#(i can't gif this season yet so sadly this will have to do)

[endless-ineffabilities]

chemical override (2)

Ewan Mitchell x actress!reader

a/n : aaand I just couldn't let this storyline go. Typical. Best to read part one before this one :)

series masterlist ▪︎ main masterlist

The reader and Ewan have gotten a lot closer since the press tour for season two, but neither one has made a move. The reader is spotted with another costar, giving rise to rumours of romance.

The press tour came and went like a fever dream. From Paris to New York to London, everyone had been highly anticipating your upcoming show.

Albeit you had a minor role, it all seemed like everything you could ever wish for.

A blossoming career. Lifelong friends made from your peers. The overwhelming support from audiences.

Only two episodes have since been released to the public, and already your character has become a fan-favourite.

Sadly, you and Ewan only had that one press day together, after which you were paired with other cast members. That didn't stop the onslaught of comments under your interviews with him, fans stating how good you looked together. Speculating whether there was something going on between you two.

You are good friends, but that's all.

He calls you often, mostly in the evenings after you're both finished with work. He sticks close to you during premiere after-parties. Now and again, you would catch him looking at you from across the room.

But... well... that's all there is to that.

Maybe he's just being nice. Maybe he only sees you as a good friend, and this is just how he is. With his effortless charm and cheeky remarks that can be mistaken as flirting, you think that maybe you're reading too much into it all.

"Ewan likes you, you know," Phia looks at you over her shoulder, as she does her makeup in front of your dresser.

The cast is having a private get-together in Fabien's apartment for a night, and yourself and Phia decide to prep together, her own place only being five minutes away from yours.

"He's just being nice," you shake your head at her observation, as you sift through your closet looking for a top.

"He's not that nice to everyone," Phia laughs. "Trust me, that lad fancies you and it's plain as day. Ask anyone, I mean, Tom even pointed it out the other day."

"And Ewan was there with you guys?"

"Uh-huh," Phia swivels her chair around, all done, nodding at you, "Poor sod just about turned red as a beet."

"What did he say?" you ask, not even bothering to hide your curiosity. Phia's got your back, after all.

"Well..." Phia glanced away, weighing just how much she is at liberty to say. Ewan's her friend just as much as you are, and she doesn't know how deep she can meddle in this.

"How bad is it?"

"Nothing bad, promise," Phia walks over, then takes over the task of sorting through your closet, "He likes you. A lot. But it seems like he's apprehensive about jumping into a relationship right now."

You plop down on your bed in a huff, "I guess that makes sense."

"Chin up, darling," Phia turns around, arms folded behind her, concealing her chosen top for you. "You're both rising stars, with great careers ahead of you. If you're going to commit to each other, you're gonna have to do it right."

You smile, because you can't help it, the high from landing your dream career not yet subsiding.

"And," Phia continues, "even if he's too chicken to make a move, that doesn't mean you can't torture him with this." She grins, presenting a green satin top, the material weightless and shimmering.

"This? Are you sure?" It was definitely revealing, and it would have your back exposed, only tied together by two strings.

"Ewan loves green," she hands it to you, and you hold it up with concern etched in your features.

"I guess I could wear this," you mumble.

"Oh, you will wear it," Phia smirks, pushing you over to your bathroom so you can get changed.

Already wearing your trusty pair of bootcut jeans, you shimmy into the slinky top, calling out to Phia so she can assist with securing the strings at your back.

"You look absolutely gorgeous," she beams at you in your bathroom mirror. "Ewan is going to melt at the sight of you, doll."

"Huh," you say, checking yourself out in the reflection. "Okay then, I think we're ready - "

Your phone rings, cutting you off. Phia beats you to it, and her face is scandalous when she raises your phone up like it's precious evidence.

Ewan's name flashes bright on the screen.

"Oh, look who it is!" Phia practically sings, "Lover boy."

"Give me that," you demand, reaching for your phone, but Phia quickly sidesteps you and presses the screen to answer the call.

You gasp, and the both of you struggle to keep down an incoming fit of giggles. Phia then clicks on the speaker mode, and Ewan can be heard saying your name, his tone a bit confused.

"Are you there?" Ewan asks.

"Yeah, I'm here," you take the phone, waving to Phia so she doesn't make a fuss.

"Hmm," he says. "I hope I'll be seeing you tonight. The party won't be as good without you."

"Well, Phia and I just finished getting ready," you glance at her, and she makes a kissy face at you.

"Hello, Mr. Whipped," she playfully cuts in with this greeting, effectively letting Ewan know he's on speaker.

You hear Ewan snort on the other end, before he says, "Hello to you too, Phi."

"We should be heading out in 15 minutes, and we'll be there on time," you let him know.

"Okay, I suppose I'll see you guys there," he replies.

"Okay." A beat of silence passes, and Phia just shrugs at you.

"I, uh - " he finally speaks up again, but hesitates.

"Yeah?"

He clears his throat, having decided on saying, "Nevermind. See you soon, darling."

The line cuts off. You slowly let your hand fall to the side, sighing at how it abruptly ended. Shaking off your worries, you look at Phia once more, and she already has her line all prepared. "See you soon, darling," she recites in a low voice, imitating Ewan.

"Oh, shush," you shove her playfully, and she shoves you right back.

"I can't wait to see you, darling," she continues teasing you, laughing, and you can't help but blush and smile, finding her endearing.

"Well, let's go," she says, picking up her things, "your darling boy of Derby awaits."

▪︎ ▪︎ ▪︎ ▪︎ ▪︎ ▪︎ ▪︎

Fabien greets you at the door with that perfect smile of his, arms outstretched to pull you and Phia into a hug.

"Welcome, welcome," he greets, leading you into his apartment, where most of the cast is already assembled, including Ewan.

You happily exchange pleasantries with everyone. Chatting with Emma and Olivia. Profusely thanking Matt when he gushes over your outfit. Catching up with Harry and Bethany. All the while sensing that Ewan watches you from somewhere in the room.

You're eventually directed by Tom to the corner table where Ewan and Phia share a loveseat, drinks in hand.

"I'll get you a drink," Tom kindly declares, heading to the kitchen.

"Thanks, Tom," you say. You sit next to Phia, leaving her between yourself and Ewan. You finally say to him, "Hey, you. How are you doing? Got here early?"

Ewan's jaw clenches and loosens, and you catch his eyes quickly drift down to rake over your figure. When he meets your eyes again, his pupils are considerably dilated.

The boy just shamelessly checked you out.

"Ewan," you hear Phia say, elbowing Ewan from beside him. "She just asked you a question, be polite." She wags her eyebrows at you, mouthing the words lover boy.

Ewan hears that, astute as he is, and it snaps him out of whatever haze he seemed to be stuck in.

He shakes his head at himself, offering a smile to you. "I got here just before you guys," he answers. His voice lowers when he adds, "You look really good, darling."

You smile in return. "Thanks. So do you."

Phia beams at the exchange, then makes some excuse of having to catch up with the others. The look she gives you before sliding off the seat reveals that she just wanted to give her two lovebirds some privacy.

"So," Ewan inches closer to you, his arm outstretched on the back of the seat, "how did the script turn out?"

"It was better than expected," you say. He refers to a script you told him about a week ago, for a potential project which will shoot in Atlanta in the fall. "I'm supposed to meet with the director pretty soon to discuss it further, but I think it might be the right fit."

"That's amazing," he expresses sincerely. "Rian Johnson's a brilliant director and they would be lucky to have you as their lead."

"Thanks, Ewan! Yeah, I'm really excited for it, it's a lot different from House of the Dragon, but I'm all in for the challenge, you know."

"Is it a drama film, or thriller, or - "

"Oh, it's a rom-com, actually."

"Oh," he nods, leaning back a little, like that needed a bit of processing. "And you'll have a romantic co-lead..."

"That's right, and - " you confirm.

He smirks, like he just thought of something amusing. "Well, maybe I could - "

But you finish your statement then, " - I think Jacob Elordi has just been selected as my partner in the film."

His face scrunches in apparent distaste, "Has he now?"

"Mhmm." You note the switches in his expression, how his face fell when you mentioned your upcoming co-star. He can't have something against Jacob; they already did a film together and it seemed like it went well on set.

That thing nags at you, that little spring of vanity and desire creating warmth in your stomach. That Ewan might be jealous.

Which is ridiculous, given your shared line of work. Besides, you were not together. What could he possibly be jealous over?

"You've worked with him, right? What's he like?" you continue the topic, keeping watch for the minutiae of his reactions.

"He's... he's a good actor, I guess. Dedicated and all that. Pleasant on set." His answer is curt, not giving away any details, tone flat like he's disinterested.

"Riiight," you nod slowly, smiling impishly at him to get him to lighten up, "I'm sure he'll be just as pleasant on our set then. Good to know."

He catches the look you're giving him, causing the corner of his lips to pull in a soft crooked smile. "Hmm, be that as it may... I think I'll do a much better job as your love interest, don't you?"

"Oh, will you now?" you lean forward, and he does the same.

"Yeah, didn't you hear?" he whispers conspiratorially, like there's a secret to be shared. "According to the internet, we have a lot of chemistry. Practically oozing with it, based on some comments I read."

"You've been lurking on comments? You? The last crusader against all social media?" you joke, fully knowing that he keeps a few shadow accounts just to keep up with how his work is being received by the public.

"Sure," he shrugs his shouders dramatically, " that, and also to stalk your page, of course."

"Oh, of course," you quip, "I wouldn't expect anything less."

You share another laugh, feeling light all over, and even lighter when his fingertips brush against your arm for a few seconds. Goosebumps erupt on your skin, and you sneakily rub your arms to cover the effect he had on you.

Tom reappears from the side, handing you a drink as promised, "What are you kids giggling about over here?"

"Nothing," you share, "just that Ewan is planning to join Instagram."

"A damn miracle, that!" Tom exclaims, lightly punching Ewan in the shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah," Ewan looks at you warmly, playing along, "you can be in charge of keeping my account running."

"Tough job. All those fan messages I'll have to answer."

"Yeah, you'll have to quit your day job," Tom adds jokingly. "It was fun while it lasted. The industry will miss you."

You feel a pressure by your shoulders, and notice that it's Ewan's arm snug behind you on the seat. In the midst of conversation, he must have drawn even closer. You glance down briefly and see his knees touching yours.

You nervously take a huge gulp of your drink. There is no hiding the effect he has on you now.

"Don't you two look cute?" Tom comments, then he stands right in front of the loveseat and puts his phone up. Before you can say anything, a clicking sound makes it clear that he has taken a photo of you and Ewan.

"Awww, I ship it," Tom gushes afterward as he looks at the photo. He then reaches over and passes his phone to you.

The image betrays what the both of you are probably struggling to hide - it's there, clear as day. The attraction, the tension, the chemistry. Ewan practically has his arm around you, looking at you intensely with the inscrutable spark in his eyes. His teeth lightly clamping down on his lip in desire.

There's a subtle scrunch between your eyebrows as you return Ewan's look, a result of trying to maintain composure when he is so close. But your posture is relaxed, almost cozying right up against him, showing just how comfortable you feel around him.

As Tom just said, you ship it.

If only.

▪︎ ▪︎ ▪︎ ▪︎ ▪︎ ▪︎ ▪︎

Two weeks after the party at Fabien's, the main cast members of House of the Dragon are engaged in an additional round of promo work. Season two is at its peak, and the media is just clamoring to get more from the cast.

Some are booked for photoshoots, others for interviews.

While a minor character in the show, they also wanted you to take part in engaging with the press, but you are already busy with your upcoming film with Jacob. You're currently out in LA, doing rehearsals in preparation for the actual shoot.

Ewan is yet again lounging in a hotel suite, about to do an interview with Vanity Fair.

He sends you a text, in response to your complaint about a difficult scene.

You had shared, It's a pretty dramatic scene. What if I can't cry on command?

He easily texts back, You can do it, darling. Trust me, you're one of the most talented young actors I know.

- Thanks, Ewan. Good luck with your interview!

- Thank you, good luck with rehearsal. I miss --

Ewan pauses typing. I miss you, he aches to send. He does miss you so much. Why can't he just commit to it?

He ends up sending, I'll see you soon, in its place.

He knows he wants to do everything with you. Take you out on dates. Sweep you off your feet. Travel to wherever you will be filming just to see you. Confess how much he wants you.

Why can't he? It's terrifying to him, being with someone, in danger of falling in love - truly falling in love - with a fellow actor, and that relationship exposed to much public scrutiny.

He's always been a private person, so will he be able to handle all of that? Acting is his first love, and he's devoted to the craft. If he succumbs to his desire for you, will that cause him to go off track?

What if the relationship is not well-received? He is aware of how passionate fans can be. What if they cruelly decide to make you the object of their ire as a result? He can't possibly put you through that.

But... but fuck it.

The Aemond in him turns proud and defiant. Why can't he? Why shouldn't he?

He types another message in a second, then clicks send.

And I miss you.

His publicist walks over to him, giving him a few last-minute instructions. In a few minutes, the room is all composed and the interview is ready to begin.

The line of questioning has almost become routine-like for him, a far cry from when he first started giving shorter interviews for previous projects.

The answers flow from him smoothly, stemming from his care for Aemond and the show.

Near the end of the interview, he is asked about the remaining normalcy of his life. Surely it has all changed ever since he landed the show?

"Well, I try to go back to my hometown as much as possible. Just, you know, spending time where I grew up really helps maintain a sense of normal, for me," he responds. "It keeps my feet planted on the ground, that is, when I'm not on dragonback flying high up in the clouds."

The interviewer promptly laughs at his last remark, then asks, "What's next for you? Your fans are just eagerly awaiting your next project. Maybe a film like your new costar? Everyone is excited for her film with Jacob Elordi."

Ewan can't hide the way he perks up at the mention of you, never mind how Jacob is included too. "Ah, yes, well there are some things down the line for me. More than anything, I want to choose a project that I am passionate about, with a story and a character that is rich and complex. Whichever that is, I guess you'll find out soon!"

"Yes, yes, we will!"

"And about her project, I mean, I'm just so proud of her. We've become really close and I think she's a fantastic actress and person. She's going to smash it in this film, that's for sure."

The interviewer nods enthusiastically, smirking as he adds, "Apparently a bit of romance on the cards for her as well!"

"You mean in the movie?" Ewan replies, half-smiling in confusion. But he spies his publicist gesturing to the interviewer from behind the camera, a signal that private affairs are off-limits.

After a final question, the interview wraps up.

His publicist grumbles to him afterward, as they prepare to leave the room. "It was clear that no private questions are allowed. Sorry about that, Ewan."

"It's alright, that was... well, what was he on about? Did he mean romance between the two of us?"

"I believe he's talking about Jacob and her. They were spotted out in LA today. The interviewer probably just wanted you to spill some dirt on your costar."

Ewan frowns, "What do mean they were spotted?"

His publicist appears surprised at his question, and his obvious interest. "They've been papped walking arm in arm in LA. Seemed pretty close, not that it's any of that interviewer's business."

As they walk out of the hotel, Ewan can't help but do an immediate Google search of your name, and sure enough, the headlines about your walk with Jacob are abound.

He can't pinpoint how he feels as he sees the photos, the statuesque Jacob with his arm around you as you beam up at him. He notices that his grip on his phone has tightened, so he turns it off quickly and shoves it in his pocket.

Whatever this is, and how it makes him feel, he doesn't like it. He doesn't like it one bit.

His phone vibrates from his pocket, but he ignores it.

So he doesn't yet see your reply.

I miss you too.

💌 next chapter

Ewaaaan! Make a move, my guy!

As much as we'd like to see them make declarations of love or get into the passion quick, I wanted to make it as realistic as possible. How would two young actors begin dating? Reader, kudos to you for keeping it cool as a cucumber thus far - it's up to Ewan to make the big move.

Part three may be the last. What'll they be? Just friends? PR relationship? Notorious fling? Or new celebrity power couple?

MASSIVE thanks for all the lovely feedback for part one! 💙

Update: if you wish to be tagged in part three, let me know in the comments 💌

[galvanizedfriend]

HIII if you don’t mind sharing, what are your fav klaroline fics? New and old, I’m in need of new reads 🙏

I'm probably not the best person to be doing new fic recs. 🥲 I have sadly not been reading that much Klaroline myself these days. When I do read fic, it's for other stuff. So my recs are either old or new-ish. 😂 But hopefully you can find something to your liking that haven't read yet here.

Buckle up because I took my sweet time with this list, nonnie.

. Inertia Overcome by @avari20

The first KC fanfic I remember reading the reason why I finally got pulled into the fandom after years of watching TVD as a reasonable spectator (so rly, if you guys can't stand to see me around anymore after all this time, it's this fic's fault for being so good). Honestly one of this fandom's statement works. If you haven't read it yet, please do.

. Timeless by @marvelouskatie

Same as the above. One of the most iconic KC fics of all time imho. The canon AU to end all canon AU. When I first decided to come out of the shadows and create a tumblr and actually start interacting with folks, this was the first fic that was recced to me. I was very grateful then, and now I'm here to pass this knowledge on.

. Picturesque by @supernutellastuff

Honestly of the sweetest, most heartwarming fics I've ever read! It's a human AU that's a How I Met Your Mother sort of adaptation, and honestly the first time I've ever enjoyed HIMYM. I love a good ensemble fic and this is just it! Supernutella is so talented.

. Quiet Light by @definedareasofuncertainty

This fic was WRITTEN FOR ME because of how much I pestered my friend Luiza about Carolijah and this will forever feel like a trophy to my heart. 🥰 It made me feel ALL THE FEELINGS. I hated Caroline, I loved Caroline, I loved my baby Elijah, I hated him, I also hated Klaus (he's such a fucking asshole omfg), but then the end was just DHAGHDDASAS!! You think you're in for a certain kind of story and it turns out to be so much more. It is, deep down, about the brothers, how selfish they are, how they can hurt each other more than anyone, but how they love one another above anything else, even when they want to kill each other (and fall in love with their brother's girl!!!). It's beautiful, like everything Luiza writes, and it genuinely made me cry.

. long limbs and frozen swim by @definedareasofuncertainty

I saw a discussion the other day about how whoever wrote this fic JUST GOT IT, and I have to say I completely agree with the person who made that comment. Luiza just NAILS Caroline's grief and loneliness after her mother's death, how isolating and gut-wrenching it is. Klaus being the person who finds her, who knows exactly what to say without her ever having to spell it out, the one who can truly see her, is so honest too. This fic is sensitive and absolutely beautiful. Luiza's writing is perfection and this is for sure one of my all-time favorites.

. Whisper to me, Help me remember by @lalainajanes

This story reimagines the plot with the "villains" of TO S3 in a way that proves my point that the premise of that season was good, but execution was absolute crap. All of the potential the De Martels had to be incredible antagonists was completely destroyed at the hands of the show writers - but explored to perfection by Laine's much more capable hands. Klaus is freed after 10 years in captivity to find that Caroline had been working with Tristan this whole time in order to take him down - except something is not quite right about that. While you're at it, please read all of Laine's fics! It's a delight.

. Into the Woods by @jinxedwood

I wept when I read this because it's the post-TO canon fic I didn't even know I needed. Caroline's search for a way to stop her twins' merger ends up leading her to someone who's been watching over her on the Other Side. 😭 I thought I'd always rather live in denial when it came to how TO ended, but this fic made my heart so full! Also, jinxedwood's use of fae mythology here was incredible.

. All I Need by @euvixen

This story is HOT. It taught me things about the werewolf AU universe I was not prepared to learn, but I am a much happier person after reading it. It's a canon mates AU that will leave you 🥵🥵🥵🥵 I speak as though the story was merely about the smut, but it's actually much more than that. A TVD S3 reimagine of sorts that is incredibly satisfying. That's my favorite season of TVD, but this is still even better.

. the birth and death of the day by @little-miss-sunny-daisy

Anyone who's known me for a some time knows how this fic was my entire personality for a while there. I'm obsessed with Kelly's writing, and I have this fic on a freaking pedestal. I first started reading it when it was on a six years hiatus, and I was *so* into it I didn't even bother me that it might never get updated because it was so good I was just happy I'd found it. But then my silly comments inspired Kelly to come back to it, finish it, and it has honestly been my greatest accomplishment as a part of this fandom because this is a masterpiece. It's a TVD/Supernatural crossover where Caroline is a step-sister to the Superbros. It's truly, truly epic, with beautiful writing. This could genuinely be a show. It's amazing, just read it.

. this is a harvest by @highgaarden

This, right here, is the perfect Klaroline-within-canon story. This is the story that put my revolt to rest and gave my spirit some much deserved peace where those two are concerned. This is exactly what canon should've been like. I'm not even joking, this is IT. If you'd asked me what I thought the perfect Klaroline development should be like I probably would've said something very vague because I couldn’t explain it, I’m not that great or creative a writer, but now I can just show you this story and let you bask in the amazingness of a fantastic read that will not only keep you thoroughly entertained, but will also be the answer to all the questions you didn't even know you had.

. Paradise Lost by Borzoi

When i grow up, I want to learn how to write like Borzoi. All of their fics are incredible novella-like reads. It's addictive. And this is probably my favorite (it varies though, sometimes I'm in a Parisian Deal era). What happens after Klaus and Caroline sleep together in 5x11, and how they eventually find their way back to each other. It's just one of those stories that you can't stop reading after you start. It's so rich, so deep, so perfectly IC. One of those fics to end all fics.

. The Stubborn Grace of Being Loved Regardless by @helpless-in-sleep One of the modern day classics, if you will. This fic is such a stunning, vivid and delicate picture of Caroline's mind as she was dealing with the consequences of the abuse she suffered at the hands of Damon. She's still human, but she's probably more IC than we've seen her ever on the show when it comes to this. The bond she forms with Klaus is truly incredible too, and speaks a lot of how the two of them really do have a lot in common (even with Caroline still as a human), but it's really the Caroline study part of the story that touches me. The writing is absolutely beautiful as well.

. it takes a while to settle down by theviolinist

This story is a punch to your stomach, but it is PERFECTION in 8k words. It's hot, it's bittersweet, it's SO in character and, in my head, I kinda like to pretend that this is what happened before Caroline married Stefan. lol

. Wanderlust by @bellemorte180 Anybody who was a part of fandom around the time this story was being published can tell you how much of an EVENT it was. There were discussion groups about the mystery. It was so entertaining. Erica's attention to detail and how she wove the little clues throughout the chapters made this a genuine thriller. I particularly some of the side-characters here. It's honestly another fandom staple I think everyone should read.

--

In terms of newer fics that I can rec you, I have two that are on my TBR. One of them is a WIP that I've been slowly going through, and the other one I know was recently finished.

. make them bow by @stars-and-darkness

This was recced to me by two friends recently and I started reading it a while back and thought it was incredible! I have sadly been awful with keeping up with stuff, but just based on the raving reviews and the five chapters I read, I fully believe it to be just as awesome as it seems to be. The writing was so good, and I was just in love with Klaus' voice in this story. It was so reminescent of early-days TVD Klaus, which is by far my favorite Klaus of all. Sexy and dangerous and so smooth. I loved it! Need to get back to it.

. Wolf Club by @Radioactive79

Listen, if you like kid fics, this is absolutely for you. The whole story is narrated by an eight-year-old OC, the daughter of Ray Sutton, the first werewolf Klaus kills when he's trying to start his mass-production of hybrids. She's a little wolf herself, and a while little thing who was subjected to her fair share of child trauma. Klaus has no idea what to do with her, but ends up taking her with him as continues on his journey, and ends up forging a bond with the little girl. I cannot tell you how delicious this story is. It has Klaroline, yes, but for me the little girl is the absolute star of the company. I usually hate OCs, especially children, in fics, but this one is AMAZING. Seriously. The way this story is written is glorious. I can't recommend it enough.

[fandomnerd9602]

Admission

Novitiate!Wanda x Male Reader

For @lifespectator and @aloneodi

It had to be some Divine conspiracy. The way that you and novitiate Wanda happened to step out of that confessional booth at the same time. It was as if the Lord Himself was pulling the strings to bring the two of you together.

“Hey” you manage to speak.

“Hello” she smiles back.

How could it be? That she fell for you as much as you had fallen for her. And yet something about it felt so forbidden. True she had not taken her vows yet but you still felt that she might as well have.

“were you in that confessional booth?” Wanda asks, a little blush making its way across her angelic features.

“I-I was filling in for Father Wong” you stammer trying to somehow explain the whole thing. “It’s not like I was trying to lure you away from your vows or anything like that” you stammer nervously.

“ is it really that strange?” Wanda takes a step towards you, “ that I fell for you and you for me?”

“How could I not?” You breath out.

She takes your hand. “Due to my vows, the only kiss I can settle for is this”

She leans the palm of her hand against yours. A holy kiss.

“If that’s the only kiss we can have, then I count it a blessing” you whisper.

“Good day, Y/N” Wanda sadly whispers as she turns to leave.

“Good day…sister Wanda” you let out a sad, miserable breath.

Wanda found herself separating from you. Different tasks taking her off in different directions. Time that she was getting further away from you, and yet I just made her heart grow all the more fonder for you. She couldn’t deal with it, the feeling of being so far away from you was too much for her to bear on some days.

If only she could realize how painful it was for you too. You found yourself your mind drifting away from your own studies.

You found yourself walking towards Wong’s office. He was rather happy to see his favorite apprentice.

“Y/N!” He laughs as he pulls you into a fatherly hug, “what brings you by this morning?”

“I have to leave Father Wong” you whisper.

“Why? Do you feel the Lord calling you elsewhere?”

“ I feel Him calling me towards someone” you admit. “I’ve fallen in love with sister Wanda.”

Wong leans back in his seat, “Wanda Maximoff?”

You nod, a feeling of guilt passing over you. Your mentor simply removes his glasses and smiles.

"I knew there was something between you two" he lets out a soothing chuckle.

"Wait what?"

"You know the Scriptures never say one has to be celibate for all your life? I don't know how that even got started"

"So it's not wrong to love Wanda?"

"No" he affirms you, "if anything I think it's why the Creator told me to put you two together. You make quite the duo. I've never seen the sunday school more joyful than when you and Wanda are together with those kids."

Wong pulls a paper off his desk, "for some reason, His Excellency the Pope Stephen sent me this email today. Said I should be the first to know"

Wong hands the paper to you which you read aloud, "this paper decrees that celibacy is meant for a season, not for life. It's no longer required for priesthood or the convent"

"Run to her, Y/N" Wong summarizes with a smile, "the parish has been thriving with you and Wanda"

"Thank you sir!" you run out of Wong's office and straight to the chapel, briefly passing Sister Natasha who gives you a knowing smirk.

You find Wanda on her knees at the altar. Even with her back to you, you can hear her tears.

"Sister Wanda?" you call out to her. Wanda gasps, immediately she bolts up.

"I-I'm no longer Sister Wanda." she admits, "I've taken a teaching job here on the parish's grounds but I cannot join the convent."

"And I can't join the priesthood... well at least originally" you walk up to her. "Wanda I love you. And I know that the Creator put us together for a reason. It's some divine conspiracy how but all I know is that I never want to part from your side"

Wanda tears up, a gentle smile forming on her face, "I don't wish to leave your side either."

She holds up her hand, wishing for a holy kiss. You clasp your hand with hers and pull her into an actual kiss. Wanda melts in your arms, holding onto you for dear life.

"Now I know that was ordained," she giggles, "because that felt heavenly"

You take her chin in your hand and kiss her again.

The gentle early morning light shines through the stained glass window and right onto you and the novitiate who stole your heart. It's as if the Creator Himself was smiling on the two of you.

[lxndonorris]

that smirk - lestappen

Charles Leclerc x Max Verstappen Theme: Smut (you've been warned) Charles is his flight to Australia, with Maxs 's Sports Illustrated with him. He can't help himself but get way too into the cover photo and needs to do something about it x Note: Hope you like it, thanks to @maxemilianverstappen for the idea :) I used a few more pics, hope its okay. word count: 2270+

After an uneventful start, the plane is now flying gently through the wide, open sky. There are barely any clouds around, and the sun is shining brightly.

Charles sits right at the window, wearing a pair of sweatpants, sneakers, and a plain white shirt. He's pretty nervous yet excited to finally have a Grand Prix in Australia again.

Thinking deeply, he imagines himself finally winning a race this season, which is overdue, which causes him to smile.

"Charles." A voice snaps him out of his daydream.

"Huh?" He flinches slightly, turning his head towards the sound. A young steward is standing right next to him, casually leaning against his seat.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to spook you." He says, blushing.

"It's fine." Charles chuckles and shakes his head.

"How can I help you?" He licks his lips.

"I just meant to tell you that it's going to be a long flight." The guy says, handing him a few magazines.

"Here. In case you feel like reading something." Charles smiles warmly and accepts the offer.

"Thank you. I totally will." They exchange a quick look and a shy smile before the steward leaves.

There are not too many people on this flight; most of them took an earlier flight, taking all the necessary steps in Melbourne before Charles's arrival. He leans back towards the window, thinking about the race again.

However, now something else is dominating his thoughts. The one and only Max Verstappen. Charles' eyes narrow, remembering the last couple of races. Sadly, he didn't have the opportunity to get a place on the podium, yet Max did.

They have a complicated relationship; in their earlier years, they didn't get along too well. Right now, Charles enjoys racing Max very much indeed. He sees the Dutchman as his strongest rival, the one to beat, the one to dominate on the track.

But there is something else amid their on-track rivalry. Charles can't help himself but be attracted to Max. He is attracted to his outstanding looks, his honest personality, and his superb ability with a race car.

Even though he is envious of the car Red Bull was able to build this season, he wishes Ferrari would finally step up, giving Charles a shot at the championship.

Sighing audibly, he leans his head back against the soft seat and turns his head toward the few people hustling around him. It's going to be a long flight, and even though daydreaming is fun, he needs to find something else to kill some time.

He then spots the pile of magazines resting on the table in front of him, shuffles through them, and looks for anything worth a look.

At first, the usual gossip pieces are nothing too interesting, but then he holds the new Sports Illustrated in his hands, and who's on the cover? Max Verstappen.

Taking a deep breath, Charles takes a closer look at the cover: A huge picture of Max with his typical yet intriguing smirk.

He lifts his chin slightly, his gaze drawn to Max's beautiful eyes and to his soft lips.

'He looks so fine.' Charles thinks to himself, and his eyes get stuck on the playful smirk.

He knows this exact smirk just too well. It's the way Max would look when he was totally in control. Every time they'd talk about Max's outstanding performance in qualifying, his race win, or simply when he would tease Charles.

He remembers the last time they met in the paddock after the race. Max told him that he should kick Ferrari's asses to get upgrades so Charles could compete with him. The smirk popped up when he leaned in closer to whisper something into his ear.

"I want to have you at the front, so I can beat you on track." He remembers the way his voice sounded so rough—just so hot—and how Max's eyes wandered down his body, seemingly undressing him with his mind before their eyes met again.

"That's much more fun." Max's breath against his neck gave him goosebumps.

Charles relives this moment—the way his body reacted to the hot breath on his skin, the way his heart started racing—imagining finally competing against Max for the win, to finally beat him again, to show him what he has to offer.

He's remembering the last time he beat him during the Austrian Grand Prix last season. Remembering how good it felt to finally be on top, but most importantly, to be in front of Max.

When he sprayed him from behind, he felt his whole body react to it. Knowing it was his rival made this even better.

At that point, he couldn't hide his excitement anymore, and a coy bulge formed inside his red racing suit—all of this felt so good, earned, and made him hard.

Charles smirks with his eyes closed and dwells in that moment for as long as possible.

He opens his eyes and notices his hand firmly rubbing his length through his red sweatpants, subconsciously. His face instantly turns bright red, and he looks around, checking if anyone caught him. No one even pays too much attention to him; all of them are quite busy themselves.

Charles' eyes wander back to the cover, and the look in Max's eyes draws him right into it again. Taking several deep breaths, he feels himself getting harder with every second, unable to keep his hand from touching himself. There is nothing to distract him from these thoughts now.

"Fuck." A low, quiet moan escapes his lips when he grabs himself firmly. There is a visible tent forming in his tight pants, his nipples are piercing through the thin fabric of his shirt, and all of his muscles are testing the limits of all of his clothes.

"Now?" He bites his lips before a louder moan leaves his mouth, and he basically jumps off the seat, the magazine firmly in his hands.

This, however, gets the attention of the steward again, so Charles uses the magazine to cover his bulge from prying eyes.

"Is everything alright?" He says, taking a closer step toward Charles, whos now blushing heavily.

"Yeaaah." His voice breaks, and he coughs, trying to cover the huskiness in his voice. "I just want to go to the bathroom." He nods and feels his face heat up rapidly.

This should work, shouldn't it?

The steward tilts his head before a polite smile forms on his lips.

"Oh, okay." He says, making some room for Charles to go through the plane. Charles makes his way through the plane and right toward the bathroom. Nervously, he passes most of the staff and his team, feeling their eyes all over him.

Do they know? They must know! His pants are barely able to hide his length at any time, but now it must be super obvious. 'Just stay calm,' he mutters under his breath once he reaches the unlocked door.

Anyway, he opens the bathroom door, rushes inside, and closes it behind him. Instantly, he leans against the cold door, letting out a low, guttural grunt.

"Why are you doing this to me?" He groans under his breath, one of his hands instantly grabbing himself again. His desire is imprinting through the pants, and touching himself makes it even worse—his member is still growing, and he feels him pulsating slowly.

Charles takes a few steps into the room, standing in front of the mirror. He's panting slightly, unable to catch his breath while feeling himself bulge harder and harder.

Leaning his head back, he holds back a moan, before looking back at the cause of this predicament, Max's cover. Breathlessly, he sits down on the toilet seat, one hand holding the magazine and the other now stroking his chest through his shirt. His muscles are so tight that his entire body is stiffening.

"This is fucking insane." He thinks, playing with his erect nipple for a second, before returning his attention back to his crotch.

"Are you going to do something about that, or are you just going to sit there?" He can hear Max's voice inside his head.

Gnashing his teeth, he grabs himself firmly once more. "Fuck off." Charles grunts, closing his eyes for just a second, trying his best to push these thoughts away, to calm down, and return to his seat.

"We both know this ain't going to work." He hears his voice again, and when he opens his eyes, he can see him standing in the corner of this room. Max is wearing that dark blue racing suit with his arms crossed in front of his chest, and the exact same smirk forms on his lips.

Charles's eyes wander all over Max's well-formed body before he turns his face away.

"What do you expect me to do?" Charles says angrily before lowering his voice when he hears someone walking around outside the room.

"There is only one way." Max shrugs, exposing his broad shoulders and chest, filling that suit completely. "Jerk off."

Charles rolls his eyes. "You'd love that." He scoffs, but when Max's eyes just wander to Charles' hand, still rubbing against his ever-growing desire, he lets out a low groan again. His body starts to heat up quickly, and he starts to sweat.

He knows Max is right; it's the only way to release this pressure slowly building up in his body.

Slightly pissed off, he lets the magazine drop to the floor, so both of his hands are free. Charles starts to stroke himself again, one hand on his chest, the other sliding inside his pants, touching himself through his briefs now.

"Very good." Max keeps smirking, raising his head to look down at Charles, who's now breathing heavily.

"Shut up." He growls, but at the same time, he cannot help himself but get even more turned on by Max's behavior.

After a few more strokes, he lets his sweat pants drop down to his ankles, exposing his length stretching his underwear.

"Nice." Max nods approvingly, but this angers Charles even more.

"Stop enjoying this." He says, a quick smile escaping his lips before his face turns hard again. This causes Max to lick his lips, still looking at Charles with that mischievous smirk across his face.

"What are you waiting for?" He hears his rough voice now echo through his mind as he grabs himself, moving his hand rhythmically.

Charles would never admit it, but he is enjoying himself as well now, and his body is giving it all away. Even though he is slightly agitated, all of him is reacting to his firm strokes, movements, and the heat all around him.

Feeling himself getting more and more into it, he gets up, uncaps the toilet seat, removes his underwear, and sits back down again. He can't stain any of his clothes, not here or now.

All of his muscles are now bulging harshly, with his chest, nipples, and abs being firm due to all this pressure. Charles keeps on stroking his chest while his other hand is moving up and down his length, edging him on and on.

"I could do that better." Max says suddenly, standing now right in front of him, his eyes locking with Charles' once he glances up.

"Want me to help?" He smirks. Holding back a deep growl, Charles licks his lips, unable to speak without moaning loudly. It feels like Max is actually in this bathroom right now. His presence, the faint scent of his cologne, and the sound of his rough voice fill the air all around him.

"I don't need your help." He grunts, but the thought of Max's hand on him intoxicates his mind.

Charles feels hands on his shoulder, on his thighs, and on his back, gently stroking him and encouraging him to keep going.

Somehow, Max knows all of his sensitive spots. He draws circles across Charles' chest, encompassing his abs and nipples with his fingertip through the shirt, before stroking his treasure trail.

"I could do it better, see?" Max's smirk grows larger as he leans in even closer.

Charles stops for a second, needing all of his strength to hold back a dozen moans and groans, trying to escape his throat.

"Like that, do you?" Max growls, his face now right in front of Charles'.

"Do it faster and harder, Charles." He demands, and Charles reacts instantly.

Many different thoughts rush through his mind. On the one hand, he feels humiliated to let Max speak to him like that; on the other hand, something inside him loves all of this.

He intensifies the grip around his member and moves it even faster.

"Al..al…almost". A rough, guttural moan escapes his throat. This causes Max to chuckle.

"Even harder, Charles." He says it breathlessly, almost moaning. Instinctively, Charles follows Max's lead and jerks off harder. He thrusts into his hand a couple of times, waves of pain and pleasure rushing through every fiber of his being.

"Fuuuck." Charles groans, and with that, his body goes stiff and rigid, the tension getting too overwhelming, right before he finally cums.

Unable to move for a second, he feels all of that pressure leave his body, and with a voiceless scream, his body slowly relaxes. Once or twice, he cums over and over again, luckily not on his clothes.

He raises his hand, stroking his own neck and running his fingers through his beard.

"Very good," Max says, but when Charles lifts his head, there is no one in sight.

He touches himself gently, slowly catching his breath, when he sees the magazine lying on the floor and that picture of Max smirking and watching him closely.

"That dumb smirk." He chuckles and cleans himself up before getting dressed again. His dick is still slightly bigger, and anyone could tell, but right now, he doesn't care anymore.

Standing in front of the mirror, he fixes his hair before looking for some deodorant lying around. Charles uses it across his whole body, trying to cover up the sweat and other scents. Satisfied, he touches himself once more, straightening his trousers, before picking up the magazine and returning to his seat.

[goldenglock-preacher]

So who, if anyone, is Grisha paired with romantically in the show? Let’s see gifs of those people!

(I don’t know character names yet I’m sorry 😭)

No worries! As you don't really know any of the characters, I will also give like a small synopsis of who they are as people and their relationship dynamic with Grisha, which, hopefully, helps!

I'll put them in order of when they start a canon romantic relationship in the show.

That's gonna be a lot of people so buckle up!

TW: Some sexual topics in general but nothing graphic

Лиля / Lilya

Actress: Анастасия Стежко / Anastasia Stezhko First Appearance: S1 E1 Relationship Start: S1 E1 Occupation: Staff in a sports betting center

This is the first established relationship we see him in. Their relationship seems to be exclusively sexual and Grisha doesn't feel moral obligation to stay loyal (Which is show with characters that just appear for Grisha to have a one night stand with and then never brought up again). Lilya obviously catches deeper feelings that Grisha just doesn't reciprocate. They break-up after Grisha has a breakdown and basically yells that he loves a different woman. There's...not much else sadly, she's pretty surfice-level and exists just to be pretty and show that Grisha is a womanizer. I still like her tho.

Кристина / Kristina

Actress: Софья Каштанова/Sofia Kashtanova First Appearance: S1 E1 Relationship Start: S1 E8 Occupation: Sex worker -> Café co-owner -> Sexologist

I love this woman so much oh my god. Leave Grisha and come with me queen I'll give you everything you want I swear I'll kill for youuuuu.

She's straight up a girlboss. Even as a sex worker, she's established to work without a "pimp" which is, apparently, rare. She's like, canonically beautiful as nearly every guy tried to hit on her or is at least staring at her when she walks into the room. Kristina, of course, pushes these advances away with unwavering confidence.

Her relationship with Grisha is basically one-sided. She has a crush on him and he only considers her a friend. They decide to try being together as something pretty drastic happens to Grisha in the last episode of season 1 and he rethinks his relationships a bit. It doesn't work out though and they stay as friends in the end.

In the context of goldenglock I headcanon that she and John would end up being besties. I can't really explain why...they're just both really confident and attentive. I can see Kristina asking John to act as her man for like a night just so that guys wouldn't bother her. Inviting John to go to spa's together and stuff. Also she will absolutely be the first person to learn about his and Grisha's relationship.

Алёна / Alyona

Actress: Татьяна Бабенкова/Tatyana Babenkova First Appearance: S1 E1 Relationship Start: S2 E8 Occupation: Sports club chain owner -> Café owner

Alyona is often described as sweet and naive which she kinda is at the start but then gets a bit more assertive as time goes by. She still stays as probably the most obviously kind character on the show though. Although they don't end up in a canon relationship for a while, she's his main love interest from the start and they're just pining for each other as she's married for the whole first season. They know each other since university and it seems like Grisha tried to get with her even back then but couldn't get anywhere. Their pining is so obvious, basically everyone around them is like "Wtf are you two doing, you're obviously in love" until they finally decide to go for it.

They have some sexual issues for a bit (Alyona described it as "it's like we're too embarrassed") and then some other drama but it gets resolved.

Grisha stays with Alyona till the end. Even once Grisha left the project, in the canon explanation for him being gone, they're still together. Also Alyona and Kristina end up being really close friends despite their start as, basically, competition for Grisha's heart. Which I think is really sweet.

I ship them so much god help me

Алиса / Alisa

Actress: Рина Гришина / Rina Grishina First Appearance: S3 E4 Relationship Start: S3 E8 Occupation: Police captain

She's quiet unique, honestly. She's his only love interest that is not as feminine as the others and is basically his co-worker. She's commanding, ruthless and knows how to use her delicate appearance to her advantage. She doesn't listen to authority and hits on Grisha openly. She's kind of his mirror, a female embodiment of what he used to be like in season 1 compared to how he "matured" in season 3, which Grisha absolutely hates at first.

Also her father is connected to Grisha's childhood trauma which brings an interesting dynamic to the table.

Their relationship doesn't really last. They fuck after Grisha and Alyona split for a bit and then Grisha regrets it immediately. Alisa kinda tries to hold onto their relationship for a bit longer but Grisha cuts her off as he still loves Alyona.

Honorable mentions:

Women that appeared for like one scene...maybe the writers didn't care about you but I do

[ben-the-hyena]

Quick little rant y'all can ignore (I just love ranting too much)

Unpopular opinion : it is NOT to be a hipster or to be like "I'M NOT LIKE OTHER GIRLS~" but very often either I will hate or just not be interested to watch at all the newest Tumblr fandom. I really feel like a Tumblrite but sometimes it feels like I just can't enjoy or be hyped by whatever the others are hyped with without doing it on purpose, as if we have nearly no common taste. I mean sure we all are unique and loving everything others we do is boring and impossible and would prove the person is shallow and can't be true, but just, absolutely nearly every big Tumblr fanfavorites annoys me

Superwholock ? Sherlock was nice but not THAT nice and the others never interested me. HH/HB ? Loathe the characters and story. Lackadaisy ? Don't understand the hype. Nimona ? Don't care. She-Ra ? Hated it. The Owl House ? Can't stand the posts on my dashboard nor the charadesigns. Centaurworld ? I know it is one of those things that look lame in the trailer but from what I got gets deeper, but I saw it being so much overhyped I can't. Green Eggs and Ham ? Ugh couldn't it have just been the old cartoon ? Arcane ? The more people said it was revolutionary the less I wanted to check it out. SU ? I used to love it but then it betrayed me with how badly written it endes up to be. SVSFOE ? Except one or 2 arcs it was not my type and the ending infuriated me. Ducktales ? Only season 1 was good to me. Miraculous Ladybug ? It broke my heart so fuck you show. Encanto ? "Narcissic families are ok and misunderstood if they are pretty". Wendell and Wild ? The demons did look interesting and I was curious for them but sadly the main character is insufferable and Idgaf she is sad she is still an asshole but gets away with it. Wednesday ? Tim Burton understood NOTHING avout the Addams Family and flanderized Wesnesday. HtTyD ? Should have been a standalone. LOK and to be fair ANYTHING coming after ATLA books comics and upcoming series included ? Burn em to the ground. Rise of the Guardians ? Seriously the animation is gorgeous but you have the blandest plot and characters ever but everybody calls it original and groundbreaking wtf ?! Arlo the gator boy/I Love Arlo ? Ew it looks ugly as fuck and I am VERY wary of titles that self congratulate (coincidently the Lou! franchise became very shitty when it was renamed into I Love Lou Very Much so it ticks me off) makes me wanna do the contrary and hate Arlo. Carmen San Diego ? Didn't care. The Cuphead Show ? Only season 1a is good 1b and 1c are shit but because "gae devil" everybody loves it holy shit the game is better. Frozen 2 ? Admit it, you liked it ONLY because you see Elsa like a lesbian and wanted to go "HAHA GET FUCKED" to Let It Go. AND DON'T GET ME STARTED ON LIVE ACTION REMAKES

Some I even actually just didn't dislike it or care at first but it was seeing all the excessive posting and love for it despite 1) not wanting to watch (I love Arlo, never I wanted to kill a gator child so much force of seeing him on my dash) and/or 2) seeing legetimate problems and flaws and yet everybody ignoring it (Encanto, I hated the end but I did like the movie itself but seeing everybody justifying the end made me loathe it) it turns into hate. But some I hate from the start but seeing everybody love it anyway makes me wonder if at that rate the problem is me and I nitpick too much or of course like everyone I just have my own tastes and what pops up on my dash is not a reflect of universal taste ?

But I often call it a curse because everybody seems to have fun and it's as if I am doomed not to like and it looks like what the audience usually loves is just not my type, which sucks because I don't have many people to vent about it, not many people to gush about the obscure things I love because I am cursed to really invest myself in old fandoms I only find about now or stuff that don't even interest much people but fit my specific niche tastes, dashboards flooded with "OMG GUYS WATCH IT IT IS *SO* IMPORTANT AND THE BEST EVER" making me want not to whereas only 3 likes on posts of franchises I love that are barely known or loved... Probably why I have so many obscure fandoms actually. I am SURE it is subconsciously why I wanted to give a chance to Elemental and Avatar 2 since nobody talked about it in good or at all here !

I am not even sure and just like me those who love these franchises and are part of these fandoms must just have their own specific intersts peaked of course and if so it is absolutely alright ! But often I see they all have a pattern and I feel like, like when I ranted in my posg that defends Elemental, that they will love it and adore it just for ONE element not matter the rest hence why they only talk about that one element that irritates me when I am flooded in posts praising it but really it is just that element. "Omg so much representation" ok cool what is the plot "it is a trans allegory" yes but more precise ? "it is so GAY (affectionate) and girl power !!!" yes but ? The characters ? "Oh the characters are minorities some are LGBT half are POC and some even have a disability and they fight heteronormativity and traditional beauty standards" ok ok I GOT it but what are they like as people !?! "there is a canon gay ship in it I love them little blorbos" I DON'T GIVE A SHIT DAMMIT WHAT IS THE PLOT AND HOW ARE THE CHARACTERS "also it has a varied cast and is made by minorities and women !" Ok bye now I won't be able to help but see it being loved only because of those and not for its story and it will make me bitter about it as if there is nothing else but that to defend because it implies the scenario itself isn't that special for people to only talk about the Christmas present package rather than the content

It is very occasional I will actually get curious because it IS my type thanks to Tumblr : WOY, Pinky and the Brain Undertale, Good Omens, TDC : AOR. It needs to strike a sort of special chord in me to go "uh !?! A modern cartoon that feels like an old cartoon with funny designs and animation and funny characters !??! Uh !?! 2 gay mice that were probably not meant to be gay but they accidentally cracked many eggs in their portrayal and to think I was not interestee when I thought Brain was bidimensional and didn't give a shit about Pinky like I thought ??! Uh !?! Fun skeletons and a macho fish woman with cute pixel style !? Uh !?! Angel and demon are friends and were on Earth for years looking for a kid !?! Uh !?! In that prequel it shows one reformed Skeksis being actually good helping Gelfling and in a relationship with his Mystic ??!" And other Tumblr favorites I loved like idk FNAF, MLP FIM, Spiderverse, Puss in Boots 2, The Bad Guys and usually in general most popular big studios block buster animated movies I loved and others did were stuff I found by myself which Tumblr just coincidently did too so it doesn't count. Some I even discover them years later when the hype died down and nobody speaks about it anymore (reinforcing my idea that IS probably wrong that they don't even really love it but just go "OO SHINY" when something is new and pretty) that I can notice and love years later or at least late a franchise, like I don't wait on purpose I just really discover it at this moment or something peaking my interest only happened recently or peaked my attention now

Those aside most of the time I will really not be interested, a third of the time because "I am told to so I don't wanna" and it has to be myself or it will feel like a chore like when I am recommended stuff IRL I will actually postpone even if if I had not been recommended I would have started watching it earlier (I heard from a friend this looks like a symptom in a type of neurodivergence but I AM NOT SURE), a third of the time it really doesn't look or sound like my type of story at all and I keep wondering why there is nothing new for me and why everybody is so hyped by it, and a third I actually give a try and I end up straight up hating it or just finding it meh and overrated. I just need to find my own fandoms myself, even if they are obscure, that spark my interest, hoping they don't become bad in the end (SU, Ducktales, the Cuphead Show, Miraculous Ladybug etc. Sigh) which happened too many times already and makes me even more wary force of experience about what is popular since even when I myself find it becomes shit people still love it. And of course they totally HAVE the right to never would I harrass and police what people have to like and dislike, but it kind of feels lonely at times and sometimes it makes me think if something is wrong with me not to enjoy what seems to be enjoyed by everyone else and if it is my fault ; and thinking that even makes me anxious and guilty feeling like I am ranting for nothing and people will think I am an attention seeker making me even more gjulty and so on which becomes a vicious circle with my anxiety

[inmyhorrorsera]

S5E9 & S5E10 thoughts

Well, I liked it!

The biggest loser here is Episode 9 because all my thoughts are so occupied by the finale that I can't say much about the previous episode which wasn't even bad. So just three quick things:

Finally I get some good fucking food (The Guide content).

"I'm… going…to kill you… Guillermo" gave me CHILLS.

Guidja real.

Now, to Episode 10:

Didn't notice the previous episode how feral Nandor was filmed, his face all darkened except for a beam of light on his furious eyes, good and classic vampire shit!

Nadja Detective Policeman visiting Guillermo in that outfit😩

Wow, Guillermo treating Derek bad after all he did for him really make the point across that he's a shitty person.

There's something so 😙👌 about Nandor going back to Panera, always love a full circle moment.

I don't care about Patton Oswald as a comedian or person due some disgusting shit he pulled years ago, so sadly I couldn't enjoy his scenes with Nandor that much. I loved that after the whole conversation he still killed him tho. I read someone in the tags paralleling this scene to Guillermo and Meg in S3E2, and I fully agree with that interpretation.

Laszlo helping Guillermo and apologizing…😭 He loves him! I would love to see more of how Laszlo feels about his "frustrations" (his innability to help Guillermo, the impotency of seeing Colin grow up and not remember him). That's something that should be explored better next season imo.

Him trying to have a serious conversation but keep getting distracted by the porn is me trying to watch this show as a dumb comedy but getting distracted by the nandermo of it all.

All the vampires visiting him with dumb excuses was so cute. I wish I never see those creatures ever again tho.

Ahhhh Nandor calling Guillermo from his mother in law mom's house was some psycho shit. Also it remind me a bit of Buffy the Vampire Slayer when Spike visits Buffy's mom just to taunt her. Imagine Nandor pulling this shit:

(Silvia immediately stakes him of course).

"My friend, Patton Oswalt, he passed away". The solemn way he says it as if he wasn't the culprit 😭.

The moment of Guillermo putting the stake on Nandor's neck was an explicit sex scene for me and for everyone with good taste.

On the opposite side, Nandor helping Guillermo with the red cape is SO SOFT, it's all about being equals this time.

The Djinn… oof… as someone who was begging for his appearance since the beginning of the season, this stunt left me cold… sorry but everything that starts with "it happened off screen" it's bad writing. It's giving "Daenerys kind of forgot…" level of bad.

Didn't like that suddenly Nandor is smarter than the others (specially if we come from an episode when Laszlo called him 'a fuckin idiot' for not getting the Guide reveal).

I already mentioned this in a post I made last night, but I'll repeat it verbatim here, because I stand by it:

I don't believe FOR A SECOND that Laszlo didn't try to feed Guillermo human blood 🤔 Remember when Nadja on s1 went on an entire mission to help Jenna to complete her transformation? (hey everybody, remember Jenna?) How Guillermo 'all my life I dreamed of being a vampire' did not know that piece of lore??

"Guillermo can't kill people" Umm whoever decided to go on this direction, I recommend them this show on FX called What we do in the shadows it's very good! (when consistent).

I…. don't trust that "Guillermo is not cut to be a vampire" stuff… sounds like retcon… BUT! I love the "Guillermo is not cut to be a vampire YET, specially if he isnt sired by Nandor" interpretation.

From the beginning I had this hunch that Guillermo's longing for a family and community (I'm not saying he dislikes his bio family, but obviously he grow up distant from them, probably for being queer and feeling like "an outsider") was a reason for being so desperate to become a vampire. Now that he has the family (bio AND chosen) and the community, it's his time to think if he STILL wants to be vampire or not (and he said at the fake ceremony that he still wants it 😌).

Lmao Guillermo's beard... that thing... didn't look like it was growing from Harvey's face.

🗣️HE 🗣️KEPT 🗣️THE 🗣️GLASSES!!!

More Derek! And with better make up than that ashy talcum powder nightmare from Episode 1!! WTF they got rid of another character of color again??!! Benedict Wong what are you doing here???!!! Yay??????

I really like that Topher is a "functional" zombie in comparison with his state in S2E1, it makes sense with the zombies we saw on the original movie.

Still weird that we end the episode and season here, with Derek happy ending?

HOT take but I like that it didn't end on a cliffhanger, considering that we don't know the state of the show post strikes yet AND after s4 I don't trust this people with cliffhangers ever again lol.

Now that the season is finished I came to realize Nadja's entire arc AGAIN was a big 'ol nothing, huh? The hex, her Antipaxos found family, the little stunt as a teacher, literal "throw at the wall and see what it sticks". I'm sorry but I'll repeat: WWDITS learn how to write women challenge.

Excited to see how Guillermo and Nandor's relationship will develop from now on, I know some people are frustrated but as someone who is used to slow burns being SLOW this is my shit. I joke a lot about the pairing but also I understand that this is the shit&farts show first, nandermo nation second (unlike some people that appears they only consume and rate media depending on how much kissy kissy is on the screen).

From 1 to 10, I'll give this season a 7. Not that good as my god tier seasons (S2 is a 9, S3 is a 10), but not so bad as S4.

What I want next season:

Guillermo NEEDS to be a Bad Bitch again: slaying vampires like the Van Helsing he is, being gay af, not being scared to sass out Nandor, etc.

Laszlo and Colin NEED to have a real talk.

Consistency.

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LEARN HOW TO WRITE FOR NADJA I'M ON MY KNEES AT THIS POINT!!!

[marshallpupfan]

Just Some Thoughts About the Third Film

As many of you know now, it was official revealed recently that PAW Patrol will get a third theatrical film. It's due to release on 2026, three years from now. Third movie, three years, and a certain spotted pup drives a vehicle with the number three. It just fits, eh?

Okay, maybe that's a stretch. As of right now, we still don't know anything about the third movie, it's plot, or which pup it will focus on. From what I've noticed, most fans are rooting for Marshall, as am I. Despite my complaints in the past, I want this to happen for a specific reason; to put Marshall back in the spotlight again, which I feel is sorely needed after the way the franchise treated him these last few years... ESPECIALLY during season 9. To see the TV series practically treat him like a side character for nearly a whole season was... annoying, to say the least.

Marshall headlining a theatrical film (and a good one, I hope) would surely mark a great turnaround for the pup and hopefully negate all of that. However, despite how much I want to see him be its main character, I must admit, I do have some reservations.

This isn't a rant, but more akin to a fan expressing some thoughts and concerns. This is, however, easily one of my longest posts yet, so if you're curious, click "Keep reading".

Whenever I look back at the first theatrical film, I have mixed feelings about the way Brunker handled Marshall. On the plus side, he had some great rescues, especially when he saved all those people on that subway. And if I have to credit the film for anything, it's that I'm grateful it allowed my favorite spotted pup to actually be a fireman and put out fires. This seems to be carrying on into the sequel, thankfully. Believe it or not, the last time the TV series allowed the pup to put out a dangerous/uncontrolled fire was, no joke, all the way back in season one. Only the theatrical films, and Rubble & Crew, interestingly, seem to let him do this anymore.

While his rescues were really cool, everything else wasn't as good, in my opinion. And one of the biggest reasons I say this has to do with how Brunker handled one particular element; Marshall's clumsiness.

You all know I love that aspect of the spotted pup... but if I had to take a guess, I'm going to assume Brunker does not. The first film only gave us two brief bits of clumsiness, and both were restricted to the first twenty minutes, no less. Furthermore, he wasn't even allowed to have his pre-mission wipeout, which is arguably one of the franchise's most iconic elements. Brunker skipped over it like it was nothing. Granted, we did sorta/kinda get something else in its place, but it was given to Rubble. Sadly, I can't help but believe both of these will be lacking once again in The Mighty Movie (at the time of typing this, I haven't seen it, so I've no idea yet).

It wasn't just the lack of clumsiness, but how it was handled that also left me disappointed. In the TV series, Marshall might get careless while playing a game and trip over his own paws, or he might slip during a moment of haste. It just depends on the situation, how serious he is, among other factors. And yet, it tends to be, for lack of a better word, natural. Marshall was excited to finally find Jake in that dark cave, wasn't watching where he was going, slipped, and he slid all the way down and kept going until he was stopped by a stalagmite and started spinning on top of it. Classic Marshall! If Chase has slipped, he likely would've only slid a little or stopped near Jake, but with Marshall, we always seem to get so much more out of it.

And in truth, his clumsiness isn't always a detriment, but often a moment of humor. It's something we've all come to expect from him over the years. He saves or helps save the day, and we tend to get a laugh or two along the way because... well, that's Marshall!

In the theatrical films, each moment of clumsiness always seems to be specifically *caused* by something. So far, he's been "clumsy" because he was dancing in a moving vehicle, startled by a hologram appearing beneath his paws, and Chase startling him when the shepherd snuck up behind the Dalmatian with his super speed. Cute moments, but with his tumble in the PAW Patroller being a possible exception, none of these felt like natural moments of clumsiness to me. Rather, they're scenes that, arguably, could've made any of the other pups react in a similar way. What if Rocky was the one standing there when the hologram appeared? Wouldn't he have jumped, too? Or, what if Chase startled Zuma instead? Couldn't he have accidentally sprayed someone or something with his water powers?

I guess what I'm getting at is, to me, these didn't feel like genuine clumsy Marshall moments. They felt less "this happened because of Marshall's characteristics" and more "Brunker wanted a funny scene, and any pup might've reacted the same way so it largely didn't matter which one it was". Maybe I'm wrong, but that's just the feeling I get.

Now, compare that to Marshall's appearance in "Rubble & Crew". That episode included his trademark clumsiness at just the right moments, even during the mission. They never restricted it to the first act, but rather, it was seen throughout the whole episode. Even little moments, like when he slipped while climbing into Mix's truck, left me with such a big smile on my face. His clumsiness wasn't caused by something, but rather, it happened naturally and in a way we, the viewers, expect! And these moments really made me appreciate the episode all the more, as I felt the writers took their time to understand Marshall and get him just right. If you ask me, they did a great job!

Going by the first movie alone, I don't get that same impression. Maybe things will be different in The Mighty Movie, but for now, I don't think the director seems to *get* Marshall. He might just see him as the one who "trips a lot" which is why he wrote his clumsy scenes in a way that, to me, didn't feel natural. Instead, they felt forced. Something *caused* Marshall to be clumsy, instead of something happening *because* Marshall is clumsy. There is a big difference, and I'm not sure if Brunker sees this.

And if he doesn't, and he sees Marshall's clumsiness as something that can be turned off as easy as the lights in a room... then I fear we might be in trouble if he directs a film based on the spotted pup. Personally, I don't see Marshall's clumsiness in that way, nor do I believe that was ever the intention. I think it's something the pup simply can't help at times, and it's just a part of him he has to live with. He always gives it his best, but his paws just slip more than the others. It just happens, although it doesn't make him or his actions any less heroic.

And I don't know if Brunker sees it that way. His version of Marshall doesn't trip down the slide, doesn't get a wipeout before the mission, and only acts clumsy when something causes it to happen. Due to being unwilling or uninterested, I don't think Brunker understands Marshall's clumsiness, which in turn makes me think he doesn't understand the pup...

...and to write a whole movie based on a character he might not understand? That... is what has me concerned.

With that said, it's not like Marshall is super complex or anything, so Brunker can certainly take the time to learn more about the pup and how he's like. I just don't know if he will, as he has a tendency to shrug off stuff from the TV series. As he, himself once said, he doesn't treat most of the cartoon as canon to his films. He ignores everything after a certain point in season two, which is why the pups are discovering their Mighty powers for the first time again in his theatrical sequel. Will he try to build off what we know about the character, or will he instead pull something out of thin air again, like he did with Skye and her sudden lack of confidence about her size? Or will he pretend Marshall's clumsiness is the result of something from his past, and like Chase's fears in the first movie, will a pep talk before the finale make it magically go away? Again, I don't know.

Furthermore, I also fear things becoming too stale for film #3. From what little I know so far, it seems like The Mighty Movie, and even Skye's backstory, might share a few too many similarities with the first movie and Chase's own backstory. These films even share similarities with his The Nut Job 2, oddly. Brunker seems to be following a template of sorts, and he's sticking to it like glue. Will Marshall's movie involve more of a corrupt mayor? Will we get more adventures in a city? Will Marshall suffer from a lack of confidence due to a painfully sad backstory, too? If so, I fear people are going to start getting bored. I'd hate to see that happen, especially if Marshall is the focus. The pup has plenty of potential, if Brunker's willing to see it.

It's times like this I really wish I was a somebody in the entertainment industry. I'm not saying this out of arrogance, but I'd like to think I possess a considerable amount of knowledge about Marshall... possibly more than anyone at Spin Master now. To them, he's just a thing in a cartoon that's helping them make money... but to me, he's a character who I've admitted before is my #1 favorite of all time. I know and remember things they've likely forgotten over the last ten years. The character has become special to me and I love him to death, whether that's a good thing or not.

I just wish I could be a consultant to Brunker, should the third or any future theatrical films focus on Marshall. Not to say I'm perfect, but I'd like to think I'd be useful with helping him decide what would and wouldn't work for the character, how the pup might react to certain situations, when and when not to add some [natural] clumsy moments, among other things. I'd even help figure out ways to push the character to help him stand out, especially in-regards to avoiding any similarities between Chase and Skye's stories in the theatrical films thus far. It's wishful thinking, I know. In the grand scheme of things, I'm a nobody, and I'll be the first to admit that. I don't have the slightest chance of this happening. I doubt anyone at Spin master or GURU know I exist... I doubt Brunker knows much of me, either (he might not like this post, so maybe that's a good thing). 😅

All I can do at this point is hope for the best... which I find myself saying a lot nowadays, it seems. If film #3 is about Marshall, I just hope Brunker takes the time to understand the character and get him right. Maybe he, too will start to see why so many of us, both young and old, have fallen in love with this clumsy pup over the years.

As usual, only time will tell.

[knickynoo]

Back to the Future: The Animated Series, s02ep11 “Super Doc"

Previous episodes linked here.

In this episode: The boys once again decide to meddle in Doc's past.

The episode begins in Doc's lab! Which is a rare setting in this season (we usually have a green screen background).

Doc is fighting a battle against a heavy trunk, and he's losing.

He's about to take Clara, Jules, and Verne to the airport, and told them to just pack "only a single piece of luggage." They packed a gigantic, heavy trunk that Doc can't move. He says that Clara and the boys are going to visit his Great Uncle Jonah, to which my initial thought is: how old is that man?? It's not like there is any indication of time traveling being involved, as we're in "present day" and he's dropping them off at the airport. And Doc is, what...80-something at this point? (factoring in the 10 years he lived in the Old West building the time train and the fact that the cartoon takes place in 1993)

You're telling me his GREAT UNCLE is still alive??? The guy must be like 140 years old!!

I call shenanigans.

Anyway, Doc says that he'd need super powers to lift the trunk, which reminds him of a time in his life when he actually did believe he had super powers. This brings us into the cartoon.

Verne is up in a tree being taunted by his peers because he's afraid to jump out and use a rope to swing across a stream and land on the other side.

Apparently, this is part of the initiation to join the "Mega Muscle Man Club," which is based on a popular comic book superhero. Verne's classmate tells him he has one day left to prove he's worthy of joining the club. Another kid pipes up to say that Verne's too chicken to do it, and Vernie sadly climbs down the tree while all the boys cluck at him. :(

Meanwhile, over in Doc's lab, he's putting the final touches on the pair of "booster boots" he's built for Marty. "These booster boots will aid you in your yearning for more altitude," Doc says, to which our empty-headed Marty replies that all he wants is to be taller. Marty tests them out and is pleased that he won't have to stand on his tiptoes anymore to kiss Jennifer.

Ridiculous, short little man.

Verne comes stomping in, complaining about having to swing from the tree, and Doc tells him he shouldn't do something just because someone tries to pressure him. Jules soon joins them, carrying a box of things he'd found while cleaning out the attic. Marty finds a newspaper dated 1952 in the box that contains an interesting article.

Yeah. So...Doc was a wrestler. Because why not.

Doc says he never actually went through with the match, instead deciding to pursue a life of science. Those are quite the two choices to be stuck between.

I think the writers for the show just had a gigantic dart board filled with any random idea that popped into their heads and they threw darts to come up with the storylines and pieces of character lore. "Yeah, so for this episode...uh...Doc" *throws dart* "used to be a wrestler. I guess."

As soon as Doc leaves the room, Jules and Verne start lamenting how they wish their dad would have chosen to be a wrestler. Marty, who never thinks about the consequences of anything ever, immediately runs to the DeLorean and tells the boys to jump in. Because there's no way that going back in time and convincing Doc to choose such a wildly different path will have any negative impacts, right?

The boys head to 1952 and attend the wrestling match, where the announcer says that Emmett "Brain Buster" Brown has yet to show up. If he doesn't enter the ring in 10 minutes, he'll have to forfeit the match. Also, there's a banner advertising "Fepsi."

Marty, Jules, and Verne go backstage, where Doc's manager is panicking over his refusal to show up to the match. Jules and Verne propose they track down their dad and convince him to wrestle while Marty wears the costume and pretends to be Brain Buster until Doc shows up.

Marty protests this decision, telling the manager that girl scouts used to beat him at arm wrestling, so how could he possibly wrestle for real??

Over at Doc's apartment, Jules and Verne pose as reporters for their elementary school's newspaper and ask for the full story on how he got into wrestling. Turns out, the whole thing started because Doc was at the grocery store and reached for the last potato the same time as the manager did. They got into a physical fight over said potato, and Doc won. The guy offered to make him a wrestler and set him up in a match against Mad Maximus.

Because Doc wrangled a POTATO out of a man's hand.

Doc tells the boys that he's since decided a life of wrestling isn't for him, but they work to convince him to give it a try. Verne gives Doc the booster boots so that he can get to the arena on time, and they all head over to the match.

The audience members in the backgrounds are highly amusing, btw. A lot of them are completely faceless beings, but some of them have these generic looking stick figure type features, and I have to share them.

LOOK AT THEM! They're adorable!!

So, just as the match is about to start, the guy in charge of the crank that lowers and lifts the microphone lets it fall, and it bonks Doc on the head. When he wakes up, he thinks he's an actual superhero named Mega Brain Man. The boys follow him as he runs around the city stopping "crime" (he keeps wrongly interpreting innocent situations as crimes lol)

After attempting to stop some bad guys from blowing up a building (they're construction workers demolishing a condemned building) he gets hit on the head again and regains his senses. He returns to the arena to continue with the match and is, of course, truly awful at wrestling. After losing, Doc tells the boys that this is what he gets for letting others pressure him into something.

From there, we cut immediately back to the present day, where Verne is once again being told to swing from the tree in order to join the Muscle Man fan club. Despite continued accusations that he's a chicken, Verne is able to tell his classmates that he isn't going to jump. And that's where the cartoon ends.

We return to Real Doc, who is waving to the airplane as it takes off with Clara, Jules, and Verne. Doc says he isn't going with them on the trip because he's got work to finish. However, once his work is done, he's going to travel back in time and go with them. Which. Okay.

The science experiment portion teaches us what helps planes and helicopters fly.

We return very briefly to the airport tarmac, where Doc is wrapping up the episode and preparing for some incoming rain. He tells us that he hopes the experiment helped to teach why airplanes can fly but humans can't. Unless! You had a device that forced air pressure under you, which, whaddya know, Doc has!

An airplane flies by, and the resulting influx of air simply carries him away.

Adios, Doc.

A silly, silly episode. I kind of wish I'd been keeping track of all the pieces of Doc Lore from the cartoon, because Cartoon Doc has led such a wacky life.

Join me next time for another episode where Marty is a horrible boyfriend.

[popculturebuffet]

Supermay!: Battle of The Superheroes Review!(Batman BATB) (Patreon Review for WeirdKev27)

Hello all you happy supermen, women and everyone in between and beyond whose still just as super, and welcome to SUPERMAY, a monthlong celebration of all things man of steel.

It's also a great time for it as Superman is in one of the best places he's been as a character in a while: In the comics we have Joshua Williamson's stellar run on Superman, on tv My Adventures with Superman, the first animated superman show since The Animated Series and one of the best superhero shows period, comes back for season 2 and next year James Gunn takes a crack at a shiny new movie that gets to the core of who superman is.

So in these times my love for the character has only grown, and thus me and my fine patrons and contributers are bringing this month from across his life and career.

So naturally we start with an episode of.. a batman show. Yes despite getting a whole month to himself earlier this year, Batman just can't stay away. Or maybe Kev's just addicted to Batman Brave and the Bold. What do you think of the show kev?

Nothing suspcious there. Now to freebase more x-men.

Yet while this decision seems bonkers at first, it makes sense on two levels: the first is that Batman and Superman have a long history together, and their regular team ups in world finest lasted for decades and tied to the two at the hip with one another. It's not hard to see why either: Their the archetypes for heroes with powers and those without them. The bedrock on which the whole genre's built. Teaming them up with their contrasting styles, backstories and skillsets just works. The other reason ... is that Superman didn't have a solo series for a while. His last one was the brilliant and sadly didn't make the schedule Legion of Super Heroes Cartoon, and even that's a team series, if one with Supes at the center. He's been in plenty of othe rcartoons.. but it's been long enough it's understandable why we'd reach for an apperance in another cartoon.

It did take a bit though as Superman was noticably a no show from the first two seasons of brave and the bold. And that.. was by design. Brave and the Bold tended to spotlight heroes who needed the spotlight, ones who either hadn't been featured yet or if so, all that often. It's the series where Bwana Beast got a heroic sacrifice, Ted Kord finally got to appear on screen, and the green lantern was Guy Gardner, the angry asshole what looks like moe howard hit the gym. It's something I love about the series, as it gave a lot of heroes their shot, taught me some existed and is a good thing, and thus it makes sense Supes wasn't around till it's final season: he needed his own solo cartoon sure, that took way too damn long, but he didn't really need the show or have as many new avenues to explore. Both Batman the Animated Series and The Batman already teamed the world's finest up. We'd seen plenty of them together in justice league and young justice. To justify trotting out superman for more than money's sake, they'd have to do something only THEY could do

And that.. was salute the silver age. Like Batman, Superman had a pretty weird time in the silver age, if better sales since weird shit happening to an alien who could suplex the moon fit better than happening to a guy in a mask whose suddenly a baby. It was a time of unbridled creativity: thanks to this age we got my beloved Legion of Super Heroes, who are sadly sitting this super may out due to scheduling, the legion of super pets, supergirl, braniac, all the various flavors of kryptonite, super vintiloquisim. I'ts a period I need to read more of but deeply love as it's just.. fun. it dosen't always hold up, but when it does it gives us fun breezy weird adventures with stuff that's hilarious now sure but also really fun to go back to.

And going back to this age.. was part of the hook and brave and the bold. Having the style of those days, not taking itself super seriously, but still having just enough seriousness to not come off as a farce. We still get plenty of character moments, a death or two and what have you, but we have fun in the process and it's done in an optimstic way that most batman work isn't, as batman.. isn't the most optimstic character. So doing a superman spotlight, while good to keep off, was something they kinda HAD to do. If anyone represented this age, it was supes and if any show was going to celebrate him at this stage in his history while slyly winking at all the weird shit it was Brave and the Bold

It was also a celebration of one other thing which you can find out under the cut along with a full review!

That one thing of course is Superdickery.

Superdickery was a webstie in the 2000's where a snarky man on the internet made fun of old silver and broonze age superman covers where Superman was a dick. Granted it's usually exagerated or explained in story, but it still lead to good times and often the covers were funny enough on their own

NGL I just did a google of superman is a dick to see waht I got... it did not disappoint. I mean you have superman doing a cultural appropriation to marry jimmy to an ape, jimmy harvesting superman's tears in revenge, and of course superman making jimmy dig his own grave while batman plans to shoot him..

You can see why it's easy to do an entire website making these.. and why Brave and The Bold opted to just lean into that, make an entire episode homaging some of the more infamous ones. It's fun to see the purest hero in existance as an out of context king sized asshole, complete with pope hat.

The episode can't begin with superman being a dick though.. you have to establish that baseline of Superman being for truth, justice and the american way. All of that. So we begin with.. Batman and Robin as spooky mummies

Yeah and like many of the events in this episode it's based on ana ctual comic

Though in that case it was to not give away their identiteis because they'd turend green... so brave and the bold wisely changed it to "rags soaked in buttermilk to counteract king tut's zombie ray" And really if you ever wonder "WHy take comissions' besides you know...

It's getting to write sentences like that.

THey beat him and Vicki Vale gets a scoop. Vicki Vale is Lois Lane if she were in gotham and after batman. That's about it. The 87 film I covered in march did flesh her out a bit and My Adventures with Superman does a good job making her distinct if also the queen of asshole mountain, but the version here and at the comics.. seems to just be lois except she's a ginger.

The proper story begins with Jimmy Olson faking his death so Superman will reveal his secret identity.

Which kinda justifies the whole "marry you to an ape" thing jimmothy. It's a constant game of one upsmanship with these two that will end with both in a grave Jimmy freshly dug with robin I swear. At any rate this fails because superman you know.. has super senses, so he senses Jimmy's just fine and jets off and was just playing along because these two have issues.

Superman responds to a jewel robbery and finds his oldest and greatest friend, batman! Thankfully there's none of that "blaming batman for a crime" nonsense this go round, as Batman's been investigating some eastern seaboard jewlery thefts, and agrees to team up. I also love how they go back to the more silver age partnership for these two: it fits given the astetic of these versions, but it's also nice to see the two just.. be pals. No distrust, no long term ressitance, no asking him to commit election fraud, just two guys who like fighting crime teaming up.

Naturally the culprit is LEX LUTHOR who is less an evil billinoare in the silver age and more a sciency weirdo who likes to throw on a death ray, though most modern versions combine the two making him a genius.. but having put that genius into

While doing evil super science as a side hustle or because he was finally indicted and has kidnapped lois because that's part of what she did back in the day, though she keeps her feisty nature by kicking out of a plane.. granted she then shouts for superman.. and is mad batman saved her. Superman stops Luthor, he's sent to jail to break out next week, they do this a lot.

We have a larger guest voice cast than usual this go round so let's dig into them real quick: Roger Rose is the man of steel himself. Rose is a voice actor but mostly tends to do "Additional Voices" looking at his credits on wikipedia, with his bigger roles being Dr. Strange on the Superhero Squad show, superman in this show, and Kent Powers on Quack Pack. And given any time i've seen kent in an episode he's hilarously douchey, Roger was the right man for the job here.

Luthor is played by Voice Acting Legend and marathon man Kevin Michael Richards, who I now realized has voiced both Lex Luthor and Shredder and that's dope. You've heard him in everything and he's great in everything. He also voices Mxy in this same episode.

Lois is voiced by Sirena Irwin, who I hadn't heard OF before but had heard before as she voices Spongebob's Mom, along with Lady Upturn. She also voices Mera on this very show.

Jimmy is voiced by Alexander Polinski, another va I hadn't heard of.. but i've heard a LOT of: He got his big break voicing Control Freak on Teen Titans, followed up by voicing loveable friend on the black market and stool pigeon Argit from Ben 10 alien force all the way thorugh Omniverse, is currently a lead in Monster High, and most important to me was Chameleon Boy and Matter Eater Lad on the legion of super heroes.

Finally we have a character intorduced in the next scene as Lois pitches a day in the life piece on superman and is mad clark almost gets it: Perry White, voiced by character actor Richard Mcgongal. Clark here is portrayed as he was in the silver age: a clumsy ditsy suit superman wears to live among mortal people. Thankfully it's not around enough to be an issue but to me supes works best when superman is clark no matter the outfit. He isn't a reporter to get info or trick his love intrest, he's a reporter because he loves being a journalist and wants a normal life, but knows he can't just fuck off and not be superman. It's not who he is.

So we get a neat montage of lois as Batman and Superman do their thing, with Supes having invited Batman to hang around for a bit. It's also neat in that it shows just how much Batman thinks of this version of supes from the get go: While he respects most of his partners, Clark seems to be one of the few he's genuine friends with. They just get in synch and there's no bossing him around like he tends to do in most team ups on this show.

So we get a fight with metallo who has his silver age apperance which is...

It's a lot. The series DOES him favors by bulking him up but the color scheme just dosen't quite work. I get why most later versions go with silver instead, the green glow of the kryptonite from it giving him a terminator vibe. It works really well. We also get good old mxy, whose castually talked back to his home dimension after cycling jimmy through all his various transformations.

Lois and Jimmy then get gifts that are from "Superman". Really shoudl've checked the air quotes. Said gifts are a shiny new signal watch with red crystal inlays and a red jewel.

Naturlly these TOTALLY incouous gifts awaken something in Superman as he fights the flying fat man, the toyman, who in the silver age was just.. a guy who made toy shaped death weapons.. .which is still impressive but I can see why the animated series gave him that now iconic doll look. Brrrr.

Superman beats toyman.. then prepares to REALLY beat toyman

Deciding he's done with truth, justice and not kicking your balls into your face. He'll figure the anatomy out later. Batman stops the toymurder and it's clear Superman has changed.. he's EVIL now.. and also a real di...ffrent person. A gag I REALLY love from this ep

So we get one of the most glorious montoages ever as superman is just.. the biggest dick the writers can conjure. It works if you don't know what their homaging as they set up who superman actually is well and it's just so over the top it's hilarious. It works even better if you've seen a bunch of silver age covers as they just.. made that into a version of superman, from literally tying up traffic to my faviorite, PUTTING A KITTEN BACK UP A TREE. I love cats but I can't help but also love how dickish that is.

Batman can tell something isn't right here because anyone with two eyes can tell Superman is acting off and something is wrong. Everyone except Jimmy Olson whose angrily tearing down his superman posters and takes this at face value. Then again he DID make him marry an ape so I kinda get not trusting something's wrong. It dosen't help superman burned his thoughtful father's day gift

At least even on an evil rampage Superman was kind enough to adopt him. Jimmy wishes things were back to simplier times...

That's not a joke by the way,.. the real joke is jimmy starring whistfully after they animated this cover. It's what makes this episode work really: they do do a LOT of homages.. but don't make that their whole business, making up new gags along the way. Jimmy gladly gives Batman the new watch.

Batman goes to talk to Lois yet and Superman's been the worst to her... he cheated on her!

Superman's childhood friend Lana fought over him a lot. Superman int his versoin does add it's because Lois is always trying to trick superman into marrying him which is sadly accurate

Though some times it horribly backfired

I mean.. at least she got a pope mobile out of it?

Batman notices the necklace and the connection and goes to TRY to talk sense into super dick where we get the best bit of custom made dickery in this episode: him grabbing the bottled city of kandor, shaking it and shouting "EARTHQUAAAKKKEEEEE!". It is truly the greatest thing human knid has put to a cell. Batman TRIES to talk sense into his friend but fails as he declares if batman fucks with him again he'll fuck him.

He also gives him Krypto because he dosen't wants him anymore. I mean.. at least you got a free dog superman. Also if you don't know hwo krypto is he's superman's kryptonian dog who was also sent in a rocket from Kyrpton. He's a very good boy. Movnig on.

So Superman decides to take things a step further and declares himself KING SUPERMAN of metropolis... an homage to this iconic cover

Yes folks, it is the REIGN OF THE SUPERPOPE. And the series has him wear the super pope hat in all it's glory. They saldy removed the Cruella deville approved real dalmation fur but I put it back in on the title card because the fur just.. adds to it. LIke it's not enough he got himself a pope hat, which is glorious and golden, it's that he added a fur trim to both the hat AND his cape. It's so beautifully stupid.

The Reign of the Superpope is short lived as protestors come to .. get murdered by superman? I mean I get standing up to him but what was their plan. THey get saved by the new dynamic duo of batman and krypto, with batman wearing his dark knight returns armor.

And can we just.. sit back and bask in an episode of television that both homages internet meemes of silver age superman AND the dark knight returns, of all things in the same issue? I"m not a big fan of Frank miller, but I can respect how iconic that armor is and how fun it is to see it pop up in such a light hearted work.

Batman's worked things out: Superman is hopped up on Red Kryptonite. For those who didn't read a bunch of books about dc comics as a kid, red K is Kryptonite's wacky cousin. It's basically a magic story generator, with it's effects lasting 24 hours as said and allowing them to turn superman or supergirl into WHATEVER weird shit they want. It is the crown jewel of all plot devices and I respect it and i'm happy we've returned to i'ts oringinal form as there were attempted revamps, but none really worked. It's best as crystalized wacky nonsense and i'm happy.

Here though it just means batman has to hold out, doing his best and getting a few good hits in.. but ultimately even with bitching grappling armor an da REALLY well done fight scene with lots of nice tension and animation.. superman almost crushes batman's head... an image that's genuinely chilling in this otherwise silly episode

Thankfully he snaps out, everyone accepts superman was going through some stuff. I mean Jimmy accepts jit every week and he's still married to that ape.

Superman wonders who done it.. and Batman, being the world's greatest detective... found out who: Luthor. Turns out he sent a lexbot to prison in his place

And shoots batman and pulls out his green kryptonite ring what gave him cancer once. It was a whole thing. But turns out our heroes played swapsies and the day is saved and our heroes head out to fight braniac.

Battle of the Superheroes is true excellence, one of Brave and the Bold's best episodes. Doing a bonkers tribute to superman being a dick was a risky idea, as with superdickery now gone, the meme could've gotten old. But those old silver age covers are so charming in their over the top nature and the jokes around the homages so well done, it works. They even give us a geninely fantastic superman batman fight to go with it. The episode manages to condense how the silver age of superman feels into 22 minutes without being remotely boring or overstuffed, managing to hit all the high spots. The only things really missing are supergirl, superboy (superman when he was a boy, and the legion.. and even those I understand as simply overstuffing the episode. They got everything in they could while being utterly hilarious and unique, giving us one of the best stories of the world's finest there ever was in the process.

Next Time: Lex Luthor runs for president! Get ready for a lot of smaller stories chopped up into a graphic novel, a terrible christmas carol homage, and american voter idiocy. Just kidding your already aquanited with that last one.

[monocotyledons]

barging into your inbox with some haikyuu thoughts bc i thought the shiratorizawa arc was already so intense and emotional but their game with inarizaki almost had me literally crying bc i’m just so proud of them !!

^ HE’S JUST LIKE ME FR 😭

i also wanted to ask who your fave characters were!! I think Kageyama has really inched his way to the top for me but Sugawara is also so precious (as are most of the characters lbr) 🥹

hello sorry this is a late reply to your ask!! BUT YES S4 IS REALLY GOOD 🥹 the match is sooooo intense and satisfying and i especially love hinata's big receive!! such a good way to wrap up his arc for the season 💕

omg fave characters... ok so i am a HUGE shiratorizawa fan, i watched season 3 in one go and LOVED it and got obsessed with it so fast. ushijima is my absolute favorite and i also love tendou and goshiki to pieces!! i even have a soft spot for the side characters in the team like semi and reon?? i just love s3 a lot, it's my favorite season hands down.

i didn't even think much of ushijima in previous seasons, i just remembered him as the guy from the "japan!!" scene and from anime twitter meme'ing him as pestering oikawa all the time. i think what really endeared me to him was 1) his backstory with his dad and his left-handedness and 2) him being actually a really cool and supportive captain despite his scary-looking demeanor! tbh i just really love the contrast of the intimidating outward aura vs. him actually just being very no-nonsense. i love how he's always "okay do your best" to goshiki whenever the latter challenges him (if you haven't seen it yet, i highly recommend this scene not in the anime). idk if you've read the manga chapters not covered by the anime but i especially loved seeing more sides to him after the s3 match.

tendou endeared me to him so fast bc of how goofy he is + the whole "guess monster" concept & the backstory behind it + his entire dynamic with ushijima, like they're besties but also such an odd pair. (tendou also has one of my favorite post-timeskip jobs!) and i love love how ambitious and hungry for success / validation goshiki is while still being a dorky first year.

sadly shiratorizawa is not very popular within the fandom so they don't get a lot of merch but i DO try to get my hands on merch of them whenever i can!!

tbh i think their relative lack of popularity is why i love them so much haha. i got into haikyuu back in 2020-21 when it was all over anime twitter, and back then the hyped characters were the aoba johsai boys (mostly oikawa and iwaizumi, still very popular today) and the miya twins (since s4 had just aired). tbh it's harder for me to love hyped characters bc the hype blows them up too much and i can't appreciate them in my own right... i went into s3 knowing nothing about it so i learned to love the characters on my own!

outside of stz my favorite characters are asahi and kageyama!! with asahi i think i just really loved his story of overcoming anxiety and pressure to claim the title of ace. his more reserved personality is such a nice contrast to the rest of karasuno! (and i also love his timeskip job!) and kageyama is just... so, so endearing to me. he's really just trying his best! his struggle of balancing wanting to be the best vs. looking after his teammates and bringing out the best in them too resonates with me so much. and while i've always liked hinata, i think i grew to love him more after reading the post-nationals chapters!

[btr-rewatch]

Big Time Rush Season 1, Episode 1: “Big Time Audition” PART 3

Links to parts ONE and TWO

Highlights: Kendall infuriates Gustavo with his amazing ability to Not Care, Mrs. Knight becomes a single mother raising FIVE children, and I reminisce about 2010-era BTR fanfiction.

Right in the middle of a delightful group performance of the "Giant Turd" song, the doorbell rings, and it's Gustavo and Kelly! Sadly, he's not there for James but for Kendall.

Gustavo points out three things that Kendall has: a gift, the "fire," and anger management issues. Gustavo mentions that he also has been told he has anger management issues, which leads me to assume that it's a trait he immediately liked about Kendall. I recall enough of the show to know that Gustavo and Kendall butt heads frequently throughout the episodes and also that there was a very clear favoring of Kendall. I mean, Gustavo loves each of his dogs, but I'm not off the mark in saying that Gustavo and Kendall end up having a father-and-son sort of relationship, right?

Anyway, Kendall is super unimpressed by everything Gustavo and Kelly say, and denies that he sings, to which Katie immediately lets him know that he sings all the time. While he's shoveling, at the dinner table, in the car, when Katie can't sleep.

When Gustavo asks if Kendall wants to go to LA and be famous, Kendall replies with a big fat, "No." This guy could not be more disinterested by this music producer basically offering him fame and fortune on a silver platter. I love Kendall. He's not enticed in the slightest. Also, I had to gif the moment where Carlos bursts out laughing and James shoots him that look.

Poor Carlos. He's loving this! Having the time of his life! Let him laugh hysterically at the absurdity of the whole conversation that's just unfolded. Who cares if he can't read the room?

The next day, the guys are hanging out in the parking lot of Kendall's job. They're having a grand ol' time damaging cars and also causing innocent shoppers bodily harm by ramming into them with shopping carts.

Look at this poor man. Bowled over in the grocery store parking lot by four teenage menaces.

The guys all think Kendall is an idiot and want him to call Gustavo back.

I need to sidetrack real quickly here because this scene reminded me of the original pilot that I recall being passed around on tumblr way back when—the one with that other guy in Kendall's role. I can't remember his name. They weren't hockey players yet either; they were skateboarders?? Very weird feel to it. Alternate timeline Big Time Rush that only made me appreciate even more what Kendall brought to the group. I don't think the show would have worked without him.

Skipping ahead a little bit, Kendall calls Gustavo and remains masterfully stoic as he manipulates his way into a deal in which he's allowed to bring James, Carlos, and Logan along to L.A. A very interesting tactic considering the fact that this spur of the moment—and very significant—decision leaves no room to consult the other boys' parents. I can only imagine that Kendall has such sway and control over everyone and everything that all he had to do later that afternoon was let the other parents know, "Hey, I'm taking your son to L.A. for three months so we can be famous," and they just had no choice but to say okay.

I mean, what are they gonna do, say no to Kendall Knight? I think that's illegal.

Seriously, though, these parents all just release their children into Mrs. Knight's care and let them go halfway across the country that easily? Most parents would be really not cool with that arrangement. Speaking of, I know we eventually meet the moms (and James and Carlos's dad at different points) but like. What is the deal with their families? Do any of them have siblings? Logan's dad is never mentioned I don't think; can we assume his isn't in the picture either? Does anyone who used to read the fanfics back in 2010-ish remember the prevalent trend of giving Logan a horrible home life?? It must've been prior to Big Time Moms, because I definitely remember a lot of fics where Logan's mom was dead, and he was being raised by a father who was negligent at best and abusive at worst. People put Logan through the RINGER back in the day. He was always being tormented or given brain damage or was dying of some terrible illness or something.

Okay. Focus. The guys go to L.A. and have an adorable montage in the limo.

I'm particularly fond of the Kendall and James high five/fist bump moment.

Then, finally, we're at the Palm Woods! The guys waste no time in getting to the pool, where they meet some of the Palm Woods locals and Kendall delivers his third (?) motivational speech of the episode. This kid must be exhausted having to churn out these talks and keep his buddies in line.

I wonder how many pep-talks Kendall gives over the course of the entire series. A billion, probably.

First instance of James doing "the face"!

Griffin (love that guy! He's an absolutely bonkers, ridiculous man) drops the news to Gustavo that he has just THREE DAYS to turn the guys into a band. Upon arriving for the first time at Rocque Records, a stressed Gustavo meets them in the hallway. Shout out to the moment where he rips Carlos's helmet off his head, and Carlos reacts as if his very life force has been taken from him.

Also shout out to our other glimpse of Original Kendall, as he tells Gustavo to "bring it" while standing mere inches away from his face and staring him down with this completely cool, collected, and intimidating expression.

Yeah, it's broken a second later with a funny line, but come on. This is another one of those looks at this first episode version of Kendall that I so wish we could have had more of in the series. He's not afraid of ANYTHING. This is a Kendall that makes you wonder, "What is this guy's deal??" He'll take Gustavo into a back alley and fistfight him if he feels it's necessary. Don't mess with the tall kid with the eyebrows, or you'll never be heard from again.

The guys go through a grueling round of boyband boot camp, which goes about as well as you can expect. And I'll go ahead and wrap this thing up for now. Only fifteen minutes left in the episode, so I should be able to finally finish this in the next post! Thanks again to those who are keeping up with these :)

[unhingedhearties]

Sometimes A Photo Is Just A Photo

Erin and Ben are apparently back in Canada and were hanging out with Chris and his girlfriend/ fellow Hallmark actress.

Let's see how the infants handle it.

The "I'm Done With The Show" brigade is still stalking WCTH related posts.

"Damage Control". Boy, I hope a certain group of Hearties don't latch onto that phrase and repeat it over and over on this post like they tend to do when they can't come up with an independent thought.

This feels like it should be common sense, but don't ever "love" someone you've never met with "all your heart".

Oh look who it is. foxyinspiration right on cue to prove she doesn't have a thought in her head. Sadly I've already referenced the movie Screamers on this blog so I've got nothing besides hoping she ends up like Private Ross.

God forbid a woman do anything, right? Seriously, you're going to look at a photo where Ben's making a face like that but focus on Erin laughing "too hard".

Also, there are still people who don't believe Erin and Ben are a couple. Amazing.

37 freaking responses. Ugh… let's break these down. Without cheating, guess how many times they claim "damage control".

Private people are never allowed to go out with friends or show up in pictures on someone else's social media site. Are Chris and Julie actually private people or has the unhinged section of the Hearties fandom driven them to be more reserved and distant on social media? Just my opinion-thanks for your feedback though.

Some sanity prevails.

I try really hard to not make comments about people's grammar. I come from a large family of people who's first language isn't English. I learned English at a young age but it's still my second language. I get it. Having said that, what the hell are you trying to say? Also, judging by your profile picture, you're a middle aged woman. You are way too old to be speaking in hashtags. Grow up.

I don't know, maybe one of these two couples are new parents and have a small child at home that limits where/when/how they're able to go out? Maybe one of these two couples live in another country and only meet up when they have a movie that's filming near the other couple? Maybe… wait a minute. Hasn't Chris been in group pictures with Erin and the other actors? I don't obsess over the actor's personal lives so I don't know when he started dating Julie, but maybe they weren't together at the time so that's why she's not in those pictures. No that makes too much sense. Surely the reason Chris and Julie haven't been in a lot of photos with Erin and Ben is because… something to do with their character arcs from the last five seasons… but those seasons had different show runners… Look, none of this makes sense right now but I'll figure out a way to make it work. I'll start with my own conclusion and work backwards to justify it.

Stop making sense, you're upsetting the zoo animals!

Damn, I might be clairvoyant. markrymill said almost the same thing I said. Aaaaaaand of course she ignores all those points to accuse Erin of hiding comments. If Erin was actually wasting her time hiding comments, why are yours and all the other mindless parrots comments still visible? Maybe they got reported for being spam or harassment.

Say the line, Bart!

"a Governor's position that doesn't even exist in Canda!" Oh no! A historical inaccuracy in When Calls The Heart!? Wait, are we in favor of that or against it? Fans keep changing their opinion on that point. And like any of the people watching WCTH care about Canadian history. "Supposedly given a hero's arc yet he doesn't get the girl?" Women are just trophies for men to collect. Lucas is set up to maybe have an actual exciting storyline where his character does something for the greater good of society, but who cares. He didn't get the pretty decoration. It's amazing that these people will complain about the quality of the stories and writing but then say dumb stuff like this. Chris might have the chance to do something really good with his character besides look over a balcony and sip tea from a dainty cup but his own fans want to stop that.

Listen up Team Smooth-Brain. I want you to follow along so grab a safety pencil and a circle of paper: For this to have been set-up, Erin would have had to fly out to Canada, taking Ben with her. She would have then had to call up Chris and Julie, hope that neither of them were working that day, convince them to not only go out to lunch, but tell them to get a baby-sitter for their however many months old baby. Instead of picking a restaurant with decent lightning she picked this florescent nightmare for her staged photo. She then told everyone to smile, took the photo, and posted it to her Instagram page to… what exactly? What was her plan to control people's reactions? Because the people who are fine with WCTH were going to write the same generic "lol so cute to see you guys be friends" comments they were always going to write and the people who stomp their feet like toddlers who didn't get the toy they wanted were going to write the same "this is all fake damage control trying to control the narrative Chris is being forced at metaphorical gun point to smile in these photos" CSI bullshit they post on every one of her photos.

I hear Chris was offered a roll on a new show called Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies. He should quit WCTH and devote all of his time to that instead.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! :D

"they are trying to manipulate us again. Not gonna happen 😢" I didn't know Hallmark had MKUltra agents on their marketing team.

#AnyoneButNathan

I hope When Calls The Heart gets another show runner and I hope they break Elizabeth and Nathan up and pair Elizabeth with a woman. Any woman*. I hope this show keeps going for however many seasons it takes to get a lesbian relationship with a major character.

*Except Fiona or Faith because those two are destined to be together and you can't convince me otherwise.

"Erin you're posting too many Kevin photos. It's rubbing salt in the wounds of heart broken Lucabeth fans who have PTSD just like those people currently in warzones and it's totally not tone-deaf of us to say that." "Erin you're posting all these photos of Chris to try and manipulate us into watching the next season. It's very cruel and sadistic of you." "Erin you're not fooling anyone by posting both Chris and Kevin photos. We're not falling for your damage control."

[terubakudan]

Sup. xD

No, but really. Hi guys! Long time no see.

I see that Tumblr's changed, and believe me I'm re-learning how to use it. xD

So, um...usual life update I guess, you don't have to read this but I have to get this out of my system or I'll go crazy xD.

Honestly I really miss blogging and talking about fandoms, hobbies and whatnot. It's literally been over a year since I last blogged and there's a reason for that: literally no work-life balance at my old job. I say 'old' because I finally quit this year!! I'm really glad to be out of that soul-sucking hellhole xD For reference, I used to work at one of the Big Four accounting firms as an auditor, think hard before going in haha. The pay may be good...but at what cost?

For a while even when I left I couldn't stop thinking about work, I would always worry that there's something that hasn't been finished yet, and believe me at that kind of job the workload is endless Orz. On the plus side I did get experience, but I'm waaayyyy more glad to be out than in, believe me guys, work-life balance is something that everyone should have, I don't know what it's like in other countries (do feel free to share, I'm quite curious) but there's a reason so many foreign professionals choose not to work in Taiwan:

The pay is low. Especially compared to Japan and South Korea. As of now minimum wage is NTD 26,400 (USD 836) per month, and NTD 176 (USD) per hour, the thing is it's seriously not keeping up with inflation here. Bento used to cost NTD 60~70 when I was in college! Now it's NTD 90~100 on average.

Hours are long. Not all jobs are like this, but you are expected to do overtime without additional pay in most.

A lot of bosses here just...don't know leadership skills? Like they know how to work, but are awful at teaching and leading subordinates. Both Mom and I complain that the EQ of some locals is quite low ^^" No seriously, you do something well and somehow it's always your fault xD People here can be too materialistic sometimes and don't spend enough time on enriching themselves and others. It's really the fault of long work hours as well as the cram school culture here.

So yeah..welp.

My new job (accounting staff at a SME) may be lower pay but at least I get to come home earlier now, which honestly is a relief. Also weekends off. You'd be extremely lucky to get a weekend off at the old job xD

In a way, my Dad spoiled our family xD Because he was too nice we got really used to this rosy portrait of Taiwan and the locals xD But yeah, Mom, Bro and I will find ways to carry on.

Well enough about that! I hope everyone's getting on well with their lives, even when it's tough, there are always ways to carry on. ╰(*´︶`*)╯

I haven't been 100% offline actually xD Just a lot of lurking xD

Some things I've been up to:

You are now looking at a JoJo's Bizarre Adventure fan xD JJBA lives in my head rent-free and I don't regret it at all, I want to slap past me for not following JoJo sooner, especially as an avid fan of music and fashion. My brother’s pestering of me to watch it finally came to. I don't read manga, have watched Parts 1~6 (and made my Mom watch it with me ha xD she practically got almost all the music references xD) and am excited for a Part 7 anime!! Which could take forever sadly :( Along with Arcane Season 2, it’s been a while since there’s a show that I really look forward to watching, what with the current state of TV and movies nowadays. Too much on content and not enough on quality or well, basic storytelling even.

But I'm sad that I can't go to JOJO WORLD. QQ I really have a knack for getting into things too late.

My personal ranking: 2>5>3>4>1>6. This is just personal favoritism xD Each part has their own strengths and weaknesses and the writing in later parts is better as Araki has really matured as a mangaka and writer. But Part 2 is amazing. Period. I will not have it any other way. Special mention goes to this guy for simultaneously stealing my heart and *ahem* crushing (sorry) it, I have only cried for him:

He and Joseph should kiss.

2. I got into gaming again! Thank Steam really for letting lots of players save money on not having to buy separate consoles xD I got my brother to help me invest in a good gaming laptop, and it's just lovely. Some of my favorite games:

METAL GEAR RISING: REVENGEANCE

I got to experience Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance and my god it's a MASTERPIECE. The OST also is just *chef's kiss*. The composer really did a great job with the music. The animation that plays every time Raiden uses Zandatsu is an absolute joy to watch xD My brother introduced this game to me through the memes, and he immediately regretted it when it was all I could talk about for a while xD But god slicing a Metal Gear in two while Rules of Nature plays in the background, how can you not squee?! xD

Mind you this is the tutorial boss xD I highly recommend this game, pure unadulterated adrenaline rush xD It’s so over-the-top and unapologetic, and just damn cool.

SEKIRO: SHADOWS DIE TWICE

I also beat Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. And as of now, it's still the best sense of achievement that I got from a game, it's the most difficult game I've ever played and let me tell you guys I'm good friends with the death screen xD

The adrenaline rush I got from beating Genichiro for the first time (and throwing the lightning back at him!!) as well as beating Sword Saint Isshin was unreal. At some point, the gameplay for me clicked, and it was immensely satisfying being able to perfectly parry the enemy's attacks. The clanging of swords is a sound that I absolutely love.

Though fuck Demon of Hatred xD. Joke I love the Sculptor character who I affectionately call 'Sculptor Dad' but come on you had to unlearn the game's combat system just to beat him. I agree that he's more of a Dark Souls boss than a Sekiro one.

Well deserving of 2019 Game of the Year 👏

DEVIL MAY CRY V

So you can probably see by now that I love action and hack and slash games xD I used to play Devil May Cry 3 when I was a teenager and even watched the Madhouse anime, the over-the-top-ness and Dante's quips won me over. Dante’s even the whole reason why I tried strawberries and now I love them xD So! It was only natural that I wanted to play DMCV, and I wasn't disappointed.

There’s a total of 4 characters you can play as, each with their own SSStylish gameplay, and I had lots of fun just sending the demons into the air while the extremely enthusiastic cast cheers me on xD

Also V is that Edgy Guy who’s a hit with the ladies xD My brother hates him but I adore him. He even said that I’m a sucker for the “starving artist” types xD Well…

HOW CAN I NOT BE A SUCKER QQ That smirk, dear god.

HADES

0:34 sold me haha 😂

You play as this really sexy Prince of Hell with daddy issues.

While Sekiro would frustrate me sometimes with constantly dying, every time I died in Hades it encouraged me to keep on playing, as whenever you die it actually advances the plot and unlocks new dialogue with the various characters, who are based on Greek mythology. If anything the game encourages you to die xD There was a time I was so determined to make it to the surface and when I did it was the next morning already xD

The art by Jen Zee is also just extremely gorgeous, and the OST by Darren Korb (who also voices Zagreus) is amazing. I also recommend Supergiant’s other games Bastion, Transistor, and Pyre. They are one of the best indie game developers out there. They put a lot of heart into their games, which is something a lot of AAA games lack nowadays.

Also I headcanon that Zagreus listens to Coldrain while hacking and slashing through hell. It just seems like a band he would listen to xD

And not to forget, but thank Supergiant for giving the option to romance this really sexy grim reaper xD I'm a sucker for the 'tsundere' types too, and let me tell you every bottle of gifted nectar and ambrosia was worth it. When he finally realized his feelings weren't unnecessary I squeeed.

DISCO ELYSIUM

Last but not least, an underrated gem.

Disco Elysium is one of those games that shouldn’t exist, and boy am I glad that it does.

It’s a choose your adventure game in which you play as a detective trying to solve a murder case with your partner, all the while getting to know the seaside town of Martinaise. Which once you get to explore it, isn't really that big and yet somehow feels huge, there's a whole fictional history that was created for it and for places outside Martinaise even, the worldbuilding for this game is insane. It also seems very real and similar to our own and yet it's all fictional, I really admire that level of detail.

I actually first heard of this game through an artist I follow on Tumblr, who draws True Detective and Disco Elysium fanart. I adore the first season of True Detective and never knew that MartyxRust does things to me. Read reviews about this so-called "True Detective/The Wire-inspired" game and was sold.

Also the developers really hit it out of the park with Kim Kitsuragi, god I love Kim 😭 One of the best companions that you can have out there. Whenever I felt bad and by extension made my player character feel bad (the game is choice-based, there's even an achievement called 'World's Sorriest Cop' xD), Kim would always be helpful and encouraging and god just the sweetest.

The humor in the game is also something I just found so charming, and the voice acting is perfect for every character, I find myself having fun mimicking the voices a lot. I kept pestering my brother to play this game, and his Evrart Claire impression is so spot-on, I myself like to impersonate the Fritte clerk with my 'm'kays' xD

Oh, and you can start a nightclub at a church. And believe me when you experience this scene in the game, it is glorious.

3. I had one of those 'happiest days in your life' moments: I went to see the GazettE's MASS final concert in Japan!! And the crazy thing is I specifically flew in just to see them, I was there in Japan for the concert and went home the next day. At the time I had booked my airline ticket thinking I would still be clocking in to my old job on Monday and well, I never thought I would quit xD

And silly me never thought that even Japanese trains could be late (the local trains at least), I was almost late to the 05:30 PM assembly time xD

By the time I got to the Budokan I was confused by the lack of banners and signs at the entrance at first, then I saw this procession of people in black heading to MASS (ha) and just knew. xD

And I thought I was the only one silly enough to fly to another country for a concert, then I heard Mandarin, English, Spanish in the crowd and thought: 'ah, music really brings people together'. It was beautiful.

Seeing the bouquet with the 'From overseas fans (Overseas fans より)' made me all warm and fuzzy inside.

Too shy to take my own picture xD But glad to know I'm not the only one extremely happy to be there.

I tried to take a picture of this Uruha banner and it just kept flapping in the wind like Uruha during the heavier songs, so I just gave up xD

The setlist for that night, when they played Miseinen (未成年) I think I started tearing up QQ Frankly the whole night was so surreal I couldn't stop thinking about what I experienced on my way back to the hotel. And I stayed at a capsule hotel for the first time! Specifically this one.

The song they played after the concert was an instrumental version of Knockin' On Heaven's Door, and it was absolutely lovely. They even teased a trailer for a new release next year(!!) and a trailer for their Christmas concert A HYMN OF THE CRUCIFIXION ver.2

Their trailers are needless to say, cinematic. I'm sad that they removed all their older trailers off YouTube though :(

As of writing this, there are still stuff I want to share and fangirl about, but unfortunately I have to wake up to a job tomorrow xD If I could, I'd spend my days just doing what I love and not having to deal with stupidity at work. I just want to say I'm glad that there are things in life to enjoy and make going through the daily grind even just a bit easier :)

[nyasialiveshere]

kpop fans and morality is an interesting combo. People actively s*xualize people who at times debut looking legitimately 14, act younger than they really are, yet fans will say the most dehumanizing things, read horror stories about them on ao3 yet still with they dense selves can't look from above the situation and realize wait maybe they are into stuff that WE the fans find weird because THEY the artists have been misused and dehumanized and relate to stories of mistreated young people. People wanna be the victim so bad. So sorry but stans are not on the right side of history no matter how you flip it. I've seen those weird fancalls, kdolls are treated like actual dolls, them being grown isn't even a thought on the fans mind unless its for their entertainment. Yes most likely they find solace in twisted things that match their twisted lives. The big tell is throwing bad 'idols' away then holding the other good well behaving idols close, like thats a human being shouldn't of been worshipping a person anyway. Asking any grown person to act 5 and shimmy shimmy/ do fanservice when they grew up looking up to pop stars thinking they too were gonna be well respected by their fans is probably giving many idols psychological breakdowns. Not surprised one bit if many watch disturbing content its very common with people who had their childhoods taken away. Sadly kpop fans have such a big head because the companies act like they can't do any wrong. I think some like being angry just so the idol can do some big apology its at least some type of feeling they have control over the idol. Its cool to drop people but its the underlying superficial reasoning behind it. Defending a grown person is a waste they can stand on their own two feet but its the bigger issue I'm worried about. Like the irony of wanting to protect young people but supporting kpop

I'm sorry but no the idea people can have big moral guns concerning art(never seen the show but I'd be shocked if its worse than the 1st season of berserk) but not with kpop companies and idols telling you they using kids and working them til they ready to pass out..but thats okay..telling you they train young idols to seduce noonas and oppas..and thats okay its simply seen as a cultural difference. When idols cry about missing their families and falling behind in life +not having kids whenever they initially said they would but to the public that's cool cause at least they are successful. The sm basement jokes are plentiful..kids in basements sweating, not eating and being taught how to be romantic with other young people for fans so they'll buy they future albums...this is seen as okay as well....but they should not relate to art about misused young people ...uhm no life don't work like that sorry. Same reason why kids in america relate to hunger games they don't like totalitarian government and survival of the fittest THEY ARE LIVING IT GENIUS!

[inmyhorrorsera]

S5E7 "Hybrid Creatures" thoughts

That's it. Those are my thoughts.

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Kinda...

I'm kinda used to the writers putting Nadja in situations and see what it sticks, but (un)holy shit its so obvious that they don't know what to do with her character. What we do in the shadows learn how to write women challenge.

I don't know if the Guide even appeared. My stream stopped a couple times and I have to refresh so maybe I missed her (if not see previous point because it also applies to her).

LOVED Nadja's kitty hair buns, love to see that at least the hair and costume department still cares about her.

The line about burning the school made me roll my eyes, not only because that story doesn't make sense with what we learned about her childhood, but also because I can FEEL when tv shows throw lines with the specific expectations of them being gifed, become memes, etc.

I know it's stupid to discuss about the ethics of Laszlo's experiments on the dick and balls show but in this episode I was all 😬😬😬 about it. Like, I don't give a shit if it was done with comedy purposes, animal experimentation is one of the subjects I will never find remotely funny or make jokes with, specially if we start thinking... How much consent Guillermo gave for Laszlo to straight up play with his DNA in this way? He has nothing to say about it except for a confused frown or looking panicky at the sight of the creatures?? More important, if Nandor did this exact same thing the past season and created the hybrids with a Djinn wish or whatever, how would the fandom have reacted??? (spoiler: waaay more angered than when everybody's fave Laszlo does it).

The work of puppetry and digital effects was good as always, nothing bad to say about the team behind the cameras that puts all their hard work and craft on this, sadly, mid storyline.

Despite how little I care about mAd ScIenTiSt Lazslo plot, the moment when Guillermo believes he won't help him anymore was truly heartbreaking just by looking at his face. You can see he really has all his hopes in Laszlo finding a 'cure'.

I wish the whole thing about Guillermo being incapable of killing the hybrids hit me harder (as if we didn't saw him luring innocent teenagers so they can get killed in the literal pilot).

Sorry but that lady character didn't work for me and the "Helen the Magic Johnson" joke was unfunny and kinda old :/ i wonder if half of the wwdits fandom even got the reference (also lmao shameless product placement, you can tell they needed the money to pay for the cgi used on the creatures).

Colin was like his season 1 self. I bet the wwdits reddit ate up that shit.

See also: Laszlo calling Guillermo 'Gizmo' again. Hated it.

Colin becoming the stereotypical 'cool' white liberal teacher was hilarious specially when he said the cliché "history is written by the oppressors" line because that's where the parody becomes too obvious. This is the guy whose dna results on s1 were "100% white" after all. AND YET some people here are still celebrating and repeating it as this 'so true bestie 😔✊' moment without realizing the show's laughing at you, not with you. But hey, this is the we don't get satire even if it bites on our ass site. Imagine fans celebrating when Kendall Succession shouted "fuck the patriarchy!" in front of the paparazzi for being a #feminist. That's how wooosh the moment went over some of y'alls heads.

Nandor and Colin at the museum felt a little tackled on, but at least Nandor annoyance at his personal items being displayed was fun.

And Colin being friendly (dare I say…sweet?) with him at the end again gave me a happy smile. I'll never guessed this season was all about the Colin and Nandor (Condor??) era but I'm all for it.

Biggest Mild laugh of the night: Nandor mannequin having male and female lovers on the display, the dude is wearing Calvin Kleins!

I can't say much about Guillermo leaving the hybrids at the senior home because it's a overused ending for wwdits at this point. Seriously, when this show doesn't know how to end an episode they always do the same shit: Leave the characters that are a problem in a different place. It happened with: Topher at the zombie sweatshop, Jim the vampire as the volleyball coach in Tucson, familiar Benji in a different city/state (forgot where), The Baron and the Sire in the countryside, Derek working at Sean's MLM, Freddie!Marwa in the Uk. They have done this ending 👏🏼lots 👏🏼 of 👏🏼 times👏🏼already!!

Having a wank?! The setup and payoff for this joke really worked.

Next episode seems interesting.

Anyway, I am once again asking for the Djinn...