#if literally anyone and i seriously mean ANYONE deserved to win at least one race it would have been him

[christiangeistdorfer]

IVAN CAPELLI at the beginning of the 1987 FORMULA ONE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

[black-coffee-and-sugar]

Listen, I actually couldn't finish this episode. Like I lost brain cells, got ingestion and finally KO-ed because I could NOT grasp the plot. Not even seeing Lena again made this enjoyable for me. But here's what I got:

- I wonder how many takes Thomas took to say Nxyly's full name without biting his tongue off

- also I am so sorry Thomas that they had you sing. And yet somehow that wasn't the most cringe thing to happen in this episode

- Nia and Kara desperately assigning blame to themselves instead of just, idk, working together to fix the problem. Who cares who's fault it is??

- Alex jumping in front of kara when mxy brandishes the PZ projector is the only thing I liked

- Kelly's absence felt so odd after 2 back to back episodes of her front and centre

- Nia thinking that Kara would drag her for making a mistake makes me wonder if these characters even know each other

- kara: "I should've told you guys about Nxyly". Yes you idiot you absolutely should have! Like I get that they don't wanna bring it up but like how is ignoring what happened to her any better? Do they not do any Intel sharing?

- the fucking zookeeper is still here?!?!?

- look I wasn't expecting Lena to be talking to kara on the phone, I know better than that, but I had hoped it would at least be Nia considering that Lena and her have been bonding over their moms and it just makes sense??

- andrea's titty window sans kara or Lena to see it. What was it all for?

- I understand Lena using Andrea's resources to help her out and shit and I'm actually surprised the writer's remembered she doesn't have access to the LuthorCorp jet anymore. I honestly wouldn't have batted an eye if she did tho.

- the way we haven't had ANY scenes of dialogue between kara and lena aside from 6x01 and only ONE line from kara to Lena since then. Like are they actually going to brush everything under the goddamn rug? We heard from Alex that they've forgiven each other and it seems that way too but we haven't actually had the chance to judge that as an audience and it's (checks notes) 11 episodes already???

-Kara is back and yet Lena doesn't seem full. Kara is back and yet she hasn't been vulnerable with lena or with anyone really. Or was that all a lie?

- Nxyly is actually kinda hot in this episode. Interesting development there

- the team actually fighting a giant pussy cat and more brain cells have died. If they were hoping it would be amusing like the Legends fighting a giant Beebo, spoiler alert - it was not

- mxy and Nxyly and even the king has some keysmash names but one imp is actually named Jared? Just fucking Jared. Christ

- Lena being bullied by a bunch of Canadians is hilarious and I say this as a Canadian. Like Lena has stood her ground against Lex, Lillian, SG, an interrogation room filled with judgemental pricks, fucking Reign and yet, she looked two seconds from crying when denied her hotel room by some fucking Newfies. Get the fuck outa here.

- not a single Tim Hortons run in this entire episode. Are we sure she even went to Canada???

- at one point, I was rooting for Nxyly to win.

- so not only did they bring back that god awful wig that they actually had the audacity to make footage with it? That thing needs to be snatched and thrown into the sun like the trash monster.

- Katie looked so done in this episode and I don't even blame her. I suffered second hand embarrassment on her behalf. Those lines, her behaviour. It's like what the fuck happened to the Lena from the past 4 seasons?

- the mean bartender says "I've seen you on the news running arm in arm with a bulletproof alien" and the places my mind went is probably why I didn't pay any attention to the rest of the episode.

- so lemme see if I have this right. Lena's mom visits the cave lady in her dreams but never once thought to visit her traumatized little daughter?

- am I supposed to be upset that they killed an abuser? Because I'm not

- so much porn shots of the town car driving up and down some sketch and lonely road

- did Google maps really lead Lena to some random cave?? Bruh

- Lena's scenes felt so disconnected for a minute I thought I was watching a completely different show.

- aluminum foil on the props lord did they just say fuck it and made a Dollarama run for the cheapest 200ft roll they could buy?

- Kara being a mentor to Nia for the first time since that Nia centric episode last season. God I hate it here.

- they do remember J'onn is a shape shifter right? Why do we need an image inducer? I get the little Lena is still with the team crumb but it's stupid.

- still no word on M'gann huh

- yo since the Luthors are technically perceived on Earth-Prime as "good", what trail of bodies is this bar lady talking about? This isn't public knowledge and Lena's mom only killed 1 dude who frankly deserved it.

- sigh. We're really doing this witch Lena thing then.

- kara stop trying to reach the good in people! Just stop. When has this bullshit EVER WORKED? Some people are just too far gone. Accept it.

- stronger together has truly lost meaning on this show

- Alex and Kara being so willing to hold much less use the PZ projector is utter bullshit. Also they just have that thing lying around for any grabby hands to take?

- what the actual fuck is Kara's arc this season? Or Alex? Or poor J'onn. The man has been seriously neglected.

- kara is supposed to be the most powerful being on the planet and yet this show continues to nerf her abilities. God I missed the days of S1 when Kara looked like she could fuck shit up.

- also when is kara going to be the focus of her own show again? Are we ever going to properly address Kara's issues? We got two episodes of James processing his trauma and only 5 mins of flashbacks in 6x08 for Kara and a few fleeting moments sprinkled across the last 5 seasons. Ridiculous. Like it won't diminish her as a character to seek professional help, it won't make her any less of a hero. Think of how impactful that would be and the message that could send about the importance of mental health.

- glad to see a promo for this important episode next week (I honestly can't wait - Kelly in a head wrap is so personal to me y'all) but please I'm begging you, do not make the issue of race come at the expense of kara's intelligence and awareness. She's a journalist, she's seen xenophobia and written about it, she's been friends with James for years. Kara knows about racism. Please show that.

Needless to say I did not enjoy this episode at all. I was happy to see Lena again but all her scenes were just hard to watch. I feel like so much of their very limited time is being wasted and there's still so many things they haven't touched upon yet. When exactly are we gonna get to it? Better question, will we ever get to it? Probably not.

Like I wanted to see the super friends communicating, leaning on each other, character growth, being truly stronger together but no. They're giving us literally anything but that and it's frustrating.

[freckledbodty]

Actual written out thoughts on Sk8′s final two episodes...

Note: this gets very long, sorry, and also it sounds really negative? Don’t get me wrong, I loved the show a lot, it just happened that I wish the ending was different haha!

(Shout out to @airisu7425 for telling me to pick this up! Thank you!!)

I also won’t get into the half-relationship that they don’t really commit to because I fully expected that.

TL;DR:

Adam is trash

Reki should have beaten Adam or raced against Cap-Guy instead

Ending episode should have been Reki vs. Langa 100%

Shadow deserved a girlfriend

Episode 11: Reki vs. Adam

To start off, goddamn it I love Reki's whole character and journey in this show, it was perfect. After what he'd been through, him being subbed in for Shadow made total sense, and seemed like a fantastic way to get him back into skateboarding and making peace with his own inner demons and all that. I even really liked how Adam goaded Reki into it with that card - it felt very on brand for everyone, and worked well for the moment. The idea of Reki going up against Adam was something I was hyped for, because it was the perfect way to round off his character development. Adam represents everything that ruined skateboarding for Reki, and I was so desperate to see him beat his ass.

You can probably guess where this is going if you've seen the show...

I already knew from gifs online that the final race wasn't between Reki and Langa (which it should have been, but more on that later), so I knew somehow Reki would lose but... I thought it would be done better than this.

I'm trying very hard not to just rant about how Adam is a monster, and instead talk about the race, but there is no way he should have won like that. Winning against Adam would have been the perfect end to Reki's character arc, and honestly, for Adam too: it's be an amazing comeback for Reki, and Adam would have lost to this kid who was no natural talent like Langa, but just fucking loved skateboarding. (Not to mention how Reki beating Adam for Langa's 'affection' or whatever Adam thinks is happening, would have been a beautiful slap in that bastard's face).

I get that Reki losing and still being happy about it is very him, and I'm not complaining about that: that is equally a great end to his arc, but it should not have happened against Adam.

You cannot tell me that anyone, even Reki, could have enjoyed a race in which they were beaten, abused, and mentally tormented. Like... that's just not satisfying for anyone, surely?

So, I see two possible ways this episode should have gone:

1. Reki vs. Cap-Guy

(I don't know Cap-Guy's name still, he just stared at Adam longingly the whole time, so he's Cap-Guy now).

These two racing instead would have been amazing, and just as good an end to their story. Cap-Guy has already been proven to be an amazing skateboarder, as well as one that plays by the rules unlike Adam. Having Reki go against someone like him, who will give him a fair but challenging and serious race would have been perfect! That way if Reki lost, he could still have enjoyed it, and Cap-Guy could still have that moment of seeing Reki happy despite losing.

2. If they had to stick with Reki vs. Adam...

Well, for starters, Reki should have won, but if they were really against that, then he should have really lost.

By that I mean, it should have happened just as it did, but Reki's skateboard should have broken just before he got to the finish line, and he should have crashed and fallen before he crossed - maybe also injure himself again in true Reki fashion. Then Adam, in a fit of fury that this kid made him fall off, should have won the race afterwards, and Reki should have remained lying on the floor, unable to finish.

Then we could have had this amazing moment where Langa and then the others cheer Reki on and convince him to crawl or limp over the finish line - because they also know at this point that winning isn't the point, it's all about Reki getting his love back for skateboarding and finishing what he started. We also could have had a great moment of the crowd losing respect for Adam and all cheering for Reki to cross and Adam being mad that no one cares he won.

Episode 12: Langa vs. Adam

At this point in the series, I feel like Adam should have lost all respect from the crowd. You know, considering that he attacks, molests, and abuses everyone he goes against? I know humans are shitty, but the crowds should have started to lose respect for him after the Cherry incident, and then completely after the race with Reki. The fact that anyone is amazed or interested in seeing Adam do anything but lose and crash and burn is really annoying to me.

So... puling Adam out of the zone... that whole thing.

No.

Just yikes. No.

Bad guys don't need these magical redemption moments where they're completely forgiven with no effort from themselves just because the protagonists realised they'd forgotten how to 'have fun'. Like, no Langa, this guy was literally planning on you to possibly die in this race and he's tried to kill or at least seriously injure most of your friends. You don't need to make him have fun with you, you need to call the police.

Anyway, now I've seen the whole episode, I can say for certain:

The final battle should have been Langa vs. Reki

Yes, it would have missed the big 'dramaaaa' of the fight with Adam and the whole zone thing, but it would have been so satisfying. Langa can still have his moments of realisation, and there could have been loads more sweet moments of just enjoying skating again, and you could even still have the hug at the end where Langa hugs Reki without knowing which of them won.

Anyway... last minute ending sequence thoughts:

Why is Adam just... still here? Like... why is he not in jail? I don't care that it was him twisting the police or whatever, get him the fuck out of here, he sent numerous people to hospital.

Reki grabbing Langa to protect him from Adam was adorable, but it could have been changed to him protecting him from Shadow doing some stupid move or something.

Speaking of... JUSTICE FOR SHADOW. HE SHOULD HAVE BEEN ALLOWED TO GIVE THE FLOWERS TO THE GIRL HOW DARE YOU NOT LET HIM HAVE THAT MOMENT.

Um... what did Reki say to Langa in the car? Like, did I miss something or was that never explained? It seemed pretty important?

Also, we all agree that Langa's happiness is Reki, right? Right?

And there.. in the final few seconds is the race that should have been the last episode.

Overall: this sounds really negative in the post, but I really enjoyed this series! So glad I listened to advice and picked it up!!!

[thestanceyg]

Darcyland Drabble Race the Second

So here’s my contribution to another drabble race. Again under the cut because there’s a LOT.

Quantum 1 “Oh my god,” Jane said, flopping down on to the couch next to her. “I had forgotten this show was even a thing.”

“It’s my stay home from school sick comfort show,” Darcy said as she pulled her blanket tighter around her. The chills she was experiencing were no joke.

“Man, I wonder how the creators of Quantum Leap feel now? Like…that tech kinda actually exists, even if it’s classified.”

“I don’t think they know about it Jane,” Darcy said with a fond roll of her eyes. “You know, on account of it being classified and all.”

2 “The fuck does this word mean?” her dumbass lab partner asked.

“Which word?” she asked with a put upon sigh.

“Quantum,” he said, pointing to literally the first question.

“Thor wept,” she muttered under her breath before turning to him more fully. “Here,” she said, pointing back to the textbook. “Definition’s right here. I’ll even read it to you. A discrete quantity of energy proportional in magnitude to the frequency of the radiation it represents.”

“No need to be a bitch about it.”

She idly wondered if killing him was a possibility. “Sure sure,” she said, sugary sweet. “Since I’m such a bitch, don’t worry about me helping again.”

3 “I don’t think the quantum physics work that way,” Fitz said with a tilt of his head as he looked at the projection.

“I mean, I didn’t either,” Darcy agreed, joining him, “but I also don’t doubt our modeling software. Something’s happening here that’s unexpected, and that means either we have something wrong, or there’s something we have yet to figure out that’s acting on everything.”

“You know what that means?” he said with a smile.

“More research dates,” she said before kissing the tip of his nose.

“Can’t wait,” he said before claiming her lips.

4 “Quantum Laser Tag is the best!” she yelled, highly offended. “I can’t believe you just besmirched it’s good name!”

“Err, all I said was that laser tag was kinda lame.”

“It is not!” she practically whined. “Okay, dude, maybe you’ve not had good laser tag experiences, but I have to say that does not mean you get to shit on literally the greatest arena in at least the tristate area.”

“You’re…really passionate about this,” he said giving her a look she couldn’t decipher.

“So is this your way of bowing out of our first date?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Hell no,” he said, smiling.

5 “I’m just saying, that the names at this bar are not scientifically accurate,” she complained. 

“Jane. Literally none of us give a shit. We are here to get shitfaced and giggle over our jobs being somehow alcohol themed,” Darcy reprimanded her. 

“I’m definitely having a Quantum Blast,” Helen said, sidling up to the bar.

“Really?” Darcy said giving her a disgusted look. “I mean…there’s something about adding the word ‘blast’ to it that turns me off from it.”

“Fair,” Helen agreed. “But it has triple sec in it and I’m in the mood.”

Darcy tilted her head in acknowledgment of the wisdom.

6 “I promise to never play with the quantum field again if we can just get out of this alive,” Darcy said more to herself than anyone else.

“What?” Scott asked.

“Just promising myself to try and stick to my field in the future should I survive whatever this is.” She gestured to the everything around them that really defied understanding.

Scott nodded. “I wish I could make a similar vow, but it’s kinda my field now. Though this,” he looked around a bit, “is indeed disconcerting. I could, err, try to make it up to you when we get out of here.”

“Are you asking me on a date?”

“Yes?”

7 “Nope. Not happening. I will not be teaching quantum physics as my teaching assignment next semester. It’s not my field. I would have to do my own research just to feel like I was giving the students an adequate course,” she said as soon as the department head had offered her the schedule.

“Well you don’t have a lot of options here. You’re still a candidate and not a post doc so you don’t get to argue with me really.”

“This is some serious bullshit,” Darcy groaned. “But seriously, Johnson would be way better at this. He even has done research in this field.”

“Yes well…”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Darcy groaned. “You’re doing him a favor and I’m the one that has to deal with the consequences?”

Nebula 1 “And if you look here,” the professor droned on as he used his laser pointer, “you can see a nebula that is starting to die.”

“Kinda like me in this class,” she muttered under her breath. The guy next to her laughed, but covered it with a cough. She looked at him and winked, and he honest to Thor blushed. Well damn if that wasn’t the cutest thing that she’d ever seen.

She grabbed a scrap of paper and wrote her name on it and slid it over to him.

He read it and smiled a bit and wrote back.

Fitz. Nice name. She couldn’t wait to be screaming it later.

2 Nebula was very murderous and Darcy kinda loved her for it. It seemed like there was a lot of deep seated anger that the woman was ready and willing to take out on anyone and everyone. You had to love her unapologetic rage. Darcy couldn’t help but admire how she didn’t give a shit if someone thought it made her less attractive because anyone dumb enough to voice that sentiment would probably end up with a knife in them. Was it wrong that she was a little turned on?

That thought made her come up short.

Shit. She didn’t have time for a crush.

3 The fabric technically had nebulas all over it, though the fabric name had the word galaxy. In the grand scheme of things it really didn’t matter, but it annoyed her for some reason. It seemed that all sorts of little things were bothering her lately, and she couldn’t find the reason. Why should she care that she had “galaxy fabric” that was actually nebula fabric? She would make the damn pillow covers and then she could tell her friends it was nebula print. Giving up caffeine had been a bad idea. It made her crabby. She should probably reconsider her idea to stop drinking coffee.

4 Nebula Swirl was possibly the best flavor of ice cream she had ever eaten, and it was looking like she would only be able to eat it for one more month if something drastic didn’t happen. She took her cone and snapped a picture and posted it to Instagram with the tag SaveGalacticCones. Maybe someone would see it and drop some cash their way. It wasn’t their fault that the freak storm had damaged the property and left them paying off heavy repair bills. They deserved to thrive, if for no other reason than it was the ice cream of her youth and she had so little to remember her childhood by.

5 “I don’t research in the Horseshoe Nebula,” she said with a frustrated sigh. “In fact, I don’t even look within a million light years of there. So please explain to me in very small words why you think your project should get any of my grant money.”

“Because I need to fund my research Dr. Witherow said. “It’s as simple as that. I need more funding and you just won a lot of money. There’s no way you’ll need all of it, so umbrella my study under your project and we’ll both win.”

“No, dude, we won’t ‘both win.’ That grant is actually just one of three for my project because it doesn’t cover everything.” Thor save her from entitled scientists.

6 “It looks kind a like a nebula” Jane said as she looked at the giant bruise on Darcy’s hip.

“I guess that’s fitting because the pain is out of this world,” Darcy tried to joke. It didn’t quite come off as carefree as she had hoped, but that was possibly because she was an hour out from her next pain pill and the current one seemed to have mostly worn off.

“Darce,” Jane said with a bit of warning in her voice. “You’re going to let me coddle you because that’s what I need. I think you do too.”

Darcy sighed. “I know.”

7 A burst of nebula like light flashed before her eyes as the hit landed.

She didn’t pass out, but it was a near thing.

“You will do what we want, Dr. Lewis!” the man spit at her.

“No. I won’t,” she argued. “And you hit like a little kid.”

The man’s face turned a red she didn’t realize was possible before he backhanded her, hitting the already blooming bruise from the earlier punch. “I think you will change your mind.”

“I’d rather die.”

“That can be arranged,” he sneered.

“I doubt it,” she countered. “You need me too much. And if you keep hitting my head, it’ll be that much longer before I’m even capable of doing what you ask.”

Vortex 1 Of course it was a solar vortex. Or, at least that’s what she was calling this abomination in her mind. She wasn’t sure what else to call what appeared to be a tornado of sunlight that was leaving a path of fire and destruction behind it. Why couldn’t normal things happen to her?

She would have to blame Jane. Shit like this never happened to her before New Mexico.

Of course, it could also be that this kind of madness would still happen to her even if she had never been an intern, but blaming Jane felt familiar. That woman definitely owed her ice cream for changing her life like this.

2 “It’s not a vortex” Dr. Strange said, the pinched look on his face clearly telling him what he thought of Darcy and her inability to call it whatever name he had given his portal thingy. She knew it wasn’t a vortex. It was just fun to razz him and see him get annoyed.

He was kinda cute when he was annoyed.

Well, he was kinda cute regardless, but his cuteness was focused on her whenever he was annoyed because 99% of the time it was her fault.

It wasn’t healthy, but it was working so she’d deal with the mental health implications later.

3 “I promise you that’s not a tornado,” she said to her storm chasing boyfriend. “I know it looks like one, but, very unfortunately for the entire town of Lawton, it’s actually an anomaly called a temporal vortex.”

“What does that mean, Darcy?” he yelled over the roar of the storm.

“It means that if we don’t get out of the path of that thing we’ll end up in an alternate reality that may or may not include a breathable atmosphere.”

“Right,” he said, his hands tightening on the steering wheel. “I’d like to live to have another date so one storm evasion coming up.”

4 “It’s called The Vortex,” Helen said reverently as she placed what Darcy thought was a fishbowl on the table. It had six straws sticking out of it.

“Why?” Pepper asked, looking at the drink cautiously.

Helen shrugged. “Does it matter? What matters is it tastes like sunshine and amaretto and goes down easy and will get you shitfaced if that’s what you want.”

Jane grabbed a straw and took a long slurp. “I need to get shitfaced and Helen isn’t wrong. I don’t care what’s in the Vortex. It can be made of baby souls and I will keep drinking it. It’s a fucking delight in my mouth.”

5 “I am sick of the Polar Vortex and it’s technically only been here for three hours,” Darcy said as she cuddled more into the blankets and tried to burrow even further into the warmth of her boyfriend.

“I’m not exactly excited about it either,” he agreed, “but at least it means we have guaranteed time together. That’s been a rare occurrence lately.”

Darcy nodded and debated it it was worth getting her arm out of the blanket to grab her hot chocolate.

“Darce?” he asked.

She turned to look at him. His eyes were soft. “I love you.”

Her breath stopped. He hadn’t said that before. Maybe the Polar Vortex wasn’t that bad.

6 “Sedona is weird,” Spencer said with a frown.

“Are you talking about the vortices?” she asked.

“I am,” he said, studying the map they had been given at the little tourism station. “I just. I can’t believe people believe in this stuff.”

“Ehh,” she said. “There’s a lot of shit I wouldn’t have believed in before it happened to me. You know, like Asgardians and such.”

“Maybe,” he agreed with pursed lips.

She pointed to a spot on the map. “Look, that one’s on a trail. We said we were going to do some hiking, so we’ll go there and treat it scientifically.”

He perked up just like she knew he would. “Sounds like a plan,” he said with a kiss to her cheek.

7 “I am a vortex of emotion,” she said before throwing herself on the couch.

Pepper handed her a glass of white wine. “What happened today?”

“He’s just so cute,” she practically whined. “And he has no idea that literally every time I’m talking to him I’m trying to flirt. I swear I used to be good at it.”

“Perhaps Bruce is ignoring it?”

Darcy shook her head. “I don’t think so, but I also hate that idea. Please don’t ever say that again. How can I live if he doesn’t like me back?”

“Do I just attract drama queens, or is there something special about you and Tony?”

Darcy gasped. “How dare you think I’m not special. You take that back!”

Supernova 1 “Why are you listening to Oasis on repeat?” Jane asked as she walked into Darcy’s apartment.

“Not Oasis,” Helen corrected, “Champagne Supernova.”

“Oh, Darcy. No hon.” Jane threw her purse on a chair and went to the kitchen and started going through the freezer. “Okay, here’s the plan,” she said as she came back into the living room. “I am going to make us some very alcoholic fruit slushies, you are going to move on from Oasis to some 90s Alanis, and then you are going to tell us what happened.”

Jane disappeared back into the kitchen and Helen looked at Darcy.

“And then we plot revenge,” she added.

2 “I promise you there was never a Gusher flavor called Supernova Blast. That wasn’t a thing. You need to stop trying to convince me it was. I might be dumb, but I am not that gullible.”

“Aww, babe! Who said you were dumb! I’ll be happy to knock some sense into them.

“Darce, that’s not the point,” Peter said with a whine. “The point is you cannot make me believe it.”

Darcy turned her laptop to show him the Google Image search with Supernova Blast gushers.

“Your reality is so flippin’ weird,” he said as he stared at the screen.

3 “It’s, like, more than a nova. It’s a SUPER nova.”

Darcy just stared at the man in front of her. This was the last time she allowed Clint to set her up on a blind date.

“Riiight,” she said. “Ummm, I’m sorry, but I need to go to the bathroom. Be right back,” she said as she grabbed her purse and praised the heavens that she hadn’t brought a coat too.

She grabbed a waitress as soon as she was out of his line of sight. “Hi, I need to escape a bad date and I will pay you $40 to let me out a back door.”

The waitress grabbed the money. “Done.”

4 “And next up is Supernova!” the announcer roared. Darce waved to the crowd as her name was called. She hadn’t expected to love roller derby as much as she did, but it truly was a life saver. The team was amazing, it allowed for stress relief, and it was something that was just hers. No being in Jane’s academic shadow. No being in her brother’s professional musician shadow. No shadows. Just Darcy.

As they set up for the first jam she looked up to the crowd and saw some signs with her name on them. She had never felt more alive.

5 “Excuse me?” the man at the counter said, “Are you really telling me that you’ve never heard of the Supernovas?”

Darcy gritted her teeth. “Honestly, dude, it doesn’t matter if I have or not. What I asked was whether or not you had any Aquabats.”

“But I can’t let you listen to that when you could be listening to the Supernovas.”

“I think you are missing what exactly your role is here. I came here looking specifically for a present for my brother, and I came to you to help me with it. In exchange, you should be telling me whether or not you have it, not making me want to leave because you won’t stop forcing your terrible bands on me.”

He stared at her in annoyance.

6 She imagined that this was what it must feel like at the center of a supernova. She had never felt so warm and alive and bursting. His simple confession wasn’t something she had ever expected, but it knocked the ice off her heart and had made her realize that she loved him too. She loved him in a consuming way that she hoped would eventually burn down to warm contentment and not eat them alive, but she couldn’t deny that his love had changed her and she could never go back to not knowing how this felt.

7 “You can’t use the supernova attack in this setting!” Steve said.

“I don't’ see why,” Darcy argued. “What’s stopping me?”

“Because that’s not how it’s supposed to be used.”

Darcy made a tsking noise at him. “Stevey, you can’t say that you want to follow the spirit of things here. You knew I was the type of person to always argue I was technically inside of the rules to do crazy shit when you asked me to join your game. So you either let me cast this or you kill me so I can go play with people that enjoy my unorthodox approach.”

“Fine,” he sighed. “Roll please.”

[medea10]

Medea’s Worst Year of All-Time Anime/Game Superlative

Nobody saw this year coming…except for maybe Barbara Walters! Who could have predicted that this year would bless us with Australia burning, the entire west coast of the U.S. set on fire, stupid people setting fires because they wanted to reveal a baby’s gender, murder hornets, Ruth Bader Ginsburg dying, an almost war with Iran, serial killer mascots arrested, policemen killing unarmed black folks for having a counterfit $20, policemen killing unarmed black folks for breaking up a fight, policemen killing black folks for holding sandwiches, policemen killing unarmed black folks for fucking sleeping, a wide variety of “Karens” coming out of the woodworks, the end of Bojack, the end of Steven Universe, the end of Empire, and a pandemic so huge it’s killed the economy, canceled fun, and given the U.S. president the dumb-fuck idea of injecting bleach to kill the virus!?

SERIOUSLY, WHO COULD HAVE PREDICTED ALL OF THIS WAS GOING TO FALL IN OUR LAPS LIKE HOT COFFEE ON THE CROTCH?!

At least there was anime this year.

…

At least there was SOME anime this year.

…

Biden won the election and Vickeblanca came out with Black Catcher this year.

Hey internet, it’s Medea here to give you her trashy opinion on this years anime and games that she’s watched or played. Because for some reason, my loser-ass loves to do out-dated as fuck memes! I shouldn’t complain, this shit brings a lot of attention to my page every year when I do this. Yes, 2020 was a complete dumpster fire so large that Domestic Girlfriend is crying foul. Many of us had to go on lockdown and ended up binge-watching the entire 957+ episodes of One Piece. I did no such thing. I am one of those “essential workers” so I didn’t hunker down for 9 months straight. But when I was home, I was watching anime. Actually, I would have done that even without the pandemic. I’m an introvert and find the human race to be deplorable.

You all know how this goes. I go over the best this year had to offer me. I had to search really hard to find the good in this year, especially in the anime world. Many things had to be put on hiatus or were delayed to a later date. Just a reminder, I don’t discriminate in what year the anime or game came out. If something came out in the happier times of 2007, that anime or game counts! Let’s get at it!

First Fandom of 2020: Interspecies Reviewers

Did anyone expect a fan-favorite of 2020 was going to be a hentai? Did anyone have on their batshit 2020 bingo card that a hentai was going to grab everybody’s attention? At the beginning of the year, my mind was set on the Railgun sequel and Eizoken. It wasn’t until licensors, streaming sites, and TV stations in Japan dropped this series that I started to pay attention. And got immediately hooked! It’s about three men going to different brothels and reviewing their time with the ladies. And these ladies are of different species! So with every bang comes possible enlightenment, new kinks, or a night of having your dick sucked off more than humanly possible. This anime blew away all of my skepticism and first impressions right out the window. Maybe it’s because I’m a degenerate and am often curious about sexual content, but this was a guilty pleasure of mine this year.

Favorite Main Character of 2020: Moroha from Yashahime

I know the majority of this story is going to revolve around Towa and Setsuna, but can we please focus a little more energy on the spunky, quarter-demon girl?! I know they’re pitting Moroha as the comic relief, but I’m hopeful that she’s going to surprise us one day. We fans of InuYasha would spend the past decade and some change wondering what InuYasha and Kagome’s daughter would be like. This year, we got our answer with Moroha. She’s got this wild side to her, probably due to the fact that she’s spent her entire life on her own. And while she’s silly at times, she can get down to business in a pinch. She has her father’s sense of smell. She has a sword. She’s able to shoot sacred arrows much like her mother. And to top it all off, she has this special rouge that if she puts it on, she’s able to unleash that ¼ demon power inside her and become Beniyasha! Yeah, I know the power only lasts a minute, she’s only 14, give her a break! I will gladly go through another week scratching my head at the confusion this story gives me if I get to see one more second of Moroha and her crazy antics or her bad-ass slaying.

Favorite Villain of 2020: The Devil Believers from Black Clover

This was one hell of a year for Black Clover. It would have been an easy choice to pick the devil and possible super devil that appeared during the elf fight. But I’d like to give a nod to the filler arc villains. And you can’t blame this group for wanting the power of the devil. They’re literally the bottom-rung of the Clover Kingdom and ones with little to no power or mana. So I can agree with why they would want the power of the devil. For one thing, they’d have more power. And for another thing, they’d be able to exact revenge on those who have wronged them. On some occasions I agree with exacting revenge and when it comes to the nobles and some characters in Black Clover, some folks do deserve death. I mean, have you met the king of the Clover Kingdom? Plus, this town and many other poorer towns get looked over by the kingdom. Peasant uprise! Anyways, I thought these people were really crafty in their crimes. I mean, they were able to knock Asta out on his ass with specially made poisons. I was actually hooked to this story of Black Clover (despite it being a filler arc). I know we’ll never see them again as they have been exiled, but it did have me semi-rooting for them.

Favorite Video Game Character of 2020: Honey from Pokemon – Sword & Shield (Expansion Pass)

Sorry Raymond from Animal Crossing!

Honey is the saucy wife of Mustard…I did not expect that to come out the way it did, but here we are! She has one hell of a team you can fight once a day. She looks out for her husband, the dojo, and the students of the dojo like they were her own children by providing food, drinks, and others. However that does come at a price as you do have to give up a sizable chunk of your watts that you collect in raid dens. I’m sure a bunch of MILF chasers were more than happy enough to give her all their hard-earned watts just so they can have their one-on-one moment on the beach with Honey.

What won me over was when that one guy from a rival dojo bad-mouthed her husband’s dojo and she…I think she kicked this guy’s ass herself. I don’t think she used any of her pokemon. Game Freak won’t show it, but we all know she kicked this guy’s ass to a point where he’s begging for mercy.

Honey, for the win!

Favorite Game of 2020: Animal Crossing New Horizons

This game was just Zen for me. I know the release of this game came with some controversy like Gamestop saying it’s an essential business and will remain open for people to get their copies of the game. Hell, I was one of those assholes in line waiting to get a copy on March 20th. Did I predict that a pandemic was going to rage out of control when I got a prepay copy of this for Christmas 2019? NO! I only predict political things, not deadly pandemics! The good news, we social distanced, didn’t catch the covid and got the game.

Anyways, this game has been a non-stop calming and fun ride. I can even forgive their botch-up of Bunny Day. They even have events for holidays I never thought they would ever touch. I mean, does anybody know when Museum Day is? Probably not until Animal Crossing had an event for it! I’ve been able to let my freak-flag fly with designing my island. And this goes way beyond New Leaf for the 3DS. I can make a sign post with the words “Fuck Trump” on it and post it in my yard. I can dig up trees and plant them elsewhere. I can poop in a toilet. I can craft furniture and put my own design on it. My furniture can have Tracey Sketchit’s beautiful mug on it. I can sit on Tracey Sketchit’s face. I am a sick fuck and I don’t care. I can give Raymond and Bob maid outfits. Magical time in my game! My hopes for next year…I don’t know, get the Festivale furniture, get Papi and Olivia to join my island, maybe visit Danny Trejo’s island, who knows, sky’s da limit!

Favorite Het Couple of 2020: Nasa and Tsukasa Yuzaki from Tonikawa

This is one of the most unorthodox marriages I’ve ever seen. But in this 90 Day Fiance world we’re living in, I shouldn’t pass judgement on these two getting married in episode one and not knowing much about each other. Nasa meets Tsukasa as he was about to be plowed by a truck. Tsukasa saves his life. Nasa says she’s beautiful. Tsukasa says she’ll be his girlfriend if they get married. He agrees. She disappears. Four years later, Tsukasa appears in front of Nasa’s front door with a marriage registration form. Congratulations buddy, you’ve got yourself a waifu! In some way, this felt like watching Yamato and Takeo from My Love Story. I was fascinated with them progressing through their relationship. The only difference is that Yamato and Takeo took the old-fashioned route. This couple did everything ass-backwards in terms of having a relationship. But I couldn’t take my eyes off Nasa and Tsukasa’s relationship during each episode. I find them cute.

Favorite Yuri Couple of 2020: Karin Asaka x Emma Verde from Love Live Nijigasaki High School Idol Club

AAAAAAAAAH! I’M IN IDOL HELL AGAIN! Yeah, no kidding! I came this close to putting Miu x Nicole from that abomination 22/7. But thank God for Love Live! There’s no telling if any of the girls from the Love Live franchise are confirmed to be lesbians. But fuck it, all of them attend all-girl schools, no males exist anywhere, and Sunshine gave us Kanan x Mari! Yeah, you know Kanan and Mari is canon as fuck, don’t at me. So naturally, I found more third-years to ship in the new Love Live series. Now I know I should have put up Ai x Rina or Ayumu x Yuu. Especially the latter due to recent events! But Emma x Karin is my OTP.

Now Emma is an exchange student from Switzerland and in coming to Nijigasaki, she first meets Karin and they became instant friends. When Emma said she wants to become an idol, Karin helped her quite a bit. Even though Karin had no interest in being an idol as her modeling career is starting up, Karin would occasionally help Emma out. And surprise, surprise, Karin ends up fascinated with the idol world and Emma helps her come to the light to be herself there. Okay, I’m totally reading this in some fragmented way, but I’m currently playing Love Live School Idol Festival All Stars and the app game has a lot more stuff involving stuff the anime has yet to talk about. Confirmed or not, Karin x Emma for the win!

Favorite Yaoi Couple of 2020: Eiji Okumura x Ash Lynx from Banana Fish

It took me a while to get here, but I finally made it to 2018’s overlooked gem. Forgive me for not being fully caught up, but from what I’m watching at the moment, I’m sticking to my guns and supporting the hell out of this. I mean, I could have mentioned The Titan’s Bride here…but fuck no, I ain’t goin’ down that mess! Ash has gone through a lot, I mean a helluva lot in his past. His cute boy looks have made him a target on the streets of New York, with mafia dons, and with prison inmates. But dude can kill if you mess with him. Then you have Eiji, who is just a literal example of a “pure cinnamon roll (until episode 8)”. These two are as opposite as you can possibly get. Ash is from New York and Eiji is from Japan. Ash likes hot dogs with everything on it. Eiji likes grilled fish and natto. Ash spent the majority of his life killing on the streets. Eiji was a track superstar. You get my meaning. But when we got these two together it’s quite adorable. Ash is really able to change when he’s around Eiji. Ash isn’t some heartless killer on the street about to kill a thug with prosthetic fingers. When he’s with Eiji, he’s a joker that can easily get scared of pumpkins. And even in later episodes, you got these two acting like a husband and wife.

Fandom That You Didn’t Expect to Get Into: Les Miserables – A Girl Named Cosette

Let me explain a little something. Les Mis! I have never seen the play, watched the movie, or read the novel prior to picking up this anime. Not a single one of those! And that’s a bit of a head-scratcher when you realize I was a bit of a musical theater nut in my teenage years. But one thing I do like is when Japan does an anime based on plays or historical events (like Romeo x Juliet or Rose of Versailles). The second I popped in Les Miserables the anime, I wanted to binge watch the whole 52 episode series. It is by no means a perfect adaptation of the Victor Hugo novel. Several key players end up surviving all the way up to the end of the story! But because this was my very first viewing of anything Les Mis, I took to the story of Cosette and was eager to see what was going to happen next in her tale. Unlike the movies and play, Cosette was the main focus of the story besides Jean Valjean and Javert. And thanks to watching the unfortunate stories of Cosette, Jean Valjean, the Thenadiers, Javert, Marius, and the rest, I thought it was time to watch the OTHER adaptations to Les Mis.

…

Russell Crowe sucks.

Fandom That Made An Unexpected Comeback: Higurashi no Naku Koro Ni

Higurashi or When They Cry is one of my favorite fandoms of all time! So naturally when we heard that it was making a comeback, I was excited. It was also very odd that Higurashi was given this sequel or reboot. Ahem! There’s another franchise that needs a face-lift. Umineko still deserves a better treatment. Plus, now that this series was out of the faulty hands of Studio Deen, Higurashi will get the special care it deserves. Believe it or not, it wasn’t just the anime that made a comeback for me, but the manga as well. Since 2009, I’ve read several volumes (out of order) and would every now and then come back to read the story. Back to the anime, this reboot or sequel…you know what, I’m gonna call it a “rebooqual”! This rebooqual sucked me back to the town of Hinamizawa and all the murders. Every week, I find myself comparing the current episode to one from the 2006 version. But then the fourth episode of each arc seems to catch me off guard.

Where are they going with this story and these twist endings to our favorite arcs? I did not expect Rena to turn a simple attempted murder into the end of School Days! I didn’t expect Rika to die in the most disgusting fashion they could think of. Could someone kill Teppei fucking Hojo? I will pay ¥5000 for someone to do that job. So yeah, because I know how much of this plays out and who does what, I’m usually watching and reading while making wise-ass remarks. But I still have fun with it.

Fandom That Inspired the Most Crack: Konosuba

In a year where I caught up with the popular Isekais like Shield Hero and Re:Zero, I found the wacky misadventures of Kazuma Satou to be amusing as all get-out. From the first 5 minutes, I found myself laughing at Kazuma’s misfortune. Seriously, how the fuck do you mistake a tractor for a car, have a heart attack, piss yourself, and fucking die in the first couple minutes to the series? You can only get away with this shit in gag animes! But it’s not just Kazuma’s dumbass, there’s a mage who only does explosions, but loses all her energy after one blow-up. Then there’s a busty, blonde who gets turned on by getting hurt and can’t strike anything with her sword. Anime’s biggest masochist or Cheryl Tunt incarnate, I haven’t decided which one to believe! Then you have this loud, crazy goddess chick named Aqua. She’s also useless about 86% of the time! Watching their unfortunate missions is all the crack that I need to get through this year. Seriously, Darkness is just all kinds of fucked up, but we love her.

Last Fandom of 2020: Yashahime

That’s right, the InuYasha sequel gets top spot here! Even though week after week I find myself asking more questions than when the episode started, I’m still hooked. If you’re like me, you watched and fell in love with the series InuYasha. So if they’re doing a sequel, you’re expecting to see all of your favorite characters from the prequel like InuYasha, Kagome, Miroku, Sango, Sesshomaru, Koga, Rin, and the rest. Actually, no! Quite the opposite! We’ve got Sesshomaru’s daughters, but no Sesshomaru. Rin is sleeping in a tree we think! We’ve got InuYasha and Kagome’s daughter, but they’re M.I.A. None of the girls even know a thing about their birth parents.

Now are these new characters a catch like the ones from the previous series? Some are! The three main girls, yes! Especially Moroha! I’ve already praised her name earlier in the superlative. Towa and Setsuna do take on some personality traits from their parents. Setsuna is definitely serious like Sesshomaru and Towa sometimes has a carefree yet loyal aura to her like Rin. I know I’m always skeptical when a series gives us a sequel featuring the offspring of the main characters. Especially when you’ve got some lame examples like Boruto and Eureka Seven AO (I might retract my diss on Boruto later)! As each week gives us a new episode, we’re unraveling new clues into a lot of things involving our old favorite characters, as well as the new ones. So I have high hopes for Yashahime for the time being!

[glassrain]

Bumblebee:

So, at the recommendation of @timelordsoftherings​ I decided to watch Bumblebee, despite my previous - and rather disappointing - experience with the Transformers franchise. And I’m very glad I did, because I really enjoyed this movie (thanks Aaron)! And now I have Thoughts on the movie (naturally) and I need to talk about them. So, here we go.

(WARNING: Spoilers abound)

* Bumblebee is all kinds of adorable. I love him. He’s this superpowered weapon that could take on the entire army if he really wanted to, but instead he just wants to, like, watch movies and play games and adopt this fragile, pink human girl. And he’s so shy and naive and sweet and earnest. He’s so child-like. And I love that dichotomy, how he’s both at the same time.

* Why do the Decepticons/Autobots have Lips?! WHY? It makes no sense? They’re made of machinery? They hardly need lips to speak, so why do they have lips!

* It’s all so retro and I’m in love with it. Cassette tapes! VCR’s! Overalls! Vintage cars! All the oldie music! *swoons*

* Also, why do the Decepticons and Autobots get into fisticuffs? They are impossibly advanced, sentient, alien war machines. Surely they have a more ... what’s the word I’m looking for? Practical. Surely they have a more practical way to fight each other? I don’t know - throwing punches just seems kinda juvenile and inefficient when both players are armed to the teeth with blades and guns and who even knows what else.

* Okay, but honestly the scene where Bumblebee gets his vocal unit ripped out was devastating. It’s shot in such a brutal manner, flipping from the omniscient perspective of the Decepticon viciously tearing at B-127′s throat, to B’s perspective, with everything glitching in and out, panicky and fading, trying desperately to focus on everything at once. Excellent camera work.

* Speaking of Bee’s perspective - I don’t know how Autobots are created. However, I know for a fact that whoever/whatever created B-127 has at least visited Earth before, because he definitely has a theme going on (heck, Charlie called it within like 5 minutes of meeting the guy). The name, the coloring, the hornet-shaped war helmet - the hexagon pattern of his POV visuals was a nice touch. I approve.

* I appreciated the bit with Charlie’s alarm. Not only indicating the passage of time, but also showcasing Charlie’s depression - because that’s what depression does, it saps your motivation to do much of anything, makes you wonder why you should even get up out of bed at all. But then Bee shows up, and Charlie scrambles out of bed right away - a nice way to show her beginning of recovery, without spelling the situation out for the audience.

* Oh. While we’re on the subject of Charlie’s depression ....

* Can I just say that her mom sorta/really bugged me? Like, her daughter’s clearly struggling with the loss of her father. But instead of making an effort to reach out and actually help, she just comments semi-accusingly on how Charlie always locks herself in the garage; throws movie nights without inviting her daughter; gets a new boyfriend; does little to nothing on order to make Charlie’s first birthday without her dad a good, special one; I’m pretty sure she even blames Charlie for her depression at one point, insisting that everyone else is trying to be happy, and couldn’t Charlie at least make an effort? I know all this makes her sound awful - she wasn’t, not terribly. In many ways, Charlie was enabling her own grief. But depression is hard, and no one does it perfectly, and a little effort on the mom’s part was in order, I think, since she was clearly in a much healthier place than her teenage daughter. I don’t know - she just kinda rubbed me wrong. I didn’t like her much.

* I was genuinely upset on Charlie’s behalf when the boyfriend gave her that book on smiling more. Like, the girl is grieving? And depressed? I would have been mad at him too, if he weren’t clearly such an (well-intentioned) idiot.

* Otis was virtually useless. He should have been removed from the story, or at least utilized better.

* Speaking of poorly utilized characters: Memo. I think he was a super important character to include, since a big part of Charlie’s characterization focused on how she’d isolated herself since her father’s death - Bumblebee helping her open up again and start making new friends was a BIG part of her character development, and I genuinely enjoyed it. I don’t think he was a bad character by any means. I don’t even mind the mini-romance going on between the two. What I did mind is the fact that Charlie’s relationship with Memo took away time I think should have been given to Charlie patching up her relationship with her family. The movie takes the time to highlight the fact that Charlie’s relationship with her family - particularly her mom - has been strained since her dad’s death, but the resolution was virtually glossed over, without any real apologies or conversations from either person. It wasn’t bad, per se, but a bit sub-par. I think the movie should have shifted its focus from “Charlie makes a friend and also fixes things with her family” to “Charlie fixes things with her family and also makes a friend.” That’s all.

* .... I lied. That��s not all. There’s also the fact that Memo is kinda reduced to cheap comedy in the third act; I didn’t like that either. Memo was a good kid, and didn’t deserve that.

* Charlie being like, “I will literally sell you my soul if you’ll give me that Bug”? Honestly Charlie, same. That Bug is adorable - I wouldn’t mind it myself, Autobot or no.

* (Okay but seriously, the Bug is so cute! All the fun-yet-classic lines of the body of the car, the light upholstery - [even if it is a bit frayed on the passenger’s side, I think that just gives it character] - and the vintage center control are all just so cute! I want that car, okay?)

* (I mean, honestly Charlie. You like the Camaro over the Volkswagen? What is wrong with you?)

* THIS scene was so sweet and tender. Charlie’s wonder and kindness quickly winning out over her fear, Bee being so confused and frightened - flinching back over everything, because he’s been hurt before, please stop breaking my heart I didn’t ask for that - but shyly choosing to trust Charlie. Both of them are alone and lost, and find a kindred spirit in each other, with this gentle and almost reverent music in the background. This scene is so soft and good.

* (Also, do you see lips on this Autobot? No. As it should be.)

* Look at how cute he is though!

* The scene where Charlie teaches Bumblebee to hide is too precious for words.

* “I have a good explanation for this .... Okay, no, I don’t have a good explanation for this. But if you tell anyone about this I’ll have to run you over with my car.”

* Charlie’s smile is gorgeous. Just saying.

* Alright. I know this movie is a fictional action flick and all, but seriously. In what universe would the American government just hand their satellites and all their intelligence over to an alien race they just met that day? I mean, I know this took place before 9-11, but that still surpasses my suspension of belief by a fair margin.

* Bumblebee, you can’t just spit out her tapes. That’s rude.

* I couldn’t really get behind the general’s plotline. Which is understandable, because the writers are already juggling so much in terms of development - Bee’s development, Charlie’s development on multiple fronts and backstory, the actual plot - so they really didn’t have time to delve into his story too deeply. They couldn’t really afford to make him much more that two-dementional for much of the film, since he was one of the driving antagonists who never really got much more that a minute of screen time per scene he was in (if that) - and so his about-face in the climax felt slapped on and convenient rather than earned. Plus, his interaction with Bee in the beginning of the movie could have been completely excluded with no major changes to his character. For these reasons, I think they shouldn’t have included him as a Character at all. He was just kinda flat and unnecessary.

* I do think his salute to Bumblebee, and the returning Victory Fist, was super cute though.

* I just lost it when Bee started going to town on the mean girl’s car. It’s been a good while since I’ve laughed that hard at a movie. Maybe it was just how late the hour was, but I thought it was hilarious.

* I love parallels, and the ones going on with Bee/Charlie’s dad were so good.

1) She was working the car in her garage as a way to connect with her lost father, a way to keep him alive, so to speak. “If I could just just fix it,” she tells Bee at one point, “it’s like ... he’ll hear me.” All of these desperate hopes, tied up in fixing her car to save her father. Later, after the Decepticons have left Bumblebee (who also happens to be Charlie’s car) for dead, Charlie is scrambling over him , trying to find what’s wrong, sobbing and chanting, “I can fix this, I can fix this,” as she desperately tries to bring back another dead loved one.

2) In passing, Charlie mentions that her father died of a heart attack. When she’s trying to bring Bee back, she shocks him with the electric guns - they act in a manner that’s extremely reminiscent of electric paddles. Precisely the way one would try to bring back someone who had suffered a heart attack. Whether Charlie witnessed and remembered that and was desperately hoping, Let it work. This time, please let it work, or whether this was simply meant for the audience, it’s still a delightful parallel.

3) The diving, of course. The last time she’d dived was the day her father died. That changes when Bee is under the water, and she once again dives, this time in order to save his life.

4) After Charlie has saved Bee’s life, and then let him go willingly because her place is here, with her family, and not out there with Bumblebee, that’s when she’s able to finally fix her car.

* In so many ways, Charlie gets her father back - or at least overcomes the losses she suffered with her father - through Bumblebee. It’s so beautiful, and touching, and I’m so in love with it.

* Oh, and don’t get me started on their goodbye scene. Bittersweet in such a good way.

* Even without the incentive of connecting with her dad, I can’t blame Charlie for slaving away for so long over that car, because oh. *fans self* That car is a dream.

Okay, this got very, very long and I applaud anyone who made it all the way through. Thanks for sticking around to hear all my rambling thoughts!

[thecinephale]

Best Movies of 2018

My favorite movies of the year were rough around the edges. Ambitious, personal works that were messy and real. There were a lot of big films this year that I personally didn't like that much (or at all), but I really love this list of films and I hope you check them out.

Still need to See: Bird Box, Border, Cold War, Custody, Dark River, I Am Not a Witch, On the Basis of Sex, Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse, Summer '93, The Third Murder, Tyrel, Unsane, Where Hands Touch, Where is Kyra?

Films I didn't prioritize because someone involved has behaved in a way that makes me uninterested in their work: The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Can You Ever Forgive Me?, The Death of Stalin, The House That Jack Built, A Simple Favor

Really Liked: -Annihilation (dir. Alex Garland) -Blockers (dir. Kay Cannon) -Crazy Rich Asians (dir. Jon Chu) -Destroyer (dir. Karyn Kusama) -Let the Sunshine In (dir. Claire Denis) -Mary Poppins Returns (dir. Rob Marshall) -Mission: Impossible - Fallout (dir. Christopher McQuarrie) -The Rider (dir. Chloé Zhao) -Private Life (dir. Tamara Jenkins) -Skate Kitchen (dir. Crystal Moselle) -We the Animals (dir. Jeremiah Zagar) -You Were Never Really Here (dir. Lynne Ramsay)

Really Really Liked: -Eighth Grade (dir. Bo Burnham) -Happy as Lazzaro (dir. Alice Rohrwacher) -Leave No Trace (dir. Debra Granik) -Love, Simon (dir. Greg Berlanti) -Mary Queen of Scots (dir. Josie Rourke) -Nancy (dir. Christina Choe) -On Body and Soul (dir. Ildikó Enyedi) -Tully (dir. Jason Reitman)

Loved:

10. Black Panther (dir. Ryan Coogler)

Finally. Proof that Hollywood doesn’t have to choose between style, substance, and entertainment. Black Panther was the biggest film of the year and also one of the best. With stunning cinematography by Rachel Morrison, inspired costumes by Ruth E. Carter, and an album of the year worthy soundtrack by Kendrick Lamar, Ryan Coogler has broken through the Marvel machine to make something truly special. And like all the best superhero movies the supporting cast is incredible, Letitia Wright being the obvious standout, along with moral foils Michael B. Jordan and Lupita Nyong'o. This is everything I want from big budget filmmaking and it's such an exciting relief to be reminded that it's possible.

9. The Tale (dir. Jennifer Fox)

The Hollywood Reporter recently published an article about the 16-year-old girl who inspired Woody Allen's Manhattan. The woman, reflecting on her time with the director and known child molester, is unsure how to frame their time together. She was underage and knowing what she knows now about Allen, their affair feels different. But at the time she was in love. Reading this article, I felt overwhelming gratitude for filmmaker Jennifer Fox and The Tale, a painful and important movie about her own teenage love affair, about her own rape. Fox's vulnerability and skill not only make this a great movie, but a truly life-changing experience. There is one moment in particular that uses cinema in a way I've never seen before. This is by no means an easy film to watch, but it's really worthwhile if you can handle it.

8. Dirty Computer (dir. Janelle Monáe & others)

This "emotion picture" available to watch on YouTube strikes such a moving balance between pure joy, harsh reality, and cautious hope. Its very existence is a sign that its optimism is not misplaced. Musicians have become some of our greatest auteurs with voices and stories Hollywood would otherwise ignore. Janelle Monáe along with Chuck Lightning, Emma Westenberg, Alan Ferguson, and Lacey Duke created a film that is at once a sci-fi epic, a visual album, a public coming out, a celebration of queerness/Blackness/femaleness, and an ode to everybody different. This year was bleak and nothing brought me more comfort than this movie, this album, and obsessing over Monáe and star Tessa Thompson's relationship.

7. Good Manners (dir. Juliana Rojas, Marco Dutra)

Come for the lesbian werewolf musical fairy tale genre mashup, stay for the complicated explorations of race, class, and parenthood. This movie is overflowing with so many ideas, cinematically and thematically, it's thrilling to watch it all fit together. It's so rare to watch a movie and have literally no idea where it's going and I will cherish the experience of my first viewing (I literally SCREAMED at one moment in a crowded theatre, seriously) while also hungrily rewatching to unpack everything that's going on. I can't promise it will all work for you, but I can promise you won't be bored.

6. Shirkers (dir. Sandi Tan)

As a teenager Sandi Tan made a feature film with her friends and an enigmatic mentor. Imagined as the start of a Singapore New Wave, their dreams were crushed when the mentor vanished with the film reels. Now decades later, Tan's documentary recalls the experience… with the help of the recovered reels. Part memoir/part mystery/part lost cinema classic, Shirkers is about youthful creativity, exploitation, and so much more. Ultimately this is a portrait of an art form. Within its 95 minutes it encapsulates everything movies can do and everything movies take. It's currently streaming on Netflix and a must-watch for anyone who makes movies or cares about how they're made.

5. Widows (dir. Steve McQueen)

Like a Michael Mann movie if Michael Mann cared about things other than digital cameras, Steve McQueen's cold and stellar heist movie lacks subtlety in all the best ways. Led by Viola Davis this candidate for greatest movie cast ever of all time ever does not disappoint. Everybody is so, so good, and it's thrilling to watch this kind of 1970s American genre film through a point of view that doesn't belong to white men. There's a lot to unpack here, with character, plot, and theme, and I've only seen it once, but that was enough to know that this is a capital G Great movie.

4. The Miseducation of Cameron Post (dir. Desiree Akhavan)

Not every queer person has gone to conversion therapy, but I'd guess most of us have doubted our feelings and our identities. What could have easily been a more serious But I'm a Cheerleader instead finds its own purpose, its own humor, and ultimately exists as a still relevant portrayal of the gaslighting we continue to face for just being ourselves. Chloë Grace Moretz gives one of the best performances of the year as the equal parts cool and vulnerable Cameron and my love for writer/director Desiree Akhavan knows no bounds. NOTE: Sasha Lane plays a character who is disabled and Forrest Goodluck plays a character who is Two-Spirit despite not being so themselves. Considering how good the film is otherwise I dream of a version with a supporting cast who understand the experience of their characters.

3. If Beale Street Could Talk (dir. Barry Jenkins)

Like the masterpiece of a novel it's based on, Barry Jenkins third film is an overwhelming tribute to life in the face of despair. Instead of offering hope, instead of suggesting that being Black in America will someday be easier, Beale Street shows how love, romantic and familial, can provide temporary escape and a reason for being. The entire cast is incredible and gorgeous. Every frame is lush, the score is beautiful, and the moments of joy are as moving as the moments of pain. We are so lucky to be alive while Barry Jenkins is making movies.

2. Shoplifters (dir. Hirokazu Kore-Eda)

I went into Kore-Eda's Palme d'Or winning tribute to chosen family ready to feel grateful for my own chosen family. The friends, mentors, beauticians(!), doctors(!!) who have loved and supported me and made me feel like I wasn't alone these past few years. That happened. But what surprised me was how much it made me appreciate my biological family as well. Like the houses in my favorite TV show of the year, Pose, the makeshift family of Shoplifters ends up being like any other. There are clashing personalities, there are frustrations, there are fights. But more than anything there is care, there is self-sacrifice, there is love. Community is not defined by perfection. Family is not defined by perfection. Kore-Eda has spent much of his career asking the question, "What is family?" and this film provides the least and most satisfying answers.

1. In Between (dir. Maysaloun Hamoud)

I loved my favorite movie of the year so deeply that a one paragraph pitch just won't do. Fortunately, the best site on the entire online, Autostraddle, had me write a gushy review. Read it here or if you're already convinced watch In Between free on Kanopy and then read it: https://www.autostraddle.com/in-between-review-the-super-gay-super-feminist-film-no-ones-talking-about-444114/

Television!

Extremely honorable mentions like how is there so much good TV these all deserve to be in the top ten: BoJack Horseman (S5), High Maintenance (S2), Insecure (S3), Jane the Virgin (S4), Random Acts of Flyness (S1), Sharp Objects, Supergirl (S4), Take My Wife (S2)

10. Killing Eve (S1) 9. Atlanta (S2) 8. The Good Place (S2/3) 7. The Americans (S6) 6. The Bisexual (S1) 5. ACS: The Assassination of Gianni Versace 4. Queen Sugar (S3) 3. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (S3/S4) 2. Vida (S1) 1. Pose (S1)

[lilietsblog]

LETS GO MIRAI NIKKI LIVEBLOG THIS TIME HOPEFULLY WITH SCREENSHOTS

(update: nope didnt work. guess i do have to save the pics separately and not just copy-paste them into an rtf o well)

last time on: is Gasai trying to kill them??? i have no idea last time she was onscreen they (she and Yukki) were drinking soda from the vending machine????

I LOVE AKISE AND HIS FACIAL EXPRESSIONS SO MUCH like theres the normal guy freaking out and then theres this beautiful white haired disaster

meanwhile I think Yuno is??? roleplaying??? like she counts on him being non-responsive to play out her fantasy of being a caring housewife? anyway yeah she's done this offscreen huh. that was a jarring transition

AND SUDDENLY OPENING its somehow SUDDEN every time and I admire that man I love this opening so much and I cant take a single screenshot reflecting how awesome it is because the entire Thing is constant movement so hey Akise whatcha thinking man I love just the CONTRAST Akise:

Other people:

what is it with me and characters who never show their emotions on their face or in their voice but act exclusively based on them??? like theres this very specific anime trope of a white haired character who is stoic as fuck but instead of making rational decisions motivated by human people logic they do 100% self-destructive things based on curiosity / love / sense of duty / whatever the fuck else and in the end they appear to be missing precisely one emotion and that's self-preservation (yes self preservation is totally an emotion look it up) Akise is that exact trope and I LOVE IT SO FUCKING MUCH meanwhile, Yuno is having trouble feeding an unconscious prisoner... what an unexpected problem that could in no way be foreseen. let me guess: she's going to try to wake him up so he can swallow his damn katsudon ah no instead Hinata intervenes. hon SHE BEAT HIM UP AND TIED HIM TO A CHAIR HOW MUCH DO YOU THINK SHE CARES IF HE WANTS KATSUDON. what made you think speaking up was a good idea here

theres a meme of 'ask someone whos not in the fandom to interpret whats going on in this picture' but you know i think random ppl would identify this situation 100% correctly +- who Hinata is to Yukki. this anime is a cultural icon "Aren't you Yukiteru's girlfriend? Can't you tell?" I love the moon logic this anime operates on, that people inside it are forced to work within. Hinata knows how to put it in the one and only way Yuno would be willing to engage with it, ha. Aaaand looks like it's less roleplaying and more delusion. oh Yuno ah she figures out how to make him open his mouth by pressing on his jaw Yuno honey maybe the police wont come after HIM but after the shit you pulled it sure as fuck will come after YOU then again according to Akise it was coming after you anyway I guess I'm morbidly curious as to exactly how Yuno is going to organize Yukki peeing >_< huh, a sock aaaand Akise goes for the win! two skulls alas I already know One Spoiler that they are her parents, and her actions Almost Kinda Make Sense in that dream logic way so I think last time we saw the bodies they were mummies? but now that's definitely skeletons. huh

okay I'll be honest this is a reaction I did not predict this anime keeps surprising me with happenings that make perfect sense in retrospect, I really respect that about it OH IS THIS THE SCENE THAT SCREENSHOT SET WAS FROM NO I THINK THAT WAS YUKKI ASKING HER but Akise what the fuck are you counting on, that she'll come murder you in person??? I doubt all three of you could overpower her in Murder Mode tbh did you see her with an axe oh right you didnt :>

OH HEY THAT'S CLEVER I like how Yuno goes between 100% self-delusion about Yukki and painful 100% sane clarity about the horrible stuff with the other option being relatively normal interactions with Yuuki, memory suppression about murders and cheerful willingness to kill anyone for Yukki I think that second option really is better for her long-term )= you two do you realize she hears you as well maybe shut up okay no not really -I- know she's thinking because of the camera movement and stuff, -they- don't aaand she laughs. i dont think anyone (other than Akise I guess) saw this coming okay yeah looks like the gamble failed. the mind-preservation instinct of retreating into delusion overpowered the more mundane concerns so that's totally ventilation up there huh. I'm not sure if the gas plan will work for her huh so hum moment of truth WILL Akise send the email to the police or was that just a threat? (orrr the police might know already? he might have told That Nice Cop Guy about it) awww Kousaka's dying message is kinda cute

kinda superfluous - the police already know who they're looking for - but nice AHAHAHA POST LIMIT THAT'S KINDA HILARIOUS THAT'S WHY EVERYONE ELSE JUST USED THE MEMO FUNCTION ah no the rank increased fair enough wait what????? what the fuck @ Deus ah okay to clarify: what the fuck @ 8th well hey it worked out! I still quesiton a ventilation duct in a gassing room but hey I guess there was a lot of gas and Yuno didn't see a reason to conserve it and Kousaka's question is of course why the fuck is Yuno in her underwear. I mean... fair enough, I'm kinda curious too omfg

HELLO POLICE I WOULD LIKE TO REPORT A MURDER oh right... bad joke anyway I like how camera doesn't play along with Kousaka, while he's saying he's the ultimate weapon he's literally blocked by Yuno's head. we know who the main character is oh hey Yukki is coming to his senses! but can't talk huh right I figured it'd be the soda

*whaps with newspaper* NO NO BAD YUNO STOP THAT (she's drawn so prettily tho damn <3)

oh my sweet summer child you don't know the rules of this game AT ALL hum and the girls can't escape the same way he did because they aren't tall enough dude she's gone up against like five diary owners already and came up on top every time you don't know who you're challenging

huh she actually agrees to play the game wonder if that's genuine or if she has a plan like, I can imagine she's just been pulled into the situation and the role of the big bad setting up traps enough to enjoy toying with people and not just getting her way at the very least she hasn't axe-murdered him... or Hinata for that matter... yet

SERIOUSLY WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED it definitely wasn't just one event tho. Yuno doesn't act like someone who used to be a normal healthy kid in a supportive environment until One Bad Thing Happened and took their entire world. No, Yuno is acting like someone who'd built up the dissociation/delusion defense mechanisms over a long, long time, like, say, a victim of abuse who finally snapped and then didnt find a way to snap back I just wanna knooooow

OH MY GOD SHE SOUNDS LIKE SHE HAS A PLAN IS IT NECROMANCY IS SHE GONNA DRESS UP YUKKI AND HINATA AS HER PARENTS WHAT THE FUCK hum what did Yukki realize that's not a key is it?

IT ACTUALLY WORKED I CAN'T BELIEVE aaand

yeah at least she didn't kill him... immediately hum

Hinata and Yukki are both tied up so I'm not sure what they can do together behind Yuno's back but I know a foreshadowing shot when I see one for all that this anime keeps genuinely surprising me with twists, it does take care to make the events easy to follow, and I like that this is Quality Storytelling

yeah but it would have shown a Dead End, right??? or does it not work like that because it's like a 'secondary' diary, an offshoot of the 8th??? I wonder

AHAHHA sorry Yuno you're used to being up against diary owners, but so is Yukki, and he's been growing more competent at this too

NICE and she'd given him his own diary -> ???? brilliant decision but seriously if Hinata did something to Yukki wouldn't that be predicted orrr I guess Yukki's actions were actions of a diary owner so when he made a new decision based on his diary (again, brilliant decision) it changed he prediction ooooohhh she kicked the key that wasn't doing anything to Yukki in itself, it just enabled Yukki to act, which, again, the actions of a diary owner three diary owners????? please tell me that's Akise and Mao and oh right Kousaka was the third one the math doesn't add up :x I think the three diary owners would be able to find them bc of Kousaka's Diary and that's the 8th's plan

this must look so utterly surreal from the side

Yuno? You're not going to drug me and tie me up and try to kill my friends, are you? This girl seriously needs to learn how normal relationships work and I Yearn to learn what the fuck fucked her up like that.

BAD MOVE YUNO HE ALREADY TRIED THAT THIS IS THE RESULT

congrats Yuno you Fucked That Up

sorry but... yeah. you deserve this

???? someone in the cast lives in an orphanage??? I'm calling Akise in that case

oh nm it's something else huh

ah that's what it was oh Kousaka everything about you was a bad idea ...

... what

it really, really fucking isn't Yukki acted on information he had, and made the best decisions he had available. but he can't control other people's actions

...are these... the apprentice diary owners? how does the system work, anyway? how does the 8th send them after anyone? Kousaka has no clue...

uh was the dramatic slo mo effect in-universe too??? they were kind of racing on opposite lanes that couldn't have taken more than like. two seconds

see that's not wrong but. you really need to up your girlfriend game dammit im just rooting for Yuno in all this. you go girl. you fight your inner demons and figure out a happy ending for yourself damn that felt like a really long episode. probably because of the screenshots here's a proposition of a new function for the tumblr staff: uploading .rtf files automatically, splitting into several posts if they are too big. thats the kind of convenience the social media is supposed to offer, right? oh hey Murmur's diary! third installment of the You Saved Me series

beautiful

you naive fucking child oh my god Murmur

MURMUR NO

so was this, like, a dream or something? hum interesting

[thepeerieeen]

I'm having a "bad brain day" so I'm gonna binge watch some (presumably shitty) teenage tv, and you never know, I might enjoy it. So I'm seeing Free Rein on Netflix and I'm gonna give it a watch: here are my thoughts below the cut (it gets long, sorry). I should also note that I know next to nothing about horses or horse riding. Also there are probably spoilers ahead.

Ep1:

Nice scenery

She looks uncomfortable, like they've just put her on a horse and told her to smile

Why is Zoe Scottish

Wait nvm

Oh hey, Zoe's cute

The grandad is brilliant I already love him

Ah, no father. Same

Why is there just shit on the side of the road, there are no animals around and I doubt the horses would go to the side of the road to poo

Why does he still have kids drawings on his cupboards?

Digging the teapot

Ah, layered tops. Typical teenage fashion

"The light will come through again" needing that today

Haha "what's a wifi"

At least they represent Jetlag though

Ah yes, one daughter goes missing - send the other one out to look for her. What could possibly go wrong.

Ooh, that acting wasn't great. Though the blonde is actually quite a good actress

Ooh, Raven. Ooh, foreshadowing (I guess)

K but this isn't the type of thing Austen would write

Why is Marcus like 25, the others are like 12 what

He's not even that attractive? (Says the bisexual who is more into women rn)

Horsome - the new fetch

Ah yes, get off the bike, that makes sense

Oh look a wild horse, who'd've ever thought???

Oh wow! Wild horse who is only understood by outcast? This is groundbreaking!

(Jk I'm kinda into this ngl)

An actual Scottish person!

Who's the guy with the cheekbones and why is he so shifty

What happened to the bike?

Oh Derek is obviously in love with the main stable person

Ah yes, stop looking for your sister and go chat to a horse

Bitch number one has arrived

Of course she owns the horse. That makes sense

They've called him hot Marcus jesus what is this

Cheekbones is stealing. Stop being shifty.

Welp theres the first continuity error I've spotted

Cheekbones is stalking now, apparently

Cheekbones is about to be falling in love, I'm calling it

He's also like, twenty tho

Oh shit what why is she being stalked now??

Ep2:

This is clearly a dream though

Are jelly shoes back in fashion? Sweet

I refuse to believe she could hear him from that distance and a closed window

I predict a love triangle

I mean cheekbones has a point

That wasn't a long conversation, like, that woulda taken an hour for me how does the mother do that?

Ah, ye olde fart joke

Bitch number one pulling the "I have lots of money" card

So they're putting cheekbones and Zoe together. I mean I can live with that

Oh my god cheekbones don't be such an arse

You'd think the mother would have worried if her other daughter didn't turn up the the pier where they agreed to meet?

Let's read mum's old diary! That can never go wrong!

They're literally stalking hot Marcus? Thats a?? Wee bit weird???

They're actually letting Mia go on Raven? Wow

Bob is kinda cute actually

I mean... she kinda deserved to fall not gonna lie

Bet Zoe is gonna make the magazine cover. Would serve Mia right lmao

Ok that's kinda cute, cheekbones. At least we know you're human

Wait what? Is cheekbone's name Pin?

WHAT SORT OF A NAME IS PIN?!

And the mother doesn't want the daughter to be riding. That makes a lot of sense. Totally.

Did she even peel those carrots?

Why has no one noticed she's wearing someone else's hoodie?

THANK YOOOOU

Oh shit, cheekbones is stealing the sedatives. No one saw that coming

Ep3:

K but she didn't say you couldn't go to the stables?

Rosie is honestly brilliant

Grandpa and I are on the same wavelength

Pin cam - idk man surely you could just... talk to him?

How could Marcus tell it was too small?? He wasn't looking at her???

Oh my god. Tie up your hair

Of course she's a prodigy, why wouldn't she be

They actually have a secret hip hop dance routine?? I wanna see that not gonna lie

The pun and finger guns have me. This kid is my new favourite character

Rosie, much though I like you, that is a total breach of privacy

Told you Pin cam would backfire

Now Marcus is going to find out about her "recording him"

It's only £10? I wanna go to pony camp.

Bet cheekbones is gonna go into where she just went

Called it

There must be a more subtle way to break into the medicine cabinet than with a screwdriver?

He's obviously not a horse thief? Medicine thief sure, horse thief nah

And I suppose that's Raven telling her it wasn't him, because that makes perfect sense

Ugh Mia calm down

Tbh maybe the parents would be better off separated? But like idk

It's the police, for why

Of course it was firefly that got stolen. I kinda feel for Mia and her bad acting.

Ep4:

How come is Pin allowed to come back even though he was stealing sedatives? That's still kinda illegal?

You're not banned from the stables though, are you Zoe

Rosie you sarcastic legend

She has a point though, what if she breaks her leg

Why is everyone attracted to Marcus?

Puns

Oh look, it pin

.....why do I dress the same way as Pin?

Who in their right mind needs three horses?

Pin is ignoring her - quite right honestly

Ah yes, subtly eavesdropping

I bet Elliot isn't even E

Ben is great

Ben and Rosie are in love. I've decided.

If course Pin is leading the hack

Mr Cheekbones! That's totally who he is! I called it!

He clearly doesn't want to talk, like... maybe let Pin get over the whole getting arrested thing? Idk

Why Becky? I don't understand?

Ah yes, follow the broody horse guy who was stealing sedatives, that can't possibly go wrong and is obviously the best option

Wait so Zoe followed Pin to his house and is now demanding he tells her what he has in the weird crate thing? Wow

And it's a horse. Wow. It's not like this is a horse show or anything

Called it, not a horse thief

Pin’s actually kinda sweet

Wait

Am I attracted to Pin?

I think I'm attracted to Pin

Shit

Decent cinematography there though

Ghost pony is a brilliant story

Wow Mia is such a dick

Now, this can go one of two ways. And I confidently predict Mia is gonna tell Zoe's mum she's not allowed to ride

Called it

Ep5:

Well the riding crop thing Is obviously the mother's

Oh yeah, Marcus is a character

How did anyone actually get close enough to Raven to braid his tail?

Savaaaaaaage

Ugh "like electricity" ughhh

What happened to Rosie?

Grandpa is brilliant and I love him

Why would fixing a radio make it up to Pin? I don't understand?

Those leather trousers though....

They're actually kinda cute together.... what is this

I ship it?

I still find Pin vaguely attractive and idk why

Oh hey Marcus, you're here as Love Interest #2

Oh no, I feel a bit bad for Rosie, I hope she doesn't get bullied

I'm emotionally attached

What is this

Why am I hooked on this television programme

Why

She can't seriously be intending to stay the whole night in the hay? It gets cold at night how're they gonna survive?

Oh actually Rosie might do okay. Cool

Who is gonna clean up all those crisps though?

Ghost pony, again

Pebbles?! Brilliant

I love Becky.

This can not end well

Definition of me on social media

She has five horses? Who needs five horses??

It's gonna be Rosie and crew, not horse thieves

..., that was unexpected

I am also relieved to find out there is no ghost pony

Look at them, stealing the horse.

Or not

Ep6:

Oh yeah, time zones are a thing

Rosie is not a subtle eavesdropper

Ah, a horse show. Why didn't I expect that

£15,000. Enough to, say, help this stable that is running low on money which we have been repeatedly told from the first episode? Let me guess, another, rival stable always wins and there's no way they could never pull it off?

Holloway Riding School. Called it

Can Becky just give away food?

"Keeping you entertained is easy" is it though????

Mate listen to his teachings.

You need your foundations in place before you can get any good?

"Let me go over the jump" "no" *does it* "wow well done"

Ugh she's gonna ride raven

Bet it doesn't go well

That's very Rube Goldberg not gonna lie

One little ride around the paddock will hurt

There's a race? The quads are gonna win

Bob was not made for speed.

And there goes Raven

Because obviously.

Pin looks worried because he has a crush on Zoe. Obviously

And yet Marcus is gonna get all the glory

That cringey ADR

Marcus has a point though, the basics are important

We're unlocking Maggie's backstory

She can't still be upset about a horse that died over 15 years ago?

I ship Becky and Jade not gonna lie

Ugh team lists. I'm calling it Zoe will have made it on despite not even trying out

Yup.

Wait she's reserve on Raven? Why? That's not a good move?

Ep 7:

Mia is such a bitch

Ok Raven doesn't like water, and I confidently predict this is an important plot point

Ooooh Mia just got rejected

So now the Ghost Pony is Emerald

Zoe you are so naive Marcus is asking you to the dance

Becky I love you and the mystery tortilla

Mia hasn't made the cover, I can predict.

I do feel a bit bad for Mia with her not very good father who isn't really there for her

That colour of green is a really nice colour of green. It brings out Pin's eyes. Ew, stop, why am I like this

Pin stop

Is zoe about to be murdered?

I thought the ghost pony was called Pebbles?

Why has Ted suddenly warmed up to Zoe?

Unlocking Raven's backstory

Pins name is actually Peter. Huh

It's nice that the moor pony is getting better enough to eat an apple

She's not on the cover

Pin likes Zoe and I ship it

Tedward

She's on her way to Steel (lol) his heart

Perfect - let the horse who is scared of water jump the water jump what could go wrong. Throw in an inexperienced rider into the mix and it's a perfect combination.

Wait this is actually kinda sweet

A funeral for Emerald is lovely

But the name Edward begins with an E so maybe E wasn't just Emerald

You could fall. IN LOVE. WITH PIN. OH MY GOD PLS

Wait what

Why has the photographer never heard of brightfields

Mia is so stuck up but I quite like her

I definitely did not need to take a 20 minute break just trying to find out how old Freddy Carter was, jesus.

Throwing stones at the windows, teenage stereotypes

They're cute

Ah, he couldn't say Peter, hence the Pin

Oh my god heartbreaking

Now they're going to the dance. Nice one

Oh god is Mia gonna do something to sabotage Zoe and Pin?

Holy shit is Ghost Pony real?

Ep8:

I actually quite like that yellow dress, not gonna lie

I love Becky and so does Jade

It's totally a date don't lie to yourself Zoe

Mia can get tae

Pin don't listen to her

She wouldn't tell you if it wasn't true though would she, Pin you imbecile

Rosie stop sabotaging, your mother is allowed to have friends

Oh shit they were a couple

Wait

What if it turns out Pin and Zoe are siblings

Wait no I'm thinking too much into this

Pin calm it

Marcus be happy

Pin... just.........

bob wyd

They're married.

"I already did" I mean....,

How are they upset by that?

Literally just talk to each other? This would make everything so much easier?

And Raven is still scared of water. Don't blame him, honestly

Ben and Rosie are evil geniuses

Becky is adorable and thinks safety goggles would help prevent death

She also thinks carrots glow in the dark

Wait how does Maggie know about the whole boys thing

Offscreen I guess

I mean I wouldn't wear that dress, but I guess it's okay?

Rosie fixing lights is not going to end well

Yup.

Where did ted come from? How did he get there so fast?

I mean Zoe actually pulls off that dress

Has Becky been murdered?

Oh yeah, Becky has a blog

I don't necessarily understand how or why a ghost pony is scary

Oh wait it's a person

Is it the horse thieves

It is the horse thieves

Why did they wait until dark? That would have been a long time to wait to capture the horse thief

Derek is a brilliant character

Who is very obviously in love with Sam

That barn actually looks pretty good

Pin went with Mia? That's surprising

Ted and Maggie are cute

Ben and Rosie are also cute

Derek and Sam are also a little bit cute

Piiiin don't be a diiiick

Those shoes don't really go with that outfit tho...

Rosie is in the spotlight though and I'm sure she's loving it

Mia go and just stop

Ooh thunder

Marcus is following Zoe who is following Pin who is going home

Oh wait Pin and Zoe are arguing in the rain. I may not be familiar with tropes but I'm pretty sure that they're about to kiss

And they're cute and I ship them

Marcus is just casually watching around the corner. Like a stalker

Was not expecting that?

Of course this is when the horse thieves take Raven

Ok but shouting after him is hardly gonna do anything?

Ep9:

I mean... it wasn't even her horse

That's so Raven

Wait they have security camera surely the thief will be ca- oh there was a power cut

But there was a back up generator?

Wait but Zoe is supposed to ride on Raven in the show? Assuming she has to

Rosie is so extra

Oh my god just like... idk kiss

That highlight tho

"That's what I love about you" pin, do continue

Pin you genius

So now they're off to look for this horse

Why didn't they just have this chat at the stables before they left and saved time?

"If the storm comes in again turn back" so the storm is gonna come in again and one or more of them aren't gonna turn back. Ok

"I am scared of the tooth fairy! What does she need all those teeth for? What's her plan?" Same Becky

Ben and Rosie have a handshake, this is cute

What is her plan

Becky is me with every single person I have a crush on

This is a significant character development for Mia

Ok so the only group not turning back is mia, susie, and Zoe

This is not going to end well

Mia.... Zoe can't control the weather?

That recording is in no way convincing

Wait how big is this island???

Either Mia or Zoe is going to get hurt

Ghost pony?

I mean this is just a bad horror movie now

Oh shit, firefly?

And Mia got hurt. Okay.

Wait so if Mia's hurt, she can't do the show?

Wait so the dad just turned up?

I like that there has been a character development now we sorta understand Mia's actions

So Mia can't ride

Wait what

Who is this and why is she here

Why is that so ominous

Ep10:

Rosie is so done with England

Sam is being pretty chill

Oh never mind

Marcus also has a crush

Still a Pin supporter tho

Rosie is brilliant

I would wear every single outfit pin has worn this season, not gonna lie

Becky is not helpful

And a raven horseshoe? Really?

Wait... nah never mind

Wow the mystery lady from the jaguar was just suuuuper rude to pin

I'm with Ted - it's totally what he thinks

Oh shit wait is Sam a horse thief?

Oh she is! Okay

That was a twist

I did not see that one coming

Don't just ignore Pin?

So now she just tells her that Raven is still on the island? Okay

Yaaas Pin! Go with her!

What signal? You can't just say wait for my signal and then not say what the signal is?

Wait but Zoe is getting the stolen horse and can't ride

Wait pin what are you doing

Oh the horseshoe

Wait if Mia could have ridden anyway, why put Zoe on?

I get the whole sprained ankle thing but she's just doing it?

Oh look, clever parallels between Mia doing the show and Zoe escaping

But what happened to Pin

And Rosie, where is Rosie

Oh look, water

Any bets Raven overcomes his fear and makes it across

Well look at that!

Also there's pin, he looks so proud

Dereeeeeek how do you feel

Oh no, pin don't feel bad. It's only Marcus... well actually..

"Derek" "its officer wrigley" savaaaaage

Wait.... his last name is wrigley?!

Is this their secret hip hop routine?! Oh my god this is brilliant!

I'm calling it - they've won

Yeah

Everyone has just left Mia lmao

Pin didn't even ride why is he there?

SUSIE HAD A BOYFRIEND ALL ALONG

IM SHOOK

if there was a scout at the riding school, they wouldn't send a letter if they didn't let him in?

Of course he got in that just makes sense?

Why would they send him a letter telling him he didn't get in if he was scouted?? It makes no sense????

And they kissed. Wow. There was like, no build up for that, Zoe and Pin, however....

Wait so Zoe is still not interested?

And now she's going to Pin?

Throwback to the singing teapot

It Pin

Oh that was actually pretty funny? I guess? Nice one Pin

Wait what's happening

Haha Lavinia

Ah, back to old Raven/Midnight Blue i guess

What do you want her to do Pin, I don't???

Ok so this is not a satisfying ending

Pin... are you literally stealing a horse right now?

Okay this is a lovely scene and all but how realistic is this

"I won't let you" you can't stop her???

Wait what

Okay so she can stay in England or go to America

She's gonna stay

They'll get renewed for a season two and she'll stay

And fall in love with pin

Because reasons

Should I stay or should I go now

Of course Mia is gonna buy the stables.

To summarise: That wasn't as bad as I was expecting it to be - I actually quite enjoyed it.

[iwasnthere622]

Hi My Name Is... (Ch. 6)

AO3 Link

"Thanks for letting me come over," Jaylee said, following Billy into his house and down to his basement.

"No problem," Billy said brightly, moving to his work bench. "You want to talk about the attack yesterday?"

Jaylee groaned, sitting down and propping her elbows on the work bench, resting her head in her hands. "Yeah... it could have gone so bad..."

"But it didn't," Billy pointed out, settling to resume working from where he'd left off on trying merge the ship's communication technology with his cell phone so that the Alpha-5 could call the team if something happened.

"If Trini hadn't realized Kim was late..." Jaylee said.

Billy shook his head. "But she did."

"Yeah, but if she hadn't..."

"Kim would have fought them off on her own, or ran to get us," Billy pointed out.

"I know, but what if they had managed to cut her off before she could morph?" Jaylee said. Worry was still curled tight in her gut, along with a nice chunk of guilt -- she was supposed to be the leader, protect them.

"If they cut her off from the public, then she could morph," Billy pointed out. He knew Jaylee took being the leader very seriously, so even though he didn't really get the self-doubt she had when everyone told her she was doing a great job, he was happy to help her realize her fears were irrational and everything was okay.

Jaylee sighed, looking over at Billy. "We need a better signal, for when we spot putties. Sometimes it takes too long to call." Like yesterday... thank god Trini was doing her job, 'cause Jaylee clearly wasn't.

Billy frowned. "Well, I could try to program something into our phones? Like a pre-set message set to a specific key that if pressed, sends the message to the whole team?"

"You could do that?" Jaylee asked, impressed.

"I mean, yeah, probably," Billy shrugged.

"That'd be awesome!" Jaylee said, smiling.

"Okay, I'll figure it out tonight and we can set it up for everyone tomorrow," Billy said, smiling and clapping his hands happily at having another project to work on that would help the team.

"That's great, Billy!" Jaylee said, some worry easing.

Billy nodded. "You're great, too, Jaylee."

Jaylee glanced at the door, automatically checking for Billy's mom -- Billy insisted she wouldn't care if she knew that she was a girl, but Jaylee just couldn't tell her. Her friends and Zordon and Alpha-5 were one thing, but anyone else was just... terrifying.

"No, I'm not," Jaylee said. "You guys are amazing, you're inventing stuff to help us all the time and you help everyone stay calm when emotions run high. And Zack helps us laugh and relax even when we're stressed, he's always there for us even though he has a million other things to worry about. Kim, she gives the best pep-talks you could hope for and helps us unwind. And Trini, she's literally our courage, she's so strong that she makes charging into a fight almost easy because you know she's got your back."

"And you're our friend and a great leader," Billy said. "You keep us on track and make sure we're all okay, physically and emotionally. You help everyone with training, you spend time with everyone and let us vent our problems when you have your own to deal with, too. And during battles, you make sure we're doing what's best for everyone so that we can protect this town."

"Billy..." Jaylee said, not sure what else to say, feeling like she didn't deserve his praise.

"You're a great leader, Jaylee," Billy repeated.

"I'm not, yesterday I completely froze, I didn't notice Kim was late, she could've been hurt, more people could have been hurt if it wasn't for Trini," Jaylee protested.

"You can't do everything all by yourself, that's why we're a team. And that's why Trini is your second in command," Billy said, shaking his head. "And you followed Trini right into battle, and we won."

"But what if--"

"Stop thinking in what-if's and focus on what happened. Everyone is okay," Billy said gently.

Jaylee let out a slow breath. "I guess..."

"I want ice cream, do you want ice cream?" Billy said, knowing the treat would help Jaylee feel better.

Jaylee blinked at the topic shift, but pushed to stand. "Yeah, sure. Thanks, Billy."

Billy smiled at her, leading the way upstairs and shifting the conversation to lighter topics.

--

Jaylee laughed, dodging a sloppy punch from Kim. "We can't actually start a band," she said.

Zack grinned from his spar with Billy, doing a backflip away from him. "Why not, bosslady?"

"We don't play any instruments!" Jaylee said, twirling away from Kim.

"Speak for yourself," Trini smirked, sitting out this round and watching them spar.

"Ditto. It'd be fun, we already have the name!" Kim insisted, bringing her leg up and kicking out at Jaylee.

"Crazy girl, you've been holding out on us!" Zack accused, taking a hit from Billy in his distraction.

"I play an instrument, too," Billy informed them.

"See? Two instruments already!" Kim grinned, laughing when Jaylee knocked her back a step.

"Rangers!" Alpha-5 yelled, interrupting them, running into the pit. "I've found it!"

They all stopped sparring and Trini stood from her seat at the edge of the pit. "Alpha-5?" Jaylee questioned, stepping forward.

"The source! I found the source!" Alpha-5 said.

Jaylee straightened up, glancing around at everyone before focusing on Alpha-5. "Show us," she ordered, the team following the robot to the command center.

Alpha-5 moved over to a set of screens on the side, pulling up the map of the town. "It looks like the gold from Goldar has been slowly pooling here," it said, pointing. "There's a bigger concentration here, so something could be using the remnants of Rita's power in the gold to form the putties."

"Rangers, you must locate this magic user and stop them," Zordon ordered.

Zack frowned at the map. "Isn't this the mine? Like, really close to us?"

Billy nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, it looks like a cavern system just outside the mine proper."

"Great, the source is hiding in a cave," Trini muttered.

"At least this fight will be away from town?" Kim said hopefully.

Jaylee nodded. "All right, guys. It's--" She cut off when all their phones went off at the same time, everyone reaching for them.

"Putties in town!" Billy said, taping at his phone. "The surveillance program I wrote is working, there's putties in town."

"A lot of them, actually," Kim said, staring at her screen and flipping through the screenshots the surveillance cams had sent them.

"Mariner Bay, Reefside... are they going for the crystal?" Jaylee asked. She'd thought they were tracking them, attacking them for revenge.

"Putties can't get the crystal, right?" Zack asked, looking to Alpha-5.

"I don't know," Alpha-5 said uncertainly.

"Right. We need to deal with the putties first, then we'll head to the source," Jaylee said firmly, everyone nodding and pocketing their phones.

"It's morphing time!"

--

"This is insane!" Kim said, flipping up to kick the head off a putty, landing and smashing her fist through another.

"There's gotta be at least a hundred of these things!" Zack agreed, yanking off an arm and smacking the putty down with it.

"Should we get the zords?" Billy asked.

Jaylee tensed, knowing everyone else had too, shaking her head. "We can do this," she said firmly. "The town is finally rebuilt, if we get the zords, we'll destroy it."

"Not on purpose," Trini muttered, not exactly wanting to fight in her zord but not wanting people to die because they were too scared, either.

"We'll get them if we have to," Jaylee said, summoning the power sword and swinging it in a wide arc, taking out three putties at once. "Pink, Blue, head up a block, let's try to corral them to prevent any more damage," she said, blocking out the screams of panicked residents as best she could, focusing on fighting.

"On it!" Kim yelled, racing away with Billy.

"Black, Yellow, press them in towards Pink and Blue," Jaylee continued. "I'm going to do a quick perimeter run -- something about this attack feels off."

"Be careful, Red," Trini said.

"We got this!" Zack yelled.

Jaylee nodded, pulling back and racing off to the side, slipping down a side street and running, surveying the damage.

The putties had managed to destroy three or four buildings before the rangers had gotten here -- they seemed to be moving towards the newly-built Krispy Kreme and the Zeo Crystal beneath it, but it was almost as if them heading that way was an accident. They seemed much more focused on destroying the town instead, and she didn't understand why.

She took out some stragglers that broke off to head for her, making it to Kim and Billy and jumping in with them for a few minutes.

"Anything?" Kim asked.

Jaylee shook her head. "This is weird, this doesn't feel right!"

"What else could they be after?" Billy questioned.

"I don't know," Jaylee said, frustrated. She pulled back to circle the other side, pushing for more speed when she saw the side of building starting to collapse and people trying to get out of the way. She yelled as she caught the large slab, forced to her knees under the weight but catching it before it could crush anyone.

"Run!" she ordered the frozen people, waiting until they were clear before dropped the slab and standing up. She was by the water, out of habit glancing at the ships for her dad's, shaking her head. No time for that!

Jaylee completed the perimeter run, back with Trini and Zack and leaping into the fight.

"Their numbers are dwindling!" Billy said through the comms, and Jaylee realized he was right -- they were slowly winning despite the huge numbers against them, and her plan to contain them seemed to be working.

There were only 40 or so putties left when the ground started shaking. An earthquake? More putties?

They all shouted in surprised when the pavement beneath them cracked and split, something smashing up and through it from underneath.

Jaylee went flying along with the rest of the team, landing hard on the ground several feet away, winded. She pushed herself up. "Everyone okay?" she yelled, getting various confirmations over comms, freezing. What. The. Fuck.

Pushing itself up out of the ground was a monster made of rock fused with living gold. Large chunks of rock seemed to be supporting its main body, but it's head was entirely made of gold and was a sight that still haunted most of the rangers' nightmares.

Goldar.

"How is this real?!" Trini demanded, moving to stand at her right, Zack next to her.

"The source using the gold wasn't another magic user..." Billy said, following Kim to stand at Jaylee's left. "It was the gold."

"But we killed it!" Zack protested.

"How do you kill gold, though?" Kim asked.

"It must be using Rita's lingering power to hold itself together," Jaylee said grimly. "The putties were destroying everything to help free it from the ground!"

It finished standing up, at about half its previous height, leaning down to roar at them in challenge.

"Let's go!" Jaylee yelled, charging forward, power sword in hand as the remaining putties swarmed them and Goldar turned for the Krispy Kreme.

"We need the zords!" Zack yelled, kicking a putty.

"We don't have time! Pink, can you get yours? Give us air support?" Jaylee asked, slashing her sword.

"I don't know!" Kim yelled, frustrated with herself -- they'd all tried to get into their zords multiple times these past months, and while everyone else had been able to walk around the underground cavern, Kim hadn't been able to fly in the air more than a minute without having a panic attack.

"Keep it busy!" Zack said, breaking away and taking off at top speed.

"Black!" Jaylee yelled, but he didn't slow, running for the ship.

"Red!" Billy yelled, smashing a putty who had been about to jump onto Jaylee while she was distracted.

"I'm gonna kill him!" Trini fumed, and Jaylee wasn't sure if she meant Zack or Goldar... probably both.

Jaylee yelled, charging through a line of putties and running full speed at Goldar, slamming her sword into the rock in its leg, hoping to break it. She managed two more hits, parts of it crumbling away, before Goldar made to kick her and she had to dive out of the way.

Trini leaped over her, smashing her fist into the same section of rock before leaping back.

"Finish the putties, Yellow and I will distract it!" Jaylee ordered Kim and Billy, tag-teaming hits to Goldar's legs with Trini, tripping it up as best they could and avoiding its kicks and swipes. Jaylee winced every time they dodged and the hit crumbled another building. At least everyone had run away by now so there was no one left to get hurt...

Kim and Billy smashed the last putty and Goldar roared in anger, reaching to smash both fists down, the ground shaking and crumbling under the hits.

"What do we do?" Kim asked a bit desperately.

"Open wide, bitch!" Zack yelled through the comms, zipping towards them in Kim's zord, flying straight at Goldar and firing, hitting it center mass.

"Black?!" Jaylee yelled, watching Goldar stumble and Zack pull the zord into a turn to loop back around.

"Surprise! We can power each other's zords! Flying is fucking awesome!" Zack yelled.

"Hey, be careful with Tera!" Kim yelled.

"You named your zord?" Billy asked.

"Focus, guys!" Jaylee ordered. "Black, keep it from reaching its goal and aim for the rock. If we can smash enough, it'll crumble."

"How do we stop the gold from just reforming, though?" Trini asked.

"One problem at a time," Jaylee said grimly, having no idea how to stop Goldar from continuing to reform. The more immediate problem was protecting the crystal and stopping it now.

Everyone nodded and resumed attacking, the four rangers on the ground taking leaping shots at its legs and Zack circling and providing support from the air.

"Uh, guys? There's a news crew hiding in the wreckage by the supermarket, I'm pretty sure they are filming this," Zack said over the internal comms.

Trini cursed, dodging a kick from Goldar. "Idiots."

"Why isn't it using fire like last time?" Kim asked, dodging a hit.

"I don't think it has enough magic to do that," Billy said. "It didn't even have enough to make its full body."

"It's weaker, we can beat it," Jaylee said encouragingly.

Zack did another charging fly at Goldar, spamming his (Kim's... Tera's?) weapons at its chest and showering the team in rock debris.

Jaylee used Goldar's momentary stagger to slam her sword into its leg, trying to keep hitting the same spot, rock dust blinding her for a moment as Goldar roared in agony.

Jaylee yanked her sword free and dove away, the edge of Goldar's foot knocking into her and sending her sprawling.

She had just enough time to roll before Goldar brought its foot down on her, getting her center mass out of the way but her left leg got caught beneath its foot as it stomped down and she yelled in pain, feeling the bones in her leg snap.

Her armor protested but protected her, remaining intact so that her leg wasn't pulverized, but because she'd rolled onto uneven pavement, the angle and force had snapped her leg.

"Red!"

Everyone was running towards her, Zack firing at Goldar's head, but Jaylee was trying to not throw up, pain excruciating.

She watched in a daze as Trini reached her first and picked up her power sword, slamming it straight through Goldar's leg at the spot Jaylee had been repeatedly hitting, the rock shattering and Goldar collapsing to the ground now that it only had one leg.

"Blue, protect Red. Black, Pink, we're finishing this," Trini ordered, still holding Jaylee's sword and charging at the collapsing Goldar.

"You'll be okay," Billy said. "What hurts? Your armor isn't broken."

"M-my leg, it's br-broken," Jaylee wheezed out, shifting to try to sit up and oh, that was a terrible idea.

Billy hurried to help her sit up, supporting her. "Maybe the armor can stabilize it?" he suggested.

Jaylee was about to ask how when she felt her armor tighten around her leg, shouting more in surprise then pain.

"What?!" Billy yelled, concerned.

"It's -- the armor is tightening. Like a cast?" Jaylee said, confused. She looked up at another roar from Goldar to see that the rest of the team had taken care of its other leg and both arms, and Trini and Kim and Zack -- when had he landed? -- were standing on Goldar's chest and slamming into him over and over.

"Help me up," she ordered, Billy reluctantly pulling her up and supporting her weight.

Jaylee wobbled on her good leg, using Billy as a crutch and blocking out the pain the best she could, wobbling over to where Goldar was beginning to melt, standing next to its head and staring into empty eye-sockets.

"If you come back, we'll just beat you again," she said. "And again. And again. Until the magic finally fades. We'll find a way to beat you for good."

"Red!" Zack yelled, shouldering up under her other side to help Billy hold her up, Kim and Trini rushing over, too.

Trini handed her the power sword and Jaylee took it, gripping the hilt and merging it back into her armor with a shimmer.

"Good job, everyone," she said, looking around at her team, proud of them.

"How bad is it?" Kim asked.

Jaylee saw movement and spotted the camera crew Zack had mentioned cautiously coming closer. "Not now, let's go," she ordered.

Everyone nodded, Billy picking Jaylee up bridal-style since she couldn't run, racing to the ship with Trini and Kim while Zack ran to get Tera and fly her back.

Billy took her straight to the med wing, Kim yelling for Alpha-5 and Trini going to report to Zordon, all of them demorphing their masks.

"What happened?" Alpha-5 asked as it entered.

"Jaylee's hurt, she thinks her leg is broken," Billy answered.

"Ay yi yi," Alpha-5 muttered, picking up a portable scanner to see how bad the break was.

Kim filled Alpha-5 in on what had happened and was just finishing when Zack ran in, followed seconds later by Trini.

"Well, your leg is definitely broken, you've got multiple fractures," Alpha-5 said. "Your armor is supporting it right now and has already realigned the pieces for healing."

"How long will that take?" Jaylee asked.

"Hmm... around 48 hours," Alpha-5 answered.

"Two days? How do I explain a broken leg that'll be healed in two days?" Jaylee asked, propping up on her elbows on the exam table.

"Well, 48 hours if you stay in your armor," Alpha-5 clarified. "It'll take a bit longer without the stabilization."

"Great," Jaylee said, shifting with a wince.

"What about the pain?" Kim asked, noticing.

"Ah, yes!" Alpha-5 said, digging around and pulling out what looked like a sticker, slapping it onto the armor at Jaylee's left thigh.

"What's that going to -- whoa!" Jaylee said, staring at her leg.

"What happened?" Trini demanded, glaring at Alpha-5.

"My leg is numb," Jaylee said. "No pain, no anything."

"The circuit patch is disrupting the sensors in your armor to your leg," Alpha-5 explained. "And since you're connected to the armor with the morphing grid, that cuts it off from your brain, as well. Pain receptors will not be received."

"That's so cool," Zack said.

Jaylee sat up, patting at her leg, knowing it was there but not feeling it. "It's weird," she said.

"Better than the pain," Kim said, and Jaylee nodded, turning to Trini.

"What did Zordon say?" Jaylee asked.

Trini shrugged. "The usual, we did a good job, blah blah. He mentioned that Alpha-5 might be able to magnetize the gold to a jail cell to stop this from happening again."

Alpha-5 blinked. "Oh yes, we have several containment units, if I reconfigure one and pinpoint Goldar's frequency..."

"That's great!" Zack grinned.

Jaylee relaxed a little, glad this wouldn't happen again. "This is probably all over the news by now, we should check in with our families," she said, watching Kim, Trini, and Billy pull out their phones.

"Go," she nodded at Zack with a smile when he looked torn.

"10 minutes, I'll be back!" Zack promised, demorphing and running out to go check on his mom.

Jaylee pulled out her own phone, sending her dad a text to let them know she was fine, knowing her mom and Pearl were away for one of Pearl's gymnastics meets. She listened to everyone assure their parents they were okay -- Billy telling his mom he was with his friends and they were all safe and he'd be home soon, Kim telling her parents she'd been across town and was fine, Trini telling her mom she was bowling and would be home once the streets were cleared a bit.

She wasn't really surprised when her phone started ringing and it was her dad, answering it. "Dad, I'm fine -- I know, I'm okay -- well, maybe a little hurt but it's -- I'm getting looked at right now -- I'll be home soon," she said, hanging up on him and groaning.

"Any ideas how I'm explaining this?" she asked the room at large, not at all looking forward to demorphing.

"You... sprained your leg?" Kim offered.

"Is that even a thing?" Trini asked.

"It can be. Anything is possible, really, human anatomy is weird but also resilient," Billy answered.

"Okay, we'll go with that," Jaylee said, not seeing any other choice.

"We should wrap your leg or something once you demorph so it doesn't move too much," Trini frowned.

"Do you have ace bandages, Alpha-5? We could use those, build up a thick layer to give cushion," Billy suggested.

"You'll have to take your jeans off," Kim added, nodding.

Jaylee blushed at that. "I can't do that!"

"Why not? Boxers are basically shorts -- oh," Kim said, realizing and sharing a look with Trini, who pulled her phone out and texted Zack.

"What's wrong?" Billy frowned.

"Nothing, B, it's a girl thing," Trini said, which made Jaylee blush a bit brighter but had Billy nodding, accepting that.

Alpha-5 dug out a box full of ace bandages, offering it to Trini, who nodded in thanks.

"Okay, Billy and Alpha-5 you guys leave, we'll help Jaylee," Kim said firmly.

Billy led Alpha-5 out, explaining that it was because Jaylee was a girl and not because they didn't want its help.

"Okay, demorph and we'll help get the pants off," Kim said, demorphing herself.

"I..." Jaylee hesitated, embarrassed.

Trini let her armor fade, too. "Jaylee, let us help you. Girl to girl."

"To girl," Kim added with a grin.

Jaylee huffed out a breath, not wanting to but... she knew she'd need help once the pain was back. "Okay," she agreed softly. She peeled off the circuit patch, handing it to Kim and sucking in a sharp breath, Trini's hands there immediately to steady her weight as she was sitting up.

Concentrating, Jaylee pushed the armor back, he morphing grid feeling almost... reluctant, to let her fade it out, but it went eventually and oh, fuck, it hurt.

She fumbled her fingers on the button and zipper, getting them undone and gripping the sides of the material tightly.

Kim moved to hold her broken leg in place with a light grip on her ankle, and Trini shifted to grip her waist.

"I lift up, you pull down," Trini said firmly, and Jaylee just nodded.

"One, two, three!" Trini said, easily lifting Jaylee.

Jaylee tugged the jeans down and off her waist, getting it out from under her ass and bunched on her thighs, cursing colorfully as Trini set her down again.

The pain was almost enough to distract her from getting embarrassed over wearing a pair of the panties Kim had gotten her, but neither girl said anything as Kim started carefully working the material down her legs.

Jaylee was grateful Kim didn't comment on her shaved legs, either, just trying to keep her legs still and gritting her teeth with every jolt, panting by the time the jeans were off.

Someone knocked on the door and Jaylee tensed, cursing because tensing hurt.

"I've got the goods!" Zack yelled.

Trini rolled her eyes as Kim moved to open the door just enough for Zack to shove a bag through.

"Thanks," Kim said, grabbing the bag and closing the door again, pulling out the pair of boxers and sweatpants and looking at Jaylee.

Jaylee blushed, holding out a hand. "I'll do this myself, turn around."

Trini sighed but nodded, helping her settle laying down before moving with Kim and turning around so they couldn't see her.

Jaylee used her good leg for leverage, tugging the panties down and sitting up to slip them completely off, clenching her jaw at the radiating pain in her broken leg from her small movements. Quickly, she slipped the boxers on and laid back to tug them up, settling them in place and stuffing the panties into the bag.

"Okay," she said hoarsely, feeling like she was going to throw up from the pain.

Kim grabbed her jeans and stuffed them into the bag, too. "We can just leave these here with the dry clothes," she said, knowing Jaylee wouldn't want her family to accidently discover anything.

Jaylee nodded in agreement, watching Trini pick up an ace bondage roll. "This is not gonna be fun," she said, and Jaylee bit out a laugh.

"Just do it," she said, bracing herself. Kim carefully lifted her leg, holding it as steady as she could while Trini wrapped. It was snug without being overly tight, and Trini made sure to layer it as thick as possible to give her cushion.

Jaylee winced when Kim finally set her leg down when they were done wrapping.

"Almost done," Trini promised, helping Kim tug the sweatpants up her legs, the material just big enough to fit over the bandaging.

Jaylee laid back when they were done and just focused on breathing, not noticing Kim opening the door and letting the boys know they could come back in.

"Why do girls always look so much better in guys clothes?" Zack teased.

Jaylee waved a hand at him, not having the energy for anything else, but she smiled.

Trini punched Zack lightly. "Cause we're better looking in anything," she answered, high-fiving Kim.

"Uh, guys? How are we getting her out of here?" Billy asked, looking around.

"Shit. We'll have to take the long way to the backdoor Zack installed last year," Trini said.

"Take a zord for a joyride ONE time and they never let you forget it!" Zack complained, laughing.

Trini punched him. "You can carry, her, too, since Billy brought her in."

Zack winced at the punch, but walked over to where Jaylee had mostly caught her breath, bowing. "M'lady," he grinned.

Jaylee rolled her eyes. "You better behave once we leave here."

"Of course," Zack said seriously, all hints of teasing gone. "I won't out you. C'mon, let's blow this pop stand." He carefully slipped an arm under her back, lifting her upper body before getting his other arm under her legs, wincing when she did.

"Okay?" he checked once he had a good grip on her, trying not to jostle her legs too much.

"Yeah," Jaylee said a bit hoarsely, arm over Zack's shoulders and fingers twisted in his t-shirt.

[ernmark]

I think the met as teens verse is my favorite thing you've written so far! (And I love all your stuff so that's saying something) can you maybe write how murderous mask would have gone down in that verse?

(You guys are lovely, you know that?)

What’s hilarious is that the first Murderous Mask prompt actually predates the Mag betrayal prompt. When I got that one, I just stared at it in puzzlement for a while– because if Juno’s on Brahma, then literally the entirety of Murderous Mask can’t actually happen– Cecil would be dead and the Mask would still be buried in the desert, and besides, there’s no way Peter would have failed to retrieve the Mask if Juno was there helping him out.

Then I got the request for Mag’s betrayal. And then I got some help from my friend Kya about how to make that all work without breaking character (fun fact: the version I sent you guys is the second one I wrote; the first one just didn’t feel right.) 

And just like that, the pieces are in the right position to make MM work again. Sometimes it just requires a little suffering along the way.

Like any of my episode-based fics, I’m gonna jump around to the scenes that are actually different. There’s no need to make you read through the entire episode. 

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 (The Talk) | Part 4 | Part 5

There was only ever one place Juno could have gone after he left Peter. Deep down, he always knew that. Hyperion City is like a black hole that way– no matter how hard you try to break out of its gravity, it always drags you back.

Without Peter to keep him out of its orbit, he lets himself give in.

There are too many memories in his old line of work, and it’s just not the same doing it alone. Instead he settles in as a Private Investigator. Mostly because it calls for his precise skill set and doesn’t require awkward little formalities like a background check and a job history to break into the business. Besides that, there’s a sense of justice alongside all this irony. In a city like this one, there aren’t a lot of people willing to look close enough to tell the scumbags apart from good kids who got a bad shake– kids like him and Peter were. It might as well be him. As for the legitimate thieves, good riddance. If they can be caught by the likes of him, then they didn’t deserve the job in the first place. That’s just a matter of professional pride. 

He forms his own network of contacts and establishes himself in the business, for better or worse. In the case of Croesus Kanagawa, currently dangling out of a glass case in his Uptown mansion, it’s worse. For both of them, judging by the message scrawled in blood on the wall behind him.

You’re next, Juno Steel.

Whoever’s got it out for him, it sure took ‘em long enough.

No sooner does Juno accept the case from Sasha Wire than he hears a new voice talking to Rita out front. Shit, they’ve got good timing at Dark Matters. But while Rita keeps Agent Rex Glass occupied, Juno has other ways to make an escape. He’s halfway out the window when the door opens. He’s debating whether he could stick the landing if he jumps now when the voice behind him makes his thoughts grind to a halt.

“Really, Juno? The window? Did your fear of heights resolve itself while I wasn’t looking, or are you just that determined not to see me?”

Juno’s heart is racing, and not just because he just lost his grip on the windowsill. The two stories between himself and the solid concrete below is suddenly the least of his concerns. 

He climbs back inside, pretending like it’s only the near fall that leaves electricity crackling in his veins. 

There he is, like something out of a dream: Peter Nureyev, willowy and elegant even in the imposing Dark Matters uniform. 

“Agent Glass, right?” Juno asks hoarsely, shutting the window behind him. He won’t take the chance that someone might overhear them. 

“It’s good to see you again.”

The fact that it only takes Juno a few seconds to recover himself is a victory. “Dark Matters? Really?”

Peter glances at the uniform. “Ah. Well, I do admit that the sunglasses are a bit much, but they make a fair focal point.” Honestly, the sunglasses are a good look on him. But then, Juno’s never seen an article of clothing that didn’t look good on him. “Besides, Dark Matters are the ones taking point on this particular investigation.” 

“This one in particular? Are you checking in on me or something?” 

“I happened to be in the neighborhood and your name came up.”

“Did it now?”

“In bright red, as a matter of fact. It’s rather difficult to miss. I thought I’d lend my assistance.” 

It takes a concerted effort to stay annoyed at him. “Enough playing around. Why are you really here?”

He sighs. “Alright. To the chase, then: last night I was working a job in that mobster’s mansion when I was interrupted and had to make a quick escape. When I returned to finish the job, there was a corpse hanging out of my artifact and a threat on your life written on the wall in blood.” 

Well. That’s one mystery solved. “You don’t have to worry, Rex. I’ve got history with the Kanagawas. Half the family wants me dead, and most of their enemies do, too. One of them is probably looking for a scapegoat, that’s all. There’s no way they connected me to you.” 

“It can’t be a coincidence, Juno,” he presses. 

“You’d be surprised how often they happen, actually.” Juno turns away from him to gather supplies. “I mean it, Rex. I haven’t said a word about you to anyone in twenty years. Your secrets are safe with me.” He throws a few laser carts into his pocket and starts for the door. “If we’re done here, I have a murder to solve.”

Instead of letting Juno show him the door, Peter falls into step beside him. “You can’t seriously want to investigate this.”

Of course not. But when has Juno ever wanted to go to Casa Kanagawa? “Croesus being dead makes the whole thing a lot more appealing.” 

“Juno, somebody out there is trying to kill you!”

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” he says reflexively. Normally that kind of remark is taken in stride– just another part of the old hardboiled gumshoe persona.

Peter’s face does that thing it does. Like all the concern and worry and indignation crystallizes all at once, and then suddenly it smooths over into a charming mask. It happens in the space of a milisecond; if Juno didn’t know him so well, he couldn’t have caught it. 

“Well, then,” he says pleasantly. “Are you driving, or am I?”

“Snatching the Mask can wait until after I’ve solved my case. It’s evidence, remember?”

“All the more reason for me to come along. The killer might want to cover their tracks.” 

“I’ve got it taken care of. You’re not coming.” 

Peter steps just slightly closer and smiles with all his teeth. “I believe Dark Matters was quite specific about the nature of their contract.” 

Juno meets the grin with a glare. “You’re really going to push this, aren’t you?”

“Of course I am.” He opens the door, still flashing that smile. 

Juno should have known. All these years and Peter’s still the brave knight. What surprises him is that he somehow still qualifies as the distressed damsel. 

“Quick, Rex! Hit me!”

Peter blinks, completely nonplussed. “What?”

The Camera Man is advancing on them. A few more seconds and it’ll start staging its own photos– and nothing grabs headlines quite like blood. 

“You heard me, Rex. Hit me.”Juno gets in his face. “Just do it already. I know you’ve been wanting to ever since you walked into my office.”

He’s half right. There is something Peter has wanted to do since that moment. And so long as an open invitation stands and needs are pressing, he might as well take the opportunity. 

Juno braces himself for a left hook– maybe things have changed in the past twenty years or so, but the Peter he knew always started with a left hook. The impact he feels is a softer, but it still leaves him dizzy.

All these years, and Peter’s lips still feel like silk.

The Cameraman lurches closer to find a better angle, and Juno throws his arms around Peter’s neck, obscuring both their faces behind his sleeves.

“Apologies, Juno,” Peter whispers into Juno’s mouth. “But I’m not about to give you another concussion.” 

“I think I can live with that,” Juno whispers back, which is significantly more dignified than any of the other things that have been lurking in his head. The top two contenders so far are “god I’ve missed this” and “please don’t stop”, neither of which Peter really needs to hear right this minute. 

Peter pushes forward, and Juno follows his lead until his back hits the wall, just a few feet from the door. He gropes blindly at the wall for a few moments, slicing open his finger on the needle under the doorknob, but finally he fumbles it open and pulls them both inside. 

As far as escape plans go, it isn’t half bad. It probably would have been even better if Cecil Kanagawa and an army of Cameramen weren’t waiting for them on the other side.

The case is solved. 

That should count as a win, but it just leaves Juno feeling miserable. It was fun enough while it lasted, but now Cassie’s in prison and Peter’s on his way out the door. 

He should’ve let Sasha stick him on that damn asteroid.

He swirls a glass of scotch in his hands. “If you wait a few days, you can steal the Mask out of the PI registry. Security shouldn’t be too bad once it’s been used for the trial.”

“We don’t have to turn it in, you know,” Peter says. “You can leave Hyperion City behind, and I can leave this job behind. We’ll sell the Mask and live a life of thrills and decadence across the galaxy, always running, never looking back. It could be just like old times again.”

“It sounds nice.” The unspoken “but…” hangs in the air between them. Just like old times again– that’s the problem, isn’t it? When all the sweetness of nostalgia fades, they’ll be right back where they started. And no matter how much Juno wishes he could say he’s changed, he knows better.

“Juno,” Peter starts, soft and grim. It almost hurts to look him in the eyes. “I never had the chance to tell you how sorry I am for the way things turned out.”

Juno shrugs him off. “You couldn’t have known Cassie was gonna push Croesus into that case.”

“I’m not talking about that.” He takes Juno’s hand. “What happened on Brahma. I think I always knew you’d figure it out eventually. But you shouldn’t have had to. You should have heard it from me.” 

He holds Juno’s gaze, earnest and sincere.

But there’s nothing but confusion in Juno’s eyes. “What do you mean, what happened on Brahma?” 

“Wait.” Peter backpedals. “You mean that isn’t why you left?”

“What was I supposed to have figured out?”

“Then why in the world did you leave?”

“Peter.” 

And just like that, Peter’s caught in a trap of his own making. His gaze flicks from one of Juno’s eyes to the other, like he might find an escape there, but he doesn’t.

It would be so easy to lie right now. They both know it, and the potential of it stretches out in the silence between them.

“Mag,” Peter says at last. “The constables didn’t kill him.” Each of the syllables comes out with effort, forced out of his mouth like a rotten tooth. “I did.”

Juno can feel the floor crack under his feet. That can’t be right. It can’t.

This was Mag. Mag. The man who took them both in when they had nowhere else to go. Who bailed them out when they got in trouble and nursed them back to health when they got sick and made sure they knew every minute of every day, even when they fucked up and he was furious with them, that they were loved and wanted. He was everything a parent should have been. Everything Juno had spent his whole life thinking was just some fantasy that Mick told to give the other kids something to believe in, but Mag made it real. For the first time ever, Juno had a real family. Just the three of them, together against the world. Those few years had been the happiest of Juno’s life.

“Why?” Juno asks, trying to remember how to breathe. There’s more to the story. There’s got to be. 

“He lied to us,” Peter says slowly– or is that just the world slowing down around the two of them? Juno doesn’t know anymore. “He knew disabling the Guardian Angel System would bring the whole city down. He was going to kill all those people, and I… I couldn’t let him do it. I tried to talk him out of it, but he wouldn’t listen to me, and I didn’t know what else to do, so…” 

Juno can still remember the image of Peter afterward, drenched in blood.

He never asked whose blood it was. 

“So I killed him.”

Juno’s mouth is dry. He turns away and grabs the bottle, pouring himself a drink just to avoid looking at Peter. He doesn’t know how else to cope with what he’s hearing.

“I think that’s why he had you on the getaway ship instead of letting you come along,” Peter continues. “You’d only been with us a few years– he knew you’d never go along with it.”

“And you would?”  

“He thought I would. Maybe after all the lies he fed me about my father, he thought it would be personal.”

Juno looks up at that, caught off guard by the little detail. “He lied about that, too?”

Peter smiles, but it’s too grim and pained to be anything more than a rictus. “He never met him. It was all made up.” 

Peter Nureyev, who was born with heroism in his veins, who wore the name of Brahma’s greatest unsung martyr like a badge of honor. When they were kids, he used to tell Juno about his big dreams– there’d be monuments to his father’s memory; he promised that the day they New Kinshasa fell, he’d sneak into the archives himself and write his father’s sacrifice into the history books. It was the core of his identity, almost as much as being a thief. Hell, maybe even more.

And all of it was built on a lie. A story constructed to push Peter into killing thousands of innocent people.

Juno stares at the drink in his hand for a long moment, trying to find sense in the bottom of the glass. If there is, he can’t decipher it.

He offers the drink to Peter; he always was better at codes. Peter downs it in a single long gulp, grimacing as he sets the glass on the desk.

“You never said anything,” Juno says, breaking the silence between them.

“I didn’t want you to know.” He hesitates. “I didn’t want you to remember him that way.” 

“Like you did, you mean?” The pieces are all sliding into place. The change in Peter afterward. The anger and frustration. The way he refused to hear his own name. The ruthlessness that his imaginary father would never have stood for. 

He’s going to need time to process this– really process it. He has no idea how long it’s going to take, or exactly how he’s going to feel about things when it’s done.

In fact, there’s only one thing he knows for sure right now.

“It’s gonna take a while for the Mask to get through the registry,” he says. “Where are you staying until then?”

[blue-dream-rhapsody]

Why I Love Extra Game

i’ve had this lying in my notes since the manga version finished getting scanlated but it seemed timely

SPOILERS and long post ahoy!

-Hyuuga acting like he doesn't want to be the one Riko takes to the friendly streetball match and Koganei being like "ooh ooh me pick me" and Izuki being like "no no shhhh ouR CAPTAIN SHOULD GO YEP YEP"

-the GoM teams watching this match and seeing their old teammates on team Strky

-Mukkun laughing with his team about Okamura's existence

-I know what Strky is but why the fuck call it "Strky" like call it "Tryks" or "Stryk" even and use the y as a vowel but fucking Strky sounds like Thanksgiving dinner

-Kasamatsu's existence

-Kagetora going off on the whole asshole team in fairly fluent English (and vowing to disembowel himself if his dream team can't defeat them like shit son papa took a level in metal)

-the reactions of the GoM as the American asshole team basically says the same things they'd say before about people who are no good just needing to give up because holy fuck did that shake them

-Kuroko and Kagami hearing it too and getting angry like "fuck here we go agAIN"

-obviously seeing the GoM all on the same team again is magical

-plus they added my children Hyuuga and Takao and Wakamatsu to the team as bench 

-Akashi welcoming Hyuuga and reassuring him that he's good enough when he's obviously nervous about being there

-putting Riko and Satsuki in charge together made me really happy because those two should be friends even if they're rivals I mean look at the shit they deal with daily from these boys also Satsuki sure can't complain to Aomine about how much a pain in the ass Aomine is she needs girl talk so bad

-Hyuuga I swear to fuck you may not be playing much this game but you sure fucking better confess to Riko when you boys win do you understand me

-Mukkun dunking Akashi's shot and just saying "Whoosh."

-Akashi deciding he'll be taking on Nash and Aomine saying Akashi's got it "cuz it's you."

-Kise tries to rally everyone and Aomine just kicks him in the side poor bby

-Kuroko babY STOP DON'T JUST GO CONFRONT THE TEAM OF ASSHOLES BY YOURSELF BABY NO

-KUROKO YOU CAN'T KEEP DOING THIS EVERY TIME PAPA KAGAMI IS GONNA GET TIRED

-SOMETIMES THERE ARE JUST TERRIBLE PEOPLE IN THE WORLD KUROKO HONEY JUST LEAVE IT ALONE

-Kuroko speaking slow, clumsy, careful English and still remaining formal as fuck

-the whole GoM plus Kagami sprinting to stop Kuroko from getting killed, with highlights from:

    -- Kagami: "Is he some kind of idiot?!" Murasakibara: "At this point I think it's definitely a possibility."

    --Akashi: "Kuroko really never ceases to amaze me."

-naturally everyone's mad but Akashi fucking seething when they find Kuroko's been hurt

-Kagami and Aomine at the front of their group right away being totally ready to throw down if the other guys so much as move while Mukkun looms threateningly a little bit back because even though they hurt Kurochin he's not gonna pick a fight himself but if somebody else does first this boy's got his team's back

-Kuroko wanting to settle this solely through basketball so Akashi knowing this well tells the two more impulsive idiots to take it easy

-Kise picking Kuroko up and being the one to carry the baby back

-Midorima no you're the least intimidating right now except maybe for Kise don't even try child your shirt has stripes

-on one hand it's kinda cheap storytelling but on the other the fact that their teamwork clicked again so quickly was kind of moving because it's like thank god they remember being a team

-all the teams watching and hoping Vorpal Swords kicks some ass

-The first quarter where Vorpal Swords kicks some ass

-Kuroko was paying extra attention to Murasakibara after first quarter and it made me really worried Big Purple was injured already

-Aomine and especially Mukkun not liking being shit-talked whether or not they understood the English

-MUKKUN IS MAKING KUROKO WORRIED AGAIN IN TIME-OUT though purple is literally just like "fuck those guys Imma set them straight I can handle this" but then Mamakashi is like "no you listen here you beautiful fuck the coach is right calm the fuck down you too Aomine" because to be fair if anyone ever needs to calm the fuck down it's usually Aomine

-"LITTLE EMO-BOY" KUROKO

-everybody's so goddamn angry about working with Kagami

-After second quarter they're really working with Big Purple and giving him ice and so much of this extra game seems so focused on him which suits me just fine tbh we didn't really see his character development in the original series

-stoP HURTING MUKKUN HE DOESNT DESERVE NOSEBLEEDS

-Kise tag-teaming with Aomine and matching him move for move with his Copy when angry blue was in the Zone

-Kise swearing to go through with this at the cost of himself because he wants his precious senpai Kasamatsu to know he didn't waste all that time loving basketball

-Kise then actually entering the Zone himself and fucking destroying for all of a few minutes

-Sorry Midorima maybe you can Zone later in the game angry carrot

-Momoi being so fucking happy Aomine and even Kise have gotten to this point and Kuroko giving her this kind look and then cheering for them both with his pure smile

-MukkUN KEEPS GRUNTING BBY R U OK

-Akashi getting ready to enter the game starts having a conversation with his other personality to have him use Emperor Eye and not only are they treating each other respectfully, but Bokushi is concerned about throwing off the tempo of the team by coming in and Oreshi suggests to him, "But haven't you changed, too?" Like that's not how this kind of thing works irl but Akashi had character development x2 and that's beautiful to me

-also the fact that he warned the team ahead of time so that they wouldn't be flustered and they're like "yeah okay cool is that all you needed" starting with Big Purple and Big Blue because they don't see Bokushi as some terrifying enemy to face down anymore and trust Akashi to handle things properly and respectfully

-Takao being faintly jealous that someone other than him (Akashi) got to combo with Midorima

-Midorima's turn to slay and encouraging Kagami and the carrot son is good

-Kise sweetie you were great out there but pleaSE GO GET SOME REST YOU COULDN'T MOVE FOR A MINUTE THERE

-everybody believes in Akashi and even when Nash is minimizing his ability Bokushi is just calm as fuck

-Purple picking Akashi up and asking to handle everything else so that Akashi can focus on Nash because Purple recognizes Akashi now more than ever and thinks Akachin is definitely the one who can do it

-I feel like we never really got to see much of Big Purple's interactions with his senpais so the little flashback was adorable. Big Purple being mothered gives everyone life

-but Purple getting serious A++ 10/10 would recommend

-but Purple smiling because he doesn't have to hold back C- 5/10 would vaguely recommend

-but Purple getting hurt again F-- 0/10 would not recommend

-BABY PURPLE IS SO BIG HE BROKE HIS ARM BY FALLING ON IT AND WAS LIKE "ehh but akachin needs me imma still play"

-ANGRY BABY KUROKO

-Mukkun concedes pretty easily and leaves his spot to Kuroko--then sits on the bench with his broken arm in a sling and my guess is that's because there was no way in hell he was going to miss watching the end of the game (much like Kise noT FUCKING RESTING AFTER NOT BEING ABLE TO MOVE)

-Aomine and Kagami tag-teaming in the Zone (with Kagami praising Kise and Mukkun's efforts and getting ready to fuck Jabberwock up over the shit they did to Strky)

-Aomine just casually shoots a basket from behind the board nbd

-Kuroko gets possession of the ball and does his phantom shot and you can only see Mukkun's eyes on the sidelines but he looks fucking pissed to see that goddamn move again

-Aomine motivating!!!

-Momoi shouting her heart out while Riko looks like she's giving orders like she's used to as coach!!!

-Okay seriously not how this works but holy shit Bokushi bowing out and integrating into Oreshi to make Emperor Eye complete was moving and Oreshi seemed unhappy with this being the way to win but Bokushi just thanks him for being able to play with the team one last time and then bam

-Midorima gets to make a shot!!! Thank god!!!

-Look at papa Hyuuga shouting for his team

-When Kuroko snatches the ball away from Nash-hole and takes off yes Kise is shouting like the ray of sunshine he is but look at the savage fucking smile on Mukkun like he is feeling this SO HARD

-THEN AOMINE AND KAGAMI BOTH COME RACING DOWN THE COURT TO BACK THEIR SHADOW UP TOGETHER

-Mukkun was the only Miracle who wouldn't shout for Seirin when they went against Rakuzan because it was embarrassing but he sure as hell is shouting for Vorpal Swords' last basket

-WON BY ONE POINT FUCK YEAHHHHHH

-Kise can finally stand again omg and Mukkun looks like he can't really believe this and he may have been holding his breath or may not have even realized how pumped he just got

-Our babies are all sweaty and loud and smiling and making fists together in celebration and oh my god they did it

-KIYOSHIIIII

-NIJIMURAAAAA

-Tiny Kagetora so happy he doesn't have to disembowel himself

-All the teams getting back to training except Mukkun who looks like he only broke his wrist but still can't really do anything and the coach is angry but Mama Himuro is like wait chill please

-Look at everyone trying hard and being happy and loving basketball again and PRACTICING

[avengerofyourheart]

“And the Grammy goes to...” (reader x Sam Wilson)

Characters: reader, Steve, Natasha, Sam.

Summary: Excited for the Grammy’s, you find out you might have to watch them alone when a teammate surprises you in more ways than one. 

Warnings: Fluff. Pregnancy mention I guess? Tiny bit of language. 

Word Count: 1.6k

Tags are at the bottom

A/N: I wrote this in honor of @imaginingbucky‘s birthday !! I hope your day is incredible, Chanel!! Love you, girl!! :) Also, I apologize if the events of the award show are out of order. I didn’t watch the whole show so I just caught up through clips. I have no strong feelings in regards to the award results so if you do, just keep your comments respectful, please! :) 

________________________________________________________

They only came around once a year. This was something you had been looking forward to for months, and now had no one to share it with besides your friends from home who would squeal with you via text. Out of all the available Avengers who weren’t out on missions, you couldn’t convince a single one to watch the Grammy’s with you.

As a last enticement, you had spent the entire afternoon preparing delicious treats to enjoy during your viewing party, including baking cupcakes and decorating little Grammy statues on top to the best of your ability. They looked a little lopsided, but it was fun and at least they would taste good.

As the airing time approached, it looked like it would be a party for one as you settled in front of the large projection screen in the living room, a delectable spread of snacks before you. The sound of footsteps approaching piqued your interest, peering over the couch to see Natasha come into view.

“Accepting my invitation finally, Nat?” you asked, trying to remain casual but a wishful tone snuck into your voice.

The redhead exhaled, “Sorry, Y/N. I’m heading out for the night. I’ll take a cupcake for the road, though.”

Disappointed, you waved a hand toward the snack table, “Help yourself. Have fun.”

“Will do,” she said with a wink, licking frosting from her fingers.

Half an hour in, you had enjoyed the musical introduction by James Corden and a few of the smaller awards. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw something and jumped when you realized it was Steve. Geez, you needed to put a bell on the Star-Spangled Man. He’s too stealthy for his own good. And for your poor, startled heart.

“Hey, Steve. Coming to watch?” you hoped, tearing your eyes from the screen for a moment.

“Sorry, Y/N. Gotta catch up on some paperwork, but I heard there were snacks? Do you mind?” he asked sheepishly.

You huffed out a sigh, “Not at all. Take all you want.”

He smiled, “You’re the best, Y/N.” Cap grabbed a plate and piled it with Chex Mix, potato chips, a few cupcakes, and a handful of licorice. It was a good thing that Super Serum speeded up his metabolism, you thought, eyeing his muscled physique for a short moment as he walked away.

Not even 10 minutes later, you flicked your eyes to the side to see Sam approaching and he gave you a smile. He was dressed in sweats and a t-shirt, looking like he was dressed to stay in tonight. The dark purple of his t-shirt was surprisingly masculine on him, nicely complementing his chocolatey skin as it hugged his muscles.

You returned the smile, then waving lazily toward the snack table as you returned your gaze to the screen. “Food is up for grabs.”

“Sweet. Thanks, Y/N,” he spoke as he grabbed a water bottle and a handful of M&Ms. You expected him to leave as quickly as he came, just like the others, so you were surprised when you felt his weight sink into the opposite end of the couch.

With a questioning side-eye, you silently observed him and thought to ask if he was really staying but didn’t want to jinx his presence, so you kept quiet. Once again, you got caught up in the awards and started to enjoy it, clapping at performances and making small comments about certain artists, mostly to yourself.

As the category for Best Pop Duo or Group Performance came up, you held your breath waiting for Nick Jonas to read the name. Hearing the words “Stressed Out. Twenty One Pilots”, you about lost it, clapping and hollering to finally see one of your favorite bands win a freaking Grammy, but then your eyes grew wide as the duo both dropped their pants in the aisle and then made their way to the stage.

With a laugh, you suddenly loved those boys even more as they told the story about watching the Grammy’s in their underwear. “Holy crap, this is the best night ever,” you spoke joyously.

“Damn,” you heard Sam say. “Now that’s how you accept an award. Good for them. I like some of their stuff.”

“Really?” you asked in surprise, finally looking to the man beside you.

“Yes, really. My taste in music is incredibly varied, Y/N. Now put your eyes back in ya head and watch your show,” he chastised you and then grabbed a few more snacks before him.

Ed Sheeran’s performance was fantastic, Shape of You being one of your favorite songs. You found it particularly inspiring and sensual without being overtly sexual. He truly was an artist.

“Holy hell. He really is a one-man band,” Sam admitted. “Dude’s got some talent.”

You just smiled and focused back on the screen because coming up soon was the moment you had been waiting for: the pregnant Queen Bey’s performance. Beyonce’s music gave you life and the fact that she now was pregnant with the luckiest twins ever to be conceived, you couldn’t get enough of her and her beautiful bump.

A few more awards were given and then there she was, looking like an absolute goddess with belly on display but then…wait. She was in a gold beaded dress with a golden, crown-like headdress completely fitting for her. And then…you just watched in awe as the performance unfolded with flawless holograms of her and her daughter and more, exuding the beautiful power of women. This was a moment in history. You would forever remember this performance, seeing Beyonce’s strength and power and femininity all combined in one moment.

You could feel a few tears escape your eyes, living for this performance and this show. Completely lost in the moment, you were startled when Sam let out a low whistle as Beyonce’s performance ended.

“She sure knows how to command an audience. Damn. If aliens ever show up again and ask me to show them our leader, I’m just gonna show ‘em that performance. That was just…wow,” he shook his head, looking almost as enthralled as you were. Once again, he surprised you but this time you didn’t question it as you smiled at him.

Turns out Sam was a great viewing partner. Each of you made small comments, but mostly kept your focus on the events unfolding. And then it was time. The last award of the show was about to be given: Album of the Year. There had been speculation that there was some rivalry between Beyonce and Adele with guesses on who would take the Grammy home, but you knew who would win. There just wasn’t any contest in your eyes.

Faith Hill and Tim McGraw were the presenters and as she fumbled with the envelope, your heart was racing.

“And the Grammy goes to….25. Adele,” Faith Hill spoke into the microphone.

You felt as if all the air had left the room. What…how…that can’t be right. Adele was amazing, but she was no Beyonce. Lemonade was literally transforming and too incredible for words. Beyonce deserved to win. Speechless, you turned to the side and saw a mirrored expression on Sam’s face. He was the first to speak, letting out a string of curse words.

“What the hell, man…I mean. 25 was great and I’m glad Adele’s back at it after so many years, but…this was Beyonce’s year. Even as a man, Lemonade was empowering for me. Damn,” he shook his head in disbelief.

Still in shock from the award upset and Sam’s response, you watched in silence as Adele accepted the award. Except…she didn’t? Adele spent her time in front of the mic praising Beyonce, just as anyone should really. The British pop star claimed she couldn't accept and that Queen Bey was the “artist of her heart” and “our light” which was just….accurate. As she wrapped up her speech and the show came to a close, you turned your whole body toward Sam and gave him a cheeky smile.

“So,” you began, “you’re a Beyonce fan, too?”

He huffed out a laugh, “Girl, everyone who breathes is a Beyonce fan, some just don’t know it yet. And…okay, so maybe I watch the Grammy’s every year and listen to all the nominees beforehand.”

“What??” you screeched.

He held his hands up in surrender, “I know, I know…I should have told you and accepted your invitation outright, but I get flack for it sometimes, so I lied. A little.”

You just shook your head with a grin, “Well, I’m glad you came. This has been fun.”

“It has been. Thanks for the invite. And the snacks, those cupcakes were killer, girl. But seriously, can we start a petition about this Album of the Year business, cause the ‘academy’ is wrong, I mean…”

Laughing at how passionate he was about his, you started to see Sam in a new light. That night you ended up talking for hours about your shared love of Beyonce and her favorite album or yours (other than Lemonade, of course). Sam confessed that he was even a fan of Destiny’s Child back in the day.   The subject moved away from music and on to Beyonce’s upcoming twins, which he was also just as excited about.

You even talked about movies and tv shows, discovering that you had very similar tastes. He was also a fan of Brooklyn 99 and Parks & Rec, two of your absolute favorite shows. Somehow he brought up football and was surprised to hear you were a Patriots fan. He said he just had to support his Falcons, but respected your dedication to Tom Brady.

It was a night full of surprises and by the end, you knew this was the beginning of a great new friendship with Sam. Or maybe even more…

___________________________________________________

I hope that was fun! Let me know your thoughts! I haven’t written Sam much so any feedback is appreciated. :) Also, I just realized this is my 50th fic I’ve posted, which is nuts and I can’t believe it. You are all amazing and I appreciate you! 

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[lindyhunt]

Does Bryan Singer’s Film Bohemian Rhapsody Deserve to Get Awards Love?

The ranks here at FASHION are not filled with men. Shocking, right? But there are one or two (there are actually, literally, two). Naturally, when a question about male/female dynamics arises it’s only fair that one of them stand in for the members of his gender and provide some insight. Our last topic of conversation was about controversial Christmas song “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” and today we’re discussing whether Bryan Singer-directed Bohemian Rhapsody should be snapping up any prizes this awards season. Two of our staffers—from the men’s corner, Greg Hudson, and from the women’s, Pahull Bains—talk it out.

PB: When Bohemian Rhapsody won the Best Picture (Drama) award at the Golden Globes last weekend, in addition to perplexity from critics who had largely panned the film, there was a fair bit of outrage on the internet. Evan Rachel Wood tweeted, “So we just..we are all still supposed to be pretending we don’t know about Bryan Singer? Cause it worked out really well with #Spacey and #Weinstein.” Now, I’m all for men finally getting their comeuppance but I also think it’s unfair that the entire cast and crew of a film be punished for the misdeeds of one person, whose shadiness wasn’t known until the #MeToo Flood of 2017. Or so I thought.

Yes, in 2017 Singer was fired as director of the film partway through shooting for causing “on-set chaos”: showing up late, being unavailable for days at a time, disappearing without the studio’s permission. Just a few days later, it emerged that Singer had been accused of rape by Cesar Sanchez-Guzman, who had been 17 at the time of the assault in 2003. So, I thought to myself, production on this film began before this news came out, so we can’t blame the team for working with him. I’m no fan of the movie, but let them have their moment of glory, thought I, wee innocent one.

As it turns out, allegations against Singer—who has directed films like The Usual Suspects and X-Men: First Class—go way, way back. In December 2017, IndieWire published “The Bryan Singer Timeline: a History of Allegations and Defenses, from Troubled Films to Sexual Assault Claims,” and lets just say it’s not a short list, going as far back as 1994 and ranging from allegations of sexual assault and rape to accusations of filming minor boys naked without their permission.

So, now that we’re caught up on Singer’s problematic history, what does it mean for Bohemian Rhapsody as an awards contender? No one was expecting it to win two big awards at the Globes, which has led understandably to increased scrutiny as we make our way through awards season, with the Critics’ Choice Awards, the SAGs, the BAFTAs, and of course the Oscars ahead of us. Do you think the film’s shot at these shiny statuettes should be diminished because of Singer’s involvement?

FIRST REFORMED, but about Ethan Hawke struggling to find hope in a world where Bohemian Rhapsody is probably gonna be nominated for Best Picture. pic.twitter.com/dI4D7kxfJ7

— david ehrlich (@davidehrlich) January 4, 2019

GH: Before I single-handedly bring down Bryan Singer with my rhetoric and rage, I just want to point a couple of things out that are probably not all that relevant. Why do this? Because I’m a man, and we enjoy talking like experts on subjects we just did some half-assed internet research about.

Point 1: The Golden Globes matter to the Oscar race about as much as the Iowa Caucuses do to the Presidential election. You’ll recall, being the astute political observer that you are, that the Iowa Caucuses happen early in the American election cycle. That’s really the only reason they are covered so closely every four years. Sometimes they are a predictor of who the eventual nominee (and president) will be, but often not. Just ask Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum, and Ted Cruz. And, similarly, the only reason the Golden Globes seem important is that they happen early in award season. But they are judged by such a niche group that their picks can seem downright baffling at times. Remember the 2010 flop The Tourist starring Johnny Depp? That was nominated for best picture at the Golden Globes. Have you ever seen Mozart in the Jungle? No! No one has! And yet, it’s a Golden Globe-winning television show.

So, do I think Bryan Singer’s creepiness will effect Bohemian Rhapsody’s Oscar chances? No. I think the fact that it’s a paint-by-numbers musical biopic will hurt its chances. (Seriously, the movie could have been called Walk Hard 2: This Time the Rockstar is Gay). I mean, Rami Malek and his mouthguard might still get a nod, but if you want a good Oscar predictor, the TIFF People’s Choice selection has a better track record. (So, get ready for a lot of Green Book hot takes!)

Point 2: Though she has already addressed and expressed regret about it—and she did so even before #MeToo made it a thing—Evan Rachel Wood starred in a Woody Allen movie in 2009. As with Singer, the allegations against Allen were pretty well-known even back then, but she still worked with him.

I’m not saying Wood is a hypocrite, or that her outrage is disingenuous. Not at all. I bring it up only to say that Wood clearly understands that sometimes actors work with gross directors, even if they should—or at least realistically could—know better. So maybe cut the cast a break when they celebrate what was clearly a huge surprise.

But 2009 was a very different time. And that’s good! If Bryan Singer never works again, that’s awesome. (Even if he happens to be innocent of all the many, many, many allegations–no one should be able to make the garbage Superman Returns and escape with their career). The real problem that’s complicating how we view Bohemian Rhapsody is that Singer is trying to get attention from it. If he didn’t rear his Botoxed head to claim credit for the Golden Globe, we might all be cool with forgetting he was a part of the film at all. Even if he kept the directing credit.

My question that rises from all of this is: why haven’t there been the public apologies and disavowals from actors who have worked with him in the past, the way there were for Woody Allen? So many of Allen’s former collaborators spoke out about how much they regret working with him, and how they’d never do it again. Actors who didn’t, or who expressed ambivalence toward Allen earned their own blowback. But no one is reaching out to Oscar Isaac or Jennifer Lawrence or, I don’t know, Stephen Baldwin, and asking them how they feel about having worked with an accused sex offender.

My theory: it’s because he, and his alleged victims, are gay. After all, it’s easier to ignore crimes in marginalized communities. Maybe there’s some discomfort because straight folks think they don’t understand gay sexuality in the first place—isn’t that normal for the gays—which, yes, is totally a homophobic holdover from when homosexuality was unfairly associated with pedophilia. And while I tend to think the retroactive shaming of actors is mostly performative, it’s still fucked up that we let Singer be Singer for so long.

PB: Hmm, I don’t know. Kevin Spacey’s accused of similar crimes and he’s been getting plenty of heat. I mean, he’s basically radioactive to anyone in the industry now. (Just for the record, though, Singer is married to a woman with whom he has a child, and has said publicly in interviews that he’s bisexual.)

I think maybe the reason Hollywood was slow to cool on Singer is because some of the allegations against him were dropped. As TIME notes, “he has faced two civil suits alleging sexual assault, one of which was dropped and one of which was dismissed.” In the wake of those lawsuits though, a bunch of stories began coming out about sordid “sex parties” Singer either threw or was present at but nothing was ever conclusively substantiated. A Buzzfeed story from 2014 details how Singer was brought “into regular orbit with 18- to 20-year-olds at parties sustained by large amounts of alcohol and drugs — edging precariously close to the line between legality and illegality,” but most of the sources quoted in the piece are unnamed and Singer wasn’t directly accused of misconduct. I think that sort of gave people the license to pull the whole “but nothing was ever proven” card.

Thanks to this latest lawsuit from 2017, though, which is ongoing, people are being denied an easy out. There is now a young man on the record claiming that he was raped by Singer, so there isn’t really any room for equivocating. Also, like you said, the climate has changed a lot in the past couple of years and stories that have been circulating on the whisper network for decades aren’t quite as easy to ignore anymore.

I know you brought up how Globe results aren’t a good indication of what’s coming down the pike—mainly because there’s no overlap between HFPA voters and Academy voters—but the film is still getting a lot of recognition from prestigious awards bodies. BAFTA noms came out yesterday and Bohemian Rhapsody features prominently on the list. So I’m just wondering—what’s an organization to do? I don’t think the film’s going to snag any more big prizes going forward; the backlash from the Globes has been substantial and other awards bodies probably don’t want to be tainted by a similar response on their big night. (By the way, did you see how poor 15-year-old Elsie Fisher, star of Eighth Grade, was dragged on Twitter for congratulating the team on their win?)

Why is everyone being so mean about this? I’m genuinely sorry if I did something wrong :(

— Elsie Fisher (@ElsieKFisher) January 7, 2019

Anyhow, I think what’s going to end up happening is: Malek’s going to continue getting recognition and maybe even some awards for his work, and the rest of the film is going to be shut out from any major wins. It’s the easiest way for them to award the film without really awarding the film, you know? And I don’t think anyone’s going to begrudge Malek a win. He’s got a ton of goodwill in the industry as well as critical praise for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury.

What I do hope for though—especially because we still have many, many awards shows and appearances ahead of us—is for everyone involved to get together and figure out how they want to address the elephant in the room. At the press conference after their Globes wins, the team flat-out refused to answer journalists’ questions about Singer. “That’s not something we should talk about tonight,” said producer Graham King, while Queen member Brian May quipped, “Good question though.” Malek then stepped up, saying, “I will take this one. There’s only one thing we needed to do, and that was to celebrate Freddie Mercury. Nothing was going to compromise us and giving him the love and celebration he deserves.”

They’re going to have to do a bit better than that. Don’t you think?

GH: It always baffles me when public figures don’t have thoughtful, satisfying answers to obvious questions. What are their publicists doing? Actors might not be the best at answering thorny ethical question on the spot (who is?), but they are pretty great at memorizing a script. Someone write that cast some talking points!

Having said that, I don’t really know what the satisfying answer would be. Because I realized, too, after you challenged my interpretation of the case, another reason why there hasn’t been the same retroactive hand-wringing from actors about having worked with Bryan Singer as there was about Woody Allen: It’s because it’s Bryan Singer. Woody Allen is an auteur—being in one of his films was an honour, a sign that you had arrived, or were at least arriving. Bryan Singer made some crowd-pleasing pictures, but no one is calling him an auteur.

I can’t decide whether that makes crafting an appropriate response easier or more difficult. On the one hand, because “working with Woody Allen” was such a cliche Hollywood status symbol, it was easy to understand when actors worked with him, despite credible allegations. Singer doesn’t have the same reputation. No actress has gushed about being granted the opportunity to be in an X-Men reboot. In that light, working with Singer seems less understandable.

But, that also could make it easier. And this seems to be where the cast is headed: you lean in on the Freddie Mercury Tribute and imply that, in the shadow of such an amazing performer, the director is practically immaterial. Bryan Singer? Who’s Bryan Singer? This was basically directed by the spirit of Freddie Mercury!

Also, lingering in the back of my mind, there’s that nagging concern that being fired or denied work because of an unproven allegation is a little dangerous as a precedent. After all, some of the rumours around Singer aren’t about illegal activity so much as being gross in a decadent, predatory, Hollywood way. Of course, the “nothing has been proven in court” defence is the least satisfying argument.

So maybe honesty would be best. Something that says they understand why people might feel ambivalent about the film, because of the director. That that is something, as a cast, they are dealing with, too. But, while we don’t want to shut down the conversation about how we should feel about problematic artists, the opportunity to celebrate Freddie Mercury is an unalloyed good. Then go on to talk about all the things Mercury did for human rights and the LGBTQ community.

And then just ignore the fact that the movie changes so much of Mercury’s story that it’s questionable whether it celebrates the real Freddie Mercury, or some postmodern, nostalgic construct we call Freddie Mercury.

But hating on Elsie Fisher? Let’s get some perspective people. The Oscars have a way of bringing out the darkness in people. That can be good (holding Casey Affleck to account for bad behaviour) and some can be not so good (rage-tweeting a teenager you don’t know). What should award bodies do to mitigate this? Should they vet nominees? And if so, what behaviour is disqualifying? What’s the statute of limitations? Or do problematic award winners just need to give better answers?

PB: Award bodies haven’t had to deal with a lot of scrutiny until fairly recently, so they’ve been able to skirt some of these issues without really shouldering any blame. Now though, their feet are being held to the fire and it’s not going to be as easy to just sit by and say nothing. It’s tricky; there’s certainly no one-size-fits-all solution but in my opinion, nor should there be. We’re dealing with complex issues here and I think everything needs to be addressed on a case by case basis. I really appreciate the diversity requirements the BAFTAs put in place last year: for the two awards categories specifically for British films (Outstanding British Film and Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer), they’re only accepting films that meet two of the British Film Institute’s quartet of core diversity standards.

But of course, different award bodies have different nomination processes. The Academy, for instance, has over 8000 people who submit their nominees for various categories, which then cycle through some complicated process before the final nominees are selected. Because there are so many people involved, it’s easy to play the avoidance game. Who do you hold accountable? But if the final list of five or ten nominees includes some problematic faves that have been in the news for x or y reason, I think it’s the award body’s duty to call for a meeting of their board to figure out the steps forward. Interestingly, I just Googled “Who is BAFTA president” and it turns out it’s Prince William, since 2010! Obviously he can’t weigh in on this stuff but there are other people who can, namely the VPs for film, television and games (?). The Academy, meanwhile, has a Board of Governors that includes Whoopi Goldberg, Laura Dern and Steven Spielberg.

Whatever these governing bodies decide, it’s something they should be able to defend when asked about it. Because they will be asked about it. Sorry guys, changing the subject isn’t an option anymore.

[jessicakehoe]

Does Bryan Singer’s Film Bohemian Rhapsody Deserve to Get Awards Love?

The ranks here at FASHION are not filled with men. Shocking, right? But there are one or two (there are actually, literally, two). Naturally, when a question about male/female dynamics arises it’s only fair that one of them stand in for the members of his gender and provide some insight. Our last topic of conversation was about controversial Christmas song “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” and today we’re discussing whether Bryan Singer-directed Bohemian Rhapsody should be snapping up any prizes this awards season. Two of our staffers—from the men’s corner, Greg Hudson, and from the women’s, Pahull Bains—talk it out.

PB: When Bohemian Rhapsody won the Best Picture (Drama) award at the Golden Globes last weekend, in addition to perplexity from critics who had largely panned the film, there was a fair bit of outrage on the internet. Evan Rachel Wood tweeted, “So we just..we are all still supposed to be pretending we don’t know about Bryan Singer? Cause it worked out really well with #Spacey and #Weinstein.” Now, I’m all for men finally getting their comeuppance but I also think it’s unfair that the entire cast and crew of a film be punished for the misdeeds of one person, whose shadiness wasn’t known until the #MeToo Flood of 2017. Or so I thought.

Yes, in 2017 Singer was fired as director of the film partway through shooting for causing “on-set chaos”: showing up late, being unavailable for days at a time, disappearing without the studio’s permission. Just a few days later, it emerged that Singer had been accused of rape by Cesar Sanchez-Guzman, who had been 17 at the time of the assault in 2003. So, I thought to myself, production on this film began before this news came out, so we can’t blame the team for working with him. I’m no fan of the movie, but let them have their moment of glory, thought I, wee innocent one.

As it turns out, allegations against Singer—who has directed films like The Usual Suspects and X-Men: First Class—go way, way back. In December 2017, IndieWire published “The Bryan Singer Timeline: a History of Allegations and Defenses, from Troubled Films to Sexual Assault Claims,” and lets just say it’s not a short list, going as far back as 1994 and ranging from allegations of sexual assault and rape to accusations of filming minor boys naked without their permission.

So, now that we’re caught up on Singer’s problematic history, what does it mean for Bohemian Rhapsody as an awards contender? No one was expecting it to win two big awards at the Globes, which has led understandably to increased scrutiny as we make our way through awards season, with the Critics’ Choice Awards, the SAGs, the BAFTAs, and of course the Oscars ahead of us. Do you think the film’s shot at these shiny statuettes should be diminished because of Singer’s involvement?

FIRST REFORMED, but about Ethan Hawke struggling to find hope in a world where Bohemian Rhapsody is probably gonna be nominated for Best Picture. pic.twitter.com/dI4D7kxfJ7

— david ehrlich (@davidehrlich) January 4, 2019

GH: Before I single-handedly bring down Bryan Singer with my rhetoric and rage, I just want to point a couple of things out that are probably not all that relevant. Why do this? Because I’m a man, and we enjoy talking like experts on subjects we just did some half-assed internet research about.

Point 1: The Golden Globes matter to the Oscar race about as much as the Iowa Caucuses do to the Presidential election. You’ll recall, being the astute political observer that you are, that the Iowa Caucuses happen early in the American election cycle. That’s really the only reason they are covered so closely every four years. Sometimes they are a predictor of who the eventual nominee (and president) will be, but often not. Just ask Mike Huckabee, Rick Santorum, and Ted Cruz. And, similarly, the only reason the Golden Globes seem important is that they happen early in award season. But they are judged by such a niche group that their picks can seem downright baffling at times. Remember the 2010 flop The Tourist starring Johnny Depp? That was nominated for best picture at the Golden Globes. Have you ever seen Mozart in the Jungle? No! No one has! And yet, it’s a Golden Globe-winning television show.

So, do I think Bryan Singer’s creepiness will effect Bohemian Rhapsody’s Oscar chances? No. I think the fact that it’s a paint-by-numbers musical biopic will hurt its chances. (Seriously, the movie could have been called Walk Hard 2: This Time the Rockstar is Gay). I mean, Rami Malek and his mouthguard might still get a nod, but if you want a good Oscar predictor, the TIFF People’s Choice selection has a better track record. (So, get ready for a lot of Green Book hot takes!)

Point 2: Though she has already addressed and expressed regret about it—and she did so even before #MeToo made it a thing—Evan Rachel Wood starred in a Woody Allen movie in 2009. As with Singer, the allegations against Allen were pretty well-known even back then, but she still worked with him.

I’m not saying Wood is a hypocrite, or that her outrage is disingenuous. Not at all. I bring it up only to say that Wood clearly understands that sometimes actors work with gross directors, even if they should—or at least realistically could—know better. So maybe cut the cast a break when they celebrate what was clearly a huge surprise.

But 2009 was a very different time. And that’s good! If Bryan Singer never works again, that’s awesome. (Even if he happens to be innocent of all the many, many, many allegations–no one should be able to make the garbage Superman Returns and escape with their career). The real problem that’s complicating how we view Bohemian Rhapsody is that Singer is trying to get attention from it. If he didn’t rear his Botoxed head to claim credit for the Golden Globe, we might all be cool with forgetting he was a part of the film at all. Even if he kept the directing credit.

My question that rises from all of this is: why haven’t there been the public apologies and disavowals from actors who have worked with him in the past, the way there were for Woody Allen? So many of Allen’s former collaborators spoke out about how much they regret working with him, and how they’d never do it again. Actors who didn’t, or who expressed ambivalence toward Allen earned their own blowback. But no one is reaching out to Oscar Isaac or Jennifer Lawrence or, I don’t know, Stephen Baldwin, and asking them how they feel about having worked with an accused sex offender.

My theory: it’s because he, and his alleged victims, are gay. After all, it’s easier to ignore crimes in marginalized communities. Maybe there’s some discomfort because straight folks think they don’t understand gay sexuality in the first place—isn’t that normal for the gays—which, yes, is totally a homophobic holdover from when homosexuality was unfairly associated with pedophilia. And while I tend to think the retroactive shaming of actors is mostly performative, it’s still fucked up that we let Singer be Singer for so long.

PB: Hmm, I don’t know. Kevin Spacey’s accused of similar crimes and he’s been getting plenty of heat. I mean, he’s basically radioactive to anyone in the industry now. (Just for the record, though, Singer is married to a woman with whom he has a child, and has said publicly in interviews that he’s bisexual.)

I think maybe the reason Hollywood was slow to cool on Singer is because some of the allegations against him were dropped. As TIME notes, “he has faced two civil suits alleging sexual assault, one of which was dropped and one of which was dismissed.” In the wake of those lawsuits though, a bunch of stories began coming out about sordid “sex parties” Singer either threw or was present at but nothing was ever conclusively substantiated. A Buzzfeed story from 2014 details how Singer was brought “into regular orbit with 18- to 20-year-olds at parties sustained by large amounts of alcohol and drugs — edging precariously close to the line between legality and illegality,” but most of the sources quoted in the piece are unnamed and Singer wasn’t directly accused of misconduct. I think that sort of gave people the license to pull the whole “but nothing was ever proven” card.

Thanks to this latest lawsuit from 2017, though, which is ongoing, people are being denied an easy out. There is now a young man on the record claiming that he was raped by Singer, so there isn’t really any room for equivocating. Also, like you said, the climate has changed a lot in the past couple of years and stories that have been circulating on the whisper network for decades aren’t quite as easy to ignore anymore.

I know you brought up how Globe results aren’t a good indication of what’s coming down the pike—mainly because there’s no overlap between HFPA voters and Academy voters—but the film is still getting a lot of recognition from prestigious awards bodies. BAFTA noms came out yesterday and Bohemian Rhapsody features prominently on the list. So I’m just wondering—what’s an organization to do? I don’t think the film’s going to snag any more big prizes going forward; the backlash from the Globes has been substantial and other awards bodies probably don’t want to be tainted by a similar response on their big night. (By the way, did you see how poor 15-year-old Elsie Fisher, star of Eighth Grade, was dragged on Twitter for congratulating the team on their win?)

Why is everyone being so mean about this? I’m genuinely sorry if I did something wrong :(

— Elsie Fisher (@ElsieKFisher) January 7, 2019

Anyhow, I think what’s going to end up happening is: Malek’s going to continue getting recognition and maybe even some awards for his work, and the rest of the film is going to be shut out from any major wins. It’s the easiest way for them to award the film without really awarding the film, you know? And I don’t think anyone’s going to begrudge Malek a win. He’s got a ton of goodwill in the industry as well as critical praise for his portrayal of Freddie Mercury.

What I do hope for though—especially because we still have many, many awards shows and appearances ahead of us—is for everyone involved to get together and figure out how they want to address the elephant in the room. At the press conference after their Globes wins, the team flat-out refused to answer journalists’ questions about Singer. “That’s not something we should talk about tonight,” said producer Graham King, while Queen member Brian May quipped, “Good question though.” Malek then stepped up, saying, “I will take this one. There’s only one thing we needed to do, and that was to celebrate Freddie Mercury. Nothing was going to compromise us and giving him the love and celebration he deserves.”

They’re going to have to do a bit better than that. Don’t you think?

GH: It always baffles me when public figures don’t have thoughtful, satisfying answers to obvious questions. What are their publicists doing? Actors might not be the best at answering thorny ethical question on the spot (who is?), but they are pretty great at memorizing a script. Someone write that cast some talking points!

Having said that, I don’t really know what the satisfying answer would be. Because I realized, too, after you challenged my interpretation of the case, another reason why there hasn’t been the same retroactive hand-wringing from actors about having worked with Bryan Singer as there was about Woody Allen: It’s because it’s Bryan Singer. Woody Allen is an auteur—being in one of his films was an honour, a sign that you had arrived, or were at least arriving. Bryan Singer made some crowd-pleasing pictures, but no one is calling him an auteur.

I can’t decide whether that makes crafting an appropriate response easier or more difficult. On the one hand, because “working with Woody Allen” was such a cliche Hollywood status symbol, it was easy to understand when actors worked with him, despite credible allegations. Singer doesn’t have the same reputation. No actress has gushed about being granted the opportunity to be in an X-Men reboot. In that light, working with Singer seems less understandable.

But, that also could make it easier. And this seems to be where the cast is headed: you lean in on the Freddie Mercury Tribute and imply that, in the shadow of such an amazing performer, the director is practically immaterial. Bryan Singer? Who’s Bryan Singer? This was basically directed by the spirit of Freddie Mercury!

Also, lingering in the back of my mind, there’s that nagging concern that being fired or denied work because of an unproven allegation is a little dangerous as a precedent. After all, some of the rumours around Singer aren’t about illegal activity so much as being gross in a decadent, predatory, Hollywood way. Of course, the “nothing has been proven in court” defence is the least satisfying argument.

So maybe honesty would be best. Something that says they understand why people might feel ambivalent about the film, because of the director. That that is something, as a cast, they are dealing with, too. But, while we don’t want to shut down the conversation about how we should feel about problematic artists, the opportunity to celebrate Freddie Mercury is an unalloyed good. Then go on to talk about all the things Mercury did for human rights and the LGBTQ community.

And then just ignore the fact that the movie changes so much of Mercury’s story that it’s questionable whether it celebrates the real Freddie Mercury, or some postmodern, nostalgic construct we call Freddie Mercury.

But hating on Elsie Fisher? Let’s get some perspective people. The Oscars have a way of bringing out the darkness in people. That can be good (holding Casey Affleck to account for bad behaviour) and some can be not so good (rage-tweeting a teenager you don’t know). What should award bodies do to mitigate this? Should they vet nominees? And if so, what behaviour is disqualifying? What’s the statute of limitations? Or do problematic award winners just need to give better answers?

PB: Award bodies haven’t had to deal with a lot of scrutiny until fairly recently, so they’ve been able to skirt some of these issues without really shouldering any blame. Now though, their feet are being held to the fire and it’s not going to be as easy to just sit by and say nothing. It’s tricky; there’s certainly no one-size-fits-all solution but in my opinion, nor should there be. We’re dealing with complex issues here and I think everything needs to be addressed on a case by case basis. I really appreciate the diversity requirements the BAFTAs put in place last year: for the two awards categories specifically for British films (Outstanding British Film and Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer), they’re only accepting films that meet two of the British Film Institute’s quartet of core diversity standards.

But of course, different award bodies have different nomination processes. The Academy, for instance, has over 8000 people who submit their nominees for various categories, which then cycle through some complicated process before the final nominees are selected. Because there are so many people involved, it’s easy to play the avoidance game. Who do you hold accountable? But if the final list of five or ten nominees includes some problematic faves that have been in the news for x or y reason, I think it’s the award body’s duty to call for a meeting of their board to figure out the steps forward. Interestingly, I just Googled “Who is BAFTA president” and it turns out it’s Prince William, since 2010! Obviously he can’t weigh in on this stuff but there are other people who can, namely the VPs for film, television and games (?). The Academy, meanwhile, has a Board of Governors that includes Whoopi Goldberg, Laura Dern and Steven Spielberg.

Whatever these governing bodies decide, it’s something they should be able to defend when asked about it. Because they will be asked about it. Sorry guys, changing the subject isn’t an option anymore.

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[wishingfornever]

10/11/17 – No Contact:  Meta Entry

I had a series of dreams.  The last dream, you were here and we just laid together.  I kissed the back of your neck and you were happy. Then I woke up and find I had been cuddling with Max the WHOLE TIME!!!  GASP!!!

Kidding, but that was the last dream. You had a black tank top, black underwear, and that red beanie.  I remember… a lot from that dream. I’m waiting to propose to you to carry on and continue your life.  As I said, your mom told me to look after you and I still intend to.  Of course, you don’t deserve it.  Your behavior was just… incredibly bad.  And then you justified the stupidest things.  You don’t deserve forgiveness.  You don’t deserve a second chance.

You’re lucky I’m not you.

Maybe I’m being harsh.  Maybe I’m telling myself this so I can wait the full two months to message you again.  Or maybe I’m totally justified.  You really fucked up.  You’ll see that eventually but I can’t make you see it.  Thus, this is a lesson you’ll have to learn yourself.

I hope you don’t view my offer as a safety net.  Like, seriously, if I’m trying to be nice then don’t overthink it.  I suspect you’ll avoid my offer, though.  Maybe that’s why.  Not enough pressure. What a bunch of bullshit.

My one concern is that I stop caring about you before I offer you a place.  Sort of like how you stopped caring.  See?  Like that.  You REALLY don’t deserve a second chance.  If I were a wiser man, I’d have left you for dead.  You’d be stuck with Dennis or move back. Worse yet, you’d move from man to man trying to find a place for yourself, constantly getting high and NEVER getting your GED.  Your life will stagnate.  I guarantee it will with Dennis or any other prick on the internet who says he “Totally cares, for sure.” Your two best options will be with me or with your mom.  Because unlike those other internet tools, I won’t let you get high.  I’m sick of it.  Pot is fucking stupid and you’re stupid for liking pot.

You’re getting your fucking GED.  If you’re here, I will MAKE you get it.  That is not an option. That said… you don’t need to choose me.  You can choose your parents.  I’m sure they’d be THRILLED to have you back.  Well, your mom at least. Thing is, it’s your mom.  She has two sides.  Not saying she’s a bad person, but she’s a hard person.  I know because she’s somewhat like my dad, just my dad is less hippie-ish.

Whatever… Anyways, Max isn’t eating his food.  That’s a problem.  He’s… been grumpy.  I told you I applied for a job at Starbucks.  Here’s the thing.  I wanted to go to Starbucks and apply in person.  But… I can’t.  Because Max has been very temperamental.  Like, so much. So, I’m sticking by with him.  We could use someone who will stay here with him.  Like you.  That’d be super helpful.

Anyways, I just checked with my application in Starbucks.  Turns out to… have not saved.  So, I re did it.  Not that hard.  But as of today? I officially applied for a job.  After this week, I’ll start applying at other places.  Hopefully in person.

Holy crap.  I know how to propose.  Custom banner.  In NationStates. It’ll say, “Esther’s Nation, will you marry me?” and have one of the letters replaced with a hammer and sickle.  Or put the hammer and sickle in a heart.  Gasp.  :o

Cringe now.  I know.  We won’t get together because of reasons.  Probably because you don’t want to see me again.  That’s why I wrote it here.  Because you’re not going to read it.  It’s funny though. Clever.  I mean, not romantic.  But the region will think it’s cute.  :D

Whatever.  If we do get together again, I’ll have to try to delete this.  Or maybe I won’t, idk.  Kind of ruins the authenticity of the journal to go back and delete things… so… whatever.

I need Max.  This cute Asian gal ran up and said, “Awwwww!  What’s his name!”  I was awkward at the time because I didn’t expect it. I said “Max.  Be careful, he’s grumpy.”  But she was super cheerful.  Was getting out of her car at the time.

I might be a bit socially awkward.  I have to be in control of the situation to prevent it and I have to be super confident in myself.  I put on some pounds and I did almost nothing to my hair.  I mean… I brushed it.  Kinda looks cute.  But could be better.  Breath smells of onions.  Intending to shower when I got back.  Just… not a good situation for me.  She didn’t get close enough for that.  Was cute though.

Shane isn’t doing well.  He said he coughed up blood.  Concerning.  Told him to see a doctor.  I hope he’s fine.

Meanwhile, Walter (who ADORES NationStates) wants to do a NationState scenario with me.  Like a space race.  I think it’d be super cool.  We’re doing some planning.  Won’t need that much time.  I won’t have to much time to begin with.  I’ll be working at Starbucks soon.  And, of course, my book.  Which I haven’t touched for a while.  I’ll make time for it this week.  I’m waking up earlier, if you can believe it.

I’ve been sleeping in, unfortunately.  But I’m getting over it.  I didn’t do my sets yesterday.  I didn’t run, either.  Didn’t today.  Been focusing on Max.  He just wants to walk, so we’re just walking.  Super inactive.  Eh.  :/

I want to message you.  I always do when I write in the journal.  I think because I want responses for somethings.  Or at least input. Idk.  It’ll fade.  Eventually, I’ll stop writing in this journal. That’ll either be a good thing or a bad thing.  Either it’s a bad thing because that means I stopped caring and have totally given up on you or that we’re back together and there is no need for the journal.  I guess having a journal at all is pretty desperate.  I mean… why?  This journal is more about us than it is about me.  If I keep it… idk.  The posts won’t be as long.  I don’t know what I’d put in there… or why.

Why did I begin this one? It’s helped me deal with the end of our relationship.  It also documents what’s been happening for us.  But… eh.  It’s the truth.  Maybe that’s a bad thing.  The truth often isn’t welcome. Maybe I’ll upload it to a blog next year.  For giggles.  I’ll send you a link to it then.  On 9/3/18.  Wouldn’t that be fun, eh? Idk.  Just an idea.  This would make it in there too. It’ll be weird to see me bitching about the format.  And converting it would be a pain in my ass.  Oh, I’ll make it a Tumblr thing. Set it to public.  Not to slut shame you or to shit on Dennis or anything.  I just think it’d be good to document.  Might be a fun read, idk.  ;) Anyways, Adela just came back.  I spoke with her.  Couldn’t get the scale to work.  Earlier today I was in such a good mood, I could have sworn I lost weight.  I little bit later, I felt super self-conscious and I felt like I gained weight. I need a scale to measure everything.  That way, I won’t get complacent and I won’t have to guess.  I could lose 40 pounds and I wouldn’t notice.  Though, I think I’d notice gaining 40 pounds at this point.  I’ll be honest.  Thing is, I didn’t realize I lost weight when I lost 10 pounds.  So… weird.  I guess it’s easier to see my failures than successes.  Hrm…

Whatever.

I’m thinking about when I publicize this all.  You probably won’t like it.  You’ll probably ask me to take down or not do it at all.  Or if you read this, you might ask me to do it.  I guess it depends on how I end this journal.  We’ll see.  It’d only be surprising to people who we don’t know if this is posted.  You’ll know how it ends and anyone who knows us will know how it’ll end.  And people will be surprised to know I came up with these bullshit titles before I even thought about posting any of this.

No names will be changed.  So, if you don’t like it, maybe you can sue.  So even if you hate me, you can still have a happy ending.  ;) This would be A LOT of honesty.  To just put out there.  It’ll be nice to have total strangers think I’m crazy too.  Ah, well.  Shane might have died.  He stopped responding to me.  So has Walter, actually.

Btw, I told Randy everything.  I think I mentioned that.  Might not have. Regardless, he responded.  Was very nice to me.  Kind of sympathetic. It was nice.  I had to reiterate that I had nothing against you or Dennis.  Though, I guess you’d disagree after reading all of this.

If not against Dennis, then against you.  Saying you don’t deserve a second chance.  I stand by my words; you really don’t.  And Dennis is still a piece of shit.  Thing is, I don’t have to like someone to not have a grudge.  I don’t have a grudge against Dennis.  No vendetta needing fulfilling.  And, obviously, no vendetta against you.  Rather, you piss me off and Dennis is dead to me.  He’s a slimebag piece of shit that literally EVERYONE can see but you.  You think he’s awesome, but that’s because he’s a terrible person.  You have only his word to take on it. He doesn’t talk to Shane or Jeremiah anymore for a reason.  He brought this on himself.  Everyone who used to associate with him stopped talking to him.  Walter joked about how he didn’t recognize Dennis’s name.

Gotta give him credit, though.  At least he’s dedicated to fucking up and cutting contact with everyone he’s ever called friend.  If I had known that’s all that it takes to win your heart, I’m sure I wouldn’t be writing this journal.  Sorry, but Jer and I have a relationship that you wouldn’t understand.  In High School, it was compared to Turk and JD from Scrubs by our friends.  The ultimate bromance.  Apparently the actors who play them are best friends in real life.  That’s interesting.  I wonder which one of us was Turk and which one was JD.  I haven’t seen much of the show to make a comparison.

Speaking of Jer, he REALLY wants me to download League of Legends.  I… probably won’t.  Because of reasons.  Mostly that I won’t have time for video games between a job, my book, and learning Spanish.  I haven’t begun yet but… soon.  Measuring life by the week. ;)

Anyways, I’m tired.  Also hungry.  Going to get food and watch dumb videos.  I mean, I could work on my book, but nah. I’m a terrible person with a shitty work ethic.  Don’t tell Starbucks, though.  ;)

Before I go and begin the next entry… it would appear I’m rather macabre.  I was watching JonTron’s old review for a dorky game, I was thinking his bird was going to die soon.  I don’t know why I would think that.  Birds have a lengthy life, for one… and for two, WHO THE FUCK THINKS ABOUT WHEN SOMEONE LOSES THEIR ANIMALS?!?  Ugh… I know it’ll suck to lose a pet.  Thing is, I ask this to myself a lot with people’s pets.

Jack died when I came back from Texas the first time.  I had to bury him.  It sucked.  Then there were other pets I had to bury, but he was the most recent.  It was… depressing.  He went into an old dog house outside and just slept in there the night he died.  He was old. Oof…  I’m done talking about Jack.  Later.  x.x