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artist-issues · 3 months

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On the Percy Jackson series, now that the season has concluded, do you have any thoughts on it, whether standalone or as an adaptation, about what worked and didn't work in it? I ask partly because I want to analyse it as its own thing but I can't stop getting hung up on the changes and I'm not completely sure why.

Of all things, Gabe is the big one for me. They turned him from a repulsive abuser to a pathetic manchild who lacks the power dynamic of his book counterpart and was so consistently treated as comic relief that I actually pitied him. The fact that he shares the fate of his book counterpart actually kind of angers me and it's hard for me to look past that. It left a mean-spirited taste in my mouth.

I don’t think I’ve talked enough about what did work, and I do think there’s a place for talking about that, so I’m glad you asked!

I think Walker Scobell could play a really excellent Percy Jackson. And I think Leah Jeffries and Aryan Simhadri are both very endearing in their roles.

I’m not going to throw shade on 14 year-old actors and actresses. There’s no shade to throw. Acting is vulnerability combined with introspection and understanding. No teenager is going to have the same level of vulnerability, understanding, and introspection, expressed with the same skill, as we’re used to seeing in adults, period. And the show doesn’t do them any favors by giving them very adult lines and very adult-behaving characters to play.

Which segues nicely into—the character’s “arcs” are completely different in the show, but they feel more like…”alternate universe” characters than “out-of-character-rewrites.” For the most part.

I already touched on how Grover is a completely different Grover in the TV show. His fear is both too serious and not extreme enough. He’s not comedic. Instead, he is a voice of reason, and he does have a maturity the other two don’t have. He’s written to talk to the other adults differently than Percy and Annabeth are—more like equals, less like teen-vs-adults. You can easily believe that Grover is a 24 year-old in a kid’s body during those scenes, like the ones with Ares.

But there’s a reason he’s not like that in the Percy Jackson books; he’s comedic, and he’s Percy’s best friend. Percy’s only 12 when they meet; it’s weird for a 12 year-old to be best friends with a 24 year-old—who BEHAVES like a 35 year-old, with all the gravity, and maturity, etc. But if the 24 year-old is a magical creature who, for his species, is still pretty young, and has a comedically immature personality, then the chemistry works much better. Anyway. Not my point.

My point is, Grover might not be Grover, but you can still see trace elements of Grover in him. Like how you can see echoes of Spider-Man in Spider-Gwen’s story. It’s an alternate-universe, not a do-over.

Grover still wants to be a seeker.

Grover still feels guilty about not taking better care of Thalia.

Grover still gets the most outraged and cares the most deeply about nature and crimes against nature.

Grover is still a peace-lover at heart, so he’s the most gentle in relational interactions.

‘That kind of stuff is still there. It’s just re-contextualized and…made less fun. That’s all. More serious. More grit.

Same thing with Annabeth:

Annabeth still wants to prove she’s the best of the best.

Annabeth’s still given up on her normal family and is most comfortable in life-or-death strategizing.

Annabeth’s still smart, but specifically wise enough to notice Percy’s heart of gold while everyone else is busy being afraid of or disappointed in him.

Same thing with Percy:

Percy still has the stubborn rebelliousness we all know and love.

Percy’s still a guy who goes with his gut first and foremost.

Percy’s still willing to sacrifice the future for the present, if the present means saving the people he loves.

Percy still makes wise-cracks at wildly inappropriate times.

And I think some of the show is really well written. Some of it. Two parts in particular stand out. The first is when Annabeth and Percy have the post-killing Medusa conversation, and they have that, “she tried to get me to betray you. What did you say? I killed her sister. What did you say? I cut off her head.” exchange. That’s great. The point of that conversation is “you can trust me because no matter how I might be tempted, this is the line I won’t cross.” But they don’t come out and say that. They have the characters say it without saying it, if that makes sense.

The second bit of good writing that comes into my brain was Luke’s conversation with Percy about being small and scary. It was such a good way to introduce the important concept of why gods need demigods/why gods fear demigods, while also lore-dropping things like “Annabeth is afraid of spiders” and “this fantasy world does have rules.” And on top of those boxes getting checked, you can also see the conversation from Luke’s point of view—he’s bitter about being thought of as a small thing to the gods, but now he’s starting to embrace the scariness part.

So some moments are good, writing-wise. Especially if you tilt your head and say “this is an alternate universe.” I just think they’re not always the right moments for Percy Jackson.

#Percy Jackson #Luke castellan #Annabeth chase #pjo #pjo series #percy series #Percy Jackson and the lightning thief #pjo tv show #Disney+#Rick Riordan #Walker Scobell

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fake-married-my-dead-fiance · 7 months

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My favourite Kdramas (so far)

Currently watching: Queen of Tears, Lovely Runner and Kingdom (I tag for spoilers of current shows)

My to watch list, Venn Diagram of my favourite kdrama things

My Main is about Jane Austen

For tracking purposes. But feel free to suggest me new Kdramas

Alchemy of Souls: 10/10. Visually beautiful, wonderful soundtrack, casting is amazing, story is very well thought-out, world-building is on point, loved all of it.

Trope subversions, Love Maps, Plot driven by fear

Moon in the Day: 9/10. The most angsty enemies to lovers you will ever find in your life. It's completely enthralling. The past scenes with Do-ha are amazing. There are some plot holes and the secondary characters aren't very well developed, but I don't care. It was so good!

Text Posts, On the ending, the emotional journey

Doom at Your Service: 9/10. The world-building is really well done, as is the symbolism. Doom is so weirdly lovable. Also has a great soundtrack.

Extraordinary You: 9/10, the story gets a little drawn out in the middle episodes, but the concept is so gripping that I forgive it. The main character is really spunky and fun and the villain is probably the most interesting character in the show.

W: Two Worlds: 9/10 So good! So unpredictable! So Male Lead who was smart and actually acted smart! This is the dark companion of Extraordinary You and I loved every minute.

Happiness: 9/10 the whole point of zombie horror is that the humans are the real monsters and Happiness delivered on that 100000%. Turns out Park Hyung-sik can also be serious and very good at punching people! Han Hyo-joo was also amazing. The slow burn romance was so cute. Loved it so much.

Sh**ting Stars: 9/10, the voluntarism in an unnamed African country wasn't great, but the rest of the show was so heartwarming and cute! There were lots of lovable characters, mature relationships, very cute friendships, and hilarious antics.

The Forbidden Marriage: 8/10 The plot had lots of fun twists and the resolution was satisfying. I wish we got more So Rang hijinks in the later episodes, the hunting episode was my favourite with her running around everywhere like a maniac.

It's Okay to Not be Okay: 9/10, My only critique is I wish they did more of the animations for fairy tales, but it's so good. The female lead had the most amazing outfits.

Hospital Playlist: 8/10 The epitome of slice of life. I enjoyed all the characters, especially Lee Ik-jun, The Ghost, and Long Winter (Jang Gyeo-ul) and the cute kid! I love the mom and the hospital director hanging out together. The band! I cannot stop listening to their songs!

Doctor Slump: 8/10 Very cute and relaxing watch. The FL's family was really cute, especially her mom! The focus on mental health was nice, though there was a bit too much of an idea that a relationship can fix your depression/PTSD. But still good!

Queen of Tears: Ongoing.

Kdramas I have liked:

Daily Dose of Sunshine: 8/10, this made me cry multiple times. It is very good. The visuals for how different disorders feel was fascinating. Good resolutions for the characters. I loved it all.

Extraordinary Attorney Woo: 8/10 I'm blown away by their portrayal of autism. They don't shy away from making her ticks and mannerisms off-putting, awkward, and even somewhat annoying, but Young-woo has joy, she has imagination, she loves life. It's so much better than anything with an autistic character that I've seen in Western media. Not 10/10 because I did get a bit uninterested in the later cases when I wanted to know where the love story was going.

Choi Su-yeon

Oh My Ghost: 8/10 I loved this one! Park Bo-young did an amazing job playing an oppressed shaman and possessed-by-a-ghost. It was very well written: there weren't any ridiculous sideplots and I was never bored. I did think the ending dragged a little bit, but overall I loved it.

The King's Affection: 8/10 I loved it. I think it probably could have been cut down to 16 episodes instead of 20, but very good. The female crown price is so scared all the time and I want to hug her, but also badass! It's a very hard line to walk but they do it well. Also, the bodyguard who is also an assassin is so hot and the costumes are great.

My Lovely Liar: 7/10. I really loved this show, it was very cute and occasionally very scary. The murder mystery was well done, though I'm not sure how I feel about the final reveal.

What's Wrong with Secretary Kim: 7/10, I liked that for once the big trauma didn't come from the parents, what a twist! I actually loved how ridiculously narcissistic the ML was and I loved the competent and mature FL. They didn't have any ridiculous misunderstandings and they never broke up. And the ML's friend was very funny.

King the Land: 7/10. The show got better as it went on. The female lead was so competent and sure of herself. The parts about the friends' struggles was heartbreaking a lot of the time. I also loved how positive the female relationships were.

Captivating the King: I'm struggling to rate this one. The ML was amazing, but the FL seemed to just always be wide-eyed scared/worried. The writing was great for the first half, but the ending was ambiguous in a way I didn't enjoy. The intimate scene in Ep 8/9 was awesome, but then we didn't really get more. I wish they had stuck the landing.

Other Kdramas I've watched:

Hospital Playlist 2: Somehow it wasn't as good as the first season, I found myself actually getting bored. But it was nice to see all the couples get together.

Goblin or Guardian the Great and Lonely God: The roommate stuff is hilarious! It did move slowly at times, I wanted the Grim Reaper/Sunny stuff to move a bit faster. I got really annoyed at Kim Shin for not being honest with Eun-tak. Sometimes the product placement annoyed me. But it's very beautiful and I was very invested in everyone. Problem is, I don't think I ever want to watch it again.

Marry My Husband: very fun drama, I especially enjoyed Su-min and Min-hwan, who were some of the most deep villains I've seen portrayed. However, I hated the Yu-ra storyline and I felt like the ML kept the secret of his death for way too long. Also, no happy ending for the secondary couples! I wanted more screen time with them.

Tale of the Nine Tailed + 1938 - It's fun, but the lore/world-building don't make a whole lot of sense. The Serpent is pretty over powered in S1 and really ought to have won. 1938 was better but the female mountain goddess made zero sense as a character. Lee Rang is probably the best part of the whole series, and his little murder fox girl in S1 or mermaid girl in S2.

Castaway Diva: I love the songs and the found family parts, but the story was lacking. Especially the older singer's story made very little sense and didn't come to a satisfying conclusion. And why not show us a little of the main couple being together?

Hotel del Luna - I enjoyed the ghost parts but the dynamic between the main couple was a mess. He is so unconditionally nice and she is such a jerk to him!

Strong Girl Bong-Soon - I loved all the parts with Bong-Soon and Min-hyuk, like he was the cutest, sweetest boy ever, but everything else was kind of annoying. And the kidnapper parts were really creepy! I just wanted Bong-Soon to smash more things. I also hated Guk-doo and I wanted all the women to dump his ass.

Business Proposal - It was cute, but it bothered me that Ha-ri wouldn't just talk to Tae-moo about her concerns about dating him. Ha-ri may be the only female lead ever with a healthy family dynamic, yay for her! The secondary couple was fun.

Death's Game - I enjoyed the genre and actor switches at first, but then it seemed to veer into being about the serial killer CEO and then back to being about suicide and the resolution left me unsatisfied.

My Demon - It was fun, but the world-building wasn't great and the ending was fine. I felt like it tried to be Doom at Your Service but failed (there were many, many references/thefts).

Destined with You - I really liked some parts of it, especially the leads and I actually liked the office romance with Hong-jo's boss (until the last episode), but they left so many things unanswered that I wish were revealed! It's like the writers forgot it was a fantasy drama halfway through and just went in a totally different direction. It makes me angry.

The Uncanny Counter - The concept was good, the actors were good, the chemistry between the actors was amazing, but the story went way off the rails. So Mun just became way too over-powered and the plot needed more balance. I wanted more demon catching and less mayor stuff. I did like the bully being saved and reformed.

Perfect Marriage Revenge - This show did exactly what it set out to do, be completely over-the-top dramatic. I really enjoyed watching it, it was a romp, but I doubt I'll ever watch it again. The evil stepmother and sister were great.

The Story of Park's Marriage Contract: It was fluffy and fun, I loved Sa-wol the maid, we should have had more of her! I hated the ending though, so much. Just so bad.

100 Days My Prince - I hated the main couple, he was just too distant and she should have figured out who he was like 10 minutes in. It felt like they only got together because he was obsessed with her, I would have preferred the nice face-blind guy. I ended up liking the peasant friend couple and the murderous princess and her assassin boyfriend better.

Started but not finished:

Moving - I started it, it seems really slow. I think I'm four or five episodes in. The Crowned Clown - First episode was way too dark! Live Up To Your Name - Acupuncture is magic? Moonlight Drawn by Clouds - the first episode seemed bonkers Strong Girl Nam-Soon - could not even force myself to watch it. Total mess The Impossible Heir - Even Lee Jae-wook couldn't save this messy plot.

#tracking post #kdramas

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teaandtoastandthyme · 7 months

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Lockwood & Co - Books vs. show preferences

First, things about Lockwood & Co that I like better in the books. (Book and show spoilers abound in both these lists.)

The timeline. I'm actually very confused about what the timeline in the show is supposed to be. I could see a somewhat condensed timeline making sense for screen adaptation, but I felt like the show didn't give the characters enough time to know each other as well as they supposedly did.

Which boy drew his rapier first in the Archives. In the show, Lockwood draws his rapier first to defend both Lucy and himself against Kipps' nastiness. In the books, Lockwood draws his rapier in quick defense against Kipps' rapier, having used his words rather than his sword to provoke Kipps. I just like that bit of character portrayal better.

The scene at the Combe Carey well. I think Lockwood's "No, Lucy. That's not the way it's going to be." is such a powerful foreshadowing line about how they help pull each other away from the call of death. And it would have fit so well with some of the other scenes they added for the show.

The Skull's dialogue. Certainly most of his best sarcastic lines are in later books, but they didn't set his character up well to make those remarks. While the tone of the show is a bit different than the books, it seems they could have kept at least a little of his ridiculous nature.

The plan (or lack-thereof) for infiltrating the relic auction. While certainly the trio (plus Flo) are plenty chaotic in this part of the books, they DO have a pretty well-thought-out plan to get into the auction and get the bone glass. They're not just winging it. There are several minor plot holes and/or convenient plot devices in the show that wouldn't have had to happen if they had kept the Winkman auction scene a little closer to the books. And it would have highlighted that these kids actually are smart. (And that Lockwood is actually good a making plans sometimes.)

And now, things I like more about the show adaptation:

George's physical characterization. The books' use of Lucy's voice to disparage George's appearance can be overwhelming to the point of distracting sometimes. I appreciate that the show allowed Lucy and George to have some conflict without it involving making fun of physicality in any way. There's enough of that already in the world. That is literally my least favorite part of the books. (Though at least Lucy does mature a bit over the series in this respect.) [Edited to clarify: I have nothing against George in the books or the way he looks, just the way the others talk about it!]

The expansion of Norrie's role. I think this was a brilliant move to highlight the trauma Lucy experienced and heighten the stakes a bit. And it was also the perfect device for explaining parts of the world in narrative form.

A deeper exploration into mental health and suicidality. The books contain these themes, but I love the way the show brought these characters' experiences of trauma and mental illness more fully into conversation with each other and with the story. It was masterfully done, without romanticizing or preaching or toning down.

Lockwood giving Lucy the diamond necklace before the party. When I first watched this scene in its entirety, I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding. I am so used to male characters telling the dressed-up scrappy female character how stunningly beautiful she is, and I hate it. I hate the way it shifts the agency and purpose of the woman's appearance. I've said before in other posts how much I appreciate that Lockwood just lets Lucy be in this scene. She doesn't need him to compliment her appearance because her appearance is not for him. And then, of course, the necklace can be more about connection and relationally rather than approval or beauty.

Clues about Lockwood's parents and the nature of the Problem a little earlier. It ties the stories together into one larger mystery a bit sooner and quite effectively, I think.

What about you? What are your favorite changes in the show, and what do you like better in the books?

#lockwood and co #save lockwood and co #lockwood & co #anthony lockwood #lucy carlyle #george karim #george cubbins #save lockwood & co #jonathan stroud #lockwood and co spoilers #lockwood netflix #lockwood and co tv show #lockwood & co books #comparisons #book vs show

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tytangfei · 14 days

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now that In Blossom is over...

i'm going to briefly compare ju jingyi's version of yang caiwei versus zheng hehuizi's version (the first actress) to answer the question of 'is ju jingyi's verson in character according to what we know of yang caiwei in the first two episodes and in childhood flashbacks?'

why? because a lot of people have a reluctance to start this drama due to ju jingyi. i get it, she's not everyone's cup of tea. also, she has a harder task in this drama as the actress that plays the second version of female lead, and many think that she didn't step it up.

but i wanted to throw my thoughts out there in case anyone was willing to give her/the drama a chance. does ju jingyi's version feel in character, and thus, tolerable?

yeah, mostly.

zheng hehuizi's version is just, mature, and sensible. but we know from flashbacks that she wasn't just serious all the time; with her friends, she was cheerful and bright. even at the little kids who bullied her in episode 1, she played a prank on them--showcasing a silly sense of humor and ability to shrug off judgements after years of discrimination. the main reason why she was serious in the first two eps was because she was trying to push pan yue away. (and also she was worried about her sick master.)

ju jingyi's version also was pretty much the same. she was just, smart, and wary of pan yue (rightly so). the reason why she acted extra super cheerful was because she was trying to show to pan yue that she, shangguan zhi, had changed. by doing this, she was hoping to draw his eyes away from her so she could investigate. that's why i accepted the fact that ju jingyi's version could be almost too much with the quirky acts; it was initially for a good reason. once she believed in pan yue, her character wasn't so quirky anymore, because she didn't need to be over-the-top about everything. once the quirkyness disappeared, she felt more attuned to the first version we saw.

so, in terms of whether it's in character and coherent, i would say yeah, it feels enough. it's not perfect, but it's just enough to get through (though the last parts of the drama didn't give much to her character...i say more on this near the end.)

the reality is we really didn't get to see much of zheng hehuizi's version so we really don't have that much as a frame of reference. in fact, we barely get flashbacks to when yang caiwei struggled after her parents died, and her learning coroner skills from her master. because of this, i'm forced by the story to just accept that ju jingyi's version is accurate/correct.

which isn't all bad. ju jingyi's version have several shining moments. (one of my fav scenes of her is when she's drunk and confesses she's not "shangguan zhi" but pan yue doesn't believe her, so she stares at pan yue achingly with these wide regretful sad eyes. we know her conflict, we know why she can't tell him the truth yet! it's heartbreaking.)

but what i've noticed, especially toward the end of the drama, is that ju jingyi's version actually doesn't get that much time to show her character's interiority. we don't get to see her, just by herself, thinking and feeling. the most obvious example of this is when she's in jail! and has been tortured!! and we see NOTHING except she's leaning against the wall and ignoring the food and jail guards. no thoughts, no words about her situation or reminiscing about her family or her master or concerns about her friends or pan yue??? she might die, does she not feel regretful that she hasn't brought justice to her family???? she just silently endures. that might be a testament to her strength of character, but as a viewer, i'm scratching my head. i'm not that compelled by her just sitting there. i need her to say or do something.

now, with the drama all wrapped up, i can definitely say that pan yue has so much more growth and growing than yang caiwei. even his relationship with his father gets a little redemption arc. pan yue becomes the biggest main character. yang caiwei, on the other hand, kind of stops growing once she and pan yue gets together.

whether it's by writing or her own acting or editing, yang caiwei ultimately is an underutilized character. we could've seen more of her character's growth to perhaps appreciate ju jingyi's version more. but we didn't get that, for better or for worse. i liked both versions of yang caiwei in the end. just wanted a bit more for her.

#in blossom #shangguan zhi #yang caiwei #ju jingyi #zheng hehuizi #not sure if this made any sense but like it's writing it's editing it's acting #it's all these things combined to make her version decent but not perfect...#jina watches cdramas

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filmmakerdreamst · 9 months

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“Life with Derek” is Back Again!

Life with Luca is a hour and a half spin-off movie based on the 2000’s Canadian Sitcom Life with Derek, set eighteen years after its predecessor. The story follows two step-siblings, Casey McDonald (Ashley Leggat), now a court lawyer and mother of three. And Derek Venturi (Michael Seater), now a successful musician in Paris and a single dad. As history repeats itself, they both have rebellious fourteen year old teenagers, pushing their buttons. So in order to get a break, they both have the idea of dropping them off with their grandparents for their anniversary, and to their surprise, they end up meeting each other instead. With help, they figure out how to co-parent their kids together for a weekend, and hijinks naturally ensue.

The original show Life with Derek was all about a blended family. In which two teenage step-siblings, Casey and Derek (the eldest children in the household and equally self absorbed), clash; fighting each other to take control of the house, their younger siblings, their school and their world.

The episodes consisted of simple, domestic family antics, containing smart jokes that would make adults and children alike laugh. The storylines were mature enough for teenagers to be interested but not so mature that it would put children off from watching.

Life with Derek was a show that prided itself in being character driven and more realistic than some of the family shows that was airing around that time, especially on networks such as Disney Channel.

However, it became well known and successful to this day for the slow burning subtextual “love affair” between the two step-siblings, Casey and Derek which undoubtedly acted as the backbone of the series. And the reason why it got picked up for a reboot fifteen years after the final episode aired.

When I first read the premise of Life with Luca (when the announcement came out that they were going to make a Life with Derek reboot in 2020), I was immediately judgemental as often reboots can erase character growth. It just seemed like another manufactured money making remake (a copy for the next generation) rather than an actual continuation of the original show.

And while the movie does have alot of tropes repeated from the original i.e. Casey and Derek’s kids Skyler and Luca clash from the beginning, two families not really knowing each other previously merging for the first time etc. The writers had the ability to make these tropes most importantly character driven and natural so the audience didn’t notice the similarities so much. And when they did, it’s treated as a familiar nod rather than a direct copy.

Luca and Skyler

Part of the fun of the original was the ongoing romantic tension between Casey and Derek, and I was worried we were going to have a repeat of that with their kids, Luca and Skyler but thankfully the casting and writing department was alot more thorough. And while they do clash at the beginning, its presented more of a culture clash because of how they were raised, and it evolved into a familial relationship quite quickly. I loved watching their bonding moments.

They managed to keep the core message from the original ‘of family and building a family even when you hate your situation at the beginning’. I felt they did a good job of mirroring that message with Luca and Skyler.

Out of the two, I felt like Skyler was the more fleshed out. The casting for her was amazing, she looks just like Derek’s daughter. I loved how, even though she was clearly meant to be the ‘Casey character’ — organised and dramatic — she still had her own vibe. She had the carefree attitude and style from Derek’s parenting, but still was able to be responsible as she essentially raised herself.

Luca, (the ‘Derek’ character) the more rebellious counterpart, is suggested to be acting out due to his chaotic home life, rather than that’s just “how he is” unlike Derek who was labelled as the bad guy from the start. He’s still very much Casey’s son as he doesn’t have some of the toxic masculinity that Derek possessed in the original show. And he has a few neurotic tendencies from her style of parenting as well. But I almost feel we didn’t get enough of him.

If and when Life with Luca does get picked up as a TV Series later on, it would be nice to flesh out his character alot more (and hers), because there was clearly alot of conflict that the two of them both had, his dad working overseas and her mum having a bran new family, that can’t really be fleshed out thoroughly in a hour and a half film.

George and Nora

George and Nora’s plot was by far the most ridiculous (hint, jewel thief car chase), but I loved seeing them on screen again. It was nice to see how their relationship was still going strong after all this time. Along with their cameo, there were some other great ones such as Sam and Mr Lassiter. It was a shame we didn’t get to see the rest of the blended family such as Edwin and Lizzie and Marti, even for a second at the anniversary party at the end. But I understand the screenwriters wanted to save that for a TV Series later on, so they could be fully explored more.

Simon

Simon, the youngest of the McDonald-Venturi’s (that was a storyline for the last two episodes of the original) was by far my favourite addition to the film. This was surprising, since that storyline in Life with Derek wasn’t exactly my favourite around the time of watching because I don’t necessarily agree that the step-family gaining a shared child made them “a proper family”. Thankfully, Life with Luca proved me wrong as he was so lovable. I loved how he was a perfect mix of both of the McDonalds and the Venturi’s, but mostly the Venturi’s as he was so clumsy.

Casey and Derek

As always, the strongest parts of the movie, were when they were focusing on Casey and Derek, individually and together. I loved how they went with careers that naturally meshed with their personalities. Casey being a married lawyer in Toronto and Derek being a travelling musician in Paris with his daughter as a best friend. Watching Derek be a parent was amazing, especially since he was shown to be really good with kids in the original.

When the two finally meet up again, the audience can see that their friendship has definitely progressed; they have finally learnt to respect one another even though they haven’t spoken one on one for a long time. But they still maintained their comedic banter. It was refreshing to see that character growth. It was nice that it hadn’t backtracked in typical reboot fashion for the sake of drama/entertainment since that relationship was the core of why the original worked.

Now in the original show, Life with Derek, it was never confirmed that Casey and Derek had romantic feelings for each other, but there was alot of speculation by the fans, because of all the subtext going on throughout the series.

The actors, Michael Seater and Ashley Leggat, put a rest to some of the speculation in 2016 and confirmed in a article by MTV that because ‘the fans were so into Casey and Derek being a couple, [they] would find subtext in their lines to give the fans what they desire’

Life with Derek was primarily about the first four years that they [Casey and Derek] lived together. Their relationship mostly consisted of an antagonistic push and pull/tug of war even though at the end of the day, they were always there for each other when it really counted. Even though Casey and Derek claimed to dislike each other, it was very clear that the two had developed a deep bond over the course of the series.

However, Casey and Derek’s relationship in Life with Luca is interesting in a way that they’re no longer in a “sibling dynamic” in which they were previously forced into. Mostly because they’re no longer teenagers and the fact that they’ve barely interacted or lived together in eighteen years since life both took them in very different directions. Which creates a paradox in itself.

It’s this incredibly grey area throughout the movie where they’re adjusting to each other again, slipping into their old bickering, confiding in each other about parenthood, all while transitioning into a mum and dad dynamic while they’re co-parenting the children they had with other people.

Before the movie came out, I was positive, because of the criticisms and hype surrounding the show and the pairing, that the writers were going to diminish the potential of a romance between the characters in fear of backlash. For example, have Casey in a happy marriage, Derek dating around and eventually gain a love interest at the end of the film. Also, trying to make their relationship as “Sibling- Esque” as possible.

Even though I knew from the premise of the reboot, that they were going to move in together, and there would be a few romantic undertones scattered in for the fans, I’d thought they’d play it off more as an “aunt and uncle babysitting the kids”.

But the opposite ended up happening. Casey has an absent husband who continuously leaves her and her kids alone while he plays hockey over seas — breaking his promises that he was going to retire before their kids were teenagers. Derek supposedly hasn’t dated anyone in fourteen years nor mentions flirting with other women. He even has a distant relationship with his daughters mum.

The moment Derek comes, he almost takes ‘the role of her husband’ as he sees Casey isn’t doing so well. He does the cooking for their kids — Casey even mentions that her husband does all the cooking while Derek is preparing dinner — babysits her little ones, attempts to calm Casey down when she’s getting too stressed, helps arrange an anniversary party for their parents so she’s able to get on with her work. And even though, they are referred as “Aunt” and “Uncle” in the movie, it’s also made apparent that they’re essentially “Mum and Dad” to their children as well.

One of Casey’s little ones, Molly even makes a “catch it or you’ll miss it” comment to Derek’s kid in one scene “I wish we were cousins AND sisters.”

Their last scene together at the end of the movie, Casey comes up to Derek saying ‘You’re gonna come home again soon, before the kids go to university?’ in which Derek heavily implies that he wants to move into her guest house to potentially raise their kids together, making a direct parallel to her husband not retiring from hockey and coming home from Europe, even after their kids grew up.

That moment is possibly why I came out from watching the movie thinking ‘If Casey and Derek don’t get together after this; then it’s bad writing’ because their scenes in the reboot didn’t feel like random “fanservice moments” like in the original; it felt like a genuine setup for a romance. Even if it can’t be written explicitly, due to the network, it is the most logical ending for their characters and the movie just made that ending seem even more inevitable.

Despite my enjoyment of Life with Luca, and overall it being a Great Comeback of a 2000’s Classic — it’s not a movie that can really work on its own. Finishing it left me feeling unsatisfied and wanting more. It felt very much like an introduction than a complete product. Its very apparent they made this movie so it could be picked up as a TV series later on, since there is alot of plot threads that are unexplored, unfinished or left open.

Life with Luca is not a reunion movie. It’s only page one.

“Life with Derek” is Back Again! by Ellie Hersey

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void-imp · 3 months

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Here's my Jeremy ramble, buckle up it's gonna be a long one

I was thinking about jeremy and how I feel like I haven't given him enough flaws, and I think I've figured out what to do. In the traditional, academical sense, Jeremy is not "smart". He's not dumb, far from it, but he was never the stereotypical booksmart kid who excelled in school. Math and physics are his biggest struggles, to the point he'd skip class as a teen. It was something so unlike him, someone who had been praised for being a good, dutiful kid who always did he right thing his whole life, but the fear of feeling stupid was greater than the fear of dissapointing his mom. Both, however, were ever-present. Languages were less of a hurdle, and those subjects that allowed or encouraged conversation, like social studies. Apart from having to memorize a bunch of dates, he enjoyed history too. Where he excels is when he gets to work with his hands. He's a great cook, an incredible artist, athletic, has a green thumb. These are his strengths but he's always felt like it pales in comparison to his mother's achievements. His mother, who came to the states and fought to make a life for herself here, who's incredibly clever, who went to college and became a doctor. Who raised him on her own while being a med student. He wants to live up to the expectations she has for him, to make her proud, and continously finds himself falling short. Some of this is partially resolved before Jeremy as we know him shows up in the story. On his last year of High School, he and his mother got in a fight. He'd finally gathered the courage to tell her his dreams of becoming a tattoo artist and she did not like the idea. Wanted him to go to college. Jeremy loves his mom more than anything, and defying her expectations was the scariest thing he's ever had to do. And in the same way, Alma loves her son most of everything in this world, and wanted what she thought was best for him but also wanted him to be happy. In Alma's mind Jeremy was still her baby, and the realization that he was almost fully grown up was like having a bucket of cold water emptied over her head. The little kid proudly showing off how he learned to tie his shoes was almost an adult, and was already becoming his own person. So she brokered a deal: if he tended to his studies, passed his finals and got an A in math, she would fully support him in becoming a tattoo artist. He studied hard, got help from his friends, and felt confident. When the day came, the culmination of all his hard work, the moment his hopes for the future rested on… he got a B. To say he was dissapointed would be an understatement. He was crushed. The feeling of being an utter failure was greater now than at any other point in his life. Pure dread pooled in his stomach at the thought of having to tell his mom, having to see the disappointment in her eyes. When he came home, his mom wasn't disappointed at all. She wrapped him in a hug and told him how proud she was of him, and he cried for what felt like hours. She made them a cup of tea, put on a movie, and they had a talk. She had seen his hard work and was still willing to support him, even if she would rather see him continue his education. He admitted he didn't feel fully ready, that he kinda wanted to go to community college first, and that's what he ended up doing. Now that he lives on the other side of the country, working as an apprentice at a tattoo studio, he's happy that he decided to wait those two years. He still sucks at math but he's more mature now, more grounded, and feel better suited to take on the challenges that await him now he's on his own.

#oc:jeremy #oc rambles #olly:rambles #i tried to break it up a bit bc if i was met with this wall of text my brain would just quit immediately #if you read this even a little bit of it ily thank you so much

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ereardon · 1 year

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My Girl [Chapter 3][Jake "Hangman" Seresin x OC]

Summary: Jake Seresin could be the answer to all of your dating woes. He’s the full package: steady job, mature, dependable, attractive to a fault. The polar opposite of every guy your age and he’s everything you’ve ever wanted in a partner. But there’s one roadblock: he’s a single father to four-year-old Ellie. Jake is looking for a level of commitment you’re not quite sure you’re ready to give, and he’s not willing to bring someone into his daughter’s life who isn’t there for the long haul. And even if you are stepmom material, is Jake ready to let someone back in his life while still mourning the recent loss of his late wife?

Pairing: Jake “Hangman” Seresin x OC [Lawyer Natalie West]

WC: 3K

Warning: Age gap, cursing, smut

Series masterlist here

Please fill out this form here to join my tag list

When you showed up to work, there was a bouquet of white roses and calla lilies on your desk. You immediately recognized Jake's handwriting on the small card tied to the glass vase.

Happy one month anniversary, Natalie. I’m so lucky to have you in my life.

Love,

Jake

“Shut up,” Rebecca whined, rounding the corner to your desk and spotting the flowers. You flushed. “God, I hate you sometimes. Maybe not hate. Just jealous of your life.”

You laughed and dropped the card into your purse. “You're lucky with Harris. He’s good to you and he loves you.”

“He’s never once sent me flowers at work,” she countered. “That’s some old school shit.”

“Jake is different,” you said softly. “He’s not like any other guy I’ve dated.”

“He’s a man,” Rebecca added. “I think the expectations are different. On both sides.”

“What do you mean?”

You had told her about how Jake had to cancel Ellie’s birthday, and that you two had decided to take it slow, both with meeting Ellie and with sex. What you hadn’t told her was that he hadn’t slept with anyone since his late wife. That felt like a personal detail you weren’t at liberty to share.

“I mean he’s probably expecting more of you than any other twenty-something guy would.” Rebecca crossed her deep bronze legs and you watched as a first-year associate drooled over her from afar before scampering away when you caught his lusty gaze and frowned. She was the only black woman on the legal team, and only one in a handful of people of color in the entire office, something the both of you were trying to remedy now that you had say in the new hires brought in at the graduate level. Rebecca had a way of making men twice her age give up without a fight, something that was highly irregular in law, and you admired her deeply for it. She also terrified the interns and first years, which never ceased to make you laugh.

“Like what?” you asked.

“Like commitment,” she said with a raised eyebrow. “The man is in his thirties. He’s a widower with a kid. He sounds like the commitment type. He doesn’t want to run around and chase ass all day. A man who sends these,” she skimmed a rose petal with one long nail, “is in it for the long haul.”

Your stomach did somersaults. The longest relationship you had been in was with Sam, for two years. And you had never once imagined marrying him. You tipped your head back against the chair. “I like him a lot. He’s smart and gorgeous and kind. But I’m not sure if I’m ready to make such a big decision like that.” You looked up at Rebecca. “I’m twenty-six for Christ’s sake. I should be doing Coyote Ugly at a bar, not spending Saturday nights putting together book reports.”

Rebecca laughed. “She’s four, not fourteen.”

“See? I don’t know anything about kids!”

“I have eight nieces and nephews,” she said. “Trust me, all you have to do is listen to their games and stories and act interested in them and you’re golden.”

“I don’t want to lose him,” you said after a moment, staring at the vase of flowers. “I think he’s right for me. I’m just scared that I’m not right for him.”

Rebecca stood up and placed her hands on her hips. “He sounds smart. I don’t think he would do all of this,” she swept her hand toward the flowers, “if he outright thought you weren’t a fit. Trust your gut.”

***

The one time you had thought about having kids, you were staring at an unopened pregnancy test on the bathroom counter.

When you looked up into the mirror, your face was ashen. Your hands shook as you ripped the white foil package, pulled out the plastic stick and sat down to pee.

It was the first semester of 3L. You had just finished interning with Smith & Hobart, and had a finance job lined up for after graduation. Sam was still searching for a job. The two of you had taken a trip at the end of the summer to Maine and stayed in a tiny cabin outside of Kennebunkport, eating lobster rolls and going kayaking at dusk and drinking endless bottles of Sancerre and one morning you had woken up with the terrible realization that the night before he had been too drunk to get the condom on and you had said fuck it and now you were eleven days late.

It wasn’t supposed to happen like this.

You were meant to get a white collar law job and buy a starter house in Alexandria or outside Sacramento. Sign a lease on a new Lexus sedan, bring home a boy to Thanksgiving, watch your mother fawn over him while your father ushers him into the study for a cigar and to grill him on his likely nonexistent knowledge of tax law. You were meant to sit excitedly in the OB/GYN office, diamond band sparkling on your left hand as your fingers traced the subtle swell of your stomach.

You weren’t meant to get pregnant at twenty-four with a guy you were certain wasn’t the one. He was the one for now, and that had been enough.

Until it wasn’t.

You wanted to be a mother in the way that lots of young girls yearn to have someone to care after. Someone to dress up in baby clothes. Someone to love you unconditionally.

But you weren’t ready. The idea of failing someone so small, so dependent, terrified you.

After two minutes you flipped it over and slid to the floor, back pressed tightly against the wooden cabinet beneath the sink, tears flooding your eyes. You could barely choke back the sob that rose out of your throat.

It was negative.

It was what you wanted. So why was there an ache somewhere deep inside your chest that you couldn’t quite place?

***

“What are you doing next weekend?” Jake asked, twirling strands of spaghetti onto his fork.

You took a sip of wine. The restaurant was quiet. Not many people ate dinner past eight o’clock in the area. “No plans,” you replied, stabbing a blob of mozzarella with your fork. “Why?”

“Let’s go away together,” Jake said and you looked up with surprise.

“What about Ellie?”

“She’s spending the weekend with her grandparents,” he replied, smiling. “They’re taking her to Disney.”

“Oh that’s sweet,” you said softly.

“So what do you think?” Jake reached across the table and pulled your hands into his. “Anywhere you want. I have a few places in mind, but I want to hear what you think.”

You grinned. “Of course, I’d love to.”

He smiled and you saw the relief flood his handsome face. “I’ll plan it all. You just show up and look as beautiful as you always do.”

You loved this about him. How he took charge and made plans. It was such a deviation from all the other guys you had ever known. Your heart swelled at that moment. He was the kind of guy who would never let you down.

“Where are we going?” you asked.

“Do you want it to be a surprise, or are you anti-surprise?” he asked.

“I like surprises,” you replied. “Just tell me what dress code to pack for.”

“I like that about you,” Jake said, putting his card down seamlessly when the waiter came around with the bill. He thanked him and then turned his grin to you. “You’re so easy going. I bet you get along with everyone.”

You laughed and Jake held out his hand after signing the check to help you out of your seat. His fingers pressed tightly into your lower back as Jake guided you out of the restaurant. You stopped at the silver Range Rover, leaning back against the door and reaching out, pulling Jake in closer. It was a warm night, perhaps the last good weather before fall crept in, and you breathed in Jake’s cologne as he leaned over you, one hand on either side of your head, gripping the roof of the truck.

“Tell me what you’re thinking in that pretty little head,” he whispered softly.

You dragged one hand down his chest from his shoulders, across his abdomen, down to his belt buckle and watched a small tent form in Jake’s pants. He looked up at you, breathless. When you leaned forward, you grazed your lips against his. “I’m thinking about how much I’d love some dessert,” you murmured seductively in his ear.

Jake laughed and pulled you into a firm kiss before reaching for the door handle and opening the door for you. “Alright, sweetheart, let’s get you some ice cream.”

***

Taking it slow with Jake wasn’t easy. Not when he’d slide into a parking spot in front of the townhouse in his Range Rover, sunglasses perched perfectly on his nose, opening the passenger side door, taking your hand to help you up.

It wasn’t easy to sit across from him at dinner, or out on the front porch, and watch him talk enthusiastically with his hands and not wonder what they would feel like trailing up your thighs, wrapped around your hips as you ground your cunt against his open mouth.

No, waiting to sleep with Jake was proving to be more difficult than you had thought. You felt like a horny college freshman, just eagerly awaiting that one person who would agree to go home with you one night when they were slightly too drunk.

So when Jake’s hand slid onto your upper thigh while you were watching a movie on the couch in your townhouse, you looked over at him with surprise. One of his friends was babysitting Ellie. Jake had insisted on making you dinner at home — fried chicken and salad — and you had quickly agreed. When you had asked how late he could stay and he smiled, you suggested turning on the movie.

It hadn’t occurred to you what that smile had meant until the moment Jake’s fingers started to burn through the fabric of your leggings.

“Jake?” you murmured softly and he pulled his eyes away from the screen where Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey were playing cards in Staten Island.

“What is it, Sugar?” he asked.

Your thumb grazed his hand. “I know we’re taking it slow, and I completely understand why. But I want to know what you need from me.”

Jake’s fingertips dug a little harder into your leg. You watched him swallow nervously. “I want you. Desperately. It’s just, it’s been a long time,” he said after a moment. "Trust me, I think about you naked all the time."

Slowly, you reached up and stroked one hand down his cheek, leaning forward and pressing your lips to his. Jake’s hand left your thigh and gripped your neck softly as he kissed you back, gentle but dominant.

“God, you’re beautiful,” he murmured softly and you smiled against his lips before pulling back, sliding off the couch and kneeling in front of him between his legs. You watched Jake’s eyes widen as you trailed your hands down his shirt, undoing the buttons and kissing from his collarbone down his chest until you reached the trail of hair around his belly button.

“Is this OK?” you whispered, looking up at him. He nodded wordlessly, both of his hands cemented to his thighs. Your fingers found the clasp of his belt and you looked up at him again. “Can I?” Another nod. You undid the belt buckle, pulling it off and tossing it next to the couch on the ground, fingers tugging down the zipper. Underneath, you could feel how hard he was in his chinos and you pulled the zipper all the way down, eyes locked on Jake’s the entire time. “I can stop,” you said quietly. “Just tell me.”

Jake shook his head. “No, please, don’t stop.”

With his approval, you slid your fingers around the waist of his pants and boxers, pulling them down. Jake lifted his hips to help, and the two of you chuckled as he struggled to pull each leg off without hitting you where you knelt between his legs. Finally, he tossed the discarded pants to the floor, and settled back on the couch as you gasped at his hard cock. It was so stiff it bobbed when he shifted his legs.

Jake’s eyes were trained on yours, his hands at his sides. Leaning forward, you smoothed your hands up his thighs from his knees to his hips.

“You OK baby?” you whispered softly.

“You don’t have to do this,” Jake said quietly. “If you don’t want to. I know a lot of women don’t like to.”

You smirked and reached out, grabbing the base of his hard cock with your hand. Jake gasped, growing harder in your hand. “Trust me, I fucking want to.”

He leaned back as you shifted forward, swiping your tongue across his tip, licking the precum from the thick, red head of his cock. Jake groaned and fluttered his eyes closed, and you placed your other hand on his thigh, leaning down and licking from his balls to his tip as he twitched in your hand. He was salty and enormous, and you were sure your panties were soaked just from touching him and hearing the soft noises he made as you licked him.

Finally, you looked up, locking eyes with Jake, and then took him into your mouth, pushing until he was all the way in the back of your throat.

“Shit!” Jake moaned and you felt his thick cock stirring in your mouth. “Oh my fucking God.”

With both hands on the base of his cock, you began to bob up and down, keeping your tongue flat against the underside of his cock before flicking it in a circle around the tip and then taking him again into the back of your mouth and throat as Jake groaned and moved his hands to your head, gathering your hair together.

“Fuck, baby,” he whined. “God that feels so good.”

After a minute, you felt him tugging and pushing on your head, setting the rhythm. Saliva began to drip out of the corners of your mouth, the quick pace and spit mixing together to create an obscenely loud cacophony, along with Jake’s unabashed moans. He was so large your jaw was beginning to tire. One of your hands trailed up his chest while the other remained wrapped around the base of his cock, and you heard his breath get raspier, more desperate.

“Shit, baby, I’m close,” he whispered hoarsely. “I can pull out if you want me to.”

You tried to say no, but it came out strangulated on his cock with all of the saliva. Instead, you pressed your fingers into his chest, catching his eye and Jake’s hand that wasn’t in your hair came out to grip yours on his chest. He squeezed your fingers and you watched his eyes roll back into his head as you took him deeper in your mouth.

“Fuck, oh my God, holy shit!” he cried out and you felt the hot stream of cum shoot into the back of your mouth and your throat. Breathing through your nose, Jake’s hand still gripping yours tightly against his muscular abdomen, you pulled your mouth along his dick slowly, milking him until you got to the tip, licking him clean before swallowing.

Jake released your hand and you sat back on trembling knees, wiping at your mouth with the back of your hand. “Was that OK?” you asked after a moment. He was silent, sitting back against the couch with a dazed expression, cock still hard but no longer throbbing. “Jake?”

“Come here,” he said gruffly and you pushed yourself off of the floor, straddling him and placing your hands on his shoulders. Jake tucked a piece of hair behind your ear, his green eyes piercing yours. “That was fucking amazing,” he whispered and you smiled. “But I hope you didn’t do it because you thought I expected it of you or anything. Because I didn’t.”

You shook your head and chuckled. “Honey, I wanted to.” You lowered your voice to a whisper. “I’ve been thinking about doing that for weeks now.”

Beneath you, Jake twitched and you instinctively ground down against him. He groaned, hands on your hips, holding you flush with him. “Fuck, you have no idea how much you turn me on,” he said softly. Jake pressed his lips to your neck and you fell forward, kissing his shoulder, hands threaded through his hair. “I want all of you. Soon, I promise. But tonight, I just want to hold you until I have to go.”

You drew back and nodded, sliding off of his lap and he pulled his pants and boxers back on, opening his arms and you slid into his embrace easily. Jake kissed your temple as you tossed one arm across his broad chest.

“What are you thinking?” Jake whispered softly, running one hand through your hair as you laid against his chest.

“How sweet you are,” you murmured. “How I’ve never met a guy like you before.”

Jake was silent for a moment. He had a tendency to go quiet, pensive. Sometimes it made you worried he was mad at you. But you were beginning to realize it was just how he was. He needed time and space to think. He wasn’t the kind of guy who simply filled empty air just to fill it. “I care about you a lot, Natalie. I hope you know that. This, us, isn’t something I take lightly.”

His fingers dug into your side.

“Nat?” he whispered after a moment. “Honey?” There was a sense of urgency, anxiety in Jake’s voice. You knew what he thought. That you were going to bolt. He saw you as someone young and flighty.

“I’m falling for you too, Jake,” you murmured against his chest and felt his sight of relief as your words filled the small living room.

You were falling in love with Jake Seresin. And that terrified you.

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piracytheorist · 1 year

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Damian Desmond, the bully and the victim

I'm prefacing this by saying I was bullied as a kid at school. It was not the worst bullying story you'll ever hear, but that makes no difference in bully victims, cause no amount of "It could be worse!" can heal the life-long scars bullying leaves in you. I'm not saying this to evoke pity or sympathy, but to give context for my point of view in this analysis.

My two most prominent (and persisting) bullies through my school years were two boys, unrelated to each other and in different times (one was in elementary school and one in high school), who both had divorced parents and lived with their mothers. I don't know the full details of what their relationships with their fathers were, but I can easily guess that there were unfulfilled wishes in their lives, and once they found me they were like "That's who I'll burst out my frustrations on". As if I didn't have my own issues at home, but why would my problems matter from their point of view?

The thing with bullies (and abusers in general) is that, for the most part, they don't understand the pain they're causing - and if they do, they think their victim needs (tough love situation) or deserves it. Everyone is a hero in their own story - I regrettably made fun of a classmate a few times, out of my own need to feel superior for once after having been on the receiving end for so long. And I can tell you that my justification for doing so was something like "I am smart and this kid should listen to me, if he does he will become smart too!". It was only much, much later that I realized that didn't hold and the kid was actually hurt by my uncalled-for behaviour. Usually, bullies don't have the empathy, or if they do they simply don't put it to use, to see things from their victim's perspective.

And in all the praise I have to give Endo for writing Anya very realistically as a child, I also have to give it to him for how realistic the bullying is. It starts immediately, uncritically. It persists and the stupid excuse of "Just ignore them" doesn't work at all. Anya gets angry and upset at it, to the point of violent outbursts and tears (though thankfully presented in such a way that the audience doesn't blame her). Combined with his conflicting emotions about her, Damian has found the perfect victim for his bullying; Anya is an outcast (aside from having Becky, thank god), has physical attributes he can make fun of, and because of her wanting to help with Operation Strix she just constantly presents herself to him, when normally she would try her damnedest to avoid him (like Becky always advises her to).

Everything Damian does is an outburst of his own feelings of neglect. I know manga readers know more about the family dynamic, but as an anime only I've also been given enough to understand it's very, very problematic. But that's not an excuse. Having trauma on your own does not excuse thrusting trauma upon others. I mean, you think Anya, the orphan from the lab who didn't have anyone to give a damn about her happiness until she had to manipulate both her ways into getting a father and then a mother, has less trauma than Damian does???

It's not an excuse, but it's a dynamic for Damian to become better. Damian's behaviour problem doesn't only stem from him being neglected; it's also from the fact that he hasn't been taught sympathy. Which, like, makes sense. His father is an ambitious politician who genuinely believes that it's impossible for humans, even relatives, to understand each other, and had no qualms saying this right in front of his kid.

When it comes to Damian's behaviour, it does not matter that those words hurt him terribly. He doesn't have the emotional maturity and empathy yet to understand that he's only perpetuating the same toxic behaviour with his classmates. The fact that Donovan felt so comfortable saying those words in front of both his own son and a total stranger shows that it's something he's used to; and such traits can very easily be passed on from parents to kids without even consciously trying.

Meanwhile, while Anya had a much worse time while being used as a science subject, she was taught the idea of peace; in the first episode flashback, the scientists talk about how they can use her powers for world peace, to justify cutting her play time short in favor of whatever they were doing with her. When Twilight thinks that understanding her will lead to world peace, she immediately starts complying with that. And when she hears his thoughts about how he wants to create a better world, she decides to stay with him as his daughter to help him in the mission, despite understanding the risk and knowing that whether the mission fails or succeeds, Twilight will walk away in the end. She understands the idea of kindness and good. Maybe the way she was introduced to it wasn't the most noble - after all, the scientists were using it as an excuse to practically abuse her - but she still knows and understands enough about what it means for someone else to be happy.

Damian… doesn't. For the grand majority of his presentation he doesn't do things for someone else, in fact, he's so used to others doing things for him that we always see Ewen carry his backpack for him.

I do not doubt that Ewen himself, being the bootlicker he is, offered to carry it, but the fact that Damian never once went like "Nah it's okay man I can carry my weight today" is very telling about how not used he is to doing things for others.

However, his dynamic becomes interesting and receives redeeming qualities because of the times he does show altruism. First when he stops the ball from hitting Anya in the face during the dodgeball game, (though he instantly and openly regrets doing that). And it wasn't from conscious thought - it was an action purely out of protective instinct. Then, when he's the instigator of consoling George Glooman when the latter thinks he'll be moved out of the school. That one he also regrets doing, but it's much more understandable and it doesn't take away the sympathy he showed him.

There is something he constantly does, however, with someone else in mind; he studies hard and tries to excel at school to receive Stellas, in order to get his father's attention. His way of getting that attention has been so messed up by his upbringing that he thinks the only way of getting any positive interaction with his father is by working hard to not be a "failure". And even that hides some personal motives behind it, because the poor kid longs for some affection from his family. Donovan's character and the distance Damian has from him, his mother (when he calls home, he talks with their butler, not her), and his brother all combined do not allow the kid to understand the concept of doing something to make someone else happy, even (or especially) if there's nothing in it for him.

That's not selflessness; that's a neglected kid pushing himself to prove to his abusers that he's deserving of their affection, something he naturally craves and obviously misses from his life. Tough "love" is so prominent in the Desmond family that Damian had no hopes of growing any differently.

He has the potential to become better and has only been held back because of his family's toxic environment. But he needs to develop a conscious understanding of altruism first if his character is to grow into a morally better area.

You can't just give a character a painful backstory and expect audiences to automatically root for their happiness. You need to show your character also has grown empathy because of said painful experiences. We see it with all three mains. Anya was treated as a lab experiment; you start rooting for her when you see that she wants to help bring peace. Twilight went through a war as a kid; you root for him when he says he wants to create a world where kids won't go through the same thing. Yor lost her parents when she was very young; you root for her when you learn that she took care of her brother and gave him opportunities for education and a better future that she rejected for herself in his favour.

So yeah, I do feel sorry for Damian. But right now I only root for him to understand the meaning of making someone else happy — the meaning behind his own protective action over Anya in the dodgeball game and the sympathy he showed George. When he does that, and he realizes he has more in common with Anya than he dares to accept, it's only then that he'll grow from a layered but still toxic bully into a character audiences can root for.

It's also not the responsibility of Anya of all people to take up all the abuse from him and be the one to help him build up some character. It has to be him making the realization, and Anya can choose to be a friend to him as he does that, but in no way can his development depend on her.

(Again, anime only fan here, don't spoil me for the manga)

#yeah uhm this has been in my drafts for like two months #that post I saw made me want to clean it up and post it #the shipping is one thing the whitewashing of his bullying is another #Spy x Family #sxf meta #Damian Desmond #(if you see this in the tag and reblog just to argue with me no you didn't)#(discussion is welcome but pointless arguing is not)

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well-golly-gee-balkan · 8 months

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The Outsiders Narration

I apologize in advance for using words that don’t exist and bad grammar.

Ok so maybe this is js me but ponyboy is such an unreliable narrator. Yk why. It’s bc he always is reading and over romanticizing stuff that happens in real life. Ik this bc this is literally me. I literally overthink everything bc of how books make everything seem like a big thing. It villainizes and heroicizes shit like no one’s business. When I was younger I literally overthought everything down to the look ppl gave me. I thought I was so grown and mature for over analyzing ppl. Now I mentally make myself undo it. Like if someone looks at me in a way I think is weird, now I try and correct myself mentally like ‘he didn’t mean anything by it, he’s js doing whatever, he prolly never thinks abt it, stop being fucking dumb’. Cuz now I’m trying correct my mindset yk. But pony literally put everything into a complex story. So let’s go into some of this:

Dally was overly villainized. Don’t get me wrong he is a shit person cuz he is sexist and disrespectful. But like saying he loved nothing in the world. Bffr. He loved random shit like sandwiches, horse riding and feeling the same as anyone else. He also cared for the others in the gang. He didn’t js love Johnny. He js loved him more than others. He liked pretending to be tuff and shit but he also was a person. The others prolly found it dumb that pony believed that he was THAT tuff. Liek he was but Pony overdid it. He didn’t care abt like stuff he did in a way he was careless and reckless . But he could care for ppl.

Soda isn’t that perfect. Pony says he is like always nice and energetic. No. Bro js cares so much for his friends and always tries to be there for them. My guy is tired. He is there for ppl when they can’t always be there for them. I personally hc that he sometimes feels a bunch of pent up energy and does or feels mean or petty things to random ppl and then overdoes it by being super caring for his friends. Like pony said in the book him and Steve beat up ppl cuz they have too much energy. Another personal hc is he is competitive as hell but doesn’t show it bc he feels like he can’t cuz his brothers are so smart and it makes him feel worse(whoops not me projecting). I love this man but he is not perfect. Also saying pony saying he is drunk on life will never not be funny to me. Soda absolutely told him that to seem good to him

I think Darry was well explained in the book. Pony originally villainized tf out of him. But they put it right as him js being stressed out. I wish they portrayed him as younger in the movie cuz that would have given a better image. I also wish in the book they gave him more happy, laughing moments bc bro is only 20 years old.

Two-bit is fr my fav. Wish I had me a friend like Two-Bit. Literally Chandler reincarnated. I feel like he tries to be there for his friends but he doesn’t always know how to do he tries to make them laugh. Bro is more than js a jokester. He wasn’t that big in the book so Pony didn’t rlly over heroicize or villainize him too much. I want more Two Bit&Pony content cuz their friendship is so precious to me.

Bro needs to stop hating on my buddy Steve. Cuz ik that Steve ragged him sometimes but he prolly wasn’t that mean abt it. Pony js decided to take it that way. Obv he wouldn’t want Pony hanging around all the time. Steve did not hate him. Pony made that up in his head cuz he rags him a lot. He could be a little mean but he did like the kid.

Now I genuinely want to know why the fuck Pony did Johnny like that. Bc what was the reason. Johnny was defo insecure and quiet. But he could be js as tough as the rest of them. He could be a little more sensitive but that did NOT mean he would shake every time someone looked at him. He did have trauma from his parents beating him. But He could be confident like w the socs in the park and in the fire. I wish he was portrayed as more open w the gang. Like he was around them most of his life, he should’ve been shown as more comfortable around him. He should’ve been sneaking in his snarky sassy comments every once in a while.

The greasers were tough, but they were kids they were not unfeeling.

The greasers were not js a bunch of sad poor kids. Steve and Soda beat up ppl bc they had too much energy. Pony said in the book that Soda or Two-Bit would’ve helped Dally w harassing Cherry and Marcia. They had a shitty situation but they did some bad stuff unjustified

There is a bunch more but imma stop there. This is not a Pony hate post. I love him sm. I js recognize this bc I am this sometimes. Also yes ik I made up some words but idgaf. This was my first rant post but I js felt like it was kinda necessary. Also if y’all want my hcs for a character message me.

#y’all this was easier than I expected #sry for making it so damn long #I’ve js had these thoughts for a while #hope u like <3 #ponyboy curtis #dallas winston #sodapop curtis #darry curtis #darrel curtis #two bit mathews #keith mathews #Steve randle #Johnny Cade #the outsiders headcanons #the outsiders #that was then this is now #twttin #se hinton #greasers

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wildmtthyme · 28 days

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Character Introduction/Headcanons in "Judgement" for

Captain John "Bravo 6" Price

Is obviously mature, not just in body but in mind and emotions as well.

Fiercely protective of his team and his friends.

Just as protective of his private life. Price is a very private man and very few are given the privilege of knowing the 'real' him.

Is secretly funny. This man is hilarious and loves to laugh, from chuckles to full belly laughs that can be heard three doors down.

Has seen more horror than not in his life but doesn't ever forget that there is good in this world.

Is a realist in every sense of the word - has very little use for things like 'baseless hope'. He trusts things he can see, things he can have an impact in- can control to a certain extent. (If that makes sense).

He's insanely observant. He can pick up on the slightest changes in a room, the way someone shifts their weight, the way they throw shade or side eye, he can clock it all and adjust his approach accordingly.

Wicked smart. But, he likes to let Gaz and Soap both think he doesn't know how to use his phone for things beyond one-word texting and calling. Loves to make them think he can't figure out the remote on newer model televisions.

Can speak six different languages fluently.

Oddly comfortable in otherwise uncomfortable situations. It takes a lot to throw this man off his 'game'.

His confidence is born from experience and an innate ability to pivot.

While he may give off the vibe of a parent, he's about 99.9% sure he'd be a horrible father. Not for any one particular reason, just... he's sure he'd mess a kid up if it was on his shoulders to turn them into a well adjusted upstanding individual.

Now to the tragedy in his past (because of course he's got angst)- Price is a widower. He didn't lose his wife to a horrible car accident, she wasn't taken by enemies and tortured, no. It was something far worse. Cancer. Something he couldn't aim a gun at, something he couldn't go after and make pay for what it had done to his beautiful wife.

No one on the team knows about his wife. She's been gone for about ten years. He's not been with anyone since. He keeps his ring on his dog tag chain, still wears it.

So, as far as private life goes - he doesn't have one. Just buries himself in his work.

Does smoke cigars, of course - but only outside, never inside.

Has a flat of his own but rarely makes it there because he ends up crashing on his couch in his office most nights.

Drives one of those smaller Nissan trucks, because they're fuel efficient and he doesn't give a fuck about anything else, really. Practical.

I wanted to write Price showing a different side in this story- the side of a friend. Not a father figure, not a love interest- just a friend. He's not lonely because he's 'alone' - he's hardly ever alone, anyway. He's not sad all the time, he's made his peace with his life in a certain sense and he's alright with it, now. There was a time, back when he was still all full of fire that he was angry with the world. Now? Not so much. There's still this little piece of himself that he doesn't show anyone, doesn't even know how to show anyone else. But, that might change as the story evolves.

#call of duty #judgement story headcanons #judgement story #captain john price #john bravo 6 price

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lavender-0-menace · 2 years

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the people have spoken

so we start with light yagami. top of his school, great family, tons of friends right? well, it definitely looks that way. but if you look more in depth you start to see the cracks in his “perfect boy” persona. he goes to class, studies, and goes to cram school. we really don’t see him with any genuine friends and anyone he seems nice to he actually kinda hates in his inner monologue. the only time we see him hang out with people outside of school is during the bus jacking date and that one time he tried to find misa. it’s most likely intentional since he doesn’t think anyones as smart as him. he’s close with his family, but even then he’s playing the role as the golden child.for example, we are introduced to his mom via her asking him for his test scores, making small conversation, and then leaving him alone. she’s glad his scores are so high and compliments him, but doesn’t even ask about his day or anything. his dad works weird, late hours as a cop as well. he’s close to sayu, but pushes her away as the story goes on.

also, light is incredibly immature at the start of the story (and doesn’t really mature mainly because of the death note. as we all know, he developed a severe god complex and stop maturing mentally since he saw himself as this all powerful perfect diety who didn’t need to change his ideals and how he saw the world). in all fairness, he is around 16-17 when he received the death note. i think his beliefs are better summed up in Where Is The Justice than i could write. i fully believe that had he not received the death note he would have become a very respectable detective, but that is not his story.

to summarize, light is lonely, immature, and think he’s the smartest guy in the world.

until he meets L.

L Lawliet is a weird character. he doesn’t really trust anyone, is off putting to most people, and more importantly, knew light was kira even when evidence pointed otherwise.

it is a fucking delight to rewatch death note just to see L make light squirm. you realize all his weird tendencies were intentional. Light can’t take anything he says at word because L is always two steps ahead of him. i think it’s best shown in the phone scene, where light thinks he can get L’s true name (side note: i love how L’s real name is literally just L Lawliet. that’s so clever, he doesn’t have to worry about kira finding his true name, since he already knows it, kira just needs his last name but doesn’t think of asking because why would someone just be named L? it’s genius) and calls misa, then L reveals he has miss’s phone and fucking talks to light on it. then lights like “ok whatever he didn’t know misa has another.” AND L HAS THE SECOND PHONE TOO! he’s just an absolute genius.

additionally though, L is also very lonely. he doesn’t really have any friends and his only family is fucking watari, who i am sure kept him away from the other kids in the wammy house as a child so he could focus on detective work. he’s incredibly smart but he’s reached that level where nothing really satisfies his curiosity, which is why he takes on the kira case.

somehow along the way, kira and L become light and L, who are actually friends. they understand each other in a way no one has before. the yotsuba arc shows just how well they get along, even if they annoy each other. they aren’t lonely anymore. they have someone who understands thems.

once l dies, however, it’s clear just how much their relationship meant to light. even before they really became friends, their rivalry was amazing. L was the one thing keeping light in check and with him gone light goes completely off the rails. light does some things in the second half of the series (trusting people with the information that he is kira, falling for nears traps,killing takada, and letting mikami use the death note) that he wouldn’t have even considered in the beginning because of how risky it was.

and at the end of it all, it’s not misa or his father or ryuk he sees as he dies. it’s L.

#my blorbos <3 #death note #light yagami #l lawliet #lawlight

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kingboohoo37 · 3 months

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KBH RANDOM RANT

I'M BACK... at least I try to post more often. Streams will also come more regularly (surely...).

I'm slowly getting back to work so my time is still very limited. I thought this was a good time to bring back my random rants about fandoms since I just revisited an old classic from my childhood.

YEP we're talking about Kim Possible one of the most ludicrous fictional universes I've ever seen... In a good way!

First up: This show is FUDGING 22 YEARS OLD THIS YEAR... I'm really getting old...

The funny part about that is it was made during the peak of the 2000s... and you really notice that. The language that most teenagers use in this show is so stereotypical for that time it feels so nostalgic even watching it XD

Anyway, let's get the obvious out of the way. I know this is supposed to be a kids cartoon and I know that I'm an adult man but that doesn't stop me from watching it.

So, why is this show so great?

Good question! Its primary charm probably comes from its simple comedic attitude of telling a story.

The characters are so ridiculous that you should never be able to take this show seriously simply because most of their actions or the situations around them don't even make sense. This show just requires you to take in its vibe and go with the flow. I mean... a teenager knowing 16 forms of Kung Fu and saving the world on any given occasion is nothing that can possibly make sense. Don't forget: "Anything's possible for a Possible!"

Let's get into the characters:

Kim is your basic teenage girl, and she's here to save the world. You can't stop her 'cause...

Okay I'll stop xD

Apart from her being an ass-kicking girl boss, her main character traits are kinda the things you expect from a main character. She saves the world out of sheer will to stick to her morals. In short: she wants to help people. That obviously doesn't always work out and she sometimes ends up judging people by what they are instead of who they are. On top of that, she gets jealous easily.

BUT she is brave, smart, and makes usually good choices in the heat of the moment (except when it comes to love xD), and is otherwise very mature for her age.

Well... the opening song didn't lie. She really is your basic teenage girl. That doesn't mean she isn't cool xD

Well, obviously I can't end it without talking about the man and his very smart and hungry naked little friend.

What makes this show so funny is well... its ability to deliver comedy simply by a character existing and Ron Stoppable plays a big part in that.

He is pretty much a normal guy who just happens to be Kim's childhood friend and later somehow steals her heart xD

He is an absolute doofus. He is silly and rarely takes anything seriously. He is also lazy and loves his favorite junk food joint Bueno Nacho.

Despite all that he still cares for his friends, his naked mole rat Rufus, and usually learns a very important lesson after an episode.

He accompanies Kim on pretty much every mission and is usually more of a hindrance than a help. Despite all that Kim still loves him in her own way. And he also saves the day a couple of times, so it's not like he is a complete slob.

Rufus is just the cherry on top. Both of these guys are hilarious and I was honestly surprised by how much I laughed watching this show.

I could go on and on but I'm gonna try to finish up this post here before it gets too long xD

Even though every episode has kind of a similar structure, it never gets boring. The villains, the side characters... all of them add something very unique to the table. You just throw some characters together and boom the story kind of writes itself XD

Season 4 was my absolute favorite part of the show since guess what ... that was when Kim and Ron started dating and BOY DO THEY MAKE A CUTE COUPLE.

Ahem... anyways. I do not regret watching all 87 episodes in the last 2-3 weeks. If you're looking for a comfortable. goofy and funny way to escape reality for a moment I can only recommend this old classic.

#kim possible #show #rant #kingboohoorants #fandom #recommendation

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allfortheslay25 · 9 months

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another question the miloverse but what are the adults (abby,wymack,bee) opinions on neil and milo not based off of neil’s perspective/what he thinks they think about him

This is a great question! I’ve been wanting to share their perspective of the story (but I gotta wait for the Raven King arc before any of their POVs are seen)

These opinions will be based on what I currently have in the fic and not go further than that (wouldn’t want to spoil anything)

Abby sees Neil as this sad and lonely boy who’s had to grow up way too fast and it’s the reason he’s mistrusting of adults. She wants to help unburden him and give Neil and Milo someone they can lean on (unfortunately she doesn’t know that it can’t be her—not completely anyways)

Abby also thinks Neil is too young to be a parent and it’s not that she wants someone to take away Milo but she wants Neil to realize he isn’t wholly mature for this responsibility yet. Abby wants to give Neil the chance to realize that being responsible for a child isn’t just their basic physical needs but their emotional ones too.

Abby’s less attached opinion of Neil is that he’s sarcastic but polite to adults, he needs to learn to take care of his body and set good examples. Neil’s also reckless and clumsy and in desperate need of round the clock first aid.

Her opinions on Milo are far more basic. He’s a cute kid, highly intelligent which scares her. She worries for his mental health but she knows she’s no professional and shouldn’t make assumptions. Abby can tell Milo is malnourished but considering his growing diet, she won’t bring it up until Milo shows signs of sickness (Milo is growing fast and healthy for someone who’s had a bad diet since birth) She thinks Milo looks like Neil despite everyone believing otherwise. Abby wants Milo to be able to go to school and get as many chances as he can get. She thinks Milo is lonely. Abby can tell something isn’t okay with Milo because sometimes he just spaces out for hours and his appetite disappears and he takes longer naps and all of it worries her.

Wymack thinks Neil is in need of this chance at Palmetto. It isn’t just because Neil needs this chance to play exy and make something of himself. It’s this chance to sleep on a bed under a roof, have breakfast on a table, have a private shower, and someone to turn to if he needs help.

Wymack wasn’t expecting Neil to be trans, let alone come out to everyone so soon. Neil’s old coach had mentioned Neil always changed and showered separately but Wymack assumed it had to do with scars or bruising he wanted to hide. This doesn’t change his opinions about Neil in the slightest and now Wymack is looking for books on Transgender people so he knows what Neil needs and doesn’t accidentally offend him.

Wymack thinks Neil is this kicked cat he found on the side of the road, it’s got these mean old claws but that’s just because it’s scared and has been taking hits instead of being cared for. Milo is the extension of it. Wymack can’t read Milo at all. He’s quiet and wary of Wymack but not in the way Neil is. When Neil looks at him, there’s fear in his eyes and he stares right through Wymack as if seeing a ghost. Milo doesn’t have that fear, just caution. Milo is insanely smart and has a knack for picking up things quickly (Wymack’s tempted to let him watch the Foxes scrimmage so Milo can let them have it on what they’re doing wrong)

Wymack thinks Neil has a soft heart and raised a smart and kind boy. But he thinks they both need some parental guidance that obviously shouldn’t come from whatever two abusive pricks they were living with before.

Bee is different in her opinions. I mean they relatively follow the same idea but she hasn’t gotten to meet Neil and has only heard things about him from about every person but Neil himself. From what she’s heard, she thinks Neil won’t stick around to meet her when classes start. The optimistic in her hopes he’ll stick around for the long run.

Bee has met Milo, even if he hadn’t said a word, his body language spoke volumes. Bee thinks Milo is either scared of adults, or adult women but seeing as Abby and Mandy are constantly chatting about what a great kid he is, maybe he’s just scared of strangers. Milo was drawn in on himself when they met, although he wouldn’t flinch, he’d freeze and his eyes would widen ever so slight as if he were trying to hide his fear. He’d do that every time Bee did so much as sit down or fold her hands together. She realized that Milo can’t be bought with sweets because he won’t eat or drink something a stranger gives him (smart kid)

Bee thinks Milo has some level of insomnia considering what Abby has told her about Milo’s nightmares and seeing the boy’s deep sunken exhausted eyes, it’s just confirmed more. Milo is too good at staying still so Bee thinks someone has either beaten that teaching into him or he’s learned to mindlessly follow orders from adults (Bee hopes Neil isn’t the one who’s made his son into a statue)

Despite all of this, Bee thinks Milo has a very curious personality. His eyes had tracked Bee’s every movement and had attempted to drink up the sight of every inch of her house when he thought she wasn’t looking. His eyes don’t scan exits like Bee has heard Neil does frequently, instead he watches for rooms and spaces which makes her think Milo likes to hide in times of desperation and just maybe, he’s good at it.

Bee wants to get to know both Neil and Milo and more importantly than her curiosities, she wants to help them.

#q&a #aftg #all for the game #neil josten #milo josten #david wymack #abby winfield #betsy dobson #all for Milo #we’ll both be fine fic #miloverse

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3tabbiesandalab · 2 years

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Unexpected Words

A Bob x Reader or OC (Top Gun character’s sister) whatever way you want to look at it

One Shot

A lot of Bob’s life with his unexpected soul mark, with Reader or OC (Top Gun character’s sister) at the end, Bit different to my last couple. Not a lot of dialogue. Anyway I hope you enjoy it!

……

Bob had always been a little perplexed by his soul mark, the first words his soulmate would say to him. His words were kind of unexpected and although a little baffled by them, Bob was proud because he knew his soulmate had helped him become who he was before he’d ever met them.

The words appeared when he was 12, written in black messy cursive, trailing upwards over the left side of his ribcage. Bob wasn’t exactly an awkward loner and definitely wasn’t considered outgoing, but despite being kind and having a good sense of humour and he had always been a bit shy, quieter and happy to sit on the periphery.

So when the words appeared, Bob didn’t really get their meaning or didn’t care what they said, he was just content that there was someone out there, outside his family, that would eventually see him.

The day he got his soul mark, Bob had showed his family at the breakfast table and the words were met with very mixed reactions. Bob’s Ma went red as a tomato, stunned into silence for the first time that Bob could ever remember. His oldest sister had done a spit take of OJ all over the table and Bob’s other two sisters had burst into fits of laughter, one falling to the floor.

Bob’s Dad had just quietly chuckled and said “Well Son, looks like your soulmate won’t disappoint.” before being hit in the forehead with a flying piece of bacon from that had come from his Ma. He had no idea what that meant, but it was Bob’s first clue that his soul mark was maybe a little more noteworthy than most.

……

Over the next couple of years, Bob had thought about his soul mark a lot, he’d imagined who would say his words to him and what he would say in return but didn’t really think much about their meaning. At school Bob wasn’t weird or a loner, he was kind and nice so he had ‘friends’, but just not the kind of good friends he could talk about his soul mark to, and not the kind that never thought to asked. At the age of 14, Bob was very smart and quite mature, but was pretty innocent to some of the aspects of being a teenage boy, so he hadn’t really realised the connotation his words actually had.

It wasn’t until one day his shirt had ridden up in gym and a few classmates had seen his soul mark and grabbed him, held up his shirt laughing and taunting him, that Bob finally grasped the suggestive meaning, that and that teenagers can be assholes.

For a while after that, it was a running prank for both girls and guys to utter a version of his words and to see what reaction they could get from quiet, shy Bob. Although, there were some kids who were harsh, to most it was a funny joke and Bob took it as good naturedly as his introverted self could manage.

During that time Bob, despite the slight hesitation he felt before replying every time his words were used, he really couldn’t complain too much as his ‘friends’ or people who had never noticed him before seemed to realise that he was sweet, smart and quite a lot of fun.

Bob found it funny, that his soul mark had in fact led to people other than his actual soulmate to notice him, and eventually to a girl thinking he was cute at 15 and to the discovery of some of the things he’d been missing out on by being shy and naïve.

Although it got brought up a couple more times throughout his high school years and Bob had a couple more girlfriends, no one had said his words to him again, which wasn’t a huge surprise given what they said.

Bob was a romantic and he believed so much in his soul mate, and no wonder as his mother and father had told him their story and what it felt like to meet and touch for the first time and he had still been living at home when all 3 of his older sister’s had met their soulmates.

Bob couldn’t wait to meet his, but he wasn’t the kind of person to put his life on hold and sit around and wait for his soulmate to find him, so he followed through with his plans of joining the navy. Bob was intelligent, logical and as it turned out very composed under stressful situations so eventually ended up training as weapons systems operator or WSO and became skilled and highly sort after very quickly. Bob got a lot of satisfaction from being good at what he did for a living, but he was still a dreamer and thought about his soulmate all the time

……

As a teen, Bob had figured out his word’s kind of sounded sexual but as an adult in addition to that, he was also delighted they were also ironically kind of linked to being a WSO. Once again, in a funny way, his mystery soulmate had a role in his life.

Over the few years in navy, his words had been revealed and became a bit of an icebreaker amongst the big, confident personalities his colleagues tended to have, often helping them get to know the Bob behind the quiet, accomplished teammate.

Somehow Bob’s soul mark even led to him exploring and enjoying his sexuality, seeing the words sometimes led people, no matter their gender, to become intrigued with Bob and look at him in a different light. It wasn’t the words as such, but people had needs and the words would lead them notice his body where they were written, find him quite attractive and one thing would lead to another.

Bob didn’t mind, he knew deep down he was no slouch in the looks department, he took pride in his grooming and fitness, and he was a single young guy with the same needs after all. Bob thought that if his words helped him get a little bit of experience with both women and men before he met his soulmate, they wouldn’t mind, and Bob would be fine if they did the same. Bob wasn’t a man whore by any means and at the end of the day, the only one Bob dreamed about a future with was his soulmate.

……

Fairly early into his career, Bob was a little stunned to learn that had been chosen to train for a highly classified mission, apparently only a small group of aviators had made the cut and although he was really nervous about the potentially dangerous assignment, he felt proud that he had been recognised enough to be considered.

Bob was meeting the other candidates one day at ‘The Hard Deck’ bar before training commenced. He sat back and silently observed as the group formed, he’d heard of all of them by name or reputation, but the only one he knew was Rooster who had become good friends with him, after being stationed together a year or so ago.

Bob noticed Phoenix, who he knew was his new pilot, immediately when she walked in confidently with the establish duo Payback and Fanboy and introduced them to Coyote and the most arrogant person in the room, Hangman. Hangman proceeded to inflate his own ego then have pissing contest with Rooster, who didn’t really appear all that interested, all within a few minutes.

Predictably it took a while for them to notice him with all the big cocky personalities in the room, but it gave Bob time to steel his nerves a bit, he was after all still a bit quiet around new people, and time to once again wonder about his soulmate.

A while ago, Bob had come a realise that his particular words meant an encounter with either a drunk, flirty person, a sex worker or a new aviator he hadn’t met yet were the likeliest ways he would meet his soulmate. Bob didn’t need or want to pay anyone for sex, so he had always kept his fingers crossed that was going to meet them at a time like this instead when he was in a bar surround by lots of intoxicated civilians or around colleagues he had yet to talk to.

”When did you get here?” somebody’s voice snapped Bob out of his thoughts as they finally noticed him, “Oh I’ve been here the whole time” he replied with a shy smile.

Bob had quickly realised that none of his fellow aviators were his soulmate. He already knew Rooster wasn’t, they’d spoken a couple of times after and he’d seen Bob’s words and laughed for a full 5 minutes before declaring that they’d be great friends. Bob had spoken at least a few words pretty much everyone else and even uncharacteristically sung songs at the piano with Rooster, Phoenix and a few of the others. And none of the civilians in the bar that night said anything at all to him, so despite being slightly hopeful, Bob ended the night still soulmateless

……

As Bob predicted the mission was extremely dangerous and the training with their instructor Maverick was gruelling. It was to be undertaken in treacherous terrain, flying difficult makeovers and at altitudes none of them had ever experienced. For Bob, and the other potential WSO’s, to do their particular job was critical and under these conditions would be extremely difficult. And for everyone, completing the assignment, then surviving the enemy’s arsenal on the way home would be almost impossible.

Bob had gelled with Phoenix quickly due to the intense training but as a back seater, Bob always found a bond with his teammate on the ground, really helped them communicate and fly better together in the air. Bob thought Phoenix special, she was intelligent, capable and determined and he had a brief thought that his soulmate would be someone similar, but Phoenix was guarded, and he hoped she would come to trust him fully.

Bob had accidently seen her words on her back, putting on their flight suits one time and he recognised Rooster’s terrible handwriting. Phoenix had been thrown by it, but Bob showed her his words, telling her their history and that was all it took for her to laugh and open up and their new trust made them a formidable team and very close.

Apart from Phoenix, and Rooster, who Bob had slipped back into an easy friendship with, the others didn’t pay him much mind in the sky or on the ground. Bob didn’t mind too much, he had grown to like being both a quiet observer and being underestimated, but he was a smart team member and knew it would be better for them if he found familiarity and a connection with the others too.

So when Payback, Fanboy and Coyote ‘accidently’ saw his soul mark in the locker room one day, it started the ball rolling with some common ground and with their shared experiences in training, they became fast friends.

With Hangman, a cocky asshole who had already dismissed Bob due to his younger age and reserved personality, it was a proving to be little more difficult. But in a parallel of Bob’s high school days, at dogfight football, Hangman had seen a bit of his soul mark and lifted his shirt revealing his words.

Bob thought it was honestly the weirdest reaction someone had to his words, Hangman literally stared at them with a confused then stunned look. So much so that Bob momentarily thought maybe he was his soulmate, but they’d already spoken. Hangman appeared to shake himself out of the moment and carried on like nothing had happened.

But in the days that followed it appeared he was trying to get to know Bob and would talk about himself but not in his usually conceited way, but about things like his favourite movies, and his sister. And despite causing friction with Rooster and therefore by default, Phoenix, he was decidedly less of an asshole to them as well. Bob felt his soulmate was again affecting his life in all the right ways without even being in it.

……

Even after an incredibly close call with him and Phoenix during a bird strike during training, they were chosen for the mission, and he was incredibly proud of them and felt gratified that he was considered skilled and capable enough to be part of it.

Payback and Fanboy and Rooster had also been chosen and it had been deemed essential that Maverick flew with them as their leader, leaving Hangman as the spare.

Bob always knew his job was potentially dangerous, but on this assignment despite the amazing team they had, there was a high chance of someone not coming home. So once he was alone laying back in his bunk the night before the mission, he thought about his family but as always most of Bob’s thoughts, were about his soulmate.

Bob reflected on how his soul mark had shaped his life in a way; he’d become a better teammate because of it, had made friends because of it, it both gave him comfort and pushed him out of his comfort zone, and it had even helped get him laid. Bob was in wonder that the flirty innuendo on his ribs could be so meaningful, and he really hoped whatever is on his soulmate’s skin had been just as important to them.

The mission was successful and after some very scary moments, everyone had made it back alive. It was an incredible feeling for Bob to be part of something like this and to do this with such as bonded group of teammates he now considered his close friends.

Everyone was emotional when they returned to the carrier, Bob was elated as he had moments congratulating and embracing his friends even Hangman pulling him into a surprisingly long hug, but more so Bob was just happy he had more time to find his soulmate.

……

After the assignment, the group was given unexpected short leave in thanks for their service before being deployed elsewhere. Payback, Fanboy and Coyote flew home to see their families and Bob knew wherever Phoenix and Rooster ended up, the soulmates would stay together.

Although Bob missed his family, he was exhausted, and it really didn’t make a lot of sense to fly all the way back across the country for a short time. While debating what they were going to do, Bob, Phoenix and Rooster received a surprising offer from Hangman to join him at his family beach house not too far away.

Whatever prior tension was between the couple and Hangman was gone after he defied orders and went to Maverick and Rooster’s aid, and although they were still competitive and sarcastic, a tentative friendship had formed. Bob didn’t know what he was to Hangman, but if he had to liken it to anything, he almost acted like an older brother or something, so they took him up on his offer to get some R & R by the beach.

Hangman’s sister YFN had offered to pick them up that afternoon, YFN, Hangman and Bob would go in her car, with Phoenix and Rooster following in his so they had a way back to base for deployment when their leave was over. Bob was usually pretty good at keeping himself together, but he was mentally and physically drained after the events of the last few weeks.

As they sat outside the naval accommodation waiting for YFN, Phoenix and Rooster were sitting closely whispering to each other and Bob was watching Hangman write a list and despite never seeing it before, his handwriting looked so familiar, but Bob was too tired to make much of it. A car pulled up and the driver got out and Hangman jumped up to embrace his sister.

Bob observed them intently as they laughed and briefly chatted between themselves, and he was suddenly overwhelmed. Bob had no idea what was going on, but a feeling swept over him, it was like déjà vu and warmth and the feeling of being whole, without even knowing he’d been broken.

Bob just got up and in a daze starting walking towards YFN and she seemed similarly affected as him. He knew, he just knew. He wasn’t even aware of Phoenix, Rooster and Hangman watching him, but they must of known, and obviously Hangman had figured it out a while ago.

As a hopeless romantic, Bob had dreamed of this moment a million times, hearing his words and what he would say back.

But it already was going nothing like Bob had imagined. YFN wasn’t an aviator, or he wasn’t in a bar. His soul mark was so random, Bob had always assumed his soulmate would speak first but as Bob stood in front of YFN, his mouth started moving on its own and he what he said was a disaster, way worse than the sexual innuendo he’d had on him since he was 12…

“Thank God, I was actually starting to worry you were a hooker.”

Oh fuck. That was bad. Bob had just fucked up meeting his soul mate and to make matters worse it was Hangman’s sister. He was a dead man.

He tried to open his mouth to apologise, but no sound came out. But YFN’s breathless laugh broke him out of his spiral. Bob looked at YFN, she had tears in her eyes but smiling the most beautiful smile he’s ever seen…

“Baby, come on, get in my back seat and I’ll take care of you.”

Bob makes a choking sound at finally hearing his words. But before he could respond YFN just kept talking…

“Fuck that sounded so sexual. Sorry. I knew it sounded weird as soon as it started coming out of my mouth, but I couldn’t help it. It sounded like I wanted to fuck you right off the bat. Not that I don’t want to. I mean I-I have thought about it a lot but not right this second. Shit. I’m sorry you have that somewhere on your body. I-I actually meant to say lay down in the back seat. You in the back. Because you look exhausted. I-I don’t know why I said take care of you, not that I don’t want to take care of you, I do, because in weird ways your words have taken care of me ah…”

Bob put YFN out of her misery, his mouth and his brain deciding to communicate again…

“I want to take care of you too. Your words mean so much to me. Y-you’ve helped me so much. But I’m so sorry about my how messed up they are. I’m glad you’re not ah a hooker, not there’s anything wrong with doing that of course…My words, I kinda assumed you’d be drunk and hitting on me when we met or a joke because I’m a back seater. Oh God…I swear I am not a fucking weirdo…Jesus. I can’t believe you had that shit written on you all this time, I hope you could hide them on your body. Fuck not that I’m been thinking about your body, I do all the time but not right now. Shit. You are so beautiful. God I’m sorry. I’m kind of shy and this is the craziest shit I’ve ever said. Not about you, I mean. I’ll just shut up now.”

Bob went silent, both taking in what YFN just said to him and the shit he just spewed out. Hangman, Phoenix and Rooster who Bob had forgotten were even there, burst out in hysterics and took quite a while to calm down.

“That was the most painfully awkward thing I’ve ever seen in my life. You’re both idiots. Thank fuck you’re each other’s soulmates. Now get in the back seat, I’m driving and I will not be looking in the review mirror because I’ve seen enough of this shit already.” Hangman said as he yanked the keys off YFN and walked to the car.

Bob heard Phoenix and Rooster laugh and wish Hangman good luck for the trip as they headed to Rooster’s car after witnessing the display.

Bob looked at YFN and smiled widely and offered his hand to shake “Let’s try this again. I’m Robert Floyd but you can call me whatever you want for as long as you’ll have me.”

YFN smiled shyly back and put her hand in his and gave it a gentle squeeze, and Bob couldn’t even describe what touching her for the first time felt like.

“I’m YFN Seresin and I think I’ll have you forever, if that’s ok with you.” she said sweetly.

“I’m very ok with it.” and he was, Bob was very very ok with it. ……

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