#bff vibes amirite

[night-rhea]

Referenceeeeee study but make it “?”

[gummybearzgocrazyagain]

MALEC FIC REC vol.7

Bookstore AU

White Blank Page by @carmenlire [noice, CEO Magnus, serendipity meeting in a bookstore, misunderstandings, life that gets in a way of a star-crossed lovers, what more do we need? tis a rec]

One for the record (books) series by @noaki [mmmm, yummmmm-yum-yummmmm, what a delicious piece, is very much recommended to everyone who likes a good ole’ will they won’t they pine fest, i really enjoyed author’s breezy style. magnus is a high warlock in hiding, and owns a mundane book store as a cover, and alec is a new hoti, that just happens to visit the store on a whim, and just happens to not recognize the owner, oops. absolutely lovely and a pleasant read]

Prison AU

1825 days by @Better_Than_Chocolate [mmmm.... very very specific rec, due to many reasons. Prison AU might not be everyone’s cup of tea, so proceed with caution. alec was convicted of a murder, and when he gets to the big house, he must choose sides. if am being completely honest, i did appreciate some of the choices author has decided on rather more than some others, but am still tentatively leaving it here, just in case someone would fancy to dip their toe] 

Sport/Celebrity AU

Let’s Play Ball! by @Teal_The_Baker [Celebrity AUs are reeeeeeeally up my alley ngl, so am slightly biased in recc’ing this, but hey, where are them fanfic cops, amirite. magnus is just wealthy, but alec is a local baseball player celebrity-type, and even though they initially get off on a wrong foot, it is quickly fixed, and the usual malec-y fluffy thang ensues. ought to be honest, it did seem like the author themselves were not exactly sure how this gonna play out in terms of dynamics right off the bat, but by chapter two they seemed to have picked a course, and what a lovely sweet choice it was. i really liked this one]

Flipside by @apathyinreverie [martial arts AU. dunno if it was author’s intention, but to me this particular characterization gave off heavy TWI vibes - confident alec, and reserved, calm magnus. wouldn’t call it ooc, cause it was an obvious AU, and author made their intentions known beforehand. i def liked it👌]

Reserved by @punkbean [not a sport!celebrity thang, but an IGcelebrity!magnus and archery trainer!alec, so technically it fits. the fic is abandoned, it is only the first 4 chapters of the meet cute on a train ride from NYC to Washington, but it somehow endeared itself to me and had to be recc’ed on here, sweetness]

Tattoos

A Legacy in Ink by @Teal_The_Baker [aaaaaaaaaa, why did i read itttttttttt, i almost never read wip for this precise reason *tears at her hair in despair* what an awesome fucking thang, awesome awesome awesome unfinished wip thang *cries* magnus is a tattoo-artist, and alec is having his first tattoo done... you know the drill. the fic is so fucking great, and so fucking wip *cries some more*]

Inklings by @apartmented [i might not necessarily read pwps often, but when i do - they shall be of such a superb quality as this one. tattoos kink, smitten mundane neighbours malec, and top notch smut - thanks to @cuubism for the rec]

Emo AU

all this hope you sent into the sky by @beatperfume [you know you would read anything this author wrote, i know i would fo’ sho’ - it is a throwback to 2003, alec and aline are bffs, and they go to this farm house parties to listen to the live bands, and then some insolent a-hole throws some line at alec, which must be an insult.... right? blah blah blah who cares, it’s @beatperfume, what else needs to be said]

Witcher AU

Walkers of the Winding Path by @poemsfromthealley [how are you doing thissssss (o゜▽゜)o☆ (●ˇ∀ˇ●) perfect perfect perfection this fic!!!!!! and i haven’t ever played/read the Witcher, and was still floored!!!! like, how does so much talent fit in one human body (❤ ω ❤); that moment alec encounters the female archer in the woods? dude, i legit cried, what a fucking masterpiece, god i luv the author, and if someone has not yet read this, what are you doing with your life...?????? seriously!!!!]

Canon Divergence

Two’s company, three’s a whole lot of Alec Lightwood eye rolls by @all_stories_are_truth_and_lies [weeeeeee, adorableness of malec, interrupted: cockblocking!jace is one of my top crack tropes of choice, what a tasty thang, thank you author!!!!]

To Something New, Something Strange by @dreadwyrms [porn with feels: superb quality of the second time served, and what a treat it is - magnus was supposed to pick alec up for their date, except he has already arrived at the institute, and alec is nowhere to be found. escaping to alec’s room and chilling on his bed seems like a great idea, especially if one falls asleep and then being woken up by a certain shadowhunter back from patrol in the middle of the night 🙈]

Taken AU

exit wounds by @geniusorinsanity [woahhhhh, this was... certainly an experience, and a journey more than worthy of taking, ohhhhhhh how do i luv me some taken aus, when they are executed just right🙏 magnus has been taken from the loft, and absent for a week, and then suddenly appears in the middle of Cat’s living room, nude and bloodied, and on the verge of collapse. amazing quality of fic, i was at awe throughout the whole journey, the way author portrayed the emotional repercussions, the parabatai connection, alec’s unravelling and inner turmoil, his and cat’s dynamic...? beautifully, very skilfully done, allllllllll the kudos and respect to the author, and a huge rec. p.s. the story might take a toll and stay with you for a few days, so heed the warnings and proceed at your own discretion]

Media AU

as your sun sets (i know you in bleary-eyed 3 am) by @theprophetlemonade [hard to distinguish why have i put reading this off for so long, god knows i adore the author, maybe it’s the fact that it’s wachowskis, who for some reason are something that can be so personal to me... darn it, if i ever come by the malec Matrix AU, is2g might spontaneously combust on a spot, but hey, am getting side-tracked here 🙌 the fic is everything you would expect from this renown author, and it makes you feel all types of ways. am sure literally every single person in the fandom has already read it, so my rec is quite pointless, and yet]

Royal AU + Fake Dating

I’ll be home for Christmas by @Raindropsandrosess [perhaps due to canon shadowhunters being paid very modestly, AUs with alec being the rich one do somehow come rarer, than rich!magnus AUs, not to mention, that amongst the fair share of Royal AUs this fandom boasts, it is always a surprise, when magnus is not the one being secret Royalty... all that said, i really really liked this one! their chemistry in the author’s interpretation left me super happy, and c'mon, let’s be honest, i can read quality variations of fake dating endlessly, cause duh]

College AU

Introduction to Flirtation by @EllasticElla [hhhmmmmm, so the premise of this is quite... unlikely for me: Alec does not know, how to let his bff Jace know, that he likes him, subtly enough to not ruin the friendship, if it does not work out, and enlists some help from a known dorm lothario Magnus. and after reading i was surprised at my own positive reaction - in 99,9% of cases romantic!jalec makes me hella queasy - but then it hit me.... hasn’t this storyline been 100% canon, like, what am i even having this moral battle over? it’s a good smol fic! but yeah fuck romantic!jalec all the way to hell though] 

Primate Social Behavior by @dreadwyrms [omfg how fucking awesome was thattttttttttt, like, what an absolute and undeniable treat 😍so alec is working on his PhD, and GAing for an Anthropology Prof, and his life runs perfectly messy and perfectly boring, until said Prof has a heart-attack, and a replacement must be called in, which means one M.Bane must put the research he is currently conducting in Costa Rica on hold, and come back to the University, to assume the workload for the rest of the semester. the way this author does malec, and tentative buzzing tension between them, and longing, is simply mouth-watering and delicious, i would read them endlessly, what a great great great treat of a story]

Reconciliation Trope

One Traveler, Long Stood by @thenorthfaceporn [the definition of top notch dumbassery - having had suddenly realized you’ve never actually recc’ed one of your fav stories. to be completely fair, the first time i’ve read it was while being sick with covid, so... not much of common sense was being had during that particular week, but nonetheless, absence of this rec is a crime: tis literally one of the best best thangs written in this trope, periodt. masterpiece no cap.]

Magical Realism AU

The Stair into the Sea by @poemsfromthealley [god damn this author for their sheer magnificence, it is impossible to not feel intellectually inadequate after reading their works, like, the quality of writing...??? how do you do dissssssssss *screams into the void* so this is set is some kind of AU, where Magnus is a writer, and he has lost someone long time ago, and now it is time for him to confront his past and deal with the grief. so he sets on the path to get to the bottom of the tragedy that took someone from him, and this is what brings him to alec....aggghhhrrrrr, my summary is all clumsy, but yeah, this here is one of the fandom’s best authors no cap, go read all their works asapppppppppp]

[lcksndkys]

Matching game ✨

Tagged by the goddess herself @triviafics

OK, first of all what an impossible game! I feel like some of the guys would fit multiple spots. Without further ado:

1. Husband: Kim Seokjin. I know, I know, I'm JK biased. But, WWH is total hubby material. I mean, he’s already raised 6 boys. And he cooks, he cleans, he's supportive without being a pushover, he makes you laugh, he makes you [redacted]. What more could a person want???

2. Boyfriend: Jung Jungkook. He's the perfect blend of sexy and cute, and I bet dating him would be so much fun!! Plus, if I'm marrying Seokjin, I'm at the bery least dating JK. 

3. Your brother: Jung Hoseok. I bet he would only rat you out to your parents 20% of the time. 

4. Little brother: Kim Taehyung. He's kinda that endearing odd ball kid that both intrigues you and makes you laugh. (I can't believe I just family zoned this man)

5. Crush: Park Jimin. That man should come with a warning. He just gives me those unattainable vibes ya know? 

6. BFF: Min Yoongi. He's tough on the outside, but absolute goo on the inside. I love his snark and his wit. I feel like we'd get along, tho I'd probably drive him a lil crazy.

7. Classmate: Kim Namjoon. He's the kid you wanna partner up with. Not only is he super cute, he’s also wicked smart. Only drawback- ya gotta pick him up and drop him off cus he still doesn’t drive. 

tagging: @jinpanman @joonscore @wwilloww @sahmfanficbts (who we kidding, it’s Namjoon amirite), @augustbutwinter​ @cutechim @junghelioseok @ppersonna @xjoonchildx @ahundredtimesover @hobidreams @hobiandsprite @joheunsaram @yslkook @ladyartemesia @suga-kookiemonster @kpopfanfictrash​ @underthejoon​ and anyone who wants to playyyyy

[lcvesque]

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 𝐎𝐅 𝐋𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐒𝐐𝐔𝐄

the sun at 5 o’clock, a canyon which yawns the echo of a scream, a deity without a face looking at its creation and sobbing, gospel being sung to the heavens, paintings that seem to follow you, a statue cleaned routinely, a bible half read - half torn apart, woods which whisper strange pleas, mind-body dualism  

august lévesque  —  as written  by  annie  

full application 

dynamics 

timeline  —  updated: march 2, 2022

𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘

born to a political dynasty of canada, the levesque family. they’ve been in a position of power for 175 years, imagine at least 2 or 3 times they’ve actually been the prime minister.

he’s not that well traveled tbh, even though he’s gone to a few countries in his life time. he likes canada, why would he want to be anywhere else?

his parents like 100% killed changming, aka his bff, aka a potential olympic swim team candidate, aka the reason why august doesn’t like his family. unfortunately august gives me very much community “I can excuse racism, but I draw the line at animal cruelty” vibes with his family. “yeah you made millions of people suffer, but you’ve gone too far and killed my bff. oooooo you’re gonna pay!!!” but are they really? hmm? do you really have the balls to do that august?? i didn’t think so.

that’s his whole thing I guess for this rp, will he, won’t he. he’s gonna try and use everyone in the group to help him make a decision on whether he should try and bring down his family for their misdeeds or remain complicit because the high life is the best life, amirite kids.

he likes the group at verdamme, but he also would sell them to satan for one singular corn chip. it’s a love hate relationship. he needs them but doesn’t want them.

𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐈𝐀

has a dog named modus ponens

civil rights lawyer, ha.

uhh, I imagine he writes in uppercase. I didn’t write it that way in the app because it would have hurt my eyes to do it with that font. but he’s an uppercase kinda man you know?

[majicmarker]

listen don’t sweat it, one day i’ll tell y’all all about the weirdo stuff hitting my socials lately, but for now i’ll stick to the question at hand.

@mygutsforgarters and i actually had this conversation maybe a month or two ago? i can’t remember but anyway (long-winded answer coming your way but this subject like, Awakens the commentary in me, so...)

no, it’s not weird in the slightest. i understand it could be something that makes some people uncomfortable, in which case ofc there’s no point in doing it. but, idk, in my experience it comes down to a question of maturity, too. we’re not a couple of junior high kids who accidentally found our mom’s paperback bodice rippers and squeal over the allusions to dick. we’re adults who love romance and what we can do with it.

we’re comfortable talking about sexuality, erotica, so on. as aspiring romance novelists with a penchant for open-door sex scenes, and friends who value one another’s opinions/feedback and would totally wear BFF bracelets if we were those repressed junior high kids we once were, i think it would be a little backwards if gus and i couldn’t collab on the subject.

besides, the first act of friendship gus extended to me was daddy kink fic; no point in putting on airs after that, amirite?

but tbh, for me, this is something i can talk abt with all my closest friends (or anyone so long as they don’t make it weird; lookin @ u, 20smthn dudes). the conversations we have over margaritas, tarot card readings, and — usually abysmal but retrospectively hilarious — dating stories? that’s like my ultimate happy place. it’s fun, insightful, and educational, and it’s an important part of my relationships.

it took me a long time to be chill doing this, for various reasons, but once i got past those hang-ups and spent some time working at a sex shop (RIP i loved that job), i’ve found it really empowering. i love being able to talk about this stuff, to help people with their own hang-ups. i have countless stories, both professional and personal, about what a positive experience it is, and i think it’s a really healthy way to express affection bc it speaks to comfortability and trust. ppl who get uppity and rude abt it just for the sake of being uppity and rude and “ehh it’s weird ://” ain’t my crowd. (to each their own, just like i said, my experience w this attitude has been 🙄)

ps if you’re my friend chances are i’ve just straight texted you smutty excerpts of whatever i’m writing, recc’d sex toys, and/or bought you toy cleaner bc u told me u’ve been washing your vibes, etc. w fckin dawn dish soap (btw: DON’T). but yeah them’s the breaks when we jive (☞◑ω◑)☞

[merry-melody]

umbrella academy s2 thoughts

Or you can read here if you prefer. Formatting’s probably easier there and this is like 4k, so be warned.

So, was not much of a fan. (Wasn't surprised to learn none of the S1 writers were retained into this season, either!)

I feel like it's a little early for this show to be separating the siblings into New Lives, considering how little they interacted throughout the first season.

I would have liked more childhood flashbacks, having an additional Reginald subplot in a show stuffed with seven (or six and a half) leads seems a choice when it didn't link into the siblings in any meaningful way. 

It also made all the siblings curiously less sympathetic, as Diego and Luther in particular, but also Vanya and Klaus to an extent, are berated for showing any kind of effect of their upbringing; but without much 'showing' of said upbringing (or emotional impact at all from the last season - Vanya's obviously out for that own with the hackneyed amnesia plot; Diego is completely over Patch's death - and Grace's, for that matter, although she does at least get acknowledged; and Klaus for some reason seems to have stopped seeing ghosts 99% of the time.) 

I'm very mistrustful, as I mentioned in my S1 notes, that the show will in any way support Reginald's abuse, whether it be the siblings furthering their patterns of copying him without learning to recognise and address this; or by some kind of time loop casuality bullshit.

This season didn't really allay that, just with the general tone - the line Vanya had about sarcastically saying he was loving, or Five calling him 'no boy scout' just seem tonally a very different vibe from S1, like there were already aspects of that where it felt like none of them except Klaus really acted like they'd been raised by a guy who outright harmed them so much as a tough Professor type; and here it seems to double down on that idea. 

Five in particular was almost his father's yes man to an extent, he had several lines about how right their father was; although it was intriguing to see Diego reference how Reginald may have become even worse after Five's disappearance with that 'golden years' remark.

I was intrigued by the lizard reveal, though.

So, Luther wise...hmmm.

Also, on shallow notes, the hair and fashion was really lacking from last season, like apart from Allison/Emmy who looked lovely in the 60s clothes (and Five, Ben and Vanya, who remained pretty much the same), everyone looked worse (even Luther had a little Tintin grown out hairdo going on!)

Didn't love the toilet humour, either, but again, YMMV.

He was a little more likeable than S1, I appreciated how he acknowledged his own failings (which iirc, no one else but Vanya really did all season, and since she didn't recall hers at the time, there wasn't as much emotional impact) - although the cocked gun lessened it a little, lol. And the return of that lovely musical score during, too, nice touch.

It was good to see at least two scenes with him and Vanya interacting, and for them to return to the Five/Luther duo.

It was also interesting to see how Luther, like all his siblings, projects his own feelings onto others, (like his first instinct being that Vanya's pulling some 'bullshit game' when obviously, Vanya was pretty upfront when she lost it; whereas it was Luther who was the one scamming her into the hug-n-choke.)

I liked them bonding over Five being an asshole, too.

(Although I think once again, the lack of trust between the siblings was almost contrived, like Luther in particular seems genuinely pissed off that Five didn't, what, let them all die in a fiery death? I get that they grew up in an environment that promoted mistrust and that they don't really seem to understand their own powers or each others, and Five never explains when he makes a mistake, anyway, but I'm just not sure what Luther's ideal outcome here was.)

I'm clearly an asshole also, because the 'Rooming House for Solitary Men' sign made me laugh every time they showed it.

I feel like some of his characterisation was unsubtly telegraphed (although that's a complaint over all, not just him specific) - like they decided 'sensitive' was their key word there, and just jam in everyone referring to him as that rather than showing it. (...Is Luther sensitive? Like, not dragging him, I'd just not pick that at all for him as a description.)

I also didn't much enjoy the pairing of him and Diego, like to be honest, it was never a pairing even from S1 that I was particularly fascinated by, it's such a well-worn dynamic; and while at least they weren't bickering over numbers, the dude bro banter ('women, amirite?!') and matching lack of IQ (I never thought I'd say Diego seemed dumber than cracking a raw egg to posture, and yet...) was just kind of lowhanging fruit.

I also feel like the goon for Jack Ruby stuff seemed inserted purely for plot contrivance to link to JFK.

(This is also a universal complaint, but I really felt for the actors doing promo, like they come up with all these well thought out explanations about why their characters are making these choices, but the work doesn't really show up in the writing or what was shown onscreen. IIRC, Tom Hopper was talking about Jack Ruby as a replacement father figure and how it's Luther's first stab at independence in terms of supporting himself; and there's this whole thing of Ruby saying he treated Luther like a son, when really, he's in like, two scenes and Luther is very clearly a paid goon. Which isn't to say that's not supporting yourself, a job's a job! I just felt like it didn't really go anywhere.)

I liked the idea that he's the only one who looked for their dad; I liked him still eating his feelings, funnily enough, it's just a good character note.

I don't particularly have investment in him and Allison one way or another yet - I don't care about the moral indignation; I just feel like when they're together, it seems one part them being smug about the others, one part yearning based on the same plot as S1 (she's moved on but seems to want to keep Luther as her back up guy.) Like, I'd love to see those two actually interact over something based on their disparate characters (what would Allison have said if she'd heard Luther's little defense of the Feds to Five?)

There's also a return to that odd juxtaposition from S1 of Klaus' drinking with Luther taking drugs cheerfully and to no effect. (I'm not expecting a DARE commercial, it's just all over the place in tone. That, and I thought Luther 'waSN't ReADy for THaT!')

(This isn't Diego specific, either, but they also do that thing I hate in TV, where they purposefully reference someone specifically in the episode before they rereturn, and Diego got the short straw on that one with the Pogo mention apropros of nothing, so we know we'll see Baby!Pogo shortly.)

Diego: Again, lots of telegraphing. (Do you think the writers want to get across Diego has a hero complex? I wasn't clear after he cat leaps through dimensions, stops a mugging, obsessively stalks JFK, and almost everyone he meets literally holds up placards mentioning 'DIEGO HAS A HERO COMPLEX'.)

Diego got a lot more time onscreen, which is a plus, but the haircut combined with his role as plot monkey made it a neutral point.

I also think Castaneda got the short straw on some of dialogue this year, oof, that Luke Skywalker 'it's a great reference' dialogue felt a bit try hard. 

(Sheehan also took a body blow later with the 'Sexy trash!' one, ouch, like that felt very Designed to Retweet/Gif. 

No one's topped S1 for blatant exposition yet, though: 'You haven't been sober since you were a teen! Not since you started taking drugs to block the ghosts out.')

Randomly, I liked the decent English accent he pulled out of nowhere. And again, David Castaneda I believe, mentioned Patch's death, so it's neat that he thought about the impact of her death on his character, even though it wasn't evident in the plot.

As I mentioned up top, I think Diego kind of suffered from the same thing Klaus did last year, where upon he seems to be the only one who recalls they were actually brought up in an abusive environment; and yet here the focus seems more generic to Diego's a baby (right down to constantly talking about 'bad guys' like a three year old) who has masculinity issues about his mean pop (who tbh, seems to be presented as entirely correct in labelling him a fuckwit, since he behaves like one pretty much all season: 'We chop off his trigger finger!')

(Also there's that contrived Batman style ethics that came up with Luther last year, where they're like 'We can quip over bodies and we grew up literally murdering people', but for some reason, Diego won't 'kill a man before he's committed a crime' (he can stalk one, and cut off his hand, though?)

Likewise, there wasn't a ton of interaction between him and Allison, like in S1, I enjoyed how they kind of overcame their initial mutual dislike with small moments of bonding; whereas here he has to be prompted to talk to her (and that was an adlib, which again, means the actors were considering something the writers overlooked.)

Last year I talked about how much I enjoyed Diego's character and how they walked a very fine line between him combining his desire to be the stereotypical macho figure with his innate sensitivity, so naturally this season we get him butchified to a factor of ten ('I'm the man, here!' 'You're a big pussy!') and almost zero interactions with Klaus, the person besides Grace who brought that out the most last year.

(What happened to those two, last time we saw them they were pretty much the closest in the family besides the Allison/Vanya link; here, Diego's almost contemptous. Has he levelled up in his mind now he's bffs with Luther?) I wanted to find the scene with him and Ben endearing, since we get so few interactions with Ben and any one besides Klaus, but it wasn't even that personally linked to them beyond 'Remember our one specific memory? Anyways, lolz, u should keep Klaus' body, idgaf.')

Allison Allison I think suffers from a lot of the same problems as she was introduced with - like Vanya, her powers are kind of linked to a lack of control in a way that the guys aren't; and a lot of her development is offscreen.

I actually really enjoyed the episode focusing on her, though, I thought it was one of the strongest of the season.

Her husband got a bit OTT with his catchphrase - where Diego's was 'JFK', Ray's was very clearly ' the movement!' and I found it odd how easily all the siblings but especially Allison gave up on returning to their own time and committed to another relationship built on lies (albeit this time of omission - baby steps!) but I kind of like that, like that's Allison, kind of co-dependent and self-deceiving.

Really, I feel like Allison's more interesting when they plunge into her darker side, I was riveted in the 'more!' scene, as well as the 'I heard a rumour you killed your brother'.

I think it's especially important as she's a WOC, which this season focused on more, like, it's very important not to fall into the common writing trap where the guys are allowed to be vindictive or needy or selfish and the women are there to be the moral guidance (for the same reason, I also loved the Five/Vanya stand-off); and that goes double for the model minority bit.

I was worried that they'd fall into the trap of Allison needing to be twice as good not just with how the sit-ins were portrayed but also generally (she speaks seven languages! She makes extensive notes on the state of race relations with specific regard to Dallas in the 1960s!) and once more, it seemed like Emmy Raver Lampman was trying to put across a more interesting read on Allison in terms of how isolated she was from any awareness of oppression in the outer world, first in the Academy and then through being a powerful celebrity and the contrast that creates for her in Dallas which didn't quite get met by the writing/direction.

It was great to see how she got to become part of a community in a way the others didn't, also, and particularly being protected by the beauty shop ladies when she arrived; like, the imbalance of genders as well as races in the Academy genuinely made it refreshing to see.

(The relapse is also very up and down in tone, like they make attempts at pathos, but it's also accompanied by the Styx soundtrack/60s light effects...)

Klaus and Ben - Probably my least favourite aspect of this season.

There was a bunch of telling not showing (Klaus' three year sobriety being expressed in Ben's expository sentence and that .5 second shot of him turning down a joint) and once you remove the biggest impacts on Klaus' character (the addiction and his power) without explanation, you're basically left with 'Klaus causes problems for himself for comedic value.' 

I don't really care about who fights well or which powers are developed (didn't read the comics, don't plan to) but it seems to be like the best portrayals of superheroes show the powers as metaphors for their lives - Vanya struggles to control her emotions, Ben feels powerless, etc. If you take away the powers, you take away the reasoning behind the character.

Why is Ben pretty much the only ghost (particularly when in S1, they seemed ever-present)? How or why did Klaus learn to summon them in the alt-apocalypse?

I liked the scene of Klaus interacting with Ray before they find out he's married to Allison, that was cute.

I also liked seeing him interact with Vanya and Allison (there was an interesting shot where Allison says she has a life she worked for, and Klaus smiles - is that because in contrast, he doesn't? I'd have liked them to acknowledge the link between cults and celebrity, tbh, those two have a lot in common. Or is it because she isn't using her power and neither is he?), and I thought it was cool to note how when the group are reunited, they fall into a power structure right away.

Like, right away, Klaus sells out Vanya and Allison to the guys ('It's usually Vanya!' or mentioning how Allison's being 'involved in community politics'.) Likewise, everyone kowtows to Five, then Luther, over the rest (like when Five says they won't go with Vanya to the farm) and no one speaks up for Diego in front of Reginald.

I want to give the others the benefit of the doubt and say they were kind of shitty to Klaus in particular in this season because they were in a group, because it's a huge downgrade in compassion (especially since Allison was like, covering him with a blanket when they're alone.) 

Like, I get sibling culture, I have 'em, but I feel like when you're bringing possible 'seizures' up, you're sort of skirting what's then played as comedic (Luther dragging him, the 'check please' line), especially Diego's: 'He's probably having an overdose.' (Kinda seeing why no one rushed to join Team Zero.)

Like, he and Klaus do just kind of seem contrivedly not communicating - I would think after the isolation, you'd crack through boredom if nothing else.

Ben's kind of an odd duck - I feel like with Steve Blackman's comments, he's supposed to be this philosophical voice of reason; but tbh, he seems as self-involved as Klaus, and if anything, they mirrored each other (that line in S1 about Klaus being cowardly plays a little differently after the revelation 'He was afraid to go into the light'...) rather than separating him into his own person.

I mean, I don't want Saint Ben (or St. anyone!), but Ben does kind of irritate, like it's not like he even particularly gets much wit or personality in his lines (and I doubt Justin Min would be short of inspiration there, so it does seem to be a writing choice) or they give him much warmth or concern (I still like that shot of him walking off in the sixth episode of S1, though - where is he off to?!) In S1, we do at least get to see him panicking and how helpless he must feel that he can't alert the others to danger etc. He doesn't really offer opinions that offer a personal philosophy beyond 'Stop being a junkie' (he was willing to shut off Grace - was that to tick off Klaus for taking the opposite opinion, or is he super pragmatic generally?) or 'Admit it, Klaus, Luther's Okay!' (Again, is this nostalgia for the other siblings, or what? It would have been nice to have Ben interact with all his siblings, considering they included the whole possession plot for less than necessary stuff like 'Ben kisses a girl!' and 'Vomit shenanigans!')

I just feel like his personality was kind of an afterthought still, and it made his sacrifice for Vanya, touching as it was, feel a little unearned.

Why doesn't Klaus tell Ben he wants to go back for Dallas for Dave? Why doesn't Ben tell Klaus he wants to go back to San Francisco for Jill? Was Ben in Vietnam? How come he's gone from using Dave as A Reason to Get Clean to a 'fling' - dark reading of Ben, tbh, like does he want Klaus clean purely for his own gain, and now he is, Dave's of no further value? What does Ben think Klaus is looking Dave up for - he says it's 'selfish', does he literally think Klaus is just there to hook up with Dave pre-death? It's hard to parse whether Ben has a low opinion of Klaus in particular or whether he, like the rest of them, has kind of adopted to a point Reginald's views - it was neat to see a comparison of the two there.

The possession stuff was a cool parallel, as well, if underused on the whole - Ben's happy to take advantage of Klaus' body despite his clear ambivalence and then outright refusal; Klaus is happy to take advantage and have sex with his own cult followers. 

The cult stuff was even less strong, imho - I said last year how I'd enjoy a darker reading of Klaus, as S1 I felt sometimes was unfair to the others in that we see them being impatient with him; but never how his addiction would have impacted upon them negatively; but here, there's no real exploration of Klaus' narcissism or manipulation (in fact the plot seems to play out exactly the same as Allison's in S1 - we start with all the action about why they pursued fame etc. dealt with offscreen, and begin when the lead has already tired of it all.)

I mean, Klaus is self-destructive, as we saw in S1, but here it's an odd combination, like he's at once both cowardly of physical harm (in a way he wasn't really in S1, even post-Dave, so it doesn't seem to be in reaction to his death) but also running a cult for the attention, but the attention is presented as negative almost exclusively throughout.

Like, I'd get it if it was an interest in money and the finer things in life, even, you could make an interesting point there (and iirc, Robert Sheehan and I think Emmy Raver Lampman have) about how while the Hargreeves were abused, they were also 'spoilt rich kids'; and reflect on that; but it's literally just there for gags.

There's no real explanation for the cult itself (they literally just regurgitate pop culture references) or an exploration of Klaus as a con artist (again - here's where you could show some kind of progression in character, whether it's forward or backwards, and use the powers; and have Klaus working as a shady medium, but nope, it's physical comedy only.)

You could delve into his refusing to even tell the others about Ben's presence, but that's handwaved as much as ever (Five didn't go 'Huh, well, Ben was there when the Soviets came...') not just from the other siblings, but also Ben and Klaus themselves.

‘Cause I could see how Klaus would feel guilty about saying that, regardless; but then Ben's all 'Well, I was chicken to go anyway' 

It might have been a little more affecting if Ben's motivation for possessing Klaus wasn't Jill, a character we know exactly zero about, but talking to his family; not to mention a lot more sympathetic towards Ben himself. As it is, it plays more like he's petty and jealous Klaus gets to be alive, rather than frustrated that Klaus is essentially silencing him.

And again, that's fine, maybe that is Ben, he stopped aging at 17, after all, but I'm not sure what the point is of a plot where we don't really get to see much exploration of either character.

Like, what did we learn about Klaus from this specific sub-plot? We knew in S1 he felt guilty that Ben died young, and that he was happy to allow his siblings to believe Ben is gone.

Likewise, Ben? We knew in S1 he was envious of Klaus being alive, and bitter that his position was so powerless.

It was nice to see the teenage actors (did they dub Teen!Klaus??? Odd.) post Ben's death, but it kind of didn't resolve much, really - it seemed like Klaus was supposed to be bullshitting about the 'golden light' and whether or not you can just...'go' whenever you please, but then it seemed like it turned out to be true?

(Might want to have mentioned that, then, like I get he's a Hargreeves and therefore a fail at interpersonal relationships, but you'd think it wouldn't take a smart guy to figure that if your brothers already toying with self-destruction in his teen years, it might not be the most genius move to additionally allow him to believe you're trapped in the 'real torture' of berating him endlessly solely due to his advice; if for no other reason than your one link to humanity is then going to keep up the booze and drugs that blocks you from his presence.)

I was inclined to like the Dave subplot a little more than I did last season, just because something was happening at all (and we got some tiny semblance of Dave's personality, even if it was basic as hell - he likes hamburgers!), but I feel like the Dave recasting thing really stretched credulity.

I would guess it was written backwards, in terms of if Dave was the clearly fully grown adult we saw in S1 a mere five years later, why wouldn't he just go 'Oh, thanks for the tip, dude, I'll avoid all that military jazz'? And why wouldn't Klaus just be like 'Fuck it, can we not just...date now?' Aha, we could make him a little younger, chuck in a Mean Uncle, throw in some manufactured conflict, and zow-pow!

It definitely wasn't the most contrived plot ever or anything (or even on this show), but I did feel like it's weird that again, via the cult, we're kind of asked to see Klaus as this expert manipulator of people, when he seemed almost purposefully stupid here (like, even compared with Luther and Diego.)

Why act as if the only chance you'll ever have to see the guy in the same timezone as you is right that second in front of his crazed uncle? Why say you've tried everything when you met the kid three times (once instigated by him, and I have to say, it's sort of odd, like Klaus is just drinking throughout, like you'd think this would be the one opportunity he'd take to truly and honestly engage without that) and basically just asked him twice, and in the least convincing way possible.

Shoot him in the foot! Burn down the recruitment office! Use your international platform and pull with local government to influence your huge movement towards stopping the war in Vietnam! 

Like, if what you're going for is that Klaus is defeatist and unimaginative, fine, but I'm not sure it's not just that they kind of didn't write beyond the circular 'telling him only made him sign up sooner' casuality because it's so Tragic. 

(Also, I feel like they're overplaying the iconography of those damn dogtags, like at this point, Klaus looking sadly at the dog tags has still probably had more screen time than Dave himself.)

I liked the scene with him and Vanya facing off? 

Five I think didn't really get much more development than S1, he drives the plot forward, but not much else. In fact, in S1, he probably was more interesting, in that he interacted with all of his siblings and showed moments of vulnerability and care (knowing Claire's name, telling Luther not to waste his life, asking Klaus if he was okay) and got to properly react to his siblings' deaths.

Um...it was cool to have two of him? 

It was nice and kind of ambigious where he lied to her about the cause of the apocalypse, like you could go by what he said about how he wanted to avert her anger, or you could wonder if it's a rare moment of kindness in his old age, lol.

I also loved it when he said to Luther about whether he could talk to her 'without squeezing her to death'.

I found Sissy probably the most interesting of the new characters (probably her and Lila more so than Lil!Dave and Ray, tbh.)

Vanya I probably have the least to say about. I was satisfied with how they portrayed the culpability of the others, particularly Luther, without erasing Vanya's part in the apocalypse. (I really, really hope this'll end the endless discourse on her emails book now, that got tired fast.

I could also do without the endless 'lolz, Ellen Page was so bad at playing straight they had to write Vanya as gay'. Ellen Page is pretty convincing as an actor - I bought her raping Rainn Wilson in 'Super', for god's sake, I doubt 'heterosexual' is a challenge.)

The amnesia plot was pretty cliched, and it did mean we didn't get so much actual interaction between the 'real' Vanya (so to speak) and her siblings but I really enjoyed the dream sequence of her in the academy.

[lovemaxze]

"You in Me" by KARD: a reaction

Oh wow cool okay gives me omelas vibes i like

Damn my boy jseph and my girl jiwoo look like FEASTS

why is bm surrounded by tons of me (trash)

Somin looks hot and i can barely see her just laying on the bed OOF

WOAH OKAY DANCE MOVES ALREADY OKAY OKAY

THIS BEAT. THAT WINE. THEM STARES. WOW

OH DA NG SOMIN THEM VOCALS YOU TAKIN IT LOW

Also wow you're so b e a u t i f u l this is a LOOK

I want those peacock bed sheets

you GUYS LOOK SO TIRED but you KILLIN IT

dAMN JSEPH OKAY FUCK LEMME JUST CUFF U RN U SO DAMN FINE

this d a n c e is so g o o d

Jiwoo you look kinda creepy but i still love you baby

OH HELL YEAH BABY JIWOO YOU TAKIN IT OVER

I love this aesthetic jiwoo and jseph are pulling off like it's so nice and vintage ish

J.seph looks like he just wanna go home

somin you good?? I mean you look hella good but you don't seem like you GOOD

YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE I LOVEEEEE

Oof the dance kinda reminds me of don't recalls key point and i love it

DID JSEPHS HEAD COME OFF A LIL BIT???

I love somins voice so much in this wow i just thought she couldn't become more of a queen

THE DANCING!!!!

BM WHO HURT YOU???

Is he wearing a crop top?

No he is not his shirt is just half black half white

I SWEAR THIS HAS TO CONNECT TO DONT RECALL BECAUSE SOME OF TJE DANCE MOVES ARE SIMILAR AND SOME AESTHETICS OOF SOMEONE GIVE ME A THEORY

Wait

What

The

fUCK

JUST HAPPENED

IS HE DEAD??

MATTHEW UM

TAEHYUNG BABY IS YOU GOOD????

GORL HE DEAD WYD

Jiwoo WHAT THE FUCK

why you actin like its so NORMAL

Oh yeah just having dinner with my DEAD CHINGU ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

At this moment somin knew, she fucked up

Now this "you're the only one i love" is creepy...

Still love it tho

Issa banger

But wHY IS JIWOO STILL HUGGIN HIM

okay somin was concerned now shes just having a good time and i feel so weird?? But i love this concept???

somin's psychotic break down is me during school

Jiwoo is just chillin and i think that's my favorite part of it all

rain

Apezo??? Apego??? Idk but im never stayin there

I bet its haunted as hell by the ghosts of my bbys

But i mean

Who doesn't wanna get haunted by them amirite???

Lmao it's 2 am im sorry

I feel like it's kinda like spring day where everything was all "yay bffs for lyfe biiitccchhh!!" And then it was "oh shit this place is dark and scary FUCK NO WHY IS EVERYONE D E A D???"

And i really like it

I have no clue what it means

But i know it's somethin deep as hell and worth looking into

Overall: 100/10 for visuals and 100/10 for the song and 200/10 for the dance because it gave me dr vibes and i loved it

STAN KARD AND SUPPORT THEM THX FOR READIN

[folatefangirl]

I’m not usually one for talking about aesthetics or anything, but—

Spike and Anya getting drunk on whiskey and whining about their exes and how hard it is to date while being supernatural beings? 

Yah, I’m definitely having a serious case of that’s my aesthetic.

[tweenerdadventures]

Hamilton - A Summary

Right so. Basically Alexander Hamilton was born in the Caribbean poor as shit. His father left when he was 10 and his mother died 2 years later after they were both ill. He moved in with his cousin and started reading, writing, and working, moving up very fast in the ranks of the trade firm. Then his cousin committed suicide and a hurricane destroyed the town, but the town put together a fund to send him to America to study and make something of himself. He gets there and gets into Kings College, but wants to graduate in 2 years instead of 4 so he can go fight in the revolution, but the college is like nah fam and he's like "FIGHT ME IRL" and then punches the bursar. Needless to say they kick him tf out and he rolls into town to see Aaron Burr (who had graduated in 2 years cause his parents died and left money to the college - rich kids amirite). Burr tells him to talk less smile more, and is like generally "Hamilton sit down". Hamilton ignores this then meets some other revolutionary peeps (Laurens, Lafayette, and HERCULES MULLIGAN - You'll understand later why his name must always be capitalised). He gets them all riled up and drunk as shit and is like we should go fight someone. So they roll up to a guy called Samuel Seybury who doesn't support the revolution and they're like HOW DARE and try to fight him. While this is going on the Schuyler Sisters (Angelica, Eliza......... and Peggy) are rolling through NYC trying to pick up dudes, and Burr tries to hit on them but they tell him to fuck off and start talking about how women should be equal to men (amen sisters) Then King George III rocks up and is like why are you doing this America I thought we were BFFs how could YOU. And then he's like that's it definitely sending my army in now. So ding dong it's all aboard the revolution express and George Washington is emo because he needs someone to help him out and his soldiers are demotivated. In rolls Burr like ayo I was a captain before and my previous commander got shot so... HIRE ME. It gets awks. Real fast. But Hamilton shows up and Washington is like THANK FUCK Burr you can go. Hamilton then agrees to be Washington's right hand man. Back to the sisterhood of purity and now it's time for a LOVE TRIANGLE 0.o - So Angelica sorta fancies Hamilton but also Eliza loves Hamilton and they're like omg what shall we do. But Angelica is like aha I'm probably too good for him he can have my sister instead. Then she has the regrets and is like to her sis please share him ;-) And Eliza is like A HAHAHA GOOD JOKE but pls don't steal him. So Eliza and Alexander get married and Burr rocks up to say congrats but then Alex and the crew wail on him for zero reason other than fuck Burr I guess. Also turns out Burr is having an affair with the wife of a British officer and Alex is like oh damn son but srs why are you scared go get her why do you wait. And Burr is like LEMME TELL YOU A STORY about waiting. Burr explains his parents and grandad were great people who did amazing things but then they died and left him with only their legacy to protect and that is why he is so cautious. He has one of the most heartbreaking lines in the show "If there's a reason I'm still alive when everyone who loves me has died, then I'm willing to wait for it". He also expresses sorta admiration/disbelief that Alexander keeps taking and taking and not waiting, and yet he keeps winning. Ding dong it's back to revolution and Hamilton wants a promotion. He's like PLS George Washington give me my own command. And Washington is like nah fam imma appoint this other dude Charles Lee instead. This goes badly when Lee nearly gets everyone killed, and Hamilton is like SOMEONE SHOULD FIGHT HIM. Laurens fights him and wins but then Washington is piiiiiiiiissed and sends Hamilton home where it turns out NEWSFLASH Eliza is pregnant and just wants Alexander to stay home as that would be enough for her. But Hamilton is like nah fam war isn't done - ANGST. Back to revolution and Lafayette is rapping REALLY FUCKING FAST cause he's suddenly learned all of English when he wasn't very good at it before. He explains how he brought reinforcements and shit from France but is like Washington you really need Hamilton back and Washington is like omg you're right Hamilton pls come back I'll give you soldiers to command BUT first listen to my song about the first time I was in command and oopsed and got my men killed so yeah DON'T DO THAT also bear in mind history has its eyes on you they may even make a musical someday ayo ;) So Hamilton comes back and they end up winning and King George gets SUPER UPSET because parliament won't pay for his war anymore but he's like good luck lmao now see what I've had to deal with being in charge. So revolution is over and America is born, meanwhile Burr and Hamilton both have kids at the same time and turns out they're pretty similar in that they wanna build a good world for their kids to live in. Hamilton moves back to New York finishes his studies and becomes a lawyer, where he ends up working with Burr on the first murder trial in America. He shows off as usual and Burr gets pissed, but is also like how do you keep doing all this stuff oh my God you're non stop. INTERMISSION So yeah now we've skipped forward a bit and Washington is President, Hamilton becomes Treasury Secretary. But UH OH Thomas Jefferson is back from France where he has been getting hella high and sleeping with loads of women, and he's here to fuck Hamilton's shit up. They have a straight up rap battle in a cabinet meeting and Hamilton wins but realises he's outnumbered anyway and need to change tactics if he wants his financial plans implemented. Meanwhile Eliza really wants him to take a fucking break and listen to his son play piano and rap, and also go with her and Angelica on holiday. Hamilton is like nah fam I have to work soz and they go away anyway. But then Hamilton fucks up. Literally. He sleeps with a woman called Maria Reynolds who rolls into his office asking for dolla. But UH OH turns out her husband knows and blackmails Hamilton to keep it quiet, and he agrees because he's an atrocious human being. Back to politics for a sec and Hamilton makes a deal with Jefferson to move the capital to Washington DC from NYC if his financial plans go through. But Burr gets super angry because nobody invited him to government camp, and then Hamilton is like I got what I wanted but WHAT DO YOU WANT. *side eyes emoji* And Burr is like I wanna be in the room where it happens. So finally in the second act we know what Burr actually wants. And apparently his first step is to get elected a Senator. So ofc he's like lol I'll just kick Eliza's dad out of the Senate how could this go wrong ^^ Surprise surprise it goes poorly and Hamilton is piiiiisssssed. And Burr's dropping mega shady vibes like Hamilton your pride will be the death of us all ;) ;) Beware it cometh before the fall ;) ;) ;) So there's another cabinet meeting now and France is fighting Britain and wants America's help. Hamilton is like NUUUUPE we can't do that it's a mess lol sorry France. Jefferson meanwhile is like WHAT THIS IS OUTRAGEOUSSSSSSS. He forms an alliance with Burr and they call themselves SOUTHERN MOTHER FUCKING DEMOCRATIC REPUBLICANS. He then resigns from the cabinet and is like imma run for President. Washington by this point is too old for this shit and is like I don't wanna be President anymore. And Alexander is like A hahaha ha good joke. And Washington is like no fam I'm serious. And Hamilton is like 😭😭😭 so they write a farewell address to the nation and everyone is sad but then Washington rides off to go enjoy his retirement. So Jefferson loses the election to Washington's Vice President, John Adams. But Jefferson is the new VP. Adams fires Hamilton and is super racist towards him but then Alexander is like HOW DARE and destroys him in the paper. Jefferson and Burr have at this point noticed some weird payments coming out of Hamilton's accounts to James Reynolds and think he's been doing some dodgy financial corruption shit. So they roll up like hey we got the cheque stubs boy explain this. And Hamilton is like oh shit so he confesses his affair but is like please keep it secret omg. And they're like k I guess. Hamilton then remembers how he wrote his way out of the Caribbean and so OF COURSE he can write his way out of this situation as well. So he decides to write and publish the Reynolds pamphlet where he is like "yall think I'm guilty of financial crimes but JOKES ON YOU I actually had an affair ayo" and everyone's like wait what. And Eliza is like wait WHAT. And Angelica is like MOTHERFUCKER WHAT. So Hamilton definitely fucked up his whole political career never to be fixed woops. Angelica shows up and Hamilton is like thank gawd someone who understands me and Angelica is like BITCH I'M NOT HERE FOR YOU I'm here for my sister so go away. Eliza is v angry and basically burns all Hamilton's letters to her and is like I hope that YOU burn (also a fucking chilling emotional line). Ding dong. It's time for a time shift and now Hamilton's son Philip is 19 and just graduated from King's College. But UH OH someone talked shit about his father and he's like IMMA FIGHT THEM and Hamilton is like fine but pls don't actually shoot them and Philip is like fine when we duel I won't shoot dad omg. So they duel and Philip aims for the sky intending not to shoot but they other guys pulls a dick move and shoots before they count to 10. So Philip is deceased and Eliza and Hamilton r upset. So Hamilton is pretty :’( and now wanders the streets by himself, finds jesus (not in the streets, in like his heart), and eventually him and Eliza make everything right. But hold up its politics time again and now it's an election year. Jefferson is running for President again and John Adams is gonna lose but uh oh Burr also runs for President. It's a tie and the whole party goes to Hamilton like Bro who you want to be Pres? And Hamilton is like leave me alone. And then they say it again LOUDER and Hamilton meets Burr whilst out campaigning and is like "is there anything you wouldn't do to win" and Burr is like "no and I learned that from you". So Hamilton finally agrees to endorse someone and SHOCKER endorses Jefferson. His reasoning is I'm enemies with Jefferson but at least he has principles cos Burr has none. And Jefferson is like wait what. And Burr is like MOTHERFUCKER WHAT. So Burr writes some angry letters to Hamilton basically blaming him for everything that's gone wrong in his life. Hamilton responds with an itemised FUCKING LIST of the disagreements they've had. Burr is like take it back. Hamilton says no. Burr is like fight me then. Hamilton is like k fam let's go. So they're gonna duel but before that Hamilton writes a letter to Eliza explaining all this shit. He then rocks up to the dueling ground across the river and Burr is like Wait is he actually gonna shoot me omg THIS MAN WILL NOT MAKE AN ORPHAN OF MY DAUGHTER (also a tearjerker moment) so they count to 10 and shots are fired. Hamilton is hit and does a death soliloquy like oh shit what is my legacy. He sees the light and all the dead people he loves and is like imma go there too. Back to realtime and Burr is like he's aiming his pistol to the sky? ? WAAAAIIIIIT. But it's too late he's shot Hamilton in the ribs and he's rushed away and gets a drink. He's told he'd better hide cause Alexander died. He now laments that history obliterates and paints him in all his mistakes, and that he's now the villain in our history. Basically he has the mega regrets. Then everyone gets together and sings about Alexander's life and Eliza explains how she's telling his story to everyone, and how she lives another 50 years (time that he always wanted). She raises funds to build the Washington Monument, speaks out against slavery, and is basically the real MVP for the rest of her life. But her proudest achievement is establishing the first private orphanage in NYC and helping loads of kids grow up and she's like "in their eyes I see you Alexander I see you every time". She now wonders if she has done enough and if people will tell her story, and that she can't wait to see him again Musical over.

[bunkerbooks]

The Bunker Diary by Kevin Brooks

Hoo boy, where to start with this one. This is the most recent bunker/isolation-themed book I’ve read, and it’s a little different from most of them. It’s not science fiction, post-apocalyptic, or war related, it’s straight-up realistic horror. 

This review includes spoilers, including how the book ends, so be prepared for that. Even knowing how it ends, i feel it is worthwhile to read. Linus, the teenage son of a rich cartoonist who named him after Charlie Brown's BFF, ran away from boarding school and lives on the streets, begging and busking to get by. That is, until he's lured into a van and drugged by a "blind" man who needs help lifting a heavy suitcase. The next thing he knows, he's waking up in a concrete bunker. The book takes the form of a diary that Linus keeps down there. The bunker has six rooms, a bathroom, and a small kitchen. Soon, more people start showing up with similar stories of being abducted and drugged: a 9-year old girl, a blue-collar heroin addict, an attractive woman who works in real estate, an ill-tempered businessman, and finally, a gay, African-American pop-physicist/author along the lines of Neil DeGrasse Tyson. It seems like their psychotic captor was trying to get one person from every stage of life: kid, teen, twenty-something, thirty-something, middle aged, senior. There's nothing to do down there, except interact with each other, write in little blank notebooks, and read the bible (which no one really wants to do, amirite? I don't know if even I could get that desperate for a book). They can request food and other items by writing notes and sending them up in the elevator. Sometimes their requests are fulfilled, sometimes not. And it seems like he's trying to do experiments that mess with them mentally - watching them through cameras, adjusting the temperature, tampering with the clock speed, sending them drugs and pornography. But you never see the captor again. You never get an idea of who this is, or why he's doing this. When his experiments get really sadistic, some members of the group end up dead. And then, their captor seemingly disappears. The elevator stops working, the power goes off. Only Linus, the former junkie (who is really a pretty nice guy), and the little girl remain. But then, only for awhile. They don't escape. There's nothing for them to do. They all starve to death, and that's the end of it. It was incredibly bleak and depressing and I loved it. My theory is that their captor got caught trying to dispose of the bodies of the bunker victims that died, went prison, but the bunker was too well-disguised for police to find it. Maybe no one will ever find it. I got a real House of Stairs vibe from this. I love House of Stairs. But it had a total Level 7 ending, and Level 7 is one of the books that's had the biggest impact on me ever. If someone told me this was House of Stairs meets Level 7, I would have read it a lot sooner. I think this book is probably to bleak and hopeless and depressing for most people. Lotta questions, zero answers except that humans are fucked up. But it definitely felt like it was written just for me.