#(i know he's supposed to be the funny comedy relief guy but i do enjoy his role in the plot of goldeneye a lot!)

[mylittleredgirl]

previously on mylittleredgirl: [four seasons of m*a*s*h] [six weeks of screaming about margaret houlihan]

i have now finished season five disc one and a bullet point recap is due! [yeah there's more screaming in it]

bug out was a fucking DELIGHT

god i was so worried though when klinger had to trade all his dresses i was wailing internally. what if he just wears fatigues forever!?!??? but it's all okay!!!! that tassel mod dress he has on in "the abduction of margaret houlihan" healed me ten times over. his outfits have been 🔥 this season.

such a mix of really dumb slapstick comedy and "oh god the war is Right Here" drama and little character sweetness... love it.

and the family reunion happiness at the end!!!! god bless. i left my body for like thirty-six hours.

i really really love the tone they're striking with frank this season. they've walked back the cartoon villainy of late season four, so he's once again a relatively harmless clown. i breathed a huge sigh of relief. he's soooo much more fun this way.

margaret's engagement: bonkers. delightful. she's unbearable. there is so much wrong with her. i want to study her in a jar. i will never shut up again.

with this put together with some bits later in the disc (including that cut scene crayon joke lmao), did she somehow manage to trade DOWN from frank? is that even possible??? it's either that or this new dude is actually just The Exact Same Guy, but now she'll be the fool wife at home instead of the beloved mistress.

i mean personally if i were louise burns i'd be very happy for my dumbass husband to fuck around on the other side of the world for as long as possible while i enjoy the $35,000 house and two cars without him, but for someone like margaret who is far more interested in being wined and dined than running a household, this... may not be the field promotion she thinks it is.

hawkeye rising to frank's defense and him and b.j. enabling frank's little takedown of margaret at the end felt very real. sure, in the grand scheme of things, margaret is Annoying and frank tried to have hawkeye executed last season, but bros before hos.

okay how FUNNY would it be though if the "little redheaded nurse" frank planned to seduce was baker-from-the-nurses, because she would have scratched frank's eyes out for trying and not felt bad about it

and actually, that's a plausible backstory for the extra bad blood between her and margaret, too??? oh yeah. that definitely happened.

i actively missed frank/margaret as the disc went along though. maybe the show had stretched the tension of that relationship as tight as it could go, and it's nice that they get to do new things... but they're so funny and awful together and i miss them sharing scenes!!!

i really assumed - like frank did lol - that they would continue to rabbit around together, only now she would also get to string him along with the jealousy game, but...... well, i'm glad it's still hanging out in the background of the narrative, anyway. i live in hope that they will slip and fuck and it will be soooo messy.

FUCK is it possible i shipped that for real???? god. i don't know if my family name can bear this dishonor.

out of sight, out of mind...

...has taught us the very important lesson that hawkeye is 9000x more annoying without something to do (annoying to everyone else i mean!! not to me. i will happily watch him annoy everyone.)

him asking b.j. to visit him a million times a day 🥺

i'm almost satisfied now by the "doctor-experiences-the-role-of-patient" theme that i didn't get in "hawkeye." i suppose hurt/comfort fic can take it from here.

however i'm totally satisfied by how sweet it was to see everyone taking care of him!! and how much they love him!!

lt. radar o'reilly... devastating. i mean funny and delightful but it's mean!! so glad that boy is back in stripes. however they could have at least promoted him a little for his trouble. sergeant o'reilly???

i have already said more about the nurses (post here) than ever needed to be said. and yet. i'm quite sure i could say more if pressed

the abduction of margaret houlihan

........ will i never be free of colonel flagg episodes 😞

i love the continuing evidence that she has invested time in learning korean, and i really really really love the slow expansion of our perspective to include like oh yeah. there's a village where people live full time and it's literally right here.

imagine if after the war she becomes an ob nurse...

on the one hand, how do they not make frank do gun handling training. on the other hand they probably don't because it always ends with stitches and an accident report.

i sometimes wonder if mash was like jury duty for asian actors in the 70s. you probably won't get to say anything but they call you up and you just have to go.

dear sigmund!!!!!! this is another episode where people were staring at me through the window so i'll comment a little more:

the fandom's favorite guy sidney freedman deserves that crown. what a weirdo. talk about a busman's holiday for a psychiatrist to come to the 4077 for a vacation and psychoanalyze everyone. but for fun!

i really don't have a proper sense of the geography at play here because he really does like. just come by to play cards once a week. and drives through a war zone i guess to do it? he has probably sacked out in the swamp before when the air raid situation changes but this time he just... doesn't leave.

and aaaa!! margaret took her very special episode about How To Make Friends to heart!!!! she joined the poker game!!!

she had plenty of time to work on that lesson though because the jeremy bearimy time shenanigans are in full swing here at the 4077. we went from midsummer in 'the nurses' to a bitter cold march two episodes later.

i always kind of assumed the mash weather was loosely inspired by real human weather, but no, in fact the actors just have to randomly suffer in parkas or getting sprayed in the face to look sweaty in alternating weeks regardless of the surrounding conditions.

SUFFERING for their ART

also jfc b.j.!!!! dunking frank in cold water in freezing temperatures is a serious health and safety concern my dude!!!!

i'm afraid b.j. is still not beating the little brother allegations, he has just aged up from innocent baby to fucking gremlin

(i should confess that my little brother diagnosis is guided by the fact that in my complex family and housing history i only ever lived with "brothers" younger than me, and never older ones. but the innocent baby and prank gremlin stages are real.)

i made a note here of "margaret randomly drinking gin in the swamp now!!?!??" like the poker game was one thing, people could strong-arm her into that while she feigns protest, but ma'am WHO are you and what have you done with— and then the next note is "oh good she's still insane"

potter named his horse sophie <3 also he's collecting granddaughters, i think the count is up to 3 now. or baby sherry is experiencing a temporal anomaly of her own!

the letter radar wrote to the dead guy's parents and potter reading it... fucking ended me. please let harry morgan do serious bits more often, it's outstanding and far too rare.

it's not surprising that frank's wife changing (wearing pants! doing activities!) would stress him out, and not just because he's a dick. any of them would struggle with their families growing without them, because that means they can Never Go Home to the life they left!! (e.g. trapper losing it because his girls were getting older.) but it is kind of fascinating that he loves both his wife and margaret, and even said mid-fever that he wanted them to be friends, but he also wants them to be NOTHING alike.

all in all it's understandable that sidney would check in to the no boundaries motel to have his poker buddies shake it out of him, but he could also have taken his leave somewhere with indoor heat. so he's as crazy as the rest of them. <3

also they're not his patients he's just observing them like zoo animals so forget confidentiality he's absolutely gonna write a book about them someday.

mulcahy's war: i don't know why i have been misspelling his name with an 'e' the whole time because it was literally in the end credits of almost every episode for four seasons.

oh god he's so precious i don't talk about it enough. playing poker for orphans. feeling like he doesn't do enough while potter thinks he has the hardest job. that unrelenting positive regard for everyone. always with that little grin.

that little grin in FULL PLAY as he sneaks out of the house to go off to war when dad's not looking

radar should never be sent on a mission where people are bleeding when will they LEARN

corporal cupcake deserves every medal he gets!!!!

frank's foot fetish becoming his one true medical specialty is just. i don't know what to do with this. good for him??? do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life???

speaking of unrelenting positive regard, margaret's policy of nurses never talking back to the doctors in the operating room sure has taken a hit. i realize this is about frank being an intolerable ex, but i choose to believe that the detente between margaret and her nurses has turned the O.R. into a pvp zone. the next time hawkeye tries to seduce a nurse over an open body, he's gonna get wrecked and margaret's just going to shrug pretty and look the other way.

in conclusion: season five is soooo gooooooood!!!!! can't wait for disc two!

[ihopesocomic]

Another way I think IHS is better than MP that I don't think anyone else has mentioned yet is the comedy. You guys certainly do a far more competent job at placing comic relief at the right and appropriate moments. Moments like Adamant's flashback to how her head got stuck in a meerkat hole and Quiet sang despite the former being annoyed. Or when Fade the squire freaks out like a little cat when Diamond gives him a good swipe! You guys do it well and it doesn't interfere with the comic's tone.

To be fair, it's very easy to be funnier than MP. It had no idea what it was doing for drama, and comedy is WAY harder to write. Which is why I'll never write a comedy LOL I know my limits. But thank you! I ask for all kinds of input on it, so it's good to see that people are enjoying it for what it is. Using humor sparingly in something like this helps to break the tension. Which is really all I need it to be.

I know comedy is subjective but there's still basic rules to follow, based on context (and geography). So it's really important to establish early on what kind of mood you're going for. So it's not jarring when there's humor later. This is like. Basic shit about genres. It's not forbidden knowledge, this is just stuff people know without realizing, so I expect people in the industry to know this better than anyone.

I know some of you might be thinking "What humor?". First of all, exactly. Second, I'm talking about A) Hover's ableist jokes at Nothing and Quickmane. B) Hover's near-constant deflection every time she opens her stupid mouth in episode 3. C) Shit like after Feather makes his big anime protagonist speech in episode 6, Nothing is all "How aboot we start with getting some sleep tonight before fixing the whole world?" like not only was that not funny, but it was literally after this kid broke down about his family being killed and hating Pride Law, like read the room Nothing, jfc. D) In episode 7 Powerstrike being like "I know she did (love me). Only Sunce knows why." And she laughs about it, like was that meant to be funny? Was it tongue in cheek? I still don't know. But all I could think about is how abusive she was to her daughter right before she disappeared. So whether it was meant to be funny, or her coming to some sort of realization about herself, it doesn't matter because she's trying to find humor in her being an abusive fuckin parent while her kid still cares about her.

Then there's Ghost in episode 10, where we presumably hear (from Ghost) Tangle's last sobs of desperation before getting mercilessly killed by someone he trusted. Whether or not you feel Fire deserved psychological torture or not isn't really the point. The point is MP thought that after Nothing gets the shit beaten out of her, and tells Fire to kill her, it was a good time to lighten the mood. Which is just disturbing. Or as someone tried telling me "It's a dark comedy, it's supposed to be disturbing". Like yeah, I know what dark comedy is. Some of my favorite movies are dark comedies. But that's the big difference here isn't it? MP isn't a dark comedy, it's barely a comprehensive story. I know what it was trying to do in the scene, and it didn't work due to the scenes leading up to it, I dunno what else to tell you.

It's fine if you find it funny, I find lots of unfunny things funny. I still think this is funny. I could honestly go on about this scene, it pisses me off in a way other scenes don't, but I've already rambled too much.

Like there's a fewwwww places I could probably fit in humor if I was writing MP? But I would start by having Hover know what fuckin tact is. But I'm not a professional. - Cat

[passanima]

comparing the 2002 italian (ita) notre dame de paris to the french (fr) musical of 1999

prefacing this with: the audio of (ita) was really bad, having the music much louder than the singing, and it was without subtitle so... i missed a lot of the lyrics sadly. thus, it's an incomplete comparizon

the make up of (ita) is SO fun specially gringoire and frollo! clopin... i have a problem with. they put a lot of lines on his face in a similar manner as quasimodo. which. is not good. there's a reason quasi's make up look this way! it's to show his difformity. so why. give the same treatment. to clopin...

i enjoyed how clopin put himself (literally) between esme and phoebus. he's more physically protective of esme in this version which is nice!

i do not like however how in (ita) esme is much more openly flirty toward phoebus. in the original she's just dancing, minding her own business, very clearly not realizing how men look at her. that's an important part of her characterization as she gets a song with clopin where he tells her to be careful of men. so her attracting phoebus not just from doing her own thing, but by actively flirting with him goes against that song and part of her character

one perhaps positive thing about that choice is that it makes it more understandable why, when he tells her to meet him later, he's so sure she will. in (fr) she just glares at him which makes it look like he just has a giant ego and doesn't believe a woman could ever turn him down (which i prefer cause it's immensely funny) but in (ita)... yea obviously she's gonna go, as she's not being subtle about her interest here

speaking of the "be careful of men" song, in (fr) some of the lyrics are very immature, literally "men are mean" (what is she? 5 y/o?) while in (ita) it was replaced by "in this world, there are demons" which feels less awkward to listen to. it doesn't infantilize her too much, gets to the point but it's also vague enough that she wouldn't fully understand what he means exactly (who he means to warn her about)

i miss the mannerism of (fr) quasi. he acts and sounds innocent, childlike, naive. which works for his role in the story and to make the audience sympathize with him. his (ita) counterpart looks more pathetic, tortured and sad, which absolutely fit the chara too! it's an interesting choice! but part of his characterization is completely lost because of that

in the song where esme and gringoire get to know each other, she asks him the meaning of a latin word. (fr) has gringoire hesitate for a moment, having him think on it, which i liked. but i can perhaps understand why (ita) cut the hesitation. italian is closer to latin than french so perhaps it would have seemed strange to the audience

gringoire is kind of the comedy relief guy but in (ita) they keep changing his silly lines to be more serious, and i'm upset by it. let my silly guy be silly!

quasi has one BIG pathetic scene where you're supposed to feel for him even more than usual. but because (ita) actor had been playing him pathetic the whole time it doesn't hit as hard... awkward

one character has a flower name and (ita) translate it instead of keeping it as is which is strange since. it's her name. and she's french. the story is taking place in france. why are you making her italian suddenly

(ita) has them sing the name esmeralda differently than (fr). not sure how to explain this well but they elongate a different part of her name, which almost change the tempo of the song, it's a bit strange

another problem i have with (ita) esme is that on top of acting too much like a child... she give the wrong reactions to scenes. in this one she confess to quasi that she's scared of him. (fr) singer act scared to fit the lines, makes sense. but (ita) singer just... smile. i do not get this

another thing with this: (ita) esme acting childishly and (ita) quasi being so much more morose than innocent... basically reverse their roles in their relationship. i do not... get this

in (fr) quasi tells her his house is her house, if she wants it. whenever she's scared or doesn't know where to go, she will always be safe here. it's a touching scene cause he's sincere and doesn't expect anything in return. she acts shocked by it and emotional, like it's hard for her to believe/accept

but in (ita) she just... "oh yeah? cool" about it. we lost so much...

the point of this scene was that she trust him, and is no longer scared of him! quasi is now her friend! but because (ita) was never scared or touched by his kindness... we get nothing. legit you could have just cut that whole part then

lyrics changes i do not understand: (fr) "ave maria, forgive me, for i come here (the church) without shoes" (ita) "ave maria, forgive me, i don't know what i've done but you must know"

very interesting change but how did we get here. this isn't the only change in that song. both versions barely have any lyrics in common for some reason

funny lyric change (to me): in (fr) phoebus describe esme's dress as being "rainbow colored" which has always been strange to me as she only wear green. (ita) completely remove any mention of colors, instead focusing on the movement of the dress, which makes more sense for phoebus to focus on (as he's more interested in catching glimses of her legs as she dance)(legit why did he mention colors at all in (fr), as if he'd give a shit about that)

incomplete because again, the audio was really bad! in all: lyrics were improved in places but characterization lost and i have no clue what they were doing with esmeralda

she's young and that's part of what makes her tragic: not realizing when she's being used, but that doesn't mean you should have her act like a child! similarly, she shouldn't be acting in a purposefully sexual way. men look at her that way without help. having her act like a sexually confident mature woman and an innocent child with no understanding of the world at the same time is already contradictory in a ridiculous and unbelivable way! but also erase the whole point of the story: that she's a victim. neither frollo or phoebus sees her as a human being, she's just a body they want. a body that she had just grown into looking mature, making her unused to that kind of attention re the need for clopin to warn her... make it make sense! anyway, 1999 (fr) still the best

[daughterofluthien]

“decisions were respected” Sorry but didn’t Scott violently throw Isaac against a wall more than once just because Isaac liked his ex girlfriend in canon? That’s the literal opposite of healthy...

Hey, anon!

This is in reference to this post about Scallison for the shipping meme, where I said that one of my favorite things about Scallison is that the show lets them have a healthy breakup, and even date other people while still remaining friends. The scenes you are referring to are a pair of scenes in 3x13 Anchors.

So lets’s take a look.

(under a cut bc it turns out that when you try to be comprehensive, things get v long v quickly 😅)

The Scenes

I’m actually gonna copy/paste the dialogue of both scenes (along with minimal action/inflection notation for context) so that we can really make sure we know what we’re talking about here, so bear with me:

The first of these scenes occurs as Scott and Isaac are getting ready to head to school in the morning. After some initial ‘hey, what’re you doing, are you heading to school’ dialogue—during which both boys seem a bit awkward—we get the following:

ISAAC: [anxiously] Can I ask you a question? SCOTT: Okay... ISAAC: Are you angry with me? SCOTT: No! ISAAC: Are you sure? SCOTT: ...No. ISAAC: [awkwardly] What's that mean? SCOTT: I guess I'm not really sure how I'm feeling... ISAAC: [nodding] Okay. ...Do you hate me? SCOTT: [sighing] No, of course not. ISAAC: Do you want to hit me? SCOTT: [taken aback] No. ISAAC: I think you should hit me. SCOTT: I don't want to hit you. ISAAC: Are you sure? SCOTT: Why would I want to hit you? You didn't do anything, did you? ISAAC: [stammering] No. I mean, um... What do you mean? SCOTT: I mean, like, you didn't kiss her or anything, right? ISAAC: No! Absolutely not. No. SCOTT: ...Did you want to? ISAAC: Oh, yeah. Totally. [scene cuts to hallway outside the room. Isaac flies through the doorway and hits the wall] MELISSA: Hey! You two teenage boys? Don't test my entirely un-supernatural level of patience! ISAAC: ...Feel better?

The scene then ends, and we cut to subsequent scenes of Stiles and then Allison also getting ready for school.

The second scene is much shorter and happens later in the episode, after Isaac saves Lydia from an arrow that Allison fired while hallucinating. He and Scott are in Scott’s room again, and he’s telling him about the incident:

SCOTT: Right at her head? ISAAC: Almost right through it. And she keeps saying the same thing-- that she keeps seeing her aunt. Whatever's happening to you guys is getting worse. If I hadn't been there, then Lydia would be dead. SCOTT: ...What were you doing there? ISAAC: Uh... [scene cuts to hallway outside the room. Isaac flies through the doorway and hits the wall] MELISSA: [groaning] Oh, you guys, come on! This house does not have a supernatural ability to heal! So, stop it!

But of course just the text of the scene isn’t enough to accurately convey everything in even a tiny portion of a larger narrative, because nothing happens in a vacuum. With that in mind, let’s look at...

The Context 

The first of these scenes occurs immediately after the opening credits, and is the first time we see either Scott or Isaac this season. (Assuming you consider 3B a separate season, of course, which is a whole ‘nother can of worms. This tv show we all choose to enjoy sure is Something.)

Often, the opening of a season is used to reintroduce the audience to the main characters—letting us know where their characters arcs are starting, and what they’ll be struggling with this season. Teen Wolf did this previously (and did it well, imo) in 3x01 Tattoo. Act 2 of that episode begins with a series of four scenes showing our main characters getting ready for school in the morning, highlighting where everyone currently is, and setting up where their arcs are going to go.

Scene order taken by itself would seem to indicate that they were trying to do something similar in this episode. It starts off with the hook of Stiles’ extended nightmare sequence. He can’t tell dreams apart from reality anymore, and wakes up screaming. Cut to black, cue opening credit sequence.

Immediately after the first ad break, we get a sequence of three scenes. The first is the longer of the two Scott and Isaac scenes (which, as previously mentioned, occurs as they’re getting ready to head out to school). The second is of Stiles. He’s packing for school, and the audience learns that he’s been struggling to read when he’s awake as well. Finally, we see Allison leaving her and her dad’s apartment. She seems like she’s doing fine, if a little over-focused. But then she gets into the elevator, and has an extended hallucination/flashback of Kate.

We learn soon after this that all three of them (Scott, Stiles, and Allison) are suffering from the aftereffects of their sacrifice in the previous season. According to the explanations we get both from Kira and, later, from Deaton, they’re slipping into bardo, or the space between life and death, and there’s a door open in their minds. 

Okay, problem established.

It stands to reason, then, that all three of those opening scenes are supposed to serve to set up this problem. We’re shown, in three successive scenes, that all three of our sacrificees are, as the kids say, Not Doing So Hot.

(yes I know the kids don’t say that, let me be an increasingly out-of-touch millennial in peace)

This is all well and good, and honestly makes sense! Under this paradigm, the Scott and Isaac scene should be highlighting that Scott is Losing Control. Bardo is affecting him, and it’s causing him to be more aggressive. Giving in to violence in a way that he generally holds himself back from. Heck, the scene even starts with Scott flexing his fingers, and we (and Scott) see the shadow of a clawed hand against the door.

In the context of the narrative, it makes sense.

Except.

eXCEPT—

The Framing

The thing about the medium of television is that, when we’re talking about a scene, we can’t just look at the narrative structure. We also have to look at the scene itself: how it’s shot and directed, how it’s edited, even what music is paired with the scenes.

In the Stiles and Allison sequences, the scenes are very clearly shot for tension and horror. Long lingering shots on the things that Just Aren’t Right. Music that heightens the tension. Stiles gets some nice lil scare chords over the shot of the book that he can’t read, and there’s a very quiet droning in the background of the Allison nightmare sequence that slowly grows into some classic horror soundtrack music.

Okay. So far that tracks with the narrative thesis.

Now let’s take look at the Scott and Isaac scene.

We start out with some of those lingering shots I was talking about, as Scott is halted in his tracks when he notices the shadow of the clawed hand. We see his own hand is human and unshifted. There’s quiet, percussion heavy music over this portion of the scene that increases in tension at this point. Shaken, Scott closes his hand into a fist, and when he opens it, both the shadow and his own hand are smooth and human. The tense music fades out to silence, and he breathes a sigh of relief.

Scott opens the door to reveal Isaac, which startles him. There’s a short musical sting to underline this moment, and then the background music cuts out completely, leaving us (and them) in the awkwardness of this moment. 

And OH BOY. IS IT AWKWARD. 😬

You can kinda see the Awkwardness Inherent in the System in the dialogue that I pasted up at the top—it’s a lot of back-and-forth, short statements, trailing off... And both Posey and Sharman are playing up the awkwardness as well. Neither boy looks like they really want to be there, and that includes Isaac, who initiated this entire conversation.

But here’s the thing.

The thing that really frustrates me about this scene.

It’s not the sort of awkwardness that exists to increase the tension. The sort that builds and builds until it reaches a fever pitch and you know something just has to give. You know, the sort of tension that you would want to build if you were showing how the protagonist of your show is no longer fully in control, and is on a knife’s edge of lashing out at his friend and beta.

Instead, it’s played for comedy.

And once again, a lot of this is down to the music.

Before the dialogue that I quoted at the top even begins, the music starts back up, and this time the tense percussion has been replaced by light, pizzicato strings. (That may not be the exact right term, fyi, I only really know enough about music theory to be dangerous.) But you know, the playful, plucked strings that often accompanies comedic or otherwise not-serious scenes.

Background music tells the viewer how they’re supposed to feel about the events in a particular scene, and the music here is saying that we’re not supposed to find this whole confrontation that dramatic. In fact, we’re supposed to find it funny.

But it’s not just the music that that frames this scene as comedic. It’s also the fact that we don’t actually see Scott shoving Isaac. Instead, the scene cuts to the hallway, and all we see is Isaac flying through the doorway.

Now, obviously I don’t have a direct line to the director and editors’ minds here. But I would bet money that those particular shots were chosen 1). because it’s so much easier to do a wire pull stunt when you don’t have to show what it’s in reaction to, and 2). because it’s kinda difficult to show your main character directly doing a violence and make it funny.

But show someone yeeted into frame, and that’s funny. Right?

(Spoiler alert: not in this context, it isn’t)

Now, I know I’ve been focusing on the first scene a lot—partially because it’s longer and partially because it’s really the only reason that the second scene exists—but I do want to take a look at the second scene really quickly as well. It’s much shorter and generally adopts a more serious tone than the first one, mostly due to fact that we’re smack dab in the middle of the action at this point. The weird visions that the sacrificees have been having all episode have started endangering lives, and they can’t just wait for it to resolve on its own.

But then the focused, intent exposition is broken by Scott’s question of “why were you there.” Then smash cut to a near identical shot of the hallway,and Isaac yeeting into frame.

The thing is, this scene is entirely dependent on the previous one. It only “works”—and I use this term loosely—as a call back to the scene at the beginning of the ep. Heck, both even have the stinger of a frustrated Melissa at the end of both scenes, frustrated at all the boys-will-be-boys roughhousing going on in her house.

Much like the first scene, this one is also set up and framed for Comedy.

Which is um. A Choice. 

But What Does It All Mean

What frustrates me about these scenes, at the end of the day, is that the narrative intention and the directing/editing seem to be fundamentally at odds.

On the one hand, it makes narrative sense to say that the purpose of the scenes is to show that Scott is losing control. That he’s being affected by bardo and the open door in his mind, and it’s putting the people close to him in danger. But then on the other, the way the scenes are actually used are as comic relief. As a way to release tension between very tense, dramatic scenes. 

I don’t think it works, as I don’t personally find it funny at all. But that really does seem to be the intention.

Once again, absolutely wILD choices were made on the part of tptb, and I really wish anyone had thought for two seconds about the implications of all of this, but nO

Ahem.

So now (literally 2K words later I’m so sorry 😅) what does this tell us about the characters? Certainly no one here is arguing that shoving someone is a good or defensible choice, whether it’s due to forces outside the character’s control or not. But even taking the influence of bardo in mind, is it even in character for Scott in the first place?

Because canon can also be written inconsistently/out of character, especially when we’re talking about a long-running show like tw.

One’s an Incident, Two is Coincidence...

Well, we all know the end of that saying.

So let’s end by looking at a few patterns.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this, once again, eXCEEDINGLY long post, this is reference to a post I made about scallison. I said the following in that post:

And I also really like that they [Scott and Allison] didn’t get back together. That they were allowed to be friends. That even though sometimes it hurt to watch someone you love loved love become romantically close to another person, decisions were respected, and no friendships were broken over it.

The first pattern we need to look at, then, is this:

What’s Scott’s pattern of behavior toward Allison and Isaac’s relationship?

And does Scott’s behavior toward Isaac in these two scenes match the pattern, or is it an outlier?

3x11 Alpha Pact: Sacrifice Prep The revelation that Allison and Isaac have grown close enough for him to act as emotional tether for her is very visibly a blow to Scott. He looks like the rug has been pulled out from under him, but he doesn’t look angry or upset, just.... sad. In fact, it looks like he’s swallowing back tears. But he nods towards the two of them and just says, “It’s okay.”

3x12 Lunar Ellipse: “I look for my friends” This is the epilogue of the season. Scott walks into the hallway at all of his friends in turn. Satisfied. Happy. First at Lydia and Aiden, then at Danny and Ethan. Then he turns and watches as Isaac and Allison walk down the stairs, and they’re laughing, and so obviously happy, and Scott’s small smile grows. He isn’t jealous here—he’s happy for them. 

3x14 Illuminated: Mutual Recognition Scott and Allison are both at Danny’s halloween party, but they’re not here together. He sees her from across a crowded room, just like he did at the winter formal, so many months ago. But so much has happened, and they’re different people now. Allison’s with Isaac, and he’s starting to having feelings for Kira, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt, and that he doesn’t miss the relationship he and Allison had. For a moment, his fingers slip away from Kira’s, and he and Allison share a sad smile. 

Believe it or not, these are actually the only other examples I could find of Scott reacting to Isaac and Allison’s relationship. And uniformly across them, he’s sad, yes—after all, he loved her, and that relationship is very definitively over now. But he never seems jealous, and he isn’t angry.

So, if the Scott and Isaac scenes in Anchors don’t fit the pattern of Scott’s behavior towards the new couple, what pattern do they fit?

“Hit me.”

The teen wolf writers have a... really upsetting habit, honestly, of “resolving” interpersonal conflict between two characters by having the “wronged” party hit the other. Afterwards, the tension is almost completely broken between them, as if letting the person act aggressively in a way consensual to both parties has somehow solved the problem.

2x11 Battlefield: Derek and Peter After Peter comes back from the dead, he confronts the now pack-less Derek and offers to help him. Derek, likely remembering that Peter killed Laura and was responsible for most of the events of S1, attacks him instead. After taking a beating, Peter says the following:

PETER: Okay, go ahead! Come on, do it! Hit me. Hit me. I can see that it's cathartic for you! You're letting go of all the anger, self-loathing, and hatred that comes with total and complete failure. I may be the one taking the beating, Derek, but you've already been beaten. So, go ahead. Hit me if that will make you feel better. After all, I did say that I wanted to help.

3x13 Anchors: Scott and Isaac We’ve already discussed this scene in uh. Detail. So I don’t think we need to go into the specifics again. But just a reminder that this dialogue exists:

ISAAC: Do you want to hit me? SCOTT: No. ISAAC: I think you should hit me.

5x15 Amplification: Scott and Liam During the previous supermoon, Liam—swayed by grief, the full moon, and Theo’s manipulations—tried to kill Scott and take his power. They’ve since rediscovered an equilibrium in their relationship, and Liam’s back in Scott’s pack, but they’re both still dealing with the implications of that event. In this episode, they’re attempting to break Lydia out of Eichen, but they’re not as strong as they should be, due to the mountain ash laced through the building, and are having difficulty breaking down a door. Then, the following exchange occurs:

LIAM: Hit me. SCOTT: What? LIAM: Hit me! I'll get angry, then I'll get stronger. STILES: Hit him. Hit him! LIAM: I tried to take your powers. I tried to kill you. Hit me! STILES: He also left you for dead. LIAM: I wanted you dead!

6x16 Triggers: Liam and Theo No one actually directly says “hit me” in  this one, due to the circumstances, but the sentiment’s there. In this sequence, Liam and Theo are trying to convince Gerard and the hunters that the whole pack is hiding out in the zoo, so Theo goads Liam into hitting him, in order to stage a very audible fight.

THEO: Okay... Then they have to believe us.[shouts] Isn't that right? LIAM: [whispers] Why are you yelling? THEO: [shouts] You got a problem? Oh, that's right, you always have a problem! LIAM: [whispers] What the hell are you doing? THEO: [shouts] Shut up! [punches Liam] Yeah, you see that, Scott? Your little Beta can't even take a punch. And what do you think, Malia?

While there’s a variety of primary textual reasons here, all of them deal with personal issues between the pair, and all of them involve some level of catharsis for the person doing the punching. Taken all together, it’s honestly a pretty troubling pattern, especially given the inclusion of an actual canonical abuse victim initiating and receiving the violence.

TL;DR

This is a writer issue, not a character issue. The serious narrative context conflicts with the comedic framing in a way that is honestly baffling to me, and it doesn’t fit the established pattern of Scott’s character and actions. Moreover, it’s an example of the writers’ apparent belief that interpersonal conflict can and should be solved through consensual violence.

The pattern we do see, is that the Scott is saddened by the knowledge that Allison has moved on, but he’s glad that she and Isaac are happy. Similarly, Allison is saddened that Scott is moving on as well, because she does still care for him deeply. Despite their conflicted feelings, neither tries to disrupt the other’s new relationship.

On other shows, that would be a season-long, drama-filled plotline. Here, nothing.

And I legitimately love that so much.

[lizacstuff]

Another very good episode despite the sad ending which was very well executed by hande. What did you think of the episode?

Very good episode. One nice thing about these new writers, so far, is that the episodes flow a bit better than they used to flow. I think the prior team had trouble putting 2+ hour story without it being disjointed.  These guys seem to be able to manage the format better. 

So much to love in this chapter. So much comedy. So much fun. So much ripping my heart out and stopping on it and then kicking it a little and then throwing it into a fiery lava volcano pit for good measure. 

All those emotions were felt. 

Edser to come, but let's start with Babaanne and the Prince.  It really feels like these characters were introduced with another story in mind, and then the show pivoted. Perhaps the new writers wanted something else, or maybe Fox wanted to renew but wanted the show to get back to basics so they changed course to this reset of sorts? It all feels unfinished.

(continued under the cut)

I think we were all expecting more trouble from both characters.  Not that kidnapping Eda isn't causing trouble, it clearly is, but the fact that it was resolved in the first 5 minutes is notable. What was the point? It did give them a cliffhanger, a chance for Serkan to be a hero, a reason for Serkan to fire Balca, and a reason for Babaanne to change her tune, so it wasn't completely pointless, it served some plots, however it was very anticlimactic. 

Babaanne was pretty anticlimactic too. She comes on like a house on fire in 25, having Serkan arrested on serious charges that could have stuck, framing Alptekin, ruining the project the team had won via the tender. She manipulates Eda into breaking Serkan's heart, goes full matchmaker with the Prince, but then when Eda decides, "Nah, I'm not only not going to give up on Serkan, I'm gonna marry him." she backs off all her threats? 

It does make me wonder if both or either (offscreen) the Prince or Babaanne have something to do with Serkan's plane going missing.  Just so they can fulfill their evil potential. Either of them is powerful enough to pull that off, and it makes more sense than either of them giving up so easily. 

As for Aydan and Ayfer, they made for some pretty good laughs this episode. I think the friction caused by their inherent differences is much more funny, than the fighting over Chef Alexander. As I said in another ask, Ayfer worked my last nerve in her very first scene this episode. She wakes up after being dosed by her mother's choice of life-mate for Eda, but immediately blames the Bolats. Fuck off with that. She enabled her mother, she is more to blame for this situation than anyone but the villains. If she would have stood up to her mother and supported Eda instead of choosing to further Babaanne's agenda by opposing the wedding, maybe Eda's life wouldn't have been put in such danger.  I can't with her. She would deserve it if Eda puts a little distance between them.  

GO DETECTIVE MELO! Love her tenacity in putting together the pieces of Henna night and rightly figuring out Balca's duplicity. For a second there I thought they weren't going to tell Serkan what they found, which made me nervous, but then at the first opportunity she blurts it out. Well done!  We should have known Serkan would be two steps ahead of them except that he's been two steps behind when it comes to Balca since the very beginning. It was very satisfying to watch him fire her. Though, I do wish we would have seen him find out she purposely put strawberry in his drink.  Good riddance!   The ILYs between Serkan and Melo were very sweet, it speaks so well of Serkan that he has such a soft spot for her. Of course it is only natural since Melo has been an unwavering supporter of his since the beginning, Serkan picks his allies well. 

Now onto the couples. The tension between all the romantic pairs this episode was fun, and obviously done for over-the-top comic relief, but also very silly, lmao. Those boys are so DUMB!  Engin has the sensibility of a preteen boy and Ferit never knows when to shut up, he's so naive and he can't read a room.  

However, who didn't love the friendship growth between Serkan and Ferit?  They planned a 15-day bike trip? I'm dying! And crying! However, I fully believe that Eda-broke-up-with-me-I-have-a-sad-and-need-a-distraction Serkan planned that trip and I found it preposterous that Serkan would have any desire to still go right after he got married.  We're supposed to believe that schmoopy, smitten, horny Serkan is ready to leave his newlywed bride for that length of time? Puh-lease he's planning every way he's going to sex her up over the next 6 months, and it's going to take every free minute. Also they can't even find time to get to Paris for the night, but he's going away for that?? NOPE.  Maybe next year, Ferit... but also invite the girls to the bike portion.  

The tension between Eda and Serkan in the first half hour of the ep was a nice little truncated story of the stress wedding planning and a looming, giant life change can put on a couple. Edser started the day in a very schmoopy place, but by the time they left Aydan's they were already starting to feel the pressure. The bickering between Ayfer and Aydan felt typical, and I felt myself being more sympathetic with Aydan.  They're rich, why wouldn't they hire a wedding coordinator? That's a helluva lot of work to do in 3 days!  Why would Ayfer want to spent that time doing centerpieces when she could be enjoying the pre wedding festivities? Dumb. The gems as favors do seem a little over-the-top, but I'd like to take home one of those aquamarines when I attend their wedding, so I won't complain. As far as where they're going to live, both ladies need to step off! They need to be at least 15 minutes of driving distance from both of them.  Not living on the Bolat property and not living in Ayfer's neighborhood. Geez. I'm stressed just typing it up, no wonder it set the betrothed couple on edge.  Obviously, they were having a major disconnect when they got to work. Serkan was dealing with a crisis and probably should have just told Eda that instead of burying himself in work, ignoring her, and getting irritated with her. Meanwhile, Eda should have noticed he was more focused than even the typical workaholic robot, and that meant something important. 

The misunderstanding that fueled their full day stand-off was so silly, and preventable, but also led to hilarity and one of my favorite scenes ever so I won't be too hard on how manufactured it was.  Each of these things-- family wedding planning stress, Serkan being inattentive due to work crisis, and Serkan acting a little "the old ball and chain" when Ferit was blundering along about guys trips and postponing the wedding-- all led to an Eda who was already feeling a bit insecure, so when she overheard Serkan's phone conversation it's not shocking she took it the wrong way.  However, it takes a bit more handwaving to believe Serkan took the conversation the wrong way and went right to freezing her out. Come on, Serkan, you're less emotional and have less reasons to be feeling vulnerable at that moment. She was in your office trying to get your attention on wedding planning and your home and future. You were the one too busy to engage!  Though, I suppose it's believable that these two stubborn souls would allow the misunderstanding to fester out of pride, rather than confront it head on and clear it up right away. It's pretty consistent that when one of them gets their feelings hurt and feels rejected by the other, their defensive walls go up and they both revert to pretending they're just fine and the other's rejection can't hurt them. They need to get over this asap.  

That poor wedding planner. She has a couple insisting they get married in 3 days, they're entirely unhelpful and now they aren't even speaking to one another?  I understand her frustration and don't ding her for asking if they're sure they're ready to get married, but her saying that was definitely one of the things that contributed to the insecurities they were both already feeling. They were both so sad when they had the last conversation in the office, each one suggesting the other to take time to think and rest. Their video call that night was equally as fraught and sad. Sweet, dumb babies. 

The entire sequence of the girls stealthing into the hotel and hiding on the couch was hilarious. I love that Eda doesn't realize that crashing the bachelor party could be embarrassing until she's flat on her back on that couch, hiding behind lobby foliage.  As for the boys, they redeemed themselves a little bit, by being too upset to enjoy themselves.  

One of my favorite parts is Eda trying to be breezy as if the girls being there has nothing to do with the bachelor party. I laughed at Melo taking the blame for suggesting the resort. The single gal always takes the blame, just like the unmarried/not engaged Ferit gets the blame later.  This moment (click here) is one of my favorites of the episode. I still am not sure what she's trying to say with her looping gestures and pointing upstairs and then her haughty pose, and I don't think Serkan knows either, but yet he just gets a kick out of her. The guy who Engin said never smiled, smiles pretty damn easily these days. Also j’adored the wardrobe that had them matching perfectly in shades of cream and olive. In sync and gorgeous. 

Speaking of wardrobe, during that fireplace conversation Serkan looked so huggable in that fleece pullover (more casual Serkan, please!) that I felt terrible that they were not in a place where she could cuddle up to him in front of the fire. Come on! We deserved to see that. That was the biggest tragedy in that scene, slightly ahead of them postponing the wedding. As for that, they were both so convinced that the other thinks they're going too fast, that neither of them was listening to how the other positioned it. Each positioning it as the other's preference. That illustrated the trouble that a little insecurity and a lot of pride can cause.  

Now on to my favorite scene of the episode! Seriously, immediately after watching it I mentally vaulted it to my top 10 scenes list (no such list exists, and if it did it would change all the time, lol).  First, can I say how I appreciated that the friends were all shocked at the news they were postponing the wedding? Ferit and Engin couldn't believe it, and Melo, Ceren and Piril all actively questioned the idea that Serkan would want to postpone. Thank you! You just know if Ayfer were there she would have tried to say "Oh, that's too bad, but really for the best, let's celebrate!"  

Anyway, I loved every second from the moment Serkan says, "Eda, can we talk?" until the apology. Finally, instead of being led by their pride, they both show some hurt which is the catalyst for the heated conversation that clears everything up.  

It's impressive how consistent they've been with some characterizations and how Serkan and Eda yin/yang each other. Eda has always had trouble saying, "I love you." It just doesn't come easy to her. She illustrated that in episode 12, she can handle the sentiment and agree with it, "our feelings are mutual" but it's hard for her to say the words. 

Conversely, Serkan has never had that problem. From the minute he confessed he has told her how much he loves her many, many times and in many, many different ways. What Serkan has trouble with is "I'm sorry". It is so hard for him to say those words. In episode 9, all it would have taken to get Eda back was a simple apology, instead he spent an entire episode doing everything to get her back, but the very simple act of saying, "I'm sorry. That is some next level aversion to apologizing. Whereas Eda doesn't have that problem, she can own her mistakes and apologize pretty easily. 

These scenes outside showcased this dynamic beautifully.  After the misunderstanding is rectified, Eda very easily apologizes, but Serkan goes with a "me too" type of response. The sentiment is there, but he doesn't say the words. A few minutes later, after the crew joins them, Serkan goes all romantic robot and tells her how much he loves her, then prompts her, but instead Eda teases and teases until she finally whispers it. 

Obviously, she loves him and obviously he is sorry about the misunderstanding, but I like the consistency that they both still have trouble vocalizing these specific things.

The fact that Serkan was ready to chuck the guys and his bachelor party in order to have a romantic night with her is very sweet, and also points out how silly the notion of him wanting to travel extensively without her right after they get married. I don't mind things that are exaggerated for humor, but still humor shouldn't need you to completely change the attitudes of the characters in order to hit. And playing on jokes about how marriage and a wife might be viewed as a burden, especially in context of a couple who aren't even married yet, isn't awesome. Which I get, the fact that it is a shitty attitude and a crappy joke fueled the fights between the couples, so at least there was that. It wasn't accepted. 

The lovely montage by the lake was a wonderful way to show us some quiet, romantic moments between them. That's one of the great things about this format, they have time to occasionally gift us with scenes that don't drive the plot, don't move forward any story or character development or even have dialogue, they just exist to make us swoon and fall even more in love with this couple. Mission accomplished! The fact that Kerem is the one who found that location just makes it sweeter. 

Engin, Engin, Engin. What makes you think it is a good idea to judge a beauty pageant?  Your wife is in the hotel! Not that she would be jealous, but, you know, assigning a number value to women based on their looks... it's not great. Also I realize that it's a necessity while shooting with Covid, and we just have to suspend disbelief in scenes that should have tons of extras but are barren, but the hotel holding a beauty pageant and the only people in attendance are three dudes who just happened to be bored in the lobby is funny in and of itself.  But glad the girls got a chance to take their revenge and make the boys feel what it's like to be judged in such a way. Plus it was worth some laughs and gave us a way to unite the bachelor party with the pajama party. 

For me the next scenes only exist to have Edser draped all over each other in the bar.  I didn't really pay too much attention, I think Piril/Engin and Ceren/Ferit all made up, but I do know Serkan wanted to ditch everyone and go back to the room and since we know what happened next.... we know why!  Though I did wonder, did he have a massage appointment for like 10pm?  Or was it the next day? It matters not at all, but it did strike me while watching. I CAN'T BELIEVE HOW MUCH WE GOT OF THEM IN THE TUB!!!  *flings self into the sun*  That was quite something.  Bless these new writers and their willingness to go there.  I love that scene so much. Serkan's smile is just... something else. 

One nitpick is the lighting. Obviously, with the timeline they shoot on, some production value will go by the wayside, though mostly I think they do a decent job despite all the constraints. However, one place that is consistently lacking is lighting in indoor, one-off locations.  The coffee shop in ep 12 is an example, and this was another one. I can understand they need to get in and out quickly. In this case the crew wouldn't have been able to probably prep as much as they'd like, because you're probably not going to put any stand-ins in the water, and you can't take time to perfect it once your big stars are in the tub, mostly naked, submerged and pruning, but the harsh shadows across each of their faces is distracting. Where were the bounce boards? Even those lines out. 

But obviously we don't care. WE GOT THEM BEING SEXY AND PLAYFUL IN THE TUB! What a bounty. That's all that matters.  Loved all the wedding prep, especially the lovely Aydan and Eda scenes. There was SO MUCH JOY... until there wasn't. 

I'm not going to spend much time on the contrivance that led us to the final scenes. I mean, first, Erdem... why are you so incompetent?  And, second, do they not have E-signature in Turkey? Or scanners? Or even fax machines? The idea of having to fly to Italy just to sign something is ridiculous. Oh well, whatever drives their plot, I guess. 

The final Edser scene was brilliant and beautiful and heartfelt and romantic and ominous and painful. All the things it should have been for what happens next.  Poor Serkan! Poor Eda! Why can't they catch a break? 

[irondad-not-ironsad]

WandaVision Episode 1 Reaction

Spoilers below!!

I enjoy the music over the marvel logo

But also a 43 second logo feels kinda long for a 29 minute episode- is it just for the premier or is this gonna happen before each ep?

Also I’m pretty sure I’ve heard that there is a title sequence, which will probably be similar in length. Combine that with the lengthy credits people have been complaining about, it seems that the percentage of the thirty minutes that is actually the story is lower than it should be

not that I don’t love a good title sequence! But I’ll take a well fleshed out episode over fancy logos, title sequences and credits any day

now that I’ve got that of my chest, on to the actual show

I like how they have the frame shaped like that of an old timey tv, combined with the black and white it really adds to the old timey sit come vibe

I like these bells

Ok I know I complained about to much time being wasted with logos and such, but i LOVE how cheesy this theme song is and I love them showing vision and Wanda driving tp there house in wedding attire

“A regular husband and wife” 2 seconds late *vision disappears into a cloud of sparkles*.... 1 minute 8 seconds in and I love this 

Even there acting is reminiscent of an old timey sit com this is amazing

feel like I should note he title sequence ends at the 1.36 mark approximately, which may not seem like a lot but again the show is less than thirty minutes so it adds up

Wanda talks with a fifties accent: I already love this show

Also I wish I had magic I could use to clean, I’m moving back into my dorm right now and Wanda’s powers would be SO helpful

Also I LOVE the laugh track

Also Wanda’s short curly hair is so cute

I love how neither of them knows what the heart means so they play it off by being like “yeah of course I know what it means, how could I forget? Do YOU remember what it means

Also Vision is literally part computer shouldn’t he have a photographic memory? 

Also how old is Wanda? I could have sworn someone said she was 19 in civil war, which would make her like 21 here? I think?? Idk tho, as a 19 year old I don’t think she has ever looked 19 in the movies, even back in Ultron she looked at least in her mid twenties

The face Vision makes when he makes himself human is so funny

Also Vision blowing Wanda a kiss and her reaching back to grab it is the perfect amount of corny that makes it still cute

Also I wonder what vision’s job is

The backing music is so funny

I can already tell Agnes is going to be some great comic relief in a show that’s already hilarious

“I assure you, I’m married. To a man. A HUMAN one!” I know I’ve said before that I was never the biggest fan of Wanda or Vision but I love Wanda in this show

Obv there is something clearly off here, but I feel like I need to mention that it’s clear this is some warped reality. If I had never seen any of the MCU before, I may believe it was just  witch and her robot husband living in the fifties, but the little details really make it clear to the audience (the majority of whom I am sure are familiar with the mcu) that something is off. This scene is one of those, where Wanda cannot seem to recall how long her and Vision have been together and plays it off by saying “It feels like we always have been together”

Is Agnes giving Wanda advice for the bedroom? is this really what I’m watching? Or have I wildly misinterpreted this?

Love the old timey lingo

Vision working a desk job is so funny

Love that vision doesn’t even know what they do at his job, I know it’s part of the false reality thing but also lowkey relatable

“you’re like a walking computer” “I most certainly am not! I’m a regular carbon-based employee made entirely of organic matter”

I started this like twenty minutes ago and have only gotten 7 minutes in because I keep stopping to type my reactions. I am going to try to shut up and watch, and stop screaming about every little detail for a bit 😂

Real quick though does Vision just go by Vision at work?

Ope apparently he does. 

I wonder if Vision took Wanda’s last name

Or is he Vision Stark-Banner since it was Tony and Bruce who made him??

He probably isn’t called that but I think it would be funny if he was

Love that instead of writing “dinner with boss” or “Dinner w/ Harts” or even just “Harts” he drew a freaking heart like im dying

if my lack of emojis seems weird I’m typing this on a computer which I never normally do and I’m to lazy to pull up the emoji keyboard, so basically imagine there’s a cry laughing emoji after everything funny

“No skeletons in the closet?’ “I don’t have a skeleton sir.”

Yup I was right, Agnes is giving her sexy time advice

“you should stumble when you walk in a room so he can catch you. It’s romantic!” that is the only way I will be flirting from now on

Also I got to say, I'm guessing it’s a fifties thing but those pointy bras don’t look comfortable

So she answers the phone “Vision Residence” Is Vision also their last name now? Does he go by Vision Vision??

They make the best facial expressions

This phone conversation where Wanda think they’re having a date night whereas Vision is talking about his boss coming for dinner is comedy GOLD

also I love the fact that they’re giving us stereotypical sitcom drama while keeping it clear that there are bigger problems than dinner with the boss

Fake commercial break is at 9.56 (these time stamps are for myself I want to calculate how much of the episode is actually the story)

I do love the fake commercials tho! And I suppose in a way they ARE part of the show

They missed the chance to make it the toastmate three thousand and make every ironman fan cry

The beeping toaster sounds like a ticking bomb..... also the little red light is the only color we’ve seen this episode I think

Commercial ends at 10.46

Also love that it was an SI toaster, still wish they had made it 3000 instead of 2000

How did Wanda confuse Mr. Hart with her husband? Not that I’m complaining, her coming out in a robe and covering Vis’ Boss’ eyes is HILARIOUS

“This is the traditional Sokovian greeting? Didn’t I tell you my wife is from Europe?” “How exotic!” “We don’t break bread with Bolsheviks”

Visions pants are SO high waisted

“It’s our anniversary!” “Our anniversary of WHAT?” “WELL IF YOU DON”T KNOW I”M NOT GONNA TELL YOU”

Poor Vision is trying to figure out what kind of company he works for this is sooo funny

Agnes coming in clutch with a full meal

So Wanda needs the ingredients in order to magic a meal she can’t just make one appear

Vision breaking into song was amazing

How did one chicken turn into like 30 eggs

Vision is singing old McDonald with his bosses wife this is great

“Diane!” “That must be my wife summoning me!” “She calls you Diane?” “Yes... it’s her pet name for me” “I’m coming... Fred”

So many clichés in this show but it’s done in such a purposeful way that it’s still funny

Also we have only seen three rooms: the kitchen, the living room and Vision’s workplace

“Well I think tonight’s going SWIMMINGLY”

Mrs. Hart is SO NOSY

But I love that they don’t know the answers

Wanda looks SO disturbed when Mr. Hart is demanding her and visions story, you can tell her mind is fighting itself and it’s so sad

Mr. Hart is choking, is it bad that I think he deserves it?

Mrs. Hart keeps cheerily repeating stop it, and gone is the stereotypical sitcom camera angles and and the backing music is switched for something eery

This is lowkey scary, Mr. Hart Dying while his wife keeps cheerily saying Stop It and it just feels creepier the more she repeats

Wanda looks distressed and vision is just looking to her for what to do, her old timey accent is gone and she sounds nearly robotic as she tells Vision to help

Poor Wanda, she is so clearly going through it mentally right now

Laugh track is back, and just like that the Harts are leaving, despite only having one bite of food

And somehow Mr. Hart is impressed? Was Wanda rewriting reality to make them so?

I know that this is clearly some alternate reality and nothing is right, but wanda and vision deciding to choose that day as there anniversary and this little convo here is soooooo cute

Aw her making them rings and them both saying I do is soooo cute

And vision saying “and they lived happily ever after’ is so sweet but also so sad in context

What is that little remote vision is holding meant to be?

And love the hexagon closing in on them with the cute music playing to end the episode

Are the people in these credits real? Because it lists the start as Wanda Maximoff and Vision but are the rest actual people?

So there is some sketchy dude watching the maybe fake credits so there's something going on there

The actual credits start with 7.13 left and I’ve been told there's no mid or post credits scene. I’ll let them play while I finish this up anyways

8 minutes and 49 seconds of this show is the logo, title sequence and credits. Out of 29.36 total this means only 20 minutes and 47 seconds is the show, which I suppose is standard for a sitcom but I think I felt deceived by it showing as 29 minutes

Also 50 seconds of “commercial takes the show time down to 19.57 if anyone was wondering

I swear tho I’m not all that bothered by the length, just did the math in case anyone was curious like I am. 

I thought I was going to really enjoy this going it, but it still really surpassed my expectations and I can’t wait for episode 2!

This is my raw reactions, but I’m sure that as I mull it over more I’ll be posting more about the show

This is somehow a perfect combo of lighthearted comedy and mild horror

I wanna let this episode stew for a while, so I prob won’t watch episode 2 for at least a day

Also what are your guys’ thoughts on this format of reaction? Did I write to much?

Also what did y’all think of this episode? Feel free to let me know what you think of my reaction, and whether you agree or disagree. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

[fleckcmscott]

Pre-Show

Summary: It’s a big night for Arthur. Y/N helps him prepare.

Warnings: Swearing, Smut

Words: 3,387

A/N: Instead of this being a request, this was a scenario I came up with while writing The Find. My brain wouldn’t let go of it. (Though, funnily enough, @sweet-nothings04​ requested something similar a couple days ago!) I hope you guys enjoy!

If you have any thoughts or questions, please comment, feel free to message me, or send me an ask. Requests for Arthur and WWH are open!

The mild, local fame Arthur had gotten after being on Live! with Murray Franklin had been a boost to his ego. And, if Y/N was being honest, confounding to her. She'd assumed he'd continue to be an object of ridicule, the way he had been since that terrible video of his first stand-up had become public. (The humiliation and anger that had radiated from him as they'd stood together in Penny's hospital room, and his withdrawal from her afterward, remained fresh in Y/N's mind.) But she had never been so happy to be wrong.

Only a couple of assholes had approached them on the street. Of the small number of people who said hello, most were neutral, simply amused at having run into a person they'd seen on television. A few were kind. As the months rolled on, the resulting increase in clubs letting him sign-up for sets offered opportunities to hone his craft. She was glad for him, delighted to see how those moments bolstered his self-confidence, helped him let out the instinctual elegance that was too often concealed by reservation.

Though she did have slight concerns. Many of his jokes were sweet, especially ones he directed towards her. But most were therapeutic, about matters closest to his heart. They helped him understand the world around him, in his own way. There was a tendency to treat Arthur like a novelty act, whereas he took his comedy seriously. Would that happen when he performed at amateur hour at the Smile Factory tomorrow night?

She didn't bring the possibility up to him. They'd been a pair long enough for him to know what she was pondering. And she never wanted him to think she didn't believe in him. She did, always. Wholeheartedly. Even if she didn’t always get his humor. And she would sit that audience, give him applause, and laugh at every punchline. Provide the attention he craved and support he coveted. Her love for him and his quirky shtick made that a pleasure to do.

Arthur's deep voice, occasionally halting, other times confident, drifted through the ajar bedroom door. She grinned, standing next to the couch while she ironed creases into his maroon trousers. It was routine for him to rehearse his timing in front of the vanity mirror. Try out his facial expressions to make sure he didn't look "too strange."

The first time she'd seen him do it, he'd blushed and turned away from her, lines tight on his face. But the awkwardness had dwindled as she'd explained she had to prepare for her job, too. That even with all her years of experience, she had to practice testifying if she was going to a big hearing. The effort he put into perfecting his routine meant he cared, and she admired his discipline.

When she heard him enter the living room some minutes later, she glanced over her shoulder. "All ready to break a leg tomorrow?"

"Or an ankle." She giggled at his retort and turned to give him his freshly pressed shirt. The green of his eyes glinted, meeting hers. "I can do this. I know how to handle an iron."

She put her hands on her hips and cocked her head. He'd gotten better at letting her take care of him, but she felt he did more than his fair share. "You know how to handle a lot of things." She wrapped her arms around his slender waist. "This is the first time you've headlined a show. Focus on your act. Besides." A peck to his chin. "We must be in the honeymoon phase, because I enjoy doing this for you. I loathed ironing my ex's ties."

His palm went to the small of her back, lips on the shell of her ear. "Don't honeymoons last a week?"

God, he smelled good. He hadn't smoked since getting out of the shower. She nuzzled the crook of his neck for more of his masculine, spicy scent. "It's been a year and a half..." Her fingers sneaked under the hem of his gray thermal shirt. The warmth of his skin went straight to her center. "And you still drive me crazy."

A muffled laugh as he stopped her caress of his belly. "Sorry, I can't cure you yet." Then he patted her bottom and headed towards his desk. "Something just came to me. If I figure it out, you'll hear it tomorrow."

~~~~~

The dressing room was quite small, maybe eight by eight feet. But Arthur didn't mind. It had everything he needed. Incandescent light from the corner floor lamp made the wall's brown paneling cozy instead of cheap. The metal table was sturdy, the mirror on it sufficient to make sure his hair was in place. If the worn, wooden chair had had arms, it would have been more comfortable. But he wasn't there to lounge, anyway. He was there to work.

Pogo's was still his favorite club to perform at. The people there knew him, were aware of his condition. Not having to constantly explain it was a relief. They seemed to like him better, too, now that he ordered more than tap water. True, he hadn't been able to get paying gigs (though he had been allowed to split the covers on a Tuesday or Thursday night now and then). If he kept refining his material, however, he was certain he'd get there.

Skepticism had been his first response to the call from the Smile Factory. Having not slept well for nearly a week, he'd suspected it was either his imaginings or an elaborate prank at his expense. He'd waved Y/N over and they'd listened to the phone together. Yes, she confirmed. They really had gotten his contact information from Pogo's. A manager had gone to open-mic night and recognized him from Murray Franklin. An amateur block was a couple weeks away, and they wanted him to open it. They liked his oddball factor. They'd even stick his name on the chalkboard sign on the sidewalk.

Arthur had accepted the invitation quickly. It had taken a few seconds for him to put the phone in its cradle. Then he laughed in excitement and held Y/N so tightly he nearly spun her around the kitchen. She'd been happy. But her need to protect him was clear in her posture. He'd tried to put a stop to that quickly. "I want this. People are noticing me. I can't wait for my big break forever."

"You're right," she'd said, nodding. He'd run the back of his fingers over her cheek, her pretty gaze glittering at him. "I can't wait to hear whatever you come up with."

Her words echoed as he read his notebook. Opening a show was new for him. He'd picked out what he thought were his best jokes. A mix of ones which had gotten rare guffaws from audiences, and ones Y/N said she loved. There were new quips, too. He'd done everything he could think of to prepare. But stage fright roamed as deep as his bones.

Nervousness happened prior to every performance. Arthur had habits to deal with it. He'd scribble in his journal, draw winding circles over and over, sometimes until his pen gave out. He'd worry its pages while re-reading his material. (His memorization had gotten better, but he still needed the book for support.) The breathing exercises, in through the nose, holding, then out through the mouth, relieved some of his laughter and his anxiety. Visualizing success was supposed to help. So, as he sat waiting, smoking and sipping seltzer, he attempted to see himself with his arms out and the crowd cheering.

The knock at the door gave him a slight startle, broke him out of his fantasy. He checked the wall clock. He was scheduled to go on in twenty minutes. The emcee likely wanted to check-in and ensure Arthur would be ready on time, let him know how packed the place was. Better to prevent any hitches. "Come in."

Not even his anxiousness could stop his toothy smile upon seeing Y/N enter the room. She didn't usually visit him backstage, not wanting to interrupt him. But he was happy she'd chosen to tonight. "Hey," he said, turning in his chair. "I tried to pick a good table for you." He appreciated her feminine silhouette, the contours of her breasts accentuated by her collared, lilac sweater. Curves shapely in the A-line, pleated skirt she wore, ending just below her knees. Her black kitten heels. She must have come straight from work.

After a pause she stepped forward. "Patricia's guarding our drinks." He averted his eyes, made a soft sound, and studied the back of her hand as he grasped it. She'd brought her friend to his sets once or twice. The first time he’d spotted them, he'd frozen for a split second. Would her faith in him, enough to invite someone along, always be staggering? It was one of the many kindnesses that confirmed how important he was to her, that filled him with gladness.

She kissed the spot between his brows. "I had to tell the emcee I was Mrs. Fleck before he'd say where their big star was."

Outside of his flights of fancy, he'd never truly thought of himself as a “big star.” Or a “big deal.” Or a big “stand-up.” But he’d hoped for all three, aspired to fulfill his purpose in life. To make people laugh, even on days he himself couldn't. And if Y/N said it, it must be true. At least tonight.

Yet, just when the corner of his lips quirked, his back tightened against unexpected pressure forming in his torso. This was an important night. Whoever walked past the club's sign could see Arthur Fleck would be performing. Sure, he was getting more at ease in the spotlight, cackling only sporadically instead of every time he got started. But he knew there was a chance he'd screw up. Maybe he'd never get to do another set. Maybe he wouldn't even be permitted to come in and make notes. Maybe they'd decide he wasn't funny.

He winced at the negative stream of thought. That wouldn't do any good, especially not now - he was about to make a debut. Scoffing, he took a drag off his cigarette, stamped it out in the ashtray on the metal table, and rested his cheek on the heel of his palm.

Y/N's gentle touch drifted to his shoulders and his eyelids shut. He let her guide him to rest against the back of the chair. "Let me unwind you," she purred. The tips of her nimble fingers kneaded him. The circular motions in the notches above his collarbones ached at first, but started to tingle as he felt his muscles loosen. "Did you figure out that new joke last night?"

"Yeah," he breathed. "I changed my opening." The press of her thumbs to either side of his spine released a knot he hadn't been aware of and he groaned. "'Hello. It's good to be here. Thank you for the invitation.'" His gaze caught hers in the mirror. Combined with her massage, her prettiness made it hard to recall what he'd written. "'When I was younger, I never wanted to go running. I was afraid I'd run out of money.'"

Shivers went through him at the glide of her hands on the nape of his neck. "That's a good start." She moved to stand in front of him and his legs fell open. "You're going to be great. But-" she bent to fasten their mouths together. "You still seem to have some jitters." Her palms smoothed down his chest and he twitched, huffing as she knelt before him. "I think I can help."

It took a moment for him to process what she was doing. He gulped, watching her crumple the bottom of his vest and untuck his shirt. As her fingertips went to his fly, he grabbed her wrist, stiffening and snorting awkwardly. "Y/N." He tried to straighten but was halted by damp kisses to his stomach. "They're going to come get me any minute. I-"

"This won't take long." Mischief twinkled in her eyes. "And I locked the door."

This was entirely inappropriate. He should be telling her to get off the floor. To stop groping at him. To save it for their bed, their sofa, wherever. They were in public; this was something private. Her volume would definitely give them away. But the slight pressure of her unzipping his pants and his growing erection made him squint and roll his pelvis forward. In seconds he was lifting his hips to help her lower his trousers and briefs to his calves.

Her look was eager as she gripped his hard-on, her pink tongue peeking out as she smiled at him. The first lick along his length, the first sweep over the dark red tip of his shaft drove him to clutch his seat. The warm, wet contact caused his breath to shudder. Her lips enclosed him wickedly, and he had to stifle a moan at the sight of her working him. Of her taking him in almost entirely. At the determined expression she had while she sought to bring him off.

Mouth falling open, he tilted his head back, the pace of his thrusts increasing. She was alternating between enthusiastic laving and ardent sucks on the head. It was a struggle to control himself, and he bucked up, digging his fingers into her scalp. She whined around him, gripped his thigh, ran her nails through the hair on it the way she knew sent electricity through him. The tightening of his abdomen increased with her every stroke. He was so close...

Then a pounding at the door. "Ten minute warning!"

"Shit," Arthur gasped. He grasped her arm to pull her up. She started to fall into him but caught herself on his shoulders and straddled his lap. Absorbed with the urgency to be inside her, he hurriedly lifted her skirt to pull her panties away. What he discovered caused him to blink at her in surprise instead. "Where's your underwear?"

With a grin, she steadied herself and reached to press him to her slick folds. "In my bra," she breathed, sinking onto him. When her hips were flush with his, his groan matched her whimper. "I knew they'd just be a nuisance." She raked her hands through his locks and kissed him, hard. "I've been horny all day." She ground herself on his public bone and inhaled sharply.

The embrace he returned was fierce, fingers splayed on her back. She adjusted the angle of her body, allowed him to enter her more deeply, until he was completely embedded. The hot, tight slide of her walls went straight to his brain. His eyes darted from where they were joined to her face.

Her brows were drawn together, cheeks pink, lips parted as her undulations quickened. The beauty she held when she lost herself like this could rival that on the cover of any check-out magazine. Grunting, he braced his feet on the floor for leverage and bucked up into her. As he brushed his thumb against her swollen clit, she let out a short wail. He squeezed her thigh, chuckling. "Shh..."

"Sorry," she whispered. She smiled, the cadence of her ruts quickening. "You just-" Another short moan. "You feel amazing."

He nuzzled at her temple. "Y/N..." Her mouth opened against his and his tongue plunged into it. There was a hint of the cocktail she must have ordered before visiting, as well as his own musk. Normally, he didn't find the latter pleasant. But he found her so seductive, riding him like she was, he couldn't bring himself to care.

The rising pitch of her whimpers betrayed how close she was to going over the edge. Faster and faster, he skimmed her sensitive nub, her limbs rigged and trembling. As her pulses began to clutch his cock, he angled their kiss to swallow her strangled cry. She clung to him, holding herself upright, fisting his waistcoat and shuddering.

Somehow, she kept moving.

He was trying to catch his breath, to concentrate on keeping quiet, knowing there were people just outside the door. But the delicious friction was overwhelming, the clench of her threatening to undo him immediately. She was egging him on, her voice husky in his ear and pleading, "Come on, Arthur." He pressed his lips to her neck to conceal his cries, pleasure scorching through him as he surged into her one last time. Her thrusts ceased only when he cupped the swell of her ass, locking her in place as he poured himself inside her.

Their coupling had left him a little muddleheaded, but he knew he didn't a lot of time to recover. His gaze raised to find her glowing, and he felt himself fall in love with her again. Her kiss was swift as she disentangled herself and shakily stood. There were tissues on the table - she wiped herself off with one and handed him another. With a giggle, she took a third and dabbed at the sheen of sweat on his brow.

Her examination of her skirt prompted him to go over his trousers. He was relieved nothing had gotten on them. Once she'd straightened his collar, combed his loose curls back behind his ears, she got out her simple pair of cotton panties and slipped them on. "I'll see you after the show," she whispered, pecking him sweetly.

He watched her retreating form in the mirror until she shut the door firmly behind her. Standing to tuck his shirt in, he laughed softly. They'd really ruined her ironing job. But, he considered as he smoothed the bottom of his vest, it had been worth it. Being with her was always worth it. With a happy sigh, he grabbed his journal, steeled himself with a couple deep breaths, and repeated his opening to himself one last time before leaving the room.

~~~~~

Y/N patted her face with the damp paper towel in the restroom. Her cheeks were unbearably warm, her hair a mess. Carefully, she sniffed at her sweater. Good. It smelled like perfume, not sex. How did Arthur, who had been remarkably timid when they'd first met, become the one person who could inspire her to be so brazen? Whatever the answer, she loved it. Once she freshened up, was satisfied no one would be able to tell what had transpired, she headed back to her seat.

The club was nice, a bit more modern than Pogo's. While the lighting was low, the color scheme was a mix of black, grey, and silver. Arthur's maroon suit would be a pop of color against the painted brick wall at the back of the stage. The place was smaller overall, the space for the audience about two-thirds of what Arthur was used to. It was fairly crowded, though, and the groups that were there seemed to be having a nice time.

Patricia's eyes held suspicion when Y/N finally sat down at the black table for two at the back. "Where the hell have you been?"

"I was just wishing Arthur good luck." Y/N sipped at her Tequila Sunrise nonchalantly. It was the drink she always ordered at his shows. Her legs crossed under the table and she swung her foot back and forth.

"You were gone almost twenty minutes." Patricia nudged her arm. "How much luck did he need?"

"An abundance." Her friend's smirk was impossible to miss, even as Y/N focused on her cocktail glass. Patricia was onto her. Of course. "Sorry. I didn't mean to ditch you," she said. "I'll cover your tab." Patricia’s response was to grab the drink menu.

When the lights dimmed, Y/N straightened with anticipation. Arthur came out, notebook in hand, and gave a little wave. Standing in front of the mic, he surveyed the crowd, as always, and nodded at Y/N when he spotted her. She admired his wrinkled outfit, his mostly slicked back hair, the lingering blush on his sharp cheekbones. Everyone else in this room probably assumed his color was due to nerves. But she knew what it was a remnant of. Savoring the secret held between them, she pressed her legs together and smiled.

~~~~~

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[aysall]

on Jin, and his story.

A sort of analysis retracing Twice’s journey. It’s long and convoluted, but I wanted to give him a proper goodbye. 

[P.S. seeing a lot of discourse lately I want to specify that mine is not a moral analysis. I’m not interested in discussing who’s right or wrong in the conflict. I understand why other people do it, it’s just not me. Hope you enjoy.]

The parable of Twice’s character has been explored throughout the story of My Hero Academia in an extremely conscious way. His first appearance in chapter 77 occurs briefly and unexpectedly; unlike the other villains, he’s not depicted in a disturbing or dangerous light and that’s why at first glance he’s easy to categorize as unimportant (in hindsight, this sort of unique introduction should’ve said a lot about him). While the Forest Training Camp Arc reaches its peak Twice reappears several times in an increasingly comic light helped by the continuous, incomprehensible at the time, contradictions with himself. Still not scary, besides the funniness, he begins to be endearing.

A jump, and here comes chapter 115, the first to be completely dedicated to a villain and it really is interesting: hero society is seen through different eyes and its supposed “moral goodness” is questioned. Our gaze turns briefly towards the outcasts upon hearing «Heroes only save good people», is it really so? And why is a comic-relief character revealing this?

Jin Bubaigawara’s face is devoid of comedy as much as Twice’s mask is full of it: empty eyes marked by fatigue, a scar that divides the forehead in two, a story about losing oneself and their sense in the world. A double meaning, it’s early to comprehend it fully but My Hero Academia is opening to the other side, willingly listening and we listen with it. «By helping the League that accepted me as I am … I want to think that I am okay with the way I am, too» Mh. Okay. Let’s go on.

Twice’s development continues along the Overhaul Arc, as it opens with an error on his part which leads to Magne’s death, and from there it unfolds, in guilt, comfort and resoluteness. Toga, who until then was quite the flat character, cartoonishly depicted as creepy and psychotic, accompanies him showing a different side of herself through the first act of kindness we see from a villain. It’s worth underlining how, in regards to Twice, many of the bad guys soften, showing more delicate and empathic gestures: Giran welcomes him, Shigaraki allows (and uses at best) his sentimentality, even Dabi puts aside his indifference to encourage him. I think it’s because such dedication drives others to respond in kind.

Anyway, «I’m human too y’know… Shigaraki!» (ch.148) with this sentence, what previously was only speculation becomes clearer in the reader’s eyes and seals the promise of a conscious and attentive development: Twice’s role is aimed at opening a gash on the villain’s inwardness, invisible until that point, and it’s thanks to him that we begin to observe them in a more understanding light. Magne’s death has shaken up the League, and they find again their balance with new, stronger bonds, sealed by Shigaraki’s affirmation that they’re acting for their own sake. With Twice pouring out his feelings they’re able to build trust, work in tandem, emerge victorious. He was (and will keep being) useful, pity he doesn’t notice it.

Several and too many chapters later: My Villain Academia Arc. Twice’s humanity is confirmed yet again when he throws himself into the fray, first to save Giran, then Toga and then all his companions. In murmuring that the Legue is his home, another piece falls into place and it’s here, among other things, where we connect the most with him and his past: who has never lived a moment of loss and solitude, where the mistakes add up to one another to the point that one day you look in the mirror without knowing who you are, aware only of the ugly parts, thinking that maybe that’s why the pain doesn’t go away. You probably deserve all of it. 

Twice’s path is cathartic in regards to rejecting this view of himself because, partly by chance and partly by voluntary action, he began to recover when he built certainties in his life, realizing that it’s worth struggling for a connection with people and how much dear that becomes to you, how terrible the idea of ​​losing it (losing them) can be. The plot rewards him for his struggles.

«The important thing is to know who you are, what you want to become» isn’t it poetically perfect that when Twice decides not to run away from himself, he finally realizes that he is the original? The ground has stabilized under his feet because now he knows what his mission is, therefore the “real” Jin Bubaigawara can go back to being whole—or at least united enough to pursue the goal of protecting his home with all his power. Which is pretty fucking powerful.

Many have said that Twice is the heart of the League of Villains and I agree, he is a summary of the “good” (even if distorted) feelings that led every single member into joining the group. Misery does love company, the excluded sought each other because when one is alone reality is too scary to face. 

But a villain, however emotional, must have his tools to defend himself or his strenght will become his weakness. That’s why Twice is both the strongest and the most vulnerable and is twice (hah!) punished for this condition; the second is fatal. Despite this his narrative arc ends with a reaffirmation and reinforcement of everything he is and represents: he sees himself in Hawks and thinks he can help him (empathy), then he is betrayed and mourns and fights for his companions (self-sacrifice), he regrets his mistakes, he is ready to die (kindness). And he dies many times: protecting his home, full of anger and sadness, exposing the hypocrisy of people who are many things but perhaps not heroes—which is good, as Twice shows again and again, the world is not black and white, heroes and villains intertwine and maybe they do become “just human”. He dies without doubting himself nor his feelings, he dies in an attempt to reach his loved ones and he also dies reaching them. His last death happens in the arms of the girl who first showed him kindness, from whom he was sure he would have never received any comfort ever again. So he dies realizing that he was wrong, despite Jin Bubaigawara being the “Sad Man”, Twice is full of energy and affection to give, and these feelings are repaid by the very individuals who shouldn’t be able to do anything but inflict terror and fear. Again, that’s still because the world is not black and white and “Twice” and “Jin” are no different, one in the same.

Twice rejects Hawks’s words about his unfortunate condition. In doing so he rejects the words of himself to himself in chapter 229 «[you went wrong] when you were born without luck» and this stance can be connected to what Toga said against Curios «I’m not unfortunate at all!» (ch. 226) and Shigaraki’s response when he remembered his childhood «That was no tragedy.» (ch.237): all of them reject the inherent misfortune of their past to embrace who they are in the present, they abandon the self-pity. Therein lies the message that the choices they made are theirs alone and that no one should have the right to judge them with pity. These are all positive teachings that we are used to get from the good guys’ side, now that they’re seen through the villains everything becomes grayer and, in my opinion, more interesting.

And so, yet again, everything seems to be screaming that his death is not a tragedy because while he was looking for himself, he found a place to belong and learned to be happy with it. I like to think he also teached the League a thing or two but we’ll have to see, this is a point of no return for them; maybe it’s the start of their downfall, maybe they will change in something stronger, but Twice will keep having an impact on how things are.

I think he absolved his role.

This world doesn’t grant a just end to the outcasts, yet perhaps there is no need, if in the journey you can carve out a small space of happiness together with those who accepted you, with the good, the ugly and the incomprehensible parts all together.

I respect this, because I think there is nothing more important in the world. 

[rosyluv]

—Chapter Two: It’s That Stupid Dinosaur Costume Running Like A Madman.

A/n: me and my sister wrote this at 4am so it’s v chaotic and weird, also i have a Spotify playlist for the series “avengers assemble: avenge club.” Enjoy!

Warning: none. Rlly bad comedy and minor bullying if you will.

——

“What new girl?’’

Is the first thing that Bruce says after five or so minutes. Carol, the new girl, is looking in between them, confused and waiting for someone to de-freeze --and for the love of god could they stop gawking at her like she’s some god-forsaken alien, who shoots fire out of her fists. (She starts to think that being new in this academy is like a rare disease) Is this how they greeted all the new kids? Because if so then she’s going to have a blast the next years sitting alone at lunch, thank you.

“I just transferred here,’’ she says slowly for their equally slow brains to understand.

“No new kid transferred here since like ... five years ago.’’ Rhodey says. “Why did you do that to yourself?’’ he asks, genuinely confused and equally upset.

She gave a look at the fighting and arguing in the hallway. “I can see why you’d ask that.’’

Right then, they hear the hallway mic screech, turning on annoyingly loudly, and they hear Nick’s voice: “All students head to the gymnasium, this is nothing but a mild inconvenience. If I see one student in the hallway in ten seconds, you’ll earn yourself detention for the rest. Of. The. School year.’’ He says, his voice authoritative and final over the mic.

Then after – miraculously—all the students stop the arguing and fighting to head to the direction of the gym like Nick ordered. “Where’s Nick?’’ Carol asks, when the hallway is almost empty.

“Nick?’’ they all say in unison, confused and frowning in disbelief. She called him Nick.

She looks frustrated. “The headmaster, the guy who was just talking?’’

“It’s Mr. fury.’’ Nick climbs the stairs and stands Infront of Carol, ignoring the others and glaring at her. Carol smiles, unaffected by his monotone, attitude or dark clothes, almost like she is familiar with him.

“Yeah, whatever.’’

“You’re late, two classes behind.’’ He sternly says.  

“Well, There’re no teachers and i don’t have my timetable yet.’’ He glares and she smiles innocently and half raises her head cheekily, ’whatcha gonna do?’ expression. Same expression Clint does- same expression they all do. Like that time, they broke the fire alarm, because Clint wanted to know what would happen if you lit a watermelon on fire. ‘’It has 92 percent water in it Nat; nothing bad will happen.’’ Turns out sticking ‘those fire emergency stick thingys in the school buses’ in 3 watermelons wasn’t the bad Clint was talking about, but it was a profound -watermelon explode- disaster and ‘burned watermelon smells like burned water.’ Followed by ‘how the hell do you possibly know what burned water smells like, Barton?’

Fury hands Carol a piece of paper, she scrunches up her nose when she takes a look at it, visibly disliking it, (it would be weirder if she did like it), and AP chemistry after lunch was much to dislike. Maybe she’ll skip it and-

“Don’t think of skipping AP chemistry.’’

Her eyes narrow and she almost defends herself.

“Or AP math.’’ He says in finality and she pops her mouth shut.

Nick just now looks at the – still – confused others in the back, and tiredly rolls his eyes.

“This is Carol, she just transferred here from up-state.’’ Nick seems frustrated and tired. “Can someone please show her around school?’’ but it’s not really a “can you please?” question, it’s more of a “who of you?” Question. No one volunteers still, because all experiences with kids from academies up-state is that they are a teeny, tiny a lot arrogant and self-centered. Like Thor who used to live in western Australia up-state, because he just won’t stop talking about it. ‘schools in Australia where I lived were way less incompetent.’

Now it was 10 seconds, (not like Nick counted it) and they were still ignoring him. Val makes a sound in the back of her throat like a groan, “Fine, I’ll do it.’’ Then she walks away with Carol trailing behind.  

“Clint, Nat, go look for the teachers again, make sure you find them this time, while I contain the damage in the gymnasium. This is still a school day.’’ He sharply orders and they take in the serious tone, because they nod once and walk the opposite direction Carol and Val went.

Nick steps forward and heads quietly to the gym, they – of course – follow behind, until they’re in-front of the two large doors filled with chatter inside that’s somehow not fighting. Pietro, Thor and Wanda who came back from where they were, join the others now. There’s no more arguing and ‘hallway disturbance and breakage and wrecking of things in the hallways, it’s calm, not clean, but at least calm and quiet and only chairs scraping at the floor, and that old closet filled with aging silver trophies’ rusted doors getting swayed by the wind is heard. Unlike it was two minutes ago.

Nick turns to them and sighs. “This is exactly what I was saying, the whole school is reckless and divided, and the kids never agree on anything and they don’t help each other like they should. Now I knew I would never understand what you kids want and how you perceive socialism in your own way these days. And if I put an action or a plan to handle these things, and how the school should work; they were going to be my way, which of course you would’ve immediately hated and disagreed with. That’s why I invested my trust in the responsibility I offered you, so you could be able to do that instead of me. You would understand what this school needs to be like. Unlike the other students. Just the thirteen of you are the ones who showed any concern for the bad things happening.’’ Nick says.

Sam actually regrets not being the one guiding Carol around school right now, so he wouldn’t be feeling guilty about letting Nick down, but well this is how all of them were feeling like. Even Tony, who a second later adjusts his bag on his shoulder, and says. “Well, you may consider other people,’’

Then he walks away and doesn’t enter the gymnasium, Nick doesn’t seem to care. Pepper and Rhodey following after mumbling a soft ‘sorry Nick’, Thor is the next to leave saying, ‘I’ll go find Loki.’ And Bruce offering to help him. Pietro and Wanda give a small nod and then leave, also. Sam pats Nicks back then stands away. Steve doesn’t leave, he stands stubbornly still in front of Nick, who’s holding the gymnasium door open, waiting for Steve, Bucky and Sam to leave.

Bucky standing close behind, puts a hand on Steve’s shoulder, “c’mon Steve.’’ he shifts on his feet and then finally gives up and leaves with Bucky and Sam.

---  

The school isn’t even circle shaped, or round, but Clint keeps saying -- every five seconds -- ‘we’re running in round shapes’ or more like whines the wrong metaphor out. In return Nat calmly says. ‘the school isn’t round Clint.’ So, she’s probably trying to occupy his mind, because she’s done with him and the whole day and everyone, and it’s not even the afternoon yet (and the academy is weirdly big and filled with classrooms and hallways like a maze.) And that would suck because it’s not even 10am and Clint haven’t showed her that funny frog video-

“Wait, I remember it!’’ he half yells. “It’s ‘running in circles’ People say it as a metaphor.’’ He says. “I swear I’m not high! it’s just 9am and a school day and I didn’t get any sleep last night.’’ He mumbles.

“Wow, so you did read our English novel.’’ She says and she’s supposed to sound amused by the context of what she’s saying, Clint thinks. She isn’t though. Just a dull face, and him trying to read her; well that’s just Natasha and Clint anyway.

“No. Why would I? There’s no pictures!’’

She ignores him and keeps looking in classes for the teachers. “We looked everywhere, so it’s either someone told them today is officially labeled Labor Day or Loki killed them, and buried them somewhere.’’

“You think he can actually kill someone?’’

“You think he actually hasn’t killed someone.’’ And then Clint’s face falls and Nat snorts. “I’m kidding, gee you’re never bad with gore.’’ They opened and closed some more classroom doors, really any doors in their way. The hallways were quieter now, so that’s a relief for Natasha’s headache anyway.

She glances at Clint over her shoulder. “What’s wrong with you today?’’

“Huh?’’

“You’re weird today.’’

“I’m always weird, you say that every day-’’

“No, I mean weird, weird. Like your anxious and jumpy and more self-aware of how you hate yourself.’’ She opens an empty classroom, mumbling something like, ‘where did he put them?’

“I may have not told you everything that happened about ... ‘’ He motions to his blackeye. “This.’’

She so slowly narrows her eyes and studies him. “You said some guy who doesn’t go here punched you because you annoyed him.’’

“Yeah- ‘’

“Which actually sounds so stupid when I say it out loud, now.’’ She frowns. “How did I believe that- ‘’

“I stole Brock Rumlow’s jacket.’’ She focuses on him and he realizes the context of what he said.

He stutters, widening his eyes. “Well no I didn’t -- at least not anything I remember, but he thinks I stole it at Saturdays party.’’

She glares, but stays calm. For now. “I told you not to go to that party, we don’t hang out with that crowd, and of course you went and ended up accused of stealing Brock fucking Rumlow’s varsity jacket.’’ She says, slightly gritty. and she has the ‘you screwed up and i will kill you after this is over myself’ face.

“I didn’t though!’’ He exclaims.

“I know dumbass.” She raises her voice a little. “He’s a psychopath, he accuses people of things they didn’t do because he likes that it amuses him, he beats people up and does shit like that all the time for fun. Now you actually screwed him over.” She grittes out. “Did he see you? Maybe someone who looked like you?’’ She thinks more to herself. Which gives him time to contaminate telling her what he’s about to tell her, or run away instead. Because if going to Brock’s party isn’t what’s going to kill him then this will. Or at least he thinks.

“Loki told him he saw me take it and leave- ‘’ she groans.

“Of course, he did.’’

“He says if I don’t get it by tomorrows basketball practice, he’ll report me.’’ And he’s panicking now. “Shit! What am I gonna do- ‘’ he says, like he just now felt the weight of the situation and trouble he’s in, Nat scoffs at that.

“Listen, we’ll find the teachers then find the boys and figure this out, Just don’t panic alright?’’ She reassures, then she takes a look at him. “You already are, aren’t you?’’

“No! no, it’s fine, this is fine, I’m O-K. It’s alright, it’s fin-’’ His voice gets higher at the end.

“We need to find the teachers because your having a panic attack, I think I know where they are. Come on.’’ She says, all serious now, going the opposite direction, towards the field.

 --

Thor and Bruce, who had been also going through the school hallway and looking through classrooms searching for Loki came up with nothing, and it’s been five minutes now. They didn’t even run into Nat and Clint. Maybe that’s just how big the academy is, or maybe they’re horrible at searching for people.

Or maybe not so bad since they spotted Loki getting out of a classroom, holding onto something behind his back.

Thor yells his name, catching his attention and runs his direction, Bruce sighs and follows.

“Why the hell would you screw with the report cards?’’ Thor yells frustrated.

“I can explain, just ...’’ he hands Bruce the varsity jacket that he was holding behind his back. “Hold this for a second. I’ll be right back.’’ He motions for Thor to wait with his hands. And calmly walks away into a different hallway.

Thor waits after 5 seconds. “He’s not coming back.’’

“Nope.’’

Then Thor curses under his breath and runs in the direction Loki walked in. Bruce deciding this is just family problem and he’s already having a much anxious day for a family confrontation, stays behind and turns around to walk the other way, although he hits something and his coffee spills on said something. The liquid spills on the jersey in his hand, (with the weird symbol on the back that doesn’t look like the school logo.) the coffee cup neglected now on the floor, Bruce turns to look at who he spilt his coffee on and —of course— its high school douchebag Brock Rumlow. Of course, his luck is just like that, and of course he’s with his other douchebag friends. He recognizes them well. On Brock’s left, Aldrich Killian, blonde hair, thats neatly slicked back, (and Bruce wants to tell him ‘we’re not in the 80s’ man), blue eyes, sharp jaw, and an almost no-fucks given face with tinted glasses lowered to the bridge of his nose, looking unbothered, finishes the look nicely. He takes a minute to remember that he knows about him not from his excellency in everything the school does, and how his name is always on top of school charts. (Although not essentially as Tony’s) but from Tony, he always rivaled him, and Tony always hated him, saying how full he was of himself which was a little hypocrite for Tony to say since he wasn’t much different, ‘at least I know how science actually works, unlike him.’

On his right, Hela, Thor and Loki’s big sister who’s blowing a bubblegum and holding her phone with long, green manicured nails and her scary piercing cat-like green eyes, an almost white sheet skin tone, and the dark eye make-up magnifying ‘the whole vampire look she got going on,’ like Loki would say. And next to her is, Erik Killmonger. Glasses, perfect lean broad athlete body, dark smooth skin, his hair in a half small dreadlock bun, wearing a denim jacket, over his designed uniform. He doesn’t know him much as much as he’s recognized with the other three, from his friends past experiences with them. Actually no one really knows anything about Erik, now that he does think about it.

Bruce finally breaks his ogling and stutters: “I - I’m so- I’m so sorry- oh god- ‘’

Brock stops glaring at Bruce’s face and his eyes waver to what he’s holding, “Is- Is that my jacket.’’ His face reddens and a vein displays in his forehead. And Bruce just notices, Brock isn’t wearing the jacket he’s always seen wearing. Just a white t-shirt that’s stained with coffee now.

Bruce begins to explain, but ends stammering. ‘’No, no, no.’’

“You spilt coffee on me and you have my fucking jacket,’’ he says, voice chillingly slow and calm.

Bruce does the one thing that pops in his mind, and ‘Loki would be proud’ he thinks In pity, “I can explain.’’ He says slowly before he bolts the other way.

Brock isn’t wasting time either, running after him full speed. Erik and Aldrich follow after and Hela who stays behind, opens her camera phone, “this should be fun.’’

Bruce who’s running, hallway to hallway, having a full-on panic attack, runs into the academy’s band changing room and see’s that giant big green monster costume, that looks like a dinosaur, hanged carefully next to the marching band costumes. He Hears foot steps outside the room and — this was predictable — quickly fumbles through the dinosaur costume and changes into it.

Now he is in the costume, putting the head on and he looks stupid wearing it at day with no football ... well, anything. More or so he’s feeling his anxiety grow bigger which is probably not a good sign too. He goes out of the back door and sees Rumlow and Erik at the end of the hallway, they see him, but don’t seem to really care or give attention to the weird kid in a green dinosaur costume and keep looking for ‘Bruce’

Almost satisfied that his plan worked he turns around and sighs— but he’s not met with the school main exist, Hela is in front of him, with towering frame and a smirk on her lips, she so slowly turns to Brock’s direction still looking at Bruce and ignoring his whispering pleas to stop.  

“He’s here!’’

“Shit.’’ He curses under his breath, as he— instead of exiting school like he planned, runs to his left, he goes through another hallway and runs because he can hear running behind him and at this point, he’s hating this day and wishes he stayed at the gym and didn’t help Thor look for Loki. He takes another left. Hopefully they lose his tail and then he’s again stumbling into someone and he can’t see who because, curse how big this thing’s head is. He raises it to the side and looks.

He sees who he stumbled on, “Loki?’’ then he realizes who he stumbled upon. “Loki!’’ he hisses and begins to demand an explanation for the jacket, but then Loki’s face whitens turning to look at the costume with disgust before he’s running the other way, and Bruce remembers him saying how much that big costume freaked him out. “It’s an ugly shade of green and the head isn’t even attached to the body, it’s horrible.”

Thor just now appears from where Loki came from and heaves a breath, then takes a good look at his friend in that ridiculous costume and frowns. “What Happened? I left you for five. Fucking. Minutes.’’

Bruce struggles to answer, “did you see where Loki went to?’’ and Bruce points at the direction he ran off to. But before Thor can run first, they hear shouting from behind and now Bruce is the one running first and Thor who doesn’t exactly have a grasp on what’s happening follows behind Bruce, to find Loki.

And then it’s Brock and his friends running after Thor who’s running after Bruce running after Loki, and it’s a mess and Bruce feels like he could vomit, but he can’t get beaten up for something he didn’t do, let alone understand why, at 9am. So maybe he’ll run till lunch break instead.

---

Steve hasn’t spoken a word since they left the gymnasium. And Sam and Bucky know why, but they’re hoping they’re wrong. Then Steve speaks.

“Nick’s right.”

They both roll their eyes and Sam shakes his head.

“We’re gonna do the club.”

Sam faces him. “Even if we Join you, No one is going to agree to that.”

“They will, eventually.”

“I know where this is going.” Bucky whispers to himself.

“I have a plan.”

Bucky winces, closing his eyes. “No.’’ he whispers.

Sam shakes his head. “Yeah, of course you do.”

Bucky opens his eyes. “Steve, noO-’’ but he’s already running the other direction.

“Let’s go!’’ he heads for the school back exist, he doesn’t get the chance to open it, because he reaches for the door handle and it’s already opening and then Nat steps inside and they both frown at eachother. Clint, who’s behind Nat, catches up now.

“What are you doing?’’

“Looking for you.’’ Nat narrows her eyes. “What are you doing?’’

He points at her. “Looking for you.’’ She nods. “Did you find the teachers?”

“Yes. We did.’’ Nat goes back outside and starts walking, they mostly follow her, but they already know where she’s going anyway.

Then cold, heavy wind makes Steve’s nose scrunch up, because it’s the end of September and it’s chilly and the air is damp and foggy and feels more like November. He puts his hand in his pockets and folds into himself so at least his jacket provides some warmth. Then he remembers Bucky hates winter and cold weather, more than him, ‘yes, spending half your summer breaks in Siberia can do that, Steve,’ and it’s true because he looks colder than Steve. Opposite to Nat who favors winter and Sam who’s too warm for his own good, then Clint who’s too fidgety but Steve thinks it’s not because of the weather.

“Where did you find them?’’ Sam asks curiously, when they reach ‘their place’ as Clint calls it. It’s really not, it’s a place that no one in school pays attention to, mostly because it’s hidden in the back of the academy, on the left, deep in tall trees. Clint found it when he got, ‘secretly’ drunk at a football game two years ago and woke up on the ground, surrounded by grass and tall, Doric columns, separated by a few centimeters and Clint had claimed it theirs. ‘It’s like I was supposed to be there, it’s crazy! We should make it our place.’ Which after a lot of persuading on Bucky’s side, to sit outside the warm academy on cold Doric walls instead; they agreed to make it their special hang out place. They sit there, sometimes do late unfinished homework before school starts or just sit and talk about anything and everything, or just do nothing at all sometimes.

Nat sat between two columns, and rested her legs up on the column in front of her, still used to her ballet classes, Clint thinks. “Remember that room at the end of the football yard, where they used to put away broken equipment or trash old files.’’ She says and continues when they nod. “Loki sent someone panicking telling some teachers that two students were killing eachother in that room and then to other teachers that a group of students were doing— or high on crack. He even told a teacher he saw a wolf in there.’’

“That explains why animal control was here,’’ Sam points his thumb at two men getting into a large van with, ‘animal control’ printed on it. One of the men faintly heard from where they are, says: “false call’’

“What kind of sociopath-- ‘’

“Yeah, we don’t have time to discuss Loki’s concerning behavior.’’ She pauses, “or actually, no, we do, since this concerns him.’’

Steve straightens his posture. “What happened?’’

Natasha takes a deep breath. “Rumlow thinks Clint stole his jacket because Loki said he saw him take it.’’

“He did what?’’

“You went to Brock’s party?’’ Are both said in unison to Clint after Nat finishes talking.

They all look disappointed at Clint. He sighs slowly and looks down, “was it worth it? No. Am i gonna do it again? Probably.”

Nat turns to him. “Am i surprised? No. Am I Disappointed? Yeah.” She nods at Clint and fake smiles and he sarcastically copies her expression.

Steve looks between Nat and Clint, tiredly. “Well, Thor said he’s going to look for Loki so if we find him, we’ll probably find Loki.’’

“And do what?’’ Nat asks.

“Well if Brock doesn’t have his jacket then Loki probably knows where it is or maybe he has it, so we’ll talk to him, see what he wants.’’ He explains to, Clint who’s leaning against the wall, and tapping his foot anxiously, biting at his nails. Bucky sitting next to Nat and Sam who’s standing beside him.

“And if he doesn’t reason, beat him up.’’ Nat declares. Nodding, like she 100% thinks that’s the right strategy.

Steve scoffs at her logic. “No! no one is beating anyone up.’’ He states. She dramatically rolls her eyes.

“What if we don’t find him?’’ Sam asks, more of questioning Nat and he looks like he’s scared of the answer.

Nat waits a second, “Brock said he’ll report Clint if he doesn’t get his jacket back by tomorrows basketball practice.’’

“That dick!’’ Bucky, who was quiet for the most part, says, his voice shaky and his teeth shattering. Steve should really tell him that he brought a spare jacket for him in his locker, because Steve saw the weather forecast and they said it would be cold, unlike Bucky who goes by how the weather should be according to the month, ‘they’re never right, why bother.’ Although Bucky is traditional like that and he hates to admit that this city is bipolar when it comes to weather.

“Okay, well, we should find Thor, now. The earlier the better.’’ Sam says.

“I texted Thor, he’s not answering.’’ Nat says, and puts her phone down.

“Okay, then let’s go look for him, maybe he’s back in the gymnasium.’’ Steve suggests as he heads outside the bushes.

Bucky shakes his head. “No! wait! We have classes!’’ However, they already left and are too far to hear him. He huffs grumpily and mumbles, “what is wrong with today?’’ then gets up after his —too energetic—friends.

Bucky steps outside, ‘their place.’ and he notices they’re all standing still, frozen and stunned, their jaws dropped and eyes narrowed slightly. Nat’s eyebrows knitted together. They look like they’re trying to comprehend something that’s happening in front of them. He doesn’t see what is happening though, until he steps beside them and it’s his time to get stunned. “What is that ...’’ He trails with a low voice.

It’s that stupid green dinosaur costume running like a mad man after a seemingly terrified Loki, a confused Thor shortly following behind and Erik and Aldrich and Brock (a very angry Brock) running and yelling something, Hela also behind, only she’s not running, just walking and it looks like she’s filming the obscene tragedy that is —whatever this is, with her phone.

“Is that ...’’ Clint whispers slowly, completely confused, his finger trailing the dinosaur that falls on it’s big head and Loki laughs at it like the evil has been defeated, then flinches like a scared cat when it moves and gets up.

The dinosaur doesn’t get fully up though, because a second later Brock grabs at his feet and the poor dinosaur falls back on it’s face and Loki is laughing so hard at whoever is in the costume, he almost falls on his face himself. Hela is still filming, and Thor tries to claw Brock away from the dinosaur—

“This such a weird day.’’ They hear beside them, when they look to see who said that, they find Tony, wearing sunglasses and drinking a capri sun.

“Where did you come from?’’ Sam asks.

Tony frowns, “What do you mean? I was here the whole time.’’ Then he goes back inside the building.

Sam huffs dramatically, “can someone explain what the fuck is going on today?!’’

——

✗ Brock Rumlow.

❂ Hela Odinson.

𓃠 Erik “killmonger” Stevens.

⌀ Aldrich “Al” Killian.

[monstaxperiments]

Monsta X reaction to being jealous of your male friend (pt. 1)..~

Jooheon:

..~ Your bff, Mike has been working his ass off at his new job and finally has a Saturday off. You and Mike have been bffs since high school and even dated a short while but decided it would be best to just be friends. To catch up, he suggests hanging out, but it was also you and your bf Jooheon’s date night, so you decide to spend the day with both of your favorite guys. Jooheon was reluctant to let Mike tag along on your date but knows how close you two have been and he just wants to see you happy. He regrets his decision as soon as Mike walks up the theater steps and sees you practically sprinting to give him a huge hug. A hug that Jooheon felt took a little longer than needed. He says hello and gives Mike the fakest smile he could muster and follows behind the two of you into the theater lobby. Why am I following behind them? I’m y/n’s boyfriend not this guy Jooheon thinks to himself as he not so subtly squeezes in between you and Mike. You and Mike give him an odd look but brushes it off. “Oh, don’t worry about it, I got this,” Mike says as he pulls out his wallet “I feel like the third wheel anyway so I’ll pay for everyone’s ticket. Also just to say thanks Jooheon for letting me tag along. Not a lot of boyfriends would do that.” Mike gives Jooheon a friendly smile. “Yeah no problem.”Jooheon says with that fake smile of his. “Yeah you are third wheel.” Jooheon mumbles under his breathe just as Mike turns away to pay for the tickets. The three of you walk toward the concession stand next. “What do you guys want? I’m buying.” Mike says taking out a wad of cash. Jooheon rolls his eyes so hard he could’ve sworn he saw his brain. “Wow Mike! You’re really getting paid at your new job!” You say in a super impressed tone. A tone that Jooheon couldn’t help but feel inferior to. “Well, you know.” Mike says with a nonchalant shrug “Pretty soon you’ll be hanging out with a rich man” He smiles down at you, nudges you playfully. “Rich men get all the pretty girls.” Mike says this last sentence while looking over his shoulder at Jooheon with a sinister smirk. Jooheon stands there dumbfounded, unable to speak. You make your choices and Mike steps forward to pay for it “No I got it!” Jooheon says while squeezing in between you two again causing Mike to stumble back almost falling to the ground. “Jooheon! Stop being so so rude!” You say. “I’m not being rude, y/n. You’re my girlfriend I should be the one taking care of you.” Jooheon says while smiling at the clerk, handing them the cash. You three finally make it into the movie theater, with you in the middle. Jooheon rolls his eyes as he sees you and Mike chit chatting and giggling and sitting closely while waiting for the movie to start. Now he felt like the third wheel. 

The movie is about 30 minutes in and Jooheon finally felt at peace. You and Mike weren’t talking or giggling about the old days. Jooheon looks over at you to make sure you were enjoying the movie when he sees Mike’s arm over your seat. That sent Jooheon into a rage. “Ok I’ve had enough!” Jooheon yells as he stands up from his seat. A few people shush him and others turn around to see whats going on but Jooheon doesn’t care. He swats Mike arm away from you and gently pulls you up from your seat. “Since you got here you’ve been trying to steal y/n away from me but it stops right now. Don’t ever contact y/n again. And I better not see your face ever again.” He takes your hand and drags you out of the theater. 

Back in the car headed home ~ “I’m sorry y/n. I know you were really excited for that movie. I’ll take you to go see it again another time but I had to get you away from that guy.” He hears a sigh of relief from you. “I’m so glad you did. He was giving off weird vibes all night. And besides seeing you all jealous and possessive like that was a huge turn on.” You smirk at him. “Oh yeah? Well I must look unbelievably sexy right now because that guy really pissed me off.” “Yeah... I’m wondering if I should tell you he tried to grab my butt a few times.” Jooheon almost completely brakes on the highway, earning him a few car honks. “WHAT???” Jooheon is once again dumbfounded and threatens to turn the car around to kick some ass “Jooheon you can’t turn around on a one way street!”

I.M:

..~ “Ahahahahaha I win again y/n.” I.M says while sticking his tongue out at you like a little kid. This is the sixth round in a row you’ve lost to I.M while playing Mortal Kombat 11. You were starting to get annoyed but let him have his little victory. “I’m tired of this game. Can we play something else now?” You ask pouting and batting your eyes. “Sure. What game do you feel like losing next?” I.M chuckles to himself as he looks through the drawer full of games. Just then a notification pops up on the screen. ‘Handsomeguy90 is now online’. “Yay! Jesse is online!” I.M’s shoulder slump at the sound of that name. Jesse. Your bff from college. He currently lives about 10 hours away so I.M rarely had to see him, but he definitely hears his voice way too often. Another notification appears on the screen. ‘Handsomeguy90 is inviting you to play The Sims Online’. That was what you and Jesse liked to play together. An online game of avatars living everyday life and being able to text chat and voice chat with other players. Unfortunately for I.M, you two liked to voice chat. You grab the main controller from I.M’s lap and grab the headset that sat under the coffee table. You accept the invitation. “I guess were done?” I.M drops his hands into his lap with a sad expression. “Hey Jesse!” You say a little too excitedly. “Hey y/n! How are you? You sound so good!” I.M can hear Jesse’s voice through the headset which gave him a headache. He listens as you and Jesse make small talk before starting up the game. In this game you and Jesse’s avatars were married and had two kids with a third on the way. I.M hated when you played this game with Jesse. It made him feel like he wasn’t giving you what your heart truly wanted or you actually really wanted to be with Jesse. He watched with disgust as Jesse’s avatar continuously flirted with your avatar and also listened with disgust as Jesse said whatever his avatar said to your avatar. Things like you’re looking extra sexy today, that dress you’re wearing makes your butt look amazing, I love you so much, we were meant to be together, and so on. I.M couldn’t take it anymore. He got up to get a drink from the kitchen. As he returns he sees another avatar on the screen with the name I.M. The I.M in the game was an ugly old man with horrible traits and was the neighbor of you and Jesse. “What the fuck is that?” I.M asks in an annoyed tone. “Oh, Jesse thought it would be fun to include you in the game as sort of a comedy character. You’re our teched old neighbor who likes to spy on us and leave weird things in our mailbox and stuff like that. Isn’t that funny?” I.M just stares at you for a long moment. “Is he ok?” I.M could hear Jesse through the headset laughing. I.M swiftly lifts the headset from your ears. “Hey!” You exclaim in shock. “Goodbye Jesse.” I.M says into the headset and walks to the console and turns it off. “I.M what the hell?!” You say as you stand to turn it back on but I.M stands in your way. “Y/n I don’t want you playing that game with that guy ever again.” I.M says calmly. “You’re really that upset over a character in a game? It was just a stupid joke for the game.” You say crossing your arms. “I don’t care about the character, I care about the fact that you have this make believe life with a guy who obviously likes you says all this weird flirty stuff in your ear. That’s my job! I’m suppose to say weird flirty stuff in your ear.” You slowly uncross your arms listening to I.M. He was jealous. You felt bad for making him feel this way and being oblivious that you were doing it. You walk towards him and drape your arms around his waist. “I’m sorry baby you’re right only you can say weird flirty things to me.” I.M smiles and drapes his arms around your shoulders. “That’s right babe” he says kissing you on your forehead. 

Hyungwon:

..~ Hyungwon was asked to walk in a fashion show of a luxury brand. He got you a front row seat which made you super nervous. Only the elite sit front row at fashion shows, especially for luxury brands. Since Hyungwon was walking in the show, you two arrived early. While Hyungwon was backstage, you sat at the bar. You were sitting alone for a while until a handsome young man takes the seat next to you. He greets you with a hello and you greet him back. “What’s a pretty model doing here at the bar instead of getting ready backstage?” The man asks you after ordering a drink. You giggle and explain you’re not a model but your boyfriend is modeling in the show. “Oh what a shame to waste such a beautiful face and body to just have you sit in the crowd. How about you sit next to me then?” He says while sipping on his rather expensive looking drink. “I don’t think we can just change seats like that.” You say still a little flattered while sipping on your own drink. He smirks “I don’t think anyone would have a problem with it.” The two of you sit and chat for another hour until the show is about to start. While telling each other about yourselves, you learned that his name was Jason and that he was the son of the designer of the luxury brand and heir to the business. Hyungwon originally had you sitting on the left side at the end of the runway but now that you were sitting with Jason you were sitting on the right side dead in the middle. As you follow Jason you could feel the stares and hear the whispers of the elite around you. You notice the press turning their camera in your direction. You hear Jason chuckle. “They act like they’ve never seen a beautiful woman before. Tell your boyfriend to watch out, they might think we’re a couple y/n.” Jason flashes you a flirty smile. Suddenly the music changes, the outer lights dim, the inner lights start to flashes and swirl around each other, and the emcee comes on stage to start the show. You watch as the gorgeous and handsome models walk up and down the runway in awe. Soon you see a familiar face strutting down the runway. You let out a small shriek of excitement, you see Jason turn to you with curiosity, you smile and point at Hyungwon, “That’s my boyfriend.” Jason nods his head understandingly. You see Hyungwon’s eyes look in the direction of where he originally had you sitting. Oh shit where is she? She couldn’t find her seat? She didn’t get kicked out did she? Questions were racing through Hyungwon’s head and he started to get worried but he had to keep a straight face. Hyungwon gets to the end of the runway, strikes a pose and turns to walk back up the runway, but something catches his eye as he walks a few steps. He sees you waving your hands just at chest level. He was relieved to see you in crowd but he also notices another hand. On your shoulder. Belonging to the guy sitting next to you, smiling at him. In your excitement you hadn’t noticed that Jason’s arm found it’s way around your shoulder. Hyungwon was so shocked, confused, and distracted he almost walked right into the oncoming model going the opposite direction. A few gasps from the crowd were heard as Hyungwon quickly regains his composure and continues to walk backstage. You couldn’t help but feel bad for the sudden change, blaming yourself for distracting Hyungwon. Jason notices your state and comforts you, pulling you closer to him. I can’t believe the nerve of that guy Hyungwon thinks as he prepares for his final outfit. He had met Jason earlier that day and thought he was a decent guy. They bonded a little before the show, sharing things about their personal lives. Hyungwon even told him that his girlfriend was here at the show supporting him and that he felt bad that he had to leave her at the bar. That asshole. He better not let me catch him in the streets. Hyungwon finishes putting on his final outfit and waits behind the curtain for his turn. He peers around the curtain to the audience and sees you and Jason huddled together. Jason is even rubbing the top of your head. That’s my head! Hyungwon is furious. The model that went before Hyungwon is nearing backstage. Now it’s Hyungwon’s turn. He struts his stuff onto the catwalk. You were too busy with Jason to notice it was his turn again, but Jason definitely notices and makes sure you’re attention is on him. Hyungwom reaches the end of the catwalk, poses and turns around to exit. You finally notice. Hyungwon reaches the middle of the catwalk, and stops. Then he stretches out his hand towards you, eyes keeping forward. The whole room seemed to stare and stare out of intrigue, confusion, and everything in between, especially you. Almost in a trance like state you slowly rise to your feet, walk towards the catwalk, take that one step onto the catwalk, and grab Hyungwon’s hand. The camera flashes go off rapidly, a few cheers are heard from the crowd as you and Hyungwon walk hand in hand down the catwalk towards backstage. Just before you two turn the corner to be out of sight of the crowd, Hyungwon slightly turns his head toward Jason and winks. 

[state-of-longing]

53 reddie pls?

This was a one-shot I had already half-written so thank you for this prompt! It got me to finish a year old WIP. I hope you like it. Keep an eye out for a few references from The OC.

53. “Are you jealous? That’s cute.”

‘I don’t like him.’

‘Who? Tony?’

‘Oh, is that his name?’

‘Beep beep, Richie...’ It was quite early in the school day for Beverly to be exasperated with him, it didn’t usually happen until after the lunch bell. She was resting her head on her locker, trying to find some relief as Richie spoke animatedly in her ear.

‘I thought his name was Gerald...’

‘Richie —’

‘Or Assface. It’s easy to get those confused.’

Richie hadn’t met Tony, he only knew that he transferred to Derry High a week ago and was sitting next to Stan in AP History. He didn’t even know he’d been introduced to the other Losers until two seconds ago when he saw them all congregated in front of Stan’s locker.

‘Don’t do this Richard...’

‘Do what, my dear?’

But now he’d seen Tony talking to all of his friends as though he’d known them for years. And something about the whole scene just bothered him. Something about the way Eddie was hanging on to his every word made him incredibly annoyed...

‘Don’t get jealous of the new kid.’

‘Jealous? Who’s jealous? Why would I be jealous of Joseph?’

‘Oh, so you don’t care that Eddie is hanging onto his every word right now?’

That was the annoying part about talking to Beverly Marsh, she always saw through the bullshit. Even though she’d hit the nail right on the head, Richie would never admit that to her. He’d never admit that the thought of Eddie enjoying anyone else’s company, especially that of someone who was ‘conventially’ attractive and kind of smart, bothered him. Not at all. So instead, Richie did what he’d perfected over the years - he deflected.

‘Smoke another bowl, Molly Ringwald—’

‘I fucking hate when you —’

‘— I don’t care that Eddie thinks he’s the greatest thing since sliced bread. I care about my friends and I just don’t trust that guy.’

‘Give me one reason why?’

‘...his eyes are too close together.’

‘You’re an idiot.’

‘And the guy has 20/20 vision? What the fuck is up with that?’

Before Richie could continue on his tirade about assholes who don’t wear glasses, he was interrupted by obnoxiously loud laughter coming from the group by Stan’s locker.

This was a development that was disturbing to Richie for two reasons:

1. Stan was laughing. He couldn’t remember the last time he heard Stanley ‘Urine’ laugh. Ever. And he’d known that kid his whole life. It wasn’t even a little polite chuckle hidden behind a hand or that handkerchief he kept in his back pocket. This was a giant belly laugh that echoed down the hallway. It was a laugh that took over his whole body and made his curls bounce. Stan Uris was fucking snorting with laughter.

2. Eddie was bent over, leaning on Bill’s shoulder as he too was overcome with laughter. Even more horrifying was that when he stood back up he had tears streaming down his cheeks. The sight felt like being punched in the gut. The only time he’d ever seen Eddie laugh like that was because of a joke Richie had made. Eddie only laughed like that at his jokes.

As far as he could tell, this Tony asshole wasn’t even telling a real zinger. Instead, he was walking up and down the hall doing some stupid bird impression. His arms were wings and his legs were bent at the knees as he waddled around. That impression was really that funny?

Richie knew from experience that he couldn’t take the rest of his friend’s reactions as any indicator for how funny this guy was. Bill was chuckling but ole’ Big Bill had never told a joke in his entire life. Sweet Haystack was so nice he would laugh just out of politeness. Richie wished Mike went to school with them because that guy was at least an arbiter of comedic taste.

‘Wow, Tony is pretty funny,’ Beverly sounded far too amused as she picked at lint on Richie’s shirt.

That comment also ruled out Bev.

‘No he’s not. Why would you say that?’

She smiled knowingly and Richie shook away her fussing hands. He hated that smile and the power it held over him. How did she just know everything?

‘Just the laughs coming from Eddie. And Stan. Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever heard Stan laugh.’

‘He’s not funny.’

The laughing continued as Tony continued his impression and relished in the group’s attention. The guy was driving the joke into the ground. What an amateur.

‘He’s big. That’s not necessarily funny’, Richie continued and tried to distract himself from the dull ache in his chest as he watched Eddie follow the group towards their next class. His eyes were shining, cheeks flushed from all the laughter and Richie wished he had caused it. ‘And the guy does impressions? That’s just so cheap.’

‘Richie. All you do is impressions,’ Beverly’s smile faded as she closed her locker and turned to face him. Richie had a sneaking suspicion his poker face wasn’t holding up.

He really couldn’t handle the pity today.

‘Got any smokes Red? I need to get outta here.’

——

Richie had been trying to study for his physics quiz for over two hours and nothing was sinking in. All he had been able to think about all night was Eddie and that laugh. Daydreaming about Eddie wasn’t a new pastime for Richie, he’d been doing it since he was 13 years old, but this time he felt something else.

Something that made all of his ugly insecurities rise up like bile in his throat. Kicking back from his desk, giving up on studying altogether, he stood in front of his full-length mirror and sighed. This was as good as it was gonna get.

Mr ‘I Have One Impression and Will Ram It Down Your Throat’ was conventionally handsome, Richie supposed. He seemed the type who liked participating in school sports unironically and he had the build to match. He was tan and had effortlessly styled hair that just screamed cool and casual.

Richie was almost seventeen and still hadn’t grown into his limbs. He was all gangly bones and arms and legs. He was so pale that if sun touched any part of his skin he burned to a crisp. That meant he copped an earful from Eddie who was always chastising him for not wearing sunscreen. His hair now ruefully curled in a way that was nowhere near cool or casual. Just messy.

On impulse, just to see if any definition had taken over his body or he’d suddenly been bitten by a radioactive spider, Richie pulled off his t-shirt. Nope, still shaped like a beanpole. He could see why Eddie would pay slightly more attention to Tony. Maybe tall, tan and unfunny was what Eddie was into. Maybe that’s who he wanted as a best friend now.

Or more. God, it hurt to think he could be wanting more...

‘Do you want some alone time with yourself?’

Richie was so wrapped up in his own pity party he hadn’t heard Eddie climb up the stairs to his bedroom. Richie’s parents were so used to Eddie hanging out at their house they just let him in now without question. That meant Richie was often caught in painful moments like this.

He was going to say something back, maybe a joke from his back catalogue about jacking off to thoughts of Eddie’s mom, but then he realised his shirt was off. Richie thought he saw a blush come across Eddie’s cheeks as he scanned his bare torso but a wave of embarrassment overtook those thoughts and he clumsily pulled his shirt back on.

‘Jeez Eds, take a picture next time. It’ll last longer.’

As he pulled the shirt over his head, glasses askew in his haste, he saw Eddie flip him off in the reflection of the mirror. Then he flung himself onto Richie’s bed, grabbing a comic book and making himself comfortable like he always did.

Richie took a moment to admire him under the guise of looking in the mirror. He forgot Eddie was wearing that blue collared shirt today...that was definitely a favourite.

‘Where were you this afternoon?’ Eddie’s voice cut through and Richie jumped, mortified that once again he’d gotten caught up in thoughts of his best friend.

‘Ditched with Bev. Hung out down at the quarry for a bit.’

‘Did you forget we were supposed to do something after school? I had no excuse to skip out on dinner with Sonia.’

Richie hadn’t forgotten. He normally took any excuse to spend more time with Eddie after school. But he’d felt like being petty today. Richie let out a huff and sat down on the bed, his knees knocking into Eddie’s just to annoy him.

‘Oh, you didn’t hang out with Larry today?’

Eddie frowned, the wheels in his head turning as he put down the comic. ‘Who the fuck is Larry?’

Richie just shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant as he too picked up a comic and pretended to flick through the pages. If Eddie didn’t know who Richie was talking about then maybe he didn’t think he was so memorable...

‘Wait, do you mean Tony? The guy from Stan’s history class?’

...or not.

Richie rolled his eyes and continued to look down, ‘Oh is that his name? I thought it was Jim Carrey...’

A feeling of white-hot annoyance ran down Richie’s spine and he continued spitefully when Eddie didn’t respond.

‘You know since he’s such a fan of physical comedy.’

‘Are you jealous?’ Eddie scoffed out, pushing Richie’s arm so he dropped the comic and had to look at him. His eyes were shining mischievously in the dim light of the bedroom and any thoughts of annoyance left Richie immediately. ‘That’s cute.’

Richie had to remember to catch his breath at the sight of him. Did he just say cute? Cute. That’s cute. He’s cute...

But then Eddie started to laugh, bringing Richie back to reality and any feeling of hope was squashed immediately. Richie tried to recover by pushing him back onto the bed as he continued to giggle.

‘Well, you thought he was fucking hilarious...’

‘Because he made Stan laugh! Stan! His snort was the highlight of my day!’

‘So you were laughing at Stan?’

‘Well yeah...like we always do. Tony’s bird impression wasn’t really funny. Like he’s big but big isn’t funny.’

Richie’s heart soared as Eddie decided the conversation was over and snatched up the comic he had dropped.

‘That’s exactly what I thought.’

Richie couldn’t wipe the grin from his face as he tried to control his heart rate. So much for a poker face, he was too happy. A small smile also graced Eddie’s features and he paused before opening the latest X-Men.

‘You have a smudge on your glasses again, doofus. How do you even see out of these things?’

Without hesitating, Eddie grabbed the frames off Richie’s face and started cleaning them with the bottom of his shirt. Richie couldn’t see a damn thing but knew his cheeks were burning in a way he couldn’t control.

‘So how about tomorrow? We could go to the arcade we haven’t been there in a while.’

Richie broke out his trance and quickly snatched his glasses back before Eddie could notice his hands start shaking. An overwhelming feeling of powerlessness and shame ran through his veins in a cold trickle. He hadn’t been back to that place in so long. He didn’t want to start now.

‘Nah Eds, the arcade is for babies,’ Richie cleared his throat and swallowed down the need to throw up. Before Eddie could protest he quickly continued, ‘How about we rent a movie? We can watch it in your room so I can pop in for some sweet lovin’ with Mrs K.’

Eddie looked concerned for a brief moment before frowning in disgust. Richie breathed out in relief, hoping he’d changed that subject for the time being. Deflection- it was his speciality nowadays.

‘Sure thing, asshole. Is The Mask available to rent?’ Eddie smiles knowingly and any feeling of hopelessness disappears from Richie’s mind for a moment. Only Eddie can do that to him.

‘Nice callback. You, me and Jim Carrey - it’s a date.’

And that slipped out so fast that Richie didn’t even have time to panic. He just had to play it cool and ignore the way his heart beat wildly in his chest.

But when he looked over at Eddie, he was smiling to himself, a slight flush taking over his cheeks.

‘See, now that’s funny.’

send me a prompt or request. i write reddie, mileven and jopper.

[chrisevansbabymama]

Daddy Hair Care - Chapter 4.2

Here is the second instalment, at long last! Still using the same gif as the previous, as it’s still the same night. The more time I sat on this chapter, the more time I’ve had to tweak it and change it from the original draft, so it’s still slightly longer than usual - all 4,288 words, but I hope you all enjoy. Thank you for being so patient. 

_______

Chapter 4.1

Chapter 4.2 - He’s Just Not That Into You:

“I gotta say,” Chris said, stuffing his hands in his pockets, suddenly very coy.

It’d been a mere five minutes since they’d left the restaurant and were walking in the direction towards her house. They’d delved in and out of a couple of topics, including Mya and Dodger who Chris confessed to be missing, but was trying his best to not be on ‘daddy mode.’ Kayla found that so cute, and could see he had been honest when he’d said he wanted to get out more and put himself out there, it seemed his internal battle was learning to let go of his dependants. Whatever putting himself ‘out there’ meant for him, she supposed she could only be happy for him.

“Mmmh?” Kayla asked when the pause was a second too long.

“I’ve just...I’ve had a pretty good night tonight,”

Kayla pressed her lips together to hide a smile, her heart fluttering at the way he casually dropped the compliment. Here she was thinking that he would have given up anything to be anywhere else. His warm eyes met hers, but with the look he wore she could discern that there was more to it. She wasn’t going to interrogate him and make it awkward, if he wanted to, she was sure he would say it.

And she hadn’t been wrong about there being more to it; it was more of a feeling than Chris could put into words. It was a weird, funny feeling he felt; elation somewhat laced with anxiety. The good kind.

“It was nice to finally get out of my suite and do something that’s not work related, or taking the kids out,” he said, referring to his two kids – Mya and Dodger.

Then his stomach twisted as guilt washed over him for confessing that he enjoyed his time without them.

“It’s okay,” Kayla looked at him reassuringly. She could sense his aura change in the same way that her siblings’ would when they talked about finding space and a life outside of their kids. “To do things without them, you’re not neglecting them. Call it self-care,”

“Yes ma’am,” he nudged her gently with his elbow, relaxing at her encouragement.

Kayla was smiling too now but she looked ahead in the direction they were heading, “Y’say you had a good night as if you are surprised that I’m good company,”

“Not that, I wasn’t surprised,” he quickly corrected, appreciating the humour to lighten up the threatening sombre mood. “I just mean that I didn’t realise how busy the whole team was, that I never really got a chance to know you properly since you joined us,”

“Relax Hollywood, you’re sweating,”

As usual, comedy was her go-to defensive mechanism so that he couldn’t see the effect his words had on her, because she was more than flattered that he actually enjoyed being alone with her. At least that’s what she was going to take from his statement.

“You are right, I mean this whole thing took off so quickly for me, I haven’t even processed it,”

Kayla recalled to the day she got a call from his assistant Tiffany, asking if she was able to assist on a photo shoot the following day. His previous make-up artist had gone on maternity leave and he had been booked on a last minute cover shoot, so they needed someone to groom just for that one day. But a photo shoot turned into a contract for several projects, then she was hired on for the Lobby Hero and possibly Infinity War press; but the later was still TBC due to his conflicting schedule. She prayed that he was going to do a few rounds of press for it, otherwise her work with him was coming to an end in less than a couple of weeks.

Once he starts Lobby Hero, that was going to be it, and then he would start filming the last Avengers instalment not too long after. He had spoken about going to Boston in the small gap before filming. He was very much a family-oriented man, Kayla accepted the fact that once he was in Boston, he would shut the rest of the world out. Especially his Hollywood life; which she was a part of.

So yes, whilst he didn’t overtly say he only enjoyed spending time with her alone; Kayla convinced herself that he was implying just that, because it was probably the first and last time she would ever be alone with him like this.

Chris nodded, “It’s crazy, it’s such a fast-paced industry you never get a chance to slow down. I’m glad we got that tonight. You were pleasant enough,”

His devil may care tone at the last statement earned him a sharp glare and a heavy sigh, enough to make Chris retract.

“London, I’m joking,” he said quickly putting an arm around her shoulder and pulled her into his side.

He was incredibly tactile, this she had learnt very early on since the first time she worked with him; the hugs, the gentle touch on her upper arm when he was trying to squeeze past her, the tap against her leg when he was laughing hysterically. Her favourite touch was when he would gently squeeze or rub her shoulders on a long day of interviews. He would comfort her with a “almost there London,” as if she was the celebrity ready to retire from the repetitive questions.

So this was nothing.

It didn’t feel like nothing though. It felt nice. It felt like she belonged there, flush against him.  

When she didn’t respond he wrapped her in his arms in the biggest teddy bear hug he could muster, gently swaying her.

“Talk to me,” he sing-songed.

“Please say something,” he was starting to worry that he’d upset her. “I’m not used to you not having anything to say back,”

Kayla’s voice came out muffled as she breathed against his chest, “You’re so annoying!”

“There she is,” he finally laughed in relief, drawing back from the hug but still held onto her, this time he slid his hands down her arms until her held her hands, studying her but he failed to suss her out.

Please kiss me, she thought, glancing at his lips.

Chris considered it. She was only a few inches away, he could do it seamlessly if he wanted. But he didn’t know if she would like that. She looked away quickly before he could even suggest to her that he was going to kiss her.

But Kayla had only looked away because she noticed the make-up stain she’d left on his shirt when he’d squeezed her against his chest. Too embarrassed to confront it, despite her boldness towards him, she figured that some things were better left unsaid. If she brought attention to it, she knew he would be put off. He’d always been vocal about being a simple guy, liking his women natural - your girl next door type*. Hence why she’d gone for the ‘no make-up, make-up’ look tonight, to look as natural as she could for him.

Patriarchy 2 – 0 Kayla.

“Your hands are cold,” he said quietly deflecting the tension brewing from the assumed rejection, squeezing her hands gently but firm in an attempt to warm them up.

“Yeah,” she said distractedly, shaking off the thought of the very close encounter. “You were right, it’s cold,”

“Why didn’t you tell me,” he said shrugging his coat off and swung it around her, he held onto the lapel.

“I didn’t want you to say ‘I told you so,’” she pouted childishly. “You don’t have to do that Chris, you’re gonna get sick - that blazer is not gonna keep you warm. And we can’t have you sick and cancelling all your work commitments,”

“Maybe that’s the plan, I deserve some time off. A little flu never hurt anybody,” he shrugged with a wink.

“No seriously, Keith will kill me,”

He titled his head and studied her, before saying, “Why thank you Chris for this coat, you’re such a gentleman,”

She rolled her eyes, “I don’t sound like that,” and then laughed at his attempt at her voice, before finally accepting the coat and sliding her arms into the sleeves, letting out an earnest, “Thank you.”

“And now you can’t say I’m not a nice guy,”

“Wait, what?” Kayla laughed with uncertainty. “I have never said you’re not a nice guy,”

Chris smirked, giving her a side-glance that she couldn’t read, but one thing for sure was it was so sexy.

“I don’t know, sometimes I get a feeling that you hate me,”

“I don’t hate you, I just enjoy knocking you down a pedestal or two. Keeps you grounded,”

He smiled.

“Works like a charm,”

“Besides, if I hated it being on your team, I’d have left within a second, believe me,”

“Well, wouldn’t want that,” he commented, eyeing the coat on her before doing up the buttons that he had disregarded when he had been wearing it. “Want me to get you an Uber home?”

“No, unless I’m boring you?”

“Ha, never that,” he stuffed his hands back in his pockets and eyed the pavement as they paced in unison. “I was thinking that since you’re not going to die of hypothermia now that you have my coat, maybe we should do something spontaneous,”

Kayla eyed him suspiciously, frowning and raising a questioning eyebrow.

Chris looked at her nonchalantly, his eyes glazed with a mischievous shimmer.

“I’m worried,”

He laughed softly, “Nah it’ll be fun, nothing to worry about,”

“You’re making me nervous, how spontaneous? On a scale of 1-10?”

“Uhm...8...”

“Go on,” her tone was still doubtful.

“Let’s go catch a film,”

“I don’t understand,” she was dumbfounded.

“I really don’t wanna end the night,” coyness really suited him. He scratched the back of his neck nervously, his face turning a shade of pink again. “Remember when we were teenagers – well, I don’t know about you, but I used to sneak out at night and I’d always make sure I’d stay out as late as possible and make the most of it. I knew if my mom caught me out, I’d never be allowed again for a while…tonight’s kinda like that. But instead of my mom, work’s going to occupy my time and I might not get a chance to do this again until I finish Lobby Hero. So if you still care to spend the rest of the evening with me; what do you say we go watch a film?”

Kayla felt sad. His face was a shimmering look of hope, like a child asking to go to Disneyland; which was the source of her sadness. Why did going to the theatre excite him so much? Something so normal and regular to her, and took for granted, for Chris normalcy was a luxury, it seemed.

“Uhmm...I thought you said spontaneous,” there she was again with the humour, she cringed immediately, realising this wasn’t the time.

“Uhmm yeah it is, for me anyway....” he shrugged casually and looked ahead.

“Chris?” she wanted to ask him if he was okay. Maybe the magazine event he’d been too had been a negative reinforcement of the cons of his job, as he had mentioned earlier that he barely knew anyone there and had to endure it, in the name of good press.

“Mhhh?”

“Yes,” she said, she deflected. “I mean, yes, let’s go watch a film. I’m a little overdressed though,”

He smiled so brightly that her concern for his wellbeing vanished, “You sure?” she nodded. “Honey, we’ve both been overdressed since that restaurant,”

“Maybe I should go home and change my shoes and get my coat so you can have yours back,”

“Everything you just said defeats the whole ‘spontaneous’ part, I usually have to go to the theatre dressed in a hoodie and baseball cap. I go miles to be incognito, tonight, I’m living on the wild side,” he retrieved his phone from his trousers pocket. “I’m getting an Uber as we speak,”

Kayla considered this: never imagining the first time alone with Chris in a dark room would be in a movie theatre. She had to admit, it would be fun to sit in such a close proximity in the dark. They’d both missed their opportunity to kiss the other just several minutes ago; maybe fate was giving them another chance.

“ See anything you like, London?” Chris shifted from his window seat to the middle, minutes later as they sat in the back of the Uber exec. He held the phone so they could both see the movie listings.

If she was going to be honest, none of the films stood out for her but this wasn’t about her. So she looked on as he scrolled slowly, thinking more about her strategy on dealing with being in the dark lit room with him. What better way to get up close and personal than a film? It was the perfect set up for that missed kiss; she pictured it so vividly: his arm would surreptitiously snake around her shoulder as he pretended to yawn and disregard the film before making a move on her. She had seen this scene many times in films that she was even surprised Chris was going to be this predictable.

Annihilation, Irreplaceable You, Peter Rabbit, she read the listings…Fifty Shades Freed.

“Game Night?” he offered after several debates.

Kayla looked at the poster on his screen and glanced up at Chris, “So much for spontaneity, Chris no offence but if you were to die tonight and I was to read your eulogy about the very last film you saw, you want it to be this?”

“Whoa,” he was genuinely startled. “There’s a lot to unpack there. First of all...actually you are right. I told you I don’t get out much. And second, that’s so deep, why does someone have to die tonight?”

“You thought I was going to get hypothermia,”

“Are you suggesting we watch something a little steamy?” he cocked his eyebrows playfully and gave her a look that she recognised instantly. He was back in form. “Fifty Shades Freed? Is that what you want?”

Kayla shook her head with no witty comeback to rally with him.

“I haven’t seen the other ones,”

“I should hope so, not suitable for kids,”

“Game Night it is, only because you’re annoying me and I’m not gonna give you what you want,”

Chris ignored the double entrendre. Begrudgingly.

Kayla’s imagination has always been very active since her youth. She’d learned to be imaginative as a means to escape from a young age, hence why she has always gravitated towards creative subjects and eventually a career in the arts. When she’d imagined the exciting prospect of being alone in the dark with Chris, what was going to ensure seemed clearly written in the stars. Though a small part of her thought the idea was too far fetched, it became more promising when she realised that they were the only ones in the late showing of Game Night in the theatre.

The ticket purchasing was strategically planned to avoid Chris being spotted by any chance. Judging by how seamless every stage was, she became more optimistic that halfway through the movie he was going to make a move on her, like they did in the movies. She wondered if the sign would come when he either placed his bag of popcorn on the floor or on the seat next to him, yawn and sneakily wrap an arm around her shoulders. Then she imagined he would naturally whisper something in her ear, making her giggle before lifting her chin with his index finger and finally kissing her.

And so it happened:

Half way through the film, he placed his almost empty bag of popcorn on the floor and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. Her heart was thudding, leg jiggling nervously, so she crossed them and tried to act normal, as if she didn’t even know what was happening. It was surreal, the adrenalin charged through her that she didn’t even know what to do anymore and feared she wouldn’t give him the kiss of her life.

So Lauren was right. He does like me, she thought, making a mental note to thank her and apologise profusely for dismissing her claims.

“Oh man,” he stifled a yawned and muttered under his breath, becoming increasingly restless.

Everything was going according to plan. And imagination.

A few seconds passed and she didn’t feel an arm on her shoulder, nor did he inch near her. Instead, he inched away, resting his elbow on the other armrest and his chin on his clenched fist. The arm around her shoulder never came. She kept her eyes glued on the screen, watching on in a haze, barely concentrating. She felt sick.

She’d done the calculations, and this wasn’t the outcome she expected.

But then again, Maths was never her strongest subject.

She soon realised he hadn’t been trying to flirt or intend to make a move on her. His eyes were shut and chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. She watched him for a few seconds, thinking it was a sick twisted joke, maybe he would crack and burst out into a laugh, and yell “gotcha,” but he was actually in a deep sleep. He didn’t flinch or budge at the reverberating sounds throughout the rest of the film.

That’s when she knew that dream was over. There only so many disappointments one could take and keep sticking around with hope.

“Chris...Chris...” he heard her faint voice in the distance, ignoring it because he thought it was another one of his dreams where she made a regular appearance. He felt a hand on his shoulder, her voice speaking again. “C’mon, we have to go,”

“Hmmm?” He sat up, opening his eyes as they prickled from the glare from the screen ahead. He looked around and saw her. A delightful sight, even if it was slightly dim. “Kayla?”

“Good morning,” she laughed.

What a sound to wake up to, he thought.

“Morning?” he instantly panicked, his mind automatically thinking of Mya and Dodger.

“I’m joking, the movie’s finished. I didn’t wanna wake you up earlier, you looked really comfortable.”

“How much did I miss?”

“Like the last hour,”

“Fuck,” he sighed, pushing his hair back. “I’m sorry, I didn’t think I’d sleep,”

“It’s okay,”

“I can’t believe I made you come out to enjoy a movie by yourself,” he grimaced as he voiced his concern, cringing at the thought. “I’m really sorry, I owe you. So much for spontaneity huh? You should have left my ass.”

“Chris, relax. It’s fine; it’s been a long day for you. I sleep through a film all the time,” she waved a hand dismissively.

Still, he felt bad. He had wanted to spend the entire night in her company, (not even in a sexual kind of way) and he had jeopardised that.

“You okay?”

“Yeah,” he said to quickly, avoiding eye contact. “Still half asleep,”

“Okay Sleeping Beauty, shall we go?”

“Let’s,”

The wait outside had been icy and awkward. On Kayla’s part, it was the affirmation that he wasn’t that into her, that kept playing on her. She didn’t know how to act around him anymore; scared to give too much of herself away, even though she was already in too deep with her feelings. She now had to negotiate a healthy balance between being herself, as always but not allowing him to sway her. Or flirt with him.

On Chris’ part, he felt like he had let her down; it wasn’t about the kiss – he didn’t suspect it, it was the fact that he had kept her out all night only to fall asleep. He wouldn’t even blame her if she was offended. He worried she would never subject herself to something like this again; imagining that she thought the worst of him. Had it been a date, would he have fallen asleep? Even worse, he felt embarrassed, and he couldn’t even figure out why. Maybe at the realisation that maybe his life was as boring as everyone was implying; so he asked himself, who would want to date that?

Chris insisted on ordering them an Uber each, but Kayla politely insisted she could get her own.  Being the chivalrous charmer he was, Chris didn’t back down easily, but Kayla took the initiative and just booked them both a ride. The drama was unnecessary, this was New York; right in the heart of Manhattan where taxis were aplenty.

But they’d both been cunning; using the Uber excuse to buy more time with each other. As if they had both accepted it was their last goodbye, a closure on the feelings they had harboured for each other. And maybe if they stuck it out a little longer, one of them would bite the bullet and make a move?

“I should give you this,” she said sliding off his coat. “Thank you for letting me wear it tonight,”

“Don’t do that,” he waved a hand. “Take it, it’s cold,”

“There’ll be a heater in the car, I’ll be fine Chris,”

He drew close to her again, politely putting it back on and redoing the buttons she had undone to give it back to him, “Keep it on,”

She sighed, giving in quickly, “Okay, I’ll bring it back on Monday,”

“Okay,” he could careless.

“Here goes your ride,” he squeezed her shoulders as the car pulled up in the waiting bay.

“Thank you for tonight, I had a lot of fun. And thank you for the dinner, I owe you,”

“Yes, you do. You owe me that Pad Thai,” he winked playfully before hugging her briefly. “See you on Monday, London,”

He opened the door for her, guiding her in with his hand on the small of her back.

“Bye Chris,”

It wasn’t long before the car was circling Columbus Circle, routing back to home. Above all, albeit the anti-climactic theatre ordeal, she’d had a good night with Chris. Far beyond her expectations, so what was it going to hurt if they were only going to be friends?

It was all replaying like a movie reel; the laughter, the touches, the anecdotes and his scent. The way he set his eyes on. The way he listened when she spoke. His scent on her, she breathed it in – his coat a vivid reminder of him. A vivid reminder of the way he would wrap his muscled arms around her and never wanted him to let go.

She suddenly remembered the huge make-up stain she’d left on his shirt and cringed.

The moment was over.

She felt her phone vibrate in her bag; she had ignored it the entire night, never one to be glued to it when she was out. That was a lie, she used to be glued to it; always one to take pictures for Instagram until she got bored of over sharing and instead shared her work on it, occasionally peppering her feed with food snaps, selfies, with her family or a cheesy snap on holiday.

She wondered if Chris would follow her on Instagram…or if she had the balls to follow him first.

She took her phone out, her friend’s Instagram post notification the source of the vibration. She scrolled down on the notification centre, opting to read Lauren’s copious messages that she’d missed earlier on when Chris had joined her at the sushi place.

9:49pm

Lauren: Sorry babe, won’t be making it tonight. I’ve been regurgitating my guts all evening. Have fun.

Lies, Kayla thought, trusting Chris that she was probably entangled under the sheets somewhere with Seb.

9:50pm

Lauren: Oh yeah, I purposely forgot to ask Keith and Tiff to come along. Ooops.

9:54pm

Lauren: Because I lied, I’m not sick. I decided not to come, and thought I’d leave Tiff and Keith out of it too. I thought you kids needed the evening to yourselves and I didn’t want to play 3rd wheel tonight. I do it all the time, not doing it tonight. You kids have fun.

9:55

Lauren: So I hope your inadvertent date with Chris goes well.

10:35

Lauren: ....you’re welcome.

11:01

Lauren: No reply? I’m guessing you’re “playing hide the zucchini”? Thank me later.

11:01

Lauren: ps. safety first kids. Love ya xxx

She shook her head in disbelief; too tired to figure out whether she should be angry or laugh. It was less funny now that she knew for sure that Chris only had platonic feelings towards her. She now needed to speak to Lauren sometime in person, figure out a way to politely tell her to stop bringing Chris up. She needed the closure.

As if on cue, his name popped up on the banner of her screen; a strange sight and brand new occurrence. They had never directly communicated with each other via phone, even though they had each other’s numbers. It was always Lauren that organised non-work related occasions, and if it was to do with work, she dealt with Keith and Tiffany. Never him.

His very first text message to her said:

Chris: Let me know when you get in. Thank you again for tonight; I owe you big time, especially for falling asleep.

Kayla: Likewise. Honestly, don’t worry about it lol

She wanted to shut him down, be dismissive but subtle and polite. She wasn’t going to do this again.

Closure, closure, closure, she chanted in her head.

Chris: I insist. I’m a man of my word.

And just like that, her resolution to get over him disappeared. How could she?

_

Chapter 5

_______________

Disclaimer: Gif not my own

Tags: @thegirlwithpaperheart  @disaster-rose @youlifetime @mississippifangirl​ @thinemineours @tessathedragon @thottio​ @caninoona @eratotalles @allonszassbutt @thinemineours@dreamingwithmendes @void-imaginations​ @daybreak96​ @l-auteuse​ @cliffordasparagus @bumber-car-s @lvlyab@melaninmarvel @milkymil-k @dyckvandyke @prettymuchboodup  @i-fear-neither-death-nor-pain @the-doctors-fallen-angel @mariswritingforfun

[starlene]

I know there’s at least one person looking forward to this, so here goes: a list of interesting details from the Danish production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Klokkeren fra Notre Dame), based on the two performances I saw in October 2019.

Fair warning: it’s 90% about Frollo.

I saw the following cast in Fredericia Teater:

Quasimodo: Lars Mølsted Frollo: Mads M. Nielsen Esmeralda: Bjørg Gamst Phoebus: Emil Birk Hartmann Clopin: Oliver J. B. Aagard-Williams Something to know about the staging: there are seats onstage, three rows on both sides. Audience members sitting there get to wear hoods, and the seats are gently pushed back and forth depending on the scene. It gives the illusion of the ensemble being bigger than it really is, and sometimes, ensemble members sit and stand in empty spots next to these seats.

And now, from the Prologue onwards…

Christ, this Frollo has AUTHORITY. Sitting onstage, his little sermon at the beginning of the show is directed to us – the ensemble all bowed their heads, and only my unwavering decision to enjoy every second of Frollo without as much as blinking helped me to keep my head high. He’s scary!

When he becomes archdeacon, Frollo does a Cinderella spin where his plain black robe magically turns into a white, ceremonial one.

Frollo smiles at baby Quasi before he sees his face. And why shouldn’t he! A very sweet 1.5 seconds of undiluted happiness in between proud uncle and nephew there before the former’s prejudices kick in.

I obviously didn’t get a chance to see it quite up close enough to see the inscription, but otherwise, it seemed to check out – if Instagram is to be trusted, Frollo wears a replica of The One Ring throughout the show. Might explain certain aspects of his behaviour?

~

In the beginning of the show, Quasimodo and Frollo seem to truly, genuinely care for each other! They hug and everything. Frollo being emotionally abusive is subtle and he’s probably not consciously aware of it himself – he simply does not have the capacity to understand that Quasimodo (or anyone else, for that matter) experiences the surrounding world in a fundamentally different way from his own. (“And can stone talk back?”)

Frollo seems truly surprised when Quasimodo says he could protect him – and it felt to me he means it when he says he didn’t mean to laugh at Quasi. Frollo also chats with Quasi in a quite relaxed manner (too bad, though, that his idea of small talk is racist rambling).

~

Quasimodo is SO happy outside. He does a little dance on one of the onstage seats!

There are many, many ladies throwing themselves at Phoebus. It seems like he’d be happy with just one, but they keep coming and he decides to just roll with it.

Esmeralda’s so full of life here. Rythm of the Tambourine is not seductive but so vivacious, small wonder all the guys crush on her.

The light/video design goes all pink with falling flower petals when the three men fall in love with Esmeralda. A bit silly, to be honest.

Both Phoebus and Frollo (!) laugh/smile at the King of Fools contestants (you can only really see this from the onstage seats)… until Quasimodo pops up, of course.

The congregation covers in shame/fear when Frollo does his little speech about showing kindness to all Lord’s creatures. Probably mostly fear, the man really has an aura of authority.

~

At first, Esmeralda is all mesmerized by Notre Dame (and why wouldn’t she be, it’s a gorgeous place and I guess we all remember how we felt when it looked like it’s going to burn to the ground last April) but she has some great expressions when she understands what Frollo’s all about. At very first, she turns the other cheek – but of course, it takes Frollo less than 15 seconds to be gross again, and then she’s simply done with his bs.

Esmeralda and Quasimodo are SO CUTE during Top of the World. Talk about chemistry – the actors are married in real life, that might have something to do with it… The whole scene is one of my top 2 favourite moments in the show. It’s so beautiful and optimistic (!) and pure, with stars in the sky and all Quasimodo’s statue friends supporting him… Finally, finally Quasimodo has a human friend. I cried, I’m this close to crying right now.

Right after, it’s time for some Quality Frollo Comedy! He does the mocking SpongeBob meme to Esmeralda when she says Quasimodo ringing the bells was her fault (“iT wAs My FaUlT yOuR gRaCe”). Then he switches gears and tries SO HARD to be all suave around Esmeralda: he flings his cape around, sits on the balcony railing all nonchalant, almost loses his balance and does this little silly oops heh heh heh thing.

And then Esmeralda says she sees the way he looks at her and Frollo just flips. It’s been a long day, right? That awful Feast of Fools business, Quasimodo’s disobedience, falling violently in love/lust with a woman you’re supposed to hate, trying to hit on said woman on two awkward occasions, trying to act normal in the midnight mass in the middle of all this… The moment Frollo starts yelling, some switch in his mind turns and his downwards spiral begins.

Next, Frollo gives Quasimodo The Talk. The original script has Frollo slapping Quasi left and right here, but the Danish production takes a completely different approach. It’s 100% clear Frollo is trying to talk himself out of the “impure thoughts” he’s having, and he’s so borderline panicky about it that the mood catches onto Quasimodo. For a moment, they both seem equally lost, and in the end of the scene, they hug it out. You believe Frollo when he says the “you and I against the world” line. Despite all, he really seems to think of himself and Quasi as a sort of a ragtag team.

~

Hellfire here is a journey into Frollo’s mental breakdown. The colour scheme progresses from light blue tones to the whole cathedral being in flames, you have seductive dream Esmeralda (way more seductive than the real Esmeralda) beckoning come-hither and dancing just out of reach, the music gets more and more intense, the subwoofers are turned up to 11 so the floor is shaking and in the end, your heart is beating twice the normal rate and Frollo is screaming and you’re screaming.

After experiencing all that with him, you understand that in his mind, the mind that just broke beyond repair under our very eyes and all around us, Frollo really sees no way out of his situation other than dragging everyone else in general and Esmeralda especially with him. Go hard or go home when you’re losing your mind, I guess.

~

The following scene with King Louis sees the return of Comic Relief Frollo – nothing overtly funny, mostly just the king taking his sweet time to acknowledge Frollo, but since the previous scene was so intense, you’re laughing all the same. How do they even do it? How do they have the character have such an earth-shattering mental breakdown one minute and then do a successful comedy routine the next, and all without losing a trace of his frightening aura? WITCHCRAFT.

Frollo gets a hold of a sword during Esmeralda (at one point, Phoebus has two, loses both, and Frollo picks one up) and turns into a holy crusader. He’s getting to live out his revenge fantasy and he’s clearly enjoying every second of it – it’s been clear from the beginning that he inspires fear in his congregation, and now, he gets to act out every single bit of his sadistic impulses. This is where he goes full feral, so to speak.

Dream Esmeralda is back, dancing in the center of a fire whirl. I adore the video design in this production.

~

In the beginning of the 2nd act, Frollo has sunken further into his madness. He’s clearly unhinged, so much so that I have a hard time believing that he coldly calculates Quasimodo showing him the way to the Court of Miracles. Probably just a happy accident.

The exchange here, with Quasimodo lying and so forth, is tense from both sides. Frollo and Quasi are hugging it out again when the soldier pops in, and Frollo just glowers at him – can’t you see we’re in the middle of a hug here?

~

The end of the Court of Miracles scene is so absurdly good here. Frollo busts in, the Romani are rounded up, everyone leaves the stage except for Frollo, and then he has a good 10 seconds or so to just chew the scenery in complete silence. He has the sword, he glowers right, he glowers left, he does a little villain laugh, then he leaves.

There was some genuinely nervous laughter from the audience at the villain laugh bit, because goddamnit, he’s just so deliciously, almost unsettlingly villainous at that moment. You wouldn’t want to be left alone in the same room with this man, but there we are, all alone in a dark room with him – and it’s just a thousand or so of us versus one of him, so we’re clearly at a disadvantage here.

~

Frollo takes his cross off his neck when he goes to visit Esmeralda in the dungeon and leaves it outside the door. This is my favourite detail in the history of theatre.

You wonder what Frollo is thinking when he goes to burn Esmeralda. He seems almost happy at the beginning of the scene. Is it because he’s a sadist – or because he’s so damn sure Esmeralda is going to change her mind now, he doesn’t really stop to consider that he’s going to end up killing her for real? Could be either. Or maybe he’s just completely lost it and is not thinking about any consequences at all, hell-bent on taking his revenge...

Whatever it is though, having seen his eyes from the onstage seat when he left after setting fire to the pyre, I can tell you it wasn’t an actor performing a role at that moment. It was a man who’s just set the object of his obsession on fire and cannot believe what he’s done and is conflicted and hurting because of it.

~

Frollo is sobbing on Esmeralda’s body and touching her hair and hands and you just feel so gross – stop touching her, she didn’t want that, she’s dead and even now you won’t understand, STOP IT!

I’m certain that Frollo genuinely believes he could have loved Esmeralda. Love feels different to each and every one of us, and in the end, I’m so so sorry that this is what is feels like to him.

Quasi and Frollo’s dynamic during the last scene is so real. I believe Quasimodo when he says he’s lost everything he’s ever loved. In the end, my heartbeat is twice the normal rate again.

Quasi and Frollo always hug during the curtain call here. It’s a running theme with the two of them.

~

Can you tell how much I love this production?

[donnerpartyofone]

while i’m apparently still in confession mode for some dark reason: 

after i told that awful story yesterday about the degrading one night stand that an older male friend spent a year bullying me into, i started thinking about all the cliches that are sold to us about the sexuality of precocious young women: what it means for us to navigate the devious emotional traps set out by the jealous and covetous world around us. what i mean is, there’s this whole gothic narrative that never stops circulating, involving beautiful, talented, intelligent, sensitive young women who are advanced enough to start exploring their own desires independently, but not experienced enough to identify the (typically) older male predators who hunt them. these men take advantage of their uninformed curiosity, leveraging their prey’s desire to grow up faster in order to control, possess, and abuse them. while this narrative is inherently criminal, society never seems willing to fully denounce it, preferring to preserve its erotic potency for a wide and slavering audience. the iconography of this narrative is mostly derived from Lolita–

[which btw our cultural failure to see that book as anything other than a “love story” is really disturbing and speaks volumes about our willingness to project our grossest ideas wherever we want, even when other interpretations (like “black comedy”) are abundantly available]

–a mature but fragile adolescent with that /special something/ innocently hypnotizes a genteel older man whose sophistication belies his uncontrollable animal desire for her, which is less His Problem than it is a natural response to her beauty and charm; a  forbidden love affair ensues. when i was young, i swallowed this concept hook line and sinker, hoping it would happen to me some day! i hated dumb little boys my own age, and i felt that if some Humbert Humbert type were to flatter me with his highly curated attention, then i would know that i had truly arrived.

“sadly”, i made it through high school and college without ever knowing that validating thrill. i wasted the latter half of my 20s on an abusive relationship with a guy two years younger than me, who often argued that he should be allowed to wreck my life however he wanted because he was “less mature” than i was and deserved more leeway. as i turned 30, i met the extraordinary person i would marry. i felt a profound sense of relief, entering my 30s; i had finished with so many of my old delusions, and the pulverizing pressure to have The Time of Your Life throughout one’s 20s had finally lifted. i looked back on my youth, thinking of it as a period of dreary, pointless misery in which “nothing really happened”, good or bad. but recently, when i started to think about it with greater focus, i realized that some shit really DID happened to me. i had just completely ignored it, because i thought of it as the fruits of my own bad taste. 

throughout junior high, i had a bizarre rapport with a guy in his early 20s–”nothing happened”, as they say, but this guy was sort of a freak and a loner, and i’m probably lucky that there wasn’t a lot of opportunity for something TO happen. then my supposed best friend, jealous of even this non-event in my sad little existence, forced a relationship with a 30 year old man out of nowhere, and competitively abused my ears with a lot of gnarly details about their horrible sex life. then in high school, my first two boyfriends were both pretentious manipulative dickheads in their 20s who really had no business bothering someone who wasn’t old enough to vote. some of my friends suffered from the same problem, though we all just felt like we were becoming independent young women or something. then there’s some other stuff with an older classmate who was abundantly aware of how emotionally unstable i was, and took appalling advantage of that for a long time, and i probably won’t ever be brave enough to talk about it. then in college i briefly “dated” a guy around 50 with whom luckily nothing bad happened before i got rid of him, but like, it really wasn’t cool, looking back–he made me feel incredibly obligated, and as he only informed me mid-stream, he was married with children. then i spent the rest of college getting dragged through the mud by a guy in his 30s who used his professional clout and well-honed manipulative abilities to “take my virginity” (a phrase and concept i hate, but which applies here), which he was very excited about; it would have been best if he had just abandoned me after that, as so many assholes do, because he then cultivated a long tawdry and extremely damaging soap opera between us, the only point of which was to make trouble for his actual girlfriend, who was ALSO much younger than him. and the end of college and slightly after, i developed another intense connection with a man a few decades older, who would never quite initiate a relationship, but who was insidiously manipulative and made me feel terrible when i eventually got a real (age-appropriate) boyfriend, as if i owed him something; i later found out he did the same thing to another girl that i know, who is substantially younger. the terrible one night stand, previously discussed, was just a gross little footnote to this disgusting history…

…but the thing is, i never, at any time, felt like i had taken part in the overheated archetypal drama that society has built up around may-december romances. i didn’t even see myself as a victim of the bad behavior of adults, of people who should and did know better; i just felt separate from the whole thing, even though i had fantasized about it so much as a kid. the thing is, at the same time that the Lolita narrative is inappropriately romanticized, it does provide an opportunity to see the girl as a potential victim, a Little Red Riding Hood who enters a perilous erotic negotiation with a Big Bad Wolf. because i didn’t see myself as the heroine of my own iteration of this overly familiar story, i didn’t recognize the degree to which i’d been exploited by people who knew to use my youth and inexperience against me. i just blamed myself. and the reason for all this is really sad: i simply didn’t feel attractive. in my mind, the vulnerable nymphet was always delicate, doe-like, elegant; clothes hung on her alluring frame in a way that created a dizzying paradox between her youth and her emerging maturity; she could dance, play music, or write touching poetry; she was preternaturally irresistible even to “good men”. she had to be liv tyler in STEALING BEAUTY (*barf*) or some shit; only somebody that compelling could star as the doomed princess in society’s well-loved fairy tale about statutory rape. personally, i perceived myself as ugly, awkward, socially burdensome, and most importantly, the kind of girl who should count herself extremely lucky to be the center of anybody’s attention, even temporarily. because i didn’t see myself as a damsel in distress who deserved protection and sympathy, i failed to spot my own victimization. i thought of my history of increasingly negative and abusive encounters with older men as a matter of bad luck, bad judgment on my own part, and ultimately, “the best i could do” if i wanted any kind of affection. so i guess the irony is that if i had identified myself as a desirable dolores hayes type, then yes, i would have been in serious danger of fetishizing my own mistreatment–but on the other hand, i would have had a more realistic framework for understanding the sinister thing that was happening to me. unfortunately, the other side of the misogyny coin–not the side that turns you into a sex object, but the side that excludes you from feeling sexually worthy at all–prevented me from noticing that that awful Little Red Riding Hood cliche had already happened to me several times over.

tl;dr - when misogyny convinces you that you have nothing to steal, then it’s hard to tell when misogynists are trying to rob you.

it’s funny to start recognizing this only now that i’m approaching 40. i see a lot of young women on tumblr heroically fighting to strike a balance between enjoying their kinks and avoiding the corrupt elements in their communities–all the while trying to stay aware of how their personal history and mental health plays into this drama. some of them are way farther along in that philosophical journey than i was at their age, and i really admire the work they’re doing. i’m writing this more for the ones who don’t even know that they’re already a part of this struggle, because they haven’t learned to see themselves as desirable enough to be included in it. that is to say, i wrote this for myself; but i have a sneaking suspicion that someone else out there needs to hear it, too.

This post brought to you in part by the very beginning of CABIN IN THE WOODS, which, while not a deep film in any way, features a salient moment in which College Girl #1 tries to tell College Girl #2 that the professor who took advantage of her is a scumbag, and College Girl #2 defends him, humbly and maturely replying: “I knew what I was getting into.” The blood freezes in my veins when I think of how many times I said something like this about someone who did not deserve my defense. If you got dicked over, literally and/or figuratively, by someone older, sober-er, and/or more experienced than you, then this is your gentle reminder that you really cannot be accused of knowing what you’re getting into.

[jejublr]

1800 - Pizza Boy

Synopsis: In which the pizza isn’t the only thing keeping you going back for more.

Genre: Slice-of-PizzaLife, a hint of comedy, and very light rom-com romance

Character(s): Pizza boy!Vernon x Reader, mentions of other members

Words: 1.4k

a/n: long time no see, guys! I’ve finally finished all my exams so I guess I’m back to writing! this one has been in my draft for quite a while and I’m so glad to finally publish it. i’m really sorry if this one isn’t as long as some of my other fics! it’s kind of a warm up for me but i did really enjoy writing this one so i hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as i do writing it! 

“This is the fourth pizza you’ve had this week.”

You could hear people shouting and laughing next door, the sound of the Mario-Kart and consoles clicking the only clue to what what was happening inside. A couple of girls passed by your door and they giggled as they saw the boy in his pizza shop polo.

You leaned on your door frame, a small smile on your face. “Nice to see you, too.”

“You’re gonna die.”

“Do I look like the kind of woman who dies?” You went to grab the pizza in his clutch only to have him hover it above his head. Above your reach.

“Vernon, give me my pizza! I paid for it!” You stood on your tiptoes as you struggled to reach the pizza box held above your head only to have the taller boy step aside. 

“As your pizza delivery guy, I have the moral obligation to remind you to take care of your health.”

You let out a huff. “Wow, I’m unaware pizza deliveries come with health check-ups, too now.”

Most people would find it funny—borderline cute—for you to call your pizza boy on a first name basis but honestly, it’s exactly Vernon’s main source of worry.

Nobody should be calling their pizza guy by his first name.

If you do, there is something very wrong with you.

He had lost count over the times you rang up the shop for pizza deliveries and went to deliver to your doorstep so many times that you both built a friendship over the basis of him worrying over you constantly. It was ironic, really, when Vernon should’ve been happy that the business run by his friends is thriving thanks to you. Everytime Wonwoo rings up your order (“Pepperoni. Extra cheese.”), he can’t help but do a head count of how many times you’ve ordered within the week. He would often scold you over your lack of mind over your health but it was rather understandable as you like to call yourself a “broke college student.“

“One pizza a day keeps the doctor away.”

If you’re dead, they do. Vernon can already feel the firsts of his greying hair.

Sure, he’s a mess of his own and he’d probably have the same mindset as you if he were to be in your situation but that won’t stop him from feeling like he’s got a moral responsibility to look after you. One of you had to put on the adult shoes and he figured it had to be him.

And that’s how he found himself that Friday. In front of your dorm, holding the warm, delicious box of pizza above your head. You tried jumping several times but to no avail.

“You have to take care of yourself.” He chided as he tried to pull his best disappointed face (that he learned from Woozi when they boys aren’t paying attention to Seungcheol at meetings). “You have to start ordering less pizza. It’s not healthy for you.”

“So is school,” you retorted. He gave you an unimpressed look. He handed you the box reluctantly and you sent him a winning smile.

“Hey, aren’t you supposed to be glad you’ve got a loyal customer?” You opened the pizza box, sighing externally as the warm steam greeted your face. It took everything in you not to dive right in right there and then.

You might be hungry but you’re not a barbarian.

At least not in front of the cute guy.

How you first met him was kind of a funny story, actually.

You’ve just had the most awful week and you were hungry but didn’t have the energy to go out and eat at the cafetaria. You remember your friend Seungkwan who recommended you the new pizza place that just opened near the campus. He’d told you they’ve got amazing pizza but taste was the last thing you had in mind at that time. You just don’t want to go to sleep starving. You decided to give the shop a call to order.

“Pottee Pottee Pizza, how can I help you?” A deep voice greeted you then. 

“Yes, can I order one medium pep, please?”

“One medium pepperoni pizza. Anything else?”

You chewed the insides of your mouth as you mulled over the possibilities. Should you order a portion of breadsticks? Or perhaps add some mushrooms to your pizza? A cheeky thought entered your mind. “Send your cutest pizza boy.”

You could’ve sworn the person from the other line had snorted but he quickly covered it with a cough. “Will do. That’ll be $11.99. Your pizza will be sent in about half an hour. Thank you for ordering.”

True to their words, the pizza came half an hour later and true to their words, they really did send their cutest pizza boy along with the pizza like you had requested. You were greeted with honey-glzed eyes when you first opened your door, the dark trendils of his hair partially covered under a dark green beanie. It had been raining and while the neon-colored windbreaker he doned was only partially wet, the red Jordans he was wearing was soaked and you can hear it squelch every time he shifted on his feet.

You tried to hide the embarrassment on your face as you opened your door because clearly—clearly—this guy knew that you specifically ordered for someone cute to deliver your pizza.

“Is this room 17?”

“Yes.” You said the first thing on your mind. “You’re the cutest pizza boy they have?”

“Ma’am,” he started, clearly caught off-guard as you caught his redening ears. “I’m the only pizza boy.”

You didn’t know how to feel. You’re partly offended he just called you “ma’am” when you’re obviously around his age but the other part of you almost swooned over the boyish lilt in his voice.

Unable to contain your embarrassment, you quickly took the outstretched pizza from his hand and promptly closed the door. You almost heaved a sigh of relief when you heard tentative knocks from your door. Groaning silently, you opened your door in a fraction and blushed when you caught the barely-contained smile on his face.

“You forgot to pay.”

Your internally cursed. Your hands flew into the pockets of your jacket as you fished for cash, highly aware of the hardly-contained grin that made its home on the guy’s face. You hastily pushed the money into his awaiting fingers with burning cheeks.

He was turning on his heels when he stopped. “One question.”

‘Oh my God, why can’t he just leave already?’ you internally fumed. Any more second spent with him is just another second to the embarrassment that you’re swimming in. You sent him a tight-lipped smile to continue.

“Am I cute enough for your standards?”

You let out an indignant huff, your face a picture of disbelief as you slammed your door closed, your face tomato red now as you tried to tune away the sound of his muffled laughter.

“There’s no point of being a loyal customer if you die,” he joked, eyes dancing in mirth but caught you pouting at the box of pizza. His smile deflated.

He knew he wasn’t supposed to do it but the expression on his face reminded him of his cats when they don’t get fed on time. It was cute and the words came out of his mouth before he even realize what he was doing. “You know what? How about I take you out to dinner? I’m sure Seungcheol wouldn’t mind me borrowing the shop’s scooter for a bit.”

You quirked an eyebrow at his sudden invitation.

You smirked as you leaned on your doorframe. “Are you asking me out on a date? You could’ve done so without using my health as an excuse.”

“No! I—That’s not what I meant—” the dirty blond spluttered, ears turning red as he struggled to explain. His frown ceased as a teasing smile stretched over your face. He gave you a blank look. “Oh. Ha ha. Very funny. So are you coming or not?”

“Who can say no to free food?” you replied as you shrugged on your jacket and put on your shoes. “Am I crazy if I tell you I’ve been waiting for you to ask me out for so long?”

“Wait, really?” The surprise on his face was obvious but you didn’t give him a chance to compute what you just implied when you grabbed him by the sleeve of his jacket.

“Let’s go get something nice. I’m tired of eating pizza.

He gave you an offended look. “I thought you like our pizza!”

You gave him a meaningful smile. “Maybe I like it for a whole different reason.”

[that-shamrock-vibe]

Disney+ What To Watch: My Top 10 Favourite Disney Live-Action Remakes

#7. Cinderella

This movie is very much in the midriff of the live-action remakes for me because. for me, this movie has qualities of the worst live-action remakes and the best live-action remakes. The problem being the worst elements are really the worst elements and in someways overshadow the best elements.

Firstly with the better elements you do have a more fleshed out backstory for how Cinderella came to be. Not only with the original fairytale elements of her name originally being Ella but given the derogatory nickname of Cinderella by her stepsisters as a mockery.

But also, having a proper opening sequence with Ella growing up with her parents as opposed to just a simple prologue about how Cinderella’s father married her stepmother but died and therefore she became stuck with her wicked step-family.

But the opening scene with her parents is really the first major issue I have with this movie. The running morals that Ella’s mother, unrecognisably portrayed by Hayley Atwell by the way, instils in Ella about always being kind and good, while reasonable elements to teach a child, aren’t exactly practical particularly when said child decides to follow this philosophy religiously her entire life thus becoming a doormat.

I mean I do understand how Ella’s naivity and kindness are meant to translate into us feeling sorry for her when her father dies and she is pretty much beaten down into that submissive slave role that we know she will be in at the hands of her stepmother and stepsisters, but that is the second major problem with this movie, she lets Lady Tremaine and her daughters essentially walk all over her.

I did enjoy the new element of us seeing her slide into this submissive role rather than the original animated version where she simply starts off in it, and the fact he has had this sheltered life of being raised to believe the world is full of kindness to be so easily duped my Lady Tremaine who proves a superlative manipulator is shown...but then we have the aforementioned scene when she is given the derogatory nickname of Cinderella and is banned from eating breakfast with the family and so finally breaks down in the pantry because of the overload she feels from her father dying and the constant psychological torture.

All this would be great, except it takes away from her eventual iconic breakdown when she is not only refused from attending the ball but also has her mother’s dress ripped to shreds...we lose that emotional hook as we were already made to feel distraught for her earlier in the movie.

Even though she is shown to have multiple opportunities of leaving this blatant psychological torture, even having people on the outside are worrying for her wellbeing, she decides to remain in her father’s house because it was her father’s house, despite the fact she still has memories of her parents regardless she chooses to go back and subject herself to the torture.

In the original, despite the fact she may have been able to leave, we never saw her leave or interact with anyone and therefore couldn’t really see an escape for her until the arrival of her Fairy Godmother.

Then at the climax of the movie I swear to god she finally loses the plot and simply decides to be a caged canary. By which I mean she is locked in the attic just as the prince arrives and rather than being distraught and seeking help from the outside, she just sits at the window and sings. Yes it alerts the prince to her eventually but she shows no urgency or determination to escape.

I get what the movie was trying to teach as a moral in hammering home how being kind is its own reward, but the original movie already conveyed that message but still didn’t present the main protagonist as a simple doormat.

Even at the very end of the movie she forgives Lady Tremaine for the torment she endured...it’s not really a realistic portrayal, I get it’s a Disney Princess movie but it seems more fantastical than the animated version.

I will say though there were good aspects to this movie, not least of all was Richard Madden as Prince Kit. I loved finally giving this prince a personality, even a name. I know he’s supposed to be the original Prince Charming but he has one maybe two lines in the original movie and here he has a backstory as well as more of a fully-rounded personality. Not quite three-dimensional but no one really has a three-dimensional personality in this movie.

Someone who comes close though is Lady Tremaine portrayed brilliantly by Cate Blanchett, I enjoyed the original version of the Wicked Stepmother but Blanchett adds another level to the character here. Not only do we see her as a romantic partner with Ella’s father but we get a bit of insight as to why she is so wicked. How she’s worked herself and her daughters up from nothing and how she feels using manipulation and scheming is the way to do that.

Baring in mind she was genuinely devastated when Ella’s father died, so this isn’t a Cersei Lannister situation where she was picking and choosing people when she felt necessary but the fact Ella’s father effectively said that she doesn’t compare to Ella’s mother is why she turned so manipulative against Ella, I’m not defending her but I am simply saying it’s understandable.

The other great character in this movie, as with the original, is the Fairy Godmother. Helena Bonham Carter really works the short blonde look here and the fact she is playing someone genuinely good and light as opposed to a villainous individual such as Bellatrix or the Red Queen was a very refreshing change of pace.

Also Helena has always been funny in interviews and so to have the chance to finally see her in a comedic role was very good to see.

In fact the Fairy Godmother pumpkin carriage scene is, as in the original, probably the best scene of this movie. With the other candidate being the first meeting between Kit and Ella.

The only other characters of note in this movie are that of the Grand Duke who goes from comedy relief in the original to villainous partner in crime to Lady Tremaine here, and also the Captain of the Guard who was also Xaro Xhoan Daxos in Game of Thrones being the right-hand to Prince Kit.

Visually and audibly the movie is stunning. Not only does it look and sound like a fairytale but Kenneth Branagh is adept at giving a visual masterpiece.

Also, while songs aren’t really a major part in this movie and simply something for the end credits, Helena Bonham Carter’s rendition of “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo!” was still very good.

Ultimately though, this movie is very much style over substance. There are, of course, some good differences to the original movie, like Prince Kit, like the Grand Duke, even the development of Lady Tremaine, but overall there’s not enough to make me feel that this is one of the great Disney Live-Action Remakes.

So what do you guys think? Post your comments and check out more Disney+ What to Watch Top 10s as well as more Top 10 Lists and other posts.