#(so this movie is hilarious in that regard)

[qapsiel]

// I'm watching Terminator for the first time, and man, it's so boring

[enzstr]

Only You || K. Bakugo

Pairing: Bakugo x Reader

synopsis: starz26708 and Dino.tnt609, two students who first met in an online chatroom. A friendship had flourished between them. With the strong need to meet each other, 6aku.tnt609 slowly gains curiosity regarding the other's identity, which sparked the desire to meet her within him. What could possibly go wrong?

💭: btw, this is inspired from the Chad Michael Murray and Hilary Duff movie A Cinderella's Story!!

author's note: My deepest apologies it took me so long to upload the new chapter!!! I've been having finals and examinations but I'm free now!! New chapter might come out in a few days or a week since it's in my drafts now...

words: 3.7k

Chapter 2: The Two People

Reader's POV

The following day, I sat in my classes, feeling unusually unfocused. I found my thoughts continually returning to the message I had received the night before from my friend, Dino.tnt609. The words and emotions contained in that message had left a powerful and lingering effect on me, making it difficult for me to fully immerse myself in the subjects being taught.

“Please meet me at the school’s party. I’ll be waiting for you at 11:00 in the middle of the dance floor.” 

Those messages had set themselves so deeply into my thoughts that it was as if they were on a constant replay in my mind. No matter what I did, I couldn't seem to rid myself of their presence. They continued to resurface, over and over again, like a stubborn memory that refused to be forgotten. The more I tried to dismiss them, the more their contents seemed to linger in my thoughts, refusing to be pushed aside or ignored.

“Y/n, what is the difference between speed and velocity?”

My heart dropped. I have been half-listening, my mind drifting, thinking about the message Dino sent to me—contemplating meeting him, and the school party. But now, I was completely caught off guard. Difference between speed and velocity—the words sounded fuzzy in my head, like fragments of a puzzle I wasn’t sure how to put together.

That was when she noticed him.

Bakugo.

He was sitting at the back of the class, leaning back in his chair, hands casually folded behind his head. He was grinning—the kind of grin that wasn’t friendly or supportive. It was the kind of grin that only came when you were sure someone else was about to fail. He’d been watching me for a while now, and I could feel his gaze boring into me. I knew exactly what he was thinking: She wasn’t paying attention. She doesn’t know the answer. This is my chance to look good in front of everyone.

The grin on Bakugo’s face widened ever so slightly, and I could almost hear his internal smirk. He had the confidence of someone who’d aced every test without breaking a sweat, someone who knew how to get under your skin with the smallest of gestures. And right now, his quiet, almost smug enjoyment was aimed directly at me.

My stomach twisted. It wasn’t that I cared about beating Dylan, exactly. But I did care about not looking foolish in front of the class—especially when he was clearly expecting me to fail. The challenge hung in the air, palpable, like an unspoken duel. I could almost hear him thinking, Come on, mess up. Please mess up.

The competitive spark in me flared to life, and in that moment, something shifted inside of me. I wasn’t going to let him get the last laugh. No way.

I straightened up in my chair, eyes narrowing just slightly, and forced myself to focus. I don’t need to know everything, I told myself. I just need to know enough to get this answer right.

My gaze locked back onto the board, and suddenly, it wasn’t so hard to make sense of the question. It was a simple logic question—something I could handle if I stopped panicking.

Mr. Aizawa was still looking at me expectantly, but now I had a plan. I took a steadying breath and spoke, my voice clearer than she felt.

“The difference between speed and velocity lies in their definitions, speed is a scalar quantity, meaning it only describes how fast an object is moving, without any reference to direction. For example, if a car is going 50 km/h, that's its speed.”

Her eyes flicked back to the board, confirming her answer. She could feel the weight of the moment—this was what it was all about. She hadn’t been paying attention before, but she was focused now, and she was going to finish strong.

“Velocity, on the other hand, is a vector quantity. This means it not only describes how fast an object is moving but also in which direction. For instance, if the car is traveling at 50 km/h to the east, its velocity is 50 km/h east. In essence, while speed only tells you the rate of motion, velocity provides both the rate and the direction of motion.”

Mr. Aizawa nodded approvingly. "Exactly, Y/n. Well done."

I felt a small surge of relief, but it wasn’t just the satisfaction of getting the answer right. It was the feeling of having turned the tables, of having taken control of the moment that had threatened to spiral out of my grasp. I glanced over at Bakugo, just as he was about to sit up straighter in his chair. His grin faltered when he saw the glint in my eyes.

And that was all the encouragement Bakugo needed.

I couldn’t help myself. A small, almost mischievous smile curved on my lips. It wasn’t an innocent, pleased-with-herself smile—it was the kind of grin you wore when you knew you’d just pulled something off, when you’d just made someone else realize they’d misjudged you.

Bakugo’s expression shifted, his eyes narrowing slightly, the smugness faltering for the briefest of moments. He’d thought I’d fumble. He’d thought I wouldn’t know the answer. But I had shown him, and not only had I known the answer—I said it with confidence, without hesitation.

He looked away first, clearly frustrated, but I didn’t miss the way his jaw tightened. I knew that look. He didn’t like losing, even if it was just a small moment, a little victory that nobody else in the room might even notice.

But I noticed. And that was enough for her.

As the class continued, Ellie let herself settle back into her seat, but her mind was sharp, focused, and alive with the thrill of competition. Dylan might have been the golden boy of the class, but today, in this small, unexpected moment, Ellie had beaten him. And for once, it felt really good to smile back at him—just a little bit smug, just a little bit competitive—knowing that he hadn’t seen this coming.

The moment I finished answering the question, I could feel it—a mix of pride and adrenaline coursing through me. I had nailed it, no hesitation, no second-guessing. The class had been quiet after I spoke, the silence hanging in the air before the professor acknowledged my answer. It felt like the eyes of the entire room were on me, but in that instant, I didn’t care. For once, I was the one who had it together.

But then there was the scoff.

I didn’t even need to look at him to know exactly who it was. Bakugo. The ever-present thorn in my side. His chair creaked as he shifted, his eyes narrowing in that way I was so familiar with. He looked almost... irritated, the kind of expression he wore when he thought someone was challenging his spot as top dog in this class. And right now, it was clear that he did not appreciate the fact that I was the one who had answered confidently.

Why does it always have to be him? I wondered, my hands clenched under the desk. I knew it was coming—he was going to find some way to one-up me, to make me feel small for doing something as simple as knowing the answer. I hated how predictable he was, but I hated even more that it affected me so much. I’d never let him see that, though. He had to think I was just as indifferent as he was.

I kept my eyes trained forward, pretending like his irritation didn’t bother me, like I wasn’t still replaying the way he’d looked at me, the way he always tried to put me in my place. It’s just a class. It doesn’t matter, I reminded myself. This isn’t real life. This is just some stupid competition.

The bell rang, breaking my thoughts, and the class started to pack up. As usual, Bakugo shoved his things into his bag with that signature smug expression, as if he'd already forgotten the moment I’d answered correctly. He probably wouldn’t give it a second thought, while I would be stewing in it for the rest of the day.

I grabbed my phone, hoping to distract myself. A new message from Dino.tnt 609 popped up. My fingers tapped the screen eagerly, relieved for the sudden shift in focus.

Dino.tnt609: “So, Halloween party tomorrow night.. what do you think? You in?”

I smiled at the message. Dino. He was the one person who could make everything feel lighter, even when things felt heavy. Talking to him always made me feel like I could breathe again after a day of dealing with Bakugo’s constant need to compete. Dino was my escape. He didn’t care about grades or the stupid academic battles I fought with Bakugo every day. He just… gets me.

But then I hesitated. My thumb hovered over the keyboard as I began to type, the excitement of the invite quickly dampened by a twinge of anxiety. The party. It should be fun, right? Just a Halloween party. But the idea of seeing someone in person—someone I had only ever known through texts and memes and game chats—suddenly felt overwhelming. What if I didn’t click with him in real life? What if meeting him was awkward?

But more than that, what if it turned out that the person I was texting with every night was someone I couldn’t stand in real life? What if he was one of those people who, once you met them face to face, you realized you just didn’t vibe with? What if it was someone like Bakugo?

Wait, no. Don’t think that. I tried to push the thought out of my head. I knew it was irrational. Dino wasn’t Bakugo. He couldn’t be. Dino was the one who listened to my rants without judgment. Bakugo would’ve laughed at my complaints, probably turned it into some kind of competition. But Dino didn’t—he understood. He had always been there when I needed to vent about school, about life, about how exhausting it was to constantly feel like I had to prove myself to people who didn’t deserve it.

I bit my lip, still unsure. Maybe I was overthinking it. It’s just a Halloween party. Just one night. The mask I planned to wear would make it easier, give me an extra layer of comfort in case things felt weird. And if it turned out the person I was meeting in real life was someone I couldn’t stand? I could always leave early, or just keep the mask on, keep things light. No pressure.

With a sigh, I finally typed back.

starz26708: “I’m not sure yet. I want to go, but I keep thinking about who I might run into. What if it’s someone I already know and just don’t get along with? I hate the idea of meeting someone and realizing they’re not who I thought they’d be…”

I glanced at the message after I sent it, my heart pounding slightly. What if Dino didn’t understand? What if he thought I was being weird or overdramatic? But no, Dino would get it. He always did.

My phone buzzed almost immediately, and I opened the message from him.

Dino.tnt609: “I totally get it. Meeting people in real life is a lot different, especially when you’ve only talked to them online. But hey, no worries. If you don’t like the vibe when you get there, you don’t have to stay. Just come and hang out for a bit, if you feel like it. We can just keep it lowkey. And honestly, the mask thing sounds awesome. No pressure at all.”

I felt the tension leave my shoulders as I read his reply. Dino’s message was so casual, so easy-going. It reminded me that I didn’t have to overthink everything. The idea of the mask suddenly felt like a safe haven, a way to protect myself if things didn’t go as planned. And if things went well? Even better.

I glanced at my costume on the chair across the room, the simple, cute outfit with the eye mask. It was just for fun, right? It would be a way to keep things light, to feel like I could still hide behind some layer of anonymity, just in case. I could show up, meet DIno, and see how it felt. If I didn’t like the vibe, I could leave. No harm done.

Taking a deep breath, I typed out my response.

starz26708: “Alright, I’ll do it. I’ll come to the party. And I’ll wear the mask. No pressure. Just… a fun time, right?”

I hit send and sat back in my chair, feeling both nervous and excited. The thought of meeting Maverick in real life still made my heart race, but now there was a sense of excitement bubbling up, too. No more overthinking. Tomorrow would be what it would be.

As I tucked my phone back into my pocket, I couldn’t help but think back to the classroom earlier that day, the way Bakugo had looked at me with that scoff, like I was some kind of threat to his place in the class. I couldn’t stop him from being irritated or annoyed by me. But for once, I didn’t need to care. I was about to meet someone who saw me for who I really was, not just some competitor in an academic race.

And for the first time in a while, that felt like enough.

The library was still, the kind of stillness that envelops you like a blanket, pressing in with its quiet whispers. The scent of old books and fresh paper, mingled with the faint hum of fluorescent lights, filled the air. I sat at my usual spot in the corner near the back row of tables, tucked between two towering bookshelves. The table before me was cluttered with textbooks, notebooks, and a half-finished cup of coffee that had long since cooled. It was late afternoon, and the golden light from the windows cast long shadows across the floor, making everything feel a bit more serene than usual.

I liked it here—the calm, the solitude, the sense of focus that always seemed to find its way to me in the midst of my chaotic thoughts. But today, there was an odd distraction. Him. Bakugo.

It wasn’t that he had suddenly appeared or made his presence known in any way. No, he’d been here for a while now, sitting at the table across from hers, his head bent low over a stack of textbooks. His usual aloofness was present, that edge of arrogance that always seemed to follow him like a cloud, but it was muted somehow. Less blatant. Less in-your-face.

I could feel the tension in her chest as I stole a glance at him. My eyes lingered for just a moment, not sure what to make of it. He wasn’t showing off, wasn’t playing the part of the smug academic genius. He was just… working.

It was weird. It had been a while since I’d seen Bakugo like this—since he had been normal. Or maybe that wasn’t the right word. Maybe it was more like he was letting his guard down a little, just enough for me to notice. He was still Bakugo, the same guy who had scoffed at me when I answered that question in class with confidence, the same guy who’d shot me looks of condescension every chance he got. But today, there was something… different.

I shifted in my seat, uncomfortable with the way my thoughts were spiraling around him. I didn’t like this feeling. I didn’t like the fact that I was starting to care, even a little, about what Bakugo thought—or, worse, starting to wonder if he was, in some way, not the person I always assumed him to be.

My focus snapped back to my notes. I had a test coming up. A test I needed to ace. No distractions. No thoughts about him. And yet, despite my best efforts, I couldn’t stop my gaze from drifting back to him.

Bakugo had paused in the middle of writing, a pencil hovering above his notebook as he looked at something in the distance, his gaze unfocused. There was a tiredness about him today, something uncharacteristic, as though the weight of his own expectations were getting to him. His posture had shifted slightly; no longer the rigid, always-perfect stance, but more slouched, as if the constant pressure of being the best was beginning to wear on him. I had always known that he had his own demons, just as I did. But today, it felt… real somehow. It felt more human.

I tried to shake it off, to tell myself that this was just another moment of my own weakness, my need to understand people. To make sense of things. But it was harder now. It was harder to keep the walls up when I had seen a flicker of something real underneath the arrogance.

Bakugo cleared his throat suddenly, breaking the silence between them, and my eyes shot up, my heart giving an unexpected jolt. He was looking at me now, but not with the same sharp, dismissive gaze I was used to. No, this time, it was... different. There was still a hint of skepticism, but it wasn’t the biting kind. It was almost... curious.

“You’re doing that thing again,” he said, his voice a little hoarse, but not with the usual irritation. It was more like an observation. “Staring off into space.”

I blinked, surprised by the comment. “What?”

“You’re distracted,” he said, his voice quieter now. He shifted in his seat, rubbing the back of his neck with a tired sigh. “You’ve been looking at me like I’m some kind of puzzle you’re trying to figure out.”

I frowned, annoyed at how accurately he’d read me, even though I hadn’t been aware of it myself. “I haven’t been staring at you,” I muttered, though it wasn’t very convincing. I hadn’t meant to stare at him, but it was hard not to when something about today felt... off. In a way that was hard to describe.

Bakugo smirked, the edge of his usual arrogance slipping back for a moment. “Sure you haven’t.”

The flicker of their old dynamic was still there, but there was something softer in the way he said it. No ridicule. No malice. Just a simple, half-amused observation.

I sighed, rubbing my temples. This wasn’t helping me focus. And yet, there was something about the way Bakugo was acting today that made me feel like he wasn’t just my academic rival anymore. He wasn’t just the guy who competed against me for every grade, for every small victory.

For a split second,I entertained the thought that maybe—just maybe—I had misjudged him. But I quickly dismissed it. Bakugo was still Bakugo. Still arrogant. Still stubborn. Still too proud for his own good.

“I’m trying to focus,” I muttered, feeling a bit of tension in my chest, my irritation creeping back.

Bakugo didn’t respond right away. Instead, he picked up his pencil again and started scribbling something in his notebook. The sound of the lead scraping against the paper was oddly calming in the otherwise quiet space. I could feel the weight of the moment stretch out, the minutes slipping by as both of us worked, neither of us speaking.

And then, unexpectedly, Bakugo spoke again.

“You know,” he said, his voice a little softer than before, “you’re not the only one stressed out about this stuff.”

I blinked at him. What?

“Yeah,” He continued, not looking up from his work. “I might seem like I have everything figured out all the time, but I don’t. I—” He paused for a second, and for the first time, I saw a flicker of something that wasn’t arrogance in his eyes. “I hate feeling like I’m always just... expected to be the best, you know?”

I was taken aback. I didn’t know how to respond at first. This wasn’t the Bakugo I knew, the Bakugo who acted like he had the world on a string and was just waiting for it to fall into place. No, this was different. This was... human. Vulnerable, even.

I swallowed, the words catching in my throat. “I get it,” I said quietly, before I could stop herself. “I feel the same way. Like I’m always trying to prove something. Like I’m never enough.”

Bakugo finally looked up at me then, his expression more thoughtful than I had ever seen it. The usual arrogance was still there, tucked beneath the surface, but it wasn’t all-consuming. For a second, he just looked at her, as if considering her words. And for a moment, I wasn’t sure what to say next.

Then, surprisingly, Bakugo offered a small, almost imperceptible nod, the corner of his mouth twitching upward, not into a smirk, but a genuine smile. It wasn’t much—certainly not the kind of smile I ever expect from him—but it was enough.

“Yeah,” he said, his voice quieter now. “Guess we’re not so different after all.”

I was silent for a moment, processing the unexpected turn in their conversation. There was still so much about him that grated on my nerves, but in that moment, sitting in the library with him, I realized something. Maybe—just maybe—there was more to him than the arrogant exterior he always wore. Maybe there was a real person beneath all that pride and stubbornness.

And maybe, just maybe, I was starting to see him for who he truly was.

“I guess so,” I replied, offering him a small smile of my own.

Both of us went back to their work, the silence stretching out between us again, but this time, it wasn’t uncomfortable. It was… peaceful. There was an understanding now, an unspoken truce. They weren’t enemies, not really—not anymore.

For the first time, I realized that their rivalry didn’t have to define us. We could just be two students, studying together in the same quiet space, both trying to survive the pressures of their lives.

And in that simple moment, sitting across from each other, we both found a kind of peace.

taglist: @sara4uuu @zoast32 @lemon-lav @instantmagazineconnoisseur (comment to be added on my taglist!)

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enzstr © 2024. please don't steal, modify or copy my writing on any other platforms!

[zeropro]

What are your thoughts on transformers prime and transformers one?

TL:DR I liked both! TFP was my first Transformers show that I watched all the way through and TF1 was a lot of fun! Opinions on Starscream under the break pfpfpfpfpfpf

Prime was literally my first Transformers experience (Okay that's not true, I did see the first Bay movie when it came out but lets not talk about that). It's really good! My favorite character was Ratchet, I loved that he's just a tired, grumpy, racist old man and he's a doctor. Knock Out was the best thing to come out of TFP and he really should be in more stuff. Really would have loved a fourth season but it wouldn't have been the same without the children around. I liked what we got!

Prime has an excellent Starscream, Steve Blume does an amazing performance with both his deep conniving gravel and his high pitched terrified sputtering. So much character in his animation too, especially in later seasons, and an incredibly compelling character arc. Prime Starscream is not a good person, but I would burn the world for him, and I like the small moments in the show that hint at something in his character that could be turned to good, but circumstance always works against him in that regard. He's just so pathetic, but also competent and dangerous, all the best qualities of a Starscream and a very unique design!

Transformers One was quite good, I was worried because of the trailers but I was surprised by how well executed it all was. None of the characters were annoying, and making Optimus Prime originally one of the oppressed class alongside Megatron was a good move. The scene where Orion gives Dee the sticker is so cute, I simply cannot. The ending felt a bit rushed but what can you do, it wasnt so bad that it's a problem for me.

I would have loved just a little more Starscream in the movie! Like, I knew he wasn't really gonna be in the movie much so i was prepared for it to be little more than a glorified cameo, but I loved a lot of what we did get and I feel like it was missing just a little bit more! Like, the whole High Guard turned rogue backstory he has is great, implies some honor to his character since he didnt keep serving Sentinal when the guy turned Cybertron over to the Quintissance. I think it's hilarious that Starscream is so much older than Megatron. Like, they gave us a lot of food to make headcanons out of, but then the rushed ending kind of left me with no real reason given for him and the rest of the High Guard to go with Megatron without a fight. Like, I think the reason given was that, because Megatron beat him up that one time, and then killed Sentinal, and since the High Guard became a might makes right society and hates Sentinal, I guess thats why they are loyal to him now. And I guess the one line where Starscream is like "all hail megatron" is supposed to indicate he's 100% behind Megatron now and not just a spur of the moment thing. And I guess them following his command to destroy the city is why theyre being banished. But like...idk, every other plot point was well established and properly played out, and the whole decepticons thing just didnt really feel like enough, and i kind of feel like it should have been more clearly communicated considering its an entire one side of a two sided war? I feel like we werent shown the high guard doing anything egregiously bad besides attacking people because megatron told them to.

Like, there's nothing in the movie to suggest that Starscream and the High Guard arent still loyal to the Primes. So when Orion comes back as a prime, like a proper prime, with the matrix and everything, which everyone knows will make the energon flow again, I'm surprised Starscream didnt at least try to make excuses or worm his way into avoiding banishment? My headcanon is he wanted to kill Sentinal as bad as Megatron and so when Megatron finally does what he failed to do for 50 cycles, he's like aite im ride or die for this guy. Maybe 50 cycles of living in the wilderness doing nothing but scout and pit fight all day changes a guy and they dont wanna live in a society anymore. Why dont they accept Optimus as the new prime? They helped him and Elita save their friends, and unlike Sentinal Optimus has the actual Matrix this time. Idk mang. Woulda liked a bit more.

Transformers One, not my favorite design for Starscream. The head vents going wide at the bottom look weird to me, and his legs are so long and flat.

Thems my opinions!

[tizeline]

Oh boy, at this point I feel that the truth is gonna chew Mikey hard after discovering they are actually the bad guys. Side note: I know Raph and Mikey are gonna struggle at first to accept the truth and even more to accept that Splinter and April aren't evil… but when and how is gonna Mikey really START to accept this? because I feel theres more chances with Raph than with Mikey

Okay, so this is what I've worked out so far regarding Mikey's redemption arc-

Like in canon, after the season 1 finale and Draxum gets fucked up by The Dark Armor and then also becomes wanted in The Hidden City, he (plus his kids) ends up finding and settling down in that apartment in April's building (the idea of them accidentally becoming April's neighbours is hilarious so I'm keeping that lmao). Then Leo enters his Rebellious Teen Arc and runs off to hang out with Donnie and April most of the time, eventually he's joined by Raph too so then it's mostly just Mikey and Draxum brooding in their apartment all day. It's during this time that Draxum spends some time self-reflecting and eventually decides to abandon their plans of world domination, much to Mikey's dismay who is still very much in the mood to end humanity.

It's hard pinpointing an exact starting point of Mikey realizing that he's been in the wrong, deep down I think he already know this, but he'll be damned if he actually aknowledges it. But it's around this part of the story that things start turning around for Mikey. Because when Draxum announces that it's over and they're done with trying to take over the world, Mikey gets pretty pissed about it and decides that he's ALSO gonna go all Rebellious Teenager on them all! See how they like THAT! BTW Mikey's "Rebellious" Teen Arc mostly includes him spending more time sulking outside than in the apartment as he previously did, and acting a bit more cranky towards Draxum, but he still returns home at a reasonable time in the evening and in general doesn't do anything he isn't allowed to do. He's not very good at being a bad kid haha. (If anything, Draxum thinks it's good that Mikey spends some time outside)

I've mentioned before that I like the idea of introducing Mondo Gecko and Woody Dirkins into the story and that they could help him in his character development and expand his world view (also godammit Mikey needs some friends aside from his brothers) So anyway, it's when Mikey starts spending time outside on his own that he meets and, after some time, befriends both of them. I don't have the details figured out here, but I'm thinking that he first gets to know Mondo considering he's a yōkai/mutant (haven't decided which). Mondo would already be friends with Woody which is how Mikey later meets him, when Mondo introduces them to each other. Mikey is obviously Skeptical at first, but Woody gives him free pizza so Mikey is all like "okay, maybe he sucks slightly less than other humans". All of this is to say, Woody is probably what leads to Mikey actually confronting the fact that he MIGHT be wrong about some things.

It's still very much a gradual change. It's around the end of season 2 that the Draxum family all reconcile with each other, and while Mikey is still not very fond of the Hamatos (especially Donnie lol) or humans, he doesn't wish for their demise anymore. Then it's some time after the events of the movie that Mikey fully commits himself to not judge people merely on them being humans or yōkai.

[raileurta]

My thoughts and opinions on the human characters in tf series. Also fanon depiction will be influencing my decision. We're working on Batman fandom rules here y'all.

Live action

Sam Witwicky 8/10

His crash outs are hella hilarious and very valid. The amazing fanfiction about this dude is definitely propping him up. The allspark stuff is always top tier.

Charlie Watson 6/10

I haven't watched the movie but her relationship with bumblebee is so so cute. I have many edits of her saved.

Noah diaz 8/10

Once again I came for a ship in regards to a character regardless he's a chill dude. He's pretty chill. Also him saying "until all are one" was really cool.

Cade Yeager 6.9/10

Not going to lie he's probably an objectively bad character but idc. I love barn husbands and him being a human Ratchet is a very appealing idea to me.

Transformers: prime

Jack Darby 3.4/10

Probably going to get some hate for this but I don't really like him. Yeah he had his cool moments I won't deny but I just find him bland. I have seen the arguments about why he isn't but Idc. I'm on the very far side of "unique" human to say the least so my taste is more extreme I guess?

Raf esquivel 6.2/10

He's a cute little guy who definitely has committed various cyber crimes. I like him

Miko nakadai +10,000/10

This is a given. If you're on my account for one nanosecond you could see this coming. So I don't think I need to explain why.

Agent Fowler 5/10

Eh. That's all I can say eh.

June Darby 4.6/10

I'm not that fond of her but June wanting Optimus is so real and I can't help but applaud her for it.

Transformers rescue bots

Charlie Burns 5/10

I only know about him from little clips and ✨stuff✨ about him with Chase..... He's a great dilf is all I can say.

Anyone else 5/10

Don't know them so I can't hate or love them.

Transformers animated

Sari 4/10?

Watched like the beginning half of the first episode and that's it. I see her and Miko drawn a lot because they're very similar characters apparently. Some even call Miko the knockoff Sari so that doxed off a point because I'm petty. She's also a techno organic which is cool. I don't know enough about her so she's going in the middle ground.

Transformers earthspark

Dot malto 8.5/10

Watched the series for her and Megatron relationship and she's awesome! She won't hesitate to cut a bitch if they even look at her family wrong.

Rest of the Maltos 6.5/10

Ngl forgot their names and had to Google them. I find them funny but I'm not really attached to them.

[hoiststowline]

_first aid x reader hc's

to First Aid, his love language is little more difficult to pigeonhole. if you were to ask him, he'd probably say he's inclined to all of them, but over time it becomes glaringly obvious that actions speak a lot louder than words with him. his love language is definitely acts of service, because he has a natural tendency not only to assist, but desire to make his s/o's life a little easier. uses phrases such as: "here, allow me," or "please, let me help." but he isn't hovering over your shoulder or overbearing regarding it, he can detect and notice when you need an extra hand or need a break from something. but it's an action that goes both ways, when his s/o does a thoughtful action or a favor for him, he feels the most loved.

picks up little things you do/say. you joke that he's been around you too long when he starts quoting things you've said or adopting habits of yours. he's an observer, he finds comfort in the familiar but isn't opposed to the unknown. First Aid just likes to learn, and based off that, he can't get enough of the media you consume either. tv, music or books- he's fascinated and wants to know more. in contrast of just reading or watching it himself, he prefers your analyzation or retelling, just because he knows your version has a lot more passion and excitement in it.

naps, naps naps. being Chief Medical Officer (CMO), he's likely got a busy schedule and falls into a habit of taking short naps rather than getting a good nights rest, undisturbed. it's an small break that he's actively seeking you out for, and even if both of you are sleeping or you’re wide awake, he still wants you there. sure, he knows he’s bad company in this instance, but it’s the sleepy before and after that makes it worth it. if First Aid can have a moment to catch up with you once throughout the hours it’s much better than waiting until the end of the day, or even the next day. he just wants to see you, and mismatched schedules and sleep hours sometimes prohibits that. more than he’d like to admit.

he is hilarious but doesn’t realize it. he’s partial to say something in a deadpan or mumble sentences under his breath. these airless sentences are uttered mostly for only you to hear, just his own commentary to a movie or conversation. he always finds himself surprised and confused as to why you erupt in a fit of laughter, because he wasn’t his intention to make a joke there. but you must’ve found something funny mixed in his words, and he can't even remember what he said as he watches you laugh so hard your cheeks become rosy. when you praise him to others, you include how funny he is, but to him, it’s more of a “if you say so,” situation. said with a smile and short laugh of his own, not really so sure but willing to humor you, always.

if he has one complaint in your relationship, it’s schedule conflicts. every so often there’s long periods of time where the both of you are apart, and the hours you’re asleep overlap with the hours he’s working. you have responsibilities too- work, school, etc, and in this case scenario I think he'd probably be big on text messages. it's not the ideal way to catch up with you, but for the circumstances permitting, it's the best way to speak to you when he only has moments here and there. one thing is concrete in this relationship, is that he's never too busy for you, and will do everything he can to make it work in the healthiest way possible. First Aid has a relatively sturdy work/life balance, but there's always situations beyond his control that cause some variance. his s/o is understanding of that, and it provides him utmost solace, working continuously to ensure that the balance is never tipped.

[000marie198]

Are there any sonic au’s you would recommend? I am trying to find more to get into so would love to know if you have any favourites out there :D

Hello! Oh there are so many! :D I definitely have some favorites and some which aren't favs but are pretty great.

Putting these under the cut because there are so many! And there's definitely more cool AUs that I haven't seen or haven't saved.

Anyways, please enjoy my personal selection:

Seven Years Too Soon by NightFuchia. Basically what if a much younger Sonic accidentally set Shadow free from Prison Island. It has awesome characterization and happens to be one of my favorite stories. The rest of Team Sonic is also present

Brotherhood's Twist by @/drawloverlala even though I don't think it counts entirely as Au but it still sort of does. Unbreakable Bond ageswitch due to Zeti's meddling.

Passion's @sonic-tangled-au . I love it! So very much. The lore and backstories are so good.

Noonui's World Restored in Imbalanced Chaos au. Extremely engaging and good. Has a bunch of world building and fun concepts and lore.

Sonic's Super Totally Awesome Mixtape, though it seems to be discontinued, I'm not sure. It's pretty good so far! Takes place in the movie verse.

@brainworms-all-night-long is working on a Dreamtale Au which I'm hyped for. The tag in use is 'dreamtale and sonic tomfoolery'.

@/the-starlight-project comic is pretty good too. Mystery! And emotions. So many emotions ough.

And there's @the-emerald-isle-au by @0vergrowngraveyard . Very intriguing. 👀

Please do check out the Pandora Au by @/starrjoy. It's great!

The Fair Folk by Irritable_Fabulamancer, this fic is one of my favorites! Team Sonic as Fae my beloved! I love fae AUs.

On that note, if you're alright wanting to read a Fae!AU which is pretty much a sonadow fic, there is also I don't believe in fairy tales [but I believe in you and me]. Fantasy and Fae! Satbk inspired, another one that had me hooked.

My Arms Are Blue by thekyuubivixen and its unofficial, fan-continuation (My Arms Are Blue! Final Four Edition) by PlaystationPassenger. The story doesn't completely count as an AU but I'm recommending them anyway cuz they're really really good and has that watching your own show from different dimension trope. It's also hilarious and fun.

Burning Arrow, Wildfire Heart by Taranea is SatSR novelisation AU with Sonic's other friends present too, it's pretty fun. Not very accurate regarding the desert but it's a good read and I come back to reread it often. Must read in my opinion. Just don't dare use it as guide for desert travel or you'll be shriveled up in the sand somewhere

This fic. Read it, I will not elaborate this one. Just trust me :]

And don't miss out on @shadofiredragon's Legends Never Die fic. It's a future fic! And an awesome one. I won't spoil much but it is so good. She also has lots of fun AUs in the works.

Down the Foxhole series by MoonlitNightin. Sonic Prime AU series which is great! Tails' pov. The Shatterverses have their own Sonics. Engaging and great.

Feel free to check out @/Son1c's 10verse and other AUs. Those are some pretty great ones. Love the different lore and variants given to the Shatterverses in 10verse.

Spirit of the Wind by TrenchCoatGecko. Satbk inspired fantasy au. Sonamy, has focus on magic and lore and other characters as well.

If you'd like some Forces angst with Unbreakable Bond focus, please do read Illusionary are your arms around me by @nixoon-again. The feels will kill you /pos

Chaos Barren by but_why_not. I forgot to add this earlier (this is an edited addition). Takes place in the Blue Devils AU, great story!

Baby Tails shenanigans by @myymi . Tails got turned into itty bitty infant kit. (And also check @0vergrowngraveyard 'baby tails' tag for more little gremlin scenarios)

Myla is also working on @tails-and-the-ink-machine au

Feral au by Oneshot_bravo. Little short stories or drabbles taking place in Unleashed but the werehog is feral yet keeps his memories. Very lighthearted and fun and cute

Three or more foxes form a skulk by @/chiropter36 . Post Prime au fic, loved it! Go read.

Also, @donelywell 'roadtrip! sonic au' and 'Casino Nights Au'

Haven't yet started reading The Fox's Burrow by @/space-gutz but I'm planning to. Recommending it either way cuz I feel like it's gonna be good. Unbreakable Bond but ageswaped au.

@/sonicchaoscontrol comic. Another in-progress au which is also quite intriguing. Sonic jumps through a portal and exits in future where the planet is a mess. The mystery of what and how it all happened and what's going on slowly unfolds.

The Buzzsaw Dillemma by redpenship. I haven't personally read it myself but I've heard many good things about it, especially it's world building.

Incomplete and won't be updated anymore but if you haven't read them yet, DO NOT miss out on Ghosts of the Future and The Murder of Me fancomics by Evan Stanley (spiritsonic) and Gigi Deutrix (gigi-D) respectively. They're a must read. Both are available on DeviantArt.

The Heart of a Monster comic, @/the-heart-of-a-monster. It's in progress and updates regularly. Unleashed retelling, really really good with some extra lore and everyone involved.

Sometimes the Picket Fence isn’t Perfect and Sharp Edges (Sonic Prime AU) series by @/skimmingthesurfaces. I'm holding off the first one to read later, like that one book you've been saving so I'm not sure if it completely counts as an AU, still putting it in recs, and the second one is intriguing so far. I have heard a lot of good thing about the Picket Fence series.

Dark Boom by Smash50. The entirety of Team Dark in the Sonic Boom universe. Alongside it, there's also Boomtober by the same author.

It Always Snows by the 24th by Selendred had me hooked even though it's a oneshot. Great au and would love to see it explored more.

No One said I Wish by SylWritesStuff. One of my fav stories from the Sonic Platonic Fairytale Week event. It's really funny.

Sonic Phantom Forces (SPF) au comic. Sonic Forces au, blue boy gets taken away but not in the way you think, pretty cool story so far. It's in-progress and available on both Tumblr and DeviantArt. @/spfau

If Black Doom tried to be a better father by Tirainy. Don't take this one seriously. It's pure comedy and I love every second of it. Shadow is having a time for sure XD.

Silent Talkers by @brainworms-all-night-long. Takes place in the Prime Bros verse, feels intensified, all the good ones. A must read, trust me.

And speaking of the Prime Bros AU (in which all Shatterverse foxes also got adopted by Sonic and are now brothers), feel free to scroll through the 'prime bros' tag here. So many awesome posts for this particular au by everyone!

There's so many more, cool ones, epic ones. I haven't saved all and I'm probably forgetting some great ones too so I'm leaving this open for others to add. If y'all have more cool AUs, plz add to these (I wanna check em out too)

....

And now a few from the Fanfiction.net site because it doesn't have much audience compared to AO3 and there are some actual gems hidden there;

Premonition by thekiyuubivixen (not entirely an au but it feels like one due to the unique ability Sonic gains)

The Sonic Project by SconnieSA. Rated M but it's a pretty awesome AU and the rating is due to more serious themes and uncensored language in some parts. Highly recommending this one

Survivor's Resolve by DC111. Not entirely an AU but I must rec this fic it's so good and doea havs some AU vibes.

Sonic the Hedgehog: Attorney of Law by thedraconicwerewolf. Ace Attorney type AU with Sonic and Tails as main characters. Not too adventurous but very very fun and interesting and still managed to keep Sonic in character. Though it has a sequel started, I only rec the main story, not the sequal as it seems to be abandoned and isn't needed to be read like them cliffhanger stories.

beLIEve by Meow21. I have only read snippets from this, waiting for this story to continue but it seems to be discontinued. Felt like an epic story too and deserves to be recommended.

Sonic and the Golden Journey. Sonic gets thrown in another storybook, this time it's a children's classic fairytale. Short but very comedic and fun. Go read it.

Tales of a Samurai. I am begging you to read this one, please it's so good. Also by Taranea.

Wonderful and it's sequal Sanctuary by Inflamore for some Unbreakable Bond angst. (Kindly ignore the obliviousness of earlier ff.net for not knowing the meaning of certain symbols, there's nothing of the sort in story, trust me.)

Regrets by MazzyBooks. A high school au of sorts. Sonic centric with some heavy angst. I'm not kidding about the angst part, trust me. It had me hooked from the first chapter though and I believe it deserves a rec.

You need the cracks (to let the light shine through) by king.needlemouse. Istg this is the most underrated thing I've ever come across, it's one of my absolute favorite fics which I can never forget. Do read it.

Within this Nightmare by sonicfan1990. Sonic get transported to an alternate universe which has gone post apocalyptic and his counterpart in that universe has been dead. Pretty great story, lots of angst and everything.

And that's all I could remember and have saved for now. I'm leaving this open to more AU recs (yes even self plugs are welcome) so if you know any I missed, plz feel free to add. I hope you enjoy all these great AUs!

Thanks for the ask!

[victoriadallonfan]

Having re-watched Alien (1979) and Aliens (1985), I think I've realized what went wrong with the further expanded film universe on a thematic level (this is not accounting for AVP films, which seem to exist within their own continuity atm).

The main issue is that these films made 2 intertwining mistakes:

Making the Xenomorph too animalistic

Removing the mystery of space

For the first part, Alien and Aliens are quite vague about the Xenomorph mind. Alien treats it almost like a serial killer at times, including a particularly interesting moment where it disregards Jones the Cat entirely, despite making a very easy target, and how it will sometimes meander up to the crew as if it knows it's inflicting terror upon them. This Xenomorph even seems to only flee when Parker goes to kill it with a knife and hides within the evac shuttle when it realizes that Ripley was going there as well.

Aliens forgoes this in favor of showing how terrifying their numbers are even in the face of superior (if greatly mislead) fire power, but then pulls the rug under our protagonists by (seemingly) cutting the power and testing the endurance of the auto-turrets. While the drones are not individually as intelligent as the original xenomorph from the first film, this is instead given to the Queen, who understands not only the danger Ripley poses to her Hive but hostage negotiations of the most blunt variety. And, of course, incredible spite and vengeance when Ripley burns her eggs.

Basically, the two films do a good job of making you wonder... how sapient and sentient are the Xenomorphs? Do we take Ash's word and think of them as simply Hostile Weapons or do we see them for the adaptable and complex - if instinct guided - parasites just trying to protect their hive? This is further food for thought when we learn that one of the cut endings would have had the Xenomorph kill Ripley, tentatively use the shuttles control panel, and speak into the intercom with Dallas voice (ala Predator).

Imo, that goes too far into making them human, but we'll circle back to that later. The point is that the Xenomorph is never clearly one thing or another, but rather, something that constantly foils our attempts to understand them completely.

Aliens 3, Alien: Resurrection, Prometheus, and Alien: Covenant fail in that regard, because they take the firm stance that the Xenomorph is... an animal. A very, very, dangerous and hostile animal but an animal nonetheless. It's not some vague horror that we struggle to comprehend and reason with, because all the facts (as they are for now) are laid out: the Xenomorphs are weaponized animals that just kill, reproduce, and kill etc etc.

Nothing is entirely new about the Xenomorphs in these movies (beyond the forms and one part of Covenant, but we'll circle back to that as well), but rather trying to recapture the formula of Alien and Aliens. And even when the film isn't necessarily about the Xenomorphs like Prometheus, it still goes out of its way to copy the play by play of Alien to an almost hilarious degree (except, somehow, having a cast entirely of stupid scientists).

The Xenomorph is used as a toll for the films to talk more about the human threats who would use them, which is fine, except the same message of "Weyland-Yutani wants Xenomorphs, They Failed" over and over again (except I guess for Alien: Resurrection, but that had Walmart as a plot point so...) gets tedious. It's not longer about the folley of mankind, but rather this one company led by a man (or Android?) who keeps fucking up.

Ditto goes for the second part: removing the mystery from space. Alien and Aliens treat the Space Jockey and other (non-Xenomorph) alien life at an arms distance. They are large, grand, ominous, and vaguely defined. We don't know much about WY in either movie, nor how much is them knowing versus independent people within the company (Burke mentions cutting out his own bosses for profit for example, and Bishop the company Android is heroic and horrified at the situation they are all in, a big difference to Ash). The Xenomorphs having a Queen was a huge reveal, because we literally had no idea until then if those were actual eggs or simply pods artificially created.

Aliens 3 tries to add some mystery with the prison colony, but it's also hamfisted and given a lot of exposition to explain the situation they are in, but I will give it kudos for making Weyland (???) look like Bishop as a twist. Aliens: Resurrection... yeah, no.

Prometheus and Alien Covenant gave us a plethora of seeming mysteries, but also gives us really super simple answers. Basically, Space Jockeys are just super humans seeding life across the planets and they wanted to bomb Earth into oblivion because we killed Jesus Christ (who was a Space Jockey). And one of our androids then - possibly - goes to their home planet and bombs them to oblivion thus wiping out the human race. And they made Xenomorphs yadda yadda.

Prometheus in particular seems to despise the idea of space being a mystery, with the conversation David has with a scientist being plainly spelled out as the theme of the film: "Sometimes, humans/space jockeys just build shit, and it goes wrong I guess. No gods or mysteries here, just hubris."

Which, if handled well, is still a fascinating idea (I think it's a pretty interesting 'take-that' against the stupidity of Ancient Alien Conspiracy Theorists)... but it's not handled well. At all. And certainly doesn't work well when trying to write Xeno-Horror.

So, what COULD work?

Well, I think we need to look at how Alien and Aliens made the Xenomorphs, Space Jockey's, and Space itself all work.

For the xenomorphs, I think back to one scene I actually thought was interesting in Alien: Covenant; as a chestburster is born from a hapless scientist, it lays its eyes (???) on David and replicates his movements, mimicking the first living thing it witnesses. Nothing is ever done with this (of course), but think about the potential that could be used! Plenty of animals like crows, ravens, dolphins, octopi, killer whales etc etc can use mimicry in voices and actions, and that includes things like tool-use! And of course, the fact that they take on new forms from hosts helps with that.

For the Space Jockey's: scrap them. They had their time, the mystery is basically solved. Show us new and different alien civilizations long past. Were they also victims of the Xenomorphs? From some other threat entirely? Surely, there are extraterrestrial predators out there that don't follow the Xenomorph formula. Why not have them share the splotlight, with just as little explanation?

For space itself: stop with trying to recapture Alien and Aliens. Alien: Isolation is the only successor specifically because of the format of the medium. Alien and Aliens rely heavily on the shock factor of sudden reveals. Remove that, and you are given "bug hunt" games and movies ala discount Starship Trooper. Focus more on making human space feel almost alien and beyond our understanding as well, but just enough that we can recognize the purpose that we would have them for our society.

How I would write an Alien Story:

(This would all be backstory and setup for the actual story)

I would set it within a colony satellite with an explicit task: a skyscraper ecological time-capsule for deep space experimentation of wildlife.

It would have levels, with humans situated at the second uppermost and an AI as the manager at the top level of the satellite, with all the other animals in different levels fit for their habitats (including some non-earth, non-xenomorph aliens). It's a religious sponsored and run organization, offshoots of [Insert Church Here] that is trying to get good press with cutting edge AI and biological research.

The prize is an alien lifeform that looks like a cross between a crocodile and a panther. Usually docile when fed, it has been growing more and more agitated, harming several workers on the job. Most assume it may be some late-stage degenerative disease within it's brain.

Not all things are as it seems, as at the bottom of the station, a location no one but a select few faithful engineers are sent to maintain, a pod is damaged. A young attendant watches in shock and horror as a bloody and maimed chest burster crawls out of the pod, possibly having injured itself to burn through the lock. The creature is mewling in pain, but the young attendant makes a choice: leaving food, water, and blanket for the creature. Watching as the creature watches them, before going to feast. All under the gaze of a camera.

The xenomorph grows and grows, eating more, getting bolder and allowing its "caretaker" to feel more comfortable. Soon it begins to recognize certain sounds as they pray when he feasts, and association occurs. One day, its hiss sounds suspiciously like "Lord".

This is when the young attendant reaches out to higher, but trusted, priests to share this miraculous revelation. The first one is shocked, terrified, but intrigued as the creature mimics words like "Lord" and "Mighty". Barely audible, some would say hallucinatory, but they believe they can here this humanoid creature speak their language.

The second is equally shocked, terrified, but listens and becomes a believer.

The third one does not believe. Rightfully horrified and full of questions. Their arguments in front of the beast escalate into violence and when the young attendant shoves the priest to the ground, it is the Xenomorph that pounces. Blood is shed. the creature rises in front of it's faithful, and the Xenomorph uses the same sounds it heard over the fight. Lord. Mighty. Here-tik.

They can't be delusional or driven by guilt! This is a sign... right? This creature is speaking to them!

The faith grows. Never large. Can't risk word getting out or people noticing too many missing priests. The satellite is just barely large enough that people can excuse going missing for a few days between objectives.

But key individuals are brought in. The creature is worshiped. Animal offerings are delivered. It's changing, slowly. Growing larger (not a Xenomorph Queen, it's too maimed, but adapting to a steady diet).

Things might have escalated, had one of the priests killed not had an estranged sibling/spouse/loved one who had the pull to make a formal investigatory complaint.

The investigator arrives with his repertoire, this supposed garden of eden in deep space, none the wiser to what he would uncover. (Again, this would be the backstory, not revealed except through character investigations and evidence found during that. Defeats the purpose if it's spelled out like this).

It would play with the idea of how sapient/sentient the Xenomorphs are (do they care? do they understand? if not, why act like this? if yes, what does this mean for their continued slaughter), how much one puts into faith versus delusions, and leaves lingering questions: who put the xenomorph on the ship, why is the AI so complicit with the deaths and disappearances, and why is the one non-xenomorph alien acting so dangerously agitated despite being far away from the xenomorph's quarters?

[hsvh-hp]

Hi! Thanks for all the responses -- I hadn't realized how many chapters I'd gotten through since your last round until I saw the emails lmao

I was wondering, in regards to this:

And omg, I totally feel you on being a trans person in the HP fandom. It's very weird how my tumblr dash is set up. I have mutuals still from old fandoms who are queer, and I feel so ostracized from them at times when they toe the line of 'anybody in the HP fandom supports JKR, you're a bad person if you're still engaging with it'. I'll spare you the essay on why I disagree with that, but oddly the safest place I feel on the internet as a trans person is in the HP fandom. Which is weird at face value, I suppose, given what JKR is doing, but we really are separate from her. I've yet to see substantial evidence that fandom, which is infamous for generating zero revenue, is floating trans peoples' demise. It's just a thought crime, I guess.

if you would, perhaps, not spare me the essay? lol

I feel the same sort of ostracization which is especially frustrating when I am in such "thought crimes are fake!" circles, and I'm interested in your perspective, if you want to give it!

Sure, I’ll offer my perspective on it! This is probably best broken down into bullet points:

1. JKR was already a billionaire before she came out as a TERF.

There is nothing in the world that will change this status. Even if every single person currently engaging with her various IPs immediately dropped them, JKR would still have a billion plus dollars to drop on anti-trans movements and whatever. A billion dollars is immensely difficult to picture. The easiest way is to think like this: if you make $50,000 a year, the equivalent of her dropping $75,000 the other day is you spending $3.75. How often do you spend 0.0075% of your income and give it any thought? JKR’s wealth is not directly tied to ‘levels of fandom engagement’.

Which leads to…

2. Boycotts don’t work.

Sorry. They don’t. Not against someone this politically powerful. If they did, the flood of people out of the HP fandom in 2020 would have had a measurable effect. What did have a measurable effect? People not going to watch the Fantastic Beast movies (because they were hot trash lmao). Not giving JKR any more money works in the sense that it cripples her future projects, but it has zero effect on what’s already in her purse.

Also, think of boycotts this way: wasn’t it hilarious watching conservatives try to boycott the Barbie movie, Nike, Bud Light, and whatever else they’ve systematically locked on to? But so then why do progressives/the left/whoever think it’s going to work the other way? Like with Hogwarts Legacy? Just don’t interact with the media, dude. And if you do, pirate it.

3. Fandom is not mainstream. I have never seen any data to substantiate that participating in a fandom directly correlates to dollars for the IP. Copyright literally prevents that from happening. To bring up to popular saying, “there is no ethical consumption under capitalism”, fandom exists outside of capitalism—for me, at least, as a fan fiction writer. This is a hobby to me. I have never seen a red cent for any of the hours of work I’ve put into my fics.

And I can probably guarantee that no one has stumbled upon Harry Potter through me, lol. They didn’t read one of my fics and go, ‘you know, I should check out what source material this is coming from’. Harry Potter is so well-known that there’s no way they came in blind.

Also, the TERF discourse is very much an online thing. I work retail irl and I’ve had conversations with customers who’ll say “you know, I really don’t get all this hubbub against trans people” but are too boomer to be anything more than tangentially aware that Harry Potter is a Thing. Like, ‘oh yeah, my kids read those books when they were coming out, but I never bothered’. One of my employees bought a set of the HP books because they were on a wicked deal at Costco, and when we were discussing it I told her that while I still enjoyed HP, I wasn’t comfortable giving JKR more money because she’s extremely transphobic and donates a lot of money to anti-trans causes. My employee was horrified and said that had she known that, she wouldn’t have bought the books. Lots of people just don’t know!

Which takes me to…

4. This type of online activism isn’t effective.

I’m talking specifically about being anti-Harry Potter or anti-JKR. Falling into those two categories does not automatically make you pro-trans. This was pretty blatantly obvious back when the books were being burned for promoting witchcraft. As far as fighting for trans peoples’ rights, screaming until you’re blue in the face about how anybody who engages with Harry Potter is a traitor and JKR BAD is wasting time better spent doing something productive - something that could actually benefit trans people rather than…I don’t know…virtue signalling that their blog or twitter account is a safe space?

5. I personally do not feel welcomed or vouched for by these people.

Listen, I’m going to break myself down into all my stupid little categories. I’m trans. Autistic. Intersex. Aromantic. Asexual. Basically, all the things that people love to try and cast out of the queer community, whether that means they’re trying to split LGBTQIA+ at the T or Q.

The anti-Harry Potter stuff, as far as attacking the fandom, feels like the latest strain of purity politics to me. As I’ve laid out above, abandoning HP will not right the wrongs of JKR in any measurable or tangible way. Boycotts don’t work. Fandom does not feed JKR’s coffers, and destroying the fandom will not cripple her. There are trans people inside the HP fandom, and what of us? Are we traitors? Are we not ‘really’ trans, because obviously we don’t care about the current political climate? Are we just confused and need to be enlightened as to what harm we’re doing? Where have I heard this rhetoric before?

One small thing, tangentially related:

6. I don’t care what JKR says about how engaging with Harry Potter tells her about who her ‘supporters’ are.

Seriously? She’s a lying dirtbag, and I’m just supposed to take her word on this? This is the one thing she just so happens to be right about?

When she started spouting TERF shit, I was really saddened by the writers who, upon leaving the fandom, also deleted their works in protest. Seeing as the majority of the HP fandom is queer, I’m sure that JKR was very pleased with the amount of queer media erasure that occurred. Why did we do that for her?

7. I believe JKR actually seethes and malds over the prospect of her fandom being queer and producing queer content.

As a writer, there’s a special kind of pain that comes from someone not quite interpreting your work the way you would have wanted them to. What do you think JKR’s first reaction was when she first learned about the Harry/Draco ship? The Draco/Hermione ship? If she didn’t live in a stone castle, I bet she would’ve punched a hole in the wall.

So, yeah. Transing and gaying all of her characters is a pretty nice way to get to her in a way that she can’t legally or financially retaliate. Every time she screams ‘WHY ARE YOU STILL HERE?!’ at the queer people in her fandom, a trans person’s crops are watered.

8. The HP setting is very welcoming to trans people.

Potions exist that can change your body. Enough said.

That the Harry Potter books never really says anything specifically about trans people (NOTE: obviously JKR’s prejudices even back then showed through, but this isn’t about that) leaves the question on the table. Obviously trans people exist in the Harry Potter setting, because they exist everywhere. So, how did they never get any page time?

Well, who says they didn’t? In a setting where potions exist to change your body, trans people are just…people. I don’t even think that they would have a marginalized identity because gender dysphoria would be something very easily treated. Think of it like someone who takes medication for blood pressure. They need the medication, it’s life-saving, and while there isn’t a magical pill to ‘cure’ high blood pressure, it can be managed. The magical world revels in being strange. Why would being trans, while being considered strange here in the ‘Muggle’ world, be anything other than normal there? Why can’t it be?

And then there are Metamorphmagi. People who can literally change themselves at will! If that isn’t a trans person’s dream, I don’t know what is. I would personally love the option of being the biggest, hairiest dude with a dick so big an erection would make me black out, and then ultra femme and delicate the next.

Last on this point, Harry never notes anyone specifically trans in the text (NOTE: touching on things like the physical descriptions of Rita Skeeter and Marge Dursley, JKR tends to do the ugly=bad person thing. Although she describes Rita and Marge as mannish in appearance, they aren’t trans characters. They’re women that JKR wants to frame as bad people. Like I said above, this is JKR’s prejudice showing through). If Harry never notes anyone as specifically trans, that probably means that it’s impossible to tell at face value. The same as blood pressure medication, to return to that analogy. How do you know someone is on them? They tell you. You see the pill bottle and happen to know what that medication is for. They complain about side effects. They complain about the symptoms that led them going to the doctor in the first place.

9. Queer HP fandom content can potentially be how a Harry Potter fan realizes that they’re queer (or that queer people are just regular folks).

Hey, the first one happened to me!

If someone comes into the Harry Potter fandom unaware of JKR’s politics - maybe they were gifted the books for their birthday or happened to catch the movies on TV - it’s good actually that this person doesn’t fall right into an echo chamber of JKR’s politics. I’ll be happily here to correct her record in a way that isn’t shaming or policing them.

Anyway, I think that’s everything lol. To summarize:

- The HP Fandom is a neutral setting. Engaging with it doesn’t help JKR, and not engaging with it doesn’t help trans people. Just don’t spend money on official HP merch.

- If you want to be a pro-trans activist or trans political ally, please just ignore JKR and put all your focus on the real world.

- There are trans people in the HP fandom who are left feeling awkward and uncomfortable due to virtue signalling.

- Generating queer HP content is good, actually.

[wordy-little-witch]

Terra and Sun really need more screen time. Out if everyone, I think their dynamic gets me the most - nit just bc I'm a Sun and Terra kinnie but bc like... they have the most relatable energy for me specifically regarding trauma.

Therefore, by the power invested in me as a goofy ass gremlin, I deposit my Sun & Terra headcanons!!!

🌎 They sometimes just coexist in the same space, doing separate crafts. No socializing, just some music, maybe, or background noise as they engage in parallel play

☀️ it is difficult to find clothes in their sizes, being animatronics, so Sun pulls Terra aside one day and drags her to his favorite secret place - a little hole-in-the-wall boutique a few states away. He's glowing with a blush when he explains that it's where he gets all his top favorite clothes - including dresses... He expects the teasing remarks, the jabs. Terra surprises him by just asking if he wanted to see if they could get matching dresses one day, then - maybe even one for Dazzle, too! Fancy Dress Up Party!!!

🌎 Terra has forced Sun into watching Disney movies with her - so far, Encanto may be their shared favorite.

☀️ They do rage rooms and paint ball/laser tag together. It's good for blowing off steam, and it's hilarious when the rest of their family gets roped into it, bc they wipe the FLOOR with everyone.

🌎 Terra is one of very few who can pick Sun up and carry him off without mild lingering audial damage or getting accidentally punched

☀️ they have spa nights where they touch up on casing paints, do their nails, and gossip.

🌎 Sun is the only person wuth full, unlimited allowance to style Terra's hair. She knows basic upkeep and how to generally do basic styles, but Sun can get INTRICATE with it, and it doubles as a fun bonding experience with bonus points of stimming.

☀️ Sun is claustrophobic, and Terra makes a point at any available chance to double check that any outing or event is open enough. She never tells Sun about it, but he suspects she's up to something when a half baked idea gets suddenly scrapped due to "bad reviews" or "actually, I really am craving this instead-"

🌎 They both like pokemon in passing, but really enjoy playing Diamond or Pearl just to do the contests. Like. If there was a game that was SPECIFICALLY for pokemon contests, they'd be all over that like bees on honey. ((Me fr))

☀️ Earth stims via echolalia and Sun stims with textures. Sometimes he'll read from a dictionary, rubbing the pages and Earth just repeats the words in a mutually beneficial stim party.

🌎 they both get into crafty hobbies together - sculpting, basic builds, resin, etc. They wind up making gifts for everyone and each other. (Sun has a set of magnets for the fridge from Terra, and she has a whole set of hair pins and sticks with bobbles and pretty colors)

☀️ they use code words and social safe words. There's a whole list of severity on a scale of 1 - 5; 1 being 'things are good' and 5 being 'get me the hell out of here'. It is uniquely tailored to each, and there's a sort of... unspoken agreement that it can be used for anything - including family situations, as needed.

🌎 ^^ that said, it's also not unusual at all for Sun to pop over and curl up with Terra in the night or vice versa when the Bad Brain Stuff Happens. Sometimes Dazzle will sneak in as well because she wants in on the cuddle action.

☀️ "would you love me if I was a [insert weird or mildly scary animal]?" // "no ♡" // "that's fair" ((this happens at least once a month))

🌎 they like watching nature and true crime documentaries. Also, they enjoy some good paranormal investigation shows, though they have Strong Opinions ((and half baked ideas to do their own ghost hunting show one day))

☀️ Sun is Terra's swearing filter. She can't and won't use such language, but Sun can! And will!! And wants to!!! (("Why don't you mind your own-" // "FUCKING-" // "-business? Thank you, Sunny." // "any time, sis 💅"))

🌎 they have the vibe of sitting in lawn chairs, sipping kool-aid slashes in fancy glasses, feet in a kiddie pool with huge sunglasses while the actual kids are sword fighting with pool noodles, I don't make the rules

[enzstr]

Only You || K. Bakugo

Pairing: Bakugo x Reader

synopsis: starz26708 and Dino.tnt609, two students who first met in an online chatroom. A friendship had flourished between them. With the strong need to meet each other, 6aku.tnt609 slowly gains curiosity regarding the other's identity, which sparked the desire to meet her within him. What could possibly go wrong?

💭: btw, this is inspired from the Chad Michael Murray and Hilary Duff movie A Cinderella's Story!!

words: 1.8k

Chapter 1: Morning and Night.

Dino.tnt609: “I need to know who you are?”

Dino.tnt609: “I can’t take my mind off you.”

Dino.tnt609: “Please tell me who you are?”

starz26708: “Soon, I promise.”

Reader’s POV:

It all started with a chatroom, where two people have the same interest, same mindset, basically the same person but opposite genders. That’s when our friendship started. I learnt to know everything about him but his name and how he looks, and honestly that never bothered me. I was really ecstatic to text with a person who I don’t really know, yet at the same time I knew everything about him. 

Both of us would text each other for hours without stopping, and everytime we did, I always had a smile plastered to my face. Those words he used were what caught my attention. The way he uses words was exceptionally poetic to me and I never want him to stop. Many times I have doubted that he’s real and could be just some dumb person fooling around, however my gut didn’t think so. 

starz26708: “We’ve been texting for hours and it’s getting so late!”

Dino.tnt609: “And we can still keep going, no?”

I laughed at his reply to my message and typed out my last reply before heading to bed.

starz26708: “Very funny. I need to head to sleep now.”

starz26708: “Goodnight, Dino.”

After I sent that text, my body went limp into my bed and slept soundly with the desire to meet this “Dino” guy.

On the following day, the morning sun bathed the world in a brilliant golden hue, its gentle touch bringing a sense of peace and clarity, accompanied by the chirping of birds and rustling of leaves, the only sounds in the peaceful summer morning.

As the engine’s soft whir filled the air, the sun’s rays streamed through the glass window. The radio played a familiar tune in the car, and me and my best friend, Cece, chatted excitedly about the new hit song that was gaining traction in newspaper articles, laughter breaking the silence as the car drove towards the school.

As I was about to park your car into the perfect spot in the near-empty parking lot, another vehicle suddenly cut into the space just before me, causing me to slam on the brakes in surprise. Frustration washed over me and I let out a frustrated sigh, realising I would have to find another spot now.

“Damn, why didn’t they see we were about to park there? I’m about to throw hands man, I swear to god!”

“They’re not bad! ‘M pretty sure they never saw us and it’s fine, I’ll find a new parking spot!” I tried to reassure my best friend who was sitting in the passenger seat with a scowl on her face. 

At that moment, my eyes narrowed in annoyance as the man I strongly disliked emerged from his vehicle, Bakugo Katsuki. I couldn't help but scoff at his audacity as he slammed the car door shut. His presence instantly annoyed me, and my gaze lingered on him with a mixture of annoyance and disdain as he casually strolled towards the building with his friends. Why do I dislike him? My dislike for him began to build from the moment I met him. His cocky attitude and arrogant demeanour immediately rubbed me the wrong way, and his tendency to constantly boast about himself only got me even more frustrated. He often looked down on others and had a habit of interrupting conversations, which only added to my growing dislike of him.

Our gazes met, but instead of the usual welcoming eye contact, a wave of tension filled the air. The way our eyes locked in a stern and serious manner reflected the dislike and annoyance we felt towards each other. His friend group that included Denki, Mina, Kirishima and Sero looked towards my face then at his, as if we’re having a staring competition. 

His friends pulled him away and bowed in an apologetic manner as Cece did the same. Soon after they were gone, I regained my consciousness and drove to an empty parking lot without anyone disturbing me, until Cece had a confused look all over her face. We both hurriedly ran into the school to prevent being late, and gladly we weren’t. The school hallways were filled with shouts and loud chattering of students, and students rushing in all places to reach their classes on time. The hallways were packed with people, the cramped space making it harder to find your classes. The air was filled with the sound of voices and footsteps, as students chattered excitedly or hurried along to their classrooms. Unfortunately that was where we both had to separate and head to our own classes. Of course you find Bakugo in the same class as you are in this year, again. Every year bad luck would always be with you when it comes to matters like this, but you tried not to show any reaction and handled it professionally.

Bakugo’s POV:

My attention wavered between the teacher's lecture and the thoughts swirling in my mind. I couldn't help but think about the girl I’ve always been texting, someone I had only known through a computer screen, and I don’t even know who her identity is. Our conversations replayed in my head, and I longed to know more about her in person. My gaze occasionally darted to my phone, checking for any new messages, but the lack of communication only seemed to strengthen my growing feelings for her.

Hell, it is strange that I feel like this towards someone whom I’ve never met face to face, but with her, it’s like I can be myself. Not that grumpy and serious demeanour, but my authentic self. Despite our connection being online, I found a sense of comfort with her. I found myself opening up to her, sharing my true thoughts and feelings without the fear of judgement or rejection. Something about connecting with her through the computer screen allowed me to be my authentic self, and I valued the genuine connection we had built despite the distance between us.

The sudden loud ring of the school bell startled me, causing my head to jolt up as the realization that school had ended hit me. The classroom erupted with the sounds of shuffling desks and bags being packed, signalling freedom that came with the end of the school day.

With a subtle sense of anticipation, I instinctively grabbed my phone from my pocket and checked for any new messages or notifications. My fingers swiped across the screen as I opened my messaging app, eager to see if she had reached out to me in the time I had been in class.

Dino.tnt609: “Where have you been? We haven’t talked in ages.”

Barely five minutes had passed when my phone vibrated, signalling a new message notification. I quickly checked the screen and saw that she had responded, a wave of anticipation and excitement washing over me as I read her reply.

starz26708: Gee you missed me that much?

starz26708: I just finished school. 

Dino.tnt609: I  can’t stop thinking about you.

Dino.tnt609: What’s on your mind right now?

starz26708: You first.

Dino.tnt609: Well I’m thinking that Mr. Aizawa would 100% be a caterpillar.

I couldn't help but turn my head and look around, noticing the sea of students in the hallway, all engrossed in their own little worlds as they tapped away at their phones, engaging in conversations or scrolling through social media. The sound of keyboards clicking and the occasional laugh or gasp filled the air, she could be anywhere.

starz26708: LOL

starz26708: I can actually see that!

Dino.tnt609: Oh, I want to hear your laugh.

Dino.tnt609: When can we finally meet?

starz26708: Soon!

I was walking down the hallway, reading through the last text she sent to me on my phone and completely engrossed in my screen, when I suddenly felt a hard bump. Looking up, I found myself face to face with her, the girl I had a strained relationship with, y/n. Our eyes met, and almost instinctively, my expression twisted into a scowl, mirroring the mutual dislike we held for each other. I couldn't help but feel frustrated that we kept running into each other in this annoying and seemingly endless way.

“Watch where you’re going.” I could hear the groan in her tone after she replied, seemingly rolling her eyes at me too.

“Your fault for not looking.”

After our brief and tense exchange, I felt a sense of irritation and frustration wash over me, and I know she did too. We both groaned in annoyance and hurried past each other, eager to put some distance between us and forget about the unpleasant interaction we just had.

Third person’s POV:

Y/n was in a busy computer room, surrounded by a sea of students working on their respective screens. Despite the crowded space, she began typing messages to her online friend, Kat.tnt609,  trying to maintain a casual air while sitting amongst the other students. 

starz26708: Ever feel like you don’t belong?

Dino.tnt609: Absolutely.

Dino.tnt609: I can be surrounded by a sea of people and still feel all alone.

Dino.tnt609: Then I think of you.

Her face immediately lit up as she read the text, a slow and genuine smile spreading across her features, transforming her expression from one of neutrality to one of pleasant surprise and happiness.

starz26708: Hey Dino, do you think we’ve ever met?

Dino.tnt609: I don’t know.

Dino.tnt609: Our school has over 660 students.

She was busy typing a message to him on the school computer, completely unaware that the person on the other side of the screen was someone sitting in the very same room with her. Little did she know, the person she was communicating with was actually the opposite of what she had envisioned, right there under her nose, engaging in a secret yet intriguing exchange of words.

What started as an innocent text conversation between the two rapidly turned into a marathon chat session, with each message leading to another, until the clock hit 2 and they finally realized just how much time had passed in their conversation.

starz26708: It’s 2:00 a.m.

starz26708: We’ve been at this for 4 hours

Dino.tnt609: Hm, then I think we just broke our record.

starz26708: We should head to sleep. 

starz26708: Sweet dreams.

Dino.tnt609: Wait.

Dino.tnt609: My heart swells with admiration I can hardly keep. 

Dino.tnt609: For in your peaceful, soft expression,

Dino.tnt609: I see the best of what life has to offer, and no contradiction.

Dino.tnt609: For when you sleep, you are at your most beautiful,

Dino.tnt609: Like a precious gem, shining in the soft light of the night.

starz26708: New verse? Impressive.

starz26708: I like it.

Dino.tnt609: Please meet me at the school’s party.

Dino.tnt609: I’ll be waiting for you at 11:00 in the middle of the dance floor.

Dino.tnt609: Sweet dreams.

masterlist next >

enzstr © 2024. please don't steal, modify or copy my writing on any other platforms!

[lewispullmanitws]

Captain America’s Danny Ramirez Gives Lewis Pullman His Best G-Force Face

There are a few ways to know when you’ve made it big in Hollywood, and starring in a Top Gun movie is probably at the top of the list. Well, that— or landing a role in the MCU. Danny Ramirez, who stars as Falcon alongside Anthony Mackie in Captain America: Brave New World, has now checked both boxes. But the 32-year-old actor is way more than just a major blockbuster player. As he gets ready to appear in the second season of The Last of Us, Ramirez called up his old friend and Top Gun: Maverick costar Lewis Pullman to reflect on joining some of the biggest franchises in Hollywood, though he hasn’t forsaken his indie roots. “That’s where I came from, that’s where I’m going to, and that’s where I will live,” he told Pullman from the backseat of a Cadillac, naturally.

———

LEWIS PULLMAN: Where are you?

DANNY RAMIREZ: I’m in the back of a Suburban? A Cadillac? A Cadillac.

PULLMAN: Nice. Scream it from the rooftops, buddy.

RAMIREZ: Yeah, it’s always a dream to be in the back of one of these, you know?

PULLMAN: That’s what you did all the work for. [Laughs]

RAMIREZ: [Laughs] This is the payoff. 

PULLMAN: Okay. Should we start this thing?

RAMIREZ: Let’s do it. I appreciate you doing this. 

PULLMAN: Dude, I love you to death. I was honored to get the call. I want to start with this. I just went to the premiere of your movie, and it was the biggest premiere I’ve ever been to, and you were the star of it. You had your whole family there, and some of your best friends, and you had to leave two hours after to get on a plane to go to wherever you are right now. Paint me a picture of where your head is at, where your heart is at. What’s sinking in? What’s not sinking in?

RAMIREZ: I think that gave me a little whiplash. To be fair, it was a little chaotic to think that my mom was visiting L.A. for the first time, and then I just had to peace out on her. And then leaving the premiere is another thing, but in regards to the film’s reception, or the size of the premiere, that to me felt like a small premiere, which is weird. I had such a curated experience of it, and it was still a celebration, but it was just… segment, segment, segment. And then, the celebration itself was watching the film with everyone. But the rest of it paled in comparison to having my family be there.

PULLMAN: Where are you right now?

RAMIREZ: I’m in New York. I’m about to do Hot Ones.

PULLMAN: You’re going to do Hot Ones?

RAMIREZ: Dude, I know. I don’t know if they’re ready for what’s going to happen to me.

PULLMAN: They’re not. For the readers out there, he’s born with probably the worst tolerance to spicy foods, but also the most gumption to continue to push past the discomfort. I couldn’t think of a better person to be on Hot Ones.

RAMIREZ: It’s me and Anthony [Mackie], head to head.

PULLMAN: You just have to put yourself in a position where you’re going to be destroyed for a couple days, but you have to beat Mackie.

RAMIREZ: That’s basically what I’ve solidified in my head.

PULLMAN: First of all, I was so fucking proud of you watching this thing, man. It was an out-of-body experience, because I’ve gotten to know you so well and your performance is so magnetic. You’ve also done a lot of indie movies. What do you find are the main similarities between an indie movie and a huge big blockbuster like this?

RAMIREZ: That’s a great question. We all got lucky that a director like Julius [Onah] was the one that led us through Captain America [Brave New World], because he’s an indie director. That’s where he comes from. And the way he approached the story kept it grounded, outside of  the days that you have to do some crazy stunts or some green screen things. So the energy he brought to set was that of an intrapersonal character drama. Honestly, this presser has been hilarious, because everyone’s like, “Yeah, Top Gun and Captain America, you’re a big action guy. Would you ever do indie movies?” I’m like, “Yo, that’s all I ever do, don’t rewrite my story now.” That’s where I came from, that’s where I’m going to go, and that’s where I will live.

PULLMAN: Right. You’re a part of The Last of Us now, which is massive, and with these huge franchises that already have existing IP, there’s a lot of expectations. You have Top Gun, Captain America, The Last of Us, so there’s a preconceived notion about what world you’re stepping into, what character you’re playing, how it should be. How do you navigate going those projects while staying true to what you want to do?

RAMIREZ: Another great question. You’re doing so much better than all these press junkets. To me, it makes it easier because the world’s established, so I have a bunch of tethers. It’s already a moving train. I’m not going to decide, “Hey, you know what? Let’s go this way.” I don’t want to shift its destination. Everyone knows their role. You’re a part of a system.

PULLMAN: Is there a world or a type of work that you feel like you haven’t touched yet, a collaborative format that you haven’t had the opportunity to dive into? And what would that look like?

RAMIREZ: I think a straight-up comedy. That’s terrifying to me. There’s parts of this movie that I’m funny in, because it’s circumstantial and situational, but a broader comedy terrifies me.

PULLMAN: What I appreciate so much about your performance in this is you do have a lot of the comedic relief on your shoulders, and you do play it with so much reality, and such grounded-ness. You’re not hamming it up. 

RAMIREZ: Thank you.

PULLMAN: You’ve worked with so many incredible people in such a short amount of time, and I feel like you are really good about collecting and protecting little gems of knowledge from them. Is there something that you learned from Mackie that you’re going to take with you?

RAMIREZ: Yeah, it goes back to the previous question about a pre-existing culture on a set, and the first day on Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Mackie pulled me to the side. He’s like, “Yo, being in the MCU is like being in a theater troupe. Everyone here has been working together for the past 15 years.” And so sitting with that information, I think it was, “You’re not going to reinvent the wheel. Don’t come here to change the course, but let’s collaborate.” And that’s the same way we created Top Gun: Maverick. We were all fresh and new, but there was no need to impose ourselves and play selfishly. So I took that theater troupe mentality, hoping to establish it in the future projects.

PULLMAN: I love that he took the time to tell you that.

RAMIREZ: It was two sentences, right? It was only 30 seconds of his time.

PULLMAN: 30 seconds on his schedule. That’s two days.

RAMIREZ: Yeah, that’s true. He is Captain America.

PULLMAN: Okay. I’m going to divert to a sappy one here. You work pretty consistently. Even when you have time off, you somehow fill it with work that’s setting the stones for whatever’s next. You must get tired. What do you tell yourself in those moments, where you feel like you might be becoming complacent or you might be settling for mediocrity?

RAMIREZ: Well, I absolutely get tired. I’ve gone through different phases where I seek balance, and I was seeking it so intensely, that I was like, “I’m not seeking balance.” There were times within the training for this movie that I was tired and didn’t want to do the extra miles at the end and I was like, “No, I get to train like an athlete right now. What would little me think of this moment?” Or if I have to work a scene and I’m exhausted, I’m like, “Little me would be happy that I’m going to be able to provide for my family.” 

PULLMAN: That’s cool.

RAMIREZ: Yeah, I tap into that quite often, because there’s so many moments that I think I could get jaded. You get jaded real quick if you run into people that are not doing this for the right reasons. That’s one of the things that affects me the most, is seeing someone that just wants to do this to be famous.

PULLMAN: Okay. I’ve got some rapid-fire questions. You’re stranded on a desert island, you can only watch three movies for the rest of your life. What are they?

RAMIREZ: Interstellar would be one. I’m jealous of my friends that are able to quote Will Ferrell movies like it’s scripture, so I’ll go Step Brothers just to have a light movie that I could memorize, so if I ever get returned back to society I would still fit in, just because so many people quote that movie. The third would be City of God.

PULLMAN: Nice.

RAMIREZ: That’s the movie that got it all started for me, because I think the other two are missing romantic elements. This one has romantic elements, but it’s also a really good drama.

PULLMAN: Yeah.

RAMIREZ: And then, I’ll sneak one in, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance.

PULLMAN: You’ve been telling me to watch that for a year. 

RAMIREZ: You have to, dude. You’d love it.

PULLMAN: Okay, I got to get on that. 

RAMIREZ: I see you update your Letterboxd all the time and I never see Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance. It’s almost a slap in the face. [Laughs] This is why I asked for you to interview me, so I could turn this around on you.

PULLMAN: They should create a thing in Letterboxd where you can pay a hundred bucks and then lock somebody’s account until they watch a certain movie.

RAMIREZ: I would pay for that. I would have paid a hundred bucks for you to experience a great movie. That’s sick.

PULLMAN: Here’s a question. You do have to fly in this. Flying in films has been done so many times. What was it like up on the wires with the wedgies? How was that for you? Do you have a great landing, right before you kick those three dudes’ butts?

RAMIREZ: Well, that was because of the experience on Top Gun. I felt like if Tom [Cruise] saw my body positioning, he’d be judging the aerodynamics.

PULLMAN: [Laughs] Yeah.

RAMIREZ: You’ll see in the BTS, I’m holding proper form, so whether or not body parts were replaced, that’s not on me. I was aerodynamic, and banking when I had to bank, and trying to make sure that my head was in the right position because wind will then affect lift, and all these things.

PULLMAN: Right, and you don’t want to whiplash.

RAMIREZ: Yes. I think that’s what was instilled in me having done Top Gun. “Tom’s maybe going to watch this and if he does, I better come correct.” So there were days that I would be the only one putting on a G-force face.

PULLMAN: Yeah.

RAMIREZ: Just because Sam’s suit is a way more advanced thing that I’m like, “Alright, he’s under a different reality.” Mine’s a little bit more analog, and so we have tubes to breathe, and I’m the literal cockpit. I’m the jet. 

PULLMAN: Okay, I’ve got two more questions. The last scene in this film is such a beautiful scene and your performance is incredible. You and Mackie are really locked into a truly open heart place. Can you give us a little bit of how the sausage was made in that scene?

RAMIREZ: Yeah. So that was the first scene I shot in the whole movie. Day one.

PULLMAN: That’s classic.

RAMIREZ: Day one with Anthony, obviously we’d known each other because of the show, and when we were in Prague, he took me in, guided me through that process. But we weren’t close, close. So I was also like, “Damn, okay. He’s probably going to be like, Who’s this kid that just got upgraded to a bigger role in this universe?‘” And then Julius kind of nudged over and whispered some stuff in my ear in regards to things that we had talked about, that I told him to remind me, just of honoring my dad and trying to turn that energy of grief into something that can be beautiful. I saw the moment that it clicked for Anthony, and because it was day one on set, I saw the respect build within that. And then he’s like, “Aright, we’re going to play ball.”

PULLMAN: That’s awesome.

RAMIREZ: And then, that final scene that we did, the final take we did, which is what you see most mainly in the movie, he turned it on to a level that I think was like, “Okay, we’re making this really grounded.” That was a north star for the rest of the film. 

PULLMAN: I mean, it really works, and you guys really did earn that. 

RAMIREZ: Yeah.

PULLMAN: Okay, last question. What are you excited about? What are the rays of sunshine peeking out of the horizon that you are looking forward to?

RAMIREZ: Well, it’s working with you, dude. I’m excited to work with you on the plane. It’s the project that we have cooking together. It’s having more agency in the stories and being able to pick. Because still, to this day, the jobs that I’ve had have been booked out from a point that I was auditioning for, grinding and getting them. But now, I think the scary part of the career is next, which is maybe having to make some decisions.

PULLMAN: Yes.

RAMIREZ: And even if it’s an audition, it’s picking and being selective, because I think we’ve been spoiled to work with really talented people, and I want to keep learning. That’s kind of what I’m looking forward to: working with people I love and people that I can learn from.

[agentnico]

Thunderbolts* (2025) review

Wonder if someone should mention to the game developers from Hazelight and EA that this movie totally steals the prison escape scene from A Way Out...

Plot: Ensnared in a death trap, an unconventional team of antiheroes -- Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian, Ghost, Taskmaster and John Walker -- embarks on a dangerous mission that forces them to confront the darkest corners of their pasts.

There’s something truly odd about seeing Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes answering questions for the press regarding Congress having just seen Stan deliver an Academy Award nominated performance as Donald Trump, and in fact some of those mannerisms were still seeping through during that scene. Nevertheless, Sebastian Stan is the only notable Avenger among this cast of antiheroes, for otherwise Thunderbolts* assembles a largely lower level of B-class actors, very much reiterating how far the Marvel Cinematic Universe has moved on from the days of Avengers: Endgame. Yet there is one common thread that connects all these characters - they are all struggling with inner demons and feeling bad about their past actions. As such, this is our very first Marvel therapy movie!

Look, I’m not saying we’re back yet, but this is a step in the right direction for the MCU. Keeping things more grounded and focusing on interesting character dynamics allows space for a movie with surprisingly mature handling of its themes that are rarely undercut with a silly joke. Don’t get me wrong, there’s still humour in this movie, however unlike other recent Marvel films that have a joke thrown in every 2 minutes for the sake of it, this one utilises comedy only when it works for the characters. Most notably its David Harbour’s excitable big dad/Santa energy that brings the most laughs. But otherwise this film really is a commentary on mental health and depression, and though it is in no way groundbreaking, it was nice to see a Marvel movie try something different against its usual formula. Even the ending of the film opts to sideline a big final boss battle and instead go the “power of friendship” route, which, even though is on-the-nose and tacky, worked well with the overall narrative the movie was going for.

The whole cast plays their parts well, however the stand outs definitely are Florence Pugh’s Yelena and Lewis Pullman’s Bob. Pugh manages to showcase so much raw emotion (whilst vocalising a delightful Russian accent) and is the real glue that brings this whole team together. As for Pullman - Bob was great. I loved Bob in Top Gun, I also loved him in Bad Times at the El Royale, where his name was not Bob, but he was Bob-like. And here he makes for a great Bob, balancing the awkward shyness of the regular Bob, with the cool unstoppable powerful superhero Sentry, to the hollow emotionless Void - he’s fantastic and I look forward to seeing him get more fleshed out in later movies. David Harbour as aforementioned was hilarious, Wyatt Russell as US Agent made for a fun a-hole, and Sebastian Stan was, not going to lie, wasted. His purpose in the movie serves sorely to connect this team to the overall overarching MCU narrative, and besides that not much else. Julia Louis-Dreyfus rounds up the case as the villainous Valentina, and she does great at playing an utter b*tch.

The movie is far from perfect though. The first 20 minutes are really dull and boring, the assembly of the team is rushed and the developing dynamic felt too convenient - one moment they’ve just met, and 2 minutes later they are besties. On the other hand though I really enjoyed Thunderbolts*, as it felt like Marvel trying something new. Was also great seeing the utilisation of practical effects more than CGI, and again the thematic of mental health and depression was handled really respectfully and powerfully. All in all - good stuff.

Overall score: 6/10

[calqlate]

US

SUMMARY: You are the side character of someone else's fairytale and you fall in love with the male lead of her story. You think, "Can a side character get their happy ending?", and you hope you can.

PAIRING: iwaizumi hajime x gn! reader

GENRE(S): angst (with a happy ending) + pining (one-sided) + second choice syndrome

CW(S)/TW(S): coarse/foul/strong language used

WC: 4657

MASTERLIST

In all cliché love stories, there would always be a love triangle between the protagonist, the good guy, and the playboy. The protagonist would always choose the bad boy, no matter what, and the good guy would always be there as moral support. That was simply the unspoken 'rule' that posed itself as a trend in all novels.

In your life, you felt that you were definitely not the protagonist. If your life were a movie, you supposed, you would probably be one of those good-natured side characters who appeared in the film from two to four times, maybe even an extra in a story. You know, the kind chef that appeared on page sixteen of the storybook, or the dutiful store assistant who was moving boxes in the back.

Now, you might be wondering who the protagonist was. It was Sawabe Nagi: skinny, fair-skinned, and popular. She was bubbly, well-liked, and beautiful to boot; she was practically born to be the main character. Like the typical protagonist she was, she chose the bad boy, Oikawa Tooru, the dashing heartthrob of Seijoh. The good guy here was then Iwaizumi Hajime, who happened to be the playboy's best friend and childhood friend.

Before the plot was written, the good guy had a backstory with the side character. (Perhaps this story would change the course of the actual story? We would never know.)

You walked into class with your earpieces plugged in as you scrolled through your Instagram feed. As you sat down, you happened to come across a ridiculously hilarious post, something like a text post regarding your favourite band, and you tried so hard not to laugh. The pressure of holding it in was so great that as a result, you snorted out loud. Your eyes widened in surprise and you immediately clapped a hand over your mouth, hoping no one heard it. Unfortunately for you, your desk neighbour Iwaizumi Hajime had heard you, and he threw you a curious glance.

A sudden thought popped into your head: Huh, Iwaizumi really almost never smiles. Almost timidly, you decided to show him the post that had caused your earlier embarrassing outburst. Cautiously, you slid your phone over onto his desk and said, "Look at it."

The tan ravenette looked up at you from your phone, meeting your gaze. You simply tilted your head towards your phone as a response, and he raised an eyebrow at you. He still looked back down at your phone anyway, after angling the device, and looked at the post. Slowly, his lips formed the grace of smile. Shortly after, a chuckle resonated from his throat.

"Seriously, Iwaizumi, you should smile more," you commented casually, pulling your earpieces out of your ears, "It suits you."

"You think so?" Iwaizumi asked, somewhat shyly, handing your phone back to you.

You nodded, taking your phone from him, then tucking it carefully into your blazer pocket.

"I'll give you my number so you can send me more of these, then," he said.

You stopped mid-movement, then you laughed slightly. Very smooth, Iwaizumi, very smooth.

Ever since that day, the two of you would talk, laugh at ridiculous posts either one of you found on the internet or social media, eat lunch, and do usual things friends did. Slowly, through the passage of time, you realised a few small things: how you looked forward to your mini rendezvous during lunch, how you automatically lit up whenever Iwaizumi smiled, laughed, or complimented you, and how you found yourself wanting to know him inside out and as well as the back of your hand.

The final epiphany settled in: through the passage of time, you had undoubtedly fallen in love with Iwaizumi Hajime.

Your world was filled with endless joy, dizzying euphoria, and pure bliss: you would spend the rest of your remaining high school years with Iwaizumi. There was, indeed, a small part of you deep down that was afraid to come clean with him, to tell him how you really felt about him. However, you decided that it was better to keep him in the dark. You would wait for the right time to tell him everything. Your desire could wait.

That was, until he told you that he liked Sawabe Nagi — that was what burst your unknowingly fragile bubble of innocence. It was as though your ideas of your future dreamlike days with him had simply disintegrated into thin air.

However, you decided to put your friendship first before your selfish wants: you put on a brave smile, hid your sadness and slight jealousy, and wished him all the best in courting Sawabe.

You continued to hang out with him, though it pained you knowing that he never felt the same way you did. It was definitely difficult to feign smiles and speak comfortably with him. You had also once considered putting some distance between the both of you, but your better judgement convinced you otherwise as you did not want to dump your pain onto Iwaizumi like that. It would not be fair to him at all.

One day, after an afternoon of rigorous training, you walked out and was heading to the gate when you spotted someone sitting with their head low under the tree, just near the gates. The figure's silhouette was unmistakable to you; it was none other than your spiky-haired deskie.

"Iwaizumi?" you said as you approached him cautiously, watching his every movement with great focus.

"Oh, hey," he said as he glanced up to look at you, smiling slightly as if — no, definitely — trying to hide his earlier gloomy mood, "You're done with practice?"

You noticed that his characteristically mesmerising deep charcoal eyes were rather red and puffy, with dried tears on his face — a seemingly vulnerable look you never thought you would see on his being. A somewhat glassy look was in his eyes, as if he was looking into the fog, desperately searching for something far away.

You knew that you were not that something he was looking for.

"Were you crying?" you asked as you sat down next to him, eyes still on him, not daring to break away for just a breath.

He knew there was not really any point lying about it, for he knew he was easy to read, especially with you since he spent most of his time with you these days, and he nodded in response. He dropped his gaze to his hands, which were balled into fists on his thighs.

"What happened?" you asked, then added hurriedly, "If you don't mind telling me. I won't judge, I swear."

"Sawabe rejected me," he said softly as more tears formed in his eyes, the painful words getting lodged in his throat, "She... she told me she was sorry, that she... likes Oikawa instead."

"I'm... sorry to hear that," you whispered, not really knowing how you should be feeling. A part of you was overjoyed by the thought of Iwaizumi not standing a chance with Sawabe, and another part of you was disgusted at yourself for feeling this way. However, one could not stop the heart for desiring what it wanted.

Instinctively, you wrapped your arms around his shoulders to envelop him in a hug to console him. Iwaizumi wrapped his arms around you in return and gripped onto your uniform tightly, burrowing his face into your shoulder and staining his tears on your blazer. You rubbed small circles on his back to further comfort him, not knowing what else to say but let him cry his heart out and let time soften his sobs.

"It seems like no one'll fall for me," he muttered in self-hate after he could not seem to cry any longer since his throat was getting raw and his tear ducts seemed to run out of tears, then he began to dry his tears and rest his chin on your shoulder as he chuckled dryly, "Not like it's that surprising, really."

"Are you kidding me?" your outburst was incredulous, with you pulling him away from the embrace and staring at him with widened eyes and furrowed brows, "I can't believe you thought so lowly of yourself; I fell in love with you within these two months, you know!"

Once those rambling words left your mouth, you turned red, slapped a hand over your mouth, and bit your lower lip. You began to berate yourself internally, What a wonderful time you chose to confess!

An awkward silence settled between the both of you, and you decided that he was officially disturbed by your sudden (and inappropriate) confession.

"S-Sorry, I should really get going," you muttered, then mumbled a flimsy excuse and dropped your hand to your side, gathered your belongings up, and prepared to leave. You were very much ready to get home to cry, wallow in your misery, and eat a tub full of ice cream.

"Thank you," Iwaizumi said suddenly which caused you to whirl your head at him, a small yet empathetic smile tugging at his lips, "It made my day."

Suddenly, you had this strong urge in you to say something ridiculous that popped up in your head, something that you knew only worked in Korean dramas, not real-life scenarios. However, it was worth a shot, right?

"Listen, Iwaizumi," you said, choosing your words very carefully, "I know this may sound stupid and one-sided, considering how you got... you know." You waved your hand in the air vaguely, not wanting to verbalise what Iwaizumi had been through a couple of hours ago, then continued, "Anyway, I'm sure I can treat you better than her, and I'm sure I can help you get over it."

There was a moment of silence.

Have I gone too far? you thought, fiddling with your thumbs nervously, Maybe I should just tell him to forget what I just said—

His reply cut you off mid-thought, "Then let's date."

"Seriously, [F/N], if you want to look at videos of corgi butts, do so when you're not walking," Iwaizumi sighed as he sat next to the bed which you were currently sitting on in the infirmary.

You, being hooked onto this never-ending list of corgi underside videos a friend had recommended to you, decided it would be a great idea to watch them while walking towards the indoor sports hall. It just so happened you were walking down a rather steep decline while doing so, did not see that you were about to trip over a sizeable pebble, and went tumbling down the hill. Luckily, you were not too high up the hill, so you managed to not sustain any severe injuries other than a twisted ankle. You were even luckier Iwaizumi was nearby, because he had been trying to find Oikawa who seemingly vanished from his classroom ("Probably to flirt with other girls," Iwaizumi would always say with a massive eye roll).

"You really are a good boyfriend, Hajime," you said with a grin as he simply shook his head at you.

It had been about a month since both of you started dating, and you had been trying your best to help Iwaizumi get over his rejection. The first step in your relationship was to address each other by your respective first names (which was your idea). Both of you were a little bit awkward at the initial stage, but soon got over it and became a second nature to the two of you.

"[L/N]? Iwaizumi?"

The curtains separating the both of you from the next bed was swept open by the school nurse, revealing a very pale Sawabe. Her dark hair made a stark comparison to her unhealthily white complexion. To finish off the staggering look, there was a pair of eye bags circling the bottom of her eyes.

Iwaizumi froze in place, like a deer caught in headlights. You immediately noticed this and contemplated whether you should reach over and squeeze his hand gently as a form of reassurance. After all, his hand was now (fortunately) close to yours.

"I guessed it was you guys judging from your voices," Sawabe added with a little laugh (even though no one really asked her).

You did not take the chance and your hand remained glued to your side. Iwaizumi's hand was now drawn back to his side as he stood up.

"Sawabe? What happened to you?" Iwaizumi asked, walking up to her, an even more concerned expression taking over his face compared to the one he had given you, "Where's Trashikawa?"

"Tooru said he was busy and couldn't come, because he said he had some extra volleyball practice he wanted to put in," the brunette replied, "As for me, it isn't anything serious. Just a couple of things went wrong. I'm fine now."

You averted your gaze from the pair, clenching your hands into fists. You knew it was fine for Iwaizumi got get worried over sawabe since they were friends, but you could not help yourself and felt jealous. The way they conversed sounded as though they were dating, which seemed like a punch to your gut.

This also seemed to further highlight your incompetence in the whole point you and Iwaizumi were dating in the first place. Iwaizumi still seemed to hold a special place for his former love after all.

You then knew, I can't hold a candle to Sawabe.

Slowly, you slipped off the bed and limped to the doorway as quickly and quietly as you possibly could. You wanted to leave while you still had some control over your emotions, before it was too late and you started crying and made both a scene and a fool out of yourself.

Iwaizumi never noticed your disappearance, and you never felt your heart ache so badly before.

After practice, you switched your phone on to see a few messages from Iwaizumi. Earlier, you had turned it off after you fled the scene in the infirmary, not wanting to hear anything from Iwaizumi or anyone, really. Since you had busted your ankle, you could not take part in track activities, so you sat by the bleachers and finished up some of your biology homework. In the end, the coach told you to go home and get some rest.

Tentatively, your thumb hovered over his name in your inbox before you finally decided to read his messages.

Hajime: Are you at practice now?

Hajime: Why did you leave so suddenly?

Hajime: I'm sorry, I won't be walking home with you today. I have to walk Sawabe home since Trashikawa is still practicing and no one's home to fetch her.

Hajime: Text me when you get home, okay?

Kissing your teeth, sighing inwardly, and not wanting to answer, you put on some music and shoved your phone into your blazer pocket. Subconsciously, you knew Iwaizumi would still be worried over Sawabe. Your heart twisted in jealousy at this.

When you arrived home, you decided to switch your phone to aeroplane mode to refrain from any distractions while you were revising. The first exam was coming in a month's time; you could not afford to relax. You put on your Spotify playlist meant for effective studying and locked yourself in your room for a solid hour.

After a good hour of revision, you checked the time on the digital clock which stood on your table: 6.45 pm.

The thoughts of Iwaizumi walking Sawabe back home flooded your mind. Did he really move on, or does he still have something for her? Your eyebrows furrowed as your brain spiraled further into confusing thoughts, everything getting tangled in a chaos.

Not wanting to waste any time thinking about it, you buried your face into your arms as you crossed them on your desk, closing your eyes and willing yourself to stop worrying. Before you knew it, you had fallen asleep.

Knock knock. Knock knock.

The sound of gentle knocking woke you right up. Rubbing your eyes and blinking, you caught sight of someone at your window, fist to your window panels. You squinted at the rather well-built figure hovering by your window before your eyes widened in recognition. 

Iwaizumi?

Quickly, you rushed over (all while limping) and opened the window to let him in. Panic filled your veins as you opened the grilles.

"What are you doing? This is the second floor!" you berated him as he tumbled inside and onto your bedroom floor, "Why didn't you use the front door like a normal human being?"

"N-No one answered when I rang the doorbell, so I decided to climb up instead," he answered, and you noticed he sounded out of breath.

"Why are you breathless?" you asked, "Did you run over or something?"

"Yeah, I ran here since I got worried about you," he answered as he tried to catch his breath after sitting up, watching you carefully, "You left my texts on read and didn't read any of my new ones."

You just let out a soft sigh and said, "Come on, let's go downstairs and I'll get you something to eat."

Iwaizumi helped you down the steps (since you were injured, after all) and to the living room and was told to sit down, only he refused, because he pointed out you were still limping. You did not bother to argue with him and let him follow you.

The two of you then headed to the kitchen to get some biscuits and two glasses of milk, which Iwaizumi insisted on carrying. Both of you headed back to the living room with your snacks and sat comfortably on the sofa, with Iwaizumi balancing the plate of biscuits on his thighs.

After a few moments of hearing the sounds of crunching biscuits, he said, "Hey, let's play a game."

"Alright, fine," you said, reaching for another biscuit, "What do you have in mind?"

"Truth or dare," Iwaizumi replied simply, chewing his biscuit thoughtfully, "Now, truth or dare?"

"Truth," you answered without hesitation, popping the biscuit into your mouth.

"What do you think of our relationship?" he asked, then pointing between both of you, "You know, us."

There was a short moment of deafening silence (not even the prior sounds of biscuit chewing was heard) before you answered with a defeated look in your eyes, "There was never an 'us'."

He raised his eyebrows in curiosity, What do you mean?

"I love you," you proclaimed suddenly, turning your head to meet his gaze heads-on in determination.

No response. He just could not bring himself to say it. The words were lodged in his throat, being barricaded by an unknown force from escaping his lips, which were tightly shut. This silence confirmed your suspicions; this silence was as loud as a lion's deafening roar, an obvious statement of impending heartbreak and goodbyes.

"See?" you said softly, tears threatening to spill from your eyes, and you immediately looked away, "That's exactly what i mean."

Quickly, you wiped your tears away, put on your best smile, and said, "Okay, your turn. Truth or dare?"

He opened his mouth to answer, but the sound of his phone ringing cut him off.

"Sorry," he mouthed as he took his phone out of his trouser pocket and glanced at the caller ID (he looked somewhat scared, but of what?), then answering, "Hello?"

"Iwaizumi? Could you come back to keep me company?" Sawabe's voice was unmistakable from the other line, causing you to further shrink down in your seat, "I'm kinda afraid of being alone."

"I'm coming over," he answered without missing a beat before ending the call.

You whirled your head over and looked into his eyes, yours full of hurt and sorrow. Though you knew he had probably never genuinely loved you like a true lover from the start, you never expected him to ditch you for someone else, that someone being the previous apple of his eye.

Though, could Sawabe still be counted as 'previous'? Iwaizumi cared about her; he clearly still had her as his number one priority, it seemed.

Your head started to spin with wild thoughts as you watched him place the plate of remaining biscuits on the table: Was he really going to her? did he never get over her? Did he ever see me as his significant other?

"I'm sorry, [F/N]. I really am," Iwaizumi said, a look of sorrow and regrets gracing his face (the very face you came to love), before giving a slight bow and exiting the house.

You sat there, eyes hollow, head silent, heart broken. You did not know what else to think. The only thing you knew was that you were tired. You were tired of chasing someone who had another goal in their eyes. You were tired of trying to be the missing puzzle piece in someone else's life. You were tired of illusionising yourself that the one you truly loved reciprocated your feelings.

In the end, the joke was on you. You were left alone with nothing else, just you and your broken heart that had been shattered into tiny shards that lay around your feet.

In cliché romance movies, the protagonist gets into a messy love triangle and falls in love with the bad boy.

And in this film, you were just a side character who liked the good guy, but never had your love acknowledged.

You walked into class with your earpieces plugged in, muting the unpleasant world that surrounded you. Life still went on even though bad things happen, but you can still angrily say "Fuck you" to the world who bestowed empty promises upon you and wallow in self-pity.

In all retrospect, you had been thinking about how your relationship between you and Iwaizumi had been, and by judging the latest (dramatic) turn of events, it was not going to get far in the long run.

Once you placed your books and materials on your desk, you could hear a muted voice saying through your earpieces, "Good morning."

Though it was faint through the loud dance music you were playing, you still knew the voice's owner. After all, it was the voice you had come to love, too.

"H — Iwaizumi," you said simply as you took out your earpiece, cursing yourself mentally for the slip of your tongue. (You cringed inwardly at your second action following your response; you probably looked way too excited when you heard him call out to you. Bad habits were indeed hard to break.)

"I-I'm really sorry about yesterday," Iwaizumi muttered, looking down at the floor with his hands shoved in his pockets, not daring to meet your gaze on him that you were actually imposing yourself to do.

Without saying a word, you grabbed his hand and led him out of the classroom. Class was not going to start until another thirty minutes or so, anyway. You had more pressing matters at hand to discuss with him rather than something that was going to be forgotten in a few years.

You swiftly pushed past the hordes of students who were either gossiping about Oikawa, talking about a weekend party, or some other useless junk, bringing him to the school rooftop.

The school rooftop seemed like a secret haven: free of students' chatter, free of judgement, free of suffocating criticism.

You let go of him and walked a few steps forward, your back faced towards him.

"Are... you okay?" he asked tentatively. You had never behaved like this before, so this was completely new for him.

Without turning around, you said, "I've been thinking a lot since last night."

You turned around and looked into his eyes, hoping that what you were doing was right. You did not want to say it (you never would if you had the option to), but you wanted to spare yourself from the torture and did not want yourself to do this any longer. After all, it proved that your attempts to get him to move on failed. Love can be such a powerful force.

"Let's break up," you said simply, trying to keep your gaze levelled and not let your emotions take control and ruin this any further.

"What?" Iwaizumi coughed out with widened eyes, a little dumbfounded by this twist of events. Never in his wildest dreams did he expect you to break up with him. After all, you were the one who asked to date in the first place.

"This relationship is one-sided, and it's going nowhere," you stated, "So there's really no point continuing it. It's hurting both of us. Besides, it seems like I didn't help you get over her."

You took a quick and deep breath and continued, "It isn't good for any of us. so, let's break up and spare one another."

Feeling tears sting your eyes, you quickly strode past him, not wanting to let him see you break down. You willed yourself not to cry until you made it past that door back into the campus. It was going so well, too, so why—

Suddenly, you felt a warm and larger hand take hold of your wrist. The same hand pulled you back into someone's arms. It was Iwaizumi, of course, bringing you into his embrace, just like how you had done for him when you found him near the school gates being upset over Sawabe's reveal of her true feelings a month ago.

"You did help me," he said gently, "You're very special to me, and you've brightened my life. You've made me see the world in a different light, a different perspective, and for that, I want to thank you."

That was not exactly what you wanted to hear, but it still made you feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. Before you knew it, you found yourself wrapping your arms around his torso and you leaned further in, your head pressing into his chest and you could hear his steady heartbeat resembling a siren song.

"If you would give me a second chance, I will tell you those three words one day," Iwaizumi said, with sincerity embedded in his words.

"So you're going to force yourself to love me?" you asked, breaking the embrace and looking up at him with a somewhat offended look, "Because I don't want you to. It's not right to the both of us."

"I'm not," he answered quickly, then explained, "I'm unsure of my feelings as of now, but if you would give me a second chance..."

He reached for your hand, encased it within his larger one, and continued with sincerity in his eyes, "I'm sure I won't hurt you again."

You bit your lip as your heart struggled to make a decision. The rational part of you wanted to refuse and say no, to put an end to this tragic tale. However, the lovesick fool in you convinced you otherwise. A second chance would not hurt anybody, and maybe there would come a day where Iwaizumi would really say those three words you longed to hear with a sincere heart.

"Alright," you stepped forward and squeezed his hands, "I'll wait for you."

"Thank you," he wrapped his arms around you and buried his face into the crook of your neck, warmth spreading throughout his body. Moving on will be difficult, but for you, he was willing to do it and free himself from Sawabe's grasp.

In all cliché romance films, the protagonist gets into a love triangle and chooses the bad boy. The good guy supports them and thinks he is unloved, when there is a minor side character wanting and waiting to be with him, for him to extend his hand and accept their love, but never getting their happy ending.

It seems like, in this romance movie, the side character does get their own happily ever after after all.

[beauty-and-passion]

TBOB PART 2: OF FLATLAND, EXWHYLIA AND EUCLYDIA (1/4)

Oooooh, this is going to be fun!~

Welcome everyone, to part 2 of my trilogy of posts regarding Bill Cipher, The Book of Bill, all the lore we got, my obsession from 8 years ago rising from the ashes and my other, older obsessions for Flatland, dimensions and backstories in general. Maybe now you get why this part is gonna be long.

Here we will talk about three second-dimensional worlds and what they have in common, starting with Flatland and Exwhylia.

For all disclaimers and bla bla bla, refer to the first post HERE. In addition to them, I would like to add that:

There will be quotes from Flatland because I love this book (there’s a reason if I read it way before knowing Gravity Falls)

Everyone should read Flatland because it’s great (you can find it online HERE)

Everyone should watch the 2017 movie about Flatland on the official YouTube channel HERE. It perfectly portrays how 2D shapes work & how the world works. Also, it’s hilarious, it’s incredibly well made and A Sphere is my spirit animal. I bet he and Bill would’ve been good pals.

<- Previous part - Masterlist

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PART 1: OF FLATLAND

“EDWIN ABBOTT ABBOTT HAS A DECENT IDEA” - Bill Cipher AMA

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A flat world

I call our world Flatland, not because we call it so, but to make its nature clearer to you, my happy readers, who are privileged to live in Space. Imagine a vast sheet of paper on which straight Lines, Triangles, Squares, Pentagons, Hexagons, and other figures, instead of remaining fixed in their places, move freely about, on or in the surface, but without the power of rising above or sinking below it, very much like shadows - only hard and with luminous edges - and you will then have a pretty correct notion of my country and countrymen.

This is how Flatland starts and we immediately learn that this world is like a vast sheet of paper in which the shapes move around.

And there is no concept of above or below:

You are living on a Plane. What you style Flatland is the vast level surface of what I may call a fluid, on, or in, the top of which you and your countrymen move about, without rising above it or falling below it. (...) for you have no power to raise your eye out of the plane of Flatland; but you can at least see that, as I rise in Space, so my sections become smaller. See now, I will rise; and the effect upon your eye will be that my Circle will become smaller and smaller till it dwindles to a point and finally vanishes.

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A world based on regularity

Soon we will also learn through the words of A Square, that:

our whole social system is based upon Regularity, or Equality of Angles.

So we have a flat world, dominated by Euclidean shapes (yes, Euclidean geometry doesn’t include just regular shapes, but lines too), based on regularity. Your angles should be regular and your sides equal.

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Social classes for regular shapes 

Our Women are Straight Lines. Our Soldiers and Lowest Classes of Workmen are Triangles (...) Isosceles. Our Middle Class consists of Equilateral or Equal-Sided Triangles. Our Professional Men and Gentlemen are Squares (to which class I myself belong) and Five-Sided Figures or Pentagons. Next above these come the Nobility, of whom there are several degrees, beginning at Six-Sided Figures, or Hexagons, and from thence rising in the number of their sides till they receive the honorable title of Polygonal, or many-sided. Finally when the number of the sides becomes so numerous, and the sides themselves so small, that the figure cannot be distinguished from a circle, he is included in the Circular or Priestly order; and this is the highest class of all.

Flatland has a very precise, clear, schematic vision of society: you have six sides? You’re a noble. You have four sides? You’re a gentleman. You have five sides? You’re a doctor (a “physician” in the book). You have three sides? You’re a tradesman. You’re a straight line? You’re a woman. Yes, women are females only.

But what if you are an Irregular?

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About Irregulars

Since Flatland is dominated by Regularity and the idea of being regular, then you can imagine how all irregular/weird/divergent things are treated:

``Irregularity of Figure'' means with us the same as, or more than, a combination of moral obliquity and criminality with you, and is treated accordingly. (...) ``The Irregular,'' they say, ``is from his birth scouted by his own parents, derided by his brothers and sisters, neglected by the domestics, scorned and suspected by society, and excluded from all posts of responsibility, trust, and useful activity. His every movement is jealously watched by the police till he comes of age and presents himself for inspection; then he is either destroyed, if he is found to exceed the fixed margin of deviation, or else immured in a Government Office as a clerk of the seventh class; prevented from marriage; forced to drudge at an uninteresting occupation for a miserable stipend; obliged to live and board at the office, and to take even his vacation under close supervision (...)

So, well, the Irregulars are basically considered criminals and if not instantly killed or confined in a hospital, they live at the margins of society. Yay.

So irregulars (and, in general, deformities) are not accepted. But, like, not at all.

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About color

There is a huge portion of the book about color and it’s extremely cool - but also, too long to quote it entirely here. Long story short: color existed in Flatland, but it was suppressed and now they live in a black and white world. Because I suppose that society wasn’t shitty enough as it was, so why not making it even worse.

(Actually there is an explanation and for their kind of society it makes sense. Still, shitty world)

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About Recognition by Sight

The book vastly explains how these creatures can see and it’s a very clever to see, considering they live in a goddamn 2D world and all they see are fucking lines. And not even colored lines, that could’ve at least helped a bit. Nope, just gray lines. Yay.

Still, they developed a way to see and yes, all they can see are lines, with the edges that fade in the distance. The more blurred they are, the more angles they can find out - thus recognizing if they’re approaching a Square, a Pentagon or a Circle.

All of this works except for women, who are basically deadly spears with a pointy end, so they’re almost invisible. And that’s why they should wag their end all the time, otherwise other shapes might not see them and get pierced through.

Yep, this is fucking hardcore and I love it.

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PART 2: OF EXWHYLIA

“I believe Bill came from a similar world that was mysteriously destroyed” - Ford Pines, Journal 3

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A flat world

Ford drew a perfect image of Exwhylia and we can see that yep, it’s a flat surface, with no above or below. It’s just a plane, exactly like Flatland.

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A world based on regularity

All we know from Exwhylia can be inferred through Ford’s pages. However, two pages are enough to make it clear that this world is based on regularity.

How can I be so sure?

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Social classes for regular shapes 

Ford describes two of these beings as “an upper-class circle” and “a lowly triangle”. So yes, Exwhylia shares the exact same social structure of Flatland: according to your shape, you will get your social class.

It says nothing about women, but considering Ford spent something like 20 seconds inside it, it’s understandable. However, we know for sure that the Exwhylians’ bodies are razor-sharp, because Ford specified it. Pretty cool - and also another reference to Flatland.

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About Irregulars

Ford says that the inhabitants of this world “considered me to be an “Irregular” shape, which is vulgar in their society”.

Sooo… yes, I imagine that this world ostracized Irregulars too, just like Flatland does.

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About color

Ford says nothing specific about it, so we have no idea if the world is black, white and gray or if there are any colors. We just know that there is no sky and no sun.

However, when he talks about what the Exwhylians can see, Ford draws several lines, says that his eyes can’t help him distinguish these objects, but the Exwhylians can and will interpret the lines differently. This implies there is no color, because if there was, Ford would’ve been able to interpret the lines too, by referring to how they were colored.

So yes, there may be no color in Exwhylia.

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About Recognition by Sight

Judging from how Ford describes what the Exwhylians can see, we can safely assume these shapes also use Recognition by Sight, just like Flatlanders  do.

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And with that, we close the premise of what I want to tell about Euclydia. Keep this stuff in mind, it will be useful to understand the topic of tomorrow's post: Euclydia.

Next post ->

(How about a coffee? ☕)

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[angelsdean]

I also think this exchange is both SO funny and also very endearing with what Jack actually chooses:

DEAN: All right, so what do you want to do next? I know of a bar near here, little low on class, but high on hook-up potential. Personally, I've never missed at this place. Hm? JACK: Actually, I've kind of got an idea. EXT: Creek. Dean and Jack are fishing.

Dean assumes Jack might want a "last night on earth" type of thing so he suggests a bar with good "hook-up potential." And his following line about never missing at this place especially hilarious given the situation of Dean's current sex life: non-existent. Like when was the last time he hit up this bar? Before Jack was born, probably, given we don't hear about or see him hooking up with anyone since I believe Regarding Dean, where he doesn't even remember it after.

Anyways, point is, Dean's trying to give Jack the perfect day, thinking of all the things someone might want to do before they die, and he doesn't think going fishing with him is high up on Jack's list. He doesn't think spending the whole day with Dean is what Jack would want, because of course Dean isn't thinking spending quality time with him is anyone's top bucket list stuff. But that's what Jack chooses! That's what he wants! And he chooses fishing specifically because of the sentimental value it has for Dean and the fond memories he holds of fishing with his own father.

JACK: You once told me you and your father did the exact same thing. It was your happiest memory of him. DEAN: I didn't say that. JACK: It was how you said it. I could tell. I guess my point is that… if I don't make it...The stuff I'd miss -- it wouldn't be things like Tahiti. Or the Taj Mahal. I'd miss more time with you. I'm getting that life isn't all these big, amazing moments. It's time together that matters. Like this.

Jack doesn't want or need a random hook-up. That's not top tier stuff. What he wants is to spend quality time with the people he loves. Specifically Dean in this moment. And this is surprising to Dean. But Dean and Jack are so similar in a lot of ways and this is a big one. They're both such quality time guys. And they spend a lot of time together off-screen with movie nights alone (Lost Boys. 37 times.)