#Also I don’t care if Amy isn’t actually that much of a she just like me fr character. I’ve said it okay and I’m a teenage girl (checkmate)

[m00n-pr1sm]

Amy Dunne Character Analysis

Disclaimer

This analysis will be of Amy’s character from both the book and the movie, although the 2014 movie adaption takes greater precedence with only some additional details and quotes included from the book as it does delve deeper into Amy’s psyche and add further characterization. Thus some traits may be accentuated further than they are in the movie, not being completely faithful to either story. It’s an analysis of Amy in her totality across mediums, of course being entirely my opinion. There are of course adaptational differences but I will not include the major ones from the books (ex. her relationship with Hillary Hand). This is an analysis focusing primarily on Amy’s neuroses she demonstrates and the childhood links to them, it doesn’t cover in-depth the events nor themes of Gone Girl.

Amy Elliott Dunne, the ever enigmatic dual protagonist- antagonist of Gone Girl is one of the most iconic female villains in modern memory, and one of the paragons of the “good for her” trope in media, is, frankly, one of my favorite characters of all time. As such I have been dying to write a full analysis examining her neuroses and characterization. Beneath the cultural perception of just another “crazy psycho” for girls to claim “she did no wrong” or “she just like me fr!”, lies a fascinating character who is masterfully written and developed by Gillian Flynn, as well as perfectly portrayed by Rosamund Pike. Amy Dunne is a character with a deep, complex psychology that I will do my best to thoroughly explore in this analysis.

From Amy’s childhood we first see the emergence of a literal high ego ideal, Amazing Amy. Of course this is the children’s book series created by her parents with a fictionalized version of Amy being the eponymous protagonist. This was a version of herself that rectified her own personal failures. Amazing Amy became a prodigy at cello, when Amy quit at 10, Amazing Amy made varsity volleyball, Amy got cut freshman year. Even in the (at time) final book in the series, Amazing Amy got married, a task Amy had not yet done. The entire book series revolved around Amy always making the most virtuous, the most selfless, the most perfect decisions.

>”With me, regular, flawed, real Amy, jealous, as always, of the golden child.”

An interesting detail in the book that is omitted from the movie is Marybeth’s numerous miscarriages and stillbirths (which totaled 7). All of these girls were named Hope, until Amy was born. Amy expresses her jealousy towards them, as they were always seen as perfect without ever living; meanwhile Amy herself has to live life everyday knowing that she will never truly live up to the Hopes. That she has to try everyday to be the best she can be. Her very birth was mired in the expectation of a perfect child; given that she was practically a gift from the heavens to her parents.

This sets up Amy’s perfectionism, as the childhood experience of never living up to a projected ideal led her to want to be perfect (and as we’ll later see, the expectation that everyone else is too), to live life always through the gaze of another. Evidently this leads to a loss of one’s inner essence, one’s individuality and sense of self.

>“-I’d never really felt like a person, because I was always a product” (Book Quote)

Amy’s obsession with personas can be seen as emerging from this, as she adapts a personality depending on who she’s interacting with, as to always be the most appealing she can, she is Amazing Amy after all.

>”I’m not sure, exactly, how to be Dead Amy. I’m trying to figure out what that means for me, what I become for the next few months. Anyone, I suppose, except people I’ve already been: Amazing Amy. Preppy ’80s Girl. Ultimate-Frisbee Granola and Blushing Ingenue and Witty Hepburnian Sophisticate. Brainy Ironic Girl and Boho Babe (the latest version of Frisbee Granola). Cool Girl and Loved Wife and Unloved Wife and Vengeful Scorned Wife. Diary Amy.” (Book Quote)

This general attitude leads to people trying to impress her as she places herself as someone special and especially someone to keep around. She entices both the characters and viewers of the film through her manufactured charisma and enchantment. However, we’ll see this dramatically backfire in her relationship with Nick, just you wait!

For now we can focus on the beginning of their relationship as well as what I believe to be Amy’s view on romance.

I believe that Amy has an impossibly high standard of love, one that stems from her perfectionism and general inability to let down her guise of being amazing. Not to mention how her parents were a perfect match, Amy even referring to them as soul-mates.

>”They have no harsh edges with each other, no spiny conflicts, they ride through life like conjoined jellyfish—expanding and contracting instinctively, filling each other’s spaces liquidly. Making it look easy, the soul-mate thing.” (Book Quote)

In her childhood it’s implied that she was into romance novels, specifically Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, which obviously contributes to the idealization of romance, of a literal scripted love.

>”You were an alienated teen and only Elizabeth Bennet understood you”

I think this little quote is incredibly indicative; it establishes a sense of alienation, of Amy never quite fitting in and blending with others.

>”So many lessons and opportunities and advantages, and they never taught me how to be happy. I remember always being baffled by other children. I would be at a birthday party and watch the other kids giggling and making faces, and I would try to do that too, but I wouldn’t understand why. I would sit there with the tight elastic thread of the birthday hat parting the pudge of my underchin, with the grainy frosting of the cake bluing my teeth, and I would try to figure out why it was fun.” (Book Quote)

Back to the topic of romance, through these stories it allowed her to imagine her perfect romance: if Amy could find that one person that truly understood her, beyond the illusion, that then would constitute a perfect union of love. She does deep down (whether consciously or not) want to be loved for who she is; not the idealized, palatable, literal marketed version of herself. Thus she holds trust as a premium, expecting that if she does the Herculean task of unspooling and revealing herself to another, that the other person would love her no matter what.

>”Can you imagine, finally showing your true self to your spouse, your soul mate, and having him not like you?” (Book Quote)

However all of this culminates in an impossibly high standard of a lover, of a practically divine mythical love; where one loves totally and absolutely. Of course where this neurosis is most demonstrated is in Nick and Amy’s relationship.

Amy comments that after meeting Nick she finally felt like a person as he brought out a side of herself that hadn’t been seen, in her own words “a lightness and an ease”, something that Amy enjoyed. In her eyes they had the perfect relationship in the beginning, Nick was her compliment with the witty banter, with their inside jokes, and charm.

However this doesn’t just vanquish her childhood neuroses, through her desire to be seen as perfect, she modifies herself to be a “cool girl” for Nick, complying endlessly to standards to maintain this perception.

>” When I met Nick Dunne, I knew he wanted a cool girl and for him, I’ll admit, I was willing to try.”

Amy essentially became Nick’s image of a perfect girl, witty, fun, and most of all easy-going and forgiving.

Yet one cannot live forever in images and ideas; and as such, the real, true Amy emerged. The Amy that cares too much, that’s hard to get along with, that is a controlling perfectionist. She also tests Nick through the treasure hunts, weaving in little details about their relationship as to challenge Nick and hope that he remembers the things they do together as deeply as she does. Combined with the 2008 recession and declining health of Nick’s mother (the consequences of which will be explored later). As well as Nick’s growing dissatisfaction in the relationship (evidenced by his worsening performances in the treasure hunts, the cheating, using her for sex and ignoring her otherwise, etc). The illusion both Nick and Amy were living in crumbled; they couldn’t possibly sustain their relationship as they were both striving to fulfill reciprocating images for the other.

One of the biggest parts of her character is Amy’s elitism and entitlement, in which she thinks of herself as someone superior, someone that deserves to be loved absolutely for who she is, although only to people she considers worthy.

>”She’s easy to like. I’ve never understood why that’s considered a compliment—that just anyone could like you.” (Book Quote)

Once again this stems from her childhood, in a seemingly contradictory way, she also sees herself as special for being the one that survived from her mother’s attempts, as well as the fact that her birth was so tumultuous that she would be an only child. From this also stems her entitlement for love.

Amy actively looks down upon women she considers “average”, whom she sees as coming from mediocrity and continuously perpetuating that in their lives. She scoffs at them with her wealthy parents and NYC background until her marriage with Nick crumbles. Only then does she realize that she’s become the very woman she would previously disdain. A woman with a failing marriage, the loss of her previous wealth following the recession, and moving to a failed development in Missouri (What the hell’s in Missouri?) for Nick’s mother.

I truly believe this, combined with Nick’s infidelity, and most importantly the loss of her idyllic love culminated in the iconic Gone Girl plan.

>”Nick took and took from me until I no longer existed, that’s murder. Let the punishment fit the crime”.

Nick took Amy’s identity, her sense of self that she so generously revealed to him and rejected her. Implying that she would only be loved if played the role of the “cool girl”; stripping her of who she really was, losing herself in yet another persona. Although Amy admits she doesn’t really have a personality and lives through personas, she still has a semblance of self that she holds dear.

>”-made me realize that there was a Real Amy in there, and she was so much better, more interesting and complicated and challenging, than Cool Amy”. (Book Quote)

Worse yet, Nick had cheated on her with a “newer, younger, bouncer Cool Girl”, leaving Amy in the dust, surely damaging her pride.

But Amy truly fell in love with her idealized version of Nick, believing that she was responsible for shaping that version of Nick. That she deserved that man in his entirety, of course what gets Amy to come back to Nick is the Sharon Scheiber interview, in which he promises to make up with Amy in just the way that makes her think that Nick is the one person who gets her. He makes the little references to their inside jokes (2 fingers on the chin when they’re not bullshitting the other) and a reference to the end of the treasure hunt (always a contentious issue in their relationship). She’s reminded of who he was, that he was once perfect for her, who else could know how to appeal to her heart in just the right way? With the same passion and conviction she reverses the judgment on Nick, clawing her way back to him. She does so in an especially brutal manner, slashing Desi’s throat with a boxcutter right after he climaxes. Putting aside my enormous personal bias against Desi, he was technically an innocent man, taking a great risk in sheltering Amy. However it’s clear that Amy sees him as merely an asset and something to be disposed of once he serves his value, as another prop in her ever evolving masterplan; she did string him along for years through their letter correspondences. He was just another casualty in Amy’s search for idyllic love. She comes back dramatically, literally falling into Nick’s arms while still covered in Desi’s blood like a dress; fabricating an elaborate story about a love obsessed former boyfriend kidnapping and violating her. Despite the glaring holes in her whole story (If Amy’s marriage was as bad as she made it out to be, why did she go back to Nick so easily? How did she get access to a knife and kill him so seamlessly? Why didn’t Amy do anything when she discovered the stuff in Margo’s shed? etc), law enforcement, media, and the public all fully believe it, infatuated with the persona and narrative that Amy’s created for herself. In the end she traps Nick into the marriage and eventually, the family. The last shot of the film is a haunting recall to the beginning shot of the film, as Amy has both revealed and secured herself to be the master of the narrative, finally obtaining her perfect love, no matter what the cost may have been.

Conclusion

Through a constant demand in Amy’s childhood emerges a need for perfection, simultaneously bringing about a sense of superiority and entitlement. The use of personas and façades facilitate this, painting Amy as the most amazing cool girl for whomever she’s performing for, to feed her need to be seen as perfect and desirable. Yet there emerges a psychological detachment from others; as the need to perform inevitably leads to an internal hollowness. However underneath all these layers there also lies the true Amy who has the deep unconscious desire of wanting to be loved absolutely, to have a perfect union of love where she can reveal herself fully and be loved for who she is truly.

>disclaimer for tumblr lol, this is not me trying to claim Amy was innocent I am fully aware that she’s a terribly entitled and narcissistic person but she can still be complex and have relatable desires & be a person even if she’s massively fucked up!!

[omega-e123]

i love the way you write Shadow. I don’t know it’s just so in character of him. Not overly flirtatious, but is subtlety suave at affections. 🙏

AHDOSHSOSHSJSS

THANK YOU V MUCH!! REALLY!! IT MEANS A LOT TO ME

It makes me happy to know I’m not deviating too far from his canon personality. (Even though Boom!Shadow that…. I will ignore. IDW is a hit or miss, theres def some characterization I don’t like, and some spot on from past renditions.)

“Mini” Ranting about out his character below.

I like to think that he’s not really familiar with romantic love. It’s all pretty new to him, but that doesn’t mean Shadow isn’t completely in the dark. hehe

To me, he seems like the type of guy to begrudgingly (/p) go to Rouge and Amy for advice, tips, help. Take things nice and easy.

Shadow’s a smart guy! He can figure things out.

Look at him in SA2 when interacting with Eggman. The mysterious mild manipulation of promise granting him a wish if Egg did his bidding for Chaos emeralds. That’s just one example.

He’s also gentle and kind when he wants to be. At heart a really caring person.

Obviously, his relationship with Maria is a prime example.

There’s the instance of when Amy went to hug him from behind, mistaken for Sonic. He doesn’t push her away. Let’s it happen, stay there until she’s realized her mistake. Looking at the cutscene, it sort of looks like when she runs off, Shadow’s curious about her.

Then the time where he saves Rouge from blowing up, risking his self. It was SO close. The timing of when Shadow came to pick her up. There’s ‘06 too. Which again, I think is his best character arc. The power slide to catch Rouge from falling. OOG. I LOVE THAT SCENE SO MUCH. There’s also in heroes where he gets her to safety when Omega went berserk.

Helped out Sonic too— Most notable ones I can think of is jumping in front of Silver, allow Sonic to escape and save Elise. The other one is when the Phantom Ruby copy of him went to fuck Sonic up and he intervened. Also the entirety of Sonic Prime!

I DIGRESS.

Shadow can also at the same time be a smug, prideful, little shit. Loot at that face!!! He’s so proud of himself.

Of course he’s going to distance himself from people. Imagine having someone you deeply care about die right in front of you again. There’s nothing more that could have been done to save you. Yeah, I’d avoid getting too close to people too!

Shadow is a little meow meow that is doing his best. Give this guy a hug.

Update:

After SxSh Gen, he is shown to be SO much more expressive and more open with his emotions with Maria and Professor Gerald. Spoilers ahead!

After meeting them again, he's quick to think about saving them, not thinkng about the consequences of what that may bring.

His anxiety being shown. Reassuring not only them but himself that his family will be fine. Along with actually showing his panic when they begin to disappear. The facial expression and Shadow's tone of voice. He's not hiding it at all.

GOSH THE SMILE. HIS SMILE. THE SLOW WALKING BACKWARDS, NOT WANTING TO BREAK CONTACT WITH MARIA.

As his relationship grows with his significant other, the more connected to his emotions and safe he feels to display them to you and ONLY YOU.

I definitely think comparing his personality 1 year into the relationship versus 10 years is drastic. First year, he's more cautious. Not just with his inner thoughts but with accidentally offending you. Shadow knows he can be blunt and straight forward. Over time he's so much more comfortable telling you waht is on his mind. Shadow still needs his time to brood and collect himself; however, it comes more naturally to him to reach out when needed.

[susiephone]

i’m doing my annual reread of “gone girl” (happy women’s history month!) and as much as i ADORE the movie, both as a movie and an adaptation (seriously i think it’s one of the best adaptations i’ve ever seen), the book just has something to offer that i feel like couldn’t really be translated into film: the narration.

like yes there’s some narration in the movie, but films are a visual medium. for the most part, you don’t have the character tell us what they’re thinking, you show us via their actions. but a book, especially in first person POV as the book is (alternating perspectives between nick and amy), you have the benefit of having the character’s thoughts, and their actions, which can often hint at some stuff the characters don’t realize or don’t want to admit. especially because in the book, nick and amy are both aware they are telling you a story. they are both playing to an audience, they both know you’re there, and they both want you to side with them. and that is fascinating to consider as you read.

and we’ve all seen amy get made into this feminist girlboss heroine, and i know some people are joking (i mean, i joke about it), but some people are not. and that is baffling if you read the book and realize amy is also a complete misogynist. (actually she’s a misanthrope, she hates everybody, but she really has contempt for other women that doesn’t come up as much in the movie.) i’ve said it before and i’ll say it again: it is a tragedy the book cut out hilary handy, because what amy did to her is an EXCELLENT example of amy’s lack of care for other women. 

the book also delves more into how amy, while brilliant and clever, is also not nearly as smart as she thinks she is, and she’s also a complete spoiled brat. the movie definitely mentions that amy was rich, but in the book, it’s clear that she’s never actually had to have job in her life (she does have one, but it doesn’t pay that well and it’s clear she could quit and live off her parents’ money any time she liked), and when she complains about being dragged “penniless” to missouri, she can still afford to not work and never has to think about the cost of gas. like she and nick aren’t RICH anymore, but they’re certainly not poor. amy in the book pays ten dollars for a carton of milk because she doesn’t realize she’s being overcharged. she expects $12,000 to last her nearly a year living in hiding, without actually budgeting (or rather, sticking to her budget) or compromising on comfort. 

furthermore, the book gets more into amy’s childhood and why she is the way she is, and also how her actions affect people who did nothing to her. the book spends a lot more time with her parents, who while not GOOD people in the book, get a lot more depth and really highlight amy’s callousness. the book does more to explore her psyche to make it clear that amy isn’t some super-cool ice queen mastermind who Does What She Wants; she’s on the edge of a breakdown basically 24/7, she’s a total hypocrite, she’s completely oblivious to her weaknesses and other people’s strengths, she’s motivated almost entirely by what others think of her, and her ego is both VERY inflated and incredibly fragile.

and in the book, amy and nick are perfect for each other. seriously. i have personally concluded that neither of them are capable of selfless or healthy love--except nick’s love for his sister, which is his main redeeming quality as a human being--but they do love each other in the most twisted, fucked-up, masochism tango way possible, and they’ll live miserably ever after because neither of them could ever be happy with someone else anyway.

like i get this stuff had to be streamlined or downplayed to make a 432-page book work in a single film. but i wish more discussion of the story was centered around the book instead of the movie, because i feel like when you have to cut down on stuff, some nuance and depth inevitably gets lost. and i wonder if amy would be as widely idolized and praised if the fanbase was centered more on the book than the movie.

tl;dr: if you’ve only seen the movie of gone girl, i implore you to pick up the book. it’s fantastic and makes an already stellar story even better. the audiobook is also excellent, although it did take me a couple chapters to get used to the narrator’s voices. they’re both FANTASTIC but it was jarring to hear nick as Not Ben Affleck and amy as Not Rosamund Pike 

[raisedbythetv89]

I don’t understand how people can actually hate season 1 of Buffy unless they just hate fun and like jw has claimed “loves seeing buffy suffer” and be blamed and punished for everything???? It’s so nostalgic and camp and queer coded what do you mean you don’t like it????

The puppet show is comedic genius and I’ll say that shit with my whole chest - they’re dealing with an unknown demon killing children and Giles who is always chastising Buffy for focusing too much on things outside of slaying is like “THE SHOW! ITS ABOUT TO START!” 🏃🏻‍♂️💨

Buffy has beef with a puppet for 3/4ths of the episode that is so Spike of her and EXTREMELY FUNNY to me to have the slayer who decapitates vampires with tiny X-Acto knives and knowingly walks to her death majorly creeped out by a dummy ���😹😹😭😭

Buffy whining in tandem with the tuba playing on the stage as a background sound track to her sinking mood after Synder forces the scoobies to participate in the talent show

The curtain opening to Buffy cradling the dead dummy and a dead demon on stage and Synder in the audience goes “I don’t get it - is it avant-garde?”

THAT SHIT IS SO FUCKING FUNNY TO ME

And Buffy is just in top form for me. Realizing Amy is in her mom’s body even on the verge of death. Seeing the way Cordy treats Willow and immediately finding a reason to align herself with Willow instead despite it being a new school and she is still struggling with not fitting into her old, pre-slayer life. Helping Billy face his fears in his nightmare while overcoming her own of becoming a vampire and really owning her slayerness in a way we haven’t seen before there’s a lot of scary things in the world “AND IM ONE OF THEM”

LIKE YES GIRL YOU ARE TINY AND SCARY I LOVE YOU SO MUCH OWN THAT SHIT. The whole bit where Angel is like BEWARE CLAW VAMP SO DANGEROUS WATCH OUT BE CAREFUL - and she’s like right…… I’m gonna use him as my own personal bloodhound to find the REAL monster. I EAT THAT SHIT RIGHT UP ITS AMAZING. It’s also when Buffy is blamed and suffering the least it’s such a nice break for the entire rest of the series that sometimes I just desperately need.

I LOVE that a show that gives us such deeply emotional moments and captures depression perfectly in season 6 can also be so silly and camp with genuine human emotion and connection underlying it because of the core of very talented and dedicated actors

AND THIS IS COMING FROM A DIEHARD SPUFFY. My man isn’t even there yet and Angel with his useless cryptic creepy bullshit is annoying me to no end AND I STILL LOVE IT

I know there’s tons of technical and quality stuff that gets better as the seasons go on but that’s part of the charm for me.

So anyway leave season 1 alone, she’s my girl and I love her.

[littlespacereader]

Hiiiiii!!!

I saw that Halloween fics were open and figured I'd send in one!(I also saw you write Dr who)

Could I possibly request a fic where the doctor (preferably 11) and reader(gender neutral) either go trick or treating or carve pumpkins (you can choose if you want)/nf

Sorry if it's hard to read I've never done a fic request!

-@prettybeearts

Thank you so much for the fall request @prettybeearts !! I absolutely love this idea and had so much fun writing a story for it!! I wrote it in connection to another fic I did with Amy and Rory: Little Flower in the Garden. You don’t need to read that one to understand it I just made small mentions of things from that fic in this one. Please enjoy! I love you like it! Thank you for the request @prettybeearts 💞💞

It’s the Greatest Pumpkin Doctor Who!🎃 (SFW!)

Cargiver! 11th Doctor & GN Little! Reader with Caregiver! Amy Pond and Caregiver! Rory Williams

Tags-dress up, pumpkin carving, sippy cup, forehead kisses, desserts, the Doctor is just as playful as the reader, Halloween themed

“Amy I promise they are going to be alright!” The Doctor repeated for about the fifth time.

Amy and Rory were invited to a Halloween party and while they would’ve invited their Little one Y/N to join, they were not feeling up to a crowded party with people drinking and loud music.

So the Doctor offered his himself to be babysitter for the night, dressed like an actual doctor as a joke. But Amy, being the worried Mama she is, felt the need to keep telling the Doctor where everything is.

“They have all their supplies in here. Anything and everything they could need.” She points to a basket in the living room.

Amy was dressed as a police officer, Rory as a prisoner. Y/N dressed up as Paddington the bear, complete with the blue rain coat, red boots and a red rain hat with bear ears.

“Amy, you’ve already told me this. It has their blankie, their sippy cup, a diaper and change of clothes incase of an accident, snacks, a pacifier-.” The Doctor rambled off.

“I know, I know.” She sighed. “I’m sorry. I just haven’t left them without me since they became my little one.” She looked into the kitchen where Rory was putting the last of their face paint on. “And it’s not that I don’t trust you! It’s just-.”

“That you haven’t been away from them, I know Amy.” He rest a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “I promise I will take good care of them. I plan a simple evening inside together anyway. Just pumpkin carving and some movies and then straight to bed.”

“Doctor, I almost forgot. They won’t fall asleep in their own bed. They have to sleep next to someone.” She reminds him, “They’re afraid when they’re regressed of sleeping by themselves.”

The Doctor takes this in, really listening to this. “I’ll make sure to stay close when they do fall asleep then.” He says, away from his usual lighthearted demeanor and and instead sincere.

“Thank you, now let me show you-.”

“Mama!!” Y/N runs around the corner in their Paddington costume to show Amy. “Look! Papa made me a bear nose!”

Amy smiles and gasp at the sight, “Oh my Goodness! Look at my little baby bear.” She takes their hand and show them off to the Doctor.

“Doctor! Like it?!” They smile to him.

“Like it?! I didn’t even recognize for a minute there! I thought a bear had walked in!” He leans down and picks them up into his arms.

~~~

I giggle, holding onto the Doctor as he held me in his arms. His outfit was ridiculous. He wore a stethoscope, a long doctor’s coat and a shinny circle thing on his head.

Papa joined the group of us in the living room. Dressed in black and white stripes. “It was simple really. Though someone couldn’t stop giggling when I did their nose.”

I smiled and hid my face. The Doctor laughs, “Papa is silly isn’t he? Wearing his Zebra costume.”

Rory looks at the Doctor confused, “I’m a prisoner….she’s the police.”

“Really? I thought you looked more like a Zebra.” The Doctor replies.

I can’t help but giggle even more. The Doctor smiles back, “Doesn’t Papa look like a Zebra?”

I look to Papa and then hide my face against the Doctor, giggling some more.

Papa sigh, “Guess I’m a zebra tonight.”

Mama smiles, “And a handsome one at that.” She leans over and kisses him.

“Ew! Okay, you two better get going.” The Doctor says, breaking up their kiss.

“NO!” I cry, putting my arms out to them, “Don’t go!” Tears start to well up in my eyes at the thought of them leaving.

Papa looking especially guilty, talking me into his arms. He bounces me as Mama rubs my back. “Don’t worry sweetheart! We’ll back as soon as you know it! There’s no need to be sad. We’ll see you at bedtime.”

Papa kisses my forehead, then Mama. He sets me back down.

I look to Mama still upset. She kneels down and wipes the tears away, “You’re going to have so much fun tonight! The Doctor told me you’re carving pumpkins tonight!”

“That was supposed to be a surprise!“ The Doctor whines.

Amy playfully rolls her eyes, “I can’t wait to see what your pumpkin looks like. Make it extra spooky!” She makes a funny voice at the end that pulls a small giggle from me.

“Have fun together! And if you need me, ask the Doctor to call me okay? I’ll have my phone on me all night just incase.” Mama leans towards and kisses my cheek. “Love you so much my little bear.”

Rory look to the Doctor, “And not that much sugar! It’s too late for candy.”

Both the Doctor and Y/N whine.

“Rory lighten up, it’s Halloween. A few pieces of candy can’t hurt.” The Doctor argues.

“You hear me Doctor.” He warns.

“Alright alright Zebra. No candy. Enjoy the party.” He says but winks to me.

After a heart felt goodbye, Amy and Rory leave for their party. Leaving the Doctor and I alone to do whatever we wanted.

I sigh though, looking out the window to their car leaving the driveway.

“Come on Y/N! We have a night of fun ahead of us!” The Doctor smiles and offers his hand. I turn back to him and take his offered hand, the fun starting from here.

“Now, your Papa said no candy…but he didn’t say no sugar.” We walk into the backyard and immediately into the Tardis. “So! I have just the compromise!”

He lets go of my hand for a moment while I stand by the console. I hear him go down the hallway and when he returns he has a platter of Halloween cupcakes.

I gasp, taking one off the tray. “Papa didn’t say anything about cupcakes!”

The Doctor smiles, “No he did not.” He winks eating one too.

We sit on the small Tardis chair beside one another and eat about two cupcakes each before we both start to get a sugar high.

The Doctor smile, “So! I have a brilliant idea! Instead of carving two regular size pumpkins…I was think we could carve…A GIANT PUMPKIN!!”

I jump up from the chair, “YES!! GIANT PUMPKIN!!”

The Doctor stand too, clapping his hands with excitement. “Yes!! Alright, let me grab something first.”

The two of us go down the stairs and underneath the Tardis console. He digs around in a trunk and pulls out a little packet of seeds. “This will do the trick!”

Then, hand in hand again, we run out of the Tardis and into the backyard. “Alright, step back. I don’t know how big this is going to grow…”

I step back as the Doctor leans down and starts putting the seeds in the ground. He stands back with me and smile, “Just wait!”

And we stand there and wait.

And wait.

And wait…

I pull on the Doctor’s sleeve. “When is it going to happen?”

“I don’t know…” he takes his sonic out and scans the ground. “What are we doing wrong?”

“Wait!” I suddenly realize the issue! I run over to the back shed and grabs the my water can. I sprinkled the water over the spot we planted the seed and wait.

“Excellent idea Y/N! Where did you learn to garden so well?” He asks, wrapping an arm around them.

“Mama taught me! She’s really good! She told me that-.”

Suddenly the ground starts shaking. Then BOOM! Out from the ground starts to grow this massive pumpkin that keeps getting bigger and bigger!

And bigger!

AND BIGGER!

“Doctor…” I start backing up.

Suddenly it stops growing, but by the time it does it’s about the size of the house. I look up at it in awe as the Doctor wears a big smile.

“I wasn’t lying when I said giant pumpkin.”

“You weren’t!! Wow!! It’s gigantic!!” I yell happily. “How are we going to carve it?!”

“Oh that’s easy! The Tardis will do the work for us! All we have to is make a design it.”

Once again we walk into the Tardis and start brainstorming designs. Once we found one we like we set the Tardis to work!

The outside of the Tardis spins really fast and starts to carve the outside while we watch, not spinning on the inside. After it’s done, The Tardis takes off and lands inside of it, acting as the pumpkin’s candle.

I run outside the doors of the Tardis and look from the inside of the giant pumpkin. “Wow!!” My eyes practically glow.

“Wow!! He steps out and admire the work, “Amazing design!! Now you’ve brought our pumpkin to life!”

I smile back to him and giggle. He wraps an arm around my shoulders.

I go to touch the pumpkin but I take two steps before my red boot steps in a bunch of pumpkin insides. “Ew…”

“I know it’s always gross but…” he picks some of it up, “I bet we can cook this and make more desserts. What do you say Y/N?” He smirk, “The night is still young!”

~~~

Amy and Rory carefully open the front door to their cottage home, hoping not to wake their Little one. “Doctor?” Amy whispers as she comes in.

“In here!” The Doctor calls back from the living room.

Amy and Rory walk in the living room to find Y/N peacefully sleeping with their blankie in hand, cuddling close to the Doctor. The Doctor had a big blanket wrapped around the two them, while the tv softly plays old Halloween cartoons. Littered across the table were plates of half eaten pumpkin desserts.

“Someone had an eventful night. How were they?” Amy asked, smiling at her little one.

“Oh they were a joy as always. We had tons of fun. We carved a pumpkin, baked some desserts,”

“What did I say about sweets…” Rory sighs.

“You said no candy, nothing about dessert.” The Doctor quickly replies.

Amy smirks, “You’ve got him there.” She chuckles.

“Where’s your pumpkins?” Rory asked to change the subject.

“Oh in the backyard.” The Doctor replied casually.

As Rory went to see in the backyard, The Doctor and Amy continued their conversation.

“So they gave you no fuss?”

“No fuss at all. Well…maybe a little when I cut off eating desserts for the rest of the night. But that was an easy fix with a quick sippy cup.”

“Amy?….” Rory calls from the back.

“But then after that we started watching some cartoons and they fell asleep right after that.”

“…Amy?”

“Did they miss us?” Amy asks.

“Just a little in the beginning, but I was able to help them past it.”

Rory runs into the living room, “There is a giant pumpkin in our backyard!” Rory whisper yells.

“What?!” Amy follows him to the backyards.

All while the Doctor smirks to himself and gently rubs Y/N’s arm. “Happy Halloween little one.” And with a little kiss to their forehead that ends a perfect Halloween night.

[autisticshadowthehedgehog]

sconc middle names but me and cori are stupidt

last night me and cori got slap-happy and made a list of characters’ middle names so happy birthday sonic enjoy. tw catholicism jokes bc when we get slap happy we end up on that train

Sonic: His middle name is actually not Maurice. He won’t tell anyone what it is but it isn’t Maurice. Not in the “noooo it’s totally not ;)” way he legit doesnt know where anyone got that misconception from

Metal Sonic: His middle name IS Maurice. That’s where people got that misconception from

Tails: When he and sonic were filling out paperwork to make sure he legally existed Tails realized he didn’t know his middle name and could reasonably put “Tails.” Instead he put “Terminator”

rouge, losing it: oh my god are you serious tails: i was like five and thought it was cool sonic: you were right 

Knuckles: He literally doesn’t care so once again when filling out paperwork he’s like.

knuckles: so i guess my last name would be my tribe shadow: the knuckles tribe? knuckles: yeah shadow: so you’re putting down knuckles knuckles knuckles: yeah probably shadow: so what’s your middle name? knuckles: well take a fucking guess buddy

Amy: Also picked her own name. Debated between “Amy” and “Rosy” for a while before sticking with “Amy Rose”– rose for the pretty flower she loves and its symbolism, “Amy” because it means “much loved” and she’s desperate for affection. and then she well. picked a middle name that sounded cool

shadow: oh my god tell me your middle name isn’t “terminator” too amy: oh my gosh no amy: amy: it’s velociraptor shadow: oh my god amy: JURASSIC PARK JUST CAME OUT I WAS HYPED

Shadow: We had two (2) options: #1.) It’s something extremely Catholic like Clementinus. It doesn’t fit his brand so he just doesn’t tell anyone. also he can’t pronounce it. #2.) It’s like a deep, guttural screech/roar. Everyone assumes it was Black Doom’s name for him but no that was Gerald’s idea actually

Rouge: Francisca. Shadow was like “oh something really catholic as well” “actually my family were very much not catholic that’s just a funny coincidence.”

Omega: Terminator. Stole the idea from Tails

Cream:

Blaze: She has like 48 middle names cause she’s royalty and they’re like that

Silver: “In the future we don’t have middle names. We ate them for sustenance.”

Vector: ALSO something extremely Catholic like Benedict or someshit

Espio: “A ninja’s secret name is to stay absolutely secret. It is the key to their identity. Their soul. None shall know of it.” He picked his own middle name and it was SasuNaru and he’s embarrassed about it.

Charmy: Vector named him so it is also EXTREMELY Catholic. Charmy cannot remember it. “It’s VALENTINE, Charmy!! It’s literally one of the easiest Saints to remember!! Saint VALENTINE!!” “look i made a necklace out of gummy worms :D”

Mighty: it’s something like super normal like Evan or Thomas

Ray: Sunshine :D

Fang: It’s actually Nack. whudda think

Bean: And similar to Fang, it’s ACTUALLY “Dynamite.” Did he name himself? You’ll never know.

Bark: Something super Russian like Vladimir

Big: Big has no middle name he has no last name he is too powerful for all of us

Tikal:

Tikal: yeah we didn’t have middle or surnames in my time. Closest was just “oh that’s Pachacamac’s kid.” Tails: Okay but you need a middle name for paperwork so pick something Tikal: Termi-- Knuckles: No. Tikal: Okay. Lesbian

Jet: Tony. you know why

Marine: It’s just literally “Australian”

Sticks: “Classified.” Everyone is like “oh geez Sticks ok” and don’t realize her middle name is literally Classified

Surge: When she got to pick hers she picked Azula for obvious reasons

Kit: He picked “Surge.”

Belle: Periwinkle

Sage: Ann Ima. believe it or not, that is also. Catholic™

Tekno: Terminator

[tenderhungering]

veep headcanons? :3

oh this will take a WHILE……i love veep so much. i’m about to wrap up season 6 right now ! i think i’ll do little headcannons / analysis for each character ! i might do a part 2 because i want to also do some more supporting characters. like you know damn well im gonna wanna write for catherine and marjorie as a whole,,,

Selina

named catherine “catherine” like her mother in order to be able to yell said name in anger the way she never could yell back at her mother

the severe mommy issues make her need every single one of her staff to be emotionally involved in her. if she isn’t the center of their life, she gets anxious about it, even angry. she needs to be validated

depends heavily on spellcheck,,, i just think she hates phones for some reason.

she can tell EXACTLY how someone is feeling by making it up in her head and believing it ❤️

got arrested once in her youth and it was wiped off the record. #supportwomen’swrongs

Amy

would do super super well taking up something that makes her adrenaline pump. they keep trying to get her to relax by making her get massages, meditate and be in quiet. she needs NOISE. she should be allowed to beat someone up at least once a day

had a little gray cat whenever she was younger. she likes them ! they’re similar to how she is whenever it comes to boundaries.

bisexual but she has a stressful job so she doesn’t have time to think about that rn

she would benefit from me in her life actually

actually really liked dan bc dan seems to personalize the relationship to the person (dan is so kind ❤️) so she was into him but suddenly got the ick.

Dan

trigger warning for SA and grooming: i think dan’s relationship with sex is so affected by the fact he slept with his teacher whenever he was younger in exchange for a good grade. it has made him view it was an exchange, a transactional affair. it’s why he’s so shit at intimacy, he doesn’t see to her anything out of it.

watches all the latest movies but it’s only because he keeps taking women out to go see them:

has a really sensitive stomach,,,,he says it’s something he ate but i feel like whenever he gets anxious it happens to

catholic guilt galore but he’s busy so he CANNOT get into it

he’s so the type of boyfriend who does baby talk and when he’s recorded he gets real mad about it. get that camera OUTTA here

Mike

he is like a baby duckling to me that’s why he wanted to raise them actually

has so many useless apps on his phone. why do you have a flashlight app you have a flashlight BUILT into the phone. its okay though bc he watches lot of youtube tutorials

probably wanted to vlog at some point but he got yelled at by selina in a clip so he stopped

the personality hire,,, everyone loves him but god he can be so bad at his job sometimes. everyone gets mad but never enough to fire him

because he started dating wendy, he started to dress up a little more ! ties and handkerchiefs match. i love you dad

Jonah

he so ran one of those private meme accounts whenever he was younger but he got so bad at everyone saying they were lame he just posted a screenshot that said SUCK MY DICK SON and blocked everyone

his incessant gross comments are a result of being around a bunch of rich white men that happen to be politicians that tend to laugh at them. he has daddy issues. he needs the validation

his little curls going missing are a result of him getting his hair straightened because he wanted to look more professional actually. he burnt his hands so he begged his mom to help him

gets really anxious about his health CONSTANTLY and has a will written out already because he’s scared one day it’ll (he doesn’t know what) catch up to him

Gary

he knows the lyrics to every new pop song ever. he loves it. he used to play Just Dance whenever he was in college or something i don’t know i feel like he might’ve even been in a club that requires that

has an extensive skin care routine. he puts on those fluffy headbands sometimes but stopped bc he realized it was to keep your hair dry and his is so short lmao

definitely has an undiagnosed anxiety disorder. he just pops a pill of whatever and hopes that it works (it doesn’t)

needs heavy validation from authority figures,,,like badly,,, i think that’s why he enjoys it so much whenever any of selina’s boyfriends acknowledge him as a person (or anyone gives him any importance)

he needs someone to tell him what to do because he is so lost on having any identify that isn’t directly tied to someone else ? he’s not even really sure what he himself likes anymore. uses “we” more than he uses “i”

[oksurethisismyname]

Hiiiii as a queer person living in the Bible Belt of the USA, I’m envisioning a “Christian trauma AU / general theology AU” because you know my main focus is always Sanji. This assumed that we’re in the USA, modern era, and I guess maybe a college or post grad AU for how they meet each other? This is a lonnnnnnnng text post so scroll at your own risk. To keep it from being toooo long I’m also sticking to east blue crew.

Hear me out:

There are a million different sects of Christianity so we’ve got a ton of angles to use.

Garp is catholic (but think FRENCH laïcité instead of American Amy Coney Barret Supreme Court justice weird catholic cult), Dragon straight up rebels against the strict structure and goes about his atheist ways. Neither of them really raise Luffy anyway so 💁🏻

Luffy ends up being agnostic. It’s not that he doesn’t believe in a higher power but he knows he needs to take action and that he can’t rely on a higher power to fix the problems of the world. Very Albert Camus, revolting against the absurd and holding himself to a higher responsibility in life

Zoro comes from a Shinto or Buddhist background. He’s not judging anyone’s religious beliefs unless they’re harming others.

Nami has religious trauma from the Baptist church that set up in her town and made it impossible to be herself. Belle Mere is so clearly queer and she’s harassed and dies at the hands of some zealous bigots who were emboldened by the words of the local Baptist church pastor (Arlong)

Ussop comes from a chill Protestant background (maybe Presbyterian?) But he’s more of a CEO (Christmas Easter Only) in terms of actually attending any sort of church. Honestly, with his dad out of the picture and his mom dying, he just had bigger things on his mind like living every day.

Finally, Sanji. Oh boy, Sanji has major “Quiverfull movement Christian” trauma from Judge. For those who don’t know, quiverfull is a Christian extremist movement where the idea is to have as many kids as possible and adhere to very strict purity rules and gender roles. Contraception isn’t allowed. Women wear long skirts and non fitted shirts to hide their womanly form (ew), and most of the time these parents homeschool there kids to avoid the “temptation” or “impurity” of modern society.

Judge had these 5 kids who he’s raised in this faith but Sanji never liked how Judge treated his mom. Why was Sora supposed to be “seen and not heard?” Why was it ok for his brothers to use scripture to bully and hurt and spread hate? Why would a loving god create women just to subjugate them? Judge wouldn’t like this, and once Sora passes away (probably because Judge wouldn’t let her seek medical care post birth of the quadruplets, so her health deteriorated for years), Judge locks him up and makes him do all sorts of horrible “prayer” and “repentance” practices, which are really just abuse.

Sanji would maybe escape when they go into town to get something mundane like a printer or a new wifi router (which only judge is allowed to use the internet). He’d probably bolt first chance he gets and when he meets Zeff, Zeff can recognize the signals of abuse. He takes Sanji in and even though Sanji never believed women were less than men, he still has years of trauma and gender roles beaten into him that he has to unpack.

His choice to cook? That’s a huge rebellion. Wearing tight fitting suits that look sinful? That’s a middle finger to his dad. He always treats women like goddesses because he feels so much guilt for the sins of his father. When he finally joins the Strawhats, he’s so overwhelmed with how free and nonjudgmental they are (of important stuff, obviously they’ll still poke fun at small stuff) that he feels comfortable dropping little comments here and there, opening up.

Ussop will be comforting Nami about something and sanji will tell him is so refreshing to see a man be so nurturing. He goes to Ussop often, asking how he’s so confident sharing his emotions.

Nami will be ordering them around and he’ll do everything she says with a smile, just happy to see her free to do what she wants (which is be a bossy bitch)

Zoro will talk about Kuina one night and Sanji will sob, overwhelmed with joy that she got to have all that strength and a friend like zoro even when faced with hurtful gender expectations.

Luffy above all is the most jarring for him. He grew up hearing about sin and sinners and temptation and evil but when he sees Luffy doing his thing, taking down bad people, fighting for the underdog, he knows that if there is a God (he she it they? Who cares), Luffy is doing their work.

——————

Bonus Gay Cherry on top is that Sanji meets Iva and gets into drag, starts performing, does some events, and through that gender liberation is able to find some peace in who he is, tucking away all the hate he was born into. And he ends up with zoro the end bye

[joandfriedrich]

For the ship ask game: 3, 4 and 7 for all three ships 😊

3. What was their first impression of each other?

Meg x John:

I think John was immediately interested in Meg, not only because she is pretty, but also because he had seen her with her family and thought her incredibly kind, and it just grew the more he got to know her. Meg, I think she may have had a small crush, not only was he educated but was handsome, though she was in more denial of her feelings than he was.

Jo x Friedrich:

The nice thing is that in the book, we know what Jo thought of Friedrich the first time she saw him, which was that he was a good man since he helped a child with a coal bucket, such a pivotal moment that made her zone in on him for the rest of her trip. The first time they met, Friedrich has already heard about her, and he clearly thinks well of her. I would imagine he would be impressed at the idea of her coming being a writer and find delight in someone who went her own way in the world.

Amy x Laurie:

Laurie would have thought she was a cute kid, the little sister he never had. Amy would have been more impressed, not only because he is older and handsome, but also he is European, which means he has to be sophisticated, not the kind of company she is used to.

4. Who initiates affection? Why does the other not initiate affection as much?

Meg x John:

I feel like John, at least in the beginning of their relationship, since Meg seems still rather shy in her feelings. We do know they are physically affectionate, as Jo saw Meg sitting on John’s lap, but I imagine it was John who initiated the act. Perhaps a year into their marriage, Meg would start to feel comfortable enough to initiate it back, but mostly I would say John.

Jo x Friedrich:

Jo very much initiates, mainly because she doesn’t care what other people think and wants him to know how much she loves him, just as we saw with her spontaneous kiss in Under the Umbrella. Although Friedrich would be a little slower to the take, he wouldn’t take as long as Meg. His feelings are strong, but he does have doubts of whether or not she loved him back, and on whether or not Jo would want to be touched (he is a gentleman after all), but once it becomes clear that Jo is more than happy to have him initiate physical affection, he is more than happy to reciprocate.

Amy x Laurie:

I think they wouldn’t have any issues with this, mainly because they have no doubts of their feelings and seem very much on the same wave length of thoughts and feelings. They know when the other needs a little extra physical affection, and even know when physical affection isn’t enough or wanted.

7. How often do they say “I love you”?

Meg x John:

I would think they don’t say it often, not because they don’t feel it, but because 1, they are just busy people and they don’t have time to speak of love, 2, they feel it all the time. It’s there when Meg sees John letting her nap while he takes care of the twins, or when Meg makes sure he has a hot meal when he comes home late. So when they do say it, it feels even more meaningful because they know they don’t have to say it but want to.

Jo x Friedrich:

The actual words, they say it at least once a day, but in others words or nonverbally, they say it multiple times. Jo rubbing Friedrich's shoulders. Friedrich asking if she wants more oranges. Jo offering to sew his buttons back on. Friedrich brushing Jo's hair. They are more for showing then telling, but it's always nice to start and end the day with an 'I love you'.

Amy x Laurie:

All the time! They say it in the morning, at tea, while they have dinner, visiting family, before bed, you name it, they are not afraid to tell the other their love. Sometimes it can be a bit too mushy for those on the outside, but neither pay much attention to the naysayers, or heed the teasing of their loved ones. They are happy to hear it whenever they can, pay back for all the times they never had the chance to say it.

[leornadodabvinci]

Hello! Do you have any other Grand Chase headcanons to share on this fine day? 👁️👁️

HI HELLO YES I DO OMGGG SORRY FOR THE LATE RESPONSE I DIDN’T OPEN TUMBLR FOR A BIT BUT I HAVE A DISCORD SERVER FOR KEEPING NOTES OF STUFF AND ONE CHANNEL IS JUST DEDICATED TO RANDOM HCS AND SO UM. I have a few (that would make sense without an elaborate explanation)👉👈 they’re mostly if not all elesis and sieghart though ahahah… ANYWYA

*takes a deep breath*

(Sorry if the terminologies aren’t right im just rambling skhdjsj) (also a lot of them are sieg and elesis aha…)

- Sieghart currently is built like a dancer, lithe and flexible, because of the extra innate godlike strength he got from being a highlander. He doesn’t have to exert as much strength as when he was just a mortal, or like the weight doesn’t affect him that much anymore? Plus, i hc that the highlanders’ style is more elegant and flow-y, compared to the brutishness of the sieghart family’s. When he was younger, around Elesis’ age, he was built more like her. Body builder, bigger muscle kinda look.

- Elesis, as she grows into her late 20’s receives sooooo many “you look just like Sieghart!” Or “you look just like your father!” Comments, but as she grows past 30 and 40, they die down. Because sieghart is stuck in his 30’s, and elscud died (? Disappeared?) in his 40’s.

- sieghart is a jack of all trades, master of none kinda guy.

- Dio and Sieghart have a strange way of being intimate. It isn’t really… intimacy. They don’t do pda, they do something more nothingburger and subtle that it feels more vulgar if you catch them doing it. Its like a game? But not really? Since they’re not trying to hide it either 😭 i don’t know how to describe it. Like the Chase could be in a meeting together and Sieghart/Dio is eating something and one of them goes “blech” and instead of eating the food, they try it from the other’s mouth and then is like “oh ew ur right omg” and then the chase woukd just stare at them.

- dio and sieg are truly, evenly matched in skill. Its a battle of attrition. Though probably sieg has the upper hand since he’s immortal?

- dio’s actually also playboy, just not in mortal sense. He takes up someone every 5 - 10 years, which i hc is the equivalent of changing gfs/bfs every couple of months in demon sense of time. He tries to mean well though, and doesn’t do one night stands.

- sieghart is a one night stand enthusiast. He’s a total flirt too.

- height hc: dio > sieg > zero > ley > grandiel > werner > (noticeable drop) > ryan > lire > jin > rufus > harpe > ronan > asin > lass > edel > rin > elesis > amy > (big drop here) > arme > lime > veigas

- Elesis is a doof and lowkey rich girl coded. “How much is an apple anyway? Like $10?”

- the Chase act more like childish, more their age (more carefree, unburdened, yknow young adults/teens) around Sieghart.

- lass and rufus have the same eye shape. They both take after their mother more.

- Grandiel finds Sieghart to be the best company. They both understand each other very well, and seamlessly fall into conversation no matter how long its been since they last met.

- that’s why when Sieghart found out who Kyle and Cindy was, it stung a little. But he understood, of course. He holds no grudge against Grandiel.

- Sieghart acts like a safeguard for the Chase. He doesn’t want any of them to go through any of this alone.

- Ley, Rin and Sieghart are besties. Wine date trio.

- Lime and Dio also unexpectedly get along well. They’re optimistic people. Two sides of the same coin.

- Rufus cares about Lass more than he thinks. When Lass gets sick, he most definitely appears and lingers around until he gets better.

Okaay i think thats itttt hehe :3 Thank you for this ask I definitely enjoyed it LOL

[octoooo]

Actually now that I’ve finished Sailor Moon (90s) I can finally talk about Usagi & Mamoru.

I don’t like them together.

And I’m not sorry about it.

Their 90s relationship feels like a fairytale love story born out of obligation to their past lives & not real feelings. That’s how it came off at least.

Keep in mind how I mentioned 90s specifically, this ain’t about the manga or Crystal.

Now maybe I’m smoking crack or I simply forgot, but,,didn’t they dislike each other for the longest time? Throughout Season 1 at least, Before either of them realized they fight together as Sailor Guardian & Tuxedo Mask I mean. Usagi hated Mamoru especially when he called her “Bun Head.”

And Mamoru seemed teasing sure, but not romantically interested from their meetings on the street. Usagi was crushing on Tuxedo Mask, but she actively hoped that Mamoru wasn’t him.

And then they learned of their past relationship as Princess Serenity & Prince Endymion and?? Now it’s like “oh let’s be together! I think we’re meant to be!” It’s just,,it felt like obligation to me.

Idk maybe they fell in love off screen but like,,,why couldn’t we see it? Isn’t this their story? Shouldn’t we see the main lovers actually develop so I can feel something for them?

I cheered when Mamoru broke up with Usagi, I was like genuinely happy about that lol.

Also the 90s fucked up their age gap. Mamoru is now a college student (no given age) & Usagi is still 14 (eventually 15 in season 2 I think then 16 by the end) but like??

Kinda odd it went down like that y’know? I dunno about you but I hear “college student” and “middle schooler” I’m 💀

I’ve seen speculation that 90s Mamoru is 16 like his manga counterpart but he’s just really smart & went to college early.

Okay

Not impossible I guess,

But we don’t really have any information to assume that? In canon at least, maybe the animators came out and said something about it that I’m not aware of.

I can use Ami as a reference.

Because she’s in Usagi’s grade she’s also 14-16 and We KNOW she’s smart. She’s always top of her class & getting perfect scores, She spends her free time studying & was even offered a spot in a foreign university. She’s the smart one, it’s beaten over our heads numerous times. When she has conversations with Mamoru about topics outside her friend’s knowledge it only benefits her. Those scenes don’t do anything to show “oh Mamoru is really super duper smart to know all of this,” like it does for Ami. As an eighth grader, she wouldn’t be expected to know much about the topics Mamoru’s interested in, but she DOES because she’s SMART & we’re told this all the time.

Mamoru though?? We’re told he’s a college student. So we are to assume he just,,has to/wants to know this, meaning he IS smart. But he’s not extraordinarily smart like Ami, so I don’t think I can’t believe he’s a 16yr old who went straight to college.

Seiya & Usagi had a more developed relationship tbh.

Like, Seiya starts off not really caring for Usagi but then they like her enough to be friends, and eventually develop romantic feelings for her. Also, from their perspective Mamoru is a shitty guy so ofc he wouldn’t want Usagi to be with him. Like, as long as Seiya had known Usagi, she had cried over her “botfriend” and had absolutely zero contact with the guy. Of course they eventually learn it was because of the Shadow Galaxia but before learning that, Usagi seems hung up on some guy who does not feel the same for her, and Seiya is RIGHT THERE and they’re SO devoted.

Also Seiya didn’t want Usagi to be Sailor Moon, because that would mean that Usagi might be their enemy (can’t be beefing with the love interest now can you?) even after learning that, Seiya went to many great lengths where their affection showed through clear as day. I mean, the amount of times they took a hit for Sailor Moon or cradled her to protect her,,,,

Of course they would never end up together. Usagi was very clear about not wanting to be with anyone but Mamoru, yet Seiya kept pushing Which is yikes. But at least I got to see actual romance ? Got to see romantic feelings for Usagi from someone who genuinely cared. I can tell Usagi loves Mamoru (I think) but Mamoru is like,,,,so stiff with her. He protects her because he has to, like the other Guardians, it doesn’t feel born out of love line Seiya’s protectiveness.

Siiigh anyway I’m ready to be eaten alive by UsaMamo fans. Keep in mind this only covers the 90s anime, I have no idea how they are in the manga or Crystal as I haven’t seen much of it yet. I’ve heard it’s better in them, but I don’t wanna get my hopes up.

[essycogany]

Sweet Prime!Sonic Moments

My favorite scene in Sonic Prime should be a great start.

Episode: 5 “Barking Up The Wrong Tree.”

First thing I want to establish!

Episode 4 “Unwelcome To The Jungle,” and 5 made me laugh the most. Random I know, but I believe they have some of the best jokes and character interactions.

From Gnarly Knuckles acting like Sticks from Sonic Boom. To Hangry Big having one of the most normal line deliveries done for him.

“A shard? We don’t know...”

Then the episodes gave Sonic moments of annoyance and frustration with the scavengers and Thorn’s shenanigans. We could use more of Sonic being done with everything. It’s so entertaining.

(It also reminds me of Boom!Sonic so that’s an extra point.)

I wouldn’t say this show is perfect. Far from it actually. But I do appreciate what new sides to Sonic the show brings to the table.

Without further ado, let’s get into the overanalyzed ramble pile.

Quick recap

After Sonic’s argument with Thorn about finding a better way to express herself to her use to be friends and to figure out how to take better care of the jungle, Sonic responds with this:

Then he runs off to get Thorn to follow him. Which means Sonic already had an idea to get Thorn to come to her senses.

Side note. Even if Prime!Sonic isn’t the brightest, I wouldn’t say he’s dumb.

(Mostly)

In combat he’s able to trick/fool people or enemies plenty of times. Even in this scene Sonic tricks Thorn into lunching her hammer to allow sunlight into the unhealthy jungle.

Then we end up here. The scene that made me love this version of the character more then I already did:

Yes, the ear twitch at the end was added on purpose.

I find it hilarious this dude could have went on with his plan without really saying anything to the tree. Obviously this scene would’ve been boring without any dialogue, but to me it gives the impression Sonic has a soft spot for nature.

Environmentalism has always been the key point for the majority of this franchise. I also like in most media Sonic’s been a flower loving guy. It seems to be a consistent thing that Sonic has an appreciation for plants. Talking about how pretty they are. Having knowledge about them and so on.

Back to the scene. Sonic talks to The Great Green. Not a surprise since he talks to Flickies in this show too.

I don’t know why, but I just love the fact Sonic took time to reassure the tree he’s got things under-control. Even giving it a little pat to show affection.

Sonic even hugs a palm tree later on in the show which I find hilarious and cute.

In terms of characterization, I believe this scene is a brilliant way of showing how this character is in general. Sonic having sympathy for the tree while it’s branches goes down. Sonic’s worry for Thorn and how much she’s lost it by being overprotective and practically destroying the main thing she tried to protect. Proving how much he does his best to find some kind of connection to what is basically a stranger. Despite how similar Thorn and Amy are. Then the blue blur tells The Great Green he has a plan in mind.

Sonic: “I know just trust me.”

You’re NOT the Lorax, Sonic. Jokes aside, I like how Sonic clarifies to the tree he’s going to be careful.

Sonic later on:

This shows a bit of growth compared to the first episode. At least Sonic’s not being reckless this time and knows what he’s doing.

The music in this scene is nice too. I don’t think enough people talk about how great the music is in this show. I’ll say it’s another highlight for me.

I also love the angle of the weak tree looking down at Sonic’s cherry optimistic self. The leaves falling here and latter on in this episode are VERY nice touches.

Don’t get me started on the voice acting here. Deven Mack is my favorite Sonic VA. Not because he sounds better then the others, but he takes what makes ALL of them great and combines them into one. Deven has so much range it’s not even funny. Also if someone told me Sonic was voiced by an actual teen here, I would’ve believed them. Hot take! Prime!Sonic sounds younger then Movie!Sonic if I’m being honest.

Also, even though I’m not an animator, I believe the character models in Prime has some of the BEST facial expressions for the Modern Sonic cast has EVER had in 3D. I think they have the widest range of emotions. I’m fine with anyone who disagrees though.

In conclusion. This scene solidifies something about Prime!Sonic I believe most who love him would agree with. He’s by far the sweetest version of Sonic The Hedgehog. At least from what I’ve seen so far. Not to say other versions don’t have their moments too. It’s only due to this and other moments I may talk about in the future that makes Prime!Sonic my favorite. Hope you enjoy my little character geek out.

Stay Creative! 💜

[atotalpitch]

in line w your post about Insta caption; your headcanon about how each Bella uses emoji, what they post on social media and how they'd caption everything?

word count is 1,5k for this one who's surprised??? you genuinely cannot send me an ask and not get answer longer than the fics that i write sigh i kind of went off the rails a bit and forgot about the “how they’d caption everything” part of the question, but here’s a detailed rant of how each of them texts and uses social media:

Chloe: where do i even begin? i feel like she has auto-caps on and uses a shit ton of emojis, but for their actual purpose instead of ironically. she does not send a single text without At Least two hearts, and is definitely not a dry texter by any means. also, according to everyone she has ever been in contact with, she has a habit of sending ten texts in a row instead of just writing everything into one message, which is denied within four seconds of it being brought up. (“but it’s easier to read separate, short messages!” “it’s just how i would talk in real life, you know!”) she has two accounts on instagram, one which is public and one which is private. on the public one she posts aesthetically and has a theme which she strictly follows. the posts are mostly about cute animals she takes care of, or major events. private on the other hand? it basically contains her Entire life – all ups and downs included – and a shit ton of random pictures of Beca. it’s only followed by the Bellas and some of her closest family. twitter, facebook and tiktok (which she would never admit to having) are on a different level. what that implies is very much up for interpretation. she’s one of those pinterest users, and has a board for Everything. has regular meetups with Aubrey when they just gush over their pinterest feeds, dream weddings, etc. (whatever it is that those people do idk)

Aubrey: perfect grammar and punctuation, one emoji per message. a facebook mom, if you will. she gets teased for it endlessly but her response is always something like “why would i use texting for anything other than it’s purpose of informing others?”

if you bring up social media in her presence, she will scowl at you and let you believe that she absolutely despises every form of online contacting. however, she will go back home and sit on Her Armchair with a glass of fucking expensive red wine and go through every single one of your social media accounts from tumblr to linkedin (stalker much?). not that she posts anywhere, except for twitter where she just lets hell loose every once in a blue moon. she does have an instagram account as well though, but just for liking other peoples posts as she claims if someone happens to ask (despite her story always having at least twenty random pictures at any given time of the day)

Amy: … she’s, well, Amy. she texts with full caps or no caps, always with at least five typos even if it’s just two words. it’s Something, how she manages to do that every single time. she’s a tiktok emoji trend user (eg. skull for laughing) which confuses others (read: Aubrey, who isn’t on tiktok) a lot.

her social media is full of memes, random selfies, “inspirational” quotes that are more or less insane, and pictures of food. she, for some reason, went viral on tiktok and has like two million followers. (nobody knows why, which is probably for the better.) on twitter, she mostly just retweets crazy shit and thirsts over celebrities Very openly. then there’s reddit… yeah,, there’s reddit. she doesn’t really use other socials, but does have accounts literally everywhere.

Stacie: as i said in the post that inspired this ask, she texts like Alexis (her actress) writes her instagram captions. so basically just a lot of dragged out words, a bunch of emojis and abbreviations and that stuff. i don’t know to describe it, so. take that as you will. im not sure how many of you follow her anyway .

our girl is for sure, without a doubt, a tiktok thirst trapper. she does it unintentionally at first, but when she goes viral she starts doing it for fun (almost like a hobby). her comments used to be flooded by creepy men, but once she put the bi flag in her bio they seemingly disappeared and were replaced by the army of “#wlw? we won” people. Aubrey’s not too happy about her posting herself like that, but she thinks it’s whatever as long as Stacie runs every video through her (not in a controlling way. she’s just also one of those lesbians who drool over her.) Stacie’s instagram is also kinda similar, but with pictures instead of videos. they’re subtle and barely revealing for the most part, but she looks good in literally anything so she has a lot of followers anyway. that’s where her social media use ends, save for the private twitter account that she uses to bully the rest of the Bellas.

Beca: she texts in all lowercase, but decent grammar anyways. she’s not exactly big on emojis, but slips them in every few messages (she’s a chronic frowning emoji user, that’s for sure). i don’t know how else to describe her texting?? she usually doesn’t even reply with other than half a sentence or a barely coherent abbreviation

she’s famous, so her socials are mostly “official” and really, Really lack personality. naturally, she has private accounts which her closest circle of people follow. she doesn’t post though, mainly just replies to other people. (well, maybe she accidentally clicks post on random memes sometimes, but you really don’t need to know that.) Batshit Crazy Reddit User™ and will use it as a reliable source for anything. you can also find her at 3am doomscrolling on twitter.

Emily: oh god. she texts like she just got a phone and is generally as awkward as when talking. kinda like Chloe, she’ll send a thousand texts in a row in the same way she stumbles over her words irl. she spams people with only emojis, and doesn’t Make Sense most of the time. but she’s Emily, so they let it slide.

she’s not that big on social media (follower wise) but active? hell yes. she posts something every. single. day. whether its a mirror selfie or a cute flower she saw on her way to yoga (she does yoga. yeah. i know. crazy.) you can pretty much imagine Hailee’s insta up until like 2020 but double the amount of posts. there’s never too much filters or hashtags for her, and she unfortunately did not grow out of the 2013(-ish) filter phase. she unironically uses facebook and watches instagram reels, and nobody bats an eye anymore when she giggles and sends a link to a puppy video from the deep dark archives of facebook. any other form of social media she stays away from, especially twitter (she has an account but zero posts or replies). she does learn pinterest from Chloe at some point, so that becomes a big thing for her eventually though.

Cynthia Rose: she texts in the closest way to normal possible. she uses auto-caps, a decent amount of emojis that actually make sense, and abbreviations that everyone can understand. but she does have a middle-aged man edge to it sometimes. she’s an influencer. not that kind of “grwm to go shopping” one, but she fights for rights, talks about representation, and brings out the voices of minorities. she runs campaigns, interviews people, and activist type of stuff. it’s a good thing and she’s happy about what she does (even if she does spend all day everyday working for it despite doing it for free). but, sticking to the running theme, she has a private twitter account. her header is a lesbian quote with two pairs of scissors, and her posts are just plain Insane. she mostly uses it to bully Beca for literally no reason at all. 

Flo: texts like a wine aunt. that’s it. there’s no other way i can describe it.

she has an instagram for her juice truck, and it has a bunch of followers all around the world who are interested in watching her move from one place to another. she also posts tutorials how to make her juices at home (especially during the pandemic), and she’s basically sponsored by a million companies just because she gave them recipes lol. on her personal account, she’s also kind of an influencer too. she mostly posts about fashion and food, maybe sometimes stray cats that walk up to her on the streets when she’s going around with her truck. she’s not really famous famous, but has like 30k followers. i feel like i’m just gonna say the same for them all, but she also has a priv twitter account for the sole purpose of including herself in the crazy ass threads where all of the other Bellas are just, going mental. she’s also a pinterest / aesthetic moodboard tumblr girly methinks. 

Lilly: you can only imagine how she texts, if she even does. ominous as fuck. i’m leaving it at that because shes just so,,,,,, well you know.

she doesn’t use social media as far as anyone knows, and she barely has a working phone number. but if we are being real, does anyone really know anything about her anyway???

Ashley + Jessica: i have zero idea??? it’s hard to give personalities to characters whose names are barely confirmed. but i’m guessing they’re the most “normal” out of them all. you know, casual texting and barely posting anywhere. it’s odd. but they are still bellas and we love them. 

[got-into-worm-by-mistake]

Agitation 3.12 Live Reactions

(This is me, writing reactions as I read, because why the fuck not. They're not complete, mature thoughts taken after I sit back and evaluate what I've read. Consider them as such)

“Falsified records,” Tattletale grinned.

I do love just how deep the hypocrisy of "New Wave Means Accountability" actually goes.

“We know this story already,” Glory Girl replied, her tone just a touch testy. Whatever Tattletale was doing, I sensed it was giving us more control over the situation.  I commented, “This is new to me.  I’m sort of intrigued.”

Character: "I know all this already"

Protagonist: "Well, I don't, and the readers need to know, so why not keep going?"

“It’s not the man that would bother her so much.  It’s the knowing.  Every hour of every day after hearing me say his name, she would wonder.  She’s terrified she’ll start second guessing every part of herself, wondering if she inherited it from him, or if she was that way out of an unconscious desire to not be him.  Knowing as much as she does already keeps her awake some nights, but knowing his name, knowing who he is and what he did?  For the rest of her life, she would compare herself to him.  Isn’t that right, Amy?” “Shut up.  Just… shut up,” Panacea retorted, her voice thick with emotion.

Okay, seriously, Tattletale, do you really feel no guilt about this? You aren't actually a soulless monster or anything.

I get I'm just unreasonably partisan towards Amy, but JESUS FUCK I really hate Tattletale for all this. It's just... so fucking cruel.

I saw a flicker of doubt cross Glory Girl’s face.

She's probably thinking about the beating guys into pulp thing.

“Very principled.  Very self-involved too, that you think the secret and the consequences have to do with you and your overzealous nature.  They don’t.  They have to do with her.”  Tattletale directed the laser pointer at Panacea’s forehead, “You won’t be tickled pink, either, but the aftermath would be hers to deal with.  Humiliation, shame, heartbreak.”

And if Lisa did say it and did ruin Amy's life, she'd just go 'Look What You Made Me Do."

Ugh, I don't think I'm ever gonna like Lisa. It's not really reasonable, but who cares. Yes, villain protagonists and all, but like... just the cavalier willingness to just... destroy people.

Fuck you, Tattle-bitch.

Panacea abruptly tore out of my grip, so violently I had to pull the knife away to keep her from cutting her own throat against it.

I wouldn't be surprised if on a very tiny level Amy was like 'if this gets out my life is ruined so if she does cut my throat who cares?' Because she couldn't know that Taylor was going to pull her knife back.

“Nobody fucks with my family!” she shouted, and her power cranked out full-bore.  My knees turned to jelly and my brain just gave up on rational thought. 

That aura really is nucking futs.

“I’m going to pull in every favor I’m owed, and put myself in debt with the local D.A. and whoever else I have to, to get you both sent to the Birdcage,” 

Okay, so... Vicky? What the ABSOLUTE fuck?

A prison without wardens.  No communication with the outside world.  No escapes yet, which is pretty amazing considering it houses all of the worst and most powerful villains we’ve been able to capture.  We don’t even know for sure if anyone’s alive inside there.  It’s just a bucket where we dump scum like you, so we never have to worry about you again.”

oooh! Worldbuilding!

Also, such a wonderful idea for a prison! No issues with a black box like that at all! /s

“And no contact with the outside world means you don’t go fucking talking about whatever Amy wants to keep private.  I trust my sister, I trust she has a reason for keeping it to herself.”

I've said it before - Vicky really was Amy's number one fan, the person who trusted and believed in her the most and nope I'm not crying about what happens between them what Amy does to her, to *them* not at all

“Idiots,” Glory Girl’s muffled voice came from the midst of the cloud of insects, “I’m invincible.” Tattletale used her good arm to prop herself up, groaning, “First of all, I warned you about calling me stupid.  Second, no, you’re not invincible.  Not exactly.”

Does Earth Bet not have an equivalent of the Evil Overlord's List?

Well, probably not, but like - Alexandria Package or not, hero or not, Vicky, Vicky, I love you, but the minute you say 'I'm Invincible' is the minute you get your ass handed to you, you get that right?

“She’s not really invincible.  That’s just an idea she likes to put in people’s heads.  She has a forcefield around her entire body, but it shorts out whenever she takes a good hit, comes back online a few seconds later.  I knew when I saw she had dust on her costume.  Dust that her forcefield would keep off her.  Fuck, this hurts.”

The illusion of perfection, invincibility, flawlessness. Really is a whole package for her.

Another reason to remember Carol sucks as a mom.

The fight outside the bank was still going our way.  Only Aegis was still in action, and he was hemmed in by the three dogs and Regent’s borrowed laser cannon.

What happened in the interval? Because Vicky was implying things were turning the Wards way when she came in. Though that could have just been posturing.

“It was Glory Girl on the roof,”

Glory Girl, on the Roof, With the Aura. That's whodunnit in Clue.

We’d done it.  I’d done it.  We’d escaped without killing anyone.  The only ones who’d really been hurt at all had been the Wards, Glory Girl and Panacea, and that would be fixed when Panacea came to, for sure.  Any property damage had largely been the fault of the Wards and Glory Girl. 

Alec did fire the laser into the building a couple of times, don't forget that. But overall, a fair point. Reminds me of that Powerpuff Girls episode where they move to Citisville and destroy a multimillion dollar bridge to stop bank robbers who had like, a few ten thousand or something.

And how the fuck did that come back to my mind? I was like 7 when I saw that?!

“No injuries or deaths for us, for the heroes or for the bystanders,” she confirmed. “Then it’s a good day,” I said. “A very good day,” she agreed.

A good way to ease Taylor into all this (had there been a major injury or a death, even on the Wards side, I'm not sure Taylor would have been able to rationalize that yet). And ease the readers. Sure, we were warned what this would be, and yet, people still want to root for their MC, so we've got to be eased into it, into villain Taylor.

[zahri-melitor]

Recent Reads:

I haven’t done a round up of stuff I’ve picked up randomly for a while so let’s have one:-

Exit Stage Left: The Snagglepuss Chronicles: I tried this, on the back of the fact I do enjoy Mark Russell’s satire. After one issue I rapidly realised I simply don’t know enough about the Hanna-Barbera characters in this to care about the adaption going on. The premise is interesting, it’s just Not For Me.

Madame Xanadu 2008 #1-10: this is Matt Wagner with Amy Reeder on art. Reeder's art is ADORABLE and she has such fun drawing elaborate clothing all the way through this. I really enjoy Matt Wagner's ability to take old stories or concepts and breathe a modern comics approach into them, making them a lot more accessible. This is Wagner telling the backstory of Nimue Inwudu, stopping in with her at 5 points in her history (Camelot, the court of Kublai Khan, the French Revolution, Jack the Ripper London, and America WWII) and her interactions with a bunch of characters from the Magic side of DC (Merlin, Etrigan, Death of the Endless, the Phantom Stranger, Giovanni Zatara, and Jim Corrigan as the Spectre). Nimue has a MASSIVE beef with the Phantom Stranger. She does not like him at all, because he keeps turning up at some of the worst points in her life and won't help her try to evade terribly fated things. Come for the Amy Reeder art, stay for the story.

The Demon: Hell is Earth 2018: I enjoyed this. Because I don’t clean read Etrigan stuff in order I cannot remember if Etrigan is officially a Rhymer again as of Rebirth (he appears to be rhyming for fun and because he enjoys it, but isn’t bound to do so, but he’s also getting mocked by his demon uncle for using rhymes). In any case, Jason Blood and Etrigan get separated for hell-related reasons, and they’re running around with Madame Xanadu and Merlin to prevent Belial taking over Earth by invading from Hell. Good times. Lots of people die. Etrigan potentially ends up King of Hell at the end of this story.

Swamp Thing: I was going to make this its own post but heck let’s put everything in together.

Len Wein (Swamp Thing #1-13 1972): Wein's work is absolutely solid magical horror. He sets up an intriguing premise to build from and he can spin a good story. It's exactly the sort of amusing writing that keeps me coming back to, say, Warlord. Worthwhile to see the starting premise.

David Michelinie (Swamp Thing #14-18, 21-22 1972): Not as good at Wein, but definitely can tell a story. You can tell he spent time on House of Mystery given the episodic horror nature of his storytelling.

Gerry Conway (Swamp #19-20, 23-24 1972 plus Challengers of the Unknown #81-87 1977): Conway I think is the first writer who actually gets some of the specific horror you can imbue in this concept, especially around identity. I can see how his ideas could contribute to the later concepts Moore will introduce. I don't think his execution is fantastic but the hand regeneration? Yeah. Yeah that is playing with the ideas available.

Martin Pasko (Brave and the Bold #176 1955, Saga of the Swamp Thing #1-19 1982): Pasko is definitely processing things. Like, the man has an entire story that's just him responding to the Atlanta Child Murders of 1979-1981. He is very much a cynic about the innocence of childhood (or innocence in general, actually) and wants to explore the dark side of humanity.

The Phantom Stranger: these have been backups to the Martin Pasko Swamp Thing issues. Mostly I’ve found them pretty trite and a bit overly religious in places. Yes I know his entire concept is rooted in religious myth (as the Wandering Jew) but I mean more in a 'this tale has an Overt Christian Moral' way. The concept of the character is fascinating. The execution seems to be very across the shop.

Outsiders #1-33 2003: oh boy. Uh. Tomasi's fill using the original Batman & The Outsiders characters was a WELCOME reprieve to this. Okay, in terms of the main run: I tend to find Judd Winick a writer that either I'm fully enjoying or decidedly not to my taste. Outsiders falls into the 'not to my taste' category. I can see what Winick is going for in terms of 'let's make this Gritty! And Mature!' except for it's really not that gritty and his idea of making it mature is just having everyone hooking up a lot on panel, whether or not said hookup makes characterisation sense. And then he'll turn around every 10 issues or so and have some quite interestingly interrogative storytelling about Dick and Roy. (literally: you want issues #1, 11 and 21). I see what a bunch of the DickRoy shippers enjoy in this, but there's a lot of cantilevered cloud structures required to extract the Shippy Goodness out of the rest of this run.

[variousqueerthings]

The Girl Who Waited... or hold your horses we are about to have probably the highest rated episode of the seaaaaason

sexism rank objectification (female character is ogled/harassed/turned into a sex joke by the doctor and/or a lead we’re supposed to root for and/or the camera): 10/10

sexism rank plot-point (lead female character is only there to serve plot, not to have her emotional interiority explored): 10/10

interesting complex or pointlessly complex (does the complexity serve the narrative or does it just serve to be confusing as a stand-in for smart, this includes visually): 9/10

furthers character and/or lore and/or plot development (broader question that ties into the previous ones, at least two of these, ideally three should be fulfilled): 8/10

companion matters (the companion doesn’t always have to be there, but if the companion is there, can they function without the doctor– and overall per season how often is the companion the focus or POV of the story): 10/10

the doctor is more than just “godlike” (examines the doctor’s flaws and limitations, doesn’t solve a plot by having it revolve entirely around the doctor’s existence): 9/10

doesn’t look down on previous doctor who (by erasing or mocking its importance, by redoing and “bettering” previous beloved plotpoints or characters, etc.): 6/10

isn’t trying to insert hamfisted sexiness (m*ffat famously talked a lot about how dw should be sexier multiple times, he sucks at writing it): 10/10

internal world has consistency (characters have backgrounds, feel rooted in a place with other people, generally feel like they have Lives): 7/10

Politics (how conservative is the story): 7/10

FULL RATING: 86/100 (if I can count….)

WELL OKAY THOSE ARE SOME RATINGS!

OBJECTIFICATION: BOOM! SOLID! NOTHING! IN FACT AMY IS IN HER... 50s? I can't count. She's been there for 36 years. and like yeah, she's maybe unrealistically slim, buuuut they gave her this neat hodge-podge armor that she made which bulks her out and the rest is like, Karen Gillen has slim arms, it's fine, and they did actually age up her face so she does look older and not like A M*ffat Fantasy older either

and younger Amy is also chill in this one, she's just vibing... well, she's not vibing, she's having a terrible time. but see beloooow on how that episode goes about writing her terrible time

PLOT-POINT: aaaand fuckn! winner *dings bell* it's all about herrrrr it's about her abandonment, it's about her relationship with Rory, it's about her ability to survive on her own and what it could do to her as a person, it's about the shit introduced on Day Flipping One (first episode)

and it does it well! scenes that in days of yore might have cut from Amy to centre on Rory and the Doctor (am reminded of her grief over Rory being erased from existence being undercut by the camera focusing on the Doctor, or about everything related to her with her pregnancy and Demon's Run)

this is the definitive Amy Exploration and while I've said I'm not the biggest Karen Gillen fan in the past, I think she was good in this! she has this kind of weariness to her, a bluntness, an awkwardness in the way she speaks and holds herself, the script and the makeup give her so much to do that doesn't mean she has to be attractive all the time, and it's so good for her ability Do Shit

COMPLEXITY: it sets up a neat Sci Fi concept in order to explore a very human relationship! the best kind of science fiction. like. no notes here, onwards

CHARACTERS/LORE/PLOT: arghhhhhhhhhhh everything I want

Amy and Rory explore their relationship on multiple levels, finally giving me a proper episode of Amy's feelings for Rory and not just little moments? check

an episode in which Rory and Amy challenge the Doctor in how he treats people and his morality, specifically in how it also affects his relationship to them, and what that does to them (and also changes them)?

an episode in which Amy gets to say fuck you to the Doctor?

"I don’t care that you got old, I care that we didn’t grow old together"

Amy facing herself???!!!!!!!!!! oh yeah good stufffffffff

COMPANIONS MATTER: this one sidelines the Doctor for the companions! it's all about them, they make the choices, they drive the plot, the Doctor is there to do a bit of science and facilitate the story for and about them!

“GODLIKE” DOCTOR: see above point! such a good choice to put him in the Tardis and not have him present when Amy makes her choices (also because she might have just killed him lol)

the one Part where he takes control is the tragedy at the end, and he gets pushback for it, it's not a brilliant solve for everything that everyone claps at him for, it's a sad simple necessity that's got a streak of pragmatic cruelty in it and echoes back on his relationship with Amy, and while young!Amy doesn't get to react too much to that, I think it's fine, because older!Amy does and says goodbye to Rory and young!Amy would never quiiite get that emotion I think, simply because she didn't live it

she was a bit antagonist with her older self, but not being too weird about her being onboard, but I imagine there's a small part of her that might be partly relieved or slightly discount older!Amy because she no longer exists

the one thing perhaps is that we won't know what they told her, and because this show has depicted Amy being kept out of the loop "for her sake" before, it's not like... 100% unreasonable to imagine the Doctor and Rory might pretty up the story again

but not knowing how that goes down is fine. it's a little mystery at the end of the episode

PREVIOUS DOCTOR WHO: there's not much of that in here and tbh I don't think there has to be. it's about Amy, not the Doctor's past

“SEXINESS”: FUCKING! THREE FOR THREE!!! ULTIMATE EPISODE GIVE IT A PRIZE!!!!!!

INTERNAL WORLD: it's pretty cool, kept reeeelatively simple so it could be explained in the first few minutes, built upon slightly, but ultimately remaining quite tight so that the focus could be Amy's hideout on this strange little world where everyone died once

POLITICS: not much politics in this one, so we refer back to how it treats its female companion and it's the gold star winner of the whole thing

FULL RATING: 86/100 (if I can count….)

Highest! Rated! Episode!

and who knows if it'll get beat, we shall seeeee

I mean, what can I say, Amy is a fully rounded character who's running the show and her relationship with Rory is explored, and the Doctor is having some fucked up morality, and it's got neat pacing!

it hasn't got anything that's actually "low" it's mainly just that not every episode needs to refer back to classic!who or have big political messaging, it was pretty fucking Solid!

one thing I would say that wasn't covered in the Rating is that I'm not vibing with this title. I understand where it's coming from (referencing back to kid Amy), but I think while it is examining that childhood anxiety, Amy is simply... not a girl. and in the grand *waves hands* everything of M*ffat, he really likes titles with "girl" in them, which is I imagine therefore not this writer's choice

Girl in the fireplace -- okay, it's the first time, it's fine The Girl Who Waited -- ehhh not a fan, but I guess Amy was a girl who waited, it's a bit reductive for the episode The Impossible Girl -- oh, come on this is silly, it's flattening out the whole character into a plot device The Girl Who Died -- *shakes fist* M*ffaaaaat stop!

But yeah. Episode! Fuckn Happening!