#(hell he kept making jokes with Smiler)

[victorluvsalice]

-->And then it was down to the barn for the grand awakening of Smiler’s Servo! Because, obviously, I had to get that done for the party. I managed to get everyone in there and looking in the right direction for one good picture, but by the time Smiler actually ACTIVATED the Servo, Alice had managed to slip my leash and gone outside to shower in the rain. *sigh* Why isn't the creation of a Servo something Sims are compelled to watch? I think it's a pretty big deal! *shakehead* Anyway, Smiler pulled the big lever, and after a bright flash, the Servo came to life, stumbling off its creation station –

Already terrified of the NEW thunderstorm revving up outside. *sigh* Oh, and without any eyes on its faceplate for some reason (possibly the “Scared” emotion doesn’t show correctly? Or my game was just glitching out a little, which is entirely possible...) Somewhat concerned, I made a note to have Alice change the weather to clear skies once she was done showering, then started working on customizing the Servo (vaguely noticing Victor running off into the rain to clean up some puddles as I did). I gave him (as I'd initialized him as male) the name Marm L. Iser (geddit? :p), then checked the traits he'd had been initialized with. For some reason, his starting aspiration was the one from Home Chef Hustle about mastering small appliances (I had Alice switch to that recently off one of the Wellness ones, and thanks to her running off to shower in the rain again I’d clicked on her right before Marm woke up, so maybe that had something to do with it?), so he had the Essence of Flavor trait from starting with one of the Culinary aspirations –

And his other three traits were Lazy, Loyal, and Loner. XD Oh cripes, what a combination! Especially since I made this thing to try and help out with the chores and the store… To my annoyance, though, Marm had also spawned with a dislike of Funny Sims (how?? Your creator is SMILER), so I decided to try and change that in CAS –

Only to discover I couldn’t. Because the game WILL NOT LET YOU. Probably because you’re not supposed to be able to change a Servo’s traits in CAS, and the likes/dislikes thing is linked to that. *huffs* Well, that sucks! And makes me a little nervous about how I'm going to customize any Wheatley servo I may make/download for any future Tiny Town challenge saves...

-->Anyway – with no way to change Marm’s likes and dislikes on my own (I tried seeing if having him reprogram his own traits would do the trick, but that’s literally just traits, not likes/dislikes), I settled for making him gold so he’d be the right color for a Smiler-related Servo, then breathed a sigh of relief as his mood changed to happy and his eyes finally properly appeared on his faceplate. Hooray! I set about having him and Smiler get to know each other while Alice got on changing the weather before the party and Victor started running back to the barn to join the conversation at my direction –

ONLY TO GET STRUCK BY LIGHTNING. O.O Not fatally, the first time’s always free in The Sims 4, but that was a frankly terrifying moment! D: The poor guy ended up heavily scorched and dazed –

And immediately went “I deserve a cupcake after that” and headed to the greenhouse mini-fridge to get one. XD Which I happily let him do, because he DID deserve a cupcake after that. Damn. Only do that if you’re gonna give him the cool lighting powers, game!

[arvinsescape]

New decade.

A/N: So I would like to start off by saying i’m sorry this took me so long but I have been through so many different versions of this and I really really hope you enjoy! It’s a really lovely idea and I thank the person that sent me this request! I very much enjoyed writing it!

Request: Hiii ! I have a request for Arvin R x reader but it's definitely a little bit of a stretch so feel free to ignore it if it's too complicated ! What if Arvin was somehow transported into our world (as in our era, with Tom Holland) and the reader has to help Arvin adapt to this new world ? (maybe they're a government employee or something)

Warnings: Swearing.

W/C: 2.7K

Arvin Russell has absolutely no idea how this happened, one minute he was living in the 60’s and the next he was, well he doesn’t know. He woke up in a strange town that didn’t really resemble the one he went to sleep in and he wanted some answers. When he stepped outside the house a two things shocked him. One, there were more cars on the road than there was yesterday and they all looked completely different. Two, everyone was dressed weird, well in Arvin’s opinion they certainly were.

As he was about to leave he bumped into a woman dressed in what almost looked like a suit and he wondered where the hell he was.

“I’m really sorry.” Arvin said as he steadied her and she looked at him and smiled, it was one of the prettiest smiles he’d ever seen.

“That’s okay, I was looking for you actually.” She said and her voice was like music to his ears, he furrowed his brows, he certainly did not know this lady.

“Me?” Arvin said and she smiled again.

“Y/N,” she said as she stretched her hand out for him to shake, this struck Arvin as kind of odd but he went with it anyway and shook her hand, it was so soft in comparison to his rough hands. “Can we go inside and talk? I’m here to help.” She spoke again and of course he let her in, he wanted to know what the fuck was going on.

When he shut the door and they were alone she showed him a badge that made no sense to him. Who on earth was this woman? She seemed important and as much as Arvin never considers himself a sexist, women just didn’t have super important jobs, well they didn’t yesterday.

“Can you tell me what happened to me? I’m really confused?” He asked and that smile was back, it was enough to knock the breath from him.

“Well, in all honesty we don’t know how this has happened. You weren’t here yesterday and all of a sudden you are. I wish it made more sense and I could be of help but I was sent here to help you adapt, I don’t have clearance to know a lot of things.” She laughed.

“Could someone tell me what’s happened?” He asked.

“Maybe, my bosses aren’t the nicest of people, very secretive. They don’t tell people much at all really. I’m paid to do as I’m told.” She said and Arvin took a moment to actually look around the house, it wasn’t the same as yesterday, it was all modern?

“Where am I?” He asked.

“Same place you were yesterday. Only it’s 2021.” She said and his eyes almost fell out of his head.

“What the fuck? How the fuck is that possible?” He asked and he was trying not to lose his temper in front of her but this was the most ridiculous thing he’d ever heard. “I’m going back to bed, some sort of fucked up dream.” He muttered and as he went to walk past her she grabbed his hand making him spin around to look at her. She didn’t look scared in the slightest.

“I know it’s a lot to take in but I am only here to help. Look, the government are gonna pay for you to have whatever you need for a new setup, probably so you don’t ask too many questions and you get me as a guide into how to adapt.” She smiled and he decided that he really liked her smile.

“Okay, so what do I need to know? I’ll entertain this, if it’s a dream I sure as hell will have a lot to tell the boys.” He muttered and she laughed again.

“Okay, well firstly I need to ask which decade I’m helping you adapt from.”

“60’s.” Arvin said and she sighed slightly.

“So I should expect some sexism then?” She asked jokingly but it had a sad undertone to it that Arvin wanted to get rid of as soon as possible.

“No. I actually have a lot of respect for women. It’s just odd that you seem to have an official job.” He said and he realised that that sounded awful so he stuttered as he continued. “I’m sorry that was rude. What I meant was, most women don’t have jobs that aren’t waitresses.” He tried to clarify and she smirked.

“Well a lot has changed there. Women have all sorts of jobs now, some own their own businesses.” She said and he was shocked, women were never really allowed to do things like that. “Speaking of, you’re gonna need a job if you wanna afford this place, the government are paying the first three months but you’ll need to get a job in that time. What skillsets do you have?” She asked and he sighed.

“Well I was no good at school and I know how to fix cars but not those fancy ones out there.” He said as he pointed out of the window. “I can build roads but these ones look different, I’m not sure I have a skillset.” He concluded and she smiled, again. Dam this woman was a smiler.

“No, maybe we can find you something doing that or I’m sure we can get you a job with a car manufacturer. Hang on, I need to call my boss about it.” She said as she exited the room.

Arvin looked around the house again and he had to say it was much nicer, more warm than he was used to. The TV’s looked pretty fancy now too and the kitchen was completely different to yesterday, he looked at the carpet below his feet and it was a huge contrast to the wood flooring that was there yesterday. None of this made a goddam ounce of sense to Arvin and he was sure he was dreaming.

She returned a moment later with something in her hand, he’d never seen anything like it before.

“What’s that?” He couldn’t help but ask.

“It’s a mobile phone. 70’s invention, it’s like a house phone that you can take anywhere with you and people can get hold of you whenever they want. You’ll need one.”

“Now I know you’re stringing me along, that’s ridiculous.” He laughed.

“I’ll show you.” She said as she handed him the device. It lit up in his hands and displayed what looked to be the time and date. Swipe to unlock. So he did. Enter passcode. What? He looked at her with furrowed brows.

“4387.” She smiled, so he pressed the numbers and was stunned by the screen in front of him, what the fuck was he looking at? There was so much. Camera. Text Messages. Facebook. Phone. And so much more.

“What the fuck is all this?” He asked and she laughed.

“A lot has changed, I’ll show you when you get your own. You have a job by the way, the government are going to sort it, they’ll send you a letter with the details.”

“Now I know what a letter is.” He joked and she snorted.

“Okay, we need to buy you some new stuff.” She said.

They made their way around what looked like a mall but far bigger than he was used to. The first thing they bought was a mobile phone and he was in awe at how many you could choose from. Then she said they were going clothes shopping.

“Okay, you’re gonna need some new clothes.” She muttered.

“What’s wrong with what I’ve got on?” He almost snapped but stopped himself, he’d come to the conclusion that he really liked spending time with her. She raised her eyebrows at him as she smirked.

“You look like you come from the 60’s.” She laughed.

“I do.” He said as he smiled her laugh was contagious.

“Not anymore you don’t.” She said as she pulled him into a shop that was full of clothes. He basically followed her around as she threw clothes into the basket he was carrying. Eventually she shoved him into a changing room and the one thing he decided was that the pants were too fucking tight. He didn’t like them, they felt restrictive.

“Stop doing that.” She whispered as they made their way back to her car, a ridiculous amount of shopping bags in hand.

“What?” He asked as he tried to readjust himself.

“That.” She gestured to his rearranging. “People are staring.” She laughed.

“They’re uncomfortable.” He groaned.

“You’re gonna have to get used to it.” She laughed as she swatted the hand that was reaching to readjust himself again. They got into her car and she informed him that he was going to get a new one.

“I don’t need a new car.” He said as he crossed his arms over his chest, at least t-shirts were still in a thing in this time period.

“True but you’re not paying so I’d take the offer.” She said as she drove somewhere, he was unsure how long it would take him to get used to driving on the road, it was so goddam busy. “You can chose whatever you want, take some for a test drive.” She said.

“A what?” He asked.

“A test drive. You get to drive it before you buy it. Surely you did that?” She asked with furrowed brows, eyes completely focused on the road, she looked pretty when she was concentrating.

“Well some people probably did. But only the people that could afford it. I bought the first one I could afford and stuck with it.” He explained as she hummed.

“People have a lot more freedom of choice now.” She said and he smiled, maybe this wasn’t so bad, the only thing he hated so far where the goddam jeans.

Arvin actually had fun choosing a new car, he can’t remember what it was he eventually picked but he liked it. He’d kept Y/N waiting for ages and she didn’t seem to mind one bit. She showed him how to use the mobile phone and he was sure he’d get the hang of it eventually, she showed him how to use almost everything in the kitchen that night and stayed for dinner which made his heart soar.

She helped him with everything over the next few weeks, she took him out driving so he could get used to the road which was actually easier than he’d anticipated. She showed him where his new work place was and gave him helpers on how to make friends, speak to people in general. She laughed at him when she showed him how to use a card machine, he didn’t understand it and he didn’t trust it, but he went along with it because she was there every step of the way.

He was of course now aware that this was his new reality and while weeks ago he wanted an explanation, now he couldn’t care less, this way of life seemed easier, it was better, people were happier. He had feelings for Y/N he knew that much, she was amazing. Only a few months younger than him. She was kind, intelligent and patient, he found himself pretending to be useless at stuff he now understood just so she would show him how to do it again. He started to worry that the more he learnt the closer it would be until she was no longer around.

She was round at his house again, explaining some bill or other he didn’t understand but he wasn’t listening he was staring at her, she’d been so kind and so helpful. He wanted to kiss her but wasn’t sure whether she was just nice and patient because she was paid to be, although it seemed genuine he wasn’t sure.

“I really like you.” Arvin blurted out before he could stop himself and she looked up and smiled at him.

“I really like you too Arvin.”

“No.” He sighed, maybe he should just tell her, if she didn’t feel the same at least he’d know. “I mean I like you.”

“Oh.” She smiled sadly and he visibly deflated.

“I’m sorry forget I said anything.” He mumbled and she reached over and grabbed his hand.

“I really like you too Arvin but I can’t mix business and pleasure.” She said and he looked so defeated that she felt awful.

“Okay, that’s er- I understand.” He muttered. She smiled sadly at him, she really did like him but he was technically a work associate and there were strict rules about it.

“Speaking of, this will probably be the last time I need to help you.” She said and Arvin’s heart broke slightly, of course he’s just frightened her off, he nodded sadly as they finished up and she left.

It had been almost three months since then and he hadn’t seen her since. He was actually doing really well remembering everything she said to help him, he missed her terribly and he found himself thinking about her a lot. He really wishes he’d have kept his mouth shut.

As he made his way back to his home after a day at work he was surprised to see her outside the door. She was dressed differently, she looked good, casual in comparison to her usual attire but he wondered why she was here after so long.

“Hi.” She smiled, god he’d missed it. It was such a pretty smile.

“Hi.” He said awkwardly.

“Mind if I come in?” She sighed and he nodded as he unlocked his door and they made their way inside.

“So er, what are you doing here?” He asked as he threw his keys into a cute little bowl she’d bought him.

“I actually came to see you and talk about last time we spoke.” She said and he furrowed his brows.

“Please spare me the disappointment, I get it, you’re not interested.” He spoke.

“But that’s the thing, I am interested.” She said and he felt his heart soar, but he was still confused. “I did tell you I really liked you too and I shouldn’t have that was unprofessional and I apologise.” She continued.

“So how come you’re here now?” He asked.

“You’re no longer a work associate for me. We could go there now, my bosses are happy that you don’t need my help anymore and they had to let some time pass before it was okay. I guess what I’m trying to say is that if you still want to Arvin I’d want to maybe give things a go.” She smiled and he found himself grinning. He hadn’t scared her away, she just wasn’t allowed to go there with him.

“I would love that.” He spoke and she grinned back at him.

“Great, so Friday night? I’ll meet you at the restaurant down the road?” She said and he nodded as he smiled.

“Yeah that’s great, but, can I do something? Something I’ve wanted to do for a while.” He asked as he made his way towards her.

“Please.” She said as she stepped a little closer, they were now chest to chest. He leaned down as he caught her lips in a sweet kiss, it was everything he thought it would be and more. She pressed herself closer to him as his hands found her waist. She threaded her fingers through his hair which she noticed he’d started to style since she last saw him. Just as the kiss was about to become more heated she pulled away and he grinned.

“I’ll see you Friday.” She said and he agreed.

“I really like this decade.” Arvin muttered to himself and she laughed.

[tastingmellow]

Stereotypes

A/N:

Aaaahhhh, so this is my very first fic! I'm not completely sure how long this will and I'm not about to count every single word so just enjoy, sis! Also, if I depicted anything wrong in this fic let me know, sorry for the mistakes! Also, this takes place before Killmonger. So. Yeah!

Disclaimer: Gif is not mine

Warnings: Language

Word Count: I don't know, I didn't count 😂

_________________________

'Shit.'

The first thought that ran through your mind hearing that loud, unmistakable bark was 'Shit.'. You had just transferred to Howard from Cornell. The education was nice but there was something missing, that college experience that you wanted. You attended a few parties there and let's say you were...underwhelmed. So, when ypu best friend, Anastasia, suggested a transfer with her to Howard you leapt at the oppurtunity. An HBCU experience was like no other. The parties, the brotherhoods, the sisterhoods, the education, all of it was in it's own category of Hype.

Although attending Cornell, you still had knowledge of HBCUs and one of them being the Sororities and Fraternities. You loved them but never saw yourself joining one. However, your mother and father both took part in them. Your mother was in AKA, yes ma'am. And your father was part of Alpha Delta Phi, which explains the large jacket you were in the cool autumn breeze.

Students parted, some squealing excitedly as they stared behind you. Stasi had already made her way to class and you had gotten up late so here you were. You took in a deep breath and continued on, walking but making your way off the pathway and into the grass since Que Dogs usually come in large packs.

As you walked unbeknownst to you, you had caught someone's eye. Erik Stevens. He eyed you, smiling as he drank you in. His eyes ran from your large afro, to your Alpha Delta Phi jacket. His eyebrows raised slightly before nudging his friend, Tré. "Yo, you know shorty in Alpha Delta Phi jacket?" He boomed while nodding his head towards you. Tré looked you over, biting his lip before rubbing his hands together. "Nah, but I sure would like too. Aye, shawty--". He was cut off by Erik jabbing him in his chest, Tré wheezing and clutching the spot. "Damn, nigga. Chill! I was just playin', you ain't to punch me like that. Punk ass..." He coughed and rubbed his chest while Erik rolled his eyes and broke away from the group.

He straightened out his jeans and crisp white tee. The purple jacket of the Omega Psi Phi rested over his physique and and a simple gold chain hung from his neck. He licked his lips and smiler before jogging up to you.

That sixth sense of company that everyone has loomed over you, so you turned and nearly jumped out of your skin. You clutched your chest and let out a breath as Erik bit his lip to hold in a laugh.

"Fuck! You could've tapped me or something." You spoke, unconsciously stopping your trek. "My fault, ma. You just looked like you were thinking, ain't want you to lose your train of thought. Erik, by the way." He smiled and held put his hand out. Your eyes loomed over his form, stopping at his waist and back up before taking his hand and shaking it. "Y/N." You simply replied and he chuckled.

'Damn, he looks good.'

"You headed to Chem?" He asked and you nodded before regretting your decision. 'You just met the motherfucker, now you telling him your classes. Bitch, you must wanna die, huh?' Your internal voice scolded you as you mentally facepalmed.

Erik nodded and looked ahead while sliding his hands in his pockets before looking back to you. "Well, lemme walk with you. I'm headed to Chem, might as well go together." He spoke, eyes trailing from your dark brown orbs, over your thick hips, to your dirty white Vans and back up. You noticed his eyes and placed a hand on your hip. "I don't need you mentally undressing me in broad daylight." You scolded and he licked his lips while taking a step closer. "How about I physically undress you tonight?"

Your legs damn near felt weak as he spoke but you kept it together, rolling your eyes and moving to start walking again. "Wait, wait! Okay, that was out of line. Just let me walk with you to class." He spoke, eyes going big, almost like he was begging. You sighed and he smiled broadly, "Fine."

_____________________________

Erik walked you to class, as well as kept yoy entertained with his inappropriate jokes and such. You stepped into the room, waving to your professor before making your way to your usual seat, right in the middle and by the wall.

You sat down, pulling out your notebook and pen. You heard shuffling beside you and looked over, eyes widening slightly as you looked at Erik unpacking his things. He looked over at you and shrugged, "You too my spot so I'm about to bother you all class." You softly chuckled before turning to the board as class started.

___________________

A frustrated sigh left you as you looked over the notes on the board and the study guide you created. You couldn't figure out a formula and it was agittating the hell out of you. Erik noticed your frustration and leaned over, "You aight?" You glanced up at him and shook your head. "No, I can't figure out this damn formula and I know that I know it, I just can't get the shit on paper.", You cried.

Erik held out his hand you handed him your study guide. He skimmed through it before beginning to explain it to you. You nodded, listening to his little lecture before realization washed over you and you grabbed the sheet from him, scribbling down the formula. You turned the sheet to him and he nodded, you did a little dance in your chair. "Thank you so much!"

Erik nodded, while leaning over to you. "No problem, princess." You smiled shyly before getting back to your study guide.

About ten minutes later, class ended and you were packing up when Erik grabbed your hand, as well as your attention. "Let me take you out." He spoke and you were slightly shocked.

You heard a lot of "horror" stories about Ques. How they smash and dash girls, or if they do cuff they don't do anything but cheat/act as though they're single so you were a little apprehensive.

Almost as if Erik had read your mind he takes a step forward, holding your hand against his chest and looking into your eyes. "I know what you heard about Ques but I promise I'm not trying do you like that. Let me take you out, one time."

"You barely know me," you breathed out.

"Well let me get to know you. Just one date and if you hate it I won't ever ask you again." He said, hope in his eyes.

You looked at him, a small smile spreading over your lips before you nodded slowly. "Okay." Erik grinned brightly and nodded. "Great, I'll pick you up Friday. Be ready by 7." He smoothly kissed your hand before making his way down from his seat and out of the classroom.

About 2 minutes later he walked back in and ran back to you. "Okay so I need your phone and dorm number." You laughed softly and gave him both before he reminded you of the time and day and made his way out.

__________________

You had just hopped out the shower and dried off. You braided your hair into a crown and put on your bonnet before turning on your chill playlist. Focus by H.E.R played througg your Bluetooth speaker as you grabbed your Chemistry notebook as well as notebook.

About an hour into studying your phone dinged, indicating a message. You picked it up and smiled at the message. 'Good Night, beautiful. Friday, 7pm.' You playfully rolled your eyes, chuckling to yourself before texting back. 'Good Night, Erik. And I got you.'

You studied for about another hour before calling it a night. You closed your book, turned off your music and put everything away. You plugged your phone up, secured your bonnet and cut off your lamo after getting under he covers.

Your mind wondered, going from family to classes and, finally, ending on Erik. You smiled at the thought of him before letting sleep consume you.

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

Hey! So some tags aren't working, if you're tagged and see one that isn't working, tag them for me, please and thank you! First part of 7! Positive feedback is always welcome, let me know if there is anything that needs to be changed annnnd yeah, can't wait to finish!

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[marybeatriceofmodena]

Solo: a Star Wars Story - A Review (which I managed to keep short at least when it comes to my standards *puts gold sticker on self*)

So I saw Solo yesterday, and I’ll be putting my detailed/spoilery thoughts under the cut.

As for a general overview while trying to spoil as little as possible… I definitely liked the movie. To compare it to another anthology movie, I didn’t like it as much as Rogue One, but it was very enjoyable: basically Western meets film noir meets sci-fi, and the combo worked pretty well.

I have to admit, before the marketing for the film started, I was very meh about it. I didn’t hate it in advance like some people did, but I was pretty much planning to see it just because Lawrence Kasdan was the screenwriter, Donald Glover was Lando and I honestly couldn’t have thought of a better casting choice, and Thandie Newton aka my dreamcast for Selina Kyle/Catwoman was in it.

I did start getting a bit more optimistic as time went on. And since I’m a creature of dust and ashes and, most especially, salt, I wanted Alden Ehrenreich to succeed as Han partly because of the fandom being all “HE’S NOT HARRISON”, and also partly because if he hadn’t told the big bosses the original directors wanted Han to be space Ace Ventura, this movie would have been a mess.

And… despite all the complications, they actually did it. And unlike Justice League, I didn’t really see big contrasts indicating there had been two different visions working on the movie.

So it honestly makes me sad that the movie is underperforming because it's a genuinely well-made, multi-layered heist film. I don't think it's the film itself's fault: Lucasfilm/Disney had some pretty terrible timing and promo for the film overall, and they REALLY should have pushed it back to December.

Everyone in the cast was very good, well-cast: Alden did a terrific job playing Han and while I didn’t think he looked a lot like Harrison Ford at first, I can see the resemblance now; Donald Glover was perfection as Lando, and Emilia Clarke and Qi’ra turned out to be pleasant surprises and I enjoyed them a lot more than I expected to.

For some reason… the overall storyline and how it drew out kind of reminded me of a video game. I’m not sure why, though. That’s not to say it was badly done, but it could simply be that I became used to how quickly paced TFA and R1 were, or how TLJ was either jarringly edited at first viewing, and how certain elements were rushed and others dragging for too long. Solo didn’t have any pacing issues… though I might change my mind after repeat viewings.

There were a lot of things I was a bit afraid of before the film came out that thankfully did not bother me too much, but I did read spoilers before going in. I kept myself spoiler-free to a certain extent for TLJ and I kind of regret it, so I decided not to take any chances. (SO YOU CAN BE SURE AS HELL I’LL DO IT FOR IX.) So I was prepared going in, so there’s nothing I saw that upset me.

Shout-out to the soundtrack. It was GREAT.

Anyway, the spoilery part is under the cut. Read at your own risk.

Alden was really a pleasant surprise. You can really forget he’s not Harrison and even if Han is a lot more optimistic and cheerful than the cynical scoundrel we meet in ANH, he’s still the dumbass Han who brags a lot even if he’s a dumbass and who tries to talk his way out of shit and fails because he’s a dumbass. He's not the cynical scoundrel we meet in ANH *yet*, but it made sense for me for him not to be like that right now. He's basically a dumbass puppy dog like his son. No wonder Qi'ra is so protective of him.

Donald Glover as Lando was a scene-stealer. I even wish we saw more of him, or scenes of him with Han, because they had some pretty good frenemy chemistry. 

Han and Chewie were probably one of the best parts of the movie, and even my favorite relationship out of all. Their encounter was very well-done, and they totally sold how they’d do anything for each other.

Qi’ra… I could honestly write an entire post about her alone, and I probably will, because she was hands down the most intriguing character in the movie. And it’s nice to see Emilia Clarke show off her acting chops and see her in other stuff than Boobs, Dragons, Death. Though, I will say, my point of view on Qi’ra will probably be different from the point of view I’ve seen from other people, but yeah.

As a sidenote, I definitely saw the parallels between Ben and Rey, and Qi’ra and Han. As a lot of people pointed out, Han and Qi’ra in the elevator and then confronting Dryden Vos was basically “Throne Room, take two”. This said, I can definitely see how Qi’ra and Ben are similar, and how Han and Rey are similar, but I did spot some similarities between Qi’ra and Rey, and between Han and Ben. I’ll probably expand it in another post, once I get down to writing it, but one thing Qi’ra and Rey have in common is how they smile even in the most dismal situations and in order to hide their vulnerability – even if their reasons for smiling are very different. Qi’ra is a Stepford Smiler to survive, and because she knows how ugly the world can be, while Rey is not only a lot more sheltered than Qi’ra (even if her life was by no means easy), but she puts on a happy face because she’s in denial about her parents, and probably because she so desperately wants to be accepted and loved. So long story short, Qi’ra is basically how Rey would have been if she had gone through what Ben went through. So that really brings a whole new perspective to how Han views Rey in TFA: I think he sees his youthful optimism in her, but he’s also fully aware what could happen to her if she went back on Jakku, because of what happened to Qi’ra. But again, I’m preparing a full-blown analysis of Qi’ra. Stay tuned.

I legit cried when she told Han she thought of him and the two of them flying away whenever it was hard for her. I’m still getting kind of teary-eyed thinking about it. 

 Okay, last thing about Qi’ra: I wouldn’t say she becomes a crime boss because she craves power or because she’s scared and has some sort of Stockholm Syndrome or whatever. I’d actually argue she chose love over power, and she’s ultimately a tragic case of “to love is to let go”. So yeah, it’s a lot more complicated than it seems, and it’s all about her being pretty much Han’s dark guardian angel of sorts. But again, I’ll expand on it in another post.

Tobias Beckett was great. A total asshole, but you still get attached to him even if you want to kick him in the balls.

I really liked Val and Rio, and it’s a waste they died so early. You could totally buy Val and Beckett as the old-married couple who bicker all the time. They managed to make their deaths emotional—and special shout-out to Rio’s death. Nice bit of foreshadowing when he dies saying that dying alone is the worst thing (now please excuse me while I roll in a ball in a corner and cry, thinking of how Han died nearly 40 years later).

I know L3 annoyed a lot of people. She didn’t annoy me too much, mainly because I just decided to not take her seriously and to see her “droid rights activism” as a joke. I mean, just looking at how Lando takes it, every time she makes a comment about it or does something about it, he’s all “Oh God not this again”. As some people have pointed out before me, she’s basically a robot version of Lisa Simpson. Her dying didn’t move me as much as Val or Rio, though.

Also, the TLJ novelization mentions a virtual intelligence of sorts in the Falcon that has a pretty foul sense of humor, so that’s probably foreshadowing for the reveal that L3 has been integrated into the Falcon after her death.

I’m going to talk about Dryden Vos in my Qi’ra post, but I don’t know if it’s due to Paul Bettany’s makeup, but he looked kind of… frail? Don’t get me wrong, he’s totally the Affably Evil Sociopath type, and he’s definitely someone you do not want to mess around with, but yeah. Him looking almost skeletal was probably part of the deal.

Enfys Nest was EPIC. I really hope we get comic books or novels about her, and it’s nice to see other rebel cells around. And her theme was THE SHIT with the choir and all. (Also, for my fellow Les Mis fans reading this: her actress (Erin Kellyman) is going to be Éponine in the upcoming BBC adaptation of Les Mis.) 

Spotted Warwick Davis playing one of Enfys Nest’s crew.

Also, the confrontation between Han and his crew versus Enfys Nest was some space spaghetti western shit. And Lando leaving with the Falcon was absolutely hysterical.  

That’s all I can think of right now. I’ll maybe have more thoughts later on.

[victorluvsalice]

-->But it took a few tries to get that option to actually push her over the edge into mindless animal rage, so I took a moment midway through to have her give some mushroom conserve to the weird yellow glasses specter that had shown up again. XD He was super-awkward as always, but he did leave behind a specter sip, so it was worth! I had Alice pocket that, then continue stomping around furiously until FINALLY her Fury overwhelmed her and she started a RAMPAGE!

And then, as per usual, I just had her scavenge a bit before regaining control of herself and turning back to human. XD She really has a good handle on her werewolf Fury these days – maybe she’s learned to mentally stab it like she did the Queen of Hearts back in the day. XD

-->While Alice was taking care of that, I went to check in on Smiler to see how the milking was going -- and discovered they hadn't yet gotten any. Puzzled, I had them start again, checked in again on Alice (doing fine), then came back again --

To find Smiler STILL hadn't managed to collect any milk. I suspect Moory was being ornery and kept kicking over the pail while I wasn’t looking. *sigh* Fortunately, after Smiler entertained Moory with a joke, she proved to be in a better mood, and Smiler was finally able to get their standard six bottles of regular milk and single bonus bottle of enriched milk. Whew – who knew getting milk could be so difficult sometimes?

-->Anyway -- with all that done, Smiler moved on to checking on the chickens and getting the day's eggs, while Alice puttered around doing things like picking the daisies off the recently-revived bush by their path to the barn and getting the laundry in the dryer. I then took a look in on Victor --

And discovered he was taking a HELL of a long time in the greenhouse because of all the weeding, watering, and spraying for bugs he had to do (apparently if you don’t have to tend the plants for one day, they will make you PAY for it the next). Time to get all hands on deck to help with these crops! Smiler was already in the greenhouse trying to talk to Victor, having wandered in there after finishing with the chickens, so I sent them to do their usual thing getting their plasma fruit and herbalism stuff; Alice I sent in there to bond with the newly-awake, newly-grumpy bees and see if she could calm them down after their winter snooze. She – could not. XD But she was able to successfully grab some beeswax and honey from the hive, and as Victor was STILL tending, I decided she could be the one to harvest everything for a change. So she went around picking all the fruit, flowers, and veggies while Victor kept weeding, watering, and spraying, and Smiler went back to the chickens to check on them again. Turns out there was another egg to collect! Along with chicken poop, as the coop needed cleaning. Smiler brought that to the garbage can, then sorted out all the recyclables in the garbage before having a drink. And breeding a tiger frog in their quest to get the frogs they’re missing from their collection (pretty sure they’ve got that one, though). I, meanwhile, kept an eye on Victor and Alice, making sure they did everything that needed doing in the greenhouse...