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bookaddict24-7 · 2 years

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REVIEWS OF THE WEEK!

Books I’ve read so far in 2022!

Friend me on Goodreads here to follow my more up to date reading journey for the year!

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251. Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I absolutely devoured this book. Although you can tell that this is a product of the time (mainly by certain derogatory words that King uses), the story feels timeless. I also think that this is the perfect read for October. The artwork, the atmosphere, and that build up of terror is definitely going to keep you up at night.

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252. Just A Bit Obsessed by Alessandra Hazard--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Re-Read in October 2022: This is the one I was most excited to re-read in the early books of this series. I love how certain events in this book happened because the actions of the woman in this felt very petty. Definitely made me feel giddy as I re-read!

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253. Two Truths & A Lie by April Henry--⭐️⭐️⭐️

I usually enjoy YA thrillers because they're fun and there isn't a lot of thought processing behind it because of their predictability (save for a few I've encountered in the past), and this one wasn't any different. While it was fun, it wasn't mind blowing. I had my suspicions over who was the killer and what some of the twists would be, so it wasn't entirely surprising. But with all of that being said, it was still an entertaining read and would make for a great cozy murder mystery by the fireplace as the weather gets colder. I don't have a fireplace, but the image just sounds nice. Will this blow your mind? No. But it might just entertain you!

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254. Nick & Charlie by Alice Oseman--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I LOVE MY BOYS. Even if they sometimes lack communication and let their insecurities get the better of them. I loved that this had Oseman's classic art throughout the book. I love these two so much and like one of the characters said, if there was an example of what soulmates look like, it would be them. Please read Heartstopper before you read this!

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255. Two Degrees by Alan Gratz--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This was the second book I've read by this author and I am convinced that I need to read all of his books. I loved this novel and what it could represent, AND that it is aimed for the younger generations (anyone of any generation SHOULD read this). Just like in the last book I read by Gratz, this one tells three separate stories that eventually come together into a great overarching narrative. What I love about this is that it makes me want to connect the dots before the epilogue and try to guess how these characters might know each other. I think each story carries its own important message in regards to the climate change currently happening, how people are reacting (or not reacting) to our changing world, and the aftermath of the consequences of our actions. Gratz doesn't hold back when it comes to giving us the jarring reality of the situations these characters face, including the casualties that occur during these events. I also found it so terrifying how the hurricane story mirrors what just recently happened in Florida. That timing was just...wow. I highly recommend this book and I think it should be taught in schools. Our world is changing and I'm glad to have another book that explores the topic.

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256. Spells for Lost Things by Jenna Evans Welch--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I received a copy via the publisher because I interviewed the author on Indigo's Instagram page. This did not affect my review in any way. Much like the MC of this book, reading her story was like taking a trip into the whimsical world of family and Salem. I enjoyed getting to know more about this witchy family and their cursed history. I also loved how the male MC learned to trust and love those who offer him a home and felt for him as he faced some of the darker realities of his situation. I adored watching the two of them fall for each other as they tried to solve the mystery at the heart of this book, and how they helped each other find themselves. This was just such a sweet read about family and magic and I think if you want a good October read that won't give you nightmares, then this might be perfect for you! The atmosphere and setting is great for those who love realistic fiction with a touch of the otherworldly, and the humour will make you want to wish you were a part of this family. I didn't make this a five star rating because it took me a bit to get into the story but once the mystery started, I was hooked.

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257. Nowhere Girl by Cheryl Diamond--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The moment I heard about this book, I absolutely wanted to read it. This was so heavy, but so good. I couldn't stop listening to it--even through the darker moments. I think that if you're thinking of reading this, definitely check for trigger warnings. Diamond had such an incredibly rough life leading up to this book's publication. I think she put the perspective of the situation (from the POV of an outsider) best herself when she shared the POV of a man in her life: how her childhood is so fascinating, but it's easy to think that when you're not the one living it. She lived with an abusive father, siblings, and a mother who fell more and more into herself. Despite the heartbreak and the moments where my heart dropped for her, I am so glad I read this and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for incredibly hard hitting memoirs that don't shy away from the dark realities of some families.

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258. How Moon Fuentez Fell in Love with the Universe by Raquel Vasquez Gilliland--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

The fact that this book was on my shelves for years hurts my heart because IT WAS SO GOOD. I was so surprised and hooked from the beginning! Gilliland deals with some heavy topics in this, but I love that these topics were explored (especially because we are seeing more and more fatphobia in society). I think this book will help anyone who thinks they are alone in hating their bodies, or thinking that the insults thrown their way makes up who they are. Moon struggles with her self-image and the way others see her because she has always been compared to her "perfect" twin sister. I think exploring these topics will help (even if they can be triggering) because it will hopefully help the reader feel less alone. Don't even get me started on Moon's love interest. I loved how their romance flourished and that this was a classic enemies to lovers romance trope, intermingled with some pretty bugs. Her love interest was such a cinnamon roll and I'm so happy that they found each other. However, you can see their ages in how they react to certain situations (even though Moon is more mature in other situations.) Also, this book is definitely for the older teen (and up). Keep that in mind if you're recommending it to anyone younger than fifteen or sixteen. Please read the trigger warnings for this book!

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259. Every Summer After by Carley Fortune--⭐️⭐️⭐️

I finally read this one after it was so popular during the summer. I can see why, though. This has summer written all over it (especially because of the title and cover.) I enjoyed this and I loved that it was set so close to home (for me). I liked seeing how the relationship between the MC and the brothers was slowly developed through flashbacks. I wasn’t a big fan of one of the big twists and how the love interests acted at various times (although I understand too because they’re so young). Not going to lie though, I’m team older bro. Sorry not sorry. One of the main reasons why this isn’t higher rated for me is because while everyone hyped this up, I just kept thinking of the other romance novels that used this same theme and storyline. I know there’s no true original ideas anymore (for the most part, save for the few instances) but I mean, this was still not as good as other novels I’ve read with a similar storyline. Would I recommend this to others? Of course! It’s a great summer read and if you haven’t read the books I’m thinking of, then I think you will love this.

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260. The Ghosts of Thorwald Place by Helen Power--⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I was NOT expecting to enjoy this book as much as I did. There was something about it that just kept pulling me in when I wasn’t listening to it. Also, a Toronto setting? Heck yeah. This building made me think of the Ice towers in the city. The mystery was fun and the twist was unexpected. I mainly loved this book for the voyeuristic storyline of this ghost watching these lives continue—no matter how chaotic. It shows that we truly never know what a person is doing behind closed doors. This was also surprisingly terrifying. I wasn’t expecting to feel moments of discomfort (despite the topic and genre of the book). There are various scenes that are definitely nightmare inducing. Perfect for October tbh. If you want a thriller/horror novel with compelling characters and a unique perspective on what it might be like to be a ghost stuck where you were murdered, then you might enjoy this one. But read it with the lights on.

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Have you read any of these books? Would you recommend them?

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Happy reading!

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zizz-asdf-re-r-o-u · 3 years

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Underrated Openly Queer Audio Dramas

So you know The Penumbra Podcast, Welcome to Nightvale, The Bright Sessions, Alice Isn’t Dead, Ars Paradoxica, Archive81, The Two Princes, Moonbase Theta Out, Unwell, The Magnus Archives, etc. You might have heard of Mabel, Strange Case of Starship Iris, Dining in the Void, Blood Crow Stories, Caravan, Dreamboy, Love&Luck, Kaleidotrope, etc. Maybe you’ve even heard of Sidequesting, Desperado, Folxlore, Return Home, The Flame, The Beacon, Valence, other shows from Procyon Podcast Network, etc. They’re all either well known, somewhat known, or at least frequently recommended audio dramas with openly queer characterS. If you haven’t, you should! Well, here is a post of underrated audio dramas with IN YOUR FACE unapologetically queer characters. No characters in the closet or “only mildly queer coded or wait until the 3rd season to find out or there’s a blink & you’ll miss it clue” kind of queer. Like if you take away the gayness, almost the entire story is gone.

Last updated Sept 2022. As I discover more, or as stories develop, I’ll likely update this! Let me know if you have other underrated recommendations! For the time being, these are the shows I’ve personally listened to.

Bastard Fur: NSFW 18+ Did you like Caravan? Do you like gay werewolves? Sammy gets bitten by a werewolf and joins a found family cult to handle the situation. Unfortunately this is stuck in a hiatus just as the plot starts, so there isn’t much going on yet, but it is very promising!

@burstpodcast: Bubble tea cafe in space with shenanigans. Beth is a shameless lesbian, and she is so unapologetically present and irreplaceable that I can’t leave Burst off this list. I believe this is a student/amateur project so the audio/storytelling is very rough, but the storyline is whacky and wild enough that I forgive it.

Dash: Slight NSFW, some 1940s homophobia. The story is a typical noir detective solving a crime. But DASH IS GAY AND WILL NOT LET YOU FORGET IT, even though it’s the 1940s. I love it. Cue “this woman tried to hit on me but sorry you’re barking up the wrong tree.”

Dos After You: A gay assassin/serial killer sleeps with a god and then chases across Europe seeking to kill him. This is for those who want chaotic disaster gays. It’s also a bilingual Spanish show and, maybe it’s the accents, but everyone is sooo flirty. The audio is a bit rough sometimes though.

Electromancy: Student mages attend the Royal Institute for the Study of Sorcery. Lots of superpowered action, tasty world building, and several queer and nonbinary characters. Also, it features a large number of well known indie queer audio drama creators, but I see so little buzz about it!

Fuck Humans: NSFW 18+ Explicit erotica BUT believe me when I say it’s very plot driven first. A fantasy world where humans & monsters live separated by a wall. This also has a diverse range of relationship styles and sexualities (yes there’s at least 1 asexual character that’s important to the plot). I will forever shout endless eternal praise about this show to whoever is 18+.

@gayfuturepod-blog : Gay Future is exactly as it says on the can. Satire about a dystopian future with reverse prosecution where the entire world is gay or lesbian. Why oh why does this not have more attention!

The Glass Appeal: Jason Cawfield has been imprisoned at Confederacy Supermax for a crime he claims he didn't commit. Married gay protagonist with cute banter and tries to explore prison/rebellion/healthcare themes. Unique audio storytelling method but misses the mark in convincing me of the prison setting.

@hinaypod : Mari Datuin is a babaylan that deals with spoopy stuff happening in Toronto with a group of friends. There’s a few humans, magic and normal, and spirits of various queer identities. (Also yay for more immigrant and first generation Asian rep!)

Hulm @go-hulm: “Anyone need a fantasy himbo/lesbian power dynamic?” The whole plot kicks off with Brant, the himbo who got trapped in Hulm via portal, and Meydinyor searching for her girlfriend to solve some interdimensional problems. It starts out silly enough, but the sound design is solid, voice acting is great, and the plot definitely gains more depth. This show has only 42 twitter followers, has less than 2-5 dedicated posts on tumblr, and I don’t think I’ve seen anyone else talk about it!

@jarofrebukepodcast : Dr Jared Hel is an immortal scientist with amnesia that encounters spoopy cryptids. Lots of gays and several nonbinary/trans characters.

@khorapodcast : Space adventure meets adaptation of various Greek/Roman mythological characters AND it keeps or expands on their queer origins.

The Line: (NSFW & drugs) from @pendantaudio . A troubled girl is caught in the war between Heaven and Hell, and learns she is humanity’s only chance at survival. I only just started this show, Kitty Shadow is a very interesting character and great casual lesbian. And Thomas Davies is also interesting so far, but warning for priest-grooming-young-boys (Thomas being a horny young boy) situation. It is an early era audio drama and you can tell how rough it is, but the storyline is very interesting, wonderfully violent, the music is really really catchy & epic, and it’s weirdly sex positive.

Mage and Machine: from @pendantaudio . A cyberpunk + magic story, with some steampunk vibes, featuring a half cyborg Mack, and a mysterious mage, Kailira. Mack’s ex-boyfriend/mechanic, Plinio, plays a fairly important role too. The worldbuilding is amazing, the mystery and tension is done well, and you really feel the character’s struggles. I noticed this show, and many of Pendant’s shows don’t have much, if any, online attention, including the ones that have been around since before 2009.

Mission Rejected: The backups of a spy agency do shenanigans. Zelda & Pat are THE lesbian power couple and if you take them away, shit hits the fan. Bowden is recently confirmed bisexual, and there’s other characters whose identities haven’t been confirmed “onscreen” yet. I’ve never seen it on a queer audio drama rec list. If you liked how Juno Steel broke noir detective tropes, you will like how this breaks spy/agents movie tropes.

Monstica: NSFW 18+ Ok these are all just very creative sexy monster fucking scenarios. But I’m serious when I say its creative queer erotica. Many trans characters, many relationship styles, etc. Bonus points that it actually includes/hires POC, queer, & trans voice actors, as well as sex workers.

Moonface: Slight NSFW. Come for a good balance of gay issues and Korean American disapora issues. It seriously deserves a listen, because there’s already very little queer Asian American media, both in mainstream US and audio drama land. Note that there are a few explicit onscreen sex scenes that are plot relevant, but easier to skip than Caravan & Bastard Fur. And it does end kind of Kdrama-y though. Nonetheless, I will shout about this constantly.

Murray Mysteries: Dracula modern day adaptation, where the characters are all queer and some are genderflipped. Their personalities translate perfectly to the 21st century and it explicitly canonizes any queer coded characters from the original book.

The Night Post: The story of a spoopy postal service. To be honest, the only things about this show I remember is when the characters are being gay drama™, which happens often enough that I remember it. So it’s on this list.

Null/Void: “I’m in a closet.” “Thanks for coming out, but is this the right time?” “No I’m actually hiding in a closet, but not the homophobic kind. Someone is about to catch me.” Just. Listen to this show.

Rifted: Set in a military state fantasy world, with rebels, bounty hunters and revolutionaries. Aurora & Daniel are childhood friends turned opposite-sides-of-the-rebellion turned escapees in love. Many other characters are openly queer as well.

@7ofheartspod : “What happens when you get a group of gays together and half of them have a crush?” - sums it up. I’m still listening, and it’s a very minimalist sound design/story about a group of friends in a town where an evil voice might be killing people/luring people away.

@skillsetpodcast : By the same creators as Under the Electric Stars, this kind-of scifi urban fantasy follows four college friends after an action-packed disaster in the very first episode. So far there’s only 3 episodes but holy MOLY the sound design is phenomenal, most creative monster SFX in a while, the voice actors are distinct, and it seems like there’s a lot of world building & mystery that will be revealed. You also really feel for the trauma that the characters are going through. Also none of the 4 friends are cis, straight, or white.

@undertheelectricstarspodcast : Do you like Penumbra Podcast but kinda annoyed at how they handle race? Do you also like Hi Nay? This is a cyberpunk dystopia with themes of healthcare and revolutionaries, and lots of action. Several main characters are nonbinary using a mix of different pronouns, at least 1 m/m guy, and more. Also all the leads are multilingual POC with several southeast Asians, and it does address POC issues! There were hints at a queer romance in the beginning, but I think romance has taken a back seat for the plot. Anyways, this one has very little attention at the moment, so I will keep shouting about it everywhere too.

Vacant Arcadia: Here just read my very thorough review on why you should listen to it (but skip the second half where I have major spoilers). https://zizz-asdf-re-r-o-u.tumblr.com/post/693520183249305600 Basically its a dystopian future where a group of people are playing a dangerous game to get new bodies with a hacker hikikomori game master. Also it’s a musical with vocalists who are SO SO skilled (even if it’s not my taste in music). There are 0 tumblr, twitter, & instagram fan posts. And its instagram page has less than 150 followers. So yeah, please check it out.

WOE.BEGONE : Mike Walters attempts to play a violent ARG only to get involved in a lot of time travel. He is the chaotic unhinged gay antihero that we all delight in his torture but also feel sorry for him. HE’S GOT A BOYFRIENDhusband AND NO ONE WILL LET YOU FORGET IT. Also, the writing and humor is so clever for a scifi/horror show, created by 1 person nonetheless.

Bonus 1: Bonus 2 will be shows that you recommended, although I have not listened myself. Now here are some shows that unfortunately are NOT unapologetically in your face queer, but I’ve *rarely* see them on any “queer audio drama recommendations” list or just personally want to recommend them. Note, some of them might actually be pretty popular, but if you blink & missed it, you might have never realized there are queer characters here:

Brass: This is the neo-Victorian steampunk show that I’ve been looking for, and is about a “badass” British family. Fictional versions of Oscar Wilde (infamous gay) and Nikola Tesla (sexuality wildly debated) happen to be supporting characters in here, so this show has queer characters by default. (The show luckily doesn’t straightwash, but also doesn’t explore their sexualities.) And then there’s the gay priest and Cyril Brass. Cyril gave me gay vibes from the very beginning, but i put this show in the bonus because it’s not explored until the season finale. Like c’mon, if Gwendolyn could be making out with dudes, Cyril & the priest could’ve kissed- the show notes explicitly describe it as a “romantic trip”. Otherwise, this is a well made show, including an entire multi-media universe, and I hardly see any recommendations for it.

Bloodthirsty Hearts: This is by Qcode, which is a big mainstream podcast company. The 5 female main characters are former friends who were big fans of Bloodthirsty Hearts, an in-universe show, and circumstances bring them together at a convention that goes badly. Two of that friend group end up asking each other out by the end and it’s actually a very nice arc for them. As a fandom convention attendee, this appealed to my nerdy lil heart. The danger did not live up to my expectations unfortunately, but it could be good if you’re looking for this very specific niche.

Darkest Night: It’s very well known for horror, however it rarely gets attention for Morgan and Kirby, the only gay guys in the show. There’s also a few other characters that I personally headcanon as being queer coded.

The Deep Vault: Post-apocalyptic story by the creators of Archive81. Carson & Jeremy are exes but that’s it. It’s not as well known as Archive 81, but the action & plot is just as good.

Down: Deep sea submarine thriller adventure! Did you know half the entire main crew is queer? Unfortunately, you only find out if you really pay attention to the lines. The circumstances of the plot focuses entirely on their survival (or lack of it).

Fall of the House of Sunshine: See the many reviews I’ve already left behind of it. So this falls in the case of last minute gays or “don’t find out until season 2!” gays. Luckily Pangla, Feltina, Humph, Professor Y, and Sondra are openly trans or lesbian when they appear, but I also rarely see this crazy wild show on list of openly queer media. I think there’s 1 podchaser list this appears in.

Gay Pride and Prejudice: This was made by Spotify and the plot is preetty much the same. It’s the characters of Pride & Prejudice, moved into the modern day, and a bunch of gay dudes. I think it’s a Great adaptation.

How I Died: Forensic pathologist can talk to ghosts and tries to solve murder cases. Ok so this actually has *several* openly queer characters, both living and ghosts. However, I think it’s pretty mainstream/popular/not underrated. However x2, I also don’t see it on many queer audio drama recommendation lists. If you liked Woe.begone for the unhinged corrupted disaster gay, then you will like this unhinged corrupted disaster bi. Warning for several episodes with themes of child/sexual abuse.

Omen Podcast: Pathfinder ocean adventure with pirates/privateers but it’s actually really really good. The world, writing, characters, and their dynamics are really great. With great action SFX and music to boot. None of them are confirmed queer, but Lola & Gwen are extremely flirty. Tobias & Quentin’s relationship also develops really deeply. And there’s some very flirty demons.

Putting 2 & 2 Together: This is the prequel/spinoff to a stage play that the creators also made. It’s basically a drama about Tommy & David navigating their life through jobs & moving & trauma. I really like it and highly recommend it! Considering how very gay it is, I’m surprised it’s not recommended more often!

Rebel Robin Surviving Hawkins: Robin Buckley from Stranger Things is canonically lesbian, and this Netflix official audio drama, written by Lauren Shippen (featuring several The Bright Sessions voice actors!), mentions it (and some other queer characters) many times in 1980s-style obvious subtext. It makes great use of Lauren’s script writing skills buuuuut it’s obviously a marketing tactic for the Rebel Robin book.

Splintered Caravan: Oh boy! The premise of this show is heist after heist after heist, along with lots of body modifications. There aren’t that many openly queer characters here, but there is a lot of genderfuckery, including a shapeshifter transwoman. People are swapping genders & body parts left and right (slight exaggeration). Just a note that because there is so much switching, there’s a lot of confused deadnaming too. But the main focus is still LOTS and LOTS of heists.

Stonesinger Chronicles: There are 2 sentences in a short scene where Whisper says he likes guys and Talee says she doesn’t like people romantically. I think we’re supposed to assume that Whisper is gay and Talee is aroace, but nothing happens beyond that. This is a very new show though, so there’s hope for the future!

The Vanishing Act: This is a very chaotic historical comedy?satire?parody? about a wannabe scriptwriter and his shenanigans in 20th century Europe. No one sounds European, everyone sounds modern, it’s just... pure chaos. The gays aren’t confirmed until season 2, but its a very satisfying slow burn when it finally happened. And very hilarious given the context (the 2 guys that have been pining after each other since season 1 finally kiss onstage in front of... Hitler. I know. Context what?)

Bonus 2: I haven’t listened to these shows yet, but you’ve recommended them so I suggest check them out as well.

All Vampires are Gay (note: this one seems more like an audiobook?) Hello from the Hallowoods Me and AU Pasithea Powder The Pilgrimage Saga Roll Gay Roleplay Second Star to the Left Tales of Swordfall Where the Stars Fell

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moonlightserenadeeznutz · 3 years

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luna for the headcanons thing pls pls pls

Yes!!! I love giving Luna headcanons, so here ya go bestie!

(Read under cut)

Luna Lovegood headcanons

First of all, definitely a trans girl, no doubt about that. She lived in a very open environment and was able to explore her gender identity at a young age. Her mother sewed her dresses to wear, long, flowing garments that Luna thought were the most beautiful things she’d ever seen. Her father taught her how to make flower crowns and crowns of leaves, and she’d wear them with her dresses.

She didn’t have to come out to her parents. Her femininity at a young age simply led to her simply stating that she was a girl, and that her name was Luna. Her parents were very accepting (and Xenophilius is trans himself because fuck you of course he is, so he was super supportive of Luna).

She named herself after the moon because her parents loved astrology and they taught her all the different planets and their moons, and all the different stars in the sky and how to spot the constellations.

The Lovegoods were definitely pagan, I mean they were all about nature and spirituality. They always marked every single holiday, staying up all night on the solstices, lighting huge bonfires, and making wreaths to wear. Pandora played the lyre, Xenophilius sang songs and Luna would act out stories and poems.

Cornish, and they speak the language as well because being bilingual is sexy.

Speaking of pagan, Pandora’s funeral would have also been pagan, obviously.

She’d have a natural burial, and Luna would recite a poem, and the rest of the family would also give eulogies, recite poetry, or thank the Goddess. Four members- including Xenophilius and Luna- would stand at each point on the compass and “invoke” each element (Air in the East, Fire in the South, Water in the West and Earth in the North) and give thanks to them. There would also be music at the wake, played by members of the family. Drums, tambourines, flutes etc. Luna played her mother’s favourite song on her lyre.

When she reached Hogwarts, I don’t think she was drawn to anyone in particular right away, I think she had better relationships with the teachers more than the students. She got on really well with Professor Sprout, and I think Hagrid really liked her too, because they’d talk about all the different magical creatures together, and Luna would tell him about all the creatures her and her father wrote about in the Quibbler.

Academically, she was very smart, and did well in most of her classes, but she didn’t particularly find a lot of them overtly interesting to her, unless she was able to put her own twist to it, which usually she wasn’t. In Potions, she wasn’t able to brew her own stuff, make up recipes, or use a variation of the recipe. Snape was much too strict with her and as a result, she didn’t do very well, which made her more upset than she would let on since she had been really good at potions at home.

She particularly shone in third year, since she was able to take classes more suited to her, like Astrology and Divination. Astrology was her favourite of course, and she’d talk about it all the time with Ginny.

However, in third year she also became particularly interested in DADA, mainly because she formed a strong friendship with Professor Lupin. Remus had been informed that Luna was trans, and since he is as well, they had things in common, and were able to talk about it with each other, Remus sort of taking Luna under his wing a little. They’d sit in his office and drink tea and Luna would give him copies of the Quibbler, which he’d happily read.

Luna was actually the first to figure out that Remus was a werewolf, but she didn’t tell anyone, not even him. She didn’t think it was her secret to share, nor did she think it changed anything. But she did find it fascinating, and read a lot of books on lycanthropy. After Remus had left, Luna told him that she knew and she asked if she could write some articles about it in the Quibbler, to raise awareness, or if he’d like to write any articles. Remus agreed to let her write something, and she wrote a three page article about werewolf inequality (but careful not to mention Remus by name). She did interview him about it, and he said that he was proud of being a werewolf, that it was actually very cool at times, but that it was simply wizarding society that had forced him to be ashamed. She wrote all this down, and it became the most bought copy of the Quibbler, as lots of students at Hogwarts wanted to read it, and they shared it with their friends and parents. So despite Remus not being able to come back to Hogwarts as a teacher, he did receive tons of letters in support of him from parents and students who had read the article and put two and two together.

Friends with Ginny by third year! Luna actually took a while to warm up to Ginny, thinking she was this loud, athletic, snobbish type, but then Luna got to know her and realised that she wasn’t that at all. Ginny was loud, but in a contagious laughter sort of way, and she could be very quiet and calm when she wanted to. She was athletic, but chatted animatedly about Quidditch teams, and Luna couldn’t help but listen. And she wasn’t snobbish, quite the opposite. She was the only person who listened to Luna, and discussed her ideas rather than swat them away impatiently. Luna made Ginny flower crowns, and Ginny stayed up with her all night during solstices. They became very close.

Ginny was the first student at Hogwarts that Luna told about being trans, and Ginny came out to her as being bisexual. And they were very supportive of each other, as well as being great at keeping each other’s secrets. They trusted each other with their lives, and would always stand up for the other. If Luna was getting picked on, Ginny would go feral and start fights. Although she eventually stopped, since it made Luna more upset. So she stuck to just being there for Luna (and maybe slipping a potion into bullies’ morning pumpkin juice that made them cluck like a chicken. But Luna didn’t need to know about that...)

That being said, Luna could get angry too of course. When she heard an older girl make fun of Ginny behind Ginny’s back, Luna wordlessly went up to her turned the girl’s hair blue with a wave of her wand. Ginny laughed her head off when she found out.

It was through Luna’s bond with Ginny, that she realised that she wasn’t interested in either the romantic or sexual side of relationships. At first she assumed that it was because Ginny was a girl, and she may not be attracted to girls, but it got her thinking about boys too, about everyone. And she just didn’t want that sort of relationship with anyone. She loved her platonic relationship with Ginny, and that’s how she wanted all of her relationships to be like.

I feel like she also had a close bond with Neville, and they gave each other plants as birthday gifts.

Projecting a little bit here, but Luna with Maladaptive Daydreaming Disorder, spending hours by herself making up fantasies and constructing worlds in her head, making up new characters, and getting so invested in them that she regularly saw herself as her characters. I feel like this started because of the trauma from losing her mother. She didn’t tell anyone about it, or at least nothing in detail, but she tried to explain it a bit to Ginny, who knew to leave her alone when Luna would sit by herself.

MaD also made Luna a little more detached from her gender identity, especially if she was acting as one of her characters (again I’m projecting here) who were either male or genderless. She still identified as female, but in a much more looser, fluid way, and even experimented with she/they pronouns, which she eventually decided she liked. (If this were set in the modern world, I can also imagine her using neopronouns such as xe/xer or fae/faeself, though in the canon world, she may have also tried out it/its).

Doesn’t know much about the muggle world, but Hermione gave them a copy of Alice In Wonderland which they loved. And if I were to headcanon Luna liking a muggle band/artist they’d probably like anything psychedelic or nature-like, maybe the early stuff of Pink Floyd (yes, Dev, I’m thinking about Atom Heart Mother).

Went travelling after Hogwarts, where she met Rolf Scamander, and they hit it off immediately. Very similar to each other, and soon became close friends. I also headcanon Rolf as aro/ace so their relationship basically became like Luna’s and Ginny’s.

Their house was filled with all sorts of plants and animals. Rooms were lined with trees filled with Bowtruckles, and owls flitted in and out of windows, cats slinking about the place, so many frogs. My god, their house was wonderful.

Adopted Lorcan and Lysander because ffs not everyone has to have a nuclear family jkr 🙄. And parents also don’t have to be romantically or sexually involved with each other either; Luna and Rolf had a good relationship, both wanted to be parents, so they raised the twin boys together. And Lorcan and Lysander had a fantastic childhood, can you imAGINE?!

Godmother of Lily Luna, obviously. And Harry and Ginny’s kids loved going round Luna’s place, so more often than not, the house was filled with not only the entire natural world, but also a bunch of children running about the place.

Oh also, Luna has nymph ancestors. They just do, okay?

#luna lovegood #luna lovegood hcs #trans luna lovegood #harry potter #ask #request a character!#hp headcanon

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halothenthehorns · 3 years

Text

All in the Family

Chapter 106: The Sorting Hat's New Song

There was so, much, pink. Nobody could blame Sirius screeching and covering his eyes or Evans looking like she was hard pressed not to start color changing everything in sight just to give their eye sores a break.

The couch was royal pink with gold embroidery. The carpet was piglet pink and so fluffy you could die on it or mistake it for cotton candy. Even the walls were decked out in a rainbow shade of pink. There were pale pink doilies on every wooden, pink-stained end table, only the book sitting open and waiting with its white and black pages broke the scene. James could barely recall a time it had been so visible, let alone open for them, like it wanted out of here as bad as them.

They appeared to have interrupted some tea party, a hot pink kettle was still smoking and strawberry pink scones were assorted neatly on an orchid pink tray.

"Whoever owns this house must be blind," Alice said slowly, turning carefully on the spot and spotting a hallway leading off to this sitting room. She took a slow, careful step towards it, still remembering Mad-Eye's house and what happened when they'd appeared in there, but nothing attacked her.

Frank followed her every step. They were definitely in some woman's house, an ugly toad-looking person who was in every picture along the hallway shaking hands with assorted people in cherry blossom pink frames. The new DADA teacher, they'd all have to assume judging by the chapter title, though why the Sorting Hat's New Song would be memorable in comparison they found hard to believe.

Peter had to take a piss but honestly feared what the bathroom would look like if this was the sitting room. Regulus was prodding his wand curiously along the scones waiting for something to happen, but finally he snatched one up and popped it into his mouth.

James was reading about Harry's trip up to the school with the same concern as Harry, where was Hagrid? Why was that Grubbly-Plank woman back? It was certainly a much more pressing issue to him than those creepy horse things Harry could suddenly see, but Peter and apparently other students had also been seeing them for years and they didn't seem to hurt anybody so he really was brushing past that, even as Remus was muttering at his side and peeking over his shoulder like he was hoping the book would give a visual.

If Harry's guess was right and he was still out convoying with the giants, then that didn't bode well for his health.

James had everyone's attention now when he announced the rest of the staffing changes going on, the toad-faced woman from Harry's trial being at the staff table.

Their suspicions may have been confirmed, but it cleared up none of their confusion. What was someone from the Ministry doing being a teacher there?! This had never happened as far as they knew, the Ministry didn't interfere in Hogwarts! Had Fudge's tyrannical behavior really come so far so fast?

Peter finally lost the fight with his bladder and took off after Alice Smith and Longbottom into the hallway in search of a bathroom as Prongs began merrily singing the new sorting hat song at the top of his lungs.

The rest of the house was just as ghastly, they really were going to go blind before they got out of here. He spotted the kitchen, with pink tiles and even stained glass pink windows, along with cherry-pink cupboards the other two were going through.

The first door he tried though mercifully led him into what must be her room, a queen-sized bed for such a squat lady with fairy hangings draping it, but his eyes locked on an adjacent door with a pink diamond handle and he went to quickly relieve himself. The toilet hummed a tune he didn't recognize and he loathed the salmon pink hand soap he had to use. Even the ruddy water she'd enchanted came out with the same tinge, it was like a nightmare!

By the time he was done James had read past the students' reaction to the hat's song, which had sounded nothing new to any of them, and the feast had begun. Peter let his eyes trail curiously about the room instead of rejoining them, eyes landing on several things. There was another door leading off to a closet, a jewelry box as large as he was prominently between that door and the bathroom one, and yet more plaques and awards. There seemed to be absolutely nothing about this woman that he did not dislike.

When Dumbledore unequivocally announced that Umbridge, Senior Undersecretary to the Minister of Magic was to be the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Remus winced and tried to step behind James. There were theories, and there was confirmation, and his stomach gave a nasty twist at the idea of someone working for the Ministry also a teacher at his school. He wasn't even sure if the Ministry was aware he attended Hogwarts, and he certainly didn't want to find out!

Sirius finally stopped pretending to gouge his eyes out when he saw that and went over, throwing an arm over his shoulder and looking around to spot Evans and Regulus were still in the room. He knew he didn't need to anymore, but he still kept his voice low enough they shouldn't have been able to hear, "relax Moony, nerdy guy like you, they'd be mad to throw you out just because of your furry little problem."

Remus did marginally relax. He only had two years of school left though, what exactly was next for him with the Ministry looming over him was an ever-pressing problem he couldn't ignore much longer.

Lily noticed the exchange but didn't give it much thought, she'd spent far too long ignoring the Marauders to give a care what they still had to whisper about. She'd been tempted to follow Alice and Frank to explore this Umbridge woman's house, but was now glad she hadn't, attention fully on the book now as she listened avidly to the speech she gave, overriding Dumbledore's own.

Regulus watched as Potter got twitchy with boredom trying to read said speech, but he took in every word with an uneasy frown. He watched as Sirius grabbed the wrist of his friend who wasn't reading and pulled him out of the room with a glazed over expression, and the werewolf certainly seemed happy to get as far away as possible from all this. Potter watched them go with a grumpy look like he wanted to bolt from this as well before glancing at the Muggleborn Evans and droning on with his shoulders a little straighter, like bolstering himself to finish was impressive or something.

Sirius had him into a little dinning area that looked sickeningly like a tea party for a five year old and the wide, oak doors stained pink shut before James had even finished the first of Umbridge's very long sentences. He didn't immediately start snogging him this time though, just put one hand on the door for some kind of bar and ran his hand up and down the inside of his leg and slowly rutting against him as he whispered in his ear, "you ever given a blow job back?"

"No," he quietly admitted, a bit shamefully too.

"That's okay," Sirius' breath was so warm as it fell over his cheek, "I don't mind being your guinea pig, everyone's got to start somewhere. Just, rule number one, mind the teeth," and he nipped his ear, causing Remus to laugh hard.

"That's not a problem with me Padfoot," he assured, pleased to hear his voice almost steady that time.

"Don't think we have time for it now though," Sirius was still breathing improperly onto him and it was taking everything Remus had not to seize him and start snogging him. "Just, if I don't, feel free to bring it up next time we get a chance." He squeezed the inside of his thigh again but left his hand there with plenty of pressure. "I'm starting to feel like I'm harassing you. You're clearly enjoying this," he rubbed his hand up purposefully where his obvious pleasure was building and wrapped it around then to pinch his ass, "but you've yet to try getting me alone."

"Just, dealing with a lot," Remus panted, one hand pressed firmly against Sirius' back so he couldn't go anywhere, the other just trembling uselessly at his side as he half lied, and rather than admit the rest, redirected. "So have you, if you'd admit it."

"Where's the fun in that?" he pulled back just enough to grin at him in the hazy pink lighting, but that reasonably could have been his brain this time. "Bottle it all up long enough and it comes out sweet, I'd swear it," and he squeezed hard.

Remus couldn't stop himself then and finally let his other hand pull Sirius to him by his shirt, kissing him with everything he had and knowing he'd regret it later for missing his chance to talk to him and his reward was Sirius grinding so hard against him he couldn't think straight. They could hear the pause though, they'd definitely waited too long to get an alone moment, and both of them actually whimpered in disappointment as they forced themselves apart and stood there for several long moments panting at just within arms reach as they were zapped away.

When Potter had finished it was pretty obvious he hadn't taken in a word, he had to give himself a shake to even realize he was talking about his own kid again and Hermione's critique of said speech.

Her explanation for it though certainly caught his undivided attention. James frowned to himself as he played the speech over in his head again, even going back and rereading some of it without Hermione's repetition. His skin crawled at the idea, what was the Ministry playing at? No matter how much they didn't like Dumbledore's truth, surely they couldn't do anything too radical, right?

He glanced up and saw the drawn expressions of Sirius's little brother and Evans, and didn't see either of them looking much happier at the idea.

James paused and ran a miserable hand down his face when Harry's two friends went off to their prefect duties and his boy was left alone to stew in the school's attitude about him, and the whole thing continued to grow worse when he made it up to his tower and even his dormmates seemed to be talking about Harry. What he would give to appear at his side like he would for any of his friends, offer a good joke for the laugh needed for that long trek up to the tower. He absolutely did not like this recurring pattern of Harry feeling so alone recently.

He saw Evans twitching out of the corner of his eye, but by the time he looked up she was frowning at him same as ever, or glaring at the book. Either way he grinned at her to let her know he knew she'd been feeling the same way. For a moment he was tempted to try and get her to admit as such, but instead decided he'd do for her what he wanted to for Harry moment's ago. "Don't worry Evans, I'm sure just because that woman dresses like a toad every day they won't enforce that upon the rest of us. The other students will realize that in no time!"

It actually worked for just a moment, she cracked a smile he'd swear it, but then she flicked her fingers at him to keep going and he did with pleasure that only lasted long enough to realize Harry's own dormmates were in fact going to start an actual fight over this. Harry and Seamus were about to draw wands on each other before Ron intervened!

James glanced up and around to find himself once again the lone Marauder in the room, and as he read the last lines of the chapter, he knew exactly how Harry felt.

#Harry Potter #fanfiction #reading the books #Marauders #Ootp #HP #Wolfstar #Jilly #James Potter #Lily Evans #Regulus Black #Frank Longbottom #Alice Smith #Remus Lupin #Sirius Black #Peter Pettigrew

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panlight · 4 years

Note

Do you like or dislike Bella's catatonia in NM? Is it overdramatic teen angst? Or an obvious consequence of a supernatural love? Or a badly-written metaphor for depression? Do you think Meyer writes Bella well there? Would you have included the COMPLETELY blank pages? How much of what Bella tells us is unreliable?

It’s . . . not my favorite, mostly because I don’t feel like SM had done the work to convince me that Bella lost “the whole family, the whole future [she] had chosen” and not just Edward. She SAYS that, but I don’t feel it, if you know what I mean? I don’t feel like we saw enough of Bella with anyone besides Edward and maybe Alice for me to totally buy into this as a profound loss vs the end of a (relatively short) romantic relationship. I think if we had seen that summer between Twilight and New Moon it would have solved some of this problem for me. But basically all we get of Bella + the Cullens before they leave is: the baseball game/rescue from James/prom (but they’re just kind of there not really interacting)/awkward birthday party. That doesn’t convince me she’s already integrated into the family, personally.

I DO like the emotional impact of the blank pages, though. I think that was clever and creative.

I think SM meant it as a supernatural sort of loss and not an exploration of mental health. She made some comment once about how her books would never be Oprah books because. . . hold on let me find it: “I don't think my books qualify to be Oprah books. I think you have to take on bigger issues than Vampire/Werewolf love to make her interested. I don't have any incest, adultery, spousal abuse, mental disease, molestation, anorexia, suicide, cutting, etc.” Which, I mean, actually she does have some of those things, especially in backstories, but they aren’t the focus. New Moon is a love story; it’s not an exploration of mental health, but man I wish it were, because that could have been really helpful and promoted some better messages than we got. I think she intended it as some supernatural proto-vampire mating response (and I’m personally not here for vampire mating mythos like meh I want varied relationships--like humans!--and not ‘every vampire behaves Y when X happens to their mate’) and not as normal human depression, the main reason being that as soon as Edward comes back everything’s all better and there’s absolutely zero follow up about her depression or reckless behavior or hallucinations or Edward’s attempted suicide, it’s just like “OTP is back together! Everything’s back to normal!”

All that said, a lot of people really relate to Bella’s pain and grief and depression in New Moon and I don’t want to take away from that. It can be helpful, cathartic even, when you’re going through something to see it in fiction; it makes you feel understood and less alone, and if Bella’s reaction in New Moon was a comfort to people then I’m glad. I just think it could have been more powerful if it were treated more like a mental health issue rather than a consequence of supernatural vampire love.

#asks

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keeloves · 4 years

Text

My Top 10 LGBT Couples for Once Upon a Time

2 Keep in mine this is my personal opinion and a majority of these will not be canon! So please enjoy let me know what you think and kicking at number 10

10 Ruby Slippers Aka Red/Ruby and Dorothy

I am starting the list with them because they are the first canon LGBT couple on Once Upon A Time but it is not higher because it took five seasons to get to this point and they were rushed, and we never saw them again and it was a huge queer bait on Adam and Eddie’s part. I do like it because Red has bi tendencies and Wizard of Oz has always had a big LGBT following. So making Dorothy a lesbian makes perfect sense. Still the writing was not good this was rushed and the LGBT community deserves better.

9 Alice and New Robin Hood

This couple is hire because we get to see them develop, in canon but again it took 7 seasons to get a gay couple that actually stays on OUAT but I can’t help but feel that they picked two random white women to put together just to pacify LGBT people and show that “See we can be diverse” when the writers couldn’t give Mulan an Asian bi woman a love interest or have her say the words “I am bisexual and I was in love with a woman named Aurora” (Yes I will always be salty over sleep warrior but that will come later in this post) I am thankful for the rep but at the same the writers shouldn’t have queer baited us.

8 Hooked Charming/David Nolan/Killian Jones

I don’t know why but these two could have been an interesting couple, Two very masuculine gay men and yes I am aware they are happy with their women but they could have been more interesting thatn Captian Swan and they have belieable chemistry not the most romantic but believable chemistry than Captian Swan and I would pick that any day!

7. Frozen Swan aka Elsa and Emma

I think that the females had pretty good chemistry and these two if Elsa would have have been arount longer would have made a great couple. Plus I think making Emma bi would make a lot of sense and Elsa is headcanoned as a lesbian so I think these two would make a great couple.

6. Dragon Queen Aka Malicifient and Regina

These an evil Lesbian Couple who have soft spots for thier children and they would be totally bad ass together. I am not big on Swan Queen but they makes sense however I love the idea of the Evil Queen and the Malicificent getting together and just reaking havoc! So yeah Evil Girl Power!

5.Brave Warrior Merida and Mulan

I have a thing for badass warrior women! They could train together go on missions and be a great couple! All though I will Say Merida in her own movie is not that likable but she is fine in OUAT! Mulan and Merida would be unstoppable duo. I also think it would have been a great plot twist if Merrida either turned out to be a lesbian or ace! I also just think Mulan just desrves a happy ending.

4.Mulan Rouge aka Red/Rbby and Mulan

These two had really good chemistry and I just think that they would have made a great couple, Mulan can have a happy ending and they would have been more believable than Ruby Slippers or even the previous ship I just mentioned. Plus it would give Mulan a happy ending and the love she desrves and I think her and Ruby would work really well!

Ariel and Jasmine

These girls both have a knack for wanting to explore the world, both land and sea. I can see them being a wonder lesbian couple despite it being long distance since one live in water and the other lives on land and I also love the idea of Jasmine as a mermaid!

2 Red Beauty Aka the Superior Beauty and The Beast! Ruby/Red and Belle

Beauty and the Beast with a LGBT twist! Belle means Beauty litterally and Ruby is a werewolf so how could this not be perfect? It would give good represenation in my opinion the community, it would better thatn Lefou as the LGBT rep and it would get Belle away from Rumple. I also enjoy this couple because of Belle wanted to be there for Ruby but Ruby was afraid of hurting Belle. Plus Ruby also visted Bell in the Pshych ward and they could help each other. It would still be Beuaty and the Beast just without kidnapping of fathers and without all that abusive stuff that comes with Rumbelle!

Now for #1 Sleeping Warrior aka Aurora and Mulan!

This ship had so much potential only for it to be ruined by hetronormative bullshit! The writing was great it felt so natural for these two get together! I mean they go on a long adventure together, Aurora literally gets her heart stolen by Cora and Mulan is the one to put it back for her. They also had such great chemistry and a great build up and then Aurora gets pregnat with Philip’s baby and Mulan doesn’t get her happy ending. I hate how much potential and organic chemistry these two had only for it to be ruined. With how these two were written if one half of Sleeping Warriror had been a guy they would have been a couple but nope! They could have a thruple polygamy if they wanted Philip in the thing. Forgive its been a while I have watched OUAT but Sleeping Warrior will always be the First LGBT ship I shipped on Once Upon a Time

#queer baiting #lgbt #sleeping warrior #redbeauty #ariel & jasmine #mulan rouge #brave warrior #dragon queen #hooked charming #wonder archer #ruby slippers #lesbians #bisexuals #gays #once upon a time #anti once upon a time #anti adam & eddie

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iheardarumorxxx · 4 years

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Midnight Sun, Chapter Ten - Theory

Alright, time to jump back in. Took a couple of days off, refreshed my brain, now I think I can handle more of this asshole.

instead of answering my demand

See that? See how Eddie just goes ahead and tells us that he’s being a demanding little shithead? More shades of that controlling tendency that he has all throughout the series, outright stated. This is literally the first sentence of the chapter, and he’s not even pretending to be subtle about it.

describe it so that she would understand.

Yes, because ‘I can read minds, but only if they’re relatively nearby, and it gets easier to pick out voices as I become familiar with them’ isn’t clear in the slightest. See that, Eddie? I just explained for you with 23 words, instead of going off on some dumbass tangent metaphorthat takes up an entire paragraph like you do here because you think that the human mind is so small and weak that it can’t possibly comprehend cut and dry explanations.

The fact that Eddie thinks he needs to explain things in analogy for Bella because she won’t get it if he doesn’t really goes against this supposed idea he has about her being smarter and so above the other pitiful hooman folk. Either she’s too human to understand like everyone else, or she’s smarter and more rational and would get it without the metaphor. Pick one, Eddie.

I will say, one thing that I took from the Twilight series that still sticks with me is the phrase ‘Holy crow’. I do, in fact, use it unironically. It’s absolutely stupid, but I like the way it flows off the tongue.

Anyway, Bella just shouted it because Eddie is bending the car to his vampire physics again and going 100MPH, which, I would like to point out, she would have absolutely realized before now if she wasn’t so blatantly unobservent. She would have felt it, it wouldn’t have taken looking at the spedomoter to realize it.

“We’re not going to crash.”

Eddie is absolutely certain of this fact, and I am too only because SM would never let anything like that happen to her little woobie vampire and her SI Mary Sue. However, let’s apply real world logic to this for a sec. Just a sec because this story can’t handle real world logic for too long, but. They are presumably on a highway, going 100MPH at let’s say 930 to 10ish PM. I’ve never lived in Washington, but I’m going to make the presumption that there probably isn’t too much traffic this late, though, perhaps a bit more if it’s a Friday or Saturday night. Perhaps Eddie can keep perfect control of his own car, even going that fast, while most likely paying little to no attention to the road because he is constantly looking over at Bella in the passenger seat. He has his mind-reading power, which he probably uses to help him drive, and maybe there isn’t another car directly behind him based on how fast he’s going.

He’s still not taking the other drivers on the road into account. What if the car in front of you that you are rapidly coming up on because you’re going so fast sees a turtle or a deer or some other kind of animal in the road and swerves to avoid it. Since this is real world logic, even if you see it coming with your mind reading power, you can’t make your car stop on a dime going 100MPH. You’re going to crash, and since you are going so fast, it’s gonna be a pretty nasty one. Your vampire body can handle that, because you’re a marble adonis god, but Bella over there is squishy and human. You slam those breaks, seatbelt aside, she’s gonna end up through the windshield or strangled to death by that seatbelt.

He’s assuming that his vampire magic strength and perfectness is gonna be enough to protect him from literally everything. It will, because this book is not realistic in the slightest, but he’s still a dick for not taking into account the other drivers on the road. And not taking into account the fact that Bella is clearly upset and terrified that he’s going so fast.

Two and a half paragraph rant over one line. Check.

Bella spills about how Jacob told her the old story about the Cullens being sparkley, evil vampires who aren’t allowed at La Push because the wolves will eat them. And I have to say, because this story is the entire basis for Bella knowing that Eddie and his ilk are vamps, how the hell does it take her so long to figure out that Jacob is a werewolf in New Moon? Like, I know it’s because she’s stupid, but since she’s supposed to be wise beyond her years and smart and shit, why did it not click that both sides of the story must be true.

Rant for a different book, but.

I supposed this meant I was now free to slaughter a small, defenseless tribe on the coastline, were I so inclined. Ephraim and his pack of protectors were long dead.

This is it. This is the line I’ve been waiting for. I knew it was coming and it STILL pisses me off so damn much reading it. Do you see that? Do you see it? Eddie is talking about straight up genocide. He is literally talking about killing hundreds of people just because some teenage kid told an old folktale to a girl he thinks is cute to try and impress her. I would like to remind you of that line that Alice said earlier: “It helps if you think of them as people.” IT HELPS IF YOU THINK OF THEM AS PEOPLE, EDWARD!!! These people have done literally nothing to you! If you wanted to go, say, beat up Jacob Black for spilling your secret, that’s one thing (A terrible thing that is bullshit, even if Jacob gets a jerkass makeover in a few months) but you are literally la de fucking da over the idea of going down to the reservation and murdering every man, woman, and child there because of some bullshit technicality broken treaty. HOW THE FUCK DOES ANYONE THINK THIS GUY IS THE HERO? HOW DOES ANYTHING SEE HIM AS A GOOD LOVE INTEREST? HOW IS HE A PROTAGONIST? HE’S A FUCKING MURDERER, PLAIN AND SIMPLE SPELLED OUT RIGHT THE FUCK THERE! It was spelled out pretty damn well in that first classroom scene, but here we are reinforcing it, and this is the guy that SM said she was willing to leave her husband for. THIS GUY.

I hate it. I hate him. I’m not a happy camper.

And I’m gonna move on before I burst a blood vessel from how mad it makes me.

Bella goes on to tell Eddie that she flirted the story out of Jacob, and that she doesn’t care. He replies with “HOW CAN YOU NOT CARE! I’M A MONSTAH!” and she just shrugs and pops her gum. Eddie is just absolutely shocked by this because how could she not care? He even wonders if there’s something wrong with her. The answer is yes, she’s clearly a hybristophile, but that’s beside the point.

The ‘how old are you’ ‘17′ ‘how long have you been 17′ ‘a while’ exchange is actually kind of cute, on it’s own. Had it been in a better book, it might have made me smile a little. But in Twilight it just felt like forced comedy, and here with Eddie being all Emo about being a monstah and also being condescending and clearly angry about Bella knowing his secret, it comes off a lot darker in tone. It could have come off as a playful exchange between people getting to know one another, and instead, it’s a darker tone and it’s almost uncomfortable. The movie had this problem, too, where they made it all dark and angsty instead of just being a cute little exchange that it should have been.

“I can’t sleep.”

This is more of that thrown away world building that SM does. First it was the Vampires never Change thing and now the can’t sleep thing. It could have been so fascinating to explore what not being able to sleep does to the psyche of these Pires. How different vampires get used to that sensation over different periods of time. Did it unsettle Eddie at first when he was turned and just couldn’t sleep anymore? Was Jasper already a night owl who barely slept, so it wasn’t much of a change for him anyway? What do they do to fill their time? If their hobbies and interests never change, it seems like they wouldn’t be using all that newly acquired time to learn new skills and hobbies, even if that particular ‘never change’ plot point isn’t explored either and never actually seems relevant to them. Has a Pire ever tried to sleep anyway? Just lay down and closed their eyes and waited for eight hours to pass, hoping they would drift off? This is interesting lore. It’s something that could have given depth to the vampires instead of being a throwaway plot point so Eddie could watch Bella sleep at night. I’m disappointed. I want a good idea to actually be used well.

Edward calls Bella observant and to that I can only say ‘Ha.’

Eddie finally realizes that Bella has the hots for him too and it’s so UWU and trite, but he has to go and bring up that stupid Hades and Persephone metaphor again and piss me off in the process.

The get to Bella’s house and take forever with their goodbyes, and right at the end Eddie goes on about how he’s got this new hunger in him just looking at Bella and feeling how warm she is and shit and it’s just him being horny again, but nothing happens and Bella heads inside. But don’t worry, Eddie assures us that he’ll be in his usual perch in the rocking chair later that night to stalk her and watch her sleep, so everything is well.

She couldn’t love me the way I loved her

GET IT? BECAUSE VAMPIRES ARE BETTER THAN YOU(tm) AT EVERYTHING INCLUDING HOW HARD THEY LOVE? Seriously, so damn sick of this idea that the vampires in this universe just do everything and see everything and smell everything and feel everything just so much more intensely than the pitiful hoomans. I still have a rant about it. It’s still coming. Don’t worry.

A casual throwaway mention of the Voltouri here, AKA the vampire Mafia that make and enforce the rules. They don’t actually matter or have any real power in this series, and they suck, but nice little nod to the audience as a reminder that there is supposed to be a governing body in the vampire world.

Carlisie and Eddie boy are off to take care of the rapist who almost got Bella, and the entire fucking drive, Carlisle is just sitting there thinking about how wonderful Eddie is and how he deserves happiness and it’s such bullshit for him to be thinking that way when he KNOWS that Eddie can read his thoughts. He’s literally just showering him in compliments for the sake of it just so that Eddie can hear them and puff up his ego. I don’t buy that it’s just passive thoughts. He wants Eddie to hear them.

We all know who Carlisle and Esme’s favorite child is.

We end the chapter with Eddie going back to Bella’s house to watch her sleep, deciding to take it upon himself to wander around her house uninvited, and the rambling on about how Bella clearly doesn’t have a guardian angel because she crossed his path and no guardian angel would allow that. Then he makes some crack about being her guardian vampire, talks about how, oh, it’s actually a good thing that he took it upon himself to break into her house to watch her sleep because he got her another blanket because she seemed cold, and smiles to himself when she mumbles his name in her sleep.

That’s it, chapter done, I’m tired. I’m gonna try to crank out another one (maybe two) tonight, but no promises because this one really took a lot out of me. These characters just suck. Anyway, as always, feel free to message me or DM me to talk about the book, recommend future projects, etc. And you can always buy me a snack using the CashApp tag in my bio. Until next chapter, good damn bye.

#sierra recaps stuff #midnight sun #midnight sun spoilers #twilight #ms chapter 10

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stereogeekspodcast · 4 years

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[Transcript] Season 1, Episode 3. What’s New – The New Mutants

We had thoughts about The New Mutants, few of them good. There were some enjoyable moments, which we discuss, along with sharing our thoughts on what could have been better.

Spoiler alert: we will be talking about the entire film.

Content warning: some of the content in the film can be triggering, please proceed with caution.

Listen to the episode on Anchor.

[Continuum by Audionautix plays]

Ron: Hello and welcome to Episode Three of Stereo Geeks. Today we'll be talking about what’s new in pop culture.

Mon: I’m Mon.

Ron: I'm Ron.

Mon: And this week we’re talking about The New Mutants.

Ron: This is a spoiler alert because we’ll be talking about the entire film, including the ending, so if you haven’t watched it yet, please watch the whole thing and then come back and listen to our podcast.

Please note, we will be discussing some triggering topics as contained within the film so, proceed with caution.

Ron: This film was initially intended for release in 2018, having been filmed in 2017, but it languished in production hell till 2020.

Mon: This year, it finally hit theaters, but because it was in the middle of the pandemic, most of us didn't go and watch it. Now that it's out on digital, we have some thoughts.

The film begins with Danielle Moonstar, played by Blu Hunt escaping the decimation of her village. She wakes up in a rehabilitation center, which is for mutants.

She is one of five students being supervised by Dr Cecilia Reyes, played by Alice Braga. The other students are Illyana Rasputin, played by Anya Taylor Joy; Rahne Sinclair by, played by Maisie Williams, Roberto Da Costa, played by Henry Zaga, and Sam Guthrie, played by Charlie Heaton. Let's talk about plot!

The film follows Dani as she gets to know these other mutants around her, tries to figure out what her power is, and tries to survive Dr Reyes’ experiments. Ron: There isn't much plot to speak of. It's very much a setup film, though there isn't any reason for us to believe that there's going to be a New Mutants 2. The majority of the film is spent with Danielle getting to know her fellow mutants and exploring their relationships. Though I would say that even there, the film doesn't really do a great job.

Mon: Yeah, there's a huge focus on the central relationship between Dani and Rahne. But the other characters, they're more antagonistic or just in the background. So it doesn't really develop her relation with them.

Ron: Yes, it comes across very much like the new girl being bullied, especially by Illyana though, that really doesn't do justice to the character as she appears in the comics. So, that was a bit of a surprise. Speaking of the backstories of these characters, we would say that really Rahne is the only one who has a similar backstory to the one that she has in the comics.

Mon: In the comics, Rahne comes from a small, very rigid, very religious community, and they freak out when she turns into a werewolf, because of her mutation. That backstory remains the same in the film, except now she’s been branded as a witch.

Ron: I didn't mind that particular inclusion. I think that made sense within the scope of the story. The other characters, there is no similarity between their stories in the film, and how we got to know them in the comic books.

Mon: Let's start with Dani herself. Why is there no mother in the picture? Ron: In the ‘Demon Bear’ storyline, which this movie is based on, Dani loses both her parents, and that actually does play a very large part in the conclusion. But the film only focuses on her father in the very opening scene, which was not edited very well, and we see him later on as well. Mon: Let's talk about Roberto.

Ron: I have to say I was so, so disappointed in Roberto Da Costa in this film. Sunspot was my favorite new mutant and the character in the film doesn't resemble the comic book character at all. Especially not his backstory which plays such an important part in not only his mutant powers, but the way he engages with the world.

Mon: I think the first warning that they wouldn't be doing ‘Berto correctly was the casting of Henry Zaga.

Ron: I'm sure Zaga is a very good actor. I haven't seen him in anything else, but I'm sure he's very talented. Unfortunately, he doesn't look anything like Sunspot in the comics. There is one integral part of his character arc that is completely missing from this film because Zaga has been cast in it.

Let me explain. In the comics, Roberto Da Costa belongs to a very rich family. He doesn't really understand his privilege. But he is also very dark skinned. Because of this, despite his privilege, he is bullied. It is while being bullied by fellow classmates that his powers activate.

Mon: ‘Berto in the comics is Afro-Latino, but they refused to cast character an actor who reflected the same heritage in the film, and that really does him a great disservice. Because race is an important part of ‘Berto’s characterization in the comics, but it's completely forgotten and the backstory that Berto is given in the film is boring. It is staid and it is another example of fridging.

Ron: In the film, Sunspot’s powers activate when he is having a romantic moment with his girlfriend, thus killing her in the most awful way possible. So, not only do they erase an extremely important part of his characterization, but they fridge his girlfriend who is then used as horror movie-material later on. Mon: Let's move on to Sam Guthrie. So, Sam is kind of the pseudo-leader in the comics. He's conveniently the leader because, I feel like the writers, at the time, weren't sure who they could give it to so they gave it to the southern white guy.

In the comics, he's very happy, he's a very positive guy. He's had hardships in his life, but he never lets it bring him down. He struggles with his powers, he's a cannonball, quite literally, and it's a difficult power to master. The film touches on the fact that Sam still struggles with mastering his power, but he's given this broody, overly dark backstory, which doesn't do the character any justice. Sam's storyline in the film really should have come with some kind of warning. Because Sam is essentially self-harming throughout. He's in a cast constantly, he is seen punching himself. Basically, it's quite disturbing to watch what happens. And it comes without context, and we'll come to the fact that a lot of what happens in the film is without context.

What we learn is that Sam was working in the mines with his father and several other men, and his powers accidentally activated and he killed, not only the other men, but also his father, and he's obviously struggling with what happened. And, and he's taking it out on himself. He's not able to grow, learn, or attach himself to anybody. So, this was a huge departure, again, from the comics.

Ron: And then finally we come to Illyana, whose backstory is also extremely different from the comics. When we first meet her, she is a very small child, who ends up in limbo and spends her formative years in that hellhole. But when she's rescued which is a few seconds after her disappearance, she's a teenager.

None of that, obviously made it into this film, understandably, because the budgets would not have allowed for it, though we do get glimpses of limbo. However, Illyana’s backstory appears to be about her being trapped somewhere and being abused. What did you think about her backstory?

Mon: I didn't feel like it was necessary to have that kind of backstory. What I will say is that this is the subtlest way of suggesting any kind of assault or abuse on any kind of character. They really worked hard to be sensitive to the topic, but at the same time I have to ask, why did Illyana need that backstory in the first place? Why can’t she just come from a poor Russian home? Why couldn't it be like a Dostoyevsky story? She didn't need that kind of background.

And I also felt like there were maybe one too many hints about what happened to her. I understand the need to pare down Illyana’s rather complicated, fantastical comic book origins, but they went the other extreme by making it a little too realistic.

Ron: They tried to marry some of the realistic elements of childhood abuse that we see in real life with the fantastical elements of her childish imagination of what these monsters were. I think that worked for them. But to keep coming back and for us to keep seeing small Illyana in that room, there were one too many moments that would have been triggering for anybody who has been in that situation in their life. So, basically there are two instances in this film where they should have added content warnings, and they had three years to do that, but they didn't.

Mon: And that's not the only thing they didn't fix in the three years. The CGI is terrible! When you're talking about a comic book adaptation, especially with the New Mutants, who are more fantastical, and have more imaginative powers, that requires a lot of special effects. I was disappointed with what we saw. We didn't actually see their powers in action as much as we saw some of the horror elements, and I'm sorry but that is the worst CGI I've seen.

After people have been shouting about how hard they've been working to make this product the best that they can, it honestly feels like this movie was made and somebody forgot about what to do with it. And then they just kept playing hot potato with it. They didn't embellish it, nothing. It's not like they tried very hard to make it the best story possible.

Ron: And I think the other problem is that from the very first previews, people had strong reactions to Zaga, to Heaton. There were a lot of people who were upset that an Afro-Latino character had been replaced by somebody who was lighter skinned. This is colorism and 2020 may have put colorism in the spotlight, but, in 2017, this was definitely something that people knew about.

There were also a lot of concern about Heaton’s casting. He was hot off the success of Stranger Things; it made sense to cast him in a movie like this. But he doesn't fit Sam Guthrie at all! I was extremely disappointed in Zaga and Heaton in this film. Not only did they not look like the characters, they had so little to do.

The burden of carrying this film really fell on Blu Hunt and Maisie Williams. They did a good job. But there were also a lot of problematic elements around them. So, whatever they were doing was undone. For instance, Illyana is unnecessarily antagonistic towards Dani. She's also racist. She keeps calling her Pocahontas!

They did a good job. But there were also a lot of problematic elements around them. So, whatever they were doing was undone. For instance, Illyana is unnecessarily antagonistic towards Dani. She's also racist. She keeps calling her Pocahontas!

Mon: Yeah, I found that very disturbing and I didn't see any need for that.

Ron: Absolutely not. And 2017 was one year after Trump was elected. He made a lot of Pocahontas comments soon after coming into power. And a lot of people were very, very upset about that, and they were very vocal about that. Why would they put this into the film?

Mon: I think the whole ‘Pocahontas’ thing in the film is kind of reflective of how the director seems quite blinkered in his view? We have the Zaga issue. We have the racist comments against Dani Moonstar, as well. But there's a character missing in this film from the comics and she's integral!

Xi’an Coy Manh, who is the mutant Karma, is a Vietnamese immigrant who becomes the leader of the group. She is conspicuously missing from this film. Why is the Asian mutant, who was such an important part of the comics missing from the film?

Ron: I understand that for the majority of the ‘Demon Bear’ storyline, Xi’an was not there. But if you're making a film which introduces this particular group, you've got to have her.

Mon: I completely agree with you on that. It makes no sense. We were talking about how Heaton and Zaga really don't do much in film. I have to say, this is probably the first time I've seen a genre film where the two boys spend most of the time cleaning dishes and washing clothes, whereas the girls seem to be driving the story forward. It's hinted at that ‘Berto and Sam are becoming close friends, but you don't really see much of the relationship; it's just one montage where they're having a little bit of fun, but the three girls, there's a lot more to their relationship, especially between Blue Hunt’s Dani Moonstar and Maisie Williams’ Rahne Sinclair.

Ron: I was pleasantly surprised that from nowhere, we got this queer relationship. And it comes off the fact that Blu and Maisie obviously have a lot of chemistry. So, the film just went with it. From the very first time that Dani and Rahne see each other, there's this connection. And it just grows throughout the film, and they become a couple.

Mon: I couldn't believe it because, in the books, they're pretty much written as straight. Romance isn't a huge part of their storylines. But in this film, it's there from the very beginning. There's a scene soon after Danny wakes up, and she's struggling to cope with the death of her father, the death of her entire village, and Rahne really talks her down. It's really sweet, this interaction between two young people who are struggling to find themselves in a world that doesn't make sense. And it’s also a little bit funny.

Ron: In any other film, one of the characters would have been a man. But here, it's two girls. And it's one of the nicest moments in the entire film. Once again, a trigger warning is required. But it's a great moment. Because we have seen so many superhero films, and we're still waiting for those queer characters. And it didn't feel forced at all.

Mon: It definitely because, as you mentioned, the actors had so much chemistry between them. It's a friendly chemistry, and the story doesn't try too hard. It makes sure that they come together because they understand each other. Because Rahne is such a kindly character and Dani needs that at that point, she needs somebody who can just understand. And she also needs to know that other people are also suffering in some way, they have their own pain, so that she can open up herself.

Ron: I also liked was there were no salacious comments, no maliciousness towards that relationship.

Mon: They were no gratuitous scenes.

Ron: Exactly, especially when the characters are young, you know, it would have been very disturbing to watch that. We anyway had the whole thing with Illyana’s backstory. One of the things that we really get to see in genre cinema, that even if you have queer characters, if everybody around them is like, ‘oh, you're queer, or gay or trans’, that ruins the moment, because that is again singling out the marginalized character. We also need to talk about how them being a couple isn't the only driving force behind their characterizations. It is a part of what makes them grow and brings them closer. But it also plays a part in resolving some of the issues in the plot.

Mon: So, here's the problem. While this beautiful little love story is fleshed out throughout the film, everything else got left behind. There isn't really anything else. Even if this was supposed to be a character driven story, or a relationship building story, those are also left by the wayside. Because Illyana is antagonistic, when she comes to Dani aide, it's supposed to be seen as she's coming to help Dani out of a newfound-love for Dani, but it's not true. And I couldn't actually read it that way.

Mon: When I was watching the film, I couldn't understand why Illyana suddenly had this change of heart. She'd managed to fight the monsters from her childhood that had come to come to life. But why did that make her feel like she had to fight for Dani? It seemed more like all the other characters, barring Rahne, were fighting for survival. Ron: I agree. Even Sunspot. When he's in the church, it doesn't seem like he's trying to save Dani, or he's trying to help the others. He's just trying to protect himself. And Sam seems to have so little control over his powers that whatever he does do is always by accident.

What I also feel is that we've been skirting around the issue of the plot. And the problem is that there isn't much plot here. The structure of the story goes something like this. Dani meets her fellow mutants. They try to get to know each other. Mysterious things seem to be happening, and they all seem to be related to everybody's worst fears. As the film continues, we realized that those manifestations have a connection with Dani. And then we finally learn that Dani’s greatest fear is the demon bear.

Mon: The final arc of the film is the demon bear attacking the facility and Dani is incapacitated, which leaves the rest of the team to fight off the demon bear and protect her at the same time. This brings the team together, but it brings them together more for their own survival than for the protection of Dani or for any emotional connection that they have to her.

Ron: Also, the stakes in some ways aren't very high. We are used to seeing the very formulaic superhero ending on this huge battleground, so many faceless people in danger having to be protected. And this is much smaller. The new mutants are fighting their own inner demons. And that works in some ways, but it's also not earned. Mon: I think the lack of payoff in this film comes from the fact that there is no context to what we've seen. The context always comes after the fact. We see Sam self-harming but why? We don't find out until several scenes later. We see Illyana being haunted by these scary creatures. But who are they? Why do they look like that? We don't get an answer to that. Most of the other manifestations, they do become more realistic. Whereas with Illyana’s, for some reason, it remains these otherworldly creatures.

Ron: I kept thinking that at some point, especially in the third act, that the monsters would transform into people we would see that the people who were harming her were actually real men.

Mon: Either that, or it was all in limbo, and that’s why they looked like that. But we don't know because limbo is just hinted at during the last section of the film. We get glimpses of a lot of hellfire but not much else.

Ron: The only remaining aspect of limbo in the real world is Lockheed. For the longest time, he’s just a stuffed toy and then randomly in one scene, he turns into a real dragon.

Mon: As real as bad CGI can make it, anyway.

Ron: It’s sad honestly. We love Lockheed in the comics, but also Lockheed belongs to Kitty. So, why is Lockheed here with Illyana? I don't know.

Mon: I'd argue that that was an Easter egg that didn't belong.

Ron: Yes, and seeing Lockheed look like that was super disappointing. They had three years to get this film on our screens, they couldn't fix Lockheed? They didn't actually do anything once it was filmed once it was packaged, once that first preview came out. They just put it on a shelf and waited for it to be released in theaters.

Mon: Disappointing indeed. What are the other comic book elements that you spotted in the film?

Ron: Well, when we saw Dr Reyes’ screen, we could see Essex Corp. It took me a second before I realized that Essex Corp meant Nathaniel Essex, aka Mr. Sinister.

Mon: And throughout, Dr Reyes kept hinting at how her supervisor was in charge and we knew that she was basically following his orders. Since this mysterious character is such a fan-favourite and a huge part of the X-Men comics, we were expecting, at the end, perhaps a little glimpse of the man himself?

Ron: There have been X-Men stories where Nathaniel Essex has been part of the background and then right in the very last panel, there he is standing there in all his glory. We were kind of hoping for that to happen and we waited till the end of the credits. Nothing.

Mon: The film is connected to the main X-Men film universe. There are glimpses of where these young mutants are going to be taken, and these are scenes from Logan. The corporation from which Logan rescues X-23. They were obviously hoping for a larger universe which would include the new mutants, but it never came to fruition.

Ron: Which is again making me wonder, what was the point of this film? It doesn't really give us an hoped for New Mutants 2. In fact, once they have defeated the demon bear, and they've managed to get rid of Dr Reyes, they're leaving the facility, but they have no idea where they're going. As far as they know, there's nothing around them for miles. So, what is the point?

Mon: My biggest struggle with this film is that the new mutants do not lend themselves to a film or a film trilogy. The new mutants should be a TV series.

Ron: Especially since it has a large cast of characters. And if you had added the other characters, you would have had a good number of people to follow. That'll make for great television. I'm thinking about The Gifted, which was an X-Men spinoff. Unfortunately, it was canceled after two seasons but I enjoyed it. Not everybody else did, but I did. And that showed how an X-Men story in television form could work.

Mon: The thing with the X-Men universe is that it's an expansive universe and new characters are constantly being added to it. So, you can't reproduce that universe in just a few films. While the X-Men films, some of them have been very successful, but several of the characters were underserved. Cyclops is the leader in the comics; he got short shrift in the films. Jean Grey is a very powerful character in the comics, and she spends most of her time standing and waving her arms.

While the main X-Men series can still be carried by a handful of actors, with The New Mutants, they are a group, they're a band of youngsters who spend a lot of time getting to know each other and build their friendships together. The whole point of these characters is not just that they have to explore their powers, they also have to explore their own youth. They are young people that are growing up; they need to find out who they are as people. For these characters, the film being a one off, or even if it was supposed to be a trilogy, it doesn't work. The new mutants need to have episodic stories, which were the central theme of the comics.

Ron: It shouldn't be a horror story. I understand where they were going with that. Even within the comic books, the ‘Demon Bear’ storyline does lend itself to suspense but it's also very tragic. I think we need to move away from instilling fear in the viewer, and more about instilling some hope.

Mon: I also feel like the final product didn't quite live up to the anticipation of the original previews. The first trailer that we saw, it really made it look like the classic horror stories that we are so used to seeing. They're stuck in an asylum and scary creatures are coming at them. That's not what we got.

Ron: This was ‘Jumpscares: The Mutant Movie’. Especially that Sunspot scene in the swimming pool, with him and Illyana, which never happens in the comics, and it came off as super gross.

Mon: I still can't figure out whether that was Illyana or that was his imagination.

Ron: That's what I'm saying! ;Jumpscares: The Mutant Movie’. Look, in a horror film, you can have your own kind of logic, but that logic needs to follow a certain pattern. That scene didn't follow any pattern. It seemed like just an excuse for Henry Zaga to take his clothes off, which is not necessary in this film at all. And to put him and Illyana together as a potential couple, which also didn't work because the two characters had no chemistry. And there was no reason for them to want to be together. Mon: Yes, it is just one of the many, many missteps. Surprisingly, I don't feel like this film was the worst film ever made. I would say that it was a poor choice of subject matter and poor execution.

Ron: It's not a bad film. It's just boring. It doesn't try to push any boundaries. The only area where they did something different was with the relationship between Dani and Rahne and but aside from that, the story is very limited in its scope. And for that reason, having just seen The New Mutants, we are struggling to remember parts of it. Mon: So, let us know, what did you think about the New Mutants?

Ron: You can find us on Twitter @Stereo_Geeks. Or send us an email [email protected]

Ron: We hope you enjoyed this episode. And see you next week!

Mon: The Stereo Geeks logo was created using Canva. The music for our podcast comes courtesy Audionautix.

[Continuum by Audionautix plays]

Transcription by Otter.ai and Ron.

#new mutants #x-men #marvel #stereo geeks #podcast #transcript

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likehandlingroses · 5 years

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What You Love

Summary: As Harry already knows, a tremendous amount can happen in seventeen years. But the seventeen years after the war bring him something he once never thought possible: contentment. (Inspired by “Daylight”--Taylor Swift)

Read below or on Ao3

“I want to be defined by the things that I love. Not the things I hate, not the things I’m afraid of, not the things that haunt me in the middle of the night...I just think you are what you love.”

1999

Harry’s hand hovers over the pastries in the breakroom. He shouldn’t...but then, it is Clara’s birthday--

He snatches up a pumpkin pasty, repulsed the utter banality of his own thoughts.

Ron pops in beside Harry, scooping up a muffin without hesitation.

“Lucky thing we’re on desk duty this week.”

“Is it?”

Harry still fights with himself other whether or not he’s simply become another Ministry shill. Too complacent and far too forgiving.

“Hermione’s starting tomorrow,” Ron says, grinning. “Remember?”

And with Hermione joining them for lunch every day, things don’t feel as out of place as they did before.

2000

The Monument to the Fallen at the Battle of Hogwarts is up within six months of the war ending.

Harry’s fight to memorialize the Order of the Phoenix is trickier, and in many ways more painful. The old guard is hesitant to legitimize the organization--and even more hesitant to admit their past mistakes.

But Harry--who still averts his eyes in certain halls of the Ministry, who does anything to avoid being the last to leave for the evening--refuses to relent.

He almost smiles when he first sees the incredulous looks of the crowds as they notice Sirius’s warm, lively grin.

2001

Harry collects the letters he finds in Grimmauld Place--under beds, in dresser drawers, even under mattresses--in a box up in his attic. Every so often, he’s tempted to read them: after all, what does it matter to Sirius now?

But each time he opens the box and procures a faded letter off the top, his desire to read the words wanes.

That they exist at all is the main thing. That Harry or anyone else might someday decide to sit on the attic floor and pore through each and every line justifies their existence.

He won’t today. But someday, perhaps.

2002

Ginny flies in a dramatic loop on her broomstick, playing to the crowd as the Harpies conclude another shut-out.

She could play for England, if she had a mind to.

“I know that,” she tells Harry. “But international play is a nightmare.”

In any case, she’s a star right where she is. In the sanctuary of the Harpies stadium, Harry has more than once been summarily ignored while Ginny is shouted down for her autograph.

“Besides,” Ginny says with a coy smile. “It wouldn’t be quite fair for me to run off and become more famous than you, would it?”

2003

Harry still can’t quite believe Dudley said yes to the invitation. Tea or lunch is one thing...an entire wedding--wizarding style-- is quite another.

But it’s now well into the second hour of the reception, and he’s still here, making passable conversation with Oliver.

“Alright?” Harry asks, joining their table.

Dudley nods, but Oliver leans forward in his seat, looking manic.

“He suggested swimming for conditioning,” he says, as if he’s just handed Harry vital trade secrets. “No one’s doing that! I’m telling Reynolds on Monday...”

Harry shoots Dudley a knowing grin, and Dudley ducks his head with a laugh.

2004

“--we’re here with Harry Potter, who has brought along a very special guest to the program. Harry, would you please introduce us to this lovely fellow who is currently eating his own fist?”

“Thanks, Lee. I have James Sirius Potter with me today, making his airwaves debut.”

“I was talking to James before the show...he was just babbling away.”

“Well, he gets very excited sometimes.”

“Is that the best part of being a dad?”

“No, the best part is he’s got this tiny little nose, and you can just...boop it whenever you want.”

“You heard it here first!”

2005

Percy tosses the agenda on Harry’s desk. “They’ve put it on after all.”

Harry scans the list in disbelief. The proposed legislation to officially close the Ministry’s Werewolf Registry and reopen its services under the umbrella of St. Mungo’s would be heard by the Wizengamot a week from Tuesday.

“But how--? We’ve been trying for months to get it in front of them....”

Percy smiles, rolling his shoulders back. “Well, I’ve been putting in words with some of the more established members...I don’t know if that helped at all…”

Harry laughs, shaking his head.

“We both know it did.”

2006

“He has the prettiest eyes,” Mrs. Weasley coos over Al, bouncing him on her knee as he gazes up at her intently. “Arthur, just look at his eyes! Aren’t they stunning?”

Ever the doting grandfather, Mr. Weasley drops down beside his wife, eagerly agreeing that he’s “glorious,” before reaching out a finger for Al to grasp in his fist.

“They’re just like his daddy’s,” Mrs. Weasley says, smiling at Harry. She’s not the first to mention how much Al looks like him.

It makes Harry all the more grateful that Al won’t ever need to wish for love or family.

2007

“Can you help me, Harry?” Teddy doesn’t normally bring Andromeda’s schoolwork over to Harry’s, but today he’s already kneeling at the coffee table, quill and parchment in hand.

“Well, I can try,” Harry says, sitting down beside him. “But if it’s division again…”

“No, none of that!” Teddy says with a grimace. “I’m learning about persuasive essays now, and Gran says if I write a very good one, we might be able to get a cat!”

“A cat? Well, that’s serious business, isn’t it? We’ll have to go about it carefully…”

And with Harry’s help, Teddy wins his new cat.

2008

“Skeeter will be poking her head in where it doesn’t belong once I’m gone,” Elphias Doge says, pressing a bundle of letters at Ginny, his wizened face beaming. “And what do I care what anyone says, really? Only I detest the woman, and if you got the story out first...oh, the look on her face!”

The ink on some of the letters has almost faded, but the most important piece remains. The valedictions: effusive, undeniably romantic...with “Albus” signing his name to all of them.

“It’ll be out before she’s decided which stone to turn over first,” Harry promises.

2009

“Daddy!” Alice Dursley pulls on Dudley’s hand as the Potters gather at the door. “The present!”

“Yes, right! Before you go…” Dudley hastens back through the house, emerging with a carefully wrapped package.

“Alice helped me with everything…” Dudley presses it into Harry’s hands. “Even the paper--”

“--and the bow!”

“And the bow.” Dudley smiles in the face of Harry’s bemusement. “For Lily’s birthday next week. I’ve meant to get the dates straight for years...but I’ve got this calendar on my phone now, and...well, anyway. I’ll remember now.”

Lily hugs her teddy from “Duh-dee” the whole way home.

2010

“D’you suppose they might only let me on the team because they feel sorry for me?” Teddy asks as he and Harry settle on the grass.

“Of course not.” Harry shades his eyes from the sun before looking off into the distance. Ginny is still trying to teach Albus how to mount his training broom…

“What about because you’re my godfather?”

Harry claps Teddy on the shoulder. “Listen: if you make it, it’ll be you’ve got a great arm and a sharp eye.”

“You really think so?”

“I really do.”

Teddy beams at Harry before lying back on the grass.

2011

“Oh, she’s beautiful--hi, Harry!”

Despite Parvati and Hermione’s smiles, Harry feels as if he’s intruded. He’s used to finding Hermione poring over something or other when he enters her office: she even spends her lunch hour wrestling through her Beedle translations.

“Padma’s baby came Saturday!” Hermione explains.

“I have pictures!”

Harry hasn’t considered before that Hermione’s move from Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures might have been motivated by something other than her career progression.

Now that he thinks of it, he understands why Hermione’s joined half of the DA in Magical Law Enforcement.

They make the work more worthwhile.

2012

“No! No kids behind the bar,” Hannah good-naturedly prods James out from behind the counter at the Leaky Cauldron.

“Even me?” James says, fixing Hannah with a doe-eyed stare.

“ Especially you,” Harry quips, patting the stool next to him as Hannah fixes James a consolation soft drink. “Sorry about that, Hannah…”

“Oh, I don’t mind!” Hannah pauses to tie back her hair with a colorful ribbon. “Only if the wrong person comes in and I’ve got an eight year old with his paws on the firewhisky…”

“What’s firewhisky taste like?” James asks.

“You’d hate it,” Hannah and Harry both say.

2013

“--so that’s where we put all our files for uhm...anything that needs filing.” Harry taps the filing cabinet next to his desk, looking into his nieces' rapt faces. Molly and Lucy are with Percy for the day, and “Uncle Harry’s work” is a key portion of their tour.

Harry privately thinks nothing could be duller for two little girls than exploring different people’s desks.

“Does it ever get full?” Molly asks.

“Er--sometimes.”

“So you get a new one?” Lucy’s eyes are wide as she scans the wall, perhaps picturing mountains of cabinets.

“Sometimes. Mostly we just toss things.”

“Wow!”

2014

“He’s going to do it!” Fleur grips Harry’s shoulder from her seat behind him as the crowd roars and Viktor closes in on the Snitch. “He has to, after all this time, he--YES!”

Harry hugs her first as their box cheers the Bulgarian victory. Fleur apologizes for the tears she’s burst into, but Harry’s own eyes are stinging.

Viktor throws his arms around both of them upon landing in the VIP box, tears still running down his cheeks.

“He would be so proud,” Fleur says, calling Cedric to mind so powerfully that they might have been children fighting dragons again.

2015

“And this one doesn’t like parties because she’s shy…” Lily sets her stuffed rabbit in front of Luna. Harry’s warned Luna about Lily’s “tea parties”--how they involve more profiling of stuffed animals than tea.

“Well, some people are like that, aren’t they?” Luna says agreeably.

“Yes,” Lily agrees. “And this one--she’s so funny, but she doesn’t eat anything green.”

“Not even green sweets?”

“No!” Lily says conspiratorially, whereupon Luna puts on a shocked expression.

“But how does she get her vitamins?”

“Uhm...carrots and the sun, I think!”

“Oh, well, that’s alright, then,” Luna says before smiling at Harry.

#harry potter #LOTS of characters in this one so impossible to tag them all #my fic #lover fic collection

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behind-the-hood · 5 years

Text

Here's How Overwhelmed I Am:

WIPs (In No Particular Order)

1. Superbat. Omegaverse and character death. Jason died while Clark was in space looking for Krypton, and he comes back to Bruce in major mourning. A Superman Returns and Death of the Family crossover.

2. Superbat. No warnings. Clark is taken in by the Luthors while he's still a baby, but not as part of the family. He's treated as a experimental pet, and locked in the secret basement of LexCorp. Batman saves him--by accident. The Batfamily works to help Clark adjust to human life. Inspired by Togainu no Chi's Kau.

3. Superbat. Major character death. Bruce dies during a battle and Clark falls into a deep depression after not being able to save him. This story is him working through the stages of grief.

4. Lamen. No warnings yet. Laurent is a vampire hiding a werewolf in the dungeon of his castle. Damen is that werewolf. The plot is still in progress.

5. Superbat. Omegaverse and dub-con. Omegas are top dogs and will keep alphas as their pets, since alphas are such a rarity. They are prized but are little more then breeders. Bruce is heavily against this, but he couldn't help falling in love with his silent alpha. The alpha runs the first chance he gets, after years of being in Bruce's care. Bruce let's him go. He meets Superman years later, and is still hung up on his alpha. But Superman is persistent, and there's something just so familiar about him.

6. Bruce x Lex/Superbat. No warnings yet. Bruce and Lex are the power couple of the East Coast. But Superman keeps getting in the way, and Lex keeps endangering civilians to kill the alien, and Bruce has to make a choice of one man, or neither. The plot is still in progress.

7. Superbat. No warnings. The Batman of Gotham has to be a myth. No one outside of Gotham has seen him before, he's completely silent to the rest of the hero community, and even half the Gotham police force claims he isn't real! But the other half does, and that's enough to convince the Justice League to look into it.

8. Bruce x Talia/Superbat. Dark themes and emotional child abuse. Bruce makes his first kill just after he turns sixteen, but he's avenged his parents and pleased his master. With Talia as his bride and their first child on the way, he feels like he could rule the world. Talia has worries however, as their lives carry them back to Gotham and Bruce goes heavily undercover for Ra's. The brainwashing isn't taking like it used to, and Bruce is slipping more from her fingers everytime he comes back from a meeting with the Justice League. The plot is still in progress.

9. Superbat. Implied emotional abuse. Batman is captured by Luthor and, instead of killing him as planned, Batman's reverted to a teenager. The problem with this, other than the obvious, is that all of his memories have gone as well. Bruce thinks he is still being trained by the League of Assassins, and is horrified to discover how old Alfred has gotten, and that he has children, and has an alien boyfriend.

10. Superbat. Omegaverse, threatened non-con, and some dark themes. Clark is the last alpha on earth, and Bruce is one of the few omegas left. And once captured by the government, they are expected to mate and produce more alpha and omega children, like it's that easy. Being locked in a room together forces their hands; they must either comply, or work together to escape.

11. Laurent x Torveld/Lamen. Omegaverse. Damen and Laurent have pined after one another for many years, but Damen didn't make his intentions known soon enough, for the next time he sees Laurent, he learns of his betrothal to Torveld, an alpha prince from Patras. With broken hearts and much longing, will Laurent and Damen accept what fate has wrought?

12. Lamen. Implied underage themes and slavery. Auguste and Damen meet on the battlefield, and Auguste lowers his sword, begging for Damen to hide him away. He warns that his uncle is attempting to have him and his family killed so he can take the throne for himself. Damen doesn't want to believe it, just another Veretian lie, but then the horns blow. A signal that a royal has fallen, and Damen knows it to be true. That is how Damen finds himself with the Veretian crown prince hiding undercover as his slave, just long enough for Auguste to come up with a plan to save his brother and his throne. The plot is still in progress.

13. Lamen. Emotional child abuse. Damen and Auguste meet at Auguste's coming of age, and then again at Damen's. They've grown close over the years, but Damen hasn't yet met the younger prince. Auguste tells Damen of how shy Laurent used to be, even with the crush he'd developed for Damen. Damen is curious and comes to visit Arles to meet the young prince, only to find that at every turn, Laurent is under his uncle's wing, constantly in one lesson or another. The plot is still in progress.

14. Lamen. Underage themes and dark themes. Auguste and Damen were cops, partners actually, until Auguste got shot and killed during a drug bust. Damen was supposed to watch his back and keep him safe, and now Auguste's little brother has no one but his uncle left. After losing his brother, Laurent is trapped with his uncle, a sex trafficker and pimp. A pedo too. And Laurent can't meet Damen's eyes anymore, especially once the physical abuse starts, after Laurent's grown too old for his uncle's pleasure. So he avoids Damen, and it's all too easy for Laurent to slip back into the trade. He knows sex, and he's good at it; and with enough money, he can run away from his uncle and this town and this life, and start over fresh. Even if he can't see Damen anymore. The plot is still in progress.

15. Lamen. The Papa Makedon series.

16. Original story. No major details yet. The plot is still in progress.

17. Lamen. Omegaverse and implied underage themes. To prevent war and keep his yet unborn sibling safe from his disgusting uncle's clutches, Auguste proposes that Damen, should he present as alpha, marry the unborn child, on the condition it be either a girl or an omega, so Damianos--clearly an alpha to be--can produce heirs. It is accepted on those term, and an unsteady peace is born, along with the child not minutes later. A boy. Over the years meetings are arranged so the betrothed couple can grow to know one another, but the problem becomes persistent and causes tension within the kingdoms; Laurent is well passed being of age, and has yet to present.

18. Lamen. Some underage themes and more to be added. Laurent is dragged away from the safety of his brother by his uncle and poisoned. The poison takes his sight from him. He's presented to the Akielons as a prize for winning Delpha back, a peace offering, a show of no hard feelings. Laurent knows if he is discovered, he'll be killed on sight, and he'll never be with Auguste again. So he keeps silent, and hopes the Akielons are not too harsh with him. The plot is still in progress.

19. Lamen. Canon theme warnings. Everything is essentially the same, except Laurent is a girl. This story will be exploring the taboos of Vere. The plot is still in progress.

20. Lamen. No warnings. Damen is the king of frat boys, and Laurent is his loving, nerdy boyfriend. The plot is still in progress.

21. Lamen. Pirates of the Caribbean AU. The plot is still in progress.

22. Lamen. Heartbreakers AU. The plot is still in progress.

Ideas Written Down But Not Yet Started/Elaborated On (In No Particular Order)

1. Superbat. Captive Prince AU.

2. Superbat. Injustice AU. Non-con and major character death.

3. Lamen. Soulmate AU.

4. Superbat. Batman Who Laughs AU.

5. Superbat. The trinity is a band.

6. Lamen. The Little Mermaid AU.

7. Lamen. Cinderella AU.

8. Lamen. Little Red Riding Hood AU.

9. Lamen. Alice in Wonderland AU.

10. Superbat. No capes AU. The batfamily are all part of the military. Character death.

11. Lamen. The Proposal AU. This has already been done by someone, so expect mine to be very different.

12. Pairing undecided. King Author AU.

13. Superbat. The justice league is a police department. I want this to be funny, but I'll probably put a bunch of angst in it instead.

14. Superbat. Identity Reveal AU. Every screen on earth starts revealing the identity of superheroes, both new and old. And suddenly, the world isn't a safe place for any of them.

15. Lamen. Loveless/Omegaverse AU.

16. Superbat. Bruce is abducted by aliens. The Justice League is looking for him and his family is covering his disappearance. The aliens remove one of Bruce's arms and injects poison into one of his legs, testing a human's limitations and weaknesses before they invade. Bruce still manages to fight them off and escape. The aliens are horrified and decide to leave earth alone. Bruce ends up needing to get the leg amputated. The rest of the story will be about him coping.

17. Pairing undecided. Omegaverse. Omegas are born human. Alphas are born as animal hybrids. Betas do not exist.

18. OFC x Elleon. Story is about why he faked his death and chose not to tell her.

19. Lamen. Medusa AU. Laurent is a priest of Athena, one of the very few, and is raped by Poseidon for his beauty. To keep him safe from any man who would dare harm one of her most loyal worshippers again, she curses Laurent to a horrid form, and any man who meets his eyes is cursed in return to be turned to stone. Enter: Damen.

20. Lamen. Princess Bride AU.

21. Lamen. Dragon Age AU. Probably just gonna be Porn Without Plot, maybe Porn with a little Plot. Damen will be a Qunari.

22. Lamen. Laurent is a stripper and Damen is head of the Akielon Mafia. I plan to have Laurent give Nik a lap dance on Damen's orders as part of the job application. So I hope that's something to look forward to.

23. Lamen. Princess and the Pauper AU.

24. Lamen. Break Up AU.

25. Lamen. Rewrite The Bet series to be better and longer.

26. Lamen. Damen works at a psychiatric facility and Laurent is a patient there. Laurent believes he's a prince and swears he can here his brother's voice in his head and that his uncle, who used to visit him monthly, is plotting to take his kingdom. Mentions of underage non-con and some sort of questionable work ethics on Damen's part.

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volturi-or-die · 5 years

Text

Twisted: Chapter 3- Answers

Previous Chapter: Chapter 2- Closed

Next Chapter: Chapter 4- Chance

Point of View: Minalia

Word Count: 1438

Warnings: Blood mention

I drank my coffee slowly as Ness drove us up to the waterfall to start our kayak trek downstream. She spoke of the Denali’s in the car, allowing me to keep my own thoughts while welcoming the distraction.

“They’re all having a great time up in Canada right now. You should go see them, maybe get some snow instead of this wet stuff. We could call it our winter break trip, or maybe you know go see the beaches down on Isle Esme,” Ness continued on as we reached the water. I didn’t respond, letting her daydream of trips we would never take.

There was a world out there I wanted to see, but I could not leave. I wanted to see the cities, the beaches, the deserted buildings and the ancient architecture. I wanted to feel the sunlight high in the sky on an island, the freezing waters of the arctic. I wanted to explore the forests of the world that were left and see the animals that still lived under the sun. There was a world of possibilities, and an explorer far too frightened to reach out.

The trip from the Cullen house in Canada to this small Washington town was worrisome enough last October. After all, the relocation was a necessary part of the cycle for vampires such as the Cullens. I could not deny the need, but the move was not pleasant on my account. The farther away from the field I got, the closer the walls felt caving in.

It appeared that wherever I went, the haunting possibility of the sudden return of answers frightened me more. I wanted to keep my life how I had it, for as long as I possibly could.

Ness didn’t continue to push further. I helped her unload the kayaks from the Jeep, ready to start the short journey with the rush of the water. We changed quickly and got in the water, and I let Ness take the lead to the rougher parts of the river.

“I missed this rush!” she shouted as we rolled over the waves. I couldn’t agree more, the water splashing around, the sudden bursts of speed with the rapids.

“Ready for the dip?” I asked her. The roar of the water getting louder and louder as the water began curving downwards sharply. I saw her nod and down we went, water flooding my view, but something was wrong, the water felt wrong.

My head popped out of the water to see Ness flip under. My blood began to rush and my vision got hazy as I began to paddle faster to get to her. My haste made the situation worse as I slammed my kayak into a sharp protruding rock I had passed on many trips before.

I flipped over, water overcoming me and pushing me further below. I couldn’t get out, the rushing water trapping my leg. Water began to fill my lungs as I flailed, unable to reach the surface. I felt my body hit something sharp underneath the water, but before I could recognize the pain, a hand grabbed me and pulled me up.

I coughed up water as Ness set me down on the banks of the river. She breathed hard in and out laying down next to me. “You’re dumb sometimes,” she said catching her breath. I nodded and winced at the pain I now identified as coming from my abdomen.

“You do remember I’m half vampire right, super speed and strength, impenetrable skin and everything, can totally survive a tumble in the water,” Ness explained giving me an exasperated look as she ripped an opening where the blood was coming from my left side.

“Yeah yeah, ouch be careful,” I said as she poked around for the wound.

“Perfectly clean, hmm how long was it this time?” Ness asked. I looked at the spot of blood on my stomach, a tiny scar now formed where I was stabbed earlier. I did not measure the time, but this felt faster than last time. The initial hit felt so sharp, but this scar was as small as a pinprick. Carlisle would need to know, the abnormalities were getting stronger.

I wasn’t sure what was happening, but then again this wasn’t anything new. I stopped growing, actually aging, around 5 years ago. My body temperature began increasing and according to Carlisle my scent was changing, almost as if it was a mask, undetectable to vampires. What confirmed my non-humanity was Alice, never having seen me and not seeing my future now.

But no one knew exactly what I was. I wasn’t a half breed vampire, I wasn’t a werewolf in either form. The only thing for certain was that I wasn’t human.

Ness offered me her hand and helped me up. I looked out at the water, our kayaks long gone by now. “Well, that’s disappointing. I take it the day is ruined?” Ness asked me with a hint of disappointment in her eyes.

“No no, let’s go back. We still have a whole day ahead of us right? What else did you have planned, shopping?”

Ness was beaming with excitement and grabbed my hand to run to the car. It was a little slower than she may have liked going at my pace, but eventually we reached the Jeep. We changed quickly and headed back towards town.

The hours passed by as we spent time talking about everything that passed in the Cullen house when she was gone. I tried to be as descriptive as possible of the seemingly quiet days. We spoke about the classes at school, the monotony of high school life.

Speaking of high school, in a town this small it was hard to walk around town unnoticed. Ness and I were in an antique store now looking for random trinkets when we spotted a group of teenagers outside the shop from the school.

The group ignored Ness and I as they walked into the store, not completely unexpected given our status at school. At school, Renesmee and I were off to ourselves, like the rest of the Cullens, Hales, and McCartneys. We only ever talked to each other, so it wasn’t exactly surprising if no one wanted to interact with us with how rude we came across.

As I browsed the shelves looking for nothing in particular, I couldn’t help but overhear the groups conversation.

“What are they even doing here anyways?” one guy whispered, thinking he was being quiet but I could hear things a little too well lately.

“They live here too, don’t be an asshole,” another girl responded.

“Well what. I’m just saying you never see them out in town, they’re all pretty pretentious.”

“Dude, they’re right there.”

“Maybe it’s they’re out because they’re not really like the others,” a new girl chimed in. Not like the others? What could she mean?

“You’re right about that. Minalia obviously doesn’t belong, I mean she doesn’t even share their last name, I mean does she even have a last name?”

Their words stung. Of course I didn’t belong, I never really did. It was a conscious choice, but I suppose that maybe didn’t matter. I always knew I didn’t really have a place but I sought that out. That was my choice. But was this the right choice?

I needed to get out of here. I turned the corner, grabbed Renesmee’s arm and walked out of the store. She gave me a weird look but followed me out to the car. She tossed me the keys as I got in the driver's seat of the Jeep and drove out of the town as fast possible.

Who were these people to say these things about me? I didn’t want to belong. Right? This was my choice, my life. I decided how I lived not anyone else.

“Mina, what’s wrong?” I didn’t answer her. I just needed to go back to the Cullen house. But did I belong there? Where did I used to belong? I had to come from somewhere. I had to have a last name right?

I pulled the car in front of the house and slammed the door as I got out. I rushed through the door. Esme came into the living room obviously concerned with my behavior but I didn’t have time to answer her questions. I rushed upstairs, opening the bedroom door.

Emmett looked at me surprised, but I stopped him before he could question me. There would be no turning back if I did this.

I took a deep breath in. “It’s time Emmett, I need answers.”

#alec volturi #twilight fanfiction #the twilight saga #twisted series #renesmee cullen #Emmett Cullen #volturi #volturi fanfiction #sorry it's a little late in the day

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terrorsbeauty · 6 years

Text

Video Games // Sirius Black x Reader

a/n: this is for @delicrieux , sorry for being so late , ily and sorry it’s kinda crappy

swinging in the backyard

Summer nights in the forest near the Potters’ house were always surreal. You always thought it was the fact that the trees seemed to watch over you, and mythical creatures were bound to appear at any moment, or that the lake that was in the middle of the forest had a strange glitter inside of it — almost making you want to jump in. What was truly magical about the summer of ‘78 were your friends: a feisty, extremely smart and caring red haired girl, a brunette with big beautiful bambi like eyes and a heart of gold, a loud blonde always in the mood for fun and games, a quiet but funny and witty girl with chestnut hair, a obnoxious curly haired boy with glasses that was irrevocably in love with the redhead, a tall, pretty boy with beautiful scars all over his face - a werewolf but you didn’t care enough and didn’t think it was his primal characteristic- , a dorky boy who cared more about everyone than him, and the boy you thought you were in love with. They made the summer amazing and worth remembering, entrancing, ethereal and fun — something you weren’t bound to have for a long time. That summer was made of beautiful small moments that you thought you’d have again.

pull up in your fast car whistling my name

 In an early June morning after the night you spent at the McKinnons’ house with the girls, you packed your bags and were ready to go to the Potters ( as James invited all of you) . To your surprise, the one and only Sirius Black was riding a car with no top, and in the next seat there was James.  “ Want a ride?” they both shouted. You smirked at the girls and then looked at Sirius who winked at you. You laughed and ran along with Marlene, Dorcas and Alice in the back of their car.  “ Come on, Evans!” , the Potter boy said smiling at her, and Lily rolled her eyes and joined you too.  “ Where did you even get this car?” you said to Sirius who was right in front of you.  “ Found it somewhere.” he said looking at the road. “ Now, where to, miss?” he said turning his head back to you.  You put your hands around him, and got closer to his ear — so close that his hair tickled you and you could smell his cologne. “ To infinity.” you said and then giggled.  He nodded, turned on the radio, and you were gone.

I heard that you like the bad girls, honey,

is that true?

 He drove over to the Potters’ mansion. Remus and Frank were waiting in front of the house. You quickly got out of the car and hugged Remus as hard as you could.  “ What’s kicking, hun?” you said smirking and he let out a loud laugh. You went over to Frank and hugged him too, making some comments about Alice who was looking at him.

Everyone was happy. Why wouldn’t they be? It was sunny, you were young and the older Potters weren’t home. It was gonna be a hell of a day.  It’s pointless to explain all of James’ attempts to woo Lily , even though you knew she was in love with him. As it was pointless for Sirius to follow you around asking questions about love.  “ Shall I compare thee to a summer day?” he suddenly said , hugging you from behind with a beer in his hand.  You laughed shortly. “ No. Compare me to a winter day. Cold and beautiful.” you said leaning on his shoulder, stealing the beer out of his hand and then running away, and being sure to wink at him. Marlene saw you with the beer and she suddenly screamed: “ Beer pong!”

he holds me in his big arms  drunk and i am seeing stars  this is all i think of

 After many attempts of Marlene, James, Remus and Dorcas to play the game, you all decided to lay down. Maybe it was fate, or coincidence, or just Remus’ extremely good wingman skills, but somehow you ended up laying on Sirius, who was this time smoking a cigarette. You stole this too, and blew the smoke on his face, feeling happy. He laughed, grabbed the nearest alcohol bottle — it was firewiskey— and took a sip.  Everyone fell asleep — or went to a more private place , like Alice with Frank and Lily along James, but you and Sirius stayed here.  “ It’s like a dream.” he said, in the crook of your shoulder, then resting his head there.  “ Isn’t it?” you said a little dizzy ( after the many sips of the firewiskey stolen yet again from Sirius. “ It’s afternoon and I can see stars.” you giggled and looked up at the sky.  “ I only see you.” he stated, and back then you didn’t notice his eyes on you — full of admiration, love , and everything in between. You only laughed and turned back to give him a chaste kiss on the lips.

  heaven is a place on earth with you  tell me all the things you wanna do   i heard that you only like the bad girls  honey,is that true?

 It was night now and you all gathered around the fire you made in the woods. You , Alice and Marlene danced to the pick-up music, while Remus, James and Lily roasted some marshmallows. You felt infinite, and you didn’t care about anything outside your world. You woke up a little and walked up to Sirius. He was talking to Frank. As soon as he saw you , you had his undivided attention, and Frank could only laugh. You sat besides him, and Frank left shaking his head, but smiling.  Sirius lit a cigarette and looked at the fire. Your heart beat a little faster, and you had this twisted feeling in your stomach as you watched him. He was an Adonis , a greek god here in earth , only for you to watch, to hear, to feel and to explore. You wanted him. But you also wanted to be free, and you never thought you could have both at the same time.  “ I always thought you’d be Persephone, you know?” he said, his eyes locked on the fire. “ You look so sweet, like Spring — innocent, green, like a sunny day.” he spoke and you though you saw a small smile on his lips. “ But you’re like a summer rain. And you’re just as cunning and intelligent as Hades.” he finished.  “ You always liked an adventure.” you told him. “ I first thought you were Apollo. You shined brighter than the sun, and you always had a certain happiness to you. But I’m Persephone, and I could only fall in love with a Hades.” you sighed and looked into the fire.  “ I think I love you.” he said turning to you, with a glint of wilderness in his eyes. “ I think I love you too.” you whispered, and leaned in to kiss him. Just as your lips ghosted over his, he stood up, smirking. He offered you his hand, and —of course— you took it. You danced all night, and you found Heaven in a boy with long dark hair and eyes like storm clouds.

#sirius black imagine #sirius black x reader #sirius black #young!sirius black #marauders imagine #remus lupin #james potter #petter pettigrew #lily evans #marlene mckinnon #dorcas meadowes #alice longbottom #frank longbottom #harry potter imagine #marauders era imagine

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thecinephale · 6 years

Text

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)

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