#IVE BEEN WANTING TO DRAW HER FOR SO LONG…. suddenly had the motivation to….. win | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

writteninkat · 3 years

Text

iv - carnival tickets

word count: 2,246

warnings: mentions of blood and dead animals

"I'ma break you off, let me be your motivation"

index

Today was the day you and the rest of class 1A can finally try out their hero costumes. You smiled, looking at yourself in the mirror, giving yourself butterflies as you do so.

Your hero costume was a simple black bodysuit type. Garters attacked to the clothing helped keep your thigh high boots up. The top covered your entire arms, hands and fingers- you designed it this way so your palms wouldn’t be littered with callouses given that you deal with weapons like swords and scythes every time you use your quirk.

The bodysuit is a title neck type that showed off your shoulders. Your costume is finished off with a full face black kitsune mask with glowing blue paint around the eyes, it makes up the whiskers as well as a little nose of a fox.

You keep it up on your head, not wanting to put it on unless you're engaging in combat.

You close your locker, joining the girls who are hyping each other up in what they’re wearing. You all step out of the changing area and you can’t help but feel giddy as you approach your teachers, excited with the activities for today.

Everyone begins freaking out at the site of All Might- which you don’t get at all. He’s blond, has a freakish smile and a built body. So what? “Who’s he?” You whisper at Mina who looks at you as if you’ve grown two heads.

“What?”

You sigh, “Who’s he? And why is everyone freaking out about him?” You ask again and Mina gives you that same look, but much worse. She’s acting as if you’ve just asked a very stupid question. “That’s All Might.” She answers, tone unusually calm and soft.

“I meat who is he?”

“The number one hero.”

You furrow your brows, gaze scanning the man who’s busy talking in front of the awestruck class. You tilt your head to the side, “That’s your number one pro hero?” You ask, pouting.

“You sound a lot of things- underwhelmed? Disappointed? Dissatisfied?” Bakugou says from behind you, the look in his eyes catching you off guard. You pause for a moment, choosing your words carefully to make sure you’re not offending anyone who’s within earshot.

“You look up to him?” You ask and he raises a brow at you as if you’ve just asked the most obvious question in all time. “He’s been my hero since forever. I look up to him more than anyone in the world. He’s my inspiration and the one of the biggest contributors to my dream go being a hero.” Your eyebrows lift in shock, you’ve never heard nor seen Bakugou respect a person so much. And by the looks of Mina, Kirishima and Denki, they haven’t seen this side of him either.

Your heart breaks as you return your gaze to the number one hero in front of you, smiling sadly. You don't know how or why, but your judgement tells you that the seven-footer man in front of you isn't all that powerful- not anymore at least.

"Here's the breakdown. There will be four teams of two- half of them will be heroes and the other half will be villains. The hero team can win in two ways; you can either capture the villains or retrieve the bomb. The villain team wins if the hero team is unable to do any of the tasks within the time limit." He explains quite clearly and thoroughly.

You feel your heart beat against your chest, you're feeling very giddy. Your excitement causes Bakugou's lips to twitch upwards, carving out a soft smile to which he hides almodt immediately so no one can see him.

All Might pulls out a draw lots box, letting fate decide which teams everyone belong to. You end up being teammates with Aoyama and Mina who you happily greet.

Everyone is asked to stay inside a monitoring room to watch and observe their classmates in battle. When All Might announces Bakugou and Izuku's team being up first, you don't think before walking up to the blond and placing a hand on his shoulder. He turns his head to the side, raising an expecting brow.

"Good luck out there." You smile softly to which he scoffs at. "I don't need luck to win." He punches his palm as he sets of his quirk, "I already know I will."

You roll your eyes, walking towards Izuku to wish him good kuck as well before following the class to the monitor room. Your eyes scan over the wall of monitors, finding it closely similar to the monitor room your house has back in the US.

As you watch Bakugou and Izuku in battle, it's clear to see that there's something going on between them. There seems to be a conflict between them that you can't quite point and as much as you wanted to ask Bakugou about it, you decided to wait until he'd tell you.

Why on earth do you think he'd tell you?

You shake your head and clear your stupid thoughts, stepping away into a corner and sitting down to mentally prepare yourself. As you try to meditate, you don't realise how much time has went by until you're being called by All Might for your turn.

You scan the room but don't spot an angry blond nor an angel look-a-like green haired boy. You pout, hoping to at least see thosep pretty vermilion eyes before the activity.

As you take your steps towards the building, a small smile stretches across your lips when you see Bakugou's familiar back towards you, only for it to smile when you see just how upset he looks like.

"C'mon, Y/n! We're the villains right now we can't be late!!" Mina calls out to you, waving her hand up. You look back at Bakugo one last time, your gazes catching each other before you step inside the building, pulling your mask down to cover your face.

"Hey Mina? Can you let me take charge of our group?" You ask as the three of you make your way towards the room where the fake bomb is. "Alright! We'll be at your command!" She salutes to you a little too enthusiastically to which you chuckle softly at, making sure to smile with your eyes to make sure she sees you're smiling despite the mask covering your face.

After All Might makes sure each teams' statuses are a go, he commences the activity. "Alright. What would you like for us to do, captain?" Mina asks. You stay quiet for a moment, summoning two katanas in each of your hands. You move them around, making sure your wrists are loose and flexible before actually using them.

"You guys can stay still and guard the bomb." You say, adjusting your gloves before turning around to face the only entrance and exit of the room. "I'll have to go and hunt me some heroes."

"It's been a few minutes since they started and when Y/n suddenly disappeared like that. What do you think the villains are planning?" Tsuyu asks, eyes on the screen as the class continues to search for you in every monitor in the wall, but to no avail.

"I've been seeing a few mice here and there. Do you think that's Koda's doing?" Kirishima asks, to which Denki asks back, "Are the mice you see dead or alive?"

Kirishima furrows his brows at the blond, about to explain how the mice are alive but stops himself when he looks back at the screen and sees the mice he was looking at just a few seconds ago was now dead, body sliced in half. He checks the other monitors as well and his confusion rises even more at the sight of multiple dead mice all over the floors.

"Time is ticking, heroes. You better get to the bomb or if this was a real life situation it'd have blown up by now." All Might says into the mic which puts pressure on the two boys.

The class watches in anticipation as the two steps into a wide and open room, somewhere similar to where Bakugou and Izuku were fighting in a while ago.

"No one's here." Sato states, turning around. "Then, there should only be one room left-"

"Leaving so soon, heroes?" You ask, body leaning on the closed door with one foot pressed on it and your arms crossed across your chest.

Sato and Koda raise their guards, stepping into a fighting stance as theylook at you with such focused eyes. You chuckle, "Your little friends running around the building were pretty hard to find. Not to mention there were quite a handful of them which caused me to reach my speed quirk's limit."

"So it was Y/n who sliced all those rats? But we didn't see her at all. There were no movements in any of the cameras." Sero points out, confusion evident in his face. "Well, she did use her speed quirk. And if what she stated was true, then she'll be no longer to use that quirk of hers, at least during this fight." Iida voices out.

"Two guys against one girl? Isn't that too unfair for her?" Mineta asks, receiving a growl from Bakugou. "If you think her being a girl puts her at a disadvantage you're wrong. If you wanna be a hero, it doesn't matter what your gender is, as long as you're strong."

Despite being in a foul mood, Bakugou still found himself wanting to fight for you. He didn't like the thought of people lookibg down at him, but he found it weird how he preferred it when people not look down at you instead.

"Come on boys. I'll keep this quick and short for you so we can end this activity already." Fingerless boxing gloves appear in each of your hands, they're black but with neon blue accents. You get into a fighting stance, "I really hate sweating."

Sato charges at you, throwing a naive punch at your way to which you dodge easily- scoffing. What was he trying to do, intimidate a little child? As you moved your body to the side, dodging his immature punch, you punch him in the gut, eyes on Koda as you do this.

You hear Sato wheeze before his body falls to the ground. You crack your knuckles, walking towards Koda who begins to panic, using his quirk to call in all sorts of birds and squirrels.

"Koda, this is as scary as being chased by a street gang of kittens." You say, stepping towards him. You step to his side, bringing your hand up to his forehead and flicking it, the contact causing him to tremble before losing consciousness.

Your mother's body guard taught you this- it was a skill he said that most assassins he worked with knows about. He never clearly explained to you how to do it, but as long as your opponent had the slightest bit of fear for you, it will end up working. For Koda's case, he looked like he was about to piss his pants, so it worked out a little too well for you.

"Y/n's team wins this round." All Might announces as the rest of class 1A stands behind him, unsure of what they had just seen.

As the day comes to an end, you learn from Kirishima and Mina that Bakugou has been feeling off since the fight lately. "We tried to stop him from leaving, but he just wouldn't listen. Izuku went and ran after him too. If you go now you should be able to catch up to the both of them." Urataka explains, setting the stack of books she's carrying on a desk.

You run out of the classroom, jumping down flights of stairs to get to the entrance of the highschool as quickly as possible. By the time your eyes finally caught sight of the two boys, they were already talking with each other.

"I wasn't hiding my quirk from you. It was given to me by someone else, recently."

You raise your brows, quickly hiding yourself from the both of them. You place a finger gently on your lips as you stared at the floor, listening as Izuku explained to Bakugou.

The next thing you know it, Bakugou was now yelling at the green haired boy. He sounded so upset, as if he wanted to cry. It was clear as day that the blond didn't like losing, not to anyone and especially not to Izuku.

You took a peak, eyes widening as you see Katsuki Bakugou looking so vulnerable with tears in the corners of his eyes, his brows knitted from being so upset with himself. He walks away, slouching as he wipes his tears with the back of his hand.

You step out of your hiding spot, Izuku's expression growing nervous when he sees you. "O-oh hey, hey Y/n! I didn't... ummm... did you..." He looks down, scratching the back of his head. "Did you hear something?"

You stare him down for a moment, unsure of what to answer before sighing. "I'm not going to say anything to anyone nor ask you about it. But I will tell you this." Your words causes Izuku to look up at you in anticipation. "The second you master that power of yours, you have to fight me with everything you've got. Alright?"

Bakugou grumbles to himself, kicking at a rock, watching as it rolls into a canal. He huffs, annoyed. "I'd tell you you look ugly when you're mad, but then I'd be telling you you look ugly everyday." You yell at him from behind, causing him to turn around.

"School isn't over yet." Bakugou furrows his brows as he watches you make your way towards him. "And yet here we are." You point out, smiling as you put your hands behind your back.

He sighs, adjusting his bag on his shoulder. "What do you want?"

You take out two pink carnival tickets from your pocket, shoving it at his face and waving it in front of him. "I've always went to this carnival with my mom back in the US and I'm feeling kind of homesick. I accidentally bought two tickets too so now you gotta go with me."

You begin to pull at him to which he pulls back, a bored expression resting on his adorable face.

Adorable?

"No." He grunts.

You smile at him, "I wasn't giving you a choice."

#bakugou fanfiction #bakugou katuski x reader #bakugou x y/n #mha bakugou #bakugou bios #bakugou katsuki #bakugou x you #bakugou imagine #mha fluff #bnha fluff #my hero fluff #boku no hero fluff #bakugou fluff #katsuki fluff

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preserving-ferretbrain · 5 years

Text

City of Celluloid

by Dan H

Sunday, 01 September 2013

Dan has seen the City of Bones movie.

Uh-oh! This is in the Axis of Awful...~

I first reviewed Cassandra Cla(i)re's City of Bones in the halcyon days of 2008.

Today, Kyra and I went to see the movie!

Umm...

Long time readers (or people who read the review I linked to above) may recall that I found the original book of City of Bones so blisteringly incoherent that I was barely able to write about it in any kind of sensible manner.

The movie is worse.

Kyra and I saw this film in the tiny, crappy screen at the Odeon on Magdalen Street, an experience we shared with about a dozen other people, all of whom seemed to be having a similarly terrible experience.

Just as with the original book, I really don't know where to start. Because this film is awful in nearly every conceivable way.

Let's start with the good bits:

Good Bit: The Cast are Actually Pretty Cool

Jamie Campbell-Bower is actually really good as Fanon Draco. In the book, I felt that his constant wisecracking revealed less about the character's emotional turmoil than about the author's desire to show off her ability to write one-liners. Campbell-Bower's delivery, though, actually manages to create the impression that I always felt the book was aiming for but failed to achieve – that Fanon Draco is hiding behind playful or dismissive language in order to avoid confronting his feelings.

Lily Collins is a bit generic as Clary but then, really, what does she have to work with. She's … a girl? She has special powers? She's hot for Fanon Draco?

Robert Sheehan (the guy that plays Immortal Kid in Misfits) does a reasonable turn as Simon, although again there isn't a huge amount to do with the character. He wears glasses (temporarily). He has a raging case of nice-guy-syndrome. Meh. I swear he's taller in this than he is in other stuff.

Perhaps most excitingly (even more excitingly than Jamie Campbell-Bower, and I love Jamie Campbell-Bower), Jonathan Rhys Meyers does a fabulously scenery-chewing turn as Valentine. And boy does he need it, because if he stopped raging around and roaring for ten seconds, you might have to ask yourself what the holy fucking hell is actually supposed to be happening, and then you'd probably have to go and cry.

Incidentally, I think it probably says something about the way things work in Hollywood that the teenage protagonists of this film are played by actors in their mid twenties, while their father is played by an actor in his mid thirties. Clearly Valentine was extraordinarily sexually precocious (even if we ignore the fact that Collins and Campbell-Bower are the best part of a decade older than the characters they portray, Rhys-Meyers' Valentine would still have to have started breeding at nineteen to have two seventeen-year-old kids).

Good Bit: It Is Quite Visually Interesting

Part of the fun of this kind of film is that it lends itself quite well to spectacle, and in the beginning the film-makers do a really good job of establishing a visual style, whether it's the Hogwarts-esque grandeur of the institute, the hundreds of Shadowhunter runes that Clary draws in her sleep, or the grotesque, body-splitting demons.

Some of these images might come from the book. I honestly don't remember. I'm pretty sure that the device of Clary drawing Shadowhunter runes is film-only, and I seem to recall that the entire concept of Demons being able to possess people is contrary to book-canon (where Demons are fairly specifically greebly monsters that eat you).

Having said the film is quite visually interesting, I should backtrack a little and say that the film is quite visually interesting in kind of its first half. After they get to the Institute things just get very, very lazy. Big generic flappy-winged monsters. Generic black-and-red demons who look weirdly like the dudes that the Zin send after you in Saints' Row IV

Although Valentine does make a pentagram out of swords. For which plus ten points for swords, minus six points because the pentagram is such an obvious symbol.

And now the rest:

Bad Bit: What The Fuck Is Going On?

So Clary is drawing runes. Then she meets a guy who only she can see. Then later other people can see him.

Then her mum gets attacked by dudes who are looking for the Mortal Cup, so she drinks some kind of magic coma potion because that is apparently the thing you do in that situation.

Then Clary gets attacked by a demon, and the guy rescues her.

Then they do a lot of running around, and the guy who we saw with her mum earlier said he was only hanging out with her to get the cup.

Then they go to this place called the institute. Some people are vaguely rude to Clary. Others aren't.

Clary works out that Damien from Gossip Girl is both gay and in love with Fanon Draco, despite the fact that he has said one sentence and been on screen for eight seconds.

Then Clary goes to see the Silent Brothers. This is one of the bits that are vaguely visually interesting. She has a vision where she sees the name Bane (well, actually she see a series of dots, but Fanon Draco realises that the dots are really, umm, the spaces around the letters in the word BANE witten in block caps. Because her brain stored the negative image. Apparently).

Then they go to see a Warlock. It is vitally important that before they do this that (a) Clary get dressed up in sexy clothes and (b) everybody including Clary take the time to observe that she looks like a hooker, because while it is important for women to dress sexily, it is also important to remember that women who dress sexily are gigantic whores.

The warlock agrees to help them because he is gay, and therefore fancies Damien from Gossip Girl, because all gay men are instantly attracted to all other gay men. The warlock is not wearing any trousers. I am not making this up.

The Immortal Kid from Misfits is captured by vampires for no clear reason.

Something something werewolves something something.

Then there is a scene in a garden where it is all romantic and you know it is romantic because they kiss, but also because there is an extraordinarily loud and intrusive love song played over the top.

Then I think Clary works out where the Mortal Cup is, because she is drinking tea while reading a book, and suddenly the teacup goes inside the page like a picture.

Then they fight a scary black woman.

Then Clary gets the Mortal Cup. Then the man with the grey hair opens the big water portal and Valentine comes through.

Then there is a really, really long fight scene.

No, I mean, like really, really long.

I mean, like half an hour in a two hour movie.

There is a flamethrower. Why is there a flamethrower?

Clary does magic with her glowing dildo pen to freeze some demons.

Did I mention flamethrower?

Grey hair man is a good guy again?

Valentine is everybody's father.

They win?

More glowing dildo magic?

Clary and Fanon Draco drive away on a motorcycle. At a slow walking pace.

Potentially Hilarious Bit: Deviations From Canon

The thing I find most uplifting about the Mortal Instruments movie is that now not only will there be fanfiction based on a novel series based on fanfiction of a different novel series, but there will now be schisms within that fandom between book fans and movie fans.

I read City of Bones five years ago, so I don't really remember it at all well, but I'm pretty sure there were some pretty big changes from book-canon. I'm almost certain that the final confrontation in the original book doesn't take place in the Institute, and Valentine's motivations in the movie are a lot less morally ambiguous, in that he's fairly explicitly trying to take over the world with an army of demons rather than just wipe out the downworlders (I might also point out that the word “downworlder” only appears once in the entire movie).

At the risk of sounding like a horrible nerd and closeted Cla(i)re fanboy, I was strangely irritated by the fact that Valentine, in the film, is able to summon an army of demons by using sort of generic magic, since in the book of City of Ashes a major plot-point is that he needs the Mortal Sword for exactly that purpose.

Other changes form canon just made sense. For example, in the film, Valentine more or less states outright that he used the same kind of memory magic that Marcus Bane used on Clary in order to make Fanon Draco forget that he was raised by the most famous and reviled person in the history of his people. Now actually I'm pretty sure that this isn't possible under book-canon. Shadowhunter magic is runes and only runes, you'd need a warlock for a memory-block, and there's no way that Valentine would have gone to one. But here the film-makers did basically the best they could with what they had. The alternative would be to just go with what it says in the book, which is that Fanon Draco just completley failed to realise that the man who raised him looked exactly like the man whose picture is all over the Institute.

The film also strongly implied that the man Fanon Draco remembered as his father wore an enormous hood at all times.

On the subject of Fanon Draco's heritage, the film inexplicably chose to keep the nonsensical “M turned upside down” plot point from the book, and translated to a visual medium it has exactly the problem I pointed out in my original article. During the climactic scene, when Fanon Draco is staring at his hand and realising to his horror that what he thought was a W is actually an M, the camera is showing us the ring from the other side as it has more or less consistently throughout the entire movie so we are only just seeing it as a W when for us it has been an M for the rest of the film.

Also, the scene with the ring is also pretty much the first time we learn the surnames of either Valentine or Fanon Draco.

The final change from book-canon is to do with the … umm … incest.

A major plot point in The Mortal Instruments is that Clary and Fanon Draco want to be together but can't because they're brother and sister. At the end of the final book, it turns out that Valentine actually isn't Fanon Draco's father at all, he just did weird angel-blood experiments on him while he was still in the womb.

Now I could be wrong, but I think the film-makers really didn't want two and a half movies in which their male and female leads spent half their time seriously contemplating incestuous sex, so they put the “not his real father” line in before any of the other revelations. So now after Valentine shows up in the Institute, he has a conversation with Hodge, where Hodge says “hey, if you really wanted to screw with those guys you could lie and tell them they were brother and sister.” This somewhat alters the context of everything that happens next, and everything that will happen in the next two films.

So umm, yeah. That's City of Bones: the Movie. It may actually be worse than the book.Themes:

TV & Movies

Cassandra Clare

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http://ronanwills.wordpress.com/

at 14:01 on 2013-09-01Robert Sheehan is in this? I'm really hoping he's destined for better things, so this better not end up derailing his career.

Anyway, I was hoping to see a review of the movie on here so now I can satisfy my curiosity without actually watching it myself. I have to admit some of the clips they released actually looked fairly entertaining, but I guess they're not indicative of the movie itself.

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Dan H

at 15:22 on 2013-09-01I think it depends on what you mean by "indicative". There are certainly a lot of entertaining clips, it's just that there's nothing stringing them together. It's like the film is a two hour long trailer.

This is more or less exactly the same problem that I had with the book. There are quite a lot of cool scenes, but they just sort of happen one after the other with no real throughline or sense of arc.

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Fishing in the Mud

at 15:44 on 2013-09-01I'm kind of morbidly curious about what keeps the Clare train going. It looks like she's making money off her work and everything, but I have to wonder how she feels about the terrible reviews her work gets even from critics who like and praise popular writers like Whedon and Rowling. Something tells me the poor woman isn't just in this for the money.

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Arthur B

at 22:24 on 2013-09-01

Isn't this part of the usual weirdness with American media wanting to cast teenagers in sexually provocative roles but not, for obvious reasons, wanting to show actual (or even simulated) underage action on screen? I literally just started watching

Vampire Diaries

and half my viewing time so far has been spent yelling at the screen WHY ARE YOU STILL IN SCHOOL GET A JOB YOU SLACKERS

(Though to be fair, the fact that all the high schoolers are grown-ass adults makes the whole thing less creepy in some ways.)

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Cressida

at 22:55 on 2013-09-01A video review from The Nostalgia Chick; I'm curious what Ferretbrainers think...

http://blip.tv/nostalgia-chick/the-next-whatever-the-mortal-instruments-and-ya-adaptations-6635563

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Arthur B

at 23:19 on 2013-09-01My thoughts are "Woah, holy shit, a TGWTG reviewer who offers interesting insights and doesn't rely heavily on gimmicks, fake rage and wAcKy ChArAcTeRs, how rare is that?"

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Michal

at 00:56 on 2013-09-02I was actually about to post that video. Needless to say, I find her points to be very good ones.

My thoughts are "Woah, holy shit, a TGWTG reviewer who offers interesting insights and doesn't rely heavily on gimmicks, fake rage and wAcKy ChArAcTeRs, how rare is that?"

The good ones gather at Chez Apocalypse. Kyle Kallgren of

Brows Held High

is also very erudite and worth watching, especially his more recent videos. (Even better, the crossover between Nostalgia Chick and Brows Held High in which they review

Freddy Got Fingered

is truly something to behold)

I'm kind of morbidly curious about what keeps the Clare train going.

There are very few writers who are purely in it for the money, even the bad ones. I can assure you E.L. James probably enjoyed writing

Fifty Shades of Grey

very much and did not think "my

Twilight

fanfic will make millions!" But if there is a sentiment towards material gain behind Clare's work and writing, it can probably be summed up by

this enormous tour bus

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Fishing in the Mud

at 17:04 on 2013-09-02

I can assure you E.L. James probably enjoyed writing Fifty Shades of Grey very much and did not think "my Twilight fanfic will make millions!"

No doubt. But with Clare, I get the sense she doesn't want to write dreck and doesn't want people to think she writes dreck, but may not fully understand how to get better.

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http://wrongquestions.blogspot.com/

at 09:10 on 2013-09-03

with Clare, I get the sense she doesn't want to write dreck and doesn't want people to think she writes dreck

Obviously there's a non-trivial number of people who don't think that she writes dreck. She was a massively successful fanfic author, after all, to the extent of getting a professional publishing contract off her fanfic (and despite her books' debt to Harry Potter, unlike E.L. James she hasn't sold her fanfic; she had to write something from scratch and sell that). And I have seen other YA authors rave about her, though it's not clear to me how much of this is liking the books and how much liking her. Either way, she's got a community (and readers) who give her validation, and if the film of her book has been panned it will be pretty easy for her and her fans to take this as the result of adaptation decay rather than a reflection on the source material.

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Dan H

at 13:11 on 2013-09-03To be fair to Cla(i)re, I do think she's improved over the years. City of Bones was a gigantic incoherent mess. City of Ashes was a slightly less incoherent mess, City of Glass and Clockwork Angel were sort of okay. I mean they still had all of the annoying stuff that I'd expected from Clare's writing, but they actually told a story that made some modicum of sense.

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Alice

at 13:52 on 2013-09-03Either way, she's got a community (and readers) who give her validation, and if the film of her book has been panned it will be pretty easy for her and her fans to take this as the result of adaptation decay rather than a reflection on the source material.

This should be taken with a massive pinch of salt and a [citation needed], but the impression I got was that during the film production process, Clare had talked a lot about how closely involved with the film she was, but once it became clear the film was a flop, she backpedalled and began downplaying her involvement.

Then again, she's not in the business of making films, she's in the business of selling books, and she's pretty good at that.

And I have seen other YA authors rave about her, though it's not clear to me how much of this is liking the books and how much liking her.

Wasn't Maureen Johnson accused of being part of a YA Mafia (including Johnson and Clare) who were somehow all in cahoots and conspiring to get each other published? Because there happened to be a bunch of (aspiring/new) YA authors living in NYC at the same time who were friends and liked to hang out and write together, and happened to all get published to varying degrees of success/popularity? It all seemed a bit storm-in-a-teacup-ish to me, because, well, they were all in the same business, in the same city, and about the same age. And once two or three people become friends they're likely to make friends with each other's friends, especially if you're all in the same boat like that. And sure, they might have been able to help each other with getting agents and that sort of thing, but that's not quite the same thing as getting your friend published & on the bestseller list...

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http://alula-auburn.livejournal.com/

at 19:51 on 2013-09-03I've found the commercials amazingly bad, even for the parameters "that type of thing." Like, it's possible I've blocked it out, but I don't recall the Twilight ads looking so badly put together, in terms of picking out lines to quote or images to use.

Of course, I don't quite see how all the people involved in making a film didn't get the difference between something like Harry Potter or Twilight, which for better or worse penetrated the wider culture (even my extremely pop-cultural illiterate dad could identify Harry Potter as something with a school of wizards, and Twilight as vampires) and this--I think if you didn't have at least some sense of what the books were about the commercials would look even more pointless. (Which was kind of how I felt about the other YA fantasy flop? Beautiful Creatures? Southern accents and witches or something? I still don't know.)

I've not read the TMI (lol) books, but I did read the somewhat-annotated Draco trilogy in an overwrought, sleep-deprived unmedicated-for-a-chronic-pain-condition haze, and I can vaguely see how her style could be sort of compelling for the right sort of pretentious youthful mindset. (I didn't know about the plagiarism stuff then--I barely had a sense of fandom; I was a total naif.) But how it's held up to much more than that I don't know. I also don't know anything about TMI fandom--if the books have much if any staying power outside either that brief, pretentious adolescent window (which can almost be endearing in its own way) or the somewhat incestuous-seeming YA reviews. But there are adults, I guess, who find the ponderous self-absorption of the Twilight books (at least, that's the tone I saw in the quoted lines I read) to be good and profound writing.

That said, I find John Green tiresome and the bit of Maureen Johnson I read didn't do much for me. I don't know if I've had bad luck lately in my YA choices (I read Thirteen Reasons Why because I got it for free), but I've seen a lot more of that faux-deep heavy tone, which to me does not indicate a "maturing" of YA. (But I have personal reasons to be snippy about "literary" YA, so.)

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Alice

at 20:44 on 2013-09-04I've found the commercials amazingly bad, even for the parameters "that type of thing."

I don't know that I thought they were that unusually terrible (within the parameters of "that type of thing", at least), but I was confused by the number of English accents on display, particularly Jace's. Is he meant to be/sound English*, or is it just that Jamie Campbell Bower can't do a US accent?

*I don't remember him being pegged as English in the book, but I read that years ago and don't remember the details.

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Cammalot

at 21:42 on 2013-09-04One odd thing -- virtually every review I've read of this film has complained that Jayce is "a thousand years old" or similar and either doesn't act it, or shouldn't be macking on Clary at his age. Is that something that the film made particularly confusing? I don't recall him or any other forefront character being anything like an immortal in the book -- I mainly remember Isabelle being 14 and acting a bit precociously vampy.

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Dan H

at 19:26 on 2013-09-05@Alice

That confused me as well. I don't think I've ever *heard* him do an American accent, but the guy is an actor, surely he can learn? Is it that Valentine has an English accent because he's the villain, and Jace has an English accent because he was raised by Valentine? Or am I giving the film too much credit.

@Cammalot

One odd thing -- virtually every review I've read of this film has complained that Jayce is "a thousand years old" or similar and either doesn't act it, or shouldn't be macking on Clary at his age. Is that something that the film made particularly confusing?

*Everything* in the film is particularly confusing. The film makes no real attempt to explain anything, and there's one line where Jace says something about his people having been doing something "for a thousand years" and the way he says it I can see why somebody who wasn't familiar with Cla(i)re's work might think he was talking from personal experience.

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Fishing in the Mud

at 00:04 on 2013-09-06Fanon Draco must retain his English accent to remain fuckworthy. This point is not negotiable.

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Dan H

at 01:14 on 2013-09-06A tiny part of me is *incredibly* sad that they didn't cast Tom Felton as Jace.

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Cheriola

at 04:31 on 2013-09-06

While I agree that the wish to sexualise teenagers is probably part of the practise of

Dawson Casting

, the reasons for it are also based in labour laws. It's much less of a hassle to work with adults who can work a full day and don't still have to get high school lessons on the side / won't suddenly leave the franchise in order to start college. And you don't run into problems like the Harry Potter movies with teen actors who age faster than their characters or suddenly look a lot different than their characters are supposed to. (e.g. the actor playing Neville became quite handsome.) Plus, even if there is the occasional prodigy, most actors really do need drama school before being anywhere close to good enough to portray actual characters, instead of just being 'cute'.

Clearly Valentine was extraordinarily sexually precocious (even if we ignore the fact that Collins and Campbell-Bower are the best part of a decade older than the characters they portray, Rhys-Meyers' Valentine would still have to have started breeding at nineteen to have two seventeen-year-old kids).

Really? It's considered "precocious" to be a horny 19-year-old egomaniac who doesn't use condoms? Seems in keeping with the power-high invincibility complex and the lack of care for other people's problems that usually characterise a stereotypical villain like that. I mean, it's not him that would have to care the baby, unless he wants to.

Also, the scene with the ring is also pretty much the first time we learn the surnames of either Valentine or Fanon Draco.

I've skim-read the book article to know what you're even talking about, and... Wait, his surname is Morgenstern?! She took a character who was a blatant Hitler metaphor and made him ethnically Jewish? That... Wow.

One can only hope that she simply wanted a German name (because all Germans are Nazis...) and thought it would be cute to use one that doubled as a Lucifer reference (it means "morning star"), and that she simply didn't do any research on German name origins. [It's one of those names that the Jewish population of the Holy Roman Empire chose when they were forced to adopt surnames in the 18th century. Usually it's pretty-sounding compound words not refering to a profession - like Goldblum(e) ("golden flower"), Bernstein ("amber") or Lilienthal ("valley of lilies").]

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Fishing in the Mud

at 11:55 on 2013-09-06I think some reviewer pointed out that the "Morgenstern" thing is one more reason the film won't work for anyone old enough to remember

Rhoda

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Alice

at 14:09 on 2013-09-06I've skim-read the book article to know what you're even talking about, and... Wait, his surname is Morgenstern?! She took a character who was a blatant Hitler metaphor and made him ethnically Jewish? That... Wow.

Well, Cassandra Clare is herself Jewish, so I imagine she was aware of what she was doing when she introduced the Morgenstern reference (along with its cultural/historical baggage). :-)

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Cheriola

at 15:37 on 2013-09-06Really? Huh. Well, it's her right then, I suppose. I just wonder what went through her mind that she thought saying "Yeah, our guys could be just as bad, given half a chance" and feeding into 'zionists want world domination' myths was a good idea.

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Arthur B

at 15:43 on 2013-09-06Is it not possible for Clare to be both Jewish

and

ignorant of the name's history, so she plucked a name which sounded German to her out of thin air without researching it?

I suspect she was going for the "Morgenstern = Morning Star = Lucifer" deal rather than the "Morgenstern = Jew" angle, after all.

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Alice

at 16:14 on 2013-09-06Is it not possible for Clare to be both Jewish and ignorant of the name's history, so she plucked a name which sounded German to her out of thin air without researching it?

I suppose it's possible, but I'd honestly be very surprised if she didn't read Morgenstern as sounding Jewish, even if she didn't know about the historical origins of the name.

I suspect she was going for the "Morgenstern = Morning Star = Lucifer" deal rather than the "Morgenstern = Jew" angle, after all.

Yeah, same. I suppose the thing with Morgenstern is that it's an obvious enough reference that her readers are fairly likely to catch it (and feel all clever and intellectual), while still being a recognisable surname. (She could have used the Greek form if she'd wanted to be more pretentious than usual, but "(h)eosphoros" doesn't really lend itself to turning into a surname that's easily pronounceable in English.)

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Dan H

at 17:53 on 2013-09-06

Really? It's considered "precocious" to be a horny 19-year-old egomaniac who doesn't use condoms?

I was thinking more of the scenario in which he'd started having kids at eleven rather than nineteen (and I'm using "precocious" here in the sense of "premature" rather than "talented"). Although even nineteen doesn't *really* make sense if we look at the way that the history is played up - it's never suggested that Valentine got Jocelyn pregnant accidentally, or that he had kids unusually young.

Valentine is clearly *supposed* to be in his early forties at least, it's just that then he wouldn't be in the narrow window during which Hollywood decrees actors the right age to be sexy.

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Alasdair Czyrnyj

at 23:07 on 2013-09-11

oh my what a shame who could have forseen rhubarb rhubarb

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Fishing in the Mud

at 02:03 on 2013-09-12Yeah, if it hasn't managed to turn a profit in a good three weeks, I don't blame anyone for backing off. The standards for bestselling books are a whole lot lower than for movie blockbusters.

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Dan H

at 16:02 on 2013-09-12

The standards for bestselling books are a whole lot lower than for movie blockbusters.

I assume you mean "the revenues expected from bestselling books are a whole lot lower than the revenues expected from movie blockbusters". Because for most other expectations (plot, characterization, that sort of thing), bestselling books and blockbuster movies are pretty much on par.

Also: I've been poking around the forums on Rotten Tomatoes and some of the discussions are hilarious. I particularly like the people complaining about Jace having a British accent, and the other people saying "No, that makes sense. They grew up in Idris, which is in Europe, so they'd naturally have picked up British accents."

Because all European people have British accents, you guys.

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Cammalot

at 20:11 on 2013-09-12

Because all European people have British accents, you guys.

I've long enjoyed listening to the variety of accents with which Swedish people speak English. (This is a tangent, but not a joke. There was a little honest-to-goodness rivalry in one of my classes between the ones who'd learned with a North American/U.S. accent and the ones who'd learned received pronunciation [capitalize?] -- two of these were siblings on opposite sides -- and they all ganged up on the lone Norwegian.)

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Dan H

at 22:37 on 2013-09-12

This is a tangent, but not a joke.

Three Swedes walk into a schwa?

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Shim

at 23:10 on 2013-09-12

Three Swedes walk into a schwa?

...and say "əw!"?

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Fishing in the Mud

at 01:16 on 2013-09-13

I assume you mean "the revenues expected from bestselling books are a whole lot lower than the revenues expected from movie blockbusters".

Right, sorry about the word salad. Yesterday was a long day.

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http://elsurian.livejournal.com/

at 05:24 on 2013-09-13In the halcyon days of 2008

Jesus Christ, has this franchise really been around for 5 years?

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Cammalot

at 18:13 on 2013-09-13

Three Swedes walk into a schwa?

Hee.

I want to make some sort of vegetable-based pun now, but I got nothin'.

Jesus Christ, has this franchise really been around for 5 years?

And going on what, nine books? (Gotta admire the productivity.)

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Dan H

at 19:05 on 2013-09-13Is anybody else feeling really freaking old right about now?

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Cammalot

at 19:55 on 2013-09-13Yes!

(Although that's partly because at today's freelance gig, I just met a coworker who was born my first year of college.)

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Dan H

at 21:58 on 2013-09-13Ouch.

I'm particularly looking forward to our next couple of GCSE intakes, which will be the point at which I start working with people who were born in the 21st century.

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Fishing in the Mud

at 00:44 on 2013-09-14Yeah, I just found out half the people I report to directly at work are younger than I am.

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#Ferretbrain #Cassandra Clare #The Mortal Instruments #Axis of Awful #Dan H

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aeschylusresigned-blog · 7 years

Note

all of the memories

Dead body found in ditch with a laptop opened to Tumblr??? More at 10.

Note: I will be switching between Human Hal and Android Hal

💌- A memory about an important event in my muse’s life

There was the patter of soft footsteps against the cement as Hal bounded forward, full of all the vivacious energy on would expect in a child. The wind brushed against his pale locks as he took it upon himself to spin in a wide arc and giggle. “Mom, look! The leaves are so pretty here! Where are we?” He spun himself dizzy until he crashed in a confused heap against his mother. As his red eyes peered up, a strange expression flickered across his mother’s face. Before he could dwell on it, though, it was replaced with a strange smile.

“Yes, I know.” She said softly, taking Hal’s small hand in her own as she led him forwards. Ahead, a large building loomed over them. The words printed on top were too complex for Hal’s little 5 year old brain to comprehend. He made out a giant “Fos” and the word “Home” and the cluster of “Chi…dren.” The sign was payed no mind, though, because was busy gaping at the vast expanse of walls as his mother led him in.

There was a lady behind the counter who gave Hal a strange look and spoke low hushed sentences with his mother. Then, he was being led away by the lady behind the counter. “Where’re we goin’?” He furrowed his brows, head turning back to glance at his mother. His mother who’s expression had changed to an icy one. He couldn’t understand the change and thought that perhaps he had done something wrong.

“You’re just going to stay here for a little while, sweetheart. Mommy will come get you later.” Her words had an odd tone to them but Hal ignored them in favor of settling on the promise she made. Oh, so that was it. This was just a new daycare for him to stay at while his mom and dad went to work. That in mind, he happily chirped a goodbye and hurried after the counter lady. She introduced him to a room filled with bunk beds and children and showed him the bed he was to be sleeping on. Hal sat down almost obliviously, content to nap as he waited for his mother to return.

🎀- A memory about being a child

“Why do you wear these?” Hal’s eyes were wide behind the tinted shades. He furrowed his brows, nose crunching up as he tried to peer past the expanse of opaque shadows painted across the triangular shaped glasses. His head turned as he nearly squeaked in surprise at how close he was to slicing Dirk’s cheek with the tip of the shades. Which wasn’t really a great idea. He didn’t want to go hurting his brother only after a year of knowing him. Not to mention, he liked his new brother and he didn’t want to hurt him.

Clearly, Dirk did not share any of his concerns and he gave him the most unamused look an 8 year old could muster. A soft huff left his lips and his amber gaze was quickly leaving Hal to refocus on whatever it was he was fiddling with.

“Because.” Was all he offered, his voice slightly huffy and pouty. Not that it was a surprise given that Hal had literally stolen his shades right off the tip of his nose. That, however, wasn’t the focus of Hal’s concerns. Hal rolled himself up in his blankets and slipped off their shared bunk bed. He settled on the floor, shoulder pressing against Dirk’s as he attempted to survey the newest thing his brother was working on.

His vision was blocked by an annoyed face and before he knew it Dirk was reaching out and snagging the shades from Hal’s face. Hal watched with a bit of a pout as the glasses were slipped back onto Dirk’s face. Dirk seemed to study him for a moment before he was reaching for something out of Hal’s line of sight.

Suddenly, the world was tinted several shades darker and there was a weight of something hanging on the bridge of his nose. Pale fingers reached up and traced the outline of what seemed to be a pair of shades identical to Dirk’s.

“It’s for you.” Dirk supplied not so helpfully, “You’re always lookin’ at mine so I thought you’d like your own.”

“For..me?” A wondrous tone touched his words. Hal couldn’t remember the last time he had been given a gift. “Mhm.” His face split into a wide grin and he was lunging forward to tackle Dirk in a hug.

“Thank you.”

🛍- A memory about being a teenager

There was a dull ache in his cheek and a stinging pain in his arm. Blood dripped from his nose and splattered onto the white canvas of his shirt. Distinctly, he could hear the drone of his laptop whirring away on the safe refuges of his bed, beckoning him to just snuggle up and fall asleep. Except, the ache in his cheek was really calling his attention at the moment.

Hal surveyed himself in the mirror, glancing over the purple bruise that formed a ring around his left eye. There was a similarly shaded one blossoming on his cheek and his face was littered with small scrapes. A steady stream of blood trickled down from his nose, the blood matching in color with the red that stained his arm. Something probably attributed to the wide cut running along the path from his elbow to his wrist.

Maybe, he thought to himself, it was a better idea to refrain from picking fights with people who were by the most obvious means stronger than him. Maybe then he wouldn’t end up as such a disaster. His counselor had said it was alright to indulge himself, after all people coped with shocking situations in different ways, but he really didn’t think his counselor intended for him to go picking fights he knew he couldn’t win.

He didn’t have long to dwell on it though because the sound of keys jingling in the lock and the front door swinging open was enough to set him draw his attention. Normally he would have made a fuss about hiding all evidence of his one-sided row but for some reason today the motivation fled him. So he meticulously wiped away the blood on his arm and nose and made no motion to close the bathroom door.

Unsurprisingly, the next time he looked up he was greeted with a figure at the doorway sporting triangular shades as always. Dirk. He glanced over the figure of his elusive brother and then lifted the towel. Dabbing the towel over the scrapes that littered his face, he tried his best to ignore the stifling presence of his brother.

“You don’t wear your shades anymore.” Was all that he said after Hal had finished his job of wiping up his blood. Red eyes slid over to Dirk and narrowed. After months of radio silence, he hadn’t really imagined their first conversation going like this.

“No,” Hal agreed as he began to turn back to the mirror. “Because I do not have anything to hide.” He reveled in the flinch Dirk gave him right before he stormed away.

🍾- A memory about being an adult

“Are you sure about this?” Dimitri quirked a brow, shifting his weight on his feet as he cradled the bouquet of flowers to his chest. He looked awkward standing there. Just a bulky figure significantly larger than Hal standing there with a small bundle of flowers and looking vaguely uncomfortable. A snort pushed past Hal’s lips and he snatched the flowers from Dimitri’s hold. A moment was taken to smooth over the flowers and make sure they were in pristine condition.

“Yes, Dimitri, for the ninth time I am sure I want you to accompany me to my birth parents’ grave.” The uncomfortable look on Dimitri’s face seemed to worsen as his shoulders hunched over. Hal ignored him in favor of starting towards the cemetery gates. He didn’t bother to check if the other man was following or not.

“But isn’t it better to deal with this sort of thing with someone you know?” Dimitri sounded pensive, his footsteps heavy against the concrete sidewalk. Hal could faintly make out a slight drag to his footsteps that gave away his companion’s hesitant mood.

“I know you. You of all people should understand this more than anyone else.” Hal didn’t need to turn around to know a frown was tugging on Dimitri’s lips.

“We’ve spoken for a week, Hal.” The answer came easily, slipping out of Hal’s lips like the morning breeze. Gentle but affirmative all at the same time. “We’ve known each other longer.”

Hal breathed in through his nose, exhaling sharply as he spun on his heels. When he spoke, his voice sounded defensive. “Look, if you do not want to come with me then just say it. There is little point griping about the decision I have made.” Dimitri seemed to sigh and then shuffle forward. He gave a small nod to tell Hal he would follow along.

“Fine but only because I know you just want me there to have a silent shoulder to cry on.”

🛌- A memory about being old/on their deathbed

Hal had always thought he would die young so when he found himself in the hospital hooked up to a million IVs he was the furthest from surprised. He couldn’t really say he’s lived a good life as his life was often tumultuous and quarrelsome. In a way, he had come to accept his inevitable death. It was funny, really. How he used to fear the shadowy grasps of death. Now, he felt nothing, only a faint nostalgia he hadn’t felt in years.

In retrospect, maybe he should have told the nurse to call his family. Or what was left of it. At the time, approximately three weeks prior, he had thought it was a minor thing. He would be in and out of the hospital in a flash. But as the days dragged on, he grew less sure that that was the case. He had heard the nurses speak about kidney failure and a failing immune system but he didn’t care enough to truly listen. Which led him to his current situation.

Every breath he took was an arduous effort. As the air filled his lungs, his life drained away. For a moment, he thought he was back home in the searing Texan heat fanning himself as Dirk tried to get the AC working again. A smile touched his lips before the image was gone and replaced with dull white walls that seemed to stretch on forever before his eyes.

He heaved a soft sigh, eyes glossy. How ironic. He was brought up alone in the world and now he would pass away alone once more. It didn’t bother him anymore, how could it when the welcoming embrace of death was wrapping so snugly around his shoulders. It welcomed him like a friend and Hal believed every voiceless word it told him.

In retrospect, he supposed he wished he had at least made amends with his brother. The last time they spoke, the both of them had gotten into a huge fight. He should have apologized earlier but it was much too late for that now. His death likely wouldn’t bother anyone too terribly. After all he was but another insignificant being in the great expanse of the universe.

Maybe, he thought as his eyes slowly creaked shut, it was better this way.

🎎- A memory about their parents

“Alright you little buggers,” Bro’s voice projected loudly into the room and Hal could faintly hear his footsteps stop at the doorway. “Where are you?” He glanced over at Dirk who was hidden besides him underneath the desk. Dirk brought a single finger up to his lips to mime the universal sign of ‘Don’t talk.”’ Grinning widely, Hal mimicked the action and wedged further underneath the desk. He held his breath as Bro’s footsteps came closer and halted right before their closet. It looked like he was searching the inside of the closet for them.

Hal threw another glace at Dirk who nodded sagely and the both of them were barreling out of the desk and bolting. Through all his giggling, he could hear Bro shout with mock annoyance as he dashed after them. They split at the hall way. Dirk booking it towards the roof as Hal went for the basement. There was a purposeful lag in steps that persuaded Bro to take after him first. Loud laughter rang through the hallways as Hal ran, Bro hot on his tail.

He looped around the apartment, leading Bro up the stairway and onto the roof where Dirk was waiting on top of the AC unit with a bucket of water balloons.

“Attack!” Dirk shouted as he pelted the balloons with more precision than an eight year old ought to have. Hal was quick to clamor onto the AC unit and join in the assault. Small fingers closed around the rubbery balloons and pelted them at hard as he could at Bro. Who was, at the moment, currently being too hurt by Dirk and Hal’s mutual betrayal to do anything.

Approximately 60 balloons later a soaking wet and defeated Bro was laying before them. Hal nudged him with his foot and made an inquisitive noise. “The two of you are going to be the death of me.” The Bro shaped figure groaned, flopping over on his back. Hal’s face lit with delight and flopped right down across his belly, Dirk following in suit. Bro’s nice clothes were all ruined but Hal didn’t really care and by the looks of it neither did Bro or Dirk.

“Bros stick together.” Dirk announced as he flicked at Bro’s cheek. Hal nodded along and laughed when Bro only groaned again.

🎏- A memory about their siblings

To say Hal was surprised by seeing his brother tangled with a familiar dark haired, spectacle wearing man was an overstatement, honestly. What really irked Hal, though, was that he was watching his brother suck on some boy’s face in Hal’s own bed on the day Hal was going to spill good news to his brother. The fact that it was a certain person that Hal disliked that Dirk was macking on made it even more annoying.

See, Hal had it planned out. He was going to show Dirk the acceptance letter to the college he’d been dreaming of going to along with the scholarship attached and then Dirk was going to be happy with him. Then Hal would reveal that he was leaving that night and they would have a nice dinner to celebrate ad say goodbye. After that, Dirk would drive Hal to the airport and they’d part with promises to message each other stupid shit.

Evidently, that wasn’t how things were going to turn out. His good mood effectively tarnished, Hal cleared his throat loudly to make his presence known. He watched with unamused eyes as the two of them hurriedly parted and the intruder mumbled some excuses while gathering his things and dashing out of the room. It took a solid seven seconds after glasses wearing intruder left the house for Dirk to level a glare with Hal. “Couldn’t you have at least knocked?”

“Why? It is my room too. You aren’t the only one who lives in this household, you know. As if you are one to talk. You’re the one who was getting it on with your boyfriend in my bed.” Hal stepped into the room. As he collected the remaining items in his room and shoved them into his bag, he made a point of not looking at Dirk.

“He’s not my boyfriend.” Was Dirk’s lame response. Hal scoffed, shouldering the bag as he mustered the most unimpressed look he could make.

“Oh yes, I suppose he’s just another guy you’ve been ogling at for the past few years. Just some random stranger he invited over so you could suck on his face and listen to his feeble moans.” His lips pulled down into a sneer as he shoved his laptop and boarding pass into his bag.

“Fuck off Hal. Can you keep your nose out of my business for one goddamn second? God, it’s no wonder your parents gave you up.” Dirk seemed to realize his mistake a moment too late. A cold expression settled on Hal’s face.

“Hal-” “No, you’re right.” Hal cut him off abruptly, eyes narrowing into an icy glare. “Lucky for you, I’ll be out of your hair for the next four years. While you were busy trying to get into someone’s pants, I was packing my things and shipping them across the country. Not that you ever cared to notice.” Hal shoved the crinkled acceptance letter into Dirk’s hands and pushed past him towards the door. “You should be glad, now you don’t have to put up with me anymore.” His words were hissed as he swung the door open.

“Goodbye, Dirk.” The door slammed shut behind him.

💎- A precious memory they hold dear

‘Why are you here?” Hal blinked warily at the man before him. There were round shades perched on his nose and his hair was a light shade of blonde. He was wearing what Hal deemed ‘fancy clothes.’ The same thing the inspectors wore whenever they came to check up on the orphanage except the man was missing a clipboard and walkie talkie. Hal had seen him almost every day now for the past few weeks now.

It had started when the man spotted Hal sneaking out of the orphanage to get his daily “alone” time. Having heard the aides’s many warnings about strangers, Hal was initially wary of him. But as the days went on, all the man wanted to do was play on the swing sets with him. Which was weird but Hal accepted the offer nonetheless and found himself looking forward to seeing the odd man at park so he could challenge him to another swinging contest.

What made this time so different was that they weren’t at the park. They were at the orphanage and Hal was supposed to be reading his books not talking to semi strangers. But the man seemed unfazed. His shades were folded and Hal could see the hanging from the front of his fancy shirt. His eyes were the most brilliant red he’d ever seen, one that matched his own.

“I’m here to ask if you want join my family.” Hal tilted his head, brows furrowing. “Family?” He asked, bewildered.

“Yeah, y’know. Like mom, dad, that type of thing. What I’m tryin’ to say is that I’m adopting you but I want to make sure you’re alright with that too.” Red eyes narrowed and Hal was immediately on alert. The last he checked, his own parents didn’t even want him. Why would this strange man be any different? His alarm surely must have shown on his face because the man was holding up his hands in surrender and quickly babbling on about something Hal didn’t care to listen to.

“…-I promise I won’t be so bad. I’ll just be like an older bro to you to look over you. I’ve got the room for you all set up and you won’t have to put up with all of these other kids-…” Hal mulled over the idea, his expression contemplative. “So what do you say lil’ man?” He looked up, finding earnest eyes staring back at him, and nearly blanked out for a moment. He hadn’t been listening to anything he said.

But, he reasoned, it wouldn’t be so bad. He hated it at the orphanage and the man was offering a way out. Not to mention he played with him on the swings so surely he was’t that bad. Having his mind made up, Hal nodded and offered a small smile. The man responded with a larger own of his own.

“Great. Nice to meet you lil’ bro.”

🕯- A sad memory they would rather forget

The entire situation felt unreal to him. One moment he was in his biology class listening to his teacher harp on about why freshman were terrible and by extension they were terrible and the next moment he was standing in a hospital staring at a metal slab that held the body of his brother.

His nerves were all over the place, his mind replaying the message the policeman had told him and Dirk. “The plane that your brother was on crash landed. He was a hero, you two should be proud. He managed to evacuate twenty seven passengers from the burning plane before the entire structure collapsed on him.” The words echoed on and on like a broken record.

Dead. Bro was dead. He couldn’t believe it, didn’t want to believe it. Just a few days ago they had Skyped him and he was so full of life and vivacity. The decorations Hal and Dirk had hung up to commemorate Bro’s return home were still up and Hal could clearly envision the shitty cardboard letters they cut out hanging from the ceiling. But now he was in a stuffy hospital room with about five other people looking at a cloth covered lump and being told that was his brother. It was unreal to him.

Hal cast his gaze around bewilderingly, glancing over the woman who claimed to be Bro’s sister and meeting Dirk’s own shocked look. There were three doctors in the room, two of which were speaking with Bro’s sister while the other one fiddled with instruments off to the side.

“We’ll unveil the body now so you can confirm its him.” Despite being right next to him, the doctor’s voice seemed so far away. He was muted by the roaring nothingness that swept through Hal’s brain and seeped through his core. He felt like he was watching through a stranger’s eyes as the cloth was peeled back from the table.

It wasn’t until Hal saw Bro’s face, marred with burns and scrapes, did everything come crashing down. The realization that god that really is Bro strangled him and he felt nailed to the spot. His voice caught in his throat, his eyes burning as tears spilled down his cheeks.

Dead. His brother was dead.

🗑- A silly situation that still makes them laugh

“Hal come on, this isn’t funny.” Dirk’s voice was pitched with frustration as he batted futilely at the seagulls that flocked his head. Loud laughter was Hal’s only response for a good long moment, doubling over as he wheezed to his hearts content. Through bleary eyes, he snapped a shot of Dirk and filed it away into his mental archives.

“I -wheeze- don’t know about that Dirk. It’s pretty fucking hilarious to me.” If Hal was capable of crying he was sure he would have been bawling his eyes out with how hard he was laughing. Dirk, however, was less amused as he fended of the seagulls plucking at his hair. Hal had been feeding the seagulls when he miscalculated his throw and accidentally lodged a chunk of cracker in Dirk’s gel coated hair. The seagulls didn’t let that stop them though and before he knew it the entire flock of seagulls were swarming around Dirk’s hair and plucking it apart.

By now, Dirk’s hair was completely crumb free but apparently some of the seagulls didn’t let that stop them from scavenging for more in the strands of Dirk’s perfectly sculpted hair. “Hal!” Dirk’s voice broke through his thoughts and his head snapped up to meet Dirk’s glare. “Do something!” Fighting off more laughter, Hal managed to gather a handful of cracker crumbs and lead the gulls away from Dirk.

When he turned back, Dirk was attempting to comb his hair back down with his fingers. The hair in question was completely demolished and Hal was pretty sure he could spot a hint of bird shit somewhere in those pale locks.

“You might- pfft- want to take a shower.” He gasped out, the laughter overtaking his systems again. Dirk scowled and stormed back inside.

🌌- A time they got to admire the beauty of nature

The only thought running through Hal’s mind at the moment was that he was going to fall and he was going to die. He could hear his fans whirring faster in response to his distress and Davesprite, the fucker, only laughed in response. Hal wasn’t entirely sure why he agreed to this. The feathery sprite had been so convincing before, claiming that he knew a star gazing spot that beat all others. One thing led to the other and the next thing Hal knew he was clinging to Davesprite as he soared several million feet above the ground. Which was in no ways safe and Hal was going to fall and he was going to die.

He didn’t know how long it took for them to land, his eyes screwed shut as he clung to the sprite’s back. Needless to say, he didn’t realize they were at ground level again until he was being shrugged off as a voice spoke at him. “Come on Hal, you can open your eyes now. Look we’re on ground again.” True to his word, Hal opened his eyes right as his feet touched the dirt.

“Oh sweet, sweet land. I am never leaving you again.” Hal lamented dramatically as he made a show of patting the ground. Davesprite rolled his eyes and nudged him, gesturing upwards.

The gaze that met his eyes was absolutely breathtaking. The sky was as clear as a crystal, painted with hues of black and dark blue. Faintly, Hal could see the sky illuminate with what appeared to be a mimic of the Northern Lights. The stars twinkled and stretched on, painting the canvas of the sky with white dots of beauty. It was absolutely astonishing. Better than anything he could have seen at Dirk’s apartment.

“What’d I say?” Hal didn’t need to look to know that Davesprite was smirking, “Pretty, right?”

🌃- A time they got to admire the beauty of a city

Although Hal had left Texas in a foul mood and spent the majority of the plane ride brewing in his anger, he found that the excitement of moving to a new city easily overtook him. He left the airport with an odd bounce to his step, his bag swinging to and fro on his shoulder and he rolled his suitcase down the streets. It was a long cab ride from the airport to the apartment he was going to be staying at but Hal found that he didn’t quite mind.

His fingers fiddled with the straps of his bag as he peered eager out of the window. Before him, the lights of the city rushed past. There were people loitered on the streets, conversing as they strolled. Large billboards lit up with varying advertisements and cars zoomed past him down the streets. Occasionally, he could hear the thrum of obscenely loud club music vibrating against the cab. The driver wasn’t so pleased and muttered something along the lines of “Hooligans” but Hal only laughed with delight.

When they finally reached his apartment, just a little ways off the center of the city, Hal was drunk off the excitement. He dragged him suitcase up the flight of stairs, unlocking the door to his place and throwing open the living room curtains.The city stretched out before him, glimmering with all the lights that chased away the darkness. A wide smile touched his cheeks as he peeled open the windows. The cool night air hit his face but Hal only laughed as he drank it all in. He was going to love it here.

🎞- A memory that never fails to come back to their mind, good or bad

The silence was stifling. It sat heavy on Hal, unsettling him as he shifted about. He avoided looking across the room for there Dirk sat and Dirk really wasn’t all too pleased with him. What did Hal expect, though, starting arguments with his creator like that? The guilt was crushing him and he was nearly driven to speak when Dirk finally moved.

Dirk stood from his seat, dusting his clothes off as he waited for Hal too look up at him. Which Hal did just a few seconds after. His face was carefully neutral, eyes staring right back at Dirk’s shades. “Do you know what my biggest regret is, Hal?” Dirk spoke suddenly, his voice deceptively soft. Hal narrowed his eyes and rose his defenses. “No.” He said, his voice near robotic. Dirk didn’t answer immediately.

The silence stretched on even longer as Dirk took his time in answering. Hal watched him straighten out his desk before he actually turned back to him. Although the shades obscured his eyes, Hal could feel him staring right at him. His amber eyes dug straight into his soul and Hal couldn’t help but feel vulnerable under the intensity of it.

“Finding out I was capable of creating sentient life and then ending up with you.” Hal could feel his metal heart groan under the weight of guilt and self hatred and he visibly flinched back, expression unreadable. Dirk said nothing more and merely exited the room.

🐉- A memory that gets them thinking

Hal stood shock still at the doorway, eyes wide as he stared at Dirk. Dirk who currently had his old chassis- his shades- dangling in his fingers. Two staggering steps were taken forward and a sense of panic settled in him. The shades acted like a kill switch for Hal’s body. One snap and his systems would be crashing faster than he could blink. Normally, Dirk kept them hidden away for safe keeping to make sure no unnecessary damage would come to Hal. Yet, there he was with his fingers closed tightly around the frame of the glasses.

“Dirk what are you-” His world erupted in pain, vision spotting with a hazy white as he faintly watched Dirk bend the shades in half. His vocal chords replaced his words with metallic screeches and he could physically see the error messages flash before his eyes.

“Dirk! Please! Stop, please, Dirk I’m begging you.” He managed through his bouts of static laden screaming. The pain washed over him in waves, seeping through his lines of code as slowly eating away at his programming. He fell to his knees, collapsing on the ground as he grit his teeth. A fair of feet walked into his line of vision and suddenly he was being flipped over and greeted with the impassive look of Dirk’s face.

“Why?” Dirk asked, fingers still closed around the glasses. Hal could make out the bleary outlines of cracks beginning to blossom on the surface of the shades. From that distance Dirk looked frustrated, his brows drawn together as his eyes glinted with a nameless emotion.

“Please, Dirk. I don’t want to die.” He choked out, writhing with pain as the cracks grew. Dirk’s brows only furrowed even more, his voice demanding. “Why?” Hal could hear him growl lowly as the shades were bent further.

“I’m-” Hal was drowning in a sea of pain, his senses overloading all other thought processes. “I’m scared to not exist.” The words tumbled out of his lips accompanied with sobs and gasps of pain. He didn’t see the expression that crossed Dirk’s face nor did he see how Dirk seemed to be staring down at his hands in horror. The last thing he saw was the pair of cracked shades tumbling to the floor before he blacked out completely.

🌸- A memory about life and joy

“Look at that! Aw, they’re so adorable!” Sebastian crooned, poking his head under Hal’s arm to get a better glance at the litter of newly born kittens. Hal chuckled breathlessly, running a hand through his hair as he nodded.

“I suppose I must agree with you there.” A fond smile played on his lips as he watched the mother of the kittens groom the small mewling beasts. Hal didn’t dare go any close for fear of provoking the cat to attack. Sebastian, however, had little reserves and took to petting the cat while crooning compliments. Not entirely unreasonable given that the cat was his own and Hal was currently in Sebastian’s home.

“Guess Muffin wasn’t really sick after all!” Sebastian chirped happily, plopping down onto the floor to gush over the kittens. “Thanks for coming with me to check anyways Hal!”

“No problem kiddo.” Hal couldn’t help reaching out ruffle Sebastian’s hair and smiling.

🥀- A memory about death and grief

It had been a year since Bro died and neither Dirk nor Hal were completely over it. They tip toed around the subject, never truly bringing it up for fear of the shattering whatever false peace they had. The school had set them up with a counselor that would meet them at different intervals. Hal never really knew how Dirk’s sessions went and he assumed the same applied the other way around. It didn’t feel like the counseling sessions were helping, however. As the days went on, he and Dirk drifted further apart.

Dirk’s method of coping, apparently, including closing himself off to all except for a select three Hal noted with a particular bitterness that the list of chosen three didn’t include him. His counselor reassured him that it was natural, that people had different methods of coping. It didn’t make Hal feel any better. Which was why when the upperclassman that he’d been crushing on first offered an invitation to an extremely shady party, Hal had accepted. He frequented the parties, let his tongue drown with the taste of whiskey as the feeling of kisses scattered on his neck drifted further and further down.

And it was because of the said parties that he found himself currently in the graveyard at 1 o'clock in the morning curled before his Bro’s gravestone while drunk out of his mind. He was a babbling mess, whispering apologies to the unmoving stone slab as if that would make things better. The cold night air bit into his skin and he only curled further into himself, cheeks stained with tears.

“’m sorry. I’m sorry, ‘m sorry. Why’d you have to die Bro I miss you so much. I wish you were here, I wish you didn’t die.” He buried his face in his arms, choking out a sob. His mind was bleary with alcohol induced sadness and exhaustion. A few hiccups left him as he shuddered and pulled his jacket closer around himself. His tears eventually trickled to a stop and his breathing evened out. Just before he submitted to the shadowy grasps of sleep he heard a soft voice in his ear that sounded unmistakably like his brother.

“I know, kiddo, I know. I miss you too, I’m sorry.”

🌱- WILDCARD!!!

NO!!!!!!!!! I’M TIRED OF WRITING!!! I REFUSE!!!!

#askthedirectoroftime #headcanons #writing #tw; death #tw; mentions of violence #tw; alcoholism #tw; alcohol #((holy jESUS DO YOU KNOW HOW LONG THIS TOOK ME HGSDJFNDBKFHDZBD #((i am deceased bury me holy shit #((if there are any typos i blame it on the fact that ive just been writing for 3 hours straight #((hal was the typical Rebellious Teenager when he was younger #((also he frequented parties and made out with strangers to get his mind off his dissolving familial relations #((but he never really made it past making out just putting that out there #long post #like really long post #like holy shit that is a long ass post

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