#but the basic plot points. where did we lose you. why does no one remember the basic plot points correctly

[wackus-bonkus-maximus]

Hey uuh so if u don't mind.... I want some writing advice... I have heard that ppl don't often like stories with an ending where the main character gets amnesia... But I can't see my fic go anywhere else (The alternative route is dying and I DO NOT want to go down there...)

... Any... Advice? Thanks in advance!

wow i am so honored that you want my advice arisa! it sounds like you concieved your fic with the ending in mind which is already ten steps in the right direction. also, remember you are writing for YOU before anyone else. yes, you want readers to like the story you craft for them, but in the end it's YOUR story that you want to tell and you're the one who knows how to craft its meaning best!

to begin with, the reason why readers are often disappointed by endings where the character gets amnesia at the end is because they feel cheated of character growth. the point of a story is to develop a character from who they were at the beginning to who they are at the end. when a story wipes all that away, it leaves a dissatisfying, empty taste in readers' mouths and they wonder, "what was the point of reading this, then?" it's much like the ending where the character wakes up from a dream and we realize the whole story was made up. we think, "what did i get so invested in that for?" as we shake our heads and walk away.

now with this in mind, it sounds like your character's amnesia will be the culmination of their development (simply based on how the only other option was death). i'm thinking there will be a sacrifice involved which results in the mc losing memories and therefore exiting the role they filled in the story. sacrificing memories can be a good plot device if you use it correctly. but i think there are some things that should be set in place before you go down that route.

have a character who DOES remember everything the mc went through and who reacts to them in a manner that supports that. you can even hint at it, really (think marinette going to visit fu and smiling at his painting). this will create a link between their past life and current blank slate that satiates the reader, because those lost memories are still meaningful to the protagonist as well as someone who cares about them, even if the mc doesn't know it.

have the character show their growth in other ways that indicate their personality stayed the same, even if they don't remember how they got to that point. e.g., if this person's journey was about standing up for what's right, have them walking down a street, seeing an injustice, and stepping in to right it. then we the readers will think, "aww, they're still the same person even if they don't remember." that's what means the most to us <3

establish whether or not the character will ever get their memories back. is there a possibility the amnesia can be reversed? have the other characters who remember discuss it. is the memory wipe permanent and can't be undone? have the characters who remember discuss it. i love loose ends but i wouldn't recommend leaving this as one, simply because it will add to audience frustration if you don't address it.

cover your bases! make sure we know why the character had to lose their memories, how it completes the point of your story, and who it impacts in what ways. this will all satisfy the climactic decision, as well as just make your story stronger overall!

people like any story that's good, no matter the plot device. it's just a matter of how you use your plot devices to structure your narrative! always remember the basic elements of a story: who is your character, what do they want, and what are they going to do to get it? then, considering this, juxtapose who this person is at the beginning versus who they become by the end. that should give you your entire narrative arc, which you can then close in a fitting way.

thank you for the ask! i truly hope this helped :)))

[terrainofheartfelt]

ooh, so i have a question: in a hypothetical au of your out of breath au where the car crash hadn’t have happened and blair made it to the consulate to break up with louis, what do you think would have happened next? i’ve always wondered what blair’s plan was vis-a-vis parenting in actual 5x10 if she had left louis given that her kid would have still been monegasque royalty (i think? i actually don’t know how their succession works if the parents are unmarried, but i would assume louis would have the option to recognize the child if he wanted regardless?), but especially so in light of her deciding to go it on her own and single parent! (even if dan is 100% stepping in to help her raise that kid whether they start dating or not lol)

OH well, funny you should ask, because I have an abandoned wip from late last summer, which was basically this premise. sort of.

but first, to actually answer your question: I don't know! I think, catholically speaking, a prince having a baby out of wedlock would be considered a "bastard," but in the 21st century idk if those exist anymore. theoretically, louis could/would acknowledge his child and do his best to give them rights and recognition within the royal family, but his catholic family might resist that. I kinda think -- given what we were shown -- that louis and his mother would try to exert a large amount of control over the kid whether blair was married into the family or not. remember the child rearing contract they tried to get blair to sign? i think the grimaldis would come down on her even harder if they perceived that louis was at risk of losing agency over his child's life.

and given how blair's sick & twisted mind works, she would probably anticipate the grimaldis moving to take her kid away, and she would scheme drastically to keep louis from exerting a claim over the baby. and by extension her. which brings me to the abandoned wip!

okay so, there was this abandoned fic on livejournal that was like, "what if blair and dan told everyone the baby was his so her abusive exes would leave blair the fuck alone?" and that premise is sooooo delicious I went "what if?????" and then I did not follow through.

so I tinkered with the idea that, at the crossroads of 5x10, Blair realizes that she wants out of her engagement to Louis, and her weird cosmic tie to Chuck, and her devious mind comes up with the idea the the surefire best way to make both of them so angry that they'll let her go, and make sure that louis doesn't try to take custody of the child, is to tell them that she and dan's friendship included them sleeping together at least once - enough to get her pregnant. the whole gang fell for a faked paternity test before (also including dan) why not again?

dan at first is like, blair what the fuck. but we all know he's too far gone in love with her to not help out. so they lie. they lie to everyone and it's a big mess but it does get blair free of both louis and chuck. and she tells dan he's not obligated to do or be anything but he's in on this now too, and he points out that if he were to back away (uncharacteristically) then everyone who knows them would be suspicious and boom, cover blown.

she moves into the loft and she's hormonal and the tension Builds and then they For Real sleep together and it's awesome but before they can talk about it the birth happens

anyways they are roommates and they raise this baby together and some Plot that I haven't come up with happens and then Blair realizes that she's been in love with Dan the entire goddamned time!

and Dan keeps these letters to their daughter on his computer -- he tells blair for months that he's working on his second book but nope he is just writing letters to Katharine (named for hepburn, dan calls her katie) Beach Read style. blair reads them and they make out.

For funsies, under the cut I'll paste the one scene I actually half-wrote, an exchange between Alison and Blair. The precursor is that Blair passes out in bed while Dan takes a shift with the baby, and then she wakes up and realizes that she and Dan are spooning (she's the big one) and then she stumbles into the living room looking for her kid, and boom: Alison:

“Best thing I never planned.”

Blair doesn’t say it, but she thinks Alison must hear it anyway, or feel it, the memory of that lost boy sitting in the hall. 

“But thankfully,” Alison continues, “Dan has the benefit of much more good sense.”

“Must have skipped a generation.”

Alison looks up in shock, her bouncing halting, and Katharine starts to grizzle in protest. 

“Sorry,” Blair says immediately, grimacing, “I’m really tired.”

Alison’s eyes flick up and down, looking her over, and she softens, resuming her swaying. Blair can kind of see Dan in the amusement clouding her expression. “No, you’re right,” she agrees. “Some things Dan definitely gets from me, like his taste in movies and thinking with his heart over his head.” She smiles slightly, and Katharine makes a restless noise, her tiny fist flailing in the air by Alison’s arm. “But he’s like Rufus in a lot of ways. They’re stayers. Always bloom where they’re planted.”

Blair bobs her head listlessly in agreement. Dan stays. He always has, ever since he sat down in that hallway. 

Katharine’s noises grow in frequency and volume, and Alison steps towards Blair, making to hand her over. 

“Oh,” Blair unwittingly takes a step back, hands going up, “I don’t know – but you’re doing so…”

“It’s you she wants,” Alison says gently. “You’ve got her.”

Blair takes a deep breath, and extends her arms.

“Yeah,” Alison whispers brightly, her voice turning up in that way everyone’s does when they’re talking to a baby. “There’s mama!” she says as she helps settle Katharine onto Blair’s chest. 

Blair’s breath catches in fear for a moment, but then Katharine’s grizzle of discontent softens into a coo, her fists waving lazily as she gapes up at Blair in open, honest trust.

And then, Blair finally realizes she’s been rocking from foot to foot, shifting her weight just like Alison had been. 

“You’re a natural, honey,” Alison says quietly, patting Blair lightly on the shoulder before letting go. “I can work through these,” she waves a hand at the various messes currently taking over the kitchen, “but if you need a break soon, just let me know. Whatever you need.” 

Blair pulls her eyes up from the baby in her arms, looking Alison square in the eye. “Thank you.”

Alison smiles, her dark eyes turning a familiar shade of warm and wistful, almost sad. “No thanks necessary.”

[letstalkwhump]

Let's Talk Whump No. 10

Welcome to Let’s Talk Whump, a series of interviews that spotlight the amazing people in our whump community. I’m Malice and I’ll be your host. 

Today we have @suspicious-pools-of-blood joining us to share his whump story!

Tell us a fact or two about yourself!

I'm a butch (he/him) and I enjoy rock climbing, leatherworking, and losing my entire goddamn mind over Xena: Warrior Princess. 

What does whump mean to you? 

To me it can range anywhere from a trope to a vibe involving some kind of hurt. I definitely consider angst to be whump.

How did you find the whump community? 

It was actually very straightforward; I was up one night and the word "whump" kept rattling around my brain, I'd probably seen it tagging a fanfic at some point, but I didn't know what it meant, so I looked it up and found a definition followed by the Tumblr community. Specifically, it was albino-whumpee's writing that came up, so I was introduced to whump and box boys and WRU all at once. I stayed up all night reading their stuff and then made a sideblog and dove in, dragging my OCs down with me. 

Do you think your views on whump has changed? Maybe the way you consume whump media?

This community was basically my first foray into reading original fiction online instead of just fanfic, and now that's definitely what I read most.

Favourite whump trope?

One of my favorite tropes is carewhumpers--not of the bad caretaker variety, but more whumpers who don't let whumpee have any caretaker but whumper themself. Relatedly, I like captor bonding (not sure if that's an actual term, but that's what I call it because the term Stockholm syndrome has a super gross history), as well as intimate whumpers, nsfwhump/noncon/dubcon, slavery, power imbalances, etc. Also a big fan of a whumpee who internalizes their hurt hard enough to become a whumper against a new whumpee, continuing the cycle of violence and abuse rather than the typical whumped-turned-whumper trope where the two characters just switch roles. I really like the mental/emotional side of whump, seeing how both whumper and whumpee feel about what's happening, why whumper does what they do, and how the whump changes both of them as people.

And your favourite piece you've written? 

Really hard to pick, but currently I'll have to go with Not You Too and its companion piece Wish . It's more angst than any physical whump, but it's an important piece for developing and understanding the psyche of my main character.

What's your writing style like? 

Oh man, calling myself out here on this one. Don't be like me, kids. Often times I find that not being sober helps me get over mental blocks that prevent me from getting the words onto the page. It depends on what I'm writing, but usually a couple bourbon old fashioneds or an edible get me into the mood to write, night time, lights off, candle lit on my desk, relevant OC or WIP playlist playing. I'm trying to get better about that though because needing to be intoxicated to write is not good. I try to write regularly but usually I just end up sitting in front of my Notion board for hours on end while procrastinating on work I should be doing.

Is there anything you struggle with writing?

Cisheterosexuality is fuckin impossible for me to write.  I have no experience with it so I'm profoundly confused when I have to write about it for plot reasons

Is there anything you're working on at the moment?

The current piece I'm working on is my main character's first time sleeping with another woman. I am, if nothing else, committed to realism in writing, so I did spend more time than I wanted to today remembering my own first time and cringing but hey, at least I got the vibe!

Do you have any writing advice?

Make some lil guys and rotate them in your mind; literally no one can stop you

Shout out time!

@winedark-whumpk-whump has some truly fantastic stories and was really encouraging when I was struggling with engagement and feeling self-conscious about my original content.

Anything you'd like to add? 

Thank you so much for this interview, this was lots of fun!

Thank you for joining us, @suspicious-pools-of-bloodod ! It was great to have you here!

And to all you folks at home, have a whump-derful day!

[oretsev]

hi helloo, i'd just written a novel in ur askbox about s&b and then tumblr crashed and it was all lost :') maybe for the better because it was a total mess of thoughts lmao so let me try to summarise my feelings a bit (im sorry this turned out REALLY long)

i HATE that they speedran s&s and r&r in the most bullshit way possible. the entire amplifier hunt was basically removed, at least journey-wise - they just. find the sea whip in that one cave and then they go to morozova's workshop and thats it?? wheres the shu han quest. where the fuck is the ACTUAL spinning wheel. and why is alina not hounding everyone to find the firebird??? she's supposed to be obsessively seeking it now, why does she barely seem to care? also where's the actual ending to siege and storm. WHERE is my darkling & alina fight. wheres her being saved by mal... where's her white hair !!!! idk that scene was my favourite and once i knew we were getting a tv show i really wanted to see this on screen :((

all the characters and relationships they cut... harshaw, misha, ONCAT, tamar&nadia (because lbr they basically weren't there), honestly i even missed sergei and stigg (who i'd barely even remembered before), nadia and adrik as siblings even. they just cut all these people and their journeys with alina for what, a fetch quest for a magic sword?

also, where's the apparat and the soldat sol? we hear people call alina 'sankta', sure, but the entire religious part of ruin and rising is just. completely sidelined. which is really weird because it's so important!! tolya and tamar's faith is basically nonexistent and i don't like it at all

the whole firebird reveal was soooo boring. like i'm sorry but that scene in the book? absolutely perfect. but in the show... it's just a story! baghra just tells mal and thats it! honestly this entire season was so much telling and not showing too, soooo much exposition and it just really didnt work

now then. ive put this off long enough but. the fucking ending. dude... i don't even know where to begin. how do you fuck up the rewrite of your book so badly that the entire moral of your book is just. completely lost?? literally the entire trilogy is built on the "what is infinite? the universe and the greed of men" quote. you CANNOT disregard that in this way. the point of the entire story is that alina's greed is punished! she loses her powers and she loses mal (sort of). the fold is destroyed by her power but not by her, because she never should have had that much power! now... she loses nothing. she has her power, she has three amplifiers, she brought mal back with merzost (which is still. insane to me like i legit laughed out loud when that happened) and now she's general of the second army and also soon probably queen of ravka??? she doesnt lose ANYTHING to her greed.

and with the ending too... where the hell are they going to take this next? because theyre sure as hell not following the kos duology storyline, what with alina now being nikolai's general instead of zoya (which im also. really pissed off about because zoya's story is SO important and theyve just. shoved her to the side)

i also have some thoughts about the crows and how theyve been handled of course i just don't feel as passionately about them (also because they shouldnt have been in this show in the first place but thats just my opinion <3) but i do wonder how theyre gonna start the soc spinoff when theyve basically done so much of the crooked kingdom plot already? and inej is literally already sailing and finding slavers like... i have no idea how theyre going to dothis spinoff and make everyone happy

very small last points but im so mad that they did the "an ordinary life full of ordinary things" line and then decided to. include nikolai? what the actual fuck? and then they didnt even GIVE malina their ordinary life... sorry im so so angry about this ending

i'm sure ive got more to say but this is already wayy too long and i don't wanna bother u anymore but ive just been mad for 3 days straight and really needed to get this off my chest <3 im really disappointed that theyve managed to screw up my favourite book series of all time so i'm just going to reread r&r and forget this season exists :D hope u have a nice day and thank u for reading this dump slfksdj

RIP but ty for venting!!! i totally get everything you’re saying. all of this comes down to the writers smashing basically all of the books into one season for NO reason. all of the things that make the trilogy & duology interesting & compelling & complex are gone bc there’s no time to show them. it’s constantly going GO GO GO with the plot, & for what?? nothing got added to these characters this season, i didn’t feel any impact during any of the big reveals, i didn’t get any emotional payoff from these characters’ journeys.

& why change the ending the way they do? eric’s already said that a season 3 would go back & touch on s&s things they didn’t address. so this ending is meant to draw out alina & mal’s stories, but why do it this way? why backtrack like that? you could certainly draw out the trilogy without speed-running the original ending like this, but that doesn’t fit whatever weird narrative he has for the crows ig.

[cherrygirl-28]

How would you describe L? it's okay if you don't wanna answer.. Just asking because it's um his death day.

Hello anon!

I wasn't planning to post anything in particular about his death day since it makes me sad. Basically, I was planning to write about his personality through my eyes, even if it wasn't his death day.

Anyway let's get started!

If I had to say five adjectives to describe L, I would say he's a genius, risk taker and brave at the same time, shy and above all sweet.

The truth is that he's a complicated character like everyone in DN. His character isn't black and white. He's presented as an eccentric detective who neglects his personal hygiene, which shows he's passionate about what he does. However, we see he's a man with a sharp mind. You can't easily fool him. That's how every detective should be.

I also think he would have been very good friends with Hercule Poirot. You see, I read a lot of Agatha Christie and I have noticed a lot of similarities between L and Poirot. If their stories took place in the same time period, they would've become great partners.

Ohba himself describes him as "slightly evil" but I believe he means it in a good way. He respects human life even if circumstances don't allow him to respect it as he much as he should. And well... I could say why he tied up Misa in an almost inhuman way, or why he tells "lies", but I don't think it's necessary. The account @my-one-true-l explained it much better. I completely agree with the statements. Here's the link: https://www.tumblr.com/my-one-true-l/189990755859/can-we-talk-about-l-he-is-canonically-viewed-by

He also has an odd sense of humour that not many can understand.

Example: "Bang! If I was Kira you'd be dead right now." Meaning the police officers should be more careful about introducing themselves to strangers.

Likewise, he's direct in his words. He'll tell you what he thinks even if it's harsh.

Of course, what I admire most about his character is his bravery and courage. If I was him I'd be like: "please no, I love my life. Don't get me involved with this! I don't wanna die!" or something like that. We could also call him risky since many of the things he does are considered "unnecessary". For example, when he went public on TV and challenged Kira to kill him, was risky. He had the protection of anonymity with his face covered, but it was still risky since he still didn't know much about Kira. He only knew he needed a name to kill but not the details about shinigami eyes and such.

As for the movies, I think both the director and his actor Kenichi Matsuyama did a very good job. They went from 10 to 20. Like they upgraded him. The same goes for Light of course! I disagree with the choice of him dying, but it was needed for the plot. It's weird when you think about it because I didn't really like him at first, but by the time the series was over I missed him! 😅

Since I mentioned the movies, I could say that L: change the world is canon, but on the other hand, we don't see that happening in the manga, and also L dies before finishing the case. While in L: change the world he dies after finishing it. Am talking about this particular film since it's my favourite of the four DN films. (Netflix adaptation doesn't count!)

Anyway, we see the human side of L and understand he's not a robot. He has a heart too, it just isn't beneficial for him to show personal feelings when it comes to such a difficult case as Kira's.

There's even a scene in the book where when Maki is kidnapped by the Blue ship, L tries to save her and in the end, finds out what it's like to lose someone you love. I don't remember what exactly happens, but I think he holds Light's watch and says: "let's explore the world of nothingness together" or something like that. The point is that under other circumstances they could have been friends with Light if he hadn't found the death note. L knew he was Kira but maybe deep down in his heart, wanted to be mistaken about his suspicions. Just maybe...

I don't ship them but it makes me emotional anyway... 😢😢

So, to summarize: I'd say L is eccentric but genius. Cold on the outside but sweet on the inside. Bold and brave but also funny. I think these are the main features that made me root for him! 💕

[snowbabys]

Gardening Club ⋆ part 6

(Disclaimer: i do not condone this behavior, nor think the idol acts like this in any way. this is purely fiction and for entertainment purposes only.)

Series masterlist

Pairing: yan!jungwon x gn!reader (ft. niki, jay and heeseung)

TW/Trigger warning: mention of food, mention of dead bodies on a joke.

Warning/notes: everyone's the same age for plot sake, and jakey is mentioned here.

Author's note: so apart from this chapter we only have two more, so, yeah, we're close to the end :) hope you guys like it, thank you so much for reading, and enjoy~ ♡

Word count: 1,753

“Did you know Niki and I met in school too?” You pass him another basketball.

“Oh,�� his smile widens and you reciprocate it, both of you laughing a bit at your hands touching accidentally. “How long ago?” He looks up to the backboard and prepares for his jump.

“Five years,” you watch him trying a free throw and applaud him for his perfect shot. He bows exaggeratedly and formally holds out one hand for you to reach, then guides you to the nearest bench. “Thank you, gentleman,” he winks and smirks playfully.

“Who talked first?” He kicks one lost ball passing by.

“Me,” he stretches out on the bench and watches you speak. “So we’re starting the year and our professor makes us do a group activity ‘cause there are a lot of new students. Niki is one of those new kids, but I see him all lost in a corner watching everyone going with their friends instead of finding a group to himself.”

“So you adopted him,” he points out and you giggle.

“Basically,” you lean back on the bench.

“And then?” He mirrors you and your shoulders touch.

“Then I go to him and try to interact, but he’s so shy he turns around and ignores me,” he closes his eyes and chuckles. “It takes the whole day till he opens up and talks to me, but when he finally does, we find we have a lot in common and become best friends.”

“Cute. Did you have any other friends at the time?” He rests his chin on his hand and you shift comfortably on the bench.

“We had Jake, but he went overseas with his parents,” you stare at the ground recalling your friend of years ago. You were helpless when he told you about his trip without an estimated return. Niki had just arrived so he didn’t feel the separation as much as you did, but you’d always be grateful for the shoulder to cry on he offered you. In a way, it made you both closer, relying on each other when you needed it the most. It got to the point you couldn’t imagine yourself living without Niki in a matter of months into your friendship.

“Jake?” he asks you with a confused look.

“Yeah, know him?”

“Maybe,” he runs his tongue along his cheek and tries to remember any face associated with the name that comes to mind. He quickly forgets it and touches your shoulder. “Never fought with Niki?”

“Oh,” you roll your eyes and scoff. “You mean his stupid tantrums whenever he loses a game? All the time” He grins and sighs, agreeing that Niki does go overboard sometimes. “He’s especially annoying with food, why does he always have to steal mine?” He shrugs to that. “But serious fights or arguments… nothing until last week.”

“Have you talked yet?” It’s your turn to sigh and look down.

“No,” you fidget your fingers in an attempt to distract yourself.

“I won’t ask you why because it’s none of my business, but I can tell you he needs you as much as you need him,” he inspects your quiet reactions and gets your hands in his, making you look at him. “Do you wanna talk about last week?”

You contemplate the idea, and it doesn’t sound so bad to vent to someone about all the turmoil in your life. You’d usually run to Niki to tell him every single detail and ask for his opinion, but it wasn’t an option after all the events. It made you feel so lost at first but it would be good for you to talk to someone else. “I don’t know where to start…”

“From the beginning, preferably,” you give him a light slap in the hand and see him roll his eyes. “Okay, then from the part they made you choose.”

“Alright,” you gather up your thoughts and courage to start. “I had no idea what to do. Niki and I weren’t hanging out like we used to because Jungwon was accompanying me home, and I was so afraid because I know how Niki gets when we’re not close,” he nods and caresses your skin softly. “Then there’s Jungwon, he said something about my proximity with Niki, and I don’t think he said it on purpose, but… I got a bit angry,” it doesn’t go unnoticed to you the way he shifts and sighs heavily at the mention of Jungwon.

“You like Jungwon?” He watches you intently, not missing a thing. Not even the unconscious muscle contraction on your lips that showed him just what he needed to know.

“I’m not sure,” he looks away and hums, indicating you should keep talking. “So when they came to me… I thought I couldn’t just choose one and leave the other.”

Your mind traveled back to the said moment, torturing you with the boys’ expressions waiting for an answer. You’ve felt panicked. The light wind that blew in the late afternoon made you shiver like in a blizzard, but to some point, you didn’t know if the wind was the main source of your shivers. It certainly had something to do with how Niki gripped your shoulders and asked you to look at his eyes. You didn’t have the guts to do it. Not until Niki himself made you, using his bent index finger to touch your chin and lift it till your confused eyes met his disconcerted ones.

“You never broke our promises before…” you haven’t realized how close he was till you felt his breath fanning on your nose. “Please tell me you’re not doing this now.”

“Niki, I…” you lowered your head enough to feel Niki’s chin touching your forehead. You felt like you needed to cry. You weren’t sure if you were being way too dramatic, or if the circumstances made you sensitive. Or maybe you just hated the way your best friend was holding you, softly squeezing you against him to prevent you from leaving.

“You can just…” you looked up at him again to see frustration piling him up. “Talk to him later? I don’t know…” he searched for your eyes again and connected your foreheads. “Please?” You felt your noses touching while you reached for his hands.

You were almost putting your arm under his and walking off. Almost. Only if it wasn’t for Jungwon’s head popping into your eyesight, staring at you and Niki with his head tilted.

“Am I being considered in this conversation too?” he crossed his arms impatiently.

“Shut up.” Niki glanced over to Jungwon.

“So you chose…” you got pulled back to reality by his voice. He waited for you to continue while tapping his fingers on yours.

“Well…” then again, the scene repeated in your mind as it did during the whole weekend.

You exchanged your attention between both boys making a decision. Who would you choose? No, no. That wasn’t the right question for the moment. The true question was: how could you choose? To avoid any more friction among them, you grabbed Niki’s forearm with your right hand and Jungwon’s with your left then took a deep breath before stating your thoughts.

“I’m walking you both home,” both boys had their eyes widened, Niki opening his mouth a few times, and Jungwon frowning baffled. “We’re all gonna use this weekend to reflect on things, alright? And next week, we talk,” you looked up at Niki “And hang out. Please understand, I need this time for myself, Niki.”

“What did they say?” You could tell he was having his fun with the story, his chest rising with a muffled laugh.

“They hated it,” he nods again and grins.

“As expected. And…?”

The memory of the sulking boys will be with you for a long time. During the silent walk, they occasionally tried to get you closer to themselves, staring at each other and pretending nothing was happening when you scolded them with your eyes. When you got to Niki’s doorstep, he made sure to hug you for a long minute before letting you escort Jungwon to his, taking the chance to kiss you on the cheek (like he rarely ever did) while maintaining eye contact with the other boy.

“You both better behave this weekend,” you told them when you were still all together. “Or I’m never talking to you again” you left the not so halfhearted threat to Niki and walked Jungwon to his doorstep. “That includes you, Jungwon.”

“Okay, I’m sorry,” he carefully got closer to you and wrapped his arms around your waist, waiting for any reluctance from you. When he received none, he got his face closer to yours, switching the attention your eyes had to your lips, “I really am,” then pecked the corner of your lips. You slowly pushed him away by the shoulders and kept eye contact, his intense gaze consuming you. “See you tomorrow?” You whispered ‘Monday’ and saw his eyes going from embarrassment to sadness. “Okay.”

“I think it’s going well so far, no dead bodies or anything yet,” you smile at his disgusted expression.

You both feel the cold wind hitting your faces, so he gets up and extends his arms in your house’s direction.

“Let’s take you home, it’s getting late,” is yet another silent walk, he keeps his eyes on the ground while you’re one step ahead guiding him. A block away from your house, he speaks again. “Just came to check on you this once, it’s not gonna become a regular thing.”

“Niki asked you to, didn’t he?” You look back to him and encounter his apprehensive eyes.

“Actually… yes. If he didn’t, I wouldn’t come near you,” he’s a few steps behind when you turn your back to your door.

“Wow,” you roll your eyes and grin delightedly. “Thank you, Jay.”

“Sorry,” he shrugs and stays still while you unlock the door. “Y/n…”

“Yes?” You open the door and turn to him again.

“Can you please not mention to anyone we hung out?” His face contorts into what you think is fear and worry, but the odd glint in his eyes made you uncertain.

“Why?” Jay tilts his head and closes his eyes, a heavy sigh leaves his lips and that’s what you need to forget it. “Don’t worry, I won’t.”

“Thank you,” he opens his eyes and bites his bottom lip. “And before I go…” you lift an eyebrow as he starts walking his way. “You should start paying more attention to Niki.”

part 5 | part 6 | gc extras (1)

[snifflesthemouse]

Harry’s the Problem. His wife is the symptom. He is the real Diana 2.0 Wannabe...

         Since the Oprah interview aired, my whole perspective regarding the spare and his spouse has shifted. It would seem that I’m not alone in my thought process as more and more media outlets start reporting similar stances. Just recently, there was an article suggesting Harry didn’t change; but rather, he is only finally revealing his true self. The more I think about it all, the more I’ve come to the realization #6 is the real culprit behind everything.

         I’m not saying that his wife doesn’t have her own agenda or shares responsibility for her part in all this. Her hands are far from clean. What I am saying is it’s finally time for all of us to consider the cold, hard truth. Harry is his mother’s child. Harry is the bad egg, and his wife is only a side effect of the real problem here.

         Had it not been for the Oprah interview, I would have never put it all together. The problem with oversharing is too much information gets put out in the public. Most assume PR firms would worry about oversaturation in the press, but the real problem comes from personal interviews they cannot control in real-time. Puff pieces can be edited before publishing so facts and statements align; live interviews cannot. Over time, one of two patterns form from this oversaturation. Consistencies, repetitions, and similarities can be found in oversaturated truth-telling. Inconsistencies, changes, and huge differences result from those like Harry who prefer their trousers scorching hot from bursting into flames from deception. When you consistently lie, the only constant is the inconsistencies. 

         Now, those of us who have been following these two already know by now inconsistencies and changing stories should be expected. But the Oprah interview really highlighted some interesting things I had previously missed. The interview with Dax Shephard only solidifies my theories. Up until lately, those two have been together through most everything. Very seldom have we seen Harry alone in an interview or speech. There’s never a time where the missus isn’t popping up. James Corden proved that. Then we have the Oprah interview where she was supposed to be the star of the show. But, that was the moment it all changed. That interview was the moment she became the understudy. 

          Think about it. Who is the one being used in the media lately? Most people would suggest that the impending delivery of child number dos is why the missus is absent. One would then argue the Apple + special with Oprah started production well before the second child was a topic for discussion. The missus is being used less and less on camera or in the media. Everything is all about Harry. Forget about when Harry met Sally; Harry Met Hollywood! 

         Harry is the one doing the interviews, dropping projects, and talking with big Hollywood names. Even their announced Netflix projects are focused on one of Harry’s pre-married concepts. All the wife has going for her is a book that’s only number one in the “Books written by ex-Royals who couldn’t hack it” category. Seriously though, as of this posting the Bench is #2130 on the Amazon Books list, #12 in Children’s Black and African American Story Books, #73 in Children’s Emotions Books, and #167 in Children’s Family Life Books. Being pregnant isn’t a disqualifier for being interviewed. But, apparently being just the wife is.

         So, if it was his wife’s plan from the beginning to marry Harry, get him to abandon his family, move to California, and become a big star with a Prince for a husband, her plans have been ruined. And if you think about what she said in the interview with Oprah, you can actually see the moments she told us all exactly that. She clearly tells Oprah Harry was her direct link and source to the Royal Family and everything she needed to know. She didn’t misspeak or misunderstand a thing; she was telling us that Harry’s next to be markled. In every weird answer or revelation where she gave her versions for why their child(ren) were without title, saying they wed three days before the chapel, or having to cry out to HR since Harry failed to help her while she was so depressed she wanted to kill herself and her unborn child... all of it. It was all just the beginning. It may seem like she is attacking her husband’s family, but Harry’s the real target now.

          In just a couple sentences, she managed to reveal who Harry really was. Harry, of all people, should (and does) know how to navigate the press. Clearly, he failed to not only help her acclimate to Royal life, but it could also even be argued he set her up for failure for the get go. Let me give you an example. When my husband introduced me to his family for the first time, he told me little tidbits of information he found important for me to know. He essentially prepped me for the meeting so things went well. He wanted his family to like me because he loved me. I wanted them to like me because I loved him, too. So, I took to heart everything he told me. Yet, Harry’s wife shared with the world how little Harry cared about that. She credits Fergie with teaching her to curtsey, google for teaching her the National Anthem, and even said Her Majesty made her feel especially welcomed. So how did Harry not do more? If they started seeing one another in the early Summer of 2016, how is it Harry failed to teach or explain anything to her prior to meeting his grandmother, the Queen, when he had months and months of time to do so? How is it he failed his wife so miserably, she didn’t even understand basic UK custom, laws, or protocols? Why might you ask?

         Simply put, Harry is so much like his mother, all he knows is how to play the victim narrative while using the link to the Royal family as a nonstop ATM machine. Many people aren’t honest with themselves when it comes to Diana. She wasn’t the Mother Theresa everyone makes her out to be. Mother Theresa wasn’t a Mother Theresa either, though. Did Diana do some great things? Absolutely. Did she do them only because they were nice or great? Absolutely… not. Diana’s PR team would even have her switch up her charity causes whenever they felt it was getting to martyrdom level. They’d refer to her PR stunts as flavors. Does that sound like an innocent woman?

         Not to me. This whole time we all have seen his wife as the root of all issues, but she’s the side effect. It’s becoming more clear by the day that Harry searched out her. He wanted someone with the basic Hollywood connections that he could capitalize. Someone that seemed so controlling and ambitious it would be easy to believe they were controlling him, too. Of course he knew she would invite all the celebs she did. He probably inspired that guest list. Instead of guiding her in the press and in British society, he leads her to slaughter. He hides behind her repeated gaffes and wokeness to keep on his own mission.

         You see, Harry is obsessed with his brother eventually becoming king, being the “Second Son of Diana” and being the misfit. He is obsessed with his brother and father. They are all he talks about. When you obsess on something like that, it is more revealing than anything you say. Harry’s true motives aren’t protecting his wife and children. His real motive is making a name for himself like his mother did. If he can manage to get some revenge by making the Firm feel some backlash, hey that’s a bonus. 

         While his wife may think in her mind she will be the next Diana 2.0, the truth is we all missed who really will be. Harry is the one wanting to be Diana 2.0. If that’s the case, then that means the much older spouse for whom there are two children with, aka the wife, would be his Charles. Remember, Diana lost her HRH and titles. And we have Harry being very aggressive and pushy, to the point it seems he is trying to get ahead of a Palace announcement of them losing their titles. But it makes sense now.

         They aren’t trying to lose anything, but instead Harry keeps opening his mouth to create pressure in the media. He knows his wife does not want to give those titles back. But if he himself keeps saying outrageous things, then it would put everyone in ultimatum mode. Either Harry will push hard enough that Parliament and the Queen will have enough, or the press will get so critical of the two, Harry will push his wife to agree to returning the titles.

         Harry is following the Diana business model. While in the Royal Family, they both were seen as rock stars who had more star power the the Sovereign, which was an issue. Then, they couldn’t take all the abuse, coldness, and inhumanity, so they bolted for freedom. Instead of putting the past behind them, they use the past to monetize grief and trauma in such a way, they become their own brand. Right now, the trauma being monetized comes from the past, but the problem will soon come when that trauma is tapped out. He will need a source of new pain or victimhood. Enters the wife stage left.

          The wife is a tool. She of course has her own plans and thinks she is the one in control or the genius. She thinks she is the one everyone wants to work with. But it’s becoming clear to her that isn’t the case and she’s been played by her elite buddies. They all want him, not her. They all duped her for him. If I can see it, and I can see her already finger pointing that Harry is the failure here, then she can see it. And that means paradise will soon be lost in those Montecito hills. His wife won’t go down without a serious fight here. I wouldn’t even be surprised if she eventually causes him to lose his special visa. 

         Overall, Harry hides behind his wife like a beard or shield protecting him from the press’s glaring lens. He lets her do and say whatever she thinks is great so he can keep plotting his own plans. He allows her to take the fall, look stupid, pull stunts people can see through, etc. for a reason. He isn’t completely sure he can make it in his new California life. He knows he can’t if he keeps her for too long, but he also knows he needs an exit strategy in case it blows up. So, he pins the press to attack her as the true culprit. If they split and he has to, he can return home and play the victim of her. If they split and he is doing okay in Hollywood, she can be the reason he plays victim to big named people like Oprah and Gayle. 

         I can see it now. An Oprah Special with Harry tonight on Apple +. Something cheesy or corny that is almost plagiarism. Like Narcissus and the Prince or something. Watch. Mark my words. Oprah talking to Harry about surviving the marriage while trying to rescue two small kids, being in the spotlight as a Royal while being gaslit by a narcissistic wife… yes I can see the green screen set up now.

         I know this is difficult to digest, but I do ask you to try. While his wife is not innocent, she clearly is guilty for her own part indeed, his wife isn’t the true problem. The true problem here is a man who has a serious issue with living in the shadow of his future-King father and future-King brother, and his future-King nephew, that he has chosen to use the same exact attack model his own mother used to merch and marginally disrupt the institution that made her a star. Harry and his mother both wanted the entire spotlight, but both knew they could never have it the way they wanted it. So, they wrote their own victimhood narrative.

         And here we are now. Mark my words. Harry will keep pushing until those remaining titles are removed by them forcing the hands of Parliament and the Queen. Or, they’ll push and push in the press so much the outrage and hypocrisy will leave them no other option but to renounce and re-gift those titles and rights to the line of succession. That is what he wants, even if his missus doesn’t. Also make no mistake about it. Harry is the real Diana 2.0 wannabe, not his wife. Keep an eye out. I have this gnawing feeling that soon enough, there will be plenty leaks from the wife about the husband. She won’t go quietly into the Beverly Hills… but neither will he.

[youngbugandtonystank]

what's the difference between what wanda did to those people in wandavision and what tony did with ultron?

I have so many asks about this. Hate asks, and people wondering what’s going on. This is the only one I’m answering.

Both of them are responsible for their actions. I’ve seen people try and take away either Tony’s responsibility for that or Wanda’s engagement and accountability. 

In Tony’s case, the Ultron program was supposed to be a global peacekeeping program to protect the people, acting as a suit around the world to prevent events like the Battle of New York. He was doing it in the name of peace and safety. Tony was rightfully scared because he was the only one who knew what was coming. Wanda intentionally enhanced that fear in him and this drove him to create Ultron with Bruce. He has responsibility for it. Same as Bruce. He owns up to this, he took full responsibility and agreed that they needed to be regulated. 

Tony Stark: A few years ago, I almost lost her, so I trashed all my suits. Then, we had to mop up HYDRA... and then Ultron. My fault.

--

Tony Stark: There's no decision-making process here. We need to be put in check! Whatever form that takes, I'm game. If we can't accept limitations, if we're boundary-less, we're no better than the bad guys.

--

Tony Stark: That's good. That's why I'm here. When I realized what my weapons were capable of in the wrong hands, I shut it down and stop manufacturing.

--

If people think he needs to be in jail for it, then I’m guessing the rest of the Avengers too since all of them have made mistakes and killed people too. As a matter of fact, after the events of Wandavision, I’m sure that Wanda should be in the Raft, but because she’s ‘a poor baby’ yall won’t think she deserves that. 

SPOILERS

It’s a big possibility that we don’t have all the info about what happened in Wandavision but we’re going to go with what we know so far. 

In Wanda’s case, she did it to appease her grief and pain, and I can understand why she would get to that point, she’s been through a lot and maybe she was about to lose her mind. Instead of recruiting Wanda after the Sokovia incident, they should’ve given this girl treatment for her mental health problems. She just lost her brother and passed through a very traumatic war zone, of course she needs assistance. Cap and Natasha were the ones responsible for her because they were training the ‘new’ avengers. Sam was with them and he used to be a counselor to veterans with PTSD. He could’ve helped Wanda with some of her traumas. As shown in the series, Wanda did the whole hex business before meeting Agatha, which means creating that little reality was all Wanda’s responsibility. Hayward and Agatha did exactly what Wanda did to Tony (and the avengers/other people) in AOU. They manipulated her and played with her emotional traumas. Hayward showed her Vision’s body parts and Agatha started to pull strings to know how Wanda did what she did and her real powers while orchestrating against her. 

Both of them have made mistakes. No one is better than the other. I don’t understand why some fans want to make someone responsible more than the other or blame one character for the other. While Wanda gave Tony that vision and pushed his self-destructive side to obsess over saving the world, he did create Ultron, what Tony didn’t predict was that the robot was going to corrupt itself. Same with Wanda, while Agatha and Hayward contributed to her trauma, she held hostage and isolated 3,892 people to create her perfect reality, ripping these people away from their identities and free will to fit her own fantasy. Don’t turn this into ‘omg poor her, it’s Tony fault that she’s this way'. I can’t believe I have to repeat this but you don’t see Peter Parker obsessively looking for the person who manufactured the gun instead of the criminal who actually killed Uncle Ben. Ridiculous that I have to repeat this example. 

Oh and about Vision’s body (damn yall have a gift to turn everything into Tony’s fault for some reason). I can’t believe some of you think Tony (while grieving for 5 years) would give Vision to Hayward. You’re either pulling stuff out of your asses or you didn’t pay attention to the show. Maria Rambeau founded and was the Director of S.W.O.R.D. In 2018 (when IW happened), this is where she came up with a new policy within S.W.O.R.D. to ground snapped agents in case they ever returned. Maria was diagnosed with cancer, then two years later (2020), she passed away. Then, Hayward was promoted to Director of S.W.O.R.D., in his first years (2020-2022) he refocused the organization’s work from extraterrestrial operations to robotics, nanotechnology and artificial intelligence, etc. There, that was the 5 years. Then in 2023 it’s when he started project Cataract, which revolved around rebuilding Vision as a sentient weapon. Tony was dead when this happened. How come yall don’t get this part? I don’t understand, do you really think his dead corpse signed some papers to give Vision to those people? LMAO

Instead of thinking Tony would give up Vision just like that, think (possibilities):

Maria was the head of S.W.O.R.D., she might have just been keeping his body safe without doing anything with him. Maybe she trusted Hayward and he, obviously, betrayed her because he’s turning her organization into something else after her death. 

One of the Sokovia Accords regulations states that the use of technology to bestow individuals (the term ‘enhanced individual’ in this book is defined as any person, human or otherwise, with superhuman capabilities) with innate capabilities is strictly regulated by the government, as is the use and distribution of highly advanced technology. Vision signed those accords ('I'm saying there may be a casualty. Our very strength invites challenge. Challenge incites conflict. And conflict... breeds catastrophe. Oversight...oversight is not an idea that can be dismissed out of hand’) The Avengers were no longer be a private organization and they operate under the supervision of the United Nations. This means they (UN) were the ones that referred Vision’s body to S.W.O.R.D., to a trustworthy leader, Maria. 

Vision died in Wakanda, not in New York. Tony was missing for 22 days after the snap, the rest of the avengers should’ve taken responsibility for his body.  

Why is it always Tony’s fault but never consider that other parties are also involved in this? 

I want to address some other asks with this one. I know some of you are angry because people are starting to blame Tony all over again, so a few things to remember:

Tony did not create the Accords. The Accords were the result of all the collective actions the Avengers have done in their superhero careers. All of them have made mistakes and the collateral damage of that was taken into consideration by the government and 117 countries around the world. He signed the accords because he knew that he could amend them with the support of the rest of the avengers and he knew about Thanos (something big was coming). 

Obadiah Stane (it’s so bizarre for me seeing that some people don’t know who this guy is, I’m guessing that the people who are watching Wandavision are too young to remember or didn’t watch the Iron Man movies at all which is highly probable) was the one selling weapons to the wrong people, not Tony. Obadiah was the CEO of Stark industries and became second-in-command for two decades. He grew jealous of Tony and began cooperating with the Ten Rings in Afghanistan, selling them Stark Industries weapons illegally. Imagine blaming all of it on Tony when Obadiah basically murdered thousands only because he felt a little green. If someone who you trust (he had no reasons to doubt Obadiah since he was like a second father-figure for him) does something behind your back (take into consideration that people like Pepper; who was Tony’s assistant and had knowledge of all of Tony’s activities and responsibilities, Rhodey; who was the liaison between the military in the department of acquisitions and Stark Industries, and Happy Hogan; who was his personal bodyguard and Head of Security of Stark Industries, didn’t know what Stane was doing either), how are you going to know about it? Tony trusted him. And when he realized what was going on he immediately stopped all of it. He worked hard to be better and people overlook that because they want other characters to look better. 

Don’t act like Tony was the only one assisting the military. All of the avengers assisted in one way or another. Natasha (who used to be an assassin) was in the Red Room, trained in the Black Widow Program in association with Leviathan and the Soviet Armed Forces, served for KGB, etc. Bruce Banner used to work for the United States government and was commissioned to create a super serum for them. Same goes with the rest, Sam, Clint, etc. Steve Rogers was a soldier lmaoooooooooooooo like, what happened to Tony with Obadiah happened to Steve with SHIELD/HYDRA in TWS. He trusted the people working in there (SHIELD), served for them, did missions for them and as soon as he found out what they were doing behind his back he turned against them. 

Knowing all of this, how is Tony always the villain for yall? I’m guessing because Tony’s popularity in the MCU, but still, aren’t yall tired of not understanding the plot and having people repeat it to you constantly? Watch the movies if you want to understand the franchise, people. Stop following the crowd. 

Also, Wanda is not a kid, she’s a 35 year old woman in Wandavision, she was 26 in AOU and 27 in CW. Hardly a child. Tony had almost her same age (38) when he realized Obadiah was selling illegal weaponry behind his back. The only reason people don’t fully forgive Tony is because 1. he’s a man and 2. he’s a billionaire. Even if Wanda was poor she still killed and hurt many people over the course of her life. Stop trying to make Tony the villain only to downplay Wanda’s actions. 

Both have killed people, both have made mistakes. They’re both responsible for them. 

[oitommothetease]

Invisible String (8/?)

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Female reader (Modern AU)

Description: James Buchanan Barnes, the owner of the most expensive-looking club in town and your new apartment. He was a dick and you hated him. What could possibly go wrong when you, the new girl in town, start bartending at his club to pursue your dreams?

Word Count: 2.4k words

Your parents’ house was exactly how you remembered it, but again, it had been only two months since you last saw it. Contrary to your usual life, a lot has changed in two months. You aren't working in a cubicle anymore, you're not going on random blind dates that your sister and mother plot for you. What you are doing is bartending in a town far away from your family. You're fake dating your boss who happens to be the most dangerous person in the town, at least that's what you've heard of the rumors, but so far, James has been nothing but non-threatening to you. Yes, he was mean in the beginning, but a lot has changed since then. 

And now sitting in front of your parents with James beside you, eating lunch; you recall Barry's diner and you miss the food there. It's funny because you always thought that this was your home, your family and everything associated with them should make you feel at peace, but you were feeling everything but that. You were restless and anxious, and you wanted to go to that cozy dinner with James where Sally would tell you anecdotes about her life. You wanted to sit with James and watch him debunk the myths about his career that you believed were true your whole life. Turns out, he doesn't cut off people’s dick for disrespecting him. Who would have thought? And you decided that maybe you should stop reading those stupid mafia stories.

James sensed your discomfort, you don't know how he does that, but he always knows when something is bothering you. He brought his chair closer to you in hopes of providing you some relief. And it did, his presence made you feel at ease and you weren't sure how you felt about it. You knew you were dependent on him for comfort since the incident at his club, but being with him didn't make you feel caged.

You always thought that a relationship would make you feel stuck. That's why you never engaged in one, but with James, it felt liberating. Maybe because this wasn't real and the moment this turns real, it'll be a shithole. At least that's what you told yourself. 

“So, what do you do, James?” your father asked, and you nearly choked on your food. James's hand involuntarily reached towards your back, his thumb running soothing circles while his palms patted gently. 

“I own a club and a few other buildings in town,” your faux boyfriend answered, and you were thankful he didn't get into his other business. You wanted to ask about all the rumors in town and why people are so scared of him and why does everyone in the club carries a gun, but you were scared to ask. You feared that you wouldn't like the answers. Honestly, that's false, you weren't scared of the answers, you were scared that what if he closes himself again the moment you step into uncharted territory. And you really liked this fun, caring, swiftie James.

Everybody was sitting silently at the table which was unusual because usually family dinners were the place where everyone pointed out your faults. Carol kept glancing at your parents every few seconds and vice versa. Your brother-in-law, Nick, was focused on the food and their kids were taking a nap.

 You were going to thank your stars for this peaceful lunch when your sister broke off the silence. “So, how did you two meet?”

Every head on the table turned towards you expectantly, waiting for you to explain how you met James. What were you supposed to say? That you met when you interviewed for your current job and he clearly rejected you? 

Before the panic could make its way to the surface, James' palm landed on yours softly, grounding you. Your sister's eyes fell to your hands on the table and she scoffed.

 “We're glad you're happy, but at least don't forget basic table etiquette,” She commented. How could you forget the ‘no hands on the table while eating’ rule? Just when you were about to remove your hand from the table, James held your hand and placed it on his lap, lacing his fingers with yours. 

“Auntie Y/N!” A shriek made you turn behind, and you saw your nephew and niece running towards you with the biggest grin on their faces. Both the kids jumped in your embrace without a care of their surroundings and you stifled a laugh.

Bucky didn't like kids, hated them, to be honest. In his defense, what's there to like, they're always whining and crying, but seeing you attempting to straddle two 5-year-olds on your lap while their mother complained might change his opinions on the subject. 

You didn't like kids either, except your nephew and niece. They were perfect in your eyes, but maybe you were a bit partial because you sort of shared genes with them. You were so focused on the stories Alec and Izzy were telling you that you didn't notice the eyes that were fixed on you. James looked at you with not only adoration, but also devotion. He knew if he kept looking at you like that, he'd be deep in shit, but it was too late now. 

After dinner, you made your way to the bedroom, only to realize that there was one bed. Fuck. You really should have thought this through. 

Before the embarrassment could seep in, James started collecting a blanket and some pillows. “I'll take the floor,” He said. 

You frowned. “No, James. You've already done so much for me. Take the bed, please.”

James pretended not to hear you and started preparing his bed on the floor. 

“Seriously?” You queried, slightly huffing at his childish behavior. “You're gonna pretend you didn't hear me. How old are you, five?”

Without saying a word, James started humming a tune and situated himself on the makeshift bed on the floor and closed his eyes. 

You stomped your foot furiously, yeah, maybe you were a little childish too. Without muttering another word, you made your way towards the bed and tucked yourself in a comfortable position. 

“You were saying something?” James asked, his voice laced with tease, and you huffed at his tomfoolery. 

“Yeah, just how immature you are.”

“Sorry, I didn't hear that. What was that?” you couldn't see him, but you knew he was doing some theatrical actions by putting his hands on his ears for better listening or furrowing his eyes in feigned confusion. “That I'm so smart? Oh, why, thank you. You're not so bad yourself.”

“That's real mature, James,” you murmured, clearly not enjoying his antics.

A comfortable silence fell in the room. The only thing that could be heard was your breathing and the air conditioner that always sucked in your childhood room but your parents never thought it was a primary concern. Oh, yeah, also, you were staying in your teenage room with your boss. You tried telling your parents that you could get a hotel, but they insisted so now James could see one direction posters on the wall right in front of him.

You would have assumed that he fell asleep if he hadn't broken the silence. “I know it's not my business and you don't have to answer if you don't want to,” he paused, wondering whether he is crossing a line by asking you this. “But why do you let them treat you like that?”

You coughed in surprise, you clearly did not expect him to ask this. You thought maybe he was going to ask you who is your favorite one direction member. Anything really, expect this. “Wow, you do not beat around the bush.”

You could hear him shuffling and once he settled you were sure he was facing you. Well, the bed actually. You did the same, turning towards him. You couldn't see him, but it still felt so intimate.

 “I'm honest with people I trust,” he informed and you smiled, thinking about the time when he told you he did not trust you or your intentions.

“What do I get in return?” you teased, although you would have told him without getting anything in return.

“What do you want?”

You debated for a minute whether you should go forward and just ask him so you did. “What do you do?”

You didn't expect him to actually answer. You knew that your relationship (whatever that was) with James had increased from where it was a few months ago. You deeply cared for each other and had mutual trust in the other. But you still didn't know about the actual work he did. Your realtor told you that he was a criminal, a mobster to be exact, and had sketchy connections with the mafia but you didn't know the exact nature of his work. 

He signed heavily and you were ready to drop the subject, scared that it would only push him away again and you couldn't lose whatever you had this early. 

“We provide weapons to the government at a cheaper price, eliminate problems or shootouts that the government is too scared to take the blame for,” he said, voice unwavering but you could sense the tension. Bucky thought that telling you about his work would make you fear him, and he didn't want to risk losing the progress he made with you, but he also knew that if he wanted you in his life in any form then he has to be honest with you. “We don't do the kind of stuff you're thinking of, it's mostly assisting the government to do stuff where they don't want to get their hands dirty.”

“Why?”

“How would you feel if the leaders of your country were involved in shady business?” It was a rhetorical answer, of course, you would feel unsafe, but your sleep-dazed brain was about to muster up an answer but he quickly spoke. “So if it backfires then they don't lose their men and women and can blame it on us, the criminals.”

“So that's why you weren't scared if I went to the cops? Because you kinda work for them?” you asked. His reaction made a lot of sense now, but some part of your brain hoped that he did that for you. That he would defy the police for you. 

“Off charts yeah,” he answered, “Although that has nothing to do with why I wanted you to go to the cops. I wanted you to because what Rumlow did was unacceptable and he should pay for his actions.”

“Wow,” you didn't know what to say. Anything further could push him back to the 'I don't trust you' James and you couldn't risk that. 

Bucky didn't want to elaborate further, “Your turn.”

“Sir, you just set yourself up for the biggest disappointment,” you joked, already imagining his reaction and smiling to yourself. 

“I let them treat me like this because they are my family,” you replied honestly. “I don't have anyone else but them.”

Bucky knew all about the issues that come with family, but he didn't think you'd be the victim of it. Bucky realized that in his head, he had conjured up a version of you that was perfect, so if he were to know you better, it would decrease his crush on you, right? 

Wrong. The more Bucky got to know you, the more he realized you weren't some angel and were just a vulnerable human like everyone, and the more he wanted you, all of you.

“Where does Rumlow come in this?” you questioned.

“His work is dirty like drugs, sex trafficking so he doesn't work well with government or any sort of authority,” he explained, “He's one of the problems they wanna eliminate but can't because he's too powerful. He works with Hydra.”

“Wasn't Hydra a myth?” you queried. You have heard stories about Hydra too, how Bucky was their rival. You assumed it was about territory or money. You know, like in the movies.

“Nah, doll, it's real. He's part of that organization and that makes him shielded from us and literally everyone.” 

“So you're technically not… you know, killing people for fun like the mafia and all? You're like undercover agents,” you concluded and he shook his head, chuckling at the disappointment in your voice.

In your defense, you expected him to be the movie-type mafia boss who kills people for raising their voice but again, this is not a movie. 

“If it makes you feel better, we smuggle weapons for the government. We're still criminals and dangerous,” he articulated, his tone laced with amusement at your reaction.

 “No offense, but that's a horrible career. Is that what you wanted to do growing up?” you asked, yawning, your eyelids becoming heavy from the exhaustion.

“No,” he answered truthfully. “Not everyone gets a choice, doll. My dad was murdered when I was a kid and I was shoved into the business to protect my family.”

 “Where are they? Your family, I mean,” you inquired, hoping you weren't overstepping.

“Ma basically hates me and my sister maintains her distance, but it's for her own safety.”

You didn't ask about them further, realizing his family was a touchy subject for him. You could relate to that. “What do you want to do?”

Out of all your questions and weird assumptions, this took James by surprise. No one asked him what he wanted to do. Hell, he didn't even ask him that, and now someone finally asked him, he didn't know what to answer. You understood his silence, you always understood everything James felt even without it being voiced. He generally hated when people predicted him, he prided himself on being unpredictable but not with you. James wanted nothing more than to just be Bucky with you.

“Don’t worry, you'll figure something out,” you mumbled, already drifting off to sleep.

James turned towards the opposite side. “Sleep well, doll.” he murmured, his breath growing even, matching yours.

TAGS: @bananapipedreams​ @akkinda10​ @rivers-rambles21​ @emmabarnes​ @goodcleanfunsis​ @valsworldofcreativity​ @boofy1998​ @marvel-3407​

[rosiehunterwolf]

Why Skybound's Ending Works

And why it was actually, to contrary belief of some of the fandom, a good season.

So I read this book a while ago. It was a good book, an enjoyable read, but I remember being really disappointed in the ending. Today I was looking through my bookshelf and I found it again, which made me start thinking about why, exactly, I didn't like it.

While there were a few different gripes I had with it, the main point came down to the fact that at the end of the book, after the climax had been resolved, the main character still wasn't happy, and she found a way to reverse time so that the whole incident never happened.

Sounds familiar, right?

I've never been a big fan of stories that basically undo everything at the end. I feel like it's a cheap ending and gets the main character out of learning his or her lesson, and often leaves me as a reader (or viewer in the case of a show/movie) with a sense of unfulfillment. I know I'm not the only one who feels this way, as this is the biggest complaint I've seen about Skybound in the fandom.

So, if this is true, why don't I feel the same kind of dissatisfaction with Skybound that I do with this book?

My first thoughts were maybe that because the book is a standalone part. Ninjago is a long show, now spanning 15 seasons (12 at the time I first was watching Skybound) and having one season that was a dud wouldn't upset me that much because there were so many. But if this were true, I would feel disappointment when I thought about Skybound in particular, not Ninjago as a whole, right? But I didn't. I still genuinely enjoyed the season, and I didn't feel scammed by the ending at all.

Upon further depth, I realized that it was the execution of this time-reverse.

The way the book I read worked, was that the main conflict had already been resolved, and peace had been declared, but the main character wasn't happy in her situation. She realized this wasn't what she wanted, and then time was reversed. Most media which undoes the plot goes something along this route, in my experience.

As a writer and reader, let me tell you that having another conflict after the main conflict just doesn't work. The main climax is supposed to build tension, put the consumers on the edge of their seats, and then have a short resolution period at the end to satisfy the consumers, but not stretch it out for any longer than necessary, because the climax was what we were all here for. Having another plot afterwards, even if it is internal, like this one was, takes away from the main climax, and suddenly it doesn't feel very engaging anymore. Everything throughout the book/show/movie is building up to the climax, and once that is over, it's time for the story to be done. Additional plots following the climax are what sequels are for.

Skybound doesn't do this. Instead of having more plot after the conclusion (which usually leads into the time reverse), it makes the time reverse INTO the climax.

The plot is building as Jay and the others prepare to kill Nadakhan. But when the plan goes awry, and now Nya is hit with the poison too, Jay's focus switches to her. This isn't a new climax, it's just a switch of focus as suddenly there are larger priorities to fix. A shift of focus, done right, can make things even more intense because now there are two threats- in this case, stopping Nadakhan, and saving Nya from death.

Jay's wish is all he has left. As soon as the venom wears off, Nadakhan will be all-powerful again. They are running out of resources, of ways to fight him. Jay has to end him now, or they lose against Nadakhan, possibly forever.

But he's not going to sacrifice Nya for this either. As we know, Nadakhan twists the wishes in anyway he can to benefit him, so Jay needs to make his wish as simple and straightforward as possible. He can't save Nya and stop Nadakhan.

That is, unless he prevents this whole mess from happening in the first place.

This is wonderfully executed, because Jay isn't actively seeking to do this out of his own selfish wants, or because he wants to fix something he did in the past. He does it out of necessity, because it's the only way he can think of where everyone on his side gets out alive. Like I said before, I feel like reversing time usually makes it so that a character is getting a cheap solution to their problem, one where they override all the lessons they learned throughout the story. But this is not the case with Jay. It's not a cheap ending, it's just an abrupt one, because Jay realized that this was a threat he wasn't strong enough to face. It takes humility, it takes courage- and it greatly improved him as a character.

One of the other main gripes about time-reversal plot is that there's no consequences. The characters spent all this time fighting to defeat some conflict, only for all of that to be undone and putting them right back at square one.

While this is somewhat true for Skybound, they handle it in a way so that the characters still get something out of it. Most people don't remember, but Jay and Nya still do. Those memories are still very much real for them. Skybound technically did happen, it was just reversed. It's not like it never existed. For Jay and Nya, who still remember, those experiences and traumas are still very much real.

I think the main prospect might be Nadakhan's teapot, though. Let's recount the exact wording of Jay's final wish:

"I wish you had taken my hand, and no one ever found that teapot in the first place."

Jay's wish is in past tense. "I wish you HAD," "no one ever FOUND" (instead of finds). Jay didn't wish that no one would find the teapot ever, just that they wouldn't have found it in the past. This means, while, it would fix the past, the future is still uncertain. Nadakhan could still potentially return, because Jay's wish wasn't specific enough.

While I am not super confident that he actually will, just the potential for it makes this a much better ending. Skybound, while erased, still is very much real, and so is Nadakhan. Jay's original plan was to kill him, but now he's just dormant in the teapot.

Skybound's ending wasn't cheap. It was a way for Jay to realize that he wasn't always going to win, and that no mistake could ever be completely erased.

[asterekmess]

Been seeing you getting hate mail and while I absolutely can't understand why anyone would go to all the trouble to make some one else feel bad... I also kinda really love the discourse on Scott? Like YOUR RANTS oh man. On point. Always. Tbh I tried giving Scott a chance... He is the main char after all... But I was like??? Wtf? That dude does nothing but refute others and does whatever he wants. And this was when I didn't particularly like Stiles either (first time watching Teen Wolf). But then I got to know more of him and like Tony he went asshole to lovable asshole—seriously, Stiles might not be the ‘nicest’ but he tries and his heart is in good place—while Scott is just... self-righteous. Someone pointed out that he sees people as possessions and that irks me too that I can actually see it being true. The dude has literally nothing going on except for being the one that gets bitten. And the Romeo-and-Juliet-esque romance he has.

Okay, okay, where was I going with this?? Right. LOVE YOUR RANTS. People need to understand that Scott not being liked isn't because of his race or anything trivial like it—he just happens to be—but because of his actions. Or inactions, as it were. *remembers the pool scene and Scott saying he's busy and resists the urge to chuck a shoe at him*

Basically, love you, love your work, and love your words! ❤️

I've talked with some friends about it, and our number one issue sort of...boiled down to the hypocrisy of the show? I....sort of rant a lot here, and I would add a Read More, but I can't find the option anymore?? I fucking hate Tumblr. EDIT: I found a post that told me how to do it!

So, since he's the character I focus on the most, let's talk about Stiles' morality. Because, you're right. Stiles is an asshole. He does some fucking awful shit in the first season, and even if he had a Reason to do it, it was still bad. And I still don't like it. But I understand it.

Stiles' lack of shits about what is 'lawful' is literally established in the first ten seconds of the show. He's a sheriff's son who sneaks onto people's roofs in the middle of the night bc they aren't answering his calls, who listens in on his dad's work conversations and is willing to fuck up a crime scene because he's so excited about getting to see a dead body. He doesn't care about laws. He doesn't even care about most basic manners (invasion of privacy much, with having Scott sniff Lydia to see if she liked him?). He's a dickhead, even to the people he cares about sometimes. But personality and morality aren't the same. Stiles' entire actual morality system is based around whatever he needs to do to keep the people he loves safe and happy. Lying to his dad so he doesn't get murdered by hunters? Totally fine. Telling Scott that it was "Jackson's own fault" that Scott attacked him with superstrength and dislocated his shoulder, so Scott doesn't feel like an asshole? That's just best friend duties! He will lie, steal, cheat, and he will kill to keep his loved ones safe (let's not forget this boy threw molotovs at Peter, knowing damn well what they would do to him). We can headcanon all we want about all the different people who are in this group of loved ones, but the list is canonically very short: Scott, his dad, and Lydia. Later on, like, past s3B? It includes Derek. Canonically. Stiles puts his life and the lives of others he cares about on the line while he lies to the matriarch of the Calavera hunter clan, to save Derek Hale. Derek is just canonically a part of that group now, and he fucking knows it bc Stiles is his anchor (that's canon too bb). End of Story, Sterek or no Sterek. It's why we get that insane number of lookbacks when Derek is dying before his evolution. Because Stiles is being forced to choose between two people who are BOTH in his ride-or-die group. He Cannot Pick between Scott and Derek, until Derek begs him to leave.

SO, yes, Stiles does fuckface things, and I don't always agree with what he does, but it is ACCURATE TO HIS CHARACTER. He is morally grey. He NEVER CLAIMS to be pure or good or just or righteous. Stiles knows who he is, and he stays true to himself. And I love him for that.

The same goes for a bunch of other characters! For Peter, who is strikingly similar to Stiles, in that family goes above literally everything. Screw the idea that he was following Derek around waiting for the chance to steal back the Alpha spark. That man put his life on the line (his second life, no less) to get the shit beaten out of him until Derek let him help save Derek's life Again and Again. Family Comes First.

Scott's morality is...confusing as fuck. I thought at first he was similar to Stiles, in that family came first, but...while he's protective of his mother, he also does a lot of stuff that puts her at risk without seeming to care/worry (like leaving Peter alone with her once Stiles hits their car, so he can chase Jackson) (or asking her to come to the high school when he's convinced there's a bomber in it)? Seriously, he's more protective over Allison, than his mother. It's very black and white the rest of the time. Very "this bad" "this good." And if you do "bad" then you are bad forever, while if you do "good" you are only good until you do "bad." The Betas were "good" until they asked for the bite, and then they were "Bad." Derek was "bad" when Scott met him and scared him, so after that, no matter how much "good" he did, he remained "bad." But only when it suits him. Allison is good even when she does bad, because he wants her to be good. Chris is good even though he's done mountains of bad, because of the minuscule amount of good that Scott has seen him do, because Scott wants him to be good. Even DEUCALION is good, despite the crazy CRAZY amount of bad he's done and despite having seen him do NO GOOD, just because Scott wants him to be good. Lying to those closest to you is bad, unless Scott is doing it, and then it's good, because he knows HE is good. Killing people is bad, unless Scott is doing it. Letting villains go is bad, unless Scott is doing it. Biting people is bad, unless Scott is doing it. Protecting family is good even if it requires killing or lying, unless it's not Scott doing it. Revenge for past slights is good, unless it's not SCOTT doing it. And you try to understand it! You try to say, okay, then he's morally grey, got it. He plays with the rules to suit his own morality, whatever. Except that Scott, the other characters, and THE SHOW ITSELF, are all telling you otherwise! They all say that Scott is morally pure. That he is good and righteous and lawful. That he always does the "right" thing, and that when he does "bad" things, it's justified and he had to. THE HEAVENS THEMSELVES say Scott is somehow better or more righteous than the other characters by MAKING HIM AN ALPHA OUT OF NOWHERE. (I'm talking abt canon here, not going into deaton conspiracy theories) It's like....Like in the hate mail response I did, where I pointed out that Every Single Thing people get angry at Derek for doing, Scott did too. Lying, killing (or at least attempting it), attacking innocents, losing his temper, keeping secrets, refusing to work with someone who could help, etc etc etc. Everything Derek has done that is morally "wrong," Scott has also done. And that's okay! Doing a bad thing doesn't make you a bad person, and even if it did, Scott is ALLOWED to be bad! GO FOR IT.

Except that he is sinless. It isn't that he learns from the bad things he does, it's that they aren't treated like bad things in the first place. Because Scott did it, and Scott always does the right thing.

Derek's behavior is reprehensible at times, but the show ADMITS that and frames it as bad. Frames it as him doing a bad thing when he scares Isaac or throws Peter or tells Erica who to date. And that's fine, because Derek is established as not being morally pure.

But SCOTT IS. And because they were so desperate to make him continue being "Pure" they didn't frame the things he did as wrong, or if they did, they absolved him of it immediately, using the exact same reasoning that works for Derek's situations, but this time Actually Accepting it.

He scares Stiles, well it's because he's scared. He throws Isaac, it's because he's upset. He attacks Jackson well it's because Jackson was being a dick. He orders Allison to date Matt, well he had a goal to accomplish. Every reason is treated like a fucking doctor's note that erases the bad things he does.

Being scared, or angry, or retaliating to someone being an asshole, or trying to protect himself, was NEVER a good enough reason for Derek to do ANYTHING "Bad." It was never an acceptable excuse.

IF IT WERE: If the show were making a statement about how fallable people are, how they do bad things, but they do them for a REASON. How people will do wild and terrible things out of fear, and how that doesn't make it less bad, but it makes it understandable, so don't demonize them out of nowhere. If that were the case, I would HAVE BEEN FINE WITH IT.

Scott is held to COMPLETELY different standards than everyone else in the show! And I DON'T mean that people held him to higher ones. They dropped that bar so fucking low. Anything was allowed, and any excuse was good enough.

He made out with a girl who was dating someone else, who his best friend was in love with? It's just the full moon, he's angsty about losing Allison. He ducttapes Liam to a bathtub and starts throwing random phrases at him that he hated Derek for saying to him? He's freaked out! He doesn't know what to do with a bitten wolf! It was an accident! He works with a mass murderer behind people's backs without telling them the whole story? Am I talking about Gerard or Deucalion? Who fucking knows. Either way, it's okay, because he was protecting his family. He plots to murder a cancer patient slowly and painfully by replacing meds that likely included painkillers with mountain ash, and the uses someone else's body to deliver the killing blow, and it's okay because he was just being smart! He was just working ten steps ahead! He was saving his mom and the whole town! Who cares if it DIDN"T WORK?

He walks into his ex-girlfriend's hotel room and scares the SHIT out of her while she's naked and alone in the shower? It was the wolfsbane. It doesn't matter that no one else's impulses included HARASSING someone. He lies to his girlfriend's face about her own life because he doesn't think it's important enough for her to know (who am I talking about, come on, take a guess, which one is it? Allison or Kira? Trick question: it's both). He was just being kind! He didn't want to worry her! He didn't want to make her feel bad! She didn't need to know!

I'm so far off track it's not even funny. My point was that Everything the other characters in the show are demonized for or framed as evil or bad or wrong for doing, Scott is shown to do and it's treated like at minimum a comedy, if not a Perfect Brilliant Strategic Move.

God, fucking hell. I mean, the PARALLELS you see in this show, between Scott and others. The scene of Alexander Argent going to the hotel after being bit? That bit where he pulls his shirt up in the mirror? It's a near PERFECT replica of Scott looking at his bite at Deaton's. They paralleled SCOTT MCCALL with AN ARGENT. Deaton has this whole line in S2 where he's bitching at Derek about "the person you should trust the most doesn't trust you at all" And then seasons later, we have Scott look his best friend in the eye and refuse to trust him, only to get upset later because Stiles doesn't want to work with him anymore and he "lost them." Scott goes running into Derek's house in S1 to accuse him of killing the bus driver, and when he can't get a real response, he EGGS HIM ON by accusing him of Murdering his SISTER, just to get Derek to react. Which is the EXACT same thing Kate did when she showed up and wanted Derek to lose his temper. Scott is CONSTANTLY paralleled with villains and assholes, and constantly does the things that others are persecuted for. But instead of feeling regret or learning something from it, instead of growing AT ALL. Those actions are treated as good. We are told they are righteous. And clever. That they are what heroes do. AND YES: There are parallels between Derek and Stiles' behaviors and villains/morally grey characters! Of course there are!

BUT THEY AREN'T SUPPOSED TO BE THE TRUE ALPHA MAIN CHARACTER. SCOTT IS SUPPOSED TO BE THE GOOD GUY. HE'S NOT SUPPOSED TO MIMIC/EMULATE THE VILLAINS, AND HE'S NOT SUPPOSED TO BE REWARDED WHEN HE DOES IT ANYWAY.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again; I understand the urge to think that the Teen Wolf writers did all of this on purpose. That they built Scott up as an unreliable narrator, so that we're forced to come to terms with a protagonist who isn't good, and we watch them fall into a villainous role while thinking all the while they are a hero. That all these parallels are intentional and the writers just couldn't Tell us what was going on bc they didn't have enough power.

And sometimes I play into it. I will lie to myself about Scott being the 'narrator' of the entire show, and that we're seeing it all through his eyes so of course things are biased and conflicting, just so I can actually Enjoy watching it.

But I think it's absolute bullshit that this was done on purpose. It wasn't. The parallels appeared because they Wanted Scott to do the badass things that they had all the villains doing, throwing people and being sneaky and clever, and stopping the bad guy, and they didn't want to deal with the fact that they were having him do bad things. So they just pretended he wasn't and refused to acknowledge that they'd already punished other people for doing the same exact shit, but somehow Scott was getting rewarded. They wanted Scott to be the hero, so they made him the hero, and screw everybody else.

[superb-owl-sunday]

Watching the Rise of the Titans movie and I'll be documenting all of my thoughts/reactions here. [Spoiler Warning]

So instead of reblogging every new update, I'm just going to have this post up on my phone as I watch and type my reactions in a bullet list format.

Nari's human disguise is so cute. As someone who does have a cottagecore aesthetic, I want to cosplay her so bad

Are Skrael and/or Belroc non-binary coded? Regardless, I'm also obsessed and I want to fuck Skrael and be Belroc.

STEVE CARING ABOUT JIM BEING HURT YESSSS!!! My god his redemption has probably been one of the greatest there is because he doesn't just suddenly go from being a bully to a completely good person. You can see the gradual shift in learning better throughout the shows which is awesome.

IN NEW YOOOOOOORRRRRRRK!!!!!! CONCRETE JUNGLE WHERE DREAMS ARE MADE OFFFFFFFFFFFFF!!!!!

The mugshot montage reminded me of season 1 of trollhunters when toby and Jim were arrested at the museum.

STRICKLER PUT A RING ON IT??? HE'S THE ONLY DILF IVE EVER ACTUALLY AGREED WAS HOT WYM I CAN'T HAVE HIM??? well I'm still really happy about his arc over the series probably one of my favorite character growths.

Eli my guy got his growth spurt!!! As an 18 year old who is still 5'0", I'm happy but envious for him

So I went into this movie without watching any trailers or promo, but I doubt anything could have prepared me for the existence of mpreg. In fact, I wasn't going to document my reactions until I saw that.

NAMURA!!!!!!!!! MY BELOVED!!!!!! I CAN STILL THIRST FOR YOU WITHOUT GUILT

The coach teacher just called the kids zoomers so I have to dock one point from my final rating just because of that. Unforgivable

Those husky animation models suck lmao

Oh fuck the titans got power ranger zords!!

God why did they include the mpreg??? This movie would have been perfect without it.... After that plot point being revisited only one time I'm already beyond done with it

Like it's bringing me back to the v*ltron days where they're was a suspiciously high amount of klance omegaverse and mpreg fics and art created and it physically hurts because Steve and Keith's voice actor is the same person meaning this is especially cursed to me since I was unfortunately in the v*ltron fandom and remember all of that

But like on another note, how old are these characters again??? I haven't checked any wikis because of spoilers but is Steve an adult??? I know aja might be technically a lot older than 18 because alien but is whatever age she is equivalent to an adult as far as emotionally and physically in Akaridion development??? IS THIS A TEEN (M)PREGNANCY IN A KIDS SHOW????

Like bruh I saw a singular post on here before going into the movie that was like "rott spoilers without context" and there was a pregnant belly but I was absolutely not expecting the actual context of it. I'll find the post after I finish and edit this post to tag the creator right here: @makoden

This entire post is just gonna be me ranting about mpreg huh

Anyway I love the whole roundtable allusion to the legends of king arthur (not the toa version but the one he's based off)

THERE'S 3 TO 5 BABIES????? I need to take a break bruh this is just too much

Alright I've taken a 30 minute break got some food and did some things i love (decompressed by tactile stimming with some owl plushies and watched some videos on my favorite owl, Garu. He lives in Japan with his owner and is a domesticated eagle owl who basically just acts like a sky cat. If anyone else needs some eye bleach, here is their YouTube channel)

Blinky and ARRRGHHH!!! saying their "if one of us doesn't make it" talk my god one of them is going to die I can see it and I will be utterly crushed. Jim can't lose another father figure and Toby can't lose his wingman again I will riot if this happens

On a similar but unrelated to the movie note, can we just talk about how toa started with Jim having 0 dads and (if strickler and blinky live to the end) will end with 2 dads? Like I just really feel happy for him that he has two dads who actually figured out how to put the past behind them to not have any infighting between them so that both of them are healthy father figures. Jim has already been through literal hell and back losing his actual humanity in the process so if he loses one of them, I'm going to be really pissed because at this point, this is just Jim torture porn. Y'all know how as SpongeBob SquarePants went on, the show just became Squidward torture porn? It's starting to feel that way for toa and I really hope they cut the shit by the ending

Jlaire is such a good ship but like I feel like it's too perfect they never disagree with each other

YESSSSSSS Someone finally doesn't treat toby like a fat waste of space who messes stuff up!!! I think out of all the characters that would have been most deserving of a rewrite, it's Toby. Sometimes I just feel he's only comic relief and any heartfelt moments he's had in the series was also born of stupidity (ie his flour baby project being unharmed was seen by him as divine intervention from his parents but was actually just Eli and Steve behind the scenes).

Ohhhhh yesssssss Archie's father!!! I was hoping I'd see him again because we got so little of him last

Ooooooooooh Asian trollmarket!!!!!

Oh never mind slavery trollmarket

Bruh titanic camelot

I feel like we're not seeing enough of the villains because I completely forgot about the power ranger zord things

NAMORA NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MY LAST CRUSHHHH

STRICKLER NO NOT YOU TOO PLEASE

WHAT THE FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THE ONLY TWO CHARACTERS I SIMP FOR ON THIS SHOW DIED WITHIN FIVE MINUTES OF EACH OTHER

THAT WHOLE ASS RANT I WROTE IS COMING TRUE FUCK THIS MOVIE THIS SERIES IS JUST JIM TORTURE PORN

WAIT JIM'S SPERM DONOR INFO?

Oh thank God I don't want to know anything about that person

For the record, I call that man Jim's sperm donor because he has no business being called a father to him. All he did was donate some swimmers to the creation of him and give him abandonment issues

Oh another blind troll elder???? This fucker is just if vendel was a bad guy

Bruh I was grieving

PACIFIC RIM WITH GUN ROBOT VEX AND THE BELROCZORD? I've never seen that movie but I know the reference

Bruh Blinky doesn't read horoscopes? Does he realize conspiracy theories are just the manly version of horoscopes?

NO DON'T KILL VEX STOP KO-ING FOUND FAMILY MEMBERS

Oh thank God he's okay

NO NOT ARCHIE AND CHARLEMAGNE OH MY GOD

oh never mind they're just gonna coup de tat I believe in them :))

But I want to see him again

But I'm glad to see vex

Yay they're in arcadia!

But yeah I wondered why the trolls and Merlin didn't keep the whole "daylight doesn't hurt trolls" feature from the eternal night but now Guillermo del Toro I see you were playing the long con in that just to kill my girl Namora :(((

Oooooh I love the animation of the Narizord over Chihuahua!! It looks very good and realistic (if only they could have put some of that into those huskies from before smh)

Bruh the character designs of the arcane order are so good I want to be them

Nari making sure the Skraelzord doesn't crush the bus

DAMN DOUBLE HOMICIDE

Bruh I'm just glad we finally have an answer on why arcadia had everything going on as opposed to literally anywhere else!! I always found that as a weird coincidence for plot convince.

BRUH WERE BACK TO THE MPREG IM SO JEALOUS I FORGOT ABOUT THAT EVEN THOUGH IT WAS BECAUSE I WAS GRIEVING THE LOSS OF MY LOVELIES.

Oh that's real convenient that the ninth configuration meant all of them. Way to not decide which character gets more attention. Though it probably was a smart way to not have any infighting in the fandom between each character's stan group.

Bruh I just realized where is Barbera did they just ditch her on the Camelot ship???

And where are the other trolls that migrated at the end of trollhunters s3? They said something about new jersey but obviously Jim and the other main characters got on Camelot instead.... This feels like a plot hole

And we never learned the process of how changelings are made and bonded to humans and stuff. We just know it's super painful but I'm curious ffs!!!!

THE DONT THINK BECOME HERO SPEECH ALL SAID TOGETHER!!!

BRUH THEY REALLY HAD TO SHOW HIM GIVING BIRTH??????? WAS THAT AN ABSOLUTE MUST??????

Plus the main audience for this series is little children (the rating for the movie is literally TV-Y7) so even though my adult ass is not in the target audience, I STILL DONT UNDERSTAND WHY WOULD MPREG AND ANAL BIRTH WOULD BE AN IMPORTANT THING TO 7 YEAR OLDS???? THIS IS A LITERAL FETISH HIDDEN IN KIDS CONTENT ITS ELSAGATE ALL OVER AGAIN Y'ALL 😭😭😭😭😭

Though it's probably hypocritical of me to think fetishes don't belong in kids tv when I've openly admitted to thirsting for strickler and namora

HUZZAH

NEW AMULET WAZ GOOD????

STAB THAT BITCH JIM

WAIT NO I SAID STAB NOT GET STABBED

Alright good job just missed the directions at first but you fixed it

SEVEN KIDS?????????

T O B Y ????????????

W A I T NO

N O

IS HE ACTUALLY

OH MY GOD THERE'S HOPE

NO THERE ISN'T

F U C K THIS SHIT THEY REALLY JUST HAD HIM TO BE BULLIED THEN KILLED

Y'ALL IM ACTUALLY CRYING THIS NEVER HAPPENS

I NEVER ACTUALLY GET SO EMOTIONAL OVER MEDIA THAT I CRY IT ONLY HAPPENED ONCE AT THE END OF VOLTRON BUT AHHHHHHHH

W A I T

HE'S GONNA BE BROUGHT BACK?????

HOLD UP THEY'RE JUST GONNA BRING ALL THOSE DEAD PEOPLE BACK??????

WAIT IS HE

BLINKY CALLED HIM A SON

HOLD ON IS THIS GOING TO BE A CLIFFHANGER???????????

BRUH THEY REALLY JUST CAN'T END THE SERIES WITHOUT CLIFFHANGERS like there's always an open ending

TROLLHUNTER TOBY????? You know what forget the whole rants I had on how toby was written they just redeemed it all

And that's all! I'd rate it a 6.5/10 because it's definitely the weakest of all the sequels but still had amazing animation and some good plot points. It's just really hard to look over the bad stuff enough to rate it any higher.

[marauderundercover]

This Side of Normal Ch. 8

AO3

Prev

Marinette was seriously considering murder. She was pretty sure Jason would be able to help her hide the body, he was a lot stronger than her. But murder was seriously on the table. Why has she decided to break that one golden rule, you might ask? Lila Rossi. The bane of her existence. The very reason they were spending two fucking weeks in the crime capital of the world instead of their original destinations. But no, Lila just had to convince Mme. Bustier to take them to Gotham. And then, as if making Marinette plan a million things last minute wasn’t bad enough, Lila decided to talk. Nonstop. Throughout the entire first half of their tour of Wayne Enterprises. The only thing keeping her from strangling the girl right now was the promise of coffee in the cafeteria. She didn’t need food, she needed coffee. And then she’d go right back to plotting murder. Would anyone look in the river for her body? 

“Whatever you’re thinking, I’m sure you shouldn’t do it.” Adrien says, pulling her out of her murder plot. She glares at him. 

“I’m planning a murder, and I don’t appreciate you interrupting me.” She deadpans. 

“Murder’s bad, Mari. We don’t murder people.” Adrien sighs, throwing an arm over her shoulders. 

“Maybe you don’t murder people. I’m thinking about branching out.” She hums, getting in the line for coffee. Adrien huffs and grabs her arm, tugging her behind him. She immediately starts whining, reaching out towards the coffee booth. 

“Mari, you need actual food. You can have coffee after you eat something. I know for a fact you didn’t eat breakfast.” He says, staring her down. She huffs, crossing her arms. 

“You’re not my dad.” She mumbles, turning away from him. 

“Why the hell are you all pouty?” Jason asks, walking up to the two. Marinette smiles briefly, then drops her face back into a scowl. 

“Someone is keeping me from my coffee.” She says. 

“Good job kid!” Jason says, high fiving Adrien. Marinette’s jaw drops at the betrayal. 

“Honestly rude. Guess I’m not gonna ask you to help me anymore.” She says, sighing dramatically. 

“Help with what?” He asks, frowning. 

“Murder. She wants to commit a murder.” Adrien says, rolling his eyes. 

“Who’re we killing?” Jason asks. This time it’s Adrien’s turn to drop his jaw, Marinette laughing loudly. 

“Ha! I told you Jay would help me!” She cheers, shooting Adrien a smug smile. 

“Marinette! Lila needs your help carrying her tray.” Mme. Bustier instructs, walking over to the trio. Marinette immediately frowns, looking over at Lila who was carrying a tray. Just fine. 

“Uh, looks like she’s got it.” She says, nodding towards the liar. 

“Well, she got it okay, but she needs someone to carry it to her table for her.” Mme. Bustier says, frowning. 

“And one of her friends can do it. I’m not getting out of line for my own lunch just to carry Lila’s tray Mme. Bustier.” Marinette argues, crossing her arms. 

“Marinette-” She starts, then stops when she realizes Jason isn’t one of the students. “Very well. But we’re going to talk about this later.” She adds before walking away. Marinette rolls her eyes. 

“Is she the one we’re murdering?” Jason asks, leaning down a little so he could whisper. 

“Nope. The one whose tray I was supposed to carry is the one on my list.” Mari says, nodding towards the girl who was now fake crying. 

“Jesus. How does anyone put up with her?” He asks, face curling in disgust. Marinette shrugs. 

“At first I thought she was Meta. Now I think my classmates are just idiots.” She says simply. Jason snorts. 

“I believe that. I’m gonna go grab you a coffee. As much as I’d love to help you commit a murder, pretty sure the boss would be pissed.” He says, ruffling her hair before walking away. Marinette turns to Adrien and gives him a smug smile. 

“Ha, bitch.” She says, snorting as he starts spluttering. 

“You can’t just say that, Bug!” He whines, before turning to order his food. Marinette snorts. 

“Sure I can.” She says in English, before quickly switching to Mandarin and lowering her voice. “I’m a seventeen year old ex-superhero, I’m allowed to say bitch.” Adrien just snorts, thanking the lady and grabbing his food so that Marinette can order. Once she has her food, she follows Adrien to an almost empty table in the corner farthest away from their classmates. She smiles at the person at the other end of the table, Dick Grayson. He was their tour guide and had dealt with their annoying ass class surprisingly well. She was tempted to make him a certificate if he lasted til the end of the day without losing his sanity. Plopping down in her seat, she starts eating her food slowly, watching Jason across the room at the coffee booth. 

“Mari, he said he would get you coffee. He’s gonna get you coffee.” Adrien says, nudging her side to try and get her to actually eat. 

“You don’t think he’d get me decaf, do you?” She asks, remembering the time he’d brought coffee to one of their late night training sessions. It was decaf then, he claimed that she needed to be able to sleep after training. She argued that she needed to stay awake and do homework and commissions and some lameass decaf coffee was not going to help her do that. She just hoped he would take pity on her and get her actual coffee this time. 

“I think I’d get you decaf,” Adrien starts, dodging her attempt to whack him. “But, I think Jay’s a little nicer than me today. Probably since he hasn’t seen us in awhile.” He muses. Marinette stops trying to attack him, nodding in agreement. He’d be more likely to give her decaf tomorrow than today. So it was still safe to trust her coffee order to him. For now. 

“I’m sorry, did you say Jay?” Mr. Grayson asks, catching her attention. She glances at Adrien who just shrugs. She knew the two had talked earlier, but she really didn’t want to accidentally get Jay in trouble. 

“Uh, yes?” She says, wincing at the awkwardness. 

“You know Jason.” He says, and she nods, frowning. 

“Yeah, we got to know him last year when he was on a business trip in Paris.” She explains, dodging around the whole ‘he trained us as heroes and then found out our identities and helped us take down a supervillain’ part of it. “We ended up getting close and we’ve kept in contact over the last year.” Mari adds, confused as to why Mr. Grayson looks so lost. 

“Really?” He finally asks. 

“Yeah. He’s basically like our big brother.” Adrien adds, obviously sensing that Marinette was getting uncomfortable. 

“Hey Dick, long time no see.” Jason snarks, putting Mari’s coffee in front of her and plopping down in the seat next to Adrien. 

“Jason. So you have two new siblings?” He asks, gesturing to Mari and Adrien. Jason nods. 

“Yup. And they’re loads better than you lot. Pixie Pop here even said I could help her with her first murder.” Jason teases. Marinette’s face instantly heats up, as she turns her glare to Jason. 

“Jason!” She hisses. He’s lucky he’s on the other side of Adrien. 

“Wait, you two are brothers?” Adrien asks, and Marinette blinks. Oh, yeah. Wait, what. 

“You didn’t know?” Dick asks. Adrien looks at Mari who shrugs. She definitely hadn’t known. She’d assumed Dick was one of Jason’s bosses. 

“Yeah, unfortunately this dipshit is my older brother. Adopted, of course.” Jason says. 

“We also have two other brothers and a sister. And some unofficial siblings.” Dick adds, making Mari raise an eyebrow. 

“All adopted?” She asks. Adoption was no joke. It was crazy expensive in the US. 

“All but one. B kinda adopts every dark haired, blue eyed kid with trauma that he meets.” Jason says, smirking at Marinette’s face. 

“I’m feeling attacked right now. Are you attacking me? If anyone has enough trauma to be adopted by a serial adopter, it’s Adrien. Not me.” She says with a pout. 

“Hey!” Adrien objects. Marinette looks pointedly at his arm. 

“Your arm was cut off by your supervillain father who was an emotional terrorist for over three years. That’s a shit ton of trauma.” She says as he pouts. 

“Yeah, but if I get adopted in the US, I’d never see you anymore.” He points out. 

“But you’d see me all the time.” Jason teases. Adrien grins. 

“That’s right! Okay, sorry M, I’m gonna get adopted here.” He says with a wide grin. 

“Traitors, the both of you. Mr. Grayson, how’d you like a new little sister? I’m officially disowning both of these losers.” Marinette says, ignoring the indignant squawks from Adrien. Dick snorts, a wide grin stretching across his face. 

“Sure kid. And call me Dick. Do you happen to know any acrobatics?” He asks with a teasing grin. Mari smirks. 

“As a matter of fact, I do.” She says. Dick freezes before a huge smile makes its way onto his face, his whole body shaking in excitement. 

“Wait, really? You’re serious?” He asks. She nods. “That’s awesome! Sorry Jay, I’m stealing this one.” He says. Jason scowls. 

“I don’t think so. I’ve known Pixie Pop longer, therefore, she’s my sister.” He says. Adrien clears his throat. “Our sister.” Jason amends, nodding to Adrien. 

“But she’s an acrobat! You know I’ve been looking for someone to teach trapeze to!” Dick whines. Mari’s eyes light up and she starts bouncing in her seat. 

“Wait, trapeze? Seriously? Where? Oh my god, that would be so much fun!” She squeals, suddenly actually excited about being in Gotham. 

“We have one at our house, you guys have to come over! I could show you the basics.” Dick suggests, still grinning. Marinette turns to Jason, waiting to see what he’d say. If Dick didn’t know Jason, she’d never consider going over and learning trapeze. But since he’s Jason’s brother…..

“Ugh, fine. But if B ends up trying to adopt both of you, you can’t blame me. I wanted to keep you away from him. You’re the one who got suckered in by the damn trapeze.” Jason gripes, leaning back in his seat. Marinette just grins at him before turning back to Dick to figure out the specifics. Maybe this trip wouldn’t be that bad.

Next

Tag list (open): @toodaloo-kangaroo @laurcad123 @kittenmywaythrulife @lost-in-the-world-of-maribat @queenz-z

[riomsworld]

Okay, even though no one asked me for my opinion,i want to write down my thoughts on what could happen in season 4 (and maybe 5) of LMK.

I do not try to predict the exact plot or who will be the villan in that arc, I only want to focus on the relationships of the characters in my little rant , so please strap in.

Oh and spoiler warnings for the people who haven't watched the show yet

Even though Monkey king is one of my Favorit characters, (tbh I love them all but if I had to make a tear list, he would be on top) and I could write a whole essay explaining why he acted like he did in season 2&3, defending his actions with every word in it, I have to agree that if we look at his relationships with the rest of the Mk crew , he has some explaining and apologising to do.

I really hope that the writers touch on the subject. Maybe they write in a short bit where he talks to Mei, apologising to her that he really didn't want her to get hurt and that he had planned it differently. (Like the short explanation we got in episode 10 but a little longer)

Like I know that this conversation is not likely to happen because, let's face it, Monkey king is on of the last characters who would actively search the conversation with someone. The talk he had with MK was probably the furthest thing we ever will get for an insight in his emotional state.

But I really hope that maybe while fighting against someone or something. Mai has to trust Monkey king for a maneuver and they have tgat whole "like I trusted you with the samadi fire??!..." conversation.

(Or maybe show how he feels through his actions, show that he truly didn't want this to happen, make him flinche , make him look concerned or other forms of body language)

Speaking of trust.

He has to work on that part to.

Not only does he have to regain the trust of the others (like Pigsy for example) , he has to lean how to trust. On more than just the basic level.

He has to learn that trusting, involving and communicating with others, is a good thing. Maybe MK can teach him something once.

They could show us his change of thinking by showing us that he is much more involved in the gang or something.

For example they have to create a plan and he works together with them developing it.

While we are at it, I really, really want a red son arc where he has to come to terms with the fact , that he thinks of MK, Mei and crew , as friends.

Maybe a whole "I, Red Son, member of the demon bull family, son of the greate DBK, realy want to hang out with you guys and not just when I need your help" moment.

The ending of season 3 implied that Sandy, Pigsy and Tang have some amount of magic.

(I'm referring to that scene where they stand together, supporting MK and they light up with magic)

And Tang was able to use magic not just that one time , but 3 times through out season 3.

When he incounterd Macaque at the light festival

When he did the ritual the activate the samadi fire

At the ending fight with LBD

I really hope they come back to that fact and not just lose it in the plot because when he has the powers of the great monk, he could seal demons away, which we know the greate monk could do. I need to see content on this part.

Bevor I get to the one thing, I would would do anything for to see, I want to point out something else I hope to get mentioned im the following season(s).

We all remember the last quote from LBD , right?

"Know this Monkey, you and I are not so different. We both fight for what we think is right. That pursuit only leads to one thing" "mhm, to destiny, right?" "No.... to pain"

My angst loving heart wants to see MK suffer.

I want to see him struggle fighting for what is right but him having to consider what he may lose , which can cause him pain.

I mean we got a glimpse on that in season 3 but what if we turn it up a nodge?

Or (because I don't know how far the writers can go) he reflects on how much pain he has indured already and he has to decide if all that was or is worth it.

Or something else, I have literally so many scenarios planned out in my head...

Now to the big thing

The thing I would do anything for.

Monkey king and Macaque becoming friends again.

Bevor you say anything, I really don't think that those two characters just hug it out and start beeing 'bff 4 Eva' again, like, no!

I don't know how mutch time they can invest in that story part. As you can see there are so many other important story bits that need to happen plus a new villan arc that has to be introduced. But please, this has to happen!

I really need to see parts of their past together, that shows that those two cared for each other, deaply, but then time passes, Monkey king does his rampage trough heaven , he gets trapped under the five phases mountain and then joins the pilgrimage.

Macaque get's wind of the fact that his old friend has been freed and is now beeing forced to work for some monk.

He wants to help him but with measures that in danger Tripitaka and Monkey king is forced to fight his friend... we all know the ending to that.

(And by the way they need to show us why Monkey king hates Macaque.

I mean it makes sense for Macaque to hate Monkey king, I mean, he killed him , and that's a really good reason to hate someone tbh, but why does Monkey king hate Macaque? I just really need Infos on that...)

And after we get that, they could slowly build their current relationship.

(But it would also work if they would build the story out of order, where we would have to put the real timeline of events together)

Just imagine,

Mk, Monkey king and Macaque have to do somthing together, like a mission or something else.

Mk wanted to go alone

(maybe incorporate the bit that he doesn't want to cause pain for himself or the others, because he constantly gets reminded of LBDs last words)

But Macaque wants to help him, he offers his help, Mk not wanting to be rude says okay, Monkey king does not trust Macaque and wants to talk MK out of it , that he should rather accompany him on the mission.

TLDR: MK , Macaque and Monkey king are now on that mission.

Things happen and the two monkies get seperated from Mk.

Now they are forced to work together. The have to fight Demons together and get back to MK (maybe having to help him ?) All while trying not to rip of each other heads.

The trip concludes with the two no longer hating each other and having formed a truce.

We probely won't get a apology scene, because none of them would ever admit (to the other) that they felt any kind of remorse for what they did. But I would really appreciate seeing on.

Maybe this truce could develop in a form af friendship again , a friendship with boundaries, but a friendship nonetheless.

Idk I really love thinking about this show and it's characters and these are just a few of my thoughts on what could happen or rather what I would want to see.

The LMK crew is really competent in creating a world and ingaging it's viewers. I hope that this show gets greenlide for all the seasons they need to tell their story and I'm excited to see it.

[thereisnosuchthingassanta]

Favorite kdrama scene #1

My Mister - Episode 13

This choice might not be the most obvious to start this blog because it features a scene from what is very much not the main plot of My Mister. But this show is that good. Every scene is so well written and so carefully crafted. My Mister is often praised for having this great platonic relationship at its center so it seems even more of a reach to pick that one but in the end I picked it because I think about it a lot. 

When you first watch My Mister and start learning about Jung-hee and why she seems to be the way she is, you know a confrontation with Gyum-duk is going to happen. You also know it’s not going to end well. My Mister commits to a certain degree of realism. Gyum-duk is not gonna leave the temple and run towards his former lover. You know it. But most importantly, you know that Jung-hee knows this as well (more on that in a minute). 

Yet, when she goes to the temple, sits in the room, listens to him and then goes to confront him, your heart aches for her. At least mine did. 

When Jung-hee starts talking to Gyum-duk, she’s brutally honest about how hard life is for her mentally but also physically. It could feel a little bit over the top if you had not watched her suffer so much before (1) in the last couple of episodes. When she talks about how much this breakup still hurts her you know she is not exaggerating one bit. She doesn’t even say that to guilt him, she just needs to say it. 

And that for me is what sets this scene apart from a lot of “romantic confrontation” scenes. At no point does Jung-hee does this to get him back. She knows damn well he is not coming back. That is the whole point. She is hurting because he is not coming back and never will. She cannot get past it (2). 

When she starts begging him to come back, it doesn’t feel desperate but it is devastating because it is an expression of her desire. Of what she wants the most in life. She is not talking to him. She is basically talking to herself out loud. Seeing him helps her to voice her desire but it is in no way a real demand from her. 

I think this scene is a tour de force from Oh Na-ra, especially in that moment just before she starts losing it. The way her pain becomes so unbearable that it transforms itself in anger is so visceral that I was blow away by it. 

The part where she starts getting mad at him, accuses him of not loving her, hates on his way of life and then threatens to burn the temple to the ground before leaving without letting him talk, is probably what a lot of people remember from that scene but for me it’s really the minute before the meltdown that does the trick. 

You know a show is great when even third-tier characters can have a compelling story arc. You know actors are great when they can create something in only a few scenes. Oh Na-ra and Park Hae-joon are so good together in that scene (and he utters only one sentence) that you can feel in only a couple of minutes all the love and pain there is between them. The writing is great, sure. But they truly make this arc work (3). 

Having a character suffer because her boyfriend left her decades ago to be a monk seems on paper a tricky thing to do in your show. It could have looked a bit silly. Especially in a show that again, aims to be realistic. But I think this plot and this scene in particular does something almost unique by talking about a breakup that is not link to a third party, or a job offer in another country or something like that. In My Mister, Jung-hee suffers because she can’t comprehend what happened. That guy loved her, probably still does in a way but chose a life that most people don’t get (4). 

And this plot asks the question : would you get over it if you were her ? I think we would also want to burn that place to the ground. 

---------

(1) Out of all the depressing scenes in this show, I find the ones where Jung-hee is alone in her tiny room above her bar the most difficult to watch. I don’t know why. Maybe because she is older than Ji-an for exemple ? 

(2) I found so refreshing (for a lack of a better word) Jung-hee as a character. In general we want people to get over their trauma, especially when it is as “small” as a breakup. We want the character to move forward at some point, just tiny bit, even in a show like this. Here, even after she sees Gyum-duk again in the last episode and he seems to be getting on the road to closure, she doesn’t really seem to be there herself and you feel that she never will. The show doesn’t blame her for that, doesn’t judge her for that. It makes you accept that fact. 

(3) I think Park Hae-joon is one of the best actor around to be honest. I understand that people have issues with The World of the Married (I didn’t but I get it) but his performance is just so great. He played this coward so well. He was pathetic and hot and mean and... basically every adjectives you can think of. It is so different from his supporting turn in Misaeng and My Mister. A performance that people will grow to respect more with time I’m sure of it. 

(4) I think Hospital Playlist really did a poor job with Jeong-won and his struggle regarding his desire to become a priest. It’s basically used as an obstacle between him and Gyeo-ul. Is it even mentioned in the second season after he decides to stay ?  I get that HP is a comfort drama but it is one thing that didn’t really work for me while watching it. 

[magnumdays]

Magnum PI 4.15 - Dead Man Walking review

I’ve had insomnia for the past few days or some weird version of it where you wake up waaay too early. Putting this to good use I started the day off at 6:30 with watching the episode. 

If I’d hyped it up in my mind or life stuff distracting me, I’m not sure, but I wasn’t as happy with it as I’d hoped. Like...

WHY WAS THEIR NOT MORE ANGST? I wanted 100% angst.

WHY WAS THERE NO HUG? He be poisoned, least give him a hug Higgy!

(Though we get close-walking-together-ness for a bit at the end...like their hands are basically inches from touching. We take what we can get I guess...)

WHY DID JULIET NOT GET TO SHOOT ANYONE? She should have gotten to...

(This dude maybe...)

Yeah, anyways. Plot wise is pretty much what we knew from the promo and summary. Magnum be poisoned - must find gangster kid to get cure - gang saves him while he saves Hawaii from probable gang war.

We got a little guest appearance from Desi from MacGyver but not as Desi so no fun. And I didn’t feel like she added very much but she did take up extra screen time. And I’d have preferred it if she wasn’t an undercover cop. She was just a bad guy who did a nice thing, saving a guy, because it was the thing to do. That would have been actually interesting...

I was only mildly interested in the actual case/ kidnapping thing, really I was just “get my baby the antidote I hate all of you for poisoning him” and I don’t like that the guy that did poison Magnum with delicious Sushi (rude!) got away with it. Like? If it had been made clearer that it was the Double Crossing Guy’s (Tower) idea to get Magnum and the poison I’d have been much happier there at the end.

Because that wasn’t the case, was it? I’m so distracted by life I honestly don’t remember even though it was three hours ago. 

What I do remember and is going to take away from this ep. is mostly Juliet’s action and reactions. Because I think this was mostly a Juliet realizing she could lose Magnum and what does that feel like episode rather than anything else.

(Which is weird and if that was the point, it should have been more focused on that. Maybe there was nothing, no meaning, no character development thing. I mean it is Magnum PI and sometimes stuff just happens and next week no one remembers it.) 

But because to me the biggest take away was Higgy’s reactions, here comes 100 pictures of her.

So, we start out with Juliet actually being all defensive of Magnum and him being late.

It’s new.

And I love it.

For so long she’s been an eager supporter of the “Magnum is irresponsible and always late” and I’m glad to see she’s moving away from that even if it was because she knew he was with a client. Still always love it when she has his back and defends him! Be it to bad guys or their friends.

Next bit with have with her is answering the phone. TC says butt dial but she’s not having that. She knows Magnum should be calling to check in and picks up on something being wack right away.

(And isn’t it so lovely that the first thing Magnum does when the bad guy crime boss goes ‘no partner’ is sneak out his phone and call her! Like, he be the best boy and partner and he never be wanting to work without her!)

Upon learning he’s been poisoned - we get these faces.

Which is like, one of her many “OMG nooo my Magnum! Protec! Attac!” expressions in this episode. Legit all Perdie does this week is look like her world is ending while she simultaneously wants to murder someone.

Then we got her spying frustrated look.

Her and Rick talking about it and her actually admitting to being upset (“I think about what life would be like without him and then I think about what I would do to whoever took him away.”)

(Why do I desperately want to see that? Unhinged Higgy thinking Magnum is dead and going out to kill everyone... I want it. No. I need it.)

Her being all kicking ass and putting elbows to throats.

We approve.

(Though did this not look a little funny from some angels, because Perdie be smol, despite Kumu’s joke on her arms being impressive. Which they are. But still... smol).

(Back to looking like the world is ending and she wants to kill someone...)

Then when he’s calling!

He be back! He even be joking!

 “We’ll debate about that later, for now it’s just good to have you back.” 

She be giving him soft lovie looks.

Wishing you’d taken him up on that wine last week now?  Or the movie the week before? Come on, it’s time guys! Just smash your faces together and admit you love each other, I beg you! 

(Can’t take your eyes off him huh?)

I did enjoy that someone on the writing team took the whole 8 hours to live and didn’t give him that because it’s real hard to calculate doses of poison that accurately. The whole getting something to slow it down until actual antidote could be found was nice to, letting Magnum get sick sooner and making us feel bad. It was good. But I also hated it because look! Look at my poor baby!

Really, applauds to the make up department and Jay for making me feel legit worried about Magnum’s health here!

Anyways, finishing it off we got her admitting (using her favorite tool to communicate: sarcasm) that she was worried. I mean, it was pretty obvious but I did enjoy that they got that extra moment where she said it. Well, she didn’t but she did. In Higgins and Magnum banter speak!

So yeah. 

My final thought is; didn’t care about anything but Magnum being poisoned and Higgins feels about it. The case did not do it for me even if I didn’t hate it or anything. Neither did the Jin Dog tug of war for charity side plot tickle my fancy. Not even Kumu made me as happy as she normally does! But we’ll see if I re-watch it when I feel less stressed out and it’s not 6:30 in the morning. Maybe I’ll  have a different reaction and level of investment then!

Next week we got a bomb going off and a mom hiring Magnum and Higgins because she thinks her kid did it. Also is this Juliet hanging out with Kumu’s ‘step-daughter’? Are they giving Juliet more female friends? If so, I like!