#the main characters were Adam Sally and Watch

[kierancaz]

Ok so I just watched episode 5 of the pjo show and honestly I might get dragged for this but I have some very real criticisms of it that I want to share. And if you enjoy the show that’s fine, I’m enjoying it to but at the same time I have a lot of issues with it and want to talk about it because I think being able to be real and critical of stuff that you like is important.

I think I’ll start with the pacing because that’s my biggest issue with it rn. It is moving so fast it feels like it’s just doing the spark notes version of the book. And ik we are all on the train of adaptations not having to be exactly like the book anymore, (which is literally just a thing that came about bc of this show and if it was any other show to book movie I think ppl would have a different tune but that is an entirely different conversation that maybe I’ll talk about later because I find it very interesting tbh), but the show is cutting out a lot of stuff that I feel was very important to the characters and in the books. I don’t know if this us because of the episode count or the episode length of if it’s the right, maybe it’s all three, but I feel like because the pacing is so fast the story is just breezing past a lot of emotional beats.

Which brings me to my next point. I have not felt a single thing watching any of these episodes. In fact I felt more about this show when I watching a single clip from episode 5 on TikTok than I did while watching the actual episode even at that clip. The show is so bad at building tension for literally anything. And I know everyone hates the movies and all that but the movies scene with Mrs Dodds had more tension and life than the scene did in the show. And I’ve heard people dispute “oh Percy has been seeing stuff all his life he probably thought that this was just that and didn’t realize it was real” but that has nothing to do with this. Why didn’t Mrs Dodds lead him away from all the other students? Why would she attack him in broad daylight when she’d aware that Chiron and a satyr are there? Or even if she didn’t know Chiron was there if she knew there was a demigod there she should’ve at least suspected the presence of a satyr.

The chimera fight was also very disappointing. Now I don’t remember exactly how this fight went in the books or in the movies but I don’t need to remember to know that this fight as equally tensionless and emotionless as the Mrs Dodds fight. And yah, they’re kids, it doesn’t need to be some epic battle or anything, but there should be tension. We should feel a least a little nervous even if we know what’s going to happen. Ngl. I don’t even know what to say about the Medusa fight bc I don’t even remember what happened. I don’t remember what happened in the books when it came to Medusa besides Percy cutting off her head and sending it to the gods. I’d definitely have to reread the books again before I comment on the change of theme surrounding Medusa and like half of the main theme of the series because Rick did some serious reconning with this stuff but unfortunately my books are lost somewhere in my basement.

I do think the Minotaur fight was fine really good though. The bond between Percy and his mom was built up really well and it was pretty devastating with that last scene between them. You could really feel the impact that Sally’s “death” had on him. However, it was so fucking dark it was hard to see half of what was happening and I’m gonna talk about that more later.

The next thing I want to talk about is the acting/casting. And before anyone says anything this has nothing to do with Annabeth being black or Percy not having black hair. Their characters feel flat and honestly I think that if it’s anyone’s fault it’s the directors and the script. I’ll use Walker as a reference because he’s the only one I’ve seen in anything else, in The Adam Project he was brilliant. Like there were multiple times where his performance alone had me in tears. That movie had me ugly sobbing at least three times and Walker was definitely part of the reason why.

In the pjo show he just feels… dull. And a tad bit lifeless which is baffling. How do you even make a character like Percy Jackson that, I’m sorry to say but, boring. Even the movies managed to give him more personality than the show, and I genuinely hate to say that but if I had to rank all the Percy’s show Percy is at the bottom which is so hard to say because Walker is perfect for this role but still he has more Percy Personality in that Kraft Mac and Cheese ad that he did with Ryan Reynolds. I do realize that part of this could be because we don’t have Percy’s inner monologue, sorta like what happened with Harry in Harry Potter, but there are ways to combat that like having a character be more expressive and stuff and that is also just not happening.

*(Also if anyone of curious my Percy Ranking goes 1: book Percy, 2: musical Percy, 3: movie Percy, 4: show Percy).

Speaking of expressiveness, Leah as Annabeth is also very disappointing because in her interviews she seems so Annabeth and I can see why Rick choose her but in the show all of her lines are delivered the exact same and the most emotion we get from her is a pinch of her eyebrows. And it’s a similar issue with Walker because he doesn’t emote that much either and neither does Aryan so I’m definitely thinking that it’s an issue with the directing instead of the actors. I don’t have much to say about Aryan. He’s ok, he has the same issues as the others of just not having a lot of emotion or very good dialogue/line delivery but again I don’t think that’s his fault and instead the direction of the show.

Listen I think they’re all incredible and the chemistry that they have in interviews is amazing. But the fact that I can see more of their characters in interviews than the actual show is insane, especially because it’s so obvious they all care about their characters and the world of Percy Jackson so much that I think if they were left on their own they could do this show perfectly but someone behind the scenes is stamping down their performances for the sake of the show taking itself too seriously.

Charlie and Dior were both great for the screen time they had. I mean not much to say about them tbh bc they didn’t have that much screen time but Dior’s scream after her spear was broken was literal gold. Adam Copeland as Ares was amazing and Lin Manuel Miranda as Hermes is quite possibly the worst thing that they could’ve ever done.

I know a lot of people were praising the change they made with Annabeth and Percy’s relationship and how that instead of disliking each other because of their parents they disliked each other because of bad personal impressions. But honestly I have to disagree. If I remember correctly Annabeth disliked him because he was son of Poseidon, and Percy disliked Annabeth because she was rude to him. And to me that made perfect sense because Annabeth was literally being indoctrinated by the gods/what they teach at camp for years/half her childhood why wouldn’t she hate Percy based solely on the fact her mom hates his dad? And I think that was actually kind of important as a character trait and I’m pretty bummed it was changed. (Ngl tho like I said earlier I haven’t read the books in a long time so I could be wrong about this, I’m just basing this off what other people have said about the beginning of their relationship in reference to the show and the books).

Also going back to what I said about the lighting ‼️SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 5 ‼️this really pissed me off because so many shows do this and it only started becoming a real problem in recent years. In episode 5 when Percy and Annabeth are entering the amusement park it is so goddamn dark I could not see what was happening. I have no idea what that machine over Percy’s head at the entrance was or looked like. I don’t know why it made him so scared because I could not see it. I could not see their faces as they were talking. I could literally barely see where they were when they panned out to show them walking through the amusement part and this makes no sense to me. You have this huge elaborate set that I would really like to see but it is so dark the only things I can make out is a ferris wheel and maybe a bumper car? I could not see shit, it was so annoying and so many new shows do this where the scenes at night are just so dark you cannot see anything. And I get that sometimes it’s intentional, you’re not supposed to see what’s going on, but this is not one of those scenes so why am I having such a hard time finding our main characters?

I really need to reread the books again and when I do I will add more to this probably or just remake the post. But so far I think the show is really mediocre and pretty disappointing, and I think it’s important to point this stuff out and not just heap piles of praise onto the show just because it’s written by the og writer of the book. We’re definitely going to get more seasons and I would like those seasons to be better than this one and actually let the actors shine and for the show to reflect what was so amazing about the books. Also, I just want to say that there are moments/stuff that I like about the show and as critical as I am of it it’s because I like the series, not because I’m just trying to be a hater. But seriously, I used to hate the movies with every fiber of my being but because of the show I have a new found appreciation for them, which I think that in and of itself says a lot about how the show has been so far.

[primumincaelo]

about the mun!

Name: i go by Dust! Age: 26, almost 27 Pronouns: he/they Sexuality: gay-ace Single Or Taken: single and a lil unsure about the mingle Hobbies: doodling, writing, cosplay... i also participate in a rocky horror shadowcast group and that's been really fun! Favourite Colour: probably purple tbh? Fandoms: ― Current: uhhhhhh hahaha mostly just hazbin hotel these days, my audhd ass is hyperfixated babey ― Past: oh boy there's a lot. good omens, south park, adventure time, stranger things, gravity falls, steam powered giraffe, welcome to night vale, camp here & there, homestuck, nbc hannibal, doctor who, sally face..... there's still more but i'll stop there easfrgth Other Blogs: my main is onhigh (canon div angel dust), i also have disventura (hazbin au wednesday addams), clawtender (sinner oc; blog is still kinda wip efsrdgth), incisura (fallen exterminator oc; low activity), and then i'm working on a super secret trio muse blog for my heavenly muses (which includes st peter - currently at pearlkeep until the mini mumu is done!). i also have a multimedia mumu, dustified, but since hazbin has consumed my brain i haven't really used it much. Favourite TV Show: hazbin prolly atm Do You Cosplay?: ABSOLUTELY I DO i've been doing it for like 12 years. i'm in the process of putting together luci and adam, plus i've cosplayed angel before! Favorite Media: i dont entire get this question? uh... i like watching youtube a lot? Favourite Book: i don't really read all that much? i've recently started house of leaves, it's been pretty good so far Favourite Band: i'm here to post Detour North propaganda (i'm actually, genuinely friends with the singer, we were in high school theater together). technically they're not together anymore but their music still goes fucking hard. also huge fan of will wood/wwatt, waterparks, calypso, front bottoms/flat stanleys, flatsound, hozier, ricky montgomery, tally hall/miracle musical, ghost, chonny jash.... again there's a lot here, i'll stop before i make this too long Favourite Movie: bright young things from 2003. i can't remember when i came across it but it's been a comfort movie since i first watched it Do You Have Pets?: we have a black cat named wednesday! she's still a junior, only about 2 years old i think, she's a stupid lil thing there's not a thought in that head Favourite Animal: opossums or raccoons i think :3 Do You Play Any Instruments?: i took piano lessons from grade 6 up until i graduated high school, i took a couple months of violin lessons, and i can kinda pluck at a ukulele, but i'm by no means extremely good at any of them lmao Favourite Hellaverse Character(s): hhhhh lucifer and adam. no hesitation. i thought when i came back i'd be right back to angel dust? nope. lucifer and adam come in and sweep up the title like it's candy from a baby

tagged by: @brokendreamscreation (ty!!) tagging: uhhhhhhhhhh you <3

[awildflamingo]

Does anyone remember the show spooksville???

If you remember it and you know where you can watch it please tell me ;-;

I’ve been trying to find a playlist of all the episodes in English that isn’t blocked in North America ;-;

[kissinginkitchens]

You Bring Me Home—Chapter Ten: When it Rains

a/n: hi besties!! This one is... tough I’m ngl to y’all. It is the second to the last chapter which is so wild to think about, but alas all good things must come to an end. Hopefully you don’t hate me too much by the end of it but feel free to vent in my inbox :))) much love, Mel <3

Pairing: Hawai’i!Harry x Original Character (Halani <3)

Warnings: swearing, some suggestive humor, ANGST (!!)

Word Count: 7.4 k

catch up on parts one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, and nine

“Is that my shirt?”

“No,”

Alani squints at the cartoon bee printed on Harry’s white t-shirt and crosses her arms in disbelief. 

“Yes it is! I’ve been looking for it everywhere,”

“Don’t worry, you can have it back soon,” he admits, crawling back into his bed with an apologetic kiss to her pouting lips. “Doesn’t smell like you anymore,”

“Thief,”

Harry scoffs and props himself up on an elbow. “Don’t act like my Spice World jumper isn’t hanging at the foot of your bed right now,”

“You left it there,” Alani defends. “I was merely being kind and looking after said hoodie because it was abandoned by its owner,”

“Oh yeah and you’ve fought real hard to reunite us,”

“Can we get back to the main issue at hand? Which is that I’m kinda pissed off that you look better in that shirt than I do.”

Harry chuckles to himself and presses an affectionate kiss to her temple. “You’re too kind.”

Alani rests her cheek against his chest and listens to the rain pattering harshly against the window, admiring the flashes of lightning that illuminate the dimly lit room. Harry had convinced her to stay the night, worried about her driving home alone in the storm, and he was met with very little resistance. Secretly, he thanks the rain gods for allowing him another night to hold her close. 

********

“H, you gotta tell her,” Jeff had warned the previous night. “I already pushed the flight back a week—”

“I know,” Harry huffed. “I just need a little more time.”

Jeff sighed, rubbing his tired eyes with the heels of his hands. “You have until this weekend when we go away with the girls. One week in Maui, and then it’s back home. I’m sorry.”

********

Harry’s stomach turns remembering the conversation, but he decides to push all the nagging thoughts to the back of his mind and focus on the present. 

“You all packed?” he asks, trailing his fingers up and down her arm. 

Alani drapes her leg over his hip and nods. “Been packed since last week.”

She had been ecstatic the day after Mila and Chad’s wedding when Harry invited her to tag along on the couple’s trip with Jeff, Tom, and their significant others. His eagerness to include her in his friend group was not only reassuring, but exciting. It felt like their lives were coming together, even more so after she had introduced him to her parents. They, of course, had adored him and quickly given their seal of approval. While Alani knew that it was ultimately her choice, it still felt good to have support from the most important people in her life, and she hoped to win his friends over just as easily. Harry, on the other hand, had no doubts that she would fit right into his chosen family. Her name had been cautiously dropped during a weekly FaceTime call with his mother and sister, and he was overjoyed when they enthusiastically grilled him for details. 

What Harry was less sure of, however, was how Alani would react upon hearing that his vacation was up and that he would be headed back to L.A. in a week’s time. It was still early in their relationship and an indeterminate break seemed less than ideal. He had tried to convince both Jeff and the label that he could finish the album in Hawaii, but the same couldn’t be said for Jeff Bhasker, Mitch, Tom, and his new bassist, Adam, who all had families waiting for them back on the mainland. It was too risky personally and financially, so Harry reluctantly negotiated one last week to persuade Alani that a long-distance relationship wouldn’t be a death sentence. 

“What d’you wanna watch?” he asks, sitting up against the headboard to turn on the T.V. 

Alani sighs and settles deeper into his side. “When Harry Met Sally,”

“But it’s not Christmas or New Year’s,”

“So?”

“So,” Harry explains. “We have to wait ‘til the holidays, wouldn’t be right otherwise,”

Alani scoffs and peers up at him with a judgemental look. “So I guess Serendipity is also out of the question?”

“We’ll have all Christmas to get through that list, darlin’,”

Her stomach flips at his suggestion of their future holiday plans. Privately, she had wondered about such things, as well, including what gifts she might get him or where they would spend the holidays. Though still months away, it suddenly felt within reach. 

“Fine,” Alani softens. “The Notebook,”

“And let you drool over what’s-his-face?” Harry pokes. “No fuckin’ way,”

Alani pinches his side and sits up. “Would you stop being insecure about that? I’ve already told you I was just kidding that time,”

“Yeah well, it still stings,”

“Why don’t you tell me your celebrity crush? You know, so I can be totally fine about it because it doesn’t mean anything,”

Harry shrugs, the corners of his lips turning into a playful smirk. “Don’t have one,”

“Liar,”

“M’serious,”

“Why, because you’ve already dated them?”

“Hey,” Harry pouts. “That was a bit snippy,”

Alani’s muscles tighten. She hadn’t realized that his dating history was a sore spot, but she takes a deep breath and plants a sweet kiss to his jaw as an offering of peace. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it like that,”

“S’alright. Truce?”

“Deal,”

“Jennifer Aniston,”

“Huh?”

“My celebrity crush,” Harry explains shyly. “When I was younger,”

Alani giggles lightly. “I see. Good taste, she’s hot,”

“Don’t tell me you’re gonna leave me for her too,”

“I just might,”

“Can’t say that I blame you,”

“Look I know this is a cute little bit we do,” Alani sits up, her gaze dead-set on Harry’s to communicate the seriousness behind her words. “But I just want you to know that I feel so lucky to be with you. I’m not going anywhere any time soon,”

Harry swallows harshly. It was everything he’d ever wanted to hear and it kills him that he can’t return the sentiment with full honesty. A little less than a week is all he has to prove that even though he physically has to go, his heart will remain wherever Alani is. “Me either,”

Another round of thunder booms outside and the lights fizzle out, leaving the room completely dark save for the intermittent flashes of lightning that gently illuminate the room. 

“So much for watching a movie, huh?” Alani sighs. 

“I think I know some other ways we can keep ourselves entertained.”

********

Harry sets a steaming cup of tea down onto the table in front of Alani and she looks up from her tube of nail polish curiously. Harry flashes a dimpled grin in her direction and whistles a familiar tune, one that she had heard in the studio when he was busy doing his Bob Dylan impression. 

“What’re you singing?”

“Hm?”

“The song,” she clarifies. “You were singing it the other day, what is it?”

Harry serves her plate of hash browns and shrugs. “Dunno, just a little tune ‘ve been workin’ on,”

“It’s nice,”

“Thanks, sweets,” he offers, setting her food down and pressing a kiss to the top of her head. 

“Hey Alani,” Jeff interrupts, stepping into the kitchen with his cellphone pressed to his shoulder.

“Glenne wants to know if you’re okay with her setting up a spa thing for you guys,”

"Yeah, definitely,” Alani perks up. 

“Cool, thanks.”

“Look at you,” Harry teases, taking a bite of his toast coated in strawberry jam. “Minglin’ with the girls,”

“They’re not even here yet,” 

He scans over her appearance and his brows furrow, hit with the sudden realization that she’s dressed in formal attire. 

“What’s with the fancy outfit”

“I have a meeting, remember?”

“With?”

Alani blows on her freshly painted nails and holds up her other hand for Harry to do the same. 

“My senior advisor. We’re going over my research project,”

Harry’s brows raise. “Smarty-pants,”

Alani had scheduled her meeting with Dr. Hudson months ago and had, truthfully, forgotten all about it until she had received a courtesy email the day prior. She had been working on her proposal in the spare minutes she had away from Harry, which were few and far between, but she knew the initial meeting would be much more casual. Alani checks the time on her phone and stands quickly when she realizes that she is supposed to meet Dr. Hudson in  less than thirty-minutes. 

“Gotta go,” she offers, shoveling potatoes into her mouth and grabbing her bag. 

Harry ceases blowing on her nails and kisses the back of her hand before sticking out his lips for a kiss of his own. “Good luck, darlin’. Meet me at the studio after?”

“Sure thing, sunshine. See you later.”

********

“How did the Joni Mitchell piece go? You never told me,” Dr. Hudson questions, taking a sip of her coffee. 

Alani offers a shy smile and toys with the hem of her skirt. “A flop,”

“Just one more closer to the winner,”

“Yeah,” Alani sighs, stirring her smoothie. “Maybe it’s time to move on from that,”

The professor shoots her a disapproving look and sets her drink down. “Alani—”

“I just think maybe there’s more realistic—”

“You are not giving up,” Dr. Hudson reassures her. “You’ve come too far and you’re a terrific writer. One of the best I’ve ever had the pleasure of teaching. These things take time,”

Alani nods gently, her lips pursed in a tight smile. “Thank you, that really means a lot,”

“What are you working on right now?”

Absolutely nothing, Alani thinks, but then she remembers the half-written article about Harry sitting in her files. 

“A short piece about… a local musician,”

Dr. Hudson’s brows raise, intrigued, and she nods. “That sounds interesting. Definitely more personal,”

You have no idea. “Thanks. I mean, it’s not really anything—”

“I’d love to read it when you’re finished,” the professor continues. “What’s the scope?”

Alani thinks, trying not to give too much incriminating detail about her subject or their relationship. 

“Well,” she starts, hesitant. “He’s writing new music and working on his first album. I guess I kind of want to follow his journey and redefinition of success in the music industry,”

Dr. Hudson hums. “I love it. Send me a draft.”

Alani swallows and takes a minute to consider the offer. Surely there couldn’t be anything wrong about sharing her work privately with her advisor. She had been so excited about the potential of the article when it was first started, but it had since been neglected like so many of her other rejected pieces. Starting again seemed exciting, and she knew that Harry would be pleased to play such an important role in making her dreams come true. That had, after all, been the initial terms of their agreement. 

“Okay,” Alani accepts. “I will.”

********

Harry draws out the last note and Mitch lets the chord ring between them for a moment. 

“I think that’s the one,”

“Yeah, I liked that progression better,”

“Hope you got that, Bhasker,” Mitch calls to Jeff in the sound booth, who gives a thumbs up in response. 

Harry continues humming, his head still bobbing to the tune, when he hears the studio door creak unpleasantly. His eyes shoot up to find Alani wincing and timidly stepping into the room. 

“Sorry, didn’t mean to interrupt,”

He softens and beckons her over. “Never an interruption, sweets,”

Alani slots herself between his legs and wraps her arms around his neck, giving a gentle peck to the tip of his nose before pressing their lips together.

“How’s the weather?”

“Just got a lot sunnier,”

“Meeting go well?”

She nods and twists a lock of his chestnut hair between her fingers. “Yeah, actually,”

“Then we should celebrate!” Harry perks up, peppering a kiss to her cheek. “Dinner, wine, movie, the whole shebang,”

Alani frowns, thinking back to the article she promised Dr. Hudson. “Hmmm, raincheck?”

Her boyfriend deflates. “You’re ditching me?”

“Just for one night,” she explains, pulling him closer. “I wanna finish up some school stuff before our trip. Otherwise I won’t be able to give you my full attention,”

Harry pouts, but he nods understandingly. “‘Kay,”

“I’m sorry, sunshine. I’ll miss you tons,”

“Ditto, sweets,”

Alani presses her forehead against his and her fingertips wander through the growing curls at the nape of his neck. “Please don’t be upset,”

Harry smiles warmly and smoothes his hands up and down her back. “Never, m’love. Could never be upset with you,”

“Promise?”

“Promise,” he nods, planting a sweet kiss to her lips. “Hey, I wanna play you somethin’,” 

Alani grins and pulls back a bit to read his expression. “Let’s hear it,”

Harry grabs the guitar next to him and slings it over his shoulder before adjusting the capo. The song starts sweet and gentle, his voice light to match the tune. 

And oh we started 

Two hearts in one home 

It’s hard when we argue 

We’re both stubborn I know, but oh

Sweet creature, sweet creature

Wherever I go, you bring me home 

Sweet creature, sweet creature

When I run out of road, you bring me home 

Alani watches in awe as he pours so much emotion behind every word, his vocals effortlessly powerful and rich. She claps when the song finishes and leans in for a kiss. 

“I love it,”

“S’not finished yet,” Harry shrugs, still fiddling with the strings. “Just the chorus right now,”

“Will you teach it to me?”

His brows raise in surprise. “You play?”

“No,” Alani admits. “But I have a feeling you’re a good teacher,”

“Well, let’s see what you got,”

Alani turns and Harry props the guitar in her lap, his arms wrapping around her as he guides her into the right position. His left hand demonstrates the beginning chord and she replaces his fingers on the fretboard to try for herself. She strums and the beginning note resonates in near-perfect pitch. 

“Hey,” Harry beams. “You’re a regular Hendrix,”

He continues positioning her fingers over the right spaces and letting her strum, humming the lyrics softly into the shell of her ear. 

“We don’t argue that much,” Alani defends playfully. 

Harry chuckles and kisses her temple. “Maybe not, but we’re really good at makin’ up.”

“Easy, Styles.”

********

Harry: Hungry?

Alani peels her eyes away from the computer screen and reads the message lighting up her phone. 

Alani: Not really

Harry: …

Harry: oh 

She laughs and pads over to the window. Sure enough, Harry holds up two bags and flashes a cheesy grin down below. 

“Need a study break?”

“I’ll meet you at the door.”

Harry makes himself comfortable in the middle of her bed and unpacks the bags. 

“I’ve got a California and a spicy tuna for my favorite girl,” he announces. “With a side of eel sauce,”

“And the world's best boyfriend goes to Mr. Harry Styles,” Alani grins, taking a seat next to him. 

He smirks and pulls out his own order of miso soup and sushi. “How’s the homework comin’ along?”

“Not too shabby,”

“Glad to hear it,”

“Hey, what time do I meet you at the airport tomorrow?” she asks, dipping her roll in the sauce. 

Harry freezes and turns to her with confusion written all over his face. “I’m sorry, did my girlfriend just insinuate that we’re not leaving for the airport together?”

“I really need to finish this,” Alani explains. “It’s almost there,” 

“Two nights?” he complains. 

Alani nudges him with her shoulder and shakes her head. “We’re gonna be spending an entire week together, non-stop. You’re gonna get sick of me,”

“Never,” Harry rebuts. “Not possible,”

“Just one more night,” Alani bargains. “Then I’m all yours, no interruptions.”

He nods and takes a sip of his soup. “Alright, deal.”

You have to tell her, Jeff’s voice rings in his mind. 

********

The airline stewardess ushers Harry and Alani to their seats while Scott and Miles settle down a few rows behind. She didn’t know exactly what to expect from first-class, but suddenly the perks of having a famous boyfriend increased tenfold by the sight of their luxurious accommodations.

“Wait, what are you doing?” Alani asks while Harry hovers over his chair. 

“Sitting, or I was about to,”

“And you’re not even gonna offer rock-paper-scissors for the window seat?”

Harry shakes his head with an amused chuckle. “No because I already know that you’re gonna get up to pee every five minutes,”

“Not true,”

“It is too true and it’s exactly why we can’t cuddle while we fall asleep,”

“Or maybe the reason is because I’m claustrophobic and I just don’t wanna hurt your feelings,”

Harry frowns. “Really?”

“No,” Alani admits, taking the aisle seat. “I just said that so you’d give me the window,”

“Get up, we’re switching,”

“Thank you, sunshine! You’re the best,”

Harry slumps into his new chair and crosses his arms. “Forty-five minutes and we’re already fighting like an old married couple,”

“Oh really?” Alani smirks. “Is that what old married couples argue about? Who gets the window seat?”

“And leaving the toilet seat up, going antique shopping—” 

“—What old married couples have you been hanging out with—?”

“—Picking up the kids from school,”

Alani presses a kiss to his shoulder and rests her head in the crook of his neck. Her eyelids are still heavy from staying up the night before, but her article was completely finished and sent off to Dr. Hudson just like she’d promised. Now, she could enjoy her vacation free of any worry or obligation, completely focused on the perfect boy still rambling next to her. 

“But, obviously I mean that doesn’t count, right?” Harry asks, craning his neck and smiling softly when he sees that his girlfriend has already dozed off. He kisses the top of her head gently and lets his own eyes flutter close with a deep, contented breath. 

********

“And then I’ll have to repaint it, but I haven’t decided on a color yet,” Glenne explains to Alani as they stroll through the airport. 

Alani hums. “It was your grandmother’s?” 

“Well, it was somebody’s grandmother’s. We picked it up at this little antique shop in Santa Monica.”

Jeff escorts Glenne into the shuttle car while Harry and Alani share a knowing look and stifle their laughter. They shuffle into the back seats as Tom and his wife, Jenny, claim the middle row. 

“So you’re a journalist?” Jenny asks, turning in her seat eagerly to face Alani. 

“Not quite,” she explains with a polite smile. “Still a student, but hopefully someday,”

Jenny nods and twirls the ring around her finger. “Sounds exciting. Maybe you can hitch a ride on tour with this one and do some writing there.”

“Yeah,” Alani smiles, settling further into Harry’s side. “Maybe.”

The idea of traveling the world with Harry and being a part of the excitement of touring the album was something she had considered briefly, but hadn’t allowed herself to fully indulge until this moment. It was already thrilling to see him polish the songs he had begun during his trip, but she could only imagine how much more special it would be to see him perform them for the rest of the world. A twinge of jealousy sparks at the thought of having to share any part of him with the public, but Alani knows that his gifts are much too special to keep all for herself. Harry was golden and he deserved to shine in all of his radiant glory. That was exactly what she had penned in her article, and she said it not because he was her boyfriend and there were clear personal investments, but because she knew it was true even before he had shown any romantic interest in her. 

“What’s tour like?” Alani pipes up as Harry watches the landscape out his window. 

He considers it for a moment and clears his throat. “Fun, mostly. Can be tiring,”

“Lots of partying and adoring fans?”

“No,” he chuckles to himself. “Not so much the partying. Enthusiastic fans, sure,”

Alani narrows her eyes. “No partying?”

“Nope,” Harry reiterates. “Don’t really like to do all that stuff when I’m working. Also just didn’t wanna…”

He trails off and Alani waits a beat to see if he’ll continue. “Didn’t wanna?”

“Fuck it up,” he finishes. “You know, like, be the one who ruined a good thing for a little bit of fun.”

She lets his words settle in, rubbing a reassuring circle on the back of his hand. “Makes sense. Sounds really responsible of you to do that.”

Harry presses a soft kiss to her temple and resumes his study of the scenery. They chat amongst their friends for the remainder of the drive and Alani immediately presses Glenne and Jenny for information about her boyfriend in his younger years. They indulge her inquiries and ask their own questions, deciding privately after a few minutes that her and Harry are a good fit. 

When the group arrives at the resort, Glenne takes charge and instructs them all to meet at the lobby for lunch in twenty minutes. They collect their keys and head up to their respective rooms, which are all located on the very top floor. 

“What a view,” Alani muses as she takes in the sight from their private balcony. 

Harry admires the wonder on her face and nods, his eyes not leaving her side profile. “You’re tellin’ me,”

“Let’s never go home,” she poses, arms snaking around his torso. “Let’s stay here forever, just me and you,”

His throat tightens as he thinks back to the inevitable conversation waiting for them. Harry didn’t know why it was so hard to think about leaving because he had every intention of keeping touch and making their relationship work at all costs. But there was a part of him, a very tiny recess in the back of his mind, that feared the possibility of Alani not feeling the same. 

“Yeah,” he agrees with a gentle kiss to the tip of her nose. “Whatever you want, sweets,”

Alani senses a shift in his demeanor, but she can’t read it. “You okay?”

“Never better,” Harry swallows, mustering up a small smile. “But I am hungry,”

She isn’t entirely convinced that there isn’t something bothering him, but she decides not to push it and tightens her grip around his waist, instead. 

“Race you to the lobby.”

“You’re on.”

********

“You’ve never seen Finding Nemo?”

“Was I s’posed to?”

“My god,” Alani marvels. “You know, I’m starting to believe those rumors that you were grown in a lab,”

Harry’s brow raises and he blinks. “That I was what?”

The restaurant that Glenne and Jeff chose features an aquarium tunnel at the entrance, much to both Harry and Alani’s excitement. Fish, large and small, swim around them and the pair take turns pointing out their favorite colorful species. The Hull’s snap photos for their four year-old daughter, but Jenny also secretly captures one of Harry and Alani with their hands clasped under the mesmerizing blue lighting as a keepsake for her friend. 

“Add Finding Nemo to our movie list,” Alani says, admiring a clownfish that swims close to the glass. 

“S’it  gonna make me cry?”

“Probably,”

“Goddamnit,” 

Alani giggles softly and turns her head away from the glass to silently observe Harry under the lighting of the rippling water. The combination of his serene features and the sound of Billie Holiday’s I’ll Be Seeing You over the sound system creates a perfect image in her mind, one that makes her afraid to blink, lest it be gone forever. Harry glances over at her through the corner of his eye and his lips curl. 

“Checkin’ me out?”

“Always,”

“Like whatcha see?”

“Love it.”

His heart nearly stops at her words, but before he has a chance to process their implication, the hostess calls on their group. 

“And I’ll have the piña colada,” Harry orders once they're seated. 

“Oh my god, H,” Glenne laughs from across the table. “That reminds me, remember your birthday last year when James got trashed and hoarded the karaoke machine for, like, two hours?”

“Ruined that song forever,” Jeff quips, reliving the memory of the Late-Late host drunkenly serenading the entire party with the same song on repeat. 

Harry cringes, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I try not to,”

Alani watches as they reminisce on the event, adding their own details and pieces to the puzzle. It’s amusing to watch, but a small part of her also has to fight the pang of exclusion settling into the pit of her stomach. She feels guilty for being affected by it knowing, logically, that it isn’t intentional or malicious in any way. Still, Alani is painfully reminded of the vast differences between their worlds. Harry had gotten to know practically every part of her life, including her family, but there was still so much that she didn’t know about his. It was something she worked hard not to dwell on, given the novelty of their relationship, but she also worried that fear and insecurity would prevent her from investing what little of her heart Harry hadn’t claimed yet. 

“Who was it that started dancing on a table and almost broke a chandelier?” Tom asks, wracking his brain. 

“I think it was Ken—” Jeff hesitates, clearing his throat. “Actually, I don’t remember,”

Harry shifts in his seat beside Alani and reads over the menu, quickly changing the subject. “What’re you gonna get?”

“I don’t know,” Alani admits. “Everything looks so good,”

“Oh look,” Jenny pipes up across from Harry. “They’ve got your fav, the mango sorbet. I wonder if it’s as good as the one in Italy,”

Harry beams and reads over the item. “Oh yeah, that was amazin’,” 

Alani files the detail to the back of her mind. She hadn’t known mango was his favorite flavor of anything, and while it was a trivial detail, she realized that there were so still many little details about him that she wanted to know. Harry had made such an effort to remember everything about her, like her go-to sushi order and the fact that she always saved the kiwis for last in her fruit salad, so it made her feel a touch guilty that she hadn’t made the same effort. 

“Wanna share the coconut shrimp?” Alani asks with a gentle nudge to his shoulder. 

“Oh, uh—”

“He’s allergic,” Glenne says offhandedly, not cold or condescending, but more in the same way that an older sister would. 

“Oh my god,” Alani’s eyes widen. “I’m so sorry,”

Harry laughs lightly and shrugs. “S’okay, I’d let you poison me,”

“I didn’t mean to be rude,” Glenne apologizes, reaching her hand out to Alani. “I thought you knew.”

Alani accepts the hand and waves away her concern. “No, don’t worry about it. I didn’t know, actually.”

“We can stop talking about my defects now,” Harry teases. “‘M not dyin’,”

He leans in closer to Alani and presses a kiss to her temple. “But if I was, it’d be an honor to have my last meal with you.”

She responds with a soft smile before returning her attention back to the menu. His sentiments, however sweet, unfortunately did very little to soothe the embarrassment of her mini faux pas. It was irrational, Alani knew this, but it made her wonder what else she didn’t know and what bigger secrets he was potentially keeping. Whose name had Jeff meant to say earlier to identify the mystery dancer at Harry’s party, and why had it created an awkward shift in the air? She decides not to let the spiraling questions spoil her fun and takes a generous sip of her cocktail to avoid them for the time being. 

********

Harry sets the room key on the nightstand next to their king sized bed and lets himself sink down into the soft mattress. The group had spent the entire day sightseeing, from botanical gardens to scenic beaches, but he was really itching for some quality time alone with Alani. Lately, their time together had been cut frustratingly short by work, school, and life in general. Even when they were seated right next to each other with arms linked or fingers interlocked, she felt far away and he didn’t know why. He hoped that this trip would allow them time to reconnect and solidify their relationship before he had to return to California. 

“Mini bar,” Alani comments, kicking her shoes off and wandering over to the small refrigerator in their suite. “Who’s paying again?”

“The label,”

“Thank you Columbia Records,”

She swipes a few bottles of tequila before climbing into the bed next to Harry. 

“Wanna play a game?”

Harry props himself up on his elbow and nods. “What kinda game?”

“Never have I ever,” Alani explains. “But instead of putting your finger down, you take a shot,”

“Sounds dangerous,”

“It’ll be fun. You can go first if you want,”

He hums and nods in agreement before sitting up to face her. “‘Kay. Never have I ever...named my car after a musician,”

“Cheap shot,” Alani narrows her eyes, taking a sip from the bottle of Jose Cuervo. 

“Your turn,”

She fiddles with the bottle cap, a question already in mind, though she isn’t sure if she should ask it. 

“Never have I ever… dated a model,”

Harry’s brow furrows, but he opens his own bottle slowly and takes a sip. “So it’s that kind of never have I ever,”

“Just trying to keep it interesting,” Alani shrugs innocently. 

“Right. Never have I ever slept with a guy named David,”

Her eyes widen, but she laughs half-heartedly and takes a sip. “Jeez, okay. Never have I ever—”

“Wait, so you two actually…” Harry interrupts, trailing off at the end. 

“I mean,” Alani starts, her eyes wandering to the ceiling. “Yeah, a long time ago,”

“How long ago?”

“Okay, maybe this was a mistake—”

Harry shakes his head. “No, I’m sorry. I’ll play nice,”

“Alright,” Alani accepts. She knows that she should probably steer the game back onto safer territory, but the wound has been re-opened and she can’t resist the urge to keep picking at it. “Never have I ever slept with a fan,”

Harry takes a slow sip. “Never have I ever cheated on my partner,”

The bottle stays put in Alani’s hand. “Never had I ever gone on a vacation with my partner before this trip,”

The tequila washes over his tongue bitterly like the faint memories that it symbolizes. “Never have I ever dated someone just for the publicity,”

The bottle in Alani’s hand doesn’t move, much to Harry’s relief, but her mind is not as tranquil. 

“Never have I ever told someone I loved them when I didn’t,” she says slowly.  

Harry takes another shot and it burns all the way down. “Why are we doin’ this?”

“I don’t know, but I don’t wanna play anymore,”

“Alani,” he starts, springing to his feet when she leaves the bed. “Hey, look at me, please,”

She blinks back the tears that threaten to spill over her lower lashes before turning to him. “I’m sorry, that was a stupid game,”

“S’just all out of context,” Harry offers, reaching for her hands. “Wasn’t the right way to have all of those conversations,”

Alani takes a deep breath and nods. “Yeah, you’re right,”

“What’s really botherin’ you, hm sweets?” He coos, bringing her cold knuckles to his warm lips. “Tell me, please?”

She releases a shaky breath and tries to sift through the fog in her brain for the right answer.

 “I don’t know, really, I just,” Alani hesitates. “Am I a bad girlfriend?”

“No,” Harry says quickly, his hands lifting to cup her face. “God no, you’re the best,”

“Then why didn’t I know that your favorite ice cream flavor was mango? And why didn’t I know that you were allergic to coconut, and why—”

“Hang on, is that what this is all about?” he questions. “Cause I’ll go eat an entire coconut right now,”

Alani laughs lightly and pinches her eyes shut. “No, it’s not about that. I just feel like you’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met and you make me feel so fucking special and, God, I just wanna be good enough for you because—”

Harry holds his breath and watches as her eyes gloss over. 

“Because I love you,” she finishes, voice small. “More than I ever thought possible,”

His own eyes sting, but he doesn’t fight the tears that fall as he presses his lips to hers firmly. 

“I love you, too,” Harry murmurs. “I love you so fuckin’ much it drives me crazy,”

Alani chuckles softly. “Ditto,”

“I’ve been wanting to say it for ages, can’t believe you beat me to it.”

“Guess you’re not the only one full of surprises.”

********

The early morning sunlight creeps gently into Harry and Alani’s room, casting a soft, golden glow onto the bare skin that peeks through the white duvet. Harry stirs first, a strand of Alani’s hair tickling his nose and making him smile. He prys his heavy eyelids open and winces at the dull aching of his head aggravated by the light. Alani hears his muffled groan and sighs, willing the sun to go back down and let her sleep a few more hours. 

“Mornin’ sweets,” he rasps with a warm kiss to her bare shoulder. 

She peels her own tired eyes open and flashes a sleepy grin. “Good morning, sunshine,”

“How’d you sleep?”

“Super. You?”

Harry props himself up on his elbow and rests his chin in his palm as he admires the traces of sleep still on her face.

“Just swell.”

Alani chuckles lightly and reaches a hand up to comb through his unruly bedhead. His skin is warm to the touch, and the light from the window casts a heavenly glow around his visage. She pokes her finger into his dimple, which elicits a soft laugh and makes his smile grow wider. They stay intertwined under the sheets as the sun fully rises and soak up their own details to keep as souvenirs from this moment. Alani takes in the scent of vanilla and the juxtaposition of Harry’s inked bicep against the plain, white sheets. He stores away the image of her sleepy, mocha eyes and the pink, manicured fingernails that trail up and down his arm. Neither of them are sure exactly how long they remain in this moment, for all they know it could be hours or days. But whatever the duration, it doesn’t seem to be enough. I need more time, Harry had told Jeff, but there was no more left to give. He had to tell her, and it was now or never. 

“Hey,” he begins carefully. “I need to tell you something,”

Alani sits up to be eye level with him and nods. “Anything,”

Harry waits a beat, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear and pressing his lips to her bare shoulder before letting the confession spill out. 

“I have to go back to L.A.,”

 “I kinda figured,”

He draws in a deep sigh of relief. “You did?”

“Yeah,” Alani shrugs. “Hilo isn’t exactly Hollywood,”

“I asked for more time, but the label—”

“No, I get it. So… when? Next month?”

“Friday,”

Alani’s brows furrow. “This Friday?”

“Yeah,” Harry admits with a gulp. 

“The last day of our trip?”

“Yes,”

Her heart drops into her stomach and she feels sick. It all made sense now why Harry’s mood had shifted when she jokingly asked him not to leave, and why he had been so insistent on spending as much time together as possible this week. Their game of never have I ever turned instantly defensive when asked about his dating history. Never had I ever gone on vacation with my partner before this trip. Never have I ever told someone I loved them when I didn’t. He had whisked her away on a farewell trip and God knows who else had been in her place before, or worse, who would be in it next. Harry was saying good-bye. 

“Wait,” Alani says finally, mind still racing too fast to process. “How long have you known?”

“Alani—”

“How long?”

Harry swallows. “Couple of weeks,”

“You knew for weeks and you didn’t tell me?” she questions incredulously.

“I tried—”

“You know that I hate surprises, you know how I feel about plans—”

“I’m sorry,” Harry insists, sitting up straighter. “I wanted to tell you so many times, but it just never felt right,”

Alani rolls her eyes. “So what, you were just gonna leave a fucking sticky note on my pillow and hope for the best?”

“Don’t say that—”

“Is that why you brought me here?” she asks, voice hoarse. “Is that why you gave me this necklace? A souvenir of our little summer fling so you could leave with a clear conscience?”

Harry’s jaw tightens. “How could you even think that?”

“Because maybe it’s true. Why else would you wait until the very last minute to tell me about this?”

“Maybe we should take a minute,” he suggests, the whites of his eyes now bloodshot. “Before we say something we’ll regret,”

“I think I already did.” Alani admits. Never have I ever told someone I loved them when I didn’t. 

Harry’s head pounds and he feels like he’s drowning, treading water in every direction only to be dragged further into the current. He quickly pulls on his clothes from the night before and tries to steady his breathing. 

“M’gonna go wait in the hall,” he offers. “Give you some space to think and then we’ll talk, yeah?”

Alani doesn’t respond or even meet his pleading eyes. She simply tightens the duvet around her body and turns her head to the window, letting a single, bitter tear roll down her cheek. The door closes softly and she is immediately filled with regret and guilt. Had she truly meant all of the things she said? Or was it fear and the instinct to flee taking over her mouth? Alani wanted to believe that she was wrong and that Harry hadn’t intentionally kept her in the dark, but from where she stood, the sun had long disappeared behind the clouds and all that was left was the storm. 

Harry trudges down the hallway and the walls spin, closing in on him slowly. If he had just told Alani sooner, everything would be different. He had avoided doing so for this exact reason and out of fear that their relationship wouldn’t be worth the risk in her mind. It was selfish—he was selfish—to try to make the decision for her, and now the woman he loved was getting ready to walk away because he had broken her trust. What else was there to do? His back meets the wall and he sinks to the floor. 

“Hey H,” Jeff clears his throat from above. “We should talk,”

“She knows. Didn’t go well,”

“So she did approve the article?” 

Harry lifts his head and his brows furrow. “What?”

There’s a harsh knock at the door and Alani jumps. In Harry’s absence, she had managed to cool off and sift through her frantic thoughts. She had been wrong to think that he used her, all it took was a quick stroll down memory lane to prove otherwise. He had never given her any true reason not to trust him, so there had to be some other reason why he hadn’t told her about his plans to leave so soon. Alani pads over to the door and unlocks it gently. 

“Harry, I’m sor—”

“Wanna talk about surprises?” he seethes. “What the fuck is this?”

She squints at the phone screen that he holds up to her face and the title of her unpublished article stares back at her. 

“I don’t know—”

“Well it has your goddamn name on it,” Harry shoots back. 

Alani steps aside and lets him into the room before she closes the door behind her. “I can explain—”

“Did you write it or not?”

“Yes, but—”

He shuts the phone off and slams it face down onto the night stand. “How fucking dare you call me a liar and then pull this shit behind my back,”

“I didn’t lie,” Alani defends, voice weak. “I had no idea it was going to be published, please just listen—”

“A class project,” he interrupts with his back still turned. “That’s what you said,”

“It was never meant to be released,”

“How do I know that? How do I know you’re not just trying to cover your ass?”

“Please,” Alani begs as her vision begins to blur. “I was wrong, I shouldn’t have said all those things,”

Harry runs a hand through his hair and casts his eyes to the ceiling in an attempt to quell the emotion that pools behind his eyes. 

“So why did you?”

“I was scared,”

“Of?”

Alani takes a deep breath. “Of losing you for good. Of falling in l—”

“Don’t,” he interrupts. “Don’t finish that sentence,”

“I don’t know how,” she tries again. “And I don’t know who released it, but I swear—”

“You really expect me to trust a word you say after you accused me of lying about this whole thing, about us?”

Harry’s  gaze lowers back to hers and the bright, green eyes that she has come to love are replaced with a blood-shot, stormy sea that makes her stomach drop. The words get caught in her throat. 

“I fucked up,” he continues. “I know that I should’ve told you. But I’m having a hard time believing that this wasn’t planned, that this random website would just accidentally publish your work without your consent,”

Alani can’t explain it either, she truly had no idea how her writing had ended up in the wrong hands. There was only one other person she had entrusted it with, but surely Dr. Hudson hadn’t betrayed her, had she? Alani didn’t know who to believe anymore. 

“Harry, I’m so sorry,” she tries. “I didn’t mean what I said, and I know I can’t take it back, but you have to at least believe that I never wanted to hurt you,”

Harry is silent for a moment, and Alani decides that it’s her turn to tell the truth. There was nothing left to lose. 

“At first, I did want to publish it,” she explains. “But I changed my mind and I scrapped the whole thing. In the end, the only person I intended to show it to was you,”

“So how did it get onto the internet for the whole fucking world to see?” he presses. 

Alani sighs. “My advisor wanted to know what I was working on, so I sent it to her, but she never had my permission to publish it. Now I realize how stupid it sounds, but it’s the truth,”

“If you had come to me, I would have given you permission,”

“I’m so sorry,”

Harry’s shoulders tense. Every fiber of his being  wants to believe her, but how could he? She had told him herself that things would be messy and warned him that he didn’t know what he was asking by pursuing a relationship with her. Maybe it really was all his fault for not seeing the signs, but that still didn’t change the fact that he couldn’t trust her anymore. And based on her reaction to the news of his departure, it seemed as though Alani didn’t trust him either. 

“Even if you’re telling the truth,” Harry begins, slow and deliberate. “You still thought, after everything, that I would abandon you. And if that’s the kind of person you think I am, if that’s the person you wrote about—”

“Harry—”

“Then I hope you got all the material you wanted.”

“Please, don’t go.” Alani cries but it’s too late. The door slams and her heart falls. 

After a beat, she races to the door and into the hallway but there’s no sign of Harry. As quickly as he had appeared into her life, he had vanished. Gone without a trace.

[youngsamberg]

Yesss you watched sleeping with other people! You are so right about that I love you for free scene! It's so emotional, hot, vulnerable, sad and so many things rolled into one! Also, the post credit scene (during the credit scene?) They both have such great chemistry! Didn't feel like improv to you? I loved it so MUCH! About the When Harry met Sally vibes, it was kinda of an inspiration and Leslye said the green tea scene was a riff on the diner scene in WHMS. Also I didn't know Adam Scott was in it and was so surprised to see him as this absolutely shitty person after watching pnr.

omg yes!! i knew adam and zouks were in it bc i saw the main cast when i googled the movie but i was so surprised to see them playing characters that are so different from the type of characters they usually play!!!!! the during the credits scene with zouks and andrea was so funny and was 100% all improv i could not stop smiling!! wow i loved that movie so much

[chameleon-of-the-fandom]

Repetitive Treatment: Chapter 4

Words: 2013

Warnings: Abuse

A/N: (Y/D/N) = Your Dad’s Name; (Y/M/N) = Your Mom’s Name; Also, the law enforcement part is probably inaccurate, I’m not in law enforcement, so just going off what I know. Enjoy!

Sheriff Keller arrives at the crime scene and walks into the open door, announcing his presence to the presumed empty home. He looks around at the disaster in the living room and he can picture you being thrown against the wall where the hole is, and Alex's fist flying into the spot where the smaller hole is. He stares in disbelief at the mess in front of him. He has never understood what possesses someone to beat the person they love to a near death. He turns and gives orders to his deputies to secure the house. As they begin to do so, Keller pulls out his cell to take pictures of the crime scene, as the crime scene technicians were an hour out. Half an hour later, Sheriff Keller has all the evidence he needs, minus the victim's statement, obviously. He hears shouting coming from the direction of the front door. He trudges over. Arguing with a deputy is Alex Arbin. 

"Sheriff, what is going on? Why are deputies milling around my home?" He demands.

"Son, you are under arrest." Keller pulls out his handcuffs from their holder on his belt and listens to them click as he carefully tightens them around Alex's wrist.

"What am I under arrest for?" Keller listens as Alex yells.

"Domestic abuse. Possibly more." This shuts Alex up, and Keller is grateful. He is still coming to terms with the fact that a kid he has known for years, hit his girlfriend.

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say, can and will be held against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be provided for you. Do you understand these rights as they have been stated to you?" Tom asks.

 Alex answers in the affirmative, but he is in shock. He thought he had threatened you well enough about going to the cops. Apparently not. Although, this should be over fairly fast, after all, Alex has known Mr. Keller for years. So, he waits. He'll play the game. He pulls out his, "I'm a young person, what is going on, I don't understand" mask.

 Tom Keller asks a deputy to drive Mr. Arbin to the station before climbing into his own squad car and following them. When they arrive, he follows the teen and the deputy into an interview room.

"With your rights in mind, are you willing to talk about why we're here?"

"Yes, sir."

"Okay. Other than the charge, do you know why you are here?"

"No, sir. I don't. What's going to happen?" Alex asks, a slightly frightened look on his face.

Tom sighs and rubs his hand over his face, "You have accused of domestic abuse."

"What?" Alex's voice hitches, and his eyes dart to the left before once again landing on the sheriff. Tom catches this movement and starts to catch on to Alex's little act.

"Yeah. And that's the thing, I suppose. You're living room is trashed, and (Y/N) is in the hospital."

"I didn't lay a hand on her." Denial spews from Alex.

Tom decides to play along to Alex's performance. "Yeah. I thought so, but tell me, what really happened, Alex?"

"I don't know. We were watching some TV and then she made a comment about how ugly the character on TV was, and I know that behind the characters are real people, so I argued back saying that she didn't need to be rude. And then she blew up."

"Oh?" Tom knows he hit the sweet spot where Alex was going to do nothing but talk and not think about what he said as Alex continues.

"Yeah, she started throwing things are the room. Pictures of us, a vase my mom loves. Everything. I thought she was going to hit me, so I left because I didn't want to get injured and have to make a report."

"But what did you hit the wall with?" Keller doesn't hesitate on anything in the question or asking.

"My fists. Bloodied my knuckles." Alex stops for a moment, then glares at the Sheriff. "Wait a minute."

"You just admitted to hitting the wall, what else did you hit?"

Alex knew he was busted. "Damn it. Wait. Don't you have to wait for my parents to be here before you can question me?" Alex smirked. He thinks he has Tom in a corner.

"Alex, when was your birthday?" Alex tilts his head confused.

"Two days ago, why?"

"You're legally an adult. You turned eighteen two days ago, didn't you?" Tom shrugs carelessly.

"Fuck." Alex looks at the table. "Yes." He murmurs.

"What else?" Tom asks in frustration.

"What?" Alex doesn't quite understand the question that Keller is asking.

"Since you already admitted to hitting the wall, what else did you hit?"

 Alex realizes that Sheriff Keller knows what happened, and that he is lying. "I hit (Y/N)." No point in denying it now, Alex thinks. He wonders how this is going to end.

 "How long?" Tom growls, attempting not to slam his hands down on the table in anger.

"What?" Alex isn't trying to play the innocent card, but legitimately doesn't understand the question.

"How long has this been happening? How many times have you gotten mad at her, and used your fists or something more solid to express that emotion on her? How long have you been painting her skin with purples, blues, greens, and yellows? As if she's your own personal canvas." He growls in explanation.

"Three or four months. Maybe a little longer. I-I'm not sure." Alex's eyes had widened at the way the sheriff describes his act and the disgust Keller has for the young man almost seems tangible to him. Sheriff Keller thinks briefly that Alice Cooper would be proud of the word vomit. Tom feels disappointment, relief, and anger rush through him, the former two battling for being the winning emotion. Disappointment at the fact that Alex thought it okay to hit another person, much less his girlfriend. Relief that they wouldn't have to go through a lengthy trial and he could inform (Y/N) of this as soon as she woke up. And anger. Anger that Alex, a kid he's known and loved for years, did something this stupid and violent. Tom stands up from the table, and walks out the door. He can't be in there anymore without doing something stupid. It's kinda funny though, Tom thinks, he was so adamant about not being questioned without a parent present, yet he didn't ask for a lawyer. He chuckles humorlessly as he walks away from the interview room.

 He walks to the sally port, where his squad car remains. He crawls into the driver's seat and rests his head on the steering wheel for a moment. He wonders when small town life became such insanity. Children beating up their significant others, serial killers running around town. Fathers murdering their own children. Those same children solving mysteries better left to the police. Drugs running rampant due to a particular gang. Another gang that causes more violence, but avoids the drugs. The upper class of town creating those drugs and hiding them in maple syrup. The rival of that upper class family blackmailing the mayor. His life has become so chaotic, and suddenly, all Tom wants is to be young, in love, and have no worries again. Those had been the days. He wishes that he could turn time back sixteen years ago, when Kevin was little and the worst harm that could come to him was something extremely simple. When the worst thing Kevin worried about was when he'd get fed next, or what toy he'd play with next. With this nostalgia, came a stronger sense of relief. This was for the fact that he had not had to complete a death notification, and that he didn't have to notify your parents at all. He was glad that he'd not been standing on your door step telling your parents, people that he'd been friends with for years, that you were in the hospital and he was still investigating the cause. Because had someone else found you, he knows he would have arrived to the situation your best friend had found himself in. And Tom knows that would've been the final moment as a Sheriff for him. Seeing you on the ground, bleeding, limbs twisted at odd, unnatural angles. That would've been the case he solved only to walk away from the job to go hug his girlfriend. He has no doubts about it. He sits up, because he has good news for a broken girl and her parents. He did the one thing to help that he could. He caught her abuser.

 As Tom drives to the hospital, he wanders the dark path that is your case, though. He wonders why you never said anything, why you never spoke up, even to your best friend. Scratch that one. He understands why you never said a word to Sweet Pea. That kid was 6 feet of intimidation, especially when he was angry. Damn, that kid could melt an iceberg with his anger.  Tom knows the stereotypical reasons for someone to remain quiet about abuse. But you knew you were loved, and he thought your parents had taught you it was never the victim's fault. He finally arrives at the hospital. He parks the Crown Vic, and heads toward the main entrance. He's in uniform so the receptionist at the front desk doesn't question his presence. Until he stops at her desk. She looks over her dainty black glasses at him.

"Can I help you, sir?" she asks.

"Yes, ma'am. I was wondering if (Y/N) had been admitted?" He questions.

"Oh, yes. She has. Do you need the room number?" She chuckles quietly before answering her own question at Sheriff Keller's raised eyebrow. "Of course you do. Otherwise you wouldn't have asked. She's in room 118. Down the hall to the left."

"Thank you, ma'am." He tilts his hat down at her in gratitude. He subsequently pulls it off in habit. He follows her directions down to your room. When he stops in the doorway, he sees you laying in the bed, casts, bandages, and tubes running over your small expanse. He doesn't see your parents, but notices Sweet Pea asleep in the chair next to your bed. Sweet Pea's hair is messy, and sticks out in odd places. He walks quietly over to your bed and grasps your hand gently. He doesn't notice that Sweet Pea slowly awakens, having felt his presence in the room.

"Sheriff?" The young man asks, almost like he's afraid a spell's been cast over the room, and he doesn't want to break it.

"Hello, Sweet Pea."

"What are you doing here? Don't you have an investigation to complete?" Sweet Pea digs.

Tom ignores the dig, and responds, "It's done. He admitted to doing it. Didn't take much to break him." Sweet Pea doesn't respond. Tom turns and lets go of your hand, but not before gently tucking back into your side. As Tom meets Sweet Pea's gaze.

"How-" Sweet Pea cuts himself off, as if he can't stand to hear the rest of his question. Tom knows exactly what he's asking.

"Alex said three or four months. Maybe longer."

"Fuck." Tom admires the self-restraint the boy shows by not immediately storming off.

"I was surprised to find him alive and well, not to mention one piece." Tom raises an eyebrow.

"Couldn't very well just leave my best friend alone and fighting for her life. She lectures me enough on violence. Not lately, but I guess, before." Tom knows exactly what Sweet Pea means. He likes what he is reading between the lines. "Son, give her a few months and then give it a chance. Be gentle. You won't be able to be the rough and tumble type you are right now. You'll have to slow down a bit, and quiet down. But eventually, you'll both get there."

 Chapter One; Chapter Two; Chapter Three 

 tags:

@answer-the-sirens

@quinn-e-dawson

@writing-yj

@chipster-21

@serpentmo

@falling-stars-never-cry

@poolpartyingwithjaws

@nighthawk

@acidparadox

[ayearofpike]

Spooksville #16: Time Terror

Pocket Books, 1997 113 pages, 12 chapters + epilogue ISBN 0-671-00264-3 LOC: CPB Box no. 257 vol. 26 OCLC: 36777822 Released May 1, 1997 (per B&N)

The robot toy in the alley behind the movie theater looks too awesome to leave alone. But when the Spook Squad starts messing with it, they find themselves back in the earliest days of the town. Luckily, they make it back home without any ill effects, but the curiosity of learning what this place is and why proves too much to not go back again. Of course, they can’t get lucky twice, and everything they see and everyone they talk to just ends up making their situation worse or weirder.

Quick metadiscourse: While doing research on Spooksville, I learned that only the first twelve books were republished to coincide with the TV series. This makes me wonder: do I need to also read the new versions of these if I’m trying to be a completist? I’m not going to worry too much about it right now, but maybe when I get to the end I’ll revisit them in a single post, as is my plan for the reprints of early Scholastic/Archway stuff.

On to Time Terror! It starts out a lot more straight-forward than we’ve come to expect from Spooksville, which has been hurling us into multiple twisted paths for the main characters pretty much right away. (Hey, when a book has to stay under 120 pages, he needs to start without preamble.) But here, the kids go to a movie and then find a robot clock in the alley behind the theater. They fiddle with it, and it unexpectedly sends them back in time, to the early foundational days of Spooksville. Watch figures out how to set it to send them back home before they can go mucking things up, and they agree that Sally should hide it in her garage so nobody else inadvertently finds it. That’s the first three chapters.

But if you know Sally (and by now you should) you ought to expect her to not leave well enough alone, despite her highly developed sense of impending doom. She gets the robot out, but before she can do anything with it Adam is there. It seems he didn’t trust her to leave it alone, and obviously he was right. But he’s a curious SOB too, and so Sally convinces him that they can finally learn why Spooksville is the way it is, if they can get back to exactly the same time they went to earlier. Of course, her house is in a different place, and they don’t quite set the clock the same way, so they materialize in the middle of a group of people who — guess what — take them for witches and imprison them alongside Madeline Templeton, who is slated to be burned at the stake that evening.

Cindy learns about this from Adam’s dad. Well, not THIS this, but he calls to ask if Adam is still hanging out with her, because he hasn’t come home yet. She calls Watch, who immediately knows that Adam must have been checking on Sally because he was tempted to do the same thing. They pick up Bryce and head over to Sally’s, where they find the robot in the middle of the garage rather than in its hiding place. As they argue about what it might mean, Bryce ... disappears. So do Watch’s glasses and watches and Cindy’s long blonde hair. But ... what’s the problem? Watch never wore glasses or four watches. (But then why is his name still fucking WATCH?) Cindy always had red hair. They came to Sally’s just the two of them; there wasn’t another guy in the group.

But their uneasiness about this situation is enough to make them realize that Adam and Sally must have gone back and changed something to make them unsure about what, to them, has always been the status quo. So they fiddle with the robot clock and end up ... in the far future, somehow. Watch must have fucked up. Lucky for them, a kid shows up and praises how they’re dressed as the Legendary Heroes, to get the full experience of attending the Spooksville City Museum. He’s been studying the Heroes and how they defeated so many deadly evils and terrors, so for today, his twelfth birthday, he wanted to experience the museum first-hand. Of course, all the adventures have been documented, so he knows all about the robot clock (or, as it’s been described in Cindy’s diary, the Time Terror) and how it works. So Cindy and Watch really have no choice but to commandeer the kid’s knowledge to get themselves back to wherever Adam and Sally are trapped.

(The kid’s name? Tweek.)

(I swear to fucking God.)

The future kids’ arrival in Old-Timey Spooksville (where, for some reason, everyone has British names in eighteenth-century California; thanks, white colonialism) distracts the lynch mob just as they’re lighting the fire to burn the three witches. Only the judge or governor or whoever he is sticks around, but obviously he’s powerless to prevent Madeline Templeton from freeing herself and the two kids, who she understands in her mystical wisdom to be friendly with her future descendant. He does try to go after the weakest one himself to save a little face (in this case, Sally, who’s struggling with smoke inhalation), but the witch trips him, which causes him to fall on his own sword. And that is the end of Jeff Poole. 

Poole. Oh. Oh shit.

After a quick detour to primordial Spooksville, Adam realizes his mistake and figures out the time robot through trial and error. They go home for his laser gun and then back to Old-Timey Spooksville, where the future kids have been tied to the same stakes to burn. Adam starts zapping dudes with the stun beam while Sally unties the others, and they all run for the witch’s castle to regroup and figure out what the hell to do. If Governor Poole were rendered unconscious before Madeline Templeton freed herself, they’re convinced, she wouldn’t have attacked him at all, so he’d live to sire the line up to Bryce. So Adam goes back to just before they escape but just AFTER the mob goes to hunt Watch and Cindy, zaps the governor with the stun beam, and then comes back.

Where Bryce is, having would-have come with Watch and Cindy on their original journey through time. (Hey, YOU figure out the verb tense there.) But he’s ... different. Stupid. Maybe mentally handicapped. We don’t, after all, really know what effect the stun beam has on human physiology. It’s probable that Adam inadvertently changed the ancestor’s genetic structure, which then refined its way down to Bryce mumbling about toy trucks and licking his palms. AND Watch can still see, AND they’re stuck in this castle which is under an attack not noted in the history books, which is SURELY gonna fuck something else up. Will Tweek ever get back home to finish celebrating his birthday?

There’s only one way to solve this problem once and for all. One of them has to go back (or rather, ahead) to just before they found the Time Terror and hide it. That way, they never touch it, they never go back to the past, they never change the way history is composed, and they all stay the same. But what does that mean for the person who does it? They’re a time-shifted variant of themselves existing in the same time, and if they ever cross paths with themselves it might be disastrous to the world. So Watch volunteers. He’s always been alone, he’s prepared to strike out on his own and not rely on his past, and besides he called it. 

So when the Spook Squad comes out of the movie theater this time, there’s nothing on the ground, even though they oddly expect something to be. Watch most of all — he’s having the weirdest case of deja vu. But they shake it off and continue on their merry way, oblivious to the strange kid hiding in the darkness bidding them farewell.

Just like in all time travel stories, there are a lot of unanswered questions about causality and paradoxes and whatnot. But honestly, I feel like Pike has done the best he could with the space available and the expectations of the audience and genre. It’s certainly a more complicated story than you’d expect to find in a junior-grade horror series book, and we can move forward without being too frustrated or confused by what it signifies. I’m assuming Future-Watch is gone forever? But then again, I thought Tira was gonna be in this one too. Let’s just keep plugging along without expectations. It’s safer.

[sangled]

Favorite show?

(i’ll use cartoons because i’m more familiar with them lmao)

maura: “Adventure Time! I have a weakness for an abundance of swords and pretty girls. Marceline is kind of my idol.”

rowan: “this is gonna sound lame, but i watched a ton of lazytown way back then. robbie rotten was practically my third father figure.”

oojin: “kids next door was my SHIT! all that 2x4 technology had me so hyped as a kid, it was probably the main reason why i love building stuff.”

grace: “i think it was called star vs? i like that girl’s energy.”

yuna: “I didn’t have the time to watch a lot of television as a child. I do like that one show, the one with all the ponies. At one point, embarrassingly, I had a massive horse phase.”

clover: “What was it called…My Life as a Teenage Robot! Yes, I loved that show. Became a little too real after I got my arm replaced, though.”

gabrielle: “We bare bears is like snuggling on the couch with a friend. Just comfortable feelings all around.” 

tian: “My family had little cable, so I mainly depended on VHS tapes and DVDs. I still have some Looney Tunes shorts permanently fixed into my mind.”

adam: “I can’t say that I watch those shows all too often, though I did have an affinity for Arthur. I support shows that encourage reading as a virtue.”

bri: “I grew up on a lot of PBS kids, so I ended up watching Wordgirl a lot of the time. I still find myself rewatching some episodes and re-enjoying some memorable characters.”

patricio: “the one about the little sponge in the ocean. every episode leaves you with a lot to think about. lately, it’s been about how it could have been better.”

mililani: “nothing beats avatar the last airbender!”

phoebe: “scooby doo, every single one. well, maybe not all of them. i just love a good mystery.”

wyatt: “to fight back in a world that is pitted against you - that is what i admire about samurai jack.”

sally: “It was brief, but Over the Garden Wall was such a great watching experience. The storytelling and visuals were fantastic.”

blaise: “I watched a lot of superhero shows. I remember gravitating towards Danny Phantom most of the time, probably because I could also ‘go ghost’. That show made it seem a lot more fun than it actually is. At least Danny was a teenager when he received his powers.”

[pretty-little-lyre]

Hey! So I’m making this my primary kin blog! Here’s a big, all purpose canon call I guess?
My full kin list can be found in my ABOUT, but:

TAZ

Sloane- I love talking to everyone, even doubles, so please HMU!

OUAT

Ruby- I have a lot of storybrooke memories, and I’d love to talk to Emma and Belle again especially, but really anyone!

Felix*- being obscure kin is suffering, but I also have a ton of memories. I’m super down with talking to anyone with a Peter Pan adjacent kin whether or not they’re my canon! I also remember knowing Alice, and adult Henry.

Harry Potter

Remus Lupin*- biggest strongest loneliest kin TBH. If you’re one of the marauders please, I’m desperate. No doubles please!

The Raven Cycle

Adam Parish- exhausted magical bisexual, low-key a druid. High key dating Ronan. Super awkward and bad and talking but what’d you expect? No doubles please, but anyone else I’d really like to talk to.

MARVEL

Charles Xavier *- Movie canon, mostly. I miss all my kids and my friends. I'd love to talk to anyone or any mutants.

Teddy Altman - follows canon pretty closely, I'd love to talk to any of my team, or any marvel heroes :)

Gertrude Yorkes- Canon compliant (comics), non-binary genderfluid. I miss my dinosaur and my boyfriend Chase and my QP Nico. Would love to talk to any marvel kin!!!

Venom - Movie and comics canon. Goopy symbiot husband. I love my husband Eddie Brock and also our best friend Spiderman :)

PJO

Percy Jackson- Annabeth was a really good friend, but we broke up not too long after BoO. Big Bisexual energy. I hung out with Jason a lot post canon, and he remained alive, which we love for him. I came and went from Camp as an adult and did my best to help the kids. Luke Castellan kinda had a point and we had a complex relationship. Also Tartarus trauma but we knew that- it was a big bonding point with me, Annabeth, and Nico.

YUGIOH

Yusei Fudo - Canon compliant, including BBS (is love to talk to yugi or Judai again).

Ryou Bakura - please talk to me about tabletop rpgs and the occult. Ryou also does tarot and other psychic stuff so hmu for a reading!

KYO KARA MAOH

Wolfram Von Bielefeld- are they any other kkm kin out there please I'm dying

SQUARE ENIX

Ienzo/Zexion: ienzo twice, zexion between those times. I lost my heart when I was 14, and got it back just after 24. My memories as Ienzo before I lost my heart are very fuzzy. Identity issues and trauma galore, but I am trying to be better and make up for things. Doubles are great actually.

Neku Sakuraba- aka Phones. I was trans/nb and Shiki was a trans girl. Beat was my best friend and we weren’t quiet dating but almost. I really miss my friends. I really miss Josh. Like a lot. I don’t have memories from KH:DDS/Traverse Town but it’d be cool to talk to anyone from there :)

PRATCHETT

Aziraphale (Good Omens)- British, intelligent, gayer than a tree full of monkies on nitrox oxcide 😇 Crowley and I had a very special relationship. I wouldn’t call it dating because after 100 years of years of being officially “together” as it were, it was so much deeper. I secretly loved the Bentley. I also was in a pseudo friendship with Pollution? Odd.

Angua Von Uberwald (Discworld)- Canon compliant, I married Carrot in my canon and also was sort of dating Sally. Cheery is and will forever be my best friend in the whole world and I’d die for her.

THE PENUMBRA PODCAST

Juno “Disaster man” Steel* - big bi sad Disaster garbage man in a short skirt and a loooooooobg jacket 🧥

WOLF359

Daniel Jacobi *- BIG gay, madly platonically in love with my best friend, the smartest and most wonderful brilliant incredible woman in the entire universe, Dr. Alana Maxwell. I also had a BIG thing for my boss (not like it was a secret lmao) whoops ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Aaaaaaand a kinda dopey crush on Eiffel. He was funny and cute I don’t know what you want from me. It’s hard being gay and lonely ok don’t @ me. A lot of post-canon memories about everyone- Doug and I lived together in an old SI-5 safehouse, along with Hera and Athena (Alana’s clone AI). Kepler came back too, at some point, and had a beard which was great for me.

I’ve got a lot of memories of non-canon Goddard employees and friends, including an AI (I think with the designation Odysseus?), so if you are non-canon hmu!

Non-Sourced/Original Source/NF/Misc

Zaz - a tiefling bard who really wants to be a wizard. Raised in a dark elf circus, I was a clown and I just wanted to make people smile! I had big demon teeth that made me lisp badly when I tried to speak common, and I was told never to speak my language around guests because it was “too scary” so I never really talked. I wore bells around my wrists and ankles and would jingle :)

AFTG

Neil Josten - Yeah I'll get back to this one

Criminal Minds

Aaron Hotchner - Team Dad. My team was my family, and I never remarried after Haley. I was big into musical theatre and would take Jack to community theatre productions (and sometimes other members of the team if they were willing).

Musicals

The Rum Tum Tugger (CATS) - A curious cat! Besties/FWB with Bumblarina, tight with Mungojerry and Runmpleteaser, cooler younger brother of Munkostrap, boyfriends with Mistofelees even though he won't publicly admit to it.

Enjolras (Les Miserables) - Fiery revolutionary, french bastard with bad taste in men.

Flynn Rider/Eugene Fitzherbert (Tangled) - I watched Tangled the Animated Series and now I kin transmasc bisexual disaster icon Flynn Rider.

Characters marked with a * are main/primary IDs!

[mobius-prime]

170. Sonic the Hedgehog #102

Family Dysfunction

Writer: Karl Bollers Pencils: Ron Lim Colors: Stephanie Vozzo

The Kingdom of Knothole is overcome by celebration. All across the town, children and relatives are reuniting with their parents and other roboticized family members. Mina is overjoyed to have her mother again, and Sonic watches the various reunions happily, grateful that Sally's leadership was able to get them all to this point. Sally, meanwhile, is in the middle of handing the Sword of Acorns over to Elias when the sword seems to speak to her, begging not to be let go in the same kind of strange swirly textbox that Sally spoke in a couple issues ago. She's surprised, but keeps her cool as Antoine and the other Freedom Fighters approach with Antoine's father in tow, hoping that a dose of magic from the sword can bring him back as well.

Oof, buddy. Sally's attempt works, and as General D'Coolette and Antoine joyfully embrace, Sally hands the sword back to the Secret Service for safekeeping and the royal family heads back to the castle while the celebrations continue. Meanwhile, Robotropolis is having a celebration of its own, though this one is in Eggman's honor. Snively is confused at the timing, but Eggman explains that it's all a distraction to make sure the Overlanders don't realize the true intentions of the Mobians who invaded. He decides that now is a great time to activate his sleeper agents, and Snively hits the button for him…

Meanwhile, in the castle, the king is scolding Elias for embarrassing the Royal Family in front of everyone, as well as getting after Sally for always jumping in with her own opinions like some kind of silly natural-born leader or something, when the Secret Service show up to request a formal leave of absence from their duties. This just sets Elias' emotions off further.

Oh dear… Further out from the castle, Sonic suddenly gets a bad feeling and zips over for a quick investigation, discovering the Royal Family being held hostage inside their own castle. He asks Rotor and Tails to whip something up to deactivate Heavy and Bomb while he infiltrates to hopefully defuse the situation (ha ha, get my hilarious joke? "Defuse"? I'm really kind of mad the comic itself didn't make that joke, actually). While the bombs continue to keep them cornered, the family continues their discussion about Elias' feelings, knowing this may be the last chance they get to speak to one another.

Queen Alicia embraces Sally in fear, amazed that Sally is fazed so little by the danger, and while Sally attempts to comfort her mother before their deaths, Sonic bursts in, distracting Heavy before he can attempt to kill everyone. Heavy boasts that he can easily create more Bombs for every one that Sonic manages to destroy, and Sonic innocently asks to clarify if this means that Heavy is the one responsible for producing all the Bombs in the room.

Classic. Sonic approaches Sally now that everyone is safe, but she's somewhat distant, still remembering his earlier kiss with Mina. The other members of the Secret Service are now more adamant than ever that they need to go on leave, because they realize that they're infected with nanobots that could cause more problems like this in the future, and wish to get treatment before returning to active duty. With the crisis averted, Sonic returns home to spend the rest of the day with his family and Tails (whose parents haven't turned up), looking at old pictures from their family album and taking a new picture to commemorate the day. However, within the castle, a decidedly less-happy family gathering is taking place… minus one member.

While it's sad to see Elias go, I don't blame him one bit. Despite being older than Sally, he had way too much placed on his shoulders all at once. He was expected to lead a kingdom when he'd never even led a small team, and the stress of it clearly got to him. I'm glad that before he left, though, he was able to express his frustration, and his belief that Sally is the rightful acting ruler instead of himself.

Life's Realities

Writer: Ken Penders Pencils: Ken Penders and Dawn Best Colors: Frank Gagliardo

With his previous plan to change the past having failed, Knuckles has traveled back to the second most promising point in time, which happens to be the day that Dimitri and Edmund presented their plans for the Chaos Syphon to the council (meaning that this story takes place before the first one in this issue, since we're still looking at time shifts and alternate futures). As the main councilor gives his verdict on the proposition, Knuckles psychically projects his own voice over his, accepting the proposal instead of rejecting it. With that, Edmund and Dimitri are free to enact their plan, and begin trying to lower the island into its old crater. However, some of their calculations were clearly off, and the island begins to drop…

Knuckles snaps back to our current reality once again, where Dimitri chides him for his stubbornness. Knuckles retorts that he just saw Dimitri's original plan fail, and Dimitri, though somewhat annoyed, ultimately does concede that he must have been off in his original calculations. He states that if the pattern he's seeing holds true, there's one more junction at which Knuckles has a chance at changing the past - the moment at which Edmund was murdered by the original Dark Legion, leaving Steppenwolf to take up the mantle of Guardian early. Knuckles is easily able to prevent Edmund's death, but this has its own set of unforeseen consequences…

Once again Knuckles is able to bring himself back to the present reality, and Dimitri explains that from what he can tell, saving Edmund basically removed the need for the Guardians as they exist in their current form, and thus the island was left vulnerable without their protection once Robotnik began his takeover of the world, causing the inhabitants of the entire island to be roboticized in that alternate reality. Knuckles becomes angry that even with all his newfound powers he's unable to change the past for the better, and Dimitri suggests that since he can't change the past, he should look to the future. The quantum beam brought back the Floating Island, but not its inhabitants, due to Tobor's violent interruption of the process, and Dimitri believes that Knuckles is the key to truly bringing everyone back…

And now, we've got our second character file to look at! This time, we're learning some new information about Julie-Su. Just like with Sally, most of the information we already know from past issues, but it's still interesting to take a look at some more technical information. To my surprise, she's actually only fifteen years old, one year younger than Knuckles, and her birthday is on October 4th. For her height and weight, I used the same conversion rates as before, from marks to cm/inches and stone to kg/lbs. She's 120 cm tall, or 3'11", which puts her at a whopping seventeen centimeters or six inches taller than her boyfriend, who shares his height in the comics with his counterpart from the games. Damn, girl! Well, now we know Knuckles likes tall women, huh? She also weighs 35.5 kg, or 78 lbs, which again seems reasonable considering her small (in comparison to humans at least) stature. The rest of the information just reiterates her backstory and her eventual friendship and relationship with Knuckles, so nothing else interesting there. There are actually quite a few more of these data files throughout the rest of this era, so get ready to learn some more information about our favorite characters!

[inloveandwords]

Lately, I’ve found that when I finish a novel that I love – one that has left me breathless and immediately wanting more just like it – I tend to try to pinpoint exactly what it is about that novel that I loved. Was it the trope? If it was how it made me feel – what specifically triggered that feeling?

In doing this, I came up with a list of – for lack of a better word – things I love that happen in romance novels.

I created a video about this topic, but I also thought I’d share that list here on my blog.

I’ve paired each of the topics with a book recommendation or two, however, I do hope to create separate posts and videos for each of these with their own recommendations.

Of course, if you have any recommendations that pop into your mind as you are reading this post, please leave me a comment!

  Virgin Hero

I didn’t realize this was something I loved in romance novels until I read Archer’s Voice. There is something about a hero who has some innocence about him, whether it be because he is a recluse like Archer or had a traumatic past like Zsadist from Lover Awakened by JR Ward or Zachariah from Keepsake by Sarina Bowen. There is something swoony about watching the couple fall in love and seeing the hero experience epic firsts.

  Longing 

For the longest time, I couldn’t put my finger on what it was in books that ripped my heart out of my chest when I’d read books that had this element in it until I read Truth or Beard by Penny Reid recently and realized that I am so attracted to desperate longing – particularly from the hero. Especially when the hero is like Duane who doesn’t want to rush anything because he has been waiting so long for the heroine. He’s not willing to cross any lines if it means that the long term isn’t an option. 

  Forbidden

This element goes hand in hand with the previous one. One of the best parts of forbidden romances is the longing. It’s almost guaranteed. As someone who, before meeting my husband, was extremely fickle, I’d always love the chase more than actually catching. When something is forbidden, it’s that much more attractive and in romance novels, when that HEA finally happens, it’s so, so satisfying. (Or it should be!)

  Groveling  

I actually had trouble thinking of a book that did this really well, so please give me recommendations. I think a couple of the most recent books I read that did this really well were The Best Thing by Mariana Zapata and The Bromance Book Club by Lyssa Kay Adams. For me, I much prefer the hero do all the groveling as opposed to the heroine. And, of course, whatever it is that he did to require groveling better not be too unforgivable, but also not something that should be easily forgiven. There absolutely has to be a good balance.

  Epic romance

I’ve only found EPIC romances in fantasy and paranormal stories, I think because it is those magical/paranormal elements that come into play and take the romance to another level. It’s not just love, it’s absolute fate. The type of romance that is truly once in a lifetime, one in a million. The ultimate will always be A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas, but The Caraval series also has a pretty epic romance as well.

  All the Swoon 

Many of the things on this list can cause lots of swooning, but nothing quite had me swooning as much as Leo Loves Ares by Anyta Sunday. Swoon can be found in super sweet, simple moments like those found in Leo Loves Ares. Of course, in order for this to happen, you have to adore the couple and the romance has to be incredible to begin with. If a romance is good enough, almost any interaction between the characters is swoony.

  Cringey moments

I am so here for the moments in romance novels that make me cover my face and fake cry with humiliation for the character. I live for the moments in which the main characters make fools of themselves in front of their love interests. This happens in epic proportions in Wrong and Fling by Jana Aston and The Hating Game by Sally Thorne.

  Butterflies

This, much like swooning, is basically guarantee if the romance novel is good enough. There are so many moments – some of them so seemingly small – that can send butterflies swirling like crazy. Honestly, everything on this list elicits butterflies. This is the #1 thing I hope for in romance novels when I read them. An example of a small moment that sent a million butterflies swirling was in The Wall of Winnipeg and Me by Mariana Zapata when Aiden is massaging Vanessa’s leg after one of her long marathon training runs. It is the build-up to this moment that made the butterflies go crazy, and if it wasn’t built up right, it wouldn’t have been a big deal, but this moment was so huge in the slow burn of the entire book.

  Impossibility

I love it when romance novels manage to break through predictability (which isn’t always a bad thing, btw!) and make you truly wonder how the hell the couple is going to ever end up together. This happened so many times in My Darling Duke by Stacy Reid. So many times in romance when there is something that is keeping the couple apart, the solution seems so simple, so I really appreciate it when a romance novel can keep you on your toes and truly make you worry that things won’t work out – even though we all know it wouldn’t be a romance novel without a Happily Ever After or Happy For Now.

  Wonder

I love this the most when the love interest is wonderstruck by the main character. Those moments when they just can’t believe how lucky they are. That it is really or finally happening to them. This often happens in tandem with longing – like when a hero has been pining after the heroine.

  Slow Burn 

This, like forbidden romance, is probably one of the most popular on this list. I mean, obviously, my go to for a guaranteed amazing slow burn is Mariana Zapata. She is the queen. Slow burns pave the way for such an incredible pay off in the end. You are taken on a journey with these romances. And, best of all, you are given the opportunity to slowly fall in love right alongside the main character.

  Loyalty/Devotion 

Of course, I adore this in the romance, but I also love loyalty from side characters as well. But, since we are talking romance specifically, I absolutely adore when the characters are loyal even when there are big obstacles between them, even when they are angry or betrayed, they still will be there when they are needed. I’m looking at you, John Ambrose McClaren from PS I Still Love You by Jenny Han.

  Healthy relationships

I get the draw of dark romances, I really do. I even sometimes can understand the draw of the bullying trope… sometimes. But, man, do I appreciate an incredibly healthy relationship. One where the characters communicate beautifully, they support each other, they motivate one another, and, yes, they are loyal. I know, it’s hard to create conflict when the couple’s relationship is healthy, but I promise it can be done. Check out Misadventures of a College Girl by Lauren Rowe for proof.

  Reverence

I know, the obsessive hero has been done incredibly poorly many times and, yes, it can easily be creepy – especially if you imagine someone acting that way toward you, but in a romance novel? Give me a well-written romance that has a hero that holds such deep reverence for the heroine like in With Visions of Red by Trisha Wolfe. I mean, Colton calls Sadie a “goddess,” and goddammit, she is. That’s probably the most important part of this working in novels – the heroine or whoever is the object of this feeling needs to be damn deserving. I better be obsessed with them, too.

  Uncertainty

This is very similar to Impossibility, however, it’s less… umm… impossible and more that you’re just not sure how things will work out, no necessarily IF they will work out. You don’t feel like the ground is solid beneath your feet as your reading. Everything seems like it could fall apart at any moment because things are so precarious. I’m thinking of an upcoming release, That’s Not a Thing by Jacqueline Freidland. The entire time I was anticipating everything falling apart and it kept me on the edge of my seat wondering WTF was going to happen. 

  Caretaking

This is one that I feel like I didn’t realize I appreciated so much until I read about it in The Hating Game by Sally Thorne and Marriage for One by Ella Maise. When you get to see the vulnerability of one character alongside the love interest stepping up (or vice versa), it strengthens the relationship and your belief in it significantly.

  Epic Banter

This is particularly great in romcoms. I mean, you can’t really have a great romcom without it, but honestly, it can be pulled off in any genre that has romance. Particularly if the romance is a hate-to-love. If it is a romcom and done well, it’ll have you laughing out loud (hey, Unhoneymooners by Christina Lauren, I’m looking at you). If it is in any other genre, it can make you grin from ear-to-ear. 

  Undeniable Chemistry 

Chemistry is a must in any romance. Period. Without it, it just doesn’t work. There is no buy-in, no rooting for the characters if you don’t feel like they need to be together. This is what separates bland, meh, romances from the ALL THE STARS IN THE UNIVERSE romance novels. But when a romance can throw in burning chemistry from the second the characters meet? All the yes. And I’m not talking about having the characters just constantly thinking that the love interest is SO HOT (in fact that annoys the crap out of me – stop. I get it. They’re attractive. Please move on.) I don’t want to be told about the chemistry. Show me. With conversation, with body language. I feel like Lauren Rowe does this so well in all of her books. She throws so much chemistry into her romance novels, she’s like a damn scientist. 

  Tension

Much like longing, the buildup and tension between two characters makes endings so much more satisfying. The Hating Game and Birthday Girl has some of the best tension.

  When I finish a novel I love I try to pinpoint what it is about it I loved. If it was how it made me feel - what specifically triggered that feeling? In doing this, I came up with a list of things I love that happen in romance novels. Lately, I've found that when I finish a novel that I love - one that has left me breathless and immediately wanting more just like it - I tend to try to pinpoint exactly what it is about that novel that I loved.

[weekendwarriorblog]

The Weekend Warrior Home Edition April 10, 2020 – Trolls World Tour, Sea Fever, We Summon the Darkness

Yeah, there isn’t a ton of stuff coming out this week that I’m particularly excited about, but lots of stuff to watch at home.

The world is still reeling with the decision by Universal and DreamWorks Animation to release their animated sequel, TROLLS WORLD TOUR, directly to digital and home download (although it might play in the dozen or so drive-in theaters still open nationwide, presumably). The original movie made $348.9 million nationwide, so it’s an odd decision to release the sequel in a format that almost guarantees piracy and little chance of further international expansion later. It’s also a choice that has annoyed a lot of theater owners who had been expecting for the movie to do well over this coming Easter weekend. I wasn’t considered one of the “chosen ones” that were allowed to see this movie before its release on Friday to review it, so this will probably be all I write about it.

Other limited releases that didn’t get a fair shake in theaters before the rolling nationwide lockdown include Sally Potter’s The Roads Not Taken, starring Javier Bardem and Elle Fanning, will be available digitally this Friday. I wrote a little about it in my last full Weekend Warrior column.

Before we get to the new movies on Digital and On Demand, I just want to mention that this Saturday, April 11, will be the first ever “Film Festival Day” with the participation of 30 film festivals associated with the Film Festival Alliance (including my beloved Oxford Film Festival). They’ll collectively be premiering Gary Lundgren’s Phoenix, Oregon, starring James Le Gros and Jesse Borrego as two friends experiencing their midlife who find an opportunity to reinvent themselves by restoring an old bowling alley and serving “the world’s greatest pizza.” Lundgren’s film was supposed to open on March 20, but a lot of film festivals were cancelled due to Covid-19 and weren’t able to get a proper theatrical showing, so you can buy a ticket to Film Festival Day here, and it will start on Saturday at 12AM Eastern and be available for 48 hours with a special QnA (hosted by Oxford’s executive director, Melanie Addington) on Saturday at 5pm PT/8pm ET.

The movie hitting digital airwaves this Friday I would probably recommend is Neasa Hardimann’s at-sea thriller SEA FEVER (Dust/Gunpowder and Sky), starring Hermione Corfield as Siobhán, a marine biology lab-rat, who has to spend a week on a fishing trawler with a tightly-knit crew, including Connie Nielsen. When something very big attaches itself to their boat, each of them begin to get infected with nowhere to go but the open waters. I generally like claustrophobic creature features like this, with Ridley Scott’s Alien and John Carpenter’s remake of The Thing being two of the best. I might need a few more years before I decide if Hardimann’s film is quite on par, but it’s pretty solid. I definitely like the way things build slowly as you try to figure out what is happening. Sure, there’s a few bits that are a bit too much like homages to those other two films, but Hermione Corfield is a great find, and Hardimann does a fine job with her second feature that really uses the environment quite effectively. I kind of wish I had a chance to see this in theaters but like Saban’s other films, it was always gonna be a VOD special.

There will be a very special live stream premiere of the movie on Thursday night at 5pm Pacific that you can watch for a fee here.

Just two short weeks after his last film Human Capital hit digital, director Marc Meyers is back with his second movie of the year, WE SUMMON THE DARKNESS (Saban Films). This one stars Alexandra Daddario as Alexis, a young woman attending a heavy metal concert with her friends where they meet three guys who they invite to party at the estate of Alexis’ fire-and-brimstone preacher father (Johnny Knoxville). That party quickly  turns dark. The movie also stars Keean Johnson, Amy Forsyth and Austin Swift.

I really wanted to like this more, because it was nice seeing Meyers doing something different, and it once again shows how good he is with younger actors -- okay, Daddario is 32 now, so I’m not sure why she’s still playing girls nearly half her age -- but the first thirty minutes feels very by the books in terms of it being a ‘80s movie. Yes, this is Meyers’ third period piece in a row, so he gets to play with lots of fun references, but he didn’t write this script (as he did with the excellent My Friend Dahmer), and it’s such a straight-ahead premise that you can kind of know where it’s going at any time. I guess I just don’t like movies like this where it seems violent for the sake of violence, and you never really like any of the characters much or understand their motivations. I mean, I’ve seen worse, but this is just kind of bleh compared to Sea Fever (and Meyers’ previous work). This movie just wasn’t for me, and the worst part was that the Johnny Knoxville role that seemed so promising? He doesn’t show up for an hour into the movie.

There’s also Sonejuhi Sinha’s Stray Dolls, a mix of cultures (oddly similar in terms of premise as Netflix’s Tigertail – see below) as it follows Geentanjali Thapa’s Riz who arrives in the United States to take a housekeeping job at the Tides Plaza Motel. There, he must contend with Cynthia Nixon’s Una, who hires other people who need help including Oliva DeJonge’s Dallas, Riz’s new roommate. Oh, she’s also the motel’s resident drugdealer. I haven’t watched this yet, so I’ not sure if it’s a comedy or a drama, but it’s another movie available digitally this weekend.

There’s also the documentary, The Mindfulness Movement (Abramorama / Mangurama) from Rob Beemer and exec. produced by Deepak Chopra and my mortal enemy, Jewel. It looks at how the use of “mindfulness” – a type of meditation that makes one focus on the present moment in a non-judgmental way – is the root to creating a happier world. There’s a lot of talk now about using meditation to deal with the stress, pressure and fears that go along with the current pandemic, so this doc couldn’t be better-timed! It will be available to rent via VOD starting Friday.

STREAMING AND CABLE

This week’s Netflix premiere film is TIGERTAIL, the new film from Alan Yang, who some may know from his collaboration with Aziz Ansari on their Netflix show, Master of None. This one stars Hong-Chi Lee as impoverished Taiwanese factory worker, Pin-Jui, who decides to leave his homeland and the woman he loves in the ‘50s to seek opportunities in America. Decades later, the older Pin-Jui (played by Tzi Ma) has been worn down by his work, a loveless arranged marriage and a daughter Angela (Christine Ko) who he can’t connect with.  This will debut on Netflix Friday but unfortunately, I’ve been embargoed until then, so nope… not reviewing.

Also on Netflix is the debut of THE MAIN EVENT, the network’s first collaboration with WWE Films, which I couldn’t get a screener quickly enough to include in this column. It stars Seth Carr as 11-year-old Leo Thompson who discovers a magic wrestling mask that gives him super-strenth, which he uses to try to become a WWE Superstar. Directed by Jay Karas (Break Point), it also stars Adam Pally, Ken Marrino and WWE Superstars, Kofi Kingston, The Miz and Sheamus. Should be a fun kids’ movie, but I’m not so sure about The Big Show Show, a new sitcom starring Paul Wight, aka WWE Superstar The Big Show, because it looks pretty stupid. Remember when The Big Show (once known as “The Giant”) was absolutely intimidating? (To be fair, this also seems to be meant for kids.)

Now playing on Amazon Prime is Hanan Harchol’s About a Teacher (Amazon Prime), following the journey of an inner-city high school film teacher (Dov Tiefenbach), who starts the job not realizing what is demanded of him as a teacher. Many of Harchol’s own former students are a part of the cast and crew of this film, which looks at the difficulties of being a teacher in New York City.

I’m super-excited that Sunday is the third season of Killing Eve on BBC America, but I still have to watch all of Season 2… plus most of Season 2 of Westworld… and rewatch Season 4 of Better Call Saul. So yeah, I’m glad there’s lots of stuff to watch, but I still just don’t have the inclination to watch all or any of it.

I guess Amazon Prime premiered the first season of the sci-fi series Tales from the Loop last Friday, and that’s another thing I’m hoping to get to soon.

Next week, more movies not in theaters!

By the way, if you read this week’s column and have read this far down, feel free to drop me some thoughts at Edward dot Douglas at Gmail dot Com or send me a note on Twitter. I love hearing from readers!

[sartle-blog]

Marie Antoinette Undressed: 5 Things You May Not Know

[spaceorphan18]

A Kurt and Blaine Fan’s Very Serious Guide to Glee

Are you a fan of Kurt, Blaine or Klaine? Are you thinking about rewatching Glee and aren’t sure what episodes to savor and what episodes to skip? Well -- I have just the guide for you.  

Season 1

Pilot: Introduction to the show.  Apparently, Kurt is not the main character, or the secondary main character. Blaine does not exist.  Kurt sings Mr. Cellophane and is sassy. He also gets thrown in a dumpster. 

3/10 Stars**

(Stars are based on how much Kurt and/or Blaine are in the episode, and have no bearing on quality of the episode.  Y’all should know that I’m good with my scientific evaluation of these episodes by now.)  

Showmance: Kurt sits in the background and has less sassy remarks. 

1/10 Stars

Acafellas: Kurt comes out to Mercedes and shows he’s more of a man than Will will ever be. 

8/10 Stars

Preggers: Kurt comes out to his dad, scores the game winning goal in the football game, rocks out to Beyonce in a leotard, and proves he’s by far the most interesting character on this show.  

10/10 Stars

The Rhodes Not Taken: Kurt cries when Kristin Chenoweth sings, and throws up on Emma’s shoes. 

2/10 Stars

Vitamin D: Kurt wears cool sunglasses, and sides with the girls. 

2/10 Stars

Throwdown: Sue refers to Kurt as gay kid. 

1/10 Stars

Mash-Up: Kurt throws a slushie in his own face. 

1/10 Stars

Wheels: Kurt challenges Rachel to a diva-off, and throws the high note in Defying Gravity to protect his father. We are all emotional.

10/10 Stars

Ballad: Kurt and Finn bond over their dead parents. 

9/10 Stars

Hairography: Kurt makes over Rachel and wants to stuff a sock in her mouth. 

7/10 Stars

Mattress: Kurt spouts off exposition to set up the plot. 

1/10 Stars

Sectionals: Kurt, um, goes to Sectionals because they need 12 people.

1/10 Stars

Hell-O: Kurt gets a slushie in his face while walking with Rachel and Mercedes.

1/10 Stars

The Power of Madonna: Kurt and Mercedes make over Sue for the greater good. They become cheerleaders. 

9/10 Stars

Home: Kurt sets up Carole and Burt, but is sad when Finn and Burt begin to bond, making him feel left out.  It’s tragic.  Pretty Kurt cries.  

10/10 Stars

Bad Reputation: Kurt is a badass, posts Sue’s Physical video online, distracts people in the library, and tells Sue the truth. 

8/10 Stars

Laryngitis: Kurt dresses like red-neck trucker, makes out with Brittany, tries to lower his voice an octave, and then sings a really angsty Gypsy song, and is generally glorious.

11/10 Stars

Dream On: Kurt is excited about bedazzled shit. Has no lines. 

1/10 Stars

Theatricality: Kurt dresses up like Lady Gaga, stands up to bullies, sets up a love nest for Finn, and very theatrically kicks over a chair. 

10/10 Stars

Funk: Kurt sings a 12 minute Celine Dion medley in French for the Cheerios. We don’t get to see it.  

2/10 Stars

Journey to Regionals: Kurt, um, goes to regionals because they need 12 people.

1/10 Stars

Season 2

Audition: Kurt gets a slushy to his face. Becomes a main character - only not in this episode 

1/10 Stars

Britney/Brittany: Kurt is very sassy about Britney Spears

3/10 Stars

Grilled Cheesus: Burt almost dies of a heart attack and Kurt is very sad.  Sings I Want to Hold Your Hand, and we all cry.  Also religion. 

10/10 Stars

Duets: Kurt sings a duet with himself, which is vocal masturbation.  Also sings a duet with Rachel, which is just a duet. 

10/10 Stars

The Rocky Horror Glee Show: Kurt dresses up as RiffRaff and hides in the background

1/10 Stars

Never Been Kissed: BLAINE ARRIVES AND ALL IS GLORIOUS YES WE ARE ALL HERE FOR THIS! 

10/10 Stars

The Substitute: Kurt and Blaine going on a date to Breadstix.  Mercedes is also there. 

6/10 Stars

Furt: Kurt and Finn’s parents get married and everyone is all one big happy mashed-up family. 

10/10 Stars

Special Education: Kurt joins the warblers and gets a pet bird

8/10 Stars

A Very Glee Christmas: Kurt and Blaine sing a flirty Christmas song to each other that has nothing to do with anything else in the episode. 

4/10 Stars

The Sue Sylvester Shuffle: Blaine loves football.  Kurt loves scarves.  They’re both mostly ignored because too gay to be after the Superbowl

2/10 Stars

Silly Love Songs: Kurt and Blaine pretend to be Harry and Sally.  Blaine thinks he’s in love with Jeremiah because he’s dumb and doesn’t know he’s really in love with Kurt. 

10/10 Stars

Comeback: Kurt and Blaine are not in this episode.  I think it’s about Justin Beiber. They’re probably grateful they missed it. 

0/10 Stars

Blame it on the Alcohol: Blaine still hasn’t figured out he’s in love with Kurt.  Gets very drunk and makes out with Rachel instead.  Kurt gets snarky.

10/10 Stars

Sexy: Blaine is sexy.  Kurt tries to be sexy.  Blaine talks to Burt about sex.  Burt talks to Kurt about sex.  The Warblers have a giant foam party. 

9/10 Stars

Original Song: Kurt’s bird dies.  Blaine figures out he’s in love with Kurt. They kiss and are interrupted by a giant red piano.  Also Candles. 

12/10 Stars

A Night of Neglect: The show neglects Kurt and Blaine are on it.  Stick them in a scene with Karofsky and Santana because all the gays together. 

1/10 Stars

Born This Way: Kurt comes back to McKinley.  Tells everyone they should be themselves.  Blaine serenades Kurt in the court yard.  It’s all very romantic.  Barbra Streisand is not in a mall in Ohio. 

10/10 Stars

Rumours: People think Kurt is secretly dating Sam. These people are dumb because he’s not.  He’s dating Blaine.  Sometimes the truth is what’s actually standing in front of you.

5/10 Stars

Prom Queen: Kurt rocks an epic look for prom.  Is voted Prom Queen.  Blaine asks him to dance. It is glorious. 

10/10 Sparkly Stars

Funeral: Kurt and Finn help Sue plan her sister’s funeral.  Also Kurt auditions to be the star -- but fails because Lea Michele and Ryan Murphy are bff. 

6/10 Stars

New York: Kurt and Rachel decide that they’re going to go New York forever. They sing on a Broadway stage.  Kurt decides Blaine will come with.  Also - I love you.  

6/10 Stars

Season 3

The Purple Piano Project: Kurt and Blaine eye-fuck each other in the Lima bean because they aren’t actually having sex yet. Blaine transfers to McKinley, which is a totally great idea and has no repercussions whats so ever.  Blaine serenades Kurt in the courtyard round 2.

10/10 Stars

I Am Unicorn: Kurt proves he’s the most unicorn of all the unicorns.  Blaine becomes a junior. 

10/10 Stars

Asian F: Kurt gives Blaine flowers. 

2/10 Stars

Pot o Gold: Kurt runs for student council.  Blaine sings a solo. 

3/10 Stars

The First Time: KURT AND BLAINE HAVE SEX AND IT’S ALL GLORIOUS!!!

50/10 Stars

Mash Off: Kurt tries to ban dodgeball.  Blaine plays supportive boyfriend. 

4/10 Stars

I Kissed a Girl: Kurt looses the student election.  Blaine plays supportive boyfriend. 

4/10 Stars

Hold Onto 16: Kurt is snarky with Sebastian.  Blaine beats up a punching bag. 

4/10 Stars

Extraordinary Merry Christmas: Kurt and Blaine host a Christmas party in their bachelor chalet in the Swiss Alps. Blaine sorta proposes to Kurt, but it is cut “for time”.

10/10 Stars

Yes/No: Kurt and Blaine look at each other.  Yup.  That’s what happens. 

1/10 Stars

Michael: Blaine pretends to be a pirate.  Kurt and Blaine sit three feet apart not on the bed because too gay. 

8/10 Stars

The Spanish Teacher: Kurt totally would not ever, no ever say yes to Blaine’s proposal. Blaine recovers from being a pirate. 

2/10 Stars

Heart: Kurt is stalked by a giant gorilla.  Blaine returns from his recovery. 

7/10 Stars

On My Way: Kurt cries himself through the episode.  Blaine stays quiet. 

5/10 Stars

Big Brother: COOPER ANDERSON! A man in a dress is dead

10/10 Stars

Saturday Night Gleever: Kurt and Blaine are more than a woman to each other. Kurt and Mercedes befriend Unique. 

4/10 Stars

Dance With Somebody: OH NO FIGHTS AND ANGST AND OH NO! But everything works out and Kurt serenades Blaine and stops putting bronzer in Blaine’s moisturizer.  

10/10 Stars

Choke: Kurt auditions for NYADA. Blaine is a supportive boyfriend. Also no more candles. 

7/10 Stars

Promasaurus: Kurt and Blaine decided to go to an anti-prom, then real prom. Blaine takes out the gel in his hair.  Supposedly a lot of after prom sex, but we don’t see any of it because censors. 

8/10 Stars

Props: Finn and Puck pretend to be Kurt and Blaine.  Kurt and Blaine pretend to be Snooki and The Situation

5/10 Stars

Nationals: Kurt and Blaine, um, go to nationals because they need 12 people.

1/10 Stars

Goodbye: Kurt says goodbye to everyone but Blaine.  Blaine is still sad.  Kurt is sad because he doesn’t get into NYADA. 

9/10 Stars. 

Season 4

The New Rachel: Kurt lounges around Lima before going to New York.  Blaine is sassy.  Blaine serenades Kurt in the courtyard round 3. 

7/10 Stars

Britney 2.0: Blaine catches Britney talking to herself.  Kurt fills Rachel in on the exposition.

3/10 Stars

Makeover: Kurt gives Rachel a makeover, gets a job at Vogue.com, and ignores his boyfriend.  Blaine runs for student council and wins.  Blaine is sad.

9/10 Stars

The Break Up: KURT AND BLAINE BREAK UP THIS IS THE WORST EVER!!

-15/10 Stars

The Role You Were Born to Play: Blaine gets to be a literal angel, but cries about his break up for one scene. Kurt watches The Notebook and takes ambien, but off screen.

1/10 Stars

Glease: Kurt and Blaine silently angst at each other. 

2/10 Stars

Dynamic Duets: Blaine gets to be a super hero and learns to forgive himself.  Also becomes bff with Sam.  Kurt is drinking Rachel’s Kool-Aide off screen. 

10/10 Stars

Thanksgiving: Rachel brain washes Kurt into staying in New York instead of going home.  Isabelle talks sense into him.  Kurt and Blaine have a phone call and it’s sad but it’s good. 

4/10 Stars

Swan Song: Blaine becomes a cheerleader.  Kurt sings his way into NYADA

5/10 Stars

Glee, Actually: Burt gives Blaine as a present to Kurt.  Kurt and Blaine may or may not sleep together. 

8/10 Stars

Sadie Hawkins: Blaine gets a crush on Sam.  Kurt gets a crush on Adam.  Both ignore that they’re still in love with each other. Trent Warbler comes back. 

9/10 Stars

Naked: Kurt does not get naked.  Blaine gets semi-naked.  

3/10 Stars

Diva: Kurt takes down Rachel and it’s satisfying.  Blaine gets steamrolled by Tina.

10/10 Stars

I Do: Kurt and Blaine sing a flirty love duet, make out in a car, and have sex in a hotel room.  But they’re only friends.

10/10 Stars

Girls and Boys on Film: Kurt has a fantasy about Blaine.  Adam takes Kurt to a romantic film, and he’s mysteriously never seen again. 

8/10 Stars

Feud: Blaine is not on the bottom. Not really.  Blaine infiltrates Sue’s cheerios. Kurt’s upset because Santana took his pillow. 

7/10 Stars

Guilty Pleasures: Kurt sleeps with Bruce, and watches a lot of TV.  Blaine sings Phil Collins.  They throw the magical, golden hoola-hoop of destiny to each other.

10/10 Stars

Shooting Star: Blaine quietly stays out of the plot.  Kurt quietly stays out of the episode. 

.5/10 Stars

Sweet Dreams: Blaine tries to take over New Directions, but Will yells at him.  Even when he’s right.  Kurt bakes cookies.  

2/10 Stars

Lights Out: Kurt goes to the ballet.  Blaine does an exercise routine. 

3/10 Stars

Wonderful: Kurt returns to Lima to make sure Burt is okay.  Blaine decides to buy a ring for Kurt.  All is wonderful. 

9/10 Stars

All or Nothing: Blaine meets delightful lesbians.  Kurt and Blaine go on a double date with the delightful lesbians.  Blaine buys a ring. 

6/10 Stars

Season 5

Love, Love, Love: KURT AND BLAINE GET BACK TOGETHER AND BLAINE PROPOSES AND EVERYTHING IS WONDERFUL! 

100/10 Stars

Tina in the Sky with Diamonds: Blaine sings a Beatles song at a piano.  Kurt sings a Beatles song on top of a piano. 

4/10 Stars

The Quarterback: Finn dies.  Everyone is sad. 

10/10 Stars

A Katy or a Gaga: Blaine is a Katy trying to be a Gaga. Kurt is a Gaga feeling intimidated by another Gaga. 

8/10 Stars

The End of Twerk: Blaine shakes his booty.  Kurt gets a tattoo and a tongue ring.  They have Skype sex.  

9/10 Stars

Movin’ Out: Blaine doesn’t want to go to NYADA.  Kurt says come to NYADA.  Blaine goes to NYADA. 

8/10 Stars

Puppet Master: Blaine plays with puppets.  Kurt doesn’t want to be a puppet. 

10/10 Stars

Previously Unaired Christmas: This episode does not exist. 

Invisible Stars

Frenemies: Kurt finally makes a friend.  Blaine becomes valedictorian.  

7/10 Stars

Trio: Blaine hangs out with Sam and Tina, and does not fondle their boobs.  Kurt starts his second cover band. 

8/10 Stars

City of Angels: Blaine is the only one who reads the show choir blogs.  Kurt is distraught about the end of a glee club he hasn’t been in in two years.  Wait.  It’s still one at this point.  

6/10 Stars

100: Kurt sings Defying Gravity again, and this time hits the note.  Blaine implies to April that he and Kurt have already engaged in sodomy.  

7/10 Stars

New Directions: Tina fantasizes about Kurt and Blaine making out.  Kurt and Blaine reveal that they are not adopting a Russian baby.  Quinn offers her egg instead.  And after 84,000 years, Blaine finally gets to graduate. 

10/10 Stars

New New York: Kurt and Blaine get to be all grown up and stuff. They fight, they make up, and they even are allowed to talk about having sex.  Everything is perfect even if it’s not. 

10/10 Stars

Bash: Kurt is Kurt from All the Other Ghosts.  Blaine is sad. 

10/10 Stars

Tested: Blaine falls in love with cronuts.  Kurt is jealous.  Kurt is badass.  Blaine is jealous.  They both will always love each other.  Swords. 

10/10 Stars

Opening Night: Kurt and Blaine love everyone at the bar.  Sue has sex on their bed. 

8/10 Stars

The Back Up Plan: An old lady tells Blaine he’ll be a star if he drops Kurt.  SHE’S A WITCH BLAINE STOP!!

10/10 Stars

Old Dogs, New Tricks: Kurt mysteriously develops a love for old people, dogs, and fairy tales.  Blaine is mysteriously sidelined. 

10/10 Stars

The Untitled Rachel Berry Project: Blaine and Brittany get a more revealing sex scene with each other in someone’s fantasy than they do with Kurt and Santana. Kurt and Blaine decided to trust and love each other through everything, which totally sets up season 6. 

10/10 Stars

Season 6

Loser Like Me: WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY BROKE UP AGAIN THIS IS SO STUPID!! (Actually, it’s very good.  Except the Karofsky part.) 

10/10 Stars

Homecoming: Kurt and Blaine decide to be teachers. 

8/10 Stars

Jagged Little Tapestry: Kurt pines over Blaine.  The show makes him a music video. 

9/10 Stars

The Hurt Locker 1: Sue has a shrine to Klaine that in no way resembles the audience.  Kurt likes old people so much, he tries to date one.  Blaine has a bear in his apartment. 

9/10 Stars

The Hurt Locker 2: Kurt and Blaine are locked in an elevator with a bathroom. 

10/10 Stars

What the World Needs Now: Blaine sings for Brittany and Santana.  Kurt takes joy that the Karofsky plot line is almost over. 

2/10 Stars

Transitioning: Kurt manipulates fate. Blaine kisses him because their lips are magnetically pulled towards each other. 

8/10 Stars

A Wedding: Kurt and Blaine decide being broken up is stupid and get married instead. 

10.5/10

Child Star: Kurt and Blaine are on their honeymoon.  Unfortunately, we don’t get to see it. 

0/10 Stars

The Rise and Fall of Sue Sylvester: Kurt and Blaine learn that the writers like Jane Lynch better than them. 

3/10 Stars

We Built This Glee Club: A piano blows up.  Blaine thinks it’s pretty. 

4/10 Stars

2009: Pilot redo.  Kurt is a main character this time.  Kurt and Blaine don’t cross paths. 

10/10 Stars

Dreams Come True: Kurt and Blaine go off to be a success on Broadway and have a baby girl and live happily ever after just like every fluffy fanfic ever.

10/10 Stars 

The End

[maczazind]

Film Diary 2017: February, AKA "The Month I TRIED To Watch Only Nominated Movies"

The biggest awards show of the year for film has now officially passed and Moonlight has walked away with the top prize of the night. Meanwhile, my February leading up to the event has primarily revolved around previously nominated or victorious entries from years gone by. I have seen a decent handful of movies that were nominated before and own an even smaller chunk of them, but this month I wanted to explore some of those that have fallen through the cracks for myself. But not EVERY film I saw was nominated. Needless to say, it was an interesting mix.

As always, the following reflects MY OWN OPINION. If you’d like to see these entries in full as the year progresses, each installment is given the tag “Film Diary 2017” so feel free to follow along!

Each entry includes how every feature was primarily seen and an asterisk which denotes that viewing was the first time I’ve seen that movie in its entirety, despite possibly having seen pieces of the film previously or having a general knowledge of it. Numbering reflects the year’s overall total, not the monthly total. This month, if an entry was nominated for/won an Academy Award, the details of its highest achievement and the year of the ceremony are added prior to my reaction:

February 2nd: 22) Nine (2009)* - DVD (Rental - Library); Nominated for 4 in 2010, Including Best Supporting Actress (Penelope Cruz) and Best Original Song (“Take It All”) – Note to self: if you want to go on a Daniel Day Lewis kick after watching him in There Will Be Blood, maybe don’t start with this one. Though this was an askew devotion to older filmmaking and the process of developing a feature, it’s the musical aspects that come up mixed for me. A majority of the songs fall flat and forgettable in my eyes; Fergie and Marion Cotillard’s outings being the ones that really come to life. There are the impressive moments, such as the major ensemble introduction presented less through the lyrics and more the intriguing interactions with each character. But it’s relatively easy to see why this one hasn’t necessarily stood the test of time.

February 8th: 23) Frost/Nixon* - DVD (Rental - Library); Nominated for 5 in 2009, Including Best Picture, Best Actor (Frank Langella) and Best Director (Ron Howard) – At times while watching Frost/Nixon, I couldn’t help but feel I was watching a tennis match. There were times that, admittedly, went over my head but there were also moments in which the tension and wit that builds strictly through dialogue is something to fall in love with as two men battle it out for their own reasons. Even supporting characters played by Kevin Bacon, Oliver Platt, Sam Rockwell and more are played with great dedication to the situation and yet still allowing for some comedic pauses to shine when the moment calls for it. As someone who wasn’t born yet to experience the scandal nor was taught much about it in school, this seemed like a great companion piece to All The President’s Men to help fill the gap of the era.

February 9th: 24) Blazing Saddles* - TV (DVR - Turner Classic Movies); Nominated for 3 in 1975, Including Best Supporting Actress (Madeline Kahn) and Best Original Song (“Blazing Saddles”) – As someone who loves The Producers and Spaceballs, its no surprise I would love this one for all its comedic achievements. It’s certainly more adult in certain regards, but at the same time that reflects the nature of the setting. Cleavon Little is absolutely charming from the minute he steps on screen and holds the lead role fantastically. Gene Wilder is fun and adds some additional comfort in a supporting role. And while the ending feels like an out of left field turn, it’s a true Mel Brooks conclusion at its core and I wouldn’t have had it any other way.

February 10th: 25) The Prestige* - DVD (Rental - Library); Nominated for 2 in 2007, Including Best Cinematography (Wally Pfister) – I’m just full of surprising “wait, you haven’t seen THIS film either?!” moments, aren’t I? Now I do have some explanation behind this: 1) Albeit not a very good reason, my dumb teenage brain at the time of it’s initial release always paired together The Prestige and The Illusionist as “those magician movies” in 2006. It took me a few years to realize one stood stronger than the other. 2) One of the two MAJOR twists presented in this film I already knew of and thus some of the allure had been taken away from me. That being said, I now see how wrong I was in the fact that The Prestige found ways to not only surprise me multiple times but capture my attention as well, with the main rivalry, Tesla, where the story was leading and so much more. It’s tense, intriguing, sly when it needs to be but powerful in the central plot of its two leads. Not my favorite Christopher Nolan feature but certainly far from the bottom of the list.

February 11th: 26) Ali* - Blu-Ray; Nominated for 2 in 2002, Best Actor (Will Smith) and Best Supporting Actor (Jon Voight) – Much like Steve Jobs, this isn’t necessarily a biopic that chronicles every aspect of the title character’s life but rather tackles years that were among the most important for the central figure. And man is this one a fascinating watch. I knew the events, I knew the legends, but never the full details of it all. Will Smith is electric as Ali, and truthfully I had no clue that Jon Voight was Howard Cosell until 45 minutes prior to the ending. He blends into his role and makeup exceptionally. Though I feel Ali isn’t as talked about as it once was, it certainly deserves to be.

February 14th: 27) Casablanca - TV (DVR - Turner Classic Movies); Nominated for 8 in 1944, Winning 3 Including Best Picture and Best Director (Michael Curtiz) – What is left to say about a film that’s stood the test of time as one of the all time greats? I queued it up on my DVR Valentine’s Day evening, curled up with a blanket and just got sucked into the iconic atmosphere. All the often quoted highlights don’t nearly do the allure of the movie justice. It had been a long time since I’ve seen this one and it recaptured me all over again.

28) Deepwater Horizon* - TV (Rental - On Demand); Nominated for 2 in 2017, Best Sound Editing and Best Visual Effects – Another gripping torn-from-the-headlines film courtesy of the directorial/actor duo of Peter Berg & Mark Wahlberg, Deepwater Horizon is an unflinching look at the massive oil rig that resulted in not only the largest oil spill in U.S. history but the loss of multiple workers on the rig as well. While there may be some faults here and there (thankfully not for the same reasons I walked out of Sully mixed), it never takes away from the absolute horror of events once they unfold. A rock solid “based on a true story” piece that definitely deserves more attention than it seems to have received.

February 18th: 29) When Harry Met Sally… - TV (Bravo); Nominated in 1990 for Best Original Screenplay (Nora Ephron) – Man, I forgot how much I loved this movie for all its wit and charm. A simple channel surfing trip led to sitting down for this one again and I really should own it by now. A classic for all the right reasons, even if it’s a rom-com. And yet it still manages to elevate itself above the genre by tackling love in a real sense that isn’t afraid to shy away from the pitfalls nor the complications or differing perspectives on it all.

February 19th: 30) Doubt* - DVD (Rental - Library); Nominated for 5 in 2009, Including Best Picture, Best Actress (Meryl Streep), Best Supporting Actor (Philip Seymour Hoffman) & Best Supporting Actress (Amy Adams, Viola Davis) – Doubt is in the same format of recent awards season contenders such as Fences or August: Osage County: a film based on a play that each respectively won the Pulitzer Prize for drama. Likewise, Doubt is a story that feels like a play in certain regards. A character drama that tests the ideas of perception and certainly plays up its title message & tone well, its the performances that boost the script as a string of confrontations and conversations make up the action. While it may have struck me as a solid one-time watch, its a film I’m not exactly clamoring to watch again anytime soon but also deserving of all its acting nods.

February 20th: 31) Unbreakable* - Streaming (HBO Go); Another one that I put off for the longest time for multiple reasons: One being I knew the twist ending; two was that after actually going to see The Last Airbender in a theater resulting in an absolutely awful moviegoing experience, I swore off new Shyamalan movies. In light of recent news, I figured now was the time to embrace it and the hype certainly was justified. Evoking his earlier signature style which has seemed to shift in recent years, the character focus/strength still stands tall above all and leads towards a very satisfying emotional climax for the relationships involved. It doesn’t remove Signs from the top of my Shyamalan list but certainly earned a spot near the top.

February 27th: 32) A Good Day To Die Hard* - Blu-Ray; And we go from one Bruce Willis movie to another. I originally picked up this movie in the middle of a Black Friday sale but never got around to watching it. Finally doing so, I can absolutely see why this was panned upon release. Sure it’s an R-rated return to the franchise but it’s a movie that struggles with its identity at times. It doesn’t know if it wants to be a John McClane movie or a Jack McClane movie in which John plays a supporting role. The set up for the first 15 minutes is solid enough; somewhere along the first major action sequence is where I began to take fault not just in the ridiculous climax but that John felt more of a wrench in the works than a solution. I always believe Die Hard is at its best when it’s restricted to one location and has to get creative with its action. When you turn it into a multi-city sprawling epic with little consequence such as this, then it’s just a mindless action movie by any other name. Not to mention we’ve seen the “McClane kid mad at dad but bond over this mishap” already and it seemed to mean more the first time around along with a far better villain than in this installment. Ultimately, I’m glad I finally crossed it off my list but still wish it could have been a more pleasant surprise as it certainly met the low bar I set for it.

February 28th: 33) Strangers On A Train* - TV (DVR - Turner Classic Movies); Nominated in 1952 for Best Cinematography, Black & White (Robert Burks) – I’m someone who considers Hitchcock’s Rear Window to be in my top five films of all time, but Strangers On A Train was one of the entries from him I had yet to see. And admittedly I walked away a bit mixed. The concept and suspense is certainly executed well, and Robert Walker is a scene stealer as the psychopathic Bruno. What I didn’t quite care for was Fairley Granger’s Guy Haines. Clearly the every man in a complex situation, there were just times where the events rest on his shoulders and it drags. It’s better to see Guy and Bruno share the screen as they bounce off each other well rather than Guy try to ignore his end of the impromptu deal. It doesn’t take away from the high points of the film, but in my opinion what results in a mixed bag is a protagonist that is far from the strongest of Hitchcock’s filmography.

And that was my month of movies for February! Things certainly got busy and led to a shorter list as opposed to January; but hopefully in March I can carve out some time to set aside and rebound.

What movies did you see in February 2017? Are there any movies you’d highly recommend that I should add to my watchlist? Feel free to drop me an ask or a reply!

[cover2covermom]

*Books included in this batch of mini book reviews: The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin, Call Down the Hawk (Dreamer Trilogy #1) by Maggie Stiefvater, Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston, & Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams

#gallery-0-6 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-6 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 25%; } #gallery-0-6 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-6 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

» The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin

» The City We Became is an urban fantasy that felt like an ode to New York City.  While I’ve never had the pleasure of visiting NYC, Jemisin paints a vivid picture of this beloved city that made it very easy to imagine I was there.  Jemisin’s passion for New York really shines through in this story.

» The City We Became is such a unique concept: the idea that each borough of NYC comes to life in human form to join forces to dispel evil forces.  This is why Jemisin is one of my favorite fantasy authors, she’s one of the most imaginative authors out there.

» I appreciate how Jemisin takes contemporary issues – racism, sexism, gentrification, etc – and illuminates them in a fantastical setting.  Despite the social issues being a bit heavy handed here, I thought HOW she wove them into the narrative was compelling.

» The way Jemisin writes and how she constructs her stories is unlike anything I’ve read before.  In my opinion, she is one of the most unique and clever authors out there today.» This story did not grip me in the same way Jemisin’s Broken Earth series did.  The pacing felt off in The City We Became.  I felt like I was trudging through this story, which didn’t make me want to pick it back up after putting it down.

» The large cast of characters did not work well here.  All the different perspectives and individual subplots made the overall story feel jumbled.  Instead of enhancing the main plot, the subplots took away from it.  Also, I never fully connected to any of the characters, which impacted my investment in their plight.

› Recommended to ⇒ NYC fans; Urban fantasy fans

› Trigger/content warnings ⇒ racism; gentrification; sexism; xenophobia

» Call Down the Hawk (Dreamer Trilogy #1) by Maggie Stiefvater

» Could you read this book without reading The Raven Cycle?  Possibly… but I would not suggest it.  I think you will appreciate this story more within the context of the original trilogy.

» Ronan is one of my favorite fictional characters EVER.  I love that he’s a bit rough around the edges, but really a cupcake deep down inside.  Ronan’s witty, and sometimes brash, dialogue never fails to put a smile on my face.

» Stiefvater’s characters are everything.  She has such a unique way of writing such dynamic and interesting characters.  I LOVED all the new characters we met in this first installment of this spinoff series.  If I had to pick a favorite, I’d probably go with Jordan being a new favorite.  I also loved seeing more of Ronan’s brothers, Declan & Matthew.

» Call Down the Hawk had just the right amount of romance to enhance the story without becoming the focus.  I enjoyed seeing Ronan & Adam’s budding relationship that we didn’t get much of in The Raven Cycle.  We really see a more vulnerable side to Ronan in this story as he has insecurities about not being good enough for Adam.

» Stiefvater’s writing is deliciously atmospheric, which paired with her whimsical plots, makes for a mesmerizing reading experience. 

» I listened to the audiobook (like I did with The Raven Cycle) because Will Patton’s voice suits Stiefvater’s writing perfectly.  I will always listen to Stiefvater’s books via audiobook because her writing just translates so well to audiobook, especially with proper narration.

› Recommended to ⇒ fans of The Raven Cycle; those that enjoy atmospheric writing 

› If you liked this book, try ⇒ For atmospheric writing, try Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

» Red, White, & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston

» This was a steamy, and highly entertaining, M/M romance.  For some reason, this was YA in my mind, but it is definitely NOT.  I’d classify this as new adult.  Our main characters are in their early 20s, and the steamy scenes are very steamy.

» One of the best aspects of this story was the delightful cast of characters.  The secondary characters were just as lovable as our main character.  I appreciated the inclusion of positive relationships outside of the romance.  Red, White, and Royal Blue features some wonderful friendships & familial relationships.

» Speaking of characters, Alex was my favorite character of course.  I loved his ambition, wit, and sass.  I really enjoyed watching his journey from the start of this book to the end.

» I love a slow-burn romance, and this was exactly that.  The enemies to lovers trope worked well here.

» I’m going to call it now, there will be sequels or spin offs of this book following the other characters.» This was WAY too long for a fluffy contemporary story.  This probably could have been a good 100 pages shorter and been just as good.

» I think telling this story as a dual perspective, with both Alex and Henry perspectives, would have enhanced this story.

› Recommended to ⇒ those looking for a M/M romance

› Trigger/content warnings ⇒ homophobia; racism; drug addiction; sexual assault

› If you liked this book, try ⇒ For cheeky characters, try The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee or My Lady Jane by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, & Jodi Meadows

#gallery-0-7 { margin: auto; } #gallery-0-7 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 50%; } #gallery-0-7 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-0-7 .gallery-caption { margin-left: 0; } /* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes/media.php */

» Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams

» Queenie is one of the most honest & realistic portrayals of a character in the throes of depression that I’ve read to date.  It was harrowing to watch the slow self destruction of our main character, Queenie.  I also think this book brings to light the fact that not everyone experiences depression in the same way.

» I love a good redemption arc.  I was really rooting Queenie as she fought to climb back from her lowest of lows to get herself back on track.  I also appreciated that her road to recovery was long & challenging instead of a unrealistic quick fix that we sometimes see in books with mental illness.

» I loved the dry humor sprinkled throughout the narrative.  I found myself laughing out loud on more than one occasion.  It definitely helped to break up the heaviness of the story.

» I appreciated that Queenie had a wonderful support system in her friends and family.  While her grandparents were not totally supportive of Queenie seeking help at first, they eventually come around after seeing Queenie’s mental health improve.  I also LOVED her group of gal pals.» It took me a LONG time to become invested in this story.  Queenie wasn’t exactly a likable character for the first 50% of the story, which made it hard to connect to her.  Once I understood what the author was trying to do here, around the 50% mark, I started the enjoy the novel.  The payoff is worth it if you can push through the first half of the book.

› Recommended to ⇒ redemption arc fans

› Trigger/content warnings ⇒ domestic violence; mental illness; racism

› If you liked this book, try ⇒ Normal People by Sally Rooney

Have you read any of these books?  If so, what did you think?

Comment below & let me know 🙂

        Mini Book Reviews: July 2020 - Part 4 #BookBlogger #BookReview #Bookworm #Bibliophile *Books included in this batch of mini book reviews: The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin, …