#dont look now... there may be a flashback in the near future...

[obwjam]

a small surprise part 5 (gravity falls g/t)

idk what it is about this project that's getting me to write so much but damn it, who am i to question it! i hope you're all enjoying!!

this story is now on ao3 if you prefer to read it that way!

part 1 • 2 • 3 • 4

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It was hard, but not as hard as Jay thought it would be.

She had always been curious about humans, more so than any borrower she’d ever known. It was part of the reason she was shunned from so many forest clans, but she hardly cared. If she was known as the house dweller, then so be it. She didn’t hide in cowardice and let fear control her life. She had a sense of adventure. She had freedom.

Perhaps that’s what drew her to Ford in the first place. She knew how dangerous humans could be, but she knew how to be careful. She could safely observe him from a distance – or so she thought. As it turned out, she really didn’t know what she was getting into with him, but she couldn’t look away. His curiosity and enthusiasm for the weird and unknown was downright infectious. And yeah, it was terrifying. But it was also exhilarating.

Stanley had this way of capturing her attention, too, though she still didn’t quite understand how. It certainly wasn’t his sparkling personality or his kindhearted generosity. It was… something more intangible. Maybe it was the way he was so beyond dedicated to fixing the portal, something he would be the first to admit made absolutely zero sense to him, to the point where he wouldn’t even realize – or care – that he was working nonstop through the night. Maybe it was the way he would very sloppily eat, leaving crumbs strewn about that he conveniently forgot to clean up, or he’d break off a piece of food and slowly push it across the table when he thought she wasn’t looking. Or maybe it was just because he’s the closest thing to Ford that Jay was ever going to see again.

So even after the entire incident, even when Jay couldn’t close her eyes without feeling an inexplicable pressure rushing down on her, even when she shook like it was minus 20 degrees, she didn’t run. She sure thought about it, but in her mind, if she wasn’t 100% committed, then she wasn’t going to do it, because a significant part of her didn’t want to leave the house. She had gotten so used to it, finally, a place she never had to leave or hide or worry. She supposed this is why borrowers were never supposed to meet humans – complacency and comfort were dangerous things. But she’d be damned if Ford’s stupid meathead of a brother drove her from the one place she finally felt at home. She had earned this. She had to be better than him. She had to get Ford back. And even if she did manage to get herself off the table without suffering a major injury, it would only be a matter of time before she needed to come out again for food and water.

Plus, it was the dead of winter, and living on her own without a proper shelter would be deadly. Maybe she could find a warm corner in the walls, far enough away from Stan that he’d never find her, but that was a lot of work she didn’t have the energy for. She briefly contemplated the attic, but quickly dismissed it. Too many triangles.

The day after the incident was, admittedly, rough. And awkward. Neither of them wanted to say a word to the other, but Stan was clearly surprised to see her still on the table come morning. Besides a very long stretch of eye contact, he barely acknowledged her, but was clearly nervous to make any sudden movements and produce any loud noises. Jay didn’t really know what to do, and she was effectively marooned on the table, so she curled up around the stack of books and continued to sit in turmoil about, well… everything. 

“You, uh, want to keep staying here for the night? On the table, I mean.”

Jay snapped back to attention. It felt like Stan had just gotten down here. He had been working for 10 nonstop hours. 

“Um.” She wasn’t expecting to speak today. Her lip trembled as she gazed up at him. “It’s fine.”

“Okay then,” Stan replied, voice as neutral as she’s ever heard it. He stared at her for a good, long while, trying to figure out what he’d do if he came back down here tomorrow and she was gone. She was looking back at him as if he was about to strike. “It’s just – you, uh, you’ve been sitting on that table for like, a week now.” Huh. Has it really been that long? “Just thought you might – I dunno, get bored or something. And it’s freezing down here.” 

“It’s fine,” she repeated after a moment, mostly because her brain was too fried to come up with more words. But she didn’t like what he was implying, anyway. If she was going to get off the table, it would be on her terms.

Stan felt a slight frustration bubble up inside him, and judging by the way she reacted, it was written all over his face. He gave a quick sigh and opened his mouth to speak, but found he didn’t really have anything to say, so he left in an uncomfortable silence.

Over the next few days, though, it got better. Conversations were few and far between, but Jay mostly watched him work. It was actually kind of mesmerizing, the way he moved around so effortlessly and had a kind of raw strength not even Ford possessed. He was lifting pieces of metal and pushing around gigantic barrels that the two scientists used to need all their combined strength to even budge. He had stopped asking her for help, instead burying his face in the journal in an attempt to understand it all by himself. How much good that did him, Jay couldn’t quite tell, but he had managed to put a lot of the broken pieces back together, even if nothing actually turned on. 

Today had started mostly quiet, but as the hours passed, the curse words became more frequent and the slamming down of tools became a common occurrence. Stan was hitting a wall. He needed a drink.

“Hey, short stack, where does Poindexter keep the extra drinks?”

Jay peeked an eye open. She didn’t even hear him reenter the room. Had she been asleep all this time? “Uh oh, don’t tell me you passed out again.”

Jay pushed herself up on shaky arms. She had been sleeping a lot lately... 

“Um, I’m fine. And, I dunno… the fridge?”

“The fridge is empty. Drank up all his sodas and… other beverages. I need to know where the extra cases are. Poindexter’s always stocked up.”

“Extra cases?” Jay was hesitant. This felt like a trick. “Wouldn’t it… just be what’s in the fridge?”

“Haven’t you seen this place? It’s ready for the apocalypse. Besides, you’ve been here longer than I have, right?” Stan asked rhetorically, pulling up the stool and plopping down above her. Jay recoiled a bit, but regained her composure with a curt nod. “Shouldn’t you know where he keeps things?”

“Yeah, well, I–” she stopped. “I mean, you saw him before he… you know.” Jay shuddered at the memory. “He wasn’t entirely himself. I dunno where he might have put stuff.”

“Yeah, he pointed a crossbow at my face after sending me a postcard to come see him,” Stan grumbled, crossing his arms. He had tried his hardest to avoid thinking about that night. “Even after all these years… it didn’t feel like my brother.”

Jay nodded somberly. “Yeah.”

A sharp silence fell over the two. Their minds both swirled with questions about Ford; their time knowing him seemed to perfectly fill in the gaps that existed within both their relationships. Ford never talked about his time pre-Gravity Falls, except while reminiscing about college. Stan could tell her all about that. And Jay knew everything he’d been up to out on the west coast. But neither wanted to ask the other, and neither wanted to admit they were curious. So the silence stretched out until Jay was forced to ask the obvious, more pressing question.

“Is there… no food left? At all?”

Stan sat still for a moment. “Not really.”

“Oh.” Jay fiddled with her fingers. “Shouldn’t you, um… go buy some more, then?”

Despite trying to be as delicate as possible, she knew she made a mistake the moment the words left her mouth. Normally, the comment wouldn’t have bothered Stan so much, but he was at his wit’s end today, and he wasn’t in the mood to be bossed around. When he got particularly frustrated, there was only one rule — don’t say anything provoking. Just smile and nod and agree with everything he says. Jay was still learning.

“What did you just say?”

Jay shook her head. “Nothing, I was just – I meant –”

“No, I don’t think you understand. You’re not in charge here, you realize that, right?” A shadow passed over Stan’s face, and Jay clung to the cloth to hide her trembles. “You can’t tell me what to do. Nobody tells me what to do. Ever. Got it?”

Jay nodded her head vigorously, her gaze flickering between Stan’s giant, angry face and his giant, twitchy hands. “Sorry, it’s just – I thought humans needed to eat every day, that’s all.”

Stan gave her a look she could only describe as baffled. “What?”

“I – I meant –” Jay stuttered, her expression reserved. “What’s confusing about that?”

“You just called me human.”

Jay was even more confused now. “Isn’t that – yeah, that’s what you are.”

“Well, yeah, I guess, but –” Stan stopped, unsure where to go from there. He could practically feel the gears in his brain turning, trying to figure out why she worded that so weirdly, when he remembered that word she called herself – borrower. Clearly, there was a distinction to her. “What, and you don’t have to eat every day?”

She shrugged sheepishly. “Not… really. I can go a while without food or water.”

“Huh.” Stan didn’t think it would be any different. He suddenly felt stupid for leaving her food crumbs every day.  “That’s, uh. That’s strange.”

Jay didn’t say anything. What could she say?

Stan cleared his throat after a moment. “Well, I’m, uh… I guess I gotta go get some groceries, then.”

Jay blinked until realizing Stan was waiting for a response. “Oh. Okay.”

He pressed his palms on the table on either side of her and stood up, nearly causing Jay to fall backwards. Instead, she simply gawked at him as he walked toward the exit.

He stopped, though, and turned back around to look at her. They both stared.

“What?” Jay finally asked.

“What?” Stan repeated.

“Why are you just staring at me?”

“You’re the one staring at me!”

“Well, yeah, I’m waiting for you to leave!”

“Why? What are you gonna do when I’m gone?”

“Nothing! You just said you were leaving! So I’m waiting!”

Stan peered at her, taking a step closer. “Now I don’t trust you.”

“Wh–what could I possibly do!” Jay cried, throwing her arms out.

“I dunno, but you’re crafty. And trust me, I would know.”

“C’mon, there’s nothing I could even–”

“What if you’ve just been waiting for me to leave, and you try and sabotage that journal? Or mess with the portal somehow? I can’t take that chance…”

Before Jay could even process what that meant, her entire world was swept out from under her. She felt a familiar pressure on her stomach and back, and the blood rushed to her head as Stan pinched her waist and lifted her into the air. For a moment, everything was blurry, and then, darkness. She was flipped upside down on her back like a bug, comically flailing her limbs to swing herself upright. She eventually reached forward and grasped something soft, pulling herself up to her knees.

She knew this feeling all too well.

Stan lurched forward, not stopping for a second, his mission apparent. Jay used all her strength to grip the lip of his pocket and pull herself up.

“STANLEY!!!” she yelled at the top of her lungs. “YOU CAN’T DO THIS! PUT ME BACK DOWN!”

Stan looked down – well, he tried to. All she could see was the underside of his chin, and all he could see was his red coat. 

“I can’t? Looks like I already did, kid,” he said mockingly. “If I can’t trust you to stay outta trouble, then you gotta come with me. Simple as that.”

“STAN–!” she would have yelled more, but she was thrown around when he stopped walking. “You can’t – I’m not supposed to –”

“If you’re worried someone’s gonna see you, trust me, they won’t,” he said, summoning the elevator. “I’m just goin’ into town for a minute and leaving. I don’t wanna be there long.”

“You don’t understand, people in this town, they’re –” she stopped, realizing her voice was shaking more than she wanted it to. “They’re – they’re too – curious for their own good, sometimes.”

“It’s cute of you to worry for me,” Stan said, stepping out onto the main floor. Jay squeaked in surprise as Stan gently pressed his finger down, pushing her fully into the pocket. “Now, pipe down unless you want everyone staring at us.”

“STAN!” she cried, but mainly out of frustration. He was right – she wanted no attention from those lunatics. But it wasn’t the fact that she was being brought into town that bothered her; it was that she was being brought into town against her will. In about 30 seconds, she had gone from sitting on the table by herself to being forcibly shoved into a dirty, smelly pocket. And it was dirty. Paper clips, lint balls, gum wrappers. Why was he even putting these things in his breast pocket, anyway? It was hard not to feel like just another piece of junk rattling around, destined to be forgotten.

Honestly, maybe it would be better to be forgotten. Why did Stan think she was going to do something to the portal? It’s not like she was never left alone down there. Some days, he actually remembered to go upstairs and sleep in an actual bed and not with his head down on the desk. Jay could have done anything during that time. But maybe trying to find logic in Stan’s actions was just a fruitless effort. He was just so – unpredictable. She never knew what he was going to say, how he was going to react. Any little thing could set him off. One second, he would be delicate, and the next, he’d grab her because he felt like it. She wasn’t sure how to work around that, or if she even could. 

The long trip gave her extra time to think, and her mind drifted to Ford. It was beginning to hit her that she may never see him again. Stan was admittedly noble for trying to figure out the portal, but it didn’t take Ford-level brains to see that he was probably not going to figure it out anytime soon, despite his efforts to make it work by sheer force. And he couldn’t seem to figure out if he actually wanted Jay’s help or just wanted to ride some kind of sadistic power trip over her. She figured he didn’t know, either.

She missed her playful banter with Ford. She missed when she would do something completely normal and he would treat it like a scientific breakthrough. She missed asking him about human stuff. She missed telling him all about borrowers as he excitedly jotted down, word-for-word, whatever she said. Ford was everything she knew a human could be. He cared about her struggles. Even if he didn’t fully understand, even if he didn’t always do the right thing, he tried, and that was all that mattered. And in all likelihood, she was never going to experience that again. Maybe it wasn’t meant to last more than a few years. Maybe that was all it was ever going to be.

High above her, Stan was caught up in his own turmoil. He tried to pretend that he wasn’t harboring a tiny being in his pocket, but he would be lying if he said he wasn’t laser focused on the little weight in his pocket. He found himself wondering how it felt to be in there – carted around by a huge person, stuffed in a hot, tiny space. He would hate it. She probably did, too.

He couldn't decide if he liked her or thought she was disgusting. It was hard to imagine her being all that clean; but then again, he wasn’t exactly the shining example of hygiene. But she could get her little grimy hands all over his stuff! Like some kind of – little rat person. It all felt so unnatural. It was like having a pet he could talk to; but a pet with a really, really high IQ. 

Stan was a little baffled and a lot embarrassed at how much smarter she was than him. He supposed it was only natural after spending that much time with Ford, but it still made him angry. She was tiny. A pipsqueak! Stan could pin her down with one finger and almost no effort. She could get lost in the house and Stan would never be able to find her. How could something – someone – like that be so… observant? Astute? Sure of herself? It was just weird. Even in her moments of terror and confusion, she never came across as helpless, despite what she might think. If anything, she was intimidating at that size, carrying herself with a confidence that Stan knew he did not possess himself. And the way she reacted after the incident was nothing short of intriguing. Stan found it hard to care about people who weren’t himself, but the fear she exhibited in that moment of vulnerability surprised Stan so much that he couldn’t stop thinking about it. What had happened in her life to make her react like that? Stan knew she’d never tell him. But maybe one day, she would.

Suddenly, Jay’s vision was flooded with light, but all she could see was one of Stan’s massive eyes, peering at her, trying to make out her form. “You okay in there, short stuff?”

She was taken aback by the seemingly considerate question, so all she could do was nod. Stan barely saw it, but that was enough for him. “Good. We’re about to hit town.”

The next couple of hours were a blur. There was a lot of voices, a lot of stammering, a very fast heartbeat, and a lot of muffled protest. Just when Jay thought it was safe to peek out, there were no fewer than a dozen people following Stan back through town. And to her horror, he was leading them right back to the house, awkwardly trying to answer the questions thrown at him. Jay heard the familiar creak of the front door and nearly smacked her forehead. Why was he inviting them inside?! 

But not too long after, something in Stan’s demeanor changed. His body wasn’t rigid and nervous; it was pulsing with excitement. Jay’s stomach sank. This couldn’t be good.

Eventually, the noise stopped, and the voices died down. Whatever just happened, it was all over now.

“Oh, good, you’re still in there.”

Jay shut her eyes as light from the outside once again blinded her. She let out a squeak when Stan’s hand cupped her and lifted her into the air, holding her at eye level. Her heart was racing. He was beaming.

“Stanley…” she started, taking a moment to look around. Everyone else was gone, but she had to make sure this wasn't a trick. Stan’s hand twitched each time she pressed down on his palm with hers. “What just happened?”

“The best thing to ever happen to me just happened, kid!” Jay winced; he had never heard his voice so full of joy. “I mean, sure, those people? Total nutjobs. But they’re nutjobs with cash! Can you believe it? They want to pay for this junk!”

Jay was confused. “Pay for it?” 

“Didn’t you hear anything in there? I’m turnin’ this place into a tourist trap! We’re gonna be rich, tiny!”

Jay blinked. She had to suppress her desire to be sassy. None of this was making sense to her.

“Oh, don’t give me that look! It’s perfect! You can work on the portal during the day, then when I close up shop for the night, I can do all the stuff you can’t!” Stan tapped his chin. “Which is a lot, actually.”

Jay rolled her eyes, but he wasn’t done yet.

“Don’t you realize what this means? I’ll be able to buy us food, water, anything you want! We just have to fix this place up and get the word out, but if the tourists are even half as smart as the people in this town, that’ll be a piece of cake. Say, how does The Murder Hut sound to you?”

Jay stared, bewildered. Stan had this hunger in his eyes – the kind Ford used to get when he was on the verge of a breakthrough. But something still didn’t make sense to her.

“Hold on. I’m lost. You want to clean up the house and…”

“Make it a tourist trap, I already said that! People will come in, look at the stupid crap I set up, and then spend all their disposable income on gimmicky souvenirs! I’m sure all the weird stuff Ford’s been hoarding will–”

“Wait, wait. You mean… people, complete strangers, are just gonna be… wandering in and out of the house? All the time?”

Stan nodded with a grin. “Every day, baby!”

Jay was floored. That sounded insane! Ford wouldn’t want this! How could Stan even think to ruin his life’s work like that? And what if they discovered the portal?

“You can’t – this is Ford’s home! He built it from the ground up! This is is whole life! You can’t just–”

“Listen, kid, I know you don’t really know how this all works,” Stan cut in, trying not to get too angry. “But believe me when I say there is nothing we can do to get my brother back if I don’t have the money to keep the lights on. And right now, this is the best option I’ve got. All we have to do is move around some stuff and make this top floor like a museum. Nobody will ever go downstairs; it’ll be our little secret. Make sense?”

“A – museum?” Jay knew what that was. Humans would display artifacts and things they found interesting inside. And if Stan wanted to put all of Ford’s research on display… what would be more interesting for humans to look at than–

“Don’t worry, kid, I’m not gonna stick you in a display case,” Stan said, his usual snappiness pulled back just a touch. Holding her so close to him, it was painfully obvious when her mind wandered to the worst-case scenario. “If that’s what you’re worried about.”

Jay wasn’t sure if she believed him, but she had no choice but to trust him. “I mean – thanks. But I just – I dunno, I…” She stole a glance at Stan’s face, but quickly looked away. God, he was so close. So big. “That’s a lot of people to hide from, you know?”

Stan sighed. He wanted to roll his eyes and tell her to stop whining, but the tug in his gut made him soften his expression. “I’ll make sure nobody sees you, kid. I promise.”

Jay didn’t know what to say. Stan had never sounded that sincere before.

“Look, I know you don’t think very highly of me, and I guess I haven’t done much to prove otherwise. But there is nothing I wouldn’t do for my family. So if it means rearranging my brother’s home, selling myself out for a quick buck, and worrying about some shrimp who can’t even walk across the room without my help… then I’m gonna do whatever it takes. This is the only way, Jay.”

Jay sat in silence for a long moment before letting out a long, drawn out sigh. How did Stan do this to her? How did he manage to make her feel okay about all this? How did she feel so safe in his hand right now? It must be a Pines thing.

Stan waited with bated breath for Jay to say something. Just when he concluded she might not say a thing, the unmistakable sound of her tiny voice hit his ears.

“The Murder Hut is a terrible name.”

Stan blinked. He was not expecting that. He stared at her – this tiny, remarkable little being, just sitting in his hand, legs crossed, arms pushing down, regarding him with equal amounts of wonder and disgust – and burst out laughing. She flinched at the sound at first, but soon found that she couldn't help herself. Laughter was contagious.

“What!” Stan said through chuckles. “How – how could you say that! It’s a great name!”

Jay couldn’t stop smiling. “Why would people want to go to a place advertising murder?”

“Oh, come on! It’s edgy, it’s mysterious. It’s what the people want.”

“If you want mystery… why not just name it, like, the Mystery Hut instead?”

“Oh, please! That’s… huh.” Stan thought about it for a moment. “That’s actually pretty good.”

Jay raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Yeah! A mysteeeeerious old place, tucked away deeeeeep in the woods… a run-down shack, full of treasures, just waiting to be discovered! Are they even of this world? Come and find out!”

Jay giggled at his salesman voice. “Sounds like a place I’d want to visit.”

Stan found himself smiling at her amusement. “Heh, yeah, it does, doesn’t it?”

For the first time, the silence that fell over the two was comfortable, not suffocating.

“Alright, Stanley Pines. I’m trusting you here.”

Stan smirked. “Alright, Jay, uh… Jay Tiny. I won’t letcha down.”

“No, you really should.”

Stan furrowed his brow. “What?”

“Let me down. I’m getting dizzy up here.”

“Oh. Yeah, I’ve been holdin’ you up here for a while, huh?” I wonder how high up that looks. As gentle as he’s ever been, he lowered the tiny down to her familiar table. “There ya go.”

“Th-thanks,” she muttered, keeping her eyes down as she adjusted to the shift in perspective. 

“Now, you get some sleep, tiny. You’re gonna need all the energy you can get if we want to get this place cleaned up.” Stan paused, rubbing the back of his neck. “You, uh… you sure you don’t want me to take you upstairs? Check out Ford’s old room? Hang out with the human for a night?”

Jay smirked. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to say it like that, I just – Ford always thought it was funny, too. Found it fascinating that we had our own observations on human culture. I kinda forget that humans don’t call other humans humans.” She cleared her throat. She was talking too much. “But, uh, I’m alright. I’ll just stay here tonight.” She really didn’t want to go back in his hand. “I, um, might look at the journal some more. See if there’s something we’re missing.”

“Suit yourself,” Stan shrugged, though his tone suggested he was a little dismayed. “I’m gonna get some shut-eye. That was the most social interaction I’ve had in a year, and I’m beat.”

Jay gave him a soft smile. Though he brought this entire situation upon himself, it was clear this was weighing on him, too. He kept his promise about keeping her hidden all day, and that meant something to her. 

“Goodnight, Stanley.”

Stan turned around, still utterly bewildered at how someone who can blend into the surroundings on a tabletop could be a good companion for him. Maybe he needed to be a little more open-minded. Maybe, just maybe, this whole thing could be good for him.

“G’night, kiddo.”

[kingofthewilderwest]

it kinda bugs me how they cant make httyd3 longer just so they can emphasize the story in a deeper meaning, like your post abt it being disproportionate. httyd3 had a LOT more plot than httyd2 and we can already see how it has to cramp so much and why that makes D2's pace felt pretty fast. the structure of the story is actually well planned.. perfect, to be exact! but the execution like putting pauses, necessary humor, longer dialogue, is whats needed to make it um, understandable? im not sure..

this isnt meant to judge the movie as bad though! but its a question ive been asking why they cant do it longer, for that sake. is it the budget? was Dean really certain the script is okay? or is it meant to be like this so people can interpret the movie their way? (oof that one is confusing).. i dont know, i want to ask about your thoughts on that ><

From this.

It’s an interesting conversation for sure! I believe that THW doesn’t have to be longer to be extremely successful in the ideas it needs to convey! The core ideas being:

Toothless cannot be a wild dragon and strong alpha leader with humans. Other dragons probably deserve the respect of needing wild dragon needs, too.

Humans like Grimmel are extremely dangerous to dragons and will continue to arise, so dragons need to go to an area separate from humans to live in optimal peace.

Hiccup and Toothless’ powerful friendship will separate (insofar as physical location) due to the first two points

I know you’re not the only person I’ve talked to who wanted a longer time because you feel like certain elements were cramped, needed more breathing room, or that dangerous plot points didn’t get enough sense of weight. More time would presumably give that flow and sense of scale and danger. Now, it’s true that more time would give us more content to develop these things. That said, I believe solutions aren’t always “add more.” Creating good art isn’t about adding new things; it’s about knowing when to take away or alter, and how to make every second of your creation count optimally.

I remember when I was doing my music composition degree, my instructors hammered into me what would make a good final piece: the editing process of deleting measures - even measures that were really good! - because they didn’t fit what the final product needed. It’s painful to delete, but ultimately, it’s freeing; instead of making a music piece more cluttered to put all possible good ideas in, I can make it less cluttered, more manageable, more beautiful, more meaningful, and more effective to audiences. A better overall piece isn’t putting in every good idea I have; it’s leaving the piece with the beautiful ideas it needs.

I suggest The Hidden World doesn’t need added materials so much as it needs refining what’s already there.

Budget, production green lighting, and carefulness to the script all seem to have been done. HTTYD 3 was given a longer production time than originally planned. They pushed back the date exactly so they could make their best product. Interviews with people like DeBlois and Spielberg (who read several definitions of the script) talk about how much the script was transformed and bettered through its drafts. They did enough tweaking and care to rework the script. As for budget, the movie was 129 million USD, which sure was the cheapest of the HTTYD trilogy to create, but it’s about on par with what DreamWorks has spent on other movies like Home and Trolls - it’s not like there was skimping - and it’s all about making your money count, which I think this glorious, top notch animation quality film effectively did. So from what I’ve heard, I think production ran fine and we can’t question THW there.

I think most of THW’s problems can be solved simply by tweaking how scenes go down, taking a few small elements out, and adding a few small elements in. It doesn’t need time changes; it needs internal modifications to what’s already there. What I propose wouldn’t change much of the movie’s length - though maybe I we could add 5-8 minutes for things like a longer climax.

1. To Feel Less “Cluttered” or “Rushed”

The movie didn’t feel rushed to me or too cluttered, but it’s cluttered. You’re right. In addition to creating less clutter, my suggested tweaks will clear up time THW can spend elsewhere, streamline THW into fewer palatable essential ideas, and give a slight tone makeover that will add more sense of danger and conflict that THW needs.

Fewer humor side gags with minor characters (and less time spent on them). The gang’s antics are fun additions, yes, but that doesn’t mean they’re central to what the plot needs. Spending too much time with them adds clutter and takes away from plot-central, tone-central material. There’s a huge gaggle of gags in THW, more than any movie needs in a less-than-two-hour-long run time. Do we need all these to give THW its comic relief? Don’t get me wrong - I loved the humor - but time needs to be prioritized, and the movie will be improved once “less is more.”

Less time with Tuffnut’s pep talks. This goes with my first point. This comedic gag was lengthy in particular. It’s in part because it connects to the idea of Hiccstrid marrying, which THW does make more central in its themes. However, I also propose:

Spend less time (or delete) the will-they won’t-they marry Hiccstrid plot. THW intends to parallel Hiccup and Toothless maturing into adulthood, including their romantic connections. However, a will-they won’t-they marry subplot in Hiccstrid isn’t needed to create that parallel. Not to mention: it can be uncomfortable to have this undertone of romance as “required” adulthood maturation, and the fact that Hiccstrid are so close and intimate makes it feel “off” that they’re so uncomfortable talking about marriage. Spend less time here, simply make fans aware they’re going to marry in the future but not today, and return to the main relationships THW needs to pay attention to: that of Hicctooth and Nightlight. 

2. To Make Grimmel a Greater Sense of Threat

One of the central points is that Grimmel is extremely dangerous and represents one of many humans that’ll continue to be a threat to dragons. While Grimmel can be overcome, Hiccup will need to interact with Grimmel in such a way he can understand that dragons and humans cannot coexist in today’s civilization without continuing to risk danger, and that it’s best for everyone to live happily in two separate civilizations. It’s not being defeated by the enemy’s oppression, but taking a brilliant countermeasure to give humans and dragons both a better existence.

Making Grimmel feel like a greater sense of threat, and helping audience members understand what Grimmel represents overarchingly of humanity’s current antagonistic state, will help us and Hiccup process why a separation is best. This can be done by:

Show Grimmel’s impact on human society. All we’d have to do is change what his base looks like: it could be located in an area taken over from another human civilization, showing his army’s power and place in this world over humans.

Greater weight placed on Berk’s exodus. The Hooligans lost their home, but it’s played too lightly. It’s not written optimally as an emotionally impacting or destabilizing moment, which decreases the sense of threat Grimmel has. Instead of having the Hooligans excited to find New Berk, show them grieving. They can butt against Hiccup’s ideas of finding the Hidden World, but instead in a way where they’re frustrated at his naive solution and hurt at what they left behind. This isn’t adding time to THW; this is tweaking phraseology and presenting an event differently.

Change how Berk is abandoned. To make the attack feel more dire, threatening, either: 1. Have the Hooligans more reluctant and grumpy to leave in the town meeting, and not play the leaving scene so lightly, or 2. Have Grimmel chase them out of Berk so they have to flee then and there. This might even reduce time! 

Show Grimmel’s power over dragons. We could have a few-second-long flashback of him standing over a field of dead Night Fury bodies, or have his place cloaked in dragon skins or skulls. 

Show Grimmel’s power as a warlord. Grimmel acts in almost a solo fashion, despite cooperating with warlords and having an army. It doesn’t give us a good sense of scale. Show his interactions better with the whole of his forces to make him feel more dangerous, and for humanity as a whole to feel more like a threat against dragons. For example, in the scenes where he’s trying to trap the dragon riders, show him commanding more people.

Show Grimmel’s impact on the dragon (and/or human worlds) through landscape. What if, as the Hairy Hooligans try to find a new place to stay, they fly over several islands that have been destroyed by Grimmel’s forces? Either human civilizations, or homes once havens to dragons, with characters making comment they “hope” people got away. And what if, when Grimmel takes their dragons near the end of THW, it’s again through more violence and a raid and fire and destruction? 

Conversations more clearly talk about Grimmel’s dangers over dragons and humans, and how he’s one of many people that’ll arise. This idea is embedded in THW dialogue, but not clearly enough to fully grasp its weight, especially not in the sense we see characters grasp this. Have Hiccup and Astrid and Valka or something talk about how widely destructive Grimmel is, how even once he’s gone another man like him will take his place, and that while they may continue to fight and win for human and dragonkind, it’s ultimately not the right move to make for everyone to live safest and alive. A conversation laying this out makes a world of difference in our understanding of what dangers are going down and why we need to come to the solution THW concludes with. Again, this isn’t adding time; it’s changing phraseology. 

Add a few minutes to the climax. Make the final fight with Grimmel obviously the final fight, the threat bigger, the action more intense.

Perhaps show that Berk’s done good work changing the world by their choices. Even though Berk ultimately decides to let the dragons go, they are meant to be the voice of peace that changes their world. The good guys can’t resign to letting themselves live under the thumb of bad guys’ choices. Show that they’ve made a difference - Grimmel and his armies are gone and the world is regrowing (no more torched landscape, if we add that element in) - but that it’s still going to help their world by letting dragons go, too… for this generation, at least.

3. To Make Hiccup and Toothless’ Parting Jive Better

Hiccup and Toothless separate out of need - they can’t live in the same place for the better of both their kinds. However, since the movie spends so much time on Toothless chasing after the Light Fury, we don’t get that full sense of need. I propose:

Open THW with a clear Hicctooth sappy bonding moment. We need things like “Forbidden Friendship” and “Where No One Goes” to feel the power of Hicctooth’s love. Give us that starting sense in THW of how close they are before adding in the complications. It can even be done by tweaking how the opening fight scene goes down.

Show dragons profiting by living with humans, but it also being Complicated with their wild side. We need to acknowledge that the relationship between humans and dragons has done the dragons good, too! Otherwise it might feel incongruous with the rest of the franchise.

Show dragons being unfit in the urban area through their own restlessness. The movie tries to show this with Moosie Boi being too big for Berk, and Berk being so crowded with dragons Gobber finds the soup unsanitary. But if we see Stormfly restless and want to leave for the Hidden World, too, wouldn’t this say something more about where dragons are pulled to and belong?

Less time spent on Toothless investigating the Night Fury. You can’t cut this down too much or we’ll feel like rushing, but since THW focuses so much on just Toothless and the Light Fury’s connection rather than an overarching problem for dragons, it’s hard to feel the full-scale issues of the problem. Making it just him and her feels more like a hook up love story than “dragons and humans are incompatible for their needs.”

Change Toothless’ body language. Show more emotional division in Toothless about his conflicting options. Show him hesitant to leave Hiccup and the two interact over that. Show him lonely away from his kind when with Hooligans. Show him feeling that loneliness met - that deep emotional need of being with his own species - when he’d thought was lost to him (rather than focusing on it being a romantic hookup interest). This doesn’t take more time; it tweaks what was already given on screen.

Change Toothless’ emotions with the Light Fury to feel more like loneliness being met than horny boi practicing kissing with a rock. This does a better job of showing that Toothless has a deep need that needs to be met as a wild animal and as a social draconic species.

Change conversations Hiccup has with humans about Toothless’ struggle. Maybe have Hiccup processing less with people and more by himself or with Toothless. Don’t write the conversations with people be about “Toothless has a girlfriend” and “of course he left.” Discuss instead how Night Furies are social creatures and Toothless hasn’t been with his kind in six years - that’s a huge hole in his heart being filled. Validate the deep connection Hiccup and Toothless have, while simultaneously acknowledging the struggle of this moment now. The movie shows that the Light Fury can never be domesticated, so I think that’s fine, but maybe one line from Astrid saying, “I don’t think she’ll come to live with us,” would be enough to help other audience members pick that up too.

More time spent on all dragons being in danger, and Toothless as an alpha unable to protect them with Hairy Hooligans. The story doesn’t show Toothless being much of an alpha - intentional - until he reaches the Hidden World and it clicks. But I suggest it’d be more effective to pull this out more than having an issue with Moose Boi taking up too much space in Berk, and Berk being so crowded Gobber has a dragon in his soup.

Put more of a deal on Toothless being an alpha. You can say that Toothless didn’t understand or use his role as alpha when with humans, but I think showing more sense of conflict, and of an alpha needing to be wild to protect his own, would be useful. Make this an issue for all dragons. The alpha status being used as a blackmail device against Toothless to keep the Light Fury alive could be replaced with us seeing the full species of dragonkind being unable to be protected by an alpha apart from his own people. More needs to be done than dragons bowing to him in one scene to understand what the alpha does for his society.

Show Toothless with more Light Furies. The Light Fury being his singular focus is great. But what about, in the Hidden World, Hiccup and Astrid watch Toothless interacting with a whole group of Night Furies, and he’s clearly in a situation that was Made For Him?

THW already has great content in there - Toothless and the Light Fury interacting, Hiccup crying when he realizes Toothless is fit in the Hidden World, Hiccup freaking out and Astrid comforting him when he feels a low, and Hiccup and Toothless parting ways touchingly at the end.

With these proposed tweaks, we get Toothless and Hiccup’s relationship being addressed deeply from the angle of both friends. We understand what both Toothless and Hiccup emotionally feel, and palatably sense how both love the other. We get a sense that Toothless is attracted to the Light Fury and might want to mate, but that she’s also calling him into a wild life and reminding him that he’s been alone, separated from his kind. We get a sense that it’s not just Toothless, but all dragons who might be called back to the Hidden World. We get a sense that it’s not just Toothless, but his whole role as alpha affecting the entirety of dragonkind.

And once we add in a greater sense of Grimmel being dangerous, and that more humans like him will continue to rise up, we can understand why Berk would release all their dragons. It’s not that dragons hate living with humans - THW can make that clear - and it’s not that dragons haven’t been profited by living with humans. But in the current call, the current situation, it’s best to go to the Hidden World.

I’m mostly tweaking how scenes go down, changing lines and reactions rather than adding material. Feel free to propose a longer movie! For me, THW already has enough space to share its message. Maybe it needed to be a few minutes longer, but I suppose my own sense is that they had enough time to budget in this material, make a smooth-flowing movie with all the material they needed to present, and come away with an astounding storyline.

Like you, this isn’t meant to judge the movie as bad! It isn’t bad! It’s downright wonderful in many aspects. I’m so happy I’ve seen it and can scream over it! Simply, if I were in charge of tweaking the script, these are the first alterations I’d make, and I think it would make THW even better.

[shallxt]

Dragon Ball Legends Story update! You know what that means! A whole new arc!

Part 3: The Androids of Ruin

We start off with a mysterious person cackling about the world is in chaos due to the endless combat of the Tournament of Power, infusing the mysterious “ultimate warrior” mentioned by Turles at the end of the last chapter. The mysterious person declares their TRUE vengeance is at hand with the strength of this unknown ultimate warrior.

Meanwhile, Shallot has challenged Goku to a fight. Shallot know Super Saiyan is the tip of the iceberg when it comes to power and wants Goku to show it to him. Goku is unconvinced and will only tell him once he earns the power and fights him. The two spar.

A brief cold flashback:

“The world lies in ruin. No--it was RUINED. One word from “the” king. ...Gone, in no time.”

Despite both fighting as Super Saiyans, Shallot had no choice but to concede in their spar and is frustrated at the obvious power gap between him and Goku. Goku remarks that Shallot has a better handle on his new powers in such a short period of time while Shallot comments that the itchy feelings he had adjusting to the form have eased off. Apparently once you’ve recently gone Super Saiyan, you get an itchy feelings sensation. 

Beerus, Whis, Jaco, and teen Bulma have all been watching the two Saiyans fight. Shallot is confident that he’ll be ready to take on the “ultimate warrior” once they arrive. Beerus officially tasks Shallot’s next mission to prepare himself and battle the ultimate warrior to Shallot’s pleasure. Though they don’t know where to start, Beerus instructs Shallot and the gang to start gathering information about the ultimate warrior and seek out the missing Turles and Dr. Gero. Gero has been collecting genes of tournament fighters so the heroes conclude that they need to find the mysterious “spot” rendezvous Turles had ordered his men to take the salvaged genes from Gero’s destroyed lab.

Bulma remembers something her father told her about Gero most likely having a lab somewhere near North City. Despite that lab being destroyed in the original current timeline, Beerus bets that Gero most likely went back and rebuilt his old lab. Shallot goes out on his own while Bulma and Jaco stay in contact via radio communicator.

Shallot flies through the sky on the way to the mountain lab where Gero might be hiding. But he picks up a strong scent of metal, oil, and blood on his way there. Shallot decides to follow his strong nose sensing something is off and goes to investigate the smells. Shallot happens to stumble upon Gero’s lab--and it’s as ruined and abandoned as it was left all those years ago. Gero was smart enough not to  build a lab in the same place twice it seems, but Shallot is still picking multiple scents--familiar scents. The scents of Frieza, Vegeta, Goku and more--the genetic material Gero has been collecting obsessively. Our amnesiac hero can’t shake his bad feeling that something bigger is going on.

Shallot is suddenly ambushed by three clone Android 19s and they fight with two being destroyed. The 19s have been getting stronger since his last encounter with them, each 19 getting stronger and stronger with better specs each generation. The last Android 19 reveals that the 19s have recon protocols to eliminate any unnecessary information that might be lying around abandoned labs. 

Suddenly, a ki blast! It’s....Dabura?! It seems the King of the Demon Realm, Majin marked and all had sensed Shallot’s energy and tracked him down. 19 tries to attack the hostile demon, but the King of the Demon Realm easily dispatches him with a single spit, turning him into a stone statue. It seems Dabura has interest in Shallot for some reason. Shallot mentions that he’s come across a similar scent to Dabura’s before. Dabura attacks Shallot with a ki blast who narrowly dodges it by a hair.

Dabura is pleased with Shallot’s ability, declaring that he would be a veritable wealth of “Killi”. He wants Shallot’s “killi” and attacks Shallot. Dabura holds back during their fight, proving that he’s a whole other beast compared to Frieza. Dabura gives Shallot advice that “there’s always someone stronger in this era” and that he shouldn’t be so reckless in revealing his entire hand and power to others. Dabura spits on Shallot and he slowly starts petrifying into stone

Until--!!

ZAHHA!!!!!!!!

The boy is back in town!! The missing swordsman returns and saves Shallot before he becomes a statue with his healing magic. Dabura says that Zahha is a denizen of the Demon Realm as well--making Shallot realize the familiar smell from Dabura is similar to Zahha’s

Althought Zahha argues that Dabura is on the wrong end of the stick and that his home is long gone. Dabura attacks, intent on gather both of their killi. Zahha takes notice that Dabura isn’t out to kill them, but to apprehend them but as long as Zahha is here Dabura’s magic is useless making their fight nothing more than a battle of attrition if it continues to drag out longer.

Shallot get frustrated with all the talk of killi and charges to attack Dabura who quickly dodges. Dabura muses that Shallot hasn’t tapped into his true potential just yet. He laughs and decides to withdraw for now and wait until both of their power is nurtured and matures for harvesting.

Shallot is excited and curious what Zahha has been up to since it has been ages since the two saw each other after the fight with Raditz. The two have some banter about Zahha making a “gradual” appearance and Zahha informs Shallot he’s also searching for something Gero is involved with as well. Not Gero himself, but something more specific.

Suddenly from Zahha’s own communicator--Future Mai! It seems Zahha is in cahoots with Future Mai who informs his urgently that his “target” is located eastward and transmits the coordinates. Zahha asks Shallot to help him with his mission and Shallot agrees in return for saving him. He tells Jaco it’ll be a quick detour and will head straight back to the mission afterwards.

While on their way to the location of Zahha’s target, Zahha tells Shallot he’s aware of Shallot’s fight with the Frieza Force and can’t tell what’s going on with him until after their mission. Zahha felt he couldn’t be helpful due to the sheer number of the army and not having ample prep time as he wanted. Zahha praises (although very backhandedly on his recklessness) Shallot’s victory over Frieza and explains he’s been tracking Gero. Gero has been looking for “some android” and depending on what side this Android takes--the very universe could be in danger. Zahha wants to get to the android before Gero does and negotiate with the android which obviously bores Shallot.

Zahha has teamed up with Future Mai and another who also wants to fix the timelines, being the Bulma role for Zahha in his own endeavors. Zahha playfully hints of the third member of their trio who they’ll be meeting in their rendezvous at the town. 

Zahha seems dead set on being diplomatic and peaceful with the android though Shallot is itching for a fight. Shallot picks up on a bad scent coming from the approaching town..

TO BE CONTINUED....

[nomadicism]

Idk if other people had an issue with it but what do you think about how vld handles death and loss? Bc like ... those that died were either Blades (bc why keep non-villain galra in the show for too long?) or they died in flashbacks to fuel backstories. Both Shiro and Lance were brought back. Like. Alluras powers are just that convenient arent they. Enough so that no one from the main cast has to die and the heroes dont have to deal with consequences..or sth (1/2)

Hi thanks for the Ask!

I’ll add your (2/2):

“Also the Alteans. They brought them back (for more drama-fodder or maybe theyll actually do sth unlike other side characters). I feel like it was a bit of a cop-out bc now Allura gets a new home to maybe rule over. Which is nice and good for her but it just feels so strange. Like “dont worry bc they didnt all die everything is fine again” I feel like having an arc showing us how Allura deals with the loss of her culture and her getting gradually better would have been more interesting (2/2)”

Answering in reverse: the Alteans were always going to show up because Pollux, Romelle, and Bandor were crucial parts of the DotU story. It was always a matter of when, how, and what role they would play.

It’s not clear yet that Allura is going to be benefiting from these Alteans. Like I touched on in my post about the Double Standard Setting, if the setting applies logic evenly, then it shouldn’t be an easy arrival at The Colony for Allura and Voltron. So far, the setting hasn’t applied consequences evenly and glosses over big things whose implications would otherwise be addressed in other shows of a similar genre.

There might be something where Allura and Romelle are getting to know one another and Romelle may say or do something very strange that puts Allura back into the problem of being the last of her specific kind, as it’s been 10k years and changes to Altean culture may have occurred. So she may yet deal with that loss in some way. There is also the chance that Honerva will swoop in and take the Alteans away.

As for how VLD handles death and loss…I’m on the fence about it because there are instances where characters are shown to mourn death and experience loss. But yes, it’s nearly always the non-human looking aliens that are dying (excluding the few who die in a backstory), and that has implications that I dislike. Also, that scene near the end of S6 with everyone standing around Kuron’s body was…in poor taste. I’m not going to dwell on that, but…ew.

Back to Allura’s healing:

Allura gaining healing powers (either to heal from death or only near-death) is consistent with the concept of being a “life-giver” so I don’t have any particular problem with that. It is convenient, but as it is consistent with what we’re supposed to infer about Oriande and the life-givers, it could serve some interesting plots or situations. (whether or not the writers take the powers further is anyone’s guess)

It’s going to be a problem if Allura’s healing powers turn into a continuous “get out of death free” card with no cost to Allura herself, as we saw when healing the Balmera made her very weak for awhile afterwards. That was a good thing! No cost healing powers would make the power a way to artificially inflate the drama of action related to Voltron without actual believable risk to the protagonists.

In terms of foreshadowing future use of life-giving powers: I suspect that the Alteans which were shown in the quintessence harvesting pods may not be dead, and may only need to have their quintessence restored. Hypothetically, this restoration could have happened had Lotor been able to access the Quintessence Field.

If the Alteans need their quintessence restored, then that means Allura will be the one to restore them as she did with the Balmera. But what will it cost her?

[hawaiianhalfwolf]

Breaking Dawn | Noah, Reza & Sasha

Flashback to the night Noah was rescued

Even though he was glad he was out now Noah wasn’t quite sure how he got out of the cage, or more importantly how he was even curled up against the silent chest of Reza (he was pretty sure like he didn’t exactly bend this way unless something freely was happening). But after the week he had he’d take it. He’d take it all, even the awkwardly sitting on Reza’s lap part. But what he wasn’t going to take was the sound of Sasha grinding in and out of 2 gear, the sound grating against he poor sensitive ears. Nuzzling into Reza’s chest a little Noah sighed.“Sasha stop grinding the gears” He mumbled out the words sounding more like a growl that anything. Everything was still bit foggy but he needed to make sure his baby was ok under Sasha’s hand, which she clearly was not. “Excuse you,” Sasha huffed, but corrected her movements nevertheless. “It’s late and I am just trying to get your vampire home before he melts.” It was definitely a playful tease and Noah was grateful for it a grin spreading across his cheeks. Because even though she brought up the biggest elephant in the entire room this was more or less normal, and after the last couple weeks he had he wanted normal so bad.

Reza was still just barely processing the fact that Noah was here, and safe; ever since he'd gotten his hands on the half-werewolf he hadn't dared to let go of him in case it would unmask this situation as fake. It was entirely unconscious, the movement of his cold hands brushing through Noah's dirty hair, more so a comfort for himself than the other boy. Although Noah nuzzling into his chest (yes, it filled Reza with warmth completely and utterly) was clue to the fact that he didn't mind the soft touches. Noah's voice disrupted the silence in the truck and his eyes moved down to the face in his lap. Fuck, it still hurt to look at him, the effects of the rough week and silver allergy so very visible on Noah's body. "Thanks," Reza replied, unable to find his insecurities and anger at Sasha from before. The relief of having Noah back was too overwhelming. Not to mention the fact that she'd called him Noah's vampire and there hadn't exactly been any objections from Noah himself. "Even though I won't exactly melt but y'know," he couldn't help but add, thumb distractedly rubbing circles on Noah's hip as Reza looked out the window. Yeah, it had been a while since he'd been out this close to dawn and if not for the heavy (and precious) weight in his lap, he would have been a little freaked by now.

 While he was loving the attention he was getting from Reza at the moment (who knew it would take almost dying to get Reza to cuddle with him sans awkwardness?) part Noah wanted Reza to stop touching him. He was…. wrong. He was filthy ins pretty much every sense of the word and he definitely did not look like himself, all swollen and red instead of nice and handsome. He really didn’t want Reza to see him like this but apparently he was going to have to get over that one. Reaching up however Noah stilled the hand in his hair and brought it down to his own hands feeling it was the least he could do for Reza in the moment. You know so he was able to keep his hands a little cleaner. Smiling though at Reza’s exchange within the car Noah’s heart kept. He’d always wondered if Sasha and Reza would get along, and hopefully they still would even after he was injured. “Yea Sasha he’s not a snowman” Noah emphasized before kicking her slightly with his un injured foot. His feet were disgusting and he knew that, because well every part of his body was disgusting at this point. But he couldn’t help but relish in the touch of having two of his favorite people in world next to him again. Especially after being starved of human (-ish) contact for the time he had been “Fuck you Invalid” Sasha retorted flicking the offending foot. “No thanks. Don’t think my vampire would like that very much” Noah responded with a sleepy smile. If this had been a week ago Noah may have blanched at the statement, completely wigged out and gone home. But that was before being locked up and meeting death again. And even though he was in puffed up and in pain and probably wouldn’t remember that he even said this tomorrow he was going for it.

 There was a moment of worry as Noah stopped Reza's hand where it moved in the other's hair, wondering for a brief second if he'd hurt or made his friend/something uncomfortable with the gesture. Thankfully, Reza's hand was simply moved down to cradle Noah's own hands, which was a fair exchange. Watching Noah make jokes and mess around as he usually did so soon after Reza had been desperately convincing himself that the half-wolf was still alive... well, it was surreal to say the least. He'd barely been paying attention to the word exchange itself, mostly just revelling in the sound of Noah's voice and the way his whole body vibrated against Reza's as he spoke, but there was no ignoring just what was being said now. The vampire in question found himself tugging Noah closer, in a way just shy of being possessive. "Stop trying to be funny and rest. We're almost at your house." It was the only safe reply in Reza's head at the moment, because anything else would have consisted of Reza either freaking out because 'my vampire' or confirming that yes, he was very much against the idea of Noah and Sasha... yeah. His hand gently squeezed Noah's, a part of him terrified that he'd hurt the already maimed limbs. Through the priority of worrying about Noah and then getting completely lost in his relief over finding him, Reza couldn't even be bothered to realize how long it had been since his last meal. "I'm so fucking glad you're okay," he found himself mumbling, voice barely loud enough to be picked up by the pair of supernatural ears present in the truck, as his fingers traced an incoherent pattern over Noah's wrist.

“But funny is my coping mechanism” Noah protested as Reza held him tighter for some reason he couldn’t figure out why. And while normally he wouldn’t care about being this close to someone that he well lets face it loved he was still hurting, and having an allergic reaction. A combination of which left him very insecure about how much he was handled by someone who he actually wanted to sleep with in the future. Because yea he already kinda smelled and looked like deadpool’s less cool cousin. Squirming slightly back to where he had been before Reza pulled him closer Noah just focused on the fingers intertwined with his now and the soft words coming from his vampires mouth. Noah was glad he was ok too. “Me too,” Sasha added quietly trying not to ruin the moment between the two boy before actually ruining it by finishing with “Even though you smell like a dumpster fire buddy” Rolling his eyes Noah let another large fake sigh pass his lips “Rez, Can you possibly do me a favor and slap her? I’d do it myself but I dont have the energy” He asked looking up at the vampire who’s lap he was currently occupying.

Reza reluctantly allowed Noah to squirm around, wanting nothing more than to just wrap himself around the other completely until there was nothing exposed to cause further harm to. Even though Reza was in no way big enough to physically cover all of Noah. Not to mention that it would be weird and impractical and probably not what Noah wanted at this moment, judging by the squirming. Fuck, trying to deal with the protective instinct in his chest, threatening to suffocate him if he didn't act on it, was hard. "I'm not slapping anyone," Reza argued, looking down to meet the pair of eyes staring back; tired but still holding that 'Noah glint' that made the vampire's still heart skip a phantom beat. "You'll be fine after a shower or two, anyway. Now stop making me be the voice of reason in this car." Despite the scolding words, his tone was soft and there was no hiding the faint smile on his lips everytime he glanced at the body he was privileged to hold close. Sure, this wasn't exactly how Reza had imagined their first considerably intimate scenario but fuck it if a small part of him wasn't going to enjoy this regardless. Now Reza was the one starting to squirm as the break of dawn drew closer with every second and yeah, he wouldn't instantly be engulfed in flames but catching some sun wasn't really on his to do list.

 “But rezzaaaaaa” Noah whined up at the vampire lips curling into a pout. And it was probably the worst pout anyone had ever done, you know judging by Sashas almost hysterical giggle (she probably needed to sleep and now that he wasn’t in too much danger Noah needed to make sure she did that) but he did it anyway inhibitions less now that he had another near death experience under his belt. Which speaking of. Sitting up slowly Noah squinted through the windshield a bout of panic rising in his chest. It was faint yes but he could see the twinge of orange starting to peak out against the horizon. Instantly Noah’s heart skipped a beat. Shit. Shit. Reza needed to be inside. And he needed to be inside now. What were they thinking keeping him out so late? “Sash how long?”Noah asked anxiously, forgetting momentarily that he was supposed to be the one cared for at the moment. He’d shield Reza with his body if it came down to that, but hopefully it wouldn’t come down to that. Tugging at Reza’s hood he hoped that the other boy would get the idea to put it the fuck on. It wouldn’t be much protections but it would be better than nothing. “Almost there” Sasha commented changing gears as she urged the truck to go faster.

Oh boy. Reza could already envision countless situations where that pout was going to threaten his resolve on any given decision, but thankfully the decision to hit Noah's very tired wolf-friend was resolute. Not to mention that Noah obviously didn't want Sasha slapped for real... right? Reza's hands fumbled with worry as Noah started to sit up. Dragging him back down to the safety of his lap wasn't an option but fuck it if he wasn't tempted. Still, it seemed Reza wasn't the only one that was worried. "Noah, it's fi- what are you doing?" Confused eyes stared back at Noah for a moment too long before it clicked. Throwing the hood up over his messy hair (it was a surprise that Reza hadn't pulled it up earlier, to be honest) Reza smiled softly. "Happy? Just relax." The hand still holding Noah's gave a reassuring squeeze. How genuinely Noah; he'd literally just been rescued from a week long kidnapping and here he was, worried about someone else. Worry that, admittedly, had some basis to it. Every cell in his body was telling him that it was too bright. But it was for sure worth it because he had Noah next to him and a view of the faintly orange tinted horizon, something Reza hadn't seen in far too long.

At first Noah could tell Reza had been confused as to what was happening, as if he himself had forgotten in all the chaos that he had a weakness too. And it broke Noah’s heart to see the realization in the younger boy’s eyes, knowing that something that older boy absolutely loved could hurt the other person he also well loved so much. But they would make it back to the house in time. They had to. “You don’t sparkle like Edward, I have every right to worry.” Noah murmured placing his head on Reza’s shoulder and closing his eyes a bit, trying to give his spiraling brain a rest. Yea it probably had not been the best idea to sit up and panic as he had even though he’d done it slowly. Listening though to the all too familiar crunch of gravel underneath the tires though, Noah couldn’t help but smile. Who knew how much he’d miss something as small as a sound. Or the smell of the pack members who he could hear flying off the porch now. “Honey we’re hoooooome” Sasha chirped out and funnily enough even after a week of being kidnapped, and the horrible things he’d seen while he was there, Noah couldn’t think of a time where he had been happier.

[starco-conut]

Our Thoughts on Season 3

Hey everyone!! as you may have seen...Alan and I have been just a bit let down by some of the stuff going on. Luckily, we’re both huge ass nerds so we wrote it all out in a multi-paragraph post. With visual aids! if you’ve been feeling a little offput by the new episodes but can’t place why, we probably have your reason put into words somewhere in here. 

Reviews, replies, general additions to this post are not only permitted, but strongly encouraged!! :D

bold is nicole. italics is alan

Scent of a hoodie

I mean. one word summary;... Uncomfortable. it was rough to watch my girl obsess like that and honestly??? there was no clear message at the end... with the whole ‘the scent is in ur heart....’ do they mean to imply she’s getting over marco or that he’s always gonna be around in her mind??????????. yeh. not much to say here.

this episode was kind of strange and felt really awkward with star’s obsession with marco but had a sweet ending with star learning that its really unhealthy for her to latch onto marco like this and its time to move on. it felt like one of those iffy episodes throughout most of it but the end was decent enough

Rest in Pudding

Her little monologue to glossaryk was super cute and well done!! that whole bit was just. Good! felt like Old Times! but then there’s

This was... a gag? I dont know. when i saw it first my gut reaction was that they were setting up some angst about how star’s calling people on earth that aren’t her best friend Marco and THAT got me!! i was Ready To Be Hurt by that! but then like...nothing. Unless it comes up in a nearing episode this was just a bad joke. overall episode wasn’t bad at all though!!

i really enjoyed this episode! the pacing, mystery, and comedy all held up to the Star standard and only had a small amount of plot progression which felt appropriate for a halloween episode. my only gripe is that after the whole Battle For Mewni deal, i expected Moon to believe Star a bit more when she says Glossaryck is alive

oh yeah that too for sure

Club Snubbed

pretty much made me want to die and barf simultaneously. when it got to the scene above, where she talked about just needing a friend i thought, hey, thats cool. and accurate. maybe that dance scene clip, since its unfortunately not a flashback, is going to be presented as platonic!

nope. anyone in for a suicide pact?

To be fair, i should elaborate. Tomstar, in theory, is super cool. I definitely vibed with the fire and butterfly magic mix happening, back when I thought it was a flashback. But...Its been, what, 5, maybe 6 episodes since marco left and she’s already just...whoop? who’s marco? haha what? There’s not enough time. 

And from what I can tell, none of their old issues have been addressed. Tom still has anger issues, but because ‘its hard’ and he’s ‘trying’ suddenly star’s all over him? sleazy ppl come to their exes like ‘i’ve changed!!’ for a reason. the ex should actually. want. to see. change. Star seems content to say ‘fuckall, tom’s here, why not’

WHICH..could actually be good? If it’s presented that way? My hope is that she’s latching on to Tom because they have history, and a bond already. Marco’s gone suddenly, she’s urging for somewhere to direct her affection- lord knows the sweet girl has lots to give. and then they’ll part as friends after she realizes whatever they are now is unhealthy and ingenuine romantically. I have no backing for this and honestly it doesn’t look like that’s the way they’re going but... I’m gonna hope.

this episode definitely throws a spin on our view of tom as an “uncaring, lying, manipulative ex boyfriend” and for the first time i felt like i really saw Tom Lucitor, a boy with anger issues and an unfortunate history with his actions. i was really glad to see this character growth for him but i feel like the writers completely skipped over the real impacts that a relationship like tom and star’s had on each other. 

yes!! i didn’t say but, i kinda love tom as an independent character. his anger issues are presented as a part of his personality, he is a guy who has anger issues, not Anger Issues in a physical form. lots of cool depth on that.

realistically, star would not immediately fall back in love with tom because...why would she? we as the viewers know that Tom has changed but to Star? he has a significant history of lying to manipulate her and marco to get closer to them and star doesn’t have a real reason to believe what he’s saying is true and she shouldn’t have 100% faith in him so quickly especially when she had 0 trust in him just a few minutes prior. overall i was impressed with the development for tom but the future implications were disappointing to me

i will be talking more about my issues with Star and her trust issues later.

Stranger Danger

My only issue with this episode is that it doesn't exist outside of its own ten minutes. I literally forgot about it til i looked up an episode list of s3 to write this post. Eclipsa is sitting there, queen of darkness, in the same castle grounds as star, and shes nor the trial is brought up in the subsequent episodes. Alan goes wild on this one so I’ll let him take it away- he’s 100% on point here.

THIS IS A LONG ONE BOYS, STRAP IN,

i agree with nicole here, there is no buildup to the immense revelation that eclipsa is free and roaming the castle gardens. battle for mewni had planted the seed that eclipsa was breaking out but there was no mention of this in any other episode. and then there’s this:

what was this all about?? did no one notice that Eclipsa, the Queen of Darkness, one of the most powerful queens and magic users in Mewni’s history, and a wanted criminal, was FREE FROM THE CRYSTAL THEY FROZE HER IN?? And in BFM, Moon even visits Eclipsa’s crystal prison to check if she’s still there but now? she didnt seem worried about it AT ALL. only when Star is peacefully talking to her does Moon and the magic high comission show up because...plot reasons.

aside from that, however, i feel like the pacing in this episode was not planned very well. from the opening scene of Star taking care of Glossaryck for well over 4 minutes, it felt like this was going to be a fun silly episode with general shenanigans (there’s nothing wrong with silly episodes, it just didn’t end up being one). but halfway through the episode, eclipsa shows up and suddenly the plot is moving at a rapid pace. and while this felt like it should have been the climax of the 11-minutes, the climax just continues? there is no falling action in this episode. it continues with star being decontaminated and at one point she is strapped to an examining table and flashes through some disturbing faces

why is she smiling? who drew this? this feels really creepy, like someone is putting their kinks into the show and its really uncomfortable to watch and think about. there is a heart touching moment with Moon and Star talking about their actions and both side have somewhat understandable reasons, though star clearly has the show’s bias so the plot progresses (which is not necessarily a bad thing). afterwards, Star meets Eclipsa in her cell and still, the climax of the episode has not fallen at all with all the arguing. and then finally when star confronts eclipsa in her tower, she says,

“Just because i didn’t want you crystalized again, doesn’t mean i trust you.”

????

She literally has no past with eclipsa other than having a pleasant conversation with her. She knows next to nothing about her actual actions or personality but immediately doesn’t trust her? but in Club Snubbed she immediately trusts tom? the guy who directly had severe negative impacts on her life?? Why?! Why are the writers so inconsistent? nothing makes sense! It’s cheap, forced romance that’s why!

and after this ridiculously long climax the episode just ENDS. there is no resolution, and it doesn’t touch on it again anywhere in the next four episodes. It’s bad show writing.

Demoncism

I picked this screenshot because it was the most disgusting!!! this is just...more of an opinion here but I really like the trope where one is out of their mind, dangerous, causing magic destruction and the other defies the risk and holds them, curing the issue with The Power Of Love. it’s corny but I love it. and yet.

here. they decided to just. chuck it in. I’ve seen shows do this trope Very Very well (oddly, one example i can think of also involves a wild demon kid and a forest in blue fire.....) but to just...throw this in there. with. like 8 seconds of buildup. n-o. no. ESPECIALLY because tom and star, where they are currently in the show, aren’t ready to be romantic, and this trope always has romantic implications.

i got extremely mixed feelings from this episode. on one hand it had a great message that you shouldn’t force change but rather to grow naturally and learn from your mistakes. on the other hand,  a lot of it is still tainted by this cliche, boring, romance. Star immediately barges in and claims that he’s only doing this for her and generally is untrusting of his actions. 

......

are you noticing a common theme here? writers purposefully twisting characters’ interactions for the sole purpose of causing drama? give me one good reason for star’s sense of trust to be flip-flopping like this over and over again. im being serious, if you even read this far, leave a reply and call me out because i CAN NOT THINK OF ONE GOOD REASON.

“Okayy, but no tickling.” Again, more creepy bdsm, moving on.

Then later when hes doing that whole floaty, blue veined, writhing scene i will actually commend the writers for making a very good analogy of how painful and unhealthy this process is for tom to quickly force himself to change. then star comes back and hugs him and says shes here for him which would have actually been a very sweet moment if they had just been friends but of course, they’re not. its just a reminder that “uwu they’re in love now”. and then there’s this:

confirmation that yes, the show is going to do that. rush star and tom’s relationship bc #teendrama. and the worst part of it is: star and tom could actually have been an acceptable, if not role model relationship if it wasn’t written so poorly, which is what the next paragraph or so is dedicated to.

I don’t hate Tom and Star’s relationship. I don’t. i see it as a missed opportunity. Tom and Star were two people who used to be a couple in the past and broke up for reasons unknown. we can speculate that it was because of Tom’s anger issues and problems with lying, and also Star’s inability to deal with complex situations and face her problems. THIS IS AN INCREDIBLY COMMON REAL LIFE SITUATION. This was a ripe opportunity to go in-depth with Star and Tom’s issues, not just their own but also the issues between them. and it is wasted. I know that its hard to fit this into one measly episode but there’s a whole half season to develop them at a proper, realistic pace! i wouldn’t care if the entire season is dedicated to Star and Tom working to solve these issues if it meant we had this enormously important topic resolved in a healthy and wholesome manner. 

But the problem is, none of this happens. And it’s not going to. The writers completely skip over all of Tom and Star’s anger towards each other and go straight to “UWU THEYRE IN LOVE NOW”. Star is just rebounding off Marco and onto Tom and there’s going to be more unnecessary drama, and someone’s going to get hurt.

And I am disgusted.

Sophomore Slump

jarco saved this ep ? the only parts of it i could really relax and enjoy was the little jarco montage it was cute. and then. and THEN. the random dumping. I get what the writers were trying to say, y’know? ohohohoh, nudge nudge, we all know who marcos REAL best friend is...hohoho...except. they shouldnt have. said it. at least not via jackie. She was used in this disgustingly common way where she’s just there to deliver a message and help marco realize something. do y’all realize the most drastic adjective i can apply to her realizing she+marco wont work is like....”bummed”. It’s realistic to cry, to be fucking mad, to show...FEELING...i don’t care how cool and chill she is. It’s an absolute travesty to her to not let her be upset about it. 

AND THE CAPE. it was obnoxious, I hated his attitude about it, not because it was annoying but because he expected others to stop ‘acting weird’. I had hope when jackie knocked sense into him but then he...was then REWARDED for his obsession with it? He ended up getting what he wanted, a ticket back to Mewni, by being a stubborn arse about it. no.

god where do i begin. alright.

Marco was so out of character this episode. im not talking like “he isnt the safe kid anymore he takes some uncharacteristic risks”. no. I don’t know who this kid is but it is not Marco Diaz. He’s some plot device created by the writers to create drama. Why is he so obsessed with his cape? Why is he forcing his experience on mewni into every conversation? Why. Is he. The Croissant Girl. The dude spent over sixteen YEARS in other dimensions going on quests of epic scale and comes back home without a single issue readjusting. Not one word. but then he spends one week in the butterfly castle and serves essentially no purpose the entire time other than freeing Star from her chains one time. He was completely and utterly unimportant in the grand scheme of the BFM movie. and then he comes back to earth and feels this great pride as if he was some great part of the event. Why? what does he have to be proud of? there was no mention of this development in any of the earlier episodes. and i havent even mentioned the ridiculous forced breakup yet.

at some point it seems like Jackie’s words really do come through to Marco. He snaps out of his daze and seems to genuinely want to make it up to her. the scene with Marco and Jackie having a fun date at the pier was incredibly sweet and was generally a good experience. We got to see more of Jackie’s fun side that we were desperately searching for in season 1 and the first half of season 2. it was very satisfying to know that jackie was a character everyone would eventually come to love. but then

that. Why? Why has Marco not moved on at all and learned his mistakes? why does he not understand that he’s being destructive. why do the writers like creating unnecessary drama. you know what show had a very similar plot issue and resolved this properly??

That’s right! Everybody’s favorite racist, ableist, offensive, generally unfunny show: The Big Bang Theory. I don’t even remember this dude’s name but when he came back from space and was being annoying, his girlfriend talked to him and he realized that “WOW IM ANNOYING LET ME THINK ABOUT OTHER’S FEELINGS FOR ONCE.”

100%. if they had stopped with the callout via jackie, and he had actually taken off the cape, I would have been fine. lesson learned. but, obviously, they didnt do that.

 If this show (which has an incredible track record for doing crappy show writing) can get it right then why can’t Star vs the Forces of Evil? A show that is usually praised for it’s amazing talent for intelligent, easy to understand, and great moral messaging?

Because of the writers. They don’t want to teach important messages for these kids (the target audience may i remind you) to latch on to and learn from. They want to write their angsty fanfiction and throw it into canon.

Nicole-TL;DR my lasting hope is star’s affections for tom are, and are revealed as such, a way to cope with going cold-turkey on marco and things resolve without a stupid fucking love triangle also jackie and janna start  dating. aaand im just. disappointed with the show rn. something’s different and after shoving this amazing ass show in everyones face for so long just to see it kind of...well, it’s starting to peel. idk why. but im just hoping this is like...banagic incident but...several episodes long.

Alan-TL;DR 

[nada-aym]

Raising kids

All i had known and accepted about life was settled till i got kids and i have to explain to them core concepts of life I feel confused about almost everything, life as i knew it seems to have different meanings, started to understand feelings i have never thought of, flashbacks of moments i never thought they mean anything but turned out they meant a lot! Fear fills me of every word, action, look i do to my kids may affect them in the near or far future! Everyday they grow older i dont know how i will handle it, they will grow to be persons not my kids, and i have to help them be Raising kids is very underrated , it should go in CVs, under special qualifications or something like that Now i can say, a one can not really grow up till s/he get to raise kids in a full time way, other than that s/he has still much to learn