#I swear this show's celebrity cameos are like none other

[animebw]

“Are all my issues with women Christopher Nolan movies? Because yes, women are involved, but it’s never really about them.”

I will never get tired of this show’s willingness to just run famous people over with a cement mixer on a daily basis. Sometimes with their explicit support!

[villainsandvictimsalliance]

U got any shigaraki and deku acting like siblings hcs ? 😁

A. BUNCH. AND THEY ARE ALL YOURS :

*Note: I have a little sister myself, so I know how the sibling culture goes 🙄😈. And oh, we even trained Tae Kwon Do together, so you can included the real fights in the list.

First of all, we're not talking about two calm and collected, perfectly behaved boys.

Let's imagine they keep all for one and one for all, but instead of being like gods, they stay with only two quirks and their power is reduced, and also they can't pass the quirk to another person or steal other quirks any more. They're stuck.

Deku has his superpower and black wip. Tomura has his decaying quirk (under control now) and he can float, just like Nana.

And because they are two stubborn little pricks, they argue all. the. time.

Don't get me wrong, they normally won't react like that with other people. Tomura would let you slap him and he won't even blink. Same with Deku. But as it often happens, no one can push our buttons like our siblings.

That's exactly why, at least once a week, someone needs to interfere in their fights.

I mean the "they're up in the sky fistfighting, kick hitting, swearing like sailors" type.

I'm not promoting violence on here. THIS IS HOW MANY SIBLINGS WORK, I DON'T KNOW HOW TO EXPLAIN IT.

Tomura feels the sudden urge to kick Deku while he's walking down the hall. Deku wants to save his game over Tomura's session because "oops". They like different foods. They argue about if a certain pro-hero is cool or totally useless. Tomura thinks Deku's hair looks like moss and Deku tells him he's like a failed Monster High.

And they fight.

Now, this is a typical case of "no one can insult my brother except me".

No one defends Tomura as much as Deku does. I'm talking about Deku telling to All Might's face he's being a dick and Deku telling Bakugo to shut the fuck up.

And then you have Tomura, former symbol of fear. After redeeming himself, you can bet his favorite new hobby is picking assholes apart via analyzing them and telling them what's wrong with their childhoods and traumas.

That's absolutely not nice of him. But come on, let's talk real. None of them are saints and none of them are where they are because they're nice all the time.

They are what everyone fears compacted in two weirdly buff geniuses. They are nerds and they are awkward and fight over who's asking for the pizza this time, and at the same time they obey no authority but themselves.

Deku is like “if you don't like Tomura, keep that to yourself. It's embarrassing.”

Tomura is like "If can't stand Deku, then kneel before him.”

One is a former villian, the other is an almost villians and the best they can do it's meet in the middle: gray moral characters that, in lack of a better option, created their own side.

Let's change subject to what really matters:

They are annoying.

You can't possibly watch a movie with them. They talk too much, criticize too much, have an entire combo of figuring out the ending in the middle of the movie and they ruin it because they are too smart. They are officially banned from movie nights.

I've say this before, but the amount of inner jokes and references? Heavens save us all.

They can be referring to something nerdish, like a fact you wouldn't know if you weren't well versed on Victorian authors, and the next minute they would be talking in tiktoks and YouTube recommendations at 3am.

Kings of bullshit. They don't have a single clue what they're doing. They're figuring out while it goes. Plan? What plan? They're baffling. If you listen to them for too long, you're gonna lose your mind.

They're also banned from playing scrabble. Tomura always make up words that somehow exists and Deku is a walking dictionary.

When they're alone, they're nice to play with. Deku is a wonderful team mate and friend. Tomura is actually pretty chill and funny.

What the fuck happens when they get together, no one knows. They are like sure of themselves and all that self-confidence turns into chaotic energy. They can just be chilling around or not even talking, but the tension is there, not between them, but to the rest of the room. They could begin their activity at any minute.

Their direct rivals are Aizawa and Bakugo.

It's the only way you can balance the situation. And I'm not talking about fights, I'm talking about the game nights still.

You have the decaying-bunny duo vs the eraser-dynamite duo. This is, and I'm not gonna lie, actually a pretty intense and funny rivaly situation. Everyone needs to pick a side and then they go.

There's another duo that can face the decaying-bunny team, and that's the Todosiblings. The problem is that Shoto and Dabi are half of the time supporting Deku and Tomura on their chaos, and half of the time fighting them.

You have the Voice of Reason team (Spinner and Iida), the Bloody Gravity team (Uraraka and Toga) and the Dadteam (Kurogiri and All Might).

Imagine how intense are Tomura and Deku as siblings that they forced other people into creating teams to fight them. Not because they wanted to, but because people found it necessary.

Oh but boy, you can bet they are also maximum crushes of half the world.

They are the type of celebrities you call assholes when they appear on the news after saving a bunch of people from a natural disaster. They are talking with the reporters and??? They look fresh and smiley, gentle and charming, almost naive, but you're getting distracted because how can they be so handsome???

Misters "I don't know how popular I am" because they're clueless, they don't know how often they break the internet with their online activities.

Their merch is everywhere. They make the money they need just by accepting appearing on ads and commercials or doing cameos on TV shows, music videos, etc.

AND THEY ARE ASSHOLES ONCE MORE??? BECAUSE THEY PLAY WITH THEIR AUDIENCE IN THE CUTEST AND MOST FRUSTRATING WAY POSSIBLE.

“Are you dating someone”, “Oh, am I?”

All I'm saying is that they have an amazing connection. They are best friends and rivals and worst enemies and each other's fans #1.

I love the headcanons of them being cute, a little distanced siblings, but I prefer the cheer chaos of them being really close.

Mostly because I know they could have the type of bond that gets you through the worst times. The type where you don't need to use your words, you can talk with your eyes, just by looking at your brother and you already know what they're thinking.

And this has so many implications. From stupid things like Tomura sitting on a shopping card while Deku buys the things they need for the week, to them both fighting side by side against the worst enemies they could think of.

But those implications are things that I need to study further in future posts. 😉 So don't be afraid to ask for more headcanons about the decaying-bunny duo.

[serenlyss]

Mob Psycho Fic Recs

I've been keeping track of some of my favorite finished and in-progress mp100 fics as I find them and figured I'd show them some love by linking them here! They come in no particular order or genre, just whichever I bookmarked last haha. If you"re looking for good mp100 fics be sure to check these out!

To Strike A Chord Author: Hino Rating: Teen Archive Warnings: None Completion Status: Complete Tags: platonic ritshou, mutual trauma, post world domination arc Summary: Ritsu visits Shou, feeling uneasy about his past. But he's not the only one. My Notes: Short and sweet, it touches on Shou and Ritsu’s mutual trauma from the World Domination arc and gives insight in the Suzuki family relationship before Touichirou decided to take over the world. Also Shou plays the guitar.

Of Cold Hands Reaching Author: UncannyCookie Rating: G Archive Warnings: None Completion Status: Complete Tags: terumob (can be read as platonic), angst, ptsd, trauma recovery, hurt/comfort, dissociation, miscommunication, post-mogami arc, slow burn Summary: After six months in Mogami's mind world that weren't even real anyway, Mob returns to his old life. Everything is fine. My Notes: A really interesting take on what Mob’s mind looks like after spending six months in Mogami’s fake world. It gets pretty real when discussing Mob’s dissociation and apathy about the whole thing but gets sweet at the end and has a happy ending. It’s introspective, which I really like, but has enough lighter moments in between that it doesn’t feel heavy constantly.

Delirium Author: Janekfan Rating: G Archive Warnings: None Completion Status: Complete Tags: serirei, pneumonia, hospitalization, guilt, smoking, depression, sel-harm, panic attacks, fever, sickfic, love, kissing, caretaking, misunderstandings, mental instability, flashbacks, unconsciousness Summary: Reigen questions himself. My Notes: Reigen decides to pick up smoking again as a coping mechanism and hides it from Serizawa. It goes into Reigen’s feelings of self-loathing and depressive tendencies that the manga only really touches on. It’s dreary pretty much throughout but does have a happy ending to end on a high note!

April Fools Author: SparkyFrootloops Rating: G Archive Warnings: None Completion Status: Complete Tags: dad reigen, good parent reigen, teru is reigen’s son, hijinks & shenanigans, pranks Summary:  Teruki gets to celebrate April Fools Day at his new home with Reigen. My Notes: This fic is short but so so funny and full of heart. Teru trying to prank Reigen, who he lives with in the context of the story, is hilarious and all the dialogue is just gold. I also really love Mob’s cameo in the second half. Just a solid found family comedy one-shot to lighten your mood and make you smile.

Broken, Repaired, New Author: GalacticConfectionist Rating: T Archive Warnings: None Completion Status: In Progress Tags: serirei, abuse, child abuse, domestic violence (all abuse is only implied/referenced, never shown), light angst, hurt/comfort, pining, good parent reigen, good brother reigen, original character but she’s really good Summary: “You’re a good kid” He said, ruffling his student’s hair. There’s a moment of quiet and Reigen sighs, “Mob, remember this. Guys who hit women are the biggest losers in the world.” Reigen’s sister comes to visit, shenanigans ensue. My Notes: I don’t usually go for fics with ocs in them since I don’t typically end up connecting with them but this is one of the rare exceptions! Reigen’s sister escapes her abusive husband with her daughter and goes to Reigen for help. She ends up staying with Serizawa and trying to set him up with her brother. Despite the references to abuse it’s actually a very lighthearted fic about wanting to make your friends happy and taking care of those you consider to be family. Misaki and Reigen’s sibling relationship is well-written and she has enough personality and motivation to make me invested in her situation. Just an all-around good read if you want to smile and feel happy.

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! lol Author: marnies Rating: Not Rated Archive Warnings: None Completion Status: In Progress Tags: serirei, good parent reigen, good parent serizawa, sickfic, fluff, epic family moments Summary:  reigen and serizawa adopt teru and shou and move in together asmr My Notes: This fic is just a good time. It’s not too far in but still has enough content to be worth a read. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, but that’s the charm of it, and it comes across as humorous and lighthearted with its found family dynamics. Reigen and Serizawa are both clueless parents of their adopted sick kids and are just trying to help each other out.

The Space Between Author: sofia-estrella Rating: M (nsfw content in later chapters) Archive Warnings: None Completion Status: In Progress Tags: serirei, reigen pov, slow burn, coworkers to friends to lovers Summary: Reigen never expected Serizawa to stay. My Notes: A really nice fic about how Reigen and Serizawa’s relationship grows and evolves slowly as they spend more than a year together over the course of the narrative. Both Reigen and Serizawa are very in character and their relationship is approached with care and concern from both sides, which I think is very fitting for them! It does a good job of balancing soft character interaction with personal squabbles and drama, which makes for an interesting and entertaining read.

The Joy of Cooking (for a Family You Didn’t Know You Had) Author: pepperfield Rating: G Archive Warnings: None Completion Status: In Progress Tags: good parent reigen, background serirei, found family, unintentional parenthood, cooking, meddling kids, family fluff, food as a metaphor for love, getting together, light pining, 5+1 Summary: At first, it's easy. Mob likes takoyaki. This, Reigen can remember. When Teru moves in, things get a little more complex, but it's fine. He only has to feed one kid on a regular basis; he can handle this. But before he knows it, he's memorized all of Tome's favorite restaurants and he's keeping a stash of snacks in the office just in case Shou visits. This whole "family" business has gotten out of hand. My Notes: Good old dad Reigen taking care of his five unruly children. In this fic Teru lives with Reigen and everyone else is just along for the collective ride. It’s a 5+1 fic about Reigen cooking/buying food for the kids as a way to show he cares about them. It’s really cute and shows how much Reigen cares about the esper boys and Tome after all is said and done in the manga.

On Revelations and Renovations Author: mustdang100 Rating: G Archive Warnings: None Completion Status: In Progress Tags: good parent reigen, reigen adopts teru, background serirei, hurt/comfort, adoption, fluff and humor, 5+1 Summary: “I’m really sorry to bother you, but, ah, I don’t suppose that offer to stay at your place for the night was still an option?” Five times Reigen got called a 'dad,' and one time he called himself one - a vignette-style fic on how Teruki grows up and Reigen acquires a family in the days, months, and years following the World Domination arc. My Notes: Teru decides to stay with Reigen after all following the world domination arc, and then never leaves. It’s a super cute and fun fic about found family dynamics between all the main cast, but specifically Reigen and Teru. Teru and Reigen’s banter is well-written and funny, and the whole concept and execution is really charming and fun to ready.

A Real (Psychic) Conman Author: Trinz Rating: T Archive Warnings: None Completion Status: In Progress Tags: esper!reigen, empath!reigen, swearing, reigen centric Summary:  An AU where Reigen actually is the 21st century's greatest psychic- or at least the second, or third, or maybe fourth- the point is that he’s an esper and his "I'm so powerful I can hide my aura" thing is... actually true. My Notes: This is one of my current favorite fics. I read it all over the course of like two days up to its current chapter and I’m in love with the author’s psychic Reigen concept. It follows the canon storyline with some divergence to account for Reigen actually having powers, and really paints him in a different light. It also has an air of mystery with its over-arching plot that, seventeen chapters in, still has only been hinted at, but the real star of the fic is the way a psychically powered Reigen interacts with Mob, Ritsu, and Dimple and the creative ways the author incorporates his powers of telepathy and empathy. Really creative and a super fun long read if you want a longer story!

[softhaos]

INKIGAYO SANDWICH

pairing – byun baekhyun x reader

genre – fluff, humor, idolverse

description – baekhyun has a crush on you, wants to give you his number and the only discreet way to do it is by slipping it into an inkigayo sandwich. but here’s the thing: you’d rather jump off a cliff instead of eating one of those nasty slices of bread. alternatively, yes i actually wrote a fic based on the meme someone end me

warning – one (1) instance of the word ‘shit’

word count – 2.1k

author’s note – this wasn’t supposed to exist until an anon went ahead and deadass requested this and i can’t believe i invested time in this and i didn’t bother giving a cool title,, anyway i love the boys from yg treasure box and i have a soft spot for mashiho and junkyu so expect a cameo from them here 

The first time it happens, you brush it off.

You don’t know if it’s because YG was probably on drugs upon making his decision or because he rather invests more time and money into his newest boy group (it’s most likely the latter) that your promotion time overlaps with your agency mates’. Then again, the first reason might also be true because a handful of famous artists who already established themselves in the industry are also having a comeback this month. Naturally, there’s no way for the debuting boy group to achieve their first win given the competition.

It really takes a miracle to win against Monsta X, Twice and EXO combined. With those monster groups active at once, you doubt that you’ll get a win this time. Although you are signed under one of the most promising entertainment companies in the country and debuted two years ago, you still have to struggle a little bit more than the rest at YG since you’re a soloist. After all, it’s no secret that soloists generally need longer to build up a consistent fan base.

Right now, everyone’s sitting in the cafeteria at Inkigayo. Most of them, including you, finished performing their stage for this week’s episode and are currently resting. While everyone sits with their respective group members, you sit beside Chungha whom you’ve befriended quite a while ago. It’s nice and comforting talking to her since she relates to your problems as a soloist to every extent.

The two of you are engrossed in a discourse about puppies when someone approaches your table. Mashiho, your labelmate as well as a member of the YG rookie group, smiles unsurely at you. You figure it costs him a lot of nerves to be standing in front of you judging by his red ears. A quick glance to the table where the rest of his members are sitting and indiscreetly following his every step is enough of an indication that he was probably forced into this.

“Uh, you haven’t eaten at all ever since recordings have started, so I thought I should give this to you,” he explains and tries to keep his voice as stable as possible. With that, he places a wrapped sandwich on the table and bows his head a little to show his respect.

“That’s–” your eyes flicker to the food and back to him “– very considerate of you, Mashiho. Thanks a lot.”

Taking this as his cue to leave, Mashiho bows down once more before he shuffles back to his table and earns a reaction from his bandmates.

You carelessly poke the sandwich a few times before you focus back on the conversation with Chungha. “So as I said before…”

Your voice dies down once you notice that she’s raising a brow at you.

“I thought you didn’t like the Inkigayo sandwiches?” she asks after a moment of silence.

“I don’t,” you respond, “but that boy was terrified and I didn’t want to break down the rejection to him.”

“You never talk to him! How should he know that? Plus, he’s your labelmate, so he’s bound to do things like this more often.”

“That's only the case if the main producer gets the idea again of letting two of his artists come back at the same time and release their records within the same week,” you deadpan before you push the sandwich towards her direction. “Here, you look like you could use some food and unlike me, you actually enjoy this monstrosity.”

The second time it happens, you break it down.

You didn’t mean it seriously when you said that YG would do it again, but he really came through with it. Surprisingly, your next comeback is slotted four months after the last one. Unfortunately, so is the rookie group.

You have nothing against the treasure box group, but it’s really frustrating seeing that you’re promoting at the same time again and are competing against big artists, again.

It’s not Monsta X, Twice and EXO this time. However, BTS and Sunmi aren’t easy to beat either. Surprisingly, Chungha is also on Inkigayo as the special MC alongside Byun Baekhyun.

During break time, you’re glued to each other in the cafeteria while your rookie labelmates are chatting enthusiastically with NCT and Baekhyun who decided to join them.

“You know, I heard from a little birdy that someone has a crush on you,” Chungha singsongs as you sip on your water.

“And who might that be?” you play along, fluttering your eyelashes in a playful manner.

“A certain Byun Baekhyun–”

You almost choke on your water.

“I honestly regret telling you who my celebrity crush is,” you mumble in a low tone and take a careful glance at your surroundings. However, nobody seemed to have noticed your sudden outburst.

“Hey, it’s not a bad thing!” Chungha retorts.

“Stop teasing me about this!”

“Okay, I admit I like to do that, but this time I’m not. I swear! Look, rumor has it that he’s actually a shy guy when it comes to asking somebody out–”

While Chungha is immersed in explaining herself, Junkyu walks up to you. You’re startled for a second when the rookie idol arrives at your table, but one glance on his hand holding the infamous sandwich is enough for you to tell where this is going.

“Junkyu, as much as I appreciate your thoughtfulness, I’d rather not have a sandwich right now. I don’t, uh, like the taste a lot,” you start before Junkyu gets the chance to say something.

The said boy opens his mouth several times but no sound escapes his lips. In the end, all he says is “Oh, I’m sorry, I wasn’t aware of that. I’ll keep that in mind.”

With that, he rushes back to his group. Chungha gives you the look that is equivalent to “are you serious?”

You just roll your eyes at her.

The third time it happens... it's a wild ride.

YG or whoever is in charge of scheduling your comebacks finally got a grip on themselves – probably after realizing that the stocks were dropping. For your next comeback, none of your competitors are from your label.

However, YG or whoever is in charge of scheduling your comebacks must love to set your comeback dates while monster groups are releasing their latest title track too. This time, you're running up against EXO. Again.

Oh boy.

Sadly, Chungha is neither promoting at the same time as you nor is she invited as a special MC for Inkigayo, meaning you’re all alone in the cafeteria. Sure, you could sit next to GFriend, but you’ve never really interacted with them before.

Ultimately, you decided to seclude yourself from everyone and sit by yourself. You're so concentrated on your phone that you fail to notice that someone occupies the seat in front of you until they clear their throat. You look up finding no one other than Byun Baekhyun sending you a polite smile.

Your brain stops working. This is a dream – this must be a dream. There's no other logical explanation for this scenario. Maybe you shouldn’t have insisted on sleeping only four hours a day.

However, you know that this is not an image in your brain, not a daydream, but a reality. Baekhyun is seriously sitting in front of you as you feel the heat rush up your cheeks and tint them red. The only somewhat cohesive words you can form are, “Uh, um, hi?”

Amused by your perplexed reaction, Baekhyun chuckles. “Hey,” he finally says and goes straight for the kill, “you look like you need something to eat. I got this for you.”

With that, he slides an Inkigayo sandwich towards you. You scrunch your nose at the sight of the three slices of bread and everything between in the wrapper.

“I mean, I’m flattered, I really am,” you start off slowly as you push the food back towards him, “but I don’t necessarily digest this really well.”

“Honestly, who does? It tastes like shit,” he deadpans and returns the sandwich to you.

“Chungha does,” you respond intuitively and send it back to him, “I don't know if you still remember her but she once had an MC segment with you.”

You may have a teeny tiny crush on him but you definitely haven’t reached the point of infatuation where you’d accept that disastrous food creation from him. For all you know, he might sit in front of you forever, waiting for you to eat that thing.

Baekhyun looks genuinely surprised for a second, but then he musters up an overly tense and exaggerated smile. “Oh well, she’s then the exception. But for real, take this sandwich.”

“I said it once and I’ll say it again; Thanks, but no thanks. I don’t want it.” you grit your teeth and return his overly tense smile with one too.

“Just take it!” he hisses.

“You said yourself it tastes like trash, so why should I accept this?”

“Because my number is in it, goddamnit!” he shouts and suddenly a few pairs of eyes are set on you two.

Not many have witnessed your bickering, but the ones that certainly have are Baekhyun’s bandmates who collectively have second-hand embarrassment written on their faces.

You furrow your brows. “What do you mean?”

Baekhyun looks at you as if you were a ghost until the realization hits him. “Wait,” he slowly starts, “you really don’t know?”

“What don’t I know?”

His jaw drops and you’re suddenly wondering if you’re really hallucinating. Seeing how clueless you still are, Baekhyun clears his throat and explains in a suddenly much quieter tone, as if the shyness took over him.

As it turns out to be, shyness and embarrassment really took over him judging by the incoherent words and stutters that emerge. “So, uh, the thing with the Inkigayo sandwiches are, uh– you know how nobody likes them?”

“I mean, we’ve already established that with the exception of Chungha, of course.”

“Y-yeah, of course. Of course, we already went through that. I’m a dumbass,” he laughs nervously before he continues. “Anyway, so, the only reason why people only take them is to slip their numbers into them and yeah…”

You put the pieces together and it suddenly dawns on you. 

“Oh.”

“And uh, I may have heard from a little bird that you like me? And uh, I kinda have a crush on you too? I’ve been crushing on you for several months, in fact?”

Not really believing what he just said, your eyes widen at him. But once Baekhyun sees your shocked stare, he desperately tries to take back his statement, “Okay, maybe I went ahead of myself assuming that you have developed a crush on me–”

“Is that why two of my rookie labelmates wanted to give me that sandwich?” you interrupt him, to which he nods subtly.

“Well, you were promoting at the same time and I thought it’d be weird if I suddenly came up to you. We never had any reason to talk to each other anyway. Besides, it’s way more natural if people from the same company do that.”

“And because they’re not active this time, you decided to take things into your own hands?” This is starting to get amusing, you figure. So, you grin at him playfully and silently chuckle at him as he's at the loss of words.

“Almost,” he confesses and rubs the back of his head. “I lost a bet with Sehun. He would’ve delivered this to you if I had won.”

“But you didn’t,” you point out.

“Yeah, I didn’t,” he repeats as if dazed. Judging by how distanced he looks, he’s probably reliving the bet he had going on with Sehun. Whatever it was, it certainly didn’t look too bright and you don’t think it’d be appropriate to pry.

“But hey, I’m glad you came over,” you mumble and hope he didn’t catch your words. However, you’re proven wrong as Baekhyun snaps out of his daydream and stares at you in disbelief.

“Wait, so what Chungha said is actually true? That you’re– you know, on me–?” he asks.

“She what? Wow, so much to her promise of keeping it a secret,” you deadpan and take the mental note to strangle her someday. Then you add, “But yeah, it’s true.”

Baekhyun, still not seeming to understand the situation at hand, looks at you incredulously. As if a tiny flame of hope ignited in his mind, he suggestively shoves the sandwich right back at you with a soft smile planted on his face.

“I take it that you might give me a call?”

“Possibly,” you reply as you peel the wrapper off. For now, you ignore the foul stench of the sandwich as well as the slight blush on your cheeks.

That’s a lie. You’re definitely giving him a call.

[the-nazario-chug]

The Shallow

Author's Note: Hope you guys enjoy this! I've been wanting to make a Raleigh fic forever lol I'm actually really proud how this turned out, which does not happen often.

Summary: Leraine Young, AKA Raine, has returned to the Madison Square Garden. This time not as the opening act, but the act. However, her notorious fake-ex crashes the party (in the best way).

Pairing: Raleigh Carrera (M) x MC (Leraine Young)

Word Count: +2,100

Disclaimer: Pixelberry owns Platinum and Raleigh Carrera. A Star Is Born and all the rights belong to Warner Bros. Pictures.

The energy of the concert hall is on fire. When a crowd of twenty thousand people is stomping their feet and chanting her name like she just won the world series, it's hard not to get nervous. And excited. Also nauseous.

With that in mind, she should try not to puke on stage in front of thousands of her fans, a jumbo-tron, and just about the entirety of the American press.

So no pressure, as usual.

Raine! Raine! Raine! Raine!

Needless to say Zadie and her team had gone all out for this show. Raine is all dolled up in a gorgeous purple and blue gradient leotard, covered in sparkling rhinestones and flashy tassels, complemented with rhinestone fringe ankle-boots. Her black wavy hair dyed with a dark red ombre and her makeup neutral with a dark lip (though with a sprinkling of blue eye-shadow glitter). She's clutching Raleigh's guitar which he had given to her the day they met, something she now considers her good-luck charm when the man himself isn't present. (it also goes well with her outfit, which is a plus.)

Speaking of her handsome as sin, totally not fake ex-boyfriend, he did say he'd be here to send her off tonight. Raine's seen hide nor hair of him, but she didn't want to take it personally. If he’s busy she knew they could meet up later and celebrate. Unfortunately, it is a sacrifice commonly made in their line of work, so they both tried their damnedest to not let it get between them.

As Raine tries to sneak a peek through the curtains, she feels a tap on her shoulder and turns (definitely hoping for it to be Raleigh) to see Fiona grinning at her. Looking suspiciously like the cat that just caught the canary.

"There's been a change of plans. Open with your rendition of 'Shallow' from A Star Is Born. It'll be our little announcement for your cameo in the movie."

This is a little odd, it wasn't often Fiona changed plans last minute. It didn't really make sense how eager her manager looked either as she was hardly easy to please.

It also happened that song was supposed to be a duet.

Though as the cheers rose to a roar, the thought was swept from Raine's mind. It wasn't so unusual to go solo for a duet, and she has a long performance to ready herself for. So, she takes deep breaths as Fiona gives her a thumbs up and hurries off to the wings.

Despite the cacophony out on the stage, Raine can still hear the echo of her heels beat in sync with her thumping heart. And when she grins wide and gives a cheery wave, they become even louder than she thought possible. Raine laughs in delight.

The lights blare down and she can hardly see a face in the stadium.

"What's up MSG! How are we feeling tonight?" Raine yelled into her microphone as she yanked it from the stand, and turned it to the screams from the audience.

"I'm thrilled to be here for all of you. I know you're as hyped as I am for the new movie 'A Star Is Born' coming out this fall. So tonight I'm happy to start off with the premiere hit 'Shallow' as the cherry on the cake! I hope you all enjoy!"

In the excitement, Raine adjusts her guitar and readies herself to strum the melody. A lilting acoustic intro filters through the speakers.

Only thing is, Raine hadn't started playing yet.

Her chest constricts as the cheers rise again in intensity. In the din, Raine can hear footsteps against the floor of the stage, and when she turns she can't hide the way her jaw drops.

"Tell me somethin' girl,"

Raleigh is sauntering towards her, all bow-legged swagger and strumming his own guitar. He doesn't even bother to keep that cocky smirk off his face 'cause he knows he got her good.

"Are you happy in this modern world? 

Or do you need more?"

Looking up at her through his lashes, eyes bright and his hair tousled to perfection. He's wearing a tank top with a suspiciously familiar rhinestone design and how dare you level tight denim jeans. Suddenly her heart is racing for an entirely different reason than just the thrill of performing. This had been planned since the start and she was none the wiser. Last minute change of plans, her ass.

Raine decides not to bother getting lost in all the details though. Any surprise that includes her man serenading her while looking fine as hell, she isn't going to complain about.

"Is there somethin' else you're searchin' for? 

I'm fallin'"

He was close now, real close. The soft timbre of his voice rolling over her in waves, tempting Raine to close her eyes and appreciate the soothing tones. The only thing stopping her is Raleigh's eyes, piercing hers with an intense honesty and longing she had only recently gotten to see in earnest. A gaze she was starting to adore. Her own stare, meanwhile, wanders down to his arms that are looking too good in that top, the muscles tensing with a light sheen of sweat reflected from the packed stadium and lights. She'd be embarrassed from her ogling, if his survey of her in return wasn't as shameless.

And as sure as Raine is that they are not supposed to be seen together like this in public, she should have guessed that Raleigh would be this ostentatious while breaking that rule.

"In all the good times I find myself longin',

For change,

And in the bad times I fear myself."

While Raleigh continued plucking the instrumental, Raine finally registered some fans talking in her periphery.

"Oh my god, didn't they break up?"

"He's trying to win her over! That's so romantic!"

"They still look so good together, are they gonna start dating again?"

Taking another breath in, Raine knows her part was coming up. So she gives into her temptation and takes a step closer to him. Close enough that she can feel the heat of his breath against her cheek. She raises the mic between them.

"Tell me somethin' boy,

Are you tired of tryin' to fill that void?

Or do you need more?

Ain't it hard keepin' it so hardcore?"

Filling the space between them with her voice, she thought about how fitting this is for them. Though she didn't doubt it was intentional. Now she understood why Fiona would have this change of heart, allowing them to be seen like this. It was as dramatic as their faux break-up for sure. Generating hype for her upcoming cameo and therefore, her royalties.

But Raine didn't care about that. All she cares about is the man in front of her. The spotlight is shining a halo around his perfect-messy hair, and she finds herself wanting to run her fingers through it. For a brief moment, she wonders if her urge would give their game away somehow. (Not that she already had with that lean in.)

Screw it. Raleigh can surprise Raine at her own concert, she's allowed to have some surprises up her rhinestone encrusted sleeves too.

"I'm fallin'," As Raine continues the chorus, she reaches up strokes her free hand through his dark locks. She holds in her own giddiness while Raine swears she can hear squeals erupt from the crowd, but Raleigh is all she wants to keep her attention on. A surge of satisfaction and affection grows in her chest when she sees the shivers that course through him, and how his eyelids flutter in pleasure. The almost inaudible rumble from Raleigh's chest that she can feel from their short distance apart. Pride that she's the one who can do this to him.

"In all the good times I find myself lo-ongin'

For change," Her hand drifts from his hair to his ear, and cheek. Restraining a shiver of her own as her thumb rubs the stubble along his jawline, then glides to his mouth and grazes his bottom lip. Raleigh's eyes are dark and the electricity of the connection between them sparks with vigor. God, she wants to kiss this man already.

All good things to those who wait, she decides, especially when Raleigh Carrera is concerned.

"And in the bad times, I fear myself-"

Her voice echoes throughout the Garden, and as Raine reaches up again to brush a stray lock of hair from his brow, it feels like they're the only two in the world. In the silence of thousands holding their breath, and the air crackling with unspoken tension, she's never felt so connected to a single person.

In that moment they both grin, their hearts zinging with that knowledge. Raine tilts her head back slightly and serenades the hell out of her beau. When her belting voice reverberates, the tension cracks and their fans cheer unabashed again.

"I'm off the deep end, watch as I dive in

I'll never meet the ground!

Crash the surface, where they can't hurt us, we're far from the shallow now."

High off the thrill of the stage, and each other, Raine and Raleigh lean closer and sing together. Practically nose to nose, Raine can hear the cheeky intrusive thought in the back of her mind that he is so it for her, now.

"We're far from the shallow now…"

As the crowd's cheers reach their peak again, they both stay in each others space. For a second it feels like they're in their own little bubble again, like no one could hear them.

Until Raleigh mutters something that is very much heard by everyone.

"Be my girl, Leraine."

Raine's eyes dart to his, to find him already looking up at her with a soft smile.

"Raleigh… ?" Right now that's all she can squeak out, she knows he's aware how close the mic is to their faces. And their audience is almost unnervingly silent. Raine supposed some part of her knew they'd get back together in public after the concert but she wasn't expecting it to be so quick.

He smiles patiently, and steps back before going down on one knee. Thousands of voices gasp and mutter amongst themselves. But Raleigh's only looking at her.

"I know I messed up big time, and I didn't realize it until it was too late. I never meant to hurt you. And I never expected how much that would hurt me. 'Cause you make me want something real, Leraine. You make me want to be real. What's between us is like nothing I've ever known before, and I was an idiot for not seeing that sooner. Do you wanna give this another chance?" Raleigh's voice is soft but sure, like he's been waiting to let all of that out forever.

Some of it is for show, Raine isn't naive enough to think otherwise. So no one suspects their first go around was fake. But what Raine does know is his feelings are real and just for her. What the public knew didn't matter as long as she had Raleigh Carrera in her life.

Pulse hammering, Raine smiles and whispers into the world.

"Yeah, I'd honestly love that."

Raleigh grins and surges up to meet her, and all of the sudden he's holding and kissing her finally without anymore waiting necessary. And all she can think is woah. Their guitars and the microphone who knows where now. Hopefully not smashed on the ground.

Still, she doesn't regret what just happened in the slightest.

In the elated screaming around them, Raleigh mutters against her lips, "I'm totally gonna spin you."

"What? You are not-!"

He's got that shit eating grin on that she knows means, I've got a great idea everyone else knows is bad but none of you can stop me.

"Yup, I'm doing it. This is happening."

"Raleigh, no it's-!! Auh!"

Even with her protests, she's still laughing when Raleigh lifts her by her thighs and spins her on the stage. Much to the delight of everyone in attendance.

When they're both out of breath and Raleigh's put her back in his arms, the words he whispers in her ear Raine knows are meant for her alone.

"I'm glad I've got you keeping me honest, love."

Lights flash around them as he keeps holding her close, no doubt the paparazzi and fans alike capturing every moment. And just like the song from their impromptu duet Raine can see with clarity how crazy her life has now become. How deep they both are in this sea of stardom.

Well, so long as Raleigh’s there with her, she can’t bring herself to mind.

[chid-sen-gan-blog]

My Reaction to GoT 8.04 (”The Last of the Starks”)

Hello, everyone! So, I’m back once again for another recap/review of the latest GoT epsiode. I’m sorry this took so long, but I spent most of my week in a deep depression over it, so I only got around to editing it now…

Anyway, this review is as much of an emotional roller coaster as the actual episode was, so read at your own risk. 

Once again, these are my thoughts from my first time viewing it (I read the leaks prior to seeing the episode, but I took them with a grain of salt, so everything written is based purely on my own emotions), and, once again, it features running commentary from my Dad and Brother because I love them and they’re amazing.

WARNING: Spoilers for the episode, if you haven’t seen it yet. Though considering how late I’m posting this, the warning may be irrelevant

WARNING #2: Please excuse my emotional state throughout. This show is designed to break me in many, many ways

Thanks you to everyone who supported the first three installments! I hope you enjoy the fourth!

Considering there are only two episodes left in the series (not counting this one), I think it’s kind of pointless for me to say that I’m still not used to the opening credits. If they haven’t grown on me yet, then they’re not going to in time for the finale

Every time I see D&D’s names at the start of an episode, I die a little inside

YES!!! I CAN SEE ACTUALLY SEE THIS EPISODE!!! (#still salty about squinting in 8x3)

Ugh. Dany. On second thought, I’ll take the poor lighting back. Please? Thank you

Aww, Sansa giving Theon her Stark pin. *tears up*

*quickly wipes tears away* Nope, not now, I’m saving my crying for later

I really hope that I’m not going to have to bring out the tissues for this episode even though all the leaks are pointing to it

Yikes. That’s… a lot of bodies

And just think of how many of them could still be alive if the dragons had just lit some ice zombies up instead of getting lost in a snowstorm

Or if the Dothraki hadn’t charged right into the Army of the Dead when they could hardly see where they were going

Then again none of us could really see anything with last episode’s lighting, so…

#still salty about squinting

Noooooo! Ghost!!! My poor baby’s covered in wounds!!!

“Alright, which of those undead creeps beat Ghost up that badly?! Because I will kill them all over again!” – My Wonderful Dad

“By the looks of it, he did a lot more fighting than the dragons. Point: Team Direwolves.” – My Wonderful Brother

Once again, just when I think Jon can’t look any more tired, he raises the bar

(at this point he could probably list “being tired” as one of his skills on his resume)

So, with this lighting, I can finally find out who survived. Okay, so let’s see… Jaime, Brienne, Davos, Gendry, the Hound…

Good speech, Jon. I’m surprised Dany let you take the reigns and make it

The score is fantastic once again. I can’t express how happy it makes me that Ramin Djawadi always brings his A-Game

(even when certain members of the crew don’t seem to *cough D&D cough*…)

Okay, this scene is really touching, I admit

Though I’m honestly a little confused why we still have to burn the bodies with the White Walkers gone, but, oh, well…

Oooh, a feast. Nice. I’ll stick to my potato chips and gummy bears, though

Gendrya’s canon and I’m glad

I wonder who curses more: the Hound or Bronn?

Oh, shoot. Dany, no. No, don’t call to Gendry…

NO!!! WHO TOLD THE WHITE-HAIRED DEMON THAT HE WAS ROBERT’S SON?! WAS IT YOU, DAVOS?! IT WAS YOU, WASN’T IT?! YOU AND YOUR OBSESSION WITH HER “GOOD HEART”!!!

I SWEAR TO EVERY DIREWOLF THAT’S GONE BEFORE GHOST THAT IF YOU LAY A HAND ON GENDRY I WILL TWIST YOUR DOUGH HAIR INTO A NOOSE, DANY!!!

Anyone else think it’s rather telling how everyone looks absolutely terrified when Dany’s speaking to Gendry?

“If Gendry dies, I will riot.” – My Wonderful Brother

Wait… Dany legitimized him?

No, there has to be something more to this. Dany never does things unless it’s for her own benefit…

Aaaaand there it is. Typical. Figured it was some ulterior motive

(my Dany bitterness is seriously at an all-time high tonight, and I’m not quite sure why)

Jon smiles more around a kid he barely knows (Gendry) than he does with Dany. And that’s the tea

“Sure, Dany, you just told everyone in this room now that Gendry has a claim to the Iron Throne that supersedes yours, but, yeah, you’re soooo clever.” – My Wonderful Brother

Even Tyrion looks done with her at this point. ‘Took him long enough

Jaime putting his hand on Brienne’s reminds me of a similar scene with them from S3, E6 (“The Climb”). *sighs* Ah, the early seasons. Those were good days…

Aww, the way they look at each other. *heart melts*

I’ve never been much for shipping, but when it comes to Jaime and Brienne, I’m shipping trash. And I’m proud

“JUST KISS ALREADY, YOU TWO!!!” – My Wonderful Dad (edit: apparently, I’m not the only one who’s shipping trash)

“Just nudge Brienne a little closer to him, Pod. Just enough for their lips to meet.” – My Wonderful Brother (edit: my whole family is shipping trash, and I couldn’t be happier about it)

Ah, Davos, Tyrion. Discussing Melisandre, are we? Pour one out for her on my behalf, would you? I owe her for lighting things up last episode

#still salty about squinting

Good question… what does R’Hollor want? Not that I expect D&D to explain it, but still…

Bran’s still a robot. Wonderful

Please tell me he has some purpose in this show other than creeping out his family and their guests

You know how you have that one friend that just won’t take no for an answer and tries to talk you into all the worst things and then acts like they’re doing you a favor? Yeah, that’s Tormund

Aw, Sansa encouraging Jon is everything. Even if it’s encouraging him to drink

Tormund, why would you toast to Dany? Why would you hurt me like that? Is it because I ship Braime? I always said Briemund was fine, too!

(though some Briemund stans that I’ve met… less so)

Dany toasting to Arya. Wow, it certainly looks like someone read their kiss-up handbook, doesn’t it?

“That woman is saccharine, spice, and nothing nice.” – My Wonderful Brother

The Hound barely acknowledges when Gendry’s named a lord, but is visibly amused when Arya’s mentioned. Oh, Sandor, you softie…

Seriously, though, the fact that we have Northmen, Free Folk, Southerners, Starks, Lannisters, and Varys (from Essos) all together in one room is amazing. And beyond that, they’re happy; they’re not fighting, they’re not trying to kill one another – they’re celebrating. Together. It’s actually making me tear up a bit

Well, we were all happy until Sansa saw Dany and left

I can’t blame her there, though. Wanting to book the moment you lay eyes on Dany is a personal mood of mine

Okay, confession time: I really want to play the drinking game one of these days with my family (though I’ll substitute the wine with something non-alcoholic)

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: I adore Lannisbros, and I always will

Like, Tyrion’s charm has been lost on me since S5, but whenever he’s with Jaime, I can’t help but fall in love with him all over again.

And whenever Jaime’s around Tyrion, it always brings out a sweeter, softer side of his personality that we don’t normally get to see, and I live for it

Honestly, I can’t credit Peter and Nikolaj’s performances enough

Honestly, I can’t credit the entire cast’s enough

(especially in this season where the acting is pretty much the only thing worth watching for)

(well, the acting and the score)

“I can’t believe Jaime’s seriously using the drinking game as a way to show Brienne he remembers what she tells him.” – My Wonderful Brother, with a mile-wide smirk on his face

“The guy’s such a dork. I love it.” – My Wonderful Dad, smiling like the proud papa he is

I honestly can’t help but laugh at how Pod seems to be enjoying this as much I am

Okay, drunk Tormund’s funny. I admit

Tormund really seems to be intent on making Jonmund canon, I’m just saying

Awww, how I’ve missed Jon’s smile

… is that a Starbucks coffee cup?

Is that why they had such poor lighting in the last episode? To cover up coffee cup cameos?

#still salty about squinting

*opts to ignore it for now*

“A madman? Or a king?” Very telling words, Tormund. Very telling, indeed

And as if to confirm it, the score gets sinister, the noises muffle, and Dany starts to get… uncomfortable, for lack of a better term

Kudos to the cast and crew on this scene; it’s chilling my bones more than anything in the last episode did

Varys sees. Varys knows. And what Varys sees, Varys doesn’t like. Trust Varys

Back to the drinking game, and my children are still acting as dorky as ever

So, I’m curious. How did Tyrion and Sansa’s marriage get annulled, exactly?

*Jaime smiles at Brienne* // *Brienne smiles back at Jaime* // *my heart stops*

Woooooah. Tyrion, too far. Too far!

Pod grabbing a drink and downing it uncomfortably is me right now

And Jaime trying to cut Tyrion out is my wonderful Brother, who’s saying “stop” in the most warning of tones

And Tormund to the… rescue, I guess?

Tormund’s joke didn’t make me laugh, but Jaime rolling his eyes at Tormund’s joke sure did…

… while Jaime blocking Tormund’s path when the latter tried to follow Brienne only added more mirth to my mood

Tormund’s expression of rejection and anguish is the same one I wear whenever Dany’s being lauded onscreen

Yep. Drink up, buddy. You did your best

Pod’s smile gives me life. That is all

Me: *sees Tormund talking to the Hound about his heartbreak* // Me: *spits out soda two seconds later*

(And now I want to write a fic where the Hound’s a psychologist. Someone help me)

“No, really… could he have picked a worse person to talk to about his feelings?” – My Wonderful Dad

It took Tormund approximately two minutes to get over Brienne. … yikes

So… to everyone who said his feelings for Brienne were simply lust, I just want to apologize for ever doubting you. *shakes head* Really, Tormund, I had more faith in you

Oooh, Sansa and the Hound. This should be interesting. I don’t ship SanSan in the slightest, but I always did like their dynamic

“Broken in rough”? Really? *sighs and rolls eyes* That’s an understatement if I’ve ever heard one

Okay, so just to be clear, the show basically just said that it’s a good thing that Sansa was abused all those years, ergo implying that – on some level – someone who’s been abused should be grateful to their abusers. *flings confetti listlessly* Quality writing, everyone. From the minds of D&D

“With sentiments like that, it baffles me how there hasn’t been a petition to fire D&D yet.” – My Wonderful Dad; a man who gets it, who I will forever love and forever stan

Ugh. Well, that scene was a train wreck. Time to try and get back on course

(sadly, that’s become my motto for most of these episodes recently)

Oh, good. Gendrya. Save me, Gendrya

And of-fricking-course she’s in BAMF Arya mode. Because when is she not anymore? *groans in annoyance*

Honestly, why do writers feel compelled to turn every single female warrior into variations of smug ninjas? I mean, is it too much to ask for a powerful woman who’s both in-tune with their emotions and a fighter?

(on a side note, that’s why I love Brienne; because she’s both)

I have unpopular opinions. I’m sorry

Gendry… Rivers. Rivers? Seriously?

His surname is WATERS. Every fanfic writer worth their salt knows that

“Please tell me Joe Dempsie accidentally got the line wrong and that D&D didn’t actually write the wrong surname into the script.” – My Wonderful Brother

“To echo what you told me last week, you’re asking for waaay too much.” – My Wonderful Dad

Anyway, let’s try to get back on track, shall we?

Tip #1 for using a fork, Gendry: Stick ‘em with the pointy end

This has to be the dorkiest proposal of all time, and I love it

… yeah, I knew she was going to reject him. But, hey, the score’s still pretty

*heartbreak level: 1000*

Ah, Brienne, I missed you… even though it’s only been a few minutes since I last saw you, but I digress

So, moment of truth: I’m in love with Oathkeeper, Brienne’s sword. Like, unnaturally so. I would fricking marry that sword, and regret absolutely nothing

*instantly loses all followers because I’m crazy*

Ah, Jaime, I missed you, too… even though, again, it’s only been a few minutes

Okay, series, so Jaime shows up at Brienne’s door significantly more disheveled and drunk than he was earlier, and you just expect me not to question how he came to be that way? Nice try, HBO. I know you have footage of him pacing and drinking in the hallway like a nervous wreck until he finally mustered the courage to knock. Release it

………… Yep, nothing like casually taking off your clothing with a lame excuse like “it’s hot in here” to set the mood. Sheesh, Jaime. You’re so awkward you’re making me cry

(on the other hand, to everyone who told me he’d be suave-as-suave can be when trying to flirt… I win. Prepare to part with your money)

Even when these two are going back-and-forth in flirtations, they’re still arguing like an old married couple. I love it

Hey, Mr. I-Hate-the-North? Yeah, sorry to be the breaker of bad news, but you’ve hardly stopped smiling since you got here. So, don’t give me that

Don’t know why, but Jaime admitting he doesn’t want things growing on him kind of breaks my heart…

… As does Brienne seeming surprised that Jaime sounds jealous of Tormund. Seriously, these idiots are going to kill me

And again with the “hot in here” excuse. Really, Jaime needs to get some flirting tips from Tyrion

These. Two. Dorks. That is all

Like, Jaime has no chill, and no idea what he’s doing despite being the, erm, “experienced one”. And Brienne is so rough-around-the-edges but so fricking gentle, too, I just… ah! These two will be the death of me, seriously…

On another note, I’ve been paying so much attention to how adorkable these two are that my mind didn’t register what was actually happening until right now and………… *screams and squeals like a group of pigs*

“OH MY GOSH, IT’S HAPPENING!!! STAY CALM!!! STAY FRICKING CALM!!!” – Me to Me, clearly not heeding my own advice

*meltdown intensifies*

(*briefly notices that D&D didn’t give Brienne her scars from fighting a bear but opts to ignore it for now*)

*meltdown seriously intensifies because, aside from Jygritte/Jongritte, this is my fricking OTP and I’m going to enjoy it, because, dang it, I’ve earned it after S7… and the last episode*

(#still salty about squinting)

Brienne looks so darn majestic and Jaime looks like a lost little puppy and I just… Really, it’d be sort of hilarious if it weren’t so cute

AND THERE’S THE KISS!!!!!!! FINALLY!!!!! I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS SINCE SEASON 3!!!!!!!

(random note, but I love how it’s sloppy and awkward. It’s believable, and it’s sweet, imo)

“WELL IT’S ABOUT DARN TIME!!!!” – My Wonderful Dad, who just jumped out of his seat to cheer

“NEVER STOP!!! NEVER. FRICKING. STOP!!!” – My Wonderful Brother, who’s also abandoned his seat to cheer

I love them so much. Bless them

I love everything right now, honestly

OH COME ON, SERIOUSLY?! NOT NOW, DANY!!! NOT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!

My Wonderful Dad: *turns the tv on pause* “Nice try, Dany, but we’re celebrating first!”

Which is why I’m now typing away while eating a giant ice cream sundae made by my wonderful Dad, bingeing on excess candy, and drinking a liter of pineapple soda as both he and my wonderful Brother dance around to “The Bear and the Maiden Fair” blasting on the laptop

Can you believe we’re all completely sober? Because we are, we’re just nuts

I really adore my family

*twenty minutes later*

“Okay, party’s over. Time to suffer through Dany.” – My Wonderful Dad

“Daddy, the party will never be over. Even if Dany is present.” – My Wonderful Brother (huh, and I always thought he was a cynic)

Dany: “Are you drunk?” // Jon: *stumbles in response* // Dany: Oh, good, time to manipulate you

Honestly, this woman reminds me of Cersei more and more every time I see her, but with none of the charm

Ewww. No. Stop kissing. Stop kissing this instant

Oh, thank goodness

(can’t believe my OTP’s scene got cut off for my NOTP’s scene. Yes, I’m petty. Sue me)

Oh, brother. She’s really complaining about how she’s not happy? Like: Yes, Jon, your entire life was a lie, but let’s make it all about me, shall we? Give me a break

I mean, okay, you’re upset. That’s fine. But how about adding an “I can’t imagine how you must feel” or “it must be even worse for you” to the end of your sentence to at least show you care? That’s just relationship 101, honey

Sheesh. And I thought I was self-centered

So, does anyone else notice that Kit is acting oddly akin to how he did in that scene with Jon and Littlefinger? The little sighs and the head motion and all? Or is it just me?

“Kit’s kind of acting like he did in that scene with Jon and Littlefinger in the crypts.” – My Wonderful Brother, confirming my thoughts

Well, congratulations, Dany. Now you know how Viserys felt in S1. Don’t think that’s a good thing, though…

Ugh. Okay, so Jon and his whole “you’re my queen” schtick is annoying as all heck, but I can’t deny that it’s pulling at my heartstrings. Whether political!Jon is real or not (and I’m sure by the time I post this, so many of my wonderful mutual will have made new posts explaining how it is), the sheer desperation in the guy’s voice is horrible. It’s not the voice of a man in love, or a man who would do anything for his SO. It’s the voice of a man who’s terrified, who’s trying to do everything in his power to keep the peace, who would do anything to keep the people he truly loves safe. And – political!Jon or not – to see someone who we’ve known and watched grow since the start of the series be broken down to such a pitiful extent is heartbreaking

I mean, the guy’s on his knees claiming that he doesn’t know what else she wants from him, and, instead of comforting him or trying to work things through with him, she takes his face in her hands and tries to swear him to secrecy? To swear his “brother” and his best friend to secrecy? How can anyone ship this?! How?!

And to top it off,  her telling him to never tell anyone who he really is has to hit hard even on a personal level, too; given that his greatest insecurity in life has always been finding out who he really is, and if there’s anywhere where he really belongs. But, then again, I wouldn’t expect Day to know that, considering the guy never reveals anything personal about himself to her! But, no, they’re sooooooo in love. How adorbs uwu

No, Jon, don’t just tell Sansa and Arya. Pick them up and run away with them. Take Bran, too. Take all the redeemable characters and hightail it out of this terrible relationship and show and never look back

(it would be so ideal, if not for the fact that there must there always be a Stark in Winterfell)

Oh, nice victim-blaming there, Dany. You’re right, though. Sansa’s not the girl Jon grew up with. She’s better

Funny how Dany’s tears magically disappear the moment she thinks she’s getting what she wants

Wow, would you look at that. Dany trying to cut Jon off from his family, and giving him the “me or them” ultimatum. It’s a beautiful parallel to other such great moments, such as Balon telling Theon to choose between the Starks and the Greyjoys in S2, Cersei telling Jaime to choose her and Tywin over Tyrion in S4, and Joffrey forcing Sansa to pick sides between him and her family pretty much throughout the entireties of seasons 1 and 2. I mean, can anyone say life goals?

“So… where am I supposed to call if someone fictional I love is trapped in an abusive relationship?” – My Wonderful Dad

On a happier note, my OTP is together. I’m happy

(and maybe I’m wearing my shipping goggles, but Jaime looks like a man who just realized that he’s in love. Fight me)

Now why D&D won’t give me more of them, I’ll never know. Oh, wait… it’s because they hate their fans

Aaaaaand… this might be the tensest war council ever. How will Jon try to keep the peace this time?

Anyone ever notice that people tend to handle Dany like they did Joffrey – which is to say, like you would a petulant child?

And on today’s episode of “Let’s Just Listen to Sansa”, Sansa says something sensible and everyone ignores her… again

Okay, so I can already hear everyone calling for Jon’s head for apparently snapping at Sansa, but just from a different perspective, the look he gave her seems less like someone who’s taking sides, and more like someone trying to keep their family member out of trouble, imo. In fact, it resembles the look my wonderful Brother gives me whenever I get carried away with my big mouth (which is often)

Sansa knows, Brienne. That is all

Yes, Dany. Go get the throne already. But when Cersei kicks your lizard butt, don’t say Sansa didn’t tell you so

Finally! All the Starks together!!! (and, yes, until Jon starts saying “burn them all”, I will continue to view him as a Stark, thank you very much)

And on today’s episode of “Jon Tries to Keep the Peace”, Jon has to realize that he doesn’t need to shoulder everything on his own

Yeah… no offense, Arya, but I don’t really think we needed Dany and her scaly babies all that much. They were pretty much useless in the fight. At least from what I could see…

#still salty about squinting

Oh, boy. Arya saying Dany’s not one of us. I can already hear the D stans screaming how she’s pocket-sized assassin Donald Trump

Awww, Sansa coming to Jon’s emotional aide and assuring him he’s Ned’s child as much as the rest of them are

Awww, Arya coming to Jon’s emotional aide and telling him he’s her brother – just her brother, nothing less

“Darn it, kids! Just hug it out! Hug!!!” – My Wonderful Dad

This is seriously tearing Jon apart inside, and Kit is nailing it with his acting

Yes, you are family. Never forget that *tears up*

So, I kind of wanted Sansa and Arya’s reaction to the news, but since I don’t trust D&D to effectively  write such a powerful scene, I’m okay that we didn’t get it

(fanfic writers, on the other hand – please, work your magic)

I want a spin-off series with Jaime and Tyrion hanging out. I said what I said

Jaime being an awkward dork in love is my aesthetic. Again, I said what I said

It’s probably just me, but the fact that Jaime didn’t fully loosen up with Tyrion until the latter said something snide kind of pulls at my heartstrings. Like, he was fully expecting to get mocked – he was fricking waiting for it, almost – and that look of disbelief when Tyrion said he was happy for him… I just… *curls in a corner and cries*

Can I please just give everyone in Westeros a hug. Please? The Starks (Jon included), the Lannisbros… heck, I’ll even hug Cersei and Dany, why not?

(I’ll hug them with less gusto, though…)

Bless the acting on the show and its actors, who help me forget how much I absolutely detest the writers

And Ramin Djawadi. Bless him, too

And his score

*sighs* Oh, Tyrion. Leave it to you to turn a nice, normal conversation into something dirty

Wait……… what the heck is Bronn doing here? How did he get here? Where did he come from?

Judging by how the Lannisbros are reacting, apparently, I’m not the only one confused

“Great. Now Bronn’s a ninja, too.” – My Wonderful Brother

“I still stand by what I once said: Bronn should’ve been written off in “The Spoils of War”.” – My Wonderful Dad

Tyrion gets punched in the face. Jaime immediately gets to his feet for a fight. As it should be, and I love it

So… remember how I asked who curses more between the Hound and Bronn? I think it’s Bronn, going by this conversation

Bronn: Cersei’s screwed // Jaime: *message checked and read at 9:58pm*

A.k.a. my boy doesn’t care and I’m living for it

Hey, Bronn… kindly refrain from shooting arrows at my problematic child’s head. Thank you

Yep, this is definitely a D&D episode. Even if I didn’t look at the opening credits, I could’ve figured it out. Want to know why? The abundance of manhood jokes

So, what I’m getting is that Bronn basically just came by to see if his ship was confirmed and to negotiate for a castle. Sounds legit

Arya accompanying the Hound on his journey was Beric’s last wish, so that she may continue their legacy of buddy-cop movies

(or, at least, that’s what I’m telling myself to overlook the fact that Arya heading off to tick names off her kill list is a huge step backwards for her character)

Yeah, Dany, stop smiling. Rhaegal still has holes in his wings. If you really loved your “child”, you would let him recover completely before dragging him into a war

Wow, Sansa is really ticked. Like, really, really ticked. I’m expecting some very interesting metas on the subject…

Yes, Tyrion, you’re afraid of Dany. Admit it. There’s no shame in it – I’d be afraid of her too, if I knew she sucked everyone’s purpose and personality out of them just by interacting with them

(which I do, so I guess I’m scared of her, too)

Alright, so I can already hear the Dany stans bashing Sansa for “betraying Jon’s trust”, but she promised not to tell if Jon told her. Bran told her, so therefore, loophole

Also, she’s doing it to protect Jon. A nice little foil to how Dany tried to make Jon keep the secret earlier, knowing full well it would hurt him

And got to love how Sansa adds “someone better” to the end of her statement. She believes in Jon, and not just when it comes to drinking

*sighs* It feels like all the Starklings are leaving, and it saddens me

“When Jon Snow cares more about Rhaegal’s well-being than Dany does, take warning.” – My Wonderful Brother

Tormund: *makes quip about Jon’s weight* // My Wonderful Dad: “You know, now that he mentions it, the guy could stand to eat more. Matter of fact, so could Jaime. And Bran. They all need to go see Hot Pie, stat. Seriously, doesn’t anyone feed these guys?”

“Not since Dany burnt the wagons of food, apparently.” – Me

“And now part of me wants to ship supplies to Westeros.” – My Wonderful Dad, making a joke that I laughed way too much at

Cue my wonderful Brother and I sharing a smile over how protective our wonderful Dad is of his fictional grandchildren

Awwwww… Ghost. My poor baby

Yep, Tormund’s still trying to make Jonmund happen

Jon instinctively knowing Gilly’s pregnant brings me so much joy, for some reason

On another note… GILLY’S PREGNANT! SAM’S GOING TO BE A DAD!

(shout-out to @cantfightfatetoo, who speculated with me. You’re amazing!!!)

Aw!!! Baby Jon and Little Sam!!! My heart…

“I hope it’s a girl”. Yet again, another arrow through my heart – but this one not as joyous. Jon just comes off as so broken down in this episode, I can’t help but feel badly for him . It feels like I’m watching someone trapped in a toxic relationship while the rest of the world keeps moving on around him. It just feels like he’s at his lowest point, imo… even lower than when he came back to life. And that’s just sad

Good thing he still gets the best hugs, though

“WHAT?! REALLY, JON?! YOU’RE JUST GOING TO LEAVE GHOST LIKE THAT?! REALLY?!” – My Wonderful Brother

“TAKE HIM! HE’S WORTH MORE THAN ANY DOOFY DRAGON!!! JUST TAKE THE GOODEST BOY IN ALL OF WESTEROS!!!” – My Wonderful Dad

Okay, so a part of me wants to believe that if Jon did properly say good-bye to Ghost, he’d never again muster the strength to leave Winterfell and his family. Another part of me is really ticked. And another part of me still is annoyed at the fact that this was all to cut down on the CGI budget, most likely… even though it was totally fine to spend the cash on that dragon-riding scene from episode 1

*sighs* ANYWAY…

On the less depressing side, it’s sort of like Jon left his past behind to figure out his future. Ghost, Sam and Gilly, Tormund… they’re all physical manifestations of who he was, and he has to come to terms with who he is, so……….

Nah, frick it. YOU SHOULD’VE SAID GOOD-BYE TO GHOST!!! DARN IT, D&D, LET THE MAN SAY GOOD-BYE TO HIS DIREWOLF!!! LET HIM!!!

#JUSTICE FOR GHOST

*ten minutes later*

So… I’ve calmed down. Now, where were we?

Grey Worm smiled. That definitely means something bad is going to happen

Oh, dear. Tyrion told Varys. Welp, there goes that secret. Good

No, Tyrion. Everything that happened didn’t happen because Lyanna didn’t love Robert back. It happened because Rhaegar was the literal embodiment of Mambo #5

“She’s his aunt.” Thank you, Varys. The last of only two sane people left in Westeros

Tyrion is trying waaaaay too hard to convince himself that Dany’s a good person/a good ruler, and I respect him less for it

“Look, Tyrion. Jaime saw the warning signs with Dany, Varys sees the warning signs with Dany. They both served under Aerys personally. If you were really as clever as you like to boast you are, you’d hear them out.” – My Wonderful Dad

Tyrion, the #1 Dany stan, everyone. *Blackfish voice* I’m disappointed

Say what you will about Dany and her reptile children, but their score is epic. Unfortunately

Oh, shoot! Rhaegal got shot?!

(I mean, I’d read it in the leaks, but I didn’t think it was true…)

So… a dance of dragons 2.0 with just one dragon? I wonder if musical chair rules apply in deciding who gets to ride it

Euron makes the creepiest faces

NOPE. SCRATCH THAT. DANY DOES

Aaaaaaaand… she just left everyone behind. Inspiring

“Did a ship mast just land on Tyrion’s head?” – My Wonderful Dad

“Good. Maybe it’ll knock some sense into him.” – My Wonderful Brother

Grey Worm looking for Missandei is breaking my heart all over again. Especially if the leaks are to be believed

And back in King’s Landing with Cersei, and… ACTUAL VIBRANT CLOTHING OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!!!!

Lena Headey, you are rocking that red

Euron and Cersei still have more chemistry than Jon and Dany, and that’s disturbing

Ah, Qyburn. I had this really weird dream that he and Cersei were a thing, and… well, never mind. I have really weird dreams

(For instance, there was this one time when Jon and Jaime opened up a restaurant called “J&J’s” and all the other characters were their employees. Let’s just say it was chaos)

Soooooo… Cersei’s baby. Is there a baby? Was there ever a baby? Why does she seem all disoriented when the baby’s brought up? Tell me about the baby!!!

Nooooooo. Not Missandei. *resolves not to cry because, dang it, I know I’m going to sob later*

Oh, hi, Dany. Yeah… I’m not in the mood for you right now

Varys, you’re my third favorite character. Congratulations

Man, I knew Varys cared about the people, but I had no idea just how much. Seriously, why has no one made this guy the hand of the king yet?

Oh, yeah, because every person he’s served thus far has either been evil or an idiot. Or, in Dany and Joffrey’s cases, both

…… Dany’s talking about destiny now. First official villain achievement, unlocked

Talking in third person. Second villain achievement, unlocked. All she has to do now is spin a globe… or stroke a map, considering these are medieval-esque times

So, Dany’s going to save the world from tyrants by… becoming a tyrant. Okay, then

Bravo to Emilia Clarke’s acting, though. She’s nailing Dark!Dany

Varys echoing what I said about destiny speeches being in a villain’s wheelhouse. Thank you

(Turns out I really did learn something from binge-watching multiple animes)  

Dany’s convinced she’s here to save us all, a.k.a., she has a savior complex. And yet my extended family laughed at me when I diagnosed her with that during our Thanksgiving get-together. It’s going to be fun to see them again this year

(Now I just need Varys to confirm that Jaime most likely has PTSD, and I’ll be completely vindicated)

No, Tyrion, Jon “bent the knee” because he needed flying, fire-breathing lizards to help him destroy undead popsicles. Not because he wanted to give up his crown for lolz

Any more manhood jokes and I’m going to pull a Tommen right out my bedroom window

Varys is me. Varys has always been me. I love Varys. The end

Okay, I’m starting a petition to get Jaime some new clothes. Who’s with me?

Yipee. Cersei’s winning. And if she wasn’t winning, Dany would be. I. Just. Can’t. Win *bangs head against wall*

Oh, no, Sansa. I still think you’ll have your crack at Cersei. At least, you’d better

No, Jaime. No. I know that look. That’s your “I’m about to do something so ridiculously dumb that no one else would ever dare to do for reasons” look. Don’t even think about doing what you’re thinking of doing

In other news, has anyone else ever noticed how the guy seems to age about twenty years whenever Cersei's in the picture (or mentioned)? Just saying…

Brienne has super-hearing. Take that, wights from the last episode who could hear droplets of blood

Jaime, no. What are you doing, you idiot…

Awwww, Brienne. The way she just straight up takes his face in her hands and tells him how much she believes in him… it’s just… *tears up*

And the way he looks at her like he wants to believe her even if he doesn’t fully believe it himself… I mean…

(Don’t even try to tell me that this isn’t a direct parallel to Jon and Dany’s scene before, because I won’t accept it)

No no no no no no no… don’t cry, Brienne. Jaime, listen to her. She loves you, she really does. Don’t make her cry…

Nooooo… the way he holds onto her wrist and strokes it and looks down. I can’t…

Jaime, you know you want to stay. You know you do. So stay

Oh, shoot. There’s that heartless façade he used with Edmure in S6. Oh, no… not against Brienne. Don’t use it against her, no matter what the reason

Yeah, yeah, Cersei’s dandy. You did a lot of terrible things for her. We know. That doesn’t mean we’re just going to accept you leaving

You would’ve killed everyone in Riverrun for Cersei, but you didn’t kill anyone in Riverrun… because of Brienne. So there

“She’s hateful, and so am I.” Yeah, maybe I’m just putting you on a pedestal, pal, but I don’t think that’s entirely true

I mean, you love Tyrion when you could’ve hated him just as much as Cersei and Tywin; you saved a city from being blown to smithereens because you couldn’t just sit by and let innocents burn alive; you jumped into a bear pit with no plan and no defense to save a woman who up until that point hadn’t done much for you except call you by your name; you rode North to fight an army of undead popsicles to protect the people of the Seven Kingdoms – most of whom detest you and would be perfectly happy if you died. So are you hateful? Nope. Bitter, yes. But hateful? Try again. (I mean, you’re, like, the only member of your family who’s never killed anyone on-screen for vengeance. Honestly, for all that you claim to hate, I think the only thing you sincerely hate is yourself)

Ummmm… sorry, what was I saying again?

Honestly, though, this whole scene is just heartbreaking. I mean, Gwen and Nik just nail it. Give them their frickin’ Emmys already

(If they don’t win any, I’ll riot. And, for the love of all things good, give one to Lena Headey, too)

I’m crying my eyes out right now. My wonderful Dad and Brother are crying their eyes out right now. It’s a tearfest

I still have faith in you, my problematic child. But in D&D’s writing… not so much

If they built all this up just to have Jaime die with Cersei I’m seriously going to be ticked

Honestly, out of all the ways I would like to see his ending go, that is at the literal bottom of my list with “burnt alive by Dany”. Jaime deserves better

So does Brienne fight me

Well, I can’t really see straight because I still have tears in my eyes. But I still know Varys looks like a boss

“Umm… Cersei. You have all those scorpions and Drogon’s right there. Why not just shoot him?” – My Wonderful Dad

“Who cares? He’ll probably be written off next week, anyway, for the CGI budget’s sake.” – My Wonderful Brother

So, what I’m getting from this meeting is that the battle for the Iron Throne has come down to the war of the two pyromaniacs. Lovely

Tyrion doesn’t want to see the city burn, yet he’s still rah-rahing for Dany. I have no words

Cersei, once again, doesn’t kill Tyrion when she has the chance. Then again, she hasn’t killed Drogon yet, either, so…

Tyrion claiming Cersei’s not a monster, yet I have such little faith left in his judgement that I don’t believe him

Got to say, red really brings out Cersei’s green eyes and golden hair

(at least one of the Lannisters still has their blond locks)

And… they’re not seriously going to end things like this, right? Right?

And… they did

Just like that, it’s over

So… Missandei’s last word was “Dracarys”. How utterly terrible

And they killed Missandei. Just to further Dany’s plotline. Jorah and Rhaegal and the Dothraki weren’t enough for her to snap, oh, no, they needed to kill Missandei, too

I would rage, but I’m sure there will be plenty of metas already written about how wrong this is by the time I post this, so I won’t bother anyone with my anger

“Screw you, D&D.” – My Wonderful Dad

“Yeah, thanks for ruining everything.” – My Wonderful Brother

I share the same sentiments

They’re lucky their cast is so wonderful, otherwise I’d honestly quit watching

Meanwhile, Dany’s officially on the brink of turning dark. I do wonder what her stans will say to justify things this time

If I had to guess, it’s that she has a good heart. Haven’t heard that one 60,000 times before

Welp, that’s the end of the episode. I miss Bryan Cogman and Dave Hill

Thank you every single actor who made this episode worthwhile. I love you all more than you’ll ever know

I’m going to go eat some more ice cream

[justanotherdumpingground]

Chapter Reviews: May 28-June 1, 2019

Wishful Thinking Chapter 8:

Emus! I'm so glad they finally appear! And the entire scene with them is simply funny and worth it. Pete's an uttee nutcase, though an entertaining one as well. The premium scene with Emi is so adorable that I want to see the emus again in future chapters.

Glad I get to show Alec who's boss. This guy should just stop treating his employees like crap. If only I could have him replaced by someone better (not Ellen, though), that would be better.

I'm glad I finally get to hang out with Anna outside of work. Most of her appearances have her and the MC doing their jobs, so a casual chat about the emu incident feels refreshing. And Charlie's office getting trashed means something fishy is going on, probably someone opposed to him like Ellen, though I could be wrong. Since the summary for Chapter 10 sounds like Anna has some secrets to share, it seems that something is up with Charlie. He's really fishy.

A Courtesan of Rome Chapter 19:

Another exciting chapter that kept me hooked like the previous one. I was worried what Cingerix might do to the MC, so I picked the premium option to talk him out of serving Caesar. I think doing so results in the MC and Victus having a positive opinion on Cingerix, who helped his sister escape as a result.

It was fun to watch MC train under her dad and Euthymios in preparation for the gladiator match, and Cingerix developing feelings for Euthymios. If only I can get my hands on Flavius for killing Locusta and poisoning the MC, my life would've been complete. At least there was Delphinia to pray for her daughter's safety, though the MC should really be more defiant towards Flavius.

Anyway, with my anger gone from me, it was satisfying to watch my MC deliver a speech gearing public opinion against Caesar. Even more so with Sabina chanting with the crows.

Man, I can't wait for the final chapters. Especially now that the MC has told the news about Cingerix's change of heart to Delphinia.

Passport to Romance Chapter 12:

I'm just sick of Elliot and William bickering that I want to shove them inside a room to sort out their own messes. On to the regatta.

As expected, the folks there are so snotty that I can just roll my eyes. I get that Sumire has to develop as an artist, and taking criticism is an important part of it (hence me telling her that it's a learning experience), but the impression Bronwyn gave did nothing to endear me to her. Same goes to Carlisle, whom I dislike more for talking like money's the only thing that matters. Either way, who cares about these two? I didn't spend diamonds to steal Carlisle's champagne, though. :P

So Elliot just got his entire friends in trouble by placing a huge bet on a losing boat? Well, thanks a lot, loser! I swear, Elliot keeps blowing his chances to make meaningful contributions to the group that it pisses me off to no end. The only times he did that were to provide the group a place to stay in Lucerne and a private plane to fly them to Monaco. However, their stay in Lucerne doesn't make sense when they could directly go to Germany from France, and Elliot just waited until they missed the second flight to reveal that his family owns the airline of the missed flights. I seriously question his usefulness. As for Marisa, she better not lose all that money from betting Carlisle.

Nightbound Chapter 7:

Why are there options to be mean to Vera for no reason while ignoring the fact that she saved MC from a zombie? I get that her power is deadly, but she used it for good, and had no intention to harm others. Let's hope others will warm up to her.

Heh, no surprise Lady Smoke is Vera's mom. I stumbled upon a theory @a-whore-of-rome came up with, though much of the information involves Vera's first premium scene, followed by the mention of Lady Smoke as a mobster. And wow! Vera and her mom are complete opposites. I think Lady Smoke kinda has a point that they shouldn't live in fear because of their powers. After all, their power to kill others with their bare hands isn't necessarily a curse, but can come in handy depending on the user and their intents. I think Lady Smoke lets this power get in her head that she largely uses it for her benefit. A pity I didn't get her monster tear, but I certainly have plans to get it.

A premium scene to talk to Priya Lacroix. Pass, at least for now. I make no secret why I hate Priya, even though spending time with a love interest sounds like something I'd do once I know who my LI will be. For the time being, none of the love interests capture my attention.

Platinum Chapters 1-2:

First impressions-wise, the story seems OK. I don't like the clichéd bits (small town girl gets picked up by a star), but there's still hope for something else. Super glad that my MC gets to wear glasses as a regular accessory, rather than as part of another outfit. After all, I also wear glasses. And not to mention that the fanbase meter and that certain actions can cause the MC to lose fans looks like a good mechanism that prevents an immediate rise to fame cliché.

Interesting that both Avery and Raleigh can be either male or female, depending on player choices. For Avery, I picked the female one because she's so pretty. The male one's eyes look dopey, but that's just personal impression. Raleigh's harder because both choices look good, though I ended up picking the female one. It's probably not final, though.

Heh, I know Ryder from AME would make a cameo appearance in this story, and it seems that he's in his element. Also, Shane is a good friend to have so far. It's a blessing.

What is it with PB and its affinity with the rival girl cliché? I get that Jaylen isn't a saint, but this cliché discourages players to view characters with proper nuance and understand their roles in the story. After all, an important part of evaluating characters is to not let biases on certain "types" hinder one's thinking.

Anyway, let's see how this story developes.

Open Heart Chapter 16:

Honestly, I really don't like the fact that the MC acts friendly towards Landry even though the way he sabotaged the MC involved disrupting patient care. Because of this, I continued picking options that don't give him credit. Not once did he feel remorse over sabotaging the MC and putting patients at risk. It's like the situation with Sebastian in The Sophomore all over again. Forced to forgive someone who not only expressed no remorse for their wrongdoing but also forgetting that what he did are illegal, dangerous, and degrading. It doesn't help that his sabotage of the boiler is enough to erase sympathy for him.

That aside, I finally get to work with Ethan on Naveen, and it seems that Ethan is more open on his respect for MC. That seems reassuring, especially since I giggled at him saying that his middle name's Jonah after the MC saying Ethan "Freaking" Ramsey.

Seeing Aurora wish the MC luck was nice and calming. I'm proud of her taking the initiative of being nice towards the person who consoled her. It doesn't erase her flaws, such as her overconfidence when she downplayed a case as "not interesting", but I'm ready to see her slowly warming up to others and learn that all patients are interesting in their own way.

Man, I can't believe the next chapter is the finale. I won't be surprised the MC will win and keep their medical license, followed by a little celebration that involves premium options to spend time with a love interest.

Bloodbound Chapter 3:

Too bad that it costs diamonds to actually have fun in Vegas in order to blow off some steam in preparation for meeting with Landgon. Well, I'm not super tempted to buy them because my LI is neither Adrian nor Lily, though I like them both.

Anyway, on to meeting Langdon. I knew this guy's shady, but to see him keeping various supernatural beings alive sickens me. Even more so when he planned to keep MC and co. as part of his collection.

So the cameo comes from Cal. Well, not surprising, and I'm just scared at what might happen to him.

And Lily saying "to defeat the Huns" is what I need to cheer me up and lighten my mood. Despite being a vampire, she always stays true to herself and helps in any way she can. I have great confidence she'll be a great assistant to Jax.

Regarding the second flashback, I feel bad at Adrian killing the Confederate soldiers, though I wonder if that scene has changes depending on his appearance. And Gaius just reminds me how ruthless and creepy he is despite having another side to him in the previous chapter. He's shaping up to be a villain I like.

[sssoto]

Happy 200th birthday, Serena!

My dearest baby Serena da Silva has her birthday today, October 17th, and it’s not just any birthday - today marks the day she was born 200 years ago! EEEP how exciting is that? You only get to celebrate an anniversary like that once in your lifetime!

If you’re unfamiliar with Serena, she is my character from my book project series for Amnesia: The Dark Descent, in which she plays a major role. She’s probably the character nearest and dearest to my heart, and she tends to be a fan favourite among readers as well, so I wanted to do something extra special for this particular anniversary.

So here comes: a birthday feature! In which I display all the amazing gifts Serena has received today.

First of all, I want to show the wip of what I had planned to do for Serena, which unfortunately I couldn’t finish in time since my laptop screen broke at the WORST. TIMING. EVER. I meant to have this artwork ready for today, but since I won’t be able to finish it until later, I’ll share a wip of the clean sketch:

I must admit, I’m quite proud of it! It’s the first time I experiment with perspective and interiors for real, and I also usually suck at drawing animals, but Cleo (Serena’s cat) came out quite okay here, so I’m happy! I hope I’ll be able to finish it sooner rather than later.

And now, let’s get into the amazing gifts my baby has received today AAAHHH!

@juliajm15

If you’ve been following me for a while, you might know that @juliajm15 is an art goddess who’s been making amazing beautiful fanart of my characters for the past couple years. She always goes so above and beyond for me, and that can be seen by LOOKING AT THIS GORGEOUS PIECE OF SERANIEL FANART.

IT’S THEIR FIRST KISS. THEY’RE SO YOUNG AND INNOCENT HERE. THAT HEIGHT DIFFERENCE. THAT DRESS. THAT HAIR (BOTH OF THEM). I COULD GO ON GUSHING BUT WE’D BE HERE ALL DAY.

OH YEAH, AND THAT BACKGROUND.

I just had to mention that.

OMG I die over how perfect and cute and romantic this is, it just completely captures the essence and emotion of that scene in my book! I feel so blessed and privileged, how am I ever gonna recover from this perfection?

But not only did she do this amazing gorgeous romantic piece for me, she also did a complete remake of Serena’s character portrait and DAMN SHE LOOKS GORGEOUS.

HOW does she always manage to capture Serena so perfectly? Ugh I honestly just can’t with this perfection, I just can’t. That expression, that hair, those LIPS. Okay, I’m gonna move on because I could literally gush about Serena’s face all day, but then we’d miss out on all the other amazing gifts she received today! Just, thank you so much @juliajm15 my darling, you’re such a generous and ultra skilled human being, thank you so much for being in my life and supporting me always

@shaelinwrites

So meme and aesthetics queen @shaelinwrites totally disarmed me today when she sent me THIS GORGEOUS MOODBOARD FOR SERENA OH MY LORD.

LOOK AT THAT GORGEOUS WINTER AESTHETIC. OMG LOOK, CLEO MADE A CAMEO ON THE BOTTOM LEFT. Omg these colours are just too beautiful I CAN’T. The art supplies, the gesture and expression of this girl, it’s all SO Serena. The whole feel of this moodboard is just so romantic and cosy and wintery and ugh, the nightgown, the long dark hair. I’m aware I’m just rambling and gushing throughout this post DEAL WITH IT.

And @shaelinwrites didn’t stop there, no, as any good bae, she knew how important the bae is. HAVE SOME MORE SERANIEL, THIS TIME BLACK AND WHITE SEXY EDITION.

OH MY LORD. HOW WILL I EVER RECOVER FROM ALL OF THIS. I CANNOT DEAL, CAN. NOT. DEAL.

All of this is literally just so accurate. Like, it’s so friggin’ hard to find good stock images that can embody a fictional character, BUT MY BAE DID IT *CRIES*. Thank you so much bae, omg this surprise was such a highlight today!!

@coffeeandcalligraphy

Another dear friend of mine (who’s a total cinnamon roll btw), @coffeeandcalligraphy, also went above and beyond for my character’s birthday because LOOK AT THIS:

I swear, everyone remembers the bae Baeniel. Eeeeeveryone.

Omg I swear, MY BABIES LOOK SO ATTRACTIVE HERE LIKE OH MY LORD. Daniel boooiiiiiii with that Expression of Angst™ and them puffy lips, and SERENA OMG THE HAIR AND THE LIPS AND EYES, HER INDIGENOUS ROOTS ARE SO PRONOUNCED WITH HER EYES AND I LOVE THAT.

I actually can’t??? Like how do I have so many talented af friends??? I must be a talent MAGNET I’m telling ya.

Oh and Rachel had the same idea as Baelin and went the sexy Black and White edition with the OTP as well:

BECAUSE CAN WE EVER HAVE TOO MUCH SEXINESS? I THINK NOT. Thank you so much @coffeeandcalligraphy I swear your art just blows me away, you’re improving at such a rapid pace, slow down, I can’t keep up

@sarahkelsiwrites

Also @sarahkelsiwrites is a close friend of mine, and actually @coffeeandcalligraphy‘s twin sister (gotta collect the whole pack amirite), and as part of her inktober challenge she did THIS GORGEOUS INKED PORTRAIT OF SERENA:

LIKE OMG OKAY SO the Victorian aesthetic is on POINT here, and OMG I love that her Hispanic features are soooo visible here. ALSO DAMN, THE DETAIL ON THE JEWELLERY. THE INKING OF THIS IS ALSO SO GREAT, LIKE, DO YOU SEE THE LINES IN HER HAIR???? I’m sorry, I’m an artist, I have to appreciate it when I see good craft, okay? I also gotta note that I’m living for how everyone always remembers Serena’s choker because girl never goes without one

Ugh HER EYES AND LIPS okay I gotta stop. I mention the eyes and lips every time, when will I switch it up. NEVER. Okay, glad we got that settled.

(Yes, I’m a dork, but only when I’m overwhelmed with this much love and beauty, I swear.)

Also omg THE SONG LYRICS, THOSE ARE SELENA GOMEZ LYRICS, AND IT’S STARS DANCE, AND I LOVE THAT SONG, AND IT’S SO RELEVANT, AND I’M ACTUALLY SHOOK. LORD thank you so much @sarahkelsiwrites god I just can’t believe how friggin’ talented and generous and thoughtful all of you are, I will never get over it.

Constance

So I’ve not mentioned this, but not too long ago I was totally taken by surprise and utterly *shook* when I received a private message on the site where I have Memoirs posted. This long message came from an angel named Constance, who registered a profile just to tell me how much she adored my story, give me fanart, and TELL ME SHE’S TRANSLATING THE ENTIRE THING TO FRENCH BRUH.

So if any of you out there are speaking French and not super comfortable with English, but still interested in reading Memoirs, it’s Constance you wanna hit up. She’s got you covered.

But back to the FANART.

Constance is working on this GORGEOUS Serena fanart for me, and while it’s not all finished yet, she said I could still post it for the birthday feature! (I’m going to update the post with the finished piece once it’s ready)

LOOK HOW CUTE AND PRETTY AND YOUNG MY SERENA IS HERE. THIS DRESS IS SO PRETTY, I DIE. OMG SHE HAS THE LOCKET. I realise like 90% of this post is all caps, but WHO CAN BLAME ME? I’m so #blessedyouknow right.

All I wanted in my life is Serena in a pink pretty dress. Thank you for realising my dreams, Constance *cries* and thank you so much for the endless support and this generosity! Seeing other people getting so invested in my story and characters really moves me so much, it’s all that I could hope for waaahh.

2k17 - Birthday One Shot

Okay, so I know how I said I couldn’t finish my artwork for Serena in time as I had intended, which made me very, very Sad™, BUT. I came up with something else.

So this was actually SUPER spontaneous and I usually NEVER do something like this, but I took a chance, and you know what? It worked out. I just wanna say thank you so much to my bae @shaelinwrites who pushed and motivated me to do this, I dunno what happened, but you must’ve transferred some of your writing machine abilities to me, because I actually managed to finish an entire one shot in JUST ONE DAY. (Are you as shook as I am? Cuz I can never seem to finish a chapter so I’m shook.)

Since I couldn’t finish my artwork for Serena like I planned, I decided to write a short fluffy non-canon one shot for her birthday. It was super spontaneous and unplanned, but it actually came surprisingly easy to write! I’ve not written in first person in many, many years, so this was really a leap of faith LOL, but I like the end result! A major thanks to @shaelinwrites, who encouraged me and critiqued the short before publication, and @coffeeandcalligraphy, @sarahkelsiwrites and @juliajm15 for giving it a read and telling me their thoughts as well! I hope you all enjoy this little piece of fluff; since I’m taking so long to write my book, maybe this can keep y’all entertained meanwhile

Thank you so much to everyone who’s supported me and celebrated Serena’s birthday with me, even just in spirit! It makes the long journey all worth it, knowing there are people out there who care (’:

(short story starts under the cut!)

Roses and Ballerinas

The balcony drapes danced lightly with the gentle morning breeze, a delicate waltz. My existence was comfort, head cushioned by feather pillows and silk sheets swathing my naked form. Sunlight hadn’t woken me; London was always grey, ash brick and fog, and even more so in the rainy days of October. However, for what one might expect, the morning didn’t seem to carry its usual autumn gloom—though I suppose that observation could’ve had more to do with my current disposition.

A smile crept on my lips at remembrance of the night previous, one which, if anyone saw, surely would’ve spoken of scandalous notions unfit for a such young lady to entertain. Fortunately, none had been around to witness what had occurred in this room; tangled limbs, kisses of the sweetest character, ardour’s touch, skin marked with such fierce passion that even I could not have imagined. It didn’t seem right that something so blissful could be immoral. Should a simple seal of matrimony reverse what was once considered debasement? What a frigid, unromantic sentiment. If anyone would’ve cared to ask me, I would sing praise to the levels of delight and unison one could only reach when committing so wholeheartedly to Venus’ embrace. Might my lover treat me to such a lovely experience again tonight? This was after all a special day of mine.

I turned in my silk cocoon to face him, and was met with a disappointing sight. Half my bed was empty, only evidence that anyone had occupied the space a faint outline in the wrinkled sheets where his body had laid. I was accustomed to sharing this queen size with no one. My parents had always been diligent in ensuring that I was endowed much more space than a small person like me required. Somehow, the vastness of this bed, indeed this entire room, seemed pronounced in this moment. I fancied I didn’t really like that much space at all. It only served to remind me of my loneliness.

Rationality grounded me; naturally, he’d gone to his own room before my maid servant would come to knock. It was only sensible. If Lydia came to discover him here, she could not keep such a secret from Mama—though truly I hadn’t much need for concern today, as she was typically inclined to let me sleep in on a day of my celebration. Yes, it was the day itself which heightened my sensitivity, nothing more. Admittedly I’d had hopes for the morning, that he might wake me with another of his sweet kisses, might whisper words of admiration and appreciation in my ears as he’d play with my dark locks—an occupation he liked to take up whenever he visited my private chambers, I’d noted with slight thrill. Indeed, he was a beautiful man—one would be hard-pressed to argue the fact—but more importantly was how knowledgeable he’d proven himself on the treatment of a woman. Had I ever felt so worshipped and adored? If so, I couldn’t recover the memory.

My hand caressed the empty space next to me. He’d always held my fancy, even before either of us could be consciously aware of such implications. As far back as when he’d been a scrawny boy with round green eyes and tufts of brown hair that grew unrestrained, too wild for taming. Such was he when I’d first laid eyes upon him, myself a guileless, wide-eyed girl just six years of age. Our childhood was an innocent one, as most are, and a discordant one, as most aren’t. We’d been too young to fathom the consequences of our relationship. Even so, I could never regret it.

The door clicked open. I sat in surprise, pulling on my duvet to cover me. Why would Lydia not knock? This conduct was so unlike my meek maid, and certainly rude and improper. Under usual circumstances I’d not mind, but in my current exposed state I would’ve preferred for my servant to know her place and knock before entering. Would she not question my state of undress? Would I have answers to offer that wouldn’t further incriminate myself and fuel her suspicions?

But the sight which entered was not Lydia; indeed, this character was too tall, too broad, too much man. The clothes he’d discarded last night was now fitted on him in a most casual manner, shirt tucked carelessly into the waistband of the trousers he’d worn the day before and not fully buttoned. The tension in my body dwindled, and I let a sigh of relief. “You’re awake already? I thought I might make it back before you’d notice my absence.” He wore a crooked smile as he closed the door behind him, though it wasn’t smug but awkward, as if regretful he might’ve troubled me while he was gone.

“Daniel, where did you go? Did you not care to think you could get caught sneaking in and out of my room like that?” I said while he approached. I could not ignore how he moved with an arm behind his back, making his climb back into bed rather clumsy looking.

His smile was amusement now, a hint of a chuckle on the tilt of his lips. He leaned close, and his scent engulfed me, piquant and potent, woodsmoke and seasalt. I savoured the fragrance of him, and his warmth, and those lips, perfect for kissing, as they met mine in a sweet greeting. “Happy birthday, darling,” he muttered against my smile.

He pulled back, much to my dismay—though that sentiment was soon replaced by curiosity as he presented whatever he’d cared so much to hide behind his back. “What is that?” The words escaped me before I’d taken a proper glance at the object; a wooden box, handcrafted. The carving of a rose adorned the top lid and composed the main attraction. Still the rest of the box was as skilfully ornamented, only with less eye-catching swirls and foliage.

“Watch.” He bit his lip in thrill as was his habit—one I found rather endearing, I might add. He produced a small key from his pocket and inserted it into an opening hidden on the side.

I looked on in fascination as three turns of the key set the box in motion. The lid of the case rose all on its own, and as a lovely tune began its play, a small ballerina came to life and emerged from the box. She twirled around in a graceful dance, contentment in her gesture. I brought both hands to my lips, unable to contain my smile; she had long black hair, just like mine. “A music box!”

“Is it to your liking?” Daniel chuckled, and this time his grin was indeed quite self-satisfied.

I took the music box in my own hands and brought it closer to my face. The ballerina spun and spun without a care in the world; she was me, a version of myself I had dreamed of once. Unrestrained, unchained, free of her cage. Her face was simply painted, but the meaning in her dancing form could not escape me. Such I had seen myself, fantasized of another life. That he remembered… “It’s beautiful! How… When did you arrange this?” The inquiry came out more quiet and raspy than I had intended, but he heard.

“Good while ago,” said he with an air of nonchalance, as though it was little trouble. “The actual crafting of the box and ballerina wasn’t too difficult, but I needed some help to have all the parts fitted together. A clockmaker assisted me in getting the thing to actually play; as you know, I’m not much of a musician.”

I audibly gasped and stared up at him, unable to help myself. “You crafted this yourself?”

He seemed amused by my shock—no wonder, as I shouldn’t have been so surprised. He was the son of an artisan after all. The tune of the music box came to a halt at last, its last note fading into silence. “With my own bare hands. Look here,” he pointed to the interior of the lid, “There’s an inscription.”

My eyes followed to where he pointed; the ballerina had indeed stolen attention away from an engraving hidden behind her, on the curved inner side of the rose-adorned lid. Soul free of sorrow, heart light with hope; this be the path I follow, this is the path I chose. My chest swelled, and breath hitched. I wanted to speak, yet couldn’t bring the words to my tongue. Instead I choked on them, and they came caught in my throat.

Daniel tilted his head, understandable question lingering in his expression. Oh, those striking green eyes, this lovely visage. Handsomeness was a term he embodied so utterly; how was it fair for a face like that to completely disarm a woman? I composed myself and swallowed the cry which would’ve escaped me if I’d had just little less self restraint. My one hand cupped the side of my face while the other held the music box, and my smile had no end to it still. Since all else I felt refused to be spoken, I settled on the one feeling I could formulate with ease—amusement. “Some poet you’ve become, huh?” I laughed, shaking my head, yet in an effort to quell the rush inside me.

He grinned and gave my shoulder a gentle shove, an action so very like his behaviour as a boy. “Don’t laugh, I put in a great effort; see, the words rhyme!”

My giggles intensified at his reaction. I placed the music box on the nightstand and spun the key again, thrice; thus the ballerina resumed her carefree dance, light and free. She was magical, twirling such as she did. What a spirit to have, a life to live. To choose your own path to follow, and not the one chosen for you.

I turned towards my company again and pulled on him, locking him between my arms in a tight embrace. “Thank you, Daniel.” I squeezed in hope that the fierceness of my display of appreciation would deliver the message better than words could. “Thank you so much. It’s wonderful.”

“I do consider myself quite the expert on gift giving.” His chuckle was warm against my bare neck. A large hand planted firmly between my shoulder blades and pressed me deeper into his warmth. “I’m sorry if I had you worried, Serena. I only went to fetch my gift for you. I promise I was careful.”

“It’s fine, Daniel.” The words came out in a sigh of contentment. He was indeed so broad and so much bigger than I; his figure wrapped me in amenity, instilling within me an ease I couldn’t hope to discover elsewhere. It was an ease of novel excitement and nostalgic familiarity, all at once. “In truth, what bothered me was the idea that you’d left me to wake by myself.” I pulled away enough to look at him and brushed a strand of his long, brown locks from his face. “Today of all days.”

At those words, Daniel constrained his smile from widening too much, and I blushed by the notion that I’d said something to make him so satisfied with himself. “Well, let me assure you that you needn’t worry of that, my love.” He leaned over me, and I fell back into silk. I had no need for the duvet to cover my naked figure any more; his broad form was quite enough coverage. “You should know that the only instance in which I would leave this bed willingly would be the moment you tire of me and kick me out.”

I bit my lip as a gratifying sensation waved through me, and my fingers found way to the waistband of his trousers, pulling the shirt loose of it. “If that is a challenge,” I laughed, “then go ahead and make your attempt at tiring me.”

By the smirk on his lips, it seemed he accepted. The music box played its last note; it rang into the room and deadened to silence, and so a music of another kind took its place. Lord pray that Lydia would have the thought to let her lady sleep in on her birthday.

So that was all for this century’s anniversary! Thank you so much to all my friends who made these amazing gifts for her, and all of you who participated in celebrating her; it means so much

Until next century, darlings! (I’m kidding, I’m not gonna be inactive on this blog a whole century…)

[recentanimenews]

VIRTUALSAN - LOOKING May be Even More Wild than Pop Team Epic

With The Promised Neverland and Mob Psycho 100 II landing this season, it’s understandable that some great anime my receive less attention than they might otherwise. In the chaos of premiere weeks it’s easy for an anime to fall under the radar. That said, I’m unsure how one anime in particular managed to fall beneath notice. After watching the insane premiere of VIRTUALSAN - LOOKING, I had to do some investigating to find out who could do such a thing. The more I discovered, the harder it became to believe this anime actually exists. Just a year after Pop Team Epic graced our monitors, a new anime is already trying to knock it off its throne. What’s more, this may only be the first in a wave, as a new infernal engine in the anime industry is just beginning to turn over…

  Having somehow managed to avoid any mention of the anime before I first laid eyes upon it, imagine my surprise when the first episode opened with none other than famous horse-headed Japanese Virtual YouTuber Baacharu introducing a virtual city wherein Japanese VTubers live alongside one another. It turns out the anime is fully cast by VTubers, featuring over 30 channels with 5 channels together forming the “Virtual Real” core cast.

    “What the hell could this possibly be about?” I wondered, unaware that I’d be spending the next 20 minutes of my life witnessing a series of comedy sketches so absurd they'd actually give Popuko and Pipimi a run for their money. I'm not sure any description I give of the anime could really do it justice. Each segment skips between choreographed conversations that make some unbelievably obvious anime references, conversations you'd swear weren't scripted, and bizarre segments that could literally lifted out of one of the VTuber's own channel videos. Each featuring CG animation that is, in turns, as charmingly awkward as the original Kemono Friends and a horrific imitation of humanity not unlike an alien wearing the skin of a freshly slaughtered human.

    I needed to learn more about how something like this could come together, so I did a little research and there seems to be no bottom to this well of knowledge I've fallen into. To begin with, I had no idea that VTubers were already organized like many other forms of celebrity in Japan, using REAL brick-and-mortar agencies to manage virtual talent. But that's just my own gap in knowledge, when it comes to the names behind the anime, the project itself begins to sound like its own form of performance art.

  Scrolling over the information about the shows production, I nearly missed one of the biggest credits tied to the show. My vague feeling of familiar when listening to the OP was validated when I discovered that none other than Kizuna Ai herself was the vocalist for the theme “AIAIAI.” I should have noticed during the credits themselves, but I was extremely distracted by Siro growing to the size of a nearby skyscraper before detonating its top several floors.

    But I was still curious. Who could have articulated that 24 minutes of raw chaos? What sort of individual even comes up with the idea for this kind of show? Why were the girls all wearing the school uniforms from Neon Genesis Evangelion? The rabbit hole went even deeper…

    I’d never heard of Studio Lide, apparently for good reason. It was just recently founded in 2018 specifically for the purpose of producing anime related to VTubers. What’s more, the partnership that founded the Lide included major names like Kadokawa and studio khara! That’s right, the studio that is (hopefully) hard at work on Evangelion: 3.0+1.0! Hideaki Anno himself is list as a creative consultant. That's right, he’s taking time out of his busy schedule directing the most important anime film of this decade to work on a VTuber variety show. Anno even specifically gave them permission to use the school uniform designs from NGE.

    The show itself is wild, but I can’t help but wonder what this means for our futures. You may be more savvy to the state of Virtual YouTubers than I, but this is a huge event no matter how you look at it. Studio Lide is doubtless planning many more projects starring VTubers. Can we expect solo shows? Theatrical productions? VTuber cameos in other anime?

---

Peter Fobian is an Associate Features Editor for Crunchyroll, author of Monthly Mangaka Spotlight, writer for Anime Academy, and contributor at Anime Feminist. You can follow him on Twitter @PeterFobian.

By: news+feed@crunchyroll.com

[kjwongsbrain]

What's a pirate's favourite alphabet?

The era of comic book movies is now. We're getting like six of them every year thanks to the combined efforts of Marvel Studios, Warner Brothers and DC playing catchup, and also 20th Century Fox's obligations to keep making ones they want to keep the license over. It's not as if comic books never got made into movies before - in fact you can trace back the movies all the way back to the 50s - but they're thriving harder than ever now and are among some of the most profitable films ever to be made.

It used to be an idea that major actors would often refuse to star as recurring superheros in fear of being typecast into that one role, or have their entire career be recognized for donning on a funny outfit and doing silly moves on camera instead of what some would consider 'true acting'. Some actors often tried breaking out of the mold of Superhero by doing things completely different from that previous role, either by taking on a serious dramatic role, or going to stage shows in order to establish their abilities as an actor instead of a character.

But I'm starting to wonder if that's the case anymore. Seeing the excitement of people like Chadwick Boseman and Tom Holland on being inducted into the ever growing cast of actors that make up the MCU, and then looking at the sheer popularity and success of the movies as well as the genuine appreciation the fans show leads me to believe that maybe the ultimate role for an actor these days is in fact a superhero. The mark of a great career should be one that has a superhero in it. At least once. Only now that Marvel is issuing 6 film contracts, it won't just be once most of the time.

Back before actors signed multi-movie deals with studios like Marvel, I used to worry when an A-list actor was cast as a recurring character in a Marvel movie because it would mean it would be near impossible to get them to come back for another one. Take for instance the current Limbo that Red Skull is in because Hugo Weaving isn't doing it again. Chris Evans has long expressed a desire to finish playing Captain America and move on to new things. Hemsworth on the other hand seems to be enjoying the role just fine.

All that leads us comfortable to Hugh Jackman who now holds the record for playing the same superhero character the most times at 8 (counting the little cameo in First Class). Not only is Jackman one of the most respected castings in superhero history, it's also the role that's really cemented his career in history forever. And if you watch some early interviews with Jackman, he took the gig not knowing how big the role was really going to be.

And so it is with a huge thank you - the kind audiences do for retiring pro wrestlers - that we now come to talk about Logan.

But before we get into it, I must go back to the thought I began with. The era of comic book movies that we are in now can really be traced back all the way to two films that helped really establish what the genre was capable of and what it was going to look like for years to come.

Everyone of course remembers how big and pivotal the Tim Burton Batman film was but there's another one that was equally responsible for studios finally willing to shift a proper amount of resources into making these films - Blade.

Yes, Blade was one of the first few comic book movies that was a proper commercial success. And also the thing Wesley Snipes was famous for before the tax dodging. Blade was a demonstration that comic book movies could be taken seriously and not be too campy and targeted at children, but also staying true to the source material. A lot of people forget just how pivotal Blade is in regards to the shape and feel of comic book movies today.

That being said, in this almost 30 year period now since Batman and Blade, comic book movies have done a lot of evolving. With Blade and Batman being the first commercial successes, studios started thinking about the ingredients in those films that led to their success. This is the primary factor that influenced the design of the first really big superhero film, the first X-men. I love the first X-men. I have a very special place in my heart for it because of how many things it did right, and how much it helped usher in the world of the MCU we have today. But I've always felt that the early X-men movies missed a beat by taking what Blade and Batman did and applying it too directly into what was originally a bright and colorful world.

This would later be fixed when Marvel took its chances by delivering Iron Man and audaciously painting him bright gold and red instead of turning him black like the new Robocop. Marvel took steps into bringing the look of the original comics back into their world and the move was celebrated by fans. Fans, like me, were incredibly excited by the vibrant image the new era of the MCU presented, especially in comparison with the much darker, bleaker, and paler DC universe.

This went on to make Disney and Marvel billions of dollars in ticket sales, and also in the ridiculous merchandising arm of the franchise. But with that merchandising arm being such a big factor, there also was the long debate about content rating in the movies. While children were buying the toys in heaps and droves, it was really the adult comic fans that were propelling the series forward. Their loyalty to the franchise was something that was consistently bankable and Marvel knew this.

The problem now was that Marvel had to toe the line between creating films that were family friendly, but never straying too far into the kid friendly content of the early years (pre 1989) that the adult fans would lose interest. And they have done so brilliantly, but that involved navigating around and away from some of the grittier material that comics have long included in their storylines.

Then came Deadpool. Which isn't the first R-rated comic book movie by any chance. Heck, the genre defining Blade was R-rated. But there wasn't an audience as big as the one today to celebrate the fact that R-rated comic book movies could be great. And so the evolution of comic book movies has now come full circle. With dozens of movies already hitting the merchandisable market, fans have been clamouring for movies to adopt some of the more adult themes and presentations that they've enjoyed for years in the comics.

And so Deadpool delivered. It was the right time and piece of material for it to be a smash hit success. With studio executives still nervous, Deadpool's success meant that directors and actors who dreamed of making some of the more adult-themed material had the guts to push for it. And so we have Logan. And Logan's a big big hit looking at the opening weekend. And I think that rather than helping make the film better, the R-rating really made things worse for Logan.

Hear me out.

The first fifteen minutes or so were probably in the film solely to piss off some producers who went into the meeting thinking that they could still rein in Jackman and Mangold who were hell bent on making an R-rated film. What with the outrageous amount of violence in the opening scene, and then the outrageous amount of swearing between two characters that have never done so in the history of their appearances on screen. I don't find it difficult to watch Logan run his mouth, but when Charles and Logan are having a spat at each other, swearing like sailors, that ruined the moment for me.

It's not that I don't believe either of them were capable of it either, but it's simply that without any progression from one incarnation to another, it almost felt shoehorned in there solely to validate the R-rating. And then after those ridiculously out of character fifteen minutes have gone by, the film actually starts out properly.

That bummed me out harder than anything. And as the movie went on, the only question I had to keep asking myself was whether the R-rating was necessary. And I think it really wasn't. Wolverine has taken down his enemies 6 times prior to this film and nobody complained. Nobody complained that you couldn't see his claws rip people's heads off and spear through different body parts. Wolverine has existed without the necessity for on-screen violence in this capacity without complaint. And so, by that logic, none of the extra violence really added anything to the film. The strengths of the movie rested in the three main characters of Charles, Logan and Laura. And that story is actually a beautiful story. There were heavy emotions played out as Charles dies full of regret, and as Logan comes to terms with his humanity and death. And all of those could've been done without a single ounce of gut splatter on screen.

Now why is this such a big deal? Why am I complaining about how unnecessary the R-rating actually is? Isn't it a great way to show just how far comic book movies have come after all these years and isn't great that we can have these films like Logan and Deadpool made?

Yes. Deadpool was perfect. Deadpool is a ridiculous character that genuinely needed to be expressed in a ridiculous way in order for it to work.

Logan? Nope. Just think about it for a second. If the scenes that made Logan an R-rated movie were simply ingratiating violence and language, what did it do to make the movie better? The best parts of the movie were the ones that had nothing to do with any of that. Sure the scene of Logan swearing and bashing the shit out of his car helped convey some raw emotion concerning the death of Charles, but hundreds of movies have done the same without uttering a single word even.

And this is a problem because people are celebrating Logan for the wrong reasons. Pretty soon we'll want an R-rated Batman. And then an R-rated Avengers simply because we think that the R-rating is a gateway into better stories and still maintaining financial credibility.

And then what will we give our children?

I made this similar argument when people were celebrating Adi Shankar's ridiculous Power Rangers short. The adult thinking that everything is immediately improved by making it darker, grittier, more violent, and more sexual. It's the natural growing up of the things we've enjoyed as children. And the same people would lament that kids these days don't have the same kind of complex characters that we did.

Well, how the heck do you share Wolverine with your children if his greatest achievement is buried in Logan? Imagine your kid watching the new X-men cartoons and coming to love Wolverine as a character the same way you did, and then finding out that a brand new Wolverine movie came out and hearing how great it was, only to be told that he or she can't see it.

Look, I get that there's a natural divide that will always happen when stories like these appeal to the widest of audiences of all cultures and ages. But I do personally think that going R is never the right thing to do for a character that is as important and incredible as Wolverine. There are always more ways to approach adult themes and messages in a movie that do not have to resort to R-ratings. Take 'A Monster Calls' as an example. That movie deals with some of the most difficult themes even I as an adult have seen on screen, and it does all this with the appeal of a fictional monster and a PG-13 rating.

And without the R-rating hook to rely on, Logan becomes decidedly average. I'd say it was almost identical to 2013's The Wolverine in terms of story, pacing, and design. It would seem that Mangold really didn't do much to improve The Wolverine other than tack on a whole bunch of on screen slashing and swearing. It wasn't boring enough to send me to my phone, but it wasn't exciting enough to really keep me interested. There were some mysteries here and there like the events a year ago at Westchester, and also the real cause of Logan's illness, but none of them really had any bearing on the story at all.

And so Logan lands in the pit of 'meh' for me. Not really anything to shout about. It will be sad saying goodbye to perhaps two of the most perfect pieces of casting ever in the world of Marvel. It is also a bit of a mystery as to what the future of the X-men franchise will look once the final movie between the two major X-men casts is fleshed out. Will we see the new mutants? Will the entire X-men universe reboot itself? It's hard to know.

A fun fact to end this piece is something I just learned recently. Some of my friends were lamenting that Hugh Jackman never once donned the famed Wolverine black and yellow suit and mask. But, it was teased in an alternate ending in The Wolverine. It actually makes an appearance instead of just a snarky joke mention and it looks beautiful. Go check it out.

In the meantime, here's to waiting for 2017's MCU showings to finally hit the screen.