#Finn was the most wasted potential and I cry about him every day

[agirlunderarock]

I'm a little late but for the ship bingo, I'd like to request Sasi-Wan 🥺 And/or Han and Leia

a;jga;dfgdofig

Okay first of all you’re not late. I’m probably late on answering this because I am always late on answering these things. Second, you hear me ramble about them all the time ;-; But I’ll tryi to summarize them

OH WAIT LOOK I GOT BINGO!!

Sasi-Wan

First of all Sasi-Wan, is a ship between my shape shifter OC Sas, and Obi-Wan. If you’d like to read more about Sas, you can do so right HERE. My buddy Ducky @bisexual-sea-shanties was the genius behind the ship name, not me. I was in fact very reluctant to make them a ship for a couple of reasons. 1. I am asexual/demiromantic. I often talk about fanfic and media including more asexuals and aromantics. I really want more asexual love stories because I feel they’re often sidelined or the characters are done poorly, or the character ends up alone to show they’re ace or aro, as if thats the only way to prove thats the case. I almost feel bad putting these two in a romantic relationship because I almost feel hypocritcal- even if I write Sas as biromanic/demisexual and  Obi-Wan as demiaro/ace. Like it makes me feel conflicted, because they don’t have to be romantic, they could just as easily be platonic, and in the writing that I have planned thus far, they’re very platonic. But I’m also so tired of not finding any kind romance that can be seen between ace characters. I feel like at its core romance starts with a platonic love, and how people define romance depends on the couple themselves, which is very much the case with these two. They have to actively choose to try romance and figure out together what that means and I honestly love that about them. I like that they can go either way, but again it does make me feel like I’m contradicting myself at times. I don’t know, does anyone else ever feel like this?

 I’m not doing a really good job of hyping up my own ship... Let me try again.

Look I’ve loved all the pairings I’ve done bingo for, but this is the only one to get my whole heart, and the “Its complicated” checked off. I’ve already explained that part- which really has nothing to do with the couple themselves and more to do with my personal feelings. Honestly though, I’ve come up with ocxcanon pairings in the past for other fandoms, but this one is my absolute favorite. I like hat theres a lot of layers to them. I like that they can be platonic or romantic- I like that they realize they need to have difficult conversations about it, even if they would prefer not to. Romance between these two is a really fine line, almost nothing changes between the time they love each other platonically, and deciding they want to try to have a romantic relationship. They have an understanding with one another that, even if they are romantically involved, thats not necessarily their first priority. They absolutely would fight tooth and nail to defend and protect the other, but in the grand scheme of things he’s going to put his duty as a jedi first, and she’s going to put the conflict on Zolan first, and thats not necessarily anything they’d want to change about the other. Sas doesn’t just fall in love with Obi-Wan, falling in love with him means falling in love with the jedi as a culture and a people. She works with a lot of them during the clone wars and become friends with a good number of them it would make sense for her to learn and grow from them. Obi-Wan doesn’t exactly get the same exposure to Clawdites and Zolan, he was only on planet for about a week- but he falls in love with her passion, determination, but also, her compassion and the genuine love she has for the people she encounters. They have very different ways of processing their situations- but I think for the most part they compliment one another’s way of thinking. I know I make them sound very serious- but they’re kind of not. Naturally theres a lot of banter between them, some easy flirting from time to time. I think what this comes down to, is that this a pairing looks at the current state of romance in their media and sees that one partner giving up a major part of their personality or a core belief or goal is romantic, and tells it “No, why would I ask he person I love to give up something so important to them without considering giving up that for myself?” In this case, she would never consider asking him about leaving the order, nor would he tell her to put down the Zolan conflicts, instead they meet in the middle and just try to support one another,  give each other a place to escape for a while, and if it doesn’t work out romantically- then at least they’re still in each other’s lives. I think the saddest part is that after 66 they both lose it all anyway. The Jedi order falls, and because Palpatine fears Clawdite spies infiltrating the Emperial army, he has a blockade put around Zolan. Obi-Wan’s home and people are destroyed, Sas can’t go home and is separated from the people she loves most- the only thing they have left is each other.

Han/Leia

I almost checked off its complicated for these two. After going off for too long about my own made up ship, its going to either look like I know nothing about Han and Leia or just don’t care. Thats not the case, its just I’ve gone through weird phases with this ship. Heres the thing, I love them alright. I love he back and forth- the bicker flirting. The problem is I grew up projecting on Leia, and developed the FIGHT ME method of flirting. I think they’re an interesting pair. I think its hilarious how I grew up thinking Han Solo was probably a playboy, but literally we never see him interact with another woman in the OT and is wild to me hat I ever got that idea. I enjoy the Empire Strikes back- its my favorite out of the OT- but not so much for the scenes on the Falcon, or even the “I love you” “I know” bit. Theres a small bit in Bespin, where Han and Leia are just waiting around for Lando, and she’s kinda pissed and Han is trying to keep her calm, and he just lightly kisses her forehead and keeps talking. Thats the Han/Leia moment that gets me. Not the other big things, its that little moment, because its just so much more gentle than any of their other moments. Theres no big dramatics. They’re both just anxious and waiting, and he’s doing his best to let her know its going to be fine, even if it really isn’t. I don’t know what it is, but like when I think of Han and Leia, thats the moment I think of.

I almost forgot that I checked off wasted potential for them- but really it has nothing to do with them, and more about how the sequel trilogy did them. I need to do a rewatch of them, because its been a while, but I don’t remember the movie ever giving us a reason why Han and Leia were separated. I don’t remember anything about how any of their actions established anything major within the new republic that would have led to the First Order. I remember feeling like there were a lot of gaps that their story should have filled, but it didn’t, and none of the other characters really talked about it. There was talk about Luke’s legacy as a jedi, and why Leia stopped her jedi training, but nothing about actual things she was doing with the New Republic. It felt like it was just suddenly war without explanation. Like I said I need to do a rewatch, but I feel like theres big chunks of story missing that would have laid the groundwork for what Rey, Finn, and Poe were really dealing with. So not really wasted potential in their romance, just in the story telling, but honestly thats kinda the sequel trilogy as whole for me. I’ve talked about that too much already though this was supposed to be about Han and Leia and their romance.

[scav-eng-er]

Hold Me Tight. Modern Reylo AU

I have never cried so hard writing something as I did now. This story is based on “If The World Was Ending.” I have no words, but I’m still crying. 

Here is the song if you would like to listen to it while you read!

For @reylo-trash-4ever and @mojona1999, this is for you two! Surprise. im emotional.

My next chapter will be up this weekend. Thank you!

Ben wasn’t even paying attention to the news when it went public. He bustled about his apartment, distracted by the worries of potentially burning his lunch. His toast was burning, his coffee was starting to get cold and he didn’t bother looking at the pile of mail building on his kitchen island.

“Alert. Alert,” A mechanical voice echoed into his living room. “We interrupt your programming. This is a national emergency.”

The annoyingly familiar weather storm alert pulled his attention, but what worried him was that he could also hear it above his floor, below and around. Everyone’s televisions were broadcasting this..?

“The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has detected a significant environmental event that will impact the greater United States. You and your loved ones should seek the nearest fallout shelter immediately. Please stand by for further area updates.”

The screen went black.

I was distracted and in traffic I didn't feel it when the earthquake happened

Ben’s blood went cold.

Fuck, this was actually happening?

The fallout shelters scattered around the city was just a precaution months ago. Were people going to take this seriously? There’s no way an entire city could fit in those bunkers. He recalled seeing them on the news when the first and only environmental threat was near the city. The mayor decided to construct poorly developed “safe houses” to appease the worried citizens. However, most of the city (and the world) tossed the fear aside like a usual storm that would soon be forgotten.

A cry and scream could be heard in his building. A chill went down his spine. Grabbing his phone, Ben went to message the first person he could think of. He ignored the shaking in his hands, fear of the inevitable closer than he ever thought. He just wanted to see her.

But it really got me thinkin', were you out drinkin'?

Were you in the living room, chillin', watchin' television?

Wait. Should he text her? Should he call her? They haven’t spoken in almost a year. Hell, the last time they actually spoke face to face, she was returning his hoodie. Her favorite hoodie. She always loved how much it smelled like him, and he loved when she wore it. God, he missed her. He missed her hugs and how she made him feel so relaxed. The stress of life was nonexistent when she was with him, and his heart would still flutter when she walked in the room. They still acted like lovesick teenagers sometimes, even after their three year relationship. Which is why it hurt so much when they ended it.

What was she doing right now? Surely she must’ve heard these news too. She was usually home now, and she could’ve seen the report as well. Was she alone? Was she scared? Of course she was probably scared, he was fucking terrified. He didn’t want her to be alone, he didn’t want to be alone. He thought about visiting his mom and dad’s graves, but it wouldn’t matter. He would see them soon enough. Who would want to spend their last minutes of life in a cemetery?

It's been a year now, think I've figured out how

How to let you go and let communication die out

Ben could still hear cries from the building, but now there were prayers, and he heard others hurry down the main staircase. The sunny day outside continued on, and birds chirped away, unaware of their imminent doom in who knows how long. He looked at his phone, no new messages. Ben was a loner, he would admit that. His only other friends were because of Rey. They would tag along on dates or go to parties together. Poe even spent the night at his place a few times and the boys would go to games together. After the break-up, they all kind of disappeared, and Ben didn’t blame them. He missed them. He missed her.

He missed their drunken confessions of love at the bar, Poe, Finn and Rose laughing around them. Not a care in the world as he held her close to his heart.

He missed their predictable and routine mornings of kisses, coffee and witty discussions on the way out the door to work.

He missed their arguments, the late night screams turned to sobs turned to moans among his sheets at 3 a.m.

I know, you know, we know you weren't

Down for forever and it's fine

I know, you know, we know we weren't

Meant for each other and it's fine

He watched the screen, re-reading their last messages to one another. It was almost like any minute he expected her to call, her face surprising him on his home screen. Tears brimmed as the reality of what was happening settled in. The potential future he had imagined was gone and Ben choked back a sob. Everything he ever wanted to do would cease to exist, he never got to see the world, get married or have his own children. All these things he could’ve done with Rey, cut short by life itself.

Ben:

You don’t have to respond, but know that I’m always here for you for anything.

Anything.

That message held more meaning now that it had then, and Ben prayed Rey would understand that. He would do anything to try and make her happy again, for the last few hours they had to live, he was hers. Even if she didn’t want him. He wiped his arm across his wet eyes, not caring that he looked like a weeping mess.

Then, at the corner of his eye, he saw it.

Adrenaline swept down his arms and through his body at the three dot indicator that appeared across his last message. She was thinking about him! She was writing to him! Did she want to see him? Why else would she be messaging him now? Then as quick as they appeared, the dots were gone.

“Fuck.”

In a heartbeat, Ben was out his door.

But if the world was ending, you'd come over, right?

You'd come over and you'd stay the night

Not even remembering where his feet took him, Ben found himself outside hurrying towards her home. The sight of the public only made him walk faster, not wanting to waste another minute away from her in this state of chaos. Cars swerved down the streets, people running around him, some carrying bags, others carrying children. It was as disastrous as those end-of-the-world movies Ben had seen, only this time, it was actually happening. The sky was still blue and the trees gave off a vibrant, peaceful green in the summer day. The crowds and shouting in the streets however, brought him back to the realization that in a few hours, they would all be nothing.

An argument broke out over a vehicle and people began to get physical. Ben continued on. He just pushed his way down the city streets. Avoiding any conflict was a priority for him, hoping he would make it to her in one piece. The feeling of being in her arms again felt so good to him, like he was coming home. Her place wasn’t always clean, and she always had the TV volume up too loud, or let dishes in the sink too long, but it always felt like he could come and go as he wanted and she would always give him a kiss hello or goodbye. When Ben was home with Rey, he felt wanted.

And even though he only saw those three dots, it was enough for him to hope he still was.

Would you love me for the hell of it?

All our fears would be irrelevant

The last thing Ben wanted to think about was their break-up. None of that mattered anymore, at least to him it didn’t. He continued to think about her, blocking out the horrors of the world around him. Her smile replaced his fear, and he couldn’t help but laugh at the time she slipped in front of his apartment after a snow storm. The pizza she picked up was okay, but she had a nasty bruise on her hip for days.

Soon there would be no more pizza nights, no more weekend trips, no more surprise birthday parties, no more cuddles in the dark. At least, when they broke up, there was still the chance he could have that again, with Rey or someone else. But now, Ben realized there was no other person he wanted to spend his life with but her.

If the world was ending, you'd come over, right?

The sky'd be falling and I'd hold you tight

His feet propelled him on the corner of her street. He could see the top of her building, higher than the others around it. The tears began to fall again as he hurried to the entrance. The feeling of seeing her, being around her, holding her was enough to break him down forever. She was intoxicating and he couldn’t get enough. He wrapped his hand around the railing and heaved himself, two steps at a time to her floor. He left his house for the last time, he breathed outside air for the final time, and he would see no other face but hers. Almost panting, her front door sent chills down his spine. He was saying good-bye to everything else, but was about to greet his whole world.

And there wouldn't be a reason why

We would even have to say goodbye

Ben’s fist shook, him knocking on her door could hardly be heard over the sound of the blood rushing around his brain.

If the world was ending, you'd come over, right? Right?

If the world was ending, you'd come over, right? Right?

~~~

Her eyes only widened at the screen in front of her. The black, and eerie alert had proven that all the storms, disasters, and unexplainable occurrences that had been happening were warnings of what was to come. And now it was here.

I tried to imagine your reaction

It didn't scare me when the earthquake happened

She fiddled with her phone, her toes curling under her on the couch. It was flooded with heartfelt messages from her friends, saying good-bye, that they loved her and hoped she was happy wherever she was.

“Peanut, I will never forget how much light you brought into my life. You helped me live with passion and found why I was put on this Earth. You will always be my Rey of sunshine. I love you.”

Finn. She just saw him yesterday when they went to the gym together.

“Rey, you are the best friend anyone could ask for. You have lived a life worth living and deserve every breath. You saw the best in me and there are no words to describe how much I will miss you, miss everyone, and miss life. I will see you soon amongst the stars. All my love.”

Rose. They were just planning a girls day next week, with shopping, lunch and deciding who’s house they would crash at.

“Hey sweetheart, sure you heard the news… Enjoy the time you have, you are a great gal and I hope you are surrounded by those who matter. God Bless You.”

Poe. She just helped him move some new furniture in last week with her truck, and they laughed after she hit her knee on his coffee table.

Surrounded by those who matter…

Who did matter? As much as she loved the messages, and responded with equal love and admiration, there was only one message, one person that mattered. She wiped away her tears, realizing she hadn’t cried this hard since her parents passed away. Rey was only nine then, but the pain of sobbing at the funeral were as clear as the day outside.

She pulled up his messages, never having the courage to delete them. His face on his contact was comforting to see, and she scrolled through their old conversations. Shivers went down her arms, a chill in the room and all Rey wanted was to be held. Her apartment felt colder now, with the rush of everything that happened, she didn’t want to be alone. Her kitchen was still dirty with dishes from this morning, she even had a load of laundry in the basement that she had to get later. None of it mattered, all that mattered was that she wanted him. She noticed the picture frame by her door. It was knocked down one night when Ben couldn’t keep his hands off her after dinner. They didn’t make it to the bedroom, the passion too evident in his kisses on their way home. She had felt so safe in his arms, his heartbeat loud in her ears when he held her close, filling her up with love atop her kitchen counter.

But it really got me thinkin', the night we went drinkin'

Stumbled in the house and didn't make it past the kitchen

Fear suddenly spiked in her and she began to panic, the realization of dying hitting her. In a hurry, she could do the only thing she wanted to do. His last message made her insides warm, remembering how much he cared that she was okay. She wasn’t now.

“Please come over. I’m scared and I need to see you. This is all so stupid and..”

No, no, no she can’t text him! She erased the message and sighed. What was he doing right now? Was he at home? Was he working? She tried not to remember his schedule that was practically engrained in her memory. She knew he was probably home for lunch, so he definitely saw what happened. Maybe he went to the cemetery, or maybe he is out trying to find a way to escape out of the city. Rey didn’t want to be selfish, but what she hoped was that he was thinking of her the same way she thought of him. The feeling of pulling him into her, and taking in all she was made her mind hazy and her heart flutter. He made her feel drunk just by touching her hand, or looking at her a certain way.

Ah, it's been a year now, think I've figured out how

How to think about you without it rippin' my heart out

She didn’t need to see what was happening outside, too scared to see the sight. Standing up from her couch, Rey walked around her home. The trinkets and junk she had now had so much meaning. Her kitchen tools that she bought over the years, the photos of her friends, the wobbly shelf she fixed herself held books that helped her learn so much. She had some plants scattered about, the greenery making her home full of warmth and life.

And I know, you know, we know you weren't

Down for forever and it's fine

I know, you know, we know we weren't

Meant for each other and it's fine

And every. Single. Fucking. Thing. Reminded her of him.

The tears flowed freely, and Rey imagined the thousands of memories she had of him. Their mornings at her dining table, their movie nights on her couch. There was even a useless ceramic pigeon thing on her shelf that he got her after a bad day at work to cheer her up. The empty feeling of dying alone frightened her, and she wrapped her cardigan around herself to try and feel better. It was numbing for her. Everyone knew the question: If you only had 24 hours to live, what would you do? People would usually say travel or do something crazy. She didn’t know what she wanted to do. Rey always thought it silly to wonder about useless things like that, focusing more on the now and trying to work to support herself.

What would she do?

But if the world was ending, you'd come over, right?

You'd come over and you'd stay the night

She would be with Ben. She would confess how much she missed him, how she wanted him back in any way she could. She would forgive him, or beg for his forgiveness, whatever he wanted.

Running her hands through his locks, she would kiss him to the point of exhaustion, hoping he could feel her love through the breathless confessions.

She blinked back tears but they continued to fall. She would go on and on about everything she loved about him. His handsome face, his gentleness, his desire to help others, but also his stubbornness to prove he was right, his anger issues, and his need for approval were just some of the things Rey loved about him.

If he wanted, she would re-tell all their funny stories and make him laugh, desperate to see his smile, to hear his laugh. When she first met him, he was a dark, brooding, man. As she slowly pulled him out of his own mind, Rey noticed how beautiful his smile was. And when she heard him laugh for the first time, she was hooked. Hell, she would even go on about how she fell on the ice after she picked up their pizza for movie night.

It all seemed so silly then, to worry or be embarrassed about that kind of thing. But now, Rey would give anything to relive that moment. If she could go back, she would pull a giggling Ben into the snow with her and kiss him like she never had before.

Would you love me for the hell of it?

All our fears would be irrelevant

If the world was ending, you'd come over, right?

Sky'd be falling while I hold you tight

Rey would do anything Ben wanted, as long as she was with him. By his side, for the rest of their lives, no matter how short that was. She missed how he smelled, how her felt against her, with his strong arms protecting her from the world she fought so hard against. She was strong, they both knew that. But when he saw her nightmare nights for the first time, she thought he would stop calling, stop talking and she would have to be by herself all over again. It came as a shock when he stayed, and even offered to stay up to wake her before it got too worse again.

No, there wouldn't be a reason why

We would even have to say goodbye

Eventually, the nightmares came less and less. And Rey would wake in his arms, wrapped up and protected. He would rub his thumb against her, as if saying, “I’m here, I’ve got you.”

He was her dream from the nightmares of reality.

If the world was ending, you'd come over, right?

You'd come over, right?

You'd come over, you'd come over, you'd come over, right?

She drew out the sounds of the television behind her. The alert continued on for an hour and Rey knew there was nothing more to do. She was about to crawl into bed with music and hope for a quick death when..

Knock knock knock.

I know, you know, we know you weren't

Down for forever and it's fine

I know, you know, we know we weren't

Meant for each other and it's fine

She stood still for a moment, straining to hear. Did someone just knock? Who was knocking on her door now? Should she even answer? She attempted to wipe her eyes, trying to look presentable during the end of the world. She opened the door slowly to see who stood on the other side.

But if the world was ending, you'd come over, right?

You'd come over and you'd stay the night

She huffed, struggling to breathe, sobs taking over at the sight of him. Ben rushed through the threshold into her home, arms scooping her into his chest and lifting her off the ground. His heartbeat was still pounding from the nervousness of seeing her beautiful face once again. His breath hot and sweet against her cheek and he whispered, “I’m here, I’ve got you.”

Afraid he would pull away or even disappear, Rey dug her nails into his back, grabbing him for dear life. Crying into his shoulder, she apologized for everything and anything. He carried her until he collapsed from emotion into the living room, his own tears falling into her sweater and hair, dampening her locks. He held her shaking body in his lap, feeling like they were both where they were supposed to be at the end of it all.

They apologized and cried, shaking with emotion. Happiness to be in each other’s arms again, with fear of the unknown and inevitable. They tried not to think of how much time they wasted with the fighting. Had they known what was to happen, every fight, every argument was nothing compared to their love and need to be together.

Would you love me for the hell of it?

All our fears would be irrelevant

Eventually they became quiet, silent tears dripped on her carpet. Their hands wrapped in the others, their legs entwined, never letting go. The TV was on but muted, soft music played from her stereo instead.

Ben spoke first, “Do you remember,” his voice was groggy and wet from crying, “when you made me run out in the rain to get your phone after you dropped it out the window on the freeway?”

She erupted into laughter, a sound that he could hear forever, “I didn’t drop it, it was the wind.”

Ben rolled his eyes, “Uh huh.”

“What about when you dared me to wear that bunny suit so we would win the costume contest!” Rey exclaimed.

“Well we did win!”

They talked and giggled, the reminder of what was happening outside forgotten. The two were too busy enjoying each others presence, catching up that they didn’t notice the distant bright white light grow brighter on the horizon.  

If the world was ending, you'd come over, right?

The sky'd be falling while I hold you tight

“Are you still having nightmares?” Ben mumbled, rubbing his fingers between a lock. Her hair still smelled like her citrus shampoo, and the sun casting light on her was a refreshing sight for his eyes.

“Sometimes..,” Rey said, “but this makes up for all of it.”

She pulled his hand from their grip, kissing his palm.

“I’m sorry. I know I shou-“

“Shh. None of that matters now. I’m just happy you’re here.

Ben smiled, “Me too.”

A vibration from the earth began to shake her home, but they didn’t notice. Ben started joking about the infamous pizza night, Rey begged him to stop, planting endless kisses to make him shut up.

“I also heard you hit your knee at Poe’s! What a klutz you are!”

“I knew he told you! What a tattletale!”

No, there wouldn't be a reason why

We would even have to say goodbye

There was so much love and hope in Ben and Rey’s eyes, they forgot everything that was happening. Ben laughed until tears of sorrow turned into tears of laughter, his stomach ached as Rey told him how she and Rose got off the wrong train stop a few days ago. They were one again, the back of Rey’s mind wondering when their wedding would be, while Ben had thought if he wanted their child to have her hair or his. They had all the time in the world to think about it.

If the world was ending, you'd come over, right?

You'd come over, you'd come over, you'd come over, right?

It was fast. It was quiet. Their gaze fixed on each other, two souls in love, the bright white light non-existent to them. It shook her home in a millisecond, their smiles forever in the others memory.

If the world was ending, you'd come over, right?

[disregardcanon]

day 9? i think of the perpetual star wars rewatch: the last jedi

1. canto blight looks pretty. i also think that rose’s backstory and reaction to that area was compelling, so it’s a shame that they did Zero with that because they let the racists win. 

the scenes there are also pretty engaging. 

2. i don’t like the last jedi as a follow up to the force awakens (because it. like. doesn’t follow that movie very well and shoves both finn and poe into roles that don’t suit their narratives, both of which are p racist decisions), but i will say that it’s a better movie than rise of skywalker. it might actually be a better MOVIE from a cinema and story telling standpoint than force awakens too. there are countless things that i don’t like about it, but this movie has a story to tell, themes to explore, and isn’t afraid to do new things. 

honestly, tfa, tlj and ros all feel like movies from a different trilogy. i WANT tfa trilogy the most, i feel like tlj trilogy would have been the most interesting, and the ros trilogy is just a hot fucking mess. 

3. the framing on the force bond thing is creative and cool. it’s not a plot thread i care for, but it’s at least well done here. 

4. i hate admiral hondo. there is no other way to phrase this. i hate her and the way that poe’s story was framed was racist and she’s a white feminist girl boss TM. i hate it i hate it i hate it

5. the framing of “the legacy of the jedi was hubris and blindness” is cool and interesting. i really don’t care for the luke characterization, but that could have been something interesting in a trilogy that was cohesive. 

6. i still don’t believe you that luke “i did everything within my power to bring my dickwad dad back from the dark side” would just. try to murder his nephew in his sleep cause he was giving off some bad vibes. 

7. i really DID like the rey nobody thing. if she wasn’t going to be a bio skywalker descendant then her just being Some Guy who the force chose was cool. if she had fought off kylo’s I Give Your Life Meaning and the reylo were shown to be unhealthy and he was the villain, and she was important because rey is a good person and strong with the force on her own. 

but no, we can’t have nice things. only palpatine fucking. 

8. the code breaker character is interesting. i remember liking him the first time around, and i still enjoy him now. i know he betrays them but like. i get it. he’s interesting. 

9. i FUCKING HATE HOLDO! like oh my god! if you have a plan to not get people killed fucking tell them! you don’t have to give them the information, but like. you have to tell people that you aren’t going to get them killed or they’re gonna do a fucking mutiny! poe was not in the wrong there!

10. even at his most compelling, kylo ren is. not compelling. like, this movie’s kylo is the most interesting but they completely yeeted his darth vader connection out the window and no one leveraged it for the narrative. wasted potential. 

11. dj (the hacker man) looks so funny in his little hat. i love it. also rose looks adorable in the first order outfit i love her. 

12. the confrontation with phasma hits better this time around. it’s not everything i’d hoped for or anything, but it’s better than nothing. 

13. like, ren killing snoke to become full villain as the inverse of vader killing palps to save luke? that was INTERESTING! but only if they would have followed through with kylo just being a villain. he wasn’t good in this movie! he was possessive and manipulative, and if deciding that he wasn’t worth it was the culmination of the reylo thing that could have been good. 

but noooooooooooooooooo we can’t have nice things in the star wars sequels

14. rey and kylo decimating all those guards and then the burning wreckage of the building looks cool. also, kylo’s a manipulative asshole and if we had done something with that it would have been so fucking cool. kylo! is! not! good! and giving him a half assed “my dad’s ghost came back so now i’m here being good” does not work.

rey and kylo pulling anakin skywalker’s lightsaber apart? his good side and his bad side? that’s interesting! too bad we didn’t like, do anything with that. 

15. .... was this post twilight of the apprentice? did they steal the mask broken over the eye bit from TWILIGHT OF THE APPRENTICE

16. the ice foxes are gorgeous and the porgs are cute. do like the new aliens in this one. 

17. the red salt set at the end is so pretty and distinctive. i love the image of the red coming up under the fighters. 

18. for real though you cannot put kylo ren at the helm of the first order because he killed his master and declared himself supreme leader one minute and then just go He’s Good Again Now the next. that is a villain. you wrote a villain. fucking deal with it. 

19. finn trying to be a suicide bomber didn’t make any sense, and the finnrose kiss thing didn’t make any sense. i don’t like that, and it still feels like they didn’t write a romance and then the writers went ROMANCE so that they could point at reylo and pretend that finn wasn’t set up as the love interest. 

20. i am really glad that luke and leia had at least one more scene, also luke saying “no one’s ever really gone” almost made me cry because CARRIE

21. kylo having every gun fire on luke and then luke standing there completely unscathed is such bde. also love the red smoke cloud

22. the luke projection thing was interesting, if nothing else. 

23. tlj finnrey hug is the last time that these movies ever gave me my juice there. 

24. the framing of luke fading into nothingness is pretty. i won’t say i love the choice but the shot is really pretty 

25. finn gently moving rose’s blanket is a nice shot. i don’t ship it but i do think they care about each other 

26. i have such intensely mixed feelings about this movie, y’all. it’s just uuuuuggggghhhhhhhh 

at least there’s some things i like about it vs like, ros, where i just like that they brought lando back and made hux a petty asshole who became a resistance spy just to get under ren’s skin. 

[pass-the-bechdel]

Marvel Cinematic Universe: Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

Does it pass the Bechdel Test?

No.

How many female characters (with names and lines) are there?

Six (31.57% of cast).

How many male characters (with names and lines) are there?

Thirteen.

Positive Content Rating:

Three.

General Film Quality:

Entertaining, but overrated.

MORE INFO (and potential spoilers) UNDER THE CUT:

Passing the Bechdel:

Though Nebula and Gamora trade a couple of lines on a few occasions, they invariably speak about either Thanos, or Ronan. 

Female characters:

Meredith Quill.

Bereet.

Nebula.

Gamora.

Carina.

Nova Prime.

Male characters:

Mr Quill.

Peter Quill.

Yondu Udonta.

Ronan.

Korath.

Rocket.

Groot.

The Broker.

Drax.

Thanos.

The Collector.

Denarian Saal.

Denarian Dey.

OTHER NOTES:

Seatbelts on spaceships should really be mandatory.

Aahahahaha Peter has a woman on his ship whose name he can’t remember and whom he forgot was even there! Oh, it’s so funny and charming! What a classic misogynistic cliche intro! Garbage.

Rocket chastises Groot to ‘learn genders’, and I don’t think the irony of a raccoon (a species with almost no visually-evident sexual dimorphism) saying that to a tree-person (whose species - if sexually dimorphic at all - certainly has no reason to adhere to the humanoid/mammalian model) is deliberate. The other alien higher-life-forms they encounter in the film are pretty uniformly human in appearance (not much effort going on in the ‘alien’ department besides just painting people in bright colours), but lack of imagination from the creative team doesn’t mean that the binary gender system we’re accustomed to on Earth has any broad bearing on the galaxy at large. 

Aaahh, and now Peter is explaining his scars to Drax, with lovely stories of women he cheated on in the past because he’s ~such a stud~.

Thanos tells Ronan off for his dull political raging and whiny behaviour, but he’s sitting on a shiny floating throne himself, so I’m not sure he’s earned the right to criticise what other people have got going on.

Rocket suggests that Gamora trade sexual favours to get things from other prisoners, because we’re being Like That with this movie.

The Collector keeps female slave ‘assistants’, whom he evidently treats so nicely that Carina commits suicide by infinity stone at the first opportunity in order to escape him. We’re just doing so well for the ladies in this film.

As a great comedic beat, Drax calls Gamora a “green whore”. It’s both a shitty line, and nonsensical, since Drax isn’t supposed to comprehend metaphors and he has no reason to believe Gamora is a literal ‘whore’ (nor is he likely to use such a colloquial term, considering the calibre of his standard vocabulary). Basically, it’s a rubbish line from every angle, and all in service of a misogynistic joke. 

This film is a terrible waste of Djimon Hounsou.

Ronan is very theatrically over-the-top in his pronouncements, but Lee Pace does his damnedest to make it work on delivery.

Why does Ronan’s flashy purple infinity stone weapon not kill people when he shoots them with its energy blast? Obviously it would be terribly inconvenient to the story if he just casually killed all the good guys, but honestly. It doesn’t make much sense. They coulda at least pretended there was a reason.

The part of me that is susceptible to acts of heroism is affected by the guardians all joining hands to share the stone’s power. Not enough to feel that the film or the character relationships actually connected on an emotional level, but enough that this ending doesn’t feel totally unearned.

Drax patting Rocket’s head while he’s crying over Groot is a lovely touch. THAT is the strongest character interaction of the film.

So. I’ll be honest: I don’t like this movie. I don’t think it works. I think it’s essentially just a string of gimmicks, loosely attached, entertaining enough on the surface but with no meaningful depth to hold in the mind or keep the audience engaged once the credits kick in (it’s also much heavier on the sexist tropes than any other MCU film previous). I don’t hate it, but it doesn’t give me anything that I value in a viewing experience, it just happens and then ends and that’s it. And the reason it doesn’t work is, frankly, the writing is lazy as shit. It makes a sub-par effort at establishing character and thus relies heavily on cliches, it rarely bothers to incorporate relevant plot and motivations and such into the story at early points in order to generate narrative pay-off, and the world-building is hazy at best and, like the characterisation, trades predominantly on expectation of stereotypes rather than actually creating anything original.

Let’s start in the obvious place: with our lead character. I’m tempted to just say ‘Peter Quill is garbage’ and then move on, because it’s true and also, he’s just not complex or interesting at all, which is ridiculous because he’s got that whole ‘alien abduction’ origin story and there should be like, literally any layers at all to his story instead of him just being an obnoxious Lothario who makes pop culture references like that counts as having a personality. But, here we are. I’m not familiar with the comics so I don’t know if this is a common complaint from fans who can’t believe their boy got all his nuances deleted in favour of such an inane cliche, but if this is exactly what Quill is like in the comics too? That’s no excuse. Part of the magic of adaptation is the opportunity to improve upon things the source material did wrongly or badly. The Quill we’ve got here in this movie is such a bland template he’s almost functionally useless; he barely impacts the story at all, especially in any way that is relevant to his personality or skills and necessitates his presence (the dance-off distraction is the only good Quill moment, and it’s also one of the few inspired choices in the whole film). At the end of the day, Quill exists so that the story has a Main Guy, being a straight white American male (and making sure we all, excessively, know about it), because God forbid we be expected to identify with anyone else. I have heard people sing the praises of the film for ‘subverting cliche’ by not having Quill and Gamora actively hook up by the end, as if that somehow makes it better that every single other aspect of that tedious forced romance plot is still squarely in place and set to play out in future films (pro tip: if the main guy still ‘gets the girl’, only it doesn’t happen in the first film, that’s not subversive. That’s still playing the trope dead-straight). Quill not immediately being shown to be rewarded with sex is not some incredible feat of original storytelling, and it certainly doesn’t absolve him of being a dime-a-dozen pig of a character. If that’s the most ‘unexpected’ character element you can cite, you’re in dire straits. 

Now, I’m not gonna talk about every character individually, because in most cases there’s not much to talk about; Drax is the big warrior guy with the Fridged Family backstory we’ve seen so many times before it elicits zero (0) emotions now; Groot - though an interesting idea on paper - is basically just a Deus Ex Machina of whatever ability is most useful at any given moment, too ill-defined to have boundaries to his powers and conveniently not using his full potential whenever it would allow the characters to win too easily; and Rocket, well, Rocket is actually the only one of the leads who manages any meaningful nuance, which is unfortunate because most of the time he’s just used for sarcastic comic relief. The other character I am going to talk about is Gamora, and it’s because she’s a prime example of how this movie fails to establish things so that they feel like they actually matter or the character’s motivations are understandable, etc. We are introduced to Gamora when she overrides Ronan’s order for Nebula to retrieve the orb from Xandar; as it turns out, Gamora’s introductory moment (literally the first time we see her or hear her speak) is also her act of rebellion when she puts into action her plan to escape Thanos’ clutches and go her own way. The problem, obviously, is this is her introduction. We’ve never seen this character before, we’ve only just met Ronan and Nebula as well, Thanos is barely more than a concept, as is the planet Xandar and the politics around it. Nothing has been established yet about the life that Gamora occupies, so her ploy to escape it? Meaningless. We don’t even find out that Gamora was not planning to retrieve the orb for Ronan until she tells us so after she’s been arrested, and we have literally no reason to believe her because we don’t know her yet because her character has not been established at all. The traditional way to do this would be to show her in her old life, doing as she’s told and/or witnessing terrible things being done by her compatriots, and showing the audience that she has clear misgivings so that when she turns, we understand the context and can believe that’s a logical character decision based on established personality and morals (think of Finn’s introduction in The Force Awakens for a textbook example). Because no time or effort is ever invested in establishing who or how Gamora is, everything we know is delivered to us directly in dialogue, all tell, no show, and what could easily have been the film’s most dynamic character is instead hampered by having her development choked off to avoid spending time on letting her origins matter (despite the fact that those origins are essential to the plot).

On which note, lets talk bad guys. Thanos first, because there’s not much to say, and that’s not a good thing: Thanos is actually pointless to this film, the only reason he’s there is so that the MCU can use him to actual purpose in later films and his relation to Gamora and Nebula and the hunt for the Infinity Stones needs to be established first, but as with everything else this movie is terrible at establishing things effectively. Consequently, Thanos...just floats around on a chair, and then Ronan tells him to piss off and we don’t see or hear from him again in the rest of the film, and there’s no real effort made to integrate Thanos into the story so that he seems like anything other than a dead-end subplot cluttering up the movie for no reason. The closest Thanos gets to anything notable is when he chides Ronan for his boring politics, but even that is symptomatic of the wider problem with this movie’s lazy writing: Ronan’s whole character is essentially just another dull archetype - in this case, the extremist villain - and a solid nothing at all is done to establish his politics or what they mean, other than death for the people we’re told are the innocents. This is a problem with the world-building of the film as a whole, because none of the galaxy’s politics is fleshed out, there’s no context to why the Kree have a problem with Xandar or why we should care, and Xandar kinda gets treated like the centre of the universe but it also seems that’s just for convenience sake so that the plot can return to a previous location for the final act. Hell, I haven’t the faintest fucking idea where Earth is supposed to fit in to all of this, other characters talk about it so it’s clearly a known quantity to the rest of the galaxy, and yet no one knows any details about it and Quill never bothered to go back there for reasons which really SHOULD be explored and yet are not even mentioned (that would seem like some of that characterisation he doesn’t have), so I don’t know what we’re supposed to interpret from that. I’m not confident that the creative powers bothered to think about it, considering how much they didn’t think about anything else. This is a movie where ‘human, but painted’ passes for ‘alien’ and society apparently functions exactly like Earth, tedious misogyny and all, despite the absence of cultural sharing to explain the Earthlike similarities (and boy oh boy do I HATE the laziness of science fiction where everything being identical to Western culture on Earth is treated like it’s ‘just the natural order’ that should be expected to develop in any sentient species, instead of a complex system shaped by unique and varied influences over thousands of years and dependent upon environment, religion, philosophy, and a myriad of other factors not replicated in these poorly-drawn ‘alien’ cultures. I get that you’ve gotta employ at least some shorthand in order to get on and tell your story within time constraints, but come on. If you’re not gonna think about world-building at all, don’t set the story on an alien planet). Above all else, we know that Ronan is the villain because he’s painted (literally) as one; he’s the bad guy through visually-indicated othering, because we all know good guys don’t look like that (whereas most of Ronan’s enemies on Xandar are just regular-looking white folks. Curious...). Sure, Ronan is also introduced spouting rhetoric and then smashing a dude with a hammer, and that seems like villain behaviour, but that only reinforces the point: Ronan’s role is made unmistakable through age-old tropes, and it’s never explored or subverted or made dynamic from there. Like Quill as the ‘hero’, Ronan is a dime-a-dozen cliche.

So anyway. Lets talk plot. This one goes like so: Quill collects the orb from Morag, where he coincidentally runs into Korath and company who just-so-happen to be after the orb at the same time (how it is that multiple interested parties only just found out that one of the most powerful destructive forces in the universe is just chillin’ on this abandoned planet, they don’t bother to explain). Quill runs into both Gamora, and Rocket and Groot, the other parties happening to be after him for different reasons and coincidentally converging on Xandar at the same point. Everyone gets arrested and sent to prison, where they meet Drax and promptly escape and fly to Knowhere so that The Collector can exposition-dump about Infinity Stones. Drax calls Ronan up, just literally straight-up calls the bad guy to come and find them because I guess figuring out a normal plot reason for the villain to catch up with the good guys was too hard, so we had to go for extreme stupidity instead. Ronan gets the orb and goes back to Xandar to destroy it, and our main characters figure they should stop that, so they do. Roll credits. Now, you can make pretty much any story sound basic and stupid by breaking it down into its component pieces, but the important thing to note about this layout is how many convenient or just plain stupid aspects there are. There are almost no character meetings or story developments that come about logically through the sensible development of plot driven by character’s motivations springing from established narrative, etc, and part of that problem is absolutely because there’s so little established character/world-building to begin with, but it’s also because whatever there is tends to apparate when it is needed without any sign of existing beforehand; that is, very little of the story is seeded early on so that it can come to fruition later in a narratively satisfying fashion. The Nova Corps sentence the characters to the Kyln prison as if it’s a big scary concept, but we’ve never heard of it before so we have no reason to consider it trouble. Drax appears and other characters literally tell us why we should pay attention to him, instead of him being, say, pre-established (SUCH AS by having his family tragedy shown on screen as a dual-establishing event for him and Ronan, or something to which Gamora was privy in some way in order to intro her misgivings as discussed above, or even just having someone reference the legend of Drax the Destroyer BEFORE getting to the Kyln (you could also, y’know, establish the Kyln itself in talking about how Drax was sent there. Just saying)). Intro the idea of Knowhere and/or The Collector BEFORE heading there so that it’s less convenient for Gamora to just-happen to have a buyer already set up for the item we didn’t even know she had planned to steal as part of the escape plot we didn’t know she was hatching. For the love of everything, establish some actual REASON for Ronan to follow our characters to Knowhere, instead of just ‘Drax got drunk and called him’. Link the pieces of your story together with concepts and developments that build upon each other in a narrative progression. That’s the difference between having a plot, and having a string of chronological set pieces (some of which - like Morag and the Kyln - don’t even have a purpose anyway beyond providing some action-scene opportunities). 

Before I close this out, I just want to run through a little exercise to demonstrate something that you never, ever want to happen in a story. You never want to have a lead character who can be deleted from the plot without leaving a hole too big to be easily filled by the rest of the cast. But what happens if Peter Quill is removed from this story? Well, pretty much all of the misogyny disappears, so that’s a plus. Someone else is gonna have to retrieve the orb from Morag, but we could easily send Rocket and Groot to do that. Gamora can still fight with them on Xandar exactly as it happens in the actual movie, only this time it’s not just pure coincidence that they conflict. We saved vital time that the film spent on Quill’s inconsequential childhood abduction (and we could save more on trimming the pointless action on Morag), which is time that could be better spent on all that other establishing crap I was talking about earlier, tightening up the narrative. Quill doesn’t serve any important purpose in the Kyln, so we can remove him from that no problem, nor does he matter on Knowhere other than a frankly stupid and ultimately pointless moment when he saves Gamora (definitely unnecessary when we’re removing the romantic subplot bullshit along with Quill). And then what? The characters agree that not letting Ronan destroy the galaxy is probably a good call (not Quill-relevant), they head back to Xandar, fight some bad guys, hold hands, win the day. We lose Quill’s only good moment in the form of the dance-off, but it’s an acceptable loss in order to strengthen the entire rest of the film by deleting the most meaningless character: the lead. We also arguably lose the Ravagers in the process, but as much fun as Yondu is, the plot can also survive completely intact without him (the only time the Ravagers matter is for the previously-identified useless damsel contrivance with Quill saving Gamora, and then they do help out on Xandar in the end, but they aren’t necessary for that - the Nova Corps could have been expanded just a smidge and taken care of everything). On the other hand, if you remove Gamora, you lose the connection to Ronan/Thanos as well as the moral compass of the Guardians; some other character would have to be significantly altered to fill the gap. You lose major Deus Ex Machina skills without Groot, and without Rocket someone else’s narrative has to change in order for Groot to have a buddy (plus you need a new mastermind for various plans, though that’s an easier hole to fill). You skip Drax and you do lose a major plot development in the form of him drunk-dialling Ronan, but admittedly that’s one of the worst things in this whole dumb waste of a movie, so maybe it’s not such a loss. You could ditch Drax. But, that’s not important, because Drax isn’t packaged as the leading man: Quill is. If you delete Drax, you don’t really streamline or improve the story (you could fix the one big flaw in his character very easily, he doesn’t have to disappear for that). You delete Quill...I know, comic book adaptation, dropping the main character is not considered an acceptable alteration when you’re improving the story for the screen. But come on. The least they could do is make him actually matter, not just be a perfunctory inclusion for the sake of sticking this ‘weird sci-fi’ as firmly in the centre of over-done cliche as a lazy gimmick story ever could be. There are a few chuckles to be had with this film, and it’s not entirely boring, but it’s not half as endearing nor even an eighth as inspired as it thinks it is. I’m not impressed by any of it.

[hellsbellschime]

3x16 That intro with Freya’s baritone whisper for the prophecy and the over the top drama way of saying it is so tedious after a while. But at least Elijah is on the piano which actually is a much better intro.

No they did NOT! Mother trucker? I don’t swear often but FUCK OFF! Just FUCK THE HELL OFF! For good and good fucking riddance! And there are actually people debating if this show actually belongs to the trash can?

And I don’t get it. Klaus in the last episode was like I don’t run I disappear. I was a legend. I was a shadow for decades. And now he needs Hayley to order him around and teach him how to go undercover with peasant hats? A fucking insult to an once upon a time great character. That’s what it is. And yes that fucker Klaus in TO was never like Klaus in TVD but everything should have just a line that should be crossed. Fuck this noise! I just. FUCK!

All that onslaught of Cami and Klamille and then they go for Klayley and I actually believed for a hot second there that after the mess Klamille and Camille were in this season I would be able to tolerate Klayley a bit better because how much worse it can get. Well joke’s on me! PT and JM together are so cringe too which does not help. Add the hat! Man the hat! And well FUCK!

And the free pass Hayley gave Klaus after him cursing her after their bullshit custody battle and their fake empowering drivel in their dialogue and narrative is beyond me. That show is an insult to women. And I don’t get it. It is mostly women that watch. They really have no grasp of what their audience is all about.

Lucien and Freya are so cute! I could actually ship it! Like hardcore! If the actress was a little bit better and Freya was not a deus ex machine character and a fake original meant to replace Rebekah and have the writers say here we gave you the Original family. Not the one you wanted. The discount one but stop complaining. Yeah not gonna fly. No.

But at least the actor that plays Finn is pure hotness. And in any other show I would have waited at the edge of my seat for a Sage reference but here I just expect more OOC but at least Finn is an eye candy.

From never underestimate the allure of darkness we get to the never underestimate the allure of indoor plumbing. Yeah that is what TO is compared to the Originals in TVD. I don’t get those cheap shots against Klaroline though. I am not that old in the KC fandom to know exactly what has happened aside from a few things I read in twitter but watching TO and seeing that disposition in the actual writing is so jarring and makes no sense. –

-And maybe if the show was better or at least decent I would be able to pay no attention but here in this mess why even bother with such petty crap instead of focusing on the hack writing and the way the show is suffering? I don’t understand. Those jokes are not funny when they are demolishing Klaus’ character in ways that can’t be fixed and it is not a damn ship thing. It is through and through the damage on his character.

Oh Hayley the fake good Samaritan. If only I didn’t remember the half breed backstabbing piece of shit she's always been & I use that particular phrase bc she actually had the audacity to call Tyler that. And somehow I am meant to root for her and her Cabo crap? Maybe if the show didn’t try to give her the worst portrayal of an asshole hypocrite masking it as a perfect badass snowflake mother Teresa trope I could have. PT’s acting skills aside Hayley’s character really has hit rock bottom for me

Vampires in the internet. Sure that makes sense. The fuck with this show. However I have to give it to them for this year. The introduction of the vampires are on point. Unfortunately they let all that potential go to waste but they managed to give some great vampires this year. Aurora, Lucien, Aya, Cortez, that blond chick now. It is a pity that they don’t take advantage of them and they persist with the likes of Cami and Hayley.

Finn’s stories about how Kol corrupted and kill women. Those were the days! We couldn’t we have that? Why are we stuck with the Mary Sue vampire mess Kol despised in TVD and would never become? He was better off dead. And on another note I get Kol’s anger towards Finn. What I don’t get is how Elena and Jeremy aren't included in his revenge lash out. They're ruining him! With the blood bags and crying for Davina and wanting to be good and all that mushy out of character nonsense. Fuck that noise!

The scene with Finn not wanting to burn the white oak is one of the few truly good scenes I have seen in the show and very on character for Finn. The Finn that was introduced in TVD. Those glimpses of greatness show me what the show could truly be and I just get so sad because of it.

But I don’t get why Elijah wouldn’t burn the white oak in any case. With the prophecy looming and all their enemies it truly is the most idiot thing to do. And after the mess with the seraturra Elijah gives the white to oak to Freya. Like come on. That’s like handing it to their enemies. These people have survived this long only by pure luck. Nothing else.

LOL. Of course it is Lucien that’s the evil villain mastermind behind the scenes. Great characters do that. I knew I liked him for a reason! And the fear he inspires by those that call him ‘him’. And plotting and scheming and being a true vampire and relishing at being one and being in his element. That is what Klaus should have been. That is what Klaus WAS in TVD. And now. Sigh. At Lucien is there to fill the shoes that desperately need filling.

MOTHER TRUCKER. MOTHER TRUCKER. I do not know one person who didn’t lose their mind over the stupidity that is mother trucker. And yes, KH and Joseph and Phoebe are a freaking nightmare, the writers keep them apart so long that it’s easy to forget but then the minute they have to interact it is so painfully cringe. The writers are 10x more concerned with dragging KC and the actual Originals at every opportunity than they are with the abysmal writing though. And yes, TO seems to be absolutely on point when it comes to introducing an idea that actually sounds totally awesome and then never ever mentioning that idea again.

[flordeloona]

list of my non-endgame otps:

1.- Steven Hyde and Jackie Burkhart.

No other couple that wasn't endgame had left like this (maybe dair) but gosssh, these two, THESE TWO, they started off as one of my favorite couple tropes: enemies to friends to lovers, and it was done perfectly, every part of it, Hyde went from not even wanting her to be in the basement to let her sleep in his small space in the latter because she had no other place to go, Jackie said she liked Hyde for the way he made her see things, and if y'all know this girl you know that's the most precious thing ever. Long story short, they are endgame in every other universe but this, sadly.

2.- Dan Humphrey and Blair Waldorf.

*sighs* these two... if you hear closely you can literally hear me crying. Let me say it: SOULMATES, THE EPITOME OF SOULMATES, Dan and Blair are the most fitted couple to ever grace the TV, and the best part is how dysfunctional they seemed to be, but once they got together... man... the connection was out this planet, BLAIR SAID IT HERSELF, "Dan and I have a real connection" excuse me but yours could never, Dan and Blair enjoyed the same music, both cinephiles, art loves, literally the most adorable assholes of the whole show, they were each other safe place and ruined my whole life, bye.

4.- Ryan Atwood and Marissa Cooper.

MY WHOLE ASS BABIES😩😩😩 OKAY BUT LISTEN,,,,, STAR-CROSSED LOVERS, FROM DAY ONE, RYAN COULDN'T BELIEVE HIS EYES WHEN HE MET MARISSA, MARISSA EVEN MADE HIM A MIXTAPE BECAUSE HE NEVER LISTENED TO MUSIC PROPERLY, MY HEART ACHES, they are my entire world and my 1st otp ever, i would love them forever.

5.- Barney Stinson and Robin Scherbatsky.

THESE TWO LITERALLY GOT MARRIED AND TALKED ABOUT HOW THEY WERE SOULMATES IN THE DAMN FUCKING SHOW, BARNEY ABANDONED HIS WHOLE PAST FOR ROBIN AND ROBIN FOUND A MAN SHE REALLY WANTED TO GET MARRIED TO, LIKE, NAME A MORE ICONIC DUO I'LL FUCKING WAIT FOREVER. I can't stand thinking about that finale without wanting to break everything, Barney did such amazing things for Robin, they healed each other and worked they way to the altar together and... they made it... they proved they were each other half, and... Like that they were ripped off our hands, leave me alone.

6.- Brooke Davis and Peyton Sawyer.

They were in love... Perfect for the childhood friends to lovers trope���� they were each other best relationship and loved each other more than anything, my heart aches. Let's not talk about the queerbait because i might get angry... But yeah, Peyton even told Brooke she was in love with her in this same scene *sighs* deserved a life together.

7.- Rich Hardbeck and Grace Blood.

Could write an easy on why they are the best couple on skins and why they deserved so much better. OPPOSITES ATTRACK PEOPLE, and these two proved that to the maximum limit, ballet and metal music never looked so good together. Rich grieving over Grace is the saddest thing I've ever seen, and I wish they had gotten their well deserved endgame.

8.- Sheldon and Penny Cooper.

Ahhh yes, remember when Sheldon proposed to Penny in a argument about climate change? And then they got married at the comicbook store because none of them could affort a proper wedding but they couldn't wait to get married? And Penny decided to go as "Penny Cooper" and Sheldon felt so happy he just hugged her an hour straight? *the biggest sigh ever* We. Could. Have. Had. It. ALL, EVERYTHING, THE CHEMISTRY BETWEEN THESE TWO SLAPS ME IN THE FACE EVERYTIME THEY INTERACT, i waited for their canon and endgame for FIVE YEARS, and now i won't get either... Life sucks guys, and so do the tbbt writers.

9.- Rachel Berry and Santana Lopez.

These girlfriends😭 okay so I prefer Finchel over them, but, it was impossible to have their endgame at all... So, I'd have to go with my two babies whom recently been owning my ass so much. Rachel and Santana are THE power duo, badass actitude, talented af, want it all, but always feel alone, just imagine how amazing their relationship would have been, i'm so sad, Santana loved her so much....

10.- Scott McCall and Isaac Lahey.

WASTED POTENTIAL OH MY GOD, CAN'T BELIEVE A GAY MAN QUEEBAITED THE SHIT OF ME THIS UGLY, LIKE, TRY TO WATCH THEIR SCENES AND TELL ME THEY WEREN'T IN LOVE, YOU LITERALLY CAN'T, if it wasn't for them Scira would have made the top 10/10 but... I'm a slut for non-canon queerbait :) Scott was Isaac's anchor): and Scott loved him so much it hurts me too see it. They should get married and move to Paris together bye.

Especial mentions:

Noora Sætre and Eva Mohn.

Rachel Berry and Finn Hudson.

Naomi Campbell and Emily Fitch.

Michael Kelso and Brooke Rockwell.

Jal Fazer and Chris Miles.

Riley Matthews and Maya Hart.

Scott McCall and Kira Yukimura.

Peyton Sawyer and Jake Jagielski.

Rachel Green and Joey Tribbiani.

Ted and Tracy Mosby.

[none of the gifs are mine, credits to the owners].

[coreshorts]

Last

“My name is Hali Naras. I write this in the the hope that, should I not survive what is about to happen to me, that there is at least some memoir to survive me instead. If you are reading this, then I have, indeed, been killed.”

“I have many unanswered questions. I suppose, at this point, few of them really matter. Tonight, I go to face a trio of men, Immortals of Thavnair, that wish me dead. I have no choice in this. I will either be endlessly hunted, or I will challenge them to a duel of honour. If I win, they leave me be and forget I ever crossed their path. If I lose... my life is forfeit.

I am the only daughter of Ceta and Edoh’a of the Naras clan, both Keepers of the Moon. I, myself, was once one such miqo’te. I departed my clan at the age of sixteen, not wanted or suited for life among my peers due to my unique and troublesome disposition, despite my talents.

I have spent much of my life wandering, searching for meaning. I have been a conjurer, an arcanist, a Blue Mage, and a shinobi. I write this now as the latter. I am survived by my parents, by my cousin, Dail’a, by my cat, Finn, and by my teacher and most cherished friend, Kaori, among many others.

To my parents, I am sorry. I tried my very best to be everything you saw in me. I wanted to be the perfect daughter. I failed you both. I know you love me all the same, and I am sorry to speak so poorly of myself before I go to my death. Know, though, that I love you both and wish that I were at least able to say goodbye.

To Dail’a, I wish I had gotten to spend more time with you. You have brought out both the best and the worst in me over the years, but most of all, you have helped me where few others would or could. Thank you. I wish I knew what that haunted silence was when we spoke of the Calamity. I suppose I will never know, now, but I hope that it is something from which you can move on in time.

To Finn, I know nothing I write will truly be understood, but I love you as I would my own child. I am sorry to leave you and wish I didn’t have to. I hope Dail’a takes good care of you. I know he loves you, too. You’re his little buddy. Be good for him.

To Kaori, I truly am not sure what to say. All the words that I could never actually speak are more or less worthless now. I know that what we meant to one another was beyond typical bonds, but this is my last and only chance to say it, so I will write it here: I love you. Maybe it isn’t "love” as it’s commonly understood, and I doubt it’s the kind one would expect when hearing this, but you’re the best friend I’ve ever had, and the only person for whom I’ve ever felt this strongly. You’ve done so much for me, and I there has been so much I wanted to do for you. Please take care of yourself. I am sorry I couldn’t get to see our village - our home - to its rebirth, but I know you can get it there. Please don’t give up. You know I wouldn’t, nor would I ever want you to. I want you to be happy, whatever it takes.

To everyone else, all I can really say is thank you. You’ve all tolerated me, befriended me, shown me patience and understanding, given me more chances than I could have deserved in a thousand lifetimes, and opened up so many doors for me. I’m sorry that I’ve let you all down. I wanted to be something great, even if it was just for myself. I’m sorry to have wasted the chances I was given. I hope you can all move on and forget me soon enough. I know it’ll be better that way. I’m sure no one will miss my constant stuttering, rambling, panicky nonsense or my penchant for losing my mind entirely when I get stressed. I am sorry to have tested the patience of those around and close to me time and time again with my problems. I tried to be better. I tried so hard.

I have a lot of questions yet, and some regrets, as well. Perhaps, one day, someone may find the answers I sought. I never quite figured out the nature of my extraordinary sense for aether. I regret not having learned to control it or keep it from controlling me. I never found out what had happened to me in the year or more after the Calamity, though I don’t know if I ever could have learned that. I never quite found out the name of the Raen girl with the single horn, and I regret never getting to meet her. I wish I’d have never let my nerves get the best of me those times we ran into one another, but if I am dead, then it’s probably for the best. I regret never getting to settle the score between myself and Maximillian Crawford. I hope he gets his just desserts for all the wrongs he’s done to people like me.

I owe a lot of my good material fortune to the Crawford brothers and having been in their employ. Though we didn’t always see eye-to-eye, Anthony was a very good employer. I will always, however, hate Maximillian for his constant torment, both physical and emotional. All the same, what I leave behind is, to my knowledge, not insignificant.

All of my money - gil or otherwise - is to go to Kaori. My notebooks are to be burned. Finn will go into Dail’a’s care. All other possessions can be discussed between my parents, Dail’a, and Kaori. Any insurance payments on behalf of the Crawfords can be made to Kaori.

I will miss you all. Please try to move on. Don’t avenge me. Don’t start a war over me. Please forget about me. I’m not worth your grief anymore. I proably never was in the first place.

~Hali”

With a ragged sniffle, a sleeve came up to wipe at her eyes. Daylight was breaking over the Rasen Kaikyo and peeking through the trees surrounding the village. She hadn’t slept all night. Instead, she had accumulated a wastebasket full of crumpled up goodbye letters which had begun overflowing onto the floor of her room. She would need to burn them all before she left.

Sniffling again as she read the letter over and cried softly to herself in anxiety, she tried to keep her breathing steady. Her mind wouldn’t allow it. Two teardrops impacted the letter, fortunately, in a margin, before she folded it and sealed it in an envelope with wax and a small length of twine, tied into a bow before leaving it on her desk in her room in plain view.

She sat back at her desk and, finally, just allowed herself to cry. The sun was up properly by the time she was done, having gone to her bed to curl up, alone. Eventually, she cried herself to sleep, the exhaustion from stress, fear, and impending doom eventually overtaxing her.

Her dreams were wracked with anxious nightmares of malm-high tsunamis everywhere she turned, arcing ominously over her head. Should she escape one, another would come, wiping out the islands beaches until she, peering out of the window in her room, gazed fearfully up at one last massive wave. As it descended with a deafening silence, she felt its weight crush every last bone, forcibly eject the air from her lungs, and send her spinning into the lightless oblivion under the sea.

She woke up and found herself screaming in terror. Her dreams, though they were no longer haunted by the Immortals’ “beast within” which fuelled her magic previously, were still twisted into terrors by her anxiety. Pulling herself from her bed’s comforts, she staggered, shaking, toward her teapot to begin heating it. Some minutes later, she poured herself another cup of lavender tea.

It was nearly a bell later by the time she realised she’d slept most of the day away; it was a mere three bells before the duel with Varajahl, Habraheem, and Ghayaraan. The Immortals would be waiting for her, she knew, and with them, an audience of people to, at best, support her, or at worst, watch her die.

After she had finally calmed herself, she set to sitting cross-legged before her window, staring out into the trees as she focused, lavender incense lit to either side of her to keep her calm and focused. After several long breaths, she made four hand signs, one quickly after the other: Hogo, Shonin, Fuwa, Tsuihou. Protection, Witness, Discord, Banish. These four mudra were not a typical for shinobi, meant more for onmyoji priests. However, she had needed to learn it quickly during a venture. A stroke of curiosity led her to discover that it could not only seal and purify evil, but the “beast” as well. Her morning routine had come to include this ritual, and she held the mudra that executed the jutsu, holding the power within her and directing it further inward.

When she first began doing it, out of curiosity and desperation more than anything, the “beast” had screamed. It tore at her mind and soul in retaliation and sent her into fits of existential agony. As time went on, however, she got better at the jutsu itself and the beast weakened. By that afternoon, some weeks later, she had suppressed it almost entirely, her soul mending where the awful presence was once absent. It would take some team before she could fully heal something so intangible and important, but it would be worth it.

As she held the jutsu, she felt her own aether shimmer and contort as it was scoured of evil presence. There was no screaming, no pain, no existential agony. The “beast” had been starved and subdued for so long, it was barely noticeable any longer. Even Varajahl had mentioned that at that rate, it would likely die out completely. Though it left an odd vacancy within her, she had begun to feel better and more herself day by day.

By the time she was dressed and ready to leave, it was just two bells before the duel. The sun was already setting, and she had little time for a potential last meal. She stopped in Kugane for a bite to eat, though it was light, and then moved on to the Ruby Sea for warm-up exercises. It was there, on that islet where she had spent so much time training to make herself better, that she remained until the last half-bell remained, and she left her training ground behind her.

All she could hope was that this night would not be her last.