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greenorangevioletgrass · 11 months

Text

given the circumstances (part 1) | b.r.b.

pairing: Bradley Bradshaw x actress!reader

summary: your relationship with Bradley goes from 0 to 100 after a little happy accident. [Part of “The Actress & The Aviator” universe]

word count: 5.9k

Warnings: established relationship, language, pregnancy, mention of vomit/nausea, accidental pregnancy, fluff, smut [unprotected sex, oral (f receiving), dirty talk, daddy kink, hint of mommy kink?, breeding kink, size kink, creampie]

notes: they’re back babeyyyy! This is set about 1.5 years after the events in “It’s Classified”, and it fills in the gap of the blurbs I did a while ago. But you don’t have to read it first, this can be read as a standalone. I have missed writing for them so much, and I hope you enjoy reading this! <3

✨ follow @ficsbygreenorangevioletgrass to get notified for my latest words <3 happy reading and please reblog if you liked it! ✨

PART ONE

You’ve been New York-bound for six whole months, doing two shows on Broadway back-to-back. Bradley came to visit you for your musical’s opening night about two months in (and again for your second show, a modern take of Romeo & Juliet), but with your shows and his sudden deployment to God knows where for three months, the time and space apart was killing you.

Which is why you’re determined to take some time off as soon as you’re done, just to be with your stupidly handsome fiance at home in the stupidly sunny California.

Your first month or so was a bliss. You would wake up to the smell of your coffee, and saunter into the kitchen where Bradley would kiss you good morning. There’s no rigid structure to your days, save for the occasional work meetings. Most of your time is spent playing house with your fiance, redecorating the house you both barely lived in before you were called off to work. Wandering around and jotting down inspirations for your new screenplay. Treating yourself to frozen yogurts and manicures. Adjusting to life in the San Clemente neighborhood of Orange County.

(Bradley made a joke about you joining The Real Housewives soon, which earned him an elbow to the rib. Whatever. He was more Housewife material than you anyway.)

But halfway through your second month, you started feeling lethargic and just… off. You chalked it up to the weather and exhaustion, since you’ve been back to work, going to pre-production meetings for your upcoming movie. You tried to brush it off with vitamins and heartier meals, powering through for a couple of days.

“You sure you’re okay? You don’t look so good…” Bradley looks at you in concern when you shuffle into the kitchen that morning.

You’re really not, but you blatantly refuse to acknowledge that. “I’m fine. Still tired, is all. I just need some…” the coffee scent wafts in the air—the same scent that always woke you up in a good mood these past six months—and you gag. “Oh fuck.”

Bradley’s voice calling out your name sounds distant as you dash towards the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet before you puke your guts out.

“Hey…” he holds your hair back with one hand while the other rubs your back patiently. Staying calm despite his head is running a mile a minute in panic. “What happened, sweetheart?”

Everything feels like hell from your mouth to your stomach, and you groan as you pull the flush. “I have no idea. I just… I could smell the coffee and suddenly…” you motion at the toilet. “I mean, what the fuck?”

He sighs, wiping off sweat from your forehead and brushing the strands of hair sticking on it. “Maybe it’s stress?” he guesses, although they both know it’s unlikely. You’ve been keeping it relatively chill since you got here. “Or a stomach bug? Or…”

You look up to find his brown eyes softly gazing at yours, in worry and concern and… “Or what?”

He grimaces almost apologetically, and you slowly catch what he means.

“No. No way. Nuh-uh.” you shake your head so quickly, you give yourself a headache. “I’m on birth control. I’ve never missed a day…” That’s not true. As the words leave your mouth, you remember the surprise trip Bradley took you to Big Sur one weekend where you forgot both your pills and condoms…

Fuck.

“Babe… What date is it?”

He stammers for a bit, “Um, the— it’s the 18th.”

You do the mental math, counting the time gap between today and the Big Sur trip, and your last period… and your eyes widen. Your head is swirling, and so is your stomach.

“Sweetheart, do you think you might be—”

Before he can say the damned word, you feel the bile rising again. Your pointer finger lifts up in wait, as you bury your face in the toilet and throw up once more.

His heart catches. You’ve talked about having a baby, and you’ve talked about wanting to have one… some time in the future. He didn’t expect it to happen so soon. Butterflies fill his stomach at the possibility of you carrying his baby right now at this very moment, but the sight of you looking so… defeated by your own body is enough to create a nasty pit in his gut.

“What can I get for you, baby?” he asks softly, caressing the back of your neck.

There’s absolutely nothing else to empty from your stomach at this point. It’s basically just water and dry heaving, and your eyes are tearing up from the terrible sensation.

“Ginger ale from the fridge…” you manage between heavy breaths, “...and some test packs from the pharmacy, please.”

“Okay, sure. Got it. Come on, let’s get you back to bed.” He offers both his hands and gently pulls you up. If he’s nervous or excited or both, he does a pretty good job of not showing it. He pulls up some tissues from the bathroom counter and wipes your mouth without batting an eye.

He lays you down on your side, getting you all nice and comfy, before disappearing into the kitchen, returning with a can of ginger ale and a puke bucket, just in case.

“Sweetheart?” his hand is soft and warm on your cheek, and his voice even more so. “Drink up. Hope it’ll settle your stomach a little bit.”

You sit up a little, and take small sips from the can. At least it helps alleviate the bitter aftertaste in your mouth.

“I put your phone on the bedside. Call me if you need me, alright? I’m just gonna run over to CVS. Be back before you know it.” He kisses your forehead, and you make a face in protest.

“I’m gross right now!”

“I don’t care,” he chuckles. “Just rest up. Love you.”

Of course he knows what to do. Picture perfect Bradley Bradshaw, who knows how to be caring without being overbearing. Who kisses your clammy forehead after you puke your guts out. Who is literally running to the nearest drugstore to get her pregnancy test packs right now, for fuck’s sake. He’s just… perfect.

You lie back down and smush your face into the pillow, faced with the fact that you’ll never be able to live up to that. And if you can’t… how the hell are you supposed to raise a child? How the hell are you supposed to pull your weight when your fiance can already do it so well?

“Babe?” He calls out upon entering the house a few short minutes later. “I’m back. I got the…” his words trail off as he walks into the bedroom and sees you in tears. His whole features soften up as he approaches you gingerly, sitting by your side. “Hey… what’s wrong?”

You shake your head as you sit up, sniffling a little. “What are those?” You nod at the paper bag he put down on the foot of the bed, hoping it’ll divert the conversation a little. It’s a little too big for just a bunch of pregnancy test sticks.

“The tests. And some snacks I thought might help with your stomach.”

And with that, the tears burn the corners of your eyes again and your lips quiver as they fail to hold back the cries.

“How are you so good at this?!”

He pauses in confusion, and then… it dawns on him. An amused glint appears in his eyes. “Are you… crying because I got a good bedside manner?”

Your hands fly up to your face, hiding it from view. “I’m not! Shut up!” You really were, but he didn’t have to say it like that… and your reaction only confirmed his speculation.

Bradley chuckles. God, he loves your silly little antics. “I mean, I had to take care of my mom all through high school, so…” he shrugs sheepishly.

You wipe your tears with the back of your hand. An uncomfortable awkwardness sets in as you remember his late mother’s terminal illness, right in the peak of his high school years. “Right. Sorry.”

“It’s okay, baby. I’m just… glad I’m doing it right?” He smiles in reassurance, wiping what’s left of your tears and kissing your nose. He lifts up the ginger ale can to your hand again. “You lost a lot of fluids to make up for. Drink up some more, and we’ll do the tests, yeah?”

You glance at the paper bag again, watching him fishing around… “How many pregnancy test packs did you get?”

“I got three just to be safe.”

You want to laugh, but you probably would’ve ransacked the test kits too, if you were the one to buy it. So instead, you nod slowly, ponderously. “Three is… three is good.”

You know how these test kits work, they’re all the same, but you insist on reading the instructions pamphlet anyway. With two other test kits to spare, Bradley simply takes another copy from another box to read.

“Pee on a stick, wait for up to 5 minutes.” You put down the pamphlet on the counter. “Easy enough.” You sigh like it’s the hardest thing you’ve ever had to do.

And it is. Every tick of the clock feels louder and farther from the one before, and you’re trying your damnedest not to look back onto the counter where the blue-tipped sticks are lined up. Inspecting it up close and see the lines that appear.

You sigh in exasperation, breaking the stilted silence. “I don’t even know what I’m hoping for, if I’m honest. Is that weird?”

He shakes his head a little. “Not at all. This is a weird situation to be in, I think it makes sense if we’re still not sure what we want.”

“Do you know what you’re hoping for?” You turn your head towards him. Maybe you’ll know it when you hear it.

“Honestly? No.” Yes. He knows exactly what he wants. He just doesn’t want to admit it and freak you out even more. “I’m just thinking about you. About us…”

“What about us?”

“Just that… whatever happens, we’ll figure it out together.”

Bless him. It would be infuriating if you weren’t so comforted by it. Leave it to Bradley to always know just the right thing to say.

And he means every word of it too. Yes, he wants a baby with you now, but you don’t, or if it doesn’t turn out to be now, then… he can stand to wait a little more. For as long as you need.

“How long do we have left?”

Bradley joins your gaze towards the nautical clock on the wall. A silly little gag gift you gave him last Christmas, for your favorite flying seaman.

“Three minutes and fifteen seconds…?”

“That’s about the average length of a pop song.”

He grins. “Exactly. One pop song, and we’ll find out.”

You nod. Listening to the tick, tick, tick of the clock. It drones on and on, and it seems to lull slower as it goes. Fuck Einstein and his theory of relativity. You pick the first random song that pops into your head and holds onto it for dear life. It’s your only way of keeping track of the time, at this point.

“I took my love, I took it down…” you sing under your breath, tentatively.

Bradley snorts. “It’s a good song.” That’s an understatement. He adores Fleetwood Mac, and this is the first song he learned on the guitar when he was 10.

“Climbed a mountain and I turned around…” you throw him a side-eye, a more than obvious invitation to join you.

Bradley has his eyes closed, though. But he nods along and sings along in his warm voice, “And I saw my reflection in the snow-covered hill…”

“‘Til the landslide brought me down.”

The two of you are singing with your whole chests now, belting out the chorus to drown out your nerves, forcing yourself to stay on tempo even when you feel like rushing it to the end. Right now, it’s more like Nick Miller’s nervous singing from New Girl than a beautiful bathroom jam session, but you don’t care. Bradley is vocalizing the guitar solo part like the back of his hand, playing the air guitar and everything, and you’re so, so happy that out of all the people in the world, you’re doing this with him.

And at that moment, you realize that your worries earlier today were misguided. Yes, Bradley knows how to take care of you, and he probably knows a thing or two about babies. But he’s on your side. He’ll be pulling the weight with you. Being good parents is not a competition—you know he’ll cheer you on like he is doing right now. He knows you’ll do the same for him, too.

Well I’ve been afraid of changes

‘cause I’ve built my life around you

But time makes you bolder, even children get older

and I’m getting older too

You didn’t notice it at first, but Bradley also softens up on the final chorus, lost in his own thoughts. He has built his life on self-preservation, protecting himself from the lies of the people he loved, and depriving him of the love and family he’s always wanted. But maybe it’s age or the wounds healing (or you swooping into his life at just the right moment)… but he’s not gonna live forever. He knows in his heart of hearts that he wants this baby. He wants this life with you.

When you ask him to look and tell you the results, he doesn’t even flinch. He just nods, kissing your temple as he reaches for all three test kits behind you. His hand shakes a little as he picks them up, though, flipping to see the indicator side. One line for negative, two for positive.

And there it is.

“They’re…” his throat catches, his face unreadable. “They’re all positive…”

“What?”

He shows you the test kits, two blue lines all across the board. His voice wavers, with tears and smiles at the same time. “We’re having a baby.”

“Oh my God…” you walk into his arms in a daze, still not sure what you’re feeling. Are you relieved because you simply know the answer, or relieved because it’s true? Are you terrified because you want it or you don’t?

Bradley cups your face with both hands, tucking unruly strands of hair behind your ear. His brown eyes brimming with tears, blurry as he admires your beauty. The mother of his child. Gosh, he can’t believe his luck.

“How do you feel, honey?”

It tugs at your heartstrings, just how soft he is. So brave, and so gentle at the same time. You have no idea what kind of parent you would be, but you know he would make a great one. “Shocked,” you admit. He nods. “Scared.” This time, you’re a bit embarrassed, but he completely empathizes. “But…” you put your hand over his, closing your eyes as you lean your cheek against his palm, so warm and soft and right, “…happy.”

***

And after two months of a relatively slow life, things are going from zero to 100 very quickly.

Bradley manages to duck out of work early and take you to the doctor that very afternoon. Everything seems to be in order. The baby is, indeed, there— a 7-week-old blob as big as a blueberry with a heartbeat.

Heartbeat.

Your heart all but stops beating when you first hear it, much stronger than you thought it would. But there it is. Strong. Alive.

There.

“That’s… that’s our baby…” You choke up, staring at the ultrasound screen in awe. His hand brings yours to his lips for a loving kiss.

Gosh, you must’ve cried about six times that day. Bradley twice as much (He would deny it to his grave, but you kept count.)

And then, once the novelty wears off a little and the new situation sets in… the two of you get to work.

Bradley updates the entire kitchen inventory and goes into a research (or, as you like to call it, a rabbit hole) into what you can or cannot consume during your pregnancy. You’re constantly on the phone with your agent to rearrange your schedule for the next year (he sounds happy that you’re expecting, but a little inconvenienced that he has to move some things around and even cancel your involvement in a few projects). Conversation topics at mealtimes now include baby names, nursery ideas, and childcare plans.

Bradley comes home to you huddled over your laptop one evening, brows knitted in focus. The AC is cranked up to the max in the summer heat, and you’re all bundled up in the throw blanket. He wants to squee over how cute you look. He puts down the takeout bag of Pad Thai on the coffee table.

“Whatcha got there, my little cocoon?”

“Insurance, mostly.” You look up to kiss him briefly, before you continue typing on. “I’ve been talking to them all afternoon, going through the birth plans and sorting everything out. Very exciting stuff.”

“Hell yeah! Paperwork! The thrill of calling up an insurance company on a Tuesday!” Bradley counters your deadpan with an overexcited cheer, flopping himself on the spot next to you with another big kiss. “Anything I can help you with?”

“Well,” you take a thoughtful deep breath, going through your mental to-do list and realizing… you’re pretty much all set. “How about a back massage?” You give him the puppy eyes, as if you needed it in the first place.

“Copy that, Ma’am.” He throws her a lazy salute and tugs the throw blankets off of you. He starts on your shoulders, noticing the tension under your skin. “Jeez, babe. How long have you been hunched over here?”

Before you can answer him, he’s already working the knots on the base of your neck, you don’t even know you were so tense there, and you respond with a resounding moan.

He raises his eyebrows. “I’ll… take that as a compliment, then.” He grins, ever so proud that he’s eliciting these sounds out of you.

It’s not like you were playing it up or anything. You really were tense, and his hands really do feel good. And while it does make you moan and sigh blissfully, it’s hardly your fault that it makes him think of something else, right?

“Baby…” his voice sounds like a gentle warning.

“Yes?”

His hands stop. “Don’t test me.”

“Oh, okay. Would you prefer this instead?” you grunt oafishly, a piss-poor impression of him in bed, “Fuck baby, that’s it. That’s it. Good girl…”

“Hey!” he pokes his fingers to your side and cage you in his arms so you have nowhere to go. Nowhere to avoid his ministrations.

You giggle uncontrollably, squirming as he gets on top of you, peppering kisses all over your face. A mere distraction to his real tickle attacks. “Stop! Stop! Roo-roo!”

He pins your arms over your head, his cheeks tinged pink with mischief now. “Yield?”

“I’m willing to negotiate.” You flash him a coy smirk.

He frowns. Go on.

You raise an eyebrow. You know what I’m talking about.

He raises his, mirroring you. Interesting…

You tilt your head slightly. Well?

And just like that…

“Deal.”

Your lips meet each other halfway in a searing kiss. The pregnancy hormones are kicking in in full gear, and you’re needier. Much needier than you already are. You want Bradley all the time, in whatever form he’s in, in whatever situation you are in. He knows this, and he finds this endlessly adorable. He would poke fun at you for that…

If only he wasn’t so god-fucking-damned enamored by you for it.

He tears off your dress, reveling in the sheer sight of you. Your curves growing softer, more pronounced in the past month alone. The very subtle but steadfast roundness of your belly. Your breasts, as they grow fuller and—

“Oh…” you whimper as he rolls your nipple between your fingers.

More sensitive to the touch.

“God, you’re so beautiful like this…” he leans down to kiss you again; on the mouth, and on the neck… his tongue gliding across your collarbones, forming the shape of your mounds, one after another…

“Roo, take me to bed…”

“Or what, lose me forever?”

He grazes the outer parts of your nipple with his teeth and teasingly licks at the hardened tops, and you cry out. Such a small little thing, but you feel the sensation in your fingertips.

Bradley smiles. A soft look despite how the situation is escalating. “C’mere, baby.”

With your legs wrapped around his waist, he lifts you up off of the couch. You think it’s just to get you up on your feet, but then he’s not letting go. “You’re not seriously thinking about carrying me all the way upstairs, right?” A teasing frown sets on your face as he hauls you out of the living room.

“Are you assuming that I can’t carry my beautifully pregnant wife to our room?”

“I’m not your wife yet, you know— oh shit!” He pins you against the wall right by the stairs, one hand cradling the back of your head, ever so caring.

He mouths your neck in teasing, his breath fanning against your bare skin. “No? So I don’t have to perform my husbandly duties now, since you’re not my wife?”

It’s kind of hot… but you can’t help but make a face at his choice of words. “You need to stop watching Downton Abbey. Just say ‘fuck.’ It’s not that hard.”

He pulls away, his comeback locked and loaded and ready to go. “You can’t tell me what to do. Who are you, my wife or something?”

“Ugh!” your jaw falls open in a mock offended expression, and you smack his ass playfully.

In turn, he squeezes yours back. Tight. Possessive. There’s a shift in his gaze, a tiny sliver, a darkening—the kind that makes you feel even more naked than you already are. You look at him with unbridled lust, and he kisses you like it’s the only way he can breathe. Like he’s been holding his breath until he can get his hands on you.

And by God, you would let him have all the air you have left to give.

He carries up to the bedroom slowly, carefully, and you hold onto him tight. Reveling in how strong he’s built, all muscles and abs and everything, and how gentle he handles you as he sets you down on the edge of the bed. The epitome of a gentleman, as he kneels down between your legs.

You can feel the heat emanating from him—or is it you?— and you try to unbutton his khaki uniform. “Baby, don’t you wanna take off your…” your words die out as his chest moves out of reach. There is only his hair between your thighs.

His tongue between your folds.

“Fuuuuck…” you bite through your teeth. And once his finger joins in, you’re done for.

You make no effort to hold back your obscene moans, but the wet sounds coming from your pussy are still louder. Your face grows hot as the noise bounces through your bedroom walls.

Bradley pulls his mouth away for a moment, smirking devilishly at you from between his legs. “Well well well… What’s got you this soaking wet, honey?”

You bite your lip, trying to keep it together. But you’re teetering dangerously closer to your release, and you whine out, “You, Daddy…”

He chuckles darkly. “Daddy’s got you all worked up, huh?” The use of the moniker has significantly increased since the news of your pregnancy, but you’re hardly complaining. It does hit different now that he’s actually gonna be one. “I’ve been home for two minutes, and you’re already dripping down your legs…” he slaps the inside of your thigh and you’re keeling into it. “So fucking cute.”

He watches you fuck yourself on his fingers and it makes you dizzy. “Please…”

“Please what?” His mustache tickles your clit, and it drives you wild. “Please stop?”

You whimper in protest.

He adds another finger into you, and raises an expectant eyebrow. This fucking asshole. A snide remark sits right at the tip of your tongue, but the only thing that comes out is,

“Please fuck me.”

He stops, straightening up with an intrigued look about him. Then, being a little shit, he comes back up to you with a kiss. “Good girl. There we go. That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

You taste yourself on his lips, his mustache wet from your arousal, too. In any other case, you would be more proactive, more feral in returning his sentiment—tearing off his clothes and stuffing your mouth full of his cock. But lately you’ve been feeling more… submissive. So easily drunk on climax that you just surrender your pleasure to your man, knowing he’ll take care of you.

Bradley stands up to his full height, towering over you. He toes off his shoes, unbuttoning his uniform. It’s hardly a striptease routine, but there’s something insanely hot about him undressing when he’s about to fuck you.

His shirt drops to the floor, and the white undershirt soon joins. You perk up at the sound of his belt unbuckling, pants rustling down. And as his hard cock springs free from his boxers, you swallow thickly at the sight.

“You ready?” He pumps his fist around his hard-on a few times, as he settles between your legs, still standing on the side of the bed.

A quiet little please escapes you, and then a gasp, as he pulls your hips to the edge of the bed. Lining up his cock against your entrance. He’s big, and your pussy is still aching after he edged you moments ago. It’s gonna be a tight fit.

“Honey, go slow. Please. Slowslowslowslow… ahh!” His cock slides into you in one swift movement, sending a blinding wave of pain and pleasure as it stretches you out.

He doesn’t tear his eyes off of you. He watches your face fall under his undoing, and he moans. “You feel so good, baby…” he says between heavy breaths. You’re always so strong and bold and ballsy, and it gives him a fucking power trip to see you look so… small taking on his cock.

You let out a pathetic whimper as he starts to shallowly thrust in and out of you.

“What is it, baby?” He coos, caressing your hip gently.

“Y’too big…”

“Too big?” Bradley looks down to level your gaze, a seed of a shit-eating grin plastered on his stupid face. “You want me to stop? Is that what you want?”

“No!” You buck up into him as soon as his hips halt, desperately trying to maintain the pace.

He chuckles, that cocky fuck, before he finally continues driving his dick up your inner walls again. “No? You want me to keep stretching you, then?”

You nod. Every thrust feels bigger, deeper, more than the rest, hitting that spot of pleasure just barely, and you’re willing to do anything to stay there.

“Been so needy since I got you pregnant…” he kisses your neck. “Want Daddy more now that I made you a mommy, huh?”

Fuck. The words—the exact order of the words he said sounds batshit insane. You never considered this kind of dirty talk to be hot, but Jesus…

“God, I can’t wait to see your belly all big and round… your tits too, fuck…” he groans as he squeezes your soft flesh, rubbing your nipples with his thumb. “Gonna be a mommy and show everyone who you belong to, huh?”

“Mmh…” You’ve seen Bradley being possessive, and you’ve seen him tap into his primal side, but not like this. This is a whole other beast, and it shocks you how much it turns you on.

“All mine, huh?”

“I’m all yours, Daddy. I’m—fuck. Fuck!” Your whole body is shaking. The band in your core is wound up so tight, and it’s threatening to snap.

And through it all, he doesn’t let up. Bradley keeps that rhythm, pounding into you hard and deep. “Shit, that’s it… that’s it, baby. Come on my cock. God, you’re so fucking tight…”

There’s no stopping it now… your pussy gushes and clenches around him, as shocks of pleasure wave through your system. Your mind goes blank, and for a hot second, nothing is registering in your brain. Nothing but your man, as obscenely as he is fucking your brains out right now,

“Need your cum inside me, Roo…”

“Don’t wanna come anywhere else. Just you, just your pussy…” he breathes out. He’s close, that much you can tell. His pace is erratic and his mouth runs wild. “Gonna keep pumping you full of my cum. Gonna keep fucking babies into you until you can’t anymore.”

You would laugh. You would tease him for being such a caveman about it. But as he comes deep inside you, his hips stuttering one, two, three more times as he rides out his orgasm… you don’t only surrender to the idea; you welcome it.

Maybe you’re completely fucked out. Maybe you’re going soft and mellow, but nothing—and you mean nothing— is hotter than what he wants to do to you.

What he is doing to you now.

The room falls into a pleasant silence as you come down from your high. Bradley pulls out of you, and you gush out with your own release and his. His mouth falls open in awe. “Fuck, that’s hot…”

“Huh?” You lift your head from the bed, trying to see what he’s looking at.

“Nah, it’s just…” he shakes his head with a grin. “Good thing we’re already pregnant, huh? If we weren’t, that might’ve just done the trick.”

You roll your eyes as he gives you a sweet peck on the cheek. “I think the dirty talk alone was enough to do it.”

He blushes, a deep shade of red. He absolutely can’t take it when you quote back the things he said to you during sex. “Nope! Not a single word. La-la-la-la…” he closes his ears with his fingers, waddling over to the bathroom comically.

The sound of water trickling into the toilet coincides with your laugh in the bedroom… and then it gets drowned out with the flush. It’s a mundane little snapshot of your intimate lives together.

He comes up to you and offers his hands. “Come on…” he helps you get up. “You go ahead and clean up. I’ll change the sheets.”

Leave it up to Bradley, to always take initiatives to do the small things, like changing the sheets and ushering your ass to the bathroom after sex.

As you clean up and put on some clothes in the bathroom, Bradley singing Take My Breath Away to himself in the other room, you wonder how all of this will turn out. Change is inevitable—your belly is getting bigger, this new stage of relationship is getting more real— and you’re desperate to get a grasp on these things. It’s strange to be so anxious after such a lovely evening. But it’s been so good so far… too good, maybe… and you can’t help but wonder if the other shoe might drop.

“Everything alright?” Bradley pops up by the bathroom door, already in sweatpants and a t-shirt. You must’ve been in there for a while.

You nod absently. “Yeah, just… changing.” And you’re not sure whether you’re talking about the clothes you just put on, or the body you inhabit.

“I think you look beautiful,” he says so simply. Wrapping his arms around you, feeling your small bump. He smiles into your hair and whispers, “My beautiful wife…”

“Not your wife yet…” you remind him pointedly, teasingly. It’s one of your favorite pastimes, keeping him on his toes.

He turns you around to face him, a tender look seemingly permanent on his face whenever he sees you these days. “I mean, you’re here, with me, in our house, carrying our baby…” he kisses your nose, “As far as I’m concerned, that makes you my wife, doesn’t it?”

Well, when he puts it like that… you take a deep sigh, not hating the idea. But not quite ready to concede to his argument yet. “Apart from a piece of paper.”

“Ah well. That can easily be arranged, hmm?”

Truth be told, he’s got a point. The only differentiating factor to your status right now is a little certificate, and both your signatures on the dotted lines. Not a big party or a horrendously expensive dress that everybody would have an opinion on. And to be more truthful, it was never what you wanted in the first place.

You only ever want to be together.

And you’re free to decide how you want to be together.

“Should we just do it?”

“What?”

You look up at him with a tentative smile.

His eyes light up, and his heart leaps. “I mean, sure.” He chuckles. “We can go down to the courthouse. Or, hell, I’ll drive us to Vegas right now.”

It gets a giggle out of you. Of course he would jump at the opportunity to marry you right away. “Or… we can just celebrate it with our closest friends and family? Rent a beach house somewhere, and just… make a fun weekend out of it?”

“And just… what, get a justice of the peace to marry us?”

You shrug with an easy smile. “Or we can make Mav cry and ask him to officiate.”

He chuckles, but trails off as it sinks in. It has never occurred to him that that was an option. He’s always imagined it the traditional way. A church ceremony followed by a reception in a hall somewhere. Walking under the arch of swords. Looking dapper in his dress uniform. But with his work obligations and yours, and all the nightmare logistics of guest numbers and venues and entertainment and the fucking publicity that comes with your fame, both of you are well aware that it’s a hassle.

And it’s not even the most important part.

The most important part is you. You’d be the one meeting him at the altar. You’d be the one saying your vows and making him cry happy tears.

You would be the one.

For him.

Forever.

“Let’s do it.” Bradley nods resolutely. “Just you, me, and our closest people. We can get married in our jammies, for all I care.”

“Maybe not jammies…” you roll your eyes in amusement. “I still wanna look nice for our wedding, you know.”

“You look nice in your jammies.” He glances down at your tank top.

“Roo.” You cover his line of sight indignantly.

But he tugs your hand away, eyes still glued to what is arguably one of his favorite sights in the world. Your cleavage. Plays it off really coolly as he teases you. “No, no. I’m serious. You look really nice in your jammies. I really wouldn’t object to—”

You swat his hand, only half-serious. “Bradley.”

“Alright, fine!” He raises his hands in surrender. “So long as I get to call you my wife.”

“Not your wife yet…” you saunter out of the bathroom, knowing full well he doesn’t care.

To be completely honest, you’re not even sure that you do, either.

#bradley bradshaw #bradley bradshaw imagine #bradley bradshaw smut #bradley bradshaw x reader #rooster imagine #rooster smut #rooster x reader #the actress & the aviator #ava writes #top gun maverick

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inawearyworld · 4 months

Text

free if you truly wish to be: chapter iv

shit goes DOWN. as y'all have probably gathered. bc. yknow. the plot of the movie. but first there's a song yayyyyyyyyy

2023!wonka x oc, this chapter ~2.5k

god, i love musicals.

(edit: realized after posting that i was looking at the wrong page of the screenplay while writing this and therefore royally screwed up the song structure of a world of your own but it’s fiiiiiiine)

once again, thank you mat for that interview taking a typical one-dimensional dahl villain and letting him be a more complex character. also i should probably throw a content warning on this one for depiction of a slightly abusive relationship

but i promise everything's gonna be okay soon-happy new year everyone!!

part three fic masterlist part five

While going through a time of personal growth involving trying to unravel one’s identity from that of one’s rich and powerful husband, it often happens that there are advantages to said husband being wrapped in worry over a new business rival-and, therefore, spending far more time at the office.

Wren’s favorite advantage at the present moment was that she was the only one to watch the mail come in.

Deep purple stationery was the signal she looked for-and steadily received, then returned with her own emerald letters-every day. The notes included scrawled updates regarding the operation to allow the earnest young chocolatier his day in the sun, anecdotes about the group of launderers that supported it (who she’d snuck out to meet often enough that they now felt like a second family), tales of a mysterious orange man, and exchanges of advice, witticisms, and Shakespeare quotes.

The handwriting was inexperienced, and there were more than a fair share of spelling errors toward the start of their correspondence, but she didn’t care a whit.

We’ve got the shop, Willy had written one day. For now, the task is digging through its decrepit debris and designing its decoration. (The credit for those words goes to Noodle-she says hello.) There are so many possibilities, I barely know where to start.

Start with the “why”, Wren wrote back. That’s what I always do. If there’s a piece I’m struggling to sing and I lose motivation to practice, I go back to the reasons I love the piece, even all the way back to the reasons I love the arts in the first place. Maybe there’s something in there for your shop-what made you want to share your chocolate with the world? (And hello to you too, Noodle!)

My dear Wren, came the reply, you’ve just given me the best of ideas.

He told her then about his mother and the inspiration she provided. Wren would be lying if she’d said a tear hadn’t fallen onto that particular letter.

As for how to keep him safe from the Cartel, police, and every other corrupt authority, Wren did her part by becoming Florence again whenever necessary. She acted less suspicious around her husband, leading him to be less secretive-although the gain in information was miniscule, it was better than nothing.

Felix’s rages would range anywhere from tittering, jealous rants to scheming monologues during which his whole being seemed to take on a lower, darker, more calculating tone. She’d listen carefully to all of these, tactfully calling out anything that might get him to consider he was wrong, but that had little to no effect.

Plan B, then, she’d realized, is all I can do.

So, whenever Felix seemed particularly incensed or just on the verge of coming up with how to destroy his rival, Florence would swoop in with wine and dark lipstick and a low-cut dress. She’d endure being his caged pet songbird, his doll, his perfect plaything, only because she had the growing feeling that things were about to change.

If Willy’s shop becomes successful enough to be completely undeniable, maybe the Cartel will finally acknowledge him as an equal. Maybe I’ll finally be seen as an equal, too. Maybe things will finally be truly fine.

So, night after night, she’d sit on her husband’s lap, twirl his tie, and kiss his neck until he’d forgotten the name of Wonka.

The same could not be said for her.

Due to just how glamorized she always had to be while in public, it didn’t take much to come up with disguise enough to be able to visit the new shop on its opening day.

With a fluttering sense of hope, Wren approached the fourth building of the Galeries Gourmet, blending in seamlessly with the sea of soon-to-be-wonderstruck passers-by. She cast a few nervous glances to the window of the Fickelgruber office, at which the man stood in his usual stance. There was no chance, though, of his recognizing her trademark ginger flame amongst the crowd; it was safely tucked under a dark, low-brimmed hat.

This could have set her mind at ease, but the fact that he looked even more smug than usual as he surveyed the ground below him made her nervous.

Did they plan something?

She was distracted from this worry by a sudden flash of color at the long-empty shop’s door. Willy Wonka stepped through, looking more himself than she could have ever imagined. He addressed the crowd with a flourish, and she marveled at his ability to combine showmanship with authenticity.

He took a skeptical older man’s arm, leading him to the shop’s entrance, and began to sing.

All at once, the shop transformed before all of their eyes, flooding with color, and the music settled into a sparking pulse that thrilled Wren to the core.

Willy grinned, fully in his element, and the doorway went dark. Gloved hands presented chocolate wonders as their creator sang them into existence. When he lit a match, the store seemed to come alive, and Wren gasped.

If his letter was anything to go by, the sight he had created was an homage to his childhood on his mother’s boat, brought to life in a way nearly too beautiful to be true.

Willy and the other man danced up a bridge of sorts as his song continued, proudly offering his shop as a world for each of his customers to call their own. Overtaken and lifted by the enchanting environment, Wren squealed with the rest of the crowd and ran into the shop, ripping the hat from her head and allowing her auburn curls to tumble freely down.

She threw her head back and laughed aloud. Her lack of makeup, and plain blouse and skirt replacing the usual emerald-colored finery, gave her assurance that she wouldn’t be recognized here; this was the closest thing she’d experienced to liberation in a very long while, and she relished it, along with the sweetly simple soar of Willy’s voice across his song.

When she looked up at him again, he was sitting on the boat that floated on the circling chocolate river, and she noticed he’d already been staring with a sideways grin. As the bassline that came from nowhere launched into a rollicking chromatic vamp, he tipped his hat to her, and she gave an enamored wave.

The second verse passed, and suddenly he’d reached her, extending a hand which she took without a second thought. He helped her onto the boat, then pulled her alarmingly close, but before she could say a thing about it, a cloud of smoke appeared around them.

Wren blinked and realized that she and Willy were now at the base of the massive chocolate tree in the center of the shop.

“How did you-”

But he only smiled and started to dance his way up the tree.

“A world of your own,” he sang, then gestured an invitation straight towards her.

This’ll be easy enough, she thought, nearly bursting with joy.

“A place to escape to,” she continued, running farther up the tree to meet him in the middle. His expression filled with awe upon finally hearing her sing, and they began a whirling back-and-forth.

“A world of your own-”

“-where you can be free!”

“Wherever you go, wherever life takes you…”

“This is your home,” she sang to him, twirling herself into his arms and beaming with pride. He’s found it-he’s created it.

“A world of your own,” they finished. He looked at her for a moment, seeming struck, then kissed her hand and disappeared through the branches of the tree to continue with the song’s bridge. She let out a dazed and happy breath, taking a moment to let her gaze roam the shop from her perch in the chocolate tree.

She didn’t know what would happen next, but she’d be damned if she wouldn’t let herself enjoy this moment.

What did happen next was…as an understatement, not what any of them had hoped.

She wished she could say it was a complete surprise, and she wished she could have done more to stop it. The candy started having disastrous effects, the customers understandably balked, and it was clearly not Willy’s fault in the least. In a blur, the shop was in ruins, and Wren sat in shock with the little group who’d worked so hard to make it magical.

The candyman himself was devastated; not just by the massive setback, but by the absence of his mother’s spirit. Wren and Noodle sat by his side, but Abacus ushered them up. It broke Wren’s heart to think of leaving him like this-if the truest and most trusting dreamer on Earth can be broken down, where’s the hope for the rest of us?-but she somehow still felt she had to follow the group out.

She felt a hug around her waist and a held-back sob, and looked down to see Noodle clinging onto her. Wren immediately knelt to her level and hugged the girl close, finding it hard now to keep back her own tears.

“Terrible shame what-”

“Florence?”

Slowly, she opened her eyes, her breath dropping to the floor.

Slugworth had spoken first, a smooth and practiced opening to what would have turned into a gloat. The voice that had interrupted him was genuinely shaken and clearly belonging to her husband.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered to Noodle, who nodded. “You can go, you shouldn’t have to see this-”

“Florence,” his voice came again, at a loss. She took a breath, stood up, and faced him with tears in her voice.

“Hi, Felix.”

Silence.

Slugworth looked with growing puzzlement between the woman and the girl, and Felix could only stare at his wife with dawning realization.

“You’ve been working with him,” he said simply, every usual quirk of inflection having vanished.

For a moment, the wash crew surrounded her in an attempt at a shield, and she heaved a breath to keep back a sob-of fear, of gratefulness for these friends that had become family over the past weeks, of everything suddenly crashing down.

“I’ll be okay,” she said quietly to the wash crew and perhaps to myself. “You all should go. Like you were going to. I’m sorry.”

They didn’t move.

She looked at Piper, whose worried hand was on her arm. There was an unspoken vow of protection between the women in that moment, but Wren’s eyes pleaded, so Piper nodded sadly, took Noodle’s hand, and the group left.

Wren was almost afraid to look at Willy, but she did; the boy was staring at the old chocolate bar in his hands, looking as if he could barely process a thing.

The sympathy in her gaze must have been far too obvious, because she suddenly heard footsteps, felt a hard grip on her wrist, and gasped in pain as it was yanked up and backwards.

“Darling,” Felix hissed with a sinister edge, though his voice was breaking, “I don’t know how or why this betrayal-”

“Betrayal?” she finally cried out, breaking free from his grasp as Willy rushed between them. “You lot have just poisoned dozens of innocent people, all for a business rivalry, and I won’t-”

“If you want your family not to starve, you had better lower your voice,” he barked.

Every speck of air seemed to leave the room.

“...My family?”

“I may have been distracted enough for the past weeks to ignore the mail that came in and out of our house, but I had not always been that blind. I thought your compassion to be an incomprehensible gesture, but I let it slide. When I felt like it.”

…They haven’t gotten everything I’ve sent.

They haven’t-

“In fact,” he continued, “it served as what was almost a pleasant reminder of the truth. For your family, for your stupid dream, and for your sweetly dependent soul-you need me.”

“If you knew I was poor, why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because it’s the same way for me!”

This was the peak of what had been a building explosion, and this was the moment in which they both remembered there were other people in the room.

“What?” the four besides him breathed, almost in unison.

“Oh, you heard right,” Felix launched into speech, the characteristic gestures starting to work their way back into him. “I came from nearly nothing, just the same. But I did what I had to do to climb to the top. I cast them all away, left my old life behind completely, and I suppose it was a foolish hope to think my wife would do the same. But she-but you-you are nothing but a guileless, deceitful bleeding heart.”

“I…”

Tears blurred her vision.

“I am…genuinely sorry that you felt you had to hide your past, but that doesn’t excuse trying to make the rest of the world match your insecurity and fit your little chocolate mold. And if that makes me a bleeding heart…I’m proud of the title.”

For a moment, the man looked as if he would allow his wife’s words to affect him.

Then his face, normally so expressive, turned completely cold.

She’d lost him.

She’d never truly had him to lose.

But she looked at Willy, and she thought of the wash crew, and she realized she finally had a truer support system. And if she could try to start over, find some other way to earn money to send to her family without interception, and some other way to reach the dreams that felt so far away at the moment, she knew Felix would be wrong: she didn’t need him.

After a long silence, Slugworth cleared his throat.

“Get her out of here. We have business with Mr. Wonka.”

What?

Her and the younger man’s eyes widened, and they grabbed each other’s hands on instinct, but a small number of policemen came around the corner of the shop door at Slugworth’s order. They clamped hands on her shoulders and dragged her away from Willy as the Cartel stood silently and watched.

“Wait-wait, no, I-”

“Wren-”

She struggled, fought, kicked, but was forced into the backseat of a police car-

“Let me go, you corrupt bastards-”

“Wren-”

“Let me-”

“Just drop her somewhere in town,” Felix said coolly. “Somewhere that isn’t my home.”

“WREN!”

The car door was slammed, and the last thing she saw was the Cartel advancing on a dazed Willy, opening a suitcase of cash.

All she could do was scream, and the scream turned into a cry.

They did indeed drop her somewhere. She burst out of the car the second it had stopped, and the officers drove away without a word.

Sick with worry and trying to regain her breath, she looked around, almost fainting with relief when she saw the laundry building. Piper, having heard the commotion, stood outside, and they looked at each other for a moment before Wren fell sobbing into her arms.

This is not over.

#fiytwtb #wonka movie #wonka 2023 #wonka #willy wonka x reader #timothée chalamet #timothee x reader #timothee chalamet fic #timothee chalamet fanfiction #timothee chalamet #wonka x reader #timothée chalamet x reader #wonka fanfiction #wonka fanfic #mat baynton #mathew baynton #mathew baynton x reader #mat baynton x reader

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amourduloup · 3 months

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dear mari,

i just thougt of this documentary again and i'm curious whether you've seen it. it's about two brothers who have always been very close and share the same trauma. after one of them gets in a motorcycle accident, he wakes up remembering nothing except from his brother. he relies on his brother to teach him everything: how to ride a bike but also which people he is close is to and what his relationships look like. his brother is very aware of him not remembering the trauma they share and decides not to tell him about it, because he still suffers from it and wants to give his brother a new life, one without tainted memories.

i think the story is so delicately told. the way a brother raises his brother for the second time. trying to fill the holes in his memory with attention and love, but causing harm in his attempts to protect him. i felt so moved by it the first time i watched it and i think it might move you too.

much love!

(trigger warning: trauma and abuse)

Hello, dear 💖

Yes, I did watch that movie (and just rewatched it after reading your message). Actually, the person who first recommended it to me was my mom! I remember talking about it briefly on my blog at the time, or maybe I talked about it directly with a couple of mutuals.

It's such a sad and moving story. It says something about memory that feels strangely relatable. Something that stood out to me is that Alex (the one who forgets) wants to know exactly what happened not only to understand his own personal history, but because the secrecy separates them, and sharing it would bring them back together again. Marcus (the one who remembers) wants to give him the gift of a made up, happy childhood, but it makes Alex feel alone. They both emphasize that they see themselves as two parts of the same person, and this gap between them was eating at their insides.

One always wonders what it would mean to forget. Is it suddenly like it never happened or is there something that will be there always, even if you can't understand what it is? There are things we don't remember, and yet we know they're there.

I like that not much time was given to detail the abuse, and the documentary really focuses on the twins' relationship and how they finally overcome this horrible secret and find their way back to each other. I mean, they never stopped living side by side, but it's clear that they both felt there was an estrangement between them because they couldn't talk about what happened. Alex tells Marcus at the end that they're together again — they call the documentary a love story between two brothers, moreso than a story of abuse.

It's interesting that they worked through this by writing articles and books and, finally, making a documentary; that Marcus could only talk about if in front of a camera. It's like they needed these structures of storytelling. (Like how Alex became fascinated with photography; Marcus used photos to create a fake childhood; they found a picture that unravelled everything.)

A sad curiosity: they actually have two other siblings, a brother and a sister. At least one of them, their brother, was similarly abused but thought it'd only happened with him. He must've been so lonely. At times, watching the documentary, I was almost jealous of Marcus and Alex for having each other.

Thank you for thinking of me and sending me this message, dear. I hadn't thought about their story in a while, and there's something so moving about it.

#and i did not remember just how prominent tree imagery was #there's a shot of branches surrounding the shed... of course there is.

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ganondoodle · 1 year

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so, i have thought more about what we now know about botw2 and honestly, setting aside the smaller things i am not a fan of (like the building aspect) my biggest gripes about it are the plot looking like its gonna be very generic, especially regarding ganondorf, while i hoped it would perhaps finally give us a little more interesting take instead good vs evil; and the oh so mysterious figure you see in in the trailer very likely to be hylia, since shes mentioned constantly in the first game (among other things like her design being pretty much a carbon copy of zelda for the most boring reasons imaginable)

and no its not just bc of my stupid little fanworks (that i do bc i love the franchise, as much as i am critical of it, it comes from being very passionate about it, hence me working my fan lore around the canon so it doesnt disturb it much, its more meant to expand it on parts i think are a little lacking without me trying to sound superior, literally just as an act of love (and a little spite ill admit that) to add something to it)- BUT bc i have little hope they would do anything more than just going full blown "this monstrous beast is pure inherently evil, and this is the pure inherently good white little girl goddess whos just protecting her god given perfect and unshakable good tm monarchy" with no little to no nuance (theres also alot more to be critical of the general structure and implications like racism, orientalism, nationalism, that while i can see alot of wrong or questionable things in the games i lack the eloquence to talk about in its full range) yes i am personally biased bc i just .. hate that kind of story/worldbuilding structure, but i dont think im the only one who would think of it as boring and .. disappointing?

i dont need ganondorf to be redeemed, i dont need him to be the good himbo bf that some people think all ganondorf stans want, i just want him to be more than to shout "i will conquor this kingdom bc i am evil and want it" and send a horde of monsters after you, at the very least id want the game to just aknowledge that there must be a reason for it, why it turned out like this

the zelda series and its world has so much potential, which is probably a reason for its popularity in fanworks, but also keeps not using it, no i dont expect a company like nintendo to deliver on all my hopes, of course not, im not that delusional, but the further i think and learn about this universe and concepts they created i find myself asking "why" more and more where the games never elaborate, never question

i like a clear structure, i like when your choices dont have a big or any impact on the story bc i want to live the story, not worry about every decision like i already do every second of my life IRL, i want to partake in a movie, in a theater piece i can influence the pace of but not change the outcome, yet i feel kind of ... ignored? let down? asking why and how, how do they know this is right and this is wrong, how do they keep enacting this seeing it never works out, keep saying defeat this evil, but evil yet returns stronger than before over and over, how do they never ask "is this the right way?", they say "we need to kill it more next time"

i know they are fictional little characters made up to sell a game, with a convevient plot point to ever repeat the same structure, but it cant be wrong to say "i love this world, i want to see and know more, i want to see it grow and change, break the cycle and be better, show me characters not puppets"

theres very surely nuances and ideas i am sorely missing bc i lack the knowledge of japanese as a language, culture, and mythology, but i dont think it invalidates all that i feel for it ..

.. right?

#ganondoodles talks #botw2 #tloz totk #rambling #long post #just to comment on the building aspect again #i think i dislike it so much bc it feels like the zelda world might be heading towards a too modern one #i dont like how alot of series of all entertainment treat industrialization as inevitable #that every world will have cars and planes and phones the way we have #botw took some modern concepts and very elegantly remade them into something that fits and doesnt feel out of place #maybe im just boring #maybe i just dont like alot about the world we live in and it pains me to see the escapist relief of it be turned into a copy of it #maybe im just autistic and think too much about stuff that doesnt matter #lmao #or something

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volturiwolf · 2 years

Text

Redemption - An Embry Call x vampire!fem!Reader Story - Part 5

A/N: I know you didn't ask for Embry, but, in honour of your birthday @ghostofscarley, I'm uploading this part of the story, because I don't have a Demetri story yet 🥹😇

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Part 1 // Part 2 // Part 3 // Part 4

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Embry List: @venusdelaroix @morganaah @paisley-37 @xxx-wounded-angel-xxx (I didn't know if you wanted Embry)

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Embry’s POV

Having my mother know about the wolves and the vampires was…something new, to say the least. Though she had known about these things way before I did, neither of us knew about the other one knowing. Now, it felt way easier to talk about what was going on in the packs or the Cullens with her. She was actually really understanding and supportive, and she realized the pressure and weight I was carrying by just being part of this “closed circle”.

Thankfully, our relationship was finally based on telling each other the truth, so whatever happened with me, the packs, and the Cullens, my mom would be one of the first people to know, and whatever happened with her life, she would tell me. Like the fact that the Elders had officially recognized her as a Quileute and a descendant of Taha Aki through an honorary ceremony, where she became a member of the Elders, alongside Sue, Quil, and Billy.

I was happy for her because that also meant that Quil, Jacob, Seth, Leah, and I could spend more time with each other and our families, without awkward whispers around. Though Sam proposed the treaty, he, Paul, and Jared would still not spend enough time around us. I understood that, though we had made a truce, there was still the misunderstanding and the shame of trying to attack the Cullens and kill Bella and the baby, so we let them decide when they were ready to come back on their own.

Though Sam was our original Alpha, he was also the minority in this case; we were five against three, not taking Brady and Collin into account. He had to be the one to approach us. We didn’t even know how the structure of the packs would be right now. Would we have two separate packs? Would we be one pack with two different Alphas, who would most likely clash with each other? This was still up for debate.

School had reopened recently, after the summer vacation, and sadly, we were all forced to attend. Seth and Quil were actually the only ones who kept going to school after their transformation - conveniently, Seth shifted just a week or two before the school closed for the summer, so he didn’t miss a lot.

Jacob and I, on the other hand, had missed about half a year of school, so we were given two options: either repeat the whole year or retake the classes we missed as extra school hours. Though we didn’t like either option, we settled for the second - we thought it would be better than to stay a year behind everyone our age.

Thankfully for Leah, she was old enough, and she had graduated from school years ago. The same went for Sam, but Jared and Paul, who were the same age as Quil, Jacob, and I, were nowhere to be seen on the first week of school, so we assumed they had already abandoned it, for the sake of their little pack.

Other than that, everything seemed to finally settle in. I had accepted - or at least that’s what I kept telling myself - that (Y/N) would not be coming back any time in the future. I had to live with it and continue with my life as if nothing ever happened between us; as if she didn’t exist for me. That was easier said than done because I had the occasional physical pain to remind me that I was missing my soulmate.

It was a regular Saturday evening for our small group of people. We had all gathered together at the Black household to watch a movie, play a video game or two, and just sit together and enjoy life before everything was to turn upside down. It was just Jacob, Seth, Quil, Claire, Leah, Evanthe, and I - not a small group, but not a big one either; it was just our small pack and imprints.

It was actually nicer than the usual commotion at Emily and Sam’s house - Jared and Paul would always start causing trouble and trigger the others to join in. But here, it was quiet and peaceful, and I had actually forgotten what this calmness and quietness felt like. Being so used to a larger, louder group, it felt weird at first, but it was a good weird I think. Apart from (Y/N) and my mother, I was surrounded by people I cared about, and they also cared for me.

After all the snacks and sodas we chugged down, we were almost passed down on the couches, not paying attention to the fifth movie someone - I couldn’t remember who - had put in. I was falling in-between sleep and being awake; I wanted to fall asleep, but for some reason, something in me didn’t allow me to. I knew I would soon find out why.

It was about 1 after midnight that we got a phone call. The phone was ringing for quite a while, as we all slowly started waking up, realizing we fell asleep on the couches. Jacob stood up lazily to pick it up.

“Black residence.” Pause. “What?! When did this happen? Okay, we’re on our way.” Jacob slammed the phone.

He ran back to us, clearly upset. “Get ready. It’s happening. We have to leave now.”

Seth looked suddenly upset. “Wait! What is happening? Where are we going? Who was on the phone?”

“It was Esme. Sam’s pack went by the Cullens. Bella just gave birth and Carlisle is trying to change her. Esme is taking care of the baby. The others are trying to deal with Sam and his pack, but it’s not going well. Sam has recruited Brady and Collin, too.”

“What?! He can’t do that! They’re still kids!” Leah was livid.

“I know, but he doesn’t care. The Cullens hadn’t fed in a while, and he knew that already. They won’t stand a chance. If they manage to go through Emmett, Edward, and Jasper, then Alice and Rosalie, nothing stops them. They’ll end Carlisle and Esme quite easily, and then the baby. Probably Bella too, before she’s changed. We have to go.”

“Okay, let’s go.” Quil motioned to all of us, as we started running out of the house.

Jacob turned to Leah. “Leah, you can stay here.”

“What? No! I’m coming with you!”

“We’ll be okay. Besides,”, he turned to look at Evanthe and Claire, “the girls are pretty upset. We can’t leave them alone right now. And we trust you the most to look out for them, in case anything happens.”

Leah’s look softened at the mention of her imprint. She just nodded and stayed behind, hugging both Evanthe and Claire for support.

We quickly ran towards the woods, shifting in the process, running towards the Cullen household. We didn’t know what to expect when Jacob told us about the attack. We just knew that Sam broke the same truce he proposed himself, and led us to believe he had changed his mind. He actually managed to fool us - we were not prepared for his attack.

“Just remember, we don’t want to kill anyone. We just want to scare them off enough so that they leave the Cullens alone. Then the baby has to live for long enough for everyone to know if it’s dangerous or not - if it is, the Cullens promised they’ll deal with it. If it’s not, everything will be easier. And remember, Brady and Collin are young and inexperienced. Whether Sam decided to utilize them or not, none of us should hurt them. Just try to keep them at distance, whatever they do. Understood?” Jacob instructed, and we all growled in agreement.

We took a bit longer than we thought because we had to cross the river between the two territories to reach the Cullen territory. Usually, that would be easy if we went over the hill. But today, there were huge rocks that cut the small trail to reach the hill, and we knew that Sam and his pack were responsible for that. That left us a few minutes behind, as we had to cut our way through the woods to reach another spot that could be easy to pass through.

As we were getting closer and closer to the Cullens, we started hearing all the commotion coming from the front of the house. What we came across had us dumbfounded. Sam, Paul, and Jared, along with Brady and Collin, had been attacking Alice, Rosalie, Jasper, Emmett, and Edward. Sam was after Alice, Paul was after Rosalie, Collin was after Jasper, Brady was after Emmett, and Jared was after Edward.

From the way I saw things, it looked like Sam knew that Jasper and Emmett would have no other choice but to protect their mates, so choosing Paul and himself meant that they could easily fight against both women and men, while Brady and Collin would be their backups. Sam waited for the vampires’ weaknesses to show, so he could take them down.

Sam and Paul managed to fight Alice and Rosalie off, making Jasper and Emmett run by their mates’ sides. The two wolves managed to easily crush the two vampires, grabbing one arm each, before tossing them away. The two vampires were screaming in pain, unable to fight off the wolves that had now pinned them on the floor. With Emmett and Jasper debilitated, it was now Collin and Brady’s turn to chase after Alice and Rosalie.

It was our turn now to fight off Sam and his pack. Jacob ran first, followed by myself, Quil, and Seth. Sam and Paul were quick to react, turning around, without giving any more attention to the writhing vampires, as they both grabbed Jacob and me. Sam bit Jacob on his leg, which made Jake wince in pain. Paul managed to bite me on the back of my neck, which made me cry in pain, as I turned around to return the action, biting him on the side of his neck.

Brady and Collin let Alice and Rosalie go, now taking over Seth and Quil, who were more skilled and experienced than the two young wolves, though they still managed to fight them off pretty well. I didn’t know how to feel about all of this - should I feel angry at Sam, Jared, and Paul? Should I be proud of Brady and Collin’s skills? The whole situation was so messed up.

Jared had pinned down Edward, who, I didn’t realize, was covered in blood and gunk - probably having helped in his wife’s birth. Jared was growling at him, opening and closing his mouth, trying to snap Edward’s head with his teeth. Edward was trying to fight him off but seemed a bit distracted as if he was hearing something that took over his mind. I supposed it would be extremely difficult for him to focus on saving himself and the others when he could hear everyone’s thoughts around.

However, I, too, got distracted for a few seconds, as I could sense something happening around us, but I could tell exactly what. The air around felt heavy, and it wasn’t because of us fighting with each other. There was something else going on; I just couldn’t put my finger on what it was.

“(Y/N)? Is that you?” Edward wondered, looking around us.

Somehow, that managed to freeze everyone in their places, as I let go of Paul, Paul let go of me, and the others let go of each other. Jared froze in his place and finally took a few steps back, allowing Edward to stand up. The vampire was looking around as if he was trying to locate the source of what he was looking for.

“Wait. (Y/N)? (Y/N) is here?” I couldn’t think of anything else at that moment, and the more time the vampire would stay silent, the more frustrated I would become.

“I think so. I don’t really know.” He looked around lost.

“What do you mean you don’t know?!”

“It’s like I can hear her voice, her mind, but also not really. It feels as if…she isn’t even here.” Realization suddenly hit the vampire. “It must be an illusion! She must be near!” He started looking around with his eyes.

Everyone had long forgotten the battle, and, as Emmett and Jasper took their time to reattach their limbs, the rest of us started searching around for (Y/N), sniffing the air, trying to locate her. It was a weird feeling, looking out for her. I had said to myself that I’d fight with myself to forget about her, and now, at the possibility of her being here, I fought with myself to find her.

We spent about 10 minutes looking around the territory for her, but to no avail, so we all turned back to the Cullen household. Paul was fuming; he was growling and barking at the vampires.

“I did not lie to you, Paul. Indeed I heard her, but I just don’t know where she is. I swear I heard her voice; I would never lie to any of you, especially you, Embry.” The vampire looked at me with sincerity, and I couldn’t help but believe him. I knew he wouldn’t lie about (Y/N) like that.

Sam and Jared let out a few more growls.

“I don’t know where she is! I’m telling the truth!” He lifted his arms as if he surrendered.

Before Sam was about to attack, we could feel the weird feeling we felt before, but more intensified this time. It felt as if the world around us was shifting a bit.

“Please, don’t fight with each other. Please.”

I swore I could recognize this voice everywhere. “(Y/N)?”

“See? I was telling you the truth! (Y/N)? Where are you?” Edward was still looking around, thinking he could locate her.

But as the minutes passed and there was no other sign of her, I started losing the sudden spark of hope I had inside me. Were we having a group hallucination or something? This didn’t seem real or even normal, by any means.

However, nothing was normal about our lives. And this was proven once again when the woods around us started shifting and changing as if we were falling into one of (Y/N)’s illusions. We were so preoccupied with everything around us shifting as if we were inside a bubble, that we didn’t notice the figure in front of us. It looked white and pale, like a ghost - the image was not clear yet, but its aura was familiar.

“Please, don’t fight with each other. Please.” The figure kept saying over and over, and I now knew that it was (Y/N). I would have recognized her voice everywhere. Even if we wouldn’t have seen each other in a million years, I would still remember her voice; her voice that warmed my heart and brought me peace and calmness.

I left a few whimpers, as, despite (Y/N)’s voice having a calming effect on me, it still pained me that it wasn’t actually her.

“Embry? Embry, is that you?”

As if on cue, I took a few steps forward, whimpering once again.

“Oh, Embry, I missed you. So much.” I could hear the pain in her voice, as it broke a bit.

I couldn’t handle it anymore. I walked away, shifted back, and came back to see (Y/N)’s “phantom” still there.

She looked worried, and I barely heard Edward reassure her just a few seconds ago that everything was alright; I was too lost in her presence to care about anyone or anything else around us. She must have noticed my rough appearance - the undereye circles, the overall tiredness on my face - as she looked at me saddened. However, I was relieved she was here; that I was finally able to see her after the two worst months of my life, and I immediately noticed her face relaxing.

I walked closer and closer to her until we were a few inches away from each other. She still looked unsure, not knowing what to do next, and I could feel her hesitation to make the first move, probably worried about the way I would react. So, I took the initiative. Slowly and carefully, afraid that I might scare her away, I lifted my hand and tried to touch her cheek. She froze in her place, but she didn’t retreat back which I took as a positive sign to go on.

My hand against her cheek was nothing like I had ever experienced before: it didn’t feel like (Y/N) herself or a softer version of her. It was more like touching a cloud, and I knew that, this time, it wasn’t an illusion she could completely control. If it was up to her, I knew she would have made me feel like I was actually touching her; as if she was really there.

We stayed like this for a few minutes, taking each other’s image in. If it wasn’t for the constant worry that ruined her perfect face, she would have been the same (Y/N) I fell in love with. There was something otherworldly about her, and it wasn’t just because of her being an illusion. She was more careful and her moves were more calculated and cautious, as if she was afraid of provoking me or someone else around.

I wanted to ask her so many things, like where she went, where she had been to, where she was now, and when she’d come back. But I also knew that, no matter how much I wanted to squeeze her in my arms and never let go, I wouldn’t be the one to force her to come back. After all, I was the one who pushed her to run away, and I had to wait for her to come back on her own terms, when she was ready.

For some time, it felt like we were the only ones here; like the world had stopped and it was just the two of us. Nobody dared to say anything, not wanting to ruin what (Y/N) and I had right now. And even with his wife's transformation happening rapidly inside the house, Edward was still motionless, looking between (Y/N) and I, as if he, along with everyone else, was mesmerized.

“Right, I have to go.” The vampire whispered, probably reading my mind and remembering Bella was still going through a painful experience. He quickly ran back into the house, followed closely by Rosalie and Seth, the only wolf who had always been close and accepting of the Cullen family, without judgment or hatred in his heart.

(Y/N) smiled at Edward’s direction, not really comprehending what had been happening inside the house just half an hour ago, but still calm and relieved to be able to see all those familiar faces once again. She turned to look back at me, a smile wider than ever before, as she placed her cloud-like hands in mine - a secret hope in her face that I could feel her. I couldn’t feel her form, but I could just pretend I did to befool myself for just this one time until I could actually feel her.

She leaned closer to me, and I knew she wanted to kiss me as much as I wanted to kiss her, though she still seemed unsure of my feelings towards her - had I really forgiven her? Did I still want to be with her? I wanted to reassure her that my feelings for her never changed; that I wanted her just as much as the day I met her - the day that was supposed to be just another duty on my back, but it turned out to be the day that would change my life for the better.

I leaned closer to her, my heart beating impossibly fast under my chest, as if it would be my very first kiss. I felt all the excitement, worry, and inexperience of a first kiss - so fragile, small, and powerless, and yet, so free and needy for her kiss. Like I had given up all control to her, and I was under her spell.

And, as I went on to kiss her cloud-like lips, I couldn’t help but think of our kisses that were full of passion and pure love for each other, and how I would give everything I have ever had for her to become real.

Unfortunately for me, that feel of our kiss never came, betraying her identity as a phandom, a cloud that was untouchable, hollow and empty like my heart. She retreated back, looking at me with the same kind of sadness I felt, before her eyes goggled and trembled as if she was having a meltdown. It wasn’t long before her whole illusion started trembling, and I knew it was only a matter of seconds before she was gone again.

“I love you.” I whispered to her.

“I love you. Forever” was the last thing I heard her saying before she disappeared once again.

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bereft-of-frogs · 1 month

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is friday. have a list.

reading:

(finished) Notes on an Execution - Danya Kukafka: Still excellent, still thinking about the ending

(in-progress) The Great Transition - Nick Fuller Goggins: I got this from the person who runs the horror book club I go to. The blurb compared it to Station Eleven, perilously high praise, but I'm weirdly enjoying it. Weirdly because I was afraid the structure would get annoying and weirdly because it's doing a bunch of things I usually find annoying but I'm not annoyed? I think it's because even though there's a lot of social justice themes, it never really feels like the characters are lecturing at the reader. Like there have been some scenes where characters are lecturing other characters - but so far they've all felt like they were more about revealing about the characters and their relationships rather than being like 'see, I know about solidarity, look how good a person I am!' I also really like that the exposition is being given through one of the POV characters (a high school student)'s essays, which have comments from her teacher and the comments are all PERFECT - and sure enough the author's day job is as a teacher. XD

(finished) Light of the Jedi - Charles Soule: still not my favorite, but it does pick up once you get past the first part. I think the narration of that action goes on for a bit too long and doesn't leave much space to take in the characters or setting because so much is happening, one thing after another. But, as I said last week, infinitely better than doomscrolling

(in-progress) Into the Dark - Claudia Gray: Ok the thing about Light is that I didn't really care about any of the deaths in it....until this book made me care. I think Gray is just a little bit more adept at character writing, I really started to fall in love with the High Republic and its characters in this book. I am sad though, given I'm probably going to have to skip Midnight Horizon to avoid getting derailed again, this might be where Reath and I part ways. I ended up loving Reath so much! But alas! Midnight Horizon was not my cup of tea, so I will have to say farewell.

(in-progress) Lord of the Rights chapter-a-day reread: Pelennor Fields today. DEAAAATTTHHH!!!!

watching (tv):

(finished) Silo (Apple TV): WHY am I still thinking about that finale?? why was that so good? WHEN is season 2 coming out?

(in-progress, rewatch) Altered Carbon (Netflix): to stop myself from just watching dumb commentary youtube videos while I'm cooking/eating dinner/etc I started rewatching Altered Carbon and damn it's just so good. I'm almost finished with the first season, I know the second is controversial/isn't quite as good but I still enjoyed it so will continue on

I'm in kind of a hangover post-Silo for the show I watch as part of my bedtime routine. I watched 2 episodes of Foundation and precisely 30 minutes of Severance before I fell asleep last night (I was just really tired because a certain Void Creature had me up at 5AM, not Severance's fault), so idk which I'm going to continue on with. Probably Severance, I'll get back to Foundation eventually.

watching (film):

The Strangers (2008): That scene where Liv Tyler is smoking in the kitchen and the intruder is standing unseen in the background is my LITERAL NIGHTMARE.

Hell House LLC II: The Abbadon Hotel (2018) and Hell House LLC III: Lake of Fire (2019): This is such a bizarre series because the first is slightly above-average found footage, the fourth is actually surprisingly scary, and the middle two are SUCH hot garbage, but. Completionist. I have seen them all now. The best scene in the third is with the cultists/demons scuttling around and I realized why it makes me laugh, they remind me of the wraiths in What We Do in the Shadows XD

Dune Part 2 (2024) - I SAW DUNE AGAIN IT WAS STILL GOOD. Aside, is Austin Butler in something the Youths (TM) like? Because I only know him from the awful Elvis movie I suffered through last year. The girl selling my ticket was like 'yeah I've seen it twice as an audience member and then I keep going up to the projection room to watch the duel because Austin Butler *heart eyes*' and I was like.....him? Really? Are the kids just horny for Harkonnens? I have questions.

video game update: I'm unstuck on cult of the lamb! I had the run of my life and got past the underwater level, it was great.

craft update: Skein still tangled, don't want to talk about it. But I've finished the short rows on the sweater vest and am onto the repetitive part! The next real milestone will be getting to where it joins the back under the arms, and I no longer have to purl. I can't wait.

weekend list -- just kidding it's a WEEK list because I'm on vacation! (technically I am dogsitting but I'm still taking a week off from work to go hang out with a dog, so that counts as vacation):

focus up to get through the workday. friends, it is 11AM and that is not going well, let me tell you

go for a run

pack / tidy up apartment so I don't come back to wreckage

non-writing things to do while at parents' house:

many walks! dog cuddles!

try out their fancy peloton thing, see what this cult thing is all about

knitting - planning to work on sweater vest, despite the fact that it is black and my parents' dog is so, so yellow... (she's a yellow lab)

laundry. so much laundry. everything that is in my apartment that can be put in a washing machine, is being brought. We've got sheets, we've got towels, bath mats, etc etc. My parents are paying me for dogsitting services in water usage.

read: I'm bringing 3 books I took out of the library yesterday which seems...ambitious...but maybe doable if I-

--don't scroll. seriously. I've blocked so many things, if I can just stick to occasionally checking my tumblr dash and maybe pinterest once in a while, I can get so much else done

writing to-do:

main project: longfic I am tentatively calling 'the station' (probably will change but this is at least better than my last working title which made no sense so I'm keeping it for now), I have 25k in a very rough draft, and am on chapter 2 of 12 in the rewrite (about 8k words). (It's probably going to be much longer than 25k, that was essentially just the self-indulgent scenes that came easily, now I'm doing the hard plot work, connecting scenes, etc, trying to go roughly in order so I don't have to do another full draft.)

start on the final part of 'omens and all kinds of signs': ideally finish a rough draft but we'll see, I have not started it at all, but I know it will feel good to finish it, if I can get some of the pieces together, that would be great

rough draft of the third variation on the tattoo theme (I have...900 words so far)

rough draft of an alternative POV to an already posted fic that's just an excuse to be shamelessly self-indulgent (I have ?? words scribbled in a notebook about it)

#lists lists lists #long post

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ljones41 · 11 months

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“TOMORROW NEVER DIES” (1997) Review

"TOMORROW NEVER DIES" (1997) Review Recently, I had watched "TOMORROW NEVER DIES", Pierce Brosnan’s second outing as James Bond. Roger Spottiswoode directed the 1997 Bond movie. It co-starred Michelle Yeoh, Jonathan Pryce and Teri Hatcher.

When I first saw "TOMORROW NEVER DIES" many years ago, I had a low opinion of it. I wish I could say that my opinion of the movie has improved over the years after this latest viewing . . . but I would be lying. TOMORROW NEVER DIES had some highlights, but unfortunately, it possessed more negative traits than positive ones. I think it would be best if I list both the good and the bad about this movie: Positive: *What else can I say? Michelle Yeoh. *I found Bond’s romantic scene with a Danish linguist rather sexy. *The film's foreign locations – Hamburg and Thailand (as Vietnam) - looked more lovely, thanks to Robert Elswit's cinematography. *Bond and Wai-Lin’s escape from Caver building in Vietnam proved to be one of the better stunts I have seen in the entire Bond franchise. *Thanks to Roger Spottiswoode's direction and Michel Arcand's editing, I thought the Saigon motorcycle chase was handled very well. *Pierce Brosnan gave a very natural performance, especially during his scenes with Yeoh. *Oddly enough, I rather liked Vincent Shirerpelli as Dr. Hamburg. He proved to be a more interesting henchman than Mr. Stamper. And his death proved to be even more interesting. *Mr. Gupta seemed like a pretty sharp and cool guy. *The movie's main theme song, performed by Sheryl Crow - what can I say? I realize it is not regarded as one of the best theme songs from the Bond franchise. But I have always had a soft spot for it, thanks to Crow's vocals and the lyrics she co-wrote with Mitchell Froom. I mean . . . the song did earn a Golden Globe nomination. Negative: *Brosnan's angsty scenes with Teri Hatcher seemed stiff and unnatural. And his voice sounded odd in scenes featuring Bond's attempt to suppress his emotions. *Why did the director Roger Spottiswode, have Brosnan shooting two machine guns at once during the final confrontation on Carver’s boat? The actor looked like a walking action movie cliché. *I thought Jonathan Pryce had portrayed one of the most overbearing and annoying villains in the Bond franchise. Only Sophie Marceau in the latter half of "THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH" may have surpassed him. *Is it just me or is the plot of this Bond movie seemed like an extended rip-off of a "LOIS & CLARK" episode from its first season? Perhaps the discovery of Teri Hatcher’s casting must have given screenwriter Bruce Feirstein an idea. *Why is it that nearly every sentence directed by Ms. Moneypenny to Bond came off as a sly, sexual joke? Their dialogue grew very annoying. *Spottiswoode managed to transform Bond and Q’s Meeting in Hamburg into a hammy production number. Q was simply in Hamburg to hand over an armored company car to Bond. What a bore and a waste of time! *Carver's top minion, Mr. Stamper, struck me as a second-rate version of Red Grant from "RUSSIA WITH LOVE". Where was Robert Shaw or Andreas Wisnewski when you need them? *The entire car chase sequence inside a Hamburg parking structure featured Bond using a remote control . . . ah, never mind! The entire sequence struck me as a bore. Even worse, it happened after the marvelous Bond/Kaufman scene. What a waste of my time. *Despite all of the gunfire exchanged and the other action during the final confrontation sequence aboard Carver’s boat, I thought it was too long . . . and boring. *Joe Don Baker seemed wasted in this film as C.I.A. liaison Jack Wade. *Bond’s Cover as a Banker – I am beginning to suspect that Bond makes a lousy undercover agent. By opening his mouth and hinting at Carver’s boat, he ended up exposing himself. What an idiot! *Teri Hatcher seemed wasted in this film. And her angsty scenes with Brosnan seemed forced - almost unnatural. TOMORROW NEVER DIES did managed to produce a few favorite lines of mine: Favorite Lines: "Believe me, Mr. Bond. I can shoot you from Stugartt and still create the proper effect." – Dr. Kaufman to Bond BOND: "You were pretty good with that hook." WAI-LIN: "That’s from growing up in a rough neighborhood. You were pretty good on the bike." BOND: "Well, that comes from not growing up at all." "No more absurd than starting a war for ratings." – Bond to Carver KAUFMAN: "Wait! I am just a professional doing a job!" BOND: "So am I." (Then kills Kaufman) Despite some virtues, "TOMORROW NEVER DIES" is not a favorite movie of mine. In fact, it is my least favorite James Bond movie featuring Pierce Brosnan. Unfortunately, director Roger Spottiswoode seemed unable to elevate Bruce Firstein's generic screenplay marred by an unoriginal plot and one of the hammiest villains in the franchise's history. Hmmm . . . too bad.

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thefinalcinderella · 10 months

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As always thank you for the tsurune novel translation!

Btw have you finished reading the 3rd book or are you still reading while translating? I'm curious as what are your thoughts so far about the 3rd book? I personally think the 3rd book is really too jarring with the prior books and I wonder why. In addition to the sudden surge of new characters, I really can't tell where the plot is going nor what the author is actually aiming for or the focus of the book, which I can tell easily in the previous books. I also find it hard following the jumping train of thoughts in all the chapters so far, it's like every new plot is jumbled up and one storyline isn't even finished before it jumps to a whole new arc. Idk if it's just me who feels that way or not...or if this style of writing will continue to the end of the book so I'm curious to know what you thought as the translator. Thanks!

You basically summarized my thoughts on this novel! Honestly when I read the synopsis I was like "...so what's the book about?" and while slice of life novels can get away with having a loose plot, I feel like there should still be an arc or something like that. Tbh the author has a tendency to randomly jump topics or scenes in the earlier books as well, but it's a lot worse in this book.

My personal theory is that the author was compelled to put this book out in conjunction with the movie and S2. The publisher probably wanted to repeat their Violet Evergarden success, considering how the novels got a big boost with the release of the anime and movies. There's such a big gap between this book and v2 that I got the feeling that they didn't plan to write book 3 (I feel like book 2 had a somewhat open but satisfying ending). Tbh as I translated the novel I got the feeling that the author had no idea how to fill up 200+ pages bc they couldn't think of a plot so they put a lot of random stuff in the book and wrote them in a vignette-style, so you got chapters made up of separate scenes that are only tangentially related. Idk how to explain it but it feels like when I'm trying to bullshit my way through a 10 page essay and I don't have a lot of coherent arguments, so I just try to write a big single paragraph on each page so that I'm at least reaching the page count. I think adding so many new characters was also a way to fill up pages, although it's all moot if you don't use them well. Having Minato and the others jump all the way ahead to their second year (v2 ended in summer of their first year so it's a pretty big jump) was probably a way to justify introducing new students.

I haven't really read ahead, but I do know some of the scenes that happen later in the novel and they are just as random as the earlier scenes imo. I think the novel would have read better if it was structured more like a short story collection. It pretty much is one anyways and I feel like there's a lot of characters from the previous book that could have their own spotlight, and we could see the characters' pasts or something like that.

Anyways I hope if there is ever a book 4, the author would be given the time and help that they need to plot it well.

#ask #tsurune

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ordinaryschmuck · 1 year

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I want to talk about Knives Out and Glass Onion

Because f**k you, I want to talk about Knives Out and Glass Onion.

I cannot stress enough how much I loved these two movies in the way that they subverted the mystery genre while still playing to its key strengths.

Also...slight spoilers for both? You really can't talk about a mystery without giving away SOME spoilers, mainly because what makes them fun is seeing things with fresh eyes. Sure, if the characters are entertaining enough and the story is just as strong, you'll still have a fun time rewatching it or when you already know all the juicy details. But when it comes to the genre, the real fun comes from seeing what the mystery is and trying to solve it.

But when it comes to Knives Out and Glass Onion, both movies pretty much start out by telling you there is no mystery. At least, not at first.

With Knives Out, we see that someone died, but after some time, we get to see what happens. The truth is told to us and why the character would want to keep it secret, making everyone believe that the actual plot of the movie is about the mystery REMAINING a mystery. But as the story continues, some facts don't add up, and some stones are left unturned. It's then that we realize there IS a mystery. Not about what happened, but HOW it happened. We just weren't looking for it because we assumed that all the evidence was given to us when, in reality, there were clues everywhere, hidden in just plain sight.

Speaking of plain sight, that's what Glass Onion is about. Once again, we're initially told that there is no mystery. But, also once again, not at first. There is something to be solved, but the answer to it is so apparent that even the movie shows you how it happened in plain sight. Not only that but by the second act, we're told that there's another mystery. One that connects to the first by recontextualizing it and by giving new information we missed in the first act. Sure, it involves some retreading, but it's all for the sake of the mystery. I honestly don't think Glass Onion wouldn't have been as engaging the first time if it was plaid out with the audience knowing right away who a certain character was and why our fabulous detective Bennet Blanc was there. It'll be fun a second time now that you already know everything, but to leave an audience to solve a mystery for themselves, you can't give them all the clues at once. You got to take your time, show off the characters, present what they need to know, and when it's time for the big twist, the one that reveals the REAL mystery of the thriller, they'll be engaged now more than ever, and look more for what the big reveal could be. Even though, just like with the first mystery, the reveal is the simplest, easiest answer, and that's the point: We were looking for something complex when the truth was right in front of our eyes this entire time, and we couldn't see it. That is unless you're like me, and Scooby-Doo taught you to always look for the most obvious answer.

Yeah, as much as I adore these mysteries being well-written, I will admit that, almost right away, I knew who the culprit was. In both cases, it really was as obvious as the writers wanted you to think it was, but that's part of what makes Knives Out and Glass Onion so great. They show you the obvious answer but direct you away from it with great plots, better misdirections, and mildly entertaining characters.

Speaking of which, I adore Benet Blanc. You can tell the actor is having the time of his life in this role, and those kinds of performances make a character all the more likable.

And as for the movies themselves, if I had to pick which one I like more, it would be Knives Out. I adore Glass Onion and the message it tells, but Knives Out has a better structure and comedy. In Knives Out, the humor felt natural, whereas Glass Onion seemed to stretch its humor like a bad MCU movie.

Still, I love both of these movies, and if there’s ever a third one, you’d better believe that I’ll keep my eye out for it.

#knives out #glass onion

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canichangemyblogname · 7 months

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I've stumbled across the reblog with "tell me what you think about my fics". This ask may not be exactly how this is meant since, yes, I haven't read fiction by you, but I have read essays by you. Hence, I wanted to let you know that I find your writing thoughtful and smart, with strong strings of argumentation.

I appreciate that you compose these bits that are critical of the source material and fan behavior, especially for TBB. These posts look like they take a lot of time, energy, and consideration, and I suppose the reactions are not always rewarding since TBB fans are probably not too eager to hear what's wrong with the show.

Personally, your thoughts encouraged me to share my own thoughts, which I might not have done otherwise.

Thank you for that!

Okay, so... you sent me this ask on Feb 19th, 2023, and I'm just now getting around to posting my draft 😭. I feel so terrible about that, tbf.

FIRST, thank you so very, very much! I hope to live up to my blog's name: "I write essays for fun." I actually really enjoy analyzing characters, TV shows, books, and movies. It's a fun brain exercise. And it's one way I can utilize my education. I didn't know when I was 18 that my political science and international relations degrees would engender an analytical eye for media. I don't get to write about authoritarianism, free will, philosophy, societal structures, or democracy for work. But, given that our media reflects our sociopolitical and geopolitical conditions, I can explore how the things I learned are portrayed (or not portrayed) in books, movies, and TV.

It's also why I like writing, but I can't ever seem to get past the world-building stage 😂. I love exploring the conditions necessary to bring about a certain society. You start from one detail and extrapolate from there. For example, a writer wants to create a society with equal participation in public life between all genders. What conditions are necessary to achieve this? This question is inherently political.

SECOND, yes. My essays take a while to compose. The longer they are and the more detailed they are, the more time they take. My big essay Machines or Men: Moral Questions Regarding the Clones in Disney’s Star Wars took me a week or so. It took me several days to compose my first RW&RB critique and another day to compose the follow-up. And by "day," I quite literally mean from when I woke up to when I went to sleep. It might also take me a while (like a couple hours) to compose a commentary the length of some of my Andor commentaries or some of my Bad Batch critiques because the concepts I'm engaging with- like fascism, racism, or colonialism- are complex, so require a lot of revision to get the right words or to adequately convey my ideas.

THIRD, I am SO happy that my thoughts encouraged you to share your own. I hope you continue to share. I have really valued your contributions to topics like propaganda, TBB, and the fanfic-ification of modern media. I think you're positively cool and brave for sharing with us.

#it's like an object-permanence issue for me #I click the envelope with the notif #get excited #prepare to answer #and then as soon as I click out of my drafts or inbox-center...#I forget to answer or finish it #I had about 100+ drafts at one point #and got so overwhelmed that I just... didn't #and because I stopped answering the tag games and asks #I don't get sent as many anymore #leading to less interaction with others on here #which is why I came here in the first place!#Like... asks and tag games were my thing when I first started #and then I panicked

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zirconynx · 1 year

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Final Destination Game in the style of Until Dawn/The Dark Pictures idea

Recently been fixated on Final Destination and I had the random thought of how interesting it'd be to see a Final Destination game in the style of Until Dawn/The Dark Pictures Anthology or even like Telltale's The Walking Dead and how those game styles actually go really well with the general premise of FD.

Think about it, if a Final Destination game took a Telltale TWD approach it could work well game-structure-wise since usually characters that can die in one episode in the game or later in another episode usually end up doing nothing for the narrative following their first possible death. In an FD game then they could tie it back to the whole cheating death theme. At the very least writing off the fact that they don't do much in the story after that point is a little bit more excusable because of the narrative and how death works compared to TWD where it was just blatantly obvious that the writers didn't intend for that character to do anything or affect the story beyond that death point (lookin' at you Nick from TWD S2)

I think there's so much potential for an FD game in the style of Until Dawn/The Quarry/Dark Pictures Anthology since the choices the players make would have more of an impact on what happens in the narrative and how they affect how a character ends up dying or at what time (taking into account the different Death's Designs). I haven't really thought this through entirely yet but I'd imagine that the players could influence how late or early a character dies or, depending on how much they explore or notice details in the environment, can have the option to save a person at the last second which would have a drastic affect the story (an example being that if you save someone who was next on the list bc you were quick enough then the game/story would follow the rule of skipping the saved person and moving onto whoever is next on the list). Obviously this would get complicated to write AND program depending on what type of Death's Design is used for the story. Personally I'd like to see a FD game that sorta combines the Death's Designs from all 5 movies (yes i am basically cherry picking which aspects of the Designs i personally like but hear me out, also, very long post about Death Designs down below)

In terms of whether all the main characters end up dying or not, I'm gonna use the theatrical canons since for this post and FD 3 specifically, I assume Kimberly and Burke to be alive since there's nothing to state the contrary AND since the official ending is ambiguous, it;s up to interpretatiob whether Wendy survives or not since the Alternate ending and Choose Your Fate stuff where the newspaper of Kimberly and Burke falling into a woodchipper and Wendy for sure dying aren't canon to me.

For order of deaths, I'd make it simple like FD 1 where it's just that the characters die in the order they would've in the premonition but can be skipped if saved by another on the list BUT i would also include the rule from FD 2 where "giving new life" i.e. giving birth or dying at the correct time and then being revived after officially being considered dead by the design as a way to stop the cycle, tho i wouldn't include the reverse order thing from FD 2 since it was a direct consequence of FD 1, but the game would follow one cast of characters so this wouldn't apply. Personally I'm not a huge fan of the rule where someone gets added to the list because they were saved by someone that IS on the list as I feel that gets complicated and for major disasters with lots of people that can get saved by the visionaries (FD 4) would create an inconsistency at best or major plot hole at worst depending on how much focus would be given to which aspects of death's design.

As much as I like FD 3, I don't think it substantially added anything good in the way of how death works (the pictures having clues of how people would die but also included the later deaths after a premonition that was not planned by Death didn't make sense to me so). The only aspect of Death's Design from FD 3 that I would personally include would be how it'd be possible to still cause the main characters' deaths if they didn't pay enough attention (or didn't get the "give new life" path) even at the end of the game (this is the only aspect of the Choose Your Fate stuff that I would incorporate since my hc is that if you notice the things like the hole in the train map or connection to some previously established main characters that died, then you end up surviving the subway crash but if not you don't). For the subway scenario, in the case the player does notice the signs and the odd grouping back together of the main cast then you can have the option to step off early and avoid death again (and have their spots filled as I will discuss later with FD 5) or can still get on, have the premonition but still die. If they ignore or didn't see the signs then they can get the premonition but survive. Doesn't make a whole lot more sense but I'm sure it could be worked on so that these possible endings could be included.

I haven't watched FD 4 but from what I've seen on Youtube and briefly read on the fandom wiki page, the only new thing I can deduce is that Nick had two (?) major premonitions, one of the Raceway and one of the Mall. Since premonitions are never really explained I'm kinda neutral on whether the characters should get more than one premonition (since Wendy got 2 but whether she survived the second is up in the air). Since FD 4 is the odd one out of the entire series i'd be more inclined to say just have the characters have 1 premonition rather than being able to have multiple since a lot of that movie is supposedly complete nonsense.

Personally I don't mind FD 5 but only because of the twist ending. I actually don't like the rule of "taking someone's remaining time adds it to your own" since i feel it would make the writing even more complicated than it already would be by having to mash all these different death's design elements together. Since i find the added time to be pretty confusing, I'd rather simplify it to just that a person who manages to cheat death will have their spot filled in with a random person for the original disaster (so the total death count of the accident is the same but not the people involved). To tie it all back together i'd make it so those who cheat death throughout the game can have these possible endings (and endings to the game):

1. another event claims them in the end (Alex & brick / Clear & hospital explosion/ Wendy & possibly subway / Nick & truck at cafe)

2. they get skipped over by being saved (Carter at the end of FD 1)

3. they get to live by having died and been revived (FD 2, depends on if you really want to include a giving birth plot line or not or if you include the rule of absolutely nobody surviving no matter what)

4. the visionaries live long enough to become one of the random people (or not random, could be death's plan and all that) that fill the spot of another visionary (hc that Sam takes the place of Alex even though this is probably not canon and he's just meant to be part of the kill count anyways. Alternatively, others took the Flight 180 survivors' places even tho we saw no one else get on by the time they get kicked off the plane i think)

Now with the main way i would personally tackle Death's Design if it were merged for this game, I think it'd make for a very interesting game experience with all these rules and choices like choosing to save someone which in turn skips them or the multiple ways the game could end based on what you do or don't find or what you can figure out in time.

This post kinda devolved into just a "what if i mashed all the Death Designs together into one" but I still think it'd be interesting if they did do this for a Final Destination game in the style of The Dark Pictures Anthology since those games I'd say are the best at having branching paths based on which characters are alive or not at certain points in the story and have quite a variety of endings (usually 1 - 4 or 5 but different enough that i'd say it'd work for an FD game)

#final destination #the dark pictures anthology #until dawn #dark pictures anthology #the quarry #alex browning #kimberly corman #wendy christensen #nick o'bannon #sam lawton #clear rivers #carter horton #gaming

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dergeistvond · 1 year

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Deer in horror - an essay.

Well, Winter solstice is here along the holidays. In what other way to be festive other than horror? And because your good host here Derek is already stocked on information, play me Carol of the old ones bells and embark on a little information trip. Cozy yet? Good.

In recent years, a decent amount of horror based itself on - you guessed it - deer. Whether it be campy horror, or something a little more symbolic, these little forest friends have made appearance after appearance. I'm sure you can name at least one media source regarding them, but that begs the question: Why? Why deer, elk, bucks and everyone else in the family?

Well for a start, we have to understand them as animals in the real world. And in the real world, I'd like to ask what adjectives come to mind when trying to described one of these specimen. I'll go first and say gentle, here the list continues into fearful, inoffensive, lanky even, but in general these are preyed upon animals, granting them a certain innocence. Thus the quality of being "doe-like" of certain people that makes them easy to be approached and trusted. Being higher on the food chain, we find deer and does alike to not be threatening to us, even cute due their appearance.

Here enters the uncanny valley and the morphism of the familiar into the unfamiliar. Before that, I'd like mention that despite the recent attention the Uncanny Valley gains, twisting imagery into unrecognizable results is no new concept, thus why some art pieces in the Surrealism, Cubism and Dada movements may seem uncanny upon closer inspection.

Cryptids such as the "not deer" are an urban myth regarding the Appalachian region of the United States that depcit stories of people encountering deer looking entities that upon a second look, have clearly something off about them. Whether it be extra joints, misplacement or extra limbs, antlers that are multiplied, sharp teeth or forward facing eyes - such as those of predators - the not deer cryptid are exactly what they sound to be. The subreddit r/Appalachia has plenty of stories from people in the area, ficitional or not does not concern us momentarily, but to note is the use of the Uncanny Valley. Weaved thoroughly throughout these stories, we are lead directly into the unsettling nature of defaced imagery, and the stories formatted through text only allow the imagination to run even wilder as the mind is the greatest director when it comes to horror movies that genuinely scare a specific individual.

But let's take back a couple steps now and introduce a more popular name, one of culture that is: The Wendingo. Sometimes spelled as Weendigo or Windigo, are supernatural beings belonging to indigenous culture that are believed to be humans corrupted by greed and weakness, of isolation and cold; Usually depicted with an immense hunger, and often tied to cannibalism, they are also symbols of winter's cold and are depicted with animalistic features such as horns or pointed ears, but the most popular interpretation in modern day is antlers. Antlers that bucks bore and shed in the natural wild. But back onto the Wendigo, for one to undergo the transformation, most stories describe the start in the wilderness - in the natural habitat of deer, forcing these two beings that share at least one trait to share another.

Still, deer - if given the chance, will not hesitate on biting into meat. It has been proven. The only difficulty they face is that they aren't structured to hunt, but the thought that something we believe to be safe around could, and would want to eat meat twists the story now. Adding another trait on the similarities list.

And while being innocent looking animals at the end of the day, deer are still animals. Animals that we don't see a lot of unless we step into their territory, or they step into ours. Dividing us, isolating. Animals do not belong in society and humans, and out modern day Gods, do not belong in the wild no matter how hard we try to blur the line - Deer often a symbol of this lack of belonging, seeming to taunt us humans with their appearance. This is where horror questions the line we drew, when does a human become an animal? A symbol of change such as one undergoes upon becoming a Wendigo.

Fortunately for us, 2013's NBC's Hannibal has this line blurred and symbolism to blend the deer with the traits of the Wendigo. While not having picked up the series myself, I am aware that the stag is a prominent motif revealing evil towards Will Graham. I won't spoil too much, but it's obvious where this is going. Another example of this blur between man and animal regarding the Wendigo would be Until Dawn, but the deer motif isn't prominent and in fact not present at all.

Modern western media has blurred the name of the Wendigo and any mammal form the deer family due the artistic interpretations regarding similar traits on eye level aspect and behaviour. The deeper you go, the more one ties them together. Reindeer are symbols of winter as well, Wendigo are symbols of not belonging due the isolation, so on so forth. The point is, deer have become a statement in horror of what the Wendigo had been for Indigenous culture to some degree. Maybe not wholly, but the resemblance is there.

This has been my essay, thanks for coming to my Ted Talk. Feel free to correct me.

For you, those who read, a deer 🦌

#Derek rambling again #writeblr #analysis #Trope analysis #writing analysis #writerscommunity #Writers on tumblr #Deer

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absolutebl · 2 years

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Thanks bunches for the response! It's incredibly sweet of you to take the time to do this for a random ass person online. Hope you know you are loved and appreciated! :)

Firstly, with your point on Cherry Magic and Old Fashion Cupcake, I agree! They were so close to being perfect, with everything, including all the conflicts and narrative beats being nigh on perfect in execution. They just failed to deal the deal for me.

Hence why I put them in the close enough list. Only the first 6 shows I mentioned nailed the landing for me.

Regarding your reply to my second question, do you see any way to resolve this issue regarding the post-honeymoon phase for the viewers? Is there any way it could be presented engagingly without going full WBL2/Tharntype 2? Are there any BL's that actually attempt to linger on a couple **in** a relationship and the problems they may phase in the first season itself?

As for if I grew up watching much anime, not really lol. I got into BL in my early teens and that was my first exposure to Japanese media via Yaoi/Shounen-ai manga. After a while, I had to reconcile with my new found queer identity and BL, which (back then) was not very queer affirming. [This isn't just Japanese stuff, I read a lot of Thai Y Novels with the help of Thai friends who graciously would let me in on group reads and translate for us while we translated Japanese works for them]

In general, the structure of anime doesn't tend to bother me much. I enjoyed Given a lot and had fun watching Sasaki to Miyano without too many qualms (except the singing in Given cos I hate BL and signing together).

As for Disney stuff, it's real hit or miss imo. I tend to not like it that much though so yeah. Tangled is my exception though. I love the movie. That and Beauty and the Beast.

Youa re spot on in saying that I don't like the classic structure of romance plots unless the final conflict is something that has long been established and has been creeping up at the couple. What you say about Korean stuff sounds VERY unappealing to me. It kinda sounds like WYEL territory which completely lost me with its ending. Not that I was head over heels for it anyway.

Regarding 1000 Stars, I've watched it, but found it to be kinda drab and dull fornsome parts in the middle to the point where I struggle to remember much of it. Hell I don't remember much of that show AT ALL. Only the touching scene where Mix counts the stars, vague flashes of the airport, and then a **very** hazy vision of their reunion. Nothing else. The show felt truly meh for me. Mainly due to the compete lack of chemistry to me between Earth and Mix. I sincerely just couldn't see it at all. That, and Earth's acting leaves...a lot to be desired. His "deffo-real-beard" was HILARIOUS though. The narrative itself seemed decently paced if a touch long winded from my recollection. Then again, I can't recollect for shit so I should probs rewatch. Also, PhuPha is quite literally the SOLE cause of ALL conflict in the show and I hate him for it.

Thanks for the recommendations on Moddy Arthouse stuff. I do love me some of that!

I've already watched YNEH, TCMDOC, and the Pornographer. I haven't gotten into Vitenamese stuff because My Cinderell was so clearly underfunded, it suffered hugely for it. And that is still held up as peak Vietnamese BL. I'm watching Want To See You now and my god is it extra. It is truly CAMP. The way the women are portrayed, golly.

This is to ask if Goodbye Mother is good.

As for the rest,

- L:LOTL because I cannot STAND Akira lol. His decision was close to irredeemable for me and I hate the way the denouement is done in either version. This is why I prefer His the Movie. It got to take it's time to unpack the singular issue between Shin and Nagisa and give us some form of satisfactory resolution to the conflict. Here's me on reddit ranting in an exaggerated tone about L:LOTL, where I'm left to fight in the TRENCHES for defence. (I really shouldn't have tried to be comedically exaggerative in the post lol. I got FLAMED.): https://www.reddit.com/r/boyslove/comments/vgae27/am_i_the_only_one_who_didnt_like_life_love_on_the/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share [WARNING: This isn't a good look for me lmao], and Here's a comment where I defend my hypocrisy for liking His but not L:LOTL if you care lmao: https://www.reddit.com/r/boyslove/comments/vlfens/my_review_about_the_japanese_movie_his_2020_share/idv9hud?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share&context=3

- Not Me I felt was sorta shallow and faux deep. While I appreciated the attempts to highlight systemic failures in governance that lead to the corruption ridden systems that take hold in large parts of South and South East Asia, allowing for moguls to rule with impunity, I felt that the politics lacked nuance and self awareness in action and most importantly, it failed to show consequence, which is truly where the large majority of the injustice lies. The romance and stuff was fun I guess. Gun KILLS it this time aswell! Love him as Black. Wish we got more of that Gun instead of White Gun imo.

- Manner of Death is a show that I enjoyed watching, but never finished because I love bringing a series and this series in particular felt unbingable. I'd get through a few epsidoes, get bored and quit. Then a few months later, restart, catch up, watch one more episode, feel fatigue, and quit. Rinse and repeat. I'd love to finish it though.

- What Did You Eat Yesterday is something I've heard of a lot. I know the manga is in my to-read list. Will get to it.

- Isnt Great Men Academy body-swap? No thanks if so.

Now finally for the bromances, I'm simply not brave enough to commit to 300 million episodes of content, only to potentially deal with het fuckery AND not get ANYTHING out of it. I know some of these things are supposed to be implied and queer coded but to what extent? How explicit is it? How shrouded is it? Cause I'm sorry but I'm not watching a 30 episode buddy cop type dynamic series as a substitute for good BL.

Jesus I type too much. I need to touch grass.

[Had to send this as an ask because character limits. Dear lord.]

Do you see any way to resolve this issue regarding the post-honeymoon phase for the viewers? Is there any way it could be presented engagingly without going full WBL2/Tharntype 2?

Many experienced and brilliant romance authors have tackled this one with mixed results. The nature of romance as a genre makes it very difficult.

I think, the conflict in the second season needs to be external and set up by the narrative and world building to work successfully. So, for example, even though I know it was a toss away because the actor refused to return, I didn't mind Color Rush 2 removing Yoo Han, because it total made sense he might be kidnapped, trapped by his family, or otherwise messed with given the sinister nature of the CR universe. I'd even be fine seeing a different actor portray him in a 3rd installment, again because plastic surgery or on-the-run visual shift works for the story, (so long as the new actor could convey the same kind of physicality as Hwall).

Another example:

I would have had TMS2 take Korea’s homophobic culture to task with a plot that had paparazzi exposing Seo Joon as gay and then the extreme public fall out. I would have had Ji Woo totally unable to deal with the negative fame (because of his past trauma and shy retiring personality) and flee for THAT reason. This would have made both characters more sympathetic (and still pining for each other), just torn apart by circumstances beyond their control. And I would have ended it with Seo Joon tragically having to give up his career but happily shacked up with Ji Woo in increasing obscurity in a countryside restaurant and small community that has learned to accept and protect them (ah la His the movie).

Are there any BLs that actually attempt to linger on a couple in a relationship and the problems they may phase in the first season itself?

You mean they get together like halfway through? Hum. Well Secret Crush On You, any BL where one half of the party has a super important secret or that tackles the fake relationship trope. Because of it’s style (that you specifically said you probubly wouldn’t like) any 4 act structure (or show that borrows this pacing style) so Chinese bromances and some stuff out of Korea, will do this, but still inject dumb break up conflict in the final quarter.

Also any BL that is more soap opera-ish will do this, like Japan’s Ossan’s Love, the Takumi-kun series, Pornographer series, or China’s Irresistible Love. Thailand’s Love Sick, Make it Right, Puppy Honey (in many of these the couple is apart at the end of season 1 tho).

I do have a statistical analysis of 2nd seasons (from before Korea started getting in on the game).

Second Seasons I Think Are Actually Pretty Good

In that they use external conflict to drive the couples apart rather than angst or internal conflict.

SOTUS S is my first pick. I like the conflict in both the 2nd season and the Our Skyy special. It’s around coming out in the workplace and separation due to being at different life stages. You need to buy into KongArthit’s dynamic though. If they didn’t work for you as a couple in SOTUS, the rest of the series won’t work either. But they satisfied me by moving from a college setting to a workplace setting and I really enjoyed them a lot.

I actually don’t like Present Perfect, but I think you might. If you haven’t seen this 2 part movie series (Thai + Japan production from a queer arthouse director) you might enjoy it. It’s a little slow, but maybe? The conflict is internal but believably based on personality, so a little like TMS2.

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jaggedwolf · 10 months

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I got dragged along to rewatch spider-verse, have a bunch of opinions

Gwen's parts of the film are still my favorite. I love the way the drums kick in and frantically keep going, the bleeding colors, subway doors opening right into rooms and of course, that her uncle ben death doesn't result from inaction but directly from her own hand - awful and great.

Miles's family stuff still felt repetitive to what was going on in the first film, even if the nuances are different

I love Jefferson though, he's trying his best and does not want to make more lemon bars to fix all the shit Spot and Spider-man broke

I'm also glad that spider-verse him gets his wife's last name because honestly what on earth was that original combo

I am very boring and have no suspension of disbelief about giant catastrophic set-pieces where somehow no one dies, which makes the banter-driven inability to catch Spot before half of Mumbattan Alchemax collapses much less endearing to me. Same for a giant quantum hole in Mumbattan not yet hurting anyone.

Still very fond of Pavitr. He's had it so easy so far! What do you mean being Spider-man is hard! Also the eternally appealing superhero desperation of "I can do both" when first faced with a hard choice

IDK how convincing the second movie's resolution to the "breaking canon events disrupts the universe" problem is going to be. It'll be annoying if they try to say Miguel was merely lying and/or it isn't an actual problem, given that we see Peter B. witness Miguel's world fall apart and that no one disagrees with Miguel saying "we haven't always been lucky" about disrupted canon events -> quantum holes or whatever -> dimension collapsing

The pacing really falls off in the second half of the film. Before then there are a couple of scenes that go on for too long, but man, literally three of the people I watched the film with fell asleep during that chase sequence - it relies on the chaos of a billion spider-men for too long before giving it some structure

The dual reveal of Gwen and Miles in the same bedroom in different universes is sick, whether or not you've already guessed that was the issue. Miles' mom 's reactions to mentions of his dad are well done.

.....Gwen talking to Miles' parents was absolutely unnecessary lmao. Adds nothing to the film, other than trying to beat you over the head with the already implied theme, and also would the parents not be losing their shit?? Wished it had ended with her just eavesdropping on them silently

oh also i liked the stuff they did with gwen and her window reflections - always seeing the other version of herself, huh

Likely a side-effect of the pacing problems but that ending does not at all feel like a solid ending, even accounting for it being the first half of a two-parter.

#spider-verse #jaggedwolf rambles #i've only seen the first one once but i think it was much more tightly written #in that literally scenes and the movie itself didn't go on for too long #mine

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silvadour · 11 months

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Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Review

Wow oh wow, wow oh wow. I am just speechless. This movie feels like something out of a dream, it just seems too good to even seem real, man. Ok, let’s take this from the top one last time…

It goes without saying that Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse has left a positive impact on the nature and production of animated films as a whole for years to come. We can see it in newer projects that came after it like Dreamworks’ Puss in Boots: The Last Wish or even with the League of Legends streaming series, Arcane by studio Fortiche. And it should also go without that the first Spider-Verse movie was one of my favorite, If NOT MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE Spider-Man experiences from the last couple of years. And that first movie was released in the same year as Insomniac’s Spider-Man game on the PS4, coupled with Spidey’s guest appearance in Avengers: Infinity War.

I love the first movie so much that I made a split blog post for it as one of the best technical marvels and examples of animation in the last decade. So when I heard of plans for a sequel, I was cautiously optimistic, especially with the given release date (which later got delayed). The first movie encapsulated everything I loved about the Spider-Man character mythos into one beautifully wrapped Christmas package. Everything from the humor to the drama, to the action, to even minor tidbits that only a diehard Spidey fan would notice. The key marker of its quality comes from how much I can quote the entire movie from front to back and back to front. It’s a movie I can easily watch anytime and love every single time.

But now we have a sequel and the question on everyone’s mind: Is it better than the first movie? And to answer that question: Yes, it is…but not in a complete way.

While Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is a sequel to Into the Spider-Verse, it feels more in line like a second act of a trilogy or Part 1 of 2 rather than a fully realized movie with a rounded ending. Visually and narratively, it evolves from the previously established dynamics and bookends from the previous film, and it also provides further commentary on the Spider-Man mythos and the core structure of a Spider-Man hero character.

Some of the improvements showcased this time around are Miles & Gwen’s relationship. In the first film, the main Spider-Relationship was that of mentor and student with Miles and Peter B. Parker, with them being necessary to each other to further discover and re-discover how they can be the best version of themselves as well as Spider-Man. Miles & Gwen’s relationship is a much an engaging piece as they both need so desperately to confine with someone on the struggles of balancing their civilian identities with their work as superheroes. This dynamic is actually much more interesting from Gwen’s POV as her choice to always do the right thing and take up the responsibility to make amends for her greatest failure actually fleshes out her character more especially when you see her in the film’s opening and with her relationships with older figures like her father and other Spider-People like Jessica Drew and to some extent Miguel O’Hara. Gwen is as much of a protagonist in this movie as Miles is, and that’s not to say Miles’ story can’t carry the movie (because it does), it’s just that Gwen’s presence as a co-lead is much more noticeable, and her character arc sort of acts as a parallel to Miles’ arc from the first movie.

Miles’ growth in this movie as well is also pleasant to see as he takes more proactive approaches to trying to fix his personal problems which helps establish him as a much more confident yet emotionally vulnerable character than he was in the previous movie. He definitely radiates the aura of a true Spider-MAN! His dynamic with his parents is arguably my favorite character dynamic, and usually, superhero dynamics with their parents are something I’m usually indifferent to, but the vocal performances between these actors as the characters really sell you on their bond and how you really want that bond to stay intact. This is more than I could say for the Insomniac video game adaptation of Miles and his parents.

Now in regard to the antagonists and other supporting cast members of the film, I’ll keep things brief. The Spot went from a pathetic C-lister villain of the week to an absolute nightmare and I absolutely love his character evolution throughout the film as he just becomes this spiteful and arrogant villain that will do everything in his power to hurt Miles and relish in it.

It’s strange to see a villain go through “True Menace” character development as it is a neat concept that is rarely seen, and the movie knows how to properly pace his further descent into villainy so it doesn’t feel like it came out of left field. As for the other antagonist, Miguel O’Hara…he’s what I would refer to as an allegorical villain. If you’ve seen some of the trailers and recent TV spots (which spoiled some of the best bits of the movie), you basically get the gist that Miguel is only a “Necessary Evil” to Miles (and to other Spider-People to an extent) as he basically tries to enforce his hero group of the Spider-Society to maintain the Comic Book Status Quo (hero’s loved one must always die in order for them to become the hero).

To me, this is the filmmakers making a clear jab at the Marvel Comics Editorial on how they are infamously known for always putting the Spider-Man character stuck on a perpetual loop of zero character evolution, and that’s both a hilarious and interesting concept. Alongside that, Miguel was also designed to serve as an allegory to “rage-fueled minority” groups that blatantly cannot accept Miles Morales as a Spider-Man, and his dynamics with the other Spider-People are some of my favorite parts of the movie. The chase throughout Nueva York (Spider-Man 2099’s home dimension) is my favorite sequence in the movie.

Speaking of other Spider-People…I SCREAMED INTERNALLY LIKE A FAN GIRL WHEN I SAW THE DIFFERENT MEMBERS OF THE SPIDER SOCIETY. Not only did they include previous Spider-People from various cartoons and video games, BUT THE FILMMAKERS EVEN BROUGHT IN THEIR RESPECTIVE VOICE ACTORS TOO!! THIS IS THE FIRST TIME I’VE HEARD JOSH KEATON GIVE NEW LINES AS SPECTACULAR SPIDER-MAN IN NEARLY 15 YEARS AFTER THE SHOW’S CANCELLATION! While seeing old and familiar faces was a good treat, I love the level of detail they put into revamping characters like Spider-Man India and Hobie Brown the Quincy Spider-Punk! Spider-Man India’s redesign was already great based on the concept art and promotional imagery…but Spider-Punk?? MY LORD, HE LOOKS INCREDIBLE! His art style is basically akin to a moving scrapbook, HE LOOKS LIKE A WALKING TALKING OLD MTV BUMPER! And this intentional style choice fits with his personality because he’s an anarchist English rock n’ roll superstar that hates consistency! IT’S FUNNY AND GENIUS!

Speaking of art style, I did not think it would be impossible to improve upon the first film’s art style but this movie proved me wrong. This is clear in how the action scenes are animated, tracked/shot, and the backgrounds of the different Spider-Man universes. My favorite universes shown in this movie would definitely be Mumbattan (Spider-Man India’s home turf) and Gwen’s (which takes HEAVY inspiration from her first comic book and adds more to it with its paintbrush and pastel streaks art style aesthetic). And even in its presentation and the luscious backdrops, I feel like the movie either took slight inspiration from other works that were originally inspired by the first movie…either that or the people who worked on those inspired works came in to participate in the film’s production.

If there’s only one thing I can fault this movie on is that it’s technically an incomplete movie. I said previously that this movie is technically a Part 1 of 2 so I cannot in good faith rate it as a complete experience. That would be like rating a book but only if you’ve read the first half, I just can’t do it.

So for now I will have to give Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse a tentative title of 9 out of 10 (★★★★½), with the possibility of changing it to a higher or lower score depending on the quality of the 3rd and final movie.

#text post #review #Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse #Miles Morales #not quite anime

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