#not to be mega obvious but there’s meaning in the differences in the clippings | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

spinningbuster98 · 5 days

Video

youtube

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles (Knuckles) Part 2: Knuckles hates the circus

Now I know that unlike Sonic he doesn’t chuckle (yeah sure), but what does Knuckles have against the circus? I don’t understand why his treck through the stage has him pretty much skip 90% of the thing, was Carnival Night just not designed with him in mind?

Other than that though everything else is fine, ice Cap I like how his act 2 focuses on the bottom portion of the stage and I like how different act 2 of Launch Base is with him. It’s appropriate that he gets to fight two versions of the miniboss, after Sonic only fought one with the other two being left inactive if you noticed.

What’s less appropriate is me dying all of a sudden for no good reason because Knuckles just happened to clip through the floor as I was falling

Ok let’s go there

If we wanna talk about an “objective flaw” that Sonic 3 has is that the game is...honestly pretty damn glitchy

Now I know full well that the whole “Sonic is a glitchy, rushed mess of a series lol” take is something that Sonic fans are sick of hearing but...guys there is a degree of truth in that statement and it cannot be denied. Sonic games, even in the early days, have always had at least a certain degree of rough edges. Sonic 1 and 2 were pretty minor with this, at worst there were some physics related shenanigans but nothing too noticeable. Sonic CD was pretty problematic though, with some winky collision detection at points and noticeable slowdown when things got too hectic

Sonic 3 might just be the worst of the classics in this area and Sega must’ve known this because even the International manual mentions something along the lines of Robotnik setting some traps that might be impossible to escape from without resetting the game....which is a cute way of saying you might get softlocked while playing this and I can confirm

Now I don’t wanna say it’s as bad as Sonic 06, but every time, every SINGLE time I play Sonic 3 SOMETHING happens. Whether it’s my dying for no reason at all like what happened here or in a previous video while in the Death Egg, me getting crushed for standing too close to a crusher even though I wasn’t actually crushed by it, clipping through some terrain because I was going too fast forcing me to restart (this happened recently to me twice during another Knuckles playthrough I was doing, during Hydrocity Act 2, and another time it happened while I was messing around with the Hyper Dash as Sonic) and my most detested and frequent occurence: coming at a complete stop while rolling in some specififc loops or up some small hills which is the absolute worse: you lose all momentum and speed for no reason in a game that’s all about momentum and speed

I don’t know what it is with Sonic and glitches, the obvious answer that most on the Internet would give is that Sega likes to rush out games and that Sonic Team is clearly incompetent, but while there is truth in the former statement (as I’ll touch on later), the latter just doesn’t make sense to me: you may use this explanation for current Sonic Team, but this is the Sonic Team that brought us the original games, Sonic 3 itself, glitches aside, is one hell of a game, these guys are by no means incompetent so what happened? Honestly I think it’s partly due to Sonic’s inherently speedy nature, which makes it way easier for physics related bugs to occur.

Honestly for as much as I love Sonic 3 to death I...don’t really have a defense for this. When I was a kid I would rationalize the bugs as this just being an older game, but not only were Sonic 1 and 2 not this buggy, no other big game from this era had all of these issues. Super Metroid, Super Mario World, Donkey Kong Country, Mega Man X,all of these games do have glitches (as all games do), but they’re mostly minor stuff that you have to go out of your way to trigger and can actually be beneficial for speedrunning. If someone were to play this game for the first time and call it mediocre because they happened to run into these bugs frequently...I wouldn’t know what to tell them. I personally believe that Sonic 3′s overall design, gameplay, music and presentation are so top of their class that it allows me to mostly ignore the rough parts, but depending on one’s own sensibility regarding glitches this might not be enough.

Of course I do have an idea as to why Sonic 3 is so much buggier when compared to its predecessors and I believe it’s mostly due to its complicated development and it having to be split in two halves and I really wanted to focus on the latter part

Whenever I hear someone talk about Sonic 3 split nature they usually go “oh man lock on technology was so cool!”

And I’m like: they split a whole game in two parts and made you buy both of them. They sold you an incomplete game only to sell you the rest later on. This is almost the same shit companies like EA and Ubisoft pull nowadays, had the 90s had DLC that’s what Sonic & Knuckles would have been. People trash modern gaming for this, and rightly so, so why does nobody ever talk about this? And I’m not saying all of this because I want to bitch about how “Sega bad” and get a free cookie from Sonic Twitter, I know about the context behind this game, I know about Sega’s deadline due to their deal with McDonalds (which, unless I’m missing some details, feels very stupid to me and proof that Sega’s decision making was pretty faulty even back then) and I know about the difficulties of putting the whole game on a single cartridge without skyrocketing the manufacturing price. Game development can get insanely complicated and messy and I genuinely have respect for Sonic Team for the quality of the final product, especially given the overall conditions in which they were working.

But in the end there’s no getting around the fact that consumers back then had to essentially buy two games to get one

Sonic 3 alone cost about 70 bucks in North America back then

(This is from a magazine from 1994)

I couldn’t find similar data on Sonic & Knuckles but I think it’s safe to assume that it had a similar price tag, meaning that, if you wanted to buy the complete Sonic 3 experience, you had to fork over roughly 100 dollars at the very least. Keep in mind: this is all without taking inflation into account

Now some might say that none of this matters anymore because nowadays you can buy the whole game cheaply off of Steam or something. I find this logic flawed: when judging a game you need to at least take into account the context in which it was made, as that was the only frame of reference that its devs could have while making it as nobody could predict the future

Let’s put it this way: consider all of the beyond half finished trash that some companies nowadays like to throw on the market, while patching it like a year later or something. Now consider that some of those games might get rereleased 30 years from now more cheaply and with their full content from the get go. Would that suddenly make everything ok? No? Then not even Sonic 3 should be excempt from this

Now I’m not saying all of this because I wanna imply that Sonic 3 is actually bad and a cash grab and Sonic was never good yadda yadda

I’m saying that while Sonic 3 the videogame is, from a qualitative standpoint, a phenomenal experience, one of the very best videogames from the 90s (though with some noticeable rough edges), Sonic 3 the commercial product was pretty shoddily, and perhaps even greedily depending on how you wanna look at things, handled. This is an indelible part of the game’s history and I think it should be talked about. For the past years I’ve seen Sonic fans bitch and moan about the prices of games like Forces or Superstars because they’re too high for games that are so short and clearly rushed etc. And they might even have a point or two but I find it absolutely unfair that Sonic 3, which has the same issues in this regard but on an even bigger scale, is never mentioned, purely because it came out when all the people who are currently bitching about the industry’s problems were kids who had their parents but them stuff and this kind of discourse was practically non-existence. It’s a matter of fairness is what I’m saying

#youtube #sonic the hedgehog #sonic the hedgehog 3 & knuckles #my gameplay

4 notes · View notes

spicyicymeloncat · 2 years

Text

Okay I told myself that I wasn’t gonna talk about Ninjago Crystalised until after the season came out but I need to set the bar straight with Kai

Obvious spoilers are obviously below

I’ve seen one too many people asking why Kai isn’t as affected as Jay over Nya’s death, that Kai should be angry, and mad or at least be emotional about it. I mean he definitely is, is a lot more short tempered and on edge than usual. However Kai expresses his grief differently.

When something bad happens in Kai’s life, he’s a lot more active and does things to compensate for it. I feel like since Nya died, he probably blames himself and is punishing himself with work, and the comics state that he became a lot more careless which implies he now is neglecting his own safety. Which makes sense if his main motive for getting by was keeping Nya safe, without her, he feels like he’s failed. If he’s failed then what’s the point in his own safety.

He also feels guilt. We know he took a lot of blame for Zane’s death in s3, as he told Lloyd that it should’ve been him, and his huge hero complex has been an issue since s1. If his friends are literally mega powering up to defeat the big bads and losing their physical bodies in the process, then it was his role to protect them, he needs to push himself just as much even if it hurts him. That’s why the slither pits, him being the red shogun, was ideal, he could feel in a fight, disregard his own safety and try and uphold his own standard of being “strong”.

As well as these, we shouldn’t forget that ever since Kai was little he had to just get over grief. When his parents went missing, do you think he had time to grieve? No! He has to be strong for Nya, he has to run the blacksmiths, he has to be a hero so it won’t happen again. Kai copes with grief by putting in more effort in what he does, by beating himself up mentally and then overworking himself because he feels responsible.

Also Nya wouldn’t want him to sit around and that’s him honouring her in some way. Also you have to also keep in mind that these clips state it’s been a year since Nya died. Kai could have already had his time to grieve, if he’s gonna mope it won’t take a year. Kai is not one to let out his emotions, he doesn’t have time for it. He’s gone through so much, and each time he feels like it’s his job to pick up the pieces, not to fall apart.

Angry Kai makes sense. It’s just that, emotionally closed off, brutally to the point, strict and self punishing Kai makes a lot more sense in terms of his backstory

#ninjago #lego ninjago #ninjago crystalized #ninjago s15 spoilers #ninjago s16 spoilers #can I be bothered to tag more idk #I feel like I came off as aggressive #I don’t mean to #I just think that Kai’s character is very nuanced and he isn’t always the angry hothead yknow #let my man cry silently #ninjago kai #kai smith #Ninjago analysis

122 notes · View notes

sandibullock · 3 years

Note

I was wondering if you could do a tutorial on this gifset that you did i really like ittt

Thank you for sending this in, anon! I’m glad you liked it and wondered how it was made :) Fun fact: the day before you sent this, I had just started working on my next set in that “Select Filmography” series. I hope you like that one too when it’s ready!

I think I should start by saying I’m pretty new to giffing myself and there might be more efficient ways of getting to the same result. However, the point here is to show you the process I went through to make this gifset and hopefully help you understand how to make a similar one.

To follow this tutorial, you will need some version of Photoshop and some giffing knowledge. I know there are multiple ways of making gifs so I’m just letting you know I’m using the timeline and the “Convert for Smart Filters” option (I don’t really know how else to call it).

Now let’s get started!

STEP 1 - CHOOSE THE SCENES

It might sound obvious but, in my opinion, this is the most crucial step. It’s also the one that takes the longest (along with step 7, aka the coloring).

At this stage, you need to have a general idea on how you want your set to look like so you can choose the scenes accordingly. In my case, I knew I needed two types of shots for each movie: one close-up for the main gif and one mid shot for the shape. I also needed to take two other criteria into consideration: the movement (because of the shape) and the lighting (because darker scenes are such a pain to color). Last but not least, I didn’t want the characters to be talking (but that’s just a personal preference).

With all of that in mind, you can start saving a few screenshots of scenes that meet your criteria (or at least some of them). In the end, there won’t be that many to choose from so be prepared to make compromises.

STEP 2 - MAKE A DRAFT

Now that you’ve preselected a few scenes, you can make a first draft. This will help you turn your general idea into something more concrete.

Basically, this is your opportunity to organize your thoughts. What size do you want your gifs to be? What shape are you going to use? On which side do you want the close-ups to be? Do you want all of them to be on the same side or do you want to alternate from one gif to the other? Do the scenes you chose work together (gif-wise but also set-wise)? Are you happy with the way it looks, overall?

By answering all of the questions you might have now, you’ll save yourself a lot of time, trust me. Of course, you can totally skip this step if you already know exactly which scenes you’re going to use and how you’re going to present them together.

To give you an idea, this is what my draft looked like for Atomic Blonde.

STEP 3 - PREPARE YOUR GIFS

Once you have a clearer view on how you want your set to look like, you can finally start giffing like you usually would (i.e. importing, cropping, resizing, etc.).

It should then look something like this.

The important thing to mention here is that you want both of your gifs to be the same number of frames (32, in my case).

Ideally, you should also aim for the ~same~ coloring (especially for the skin tone, since both gifs will be so close to each other). This bit is particularly difficult when you chose scenes which have opposite lighting (see my two uncolored gifs below). Remember how I insisted on steps 1 and 2? It was to help you avoid this. So my advice would be not to choose these types of contrasted scenes, unless you can’t do otherwise and you’re ready to suffer!

STEP 4 - MAKE YOUR SHAPE

To make your shape, you can click right on the Shape Tool (U) and select the last one, Custom Shape Tool. From the Shape menu appearing on top, you will be able to choose the shape you want from the drop down list and start drawing on your gif.

To be more precise with the dimensions, you can manually adapt the length and height from the Shape menu itself. I decided to go with the same ones as my gif.

Once your shape is positioned like you want it to be, you can drag and drop the shape layer under your gif. Next, you will have to click right on the gif layer/smart filter and select Create Clipping Mask. The result is as below. Note that if the size of your shape was smaller than your gif, you would still be able to reposition your gif with the Move Tool (V).

You can now export your shape gif, reopen it in Photoshop and convert it again to the video timeline and to a smart filter. This is where I’m not sure it’s the most efficient way of doing things but it’s the only way I found to keep the coloring of each gif separate. I also find it easier to work with a smart filter.

STEP 5 - COMBINE YOUR GIFS

To add your shape gif to your main gif, you can simply click right on the shape gif you just reopened and select Duplicate Layer. You can then choose the project which contains your main gif to duplicate it in there. Now go to your main gif and reposition your shape gif where you want it to be (how many times did I say gif here?). Finally, you can draw a new shape, using the same dimensions as in step 4, reposition it and choose any color you want from the Shape menu.

Since you will be repeating this process with your following gifs, I suggest you add a few guides so you know exactly where you should place everything to make all of your final gifs look the same.

(In case you’re wondering, the “Base” folder contains my adjustment layers/basic coloring for the main gif.)

STEP 6 - ADD THE TITLE

This step is pretty simple: go on the web and type “[name of the movie] title”. Download the png you like most, open it in Photoshop and resize it to a length of about 150-200 pixels. Next, duplicate the layer to your main gif and reposition it. In case you need to resize it again, select the title layer and go to Edit > Free Transform (Ctrl+T).

This is optional but in case you want to change the way it looks, know you can always duplicate the title layer and play with the blending options (see below). The good thing with a png is that you can also add some effects by clicking on the “fx” button.

STEP 7 - ADD COLORING (OPTIONAL)

To be honest, I had not planned on coloring my gifs. But I had already spent so much time on them and I was still unhappy with the way they looked. I mean, see how grey-ish they are? Not great...

So the only thing left for me to do was to add some colors. Now, since coloring is worth a tutorial on its own and it already exists, I suggest you read through becca’s mega coloring tutorial (and especially steps 3 & 5). Seriously, shoutout to her for making this incredibly useful tutorial. She is so talented and I love everything she makes!

My Atomic Blonde gif barely even needed coloring so I’ll show you what I did for my Tully and The Old Guard gifs.

For the first one, once I had found which colors to use with which blending option and opacity level, I only had to remove the colors from the left side of the gif because there was barely any movement in that scene (phew!). For the second one, on the other hand, I decided to color frame by frame because there was way more movement, in comparison. This is quite a tedious process, which is why you want to limit yourself to a certain amount of frames.

I’ll conclude by saying there are so many things you can do with coloring and what works with one scene might not work with another. So experiment with it: try different colors, play with the blending options and opacity levels, add some gradients and/or gradient maps, etc. Just know it will take some time to get to a somewhat satisfying result!

And that’s it... I hope this tutorial made sense and was somehow helpful. Of course, don’t hesitate if you have any questions! Also, if you do end up making a similar edit, pleeease send me the link or tag me in the replies or something ‘cause I would definitely love to see it!!

#asks #anonymous #tutorials #resources #completeresources #allresources #itsphotoshop #putting all of this process into words took so long i really hope it makes sense #also i can't help but wonder if it was my before/after post which prompted this ask...#gifs #gifs: tutorials

368 notes · View notes

evakuality · 3 years

Photo

Mia, episode four

1. Hanna staring deep into Mia’s face as she talks = not loosening my conviction they should be together. But either way, I like this little scene. One thing I think Druck does well is translating the ideas of all the russ-stuff from the og into its own thing that makes sense in its own context. These suggestions really are all terrible, though. I’m not at all surprised that Jonas and Matteo are taking the mickey out of it (side note - I missssss themmmmmm). I know I’m seriously anti Alex and so I’m not feeling even remotely charitable, but I really dislike the way he’s walking in all ‘I have a much better idea than you guys’ and acting as if he’s better than them. Plus, then they ended up using it and... ugh. I just... I really hate William and poor Alex is bearing the brunt of that. It’s probably not his fault; I just brought a whole lot of baggage into this viewing.

2. I do love that Leonie is still ‘in charge’ in this way. It’s a nice continuity from s1. And she’s not perfect in any way; a lot of her little mannerisms and the way she acts and speaks from s1 are still here, but she’s mellowed a bit. It’s not as directed and petty; she just likes being in charge and running stuff.

3. Wow a lot is going on in this first clip. Amira is getting her voice heard like a boss here! (sidenote #2: she is stunning in this outfit with this makeup etc). It’s obvious that she’s pretty used to Mia and her very set opinions (a bit like Leonie but she does it in a different way) and knows the only way to get what she/they need is to basically steamroll over every attempt Mia makes at speaking. I like the point that Mia’s principles aren’t as important as the people who wouldn’t be able to pay the larger price. Like, I get it - she’d rather not have anything to do with Alex (me either tbh) but Amira is also right. Excluding him on principle isn’t fair to the bulk of the students. However, ‘he shows up with all his money and his damn poster and now he’s a nice guy?’ - I mean, exactly. Still. There are other considerations and it shouldn’t be black and white.

4. Oh, this walkway/ramp thing again. My beloved setting returns! Honestly, I really really love this school building. It’s got so many little corners and changes and different spaces and this space in particular is used to really good effect. Like rn, Alex has the high ground and while Mia is trying to stand up to him, it’s ineffectual because they’re having to use high angles on her vs low on him. He still has the power. And even when they come together, and there’s a seeming meeting of equals, he’s still got the high ground, even if just barely. And as he walks away with his insufferable smirk, he regains that high ground even more (do I like this plot at all? No, but I do like the film techniques used to explore it). I just really really love the way the camera works in these spaces. Unlike a ‘normal’ school, this one has so much depth and variety even when they reuse the same spaces. None of the times this thing is used is the effect exactly the same even when it seems similar. Hmmmm, now part of me wants to look at every time it’s used and see how it’s done. Somebody stop me.

5. Yikes - I’m only 6 minutes in and I already wrote an essay. Okay, let’s try to be more brief as we continue. Oh. Mia alone and in a nice space with warm tones around her (unlike the other two scenes this episode). I do like these moments when we hang out with our mains and I’m glad we’re starting to get that more with Mia. Very interesting that she chooses to fold and iron her clothes as a reaction to the ‘mega geil’ comments about Alex. Clearly she’s starting to feel out of control about the whole business with Alex and the things he’s saying to her, and this is one way of her reasserting her control. She likes having things under control and we see it coming out in these odd ways now that she’s found something that is out of her control. She clearly gets some peace out of it, but it’s so rigid that you can tell it must be about to crack soon. Nice touch with Hans bringing the comic relief. I love him so much!!

6. Lol, Matteo looks super disgusted by this chirpy conversation about Hans’ affliction. I like that his characterisation is still traceable. He’s not AS low and isolated as he seems in his season (the benefit of perspective I guess), but he’s still slumped and isn’t as engaged in the things around him - here and even with Jonas earlier. It’s just nice to see because I know his season came pretty close after Mia’s so it’s good that it doesn’t seem to come out of nowhere. Continuity - Druck is good at it. Also how uncomfortable he is when the discussion turns to what gay penises look like - clearly he already has some ideas about how himself and equally clearly he doesn’t want to talk about ‘gay’ anything when it might be connected to him. Little does he know, his phone already gave them ideas. But I do like him already being the biggest Hanna/Jonas shipper - like, he’s so determined to make up for his interference that he’s fully trying to interfere again, and it’s a nice segue into ‘why does anyone spend a whole evening stalking someone’ - yeah, we see you Mia. You’re more intrigued by Alex than you care to admit. I enjoy these little seemingly unimportant clips of them just hanging out that actually advance the plot or characterisation.

7. Hanna: Mia, please come to this place to save me from being alone with Jonas. Mia: I’m on my way (despite not wanting to go at all) - are we seriously telling me she’s not at least a little bit in love with Hanna? Seriously. The need to help Hanna out is strong in this one. But also... more mirror reflections, but this time she’s more centered (not entirely but more so) and her whole face is in shot. Things are ‘coming together’ so to speak. And ion hindsight, I can’t even seem to spot Jonas? Is he even there? Was Hanna trying to get Mia there through stealth????

8. Yikes, this thing they’re doing where they say stuff about each other is a bit brutal. Amira’s ones are mostly pretty awful, and targeted at her religion. Very interesting that for the others, they seemed more focused on who they are rather than ‘what’ they are, but it’s not the same for her? Like, I know we explore this a bit in her season but there’s been so much through the whole 2 seasons so far that I feel even more like we lost the opportunity to truly explore that more. RIP the s4 she deserved!

9. I don’t like Alex still (he’s still too arrogant and irritating for me) but I do like the quiet slow way Mia is warming up to him. She doesn’t want to, but you can see her re-evaluating him and starting to recalibrate her thoughts. Like it’s not rushing and he is at least a little more interesting than William and has more charisma so I can see why she would become intrigued once she shifted her perspective. Unlike William, who remained gross through the entire thing.

10. So Mia’s desperate need to be in control and have everything perfect even extends to Alex’s place and his stuff? Considering she still thinks she doesn’t like him, she’s taking a lot of trouble with his space. Suuuuuper awkward alone times here though I do like this shot of Mia exploring Alex’s place and the camera just sort of following along with that and taking in what she sees. Being this tight on her really plays up how ‘tight’ her PoV is and how she’s not seeing outside the bounds of what she wants to see.

11. This is a very very long clip, but there’s something charming about it too. Alex is... hmmmm, not exactly a good guy as yet (he’s still doing some quite douchey things), but he’s starting to open up and be real while still trying to protect some stuff that’s and that’s a lot more believable than William was. I know he was supposed to be like that, too, in a lot of ways, but I never found him convincing. Not the way Alex is. I don’t like him (this is genuinely not a type of guy that appeals to me at all) but I can see why he might win Mia over. Which I never did understand with Noora. We shall see - there are things from later in Noora’s season that fill me with incandescent rage, and if those happen then I can’t warm to Alex properly at all. But for now, I can see why Mia might be won over. Even if I can’t forgive him for the way he treats Kiki and acts like he’s the only one with all the right answers.

Lots of long clips in this one with a whole heap going on. It would have been something to go through this live, I’m sure. I found lots of little moments in this one to like, and I like how Druck has managed the characters and the interactions to make it feel natural. Considering that I really cannot stand the og of this and that one was very long, I think they’re doing a fairly good job of keeping this one engaging and a decent pace even if I still dislike one of the characters.

#druck #mia - episode 4 #wow this got long again #update on feelings about Alex - still don't like him

9 notes · View notes

yamithediaperdork · 3 years

Text

Two kinks, One love. (Soul eater)

Two Kinks one love

It was just after sun set, but in Death city two boys were about to engage in a very out of the norm date by any stretch of the imagination. They had run into each other while out and about, indulging in their respective fetishes late one night and while both had been shocked, they had also quickly fallen hard for each other.

The first Boy was the son of Lord death, the slightly prissy but kind hearted Death the kid. he'd been wearing his favorite black dress which came down to just above his knees and had been wearing pantyhose too of course, like a proper lady. Black high highs that he could run in without pause and a black purse, his make up had been spot on and he looked fabulous and knew it. It was the worst kept secret that the son of lord death was a trap, but most people just pretended not to notice because either they didn't care, thought he was MUCH nicer in girlie mode or well, who wants to piss him off? The second boy was in a small group of those who didn't know Kid prefer to be a sexy trap, though that was because he was busy with his only little fetish wear love. He was Black star, a legend in the making (if you listened to him) And he was also a goo goo gaga big baby. The night they met he'd been going on a waddle of shame and had been in 3 thick diapers that puffed out the crotch and butt of his black diaper shirt and blue short-all's (that of course, had his trademark sign on the front pocket.) He'd also been sporting blue sneakers with black laces that lit up in the back as he went for his once around the block waddle of shame and it had been by chance (or maybe fate) that the two had stumbled onto each other.

Black had been rounding the corner, after almost going into a late night shop for ice cream but then recalling he had left his wallet at home so no one could id him. (Silly when you consider how well he stood out and his instance on making sure everyone knew him..but it was a well know fact putting diapers on a big baby reduces logic by 40 percent.) In any case, he knew his store credit was tapped out and decided to call it a night. looking back at the shop he wasn't paying attention to where he was going and bumped into a pretty lady sending them both down to the ground. "Oh Gosh! I-I'm Sorry!" Black whined, trying to scamper but but the bulk around his hips made that a bit harder then normal. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was.." And Black trailed off as he looked down and recognized in a instant the face of the 'lady' he had bumped into, Kid! "heh..It's ok Little guy." Kid said, eyes narrowing in on the padded crotch. "Little boys like you shouldn't be out here along. where's your mommy?" Black gulped BIG time at that, He had always loved the idea of having a mommy for his diaper adventures but was gay as could be..and suddenly a obvious solution he had never thought of had just bumped into him.

Kid himself had been soaking in the semi attention and had let his gaze drift, looking at a dress on display in a store shop window and so had been just as responsible for the collision as the little guy. Looking up and seeing Black dressed like a over sized un-potty trained toddler Kid almost had little hearts in his eyes. if there was one thing he loved more then being a hot little trap walking the town.. it was being a good mommy dom. Sadly his picks for big babies in the city had been limited to Liz Thompson due to her cry baby ways. it wasn't that the older Thompson didn't make a good baby (she did, very much so) it was more that due to her doing it by request not want she could be difficult at times. But here in front of him dressed perfectly on his own free will.. Meow~ "well, I asked you a question little star~" Kid said getting up and smiling ear to eye and then dusting Black off first then himself. "I..I don't..have..a mommy..Miss Kid" Black said, blushing and poking two fingers together. "Do you want one?" Kid asked and winked. "YESH! I-I Mean..if that's ok with yo-" And Black was silenced as Kid kissed the baby on the lips.

From then on Black had been mommies little guy and despite some of the challenges involved (read: Black's mega poopie diapers) neither of them had looked back on it, and while they both wanted it to be a more 24/7 thing they both knew realistically with their duties and responsibilities that just wasn't possible. Besides, while Kid was more or less out in the open, Black was mostly unknown as a public diaper boy having kept his adventure to around his block. He wasn't ready for EVERYONE to know his favorite place to make boom boom was in the seat of his pants.

But tonight was date night, and it was Kid's turn to host. truthfully either place would of done for their in house date nights butttt Black's place had a funk to it that wasn't from the diaper pail the big baby maintained and more from his poor cleaning habits. Kid had taken the guest room of his place and turned it into any big baby boys dream nursery (and Black had been clear, he was a baby BOY..Mommy might be able to pull a dress off but not him.) and held out hope that one of these days Black would finally take him up on the offer to move in. Their friends knew they were dating of course (just not all the fun details) so it wasn't like that was holding them back. Kid was jolted out of that train of thought as his door bell rang and before he went to answer it he stopped and checked his reflection in a full body mirror. He had gone with a stepford house wife dress for tonight, reaching down past his knees and in a white with pink floral print on it and had a white apron on over it. he was wearing a pair of white socks tugged up high and a pair of pink flat heels and have a pair of pearl earrings in. a light bit of make up was on, some eye linger, lipstick and blush, and he smiled at his reflection and blew a little kiss as the doorbell rang again. "Best not keep the baby waiting darling." he scolded himself and walked to the door with a soft clip clap from his shoes on the hard wood floor. answering the door Kid was a little disappointed (though not shocked) to see that Black had come over in jean's and a t-shirt, though he'd brought his 'diaper' bag so to speak and had it slung over a shoulder. it was of course really just a tote bag but Kid made sure to refer to it as such as while he had loads of supplies, he made sure that Black would bring his own ba-ba and first diaper(s) to help him get used to carrying his baby gear around in public. (and maybe just a tiny bit to try and drive home if Black lived with kid, he wouldn't have to lug the stuff around) "There's my little guy~" Kid coo'ed and smiled, loving how bright the boys cheeks lit up when he was the one dressed like a 50's house wife. Standing to the side he gestured for Black to come in. "well come on, are you gonna stand there and squirm looking at mommy till you have a accident or come in and get di-" Kid started but Black let out a soft yelp and dashed in the house. "..works every time." Kid chuckled and waved to a neighbor who had been watching with quiet amusement then shut the door.

Black was squirming and huffy as he waited for mommy in the living room, having made sure to slid his sneakers off. "I wish you wouldn't do that." he sulked as mommy came into view. That wasn't exactly the strictest of truths.. he didn't wanna be a outed big baby but mommies teasing had a small part of him all excited "Mhmmm.. I know you hate it sooo much.." Kid teased and eyed the front of Black's tight pants that gave him away. "Come on little man, let's get you in a nice thick diapie before you piddle all over mommies floor again." Kid coo'ed and coming in close, tickled onto Black's chin and made the boy squirm and giggle even as he tried to huff. "Mommmmmmyyyy! that was ONE time!" He whined, hating/loving how small and little Kid could make him feel with a few well chosen words and just a chin tickle. "And that one time too many. Come along now." Kid coo'ed and gently took the little guy by the wrist, leading him to the nursery. "Did you pack one of your super thick diapies like a good boy? or does mommies have to use one of the ones we have here?" Black whined and squirmed. he had SORTA kinda maybe been trying to just bring thin diapers over here..not because he wanted thin but well mommy had SO many thick ones here and he only had about 5 left and was trying to save his. Sadly for the little rascal mommy had figured him out and loved to tease. "I uh..well..see.." Black started up. "That's what i thought. you know, not to beat a dead horse but if you moved in you could have ALL the massive diapies you could want little man. I'll order anther pack and have them ship it to your place tomorrow though. just food for thought." Black star nodded and just let mommy take control, knowing that mommy knew best.

The nursery had baby blue walls with some silly chibi ninja's painted on them here and there fighting chibi monsters and the floor was covered with a plush cream white rug so if the baby lost his balance he wouldn't hurt his tush on the floor. (Of course with the thickness o0f Black's diapers it wasn't likely to happen but hey, Kid paid for all of this so he was allowed to justify it as he saw fit.) there was a wooden crib that had been made to order so could handle a bigger babies weight and left the little guy lots of room to play in by one wall, and it had been painted light black by black's request. (the little guy had wanted to help paint it but Kid had foreseen the mess THAT would of ended with and had told a little fib that the builders insisted on painting it themselves.) there was a cream white colored changing table, again made to order and had a black cushioned top those the cover was waterproof and made for easy clean up in the event of leaks. It also had a set of drawers on the side that held the different baby powders, rash creams and of course diapers that Kid's big baby had picked out one night in Kid's lap squealing and giggling. 'I'm gonna make him a spoiled rotten brat.' Kid mused briefly. 'ah well..he'll be MY spoiled rotten brat.' Adding to the spoiled brat theory was the MASSIVE toy chest that even as big as it was couldn't be fully shut from just how many toys little Black had, and there was a shelf built on a wall filled with nursery tale and story tale books. Of course one of the most important parts of the nursery had actually been the cheapest..it was a large metal diaper pail that Kid had stenciled 'BLACK STAR' onto and helped keep his little man's nursery smelling like baby powder and love instead of poopie diapers.

"You strip down like a good boy sweetie while mommy goes and picks out something adorable for you to wear..unless you wanna just go in your diapies tonight." Kid said and smirked. "IIIII um..yeah..just diapies sounds good ta me..we're gonna eat soon anyways and then you'll hafa just strip me down after anyways mommy." "oh how true! such a clever baby I have!" Kid coo'ed and more chin tickles. "I guess i can help the silly big baby strip then." Black squirmed and nodded, and then just relaxed and followed orders as Mommy would tell him to raise his arms or the like while 'she' got him undressed, getting him down to his his little ghoulies briefs.(Little Ghoulies of course being Black's favorite toddler show) "oh my.. Somebody either been having accidents or just isn't very good at wiping!" Kid teased, clicking his touge as he looked at the large brown stains in the back of the undies. "and I JUST got these for you last week little man." "S-Sorry Mommy. I um..I just.. I had some not farts an-" Black mewed and pointed his index fingers together. "Shhh it's ok. I knew what I was getting into when I brought a big baby big kid undies. though maybe we better start looking into some pull ups for when your playing big boy." Kid coo'ed and kissed Black's cheek, making him tent out his briefs and shushing any argument, at least for the moment. hooking his thumbs in the waist band he tugged the undies down with one smooth practiced monition and then took a step back and clapped his hands and gestured towards his widdle boy. "Come on, walk out of your stinky undies and over to mommy~" "Yesh mama.." Black gurgled and Kid almost melted as he did so, with arms outstretched. 'it's official. i am the god damn luckiest mommydom trap in the world.' Kid mentally gushed and then helped the big baby up onto the changing table. sure the little guy smelled a little and had a few poo stains on his cheeks, but Kid figured with them having a whole night together he could just give the little guy a bath after din din. "Nowww what kinda diaper does my widdle guy want on, aside from thick. Baby blocks? Space ships? zoo print?" Kid asked tickling Black's tummy and black giggled and coo'ed. "Ummm All three!" he said and giggled more. "oh, somebody want to crawl tonight hmmm? Maybe after your bath sweetie. for now we'll go with baby blocks." Kid chuckled. "Awwww..dun want a bath! I smell nice and sweet!" Black pouted and then to prove his point raised his left arm up and took a whiff of his pit..and coughed. "Then again..Mommy knows best." "mmmhmm. and don't you forget it~" Kid chuckled.

With baby black padded and a sucking on a white mouth guard paci that was attached to a black cord hanging around his neck (kid couldn't very well use a shirt clip if the little guy wasn't gonna wear a shirt after all.) he helped the baby down and then got out five toys for black to play with, though they were Black's choice as Kid would pick them out one at a time and hold them up for a head nod or shake. Black meanwhile suckled away and enjoyed the sight of mommy's butt when he bent over, sometimes mommies dress would ride up a little and ALMOST maybe give a peek at what kinda panties he was wearing. It didn't really bug Black that while Kid saw him naked and in his 'undies' most of the time, Black could count on one hand the amount of times he'd seen Kid's Bra and panties. that just wasn't the kinda relationship they had, though then did find ways to make love in their own fashion. Finally picking out a stuffed bear in a tux, a green and purple dragon stuffie, a stereo type bed-sheet ghost stuffie, a teddy in a suit of armor and finally a tiger stuffie he started to play with them, mumbling around his paci and making drool go down his chin. Kid watched mentally gushing and while he wished he could hear the cute little adventure that was being played out as Black loved to narrate, it was worth it to hear him mumbling around his paci. he could of stood there watching for hours honestly but the front door rang and he sighed, why of ALL the nights had his usual delivery place had to of lived up to it's 30 minutes or under delivery time? "Din din's here buddy, can you put your toys away and come meet mommy in the kitchen while he goes and pays?" Kid asked, patting Blacks head. Black whined a little and mumbled something, then sighed like ALL of the worlds problems were on him and nodded.

getting to the front door Kid opened it without checking and found himself looking face to face with soul. "Alright ma'am i got a order of...of..Kid?! Kid is that you?!" Soul asked, being anther one of the rare people not to know about the trap. "uh..yeah.. " kid said and blushed then smiled. "anyways, my order?" "I..oh wow. heh. I didn't know you and black were this kinky! wait, is he a little sissy too?" soul asked. "I believe it's none of your business. now can you ple-" Kid started, but then a loud "MOMMY! I SLIPPED COME KISS MY BOO BOO'S BETTER !!" was heard from the living room and Kid facepalmed while soul laughed. "you know what, I think i got a pretty good idea.. Mommy." Soul chuckled, and took the money he was offered for the food and tipped the hat of his delivery uniform. "You and your widdle one have a good supper Ma'am." he said and then took off. "..Hoo boy..this isn't gonna be fun to explain." Kid thought as he closed the door.

The end.

12 notes · View notes

sanstropfremir · 3 years

Note

second part of that long ask from ur swf anon :)

after the main dancer was chosen for each class, they would complete the choreo and decide formations for their performances. one of the benefits of the main dancer was that they were always center. they also had the benefit of wearing more embellished clothing to stand out (most noticeable in x class, where rian the main dancer was wearing orange while everyone else was wearing green). here is the full list (mnet truly has the WORST camera angles, so i only included the full cam ver of the performances):

1. assistant class: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aF2evLz98h4&ab_channel=MnetTV

2. leader class: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srjJzRVVmxc&ab_channel=CHANNIECHANNEL

the judges shared that even though no:ze was the main dancer/in the center/had the most shiny outfit, they didn't really see her. all the other dancers, in their opinion, stood out and overpowered her.

3. sub class: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mY_3E7W8v30&ab_channel=CHANNIECHANNEL

4. x class (i'm not sure what this class was called): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fC-_8fbn_s4&ab_channel=Whatthejess

judges shared that lip j was the stand out of this class. she's the girl on the far left at 0:36. (it was originally her choreo but rian was chosen as the main dancer so that's why she is credited.)

*i only included comments that were stand outs.

i'm not sure how much creative input the main dancers were given regarding stage design... they didn't show it in the episode so i'm assuming that mnet just told them to show up and perform (because like, the rainbow thing they shot at the end of the leader's performance seemed so random? it didn't match what they were doing). after each performance, the main dancers from each class were asked to pick someone who they thought was the worst dancer. in doing so, the person chosen would lose points for their crew.

judges also chose an mvp crew they thought were the best. prowdmon (monika + lip j + others [sorry i don't know their names. the show really only focuses on these two]) was selected and this gave them the advantage of choosing which crews went against each other in ep4. so, it wasn't a random lottery draw! in the episode, they only showed the part where prowdmon chose to go against wayb (context: no:ze, the main dancer from the leader class, chose monika as the worst dancer. and this made her mad so she was like we're going against wayb - no:ze's crew). i'm not sure why they didn't show how the other crews were paired up. because ya, coca n butter + hook is definitely an interesting match.

also like, wayb was eliminated from the show after ep4's mission.

and it seems like from here on out, there will be a mission each episode to determine who will be eliminated. i'm honestly not too sure. for their next mission, they're doing a mega crew mission and mnet doesn't really explain it; but it seems like each crew is doing a performance on a larger scale (with more members added to their crew). also, like mnet is ass and doesn't upload all the performances onto their channel..... they only upload the ones that were the most popular/had the biggest public reaction which is why i had a hard time finding the clips for the classes mission. hopefully they do from here on out.

another v long post. thank u again for reading and sharing ur thoughts! always love hearing them. (also, pls let me know if i'm oversharing. u mentioned not caring for the competitive nature and drama so i'm not sure if i was adding too much. there really isn't drama imo. mnet tries to do their best to edit and make it seem that way but when u watch the show, the girls truly root for each other and are friends.)

mnet truly has the worst camera angles i hate them so much. also why are they still streaming on a goddamn potato. the quality is SO bad i can barely see anything!! there's a lot of me complaining in this one i'm sorry in advance.

1. assistant class

i have to assume that whoever they chose as the main dancer is the one that stays in centre because i cannot tell from the clothing at all. i don't think she was a standout performer here, but also the camera and the fire effects are WAY too wild to actually get a good grasp on who even was the standout. i also have to assume that the dancers have no say in the design because design is not a big part of street dance and this kind of chaos screams m 'too-much-money-dont-know-how-to-use-it' net. they built this massive set, barely used it, and didn't leave enough room for the proper formation spacing!! ugh. i hope the judges actually got to see a locked off version of this without all that fire in front of the camera because if i were them i would be squinting down the end of my glasses like a grandma at the screen. that's what i was doing anyways but still.

2. leader class

i have to agree, i don't think noze stood out as the main dancer here. and geniunely i cannot tell that they embellished her costume more. like damn, that stylist took a masterclass in subtlety, because i was easily paying more attention to whoever was wearing those massive thigh high cutout garter stockings and woven bodysuit combo. i am assuming that the point of these challenges was probably to be noticed the most so that they can score points and pick who they went up against for the elimination round? i'm not entirely clear but my point remains; ngl i don't really like this method of creating performance because it means that no one is there to create a performance, yanno? troupe/group choreo like this thrives on teamwork to actually make it a good performance. i know it's a pretty classic method of weeding out people for auditions and stuff like that but personally i find it a wholly uncompelling viewing experience, especially when it's a fully produced stage like this. i know everyone very likely gets along behind the scenes but the incohesion of intent is very obvious. also what's up with the assistant class getting a massive set and the leaders getting a bunch of cars and some smoke pyrotechnics? i mean, i am glad they filmed it during the day, but i am confused by the disparity.

3. sub class

i wish i could describe how poorly mnet shot this. it's not a fucking mama stage, it's a dance stage!! we need to see the choreo properly!!!! and together!!! obviously i don't care about stitching together different takes for the final edit but just...not having a continuity at all in the choreo is a bit jarring. again, i am also not sure how one is supposed to evaluate how well these dancers did, because i can barely see what people are doing. or who the main dancers are. i know i'm railing a lot on mnet here but i can't give an accurate reading of the dancers because legitimately it is so hard to tell what's going on. if they want to bill this as a legitimate dance show, why are they shooting it like a kpop performance? the camerawork for kpop serves a specific function: to add to the visual spectacle and to highlight the idols' faces. you don't need either of those things for shoot choreography, so why do we keep getting closeups of dancers' faces? not that these dance videos aren't spectacle-y or fun, because they very much are, but they really suck at their one primary function, which is displaying the choreo.

4. x class

this is definitely the one where the camera work is the closest to what it should be, but then they go and fuck it up by adding rain! just the groundwater would have been fine, but noooo they had to add the extra rain so there would be extra water drops on the lens!! this is my favourite choreo of all four of these, i think there's the most cohesion and (excluding the rain) it's got a good mix of spectacle with the water and the blacklight and the right camera angles to show the choreo mostly well. i still don't understand why they cut in those sections that don't fit with the rest of the flow though. why. you could have one-taked this and it would have looked dope as fuck. i agree that lip j stands out the most, obviously it's her choreo so it's the best suited to her character and abilities.

---

if it wasn't a random lottery draw they should at least have the courtesy of showing people why who picked who!! that's the most interesting part! and i'm not that surprised about wayb being eliminated, prowdmon really stomped them into the ground with that revenge energy. i'm interested in this larger scale performances concept, because i'm not really sure what that looks like in this particular context. if they do end up on youtube i will review them! and you're not oversharing at all, the context is fine! i don't mind reading it as information, i just don't like actually watching it with my own eyes. i can't watch that kind of thing in reality tv because it makes me want to sit everyone down like a kindergarden teacher and go "ok, now why are we all yelling?". too many years of tense rehearsal conflict negotiation and i just want to whack everyone upside the head. it's not very cathartic for me lmao. i have no doubt that everyone is friends because dance scenes are small and i'm sure they've all worked together lots, but even just the editing sets off my fight or fight reflexes.

#street woman fighter #swf #swf reviews #yes i did mean fight or fight i have no flight reflex #i only know violence or advanced conflict management #go into theatre they said. costume design is fun they said #little did 18yro me know i was going to be yelling at actors for eating in costume and trying to convince directors out of stupid ideas #for 90% of my working hours #anyways swf anon i'm sorry this is mostly complaining and not really talking about the dancing #i will try to do more of that for the next episode #for a show supposedly about street dance there's not very much street dance? even the battles are kinda wonky #they dont follow the rules very well and theyre skewed waaaaayyyyyy more towards musicality/showmanship than technique #which is the opposite of how battles usually are graded. i know that it's likely because they don't have actual battle judges #(no disrespect to boa. but i don't think being a battle judge has been a career calling for her)#but its still a bit hmmm for me. i know the idols and the connection to the idol industry is probably what's bring in the views but #it is a very different industry than the street dance one #text #answers

2 notes · View notes

p-artsypants · 4 years

Text

Longest Night (44) Rejecting

Ao3 | FF.net

Despite Adrien’s absolute meltdown, Gabriel still insisted everyone eat together as a family. Sabine did her best to keep the food warm as Adrien collected himself. But ‘collected’ was the barest sense of the word, as he came downstairs, still puffy-eyed and sniffing. Luckily, Marinette was right there beside him, holding his hand tightly.

It was a pasta dish for dinner. Adrien really didn’t pay attention to what kind, he just spent a long while twisting his noodles on his fork.

“So,” began Emilie. “Your father tells me you started going to public school! I knew that was something you wanted to do, but I was just never sure if you were ready. I’m proud of you for getting out there! It can be really nerve wracking starting at school, but I heard you have some really great friends! I’m so happy for you!”

Adrien didn’t look at her, and his expression only tightened.

“It’s okay. Your father said you’re not really talking right now. I don’t blame you. I just wanted you to know that I want to know all about all the things you did while I was gone.”

Adrien hunched over in his seat, curling over his plate and nursing his bad arm to his chest. Why must he be tortured this way?

Marinette on the other hand, watched this exchange with scrutiny. The softness of Emilie’s tone was surprising, but refreshing. Whenever Gabriel had tried the comforting parent routine, his tone usually ended up sounding more condescending than tender. He had his moments of course, but not like Emilie. She spoke to him, not at him. She wasn’t prying to get an answer either, just speaking to him very casually. And the way she looked at him was different too.

It was all love.

Talking with Adrien earlier, he had disclosed that he was confused and hurt by Emilie’s sudden appearance. He didn’t understand why she had shown up so suddenly after all this time. If she was fine, why hadn’t she contacted him? If she loved him so much, why did she disappear without a trace?

Things just didn’t make sense. She seemed like a very kind and warm woman, and for Adrien’s sake, Marinette hoped that she truly was. But for the moment, she’d continue to hold her skepticism.

“Marinette,” Emilie addressed her. “Gabriel says you’re interested in fashion?”

Ah, so she was trying a different technique now? “Uh, yes. I am. That’s what I was hoping to go into…well, I was before…”

“I mean, even if you can’t make a full time career out of it, it’s still a very good hobby to have! When Gabriel was your age, he made all of my clothes! I never had to go shopping and I was the envy of all the girls in my class.”

“Emilie—“ Gabriel tried to interrupt.

“He gets all embarrassed about it when I mention it now, because he has ‘people for that sort of thing’.” She mocked her husband’s voice, prompting Sabine to let out a snort. “But I saw the wedding gown he made for you. Gorgeous! You designed it though, didn’t you?”

“Yes, I had a sketch of it in my sketchbook. I…I think I mentioned it on camera, and he found the design.”

Emilie gasped at her husband. “You went through a girl’s sketchbook without her permission!?” She whacked him.

“Ow! Woman! Stop hitting me!”

“Once you learn some manners, I will! But until then, I think I’ll have to beat them back into you!” Then she laughed. Adrien’s laugh. That unrestrained, joyful sound that you couldn’t help but smile at. Then she smiled, and it really all came together. If Adrien was sunshine, Emilie was a 200,000 mega watt lightbulb. Her joy filled the room, literally making it warmer and brighter.

Like even though her family was falling apart, she was just happy to be with them.

“The second you both feel better, you have to let me see your super suits! I’ve been catching up on the blog, but there’s no real good shots of the details. I want to know everything! Does your yo-yo double as a purse? Do the tail and ears move on their own?”

“Don’t overwhelm them, Em.”

“I can’t help it! My baby boy! A superhero! It’s so exciting!”

“I, for one, think it’s dangerous.” Gabriel argued.

“Well, of course it’s dangerous! That much is obvious!” She gasped. “Oh Marinette, he showed me this clip of Adrien, not transformed, being thrown off the side of a building by a King Kong knock off! Do you know how pissed off that made me?! And don’t even get me started on when he became a glitter statue! Honestly, if it wasn’t for you, I would have lost him several times over!”

Marinette gave a soft, patient smile that she hoped came off in gratitude, and not betraying her current thought, which was, ‘you still might lose him.’ “He’s saved me several times too. He’s got my back, for sure.”

“Oh I’m so glad to hear that!” She clapped. “A healthy marriage is built on teamwork and trust. Just from the clips I’ve seen, it looks like you guys are oozing with it.”

Adrien scooted his picked-at plate forward.

“Adrien, you barely touched your food.” Said Sabine.

He stood, pushing in his chair, and walked out of the room.

Marinette glanced over to Emilie to gauge her reaction.

The woman was just on the verge of tears.

“Madam Agreste, can I have a word with you?” She asked, standing.

“Of course dear.”

Emilie allowed Marinette to lead her into the parlor and shut the door. “Alright. Spill. What’s your angle? Because if you’ve come to get Adrien to trust and fall in love with you all over again before bouncing without a trace, I will personally hunt you down and kill you. My body count is over 40, and I don’t mind adding to it for his sake. Understand?”

Emilie looked at her wide-eyed, before exhaling calmly, “well, I’m happy to see you really do care about Adrien as much as you say you do. I don’t plan on going anywhere, Marinette. I promise.”

“And so I’m just supposed to take you at your word? He cried for an hour!”

From upstairs, the pair could hear the clattering of books and other heavy items being thrown around again.

“Look at what you’re doing to him! You better explain yourself now, or not even Mr. Agreste will let you stay in this house.”

“Marinette,” Emilie said sternly. “I didn’t want to leave. It wasn’t my choice.”

“Then whose was it?”

“No one chose what happened. Gabriel and I…we made a mistake. A huge one that I had to pay for. I didn’t get the chance to say goodbye. I didn’t even get to ask for it. I—“ She glanced towards the door, not knowing who was listening on the other side. Then she shook her head. “I’m trying to be gracious, but this is Gabriel’s fault. I still love my husband, but he has a lot to answer for, especially to you both. I asked him to do so before I came, but he chickened out, I suppose. I can’t blame him…I know he wouldn’t want Adrien giving him the cold shoulder the same way he’s giving me.”

Marinette blinked several times. “What are you even talking about? Stop being so vague!”

“I really wish I could, but I can’t. I don’t have all the answers, and Gabriel really should be saying all of this. I just…I think you’re super cool and really great and I want you to like me. Selfish, I know. But I just wanted you to know that I’m not the bad guy here.”

“That sounds like something the bad guy would say.”

Emilie smiled slightly. “Fair, I guess.” She rubbed her hands on her thighs. “Once Gabe comes clean, I swear this will all make sense.” She paused. “Even in this time where little does for you.”

Marinette inhaled sharply. “So you watched it then?”

“Not all of it. Not yet.” She cast her gaze to the floor. “None of it live. Only after you were found was I even told what was happening.”

Marinette frowned. “Did Gabriel know where you were?”

Emilie paused, considering her answer. There was really no way to soften this blow. Once it all came out, he wasn’t going to be forgiven anyways. “Yes. He did.”

Marinette swallowed harshly, tears pricking at her eyes. “And he never told Adrien?”

“No.”

“Didn’t you ask him to?”

“Marinette…I was in a coma. I couldn’t do anything.”

Well. That made sense. And it didn’t. Why did Gabriel have to hide that she was in a coma? Why would he hide it from his own son?

“Tell Gabriel I expect him to explain himself immediately.” She snapped, before turning face, and briskly leaving the room.

—

Upon returning to Adrien’s room, Marinette met the welcoming sight of her own mother comforting Adrien.

“It’s alright honey, we’ll pick it all up.”

The room was an absolute disaster zone. Anything that wasn’t bolted to the floor or wall was turned up turned, inside out, or smashed. Including the TV and computer.

Plagg floated over to be at eye level with Marinette. “Destructive tendencies. You wear the ring long enough, certain things come through. No one bats an eye when you make something, but when he breaks something...he’s been bottling this up for a while.”

Adrien sat on the floor, in the middle of all this chaos, and covered his face with his hands.

“It’s just stuff.” Marinette comforted. “Stuff can be replaced.”

After the high of absolute destruction, came the crash of guilt. And Adrien wallowed in it like a shallow pool.

“You know what you need? An entire living space renewal! New paint, new sheets, new decor! Not what some interior designer thinks is you, but what you want! You, Adrien, the person who lives here!” Sabine gestured broadly to the room. “And if it has to be a little messy, then that’s you! What do you think? Wanna start a project soon?”

Adrien didn’t answer, just crawled over to the bed and under the sheets from the end of the bed, slinking his way up to the top, and settling there.

“We’ll assume that’s a yes.” Marinette said.

“Alright. I’ll see if I can convince the manager of the building.” Sabine winked. “If either of you get hungry, there’s more pasta in the fridge downstairs.”

“Thanks Maman.”

“Of course, baby.” She kissed Marinette’s cheek, and then found Adrien burrowed under all his haphazard sheets and gave him a kiss too. “‘Night.”

“‘Night.”

Once she was gone, Adrien let out a long sigh. “I don’t know if I can remodel my room. It’s so big.”

“You won’t have to do it on your own. And if you like it the way it is, you don’t have to.”

He sat up slightly to look around at the whirlwind of anger. “I think it’s slightly better this way. But...I don’t like this room. I never have. It’s too sterile. Too cold. Too empty.”

“I agree.” She joined him on the bed. “Even here with you, I feel...vulnerable. Like I’m sleeping in a gymnasium instead of a room.”

“Exactly. It’s so open.”

She reached out and took his hand, threading her fingers through his. “Maybe…we’ll have to see, but maybe we can move to my house instead?”

Adrien turned to look at her, eyes searching her face for intention. He only saw comfort. “You sure? You wouldn’t mind sharing your room with me?”

“We might have to reorganize it a little. Make it a little less pink and girly. But yes, I’d love to share my room with you.”

He snuggled right up to her, almost spooning her. “I love you. And I think your room is super cute. We don’t have to change anything.”

“Too bad, we’re going to change things up. Whatever you want, just say the word.”

His exhale fluttered her bangs as he let go of her hand to hold her around the waist instead. “In that case, I want a jacuzzi. And a wall that looks like a big lava lamp.”

“Well, we can probably get a lava lamp. And we have a bathtub in the bathroom.”

He shrugged, “I suppose that will have to work.”

They laid like that for the rest of the night, discussing the changes to make to Marinette’s room. Most of them were absurd and silly, but some of them were doable.

“We should suspend a flat screen TV from the ceiling by the bed, so I can play games at night.”

“We could put directly on the ceiling, so we can watch TV before bed.”

“Let’s install a fireman’s pole from the balcony into the room, so we don’t put our shoes on your mattress.”

“We should at least get another desk in there, so you have a place to work.”

“Bunk desk, right on top of yours.”

“That sounds dangerous and uncomfortable.”

In the back of her mind, Marinette knew that this moment was going to be interrupted by Gabriel. She desperately wanted him to come clean about whatever the hell was going on. So it was her job to keep Adrien feeling optimistic until he came.

But he never did.

When Adrien’s sentences were peppered with more than one yawn, they took turns showering, and then prepared for bed.

While she was disappointed he still hadn’t come forward, she couldn’t help but be a little relieved that neither of them were going to sleep crying tonight.

Once Adrien was all fresh and clean, he snuggled her right up against his chest, nuzzling her neck. “Good night, My Lady.”

“Good night, Kitty.”

—

She stood on that rooftop, watching the scene below her as she had hundreds of times. The long shadow accompanied the voice of her greatest failure, cast by the too bright headlights on the car.

Ladybug clenched and unclenched her fist, watching as the young man begged for his life.

Run. She told herself. This one is not worth it. Please just run.

But this had already happened, and there was no erasing the past. So she stood and waited, waited for her opportunity to face the man that would be her downfall. Edward Savauge, normal man. No Miraculous, no akuma, just a sick twisted heart and too many strings to pull.

A noise brought her out of the flashback, a snapping noise of a foot on plastic.

She blinked once, twice, and stared at the mess of Adrien’s room in the bare lamp light from outside. She twisted in her sheets, making Adrien whine as he was dislodged from her side.

Only after she turned around did she realize they were not alone.

She sat up quickly, cradling Adrien’s head to her stomach. “Who’s there?”

The shadowy figure in the corner of the room by the window didn’t come any closer. “I apologize, I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

“Tikki, spots on!”

The flash of Pink light not only woke up Adrien fully, but it illuminated the figure for a moment. Ladybug’s face grew pale under her mask. “Hawkmoth?”

Adrien muttered his transformation phrase as well, and crouched, ready to attack.

“That’s really not necessary,” Hawkmoth spoke, taking only one step forward, kicking some DVD cases out of the way. “I have no intention in fighting.”

“Is that why you snuck in while we were sleeping?”

“I simply wanted privacy, and I had hoped if you were tired, you’d be more willing to talk before fighting.” He walked over to Adrien’s desk and flipped on a lamp, illuminating him in all his unholy glory.

“So what do you want?” Ladybug spoke, coming to sit at the end of the bed. “We’re grateful for all you did to save us, but we’re still not going to give up the Miraculous. We’re sworn to protect them.”

“Of course.” Using his enhanced strength, Hawkmoth righted the upturned couch, facing it towards them, and took a seat. “You’ve proved that you are more than perfect for holding your Miraculous. I would be crazy for trying to take them away. Besides, I have no need for them anymore.”

“Are you turning yourself in, then? You helped us escape, but that doesn’t get you off the hook for all the things you did.”

“No, I suppose it doesn’t. And if you still want to send me to prison after this, you’d be justified.”

“Alright, go on then. Make your plea.”

Hawkmoth crossed a leg over the other, looking to all the world a business man in a meeting, and not a terrorist at the end of the line. “I made a mistake a long time ago. I let my wife use a broken Miraculous, even though we were warned of the consequences. She got sick, and then fell asleep, with no hope of waking. The Black Cat and Ladybug Miraculous come together and allow for an ultimate wish. I intended to use this wish to wake her up.”

“Even at the cost of others?”

“You wouldn’t do the same for Adrien? If he was right there, and you knew he could be saved?”

Ladybug looked to Chat Noir, remembering all the times he had fallen in battle. And then that moment in the catacombs when she had to leave him behind. She had considered putting the Miraculous both on to save him.

“So…what changed your mind?” She asked instead of answering.

“The guardian. He came and spoke to us, not knowing who I was. I explained my problem, and he had a solution that didn’t require the Miraculous.”

Ladybug relaxed. “And your wife, she’s okay now?”

“You had dinner just this evening.”

“W-what?”

“Dark wings fall.”

The purple light dispersed, and Gabriel Agreste sat there instead.

Emilie was right, things did make sense.

But why did it have to be all so unfair?

Chat Noir, for his part, just stared at Gabriel, like he was trying to solve an impossible problem.

“I imagine you have questions, son.”

But Chat didn’t make to transform, just sat there with his head in his hands.

“Emilie said you knew where she was, this entire time.”

“Yes,” Gabriel admitted regretfully. “She was in the basement, in a life support chamber.”

Chat just shook his head in disbelief.

“And you never thought about telling Adrien?”

“I thought about it every day…but I was…cautious. Because of who I was, and what I was doing. I knew he wouldn’t like it. I was hoping to wrap it up sooner…but you’re both just too smart.”

Chat snorted. And then proceeded to laugh. Not a funny laugh, but a laugh of disbelief, like something so horribly ironic just happened and all you can do is laugh. Because if you don’t, you’ll cry, and he’d cried enough today.

“Adrien,” Gabriel said softly. “Your mother had nothing to do with this. She didn’t leave, she became sick, you understand? Please don’t push her out. She loves you so so much. Please.”

Chat stood, still laughing and shaking his head. He walked across the room to the windows.

“What are you doing?” Gabriel asked, panic edging at his voice. “I hope you’re not trying to leave. You’re not well enough.”

The glare that Adrien shot across the room gave Marinette goosebumps. His cat-eyed pupils narrowed into slits, and the toxic green glowed in the dark.

Without another word, Chat escaped through the window Gabriel had left open, and disappeared into the night.

Gabriel groaned after he left. “I suppose that could have been worse.”

Ladybug stood, and went to the closet. “Suppose it could have. But now I have to clean up your mess.” She found Adrien’s fencing duffle, and dumped out all of his equipment, before stuffing it with his comfiest clothes.

“What are you doing? Why are you packing?”

“I don’t want to stay here anymore, and considering how quickly he fled, I doubt he’s coming back tonight.”

“Would you convince him to talk to his mother at least? He needs at least one parent.”

She shrugged. “I don’t tell Adrien to do anything. He’s been bossed around enough.”

Gabriel shook his head. “Fine. You impossible children. Are you going to your house? Can I tell your parents?”

“That’s my plan. If you want to tell them, that’s fine. I was going to write a note anyways.”

“Oh,” Gabriel tugged at his jacket, taking a wallet out of his pocket. “Here, this is Adrien’s wallet. The police returned it to me. There’s a new card in there too. He can be as angry as he wants with me, but I’ll be damned if he isn’t properly cared for.”

Ladybug took the wallet with a softer expression. “Glad you’re starting to see things our way.” Before he dropped his hand back, she took it, and gave it a firm shake. “Thank you, Hawkmoth. For saving us. Regardless of the reason, thanking you is something I had been meaning to do since I got my memory back.”

Gabriel could only nod as emotion started to choke him. He pulled away and fled the room himself.

“Well?” Asked Emilie, who had been waiting outside the door. “How did it go?”

“They left.”

“Left? What do you mean? Where are they going?”

“To Marinette’s bakery.”

“Is that smart? Are they strong enough for that?”

“I surmise that revealing myself has ruined any sort of authority over them I had. Adrien’s not going to listen to me. I tried to get across to them that you’re not a fault but…” A tear rolled down his cheek. “Why did I even start this charade? All I ever did was hurt people. My son, my daughter in law, Nathalie, I couldn’t even save you.” He shook his head. “I should just turn myself in.”

Emilie rested a hand on his shoulder. “That’s not going to help Adrien. Now, you’re going to continue with therapy, and you’re going to follow my lead. It might take a while for Adrien to start talking to you again, but it doesn’t hurt to try.”

“I’ve been trying.”

“Well, then try harder!”

“Emilie…”

“Starting tomorrow. Now come along, it’s late.”

“Yes dear.”

—

Ladybug landed on her balcony, duffle over her shoulder.

Chat was curled up on her deck chair, staring at the sky.

“You doing okay, kitty?”

“It’s not all that surprising, all things considered. I gave him so many excuses for his shitty behavior, and little did I know, he’s actually the worst person in Paris.”

Marinette shrugged. “I can think of at least two people that take that title now.”

“Oh. Yeah, I guess you got me there.”

Ladybug sat down next to him, draping her legs over his. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly to his chest. “You know what really sucks?”

“What?”

“I love him. I still…I still love him. Hawkmoth. God. That sucks.”

“Well, he is your father, and at some point, he was different. And he was doing this to save your mom, not for riches or power…I don’t know, I think that softens the blow a little.”

“Yeah. That makes it hurt a little less. He’s a good person. But just—Deep deep down. And he’s trying. I know he is.”

“You know you should forgive him, right?”

Chat growled. “Yeah…”

“But I think a lot of people mess up forgiveness with acceptance. Forgiveness is letting the anger and the bitterness in your heart go. So accept that he hurt you, work through it, and let that anger and hate go. But that doesn’t mean you have to invite him back into your life to hurt you again. You can protect yourself. You can cut him off.”

“I don’t know if I want to cut him off…at least not forever. I just need time to think.”

She smiled at him. “That’s why I brought your duffle. He’s not expecting us to come back for a while.”

Chat sat up, eyes wide and full of delight. “Really?”

“Yes, kitty. I’m sure he’ll want us to interact with him, but we can stay here.”

His lips found hers, pressing affection and gratitude into her. “You’re the best.”

“I try.”

#miraculous ladybug #ml #fanfiction #hawkmoth #gabriel agreste #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #adrinette #hawkmoth reveal #ladybug #chat noir #longest night

44 notes · View notes

soldieronbarnes · 5 years

Note

Yay for little fic prompts!! Can you do a Malec human au one where they knew each other back in like High school, and one of them is a famous singer/actor and this happens? “you’re famous and just got asked if you were ever in love this should be good– WAIT WHAT” Thanks!!

“Can you turn that off?”, Alec asks, annoyed. On the radio, an uncomfortably familiar voice is crooning on and on about missed opportunities and what-ifs. It’s a good song, he can admit that much, for anyone not prone to getting sucked into unfortunate spirals of treacherous, futile daydreams of things that might have been different if only he’d been braver, once upon a time.

He tries to slap her hand away, but Izzy won’t budge. Instead, she turns up the volume.

“What happened to our ‘the driver picks the music’ rule?”

Izzy pretends to be blissfully unaware of his bad temper. “Doesn’t apply when it’s good music from one of your former classmates.”

“Not my classmate,” Alec points out, fingers clenching on the steering wheel.

Izzy shrugs. “Close enough. How often to people from our school get famous?Especially people in our age range? I mean, you shared a couple of classes, he was only grade above you, so don’t pretend to be all high and mighty about this.”

Alec sighs and resigns himself to his fate. In the passenger seat, Izzy sings along at the top of her lungs, as if she knows what it feels like, to love someone and not be able to connect to them, to be with them the way you want to. As if that’s ever happened to her, as if anyone ever turned her down or broke her heart. Usually she was the one responsible for other people’s heartbreak.

Maybe he’s just bitter because for him, the song hits painfully close to home.

Finally, mercifully, the songs fades out and is replaced by the grating voice of the radio host. “Wow, what a rollercoaster this song was! That was Symptoms by everybody’s sweetheart and all around mega-star Magnus Bane, the brand new single taken from his new album Lose Your Breath, who is here with me, in this studio right. now! Magnus, it’s a pleasure to have you here.”

“Pleasure to be here.”

His voice is just as smooth and melodious as Alec remembers. If he closes his eyes, he can pretend he’s back in some dingy basement, watching the party around him, his siblings having fun, Magnus whispering in his ear. He exhales shakily, his fingers clenching around the steering wheel.

“Seriously, can we put on some good music now?” he asks.

Izzy, of course, ignores him. “Shut up. I wanna hear what he’s saying.”

“He’s not writing songs about you, you know that, right?”

“Shhh!!!”

“Now, Magnus, this album as a whole is a lot more introspective than your previous work, and this song in particular has a kind of…melancholy feel to it. Do you wanna walk us through the process of writing it, and what it is about?”

Don’t, Alec thinks, wildly. Please, don’t. Just -

“Sure,” Magnus replies. He sounds mostly cheerful, but there is a note of hesitation in his voice that makes Alec’s heart clench.

It’s stupid, he knows this. They weren’t ever - anything. There wasn’t ever any chance of them being anything. This song isn’t about him. Magnus probably left High School and never thought of him again, wouldn’t even remember his name is someone asked him about him. This song is about Camille, or Imasu, or Etta, or any of the other people who lusted after him. Alec doesn’t get songs written about him.

He just likes to pretend he does, because, as Izzy and Jace tell him frequently, he’s a bit of a masochist.

Well,maybe this interview will dispel of his silly notions once and for all. Magnus will confirm what he already knows to be true - it’s about Camille,Magnus’ on-and-off-and-on-again girlfriend since Junior Year - and Alec can stop torturing himself. Finally move on, and look at other boys with the same kind of longing that’s still reserved for Magnus, even six years later.

“I - actually, I started writing this song quite a while ago, it just never seemed to work, “ Magnus says with a self-deprecating laugh.

“How long ago?”

“Oh, I was fresh out of High School and - well, as is obvious when you pay attention to the lyrics - pining after someone I’d lost my window of opportunity with.”

“Ohhh, so this is was a High School romance?” The interviewer seems delighted.

Another pained laugh. “I….don’t think you can call it a romance when it never took off,” Magnus replies.

The interviewer gasps, over-exaggerated and fake. “But who would ever refuse you?”

“Well, as far-fetched as it seems, it happens quite often. And - well, I can’t blame him. Sometimes circumstances just work against you.”

“Him?” The interviewer sounds, Alec muses, like a big cat that was just presented with a particularly juicy and big piece of fresh meat. As if it’s not common knowledge that Magnus Bane is bi, has always been bi, will always be bi.

Magnus clears his throat. “Yes.”

“Tell us more!”

Alec can almost hear Magnus’ shrug. He’s clearly uncomfortable now, and Alec tries to ignore the white-hot flair of protectiveness surging through him. “There’s not much to tell. He was a bit younger than me - not in my grade - and well, between a …let’s say conservative upbringing and the general school policy on anything even slightly straying from the norm, he was…not out. It never went anywhere.”

“Alec?”, Izzy asks, suddenly concerned. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah,” he croaks.

He’s not okay. He can’t breathe.

“But this was six years ago. Why bring it up now? Surely that’s ancient history?” the interviewer asks.

“Not to me,” Magnus says. “I loved him. And - you know how sometimes, you meet a person and you just….you just know?”

“Like love at first sight?”

“I don’t believe in love at first sight,” Magnus says. “But - potential, yes. Sometimes you meet someone and you just know that they’re going to be important to you. That even if you don’t love them yet, it’s inevitable that you will. And it doesn’t matter how much time passes, these people - you can’t just purge them from your mind. They’ll always own a piece of your soul.” Magnus sighs. “I suppose I should live more in the present than in the past but - well. Sometimes your mind just can’t stop going over the what-ifs and might-have-beens. I think everybody feels that way sometimes.”

“Alec,” Izzy says, her voice clipped, urgent. “Pull over.”

“I’m fine.”

“You shaking and - hyperventilating - just - pull over!”

He does. Izzy rubs her hand between his shoulderblades in soothing circles, muttering nonsense, until he stops gasping on every single intake of breath, and for a long time after that.

“You need to tell him,” she says, her face uncharacteristically serious, into the silence that follows his kind- of panic attack.

“Right.” Alec scoffs. “Let me just get out the phone number of world-famous rock star Magnus Bane, which I obviously have on speed dial, and say, hey, remember when I broke your fucking heart into a million tiny pieces, wanna catch up with this trainwreck of a person I am now?”

“Alec, that’s not true.”

“Yes, it is,” Alec says, swallowing down the bitterness on his tongue. “It’s way in the past, and even if I could contact him, which I can’t - he wouldn’t want to hear from me.”

“We’ll see about that.”

He doesn’t like the determined look on her face one bit.

“Izzy what are you -” he asks as she pulls out her phone, quickly dialing a number.

“We’re still here with Magnus Bane, ready to answer your questions,” the interviewer announces cheerfully.

Alec blanches. “Izzy, no -”

Even from the distance, he hears the call connect. He makes a strangled sound and lunges for the phone, but Izzy his too fast for him, evading his grabbing hands easily.

“Hello, this is Izzy.”

“Hello, Izzy,” Magnus says, all pleasant and polite. “What do you want to know?”

“I just wanted to let you know I love your music. But - I don’t have a question. Sorry, I don’t think I’m the person you want to talk to.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, I think you should talk to my brother Alec,” she says, putting the call on speaker.

“Izzy, stop, don’t -” he squeaks.

His voice is played back at him through the speakers, and Alec wants to die.

There’s a moment of heavy silence and then -

“Alexander?” Magnus asks. He sounds cautious and almost- hopeful?

“I - yeah.” He clears his throat awkwardly.

“Hi,” Magnus breathes and he sounds - overwhelmed, and joyous, and Alec can’t help but smile.

“Hi.”

“Hi - no, I said that already.”

He’s making charming, suave, confident Magnus Bane stammer on live radio. What the hell is going on?

He didn’t think they’d ever speak again. He didn’t think it would feel like this, like his whole world is tilting on its axis until it’s right side up again. He didn’t think his heart would ache like this, wanting to be known, wanting to never be let go again.

“I - I didn’t think I’d ever find you again,” Magnus says quietly.

“I wasn’t sure I’d want to be found,” Alec admits, his throat suddenly dry. How much pain has he caused Magnus, has he caused both of them?

“Do you -” Magnus starts, “do you want to be found now?”

Next to him, Izzy is flipping out. The interviewer is screeching in the background. None of it matters.

“Yeah,” he says, voice rough and trembling with nerves. “Yeah, I think I do.”

“Yeah?” Magnus’s exhales with shaky breath,

“You’re not the only one with regrets.”

“That’s- “ Magnus laughs wetly. “I was going to say that’s good, but that’s not true. Just - just don’t go anywhere, okay?”

“I won’t,” Alec promises. “Not this time.”

#malec #shadowhunters #meme #my fic #Anonymous

463 notes · View notes

blackswaneuroparedux · 4 years

Text

Anonymous asked: Don’t you miss London in any way since you are British? Wouldn’t you love to come back especially after Brexit? Do you think London has changed for the worse that its not worth living there anymore?

Yes, I do miss London. I do want to go back....but not yet. I’m enjoying living and working in Paris. Brexit doesn’t affect me as I also have a Norwegian passport and I qualify for carte de séjour (a sort of residential work permit).

It was the wit Stephen Fry who said “The English language is like London: proudly barbaric yet deeply civilised, too, common yet royal, vulgar yet processional, sacred yet profane.” He captures the essence of London it’s so diverse that anyone can fit in. That is its strength and its weakness compared to other maga cosmopolitan cities like New York in the West or Shanghai in the East as its only rival.

But to my mind London has more - arguably the same as New York but definitely more than Shanghai - in terms of energy and vibrancy with a very unique English topping of eccentricity. Something you would never find in Paris for instance where things are quite socially stodgy and snobbish. The dinner parties I attend in London are far more down to earth and vibrant as well as eccentric and very fun compared to the ritualised boerdom of super pretentious dinner parties of the Parisian crowds I get roped in - a caveat, most but not all.

London to me is like city state much in the spirit of a medieval Florence. It has no moorings to the rest of the country or the nation. It’s a bubble. or I should say bubbles within a giant bubble. There a diversity of communities each rubbing up against each other. Mostly for the good but some times not so good. Despite urban problems that affict growing mega capitals London for me still remains a wonderful place to live.

When people ask me about if I enjoyed living in London I have to ask which London? We all live in our concentric social circles in London and people as much as place help define our sense of belonging and happiness. I don’t look at London in an abstract way in terms of favourite places but in terms of the bonds of friendships made and sustained from childhood onwards.

Samuel Johnson said “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.” In my case, it’s because I wanted to expand my life experiences that I left London. I get bored easily and I have restless feet. I left London because it became too small for me. Or rather the world I inhabited became too socially claustrophobic for my tastes. I needed to get out and seek adventure and challenges elsewhere at least for the next chapter of my life.

I do love London and I often go back there for work reasons as well as personal ones when I can. I am a member of a few gentlemen clubs (many allow women in now) and its old genteel atmosphere centres me and paradoxically helps me to see London in slow motion even as London around me is fast moving and changing. I also don’t miss key events that I can only experience in London like the ballet and the theatre which is unrivalled in the world. And of course there are some events on the social season calendar which I can’t miss because of family obligations.

Every city has its unique charms but only a few touch the heart and soul. London - or at least the London of my childhood - is one of them. But for how much longer I don’t know.

London seems to be galloping towards a new and uncertain identity, one that puts ‘stuff’ before substance, and more importantly, money before class (as in good taste). Brexit’s impact on London doesn’t bother me in the slightest as London will adapt as it always does. It will muddle through which has always been the English way to solving any problem: just muddle through.

Still, it’s the little things I notice rather than the obvious macro ones. It niggles me and prey on my mind long after I witness the offence.

So let me give you an example of what I mean.

I did a hard day’s shopping in Knightsbridge and was waiting to meet a dear old friend from boarding school to play catch up. She’s always bringing me up to speed on the gossip in our circles and most of it goes in one ear and out of the other as I’m bored by it but interested and polite enough to listen if only to feel happiness and relief that I actually do live away in Paris.

So there I was waiting for her. She was late as usual. I was sitting in a quintessentially English hotel restaurant in Knightsbridge over Christmas. I watched a young man about the same age as me approach the door. He was dressed in a wool long coat with a velvet collar that looked a little snug, although it was beautiful and had the look of Turnbull and Asser about it.

My heart soared, as he held the door open for an elegantly dressed woman who was on her way out, then approached the restaurant and confirmed he was there and waiting for a guest, a living illustration that manners maketh man. When he took his coat off it was to reveal what was the uniform of my father’s generation, right down to the waistcoat, bottom button left open, and polished shoes. The suit he was wearing could well have been inherited from his father - probably Savile Row - but the whole was a thing of modest beauty and seemed to fit with the Christmas decorations and season of traditions. This was a well groomed young gentleman who had dressed for the occasion, and the occasion was a treat, an extravagance, something not of the every day.

I ended up at a table diagonally across from him and his companion, probably his wife or partner, excited to be there and also impeccably dressed and I watched as a party of flashy men of indecipherable East European origin arrived five minutes later. They didn’t speak much English and were wearing a selection of very tight floral shirts with white cuffs and collars. Block printed, purple and lime and many other colours unsuitable for December, but there you have it and while my suited object of admiration sat unserved, the party in the middle of the restaurant made up for their lack of fluent English with magnificent finger clicking skills.

You might say this is and always has been the way of the world, the wallets were on the table, money clips clearly visible through the skintight shirts, but one thing was different about this picture, something unpleasant. The restaurant staff fawned on them, and the couple opposite me sat, waiting politely for the two gin and tonics they had ordered.

Meanwhile, gaudy bottles of Ace of Spades Champagne arrived stage centre, possibly the world’s flashiest wine container, gold and shiny and terribly gauche. They were closely followed by four sets of twins, female ones, who sat down at the table amongst the flowery shirts and were each poured a glass of fizz which they silently sipped in minimal clothing.

Meanwhile in the other corner, the unassuming couple who had come in first were still waiting for their drinks, and I watched while the gloss went off their day, and the pall of poor relations settled on them in the corner.

This scene will be familiar to anyone who lives in Central London and it’s sad. The bottom line has always been a vital consideration in the London restaurant scene, there has always been a special table for regular customers, that’s the way of things. Until recently however there has also been that very British recognition that the chap who has saved up all year to take his wife to a special lunch should be treated as if he is also a regular guest and one of equal value at that.

It’s these little acts of tradition and custom that are the life blood of the civic life of a city. Lose this and you slowly erode the pillars of civility.

This obnoxious veneration of money to the exclusion of everything else has reached fever pitch. Restaurants that used to be just that, dining rooms that you could sit and eat lovely food in, providing a bubble away from the day to day stresses that we are all party to, are now restaurants with private clubs upstairs. Meanwhile private clubs that used to be simply private clubs now have VIP areas – VVIP areas – which is at least a bonus in that you can avoid the more ghastly members as they are all in those bits.

What does this all mean? Does it mean that everything from eating out to where we shop is now Instagrammed or Facebooked, leaving us defined by our purchases and spending habits alone? It is certainly starting to feel like it in London (and worryingly small signs of it Paris too with rich Russians and Arabs buying up most expensive aprtments in the city), where a hundred pounds is the new tenner, and consumption has reached improbable proportions.

Strangely though, no one seems any happier, quite the contrary. Are the new Rich Kids of Instagram really something to aspire to? Is bad taste the new good taste? Strange times are upon us, when 16 year olds sit in a cordoned off areas of clubs and restaurants flashing their cash and getting on and off jets. I see this first hand as I sometimes get to fly on private jets purely for work reasons at the largesse of my corporate clients. I always thought the Euro trash aristocrats girls at my Swiss boarding school were entitled airheads but the present nouveau riche incarnation don’t even have a sense of ironic self awareness or taste.

Human beings love a boundary, well they have for the whole history of mankind to date, anyway. If in one generation we get rid of all the traditional social conventions, from buying our own homes, saving, working hard, not buying whatever we want whenever we want it, where will we be? Perhaps instant gratification will lead us all to a new kind of life, a new place where we all live for experiences instead of taking out a mortgage, where nothing we do is our fault and no consequences to our actions.

I have always loved the quote ‘Don’t give up on what you want for what you want now’ and believe that delaying gratification is the defining characteristic of mature adulthood.

Perhaps values, traditions, less is more and simple kindness will make a comeback. In the meantime, restaurants will empty of customers like the well mannered gentleman on the corner table, and I will continue to feel uncomfortable that we are losing something vital not just in London but increasingly elsewhere in great European cities I travel to.

Thanks for your question.

#question #london #personal #city #civic #civility

45 notes · View notes

shirtlesssammy · 5 years

Text

14x20: Moriah

The Road So Far:

How is Team Free Will 2.0 ever going to beat Michael, the Big Bad of the season?

Now:

We open right where we left off last week. Jack escaped the Ma’lak box by blowing it to smithereens, and took most of the bunker’s storage room with it. “You lied to me.” And then he blasts Team Free Will before flapping off.

The guys assess the damage and discuss Jack. And by discuss, I mean Dean and Cas continue to fight about their differing parenting choices. Dean wants to kill their son; Cas wants to save their son. Quite frankly, it’s obvious their therapist is done with it all. And by therapist, I mean Sam. #prayforSam. (I particularly liked the last bit of the fight when Dean had to walk closer to Cas then he already was, and Cas had to clip Dean’s shoulder as he walked away.)

Sam and Dean continue to discuss the plan for Jack. Dean insists they have to find him and “do the hard thing.” They have to kill him. Sam is visibly upset by the prospect.

Jack, meanwhile, is wandering around a city, listening to people lie to everyone around them. I particularly liked the lines that were filler for the lines that we were supposed to pay attention to:

“You should have seen it. I caught a steelhead this big.”

“I saw ‘em at Coachella last year!”

“That’s not porn. I don’t know what that was.”

Jack flashes his gold eyes and commands everyone to stop lying. This is going to solve all the world’s problems! (Sidenote: I liked this post by @eveiswaywardaf)

Sam and Dean pull up to a company called Mirror Universe. Ahem. Sam’s on the phone with Rowena (oooOOOOooo) --she’s in on their little plan.

The brothers head inside to hopefully use the company’s facial recognition program to locate Jack.

Dean calls the whole room nerds, but Sam calls him out on that bit of hypocrisy. DEAN WATCHES JEOPARDY!, guys! (ofc, he does.) Dean tries flashing his FBI badge at the receptionist, but instead of giving a fake name and reason for being there, he spills the truth.

Oh, it seems Jack’s truth command works on everyone everywhere. Dean tests the situation by asking Sam who his favorite singer is and Sam responds, “Celine Dion.” Oh Sam, Vince Vincente (and Balthazar) are very disappointed in you right now. Dean tells Sam that they can’t lie.

Then, all hell breaks loose in the company. I mean, what show are we even watching? (iloveitwithallmyheartandamnotsurewhatiamgoingtodowithoutit) The brothers escape to an empty room. There’s a TV broadcasting the news that the president spilled his tax history, deep ties to Russia and North Korea, and a “demon deal” with Crowley. Out of context, this might be my favorite part of the episode. I mean, the absolute shade! I can’t think of another show I watch doing this --especially one with a conservative audience like we know Supernatural has. In any event, the brothers quickly put it together that Jack’s behind it all.

And then we’re gifted with my favorite part in context (if that’s possible):

THE STAPLER QUEEN!

Cut to Cas in the alley trying to get access to Hell. The demon monitoring the door won’t let him him. Blerg.

For I’m Going to Hell Science:

But Chuck shows up! Uh-oh. He says he’s here because Cas called him, and “him.” Jack’s a problem.

Jack shows up at his grandmother’s place.

The poor lost cause wants to talk about Kelly. (bby boy, you’re so creepy rn.) She’s visibly upset and tells him that they made phone calls and no one knows who he is, and that others think that Kelly is dead. “What did you do to my daughter?!” Agh, her screaming makes Jack get angry and he demands that she stop (so much like his other grandmother...AUGH). The next shot we see is Jack fleeing from the house. Oh dear.

Meanwhile, Dean’s living his best life NOT lying and talking about the parenting blog he follows. MY HEART. Cas and Chuck show up. Dean wants to know where he’s been. “It’s a funny story. Reminds me of a song.” And the Chuck proceeds to pull up a guitar, which Dean promptly smashes to bits and pieces.

He shouts at Chuck to answer him, and with equal force Chuck responds, “Don’t!” Ugh, I think Dean just remembered he’s not just dealing with cuddly, affable, nebbish Chuck here. He’s dealing with God. To lessen the tension, Chuck snaps them all back to the bunker.

That doesn’t stop the questions that Sam, Dean, and Cas have though. Chuck admits to being around, but he’s hands off. If they want to <insert bad event> that’s on them. He only needs to step in when there’s an Apocalypse.

He stops the truth tellings and sets all the world back to order. Sam wants to know if Chuck can stop Jack. He tells them not exactly, but they can with a special gun. He just made it and hasn’t named it yet, but is leaning on “The Equalizer” or “The Hammurabi”. It’s a gun that sends a wave of multi-dimensional energy across a perfectly balanced quantum link. So shooter and shootee get the same treatment with this gun. Cas asks why he can’t just fix Jack’s soul. “Souls are complicated, even for me.” Dean says that this is it. Cas utters Team Free Will’s motto: There has to be another way. Dean doesn’t think so, and tells Cas to “get on board or walk away.” Cas walks away. (Spoiler: DID Y’ALL SEE CHUCK’S LITTLE SMILE AT THAT!?!)

Jack walks the streets replaying his conversation with his grandma. He’s troubled…

So is Dean! He’s tucked himself away in a corner of his bedroom, steadily working through a stash of liquor. He sits Sam down for a special talk. No, it’s not about how two people can still love each other very much, but need to be apart for a while. (#DeanCasBreakup) Dean is, of course, ready to kill himself to take care of the “Jack problem.” Dean. Bean.

Sam refreshingly calls him on his self-sacrificing bullshit.

“We always have a choice,” Sam tells him. He admits to Dean that he’s angry about their mom and a part of him does want Jack dead as well. But they have a responsibility to try to save Jack first. Jack lost his soul to save the Winchesters. Furthermore, he’s FAMILY. “You want my permission?” Sam asks. “You want me to say I’m cool with losing him and losing you all at once? ‘Cause I can’t do that.” GOD, SAM I LOVE YOU. This was the best, most emotional, most needed speech.

Cas continues his desperate search for Jack, heading to the cemetery where Kelly is buried. Jack isn’t there.

But Jack flaps in. He’s been looking for Cas! Castiel, that beautiful, majestic raven, pulls Jack in for a big hug.

Back at the bunker, Chuck’s a giant dork, playing with an AU archangel blade. Sam asks how many AUs exist. Chuck’s not sure, but we do learn about:

Reverse

No yellow

All squirrels (Thanks @consulting-cannibal for your contribution to the world’s cumulative joy)

At the cemetery, Jack talks through his failures with Cas. The lying experiment? Huge fail. Coffee and love with the Klines? Catastrophic strike-out. Grandma Kline accused Jack of killing Kelly, and Jack says that he did, just by being born. UGH that is a terrible guilt to lay on a child, soul or not. (Of course, she didn’t know…) Anyway, Cas is a good dad and talks about Jack’s experiences with him. Jack used to hate himself for Kelly’s death, but the feelings are gone. We also learn that Grandma Kline survived her interaction with Jack. Phew!

Sam asks Chuck an ultra-mega-pertinent question: is their world just another throw-away experiment? Chuck insists that this world is the best and he LOVES following the adventures of Sam and Dean. Sam gets pissed off at the idea of Chuck just watching them suffer through terrible near-ends. “You’re my favorite show,” Chuck says with a little side smile.

Sam demands an answer for why all these world-saving burdens have to fall on them, but Chuck offers up the “non-interference” answer. Anyway, he’s not here to argue cosmic ethics with Sam. It’s time to address the Jack problem. Sam finally asks where Jack is, and Chuck reveals that he’s already told Dean. Dean has left the bunker, gun in hand. Y I K E S.

At the cemetery, Jack and Cas talk.

For Beautiful Feelings Science:

Jack is desperate to do the right thing, but he doesn’t have a soul to guide him anymore. Oh, Jack. Cas will be your Jiminy Cricket! Jack WANTS to love. He wants to feel. But he can’t. “You can’t yet,” Cas tells him. They need to go hide somewhere in the world until Jack gets better.

Enter Dean with his metaphorical gun. Cas stands between Dean and Jack and EMOTIONS ARE HAPPENING PEOPLE. Jack refuses to run. He knocks Castiel away and faces Dean, knowing why Dean is there. Jack kneels. He’s ready. And I’m getting tears in my eyes. Because Dean looks at Jack. He REALLY looks at him while Cas and Sam watch the story unfold.

This metaphorical gun, while almost a joke because of its obvious symbolism, is actually perfect. This death would tear into Dean’s soul just as much as it tears into his body. And when Jack tells Dean that he knows he’s a monster just like Dean’s been saying all along, Dean looks at Jack and sees……...

Sam, meanwhile, has been joined by Chuck who is having the time of his life. Drama! Yes. Despair! Yes. Terrible soul-killing sacrifice! Mmmhmm good. Chuck watches Dean while Sam watches Chuck with growing horror. “Are you enjoying this?” Sam asks and Chuck shushes him like he’s in a freaking movie theater.

Dean cocks the weapon, grits his teeth. Finger tenses. He looks at Jack. And he LOWERS THE GUN. And here, I’m going to take a little crying break. This moment means so much to me.

Dean tosses the weapon aside. Chuck springs to life and orders Dean to pick the gun back up. “This isn’t how the story is supposed to end.” And HERE is where Chuck flips from adorable weird bunny to, idk, red-eyed god-bunny of doom.

The gravitas dies. Chuck goes on a rant about wanting to watch the father-killing-his-son storyline. The epic man paaaaaaain! Sam tells Dean that Chuck’s been playing them for fools. Playing WITH them like they’re game pieces.

“Our entire lives. Mom, Dad, everything. This is all you because you wrote it all, right? Because, what? Because we’re your favorite show? Because we’re part of your story?!”

Chuck tells Dean that if he picks up the gun and kills Jack (and himself) that he’ll bring Mary back. Dean confesses that his mom is his hero (cries) and he misses her (cries more) but she would not want this (cries the most).

“Why the games, Chuck?” Dean demands. The Winchesters unite in outrage. “When does it end?” Sam asks.

Chuck snaps his fingers and SMITES Jack. It isn’t fast, or painless. Cas tries to help him while Jack screams. Meanwhile, Sam picks up the metaphorical gun and shoots Chuck. NOOOOO SAAAAAAM!

(Okay, but the metaphorical gun symbolized Dean’s self-destruction but for Sam, it symbolizes how he fights to protect the people he loves. SAM you have come into your own this season. Truly. I am so proud.)

Sam only shoots Chuck in the shoulder and, as Chuck advertised, gets a wound in his shoulder as well. (At least he won’t have to dig out a bullet?) Pissed off now, Chuck throws a cosmic tantrum. “Story’s over,” Chuck says. “Welcome to The End.”

The sky goes dark. Jack’s dead, wing burns scorching the ground.

Sam’s still injured as they gather around Jack. We fall into a camera spiral, dipping down into Jack’s burned out eye socket (ew?) to the tune of Motorhead’s “God was never on your side.”Jack wakes in the Empty and looks around.

The Shadow greets him and draws a smile on their face. (What Would Mister Rogers Do?)

Billie greets him!!!!!!! “We should talk,” she says. Suddenly, all my crops are watered and my skin has cleared!

Down on the world, shit goes down in the cemetery. As an epic score screams about God’s betrayal, the dead claw themselves from the earth.

The woman in white appears. Gacy resurfaces. Bloody Mary rides again. These souls are all back, despite all the work and the death and loss…

It’s The End, and Team Free Will stand together as the dead converge on them. The camera cuts away and we lose sight of them in the pressing of the zombie horde.

I AM SO EXCITED. What a damn gloriously operatic note to linger on for…months.

D: h o l d m e

Quotes Lie:

Dad, none of this woulda happened without you.

You should never have tried to lock him away!

We’re gonna have to do the hard thing. We’re gonna have to do the ugly thing. It’s not like it’s the first time, right?

I’m Dean Winchester. I’m looking for the Devil’s son. This badge is fake.

“Hey I slept with your wife.” “I know. I’m kinda into it.”

And I saw Springsteen on Broadway, man’s a genius.

You want to go up against the British Men of Letter? Little weak, but ok.

Souls are complicated, even for me.

I’ve already lost too much.

What are you?!!

No offense, but your brother is stupid and crazy.

This isn’t just a story. IT’S OUR LIVES.

Writers lie.

Want to read more? Check out our Recap Archive!

#spn recap #spn 14x20 #moriah #dean winchester #sam winchest #castiel #cas #jack kline #chuck shurley

94 notes · View notes

lumikinetic · 5 years

Text

*flops down on sofa*

*exhales*

Tumblr gives me a lot of wild shit every now and again. Sometimes it's good, sometimes it's bad, sometimes it's hilarious, sometimes it's disheartening. And then yesterday came along and gave me the one-two punch of:

Captain Marvel being dolled up by the Russos instead of a jacket, S.H.I.E.L.D baseball cap and a Nine Inch Nails shirt, which is how she should be (not gonna talk about this, just want it out there that I'm pissed about it)

One Day At A Time being cancelled

ODAAT I'm gonna kind of touch on because it's not really what I want to talk about, but it did help me finalize the words for what I do, and that's capitalism in entertainment.

The most annoying goddamn trend in filmmaking (and of course in TV and Netflix/Prime originals) is companies caring more about their bottom line and less about making good content, and yeah I know this dead horse isn't just beaten, it's thrown into an active supervolcano but it really pisses me off and it's why I hate the new Star Wars stuff (well OK hate is a bit strong but they're uh Not Good) but I'll get to that. What corpos can't seem to get into their bloated skulls is that one cannot exist without the other. You need to put out good, quality content with value so that fans like it so they give you money so they increase your profits so you can make more content and so on. But somewhere down the line some fuckhead went "what if we just pushed out what we have?" and just kinda expected us to not take notice.

Now before the comments section gets all hot and bothered because I know some people on this site don't have the gift of reading comprehension, I know profits are important, I'm saying when companies shun good filmmaking for more money, they get lazy and all they can think about is profit and not how they make that profit, they don't care at all about using that money to make more good, valuable content.

One Day At A Time

I've never watched One Day At A Time but the fact Netflix just outright cancelled it knowing damn well what it meant to the people the characters are representing is just disgusting. And they have the fucking audacity to blame it on the viewership? I've seen hundreds of artworks, gifs and a video clip here and there of this show. I've seen precisely one (1) meme of 13 Reasons Why and that is literally it. I'm not following the tags for either. Plus, #saveODAAT has, last I checked, 350k tweets on trending or thereabouts?

So obviously the viewership isn't the problem, it's the racism and homophobia of cancelling a Spanish (? - again, never seen it), LGBT+ focused show that a lot of people quite happily and positively connect with when a crap show about suicide and Friends gets to stay on. It's just ugh. Cancelling a show like this then paying something like $100mil to keep Friends. I was going to expand on the shitty capitalism here but tbh that's it, Netflix are making bad decisions and like I say, I'm only going to touch on it because it's not the main part.

Star Wars

Go watch the original trilogy and it's clear George Lucas was trying to create and do. He was trying to make art. The key difference between that and modern SW to me is BB8. Look at C3PO and R2D2 and already you can see they belong. C3PO is a translator droid and I'm not sure what exactly R2's job description is but it's obvious he does some kind of pilot assistance for X-Wing fighters. I never understood people who said R2 never did anything, because they obviously haven't seen Star Wars. You get that this is an R2 unit, right? Like, there's more than one out there and they have a job they were specifically built to do, it's just this one particular R2 unit who had to carry the message? Anyway, I'm derailing. R2 and C3PO have functions and they're clearly not new, they've been used for a long time. Then you look at BB8 and instantly it's like "this is a toy. This so called character was designed to sell toys". And then he was. He's a toy, he's on bags, notebooks, pens, clothes, everywhere. Disney is less concerned about making a Star Wars movie and more about making money off of the Star Wars name.

Into The Spider-Verse VS YA Movies

YA movies tend to suck because they were adapted from books and we all know how that pans out but the reason I'm using YA books specifically is because my mind jumped to The Hunger Games. I couldn't tell you a single fucking thing that happens in those movies. They're so dull and dead and forgettable and the characters are borderline unlikeable but you know which one I do like? Catching Fire, for one reason and one reason only: Jena Malone as Joanna Mason. Save for Haymitch, she's the only character I liked because those two are the only characters with any kind of charisma or life to them. They made an at most halfway decent attempt overall at recreating some otherwise really great books and they made a big show out of it, hiring some pretty well known names. And I'm not disparaging their performances, it was just what I call, ever since Suicide Squad came out, the Harley Quinn effect, in which good actors get given a good character and perform them really well and, through no fault of their own, fuck it up because the character was written poorly and no matter how well they act, if the script doesn't change, the performance will always be shit. The same for Divergent. And Percy Jackson. And Fault In Our Stars.

Then outside all of that you have Perks Of Being A Wallflower which is just a great, heartwarming movie because the characters feel like people and the brightness isn't turned way the fuck down in post and you actually want to be invested, and they're not afraid to have a colour palette beyond a splash of pink here and blue there and red there. Plus, Ant-Man as an English teacher. THEN you go watch Spider-Verse and oh hey. I can actually see the movie now. And I mean see it. They do not slack off when it comes to visuals. Even by animation's standards, everyone is so expressive and alive and... animated. Sorry, I couldn't get a better word but they are! When you look at Miles in comparison to Katniss in terms of writing and performance, the difference is just startling. The only times I can think of where Katniss shows any kind of emotion in the first movie is when she slams the knife in the table and Rue's funeral and I had to think about that. Without thinking for Miles, already I've got "who's Morales?", the scene where Uncle Aaron teaches him the shoulder touch, the scene where Miles spray paints in the subway, that scene in the alley, the moment in Olivia's office when he just freezes after she says she can't wait to watch Peter in immense pain Like That and made all the wlws melt in their seats. You get the idea. So what's the point for this section? Well, as simply as I can put it, Hunger Games was made with money, for money. Spiderverse was made with love, for love. Spiderverse cared about people who read comic books and paid more than enough tribute to the art forms people think of as lesser for no goddamn reason other than elitism and proved for the thousandth time that it is something that can be used in filmmaking. They were trying to make art. Hunger Games and most other YA novel movie adaptations saw a preestablished fan base they could exploit for money. They were trying to make money.

Rambo

This was a weird one, yeah. Don't worry I was confused too when it popped into my head. I saw the original Rambo a while back and what I liked about it (and Apocalypse Now) is it wasn't a war film where the USA charge in and hooray everything's all right, this movie grabs your shirt and says "hey. Vietnam did something to these guys and they're not OK. Probably they'll never be OK". Then I watched the Rambo reboot that came out in like 2011 or something and I remember thinking "OK so now he's just this dude? Who lives in Thailand... And what, that's it?" There was no scene to show his psychological state today. Nothing to acknowledge his PTSD. They just thought "hey! Let's make Rambo but this time, just give him guns and and yelling and spray some blood!" The reason I kind of ended this train of thought quickly is because I realised that, let's be real, the main body of Rambo's audience just want to see Sly Stallone kill some fools. But yeah, the fact that they just ignored John's mental state in place of mega violence is such a glaringly obvious move to just appeal to violent teenage boys.

The Auteur

My favourite director is Wes Anderson and my favourite movie is The Grand Budapest Hotel (though Panos Cosmatos seems to be eyeing these titles with Beyond The Black Rainbow and Mandy, I haven't watched them yet). Quentin Tarantino, Spike Lee, Wes Anderson, auteurs always stand out even though their movies are all the same, and I think the reason they're so successful is because that specific style is so much better than most other mainstream cinema. I'm not saying that those other movies are bad, I love them and will watch them again and again but I'm saying Wes Anderson could make a short movie and it would be better than most Marvel movies put together (don't talk to me about Captain Marvel, I haven't seen it yet. Gonna see it this Sunday). No matter what you think of these directors, you can instantly tell the difference between these movies that they care about and the passion and hard work they put in and Disney pumping out their 400th reboot.

It Keeps Working

You guys wanna know the thought that keeps me up at night? Someday they're going to make a Fortnite movie. You guys wanna know why it keeps me up at night? Because it's going to be popular. Yeah, obviously not at the box office, because it'll be a videogame movie and those are worse than book movies, but it will be popular for no apparent reason. And what pisses me off is that Fortnite's popularity is only because of the battle royale mode, which has now essentially become synonymous with dying franchises and it just adds another layer to the lack of creative effort and the movie will just be Hunger Games with guns. Exactly the same as what I said at the start of this rant, there's a really noticeable shift from making content to jumping on whatever bandwagon is passing by because you know it'll make you money. Yeah, you have to spend money to make money but that doesn't mean you get complacent in what you spend your money on or if you spend money at all because when you cut corners, consumers can see that shit.

Anyway I'm done complaining thanks for having the willpower to pay attention to my dumb opinions.

#discourse #odaat #one day at a time #capitalism #star wars #into the spiderverse #rambo #long post #hunger games #hunger games: catching fire #ya fiction #young adult fiction #netflix #eat the rich #corpo #captain marvel #marvel #disney

24 notes · View notes

sordidandsublime · 5 years

Text

I have a lot of Milan feels, let’s just roll with it

- Vadim is 10 or 12 years older than Milan. I haven’t worked out what that means for Valerya, when she was married, when the older boys were born etc Roll with this too pls

- Milan is more intelligent than Avenir in certain ways. Like Vadim he can do accurate mental calculations of large figures. He has an excellent memory for faces and dry facts; if he sees figures written down he’s unlikely to forget them. He didn’t have the patience to become an excellent student and he dislikes reading because it takes too much time and he has a wandering mind. He can speed read at an impressive rate, out of necessity, because he gets annoyed. You can speak to him on any topic, and discuss nearly any author or piece of fiction but not for very long bc he doesn’t like to belabor an idea. His grades swung between excellent for subjects or topics that interested him and mediocre for subjects he found dull. He’d often fail to submit projects or papers in these subjects because he didn’t want to spend the time on them. He would rather watch a movie than read, but he would prefer to be outdoors doing things than indoors watching a film.

- he likes cartoons like Adventure Time and really enjoyed Aeon Flux when it was on MTV in the early 90s. Brevity is wonderful.

- stayed in the military after his period of mandatory enlistment was up. Drifted into the GRU spestnaz. Went into military intelligence. Stuck with it even through the turmoil of transition from soviet republic to federation. Dealt in contraband on the side even before he went into the military, kept it up with his superiors and comrades who got into serious large scale arms dealing, eventually collaborating with his brother who quietly took over the operation. Will always be amused that Vadim turned out to be a better smuggler than him.

- he’s been a drug dealer, an arms dealer, a pimp, a bank robber, dabbled in jewelry and the diamond trade antiquities and art, a bouncer and a contract killer

- Vadim loves this cheerful moron more than his own life. Might not be saying much bc Vadim is a lowkey nihilist, but you get the idea. Vadim used to press Milan’s shirts in the evenings or early mornings when Milan was too young to do it himself.

- Def Leppard’s Pour Some Sugar on Me and Love Bites are some of his fave songs

- loves gem stones. Can spot inclusions in a stone with fair facility. If asked where or how he learned he tells a different story each time (in a stuffy, sweltering mega workshop in Jaipur, while paying off a debt in Antwerp, in Hong Kong laundering drug money, hanging out with black market gem dealers in Brazil, from an aristocratic relative etc). The 2 karat diamond in his ear is IF rated (weird flex but ok) he acquired it from a gemstone seller after waiting over a year for stones that fit his specifications. One is set in white gold, the other is set in yellow.

- really enjoys luxury and fine food, cars, accommodations but is also very stingy. Hates to buy things, he would rather steal, thrift or go without. The only thing he’s willing to buy outright is jewelry, but even then just the stones. He doesn’t care about money in an obvious, direct way. He likes to live a certain lifestyle —an odd one, not conventionally luxurious— but unfortunately that sort of thing requires funds.

- hates carrying a wallet. Thinks they’re absurd, doesn’t understand how to carry them “in a back pocket, okay, so you’re fuckin sitting down on your ass unevenly like?” Is either out and about with a wad of cash in a money clip or obliviously broke. There is no in between. Probably doesn’t own a credit card, finds them suspicious. Finds banks suspicious even if he knows how they work. Doesn’t really know how much money he has, doesn’t care, he lets Vadim manage his finances.

- likes butterfly knives even if he knows they’re tactically absurd. Has various oddments sewn into the lining of his coats or hem of his pants, never know when you have to cut yourself free of something or pick a lock.

- doesn’t really smoke unless he’s drinking. He likes cigars, though. He likes Ibiza and Miami, isn’t wild about LA. He thinks Singapore is stuffy and is indifferent about Tokyo. Monaco would slowly drive him insane even if he was allowed to spend his entire time there in a casino.

- not as unreliable or stupid or forgiving as he looks.

#NG #Milan #Ramazanovs #beautiful cashmere disaster

8 notes · View notes

specialsnowflakecentral · 7 years

Photo

Im ready for a Critique when you are, my cool dudes.

Your anatomy is pretty good, but your treatment of clothing is… well, it’s horrendous. It looks painted onto her skin rather than appearing to be a fabric worn over it. Despite what the big name comic book illustrators would have you believe, even tight heroic spandex does not vacuum-conform to every feature and crevice. There is NO fabric that does that.

Even just erasing the underlying definition makes a league of difference in making it look like fabric. And tuning down the dramatic emphasis on that left tit because it should have even less definition than above due to how fabrics work on that area.

Second issue is the other half of the outfit: the cloud skirt. I have no idea how you mean to sell that as an item of clothing, let alone a complex one such as a cloud-shaped skirt.

There’s only two ways you could fashion such a shape.

The first, and most logical, method is that it might be a tutu skirt. Surprisingly, there’s many kinds of tutu skirts. While none of them exactly resemble clouds, they have a similar silhouette and the desired amount of poof.

You could also go for this kind of tutu, which admittedly, resembles a cloud more than the previous examples.

However, its silhouette isn’t as strong so I wouldn’t recommend it as much.

The second method would be to have it literally be made of cotton as in the various examples of “cloud costumes” done by people on the internet. It’s much more impractical for typical wear though, for reasons I hope are obvious to you.

I’m unsure of how well a mega cotton ball would hold up as a skirt, as most of the costume mentioned previously have the cotton supported by heads or shoulders. I doubt it would hold well without some kind of internal wiring or even a short crinoline cage!

Crinoline cages are rather flexible, so if you REALLY wanted, you could give her a simple skirt over a crinoline, or even several layers of petticoats instead. That is, if its practical. br>

If you looked at the provided examples, you will notice that none of them are particularly translucent. They’re all pretty much opaque! So don’t do the low opacity overlay that you did. Unless clothing is mesh, fishnet or plastic (which is actually a thing) there’s no really to have clothing just be solid color on low opacity.

Speaking of low opacity, your shading is so low that I can barely even call it shading. I notice that you’re using lineart to apply harsh, dramatic shadows which can be a good technique but it doesn’t work if you’re going to be contrast shy with your actual shading. I’m not sure if you don’t have a definite light source, if your shading is just too light to tell, or if it’s both.

I tend to do my shading on a clipping layer, full opacity and normal blend to just lay down the shadows with clear visibility and THEN mess around with opacity and blending modes. I think it helps a lot, particularly because I use cell shading, but it might help with blended shading as well.

- Habit

#mod habiit #submission #critique

28 notes · View notes

shannrussell-blog1 · 5 years

Photo

Camping and comfort. Camping products and technology have come a long way over the last two decades so there’s no reason why you can’t have both.

I’ll let you in on a little secret. A huge part of having an enjoyable camping trip is getting a good night’s sleep. In order to do that, you need a quality camping mattress.

I’ve been camping for longer than I can remember, and like most people started with the family hand-me-downs. For me, it was an inflatable air mattress that had plenty of patches and would occasionally go flat on me during the night. It allowed me to head out camping on a budget and not sleep on the dirt but, without fail, I always came home with a sore back – even when it didn’t go flat!

Camping has long been known for ‘roughing it’. There’s nothing wrong with that (in its place) but at some point in time, you realise that a bad night’s sleep and a sore back takes away from an otherwise amazing trip.

Doesn’t get much better than the Black Wolf Mega Deluxe.

So, I did the usual thing (for me!) and bought several cheap mattresses over a period of time, trying to save money, and as usual, ended up spending more money than if I had bought a decent mattress to start off with. None were comfortable and none gave me a good night’s sleep.

That was until I picked up a Black Wolf Mega Deluxe Mattress from Snowys. (Thanks for the free delivery to Western Australia guys!)

About the Black Wolf Mega Deluxe

The Mega Deluxe is self-inflating. You literally roll the mattress out, unscrew two valves and it pumps itself up. What you end up with is a mattress that is part air and part foam. Well-known in the camping industry to be the most comfortable sleeping arrangement.

The clever new inflate valve. Open it up and let it puff up. Easy as that.

It’s the top-of-the-range mattress in the Black Wolf range and, combined with a lifetime warranty, you really can’t go wrong.

The mattress itself is 198cm long, 77cm wide, and 10cm thick when inflated. It rolls up to 80cm wide x 20cm round. It doesn’t pack as down as small as an airbed but it is worth it in comfort.

To deflate simply open the deflate valve – it closes nice and snug so it’s near impossible to do it by accident. Simple.

How comfortable is it?

Everyone likes their own bed at home. I’m no exception to that rule. But the Black Wolf Mega Deluxe mattress is almost as good. For a camping mattress, it’s exceptional. When you are hundreds of kilometres from the nearest town, entirely dependent on your camping gear, it’s as good as it gets.

10cm thick means even a big bloke like myself stays off the ground and in comfort. The top cover is stretchy polyester and is great to sleep on even without a sheet or sleeping bag, in both hot and cold weather.

Get back to work, Kev!

Construction and quality

I’ve always been a bit dubious about mattresses that hold air. From previous experiences, they can be damaged easily which means you get to sleep on the dirt for the night.

However, there’s something different about the Black Wolf Mega Deluxe, and it’s obvious from the moment you open it up. You can clearly see they are built with quality and longevity in mind.

We’ve had both of our Mega Deluxe mats for more than 3 years now, and they’ve been used for well over 100 nights in the bush. We are careful with them, but at the same time, they have been well used.

A strip of velcro along one side allows you to attach it to another mat – turning two singles into a double. The Mega Deluxe Double is also available.

The air valves are strong (and have been improved on the new model), the carry bag is waterproof, and they have velcro along the edge so you can clip two together. The general construction is flawless.

From my experience with these mattresses (and in seeing my mate’s inferior mattresses leak regularly on recent camping trips), I’m more than confident that these will last a very long time.

Rolling it up

There’s a little trick that I use to roll the mattress up nice and tightly. Firstly, undo the valves. Then, starting at the bottom, roll it up as tight as possible. When it’s done, do the valves up, and unroll it, repeating the rolling process but this time with the valves still done up.

You’ll find it rolls much tighter the second time around, and when you get near the end you can release a valve and get rid of the remaining air.

Overall

I can’t believe I put up with average camping mattresses for so long. I remember coming back from 2 weeks camping in Coral Bay on a shoddy mattress and having to go to several chiropractor appointments in the weeks after. It’s so not worth it.

If a bad night’s sleep is putting you off going camping you need to invest in a decent camping mattress. Staying dry, warm, and comfortable are hugely important when camping. If camping is a big part of your life, the price of a Black Wolf Mega Deluxe Mattress is well worth it.

A quick tip that you might find useful is that if your self-inflating mat has been stored away for a time, a couple of days prior to setting off on your trip let it fully inflate before rolling it up again. This will make inflation quicker when you’re at the campsite.

Are you a member of or What mattress do you use?

The post Review – Black Wolf Mega Deluxe Self Inflating Mat appeared first on Snowys Blog.

#TeamAirbed #TeamSelfInflatingMat?

0 notes