#<- and like. about this. i felt kinda bad being cynical about the movie when i know my friend is Still an ot5 at heart | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

quixoticrobotic · 8 months

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who's a pair of atop the fourth wall characters you'd like to see get more screentime together?

literally all of them??????? which like i understand why we dont get that, obviously, thats a ridiculous demand. like logistically its not very doable i know this. i basically play with all the characters like dolls in my head i dont expect a ton casual slice of life character driven stuff from this show

but that being said...

off the top of my head

Mark and Linkara but like with them acting like friends and goofing around and mark actually getting to act like a teenager whos found family is a bunch of goofballs, rather than that weird dynamic where mark is just like the embodiment of patience and kindness and wisdom despite being a teenager talking to like, the first adult he ever felt safe around. like i wish the partnerfriends dynamic was a little more balanced??? like mark still has to have like thoughts and feelings and problems??? his best friend is right there!!!

Jaeris and LITERALLY EVERY REMEMBER OF THE COMICREW. like i guess its implied off-screen but like it really feels like they forgot the "to" in "enemies to mutual respect to friends" like. theres so much potential like i cant even type it all up but like.

ok so jaeris is bitter and cynical and frankly jealous that this comic book geek has ALL HIS LIL FRIENDS and ooooh cool wow thats so great you know what the power of friendship and kindness has done for jaeris? FUCKING NOTHING! and like Jaeris going from being like kinda disgusted by this group he kinda sees as like saccharine to the point of cringe like "goody two shoes and his bands of weird losers who like him" to having this big support system other other humans who he feels safe around LIKE PLEASE

nimue and eliza. like!!!! its canon nimue was the first member of the comicrew eliza really trusted that is canon! also like I know nimue just isn't very outwardly emotional and i love that for her! i think her characterization is really great! but like i'd like to see her when she's like. actually just kinda chillin, by nimue standards. and eliza is just always a really compelling and very funny character and just. i want them to hang out. also femslash

Mark and 90s Dude! smells like teen spirit and a literal teen spirit! they both have transmasc swag and i want them to goof off and be pals!

Joanna. just. any mention of joanna she has not been mentioned ONCE since her last appearance EVEN THOUGH YOU'D THINK JAERIS WOULD MENTION HIS WIFE, HIS WIFE WHO HE LOVES SO MUCH THATS WHAT POWERS HIS MAGIC GUN. HIS WIFE WHO HES MARRIED TO WHO IS PRESUMABLY WAITING FOR HIM BACK HOME WHENEVER HE SHOWS UP. IS SHE OK? IM STARTING TO WORRIED SHE'S LIKE DEAD, OR THEY GOT DIVORCED OFFSCREEN OR SHE JUST GOT RETCONNED OUT OF EXISTENCE OR SOME SHIT

tbh i wish the characters just mentioned each other more? it would help a to to make these characters feel like friends and allies who actually like each other. also it'd make it feel like the characters all have lives. like have linksano mention the romantic partners he canonically has like have him mention the fact that he went on a date, have linkara casually ask nimue if erin can still make it to bad movie night or if shes busy, have characters ask linkara how mark is doing since THE WHOLE COMICREW KNOWS MARK EXISTS, have harvey mention playing pokemon cards with linksano, LET JAERIS TALK ABOUT HIS WIFE, just like little offhanded comments that make it feel like they interact with each other

#words to people #mysterious orb friend #also im still bitter we didnt get partnerfeinds (mirror!margaret being partnerfriends with moarte)#i kinda went off there i hope. i hope you were expecting that

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thirdmagic · 9 months

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honestly if barbie had been a 100% uncritical and unironic celebration of barbie as an empowering feminist figure i would have really checked out of it quickly. because yes, the takes that barbie is literally ruining the world and is a literal agent of the patriarchy is wrong and unfair and the idea that she's single handedly responsible for causing body image issues is really reductive, there's a reason it's in the movie and it's from the mouth of a tween girl in its most cartoonish exaggerated form lmao. but we've all been that pink-hating tween girl at some point who has only just discovered these words and terms for things we've always felt all our lives and our understanding of it is still kinda immature and reactionary. i do broadly think and feel very positively of barbie as a cultural icon, and I mean yeah a lot of it is nostalgia some of it is just me wanting to reclaim this symbol of everything girly that is derided for being girly and we feel we're forced to give up because its considered lesser. but genuinely i do think she's been the target of lots and lots of very unfair and bad faith criticism over the years. At the same time, if the film had unironically taken the "Barbie is Only a force for good and Has Solved Feminism" stance, like- that would have just really stretched my ability to engage with the film, because well, that's not really true or fair either, and I just wouldn't be able to buy it even from a very good film.

in the end the place barbie holds in legacy and place and culture is just... complicated. good or bad isnt really the question, she is a cultural icon, she responds to certain trends, she represents certain trends, she defies certain trends, she is shaped by the culture she is part of. and people will respond to that differently. that's why the trailer tagline was 'if you love her barbie or if you hate barbie, this movie is for you', and i think why the film really really works for me is that it delivers on that promise. it does what i most wanted and hoped it would do when i saw it would go for that more meta angle, by wrestling with the many different complicated layers of her legacy and what she means to many different people, good and bad, without damning her or elevating her on a pedestal.

because yeah i don't think we can deny that in many ways she is an embodiment of a sort of ideal and stereotypical femininity that yes is a largely patriarchal standard. but it's also the fact that she does do a lot to empower girls to have dreams and ambitions and to seek out self fulfillment and creativity in their play, and that is important and significant and beautiful about what she does do. but the other side of that is the insane amount of pressure you might feel as a girl to Be Something and how your only worth is if you're exceptional in some way, and she does interact with that, the messaging behind her does feed into that, if only because its an idea that already exists and is ingrained in us from society on the whole. and the film responds to that by making 'it's ok to just be you' its core message, by emphasizing with that struggle, by having barbie herself decide to just be regular and human and find worth in humanity and human flaws of flesh and aging and body. and a fully grown adult woman, a mom with a desk job who understands full well that nothing about barbie is realistic and didn't fulfill any of the ambitions barbie represents, can find joy and relief and value and beauty in playing with her.

it doesn't offer an easy answer of 'is barbie good or bad' because there is no easy answer to that, and it gives us the veneer of a hollywood happy ending but ultimately it doesn't pretend that everything's been solved forever and now everything will be good. there is a fair bit of cynicism in the line 'one day the kens will hold as much power in barbieland as women do in the real world' with how the film understands that inequality cant be magically fixed and it doesn't try to sell you on that either- again, if it had been the kind of Inequality Has Been Solved And Everyone Is Happy ending you kind of expect from most fantasy-ish movies to this effect I would have just not bought it. Ending on the note of and "our Barbie, the main character, found her path in life and is happy even if the world isn't fixed" just feels more honest for this kind of personal story really.

beyond saying only one specific thing about it, the film is in conversation with the legacy and the discussion around barbie, which is the most important thing that a film about barbie, as a brand or as a character, can be. it brings it into the film and makes that entire conversation the central conceit and uses it as a vehicle to explore ideas about womanhood on the whole, which i think is ultimately a good choice because it's that very legacy and discussion that makes barbie as a character and a cultural icon perfect for this kind of metaphor.

#barbie

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spock-smokes-weed · 11 months

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I’m just gonna vent my feelings about Star Wars for a bit cus I’ve been overwhelmed by them and I don’t want them to bleed over when talking about the franchise with other fans. ie. get really in my feelings mid conversation and just rant at them. Cus that can be awkward

I find myself overwhelmed at the saturation of Star Wars media that we have rn. Overwhelmed to the point where it hurts my brain and I find myself souring on the originals. There’s just so much. So much where every corner of the universe is being expanded upon and explained and I can’t help but feel like it’s unnecessary. I watched the originals first and there was this certain kind of magic to the fact there was a lot you didn’t know. You were plopped into this world with no explanation and the story just happened. The need to pick at every detail in Star Wars like a scab, to create a whole new thing about of it really takes away from that.

I try so hard not to sound like one of those shitty fucking fanboy who’s like “new Star Wars is RUINING the ORIGINALS” because those people suck, and I don’t want to make other fans feel put down for liking the new things. Or put the original up on a pedestal. It’s not that new = bad. Or what you saw in those movies getting expanded upon is bad. It’s just the capitalism of it all I guess. Disney is going to wring all the blood they can from these stones and I feel like I’m just kinda drowning in blood. Disney being the one who is now dictating what is an isn’t “canon” is always going to be upsetting to me on some level.

The great thing about the legends comics in novels is that it was passionate people who were coming up with ideas one what they personally thought would come next. It was all disjointed and uncohesive by design. There was also the clone wars which was a passion project paid for by Lucas’ own dime. It felt like an infinite possibilities that you could take the universe. But now this Disney, they fully control the narrative on the universe and idk that bothers me. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve loved a lot of these projects. The animation of The Bad Batch gets to be as stunning as it is because of Disney’s money. But I think about the recent season on Mando, and the new Ahsoka show, and all the new movies that have gotten announced, and I just get a fucking headache.

I like when stories have endings, and if I’m being fully honest with myself, Star Wars did end in 2005 with revenge of the Sith. I’m never going to want to think past what happens in return of the Jedi because I don’t need to know. If I want to know I’ll make something up myself. And I guess that’s the whole rub here. I feel completely overwhelmed and paralyzed by the sheer volume of this story that refuses to end, that it’s hard for me to be creative with it. It’s hard for me to care about the main six movies because like, in the shadow of all the new stuff they don’t matter anymore.

I know that’s making me sound like a shitty fanboy again, but I guess what I’m trying to get at is like. It can be hard to carve out your own creative vision for the world of Star Wars when the biggest company in the world is making that creative choice for you. It’s hard for me to get the same kind of creative excitement the first few times I watched the originals, because now when I see Luke I think of CGI mark hamill or bitter old man Luke.

The oversaturation of Star Wars and Disney milking every corner or it makes me feel kinda bad while watching the main six because like. What’s even the point now. If you’re going to make Luke a deadbeat and even end the fucking story, when what’s the point of story the two trilogies were trying to tell in the first place? That’s my most bitter and cynical part talking. But it is something I grapple with

This is a stream of consciousness style ramble, just me getting some of my feelings untangled about the pew pew space movies. I think the things I always come back to is that anything disney makes is not considered “canon” to me. As in the sense I don’t consider it part of main story George Lucas was trying to tell. I don’t say this to mean I hate these things, I love a lot of these shows, but I’m going to take what I like and not consider anything from them set in stone. I don’t want to make it look like I’m sucking Lucas off either, I have my problems with him, but he told a complete story with a beginning and an end. You had the clone wars too, but that’s still supplemental material. I can only view the main six movies as fully canon because they tell a full story that’s really good and is the only thing I really care about. I’m sorry if I suck for that but this is to keep me sane.

#star wars #ramblings #long post #rant #this was long as fuck and incoherent #but I just needed to get it all out and not in my head anymore #star wars fatigue is real #and that sucks because the og six movies are really good and I feel like the story the lucas told us just getting buried #and with it my creativity #tbh a lot of this stems from the fact I’m creatively frustrated #and not making the art I want to make #and maybe if I just shut up and made the damn art I’d feel better

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violette-hue · 1 year

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Important info: Bisexual (male match for this please!), She/her

Personality info: Entp, Leo sun, Aries Moon, Leo Rising

Fandom: The Witcher

The Prompt: (Sfw) “Stop looking at me like that. People might get the impression that you’re soft.”

Personality: I can be either two ways when you first meet me. Sarcastic and laid back or a little rocky. Some people at first can see me as a bit of a...well...asshole, but I assure you i'm not that bad. I just come off a little strong sometimes. When you get to know me though, I am someone who is blunt, still very sarcastic, protective, and a little fiery, but also a huge goofball who does dumb stuff. I'm kinda like an onion (gosh I hate using that metaphor.) I have layers and the more you get to know me, the more you'll peel away. I hate being vulnerable and stray away from emotions, so I can be a bit cynical and I am soooo stubborn holy crap, but I am working on that...

-Also one more thing....I'm kinda goof. I can be serious sometimes, then other times i'll do something stupid like climb a tree and then proceed to fall from it, or play fight with someone. I also tend to do funny voices sometimes....so there's that too lol

Hobbies/likes: Lets see here....I did year around, competitive swimming for ten years, so swimming is a passion of mine and forever will be. I now do Martial Arts and i'm a high belt now. I enjoy just physical activity in general, but I also like music. Music is a love of mine. Plus I like simple things such as a good book, writing (I want to be a journalist), horror movies, and going for walks at night....oh and I adore the beach!

Dislikes: Spiders, I am terrified, petrified even of spiders.

Physical features: I'm 5'3...5'4 on a good day, pale skin with brown freckles everywhere, I have very thick brown hair that goes a little past my shoulders and it has a sort of auburn color to it actually?, i'm very skinny, like a twig, very little to no curves, big brown eyes.

(Thank you so much and congratulations on 1k!!)

Fandom: The Witcher (Geralt x Reader)

Maybe you had been too harsh to Jaskier, but you couldn’t help the sarcastic remark. He had been getting on your nerves the entire journey to the local apothecary. Why he even went was beyond you. Geralt seemed to only trust you to do this small errand. Having Jaskier along felt like this small mission would be compromised somehow.

But at least the bard had shut his mouth. You’d apologize later. Maybe.

He had sulked behind you in the small building as you gathered what Geralt had asked you for. Jaskier reminded of you of a small puppy. Or perhaps a toddler. You pushed your annoyance to the side to get the task at hand completed and hoped it’d be a fast journey back.

It wasn’t until you’d returned to camp that you’d felt some shred of guilt. Though what you said was intended as a joke, it had been harsh. You peaked over at Jaskier. He was frowning down at his food, his normally easy going mood replaced by one of…melancholy? Gods he was so dramatic.

“Is there something I’m missing?” Geralt asked you once you were alone.

You sighed deeply. Of course Geralt would pick up on the sudden change of moods. It wasn’t like Jaskier to be quiet for more than a second. You told Geralt what happened—what you had said. Your fingers found catch on some loose strands of fabric from your leave.

When Geralt didn’t immediately respond, you looked up. You were surprised to see a smile gracing his features. His eyes softened, reflecting the light of the full moon. Your heart tugged, and you suddenly didn’t feel too bad about what you had said. You smiled, a slight blush hearing your neck.

“Stop looking at me like that. People might get the impression that you’re soft.”

#matchups #fandom match ups #match up #match ups #violette-hue #the witcher #the witcher netflix #Geralt #geralt of rivia

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mordcore · 1 year

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tagged by @klavierpanda

1. Are you named after anyone?

yeah my system used to be called the crow system heheh

2. When was the last time you cried?

i think i haven't cried "properly" since león moved out one year ago but yesterday a single tear rolled down my cheek and my eyes felt very wet when my dad went back home. yeah i feel strongly about goodbyes.

3. Do you have kids?

not yet but i dreamt that i did tonight (i just hope it will be possible,,)

4. Do you use sarcasm?

not really but i use adjacent things like irony and cynicism a lot

5. What's the first thing you notice about people?

where they are in a room in relation me, i am always aware of that. hashtag hypervigilance. uhh next i may notice if someone looks rly cool like wearing punk clothing with lots of spikes for example. next i may notice wether someone is speaking to me, and lastly if i am lucky i'll be able to recall the vague hair color and shape afterwards and mention it to fail to describe them to someone else djksjdjdjjd

6. What's your eye color?

uhmm like green and orange in various shades and rings

7. Scary movies or happy endings?

i like scary and i hate bad endings but good endings can often feel weird and alienating

i dont really like movies .

8. Any special skills?

uhhhhm uhhhhhhhh i-

psychoanalyzing. putting everyone in a petri dish. i will armchair diagnose you (with consent) and ask you questions and then you will develop a new perspective on yourself and the world.

9. Where were you born?

bold of you to assume i was born and not made. two german scientists created me in a university city last century.

10. What are your hobbies?

gods i wish i knew. but uhhh today i did some sewing (both fixing and embellishing of clothes), watching free psychology lectures, smoking, playing spider solitaire, scrolling tumbler and later i want to play open world rpg viddy gaem and perhaps meet a friend in a cafe

11. Do you have any pets?

just the occasional non-consensual spiders 😔 (i did not consent to their living in my home)

12. What sports do/have you played?

i used to do lots of climbing and karate!!! also skating and then . many others that don't really count cuz they werent favorites

13. How tall are you?

as tall as the ikea gersby

14. Favorite subject in school?

in 12th grade it was biology, art, philosophy and sports

15. Dream job?

sorry i am not small minded enough to dream of a job under capitalism if i dare dream

i dream of these:

- getting accomodations and support for my disability and also no more medical abuse

- getting sufficient improvements of my health to get some of my life back, maybe even sports one day

- raising children in a big poly family

- returning to mexico one day (if just for visits only)

- not being dirt poor one day

- a world without fascism and transphobia

- a world without capitalism

but if i can work one day then being some kinda therapist is one cool option . being an artisan or craftsperson would also fuck severely

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mrnerdteacher · 1 year

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The One Scene in “Avatar: The Way of Water” that Perfectly Encapsulates Everything Great and Not-So-Great about the Sci-Fi Spectacle

A Slightly-Spoilery Avatar Review

Lest I be accused of click-baity cynicism, let me begin by saying that James Cameron’s Avatar sequel is a ground-breaking achievement of visual story-telling. It is quite literally the most amazing thing I have ever seen on screen, and its special-effects filled me with a sense of awe and wonder I have not felt since the first Jurassic Park.

However, for all its technological innovations, watching A:TWoW feels like unearthing a time-capsule from a day when movies were more simple-minded and audiences expected less nuance. Pot-bellied villains cackle about how much money their evil deeds have wrought, newborn babies are held aloft for the adulation of the village, and every male character (indigenous or military) refers to one another as bro. For as innovative as the franchise has been, its script feels weighed down by the 13 years it took to make it to the second entry. And no scene summarizes this better than one in particular… (Minor Spoilers ahead)

At about the halfway point of the film, a new set of villains is introduced: poachers. For the sea-faring Na’vi, the ocean is filled with not animals, but friends. In fact, the audience is explicitly told that the whale-like Tulkuns possess more emotional and mathematical intelligence than even human beings. Which makes one 12 minute segment of the film borderline unwatchable.

A mother “whale” is isolated from its pack and slowly tortured to death in front of its infant. Its skin is ripped, its limbs stretched out, and its brain is literally juiced for an anti-aging serum that has no bearing on the plot whatsoever.

However, my objections are not with the violence (Cameron’s environmentalist commentary is heavy-handed but well-intentioned). My biggest issue is that the film can’t help but make the bad guy’s seem kinda cool. The music swells triumphantly as they fire their harpoons, they quip and woo-hoo like Marvel heroes, and their crab-shaped submarines transform into Lego figurines right before your eyes.

And it all looks incredible.

And thus, there is the essential problem that keeps an obviously good movie from being truly great. The filmmakers can’t set aside their enthusiasm for technology (cinematic or imagined) and focus on the emotional core of its story. The actors, writers, and everyone involved ABSOLUTELY have the ability to make a statement. But they’re slightly more interested in making and selling toys. And that’s just a bit of a shame.

Good for: special-effects enthusiasts & lovers of the third dimension

Best line: “Spare yourself the shame of being useless.”

Final Grade: B

#avatar #avatar way of water #way of water #james cameron #zoey saldana #lego #movies #sci fi #jurassic park

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spicycowboyhole · 6 months

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posting because the psychicatrist decided to get sick when im having a crisis?:

idk where to start tbh LLOOL but i think im NOT DOING WELL. like on the outside evertytthings fine like nothings changed at all but i think im going insane. i think ive just realized how i have like 0 emotional suppoport system and whenever someone says something genuinely nice about me it makes me feel emotional because like i had family visiting this past week and my mom and my cousins tarted talking about college and my mom was saying how i wasted money going to college. i said that i didnt feel like i wasted my money becasue i have a degree now and i could always go back and get my bachelors but she said "BUT WHAT ARE U DOING EITH IT" and it just pissed me off because i feel like shes negating my accomplishment.

what made me cry last night was when i was messaging this guy and he was telling me about how he had class in the morning and we started talking about college. i told him how i was thinking about going back to school in january and he said i should.

for some reason i feel like getting my degree in psych would be cringe or a waste of time/money because my friend told me everyone she knows who did thinks so, like its some useless art degree. but when i asked this guy if it was cringe he said "so cringe... imagine having ambitions" im fucking stupid and didnt notice the sarcasm and i said "might as well start playing bucket drums on the street ig" because idk i guess i imagine getting a degree in psych would be just as dumb as someone trying to make it in the music business by playing on the street or something. he said "everyone thats going to college has ambitions. So in that case we all need to go play street bongos" and that perspective completely exploded my brain and i started crying LMAO because i guess going to college is a risk no matter what and u just have to believe in urself or some gay shit. it made me think of a taz cameo where he told someone that "nobody is gonna support your journey no matter how much they love you until youve proved to them that your journey was worth supporting" and that made me sad kinda because like i said i dont think i really have any kind of support from family rn and i kinda just have myself but i have like 0 confidence and negative self esteem and my family just being dissapointed in me and saying negative stuff really doesnt help. so i guess the moral of the story is that i have to trust and believe in myself because no one else will! really sucks i think. yeah but i only just started talking to that guy like YESTERDAY and im sure he prob felt like what he told me was nothing but it really did impact me and pulled the last tiny string that was emotionally holding me together. i apologized for being cynical and i told him i appreciated his words because i was kinda responding in a joking way that might have come off as rude i think? the silly bandaid just isnt working so good no more.

but fr i think while my anxiety is a lot better i think my depression is getting worse just due to my circumstances. like can u believe i almost went to the movies with some stranger internet guy just because i didnt want to be with my family?? i think somethings making me more impulsive than usual. i was going to buy cigarettes today and the only reason i didnt was because my appointment got canceled.

some other things tho i kinda didnt like having my cousins come visit because i just feel so inferior to them. like they look better and are just doing kinda all the stuff i should be doing yk? makes me feel shitty AND i feel like my mom just kinda infantilizes me like my parents treat me like nemo and i just cant do some things for some reason. its just so frustrating like my parents make me upset and i just want to move far away from them but also like they dont encourage me to do stuff on my own and when i try theyre like how are you even gonna do that you cant do that you have a bad fin like HELLO HELP ME FIX MY FIN THEN? I WOULDNT HAVE A BAD FIN IF YOU DIDNT HELP PREVENT IT IN THE FIRST PLACE LOL BUT IT JUST SUCKS THAT I HAVE TO DO ALL THIS BY MYSELF

i just dont want to be living here in like 5 years. thats a goal huh? if i had been asked where i wanted to be in 5 yrs when i was in high school id be like idk but i somehow managed to grow a goal somehow just out of misery i guess. and the steps are so cleaar in my head but then the voices tell me i cant do it because im scared BUT thats the point of life or something right??

jesus chhrososttt in reality nothing is really changing irl but im having some sort of crisis rn

ive even been trying to talk to boys LOL ive just been wanting some kind of escape from my life,, some independence, i want MY OWN LIFE that my mommy doesnt know everything about. i want to go to the movies with someone im not related to.

ok these paragraphes are all fucked up and i would fix it but i dont wanna go through and reread them

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nightwings-circus · 2 years

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A nice surprise

18+. Minors will be blocked

A/N: this is kinda shitty but I thought it was still cute so enjoy.

CW: smut. Pet names, oral (M! And F!Receiving), finger stuff, kinda getting caught??? (Over comms), hair pulling.

Synapses: you and your best friend Jason spend Valentine’s Day in the bat cave, and boy is this Valentine’s Day different then any other. Smut

Valentine’s Day had always been an awful Holliday.

You’d grown up on the streets of star city, the lonely child of two members of the league of assassins. You had been a secret, but when you found out about another secret child you had been brutally executed.

Your parents had secretly revived you with the pit before dumping you in star city, untraceable and unknown to anyone, so you hadn’t grown up celebrating “Valentine’s day” it was just another day for you.

That was before you had attempted to beat the shit out of a certain redhead named Roy Harper in a fit of bloodlust.

He had brought you back to Ollie, who upon you calming down and explaining your past to him, had quickly called in the justice league to help figure out what the fuck to do with you.

Eventually it was decided that the only one who could handle you was the one and only Bruce Wayne, a billionaire by day and Batman by night with his own clan of orphans. Seemed like an amazing fit, minus the adoption this time.

The league had eyes everywhere, and could easily find forged adoption documents or anything of the sort. You were introduced to the public as a recently deceased family friend’s daughter, and it worked without raising any suspicion.

That was where you had met Jason Todd, a bookworm with a sharp tongue and enough sarcasm to overpower even Gotham’s most cynical of people.

You had always been close, bonding over books and music and movies, and your shared love of tormenting the others.

Valentines days in the manor were spent on patrol, the occasional sounds of barb and Dick “talking” back in the cave when they accidentally unmuted themselves on the coms. You and Jason would yell at them, telling them to fuck some other time, a time when you weren’t kicking the ass of Gotham’s most wanted.

When Jay died, you had been heartbroken. That’s what it took to realize you might have been in love with the one and only Jason Todd. It took four-ish more years of him being revived and fighting with bruce before ultimately returning to the manor to accept that yes, you definitely were in love with him.

It was your first Valentine’s Day with everyone back in the manor, with Dick visiting after a particularly bad breakup with Kori, Jason back on the good guys team, and you, Tim and Damian being there to hold down the Fort as always.

This Valentine’s Day was turning out to be unlike any other. You and Jason were the ones stuck at home after a few recent bloodlust relapses, with Dick, Tim, and Dami on the streets kicking ass.

“If I hear anything similar to what you told me about Dick and Barb I’m ripping my ear piece out and stomping on it,” Damian sneered over the coms, followed by a noise that sounded like a swift backhand to the back of his head and the muffled sound of Dick telling him off.

You looked over at Jay, stifling a laugh as he flushed slightly, or were you imagining it? You didn’t have time to tell before he quickly looked down and started pulling up cam footage around the city.

Two hours went by of basically nothing. It was the first time you and Jason had been in a room together and had barely talked, it was strange. Something felt off. You both sat on the small couch in the bat cave, Jason reading and you watching the security for anything you could tell the others.

“Happy Valentine’s Day by the way,” his voice was soft, but guarded, like those words were dangerous when spoken aloud.

“Never thought you were one to celebrate Jaybird,” you smiled at him and he flushed at the nickname, and this time you were certain you weren’t imagining it.

“Neither are you! Don’t forget that time you made Tim those secret admirer love hearts that said ‘eat an ass’ on them.” He laughed and closed his book and set it on the ground.

He ran his hands through his messy curls and smiled at you. It made your heart flutter.

“Yeah well B’s reaction when he found them was worth it,” you grinned at him as the computer started to beep. You both jumped up and raced to answer.

“What’s up B,” Jay’s voice rang through the echoing cave.

“Just checking in. We need a couple names ran through the system.” Bruce listed them off and you wrote them on a sticky note before writing each assigned patrol person beside it. Without even thinking you hopped onto Jay’s lap so you could sit and see what came up as he reached his arms around you and looked up the list one by one.

“Thanks you two,” Bruce’s voice rang out after Jason rattled off all the information you found, and Bruce thanked you guys, and ended the line between you and him until he needed it again. You were still sat on Jason’s lap and after you realized you stood up and blushed.

“What, didn’t like the seat?” He teased and you felt your face heat up even more. You replied without even thinking,

“Like the view a little better,” he was the one blushing now, looking up at you with a mix of shock and a little bit of excitement. He stood up and slowly moved towards you, bringing you closer to him than you had ever been outside of your wildest dreams. Then, it finally happened.

Jason pressed his lips against yours softly, and you immediately kissed him back. He was gentle, almost like he was holding himself back in case this would end up terribly. But you did not.

You deepened the kiss, biting his lip gently and earning a moan from him as you ran your hand along his abs through his shirt with his hands on your waist holding you close.

You swore you could melt under his touch, the fact that you were kissing him at all was enough to send your head spinning. After what felt like no time at all he pulled away, his lips slightly redder and a bit more swollen then before.

You pulled away from Jason and started kissing down his neck, his pupils blown out from the lust and adrenaline in his body. Your kisses went even lower as you hooked your fingers around the waistband of his suit pants and underwear, slowly unzipping his pants and freeing his hard cock from its restraints.

Fuck he was huge, way bigger then you thought he would be. You licked along his length, causing a loud moan to erupt from his lips as he tangled his hands into your hair. You wrapped your lips around the swollen head and slowly took as much as you could into your mouth, swirling your tongue as you sucked.

You stroked what you couldn’t fit into your mouth with your hand, picking up pace as he moaned and growled under your touch. He gripped your hair and moved you faster, almost choking as you adjusted to the new speed.

Soon he was coming undone, his breathing getting more ragged and his long cock twitching in your mouth.

“Fuck princess I’m gonna cum,” he moaned as he emptied his load into your mouth, the salty taste hitting your tongue as you swallowed it.

You moved your mouth off, his cock exiting your mouth with a soft pop. He pulled you to your feet and quickly pushed you back into the chair, pulling your legs apart and tracing his fingers up your legs.

“You gonna be a good girl for me?” He was teasing you now, and fuck was it turning you on. In this moment you were almost grateful that you had to wear your costumes (or at least a more “casual” version of it) even in the cave, just in case you had to leave on backup in a hurry. The tight black miniskirt was a blessing in this moment.

He slowly slipped your panties down your legs and pulled up your skirt, leaving you exposed. Goosebumps appeared on your skin as he slowly moved his fingers to tease your entrance.

“Already so wet for me princess, and all you did was suck my cock. You like having me in your mouth that much? Such a good girl.” His voice was like a purr as his fingers entered you, plunging into your heat as he moved to trace circles around your sensitive clit with his tongue.

His fingers hit a spot inside you that made you shake, your entire body filled with pleasure as he licked your swollen bud like it was his last meal. Soon you felt the knot in your stomach start to unravel, and you came all over Jason’s thick fingers and into his mouth.

But he didn’t stop.

Instead he kept eating you out, his fingers still working into your core as you moaned, whimpered, and let out half-coherent sentences of begging and his name.

“Gonna come again for me pretty girl?” He picked up the pace, the pleasure coursing through your veins as once again you lost control of your senses. Your vision blurred and your head became fuzzy as waves of pleasure flowed through you, cumming harder then you had in your life.

“Well this is turning out to be the best Valentine’s Day I think either of us have ever had. I’ve been waiting to do that for a long time.” Jason grinned as he slowly put your panties back into place and pulled your skirt back down onto your shaking legs. “You taste fucking amazing princess. Such a good girl for me.”

“I think we have some things we need to discuss when we get back,” Dick’s voice rang over the monitor, making both of you jump.

“Dick??? Who else’s line is fucking open.” Jason blushed a dark red as he snapped at his older brother.

“Mine,” Tim’s voice sounded off, the uncomfortable-ness like a blanket smothering his words.

“I’m smashing my ear peace,” Damian snarled.

You buried your head into the crook of Jason’s neck and flushed, wanting the floor to swallow the two of you up.

“You’re just mad the girl I had in the cave actually fucking likes me dickhead,” Jay growled, making you laugh as Dick tried to argue.

“What’s going on?” This time it was Bruce’s voice on the comms.

And like good friends and siblings, the moment you all heard that the only thing you could say was a choir of sharp,

“NOTHING B. Everything’s fine.”

#jason todd #jason todd fanfiction #jason todd x y/n #jason todd fluff #jason todd smut #red hood smut #red hood fic

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char-lotteral · 3 years

Text

Ticket Booth

Great. Just what she needed.

Amity being stood up on her blind date.

Again.

"This is just ridiculous." She sighs to herself, impatiently alternating between checking her phone and the watch on her wrist just to avoid human confrontation from any passersby on the street.

I mean, is she surprised? Not really. Did she hope it would turn out different? Kinda

Not like this was the first time Ed and Em had set her up on another blind date. You should head out more! Meet new people, get a change of environment!

New people, my ass. If ever she gets a chance to meet these said new people, that is.

Amity checks her phone again with a big bright 8:10 PM, humiliating her at every passing second. Tick, tick, tick. There's that sound of that unnecessarily large wall clock hung in front of the movie theaters, more people arriving in front of the ticket booth, hands interlaced and smiles all warm and happy, and goddammit; her date was supposed to be here 10 minutes ago!

The wind's gotten colder, the theaters getting overcrowded, her feet hurt from standing too much, and in attempt to hide herself from the sad, despicable, cynical reality of it all, she huddles herself inside her massive winter cloak, tendrils of bubblegum hair sticking out from the side of her hoodie.

Why God, why did she agree to go to this?!

"Are you waiting for someone?"

Snapping out of her thoughts, Amity whips her attention towards the (cute) lady behind the ticket booth. Not one for initiating conversations, she coughs to suppress her shyness and answers, "Uh y-yeah. I have a um, a date. I'm waiting for them."

The lady behind the ticket booth smiles this really cute smile of hers and suddenly Amity has forgotten her name altogether. "You know, I don't wanna sound rude or anything, but the movie starts at exactly 8:15. And I don't think you'll be able to see it if you're gonna be out here, freezing in the cold."

She laughs tucking a hair behind her ear. "Yeah well, this isn't my first time being stood up so I guess I'm used to it at this point."

"Wait, you're being stood up?"

Stupid, stupid, stupid. Now she thinks you're some hopeless romantic.

Shaking her head frantically, she manages to salvage herself from this stranger that she has a sudden urge to impress all of a sudden. "W-What? No! I meant my date was um busy and they texted me too late, so I guess I am kinda freezing my ass off outside the movie theater. But not because I was waiting for them the entire evening! I-I have better things to do than um..."

Being stood up by my blind date who hasn't even met me! Crap, maybe I am the problem?

"Better things to do like stand outside in the freezing cold?"

Her eyes dart towards the ticket lady who no doubt is feeling sympathetic for her pathetic ass and as she does, there's still that smile of hers etched on her face, looking down at her with some sympathy but she doesn't mind, she likes how she's looking at her. Had she already mentioned she thought she was cute?

"O-Or that." Amity answers pathetically, chuckling at the absurdity of it all.

"Tell you what," The lady in the booth begins. "Maybe I can refund you for the tickets? I won't tell my boss or anything, they'll be fine with it."

Ticket lady was being awfully nice to her, which was strange because most strangers usually had a fight or flight response whenever they saw Amity talking to them, probably because of her intimidating aura, which she doesn't really blame them for. This cute ticket lady on the other hand, was a whole different story.

"Oh no, my sister's already paid for the tickets online, plus I don't think these two tickets are refundable so um, I guess I'll just have to watch this movie alone or maybe sell my ticket to someone who actually has a date." She giggles again, internally sorry for her own situation.

The cute ticket lady pauses for a second, attention a bit distant and elbows perched above her desk. Amity debates with herself whether or not she should just say fuck it and watch the movies alone, at least until ticket lady finally looks up and meets her eye to eye. And woah, she never knew eyes could look that brown.

"Hey, how about I watch it with ya?"

... What?

"What?" She parrots her thoughts. I'm sorry did she hear that right?

The lady smiles even wider, eyes pinched from the apples of her cheeks and a smile so bright, it could rival the stars above them. "You heard me. I wanna watch it with you!"

"You wanna... watch it with me?"

" 'Course I would. That is, if you'll allow me? I promise I'll pay for the tickets, I'm not scamming you or something."

"Oh um, can I ask why?"

The lady laughs again, oblivious to the damage she's been doing to Amity's poor stomach. Butterflies seemed like a stupid analogy, it was like the entire zoo came in to visit. "I can't let a pretty girl walk inside that movie theater all alone. There might be some serial killers inside there."

Oh.

Well, this turned out to be the best possible scenario she could come up with.

Pretty girl? Her?

This night just keeps getting better and better.

Feeling uncharacteristically playful, she refutes back, cheeks ablaze by the little compliment. "And how do I know that you're not a serial killer, plotting to bury my body?"

Her eyes are squinting from absolute mirth, clearly not expecting her to reply back. "I can prove to you that I am not, in fact, a serial killer by politely introducing myself. "Luz Noceda. College student by day, billionaire philanthropist by night."

"By billionaire philanthropist, do you mean ticket booth manager? Because I think both are equally badass."

Luz shrugs, unfazed. "Eh, its hard living the double life. I have to keep my identity hidden so no one assassinates me in broad daylight."

Simultaneously, they both laugh at their dumb topic, and Amity has never felt this alight with another person before. Her chest feels tighter, her cheeks hurt from smiling so much and she thinks that maybe, just maybe, this night might not be as bad as she initially thought it would be.

"So, have I proven myself worthy? Can I watch it with you?" Luz is practically bouncing on her feet, tail wagging like a retriever waiting for her treat. She looks so damn adorable behind the ticket booth that Amity's heart threatens to jump out of her throat and melt right in front of her.

So what if a cute girl wants to watch a movie with you? Big deal! It's not like she's asking for your hand in marriage. It's not like it's a date or anything.

Oh God, is it a date?! Oh no, no, no. What has she gotten herself into?!

What if she says yes and embarrasses herself right in front of her? They barely even know each other! They don't know each other at all! What if this really, really cute girl doesn't actually like her and is just doing this out of pity and turns out they'll never see each other again, and, and—

"Hey, earth to bubblegum, I'm still here. In case, you forgot. I don't wanna be all rude or anything—"

"N-No!" Amity cuts her off so quickly, she's on the verge of a panic attack. "You can watch it with me! We can watch it t-together! I'd l-love to!"

Smooth move Blight, smooth move.

Her words seemed to be enough to calm Luz down and she feels like she has God to personally thank for for that beautiful smile of hers. Honestly, how can one smile like that? It's that type of smile that could brighten an entire room or the physical embodiment of joy, youth and everything else good in the world.

"Wait, but what about the ticket booth? Are you allowed to leave it alone?" Concerned, Amity asks Luz as she walks out of the booth.

"Nah, Eda won't mind. I think. I-I'll be back before she even notices I'm gone. Won't be a problem! Hopefully." Taking off her cap, Luz locks the door behind her, tucking the key safely in her pocket. She looks back at Amity, eyes gleaming from the adventure of it all. Eyes that remind her of chestnut and coffee on a cold, serene morn. And a low, pixie cut to tie it all together.

Luz hands out her palm, anticipation and adrenaline coursing through her, she's smiling that sunny smile of hers again, cheeks flushed and hair a mess from the stuffy cap and Amity thinks to herself again that wow, she really is cute.

"You ready?"

Two words, two simple words from a stranger she's never even met before. What would Ed and Em think if they saw her right now, watching movies with a random girl she doesn't even know? Her instincts are telling her to go, leave, maybe find another night to watch the movies, you can pay for the tickets another day, you barely even know this person!

But when Amity finally looks up from her hand to those chestnut eyes and that smile of pure unabashed warmth, she's made her decision.

She's positive that her cheeks are the brightest shade of red, practically glowing under the cheap porch light, but if she squints, just enough, the same shade of red are on Luz's cheeks too, flushed and cherry red, just as she was. Nervous albeit excited, just as she was.

"I thought you'd never ask."

#lumity #the owl house #lumity fanfiction #amity blight #luz noceda #modern college au #hey hey hey lookie its my first lumity fanfic

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cienie-isengardu · 3 years

Text

axelzp replied to “The Bad Batch”:

I think most people take issue with Omega and TBB due to concerns over whitewashing. Also, what do you have against the explanation of the biochips? Personally, I always thought it fit Palpatine's controlling nature better than the idea of clones just getting a command from some random guy in a hood, telling them to kill the Jedi.

First off, I apologize it took me so long to answer. I tried to explain my reasoning in a short and coherent way as possible, but apparently the years of frustration about this issue needed more space to be properly addressed. So, in advance, sorry for text length.

From all TCW changes done to star wars, the chip-in-brain is one of my top 3 reasons to dislike the whole TV show, despite many of its good moments. I understand why authors chose this sub-plot that allows them to separate the visibly individual "good" clones (thus making them more likeable for the audience / marketing) from the “bad” that kill the Jedi but frankly, I find it a cheap and kinda problematic excuse. Clones were victims regardless of which version people will accept but I really despite the idea that Jedi were their beloved generals and commanders - so beloved that clones actually had nightmares about killing them waaay before Palpatine ultimately won which undermines the whole point of Order 66.

Jedi could never expect clones to shoot them in the back because they were used to their unquestioned obedience from the start of war. It was common knowledge, repeatedly mentioned in sources like “Jedi Trial” that clones were “bred to war, bred to discipline, bred to obey without question the orders of the powers that paid for their services”. Clones were made that way by genetic manipulations and years of intensive training; an indoctrination that makes clone troopers believe they have obey, no matter what cost.

Some sources, like Clone Wars Adventures’ “Orders” outright show us the mindset of clones:

and We’ve got nothing but each other ad our orders.

Because of that worldbuilding, I prefer Legends take on clone obedience and the Jedi approach to the problem than what TCW created. I talked about it more here, but the general sense is that I feel cheated by the idea of chips that turn people into some “programmed” machines because in such way, TCW erased the Jedi & Republic part in abuse & enslavement of clone troopers, while at the same time giving an unrealistic idea that Jedi were so liked / respected when most of clones did not have any special bond with them. And this is less about if Jedi were good military leaders or not and more that as generals/commanders they didn’t interact that much with common troopers. Because the chain of command doesn’t work like that. I’m willing to buy the close(r) bond between Anakin & 501st because frankly Darth Vader himself from the start was built as someone with better relationships with common troopers / “normal” officers than with most of the high ranking officers presented on screen. I’m pretty sure some other Jedi were caring and liking clones (and vice versa) but it is impossible for generals to know and be so close to all of their troopers.

Above everything else, Legends created an interesting situation in which the Jedi Council / Order knew clones would follow orders no matter if those were right or not and were aware how dangerous it could be yet they still didn’t do anything about it, because the obedience of clones were beneficial for them. Jedi not only took for granted their obedience, they mistook it for respect.

Which really speaks a lot about Jedi's own moral failing and/or lack of understanding the difference between those two terms.

In the Legends sources, there was no need for chips, really, when from the start Kaminoans tinkered with clone genome, created the effective system of “proper” education to mold clones into obedient soldiers and Republic wasn’t really interested to undo the damage done by such indoctrination.

Before TCW brought the chips and “nightmares haunting clones” there were officially established Contingency Orders for the Grand Army of the Republic: Order Initiation, Orders 1 Through 150. A guideline for unexpected and/or critical situations, so the Great Army of Republic [GAR] would know how to proceed - especially when troopers were given contradictory orders. The orders (also known as Clone Protocols) weren’t secret and there is a big chance that Jedi knew it, if someone bothered to learn the manual. The whole formula of Order 66 was described as:

"In the event of Jedi officers acting against the interests of the Republic, and after receiving specific orders verified as coming directly from the Supreme Commander (Chancellor), GAR commanders will remove those officers by lethal force, and command of the GAR will revert to the Supreme Commander (Chancellor) until a new command structure is established."

And here how the scene played in the RotS novelisation:

That concealed compartment held a secure comlink, which was frequency-locked to a channel reserved for the commander in chief.

Kenobi nodded and spoke to his mount, and the great beast overleapt the clone commander on its way down into the battle.

Cody withdrew the comlink from his armor and triggered it.

A holoscan appeared on the palm of his gauntlet: a hooded man.

"It is time," the holoscan said. "Execute Order Sixty-Six."

Cody responded as he had been trained since before he'd even awakened in his creche-school. "It will be done, my lord."

The holoscan vanished. Cody stuck the comlink back into its concealed recess and frowned down toward where Kenobi rode his dragonmount into selflessly heroic battle.

Cody was a clone. He would execute the order faithfully, without hesitation or regret. But he was also human enough to mutter glumly, "Would it have been too much to ask for the order to have come through before I gave him back the bloody lightsaber. . . ?"

The order is given once. Its wave-front spreads to clone commanders on Kashyyyk and Felucia, Mygeeto and Tellanroaeg and every battlefront, every military installation, every hospital and rehab center and spaceport cantina in the galaxy.

So there is really no “random hooded guy” calling clones to kill Jedi but Chancellor himself using an appropriately secured military channel with confirmation of his identity to issue a legal order in a critical situation (an opportunity created by the Jedi Council themselves who went into the Senate building to kill Palpatine). So why the clones shouldn’t listen, when the order came directly from the Supreme Commander of the Great Army of the Republic?

Of course, the movie (and novel based on it) alone has this weird addition like “yes my Lord'', what I personally consider as the cinematic way to show the switch from Chancellor Palpatine to Emperor Darth Sidious. Still, I’m willing to give some benefit of doubt about the modification made by Kaminoans and if Order 66 could trigger anything hidden in clone subconscious. But even if there was something, it didn’t erase their personalities or changed the way clones behaved like it happened in The Clone Wars and The Bad Batch.

One way or another, the Order 66 worked out because clones “have no malice, no hatred, not the slightest ill intent that might give warning. They are only following orders”. Which I guess comes down to how clone troopers were presented - or maybe rather how they were seen by other characters in the Legends. As more detached, combat pragmatic, toned down, to some degree isolated from the outside world, less individual. Regardless of what Jedi or Republic citizens thought about clones, it did not make them any less human beings.

And here comes the paradox of The Clone Wars. The TV show made great effort to humanize clones by presenting them as very individual, outstanding people which in itself is a great thing. The names, the tattos, the different paintings of armours, visible variety of behaviour. All great to make the audience see clones as human beings, to get emotionally invested into them, because the more likeable clones were the better for marketing the story (and the cynical part of me thinks it really comes down to making money, isn’t it?)

But this effort became also the trap and the inhibitor chips is the excuse to make such loved, caring and brave characters into the detached clones gunning down the Jedi in Revenge of the Sith.

The things that irks me a lot about this situation is the feeling like fans started care for clones because they were made into different type of characters than what they were (similar like Anakin’s movie characterization was thrown out of the window, to make him more suitable for fans who wanted the badass typical male hero instead of introverted, conflicted and traumatized young man). The clones get the visible individuality to make them the heroes we should root for, but then there is the “magical” switch that will cut down their heroic deeds because now they are “bad” and stormtroopers can’t have any personality. Which is just… frustrating.

Don’t get me wrong, I adore how clone troopers get more visible individuality (even if sometimes if felt too exaggerated), but the “not standing out from the group” was something that kept clones alive on Kamino and I can see why it was used as coping mechanism (the safe option) during the war. I regret that The Clone Wars didn’t show the transition from AotC nameless troopers into such individuals and how much it happened thanks to Jedi, what may help to build the feeling of supposed strong bond between Jedi and troopers. Because frankly, when we met TCW!clones, they already have names, different colors and marks on armor plates and helmets and for all we know, they could create their own “culture” without Jedi influence.

The final part of why I hate the chip-in-brain sub-plot is how it changed clones. Because even if that was a means to force clones into killing Jedi & ensure that Order 66 will be carried on no matter what, it shouldn’t change them into bullies toward their own brothers. But now in The Bad Batch, the clones don’t speak between themselves, are aggressive toward others and generally act like assholes for no real reason. And yeah, I get this may be a cinematic metaphor for a change from “good” republic soldiers into “bad” imperial stormtroopers and most likely something along the way “Republic/Jedi gave you individuality, Empire takes that away” but frankly, Republic did not give anything to clones. It did not acknowledge their human right, didn’t have any plan for their future, didn’t pay for their service or more expensive medical treatment for that matter, did not teach them they could - should - make their own choices.

Now clones are cheering for the Empire because inhibitor chips! They are assholes, because inhibitor chips! They shoot their *beloved* Jedi generals because of the chips!

And in a way, I get this resolution, the chips make it clear clones were victims. But even without them, they were victims from the start. Except now clones are “programmed” while in Legends the senate (a power paying for their life) officially and legally renamed Republic into Empire and clones were glad for still having a purpose in life. The war ended (thus their usefulness), but they were still needed - still wanted - instead of being put down or closed at Kamino or whatever. I can see why the uncertainty of the future made clones cheering up for the Empire. And frankly, I personally prefer them not caring for the political change (because why should they? It never was their job to *judge* the rightness of their superiors) instead of being “programmed” like some droids and playing the role of fodder to kill for the “good guys”.

Dunno, if I explained properly my issue with inhibitor chips, it just feels to me as not really convincing and a too risky concept in the bigger picture of the things and the fact that Jedi just like that ignored this suspicion matter of Tup and Fives and biochips doesn’t help either. Like I said, I understand why the chips were introduced to the story, as the excuse in the change of clone troopers’ behaviour but at the end of day, Legends worldbuilding will always make more sense to me. I don’t need overly done differentiation of clones to care for them as an individual human beings (and it kinda seems to me like that, clones suddenly became fan favorite when every looks or act differently but not when the AotC literally presented them as an army created to blindly obey Jedi/Republic) and I don’t blame them for sticking with Empire because what better option they had, considering their upbringing and the pathological system in which they lived all their life?

Dunno, I’m biased and may just have allergy to TCW in general.

As for Omega, I’m not really surprised about this concern, especially after seeing TBB’s version of padawan Kanan (that if not for A) some basic knowledge about his backstory and B) Depa Billaba calling him by name, I would probably never have figured out who he was supposed to be). But for Omega alone, I don’t mind her look, because I’m used to Legends!Jango’s biological family in which his mother and sister were both blond haired women and frankly, some “defective” clones (including Rex?) apparently could be blond too, so it seems like Jango’s genome has a recessive gene somewhere for that color of hair. I try to hold my judgment about Omega and her appearance until the full backstory will be revealed because there is still a chance that Fett’s DNA was mixed with someone else's (still I hope Omega is not force sensitive…). I mean, Hunter has heightened senses while Wrecker has almost supernatural strength and both traits seem to be not really human, so who knows what Kaminoans really did with them.

I understand people’s emotional response to Disney’s approach to characters and their visual look, especially since it isn’t the first screw up in New Canon (the models for characters in general and New Mandalorians especially). I’m totally okay with people’s criticism of that matter and demanding from Disney more diversity and respecting the already established ethnicity of certain groups. I’m aware I may not be sensitive enough to that matter as some other people (even more with barely watching TV shows to have any current and up-to-date comparison to trends in cartoons) and I’m pretty sure more qualified / invested fans already wrote or will be writing soon great metas about that. But the thing that irks me is hearing people saying that Omega *can’t* be Jango’s clone - I don’t like this sort of exclusion based on someone’s look alone. She may not look like Fett or other (male) clones but it is not something Omega chose for herself and does not erase her connection to the rest of the Bad Batch. Being angry at Disney/creators for her look is a different matter I don’t have any problem with.

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whatthefuckisasweep · 3 years

Note

Grif

For the character ask! Sorry this took me a while, I can't copy and paste on mobile, so I waited till I got on desktop tumblr! Thank you so much for asking about him, I could go on forever lol so this is gonna be fucking LONG. Please, anyone, feel free to ask about any other character, too. These are fun.

Why I like them: Grif is, for lack of a better word, complex. On one hand, it's like, okay he's just a funny comedy character. But on the other hand, he's like every all of my favorite archetypes of a character. He's crafty but stupid, selfish but selfless, antisocial but friendly, the straight man but the dramatic guy, he's snarky but oddly caring: the reluctant hero. It's kind of paradoxical, and I feel like not only do I relate to him, but I just really enjoy him overall. Whether it's because he's a good brother, being a complete dickbag because he doesn't know how to handle emotions, being a complete cynic on the battlefield, or being hyperactive and snappy, it's just... ah. He. Everything in his life just happens, and he has to deal with it, and yeah he'll kick and pout and probably eat everything but in the end, he's gonna choose his family and he cares deeply... even when he can't really show it.

Why I don’t: I see this a lot in myself too - the fact that he's impulsive and inherently negative when he speaks specifically. his words don't match his actions. He often doesn't hesitate when it comes to making negative comments because they are easier than saying something nice, but what his intentions are are completely different. in other words, he's a jerk, lol. Especially in season 15. I know people felt bad for him because he was partially right and went insane on Iris, but he lowkey deserved it. He said he hated his friends, and even his closest friend. He didn't want to admit that he was a good person just because he didn't want to help. yeah, it was valid, but he needs to learn how to make a case without fucking everyone emotionally and being so clammed up. >:/ sometimes it feels like he regresses in character, as much as he's matured. i guess that's realistic and just the writers making comedy, but also the way he handles Doc specifically irks me. so mean spirited for no reason, as funny as it is.

Favorite episode (scene if movie): OH MY GOD, okay, literally, every single episode with Grif starring as a main is fucking gold. I think for this I'm going to say, uh, This One Goes to Eleven. Even though it's not Grif-centric, it's the episode that's my favorite overall because it introduced me to RvB and made me like Grif right away, simply because he was attacked so much and I felt so bad for him. Another great one that sticks out right now in my sleep deprived state, is Grif does a Rescue. Augh. And the episode where Grif and Simmons get stuck underground in the caves.

Favorite season/movie: Season 8 (shotgun!!!, hyperactive ai grif), Season 11 (hanging in the canyon with simmons), Season 4 (the tank and blue simmons w/ grif), Season 5/6 (kai and rat's nest), Season 12/13 (the recruits, grif building the snowmen), Season 14 (backstory with simmons, Room Zero), Season 15 (you know why)

Favorite line: OK, don't make me choose. There are SO many that are good!!! I think one of my most favorite things that Grif says is "yoink!" It's so adorable! I also really enjoy "BLUEEE TEAAAAM SUCKKKKKS" with his epsilon double, the whole "invisible nap" scene, "what are we, on a date?"/"I can tell you what we weren't doing", "no one made me, I made me", "WERE GONNA FUCKING DIE" when charging at the meta, "that's a figure of speech?" [when carolina says im so hungry i could eat a horse is a figure of speech], "dexta grif he who shall not be messed with!"... I'm sure I'm missing a lot, he has SO many snarky funny lines, but these are some off the top of my head.

Favorite outfit: LOL THIS IS SUCH A FUNNY QUESTION BECAUSE THIS IS RVB. HAHAHA. Uh. Season 6 probably. I just like Halo 3 Graphics. Also s14 Room Zero because THEY DREW HIM FAT CANONICALLY. THANK YOU.

OTP: I'm with the majority of people in the fandom who like Grimmons! I think Grimmons is the only ship that I really vocally ship with my whole heart besides OC ships. I just very much enjoy their dynamic -- it's very angsty, dialogue full, intimate yet so unspoken. It's just a really good pair to write about and see the development of through canon. And, not to mention... season 15... hrk...

Brotp: I really REALLY want grif/tucker, grif/church, grif/locus BROTP. SO SO SO BAD. I've always seen grif and tucker as bros, grif and church are HILARIOUS together and we were ROBBED of more time together, and grif and locus are fucking adorable.

Head Canon: I have a lot of headcanons about Grif, but one of my favorite ones is that he has half-lidded eyes, like he's always sleepy. I also headcanon him as bisexual, though I think that is a popular headcanon!

Unpopular opinion: I dunno if I have super unpopular opinions about Grif... maybe that I think that his labryinth wasn't as bad as it seems at first? A lot of people seemed to think that though, yknow. Like if you look deeply into it, it's actually kinda fucked. But I feel like we should have gotten the Hawaii scene anyways. Hm. I also didn't like how they altered the canon so that Grif wasn't drafted. I think it does add something to his char that he chose to go, but I always really liked the aspect that Grif didn't control that, and yet he still did this on purpose. He was good on purpose.

A wish: A badass Grif carchase scene for the love of FUCK. We need to have him drive more stuff !!!!!!!!

An oh-god-please-dont-ever-happen: Have him betray the reds -- i think every other red has betrayed the team at some point. please god for the love of god dont do this to grif. it really adds and says something about his character that he doesn't ever betray his team.

5 words to best describe them: (eye roll) eh. fuck it.

My nickname for them: this isn't really my nickname, since I mostly just call him grif -- but 'gif'. It's cute, and my QPP came up with it! I also really like dex. augh

#rvb #grif #dexter grif #red vs blue #ask #asks #thank you for this #sorry for the length you just gave me a place to infodump #and i really thank u for this

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imaginesbymk · 3 years

Text

“Something’s Wrong with Mr. Pink.”

Reservoir Dogs One Shot

Summary: There’s been spark between you and Mr. Pink, but he’s one to shield his emotions. He realizes he’s starting to lose you, but he’s out of ways to win your heart. Desperate, he approaches Mr. White for help.

Pairing: Mr. Pink x Fem!Reader

Tags: swearing, sexist remarks, smoking + mentions of drug use (marijuana)

Non Requested

Word Count: 2,054

Author’s Note: as you can tell, quentin tarantino movies have been on my list!!! the reader is codenamed Miss Beige!! i never thought i’d have this much appreciation for steve buscemi until now, he’s such a cool guy :((( also thank you @myriadimagines for checking my title capitalization aksnskdns - leave a like/reblog + feedback!!! <333

MR. BROWN gave Mr. Pink a ride to the next meeting, and the whole trip there, Brown rambled on and on about God knows what. It came through one ear and out the other for Pink. Brown didn’t seem to notice because of his investment of his proven theory of a movie he had seen and wanted to share it with someone.

If he wasn’t listening in silence, Pink would always have something to say. It would usually be a comment, an opinion on something about social life. This one afternoon, he bit his tongue, despite the guys knowing his mind was occupied, even Nice Guy Eddie raised a brow. It didn’t start the day they were all given your colour coded names. It didn’t start the day they reviewed the plan of the heist with each other. It all started when you two were unintentionally left alone at the large dining table, moments after the guys had walked out the restaurant for something.

“Pink’s a pretty colour.” You gave him a reassuring smile, stirring your straw in your milkshake.

“To you.”

“And to anyone else who would want to be codenamed Pink!” you scoff. “Sexist.”

“Easy for you to say, you’re Miss Beige,” he says, his mouth full of his toast.

“And I happen to like my name. It’s a pretty colour,” you paused. “Just like pink.”

Pink huffs, swirling his coffee mug. “I can’t wait to smoke.”

“Lucky.”

“My buddy sets up Thai sticks like it’s one of those model boats in a bottle. It’s so fragile to him, and he saved one for me. Something tells me I owe him a shit ton.”

“You smoke Thai sticks?” you ask. “Your poor lungs.”

“Nah, I gotta smoke outta one anytime after coffee just for me to either black out or jump off the Empire State building by the time we hit Easter.”

You chuckled.

From the windows of the restaurant, you could see the guys standing outside their parked cars including Nice Guy Eddie and Joe, talking to each other about whatever. You could see their mouths moving, Nice Guy Eddie using a lot of hand motions at Mr. White, and Joe calling someone on the phone.

This wasn’t the first time you spent a limited amount of minutes alone with Mr. Pink. At Uncle Bob’s Pancake House, you two did sit close to each other, except Mr. Blue sat in between the both of you, and you had to lean forward to see Mr. Pink if he was speaking or if you two were giving each other looks if someone said something stupid.

If you were that childish, you would've considered the five minutes of alone time with Mr. Pink a first date - without the formal introduction. You two didn’t give each other your names because of Joe, but you wouldn’t mind slipping it out.

Silence, and then-

“I know this really cool café near my apartment. We should check it out sometime,” you blurted out.

Pink was in the midst of swallowing his food. He chokes on his ketchup dipped toast, taking his coffee mug to chase the contents down his throat.

“Wait a minute-” Pink cleared his throat, then cleared it again. “Are you-” he cleared his throat for the final time. “Are you asking me out?”

“Y-yeah,” you sheepishly smile, holding in your breath. “I mean, we can go get coffee, hang out at my place afterwards - it’s just a five minute walk - and sit on my couch, listen to K-Billy’s Super Sounds of the ‘70s, you can smoke your Thai stick, I wouldn’t mind...” By looking at Pink’s face made you trail off your words. You knew where this was going.

“You couldn’t ask Brown or Orange?”

“No, I wanted to ask you. We’ve been talking lately, we seem to get along, thank God, and you’re really cool. Even when you can be an absolute dick almost all the time, you haven’t scared me off. Just one date, it won’t kill us.”

“A date...” he frowns a bit. “With you?”

“What’s wrong with me?” your heart sank.

“Nothing’s wrong with you, Miss Beige. Ya just got the wrong idea. We’re here for a job, not to hook up. If you want to suck someone off, try your luck with Mr. Blonde. Besides, I go for chicks at a bar. I know from experience, they’re always coming in hot - first come, first serve typa’ shit.”

“Right. My bad.” You felt yourself shrinking now, fighting the urge to get up and make a dash outta there, somewhere to scream in embarrassment, whatever emotion it was.

“Excuse me.” Mr. Pink gets up and walks away, just as the rest of the guys start making their return to the large table.

“Where did Mr. Pink go?” Mr. Orange asked.

“Little men’s room, I’m guessing.” You sighed, sliding the milkshake away from you. “I’m full.”

“Something’s wrong with Mr. Pink. Did you guys get in a fight? We were only gone for five minutes,” Mr. Brown laughs.

You sat in silence, staring down.

“Nah, I bet she finally put him in his place and he’s crying like a baby in there,” Mr. Blue said, lighting the cigar in his mouth with a match.

“Most definitely not.” Mr. White shook his head, patting his pockets in search of his lighter. “That man’s a smartass, and smartasses like him know how to shield themselves. He’s fine. If anything, he can walk his ass home.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Pink calmly entered the restroom, placed both hands on each side of the tiny sink, stared at his reflection in the dirty mirror, and screamed in anger.

He jumps when he notices a man had appeared from one of the stalls just a moment ago, staring at him worriedly.

“WHAT?!” Mr. Pink snaps.

If someone treated him like a friend, he goes along with it if they weren’t weird or creepy. If someone told a joke, he’ll laugh if it isn’t corny or cringeworthy. But if someone admitted their feelings to him? Let alone ask him out?

That was the thing: Mr. Pink doesn’t like the idea of vulnerability. He’s aware that it’s unavoidable, it’s human nature - he just chooses not to give into it. Mr. Pink won’t waste a breath giving anyone the impression that he’s easy to get along with and that he’s a kind of guy to not act like a complete jerk half the time, because that’s not true. Not on his behalf, at least.

“Mr. White,” Mr. Pink approaches him in the vacant room at the hideout one day.

He knows people can judge. So he naturally survives on witty remarks, being a sarcastic ass most of the time, and coffee, coffee, and more coffee. Coffee times six.

Mr. White finishes combing his hair in the small mirror, nodding at him as a response. “You all right, son?”

But at the same time, his heart was telling him he wants you all to himself. “I got a problem...”

"SO you want my help?” Mr. White said, a few moments after Mr. Pink had explained the situation he was stuck in. “You’re completely hopeless right now? Gosh, is it my birthday already?”

“You’re full of shit,” Pink mumbled.

“Thought you’re s’posed to be a fuckin’ professional, like you said?” Mr. White chuckled. “I would have thought you would know what to do by now.”

“What am I, the Dalai Lama? I don’t know the answer to everything.”

“I mean... I kinda figured something was goin’ on between you two, I tried to warn her,” White shoots him a blank stare.

“Warn her?” Mr. Pink scowls. “Like I’m some fuckin’ tiger on the loose?”

“I did tell her: Listen, honey,” Mr. White grimaced, as he saw you like a sixteen-year-old teenager not knowing better than to get her heart broken. “Are you one hundred percent sure you like Mr. Pink? He’s a pretty cynical guy. You know he doesn’t tip waitresses?”

You shrug.

“Look, I know I can be very close to myself while very outspoken but,” Mr. Pink sighs. “I mean, c’mon, you’ve seen Miss Beige. Who wouldn’t want her? One time, she called in sick for a job she worked at just to play Super Mario World.”

“You could go there and apologize to her.”

“It’s not that easy, White.”

“How so? Just tell her you freaked out but you had a change of heart.”

“No, man. I could have accepted it right there and then, I could be taking her out somewhere, a place she likes, or that café she was talking about. But no, I turn into the cold piece of shit I always am ‘cause I’m a fucking-” Mr. Pink kicks the rusty chair in anger. “-idiot!” He kicks it again, hurting his foot in the process. He cries out in pain and hops away to the table for balance.

“Mr. Pink, it’s not too late to win her heart. If you really like her, and I can tell you’d take a bullet for her, then brush the professionalism aside for one second and make your move.”

“How?” he chuckles, taking a seat in the chair he had just kicked.

“Well, you can start by introducing yourself.”

“Already done.”

“No I mean, your name.”

“Whoa, whoa whoa. What we’re not gonna do is that.” Mr. Pink ran his fingers through his hair, turning his back to White to therapeutically stare at the light pink tiles on the walls.

“Why not?” White shrugs. “I told her mine. And it’s-”

Mr. Pink turned around. “What?”

Mr. White furrowed his brows. “Huh?”

“You told her your name?” he said. In his mind he prayed Mr. White gave her a fake name on the spot.

“I mean, not just her. Mr. Orange, too. My first name and where I was from, it was a normal conversation.”

“...WHY?!” Pink’s voice echoed in the warehouse.

“Orange asked.”

“You know what Joe said, we’re not supposed to reveal any personal info about ourselves!”

“Joe said this, Joe said that- fucking teacher’s pet,” Mr. White mocks.

“What the hell were you thinking, White?” he shouts.

“How else can you and Miss Beige take a step further if you can’t even tell each other your fuckin’ names? Just introduce yourself, Pink. That’s one way to start,” Mr. White says.

“And what if she doesn’t like my name?” He could only come up with such a question like that.

“What is your name?”

“Fuck you, man.” Mr. Pink stood up from the chair, earning a chuckle from his colleague.

“All right, if you won’t tell me your name, then tell y/n. Y/n should be the only one who can know.”

Mr. Pink turned back to him again. “Y/N?” he says. “That’s her name?”

Mr. White nods. As heated as Mr. Pink was, he knew one day your name would have to fall out of his lips and not a colour, and he wouldn’t mind that. Y/N...

Mr. Pink wouldn’t mind that one bit.

FROM now on, the café near your apartment complex would be your go-to. It was a café not too small but not too big, and no one would bat an eye if you showed up in your pajamas. The following Saturday you went there alone, sipping your coffee and turning to the second page of the morning paper.

What sucked was the fact that after you were turned down, you came to think that Mr. Pink wouldn’t be able to see how cool the interior was. He sure was missing out. Sure his Thai stick won’t be stinking up your living room while throwback songs from the ‘70s play on the radio, but indeed, sucks for him.

“Shit, you were right, y/n. This place is pretty neat.”

The newspaper crinkled when you lowered it down. Standing at the foot of your booth was Mr. Pink. This time he didn’t have on his silly Hawaiian shirt like last time, and no, he didn’t ironically wear pink as a kind gesture. He did look good in a white tee, though.

You had to smile. He knew your name. And you wondered how...

“Oh, Mr. Pink. Morning,” you nodded.

He takes a seat in front of you. “C’mon, we’re not at work. Just call me—”

THE END

—

TAGLIST: @locke-writes

#i wish mr pink actually revealed his name in the movie #but no he’s a ✨professional✨#reservoir dogs imagine #reservoir dogs one shot #reservoir dogs x reader #reservoir dogs fanfic #mr pink x reader #mr pink imagine #mr pink #reservoir dogs #reservoir dogs fanfiction #mr pink one shot #reader insert #one shot #imagine #mk's faves

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spongebob-connoisseur · 3 years

Note

the hype for sponge out of water felt so surreal? idk how to explain it but it was such a fun time waiting for it to come out i felt like a whole lot of people talked about it anyways i remember the first time i went the theater was packed dfjlksjdl also it was nice to know a movie that was majorly 2d was a box office success

Yeah! This ask hit me like a truck. I forgot all about that. There was a lot of hype. I think because it was such a huge gap from when the 1st movie came out. People were certain it was just rumors. Especially since there was rumors since 2010 that there was gonna be a 2nd movie. It just didn't seem realistic so people were blindsided by sponge out of water.

But theres also another reason. It was peak modern spongebob hating era. Around the time when it was confirmed there will be a 2nd spongebob movie was also the time when the most popular thing in the SB community was talking about how modern spongebab is bad and you shouldn't like it. And how nick was evil greedy super villains who should have ended it when Hillenburg wanted. Praise be to our god Hillenburg. About the same thing we have now except back then, the middle era was the modern era. And this was all new.

You could easily build yourself a large audience by talking about how spongebob is bad now and it was what pretty much every cartoon reviewer was doing. It was practically unavoidable to find a meme of people wishing Hillenburg would come back.

And the 2nd movie was confirmed to have Hillenburg come back. It basically raised hype for any cynical classic fan.

It's funny looking back on it now. People were definitely weary about the movie being cgi and having superheros but they were still open to watching it. Was it out of nostalgia? Was it hope that Hillenburg would bring in a new era? Or maybe just wanting to see our little sponge boy on the big screen. Honestly it made a lot of people hopeful and optimistic and I kinda miss that.

I remember watching the movie twice because I loved it so much. Both times the theatre was still practically full which is crazy.

It wasn't perfect as the first, definitely flawed but I'm also still surprised by the fan reactions. It wasn't perfect but people found it amusing and fun. It was mostly 2D and was a pleasant surprise. Absolutely wacky and unusual but endearing. People viewed it as the beginning of a new era of spongebob and if this movie proved likeable then there's hope for the series and people embraced it.

Its interesting. I definitely see a lot more hate for the 2nd movie as of recent. Mostly from people who don't remember the era of when the movie came out but eh, it doesn't matter. For the time that it did come out, it was special and I still think it is special. Not to mention, like you said. It was a mostly 2D box office success. Thats not even imaginable now. It was pretty much unimaginable then. Which is probably why they spent so much time using the CGI moments for promotions.

And the movie's success was enough to have the 3rd movie announce it's production just a few short weeks after the 2nd movies release. But that's a whole different story.

#Ask #Its still a huge comfort movie for me :)#spongebob #spongebob squarepants #sb #spongebon squarepants #the spongebob connoisseur #spongebob meme #spongebob movie #Spongebob sponge out of water #Sponge out of water

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shhh-no-ones-home · 3 years

Text

wrap me up vinny mauro x reader

+++++++++

touch-starved!reader

Prompts: "I haven't been hugged in years." "You put your arm around me and I literally felt my knees buckle, this is so pathetic." "Do you mind if we stay like this a little longer?"

Song: youll be fine by palaye royale

tag list: @musicsexandpizza69 @svintsandghosts @alilpunkrock @cynic-spirit @theoneandonlykymberlee @thisplace-ishaunted @lifeisabitchandsoareyou @xyours-eternallyx +++++++++

I knocked on vinny's door, looking at his text again, hoping I had the right house. We had just recently became friends and this was the first time either of us had been to the others house and I was nervous. I looked down at it again before the door swung open, grabbing my attention.

"Hey!"

He said with a wide smile, moving in for a hug. My eyes went wide as he wrapped his arms around my shoulders and I could feel my knees go weak. I held my arms tightly against my body until he let go, standing to the side and letting me into his house.

"I'm glad you could come, I've been getting stuff ready all day."

He said as I followed him through the living room.

"Uh, yeah, I'm glad you invited me over. I'm excited that we finally get to hang out."

I mentioned as we walked into the kitchen, noticing the savoury smell now.

"I know, who would've ever thought that when we started talking a few months ago we'd ever actually get to see each other. I still can't believe you lived so close all this time."

He said with a smile, one I gladly returned. I nodded as he moved to the stove.

"I know, who would've thought."

I agreed. Then he turned around, noticing me looking around at stuff.

"Oh, if you wanna sit you can. I hope you're hungry."

He said, pointing to the bar stool at the island before moving to get plates out of a cabinet.

"You didn't have to do that vin."

I said and he shook his head.

"No, no, I wanted to. I figured, this late in the day it only made sense for me to cook for us. That way I don't have to worry about it while we hang out."

He mentioned, setting a now full plate in front of me. I smiled to myself. He had promised he would make homemade spaghetti and meatballs for me at some point cause I had mentioned it on one of his Instagram stories it looked good. I knew it took a lot of time and definitely didn't expect for it to be today that I'd finally get to try it. I looked up at him and he had a knowing smirk on his face.

"I hope you like it."

He said and I couldn't help smirking back at him.

"I'm sure I will, you gonna join me?"

I asked, watching his smirk turn to a toothy smile as he moved to fill the other plate.

"What kinda friend would I be if I didn't?"

He asked, setting his plate down and moving to the fridge.

"Sprite?"

He asked and nodded.

"Sure!"

I accepted, as he set the can down in front of me, coming to sit beside me at the island. I looked to him as he dug in, feeling more nervous now than I had at the door. I began eating slowly, cutting into a meatball and biting into it. I hummed in content, nodding my head as I chewed.

"Good?"

He asked with a smile and I nodded a little quicker, swallowing.

"Very."

°°°°°°°°°

I sat on the couch, my hands tucked into my lap as the movie played. At this point we had already been through a few video games and were trying to wind down from the excitement of the day. or at least that was the idea. I on the other hand couldn't stop thinking about the hug. I bounced my leg nervously, not really noticing it until vin's hand made its way to my knee to stop it's movement. My attention shot directly at him, eyes wide as he let out a nervous laugh.

"Sorry, it's just making my calf feel weird."

He said, shifting his leg. I hadn't realized we were so close.

"Oh, sorry."

I said shyly, turning back to the tv.

"Y/n, are you okay? I know this is the first time we've hung out but you seem really uncomfortable."

I needed to lie about this one right?

"I'm fine, why do you ask?"

He shrugged.

"You just seem off."

I looked to my lap, pulling at my jacket sleeves.

"Actually there is something bothering me."

I confessed and he shifted beside me, his leg fully touching mine now and making my heart race.

"What's up g?"

He asked with a light hearted smile and I immediately felt bad.

"I have a confession."

I paused and looked at him.

"I haven't been hugged in years."

I said and he laughed a little bit, his expression dropping as I stared at him expectantly.

"Wait, really?"

He asked and I nodded slowly.

"I wasn't expecting to be hugged when I got here cause we haven't been talking that long. But You put your arm around me and I literally felt my knees buckle."

I rolled my eyes at myself.

"God this is so pathetic."

I realized, slouching forward. He touched my arm lightly and I stiffened.

"Hey, it's not pathetic. But, can I ask why?'

I looked at him for a second and shrugged.

"I don't know honestly. I don't really feel comfortable around most people or in my body if I'm being honest. People touching me just makes me more aware of the fact that I have a physical form that takes up space and that's terrifying to think about."

His face didn't really change as I spoke and it was killing me because I couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"Can I hug you again? Like, properly I mean; your arms around me, and my arms around you?"

I shifted a bit in my seat.

"Only if you want to, of course. I just. I want you to know that I like that you take up space. You take up my space, and I'm glad you do."

He said and I laughed a little bit.

"Yeah vin, I think I'd like that."

I said, watching him stand up. I drew my brows as he offered his hand.

"Come on, I'm talking full blown hug."

I let out a nervous laugh before taking his hand.

"Full blown hug."

I repeated, slowly going in for the kill. I wasn't quite sure what to do at first as be wrapped his arms around me, his hands planted firmly at my back. I held him loosely at first, inhaling his cologne. As he scratched my back lightly I relaxed a little more, tightening my grip around his body and digging my face into his shoulder.

"See isn't this nice?"

He asked and I nodded against him.

"Do you mind if we stay like this a little longer?"

I grumbled against him and I felt his hair brushing against my forehead.

"Absolutely."

He assured, readjusting his grip to hold me better. After a minute I stood back upright, looking behind him and loosening my grip.

"Better?"

He asked as I pulled away, him still holding my waist. I breathed deeply, not knowing if my voice would break or not. He tried to study my face.

"Thanks vin."

I said as strongly as I could and he sent me a soft smile.

"Anytime y/n. Anytime."

#wattpad #x reader #prompts #miw #vinny mauro #imagines #one shots #287

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monkey-network · 3 years

Text

The Odyssey of Spongebob Squarepants

A lot can happen as you grow up. Your tastes will change, you will have more responsibilities, and unless you can literally live under a rock, you can’t turn things back for yourself. So... after over 20 years, when the time keeps going in spite of yourself, does your past evolve and how should you feel about it? Spongebob Squarepants is a show so many have noted as the greatest of all time, but has grown to not be wholly beloved as its later years have not been as well received as it’s golden era. But I’m one to think: how has Spongebob evolved over time? What of this show makes it the greatest in my eyes despite thinking more about those vaunted first three seasons with its movie? Well, let’s roll back...

Back to the Past, To Remember Episodes that Sucked Ass

Despite what some may say, I don’t believe season 4 and 5 was where Spongebob started losing its mojo. There were definitely stinkers like Good Neighbors and Driven to Tears but the good ones definitely outweighed the bad. Not like the quality Golden Era didn’t have its duds, I really don’t like I’m With Stupid, Party Pooper Pants, and Spongeguard on Duty. Season 6 is where I say things surely falter, where for a good amount of time more episodes became unpleasant in retrospect. I noticed it’s more season 6 through 8 that people really take issue with. The Splinter, Boating Buddies, Pet Sitter Pat, the many we call the worst are some good time after the first movie. The first movie came out in 2004, season 6 was spring 2008 so it’s fair to say we had a grace period.

But it begs the bucking question: why did Spongebob stop being good? Numerous people have tried wrapping their heads around the decline citing reasons from flanderization, creative fallout and changes. Emplemon believed in his Spongebob video that the spirit of what connected the show to adults was severed due to merely become a cartoon for children, especially when Spongebob and Squidward’s dichotomy as adults was broken in later seasons. But you know what? I think I truly have the answer. It’s not so much production wise, but it certainly explains the many differing bad episodes that many have covered. It explains why I don’t like Sponge on the Run but we’ll get to that later. But a truth I’ve noticed, remembering and looking at Spongebob in its seperated eras is one I haven’t seen anybody talk about when it comes to why it could be considered bad:

The Plot Drives the Characters Too Much

The greatest episodes of Spongebob, I’m talking Band Geeks, Pizza Delivery, Ripped Pants, Chocolate w/ Nuts, Karate Choppers, etc., don’t have the premise take over the characters. Meanwhile the worst episodes always have the plot push the characters in noticeably different directions because it demands it. Spongebob is strictly a character based cartoon, and when you have episodes that, while can appear fitting on paper, force the cast to be somebody they’re not, people aren’t gonna be on board. Take the episode A Pal for Gary where Spongebob gets Gary a new pet that dangerously hates other pets only for him to be completely ignorant of Gary’s pleas and blames him in the end for banishing the monstrous Puffy Fluffy away. Reasonably, Spongebob is very much the asshole but unfortunately has to or else the plot would need to be seriously reworked. We can chock it up to poor direction but this is indeed a common occurrence for when Spongebob gets bad, not just in post first movie era. I’m With Stupid is a great classic era example where yeah, Patrick becomes an ignorant jerk but on paper, it works with the plot of him trying to please his parents. It does the job at the visible cost of the characters. We generally say the characters are bad but I’ve hardly seen people say the plots are bad like Family Guy where, despite also being character focused, the plots they have can go off the rails in favor of trying to get laughs and the sake of a status quo. The highlight of this problem lies with the coined ‘Squidward Torture Porn’

Squidward Tentacles can be a jerk. A real cynic, a character that’ll gladly try to bring down Spongebob’s childlike wonder in favor of giving him a dose of reality. The most memorable episodes of him are where him and Spongebob are in the same situation but have their clash of outlooks, with Squidward ultimately understanding Spongebob’s POV enough to have a moment of genuine happiness or a modest bit of karma. He’s indeed the most important character because adults grow to see where he’s coming from but at the same time wants to be on Spongebob’s side. The best provide Squidward the chance to understand differently and potentially enjoy a new perspective. The worst punishes him for simply wanting to live.

The plots of the worst Squidward episodes have Spongebob and/or Patrick actively antagonize Squidward because on paper, it makes sense to make someone like Squidward the punching bag like Elmer Fudd to Bugs Bunny or an egotistical asshole to the Warner Siblings from Animaniacs. But in the effort to do so, they never give Squidward the chance to fight back. It’s like they took the whole “No One Wants to be a Squidward” line and utilized that to make him the go to for misery based comedy without giving him any upside. Cephalopod Lodge, Good Neighbors, Choir Boys are stories designed around Spongebob ruining Squid’s life because... what? He doesn’t want Spongebob to be around every time of day? As a child, it can be some fun just seeing Squid get punished but for an adult, it can definitely be a turn-off. Some people see themselves in Squidward, for better or worse, so what’s it to them when Squidward is basically forced to suffer for no reason other than the plot demands it? Later stories give Squidward far more of a break, even some successes, but the idea of making him the butt of life’s joke is still leftover from the episodes that called for him to casually suffer.

The worst plots of the show can be the safest, the simplest, and pretty predictable because unlike the best where the characters are just allowed to make things happen, the story has to contain the characters in a way that’s fitting to who they can be but notably sacrifices who they were before. Why they got made is very up in the air, I’d have to listen to a ton of commentary to potentially pick that apart and I don’t have that much time.

But it doesn’t the change the fact that the plots were never what made Spongebob good. And it doesn’t mean all those bad episodes make for bad seasons either. We could say there was a decline but that would mean giving up on the show merely because it lost it’s footing with more bad episodes than good for a few seasons. Because I believe 4 to 5 years after season 6, things got back on track even if things weren’t exactly the same.

Return to Form, Change in Energy

I don’t believe that Stephen Hillenburg’s departure was what proposed the decline, I’d say the show never really declined, just had some real potholes within three particular seasons. But I say it’s clear that the direction of the show shifted because you gotta understand, with or without Stephen the show has to be unique, has to have fresh ideas in the midst of potential competition despite being the most popular of the network. Even the trusted of Hillenburg’s team might’ve figured Spongebob couldn’t make lightning strike so rough patches might be expected. This is where Spongebob’s 2nd film, Sponge Out Of Water comes in.

I wasn’t as into this film with my first watch. I know it wouldn’t compare to the first film, but things felt segmented to where it hardly felt like a structured movie. Going back to it again, it kinda showed how Spongebob was going to evolve as a series. A lot of Sponge Out of Water lies in the characters getting into a more chaotic adventure than before. Spongey’s dream sequence, the whole Mad Max apocalypse, inter-dimensional dolphins, really told that the show post 2nd film would follow in its footsteps both in the stories and in animation.

It’s to say the golden era of Spongebob was more... grounded with itself. The charm of the characters was what made the plots unpredictable in nature but mostly not to a visible extent. Idiot Box, one of the greatest episodes, literally have moments where we see nothing but a box but the episode’s carried by the performances. Modern Spongebob, post 2nd movie, started to run all over the place. That’s not a bad thing but clearly a change of pace. I think it’s befitting to say the modern era got more cartoon-y where it’s way more expressive and the plots themselves go in unpredictable places in a way that all feels refreshing. It’s not the same as before, but well enough in it’s own time. It’s like Teen Titans ‘03 vs Teen Titans GO! The two have their clearly different tones but they’re appealing in their own way, only Spongebob isn’t trying to poke fun at its older audience like a snarky ass motherfu-

That is the thing as well that I haven’t seen many people consider when it comes to the modern era: it always tries to be fun. I can say an episode’s bad, but there are times where a bad Spongebob episode was enjoyable at least. It isn’t like modern Simpsons where you could tell they’ve been running out of steam and you’d just wish it died. It feels like the staff were given some time and space to make Spongebob back into as intended, even when most moments aren’t as strong or memorable as before. It can appear as just another cartoon for children but it never felt like it wasn’t Spongebob anymore, especially after the 2nd film and with Stephen Hillenburg’s consulting return. Unfortunately, only after a few more years is where say Spongebob’s going in a direction that I’m admittedly not fond off. It isn’t on par with The Simpsons, but it’s not as comfortable a fate.

A Spongebob Cinematic Universe

I enjoyed Sponge on the Run, but I don’t like it what it stands for. Many say it’s a poor backdoor for the spin-off Kamp Koral and I can’t help but agree. I’m not speaking for Stephen’s behalf nor will I shame everyone who comes to love this mini-series when it comes out, but I can definitely see where he was coming from with his abstain of spin-offs. Spongebob is a show that works, always worked, on its own. It has many characters that, to this day, they’re bouncing with to create new adventures and jokes. Now, I’m actually okay with giving some spin-offs revolving around the other characters; a show for Squidward would be hype as all hell.

But Kamp Koral, by extension Sponge on the Run, feels less like a creator’s passion and more like a marketed decision. The fact that they scrapped a potential alien cat invasion movie all for a visually pleasing yet heavily derivative story tells quite a bit. It’s a movie that, compared to the previous, is just hitting certain beats; the plot again driving the characters instead of the other way around which leads to really off-putting moments. There’s fun to be had, but it feels superficial. And while I don’t think this’ll affect the next generation of Spongebob, the most recent episodes are good, but I have a bad feeling that it’ll be morphed into something Stephen genuinely didn’t want for the series and they do it because regardless of what the fans don’t want, they truly own the show now.

I was okay with Spongebob having its merchandise and a Broadway musical because the show helped make them work. After seeing SCOOB! and countless talks of making cinematic universes thanks not only to the MCU but stuff like Spider-Verse and Lego Movie though, it’s starting to feel more like an corporate sanctioned omen that I fear too much becoming a reality. But really, it begs one more question...

What Do I See in Spongebob?

I’ve said this when talking about the 1st Spongebob movie: “[It] works so well was because, speaking for adults, it is about embracing the you that you love as opposed to trying to be someone you aren't. You can grow up for taking that journey, but you don't have to be grown up all the time.” Even with its not so great history, Spongebob personally never comes off as a show that’s lost its identity. If there’s anything learned from the likes of Steven Universe and Family Guy, yeah, it’s that bad episodes or changes in tone doesn’t make for a buried series. Vast majority will definitely notice the difference between classic and modern Spongebob, but I don’t believe they’ll say it isn’t Spongebob anymore. I keep bringing it up, but it doesn’t feel like the Simpsons where you notice the burnout, the age of its existence in the late late seasons. Not that Viacom/Nickelodeon won’t hesitate the same fate because they can be fucking scum, but otherwise the show has run out of steam yet.

What mostly concerns me though is that the charm of the show falls by the wayside with trying to expand it outside the show. Bog down the love by making unnecessary spin-offs that try to do what fanworks like the Spongebob Anime do for the hell of it in order to retain that all age appeal. They’ll feel like memes that age horrifically the moment it’s trending on Twitter. Again I don’t wanna speak over Stephen Hillenburg’s behalf but it feels like Nickelodeon gets potentially too ambitious with something that should be simple enough at the same time. We got some good hype back thanks to the Battle for Bikini Bottom Rehydrated, but that only could boost our spirits so far this year.

To me, Spongebob was certainly a game changer and now, while still popular, it is very much among the crowd. It’s not a show we’re worrying about compared to stuff like Infinity Train, Glitch Techs, the Animaniacs reboot, Primal, shows that are continually changing the metagame in what people want for a cartoon. We might notice stand out moments and we’ll continue making memes, but it’s fair to say we aren’t as invested in Spongebob socially as back then when, as I remember, new episodes or specials felt like an event and it was considered the best out here in our friend circles. Now when we say it’s the best, it’s asterisked. Many love Spongebob Squarepants, but notably aren’t too keen with all of it nowadays.

But to truly conclude, I say for everyone who reads all of this, 1st thank you, and secondly to give modern Spongebob a chance. I can’t recommend Sponge On the Run but these later seasons (nine to recently) actually feel like the show cleaned up itself after many touted that bad episode era was what made Spongebob fall. I don’t believe the show’s fallen because I shouldn’t have expected this show to be flawless. Not every episode’s a hit, but there is not only still good variety but episodes that feel right at home. Mimic Madness, Boo-kini Bottom, Squid Noir, Moving Bubble Bass, One Trick Sponge, and any episode with Plankton are actual joys to see and rewatch if I’m in the mood. The episode premieres are all over the place nowadays but it feels like the crew are given their time at least. And I think this is the path is where I’m content with about Spongebob: it just gets to be a cartoon.

I see so many people try to prop up shows as more than meets the eye. I mention Infinity Train and Steven Universe as the new game changers but I hardly see people just recommend shows that are simple, clean, knows what they are without trying to be anything more premise wise. We just get some quality entertainment with characters we’ve come to know, just for the sake of it. We get a cartoon in its bare essence. Spongebob gets to do its thing like it always has these past 20 years and I’m grateful for that. I’ve seen a variety of shows, but Spongebob always felt like a show worth sticking with even when I feel I’ve “outgrown” it. Not because I want to regress in growth, but as an adult I see now why Spongebob worked so well as it did and why it’s worth sticking with. Even after everything, the show’s made it it’s sole passage to provide us the core reason why we love Spongebob: the show always wanted to love itself for what it was as Spongebob Squarepants always loved to be himself.

And there will never ever be another show like it.

#spongebob squarepants #spongebob #sb #sbsp #stephen hillenburg #nickelodeon #cartoons #animation #analysis #meta #reviews #long post #Good Stuff

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