is also really shitty to see over and over again as an abuse survivor.

Look, I know Steve pulled a lot of inspiration from old TV shows and horror series that probably weren’t all “politically correct”. I know it’s always been kind of an edgy and dark game. I know Steve probably didn’t think about the repercussions of all his narrative choices. But I also know he actively ignored some people offering to educate him on issues he has no experience with. I know he worked hard on this game, by himself, but we as fans have paid him and waited for years and it isn’t selfish or ungrateful to be hurt and disappointed. He knows his audience is diverse, he knows a lot of us were attracted to the game because of a gender nonconforming main character, a main character who struggles with mental illness, a cast that isn’t 100% white and conventionally attractive. Of course he didn’t need to change the plot for us! It’s his game, his vision, but the least he could have done is research how to not actively hurt and alienate a good portion of us. I don’t think anyone is bad or racist for still finding solace in the characters and in what the story was before this, I’m not attacking you personally, whoever is reading this. I, personally, still have loads of Sally Face art in my queue, I still have active role plays going on, my Sal wig is sitting like 8 feet away waiting for the next time my friends want to take cosplay pictures. I still enjoyed playing the game for the most part. Without this game I wouldn’t even know most of my current friends. It’s just really shitty how it ended like this, and a lot of people I talk to daily either feel too sick to even talk about the game anymore after seeing people like them treated like trash by the narrative or try to focus on the good things they got out of just being part of the fandom but don’t feel comfortable supporting the developer anymore.

Even if there wasn’t all these hurtful tropes packed into the game, and yes, even after unlocking the epilogue, the game just feels cold. It feels rushed, probably because of how much time went into the alternate dimension gimmick. I wish Steve had at least consulted people over the script. It felt like not only did he pour all his work into experimenting with the mixed media, he also just took whatever expectations the fans had and went somewhere completely different just to have his story be “unpredictable”. That isn’t always a good thing. Plot twists, downer endings, dark and scary imagery, all of these things can be done beautifully, but in this case it felt like he just wanted the series to end. The game didn’t subvert expectations, it fed into the harmful stereotypes and tropes all the fans were so hopeful it wouldn’t.

...On top of not making any sense unless you’re able to 100% all the puzzles. And even when you do, it feels like all the bad stuff happened for no reason. The ending doesn’t conclude anything. Even when you unlock the epilogue, all it tells you is that a third of the world has died and that the main cast haven’t accomplished much besides “Trying to help”. Sal and Todd have powers now, but that isn’t elaborated on much. Larry’s spirit is missing, if he even exists in any plane at all anymore. It doesn’t even mention what’s going on with Ash. It just feels like nothing mattered.

#sally face #long post #analysis #sally face spoilers #chapter 5 spoilers

60 notes · View notes

misty-caligula · 1 year

Text

I have a really really really specific long term prediction for late adult timeline:

So each character who dies is succumbing to a flaw inside of themselves. Travis literally from his obsession with trying to find the answers he cannot look away from. Laura Lee from her blind faith that made her ignore the obvious danger staring her in the face. Jackie from her inability to adapt and her stubborn arrogance that came from holding on to the position that she felt owed to her when it no longer applied. Crystal/Kristen was killed by Misty’s hyper need for connection leading her to ignore reason for the sake of feeding that connection. Adam was killed by a series of bad choices made by Shauna, Jeff and himself, all of which revolved around lying/keeping secrets from each other.

So Van’s the immortal superstar of the group, but I don’t think that she’s actually invincible. I think Van’s fundamental flaw is that she’s so connected to Tai that she holds on even when it’s unhealthy or dangerous. When Tai turns up she gets mad at her for not actually asking for help, and then Tai gets upset at being told to ask - but STILL doesn’t actually ask. She came to Van because she knew she wouldn’t HAVE to ask. When the other Tai kissed her and tried to lead her away, she didn’t try to fight or wake her or anything, she just accepts what she sees and goes with it.

Tai is CLEARLY dangerous, and her fundamental flaw is that she cannot accept this about herself, and cannot judge what she needs or how to get it. Now we can talk for hours about the ethics and morality of her, the depiction of why, but beyond blame or anything the reality of the situation is that a) Tai’s known to do things like kill the family dog, intentionally crash the car she’s in with her own wife, run off in the middle of the night to chow down on soil, and all kinds of things. b) she CANNOT or WILL NOT control herself, is very hard to reason with, and her intentions are unclear. Cannot be relied on to seek help, to inform anyone before she does anything. c) Even when she’s in serious danger, even when things are going very badly, her instinct is to hide that from those who are most affected and most at risk.

Now Van can see all this, but is so clearly blinded by her history and her love for Tai. But that doesn’t make it healthy or safe to be connected to her. Van’s always been the one who accepts the pain for Tai’s sake. In the 90s we know that she accepted the biting, the rope burns, the being led into the middle of the frozen wilderness in the night. We have no idea what else she’s going to be going through for Tai’s sake, both back in the 90s and now in the ‘20s. But it’s a pattern for her, that she will accept the price of sticking to Tai, and helping her through difficulties as best she can.

So here’s my prediction:

I think Tai as she currently exists is doomed. She’s simply refusing to acknowledge or handle her shit, and unless something RADICALLY changes, I think that other Tai’s going to get her very badly hurt or killed. I think that she needs to find ... an option that doesn’t revolve around Van, and I think that if she can’t then she has very little hope. Van can help maintain her, can hold her, but cannot solve her problems.

I think that Van is going to have a very serious situation at some point where Tai’s leading them both down an increasingly dangerous, slippery path, and Van’s (metaphorically) attached to her and has to recognise that she cannot save her, and then make a choice whether she cuts the rope and saves herself, or else if she’s going to just stay attached and go down with her.

I’m not saying that either Tai or Van or both will definitely die, I’m saying this is how I think their major arc will go, and that their big decisions will revolve around Tai determining if she can accept real help that works, not just Van’s (very well intentioned) support, and Van recognising Tai’s spiraling situation and deciding whether she’s going to keep trying to pull her back from the brink, or let her go and hope for the best.

#yellowjackets #theories #spoilers

11 notes · View notes

laterpeaches · 4 years

Text

The 30 Best Movies for Kids on Hulu

This post is updated regularly to reflect the latest movies to leave and enter Hulu, which you can sign up for here. *New additions are indicated with an asterisk.

You’re stuck at home, pushing the remote control through so many options on your smart TV, looking for something, anything, that you can use to distract the kids and not make you feel guilty. Let us help.

The truth is that none of the streaming services are particularly great at family options now that Disney+ has cornered that market, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t some great choices on Hulu. Here are 30 worthy films to distract the little ones or schedule an entire family movie night around (if you have the energy after homeschooling).

It may have some familiar story elements, but this 2019 film has some of the most gorgeous visuals in any recent animated movie, including a wave of flowers and the design of its lovable main character, a Yeti who needs the help of a girl and her friend to get back to his home at Mount Everest.

The weirdest animated story of the early days of the CGI form was the competition between DreamWorks with Antz and Pixar with A Bug’s Life — two films that the detail lives of the Earth’s smallest creatures in clever ways. Pixar seems to have won the longer battle, but there’s more to like here than you remember, including a strong voice cast and fun visuals.

Nancy Meyers co-wrote this clever family comedy about a successful woman who finds herself the unexpected mother of a 14-month-old baby girl when her long-lost cousin leaves her the child after her death. This may be for the slightly older kids, and some of its gender politics are dated, but Diane Keaton keeps it moving with her ace timing.

Exactly which titles Disney allows to jump from its streaming service to others doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but here’s the adventures of a sweet stunt dog named Bolt, the leading pup of this fun movie from 2008. John Travolta voices the dog who believes he actually has superpowers, which allow him to head out on a cross-country journey to save his owner, Penny.

Travis Knight of Laika fame (Kubo and the Two Strings) directed the best Transformers movie in this unexpectedly joyous spinoff of the massive Hasbro series of films. It’s a movie with the same kind of family-adventure spirit as ’80s classics of the genre, buoyed by fun performances from Hailee Steinfeld and John Cena.

Remember when movies were as simple as pitting felines and canines against one another? This 2001 family flick has been pretty much forgotten by history, but it was actually a pretty big hit at the time. Maybe you’re old enough to have some nostalgia for it or want to introduce it to your little ones now. Which side will they pick?

We don’t deserve Aardman. The geniuses behind Wallace & Gromit, Shaun the Sheep, and others made their biggest cinematic splash with this 2000 hit. A clever riff on prison-break movies like Escape From Alcatraz (but with chickens!), this is actually the highest-grossing stop-motion animated film of all time, a title it’s held for almost 20 years now.

Who doesn’t love the Man in the Yellow Hat and his lovable primate? This is the 2006 theatrically released version of the book series by H.A. Rey and Margret Rey that have been popular around the world for generations. With voice work by Will Ferrell, Drew Barrymore, Eugene Levy, and many more, it’s a sweet adventure story for the whole family.

This live-action adaptation of the Nickelodeon cartoon has no right to be as funny and clever as it is. It helps that newcomer Isabela Moner is a delightful lead as Dora, but there’s also a delightfully self-aware tongue-in-cheek tone to this film, one that’s funny without every taking itself too seriously. It’s a sweet family adventure movie that works equally for parents and little ones.

Maybe wait for the real little ones to go to bed first, but there are certainly some families that can handle this coming-of-age story from the master Steven Spielberg. Christian Bale stars in the story of a young boy whose life is changed forever when he becomes a prisoner of war in a Japanese internment camp.

It became something of a punch line, but this family film was huge when it was first in theaters. Who can’t relate to the story of trying to free a gorgeous animal like the orca that gives this movie a name? It made over $150 million on a $20 million budget and launched a franchise. Willy was freed to run all over pop culture.

From the director of Mad Max: Fury Road! The family filmmaker side of George Miller directed this musical comedy about penguins who basically have to stop the apocalypse with their dancing and singing. It’s not as good as the original, but it has some clever visuals, incredible voice work, and some good tunes to boot.

People often point to the Toy Story movies as the model for a great animated series, but credit should be given to the trilogy of movies about a boy named Hiccup and his dragon Toothless. The third and final film in this blockbuster series is already on Hulu, and it’s a gorgeous, heartfelt, moving final chapter to one of the best franchises of the 2010s, animated or live-action.

The LEGO Movie is one of the most creative and enjoyable animated films of the 2010s. The sequel may feel a bit too cluttered at times, but it retains enough of that energy to make it worth a look on Hulu, especially as all of our creative faculties have been reduced by the insanity of 2020.

This is not the Danny DeVito–voiced recent version but the 1972 short original that aired on TV about a thousand times when you were young. One of Dr. Seuss’s most beloved books gets a loving adaptation in this classic, a story of responsibility and environmental consideration that will never grow old, and should spark some memories for parents of the right age.

Look, a documentary! Yes, non-fiction films can be family ones too. In fact, it was that cross-demographic appeal to the story of the annual journey of emperor penguins in Antarctica to find their breeding grounds that made this such an amazing success, winning Best Documentary at the Oscars after making over $120 million worldwide. Having Morgan Freeman narrate always helps too.

Will Ferrell voices the title character, the supervillain who wants to get some of the credit and adoration of his superhero counterparts. After actually killing his superhero nemesis, Megamind learns that life isn’t worth living for a villain without a hero and ends up creating a villain even worse for him to defeat. A clever spoof of the superhero genre that would dominate the next decade of blockbusters, this movie plays even better now than in 2010.

We don’t give Laika enough credit. They don’t make nearly as much money with films like Paranorman and Kubo and the Two Strings as companies like DreamWorks and Pixar. Their latest is already on Hulu, dropping less than a year after its theatrical release. It may not be their best, but it’s gorgeous to look at, revealing the company that made it as arguably the most visually fascinating animated studio around.

My Dog Skip

This family dramedy from 2000 adapts the autobiographical book of the same name by Willie Morris. It’s the story of a 9-year-old who is given an adorable Jack Russell terrier on his birthday, whom he names Skip, and some formative chapters of his life that he shares with his pup. It’s a sweet coming-of-age movie with added interest for dog lovers.

Listen, this movie is kind of a disaster, but it’s always a fascinating disaster. Joe Wright directs this prequel telling of a new origin story for Peter Pan and Captain Hook, played by Garrett Hedlund. Hugh Jackman, Rooney Mara, and Levi Miller co-star in this undeniably strange blockbuster that seems to be gaining a reappraised following over the years. Why are people still talking about Pan? Check it out on Hulu and report back.

The Pink Panther 2

Let’s just politely call this one a gateway to better things. The sequel to the Steve Martin–led reboot of the Pink Panther series isn’t objectively “good,” but it may intrigue your kids enough to watch the brilliant Peter Sellers movies or even some of the original cartoons. And, heck, even if it makes them want to see more of Steve Martin, that’s probably a good thing too.

This was the first DreamWorks feature to be traditionally animated back in 1998 and was a bigger hit than you probably remember. It’s the story of the Book of Exodus and how Moses went from being just the title character to leading the children out of Israel. It’s a very pretty film visually and features some good music as well, but history seems to have forgotten it in the wake of how much Disney dominated the ’90s.

Gore Verbinski directed one of the best animated films on Hulu, this Oscar-winning featuring voice work by Johnny Depp in the lead role and some of the most inspired visuals in any animated film this decade. Rango is a chameleon who stumbled into a town called Dirt in this inventive riff on the Western genre that plays equally to children and adults.

Smallfoot

Channing Tatum wonderfully voices the lead character in this musical comedy from 2018. He plays a Yeti who descends from his cloudy mountain village and encounters a human — both realizing that the other species thought them a mythical creature. The visuals are engaging and the jokes are just clever enough to work for all ages.

Disney+ has stolen almost all the superhero movies but Sam Raimi’s original version of the webslinger is still on Hulu. Starring Tobey Maguire, this blockbuster doesn’t get enough credit for revitalizing the entire superhero genre in a way that plays to both parents and kids. It still rules.

This 2016 animated film is the story of how storks work to deliver babies, assisted by humans at a distribution center in the sky. One of those humans gets involved in a mistake when she creates a baby they’re not supposed to and end up having to help care for it with her stork partner. The visuals here are strong even if the story is slight. Still, it’s a creative story that you haven’t really seen before.

Not only is the beloved Tiny Toons series on Hulu, but so are several movies from the franchise: 1992’s Tiny Toons Adventures: How I Spent My Vacation, 1994’s Tiny Toons Spring Break Special, and 1995’s Tiny Toon Adventures: Night Ghoulery.

Yes, they made a movie about a creepy line of toys. No, it’s not a modern animated classic. But it is something recent that may get the attention of your kids. You can’t make them watch old shows and movies all the time. And sometimes they just want to see something that was in theaters not that long ago, especially given they can’t go out to one in 2020. So, what’s this about? You probably know. Dolls. They’re kind of ugly.

This 1988 TV movie actually landed 14 years after the end of The Brady Bunch, and reunited almost all of the original cast members (Cindy was recast. Poor Cindy). It’s pretty simple — reunite with the Bradys, this time around Christmas! With the kids all grown, Carol and Mike buy airline tickets so everyone can get together around Christmas, in-laws and grandchildren included. It’s likely to make you jealous in 2020.

Wonder Park

Paramount released this computer-animated flick in early 2019, which feels like a lifetime ago now. It’s a bit simple and silly, but that’s kind of all right in our current stuck-at-home situation. Wonder Park is the story of a girl who puts her imagination away when her mother gets sick and how an imaginary amusement park helps her find that creative spark again.

2 notes · View notes

cards-onthetable · 5 years

Text

Surrender

(Chapter one) (Chapter two) (Chapter three) (Chapter four) (Chapter five)

A/N: A minor time jump here as we check in with our favorite couple following Eddie’s transfer out of the 29th precinct. Also, language warning applies, but it’s fairly minor. Enjoy!

Chapter six.

“Hey Janko, you want to hit up Rudy’s with us? It’s wing night.”

Eddie wrestles her head out the neck of her black t-shirt before she answers, “No, sorry Ashley, I’m busy tonight.”

“You’re busy every night,” someone else -- sounds like Daniela Holt -- calls from the adjacent bay of lockers. “Can’t you do something fun just once?”

“Girl, you’ve been talking up your darts game for a month but we ain’t ever seen you play.”

“I just -- can’t be that flexible at the last minute,” Eddie offers apologetically. “But next week? If I plan ahead I can make it happen.”

“Travis and I are on midnights next week,” Ashley complains.

“Well hey, another time. We’ll make it work,” Eddie promises. She’s finished packing up and she slings her bag over her shoulder. “Have fun tonight. But not too much fun.”

The women of the 8th precinct keep teasing as Eddie heads down the hall and out of earshot. She knows they aren’t being mean -- it took them a little time to get comfortable around her, knowing her connection to the PC but now, nearly two months into her new assignment, they’ve eased into a friendly camaraderie like Eddie hasn’t experienced since her early days off probation at the 12th.

She wonders if the adjustment would’ve been even quicker if she didn’t have to turn down most of their invitations for a drink or a bite to eat after work. But after two nights getting home late last month, even though she texted Jamie to let him know her plans, he made it clear that things like fun and friendship with her new coworkers are unacceptable.

It turns out a lot of things are unacceptable for a Reagan bride.

Eddie has tried to mostly ignore Jamie’s undercutting remarks, petty shit ranging from negative comments about the 8th Precinct’s leadership to tired warnings about her vulnerability as a Reagan in the NYPD. She knows she hurt him by insisting on a new precinct, and while she refuses to apologize -- it was the right move, and she’s honestly not sure why she waited so long to make it -- she is trying to be considerate of Jamie’s feelings in the aftermath.

Their mailbox in the lobby is already empty, so she knows Jamie has beat her home as she climbs to their fourth floor walkup. The exertion is just enough to let her ignore the shift in mood after a good day at work, to quell the slight dread she feels at the prospect of another frosty, impersonal evening with her husband.

“Hello?” she calls out as cheerfully as she can manage when she keys her way inside.

“Eddie?”

“Hey you.” Pausing in the entryway, she reaches down to unzip her boots. When she straightens up once more Jamie has rounded the corner and he peers down at her with an unreadable expression.

“How was your day, babe?” Eddie asks. Then, as an irritated twitch draws his eyebrows together, “Something wrong?”

“I thought you’d be home by four.”

“It’s--” she glances at her watch “--twenty after.”

“I know.”

She frowns at him, a silent question as she moves further into the apartment.

“You could’ve let me know, Eddie.”

“I’m… sorry?” she says. “I was finishing up a report, and then chatting for a minute. When am I ever home right at four?”

“You’re not usually this late.”

“Late for what?” Her eyes widen as she genuinely wonders. “Did we have plans tonight?”

“I didn’t realize we needed to have plans for you to let me know when you’re running later than normal.”

“What? I’m -- I’m hardly late! Ten, fifteen minutes, it’s not a big deal.”

“Excuse me for wanting to spend time with my wife,” he snaps.

Eddie can’t hold in the bitter chuckle that escapes from her throat. “You didn’t want to spend time with me yesterday, when I asked if you wanted to go to the gym with me. Or the day before, when you shut yourself in the bedroom the second you got home and then yelled at me when I asked what was wrong--”

“I didn’t yell at you.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, right. You just said--” she drops to a low impression of Jamie “--Go away, Eddie, I’m not in the mood, Eddie, I’m busy, Eddie…”

“Well I was--”

“You were watching tennis. When the fuck did you start watching tennis? You say you don’t want me going out after work so we can spend time together, but this is the longest we’ve both been awake in the same room in three weeks.”

Jamie shakes his head like her point is irrelevant. “Before you transferred, we had all the time we wanted. We got to be together at work all day, we had a nice routine. And now that’s all out of sync. I don’t know why you had to go and fuck everything up.”

“So you blame me?” she verifies.

“You’re the one who went over my head and insisted on a transfer!” he cries. “You violated chain of command.”

“I had to. You flat out told me you wouldn’t approve the request.”

“Which I had the authority to do! Cops have to follow procedure. Procedure exists for a reason.” He emphasizes with the chopping motion of his rigid hand as he slowly spells it out. “And as my wife you owed me the courtesy of telling me before you made that decision on your own.”

“And that’s exactly why I went straight to the lieutenant,” Eddie reminds him, defiant hands perched on her hips. “You were trying to be both my boss and my husband all the time. It wasn’t working for me, Jamie, and don’t pretend you would’ve listened to anything I had to say. I wanted to discuss it and you wrote me off. We had to separate work and home.”

“It seemed like it was working just fine from my end! It was working a hell of a lot better than this, anyway.”

Eddie laughs ruefully. “That’s on you then, because I’m much happier now that I’m on my own at the 8th.”

“Oh, so you’re happier being away from me most of the time?”

“Yes! At work, yes. You were micromanaging me and it’s like you still don’t even realize it. I need to be in control of my own career, my own relationships. I need to have a part of my life that’s separate from you, separate from your family, something that’s only mine. I haven’t had that since we got engaged. So yeah, I’m happier at work since I transferred, and my only regret is that I didn’t do it sooner. But at home…”

Eddie doesn’t miss the angry clench of the muscle there at the corner of Jamie’s jaw. “Well. I’m sorry that my presence is such a problem for you.”

“Jamie--” she sighs. “You know what I’m saying, don’t twist my words. We weren’t doing well being in the same house, and it’s both of our faults. You couldn’t move past your bias with me, I couldn’t deal with you hanging over my head. It wasn’t healthy for our marriage. But that issue is taken care of now so we need to figure out why else this isn’t working.”

“I’ll tell you why it’s not working. You’re off in lower Manhattan putting your job and your new friends ahead of our family. Everything you do is reckless. Chasing your shield, staying late at work — transferring in the first place — it’s not all about you! Everything can’t revolve around you and what you want!”

“What’s reckless? Me having friends who you didn’t vet first?”

“Yes!”

“Well good thing I can hardly call them friends since you don’t want me so much as hitting happy hour with them after tour.”

“Good! You shouldn’t let them get close to you. You’ve got to keep your guard up. Your nameplate says Janko but they know who you are. They’ll try to use you Eddie, or worse. We Reagans have a target on our back and you know it.”

“The only person putting a target on my back is you.”

“I — no — I just need you to understand what it means to be a Reagan in this department. And act like it for once.”

“Does it mean letting you dictate every single aspect of my life? Because that’s not what I signed up for. We’re supposed to be an equal partnership. I’m in a great new precinct, I’ll get my gold shield any day now, and I’ve got you waiting for me at home every night. It’s everything I want! I’ve finally found my balance, Jamie. Now we need to find yours.”

“I was perfectly balanced at the 29th Precinct with my wife on my roll sheet,” he tells her.

“That’s not an option. But there are other things we could do. I want to figure something out with you, Jamie. We’ll find a way to make everything work for both of us.”

“And how do you propose we do that?”

Eddie takes a deep breath. “Look. I know you said no to this back when I first transferred. But I really think it’s time to consider therapy.”

“Couples therapy?” He shouts, making Eddie flinch. “That’s off the table!”

“Why?” Eddie demands. “We can’t come up with any solutions on our own! All we do lately is ignore each other and when we do talk, it’s just this same damn fight over and over.”

“Because you transferred!”

“Because you gave me no choice! I think you know I’m right about us working together, and you were wrong, and you don’t know how to deal with that like an adult. So it’s time to learn.”

“Our problems are our problems, Eddie, I don’t want some stranger telling us five easy steps to fix our marriage.”

“Then what’s your suggestion? Because we both know things are broken,” Eddie says, struggling to hold her voice steady as it threatens to break. “But I — I don’t know how we can fix it.”

“So you jump to therapy?”

“Yeah, because we need help—”

“If our marriage is too far gone for us to handle it ourselves,” Jamie says, “then maybe it’s too far gone to be handled at all.”

Eddie inhales sharply through her nose and she can’t disguise the alarm on her face as her mouth drops open. “What’s your solution then?”

He narrows his eyes, a look of contempt he’s never directed at her before, and it makes her stomach lurch.

“It’s obvious, Eddie. The only solution here is divorce.”

#jamie x eddie #jamko #surrender #uh oh #jamie said it #what we've all been thinking for all of season 9 #oh just me and @ontherockswithsalt have these thoughts?#well hey now you can too!

16 notes · View notes

benadrylthegoodstuff · 5 years

Note

Okay but have you considered writing a Common Law MIB AU?? (PS I love literally everything you've written and fun fact your portrayal of Ace!Wes was what made me realize I was ace)

i have not! but i love the idea of this and/or x-files au (because I have talked about x-files au with @warrenkoles before)

and basically we both agree that Wes would 1000% be the Crazy Alien Conspiracy Guy who has a wall of newspaper clippings with red string and (meticulous) scrapbooks of Suspected Alien Events and literally nobody believes him and everyone around him is like “dude are you okay maybe you should go to therapy” and he’s just like “I DON’T NEED THERAPY MY WIFE WAS ABDUUUUCTED”

and travis is part of the Secret Government Organization Hiding Aliens (x-files or mib or mash-up of your choice) and his superiors are like “Agent Marks you need to Deal With This Guy because he keeps posting shit on the internet and nobody believes him but he’s surprisingly keen so if you can’t distract him from his alien fixation then make him one of us, we think he’d be an asset to the team”

so of course Wes joins the Secret Agency because he is Not Giving Up, that is Not In His Nature (but of course there’s like a thousand words of travis going “aliens aren’t real” and wes going “yes they are” and then it devolves into “no they aren’t” “yes they are” “no they aren’t shut up” “yes they ARE” because they are children in adult bodies)

and i’m super keen on the idea of an mib world because like. as far as I understand (i haven’t actually seen x-files here bear with me) in x-files there are no alien coworkers? and in MIB they are walking all over everywhere? and just like. Wes joining the agency, right, and then accosting any alien he sees like “DiD yOu TaKe My WiFe?!?!” and getting a bunch of harassment complaints and like? having to take sensitivity training and shit? that would be? surprisingly in character, actually, bc Wes is kind of an asshole in the show too but totally without meaning (which may or may not have something to do with autism and inability to read social cues but that’s another post entirely) so I can totally believe someone would take his earnest attempts to find his wife as, like, Wes being a speciest asshole and going “HE WAS RACIALLY AND SPECIALLY PROFILING ME I FEEL ATTAAAACKED”

anyway Wes graduates and becomes Travis’s partner obvs and they patrol the city doing their MIB thing and also on the side trying to find Wes’s wife (who it so happens to turn out is Wes’s ex-wife, he just never really had time to Process that before she disappeared. also alex is totally an alien, she had to go to her home planet for a while, family emergency and whatnot, it takes a while okay it’s on the other side of the galaxy, wait wes? why are? you crying? BECAUSE IT’S BEEN THREE YEARS ALEX WHERE DID YOU GOOOOOOO)

and then wes and travis can fall in love and adopt alien dogs okay, it’s perfect okay.

----

also, thank you so much?! That One Ace!Wes fic was super personal to me so i’m so happy that someone else resonated with it too, so thank you so much! I’m glad it meant something to you too!

#common law #story idea #ask bena #this is fun!

4 notes · View notes