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#we're clever but we're dumb
ereborne · 5 months
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Song of the Day: December 1. Starting this again! It has been years
"Soap" by the Oh Hellos
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i haven't been able to let go of glass onion (in a bad way) bc there's just something so frustrating about it and earlier today, i was trying to explain it to my brother and i said something about it feeling like "baby(aka rian) just saw get out and wants to write an equally clever script but for some reason it's also a murder mystery" and like. i think i got there. i think my main problem is how heavy handed everything is. but it's acting like it's so subtle and cool and smarT. saying "millionaire is bad bc he's dumb, actually!" is so lazy. saying "haha influencer thinks sweatshops make sWEATpants" is lazy. whatever the fuck he was saying about duke, the "haha alt-right man lives in mama's basement and is bullied by her hahaha" is lazy ?!?!?!?
get out(as my example of an actual clever movie) was smart because when you watch a second time you're like "oh shit that's why he said he couldn't bare to let them go after his parents died. he MEANT HIS PARENTS ANd NOT THE HELP" but in glass onion, a second viewing would just be you sitting there like "that's not actually andi, that's helen." that's not clever ?!?!?!?!?
#i'm convinced i would have enjoyed glass onion if they had shown us that andi was dead from the start#and cut between helen & blanc and the dickheads throughout#like. the “terminally online in 2020” references would have still annoyed me a lOT#but i would have watched it and been like 'sure whatever'#instead of 3 days of 'why the fuck did he exposition the entire fucking plot at me after i wasted an hour' 😠#i hate when a writer of a movie makes the audience feel stupid for watching their movie and buying what they showed us#it's not CLEVER that this woman was actually her secret sister all along!#that's lazy writing#i get so riled up abt this bc you know how much hype this is all buying rian sdfghfdsfg johnson?#every time this white mediocrity gets swallowed up by people en masse#i feel so sad for the good stories we won't get to see from miniorities#like. one rich white straight man writes some 'quirky leftist oneliners' and it's like we're back in the height of the mcu fandom#but now everyone thinks it's progressive bc it's making fun of unwoke people or 'elon musk'#i also hate how much rian's writing makes it seem like all these horrific rich people are bad bc they're dumb#i'm gonna go watch get out a 50th time and maybe some day glass onion will not be on my dash and then#i won't have to have a stroke abt it#i feel like janis ian with you people#the 'did you hang with AWESOME people and drink AWEOMSE shoooters?????' but it's about glass onion#i don't care if people enjoy it#i care that people genuinely think it's smart or good#i love bad movies#i love practically every early 2000s romcom#maid in manhattan is not a masterpiece just bc i love and enjoy it#i'm gonna go watch maid in manhattan and cry sdfvvds
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eternalsa2z · 1 month
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Who's The Bimbo?
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"Oh dear dear dear. You thought I was a bimbo? Just because I was wearing pink? Since I was smiling with you?"
"I think you must be the bimbo if you didn't know the signs. A skintight latex outfit? A tight, commanding bun? The fact that I told you I like to tie up silly little dolls? I wasn't smiling with you...I was laughing at you."
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"You still don't get it, do you? You're quite the airhead. Even after I get changed into my preferred attire. Dressed to kill. Blood red dress without any hint of pink. You still don't realize what's happening?"
"I didn't you invite you back to my place 'to have a girly sleepover'. The only 'frisky bimbo fun' we'll be having is if I feel like fetching my 10" strap-on from my dungeon. No, tonight, we're going to be making it VERY clear which of us is a bimbo."
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"That's right my pretty little ditz. I'm not a bimbo - I'm a bimbo domme. So wiggle you're pretty little ass into these stirrups."
"Once I lock you in, I'm going to pump you full of silicone and collagen until you're ready to pop. I'm going to break you're mind with so many submissive bimbo hypnos that you will be drooling with a blank look for days. I'm going to make you plastic and pliant and the perfect doll worthy of serving me. What do you think about that?"
"Hmmm...so you knew all along? You were acting dumb this whole time so I'd do this to you? Clever girl...but not for long. You won't need to act to be dumb when I'm done with you."
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galactic-rhea · 2 months
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Can you imagine the sheer amount of horror and panic for the rebels if Padmé decided to be evil and "yeah, okay, you know what, let's cut Palpatine's head and let me see what I can do to fix this galaxy my way"?
No no like they're like "The Chancellor tricked us, almost all the jedi are dead, there's no republic anymore, but there's still hope! There's still a fight in us, there's still---!" and they see Padmé, with Anakin/Vader following her close with raging, horrible, yellow eyes, but what's more scary is that Padmé is just smilling? With a sith so close to her? Padmé, he's- he's a murderer, Padmé? Why are you giving him pats- Oh damn, he's the father, oh damn-.
"We're doomed" the rebels mutter when they realize Senator Amidala- wait, what? Is Empress Amidala now? Okay-.
Yeah, okay, theorically she would be a better choice than the bastard of Palpatine. But at the same time she's so loved, so clever as a politician and Anakin is so devoted to her that forming a rebellion against her would be twice as hard. Even more when she actually originally was one of the founders of that very same rebellion? And General Skywalker is insane now, and he's very insane about her too, and he's very murderous and did I say insane? and...
What, all the highly trained look-alikes handmaidens are now secret service? Well that's...complicated, but...What, Naboo supports her? The whole planet? That's not so much of a shock, but...Bail, wait, listen to yourself, Bail what are you saying, she's evil now, stay with us, Bail. Okay, well, you might have a point-
"We're doomed." The rebels mutter again as they facepalm at the most cheesy and dumb royal wedding between the worst power couple in existence and the Organas are guests of honor and the groomsmen/honor guard are a chained General Kenobi, an astromech and a protocol droid.
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ohisms · 6 months
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↪   ᵀᴴᴱ 𝑀𝐼𝐶𝐾 .    (  a  series  of  sentence  starters  from  season  1  of fox's sitcom ,  “ the mick ” .   adjust  phrasing  as  necessary . will be updated !  )
oh my god , why do you have gasoline ?!
we're fine , not that it's any of your concern .
stay out of trouble .
no , you're not coming in with me .
you're embarrassing . you embarrass me . i'm embarrassed of you .
can i bum a smoke , please ?
it's okay , i already have a dollar .
i get the sense that you're in need a lot .
i don't have a problem . you do , otherwise we wouldn't be having this conversation .
what do you mean ? you invited me .
i got into yale , that doesn't mean i'm going .
the scales of justice tip in favor of the wealthy .
if we throw enough money at this thing , i'm sure it'll go away .
let's catch up in ten years when you need another loan .
i feel like we got off on the wrong foot .
i want you to come to me with boy problems . or girl problems , i don't assume .
i know you think you're pretty clever with this plan to drink me under the table , but there's two problems ... you're not , .. & you can't .
she's not dead , i can see her breathing .
i cannot count the number of times i've been ripped off a barstool & thrown in a cage .
i should probably get out of the house , yesterday kinda got away from me .
i don't like these people . but i like you .
why are we at a poor person's restaurant ?
don't touch my stuff , psycho .
no , i don't believe you . you're lying .
uh , i don't know , maybe because you're a lying bitch .
okay , look , i understand this stuff is really hard to hear .
let's just keep our voices down , okay ?
you think i care about these idiots ?
what is wrong with you ? you're making a scene .
how's that for a scene ?! dinner & a show !
i know what you're up to , & you're not gonna get away with it .
i'm sorry , you think you're in charge ?
once all this is gone , all that's left is this . & nobody wants just this .
wait , wait , wait ! i'm coming with you !
i will only go if i have your blessing .
if you need anything at all , do not hesitate to call 911 .
[ name ] , my beautiful angel !
i heard about that little accident you had .
so , this is it ! home sweet home .
holy crap , you're alive ...
what are you doing here ? are you living at my place ?
okay , i'm sensing some major hostility here .
i thought you were dead !
don't pay attention to him , he's no one .
— i'm just kidding ! oh , i'm so sorry , your face ...
no ... you're joking — this is a joke , right ?
i'm gonna go freshen up , this'll be fun !
my legs are heavy , but my mind is light ...
wait , why is my window open ?
do i look like i'm playing games ?
we both burnt that bridge , it doesn't matter who lit the match .
i need you to do me a favor , i did you a favor .
oh , thank god you're here . you've gotta help us .
oh , i'm not going anywhere .
what do you want me to do about it ?
knock - knock ... can i come in ?
oh ... i get it . you're jealous .
enough with the guessing games , i'm freaking out over here .
fine . i'll fix this myself .
i thought we agreed i'm the boss ?!
if you saw my silence as agreeing with you , that's on you .
don't take it personally , his heart just isn't for sale .
not now , [ name ] , i'm gloating .
[ name ] ?! since when do you smoke ?
HEY .. !! [ name ] . just the person i wanted to see .
i haven't gone this long without a smoke in years .
either be part of the solution or get the hell out .
well , now i feel like you're lying .
regardless of how we got here , i'm having a really good time .
is it ? is it creepy to be ahead of everybody at all times ?
i want to squeeze you around your neck until you can't breathe .
i said that forever ago when i was young and dumb .
if i were you , i would take this opportunity to lay low .
that's the opposite of what i just suggested .
[ name ] , you've been overruled .
i don't mean to offend you , you don't fit the [ surname ] brand .
it's already happening , we're becoming socially radioactive .
i'm sorry , that night is a blur of bad pinot and intolerable conversation .
oh , so you're a liar too ?
i was sitting at home , and then i remembered you're not my boss .
what's the matter ? little plan didn't work ?
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podcastkevin · 1 month
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"Wheels up in thirty." Everyone dispersed and you started to make your way to Garcia's cave.
"How come he doesn't go with us? I've read what he can do, it seems like he'd be excellent on the field." Emily asked. You had been with the BAU before Emily and she was still getting to know you. "Did you not see his age? Hotch won't let him on the field til he's older." "Older? Come on, Derek, he looks Spencer's age." Reid shakes his head and points down. "He's younger? Okay, I'm gonna guess Twenty-two." They others just look at her.
"...Twenty?" "Emily, Mn is Seventeen." Reid tells her and her eyes widen. "Wha- Seventeen?? How-" "He has the intelligence of Reid and the tech-iness of Garcia. It's like some weird mutation of the two put together." "How did he get here?" "Well, there's another thing we're not telling you." "Oh, what, he was solving sudoku problems when he turned two?" "Actually he was five." Reid answers. "He told you that?" "I watched him do it." "How?" Reid laughs with a small smile. (Y'know, his little smile he does sometimes after telling a "fun fact" to someone?) "He's my little brother." Reid reveals and Emily's jaw drops. "Your brother?" "Kid calls him suspenders just to annoy him. That's how I found out. Spencer and Suspenders, clever annoying younger brother nickname." Derek says. "Yeah, I call him (Annoyed older brother nickname) and he absolutely hates it. It's fun."
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Let's not pay attention to the age difference and just enjoy this silly little thing I made because age logic is dumb and I love Reid 😂
Also I turned 21 on Thursday (03.07.24) and I feel weird. Not physically just I feel weird that I'm one year older again.
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baldurspeen69420 · 7 months
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Having deranged thoughts about my Tav (Sophie) and her romance w/ Gale (lots of headcanon ahead)
Sophie is a half-orc fighter with a lot of shame around her orcish heritage. While being a strong combatant she's also very feminine and clever and good-natured but always gets perceived as this scary, ugly, dumb brute. Tons of the special half-orc dialogue is about them feeling outcasted and so many characters comment on her appearance and it just kills her. Like this poor woman is just used to being insulted and demeaned on the regular and has internalized so much of that shit despite having a genuinely gentle, sweet, and curious personality.
Then there's fucking Gale
Mr. Handsome Waterdeep Wizard who immediately calls Sophie "my lady", treats her like a gentleman at every turn, and is just nice in a world that's very prejudiced and cruel at times. Where so many people see their biased perception of a half-orc, Gale sees a woman who's kind and heroic and brave and beautiful. He doesn't give a shit that she's like a foot taller than him and has big fucking tusks and is built like a goddamn fridge, he had a goddamn goddess in his past but still chooses Soph and that's fucking crazy
Like how could she not be in love with him, dude stepped straight out of a Baldurs Gate romance dime novel
The scene where he helps her do magic and she looks around in just pure fucking wonderment kills me. Half-Orcs often don't learn magic or are born with the capacity so its the first time she gets to experience the weave and its so mind-blowing to her and Gale just looks at her with this little smile ajdhyfufis-
And can you imagine??? The conversations after their journey?? When he's like?? "We're going to have to get together a guest list for our wedding when we get back to Waterdeep" and she's like "Are you sure you want to marry me?? In public?? Where everyone is going to know the great Gale Dekarios is marrying an orc??" and the thought wouldn't have even occurred to him because of course he's going to marry her and of course he's going to let everyone know
Asking shit like "what if we have a kid and they have tusks?" and he's just like "all the better to take after their beautiful mother :)))" I FUCKING CANT-
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a-world-with0ut-dr34ms · 10 months
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Ghost x Dom!Reader x Soap (Sneak Peek)
Ghost and Soap find themselves crushing on the same woman on their team, a friendly bout between two comrades to see who you'll choose, only your answer's not one they'd expected to hear.
Tags: Future NSFW 18+/Shameless Smut/PwP/MMF/some Ghostsoap, Anon Request •ᴗ• (Full tags will be used in main post), Jealousy, Banter, Flirting, Bickering, Sexual Tension, Soap and Ghost are fighting over the same girl, but it's a friendly competition, ends in a three-way too so, spoiler alert, Scarcely proofread
Masterlist
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Ghost leans forward now, resting his arms on his knees and furrowing his brow. "A'right, out with it," he says. "What's your game 'ere?"
Soap's brow furrows rather facetiously. '"I'm sorry, sir?"
"Don’t play dumb Johnny." The playful tone Ghost once used before has now since cooled, growing darker. "You know wha' I'm askin'."
Soap merely smirks, resting his arm back against the couch. "The same game you're playing, yeah?"
"And what game is that, Johnny?"
Soap can't help but laugh now, growing more and more cocky with each loaded exchange. On a normal day, Ghost might manage to intimidate the Sergeant every so often with his sheer presence, let alone his words. However, when it comes to women, Soap couldn't feel more in his element, especially up against his superior.
"One I'll beat you in."
Now it's Ghost's turn to have a laugh. A subtle thing, trapped beneath the burliness of his chest, though its deep rumble is audible enough, having warmed the Scotsman's cheeks at the sound.
"I doubt that," Ghost says.
"You underestimate my charm L.T." Soap puckers his lips and kisses the air between the two men mockingly. As much as Ghost tried to hide it, the sight had made the air catch in his throat for a second. It's that usual, competitive nature about the Sergeant that really gets Ghost's blood pumping during these mutual bouts of bickering.
"My last statement still stands," Ghost chuckles. "So what? You thought I'd leave and you two would just go at it then?"
"I wouldn't say it like that," Soap says. "...But I was hoping to have some alone time with her, yes."
"And you figured on waitin' for the rest of us to vacate before making a move..." Ghost shrugs with affirmation. "...Clever man."
"Yeah, well, what about you?" Soap asks. "Clearly we're both still here for the same reason. What's your "game", L.T.?"
"It's not your concern."
Soap groans, sinking back in his seat, though he hadn't been surprised by the lieutenant's response. "Suppose it isn't, then," he says. "It's hers."
"That's right," Ghost agrees. "We can't both have her."
"Can't we?"
Ghost brings his eyes forward to Soap's, having thought his comment had been a mere joke. However, once their gazes matched, Ghost could see that his Sergeant was dead serious.
Personally, Soap's never been opposed to the idea of a threesome. He'd even be lying if he said he hadn't fantasized about it from time to time, as boyish as it sounds. Adding Ghost into that equation hadn't tripped him up much either; Lord knows the lieutenant would be next on Soap's list if you weren't at the top of it first.
Still, Ghost had a hard time even picturing a scenario where something like that could happen, let alone with all three of you. No doubt the man had been interested in you, and for a while, he'd even felt something for Soap as well, feelings that haven't necessarily gone away.
Something with all three of you would no doubt be perfect, however, it just seemed...
"Let's be real here, Johnny." Ghost leaves it at that.
"Suit yourself," Soap merely shrugs, before a light bulb moment suddenly lets off in his eyes. "How about we bring this to the source then? Hey Y/N!"
"Soap-"
"Oi, calm down, mate," he smiles at him. "No point in beatin' 'round the bush, aye?"
You round the corner finally, having heard their voices vaguely through your door this entire time, but not being able to put full words together. From the "uh-oh" look you had on your face, however, something told the two men you were already preparing for them to say something crazy.
"What's up?"
Soap gives Ghost a final look, waiting to see if the man will protest. However, when he sees that he doesn't speak, Soap grins, turning back to you.
"If you had to pick between Ghost and I, who're you choosin'?"
"Pick for what?" you ask, certainly needing clarification. "For battle?"
Soap bursts out laughing, just now feeling how awkward it was going to be explaining this to you. "No," he says. "Like if you had to pick one of us to... I don't know, go out on a date with, who would you pick?"
You keep smiling at Soap like he's joking, but once you see he hasn't budged, you feel your heart begin to race.
Your eyes grow wide, now suddenly embarrassed to have the spotlight on you. "You're seriously asking?"
Soap nods. "I am."
You look over at Ghost now. Surely this was just another one of Soap's antics. "You too?"
Ghost shrugs. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't curious."
You were hoping he wouldn't say that. But, if they were asking, then may God be your witness as you answer them.
Placing a hand to your chin, you pout to yourself and look back and forth between your teammates, sizing both men up for every physical feature they had to offer.
Your mind immediately goes to the gutter, not being able to help it. You've found them both distractingly good-looking ever since you joined the team, and you've more than thought about this before. Just never in comparison. Or out loud.
Soap looks like he'd be fun to play with -- he's eager, energetic, and even better, open-minded. Not to mention he was cocky too; you always liked a man who could talk his shit and back it up. With those big arms of his, he could just box you in against the bed and pin you down good and firm, as he drills into you, cooing that sweet little accent of his in your ear like he would. It made your body tingle just thinking about it.
And then there was Ghost; if there was any voice you wouldn't mind having growled in your ear while being fucked senseless, it was his. Unlike Soap, you just knew you wouldn't get it rough like you would from Ghost. You've lost count of how many times you've caught yourself gawking at him during sparring sessions or while out in the field, watching that bulking mass of muscle of his he called a body, manhandle any and everything in his way. Having him do the same to you in a more intimate sense never failed to make the lower parts of yourself start to throb at the thought.
After giving both men a good, long look, you sigh, letting your arms fall back to your sides.
"I can't choose."
"Ah, don't be shy now, lass," Soap says. "If you're worried about hurtin' our feelings-"
"No it's not that," you cut in. "It's just not an easy choice, you know?"
Simon raises an eyebrow now. "Oh?"
"Oh, don't act all surprised, Ghost."
"You like us both then?" Soap asks cautiously.
"I'd say so." You begin to smirk. "Why? What's going on here?"
The two give each other a look, before Simon goes to explain things to you.
"We're just trying to figure out which one of us has a shot."
"Figures you should be the deciding vote, seeing as you're the subject of interest, lass."
You imagine you look pretty stupid standing at the center of your living room all wide-eyed like you do, but frankly, this just feels too good to be true. It hadn't been one of them that was supposedly into you, but both of them. If you could do a backflip, you'd do twelve right now, no questions asked.
But before you get head over heels about this, "So you're saying you both want me then?"
"In more ways than one, darlin'," Soap teases.
You glance over at Ghost this time, having taken note of his sudden silence. "You too, Simon?"
He hadn't necessarily been prepared to confess his feelings to you, not like this, and much less in front of an opposing audience. Still, Ghost wouldn't have his own Sergeant show him up so easily. Plus, the way your eyes lured at him this whole time had a chill running down his spine, making it hard to concentrate. So he nods, "That's right."
A devilish smile slowly creeps over your lips.
"Well, can't I just have you both?"
Coming soon...(・ω・`)………..
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I'm in the process of typing the smut for this, but here's a preview. Please let me know if this dialogue kind of wreaks; I don't know why, but I'm struggling to like it no matter how much I rewrite it (I keep flipping back and forth between liking it and not liking it). But enough of that. I'll link the full part here once it's complete! (ʃᵕ̩̩ ᵕ̩̩)
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sciderman · 1 month
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The biggest sin of the Deadpool movies is that now everytime anyone talks about them or Deadpool in general, there's always that one prick who's like "C'mon, it's Deadpool, you can't take anything seriously with him, he's purely comedic and a parody" and it's not even because the movie aren't serious at times, but because the fans of those movies usualy have the literacy of a sleepy old cat.
i think a lot of people consuming media have quite poor reading comprehension, but that's just the way the world is in any place you go! we're snobs. not everyone is snobs like us.
buuuut personally i don't think the lens that "you can't take anything seriously" with deadpool is an incorrect one, at all. i think deadpool should be irreverent and playful - and i don't think it's a requirement for deadpool media to take itself seriously. in fact, i kind of wish we had more deadpool media that actually committed to the silliness of a comic book character knowing he's a comic book character. i think maybe gwenpool does it more successfully than deadpool does - but i can't say that with any kind of conviction behind it because i haven't read gwenpool either - i just get the vibe.
i wish the movies were smarter, actually. like, if they wanted to go down the avenue of comedy and parody, man... commit. be smart about it. fact is they kind of want a heartfelt romance and a tragic hero but they keep puncturing it with meta jokes and really, really dumb writing choices that mean you shouldn't take it too seriously. so they kind of don't succeed at either.
i don't think you're meant to take the deadpool movies seriously. i certainly can't enjoy them without switching my brain off entirely –that's not to say it's successful parody. because it's not. the deadpool movies are dumb. they are dumb. they are not clever parody, like... the airplane! of superhero movies. they do very little to subvert the genre at all - nothing clever. just a wink-wink-nudge-nudge joke here or there to say "haha. we played into that trope. it's clever because we're pointing it out."
aaand they're not a meaningful examination on what it means to be a hero or what it means to be in love or the concept of nature vs nurture or overcoming your demons or yadda yadda any of those themes that they kind of flirt over but don't sink teeth into. deadpool movies are dumb. we can't give them too much credit. they don't deserve it.
i think sincerity doesn't have to always suffer at the hands of comedy - no, no. i think good deadpool content balances it somehow. the lego batman movie balanced it too. clever media can do both. the deadpool movies don't (imo), so i think anyone who says "you're not meant to take it seriously" are totally within their right. i say it too. the deadpool movies can't really be enjoyed without turning your brain off. i have to do it too. if i think on it too hard, i'm disappointed. they are not clever movies.
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minisugakoobies · 11 months
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Sunny! I’d like to request #5 on the dirty texts with anyone - smutty dealers choice!
Ooooh, dealers choice?? Hmmm… I gotta go Yoongi on this one, I have not (and will never) recovered from the D Day tour. 😵‍💫
This was supposed to be a drabble but it's well over 1k so… sorry about that!! 💕
Title: Out of the Bag Now Pairing: Yoongi x Reader Genre: friends to lovers?, a bit cracky, smut, Coworkers!AU Rating: M(18+) Warnings: accidentally dirty texts, misunderstandings, mutual pining, masturbation (m), almost turns into phone sex, reader is flustered af (in the best way!), ends on a cute note, prompt is highlighted in bold
You: Okay, so we have everything ready for the presentation tomorrow?
Yoongi: Yeah, we're good to go
Yoongi: Nothing to worry about, so try to get a good night's sleep
Yoongi: I know you didn't sleep before March's shareholder meeting
Glancing at the last text message, you sigh wistfully.
For over a year now, you've been madly in love with your coworker, Min Yoongi. Ok, love might be stretching it a bit. You're wildly in lust with the man.
He's everything you've ever wanted in a partner - cool, calm, collected, clever as fuck with an acerbic wit that always makes you laugh (while praying that you'll never been on the receiving end of its sharp sting). Plus, he's absolutely gorgeous, the kind of guy that people would use an example of "have you ever seen a man so beautiful you cried?"
Or maybe that's just you.
But he is strikingly handsome, and makes your knees go weak when he favors you with one of his rare smiles. They usually come out when he's being sweet to you. Like when he's making sure you're getting enough sleep.
So yeah, you're head over heels for him. If only you had the guts to do anything about it.
You: I'll try
You: But you too! No late night movie marathons again, Yoongi
You: Boss's orders
That's just a dumb joke between the two of you. You're colleagues, on the same level, but Yoongi had insisted that you take the lead on this project, since you had more familiarity with the product than he did. Another check in the "pros" column - he's a man who supports his other colleagues and isn't afraid to take orders.
Yoongi: Yes boss
Yoongi: You can't see it but I'm saluting you right now
He sends a few emojis through and you giggle. For the last few weeks, the two of you have been texting back and forth after hours. It's mostly shop talk, but lately the conversations have dragged on and on, drifting into the late night hours. As this one has. You've already finished your nightly skincare and have moved on to your dental routine.
Yoongi: Seriously though, try not to stress about tomorrow
You: Honestly, I'm not! I'm feeling pretty confident about this
Yoongi: Good. Then you can just relax tonight
You: That's the plan
You balance your phone in one hand while using your electric toothbrush with the other. Yoongi cracks a joke, and your response is a little mangled by your sole thumb's lack of dexterity.
You: Sorry abour any typos
You: I'm like typing with one hand
Three grey dots dance across your screen for a few seconds.
Yoongi: Oh shit, you're REALLY relaxing. I didn't realize it was that type of conversation
You spit into the sink, brow furrowing as you reread his message. What does he mean by that?
Then you scroll up and nearly scream. "I'm like typing with one hand"?? Oh my god, why the fuck did you say that to him? He doesn't know that you meant you were brushing your teeth!
Frantically, you start typing out a response, erasing and starting over a few times, trying to figure out the best way to say "hey no I'm a dumbass who was just brushing my teeth and not touching myself to you" even though the fact is that you have touched yourself while thinking about him, several times actually, but that's neither here or there -
and then a new message appears.
Yoongi: Hold on, let me catch up
Excuse me??
Your phone buzzes with an incoming call and you nearly throw it into the sink in shock when you see that it's Yoongi calling. It takes a few seconds for the command to answer the call to get from your brain to your finger.
"Yoongi?"
A happy sigh greets you. "Fuck, that's better. Wanted to hear your voice."
The floor seems like the safest place to be right now, so you collapse onto it, leaning back against the cabinets under the sink.
"You did?"
"Oh yeah. You've got such a pretty voice, YN. Bet it sounds even sweeter when you're coming," Yoongi rumbles, that's the only word for it, he rumbles in that deep-ass voice of his, and you slide until you're just lying on your back, staring up at the bathroom ceiling, waiting for death to claim you, because how the fuck are you supposed to go on living after this?
"I - um - thank you?"
Yoongi laughs, but there's a slight hiccup in it, and it dawns on you what he's doing right now while he's talking to you. He's catching up. Images flood your brain - Yoongi lying on a couch, or maybe on a bed, hand tucked into his pants, fingers wrapped around a hard cock - and you choke on your own saliva.
"You ok?"
"Yeah! Yes. I'm fine, thank you."
He chuckles again, and it's physically impossible but you swear you can feel the vibrations through the phone. "You sure? You sound a little flustered."
"Oh, I'm sorry." What the fuck are you supposed to be saying to him right now? You're pretty sure it's not apologizing, but that's what you do anyway.
"Don't be. It's really cute."
Well thank fuck for that.
"Yoongi," you steady yourself with a deep breath, "what I said earlier… I didn't mean I was touching myself."
Silence. A lot of silence. It's a relief when he speaks again, but it fades quickly as you catch the disappointment in his voice.
"Oh shit, really? I - fuck." Now who's flustered? "What - what were you doing?"
"Brushing my teeth."
"Oh. Huh." He sighs, sounding deflated. "Guess I just jumped to a conclusion that I… wanted."
"Oh," you echo. "That's…" Incredible? Unbelievable? The best thing you've heard since you were born?
"Listen, YN, I'm so sorry. This whole thing was just - fuck, just really inappropriate, and if I've made you feel uncomfortable, I'm truly sor-"
Sitting up, you wave your arm to stop him. As if he can see you right now. "No, no! Yoongi. Wait. It's not like that. I wasn't doing anything right now but… but I have."
More silence. You bite your lip as you wait for him to catch up, for real this time.
"You mean…"
"I mean, I've t-touched myself while thinking about you. Before." Clearing your throat, you cover your eyes with your free hand, hiding your face from an invisible audience. Somehow, it emboldens you to keep talking. "A lot, actually."
He exhales shakily. "Really?"
"Yeah. Yeah, really." Uncovering your face, you stand, propping yourself up against the counter as you stare at yourself in the mirror. Is that really you having this discussion right now? You start to laugh.
"I don't think I'm getting the joke," Yoongi says slowly.
"Holy shit, this is just so surreal, Yoongi," you inform him. "I never in a million years thought I'd be admitting that I - Jesus, that I masturbate to thoughts of you! Not over the phone like this. Maybe after like-"
"A date?"
You huff out another laugh. "After a dozen, maybe. This is… I'm extremely out of my depth here."
"Well, if it makes you feel better, I think you're doing a great job." He's laughing now, too, and it makes you grin so wide your cheeks actually hurt. "How about this - you let me take you on a date tomorrow night, to celebrate our successful presentation, and maybe by the end of the night, we'll know where we stand on the timeline for surprising confessions?"
"Okay. Yeah. Yes." You close your mouth to prevent yourself from continuously accepting his offer.
"Great. Then… I'll see you tomorrow." His voice drops to a soft whisper. "Sweet dreams, YN."
"Good night, Yoongi."
Okay, so you may have lied to him. Because there's no way you're getting any sleep tonight.
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avisisisis · 4 months
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The sun and moon symbolism was used so well in LMK
I love how it wasn't used as a way to tell us about their personalities but instead as a way to reflect their beliefs, their places in the world and how their relationship with it can vary
When you think about sun and moon characters, the first things that comes to mind are "extrovert and introvert", "loud and quiet", "optimistic and realistic (or straight up pessimist)", etc. You think of two labels that are used, to put it simply, as a way to tell us that oh, this character is bright and nice and this other character is quiet and follows them anywhere. And depending on what you think about Shadowpeach, this might suit them! But if we're talking about canon, then it's just... not them
Macaque isn't a shy, timid guy who while he's smart and clever, he doesn't stand up for himself. SWK isn't a happy and cheerful but also dumb guy who tends to be the one to defend Mac when he doesn't do it himself
Here, the sun and moon symbolism is used to explain the nature of their relationship, not their personalities. It's used to give us a simple explanation of why they're that way without showing us a 20 minute backstory scene to make us understand what the fuck happened (though that wouldn't be unwelcome)
The sun shines brightly and gives us its warmth, but in the end, he'll always be alone; no one can get close to her without burning. The moon's brightness comes only from the sun, and she's most noticed when it's night, while the shadows cover the earth
The moon needs the sun to shine, but the sun wouldn't change at all if he wasn't there; Macaque needs SWK to be there for his character to be important. but Sun Wukong's story would have remained almost the same if Macaque had never been his friend. If you want a story where they never knew each other, just read JTTW!
However, while the sun doesn't need the moon at all in real life, these two characters are supposed to be actual people, not a rock and a ball of gas in space. Macaque can be his own person without Sun Wukong being there, and Wukong is strong enough to not need someone fighting by his side but still wants it anyway
They're not soulmates, at least not in the way the wind and the sea are. Sun Wukong's love for Liu'er Mihou isn't a thing destiny wrote. It's not heaven's, not space's, not faith's: it's his. And his love for Macaque is what makes him need him by his side
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lakesbian · 1 month
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Hi, I just want to clarify that I don't mean this as an accusation but as an honest question; but when you and others on your posts are talking about narrative bigotry in Worm you talk about the racism and homophobia (which I agree with) but you also talk about fatphobia/fat characters being universally handled poorly, and I would love a breakdown as to why this is. With regards to Piggot when she was initially introduced I was thinking from how the heroes thought about her in their POV chapters that she was going to be the fatphobic stereotype of "soft and uncool but mean/unpleasant, disgusting fat civilian who doesn't know real courage and heroism like the thin, attractive heroes", and was pleasantly surprised when she got a lot more nuance than that, and also turned out to be very courageous and militaristic in contrast to the stereotype of "fat = cowardly and doesn't know real survival", with her flaws more lying in how she goes too far in that direction. In general the problem I typically see with how I see fat characters represented isn't just that they have flaws, but that they are never allowed to be "cool". They might be laughably dumb or they might be smart, but in a "loser nerd" way, never in a "clever scheming competent leader" kind of way. If they are negative/mean/evil characters, the emphasis is always on their venal, base qualities like gluttony, greed, and just being a jerk, they are never an "evil is cool" character with flaws like pride or a philosophy that is thoughtful and intended well but goes too far. So in that respect I thought Piggot was well-written, well besides. being literally named Piggot which is cringe but I could excuse as setting up the expectation of a stereotype to later support. And the only other character I remember being described as fat, Gregor the Snail, I have no memory of being any kind of problematic stereotype, though I don't remember him and his chapter that well either. So could you explain why Worm writes fat people badly/fatphobically?
this took way too long to answer because it's like. Well it's a simple answer but also this is a very long ask. so there's more to unpack. the short answer is just that literally, like, virtually 99.99% of the times a fat character or someone being fat is mentioned in literally any wildbow novel it's with palpable disgust. regardless of who the narrator is. it's obvious even with taylor but pact really hammers this home because blake is characterized in a way that indicates he should never be randomly judging someone's weight or appearance and he's still constantly written as observing whether or not someone is "fat." and it's in italics, like it's a slur or some grievous insult. like we're not even at the point of being able to analyze how wildbow writes specific fat characters here due to there are almost none of them and anytime fatness is mentioned it's in the context of it being stated in the same tone as if the narrator was observing someone picking their nose and eating it. like the loathing is Palpable. pay attention to how the phrases "fat" or "obese" or "morbidly obese" are used the next time you're reading a wildbow novel. you'll see what i mean.
as for the specific characters it's like. i think this post has everything icould think to say about gregor already in it, which as you will see is not very strongly opinionated. i mention piggot in it also. i don't remember enough abt either to just wax abt them at length but fundamentally it's that there's nothing particularly Strongly Good about either of them--not doing the "soft lazy uncool glutton" schtick is, like, bare minimum, and neither of them are very far above the bare minimum, and they're in a story that consistently does infinitely less than the bare minimum. there's gonna need to be more than a fat character Having Characterization before we can say that worm isn't wildly fatphobic
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agent-calivide · 1 month
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It is Bitching About Things That Do Not Matter O'Clock, but like. I know poking fun at John Juniper is a delight. I love calling him a bitch and insulting his acting and stealing his masks, but- he's not- he's not completely incompetent, y'all know that, right?
Firstly, Zor would never hire someone they didn't think could do the job, but also a lot of Juniper's fuck-up's are directly tied to either the EOD getting lucky or Zor literally setting him up for failure.
Like, we know he's good at keeping a mask on even in a moment of panic, when the Masque of Red Death blew up the first thing the did was shout "This is not part of the show, everybody run!" to evacuate the theater, something to convince the public he was a Good Man and kept suspicions around him low.
On Jet Set, the only reason Phoenix doesn't die is the EOD getting lucky and happening to have the autonomous jet's instruction manual in their records. Like, he had signal jammers, he left on the DNA Identification security system, and he sabotaged the missile defense system just in case they had to turn to plan B. These are not things left on a jet made as a custom trap for Phoenix, the pieces to save themselves wouldn't be there if it was. This is a normal jet that Juniper uses that he ensured got sabotaged so the Phoenix would be a sitting duck. Even if he didn't personally put out orders to have the jet get sabotaged, he did have the foresight to put a few boons on the jet that could kill Phoenix. Explosive cigars, poisoned food things like that. "Please, enjoy! I picked up a box of those just for you!" So he knows what to supply the agent with to try and cut this little problem short, and even if those don't work there's still the missile and the Zoraxis base they were headed to anyways. Phoenix getting out of that mess was combination of nosiness and pure dumb luck on the EOD's part.
We don't see much of him in Eaves Drop, but we do see that Zor and Fabricator are already planning on disposing of him by using the Mimic Mask and that he is generally doing a damn good job at tricking the heads of state into various traps for the most part, we just saw it with the Prime Minister in Stage Fright and we're going to see it in Party Crashers with the Primere later.
Party Crashers is where I think most of this "Oh, he's just a whiny baby" comes from, and it absolutely is John at his worst, but it get treated like his baseline??? Like, he loses his cool, he screams, he panics, he absolutely freaks out, but he also is throwing a party to kidnap the last head of state, is being chastised by the Fabricator, his friend of multiple decades is backstabbing him actively (as Gibbs should, but it's just another stressor for Juniper), several bombs have dropped or his party got a smoke grenade thrown in it, alarms and sprinklers have both gone off, and nOW SOMEONE'S TOUCHING MY FUCKING COLLECTOR'S ITEMS?! I too would be losing my shit. Add in he is seeming surrounded by people being incompetent (throwing grenades without closing hatches, missing their shots, some reason the tank of lethal gas is empty, the woman who was supposed to be helping is just laughing at you and your entire team of security is dead save for a small handful and it's all because of ONE person???) and I can't blame him for not being chill, suave, or particularly clever in that moment. And to be frank, I think every IEYTD "Final Boss" has a moment of foolishness. Solaris throws you radiation boxes that you use to take down the Death Engine and literally says "Calculating force... aaand CATCH!" and I could make a whole other post on Prism's speech on the mountain side but they're not defined by those "worst" moments. Mostly because they don't last nearly as long as Juniper's, but that doesn't mean it should be his defining moment either.
Then, in Safe and Sound, not only does he successfully trick the agent into thinking he's the Handler in the first place, but he has them drugged, kidnaps them, and then admits that if he had it this way he would have just shot the agent. No fanfare, no crazy traps, if John coulda, he would have shot the agent in the head while they were unconscious and called it a day. But Zor is the one who wants the trap, the footage, the fanfare. Juniper is pissed that the jet didn't work as is, and now he can't even just take care of the agent the easy way and ensure that they're out of the way. He says he expects the agent to find a way out, he know what they're capable of, and he's sure they're gonna find a way out because he's the one that's been dealing with them for the last week! Zor is the one who thinks this trap is gonna work and demanded Juniper put Phoenix in it. Yeah he gives a theatrical monologue, but if he had say in the matter he wouldn't get the chance to in the first place!
Then in Rising Phoenix, HE MAKES GOOD ON THAT THREAT. Try to pick up anything that you dropped on the ground outside of the elevator, tell me how that goes for you. He's got scary good aim, he sees the Phoenix and immediately goes "well, shit, one sec folks, I gotta kill this agent" and then just pulls a gun and starts firing. And rather than focusing on the agent, he does have the foresight to shoot a MOVING, FLOATING TARGET so you can't do anything to him! He is very capable with a gun and likely the only reason Phoenix survives Party Crashers is Juniper doesn't have a firearm. And then, in a moment of panic as he hangs from a catwalk (that absolutely should not have had its powerbox so obviously out in the open if Zor wasn't planning on the agent either killing him or putting him in a position for Zor to pull the trigger) he tries to plead with the agent. He doesn't know the mask is a death trap at this point, and the only choice he has is to hope the person in the room with him can help pull him back up from the pit. He puffs up his chest, acts like he has all of the cards, but that's because that's the only chance he's got of making it out of this thing alive. He doesn't know the mask is what's gonna kill him in the end, he just knows that the Fabricator, the crazy lady who makes death traps for fun, has something in the room with him and that Zor intends on using it to finish John off.
And once John's toast literally Zor just shakes their head and mockingly calls him a disappointment before turning to Phoenix and saying it's in their hands now. But the entire time that Phoenix is working on this briefcase, Zor is teasing them, toying with them, and is audibly disappointed if you fail to disarm the briefcase in time. Phoenix was supposed to get the briefcase, John was supposed to die, and he really was implied to be doomed from the very beginning.
He's not a whining, screaming, incompetent bumbling idiot. He is very capable, he is literally just set up to fail so Zor can see Phoenix perform.
Edit: just for clarification, I do think he’s rather petulant, bitchy, he can be whiny, he’s an absolute douche, and what he did in that cellar is nothing short of a tantrum, my point is just that he isn’t a completely incompetent man baby. He knows what he’s doing and in at least one situation had more sense than Zor (Safe and Sound).
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bonefall · 6 months
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First off, obviously this is a WC blog so I won't go further but THANKS for the brief dunk of The Lion Guard, that's one of my biggest problems with the show. Second off, are you seeing this shit Elder Bones?! * Points at the Thunder Spoiler Thread at WCRPForums * Do try to avoid reading the posts that aren't chapters though, they're bad as usual for that site lol.
Maybe one day I'll grumble about Lion King on the side blog lmao.
Anyway... that spoiler thread. I try to take these threads with a pinch of salt, but... overall feelings are really getting negative. If I had a Vibes Barometer, the needle would be dipping out of positive right now.
We're 2 books away from the conclusion and I don't know if they have time to turn this around... and they chose to spend time traveling. It's partially a travel book, guys. Several chapters of pointless bullshit.
(Spoilers under the cut-- remember we are getting this secondhand from a spoiler thread. Some of this may turn out to be misrepresentation.)
NIGHTHEART STUFF
We start off where the preview left off. They jerk the shit out of your chain with Squirrelstar teasing but spoiler we DO got her
(CELEBRATORY SQUIRRELSTAR MUSIC)
We get a BrambleSquirrel screaming match. Please for the love of god divorce these characters, this is fucking insufferable
They also had to give Bramblestar a smug little gotcha moment where he's right about his argument, Squilf accidentally walks to SkyClan camp for the plot and it turns out that Bramblestar, the guy who was apparently supposed to have memory issues and brain fog, was right that Squilf forgot how to navigate her own territory
Im dead serious she like... accidentally walked to SkyClan.
This is a clever literary trick called bad writing <3
While they're there, Nightheart says, "HEY WASNT THERE A MEDIATOR THINGY? ISNT HE SUPPOSED TO SOLVE DISPUTES?"
*I look directly into the camera. Right at you. Reader I am glimpsing across the magical threads of the internet, directly into your soul.*
Leafstar
says
"I Forgor"
if this thread is to be believed. Then the canonical explanation for why Tree was not mediating up to this point. Is because every single cat around the lake. Including the geniuses who came up with a unique role JUST for the specialest little boy. Just fucking forgot about him.
(bestselling young adult series)
Do I laugh? Do I cry?
I think im unlocking the emotion that those lizards who shoot blood from their eyes feel just before a squirt
Anyway
There is also an absurd amount of Bramblestar winking at Nightheart and teasing him about his new mate and reminding the audience about how much Nightheart wuvs him. This is probably supposed to be charming?
it just feels unsettling, ngl.
It's even more Bramble Worship than normal, like the writer is trying really hard to stress how cool and awesome their special boy is :D and how dumb and mean his wife is >:( and it's so fucking forced.
They pad the book by having it be cloudy so that StarClan doesn't show up the first time they try to do the Squirrelstar thing
I kept thinking, "What if this wasn't a willing abdication?? What if the Clan didn't have a second chance to do this?? What if this was Nightstar 2 all over again and she died of plot convenience before coming back?! This dumbfuck system has fixed NOTHING"
Plumstone and Dewnose have a moment where they antagonize Nightheart over the fact he was chosen to accompany Squilf and Bramble to the Moonpool, because he just got back and it's not fair
And you know what? They're right actually
Nightheart huffs that Squilf was giving him a Chance To Prove Himself but he doesn't fucking get it! His whole life's been nothing but chances he threw tantrums about being offered or blew up through wrecklessness, like a spoiled brat nepobaby, and he keeps getting more and more
Meanwhile Plumstone here has been in the background just being this consistently steady warrior, and has never gotten a chance to shine
He also has a moment where he whines about Sparkpelt and Finchlight being mean to him in the past when Sunbeam shares they've been super nice to her.
Sunbeam offers that they're probably trying to make up for it and he agrees.
Folks. I REALLY. REALLY HOPE. That this ends with Sunbeam telling him, "Nightheart, you are the problem. They've treated me like Kin, and they treat their Kin well. Do YOU?"
Anyway something happens and suddenly Nightheart's on the trip with Frostpaw.
The rest of his chapters so far (at time of writing the spoiler thread is at chapter 14-ish) are traveling chapters.
The traveling chapters suck diet discount dick. They look like they were rejected submissions for the various travel shenanigans that happened in Riverstar's Home.
For me, this is the most disappointing part of the Thunder Spoiler Thread. I love Nightheart because I really like the idea of him learning to grow, consider his actions, and realize that he's actually been very loved in his life.
I like the impulsive Nightheart from Book 1 who doesn't know what's wrong with himself, shooting down every attempt others make to bond with him, making shocking descisions that frustrate the entire Clan and not realizing how much he gets away with. I hoped that maybe, just maybe, the writing could be a little clever for once.
But, no. On this trip he's still whining to Frostpaw about how his family "wanted him to be like Firestar" and this is treated as something Frostpaw is able to bond with him about, somehow, because Curlfeather wanted her to be a Medcat??? And now she's choosing to be a Medcat again anyway????
FROSTPAW STUFF
WC Writing Team: "Everyone is super invested in Frostpaw's story where she learns to choose her own path! Especially the idea that she chose to not be a medcat of her own will and made a brave choice for herself! Lets fix that"
Literally, I guess lol
Smoky Cameo. Fuck Smoky. I hate this character and I hate seeing his deadbeat ass.
Gotta love how Daisy's one major role in ASC so far has been to be a source of negative emotions for Nightheart, but Smoky gets to be the new Barley with a cutesy barn rest stop.
He calls for a human to come get Frostpaw because she's got wounds.
Like. Cat MEOW MEOW calling. And this summons... a magic vet?
She has the world's fastest field surgery, as if she's some kind of endangered wild leopard and a top-notch vet staff rolled out of a research truck.
They even inject her, by hand, with tranquilizer. Who the fuck carries cat tranquilizer around?
Is this barn in the back of a fucking vet office???
Does this universe have roving surgical vans that drive around and play music like an ice cream truck, waiting for cats to call them over?????
Frostpaw wakes up back in the barn
But now her neck wound is fixed and she's spayed.
She looks down at the fresh cut on her abdomen and is like "what's this"
Smoky: "dont worry abt it"
If Frostpaw is okay with being sterilized, this will be the first time in the series that a cat being fixed will be seen as a good thing
Which, irl, it is. To be clear. Spay and neuter your animals
But dudes, this is really massively unsettling me. It seems like she doesn't know what has been done to her. This has never been treated as a positive thing in this series before. In the last book she was talking about the sort of life she would like to live
Once again she has been stripped of her own choices in a massive way
And if Smoky apparently lives so close to a vet that they just come when he calls,
I have so many questions im losing my marbles
Why is Smoky not neutered
Why were none of his 3, possibly 4 wives spayed
Why are his kids not fixed
Why were his kits with Floss taken "when they were too young to even open their eyes" back in TNP if their humans are so loving and educated
SO EDUCATED THEY WALK AROUND WITH CAT TRANQUILIZER
Anyway through the power of the writers not caring anymore, Frostpaw can now talk to StarClan whenever she wants.
They have magically bestowed a connection onto her.
This is apparently something they can just do now. Maybe it's tied to near-death experiences or the vet or something
Remember Shadowsight having a whole thing about this at the end of TBC?
Remember Mothwing and how upsetting it was to have no connection to them and how finding Willowpaw was a big thing in TNP?
Yeah apparently they could just do this whenever. Sorry.
Frostpaw is just cool with this because fuck the last book where she found out she likes being a warrior
Agency? What's THAT
It's not ok if your mom encourages you to be a doctor nun, but StarClan rips your organs out and forces you to be their mouthpiece and that's peachy-fucking-keen.
Then she goes traveling for several chapters i want to commit crime
Riverstar does the usual alarmist moaning, "ooooouuugh this newest crisis could destroy riverclan!!! Oooooooooooooouuououou it's for real this time!!!!"
Everything's gonna destroy the clans. A light breeze has just reduced ThunderClan to rubble. A beetle has landed gently upon Harestar's nose, 34 dead 25,430 injured
Girl help frostpaw is being followed by clickbait headline ghosts
And, also, for no good reason, the ghosts can't just answer a question. Why? Who fucking knows. Never explained. They can summon Frostpaw into a Ghost Zoom Call whenever they want now, but they're forbidden from revealing anything useful.
Average autistic experience with zoom calls though, can confirm, that is what every zoom call ive ever been in was like.
Im serious though, she tries to ask Reed who killed him, he just says no i cant :(
She tries to ask where her mom is. They don't tell her she's downstairs.
Riverstar says nothing useful
I have never been more frustrated with StarClan as a plot device. This is actually fucking insufferable.
They're annoying enough when they send vague signs and prophecies that amount to nothing, but now they can pop up like shitty unskippable cutscenes and STILL add nothing of value to the plot
Something I was ENJOYING was how much more grounded ASC was compared to previous arcs, and that StarClan was back to being difficult to access directly. Gone. Goodbye.
SUNBEAM STUFF
The highlight of the book everyone leave me alone i need to speak directly to sunbeam
I like how she's finding more reasons than just Nightheart to stay in ThunderClan, but is also struggling with the shift in culture
It's in a Sunbeam chapter that we FINALLY get Squilfstar. Everyone say Thank You Sunbeam
If you even LOOK at the Sunbeam wrong I will smash you to death with my hooves
For once it actually feels like we're using the cast in ThunderClan. Cherryfall, Dewnose, Plumstone, Myrtlebloom, Bayshine, Finchlight, Sparkpelt, and Lionblaze all get some significant little lines to add to this.
In particular I like Cherryfall throwing a bit of a fit about being a senior warrior and acting high and mighty, which Sunbeam immediately dislikes because ShadowClan doesn't do as much posturing. It's fun to see how she percieves ThunderClan cats.
I have a softness for these sorts of stories though, to be fair. The idea of moving to a new place and having to adjust.
It's also neat that she's growing frustrated with how Nightheart has now ditched her THRICE.
Girl please steal his family and dump him.
Be a legend. Marry his sister. It would make you the queen of pettiness you would become my favorite forever
Ivypool's exams are also pretty neat, they all test teamwork abilities. I'm going to be happy when I finally get to read them in full, if nothing else, these trials have been delightful to see.
Anyway the next emergency gathering comes up and it descends into an argument
Dovewing gets to yell at Ivypool and tell her to back off <3 "You're not going to manipulate my mate through me, screw you"
Tigerheartstar and the other leaders eventually agree to meet with the mediator off-screen because the writers don't feel like showing us Tree's madd skillz which definitely justify having this unique role that we completely forgot about until just now
It doesn't accomplish anything meaningful because they only acknowledged the mediator role to make the fans stop complaining
Tigerheartstar agrees to not station more warriors in RiverClan territory but nothing else. Waow.
aaand Berryheart's planning something and Sparrowtail, Sunbeam's father, accidentally spills the beans to his daughter. I like this because I have always imagined him as a himbo
so... yeah. It's not looking great. I'm not having a good time in this spoiler thread. I am hoping that a fair amount of it is misrepresentation, because if it's what the leaker says it is, I'm not going to be a happy camper
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Doctor Who, but Chronologically: 47
Fortunately there is no time jump, so we return to World Enough and Time's final part, The Doctor Falls. This is good for answers, because sometimes two-parters jump around - we're still waiting to find out how Matt Smith got out of that cube and whether River blew up. But not this time! Here we are on a Cyberman infested ship again.
Also, here is something I genuinely enjoy about Steven Moffat's writing: he does very good and fun and engaging pre-credit cliffhanger resolutions to his two-parters, and this one is no exception. We are treated to an idyllic farm house with adorable innocent children and salt-of-the-earth rustic folk in a green countryside a few floors up in the ship, with Cybermen crucified as scarecrows all around them; a child feels an earthquake, and suddenly a space shuttle bursts up through the floor and crashes. And out of the wreckage walks Cyber-Bill, carrying the Doctor in her arms.
VERY FUN (the Doctor gets Cyber-shot like eight times in this episode, he does need carrying)
Anyway, this is a fairly straightforward episode plot-wise. After Missy and Master attack the Doctor, he changes the parameters the Cybermen are following to identify humans - now they will target 1 or 2 hearts, so suddenly the Gallifreyans are also at risk (I will admit this is one of those "Seems clever but is actually dumb as hell" twists that Moffat is so good at. "I only had time to make one small change!" says the Doctor. "I added a 2! Now they will also chase people with two hearts!" Okay but that is not how coding works. Either you change the number 1 to a 2 - in which case they would now EXCLUSIVELY track Gallifreyans and leave humans alone, problem solved - or you added an operator like AND or OR or what have you, in which case you used up extra precious seconds to deliberately ensure that these Cybermen would still track humans.)
(And actually, they don't track the blue man. And the Doctor takes pains in this episode to point out that the Cybermen still have easily fooled monkey brains. So like. At any point, everyone could have painted themselves blue and been fine. Hmm.)
ANYWAY
The change means Missy and the Master escape upwards with the Doctor, Nardole and Cyber-Bill, so we exchange Cardiff University and Bute Street the grime of the Cyber conversion level for the pastoral wilds of Abergavenny floor 507, a solar farm that therefore has a holographic sky and simulated weather. And then it's basically a village under siege story - the Cybermen are coming, and are upgrading as they go, a process that is happening in what appears to be days to our hero but is in fact years at the bottom of the ship. This also means they can't all go up in the lifts to escape more than a few floors now - the Cybermen will upgrade to stop them too fast.
(Except. There's about 50 things wrong with that as a concept. I can think of one previously noted plot point that proves that wrong and about five possible workarounds right off the top of my head - as I say, "seems clever but is actually dumb as hell." But this is an era finale and so the focus is not on the plot - a mere skeleton to prop up the actual star of the show - but the story. What matters here is the characters, and what they think and feel and say, and what choices they make.)
Ultimately, it turns out that Missy genuinely does want to change, and become a good person. This is genuinely poignant, because the Master therefore kills her to stop her. I'm not wild about that as a twist, actually - long franchises with recurring villains never like to allow true growth, but I think "villain trying to atone" is actually a super valuable narrative, and I always feel sad for characters who aren't allowed to do it. But I will admit that it's played relatively nicely, as a tragedy.
Fortunately, it's juxtaposed with one of the best monologues any character in anything has ever given; namely, Peter Motherfucking Capaldi turning his Acting skills up to over 9000 to explain why we should choose to do the right thing. It's beautiful and moving and timeless and true and I love it, wholeheartedly and unironically. I mean it's also bullshit from this particular Doctor, given that we have in the past watched Clara have to force him to even try to save people if they don't do what he likes (Christ she deserved a better Doctor T_T), but regardless, it's a fantastic speech delivered by one of the greatest actors of his generation.
So what does happen?
Well! Bill is Cyber-Bill now, and the process is written off as permanent. She retains her memories through force of will, but will slowly succumb. "I can feel the programming," she sobs at one point, and fuck me Pearl Mackie is also a phenomenal actor. "It's like a hurricane in my head, and I'm hanging on, but I can only hang on for so long."
This episode literally started with the Doctor altering the programming of the Cybermen.
"Alas," he tells her. "There's nothing I can do to fix this."
Well then.
The Doctor and Bill ultimately decide to stay and fight Cybermen off while Nardole is given the task of leading the humans up five floors to the next solar farm in the lifts; the Doctor then blows up the floor they're on with the Cybermen on it, and go out in a blaze of glory. This is... certainly a choice, isn't it? Every story with Nardole so far has shown him to be the plucky comic relief, and I include in that THIS EXACT STORY WHERE MISSY CALLED HIM COMIC RELIEF TO HIS FACE. We even got more Weird Nrdole Stuff this episode - apparently he's some sort of reformed con-man and a computer whizz. And yet!!! And yet he gets the Proper Companion Ending!!! This is such a tonally strange choice. The Doctor even convinces him to do it by telling him he's stronger than the Doctor, a claim for which we have seen zero evidence, and is actually the sort of thing that gets said to Proper Companions after they have been through two series' worth of character development. By rights, this should surely have been Bill's job? Lead the survivors in a post-apocalyptic world?
Instead, Bill dies as a Cyberman, and then suddenly, from our perspective, THINGS GET REAL WEIRD, because an unnamed water faerie with a star in her eye who apparently once cried on Bill turns up and goes "You're like me now," and they magic the Doctor back into the TARDIS that two minutes ago he said he couldn't reach, abandon Nardole in a Cyber-infested ship, and then fuck off to explore the cosmos together and have hot lesbian sex, I assume.
What the fuck.
And then to round off, the Doctor wakes up, cries that he doesn't want to regenerate, and staggers out of the TARDIS into snow and also the arms of David Bradley's First Doctor. Which brings us nicely to that story we've already seen! We've seen Capaldi's regeneration. That was a good one.
So! Let's update the board.
“She” (an unknown person) is returning (Suspects: River, Missy, Me, Clara)
There is something on Donna’s back
An entire planet, Pyrovilia, just… disappeared, somehow. (Maybe because the TARDIS is exploding??? Saturnine was also lost, and that WAS because of the TARDIS exploding. The lion man’s planet was also lost but he was a bit of a knob about it if I’m honest. The Thijarian planet was destroyed by some sort of impact). Is this the Flux?
Amy is maybe dead (she’s not)
The Doctor has been cubed (he’s out, but how?)
River is possibly blown up  (Nope: she is definitely not blown up)
The TARDIS has blown up  (It’s fine now. Except it’s sort of melting now because it’s corrupted, but it’s fine again. NOPE, back to not working.)
The universe appears to have ended  (the universe is back again)
The Doctor has employed(?) Nardole
(And Nardole was “reassembled???” Nardole had glass nipples and invisible hair?? He used to be blue, and could apparently go back to it??? NEW INFO: he's some sort of helplessly criminal con-artist??? WHAT THE FUCK IS HE)
There’s an immortal Viking girl now. Her name is Me and she’s now looking after the people the Doctor abandons
Why was Rory entirely unconcerned by the entire world suddenly going silent when that is Not Normal and should have been, at the very least, extremely disconcerting?
What did the Doctor do to Queen Lizzie One?
Why is Amy seeing a one-eyed woman in a vanishing window? (She’s with the Silents, but we don’t know why Amy saw her)
Why is Amy’s pregnancy inconclusive? (Maybe because the baby had Time Lord DNA?) She’s deffo pregnant and the baby becomes River, but why inconclusive?
Who is Sarah-Jane Smith?
How is the Doctor Bill’s teacher and why/where does he have an office?
What is going on with the Cyber War and the Cyberium???
What happened with the Other Cyber War?
What happened with the Third War that deleted the void?
Why does Rose seem particularly important?
What order do these Doctors go in? (Eccleston, Tennant, uncertain, Smith, Capaldi, Whittaker)
Which companion just… forgot the Doctor, and how?
Yaz and Vinder are about to die as Mori/Mwri/Muuri (Not anymore, somehow)
There is a Lupari shield around Earth.
What’s a Time War?
What’s the Rift?
What’s Bad Wolf?
In which war did the Doctor become a war criminal, and how?
Why has Amy forgotten Rory? How did she forget a Dalek invasion?
Is Rory plastic or not? Yeah, must be, he couldn’t possibly remember being plastic otherwise
Why is the Doctor sulking on a cloud?
How exactly does the Doctor have a cloud?
What exactly happened with Strax to, uh, tame him?
Which friend killed Strax?
Which friend brought Strax back?
Where did this lesbian lizard and human couple come from?
What happened with Clara as Souffle Girl and the Daleks?
How does Clara actually join?
Why so many Claras? A psychic midwife says she’s just normal human
Why is Missy apparently in robo-heaven? NEW INFO: Is this because she's now dead?
Why is probably!Missy pushing Clara and the Doctor together?
What is Trensilor and what happened there?
Who is Handles?
The Doctor is about to be dissolved by a beautiful geode man
The universe is being crushed by the Flux
Will the Doctor open the fobwatch?
Sontarans are invading Earth again
Who is Kate?
Who is Osgood? Another name of Clara’s again?
The fuck is the deal with the Grand Serpent
Does Martha get to go to an ice cream planet with 12-fingered massage aliens?
How did the Doctor forget Clara?
Who is Bill’s puddle girlfriend Heather? NEW INFO: This is presumably the star-eyed water faerie
How did Nardole die?
When does the Doctor shrink and enter a Dalek called Rusty?
Whittaker is falling to her death rn
Was that ring relevant?
Does anyone know the Doctor’s name? NEW INFO:  Missy says it's "Who"
When did Yaz talk to Dan about fancying the Doctor?
When did Dan talk to the Doctor about fancying Yaz?
What’s happening with the bees?
What happened with Donna’s ex and a giant spider?
What war wiped out the Daleks, and is it one of the ones already mentioned?
What did the Doctor mean when he said “The (Daleks) always live, while I lose everything?”
If Dalek Caan is the last Dalek left why are there more now?
How did the rest of the Time Lords die?
How and why did Amy melt?
What’s the question that will make silence fall?
Why do the Silents… want silence to fall?
How and why are Silents at war with the Doctor when he… hasn’t even heard of them?
How does Hitler get out of the cupboard?
What’s the significance of fish fingers and custard?
Why does the Doctor feel guilt about Rose, Martha and Donna?
What happened with the space whale?
When does Rory defend Amy for 2000 years? Since Roman times, it seems
How does the Doctor survive River? He doesn’t, apparently
How does he erase himself from history
Did Captain Jack lose his memories to the same people as the Doctor? What did he lose?
When did the Doctor send the Daleks into a void to save the universe?
What’s with the weird crack in the wall and is it affecting memories?
Why do Amy and Rory think the Doctor is dead? Is it because of River as an astronaut?
Is Matt Smith’s Doctor a tree racist?
Why is the beautiful geode woman stealing people into a Passenger form?
River says she’ll die one day when the Doctor doesn’t remember her, let’s hope she doesn’t mean it
Why doesn’t the TARDIS like Clara?
When was the Master Prime Minister?
When will the Doctor go and rescue Nardole and the colonists?
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greenerteacups · 16 hours
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Would LOVE to hear more re: Lily Evans as the bolter of you want to share more about that idea
Ogh god I have So Many thoughts about Lily and the Marauders in general because I had to basically do a full outline of the Backstory in order to have context for the living Marauders' backstories, but here is my official Harry's Mom Was A Player dissertation:
I like the idea that Lily grows up with relatively few people around (we only see her with Petunia and Snape, which you could read as a function of Snape's perspective, but I prefer to read it as Lily and Snape being "those weirdos in the corner of the playground making Potion in the dirt" buddies). From that, she becomes pretty closed-off emotionally, and despite having general charisma and kindness, she's pretty hard to connect with. Nice, but a little brusque. She's glad to help you with your homework, but when you invite her to Hogsmeade, she'll smile and make a vague excuse, and you'll never hang out again.
This would also explain why she and Snape remain friends for five years, despite being in different houses and having a lot of political differences: he's one of the few people she's vulnerable with. So we're picturing this Lily who's beautiful, charismatic, clever, but also very closed-off and hard to find. I.e. 100% the kind of person who attracts a lot of admirers, but doesn't actually get close to any of them.
My headcanon for her is a long series of two-month relationships running from around fifth year through sixth, none of them very intense, and petering out around the time that the other person starts asking for labels or commitment. Because (a) she's Busy, but (b) she's not really comfortable with any of them. And so she gets a bit of a (slightly mistaken) reputation as an ice queen.
We know Lily and James started dating in seventh year, after he "stopped being an asshole." ACCORDING TO SIRIUS. This is his account of his best friend's love story. A lot of the read here turns on (1) how much you think James told Sirius about him and Lily, and (2) how much of that Sirius wants Harry to know, as someone trying to protect James's memory.
"He was a cad" is obvious big James energy, especially since we know (1) he's an unserious arrogant jock for most of his Hogwarts career, and (2) she would have absolutely no reason to take him seriously if he expressed interest in her, because — he's a dumb kid! And a bully, from her point of view.
Because they're not close, verging on antagonistic, I tend to think that his interest in her actually was superficial to start with — based on her looks or her reputation (or both). Which, of course, plays right into her issues with intimacy and not being really Seen by anyone. And the ritualized game of his pursuit only contributes to her disbelief in its sincerity.
So basically, by seventh year, you have these two incredibly desirable, successful, popular people who are both in fact really locked-up and struggle with sincerity, but have the beginning of real feelings for each other, and are freaking out about that.
And then you get a great Player4Player love story about intimacy and the mortifying ordeal of being known.
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