#and if jason is overshadowing him it makes things difficult

[starry-bi-sky]

Question since I’ve read a bunch of missed posts for cfau. Would Danny and Jason never possess each other? You telling me they never went in and stayed together?

NO YOU'RE SO RIGHT THOUGH ACTUALLY. I feel like i've totally thought about it but i forgor....

BUT ALSO Danny's like canonically really hard to overshadow due to being a halfa + the fact that strongwilled people are harder to control, however it HAS happened before with Dan. And its been shown that Danny's ghost gets booted out of his body when he gets overshadowed

(which?? implications??)

BUT IGNORING THAT. oh my god they would so try. Jason honestly WOULD be able to overshadow Danny by virtue of the fact that Danny would allow it. Like how Vlad was able to overshadow Jack and get him to vote for him for mayor only because Jack already planned on doing it.

Jason would have SUCH a fine tune control on overshadowing by the time he's revived because he and Danny would keep trying and trying until they could figure out a way for Jason to inhabit Danny's body without booting out Danny in the process, that way Danny could remain in control of his mental faculties and still feel Jason overshadowing him.

oh my god they would NOT be normal about this. Jason could quite literally just wrap himself around Danny's core like a weighted blanket and you expect them to NOT lose their minds?? Anon you flipping GENIUS.

Danny in return would be SO hard to mind control because of all his practice with Jason. That's not even mentioning Jason coming up with the idea to help Danny build up his mental walls via attempts to overshadow him. So he's got the training + the shenanigans to fall back on. That boy's mind is a steel fucking waLL.

[ohc-and-the-music-tapes-archive]

Article about Marshmallow Coast and interview with Andy Gonzales in Flagpole, 14 April 2004  

[source]

transcript:

The Reluctance of being earnest Marshmallow Coast's Andy Gonzales moves towards a sharper picture of himself Andy Gonzales is looking to define himself, and he's been doing it for a while. To be more specific, he's looking to have his Marshmallow Coast identity and music exist outside the realm of his more acclaimed association. In fact, when I call to ask him about the recording of his recent album Antistar, he brings up Of Montreal right off the bat and without any prompting. 

"We recorded [Antistar] with Jason NeSmith at Bel Air Studios," says Gonzales, "and it basically... well. I felt like I needed to record an album completely disassociated from Of Montreal. All the [Of Montreal] reviews would mention Kevin [Barnes, Of Montreal's primary songwriter and frontman] and not mention me.

That was pretty much my only thing to consider in the recording of this album, so I didn't want to include any of those people. That just got under my skin after a while—not that it created hard feelings, of course, but it was time to really be on my own."

Don't let Gonzales come across as bitter— he's not. But he does carry the air of someone frustrated with being overshadowed. Antistar, however, should aid in further separating Marshmallow Coast from Of Montreal's quirky pop preciousness. The album is Gonzales' fourth as Marshmallow Coast, a name he's used since his early teenage years in Denver. It's also his most distinct album to date. Marshmallow Coast's 1999 debut album Seniors and Juniors came across like an off-key and lo- fi love letter to Music Tapes' Julian Koster (also of Neutral Milk Hotel), and 2000's Marshmailow Coasting carried a strong Of Montreal sound— not surprising, since the majority of that band showed up to back Gonzales.

But with 2002's Ride the Lightning, which marked the jump from Kindercore Records to Misra Records, Gonzales started to gain his own foothold. Of the label switch, Gonzales says: "Kindercore was totally changing, and I kinda had a weird inkling that I needed to leave, but it wasn't anything other than I needed to be on a different label than Of Montreal, because that was the height of the comparison."

Antistar finds Gonzales exploring his troubadour side, turning away the more psychedelic whimsy experiments of earlier albums, instead relying on tunes more in line with the steady output of standards coming from Burt Bacharach and Elvis Costello, albeit with a Sean Lennon voice and a Jonathan Richman sense of humor. Love songs—romantic love songs populate Antistar. Says Gonzales: "Everybody feels love, and I just... more than being lovey-dovey, I try to make my songs about weirdoes who find love mysteriously. I think it's more classy to write about love, and I definitely don't have anything political to say." The album was recorded primarily in the solo setting, and Marshmallow Coast's live performance reflects that; it's Gonzales and wife Sara Kirkpatrick, who married recently in Dekalb County, accompanied by a CD for all the backing tracks and drums.

"My songwriting process has kind of evolved," says Gonzales. "It used to be that I'd just wait for inspiration, but eventually I'd just work on little bits and pieces and see how they fit together over time. Now I'm at the point where I can get my brain into writing mode when I'm in the studio recording—I might go in with just six songs, and that's not enough for a full album, so I'll write some out of sheer necessity. Some of those songs have become some of my favorites, because I'm not super-prolific like some other people are. If I tell myself I've got something to accomplish and I'm not wasting somebody's time, I can get things done. But it can be difficult."

Again, Gonzales slips comfortably into self-doubt an apologetic tone for even existing in the first place. He seems uncomfortable with his own place in the creation of music. To wit:

Andy Gonzales: By this point I just [write songs] and we don't really feel like we'll change the world or anything. Flagpole: No? AG: Not really. Sometimes I don't know why I do it. I think about all the other hundreds of bands who recorded their CDs and spent all that money in the studio and... I dunno. I guess there is a reason. FP: What is that reason? AG: Because I like doing music, and there are some people who seem to like it I mean, I totally love making music, but I've given up the romantic notion I held as a teenager that we're gonna be big or something. But there's somebody willing to put the record out, so I'll definitely have the songs ready, I guess... I mean, I would love for us to get recognition as a unique or different band, but I am happy with the recognition we've got so far.

But again, it seems to be the constant scrutiny and comparison to his musical elders that's led to Gonzales' reticence and his reluctance to take a strong stand on his own music. "The weird thing is," he says, "I've had the luxury to turn into something while people were able to watch and scrutinize. Most people might not put out their first album until they're my age now, until they've really developed as an artist and are ready to be out there. I've kind of been developing in the public eye."

Is that ever an uncomfortable situation? "I think it was in the beginning," says Gonzales, "because I'm not a very good singer, but now I think... I don't know how much consideration I give it anymore. I just want to make something really, um, pretty? Y'know, just music that's nice. I feel that if I evolve in any other way I'll try to get somebody else to sing because that's where I run into the most criticism." 

But does Gonzales like his own voice? "Yeah. Sometimes? I don't know." It seems that Gonzales' strength, then, is to let the songs speak for themselves as well as for him. Despite his self-questioning, Antistar takes a strong stand towards romance and pushes Gonzales further towards definition.

Chris Hassiotis

[visionofhope04]

Neglected - Part 1

Batfam x Neglected!Batsis!Reader

Part 1 (Current) Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5

Inspired by a book called Face The Music by Batfam-Imagines on Wattpad.

Ages: Alfred (Immortal), Bruce (48-ish), Dick (26-27), Jason (24-25), Tim (17-18), Damian (13-14), Y/N (13-14)

Prompt: You are Damian’s twin sister and have been living with them for 3 years. (CONTAINS CHILD NEGLECT AS SUGGESTED BY THE TITLE AS WELL AS SELF HATE ALSO ED)

—-

You had been living with your father and adoptive brothers for three years with Damian. At first, it was okay and you quite enjoyed their company, especially Alfred’s. However, after a while, they completely forgot about you. You’d barely be acknowledged in your own home. Damian was always the center of attention. You were overshadowed by him. They didn’t ignore him, they treated him as their own. So what made you so different?

You could fight as well as him, yet they didn’t let you in on the family business even though you already knew about it. You were smarter than him as you were more grounded and thought things out more. You would be a useful asset to their team. You didn’t know why you were forgotten. You thought it could’ve been because you were too fat or too ugly.

You thought you had done something wrong, even though you couldn’t possibly think of what that may have been. You started to hate yourself. You blamed yourself for them ignoring you. You had convinced yourself they didn’t want or care about you and that you were a pathetic useless little girl that no one loves. Every time you wanted to talk to someone about it, they’d be busy and you didn’t want to be more of a burden to them.

You were surprisingly the closest to Jason. Sure, he was just as busy as the rest but actually tried to get to know you. Like him, you had also been revived by the Lazarus Pit. When you both couldn’t sleep, you’d go to the library together and read. It helped you both forget about the nightmares that plagued your sleep and allowed you to enter a different reality.

You were aware Jason never intentionally ignored you, he was busy and you understood that. You had wished your other family members had at least tried as Jason had, but you knew that they favored Damian. It was the simple things that led you to this conclusion, really. How they’d ask him about his day or if the material he studied was difficult which he would always reply with something along the lines of “Tt, it was easy.”.

At dinner, everyone seemed to forget you existed. They never asked you about your day or school. They didn’t seem to really care. It was as if you were invisible so it wouldn’t matter what you did. They never noticed how you starved yourself or how little you ate. They never noticed how you tried not to slouch or place your elbows on the table. They never noticed your subtle glances at each of them, making sure they weren’t judging you.

You’d always slip out of dinner quietly and it went unnoticed by the others. It became a routine where you’d eat a little bit, escape the room, and then go back to finding things to occupy yourself with. You never expressed how much it hurt you to be ignored and never planned to. You wanted them to apologize to you themselves even though you knew the probability of that. If you went to them first, you were afraid that they would hate you even more.

Over time, your self hate started to heighten and became worse. You were constantly reminded that you were a fat, ugly, useless nobody, freak that didn’t deserve to live. Your paranoia grew and you became a perfectionist. You were terribly suffering. You had become dangerously underweight and always looked tired. No one noticed though, too caught up in their own problems to spare you a glance.

About a year later, you are now 14 years old. Your grades have dropped and you are critically underweight. You don’t even digest the food anymore. You simply “eat” a bit and then take water with you as you throw it all up in the toilet. You fill yourself up with water from now on since in your mind you are still fat. You tell yourself “It’s fine, you’ll be fine.” but you can’t fool your body, you can only fool your mind.

[limmastyles]

Did y’all see the new Kendall/Harry articles? Kris Jenner is the DEVIL. Absolute attention-seekers 🤡

I’m gonna be completely honest I don’t think that this is Kris Jenner I think this is Jeff. Because Kendall and Devon breaking up wasn’t something that was a bad thing. People really like them as a couple and were sad that they broke up. There was no drama that happened in their relationship. They kept it pretty private and to themselves. On the contrary you look at Harry and his relationship with Olivia and how it was drama filled from the very beginning. Especially in the last couple months. Her being served, the Shia LaBeouf situation, Florence Pugh situation, the Jason Sudeikis situation, and the H issue with the nanny. Just in the last six months of their relationship It was drama from the beginning. Kendall does it need to be associated with hairy at this point. It does it do her any good or bad. But Harry being associated with Kendall take the attention away from his “relationship” with Olivia and the “break up”. For a lot of people Devin and Kendall breaking up was really sad but for Hairy and Holivia then breaking up was amazing. Especially for him. And the fans. He doesn’t wanna have anything to do with her anymore, he doesn’t want their names being associated with each other anymore and since it was announced that Kendall and Devin broke up all anyone has been talking about his Harry and Kendall. Not Harry and Olivia. Harry being associated with Kendall takes the heats away from him and Olivia. He doesn’t want to be associated with her anymore and If him and Jeff have to use Kendall and her name to get people to stop talking about it and that’s what they’re going to do. The reports are hairy and Kendall are “leaning on each other”. They’re not in the same country, they haven’t seen each other since the concert and We all know that they will never get back together. We all know it was mostly I purposely stunt. And if they didn’t get back together all those years ago when they were both single and 2019 it wasn’t going to happen now. But people are looking at it and how the media is shipping and how Jeff is making it look is that they are looking to get back together or they’re spending a lot of time together. It makes it look like Harry is moving on from Olivia. Whether or not it’s just a fling with Kendall it makes it look like he’s moving on. That he’s removing himself away from her. It’s a really smart tactic. Because Kendall with someone who is relevant. Unlike Olivia who is irrelevant. Ever since the break up was announced all people are talking about now is Harry and Kendall getting back together and people have forgotten that hairy and Olivia were a thing. This is smart. It’s a smart tactic to use and Jeff is doing everything that he can to remove Olivia from Harry’s name and to get people to forget about her. Using Kendall who is more famous and more relevant and will create more headlines to remove Olivia who isn’t as famous and won’t generate as much headlines. Right now Olivia’s feeding to the press that she’s going through a difficult time since the break up but that is being overshadowed by Harry and Kendall’s “reconciliation”. Jeff is doing everything he can to get people to forget about Olivia and Harry. And it’s working. Harry and Kendall don’t even have to be seen together all that needs to happen as sources saying that they’re close. And that’s it.

You are literally reading my mind

[heavensgateiowa]

I seen you mention latent homosexual Jason and if you're interested in further elaborating I would love to hear it

hello hi!

so i would love to someday write a full piece about jason grace with like. real textual analysis and shit but i'm letting my ideas fester first

i've also made a few posts talking about where he as a character is placed in relation to other queer characters (as nico's initial confidant and friend, as piper's comphet partner) and also his relationship to leo (and to percy lmao) already.

essentially, jason has, almost from birth, had his life controlled by jupiter, king of the gods and ultimate archetype of masculinity, fatherhood and virility, and juno, his wife, goddess of marriage. riordan's characterisation of both these characters deliberately skews negative, for a very specific reason: the series hinges on just how scary it is to have a parental figure reject you.

percy feels abandoned by the father he never knew at the beginning of the series. annabeth is desperate to impress her mother, and feels overshadowed and abandoned by the rest of her family. piper is completely disconnected from the idea of heterosexual love and traditional, eurocentric feminine beauty which she associates with her mother, and repulsed by the association while so fascinated by it and desperate for the approval associated with it that she seeks it out in the form of her relationship with jason. i could go on, and each of these examples probably deserves its own in depth examination.

but for all these characters, alienation from and abandonment by a parental figure is the ultimate evil, the thing they fear most, the most destructive force in their lives. it's a reflection of the adolescent experience which makes the books resonate so hard with young people. it's an example of the 'there is a dragon. the adults don't believe you when you say there is a dragon' philosophy of childrens books; it is so hard to articulate as a child the negative experiences you are having with a parent or caregiver, and even if you can articulate those experiences, who will believe you? certainly not the parent themselves.

jason represents all this in extremis. what if a child was taken from his mother and sister (the same thing that happens to nico, incidentally, only jason was too young to remember it and is therefore almost numb to the trauma by comparison because he has never known it any other way), and groomed to become a leader and a hero in such a way that he could never become anything else? jupiter and juno are villainised because they represent the ultimate evil of the series, parental neglect, abuse and control. the distant father, who says out loud that he will not give his son the attention, praise or affection that he so clearly needs as a matter of principle. the overbearing mother and wife archetype, who becomes an embodiment of both heteronormativity and control, those things being one and the same in jason's life. when he seeks control he also seeks heterosexuality.

conversely, when he gives up control, when he gives up his role as praetor, when he and piper break up, he stops seeking heterosexuality. i would argue this very slow slide begins when he sees juno's true form and starts losing his vision (god im so hazy on this point ive only read the books once sorry if i get this wrong). he is exposed to the 'true form' of the goddess that represents, to him, heterosexuality and control. he then loses his vision, and is given glasses (by asclepius the son of apollo dont even get me started on that particular train of thought). this represents a physical transition, a step-down from youthful masculine perfection into almost a form of old age.

this is jason’s attempt to reclaim his own life and agency, and it ultimately leads to his death.

there’s something very compelling in the accidental ‘bury your gays’ moment that happens in trials of apollo. riordan has talked about how, upon reflection looking at the first series, he realised that nico was a queer character.

this is fascinating, and an excellent statement regarding nico, but the context of jason makes it all the more interesting. nico and jason are almost total opposites; nico is an outsider, a victim, associated with death and hell. he’s a lot more easy to shape into a queer narrative, where he comes out and is accepted within the group. instead, jason has spent his whole life on top of the world. a praetor, son of the king of the gods, the embodiment of strength and classical masculinity and heroism (but completely without agency). shaping a queer narrative out of that proves to be a great deal more difficult, and so riordan doesn’t. i don’t believe he intended to do this, i don’t think he recognised jason’s queerness for what it was, but he sublimates jason’s queerness into other things; he has jason fight for the underdog, like nico and the underappreciated gods. he has jason move from praetor to pontifex maximus, one of the only remotely autonomous choices he makes in the series. he has jason wear glasses with all they represent. he has jason slowly back away from heteronormativity, from jupiter and juno and all that they represent, from his failed relationship with piper.

but jason still dies. he fails to escape his fate, and dies the death of the very heroic warrior he no longer wanted to be. and his queerness dies with him.

there is so much more i could elaborate on, and someday i will, but this is already way longer than i meant it to be lol. long story short jason grace my beloved

[rason-rodd]

Do You Know Your Alphabet?

NSFW Edition feat Jason Todd

(I tried not to give a sexual orientation to Jason in this NSFW Alphabet and make his partner as gender neutral as possible to please all sorts of readers. Apologies if some part doesn’t include all genders. I honestly did my best and I will happily modify them if you tell me how.)

A – Anal:         When he is dating someone with a vagina, Jason rarely asks for anal sex. He prefers pussy to ass but if his partner wants him to use the back door he will happily do so.             However, his partner has to keep in mind that Jason always needs to be very testosterone-y and in full-dominant mode to fuck them in the ass.           In a relationship with someone with a penis, Jason will usually be the one who fucks in the ass rather than the one who is fucked in the ass though he can accept to swap roles from time to time.

B – BDSM:     That will be a non-negotiable “NO”. Even though he is fully aware that BDSM doesn’t only rhyme with pain but also with consent and pleasure, Jason is not a fan of it as hinted and stated many times in Red Hood and The Outlaws.             We can suppose that it is because BDSM can let some poorly buried trauma surface by reminding Jason of bad memories that includes ropes and a crowbar.    

C- Condom:   Only when needed. Like most men, Jason doesn’t like the lack of sensation that wearing a condom involves but he is smart and responsible enough to know there are moments when you need to wear one.       At a beginning of a relationship, he will always choose to wear one until he is sure that there are no risks to transmit any sort of STD. But once he knows everything is safe he will gladly ask his partner to either stop using protection and/or take contraception like a pill if said partner can get pregnant. Being a father is not in his plans and it actually scares him.            

D- Dominance:           Jason is a caring and highly protective boyfriend with fear of abandonment issues and those traits ultimately makes him a very possessive lover.         And it shows in bed. His possessiveness coupled with his passion and devotion to his SO makes him the type of man that permanently tries to assert his dominance. But this so-called dominance is not a way to show who’s the man in this relationship or who’s wearing the pants. It is just a clumsy way to show that he is a fully committed and devoted lover who is always struggling to please his partner out of fear of not being good enough and eventually abandoned. (Who said men were not complicated sometimes?)       Moreover, Jason fucks according to his mood and so his dominance always varies. Sometimes dominance can simply mean him on top and sometimes it can be synonymous of hard deep pounding from behind. Jason can indeed be a rough lover but he will never be the type to lay a hand on his SO. So you can forget any sort of slap or strangulation. He is a fighter in the streets but a lover under the sheets.       But submission is very rarely his thing. Sure he will adore making love with a partner as passionate as he is and will forever be turned on by someone who can match his strength and therefore who will not mind standing up to him. But if you think you can tame him forever you’re so wrong.         Jason will occasionally let you lead the way in the bedroom and he will be happy to let you do so as he will see your sudden dominance the same manner he sees his (meaning a symbol of love and devotion). But any relationship in which the place of alpha male is permanently refused to him will leave him unsatisfied and frustrated.

E- Ejaculation:             One thing is sure; Jason can’t cum in a condom. When wearing one, he will always make sure to remove it to spurt his semen on his partner. Most of the time it is on their ass, chest or pussy. He will generally never cum on someone’s face though but will see no problem in cumming in someone’s mouth for as long as they swallow that load.           But what he loves the most is to cum inside his partner (which is also another reason why he is not a fan of condoms). He finds a certain pleasure in doing so, finding the act rather intimate and weirdly romantic. He would never cum inside someone he doesn’t love or barely know.

F- Foreplay:     Jason never forgets foreplay even if his body begs him to just fuck his partner and get it over with. To him, foreplay is necessary when you do the deed. Without that Jason will feel like something is missing and view the sexual act as botched.         But to Jason Todd foreplay doesn’t only revolve around handjobs, fingering, oral sex or any other physical display. Of course he will happily do all of that but Jason is an intellectual and so he will definitely consider words as a form of foreplay. And sometimes they even arouse him more than the rest. Few naughty text messages telling him how much you miss him and his cock inside of you and the man will run back to you as fast as The Flash, his penis as hard as a stone pillar. And when that happens, you might get yourself prepared, as he won’t take much time to kiss or cuddle.

G- Gear and tool:       Mother Nature blessed Jason Todd and gave him one hell of a cock that matches his broad physique! It is veiny and circumcised, long, way longer than average actually, and its girth is going to stretch and fill any hole perfectly.           But this beautiful gear is not always a blessing. Indeed, you cannot take Jason’s whole cock in your mouth without gagging or chocking (though some people don’t mind that) and if you’re not lubed enough penetration can definitely hurt. So playing with that amazing tool demands patience and time.     His testicles are even and rather large when you think about it but they suit the P.  

H- Hairs:         Jason is a hard-worker but he is extremely lazy when it comes to taking care of himself. Plus, that laziness is also coupled with the fact that he doesn’t have much time to really mind his appearance. When he is monopolized by his vigilante work, he can spend days without shaving (and sometimes showering) and not really realise that he is in an urgent need of a razor. A chance that he is not a man that tends to be very hairy!           But to be honest, Jason doesn’t mind hairs in general and there are actually places he refuses to shave like his legs, his arms and the sexy line of dark hairs he has under his bellybutton.     But when he actually takes time to clean and shave, he always makes sure that his armpits are not bushy, that there are no hairs on his chest and his face and that his pubic hairs are nicely trimmed (He hates shaving them.)     When it comes to his partner, Jason can tolerate some hairs but he prefers when they are either fully-shaven or well-trimmed. He doesn’t like eating hairs when eating his SO out.

I- Intimacy:     Jason is very ambiguous and difficult to understand when it comes to intimacy.   As a possessive lover, he will always refuse to share his partner with another ‘alpha male’. He needs to be the centre of attention and the only person craved and praised in the bedroom. So when dating Jason you can forget any sort of threesome or orgy.           But if his partner is interested in welcoming a person that might not overshadow Jason and let him keep his dominant place between the sheets (for example a woman) then he may accept. Single, he will happily mingle with a couple but he will somewhat see this as a competition or an opportunity to show who’s the best.           But there’s definitely something that he will prefer to threesomes and that’s being watched or heard while having sex.           No, he won’t drag you to some swinger’s club and allow dozens of people watch you two having sex (he is a romantic) but you need to keep in mind that Jason is a man that doesn’t limit his sexual intercourses to his bedroom.             He actually loves fucking outside and/or in public places as the risks of getting caught or being heard have the tendency to get him highly turned on and have his juices flow. But he is not stupid enough to risk everything for a quick romp in front of others.             Weirdly, he prefers getting caught/ being heard by people he knows - and in that case he will not stop fucking his partner and show what an amazing lay he is – than by someone he doesn’t know. It boosts his ego and he can’t help it.       The only time getting caught traumatized him was when Alfred accidentally spotted him having sex in the manor. He didn’t dare catch his eye for days.    

J- Jerking off:   Jason can sometimes jerk off when he feels like he needs to release some stress and tension. But this solitary act requires a moment of intimacy he doesn’t often get because of his vigilantism that takes up all of his nights and energy. After a long night of patrol, given the choice, he will mostly choose sleeping over masturbation. But when he does jerk off, he always makes sure that no one is going to bother him (though he has fantasise about his crush watching him quite a few times) and he tends to think about situations rather than persons. The only times he will think about someone while masturbating will be when he has a crush on someone. Then he will imagine fucking this person and probably whisper their name.

K – Kink:         Jason can be kinky but he is not the kinkiest of the bat-family. There are things he will stubbornly never try or even consider (BDSM for example) but things he will gladly do on occasion (see Intimacy + Roleplay). As said before he won’t mix violence and love.   But the kinky side of Jason is just another way to spice up his relationship and show he is not a boring partner. Moreover, he is a boyfriend that takes consent and respect very seriously. He will never do anything that might hurt his SO in any way or anything they might not be confortable with.   That’s why he believes he and his partner have to talk about any sort of kinks before trying to experiment them. But he will prefer doing it through text messages than face to face. He is weirdly shy when talking about sex.

L - Love:           Jason has had a few one night stands but he will admit that sex is better when you’re in love. Plus, “sex gets better with time” would define Jason’s skills as a lover as he is the type of man that needs (and loves) taking his time to discover his partner’s body and desires. He is an enthusiastic learner that hasn’t yet discovered all the things he can know about sex. And that’s because he hasn’t had so many partners over the years.     Though don’t think that means your first time together is going to be bad. It won’t. On the contrary, it will be great but not as great as it can become.       Therefore we can jump to the conclusion that the persons that will only have Jason for one night will definitely miss something truly amazing.

M - Massage:     Jason has many qualities but giving massage is not a talent he can brag about. He is honestly not that bad at it but since he believes he sucks, he will not initiate in any sort of massage session. However, he loves getting one since he loves being touched and caressed especially on his chest and back. Actually, Jason believes that caresses and cuddles cannot be dissociated from the deed and views them as necessary before, during and after the act.         Also, he is the kind of men that will display his affection anytime he can though preferably in private. The rare PDA will occur if he feels jealous, threatened or worse, neglected (Don’t ever do that or the entire city will hear his wrath!).

N – Nudity:     When he is in a relationship Jason is not ashamed of his body but that doesn’t make him a body-confident man in general. Don’t expect seeing him walking around fully naked!     Indeed, Jason is modest and never sees his body as sexy. I mean, he knows he is muscular and well-built and all but as it is in his nature to focus on the negative, he will always be a bit hung up about the scars on his body and he will never let a one-night partner touch them or ask any sort of question about them. Only his SO will be allowed to do so and that shows how much trust and love Jason places in his relationships.

O – Oral sex:               To Jason, there’s nothing sexier than his partner sucking out his cock on their knees. It gives him satisfaction and boosts his ego like nothing else because he views this act as a symbol of submission and worship, two things he deeply cares about when having sex.           Fortunately he loves to reciprocate and he will not hesitate dropping on his knees to do the same. But don’t view it as him submitting to you. If that gorgeous man goes down, he goes down to make you scream his name, not to be your pet.           Also, it may be seen as an asshole move but if you refuse to suck his cock, do not expect him to give you oral sex. As terrible as it sounds and even though he puts his partner’s pleasure before his own, the man gives if only you give in return.

P – Position.   Jason is a romantic that craves touching and being touched and so he will always favours positions that allows him to feel his SO’s body against his or to roam their bodies with his strong hands or his lips. That’s why he will not appreciate being tied up and submitted.         Jason loves positions that allow him to go deep in his partner and to see himself do so. Plus, he likes sex to be a confortable experience for both his partner and himself. Therefore do not expect acrobatic positions that will leave you tired and aching for days. He doesn’t need that to make you feel that way. His top positions are: missionary, doggy, (reverse or not) cowgirl and spooning as they will all permit his hands and/or lips to wander your body.

Q – Quickie:   Jason is not really a fan of quickies as he want sex with him to be a memorable experience as well as a memento of his skills as a lover. Therefore, he strongly believes a 5 or 10 minutes sexual experience cannot show his partner what a good lay he is. And so, he will favour long nights of sweaty sex plus some good morning sex if the experience was highly pleasant.

R – Role Play: Jason is a good actor. He loves wearing disguise and impersonating different persons as we saw it quite regularly throughout RHATO. So if you want to role play, you bet he will be up for it and it will be a fun time. His favourite scenarios: the ones where he is in charge of course since they are the ones that allow him to display the little confidence he has without any sort of shyness or fear.     Do you like men with a moustache? Cause Malone Jr. is on his way.

S – Stamina:   Jason is kind, caring and generous out and under the sheets. He will always make sure to respect and please his partner, placing their pleasure before his own. But that doesn’t make him any less hungry than he is.           He is rather insatiable when having sex and that’s probably because he doesn’t have sex often even when in a relationship (damn patrols!). Therefore, that man can sometimes get carried away, be rather quick on the mount and become a bit of a jackhammer if his partner does not refrain him. And he won’t stop until he … you know.       Fortunately, his romantic side as well as his generosity will always remind him not to leave his partner unsatisfied at the end of the deed which miraculously doesn’t happen as quickly as one would expect given his frenetic pace.       Because he is athletic, Jason has a very good stamina. Plus, he is the kind of lover that can recuperate rather quickly and so he can go for a round two and even a round three if his partner is up for it.            

T – Talking:     Jason doesn’t consider himself a dirty-talker. Sure he will let out some naughty sentences while having sex but they will never be disrespectful. He won’t call his partner a whore or any other insulting words. On the contrary he will give compliments and make praises rain and he will happily accept the same from his partner in return.       He will also ask a lot of questions to reassure himself like “Do you like that?” or “Do you like my cock inside of you?” and he will also demand to be complimented (“Tell me how much you like it”) especially if his partner is silent (which is something he hates by the way).     He is not a very noisy lover. He never screams or moans loudly. He grunts and growls but those noises usually are very guttural as if he is fighting to keep them to himself. Don’t do the same though. Scream, talk and let the whole neighborhood he’s fucking you good!

U – Underwear:         Trunks or boxers but never briefs. Something that can hold his prominent package while he is running after criminals in Gotham City but that isn’t too tight around his thunder thighs. His underwear is generally unicolor and has no patterns. Dick bought him a pair of bat-briefs for fun once but he never wore them. Actually he probably threw them away. He likes his female partners to wear sexy fancy lingerie but he doesn’t see it as a necessary tool to be aroused. Simple underwear doesn’t turn him off but if there are some unicorns or rainbows on them … well … he might feel very uncomfortable and perplexed.          

V – Virginity:               He was around 16 or 17, living among the All-Caste and it was with Essence, Ducra’s daughter. Essence was Jason’s almost every first-times. Though she is not the first person he fell in love with, she was the first girl he kissed, the first girl he touched and the first girl he had sex with. Before that he had never really made out with anyone, as young Jason was the kind of boy more interested in books than in people. But Essence wasn’t just anyone. She was mysterious, fascinating and hard to get and those two traits are still something that Jason digs in a partner. If you ask Jason about his first time, he will tell you that even if he and Essence are not on best terms today, he doesn’t regret one bit of what happened with her. He truly loved her and she was here for him when no one else was.

W – Worship If you don’t know how to be complimentary then you might not be the right person for Jason. This man craves compliments and affection as much as one craves food and water.           Jason cannot thrive in a relationship with a selfish partner who doesn’t flatter him as he always feels the need to be worshipped. It’s not arrogance. It’s because he is permanently scared of not being good enough. See him as an unconfident little boy who needs recognition to be happy in a way.       But once you start demonstrating your admiration and affection for him, get ready to be showered with loving compliments. Worship goes in both ways in Jason’s mind. The more complimentary and loving you will be the more he will. And that works in the bedroom as well. Worship the man! Show him (and tell him!) how much you love him and how much you love what he is doing and you will be the most sexually satisfied person in the world. To make it short, worship is Jason’s fuel.   To finish, If he could worship one part of his lover’s body it would be their eyes. (Told you he was a romantic!). He loves to keep eye contact with his partner while having sex and see them sparkle with lust, pleasure and happiness.           

X- Xenophilia:             If you look at Jason’s list of love interests, you can spot some recurring characteristics. Physically, most of them have light hair. They are often blonds or red-heads and they often have got green or blue eyes. But that doesn’t mean he won’t be interested in brunettes (Talia, Donna) and reject anyone with dark eyes (Essence’s eyes were completely black!). Because what matters the most to him is chemistry. Jason wants someone he can trust, someone he can talk to and that will understand him but that also will call him on his bullshit and stand up to him when needed. In a word, be strong and be there for him.

Y – Yearn:       Unlike someone else in the bat-family (cough Dick cough), Jason will not drop his pants in a heartbeat and he doesn’t really fancy eager persons as well (Those persons are only good for one night). He loves the chase and he loves when the people he is interested in are playing hard to get. That will arouse him a lot and make him crave them even more.           When he wants to have sex, Jason will drop occasional hints to show his (potential) partner that he wants them. Usually, they will be caresses, kisses and/or languorous looks. He will never clearly say out loud that he wants to have sex. But he doesn’t mind when his partner drags him to the bedroom and initiate the deed. He finds that terribly sexy even, and super complimentary.

Z – Zzzzz:         Jason likes to sleep after sex with his naked partner huddled against him. Rest your head over his chest and hold him tight and he will be the happiest man in the world as, to him, it will mean ‘Stay. I feel safe with you’. But don’t expect to sleep all night especially if your relationship is brand new. You wanted Todd in your bed? You have him and he will not hesitate waking you up slowly if he wants to get in between your legs one more time. Hope you don’t mind.     Plus, Jason is not the “hump and go” type of man and he will always be there in the morning with his body probably pressed against yours. Though, if you’re a night stand there are risks he might never call you again.

[ylfva-remade]

DC VS VAMPS 6 SPOILERS BELOW THE CUT

seriously lol.

first of all im glad they didnt villanize jason, and im glad they didnt kill dick bc frankly we are all sick of that. but what made me mad was when dick said “father” with the quotes around it, like as if you dont think of him as your dad. holy shit. holy shit. sorry for being a batfam stan but like. bruce and dick are extremely important to eachother and it makes me so mad when writers dont acknowledge that. though it totally could have been bc of the vampire thing, but still.

anyways.

yeah dick was girlbossing and its cool that he wasn’t the victim for once! (and he was hot) but i think that this was like. i dont want to say ooc because i think that this isn’t dick, its the vampire stuff with the body and memories of dick. the real dick wouldnt do something like that, and its the vampire thingy that corrupted him.

i disagree with the people saying that dick is “uncorruptable”, (i think if anyone is uncorruptable in this sense, its bruce*) because like. he has broken the no-kill rule before (or at least tried, depending on the timeline) and while yeah. id kill the joker too if i were him, and i dont think dick is perfect by any means, it shows that he does have like, the capability to kill and to sway his morals. but that doesn’t really matter, because the thing that killed those people isn’t the real dick. it’s the vampire dick. and i think we can’t compare those two.

i enjoyed that jason didn’t become evil, even in his last moments. but i am sick of him dying lol.

also, i do NOT think cass would have gone down that easily. ofc they made the woc put up less of a fight than the white men, who are the heroes again. despite the fact that everyone knows cass is one of the strongest batfam members period.

also where was roy??? is he dead too??? he and dick are close so...?

and it felt like i didnt have time to process the hal + ollie interactions bc of the MASSACRE overshadowing it. like holllyyy shit.

overall, i thought it was an interesting take. i had some issues w the writing and pacing (never been a huge fan of tynion) and im upset jason died, and i cant say i had fun reading it. but there were a few funny moments. um. yeah.

also vampire diana soooo hot

*not saying bruce isnt capable of doing bad, im saying its very difficult to sway him from his moral code. this video explains it rlly well.

[falkenscreen]

Star Trek: Voyager

Yes this show ended some time ago; that doesn’t mean that it’s not still underrated.

A relative late convert to Star Trek, this author committed to traversing the Delta Quadrant having finished The Original Series, The Next Generation, Discovery & Picard to date. Deep Space Nine is next; like the Doctor I don’t know anything about this ‘Dominion’ but they seem important and we’ll get there.

Having now finished Voyager, here’s the (spoiler-filled) thoughts of someone who came to the bridge afresh and savoured the light-hearted nature of the show. Yes TNG demanded more attention and the episodes herein that do are generally better, but for relaxed, semi-serialised adventure Voyager is a high point.

We’ll start with the negative and get to the fun stuff.

From the get-go there was a jarring disconnect between the premise and goals of the show. If a ship more advanced than any in the region is travelling really fast in one direction they’re not going to keep running into the same people; better begetting a saga poised for episodic rather than serialised fiction. The writers and audience were evidently a little tired at this point of TNG’s slavish devotion to wrapping everything up in 40-odd minutes so wanted to try variations on a theme; it was the right approach for the time accompanied by a smart premise that didn’t match.

And a stellar premise it was only set to be buoyed by the Federation-Marquis dynamic. Also partly squandered, corresponding grounds for strong tension and stories were left by the wayside – characterised by Chakotay’s ill-established, apparently immediate and seemingly endless trust in Janeway; together major failings of the show.

On continuity, and just so it’s out of the way; no they don’t show it but it’s clear the crew just manufactured more photon torpedoes like they did so much else.

Commencing with one of the best episodes, there is rarely a subsequent moment as character-defining as Janeway destroying the array. Don’t get me wrong, Kate Mulgrew is great, but she alike Kirk and Picard are, as fleshed out as they become, for stretches bare variations on a tired theme; young headstrong hotshot dedicates their life to the stars to become a reasoned, seasoned Commander. ‘Tapestry’ did it best and there was no need to explore this further.

Voyager had a general problem with characters that took several seasons to grow; it was a long time before Neelix stopped being grating and his earnestness became endearing. There is too very little you can relay about Tuvak beyond his being a Vulcan and a little sardonic, or Harry besides his yearning for advancement or Chakotay aside his membership of the Marquis and focus on his cultural background.

The stand-out worst episode of the entire show was Chakotay finding out that the Sky Spirits central to his people’s religion were actually from the Delta Quadrant; you can garner Robert Beltran’s clear ambivalence (at best) to such material. This author is aware of the significant tension between the actor and others on set; I can understand the frustration at a lead cast member belittling the series in public but the directions and emphasis the character took in later seasons was something else, as were the music cues whenever his or some others’ cultures came up.

Star Trek, and notably The Original Series, is often (but not always) shrewd for both telling stories addressing the place of culture, religion and community in people’s lives while not overly if at all drawing attention to particular characters’ backgrounds. To Beltran’s credit, he only made the disaffection perceptible on screen in the episodes that were of poor taste, as opposed to the ones that were just bad. There are many lousy episodes of The Original Series but what near always makes it enjoyable is Shatner et al’s absolute commitment to the bit. One of the very worst episodes of Voyager is the one where Harry is lead to believe that he’s actually from a planet in the Delta Quadrant full of attractive women; yet no one in Star Trek ever needs to look bored reading their lines. There are good ones and bad ones and we’re along for the whole ride.

There’s also that one where Tom and the Captain turn into salamanders, start life on a random planet and somehow transform back into their usual selves with these shenanigans never brought up again. Yeah that was awful but it was preceded by a generally decent few acts centred on exceeding warp limits; reputation aside it wasn’t quite down there.

On Alpha Quadrant folks being in the Delta Quadrant, as much as I missed the Klingons they did not need to rock up latently and near the very end; there were plenty of better ways to give B’Elanna an arc. One of the more interesting characters, she offered a variation on Worf’s overwhelming pride as a Klingon, though she barely got enough episodes to shine and these were predominantly featured much later on. And when the show stopped pretending Tom was the cocky pilot we’ve seen dozens of times before he too managed to get a whole lot more interesting.

It would have made a lot more sense for McNeill to just directly continue his character from TNG’s ‘The First Duty;’ alas.

Also welcome were the insights into the Borg; even if they became a lot less eerie it was great to learn that much more about them, though nothing, save the introduction of Seven, bettered the recuperating drones who were the ship’s first Borg encounter. The Borg children were also very funny (the related Voyager pick-ups in Picard were excellent) and should have stayed on the ship longer so Seven could say more things like “fun will now commence;” she can only say “Naomi Wildman” deadpan, as good as it was, so many times.

Heralded by such a superb actress, Seven and the Doctor thrillingly shared dual arcs akin but distinct to Data’s and each other’s, permitting us to relish their gradual growth and revel in their leaps forward. Seven’s narrowing down of eligible crewmen, unlike Chakotay’s later courting, was a particular highlight, as was her month of isolation when the crew were in stasis and the one where the Doctor overtook her node.

The Doctor however emerges the best character, far and above all others save the near as interesting Seven. Picardo’s charisma and stage presence, well-befitting an exaggeratedly humanistic, bombastic piece of programming, only propelled the most relatable arcs in the series; his desire to fit in and, as any, make a contribution. The Doctor’s opening number in ‘Tinker, Tenor, Doctor, Spy,’ but one occasion where Picardo’s vocal abilities were graciously integrated into the series, by this author’s judgement is the funniest sequence in seven seasons.

‘Message in a Bottle’ with the Doctor centre was too among the very best of the series. Mining any opportunity for comedy we can nonetheless be grateful, alike TNG, that they kept the bald jokes to about one per season.

As asides, it was lovely to see Reginald Barclay return and realise his aspirations in one of the best and most heart-warming episodes of the saga, while the singular and very obvious inspiration one episode draws from Predator proved amusing for just being so unabashed.  

‘Scorpion’ was amazing as was anything to do with Species 8472. Captain Proton, acknowledging the entire franchise’s schlocky roots, was a definite recurring highlight, with Mulgrew in one installment clearly having no end of fun alike the cast’s enjoyable turns in late 90’s Los Angeles alongside Sarah Silverman. Speaking of guest stars, seeing The Rock was a nice surprise though with hindsight they may never have cast him given Star Trek shrewdly chose to not have celebrity appearances overshadow the show. But hey, they can’t see the future; at least cleverly opting to obscure Jason Alexander in piles of costuming.

‘Year of Hell’ is good, but the premise befitted an entire season and alike the lacklustre finale nothing really matters (with some well-executed exceptions) if you can just go back in or erase time. There were many, many episodes that shouldn’t have been contained within forty minutes and deserved longer-form devotion, ala ‘30 Days.’ ‘Timeless’was a much better (and unusually technically-focused) variation on the aforementioned themes and it was fun to catch Geordi, as it was Deanna and especially Sulu. ‘The Omega Directive’ was cool; ‘The Thaw’ was great.

The fable-esque nature of the franchise has always been enjoyable and digestible given the show is partially aimed at kids, though there are episodes where it’s just a little too direct, and characters take a little too much pause. ‘Alice,’ the one where Tom almost cheats with his ship as an overly obvious parallel about why you shouldn’t have sex with other people if you have a girlfriend, if a good lesson, in execution was a tad much.

On reflection this author was surprised to discover some of the least generally favoured episodes, among them the Fairhaven double. It may be my great personal affection for Ireland but it makes perfect sense that given the time available this sort of world would be created and characters might pursue holo-relationships, a theme underexplored in Voyager yet still covered to great effect. The established technical deficiencies of holo-technology in such regular use should not come as a surprise when they recur.  

The one where Kes comes back was actually a later highlight; her character was never very well handled and no it wasn’t that blast off into the sunset but sometimes old friends lose their way and it’s the job of old friends to set them on the right path.

Most surprising was the dislike directed at ‘Tuvix.’ The difference between Voyager and much heavier sci-fi is that herein characters make a lot of decisions that are hard, not ones that are difficult. The destruction of the array was devastating but not morally questionable within the confines of the show. As a tangent, you could argue that had Janeway made the decision to return to the Alpha Quadrant at the beginning of the series that it would have been the morally correct decision given that, as we see in ‘Hope and Fear,’ another highlight, the ship would not otherwise have been a factor in much disorder and destruction. The show was not however so expansive philosophically as to greatly tread such ground as the franchise otherwise managed in the likes of ‘City on the Edge of Forever.’

In ‘Tuvix’ Janeway, a figure, like Chakotay, who often shifted characterisation to fit the requirements of any given story, was faced with a difficult decision with no easy moral out nor ethically unquestionable approach. It was a refreshing change and correspondingly dark denouement to boot apparent in the likes of ‘Latent Image,’ another fine instalment with the Doctor.

‘Eye of the Needle,’ the only episode this author has watched twice to date and a deeply empathetic early high point, save ‘Balance of Terror’ is the best treatment of the guarded but necessarily relatable Romulans (I haven’t seen all the movies!). ‘The Void’ bookends the show as a later stand out while the in respects not dissimilar ‘Night’ bears one of the darkest challenges and finest, most resonant endings.

This brings us to the ‘best episode;’ one featured regularly in top ten lists but seemingly not a very favourite.

‘Blink of an Eye’ is everything that is exceptional and aspirational about Star Trek. Stranded in the stratosphere of a planet where time passes with greater rapidity, the curious presence of Voyager in the skies begins to influence the society to the point where the inhabitants develop space travel to face the spectre.

A commentary on the Prime Directive as deft as any and a relatively novel variation on both the time travel and petri dish tropes resplendent throughout sci-fi and Star Trek, the episode is also a fabulous meta-commentary on the place of the franchise in popular culture much less crude than Janeway bemoaning the Doctor’s fleeting interplanetary fans’ obsession with every aspect of his personal life. Incorporating a fair bit more science than is typically par, the astronaut’s moving decision to help them, as with his staring into the heavens as Voyager finally departs, speaks to the selfless ethos and sense of overwhelming curiosity so intrinsic to the most basic lore of Star Trek, the most beloved episodes and all that Gene Roddenberry best achieved.

It’s also an amazing meditation on first contact principles and pitfalls which unlike many episodes doesn’t borrow story bones from TNG.

A more than welcome reprieve from a pandemic, I didn’t spend as long in the Delta Quadrant as the crew but for what I did I was glad to relish with them.

Star Trek: Voyager is now streaming on Netflix

[scottymcgeesterwrites]

10 Underrated Movies of the 2010s

1. John Carter (2012)

Before Snow White and the Seven Dwarves was even produced in 1937, Disney was considering producing an adaptation of Edgar Rice Burrough’s A Princess of Mars as Disney’s first animated film. During its pre-production stage, producers weren’t quite receptive to the concept. The story was about a man being transported to Mars, where its gravity gave him super powers, and he fought with four-armed green-skinned aliens. Back then, space ideas were the last things on people’s minds in the ‘30’s. They wanted something uplifting from The Great Depression. Disney didn’t quite scrap the story; they shelved it for later and decided to go with Snow White and the Seven Dwarves as Disney’s (and the world’s) first feature-length animated movie. John Carter holds the award for the movie with the longest time spent in “development hell”. For the next 75 years, different directors and producers would try to bring back the classic tale of daring-do on the planet Mars. Growing up reading Edgar Rice Burrough’s novels, I was enthralled to hear that they finally produced a live-action film to be released on 2012 – and it was even near my birthday! March of 2012 marked 100 years since Edgar Rice Burroughs published A Princess of Mars. It was like all the stars were truly aligned for something great. The movie finally came out and it . . . didn’t do well at all. It’s also notable for being one of the most expensive movies ever made – and it was all for nothing. What happened? Most of you reading this may even be unaware of the hero John Carter or A Princess of Mars. I find that the main issue was the problem of John Carter being largely unknown because it has been long overshadowed by Flash Gordon, Superman, Star Trek, Star Wars, Battlestar Galactica, and literally everything else that owes its inspiration to John Carter. Superman got its concept of gravity-granting superpowers from John Carter. Flash Gordon got its human-on-another-planet heroics from John Carter. Star Wars derived nearly everything from Flash Gordon. The domino effect goes on. The further you go, the more people forget the original inspiration, and we live in a world now where people don’t really care about who did it first, but who did it best.

There’s a particular scene in the movie John Carter where the titular hero has to fight monsters in an arena. Many critics were bored of the scene, claiming they saw it already in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones; which is ironic being that the arena scene was written almost a full century before Attack of the Clones. Scantily clad Carrie Fisher in Return of the Jedi? That’s a Deja Thoris reference from A Princess of Mars.

It can be difficult to judge a movie or story by itself aside from other derivative works. When that source material is some obscure adventure tale that is literally older than World War I, you should realize that probably not a lot of people have heard about it nowadays.

The film suffers from two other major points: the runtime and the combination of books one and two of Burrough’s original trilogy. A Princess of Mars is a rather simple tale of a man saving a princess on Mars. Its sequel, The Gods of Mars, goes into more complex matters as the evil Therns are revealed as a group of mysterious aliens controlling all culture and life on Mars for their benefit. The movie John Carter tries to combine the two, and I see why. Modern audiences are uninterested in seeing another adventure tale about a guy saving a princess. Ironically, that would have worked much better in the 1930’s, but the Disney board at the time was like, “Space? What’s that? Mars? What’s this newfangled spaceship business?” John Carter ultimately had the unfortunate and unique experiences of being both too ahead and too dated for its time.

I still highly recommend it because the production value is amazing and it’s still highly entertaining. The score is fantastic (Michael Giacchino), and the performances are great, albeit with some cheesy dialogue. The screenwriters added more depth to the character of John Carter that really pulls some heartstrings, especially during one particular scene where he’s bashing hundreds of aliens to a pulp.Unfortunately, the poor performance of John Carter prevented its sequel and the planned trilogy from ever being produced. At the end of the day, I’m still content with seeing the world’s very first space adventure that ultimately inspired Star Wars finally put on screen. 2. Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018)

I was frankly surprised when nobody else cared about a Solo movie coming out. Having read A.C. Crispin’s Han Solo Trilogy when I was a kid and having overall grown up loving the character, I thought ANY Star Wars fan would be pumped. That was the issue right away before the movie even hit theaters – Nobody. Fucking. Cared. The previous year’s Last Jedi left a sour, divisive taste in the Star Wars fandom. Toxic fans threw their hands in uproar and an entire debacle unseen since the prequel trilogy exploded. Like with Jake Lloyd in The Phantom Menace, fans had continually harassed and bullied Kelly Marie Tran for playing Rose to the point where she quit Instagram. YouTube videos nearly 30 minutes long were dedicated to bashing the film and “SJW culture” and “virtue signaling”. The entire debacle was a nightmare that makes me shudder to even think about. It was like everyone was tired of Star Wars by the next year. Some people like to say that “Star Wars fatigue” wasn’t the thing because nobody was tired of Marvel movies. I disagree. First of all, I witnessed immediate responses to people’s reactions at the trailer. They said “I don’t care” and “Why do we need that?”. Second, Star Wars and Marvel are two completely different universes. Marvel has a nearly infinite range of various stories with various atmospheres and moods and characters. One Marvel fan can “specialize” in Doctor Strange while another mostly loves Thor. Star Wars follows the same group of characters over the same damn story that we’ve already known for the past 42 years. Like John Carter, Solo had the same problem by being too confident and throwing too much money into its production. Solo also happens to be on the list of the most expensive movies ever made. Its poor performance and inability to make a return on the total costs scrapped the possibility of any more future standalone Star Wars films. Further dissections of why it didn’t work out vary. Some people hate the droid L3-37 and claim unnecessary SJW content. I disagree with that too. In my rulebook, something in a story is not unnecessary unless it proves crucial to the plot; L3-37 is the reason why the Kessel Run worked. Were it not for her fanatic desire of starting a droid revolution, Han wouldn’t have survived. The idea of revolution is also crucial and foreshadows the coming Rebel Alliance. I wonder if people would have had the same reaction to L3-37 if the movie had been released years before the current political situation; if we would have just seen her as a cool, kooky and rebellious droid instead. Solo: A Star Wars Story reveals that Han has always been around instances of rebellion, which he has tried to ignore. It isn’t until A New Hope that he finally gives in for good. I honestly don’t see why some people say it doesn’t fit with A New Hope when it clearly does. One of my favorite parts is when Q’ira tells Han, “I know who you really are.” From the trailer, you would expect her to say “A scoundrel.” But in the film, she says, “The good guy.” The film cements the idea that Han has always tried to look and act cool but deep down he gives in to doing the right thing, which separates him from the other scoundrels at the cantina. It’s because of this adventure that he ends up helping to blow up the Death Star later on. Also, like John Carter, the score is absolutely fantastic. I could go on about it but that would derail the topic for another time. 3. The Gift (2015)

I ended up seeing this movie on a whim by myself after someone bailed on me at the last minute to hang out. I had nothing to do but wanted to do something and checked what was playing in theaters at the time at my local theater. The synopsis hadn’t told me enough about what was really going on while at the same time enticing me. Jason Bateman though really surprised me in this role.I really don’t want to give anything away other than what you can find on the basic synopsis. Jason Bateman is married to Rebecca Hall and the two share a completely content life, until an old school friend of Jason’s starts visiting them. Joel Edgerton plays the school friend, and it’s quite amazing that he both wrote and directed this film too. 4. Prisoners (2013)

This movie was great – and absolutely nobody talks about it. I recall wanting to see a movie with my mom around fall of that year. We realized there was really nothing interesting in theaters. It was a lull where there was nothing really interesting playing. No blockbusters and no Oscar buzz. We chose Prisoners solely based on the fact that we like Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal, and I guess we also gathered the general sense that it was a mystery.I became glued to the screen during the entire movie. The story revolves around Hugh Jackman’s daughter supposedly abducted by Paul Dano, who plays a mentally ill suspect. Jake Gyllenhaal plays the detective tasked with finding the daughter. With Paul Dano being unable to articulate his thoughts, everyone is left distraught on how to solve this case. Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal take drastically different routes in trying to find the girl.Out of everything on my list of underrated films here, this was the most nail-biting. Highly recommend. That ending. Whoo. 5. Source Code (2011)

This movie is a real mindbender. It might be so much of a mindbender that it’s the reason why people didn’t talk about it more. They probably just thought, “Huh?” and wanted to rewatch the previous year’s Inception again instead.Jake Gyllenhaal is on a mission to find a bomber on a train in a computer simulation. That’s how it starts at least. . .   Another movie I probably shouldn’t explain too much, but it explored themes about a post 9/11 world and the nature of self. 6. The Big Short (2015)

This movie was a hit and then everybody forgot about it. Heck, I know a bunch of you didn’t even see it. I find this really concerning. Brought to you by the director of none other than Anchorman, Adam McKay directed a very entertaining but distressing take on the Great Recession. It has an ensemble cast of Brad Pitt, Steve Carrell, Ryan Gosling, and Christian Bale. The movie manages to translate complicated, bullshit concepts in Wall Street into layman’s terms. Every performance delivers, yes, but it was also staggeringly prophetic in what would come a year later in the 2016 election – “I have a feeling, in a few years people are going to be doing what they always do when the economy tanks. They will be blaming immigrants and poor people.” This movie should have seriously started a riot. But it didn’t. Watch it. 7. Spectre (2015)

Many Bond fans hated Spectre, and it’s often compared to the supposed high-and-mighty Skyfall. I beg to differ. Spectre brought back the fun in Bond without also resorting to the really obnoxious misogyny. The Daniel Craig era of Bond films went back to Ian Fleming’s original intention of Bond being more of a “blunt instrument” than the tongue-in-cheek action hero he came to be known in the film series. And that’s okay. But you can’t help but be bored once and a while by the recent trend of “making things gritty in the new millennium”. Spectre brought back the evil Blofeld, Bond’s nemesis. Fans hated it because this movie implies that every other Daniel Craig movie has been tied to Spectre, ruining the standalone nature of Skyfall and feeling like Spectre was a shoe-in.

This situation requires a lot of explaining, but I’ll be brief.

The creative entities of Spectre and Blofeld were tied up in a copyright battle for almost half a century. Back when Ian Fleming was still alive, he was working on a script for Thunderball with a screenwriter named Kevin McClory. Long story short, there was a dispute on who created Spectre and Blofeld – Fleming or McClory. McClory won the dispute and MGM (the producers of the Bond films) were prohibited from using the names and characters of Spectre and Blofeld.

The last time we officially saw the character in name was in 1971’s Diamonds are Forever. Blofeld made a cameo in 1981’s For Your Eyes Only but was never mentioned by name, but you knew it was Blofeld because he was always the man with the white cat. McClory did eventually make his own version of Thunderball in 1983’s Never Say Never Again, which was an unofficial Bond movie yet it still starred Sean Connery (crazy, I know).

Fast-forward to when the Daniel Craig era started in 2006 with Casino Royale. Spectre and Blofeld were still under copyright protection of McClory. Instead of using the name Spectre, the writers had to come up with another Specter-inspired evil corporation. So they came up with “Quantum”, the evil company behind the plots of Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.

BUT THEN, the McClory estate officially settled the matter with MGM in 2013, and Spectre and Blofeld could now be used. The writers jumped on it and that’s why to some Spectre feels like it was a shoehorned at the last minute.In my opinion, Skyfall had more issues being a standalone film. The villain Silva was supposed to be working alone and yet somehow create all these elaborate, time-sensitive plots that was just too much for one man with maybe a few henchmen to pull off. In Spectre, it’s implied that Silva used Spectre’s resources to help him plan his revenge. This would realistically make more sense. After all, it’s in the name: SPecial Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge, and Extortion. One would go to Spectre in order to enact revenge on someone if one didn’t have the means or resources.

And the whole Quantum being a part of Spectre thing – so what? Quantum was meant to be the same thing anyway. Lastly, there is some dispute on to the nature of Blofeld’s relationship with Bond. Bond suddenly has an evil foster brother now? Some complained about it. I thought it was fine. It gives a reason for Blofeld to go out of his way to torture Bond rather than just shoot him, which is a point always parodied in Bond spoofs. So again, it actually makes sense. I thoroughly enjoyed Spectre. It was virtually not misogynist out of the new Bond films. It treated the main girl, Madeline, very well, as well as the “other” girl Lucia. Yeah, some of the action is dumb and more out of spectacle than realism. It’s still done with the same wit and style of the old Bond films. 8. Shazam! (2019)

Yeah. I get it. Everyone’s tired of the god-awful, insipid DC Cinematic Universe (except for Wonder Woman), which pales in comparison to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But Shazam! was finally a very fresh, funny, and lively DC movie. What makes it stand out to me was how it ended up revolving around the main character’s friends standing together with him, rather than just simply being an origin story of one superhero. Nothing felt like it fell flat. The humor was spot on. The action was good. You had a really pained, terrible villain. Some of the plot may be simple but it had a satisfying ending. Shazam! has the same kind of energy as Spider-man: Homecoming, but by doing its own thing and having its own theme of what a family really means. It revels in the genre by literally putting you in the shoes of a child’s wish fulfillment. 9. Safety Not Guaranteed (2012)

I saw this movie on a whim on Netflix. Nobody has made any fuss about it. I think it was fantastic. It’s a quirky sci-fi comedy with Aubrey Plaza playing a newspaper reporter investigating an ad someone put in the classifieds asking for a time travel companion. She goes along with two other co-workers, played by Jake Johnson and Karan Soni (who later becomes the taxi guy in Deadpool). I have to be honest – I don’t find Jake Johnson that funny. In most things I’ve seen him in, I feel like his reactions are forced. But his deadpan deliveries in this movie are on the spot. Mark Duplass was still relatively unknown at this time, and played the oddball guy who placed the ad and firmly believes he made a time machine. The entire movie only costed $750,000! Movies today need to spend over $10 million in order to try and make something as compelling as this. This movie alone influenced the modern indie film industry by combining forces with Netflix. Maybe Netflix and chill wouldn’t have been a thing if it weren’t for this movie. 10. The Nice Guys (2016)

I saved my personal favorite for last. The Nice Guys is my favorite underrated movie that I have seen this past decade. It has everything I love in a buddy film; wit and style. Written and directed by Shane Black, this movie has some real zingers and hilarious deliveries. Ryan Gosling plays a jittery private detective, who unwillingly teams up with Russel Crowe, who beats up people for a living. The story revolves around a missing girl who is a key witness to a grander conspiracy involving the automobile industry. This is one of those movies that never fails to make me laugh. I can rewatch the same scenes over and over and still crack up with laughter. My only gripe is that the final confrontation can be a bit unrealistic at times, which can be close to breaking that border of “Okay, is this witty satire like Coen Brothers or just outright comedy sketch like The Naked Gun?” So to me it felt a little imbalanced in the last quarter. Still, the rest of the movie really hits the right marks.

[thebarkingraccoon]

Curative AU

I have been working on it for a bit now. I realize it’s taken a lot longer than I had hoped. I got stuck behind some walls, but don’t worry. It’s not writer’s block, I just had to figure some stuff out.

Now that it’s solved I am working on the rest. This is like a short teaser for the AU! I’m sorry for making y’all wait so long. I’m working on getting a lot more out there! ... still working on a title tho

Hope you enjoy the snippet!

Quick summary: Laura manages to get her junk alarm clock to work and heads out to a movie with a friend.

She tortured herself over her computer for hours, threatening to spend another full night just staring at the monitor. She procrastinated from sunrise to sunset.

The choice was her own and it tore her inside out. A life-changing, life-ending decision. Truly an event that would change her life forever, overshadowing her future self in its enormity. Scouring for days, upon days, filtering through informational articles from reputable sources, Reddit boards, and sites with too many dots in the URL.

The decision... to take a semester or two off.

She cried, she complained, she wrapped herself up in a blanket burrito while wallowing in self-pity. Weeks spent agonizing over the repercussions and benefits. Some said it's healthy to take a break, explore the world a bit before diving back in. Others say it can interrupt work ethic and self-discipline.

But the deadline was rapidly approaching. In only a few days she would have to choose and she couldn't imagine what would happen.

The bags under her eyes and heavy eyelids told her it was too late to keep beating herself over the head with this. She needed to sleep so she could wake on time for her plans the next day.

Dragging herself from her cocoon of thick blankets in her living room she managed to make it into her bed. A bed is a generous term as it appeared to be no more than a giant pile of pillows, blankets, comforters, and fluffy things that she disappeared into.

As she melted off to sleep she became aware of the uncomfortable poking on her nose. Swimming through the sea of fluff and feathers she reached out to her nightstand. Only instead of finding her glasses case her hand slapped the nightstand so hard her alarm clock fell over.

With a sharp ringing, she jolted upright, the shrill sound agitating her restful state. "Fracking busted thing." She grabbed the alarm clock, glaring at it with a personal hatred for the device.

Her longstanding spite for the simple bedside tool came from its inability to ring on time. It was a cute stylized twin bell alarm clock that's small hammer came loose rendering it unable to ring. Not knowing this being the issue led her to many mornings sleeping in late.

As easy as it was for her to set the alarm on her phone, it was simply not loud enough to wake her. The poor girl slept like a log, nothing but the loudest most annoying sounds could shake her awake.

Tilting the alarm clock, she patted it on the side which managed to dislodge the small metal hook that connected to the hammer. She tested the clock and it rang, a deep sigh of relief escaped her. So she set it for tomorrow, took off her glasses, then fell right back into the avalanche of comfort.

She was unceremoniously woken from her sleep by that alarm clock ringing in her ear. All she could think is how badly she wanted to throw it out the window but settled for pouting as she woke up.

She slept up to her neck in giant comforters and pillows, lavishing in their luxurious fluff. A bed full of pastels and faux furs piled on the already puffed up bed. There wasn't a single thing spared of color in her room, including the canopy that enclosed her bed.

Braving the day, she lifted herself from her abyss of endless pillows. Shifting through her taste in bedspreads, she dipped her feet off the edge of her bed and onto the fluffy sheep wool rug. Her toes curling into the softness as she stretched her arms out languidly.

Pulling back the canopy, she reached for the nightstand patting the surface until she found her glasses. Her eyes adjusted to the light and clarity of the day.

Slumping over, she picked up her phone only to see a calendar alert for her showtime. She had time to prepare for the day despite her reluctance to do so.

Ideas of how to avoid going popped into her head. Excuses along the lines of 'I'm not feeling well' all the way to 'Something terrible came up!' She kept wanting to find an escape through her preparation.

She left the door cracked open, steam slowly rising from the heat of the shower. Sounds of a few bottles hitting the floor of her shower followed by a line of nonsense words in place of expletives.

She leaned over the sink to apply her make up. She knew it was more procrastination but she had a difficult time deciding what to put on and what clothing to wear. Each mix and match outfit was reasoned away as she continued trying to find a way out.

Doing her best to ignore her social anxiety she dressed, pulled her hair back, and headed to the door. As she was about to shut the door she patted her pockets only to find things missing. "Oh shoot!" She groaned, returning to her bedroom to find her phone buried in her abyss of pillows.

Clicking on the screen, she rolled her eyes. "I didn't plug it in. Are you fracking kidding me?" She glared at the thirty-eight percent battery life. It would be dead before she got home, but she didn't have the time to charge it.

Heading out of her apartment she ensured the door was locked, hopped into the elevator, and went into the garage to retrieve her car. Her phone would not survive the whole day out, but it would survive to give her directions to her friend's place.

As she pulled up to the apartment complex, she texted him she was outside waiting. The phone's battery on twenty-nine percent and she turned it off to conserve it.

The car door clicked and swung open, a rather tall man managed to squeeze himself into the passenger seat. He gave her the widest smile he could manage, "Laura! You actually came and you're on time! I had no idea you had it in you."

She returned with a slight shrug and a lopsided grin. "Hey, Jason. My alarm clock decided to work this morning. It's like the first time it actually rang on time in the last month." She knew he was only teasing her, he was a good-natured man. Yet she felt guilty accepting even a modicum of praise knowing she just spent most of her morning scheming of a way to stay home... and she often didn't show or was very late to hangouts.

"Well, I'm glad we get to see the sequel together. That opening night for the first Hellboy was such fun." He beamed, smiling as bright as ever. "Hard to believe that was four years ago..." A wistful sigh for the old days before they began their college life.

"I did get the tickets for the Dark Knight next month, opening night like you wanted, right?" She drove out of the lot, heading towards the theater.

"Yes! I'm so excited! I'm worried too though, the only Joker I think of is the cartoon one. You know, Mark Hamill's Joker." He squealed in delight, his love of superhero movies shining through. "The movie looks amazing though. That trailer, ugh! I can't wait!"

She laughed about it with him, thankfully relieving some of the tension she felt. He was positively giddy with excitement and his smile was infectious.

Until they went over a bump in the road. The streets in Atlanta were all riddled with potholes and cracks. She winced as she drove over a few, scared of damaging a car that was bought for her. Having to go back and ask for repairs so soon would be a whole ordeal she would much rather avoid.

The wincing didn't go passed him, he felt every bump too. "And this is why I try not to drive here." He uttered as they rolled over another large crack.

Silence filled the cabin and it was not a comfortable one. Laura's head was screaming at her to talk, hold a normal conversation; do anything except sit there the entire time. The theater wasn't far so they wouldn't have enough time for a full discussion, but she hadn't seen him in so long it felt awkward just sitting here.

But what would she talk about? She was intensely private and rarely discussed anything outside of the ordinary small talk between strangers. This wasn't a stranger, he invited her out and bought the tickets. They'd known each other for years and still, she struggled to speak with him.

"Your hair!" Laura almost barked it out, mentally smacking herself. Trying to calm her nerves she focused on using her inside voice. "It's gotten really long, I like it."

Unimpressed, he held up a long dreadlock and sent her a lame look. "Laura, my hair has been this long since I was like twenty."

"O-oh." Feeling more awkward and embarrassed than ever, she clammed up. She talked and made a fool of herself. Of course, she knew this, she was just so desperate to find anything to say that seemed normal.

She meant to say is she liked the length and wanted to know if he was planning on letting it grow longer. Which she immediately botched and instead made it sound like she never noticed. The awkward silence was better to her mind than whatever this was.

Regardless of her social weaknesses, he knew she meant well. After years of being around Laura, he knew she was very careful with the people around her. Unfortunately, she was not gifted at talking to people even if she knew them well.

No matter the social awkwardness, he never actually pressured her. He didn't coddle her when she was overly nervous, but he was never mean about it either. Whether she knew it or not he gave her the healthy adult friendship she needed.

"I like what you did with your hair." He reached over to her, lifting a lock-up to look at the color. She flinched away at the glimpse of his hand nearing her. He knew this about her and drew no attention to it; he put it together years ago.

Laura blinked, glancing quickly down to the long strands in his fingers. "Right! I had the ends dyed." She let out a deep breath. It had been so long since they saw each other he hadn't seen the recent change. "I just wanted to try something new out."

Nodding his approval. "So you had a blue ombre done?" As he questioned her he saw a flash of uncertainty on Laura's face. "Don't worry, I like it. It's soft, not so in your face bright as some do. It's a good choice." His reassurance went a long way. Her shoulders visibly relaxed knowing she was not in fear of being judged.

"Thanks, I got it done last-" Laura paused as she realized once more she was accentuating their time apart. "... September."

He just made an Ahh sound and dropped it. They didn't need to go into why they spent so long without seeing each other. They both knew it was because Laura always fell out of contact, a fact which she felt constantly guilty for.

When she pulled into the parking lot, she was relieved to get out of the car. A movie theater where she could sit in silence and watch Hellboy 2. No worrying about tripping over her words to making herself look like an idiot. She could just kick back and enjoy the movie.

After the movie they headed home, Laura and Jason both talking like old friends again. The prior awkwardness had slowly melted away as they caught up on recent events, the frustration of their last classes together, and the next time they hang out.

When she dropped him off at his place and left for her own she was aware of how relaxed she felt. A few hours spent hanging with a friend not worrying about her studies or what comes next. Just being in the moment having a laugh.

It was a refresher she didn't know she was waiting for. She had such a nice time with him she really didn't want to stop so soon. This was a nice feeling, something she chose to believe was good.

When she headed back inside her apartment she went for her computer. Once the monitor lit up she exited the window with her registration information on it.

This time around she would take time off and make the most of it. She had more than earned a break.

Jason was highly supportive, having chosen to take off as well. Talk of some classic summer fun was quickly becoming a reality and for the first time in a long time, she was actually excited to hang out with a friend.

[jasonpng]

[ jeon jungkook. / male. / he/his. ] i heard han jaesung is going into business with their friends, but the twenty-five year old can’t go wrong with nine other people helping, right? they’re a former sous chef, but will be a chef at joliet bed & breakfast! their insensitive yet dependable personality is pretty fitting for that, i guess. the sight of them gives me the vibe of midnight drive-ins, humming to yourself as you work, a breeze ruffling through a clothesline and that one clip of a deflated dancing pikachu getting hauled off stage, and seeing that running across the sand is pretty sweet.

fabric softener, that one clip of a deflating dancing pikachu getting hauled off-stage, curling up in freshly warmed sheets, sizzling plates, the slow drag of a bow over a violin, bus rides with your head leaned against the window, earphones at full blast, midnight drive-ins, humming to yourself as you work, singing when you think you're alone, the beach at sunrise, a breeze ruffling through a clothesline

hi i’m miki and i’m excited 2 b here!!! this is m’boy jason (or jae, or jaesung) and he’s fairly new SO!!!! smash that like and i’ll come to u for plotting!

the stats

full name: jaesung “jason” han nicknames: jae, jayjay, jason, son, han solo age: 25 birthday: december 12 languages: english, korean, minimal japanese education: institute of culinary education graduate occupation: chef at joliet bed and breakfast, part-time food blogger hobbies: violin, eating, sleeping, collecting rock records, sketching mbti: entp blood type: b+ zodiac: sagittarius hogwarts house: gryffindor alignment: chaotic ANNOYING! sexuality: bisexual drinking, smoking, drugs: yes, yes, only marijuana faceclaim: jeon jungkook likes: rock music, classical music, herbal tea, garlic bread, any food in general, freshly washed sheets, dogs, astronomy, raccoons, coin laundries, anything vintage, horror films and documentaries, fiction books, wildlife, his motorcycle anubis (a super sexy harley davidson…he’s got that bad boy aesthetic going on but he is FAR from being one), his lil hamster bonnie dislikes: birds, horror films, anything scary, bitchy customers, stale coffee, fizzy drinks, people who are rude to service staff, cats (the film), spiders, korea’s educational system, the loch ness monster, soy milk

the biography

—o1. jason grew up in a modern korean household in maryland; his parents are more open-minded than the traditional korean family, so there’s really no dramatic backstory to write. he’s the eldest of three siblings, and they’re pretty much a tight-knit family. while he was encompassed by a totally western environment, his family never failed to remind them of their roots; they would travel to korea every summer to visit his grandparents in seoul.

—o2.  as a child, jason’s favourite past-time was watching his parents cook. his father is a renowned celebrity chef of a five-star restaurant in la, and his mother was the owner of a quaint bakery in ocean city. soon enough, his father was teaching him the basics of cooking. he was a natural, and by high school, he was on his way into becoming a chef like his father. the path to his dream career had been an easy one; his parents were well-known, and through family connections, jason earned himself a spot in one of the best culinary schools in the world: the institute of culinary education.  

—o3. wherever jason went, he was overshadowed by the family name. he loved his parents, he really did, but being the son of joowon han came with a privilege, of sorts. a privilege that he hated. people were convinced that jason only managed to get in ICE was because of his family background. he’d often hear whispers from peers; he was often criticised for depending on his parents—which was true, in a sense. jason didn’t have to worry about anything. while his fellow classmates were worrying over their career paths, he had a sous chef position waiting for him at his father’s restaurant right after graduation.

—o4. being the youngest sous chef in a five-star restaurant was difficult. twenty-one year olds weren’t taken seriously in the kitchen. especially not the head chef’s son, who was fresh out of culinary school and looked so out of place, with his dark leather jacket and ripped jeans. jason struggled the first few months; while  the people were cordial around his father, he had to endure passive-aggressive comments about his privilege behind the scenes. jason wanted to make a name for himself; he didn’t want to be reduced to a celebrity chef’s son who just got lucky. so he worked—he worked and worked and worked until the jealous muttering stopped and he gained the respect of his subordinates.

—o5. after three years into working with his father, the enthusiasm ebbed and jason felt nothing but dissatisfaction. he didn’t want this—he didn’t want to be clinging on to his father for support his entire life. fearing that his passion for cooking will wither if he kept on working at the restaurant, he quit and moved back to maryland, getting a place for himself and eager to learn to stand on his own two feet.

in-depth

—a natural-born leader: working as a sous chef enabled jason to have a great command of handling a team. at first, he had been meek, but through determination and his sheer drive to prove the negative people in his life wrong, he was able to cultivate himself into a good leader. in the kitchen, jason is totally in his element, oozing with confidence and assertiveness.

—the dependable one: jason is organised and he’s the type of person who you can rely on for help. he prioritises his friends and family over anything else. need someone to drive you home? jason’s the guy for you. suffering from a bad hangover? he’s got the perfect hangover shake. you lost your house keys and need a place to stay? jason’s got an extra room in his apartment ready. jason is always making sure his friends are well cared for. and probably also giving them lectures whenever they make questionable choices.

—this bitch is impulsive: as much as jason has his shit together, jason can be impulsive—you might catch him splurging on the new yeezy shoes, or planning a spontaneous, overpriced trip to the bahamas. he likes having fun, and sometimes, that energy gets him into tricky situations. he really likes spending money, and unfortunately, his parents never taught him the important value of thriftiness.

—sometimes he can be harsh: jason had been pampered all throughout his life, and sometimes he disregards other people’s feelings because he is simply oblivious—brutal honesty is a double-edged sword. it takes a lot to piss him off, because he’s rather good at handling his emotions, but when you successfully do, it’s not a pretty sight. he tends to say things he doesn’t mean in the heat of the moment. in addition, jason tends to hold grudges; if someone has done him wrong, you bet your ass he’ll never look at you the same way ever again.

+: energetic, headstrong, intuitive, protective

-: argumentative, insensitive, over-analytical, rash

miscellaneous

— drives around town with his bike! he has a car but it’s parked in his childhood home… he doesn’t really use it that much unless he needs to go out of the state or something

— has a white lil pet hamster named bonnie...she is his CHILD!!!!!! — he has a food blog that he constantly updates for fun; his following is steadily going up... amazin....

— has always been an artsy kid... if he didn’t like cooking so much he would’ve pursued a career in art — always seems to be snacking on something? raw carrots in particular...... — he is also a gym rat! he eats a damn lot, so he’s gotta burn those calories, right? he usually jogs early in the morning and goes to the gym after work — he’s played the violin ever since he was a child! he wants to learn how to play the guitar but he keeps on procrastinating

the wanted connections (if any of these interest you, hit me up! some are more detailed than others but all of them are open to modifications tbh, we can develop them however we want :) feel free to  choose multiple plots..,.,. go crazy)

— vibe check. - sometimes, he forgets to take care of himself and this person!!!! is his mom friend, the terry to his jake peralta, the person he can count on when he’s crossfaded in the middle of nowhere at 3 in the morning. (ivy)

— bff. - the ride or die. the one person jason would literally murder for. he loves them and  considers them as his family. they are 100% with each other and? both are probably equally chaotic sfjldsdjfhsdlk (minnie)

— the squad. - i really love the idea of jason having three close friends! i can see them going on spontaneous trips and doing really, really dumb shit in general dsjfls (1/3) — the roommate. - PLS! he needs a roommate...imagine the domesticity i’m WEAK (minki)

— buzzfeed unsolved. - jason believes in the supernatural. this person doesn’t. jason spends a lot  of his free time trying to convince this person that ghosts are, in fact, real, often taking them to ‘haunted’ places and attempting to summon spirits through his ouija board. (minnie)

— i’m baby. - basically, jason dotes on this person like a mama bird. he cooks them meals, drives them to places and always keeps an eye out for them. — the confidant. - the person he could say he truly trusts the most; while jason is generally sociable, he finds it hard to open up to people, preferring to be the confidant than to confide in his friends. they’re the first person he runs to when he’s upset or stressed. (sienna)

— friends. - open to multiple of all types (fellow foodie, gym buddies, unlikely, one-sided, frenemies, neighbors, etc.)

— flings, hookups, fwbs. - open to multiple. (can be messy, can be casual)

— exes. - jason has lived in ocean city all his life, so anything is possible! they could’ve been at the same high school, maybe they broke up because jason moved to new york and the relationship fizzled out, they could be on good terms or bad terms………GIVE ‘EM TO ME (sienna; exes on good terms with a tiny bit of unresolved feelings)

— the pianist. - this is a lil specific, but basically i imagine jason having participated in music competitions and performed in galas, and this person is their partner!! their other half!!! the nodame to his chiaki!!!! if ur muse can play the piano pls hmu this is just a really cute relationship that i cant stop thinkin about bc jason is a violin nerd (ivy)

— romance. - i’m a hoe for spicy plots! i don’t really want to give out anything specific, but some suggestions aaaare: opposites, exes w/ feelings, one-sided love, skinny love, a love-hate relationship….. 

feel free to go through my wanted connections tag for inspiration!

[darklightsworld]

Okay, so once again a Lanyon book is keeping my mind busy… The fourth book in The Art of Murder series was released a few days ago, I devoured it immediately, and now I’m trying to figure it out while dreading the fact that the final book will take more than a year. Below is a long (I mean loooooong) gushing and rant with spoilers, and it doesn’t really make sense for non-readers, so the J key is your friend. I just want to get this out of my system XD;

I like The Art of Murder series, I like hot-and-cold behavioral analyst Sam Kennedy (45-46) and not-just-a-pretty-face, devoted-to-protect-art Jason West (33-34), I like them together, I like how they try to make their relationship work (when they do), I like how they change. Sure, there are still a lot of reasons for shaking my head, like Jason doing stupid things, being too stubborn and irresponsible, and being really angry with Sam usually makes him pretty blind and prone to more stupid actions. And Sam is just Sam, set in his ways, lone ranger, totally inept at making a relationship work, even fights it with all he has, black and white views, great at his job but unable to understand his and Jason’s feelings in many conflicts and prone to shut off completely. But I love them nonetheless.

Now, how does it look like as a series? The first book, The Mermaid Murders, was amazing! Intriguing crime and mystery, it had to do with Jason’s past, so we got to know him a bit, while Sam was a mystery and generally a difficult guy. Dislike at first sight for both, but they can’t keep their paws off each other, and regardless of how Sam fights it, it does not end in his usually “catch and release”. The way they got closed was fascinating. All round a gripping read from the first pages till the very end.

The second book, The Monet Murders, was equally exciting. Interesting mystery, we learned more about Jason, his work and also his family. The mystery/crime was interesting and complex, and the overarching plots were set in motion. Relationship-wise it was an intense book. The boys had a long-distance phone relationship for eight months (wow 0_0), but Sam decided to end it - without telling Jason about it ^^;;; The boys weren’t together in the first half of the book, but it was still interesting, because regardless of Sam ending it, he couldn’t let go at all, and he’s willing to go at great lengths for Jason - even when he claimed he wanted to break up. He’s reactions are so telling - except for Jason ^^; (Best quote in relation to that: “Dōmo arigatō, Mr. Roboto” XDDD) Extra fun: the story runs parallel to Winter Kill (I still have some grievance about how that book and the Roadside Ripper case was wrapped up - especially because it was important for Sam too)

Third book, The Magician Murders. It was different, but still very good. The murder case of the book wasn’t all that exciting, but the book was more relationship centric. The boys were together a lot, and despite the problems they and their relationship grew a lot, and most importantly we got to know more about Sam, his family, background, motivations and his tragic first love. The overarching stalker plot had important twists and an evil, goose bump-inducing ending. There were two main conflicts: Jason not realizing/admitting, that he’s under shock and his judgment is not the best. The other is that Sam withholds some information and tries to make decisions about Jason without consulting him - which is mostly because he’s aware of Jason’s limited abilities after his trauma, so the main point was that he could not communicate it. I always thought Jason was overreacting to this (”It feels like I don’t know you” - WTF?!), but they resolved it and they came out stronger.

So how was the fourth book, The Monuments Men Murders after these? Interestingly after reading I liked it (although it was clear it was by far not as good as the previous ones), but the more time passed the more confused I was about it. The good: the boys are happily together in the first half of the book, it’s totally loving, nice, Sam is happier, totally deredere, it’s just right - although the sex scene is a major lackluster and only two pages long, which is a huge change from the previous books. Okay, we get cuddles and talking in bed, sleeping together and stuff, but still, it’s not enough. I only realized after skimming through the previous books again, but there are a lot of references to previous things (aside from the outright mentioned first sex and others), like now Sam leaves a note when he goes jogging in the morning, and he also won’t bother trying to wake Jason with knocking, because he’s a deep sleeper. Sam was also once again expecting Jason to call him when he was in a dangerous situation regardless of the catastrophic state of their relationship, and once again he didn’t understand why Jason didn’t want his help XD;;;; They have come a long way... and not XD;;;

The problem even with the happy first half is, that everything is overshadowed by Jason’s idiotic actions, because you know it from the first pages that it will blow up. It’s like watching a train wreck... Jason’s current case implies his grandfather might have had been part of a crime, and instead of pulling out of the case, he takes the morally and ethically wrong choice and investigates himself compromising the case. Tbh this time I could not sympathize with Jason on any level. His reasoning to himself, the way he convinces himself it’s okay what he does, the way he doesn’t see he’s wrong even when it blows up with Sam is irritating, and I have no understanding for him - except for the fact that his judgment might be influenced by the stress from the ongoing stalker issue. But yeah, that would be an exaggerated repetition of the third book’s conflict. All in all this whole thing made me like Jason less, and I kind of hope he gets his ass kicked for everything he has done.

I could totally understand that Sam was very angry and disappointed, and also that he didn’t want to see him for a while (although it was a bit extreme that he questioned the foundations of their relationship - we got a deja vu for the “It feels like I don’t know you“, and it didn’t make more sense this time either). On the other hand what I couldn’t really understand was how Jason assumed Sam was shutting him out and turning his feelings off again when Sam was clearly suffering??? And how he was once again eager to throw the relationship away saying they can’t go on like this - like, heh??? You fucked up, but you’re fed up, when you only gave Sam one-two days to tackle it??? And Sam has to come to you and literally beg you??? The thing is, we already had all this before, and it didn’t make any sense to do it once again. Of course they will be even stronger after another crisis like this, but it was completely unnecessary.

The case itself was also a lackluster. For instance it was just one murder, not murders, and it was very simple, not like the complex (or seemingly complex) cases from before. Sure, the art rescuing tidbits and the Vermeer stuff was interesting, but there should have been much more. Btw, the book was very short, less than 200 pages, so that also explains the simplicity, but it does not make it good. More pages, more complex case. Since the previous books all allowed us to learn more about the boys and their pasts I was expecting the same here, for example many memories about Jason and his grandfather, but we got nothing, and this was a problem with the book too. And speaking of investigation... that was a wreck too. Many important facts were found off screen by JJ, and more often than not Jason was absentminded and preoccupied with clearing his grandfather’s name to really do the investigation (so yeah, Sam was right). Yeah, this whole thing was not necessary, or it would have been better if Jason has a breakdown or something to explain or give it a reason, but in the end his issues aren’t even mentioned in relation to his blowup. It was also a pity/mistake that Sam and Jason did not take part in each others cases in any way, also because Sam wasn’t even there for solving a case...

A pleasant surprise was JJ, though, ongoing asshole since Winter Kill, but here he redeemed himself quite a bit, and it was nice to see the partnership between him and Jason getting better. Unpleasant surprise was one of Sam’s previous “mission only“ bed partners. Yeah, we knew he had many of those and it was unavoidable, but aside from the meeting and talking about it with Sam once it was unnecessary. Jason knows, we know Sam doesn’t care, there was no dangerous development, so further mention was useless.

All in all, while I liked to have more about Sam and Jason, because I love them (I don’t do patreon but I’m considering to pay one month for their extras...), this book was not really necessary for them, and yeah, it could have, should have been much-much better. After reading it I skimmed over the previous three books, and once again I re-confirmed just how amazing they are and re-readable all the time - while I’m less inclined to re-read the fourth one. Now I only hope the final volume will be a good one. No more relationship crisis, and I want to have a solution for the stalker issue, the forgery case (tbh one of these should have been resolved in the fourth book, preferably the forgery one) and a realistic plan for Sam and Jason’s future.

Btw the images are from the sample of the Japanese edition of The Mermaid Murders. First it seemed strange, but it grew on me. I would love to see he other illustrations as well *__*

[holbyconfessional]

Holby City S20 E51 - Family Ties

I really enjoyed this ep.  We haven’t seen Nicky’s party girl persona for a while, and I kind of think it’s in her character to self sabotage her chance of success by first finding reasons not to attend, then finally just not showing up to an interview which would give her a chance of success.  I was so pleased in the end when she showed up, and I loved what she said to the panel.  I think Nicky has grown so much as a character, so much more so than her initial appearance where she was so overshadowed by Meena.  I am starting to see signs that she could indeed end up as a Senior Registrar, or even a Consultant some day.  (Terrible decision about keeping her extra-medical knowledge of a patient a secret, notwithstanding!  Because really, who would judge her for having a heavy night out and a hook up?!!).  Really, really nasty dude, btw!!!

Hanssen.  I do think he needs to be CEO again, he really is perfect in the role.  BUT, as much as I didn’t think I would, I am really enjoying him in the role of a surgeon amongst surgeons.  I simply love the cementing of the friendships that is occuring, something that his position as CEO would always have prevented from quite happening.  I loved his scenes with Sacha, and it’s giving me a bit of a warm, fuzzy feeling that these two broken souls are going to be supporting each other through Christmas dinner.

Sacha was great in this episode.  I am pleased he is still staying with Jac, I imagine them helping each other through their recoveries.  It was fab to see his real life daughter play his onscreen daughter (although I may have lost a tiny bit of the impact of the scenes because I was so busy looking for all the little familial resemblances!!).  But the scene when he opened up to her was amazing, just thinking about the dynamic of always having been the strong one, helping your child grow and flourish, and then to have to turn around and admit this thing to them, this, what you may feel is a weakness, to someone for whom you’ve always been the epitome of strength.  So pleased that he did, and I’d like to see Beka appear again if she is to be staying with him for a while, I’d like to see her feature in his ongoing recovery.

Serena.  I’ve seen a few people already make comments on Serena’s comment about considering a yoga retreat in place of her already agreed plans to Christmas at Jason and Greta’s house - and how thoughtless this was considering Jason’s Aspergers.  It certainly was an... interesting... oversight.  Although I do appreciate how difficult it will be for her this year without Bernie, and with the anniversary of Elinor’s death fast approaching.

I want to just make a few comments on the Serena/Leah scenes.  As I see it, Serena is the senior consultant, Leah is her junior and her ‘student’.  Over the past weeks we have seen their professional relationship imbued with some sexual tension, we have seen one outing at Albie’s as colleagues which ended with Leah kissing Serena, then Serena hurriedly retreating.  We’ve seen discomfort on the wards, and another kiss, but no more ‘fraternising’ outside of work, until the ill fated hook up.  So, I don’t see really that any sort of friendship has flourished between them, beyond the professional mentor/student let’s be friendly stuff.  Which for me, made the whole Leah leaving scene where she presented Serena with sexy undies to actually be as jarring and inappropriate as the hook up itself.  I mean, you just wouldn’t to your boss with whom you’d had an unethical one night stand!  To me, it implies a relationship which I just didn’t feel had been shown to be there.  I mean, I suppose I appreciate the pep talk part, about how Serena is gorgeous and shouldn’t sit pining but should get out there, but the rest of the scene just felt... out of character?  Out of relationship?  I know what I’m trying to say... ALSO, Serena doesn’t mind being the subject of gossip because it would do her street cred good to be linked with gorgeous Leah?  Serena?  Who CAN’T STAND workplace hook ups, idle gossip/tittle tattle, and having her private life on display?  Hmm.  Something went wrong there...

Final word on Serena - she doesn’t think she’ll wear those undies, seemingly not her style.  Fan fic writers everywhere facepalmed in unison :D  ykwim!!!

[oscar-isaacs-number-one-bitch]

“Aquaman” Movie Review

Aquaman is DC’s sixth and latest entry into their cinematic universe, and the first since the severely underwhelming box office results of Justice League made us all question whether or not this attempt at replicating Marvel Studios’ success was ever actually going to succeed post-Wonder Woman. This film finds Insidious and Conjuring director James Wan helming the story of Arthur Curry, the son of a lighthouse keeper from Amnesty Bay and the Queen of the underwater kingdom of Atlantis. After the events of Justice League, as well as a submarine rescue in which he encounters the man who will become Black Manta, Arthur returns home to his father. It isn’t long, however, before Princess Mera finds him, and warns him of a coming threat: Arthur’s brother, King Orm, means to declare war on the surface world, and everyone in it. If he is to be stopped, Arthur must put off the grudge he has against his people (whom he has denied because they supposedly killed his mother), and become the hero he is meant to be.

If there were a single word to describe what I felt sitting in the theater watching Aquaman for the first time, I wouldn’t know what it would be. I’ll say ahead of time that Wonder Woman is absolutely still DC’s strongest film to date, but the sheer level of commitment this movie has to its mid-2000’s levels of cheese and pulp give it an affecting charm not too many superhero films find themselves openly sporting in the modern day. Many superhero films, especially when it comes to those put out by either Marvel Studios or Warner Bros, have a particular dispensation towards either hard-hitting emotional drama or outright action comedy, so to see something so bizarre as Aquaman’s singular commitment to its premise that sounds like something a 10-year-old playing with action figures would have written significant portions of is really something quite special to witness.

This is all thanks to the visionary direction of James Wan, a man so adept at building worlds and creating wholly unique atmospheres for actors to play in that he might as well have actually gone underwater to the kingdom of Atlantis just to get some primary location photography. Seriously, the underwater worlds in this thing are genuine stunners with easily the best bioluminescent environments and effects on screen since James Cameron’s Avatar (not that anyone’s really tried all that hard since anyhow). Traveling through the kingdoms of Atlantis, the Brine, etc, is wonderous and somewhat frustrating, but only because you’re taken through it so quickly you never stay long enough to drink in every bit of visual beauty this movie has to offer. But if you thought the visuals and central premise of an Atlantian superhero having to find a trident and fight a war against his brother underwater for the safety of the world is the most absurd thing in Aquaman, you are not prepared for the hurricane that’s about to hit.

About one third of the way through the second act, there are a number of montages that occur all within about ten minutes of each other and feature the only three songs in the entire movie whilst the rest of its runtime is filled with a mostly workable but never-quite-finds-its-footing score from Harry Gregson-Williams. These montages begin with a sort of half-committed Baywatch tribute that features a cover of Africa by Toto (sung by musical artist Rhea), which is mixed in with a rap by Mr. Worldwide himself (Pitbull). Not even half an hour later, the film sports another fantasy tribute by setting a Tangled­-esque scene between Arthur and Mera in a shoreside town near the same beach. It really is quite something to witness this movie simply take a break from itself in the middle of the second act just to play three music video montages in a row and then get right back to the action that brought the characters there.

Speaking of action, this is some of the most unique and kinetic the DC Extended Universe has ever had. Given the premise that most of the fighting in Aquaman is based around one-on-one trident warfare and hand-to-hand combat, what of the action isn’t grandiose superpower grandstanding has to be very up close and personal bow staff style fight choreography, and the way it plays out is a beautiful thing to see. It’s wonderfully edited during the up close and personal stuff, and some of the tracking shots during the larger battles between civilizations are truly some of the best in DC’s pantheon. I suppose if there were any negatives to the action sequences, it would likely be that most of them start the same way, with the characters getting quiet and then an explosion rocking them back to preparedness, which wouldn’t be a problem except that it occurs four or five times throughout the film, thus costing each subsequent surprise attack its effectiveness by making it too much of a habit.

But enough about the action and visually stimulating underwater worlds; how are the characters? A film can have all the spectacle in the world, but without proper character, it’s going to flounder. The characters in Aquaman? They’re…fine. Truth be told, anyone who wasn’t already on board with Jason Momoa’s bro culture rendition of the title character isn’t necessarily going to be won over by his mostly stilted but badass-in-action-scenes performance here, but they do tone down a lot of his more annoying quirks he was introduced with in Justice League, and that should count for something. Momoa is a physically dominant force as Arthur Curry, but whether it was some of the line he was given or because maybe he’s just not been with the right directors yet, his performance here really only reaches dynamic screen presence levels; there’s not a lot of room for nuance in his acting, and while that may be for the best given the kind of performer he is, it does hurt the film a bit overall.

Showing up again as well for round two is Amber Heard as Princess Mera, who more than fits the part as the woman trying to get the reluctant hero to do the hero’s arc because it’s important for him to know he can do it on his own (and she easily has the best costume design in the entire thing), but part of her arc has to do with her relationship to Arthur, and it gets a little confusing because this had supposedly already been covered in Justice League. She does really well for what she’s given to work with, but unfortunately Momoa just doesn’t give off a lot. Also here is veteran Wan-man Patrick Wilson, turning yet another leaf in the journey of acting circles around everyone even with a somewhat messy script to work with. As King Orm, he’s act once fiercely commanding and brilliantly emotive, but he never takes his performance so far as to overshadow Arthur’s main narrative. Willem Dafoe is in…something, but it’s not Aquaman. Seeing him show up as Valko is a real treat to watch, but largely because he’s such an interesting performer, it’s almost like he’s brought back his Norman Osbourne character to teach Jason Momoa how to swim. I’m sure the character probably matters more in the comics, but here, he just feels unnecessary, despite the joy just seeing Willem Dafoe on screen brings.

The unsung hero of this movie, though, at least in terms of performance, is unquestionably Nicole Kidman, who runs the emotional gambit from motherly chiding/affection to kick-ass warrior queen to awestruck-but-terrified literal fish-out-of-water in just her first fifteen minutes of screen time so smoothly and so expertly you’d think she might actually pull an Oscar nomination out of this. She really is having a great year performance-wise between this, Big Little Lies, Boy Erased, and the upcoming Destroyer, and it’s really been quite something to see her come back mid-50’s and show up everyone on any screen she shares by her sheer level of talents and commitment to character. In fact, her part in this movie might not just be the most compelling of the character turns, but also of the plot threads – it actually moved me, and cut right to the heart.

Some negatives about the film (besides what I’ve mentioned already) would include fairly subpar editing and lack of narrative focus; it’s not exactly bad most of the time right up until the second act where the music video montages come in and feel incredibly out of place in this already two and a half hour long movie (that you absolutely do feel the length of during the transition to act three), but it is somewhat off-putting, especially when certain scenes seem to either just start right in the middle of what was probably a longer take, or they’re just strangely placed as if they’re out of order and the editor just forgot about it. It kind of seems like part of the time, it doesn’t know what it wants to be about, and this is particularly felt during the scenes with Black Manta, who (while cool) doesn’t seem like he really was necessary to include this time around. The sound design also sometimes makes things difficult to hear since a lot of it takes place underwater, and while I certainly understand the need to communicate that, it might have been better left to the visuals to communicate, as the effects sometimes blurs certain lines and entire character monologues get lost. In addition, some of the visual effects (while there are a lot that are incredible to see) are actually pretty subpar, particularly wherein green screen is used to give location background to actors that are clearly acting against nothing during a beach training scene where most of the close up shots are straight on rather than from the side or done with two people in frame.

Still, despite its somewhat obvious flaws, Aquaman is the sort of rock and roll good-time superhero movie 10-year-old me would have eaten up. It’s cheesier than a white man’s casserole and pulpier than Tarantino’s back catalogue, but its sheer commitment to the dumb fun of it all really makes it a charming wave to ride. The visuals and costume design are all (mostly) immaculate, and the overlong runtime, while noticeable, doesn’t overshadow the film’s fair share of crowd-cheer moments so cool you wanna jump out of your seat. It may be quite bizarre even for DC, but their innate faith in James Wan’s filmmaking prowess and risk-taking shows they’re taking a few steps (or swims) in the right direction.

I’m giving “Aquaman” a 7.8/10

[jaybirdxarsenal]

Valentine’s Day! (Jason Todd x Reader)

Requested by @serafae: Hey! My birthday is on Valentine’s Day and I was wondering if you could do a one-shot with Jason Todd and an S/O whose birthday is always overshadowed because it’s on a holiday and they feel like they get forgotten, but Jason would never forget. Please and thank you! 😌

I’m sorry I wasn’t around lately, but I am not in the mood for writing at all and this wasn’t even the next request I should’ve write, but I really wanted to do this before or on Valentine’s Day because it’s kinda special.

@serafae, sweetheart, I hope you had the most amazing birthday ever! Happy birthday and I wish you the best in the world, kisses!

Words: 963

Permanent tag: @redrobynhood (If you want to be tagged just let me know)

When you tell people that your birthday is on Valentine's Day they think is so romantic and sweet, but for you isn't. Not at all. All your life people forgot about your birthday because there was Valentine's Day to overshadow it, even your best friends were always busy with presents, romantic movies and dates with their loved ones they totally forgot about the fact that it was your birthday as well. 

This year it was a little different than in the past, you had Jason now, you've been dating for the past 8 months and everything was great. He is a great boyfriend and you can clearly see that he really loves you, as much as you love him.

But still, you were pretty sure that he will also forget about your birthday, you wouldn’t be surprised if he does, but you will definitely be a little disappointed. Maybe a little more.

Lately he was really busy with the Outlaws and cleaning Gotham from evil that you barely saw him, but you understand that evil doesn't take a break and all he wanted to do was to take care of his city. You appreciate that a lot, all the efforts he makes for you and the rest of the people. 

When you woke up this morning Jason was sleeping so deep, even a earthquake wasn't able to wake him up. You did your morning routine getting ready for work like every other day. You made breakfast and left Jason a note like you always did, letting him know when you will be home, even though he won't probably be here when you came back.

Your coworkers totally forgot about your birthday as you expected and you couldn't wait for this day to be over. Of course, you could remember them about the fact that today is your birthday but you didn't wanted. If they cared about you even a little they wouldn’t forgot about your birthday in the first place. 

All you wanted to do was to fall asleep and wake up the next day, only to avoid all those Valentine's day flowers and presents. ''God, why did my parents decided to have fun 9 months before this stupid day? Why didn't they wait a day or two?'' You thought.

You sighed as you opened up the door to your apartment. All you were thinking about was to take a shower and go to sleep. Even though you didn't do anything difficult today and work was rather boring than hard, you were really tired.

To your surprise, a very pleasant smell of vanilla invaded your nose when you walked inside the apartment. There were candles everywhere, the lights were off and there were rose petals on the floor that were leading to the kitchen. You couldn't help but smile, thinking that after all maybe he didn't forget.

In the kitchen the table was set and the smell of your favorite food made you feel hungry. There was a bottle of champagne in a bucket full of ice and let's not forget about the music. One of your favorite song, that kind of song that is so relaxing and sexy in the same time.

One thing was missing.

Jason.

You wanted to turn around, to go look for him, but then he wrapped his arms around you, hugging you from behind. He pressed a kiss on your head, making you fall into his arms.

''I missed you so much...'' You whispered as you turned around. You wrapped your arms around his waist, pressing your head against his chest.

''I missed you too, a lot.'' He took your face in his hands so you can look at him. He gently pressed his lips around you. ''Happy birthday, love!''

''I thought you forgot about my birthday with all the Valentine's Day bullshit.''

''I'll never forget about your birthday, babe, don't be silly.'' He took your hand in his and he lead you to the table. He pulled your chair before he sat down like a true gentleman. ''Now close your eyes.''

You cover your eyes with your hand excited. ''This better not be a joke because I'll be really mad, Mr. Todd!'' You laughed. ''I wouldn't dare. Now open it.''

In front of you was a small box with a bow on it. ''What's inside?''

You asked curious picking up the box. You put the box next to your ear and shook it, trying to hear what is inside.

''Open it!'' He laughed nervous.

You ripped the packaging while Jason was watching every step you take. You looked confuse inside the box as there was another tiny black box. This one had no package so you just opened it.

''No way..'' It was like the most beautiful thing you ever saw, and you weren't even a big fan of jewelry.

''It's too soon for a proposal but it's not too soon for a promise.'' He grabbed your hand making you take your eyes off the ring. ''I may not be the best boyfriend ever, but I promise that as long as we are together and I am pretty sure that will be a long long time, I will always be there for you when you need me, I will always listen to you, take care of you. I promise that as long as I live I will always love you.''

‘‘Babe...’‘ You bitten your lips, trying to not cry. ‘‘I love you too so much! This is the best present I ever received in my entire life. Thank you!’‘

‘‘It was my pleasure, babe. And it’s not the only present you will receive tonight.’‘ He had a huge smirk on his face.

‘‘What does that mean?’‘ 

‘‘Just wait until you see the bedroom.’‘ You blushed at his words and he laughed. ‘‘God, you are so adorable when you blush. But I’m not kidding. You won’t get much sleep tonight.’‘ 

[kayla1993-world]

‘I know that many of you are angry with me’: Kenney speaks to UCP tensions during AGM in Calgary

CALGARY, AB — Premier Jason Kenney is conceding divisions inside his United Conservative Party, but the party's president is urging members to stick together under the flag of the camp. Both statements were made during the party's annual general meeting in Calgary on Saturday, only seconds apart.

Kenney gave a keynote in which he defended actions taken to defend the province's healthcare system during the COVID-19 outbreak, although some of those actions caused divergences within his own party.

"We made mistakes in the past, and as Premier, I must assume accountability," Kenney said. "I know that many of you are angry with me and our authorities for implementing public health restrictions over COVID at various times."

Despite the criticism, Kenney said he doesn't regret his government's global epidemic efforts because they were necessary to just save Alberta's health system, which was on the brink of collapse.

People who thought the various restrictions were too severe and others who thought he should have acted sooner and more decisively criticized the premier. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Kenney's approval rating has plummeted, including several contentious issues, along with an ongoing lawsuit against his office and political infighting, which have overshadowed much of his time.

He said he looked forward to the coming leadership review but asked members to consider the needs of Albertans instead of party politics. Kenney's leadership would be reviewed in April, but it could come faster.

"Next year, there will be a leadership review vote, and I want you to know that I welcome that, that I embrace that opportunity for accountability," Kenney said during his Saturday speech. "We have some internal differences every big-tent political party does and always will but let us address and resolve those issues within."

Cynthia Moore, the newly elected party president, described the UCP as a family well before Kenney's speech. "Too many of us have forgotten who we are as well as what we fight for. Most have forgot what brought us together and are now focused on what divides us," Moore said. "Compromise isn't always easy, but it's often the best choice. We must please remember that politics is a sport of compromise and negotiation."

Kenney got a standing ovation from a large portion of the crowd when he took to the stage, though some remained sat. His speech received mixed responses. Kenney's address, according to Brian Jean, a former Wildrose leader and co-founder of the Unified Conservative government, would not win back support from his critics.

Jean has said that he plans to run for the Union Conservative government in a vacant seat in Fort McMurray and that if elected, he will work to remove Kenney from his post as the premier. "He's lost the confidence of his caucus many of his caucus members and Albertans. And the difficulty would be that we don't have time for him to play games to earn it back," Jean said.

"This apart from COVID, there have been a lot of things that have gone awry for him." Kenney set the right tone, according to Rajan Sawhney, Alberta's minister of transportation, by focusing on his government's accomplishments and Alberta's expanding economy.

Kenney was right, Sawhney said, in not concentrating on divisions, and she reminded that leaders had constant interactions with UCP members. "I've seen him working extremely hard. I know he is putting up his best effort. Is everything in your existence perfect? No," Sawhney said firmly. "But, this isn't for a lack of trying or for a lack of intent."

Twenty-two UCP constituency associations have signed a letter to the party executive asking that Kenney's leadership be decided on earlier than April. On Friday, a motion to make it difficult to hold an earlier review failed to obtain the necessary 75 percent of votes.

The proposition that refused to complete called for the number of constituency associations to be expanded to 29.