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ghostie-galaxi · 3 years

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Ghost9 as Boyfriends

Junhyung

The serious boyfriend

Like I know the members have said he's no fun and not funny so I feel he also has a sense of maturity because of that

And then you come along being goofy and push him out of his seriousness

Like I can see you joking around with him a lot and having play arguments with him

Like he tries telling a joke and you don't react and he gets upset and tells you to react and y'all just have fun together

Like you'd be joking that he's too serious all the time and you'd push him to the point where he just picks you up and walks you to a bed or something and tickles you

He loves you though and could never stay mad at you, just sigh before kissing you or you kiss him in forgiveness for being mean lol

Although sometimes you get insecure that he gets annoyed and hates when you do that so eventually you ask him how he feels and he gets all soft and cuddly with you and tells you he's not mad at all

That's when he really drops his seriousness and turns into his playful puppy side where he'll holdsyou in his muscular arms while kissing and teasing you

He does have his romantic side with you and looks out and takes care of you

Will always be there to hold you if you're sad, and if he can't he's calling and talking to you enough to distract you from whatever is upsetting you, and will be there as soon as he can to be there for you because he never wants to see you cry, that's what really breaks him the most

And will turn into strong protective boyfriend mode can I just be in his arms already

Although don't be fooled, he get a total ego whenever he catches you staring at him

Like we know he's strong boi so if he catches you staring at him while he's working out he get so cocky and teases you about it

*insert flirty pick-up line along the lines of "like what you see?"*

Will literally try to make you as flustered as possible anytime he has the chance and it's fair game, since you tease him a lot too

But like can we imagine him catching you staring while he's shirtless or working out and says something like that and just comes over and holds you against him as your face is bright red like- or against a wall

But anyways, he's just a really caring and sweet boyfriend even though you two don't let each other breathe and will be there when you need him ❤️

Dongjun

Y'all are gonna do some weird shit

Like if him putting a strawberry on a shoe during Shin's b-day V-live something my sleep paralysis demon loves to remind me of at 3 am isn't bad enough, just imagine what y'all would do together

So if you're already weird, y'all are gonna have a ball and since he's the oldest the other member can't stop him

Even Junhyung has said he can't stop him because he's older

So y'all will just get judged harshly lol

But when you guys aren't doing that, he becomes a softy for you

Like once the awkwardness between you dies down, he's always taking care of you

If you're tired, he's putting your head on his shoulder and holding you

He would definitely be there for you to wipe your tears away and take care of you if you're sick

You also love embarrassing him though

Like when you try taking care of him he gets all flustered and shy

Which makes him smile awkwardly

But he's smile is precious so even if it's awkward you still get to see his adorable smile and you do literally anything just to see or make him smile

He always gets shy when you kiss his cheek so that's your favorite thing to do to make him smile

Speaking of which, I have this idea that he would hold your face anytime he kisses you, like no matter where it is

Like he cups your face with one hand everytime he goes to kiss your lips

He just wants to feel you close to him and will have his other arm around you when he kisses you

Y'all also have deep life conversations

Like he's definitely going to have late night conversations with you if neither of you can sleep and you're just talking in the dark of the bedroom, or over phone calls

So basically, y'all are weird, but you love each other and show affection whenever you can because he loves and cares about you

Shin

The playful boyfriend

Literally always wants to go do something with you

Even if it's just sitting in a park together while talking

But you both will have the best dates

Because he literally finds everything and anything he can just so he can be with you

All the way from amusement parks to star gazing together, y'all are doing it

But also isn't against just staying inside if you really don't want to or if you're both tired

Either way, he will be c o n s t a n t l y showing you affection

Hand holding, back hugging, cheek kisses, fixing your hair/moving out of your face, etc.

Like even if you're in public he doesn't care (unless you don't want him to ofc) he'll kiss you straight up

Cuz he loves you and he's not bothered by other people seeing him kiss his significant other

He's gonna show you he loves you whenever he wants to because he loves you 😤

Speaking of which he gets so pouty when you reject him

Like you playfully turn away and he turns whiny and ends up just showering you in kisses until you give in

Which then he's not stopping, he'll slow down, but doesn't stop

And probably takes you somewhere to cuddle after that so he can keep doing it for the next 20 minutes

Don't be mean lol

Unless you want to cuddled go death for a while

Which isn't a bad thing so like-

He loves cuddling you, and his favorite are comfort cuddles

Like yeah he loves just relaxing and cuddling you but when you sad or stressed or tired he loves cuddling as way to comfort you

Because to him, he likes knowing that you look to him for comfort and you feel comfortable enough to come to him for help and him just being there is what really helps you

Kinda just like a safety blanket that you run to when you need comfort

Cuz he gives good hugs and you love his hugs, and cuddles

Just being in his arms really is comforting and nice

So yeah, he love affection and tbh, is probably a bit clingy

But like, he's adorable and you love him so who care because you can't resist him and his charms ✨

So be prepared to just constantly give into him

Kangsung

The sweetest person you have ever met in your life like-

Likes he's always thinking about you and stuff for you to do together

And I mentioned in a different reaction that he literally will buy you tons of plushies just because they remind him of you

But the majority I see you guys being a very caring and casual relationship

Like you both just kinda grow comfortable together

Like you'll just reach over and hold his hand one day and then he'll come up and back hug you a different day and from then on you both just keep doing it

Like you both love each other and think this is just what normal couples do it's only a matter of who does it first

So not a whole lot of awkwardness unless it's stuff that he's not super familiar with doing cough periods cough

But he's not afraid to ask when he doesn't know something and will remember it the first time he's told for next time so he's always prepared

Ok that might be a lie, he might forgot and have to ask again but he'll get it eventually

And days like that when you're both just hanging out together because you don't want to do anything, y'all are gonna do a bunch of cute couples stuff

I can see y'all doing each other's makeup and playing with each other's hair, and you could teach him how to braid hair or something

Just chill dates like that

Which would include cafes, star gazing, book stores/libraries, walks through parks or nature trails, etc.

Just something simple that you can both relax and talk and have fun with each other

And are always filled with shy kisses

Like even though as your relationship progresses he still gets shy whenever he kisses you

So usually he'll do it when you're not looking and just quickly peck your cheek

And then he'll turn away really fast until you look at him, smile a little bit, and kiss his cheek back

To which he'll get all smiley and shy

Which makes you smile as well

Eventually though when you've been together for awhile his shy kisses will melt into comforting kisses

And they'll still be enjoyable to receive

Because comforting and relaxing is sign of comfortable love, not everything is going to remain with shyness and butterflies but rather turns in comfort and the feeling of home

Which is what you both love about to each other and plan to keep it that way forever

Junseong

The awkward boyfriend

Literally has no clue what to do and is super awkward about everything

Like even talking to you normally is hard for him still, let alone even skinship

But I promise you it does get better

Because eventually when he gets in the moment of just he loves being with you he'll just act out like suddenly hugging you or grabbing your hands excitedly

And after a few times of this happening he'll grow more comfortable with you, because you've assured him that it doesn't bother you

And he'll be able to have a more settled down caring relationship

Like he'll stop being the awkward ball of goop and just be able to relax around you

But if you're sad or going through something, he'll be able to fit the mood and won't be awkward about hugging you

Once he knows it's serious or you're struggling he'll do a complete 180° from his normal self and comfort you the best he can

Which is always followed up by finding ways to cheer you up

Like a movie night with food and lots of cuddles

And he'll kiss you a lot more too

He gives sweet and playful kisses

Like normally they'll just be quick pecks on the cheek and he'll face will turn bright red

But eventually when he kisses your lips he'll try to do it longer to savior the moment but he gets shy still and starts smiling into the kiss and then he'll pull back because he's laughing

And probably will be everytime unless you kiss him instead or if it's one of your calmer moments and you're both more relaxed

And then you'll have sweet, longer kisses

Also! I feel you would both be similar to Dongjun and you'll just be weird together

Like-

He's weird, so you both would just go around being weird together

And probably annoying everyone else with it

But there's something just endearing about him that you love

Even if it is a bit cheesy (hate using that word 😖) sometimes

But that's just his way of showing you he loves you, his weird goofy self

Or if you want something less goofy, have him sing with you

Like honestly, even if you can't sing, I could see him never laughing at you for it and would honestly probably help you so you can both sing together

That would probably be one of his favorite things to do with you

Because I feel like you would be the more normal one and he was kinda just be the airhead, but doing this gives him more of a serious tone because he would actually be knowledgeable about this

And you wouldn't mind at all having to sing with him

You both really just grow and learn with and from each other and it's something you would never forget

Prince

The quiet boyfriend

Honestly, I have this really nice imagine where you both just have these really nice quiet dates where he comes over to your house/apartment to get away from the others for a bit

And you both just sit quietly together while you read or paint if you're artistic and he probably draws too or something while playing this cute calm artists vibes playlist

And y'all just chill quietly together

Yeah, you do have days when you do talk to each other a lot and share ideas with each other

You both are just super comfortable in each other's presence that you don't really need to do a lot

And yeah there will be days when you go out together and do fun stuff

He does talk about how much he likes the Han river so you both would probably go there to relax and chat with each other

And really just get to connect more with each other

Further down the line, you'll both be more comfortable with and will mess with each other

Like he jokes around with you by being super bold about something, cuz man kinda savage ngl, and messes with you

Which then he laughs at you for getting all play-angry at him

And then back hugs you cuz you're mad and won't talk to him so he has to keep you near him to talk his way out of it

Which, he's adorable I swear his smile will be the death of me and you give into him pretty quickly

And his then kisses your cheek in forgiveness

Speaking of kissing, I said somewhere else his kisses would be the best look at his lips, I mean come on

He'd just have really comforting, soft kisses, but is low-key too awkward and shy to ever do it

Like you both would have to be completely alone together for him to even do it

Even if it's just a cheek kiss

But fr like, the first time you both kissed you feel in love with it and you're low-key sad that he's so awkward to do it more often

But as always, the more time you're together the more the awkwardness would fade and you would be more comfortable initiating kisses

Unless you do it first and make him kiss you lol

Honestly that's probably how you'd get back at him for messing with you is just to make him super flustered

Which again, he's adorable so like, why wouldn't just do it all the time?

And honestly, I don't really seem him as much of a touchy person so when he does actually get touchy with you it's always special

Like his cuddles would be the softest and hugs would always be comforting, even if he's a bit awkward with it

But you don't care because you love just being close to him and you savior every moment like this that you have with him

Woojin

Quiet boyfriend pt. 2

Maybe serious boyfriend as well but not as much as Junhyung

Like he's still adorable and will open up faster than Junhyung

Because I feel like he's the underrated cutie

Like he's adorable-

Literally just a teddy bear

Messes with you a little bit by acting all serious when he talks to you but if you're smiling and being cute he'll give in to your cuteness

A low-key cuddle monster

Like he loves hugging you (especially back hugs) and he does it often

Like if you're in the room together his arms are around you

Doesn't even matter if they others are around you, he doesn't care

Sweater paws

He'll also just randomly kiss your cheek too when he feels like it

And you'll probably have to watch and talk/listen to him talk about soccer games

Because he does that a lot

Mostly just to surprise you, cuz he thinks it's funny

Especially if you get flustered easily and he does it in front of the other members and you're faces gets all red

Which then causes him to get red faced and flustered and will bury his face in your shoulder

Doesn't regret it though lol

But does honestly prefer having these moments in private

And would definitely be a lot more cuddly when it's just you both together

Like idk, he doesn't seem like a touchy person to me but I also do think he just enjoys sitting together with you in his arms

And also probably takes care of you because he like, seems caring but not like motherly caring

Just wants to look out for you and make sure you're doing ok

Also probably wraps blankets around you all the time, cuz he's soft boi

And so are his kisses

He's so gentle my God

Like he doesn't even try to make you want to keep kissing him that's just how he kisses man

So honestly you'd just end up constantly kissing him

He doesn't mind though ☺️

Taeseung

Playful boyfriend pt. 2

And puppy boyfriend pt. 2 if Junhyung counts as being the first

Like he's always excited to go see you or see you in general

Like he's plans everything everytime to he goes to see you and brings a lot of stuff

Usually food cuz like, food✨-

And unlike Shin, I think you'd have more indoor dates than outdoor dates

Like with Shin and going out places he would rather have movie nights with you or do café dates

Still fun but not all out extravagant

And of course you will both be super cute together

He's tall and cuddly

So you know where this is going

And even if you're not the most petite person, he still has this way of making you feel tiny and cute

Like just imagine real quick-

He's just fucking cute, man

And will do cute things with you

He hugs you every time you kiss-

Like just wants to be as close as possible and shelter you with his tall frame and loves looking down on you lol

✨f o r e h e a d k i s s e s✨

And if you like reptiles too he loves having you over so you can play with them together

And will be personally offended if you don't have cuddle sessions together afterwards

How dare you not cuddle him >:(

You'd make up for it pretty quickly though if he gets angry pouty because of it because he's adorable

Literally just a big dork

You also know how on Twitter he normally does little Pokemon drawings and the posts them?

Yeah, he'd make you do them with him

Even if you suck at art, you're doing it

But if you're good at art, he always praises how good yours is and you compliment his as well because that's how y'alls relationship works

You support him and he supports you

As it should be

I don't even want to imagine him upset over something like that too

Or being upset at all really

Speaking of which if you're sad for whatever reason be prepared to be crushed by his hugs, I mean love. Well both really but ya know-

Would be upset with you so please take care of him as well

He cares about you so much-

Please love him ❤️

Jinwoo

Awkward boyfriend pt. 2

But also playful, caring, and sweet boyfriend

Like definitely just awkward since he's young and new to relationships so probably just doesn't know what to do at first

But the more time you both spend together the more time he has to know you better

So he'll ease off of being so questioning and making sure he's doing things right or making sure you're comfortable and what not

Well, I mean like if he's not sure of something and asks you 4,000 times, eventually he'll know what to do unless you tell him otherwise

So basically after y'all are comfortable around each other, he becomes the cutest thing ever

Like he l o v e s having you in his arms all the time

Or playfully messing with you

I can see y'all planning some prank on the other members and then you both playing innocent afterwards

And him just being a little shit sometimes lol

Playfully ignores you until you've whined enough that he gives in

And will still be a little shit if you try pulling the same tricks on him

Hangs onto you until you give up and notice him

But you also both do team up when it comes to messing with the other members

And then both get yelled at by an angry Junhyung

But y'all don't care because you had fun and this was worth it

And normally you'd be punished together so that just gave you an excuse to spend more time together

The only thing though that you can mess with him with is kissing him because he's ways to shy to get you back

Like if you just random kiss his cheek when he's messing with you he'll instantly turn red

Especially if you kiss his lips

He's not quite used to that yet but he'll get used to it

Until then, enjoy kissing his lips like that

Cuz again, look at his lips, how could you not want to kiss them repeatedly

He'd get used to it though and would melt into you imagine

Y'all are cute, end of story

#kpop #kpop reactions #kpop scenarios #kpop fluff #kpop angst #ghost9 #ghost9 fluff #ghost9 angst #junhyung #dongjun #shin #kangsung #junseong #prince #woojin #taeseung #jinwoo

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feralnumberfive · 3 years

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The Rewatch Academy: Episode 2 of Season 1

“Run Boy Run”

I am in no way a good analyst so my little analysis and speculations probably sound a bit goofy or pretty wild and probably mean nothing at all. Everything I put into this post about each episode is purely what I noticed or thought, whether it's funny or serious. I will be making jokes, so please just leave it at that (in no way am I trying to make fun of an actor and or character!) I am also in no way saying I noticed this stuff first. This is just what I noticed while rewatching these episodes

☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂

1x01 | 1x02 | 1x03 | 1x04

☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂ ☂

☂ Ben is a tired boy leaning on his chair

☂ Luther and Allison please stop making googly eyes at each other

☂ Five really woke up and chose violence that day huh

☂ Diego already knows shit is about to go down and it’s so funny

☂ I love that Reginald doesn’t even scold Five for stabbing the table

☂ Five: “I have a question.” blah blah blah Veggie is talking Five: “I want to time travel.” That’s not a question, Five

☂ It’s interesting to see young Five blinking/jumping compared to older Five. Even at this age, 13, he says that he’s still practicing his spatial jumps. Young Five needs to clench his fists and almost squeeze his eyes shut just to concentrate. Older Five simply just teleports without effort and is able to casually blink even as he’s just walking. Five probably practiced teleporting a lot in the apocalypse

☂ Someone else pointed this out, but all of the other Umbrellas are frozen for a for a second as Five teleports next to Reginald. While that freeze is just editing, and possibly a small error, this is another example of how Five’s spatial teleporting doesn’t make a noise. Luther, Diego, and Allison only look at Five when he begins talking to Reginald. Grace notices Five right away because he is in her line of sight while Luther and Diego were looking at where Five was sitting and Allison had her head down eating

☂ “The effects it might have on your body, even your mind, are far too unpredictable.” Harsh foreshadowing

☂ The “Run Boy Run” scene is one of the best musical moments in all of the show. It gave me chills when I first heard it, and the fact that all of the lyrics that play during that part match so perfectly with it make it even better. Tomorrow is another day being sung as Five travels into 2019 is just too good

☂ Imagine how scared you have to be to call out to your p.o.s father

☂ The instant regret immediately falls onto his face and he kneels in front of the Academy

☂ I love how in the first few episodes Five’s hair is styled exactly as it was when he was an old man and when he was actually 13. Over the rest of the season and the second season it just gets more disheveled and floppier

☂ “You think I didn’t try everything to get back to my family?” Ahhhh there we go, one of my favorite Five lines. This here is probably when I truly fell in love with his character. He spent 45 years just trying to survive and attempting to get back to his family. He would have spent more too if the Handler hadn’t taken him in

☂ Vanya is genuinely trying to understand what happened and Five was being a little asshole. C’mon, bud, she’s just confused and hasn’t seen you in forever

☂ This Five and Vanya scene melts my heart (simply as a sibling relationship!!) She doesn’t care anymore if she understands, she just wants him to stay because she hasn’t seen him in a while. Even Five understands that as his demeanor quickly changes from being frustrated to gently telling her “Night.” He watches her as she leaves, also partially realizing that he hasn’t seen her in a while too

☂ Why didn’t Five just teleport outside of Vanya’s apartment?? That would have been the stealthiest thing

☂ “All quick and efficient skills.” A little note on Five’s level of skill of slaughtering the Commission agents in Griddy’s

☂ Diego said he bought his police badge on Ebay, so computers do exist in the UA universe

☂ “By the way, this thing might look like a botched robbery, but my gut’s telling me something else is going on here.” Yeah, and that something else is your brother

☂ I want Claire to meet her uncles and aunt so bad

☂ So Ben has a ghostly puzzle book and pen he can use? Because if they were real Pogo would have been able to see them just floating in the air. What other ghostly items can Ben summon? (I believe this is more so just an error but it’s fun to think about)

☂ “I-I found it at a playground, actually. Must have just *click* popped out.” An underrated Five line

☂ Five immediately becomes aggressive at the thought of losing the eye, something he found clutched in the hand of his dead brother and was a clue to what caused the death of his siblings and the end of the world

☂ Just now noticed that you can see Diego up on the second floor being led down to where Patch is in the police station

☂ I really like that they added in the little tidbit about a cold case Five created 81 years ago

☂ I miss Patch. She deserved better and more screen time

☂ Hey, Diego might have been thrown out of the Police Academy but at least he’s still in The Umbrella Academy!

☂ Hearing Patch talk to Diego really made me realize that the Umbrellas weren’t even necessary for helping with crime. It was just Reginald’s way of training them

☂ Love the shot of Luther looking at Diego’s cross-stitch and the camera lining it up so it’s like he’s wearing the mask

☂ Five lying just to keep Vanya away and to continue on with his goal hurts. His goal is saving the world and his family, but I don’t think he actually took in what Vanya was saying to him or maybe he recognized the offer but shoved all of his feelings down. She was reaching out to actually get him some help and he lied to her to avoid that. Maybe he doesn’t care and is just blinded by his ultimate goal. Save the world and family first, then process your feelings and genuinely communicate with your siblings

☂ Don’t worry Klaus, I would have let you wear that outfit

☂ When Cha-Cha questions “Five” aka the poor tow truck guy, she asks him about “The London job in ‘66.” I believe she is referring to the Shepherd’s Bush murders where three policemen were murdered

☂ Hazel replying “Not from what I’ve heard.” when Cha-Cha asks if he thinks Five is a whimperer shows that Five definitely had a reputation in the Commission for probably being a cold and stoic guy

☂ Vanya is just trying to help, chill Allison 😭. You haven’t seen her in years, what do you know about her?

☂ Klaus would really slap his brother in the face to get drug money

☂ Another example of Five not making noise when he teleports is when he blinks into the taxi and Klaus didn’t notice that he had left until he turned to look where Five was. On the other hand though the taxi driver does jump as Five suddenly appears in the car. However, I believe that might be from the driver noticing Five in a mirror in the car

☂ I wonder what languages the Hargreeves siblings know. Vanya didn’t understand Leonard’s German. You think Reginald would have taught them multiple languages or maybe she forgot it if she was taught it

☂ I don’t know why but Luther just siting there and reading a book and almost getting hit by the knife is really funny to me

☂ Yeah Diego doesn’t have to prove his innocence, but it would have saved a lot of trouble

☂ Rewatching the scene with Leonard talking to Vanya about his father is just disturbing when you already know what happened to him and how he’s lying just to try to be more relatable

☂ I heard a rumor that smoking is bad for you ❌

☂ Vanya calling to make sure Allison is okay even though she hurt her makes me sad. She’s so nice and thoughtful

☂ The old man can’t even reunite with his wife before he gets hunted down

☂ The shot of Hazel and Cha-Cha putting on their masks in the dark with the music is 👌👌

☂ Again, Cha-Cha isn’t able to hear Five as he teleports next to her and slices her arm. She might not have noticed him though because he was very quick to attack her

☂ Five really went through all of that just to bring his wife home

☂ I think it’s an easily blocked out part because we already know what Allison has to say and it’s exciting, but Luther is apologizing about accusing Diego and causing issues amongst his siblings

☂ Five is just so defeated and emotionally tired that he doesn’t allow Luther to touch him. In fact, he very quickly and aggressively grabs Luther’s wrist. You can tell Five is a little out of it and I believe it was more so his subconscious stopping Luther. Five doesn’t want help, he’s going to carry the burden of figuring out who ended the world and killed his family as far as he can by himself

☂ “There’s nothing you can do. There’s nothing any of you can do.” Are such heavy lines. Five is so emotionally and mentally tired at the end of the day and he sounds like he’s about to breakdown. He’s replaying the moment he found his siblings’ corpses. They weren’t able to stop the person who ended the world. Luther is offering his help, but Five is denying it. Luther couldn’t stop the person who ended the world. None of his siblings were able to stop that person. He’s telling himself that they can’t help and he’s telling Luther and Allison that too. Five wants to be alone to figure out who this person is. His siblings can’t help him

☂ Five coming across the corpses of his siblings is just heartbreaking. He first stumbles across three adults lying in the rubble. One of them is holding an eye. He goes to shake the man in all black, having a tiny bit hope that miraculously he is still alive. He stumbles across another body only to back away with tears in his eyes as he spots the tattoo on the man’s arm and realizes who these people are

☂☂☂☂☂☂☂

Feel free to comment or reblog with things you have noticed too!

#the rewatch academy #tra #tua #the umbrella academy #umbrella academy #1x02 #run boy run #luther hargreeves #diego hargreeves #allison hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #number five #five hargreeves #ben hargreeves #vanya hargreeves #hargreeves siblings #leonard peabody

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agentnico · 3 years

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Free Guy (2021) Review

“Don’t have a good day, have a great day!”

Plot: When a bank teller discovers he's actually a background player in a brutal open-world video game, he decides to become the hero of his own story - one that he can rewrite himself. In a world where there's no limits, he's determined to save the day his way before it's too late, and maybe find a little romance with the coder who conceived him.

Last time I watched such a hyper-actively positive film I was seeing little LEGO figures jumping about on screen with Morgan Freeman hanging off a string in ghost form. Yes, The LEGO Movie shares a lot in common with Free Guy, not just in its opening sequence where Ryan Reynolds’s loveable Guy is starting off a perfectly good day every day with a nice cup of coffee and wishing everyone not a good, but a great day, goes to the job at his bank and goes back home, and rinse and repeat. But the character of Guy himself is basically Chris Pratt’s Emmett from The LEGO Movie - full of sunshine and innocence and taking everything that comes with child-like excitement and energy. You can also treat Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy” song usage here like “Everything is Awesome” with how many times its played, but damn if it isn’t catchy! And the film comparisons don’t end there. You wouldn’t be faulted for seeing references to Ready Player One with all the cameos and Easter Eggs and pop culture references thrown in the mix, to The Truman Show based on the general concept and obviously certain video games such as Grand Theft Auto, Saints Row and even Sims due to the video game open world that the movie creates.

Speaking of the video game open world that is created, you could tell director Shawn Levy and the producers went through a lot of effort to research modern video games and all the tiny little details and quirks that exist. For example it was a lot of fun seeing characters tea-bag someone they just killed to then a character glitching out and jumping into the wall repetitively or the obvious inclusion of Fortnite inspired dance jiggles. You also get cameos from various real-life game streamers such as Jacksepticeye and DanTDM, and I found an interview on IGN where those guys spoke about in regards to how Hollywood can never seem to get video-game-to-film adaptations right, and how they appreciated that the producers of Free Guy went to them and asked questions and actually showed interest in wanting to create a realistic feeling video game in the movie and getting the terminology right. Evidently unlike other video game adaptations Free Guy manages to succeed from the fact that it doesn’t need to replicate a specific game from real life. There are nods to certain games as I aforementioned, but otherwise they’ve created their own entire game and as such there is no expectation to impress a certain individual fan base. So in conclusion what I’m saying is that I guess Hollywood should stop trying to adapt film versions of popular video game franchises and instead do their own original stuff maybe? Then again I do want to see that Ghost of Tsushima adaptation come to life, so yes, I’ll just go and kindly shut myself up.

Taking the video game matter aside for the time being, I found Free Guy to be an absolute delight from start to finish. Well, to be exact from 20 minutes from the start to finish. Honestly when the film began I was concerned if the movie was going to turn out to be the typical “I live in a simulation” story, and though as a basis it is exactly that, there’s so much goodness thrown into the mix with funny jokes to the cameos (the cameos are to die for!) to the visuals to the music choices to the performances - the movie is such a joy to watch. Speaking of the cameos and pop culture references, Free Guy is also an interesting film outside of its narrative. This movie was in production during the time the studio that was behind it - 20th Century Fox - was being sold to a certain little known company called Disney. As such, you can tell after the studio’s transfer to Disney was complete, this film underwent some additional reshoots and last minute changes, mainly in the finale because there are certain surprises at the end of the movie that will be a geek/nerd’s wet dream and were only made possible after Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox, now known as 20th Century Studios. Personally I still have my qualms about Disney being the massive conglomerate business giant that is buying out all the other studios, but not going to lie even I got excited and jumped up like a kid in my cinema seat when a certain something happened at the end of this movie. Luckily only my lovely fiancée saw me like this as she was sitting next to me, and yes, I’m certain that me revealing my true nerd colours definitely lost me some attraction points from her, but nevertheless I don’t care, the Easter Eggs at the end of this movie are real fun!

The entire cast is top notch here. Ryan Reynolds does his usual shtick that he’s been doing ever since he found success with Deadpool, however naturally here he’s kept PG-13 and not swearing every other breath. That being said, his charm and sarcastic charisma really worked for the role of Guy, and he presented himself as really loveable and naïve and it was impossible not to like him in this film. Jodie Comer in her role has also been getting humongous praise from critics and reviewers alike, and yes, the rumours are true, she shares great on screen chemistry with Ryan Reynolds and also is proper cool and badass as to be expected. That being said I was told by a certain someone that they know someone who knows someone who knew someone who spoke to someone who said that they worked with Jodie Comer on the set of Killing Eve, and this was just some behind-the-scenes worker, and apparently in their experience they found Comer to be a real diva and challenge to work with. So that’s now me here spreading some gossip for no apparent reason besides causing a little stir and now I can move on. Joe Keery has a much bigger role in this film that the trailers made it seem, and I must say the lad has really been doing well for himself ever since his appearance in Stranger Things. Whenever I’ve see him in anything since such as Spree or Death to 2020 he’s always been wonderful to watch. Here in Free Guy he’s no different, getting to play a character who at first comes off as a villain but then is revealed to simply be a guy working for the wrong person. Speaking of that wrong person, the villain of the movie is played by none other than actor-director Taika Waititi himself, and his role is really interesting seeing as he plays the owner of this big video game business company who only cares about money and sequels over art, which I found quite ironic seeing as this movie is distributed by Disney that’s all about sequels, remakes and reboots. Just saying. Also found it funny how even though this movie marks a little reunion of sorts for Ryan Reynolds and Taika Waititi, they don’t share any scenes together which was probably for the best, as last time they worked together Green Lantern occurred. Anyway, Taika is as goofy and over-the-top as you expect him to be, and I can see him being very divisive. You’ll either find him hilarious or super annoying. However both opinions would work seeing as he’s the villain.

Free Guy is an absolute cuddly crowd-pleaser full of casual mayhem and crazy ideas, and is sure to be a welcome boost of fun in a summer that naturally lacked bigger blockbusters due to what’s happening in the world right now. However nonetheless, this and The Suicide Squad have really made a point that cinema is back, hopefully to stay.

Overall score: 9/10

19 notes · View notes

alphadaddyderek · 3 years

Text

Not all math puns are awful, just sum (sterek fic, high school au)

ao3 link: click if you dare

summary: ’what is the probability that anyone will pass this fucking class? I’m thinking 1 in 100’

Stiles shakes his head because that was such a bad math joke that it was actually kinda funny. And, based on the expressions on people’s faces during class, also very true.

'i think there is statistical data to back up your theory’

AU where Stiles and Derek have to share a textbook and they write terrible math puns back and forth to each other.

Stiles sincerely, genuinely, regrets taking AP classes.

Well, kinda.

They would look great on his resume. Colleges wouldn’t even second guess accepting him and he would receive so many scholarships which would help his dad big time.

AP classes will also raise his GPA crazy high which, again, looks great to colleges.

Sometimes they just suck.

His AP Statistics class is definitely #1 on the ‘classes that suck straight ass list’.

It’s boring and it can be kinda hard. Plus it’s math so it’s automatically gross.

Stiles is good at math, but it’s not his forte, that’s more Lydia Martin’s thing.

Anyway, Beacon Hills High had to have some budget cuts this year, like, serious budget cuts. The sports teams are lucky that people care about people throwing balls all over the place, otherwise they would’ve gotten cut too.

Since the school has had budget cuts, the students don’t get individual textbooks anymore. Meaning, that they can only use it during class and then they have to leave it in the classroom for the next class to use.

So, yeah.

It’s the third week of junior year, AP Stat is as boring as always. He has Lydia to talk to sometimes but she has other friends in the same class, so he's not always entertained.

The teacher didn’t really care about whether or not students did the work, he just played chess on his computer the whole class anyway. He gave the page number that we were supposed to work on and that was that.

Stiles prefers that to lectures, but still. When he’s done the work there’s nothing left for him to do. He could go on his phone, but even that gets boring eventually.

What he’s trying to say is that he’s bored, okay?

Turning to the page that the teacher assigned, Stiles is shocked and wildly amused, to already see writing on the margins of the page. He figured it would take at least half the school year before people started vandalizing the textbooks. Although, it’s written in pencil so it’s easily erasable.

When Stiles actually reads what was written he snorts. Luckily, it’s loud in the class so the most attention he gets is when Lydia shoots him a weird look which he ignores.

'what is the probability that anyone will pass this fucking class? I’m thinking 1 in 100'

Stiles shakes his head because that was such a bad math joke that it was actually kinda funny. And, based on the expressions on people’s faces during class, also very true.

Should he write something back? Stiles doesn’t know if the person who wrote this is hoping for a response, or if they wrote in the book because they’re just as bored as Stiles is.

Eh, fuck it. Why not?

'i think there is statistical data to back up your theory’

Stiles snickers at his equally bad math joke before finally deciding to focus on the actual work. He didn’t want to be one of the ones who didn’t pass the class, because that would suck. So he does the work and for the remainder of the class he lets out a giggle or two every once in a while because even though he’s 16 years old, he apparently still has the sense of humor of a child.

π π π

It’s the next class and honestly, Stiles kind of forgot about the writing in the textbook. After he left that class he went to AP Geography where there was immediately a test, which he nailed by the way. Plus, with all his other classes, he just didn’t think it was important to remember a bad, but still funny, math joke in a textbook.

The teacher assigns them another page number full of questions to work on. And, just like last time, there’s writing in the margins.

‘i’m sorry, that was pretty mean of me to say’

That one has Stiles laughing out loud. Not too loud though, because he doesn’t have that much of a death wish. He just laughs loud enough to make Lydia send him another weird look, except this time Lydia questions him about it.

“What is so funny?” she asks, twirling her hair with her pencil.

Stiles shakes his head. “Nothing really. Just somebody writing lame math jokes on the book pages.”

“Well, you’re laughing at them. So doesn’t that make you lame as well?”

Stiles dramatically gasps.

“Wow, Lydia, that was pretty mean of you to say,” Stiles replies before bursting into more laughter.

At this point, Lydia is looking at him like he has brain damage but he really can’t bring himself to care. It’s hilarious and if she doesn’t think so then oh well. Her loss.

Well, she doesn’t know that that was the joke inside the textbook, but still, whatever.

It’s funny.

π π π

By this point, it’s kind of like Stiles and this unknown jokester are pen pals.

It’s been a week filled with terrible math jokes and Lydia probably losing more and more respect for him as the days pass.

He’s told Scott about his little pen pal and of course, Scott doesn’t really get it, but he’s supportive nonetheless.

It’s a Friday night and Scott is at Stiles’ house. They’re playing video games and eating so much pizza that Stiles will be bloated for an entire week.

Thankfully, his dad is on the night shift, otherwise, he would be heavily judgmental of Stiles’ life choices.

After several rounds of Mario Kart, they take a break to eat said pizza and talk a bit.

“So,” Scott takes a huge bite of his slice. “how are you and your math buddy doing?”

Stiles takes a bite of his own slice. “Why are you asking? Jealous?”

Scott laughs. “Oh yeah, I’m so jealous. Please, Stiles, make terrible math jokes with me.”

Stiles flips Scott off. “You only mock because you really are jealous.”

Scott rolls his eyes and then the topic is dropped.

At least for the next hour or so. Then after that, it gets brought back up.

“Do you think it’s weird to have a crush on someone you’ve never met?” Stiles asks, playing with a loose thread on his jeans.

Scott looks at Stiles, and Stiles does not want to see the weird look Scott has on his face so he continues looking down.

“You have a crush on this person?”

Stiles shrugs. “I don’t know. They’re funny, and obviously, they’re smart if they’re in AP Stat. I would like to meet this person though, maybe. I don’t know.”

Stiles feels his cheeks heating up.

Scott nudges Stiles with his elbow. “Hey, it’s okay. It’s not weird at all. It’s kinda like online dating, but like medieval style.”

Stiles can’t help the laugh that bubbles out of his throat. “What?”

It’s like medieval style! ‘Cause, it’s in a book. Instead of online.”

Scott is always able to make Stiles feel better, no matter the situation. His goofiness especially lightens his mood.

“Okay, Scott. Are we going to go jousting next?”

“I don’t know. What you guys do on your first date is none of my business,” Scott says with a sly smile.

Stiles snorts and grabs a pillow off the couch behind them and smacks Scott in the face with it, resulting in a pillow fight ensuing.

And if anybody asks, Scott did not win. He didn’t!

π π π

2 weeks after he and Scott had that talk, Stiles continues talking with his pen pal. Although, maybe Stiles is looking too deep into this, but it kind of seems like flirting now?

Hear him out.

In the margins, the person started adding smiley faces and winky faces after every message.

Ooh and they actually put their initials! D.H.

Stiles doesn’t think he knows anyone in school with those initials. Granted, Stiles isn’t exactly a social butterfly so he’s not doubting their existence at all.

AP Stat only has 5 minutes left in the class. Stiles has already embarrassed himself in front of Lydia more times than he can count, so he decides to ask Lydia if she knows someone with those initials.

She purses her lips. “Why do you ask?”

Stiles sighs inwardly before answering. “Uh, well. I was just...wondering. Ya know. Trying to expand my friend circle.”

Lydia raises an eyebrow. And Stiles sighs outwardly this time.

“Fine. You know the jokes that were in the book?”

“You mean from like a month ago?”

“Well...we’ve kinda been continuing to exchange jokes and notes and stuff. And then recently they put their initials. Or, at least I think it’s their initials. I don’t know what else it would be. So, yeah.”

Lydia looks at him for a moment before her lips curl up into a smile. “You mean you’ve finally found someone who has a worse sense of humor than you?”

Stiles returns the smile. “I’ll have you know, my sense of humor is advanced. Way too advanced even for you.”

“Uh-huh. Anyway, the only name that comes to mind is Derek Hale.”

Stiles chokes on his own spit. “Derek Hale? You mean the star of the basketball team? The guy with eyes that are like fifty different colors and bunny teeth that would look ridiculous on anyone else but he somehow looks gorgeous with them? That Derek Hale?”

“Yes. Other than that, I don’t know anyone else with those initials.”

“Does he take AP Stat?”

Lydia shrugs. Stiles takes that as a no.

There’s no way that Derek Hale is the one writing these notes. No way in hell. Stiles isn’t that lucky.

Plus, even if Derek is the one writing these, hypothetically speaking, Derek wouldn’t be interested in him. Don’t get Stiles wrong, he knows he’s a pretty attractive guy. But nobody in this school is as attractive as Derek Hale. Let's be real here.

Okay, maybe Danny. Danny is kinda gorgeous.

But besides Danny, nobody is even on the same level as Derek.

Well, Lydia is too.

Okay, dammit. People are on the same level as Derek Hale. The point is that Stiles isn’t.

Stiles sighs for what seems like the eighth time in. “Okay. Thanks.”

Lydia gives him a scrutinizing look before nodding and getting on her phone.

Stiles sits there and ponders why his life is like this before deciding that he must've done something to piss off fate in a past life. Pleased with his conclusion, Stiles shoves his notebook and pencils into his backpack just in time for the bell to ring.

π π π

Okay, so, Stiles must be going crazy.

When he saw that his pen pal had written his initials he figured, ‘hey, I might as well do the same. It’s only decent right?’ so he had, and ever since then Derek Hale has been shooting him looks in the hallway.

Maybe he’s hallucinating, because Derek Hale is, well, Derek Hale. Out of everyone in the hallway, why would he be looking at Stiles?

Also, Stiles can’t be the only person in the school with the initials S.S. although, he probably is the only S.S. that’s taking AP Stat so there’s that.

Stiles doesn’t know what to do, should he wave? Shoot him a smile?

Actually no, he should do neither of those things because if he does, and Derek actually wasn’t looking at him, that would be so unbelievably embarrassing. So embarrassing that Stiles would have to transfer schools immediately.

Stiles shakes his head and opens up his locker to gather his things for his next class. When he closes the locker Derek is standing right there like they’re in a horror movie and Stiles jumps so hard that he drops his notebook.

“Shit. Sorry,” Derek says and bends down to swipe Stiles’ notebook off the floor.

“No, it’s okay. You’re awfully quiet for an athlete.”

Stiles holds his hand out for his notebook but Derek doesn’t seem all that interested in returning it to him just yet. Derek looks at the front of his notebook.

“Hmm. AP Stat. Interesting.”

Stiles bites his lip and nods. “Yep,” he says popping the ‘p’. “it is interesting. Well, actually it’s not. AP Stat is yuck sometimes and it can get boring but it’ll look great on my resume so.”

Derek nods. He looks at Stiles for a few more seconds before he opens his mouth, and the second he does, Stiles’ stomach fills with butterflies.

“What is the probability that anyone will pass that fucking class? I’m thinking 1 in 100.”

Stiles bites his lip to stifle his smile. He doesn’t want to cheese like an idiot in front of Derek Hale but he thinks that ship has already sailed cause Derek’s lips stretch into a big smile.

Stiles clears his throat. “I think there is statistical data to back up your theory.”

“Oh, is there?” Derek asks, smile turning into a smirk.

Stiles nods then looks at his notebook that is still in Derek’s hand. “Can I have my notebook now? I’m not sure what exactly you’re plotting but I don’t like it.”

Derek scrunches his face up. “Wow, that was bad.”

Stiles’ mouth gapes. “Like yours were any better.”

Derek shrugs, smile returning to his face. “I thought my mean joke was pretty hilarious.”

“Yeah, hilariously bad. I didn’t laugh at all, not one bit.”

Derek looks like he doesn’t believe a word Stiles just said, which is fair, he shouldn’t.

“So,” Derek begins, eyes boring into Stiles’— seriously, what is up with Derek’s eyes? — “what is the probability that you will give me your number?”

Stiles pretends to think about it for a second. “I'm thinking 100 in 100.”

#stiles stilinski #derek hale #Sterek #sterek fic #high school au #quite possibly the worst math jokes ever in existence #my fic

22 notes · View notes

fandom-sheep · 3 years

Text

MCC 24 JUL 21

Green Guardians and Pink Parrots Part 1/2

Alright I’m finally back! I’m only half watching while I clean my room but it’s fine.

I’m watching Fundy’s POV on my main screen and Ranboo’s on my phone where I’m typing this.

Ranboo pre game stream let’s gooo.

I’m so very entertained by the background Tubbo noises.

He’s so happy. I don’t know if I have it in my to watch Fundy’s POV even though I’m cheering for the Green Guardians.

Sands of time. Let’s go!

We are going to hear these boys in each other’s backgrounds.

This has “mom can we play Minecraft at our sleepover” vibe.

Phil’s streaming. Where is the fox boy…

Boys trying to out noise each other.

Please tell over to tubbo about how loud he is being. It would be funny.

It’s so much fun watching this boy achieve his goals. I love watching people achieve their goals.

Actual MCC server!!!

Good time for screeny. Nobody is chilling.

BURGER!

I saw him! I saw that fox run past!

“Ahh” - Ranboo

“Aaaa” -Tubbo

“Ahhhh” -Ranboo

“Aaaa” -Tubbo

High school ish age boy in competitive scenario. This will be so much fun.

Microphone magic time!

Hey I hear the boys!

And it works well.

It does echo???? How???

“It was a joint effort. I came up with some bad ideas you came up with the idea that works.” -Tubbo

Also known as every other group chat I’ve ever been in.

Lmanburg flag at rally?

What?

No. Let’s do free clout.

Ranboo being a problem.

Why is everyone in that VC?

What problems are these children causing.

Fundy is live! Where is my iPad time to dual wield streams.

Spatula???

Dual spatulas.

It’s time to start!!!

Where is the fox?

You know. I might reverse it. I might have to watch Pink Parrots mainly and just ignore green guardians.

I’m going to put Wilbur on my iPad so I can see the chaos man. Now to decide which POV I’m listening to. Probably Ranboo. Wilbur on mine is slightly behind.

They asked if Wilbur was going change his skin? That never happens. He had to wear the sweater of shame at Christmas time.

I have them both almost perfectly sinced but it’s at the point it almost sounds echoed.

No it’s just tubbo who sounds echoed.

Nope can’t get it to sync. Just listening on my speaker.

No surround sound here. Unless I get really board.

Manifesting the win?

Manifolding the win.

Bavid.

Time to annoy the other teams.

From here on I’m going to try to be productive while I watch. Wait no. The music isn’t in sync with the one I’ll mostly be watching.

Oh I forgot TapL was there. Nope it’s not syncing. Just going to have Ranboos on my phone be secondary.

Wilbur POV let’s go.

We trash talking. Look at them go.

Ahh. English area codes. What the enigma.

Let’s win pink parrots!!! How do I always end up cheering for this team…

I need to make pink parrot art.

Oh no. Just Wilbur.

Oh no. It’s all Tubbo.

Wilbur reminds me of a good camp counselor motivating his team. Not like one of my coworkers.

My brother isn’t home today so we can’t have a watch party like we wanted.

My mom is confused with my and my brother’s investment in MCC but we told her it was the national championships of Minecraft.

Oh poor Fundy tagging on the other side.

I need to remember to collect channel points.

I’m sorry why is my internet acting stupid. Work you!

Pink and purple. The tween girls second most idea color pallet.

They are over motivating the Soot.

Thought Wilbur was going to explode from peer pressure there.

Yooo. I figured out how to watch Fundy! I can split screen my ipad between the app and the website. Tiny Fundy screen and big Wilbur screen and tiny Ranboo screen on my phone.

They can’t warn fast enough.

Time to watch and ad and support Wilbur because it got too far behind for my liking while I fought with the tiny Fundy screen.

I need to put away the books I’m pressing flowers in. But I don’t want to mess up the flowers.

Wonder how soon I’ll have to start a new post because I ran out of bullet points.

Nah I’m not keeping Fundy’s POV open. I want full screen Pink Parrots.

Music brain made the lyric connection.

I could drink 3 bottles of water every round.

The boys with the superior bladders.

What happened with Wilbur? What I didn’t see anything happen with the stream.

Nox crew role play??? What?

Wait. Did red team just fall into the void?

What?

I found a skirt and I’m wondering why I don’t wear it more often.

It goes down to my knees I could even wear this to church.

Offhand wool!

Time to battle in the box!

Exciting death boots.

Go!!! Do wool! Get em!

Oh wow. They both died. At the same time.

They can hear the Tommy. That’s how well these dudes know one another.

Bragging on each other.

Everyone surprised that Wilbur is entering his old man years.

Woohoo!

Random history moments with Tubbo.

Woohoo (again)!

Ranboos just going to jinx it.

Oh no I need my charger!

Got my charger! Rejoined at “Minecraft butts make big… videos” and am quite confused.

Skilled boys!!

Poof goes the Bur.

They beat Dream???

Casually refolding every bandana I own while watching battle box.

I found a peppermint tea bag.

Come on get mid! Noooo.

Pink parrots doing pretty good from what I see in MCC live.

I thought Ranboo had an actual burger on his face cam. I was so confused for a moment.

Yelling across the room casually.

Wilbur is back. You can hear him.

Wilbur is like a kid trying to get a duck out of the pond.

Sky battle?

Shake? Shake shake shake?

Oh no. Now all the chat is crying over Ghostbur. Myself included.

Pink parrots on top so far! Never mind that didn’t last long.

Go Wilbur! Go Tubbo! Go Ranboo! Go TapL!

Wilbur go poof.

3rd atm.

Oh we’ve gone down.

No he was not good. But he paved the way for TapL.

We’re in 2nd?? Are the other teams dead or something?

If we’re going down and yelling timber.

4th. Not bad.

Woohoo!

Go green guardians!!

So proud of them.

Pants and Boots!

Still in 6th for sky battle.

Bless his heart TapL is so worried.

Red Rabbits and Green guardians are close.

My streams are out of sync. So confused.

We’re in lead!!

WE WON!!!

My iPad is struggling with Will’s stream but it’s going!

Come on Parrots!

Alright got it up again. Got it up again.

If I were a streamer I wouldn’t be good at MCC. I can’t competitive properly. I just like making jokes and being goofy.

Not a good lead but oh well never mind we don’t have the lead.

Red Rabbits YUM.

“Do not engage” as they set off tnt.

Get those stupid rabbits! Or whoever is attacking. I’ve never been good at any sports.

First again!

Hold on guys!

They won!!! With Wilbur hovering on the edge of the void!!!

PINK PARROTS FIRST PLACE (for now but I’m still excited)

Talented team!! Look at them go!

Get your screen shot little Y/N fan boy.

Not surprised we’re more popular than the olympics.

Had to go brag to my parents that there are more people watching MCC than the olympics. They were also not surprised.

Sands of Time. The wildcard game.

Sand sand sand sand.

We have a key for a vault already?

Putting away shoes. Nothing to make you be productive like watching Minecraft peeps play a competitive game.

“Everywhere is a way into somewhere”

Come on boys.

Time to switch to Ranboos POV. See if I can spot that N with my grown up can spot things vision.

Nope don’t see this mysterious letter.

TapL if you got nothing to do bother Ranboo to help him find that N.

Calm Tubbo. Tubbo chill.

Really. The map is broken and they are taking forever helping.

Key!!! Fight Fight Fight.

Ranboo apologizing.

If his team loses this kid will blame himself.

Go Tubbo and Ranboo.

Vault open!

Out of sand = prepare to book it.

1:30 (90 sec) let’s go.

Less than a minute. Evacuate!

Oh no Ranboo is lost. Hurry kiddo!

They made it?

They made it.

Off goes the Wilbur. Now to wait.

Come on pink parrots.

Is it bad I can’t see sands of time coins in MCC live or am I just crazy?

5th. Better than I expected.

THEY ARE STILL FIRST???

Barely. But they are.

We get to vote now?!?

Quick to the voting!

I had to fight Twitter to vote.

The app didn’t want to work.

What’s the acronym one?

I’m sorry did I just hear that Wilbur taught Tubbo how to spell fuck?

Ranboo has the iron bladder.

I drank so much water but I just kinda do that.

Listen to Wilbur getting soft and encouraging Ranboo in his first game.

And Wilbur wanting him back. And planning to manipulate Scott.

Doesn’t surprise me that Wilbur would manipulate Scott. I know he probably doesn’t but still.

Look at all us audience beings.

Hooray David. I don’t know who you are but sup.

I’m sitting on a yoga ball to type and I about fell off. That wouldn’t have been fun.

All of Wills chat blessing him.

David just did the vocal equivalent of 👍🏻

Ooo I found a dollar.

And of course Tubbo likes the olympics. Trampoline boy should love them.

Nooo. Not tubbo!

Whoopsy. There go the parrots.

Why does my Wilbur stream keep goofing. See this is why I don’t actually liveblog I am so behind it’d be delayed anyway.

Instead of replacing with Phil replace with Kristen.

Keep it up Pink Parrots keep it up. *clap clap*

Where is my old cheerleading book?

Oh this is so behind. I saw ranboo fall on his POV then waited a few moments to see him on Wills.

Let’s reset it again for now. Look like it’s close. And I got an ad this time.

If it gets super behind again I’m going to just switch to Ranboo on my iPad and see if that works.

Wills is slightly ahead now. That’s how I like it.

Wilbur is such a motivating human. I swear I keep thinking that I’m hearing my coworkers encouraging campers at a kickball game or something.

Oh we’re dropping. But we’re still going.

How the actual hay are we still here.

Keep it up TapL!!

2nd!

300 and a bit to get back to first.

Look at Ranboo and Wilbur. So happy.

Ok singy boi with the ability to do one sound for a long time.

I want TapL on DSMP. It would be funny I like this guy. What does this guy stream? I want to start watching him.

Ace Race? I love ace race.

Ooo buildmart. Used to be my favorite but now no one hates it anymore.

I like least liked games. Least liked games act as great equalizers. No one is happy and it’s funny.

“You have such a way with words” -TapL (?)

“Thanks I’m a song writer” -Wilbur

Why are we doing dramatic monologues?

Sounds neat. I like this deep story.

Who is dying? What? I zoned out for a minute.

Cant wait to see that audio appear on tiktok.

You go Wilbur. I believe in you.

You go Ranboo become a lover or hater of Ace Race.

“I keep on stabbing people in the butt with my fork” -Ranboo

Again can’t wait to see that audio appear on tiktok.

I love Wilburs angry “which glitch” he’s experienced all of them.

No don’t stop Wilburs channel! I’ll watch an ad but let me watch ace race.

Ranboo has learned to dislike ace race.

Feels like a achievement. You have made Ranboo hate ace race.

Tubbo did it! Whoop!

Good job Will!

Good Job team!

Second team to finish!!!

Wait it says they are in 3rd on MCC live?

Phil Head!

Hey 1st. Good job Parrots!

The perspective I watch doesn’t matter. All I see is shifting at Wilbur either way.

Ranboo booked it.

Techno. Oh how we miss him. He was there last MCC but still.

Wait why are they in the soggy? I missed it?

Dunk tank?

End on build mart! Everyone sounded so sad! I’m so happy! I picked the right team!

Oh acronym is terra swoop force!!! Go Philza.

I’m practical shot who will win.

Pink Parrots doing actually pretty good according to MCC live.

Good job guys!

Resetting Wilburs stream while nothing is happening so I don’t miss anything later.

OH WAIT STUFF IS STILL HAPPENING I SEE IT ON RANBOOS!

Oh final text block. I’m going to have to make 2 posts.

#mcc #minecraft championships #pink parrots #Wilbur soot #ranboo #tubbo #TapL #delayed liveblogging

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autoplaysdigimon · 4 years

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Top Five Villains

HERE WE GO, THE FUN LIST.

#5 Gatomon

Controversial, maybe, to have her be on the Villains list as well, but she was a villainous character for a while.

I’m a real sucker for a good redemption storyline; failing that, at least a turncoat character. While Gatomon didn’t really commit any real atrocities onscreen to atone for later in the story, she still proved a fun villain while she was one. She was no nonsense, efficient, knew exactly what she was doing... if she’d stayed on Myotismon’s side, she could have been a real force to be reckoned with. One of the things that I’d have really liked to have seen explored more in this series was Gatomon’s time with Myotismon, and how much she’s changed since then.

Plus there’s something so weirdly entertaining about a group of creepy, ominous, obviously evil monsters and then a small white kitty cat who’s just as dangerous as them.

#4 Myotismon

This guy.

When this guy came onto the scene, the entire show changed. Devimon’s arc was fun, if a little generic; Etemon’s was very similar with a different villain, and then Demidevimon’s arc came along and we got a fun, goofy villain who can’t Evil properly. Even so, we knew he was following orders from a higher power, and Myotismon’s eventual appearance changed the dynamic from “Team Rocket Fools Children Repeatedly” to “oh shit an actual vampire is going to kill us”. And then the whole Eighth Digidestined thing happened... Plus, that #aesthetic, amirite?

To tie into Gatomon’s thing up there, the Eighth Digidestined arc was one of the best of the season, if not the best. Taking the fight to the Real World made it more, well, real. It was fun as hell watching the parents interact with the Digimon, both good and bad, and finding out exactly what the kids had been up to lately. The kids watching their families getting dragged into the fight was TOP. NOTCH. Plus Myotismon actually knew what he was doing as a villain so.

He knew to go after the one kid without protection. He knew how to cut everything off effectively. He did take a shot at some of the kids when they were on their own, instead of thinking only of killing Kari. Death didn’t stop him the first time. Even when he pulled the classic villain “You Have Outlived Your Use” thing and killed his own minions, it was on Digimon who had already turned against him, like Wizardmon, Pumpkinmon, Gotsumon and (arguably) Darktyrannomon.

(No, wait, they’re still alive because he sent them to his Dungeon, isn’t that RIGHT DUB TEAM.)

(Even though pieces of them were left behind and dissolved on their own.)

(No, I’m still not over that.)

#3 Ogremon

Another redeemed villain! I just like them, okay

Maybe it’s just me, but just the act of Ogremon turning good at the end made me like him. He was a little bit generic in the Devimon arc, though at least he had the feud with Leomon to make him interesting. (Any logical reason to that, by the way? Was it just that we had these two Digimon who could fill in the character roles we’d set out for them? Nothing mythological about lions and ogres hating each other or anything? No? Okay then.)

All Ogremon really did in that first arc was serve as the henchman. He made some... interesting choices, and then he was absorbed into Devimon for power. And then he came out of the back of Devimon’s knee. Sure. When Devimon was defeated, he ran screaming off into the distance, shaking his fist and yelling “NEXT TIME, GADGET. NEXT TIIIIME.” The very act of bringing him back when he wasn’t employed by the Big Bad of the moment made him an interesting character, who had to atone for what he did. I’m a sucker for redemption, like I said, and the best part of it is watching them go soft.

Plus, how great is it to have multiple conflicting alliances within a group? When Leomon returned, even though Ogremon was firmly on the Digidestined side now, he had absolutely no problems with trying to immediately murder Leomon. There’s nothing wrong with that, right? They’re rivals, it’s just natural! He’s also kind of a shithead in general, even still.

Also, Ogremon is incredibly hard to draw. I’d just like to bring that up.

Okay, next!

#2 Etemon

HE’S A MONKEY WHO TALKS LIKE ELVIS, NEXT QUESTION.

But for real, Etemon is such a fucking great villain. Great character all around, I’d love a version where he was an ally or something, but how else would we get the trademark Elvis-laugh-turns-into-villainous-laugh thing that Etemon has going?! Come on, that’s great.

Devimon’s villainous style was one of corruption; he wasn’t all that powerful on his own, but by using the Black Gears he could build his own damn forces and control small areas. He only managed to control a handful of Digimon in the end. He was also taken out by a single Digimon in a single one-on-one, though you could argue that the others had weakened him by that point, they hadn’t really.

Etemon’s style was drastically different - he was far more comical, but far more dangerous. His introduction scene involved him panicking over the Digidestined already being in the area. He sang a lot, he cracked jokes, he threw childish tantrums, and again, he was a monkey who sounded like Elvis. There is nothing not awesome about this guy. And yes, he was deadlier - his main attack can undo Digivolutions and leave the Digimon vulnerable as hell. He ended up taking a couple of episodes to take out, only losing because another villain tried to sabotage him in the end.

And coming back partway through the Dark Masters arc as Metaletemon?! FUCK YEAH. Every pun he made, I laughed at and I don’t apologise for that. Even starting a series-wide tradition, he was stylish until the end.

Also he called Ikkakumon a goat that one time.

#1 Demidevimon

T H E B A S T A R D O R B

Nobody is surprised that he’s my #1, right? It was a close call between him and Etemon, but ultimately I just like Demidevimon’s arc more. We have Devimon and Etemon, as I discussed above. After that wave of villains who are dangerous because they’re powerful, we have one who is dangerous because he’s just a little bastard.

Demidevimon wasn’t strong. Most villains had their huge beatdown happen in the form of a Digimon Digivolving to Champion, Ultimate or Mega for the first time, Demidevimon had his when Patamon reached Rookie level again. In his debut episode. He was never a threat physically once the kids realised that he was not to be trusted. His arc came right after two arcs of the kids being stranded in this strange world together, only briefly separated - and then everyone was torn apart, and he could manipulate them individually.

I’ve argued in the past that Demidevimon was a more effective manipulator than even Puppetmon, one of the Dark Masters, and I stand by it. Puppetmon managed to physically manipulate them with the dolls, sure, and he had Cherrymon convince Matt to attack Tai. But, uh, he didn’t exactly have to twist his arm very hard to get that to happen, and that was Cherrymon’s doing anyway. Plus you could argue that physically manipulating someone isn’t much of a social power as it is more a matter of strength. (also Puppetmon is more of a “play with them like toys” type, but still, being a literal puppetmaster, you’d think that manipulation was more of his domain than a BAT.) Demidevimon, however, managed to:

convince TK that Matt didn’t want him as a brother anymore and to ditch Tokomon

nearly have TK, Tai and Agumon eat poisonous mind-wiping mushrooms

convince Digitamamon to keep Joe and Matt in the restaurant, simultaneously threatening Joe to help keep Matt there and sabotaged them constantly to manipulate them all further

trick Izzy and Tentomon into Vademon’s trap

tell the Gekomon and Otamamon about Mimi’s singing voice, somehow knowing that they’d end up hindering her progress somehow(???)

And, even after knowing that he’s an evil manipulating Digimon, he managed to convince Sora that she’d never manage to activate her crest, causing her to believe it in a self-fulfilling prophecy, even as she worked to sabotage his efforts otherwise.

I mean, apart from all that, I just like Demidevimon as a Digimon. He’s a tiny flying motherfucker and that’s great! He had some of my favourite lines, even his death was kind of tragically funny, and I have a clear bias when it comes to his voice acting, because I just like Derek Stephen Prince. He does it well! I don’t know how Demidevimon closes his eyes like that, though, those appear to be his pupils closing. I don’t even know.

Really, I just find great nostalgia in comical villains. They were all the rage back in the day, especially in children’s media. They’re still around sometimes - Doctor Doofenshmirtz from Phineas and Ferb, the Rubies from Steven Universe, the Ice King from Adventure Time, even Team Rocket from Pokemon are thriving still. Good, menacing villains are great and all, but where’s the fun?

Honourable Mentions

Scorpiomon, who probably benefited the most from the dub’s style - his constant cried of “hey, stop it, come baaaack” while chasing Joe and Mimi are more remnicient of a kid trying to get his toy back from the bully who just took it away from him than someone trying to murder children, and that’s just fucking hilarious.

Mimi, when she was briefly an antagonist in that one episode. Just as I really like Heel-Face turns, I really like Face-Heel turns, even temporarily, and even as petty as this whole thing was. It was the perfect trap for her, who just craved the comfort of home, and who could be easily confinced to go for more. And it was the perfect trap because she was the jailor and the jailed at the same time, trapped as long as her own selfishness would allow. It was one of my favourite episodes.

Datamon, who had his own agenda and didn’t care that he was stepping on Etemon’s toes to get what he wanted. Just like Leomon and Ogremon had conflicting alliances on the protagonist’s side, Datamon and Etemon were opposing forces on the antagonist’s side, and multiple villains fighting each other are always fun to see.

Actually, Etemon later fought Puppetmon as Metaletemon, didn’t he? Wow, dude just doesn’t get along with other villains.

Gizamon. Give them more lines, you cowards.

The Dark Masters, as a whole. Just as Myotismon changed the entire tone of the show, these guys took the entire first half of the show and murdered every safe thing about it. They immediately started playing with the Digidestined, fully intending to off them all right then and there as a team. They were competent, for the most part - only failing when they were forced to split up, and their dirty tricks could be dismantled one by one. I’ve never seen a more co-operative group of antagonists, who never tried to dethrone each other and take everything for themselves.

And okay, sure, Kokatorimon. Purely for this.

Dishonourable Mention

Apocalymon.

Look, dude, I’m sorry, you’re cool and everything, but where the fuck did you come from? We killed Piedmon, it’s over, no, wait, here’s one last guy, no wait he’s dead, nevermind. What?

The fact that Apocalymon didn’t get any fanfare before being dropped on the Digidestined without warning made him seem like an afterthought, like the writers forgot their own endgame until they got there. Even if there had been a mention of the effect that caused his existence before he showed up - a “hey, did you know that not every Digimon survives Digivolution? Their data just gets deleted or something,” really would have helped, but even then.

Apocalymon’s existence in the show really highlights how disjointed the series as a whole is - Devimon has no relation to Etemon, who has no relation to Myotismon, who has no relation to the Dark Masters, who have no relation to Apocalymon. The kids face a constant load of “okay, so we beat this guy and we can go home, right? ...no, maybe this guy??” where every new villain is dropped on the like a hot potato, making their first appearance in less time after their existence is revealed in less time than it takes to heat up said hot potato. Myotismon is the only one who gets any decent buildup before his first appearance before the children, and he’s often said to be the best villain of the show, so see how that works?

Digimon Adventure is the story of a bunch of kids who were brought to the Digital World to take care of one guy, and hey, while you’re here, we’ve also got some sort of demon on this island causing trouble, and there’s this monkey threatening us, and also a vampire, and then these four have joined together... It was a fun adventure, and I love that it could be part of my childhood and my life, but wow it really needed a more cohesive throughline for the story.

I hate to leave this post on a negative note, because it was full of mostly nice things, so here’s another picture of the bastard orb.

Hahahaha, oh you silly little man.

#digimon #digimon anime #digimon adventure #auto plays digimon #auto watches digimon adventure #character analysis

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ranma-rewatch · 3 years

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Episode 23: Enter Mousse! The Fist of the White Swan

*yawn* Wow, I finally got some good sleep. Back to the Ranma Rewatch, then. Hey there, long time no see, going to try and get back on track. This week we’re still in the middle of the season 2’s opening story arc, and another main character shall be introduced to us. Will I like him better than I did ten years ago? Only way to find out is to look at the next paragraph, from when I’ve watched the episode.

This episode raised my hopes and then gently lowered them a little, but on the whole I’m happier than I thought I would have been.

The story starts with Akane taking Ranma to see Dr. Tofu, under the assumption that as someone with lots of experience with Chinese medicine, he’d be able to fix what Cologne did to Ranma. Sadly, the technique used is something only a master could do, far outside of his wheelhouse. However, there is one thing he could do.

To counteract the Full Body Cat Tongue, Tofu hits a different pressure point in Ranma, one named after old men from Tokyo. Why? Because apparently they’re well known for being able to stand even the most scalding heat in their baths, and this technique gives the user that same ability. Sure enough, it let’s Ranma return to his uncursed state, but there’s a catch. Kasumi calls, turning Dr. Tofu into a bumbler before he can give the warning, so Ranma and Akane just head to school.

After class, Akane harangues Ranma into taking her out for food, which their classmates immediately notice has a lot of romantic energy to it. Then Shampoo and Cologne appear, amazed that Ranma somehow found a way around the elderly amazon’s strategy, but Cologne seems sure anyway that this won’t be an issue.

But wait! Out of nowhere, someone new appears. His name is Mousse, and he’s a man from the amazon village who has been in love with Shampoo since they were kids. He has terrible eyesight, so bad that he frequently mistakes people for the love of his life, and after a series of confusions he learns that Shampoo is dead set on marrying Ranma.

Mousse attacks Ranma, and challenges him to a manly duel for Shampoo. But she refuses that, so instead makes the duel over Akane for seemingly no reason, which Ranma agrees to. Oh, and he’s known for using ‘dark magic’ which is in practice more sleight of hand and weapon-based techniques.

That evening, Akane is doing what she frequently does when pissed off, namely training in the dojo. Ranma shows up, clearly aware he really stepped in it and wanting to make amends by making it clear there’s no way he’s going to lose to Mousse.

But Akane makes it clear that isn’t why she’s mad. The reason she’s upset is that she doesn’t belong to Ranma, and she won’t belong to Mousse. She’s her own person, and this duel doesn’t respect that. Hell, if he loses that’s fine with her, she’ll just beat up Mousse herself. The entire family shows up, interpreting this as kind of a romantic confession to Ranma.

The next morning, it Dr. Tofu calls and gives the warning he’d meant to tell them earlier: the technique he used is a one-use, so if Ranma gets splashed, he’s stuck again. Akane only finds this out after Ranma takes a dip in the pond while sparring with his dad, and they all freak out over what he’s going to do. Why none of them think to just tell Mousse that Ranma has a Jusenkyo curse, I have no clue.

Someone, Cologne probably, turned the match into a huge spectacle, with food carts and seating around the arena and everything, there’s a huge crowd. Ranma’s late, but that’s only because he made a disguise to hide his cursed body. He clowns around a little at first, having prepared a bunch of lame magic tricks, but then ‘does a trick’ by ‘turning into a girl’, giving him an excuse for how he looks.

Mousse buys it, but he’s angry that Ranma’s not taking it seriously. He takes of his...robe? Tunic? Whatever, either way he’s buff as hell under there, and an attack from his barbed footwear ruins the front of Ranma’s stage assistant outfit, bearing his boobies to everyone. This causes a bunch of men in the audience to storm the fighting area so they can sexually assault Ranma and then I paused Hulu and stared at my computer screen for three full minutes before continuing the episode.

*sigh* Anyway, the Kuno siblings show up, interfere with the fight, Mousse gets deadly series, then Akane reminds Ranma he can use his new technique in battle, which he does to win. Then a bunch of his admirers crowd Ranma, and Akane is annoyed. Done.

Let me get into the stuff I found really interesting with this episode, to start with.

The first half was honestly just really enjoyable. Akane and Ranma had a really good chemistry going on, it reminded me a lot of the episode where Shampoo first showed up. There was a casual closeness to them, still tempered with occasional arguments, that was just cute.

I also liked that they thought to try asking Dr. Tofu for help, since his expertise has helped so often in the past. Making it clear this was a problem he could only barely help out with, and only one time, sold how Cologne and what she’s done to Ranma isn’t something that’s going to be solved easily.

What was a bit odd in that scene was we actually got to see the curse take effect, as Ranma’s torso changed, something I’m fairly sure we’ve never gotten that much detail on. It’s usually either off-screen or a cutaway. But I like we saw it with the curse turning him back to his uncursed form, since it emphasized this was Ranma regaining the body that felt right to him.

I’ve talked about this before, but I also couldn’t help noticing throughout this episode the weird dichotomy in who uses Ranma’s preferred pronouns and who doesn’t. Akane, Shampoo, and Cologne all call Ranma ‘he’ even when he’s in a feminine form, but Akane’s siblings call him ‘she’ instead.

The dojo scene was also a treat for me. I just kind of love how it put the focus on how this whole arrangement devalues Akane. Both the engagement from their parents and the terms of this duel take away her say in what she does with her life, and she isn’t having it. It almost sounded like she was comforting Ranma, taking a burden off his shoulders, when she told him he didn’t have to stress over the fight because she’d be fine either way. I am here for Akane stressing her independence and making it clear that no matter what happens in the fight, she is her own person.

That was a lot of nice stuff, but sadly the second half of the episode didn’t really carry it through. It wasn’t terrible, but the fight wasn’t really anything special, and the whole bit with the guys storming Ranma...yeah. Didn’t care for that. But hey! It’s finally time to do another Character Spotlight!

Unlike Cologne, who I am still holding off on doing a Spotlight for since I don’t feel like we’ve gotten to really see enough of her yet, this one episode basically gave us most of what we need to know about Mousse, so let’s just do it.

In terms of voice acting, his English performer is Brad Swaile. He’s done quite a few things, but he’s most well known for being the voice of Light in Death Note, which is quite a funny comparison. Both characters have huge egos, that’s to be sure, but Light is usually taken seriously, while at least in the dub Mousse is basically just a joke the entire time. Swaile plays him very comedically, which does fit the generally goofy tone of his character.

It is in contrast, however, to his original Japanese voice actor, Toshihiko Seki. Like a lot of the seiyuu, he has done a million things, but of particular note are his roles as Legato Bluesummers from Trigun, another anime I love quite a bit, and as the Japanese Dub actor for the Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who. Honestly, finding out the Japanese dub castings is a treat every time I do a Spotlight. But anyway, Seki largely plays Mousse more seriously, as a confident warrior, only going for comedy with how over-the-top some of his attacks get, considering how silly they are. I’m going to tentatively say this is another performance I think works than the dub, which is fairly rare for me as far as anime go.

So, who exactly is Mousse? Well, like I said before, Mousse is Shampoo’s childhood friend, and the first member of their tribe we’ve met who is a guy. His character motivation is literally just that he wants to be with Shampoo, and will beat up/kill Ranma to get her. Pretty simple.

What makes him silly is the combination of his terrible eyesight, a fairly common trope that now that I think about it is kinda ableist, and how he fights. He’s a master of hidden weapons, but more often than not the items he’s fighting with are silly things, like a toilet or a yoyo. Combined with his high self-confidence, and Mousse is fairly Kuno-like, only quite a bit sillier.

Only enough though, he’s more similar to Kodachi than to Tatewaki. Why? Well, because he’s deadly. Of all of Ranma’s primary rivals/reoccurring antagonists, Mousse is easily the one most ready to kill, not unlike Shampoo. When he gets serious, he trades in the silly weapons for genuinely dangerous weapons. He started choking Ranma with his bare hands in their first encounter, then tried doing it again with rope not long afterwards. Ryoga might talk a lot about killing Ranma, but Mousse has done a lot more to actually attempt that.

All of that said, I’m pretty ambivalent on Mousse. I don’t hate him, but of all of Ranma’s primary rivals, he’s easily the most boring. He doesn’t have the je ne sais quoi of Ryoga or the pompous elitism of Kuno, he’s just a deadly joke character who’s obsessed with Shampoo. Maybe my opinions will change over the course of the rewatch, but for right now I’m still pretty meh on him.

But you know what I’m not meh on? This episode! Even with the weaker second half, the first ten minutes or so were good enough that I’m overall pretty sunny on it. Listen, I’m an easy mark, give me some Ranma/Akane fuel and some decent drama, and I’m happy. I’ll put this in the top half of episodes so far between the ending of the fight between Ranma and Kodachi and the climax to Shampoo’s introductory arc.

Episode 7: Enter Ryoga, the Eternal ‘Lost Boy’

Episode 12: A Woman's Love is War! The Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics Challenge!

Episode 15: Enter Shampoo, the Gung-Ho Girl! I Put My Life in Your Hands

Episode 9: True Confessions! A Girl's Hair is Her Life!

Episode 2: School is No Place for Horsing Around

Episode 19: Clash of the Delivery Girls! The Martial Arts Takeout Race

Episode 6: Akane's Lost Love... These Things Happen, You Know

Episode 13: A Tear in a Girl-Delinquent's Eye? The End of the Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics Challenge!

Episode 23: Enter Mousse! The Fist of the White Swan

Episode 17: I Love You, Ranma! Please Don’t Say Goodbye

Episode 20: You Really Do Hate Cats!

Episode 16: Shampoo's Revenge! The Shiatsu Technique That Steals Heart and Soul

Episode 8: School is a Battlefield! Ranma vs. Ryoga

Episode 11: Ranma Meets Love Head-On! Enter the Delinquent Juvenile Gymnast!

Episode 4: Ranma and...Ranma? If It’s Not One Thing, It’s Another

Episode 5: Love Me to the Bone! The Compound Fracture of Akane's Heart

Episode 1: Here’s Ranma

Episode 22: Behold! The 'Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire' Technique

Episode 3: A Sudden Storm of Love

Episode 21: This Ol' Gal's the Leader of the Amazon Tribe!

Episode 10: P-P-P-Chan! He's Good For Nothin'

Episode 14: Pelvic Fortune-Telling? Ranma is the No. One Bride in Japan

Episode 18: I Am a Man! Ranma's Going Back to China!?

But once again, this arc still! Isn’t! Done! No, the end of the Phoenix Pill Arc, if you want to call it that, comes next week with “Cool Runnings! The Race of the Snowmen". Most of my memories of this episode come from a YouTuber I used to follow hating on it, but I’m ready to give it a fair shot. See you then!

#episode 23 #Enter Mousse! The Fist of the White Swan #ranma 1/2 #ranma saotome #akane tendo #mousse #anime analysis #anime rewatch

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kounkibou · 4 years

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HC: Nagito’s Parents

After a lot of encouraging from friends and followers, I’m actually going to make this post. It’s something that I’ve alluded to a few times in posts and replies, but I’ve never said outright. I’m aware it’s a “hot take” among people who RP Nagito, and that’s why I’ve been hesitant.

It’s my RP blog, though, so I can do what I want.

So let’s do this. Let’s talk about Nagito’s parents and his relationship with them.

One of the first things I do when I take on a character is think about their upbringing and what sort of things they went through. With Nagito, a lot of it was put out there in his FTEs. He glosses over most of his traumatic experiences, but we can tell that’s just how he deals with stressful situations. He’s been through so many of them that his coping mechanism is to hope for something good afterward, to count on his luck to give him something in return for the misfortune.

I mention this because stating something like watching your parents die horribly in front of you in a matter-of-fact way with a smile just shows how traumatic it was for him.

The hot take in this headcanon is simple. Nagito’s parents loved him, and he loved them. I understand where the opposite comes from as Nagito in the first trial says (Full Disclosure: this is taken from Ultimate Luck and Hope and Despair but he says pretty much the same thing in game.) “I’ve never received a compliment for my appearance before. Not even from my own mother.” I’ve actually noticed that this is really more of a trend in the English-speaking audience as most Japanese artists I’ve seen imply a good relationship with them. I’m not sure if it’s a translation thing because I don’t know enough Japanese to read the text or understand the audio, but it’s something to think about.

My problem with this is it’s such an offhanded comment, and he doesn’t elaborate on it in his FTEs. In fact, from those FTEs, we can infer the opposite. This is something my good friend Nova ( @theultimatemusemess ) pointed out to me way back. If Nagito’s parents didn’t love him, why would they take him on a vacation with them? They could afford for someone to look after him while they were gone. If they really didn’t care, they could even just leave him by himself.

I know quite a bit about wills and/or transferring belongings after death, but not much about how it works in other places. However, Nagito received all of their wealth and possessions. We could put this up to inheritance laws designating the child to be the recipient of properties, and Nagito has no other living relatives. However, these two were wealthy. I imagine they either of their own volition or under someone’s advice put a will in place.

Nagito says that his inheritance gave him independence, which is scary considering how young he must have been. He says he was in elementary school. That gives us an age of 6-12. No matter how you swing it, that’s young to be living on your own.

Why does this matter? Nagito was little when his parents died. That’s a large span of age possibilities. Depending on how young he was, he might not remember a lot of his life before. His parents’ death was a big event. Anything before that pales in comparison. Plus, Nagito has lost so many people, he tries to distance himself from everyone. I imagine he tries to belittle his attachment to his parents to protect himself from the grief.

To put it simply, as I said in my tags, Nagito isn’t a reliable narrator in his own story.

That’s all of the canon and albeit limited research I have to offer to excuse my reasoning. Now, let’s get on to the actual headcanon part. I’m going to introduce you guys to Nagito’s parents, who I lovingly put together as I do parents for most of my muses.

All I have as references are doll makers. (This one specifically) In the future, I’m hoping to have actual references for them, but for now, we have this.

Nagito’s Mother

Here’s the ref sheet that I put together for her. It includes a quick rundown of information as well. Note: For both of them, I took colors for skin/hair/etc. from Nagito himself.

As it says on the tin, Miwako is a real estate agent. She’s high up in a particular agency that deals with foreign properties and buyers. As a consequence, she travels quite a bit and speaks several languages. If the agency is experiencing a problem, they ask her to resolve it as she notices details and remembers things that others put in the back of their minds. She’s been known to work herself too hard and fall asleep where she drops.

On the outside, Miwako is stone faced and looks like she’s locked on and ready to kill. It comes in handy when she’s working, but it hinders her in her social life. She cares about other people and their well-being. It’s just...hard for her to convey that properly. The only people who can easily do that are her husband, son, and close friends.

The only problem is her work doesn’t leave a lot of time for her child, who she loves very much. She carries pictures of Nagito on her person and goes from :| to :D when asked about him. Think of Maes Hughes pulling out tons of pictures of his daughter, and you have a good vision of how Miwako feels about Nagito.

One thing Miwako loves is reading. She funds a local library and donates books once she’s finished with them. Her favorite way to bond with Nagito is to read to him, starting his love of literature. Sometimes, she enlists her husband to do silly voices so they can all spend time together. A few times, she’s accidentally read Nagito bits from her own book (sleepily) before opening a children’s book when she gets in bed. Oops.

It was Miwako’s idea to get a dog. Since both of them worked so much, they wanted their son to have a companion while they were gone. Thus, they got Taiki shortly after Nagito was born. He ended up being keeping track of Nagito, who, as I’ll touch on in another headcanon post, got into trouble and got lost frequently. This stressed both parents out because that’s their baby and he ends up in these terrifying situations too often for comfort.

Miwako is really a nice person. She just finds it hard to communicate with others on a personal level. She loves her family, but she doesn’t have a lot of time for them.

Nagito’s Father

Kozei is an interesting character. His specialty is medical research, something that he got an interest in as he grew older and watched parents, grandparents, etc. decline in health. He wanted to come up with ways to help ease the pain of aging and improve everyone’s quality of life.

Partially because of his family name and partially because of his own abilities, he rose up in the ranks and ended up at the top. This is something he isn’t always happy about because he hates doing paperwork and going through valid procedures. He also prefers to do things on his own rather than having other people do them for him. Kozei ends up doing actual work more often than his fellow big-wigs would like. He’s dedicated to his work and truly believes in it.

Personality-wise, Kozei is a bit of an airhead. He seems lazy on the surface, not always dressing formally or caring about his appearance. Getting him to brush his hair is an ordeal. He likes to make jokes and keep things lighthearted, one of the ways he was able to break through Miwako’s tough exterior. He’s a little forgetful sometimes, but when it comes down to it, he’ll remember small things like a person’s favorite color or a food they said they liked one time in passing.

Kozei’s work schedule is just as heavy as Miwako’s, but he gets home earlier and doesn’t have to travel as much. Some days when he feels bad about leaving his kid, he takes Nagito with him and sits him at his desk in his own special chair with crayons and paper. Kozei has so many drawings up in his office, and he’s proud of them. His son made those.

He has the more excited personality out of the two. Kozei’s thing is science. Anything science. Chemistry, biology, physics, you name it. He loves scientific advances and will nerd out about them. He’ll lay in bed late at night and talk Miwako’s ear off about something cool that she doesn’t understand. He’ll explain astrophysics to five-year-old Nagito, who just thinks he’s talking funny and laughs.

If you need someone to pick up your spirits, Kozei is your guy. If he believes in something, he believes in it ride or die, and that includes your friendship as well as his medical research.

Kozei and Miwako’s Relationship

How did these two meet? Simply put, Miwako sold Kozei’s father property, and since Kozei’s father was trying to involve him in his affairs as preparation for the future, he was there. They got to know one another, and on the last day they were going to interact, Kozei asked Miwako if she’d like to meet up sometime...possibly over dinner. At first, she had this face like “Are you serious?” but he did this thing where he gestured expectantly at her with this goofy grin that gradually got more nervous as the silence went on. Something about that tickled her funny bone, and she lost it. This nerd was asking her out, and he obviously knew how much of a stretch it was. She had to say yes, you know? He made her laugh.

They actually dated for a few years since their schedules made it hard to meet up a lot. After a few months, Kozei was on board for the long haul, ready to make the big commitment. Miwako was the more cautious one about things, wanting to feel it out before getting too caught up in the romance. He proposed to her after taking her to the same restaurant they went on their first date. (Obvious Spoiler: She said yes.)

They were fairly set financially, and they both wanted to have a child. However, it took quite awhile for pregnancy to happen. Miwako isn’t the best at doing romantic things, so the way she told Kozei was really just...

Miwako: *walks out* Hey, I’m pregnant. Kozei: Oh. Kozei: Wait what?!

As a couple, they have an open, honest relationship. If they have issues, they talk to one another and make sure they’re both on the same page before talking about doing anything big. Kozei tries to make Miwako laugh when she gets stressed. Miwako lets her guard down in front of him because she trusts him, and he’s a sweetheart. If asked, Kozei would tell you that his wife does most of the hard work and is a genius. He’s her biggest fan.

They’re honestly just really supportive of each other and will do anything to make sure the other is happy.

Nagito & His Parents

Like any new parents, they weren’t experts. They did some kind of silly things. Kozei may or may not have forgotten in a sleepy haze to put Baby Nagito in his crib, and the two of them may have had an exchange something like:

Kozei: Where's the baby? Miwako: I gave him to you. Kozei: shIT! NAGITO WHERE ARE YOU? Miwako: HE'S A BABY! HE'S NOT GONNA ANSWER!

The two of them find him later comfortably on a cushion that fell on the floor.

Because they work so much, they had to arrange for someone to care for Nagito while they were away. They had housekeepers and other staff to help who they paid well for their efforts. (They could certainly afford to, and they weren’t stingy with their money.) A lot of Nagito’s time was spent with a caretaker, but when his parents were home, they doted on him. They loved him very much. Nagito thought the world of them. He couldn’t wait for his parents to get home so he could tell them about his day.

They taught him as much as they could, and he learned some of their behaviors. A lot of Nagito’s body language mirrors Miwako’s, and his excitement about things he’s passionate about reflects Kozei’s. They weren’t in his life for long, but he had a close bond with them. They spent time with him and took him fun places when they had days off so they could all bond.

I wanted to compile some of the funny scenarios I’ve thought of, so here’s a one.

Kozei: Your mother works hard. Without her, I'd be some idiot rambling about science and probably homeless. Nagito: But science is cool. Kozei: I KNOW RIGHT?!

Another where Miwako is teaching Nagito what to do in case of an emergency.

Miwako: What would you do if you found me or your father on the floor and we wouldn't wake up? Nagito: Go to the kitchen and eat whatever I want. Kozei: *snorting*

And one last one after Miwako actually cooks dinner.

Miwako: How was it? Nagito: *not impressed* It tasted bad. Kozei: That's very mean. She went through all the trouble to cook for you. Say something nice about it. Nagito: Thanks, Mama, for trying.

These are just examples of the dynamic and how they’re pretty normal parents.

Their Death

I did way too much research about this vacation they went on. I looked at the location, what things people could do there, and what kind of flights needed to be taken. The last time I checked, it took...three different flights to get from Tokyo to San Cristóbal. (I can’t check right now flights right now are sketchy. Future Tiki who survived the pandemic, fact check me.) It’s a lot of flying.

There’s not a definitive answer as to whether this was right after they landed or right before they took off. I like to think it was the latter because I hate happiness. What’s better than a nice, fun vacation that ends with dead parents? (Heavy sarcasm.) I’m going to go with that.

The basics are that the plane was hijacked and a meteorite the size of a fist killed the hijackers and also Nagito’s parents. The truth of the situation is muddied mostly due to the fact that Nagito only provides that much information. He likely blocked out that memory and is going off of what he’s been told. This is just my take on it, but I imagine his information is so, for lack of a better word, flat because he doesn’t want to remember the situation first hand. His explanation is like that of an outsider, not someone who was there in real time. That and he was a child. (For the record, I place him at about 7 or 8.)

My interpretation of events is as follows. The plane was hijacked still on the runway. The passengers are afraid. These two have a young child they want to protect. They were probably fairly close to the hijackers since we don’t have the details of anyone else being hurt in this situation, though I do think it’s possible there were more.

In order to protect their child, maybe they tried to reason with the hijackers. Maybe they wanted to resolve things peacefully so everyone could go home and the hijackers could get a lesser punishment. Either way, both parties were killed, and Nagito became an orphan.

Now this child not even in double digits is in a different country, his parents just died in front of him, there’s strangers all over the place, and there’s a whole investigation likely happening. He’s terrified and alone. These people are talking around him, and a lot of what they’re saying doesn’t make sense. (Whether it’s the language barrier or just because he’s too young to understand doesn’t matter. Maybe it’s both.) Just imagine how scary that would be.

Imagine this tiny child saying he just wants his mom and dad and that he wants to go home. It’s heartbreaking.

How Nagito Copes With It

I’ve said it several times, but I’m going to put it all right here to make sure my thoughts are together.

Nagito tells Hajime that this event gave him his independence. It was one of the first incidents that showed him his “luck cycle” in action. In hindsight, he sees this event as more evidence that yes this is what’s happening. He looks back on it as a positive to protect himself. He was the last person left in his family, all alone. I like to imagine there were still people who worked in and around the home, but as a whole, he was by himself.

Without fully realizing it, as he grew older, Nagito ended up dealing with this grief by burying the happier memories. He built up this narrative that his parents were indifferent to him in order to avoid mourning them. The reason he doesn’t talk about them, what he says about his mother, how nonchalant he is when he mentions what happened? It’s his way of keeping himself safe. If he thinks of them as people who didn’t have an attachment to him, he won’t miss them. He won’t feel sad.

To put it simply, Nagito fabricated a narrative where his loving parents weren’t as loving in order to keep from feeling the pain of losing them and not having them there as he grew up.

There you have it. That’s the long, in-depth post about Nagito’s parents! If you read through the whole thing, thanks! I’m still nervous about posting it, so hit me up if you have any opinions or ideas or if you want me to talk more about things!

#x Absolute Hope || Text #x Ultimate Luck || Headcanons #x Repressed Memories || Childhood #death cw #parent death cw

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nadziejastar · 4 years

Link

Axel and Riku get along very well somehow. Since Riku has become a figure of Ansem, I don’t speak much with him, but he laughs like a different person when he eats Ice cream with Axel. Axel says he “Laughs to face bad feelings”, but it seems that Riku isn’t a bad person.

After, Axel likes sea salt ice cream. You’ve eaten sea salt ice cream ever since you moved to that house. I think that you’re eating all the time! I wonder how you don’t break your stomach! Axel too often disappears to eat ice cream. There’s a lot in the refrigerator of the computer room. When I met Axel for the first time in Castle Oblivion, I never imagined that he would become like this.

Really good post, and I agree. Lea can be a lovable goof. But he’s so much more than that. His character gets trivialized as the butt of a joke and he’s way too flanderized. But I loved him because he was so complex and 3-dimensional. The above is a quote from a fan translation of one of the novel short stories that was never officially localized. But it said that Axel laughed to “face bad feelings”. And that is how I always saw him. Also, his addiction to sea-salt ice cream is similar. It’s how he copes with his trauma.

“Yeah. As long as we remember one another, we’ll never be apart. Got it memorized?” Roxas grinned.

“Who are you, and what have you done with Axel?”

“Hey! I tried, okay?” All that effort to cheer them up, and they just turned it into a punch line. Chagrined, he looked away.

Xion burst into giggles, and then, as if it was contagious, Roxas started laughing, too.

“Oh, c’mon, it’s not that funny!” Axel scolded. They paused, looked at each other, and giggled again. “I don’t know why I put up with this…”

“But, I mean…it just didn’t sound like you, Axel.” Xion could barely hold in laughter long enough to get the words out.

A wish that they could always be together—was longing for the impossible. But at least they could always remember one another.

This scene right here proved to me how complex Axel was. I loved how subtle that it was, too. Roxas and Xion were kinda treating Axel like much of the fandom does. Like he’s just this lighthearted goofy guy who they don’t take very seriously. So, they laughed at him. Axel normally is fine with being teased. Well, this is the one time he really doesn’t find it funny. He does not laugh along with them. In fact, he’s incredibly hurt and embarrassed. Now, I have my own theory about why Axel acted like that.

“Well, we probably can’t be together forever,” Hayner said. “But isn’t that just part of growing up? What’s important isn’t how much we see one another. It’s how often we think about one another. Right?”

Unfortunately Isa’s character has been ruined beyond repair, and the true beauty of his relationship with Lea is never going to be truly appreciated by the fandom. But after reading and rereading the novels, and replaying the games, I was able to read between the lines. I would bet a LOT of money that Axel’s original backstory was very similar to this. It would explain his personality perfectly. And it fits with the story and themes perfectly:

Isa was going to end his life because he didn’t want to join the organization. He couldn’t just run away because he was branded by the Recusant’s Sigil. Isa was trying to be a “mature adult”. He didn’t want to be a burden to Lea. The organization might have tried to use Lea as leverage to force Isa to comply with them. Isa thought the best thing for everyone would be to just end his own life.

He and Lea were sitting on top of the clock tower eating their last ice creams together before Isa jumped. Lea—well, let’s just say he did not take this very well. He was a hysterical mess, and that was the origin of the upside-down tears. And it’s why Axel and Saix’s conversation on the clock tower was written the way it was. That was supposed to be a battle to the death. It might have been the last conversation they ever had. So, it referenced their (real) backstory. Saix told Lea that he has to accept that his friends are gone forever and mentioned his tear marks. Lea said he was bringing him home. Also Saix got a WINNER stick.

Basically, Lea didn’t want to “grow up” and accept that it was impossible for things to stay the same. He wanted him and Isa to stay together forever, and he wouldn’t take “no” for an answer. He threw a tantrum, I guess you could say. He even decided to do Isa’s dirty work in the organization, so he wouldn’t have to die. Another meaning of the upside-down tears. Isa didn’t want Lea to do this.

He tried his best to console Lea before he “went away”. He got a ‘WINNER’ stick that final day and gave it to Lea, saying that as long as he kept him in his thoughts, they’d never be apart. It was a memento of their time together and a way of thanking Lea for everything. Then Isa promised that they’d meet again in the next life and that he’d be waiting for him.

This fucked Lea up emotionally. Due to this trauma, he has severe psychological issues. He equates the normal process of growing up and things changing with loss and death and self-sacrifice. That’s why he puts on an act of being carefree. And that’s why he was so hurt when he said what he did on Day 96, only to be laughed at. It’s why he was so pissed when Xion wanted to sacrifice herself for the greater good. It’s why he acted so clingy with Roxas. It’s why he was so devoted to Saix, even though he was not very nice. It’s why he was so ruthless in the beginning. And it’s why he is so sentimental with sea-salt ice cream, even using it as a form of self-medication.

#kh lea #kh axel #submission

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morningfears · 5 years

Text

Foul

Rating: PG-13

Summary: Meet-Ugly, college!AU | After a friend convinces you to join the intramural baseball team, you meet the guys (Joe, in particular) in the worst way possible. But at least he’s nice enough to take you to the emergency room after. [Mentions of blood but it gets cute, I promise] Also, if anyone has any Joe requests (that are or aren’t college, doesn’t matter), feel free to send them in. Ben, too.

Word Count: 5.4k (I talk too much, what do you want from me?)

“No.”

Max huffs, an indignant sound meant to convey his unhappiness with your answer, as he reaches for bowl of fruit cocktail that looks questionable at best. He stares at it for a moment, considering it, before he frowns and places it back onto the cool metal of the serving line. “If they wanted us to eat healthy,” he murmurs as he reaches for an apple that’s only slightly bruised, “maybe they should make the healthy options less, I don’t know, revolting?” He frowns at the array of food in front of the two of you before he shakes his head and returns his attention to you. “What do you mean no?” he demands as he grabs a bottle of water and a fork. “You can’t just say no!”

“I can just say no,” you inform him as you grab your own bottle of water before picking up your tray and stepping around him, “and I believe I just did.”

Max huffs again as he grabs his own tray and follows you through the crowded dining hall. The first week of classes means that every freshman on campus eats in the dining hall, before they learn just how disgusting it is and waste the rest of their meal plan on other on-campus options before shamefully returning in November, and the place is packed. The table that you usually occupy, the one by the window closest to the street (“Perfect spot for people watching,” you’d explained once your freshman year), is packed with excited freshman giggling at the seniors in sweatpants and you bypass it to take a seat at the only empty table in sight.

“Why, though?” Max asks as the two of you settle into your seats. “Give me a valid reason and I’ll stop asking.”

“I don’t want to. Valid enough.”

Max rolls his eyes and studies you as you pick at the wilted lettuce of your salad. He’s been trying to get you to play intramural baseball with him since your freshman year and now, at the very beginning of your senior year, he knows that this is his last chance. So, he reaches out to steal a crouton from your salad before he says, “You played softball for most of your life. You could’ve played in college but you wanted to focus on academics and I know you miss it. Intramural isn’t the same, I know. It’s baseball with a bunch of idiot guys who only think they’re good but it’d be a chance for you to at least play a little! You can pick whatever position you want and we only practice once a week so it’s not a huge time commitment. Please!”

You stare at him, contemplating his line of reasoning, as you chew on the fry you’d stolen from his plate during his explanation. Deep down, you know that he’s right. You do miss the sport. Even though you go to as many of the university’s games as you can and even have a few friends on both the softball and baseball teams, it’s not the same as playing yourself. Going to a batting cage or playing catch with a friend isn’t the same and, even though you don’t like admitting it, playing intramural baseball would satisfy your desire to get back out there.

So, you ask, “Do I have to play every game?”

The intramural team, for some unknown reason, plays year round. They begin with the school year and continue until May. The perks of living in California, you suppose. And while you want to play, you don’t want to devote every free moment you may have to the team. So, when Max shakes his head, it makes you consider his offer a little more seriously.

“I want third base,” you inform him as you reach to steal another fry. “And I reserve the right to throw a baseball at the head of any misogynistic asshole who tries me.”

“Done,” Max nods as he shoves the plate of fries toward you. “You can have them,” he offers as he steals the chocolate cupcake from your plate, “they taste like cardboard today. Anyway, we have practice tonight at six. You want to come meet the team? You can ride with me, if you want.”

“Yeah, sure,” you nod as you glance down at your cellphone and notice the time with a sigh. You have just under fifteen minutes to get to your next class and it’s on the other side of campus. So, you shove the device into your pocket and toss your backpack over your shoulder before you grab your tray. “I have class until three so text me and remind me about practice just in case I take a nap and oversleep. Lucy might come, too, if that’s cool.”

“The more the merrier,” Max nods at the mention of your roommate. He’s already scribbling your name on the roster and you’re not surprised that he carries his clipboard in his backpack. With a goodnatured roll of your eyes, you wave goodbye and slip on your headphones before you rush across campus to get to your next class.

The day passes quickly, much faster than you imagined it would, and by the time three o’clock rolls around, you’ve mostly forgotten about the intramural practice. You fall onto your bed with a groan, already exhausted even though it’s only the second week of the semester, and stare up at the ceiling. You would’ve fallen asleep, drifted off into an uncomfortable nap that you desperately needed, had Lucy not bounded into your bedroom and plopped onto your bed beside you.

“I’m glad Max finally convinced you to play,” she hums as she lays beside you and stares up at the glow in the dark stars you hung up when the two of you moved in. “I hate going to the batting cages with you.”

“Hey,” you huff as you nudge her shoulder with your own, “rude. You’ve only been twice! And since you started seeing that guy, I haven’t even seen you.”

“Rami,” she reminds you with a grin, “and we see each other plenty! We had dinner last night.”

“That was three nights ago,” you remind her, and when she blinks, you laugh. “It’s fine, Luce,” you assure her as you reach for her hand and give it a squeeze. “At least one of us has a love life.”

Lucy frowns at this as she curls into your side. She hums thoughtfully before she sits up and grins at you. “I could set you up with one of his friends,” she offers, “he has this friend that loves baseball. You’ve probably seen him at a game. He goes to most of them. But he likes the Yankees so that might be a problem.”

“Don’t think I can date a Yankees fan, Luce, sorry,” you laugh as you glance over at the Mets cap sitting on your desk. “We might kill one another. I’m fine, honestly,” you assure her as you stand from your bed and begin sifting through your clothes for something you don’t mind getting sweaty, “I can wait for love. Besides, I don’t think I’ll have time for it this semester. Senior seminars are going to kick my ass.”

“I don’t even want to think about them,” she huffs as she tosses you an old Nike shirt she’s only seen you wear once. “We have auditions soon and I think I’m going to die.”

“To death and dying, then,” you laugh as you tug on a pair of shorts and shove your cleats in your bag. “If we don’t survive, at least we had fun.”

Two hours later, Max is parking his car in the lot by the ball field and Lucy is texting Rami to let him know that you’ve all arrived. They plan on sitting in the stands, watching as you practice, because the Yankees fan friend is also on the team. “Joe?” Max questions as soon as Lucy mentions it. When she nods, Max snorts a laugh. “You really wanted to set them up? That’d be a disaster waiting to happen.”

“Why?” Lucy demands as the three of you cross the gravel parking lot to get closer to the field.

“Joe’s, well, Joe,” Max shrugs as he adjusts his baseball bag. “He’s loud and passionate and goofy and romantic and gooey and soft. She,” he begins, pausing to glance at you for a moment, “is not. They’re polar opposites. She’s quiet, doesn’t like practical jokes or drawing attention, and romance is her kryptonite.”

“I don’t know if I should be offended that you pretty much just called me dull and unlovable or thank you for stopping Lucy from setting me up with someone who really doesn’t sound like my type,” you mumble as you step into the dugout and reach for the cleats in your bag. “I’m not, like, boring. I like funny jokes. I just don’t like being made the butt of a joke. And I can socialize. It’s just a little harder for me.”

“I know,” Max nods as he follows your lead and pulls on his own cleats. “I didn’t mean it in an offensive way. I just meant that you guys are pretty opposite and that it probably wouldn’t work well. I feel like you’d get a little annoyed with him or, like, hurt his feelings by being too blunt or something.”

“You keep digging yourself deeper,” Lucy informs him with a laugh before she turns to you. “I think that this would be a case of opposites attracting,” she shrugs. “You guys are meeting today no matter what,” she reminds you. “It wouldn’t hurt to keep an open mind when you meet him.” She looks like she wants to say something else but before she can, Rami catches her eye and she waves at him. “Rami and Ben are here. I’m gonna go sit with them and watch practice. Show them how great you are! Good luck, babe!” she cheers, wrapping you in a quick hug before she rushes out of the dugout and goes to join Rami and the blonde you now know as Ben in the stands.

With a roll of your eyes, you stand to your feet and grab your glove from your bag along with a ball from the bucket in the corner. “Meet me out there and we can warm up?” you offer as you glance at Max who is struggling to tie his cleat tight enough. When you receive a nod from him, you step out of the dugout and stand by the entrance for a moment to observe the team.

The pitcher looks far too serious for an intramural pitcher and you figure he must be a former player who injured himself enough to not be able to play for the university. The catcher looks scared shitless, even beneath the mask, and bite back a laugh when he flinches as a fastball hits his glove. There are a few players in the outfield, tossing a ball back and forth or stretching, and they all look like they’re either absolutely apathetic or completely thrilled to be here. You’re not sure which ones you’re going to get along with the best but you don’t dwell as movement in the corner of your eye catches your attention.

You watch as a batter steps into the box, frowning at the pitcher and wearing a Yankees t-shirt. You assume that this is Joe and you can understand why Lucy would want to set you up with him. He’s cute, with red hair that glows in the late evening sun and a nice face that you imagine only looks better with a smile gracing it. You decide that maybe Lucy is right, maybe you should have an open mind (even if he is a Yankees fan), and decide to watch for a moment longer as he settles into the batter’s box.

He looks utterly concentrated, ready for nearly anything, and you watch as the first fastball zips past him. He huffs a breath, the grimace on his face easily visible, and digs his cleats into the dirt as he waits for the second pitch. You hear Max moving around behind you and turn your head to glance at him for a moment, grinning when you see him shoving his cleats back into his bag and tugging on a pair of sneakers, before a shout of, “Watch out!” catches your attention and causes you to turn your head once more.

Before you can move out of the way, or even really register what’s happening, you see a flash of white and feel a searing pain in your nose. The force sends you falling backward, your back hitting the ground with a thud and a cloud of dust. Everyone is frozen with shock for a moment, no one daring to move, before Max unfreezes and drops his bag to the ground with a clatter and skids out of the dugout to drop to his knees beside you.

You hear a flurry of movement around you, you can hear Lucy yelling your name and the bang of her shoes against the metal bleachers as she runs down them. You hear the clatter of the bat dropping against home plate and the sound of feet hitting the ground as Joe, along with the pitcher and catcher, run over to where Max has you propped against the dugout fence.

“Someone grab a towel,” the pitcher orders as he kneels down beside you on the right and you can hear the catchers gear rattle as he rushes into the dugout in search of a towel.

“Fuck, that’s a lot of blood,” you hear Max murmur, his voice muffled and sounding as if he’s speaking through a wad of cotton and you vaguely remember that he gets queasy at the sight of blood on television. You’ve just taken a baseball to the face so you can’t imagine what kind of horror show you must look like now.

As the catcher returns with the towel, you feel a new presence take Max’s spot on your left. “Fuck, I’m so sorry,” a frantic voice breathes as a towel is trust into your hands and guided to your nose. When you choke out a noise of pain, the voice sounds again, closer this time. “Fuck, sorry. Sorry. Shit, this looks really bad.”

You blink, still somewhat stunned, and glance at the person out of the corner of your eye. Red hair covers the eyes and you know that it’s Joe. Even though you want to be angry, you want to be upset that your nose is broken and you’re going to be in pain for a bit, you hate how upset he sounds. So, you try to make light of the situation. As clearly as you can, you mumble, “I know we’re rivals but, fuck.”

Joe looks confused for a moment, his eyebrows furrowed and his mind immediately jumping to the conclusion that you’re concussed (or worse) before Max points to the Mets hat that had been knocked off in your fall. “She’s trying to be funny,” he heaves, still not looking at you as he places his head between his knees. “Doesn’t want you to feel like shit.”

Joe blinks, still a bit overwhelmed, before he nods and carefully shifts on his knees so as to not bump you. “I take my baseball really seriously,” he attempts to joke, his voice weak and unconvincing. “Fuck, I’m so sorry.”

“Do we need to call an ambulance?” someone asks, one of the guys from the outfield, likely. “That’s a lot of blood.”

“Head and facial injuries bleed a lot,” another voice chimes in, “lots of blood vessels. Probably don’t need an ambulance but she definitely needs to go to the emergency room, just to be sure. She could be concussed."

“I’m so sorry for calling your nursing major stupid, man,” yet another voice chimes in as you feel a third presence by your side.

“Oh my god, are you okay?” you hear Lucy ask as she places a hand on your knee. “That’s a lot of blood.”

“Everyone keeps saying that,” you mumble, your voice muffled. You try not to because you know it’s not going to feel great but the blood running down the back of your throat from sitting with your head tilted back makes you cough and you groan at the feeling. “I’m fine. I’m dying, but I’m fine.”

Lucy swats your thigh before she turns to face Joe. “This is a terrible first impression on my roommate, Joe,” she huffs as she takes the water bottle one of the other players grabbed from the concession stand for you.

“Fuck,” Joe breathes, his eyes widening, “fuck! That makes this so much worse.”

“Don’t worry about it,” you mumble, towel muffling your voice as you shift your head slightly and wince at the pain that comes along with the movement. “Help me up,” you huff as you hold the towel to your nose and shift away from the people crowding you. “I’m choking on blood here.”

“Careful,” the nursing major urges as Joe and the pitcher help you up. “You’re probably gonna need some help walking. Mazzello, since this is your fault, it’s only fair you help get her to the emergency room.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Joe nods quickly as he wraps an arm around your waist to keep you stead. “Lucy, you or Rami mind driving us? I rode with Blake.”

“I’ll drive,” Rami offers, his voice distant from where he’s stood just outside the gate with Ben who looks almost as green as Max.

“Does anyone else have a towel they want to donate to the cause?” Joe asks as he glances at the blood soaked towel hanging from your hands. It doesn’t appear as if your nose has stopped bleeding any and he’s worried that you might pass out before they can get you to the emergency room. His heart is still pounding and his legs are shaking as one of the players hands him another towel. He shoves half of it into his pocket before he glances at Max. “I know you’ve got her bag, but do you mind grabbing mine?” he asks as he steadies you to begin walking.

“I’ve got it,” Max mumbles, voice still muffled, “please just leave so I can breathe. Text me any updates.”

Not much else is said as Joe guides you through the parking lot to Rami’s car. He helps you into the backseat before he rounds the car and slides in on the other side. Rami and Lucy chat quietly in the front but Joe can’t stop staring at you. His eyes are drawn to the red staining your top, quickly darkening to a rust color, and he feels terrible. Lucy had been talking you up to him for weeks now. She’s been encouraging him to drop by or have dinner with the two of you because she knew that you’d be perfect for him. She’s told him time and time again just how much the two of you have in common and just how well the ways you differ complement one another. She’s painted you to be a dream and the glimpse of you he’d gotten earlier, before he destroyed any and all hope he’d ever have of being with you, was enough to tell him that she wasn’t kidding about you being stunning.

But no matter how perfect for one another Lucy thinks you might be or how pretty he thinks you are, nothing is going to come out of it. He’s sure he’s just broken your nose (and maybe chipped a tooth, although he desperately hopes that’s not the case) and he’s certain that this is going to keep you from ever considering him as anything other than an idiot.

“You guys can head in,” Rami offers as he pulls up at the entrance of the emergency room. “I’m going to find a place to park. We’ll be in soon.”

Joe is practically rushing out of the car before Rami can really stop and you don’t want to laugh because you’re afraid it’ll hurt but you can’t help yourself. You giggle at Joe’s seemingly permanent worried expression and wince at the pain it sends shooting through your nose. “Can you calm down?” you ask him as he guides you into the emergency room. “It hurts to laugh,” you inform him as the two of you approach the desk.

Joe blinks at you, surprised by your nonchalance, but doesn’t get a chance to reply as the nurse on duty hands over an intake form. “Have a seat and fill this out,” she instructs as she hands the paperwork to Joe. “Someone will be with you shortly.”

The emergency room is fairly busy so you know that you’ll be there for a while. You also know that you’re fairly low on the priority list so you settle into one of the uncomfortable waiting room chairs and hold out your hand for the clipboard. When Joe doesn’t hand it over, you turn your head and glance at him. “I need to fill that out,” you remind him as he shifts in his chair. He jolts, like a video that’s been on pause and you’ve suddenly pressed play, before he hands over the clipboard with a nod.

“I know I keep saying this,” he begins as he watches you fill out the form, “but I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay,” you assure him with a shrug, “I’ve had worse baseball injuries. A friend threw her bat after a bad call and hit me in the head. My cousin threw a terrible pitch when we were practicing and dislocated my knee. This isn’t even the first time I got hit in the face with a ball. At a tournament in high school, a foul ball hit me in the face and knocked out a tooth. And, no. I’m not telling you which one is fake.”

Joe is surprised at the list of injuries you rattle off and shakes his head. “Sounds like someone doesn’t want you playing ball,” he attempts to joke as he glances around the waiting room and grimaces at the sight of some of the injuries.

“That’s what I thought,” you hum as you sign the first form. “That’s part of why I didn’t play in college. Everything hurt after high school. I’m an injury magnet, I guess. Today was my first time stepping onto a field to play in years.”

He feels terrible that him sending a foul ball straight into your face was the welcome you were given back onto a ball field and he frowns at the new information. “Jesus, that’s even worse than me just hitting you,” he sighs as he catches sight of Rami and Lucy walking into the emergency room. “I’m really sorry that was your welcome back to the sport.”

“Don’t worry about it,” you assure him as you turn to look at him properly for the first time all day. He meets your eyes and can see the sincerity in them. You’re really telling him that it’s alright, that you know he’s not at fault even though he can tell you’re a little annoyed with the injury itself, and he continues to realize why Lucy wanted the two of you together so bad.

Before either of you can continue, Lucy and Rami sit in the chairs across the aisle from you and Lucy asks, “Did they say how long it would be?”

“No,” you sigh as you finish filling out the form. Before you can get up, Rami stands and grabs it from you without a word. You watch for a second as he crosses the room to hand it to the nurse and you smile at Lucy. “He’s a good egg,” you nod as you lean your head back to rest on the wall. “I’ll be here a while, though,” you inform her as you let your eyes shut. “You guys can head home. I’ll call Max to pick me up.”

“You should probably keep your eyes open,” Joe reminds you as he gently nudges your side. “You might be concussed.”

You can feel it, the nausea settling in the pit of your stomach and the ache in your head, so you forego your argument and lift your head. Lucy watches the interaction and settles further in her seat as Rami returns and joins the three of you. “We’re not leaving,” she informs you with a decisive nod. “We will go get food, though, because I know you haven’t eaten and you’re probably starving. What do you want?”

You think about her offer for a moment. Everything sounds amazing but nothing sounds like it’ll be fun to eat. You’re sure that it’s going to hurt to chew, at least for a little bit, so you answer, “A smoothie, please,” as you lean back in your seat and attempt to keep the slowing stream of blood at bay.

Joe takes the bloody towel from your and quickly hands you the fresh one. Lucy watches the exchange with a small smile on her face before she stands from her seat and holds her hand out to Rami. “One smoothie, coming up,” she nods. “Joe, want to come with us?”

“I’ll stay here,” he declines as he leans back in his seat, too. “Someone’s gotta make sure she doesn’t fall asleep.”

After getting exactly the answer she’d hoped for and promising him she’d bring him back a smoothie, too, Lucy and Rami leave the emergency room to set off in search of food. You’re both quiet for a moment, letting the sounds of the emergency room around you wash over you, as you turn your head to stare at Joe. He’s people watching, too busy attempting to figure out what’s wrong with everyone in the waiting room around you, to notice that you’re staring at him.

Up close, you realize that he really is cute. His cheeks seem to be permanently blushed (although you assume that’s because he’s still embarrassed that he almost knocked you out with a foul ball) and his hair is wild from running his hands through it. He’s got a bit of blood on his shirt and you almost feel bad for staining it before you remember it’s technically his fault, anyway. He’s fidgeting in his seat, clearly not comfortable, and you decide to take advantage of the situation to get to know him a little better and take his mind off of the situation at hand.

“I need to stay awake,” you remind him, regaining his attention as you shift in your seat. “Why baseball? Why USC? What’s your life story?” you ask as you shift in your seat to get a better look at him without twisting your neck. “I feel like we have plenty of time to kill.”

Joe stares at you for a moment before he launches into his life story. He tells you all about his parents, about his brother, and about his desire to be a filmmaker someday. He tells you how he met Rami, how he got involved with intramural baseball, and how he managed to fuck up that one hit so badly. He tells you about the pranks he’s been puling on his roommate, Ben, with a cardboard cutout and how everyone has gotten in on the joke. He tells you about his plans for after college and about his desire to move back to New York and start a real life.

He really does tell you his life story and with almost anyone else, you would’ve fallen asleep within minutes. However, Joe has a way of keeping you interested and engaging with you, even if he’s dominating the conversation. He makes things fun to listen to and the pranks that you would find dumb had anyone else told you about them sound genius coming from him.

All of the things that you were worried about with Joe, all of the negatives Max mentioned earlier, turn out to be more positive than anything and you can feel a small smile make a permanent home on your lips as Joe continues to speak. He talks until your name is called, until a nurse comes to guide you back into one of the exam rooms, and he stands to join you but thinks better of it.

He moves to sit back down but before he can, you grab his hand and lace your fingers together. “I’m not a fan of doctors,” you admit, just loud enough for him to hear you. “Mind keeping me company a little longer?”

Joe is surprised that you still want him to be with you, that you’re willing to touch him after he’s practically knocked you out, but he readily agrees and follows you back and takes a seat on the edge of the bed, opposite the side with the doctor’s stool.

After waiting for nearly two hours, the doctor takes five minutes to tell you that, yes, your nose is broken and yes, you have a concussion. She prepares you to have your nose realigned (“You really did a number on it,” she jokes as she gives you the nasal spray) and when the nurse steps behind the curtain to assist, you grab Joe’s hand and grip it tightly.

He flinches at the sound of your whimper of pain and allows you to squeeze his hand as you attempt to breathe through the pain of having your nose realigned. He listens carefully as the doctor gives instructions (he knows you’re a little too out of it to pay much attention) and says a shaky thank you after they’ve finished up. The nurse discards the towel for you both and sends you on your way with a reminder to keep ice on your nose and to have someone stay with you to ensure that you’re alright through the night for the concussion.

You keep your fingers intertwined with Joe’s as the two of you step back into the emergency room waiting area. Lucy and Rami are waiting by the door, smoothies in hand, and you smile as you take the green one from Lucy’s outstretched hand. “They realigned my nose,” you inform her before you take a sip of your smoothie, “and I have a concussion.”

“Someone has to wake her up every few hours to make sure she can wake up normally,” Joe informs Lucy as he takes the purple smoothie from Rami’s outstretched hand. “And, I mean, it’s my fault so I can come over and sleep on the couch or something so I can wake her up,” he offers, his words tumbling out of his mouth quickly as the four of you venture to Rami’s car.

Lucy glances at the pair of you, at your intertwined hands and Joe’s blush, before she smiles. “We could have a sleepover,” she offers with a grin. “Invite Ben and Gwil that way no one will have a problem waking up every few hours. We could binge watch Stranger Things.”

“Sure,” you nod, even though the headache that’s beginning to plague you is made worse by the action, “but whoever wakes me up should be warned that I’m awful to wake up, anyway.”

“That’s true,” Lucy nods, glancing at Joe in the rearview mirror (who she knows will be the one waking you up and taking care of you). “You’re a monster.”

“Think you can handle it, Joey?” you question as you lean your head on Joe’s shoulder and take a sip of your smoothie. He glances down at you and grins. Even with puffy eyes and bruises forming, he still thinks you’re the most adorable thing he’s ever seen. He still feels bad but he no longer feels as if it’s the end of the world. Instead, he feels as if it’s the beginning of something beautiful. So he nods. “I’m pretty sure I can handle it,” he confirms as he squeezes your still intertwined hands.

And hours later, when Rami and Ben and Gwil are all asleep, Lucy pops her head into your bedroom to check on you. She finds you and Joe curled up in your bed, sleepily arguing over who is better, the Yankees or the Mets, and she grins.

She knew the that the pair of you would be perfect together. All it took was a foul ball.

Author’s Note: Both of my Joe fics have been super long so that’s fun. And they’ve both been college AUs. Write what you know, I guess. Anyway, I love baseball. And I was an injury magnet when I played softball. I got hit in the head four or five times, didn’t have my knee dislocated but I did end up with an imprint of the ball on one of my knees, and I got hit in the side with a pitch once. Absolute injury magnet. Anyway, I do like the Mets. I somehow end up liking the teams that make me suffer the most. Go figure. Anyway, if anyone has any Joe or Ben Requests, let me know. I’m having fun and I still have two weeks of vacation left!

#joe mazzello x you #joe mazzello imagine #joe mazzello x reader #joe mazzello fic #joe mazzello imagines #joe mazzello fanfiction #joe mazzello fanfic #borhap imagine #borhap fanfic #borhap fic #borhap boys x reader #borhap blurb #bohemian rhapsody imagines #bohemian rhapsody imagine #bohemian rhapsody fanfic #bohemian rhapsody fanfiction #mine

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fromdirectorlanawachowski · 5 years

Text

honest and unmerciful endgame thoughts

a sequel to this post

this is deadass one of the worst movies i’ve ever seen.

a few brief thoughts before i get into the more or less play by play.

- making jokes about how time travel in movies isn’t really how time travel works doesn’t work if you’re a fucking movie dude

- fat thor was a fucking disgrace

- professor hulk has to have been 80% ad-libbed because there’s no way someone actually wrote that garbage dialogue

- using a past thanos was a mistake because we don’t actually give a shit about him

OKAY LETS GO

actually fuck it i was gonna do plot point by plot point but i’m just so exhausted i don’t have the strength to do it. i’m gonna go in broad strokes and if you want me to elaborate on WHY something was bad feel free to yell at me in the DMs

okay lets go

right away the whole thing with clint fucking turning on the spot as his family disappears was goofy as all hell. i know exactly what they were going for but having him literally turn on the spot instead of go into the house or go into the shed just draws attention to the absolute hilarity of how fast they vanished compared to others.

why the fuck was tony skin and bones when he got back to earth. i know he was in space for three weeks but they clearly show him eating during the montage of him and nebula doing.... things?

also everyone just kind of trusts nebula? okay? i’d be wary of purple aliens in light of what just happens but inclusivity i guess

also you mean to tell me that in three weeks they scanned the entire universe for gamma radiation? also enough gamma radiation that would show up on a scan from light years away but not fry everyone nearby when thanos snapped?

as soon as they killed thanos i knew the climax of this movie was gonna suck ass.

the writers have no idea how fast human hair grows if five years later natasha still has that godawful blonde dye on her tips

a fucking rat got scott lang out of the quantum realm. i don’t have any commentary for this because this scene speaks for itself. a rat.

moreover how did they even get the van down from the rooftop it was on at the end of ant man 2

fat thor. i don’t have any commentary about this either. the whole thing reeks of the russos looking at taika and going “you wanna be a funny man? you want thor to be fucking funny? you think he’s hilarious? fuck you”

oh i guess i did have commentary on that after all

i’m glossing right over the gay scene because again, taika fought tooth and nail to get bisexual valkyrie and now the russo shitters get to say they had the first canon lgbt character and it’s a couple of throwaway lines that can be redubbed for china. seriously. i don’t think there’s ever a scene where he says “he” or “him” while his lips are on screen.

apparently i am doing this relatively plot point by plot point but i digress

if i was keeping points like cinemasins (ew) i’d take a few off for morgan stark. i’m an bitch but not that much of one.

oh yeah pepper potts’ first of, i believe, four lines in this movie is “yeah i’m reading about compost”. i have no commentary for this either. it speaks for itself.

tony hits upon time travel in a day

i’m so glad we couldn’t get any real character development for anyone but we had time for the four minute “ant man becomes various aged forms of himself and then makes a peeing your pants joke in 2019″ scene.

“that’s how time travel works in movies this is real life” that’s great except that joke falls flat cause you’re a fuckin movie bro

i’m skipping over the entirety of the battle of new york thing because that was just fucking.... *benny hill music*

oh no i’m addressing the ancient one thing. love to have characters retconned into previous movies so they can try and explain the time travel in a way that actually makes it more confusing and also isn’t the way the movie follows

steve leering at peggy through the blinds was creepy, i’m sorry. actually the way he was suddenly obsessed with her this whole movie was really creepy.

howard potts

tony meeting his dad was so awkward and uncomfortable and they really meant for it to be heartwarming but i’m sorry it was fucking hilarious and i was howling with laughter in the theater

likewise thor with frigga. a really nice, emotional moment where thor gets closure with his mom and she overtly says she knows she’s going to die soon but she loves him and she’s so proud of him....

..... and then tops it off with a fat joke. the russos can’t let any kind of emotion hang without making a joke.

when they killed natasha a guy three rows down said “if they were killing her here why the fuck did they greenlight her movie then”

why did thanos get a scene confronting the cost of the stone but clint just wakes up in a puddle? are you gonna tell me thanos cared more about gamora than clint did about natasha? ok.

okay i’ll admit seeing quill dancing on morag without the background music was funny as fuck. rhodey explaining the punchline was not funny as fuck though

three cheers for nebula inexplicably having new abilities

as soon as they brought in past thanos i knew the climax of this movie was gonna suck a big ass

hulk snaps the iron infinity gauntlet because he’s the only one that can withstand the gamma radiation that it allegedly emits and has been mentioned only once before in this movie

the fact that it works is demonstrated by not anyone coming back, but ant man looking out the window at some birds. yeah. gee.

okay i have a question here that may take a little bit to explain.

earlier in the movie it’s explicitly stated they only have enough pym particles for one round trip each. that’s why steve and tony had to go back to 197X to get the tesseract and more particles.

so.

past-nebula takes current-nebula’s place and uses her particles to travel back to the present, leaving current-nebula with no particles

so how did past-thanos bring his ship to the present with no pym particles

anyway past-gamora and current-nebula kill past-nebula to get the iron infinity gauntlet back

the final battle was whatever. i couldn’t for the life of me tell you what happened or where anyone was in relation to anyone else because it was cut so poorly

everyone comes back. remember at the end of my infinity war thoughts when i said the end had no stakes because obviously everyone snapped came back and you all got mad at me? everyone comes back.

the ladies all running the gauntlet would be cool if it wasn’t encompassed by shots of all the men running the gauntlet, drawing attention to the fact there’s literally only like seven ladies and one of them isn’t even a hero

joss whedon was the cinematographer the day they shot wanda fighting thanos, judging from all the gratuitous shots down her shirt. i know elizabeth olsen has nice boobs. believe me, i do. i’m envious. but for the love of christ stop being creepy voyeurs about it

also “you took everything from me” “i don’t even know who you are???” that was a great setup for her to use her mind powers and make thanos experience some suffering but they just didn’t do that so those lines are hilarious

tony gets the stones and snaps, killing thanos and all his army. thanos fades away into dust while a woman vocalizes in the background in a manner that’s less satisfying than when voldemort did the exact same thing in deathly hallows part 2

tony dies because i guess?

at the funeral everyone is there and there’s shots lingering on everyone including this weird kid who looks like he’d microwave a gerbil? i had to google him and it’s supposed to be the kid from iron man 3. i feel like seven years later you should probably put in a line like “thanks for coming <whatever that kid’s name was>

okay we’ve reached the part i have the absolute most beef with.

steve’s ending

from the start of this movie he’s been inexplicably obsessed with peggy. the ending is telegraphed from a mile away and i was still shocked and stunned that they actually did this.

so steve just gives up everything, all his friends and family, to go back in time to be with a woman he knew for max a year, in the heat of war, where emotions run high and they may very well have latched onto each other in case they died.

steve rogers, the man who wielded mjolnir, the man who broke his friend’s mental conditioning just be refusing to fight him, just sits back through the 50s and 60s and 70s and 80s and 90s. the cuban missile crisis, the LA riots, the assassination of JFK, the death of howard and maria stark, the infiltration of shield, the berlin wall, 9/11, the war on terror, and he just.... did nothing?

what the fuck was that

sam is captain america now though so i’m down with that

but i’m still so angry

this is beyond character assassination for steve. it’s... outright brutal murder and mutilation. anywhere i can, i give endgame a half star review FOR THIS ALONE. setting aside fat thor and how they treat Ragnarok, the fact they think steve rogers would, after everything he’s done and learned, go back into the past where there was still a chance he could help his friends in his own way, and do NOTHING, is the most infuriating thing about this barely-polished turd of a movie.

IN CONCLUSION i said infinity war was the worst movie marvel had ever put out and marvel went “haha we can do you one better”

endgame is just three hours of setpiece, gag, setpiece, gag, setpiece, gag, occasionally punctuated with emotional moments that aren’t allowed to hang long enough for the emotion to sink in before a joke is made, usually at thor’s expense.

#avengers #endgame #endgame spoilers #endgame critical #endgame critique #infinity war critical #avengers endgame

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daresplaining · 5 years

Note

Hello! I've seen you guys mention Mr Fear a few times and his power and dynamic with Matt sounds fascinating. Could you elaborate on it when you get a mo? From what I know I'd love to see a version of him in S4

Ooh, yes, of course! There have been several versions of Mr. Fear, and they’ve all been nasty. (And yes, it would have been nice to get one of them in the show. I was really rooting for that.) I mostly know Mr. Fear in the context of Daredevil, which is where he/they originated, so that’s what I’ll be focusing on here, though I know at least one of them has appeared elsewhere as well. I appreciate the various Mr. Fears not just because they are terrifying antagonists, but also because of the sheer variety with which the basic premise– artificially inducing fear– has been depicted over the years. This has kept the identity fresh, and has helped them become more than just cheap knock-offs of DC’s Scarecrow.

If you just want reading recommendations, below are all of the issues I will be covering in this post. They encompass the full range of Mr. Fear’s history in Daredevil, from 60s wackiness to 2000s noir, and I think they’re all worth reading if you’re looking for the full Mr. Fear experience.

Daredevil volume 1 #6

Daredevil volume 1 #54-55

Daredevil volume 1 #90-91

Marvel Team-Up volume 1 #92 (not digitized)

Daredevil volume 1 #222

Daredevil volume 1 #314-315 (not digitized)

Fear Itself: The Home Front #5, “A Moment with… Mr. Fear”

Daredevil volume 1 #363-367 and 371-375

Daredevil volume 2 #95-106

If you want plot summaries and character commentary, read on:

The first Mr. Fear was introduced way back in Daredevil #6, as the leader of the Fellowship of Fear (a trio that also consisted of the Ox and the Eel). This first version had the fantastically supervillain-y name of Zolton Drago, and an appropriately wacky origin story: He is a humble sculptor, dismayed by the failure of his wax museum, who makes an astonishing discovery while mixing up chemical concoctions intended to bring his wax statues to life.

Drago: “I did discover something after all! Something I never expected! I’ve found a way to fill any foe with indescribable fear!!”

Caption: “For long weeks, the strange, haunted man worked, refining his discovery, learning all he could about the chemicals involved…”

Drago: “Perfect! Now I know that I can make all the “Fear Gas” I need! With such a discovery, I could become the most successful criminal who ever lived! […] I’ve modified an ordinary pistol to fire my new “Fear Pellets”! And now, for psychological purposes, I’ll create a costume… the perfect disguise for one who shall henceforth be known as… Mr. Fear!!”

Daredevil vol. 1 #6 by Stan Lee, Wally Wood, and Sam Rosen

There’s a certain goofiness in most Silver Age villains– Daredevil’s, in particular– but I find Wally Wood’s depiction of Mr. Fear’s skull-and-cape look to be genuinely creepy, and his Fear Gas is no joke. When hit with it during his first encounter with the Fellowship of Fear, Matt is rendered helpless with terror, and barely escapes with his life.

Matt: “Fumes! He fired a gas pellet at me! But, it isn’t tear gas! Nor is it poisonous! What can it be?”

Caption: “Suddenly, the sightless adventurer turns making a frantic effort to flee!”

Matt: “Both of them… about to attack me! No! Stay back! An air current! …Directly above me! That means an opening! It’s my one chance! If I can swing over in time! […] I just made it!”

Matt manages to defeat Mr. Fear at the end of the issue by, uh… positioning himself in front of a fan (seriously). But this is only the beginning.

Mr. Fear returns in Roy Thomas’s run, in Daredevil #54-55. This story starts with Matt faking his death to escape the consequences of a supervillain named Starr Saxon discovering his secret identity. His plan is to continue on as Daredevil and invent a new civilian persona for himself. But no sooner has he put this plan into action than Mr. Fear– who has recently been freed from prison– baits him on live television. Mr. Fear claims he can prove, without using his Fear Pellets, that Daredevil is a coward. And… he does!

Mr. Fear: “I neglected to mention my new power– to fill you with frenzied fear– with a mere gesture!”

Matt: “Tell me another one, friend! Now to– No– NO! That tingling I feel– that sudden sinking sensation! Drago was right! Suddenly, I feel– deathly afraid! Getting dizzy– just realizing how high we are–! And now– I’m falling! Nnooo!”

Daredevil vol. 1 #54 by Roy Thomas and Gene Colan

There are several stories during this period that focus on Daredevil’s reputation being tarnished, and this is one of them. The adoring public, who was watching the fight, now think Daredevil is a wuss, and Matt fears they might be right. It’s all a bit humorously melodramatic, but what matters is that Mr. Fear seems to have become an even more serious threat, since Matt is struck by that same fear the next time he goes out as DD, when Mr. Fear isn’t even around. In the end, after a quick call (courtesy of Foggy) to the prison where Drago was being held, Matt discovers the truth: Zolton Drago is dead and the new Mr. Fear is actually Starr Saxon himself, who stole Drago’s costume and equipment after murdering him. Matt confronts him with this revelation, after which Saxon accidentally falls to his death.

Matt: “Funny how Saxon died lunging for my billy club– the very weapon he’d been using to make me turn coward when we fought! Once Foggy called the warden, it was as simple as ABC! When Saxon briefly possessed Matt’s cane he rigged the club with these specially-timed Fear-Gas pellets… which his flying disk triggered during our first battle! It was his warped revenge on me… for ‘killing’ Matt Murdock to escape his blackmail threats! And, with that erudite explanation, I rest my case! DD, it’s been a looonng day!”

Daredevil vol. 1 #55 by Roy Thomas and Gene Colan

(Just for the record, Matt should have known it was Saxon from the beginning, because he would have recognized his voice/scent.)

Logic suggests this would be the end of Mr. Fear… but no! Matt and Natasha encounter him in San Francisco, in Daredevil #90-91…

Caption: “His arm jerks out– fingers brush– and then, the Widow tumbles away, her ebon-suited body twisting– her hands flailing, legs spinning–”

Matt: “TASHA! She froze up– couldn’t make the extra effort needed to complete the swing! Something about her heartbeat– rushing, panicky! She’s terrified! I’ve got to chance it– push away from the flagpole, try to grab her before it’s– too late!”

Daredevil vol. 1 #90 by Gerry Conway and Gene Colan

If the previous story was mostly melodrama, this one is viscerally frightening. Our heroes are struck, without warning, with bouts of overwhelming terror– a dangerous affliction for people who lead such risk-filled lives. With Mr. Fear seemingly long dead and no obvious source for these attacks, Matt and Natasha are helpless to prevent them.

Caption: “This is how it begins: as suddenly as a rifle shot, a surge of inexplicable fear courses through Matt’s arced body– and with that fear, all thoughts of contacting a friend on the staff of the Daily Chronicle seem to dissolve into darkness– abruptly buried under a grim sensation of choking– A sensation that builds as he spins helplessly at the end of his billy club wire! Trying desperately to regain control, Matt finds himself unable to think– and becomes increasingly aware of the terror clutching at his heart– a fright unlike any he’s ever felt before– a fear without cause– a horror without reason!”

Daredevil vol. 1 #90 by Gerry Conway and Gene Colan

Natasha is convinced the attacks are tied to a mission from her past, engineered by one of her former espionage allies. But in a surprise twist, the real culprit is a man named Larry Cranston– one of Matt’s fellow law school alumni, and one of his new law partners since moving to San Francisco. It turns out that Star Saxon was not the only person to benefit from the original Mr. Fear’s death, and with his jet pack, Cranston has been attacking Matt and Natasha from a distance.

Cranston: “I heard a sound from the room across the hall– voices arguing. A door was open– I looked in, and saw a man called Starr Saxon shoot another man– Zolton Drago, the original Mr. Fear. Drago lived long enough to tell me where he’d hidden his costume and equipment– he thought it would buy his life– Unfortunately, it wasn’t mine to give. He died as I held him.”

Matt: “But why did you do all this, Larry? And how did you know–”

Cranston: “When Matt Murdock moved to San Francisco with Madame Natasha– and Daredevil with the Black Widow– it wasn’t hard. And– I’ve always despised you, Murdock. In school, it was always– Murdock this, Murdock that– and I tell you, I’d had ENOUGH!”

Daredevil vol. 1 #91 by Gerry Conway and Gene Colan

Cranston isn’t the only person to notice the coincidence of Matt and DD both moving to California with Natasha– it’s actually amazing more people don’t figure out his secret identity because of this– but it is significant that he knows, since his motivations are so personal. His irrationally intense hatred of Matt, and their shared history, makes him a particularly eerie figure among the ranks of DD’s villains, and it will come back in his most horrifying appearance, in Ed Brubaker’s run (which I’ll be covering later). While he appears to fall to his death at the end of this issue (that sort of thing happened a lot in early Daredevil…), he isn’t gone yet.

Marvel Team-Up #92 introduces the next guy to inherit the Mr. Fear identity– Alan Fagan, Larry Cranston’s nephew. Like his predecessors, he attempts to find new, more insidious uses for the Fear Gas…

Alan: “Ha! I can’t wait to see the faces of those buffoons who said Alan Fagan would never amount to anything… They dared to laugh at me… because I kept getting thrown out of schools… wasted my father’s fortune… Well, I don’t need his money now– or their fancy schools! I’ve got something better than that now! They won’t laugh at me anymore– because I’ll make them deadly afraid of me… and I owe it all to you, Uncle Larry! You despised me– but your money and your Mr. Fear costume still fell into my hands after you died! I have the imagination to use the identity in ways neither you nor the original Mr. Fear ever dreamed of! My genius requires a large-scale reign of terror– and this radioactive isotope I stole tonight will bring it about!”

Marvel Team-Up vol. 1 #92 by Steven Grant, Carmine Infantino, and Carl Gafford

(Larry is around Matt’s age. Don’t ask me why his nephew looks so old.)

Alan is a little too cartoony in this issue to seem like a serious threat, but he is still dangerous.

Peter: “H-how… did you d-do this to m-me?”

Alan: “My Fear Potion, insect– injected through this ring when I hit you! I usually administer it as a gas, in dilute form– but a man of your power required a full-strength dose! You are mine, Spider-Man, body and soul– and we are going to conduct a little experiment! I am curious as to just how many injections of pure Fear Potion you can receive… before you die– of fear!”

Fortunately, Spider-Man and Hawkeye are able to take him out and send him to prison, but even that is not the end…

Daredevil volume 1#222, one of my favorite issues in Denny O’Neil’s run, opens with this chilling scene, during Glorianna O’Breen’s return flight from Ireland to the U.S.:

Caption: “This is Aer Lingus flight number 2241, originating at Dublin and bound for Kennedy. It will never arrive.”

Hijacker: “Stewardess– tell the pilot to put this crate down at the Tinkerville airport.”

Glori: “A man… with a wee plastic gun– the kind that the detectors don’t detect. A man of violence… bloodshed… the things I’ve seen so much of at home. Is there no escapin’ them, then? No!”

Caption: “Sudden, shattering the near-silence of the cabin– the shot sends a bullet into an unexpected target…”

Hijacker: “Aiiieeeee!”

Glori: “Funny odor… gas… Noooooo”

Pilot: “[…] You guys smell something?”

Daredevil vol. 1 #222 by Denny O’Neil, David Mazzucchelli, and Ken Feduniewicz

Matt, Foggy, and Becky receive news that Glori’s plane has crashed in a New Jersey swamp, and Matt and Foggy rush to the scene, fearing the worst.

Cop: “…Sorry I can’t tell you more, Mr. Murdock. But your friend Ms. O’Breen isn’t here.”

Matt: “Are you absolutely sure, Officer?”

Cop: “’Fraid so, sir. There were only fifty passengers on the plane– and we’ve accounted for everyone except Ms. O’Breen and two others– a Dr. Sadd and a local man named Julius Mudd. What I figure happened is, they were… well, their bodies were thrown clear. We’ll find ‘em when the rain stops.”

Matt (Caption): “Bodies… death– Another woman dead? Like Elektra? Like Heather? Another of my women dead?”

Refusing to believe that Glori was killed in the crash, Matt changes into his DD suit and sets out into the swamp to find her. Partway into his hunt, he runs into Natasha, who is searching for one of the other missing passengers– Dr. Ephesus Sadd, who acquired and subsequently improved a sample of the Fear Gas for use in chemical warfare. One of the great strengths of this story is the fact that the antagonist remains off-panel for significant chunks of the issue. Matt himself is not under attack, and so we, just like him, are left fearing for Glori’s safety as he and Natasha race to her rescue.

Meanwhile, Glori and Dr. Sadd are living through a nightmare. They have been kidnapped by the hijacker and his associates. It turns out that he was hired to assassinate Sadd and now– having seen his worth, but unaware of why he’s so valuable– he’s decided to hold him ransom instead. As the hijacker attempts to give Glori to his brother as a wife, Sadd decides to use his secret cargo to escape.

Dr. Sadd: “Before the ceremony begins, I would like to deliver a… a sermon! Yes, a sermon. Always at weddings there is sermonizing. My topic will be fear. It is a subject dear to me– a subject I have studied… a subject I cherish like a child. I have seen fear drive men to splendid achievements and crush them like insects… It is the force which lifted mankind from the primeval ooze and which keeps us from being as angels–”

Hijacker: “Git on with the wedding.”

Dr. Sadd: “Yes, the wedding. I have brought a gift–!”

Glori: “No! Don’t do it!”

When Matt and Natasha arrive, they encounter a horrific scene: Glori and her kidnappers, driven into a violent frenzy by fear.

Matt: “–Glorianna! Glori… are you all right?”

Glori: “No… no… no no NONONONO”

Matt: “[…] I was expecting to find people whimpering in terror… which is what the original Mr. Fear’s gas caused.”

Natasha: “Obviously, Dr. Sadd changed the formula. Glorianna and the others are reacting like cornered rats.”

The creepy conclusion of the issue is two-fold: It reveals a second version of the Fear Gas– one that drives people to lash out in fear, rather than being subdued by it. And it ends with Dr. Sadd dying of fear, despite the revelation that his canister of Fear Gas was empty– thus showing just how powerful terror, as a mere concept, can be. This is an issue in which Mr. Fear isn’t even present but is nevertheless still profoundly dangerous, and that sums up why he is such a good antagonist. Way back in Daredevil #6, Stan Lee commented that Mr. Fear shared certain similarities with the Purple Man, who had just been introduced two issues before, but these later stories are where those similarities really start to appear. Mr. Fear and the Purple Man are effective villains for similar reasons: they are both immensely powerful, manipulate basic facets of human nature, and can strike from a distance (or without even being directly involved at all!) with unpredictable and deadly consequences.

If this wasn’t creepy enough, Chichester goes full-on macabre with his Mr. Fear-centered story in Daredevil volume 1 #314-315 (not digitized yet– come on, Marvel!), in which he introduces another variation on Mr. Fear. This version is Alan Fagan’s daughter, Ariel, who uses the code name Shock, and who is both tragic and terrifying. While I’m generally not a fan of Scott McDaniel’s art style, it works to great effect here to depict the twisted gruesomeness of Shock’s physical appearance.

Matt: “All I have to go by is the sudden shift in the crude patterns my radar blocks out for me– only a hint as to the radical transformation that has seemingly occurred. Perceptions become clouded in the sudden wave of warm gases that wrap around me, raising the hairs on the backs of my arms. I’m still trying to make sense out of the sensations, trying to form a mental picture of what I’m dealing with, when the gases turn suddenly cold– and unease becomes an uncontrollable rage. Intellect knows better, but emotion overrides. Guttural sounds crawl up out of both our throats as we throw ourselves together– a railing grapple empty of technique and filled with a purpose no higher than to tear each other apart. In my head, I know we’re stories above the hard city streets. In my heart, I just want her dead before we hit.”

Daredevil vol. 1 #314 by D.G. Chichester, Scott McDaniel, and Christie Scheele

I think I’ve said it before, but I can’t say it enough– I love Chichester’s writing. What a way to end an issue!

Shock is yet another reinvention of the concept of Mr. Fear; her powers come from her body itself. She arranges for her father to be attacked in prison. His attackers cut the skin off his face(!), which Shock then uses to brew a concoction that when ingested, causes her to undergo a grotesque physical transformation and gives her the ability to literally exhale Fear Gas. (The idea is that her father’s skin absorbed traces of the gas, which could then be distilled). She uses these powers to cause mass hysteria by making people hallucinate things that anger and disgust them. Those in her sway turn primal and bloodthirsty. Matt’s battles with her turn into attempts to keep crowds of random civilians from killing each other.

Shock is also more sympathetic than any of the other Fear-styled characters. We learn that her father was neglectful, and she has been left alone to care for her ill mother. Her decision to take over her father’s identity comes from a desire to both overshadow his legacy, and to make money to pay for her mother’s treatments.

Shock: “That’s better. That’s steady… Oh, I worry so, Mommy! I’ve always worried! […] Keep going, that’s it, you’re doing fine…”

Daredevil vol. 1 #315 by D.G. Chichester, Scott McDaniel, and Christie Scheele

Matt subdues Shock by taking her by surprise, and tries to ensure that both she and her mother receive the help they need. He hopes this is the end of his Mr. Fear problem at last, but he is wrong. Sadly, Shock doesn’t appear again (I really like her), but her father recovers from his face-stripping and much later resumes the Mr. Fear identity– notably, just in time to provide this funny interlude during Marvel’s “Fear Itself” event:

Alan: “This is just terribly, terribly wrong. I mean, really– I’m Mr. Fear… but it’s not me making everybody queasy. Used to be I’d be the one dragging everybody’s deepest fears out of their closets, for all the world to see. Now the bar’s been raised– or is it lowered? Whatever. With everybody running around in a state of anxiety, nobody gives a damn about a guy named Mr. Fear. Yesterday, some loser stops me in front of Penn Station, gets in my face… yells, ‘Hey– Doctor Doom!’ Doctor Doom, for god’s sake. I mean, really– can you believe this?”

Fear Itself: The Home Front #5, “A Moment with… Mr. Fear” by Howard Chaykin and Edgar Delgado

In an overarching plot that starts toward the end of Karl Kesel’s run and extends all the way through Joe Kelly’s, Larry Cranston returns, miraculously alive and working as a law professor at Columbia University. (If anyone has started to get their Mr. Fears mixed up, Cranston is the one who attended law school with Matt and knows his secret identity.) He is more dangerous than ever, and works from the shadows to avoid detection. Armed with an extra potent version of the Fear Gas, Cranston enslaves people to do his bidding, sending his agents into Matt’s life to create chaos by infecting others with the gas. These victims are helpless to fight back, and Cranston seems to be able to engineer how they react. When convenient, they lash out with violence, becoming dangerous to everyone around them– while others are rendered obedient and docile by fear.

Matt: “Vinnie’s heartbeat is erratic, and his sweat carries a trace of ammonia… His body is rejecting something through the skin… the remnants of Fear Gas… Have to get through to him somehow…”

Matt: “…Vinnie, I’m here to help you. Vinnie… your wife and daughter miss you.”

Vinnie: “M-my wife? I– I don’t have a family. I can’t have a family… I don’t deserve one… *Gasp* Oh god. A-all I have… m-means nothing… nothing but the truth… yes… yes… I’ll be good…”

Matt: “(His voice… so distant… almost as if he’s not speaking to me… His pulse just sped up… shallow breathing… Could he be hallucinating?) They miss you, Vinnie. They want you to come home.”

Vinnie: “[…] Fear controls everything. Knows everything. Hears everything. Fear is God. I serve him… forever…”

Daredevil vol. 1 #366 by Joe Kelly, Gene Colan, and Christie Scheele

As Matt continues, barely, to fight back, Cranston increases his efforts to tear him down, concluding with sending a serial killer cop into his life and then framing Karen Page for his (the cop’s) murder. Karen is put on trial, and Cranston gleefully sabotages the proceedings from behind the scenes. Besieged on both sides of his life by someone who seems like an all-powerful force, Matt nearly gives in to despair.

Cranston: “How hang the scales of justice, Counselor? The blind lady treats her consort well, I pray.”

Matt: “(Kill him. No. Make him talk.) Why? Why Karen? Why us?”

Cranston: “Come now, Murdock… what good is a nom de guerre if I don’t back it up from time to time… I want you to lose your faith in everything. Your woman. Yourself. The system of justice you so carelessly flaunt when it suits you… because once you strip a man of his faith… all that’s left is fear. That… and an ex-junkie whore girlfriend in jail. Oh, I’m sorry… did that last part slip out?”

Daredevil vol. 1 #375 by Joe Kelly, Chris Claremont, Ariel Olivetti, Christie Scheele, et al.

Even when Matt finally manages to track down evidence against Cranston that he can use to prove his guilt and Karen’s innocence, he still nearly loses, because Cranston has a member of the jury under his sway. This juror nearly succeeds in releasing Fear Gas to impact the verdict, when he is stopped by– of all people– the Kingpin.

Matt: “What do you want, Fisk?”

Fisk: “Tut tut… such venom… towards a friend helping a friend. A present. The ghoul used hypnosis so you couldn’t smell the gas. Clever… but he should have chosen a juror with a stronger heart. He’ll live, don’t worry. Just with a pacemaker.”

Matt: “You– why? Why?”

Fisk: “Simple. Someone was playing in my sandbox… and no one gets to break you but me. Congratulations, Counselor. You won your woman’s freedom. With a little help from a friend. I trust you will remember the favor… when I return.”

Daredevil vol. 1 #375 by Joe Kelly, Chris Claremont, Ariel Olivetti, Christie Scheele, et al.

(D’aww…)

It’s a shaky victory, but it lasts all the way until the end of volume 2– when Ed Brubaker gives us the most upsetting Mr. Fear story to date in #95-106.

The setup for this story is similar to that of its predecessor: Matt’s life starts falling into chaos for reasons that aren’t initially clear. His law partner, Becky Blake, is urged by an old friend to help Melvin Potter (the Gladiator), who is accused of killing people while in prison. Matt and Foggy agree to help, since they have a long-standing relationship with Melvin and suspect foul play. But then, Melvin is sprung from prison and goes on a rampage, before nearly killing Milla Donovan (Matt’s wife) and then trying to commit suicide. This coincides with an increase in violent crimes throughout Hell’s Kitchen. Becky’s friend kills himself under mysterious circumstances. Matt knows someone has engineered all of this, but has no idea who.

Cranston: “Hello, Matt… I thought it was time I said hi. You can hear me… right?”

Matt: “What? Who is this?”

Cranston: “Heh, little joke. I know you can hear me, Matt. But I can’t hear you. And don’t bother trying to recognize my voice… even your ears couldn’t get past this voice-scrambler.”

Daredevil vol. 2 #97 by Ed Brubaker, Michael Lark, Stefano Gaudiano, and Matt Hollingsworth

Before too long, he learns the truth– Larry Cranston is back, and is more powerful than ever. With an array of underlings from all walks of life at his command and a new arsenal of fear-inducing chemicals (including a new drug he is distributing on the streets), he appears capable of just about anything. He singlehandedly throws Matt’s life, and Hell’s Kitchen’s criminal underworld, into chaos.

Cranston: “It was so simple, I can’t believe I didn’t discover it myself… the myriad ways in which fear affects the human brain. But it took Professor Dante Govich only minutes to realize the full potential of the drugs from my arsenal. His experiments– once he came under my persuasion– once he looked at me with fear and awe– made all this possible. Dante understood the links between fear and love… the synaptic paths from desire to paranoia to insanity. Under my thumb, he created new drugs beyond anything I could have dreamed of.”

Daredevil vol. 2 #102 by Ed Brubaker, Michael Lark, Stefano Gaudiano, and Matt Hollingsworth

The whole time Matt remains one step behind, and has barely figured out who his enemy is before he gets doused with one of the new versions of the Fear Gas. As a celebration of the hundredth issue of the volume, #100 features a visually stunning and thematically disturbing sequence of Matt tearing his way through the city streets, hallucinating enemies all around while still helpless to attacks from Mr. Fear’s minions.

Matt: “Your lies… mean nothing! You hear me, Fisk?! You hear me?!”

Cop: “… Heh heh… heh… Why do you keep… henh… calling me… Fisk? …Please… just stop hitting me…”

Matt: “Oh, God… No.”

Daredevil vol. 2 #100 by Ed Brubaker, Marko Djurdjevic, Michael Lark, Matt Hollingsworth, et al.

But Cranston’s most disturbing attack is inflicted upon Milla, Matt’s wife. Without Matt’s knowledge, she is dosed with a concoction that amps up her emotions and makes her violent when angry. Her new condition is the final blow to Matt’s mental state, as she risks jail time for accidentally killing someone. Cranston baits Matt by engineering her release, then– the moment Matt starts to experience some hope– has one of his minions sabotage her into committing another violent act, which gets her locked away for good.

Matt: “Milla, what have you done? What have they done to you? Milla, I can hear your heartbeat… your breathing… It’s me, baby… calm down… It’s Matt… I’m here.”

Milla: “But… I don’t understand… I don’t… I don’t know… I don’t know what happened…”

Matt: “I know. I know you don’t. It’s not your fault.”

Matt (caption): “I hold her tight, but she’s already gone. I can hear the sirens approaching from three blocks away. An ambulance and three police cruisers. They’ll be here soon… to take her away again.”

Daredevil vol. 2 #104 by Ed Brubaker, Michael Lark, Stefano Gaudiano, Matt Hollingsworth, et al.

Brubaker’s run is the darkest, most brutal Daredevil run to date, and this story plays a major part in that. As his failures pile up, Matt grows more and more desperate, more and more willing to cross lines he might not have crossed before. After beating and torturing Cranston’s whereabouts from one of his pawns, Matt hunts him down, ready to wrest the Fear Gas antidote from him any way he can… at which point Cranston deals the final blow to Matt’s psyche.

Cranston: “There is no cure, Matt. That’s why I had to kill Dante Govich… He was my chemist… Can’t believe that didn’t occur to you, Mr. Valedictorian. So go ahead, hit me some more. It means nothing… Everything you do means nothing.”

Matt: “No…”

Cranston: “’Cause I beat you weeks ago… you just didn’t know it.”

Daredevil vol. 2 #105 by Ed Brubaker, Michael Lark, Stefano Gaudiano, Matt Hollingsworth, et al.

This story is heartbreaking on every level. Matt goes through all of that, and achieves nothing. He loses. Cranston gets the last laugh. It’s also not a major supervillain victory. It’s not like Cranston was trying to take over the world, or anything. His motivations are personal and frivolous, and that somehow makes it worse. He just tears Matt’s life to pieces because he wants to, because he can, and because Matt is powerless to stop him, and then gets a little chuckle about it afterward. Of course, the real victim of this story is Milla, who is still, to this day, locked up in a psychiatric hospital– a heartbreaking (and, frankly, criminal) fate for such a fantastic character. This is also the last Matt has seen of Larry Cranston. He hasn’t had chance to retaliate, and in my opinion, this victory alone would cement Mr. Fear as one of the most dangerous Daredevil antagonists. The fact that the various Mr. Fears have been at the center of 55 years-worth of genuinely disturbing stories just further backs this up.

#soulfireinc #Mr. Fear #Zolton Drago #Starr Saxon #Larry Cranston #Alan Fagan #Shock #Adventures in Continuity #Recommendations list #Asks

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popculturebuffet · 3 years

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House of Mouse: The Stolen Cartoons Review (Patreon Review)

Hello all you happy people! It’s Patreon Review Time. Since my 5 dollar or higherr patreons get 1 review a month, Kevin my 10 dollar patreon is using one of his to celebrate the 20th anniversary of House of Mouse by having me review a random episode a month. And for this month we’re going all the way back to the start with The Stolen Cartoons!

I already introed house of mouse back when I reviewed “The Three Cablleros” episode but for a refresher: House of Mouse is a 2001 cartoon about Mickey and Co running a club. Mickey is host, Minnie plans the show and runs the books, Donald tends to the VIP”s and co owns the club with Mickey, Goofy is head waiter, Daisy runs guest services, Horace is technical support, Clarabelle is a gossip monger with no clear actual job, and Max is Valet. The show was used to repackage shorts from the short lived show Mickey mouseworks, using the club setting as a wraparound and said club was attentend by all the various characters from the disney canon. It’s as awesome as it sounds.

The voice cast, which I didn’t intro thorughly last time, was equally awesome with all the actors for the characters at the time, all legends in the industry. Wayne Allwine as Mickey,who played the character from the late 70′s to his death, Russi Taylor as Minnie and the Triplets, who did the same and was also married to wayne, Tony Anselmo, who should be thorughly familiar to readers of this blog and donald duck fans as his voice since Ducktales, Voice Actress Tress Macneile as Daisy, likewise, Jason Marsden as Max and Voice Acting Legend Jim Cummings as Pete. All except Allweine i’ve profieled before on this blog in various other series, but Wayne, outisde of a very minor role in black cauldron, only voiced Mickey, and to me is the defntiive voice for the guy, though Chris is getting close.

The other notable members of the cast i havent’ covered are April Winchell, who while tremendous, I will save for an episode Clarabelle is actually in more, and Bill Farmer. I have a great amount of Love for Bill and like everyone here, he was a vertran of the industry by the time he showed up in this series. His defining roll far and away is goofy, who was, to my delighted surprise his FIRST voice audition, having studided PInto Colving’s voice well to the point you can barely tell the difference between the two, and having inherited the roll around the same time as Russi and Tony. He’s the voice of Goofy I and most kids from the 80′s onward have grown up with and is the best at the roll by far, having chances for depth and nuance Pinto wasn’t allowed with the Goofy Movies and other works. IN general he’s just THE goofy to me. He’s also the voice of horace and pluto, and currently voices Hop Pop in Amphibia which is super noteworthy as looking at his filmography like a lot of the sensational 6′s va’s he’s only voiced goofy or Pluto for most of his career. But hey like Tony, if you only do one charcter might as well be the fucking best at it. He also has a show on Disney Plus with him and dogs I need to watch yesterday.

So with our cast out of the way, and not much history to go into, join me after the cut and we’ll see how House of Mouse got it’s start and if it was a good one.

Breaking from my usual format for House of Mouse and doing the shorts as they come up int he main story for two reasons: The first is that the shorts are integral to the plot and the second is that there’s way more main story this time around than usual, likely to properly set things up.

So we open at the House of Mouse with Mickey Adressing the club and showing off the general premise of this being a club for all of the various heroes and villains of disney to hang out and what not. He also presents the house rules which are no smoking (Fair and should’ve always been a thing), no villianous schemes and no eating the other guests, all helpfully demonstrated as he says them. We also get to see the others in action: Minnie handling the schedule and the crew, Donald welcoming the guests, and Daisy running the desk and getitng brainwashed by Jafar into giving him a table. Max also is providing his job as Valet which surprised me because I genuinely thought he didn’t join the cast till season 2.. despite the fact he’s right there in the credits.. which are the same for ALL THREE SEASONS.

So things are going well.. so naturally that’s when Pete shows up to try and ruin things. Look he’s having a hard time after the divorce.. several years ago. Okay maybe he’s always just been a dick and that’s why he’s divorced in the first place. Point is he naturally wants to shut the club down, boot them out, and wreck up the place like any natural cartoon villian or real estate scum bag landlord. Pete just happens to be both because he can multitask. .and because it’s basically the same thing you just have to be animated for one of them. Thankfully whoever the previous Landlord was, i’m going with Shere Kahn given the setting, his roll in tailspin and the fact the obvious candidate, scrooge, would make no sense here given a later episode where he guest stars, wrote into the contract that as long as the show goes on, they can stay in business. Pete stews over this and naturally plans to stop the show while Minnie, in a cute bit, comforts a nervous mickey and just tells him to play some cartoons. So...

Pluto Gets the Paper: Wet Cement and Donald’s Dynamite: Magic Act I”m covering both of these at once. But as I said the animated shorts this time are one big sized one and two of the shorter ones to make more room for the story. Which is fair: this is the first episode, and thus needs to set up the premise. The series isn’t story driven but your first episode should still feel like one, ease you into the world and get you situated and THEN can do the normal format. It’s also in the episode’s favor as the heavier story focus meant a BETTER story than most season 1 episodes, on par with the two season 3 episodes i’ve covered so far.

The shorts themselves are fine. So far this is the only Pluto Short i’ve liked as it has a neat enough gaga: Pluto has to get the paper in wet cement. Why did the paperboy throw it in wet cement instead of in the driveway, I dunno but given this short is well.. short and just meant to deliver on some quick gags, I’m not going to question it. It’s the first Pluto short i’ve covered without any dog sexual harassment, i’m not looking a gift dog in the mouth.

The other short short played right after is part of a series where Donald ends up trying to get rid of a round bomb that shows up wherever he is....

It’s pretty damn funny, though being a huge Donald fan i’m obviously biased, but even removing my donald duck brand sunglasses, I will concede this was objectively fun.

But the cartoons stop as, true to the title, they’ve gone missing! Horace is found tied up, the cartoons are gone and Pete is obviously responsible. and hilariously so as the rope has his name on it and he says “I don’t know horace horsecollar” There are a LOT of good gags in this one, i’m leaving a lot out for time’s sake.

So Mickey and Minnie come up with a plan: Mickey sends the.. Quackstreet Boys.... to stall. Now it may shock you but I actually LIKE the backstreet boys. Not to an extreme amount but I did grow up with them, and even now find their music pretty damn good. No my issue is this parody is weak, mostly running entirely on the title pun. The most I can give them credit for is using the outfits from their second album cover. No I wasn’t kidding I did grow up with them. You saw that everywhere so even if I didn’t enjoy their music then and now, i’d know it. But it just feels really weak, like they had no idea what to DO with the boys and instead just slapped them in a lame parody. It dosen’t help i’m not a fan of the classic version of the boys outside of the comics, as I feel later productions should’ve had them actually be distinct, and it took until 2017 to pull that off with the reboot, something I fear may be undone in future productions. Please.. don’t.. you can have Cristina Vee voice them all, I don’t care about the voice I just want to be able to tell them a apart. So yeah I don’t like it but it dosen’t drag the episode down. Just something I wanted to have a moan about.

So they split up: Mickey, Minnie and Goofy go to shoot a cartoon while Donald runs the club. Naturally he rebrands.. but what really is telling is everyone boos him when he tries to mc.. just for not being Mickey. While Donald does have a massive inferiority complex here, desperately wanting to one up mickey.. with moments like this it’s hard not to see why> He’s JUST as big a star, just as talented , maybe not as nice but just as likeable. He even co-owns the club. But ironically only Mickey Himself, and Daisy of Course, treat him like an equal. To everyone else it’s Mickey’s world and he’s just the sidekick. It’s no wonder he spend sthe entire show desperately trying to outdo mickey: he doesn’t hate the guy, even if he wouldn’t admit it.. but he just wants to be loved too. Sure it’s part ego.

Mickey does return though with the new cartoon. And our only sizeable one so.

Hickory Dickory Mickey: This is a REALLY good one with a simple enough premise; Goofy wants Mickey to take him to the airport at 6am tomorrow.. which Mickey balks at.

Seriously i’ve woken up at 3-4am to go to the airport or on road trips. Waking up at 5:30 is pretty standard. Goofy also has good reason to ask as he once BROKE MICKEY OUT OF JAIL. And as seen up top the flashback is done in black and white AND with their old models. I just.. love everything about this and it had to have taken extra effort to make new models for the old models and thus extra money for a quick joke. So kudos best part of the episode. But with his hands tied Mickey is forced to take him and Goofy leaves him his clock which won’t stop ticking. So we get just.. nonstop good gags as Mickey tries to sleep with standouts being his trying to drown it out only to get the tick station, the tock station on the radio and the clock channel on the tv. He also tries to mail it and naturally it comes back thanks to a kangaroo when he ships it to Australia..a nd then get’s progressively batshit as he mails it to HADES (comes back in a puff of smoke) and to the 1920′s (It comes back in black and white with arms and legs). It’s just.. really damn good and I suggest seeking it out. I have liked other shorts better but this was a good one.

Pete still gloats as they’ll need more cartoons.. only for one to fall out of his jacket and Mickey to shake the rest out. We then get a fun chase between the two, SO many good jokes, my favorite being him dressing up as a dalmation only for Cruella to take measurements, before being cornered by the three and the elephant from tarzan who throws him out.. right next to pepper-ann and her mom “Don’t touch the villian dear”. Good crossover.. and another show that like House of Mouse is not on disney plus don’t ask me why.

So our heroes win, we get our usual sponsorship and unusually we see the guests leave, a nice bit I wish they did more. All’s well that ends well.

Final Thoughts: This episode was fantastic. It introduces the cast well, sets up our villian, our basic premise and while only having one major cartoon, uses that as a plot point and it’s a damn good one. A fantastic start to the series and frankly the best place to start if your curious about the show. I’d like to thank Kev for sponsoring this review. If you’d like your own review you can look at comissoin details on my blog or get one guaranteed every month by becoming a 5 dollar patreon. You get one guaranteed review a month, acess to my discord server for my patreons, and to pick a short when I do birthday specials. And contributing to my patreon gets me closer to my stretch goals, even one dollar helps. Next goal not only gets reviews of the super ducktales mini series, but also a darkwing duck episode EVERY MONTH. And with the plug done, i’ll see you at the next rainbow.

#house of mouse #mickey mouse #donald duck #peg legged pete #pete pete #minnie mouse #bill farmer #daisy duck #2001 #horrace horsecollar #tarzan #pluto #max goof

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chillafqueen · 5 years

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My thoughts on Voltron (especially season 8)

As a collective, the series was great. I’m not going to shit all over it and denounce it for the rest of my life. I’m gonna rewatch it, write fan fiction, follow artists and writers who will continue to do amazing work. I’m still in the process of buying more merch. It’s in my top 5 favorite shows. That said:

I’m extremely disappointed in the show’s ending. From about season 5-6, I feel the writers were way in over there heads. They had so many ideas and characters they wrote and put into the show. Yes, there was some important moments its just uggh.

Imma just get into it.

First off, Takashi Shirogane He’s been through hell and back. He was an amazing character the writers just tossed to the side when they wanted to follow the original plot more. I mean, in the original series Shiro was never the black paladin. The original Shiro was the blue paladin and was killed off. Then was kinda, kinda not Sven afterwards. VLD’s Shiro was poorly planned. They make him the black paladin for what reason? To give us a spacer until the writers were ready to make Keith the leader and then we just push Shiro to the side. His clone doesn’t suffice. Clone Shiro/Kuron is just bullshit honestly. Real Shiro is actually dead/stuck in the inner quintessence of the black lion while his clone is fucking up Shiro’s image. Yes, Kuron is just a pawn in Haggar’s evil plan to defeat Voltron, but before we know that, we just see “Shiro” fight with Keith over how to lead Voltron, and yell at everyone. To make things worse, Shiro never gets to pilot Black again because Allura needs to be blue, Lance red, and Keith black to follow the originial series. The writers just shit all over Shiro. They take away his arm again, kill off his ex fiance, don’t give him anytime to mourn him really, season 8 doesn’t even ever mention Adam. Nothing. Adam was there just to say “gay rep”. And Shiro is given the Atlas to pilot which is just Castle of Lions and Voltron’s love child. They think they can just take away Shiro’s claim on the black lion and just toss him a new ship to make it up?

Shiro had to constantly fight for the control of Black because Zarkon still had a connection. Shiro earned his right to be the leader. I love you, Keith, but Shiro deserves Black. Shiro didn’t go through all this shit to hand it over to someone else. They hand him this ship that seems awesome but is overkill. Castle of Lions is gone what are we going to do? Oh, just make a new one except it turns into a thicc voltron.

Then season 8 comes around and Shiro isn’t given any real new development. In fact he’s just a face at this point. He captains the Atlas but all the spot light is on the current paladins and Allurance.

Like Keith and him are distant friends now???

And in the end we just throw him a rando to marry and call it good?

Next we have Pidge, who I don’t have as much to rant about. She’s my baby and I will protect her at all costs. The only real problem I ever had about my little Katie is the constant cliche thrown around every time she starts explaining science or math things using smart big technical terms and you get someone to say “in english this time” or “Just get to the point”. Like Pidge, you is smart but too smart omg just dumb everything down for us dumbs is a constant joke thrown into the show. Just let my girl use her big words and be proud of her intelligence. While she has a very great role, she deserves more instead of deus ex machina-ing everything.

Now Allura. Oh boy here we go. I love my beautiful strong black girl. She’s smart, resilient, and a fighter. They did her dirty. I mean we just kill her off? I was rooting for her. WE was all rooting for her. She’s a grounded princess who just wants to end the war and do Altea some justice. instead we throw her into romance like there isn’t the constant threat of the Galra just waltzing in any moment? My girl deserved better. She becomes the blue paladin, and struggles with learning how to work with blue as one. And watching her over come that obstacle was amazing and I’m a proud mom. But we just kill her off? Like Altean Alchemy is a fictional practice in a fictional show. Why did it take both Honerva and Allura to fix it all? Why did it have to take their lives? Why couldn’t Allura just take a deep breath close her eyes like she’s done with everything else and then do her blue glowy stuff and boom, lets go home.

They made the rules so her death wasn’t necessary. They could make easier less mean rules

Was it the writers trying to find a way please more than one ship? Like they wanted Allurance but killed her off to make Lance single and ready to mingle with Keith or Pidge to make fans happy? Did they think after fixing all realities once more that Allura had no where to go? They didn’t want her to help bring all the planets together? Did they not want her to marry Lance? I mean, we ask how do we form Voltron without Allura, and she answers Voltron is no longer needed. Like is there really not going to be any rebellion that needs Voltron intervention? Who says someone in the Galra empire isn’t satisfied with the ending? Or someone in the Altean colony wants revenge? Voltron could still be used. plus just because Voltron is no longer needed why can’t Allura be needed still?? I also can’t stand the writing they did for her. I’m looking at you, Allurance. Allurance isn’t one of my favorite ships just because of how it turned out. Lotor and Allura was even then a bit iffy, although was healthier than Allurance. With Lotura, Allura and Lotor bonded, had their Altean heritage in common. A common goal. They weren’t rushed together. They were amazing together, until the very end where Lotor goes insane with quintessence. Allurance is just forced. In the very beginning until about season 7 we see Allura ever showing any feelings for Lance. All this time it was Lance being a cheesy lover boy who was hot for the princess and in return Allura rolled her eyes or ignored his advances. Up until season 7 where Allura all of a sudden blushes and whabam, has a full blown crush on Lance. OUT OF NOWHERE. Sure, theoretically Allura could’ve just hid her feelings very well until that point. This newfound love just mocks Allura’s character. A strong woman who needs no man, but you know that hot suave prince who no one could resist. Then all of a sudden right before a mission, Allura becomes a little school girl blushing and stuttering. Anyway, Allura deserved better than being a martyr and a rushed relationship.

Next on my list is Lance. My very precious boy who I will end myself to make smile. HE IS A BEAUTIFUL BOY WHO DESERVES EVERYTHING. including Keith Lance, a cocky pilot, a terrible flirt, a lover not a fighter. He has one of the best arcs in my opinion. He’s a star example of growing up. He is first just a goofy boy with no care in the world except to show up Keith and get the ladies. As time progresses he matures so much. Goddamn should I even write about him because I just love him so much. He becomes a ninja sharpshooter, gains confidence, fucking earns himself the title of paladin. though, he is constantly used as an object for comedy or plot continuance. He is the stupid one of the group who doesn’t understand anything. He’s the classic funny guy. Makes jokes, big flirt, doesn’t understand the big words the smart ones make. But I gotta admit, I think Lance eventually realizes that character and that’s him. Once “Shiro” comes back Lance thinks someone has to give up a lion. The old Lance would’ve voted Keith off the island, but Lance at this point came to terms that Keith isn’t just his rival. Keith is a vital part of Voltron. Lance has faith in Keith as the leader, and a paladin in general. And Allura at this point made some amazing progress with Blue, the lion Lance prided himself on the one Blue picked. Lance was willing to give up Blue for Allura and give Keith back Red, the lion Lance also really wanted in the beginning as well. Lance questions his own worth. He realizes he’s the goofy flirt. He’s not as smart as Pidge or Hunk. He’s not as skilled of a pilot and fighter like Keith. He’s not a leader like Allura or Shiro. Lance eventually realizes his importance later on when he finally gets some recognition and praise. “That’s why we bring our sharpshooter” Lance also develops a huge real crush on Allura. While he always had a thing for her, he also had a thing for literally any other female being he had come across that was remotely attractive. His not so serious hard on for Allura turns into something beautiful. He sees her for more than her looks. He knows how fucking incredible she is and he knows he’s not worthy.

But season seven fucks him over as well as everyone else. Forced Allurance. Lance had a big crush on Allura for years and waited patiently. Allura falls for Lance out of NOWHERE. That’s all fine and dandy cause I love my boy and he deserves happiness. But in season 8 with their relationship, Lance becomes just the boyfriend. A complete opposite of his usual self. He’s serious and at Allura’s side 24/7 being her emotional support even though she really takes him for granted. Allura never really shows this compassion to Lance. Lance is just the kid who got his feelings returned. But that’s all it is. The whole season is Lance being with Allura there is no Loverboy Lance. It’s just sullen boyfriend who is giving his all for this relationship. And Allura isn’t like this at all. She returns the hand holding, the hugs, the kisses, but she doesn’t give the emotional side back. Which I understand is because she has way more important things to worry about. That’s another reason why I hated their untimely relationship. This is not the time for a blossoming relationship. Allura isn’t in the mindset to give her all to this relationship. She’s busy with Honerva. allura doesn’t have time to be all uwu for some guy. And in the end Allura gives her life to save all of existence. she kisses Lance one last time, and gives Lance those marks which is never explained further. Like are those marks there to signify only the relationship that lasted a few months? Lance’s love for Allura or Allura apparent love for Lance? Do those marks give Lance some Altean abilities? Lance the sharpshooter fighter pilot ends up just being a farmer on his family’s farm? Like maybe the harsh cold truth of war might’ve made him want to retire the spaceman dreams??? The writers also just plain lied to us about Lance. Lance’s endgame was supposed to be a slowburn? that Lance wasn’t going to be someone’s second choice? And in the end he’s just sad and depressed over Allura. At this point he’s just there to spread the gospel about Allura. I mean who knows? Maybe they left everyone without a significant other (besides Shiro) to keep it all up in the air. Like maybe Lance’s slowburn endgame is Keith but we don’t see it?

Then my boy Keef. My boyfriend, my husband, my child. What a mess. They gave him EVERYTHING. He gets childhood flashbacks, childhood trauma, mommy issues, a loving parent relationship, a backstory, his mom even got a backstory. He’s an amazing fighter. He is a great leader. He has some good connections. He’s smart, an excellent strategist. He also has trust issues, a lone wolf type of guy, and he has some problems sorting out his feelings. He learns patience, compassion, love, trust. He’s the whole enchilada until season 8, where pretty much everyone is thrown out the window except for Allura and Honerva. Literally the only problem I have with the writing for Keith was season 8, him and Shiro have literally no interaction for shit? “Brother, I love you.” Bitch where?

Keith traveled galaxies for Shiro. And season 8 they’re just two co-workers.

Hunk I’ve had problems with since the very beginning. He doesn’t get enough love. He’s the big guy so he is always hungry, always thinking of food, gets tired easily, has little stamina, scared of everything. Sometimes I forget he’s literally a genius engineer?

Romelle had more potential than to be one of Hunk’s chefs. I’m sorry.

Coran is perfect. Don’t ever change.

In the beginning of the series, they weren’t writing characters well enough, and in the middle everyone had something, but in the end there wasn’t enough time to wrap things up nicely. It was rushed. The last season was a poor excuse for an ending. Lotor deserved better. They hyped us up for Lotor’s return but it was pretty much just his corpse in the sincline??? We get his back story a bit. But in the end he still doesn’t get the mother he deserved?? And Allura and him never got some closure????

Krolia who? We spent all this time getting to know her and build her relationship to make her a background character. Keith and her have no interaction in the last season??

They should’ve made Veronica and Acxa lesbians. Ezor and Zethrid deserved some wlw screentime. More than what we got at least. Not enough Colleen.

Definitely needed more of the mfes. Especially James. Like I wanted some interaction between Keith and James???? Something at least?????

Also, Bae Bae should’ve been made into a main character.

Though with all my complaints. I’m really gonna miss the show. I didn’t spend as much time with it as a lot of you guys did. I finally watched it right before the 7th season came out. So I haven’t had as much time to analyze it or to experience every season like all of you. But I’m gonna miss this show. I’m really beating myself up over not watching it early on. Like I’d see it on my instagram, or here on tumblr, but never gave it a second thought. It was just some mech kids show that was gonna be hella cringey. But it ended up being a big part of my 2018 and I’m gonna be carrying it into future years.

I never made any friends because of the show. I’ve never reached out, no one ever reached out. Seeing all of you interact, or reminisce over the times you all had over Voltron moments. While I’ve only known it for months and I’ve never have that time a lot of people did.

I have discovered many great writers, artists, cosplayers because of Voltron and I’m so fucking happy that I was able to find people who express their love for the show so much that they present it to the world in different ways and I get to experience it.

I loved the show. And I will continue to love it. I want to thank all the cast and the people who made the show. And I’m gonna go rewatch this whole entire thing over and over again even if I’m not 100% on board with how they decided to end it, but who ever really likes endings?

#vld season 8 #vld spoilers #I'm crying so hard rn #pls don't @ me I'm soft

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