#lets me review things and keep things as consistent as possible.

[orcelito]

OKAY i fixed the most glaring canon inconsistency for ITNL that i discovered last night

which is. the fact that i fully thought the final battle happened in December. but turns out it happened in Octovern!

idr if they mentioned it outright that they were heading there, but they mentioned "humanity's last stand" in December so. i just. fully thought that's where everything happened. but then Meryl mentions Octovern at the end & i double checked and. yea it sure says Octovern on the wiki lmfao.

i'll have to read thru it more carefully (i wasn't exactly reading too closely for details yesterday) to figure out Exactly what the fuck is going on with the locations here. but for now, every reference to the final battle in ITNL has been changed to Octovern

sigh.

[starillusion13]

PRECIOUS

Pairing: Prince!Seonghwa x f!reader x Prince!Hongjoong

Genre: Royal, Fantasy, Angst, Yandere

Warnings: crying, controlling nature, possessiveness, suggestive themes, using a sleeping potion needle.

W.C: 3.5k

Note: Thanks to the people loving my works and supporting them. I love to read your reviews in my dms so feel free to dm me. Thanks for joining the event.

Network: @cultofdionysusnet @k-vanity

Request from: @warpedspirit

Taglist: @mymoodwriting @justhere4kpop @vvshere @yeoobin @tainsan ( I didn’t know which account to tag 🥹)

👑

*under the cut*

The kingdom Halazia was ruled by the king, Zeeth. His first wife who died at a young age has a son named Park Seonghwa and the second wife has a son named Kim Hongjoong. The Title for the sons were after their mother because they didn’t want their fathers title to be given to them as they passionately hated that man.

Two months ago, the king suddenly died of a mysterious fever. Not even the best medic in the kingdom found the cause for the untimely end so this leaves only the younger queen to take over the family proceedings. The situation was very difficult for her to handle and let alone the princes who are not even bothered by their father death.

The elder Prince, Park Seonghwa who has a great physique with light toned skin and always keeping a sword attached to the waist band, the handle is designed with blue and silver crystals which highlights the shining silvery blade more. The prince attires always look the best on him and make it seems like the position pf prince is designated for him. He has the piercing eyes like an eagle as if he can read your soul with a single glance at you which can make you feel exposed even though you are fully covered with materials. His sharpness of eyes is slightly hidden with the black strokes of the bangs falling over his eyes similarly the way the sharpness of the blade is separating through the handle from his hand. Even though having such a strong aura with the sharp facial features his personality is a bit contrasting in usual. He has a sweet voice which can easily lure you into his well-planned trap and his calm and peaceful nature can convince you to speak all your hidden truths to him. Well, that’s the trap where he will attract you with his caring nature and gets to know everything about you which may not be always good.

The younger Prince, Kim Hongjoong whose name can alone scream the dominance over every possible thing. He is born to be a king. He is slightly shorter than the eldest prince but his pointy noise and thick eyebrows and the evil glint in his eyes with the dirty smirk as if he whatever he does or say is the last option for everyone makes everyone else surrounding him feel smaller to him. Don’t ever dare to say him short if you don’t want to die early. He is totally ruthless unlike his brother’s calm personality. But both of them having same interests on something or hating the same thing similarly which make them most powerful. Hongjoong has a folding knife whose heavy metal portion is designed with black crystals totally matching with his dark personality. His only emotions are for his mother and his brother. He does not have to make you believe him because no matter what he will do it with force whenever its possible.

 Likely, the commoners are well aware of their hatred towards the king because they don’t like the rules of the kingdom set by the king. They both can be the most powerful duo among all the neighbouring kingdoms if they get pissed off with something. Most commonly known as The Django Brothers because of this consistent and ruthless personality when together. The king’s death announces Seonghwa as the next ruler of Halazia but his love for his brother made him to come up with a final decision for the kingdom’s future attention.

“I will not be ruling this kingdom alone, I want my brother to be the part of this as well.” Seonghwa sitting elegantly on the throne in a dark blue prince attire looking flawless on the antic throne of the king seems like a perfect protector of Halazia. He is looking around the court hall to scan the faces for any disapproval. Hongjoong standing behind him in a black furry fit which more seems like the enemy or the destroyer of the kingdom and also with the visible smirk on his. He is observing everyone present there while playing with his pocket knife making everyone startled with every opening striking sound.

The head of the general gulped when taking in the look of the younger prince and spoke up, “We all agree with your plans Prince Seonghwa even we are measuring the land to divide the north sector and the south sector equally. The commoners are also happy for the decision on finding two future kings which can lead to betterment of the kingdom as you both can give proper attention to the respective parts rather focusing on vast areas alone.”

“Equal sectors? Do you think we will get jealous of each other huh?” The younger prince spoke and the head of the general is trying to avoid being under his heavy gaze. 

“It is King Seonghwa and King Hongjoong for you all and I want this news to be announced all over the kingdom within evening.” Everyone nodded their head in return not wanting to displease any of the kings.

“Also tell everyone that my little sons are big enough to get married and am searching for beautiful and talented girls who can take care of my sons and teach them right way to behave maybe then these two can become a real human.” The youngest queen chuckled when coming to the middle of the hall.

Everyone feels relaxed with the joke and her playful presence and they all bowed to the queen and smiled towards her.

The two princes groaned on hearing the statement, “Mother, you know the kingdom is enough for having two rulers so there is no need of a woman. We can take care of everything alone.” Hongjoong interjects.

“But you can’t take care of your feelings for love, the loneliness will break you down my son.” She looks at both of them sympathetically.

“We can and we will show you how.” Seonghwa spoke up but with a respectful gesture towards the queen.

The ministers and generals started to leave the hall one by one when the queen made a quick gesture to the business minister to spread her wanting news for marriage.

“Father?….” A sweet honey like voice chirped in from a corner. All the attention turns towards that direction. The two princes are having the confuse look where the queen is grinning towards the new comer. The head general was last to leave when on hearing the voice halted in his step.

“Oh! Look I forgot to tell you who I brought here, General she was waiting at the gate for you and I heard that you don’t talk to your daughter.” The general glared to the girl standing behind the queen but instantly changed his expression to face the royals.

“Your honour, Queen Aeris I would like to apologize in behalf of her but I would like to take my leave here.” General plainly stated.

“This is your daughter?” The youngest prince scanning the girl as if like an animal getting ready to jump on his prey that instance. The girl hesitated in her place under his gaze.

“Y/N?” Seonghwa softly called the girl. The girl and queen both looked at him with big round eyes.

“Ah, finally my son recognized her. So, you should know now why she is here.” The queen clapped her hands happily and went away when a maid whispered something in her ears.

Seonghwa still looking at her when she is just looking around for what to say to him. Hongjoong suddenly spoke up, “Y/N? you mean our Y/N, our precious? My precious?”

Seonghwa nodded in reply which made his brother to show his dirty smirk again. Hongjoong turned towards the general, “So you kept her hidden from us all these days? Why?”

“Joong and Hwa, he is not to blame here. I kept myself away from this place because I need to take care of myself because father- “

“Don’t call me father, You witch, good for nothing. I don’t want your presence in front of my eyes.”

“That’s so ridiculous. Raising your voice in front of us and also on her?” Hongjoong asked the general with a dangerous expressionless look. The general apologized again and the elder prince signalled him to leave the place without wanting to hear anything further from him.

“You both remembered me still?” You are a bit happy and tensed at the same time with their presence.

“How can we forget the one who made our childhood the most bearable and memorable one. The one who respected and also befriended us before knowing us being royals. You are so different Y/N.” Seonghwa smiled for the first time in the whole day. Hongjoong took a quick glance at his brother and added, “You are the precious gem to us. See we decorated our sword and knife according to the colors you stated suite us.” He holds his knife towards you and Seonghwa also retreat his sword from the waist band to show it to you.

“That’s so nice that you still care for our friendship but we should not treat each other like before now because things are different since then. We have grown up and …….I’m engaged to Haechan.”

The two prince ears perked up on hearing the name of a male coming out of your mouth and also the fact that you are engaged. Seonghwa’s smile disappeared for a second but he quickly regained it while facing you but Hongjoong is totally losing his composure.

“Who? Haechan? Who is this person? When did this all happened?” Seonghwa quickly stated acting all normal but is few inches away to just rip this said person’s head off. He took a few steps to stand closer and in front of you. You are slightly shorter than them so you glanced upward with fear in your eyes because you are suddenly feeling uncomfortable with the fact that the person before you is not happy with your statement. Hongjoong’s heavy footsteps echoed inside the empty big hall which stopped just right behind you. You can feel the gaze behind you is burning hole in the back of your head.

Seonghwa putting the loose hair strands behind your ears with a smile which is totally mocking your fear, “We can’t just accept that you are engaged Y/N.”

“Huh? What do you mean you can’t?” You know the three of you can’t be close friends when you are just a commoner with two royals. People would not like this relation among you three.

“Oh precious! We can't lose you again when we just got you after so many years. We did not just wait for you to come back and say that you are going away from us forever.” You are not sure if Seonghwa is hurt with your engagement as he won’t be seeing his friend again or is he referring to something else which you can’t even think can be possible.

You retreat your steps back from his close proximity but to your dismay your back bumped into a hard yet fury chest. You got startled, thin back of your floral old town villager gown is not helping but feeling the furs stinging in your back. You turned your head to at least glance at the person behind you and found he is smirking at you with a lust filled eyes. Your attention was brought back to the front when Seonghwa holds your chin to make eye contact with you and suddenly you felt two palms resting on both of your shoulders. The sudden contact with two males making a chill shiver run down your body. Your eyes searching in the opposite eyes for the emotions to feel because everything is so confusing for you in the moment.

Seonghwa looked down at you smiling and then looked behind you, you can feel they are communicating with each other through eyes which makes you feel outcast between them. The hold on your chin is moved to brushing your cheeks with his long soft fingers when the thumb slowly touched your lower lips and keeping the movement in a slow trans. Your right hand moved up in reflex to take a hold of his wrist.

“What are you doing?” You softly asked him with a fearful expression.

“My Precious…..” Joong whispered breathily in your left ear and his hands falling from your shoulders and sneaking to hug you from behind. His head then resting on your left shoulder. You exhaled a heavy shaky breath and closed your eyes.

“Look at me!” the command from the eldest prince really dominated over the movement of your body for which you immediately looked up at him expecting him to have any dark look but he was looking at you softly.

“Tell me love, do you want to go back to him?”

“Huh? …..To my father? ” your eyebrows creased with the question. Hwa nodded to which you strongly showed your denial by shaking your head.

The prince behind you now asked, “and to him?”

“Who again?”

“Your fiancé?” your fearful expression returned to confused as to why is he asking you this obvious question and the uneasiness making you to wiggle under the two holds which made them to hold you tighter.

“Oh him! Yes of course I would go there …...that’s my home after my father kicked me out.” The answer didn’t help the situation either for your uneasiness. Seonghwa is no more smiling at you but glaring dangerously.

“No you won’t.” Hongjoong stated blankly.

“Why?”

“He is not good. He is no one in your life. The only men you are allowed to have in your life is me and Hwa.” He hugged you tightly and felt his lips kissed your exposed neck lightly. You left out a soft moan for the contact and looking down but quickly looked up.

“What are you saying?” You are now asking to both of them.

“He has said you already love, that only men that is yours is us. You belong to us.”

“I don’t belong to you. Please leave me, I need to go.”

“You think we will let you go now?” Seonghwa smirked at your miserable state under his brother’s hold. His hand on your cheek moved upward to pat your head before going back a few steps to take in your whole look while you were struggling to get away from the back hug. Hongjoong is snuggling in your neck which made your eyes a bit watery. Again, he came closer to you and smashed his lips on you. You tried to move your head to retreat from the kiss but nothing is helping when he holds your face tightly to glare at you for a second and again returned back to kiss you.

In the same time, Hongjoong is giving you butterfly kisses all over neck and over the bit of your shoulders visible. Your hands are restricted by him preventing their movement. Seonghwa’s kiss is rough as if he is a hungry beast who haven’t got his meal for last few weeks. Both of the male stopped their movement. You are weeping quietly while looking down. The lose of their hold didn’t help your weak legs to let you stand still any longer when you suddenly fall on your knees and hid your face in your palms and continued weeping.

Seonghwa felt a wave of guilt within him but quickly brushed it off. Hongjoong came in front of you and knelt down to move your hands blocking your face. Your teary eyes looked at him with hatred and fear. The man didn’t even bother to acknowledge your anger but he assures your fear with a soft kiss on top of your head. His one hand takes a hold of back of your head to push it softly against his chest to stroke you softly in a comforting way. Your hands takes a hold of his furry coat. Fur should be a place of comfort but this fur is like a needle to you.

“Why…… why a-are you d-doing this?” You questioned between your crying.

“Its okay precious, nothing is wrong. We are doing what we should have done way before.”

Seonghwa also mimicked his brother’s expression beside him to stroke your back. You moved back from Joong’s chest to look at them. Both of them are dearly smiling at you.

“We are your kings, love.”

Joong added to his brother, “and You are our Precious.”

“……no”

“Love, there is no other option for you except accepting this.” Hwa is grinning while speaking.

You shake your head side by side while thinking for what to say, “Please…...”

“Please what love?”

“I want to go.”

Hongjoong glared at you before standing up. “Hwa, take her to our room and let me have a talk with them about her and I will ask for you if I need help.”    

 “Sure Joong, we need to tell everyone that they have got their kings and the precious queen.”

Seonghwa tightly holds your wrist to make you stand and starts pulling you to the grand door of the hall to exit, you looked towards the younger prince to see him staring at you dangerously with a smirk “What will you talk to them about?”

Then you tried to wiggle your hand out of the tight grip which is hurting you a bit, “Where are you taking me to? Where is Joong going? What is going on?”

“Oh, don’t worry about him, he will be back soon till then we can enjoy ourselves. He needs to finish a meeting with your father and …..Haechan.”

“No, you don’t have to talk to them. I need to go back to him. Leave me.”

“Shut up. We own you and no one can dare to change it.” Hwa laughed in the end of his reply which is followed by Joong’s laugh.

“You don’t own me, I’m not a property please……” You are about to cry again. Hwa glanced at Joong when he stepped closer to you and suddenly hugged you. You are confused but before contemplating the situation you felt a needle like something pierced the skin near your backside of the neck. Your eyes felt heavy and your weight is leaning towards his body which he gladly took a good hold of it. He caressed your head before lifting you up in a bridal style. Footsteps came near you both and the last thing you heard,

“I need to go now to say goodbye to your father and your fiancé but we can continue everything later Precious.”

“Our Precious.”

(Do you readers need part 2? Spicy or soft?)

Here is the part 2! Out now!

[anxiousdreamcore]

Frontiers of Pandora story review ✨

BEWARE! Heavy spoilers ahead.

Alright, since I don’t see people talking about this game as much as I’d want on my socials, I decided to put together a little review where I talk about the story, what spoke to me, as well as some critiques.

To summarise my opinion; I love it! The story knows where it’s taking place and takes advantage of it. It covers dark topics and succeeds in staying as serious in tone as the movie franchise, which makes the campaign feel like it truly belongs in the world of Pandora.

To speak more in-depth; the plot of a Na’vi residential school had me hooked from the first moment. I think residential schools that native children were forced into are a topic not talked about often enough, so I appreciated the developers and writers bringing awareness to such facilities, even if it’s in sci-fi form. reconnecting with Na’vi heritage that was stolen from the main character and their family is executed quite well, as playing frontiers lets you get immersed into the feeling of exploration and discovery. The player is as un-knowledgeable about the world around them as the protagonist, and being able to experience new connections, abilities, places, stories and traditions side-by-side with them has been an amazing ride.

The different Na’vi cultures shown in the game are written organically. They each possess an intricate fashion based on their values, environment and history, but that is not all. Every clan has a cast of characters, bigger or smaller, who bring further life into the western frontier, help expand on the lore and provide entertainment. My personal favourites of these characters have to be Nefika and Kin, both elderly Na’vi with a welcoming presence and charm. Second to them come Eetu and Okul!

Then there is the main cast, which is MC, their three found family siblings, a.k.a the surviving Sarentu children, So’lek, Alma and Priya. We consistently stay in contact with them, both as part of the campaign and as part of our explorations, sharing experiences with them. The protagonist character is righteous, brave and endlessly adorable in their reactions to the world around them, and the trio of Sarentu forever have a place in my heart. I liked the concept of each one of the Sarentu children representing a different reaction to their past abuse and toxic relationship with John Mercer.

Nor, who had most luxury of remembering his life before being taken by the RDA, tries to distance himself as far as possible from everything human, and progressively adopts an antagonistic mindset towards his human allies, as well as a growing feeling of resentment and vengeance. I do not blame him for it and I believe it makes sense. After him comes Ri’nela, who, during Mercer’s captivity, tried staying out of sight but protecting her siblings where she could. Without Mercer, she feels insecure, constantly stumbling and at first, regularly looks guidance from Alma. She beats herself up for things that happen to Teylan and A’hari, despite being unable to have fixed them, but eventually grows into a stronger person, being able to take on the role of a Tsahik in the clan. Lastly, there is Teylan and he has to be my favorite character in the game. His bond to Mercer is strong, as T.A.P is all he ever knew, so without John, he begins falling apart. Lack of constant control and lack of ""affection"" from Tey’s "father figure" leave him feeling ten times as insecure as Ri’nela. He has a hard time learning Na’vi ways, keeps lagging behind and ultimately sticks to technology and hacking, which is worsened by So’lek’s nagging, as he obviously doesn’t know how severe Teylan’s abuse was and simply assumes that he is "lost" in the new world. Eventually, Teylan does what many abuse victims do, and returns to his abuser. An action I kind of predicted, but which still really hit me. His voice actor did an incredible job of portraying this character and the rest of the campaign I spent praying that I’ll get to bring him back home. In the end, I’m happy he’s at home and safe. 🥹💖🫶

Now to the grown ups. I don’t have much to say about Priya, but I grew fond of her. I liked her development from an awkward girl that sparks horrific second-hand embarrassment in the viewer to a resistance member who actively puts herself in the line of fire to help her friends. I found myself getting worried for her whenever she didn’t respond or was in danger.

So’lek is a character who I was immediately fond of, and I liked his growth as well. He saw himself as completely separate from human resistance members, and his thoughts are often occupied by revenge, but he comes to care for MC, the Sarentu and eventually the humans. Seeing him protect Alma when Nor attacks her was a brilliant moment.

Lastly, there is Alma herself. A very grey character who did horrible things in the past, like leading the program side-by-side with John Mercer. I liked her development, from an aloof and seemingly supportive teacher at T.A.P, to a person that orchestrated the entire project. Her grief and guilt feel organic, and I found myself having a lot of difficult feelings about her as it is obvious she cares for the Sarentu children, but her sins cannot be forgiven. I’m happy Ri’nela made the choice to simply part ways with her in peace, instead of trying to build a new bridge.

Now, for what I believe was executed badly. It’s quite unfortunate, but the game suffers from the same problem as Avatar the way of water, only quadrupled and that is; we don’t get enough time with the characters.

It feels even worse because in comparison to the movies, games don’t have to worry about pacing or time limits. The campaign can be as long as developers wish, but it came out rushed anyway. Part of the reason I got as attached to the characters as I did was because I spent time getting emotionally invested into everything they said, their minor behavioural cues and voicelines, but not everyone is as dedicated, and those people should have the right to experience a good story as well. They shouldn’t have to seek it out between the lines.

The only characters who I felt were properly developed are Teylan and Alma. They had the most extensive arcs and their growth was tied into a nice bow. But what about Ri’nela, Nor and So’lek? Nor suffers from Metkayina syndrome gets completely scrapped shortly before the finale, So’lek only gets crumbs of growth and Ri’nela is at times forgotten about completely. Her development as a character is too off-screen and between the lines for most people to catch it, and I find that sad because she’s such a sweet character when you actually get invested into her.

In the end, Frontiers of Pandora’s story feels like a good joke with all the necessary setup but only half-delivered punchline. I had very reasonable expectations and a lot of them were not fulfilled. This project is definitely miles better than whatever Ubisoft has been releasing in these last years, but I really hope that the DLCs will expand on the story further.

Verdict on the campaign; 7 out of 10. The setup and the beginning of the story were just perfect, but in the end, the characters didn’t get the treatment they deserved. Thank you for reading.

[rhoorl]

Week in Review | September 24

What a week! Luckily everyone around my neck of the woods is healthier and doing well. Hope you are staying healthy too. Thank you to everyone who reached out to check on me this week, Frankie hugs and forehead kisses to you all.

If you are new or haven’t seen my Week in Review posts before, I basically ramble about a bunch of different things. Fic recs are up first followed by some more feral thots (seriously what was in the water this week?! I blame it on the possibility of TF2.). Then I finish off by treating this post like my diary entry for the week and share some things I’ve been up to/looking forward to.

Here we gooo!

Fics I read this week:

Before I get started with my fic recs, I wanted to shout out this list that @frenchiereading put together of authors whose first language is not English. Kudos to all of these talented writers!

Frankie Morales

Third Time's a Charm (AO3 link) by jwritesfanfics - Frankie and reader have been together and broken up twice, will the third time be the charm? This story wrapped up but I finally caught up on the ending and it was everything I wanted.

The Pilot and His Girl by @avastrasposts - I don't want to spoil what happens in the latest chapter but ahhhh this series is just so so good and will be a fixture on this list until it's done.

Frankie’s Way by @morallyinept - This just had so many of my favorite Frankie elements in it - dad Frankie, hot Frankie, and some smut. Also, this would be a great set up to Triple Frontier 2 if (and hopefully when) that happens.

Your Plans & Those Slow Hands by @wildemaven - This was an ode to Frankie’s…well...hands, and what they can do. I’ll leave it at that and let you read it for yourself.

@trulybetty I still haven’t recovered from this …

Joel Miller

Pump by @hyzer34 - In this AU, Joel is a personal trainer and the reader is his latest client. All I’ll say is that if Joel was my personal trainer, I would be a lot more consistent with my gym routine. 

Burlesque by @cavillscurls - I caught the first part of this a while ago when I wasn’t as organized, so I was so excited when I stumbled upon part two. Young Joel ™️ met a showgirl in part one and they had a very steamy encounter and in part two he sees her out unexpectedly at a bar. I love Joel in all eras, but Young Joel ™️ really hits the spot for me these days.

@trulybetty answered an ask and we were treated to some Joel fluff.

Javier Peña

It's Never Too Late by @javierpena-inatacvest - I finally caught up and loved the most recent chapter. All I'll say is Javi dressed up as Hans Solo for Halloween was a visual I'll keep in my head for a while. 🥵 Besides that 😆 seeing Javi find happiness and love makes me so happy!

Marcus Pike

Cake by @trulybetty - The Pike Puddle is going to need to be renamed soon because there’s a lot of us and it’s getting deep! I have a real soft spot for Marcus, and this was a great combination of fluff with a little hint of spice. 

Agent Ortega

For the Night by @ladamedusoif - So I about lost my damn mind (in a good way) when I watched Pedro in The Sixth Gun and I was so excited to see some fics pop up in record time. I’m already a fan of this writer and their Mr. Ben fic Visiting (go check that one out!), so I was excited to see this story pop up. Agent Ortega was so hot, obviously, and so sweet and I loved that he was paired with a reader who was a little older. 

Dieter Bravo 

Destiny & Deliverance by @mysterious-moonstruck-musings This story just continues to get better and better even though it’s ripping out my heart in the process. What I love most, besides trying to guess the twists and turns, is the realistic portrayal of how complicated love can be, especially when you’re learning about someone and their history, while also processing your own past traumas (holy run on sentence but this is my stream of consciousness). I want to give Dieter and Talia both the biggest hugs. I also love the companion series Deconstructing Dieter Bravo that popped up which goes a little deeper into the events of the story (note, it has spoilers about the series).

Posts from this week:

Need a laugh while also getting some self-care? @morallyinept had special guest Frankie talk you through some great reminders for taking care of yourself (no pun intended).

Feral corner:

Ok, y’all. The feral corner is going to need to be renamed at the rate we’re going because this week … whew! The feral-ness was on another level. My notification were a hot ass mess so I’m sure I’ve missed some posts but there was just some absolute gold on the feed this week! The prospect of a Triple Frontier sequel is really what made us all absolutely bonkers.

I am proud to have instigated some fun. This is what happens when I pop into an inbox with an ask. I will listen to any TEDTalk @legendary-pink-dot will grace us with, especially related to Frankie. Here’s another fun thread. To those in the Catfish Pond PhD Degree program I see you. Although the school year has started, I’m sure our professor will still allow for late adds to the program!

We also got some lightened up GIFs (courtesey of @grogusmum) of that scene for Narcos. If you haven’t seen these yet, get yourself a cold drink and enjoy. 

The combination of gif and words by @intheorangebedroom … phew.

I also appreciated this ask I received from @goodwithcheese - any excuse to talk about the Triple Frontier boys is welcomed! I expanded further in this post (my Pinterest is now overrun with photos of men in gray sweatpants...)

Things I watched:

My husband and I did Baby Movie Swap yesterday (one of us goes to see a movie while the other watches our daughter and then we switch). He saw A Haunting in Venice which he liked, so I definitely am going to see that at some point. I went with my favorite coworker (the one who gave me the Pedro office calendar) to see the Expend4bles. We both have a thing for Jason Statham…long story and lots of inside jokes, but if you haven’t seen Spy you need to, he’s hilarious in it. Was Expend4bles a good movie? No. No it wasn’t. Did we have fun? Absolutely.

Also, I got a little surprise before the previews started and saw Pedro profiled as part of a Hispanic Heritage Month campaign AMC Theaters is doing. My husband went and saw his movie first and when the little profile came up he snapped a few photos and sent them to me lol

Things I'm excited for:

We’re doing some family fun this morning followed by a little date night tonight when my husband and I go back to Halloween Horror Nights so I can shoot my shot at Joel Miller see the TLOU house along with some others. We’re also planning on going next Sunday too (trying to get my money’s worth on the pass I bought).

Also this week, my parents are coming to town for my daughter’s birthday. I can’t believe I’m going to have a two-year-old soon. Wow. 

Fic updates:

I had very ambitious plans for the last week but managed to put out Chapter 11 and 12 of Working Title along with a Frankie one-shot, Turbulence. Thank you to everyone who left such amazing feedback. I truly from the bottom of my heart mean it when I say it makes my day to read all of the comments and reblogs 💕 The little community I have found on here means so much to me!

I was having some trouble with the landscapers this week, but don’t fret, Chapter 6 of Delta Landscaping is done and I'm editing it so it should be up early this week.

Thanks as always for reading my ramblings, I hope you have an awesome week!

[depressed-teacup-inc]

At this point, I am literally just trying to see this season to an end

Hi hello, yes I’m late, time to review Revolution! Let’s go because at this point I’m getting tired of this show.

So basically the entire episode is Adrien’s trying to tell Marinette that he’s leaving Paris and trying to stop it, but Marinette doesn’t really listen, and is focused on stopping Chloe, who’s now mayor/dictator??? Yeah trust me the logic of this show is gone, somehow people are ok with the super demonized caricature Chloe being mayor like everyone didn’t hate her already (my guess is that this is supposed to be alluding to the current state of world and politics and lack of trust people hold in the government)? Love the lack of consistency and logic.

Now. I don’t want to criticize Marinette too much, because technically, yes, she was busy trying to handle the Chloe situation (which in itself makes absolutely no sense and by all accounts shouldn’t be possible) but I will note that despite Adrien clearly telling her something was wrong multiple times, she never seems to care or understand? Like he told her multiple times that there’s something wrong, but she never seems to care or do anything about it until it actually affects her (which is unfortunately in character)

But apparently people are criticizing Adrien?! Saying how he’s awful for lying to marinette about having to leave and left it for the last minute? And frankly, the show kinda does it too (in the next episode, many of Adrien’s classmates discuss how awful it is Adrien didn’t say anything and how could he keep this from them like that)

LIKE??? BITCH??? Two points:

1. Adrien’s dad is Gabriel fucking Agreste?!

Like wow what a shocker the child of a man that has proven to abuse and isolate his son on multiple occasions has a fear of asking others for help in his situation because he worries nothing can truly beat this actual billionaire who’s also his legal guardian? And also is implied to have legit magic control powers over him, sentimonster style?

2. This really isn’t that of a big fucking deal

Like I do not get why this show keeps saying how “Adrien lied to marinette!!! He didn’t tell her he’s moving away!!!! How could he!!!” And how literally everyone and their mom is seeing this as an awful situation for marinette, when in actuality, all she knows is that Adrien will now be living a couple of hours away from her (due to the bullet train between Paris and London) and that he won’t literally be with her every second of the day.

Like I get it for a 14 year old yes this might be a huge fucking deal, but Alya even says so herself! Adrien is in London, they’ll just get a couple of tickets for the train and figure it out from their! And even in the worst case scenario where Adrien stays in London, there’s the option of a long distance relationship (that’s just as valid a relationship as any and would be a refreshing take on how not every relationship is super conventional and in person)

I just really don’t understand why the show shows Adrien genuinely going through some horrible shit from his father (like full on white room torture in the episode after) and then all the show focuses on is how this affects marinette and how sad she must be rather then the genuine psychological damage this must be doing for the kid! Like no one in this show remembers the amount of control Gabriel has on Adrien or something.

Anyways rant aside, before the entire going to London thing happens (btw congrats adrienette shippers for the kiss) there’s a whole thing where Chloe makes a deal to be akumatized by Monarch so she can send people to detention (it’s painted as a torture chamber but it’s literally people walking around with a video of Chloe saying they’re ridiculous, so basically P.E. Class), and then there’s a big fight where Ladybug and Chat Noir almost detransform because they used up their lucky charm and cataclysm and are trapped (btw the lucky charm had no fucking point to the story, why was it underwear? Frankly it was kinda creepy if the writers to have panties as the lucky charm for nothing but a weird joke, and not even connecting to the messages of unity and everyone taking action but ok)

But like… they just don’t?! Like I swear to god this show makes no sense anymore, Ladybug and Chat Noir just say they’ll never give up and fully transform and recharge again, and now they have no time limit and full powers?!

Like, the entire principal (just like Gabriel said) of the miraculous time limit, is that Kwamis need to recharge after one use, and that adults can lend some of their energy and power to Kwamis and therefore have them last longer to the point they don’t need to detransform, hence “only adults don’t need to detransform”

But now it’s apparently a purely emotional thing and not physical? Ladybug and Chat Noir somehow grew up by saying they’ll never detransform again (I do not at all see how this is a moment of growth to them) and now they just don’t detransform, despite the fact they are physically still kids?

Like by the shows logic of emotional maturity, Gabriel shouldn’t be able to hold a transformation at all then, because he’s the farthest thing from emotionally mature.

And also, it kinda makes all the stakes in fights now null and void? The biggest stake and challenge in each fight from day one of miraculous was “there’s this bad guy, you guys have one chance to use your special powers to beat them, think smart and solve this puzzle” but now it’s just gone??? It would have worked if the akumas overtime became more intense and hard to beat but clearly that’s not the case as even akumas powered up with actual miraculouses can be beat by a normal ladybug and chat noir.

The best thing the show could have done here is rather then make the becoming adult thing emotional maturity, have Ladybug and Chat Noir notice their transformation seems ti be slowly lasting longer as they age (have it be a metaphor for puberty and growing up or something) and then actually make the fights and villains more difficult and compelling so by the time Ladybug and Chat Noir no longer transform back, the priority isn’t for them to keep their secret identity (which sucks and anyways doesn’t matter) but to stay alive!

But anyways I digress, when has this show ever pulled a logical move?

Which speaking of…

I have no fucking clue what they’re doing with Chloe anymore.

They spent. Entire SEASONS! PLURAL! SEASONS! After the introduction of Audrey Bourgeois, telling us how “no Chloe is irredeemable her actions are never justifiable she’s just evil and bad and she has no other reason for doing anything and she’s so bad she’s cooperating with monarch and Lila look how evil she is hate her so marinette looks better in comparison”

To now… suddenly pulling this scene?!

Like. WHY??? Why would you purposely demonize Chloe despite the very real opportunity she had to get better and be complex, only to now pull a “whoops wait look guys deep compelling character!”

And while I heard people say this is the show maybe finally making Chloe get her redemption arc after hitting rock bottom, I can’t agree? The show is known for its repetitive nature, and if the show is to redeem Chloe and suddenly make her a good person or give her a compelling reason for acting the way she did, marinette looks bad in comparison, for not having as compelling reasons to do just as bad things:

Example? Marinette and Chloe in season 3’s Animaestro, trying to sabotage Lagami and publicly humiliate her in front of Adrien so she won’t “win him over”.

If Chloe has an explanation for this behavior (she’s taught to be cruel and mean from a young age by an abusive and neglectful mother, and because of her equally neglectful father, she learned the only way she’s heard and anyone cares for her is if she lashes out, and someone will just throw money on the problem) what reason does marinette have? She was raised by perfectly loving and doting (maybe too doting) parents, who from day one have taught her to be kind to others, and to do good.

Both characters did an awful thing, just one character has a genuinely compelling explanation for said behavior, while the other is pure jealousy and wanting the guy for herself by all costs.

So no, I don’t think the show will redeem Chloe for that reason: because it would force marinette to admit her wrongdoings and therefore force the plot to develop!

So this just makes no sense? It feels like a case of the show wanting to have its cake and eat it too, wanting the show to remain the same, Chloe to remain awful for no reason, and for marinette to stay the hero by comparison, but also have the bragging rights to say “we write complex character you guys!”

It makes no sense is my point.

Anyways besides these huge inconsistencies, leaps in logic, and bad writing, I don’t really have anything else about this episode to say? This show has officially come to the point for me where I genuinely think nothing will ever change or be able to fix how wrong everything is (from characterization of everyone except for marinette, the plot, the rules of miraculouses, the LOVE SQUARE)

[mdhwrites]

I still like TOH, but your comments have made me notice something about reviews praising it: namely, a lot of the elements praised are specifically described- Belos’s character, Luz’s depression, the dark themes, the serialization, etc- as being amazing for a kid’s show, and I think that’s a factor in why critical reviews tend to match fandom opinion. Namely, kid shows having understandable limitations leads to attempt at darker themes/big stories being praised as standouts as long as the execution is competent enough to not be noticeable. So while some people do acknowledge TOH’s flaws, they point out it’s still admirable the show made the attempts it did, especially with Disney’s public stance on what it pushes for in its cartoons.

So... I want to be kind first before I somewhat lose it because I am so SO TIRED of it being stated that TOH is different from other kid's shows. The Owl House is perfectly competent and entertaining in just its base elements. The animation is good, the voice acting is amazing, the feeling of teenagers is well captured, it's a lot of fun when it's interested in being fun and S1 has a lot of great ideas that earn a lot of good will with an audience and the plot line with Eda in S1 is genuinely amazing. After all, usually you don't have a character who is actively dying.

A theme they never actually address in detail. Eda doesn't feel like she's being held back by the curse very often and there's even one episode where it's used to re-enact a family guy episode of King trying to murder a toddler who won't let him be ruler of the playground. That... Isn't serious. In anyway. It's only serious when it's first revealed and the big sacrifice moment. After S1, it's barely a thing outside of Keeping Affearances.

This is the fundamental problem with The Owl House... And why it's so easy to praise. Yesterday I talked about how it screams its themes at the top of its lungs. How it is very blunt about how it wants to be perceived. Whether this is perception is earned or not is secondary to what it can easily state.

Which makes making an online article about how it's so different from other kid's shows, how it's the kid's show for those who don't like kid's shows, very easy. If you don't actually know much about kid's shows and how shit like Static Shock way back when was already addressing racism, having serialized content, etc. like that.

I mean, if we look at recent kid's cartoons, we have Steven Universe and Steven Universe Future. Gravity Falls. Amphibia does a lot of the same themes as TOH, with honestly about as much meaningful serialization, but also while being good, consistent and enjoyable. It earns its themes... But you have to dig for them.

So why have to scrape the barrel when the soapbox preacher is right there? This is part of the character arc problem too. Do you know how EXHAUSTING posts about "Look where they were and are now" by the end of S2? Where Amity would be a distinct, interesting, unique character in S1 but all they care about is that now she SMILES!

If you don't actually have to talk about the substance of her arc, if the show actually tackled any of its potential, complications, etc like that, it looks impressive. Then you talk to them about Winging it Like Witches or Understanding Willow, both frankly very much so kid's show episodes that something like Danny Phantom, My Little Pony, or Kim Possible would have and could have done, and suddenly it sounds less impressive, doesn't it? Not when you're describing episodes where Amity's past doesn't match her introduction at all and are obviously wiping away what makes a character arc interesting for "SHE'S ALWAYS BEEN GOOD! It's not her fault."

Sure. That's why she was willing to kill someone who didn't even lower her grade but instead just got someone else to be praised. And that's still S1.

Luz's depression is similar. You can have her make big statements that sound like they may imply she wants to die but they're still not willing to use the actual terms. Have Luz only suffer the absolutely loudest but worst stereotypes of depressed people like being constantly suicidal, pushing others away and not caring about them. 'But it's depressi-" No. As someone literally crippled by it, I don't want it being used as the excuse for literally the worst thing Luz does in the whole series, which is to just abandon an entire world to whatever fate she claims to believe she inflicted on it. I myself and a lot of other depressed people will tell you that it is FAR easier to help others, especially if you've hurt them, than any sort for yourself. But Luz's depression is used as an excuse for her to claim to keep caring about others when she is actually only serving herself and lying constantly to everyone around her while doing it. If that's great, depression representation, something most kids are still going to miss what it is, then fuck that noise.

But depression is a big topic right now so going "DISNEY'S FIRST MAIN CHARACTER WITH DEPRESSION!" sure is a headline, isn't it?

And let's quickly talk about the fact that TOH is very morally weird. It's not willing to do many big lesson episodes, hence why Episode 2 stands out so much to me, and a lot of its main cast has dubious morality. And... Then it doesn't really touch on morality either. It has no interest in it, even to the point of bad actions maybe getting a line or two said about them but then moving on.

As an example: Amity just wants to invade Luz's privacy. Period. She has Luz's phone and wants to be given an excuse to look into it. Talking to Willow, they could have a very real, very human conversation about how Amity's parents have taught her that such measures are okay because trust doesn't matter as much as control and how that's not okay. It could be a genuinely very adult moment for the series and maybe even have Willow talk about how Luz finding out so much about her past during Understanding Willow makes her uncomfortable sometimes because even if nothing bad surfaces, that was information given. By making all that a real conversation, which yes would have taken more time but let's face it, TOH honestly doesn't spend enough time setting its characters morals and letting them have conversations where there's real conflict between the two. And none of this is explicit or so dark or so boring that there's no reason a kid's show couldn't have it.

And do you want to know what you gain by making it a conversation like that? A real lesson to kids. A lesson that will prepare them for not only their own loves but for just how to handle others in general. TOH is still a kid's show after all. It should in theory be considering its audience and while not talking down to them, remembering they do need to still bring them into the conversation.

OR, YOU KNOW, HAVE WILLOW SHRUG AT THE QUESTION! And I could do a full breakdown as to why that's a real, human reaction to that question, even for someone like Willow. But I have to bring the real world, my life experiences, my sister's life experiences (and she's 30 while I'm almost 27) in order to explain why Willow is not blatantly being a TERRIBLE person by not calling Amity out.

And yes, that's when TOH is at its worst. It commonly just brushes off immoral behavior that isn't the end point of the plot as just a thing happening, like how Edric and Emira don't actually suffer consequences for their plan against their sister or how Luz is made to feel bad for stealing Amity's wand but then isn't attacked by Amity but put into a protective circle by her. A time out, sure, but one that leads to the ice glyph and her getting to save everyone.

A kid can learn the wrong lessons by the lack of consequences in the show and they're not going to learn a lot of good lessons from what is there. There's a reason why kid's shows are blunter than other media and they have morals. They're remembering that, especially in our modern age where one income households just DON'T EXIST that they have to pick up the slack and modern cartoons are doing that better than old 90s cartoons.

But do you know how much TOH reminds me of older cartoons like the 80s or 90s? With their villains who are evil for the sake of evil? With characters that can change on a dime, or the blatantly comic relief ones who don't have much character outside of that? The plotlines that are more about spectacle or statement which led to all those terrible PSA cartoon moments? Or hell, with how Amity ended up: The character who is blatantly only there to be the pretty girl that gets with the main character?

That's the thing: You want to say TOH is better than Teen Titans Go? Fine. That is obviously true. Who actually cares about and is praising Teen Titans Go though? When you compare it to the shows that people do praise, like Amphibia, Gravity Falls, etc., shows that not only teach and make kids better but also tell an engaging, full story with real themes, characters, developments, etc... What does TOH actually have? How much more serialized is TOH than say, the first season of My Little Pony? There were two episodes of build up for the Grand Galloping Gala before the finale and in TOH S1, you technically only need to see The Intruder and Covention, besides the pilot obviously, before you will understand almost everything going on in Young Blood, Old Souls and Agony of a Witch. There's more in S2 but most people agree that it's done competently at best, which is why people keep screaming about the shortening and I made an entire blog pointing out that S2 is bad because... The show is bad about serialization effectively.

And as a final note: I lived with a Star Wars and Star Trek fan for two years at the peak of Discovery being out and as wind up for Rise of Skywalker was going on. I lived on their couch and when they put on an almost 24/7 reel of 'reviewers' for these franchises, I heard a LOT of shit takes. A lot of the same shit being repeated with no real thought behind it, it being what was popular said (which goes into what makes people popular online versus being a mouthpiece for the popular opinion) and showing no thought or care about the actual system of production for things or the people behind it. A lot of people just blaming issues on one creator, or praising a single creator for all the good in something without talking about why they were attributing the problem to them. And yes, I know how hypocritical all of this is coming from some white dude on the internet no degrees, experience, etc like that. I just hope that my blogs show a little bit more real thought to storytelling to make it not as bad.

So a show where the popular, fandom consensus is that it's amazing, it states its themes making 'deeper' analysis easier and is very loud about its statements like they're original is going to be very popular to this type of review. Does this mean it's all disingenuous? Of course not. I started this blog by saying a lot of the reasons why the show is easy to like. Does it mean it has none of the depth people give it? No because a show trying this hard is going to manage successes sometimes though a lot of the times it then shoots those successes because it doesn't realize it's doing them.

But this statement that it is somehow better than things that have come before, is somehow truly groundbreaking while shows clearly paved the way for it so that it's just at the front of a wave it didn't have to make, and ignoring its flaws for all of these reasons, especially with "It's special because it's on Disney" or "It's only bad because of the shortening" is... REALLY tiring. To put it mildly.

A thing should be good because it's good. Not because it says it is or because you have to put modifiers on it to make it special. Shrek was groundbreaking not because it was made by someone other than Disney. It was groundbreaking because it genuinely looked at how it could parody the landscape around itself while making a genuinely good adventure and love story. Did it help that the creators wanted to give a middle finger to Disney? Maybe but I don't have to bring that up with what makes Shrek amazing. I can just say it's very good. In or out of its time.

The Owl House will only become increasingly less special and interesting as time moves forward and its big statements have to be yelled louder and louder to be properly heard. =======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead, If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

And finally a Twitter you can follow too!

[0perfectimperfections0]

Hi fellow doll, I hope you're doing fine. I've been quite busy lately, college and life in general have been kicking my ass, so I was forced to take a step back from social media for a while to try to contain the chaos.

Firstly, I'd like to share a fun fact with you! I don't know if you're aware but did you know that Lou's Mansion has a Pool? You can see it more clearly in the Mansion's Concept Designs/Art on this site:

•https://www.claytonstillwell.com/ugly-dolls#23

However, the real reason for this ask is to present a possible answer/theory in regards to how the doll-sized phones came to be in the world of your stories (you can tell this is still related to our chat on Wattpad).

Recently, I came across the images you're seeing on Pinterest. They're Wide/Aerial Views of the Institute of Perfection and one thing that immediately stood out to me is that Giant Eye-Catching Dome behind the TV.

I mean what's its purpose, why is it even there to begin with and what's inside of it? I've been thinking about this for a while and would like to hear your thoughts about it as well, if you're willing to share them.

By any chance, have you seen the movie Wreck-it Ralph? There was a part where the villain enters the code of the game he's in and I think the Dome's purpose could follow a similar, if not equal, vein.

Now that I think about it, Lou and Vanellope's circunstances are almost identical, trapped in the same place for years without the option to leave, simply because of who they are and the traits they were born with, but didn't choose to have.

Sorry, I let my mind run on tangent there for a while, it wanders frequently which makes it hard to keep track of my line of thought.

To circle back to the main topic of discussion, what if the Dome is a Central Station of the Institute, like a Panel or Center for Command Control (or Command Control Center)? CCC for short? Ok, I'll stop trying to be funny...

Perhaps it could be a subroutine of the factory's software, a program linked to its network and wifi that contains all guidelines and rules that govern the Institute and must be followed and executed to keep it functional - a blueprint if you will - and is in charge of all commands, protocols, activities and operations being compiled and run by its machinery, such as the doll-scanner, the robots, the washing machine, the recycling, the Gauntlet plus the mechanical baby and dog and the Portal, just to name a few.

This means that it'd also take care of overseeing the integrity and performance of said machinery as well as its maintenance. It'd even be responsible for generating clouds and the artificial weather because apparently weather is still a thing, even though the Institute is inside of a factory.

I wonder if this subroutine would be run by an AI or simply an intelligent system/computer program. This world's version of Siri? 🤣

Or maybe I'm greatly exaggerating its function/letting my imagination run wild and it literally only gives Electricity for TV and Institute. Where was I going with this? /were we again?

Morever, it could be a storage unit that contains all collected, analysed and reviewed data regarding the inhabitants of the Institute and their responses, physical or emotional, to certain pre-determined stimuli.

It could also have a list of the factory's Perfection Standards: what consists/constitutes a Perfect Doll / product, its traits...

what can go to the market and which flaws/imperfections can't be ignored/overlooked and have to go to the recycling immediately, kinda like separating fruit/food

To sum up, it's the Institute's "rulebook", but instead of being specifically made for the prototype, it's more expansive and focuses on the Institute as a whole.

After the events of the movie, dolls with engineer role job created phones with recicled parts dangerous/turned the recycling into a good thing/while recycling was turned of and parts are human sized, plenty to spare and create phone since dolls come back now, have free time to assemble the parts and construct them and connected them to the signals/frequency emitted by the dome or they hack/steal or find out the password/'hijack' the signals🤣, use it to make them connect with each other but can't enter the dome without proper authorizations/permissions

Fun fact #2: Lou animatronic, would be a hipocrite if he called the Uglydolls "Ugly" has never seen a Mirror before

•https://www.indigobluepencil.com/ugly

Scroll almost to the middle (pre-planned concepts: dome by TV and washing machine, Big baby, Lou, Mandy, Tuesday and Kitty, Victoria, Perfection Council/of Dolls=board of investors directors reference)

•https://www.scottfassett.com/uglydolls-gallery

Had to restart Two Times... I hope you found this ask both entertaining and informative. Hopefully it'll give you Inspiration for your stories...

Okay, I had to do quite a bit of research and asked someone who knows a lot more about computers than I do.

So, I do agree that the dome has an electronic purpose. It really surprises me that STX animated an entire dome within the Institute and literally spoke nothing of it or what's inside of it. Like, seriously, it's huge and can't just be empty on the inside.

My theory, after some research, is that the inside of the dome is essentially a hard drive computer tower. For you younger folk who weren't raised in a 90's home, here's what I'm talking about:

These things right here used to be what would get hooked up to older Dell/Windows computers. The ones that weighed, like, 50 pounds and took up an entire desk.

Instead of a dvd player (which I didn't get one until maybe 8 years old) I would stick my Kidz Bop cd or movie into that slot at the top and watch the movie on the computer with Video Player.

Count your blessings.

But this is what I believe is inside that dome. These things are what holds the CPU (central processing unit), GPU (graphic processing unit), and stores the memory, data, audio, and everything of the computer.

@natalie-the-writer and I have a running fanon that the company is older. The technology is older, the building is older, and everything is set in a pretty retro time period. So, this hard drive tower is connected to those bulky take-up-all-the-space-on-the-desk-computers.

The GPU in this system is also what control the day/night cycle in the Institute and the weather. It essentially simulates a troposphere and an environment that makes the dolls comfortable and prepared for the Big World.

The CPU is how the data is transferred. Info from the robots is controlled and processed, the Individualization scanners are monitored, the portal is opened and closed, the TV runs, and the holographic tutorials Moxy and her friends see in the beginning are kept on, all of it.

It basically functions as the brain of the Institute, but the sole controller and monitor of it is the CEO (Greyson Everett).

I also like to think that Lou's microchip (another fanon thought between Natalie and I) is also monitored via this hard drive tower. Any information that Lou learns and processes is sent into separate files on the computers back in the company building.

This is why in my Shell-Shock series, when Lou's emotions go south, the Institute begins to get windy when he's hyperventilating or rains when he cries. The ground trembles when he has body tremors and the lights flicker when his powers are used. He is literally connected to the whole Institute because his microchip and its data accidentally grow and manifest themselves into the files of the other Institute functions. His programming basically goes rogue and infects the Institute system like a virus.

I'm veering toward the explanation that results in Lou being the first successful form of Artificial Intelligence. But, for the moment, he is basically acting like a virus and it's not until he learns to control this new system he's connected to that it stops becoming a deadly thing.

[agentnico]

Sympathy for the Devil (2023) Review

It's Collateral in the desert, with the Cruise out and in with the Cage.

Plot: After being forced to drive a mysterious passenger at gunpoint, a man finds himself in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse where it becomes clear that not everything is as it seems.

I do hold a special place in my heart for the acting enigma that is Nicolas Cage. He's truly like no one else, with his over-acting techniques and outrageous performances consistently being enjoyable and interesting to watch, even if he is stuck in a dumpster fire of a movie, and boy there are many turkeys on his filmography! Lately, however, Nicolas Cage has been actually allowed to appear in some solid films, with the wonderfully weird psychological hallucinogenic trip in 2018's Mandy where Cage loses more shit than he usually does; to the hilarious 2022 flick The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent where Cage played himself and gave us the best friend duo we never thought we needed in himself and Pedro Pascal; and this year appearing as Dracula in Renfield. Yep, there was also that Western dud earlier this year called The Old Way which was the most boring interpretation of the Wild West possible where even Cage was on low form, but the less we mention that the better. Be sure to look out for my Top 10 Worst Movies of 2023 list end of the year - The Old Way will surely be making an appearance. Anyway, enough with the shameless self-marketing of my own blog - let's discuss the new Nicolas Cage movie that's gracing our screens!

Sympathy for the Devil is a very by-the-numbers kidnapping movie, that is definitely inspired by the Michael Mann 2004 thriller Collateral, which involves cab driver Jamie Foxx driving around Tom Cruise's assassin as he completes his dirty work. Thrilling movie by the way - can recommend it! As for Sympathy for the Devil, there is nothing new here or original. There's some fun camerawork taking advantage of the neo-noir lighting of Las Vegas at night, and most of the events that transpire are in this one car with these two characters was simplistic yet director Yuval Adler managed to keep this limited setting engaging. Reminded me a bit of that Tom Hardy 2013 drama Locke where he spends the entire movie driving his car and talking to folks on the phone. The script however is very weak, and the twist at the end of the film is extremely predictable, so the movie sorely relies upon its two central performances.

Luckily the two lead actors do solid work. Nicolas Cage is given yet another shot to give an unhinged crazy performance as the maniacal stranger, and he's given a physical makeover too with red dyed hair and a flashy red suit jacket. A lot of the film is spent on him giving out goofy line readings and monologues while rolling his googly eyes and being general Rage Cage. Joel Kinnaman brings vulnerability and humanity as the innocent driver who simply wants to get to the hospital to his wife who is giving birth to his third child. Kinnaman especially can be a very intimidating and strong presence as he's done before in The Suicide Squad as soldier Rick Flag, so seeing him here stripped down was definitely an interesting casting choice.

Overall Sympathy for the Devil is not particularly memorable, with there being no devil in the details of the script. However if you want another excuse to watch Nicolas Cage do his maddenic lunatic thing, then it will be an enjoyable 90 minutes to pass the time. Can't say I'm not a little disappointed - the trailer made the movie seem like much more of a deranged experience than what the final product turned out to be. Ah well, no sympathies for the devil this time around.

Overall score: 5/10

[angelofrainfrogs]

Going Back: Ch. 6

~Coauthored by @zeitghest~

Fandom(s): Five Nights At Freddy’s: Security Breach

Description: Things are looking up for Gregory. After putting the soul of a formerly-immortal killer to rest, he and his new family can finally begin their lives anew. Sure, Gregory might have been cursed with mysterious Remnant in exchange for being involved in this mess—not to mention his caretakers consist of sentient robots and ghosts… But there’s no doubt that the bond they share is unbreakable. They love him, and he in turn. 

All in all, life is finally starting to go right for once. 

…Unfortunately, true peace is a hard-won battle. There are other things to contend with besides William’s decrepit soul, and Gregory will learn that his role in the lives of the Aftons and Emilys is far greater than anyone could’ve imagined. 

Rating: T

Read on Ao3

Michael’s heart dropped to his stomach. Out of all the missing children, it had to be Gregory’s parents that came calling?

The image on the poster was unmistakable—the spitting image of Evan, Gregory’s smiling face stared out at them with his formerly deep brown eyes. Although, Mike noted he seemed to have a little more baby fat in this picture than he did in real life. It was a small detail and certainly didn’t prevent anyone from recognizing the boy, but Mike wondered why they’d used a clearly out of date image for such a thing.

Based on everything Gregory had said or implied about his foster family, Michael didn’t trust this woman’s intentions one bit. 

Samuel swallowed the lump in his throat. Yep, he’d seen this missing kid alright—the only one still alive, and who’d already been adopted by one of his formerly Glamrock stars. Sam glanced from the paper up to Rita, meeting her gaze with a practiced smile.

“Not to my recollection, no—however, my staff and I can review our footage from… Uh, when did you say he went missing?” Sammy asked, trying his best to be thorough with the lie. He’d learned how to craft a good poker face from his friend Michael as they grew up. Though Sammy didn’t feel good about lying to this woman, he had no choice at the moment. He passed the poster with the information to Charlie, who studied the page intently.

Gregory Smith

DOB: 08/08/2010

Last seen on wandering south side Hurricane. Any information regarding the case can be referenced with the local police department’s number listed below.

Leaning over, Charlie let Michael see the poster, unsure of how well she was hiding her true volatile emotions when thinking about Gregory being taken away from them.

There was a slight downwards twitch of Rita’s mouth at Sammy’s question. Her gaze shifted to the floor for only a second before returning to his face while she answered.

“July 5th. The last time the family saw him, he was walking with these twins from down the street.” She huffed a sigh, looking away again and shaking her head. “They’ve gone missing, too. I can only guess what trouble they led my sweet boy into…”

Michael clenched his jaw to keep from verbally lashing out. July 5th?! The date had just crept its way into August! No way they could’ve been looking for Gregory almost a month and not checked the mega mall every kid and their cousin hung out in whenever they could… Something just wasn’t adding up.

“We’ll be sure to keep an eye out, Mrs. Smith,” Mike managed to say eventually with a wry, bright-eyed look of barely-contained fury. It was an expression that said Michael was not to be trifled with, and anyone who dared risked his immediate wrath. Hopefully, Rita would take this as empathy for her lost child and determination to locate him.

“Ah, thank… thank you,” she said, almost flinching back at Michael’s face. Looking to Sammy again, she pulled out a folded-over sticky note from her jacket pocket and handed it to him. “You can keep the poster; here’s my personal number. If you find any information, please give me a call. We just want our boy home safe as soon as possible.” 

Sammy and Michael pulling off their good cop, bad cop routine seemed to keep the mom from asking too many questions. Charlie was simply trying to hold back from asking how she knew her “sweet boy” wasn’t dead by now?

To not sound the alarm for the better part of four weeks… Were they just hoping Gregory fell off the face of the planet?

Charlie was willing to bet they were asking questions around town now in light of the random Pizzaplex shutdown. That inevitably brought the conversation of missing kids to the forefront, and surely people were curious as to where the twins had gone—where nine damn children disappeared to. With the security cameras having been “faulty” or completely turned off from their scheduled recording thanks to a glitch in the system, there would thankfully be no proof that the children, including Gregory, were ever here.

Samuel carefully took the note, committing the number to memory before folding it back up to set inside his own jacket pocket. “Yes, Mrs. Smith—and on behalf of the company, I give you our condolences. I'm sure you'll find your son soon; boys run away all the time...”

He downplayed the situation's severity, feeling somewhat sick as he lied. It felt wrong to just tell someone they would find their "missing" kid eventually when Sam knew where he was at that very moment.

Is this how William felt when he spoke to these distraught parents face to face?

No, Samuel thought, swallowing the bile in his throat. If that monster felt this way, he wouldn't have done what he did in the first place.

“Thank you,” Rita said, offering Sammy a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. She looked to Charlie and Michael with the same sad expression, then to everyone’s relief turned to leave. “We’ll be in touch.”

To Michael’s credit, he waited until the woman made it out the front doors before losing his cool.

“Almost a fucking month he’s been gone?!” he hissed, turning to the Emilys with fire in his eyes. “What the hell have they been doing this whole damn time?!”

They’d been neglectful to the kid—that had been obvious from his appearance and the little details Gregory let slip out. But this was a whole other level. To not sound the alarm that your child was missing after a day was suspicious enough, let alone randomly kicking up the search after all this time. And so close to Gregory’s birthday, too… It made Michael queasy to think about what Gregory must’ve gone through at the hands of these people.

“We can’t let them take him, Sammy. That woman is bad news—I just know it.” Deflating slightly, he thought aloud: “Shit, what are we going to tell him and Freddy? They’re going to be upset…”

“That lady's a stone cold bitch,” Charlie snapped, glaring at the door after Rita’s departure. Though she liked to believe the best in people at heart, there was something wicked about her that Charlie could practically smell. Maybe it was the way Rita withheld information about Gregory, or how she never thought to check or call the Pizzaplex the weeks her son had been missing. “There's no way you're going to rat on him, right?”

“No—absolutely not. Gregory's not going back with her. God, she doesn't even care. You can tell...” Sam spoke with a manner of disgust in his voice, not entirely able to believe his own words. “Can you imagine what’d happen if we sent that poor kid back with her? He could wind up on drugs, or out on the street! Or, god forbid—”

Dead. For good.

Rita was the kind of mom that didn't care when you scrapped your knee, or whether you had a mysteriously dry cough. Ironically, Gregory would be worse off in the care of a mother who had no maternal instincts than the mechanical bear designed to be a rockstar...

“We'll be gentle and assure them we have a plan,” Charlie said, squeezing Michael’s hand and making Samuel tilt his head curiously at his sister.

“We have a plan?” he asked, making his twin shrug in turn.

“No,” Charlie replied with a lopsided grin. “But we'll think of one! We just can't have either of them stressing about it. Alright?”

“Agreed,” Mike said with a nod, returning the hand squeeze. He spared one last look at Rita as she hopped in her car and drove off, sneering at her back. Then he took a deep breath, gathering himself before heading back to the Daycare.

Once everyone had composed themselves, they returned to the cheerful, rainbow-studded room. The irony they’d have to deliver such unpleasant news in this place didn’t escape Michael. Of course, Sun spotted them as soon as they entered, always attuned to the sound of the door and the arrival of new guests.

“They’re back!” the cheery animatronic announced, waving to the trio. He was quick to make his way over to the door, eagerly wanting to spend as much time with his new friends and his good pal Sammy as he could. Freddy, Gregory, and Ennard weren’t far behind, soon crowded around Sun just in time for Michael and the Emilys to walk into the play area.

“Wow—did you guys really miss us that much?” Michael joked, ruffling Gregory’s hair while taking in the sight of the little crowd. He’d managed to plaster on a semi-convincing smile—at least enough not to immediately alert the others of anything amiss.

Mike may be able to fool people, but where Samuel could lie out of his ass to strangers, just like his sister he wore his emotions on his sleeve to those he was close to. Unable to help the frown settling in, Sam kept his head turned from the kid who seemed to stare right into his soul.

“OF COURSE WE MISSED YOU,” Ennard remarked, closing in as Gregory scrutinized the group. Charlie gingerly patted Ennard’s mask as they leaned towards her and Mike.

Gregory stood with his arms crossed. The mood was off. He didn't know why, but the group was hiding something. It was becoming increasingly obvious as Samuel rubbed his neck and cleared his throat.

“So—gang, uh... I have some news to break to you all. Just know that it's no cause for alarm.” He started off gently, as per Charlie's advice. This sent a shiver of worry down Gregory's spine, only looking fully panicked once Samuel asked him directly: “Son, tell me... Do you know a Rita Smith?”

For all they knew, this could be a total stranger trying to cash in on a payout of finding their “lost kid.” It was a disgusting tactic, but unfortunately wouldn’t be the first time the old CEO had seen it. Only in this case, Sam was hoping this was true.

Now it was Gregory's turn to lie.

“Huh? Rita who? Pft. I don't... know anyone named that. Dumb name if you ask me...” Gregory scoffed, pushing his emotions under the figurative bed with the mention of that dreaded, loathsome person. He suddenly turned on his heel, facing the Pizzaplex that’d become his new home with all its fun attractions. Now that he made it safe in here, there was no reason to face the danger out there.

“This conversation’s boring; let's play more, guys!” Gregory urged, starting off for the jungle gym.

“Gregory, wait.” Freddy's tone was soft but commanding as he expertly snagged the collar of Gregory's shirt, holding him in place. His gaze swiveled between the boy and his surrogate siblings, a distinct crease of worry between his brows. Rather than chiding him for lying about a topic that was obviously distressing, Freddy turned his attention to the adults. “What is going on?”

“Well... like Sam said, don't worry,” Michael began, trying to quell the rising tension. Even Sun seemed nervous, wringing his hands together and somehow already knowing this conversation was beyond his current level of understanding. “But that woman Vanessa mentioned? That was Rita Smith. She's looking for her kid.” At this, his gaze flickered to Gregory, and suddenly Freddy understood.

“Gregory's mother?” Freddy questioned, his voice straining ever-so-slightly. He shifted his grasp from the boy's shirt to his shoulders, pulling Gregory in to lean against his leg. It was a poignantly protective gesture, clearly showing Freddy's need to keep him safe at all times. Looking down at the boy in question, Freddy asked gently: “Is she really your foster mother? Please, superstar, you can tell us the truth—you know we only want to protect you.”

As all eyes watched Gregory with pleading stares to open up, he glanced away. He was soothed by Freddy's gesture of protection, keeping him caged in by his arms where he felt it was safest to tell the truth.

“…Fine. Yeah, I lived in her house with her husband and their kids. She’s got two of her own, but I’m the only adopted one. She's no mother,” Gregory said with a look of distain and hatred that Charlie certainly never saw before. At Gregory's ankles the Puppet imparted a hug, as she could tell that the poor kid really didn't care to speak on it. It was painful, but they needed to know what was happening. Gregory took in a deep breath and continued.

“I lived there for, like... two years now? No one else wanted me from the foster home; the Smiths were the only people that kept me for more than a few months. I can't—c-can’t even remember my stupid birth parents... Just them. Their ugly faces—” Gregory sniffled, hands clenching at his sides until his knuckles were an icy white, nails digging deep into his palms to ground himself as he felt anger rising. “Their stupid real kids and that ugly fucking house—”

The poor boy was shaking now. He was submitted to neglect and heartache there that no child should have to endure. 

“Gregory...,” Charlie chided gently, knowing he was upset but that those words would distress Sun in turn. Ennard already had them covered by folding their hands over where Sun should have ears, were he a real person. “We won't let her get you. I—we promise you that.”

Sun had let out a little gasp at Gregory's harsh curses, but to everyone's surprise otherwise kept his mouth shut. His protocol to protect and comfort the child far outweighed any coding that would make him lecture the boy for swearing. However, despite his intense desire to pick Gregory up and hug him close, he reasoned it best to step back and let the others discuss. To keep himself from reaching out he wrapped his arms around Ennard, keeping a tight grip on the amalgamation as he watched the others with a worried tilt of his head.

“She, nor anyone from that household will ever lay a finger on you, Gregory,” Freddy said with resolute determination. The mere thought of a child being mistreated was enough to enrage the normally-docile bear, so the fact this was his boy who'd suffered at the hands of these horrendous people made him want to march right to them and give him a piece of his mind. Instead, he lifted Gregory into his arms and hugged him close. “You are my son and nothing is going to change that. I will always keep you safe, and so will everyone in this room.”

Were his words a bit possessive? Maybe... but no one was in a position to knock Freddy for wanting to protect Gregory with every fiber of his being.

It was a fierce sensation, to love someone so much you'd risk everything to keep them safe—but to Michael, it was also a familiar one. It's what he'd been doing for decades after all, spurred on by the desire to right his wrongs and make up for the protection he couldn't provide before.

This case was no different. Rita and her family might not be possessed animatronics or murderous, British mechanics, but they meant Gregory harm... and that was something Michael absolutely couldn't stand.

“We'll figure something out,” he reassured, stepping closer to wrap his arms around the embracing pair. “You're safe with us.”

Charlie saw how frightening Freddy could be at the mere thought of someone taking his son away. As perturbed as that made her, she understood the obligation and love the animatronics had for children in the first place when programmed correctly. Her Puppet for example: it was designed with its first default function to protect anyone with a green bracelet should its facial recognition fail. In the event that she might be hurt, the robot was designed to even ruin itself to keep Charlotte safe.

“I already have a plan,” Gregory murmured, his thoughts becoming sharper with his anger. Even so, Gregory could get himself to stop shaking as floods of awful memories attacked his psyche. “And... I’ll need Cassidy's and the other ghosts’ help. We’re gonna scare Rita and Terry so hard they’ll crap blood.”

Charlie made a face at the crass wording, though she supposed it was par for the course for boys his age. She'd certainly heard Michael say way, way worse by the time they were teenagers.

“Gross—but so far, I'm loving the plan,” she answered with a laugh.

“Me too,” Michael said, fully on board with anything that involved scaring horrendous parents. “We'll get them off your tail for sure.”

“Let us not be too hasty,” Freddy warned gently, his own spike of anger fading in light of the shift in tone. It was all well and good for the adults to make the threat go away, but when it came to children—even immortal and undead ones—Freddy was hesitant to put them in the potential line of fire. Still, he had to reason that their help might not just be beneficial, but necessary for such a monumental task as making foster parents go away.

“Come on, Freddy,” Michael couldn't help but groan, looking at the former bear imploringly. “Having them all help out would be super useful!”

“Oh no, do not misunderstand—I am not opposed to the idea,” Freddy clarified, his bright eyes meeting Michael's. “I simply meant that we need to discuss things in depth before we put any plan into action.”

Mike patted his back warmly, pleasantly surprised the former animatronic had been so easily convinced to do something that involved messing with humans in a non-friendly way. He couldn't help but wonder if there was still a little bit of his rebellious disposition snagged in Freddy's personality chip, even after moving to a new body...

“Um, I... I'm sorry to say I don't think I can help much with this situation,” Sun piped up in an unusually soft voice. He'd let go of Ennard to clasp his hands in front of his chest, looking between the humans. “But I still want to do something! So... feel free to use the Daycare as a safe space to rest, or regroup, or plan, or... whatever you need! Oh—as long as Sammy's okay with that, of course.”

He tilted his head, static eyes fixed on the rather gaunt CEO. “Are you okay, Sammy?” 

“C... Cassidy?” The crew turned to Samuel, who seemed to shake at the thought of more than just the Afton children and his father haunting the Pizzaplex. “You all never told me—how many kids are...? Oh man...”

A clammy hand clasped over Samuel's mouth as the bile rose through the pit that formed in his stomach. Sam wobbled a little, but Ennard was fast in helping the CEO to sit on the floor. Charlie bit at her nails, hurrying to her brother’s side. She hadn’t yet tried to explain what had happened in that nearly inaccessible backroom.

“Hey,” Charlie reached out for him “It's fine—”

Flinching away, Samuel looked to Charlie and asked his sister “—Fine? Charlie there's more dead children I didn't know about and you're telling me things are fine? I mean—fuck, I guess I knew deep down but—”

His voice never raised, but wobbled with sadness as Charlie fretted over her mistake of not telling him right away. Samuel tried to square his breathing before speaking again.

“I... I don't know. Sure, if those ghosts want to help—let them help Gregory. The poor kid needs it,” he conceded, merely needing to come to terms with the idea that there were plenty of ghosts haunting this place that prevented him from truly escaping the past. 

Gregory could see why the man was upset, and told him: “It's going to be okay, Sam. Trust me—I mean, Charlie and Mike are ghosts, and they're pretty happy people. Right, guys?”

“God, Sam, I... I'm sorry,” Michael apologized, sinking down to the floor next to his old friend. To everyone but Samuel the concept of ghost children running around was merely a sad but inevitable fact. Mike was so used to the idea that he'd forgotten poor Sammy had only become aware of the true horror of Fazbear Entertainment's past the day prior... Honestly, Michael was amazed this latest revelation hadn't caused a full-on breakdown. His friend had gotten so strong over the years, despite everything.

“We should've told you sooner,” he admitted, placing a hesitant hand on Sammy's back, almost afraid he might reject the gesture. When he wasn't shoved off, Michael gave his friend a little smile and shook him gently. “But Gregory's got a point—Charlie and I are technically ghosts too, but we're okay. And what about your dad? You wouldn't even know he's one; he's just like his old self!”

There was a pause in which Michael's expression shifted to something unintelligible, and then he added in a soft voice: “Look, I've been chasing after ghosts since I was a kid. I know which ones are happy and which ones are vengeful, and trust me—the ones we've encountered in the Pizzaplex so far definitely lean towards the nicer side of spirits... Everything's going to be okay. We'll figure it out.”

We'll figure it out...

It was the mantra of his childhood. For a moment, Sam was transported somewhere far and distant. A time passed so long ago it felt like he was watching it inside of an old analogue television set. With every tragedy Samuel faced, he was met with the same philosophy.

Things never exactly turned out fine. Far from it, actually. Sam was so tired of all the cursed blood attached to the Fazbear IP. Tragedy was sure to follow whatever establishment bore the franchise name.

“I'm not mad, you guys. Or scared... I'm sad. It's not right what he did. I... I think I need to sleep. Yeah... Sun? Be a doll and lower the lights?” Samuel could feel a migraine coming on, and thought he should rest. “Know that the Pizzaplex is at your disposal however you need, guys. And the kids? As long as they're good, they’re free to visit, too.” 

It clearly bummed Samuel out to think of them as dead. The survivor’s guilt triggering once again, and feeling like he had unintentionally trapped these children by making another death trap for William to build around.

Before completely falling into unconsciousness, Sam had enough wherewithal to lift his walkie and murmur into the mic: "Vanessa? Can you hang tight for another hour or so? I got a little held up."

"I don't really have anywhere else to go, so sure," the former night guard crackled back through the static.

Luckily, Gregory's little pillow cloud hadn't yet been disassembled. Sun cared for all the employees at the Pizzaplex, but he had a soft spot for the ever-tired CEO and was always glad to let Sam rest in his protective care. He was at the light switch in a few long strides, flipping it down with deft fingertips that would soon shift from white to blue as he instinctually ducked behind the desk to hide his transformation. Michael couldn't help but let out a soft huff at this, curious as ever to see what exactly happened to the Daycare attendant when darkness fell. For the moment though, he was content to let Sammy rest against him, rubbing his upper arm soothingly as he held him in a side hug.

“I'll take him from here,” Moon's low voice rasped. The second Michael released Sam, Moon was quick to lift him up to cradle him like a child, ignoring whatever protests the CEO might make as he was carried over to the fluffy cloud of comfort. He placed Sammy directly in the center, giving his head the gentlest of pats before stepping back. Moon's faintly-glowing eyes settled on the rest of the group as he told them: “I'll watch over Sammy, don't worry—you all should rest as well. We'll see you tomorrow, after all, ehehehe...”

“...Right,” Mike replied, getting to his feet with a sigh. He hated leaving Sammy in such a state, but it was getting late and he wanted to make a good impression tomorrow morning.

“Thank you, Moon—we greatly appreciate it. Have a good night,” Freddy said, still carrying Gregory as he gave the attendant a gentle smile, then made his way for the door with the others not far behind.

“Night, guys,” called out Sammy. Despite his chagrin, Moon was quick to put Samuel to bed. Sam didn't know if he’d have pleasant dreams, however—so tonight he was more inclined to talk with Moon until he grew too tired to speak.

When Gregory went to walk away with his family, Puppet's protective arms seemed to tangle up the kid's legs. She didn't want Gregory to go—what if that lady they were talking about found him? She was going to hurt Gregory, Puppet knew it. Unfortunately she couldn't communicate any of this, and Gregory bent at the waist to hug her.

“I'll be back tomorrow, Puppet.” Gregory smiled before easily relocating the Marionette, making her wring her hands together nervously.

Gregory hadn't realized the same was happening to Michael; Ennard practically breathed down the back of their “friend’s” neck as they followed him across the playground floor. As Gregory trailed after his dad, he was pretty sure he overheard Sam asking if Ennard was made out of ripped up carpeting and old endos, hoping his friend the Moon would know. Gregory snickered to himself at Sam's confusion, the only thing that could cheer him up in the moment.

“Ennard, stop,” Michael said upon realizing the animatronic was not going to back off on their own.

Even after all the time they'd spend together, it would be a lie to say Mike was at peace with Ennard—or frankly even that he was fully comfortable in their presence. That wasn't going to happen for quite a while, if ever, though it certainly wasn't for lack of trying on Ennard's part. There was simply too much residual trauma lurking in the depths of Michael's mind to process that the creature could truly not be a threat to him in some capacity.

Still, the fact that the rest of his family seemed content enough in Ennard's presence did ease Mike a little. He was able to resist the urge to lash out as he used to, even managing to lower his voice into a normal, almost understanding tone as he added: “I'll be fine. So will everyone else, okay? Just chill and stay out of people's sight while we're gone.”

Instead of turning on his heel and leaving immediately, Michael crossed his arms over his chest and waited for a response. Coupled with his raised eyebrow and stern expression, it looked like he was trying to explain object permanence to a child who hadn't grasped the concept yet, instead of telling a years-old conglomeration of metallic wires and AI that their friends would return to play another night.

It made sense in theory. And Ennard knew they could easily overpower Michael and keep him there with them if they really wanted to. It would be easy. Though that wasn't the type of person Michael could stand to be around, it seemed.

Sometimes doing things the right way was worth it in the long run, they'd learned.

“GOODBYE, EGG,” they said like a secret joke between the two of them. Maybe one day Mike could appreciate the typo as much as they could. Ennard opened their arms, waiting for a hug—though, as Sun explained it once, sometimes people just don’t want to be touched. Ennard wouldn't hold it against Michael should he choose to just leave—they never really blamed the former night guard anyway.

“Oh, for fu—” Michael caught himself just in time to avoid activating Moon and Freddy's swearing protocols at once. With a heavy roll of his eyes, Mike uncrossed his arms to let them hang loosely at his sides. He looked up at Ennard with a scathing expression, surprised they even thought Michael would hug them at this point.

The pair stared each other down before Michael oh-so-slowly raised a hand. It looked like he was about to smack the robot, but he simply gave the back of Ennard's left hand one single, swift pat.

“Alright, let's go,” he said quickly, turning his back on the amalgamation and leading the charge out of the Daycare.

To Ennard, there was no way of misinterpreting that response: he and Mike were indeed “besties,” as Sun would say. In Ennard’s twisted head, that was undisputed.

As they reached the exit Gregory squinted through the tinted glass doors, concerned people he knew would be waiting for him outside. There was no convincing him that the outside was totally safe, so Charlie lifted Gregory up and held him in a way that made it easier to bury his face away in her shoulder. Gregory had voiced that hiding his features made him feel a little more hidden as the family traveled onward back to their paid room. As Charlie hauled their precious cargo back to their temporary home, she asked Gregory what he wanted for dinner.

“Pizza…,” he replied in a forlorn fashion.

Charlie would shake her head and suggested gently: “Maybe something different? You ate a lot of pizza recently, kiddo.”

It was clear Gregory needed variety in his diet. Who knows how they used to feed him at his old house anyway judging by his eating habits…

“How about a salad?” Freddy offered, though he had a feeling this option wouldn't go over well. Sure enough, Michael scoffed at the very notion.

“Geez, Freddy, I thought you were supposed to be a nice robot—don't torture the kid!” he griped, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“I am doing no such thing,” Freddy replied with slightly narrowed eyes. “Vegetables are a healthy part of a balanced diet, and Gregory certainly needs one.”

“Yeah, but a salad?” Michael shook his head, then looked to Gregory and Charlie for their opinions. “What do you guys think? Salads for everyone, yay or nay?” 

Charlie would probably agree with Freddy, even if she could stand to eat anything unhealthy for days at a time considering it would never affect her health. Gregory answered first shrugging it off.

“Salads are fine—as long as they have grilled chicken or those ham and cheese wheel things!” he said, hoisted up better into Charlie’s arms as she chuckled at him.

“Little carnivore... I’m sure we can find something good on the menu,” she added as they entered the parking lot area of the tourist trap hotel.

Despite Michael’s earlier protestations, he made no qualms when it actually came time to order—like Charlie, he realized the value of getting something green in Gregory’s system that wasn’t Monty-themed Fizzy Faz. While Charlie was on the phone, Michael took the opportunity to snatch Gregory up the second his feet touched the ground and toss him onto the couch, eliciting a surprised laugh.

“So, Freddy,” Michael began. “You never actually told us what Henry said about us eating.”

“To be frank… Henry does not quite understand what is happening either," Freddy replied, perching on the couch as well.

Michael tilted his head with a downturn of his lips. “…What do you mean?”

“He and Samuel opened up my body and looked around, but there was no evidence of me having eaten anything,” Freddy explained. “It was as if the food simply disappeared into thin air. I brought up the concept of converting it to energy like normal humans do, which Henry said made sense… if he designed that capability, which he did not.”

Freddy gave a little shrug, bright eyes filled with wonder and mirth. “Henry said, and please excuse my language as this is a direct quote: ‘Whatever is happening is a freaking supernatural miracle!’” 

Hearing Freddy say something considered crude by the animatronics standards left Charlie in a fit of giggles. She held her stomach as Gregory burst into laughter as well—though he did have to force it some even if he was genuinely happy. When he'd heard Rita’s name, Gregory felt as though he was slipping back into the notion he wouldn’t be safe anywhere. Wherever he went, it was as if people were out to get him. The fact his foster parents  even noticed that he was gone both astonished and scared him.

“That’s good, though! You can still eat burgers and try a bunch of new stuff!” Gregory would encourage, reclining back with his big brother.

Charlie was a little more skeptical. “It’s just gone? Inexplicably?”

It was just so peculiar to her. And yes, Charlie could definitely see how the supernatural murder victim thinking their robot vessel strange was a pot calling a kettle black, but her point still stood.

“Like your dad said—it’s a miracle! Nothing’s wrong so there’s no need to worry. Maybe it’s like… Magic, you know?” Gregory suggested. It wasn’t unlikely, given this crew’s eclectic circumstances.

“I would like to think so,” Freddy said with a smile, never one to quash a child’s imagination.

Besides—what else could it be, really? He used to be a huge, animatronic bear that worked from a knowledge bank of databases and logical thinking. Now, his consciousness had been transferred into a scarily humanlike android that reflected his scarily humanlike personality... Plus, his son was immortal and his other surrogate children were literal ghosts in their machines. Who’s to say there wasn’t a bit of magic floating around in the universe as well?

***

The night was blissfully uneventful, at least by their standards. To work off Gregory's burst of adrenaline and food-fueled energy, the group visited the arcade and spent a good while facing off against each other in various games. Even Freddy joined in on some, though his AI gave him a weird knack for being almost too good, making him step back in deference to letting the others enjoy the games in his stead. He much preferred to keep a watchful eye on his family anyway.

Once returned to the room, the group showered and prepared for bed, then chatted a while longer about happy plans for the future until Gregory drifted off to sleep, followed shortly thereafter by Michael and Charlie. Freddy still hadn't gotten used to the concept, but even he managed to doze for a few minutes here and there.

At some point during the day Michael slipped out to meet Sammy, leaving a note on the kitchen table to let the others know where he'd gone. He suggested it best for them to wait until nightfall to join him due to the recent development with Gregory's foster parents, and no one put up a fight to this. When darkness fell over the town the group set out, one of Gregory's hands in Freddy's while Charlie held the other.

“Hey!” Michael greeted them just inside the front doors of the Pizzaplex, seeming rather chipper. He was still dressed in casual clothes, although the disheveled state of his hair and grease-stains on his shirt and face indicated he'd been hard at work helping Sammy fix up some animatronics. “I missed you guys! How was life without me for a day?”

“Charlie and me hung out at the arcade and we built a pillow fort with Freddy!” Gregory recalled, abandoning his father’s and Charlie’s hand to give Michael a hug. Ushering them further inside, almost for fear of someone recognizing Gregory from the many more missing children posters she’d noticed now that she was allowed outside, Charlie agreed with a nod.

“We left it up—mostly because there’s a back to back marathon of Immortal and the Restless on later and I wanted Gregory to see the first episode,” she planned. It was weird but welcomed to see Michael back at it with the mechanic work.

Down one of the staircases Samuel jogged with a shopping bag in hand. He looked a lot happier than when they left; he’d really needed that nap after the horrible news he'd received.

“Gather ‘round, you guys. It’s present time!” he called enthusiastically, barely able to contain the surprise he had in store for them. “I went out and thought I’d get you guys something useful. I think you’re going to like the colors I picked out.”

“That is very kind of you, Samuel,” Freddy responded, settling himself at the man's side and giving the CEO a warm smile. “You have already done so much for us...”

“And we're eternally grateful for everything,” Michael added quickly, flashing his old friend a grin. “So what's in the bag?”

“Check it out! I got us a family plan!” From the white shopper’s bag Sam produced a dark green rectangle, first presenting it to Charlie. She gladly took the gift, looking happy—even though she was completely lost on what it was, exactly. It looked expensive though.

“You get one—here Michael, I got you the black one, and Freddy gets a red one!” Samuel had taken the liberty to plugging in the SIM cards, but left the personalization up them. “We should have each other’s numbers already synced, too. So now we can always be in touch.”

Looking up to Sam, Gregory pulled on his shirt with a bullishly bright stare. “What color’s mine?”

“Uh… Sorry, kid, you’re still a little too young,” Sam said, silently breaking Gregory’s heart. Though he dug inside the bag anyway with an air of excitement. “Aw, don’t look so sad—of course I didn’t forget to get you something, too. Here’s your present!”

Into Gregory’s hands, a little digital drawing tablet in a bright blue case was entrusted. It wasn’t a phone, but Gregory was still appreciative as he flashed Sam another bright smile. “Thank you!”

“Holy crap!” Michael exclaimed, not even feeling Freddy's quick glare due to the shock of receiving such a gift. “Sam, these are like... are these the latest models?!” Upon Sammy's nod, Mike blinked a few times, before reverently pressing the phone to his chest and pulling his friend in for a brief but meaningful hug.

Freddy was turning his own device over in his hand, letting out a little “oh!” as the screen suddenly lit up, nearly blinding him with its brightness. Unsure of how to make it stop, he simply flipped the phone over so the display faced the floor, where it turned off a few seconds later. When Freddy tentatively raised it back up, he was blinded yet again. Sure, he'd seen a million of these things during his time as a rockstar, but handling one himself was a new experience.

“Freddy, you can adjust that!” Michael laughed, quickly moving over to help as he saw the former bear's confusion. Slipping his own phone in a pants pocket for the time being, he took Freddy's and began walking him through how to set up his account profile, then adjust the light and sound settings. He spared a quick glance at Charlie, but by the look on her face Michael knew she'd require a lot more time and guidance to get her up to speed...

With a start, Mike realized that while he'd been gallivanting about the real world and keeping up with the times, all Charlie's exposure to technology had been confined to the Pizzerias—more specifically, the animatronics within. The last time she'd really interacted with a cell phone had been the 80s... No wonder she looked completely lost. God, Evan and Lizzie's eyes were going to bug out of their heads when they saw these things, too.

“Oh! Mine’s lighting up when I move it…,” Charlie said, confused when she touched the screen, only to have the screen say hello. Wondering about the capabilities of this square robot’s AI, she greeted with a cheerful: “Oh… Hi! My name’s Charlie.”

Gregory snickered, shaking his head. “Nooo, Charlie it can’t really understand you. It’s AI can only remember stuff you tell it to remember.”

Charlie would shrug, hugging her brother as repayment for the gift. “Thank you for the… The uh—” Charlie had to admit now that she didn’t know what exactly her brother gave to her, but it was pretty and green—her favorite color.

“It’s a cellphone, you goof!” Samuel laughed, patting his sister’s back as he knew she really did mean that she loved her gift, despite ignorance on what it really did. “I figured they'd work better than walkie talkies. Plus, Mike deserves it for helping me go the extra mile today—Freddy, I know I promised you I’d find Bonnie and fix him up…” Samuel began, though the look on Freddy’s face made it apparent that he knew just what the man was going to tell him.

“You did not...,” Freddy whispered, looking to Michael for confirmation. After all they'd been through, he thought Mike would want to avoid any contact with Bonnie for the foreseeable future.

Though they all knew it was William's soul controlling the normally-friendly rabbit to make him say and do such horrible things, Freddy would've been completely understanding if Michael never wanted to lay eyes on Glamrock Bonnie again. He was already out of the lineup, so while Freddy would've been sad at the confirmation his best friend was well and truly gone, he would have accepted it. But now, Sammy was implying something completely different...

“We did,” Michael replied, expression soft and understanding. As blue eyes met blue, Michael hoped his unspoken feelings would translate to the kind-hearted bear.

He'd been resistant to the idea of recommissioning Bonnie so soon, but Sammy had convinced him that if everyone else could get their old friends back from the dead, Freddy deserved to have his, too. With a smile, Michael clapped a hand on Freddy's shoulder and squeezed. “He's still got to go through a lot of tests before we can consider letting him out on the floor—extra precaution, and all that—but we managed to get him online about an hour before you guys showed up. He's hanging out in the bowling alley as we speak.”

“Oh my goodness... Michael, Samuel, I—I do not know what to say,” Freddy admitted, his last words muffled as he pressed a hand over his mouth, trying to keep his emotions in check. The first and only time he'd ever cried was when he initially left the Pizzaplex, but as his vision blurred with the realization that Bonnie was okay, Freddy wondered if this was about to be his second experience with his own falling tears. 

This pure act of love and selflessness had brought tears to Charlie’s eyes as well. When she saw the telltale lip wobble of someone else about to sob, she looked to Michael and pressed back her own. “I can’t believe how fast you guys fixed him!”

Samuel would snort at that, fixing his oil-smudged glasses. “Oh his programming was a mess! Just completely jailbroken—I had to wipe the endo and start over from his last saved data point. Took hours. The body wasn't too damaged, though; just needed some touch-ups and a few replacements. Bon seems fine now, but Michael’s right. Gotta test him before he’s debuted again.”

There was sadly no room for him in rockstar row right at the moment. But Bonnie Bowl was the place that the old bunny happily took up residency for the time being. With a smile, Sam patted Freddy’s shoulder. “Want to go see him, Fredbear?”

Charlie reached out to hold Freddy’s hand, shaking it excitedly and subconsciously encouraging him to shake off the tears. Tonight had started off great, despite the hiccup in their happiness they had the previous day.

Freddy nodded without hesitation, rubbing at his face with a sleeve. Thankfully, Charlie caught him just in time to stop any liquid from escaping, and a bright, eye-crinkling smile settled on Freddy's face.

“Yes, please,” he replied to Sammy, then held out a hand to Gregory. “Superstar, Bonnie is going to love you.”

“Oh yeah, that's for sure,” Michael confirmed, crossing his arms as the group began moving to the bowling alley as one. “He's super friendly—it's no wonder he and Freddy get along so well.”

If Gregory could push the violence that Monty and Moon forced upon him far from his mind, then he was positive that he could get along great with Bonnie, too. This was Freddy’s best friend. There was no other animatronic he could trust Gregory with more now that Bon was in the right mind.

Freddy chuckled, feeling like he was about to overflow with joy. The situation with Gregory's foster parents was a blot of darkness in their lives that they'd need to address sooner rather than later, but at least for the moment he could pretend like everything was alright... Like things were back to normal.

A new normal—and a much better one, in Freddy's opinion.

***

Previous Chapter ~~ Next Chapter (Coming soon)

Looking for more? Check out the Chapter Masterlist on Tumblr!

Or check out the entire Wires that Bind Us Series on ao3!

[lmelodie]

The Santa Clauses Season 2

It's here! And I have access to it, and all of my drably splintery thoughts on the first two episodes.

As an FYI, all my reviews are gonna be hella spoilery so I'll be doing all the reviewing under read mores and under the tags #TSCS spoilers and #Review2

Oh boy unsolicited thoughts HERE WE GO!

Episode 1:

I gotta say, Fluffy is not a bad character in this so far. Christmas Churros are a gold mine and I'm surprised no one has tried to capitalize on that yet.

Scott immediately assuming that Carol was going to kill Gary says a lot about the both of them and their dynamic that I wish was consistent. I love the idea that Carol is down for murder, keep that in cowards!

I have zero idea why Scott is so uptight about Riley keeping this secret when you literally gave EVERYONE IN THE WORLD MAGIC SNOW GLOBES. Nobody here is doing a good job of keeping any of this secret! No one!

And not the North Pole having a Gaslighting Department. Thats, just actually so funny to me. And you bet your sweet ass that Jack frequents that department, he might be employed there!

And once again to reiterate, these songs breaks are just NOT it. As someone who usually love musicals! The songs are mid at most and are just shoehorned into the most random places. Idk, still not vibing.

But Betty and Noel? STILL TOP TIER. I'll talk about them more in a bit, but they are literally perfect. The Blueprint. Betty and Noel get no notes from me. They made cardboard cutouts of each other's faces, like come on! They're cute as SHIT.

Mad Santa lore? Its aight. I appreciate the franchise trying to carve out its own lore after more than 15 years of inactivity. Its decent lore! For the world that it exists in at least. It's just not my personal cup of tea, and I don't see myself utilizing it in my own stories. But I appreciate that it is there.

And you cannot tell me that Jack hasn't tried to team up with Mad Santa before. It just seems like something he would do to, noticing that there was a Santa getting a bad rep and he could feasibly swoop in and break down the institution.

I wanna imagine he went up to him like, so I've heard you've been trying to subjugate a people. Here's my resume, I am all for murder, I do work well with gnomes, consider me. And then he got promptly ghosted.

Episode 2:

Bro the training vest is made out of St. Nicks robe?? What ISNT made out of that robe??? Isn't that like...an important artifact? I would assume it would be if it has that much Christmas magic in it. Why do we keep cutting it up and using it to make things? Is there any of it left?? Does it regenerate its own fabric??? None of these questions will ever be provided answers, I'm sure.

YO ITS MY BOY CUPID!!! LET'S GOOOOOOOO!!!!

Fucking LOVE Cupid! He's just as great as I remember! And because he had so little screen time, he didn't get too butchered!

And I like how he lists only specific Legends that are concerned with the succession. Implying in universe that Father Time and Tooth either think Cal is a good choice, or simply don't give a shit. And i love that for them.

But Cupid does list Sandy, EB and Mother Nature as people who do care. And we already know that were gonna get confirmed Sandy and EB cameos later, so I'm gonna CROSS MY FINGERS SO HARD for a possible Mother Nature cameo at some point. I just want her to lay down the LAW that's all I ask!

Let's how about, leave the puberty topic, out of this series entirely? Wish that whole miscommunication. DIDNT happen.

But we do have WITCH SANDRA!! This was the only possible choice for her, go off queen! Lucy and Sandra with the clasping hands meme: Teenage Girl with Magic Witch Powers. This was the best possible turn for her character, love that for you babe!

As I suspected, Befana in these episodes is a peach yet again. Fucking love Befana, no notes for her either, she's always great.

BUT LET'S TALK ABOUT NOEL AND BETTY!? and how they gave them the most romantic, whirlwind love story of the century? How they met was so FUCKING CUTE! Romeo and Juliet can pack it up! Because THEY are just better!

Betty really took one look at Noel and went, Tee hee, giggle, twirls hair, kicks feet. And I love that for her!

[whoreviewswho]

Gratuitous violence, Philip Hinchcliffe and why Mary Whitehouse was right

There are some things, though not many, that the Doctor Who fandom seems to universally agree on. Everybody can agree that the Weeping Angels are a great villain. Everybody seems onboard with the notion that The Caves of Androzani is one of the best stories of all time. Everybody will attest that the Hinchcliffe era is one of the most consistent runs in the whole show. 

You can probably see where I am going with this. 

Let's take ourselves to 1977, before the beginning of the fifteenth season for Doctor Who. Season fourteen has finished airing in April and it has turned out to be the most popular to date with average ratings of approximately eleven million viewers tuning in each week. Tom Baker’s fourth incarnation of the eponymous hero was riding an enormous wave of success that had slowly climbed during the Pertwee era (seasons ten and eleven were raking in respectable figures of around eight million) and seemed to peaking under the current regime (figures were climbing by a million viewers a year until season fourteen). 

You would think it would be in the BBC's interests then to keep this current team of Tom Baker, producer Philip Hinchcliffe and script-editor Robert Holmes together for as long as possible. That would make sense even now. After all, this is the team that gave us two and half seasons of Tom Baker and Elisabeth Sladen. They introduced Leela, produced Genesis of the Daleks and Pyramids of Mars. This is the era that cemented Tom Baker, the Fourth Doctor, as the most iconic of the original Doctors and still one of the most iconic of all-time, only rivalled by David Tennant and Matt Smith (to date). Even those who could never name him or know exactly what he looks like will know the silhouette off the floppy hat and long multi-coloured scarf. Doctor Who as produced by Hinchcliffe had become a powerhouse production and left an incredible impact.

However, the other thing that Hinchcliffe's run had had become with the public was controversial. Or, at least, that would seem to be how the BBC felt about it. During the mid to late '70s, the Doctor Who production team were under more fire than ever before from public critics (or perhaps it would be more accurate to say the fire of one, extremely vocal critic) for the increasingly horrific tone and excessive violent content deemed unsuitable for Saturday teatime family viewing. Mary Whitehouse, founder of the National Viewers and Listener's Association, has gone down in Doctor Who fan history amongst the like of Michael Grade as one of the show's most infamous detractors. Let me make it very clear that there are innumerable reasons to dislike Whitehouse. It is not without reason that The Goodies' response to receiving positive feedback from her about their programme was to craft an entire episode around a grossly unflattering caricature of her. I have no interest in delving any deeper than this into the beliefs of such a person beyond the confines of this silly blue box show but if you are unfamiliar with Whitehouse or only know her from her Doctor Who association, I implore you to undertake your own research to paint as full a picture of her as a human being as you see fit. 

I mention all of this to propose the simple conjecture that perhaps, despite my disagreeing with the foundational reasons of why she opposed programmes like Doctor Who (if she had any amount of media literacy, she would have realised that every aspect of Doctor Who was in opposition to her), she was, in fact, onto something. It feels apt to be writing this so close to my posting of my The Invasion review because there is a similar comparison to be drawn between the Troughton era and the Hinchcliffe/Baker years. Both have been held on a pedestal by the fan community at large as shinning examples, golden periods for Doctor Who where the stories were rarely ever so consistently good and their impact is still being felt to this day. In both cases, these things are somewhat true but it is also true that these periods are a lot more flawed than fans are comfortable to admit. Putting aside the very genuine criticism that Hinchcliffe era Who leaned too heavily upon classic literature and genre film pastiche, there remains a misconception that the show's willingness to portray violent and horrific content at this time equates with it being a mature and compelling drama programme. Torchwood should be all of the evidence you need that this is a fallacy. 

Doctor Who has always contained violence and action and it almost certainly always will. I do not object to this but it has to be said that an alarming pattern emerged throughout the Hinchcliffe years that, I think, would have proved detrimental to the show had it continued any longer*. From the moment the Hinchcliffe era begins, with season twelve's The Ark in Space, it strikes a markedly different tone of the preceding tenure. The story is moodier and unsettling in a way that the show had not been for quite some time. The combined efforts of the production team's sensibilities with Baker's distant and unpredictable performance pushed the show away from the innate comfort that had come from the later Pertwee years. The Doctor was no longer a paternal, authority figure and the threats had shifted from power-mad conspirators and identifiable systemic threats to Lovecraftian forces of nature. Right from the start, this run establishes itself as leaning into primal horror and physical threats with the serial's threat being a creature that uses human bodies as an incubator. It is a terrifying idea and one that a pre-watershed serial airing on the BBC should not have any business attempting to depict. 

But this is still a fantastical horror. Even if the effect did look good, it is still an alien experience. Mercifully, nobody in the real world has had a Wirrn lay eggs in them so the threat becomes a rather soft kind of scare. This is still a fun, for lack of a better word, form of horror and violence. Perhaps Mary Whitehouse agreed with me since her first notable move against the show came a few weeks later with Genesis of the Daleks which she described as "teatime brutality for tots". Season twelve was the last to have pre-production overseen by the outgoing team of producer Barry Letts and script-editor Terrance Dicks. Season thirteen was when the Hinchcliffe/Holmes duo finally found themselves with full creative control. And so, the Hinchcliffe era TRULY begins with the production of Pyramids of Mars (Planet of Evil was produced later though aired before). Now we see where things truly kick off with a distinctly gothic aesthetic, more graphic and realistic violence all in service of a classic film pastiche, The Mummy in this case. Season thirteen closed with The Seeds of Doom, a story Whitehouse strongly objected to; "Strangulation—by hand, by claw, by obscene vegetable matter—is the latest gimmick, sufficiently close up so they get the point. And just for a little variety, show the children how to make a Molotov cocktail". 

The violent depictions in Doctor Who were impactful, of course, The backlash is evidence enough of that fact. But was it necessary? After all, is violence not an essential component in the action-adventure serial? Eric Saward, somebody who would receive very similar criticisms several years after this, claimed that "the Doctor is involved in adventures that deal with violent people" and "that if you display violence you should show it for what it is. I don't think you should dwell on it, I don't think it should be gratuitous, but I think that when you do display violence you should show it hurts".

Regardless of how violence was handled in his own tenure as script editor, I am inclined to agree with this sentiment. If violence is to be portrayed in Doctor Who, or any drama, it should come with an impact on the narrative and the characters. The nature of that impact can wildly vary from story to story but the instant that violence is depicted without consequence, it becomes a gratuitous and unnecessary representation. To use an overdone but high-profile example from contemporary media, this is the problem with violence in Batman v Superman, for example. Characters engage in violent acts, the violence is graphic in nature but the impact fails to be felt by the audience because the acts themselves frequently fail to inform or challenge the characters and/or plot moving forward. Violence is essential to action and can be a very useful component of adventurer fiction but it can easily lose its impact and become unnecessary without proper consideration.

It is in this way that I would agree that the violence and horror throughout Hinchcliffe Doctor Who had started to become gratuitous and frequently unnecessary.

Take The Brain of Morbius, for example, which Whitehouse called; "some of the sickest and most horrific material seen on children's television". The character of Solon, as played in the serial by Philip Madoc, is wonderfully drawn. He is a fanatical and cruel sociopath. A malicious and pathetic shell of a man whose arrogance and obsession dominates his every action. I could draft this description from episode one alone. In episode four, he kills his assistant Condo by way of blowing a bloody hole in his chest with a pistol. The moment is certainly gory and it is a tragic end to the story of Condo for him to be killed in this fashion but the act itself, the depiction of a hyperrealistic blood-splatter coming out of this child-like character, ultimately adds very little. Nobody mourns Condo's death, the violence is hardly an escalation given that we know Solon practices dismemberment before the story even begins and it reveals nothing about who he is as a person. All that matters is that Condo tries to stop him and fails. The violent death is simply an aesthetic choice.

So let us get to season fourteen. The one where the final vestige of the Pertwee years, investigative journalist Sarah Jane Smith, leaves the show to be replaced by a savage descendent of humanity's far future. A hunter and killer who travels armed with a knife and poisonous darts whose introduction sees her quickly chased down and hunted for murder. It has surely become clearly by now that yet another year on, the violence in Doctor Who has seen an enthusiastic uptick.

The Deadly Assassin is the story that killed the Hinchcliffe era and epitomises the problem that had emerged with violence in Doctor Who unlike any other. Despite being a political thriller set inside the Time Lord Panopticon, the entire third episode becomes a survivalist thriller seeing our hero shot at, dropped off of cliffs and bombed inside a virtual reality. Functionally, this means that an entire quarter of the serial is a deviation from the main plot into what is thrilling but entirely unnecessary surrealist horror and violence. The action exists simply to generate visual excitement in an otherwise very dialogue-heavy story and the acts of violence themselves never lead to any story developments or impact the Doctor or Goth in any meaningful way when it ends. It also has a walking emaciated corpse for a main villain for no readily justifiable reason. The Deadly Assassin troubled Whitehouse so much that her uproar led to the BBC censoring the third episode's cliffhanger for future broadcasts. 

Just as Michael Grade became infamous amongst fans for cancelling Doctor Who, Whitehouse would be similarly reviled for ending the most popular period of Doctor Who. After all, it is on record that it was her continued, vocal criticism that influenced the BBC's decision to move Hinchcliffe on from Doctor Who. After all, who else is there to blame? Her opinion was so highly regarded by the BBC that the Director-General offered a personal apology for how offended she was by The Deadly Assassin. As noted previously, season fourteen saw Doctor Who at the height of its popularity and a cultural phenomenon that was soon to be on a downward trajectory until 2005. I also observed that this particular run as a whole, the three seasons produced by Philip Hinchcliffe, has been revered by Doctor Who fans ever since it ended on the second of April 1977.

Given the decidedly different direction that Doctor Who was taken in when succeeding producer Graham Williams came onboard, it has become one of the big 'what ifs' to speculate on what Hinchcliffe might have done with another year on the show. Big Finish has attempted to answer that question with a handful of unmade scripts from his time being adapted with a full cast and an additional series of dramas whose plots were conceived by him. The answer is that he would have continued to produce very creative and compelling science-fiction adventure serials. No surprises there. Season fifteen saw a drop in viewership of around two million on average and season sixteen dropped even further. Perhaps it would have been great for the show to see Hinchcliffe's vision continue just a bit longer. Perhaps his time was preemptively cut short.

Or perhaps the biggest threat to Hinchcliffe era Who was the Hinchcliffe era itself. Perhaps I sound like a bit of a hater and I can understand that impression coming across but I must insist at this juncture that I do love this period of Doctor Who. I think that the consistency of quality at this time was absurdly good and many of the stories remain among my favourites as top-shelf examples of what Doctor Who is capable of. Like a lot of fans, I also wonder what might have happened if this team stayed on for another year and how different the timeline of the show would be. However, it is undeniable that like the earthbound format and the base-under-siege before it, the violent thriller pastiches would have tun their course with enough time too. In fact, I would argue that they absolutely did. in 1977, Doctor Who was in desperate need for a change, although it probably didn't know it, simply to save itself from becoming a victim of its own success. I shudder to imagine the six-part finale that is even more violent and even more macabre than what had already come before.

Then again, perhaps we don't have to imagine. We do have season twenty-two to know for sure.

*Even in the previous era, violence played a major role. After all, this was the time when Doctor Who was allying himself with the military. This is an important thing to mention though not strictly relevant to what I am talking about here. I will just explain for now that I think this violence serves a different purpose which I might get into in more depth in some later post. Let's just say that I have no doubt that Mary Whitehouse would have found less objection in presenting Mother England as a noble, defensive force than depicting disfigured nazi scientists.

[jacquelinemerritt]

Dragon Ball Z: Abridged Episode 36 Review

Originally posted January 15th, 2016

Goku is benched, and Vegeta takes his place.

So far, Dragonball Z: Abridged has worked its way through two arcs of the original story, and in the new arc as well as the previous two, there have been plot contrivances designed to keep Goku out of the battlefield for as long as possible, given how powerful he is. I didn’t mind it in the Saiyan Saga, since he literally died and spent most of that time training, and I didn’t mind it in the Freeza Saga, because the “contrivance” was a mixed body situation that led to him experiencing some pretty severe injuries.

Now, however, “heart problems” being what takes Goku off the battlefield feels frustrating more than anything else, because as much as I understand that there isn’t a story if he’s just wailing on the bad guys until he wins, I feel like it should be something more significant than basic medical issues that prevent him from fighting (though a potential thematic significance might undercut that critique1).

None of that is to critique Team Four Star, oddly enough, even if the specifics of Goku’s illness are their invention (I think it is, but feel free to let me know). They handle Goku’s third “benching” pretty cleverly, with his heart attack coming right after (Yamcha lets him make) a mistake that give Android 19 a lot of his energy, and his reasoning for not taking his medicine being that “it was grape flavored.” Despite the bullshit that is exiling the main protagonist, they pull it off with humor and grace, making his departure feel mostly natural and driven entirely by his character.

The rest of the episode is all about Vegeta, and more importantly, all about making “Super Saiyan Swagger” the perfect title for the episode. Vegeta’s arrival and subsequent transformation into a Super Saiyan removes all of the tension surrounding Gero and 19, and what follows is one of the most satisfying beatdowns of a robot that I have ever seen

As Vegeta meticulously counts down from five the number of blows to deliver to 19, we’re left with the thrill of waiting to see just how Vegeta is going to destroy this machine as well as whether or not it will feel fear at its upcoming destruction. It’s one of the best scenes Team Four Star has made, and it’s ultimately sold by the confluence of music and editing with Lanipator’s unshakeable confidence as the Prince of all Saiyans.

Rating: 4/5

If you enjoyed this review, consider supporting me on Patreon.

Stray Observations

1To put it simply, it could be read as signifying the banal, ordinary things affecting us the most, with a Legendary Warrior’s greatest flaw being that he didn’t take his cholesterol medicine. But I don’t think that Toriyama or Team Four Star are interested in actually exploring this, which is unfortunate for Toriyama but probably a good call on Team Four Star’s part. (Yet again, I feel it’s necessary to mention that I haven’t read the manga or seen the original anime.)

Gero: “Why is dodging a subroutine!? It’s not that complex!” *Piccolo looks at Gohan*

Gero: “But enough about hypothetical erections. 19! Suck! Him! Dry!”

Gohan: “I thought you had to have a pure heart to become a Super Saiyan?” Vegeta: “My heart is pure. Pure, unadulterated, badass.”

Krillin: “Senzu bean!”

I always feel somewhat bad when I don’t include many plot details, but with this series, it’s kind of common, since episodes are short and often don’t consist of more plot than “Character A fights Character B.” Hopefully next episode is more conducive to detailed analysis.

[randomprojectsbeforeidie]

Heyoo, I'm back!

So, before I go on explaining my other goals for the year, let's see what I did about the first goal I explained yesterday:

Goal number 1: study like Wade Watts

The app I use for my reviews is Anki, for Android. It's an authomatized flashcard app, and it's really good to memorize stuff (which I need for my tests to be a public server), if a bit time consuming.

Today I studied: 30 min. This is what I've been trying to do this week, so I can up the time next week. Success!

In my progress to study on at least half of the days of the year, I'm at: 5/184, which amounts to 2.73% of my goal!

Cool!

Now, to the second goal, to fight like a Bene Gesserit. As I said before, I'm obese to the point it's affecting my mobility. I gotta gradually get out of this obese zone so I can safely fight. So, here's my plan: I consulted my nutritionist (dietician? I don't think there's a difference in Portuguese, but I know there's one in English) and he said that, to lose weight in a sustainable way, I should be losing 2kg for month. It's slow, but it's susteinable.

So I set the goal to get to 69kg by the end of this year. Considering I was weighting 85,5kg by the beggining of the year, this is quite possible! It would require me to lose 16kg to get there. It's even lower than 2kg per month!

So I decided to use the method I read about on r/xxfitness (yeah, I use Reddit), which consists in calculatind your TDEE (using Nerd Fitness Calculator) and then subtracting 10% of it to get to your conservative deficit. And then you gotta count calories, which I've being doing using the app "MyFitnessPal".

I also watched a video by ATHLEAN-X in which he made a plan for losing weight gradually. I measured myself (weight, neck, waist, hips) and got my aproximate body fat percentage according to the US Navy Calculator. And then I started my plan.

Right now, I weight 85,5kg, have a neck circunference of 35 cm, a hio circunference of 94 cm and a waist circunference of 118 cm. This amounts to 49,10% of body fat, according to the US Navy Calculator. Cool.

So here are the actions I'll take by this level, which I call Level 1: from 50-45% body fat level:

1. I will not try to modify WHAT I'm eating right now, just HOW MUCH I'm eating. Doing the calculations above, I should eat 1.636 calories for the day. As long as I stay below that, I'll not worry about much at this point.

2. I'll reduce my alcohol and limit myself to drinking at most 2 days a week, and at most 5 drinks per week.

3. I'll take 3 walks per week, for 30 minutes each. This is the funnest part for me. I love walking and hiking, and I just found out about rucking! Which sounds like the perfect training for hikes! Basically, you walk with a weighted backpack on your back. I started with a bit more than 5% of my body weight, or 5 kg of weight.

To expand on this part, I'm a bit of a nerd. So, along with tracking my walks with an app called "MapMyWalk", I've been using another app called "The Walk". It's basically a game/audiobook in which you are a spy (I think?) carrying an important parcel across the UK while running from a terrorist groups. As you walk, you get to check points where you listen to new parts of the story. It's been nice!

(Also, I daydream a lot, and sometimes I've been running my own story in my head where I'm a human in a post-apocalyptic alien world carrying with me a parcel I got from a dying alien who told me that would be the only thing to save his race from extinction, and I promised to get it safely to the others of his species, but it is a long walk, and I gotta keep it safe. Anyways. I do have an overactive imagination sometimes)

I also have been trying stretching. Got the routine from r/Flexibility. Maybe this will stop me from injurying myself.

Oh, and I also made a deal with myself to only weight and measure myself on the first day of each month. I've never had an eating disorder, but I'm terrified of getting them, and I'm hoping this will help me track my progress without getting obsessed with my weight.

Anyways! For the tracking:

Number 2: to fight like a Bene Gesserit:

Yesterday I consumed: 1.535/1.636 calories.

Today I rucked: with 5kg on my back for 30 minutes, walking a total of 1,98km.

Today I stretched: my upper limbs.

So that's it for today! See you guys tomorrow!

[blysse-and-blunder]

in lieu of a moon cake

aug 29 - sept 11, 2022

where have the ilcb posts been the last four weeks, i hear you cry? well genuinely, the end of summer took me and i wandered out of time and thought. did watch the moon rise rich and golden last night, though, so--on balance--we're doing just fine.

reading finished my ancillary justice re-read this morning and i got so much more out of it the second time, newly attuned to the little differences between this and all the other space opera i've been enjoying. also finished obernewtyn (isobel carmodie), one of the growing list of YA sci/fantasy i'm catching up on using libby. spent a lot of last week reading or what you will, jo walton, which i think i will have more to say about when i finish it, and listening to ann leckie's the raven tower as an audiobook on various commutes-- perhaps not the best medium for it, but the reader's absolutely eating the accent work which does liven things up. i also acquired a romance novel from @dimir-charmer which is Certainly Something, not quite up to the level of some of the classics @pandolfo-malatesta would review but which has made me say out loud 'stop using that word, i do not think it means what you think it means!' every time this poor author tries to call someone 'contemporaries.'

listening so i know we all remember (for better or worse) passenger's 'let her go' from 2013 or whenever, but i have very specific tender feelings and memories attached to that whole album. a recent re-listen, followed by a tour through his recent, extensive new discography (like five albums since i last checked, holy shit), has shown me that i'm not even remotely capable of being objective, but i do think? that none of the new stuff has grabbed me? like it all sounds consistent, it all sounds, uh, the same, and the nuances and things i can pick out in the tracks from all the little lights (2012) or hell even whisper (2014) are just...not discernible (is this just a question of production)(possibly). to quote one of the new songs, uh, it leaves me cold? whereas 'feather on clyde' is still revealing and teaching me new things to get teary-eyed about (this time it was the line 'well god knows that i've failed, but he knows that i've tried'), and just...plus the string duet at the opening of 'things that stop you dreaming,' the way it builds up so, so sweetly, the lyrics taking you by surprise by leaving no breaks or breaths until the chorus, playing with pace and rhythm--still not tired of it.

watching i spent most of last week cycling between 'sandman', 'doulou continent', and 'oath of love', with a brief detour to the mdzs donghua with @hematiterings as per us-- sandman is good, though i haven't finished it. i got to the death episode and did briefly cry actual human tears about the old violinist and the young honeymooners, only to have the rest of the episode with its chronological humor (reminding me of ep 3 of 'good omens', what with the 'let's put our cast in several different centuries and enjoy what that does to their hair', thank you neilman) give me slight emotional whiplash. the problem with my cdrama habit is that, especially with duolou continent, i've had a hard time believing i've seen as many episodes as i actually have (also viki is...incapable of keeping my place) so i tend to back up to whichever episode number sort of feels right? which means i've seen episodes 11-15 like three times each. at least now i'm getting people's names.

playing finished up summer and fall of year two in stardew, won the grange fair and the ice fishing contest now that it's winter, and just bought a duck! (her name is fern)

making i think the garden is fading, we're still harvesting tomatoes but a lot of the leaves have turned yellow and crinkly, meanwhile the squash (?) vines have all withered except for one, perplexingly round little green squash (?) with a few nibbles out of it courtesy of the neighborhood fauna. when do i pluck it? is it still...getting anything out of being on its vine?

working on *cue panicked laughter* chapter 1! also that presentation / conference paper based on chapter-1-or-possibly-the-old-book-practicum! also that presentation based on chapter-2-or-possibly-chapters-1-and-2-OR-possibly-the-diss-proposal! with all the complaining i've done to various friends and colleagues, its no wonder there's not been any. further writing. distracting myself by insisting on doing things for the incoming students, which has been very fun and diverting since they are cute and much easier to help.

[seventhfracture]

I got this question from a gorgeous friend on Twitter;

And I’ve done another post about how I update consistently (here) which is the pseudo part 1 of this post. But let’s address the elephant in the room here; Van, how do I write a lot of words fast?

Let’s unpack.

Routine

For the record I do work a full-time job. Roughly 40hrs a week. Sometimes a little more, sometimes a little less. I work 48 weeks a year. However, I write 361-ish days a year. The simplest trick to getting words down is scratching out time to write.

Part of making this easy for yourself is establishing a routine. If something has a place in your day it’s often easier to get done. It becomes semi mechanical. You stop thinking so much about starting and just focus on the doing.

Weekdays and weekends I tend to eat dinner fairly early. And, after cooking and eating, I usually feel dirty so I shower. The meal with my gf and the shower are anchoring points. They happen during the week and the weekend. They don’t move. They give me a chance to be social and to unwind my mind to a more playful frame of mind. The food also helps me refuel for doing a little more. So, after I shower, I sit down at my computer and I write. I write every night from 7pm to 9pm. This is also when I tend to post my updates; at the start of my writing time.

Sometimes ‘writing’ time becomes ‘writing admin’ time. I think it’s important to respond to as many reviews as possible so I try to take time to reply. I also post 3xs a week (4 with collabs) so I need to edit chapters that are going up. This is fine. The important thing is that my brain is trained to know that at this time, every day, we do creative writing or tasks associated with my creative writing. (I would exclude reading from this. Reading is very valuable. You need to consume content to make content, but consuming content is not the same mind frame as making content.)

I can’t tell you what’s going to work for you. Maybe you don’t have a full-time job but maybe you do have kids. Maybe you’re doing a degree. I have friends who work in the industry writing all day in magazines or for video game developers. After 8hrs of writing they find it hard to work on their own projects at the end of the day. This routine works for me. Specifically because of my lifestyle, my habits and the fact that after 8hrs of spreadsheets I’m aching to play. The important note here is that you need a routine. It will help you focus.

What about inspiration? Throw it out. I write because I physically can’t not write. And, no, I don’t have inspiration every day. Hell, some people would argue I’m not inspired any days. You just show up and you put words on the paper. Sometimes that’s going to suck but if you keep showing up your brain, your muse, your inspiration, your whatever will start to show up too. If you sit around waiting to be inspired you might start things but you’ll never finish them.

Inner Critic

For all first drafts the inner critic has to be hogtied. Golden rule. First drafts are play. You are telling yourself the story. It is in effect a practice run and, during a practice run, you are allowed to make any mistake in the book. The point is just to get words on paper. We can clean them up later, but you can’t edit a blank page.

I know this is hard. Some of us have very sharp voices in our brains looking for any chance to self-flagellate. And it’s easy to be insecure. Especially if you’ve failed before. But if you want to want to write and especially if you want to get something written fast you need to turn off your inner critic.

First drafts always suck. Don’t expect them to be great. You’re not baking a cake. Second drafts are baking. First drafts are just buying the ingredients. You wouldn’t look at a pile of ingredients and go “what a shitty cake!” because you haven’t started baking.

But I want to make art! We all want to make things that are meaningful. But if you’re second guessing every dialogue tag, googling 14th century archery or putting ‘growled’ into a thesaurus you’re only going to slow yourself down. And, in my experience, people who set out trying to make really life changing art first instead of just expressing themselves and having fun make shit writing, let alone shit art.

Roadmap

You do not need to plot your story. Let’s be clear. I do not plot. I know a lot of very talented people, who I respect, who don’t plot. But you need something.

Well, two things.

First, you need a goalpost. This can be your premise; “two characters are stuck in a box and one of them has a knife.” And maybe wrapped up in that you have a specific scene you want to hit. That’s a goalpost.

Second, you need an anchor. I never stop a writing session at the end of a scene. Sometimes I don’t even end the sentence. Being in the middle of something gives you a solid jumping off point when you come back next time. You’d be surprised how many times I ended a scene thinking “I’ll write X tomorrow” and then tomorrow arrived and I’d fucking forgotten where I was going. Or, worse, I’d lost the vibe.

Practical Exercises

Okay, Van, this is fine. But how do I turn off my inner critic? How do I start?

Timers: An easy way to shut up your inner critic is to put your body into crisis solving mode. When you need to stop someone from bleeding you don’t criticise how you’re applying the bandages. You just grab what you’ve got and apply pressure to the wound.

Writing is like that.

Set a timer. Start small. 5 minutes sort of small. And tell yourself to write as much as you can in that time. This means no editing as you go, no stopping, no picking a different song on your playlist… just write!

Did you do it?

Good, how many words did you get? Great, now set another 5 minute timer and beat that word total. Go!

Rinse, repeat.

When you train yourself to focus on the doing, not the editing, your brain will start to do so automatically. Your brain will get less itchy about editing and better about working on what it needs to do. You’ll be able to set longer timers and hit bigger goals.

This will also improve your speed and your productivity.

Word goals: Goals are great. They help us track progress and they help us improve. They help weight lifters get stronger and build muscle. You are building muscle.

Your goal is pretty irrelevant in practice. Some published novelists try to hit 200 words a day, some hit 12 pages, some settle for 10 words even if they don’t know what order they’re in. That’s fine. They don’t even have to be good words. They just have to be on the page.

Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month) happens every November. The standard goal for participants is 50K. Which is a good sized novella and a solid fanfic. That averages out to 1,666 words a day. Nanowrimo feels this is achievable for most people who want to write creatively, at least for 30 days. 30 days, conveniently, is also how long some people thing it takes to establish a habit. If you need a number start at 1,666. I do nanowrimo every year. I tweeted it last year. There are a whole community of people who participate and support each other. But it also doesn’t need to be November for you to try this.

A warning: It is important to specify here that I write for fun. First, and foremost, writing is my reward. It’s play. I love doing it. I’m a hobbyist. I don’t get paid a cent for the stuff I write. But I don’t care because I love it.

You should always be having fun. Whatever fun looks like for you.

If you are not having fun, then stop.

You have a lot of wonderful things to give to the world. You have a number of creative gifts. And there are a plethora of ways to express yourself. This doesn’t have to be your thing and if it’s not that doesn’t mean you’ve failed. You’re just finding your groove. But writing- art- should not be work unless you are specifically getting paid for it.

Have fun!

Resources Some books I’d recommend on writing, and writing fast;

Bird by Bird, by Anne Lamott Writing Down to the Bones, by Natalie Goldberg Consider This, by Chuck Palahniuk On Writing, by Stephen King

[sweepseven]

The only thing I’ll thank this unseasonable warmth for is the early approach of the outdoor flying season! I just looked back on my 2022 trapeze goals and laughed aloud. I missed like every single one of them and yet had a blast of a flying year. To review...

2022

Actual stated goals:

Fix my takeoff once and for all. Finally getting this where it needs to be is going to improve literally every single other thing I do on that bar. No more bad habits. No more wasted sweeps back. I WILL have a clean, confident takeoff that reflects the quality of the rest of my flying. And when I do, it’s over for you hoes. (LOL, looks like you hoes live to see another day, because these still kinda suck. They did get marginally better though! The journey continues.)

Work remounts. Every. Single. Class. (Did it!! I feel so much better about these now. I still don’t relish them, but they’re consistent, confident, and stronger than ever.)

Make peace with my uprises. I’ve let one peel off the bar rattle me too much for too long. Uprise tricks can be my signature again if I quit treating them like a bitter pill and start treating them like what they are: something that sets me apart from many of the people I fly with. (Kind of did it but giving myself credit anyway. They’re still a bitter pill but they look way better than they did this time a year ago.)

Take my hocks salto out of lines again and keep it there. (Ha, no. They’re still good, I just put my focus elsewhere and I’m glad I did.)

Take my double out of lines. (Again, ha, no. Like with hocks saltos, my focus ended up being elsewhere. They’re looking quite good though, and catching them grows more and more frequent.)

Bonus goals:

Force-out turnaround?? (Saving this for this summer because I don’t trust my current lines pullers as much 🙃)

Front end uprise?? (I watched another flyer throw so many ridiculous and scary ones that I didn’t even want to be on board with her, much less throw them myself. Eesh.)

Find a new “for fun” trick now that hocks saltos have accidentally become real (Success!! Suicides!! My dream trick for more than ten years, even before I started flying, ever since I saw it in this exact trailer - 1:24 if you want your breath taken away. It’s simple, elegant, dangerous, and fucking scary. I adore it.)

More catch locks!!!! Let’s go!!!! 3+ after class whenever possible. (I did some! Not a ton! But some!)

Make uprise, cast off, half turn part of the warm up routine. And when I get there, with multiple uprises 😈 (Every time, baby. It is extremely gratifying to watch prior years’ workouts become my warm-up.)

Shit I ended up doing without thinking: 

Tried aerial cradle, the first and only thing I think I could love more than flying trapeze. It’s a good thing I can’t train it here or else it would derail my entire life.

Tried bungee trapeze. It was the most physically challenging thing I’ve done in years and I adored it.

Threw some genuinely good double pikes.

Trained with two of the best trapeze artists in the entire world.

And for 2023...

Fix my takeoff. Again. Always. Forever.

Force-out turnaround

Double out of lines

Hocks salto back out of lines

Make my suicides bigger, scarier, and dramatic as hell

Replace uprise/cast off/half-turn warmup swing with uprise/cast off/suicide 😈

Make more new trapeze friends ❤️