#*commentary and going 'i agree with that but i didnt write them with that in mind bc im STUPID'

[samiferboy]

got mentally socked in the face when I was on my fyp and saw someone post smth like "just wrote my first fic for <show>! here's the link!" and they had tagged the show and the characters like. no you're not supposed to do that you're supposed to write thousands and thousands of words of fic, tear your hair out over and over bc you're second guessing everything about it, and do that until you get drunk and post one (1) thing and not tag it well bc what if someone sees it and tells you you're bad and he wouldn't fucking say that, and then write more thousands of words and second guess everything even more, get intimidated by other ppl, and never upload again. did you not get the memo orrrrr

[straykats]

I did a whole album review again may I… pass it across the table to you 👀👏🏼 (aka can we exchange thoughts)

hehe hi izzy here is my lil review (that isnt much of a review and more a reaction/commentary thingy, as all my stuff always is HAHA) BUT !! imma read ur review now and kinda make comments in relation to yours? like a really bad one way email discussion hm AHAHA i avoided reading ur review until i did mine so i don't go into the album with other thoughts (although??? i've listened to all the songs on the album at least once before doing the 'review' so?? idk man HAHA) anyways relistening to the album as i read through yours/reply below HAHA sorry to make this kind of a two-part thing heh (with the review post and then this as well) (dont feel pressured to read both 😭😭)

hall of fame // i agree, it's such a good intro to the album with it's message // yeah the bass is so COOL AND OMGOMG YOUR SCI-FI COMMENT RIGHTTTTTTT RIGHHHHHHHHHTTTTTT i thought i was a weirdo for comenting on the alien-esque sounds (thats what i called that recurring riff in the background AHHA)

s-class// your comment about it showing a bit of everything? so true.

item // yes @ having changbin and lix do the 'item' lines // omg i didnt mention this in my post but i love the vocal pre-chorus thing // oh!! you mentioned the mix of happy and aggressive and it reminds me of one of my first thoughts on the song: okay hear me out idk how to explain this but i feel like if anyone can get me its you HAHAHA so this song gives me like. hacker vibes. BUT LIKE but like the happy go-lucky hacker that acts kinda childish and takes risks and is really. tricksy. like they hack in a way that annoys people and they leave little messages on their targets screen or smth idk man HAHA but like on this relisten of the song and ur mention of the aggressiveness, i'm seeing less of an individual and more of a group? like, a.. rebel kinda group but not rebel. i forgot the word. but like you have ur happy go lucky hacker, you have ur aggressive gunsmen or weaponsmaster and your sniper and the cool leader that always smirks (like think kuroo tetsurou but the Cool part of him not the annoying or dorky part HAHAHAHAH i miss him <//3) and like this song gives me a SUPER specific vibe that i want to write as a fic ARGH

super bowl // yeah i love the chanting/group lines !! it kind of really fits the vibe of this song? cant explain it properly. but haha i applaud u for loving the whispers w headphones; im gently cringeing JNVDJSKNVJDSK HAAHAHA

topline // this song would be so funny at concerts bc everyone will say fuck and then chan will have another meltdown // YES the transition to jisung's verse from tiger jk's is so uGH AND THEN TO HYUNJIN THAT WAS SO SMOOOOOTH // yes this is such a concert song i just hope its one of the songs where they can run around the stage freely bc for the final chorus i can see them hyping up the crowd w them and it would be so fun

get lit // YES THE LIL TRILL THING AFTER 'dance like crazy' right theyre so fun theyre so nice they're so--- wait i though i was typing in caps this whole time (i was reading ur comments while typing and just looked over LMAO) im having so much fun w that part on the piano. its stressing me a little but in a really good way like its so fun // really interesting (that sounds really rude/like online forced politeness and i dont mean it that way okay ily i mean genuinely interesting) how ur seeing this as such a happy cute song and in my thing i was like 'god this song is so bittersweet and sad' HAHAHAHA like YES it does have a lot of happy fun vibes to it (i called it a 'tropical' vibe LOL) but smth is also like. hm. // by little vocals at the end, did you mean the lalalalas? bc yeah same hehe

get lit // ur comment about the bass FJDKD UR RIGHT but im sorry idk why im laughing ur comment just made me laugh // yeah that verse really is harsh, i didn;t notice before // YEAHH THE CHORUS SYNTHHHHHH it kinda gives me like. i can see a girl group going nuts to this but in a really good way idk how to explain it haha // WAIT THATS HYUNJIN W THE SLURRED LINES????? // yes the little sound at the end hehehe

collision // RIGHT RIGHT THE TRUMPETSSSSSS // dont mind quickly editting my post to include collision as one of my favs. i forgot 💀 // i see you are having a lot of verse 2 > 1 moments hehe // yeah the phone ringing !!!!! its so cool i HBVJDSBVHJSVHSJ

fnf // yeah felix vocals :(((((((( love sm and then followed by hyunjin too i ahhbvdsjbvhsjbvhs // oh i only just paid attention to the lyrics bc of ur comment and now im feelin a lil sad HAHA // oh omg hyes it does give tmt vibes // ohoho??? gotta find out what chan said about 'catching up'

youtiful // smth about channo opening it feels so comforting, right? like, the whole song is comforting and feels like sitting on a rooftop swaddled in blankets with them (all of them, one of them, some of them) but opening it w chan specifically was the cherry on top. // omg yeah the disney vibes >>> // (re: one of ur comments) that was the saddest 'woohoo love that for me' ive read in my life

and i'll stop here. sorry again if this was such a long response ahhh heehfhshjs but it was really fun to make my own comments and then listen to the album again and read ur comments.

[blueiight]

I think most VC fans agree with Anne's take on Lestat though, they see him as faultless which the narrative validates cause no one ever challenges his version of events, like we are all just supposed to assume it was Louis who lied and nothing else, that's why they're all up in arms about what happened in the show cause "he would never do that". Hell even with the show some of them think he didn't deserve the murder and fully blame Claudia for causing the rift.

yea, its tricky cuz no one not the meta narrative or in universe actually challenges lestat when it comes to his response to louis’s interview, but id say characters in tvc absolutely challenge lestat’s character [his disposition, ways of thinking, actions& shit] & get on his ass heavy. so i feel like that implicitly should put his perspective in question the same as any other character’s [at least it did for me] but ur rite in that the vc fanbase esp the OGs do fall in line w rice’s own opinions. it certainly didnt help that shed get on ppl’s asses for writing fic, disagreeing with her, had a wide variety of contradictory, differing opinions on her own work& ppls interpretation of the text that didnt agree perfectly w/ however she felt at the time.. yk the whole interrogating the text from the wrong perspective essay on amazon reviews lol. yet certainly we are all bonded in discussing an adaptation of her literary canon which says sum yk. i think expecting a visual medium to perfectly adapt a book line by line is impossible if not borderline ignorance, but an excellent adaptation will show what made the source a good, veritable commentary on humanity. i dont think ppl should fly into deranged clear the searches campaigns when amc does use the merits of rice’s work & interrogates lestat’s crueler ways more than his cruel actions that was glossed over in the source [bc rice had diff intentions/views on it]. i think the nature of visual adaptations done decades after the source mean as viewers, we are already exposed to multiple threads from tvc (tvl, tva, allusions to the mayfair family, the talamasca, the whole impending vampire apocalypse which may or may not be a red herring this time, claudia’s diary, etc) that show this is not only louis’s interview, but a question on the fruit of memory itself. what is recollection to an immortal creature but a drop in the ocean? what does it mean to be immortal, if not living the same live over. and over. and over. again? anyways likeeee tbf at least anne rice had an excuse for why she was so crazy about lestat, he was her muse & based off the man she stayed with all her life. honestly if i made a trio based off me, my old work& our abortion and it blew up like this id delete my presence from everyone’s minds lol. but. them fans dont have an excuse cuz thats not what lestat means to them. ofc these books & lestat’s chara may have been pivotal in their coming of age but i also think as now adults, they should accept w the infamy of tvc & its adaptations mean varying ppl w different frames of reference will have different takes on this. yea, as kids we cant articulate an understanding of dv and intimidation tactics , but as adults u should be able to re evaluate fictional dynamics & have mature discourse w/o flashing out on ppl or going on clear the searches campaigns. i guess the existence of rl martyrs for these fictional vampires answer the question ppl had yesterday on antoinette too? lol

[waterfall-ambience]

(rotating the perpetua characters in my brain) actually no its kinda interesting how i can feel them shift away from hermitcraft as i write out the story, and how little changes to their situations and personalities can drastically affect the plot.

more (potentially redundant) brain thoughts below

damien, at least in the first 7 chapters of the script so far, has a very different personality to evil x. i upped his braincells and introspection for narrative interest (putting him at odds with wk), but that ended up growing into a tendency to ramble and be overly concerned with the moral implications of his actions. this (and helen being a positive influence on his emotional intelligence) actively hinders his villainy, just in a different way from evil x.

as a result, a large part of damien's character is how he rationalises and tries to resolve this dissonance of him recognising that he's doing bad things for bad reasons. thematically there's potential for social commentary here but i'm deliberately not going into that.

'why people do bad things for bad reasons', in my mind, mostly boils down to coming up for justifications for it or projecting onto the 'enemy' (scapegoating, essentially), which is mostly a wither king plot beat. hardly anyone ever believes that they're the villain of the story, just the heroes of their own.

meanwhile, damien is hyper-aware of the harm he's causing. he sees himself as his own 'villain', feels bad about it, but continues on the grand quest to destroy perpetua because it's something he agreed to do, and believes that on some level, he deserves the pain that comes from this. he and captain luna both share this quality and it will inevitably come to tear them apart.

its worth mentioning that captain luna is also very different from xisuma. xisuma in the hermitclone storyline was not portrayed in a very positive light (since evil x was the protagonist) and even if i was aiming for neutrality bc 'Hey, that's a Real Person's Likeness', he was always vaguely in the realm of 'well-meaning but horribly ignorant of evil x's struggle for identity and personhood'. because luna and damien dont have an author-character relationship i have no reason to portray them like how i would x and ex. luna is very quick to accept damien as being his own person separate from himself, and being the big damn hero that he is, shows more compassion and sympathy. the bigger issue in their relationship is luna's trauma surrounding augustin.

part of the fun of perpetua is coming up with character dynamics for relationships that dont exist within the hermitclone concept. worm man basically never interacts with xisuma (and even grows to resent him a bit after what happens to evil x), but luna and avery consider each other to be family.

avery and worm man's loneliness come from very different things. worm man doesnt have people in general- he's the outsider to a group of friends and can't join them for reasons beyind his control. avery, on the other hand, feels a disconnect from being the only one who was 'born into' perpetua and hasn't joined the crew 'on his own merits'. part of the difference here is in that perpetua as a story doesnt have to justify joke weirdness and that avery is a child surrounded by acomplished and talented adults

helen is actually the mvp because her presence as a grounded, well-adjusted adult changes drastically changes damien's life on marcianus. if she hadn't chosen to work against wk, damien would've been a more archetypical 'bad but sad boy' along the lines of zuko atla or hunter toh. not like he isn't already, but it would've been a lot worse. eidolon's characterisation later down the line is informed in part by helen's absence.

genuinely i didnt expect riza to be friends with avery since badtimes and worm man didn't really interact much. but i do welcome it because she's fun to write. she's quite a simple character right now, and i dont know if i should keep it like that or not because she works well as a supporting character.

[macncherries]

Full grown white man typing an essay over why he's not racist. Jesus Christ

You are white. You are not a person of color. Please listen to brown and black people instead of talking over them.

Hello again! I assume this is the same Anon as before (i apologize if not.) Sorry for any confusion, i was not writing "an essay" on why i was not racist. I was outlining the new and old terminology i have used for clarification purposes! I thought you had made an innocent mistake. I understand that There is an answer under the cut. I do not feel it fair to subject my followers to an Anon consistently clinging to my ask-box, on a concept they do not care to understand, in motivation purely to perpetuate irrelevant, melodramatic conversations.

For everyone else, thank you for sticking around! I know its been mostly text posts from me lately >_< theres more Labru art on the way!! Im also planning on doing kinktober for Labru!!! please stay tuned!

I actually did not even know you were even attempting to call me racist. I thought you were confused on the difference between "race science" and anthropology. I assume you are young, or uneducated about more niche sciences (which is okay) but i dont think its right to call someone racist for having a special interest in something you do not understand. And for something you likely did not fully read. It is not appropriate for you to lightly throw around accusations like that. Especially without proper commitment, research, or evidence Considering youre calling it "an essay" at a measly 544 words, i can safely assume you also did not bother to read the full thread(s) of reblogs your comment originates from. 544 words is not even considered an essay in college. Im required to write that much for a discussion post. Regardless, I can also assume this to be the case because the person who originates that thread (whom i outwardly agreed with, amplified, and was newly informed by) is POC. I dont feel comfortable depending on that aspect any further though, because i dont know OP personally, and wouldnt feel comfortable roping them into anything.

And i am white, im not hiding that fact, so im not sure why youre using it as a "gotcha" moment. I am a person who cares deeply about ethnically accurate features, cultural implications, skeletal anatomy, and anthropology. I care about being accurate to characters ethnic backgrounds, whether canon or implied. White people can do that. Its better for white people to do that, rather than be racially ignorant.

And, by extension, I am listening to people of all ethnicities. Especially POC. I am not speaking over anyone, and am only adding my own commentary. More importantly; no one else, not white, not POC, has spoken against it. So i physically am unable to speak over anyone.

More importantly though, i have talked to, and received input from POC already. Thank you for your concern. I have received input that what information i put out there did help people. People from everywhere. It was so very beautiful to hear. I saw multiple people both here and elsewhere appreciate the research i did. That was so heartening. And so despite this whole text post, i also want to thank anyone who contributed, reblogged, liked, just appreciated, or talked to me in reference to those original posts.

All contributions to the reblog thread had an overarching theme, and since you didnt read it all, i dont blame you for not knowing. That is; assessing the best, most accurate, possible way to portray Kabru and Thistles ethnic ambiguity. I go very much in depth as to how achieve that, as well as where i specifically find Kabru to most likely originate from in comparison to our own worlds culture and geography. I use anthropological and facial-anatomical evidence to support that. The evidence i use is not related to "race science" or anything similarly grotesque. The implication that "race science" is at all similar to anthropology is a disservice to everyone who studies it, professionally or otherwise. Anthropology inherently acknowledges that each ethnicity is different, and that those differences should be demystified and honoured. For the purpose of integration, ethnic appreciation, and antidiscrimination.

You are of the opinion that commemoration and study of different ethnicities is racism. Why you believe that is beyond me, but nonetheless, what you are insinuating is the equivalent of saying "i dont see race". I hope i do not have to point out the issue there...

You will also likely not read the entirety of this, either. It is unfortunately 820 words, which is beyond your limit. That is okay. Im here to tell everyone else that your background and culture is deeply appreciated. If it were within my capabilities, i would love to speak to every one of you and represent you within someone you hold dearly. That is my goal. I hope to continue upholding that with my art. I hope to continue doing thorough research to help aid peoples solidarity and interest in characters.

[loopy777]

Yeah, the brutal demand for quality and excelence in the japanese weekly grind for Manga artists means that even the best of them experience burnout at some point or discover their plans didnt quite go as they wanted it too.

Because of this, even excelent manga tend to have at least one terrible or subpar arc, when things just did not come together.

As i said, i think there are plenty of better manga and animes that FMA, but there are very few of them that doesnt have such a dip in quality at some point.

And thats the series that are overall good, plentyu have a bad arc and never really recover. Naruto pre timeskip was better than FMA, and the peak of what shonen could be... Post timeskip it eventually fell off a cliff.

Bleach had a very interesting world, and peaked during an arc where it essentially was a giant murder/political mystery... With a spectacular plot twist at the end... But it never managed to reach that level of quality again, and meandered through to a finish line, where both anime and manga got cacencled at different points(despite what some like to argue) for shitty quality. Hell the manga was cut short during the final battle itself. Thats really bad.

The list goes on and on.

To be fair, one bad arc isn't exactly limited to manga, or shonen. You'll find it in many excellent series.

Hell, while not really an arc, even ATLA, amazing as it was had one episode which almost all fans utterly despises.

Also about the peanut gallery... Us talking about it, actuqlly reminded me that one of the best Fights Luffy ever had, actually had the Villain, Katakuri, basically go:

"Damn this peanut gallery is annoying... Lets get rid of them before we kick things into high gear."

And then he knocks them the fuck out so that him and luffy can have an epic battle in peace. It's not the funniest scene in the world, but when i actually look at it on a meta level, yeah, this fight is so much better speciffically cause Katakuri removed the damned commentary track.

Okay, that's almost worth going through all of One Piece to get to, considering my gripe. XD

I have to wonder about the weekly grind for manga compared to American comics. Sure, you can cover a lot more territory in 50 issues a year compared to 12, but in practice, does that hold up for most action manga? Is having a single writer-artist superior to having a writer who works with a rotating artist team?

I would argue that having a full writing team is inferior to a single writer, and American comics seem to agree with me as writers these days seem to stick around for an uninterrupted run for at least a year before leaving and never looking back, and that's when the book isn't writer-owned. But considering manga art is a group effort, anyway, it seems like it would be a simple shift to having a larger team who do every other issue or something like that.

And a shift to every other week as a standard probably wouldn't be hard to accommodate. It still gets installments out fairly frequently, and I'd argue that manga has largely decompressed in order to manage its update schedule, so I think we'd see a natural speed up in pace and the storytelling wouldn't be any slower. I suspect that even the writers who don't fumble things just learn how to stretch things or tread water with their stories in order to give themselves time to recharge or resolve creative issues, so giving them that week's buffer would just result in things tightening up.

But I'm just speculating as an ignorant Audience. I can't draw, I've never written anything professionally, I've never even worked on an amateur comic, and I know very little about the manga industry except that they come out bundled in weekly anthology magazines and about 15,000 mangaka die every year from overwork. As someone from an engineering background, my solution when a machine is burning itself out is to run it slower or stop covering up the vents. And I have no idea what that second option would look like in the comic industry.

[caatws]

I am the same Anon who wrote the death of an author comment. I am not saying that disliking Gamora's treatment is wrong, I very much agree that she hasnt been used to her full potential, and I agree this does affect people who see themselves in Gamora and the other characters. What I am saying is that, especially since Gunn is not working at Marvel again, we shouldnt take every single thing he says as a fact, especially if he didnt write it in the script, which something thats stands on its own without his commentary or tweets, Marvel owns the script...nothing else. Whether he thinks Gamora and Peter belong together or not, we shouldnt take that as a Marvel is never gonna get them together again and is 100% definite just because HE thinks so. I am not gonna get into the debate on if he means at this very moment or permanently, but Marvel can very much do whatever they want as long as it doesnt contradict what is being settled in stone in previous movies/tv shows, and nothing said in the movie nor written in the script works in against any of the ideas on whether she can be close to the guardians nor Peter again. If a director/writer wants to bring them back together and both Zoe and Chris are willing to return then it can happen because its not settled by a word in the writing that "they are never meant to be together", that is just Gunn's interpretation and, again, Marvel can very much go against that statement in the future if they wish to do so. This doesnt just apply to the romance part but also to the how she feels towards the guardians and ravagers as a whole. While it is obvious that she sees the ravagers as a family maybe one day it is stated that she sees guardians as an equal family of some sort, as an example. My point is that everybody is focusing a bit too much on what Gunn thinks/says in respect to the characters and the movie when he is not in charge anymore and Marvel couldnt give a shit on what he thinks outside of the movie itself.

but i've Been saying this is his personal interpretation of his open ending this whole time tho, not that gunn had any say in or control over the future of canon 😭 like i've literally been saying "this seems to be gunn's intention/interpretation and i disagree with it". where in that is me treating his word as canon 😭😭😭

further, if you read thru some of my older asks on this whole topic, i've also been saying (for weeks bc ppl seem to keep forgetting!!!) that i don't even think there's a future to even debate over bc the gotg are literally done. like contracts are up ppl are moving on like WE HAVE KNOWNNNN FOR YEARSSSSS that vol 3 was the end. like idk where y'all were during the vol 2/iw era of gotg fandom, but i remember talking abt the fact that vol 3 was gonna be the end all the way back then. WHY ARE WE STILL STUCK ON THIS 😭

just bc actors are "open to being asked back" doesn't mean it's gonna happen (and again they'll have to get in line cuz...just look at allllllllll the characters from phase 4 and onward who have yet to even cross over once yet), so i'm not commenting on the treatment of gamora or starmora etc as something that could or couldn't even change in the future bc personally, i don't even expect to see a future project with this particular gotg lineup in general, regardless, so literally none of my opinions on gunn's commentary are weighing his words as heavily as a decider of future canon. bc there is no future canon for him or anyone to decide for most of the characters. bc gotg is done lol

[driflew]

beholden outlines and notes

i got a review on beholden yesterday who pointed out its been, yknow, well over a year since i updated the fic. obviously those of you following me here know ive been writing other stuff, and so it shouldn't come as a surprise that im not rlly planning to go back to working on it

why? other than getting into another fandom, i honestly just wasnt really happy w how the fic was turning out. i loved s1, but s2 i just wasnt liking as much. and as much as i was excited for how s2 (and the fic in general) would have ended, i just couldnt get myself to keep working and Get there. besides that, i started beholden on quarantine, and when class/work started up, i simply didnt have the time to write so much. beholden was already 70k. to finish would have probs doubled the length, and that's not time i could dedicate

as such, ive decided to post my outlines/notes for what the rest of beholden Would have been if id ever gotten to finishing it. this is, i guess, my final sendoff for beholden. here's every doc / outline i had guiding my writing of this fic

ill say in advance this fic was a mix of plotting and pantsing, so not everything in the outline is completely fleshed out. but the main beats are there, esp in scenes i was more confident about

...these also weren't meant to be viewed by anyone but me, so they might be sort of confusing/under-explained. il add a bit of commentary/context when i can

first, here's my detail on how the rest of season two would have gone:

NOV 3: Jordan Kennedy statement

toll his Knowing and rereading old statements

talk about Peter! self-isolation as a way to 

1. Ready himself and his friends for his death, by not being too deeply attached, 

2. Keep peter and elias’s attention on him rather than his assistants, 

3. Get peter to agree to yeet any threats into the Lonely, to keep his marks low

Dust to Dust. michael shelley is there. implies jon might have known abt the tapes all along and they could very well be the secret?? 

does this implicate michael in gertrude’s murder

Tim and Martin have an argument at flat while the three of them are listening to tapes. 

Jon has been guiding, but Tim worries he may be guiding Away from the truth (paranoid)

Martin worries Tim is so focused on finding Jon’s secret he’s getting distant from Jon. 

They’ve been listening to tapes at Martin and Tim’s whenever possible. 

martin’s tired of it! hes doing work at home basically, and tim’s kind of erratic now that hes got the idea in his head jon might be a monster. it worries martin too but he knows that even w the shit jon pulls he IS their friend

sasha’s gonna have. Thoughts abt the Michael thing as well, given Michael and Jon clearly have some kind of shared past / understanding

something something… Michael talks about a shared past, Jon about reverting the Change… they both worked with Gertrude…… Gertrude and Jon reverting “the Change”??

but what the fuck is the Change? what “changed”??? why did they need to undo it? why do only they remember it? do they need to prevent it from “changing” again?

could she talk to Michael?

WHERE DID THIS PLOT COME FROM 

Group intervention, 

Martin trying to make them stop being so suspicious of each other. Gearing up for the “if we were all happy would that be so bad” bit

DEC 1: Daisy drops by in place of Basira to give a statement / talk to tim. Jon half avoids this one bc 1, not feeding on a friend, 2, daisy will Kill him if hes noticeably not human (esp since she figured it out thru him changing in her dreams last time)

asks Tim about the nathaniel thorp statement. she wants to see it. 

looked back into the guy. he wasn’t named nathaniel thorp, but its been a long time. she’s not about to rule out a fake name

JAN 7: Tessa Winters 

WHAT HAPPENED IN CANON:

tim and jon argue

martin tells jon to fix shit w tim

not them encounter in the tunnels

talk to elias

JAN 25: Caroline Gorka

Jon takes this one. hungry

jons on his isolation arc

FEB 11: Maxwell Rainer raid

Feb13: Melanie statement 2

Tim bumps into in the library while researching and asks her abt what she’s been researching. she talks abt the notThem, and the table, and the statements Jon has given her copies of. Tim frowns and tell her that they know where the table is, it’s here, why would Jon lie about that… unless…? they decide fuck the library and fuck work and just leave

they do some research into jon’s past. Tim, Melanie, and Georgie go thru Georgie’s old pictures, but she doesnt have any (messy breakup… she got rid of most of it). talk abt the sudden personality change, etc. 

Tim decides that he must have changed. they talk abt how there’s usually someone who can see the difference, and Tim decides that since it isn’t any of them, it must be someone else in the institute. he asks around about what people think Jonathan Sims looks like, and “rosie” pauses before describing a complete stranger. tall, close-cropped hair, broad shoulders. and then this strange short man came in and she assumed they must have fired Sims, since he really wasn’t qualified, and hired some other Jon…

and that’s it. that must be. jon’s dead and this thing replaced him. 

Feb 16: axe to table

Tim calls Daisy, since she has experience killing these things. Melanie and Georgie decide to help—Melanie bc she was researching them, and Georgie bc that was her friend. Basira tags along too. Tim tells Martin and Sasha that they should come w him (without explaining), and to not tell Jon. rosie is more than happy to let them thru to artifact storage.

they all go, Tim explains that Jon is NOT Jon, and he’s going to prove it. then he turns around and puts an axe through the table

Jon shows up and is like. rosie wouldn’t let me in please tell me you didnt break the table. and Tim is like its too late, you bastard Jon-killer! 

chaos. 

dunno how this bit goes BUT 

shouting match in which they both talk abt rosie, and Martin realizes that rosie has been replaced

daisy attacks Jon and he panics, sending her to the Lonely as per the deal w Lukas. thats a problem! but also this fic equivalent of the buried

notRosie attacks, and the rest of them escape. idk how. Jon gets them to the tunnels probably? barricades them in the archvies? they deal w notRosie somehow. 

Jon has to come clean! its time t explain everything!

this might be a separate chapter. end on a cliffhanger and then in the new chapter Jon must explain….

new exposition dump chapter! here’s everything Jon has to explain (or not explain)

he is a time traveller, sort of, having sent his own memories back in time

he knew all of them (and daisy). all of them died. the world ended. he’s here to prevent it

probably toes the line between “it was my fault” and “im on your side.” yes he caused their deaths. no he doesnt want to cause them again. everything he’s done has been to stop those deaths from happening again.

explains he had to hide it because of Elias. probably explains how serious he is about this by explaining how he blinded himself to keep things from Elias and the Eye

…which leads him to explain shit like the Eye, the entities, the rituals, etc. 

which is a great lead-in to the Unknowing!

stresses repeatedly that he’s being honest, he’s telling them a lot and he’s willing to admit everything, but keeps two things to himself: he and Martin dated, and he’s going to kill himself in the Unknowing

...and that would have been s2! i was really excited for the not-Jon thing, but never got to it.

anyway. i also had these two notes at the end of the doc as things to consider in my writing of jon's interactions with Sasha and Tim

“sasha is jon’s favorite, theyre probably comfortable with each other”

“jon’s got stronger memories / more memories of tim hating him than tim being his friend, thats gotta be weird for how he feels about tim”

speaking of Tim, i ALSO have a doc specifically for guiding tim's arc. sasha's arc was mostly me rolling with the punches and working with what i thought she might be able to figure out, but Tim i had the beats planned more directly

TIM PLOT OUTLINE

peter lukas props Isn't human, jon Is helping him

jon is doing other shady shit, helping michael (also not human)

jon is very pointedly guiding them towards the unknowing but not saying what he knows or why

research avatars and learn ppl can lose their humanity / become monsters.

combine melanie's info on ppl replaced, like the notThem

horrible conclusion: on either was human and isn't anymore, or really isn't jon. were they ever even friends with jon?

(worth noting: if Jon truly was replaced when his personality changed, then all their moments of being genuinely close came after that. the person he is close friends with is not Jon. its the thing that killed Jon. the realization he “never actually got to befriend Jon at all” is going to do weird things to his heart, im sure)

(remember the table? tim can compare notes having seen it w melanie, who has been looking into the notThem) (statement info plus it now being revealed

jon is hiding shit from melanie as well) maybe have georgie in here looking for polaroid images or tape recordings of jon from college, which she can't find. no way to confirm he is who he's supposed to be

basira and daisy.…... basira can tell tim and sasha she's sectioned and that daisy believes Jon isn't human

AS FOR THE REST OF THE FIC...

when i started writing beholden, i plotted out the entire fic. i did s1 in detail, and s2 and three in... not a lot of detail. when i started s2, i made a new doc and more detailed outline, which is what i showed above. as i never got to s3, the s3 outline is... not super in-depth. had i made it to s3, i would have fleshed it out more, but alas. anyway, here's what i had:

Everyone knows MOSTLY whats up. 

There needs to be trust building! rights for jonmartin?

Jon plans to kill Elias after the Unknowing. Hes barely human, his friends are okay, and if they destroy the institute after his death, there shouldnt be any danger. In getting htem to trust him he accidentally forgets this means theyll be attached to him and wont Want him to die

elias now has to go on the offensive to get jon marked. Entities jon needs to be marked by still: buried, dark, desolation, end, flesh, hunt, lonely, slaughter, stranger, vast

At some point in this season, they have to find out what Jon’s real plan is 

FEB 17: starts. Does anything need to go here? Jon isnt on the lam. I guess re-bonding. Since most of them thought he was guilty of murder. Less “heres the past i remember” and more direct talk on his actual plan (but vague on how he plans to do the actual killing). can explain that hes not any more human than elias is. Also that they cant just Kill Elias or else it will kill all of them, but jon has a plan (that he cant tell the others, bc elias can read minds! Thats def why he cant tell them the plan)

APRIL 24: jude perry. If Jon wont go to her, Elias probably needs to bring her to Jon… oof. I think Tim is gonna get hurt by the desolation. 

Im putting the confrontation w elias here. Elias probably Knows what Jon is planning (or at least that hes planning to kill Jon, but not how) and Jon demands to know why the others are hurt. Learns Elias doesn need jon alive or to be The Archivist, it can be anyone, and elias isnt afraid to get a second one if he has to

APRIL 28: mike crew

...probably Simon this time, since Elias i think could get him to visit the MI anyway

Also I want to vaporize simon fairchild

Which i guess means jon avatar moments, which i want/need anyway

Unknown date: jon gets kidnapped by the stranger. Helen kills Michael simply bc i like Helen more. i will find real justification for this by the time i get here, probably

Coming back from being kidnapped is rough for jon bc he hasnt Known in a while or relied on his powers too much but, uh, hes starving

Assistants helping jon manage his inhumanity, which is uh… a tense issue, im sure. But theyre more sympathetic bc they like him more and also he did give up his humanity for them. having several anchors will make it all easier to manage

JUNE 29: is in the USA, is kidnapped by Trevor and Julia. Probably gets a Hunt injury here, since hes clearly not human, 

I think the fact jon had to leave the country to do this alone for some reason right now while theyre preparing for the unknowing stuff raises questions. Why cant this wait until after elias is dead??

before the unknowing, Jon records a tape explaining that killing the archivist means everyone else will be freed from the institute, to be listened to after he kills himself in the unknowing. He lists elias’s weakness of being in the panopticon, mentions leitner in the tunnels may be able to lead them. its a goodbye tape, saying sorry for lying about this last thing, and this is sort of his penance for killing them and the world. he can die instead this time, satisfied with saving the rest of them and confident they can finish out the rest of saving the world now that hes helped them survive and given them the tools to take down Elias. fic equivalent of testament, i guess?

AUG 6: plant explosives at the wax museum. They dont actually have to detonate during the unknowing, since the ritual would fail anyway, so? They can probs just blow it up right before while the circus is in the building getting ready, without getting Strange

I think same crew as canon go. Since theyre not waiting for the actual event or anything and are going beforehand, these were the ppl who knew how to set up the bomb and all

Jon plans to tell them he’s on the other side of the building, watching for anything that might come out and escape to kill it. He’ll text tim when hes there and tell tim to detonate. (

Jon actually plans to go inside, sit down w a bomb, and tell tim to detonate w him inside. So he’ll die and they’ll be free to kill elias

(he still wants to give Tim the option to get revenge on the circus, and sort of Still feels like. yknow, if Tim detonated it on him once, it'll be fine to do it again)

(will be fun to have Tim and Jon talk afterwards abt how Tim feels about Jon planning to use Tim to kill himself)

Sasha listens to the tape Jon left, figures out its jon’s suicide note, and calls tim immediately to stop him from detonating. She doesnt listen to the whole thing, just like. enough to hear the tone of jon's voice and Realize. Tim and Basira go in to stop/help Jon

and thats season 3! as i said, not particularly fleshed out. it def needed a lot of work, and besides, i wanted to flesh it out more when i had written more of s1 and s2, since i think its easier to do once you know what's actually on your page. but. didnt happen, clearly.

...you might be looking at these bullets and thinking "wait, wasnt there a bullet point about sending daisy into the lonely at the end of s2? where did that plot go?" and the answer is: it didnt exist when i started plotting the fic, but it was added later. i hadn't yet fleshed it out fully, but it would have worked similarly to pulling daisy out of the buried. i hadn't yet decided when to pull her out or whether the person o do so would be Jon or Basira. Jon would have gone and had a similar moment as the coffin where they bonded over losing their humanity, while Basira it would have been similar to the s5 plot line in which Basira had to take a long hard look at the stuff she allowed daisy to pull (since, yknow, you need to See someone to find them in the Lonely). i hadn't got far enough to figure out the details, tho, but figuring out what to do with daisy was something i found... particularly tricky, considering her character

ANYWAY. in addition to all this, i had, uh, a whopping THREE bullet points for "season four," which was basically rolled into arc three

They need a new plan to kill elias and i have no fucking idea what that plan is

Nvm. gertrude was gonna blow up the institute so thats what jon will do. Hes strong enough to survive and everyone else will be able to w the institute gone

...burn employment contracts? So they dont all die?

...that was all.

another thing i had decided (but not written down) while working on s2, however, that i didnt want to do "season four" and that i wanted to end at the unknowing. my plan was that id figure out what to do when i got closer to the end and had more information on what had transpired in fic. i think my vague plan was essentially "once they find out Jon was going to sacrifice himself they make him Not and do some shit to take the Institute down in that moment, based in the idea of destroying the institute."

one thing i wanted to do what play around with the fact the eye canonically favors Jon over Elias/Jonag and the fact that the lives of the assistants are tied to Jon, and see about burning the institute to weaken jonah further. if Jon was more powerful/favored, perhaps he could supercede jonah's power and thus, when jonah died, the lives of the institute employees could be tied to Jon instead? or something? i wasnt sure, esp w Jon being less favorable/weaker in this fic than canon.

the ending bit i was excited for was the unknowing, and everything that came after was just sort of ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

.....well! that's everything, i think! not all the way polished, but these were the ideas i had for how beholden would have gone. i also had two scenes half-written for the next chapter, and a random scene of flashbacks written on how the original cast died (written before daisy died in canon). i might post that as well, like, later

if you've read this far, thanks for still being interested in beholden! i cant express enough how grateful i am for all the support i received on this fic, including the fact that im receiving comments on it even now. it was a lot of fun to work on, even if i dont plan on finishing it. i hope seeing my notes, however patchy, helps you get a bit of closure on how this fic would have gone!

and, finally, if you'll allow me to be a bit silly: i love you, Beholden. sorry for never getting around to wrapping you up, but im so proud of you and grateful to you for existing. youre the most writing ive ever done in a single piece, and im thrilled to have you to show for how much i can get done if i really put my mind to it

[actualbird]

Oh man I wasn't expecting the dragon fic to get even better! My favourite morning fairytale is ramping up and I'm definitely not complaining.

No matter what lives they live Ria and Luke will never be able to cook properly before they start learning. How did Luke catch a soup on fire...?

I like how it's Luke this time who has the nightmares of the canon event instead of Ria. Just one of those things that are different yet similar in their different yet similar lives. Also I was going to make a looming nightmare pun here but I couldn't make it work so you get marginally more insightful commentary instead dryifdtud

Oh man when Luke realised his hands couldn't move I actually got worried for a second aha. It's definitely a Vyn move to be dramatic and ominous especially when he doesn't know Luke that well but also dammit Vyn why.

Nice owl motif reference, I always really like it when ToT fics make use of the boys' associated animals to describe them. It always feels like a nice small reference for fans who know about them.

I really wasn't expecting Vyn to be a fae what that's so clever???? Using the canon of him having changed his name to match the fae lore of names having power and thus them hiding their true names I honestly would never have thought about that. Does that mean Vyn still goes by Vilhelm here normally?

Luke being that one guy on dragon threads is absolutely accurate oh my god those questions I'm wheezing. What was going through Vyn's mind when he read those I really want to know now.

So I really like all the nods to the canon versions of these characters and how you use them in ways that make sense. Luke finding Vyn an easy person to vent to as a nod to him being a therapist in canon is so clever and I'm really looking forward to how many more references there'll be.

Ria eating a deer's heart sure is a strange moment for Luke to feel warm and fuzzy in his own heart but I'm not judging Luke you do you.

That's about it for my comments on the fic! I absolutely agree with that point in the author's note about Luke thinking like a hero. Having someone who thinks like that for a partner seems like you have an ideal partner on the surface but part of having a romantic relationship, hell of loving in general, is going through tough times together as a team and supporting each other. It's the trust to let yourself be vulnerable around your partner, and you won't get that with a hero type who solves everything themselves, and that can feel awful sometimes. Man, even when I don't go on character study tamgents in the main fic commentary your author's note finds a way to send me off on another one digdtif anyways!! Thank you for the delightfully long chapter, and I look forward to the next one! Don't worry about the longer wait between chapters, it's absolutely justified when the tradeoff is for longer chapters and a deeper au!

🌌

EYYYY, hi hi milkyway!!

thank u for reading ch2 of "yes, she’s my lover, yes, she’s a half-dragon. any more questions?" and HHRGHRH THIS COMMENT IS LOVELY, i owe u my life. im glad this cld be a nice morning fairytale to start off ur day :D

---

now to my thoughts on ur thoughts cuz i love rambling HAHAJHSFKJ:

how did luke burn a soup? well, it hasnt been completely talked abt in the fic itself, but i did slip in a little mention in this chapter that luke knows how to forge metals! in this au, ive got it in my head that luke has some pretty nice swordsmithing skills, it felt like a nice way to bring his canon skill of weapon-making and gadgetry into a medieval fantasy setting.

why did i bring that up abt his on-fire soup? cuz luke basically went about cooking the soup like how he heats steel in a forge when swordmaking. whoulda thunk that steel and soup are Not The Same

(i say this bit now cuz i rlly did have this whole backstory but it didnt fit with the sentence structure and of how i wanted to write that bit, so this is a behind the scenes exclusive i guess, HAHA)

-

luke in this au 🤝 mc in canon nightmares about death regarding the other

they all need therapy JHVSKJFSD

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ngl, my desire to write vyn's Entire Thing is one of the key factors that made me restructure and further deepen this Whole Fic sjhfvjkskjVKJH.

my outline at first only had luke and mc, but that version felt so...empty. so i brought the other boys in, but their personalities are so distinct and itd be a waste not to give em each a fun little role in this medieval fantasy aaaaand, the rest is history.

keep an eye out for who the nxx boy of chapter 3 will be >:3c

i had so much with vyn btw. i knew he was a fae from the moment i brought him into this fic and tried my best to like, foreshadow it but only truly go HUZZAH, REVEAL! at that one line

the owl thing was fun to do to, im a sucker for like...giving magic a tangible image to draw the sensation out from. cuz magic (sadly) doesnt exist!! how tf do i describe it!!! with OTHER THINGS

and it's always been my modus operandi to make magic feel like different things based on who is using it. it's kinda like how i feel abt writing, in a sense? theres a set list of stuff it can do, but the intent and style and how it feels differs for everybody

HEHE, the name thing was what made me wanna make vyn a fae here in the first place!! and as behind the scenes commentary once again, i think he does still go by vyn. it's not his "true" name but i figure he still likes it better. plus, it gives him some more protection, since saying a fae's name shifts the power away from the fae in question and onto the speaker

and vyn? giving control to somebody else? oh he'd rather find a ditch to go die in JHVSKJDFHJ

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i adore luke and he is so intelligent but that does make me wanna nerf him sometimes, esp when hes more focused on His Beloved and is wracked with worry jshfvkjs. his braincells took a vacation, he just wanted all the answers and he is new to this entire environment

vyn, reading luke's letters: oh this poor thing needs to learn how the magic community works or else they'll eat him alive

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me: hehe references go BRRRRRR

im so glad u enjoyed that tho, it's a bit of a guilty pleasure of mine to be tongue-in-cheek abt the 4th wall whenever it can be entertaining ajhsvfkjashfja

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love is stored in the "watching ur dragon!gf absolutely go to town munching on a dead deer while eating the dinner she made for u that is delightfully Edible" <3!!!

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im SOOO GLAD U ENJOYED my little character thought in the author's notes huhu. i am Incredibly Passionate about dissecting luke's character and it just delights me to no end that many traits that make him strong are also the same traits that can be his downfall

cuz idk, i figure character traits arent inherently good or bad, they become good or bad based on situations. him thinking like a hero when he was alone was alright, but now that hes got somebody who loves him and wants him to be here with her, he cant think like a hero anymore. at least not with her. he has to think like a partner for all the reasons u so wonderfully articulated hhHHHH!!!

im so emotional about luke and mc so much all the time, basically

---

thank you so SO much for this in depth comment!! and also for ur reassurance that wait-time is okay huhu, that rlly soothes my soul since ive got big damn anxiety abt wait-timez.

that being said, im raring to write ch3 HAHA but i have to wait until im a bit more rested cuz...i am SO SLEEPY TODAY for staying up late last night KJAHSVFKJAS

[just-a-fangirl13]

Why s5 *might* be the season MacRiley happens

Okay so...Hear me out! I'm not crazy I promise!!

Firstly, after 5x03 (and probably 5x04) it may seem very unlikely that MacRiley could ever happen. But I thought of a few reasons why they might actually happen by the end of s5 after all.... (it gets a lil long winded and kinda complicated but just stick with me till the end!)

1. All the MacRiley moments including the ones in 5x03.

[this Mac smile could not be an accident or something that slipped through both production and post-production right?! that in itself is a whole reason!]

Every Macriley moment we have ever had- whether it's the hugs, Riley saving Mac, Mac saving Riley, the ultimate show of loyalty when Riley went after Mac during Codex or even just the looks exchanged between the two- to any outsider it would seem pretty obvious that they are dating or at least in love. Keep in mind the writers would have written each of those scenes and Lucas and Tristan have acted them out with a specific build up in mind aka MacRiley.(think about the date episode: Riley just got dumped but was still thinking about how Mac might be hungry. She didnt have to do that. She could have just shown up at his place..) I mean how can they write two people so perfectly in sync and so perfect for each other and not have them end up together? It would just be a waste of all that tension and slow burn. (not to mention all the hugs and glances)

2. They know we exist. 

The MacRiley fam is very active on twitter with the writers and while they were writing 5x01 they knew we were around. They know we are a huge group. They would not want to risk pissing 90% of the fandom off by not making MacRiley endgame.

[P.S.yes 5x03 was a bait and switch but if you were paying attention you would have noticed that neither Lucas not Tristan live tweeted or hyped up the episode. They knew we would probably hate it so they didnt publicise it too much! so in the future if you have doubts about the episode being a MacRiley one just check their stories or posts on twitter/intstagram]

3. Yes 5x03 happened. 

I really think it was an episode they HAD to write. Ok so after 4x13 they had 7 more episodes planned and were filming 4x20 (aka the finale) when the pandemic struck. So they have these 6 episodes but no finale for it. [Idk if anyone else has noticed but in 5x01 there were clearly some parts cut out. For example the conversation between Desi and Riley towards the end seemed a bit jilted. Riley asking Desi to forgive her but Desi replied with yeah we are cool (still no apology ofc) I feel like something happened during that which ended up getting cut out so it could fit with the final story.]

This makes me think that they have rewritten a few bits to tie into the new finale episode. In 5x03 when Mac asked Desi to come fishing with him which was clearly something very personal to him she was like no do better.. then we see Mac's disappointed expression. She could have easily said okay but maybe not for our first date? Or its not really my thing? Or just about anything else rather than laughing in his face like that. Eventhough MD is together they still arent compatible. Mac’s final words in 5x03 was him being desperate. I truly think he is so broken and lost that Desi is the only safe thing left, the only thing he feels like he can fix right now. Once he finds himself again and heals...then it's going to hit him like a pile of bricks!!

4. But Riley doesn't have feelings anymore...WELL doesnt she? 

When it comes to Mac, Riley is always in denial. We saw it in s4 when she tells Bozer not to make her say it. I think s5 will show her finally accepting it. Finally accepting that she is in love with her best friend and that it definitely isnt Codex adrenaline because she caught the feels when Codex wasnt even around. While Mac's arc would include realising he and Desi are never going to work and that he is unhappy and that RILEY is the one for him.

[why else would they give Riley feelings for Mac? Something has to come of it.]

5. The slow burn rule.[this point is a lil complicated] 

Now season 5 is rumoured to have 13 episodes. So here’s what I think: If MacGyver follows the pattern that most shows do when it comes to slow burns, then technically MacRIley should have happened at the end of season 4. But since the season got cut short and they didnt get to air/finish their final episode the writers had to improvise. 

From what I know, 4x19 which is 5x04 for us is the episode where Mac meets Desi’s parents and 4x20 was supposed to be the finale that was left unfinished.(they are definitely moving the timeline ahead if a pre finale episode is suddenly a mid season one.) There might have been a 4x21 or 4x22 but I haven't heard anything about those....EVER.

So what I think they have decided to do instead is extend the MD storyline a bit longer just so they dont end up scrapping all their s4 episodes where they would be together and write a new finale that ties everything together, aka MacRiley.

If you think about episode counts, s4 and s5 together would have 26 episodes which is a how long a normal season runs. Basically what im trying to say is if we follow the ‘slow burns end by s4’ and take season 5 as an extension of 4 then MacRiley should get together in the season 5 finale or maybe the episode just before. (IM REALLY TRYING TO GET SOME LOGIC INTO THIS)

This would be a typical TV thing too where the couple finds out about each other’s feelings while the main arc of the show is also at its peak, which perfectly sets up a future season where fans are hyped but still has a satisfying ending.

6. So what about MacDesi?

So far the macgyver writers have given us characters we love. Think of every character on the show apart from maybe Desi... Mac, Riley, Bozer, Jack, Matty, Leanna, Samantha, Russ and even Murdoc. WE LOVE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM. So then why is Desi such a strange character? I think shes purposely been written as an opposite to Mac or even Riley (I get she’s supposed to kinda replace Jack but Jack is really irreplaceable). 

It's not necessarily a bad thing its just not a great thing to do or have great execution. People have said things like Desi is a badass and shouldnt have to apologise or say I love you back to her boyfriend because she is a strong woman...I'm sorry but your opinion of who a strong woman is, is EXTREMELY skewed. A strong woman is someone who can make mistakes and when she does, she is ‘strong’ enough to own up to it, she is loyal and fierce and also caring while being a badass who can take down bad guys. And for GODS SAKE, RILEY DAVIS IS A STRONG WOMAN...people have called her mushy and feminine on twitter and I'm just very confused by that.....

Anyways before I go off on a rant, it seems like Desi is intentionally being written this way. Every opportunity they get to redeem her and make her more relatable or just a better person they just dont take it. While Rileys character arc is one of the best I've ever seen. Either its intentional or they’ve forgotten how to write characters...which is worrisome but ill give them the benefit of the doubt.

The writers also know we dont like Desi. The amount of times we've tagged them in the toxic posts or pointed out problematic things we can be sure they've seen at least half of those. So theres no way they dont know. RIGHT?

So why then is MD still a thing you may ask??

Well for one they cant break them up again off screen because of those unreleased s4 episodes. (not to mention the other parts of the audience who arent as invested in mac’s love life would probably be very confused.)

Secondly Mac has to be the one to pull the plug, not Desi. 4x13 made it seem like Desi was the annoyed one not Mac. He apologised to her which meant he wanted to fix things. 

Thirdly, they are opening the chpt one last time before they permanently close it. MD is going to be a stark contrast to macriley(it already is in every way possible). Every issue Mac and Desi had can be used to show how amazing macriley really is as two people who arent even dating yet.

Fourthly, MD being together is a sort of commentary on Macs mental health as well. We can see how happy he is with Riley but around Desi he becomes some one else. If the writers are doing this on purpose or subconsciously still remains to be seen.

And Yes keeping MD around for a few more episodes seems like a necessary risk right now but I have a feeling its going to be worth it later.

[I know we have had like 4 desi entered episodes already but I really think 5x04 will be the last of it since 5x05 is the Jack episode and 5x06 is Mac+Riley+Bozer episode with no mention of Desi at all!]

The writers know we are a dedicated bunch and they know that once MD breaks up for the last time the entire fandom will be waiting and watching. That's when the show will be at its peak. That will be the perfect moment to bring in MacRiley’s arc to a new start!

Congrats if you stuck with me through this whole thing! if you agree/disgaree with any of these or have other reasons why they could be endgame in s5 let me know!!

[stop-breaking-my-heart-telltale]

Maybe unpopular; but i’ve never really liked the ending of TFS where we play as AJ. The first time i played it i was so upset about Clem ‘dying’ that i couldn’t really enjoy it, it bothers me that they just did that to shock the player. I would much rather see a scene of AJ running back to the school with Clem in the wheelbarrow, and see everyone’s reaction. It just sorta felt like a cop out to me, like the devs and writers didnt wanna write something so emotional and dramatic

But anon..... they couldn’t show the wheelbarrow bit or everyone’s reactions to Clementine missing a leg... if they did that, they couldn’t take the easy route of emotional manipulation and would have to put more time and effort into the ending. 

...Okay, but seriously, I totally feel you. 

Though I will say that I do enjoy playing as AJ at the end. I think that the transition from Clementine to AJ is done well, though I agree that when you’re in that emotional “fuck Clementine is dying” state, it’s hard to enjoy it, y’know? It’s much easier on replay when you know Clem’s gonna be fine and you can focus on the AJ sections themselves. 

But honestly, the last episode is just kind of a mess....

I know that when it was coming to Clementine getting bit and just this whole story in general, they forced a lot of parallels with Lee.... which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but when you go as far they did over the course of the season, it can come off like they aren’t confident in their abilities to create this story on their own so they have to rely on everyone’s love of S1 by drawing parallels and that’s not great. 

I get it’s fun for us to put screenshots side by side and point like “look it’s like S1! isn’t that neat?” 

In the end that kinda fucked over the ending. I don’t have a problem with Clementine getting bit as the season’s final big thing, or her surviving the bite. However, I agree that not showing anything until she magically shows up all like “What’cha doin’ goofball??” is an easy cop-out. 

They knew that by doing that, they didn’t have to go into the complexities of the characters reacting, especially AJ, Louis, and Violet, or show anything about her recovery process but they would still get that emotional reaction out of the player, y’know? 

Though I’m sure if you asked anyone working on the episode why they didn’t show anything, they would blame the budget, time, and the fact that Telltale literally ate shit on its way down and we should be grateful we got a final episode at all.

Which is fair, but those excuses, no matter how true, don’t automatically make the final episode a perfect conclusion. The final episode isn’t exempt from criticism because Kent or Mary or whoever explained something about the behind-the-scenes. 

The final episode is flawed in many ways-

 It’s waaaay too short, it tosses aside most of its interesting cast that it spent all season developing, does nothing with the season’s big baddie Lilly if she’s alive, does nothing with blind Violet and mute Louis, there is no mourning for dead Tenn/Louis/Violet, it gives us a flashback scene that feels shoved into the story rather than being placed in a more natural place, and gives us an ending that, while a happier conclusion to Clementine’s story, falls flat because suddenly everything is okay. 

Many of these things probably could’ve been fixed with a 5th episode, but since the writers were so confident they could tell the story without it, this was the result and I can’t help but wonder if they second guess that confidence or not. Then again, during the commentaries, they talk about how they nailed the final episode so I doubt it. 

It just feels like a missed opportunity. 

You have a cast of characters that I would argue are the most likable group we’ve been in across all four seasons, but they’re tossed aside because there’s no time. I get the main focus is Clementine and AJ and the progress of their relationship, and that’s fine. I love that, but neglecting your supporting cast isn’t great. 

Especially when it comes to Louis and Violet. Whoever you develop a relationship with becomes the story’s tritagonist, meaning they’re the 3rd most important character. Granted, they get more development than the supporting cast if you bond with them.... but I guess fuck the one you didn’t, huh? 

Violet went through hell on the boat [I know this because Clementine had to tell me because the writers suddenly became incompetent and showed literally nothing with Violet’s garbage cell scene] and now she’s mostly blind from the explosion but she’s fine. No lingering resentment for Clementine, no signs of the mental abuse the writers said she went through, no bother to show any recovery or struggle with her not being able to see. Nope, she’s super okay guys. She and Clementine are friends again. It’s almost like she didn’t punch Clem in the face or that Clem didn’t choke her out. 

Because happy ending. 

Oh and Louis? Yeah, he’s fine. It’s almost like he didn’t go through the traumatic experience of having his tongue cut out of his mouth. Sure he doesn’t talk and he’ll never get to sing again, but he’s fine. No recovery time shown, he has no issues eating, no attempts to show how he’s coping without a voice, or how he feels about Clementine because I guess they’re totally cool now. He’s fine. He’ll get over it. 

Because happy ending. 

Oh, and if they’re dead? We get a shot of their grave but like I guess no one really cares that they’re gone because we never got to see anything and they’re never really mentioned by Clementine or any of the others aside from Tenn and AJ so I guess we’re not supposed to care the 3rd most important character much either. 

Because happy ending. 

So yeah, I could go on and on because no, I don’t believe they nailed the final episode. It’s not terrible, of course, but nailing it would’ve required more time, effort, and the desire to get deeper. So anon, I totally understand where you’re coming from. 

[sometimesrosy]

Hey, I love your metas! I just got finished sab and I've been reading some metas about it, mainly about how the ending was not great. Specifically for Alina (nothing to do with malina, but how her arc was handled as a whole). And I tend to agree with it but I wanted to hear your thoughts.

Oh thank you.

I read some of those metas, too, and I'm not sure I agree with them.

I mean, I think SAB is a flawed book. It's enjoyable, but Alina is not a very mature character, through no fault of her own. She's not written as a mature character so it's not a failure or a character flaw, but she's written as a very young, naive one, for a young audience. She just doesn't react in very adult ways.

She's NOT a powerhouse. Although she has a powerhouse power. She's a bit shallow, she likes simple things. I mean, sure, who wouldn't want a great room and great food and status and the attention of a glamorous older man, right? That's all pretty normal.

But what she really wants for herself is 1. Mal. and 2. A home. She wants to belong. She suppresses her power for years, even though it makes her sick, because she doesn't want to be separated from Mal.

She loves him, but he doesn't feel that way about her (yet.) He's her best friend and really her only family.

It's not disempowering to want to be with the people you love. Is it? She ends up, after all the drama and war and violence and pain and loss and struggle and sacrifice, with what she wanted all along.

To be with Mal, to have a home. To belong somewhere.

I read somewhere, I really don't know where, that they interpreted the Grisha trilogy to be a woman's empowerment, and I really don't think that's what this series is about. I mean it's an ELEMENT, but it's not the main point.

Because even though she learned to wield her power, and using her power was necessary for her health, being the sun summoner honestly brought her nothing but pain and suffering.

It made her a target for a powerful man who wanted to take her and use her power for himself. If he couldn't convince her to give it to him willingly, he was fine with forcing her to do it unwillingly.

To be honest, I think this is a story of an ordinary, nothing special girl who was born with an extraordinary, dangerous power. Once she was embroiled in the wars and power struggles, she wanted to do what she could to fix things, because she was brave and good, but at any point, she was only looking to make things better, not to gain power, right? Well okay, when she was learning her powers and she figured it out, then she was like "hey this is neat, let me have fun with it," but when it turned out that she'd been lied to, that all kind of went away, and she just wanted to stop the darkIing. Yes? I have not read it a million times, so this is not a deep analysis.

IDK. I just read some interpretations that did not sound like THIS book, but sounded like what they wished this book was instead, and then saying it failed because it didn't tell that story.

Of course everyone gets to interpret it for themselves, but if you're judging a story against what you want, rather than what they were trying to do? IDK. That doesn't work for me.

Now I have never read any author commentary, so if she said it was an empowerment story, I'd have to see what she said precisely. But to me? IT wasn't about Alina gaining power. I mean she DID gain power, but only to give it away because love and belonging was more important to her and she didn't want to be anyones saint, or queen, or soldier.

The love story of Mal and Alina is sweet. It didnt' really go far enough for me. Too much was implied and not enough stated. The protagonist/antagonist relationship was bolder and more dramatic, but I didn't think they went far enough either. The show pushed both relationships and made them both better imo.

I think the author learned how to write better characters as she went on, but Alina and Mal were already in place, and never got much deeper or more nuanced.

But I still disagree with the interpretation where people complain about Alina's end. I think they wanted a stronger, bolder character arc, and this was not that. It was a delicate, sweet character arc. She never wanted to be a sankta. Or a queen. Or the darkling sun summoner. She was pushed into all that and went along with it passively, yearning for Mal the whole time. The only time she was active was when she was running off with Mal, away, or after the stag or whatever.

Y'all could probably argue that I was wrong about stuff because I do not have the books memorized. These are my impressions.

I won't change my impression about The darkling being an abusive monster and the villain though so don't try that one. It was super clear and not subtle, both narratively and with what I know about abusers.

Alina's character arc interpretation is not totally set in my mind.

[reyeslonestar]

@likesuperwee replied to your post: [x]

Yes I'm SO glad he trusted himself and didn't let his heart be influenced by "procedure." And again I totally agree and I've struggled with this show because acab and while they touch on serious/important conversations re:policing (ie. michael being harassed in 911) it's just not enough??? Like it's still very much a pro-cop show.

I'm interested to see if Carlos has any doubts about being a cop after that situation... but I wouldn't be surprised if they don't write that because this commentary is way more subtle than it could/should be. It's frustrating and confusing though as a fan for sure

I have so many more thoughts and feelings, and I'm sure you do too but I struggle to communicate them eloquently lol

yeah its not straightforward because while I love the show and ultimately I go to it for escapism - it is also a positive depiction of cops and police, so its irresponsible not to engage critically with its depictions of cops and how it heroises them, and it can’t really be escapism when it is valourising cops.

I dont watch the og 911 so im not quite sure what happened with Michael being harassed but with the latest lone star ep - while I am impressed by the fact they framed it the way they did,  ultimately they didnt really push it explicitly - it was more subtext rather than outright criticism. and the thing is, that’s not going to change until there is real world change in the vein of defunding the police and reforming the way domestic policing is handled. they’re both first responder-orientated shows so until there is that kind of reform, cops are going to feature as primary characters who are endeared to the audience. yes they focus on the firehouses mainly but Athena and Carlos are main characters too even if lone star forgets it sometimes and their depictions will therefore be positive.

I will unapologetically admit that Carlos is my favourite character, but I have to acknowledge the system he is part of and the pressures on him to behave in certain ways. it is reassuring to see him shown as resistant to those pressures as he is in 2x08 - but you still see things in the way he responds to emergencies. for me, the mercury poisoning case in s1 had several red flags. first, when a guy was obviously harming himself rather than anyone else, he was treated as a threat to others and Carlos approached him with a hand on his gun. then when the poisoner was called back, Carlos approached the situation with his gun already out - despite there being no evidence of the guy having his own weapon. I dont know what standard procedure is but those were times where to me, lethal weaponry was threatened prematurely and it really stood out to me. idk whether its because I come from a country where we dont have guns - yeah, our police force is still institutionally corrupt but lethal force is not so immediately and easily applied and so it felt really obvious to me.

anyway, yeah I agree - I think that a really interesting and in-character plot line for Carlos would be to advocate for police reform and spearhead a new department that handles cases in a more sympathetic and compassionate way. I dont expect to see it because im not naive but its something that I would like to see. I dont think that he’d want to leave the police entirely, I think for his character theres his family history and also he feels like he can do good with it, and with the validation of the last ep it would reinforce his conviction when it came to resisting ‘procedure’. but I do think that a slightly different direction or approach to being a cop would suit him.

[bunkernine]

hey thx for attempting to explain but you didn't say anything about rick making fun of poc in your og post though

I'm a person of color and I 100% see where you're coming from and agree with you, riordan is shitty at correctly writing representation, but you didn't say anything about him writing poc, it was just "'where are my home dawgs' like rick why do u do this what does even mean"

you didn't have to 'mock and mimic' her like that, you could have just told her that this was a post about rick being bad at representation and it's insensitive and they probably shouldn't talking about will on that post. and they're my friend and u were a dick to them so yeah it kinda does have something to do with me lol

call it passive-aggressive, rude, aggressive, it honestly doesn't matter, call it whatever you want dude but you didnt have to talk to her like that

k thanks for trying to clarify ig

i give this a 6/10, ur grammar is lacking but i wont go to harsh on that this is the internet after all. ur missing ur sources and this is exponentially lengthy when ur last two sentences summarized rather nicely! still, messy overall. had this been turned on in time on the due date (3 days ago), this would've been a higher grade!!! minus points for that :( however great use of your personal connection to the text, and your appeal to pathos!!!!

overall grade: D+

final commentary:

[i-loves-my-lemurs]

Fanfic writer's director's commentary! Thanks to @candycoloredwolf for the ask! I chose to talk about my first panchulien oneshot 'Wanna Dance?'. I wrote it in a single night on impulse so there's a few grammar mistakes and other stuff I noticed upon revisiting it.

I probably went way overboard on my commentary (oops) but it was so much fun going through it all. I hope this is entertaining.

.............

*the crocodile ambassador gave him an unusually soft smile.*

After everything that's happened in the show, I feel like the croc ambassador would have warmed up to Julien quite a bit and come to respect him as a leader. Also he's trying to butter Julien up before complaining about one of his subjects.

*provided they were on their best behaviour. It had said on the invitation that it was a 'sophisticated' event, so Maurice had managed to wrangle all of the lemurs into formal wear, and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, dancing in pairs to the soft music*

Man, I just love it when characters dress up in fancy outfits and go dancing together (like in the prom episode). One of my favourite tropes in fact, so I just had to throw it in there!

*but still all this fancy partnered dancing wasn't entirely to the ringtail's taste.*

As much as I like the formal dancing stuff, it wouldn't be something Julien would enjoy, so he's already looking for an excuse to bounce and throw his own afterparty. He's only stayed so far to try and be polite and improve relations between their kingdoms or something else that Maurice told him to do.

*Clover, Sage and the rest of the mountain lemur kingdom was there, and the king and queen were happily sharing a waltz. Maurice was dancing with his sister while Prince Brodney was teaching their children the steps*

This takes place after the show's finale, but without the inclusion of the zoosters, so sort of like a parallel universe? Where Julien and Clover are monarchs together, which I think is neat. Also People tend to forget that Maurice has a sister, myself included really, and I kinda wish they'd had more cute bonding moments, so I gave then a brother/sister dance.

*even Pancho was leaning against a tree*

Aside from the main squad (excluding Mort of course) Pancho is the only minor lemur that Julien really mentions here. Almost like he was looking for him specifically. Hmmm....

*He caught Julien's eye and winked. Julien chuckled fondly.*

Casual flirt.

*"I do have a minor issue with the behaviour of one of your, ahem, subjects*

That little cough just feels like something the croc ambassador would do when he's embarrassed, or to sound authoritative, so he did.

*Julien tore his eyes away from Pancho*

"Tore his eyes away" almost like he didnt want to look away. Hmmm...

*The anxious lemur was currently giggling as he twirled his new boyfriend around*

Ah, I just want Willie to be happy and have a good time with his bf. He deserves to laugh more. New boyfriend infers that they're in the early stages of their relationship, so they're just messing around being silly and cute and having fun together.

*but Horst and Mary Ann weren't doing much better.*

Horst and Mary Ann deserve a nice romantic dance. It would be pretty awkward because she's twice his size and can only really walk on all fours, but they don't even care. They just cut their own path through the dance floor and ignore everyone else, no matter how annoyed the other dancers are because they keep getting in the way.

*"Well, they're both males!" He said. "It's completely unnatural, wouldn't you agree?"*

Oof, the croc ambassador wants that snooty monarch solidarity with Julien since he's the most popular king in Madagascar, but that ain't happening any time soon. Not with that attitude!

*Julien was lost for words. He had known ever since he was young that he liked boys. Every male in the kingdom liked boys! In fact, it was considered a little unusual if you WEREN'T interested in the same gender.*

I like the idea that homosexuality is just the norm in the party kingdom, kinda like She-Ra. People are just gay and nobody thinks anything of it and coming out is celebrated. Julien doesn't care if you're gay or straight though, he just cares for his peeps and wants them to love who they love.

*whatever their genders were*

A subtle difference between Julien and the croc ambassador, Julien says 'genders' while croc ambassador says 'sexes' because Julien is more open to the idea of gender not being confined to biology.

*Julien took a few deep breaths and tried desperately to not get angry.

"What's the problem man, they're just dancing." He remarked in what he hoped was a neutral tone.*

Julien tries to keep his cool here, a bit of his character development showing. He now knows that everything doesnt have to be a scene, so keeps his temper. It's also kind of to protect Willie and his partner though. He knows they're having a good time and he doesn't want to bring to their attention that their host doesn't like what they're doing, because he knows they'll be upset.

 *"rather not have it ruined by such atrocities being committed!"*

And this was the point where I started to hate the croc ambassador too while writing.

*"Oh, hey Julio." Pancho smiled at him. "I was just gonna-"*

Pancho was just gonna say that he was bored with the party and wanted to leave. He would have asked if Julien wanted to come with (he could tell Julio was getting bored and he couldn't have THAT), which would have been a different fanfiction entirely.

*"Wanna dance?" Julien said.*

I honestly can't remember if I thought of the title or this line first.

*He considered sticking his tongue out at the reptile's back, but ultimately decided that such a juvenile display wasn't the best way to get his point across.*

Again, character development. Julien has matured (a little) and realised that there are better, more fulfilling ways of getting revenge.

*"OK." Pancho said with a shrug, and slid his paw over to Julien's waist,*

Once Pancho can mentally catch up with what's going on, he rolls with it. In fact, he sorta likes the idea of dancing with Julien, and had been trying to gather the courage to ask him for most of the night. I wonder why...

*As they danced though, he began to feel his attention drawn to a different place: how smooth Pancho was on the dance floor,*

We all know Julien's attention span is not great, so there's no way he's going to be able to stay angry when he's too busy being distracted by Pancho's smoothness.

*He raised an eyebrow. "You just couldn't resist?"*

Not entirely subtle flirt.

*"But you know, you're not a bad pick." He patted Pancho on the arm.*

Not entirely subtle either flirt.

*"Abner over there's been missing steps and stumbling all night!" He glanced over at Abner and his wife with a small frown.*

Poor Abner, he's the one getting picked on tonight. Bit of a running gag here.

*Pancho's eyes widened and he instinctively pulled Julien closer, whether it was to shield him or to further prove the point, Julien couldn't tell, but the ringtail wasn't complaining.*

Pancho does pull Julien closer on instinct to protect him, he knows how badly homophobia would hurt Julien's feelings. Julien is just loving it though. He was more angry for Willie's sake than hurt anyways.

*"But us lemurs dance with guys all the time!" Pancho exclaimed. "I've seen you kiss four different guys at a party once! What's his problem?"

"That's what I'm saying, wait I did what?"*

Even if they weren't a couple, dancing together is just something the males would do. They're that casual. And of course Julien would go around kissing everybody at his parties when he gets drunk enough. Poor Julien doesnt remember half of what he does at parties though.

*"Oh no, I don't mind." Pancho remarked, then cleared his throat awkwardly, looking away.*

Awkward silence much? Internally Pancho is just screaming *why did you say that?!" because he doesn't know how to handle his feelings right now, especially not with Julien so close.

(For any other ballroom dance enthusiasts, what they're dancing would be a mix between a waltz and a slow dance. Like a casual, less fancy waltz that's quite easy for them to get the hang of, but still quite romantic and personal).

*"You know Julio, I don't think he's gonna notice." Pancho remarked.*

But eventually Pancho plucks up the courage. They're already dancing, he tells himself. And Julien just wants to make the crocodile ambassador mad. Julien kisses people platonically all the time so he won't question it. If he doesnt like it, say you were doing it to piss off the crocodiles. And if he does like it... well...

*"Well, I had an idea." Pancho was avoiding his gaze again."*

He's still nervous of course, but he's made up his mind. It's all or nothing, baby!

*"Lay it on me." Julien said.*

And he does! Literally!

*And holy Sky Gods.*

I was tempted to have this line be 'holy crap' or 'holy sh*t' because that's what I would say idk but holy sky gods just works better for the show's lore, and allows the story to keep a G rating.

*All thoughts of spiting the crocodile ambassador had been fully driven from his mind*

Julien just gets so caught up in the moment, he's all "what crocodile ambassador?" he just wants to keep kissing.

*Julien stroked his paw through Pancho's soft fur and deepened their kiss.*

I imagine Pancho's fur would be very soft, he's always playing around with explosives so he's bound to get his fur burnt off every now and then, and it grows back softer.

This was the first time I wrote the lemurs kissing, so it's not the most explicit thing in the world. I probably couldn't write an explicit kiss scene to save my life though.

*"Hoo-ah." Pancho sighed softly.*

Hoo-ah" is exactly what Pancho would say after having his mind blown by a kiss like that. Just no thoughts, head Julien.

*"Yeah, crocodile ambassador certainly thinks so." Pancho said, a wild grin overcoming his face*

Heh heh, Pancho's happy because he just got to kiss his crush (and he liked it!) But also because he can see the croc ambassador is pissed and he loves the opportunity to mess.

*some looking angry, some looking intrigued*

Some of the crocs are intrigued because they've never been able to be open about who they are or experiment because of compulsory heterosexuality in their kingdom. Seeing two guys just being so open about their attraction to each other would definitely help them rethink things. They've never seen gay love expressed like this and it's new and exciting.

*Julien's face broke out into an ecstatic grin.

"Yeah that's right!" He called wildly. "I kissed a guy! At your party! Boom, I like kissing guys! Ha, suck on that loser! Woohoo!"*

Oh the sweet triumph of proving a point. This rant was a joy to write, it just feels very Julien.

*He grabbed Pancho's hand and held it up.*

Grab your boyfriend's hand, hold it aloft like a prize.

*"I'm like ninety percent sure Ted likes kissing guys!"*

Haha, poor Teddy needs to be extracted from the closet, pronto. Julien just has an excellent gaydar.

* and tucked a protective arm around his daughter's shoulders, turning her away from Julien.*

I imagine princess Amy would have some questions after this, questions which her father would definitley struggle to answer. If she really wants to find out what Pancho and Julien were doing, I imagine she'd visit the party kingdom alone, and the lemurs would be happy to answer her questions. Pancho and Julien may have ushered in a new era for the crocodile kingdom and their relationship with LGBT+.

*There came a cheer from the crowd of lemurs and they all began to head off the dance floor*

Of course the other lemurs go with Julien immediately, he's their king after all and the moment he suggests that someone might not be cool with their sexualities, they're ready to bounce.

*Clover and Sage at the front hand in hand,*

Clover and Sage would definitley be behind Julien 100%. The moment he declares that they're out of there, they just drop everything to leave with him.

*some mountain lemur ladies holding hands too.*

Mountain lemur lesbians? Anyone? I just think it's neat.

*"You read my mind, Julio."

Julien pulled Pancho towards him and tried to ignore how it felt like there was a little party going on in his stomach when Pancho called him that.*

Julien really likes that name! I see it as an affectionate nickname Pancho gave him that eventually just evolves into a pet name that makes Julien a little warm and fuzzy inside every time he hears it.

*Julien's heart leapt with joy to see Willie clutching his boyfriend's hands as they danced.*

Daaaww, Julien might pick on Willie but at the end of the day he likes to see him happy. He's glad they don't have to stay at a party where their dancing is scrutinised.

*Pancho rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly as they stood face to face. "I'm sorry about kissing you, I just-"*

Now that there's some distance between them, Pancho has had time to think and wonder "oh sheesh, what if I messed it up, what if he only felt like it was platonic" and he's now all embarrassed, poor leem. He's just a guy in love.

*He nodded, then cleared his throat in an attempt to get a grip on his emotions. "You know, um, while we were dancing*

And now we see Julien trying to hold it together, these two are just so precious and I can totally see them stumbling over their feelings like that.

*kissed Pancho on the forehead, giggling slightly at the other lemur's squeak of surprise.*

Pancho is the perfect height for affectionate forehead kisses, let's not forget it!

*Pancho and Julien headed onto the dancefloor together and moved their bodies to the beat.*

They would have spent the night together just dancing and vibing (and making out probably).

*Nobody there who gave them the stink-eye or who told them that they were wrong. They danced and had fun and kissed without a care in the world. Julien felt so happy that his kingdom was a place where he could kiss Pancho all he liked.*

Ah I really went to town on the "love is love" concept here, didn't I? Well, a theme is a theme.

Julien's just really happy at the place he's created. He's glad they can dance and kiss and all that jazz, and he did that, he created a kingdom free of prejudice. It's exactly how I can see the kingdom's relationship with LGBT+ going down, a place where they're all just happy to vibe and be themselves.

.........

And that's the end. I hope you enjoyed this premium insight into my writings, and if you want commentary on another of my stories, or just have random questions, then my inbox is always open :)

[iridescentides]

hi again dia! happy first day of december ❤️💚 i wanted to ask you what, in your opinion, are the 5 most underrated dcoms? i remember you saying before that you've watched all of them so i'd love to hear your opinions 😊 - 🎅🎁🎄

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH secret santa you are so good! asking me all the best questions 💜

okay so i literally had to make a list of all the dcoms i consider underrated and then narrow down a top 5. theres lots of dcoms that i love, but that i think got the right amount of attention and care (like lemonade mouth and the teen beach movies, for example), so this list just focuses on ones that deserved more hype for their quality level.

5. The Cheetah Girls: One World (2008)

okay so even as i type this i feel like a hypocrite. i have only watched this movie one time. BUT i can acknowledge that its one of the most criminally underrated dcoms ever, tons of people didnt watch it simply because raven wasnt in it. thats why i avoided it as a child, and i didnt get around to watching it until i did my big dcom binge in 2016. and it was so good. theres a really long post floating somewhere around tumblr full of specifics on why its actually the best cheetah girls movie (my favorite is the second one purely out of nostalgia), so to paraphrase some points from that post:

its a solid example of cultural appreciation, rather than appropriation, as the girls go and learn about bollywood and indian culture together

the indian characters arent treated like props or unimportant sides, they get their own agency and storylines that are important

the songs are good!!!

basically this movie was overlooked and slept on even though in terms of role modeling and social value, and just like the first two cheetah girls movies it was important and impactful.

4. Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure (2011)

okay so as someone whos very neutral and occasionally negative-leaning towards the hsm franchise (mostly bc its overhyped and not really representative of all dcoms), i was pleasantly surprised by sharpays fabulous adventure. this is another one that i know lots of people skipped right over and dont hold with as much esteem as the main hsm franchise, and that doesnt sit right with me.

i do not agree with the “uwu sharpay was the real victim in hsm” arguments bc in their efforts to look galaxy brained the people who say that overlook the fact that she was a rich white woman who used her power and status to exercise control over opportunities that should have been fairly and freely available for all; they were not “making a mockery of her theater” in the first movie, they were literally just kids who wanted to try out a new school activity that everyone was supposed to be allowed to participate in; and despite allegedly learning her lesson and singing we’re all in this together with everyone at the end of the first movie, she literally showed no growth in the second movie as she fostered an openly hostile environment and favored troy so heavily that it literally cost him his friends, all as part of yet another jealous plan to take things away from people who already have less than her. she was NOT the victim in the main franchise, and she did not seem to exhibit any growth or introspection either.

and that!!! is why sharpays fabulous adventure was so important. in focusing on sharpay as the main character, they finally had to make her likeable. they did this by showing actual real growth and putting her outside of her sphere of influence and control. we saw true vulnerability from her, instead of the basic ass “mean girl is sad bc shes actually just super insecure” trope (cough cough radio rebel), and this opened us up to finally learn about and care about her character. throughout the movie we see her learn, from her love interests example, how to care for others and be considerate. she faces actual adversity and works through it, asking herself what she truly wants and what shes capable of. and in the end, when she finally has her big moment, we’re happy for her bc she worked hard to get there. she becomes a star through her own merit and determination, rather than through money and connections. this movie is not perfect by any means, but it is severely underrated for the amount of substance it adds to sharpays character.

3. The Swap (2016)

okay i know im gonna get shit for this but thats why its on this list!!! just like sharpays fabulous adventure, its not perfect and definitely misses the mark sometimes, but it deserves more attention and love for all the things it did get right!

the swap follows two kids who accidentally switch bodies because of their emotional attachment to their dead/absent parents’ phones. and while i normally HATE the tv/movie trope of a dead parent being the only thing that builds quick sympathy for a young character, they definitely expanded well enough to where we could root for these kids even without the tragedy aspect. we see them go through their daily struggles and get a feel for their motivations as characters pretty well. as a body switching movie, we expect it to be all goofy and wacky and lighthearted, but it moves beyond that in unexpected ways.

the reason the swap is on this list is for its surprisingly thoughtful commentary on gender roles. its by no means a feminist masterpiece, and its not going to radicalize kids who watch it, but it conveys a subtle, heartfelt message that deserves more appreciation. the characters struggle with the concept of gender in a very accurate way for their age, making off-base comments and feeling trapped by the weight of expectations they cant quite put their finger on. we watch them feel both at odds with and relieved by the gender roles they are expected and allowed to perform in each others bodies, and one of the most interesting parts of the movie to me is their interactions with the other kids around them. as a result of their feeling out of place in each others environments, the kids inadvertently change each others friendships for the better by introducing new communication styles and brave authenticity. 

the value of this movie is the subtle, but genuine way it shows the characters growing through being given the space to act in conflicting ways to their expected norms. ellie realizes that relationships dont have to be complex, confusing, and painful, and that its okay to not live up to appearances and images. jack learns that emotional expression is good, healthy, and especially essential to the grieving process. one of the most powerful scenes in the movie comes at the end where, after ellie confronts jacks dad in his body, jack returns as himself to a very heartfelt apology from his father for being too hard on him; the explicit message (”boys can cry”) is paired with an open expression of love and appreciation for his kids that he didnt feel comfortable displaying until his son set an example through honest communication. this is such an empowering scene and overall an empowering movie for kids who may feel stuck in their expected roles, as it sets a positive example for having the courage to break the restrictive societal mold. for its overall message of the importance of introspection and emotional intelligence, the swap is extremely underrated.

2. Freaky Friday (2018)

this is my favorite dcom, and probably my favorite movie at this point. ive always assigned a lot of personal value to this movie (and i love every freaky friday in general), for the message of selfless familial love and understanding. i know i can get carried away talking about this topic; i got an anon ask MONTHS ago asking me about the freaky friday movies and i wrote a super super long detailed response that i never posted bc i didnt quite finish talking about the 2018 movie. and thats bc on a personal level, i cant adequately convey all the love i have for this movie. so i will try to keep this short.

first lets state the obvious: the reason people dont like this movie is bc its not the lindsay lohan version. and i get that, to an extent, bc i also love the 2003 version and its one of my ultimate comfort movies, and grew up watching it and ive seen it a billion times. i even watched it a couple days ago. but the nostalgia goggles that people have on from the early 2000s severely clouds their judgement of the wonderful 2018 remake.

yes, the 2018 version is dorky, overly simplistic plot wise, a bit stiff at times, and super cheesy like any dcom. the writing isnt 100% all the time. the narrative takes a couple confusing turns. the song biology probably shouldnt have been included. i understand this. but at the heart of it all, this movies value is love. and its edge over all the other freaky friday movies is the songs.

on a personal level, the movie speaks heavily to me. i cried very early into my first viewing of the movie bc i got to see dara renee, a dark-skinned, non-skinny actress, playing the mean popular girl on disney channel. that has never happened before. growing up, i saw the sharpays and all the other super thin white women get to be the “popular” girls on tv, and ultimately they were taken down in the end for being mean, but that doesnt change the fact that they were given power and status in the first place for being conventionally beautiful. so, watching dara renee strut around confidently and sing about being the queen bee at this high school got to me immediately. and in general, the supporting cast members of color really mean a lot to me in this movie. we get to see adam, an asian male love interest for the main character. we have a second interracial relationship in the movie with katherines marriage to mike. ellies best friend karl is hispanic. and we see these characters have depth and plot significance, we see them show love, care, and passion for the things they value. the brown faces in this movie are comforting to me personally. additionally, the loving, blended family dynamic is important to me as someone in a close-knit, affectionate step-family.

but on a more general level, this movie is underrated for its skillful musical storytelling and the way it conveys all kinds of love and appreciation. in true freaky friday fashion, we watch ellie and katherine stumble and misstep in their attempts to act like each other. its goofy and fun. but through it all, the music always captures the characters’ intimate thoughts and feelings. the opening song gives us a meaningful view into ellie and katherines relationship and the fundamental misunderstandings that play a role in straining their connection. ellie sings about how she thinks her mom wants her to be perfect, and her katherine sings about all the wonderful traits she sees in her daughter and how she wants her to be more open and self assured. this is meaningful bc even as theyre mad at each other, the love comes through. the songs continue to bring on the emotional weight of the story, as ellie sings to her little brother about her feelings of hurt and abandonment in her fathers absence. the song “go” and its accompanying hunt scene always make me cry bc of the childlike wonder and sense of adventure that it brings. for the kids, its a coming of age, introspective song. for katherine who gets to participate in ellies body, its a reminder of youth and the rich, full life her daughter has ahead of her. she is overcome with excitement, both from getting to be a teenager again for a day, and from the realization that her daughter has a support network and passions that are all her own. today and ev’ry day, the second to last song, is the culmination of the lessons learned throughout the movie, a mother and daughters tearful commitment to each other to love, protect, and understand one another. the line “if today is every day, i will hold you and protect you, i wont let this thing affect you” gets to me every time. even when things are hard and dont go according to plan, they still agree, in this moment, to be there for each other. and thats what all freaky friday stories are ultimately about.

freaky friday 2018 is a beautiful, inclusive, subversive display of familial love, sacrifice, and selflessness, and it is underrated and overlooked because of its more popular predecessor.

1. Let It Shine (2012)

this is another one of my favorite dcoms and movies in the whole world. unlike the other movies on this list, it is not the viewers themselves that contribute to the underrated-ness of this movie. disney severely under-promoted and under-hyped this movie in comparison to its other big musical franchises, and i will give you five guesses as to why, but youll only need one!

let it shine is the most beautifully, unapologetically black dcom in the whole collection. (i would put jump in! at a notable second in this category, but that one wasnt underrated). this movie was clearly crafted with care and consideration. little black kids got to see an entire dcom cast that represented them. the vernacular used in the script is still tailored mostly to white-favoring audiences, but with some relevant slang thrown in there. in short, the writers got away with the most blackness they were allowed to inject into a disney channel project.

the story centers on rap music and its underground community in atlanta, georgia. it portrays misconceptions surrounding rap, using a church setting as a catalyst for a very real debate surrounding a generational, mutlicultural conflict. this was not a “safe” movie for disney, given its emphasis on religious clashes with contemporary values. it lightly touches on issues of image policing within the black community (cyrus’s father talking about how “our boys” are running around with sagging pants and “our girls” are straying away from god), which is a very real and pressing problem for black kids who feel the pressure (from all sides) of representing their whole race with their actions. its a fun, adorable story about being yourself and staying true to your art, but also a skillful representation of struggles unique to black and brown kids and children from religious backgrounds.

on top of crafting a fun, wholesome, thoughtful narrative and likeable protagonists, let it shine brought us what is in my opinion the BEST dcom soundtrack of all time. every single song is a bop. theyre fast, fun, and lyrically engaging. “me and you” is my favorite disney channel song of all time due to its narrative significance; i will never forget my first time watching the movie and seeing that big reveal unfold onstage, as a conversation and a plot summary all wrapped into a song. the amount of thought and care that went into the music of this movie should have been rewarded with a level of attention on par with that of other musical dcoms.

if disney channel had simply cared about let it shine more, it couldve spanned franchises and sold songs the way that other musical dcoms have drawn in success. i would have loved for a sequel that explored and fleshed out cyrus’s neighborhood a little bit more, and maybe dipped into that underground scene they caught a glimpse of. i wanted a follow up on the changed church community once cyrus’s father started supporting his sons vision. i want so much more for these characters and this world than disney gave them in just one movie.

for its bold, unabashed representation of blackness and religion, subtle, nuanced presentation of race-specific issues, strong, likeable characters, and complex, thoughtful songs, let it shine is the most underrated dcom.

and because i made a full list before i started writing this post, here are some honorable mentions:

going to the mat (2004)

gotta kick it up! (2002)

tru confessions (2002)

dont look under the bed (1999)

invisible sister (2015)