#(I’m a movie nerd idk book lore as well)

[an-unexpected-sideblog]

In the LOTR books, Frodo hands Aragorn’s crown* to Gandalf at the Minas Tirith coronation. In the Jackson film, it’s Gimli. There’s plenty of good Doyalist explanations for this change, but please consider my Watsonian headcanon based on the following facts:

- Gimli is kin of the King of Erebor, and must accordingly be a high-ranking representative to have been sent to the Rivendell council meeting

- Gimli is the only dwarf at the coronation

- Thus, by rights, it would probably be more politically polite for Gimli to stand off to the side looking regal and official - the way Legolas does with a small group of (presumably) Greenwood elves

- A foreign noble handing off the crown could be seen as politically dicey at best or insulting at worst, to either or both parties

UNLESS (unless…)

- Consider that there hasn’t been an actual king in Gondor for nearly one thousand years (!!)

- No Steward would have worn the kings’ crown

- You gotta put something official on the new king

- Doesn’t that crown look an awful lot like the guard helmets? Not particularly ancestral or ornate?

My headcanon is that Gimli forged Aragorn’s crown himself. His smithing would be unparalleled by any Man in Minas Tirith, and he likely insisted on offering the work of his own hands to Gandalf/Aragorn as a proud craftsman! That would be his honor to provide and present such a gift for his friend.

(*In the books it’s stated that the previous Gondorian king left the crown in the royal tombs before he went off and died in battle, so later Faramir could pass that same crown to Aragorn. Known jock King Ëarnur sounds too impulsive to do that to me, but regardless, that’s official book canon! And ofc Gimli doesn’t even hand the crown off in the books, so this is all just Movie Conjecture.)

[inspector-montoya-fox]

ok so today i’m feeling very sentimental because i’m pretty sure it’s the last time i’ll hang out with my family until i graduate in July so we’ll be ranking the top 10 locations from Ace Attorney i’d rather be at right now instead of at my desk trying to write my 3,500-word essay due in 8 days. i haven’t included locations from Investigations because that’s a list for another time. let’s take a look:

10. Prosecutors Office Underground Parking Lot: kicking off the list is a location i initially hated but have ultimately to come to appreciate. what’s there not to like? there’s a sense of mystery, it’s supposedly the scene of the crime, Edgeworth’s busted car is there, it’s where we meet Angel Starr (an icon). the only thing that could make it better would be Maya’s input

9. Sunshine Coliseum Backstage Hallway: if you tune in to Turnabout Podcast you probably know I love Scooby-Doo. this is straight out of a Scooby-Doo episode. it might sound like sacrilege but i chose this over Turnabout Samurai’s studio locations because this is just so... Scooby-Doo-y, i can’t. the glam of it all !! it’s reminiscent of the Mystery Inc. episode with the Hex Girls (love). and also the fact that Apollo and Ema were ki-ki-ing outside while Romein Letouse was getting shot in the dressing room? honey, yes.

8. Hotti Clinic: ok listen. i am an absolute slut for public sector locations (i don’t know what else to call them, pls educate me). as morbid as it sounds, i love the white LED, reflective floor, sitting area reception of the hospital. so many stories to tell, so many people to meet. and Japan is known for how well organised their public sector is. it’s not American tv drama hospital, like all grimy and disgusting, it’s more like... Trauma Centre.

7. Dr Meraktis’s Office: fittingly, yet another hospital location. what an a amazing office. this belongs in a coffee table book on office decor. i mean sure, the choice of desk lamp, wallpaper and exposed safe are all very gaudy, but the jars of fluorescent liquid more than make up for those. and the wall-sized window? stunning. knowing Apollo, he probably didn’t even stop to take this all in during his investigation. he probably complained too, like idk about the hospital smell or the spilled coffee. what a nerd. hate him

6. Kurain Village: Kurain Village looks like such a peaceful place. it’s so rich with history and culture, and Maya, Mia and Pearl lived there. i love that we get some more exposition in SoJ and get to explore the stunning view of the mountain in the background. i love that taking the bus there is also like a little excursion too. 100% i’d visit and i’d join one of the Fey classes too

5. Blue Screens Inc.: your eyes are not playing tricks on you, this isn’t a Tumblr shitpost. the design here? 10/10 stunning. imagine working at Blue Screens, under Lisa Basil’s supervision, with charismatic coworkers like Glen Elg and Adam Mada. one of my friends is currently writing her dissertation on how personalised workspace helps build up work ethic, and honestly i’m gonna tell her to include this place because if i worked there i’d be the most productive employee

4. Gourd Lake Entrance: as we reach the top picks on this list, you’ll notice that a lot of them have been chosen because of the sentimental value they hold. not only does Turnabout Goodbyes take place here but it’s also such a peaceful and endearing location. forget the other Gourd Lake locations, full of clues, where we interrogate Lotta Hart, Larry and Yanni Yogi. this is just a serene entrance to the park, where Gumshoe gives us the lowdown and the Wintery backdrop looks so charming. i wanna walk my dog down that nature trail

3. Fey & Co. Law Offices: i don’t want any of that Anything Agency bullshit. this is the original, so rich with lore. Charley front and centre, Mia’s favourite movie on the wall, the view of the Gatewater. the conversations we’ve had here, asking Maya any ideas? and what do you think? or having Gumshoe be the office caretaker, preparing food for us? it’s the location where we receive all our original cases, Phoenix gradually starting to make a living out of being a lawyer. it’s home away from home

2. Damon Gant’s Office: this is another Scooby-Doo-esque location. a true villain’s lair. the dual nature of Gant and Lana’s former office clashing with each other, the villainous decor like the church organ, the stained glass windows and the knight armour, it’s all so... malevolent, so dramatic. like i can imagine Damon Gant on the 81238016th floor of the police station playing the organ and the people down at the basement hearing it through the pipes. and the church vibe is kinda illustrating Gant as this self-righteous, divine individual who loves to play God because he’s got the systematic power. the location elevates the narrative here and further fleshes out the characters. 10/10 love

1. Viola Hall: this is a masterpiece. this is not only a location straight out of an excellent Scooby-Doo episode, but it’s also so majestic. looking at it transports you into the moment. imagine wearing your best tux/gown, gathering for a tv show convention of all things, the food being delicious, the company being lovely, and all of a sudden there’s both a murder and a kidnapping. i live. honey, i live, truly. and the fact that in the end Maya has 0 PTSD from getting kidnapped and they all celebrate there because the two misogynist disasters Juan Corrida and Matt Engarde have been eliminated - chaotic excellence.

[heathneycanon]

courdy headcanons

happy courdy day everyone <33 i tried drawing them but i only draw people standing so it didn't look romantic at all. so take these instead.

-both courtney and cody have naturally curly hair that they used to straighten as teenagers. after they get together, one of them sees the other with their natural hair and compliments it, and after that they both gradually straighten their hair less and less frequently.

-they're both REALLY good at balancing each other out. when courtney's stressed or overworking herself, cody's chill attitude is able to calm courtney down and get her to look at the situation with a level head. meanwhile, cody will often lose himself in the things he's doing, and courtney's good at leaving him reminders to take breaks.

-they don't typically go on dates that are "big events", because they're happy to just spend time with each other. their go-to date is just getting takeout from one of their favorite restaurants and then watching a movie or playing a game together. (honestly this show's both of their growth since getting together, since cody doesn't feel like he has to impress courtney with big romantic gestures, and courtney doesn't feel the need for perfectly planned and executed dates. they see each other as the people they are which lets them both be happy with just... hanging out).

-like i said earlier, i think cody and courtney would often play games on date nights. their favorite kind of games are logic, puzzle, and trivia games. sometimes they invite their friends over for game nights as well. courdy always wins. like... they're both genuinely smart, they're fucking nerds, and i'm pretty sure that the trivia categories that courtney doesn't have as good a grasp on, cody does, and vice versa. idk i just think they'd be an unstoppable trivia team.

-i think they don't use too many nicknames or pet names with each other?? cody probably tried a bunch at first, but courtney didn't really like them, so he just started calling her "court" instead, which she likes. as for courtney... yeah she just calls him cody. but it's said with affection <3

-courtney really doesn't like to think about her time on total drama. however, once during island, she and cody had a really nice talk that was one of her favorite moments from her time there (especially considering how much of her memories have been soured at this point). she'd been surprised by how caring and insightful he was, and she thinks it was the first time she actually got a glimpse of the real cody. of course, this footage was never aired because chris was courdyphobic.

-cody's really big into gift giving, and he goes all out for holidays and courtney's birthday. the gifts he gives have a LOT of thought put into them, and they're often tied to stuff courtney brought up offhandedly months earlier. courtney isn't as good at picking out gifts, so she usually goes to cody's friends for help. she always writes REALLY heartfelt cards, too.

-cody's favorite holiday is still halloween. cody and courtney always go all out with couples' costumes, and then invite a handful of close friends over for a party. it's usually more reminiscent of the ones cody always wanted to throw as a kid.

-courtney gets COLD in the winter, and one year, cody tries to take up knitting to secretly make her a sweater. it looks awful, but it's warm and courtney loves it and wears it every year. in return, courtney always makes sure they have backup hot cocoa and marshmallows in case they get snowed in, because cody loves them so much.

-they have a book club that's just the two of them. they take turns picking a book (and pause the club when they get too busy), and they read it at the same time and talk about it together. they're both really into picking apart and analyzing things (cody got his start in video game and comic lore, and courtney is literally a lawyer), and they bounce off of each other EXTREMELY well.

okay that's it i keep thinking of new things to add and i'm super thirsty so i'm gonna go grab a glass of water. happy courdy day besties i hope this was good SDFJSKLD

[19thcenturyedgelord]

TW: Transphobia, Homophobia, abuse, neglect, p3dophilia, s3xual assault, su!cide, alcohol

~Vent~

My mother is constantly saying that they is only two gender and is always dead naming me, the one time I get her to say my preferred name she rolls her eyes and scoffs as she says it.

My mother has told me my whole life that she owns me and that I don't get to make any decisions for myself, she was dressing me until I was disowned at 14.

My mother would threaten to k!ll herself is I ever did something she didn't like, this includes: having a panic attack, dealing with over stimulation, trying to dress myself, telling her to stop walking in on me while I was showering/changing, going to bed early, going to bed late, saying I was hungry, asking to be allowed to go outside, wearing my headphones, not being strictly christian/not eating kosher, ect.

My mother got rid of my pet hermit crabs without telling me and was constantly trying to release my turtles even though they would die in the wild and they were being taken care of very well with a large, clean tank and plenty of food and hiding places, a special light that was good for their shell, and a great water to land ratio.

My mother slut shamed me because I was wearing shorts that went above my knees (they were perfectly appropriate btw).

My mother would scream at me for hours if I got anything less than a 100% on a test and even if I did get a 100% she would ask me why I didn't get any extra credit even if there was none available and even if I'd did get extra credit she would ask why I didn't get MORE extra credit.

While I lived with my mother I had a diet of nothing but microwave meals and chips and chips because she spent all of her money on vape, cigarettes, and alcohol. I would constantly be near unconsciousness due to my low blood sugar because I had nothing to eat.

She has slapped me across the face multiple times, one time with sharp plastic that cut my chin, she did this as a punishment. One time she slapped me because my blood sugar was low and I was grumpy, this is how it went down:

Me: Hey I know you wanna talk right now but can I make some food first my blood sugar is low this should take me 20 minutes max"

Her: No, I'm you mother and your going to talk to me right now

Me: Can I please just get something to eat

Her: *yells at me wich causes me to get distracted*

Me: *spills uncooked mac&cheese because distracted*

Her: *yells at me then slaps me across the face*

My mother nearly beat me to unconsciousness because she was very drunk, I had bruises all over me the next morning but I was to afraid to say anything because I new she would scream at me and hurt me more.

She molested me daily, forced me to change in front of her, forcefully spooned me in bed for hours even after I said no, and would "playfully" spank me.

She was constantly talking about how sexy a 17 year old at her work was and even bought him vape. She would also talk about some of my friends like that and even tried to internet stalk two of them, we are all minors.

She would lock the door to the apartment and wouldn't give me a key and would force me to wait outside in knee deep snow for hours without any warm clothing because she stole it all. She also refused to drive me to school in -8 degree (f) weather because she didn't want to loose her parking spot. I was also forced to bike to and from band practice (with she forced me to to do because she wanted to live through me) in 30 degree (f) with heavy rain because she didn't want to loose her parking spot.

She would consistently make fun of me for reading or doing anything that I enjoyed because I was a "nerd" and a "looser"

She disowned me after she stole my phone, went through it and found out I was a lesbian.

I couldn't even go into my yard without telling her where I was going, if I didn't tell her I would be screamed at and not allowed out my room, for a day and then not allowed out of the house for two more weeks.

She routinely went through my phone and my belongings without my permission, knowledge, or consent, in case I had anything "suspicious".

I tried moving in with my dad and she sued him.

She stole my most prized pokemon cards, a bag, most of my clothes, all of my old toys, and over $200 from my in the span of two weeks.

My room didn't have a door and she positioned herself so that she had to go through my room to get anywhere else in the house.

She would frequently lock the bathroom door so that it was only accessable from her room.

I told her I like pop music and she called me a failure then continued to play her extremely s3xual, vulgar, music about dr*gs, alcohol, and r@pe.

From the time I was 8 she tried to force me to drink alcohol because its "cool"

She forcefully pushed me against a wall because I refused to give her a hug after she made an offensive joke and I called her out for it.

She screamed at me because I corrected her after she misgendered me.

I had to learn morse code just so I could speak to my friends without her knowing what I was saying.

When I started counseling because I wanted to k!ll myself and because I was having upwards and 15-25 panic attacks per day, she forced me to tell her everything that happened in counseling even if I didn't want to.

She always gangs up on me in fights but if I try to get back up she just yells at me more.

She refused to take me to the hospital when I had a concussion and forced me to go to school all week even though I could barely stand or speak and now I have verbal and motor tics which she makes fun of.

She would scream at me because I sit down in the shower even though I have arthritis. (Yes I have arthritis at 15, it runs in the family and before to long I might develop psoriasis, I have shitty genes)

I wasn't allowed to wear anything that revealed my shoulders, that was low cut, shower any part of my stomach or back, short that went above my knees, ect.

I wasn't allowed to get my hair cut below my chin because it " wasn't feminine enough"

I wasn't allowed to have anything that was "for boys" this included clothes, toys, books, stickers, blankets, posters, movies, ect.

She forced me to watch R rated movies with her even if I didn't feel comfortable watching them.

I wasn't allowed to have any friends over and I wasn't allowed to go to any friends house, the one time I did have friends over she judged all of them and tried me to stop hanging out with them after they left. My friends are all very good people and are the only reason I'm still alive rn, she was just mad that I was talking to people who weren't her.

She screamed at she because I got one (1) drop of dark green ink on her black coffee table that she got for free.

I wasn't allowed to draw any male characters because she was afraid I would get off to them or something idk (this was before I was forcefully outed)

She bought me a triple chocolate cake for my birthday once. I'm allergic to chocolate. She forgot my birthday the next year.

Anytime I would tell her about the terrible bullying that was going on she would tell me to get over it, even after I had been thrown to the ground and strangled by one of my classmates.

If I got into a new game or hobby she would either take it away or shame me for playing it.

She spent all day on the computer playing Sims 3 to the point where I had to feed myself, take care of myself, and play by myself as young as 5.

She screamed at me because while talking about Pokemon lore I mentioned how Arceus is the god of the Pokemon world and she said I shouldn't say that because it would "make god mad" ( I have nothing against christians or christianity btw, just the people who shove it down your throat like she does)

I wasn't allowed to eat or drink the last of anything (finishing a bag of chips, taking the last soda, ect.) If I did she would scream at me and slap me as punishment.

She threatened to forbid me form seeing my cousin (who for the first 11 years of my life was my only friend) if I ever "talked back" to her.

She wod frequently strangle me as a form of "tough love".

When I was 2 she tried to teach me how to swim by holding me under water over and over again, drowning is now one of my greatest fears. Luckily I did learn to swim with the help of cousin and granny and even enjoy swimming but it is hard for me to do things like wash my face in the shower or stay under water for more than a few seconds without panicking.

She never taught me how to cook but then would scream at me because I didn't know how to cook.

Her smoking inside and while driving has caused me to have some lung issues, she denies that she ever smoked near me.

She tried to take me away frome everyone in my life including my family and friends so that I could only spend time with her.

When I was in fifth grade she homeschooled me and forced me to do college lever reading, learn how to code, learn at least two other languages that weren't english, learn how to play guitar, do gymnastics, do jujitsu (japanese), do soccer, learn to sing (keep I mind I had no interest in music, but she did), do a digital homeschooling program set at a highschool level, and learn a bunch of useless skills like knot tying and making friendship bracelets because it was "feminine". This was in FIFTH FUCKING GRADE.

We didn't have a washer or dryer and she would never go to to town to get laundry done so I never had clean clothes.

If I had more that $10 I had to give the rest to her.

She tried to kidnap me once.

One time on accident I stood in a bull ant hill and got stung all over (if you don't know ants all sting at once), I was swollen all over and screaming in pain and she did nothing, not even give me ice or ointment, she just told me to be more careful.

[fishoutofcamelot]

(for the ask thing) any book/tv show/movie/song recommendations?

BRO! I heckin got you man! Now, I’m gonna skip the song and book recommendation bit because that sorta thing isn’t really my scene. BUT! In terms of TV? My rec list is like a mile long. I’m gonna include a read-more line, actually. 

BBC Merlin: You know I had to put this on the list. But the fact that you’re on my blog means you’ve probably watched this one, so I won’t go into detail about it. Available on Netflix

Mob Psycho 100: Just a cute, sweet story about a bunch of psychic kids trying to kill each other. A story with this much fighting has no right to be so wholesome. Mob is just a good boy, he doesn’t deserve all this! Fair warning, its messages about identity, self love, and growth WILL make you feel Emotions. Available on various anime pirating websites

Red vs Blue: The found family game is SO strong in this one. By far the best found family plot/dynamic I have ever and will ever experience. The characters are all so solid, yknow? Like it took me three rewatches to understand the plot, but I didn’t even care because I loved the characters SO MUCH. It’s also really, really funny (although some of the jokes have aged a bit poorly tbh). Basically about a bunch of space marines who goof off and accidentally dismantle corrupt governments along the way. Available on Youtube

Supernatural: Is it cringey? Yeah. Does the fandom suck? Also yeah. Is Destiel overrated? BIG yeah. But it’s got monsters, magic, family, and a plot that doesn’t revolve around romance - and really, what more could you ask for? And sure, a lot of people don’t really like the later seasons, but idk I actually prefer them. Season 15 has me THRIVING. I mean come on - character vs author?! Fighting the guy who literally wrote you into existence because he doesn’t want to give your story a happy ending?! Say what you will about Supernatural, but it’s one of the most imaginative shows I’ve ever seen. Available on Netflix

Avatar the Last Airbender: You like stellar animation, intricate worldbuilding/magicbuilding, and a perspective on war that is surprisingly mature for a kids show? Check it out. This show is without a doubt one of the best animated series of all time. Go on. Watch it. It’ll change your life. Available on Netflix

The Umbrella Academy: Time-travelling assassins. Superheroes. Ghosts. Talking monkeys. Murder mysteries. Baller soundtracks. This show will never give you what you expect. I don’t even think I could properly describe it to you. Available on Netflix

Detective Conan: An anime. It’s about a teen detective - think Nancy Drew but bloodier - who witnesses a crime and is fed an experimental poison in order to keep him from telling anyone. But instead of killing him, the poison turns him into a 6-year-old. So now he’s got to solve crimes and take down a criminal organization while in the body of a child. Naturally, shenanigans ensue. Fair warning, the main character becomes a bit of a Mary Sue in later episodes, but the first 300 or so are pretty fun. A few episodes are available on Netflix, but not any of the good ones. You’ll need an anime pirating website for that

Knives Out: My favourite movie ever, of all time. It’s a murder mystery that both subverts and pays homage to its parent genre in all the right places. It’s funny, it’s intelligent, and has a spectacular ending! Although I do wish the fandom would stop being so horny for Ransom, I mean he’s literally racist...No clue where you can find this tbh, I saw it in theatres

Derry Girls: Now I’m not normally a big fan of realistic fiction/sitcom stuff. Despite how funny they are, I’ve not even watched The Office or Parks and Rec because that normal daily life stuff just doesn’t peak my interest. And yet, somehow this story about a group of Irish high schoolers just has me enthralled. Very funny, very well-written, give it a watch. Available on Netflix

Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood: Another anime. Phenomenal animation? Check. Fascinating plot and characters? Check. Detailed magic system that gets my lore-obsessed heart fluttering? Big heckin check. So basically two kids try to use Fantasy Science to bring their mom back to life, only the experiment fails and has some pretty nasty consequences - one boy loses his arm and leg, while the other loses his entire body and has his soul bound to a suit of armour. Now they gotta go through government conspiracies, ethical dilemmas, and Daddy Issues to try and get their bodies back. Available on Netflix

The Disastrous Life of Saiki K: Yet another anime. I know, I know, I’m a nerd, get over it. This show doesn’t have a complex plot or even complex characters, tbh, but what it does have is some amazing humour. It’s extremely funny, and it’s also just a nice show to kick back and relax to. Basically this guy who’s so op that he could rewrite the laws of reality on a whim is stuck dealing with relationship drama in high school despite being very, very asexual and very, very tired. Mostly he just uses his powers to avoid people and eat junk food, which is honestly a mood. Available on Netflix

Scooby Doo! Mystery Incorporated: Honestly I’d recommend almost anything that’s Scooby Doo-related because that was my childhood obsession. I used to have like 20 of the movies on DVD before my mom gave them all away. To this day I still love Scooby Doo, and watch it whenever I get the chance. But if you ask any SD fan, they’ll probably tell you that Mystery Incorporated is the best, most intelligent, most creative installment in the franchise. And they’re right (although I do wish there was less relationship drama...) Available on Netflix

Evil Genius: This is a documentary series about the Collar Bomb Robbery. Now, despite what the above list might indicate, I actually watch a LOT of documentaries, and if I were here to recommend all of them then we would be here all day. Not really ‘funny’ like the other entries on this list, it’s actually rather tragic, but definitely a cerebral viewing experience. Available on Netflix

Screwball: Now this is a documentary that IS funny. It’s about drug scandals in baseball. But the dramatic scene re-enactments are done with child actors that are all wearing fake beards and pretending to be drug dealers. It’s not only a fascinating subject, but it’s got amazing editing and visuals that have me in awe. Available on Netflix

Behind the Curve: Yet another documentary. This one’s about the rise of the Flat Earth movement. You’ll spend most of the time on the verge of having a stroke because of how stupid it all is. Available on Netflix

The Movies That Made Us: Okay okay okay last documentary on the list I swear. This one’s exactly what it says on the tin. It’s a series talking about the behind-the-scenes production of iconic movies like Home Alone and Ghostbusters. I eagerly await the second season. Available on Netflix

Monster Factory: If you’re familiar with the McElroy brothers and their brand of humour, you’ll love this. Griffin and Justin team up to make the most disturbing avatars they can create using video game character creators. The origins of the Final Pam meme. If I had a shirt with a quote from Monster Factory on it, I’d die a happy man. Available on Youtube

Baman Piderman: The dumbest show I have ever watched, but it’s so adorable and stupid and I love it so much. It doesn’t really have a plot, but later episodes allude to the presence of one and I’m upset because there are so many mysteries/questions hinted at and we’ll never get answers because it’s been abandoned. PLEASE watch it. Available on Youtube

Stranger Things: Okay, season 2 was a bit of a let-down imo, but season 1 was ICONIC and the Scoops Troop subplot in season 3 deserved its own freakin spinoff. I’m not joking. I didn’t even like s3 all that much, but the only reason it’s my favourite is because the Scoops Troop plot was so great. People call this show ‘horror’ but I don’t think it’s scary enough for that, although it is admittedly kinda spooky. If you like 80s nostalgia and the horror aesthetic, then I’d give it a watch (Do it for Scoops Troop. Do it for Robin). Available on Netflix

Jack and the Cuckoo-Clock Heart: Despite my overwhelming love for this film, I’ll be the first to admit it’s kinda mediocre. The plot is weird and the romance feels forced, but despite its flaws it manages to be one of my favourite movies. Mostly I just like it for the unique concept and beautiful ending. Also the music is off the par man. Probably because the writer/producer of the movie was the lead singer for a French band called Dionysus (what? I do my research). Available on Netflix

Wakfu: I haven’t seen past season 3, but so far it’s pretty good. You go in thinking it’s just a wholesome action/adventure show about a kid who can create portals - but then it just. Sucks you in. From its bopping theme song to its fantastic found family to the unique worldbuilding, you very quickly fall in love with it. It’s got a cool plot and also talking dragons, and it doesn’t get better than that. Available on Netflix

Mystery Skulls Animated: Technically not a TV show so much as it is a series of animated music videos with a plot, but I’ll be damned if this isn’t one of the greatest things of all time. It’s basically Scooby Doo but if Shaggy got possessed by a demon and killed Fred, causing Fred to become a ghost hellbent on revenge-killing Shaggy in return. And if Scooby was an ancient Japanese spirit that bit off Shaggy’s arm, forcing him to wear a metal prosthetic. Yeah, MSA is wild. It’s only got three videos out so far, with a fourth one coming out this October, but there’s already so much lore! Available on Youtube

Don’t Hug Me I’m Scared: Ah yes, yet another cringey entry on this list. But you know what? Cringe culture is dead!!! And despite its fandom being...like that...DHMIS really is a cool show. Think if Sesame Street was like haunted or something. The episodes about creativity and telling time remain the most unsettling, imo. Definitely worth a watch. Available on Youtube

Inanimate Insanity: Oh boy. Am I seriously recommending you dip your little fingies into the object fandom? Yes. Yes I am. This show is so obscure it makes freakin Detective Conan look popular. At its core it’s a parody of Total Drama Island and Survivor but with anthropomorphized inanimate objects as characters (hence the name). Season 2 is actually really, really good and surprisingly competent. You just gotta get through season 1 first. Available on Youtube

The X-Files: Wow, a live action series on this list? Who woulda thought??? But seriously, this show is really fun. Memes and jokes aside, I love it. Scully and Mulder are fun characters with great chemistry (both platonic and romantic), the Lone Horsemen are hilarious, and every episode is a unique adventure into the most creative acid trips the human mind could conceive of. Phenomenal from start to finish (if you ignore the last season). I have no clue where you would watch this. Pirate it, probably

Buzzfeed Unsolved: Two idiots investigate cold cases and haunted locales while being utter dumbasses about it. You know the “hey demons it’s be ya boi” meme? That came from these guys. Available on Youtube

Kingdom: Ngl, I didn’t go into this expecting zombies. Or for it to take place during Korean feudalism, for that matter. But mediocre dubbing aside, this show has such a clever concept. It takes the zombie apocalypse genre and gives refreshing, unique twists to old tropes that they feel like something new. Seo-bi is my wife and she deserves all the love and appreciation in the world, and those are just Facts. Available on Netflix

My Hero Academia: Superhero high school anime. I personally am not a fan of later episodes/arcs, but the first three seasons are pretty dang good. Diverse, colourful ensemble cast that you easily grow to adore, interesting commentary on disability (although I’m not qualified to give any actual takes on that), and a school curriculum that makes me very, very concerned for the wellbeing of these children. Plus all the superpowers - aka ‘quirks’ - are super imaginative and, well, quirky! I just wish people would stop shipping the main character with his childhood bully...You’ll need to pirate this one too lmao

Danny Phantom: The highlight of this show is its ‘phandom’, because unlike someone (*cough* Butch Hartman), we’re not a bunch of cowards. It’s about a guy who messes around with his parents’ lab stuff and accidentally acquires the ability to die! Well, half-die. He can turn into a ghost and fight other ghosts. Although the show never explores the existential, traumatic fallout of being kinda-sorta-dead, the potential for something deep and emotional is there. Plus there is a LOT of accidental subtext for a Big LGBT+ Metaphor. So much so that the Trans Danny theory is basically canon. Uhhh not available on Netflix anymore so it’s time to whip out your pirate hat, matey

And there you have it! Like I said, I have a lot of TV recommendations. And I just KNOW I’m forgetting a ton, but this is already really long so we’ll have to cut off here. 

Thanks for the ask! <3

[rabbitindisguise]

I read the Magnus Archives transcripts up to episode fifty . . . holy shit it's good

Spoilery ramblings below

I don't usually like horror because it's ridiculously gratuitous more often than not and leans heavily into "ew gross" rather than Literally Anything Else and it ruins my fun because I have a low threshold for genuinely gross things

but in tma even the plot is creepy (investigating stuff only for the stuff you're investigating to start happening to you? Now that's good damn writing) and the gross things are easily avoided. Plus the characters are super interesting, and the setting in an archive/detective agency crossover type deal is a nice touch.

I like Martin a lot and also Johnathan . . . somehow? The skepticism was kind of too comical to take seriously but then he got Lore and let Martin sleep in the Creepy Archives so I'm thinking he likes Martin which is an understandable passtime. Idk I'm usually gung ho about gremlin protags but it seemed sort of insensitive how he'd treat the people making statements and I'm glad that's changing now that he's experiencing creepy nonsense himself so I can embrace the weird overly anxious archivist that for some reason still refuses to leave his job because he wants answers (relatable)

I have to read this in small quantities though because it IS horror and that tends to make my phobias less manageable and me less capable of sleep until it's past a reasonable time for bed. Sucks because I really like it. I also like the warnings that help me steer clear of stuff I really can't handle reading. There's only been a few so far and nothing that's really interfered with the plot but it's looking like every arc is going to be a running theme and I'm not a fan.

Out of all of them, I like the wanderers though, they're interesting and I don't find them particularly scary. The music band that causes problems was interesting, the reveal the their music actually sounds beautiful took me by surprise. Ozone boy is interesting, along with the other book having people. Oh, especially the whole plot with the evil!book collector and the evil!architect is pretty wild on paper but fascinating in the actual storyline because you hear about them through their work first in bits and pieces. Overall all the fears I've read are super interesting because of how organically the story meshes with real world anxieties. There's nothing "scary story" about it, with the obvious set up and punch line, it's more about pulling on a thread of fears people relate to and unraveling it into its worst incarnation (which makes sense because like, from what I know there's fears that are like houses? And apparently there's a war so like, between those fears?)

Anyway it's good, I don't think there's anything like "slapped on" about the big gay I know is probably coming from how fandom talks about it. The fandom gives off totally different vibes though- I was expecting nightvale and Halloween movies and got Scooby Doo level Detective Johnathan and his mystery machine (the tape recorder). It's not just that it's fluffier and harder to take seriously in fandom (which: I'm love nightvale, that wouldn't have been bad) it's that the archive angle is super undersold, even though it's in the actual title I thought it was barely plot relevant. Maaaaybe I'm just a nerd though. It's not every day someone that works in archives gets to be the lead narrator in a genuinely well made creative work? Even though archives are genuinely super interesting?? Well it exists now though and I appreciate it lmao

[elizabethrobertajones]

14x04 watching notes

Happy Birthday, Davy!

-

Mittens just ominously warned me to warm up this notepad while I waited for the episode to finish downloading.

The nice guy from the phone provider has recently restored our internet after 4 days of radio silence from me, but it's only about 4'o clock on friday, so really some good timing!

Expectations: pre-mittens warning, Davy back on his nonsense with the scary episodes and expected nonsense of sinking back into MotW after mytharc but in capable hands because, you know, new writing team is aces and all.

post-mittens warning: idk but I should get a stuffed toy?

-

That's a suspicious amount of ghost lore.

Has Heaven started dumping the spirits out now and if it really IS a ghost it's not going to behave properly?

-

Oh my god it's a Hell Hazers poster.

There was something I would have talked about pre-episode but had no internet so didn't, but the focus on Dean and nerds and the expectation that this episode would be about a comic book store, did remind me of 9x07 and the action figure which was all "i clobber evil!" and was a strong Dean mirror, including that he needlessly burned it on the stove to try and get rid of the ghost of the mom but it turned out she needed to be talked into letting her son let her go in a scene which has all sorts of shades of Dean vs Mary in 12x22 now and also Dean's entire mark of cain arc was in the self-destruction of his self as an action figure that clobbered evil. A reminder that Dean is this figure seems fairly timely with him coming down from being possessed, as of course he has been used as an action figure. And his willingness to turn himself into one in 13x23 was very much turning himself into the Michael Sword, which in this cosmos is practically like the rarest collectible action figure of the universe. This harks back all the way to the first season and Dean's issues with John's control and the whole blunt little instrument arc, also something that fed directly into demon!Dean, and is being reflected this season in Nick, who murdered a guy with a hammer, after his family was murdered by a hammer, and said yes to Lucifer because of all that angst about hammer murder. Subtle.

Anyway, this is sort of the emotional background to me for action figures in the show.

A Hell Hazers poster also reminds us that Dean is a horror fan, his own connections to the genre, a CLASSIC episode, and a time when he was living his best life briefly.

You know, before he sold his soul for *waves at previous big paragraph* reasons

Fitting for how season 13 ended with Dean this close to happy world peace retirement living his best life :P

-

Awww the fake movie the MotW comes from is called All Saints Day. Davyyy :')

People I know who are born on like October SECOND consider themselves extra spooky halloween people. I can only imagine what it does, as a 23rd Oct. birthday person, to the psyche to actually be born ON it.

This episode's subtitle is just "Lol I have the best birthday, fuckers"

-

ACTUAL CLIP FROM 2x18!

And the fucking racist truck >.> Which in-universe was teased as another different movie using the footage in the trailer for Hell Hazers II.

-

My mum has that exact Wonder Woman figure

-

This guy is wearing a trenchcoat-featured jacket with a maroon t-shirt under it. I could not tell you what he represents but the trenchcoat part is amusing.

I can't *actually* start saying everything is party!Cas symbolism though so I'll just shush

-

Er this rando that people were saying was dressed like Sam from the promo images literally is called Sam, and she's wearing a very very loud checkered shirt, of course featuring a lot of orange. I'm guessing with that info it's next to impossible to say she ISN'T in some way a Sam parallel :P

Comic Book Guy is possibly caught in the middle of stealing an action figure, and I can't work out if he is just nervous about that or has a crush on Sam because his behaviour was so suspect, but from the promo scene where he looks a lil worse for the wear he talks about breaking up with his goth gf, and Sam is very clearly a nerd, not a goth.

(Goth nerds are things. The media will get there one day :P)

-

Oh okay after a few lines of the exchange, yeah this guy is a dick, I have NO clue why he's wearing that coat symbolism wise, and Sam really ought to fire him because wow, uncool and also he seems to be a stereotypical nerdbro gatekeeper who would literally rather scare off customers but be right than just enjoy what they all enjoy together.

-

Then he apologises for getting angry for saying he just gets spun out sometimes. Honestly, this seems to be crossing over into Dean territory considering the last thing from the recap was Dean being told he was like Michael by Bad Kaia and being really angry when he said he was nothing like him... He also used "spun out" about himself in 12x20 but in rather more tragic lost-Cas circumstances but obviously this parallel has a different lesson to tell than just making them equivalent. This guy is so awful and is using his anger in a petty way over things that don't really matter. He's getting spun out over made up battles rather than real angst, and whether he has his own underlying trauma that makes him behave that way or not, the straight white nerd is one of the secondary main villains of the century so far after the literal alt right, with some overlap of course. Think Kylo Ren as one of the dominant critiques of this behaviour :P Compared to the open of 8x11 for example, where the nerds were harmless weirdoes despite also being straight white and obsessive, the aggression and obsession are played not just as a harmless trait of people who like LARPing and collecting toys, but gatekeep, yell at kids over superman facts, and refuse to have their own dominance challenged.

Thinking he could fight superman might actually explain the Cas like jacket - it's too short to be a coat - that he idealises these heroes, is wearing Batman (who in pop culture most recently was around "v superman") and Cas of course has all his superman comparisons from both 6x20, and his rebirth in 12x01 where he came back to earth as a fiery comet and was immediately mistaken for a spaceman. There's some dark idolisation/mirroring here, that he's debating how to fight the guy (krytonite gloves = the BMoL knuckledusters) and at the same time mirroring the show's Superman in his dress. Only much, much lesser. More subtextual mockery about his weakness and how he doesn't really measure up.

I think in a lot of ways the discourse about nerds in pop culture is moving on now to  make this difference clear, that the ones who will be mocked are the ones who deserve it for being too cruel to respect, while in many other ways the mainstreaming of nerd culture into pop culture, meaning a large amount of it is no longer mockable, that everyone had at least SOME nerdy indulgences, means that in general nerdom is more accepted and exalted than ever. SPN obviously having its own deep roots into nerd culture has some direct room for commentary here, and this is also a way of reminding its own fans to be cool and not to be this guy.

-

Oh, huh, he safely exited the shop. I did not see that coming.

-

LOL he has batman bedding on a fold out bed in either a shed, garage or basement where he lives.

(This detail was tragic in Attack the Block but it's quite clear in this case the guy is fully grown and is being used as a detail to show his forward progression in life)

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Wow, you really have some rage issues here. Especially trying to wrangle free pizza i mean dude. Talk about a line that personifies him 100 different ways in one go :P Who shouts at their pizza delivery place?? They remember your number! This is how to get extra toppings.

-

Oh my god please get beaten to death by this lil guy

(I know I know he survives he's in the promo)

Is this like... haunted kidney episode... but better?

Actually, Fallen Idols plus Mannequin episode but better.

-

You know how we saw in the last new year? Watching Small Soldiers for the first time since like the 90s or whenever it came out

-

The show's animation is so much better

Than Small Soldiers and itself from past years

-

Oh DEAN

-

I mean he totally deserves a day off.

-

I can't believe he owns these socks. Who got them for him for Christmas?

Okay, well first we have to work out which was the last Christmas they had where they were not in prison or in an alternate dimension or dead or -

-

Cas. It was Cas.

-

He literally had no idea this wasn't just a cute commentary on how much Chinese take out Dean eats

-

Anyway as far as I can tell Dean is living out the bisexualdemondean header just to spite Michael for defiling his temple. He's filling it with noods and pizza (and I am sure he didn't yell at the delivery guy, but tipped him well instead for making drop offs at a shady street corner miles from where anyone lives)

-

Honestly it's been 12 years since Hell Hazers II... What took them so long

-

Dean's drunk a full thing of Margiekugle mom beer, which is a lil worrying just in terms of him using it instead of comfort from her like in 12x02, now that she's back.

-

God I want Dean to meet the asshole from the comic shop and for him to get into a dick measuring contest about Hell Hazers II and Dean to be like uh I WORKED on it you ass

-

Er, does that vending machine contain the nougat of choice of your consumptive son on the other side of the wall?

(who may be out with Cas concealing his consumption on a case so not bothered by all this TV noise)

-

God I love and have missed Dean, my trashy guy who is sitting hugging a pillow like a teen girl at a sleepover to watch his hatchetman slasher to celebrate being back to himself and get the much-needed R&R, since, you know, last time we saw him he threatened to "break" Kaia and was in a very very bad place (lol)

-

This guy about to get murdered for trying to snatch a nougat bar is dressed like the unfortunate bandmate (Tommy?) to Vincifer. Is this an oblique Ladyheart reference to set up a weird scenario where Hatchetman is punishing a Lucifer-adjacent asshole for trying to steal Nougat?

-

I can't believe there's a red exit sign behind him which means Wanek is Waneking in multiple dimensions at once

-

"Mint Condition" flashes up over Dean indulging in his pizza, saying, hey look it's our guy back in shape. Or, you know, ironically so. Either because Dean being Dean means eating junk food and wallowing because his husband has wandered off with the kid and isn't home to snuggle him while he does this mandatory bedrest, or because, of course, Dean is not Mint Condition at all. He's literally and emotionally scarred.

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I am pretty sure this shirt that Sam has on is 12 years old.

-

Statistically, they're gonna get murdered in each and every one of their original Kripke era shirts until none of them are available to be murdered in later.

I say for no particular reason.

-

Leave Sam alone. He doesn't shave you mock him, he does shave, you... also mock him. He was doing really well while you were gone! No one got even slightly stabbed who didn't deserve it! This is an all-time record. A beard is a price to pay for that.

-

Honestly I think Dean is stoned but they're not going to say so but I am treating this scene like it is.

-

"I wanted to check up on you," Sam says, pulling over a chair. This is so like how he was in 14x01 when he was powering around the Bunker being the boss, and given Dean's been on bedrest, again, much-needed, Sam is treating him like another one of his charges, and once more is in a position of authority... But now, despite shaving to act like nothing has changed a bit more, he is the one in charge of Dean as one of his wards. Everything has changed. Your dynamic is actually wobbling in a weird way.

In season 10 when Dean was laid up with the Mark blues especially around 10x12, which this intro also reminds me of, re: Dean spending a week in his room and Sam popping in to check on him, Sam was still keeping a very wary eye on Dean more that he was a bomb that may explode, and that while he needed to be managed, the power dynamic was extremely, extremely horrifying in that if Sam messed up Dean would murder him. Not an ongoing implicit threat between them, but the knowledge that Dean could become a demon again and demon!Dean would attempt to kill Sam, and so Sam had better do his utmost to keep Dean in a good place. Even if it eventually meant a series of convoluted secrets to try and fix him against his wishes.

Obviously, things are different here. Sam has developed a LOT since then, with season 11 beginning a recovery of his character in tentative little steps which actually kicked off in season 12, and, specifically, in 12x04 under Davy Perez in American Nightmare heralding the new era of Sam focus and lovingly stroking his hair and lavishing him with Sam-sculpted episodes the like of which we hadn't seen all through Carver era.

Now when Sam comes into Dean's room and pulls up a chair and sits down to check up on him, he actually radiates a comfortable, competent authority to do so.

... however he is doing it in that pink shirt which I honestly love the concept of but just wish that I couldn't see Sam in 2x06 showing up in it for the first time, like, my brain is just screaming at him to go get a bunch more pink shirts and refresh his wardrobe

I'm so certain of it but now I have to check because 12 years is such a long time but

http://www.homeofthenutty.com/supernatural/screencaps/albums/SPN2x06/SPN_0060.jpg

Mittens yelled "OH MY GOD" when I sent her the link so I think I'm right

Like, conceptually in every way it's great because it's this long pink shirt that fits him well, fuck toxic masculinity, blah blah action heroes in pink shirts, love it love it love it, but also: it's another fucking plaid shirt Sam has owned since he was a gap-toothed child six years younger than Jack presents as

-

Dean is lacking his second bedside table, as he has been for seasons, but I'm just staring at him lying sideways on his bed, wondering about his set up, and if this is in any way similar to how he watched all those cowboy movies with Cas, since Davy, of course, was the one to suggest that they had been watching movies together.

-

"And... not that I'm complaining... House is full of strangers"

Yeah, we know you hate it, Dean. God, it's tragic. In a wonderful way. Sam's built this little empire for himself and it's on top of Dean's old nesting spot. Dean's been forced into his room not just to hide away because he's ashamed but because he doesn't want to be seen and there's too many strange eyes out there. However this resolves, it's going to force some growth. Honestly, as much as Dean loves this room and it means to us, it's also a bleak lonely spot and in the like 7 years they've had the Bunker, Dean's never hooked up in that bed, while it has come to be very much like, well... The bed of an angry nerd living in a basement still using Batman sheets. Again, dark parallels, but of Dean in a dark place.

I'd love if he moved out and got a house in the suburbs.

I mean.

Cas has a house in the suburbs.

(Re: long-running Lizzy watching notes in-jokes about where he stashes a bunch of stuff like demon tablets, first blades, metatron's grace, etc etc)

But yeah, no. I like the idea of Dean nesting, of course. But aside from the obvious conveniences, the Dean Cave, etc, there's no reason it HAS to be here except that this is their inheritance and it's safe. But as I constantly talk about with the library abutting the war room, the work/life balance is always in question and filling the Bunker with strangers is a great way to shove all the life balance out, and leave the only spot left of that to Dean in this room.

If the AU peeps don't all get sent home but remain at least in part a hunter community and maybe even network and grow as the Winchesters finally open up the Bunker's resources and share them and stop being all isolated like Carver era fiercely protected... Dean might have no choice but to move his nesting down the road to somewhere with a sofa where he can park his car out front, and choose to commute in to work.

-

Awww they have the "our lives are a scary movie" argument again, in a well-worn way. So well-worn this is repeating dialogue from somewhere or other... 2x18? 4x07? God I don't know, implicit in Sam's eyerolling at Halloween in 1x01? All of the above? I am not looking that up. But anyway their stances haven't moved, possibly because this is something that has never really been challenged before. If Sam didn't hate scary movies already, watching 18 hours of Hell Hazers II dailies probably did in any remaining sympathy he would have had towards them, while Dean thrived there.

I guess he may finally have had time to watch it?

And of course stay for the credits to see his name.

Anyway Dean has historically cited movies as research or job adjacent, or vicariously enjoyed watching monsters at work from the safe remove of a screen, while Sam throws it all in to that box where of course it goes to 1x01 where he's running away from ALL of it and has his oddly specific choices to avoid halloween in his day to day as Lawboy. He's struggled to indulge in the weird as a hobby, likes serial killers as, as far as we can diagnose, an outlet of darkness but purely human, and keeps the work/life balance in a rather unhealthy way of denial and boxing things away, because so much of his early seasons arcs were about resisting the life and refusing the call. This harks back to their literal first episode characterisations of Dean being all in and Sam being all out and it's interesting to have us back here in season 14, in a period of such deep reflection, when Sam has finally sort of accepted the life, found a niche in the work that suits him as the boss, and Dean is struggling now with retirement questions, and taking a week off, not liking his home full of strangers, etc etc.

-

"More Michael Monsters?" Dean asks immediately quick fire when Sam says he has a case.

He may have taken a week off to indulge in pizza but that obsession lurks under his skin. He's in no way done, though I think perhaps better prepared to enter this case than he had been, though of course he's billed as still struggling.

-

Dean also instantly recognises the Thundercats name, and I'm afraid it's something I'm just not familiar with, that I clearly missed some wave of it when I was younger and it hasn't come back around as an adult... I can't wait to read stuff by people who know more about it and say tragic things about Dean's connection to it. But the important thing here is the dark mirror to the guy who got beat up by the toy, because Dean is being shown as also an enthusiastic nerd who knows the franchise and is excited by this concept and is leaping into a case about it with a "strippers, Sammy. Finally!" level of enthusiasm.

Healthy nerds and unhealthy nerds. But at the same time, Dean might be a better nerd, but his anger last episode is still being examined through this guy.

-

I love that for Sam and Dean, dressing up for Halloween is dressing up like total nerds in a totally different pop culture way - the old appearance of geeks which is wildly outdated but damned if they aren't putting on pocket protectors anyway. It's a caricature but it's one that is at total odds with who they are as people... More of a traditional halloween thing where normally Sam and Dean are really scary people with weapons, so when you make them dress all topsy turvy, they dress like this instead. They ARE halloween costumes, in their day to day.

-

Dean continues watching in the shop, Sam eyes up the Red Hood.

I watched that a million years ago with no idea that Jensen was in it, though I had watched the first couple of seasons at that point. I think it was during my "aww the show was cancelled" phase where it was completely off my radar. It's hilarious to me now, because I don't think I COULD watch it, now I know Jensen's voice so disproportionately well. It would be so off-putting.

-

"She's like your twin."

Sam and Sam both tuck their hair behind their ears at the same moment.

"What are you talking about?"

So. This is going to be extremely subtle.

I hope New Sam survives the episode D:

-

Sam points out the other guy who people were saying based off the promo pics would be the Dean to this girl's Sam with no idea what was to come. He and Dean in this case are both eating lollipops purloined from the halloween candy.

I guess this guy in the All Saints Day t-shirt shares Dean's love of the same franchise, and seems to represent the bizarre venn diagram with Dean on one side and Andrew Dabb on the other. Their nerdy overlap.

-

I feel like Sam is just pointing out this character mirror to be an annoying sibling and wow do I love seeing them like this.

I also feel like there is no way Davy would do this if he wasn't about to troll the fuck out of us with these parallels in some terrifying meta way and pointing out that character parallels are a thing this blatantly is about to be Awful somehow.

-

The Red Hood is staring disapprovingly at them through all of this

-

Anyway of course Dean Parallel immediately recognises Dean's enthusiasm for Hatchetman and encourages him to press the button, which Dean does with glee. I CLOBBER EVIL. Wait no.

Sometimes we do bad things.

Oh dear.

Oh deeeeeeeeeeear.

Yeah, Hatchetman is like... idk, michael!Dean or something. Or some dark part of Dean where all his violence is and this twisted version is almost like the burned result of the I Clobber Evil hero being melted by Dean and - too meta, I am in pain.

-

"Vintage hot wheels!"

I know what you want because I have a smol 67 impala on my shelf. Nyoom.

-

He has an eeny weenie mystery machiney so he can make them race.

-

Okay guy who got beat up by a toy is called Stuart (I am so bad at names, honestly.)

Of course he got kicked out by his roomie for being insufferable about something as pointless as subs vs dubs, and Sam is already apologising for him before they even go meet him.

Considering there's 3 people working at the shop and Stuart had a trenchcoat, but is also being mirrored to Dean, darkly, I feel like there might be some serious shuffling going on here that surface level, Stuart had that Cas marker, but... yeah

-

Heeee Dean stealing the Flash mug and making Sam have the one with the cats all over it. One mug representing Stuart, one representing his mum.

I mean it is Sam's turn to have a relationship with THEIR mom this season. Idk if the mugs are actually symbolic over anything other than Dean living his best geek life right now.

I mean he's added the glasses to his ensemble, he's really living it up.

I hope he's still wearing Send Noods under this

-

Awww it's hot apple cider. What a good mom. This is a perfect halloween drink.

-

*Stuart Rage Sounds from below*

Wow this is subtle that he has some rage issues.

-

"Campbell and sons insurance" Hey remember when I said that this whole season's emotional set up with Sam's ownership of the AU peeps reminded me of season 6 and the Campbells? They also literally are the sons of Mary Campbell, so.

No lies, at least, with some serious stretching of the truth.

-

God, the detail that Dean has played Zelda.

He's being nerdy out loud constantly, and without much fear of judgement. It's wonderful. I guess he's been jostled up enough by Michael that he doesn't really care to hide this random pointless thing that in the grand scheme why should he be ashamed, and also he feels so much worse about other things that this is just an escape to have fun. It also reminds me of last season when he was mourning Cas except that this indulgence Sam is allowing him is co-sponsored by Dean and he's throwing himself into enjoying the smaller things and being more openly Dean-ish than he has in a while. Like, I don't think character comparisons to 8x11 for the nerds is the only way the episodes link :P

-

In 8x11 Dean's initial reaction to LARPing is that it looks awesome, then he corrects at a look from Sam to being more judgy. In 9x04 as scripted, Sam is surprised that Dean want to read Game of Thrones. So idk if that's just Robbie character interpretations since my 2 surface level examples are from his episodes or if that's just been where open nerdery has lived in past years, but anyway. Sam isn't stopping Dean from indulging in the same way - it seems he also recognises Dean's nerdiness and is less threatened by it than before, in the sense that he doesn't feel like Dean isn't acting himself, but now accepts the nerdiness is a part of Dean.

-

"Who needs goth girl drama" dude you are the most awful over-dramatic asshole on the show now Lucifer is dead

-

LOL he's trying to lie about being attacked by a toy now, and Dean points out that he got whooped so thoroughly he was beaten on the back and genitals - so yeah we look at his face and wiiiiince

-

"Lady you wasn't kidding."

-

"Big Bang in there..."

Goodness are we calling out the Big Bang theory for its toxic nerdery? Love it.

-

Sam and Dean halloween costumed as total nerds, still driving around in the Impala. The reverse of someone rolling up in a boring old modern car and, like, a bunch of Draculas get out.

-

Sam can shave off the beard but it can't stop him Bobby-ing

Dean side-eyes this

-

"Yeah, it was Riley, he'll be fine."

"I don't know who Riley is, but cool."

God, I am so into this whole dynamic.

Tell me more, Davy.

-

"So seriously, what is your deal with halloween?"

"I don't like it"

Dean, I am watching this episode on November 2nd, just so you know.

Anyway. This is literally. 1x01's opening adult Sam moment. But Dean's going back to poke Sam about it since he's someone Sam won't lie to in the same way that Sam was concealing his entire being from Jess. I mean this isn't subtle - in 1x01 Dean calls Sam out for doing this. But then, Sam doesn't exactly develop beyond it - in season 8 he does this with Amelia.

Because obviously if Sam is going to move forward and develop there's still things which are not addressed. And if Dean is having his idea of home and work challenged, and his nest disrupted until perhaps he will fly it... Sam has never ever actually addressed his work/life balance in the meaningful way where... like... this was how his difference was introduced when we first ever meet lil babby Sam smiling innocently at us on screen as a kid who has the whole future ahead of him and no idea what torment he's gonna go through. 14 years later, if he's ever going to be a grown up who can handle himself in a relationship and know what is work and what is life and how he can watch halloween movies and not feel personally offended by them but enjoy them as a fantasy and a way of boxing off their world into a safe place they don't have personal responsibility for...

Maybe he might just get a girlfriend who he can tell he is a hunter. Like. Dude. Dean was past that step before the show ever STARTED thanks to his time with Cassie.

-

Sam, also, metaphorically is an angry guy living in his mom's basement, but perhaps in a more metaphorical way where it's to do with living his whole life under the shadow of his mom horrifically dying as a result of the supernatural and being brought up feeling like a freak and just wanting to be normal and all

wheeee

-

Anyway Dean is probing for actual answers so I assume Davy will give us a solution to this this episode, but this is my take on it before we get into it properly.

-

Alternative hypothesis: Davy is personally offended that Sam doesn't like halloween despite it being the best holiday, is determined to fix that and fuck canon, characters can change even 14 years later.

-

"Don't give me this 'every day is halloween' crap because one it aint, we don't eat that much candy"

I have missed Dean and I love him with every fibre of my being, brb I need to vibrate out of existence at the sheer joy of knowing him

-

That was the worst "we aren't here staking out your house" move I have ever seen.

You are professionals who have been doing this together for 14 years

why was that so laughably bad?

-

The youtube comments are so cutting and a bunch of them are unfortunately true. It's self-awareness of using the loser nerd trope but also, cutting in a way because of course Stuart is coming across so much as someone who deserves it - and we're starting to see his mom is sweet and doesn't seem to have caused any trauma in a surface read, and that he was the one who dumped his online gf, and he starts other fights at work or with roomies, so this is getting more and more into territory where he seems fully to blame for his own situation, and therefore you CAN mock him for living in mom's basement, because he PUT himself there, and is single because he chose to be, and so on. The pervading sense that if he was a nicer person, none of this would be happening to him, right down to him stealing the toy in the first place.

-

Oh boy, the bloody handprint on the wall... We are back in handprint territory, and, you know, maybe because SOMEONE walking past it has been scarred on the wrong shoulder by the actions of an angel or something

-

There's a chinese take out carton on the shelf in this basement. I doubt it's a collectible.

Send noods.

-

Okay, that's sort of weird.

-

If the mom is in costume I don't get the reference. I hope someone else has handled that.

-

We're going to get her POV on her loser son now, I guess.

-

"Everything's fine :)" *leaves the room* "everything is not fine!"

Are we calling them out for using "fine" so loosely again too huh?

(Side note: Jack saying he's fine while consumptive, and yeah I am still upset about that. What are you doing to the boy????)

-

Dean and Sam split up and as Sam walks off a nurse eyes him up and smiles. No idea how intentional that was but I mean, can you blame her? :P

-

You know, I don't know anything about this franchise, but Sam just jumped to see a toy of a guy who looks weirdly similar to the vampires that ATE HIM a few weeks ago.

He checks over his shoulder in case Dean manifested at his side just in time to see that

-

Awww Dean and New Dean meet. "he must have awesome insurance"

He calls Stuart's mom "Babs" which is hilarious. They seem close.

New Dean has issues with his dad and Stuart lets him crash with him no questions asked. I suppose Dean isn't going to think too hard about how Sam's choice for his parallel has issues with his dad.

This forgiveness for Stuart's behaviour because he's kind to his own people is a very TFW trait, which makes New Dean more like Sam or Cas forgiving Dean his outbursts, as he's by far the ragiest of them, with Cas trailing in second and Sam the zen fucking master.

-

Lol Dean and New Dean are both dragged into the room to watch All Saints Day 3 like they're being pulled in on a line

-

Oh dear, they're bonding.

Davy isn't usually on top of these things but he's channeling a lot of Edlund today and Edlund always had these sort of guys like Andy or Aaron who are so Dean's type in a harmless shared interests and getting stoned together way. This is a bit extreme with the guy's tininess and scruffiness but you know, we'll see how this develops, if it's an accidental twins or a missed connections soulmate dealio.

... You're taking to someone who's still bitter that Andy and Dean would have been perfect together, so.

-

Also this New Dean guy is demonstrating how to be a Good Fan - he may be as intensely nerdy as Stuart, but he and Dean can compare movies and even though they don't share a favourite, agree that the whole series is great and can see the merits both in each other's favourites, and in another movie that isn't either of their favourites but could be if they happened to be inclined that way.

So healthy :')

-

"It was always nice to check out. I like watching movies where I KNOW the bad guy's going to lose"

Ow ow ow. But yeah, there's Dean's pro-Halloween rationale, that the tropeyness of the genre has its comforts that every ridiculous horror thing is entirely safe and no one is ACTUALLY going to get eaten by any of these things. Which is also how normal people enjoy horror but at the metaphorical remove of being scared by things we may not literally meet but still represent anxieties we might have in our real lives.

Catharsis, yo

-

Sam barges in on New Sam to ask her the usual series of increasingly weird questions which get the "are you really insurance?" eyebrows.

"Downtown Salem" - are they in Salem as in the witch hunt one?

-

I kinda love how New Sam is talking with a speech bubble beside her. So meta.

-

I think New Dean is called Dirk.

-

Oops Stuart wasn't one of the co-owners because he kept getting fired for stealing D: Stuart, dude.

-

"And you hired Stuart back?" "he's my friend"

I think there is commentary appearing here about not just Stuart's unhealthy explosive rage, but that the people around him enable it - even Jordan fired him TWICE rather than banish him forever. The cycle of coddling him without encouraging him to change... Again, this speaks rather more of season 10 and a critique of Sam n Cas from there rather than much currently ongoing with Dean. Sam was complicit in originally abducting Kaia and he and Jody didn't move to stop Dean with Bad Kaia, so though it's in the focus as a critique on Dean's reactions, I feel like the real bad cycles were in Carver era. Though the behaviour still somewhat exists in Dabb era, the overall unhealthiness has declined so much, there isn't a constant oppresive blanket of it as there is here in this shop with Stuart being so awful to everyone and self-destructive.

(It's probably also not a coincidence that this thing has latched onto Dean as well, a la 4x06 I'd guess... Sam got no ghost vibes in the basement, Dean did, and was attacked... To me this is seeming to suggest that his current state has picked up the ghost's ire in the same way in 4x06 he was vulnerable. Loops and loops of things going on so I'll unpick that later if it does turn out to be the case clearly.)

Anyway. This seems to be more about destructive cycles and abusive dynamics, and I would hope a nudge for Dean, though his exile at the start of this episode also suggests to me he knew full well after threatening Kaia that he'd overreacted and needed to take 5, even if there was also a layer of sulking until news of Michael. Her call out was clear enough to make him self-reflect. So I would hope that this episode is here to try and steer Dean's reaction through various pathways, ideally to keep him from falling into anything too awful, as a reminder of where this may lead?

-

Sam sees the glass case freeze over, and pulls out the EMF, playing it off and being like "nothing... carbon monoxide detector" even as New Sam is understandably a little freaked.

Is this messing with Sam's refusal to tell Jess about monsters by having him keep the truth from New Sam until she's physically endangered?

-

I mean, carbon monoxide in enough quantities to make the blatantly homemade gadget go "WHEEE" and light up every single LED is a good enough reason to flee the room

-

"I think you're in danger -" Sam is smacked around the head by Hatchetman because he delayed too long and now he has been knocked out

-

"Samantha?" Sam determined not to let New Sam out-Sam him

-

I mean if she is you then she has been knocked out

-

How does this keep happening to you

how much head trauma has Cas healed over the years?

This is why they have to keep him an angel...

-

"Is this expensive?" "Wha - no don't!" *BOING* *silence* "yeeeah it's shatterproof glass"

HA

-

If Jordan really just wants to kill Stuart for getting them a 1 star Yelp review then this also has a weird shade of 11x07 where the ghost was getting revenge and took a few attempts to kill that one guy, eventually succeeding as the clown.

Except the clown was tuned to freak Sam out

and Dean's probably gonna be thrilled to fight Hatchetman

-

Dean having movie night with new Dean (probably stoned but we can't see it) with comatose Stuart in the middle

incredible

-

2 dudes watching horror movies 5 feet apart with a comatose guy in the middle because they aren't gay

-

Dean is thrilled to fight Hatchetman

I feel like this can't last

-

Davy throws in a gratuitous Halloween moment of Hatchetman walking through the park which is just bedecked in Halloween nonsense

no one cares about him wandering around because it's Halloween

It does make you wonder just HOW much nonsense happening on Halloween really is monsters and stuff out there enjoying themselves because it's expected, which, again, like Sam n Dean dressing up as nerds for this whole episode, having monsters mixing with regular folk and being treated as equals is literally the whole Halloween thing. There's less threat than in 4x07 because we're assuming at this point in the episode that the ghost does have a pretty one-track mind about killing Stuart because with all the characterising nonsense filling the episode the actual plot has been pretty sparse considering we're getting to the final 10 minute run now. So, yeah. This Hatchetman ghost is just out there being a part of the festivities, because that's what happens on Halloween, man

-

LOL And like Sam not telling his double until it was too late, Dean gets this call and is really open in answering in front of new Dean, and now he's filling in New Dean on everything instead of trying to get him to leave or protect him not just from the monster but from knowing about it at all.

-

Davy like, hey, remember when ghosts used to do loads of freaky stuff on this show just to be scary? And maybe it seemed like you all were getting bored of it or something, but hey this guy has no idea after 14 years that he shouldn't leave the salt line when everything starts thumping in the room despite having been warned the ghost is coming...

-

Hehehe Dean gets an axe... The moment of him going to smash it then not and checking if it's open... Whether that was improv or not, it's a good character thing in the sense that Dean is being encouraged not to smash first and ask questions later by the meta plot of the episode

-

Omg New Dean is as brave as our Dean in some ways... He sees Babs in trouble, and immediately is like "HEY" and starts confronting Jordon in Hatchetman

-

"He's MY friend. He's OUR friend." That's an interesting take on my/our, because that statement works on both levels - both that Dirk is protective of Stuart because he cares about him, but also that Jordan has his own investment in not killing Stuart that he should remember. In terms of emotional appeal, the first is confrontational while the second is the deep appeal to the ghost.

Filed in the deep deep deep deep deep flips of the crypt scenes, this moment demonstrates about 3 different kinds of flips, while still holding true to possessing thing out of its right mind confronting loved one

-

Omg the hospital security guards watching the Hatchetman chase a damsel through the hospital while New Dean is chased through THEIR hospital. Talk about dramatic irony and a whole commentary on the metaness of Dabb era in the story reversals and extractions to new levels and repurposing of scenes and narratives...

-

And despite it playing out scene by scene, the guards are laughing at the bad dialogue and pointing out how Hatchetman is so slow, so how can he even catch them, while the damsel slows herself down and badly fakes a trip so that he can catch up to her...

-

"We killed you! You're dead!" "We all do bad things sometimes"

And there we get the context for the cool quote the Hatchetman model can recite - just as how in fandom often things are quoted out of context as lines which seem emotional or special but are actually awful. Just for starters, all the Sam n Dean fans using "there aint no me if there aint no you" when Dean didn't even SAY that. Now we see the context of this line, we see that while Hatchetman really isn't deep, he's at least not just saying it to sound cool and talk about himself, he's judging the protagonist for her behaviour, as well as invoking relative morality. Which brings up some interesting ideas about what Hatchetman considers good and evil, in regards to seeming to have a concept of it but not including kill himself as a good thing to do. Obviously completely wild in context but in the philosophical language of the show, the nature of monsters and all is one huge question, along with if Sam and Dean are murderers themselves, and of course how they have done bad things for good reasons and vice versa.

-

Also I think Sam is about to blow up the door?

-

"I had a messed up childhood" he says, about to blow up a vintage SCOOBY DOO lunchbox to freedom.

SAMMY. Stop destroying symbols of childhood.

At least he's talking freely to New Sam about himself, which is probably already more than he ever let on to Jess. He really wanted to pretend to be well-adjusted to her, that he probably, like, would have rather waited for a locksmith with her than just pick the door to their apartment if they were locked out, you know?

-

RIP Scooby Doo.

-

"Cool" they both say, and share a smile.

It's probably weird to ship Sam and Sam just because the shipname is Sam

-

Dirk went to hide in the fucking Morgue

well done

-

Okay I need the security guards back to comment on how the fuck Hatchetman knew New Dean would come to the morgue with enough time to beat him there AND cover himself in a sheet and play dead.

-

Also before that happened Dean grabbed New Dean by the correct shoulder, and made him jump but aw don't worry it's just your new best friend.

-

Ghost Jordan is still a fucking nerd even in death because rather than talk to them, he presses the button to summon a catchphrase

It's good to know some things never change even when you are a murderous shell of your former self.

-

UGH SIGH DAVY ARE YOU REALLY GOING TO DO THIS TO ME?

(The director might also be to blame)

So now they are cobbling together a fake trailer for Hatchetman, using footage from the show

That is to say, Hatchetman is set on Oct. 31st, 1983, or, of course, 2 days before Azazel ruined everything.

I'm not sure if this shot is from the show because we have so few Halloween episodes that an exterior shot with Halloween elements would have to be faked up, but the house looks very much like the old Winchester house, but with a bigger porch and more dramatic features. It does, however, strongly feature the tree branch shadows over the appropriate wall to make it look exactly like the opening shot of their story, while this is the opening shot of the Hatchetman story.

"David Jaeger was an honest man making an honest living" *generic shot of something being worked on*

*shot of the back of John Winchester's head walking into his garage in 5x13 to discover his boss out cold because Anna is about to attempt to murder him, said boss hilariously visible in the shot if you know he's there*

So. That happened :P Hatchetman is John. That ain't subtle if you recognise the back of his head in a split second. Even if you don't they're casting him as a car mechanic which is of course directly connected to Dean and John.

"Until one night when a practical joke turned deadly"

*footage of the wife spectre-rage killing her husband in the cold open of 8x06 because she was still pissed he slept with someone else on prom night*

I think the burning vehicle was the car from 10x13 that Sam and Dean burned early in the episode, where it was violently reminiscent of them burning the memory of John for some meta reason I can't remember at the time, but definitely inspired a lot of frantic fandom typing.

Of course the ghost in that episode was the classic ragey vengeance ghost which was blatantly paralleled to the path Dean was on with the Mark of Cain, complete with being crypt scened out of it by a trenchcoat-wearing widow.

They're implying he was then burned alive and left for dead and I don't recognise the footage of the burned feet but I assume they're from some episode or another.

Anyway then they go to more new footage from the "actual" hatchetman movies. This one is set on Nov. 1st so it's not even a "Halloween" movie but ACTUALLY All Saint's Day (All Hallow's Eve being what Hallowe'en is a corruption of), Nov. 1 being of course a meta nod to the fact the episode is not even airing on Halloween but Davy just really really really really wanted his halloween episode so shut up and enjoy it :P

Oh, it's All Saints Day III The Reckoning. Because of course it's a reckoning. That's all that happens in Dabb era, reckonings.

-

I am so upset.... I made a joke about 5x05 waaay back, and now it's true because of the whole random thing about Dean's random Axe that was John's that Paris Hilton was going to use to Reckoning him but then Sam murderered her before she could. Now Dean's being reckoned.

-

Okay Dean is a lil dark right now but his come at me bro of "I was hoping you'd say that" and the preceding speech is incredible. I can't believe this show has Jensen except that I CAN believe that with Jensen we go 14 seasons because FUCK he's scary and intense when he wants to be.

-

But he delivered that chilling speech and then had the ghost use a red button to talk to him and then was badass at it

I mean

he can put the terror into ANY situation

-

I am a hysterical laugher, I could not have stood where Dean stood in that moment and taken Hatchetman seriously, even under threat of mortal peril. I once nearly got expelled for hysterical laughing over an untied shoelace that started a rapidly spiralling incident.

-

I love the new fight guy

I love how Dean is spoiling for a fight, and really enjoying how he can push back against this ghost, in a really, really scary way. But in a cold way, not the red hot Mark of Cain way he was dark last time. He's grinning and enjoying this nerdy ass fight, but it's got a vicious streak.

-

I especially love the choreography of Dean smashing Hatchetman around the head with clashes in time to the music followed by an elevator ding as Sam and New Sam emerge in the next scene.

Poetic cinema

-

New Sam guesses the key thing for ghost attachment and Old Sam is impressed.

Careful buddy, they're lining you up for replacement.

-

Dean seems not to have won this fight with the Hatchetman. I bet if Stuart was awake he'd have some useful advice for how anyone could beat him in a fight but especially Stuart, if they knew the correct thing to do.

-

New Dean saved Old Dean! Maybe we can teamwork distract the Hatchetman and win together. Possibly this is a metaphor for... working with yourself...

Is it foreshadowing for a fight later in the season of plot significance, just like in 11x07 Sam got beat up by a clown in a cage, as a not too subtle metaphor for Lucifer? I'd love an in Dean's head kinda nonsense with Mikey.

-

"Dean, key chain!"

TEAMWORK BROS ARE THE BEST BROS

-

New Sam chips in for her part with fuel for the fire.

Everyone high five the Sam or Dean/Dirk to your left

-

Oh, COOL effect of a ghostly spirit burning out of a model Hatchetman, who is unscatched by the ordeal

-

I mean, good, he's probably a really expensive collectible

-

He falls over with a thud, and goes out on a warbling "time to slice and diiiiiiiii" much like "I clobber evil" died on the fire with a last gutteral noise.

Hopefully bookending each other in terms of models with representations in their voices that haunt Dean and all.

-

Dean, unprompted, thanks Sam for getting him out of his funk and giving him an easy ghost hunt to win. I guess what 13x05 was supposed to be is what this actually turned out to be.

(Honestly, giving Davy episodes post-drama to let us all unwind is turning out to be an extremely good idea with 13x06 as well)

-

I am MAJORLY concerned about the time stamp on this episode. It better end in a few seconds and go to a full 3 minute trailer for Hell Hazers III or else.

-

"It was awesome!" "it wasn't really," says Sam, who burst into the room in time to see his brother pinned and choking

-

Sam moves on to confronting Dean with the concept of not just hiding in his room when they get back.

He gives Dean the "OI, CHEER UP" talk we've all been yelling at the screen. Good. Good Sammy.

Dean turns to the camera. "I'm never going to get over it. I'm just not."

Look, Sam, just because Dean stabbed Lucifer for you, and now you are sleeping without fear, doesn't mean everyone has that luxury :P

-"

elizabethrobertajones Oh dear, there's still 4 minutes left er I guess I keep watching .... *grimaces nervously*

mittensmorgul :D just watch it in context with the rest of the episode

elizabethrobertajones um what I didn't get far enough into what happens next to know what you mean so that's super ominous Sam is still psychoanalysing Dean in car NOW yo uhave me REALLY worried.

Hey, remember how I started this episode with a vague warning from Mittens? Why am I now getting the feeling that I still haven't watched whatever that was about?

-

"I'm not doing any good cooped up in my room. So whatever you need, I'm there." ("Chief"?)

-

"Alright, Chief?"

Oh, man. I'm turning into Dean.

-

Also Dean appears to have, finally, ceded power over to Sam. Again, the reversals of season 10 - Sam was put in this position of power he just was not ready to cope with and not with the stakes that were laid against him. But here, Dean might be driving the car but he's putting all the real power into Sam's hands.

-

elizabethrobertajones Is it why Sam hates Halloween because Dean turns out to have set an alarm on his watch to remind him to bug Sam about it again the intrigue you have spun is starting to get to me more than actually watching the episode :P

mittensmorgul oh gosh, I should've just kept my mouth shut. It was seriously just an innocent comment for a nice BM scene :P

-

I am more horrified about the concept of Sam telling an embarrassing story than I am about any amount of slasher and gore. Look, I can Not handle social squickiness and I love Sam and that is going to make this extremely hard to hear.

Dean's gonna love it though, I can tell.

-

Please. Protect. Sammy.

-

"It was soooo bad" he says with a haunted look of a man who has been tortured by the devil

-

Andrea's party got there first

-

"Next year, we're doing halloween right"

Oh no, don't you dare start talking like you're going to be alive and ready for a party next year, Dean Winchester. I will perish in your place to make it happen.

-

BAHAHA Dean coming up with matching outfits and suggests Bert and Ernie, before rejecting that one as too weird.

Yeah, you might not remember but we do

We are never going to let you live it down, in fact.

-

Also, listen, his mouth runs miles ahead of his brain, that was not suggestive until he realised it was and backtracked

-

You also can't go as Shaggy and Scooby unless you go to a party WITH them and they go as you and Sam

-

Thelma and Louise... Dean, stop.

Okay it's hilarious that Davy managed to get both Bert and Ernie and Thelma and Louise into this like... somewhere riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight deep down Dean's consciousness is putting things together. It doesn't remember half the shit he says, but like. Hey. Why ARE those two sets of on screen pairs connected, huh, Dean?

-

Oh, whatever, he's just trying to annoy Sam now

-

Nyoooom

-

IT'S THE SECURITY GUARD

RUN, MAN, RUN

-

Ew, I left it playing to type that and it told me to watch Legacies

-

Well that was the one wrong note in this whole episode so I suppose something had to happen like that :P

[samstiels-deactivated20201212]

This is a really good article. Idk how much people know about Cogman, but he wrote the episode where Sansa was raped, and was immediately chased off all social media by angry fans. There is an incredible paragraph explaining his reasonings for the scene, and Sophie Turner’s as well. Cogman also wrote most of Jaime x Brienne scenes, and was the driving force behind most of the actual plot that makes sense, including Brienne being knighted.   

Vanity Fair gives 3 free articles per month, then requires a subscription, so you’ll find the whole article under the cut. 

Before the cast and crew of Game of Thrones threw themselves into their final season of grueling night shoots, dragon rides, and death scenes, they gathered in Belfast for one last table read. It was the largest group ever assembled for such an occasion, all crammed in around a massive conference table made from the soaring gates of the show's lavish Season Two city of Qarth. HBO executives and trusted friends of the show lined the edges of the room as, over two days, everyone finally learned how the saga of Westeros would end.

Kit Harington had tears streaming down his face; Liam Cunningham, who played the salty Ser Davos, was cursing a blue streak. Halfway through the read, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau reached out to squeeze the shoulder of co-executive producer Bryan Cogman, who had started trembling as the body count on the page started to rise. In the end it was Cogman—who had read out every stage direction at every table read since the first in 2009—who had the final word that day: “End of Game of Thrones.” More than a year later, Sophie Turner still isn't over it. “That motherfucker,” she says with a laugh.

“It was a lovefest,” Cogman says of that table read, when the often brutal conditions of shooting seemed a world away. “And then we went and made the show and wanted to kill each other 11 months later.”

Turner, who began playing Sansa Stark when she was 13, says Cogman is the backbone of Game of Thrones. Coster-Waldau, who played Jaime Lannister, refers to him as the “walking encyclopedia.” But George R. R. Martin, who wrote the books that show-runners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss adapted into what may be the last universally agreed-upon hit TV show, leans on his own Westerosi mythology to pay the highest compliment: “Dave and Dan—even though there were two of them, there really needed to be three. Bryan was the third head of the dragon.”

Hired as Weiss and Benioff's assistant when Game of Thrones first began production, Cogman wrote 11 episodes of the series—second only to the show-runners and more than Martin himself—and as a producer has three Emmy Awards for Outstanding Drama Series displayed in his living room. Martin personally asked Cogman to pitch a Thrones prequel series to HBO; when the network passed, he moved on to a deal at Amazon Studios, where, to borrow another phrase from Martin's books, he can cast a very large shadow of his own on this post-Thrones universe.

“You're only number two on the biggest show of all time once,” Cogman says, aware that Thrones-sized success may be a thing of the past for television as a whole. “So what do you want to do with that opportunity when the show ends? You try to see if you can tell your own stories.”

More than 10 years ago, Weiss and Benioff had finally convinced both HBO and Martin that they were the right pick to turn Game of Thrones into what they called “The Sopranos meets Middle-earth.” But they had a problem: neither of them knew the first thing about TV. Luckily, Benioff knew someone who did—his nanny's husband.

Once just another Juilliard-trained actor struggling to make it in Hollywood, Cogman first caught Benioff's eye with a script about, well, struggling actors trying to make it in Hollywood. Fed up with jobs that include a telemarketing gig in the Valley selling toner cartridges—a job that theater nerd Cogman describes as “like Glengarry Glen Ross, but worse”—and with watching former classmates like Lee Pace and Anthony Mackie smile down at him from 14-foot billboards, the then 28-year-old Cogman was attempting to re-write his way out of a familiar story of Hollywood despair.

Benioff, best known at the time for well-received novels such as the one he adapted into the 2002 Spike Lee movie 25th Hour, liked what he saw but didn't have a job for Cogman yet. So he called in a favor to his childhood friend NBC Entertainment co-chairman Ben Silverman and landed Cogman a job as the executive's assistant (there were two others) and driver. Cogman nearly wrecked Silverman's car on his second night behind the wheel.

“You're a terrible driver,” Cogman recalls Silverman saying, “but I like hanging out with you.” Perhaps in an attempt to protect the paint on his other cars, Silverman eventually got his driver a writers'-assistant job, fetching coffee and the like, on an NBC show: My Own Worst Enemy, which ended after just two months, in December 2008.

However short-lived, the show was an education for Cogman in the basics of breaking a story for television. When Weiss and Benioff snapped up Cogman as their own assistant, they set up shop in a dingy suite of now demolished offices on the former Pickford-Fairbanks Studios lot and asked the guy who thought he was just there to fetch lunches where they should start.

“I got my marker and David sat in his chair and Dan sat in his,” Cogman remembers. Without any other staff hired, the three of them went to work figuring out how to introduce TV audiences to the scheming Lannisters, the honorable Starks, the looming Wall, Daenerys Targaryen and her three baby dragons. “None of us knew really what we were doing. No one was really bothering us or telling us we were doing it wrong. We cooked up Season One, the three of us in that room in the winter and early spring of 2009.”

Cogman still likes to joke that the only reason he got the job is because Benioff—who was about to set off to Europe with his wife, actor Amanda Peet—wanted to hold on to the excellent child care provided by Cogman's wife, actor Mandy Olsen. “That backfired! As soon as I became a TV writer, she quit,” Cogman says, laughing. “Joke's on you, Benioff!”

Tipped off by his wife to Benioff's early interest in the books, Cogman had read the “A Song of Ice and Fire” series in the hope of a small role in the show—“Maybe I'll get to play a guy with a spear!” By the time he was in the room with Weiss and Benioff, Cogman had started re-reading—he estimates he's read the first book, A Game of Thrones, at least 20 times now—and boiling down the dense and complicated world of Westeros into digestible outlines, family trees, and quick little summaries. “We thought we knew the books pretty well, but Bryan was just on a different level,” Weiss and Benioff wrote in a joint e-mail. That work landed Cogman a seat in every meeting and was a godsend to every confused HBO executive, director, production designer, and actor.

The show-runners quickly deviated from the Hollywood norm of treating their assistant like a glorified errand boy; while working on Season One, they surprised Cogman with an offer to write his own episode, “Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things.” As Weiss and Benioff recalled, “We'd never written a season of television before, and we'd underestimated how long it would take. Then we looked across the room and there was Bryan. Smart, tireless, passionate Bryan. Sure, he wasn't experienced, but hell, neither were we.”

Martin's review of Cogman's work was straightforward: “An excellent episode! Straight from my books!”

Weiss and Benioff dubbed Cogman “lore master”; Gwendoline Christie, who played Brienne of Tarth, jokes, “I have never once seen Bryan with George R. R. Martin, and the rumor is that they could be the same person.” Martin, for his part, likens Cogman to the helpful and well-read character Samwell Tarly, a comparison the author usually reserves for himself. As the series grew bigger and Martin repeatedly delayed the release of his final books in the series, the author grew noticeably distant from the show, with no writing credits after Season Four and no recent appearances at the splashy premiere events until the final one, in April. Responding on his LiveJournal to a controversial Season Five scene that differed dramatically from the books, Martin described the show and his work as “two roads diverging in the dark of the woods, I suppose … but all of us are still intending that at the end we will arrive at the same place.”

Martin hasn't commented much on his relationship with HBO and the series, but he is unreserved in his praise for Cogman: “I feel simpatico with Bryan,” Martin says. “He's helped keep the show true to my books, and the characters true to the characters I created, which may not be important to everybody in the world, but is certainly important to me.”

In the beginning Cogman clung doggedly to some less essential parts of the books. (He's now mortified to recount a fight he picked over cutting a minor Season One character named Marillion. “Nearly in tears! Over Marillion! And I was the fucking assistant.”) But he also used his book knowledge to suggest killing off Ned Stark in the ninth episode of the first season, rather than saving it for the finale, a shock that went on to define the high stakes of the series. Cogman, a lifelong student of drama, knows how differently stories can play when acted out. So while others may compare Cogman to Samwell Tarly, he favors another character: Varys, the slick spymaster who uses political maneuvers and access to the most powerful players to keep himself in the game. Or, at least, he says, “I'm the good parts of Varys.”

From the very start Cogman homed in on the basic character details that made Thrones a success beyond its spectacle. “It's about one buddy going back to his old buddy's house for dinner,” he says, describing the simple power of the pilot. “If you don't have that, then you have a lot of other imitators that have come along since and haven't been as good.”

Production on Game of Thrones was massive from the start, and Weiss and Benioff quickly put Cogman in charge of some pivotal scenes at the end of Season One, featuring Peter Dinklage's Tyrion Lannister and his scathing father, Tywin Lannister, played by Charles Dance. Cogman, who claims he didn't know any better, wielded so much authority that director Alan Taylor just assumed he was a producer. “Why the hell have I been taking orders from you the past few months?” Cogman recalls Taylor joking when he discovered the truth.

The show sprawled after Season One, with at least two units—named the Dragon and the Wolf—shooting simultaneously. Weiss and Benioff leveraged their titles to take charge of the sets in exotic and temperate Spain, Croatia, and Morocco, leaving Cogman as their man on the ground in Belfast, where the show filmed the bulk of its interior scenes.

In Belfast, Cogman worked on behalf of Weiss and Benioff as fastidious keeper of the script, earning the nickname “Shakespeare” from Dance when he insisted that a line be read word for word. As a former actor, Cogman developed a reputation as an actor's writer. “He gets the life of an actor,” Coster-Waldau explains. “He's extremely respectful when it comes to not getting in your way.” Adds Turner, “Bryan's lines are always the ones that affect me the most.”

When it came time to divvy up who would actually write each episode, Weiss and Benioff preferred season premieres, finales, and the big, splashy set pieces in between.

Cogman, on the other hand, preferred the performance episodes, full of scenes, he says, of “people talking in rooms.” He wrote the two key moments of the Jaime and Brienne love story, from the Season Three bathtub scene in “Kissed by Fire” to the emotional Season Eight climax “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms,” which sees the former Lannister antihero knighting the unlikely lady warrior. These quiet, shared moments stood out among all the dragon fire, shocking deaths, and big-budget battle spectacle.

“He has been a champion of my character Brienne and actually of me as an actor,” Christie says. “He had a real understanding of the trials the character had to overcome in order to achieve a sense of self-worth and how far we sometimes have to travel to move the narrative society has prescribed to us.”

“I can't imagine what it would have been like without Bryan,” Coster-Waldau says. “Thank God I don't have to.”

In Season Five Cogman volunteered to write what would become one of the show's most controversial episodes, in which the sadistic Ramsay Bolton rapes Sansa Stark, with Theon Greyjoy looking on in horror. Cogman, a father of three, had always taken a particular interest in protecting the show's younger performers on set. Turner compares him to a father figure, and Cogman felt he owed it to her to write the episode himself. “Why the hell did I choose ‘Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken’?” Cogman asks years later, then responding, “Good question.”

The scene was lifted from another character's story in the books and incorporated into a larger gothic nightmare plot of Sansa's being held prisoner in her childhood home at Winterfell—a practical, and carefully considered, way to give Sansa, who isn't in the fifth book at all, a bigger role in the story. Weiss and Benioff suggested closing the bedroom door on Sansa, Ramsay, and Theon rather than showing the act itself. “I am the one, God help me,” Cogman says, “who said, ‘If we do this are we being dismissive of what that real horror would be behind that door? Are we being disrespectful of the severity of that situation?’ But we, of course, never wanted to make Sophie go through a graphic scene.”

The result was still graphic enough to spark immediate online backlash and heated think pieces; then senator Claire McCaskill publicly declared she would no longer watch the show. HBO issued no official response to the controversy, and Weiss and Benioff have never commented publicly, even deleting a question about it in e-mailed responses for a recent Rolling Stone story.

Cogman stands by the scene, though he acknowledges it served as a pivotal point in a larger cultural discussion about sexual assault on-screen, which had also been used as a plot device on Mad Men and Breaking Bad, among others. “I will never presume to tell someone how they should feel about the scene itself. And believe me, I really tried to listen to all the criticism surrounding it and will continue to listen,” Cogman says. “I do take issue with the presumption of bad faith on our part—the idea that we treated Sophie or the character or the subject matter callously. I think if you watch the scene and see how it fits into the character's larger narrative arc over the subsequent seasons, you'll see that's not the case. At least I hope so.”

“It was a very difficult scene to write,” Cogman says. “It was a very difficult scene to shoot.”

“You see Bryan standing there, crying and wanting to hug you, he did that often,” Turner says. “He was the one that held me afterwards and we both cried together. He's apologizing because he wrote the scene. It was kind of beautiful. It felt like I was safe and not exploited in any way because I was with him. He's always been something of a protector, so it's really special to have him there.”

The controversies around Season Five, which saw many beloved characters used, abused, or shipped off to Dorne, did not dampen the show's popularity. That September Cogman and his fellow producers picked up the first of three Emmy Awards for Outstanding Drama Series, among a pile of others the show won.

As Game of Thrones headed toward its conclusion, it also moved away from the intimate, theater-like moments Cogman excelled at—partly a function of the large-scale conflict built into Martin's story, but also the TV landscape that Thrones transformed, bringing C.G.I.-heavy blockbuster spectacle to the small screen and daring other networks to keep up. HBO underwent a transformation as well. Once best-known as a boutique home for prestige TV, the premium cable channel was acquired last summer by AT&T, and an executive revealed plans to increase HBO's output of original content by 50 percent in 2019.

For a while, Cogman thought one of those new shows would be his to run. He had no ambition to do any kind of Thrones sequel until Martin asked him personally at a dinner with Weiss and Benioff in May 2017. There was a particular story he felt only Cogman could tell. (Many fans have guessed that it's the Targaryen-centric Dance of the Dragons tale, but for now Martin and Cogman are keeping it to themselves.) “The logical heir was Bryan,” Martin says. “He had been there since the very beginning.”

Despite himself, Cogman yielded to the excitement of the project. But the timing couldn't have been worse. Cogman had to pitch HBO his prequel idea while the final season of Game of Thrones was in production, and he was in a bake-off with four other writers, some of whom had also worked with Martin. Weiss and Benioff gave Cogman their blessing but were busy wrapping up their own time in Westeros, which meant any advice they gave was incidental: “Every now and then we'd discuss something or other while we were shivering in the writer's tent in Northern Ireland,” they wrote.

Collaborating with Martin on the prequel pitch, Cogman felt both a pressure and an arrogance that came from being the only contender in the race who had both worked on the original series and was handpicked by Martin. He spent the bulk of the final season's shoot under the impression that this wasn't truly his final season. “I wasn't really doing the kind of emotional, cathartic work one needs to do to say goodbye to everything,” he says.

Cogman found out he didn't get the job in spring 2018, and that Jane Goldman would, instead, be helming a series centered on the earliest days of Westeros. At the same time, his wife—who had put her own acting career on hold for most of a decade to support Cogman's work—was suffering from a herniated disk. Disappointed and suddenly having to move his family out of their home in Belfast, Cogman has no memory of his last day on the set of Game of Thrones: “I was exhausted and Mandy was hurting. We were packing up our lives of 10 years.”

“It hit me hard, not because I thought there was any great injustice. I'm sure Jane's show is going to be great,” Cogman says. “But all the insecurities come up: What, I can't even write Game of Thrones now?”

The story Martin so favored may live on at HBO, but Cogman is ready to try new things. Last September, Amazon Studios snapped him up and put him to work—the day after he picked up his third Emmy for Thrones—consulting on a hotly anticipated project he can't yet disclose. But, most exciting for Cogman, he will be developing a whole raft of shows that may have nothing whatsoever to do with dragons.

Martin still texts regularly with Cogman, and has offered occasional friendly input as Cogman searches for new books that Amazon might adapt. “I hope to work with him again someday if the various corporate entities that we work for allow it,” Cogman jokes. But Martin himself is locked into an overall deal with HBO, and Cogman, finally, is ready to move on. He attended the splashy Game of Thrones Season Eight premiere at Radio City Music Hall in April, but the following Monday he was back to work at Amazon, with a large-scale poster of a trio of his favorites—Arya, Sansa, and Brienne—watching over him.

“I was number two to the captain, and now I've gotta see if I can sit in that captain's chair,” Cogman says. “I'm looking forward to finding my people the way Dan and David found theirs.”

[fymeetrasurik]

Star Wars: Catalyst-A Rogue One Novel-Review

I actually read this like, a long time ago XD. Like in the lead up before Rogue one came out. So.... Very late.It did have many things I wanted to touch on though, and honestly it’s been one of my favorite books in the new canon so better late than never!

Plot: In the final years of the clone wars, it is decided that a weapon must be constructed to end the conflict. Krennic, and ambitious social climber has his eyes set on the head of the table, and lucky for him, he happens to know the perfect scientist who can launch him into relevance. So begins a game of careful placation as work on the greatest weapon the galaxy has ever known is underway.

So I just figured out how the bullet system works, and I think it’s the best way for me to get out my points XD here we go!

Galen Erso-The book does such an amazing job at flushing out his character. Really it made him one of my favs. He’s very akin to the scientists who worked on the atomic bomb in our own world. He’s a pacifistic who did his best to free himself from either the republic or the separatists, and so the entire book is a blend of making sure he doesn’t know what he’s working on, or finding a way to convince even him that this is for the best. It’s a fascinating game of mental maneuvers. Beyond that even, his mild mannered and thoughtful personality was really endearing as you can tell how much is going on in his head, but yet he still takes time to be a loving husband and father. His state of being is written so well.

Lyra Erso-Boy howdy, if you read this book for nothing else, read it for Lyra. We got to know so little of her from the movie, but reading the book you can so see where Jyn got a lot of her fire from. Lyra is intense, and passionate, which creates a great contrast to Galen. She’s the one who begins to suspect the empire is up to no good, and then the story becomes this almost tug of war between her and Krennic over Galen. She knows the dangerous water they’re working in and is doing her best to keep Galen tethered while also raising Jyn. The quickest way I can describe her is that she’s a space hippie and I mean that with love. She has an interest in Geology which plays a important role in the story, and she just has a no nonsense kind of attitude that’s really easy to fall in love with. In many ways it’s her story more than Galen’s as she must walk a fine line in a dangerous new world.

Orson Krennic- Loved him in the movie, and honestly the book makes him even better. In a world of Vader’s and sith, I think Krennic is a really interesting villain, because he didn’t have to be. He’s dangerously ambitious, but at the same time he’s in over his head. He’s created a weapon of mass destructive as a way to climb the ladder. Like he cares more about getting a high status and recognition than he does about the death star itself. He’s a sociopath in the truest sense as he’s very charming and manipulative. Throughout the story, he’s never antagonistic to Galen, handling him with kid gloves and giving the Erso’s everything (in his mind) that they could ever want. Again the conflict he has with Lyra as both fight for Galen is some of the best parts of the book. He’s just a fascinating villain to me, he comes across very blue collar, like he’s worked his whole life, going from nothing to something and still it’s not enough. He won’t be satisfied until he’s adviser to the emperor himself.

Tarkin-Speaking of villains, oh my word Tarkin is perfect in this. I never knew how much I needed him to have a catty drama and rivalry with someone else in the empire until I read this book. His relationship with Krennic is just the best as they both spend the last half of the book trying to screw each other over while playing polite in conversation. It’s awesome. It’s like every workplace beef you’ve ever seen, on a galactic scale, it’s so petty it’s wonderful.

Has Obbit- A smuggler who is just, a hundred percent done with all this. Early on he is roped into Krennic’s scheme to win over Galen and he spends the rest of the book just under his thumb and he’s just like why has this happened. He’s so easy to relate to of just getting screwed over by powers bigger than him, and honestly I’d like to see him in more stuff!

End of the Clone Wars- So spoiler, but about a third of the way into the book we see the end of the war on a street level. The Erso’s are literally running from battle droids and are seconds from being killed when the droids shut down. I adored this moment. Firstly its interesting because we know what happened more than the characters do, Anakin just murdered all the sep leaders. What I love about this the most, is fate. Star wars always does such a good job of, if this didn’t happen this way at this time it would all have gone to hell. So many things had to lead up to their defeat, a million chances the force took. In a way, Vader saved the Erso’s lives, and without them, the death star could never have been destroyed and by extension, neither would the empire have ever fallen. Little details like that I just love.

State of the Galaxy-My FAVORITE, world buildy thing of the book. I am a huge fan of how canon star wars has dealt with the rise of the empire and how it was viewed by the people, and little details are sprinkled in this book that are some of my fav in all of star wars. Even after the war is over, Krennic explains about sep hold outs and terrorist groups still causing havoc in the outer rim.Eventually it’s how he convinces Galen about the death star as a matter of security. Given how awful the clone wars were, you can hardly blame people for wanting security and being afraid of Seps’ who just couldn’t let it go. Politically, I think this is brilliant, because it basically justifies the empire on a average person level. Wars have a hard time at ending, and that’s especially true on a galactic scale. Spinning this vague threat of Seps who never gave up the fight is a perfect boogeyman. Suddenly, your fighting terrorists rather than freedom fighters and those who joined the empire in those 19 years after the war? They might have seen that as ending the conflict their parents died to stop. Like this twists it so the rebellion isn’t something new, but rather the ghost of something thought to have been put down decades ago. It wasn’t a galactic civil war, it was clone wars round 2. Some of the canon doesn’t get this across very well, but the clone wars was not just clones and droids. It was one of the worst wars in history, leaving trillions dead. The horror of that is hard to imagine, and so can you not see someone signing up to the imperial academy with pride, knowing that whatever they do, it’s in the name of stopping something like that from happening ever again. Palpatine moves, were utter brilliance. Scaring the galaxy from opposing him as no matter how bad things get, at least they aren’t as bad as they were. It’s one of my favorite lore bits in all of star wars and makes everything feel so much more real.

Aliens- I love how all of the books get to play more with Alien characters. Has is one and it’s fun. The opening of the book is the Erso’s imprisoned on an alien world but kinda being welcomed into the culture at the same time and it’s fascinating. Detail is given to their architecture, customs, celebrations and so on and I am just a sucker for all of that. Galen has an old University friend whose a Mirialan whom I love. She’s a professor and Idk why but I just really liked her. More of this in star wars please, like for the love of god, some of the canon stuff is making me wonder why we even have aliens in this universe if they’re just gonna be set dressing. 

Construction of a Battle Station- In a book about the death star you’d expect a lot to be told about how it was made and the book delivers. I for one loved the detail ha, as it’s gone into how it was built and by who. Design choices and setbacks which itself were my fav parts of this. The setbacks really humanize the story and play into the ruthlessness of the empire. Experimentation with a crystal destroys a city? Blame it on a reactor leak. A group of scientists have outlived their use? Use them as practice for the laser. In fact this becomes a detective part of the story. A brilliant detail to me was that there were several cells of scientists working on the death star, each with their own focus. Shielding, gravity, containment, the weapon itself. All were under different code names and all were working on the same thing and most didn’t know it. So as scientist friends of the Erso’s start disappearing and Lyra starts putting things together, it’s a really tense situation to follow.

Baby Jyn- Baby Jyn is super adorable. It’s weird because with this book and Jyn’s own Rebel Rising, we pretty much know her whole life from cradle to Scarif. Which is a little sad. Regardless, her addition helps to flesh her out and makes that ending gut punch hit harder.

Playground- There’s a star wars playground in this. Like with kids and everything. There’s something called a grav slide and they don’t explain it but I want it. 

Saw- Saw is in this and it’s interesting to see his journey from clone wars to what we see him become in Rogue one.

Geology- Alright I’m a super nerd but there’s a part where Lyra and Jyn go off to survey a planet looking for crystals and idk I just found that super interesting.

Geonosians- Are used for construction of the death star and it was interesting to see how they switched sides. We also get some insight into their culture and methods. Like apparently when working on a project it’s totally normal for them to just start killing each other sometimes which is rad ha.

Jedi- It’s an interesting perspective this book gives because the Jedi are lost pretty quickly and so the outlook on them is negative in universe with everyone all “those traitors rargh!” with Lyra as the voice of that can’t be true. She has a reverence for the force I find super interesting and it plays into her hippieish. She’s very spiritual and used to spend time in the Jedi gardens which I didn’t even know was a thing. I love seeing how normies interact with the force and how it can still play a role in their lives. 

That’s all I got at the moment! If it’s not clear, I really loved this book. It was written by James Luceno who wrote motherfucking Darth Plagueis from legends otherwise known as the best star wars book ever. He has such an amazing talent for linking the universe together in a way that makes it feel alive and there’s no better world builder in the game. I’m a sucker for that so I just had a wonderful time and read it pretty non stop. I’d place it fairly high in my list of canon books, so if all this sounds interesting, give it a read! It adds to Rogue One while also telling it’s own very compelling story with some amazing characters. That’s it from me ha! May the force of others be with you!

[bringmoreknives]

the evil dead, saw, and suspiria :))

the evil dead: do u have any weird/obscure interests?

well i’m a linguistics major which i think counts as pretty obscure...... i’m especially interested in accents and slang so never ever mention a specific slang term to me or i won’t shut up about it and i’ll ask you questions about your regional dialect and you’ll learn i’m a nerd. outside of that i’m really into religious lore and mysticism, i don’t think this is exactly a surprise to anyone jdfhdajfhadjhf

saw: give a controversial opinion >:3

okay my mcr album order. revenge > dd > tbp > bullets. i’m gonna get hate for this

suspiria: what’s ur favorite book?

i honestly don’t read all that much anymore which i know is sad and pathetic... i think it would probably have to be carry on by rainbow rowell, very basic sry, but i also really liked reading the second sex (however it’s not my ~favorite~ bc like. i feel like that’s different idk)

//send me horror movie asks!

[eggnogeggnogeggnogegnogeggnogyum]

comprehensive (for now) guide to what podcast i'm talking about now: -bionic/bonanza: matt alexander and myke hurley; fucking bullshit -the history of rome: mike duncan; you can guess -limetown: over(?) fiction show -tanis: nic silver, mk; kind of Lovecraftian horror? fiction; bi weekly in seasons -the black tapes podcast: alex reagan, richard strand, nic silver; paranormal fiction; bi-weekly in a season -alice isn't dead: Lovecraftian horror fiction; bi-weekly in a season -b-sides: myke hurley's network (relay fm)'s place to put stuff from before or after shows -after dark: 5by5 (the former podcast network that isn't super popular anymore)'s equivalent -bonus track: the incomparable(a much more culture-focused compared to the other two's tech focus)'s equivalent -clockwise: show formerly with jason snell and dan moren but jason left to do the next one and now there's mikah sargent; 30 minutes of pretty structured tech discussion; relay; weekly -download: jason's new show, clockwise with no time constraints and only one host -cortex: cgp grey and myke hurley; about work but i just like the people; relay; bi-weekly -dear hank and john: hank and john green; they basically answer questions but not like an ama, it's like. a less jokey mbmbam and with hosts i like better?; weekly -fusion: relay fm members show, once a month, always has stephen hackett otherwise always different -hello internet: cgp grey and brady haran; about whatever they want but full of inside jokes; typically every two to three weeks -ink still wet: a fan-written fiction show i really liked but hasn't had an episode in over a year so probably cancelled -king falls am: fiction; sammy stevens and ben arnold; started as a night vale clone but developed a nice style of its own; bi-weekly -lore: aaron mahnke; real life horror-y events; bi-weekly i think? maybe weekly; getting a tv show soon -lost in the shuffle: nintendette's podcast; i think she said bi-weekly? -mabel: horror-y fiction i guess? mabel and anna -mystery show: really good show but hasn't had an episode in two years despite constant promises; i am angry about this -revolutions: mike duncan; revolutions in history -robot or not: jason snell and john siracusa; monthly or so now?; complicated description for a very short, funny, and simple show -subvercity transmit: GAAAYYY; not actually very good if i'm honest with mysely; a.m. onymous -the history of byzantium: weekly-ish; frustrating -the incomparable game show: really funny; they basically play games; varying hosts; monthly-ish -total party kill: d&d; bi-weekly in seasons; always has jason snell, tony sindelar, and steve lutz, typically has erika ensign, dan moren, scott mcnulty, and a few others -starship iris: gay sci-fi -top four: top four lists of stuff; tiff and marco arment -ungeniused: myke hurley and stephen hackett; weird wikipedia articles; bi-weekly -you know damn well what night vale is but it's bi-weekly jsyk -analogue: myke hurley and casey liss; about feelings and stuff; bi-weekly -cmd+space/inquisitive: myke hurley interview shows; over now -the prompt/connected: myke hurley, stephen hackett, and federico vitticci apple shows; connected weekly, the prompt over; i listen mainly bc i like the people but it's not a bad idea to keep an eye on the distinguished competition -virtual/remaster: myke hurley, federico viticci, and in remaster, shahid kamal ahmad; about games; virtual over, remaster i think weekly -women of marvel and this week in marvel: marvel interview shows; i listen when someone i like is there but i don't really like the hosts of either show -defocused: JOE STEEL (actually named joe rosensteel) and dan sturm; about whatever they want but typically there's a movie review; weekly i'm pretty sure greater boston: gay realistic fiction -harmontown: dan harmon's, the creator of community as well as rick and morty, podcast about himself and his depression and stuff but it is funny -hello from the magic tavern: fantasy podcast in the style of an interview show -homecoming: fiction show about the treatment of iraq/Afghanistan veterans -hypercritical: john siracusa and dan benjamin; older tech show, established a lot of genre conventions, sometimes regarded as the best podcast ever, almost certainly the most influential -the incomparable: panel show about various fiction stuff -incomparable radio theater: parody of old radio akin to the thrilling adventure hour but with segments i like less and actors i like more -thrilling adventure hour: old radio parody; has assorted panels, i'm likely to only mention sparks nevada and beyond belief -isometric/disruption: georgia dow, brianna wu, steve lubitz, and until the last few episodes of isometric, maddy myers; after that and into disruption, mikah sargent; frankly idk if i'm gonna listen to disruption bc mikah is okay but maddy is by far my favorite isometric host -jordan jesse go: jesse thorn and jordan morris; really long-running comedy show that if i decide to listen to will take me several months -liftoff: stephen hackett and jason snell; about space; bi-weekly; relay -material: andy ihnatko, yasmine evjen, and russell ivanovic; weekly, about google and android; relay -mixed feelings: quinn rose and gillian parker; about news and politics and pop culture; weekly -my brother my brother and me: still debating about whether to listen but it's there -myke at the movies: myke hurley movie review -neutral/accidental tech podcast: marco arment, casey liss, and john siracusa; neutral is over but about cars, atp is still going and about tech; i think atp is weekly? -reconcilable differences: merlin mann and john siracusa; pretty much about whatever they want -rocket: brianna wu, simone de rochefort, and christina warren; about pop culture and stuff -roderick on the line: merlin mann and john roderick; a funny phone call between them basically -s-town: serial spinoff about a small town in Alabama -serial: you know what it is i'm sure -the history of english: what it says on the tin -the hitchhiker's guide: radio version of the books, came before the books -the once and future nerd: TERRIBLE title for a good fantasy show -the pen addict: myke's pen show -the penumbra podcast: gay anthology show w a terrible intro -upgrade: myke hurley and jason snell; somewhere in between analogue and a typical tech show -we're alive: you know -wolf 359: back in my feed -you look nice today: merlin mann the trojan man, scott simpson, and adam something; comedy, releases every now and then but essentially over