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itty-bitty-rampaging-committee · 4 years

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My Top 8 Best Acting Moments from Aidan Gallagher!

Thank You to Anonymous for Requesting

Analysis Below

>>Warning: This is a giant post, so don’t click “read more” unless you genuinely want to read more. Otherwise, you’ll be scrolling for a long-ass time. This analysis covers the acting, psychology, and writing genius of Five Hargreeves.<<

So, this may be the lowest on this list, but it is by no means his weakest acting scene. My god, this scene is incredible because of the accuracy given the age and, henceforth, the experience of the actor.

Acting is effective if the person is able to accurately tell a truth whilst in imaginary circumstances. In order to act powerfully, we are commonly taught to connect complicated emotional situations to something we know well and, therefore, can portray well.

For many, being drunk isn’t anything new. And being tipsy isn’t exactly uncommon to act out. But for a fourteen-year-old, this is awesome to see because it is incredibly accurate. And, given the character’s psychological/emotional status, it’s even more impressive.

Here’s why:

So, right off the bat, listening to Aidan’s speech is something awesome. His clear yet natural slurring, his guttural tone: these two things are perfect indications of intoxication, since volume control is practically gone and drunk people don’t think things through. They just talk, and talk, and stumble because their inhibitions are so low.

It’s can really be heard, best, when he says, “she said it makes me surly” and when Diego whips around, he says, “hmm?”

Another thing that makes this so fun to watch is the fact that Aidan is completely lax. Being carried is one sign of that, yes, but even his subtle movements are loose. He did his homework, not only for the vocalization of someone who is drunk, but also for their movements.

Look how loose his movements are. He just tosses his hand up, lets it drop back down, and his head is too heavy, flopping all around. Completely uncoordinated and smooth, which is a bright contrast to Five’s usual coordinated, sharp, and calculated movements. The character is relatively rigid, which makes sense given his psychology and traumas.

Speaking of traumas.

There is this beautiful, subtle self-soothing movement going on right here. It’s a clear comfort to him, and after the night he has had, and the trauma he has endured, it makes perfect sense for him to be clinging to her as such. Whether Aidan knew what he was doing with this, I can’t say, but what I can say was that it was a fantastic choice of action to follow through with.

KEY NOTES: Acting drunk is all about fluidity. You make yourself as liquid-y as possible. Become one with the water, though not in an elegant way. Rather, become the cup that’s just tipped over. Water is spilling over the side, getting everywhere, aimlessly spreading across the tabletop. It’s a mess, it has no direction nor stability, etc.

Aidan follows through with this beautifully. I could gush about this all day, just as I could with so much of his acting. Acting drunk is hard, even for some adults. Luckily, he has it on his side that Five is so completely opposite of what we see here, that him being so flimsy and giggly is strange as shit.

Additionally, if you’re ever needing to act drunk, do the opposite of your character, given the script allows it. If the character is normally very carefree and lighthearted, become the depressed, crying drunk, or the angry drunk. Or, like Aidan, if your character is normally rigid, become a giggling mess that can’t take shit seriously.

On to the next, where it’s more about the psychology of a character rather than the physical acting of the actor...

This scene. This was the moment that made me realize just how much I adored Five when he’s absolutely batshit. Unlike most of this list, where internal conflict and monologue drives for an impressive performance, in this case, it is the external conflict and monologue that makes this scene fantastic!

Here’s why:

It is an absolute rollercoaster of emotions for Five Hargreeves.

Seriously, this guy is leaping from emotion to emotion, bouncing between frustration to borderline panic to bitter glee to mania to relief. You can practically see the gears turning in Aidan’s head throughout the entire scene as he throws Five through the ringer.

So, from the top, we’re given this glorious moment, both a genius writing move and fantastically acted.

The vending machine.

I know a lot of people are like, “hell yeah” because Aidan gets to say “fuck”, or because he’s just off the shits. There are many reasons to love this scene. But I especially love this scene because it’s really introducing to the audience exactly what’s going to happen: intensity, violence, and Five snapping, losing his cool in a lapse of fear and frustration and desperation. And it’s beautifully encapsulated in this one fucking scene.

Aidan’s acting here might seem easy, and in a sense, it is. It’s easy to ram your shoulder against a vending machine and shake it and get mad. But what isn’t easy is knowing why you’re doing this, and feeling it. Just from observation and process of elimination, Aidan’s likely mostly a method-based actor. He bases his acting, and his characters, in his own reality. That means that, if Five is panicked, Aidan will force panic upon himself. He’ll induce an emotion physically to get a psychological and emotional reaction.

And here, it’s clear that whatever he was thinking out, however he had prepped for this scene, was working. Because you can freeze these frames and, sure, see funny faces. But you’ll also see flashes of fear, of desperation, of panic, of anger. Fear and panic because he may fail his siblings, he may not be able to save them. Desperation because he needs this to work, he is going to murder all these people and so he needs it to work. And anger because the Handler is making him do this again; he’s right under her thumb once more.

All of these emotions, every damn one, is played out in this one. fucking. scene. And that’s insane.

Those emotions come to a head here:

Aidan’s deep, stabilizing breath grounds Five. He has gotten his rage and desperation and fear out. Now, there’s only one thing for Five to do: murder the Board. And it’s an instant click here.

There’s the deep breath. The understanding. The resignation to what needs to be done.

Then a head turn.

Then boom. Look carefully. You can see the light drain from his eyes, see the hesitation bleed out right there. Right there. All within a breath, head turn, a beat, then a face forward.

That is some intense grasp on your physicality, your emotions, and your portrayal of those emotions. Aidan’s always been fantastic at emoting, but subtle scenes like this just prove his class in it. It’s incredible to see.

And then this scene:

This shit is actually an amazing move on Aidan’s part. It holds both literal and metaphorical weight: he sighs, from exhaustion, because Five is fucking tired after jumping that much, expending that much energy in a short amount of time, and narrowly letting his target escape. But it’s also showing a mental exhaustion, a wearing of the mind on the body. He sighs from relief, but it’s ironic, because the fight is far from over.

And you can see that.

Notice how Aidan may be sighing - sighing with his whole body - but the exhaustion is still in his eyes, his brow is still furrowed. There is no relief there, because there isn’t any relief for Five in this moment. His mission has been accomplished, but he has to deal with the Handler, with the aftermath, with the repercussions of his selfish actions to save his family.

And you can see it all in this movement.

KEY NOTES: When acting out internal conflict, be subtle. Obvious movements are made for obvious, external conflicts. A person who punches first in a bar fight as an obvious external conflict. But, like shown here, a person who is breaking from the inside out will have external action, but also internal emotion that comes out in the most subtle of ways, whether it be through expression, through contradicting action (the sigh, but no visible relief), etc.

More often than not, in the arts, less is more. However, you first need to understand the more to be able to do the less. So analyze the scene, analyze the character, understand it fully, and feel it truthfully.

Onto the next!

This scene is quick but beautiful.

I love the entire apocalypse scene, and I’m sure you do as well. But this one moment right here. This moment where he sees Klaus and backs away? Fucking beautiful.

Let’s just zoom in, shall we?

Yes, a lovely grainy gif. But God it shows everything you need it to. This scene is a fucking gutpunch, and here’s why:

You can see every flicker of emotion, every transition. It’s in the way his mouth eventually closes, the way he backs up, slowly. It’s so fucking evident that Five is heartbroken, and you can see the thoughts going through his head. The realization that this is Klaus, that his siblings are dead, that he is alone in this apocalypse and his family is dead. The tears in his eyes...

God, bro. It hits so good.

Not being able to use dialogue can sometimes be difficult, because the actor doesn’t have a key part of their craft with them: words. Being able to emote, to shift from emotion to emotion so seamlessly with just a meager movement of the jaw while backing away. It’s incredible.

That’s literally all this is about. I chose this as my number six because it is so powerful within only a hundred-or-so frames. Having an actor be able to emote to clearly with just facial expression...

Shit, bro. Shit. It’s fantastic.

Like I said, the rest of this scene is amazing, and him finding his other siblings is intense, but this look right here is just...unparalleled.

KEY NOTES: Feel that shit. If you can’t feel it, craft a narrative to make yourself feel it. Again, acting is always about believing and living truthfully in imaginary circumstances, and sometimes it’s difficult to express emotions and feelings as is, let alone without dialogue. To help that, think of something.

For example, in this scene, if I were Aidan, I would think about the fact that these people I love are dead, the world as I know it is destroyed. Sure, I may not know that literal feeling, but I do understand the feeling of hopelessness, of feeling so utterly alone. Make it so that you’re able to live truthfully, however you need to do that. People usually don’t have completely empty heads; they’re thinking of things, of many things, often. So think about those things in-scene and in-character, and feel it.

Additionally, this is going back to the less is more. Aidan barely moves, here. His expression is relatively static but that slow back away, that hardening of his jaw, those things are gentle shifts that drastically change the way Five is in the scene. He goes from shocked, slack-jawed and glassy-eyed, to feeling cold realization as he closes his mouth and backs away, the understanding dawning upon him.

I could gush about this for decades...

Next!

This whole barn scene is just...gold as fuck. But this scene in particular, with the interwoven flashbacks of Five’s siblings, his father, his instances with time travel. The realizations that cross his face are beautiful, which in turn, makes this scene fantastic.

Get ready for some awkwardly close close-ups, because I’m about to explain some really cool shit as to how Aidan’s using facial expressions to navigate pain, realization, fear, surprise, etc.

So here’s why:

FEELING THE FEELINGS.

That’s how. A lot of what makes this scene powerful from an acting perspective is because Aidan completely suspends himself in disbelief. There are a lot of surprises that come to Five in this moment, and Aidan feels them all. And he feels them powerfully. He feels the shock around the pain of being shot, on top of it.

So to kick it off! Here:

Aidan’s living in this moment. He’s living in the anger of the Handler, thinking he’s going to die right here. His siblings have just been murdered again, by this bitch. And the audience is able to live in that with him. His eyes harden. His jaw sets. He’s breathing tight around the pain, infuriated, either shaking from the agony or the hatred or both.

Five is so caught up in that moment, and Aidan suspends himself in that moment so clearly, that the next moment is powerful as shit.

The Handler gets shot.

She gets turned to swiss-fucking-cheese right in front of him, and the way Aidan lets Five live in every second is beautiful. He goes from shocked, to confused, to going, “oh shit, that looks painful”. And it’s muted by his pain. Aidan doesn’t need to move much, he doesn’t need to make a grandiose gesture. It’s wide eyes, it’s knitted eyebrows, it’s swallowing around the blood and letting Five be in this moment.

And then Five realizes - Aidan lets Five realize - that the Swede has taken the Handler’s place. That he’s going to die all over again.

There is that anger again. That pure fucking spite. It’s the look of a man who would murder someone if he could sit up. His jaw sets from before, where it was slack with surprise and sympathetic pain. Look how sharp his eyes are. Boy is fucking pissed and it’s beautiful.

Let’s hop back! Back to movement!

Aidan’s squirming around here?

Realistic as shit. Five’s just been shot. That’s absolute agony. And there’s blood coming down the side of his mouth, which means his lungs have somehow been hurt. He can’t talk, breathing must suck, and so of course he’s writhing on the ground.

And this?

Is Five clenching his hands from pain? Is he trying to blink? What’s going on here? I don’t know, maybe Aidan does, but either way, both motivations are powerful. Five may be trying to blink away. He may be trying to tap into his powers instinctively. Or maybe he’s squirming in pain, clenching and unclenching his fists. And that shit punches. It’s so subtle, but so good, keeping the audience in the moment. No matter where you look on his body, whether his hands, his face, his chest - it all shows the agony he’s in, the desperation he’s swimming in.

Which then leads to the coolest fucking moment:

Look at how his eyes shift, only just so. His brows furrow only slightly. He’s realizing what’s going on, what he can do to save his family. Aidan played this perfectly. Again, less is more. These subtle movements make so much sense, because Five has been shot, he’s losing blood fast, and it’s dulling his movements and senses.

And when Five begins turning back the seconds?

The pain, the shock, the “holy shit this is working???” My god, you can see him choking on the blood and around the agony. You can see his hesitation, his being startled by his own powers, by what he is capable of. The rapid blinking, the jumping eyebrows, the gasping for air as the bullets likely begin ripping out of him.

KEY NOTES: Subtle subtle subtle. Live in that moment. Suspend your disbelief. Here, in this scene, there are several key shifts. These shifts are supposed to be a massive surprise to Five. And because Aidan is king at staying in the moment, and letting that moment live in him, he is able to display these shifts perfectly.

1st Shift - Realizing he is alive, and his siblings are dead.

2nd Shift - The Handler getting shot.

3rd Shift - Axel moving to kill him.

4th Shift - The realization of his father’s words.

5th Shift - Holy shit time travel is working.

All of them need to have a shift in-scene/with the tone. Aidan shifts this with pure expression. He doesn’t need to utter a single word because he is able to live in that moment and truly let himself be shocked, scared, desperate, angry, etc. So, in order to do this, live in the moment.

Some people say knowing exactly what will happen helps, because you’re able to time your expressions perfectly. Others say that knowing nothing helps, because you’re literally letting yourself be surprised. This truly depends on the actor, and their style. Aidan has expressed that he waits to read his lines until he’s there, on set, because then it’ll be more of a shock to him. That works really well for him (clearly) but it may not work for you, so test that out how you’d like.

Onto the next!

This.

Shit.

Is so good.

The moment when Five meets with Dolores again after god knows how much time while he was at the Commission-- It’s beautiful. And again, being the king of the subtle, Aidan can display the perfect mix of emotions that are occurring in this scene.

Here’s what’s up:

As many people may have noticed, a lot of these fantastic, key moments for me, in particular, are special due to subtlety. And subtlety is seen in the micro-expressions displayed through the face, mainly. Specifically, the eyes. Aidan’s ability to act solely through his eyes is something I’m going to focus on for this scene in particular.

These are his eyes the moment he sees Dolores again. And what’s really, really fucking cool is that Aidan is completely living in this scene. It shows in his eyes: real compassion, real love, real care. Sure, Aidan may not care about the mannequin in front of him, but he is thinking about something, whether that’s Five’s ties to Dolores, or someone in his life that he truly feels fond over.

You can see it.

His eyes soften significantly as the gif continues, and you can even see the corners of his eyes upturn after he says, “Dolores”. There is real love here. The actor is able to portray true love through just the eyes. And that’s insane. Many actors express love through physical action because they may not be actually feeling it. They’ll say, “I love you” but express flatly, with dull eyes and a forced smile.

But here. No, not that shit. This shit has Aidan feeling everything. And it makes a big difference, makes everything feel so much more genuine. Good acting is through the eyes, not the words. Dialogue enhances the story, but being genuine, and selling that story as “reality”, is done by the actor, through the eyes, the subtle expressions, the minimal gestures and movements.

Let’s look at some more eyes?

Now, I fucking hate looking at eyes. But with Aidan - like with many good actors - I find them fascinating to watch. Because if an actor is feeling it, is living in the moment, they will express fantastically through their eyes. Most human communication is body language/unspoken, and I’m willing to bet a good chunk of that is through the eyes alone.

You can see Five thinking in that second gif, his eyes flicking left, left further, deep in thought for just a second. That is the thing you should be envisioning when authors say, “they could practice see the wheels turning in their head”.

In that first gif, Aidan’s compassion and softness, his quiet eyes, are contrasted by the sharp roll following the “obviously”, which makes the love being expressed to Dolores only that much stronger. It enhances the moment. See, because being too subtle the entire time makes it so the audiences don’t pick up much at all, they don’t feel it. And being too obvious makes you an amateur, makes it comical, almost.

When you’re strong in your craft, you’re able to make every single move in the most calculated of manners, but you make it seem effortless, make it seem natural. That’s incredible shit.

I’m by no means saying Aidan is perfect. He definitely isn’t. But, scenes like this showcase his experience in the field.

KEY NOTES:

Piggybacking off the subtlety discussed earlier, practice living in the moment. There is no real way to practice “being subtle” because it manifests naturally when the actor is living in the moment. Hence why this scene is so high on my list.

So learn to equate the emotions of your characters to your life. Tie your character’s life into yourself, somehow, all while keeping a safe distance. It’s by no means easy, and it takes years to learn how to do that, how to express naturally and not force a single thing. Being vulnerable, and raw, and flawed like that is hard, since so many people are taught that flaws are shameful, that perfection is required for success. But acting, like much of the arts, require you to unravel that believe and be truly vulnerable, exposed to possibly millions of viewers.

So learn to live in the moment. That will shield you all whilst letting you live freely as the character and, therefore, express truthfully and subtly.

Next!

Remember my rant about subtlety?

Yeah, fuck that, because with this, we’re going to talk about going off the rails. But, going off the rails in a tasteful manner. The paradox psychosis scenes were a beautiful contrast to a normally stiff, calculated character. it was satisfying, and entertaining, and so fucking powerful when breaking down the psychology of Five.

So let’s hop into that:

Psychology is everything to a character, because it is everything to humanity, and people as a whole. Every decision made is dictated by psychology, by experiences and how those are compartmentalized and processed in the brain. An action isn’t done without it meaning something to the person.

And the same goes for every character made.

If you are a writer, you need to understand the actions and reactions of your characters based on their experiences and their psychology. If you just...write random shit because you want to, or because it seems funny or creepy, it may be good, but it won’t line up psychologically and it’ll show. It’ll be obvious to those of us that study this day-in-day-out.

The same goes for acting and actors.

An actor will be much more powerful in their role if they can understand their character’s psychology. The amount of empathy going into this is intense, especially for those playing “villains” or antagonists - those with flimsy morals - because you need to be able to break down, understand, and agree with the psychology of your character. It’ll make them so much more realistic and powerful.

That is why seeing Five - a normally calculated, sharp, careful character - off the shits is the best thing ever. And it’s in-character, too! He’s learned over the years that independence is the key to survival, that thought (as opposed to action, or outbursts) yields better results.

Yet here, in the scene, Five is relying upon Luther’s help. He’s trusting his brother. He’s acting irrationally. He’s skittish. And it’s such a beautiful contrast. Admittedly, this scene is more about the writing than Aidan’s acting, but it is still fantastically acted, and that only adds more to the realism, to the intensity, to the fact that it is so not Five to do this, and yet, it is very much so Five.

That! Is because of body language.

We know it is Five, that it is in-character, because it still follows Five’s normal body language, his gestures, his manic buzzing around despite his words sounding paranoid, despite his actions being rash. I’ve already spent a lot of time on this number already, so I’ll just demonstrate with a specific scene:

He’s pensive as hell right here. Shoulders tense, shifting back wards. He knows what’s going on, he’s as terrified as he allows himself to be (because he can’t stifle it, perhaps), and it’s so very Five while also being not Five at all.

Despite the music telling us it’s all gucci, it is not all gucci. Look at his eyes. They harden. They get dark. His demeanor completely shifts into caution. he swallows. Steels himself. This is the Five we know - a paranoid little shit - and yet, there is fear that is so uncharacteristic. All through Aidan’s beautiful acting. All through him understanding the psychology of Five perfectly. This is why it is required that you understand your character’s every move, every action, every line of dialogue, every thought.

So, this kind of shit throughout the entire paradox psychosis scene is just amazing. And it’s exactly for the reasons listed above. Aidan knows Five. Not only is he Five, but he knows Five. Inside and out. And god does it show.

KEY NOTES:

Know your character. Know them better than you know yourself. Deadass. Know them better thank you know yourself so that you can delve into the meat of their psychology and tweeze out exactly what you need to do in order to act them correctly.

Onto the next!

This gourmet shit.

Time to get uncomfortably close once again.

The jaw clench! The cheek tightening! The head tilt! The lips thinning! Look at that beautiful expression. See, acting, like writing, is all based on formula. Now, I’m going to out myself, but I’m autistic. Facial expressions, movements, twitches, etc. aren’t inherent to me, and understanding them and analysis them is a learned behavior.

Actors and writers, like me, need to understand the formula.

Clenched jaw + fidgeting + tightening lips = numerous things, ranging from frustration, to anger, to desperation, to pain.

But when you include the eyes.

The eyes tell it all.

Small, watering, tight at the corners, knitted brows. All of these, plus our formula above, create the perfect mix of frustration, desperation, pain, fear.

He is frustrated with the situation, with Vanya. He is desperate to get her to listen. He is in pain because he hates to do this to her, hates to have to fight her on this. And he is scared because what if he has to fight her?

Actors are usually conscious - at least at first - about these movements. They learn to have complete control of their bodies, their faces, down to the muscle. Or, they should. I can’t speak for Aidan, because I’m not him, clearly. But I can safely say that, if he doesn’t consciously have control of his body and understand exactly what’s going on, then he has some intense intuition about his emotions. He is able to perfectly display a mishmash of emotions, all perfect given the situation, the character, his experiences.

Aidan gives Five the multi-layering goodness that we analysis kids love because Five isn’t just upset. He isn’t just frustrated. He is frustrated on top of being scared, and agonized, and exhausted (you can see the weariness in his eyes; it’s all in the eyes).

KEY NOTES

I’m not sure if this would help, but try making a formula. If you are worried about your character not doing an emotion right, or wanting to do multiple emotions at once, craft a formula or a chart.

So, say you want depression and anger. A basic formula could look like this:

Depression = Hollow Eyes + Monotone Voice + Slumped Posture

Anger = Shaking + Sharp Eyes + Clenched Fists

Then, you can combine the two together. You can have hollowed eyes, and a monotone voice, but also sharpened corners to the eyes, and clenched fists. Here, Aidan is tapping into multiple things, things that have interwoven specifics to their formulas. That’s why it works so beautifully. His eyes scream agony, his jaw tightens with frustration, his eyebrow knit together with frustration--

Bless this kid and his acting.

Anyways, last but definitely not least, here is my final analysis:

Now, this scene may not seem like the most intense acting ever, but in reality - to me - this shit is insanely powerful. It’s not just the acting going into work here; it’s the blocking, the dialogue, the pacing, the atmosphere, the emotional environment, the music and sound engineering...

It’s a fucking cinematic masterpiece.

But, since I am here to talk about just acting, and just Aidan’s acting, let me tell you about how this scene is made so good. There are two reasons:

One, is that Aidan is a master at post traumatic stress disorder and PTSD psychological processes and how that comes out in action, reaction, dialogue delivery, etc.

And two, he acts like a grown-ass old man.

Let’s talk about the second one first, because why not:

(apologies ahead of time for fucked gifs, this scene is impossible)

This scene. It’s just a drink. Chill, whatever, right?

Wrong.

It’s the way he moves. The way he drinks. The way he holds himself when he is around Reginald, another man his age. Around another man his age that had abused him, had done him wrong, but in Five’s eyes, some whom he had done wrong, too.

Luther is the sibling that is always said to be in denial about their father’s wrongdoings, but a lot of people neglect the fact that Five is, too. He is just as much in denial as Luther, if not more so by the time season two wraps up.

And it shows.

It shows in the way he moves as if they were equals, when they are so clearly not. He tils his head, gives acknowledgement in the way old men do. The generational gap is closed by Aidan’s movements, not by his words. It’s incredibly satisfying to see Five’s psychology bleeding through as he instinctively shifts from “I’m dealing with a bunch of kids” to “I’m alongside a man my age, my father”.

And speaking of psychology, let’s please talk about PTSD.

Specifically, subtle show not tell of PTSD, all through the eyes.

Right. Here.

Look, I’m not going to lie, if I analyze this scene, it’ll be the same things you’ve heard before. Everything I gushed about earlier is going to be repeated here for the ultimate finale on this long-ass fucking post.

But, humor me.

Five’s got trauma. Bitch has trauma for days. Though, he doesn’t wear it. He hides it, he buries it, because it is useless to him. Yet, it will always be there. His trauma of abandonment, and survival in the apocalypse, on top of the abuse from his father, the stress of his childhood, and topped off with the murder he had to shoulder for the sake of the Commission. Rarely does this show. Rarely is it seen.

Save for scene likes this. Right. Fucking. Here.

Aidan knows Five. And he knows the traumas Five’s endured.

Five can’t look at his father as he admits his failures, the snide, “I told you so” ringing through his head. He has to acknowledge that his father was right, that he was right all along. This is a burden Five has carried for decades, as seen with his discussion with Diego in 2x02. It’s not something small for him. So, to admit that...

The stare says it all.

His eyes are glazed over, lost in the past. He isn’t looking at Reggie, is looking past him. This is the thousand-yard stare you always read about. These are the eyes of agony, and regret, and a flashback. His eyes flick, flick to the side, towards the camera, as Five remembers something. Aidan knows how to play this. He knows how to play this trauma of remembering, of remembering what he had done to his siblings and how he has failed. And, finally, he is able to look and Reginald but he is choking back something. He swallows thickly, as if it’s almost sickening to do so.

Aidan’s understanding of Five, and his trauma and psychology, and expressing it all through his body language, and expression, and eyes. God, it’s fucking mesmerizing.

SO TO WRAP IT UP

Everything here is purely my opinion, but if I were to leave you with anything, acting (and writing) comes down to three basic things:

--Understanding the psychology of your character, through-and-through.

--Understanding your body, your expressions, your eyes, and how you react and can react to specific emotions.

--Living in the moment, and being present in the character’s life, being truthful to them over yourself.

These are the things that Aidan excels at. God, he is amazing at it. And I appreciate the hell out of it any time I see him. He is so truthful to Five, so honest to the character, that it’s beautiful to watch. Five is so flawed, so hurt, and so complex, and Aidan isn’t afraid to show us this vulnerability. I suppose that should be one last thing that all writers and actors and anyone in the arts should strive for:

--Vulnerability, pain, fear, and raw, oftentimes shielded emotions are not something to hide but, rather, are your greatest strength.

#aidan gallagher #the umbrella academy #umbrella academy #tua #number five #five hargreeves #five #acting analysis

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things-we-cant-say · 3 years

Text

pretty little liar

Pairing: Ten x Female!Reader

Summary: In order to get your annoying ex off your back, you tell a little white lie that takes an unexpected turn.

Genre: College!AU

Warnings: Smutty smut, dirty dancing

Word Count: 4,867

A/N: Unable to withstand Ten’s power any longer, I had to start writing about him…or a version of him anyway. Hope someone out there enjoys my first dip into the ~imagines~ pond. ☺️

The party was in full swing by the time you and your best friend Amy arrived, the music so loud it could be heard down the street. It was a wonder the cops hadn’t broken it up yet but hey, the night was still young. Ducking through the arched doorway with Amy hot on your heels, you let her guide you into the foyer where you both stopped to take in the scene. The place was packed with people dancing, drinking and laughing—everyone apparently having a great time. Which was perfect for you because all you wanted to do was blow off a little steam and pretend you hadn’t spent the day fantasizing about committing the perfect murder.

You enjoyed school for the most part and you enjoyed your classes, but really you couldn’t wait for it all to just be over. Two extra years and your master’s degree in linguistics was almost within your grasp. You still weren’t one hundred percent what you planned to do with it (teaching was definitely out) but either way you were ready to dive into the real world. To no longer be stressed out about exams and papers and boring ass professors that constantly seemed to have a stain on their tie.

And to get far, far away from your stupid ex, Adam.

“Uh oh you have murder face,” Amy said as she peeped around to look at you. “What’s wrong?”

You shrugged. “Just in my head I guess.”

Amy hummed. “I get it. That’s why we are here though! To get fucked up and do something we regret in the morning.”

You laughed. “Guess we’re Uber-ing home.”

She grinned and grabbed your wrist, pulling you over to a table loaded with different types of alcohol. The guy ‘tending bar’ as it were winked as you two approached. “What can I get you for?”

“Something with alcohol but where we can’t taste the alcohol!” Amy exclaimed happily. “Oh! And if you’ve got any little umbrellas I’d like one of those too.”

He did finger guns and proceeded to cook something up in two red cups, sticking in two pink umbrellas when he was done. You and Amy took your drinks and after a cursory sniff, took a sip. The tequila wasn’t as strong as with a single shot but you could still detect it just not enough to make you stop drinking. Unlike Amy you didn’t plan to get completely fucked up but you weren’t going to say no to a nice buzz.

Cups in hand you migrated onto the dance floor and fell in with everyone else, bopping to the beat and scream chatting over the loud music.

“I really needed this!” Amy yelled. “Statistics is kicking my cute little ass!”

“I know what you mean!” You shouted. “But hey! Soon we’ll be done and actual jobs will be kicking our cute little asses!”

Laughing, Amy bounced up and down, sending her blonde hair flying. “Is that why you’ve been so grumpy lately? Or is it…he who shall not be named?”

With a sigh you took a big sip of your strawberry margarita. “Yeah. He keeps fucking calling me and leaving me these stupid ass messages, apologizing and shit. I’ve blocked him but he just uses someone else’s phone.”

Amy’s eyes stretched wide. “That’s like stalker behavior! Or maybe he really is sorry for what he did.”

You snorted. “Sorry for having sex with his ex in the backseat of my car? As far as I am concerned he can take his ‘sorrys’ and shove them so far up his ass they come out his mouth as safaris!”

Amy choked a little on her drink, hitting you hard on the arm in admonishment after she stopped coughing. “I hate you! I could have died!”

Her words made you smirk. “But did you? No but for real, fuck Adam. Fuck Adam and anyone who even looks like Adam!”

“Woo!” Amy threw both hands up into the air, yelping as liquid sloshed down onto her head. “Oh shit! Drink emergency I’ll be right back!”

Before you could say anything, she turned and hurried back towards the drink table. Alone in the middle of a dancing crowd, you didn’t know whether you should slink over to a corner or just keep dancing. That last thing you wanted was some random dude trying to groove with you. Of course if you decided to hold up the wall nothing would stop some random dude from trying to hit on you either. At a bit of a loss you drained the rest of your drink and did a I don’t really know anyone two step, hoping Amy would return soon.

The tequila settled nice and warm in your stomach, making you feel more at ease. Most of the people at the party were from your school but not ones you associated with on like, a daily basis. Sure you recognized a few faces from the library or cafeteria but there was no one you’d had more than a surface conversation with.

And then your eyes landed on him. Ten.

Ten was a…different sort of person altogether. He was the kinda guy CW shows thought actually existed in college, except he was very real. And very much fucking gorgeous in that unattainable way CW shows also loved. However, that sort of did him a disservice because as far as you knew, he was just a decent guy who happened to be able to do some pretty awesome things.

For example, he was an amazing dancer. The kinda dancer that just freaking mesmerized you when he moved. Had you wondering how in the hell had he taught his body to do that shit? One minute he was in total sync with everyone else and the next he was performing his solo and blowing your mind. He’d done some show a few months ago with a friend and you’d nearly flipped out of your chair watching him work. The body rolls, the attitude, the way he’d just commanded the stage…whew. Was it possible to be a fan of someone who wasn’t famous?

Then there was his art; things he designed himself or drew from memory. Art class was essentially where you’d sorta came to be acquaintances with him. You weren’t exactly good at drawing but you liked it enough that you wanted to improve, plus it helped you de-stress after particularly hard days. Ten on the other hand excelled and just like with dancing, it was interesting to watch his process. He’d described himself as a sensory artist so he wasn’t always as concerned with the end product as the professor sometimes wanted him to be. From your eye though he’d yet to create anything that wasn’t remarkable. In fact, more than once you’d wanted to ask him to design a tattoo for you, but felt it would be kinda weird. He had no idea what you were into after all. So far your conversations with him had consisted of colors and that one time he’d asked to borrow one of your brushes.

You were pretty sure he’d sold something to an art gallery.

Anyway so Ten could dance and he could draw and he could sing and he was fluent in several languages; as far as you knew the only thing he was kind of shit at was cooking. But who hadn’t set a class kitchen on fire once or twice? Or three times…

If he were an asshole—well people would probably still crush on him—you’d count that as a major flaw and want to keep your distance. But the kicker was that he could do cool things and he was nice. Dorky even especially when it came to cute animals. Was always posting pictures of himself at the animal shelter playing with the kittens and the puppies, or just acting like an idiot with friends. Yet it was that confidence that made him seem untouchable, and also made him sexy as fuck. More than once you’d fantasized about biting his Adam’s apple.

Heh.

Shaking your head, you fanned lightly at your face with both hands. Maybe stepping outside for some fresh air would be a good idea.

“Y/N!” Amy nearly tripped over her pretty sandals in her hurry to get back to you. “Weewoo weewoo weewoo!”

“Um…”

She grabbed your shoulder. “It’s a police siren! We have a code red situation here, I repeat a code red! Adam just walked in!”

“What?” You blinked and immediately looked towards the doorway, brows narrowing when you saw she was right.

Standing there in a white t-shirt in his formerly handsome glory was your ex-boyfriend, Adam. Once upon a time you’d thought the world of him; thought he was the kinda guy you could probably marry someday. The kinda guy you’d introduced your family to. Turns out he was the kind of guy that hooked up with his ex in your car repeatedly until finally being caught in the act. Sure it had been gratifying to make him and her walk home half naked but it had done nothing to quell the pain left behind. Thankfully though your pain quickly turned to anger and now you usually focused on not murdering him when he popped up. There was a lot you could forgive but cheating was firmly in the do not cross zone. Everything you’d felt for him evaporated the moment you saw him with her.

And he’d promised he was over her. Lying piece of shit, you thought to yourself.

“What the hell is he doing here?! Does he even know anyone here?” you asked with a frown.

“I dunno!” your friend said slowly. “It’s possible, big campus and all. Do you want me to help you climb out of the bathroom window?”

“Yeah my boobs aren’t fitting through one of those skinny ass windows,” you replied wryly. “Though to be honest I’m almost willing to risk it. C’mon let’s—”

It was too late. Adam spotted you like an arrow searching for its target, eyes registering shock and then elation. He reached you in three quick strides, opening his arms for a hug that he was damned crazy to expect. “Y/N. Wow you—you look amazing. I’m so glad we ran into each other.”

You huffed. “I’m not. I told you we’re over Adam. Or does me blocking your calls not get the message across?”

He exhaled deeply. “Look I know I messed up but I’m sorry. Classes were just really tough and—and Lucy and I would reminisce about old times…”

“Do I look like I give a shit? You cheated on me and we’re over.” The lie came so easily. “Besides, I’ve moved on.”

“Yeah!” Amy poked him in the chest. “She’s moved on so suck it!”

Adam arched a brow. “You’ve moved on?” He sounded skeptical and that made your blood boil. “Since when? And with who?”

You’d once heard that Hippocrates came up with the saying drastic times call for drastic measures though it wasn’t something you’d be willing to bet money on. However, standing there with your ex eying you like he just knew you were lying brought a whole new meaning to the idiom. You would one hundred percent be damned before giving him the satisfaction of gloating.

Tequila’s kicking in…

Without missing a beat, you put a hand on your hip and motioned to Ten. “Him. I’m seeing him.”

Amy made a sound like a cat having its tail stepped on while Adam gaped at you. “What? I—no. No way. You’re totally lying. I’ve seen the people he’s dated and you’re not his type at all.”

This bitch.

Twirling on your black heels, you strolled across the room to where Ten sat in an arm chair, chatting with a few of his friends. Before you could talk yourself out of it, you straddled his lap and leaned forward to whisper in his ear. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry. I know this is awkward as fuck—I’m so sorry—but if you just play along I will owe you big time. I’ll give you anything. You need a kidney? You can have a kidney.”

Ten’s friends had gone mute and as you sat back to gauge his reaction—or to possibly be thrown off of him—you bit your full bottom lip. His dark eyes were watching you calculatingly, his own lips pursed together like you were a riddle he needed to solve. Up close he was utterly breathtaking, all smooth skin and silky black hair that fell artfully across his forehead. He smelled incredible.

And then he spoke.

“There you are baby,” he said wrapping an arm around your waist. “I’ve been looking for you.”

That was when you figured you owed him your first born but it was fine. “Well, you found me. Sorry to keep you waiting.”

He chuckled. “You’re worth waiting for.”

His friends still looked confused though they didn’t have time to voice their opinions. Adam stalked over seconds later like a man on a mission. “So it’s true? You and Y/N are together?”

Ten tilted his head to the side and you saw the moment the lightbulb went off for him. “Yeah we’re together.”

Adam huffed. “Since when? For how long? Where did you two meet?”

Ten smirked. “Are you taking a survey or something?” He brushed his lips across your jaw, making you shiver. “The only thing that matters is that she’s mine. Let’s dance, Y/N.”

“I would love to,” you replied with a smile. You were also grateful he’d remembered your name.

You climbed off of his lap and took his hand, sending Adam a you thought look before pulling Ten out into the thick of the crowd. Your heart was beating a mile a minute but you felt too giddy to pay much attention to it. Plus, you knew Adam was watching you like a hawk and you didn’t want to let on how nervous you actually were. If he found out you were lying he’d never leave you alone and consider you pathetic to boot. Besides the nice buzz that was finally creeping down your spine told you everything would be fine. How could it not be?

Ten’s hands settled low on your hips and he gave you a little tug, pulling your back to his chest. You fit rather perfectly with him, his chin brushing the top of your head. Picking a rhythm in the song that thumped with bass, you began to move together. You rolled your ass against him and leaned your head back to rest on his shoulder, focusing on his breath as it ghosted across your neck. A silver of light wouldn’t have been able to get between you.

Normally you wouldn’t have dared to do something like this with a near stranger but your desire to make your ex suffer was bigger than your nerves. Besides Ten appeared to be all in on the ruse; his body twisting and curving in sync with yours, fingers on his right hand sliding up between your breasts to wrap lightly on your throat. His teeth nipped at your earlobe and you gasped. Reached around to his side to clasp his shirt for an anchor. You heard him chuckle and suddenly you were spun away from him only to be reeled back in, this time face to face.

The room felt like it was two hundred degrees. You weren’t exactly wearing much—a slinky black dress with tiny ties at the hem—but even that seemed too much. Without missing a beat though you and Ten continued to grind with one another, his thigh just barely pushed between your own. Every time you swayed forward to meet him the denim of his jeans rubbed deliciously against you, sending sparks sprinting through your veins. Both of his hands were on your ass as if helping to guide you, and as you met his gaze you couldn’t help but bite your lip at what you saw there. Desire, lust, hunger—no one had ever looked at you like that before. Like they could just devour you and still not have enough of you.

It made you feel powerful.

You grinned and wrapped an arm around his neck, fingers giving his hair a little tug. He hissed and lowered his head so that he could mouth at your bare shoulder, hands squeezing your ass so hard it nearly hurt. You weren’t sure when you started to get wet—maybe it was the moment you sat on his lap or he decided to play along with your dumb stunt—but you could tell it now. Your panties were sticking to you, your skin was on fire and it was becoming difficult to think straight. Honestly however you didn’t want to think at all, especially not if it meant not being in Ten’s orbit.

“Ten,” you whispered into the skin under his jaw.

He hummed, the sound vibrating through your body. You plastered your hand to his chest and pulled it down, nails catching on the thin material of his shirt until they were brushing along the zipper on his jeans. You gave him a quick squeeze—he was hard and straining—and he cursed loudly. Between one second and the next he was dragging you down a dimly light hallway, past kissing couples and one guy passed out drunk in the doorway of someone’s room. He swung you both into the first vacant room he came to; a lavish bathroom at the very back of the house. The door was closed with a swift thump and the lock clicked shut.

You licked your lips as he crowded you back into the counter, looking down at you with a tiny smirk. That part of your brain that yammered on about bad decisions was surprisingly quiet, so you figured it was beyond okay to pull him down for a kiss. As with most of the stuff he did, Ten was a damn good kisser. His mouth was soft and warm, his tongue playful and coaxing. He kissed you like he’d been waiting to kiss you for a long time. Until it grew deep and sensual. Until you were both panting with the need for air but neither wanting to let go of the moment.

With a gasp you tilted backwards a bit, your knees suddenly weak. “Fuck me,” you said absently.

“Can I?” Ten asked, chest heaving. “Can I fuck you?”

“God yes,” you replied, already pulling your dress up until it hitched around your waist.

Ten hooked his thumbs onto the band of your pink panties and slid them down your legs, laying them next to the sink. He looked you over with that same eye he used for his art but you could tell he liked what he saw. You grabbed his hand and brought it between your legs, spreading them wider for him. Two of his fingers slipped inside of you without any resistance to find you damp and aching, already so hot for him. He started a lazy rhythm—in and out, in and out—like he was in no hurry at all. Like he wasn’t driving you crazy all the way down to the tips of your toes.

He kept his eyes locked onto yours as he touched you, lips slightly parted like he couldn’t believe this was happening. That rang true for both of you. Never in your wildest dreams did you think you’d ever really be friends with Ten, let alone about to hook up with him. It was like you’d stumbled into some alternate universe.

Bringing his free hand up to your cheek, he smoothed his thumb across your lips, pressing lightly until you let him in. You sucked his thumb into your mouth and gave it a little nip, smiling when he smirked. When he deemed it wet enough, he pressed it to your clit and you moaned, your hips stuttering upward with a will of their own. He began a firm massage, working your clit this way and that, fingers still thrusting in their maddening motion. Of course he’d be great with his hands. Of course he’d be able to play your body like a finely tuned instrument.

Pressure started to build low in your stomach. “I—I’m…”

“Turn around.” Ten took a step back and made a show of sucking his fingers into his mouth, tongue darting out to lick between them like he wanted to savor every drop.

You whimpered but did as he requested, your eyes finding his in the wide silver mirror. You watched as he unzipped his pants and pushed them along with his dark colored briefs down to the floor. You hadn’t seen him pull out a condom but he had one; ripping open the packaging with his perfectly straight teeth before rolling it onto his hard cock. It was a delicious looking thing you had to admit, long and thick with a slight curve. If you’d had the time you would have gladly went to your knees for him.

A low breath shuddered out of Ten’s lungs as he pushed inside of you, his hands gripping your waist so strongly you were bound to have a few bruises later. “Fuck, you’re tight.”

It had been a while since Adam and nobody after him until now.

When he assumed you’d adjusted to the size of him, he pulled nearly out before driving back inside of you. You moaned and pushed back to meet his thrusts, feeling the pleasure shattering through you. Your breasts bounced as he moved and he reached a hand forward, tugging down the top of your dress so that he could cup one. He rolled your nipple between his fingers and pinched, bending over you so that he could bite down onto the tender skin of your shoulder. The motion sent him even deeper and you both groaned at the feeling.

“Te—Ten,” you stammered, losing your train of thought when he rolled his hips liked he did on the dance floor. “Oh fuck! Fuck!”

The picture you made in the mirror was a very erotic one; you could see every single expression on Ten’s handsome face. The utter enjoyment he was obviously finding in fucking you was written all over it; there was nowhere for it to hide. His head was tipped back, eyes fluttering closed only to pop back open so that he could watch himself shove into you over and over again. He had you up on your tip toes, nose just an inch from the mirror itself. He was always sexy but tonight that word took on a whole new meaning.

All you could do was try to give as good as you got.

You slapped a hand onto the sink to steady yourself and clenched around him, reveling in the low whine that escaped his throat. It kinda sounded like your name.

And then he was pulling all the way out, dick bouncing as he stumbled backwards. You blinked in confusion. “Wh--what’s wrong?”

Ten ran his fingers through his hair. “C’mon. I want you to ride me.”

He sat down on the closed toilet seat lid and you straddled him without a second thought, sinking down onto his dick with a full body shudder. With your dress around your waist and your breasts jiggling in his face as you bounced up and down on his cock, he traced his tongue around your nipple before lightly biting down. You tangled your fingers in his hair and panted out his name, letting out a squeak when his palm connected with your ass for a hard slap. Planting his feet on the floor, he leaned you backwards a bit as he drove into you repeatedly, eyes watching how well your pussy took him.

“You’re beautiful,” he murmured against your collarbone. “Gorgeous—you feel so good.” He bit you again, this time on the side of your neck. “So good.”

With one hand on his shoulder to brace yourself, you rose up and let yourself come down hard over and over again, feeling him pound so deep it was almost criminal. Had the music not been so loud you knew exactly what you would have heard; the sound of skin hitting skin as Ten fucked you like he owned you. Just for tonight, maybe he did.

You weren’t sure how long it went on but when you came it still managed to take you by surprise. Your body lit up like a Christmas tree from the inside out and you cried out Ten’s name, clenching around him, your nails digging into his shoulder blades. He muttered a drawn out fuuuuck and pinched your clit with this thumb and forefinger, making you jerk so hard you nearly tumbled off his lap.

“Ah! Ten!” You shouted as he kept it up. “I—no—oh god—”

Your pussy tightened around him again and he shivered, thrusts growing erratic as he came with a grunt. You trembled through a second orgasm almost in disbelief—usually the only thing that could get you off twice in a row was hidden under your bed in a shoe box.

Seconds later you flopped against him, attempting to catch your breath. He was still rolling his hips just a tiny bit, making all the too sensitive areas ping.

“Whoa,” he said breathlessly, wrapping both arms around your waist. “That was…”

You chuckled softly. “Yeah…” Chancing a look at him, you admired the way strands of his dark hair stuck to his sweaty forehead. He was glistening, shirt sticking to his chest. He smelled like hints of your perfume and you smelled like hints of his cologne. It was all so intimate.

Reluctantly you sat back and gazed at him, wondering if things were about to get awkward. But Ten just smiled and ducked his head a little, a barely there blush creeping up into his already flushed cheeks. It was so adorable you couldn’t have resisted kissing him if you tried. From the way he melted into you, he’d had the same idea.

After a few minutes of just enjoying the feel of his lips against yours, you forced yourself up off of him. Your legs shook; you had to grab the counter to keep from tripping in your heels. You could already tell you’d still feel him tomorrow and the thought made you kinda dizzy, but in a good way. Blinking at your reflection—your hair was a dark mess—you knew there was no way you’d be able to hide the love bites that adorned your skin. They stood out stark red and purple like a bruise.

Ten remained slouched on the toilet for a couple of moments before removing the condom and tossing it into the trash. He dabbed at his dick with a handful of toilet paper, and then pulled up his underwear and jeans. “So…can I ask you something?”

You fixed your dress. “Sure.”

“Who was that guy?” he inquired with a grin. “The one you obviously wanted to get away from.”

Oh shit you’d forgotten all about Adam! “Oh he—he’s my dumb ex. He jumped stupid at me and I—I wanted to show him that he’s an idiot. That I’m totally over him. I—I’m sorry for getting you involved.”

He laughed as he patted down his hair. “No complaints from my end. I think he got the message though.” Reaching behind you he handed you your panties. “Don’t wanna forget these.”

It was ridiculous to be embarrassed considering what you’d both just done, but you couldn’t help it. You took them from him and pulled them on, keeping your eyes on the ground. “Thanks… Look Ten—”

“I’m hungry,” he said interrupting you. “Have you ever had grilled dried pollack?”

“Um yeah once I think,” you replied uncertainly. “It was pretty tasty.”

Ten motioned behind him. “I know a place that makes it if you wanted to go. And…maybe afterwards we could just hang out. Talk.”

That sounded amazing. “I’d love to. But…”

He picked up on your meaning. “Y/N I sit next to you in all of our art classes. I make conversation with you for no reason. Do you really think I of all people forget my brushes? Honestly I’ve wanted to ask you out for a while but you’ve always seemed…disinterested.”

You were dumbstruck by his admission. “Me?! That’s just my face! You’re the unattainable ingénue or whatever!”

Ten chuckled, folding his arms across his chest. “Oh please the only thing standing between me and being a serious cat dad is having an apartment that allows animals. However, this conversation is pointless. You owe me and I’m collecting…if that’s okay?”

You huffed but couldn’t stop grinning. “It’s perfect.”

The walk from the bathroom to the living room had everyone staring with a few people letting out loud whistles. Adam had disappeared but Amy was there to give you a big thumbs up. You promised to call her later and then let Ten pull you outside into the warm night air, your fingers happily entwined with his.

#wayv ten #ten imagines #wayv smut #ten scenarios #ten x reader #ten smut #nct scenarios #ten oneshot #wayv imagines #woc reader #wayv ten imagines #ten lee #wayv au #nct au

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thedelusionreaderbitch · 3 years

Text

Kaz Brekker x fem! Reader - Talent

(Gif not mine)

A/n: So this shit randomly come up into my head... You know that scene in episode four of shadow and bone, where Inej and Jesper are showing off their talents? I was like we're going to add the reader into this one! Requests are open!

Warnings: It's short, fluff, languag, mentions of gore, trauma, mentions of abuse/sexual abuse, I think that's it? You have been warned!

Summary: You need to get into the little palace and a talent you thought was useless may come into handy

All rights go to leigh Bardugo, you, netflix and James arthur! I just own the plot!

I silently watch Jesper do his performance, with Inej already done hers. He shots the card perfectly dead center and everyone gives a round of hoops and applause.

That card that was in Inej's mouth mind you.

Kaz's face is emotionless or more so to anyone but me, looks emotionless. There's this spark in his eyes that says he's enjoying this, but also a worry because he doesn't like that their being shown like caged animals at the zoo to show off.

I suppress a shiver that runs up my spine as I remember my childhood. When I was six I was sold to a very high end circus and it wasn't pretty.

Maybe, you would think that they would treat their employees better, but you would be wrong. They would beat you to so much that you looked purple, they would be beat for... Anything really. Sometimes their punishments were worse and they would sell you off to men for one to even a couple of nights.

I still have nightmares.

No one cared what you looked like, as long if you could your job then it was fine. Even if you looked like a freak with all the purple bruise's and hand marks across you everywhere, it would bring people in. The more people got brought in each performance the better.

I must have not hid my fear good enough, or Kaz can just read me better then anyone else can because a concerned look flash's across his face and he brush's his gloved hand against my own for a split second.

"What about you." The man comes over and points at me. I freeze. No, I could just gut you right on the spot how about that! My mind screams at me.

But there something else you could do.

Something that wouldn't come with bad memories, something that my mother and father used to do, something I thought was useless.

Till now.

"Do you have a piano?"

Kaz Pov!

Y/n sits down on the piano bench and shallows tightly like she's nervous and Kaz has no fucking idea what she's doing.

Honestly, Kaz could have been fine with just Inej and Jesper taking the performing path to the little palace but having Y/n go with them would be better, more operable.

But he had no idea what she was doing.

He knows about her past after a job gone wrong, that lead to a panic attack, and they slowly came together after that.

Slowly.

Y/n place's her shaking hands over the keys and she plays a bit of a beautiful intro but then...

She sings.

Laying in the silence

Waiting for the sirens

Her voice lifts into the air above the crowd, hanging like silhouettes in the air. Kaz nearly gasps at the sound of her voice. But he is not nearly quick enough to school his expression because wonder splays across it.

Signs, any signs I'm alive still

I don't wanna lose it

I'm not getting through this

Hey, should I pray? should I pray

To myself? To a saint?

To a savior who can

Her voice must have been one of the saints, and Kaz didn't believe in the saints. Not until now.

Unbreak the broken

Unsay these spoken words

Find hope in the hopeless

Pull me out of the train wreck

Y/n starts to belt her heart into the song and Kaz's breath catches in his throat. She had full control, if she told him to burn the world for her,

He would.

Unburn the ash's

Unchain the reactions, I'm not ready to die, not yet

Pull me out of the train wreck

Pull me out, pull me out, pull me out

Pull me out, pull me out

Her eyes full of unshed tears connect with his as she sings the next verse. Watching her though, sing with such force and emotion he could feel the pull towards her stronger than ever before.

Underneath our bad blood

We still got a sanctum, home

Still a home, still a home here

It's not too late to build it back

'Cause a one-in-a-million chance

Is still a chance, still a chance

And I would take those odds.

The audience is flowing in tears, even Jesper and Inej have tears in their eyes. Kaz can only hide half of what he's feeling, pain and love course through him knowing exactly what Y/n meant. Tears are flowing freely from her eyes now as you go on with just as much strength and emotion that she started it with. If not more.

Unbreak the broken

Unsay these spoken words

Find hope in the hopeless

Pull me out of the train wreck

Unburn the ash's

Unchain the reactions, I'm not ready to die, not yet

Pull me out of the train wreck

Pull me out, pull me out, pull me out

His eyes find her's again and this time he can't bear to look away.c

Not when she looked like a saint.

She had some heist clothes on, her hair was flowing freely, and her bruised and cut up skin looked like satin. Not even all the stars in the world could compare to her eyes. Fuck. He shouldn't think of her like this, not while on a mission.

You can say what you like 'cause see, I would die for you

I, I'm down on my knees and I need you to be my Saint

Be my help, be a savior who can

Her voice was at her height now, it was powerful grabbing at her very being and putting it into lyrics. He wondered how such a beautiful creature like her had ever become a dangerous member of a gang. Helplessness was not something that Y/n was though, she was dangerous and everyone new it too.

Unbreak the broken

Unsay these reckless words (find hope in the hopeless)

Pull me out of the train wreck

Unburn the ashes

Unchain the reactions, I'm not ready to die, not yet

Pull me out of the train wreck

Pull me out, pull me out, pull me out

Finishing the song the girl herself looks surprised at her abilities to seduce the occupants with her saint-like voice. Chuckling she smiles and the man shakes her hand very eagerly and talks to her for a few minutes before she walks over too him.

Kaz study the woman before him, the song seemed to free her in ways being dangerous never could. She looks up to him and he gives her a flash of a smile only she could catch. She experimentally takes his hand even if it was gloved. He rolls his eyes and lace their fingers together as they wait for Jesper and Inej.

So together they wait.

Words 1150

-thedelusionreaderbitch

#six of crows #kaz brekker x reader #kaz brekker #kaz fucking brekker #inej ghafa #x reader #jesper fahey #crooked kingdom #fanfiction #fanfic #one shot #lyrics #james arthur #leigh bardugo #shadow and bone #grishaverse

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twdeadfanfic · 3 years

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Vows Pt. 7

Daryl Dixon x Reader

Series Summary:

The last battle with Negan doesn’t go as it should, with Negan coming on top, and so reader, Daryl’s girlfriend, offers herself as a wife to Negan if he doesn’t kill Daryl or anyone else. Negan accepts, he won’t kill anyone but will take reader as a wife, and he’ll take Daryl and some of the others to the Sanctuary as prisoners, promising not to hurt anyone if reader is one of his wives and the communities work for him.

This has both flashbacks to reader and Daryl’s story since meeting to now, and the present with reader living at the Sanctuary as a wife, trying to keep Daryl and their people safe, and she and the other wives dealing with Negan, plotting… (This is not a Negan x reader fic!)

Warning, there are reader and Negan scenes in this chapter, but also there’s Daryl...and not only on flashback.

After another few days of playing nice, and you decided to go ahead and talk to Negan about the living conditions of your people. This time, you didn’t go to wait for him in his bedroom, instead, you waited for a day in which he called for you, hoping that he’d be in a good mood after it.

So, there you were now, trying to not be embarrassed about being naked, resisting the urge to cover yourself with the sheet. Negan was lying against the headboard and you shifted to straddle him, trying to summon your best seductress black widow performance, feeling less and less stupid every time that you tried.

“Look at you, wanting a second round already?” Negan teased with a smug smirk. “Where’s that girl who’d squirm away every time I looked at her?” He chuckled and you shrugged, not knowing how to answer.

“I…I wanted to ask you something…” You began, and Negan’s smirk grew.

“So…this is not just you wanting me…tks tks…I’m disappointed,” he chuckled. “What is it, doll, more chocolate?”

“No…not, not that…it’s…” You chewed on your lip, not sure of how to word it, and Negan’s smile was gone.

“Spit it, doll.”

“I wanted to talk to you about my people…the ones you have here…” You forced yourself to speak. “You have them in those cages…”

“Yes,” Negan interrupted you. “Alive and non tortured, as you asked.”

“I know, I know, and I’m very grateful, you gave me everything I asked for.” You almost gagged at your own words. “But those cages…being all day inside those, the darkness, no fresh air, for weeks…it feels almost like torture.

“No. Torture would be blasting music so they don’t sleep and beating them from time to time,” Negan stated as nothing, and you were running out of ideas.

“I know…but still…can’t you…can’t you let them out, even if just for an hour? So they can see light and breath?”

Negan blinked at you. “Absolutely fucking not…you are not really asking me that, are yo,u doll?” He sounded dangerous, but it didn’t intimidate you, and you tried your best pout.

“I am…I’m not saying to let them go, or have them all day outside the cage, just an hour ?” You tried pouting again. “You say that people are resources…Rick and the others, they’re resources, but you are wasting them unused. Let them out for an hour while you have them working for you. You had a good eye, got some of the most resourceful, Rosita is incredible with bombs and stuff like that, she can build you an arsenal...”

“Last time I got someone of yours working on my weapons, they made bullets explode in my men’s hands, doll…”

“That won’t happen again, they learned their lesson,” you tried to assure him, and Negan just looked at you in silence for once. “Please, Negan, please.” You pouted again.

Negan kept looking at you, studying you, and you were getting anxious, but then he smirked, looking you up and down, and you tried once again not to be embarrassed by your nakedness.

“Okay, doll, you ask, I give,” he chuckled, her smug smirk growing. “They can leave the cell from time to time, just one at a time, get some work done, with my guys watching over them, ready to shoot them if they try something.”

You forced yourself to grin, wrapping your arms around him to hug him briefly, somehow you hated the hugs more than the kisses and even the sex, but you try to use everything to your advantage.

“Thank you, thank you!” You peck his lips, trying to sound so sweet that you feel your teeth rotting.

Negan chuckled and reached to cup your face. “Not so fast, darling…” He said with that dark smile and you froze, wondering if he’d tricked you and what was he going to do. “I want something in exchange.”

“What?” You asked with dread, trying not to sound scared, and Negan’s smile grew.

“Tell me that you love me.”

“What?” You blinked at him

“Tell me that you love me,” he repeated with that smug, yet menacing grin. “I don’t know…I can see you’ve been thinking about your friends a lot, yeah? That includes Daryl, uh? Sure you have…” He chuckled. “It kind of feels like you still love him too much…” Seriously? Did he expect you not to? “But…what about me?” You just blinked at Negan, unable to find words. Did he really expect you to love him or just to pretend it? “Don’t you love me?”

“I…” You knew he wanted you to say it, but it felt so wrong. “I love you like Amber loves you.” It’s a way of saying it that it’s not a lie.

Negan chuckled, seeming amused. “Good try, doll. Do you want your friends to leave those shit holes?” He asked and you nodded. “Then fucking say it, say I love you, Negan.”

It tasted like ashes in your mouth, but you spat it out. “I love you, Negan.”

His smirk grew as he looked at you. “Again, with a little bit more of feeling? Come on…because you mean it, right?”

You grit your teeth, resisting the urge to spit at him. “I love you.”

Negan’s dark smile went wider. “Better. Again.”

“I love you.”

“Good girl...Now come here…” Negan grabbed your hips, moving you off him and dropping you onto your back, and you tried to think that at least you had won your friends some sunlight and fresh air…

Later that day, you were in your room, sat down on the bed against the headboard, hugging Daryl’s shirt to you, inhaling the scent that almost wasn’t there anymore.

You couldn’t believe that you had said to Negan that you loved him, even if it was a lie, even if you didn’t mean it…you couldn’t believe that he wanted you to say it even if he had to know it was a lie, no matter his ego, and he wanted you to sound genuine…But when finally you were allowed to leave his room, he’d told you that starting tomorrow, Daryl and the others could go out the cages from time to time, so it was worthy…

It was so different from that first time you told Daryl that you loved him, when you meant every word, with a love stronger and fiercer than you’d ever felt before…

Then…

The Greene’s farm, your heaven-sent safe place, had fallen the night before under a sea of walkers in which had been the most terrifying moment of your life, riding behind Daryl on his bike, holding tight to him, burying your face in his back while monsters snapped and reached for you both every where, until you managed to reach the intersection and find the others…the ones who hadn’t died, at least.

Now, it was night again, and you all were camped in the middle of nowhere. You were sat down on the ground between Daryl’s legs, lying against his chest, and he’d an arm around you while the other held his crossbow, looking around while he kept watch.

You glanced at Rick, doing the same at the other side of the camp, and then looked at Daryl. “Hey…you really think that we can trust him?” You nodded towards Rick. “All that stuff he said before…I don’t know, Daryl, he sounded kind of dangerous…”

“Nah, Rick’s a good guy,” Daryl assured you. “Just…he got like that ‘cause all the shit that’s goin’ on…but we can trust him, we’ll be good if we stick with him.”

It was almost funny, to hear Daryl speak like that about Rick, holding him with such regard, considering how much he’d hated him not that long ago. “Okay.” You nodded. “I don’t know if I trust Rick…but I trust you.”

Daryl didn’t say anything, but his arm tightened around you and he nuzzled your hair before kissing your temple. You smiled, he could be so sweet and caring sometimes, and he slowly was letting himself show that side more and more…you loved it…and you loved him, with so much force…

“Daryl…” You looked at him again. “I love you.”

Daryl didn’t say anything, just looked at you, but you didn’t miss the emotion in his eyes, and then he dropped his head to nuzzle your neck, placing a soft kiss on your skin and burying his face on the crook of your shoulder. He stayed like that, not pulling back, and you chuckled, it melted your heart a bit. You kissed the top of his head and began to stroke the hair at the back of his neck. You didn’t think much of Daryl not saying I love you back, he showed you in his way, and you knew it’d take him time to say it with words, you weren’t going to push him.

Several months later, you were laying down on your back over the grass of the prison fence that you had managed to clear of walkers, and you smiled, looking at the stars. You were safe behind fences, and tomorrow, you’d make sure you had walls too.

Everyone was already asleep, or trying, besides Daryl and Rick, who were taking watch around the perimeter. Eventually, you fell asleep, and you woke up some hours later, when you felt Daryl lying down next to you, his shift having ended, now time for T-Dog’s.

“’night…” You whispered and Daryl just hummed, throwing an arm over you and pillowing his head on your chest. You smiled, kissing the top of his head and wrapping an arm around him, stroking his hair with your other hand. You had almost fallen asleep again when you felt Daryl muttering something against your neck, but it was so quiet and muffled that you couldn’t quite catch it. “What?”

For a moment, Daryl didn’t say anything, and you thought he might have been talking in his sleep, but then he pulled back slightly to whisper again, “I love you.”

A warm, fuzzy feeling spread through you at Daryl’s words, and you almost giggled, giddy. “I love you too,” you whispered back, holding Daryl tighter to you. “So much that I can’t even explain it…”

Now…

You lied on your bed at the Sanctuary, holding Daryl’s shirt to you too, trying not to cry on it, afraid that it’d make the scent disappear even more, and you tried to sleep…

The next day, Negan came looking for you, and you were going to head for his bedroom, but instead he took you outside the wive’s room, leading you through the Sanctuary and outside, pointing to you stuff here and there as he gloated about the place.

“I told you I’d let your dear friends outside, doll…and today is Rick’s day.” Negan gave you that dark grin as he walked you outside, and then he waved towards the fences.

You saw Rick there, forced to work with some other people, a couple of saviors not far from them, watching over them, making sure they worked and stayed in line. They were reinforcing the fences and also moving walkers here and there, using them as protection for the fences too. It seemed dangerous, with the walkers snapping to them, and you felt uneasy with Rick working there.

“Isn’t that dangerous? They could get bitten…” You said, looking from Rick to Negan, who kept smirking darkly at you.

“I’m sure Ricky boy can handle himself,” Negan said, patting your cheek. “You wanted him outside the cage, right?”

“Yeah…” But not at risk of getting bitten…but if he kept staying in a dark cell day after day, that couldn’t be good either…you didn’t know what to think.

“You got it.” Negan grinned. “And not even a thank you?”

You stopped yourself from rolling your eyes. “Thank you, Negan,” you forced yourself to say.

You looked at Rick, he had spotted you now from the distance, and you arched your eyebrows at him, trying to silently ask him if he was okay. He nodded and did the same to you, and you nodded too. It was something, you guessed…

The next day, you didn’t get to see her, but you knew that it was Rosita’s turn to go out of the cage and get some air and sunlight, though you didn’t know how much sunlight , since Negan told you that he had her working checking and putting together explosives and bombs, since you had told him she was good at that. You kind of wondered if Rosita might not go ahead and try to blow up the Sanctuary with all of you included…

You wondered, too, when it’d be Daryl’s turn to get out of the cell. You didn’t ask, though, the less you talked to Negan about Daryl, the better, you were sure of that, and even if you wanted to see Daryl, check how he was, you thought that it’d be better if Daryl didn’t see you. You knew it’d hurt him, and you didn’t want him to have to worry about you, he had enough, you were faring better than him, and you didn’t want him to have to see you with Negan, afraid that he’d try to taunt Daryl or anything like that.

In a couple of days, though, your wishes were crushed, when Negan toured you around the Sanctuary again, and as you got closer and closer to an open door, you realized that there were the bathrooms, and Daryl was inside mopping, a savior near him with a gun pointed to him.

You stopped and began to backtrack, even though you saw that Daryl’s eyes had found you already, but Negan grabbed your arm hard and didn’t let you move away.

“I want to go back, please,” you told him, trying to turn around. “Thanks for the walk but I want to go back now.”

“But I don’t want to.” Negan smiled darkly at you, and then he pushed you in front of him, placing his hand on your neck to push you forward and make you walk to the bathrooms.

“Negan, please, I don’t want to,” you tried again, trying to resist and squirm from his grasp, but Negan kept walking you forward…this couldn’t be good, he wouldn’t have brought you there if he didn’t want to rail up Daryl in any way…what if he began telling him what you and he did night in, night out…

You were about to struggle again, but you noticed the shift in Daryl’s eyes and stopped, realizing that he thought Negan was hurting you. You were about to shake your head, try to reassure him, Negan didn’t hurt you physically and you knew neither was now his intention, he just wanted to take the piss at Daryl and you, but it was too late.

Daryl threw the mope to the ground with a growl, and he tried to go to you, but the savior holding him at gunpoint kicked the butt of his rifle against his head, and then pointed it to his head. You were so scared that he was about to shoot Daryl, your heart seemed to stop beating.

“No! Stop!” You didn’t know if you were yelling to the savior or to Daryl, but the savior didn’t shoot, just kept pressing the riffle to Daryl’s head, and so you called for him. “Daryl! Stop! I’m okay, stop!” You could see Daryl shaking in rage, but he stopped trying to do anything, so you turned to look at Negan. “Do something!”

“What? Do I tell my savior to shoot?” Negan grinned at you and you glared at him. “I’m kidding, sweetheart…Alan! Get Daryl back to his cage.” The savior nodded, pushing Daryl with the riffle to make him turn around and face Negan, who was blocking the corridor, you next to him.

Negan looked at you and grinned again. “I must say, I’m fucking impressed, doll…the way you yelled at them? And they listened and stopped…fucking impressive, darling….wasn’t it, Alan?” Negan asked, and the savior nodded curtly. “Maybe I should change your job, have you out here, giving orders, keeping everyone in line.” Negan joked, and you shrugged, uncomfortable. “But no…I enjoy you way more in the bedroom.” Negan chuckled and kissed you, grasping your chin and holding your face in place so you couldn’t pull back, even if you hated that he was kissing you in front of Daryl.

When Negan pulled back, he chuckled as he looked at your face, before turning to the savior and Daryl again. “Now…this shit can’t happen again, are we clear? Or the next time, my guys will blow up your head, okay?” Negan said, but Daryl didn’t say anything, and the savior nodded curtly again.

You knew the threat was real, and you looked at Daryl with begging eyes, asking him to play along, so he wouldn’t get hurt or killed.

“It won’t happen again, he thought, he…” You didn’t know if it was a good idea to say that Daryl’d thought that Negan was hurting you, he took such pride in boasting about how good he treated his spoiled wives...

“What?” Negan looked at Daryl again. “What did you think, doggy Daryl, uh?” He smirked darkly, but Daryl just shook in rage, silent. “That I’m shagging your ex-girl every night? That you wanted to rip my throat open with your bare teeth like the dog you are? Yeah…I know.” Negan chuckled.

You didn’t like where this was going, and you were scared that Daryl might snap at any moment and he’d be shot, so you reached to held Negan’s arm, trying to get his attention. “He got it, okay? Can we go back to the room?”

“Oh, you’re eager today, aren’t you?” Negan chuckled, grabbing your chin and kissing your lips again. “Sure, doll…maybe if we get at it all night long I’ll change my mind about not letting Daryl leave his cage to clean our bathrooms and eat something that’s not dog food anymore after his little outburst here.”

Negan chuckled again, kissing you once more, and you let him do it even if you hated it as much as his words.

“Okay…Alan,” Negan called for the savior, though he was still looking at you. “Get the dog back to his kennel and bring Ezekiel to finish what Daryl didn’t…I’m gonna go fuck my wife.”

You didn’t say anything, didn’t dare to look at Daryl. Negan reached to grab your neck again, turning you around and pushing at you to walk in front of him, and you let him. Negan was demanding and possessive, but he’d never touched you or any of the others in that way, as far as you were aware, so you guessed that he was putting on even more of a show for Daryl, trying to rail him up.

You hated it…the last thing that Daryl needed was to think that Negan was hurting you in any way. You knew him, he’d worry, beat himself about it, drive himself crazy, when in reality, you weren’t doing that bad, you could endure sleeping with Negan, you had learned to, it kept your people safe, and your living conditions were way better than much others at the Sanctuary…but you had no way to let Daryl know that, not with Negan deciding to be even more of a prick just to get a reaction out of Daryl…

Negan did get a reaction out of Daryl, in an even worse way that you could have imagined, but you were oblivious to it all, sheltered in the wive’s room, with no idea of what was going on outside, until a couple of days later, when Negan stormed into the wives room.

“Y/N!”

Negan’s voice boomed as he called for you, and you paled as you heard it, knowing instantly that something was wrong, he never yelled like that to his wives when you all were pleasant to him. When you rushed to him, your anxiety and fear got even worse when you saw he was holding his bat.

“You know what your feral, dumb, dog did!?” He yelled at you…Daryl, something must have happened with Daryl… oh no…you were terrified but you managed to shake your head.

“He pretended to be dead when one of my saviors opened his cage, an idiot it seems, because he decided to check if your rabid dog was dead! And he wasn’t’! He grabbed the guy, bashed his head against the wall like the feral bitch he is! They found him trying to sneak in here, that stupid dog, as if he would have been able.”

Oh no…oh no…this was bad…it was getting harder to breathe as you panicked more and more… Daryl had tried to come for you, he must have really thought that you were being mistreated and abused…there was no way he wouldn’t try to go to you if he thought that…and for that he’d hurt a savior, maybe killed him, and escaped his cage…this was bad…you should have tried better to assure Daryl that you were okay, a note, something… now it was too late.

“Did you…” You tried to force words out of your mouth. “Did you kill him?”

Negan scoffed. “That’s all you care about, of course…” He grabbed your chin, making you look at him, and for a moment you thought he might bash Lucille in your head no matter you were a wife. “What if I did? He’s nothing to you now. You’re mine.”

“We have a deal…not killing him, not torturing him,” you found the courage to say.

Negan chuckled, letting go of your face. “You’re bringing up that shit now? You’re something else, doll…that deal goes to hell the moment someone pulls the shit that the stupid dog did…but it stands for your other friends…unless you wanna leave?”

You shook your head at that, you knew that right at that moment, Negan was a step away from just going ahead and killing everyone else of your friends in their cages…but no, they were resources, they kept the people back at home in their toes…you wouldn’t let Negan blackmail you with that…Daryl’d be the only one he’d kill…

“So did you kill him or not?” You asked even if you were scared of the answer.

“No,” Negan said, but the look in his eyes stopped you from being relieved. “Not yet. Not fast. But I’m going to…and you’re going to watch in the first row!” Negan grabbed your arm. “Also, all of you.” He waved the bat around, talking to the other wives. “You’re coming too, I spoiled you all too much, you need to remember what happens if someone crosses me like this. I want everyone in the Sanctuary to watch this.”

With that, he tugged at you, dragging you with him, and you knew better than to try to resist.

Well...shit happened.

If you enjoyed this, comments and reblogs are always more than welcome, thanks.

Also, as always, excuse my English, it’s not my first language.

New taglist for Daryl,I trimmed it, if you want to be tagged let me know and also, please, if you are not interested in being tagged anymore let me know too

@coffeebooksandfandom @gruffle1 @yenne-yen-illustrations @sourwolf-sterek32 @lonewolf471 @daryldixonandfrogs @collecting-stories @princessxpunk @smiithys @captainbuckyboobear @dazzledamazon @spidergirla5 @lilythemadqueen @lightning-butterfly @purplebtsmagic @courtnytrash04 @seizethesam @fuseburner @phoenixblack89 @boywivlove @amaroho @woundmetender @classyunknownlover @tenderlyunlikelyexpert @kaitieskidmore1 @sttrawberries @huffledor-able541 @browneyes528 @soraitmnt @thereshallbenoother @leej2468 @heartlessmarvello @redneckstrash @bitchynicole @supernatural79impala @thiccblondeliv @maggie-l-m @baseballbitch116 @sweatywildpanda @theteaset @amaroho @my-current-fandom-is @whitexwingedxdoves @nickangel13 @oceans-daughter-3 @tuttifuckinfruttifriday

#daryl dixon #daryl dixon x reader #daryl dixon/reader #daryl dixon fanfiction #daryl dixon imagine #daryl dixon & reader #daryl dixon fanfic #daryl dixon fic #twd daryl #twd daryl dixon #daryl dixon twd #daryl twd

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gothicprep · 3 years

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it’s honestly very odd to me that disney has been retconning their iconic properties for 7 odd years now, if my memory is serving me correctly & maleficent was the first time they’d done this, and their fans, the Disney Simps, if you will, seem pretty unaffected by this. the decision to do a cruella deville backstory is stupid for obvious reasons – let’s turn the woman who’s name is effectively Cruel Devil into a girlboss – but i dont really get what their angle with the remakes is in general, aside from trying to ensure they keep their shit copyrighted until Yellowstone explodes.

I would sincerely love to sit in the focus groups wherein they decide what elements of the source material to doctor – “we have to cut the pink elephant scene from dumbo, even though it’s the only one that anyone remembers, because we can’t have an... underaged elephant... get turnt. and the circus eventually becomes cruelty free and stops using animal performances. jasmine already marched to the beat of her own drum in the animated aladdin, but we should throw a musical number in there to drive home how Fierce she is. gay representation is what people want to see right now, so let’s make a minor character from beauty and the beast that everyone forgot about gay and call it a night.”

the things they choose to overhaul aren’t details that anyone was criticizing to begin with. like someone in the marketing department saw “disney princesses drawn as CEOs” clickbait and just assumed the entire representation debacle online was a question of revisionist mad libs.

I spent an irresponsible amount of time yesterday binge watching YouTube essays about how the simpsons declined and atrophied, and the one thing I didn’t see pointed out in any of them was that the simpsons was very inherently a product of its time: when it aired in ’89, it served as an absurd and caricatured portrayal of an american family, but close enough to the actual picture to remain relatable. but the simpsons is still airing in 2021, and it doesn’t make a lot of sense when viewing it through the lens of homer being born in the mid-80s and growing up with an N64 and being raised on nickelodeon. a millennial homeowner supporting a family of five on a singular income. and since the in-universe canon has surpassed the point where you could just say “well, the 90s just never ended in springfield” you couldn’t effectively modernize it without burning the whole damn thing to the ground

it also calls to mind the old joke about comics (“the only one who stays dead is uncle ben”) which are similarly repackaged and rebooted with each new generation of consumer. batman gets meaner, or nicer, gets a new batmobile, a touchscreen batphone, whatever, but there’s never going to not be a batman.

and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. im not even going to get into stuff like dark fuck archie, aging disgruntled powerpuff girls reboot, the ill-conceived television adaptation of heathers, and the rest of it. there’s this weird phenomenon going on right now, like media necromancy or something. I don’t even know what to call it. endless retooling of existing properties even when they’re inextricably products of their time, to some extent. It’s like executives just threw their hands in the air and exclaimed “welp, this is as good as its ever going to get”

i dont know if it speaks to the purchasing power of nostalgia, or that people are generally creatures of habit and their media tastes reflect that to an extent, or that these corporations are just banking on these familiar titles knowing they’re a safer bet than something new. maybe a little of all of it to varying degrees – im not going to pretend I know the full answer to this. maybe I’m just getting old and becoming one of those old people who bitches about “aint used to be like this...” from my wooden rocking chair on the porch. either way, i wish people would stop, like, enabling this stuff with their wallets. it’s difficult for good media that makes contemporary sense to get as much traction as it deserves when the waters are this polluted

#Long post #if you made it this far congratulations #I’m sorry to say that if you’re looking for a point to be made... there’s not much of one #the train of thought just kind of left the station with no brakes

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beccascribbles · 4 years

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after their defeat against karasuno, aoba johsai deal with the repercussion of their loss, ft y/n as a manager.

warnings - swearing

word count - 3.0k

a/n - to be honest, i wrote this for my own selfish indulgence because i honestly have so much love and respect for this team. i hope you enjoy it!

The final whistle blew. You felt numb as you looked at the scoreboard again, the final set count at 2-1 for Karasuno. Shock was evident on each member of Aoba Johsai’s face. Oikawa was frozen, his arms outstretched to dig the ball. It was the most still you’d ever seen them. You felt a strangled cry rise in your throat, and hurriedly swallowed it down. You could not break, not now. Across the court, your eyes met Iwaizumi. You knew what you had to do, be the manager, offer them the support they so desperately needed.

So, at the side of the court, you began to clap for your team. “That was a really good game. You’ll get your revenge next year.”

The words provided little comfort to you and your fellow third years, your shared dream of finally making it to nationals shattering before your eyes. At the very least, the first and second years were able to pull themselves back together, beginning to move to their end of the court to thank Karasuno for the game. Spurred into action by their kouhais, the third years, Oikawa excluded, made their way over to the rest of the team. He stood still, looking over at the other side of the court. Your gaze followed his, falling on the younger setter that Oikawa had so desperately wanted to beat. You weren’t sure what was said between them, but, when Oikawa spun back around, you could see the determination in his eyes.

“No matter what I say, the results are what they are,” said Coach Irihata, the players arranged in a loose semi-circle around him. You stood near the third years, a hand resting on Oikawa’s shoulder as you gave him the physical support he desperately craved. It was clear he was close to breaking, trying to hold his emotions in to be the supportive and collected captain the team deserved in that moment. He shot you a thankful smile. “The bitterness cannot be watered down either. You probably have plays that you will keep regretting. But still, first and foremost, let me say this: you all fought well.”

At those words, Watari and Kindaichi burst into tears, probably replaying the crucial moments within the game where they could have performed better. Meanwhile, you watched as Hanamaki’s and Matsukawa’s faces crumpled, quiet tears beginning to roll down their cheeks. You glanced over at Iwaizumi. He was tense, fists clenched at his sides. His face was fixed in an angry expression. You realised, with a bite of bitter disappointment, that he was blaming himself for the loss. Concerned, you reached out to comfort him, abandoning Oikawa to silently wrap your arms around Iwaizumi’s waist. He remained stiff in your hold, arms hanging at his side.

Oikawa cleared his throat. “Let’s go greet everyone in the stands.”

Iwaizumi marched off, easily breaking out of your hold. You watched him walk over, heard the sob of frustration he let out and stared as he stood frozen in place. You met Oikawa’s face, the worry you felt mirrored in his eyes. He marched over to his friend, giving him a hard slap on the back as he walked past. This jolted Iwaizumi from his thoughts and he stared after Oikawa. Hanamaki followed Oikawa’s example, giving him a firm slap on the back. Matsukawa came next, giving Iwaizumi’s back a brief pat as he walked past. No words were needed. Seeming to snap out of it momentarily, he wiped his tear-streaked face with his shirt before joining the line.

As they thanked everyone for watching, standing in silence to the claps of the spectators, you began to pack away the bags, gathering everyone’s things together in preparation for a quick exit.

And, together, you left the gym in silence.

After making your way down the hallway for a little bit, a figure came sprinting towards you, tears leaking from his face. You recognised him. Yuda, one of the third years who hadn’t made the starting line-up. “You guys were awesome! You were so strong! You guys basically won! You won!”

“Yuda...” you sighed, stepping forward to calm him down. Suddenly, he was grabbed from behind by Sawauchi and Shido, who yanked him backwards.

“Yuda! What are you talking about?”

“Calm down!”

“I agree,” you said. “You need to get a grip of yourself.”

He burst forward, dodging past you to grab at Iwaizumi, who had come to a stop behind you. He grabbed him by the hair, beginning to shake him back and forth as he let out a strangled cry of ‘Hajime’.

Oikawa, Hanamaki and Matsukawa watched the scene unfold before them.

“Man... seeing Yudacchi seriously calms me down,” observed Oikawa, as he watched his childhood best friend get shaken furiously. You supposed it was meant to be a form of comfort, but it didn’t seem to be that effective. From what you could see of Iwaizumi’s face, it was twisted in a scowl.

“Yeah...” agreed Hanamaki.

Having seen enough of your friend being shaken from side to side, you interfered, carefully extracting Yuda’s hands from Iwaizumi’s hair. “Please calm down, Yuda. Some of us have played a game and are looking to enjoy some good food, not be shaken by you as you cry... as much as your concern is appreciated.”

And, if breaking up that interaction wasn’t enough, you had tasked yourself with putting Kindaichi’s mind at ease. His composure had lasted for only a couple more minutes before he was blubbering, snot running from his nose. The plastic bag you held out to him was full to the brim with used tissues...and it didn’t look like he was going to be stopping anytime soon.

“Look, Kindaichi, it wasn’t your fault,” you said, wrapping your arms around him so he could sob against you. “You are in a team. And here, we fail and win together.”

“I know,” he hiccuped. You pulled away to look at him. His voice was thick with emotion but he seemed to have calmed down slightly, tears now under control.

“Okay?” you asked, giving his shoulder a squeeze.

“Okay.”

The sound of something colliding with the floor caused you to spin on your heels to head immediately in that direction. The majority of the team were already waiting to board the bus and you had been sent to round up the stragglers. As you turned the corner, you were greeted with a familiar head of blonde hair kicking repeatedly at a bin. With some relief, you noted it was empty. You weren’t particularly looking forward to the idea of scooping up someone else’s rubbish.

“Kyoutani,” you called softly, beginning to walk over to him. You could feel the anger and frustration rolling off him. He turned to look at you, a scowl on his face. Slowly, like you would with a scared animal, you held out your hand. “We’re leaving now. Let’s go to the bus together.”

He looked at your hand, at the gentle smile on your face. Turning away, he gave the bin one more violent kick that sent it careening down the corridor in the opposite direction that you would be going in. Gruffly, he said, “I’m not picking it up.”

“Okay. Are you going to come to the bus with me?”

Letting out a huff, he nodded in assent. That was all the confirmation you needed to finally grab his wrist and drag him down the corridor with you. You bit back the lecture you wanted to give him on damaging other people’s property, deciding to speak to him about his behaviour the next time the opportunity arose. It would hardly do him any good to be scolded at this moment.

“Thank you very much for the food,” you said, bowing slightly as a bowl of ramen was placed in front of you. You had just finished the rounds, making sure everyone had got their food before returning to your seat at the counter next to Hanamaki. Managing this team was so exhausting sometimes, and you deserved this. Eagerly, you began to tuck in, only vaguely aware of what was happening around you.

A shout caused you to snap to attention, eyes falling on Oikawa, who was leaning over Hanamaki. “Shut up! I need to eat right now!”

Food was flying from his mouth. Subconsciously, you leaned out of the spit zone, grabbing a pile of napkins before you rose from your seat. Wordlessly, you handed Hanamaki a few so he could attempt to clean the food sticking to his face, pointing him in the direction of the toilet in case he needed a more thorough cleaning or the assistance of a mirror. Then, you fixed your attention on Oikawa. You slapped him around the back of the head, causing his hand to shoot up to clutch the sore area.

“y/n-chan!” he whined. “That hurt.”

“Seriously, Tooru, how old are you?” you snapped. “Two? Is this really how you behave while eating out? I don’t care if you’ve just lost to Kageyama. This whole team lost and you don’t seem them acting in such a childish manner.”

You decided to ignore the fact that Kindaichi was currently crying into his food as he apologised to Matsukawa for something that had happened in the game. Oikawa looked down, avoiding your gaze. He pouted. “That still hurt.”

“Good.”

“I think you should kiss it better,” he suggested, brown eyes finally flicking up to meet yours.

“Hajime!” you called. Iwaizumi looked over at the two of you, clearly wondering what Oikawa had done as the boy was currently flapping around nervously.

“No, Iwa-chan, don’t worry,” he cried, shooting you a glare in the process. “y/n was just being funny.”

“Sure,” you shrugged. Turning around, you shot Iwaizumi a thumbs up. “It’s all been taken care of.”

The sun was beginning to set, casting an orange glow over the sky. You embraced the team one by one, giving Kindaichi an extra squeeze before letting go and joining the third years.

“Shit!” spat Oikawa as he walked past. “Shit!”

You raised your eyebrows, cocking your head slightly as you watched him. You figured it was about time he properly exploded, considering his weak attempts to hold it together in front of the younger members of the team.

“That’s his 53rd ‘shit’ today,” observed Matsukawa in what could only be described as an emotionless tone.

“You’re still counting?” you exclaimed, smiling teasingly at Oikawa as his head turned slightly to glance over at the pair of you. “I stopped after the 23rd one. It was getting bothersome recording each one.”

“At least he’s not constipated.”

“He’s definitely a shitty guy, though.”

“Well, shit, I’m pissed off!” exploded Oikawa, whirling to face you.

“54th,” you muttered loud enough for him to hear. He shot you a glare with no real malice, which surprised you considering how frustrated he was right now, before continuing as if you hadn’t interrupted.

“We definitely had a team that could’ve made it to nationals this time.” He wasn’t wrong there. Over the course of the three years, you'd watched them train, offered them support when they had fallen at the last hurdle each time. Confidently, you could say that this team was worthy of a spot at nationals.

In a dry tone, Hanamaki commented, “Well, even if we made it, we might’ve gotten our asses kicked right when we got there.”

Oikawa looked at him for a moment, incredulous. You couldn’t quite stop the snicker that escaped your lips as Oikawa said with utter confidence, “No way!” and continued to berate Hanamaki on his negative outlook.

“To be honest, if you couldn’t beat Shiratorizawa, Takahiro has a point,” you stated. Then, Oikawa whirled on you. His words were so quick you could barely distinguish one from the other. You winced at the hurt look on his face. “I admit that might’ve been too soon.”

Silence settled over the group after that, you moving forward to walk beside Iwaizumi. Concern had you furrowing your brows slightly. It was clear to anyone who could see his face that the young man was angry. Trying to interject some cheer in your voice, you clapped him on the back, “Come on, Hajime. Brighten up! Your forehead wrinkles are way too intense. Do you want to ruin that smooth skin of yours?”

“I know, damn it!” he snapped, refusing to look over at you. “Can you just leave me alone, y/n? Please? I don’t want to piss you off or hurt you because I’m too angry at myself to think straight.”

“But...”

“Just stop.” He moved away from you, returning to his previous state of intense anger. You looked over at Oikawa, the only other person you thought may be able to pull him from his current state. Oikawa nodded at you before beginning to speak in a calm voice.

“Sawamura-kun’s receives, Baldy’s follows, Goatee’s spikes, Watacchi’s receives, Mad Dog-chan’s follows, Tobio’s direct attacks, and Kindaichi’s blocks... Everyone was giving 120% back there. But, in the end, Karasuno was just slightly above us! Just a little bit! But most of all, Iwa-chan, you should praise yourself for hitting that set with absolutely perfect timing.”

You felt yourself growing emotional. Shit. He wasn’t even speaking to you but you were close to sobbing like a baby. You brought your top up to wipe at your wet eyes, blinking furiously to stop the tears from breaking free completely. In support, Matsukawa wrapped an arm around your shoulders, pulling you into him. You leaned into his touch, grateful to your friend for providing you with the support you needed in that moment.

The words had the opposite effect on Iwaizumi. If it was even possible, he looked even more furious than before. “This all pisses me off even more because both the toss and my timing were absolutely perfect!”

Oh, brilliant. Now Oikawa was getting heated, his cheeks flushed with colour. “Damn straight! But you should yell at me more for not being able to get that last ball even though I reacted to it! I’m way more pissed off!”

With a growl that was almost feral, Iwaizumi picked Oikawa up off the ground and threw him. He landed a couple of metres away, looking mildly disgruntled but not hurt.

“I would love to know why this turned into a competition,” you said, crossing your arms and shooting a glare at Oikawa. After all, it was him who had gotten fuelled by Iwaizumi’s anger. Although, you had to admit, it had diffused the tension by a fair bit.

“Nice spin.”

“Good form, Hajime. But, I think I’ve seen you throw him further.”

“Can’t say this was your best work.”

“Anyway,” said Matsukawa, putting a stop to the teasing as you all followed his gaze, which was focused on the school building, “weren’t we heading home?”

Needless to say, the third tears found themselves back on the volleyball court, this time with you joining in with the game. You weren’t the most talented player considering you were only the manager, but it made sense for the third years to play one last game together before parting ways. You were panting. A little game. That was what you thought. But, a little game had turned into one that dragged on for over an hour.

“Holy shit!” you yelped, narrowly missing being hit by a serve that Oikawa had sent over. It slammed off the ground next to you, hitting the wall behind you before rolling back to gently hit the backs of your legs.

“Oikawa, stop spiking for real!” yelled Matsukawa, clearly agitated. It had been bad enough when he had been on the receiving end. Iwaizumi clearly shared the same sentiment.

“Seriously, Shittykawa, are you trying to kill us?” he questioned, glancing over at you to assess your physical condition.

“All I know is that was one spike serve too many for me,” you said, holding your hands up in defeat as you walked off the court. While they continued to play, you picked up the stray balls, packing them away. When that was finished, you simply collapsed onto the floor to enjoy watching your friends play together like this for what was probably the last time.

“We should probably start cleaning up soon before someone comes to check why the lights are on.”

This spurred you all into action, with you running to grab the mops while they began to take down the net. When you rejoined them, moving to give Yuda a mop, Oikawa began to speak. “Guys, do you have a second?”

Everyone turned to look at him. Hanamaki seemed to catch onto the direction the conversation was taking, reaching out a hand as if that would stop the words from coming out of Oikawa’s mouth. “Hey. Don’t do it! We’re trying to end this on a good note! Let’s just let everything end peacefully!”

“Shut up!” cried Oikawa, his voice thick. The tears began to pour down his face before he could stop them. “Thank you for the last three years!”

You stood in silence as he let out a whimper, the tears rolling down his cheeks. It honestly broke your heart to see him like this. He’d worked so hard with one goal in mind - to make it to nationals and prove you didn’t have to be a prodigy to succeed. The mop you were holding clattered to the floor with a bang as you sprinted towards him, throwing your hands around his neck as you pulled him into you. His hands wrapped around your waist, holding you closer as he shook. You were fairly certain you were shaking too, the tears rolling freely down your own cheeks.

“Damn it,” sobbed Hanamaki, his cries joining those of his already weeping teammates. “I told you...”

Iwaizumi was the first to join your hug, one arm going around Oikawa’s shoulder as his other wrapped around your waist. His head came to rest against yours, his tears mingling with your own as they fell. Matsukawa and Hanamaki were the next to follow, arms wrapping around your shaking forms. The other third years came last, forming a ring around your group, with you and Oikawa at the centre.

It was hard to believe that it was finally over. The last three years with this team were over, soon to become memories that you would look back on fondly and with love.

In truth, you couldn’t have asked for a better high school experience.

#haikyuu x reader #haikyuu imagines #haikyuu fluff #haikyuu x manager reader #aoba josai x reader #seijoh x reader #seijoh third years x reader #seijoh x manager #iwaizumi haijime x reader #hajime iwaizumi #iwaizumi x reader #tooru oikawa x reader #oikawa x reader #oikawa tooru #matsukawa x reader #matsukawa #hanamaki x reader #hq hanamaki

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edie-baby · 3 years

Text

Les Fleurs du Mal Chapter 2 | Pierre Gasly

Summary: Sava Dvorakova had big dreams for Formula One. An opportunity of a lifetime comes around, so she takes it and runs. She proved just about everyone wrong, and is awarded a very controversial seat on the F1 grid. There’s smiles and grins, hugs and kisses, love and laughter. There’s tears and sobs, fights and break ups. There’s evil where you least expect it, hidden in the garden of eden. The Flowers of Evil.

Warnings: a lot of swearing, shitty parents (they’re a recurring theme), sexism, i ignored a lot of actual f1 rules because i couldn’t be bothered writing it into the story tbh, yuki is fcking adorable, a lot of smut eventually, like a lot.

Sava woke up on Friday with no intention of getting out of bed before noon. And then realised that she wasn’t in her bed, it was a hotel room. The memories and realities of her current situation made her head spin, and with a shit eating grin on her face, she jumped out of bed and into the shower. Feeling as though she should stay on brand, Sava pulled on a white pleated skirt and tucked the oversized Carlin shirt into the waistband. She braided her hair while it was still a little wet, knowing it would be easier than the kerfuffle she had yesterday trying to walk, carry a helmet, and braid at the same time. Combat boots, a phone, and paddock pass later and Sava was leaving the hotel room to meet Amelia in the cafeteria-like space on the ground floor to have breakfast and chat about the agenda for the day before they headed to the track.

Unbeknownst to Sava, a number of the F1 drivers were staying at the same hotel, and when she stepped into the room, eyes focused on finding other Carlin shirts, many heads turned her way. Obviously, news about a girl in a Carlin race suit with pink hair had spread into the formula one paddock quite quickly. Sava gave up on trying to find her assistant when she had no luck, preferring to make her way to the coffee bench to make herself a very sweet black coffee over ice. While the coffee began brewing, she turned her back to the bench, taking another look out over the crowds of people at tables to try and find her friends again, only to see that 75% of the room was already looking at her, and those that weren’t were whispering to the people that were. The poor girl looked like a deer in the headlights, and apparently one man couldn’t see her like that, as he stood from his table and walked toward her. He was still metres away and Sava was already having to strain her neck to look up at him.

“Hi, I’m sorry to bombard you like this while you’re already quite overwhelmed. But I can tell you’re a bit lost. Would you like to come and sit with me until you find your team?” The man asked, his accent was distinctly French, and Sava kicked herself for not instantly recognising the man as Esteban Ocon.

“Oh my, yes please! This is my first time outside of karting, let alone in the actual F2 paddock, so I’m so lost and don’t know anyone.” Sava giggled, finishing up making her super sweet coffee and following Esteban’s stride toward a table of black and yellow clad people, along with the unmistakable grin of Daniel Ricciardo.

“I’m Esteban, by the way. I think I heard your name was Dvarokova?” The Frenchman questioned after a few beats of silence, realising that the 5’1 woman couldn’t walk as quickly as he.

“Ah, Dvorakova. Don’t worry about messing up the pronunciation, I misspell it sometimes. My name is Sava, but pretty much everyone calls me Bunny.” Sava replied with a giggle at the butchering of her surname. She couldn’t blame anyone, it was a hard enough name to most Eastern Europeans, she couldn’t even imagine how some of the nationalities in the paddock would pronounce it.

“Bunny. That’s quite cute.” Esteban mused, and they finally reached the rowdy table of Renault employees.

“Guys, this is Bunny. She’s going to sit with us cause she’s new and can’t find anyone from Carlin.” Esteban introduced, and a round of wolf whistles sounded as she threw up a peace sign, then took the seat next to Esteban, across from Daniel.

“Hi, I’m Danny. You’re such a little cutie.” Daniel introduced, leaning his arm over to poke at Sava’s cheeks that immediately heated up in a flaming blush. Another round of oohs and ahs went through the table and Sava giggled again.

“Pipe down, I’m only 17.” In immediate reaction to her statement, Daniel threw his hands up in surrender, his eyes connecting with a few guys nearby who all laughed at his expression.

“Way to make a man feel like a pedo.” Daniel mumbled, and more chuckles reverberated around the group who heard. The team all spoke to Sava with interest and respect, something she didn’t expect she would be getting before she had even gotten into a car. After about fifteen minutes, she spotted Yuki walking through the door with Amelia, and excused herself quickly, exchanging fist bumps with everyone she passed along the Renault table. When she got to the end, she met Yuki and Amelia with surprised looks on their faces before the three found a small table by the window to finally sit down and eat.

“How ready are you Bunny?” Yuki asked later on that morning while the two pulled their race suits up and made final preparations. Sava looked over at him nervously as she tucked her pink braids into the suit.

“Considering I’ve only ever driven a go-kart or a Hyundai I-20, I’m shitting myself. But I’m confident enough in my karting ability to do well-enough here. How about you? Amelia told me you have a seat at Alpha Tauri next season, are you still nervous about these races or are you a cool guy about it?” Sava hit back, smiling at her first friend in serious motorsport, who she could tell she would miss if she made it into F2 next year like Dr Marko had suggested.

“I still want to do well so that they don’t think they’ve made a mistake. But I’m not as nervous as I was when I didn’t know if I’d have a seat.” The Japanese man replied, and pulled on his balaclava, Sava following shortly after. They made eye contact, their mouths obscured by the fabric, and burst out laughing. Amelia guided Sava away so that she could get her helmet on and have one final chat with the engineer she would be hearing in her ears for the weekend. Yuki ran over just before Sava jumped in the car and slapped the top of her helmet, just like her uncle Sebastian had done before every race and she smiled the biggest she probably ever has. With a quick hug to Yuki and another scolding glance from Amelia, Sava climbed into her car for her first ever free practice in a single seater.

“Radio check.” Sava spoke, her voice wobbling slightly as she felt the rumble of the car beneath her.

“Confirm, Bunny. Hop to it.” Her engineer, Marcus, stated with amusement in his voice. Sava audibly laughed as she stepped on the accelerator, rolling out of the garage when she got the signal. Driving through the pitlane was surreal, and Sava knew she’d be feeling that a lot throughout the weekend. She ran two warm-up laps, getting acquainted with the car and testing the responsiveness of the brakes and the throttle. Once her tyres were at the right temperature, she got a radio message to give it hell, and so she did.

It was complete radio silence in the Carlin garage as everyone, including Yuki, sat and watched the rookie on her first hot-lap. She got a purple first sector, green second sector, and purple third sector, putting herself at the very top of the timing tower. While the practice session had only been active for around eight minutes, she had already beat two other drivers who had put in preliminary hot laps. Marcus relayed the time to Sava, and when she asked for the fastest time out of a qualifying session from the year prior, she groaned in frustration.

“Can I run a few more out laps and get comfortable with the responsiveness? I know I can do better.” Sava pleaded, and Marcus quickly agreed. If she thought she could get a better time than the one she had already given them, then hell they’d let her run all day. After four out-laps, she was brought in for a quick refuel and to look over the data of her hot-lap in comparison to Yuki’s. He was braking later, but Sava was getting better acceleration out of the corners. She knew now just how good the brakes were and considering she was known throughout the European karting scene for braking extremely late, she knew she could get better times, and maybe knock a few tenths off her entire lap. By the time she was finished looking at the data, everyone on the grid had put in multiple flying laps, and she was confident that whatever she pulled out now would be a decent comparison of her speed to the rest of the grid. With two more out-laps to get her tyres and brakes at the perfect temperature, she was off again.

Purple first sector, purple second sector, purple third sector.

As her name flew up the timing table, the Carlin garage waited with baited breath, to finally see Sava Dvorakova land at P1, four tenths quicker than the next fastest, Juri Vips.

“No fucking way.” Amelia mumbled, her eyes trained on the initials of the girl she had been following around for the past two days. Similar reactions were happening over in the Renault garage, many of the team who spoke with the girl earlier that morning tuned in to catch the first performance.

Qualifying later that day followed a very similar pattern. Finishing P2 behind Juri Vips, their times separated by one one-thousandth of a second. The real test was to see if the Czech could keep up the pace in their sprint and feature races over the next two days.

Those boys had hell to pay, and sure as shit, Sava was gonna come collect.

#pierre gasly #Pierre Gasly fanfiction #Pierre Gasly imagine #Pierre Gasly x reader #pg10 #gasly #formula one #formula 1 #f1 #f1 fanfic

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vegetandbulma · 3 years

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i'm gonna post my top 3 naruto movies that aren't the last or the one where everyone has different personalities since those are the two most popular movies. i think. anyways!

also all this shit is based off kakashi...mostly...leave me alone i'm a simp for this man.

1. will of fire

-based around kakashi so...yes please daddy.

-the book he gave sai absolutely killed me and how sai uses it throughout the movie😭 i love that dumbass kid.

-DAD MOMENTS! well more like naruto being like no way in hell am i going to let my dad sacrifice himself for the entire village not on my watch!

-when everyone at the end thought kakashi and naruto were gay lovers...yeah little weird.

2. ninja clash in the land of snow

-DO I NEED TO EVEN EXPLAIN THIS ONE

-kakashi looks damn fine. just a fucking masterpiece. *chef's kiss*

-literally the only reason i've watched it a few times because the princess is annoying as fuck for awhile.

-but also my son (sasuke) is in it so that's also a plus.

-but mainly kakashi.

3. guardians of the crescent moon kingdom

-this one is probably my favorite when it comes to kakashi content.

-first, their outfits. love them. love seeing my man in short sleeves.

-MORE DAD MOMENTS! there's a couple of scenes where naruto is mouthing off to someone and kakashi just walks in and grabs him while covering his mouth. i don't know why it's so funny to watch but it is. man just walks in like "nope time to shut up naruto".

-the BEST dad moment. the villain is beating the shit out of naruto and kakashi gets mad and says "that's enough" and "you'll regret that" in a really low angry voice. shit made me wetter than my ex did.

-also i think kakashi had a hard on for one of the captains. being the bisexual king he is!

-and finally, kakashi in a circus performing outfit. with an eye patch. no i am not making this up.

-also rock lee! and a tiny little monkey named keke!

so if interested those are my top 3 movies for naruto. go check them out if you want. or if you just wanna simp like i do.

#naruto #naruto shippuden #shippuden #kakashi #kakashi hatake #naruto movies #yeeeeeeee

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mermaidsirennikita · 2 years

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where does conrad ricamora rank for you amongst MR DARCYS

Wow!!! Thanks for giving me the opportunity to RANK DARCYS (that I have seen)!!!!!

Matthew McFadyen as Mr. Darcy, Pride and Prejudice (2005). I think this one is nigh impossible to beat for me, tbh. He is so tall. He is so intense. Matthew McFadyen is one of the greatest actors of his generation imo, and this is the one time he channels all that energy into a truly sweeping female gaze-driven romantic hero and the gazebo scene shall not be denied.

Colin Firth as Mark Darcy, Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004) and Bridget Jones's Baby (2016). Perhaps the most Colin Firth role to ever Colin Firth. The true Colin Firth Darcy. Yesterday, today, tomorrow, anywhere, any time, any position. Nice boys don't kiss like that--yes they fucking do!!!!!!!!

Conrad Ricamora as Will, Fire Island (2022). I would say that this is really more of a tie or 2.5, but Mark Darcy edges him out by a TINY bit because Mark Darcy got to fuck and has more screentime. Neither of those things are Will's fault. Will should've fucked!!! My one critique of the film!!! Otherwise, perfect. He is adorable and he is hot and he is steadfast and he is funny and it's just a killer performance. Also, Will and Noah have fabulous chemistry and we get a rain scene, and he's a hero and I just love him.

J.J. Field as Henry Nobley, Austenland (2013). I actually really like this one, mostly because he's so uptight and bitchy, which is what we love in a Mr. Darcy. Also, I enjoy his grand gesture in the end quite a bit.

Colin Firth, Mr. Darcy, Pride and Prejudice (1995). He largely wins 5th place because he is Colin Firth. I actually do not really enjoy this miniseries. I find it pretty bloodless and boring. Colin Firth is really good in it, objectively, but I don't feel like anyone else is giving me shit and it's a lot for him to carry on his shoulders.

Martin Henderson, Will Darcy, Bride and Prejudice (2004). To be real, Martin Henderson is like... fine, but they could've cast someone more interesting as Will, and there are probably some problematic aspects going on with his entire character (it's been a while since I last watched), and Naveen Andrews is here as Mr. Bingley and that's PRETTY HARD TO LOOK AWAY FROM. But I do find Will and Lalita's dynamic very cute. It's super "early 2000s romcom slap slap kiss UST" and I am... trash for that. I remember liking Martin and Aishwarya's chemistry, even if he could've easily been played by someone more... more.

Daniel Vincent Gordh, William Darcy, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries (2012-2013). Bro remember when this webseries had the internet in a chokehold lmao? Anyway, this Darcy is fine, but he's just... fine. I was never that into the tension between him and Lizzie, though tbh, a lot of that may be because I found the webseries version of Lizzie pretty irritating.

Elliot Cowan, Mr. Darcy, Lost in Austen (2008). This mini is very cute, but I wasn't into its Darcy, I didn't think he was suitably romantic, and I think there is a not-insignificant part of me that rejects the idea of Mr. Darcy ending up with anyone who isn't Lizzie.

#pride and prejudice

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portsidewonderland · 3 years

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Okay, I’ve been wanting to write this for the last three weeks, but I’m finally - finally - sitting down to do just that.

First, I’m a Rogan shipper. I’ve been a Rogan shipper for the last 20 years, but in that time, I’ve grown, I’ve experienced my own sense of love, and I’m a writer so I’d like to think I’m familiar with structure, characterization, and the like.

Second, I’m focused on the film franchise, strictly speaking. Just wanted to make sure that is clear.

Having said that, when I discuss how utterly wrong the X-Men franchise is, I’m talking about from a story standpoint. When I speak of Logan and Rogue, if that ship isn’t your jam, fine, but the points I make still stand.

Finally, spoiler alert for all of the movies.

Okay, I think we’re ready to jump in.

1. After the first movie, everyone forgot the heart of what made the first movie so special: Wolverine & Rogue

I don’t necessarily mean together. I mean, the movie focused primarily on Logan’s story and Rogue’s story. It was told through THEIR POV. This is important because, essentially, we’re asked to connect with these two characters AND WE DO.

The dialogue, the acting, and their stories (which reflect each other’s as well as stand on their own) draw us in and we are hooked.

Even the critics thought some of the best scenes are the ones Logan and Marie share together. Multiple critics discuss chemistry, how they add to the scene, etc.

Regardless of whether you ship them or not, there’s a compelling story between the two. This vulnerable, slip of a girl is the most powerful X-men out there (or one of) and this growly, fierce angry, broken man who’s been alone for so long that out of everyone he’s met and seen, THIS girl brings him to his knees.

And it’s because she isn’t scared of him.

Even after watching him beat the shit out of his opponent, even after seeing the claws threaten humans and slice through a barrel of a gun, she still thinks, I can trust him.

And when he catches her in his trailer, she STILL isn’t afraid of him. She gives him lip. She calls him out on his shit.

That’s how she manages to slide through the cracks.

And that is BEAUTIFUL.

I’m not here to talk about the performances, but Jesus Christ, I love this scene so damn much. The chemistry RADIATES. The glances, the confusion, the curiosity, and the attraction. (Sorry not sorry, it’s there on both parts, I’ll die on this hill.)

Anyway, the first movie is about how this girl brings the savage, feral Wolverine to his knees. How she gets him to STAY. How she gets him to open up.

Yes, Logan wants info on his past, but he’s staying for Marie. We all know it.

When he threatens Jean after first waking up, Jean is scared. And for good reason, obviously.

But Logan STABS Marie with his claws, and guess what? She’s still not scared of him. She’s worried about him.

This is THEIR story.

Do you really think Wolverine is going to go running around in leather for anyone but Marie? Yeah, I don’t think so. I mean, he literally STABS HIMSELF IN THE CHEST to free himself and get to her.

He PROMISES her that he’d take care of her. Do you think Wolverine bullshits? Hell no, he doesn’t.

And that’s why....

2. The whole Jean thing was just not great.

Okay, can I tell you something?

I don’t see Jean as a sympathetic character. She’s engaged to Scott and suddenly, Wolverine comes strolling in and she can’t get her shit together?

I mean, okay, I get it, let’s be real.

But Scott isn’t a bad guy. He nay be a dick, but he treats Jean well. Because we’re not in Cyclops’ or Jean’s head, we as the audience don’t see any marital/romantic issues between them. Hence, when Jean gets flustered by Wolverine to the point where she lets him goad her into reading his mind, she knows what she’s doing. She likes it. She likes Logan’s attention.

Not because she likes Logan.

(I read this fic where basically Jean tells Logan he could have been anybody, and I thought that was so perfect)

But because he’s giving her attention. He makes her feel desired.

And she leads him on.

Right there, I don’t like her, and I think that’s why a lot of Rogan shippers don’t like her is that she has no problem toying not only with Logan’s feelings, but with Scott’s.

But that’s not even the worst part of this.

At the end, when Logan asks for Marie and Jean makes her comment, she adds, “I think she’s taken with you.”

Like - why would Jean say that? Why mention it?

That’s petty ass shit right there.

To me, what she’s trying to do is align herself with Logan as adults and belittle Marie for having a little crush on him. Like it’s so juvenile.

And the worst line of this whole movie is when he says, “Tell her my heart belongs to another.”

Want to know why?

Because the writers/director haven’t SHOWN this. This line is forced here to TELL the audience that we should be shipping Jean and Wolverine. It’s sloppy writing. It tells me they think the audience are idiots.

Really, Logan?

Jean has your heart even though you completely go against Tall Dark and Feral to pick up a girl, then stay at the school with her, leave a fucking mansion to bring her back, make a promise to her, go after her after she’s kidnapped, stab yourself in the chest, fling yourself on the Statue of Liberty AND RISK YOUR FUCKING LIFE TO SAVE ROGUE’S JUST BY TOUCHING HER and you want me to believe your heart belongs to Jean????

Please, tell me, why the FUCK should I buy that?

Oh, because they’re the same age?

LOL no.

Anyway, I didn’t like Jean’s characterization because of that. Because she’s leading people on, because she needs to put down Marie’s feelings after her ordeal because of her insecurity, because of it all.

Which is why I’ll never ship them together.

Logan is at his worst when he’s around Jean.

Anyway.

And Jean is just the worst.

3. They took something meaningful and they fucked it

Logan promises to take care of Rogue. Do you know important that is for both of them as individuals and their relationship?

Rogue only goes back because of Logan. Not for anyone else. Not even Bobby. She comes back, she stays, for Logan.

Where do we see that after the second movie?

He’s so goddamned focused on Jean, on everything about her, that he barely notices that Rogue is ready to get the cure.

I’m GLAD they got a scene together. Because of their looks.

I am.

But shit.

It’s like Logan has completely forgotten all about Rogue, and I’m sorry, but after that first movie, I just can’t buy that.

I can buy that he leaves to check out his past. The dog tag scene is one of my absolute favorites. That’s perfect. Makes sense.

(Also, side note: Fic is so beautiful about this but he isn’t afraid to touch her. Like, he doesn’t HAVE to play with her hair but he does. It’s playful and flirty. It IS. He could have just said he liked her hair BUT HE HAD TO TOUCH IT. And this is HUGE for Rogue because honestly SHE’S afraid to touch and of herself but if Logan isn’t afraid, she stops being afraid - if that makes sense.)

But seriously? He’s not calling the mansion, not writing to Rogue?

I don’t believe that for one second.

This is why I will never watch The Wolverine after that first time (I refuse especially after the director said he was contemplating adding Rogue at the end and didn’t and FUCK EVERYTHING.) because he just leaves because he’s upset about fucking JEAN

I’m sorry but the Wolverine isn’t ABOUT Jean.

If that was the case, we should have had point of views between Logan and Jean in the first movie, not Rogue.

We should have SEEN their development, but we didn’t.

We’re TOLD it.

I’m sorry, but how do you want me to believe that the big bad Wolverine runs off to Japan because he’s sad about Jean? Like, so he’s just going to leave Rogue alone with all of those threats? Are you fucking kidding me?

Show them keeping in touch or SOMETHING. You can’t expect me to see such a huge transformation arc in Logan in the first movie that just gets shit on in every other movie (besides the second). Because that makes Wolverine look like a big, gigantic ASSHOLE and I get that he’s supposed to be that way, but NOT with Rogue.

Which is why Days of Future Past pisses me off as much of the rest them (I’m only discussing the Rogue Cut because I refuse to acknowledge that Bryan Singer - who gave us the first movies - regulated Rogue to such a fucking small cameo.) because Rogue was treated as garbage.

Now, I’m going to assume Logan doesn’t know about what really happened to Rogue because no one told him. But honestly? If he cares about Rogue the way I know he does, he should be asking about her every single time he and Xavier talk.

I love that Logan can sense Rogue when she steps in to help. I love that Rogue refuses to let go of Logan’s mind even in the heart of danger (@bigfrogbestfrogs has an awesome breakdown of these scenes). But I’m appalled at how Kitty is chosen before Rogue? Like, even when coming up with the idea for this movie, why not involve Rogue more?

I refuse to discuss Bobby and her together at the end.

Fuck that.

4. The timelines

Look, I’m not even going to go into the shit that is the timelines.

But honestly?

Fuck everything about that.

I get Singer wanted to retcon X3, but I don’t care.

Based on Apocalypse, the future still sucks so everything failed and then the movie LOGAN takes that shit and amplifies it.

5. LOGAN (the movie)

I’m sorry, but this movie is amazing in some ways and sucks in others.

Want to know why?

Because it takes everything about what made the first movie great and emphasized it.

Laura is too young to be a love interest, so clearly, it’s paternal, and I’m here for it.

But there are so many parallels between logan and Laura and Logan and Rogue that for Logan not to say anything or feel anything in a way tgat tells the audience he’s feeling something just boggles my mind.

Even if he carried HER picture or played with the dog tags and thought of her, something that shows the audience he remembers her, dammit, and she MEANT something to him.

But FUCK how could he NOT?

And that’s why the scene where he’s reading that comic book and he sees himself saving Rogue is so poignant.

Because his gaze lingers.

I mean, obviously I’m assuming she’s dead (which is bullshit but whatever). But still.

And then when he’s dying and Laura is holding his hands and you get that prophecy of him dying with his heart in his hand and I loved how they paired it with the Logan and Rogue song. I loved that callback.

And if the films in between them weren’t such shit, it would be enough.

But it’s not enough for me.

There was so much potential and everything got shit on and it angers me soooo much.

Anyway.

That’s me venting.

Luckily we have so many talented Rogan fic writers and that our ship has survived 20 years.

But still.

What could have been...

Shit.

#logan x marie #wolverine x rogue #Logan x rogue #Wolverine x Marie #Anna Marie #wolverine

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chalkrevelations · 3 years

Text

Huh.

Well, this is not the next episode reaction you were expecting, but a while back, in the middle of the night, while I was ready to cry from working on a pharmacology paper, out of nowhere, Youtube threw up Street Dance of China S3 Ep1 at me. And yeah. I am, admittedly, f’kn weak for a dance show. (There are enough SYTYCD episode reax on my old Livejournal that I feel there’s no point denying this.)

So – no, actually, wait. FIRST of all, I do NOT believe the “towel vote” we ended up being given for the opening routines from the four captains. That was the most blatant bit of bullshit chicanery I’ve seen in my LIFE, and I say this as a person with a ton of SYTYCD episode reax on my old Livejournal, and I also say this not because Wang Yibo ended up last (well, not entirely), but because I saw Wallace Chung’s routine. As someone closer in age to him than to the other three captains, I have to give him props for trying, but come on, man. The critique that Yibo got from random contestants – if the subtitles are to be believed, so I realize this needs a grain of salt - basically boiled down to “it was too good for the stage lighting.” :hands: Also, I saw your face at the reveal, Wallace, and you were as shocked as I was. No way you got more towels/votes than Wang Yibo. Not unless there’s some super wild undercurrent of nostalgia propping you up, which, I guess could happen, because literally all I know about pop culture in China, current or otherwise, is filtered through Tumblr and Youtube, both notoriously suspect, but … anyway. There’s got to be a TON of behind-the-scenes manipulation going on for Yibo to be rock-bottom with last pick of teams but then also to end up with THAT pool of possibles. Are you kidding me with this?

ANYWAY, what I wanted to say is that I actually really like Wang Yibo here, and it’s not just because he’s the only captain I have even a sliver of familiarity with, and it’s not just because Lan Wangji was banging Wei Wuxian. I do realize all of this is influenced by whatever edit they’ve decided to give a particular captain or contestant, but I’m impressed with the way Yibo immediately starts team building by getting his group into a warmup, getting them dancing together, getting them dancing with him before they have to worry about dancing for him. (I mean, come on, Jackson Wang. The way to get people to stop being nervous is not to say “Stop being nervous! It will make you fuck up!”) The way Yibo immediately recognized and responded to his group’s concerns about that one dude copying someone else’s routine probably also bought him a lot of return investment. He’s dressed to work it, in his sweats and his flannel (what IS that fake-leather TAC vest and random leg holster-looking thing, Jackson Wang?). He’s convincing me he really loves to dance, he can’t hold still while he watches the contestants, he’s wandering over into other captains’ turf when it sounds like there’s a dancer performing who he might like to see, he’s being the best Yibo he can be, and I’m grooving along, wind in my hair, totally down for this ride. He’s also adorable at the beginning when all the other captains are like, my goal for this season is to slaughter the competition and dance on their graves! And he’s like, well, I’d like to … make some friends? And learn some new stuff? I don’t know if the perpetual Humble Student schtick is natural or persona, or whether it’s general or specific to dancing, but it’s working for you, my dude. This is also made better (read: ironic), by the fact that it’s immediately before the towel reveal, when he flips over to utter disbelief and gets all sulky for a while over the “fact” that his dance routine got the least votes.

Also, OH WAIT. This is where that clip of Yibo dancing with his crew ALL OVER HIM came from that I saw floating around a few months ago, isn’t it? You’re telling me those guys had never danced together before and had like, three minutes to throw together that routine? I’m even more impressed than before. Meanwhile, the towels symbolize courage and challenge, Mr. Emcee? OK, fine, cheesy reality show blah blah whatever. Can we get to the dancing now?

I’m going to put the rest of this behind a cut, because it got super long, because it turns out, when you watch in 5-minute increments, it takes two and a half weeks to get through a single episode, but you actually can see and have opinions on all 5,328 contestants, plus every single one of the captains’ battles. Meanwhile, I’m trying to convince myself this is not going to be another series of episode reactions, but 1) I do have the benefit of not having a ton of hometown media giving me a next-day play-by-play, so even though this is six months old, everything’s a surprise; 2) I am, admittedly, f’kn weak for a dance show; and 3) it’s easy to watch in 5-minute increments between researching drug interactions in hypothetical hypertensive patients with stable ischemic heart disease, erectile dysfunction, and seasonal allergies. So, I guess we’ll see. It’ll be slow going, though, because I don’t ever have two and half hours to sit down and watch an ep cover-to-cover – if it happens, it will likely keep happening in 5-minute increments. Meanwhile, there is a metric shit-ton of nattering below the cut, so caveat lector. No, seriously, I kept adding to this little by little until it became a monster. Hashtag long post (remorseful).

OK, I am generally out of my depth here, as this is not at all my area of dance not-really-expertise, but some reactions:

Team Wang Yibo: I can see why he didn’t want to choose between Colin and Dian Men – Colin might have been a touch better technically and a better showman, but Dian Men didn’t seem to have a single wasted move – but, also, my dude. Yibo. You maybe should look a little bit less stunned and overwhelmed by the mere presence of Colin, it’s giving me ideas about your taste in men. Continuing with the powerhouses, I probably shouldn’t even attempt to critique Klash, but I did feel like he was a bit stiff in some of his footwork; that final V kick, though, shit, that’s what having that kind of upper-body strength is for. Bouboo … I mean, excellent flexibility and control, of course, but mainly I’m just terribly amused that Yibo got last pick of teams but somehow ended up with the guy who’s literal world champion, and who’s just as useful for getting into the other captains’ heads – without even trying – as he is for his talent. And then there’s a montage of Yibo giving out towel after towel after towel, and my dude, you cannot keep up this pace. There are still too many dancers to see, and you don’t have that many towels. AAANNNND Towel Battle #1 (See Footnote 1).

Team Jackson Wang: I do like Gai Gai, although that may be influenced by the fact she’s working in the twilight area between hip-hop and contemporary that I have more familiarity with - but also, I suspect she’s pretty good in her genre. I thought Xiao Jie was inconsistent and didn’t stick the landing on his initial attempt, so I have to give you that hesitation, Jackson, even though you’ve somehow ended up the villain in my inner narrative for this show, for no particular reason I can yet discern. Maybe it’s that you’re the direct competition for Yibo’s team in the towel battles. Good enough. Anyway, Xiao Jie definitely stepped up his game for the battle with Bingo, so I can kind of see why both of them got a towel, but we’re not even halfway through this, and most of y’all are giving away towels like you have an endless supply. Yang Kai is a fucking menace with fantastic musicality, and I’m just gonna say it and take the fallout - I think he gave a better performance first time out of the gate than any of Yibo’s powerhouses did. Whatever power Klash has got, whatever skill Bouboo has got, Yang Kai feels more explosive and engaging, at least in these initial showings. He’s going to be one to beat, I’d hug him too, if he was on my team and was going to help me WIN. Yibo’s probably lucky that happened during his little stroll over to check out the competition, so that he can see they’re definitely competitive and be prepared for it. Also, Jackson, I have to admit - that face you made when Chao really kicked in? That was the same face I made, because wt actual f, you have a literal secret weapon – secret because he CAME FROM NOWHERE and NO ONE EVEN KNOWS him, how is that even possible, how did he get that good – fluid, creative, controlled, incredible musicality - without anyone having any idea who he even is? And then there’s a montage of Jackson just giving out towel after towel after towel, and my dude, you need to slow down. You can’t just be like, “THEY LOVE DANCE WITH ALL OF THEIR WHOLE HEARTS!!!!1111!!!!11!” I get it, but everyone there loves dance with all of their whole hearts, and there are not enough towels to send all of them on to the next round. ANNNND, Towel Battle #1 (See Footnote 1).

Team Lay Zhang: lol at how diplomatic you’re being, Lay Zhang – your team’s fierce roar startled you, OK. At this point, I suspect you’re the street most likely to have a knife fight break out before this is all over. I do like Alex, I think he’s got a lot of interesting, super-clean details in his moves, and he’s engaging - I cannot BELIEVE you made him battle that dude whose moves were so mushy, Lay Zhang, it leaves me doubting your ability to judge this thing. At first I thought maybe you were just looking for an excuse because you wanted to see Alex freestyle, but then you actually said something about both dancers being equal, and my estimation of you plummeted, and also sadly, my sound dropped out for the actual battle, including the part where the clearly inferior dancer fell over and then accidentally POPPED ALEX ONE IN THE EYE, and I TOLD YOU SO. I do agree it’s a good idea to make dancers in the same genre do some battling, so you can kind of plan out your towels and put together a team with broad strengths, instead of giving out towels like you’re making it rain for the first 20 contestants, and then you have 1,375 more people to get through, with 3 towels left, as EVERYONE ELSE seems to be doing, so it’s nice that at least one of you guys is thinking – if not actually acting - strategically. That was clearly not even a contest, though, GIVE ALEX HIS TOWEL and send him to the next round. Xiao Bao is hilarious, with his concern that his team captain, who’s into krump, which is “beating,” isn’t going to appreciate his waacking, which is “slapping.” I also don’t know a whole lot about waacking, so thanks for the primer, Xiao Bao, and don’t worry, your performance is just as engaging for those of us who don’t know what we’re watching as you are generally. You deserve that towel for your ability to interact with and engage your audience, alone. Lingo is a good solid performance, although he’s got his team captain strategizing edited over some of it, and here’s the thing: we are 1:56:00 into this, at this point, with another half hour to go, and all of you are starting to disappear into the sea of dancers who are very good at what you do, but at generally the same level? Anyway, Lingo, I approve of your ability to interact with your audience (read: your captain) to ensure engagement, too, so keep that up. Annnd, we actually haven’t seen that much of you guys, but it’s time for Towel Battle #2 (See Footnote 2).

Team Wallace Chung: I’m glad Su Lian Ya insisted on performing, I thought she started off slow but warmed up, and that ending was creepily fantastic and had me spontaneously grinning at the screen in delight. Then we lose sight of this group for a really long time, actually. We go back to find Wallace putting through a couple of urban dancers who we barely see, but who apparently claim to have some choreography experience, and he really likes that. TI shows up, and they’re solid, but honestly, not as good in this performance as they were in some of the stock footage the show threw up to introduce them, but Wallace remains super-excited about the idea of choreography and sends at least choreographer Zhang Jiang Peng through to the next round. And then, we really haven’t seen that much of you guys, either, which maybe doesn’t bode well, but it’s time for Towel Battle #2 (See Footnote 2).

FOOTNOTE 1, aka TOWEL BATTLE ONE, Team Yibo vs. Team Jackson, 3V3 freestyle: First of all, I have to say, I love Yibo - Mr. I Just Wanna Make Some Friends And Have Some Fun - being all, “I have three crappy white towels I’m stuck with for coming in last place that I can’t use to send dancers to the next round and that I DO NOT DESERVE, and I am getting BACK the colorful towels that ARE RIGHTFULLY MINE. I am coming for whoever is in my way.” Team Yibo is Bouboo, Klash, Dian Men, and OK, given what we’ve seen so far, that’s the safe choice, but honestly, I think we’re just taking some things for granted right now, and I’m not sure they actually have given the best performances so far. Yeah, I said it. Team Jackson is Yang Kai, Chao, and Xiao Jie, and … ok, on that last one, I think you probably could have substituted Bingo, but all right. Yang Kai is a definite yes. Chao will be great if he can stay out of his own head and not psych himself out, but given what we’ve seen so far, he’s an obvious pick. First round, Yang Kai vs. Klash, and Yang Kai is still a fucking menace, with super lines. Klash definitely stepped up his game for the battle, and I can’t get over the upper body strength he’s got, to get that kind of airy bounce in his moves, but to be honest, I can’t even be mad the first round went to Yang Kai and Team Jackson. Second round, Yang Kai is still … y’all, the beautiful lines from this guy in his poses, I can’t get over them, but I think he doesn’t have the stamina, his footwork is getting sloppy. Bouboo also steps up his game for an actual battle, his fluidity and control is amazing, and yeah, round to Team Yibo. Round three, Xiao Jie gives it a decent effort, but the polish isn’t there; meanwhile Bouboo is still in champion mode, and I was kind of surprised this was a split vote and went to another round. Xiao Jie absolutely surprised me, coming back stronger on his second try, although I suppose a more familiar genre helped, but Bouboo continues in champion mode. Round four, Chao looks like he’s going to throw up right before he steps out there, and then as soon as the music starts, it’s like, he doesn’t even think. The music just moves him. I feel like his dance vocabulary is more limited than Bouboo’s, though, and Bouboo’s flow is amazing at this point, so I feel like the judges just want to drag this out and see more dancing when we go to one more round. Strong effort all around, but yeah, round four and two towels to Team Yibo. I can’t really complain about that. I do feel like Yibo’s powerhouses have been holding back until now, though, and I’m not sure how I feel about THAT.

FOOTNOTE 2, aka TOWEL BATTLE TWO, Team Zhang vs. Team Wallace, 3V3 w/ captain: lol, Team Zhang really wants someone to pick the Sailor Moon song because they know Xiao Bao and his waacking will tear it up. Anyway, Team Zhang includes Lingo and Xiao Bao, who does not get his Sailor Moon song and continues to be hilarious in his disbelief about being chosen to participate in this battle, when he’s not looking almost as sick as Chao from Team Jackson before HIS performance. Team Wallace includes Su Lian Ya – and honestly, despite how I’m getting ready to bag on him for the entire rest of this battle recap, I like that Wallace put one of his female dancers up there for the battle - and some dude named Ba that they haven’t given us any footage of, up ‘til now, at least that I can remember and who I … don’t even know has been formally given a towel and sent on to the next round, yet? Oh wait, he must have, because there’s talk in the pause for choreography about somehow using the towels during the battle. Wallace relies on Su Lian Ya and Zhang Jiang Peng to choose Ba, and then Ba ends up choreographing a lot of the performance, at least from the edit we see. I continue to feel you may be in over your head, Wallace. This feeling … is not assuaged by your performance in the first round, which is fine, but not really up to the level of almost anyone whose name I’ve bolded so far in this entire recap. Also, using the towels was a cute idea, but it doesn’t translate well, and Team Wallace has a lot of wasted time throwing the towels around instead of actually. You know. Dancing. Lingo gets a credible solo during Team Zhang’s performance, and even though Xiao Bao is clearly lost during a good bit of his backup dancer duties, he manages not to throw up, which – given this team’s general skill level – should be enough to give them the first round, EXCEPT SOMEHOW Team Wallace gets the point from the judges, who then try to justify this inexplicable decision by saying Team Wallace had better interaction, I guess because of the hot mess with throwing the towels around, but adding that Team Zhang was more scattered, which what? More scattered than the hot mess with the towels? I’m not buying this. I can’t tell if they’re propping up Wallace or fucking with Lay Zhang’s head, but I’m having bad acid flashbacks to the many and varied ways dance show judges will try to gaslight you, telling you that things you just saw with your very own eyes did not actually happen when it’s right there! On camera! Visible, despite whatever edit bs you’re pulling! ANYWAY, they’re definitely managing to fuck with not only Lay Zhang’s head, but Xiao Bao’s, and Xiao Bao still doesn’t seem to have his choreography down, but they manage to pull it together enough to take the second round, which to be honest is kind of a muddled mess on everyone’s part. The only one who really stands out to me on this go’round is Su Lian Ya, but OK, Team Zhang might have had it slightly more together as a unit. And then, yeah, OK, I think they were fucking with Lay Zhang’s head, because we then find out that, holy shit, the song the show powers-that-be chose for the tie-breaking third round is that gd Sailor Moon song, and we can all see the writing on the wall. Poor Team Wallace is no match for Xiao Bao, who frankly, carries this entire round on his shoulders without breaking a sweat and barely needs any backup dancers to do it. There’s some ridiculously dramatic reveal of scoring, with the judges dragging out their decisions like this was any actual contest - I’m beginning to suspect that some of them grew up with Wallace Chung posters on their bedroom walls - but finally, round and towel to Team Zhang.

Cut to a little bit of Next Time On, and wow, the first two-and-a-half-hour episode is over, and we aren’t finished with the initial round yet. It’s gonna be Christmas before I make it halfway through this season.

#street dance of china #sdoc episode reax #should i put yibo in the tags for this?#sure #i guess #wang yibo #anyone else?

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