#I just hope this issue is resolved in season 2 but this is a very nitpick thing

[justdalek]

Okay, this might just be me not digging deep enough, but I feel like people complain about the musical numbers in Hazbin Hotel coming across as “jarring” without diagnosing the reason why the music is jarring to the viewer.

I have been rewatching the episodes quite a bit, until the realization hit me in episode 6:

There’s no true transitions from background music, to vamps, to the actual song for most of the songs in the series thus far.  And in some instances, there’s no vamps at all.

Let me explain.

A vamp (in terms of musicals) is when there is music that leads up to the musical number that is about to be performed.  For example, in Disney’s 1989 The Little Mermaid, the sequence right before the song “Under the Sea” has the beginning melody of the song play underneath Sebastian’s dialogue of him telling Ariel that going to the surface is a bad idea.  That little music diddly evolves into Under the Sea naturally without hitting the audience from out of left field.  This was popularized by Howard Ashman, who was a pioneer for the revival of Disney and its movie musicals with the Renaissance Era.  The point of the vamps is to introduce the motif of the song fixing to be song, as well as helping to aid in the character’s mounting emotions that lead them into singing.

To quote Ashman, “You have so much emotion that you have to sing it.  Then you have even more emotion that you must dance.”

Keep in mind that Hazbin Hotel is basing its format off of traditional Broadway musicals.  Each 20-minute episode has two songs in it, usually being sung by the protagonists, or occasionally the antagonists.  The songs move the plot along, as well as provide exposition or a tension for the plot of the episode and the overarching plot of the season.

Here’s the song list (up to episode 6):

Episode 1: Happy Day in Hell (Charlie and Citizens of Hell) and Hell is Forever (Adam and Lute)

Episode 2: Stayed Gone (Vox and Alastor) and It Starts with Sorry (Charlie, Sir Pentious, Vaggie, Angel Dust)

Episode 3: Respectless (Carmilla, Velvette,  Zestial) and Whatever It Takes (Zestial, Carmilla, Vaggie)

Episode 4: Poison (Angel Dust) and Loser, Baby (Husker and Angel Dust)

Episode 5: Hell’s Greatest Dad (Lucifer and Alastor) and More Than Anything (Lucifer and Charlie)

Episode 6: Welcome to Heaven (Heaven Ensemble) and You Didn’t Know (Emily, Charlie, Sera, Adam, Lute)

Let’s dissect each number in terms of its introduction (I can make whole posts on all the numbers, but that’s a post for another day unless you guys want me to talk about it more).

Happy Day in Hell

Man, this song makes sense but also no sense with its introduction.  If you wind the episode back 10 seconds before the song starts, you will notice that the background music completely stops as Vaggie says something about the extermination while Charlie is catching her breath.  Then, Charlie immediately starts her song.

If the background music continued to swell through under Vaggie’s dialogue and morphed into the motif of Happy Day, then the musical number would’ve not have been so weirdly started.

Hell is Forever

This song has an interesting vamp in that it starts with higher instruments detailing Charlie’s hops as she lays down her plans to show Adam and Lute.  My issue with this particular vamp is that the background music right before it is (again) hard cut with a couple seconds of pure silence before we are immediately thrusted into the vamp.  This comes off as a very weird choice as I think that the music should’ve continued through without breaking it apart like that.  It would’ve made the quickness of the reprise of Happy Day in Hell seem more natural in comparison to the dialogue, as well as not throw the viewer off the rails with a slowish background song then an immediate whiplash into the musical number with no real transition.

Stayed Gone

This is one of the few songs that I think works perfectly (it's also my favorite but shhhh).  The vamp and emotion from Vox is on point, and I really wish that most of the songs would take from this song’s set up.

It Starts with Sorry

This one is kinda a weird one for me, and it’s very specific.  The transition from the background music to the vamp is wonderful, but then the transition from the vamp to the actual song has this almost abrupt cut.  The vamp has strings, but then it’s barely a fade into the glockenspiel of the actual song.  It causes this very weird sound drop that makes it not sound right at all.  If the strings would’ve stayed, but at a much quieter level with a resolution chord for the song, you can still have the same effect of the beginning measure of Sorry without that weird track change (Don’t worry, I’ll talk about the audio editing later).

Respectless

I dunno why I had it in my head originally that there was no background music before the song began, but honestly if this particular song didn’t have the background music, it would’ve been perfect actually.  This style of song is like an argument, so it would’ve made sense for it to come out of left field because Velvette (and the audience by extension) was not expecting Carmilla to defend Zestial.  However, there’s this weird choice of having tensions with the strings, then immediately having a guitar strum over it that doesn’t gel well with it at all before the background music gets cut off abruptly.  For this one, it’s not even a musical choice, this is almost a weird editing choice that I am not sure how to feel about.

Whatever It Takes

(This is my least favorite song for a number of reasons.  Bare with me on this one)

I think this song is the biggest beef I have in terms of how it’s introduced.  The mood is somber, and the vamp towards the song is quiet, but then the song is immediately loud, almost like it’s shouting.  I had my headphones all the way up to listen to the background and the vamp, and I almost threw off my headphones when the first notes of the song and that Zestial sing started playing (no shade to either).  I’m not sure what the hell was going on in the audio mixing department, but the songs are not doing well at all in the context of the episode (outside of it, they’re both great).

Poison

I love the vamp into the song for this one, personally one of my favorites of that mount musical volume before Angel starts to sing.  My one issue with it is the background music right before it.  It’s only a couple of seconds, but it shouldn’t be there at all.  I understand that it’s part of the Vee’s “menace theme”, but it should’ve just stayed out and kept the silence.  It would’ve made the vamp into Poison so much more effective.

Loser, Baby

This one is an odd one.  No vamp, just pure silence before Husk breaks into song.  I feel like the silence could’ve been prolonged just a touch more, then Husk starts to sing without the piano.  I feel like the beginning piano lick ruins that silence between Husk and Angel’s confessions to each other, and makes the song feel jarring to the lines right before it.

Hell’s Greatest Dad

Hrmm, I’m… perplexed.

There isn’t a musical problem this go around, but there is a set problem.  The chandelier that falls from the ceiling is meant to signify to Lucifer that his daughter does in fact need his help, but that chandelier has (at least to my recollection) never appeared once in the show, let alone the episode.  It’s the falling set piece that makes this song outright jarring because the setup doesn’t work at all.  Music-wise, it’s fine, no complaints from me.

More Than Anything

Listening to all these scenes back to back made me realize a problem that this song is the biggest sufferer of: volume change.  Just like with Whatever It Takes, the sudden volume change from the background music into the vamp is simply jarring.  I understand that it’s two different tracks that are put next to each other, but you can lower the volume of the vamp to make its transition so much more natural.  I’m not sure if this style for the musical numbers is an oversight or a deliberate decision at this point, but I honestly think that the audio volume is perhaps a bigger culprit than the music transitions.

Welcome to Heaven 

This feels like two scenes Frankensteined together.  You have Emily introducing herself, as well as (probably) her motif playing in the background, then out of left field, St. Peter starts to sing the song. 

Full stop. 

You cannot cut from one shot to the next as a musical transition from speech to song.  It would’ve made much more sense to have Emily and Charlie walking towards the gates, then St. Peter and Emily say “Welcome to heaven” as the music starts to play for the number.

You Didn’t Know

The music transition is a bit smoother (volume still needs adjustment, but not nearly as much as More Than Anything), but the tension in the score isn’t really there, which I feel like is the culprit for this song.  If there was tension in the music while Sera was talking and Emily was looking at the list, it would’ve made more sense to have Emily sing instead of talk.  In all honesty, if Emily would’ve spoken, “But she was right,” then Sera says, “What?” then Emily sings, “But she was right, Sera,” I think that would’ve made this transition work almost perfectly.

This is no shade at anybody working on Hazbin Hotel, this was just something I noticed nobody talking about.  The team is doing a wonderful job on the show, and I absolutely love it all!  I’m just wanting to give my two cents on a topic that no one was really delving into.

Lemme know if you guys want me to talk in more detail about any of the songs, I am more than happy to do so!

[mysterialistic]

I have an issue with the fact that Qiao Ling and Xiao Li are dead too. (Long ramble)

For me, this undermines Lu Guang's complexity and motivation. Why? Because they're portraying him as some kind of hero—the great "last hope."

For over a year since the Season 2 finale, we've believed the opposite about Lu Guang. We saw him as hypocritical and deceitful because he was trying to change the past and break a death node—a rule he established and even scolded Cheng Xiaoshi for disobeying. At the end of Season 2, Lu Guang says, "I want to use the last chance to go back to the beginning and save YOU." For so long, it’s been clear that he only cared about saving Cheng Xiaoshi. They've repeatedly emphasized and convinced us through songs and promotional material of this: that his sole focus was Cheng Xiaoshi, and no one else mattered to him.

The fact that Lu Guang prioritized saving Cheng Xiaoshi, despite the potential consequences for others (like the theory that avoiding Cheng Xiaoshi's tragic fate caused the deaths of Li Tianxi, Chen Bin, and Emma), is what made Lu Guang a great character. He wasn’t a typical hero—he was human. He was afraid of loss and suffering, of living without his best friend. This fear consumed him to the point where he never even allowed himself to grieve. Cheng Xiaoshi brought meaning and color to his life, and Lu Guang deemed him the only one worthy of saving because of his good intentions and kind heart.

If they now include Qiao Ling and Xiao Li among those Lu Guang wants to save, it completely changes the essence of his character. It takes away the personal, deeply human motivation that made him so complex and relatable. We could relate to him because, if we were in his position, with the power of going back in time after tragically loosing a loved one, many of us would do the same or at least consider it. And now, instead of Lu Guang being driven by personal loss and denial, he becomes a stereotypical hero trying to save everyone. It’s an absolute cliché that even goes against the main principle of the series back in season 1: "past or future let them be".

Maybe Qiao Ling being dead could make sense, since she’s close to him, but even that feels off. Lu Guang has never shown a strong desire to save her specifically. Besides, it doesn’t align with what we’ve seen: in Lu Guang’s memory, Qiao Ling didn’t see herself die like Cheng Xiaoshi did. Killing her off would also strip away an interesting aspect of her character—her determination to protect her younger brother. In Season 3, she could confront Lu Guang about his actions and actively try to help him. If she’s meant to die too, it reduces her to a damsel in distress, reinforcing the unfortunate tendency of Link Click to mishandle its female characters.

As for Xiao Li, his inclusion feels completely random. He wasn’t close enough to Lu Guang to justify being a major motivation for him. If anything, he would be at the very bottom of Lu Guang’s list of priorities.

Anyway, I’m sorry for the long ramble—I just needed to get this off my chest. I still hope this might be a red herring and that they’re not actually dead yet. Or perhaps they died in the first timeline, but Lu Guang managed to save them while still being unable to save Cheng Xiaoshi, no matter how hard he tried. I don’t know. I’ll trust Link Click and wait to see how they justify or resolve this in a way that makes sense and preserves the characters’ essence.

[licorice-tea]

Duty At The Expense Of Desire

Pairing: Trafalgar Law x reader

Content: mild cursing, lots of arguing between reader and Law, reader is nervous to be in a relationship, platonic luffy and reader <3, reader loves the strawhats a lot :)

Word Count: 2.2k

A/N: i spent so long just rereading this, i don’t know why but it feels kind of hard to understand? so i might revise it again in the future idk yet! i hope you enjoy reading, again this is very very loosely based on kate and anthony’s season in bridgerton! it was originally going to be 2 parts, but it’s looking like a full on series now… lmk if you want to be tagged in future parts! enjoy! <3

Part 2 | Part 4

Now that your feelings for Law have been revealed- not only to him but to yourself- you find the tension between the two of you is undeniably different from before.

What were once looks of contempt now harbor some quiet desire. Chances of accidentally brushing shoulders when you pass by each other are avoided altogether, for fear of fueling a fire neither of you know how to deal with. And any crass or biting quips are cut out of your minimal interactions completely, as you both now feel they come off as flirtatious rather than standoffish.

A few days have gone by since you confronted Law and he admitted his true feelings for you, all of which have been spent at sea. Nami says there won’t be an island to dock at for at least another three days, given how the weather is slowing the ship, so your crew’s only source of entertainment is each other.

“Y/n,” she asks while the two of you along with Robin relax on the deck, “what happened between you and Traffy the other day?”

Your breath hitches and you cough unnecessarily, already giving away your nervousness to the two very observant women. “Uh, not much.”

“Well, what did you two talk about? You didn’t come back to the table after, so I thought you must have stayed together…” Robin smiles softly, baiting you to reveal more.

“What? No, no, oh my god no… We just…”

Nami urges you on with a sing-song voice; “You just?”

“We… talked.”

“Talked about what?”

“I don’t know. Our issues with each other.”

“And you resolved them?”

“Come on, y/n, tell us what happened!”

“Nothing happened.”

You stand up then, too annoyed to continue talking to your friends. It’s not even their fault really; you would want to know what had gone on too, if the roles were reversed. Maybe you’re just annoyed with yourself for not being able to face your own feelings.

~

With no particular destination in mind, you find yourself in the Thousand Sunny’s library. When you open the door, you see Law browsing the selection of books your crew has accumulated throughout your travels. You shouldn’t be surprised to see him, but you are.

That’s what it must be; what other reason could there be for the sudden raving of your heart and your breath hitching? Any feelings you ever had for him were buried deep inside after last night; too deep to allow yourself to feel them to the extent you were currently, and so these must all be signs of surprise.

You steel yourself and walk in, letting the door close behind you. Law looks up to find out who the person intruding on his studying is, but his eyes are blown wide when he makes eye contact with you. Neither of you speaks as you turn away and cross the room in quick strides to another section of the library.

“Stupid Law,” you think as you try to calm your mind- an impossible task when he’s standing anywhere in the same room. “Stupid weather,” preventing you from getting to an island so you can get some damn space from him. “Stupid library, ” because of its shelves that make it all too easy and tempting to peak through and catch a glimpse of him.

Actually, maybe that’s not too risky of an idea. Cautiously, you bend down slightly and pretend to scan the titles on the shelf. You allow your eyes to slowly wander off the books until you can see Law by peering upwards. But low and behold, he’s staring right back at you.

You gasp and stand up straight, silently cursing your silly plan.

“Y/n.” He walks over to you, 2 books tucked under his arm. “l was under the impression you wanted me to keep your distance from me.”

“I do.”

“I find that hard to believe with the way you’ve been acting around me.”

“It’s just weird. You made me admit that I had feelings for you, and now things are weird.”

“I made you? You didn’t have to say anything, you could’ve rejected me and we both would’ve moved on.”

“I did reject you.”

“By telling me you feel the same? That’s some rejection.”

“You shouldn’t have said anything in the first place.”

“I had to, you told me that you thought I hated you.”

“But I didn’t make you say that you have feelings for me, and so now you’ve made it impossible to ignore.”

“Believe me, I tried to ignore it. To ignore you. It was pointless.”

“Then you weren’t trying hard enough. I could’ve gone a lifetime without bringing up the way I feel for you if it means my crew will be able to continue this alliance for our goals.”

“Don’t give me that shit, your captain made this alliance because he thinks we’re friends. You seriously think he had a goal in mind while doing so?”

With a roll of your eyes, you cross your arms over your chest. “Maybe not, but Luffy is the captain- I trust him, and so I follow him in any endeavor he believes in.”

“Well, I’m the captain of my own crew, and I believe that whatever we have going on is a little more than ally-ship.”

“Regardless of whatever is going on between us, is it really a smart idea to complicate such an important alliance?”

“…No. I suppose it’s not.”

“Then drop it-” You turn, ready to forget about this conversation and continue hiding your feelings away when he grabs your wrist.

“But they wouldn’t care, y/n, and you know that. Your crew thrives on-” he gestures vaguely with his free hand, “-friendship and rainbows and joy.”

Shaking off a smile, you bite back. “That might be true, but you know what’s even more important to my crew? Protecting each other. They wouldn’t like me being with you; even if we are temporary allies, you’re a Captain of another crew and one of the Supernovas. So don’t tell me what they would and wouldn’t be ok with.”

Law seems to think for a second before he releases your wrist. “Hmph.”

Finally, you take your leave to find somewhere- with no Law and no watchful friends- to just think.

~

You settle on the bow of the ship. If you had an ability like Luffy’s or any guarantee that you wouldn’t slip right off and into the sea, you would like to sit on the masthead of the Sunny. A clear, unobstructed view of the world ahead, and the breeze to keep the hair out your eyes could be so peaceful. But, this has some sort of charm to it as well; you do seem to love a challenge (even if it’s one as simple as having to lean over the railing of a ship to see the horizon).

With a cheerful call, the man you had just been thinking of joins you on the railing by the ship’s bow. Luffy speaks animatedly of his plans for all sorts of things, but during a lull in conversation, he asks you something unexpected.

“Do you love him?”

“What?”

“Traffy! Do you love him?”

“I…”

“You’ve said how much you hate him, but that just means your feelings for him are strong. So you love him, right?”

You’ve never been more bothered to hear Luffy say something so uncharacteristically observant.

“I love you guys.”

He hums. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t love other people, too.”

“…I won’t ever leave this crew, Luffy.”

“Of course you won’t!” He latches onto you in an iron-grip hug, and you smile ever so slightly. “But, y/n.”

“Yeah?”

He releases you and instead grabs your shoulders to talk to you face to face. His face seems especially serious- the same way it does when he makes a bold declaration of his dreams or beliefs. “If you love someone, you tell them. You don’t hide it, because you never know when they could be gone.”

Finally, your barely-there smile opens into a full grin. “When did you get to be so wise?”

Luffy shrugs. “Shanks told me that once, I just felt it made sense for you too.”

You and your captain stay there a while longer, giggling over this and that until the sun starts to set on the horizon.

“I'm gonna go sit on Sunny- you wanna come with me?”

Though you’d been fantasizing over what it would feel like up there just a few minutes ago, you shake your head. “No thanks. But, uh, Luffy?”

“Yeah?”

“Could you… not tell anyone about what we talked about?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, for sure!”

You would come to regret being so vague with your captain, even if he does occasionally display astonishing emotional intelligence.

~

At dinner- where there’s always something going on- you make an effort to sit far from Law. Your attempt is in vain, however, as he ends up right across from you. Luffy sits to your left, and while he takes a small break from stuffing his mouth, he nudges you with his elbow.

Your eyes meet your captain’s as he winks at you, then looks over at Law, and back to you. You can practically see the gears turning in his head as he had some sort of… plan in the works. With a wide grin, he asks, “Soooo Y/n, when are you and Traffy going to get married?”

A moment of silence passes before laughter erupts around the table from everyone except you and “Traffy.” The latter covers his face with one hand and pinches the bridge of his nose while you look simply horrified.

What had happened to not speaking of your earlier conversation? Admittedly, you had spoken of several subjects after your discussion of your feelings for Law… and knowing Luffy, he could have mistaken your vow of silence to be for any one of those subjects.

Since you’re sure your captain didn’t mean to embarrass you with his straightforward view of relationships, you just shake your head and give a muttered response. “We- we’re not, um, going to….”

Law, on the other hand, appears too bothered to stick around and listen to any more jokes. He stands abruptly and disappears in a flash of blue light.

You stick around long enough to finish your plate, then thank Sanji and leave quietly. Some unknown force draws you to Law, when you see him in Nami’s little grove of orange trees. Cautiously, you approach him.

“…Law? I- I’m sorry about that. I don’t know why Luffy said that.”

“It was embarrassing.”

“Okay, Law, they were all just joking. And I can’t even really blame them, because this entire situation is pretty fucking ridiculous.”

“No, y/n, it’s embarrassing that everybody knows how I feel and that you feel the same, and they’re all happy with the idea of us together, but you still don’t want to be with me.”

“It’s not personal, you know that.”

“How can it not be personal?”

“Everything I do is for my crew. I have a duty to them, and not even you or my own feelings will get in the way of that.”

“Do you seriously still believe that they would care if we were together?”

You purse your lips.

“I took your word for it at first, because you know your own crew better than I do, but clearly they have very little regard for what we do. Now I am inclined to believe that you made it up when you said they wouldn’t like us being… being something. And as foolish as I feel after believing that ridiculous excuse, I still want you, y/n. Tell me you want me too.”

“How much?” You ask with a fierce look.

“How much what?”

“How much do you want me, Law? You keep talking about your feelings for me, but you haven’t even said what they are.”

Again, you seem to find any way to continue arguing with the man before you as a means of releasing pent-up feelings. Just kissing him might be easier, but also a whole lot more terrifying and uncertain.

“Desire, attraction, whatever you want to call it-“

“Well, I’m not going to put everything on the line for someone who is attracted to me.”

“It’s more than that, you know that-“

“You know what I think?”

“…What?”

“I think that you can’t even admit to yourself- let alone aloud- the extent of your feelings for me. You want me to say it first so that nothing bad will happen if you put yourself out there, and that’s not going to happen.”

“I-“ He starts to speak, but can’t think of a rebuttal. You have him pegged. “I may not know exactly what my feelings are yet, but I can feel them, y/n. You remain on my mind constantly- so if you want me to stop feeling for you, then you need to stop.”

“Oh, I need to stop?”

“Yes, you-“

“You’re the one constantly making me reconsider everything I tell myself. You are the one who needs to stop.”

“Before what? Before we give in to this… obvious desire, and put aside duties to do something for ourselves?”

Heavy breathing fills the silence. He always manages to rile you up, and you can’t stand it.

“You should go. No, in fact,” you raise your hands in a gesture of surrender, “I’ll go.”

Without giving him the chance to respond, you flee down the stairs to the main deck and through the doors to the cabin hall. All this back and forth with Law is giving you a headache.

You can’t deny it any longer though; now that your captain knows too, it’s like you’ve spoken it into permanent existence. You’re in love with Law, and there’s next to nothing stopping you from being with him in the way you truly desire. Not even your sense of duty.

You should never have counted on the Strawhats to hold you back from something- or someone you love.

Taglist: @augustanna @lavanderdreamve @pinksaiyans @khaleesihavilliard @jennapancake @pinki-minki @loserbee14

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

The Many Failures of Lila's Writing

There are three main issues with Lila Rossi (or whatever her name is): she was introduced too early, she doesn't fill a unique role in the story, and her lies are too over the top for her to feel like a good villain. Let's go through that list in order because the issues build to create the show's most annoying character even though her setup could have led to a legitimately great character who we would have all loved to hate.

Issue 1: Lila Shows Up Three Seasons Too Early

Lila is introduced in the final episode of season one and then essentially disappears from the show for a full season. The only time we see her in season two is her brief appearance in season two's finale where she takes on the role of Volpina again in order to help Gabriel fake Ladybug's death. That's also the episode where we learn that Lila has been "in Achu" for some unknown amount of time.

[image: a list of Lila's season two appearances (source)]

Season three sees Lila show up with reasonable regularity (8 episodes, none of which are two-parters) and we get a real conflict with her, truly establishing her as a villain who lies like crazy and who wants to destroy Marinette.

Then season four comes and Lila is once again forgotten about. She shows up more than she did in season two, but only as a background character and most episodes don't see her at all. She doesn't have a single line until the final three episodes of the season and her role in these episodes is exceedingly minor. She does a few petty things to remind you that she's awful, but she's not the focus of the plot. She's just there to remind you that she exists and to establish her and Chloe as coconspirators of some sort.

[image: a list of Lila's season four appearances (source)]

Then season five comes and Lila is back to being an active antagonist. She shows up in almost every episode and we even get her very lackluster defeat.

This is some of the worst pacing that I have ever seen. It's honestly impressively bad. I hope the issue speaks for itself, but in case it doesn't, you don't chop a story up like this without a good reason and, frankly, there isn't one. Lila's introduction, villain setup, and defeat should have all take place over the course of a season or two, forming a mini arc.

Just in case you don't know what that is, most stories have a main conflict that drives the whole narrative (ex: getting the butterfly miraculous back) but within that story you have lots of mini stories. Things that get resolved so that it feels like things are moving forward and so that the audience stays engaged. If you don't get any satisfying resolutions until five seasons in (or more), then the audience will start to get annoyed or just stop watching. It's also a good way to keep expectations from getting built up too high. If every season or every other season has a satisfying conclusion to some big conflict, then you don't leave everything riding on the big finale.

By chopping Lila's story up, you made the audience spend four seasons dreaming of her defeat. Expectations were sky high. She's more hated than Gabe! If she's been introduced mid season 4 and had the exact same story arc, then her lackluster take down would be a mild disappointment and not a major issue for most of the fandom.

Issue 2: Lila and Chloe Should Never have Coexisted

When it comes to story telling, characters fill roles. Ladybug is the lead. Alya is the plucky best friend. Gabriel is the big bad. Etc. Etc.

Generally speaking, you only want one character in a given role. Having two or more characters in the same role leads to character bloat where characters are fighting for screen time because they don't have a clear place in the story. This is especially true for key antagonistic roles. It's a lot easier to balance two best friends than it is to balance two big bads.

Enter Chloe and Lila.

I've mentioned before that I thought that Chloe was going to be redeemed. The reason I thought this was not because of anything to do with Chloe. It was because the show introduced Lila and, narratively speaking, Lila and Chloe are the same character. They're both petty school bullies whose main job is to cause trouble for Marinette while she's at school and to give setups for akumas.

However, in terms of perceived threat, Lila is the bigger badder Chloe. No one but Sabrina likes Chloe. Everyone but Marinette likes Lila. Chloe doesn't make plans. Lila lives to manipulate and plot. If you're going to get rid of Chloe, Lila is who you'd replace her with. That's just how this works.

One of the most well known examples of this type of setup is Zuko and Azula from Avatar the Last Airbender. Zuko is the main antagonist of season one, but season two sees him step out of that role as he starts his journey of self-discovery and redemption. And who is introduced at the end of seasons one? Azula, Zuko's evil, more powerful sister. In season two, Azula fills Zuko's former role, but also makes things feel more serious because she's a bigger badder Zuko.

This brings us back to a big part of issue one. Namely, Lila's ongoing disappearing act. She only does that because of Chloe.

Chloe is a much easier villain to write. She doesn't have to hide anything. She is openly petty and evil. So if you're going to pick a character for a petty conflict, you're going to pick Chloe. The only time Lila gets pulled in is when the drama revolves around lies because Chloe is actually a strikingly honest character. She rarely lied prior to her "friendship" with Lila because, for the most part, Chloe doesn't care if everyone hates her. She only cares about the opinions of a chosen few. (Or, at least, she acts like she does.)

For Lila to work, Chloe needed to be redeemed or written off the show. The best proof of this is season five, where Chloe straight up becomes Lila's minion because the writers had to force that relationship if they wanted to have both characters involved in the plot. It's also why season four saw Chloe suddenly obsessed with Marinette when, prior to that, Chloe bullied everyone. The only way to team Chloe and Lila up was to give them a common goal and that didn't exist in the first three seasons.

So, building off of point one, Lila should have been introduced much later and she should have stepped into Chloe's shoes after Chloe either switched roles or completely left the show.

Issue 3: The Lies

I think that we can all agree that Lila is a terrible liar. Even a toddler could see through the BS that spews from her mouth. There are multiple satisfying Lila takedown fics that don't involve clever plots to beat her. They involve Alya or someone else doing a google search because - even with the declining quality of that tool - that's still all that it would take to prove what Lila is.

This is a really bad way to write a character who is supposed to be a master manipulator. Especially when she's going to be the next big bad. They desperately needed to tone her down.

For example, DON'T have her claim to be Ladybug's best friend. Have her claim that Ladybug saved her. That would still go up on the Ladyblog and, more importantly, it would be a lot harder to disprove. I doubt that Ladybug remembers everyone she saves so no one would fault Alya for just taking that at face-value, but Marinette could still instantly peg Lila as a liar.

Tinnitus from saving Jagged Stone's cat? How about tinnitus from being too close to the speakers at Jagged Stone's latest concert? The concert where Lila even got to meet him because she had back stage passes. Once again, hard to disprove. Jagged meets a lot of fans. I doubt he'd be able to tell you that she was lying.

And definitely don't have her openly state that she's a liar. The fact that she did that and was STILL able to manipulate the adult characters is abysmal writing. Especially because it comes right before Lila disappears for a season, giving the impression that her confession essentially defeated her, only for the show to go PSYCH! No one cares about her confession, it meant nothing for the Lila conflict.

I've had someone tell me that they think that Lila's lies were suppose to be a joke and, to be fair, that's plausible. The show relies on a lot of ridiculous humor. If Lila had shown up later, then this might have worked. But because Lila has been around for so long, we've all had time to think about her lies and build up the expectation of how they'd be handled.

I don't just mean Lila being exposed. I mean the fallout of all of her "fans" having to deal with the truth of who Lila really is, an issue that I won't go into here because this is already super long and I think that the issue of how her lies effect characters like Nino and Alya is pretty well understood.

There's also the Chloe thing. Chloe is very over the top, so replacing her with a character who is over the top in a different, more terrifying way would have made some sense. But Chloe's still here and she's more ridiculous than ever, so Lila matching that ridiculous just makes them an annoying duo that we all have to suffer through. Their team up was one of the most forced elements of seasons five. I just do not buy that Chloe would ever subject herself to being someone's minion. When it comes to that team up, the hand of the author is glaring.

Conclusion/Final Thoughts

Manipulative characters are fun. They make for fantastic villains and Lila could have been one of these fantastic villain, especially if Gabriel was played as more sympathetic. If there were lines that Gabriel wouldn't cross, then Lila getting the butterfly would be terrifying. As-is, I don't see how she's any worse than the dude who created Chat Blanc. Plus I'm not even sure why she needs the butterfly. She could already get anything she wanted with minimal effort because her lying powers are so OP. Like, why should I care about that twist? What has changed with the passing of the butterfly? The stakes have not been raised. If anything, they've been lowered.

Lila is just your generic evil villain who is evil for evil's sake. The heroes already hate her. Finding out that she's the big bad is not emotionally devastating. If anything, Marinette should be thrilled that she finally has an excuse to punch Lila.

It's possible that the writers will give Lila an interesting back story, but because she's been around for five seasons, I don't have any faith that they will. I mean, what was the point of introducing her all the way back in season one if you weren't going to use that to set her up in a satisfying way? I've seen people say to just wait and see and wait for what? They couldn't manage to pull off Gabriel's defeat or Chloe's defeat/redemption or Lila's first takedown in a way that was narratively satisfying. Why should I give them a chance to disappoint me with Lila's next take down? Three strikes and you're out!

@tallwriter as requested, there are my thoughts on Lila. As with every character in this show, I think she deserved better. She could have been great. She's one of the worst examples of squandered potential because everything about her was done wrong.

[gemsofthegalaxy]

Jinx vs Powder, which is it? - Discussing the Present Moment and lack of an "end state"

Upon watching Season 2 I was a bit conflicted on the idea of Powder vs Jinx, and in thinking about it, the conundrum reminded me of some gripes I've seen many people reference about the season as a whole, which I will get into as this analysis goes on. First off, though, I didn't know how to feel on the whole Powder vs Jinx idea. The show makes such a huge deal of it in Season 1 and it ends with the "resolution". it's Jinx. Powder is gone, fell down a well, the final time.

Only for this conflict to continue on in Season 2, be a constant push and pull when we felt like the question was answered already! Jinx is Jinx, walks through life a shell of a person for a bit, then Isha comes into her life and throws everything into question. She has something to care about, someone to love, which feels a little more like ol Powder, and then that increases again and again by the reemergence of Vander, who calls her Powder, on top of the fact that months after declaring each other "no longer sisters", Vi's back in her life and they're getting along again, just like that.

This, of course, gets ripped out from under her again in no time as well. Jinx drops to her lowest point, Vi tries to save her, she forsakes her and runs away and tells her not to worry about her anymore. She knows, now, there's no good version of her, everyone who gets close to her gets hurt or dies. This happens, again and again.

Then, Ekko comes back after a whole episode dedicated to him meeting AU Powder. Powder as she could have been, as we might even think we want her to be. A Powder with a loving family and a good measure less trauma in her life. In some ways, this might affirm the idea that this is Powder, and our Jinx is Jinx. But we also see that this version of Powder reignites Ekko's hope in our Jinx, even though we know the reason they're so different is she hasn't lived that same life.

So. Ekko convinces Jinx, somehow, they can always build something new. What he means is she can always try again. She said, hours ago, possibly not even, "there's no good version of me" and Ekko (even having not heard that) says "bullshit, I just saw a version of you that was good." And then there's another aspect to it, AU Silco's message: there's no greater power than to forgive. Ekko forgives Jinx, forgives himself for giving up on her, and wants her to forgive herself. Now, it might have been nice to see more of this conversation, but, I think we can infer that all the lessons Ekko took from the AU verse were things he would at least start trying to instill upon Jinx. To plant the seed, if you will, that she can forgive herself, she can build something new, she can be whoever she damn well wants to be. Powder, Jinx- does it really even matter? What she calls herself is beside the point. What matters is what she's doing now, and what she ends up doing is joining Ekko in the fight.

I watched a great video essay that dissected a bit of Ekko's character and one of the reasons he's so good-hearted is that he is present-focused. In fact, he's one of the only characters who is present-focused and remains so most of the time. Powder/Jinx, and Vi, they're stuck in the past. Viktor and Jayce are trying to force the future to come towards them, Silco's also obsessed with making a future dream happen while allowing his past to harden him to all connection outside of Jinx, Heimerdinger is so far in the future he can't understand the day-to-day issues small or large that humans face. Ekko cares about what is happening now. He's a man of action. And his power, his z-drive, also exemplifies how things can change, moment-to-moment, he goes back in time briefly so he can make the best of the exact present he's in and get it right.

Which actually speaks to something bigger in Season 2 I've seen people have gripes about, how some conflicts get resolved very easily between characters with a lot of tension between them, mostly Cait and Vi, and how longstanding political issues get dropped for bigger political plots. I've talked about why Vi reacts how she does to Cait in the prison cell scene, but I haven't touched on when they meet at the commune, but I think it also sort of fits well into the theme of present-focused = morally good. Cait has been on a descent into worse behaviour, but, she's been waffling too. She doesn't fully trust Ambessa or know where she lies on matters. So, the moment she sees Vi again, she's given a new option, a new out, and she makes use of it rather than mince words about who did what or why. I don't necessarily think this is a bad thing, and Vi, as someone who appreciates action and is protective, would also probably see this favourably (although, they do get around to arguing a bit more later, which I think is fitting)

Now, I understand why people are frustrated that the Piltover vs Zaun conflict takes a backseat. It's something that I do think could have been handled better, but, I also feel like I understand a bit what they were going for here. Yes, they've been embroiled in this conflict for a long time, but right now, in this moment, if they don't stand together they're that much more likely to lose. You can't fight for the existence of a nation that was wiped off the very map by an outside force.

Again, being present-focused and dealing with what is happening now is the only way to deal with Noxus marching on them. They cannot continue to worry about locking Jinx up or striking a deal for independence, again, there's not gonna be a nation of Zaun if Noxus takes over, either. I get why this is frustrating, but, I think it's realistic and I don't think it's counter to the story they've been telling, especially not in Season 2.

The whole Jinx vs Powder thing doesn't get to be tied up with a little bow on it, because Powder will always, always, always be what Jinx was named as a baby, and she will never not have been a child called Powder with the same blue hair she has now. There's no version of her (in Arcane, anyway) who wasn't insecure and brainy as a child and didn't go through some heartbreaking stuff. Silco told her to let Powder die, because he let his former self die and it made him stronger- but did he really? He still wistfully sits at Vander's statue, pours out a drink for him, and laments over fatherhood. Does that sound like a man who has left Vander in the past? As well, he's still desperately afraid of losing Jinx, showing there's something of the humanity left that he clings to. If Silco was alive to meet Vander's new form, surely they would have had words, even for all Silco said he was a changed man. Maybe they would have even had the power to forgive, AU Silco did.

The thing is, for as long as Jinx is alive, she will be inventing herself every day, for the rest of her life, she doesn't just get to decide she's "done" now. We are all the sum of everything we've ever done + what we decide to do in this moment. We all carry our histories into what we do next. There's no final state of being a person who's still alive and breathing, things will always change, new experiences will happen and shape us or give us new ideas or affirm our previous thoughts. This is also true on a societal level, no country or city or town stays completely static, there is no Done, the world just keeps on turning and things will develop, systems will rise and fall and be torn down and be built up.

As long as we're alive, there's always a chance to build something new.

[gleefullypolin]

Stacy's Tipsy Musing's – Penelope Bridgerton Hot Takes - Part 4

Ok boys and girls, we need to have a little chat about Penelope Bridgerton.

Part 2 has been out now for a couple of days and there have been a lot of hot takes to come out of the season. A LOT of hot takes. I’m going to break this down into 4 parts like I did for Colin ((Part 1, 2, 3, 4, Bonus). 4 questions that I'm seeing really bad hot takes about Penelope.

Not surprising I see lots of hot takes about Pen, because either A) people cannot handle a woman complex emotions and facets, B) hate on a woman who does not fit societal norms and standards or C) are stans who refuse to see that all characters have imperfections which make them even more delicious to watch.

Last time we talked about Colin’s entrapment statement to Pen and her reaction to it.  Question 1,   Question 2, Question 3, now lets get to question 4:

Isn’t Pen ending up with a baby right away truly ending her career and freedom for her and colin and traveling?

Ok so I see this complaint a lot, they didn’t get a honeymoon, they didn’t get to travel, they just had a baby and it’s all over. So for one, we have no idea what they did during their time before they loved up, got embroiled in drama, got married, resolved their issues, published, and had a baby. They very well may have taken time to travel while she was pregnant (Anthony and Kate are spending 6 months traveling to India while Kate is pregnant so it’s not unheard of).

So I don’t think it’s stopping them from doing things. However, they must have spent time editing Colin’s journals, because he mentions that he did that with Pen. We know that the Whistledown is the first of the season because it’s her intro so they have spent their off season editing and most likely in their bedroom because we know that to be Polin’s thing. And his pull out game is shite, so I don’t expect the babies to stop and they didn’t exactly seem to be completely ruined by having one. So perhaps that IS what makes them happy.

Colin wrote a book about traveling ALONE. Maybe he’s done with that. He has a family now. He found his home. His home is Penelope. I’m quite curious to see what happens when we return in S4 to see what they have been up to and what they are doing besides each other. But I have a feeling she will be a devoted wife, mother, and devoted to her budding career. It does not seem she is wanting for freedom, and thus we should not grieve it for her.

Thanks for listening to my musings the last few days! I hope you learned something from all my drabbles, whether you agreed with me or not. If you think of any other questions, my ask box is always open!

Happy drinking!

[wholoveseggs]

I JUST FINISHED MOONLIGHT IN 2 DAYS AND OMGGGGGG THAT IS LITERALLY CANON IN MY HEAD NOW. SEASON 5 DOESN'T EXIST ANYMORE. IT WAS SOOOOO GOOD YOU ARE AN AMAZING WRITERR. But I have a question though, was there no other way to defeat the Hollow other than Klaus dying? Everything is perfect except Hope still has to live with the guilt that her dad sacrificed himself to save her :(

Thank you!! I'm so glad people are enjoying Moonlight!! I have written a mini essay/rant to answer your question...

I’ve always believed Klaus' death at the end of Season 5 made sense. We all adore him, and of course, Hope deserved to have her father…but Klaus was a villain. A beloved one, yes, but still a villain. He committed many, many crimes, and made countless daughters grow up without a father. His arc is about transformation, from a man willing to do anything for his immortality to a man willing to sacrifice himself for his daughter. That shift ... from utterly selfish to utterly selfless ... makes his death poetic justice. Klaus finally earns redemption, but it comes at the ultimate cost.

I wrote Moonlight because I had issues with how they handled Elijah. While Klaus’s end felt like a fitting, tragic closure, Elijah’s felt like a missed opportunity. In Season 4, he starts to question who he is outside of Klaus and the Mikaelson family. It’s hinted he’ll explore his own identity…but that path gets cut short. Instead of facing his inner demons and finding peace, he’s thrown back into a narrative that doesn’t fully resolve his conflicts. Elijah has always longed for love but struggles with loving himself; he’s loyal, selfless, and defined by his relationships, often unable to be alone and understand what he truly wants.

His factory reset in Season 4, erasing his memories, was a desperate and selfish decision. They show us how lost he is without someone to cling to, and he gets sucked into a unhealthy relationship with Antoinette. And since he lost all of his critical thinking skills, he falls for her weird nazi-adjacent propaganda. The show tries to frame it as Elijah gaining some self acceptance about being a vampire.... but that was never his issue???? I never got the impression that he struggles with his vampire nature... actually the opposite... he's very good at being a vampire. What he struggles with his need to fix everything for everyone, and his struggle with who he is when he's not in the shadow of his brother.

So, I wrote Moonlight because Elijah deserved a chance at self-discovery, just as Klaus deserved redemption. Both arcs are about finding peace, but while Klaus finds his in death, I wanted to imagine an ending where Elijah could finally find his in life. I really just wanted to give him someone who loves him the way he always wished his family could love him. Someone who is willing to be with him through the good and the bad, despite all his flaws and choose him FIRST.

[lover-of-mine]

Lady Whistledown. I totally understand if you don't post this. Huge no worries because honestly, their fandom is on fire, and it makes me sad the hate they send you. Like it's a damn ship, people. Just stop.

But to get where we are now you sort of have to go back to the beginning of epsiode 4 last season then repeat after every sentence their copium after 24 hours of rage was "well duh the Buddies are crazy so of course ". Oliver only posted he and Eddie for his coming out episode. Oliver never followed or promoted Lou and now they even admit there is bad blood. Oliver never talked to them only Lou took the money. Oliver gave too much attention in the BTS of the medal ceremony to Ryan. Oliver didn't talk about bisexuality in regards to Tommy only to the fact he is. Oliver never promoted interviews. Oliver posted more of Gerrard this season. Oliver flirts too much with Ryan. They didnt get Hen approval scene. No JLH scene after she said they filmed in the same building. They never got the family scenes of Christopher with his 3 dad's. Got more Eddie and Tommy. More Tommy and Eddie. Tommy was supposed to be a main. And as always they would throw Buck off a bridge to get Eddie and Tommy.

So now we lean into Narnia. They had a high after the first episode. OK he's there. But honestly after the initial time. It was a nothing scene. It was about Eddie. It could have been 2 friends teasing each other. Then everything fell apart after that. He wasnt with Athena. He didn't save the day. He didn't have a double date breakfast with Bathena the day after. The worst? They used his truck and he wasn't even there. There is a lot of chatter of the story is narrowing. All they wanted was a 118 family dinner. But he was iced out. Now it's pretty excepted he's not part of the 118. He will be regulated for however long to just Bucks partner. Saw one rage that at least they used Taylor in her job and they couldn't here. We are clearly going into Eddie's isolation arc. They hate his interviews that came out today. He won't be the one to get Christopher back. They basically lost all of their hopes. His story now is how Buck resolves Gerrard issues. Oh and weird fact they seriously thought that when Lou came out of hiding for ABs birthday that it was proof the Athena Tommy connection. She had his back. And well we know how that worked out.

Back on grass. Its been sort of wild to see them keep lowering their bar to make themselves feel better about the story. Well we didn't see Karen sort of thing. Oh but also an annoyance at Josh with Maddie. Apparently in their world there's a limit to queer people and it can only be BT and Henren.

Hello my love 🩷🩷

This made me giggle, ngl. Each episode proving their spec wrong was awesome lol. He was there for 30 seconds and had 2 lines and they were expecting him to be everywhere. It was extra sweet to see a black child do the thing they were convinced he would. He wasn't on the plane. He wasn't on the highway. He wasn't lowered through the hole in the cockpit. He wasn't on top of the truck. Buck didn't even mention a little plane fact he learned from him. He was only in the story when he was on screen and he was barely there. And now the conflict with Gerrard can't be good for the relationship considering his past. Of course they hate Oliver even though Oliver is the main character and he's made it very clear where he stands when it comes to them, but the flirting too much with Ryan made me scream. They are so mad they rpfing. I kinda love that they want more of Tommy and Eddie but even though he was in a scene about Eddie, he did not interact with Eddie, not really. I guess living of "you're a vision in a cone" is not good when there's a plane emergency and he's not there. And yeah, the show did find a way to incorporate the journalist, if they wanted to incorporate the firefighter pilot, they would, too bad they don't. I did not see the bathena breakfast spec, that one is funny as hell. I wanna say I can't believe they actually thought the comment was a message but, I totally can, and that obviously didn't go anywhere. And of course they are turning on Josh, why wouldn't they. I will say their cope has been glorious to read, like my god you guys are so close to the point and missing it. I can't imagine how mad they must be behind closed doors.

[blues-valentine]

let’s talk about how gina compliments ricky’s love language so much and he was able to be himself in this relationship as opposed to nini

You know, I appreciate how much this season made emphasis on how both Nini and Gina react differently to Ricky's love gestures. Nini felt suffocated by him. Gina wanted him to fight for her and do those big gestures. And both reactions are valid. I made a post last season about how Ricky and Gina’s love languages complement each other and I love how the show proves me correct on how I interpret this characters. This is going to be a lengthy post.

Ricky is pretty much a huge gestures type of guy. He is unabashedly romantic when he wants to be. He is also incredible clingy and someone that needs reassurance and affirmations. He gives love by big gestures and likes to receive love by words of affirmation.

His relationship with Nini ever since the start of the series showed how incompatible they’ve become for each other. To start off, I think Nini was unable to understand Ricky’s family situation because hers is very different so it might have been because of this that she didn’t understand his reaction towards a public declaration of love (his parents probably didn’t do that anymore). She was unable to identify what he needed from her and he failed to communicate why he felt that way. It goes both ways. He needed to say the words when he felt he was ready to say it. And that's very imporant.

But also, the first thing we learn about their relationship is that Nini feels like she was able to shine over the summer and it’s hoping for new opportunities that she feels Ricky holds her back from. Ricky is resistant to this and tries out for the musical to get her back, an idea Nini is not happy about because she feels he is invading her space. During his audition, he performs a song for Nini to try and tell her he loves her. He thinks is a declaration of love but for Nini is not. But Gina is actually impressed by this. And so, even with the first episode, the show lists many reasons why they don’t seem to be compatible anymore. Nini doesn’t like Ricky’s easy going approach to things. And is absolutely fair. I think she needs someone that pushes her to be more ambitious and that shares the same desire for challenges.

Ricky confessing his love for Nini in an outburst at the end of Season 1 felt like he forced it out because he knew that’s what she needed to hear from him to get back together. He was afraid to lose that sense of familiarity. It’s what makes his love confession to Gina so different because it was intentional. He was so sure and so confident and he wanted to tell her that despite not knowing what the future holds.

Early on Season 2, it's made clear they have completely different ideas on what the other is willing to do for each other. Ricky relied too much on her to have some sense of stability because everything at his home keeps falling apart. Nini just wants to spread her wings and it’s willing to go far to pursue her dreams (“I resolve to follow my dreams however far away they take me”) which is why she felt so trapped and suffocated by him. Ricky’s abandonment issues made him clingier than usual. I also think she was a bit rude at times and had a hard time trying to understand him. Like, when he said he was told he had not profitable qualities on the aptitude test and she brush it off and told him she didn’t come back for him. It was pretty harsh. I don't think neither of them knew what the other needed emotionally anymore. It was a bit of a mess and Ricky didn’t even know what he was supposed to do. Ricky’s love language for her was quality time and gestures but I don’t think that was Nini’s vibe. It got to a point she wasn’t receptive of his attempts at fixing their relationship. And as I said, Ricky needs to feel that his attempts are at least appreciated. And Nini never really did a good job at lifting him up.

A lot of Ricky's issues with how it went down with Nini is that he was dealing with his mom abandonment issues and Nini wasn't putting the same efforts into staying with Ricky (long distance or otherwise) and she's valid for this. But seeing it from Ricky's perspective too is like another person is also choosing to leave him.

Now, Gina is someone that wants to feel wanted. She wants people to fight for her. This is probably due to her family and how they didn’t put her as a priority growing up. How her mom barely even validates what’s important for her. This is why she liked EJ at first, because he gave her the attention she needed at that time. And it’s fair to say Gina gives love by words of affirmation and gifts. And likes to receive love by gestures and quality time. Same as Ricky.

She was impressed by Ricky singing to Nini at auditions on the pilot. She told Ricky to sing the song to Nini by the phone on Valentine’s Day because “every girl [her] likes a sweet gesture”. She threw a big surprise party for Carlos when they weren't even that close yet. She likes huge gestures. And I don’t think it was a coincidence when Ricky asked her back in Season 2 *if they were dating* and he went behind her back but for a good reason (and the whole thing about asking Miss Jenn if she can add Nini to the show last minute) if she’d like it. Gina answers that she would be flattered. Ricky took Gina's words without considering that this is not something Nini would want. For Ricky, it’s so they can spent more time together (and Gina sees it that way too) but Nini does not. She sees it as an added pressure. And you see how much Ricky's midset has been altered by his relationship with Nini that on Season 4 he thinks Gina would be relieved by Dani taking her place as Gabriella because she's been too busy with the movie despite him wanting them to spend time together. And Gina isn’t happy. For her, the the show is also a thing for them.

The season actually makes a lot of parallels to this. It also parallels this especifit moment from Season 2 when Ricky wants to send a *dumb* text to Nini that says something about "he is happy she's following her dreams but also he wishes he was her dream. And wants her to turn aroud and come back here. I believe the word he used was forever." And we know Nini would've felt pressured by that text. And that’s understandable. But the writers are so funny because on 408 during Gina's confessional she says she hasn't made a decision about the movie yet and wishes Ricky would fight for her a little more. And in Ricky's confessional he says he once told a girl (Nini) to stay home and it didn’t end too well so he doesn't want to make the same mistake. But Gina wants for Ricky to be Ricky and go all and beyond. But he has grown too much to be selfish. But he does end up doing what Gina wants by singing to her about forever fully expecting her to follow her dreams away from him without even knowing Gina had already decided to follow her dreams and be with him too. We truly love a full circle.

Moving to Season 3, it’s clear Gina likes the feeling of sharing things with a partner, and she saw how EJ was unable to give her that or even make space for her to be a priority but I do think there’s a lot of growth on Gina about understating the needs of her partner too. For example, Gina was able to give Ricky space after the whole Halloween situation. Ricky called her asking her for space and she allowed. It wasn't a break up, just mutual understanding that everyone needs a minute to take it all in and it's not because they don’t want to face it.

On Season 4, right off the bat, it shows us Gina embraces Ricky’s dorky and clingy side a lot. She likes his unexpected visits and ideas. She likes when Ricky plans stuffs and sneaks into her trailer. She likes when Ricky texts her a lot. Gina wants to feel that love because she lacked a lot of that growing up. Unlike Nini, who wanted to be free and get new experiences. Gina likes the stability Ricky provides her. And another thing Sofia said on a interview is that Gina likes how Ricky is very easy going because Gina is already too perfectionist. But mostly, I think you can appreciate how Gina encourages Ricky to be a little more ambitious while Ricky encourages Gina to be more relaxed. To be more giddy and bring down her walls. Nini felt like she coulnd't be truly herself around Ricky while Gina is the total opposite, she feels seen and understood with him because he is able to give her that with the way he is. And Gina does it to Ricky in return by making him feel wanted and appreciated for who he is. I do hope Nini finds someone (preferentially a girl) that makes her feel that way too. Seen and understood.

And also, let's point out how both Ricky and Gina's love language is also physical touch because they are unable to stop touching each other even if by friendly little shoulder touches. They’re unable to stop kissing each other. Gina can’t stop cupping Ricky’s cheeks. Or holding hands. In conclusion, Ricky and Gina are perfect and love each other so much. And their love story is so well written and for the books.

[definitelynotriana]

Hey we just got the Disventure Camp All Stars Intro!

It was so good and they improved so much when it comes to animating the scenes :D

Let’s see what we found..

- So it starts off with Emily pushing off Oliver, Marcus and Nina. So by that I’m guessing that Emily is going to be an antagonist, she doesn’t seems very nice. And will probably cause more drama between the contestants.

- And JAMES AND LAKE LETS GO!! These two seem to get along pretty well. I reckon Aiden, James and Lake are going to be a power trio like Hunter, Ally and Tess last season.

- Speaking of Hunter and Ally, I think they might’ve had an issue that happened before the season started. They also could’ve started dating are now becoming extremely toxic and hostile towards each other. And they must be really loud for Fiore to making them to shut up.

- Also I reckon that Fiore and Alec’s arguments and issues haven’t been resolved, from this photo I predict that he’s just telling her all the things that make her a “mistake”, and I don’t think Fiore cares just by seeing the look on her face

- Miriam is on the look out immediately, considering that she was the winner of season 1, and her age. She’s probably thinking that people are going to target her, (which I don’t blame her for) and is probably looking for an immunity totem. I don’t think she’ll make it far though.

- Now the 2 antagonists, Yul and Grett. From the poster of Grett we can already tell that this will discuss weight loss, and her happiness and stuff. This relationship will most likely be toxic since well, Yul’s in this relationship. It’s either that Yul forced her to lose weight to keep dating her or Grett did it for her own happiness and Yul and Grett are actually a good couple, (though I doubt it.) Most likely, Yul will probably use Grett to get further in the game.

- The look on Jake’s face! I really hope he gets a redemption arc this season and makes it far this time, I thought Aiden and Jake would be friends but from this intro I really don’t think so anymore, hopefully I’m wrong? Anyway, seems like Tom and Aiden become friends, although I don’t think Tom and Aiden will start dating considering Aiden already has a good boyfriend. And by Ashley’s concerned face (not this photo), I reckon she’ll try and help Jake from getting jealous.

- We got a new trio!! And Ellie and Gabby! I never thought that Tess would be into painting, but it would be great for these three to get along this season. Especially away from the Ally and Hunter drama.

- Also the way James looks at Aiden!! So cute, also since when were Aiden’s eyes so round?? It looks different, or is it just me?

- And the season 1 cast! I think Jake is going to have some insecurity issues about Tom, considering that his trust has been broken many times. But I hope that Ashley and Miriam would help them (especially Jake) to be a better couple ❤️

- Connor and Riya being center stage! I bet they’re the main couple, I think over the time before the season Riya got famous and became rich, although from this shot she seems to be fame hungry or whatever you call it.

- Also James and Aiden are holding hands! I love them, Ellie and Gabby have their usual stare and stuff, and Grett and Yul as a couple too.

That’s all for now! And also congrats on finishing reading my very long predictions based on the amazing intro! Thank you Odd Nations Cartoons for working so hard!

You won’t hear from me for a couple days because I’ll busy for the next few days so I hope you understand if I don’t reply to anything for the meanwhile. I’ll maybe post again after Christmas next week!

See you next time!

[unhealthy-reading-habits]

Like many people, I binged watched Season 2 of Good Omens on Friday. I had a couple of days to deal with all the emotions, and I’ve now reached an epiphany. What follows here is the mad rambling of a GO apologist.

Warning: Good Omens Season 2 spoilers ahead, do not read if you don’t want spoilers. I will be spoiling the ending of Season 2 in this post. Please go watch it first. I’m also going to mention the ending of two of Jane Austen’s works (P&P and S&S)

The epiphany: Good Omens is a romantic story. Both Crowley and Aziraphale asked for this heartbreak but both are so woefully naïve about what love is, they didn’t even realise what they were asking for.

What do I mean by this?

In episode 2 (S2), they both describe what they think a romantic scenario is, but both are only focusing on the romantic finale. They are not thinking about the build-up to that moment, which includes a heartbreaking separation which only then leads to those romantic conclusions.

They are actually describing the same romantic scenario of having a separation and then reuniting in love again, they just present the scene differently.

Crowley describes his idea of romance as two people looking longingly into each other's eyes in the rain. He does say “beneath a canopy” but follows the above line by saying that if you “get humans wet and staring into each other’s eyes”, this is what makes them fall in love, so Crowley is talking about confirming your love in the rain.

Examples in Richard Curtis films

Four Weddings and a Funeral - No cover, just rain kissing

Bridget Jones's Diary - No cover, just snow kissing

At face value, we think Crowley is saying the rain thing because of what happened at Eden, and I think that is part of it. But keep in mind that during the "before the beginning" scene and at the Eden scene, neither of them stared into each other’s eyes. They both kept facing forward.

What Crowley is actually describing is the romantic trope of the protagonist couple having a love-confirming kiss in the rain. The issue is the “confirmation” love kiss occurs after there is a period of separation or break-up in the relationship itself.

It’s sometimes called the “Second-Act Breakup” or "Third-Act Breakup" and the ending of Season 2 is a classic set-up for a Break-Up/Make-Up Scenario.

The trope often happens after the couple get into a big fight/misunderstanding/some event that breaks the two people up. The “under a canopy” bit isn’t the important detail here, the actual romantic scene Crowley is eluding to is the reunion kiss in the rain. To get a reunion kiss though, you need to break up properly first.

The romantic film story for the reunion kiss in the rain is only fully satisfying because it’s the moment after the horrible low of the two breaking apart, trying to forget the other person and thinking that they might not be together. So when the two characters do reunite at the end, it is a great romantic conclusion to the story.

Aziraphale described his idea of romance as going to a ball in a Jane Austen novel, where the characters realise they misunderstood each other, but the misunderstanding has to come first in this case.

It’s very obvious that the Good Omens 2 story is only halfway through and is written like a Jane Austen novel, which is blatantly said throughout the show.

[Side note: it’s been years since I read these novels so I’m hoping I’m not misremembering.]

Pride & Prejudice – Elizabeth angrily and rather viciously rejects Mr Darcy’s proposal mid-way through the novel and the remainder of the story is the “being separated” phase of the romance until they are reconciled at the end.

Sense & Sensibility – Elinor’s affection for Edward is disrupted by Lucy Steele’s presence as Edward’s fiancé half way through the novel. This “break up” of the courting between Elinor and Edward is only resolved at the end of the story when Lucy leaves Edward and he is now free to propose to Elinor.

The two most well-known stories by Jane Austen have a break up/separation scene about half way through, which the characters have to work through to then have the reunited happy ending.

For the Break-Up/Make-Up story, the two romantic interested need to finally realise/decide to disregard everything else, settle the misunderstanding and reunite, that’s the finality of the romance. To get this scene, you have to go through the break-up where the two separate first to get those raw emotions, which makes the reunited ending so incredible.

Yes, Aziraphale and Crowley have had fights and temporary lapses in their relationship, like the bandstand scene. But it’s not really them that are causing the break-up. It’s outside forces pressuring them, the environment around them making them act this way. They are also only fighting about something external (raising the antichrist, finding the antichrist etc).

This break-up is more personal, it is them individually instigating the break-up over their own intimate relationship. It’s not the usual song-and-dance, this is Aziraphale choosing a plan and Crowley choosing a different plan and both are too stubborn to relent.

It is Crowley and Aziraphale choosing to split because they cannot reconcile their opposing views about their own relationship and both choose to walk away from the situation.

There is a hypothesis about the “coffee” and Metatron’s maybe brainwashing here, but in my opinion, Aziraphale still chose his plan for their relationship over Crowley’s plan for their relationship. This was a conscious choice on Aziraphale's part.

This time, they were arguing about themselves, which led to a true break-up. An irreconcilable argument between them that they must work through so their relationship can mature:

Crowley still cannot understand that Aziraphale will never run away with him to be just the two of them. Aziraphale cares too much about Earth and humanity and wants to help people, so Aziraphale will never just leave.  

Aziraphale still cannot accept that Crowley is not and does not want to be an angel. Aziraphale is not listening to Crowley when he says he does not want to go back to how things were before because he is genuinely happy with just being with Aziraphale.

Aziraphale consistently reminds himself that Crowley is a demon because (maybe knowingly, maybe subconsciously) he still sees him as an angel.

Crowley’s good actions further emphasise what Aziraphale already knows, that Crowley is a good person, but it’s very difficult for Aziraphale to separate the concepts of “good” and “angel”.

Both of them are not accepting the other as they truly are. Their relationship needs a real break-up, caused by themselves so that they can learn to accept each other as their full authentic selves.

We have to endure the low points to fully enjoy the high points.

Neil Gaiman has been very clear he intends there to be a season 3 so this love story is only halfway through, and frustratingly the break-up scene is the end of season 2. It’s like ending P&P when Elizabeth rejects Mr Darcy’s first proposal, or ending The Notebook as Allie sees the newspaper article about Noah but not showing them getting back together.

We know Crowley and Aziraphale will end up at the South Downs cottage. It’s just an emotional heart-wrenching journey between the two points. But when we get that reunion between them, it’s going to be delicious.

P.S. Neil Gaiman, you goddamn tease, if you are going for a full P&P/kiss in the rain experience, I really hope we get an Aziraphale wet shirt scene

[flower-boi16]

Hazbin Hotel Is A Show That Exists

So...after five years of waiting, Hazbin Hotel is finally out. I had very low expectations going to Hazbin - not only because of the current state of Helluva Boss (Its spin-off show) but also because of all the things I was hearing about it from people who saw the leaks - needless to say, it wasn't very positive. I was expecting this show to be a complete disaster on every single level, though deep down, I did want to be excited for this show - as I did used to briefly be a fan of Viv's work until I realized HB's MANY writing issues, so I went in with low expectations, expecting the show to be awful while deep down hoping that MAYBE It'll MAYBE end up being good. And after watching the first four episodes I can say that...

The show isn't awful nor is it that good. It's just...PAINFULLY average. In this post I'm going to give my current thoughts on HH based on the first four episodes that are currently released. Note that these are only my current thoughts on the show - there's a chance that MAYBE the show will improve in the second half of season 1. But for now, here are my current thoughts on the show:

1. The Animation & Visuals

The animation is...fine. The characters definitely look very rigged at times, but the animation is at least pleasant to look at. An issue I have is the camera work - sometimes the camera work can be VERY off at times. The show would constantly cut to different perspectives in some of the scenes and it becomes a headache to look at. It's especially bad at the beginning of the Happy Day In Hell song - where the camera looks like it's having a stroke during the sequence as it constantly cuts to different perspectives a LOT.

That being said - the camera work is mostly fine throughout the rest of the show so it's not too bad. So overall, the animation looks fine. I don't love it, but I don't hate it.

2. The Comedy

The show's comedy is...actually pretty ok. There were a few jokes that got a good laugh out of me, especially in episode 3, the episode that isn't written by Viv, so it therefore is the funniest episode of the show so far. I am surprised by the lack of sex jokes in the show which is at least a plus. That being said, a lot of the jokes in the show don't really land - mainly the ones that Angel Dust makes. So really, the comedy is OK. I don't hate it, but I also don't love it either.

3. Worldbuilding & Plot

So now let's talk about the main plot of the show as well as its world-building. Ok so the main conflict for the show is that due to someone killing an Angel during the last extermination - the exterminations are going to happen twice as fast now (6 months instead of one year). The mystery of what happened to the angel...lasts for about two episodes before we're given an answer in episode 3, and then it's just resolved like that.

Aside from that the series mostly revolves around its premise so far which is good. Alright, now lets talk about the lore and worldbuilding - basically Lucifer used to be an angel in Hevean but was seen as a trouble maker and Adam demanded that Lilith fuck him (or something Idk Idr) and Lucifer and Lilith fell in love blah blah blah Lucifer gave an apple to his new lover Eve blah blah blah the apple was cursed blah blah blah the apple created hell blah blah blah It sent evil to the world and Hevean was pissed about that so they banished them to hell blah blah blah Lucifer became sad blah blah blah Lilith didn't blah blah blah Hevean started doing exterminations because they were afraid of Hell's power.

(Semi-accurate description of the opening exposition dump). Ok so a few things; 1) I already asked this in another post but why did Hell never choose to fight back against Heaven when Heaven shouldn't have any power over hell because Hell was a realm created by Lucifer? Also, why does Heaven even have any power over Hell to begin with? and 2) So Heaven is eeeevil now and is going to kill all of Hell. Like I already said, it would have been more interesting if Heaven wasn't evil, and it also would've been better than this Hevean v Hell war we're probably going to get in the finale.

They even changed the reasoning to why Heaven started doing the exterminations, instead of it being because of an overpopulation problem now it's because Heaven was afraid of Hell's power...

...which contradicts the pilot which is canon to the series. But then the show just goes back to the overpopulation problem as the reason for the exterminations???? Like??? Which is it, is it because Heaven is evil or because of an overpopulation problem??? PICK ONE!!!

Hell is also kinda boring of a setting, it's just our world except red. That's it. So the lore and worldbuilding is kinda eh, Heaven is just evil cuz ofc it is and the lore has some problems. Its funny to how one of the lyrics of Adam's big villain song is "its all black and white", and since Adam is the bad guy and Charlie's goal is to redeem sinners, the show is trying to go for a "it's NOT black and white" message, but that's kinda ironic considering that this Heaven/Hell conflict is very black and white in it of itself; Hell good Heaven evil. That's it. Not saying black-and-white conflicts with a good guy and a bad guy are bad, most shows can make them work and be interesting, but Heaven would have been more interesting if it wasn't evil, at least IMO.

4. The Voice Actors

A lot of the discourse surrounding Hazbin until its release was the new voice actors. Let me just say I don't dislike the voice actors here; I think they are fine and they fit the characters decently well. Their singing is also decent as well. So I don't dislike any of the voices, they are fine for the most part and fit decently well with the characters.

5. The Songs

The songs so far are...fine. If there was one thing that HB consistently got right, it was the songs. Even if I dislike HB, the songs are actually pretty good (for the most part...). Hazbin's songs are...decent. There aren't any songs that I can say are bad, though I have some issues with the show's music; mainly the fact that the show sometimes shoves in songs...for the sake of having a song.

If you want to make a musical with songs you need to make sure each song has a distinct purpose for the story; take "Part of Your World" from The Little Mermaid. Before this song, it's pretty easy to infer that Ariel has an interest in the surface world - with her collecting human stuff and all. But the song further shows us her desire to see the surface - to see what it's like above water. It shows her desire to see the surface in the form of a song - it has a purpose within the story because it tells you something about the character.

Hazbin Hotel meanwhile sometimes has a problem when it comes to shoving in songs for the sake of meeting the song quota; the two biggest examples are "Hell is Forever" and "Respectless", as well as "Whatever It Takes". These songs are all completely unnecessary and they give us information that could have been communicated through simple dialogue rather than characters bursting out singing.

"Respectless" in particular feels less like a song and more like the characters just...singing a conversation with each other. The song is completely unnecessary and is just there to fill the song quota per episode. None of the songs I've mentioned are necessarily bad, but they suffer from being unneeded (HB also sometimes has this problem in season 2 mainly in episodes 3, 4, and 7).

Aside from that issue - the songs are...fine. None of them are bad but some of them are kinda useless and don't serve much of a purpose. I at least liked Happy Day in Hell and Poison, aside from that most of the songs are...ok. I just don't find most of them that memorable.

6. The Characters

Now, let's talk about the characters. First I'll talk about the main cast then the villains.

Charlie - I think Charlie's...fine. I always like overly positive and happy characters for protagonists so I was going to like Charlie anyway. She's fine; she's easy to root for and she's likable enough.

Vaggie - Vaggie's also fine. I do like her snark in episode 3, but aside from that there isn't much that interesting about her.

Nifty - Nifty's cute. Nifty's funny. I like Nifty.

Angel Dust - sigh Ok so I didn't like Angel Dust in episode 1 because of the fact he was another character whose one character trait is being excessively horny. And I also find all his jokes painfully unfunny. I'm not really in a position to judge how well his abuse from Val was handled so since I held a poll asking SA victim's thoughts on episode 4 and most of them voted no I'll just say that they didn't handle it very well and move on. So ya don't care for Angel Dust.

Alastor - Ah yes the creepy radio demon. He's also fine, I like his whole style and stuff.

Husk - Husk's whole purpose in the first three episodes is pretty much just to be pissed off at stuff, I kinda liked the scene where he talked to Angel Dust in episode 4 but aside from that, Husk is kinda just..fine...like everyone in this main cast.

Now let's talk about the villains so far!

Adam - Don't care for him. Sigh look Adam could be an entertaining villain but so far his dialogue and jokes are just painfully unfunny and I don't care for him as a villain. I could talk about his sidekick whose name I forgot but she's gotten so little screen time I can't form an opinion on her yet.

Also isn't it funny how HH was meant to be a female-focused show yet the males get more focus so far (As I've already talked about)? Ya, I thought so too. Anyways, the characters are...fine. I don't hate any of them, but I also don't really love any of them either. None of them are that interesting so far to me.

That's pretty much what I can say about everything in this show so far; I don't hate the animation but I don't love it either, I don't hate the comedy but I don't love it either, I don't hate the songs but I don't love them either, I don't hate any of the characters but I don't love them either.

7. Conclusion

So, that's my current thoughts on HH based on the first four episodes. Well...it's certainly a show that I watched. It's amazing to me how a show could be so consistently painfully average in pretty much EVERYTHING, from the animation to the songs to the comedy to the characters, to the episodes themselves, Hazbin Hotel is the most painfully average show I've watched so far. It's not bad so far, but it isn't good either. Again, maybe the show will improve when the latter half of season 1 comes out...

...or it will just get worse. I'm expecting the latter unfortunately due to the trailers making it look like there's going to be a Heaven/Hell war which means the show is probably going to abandon its premise like its spin-off (...that came before the main show was released). But ya, Hazbin Hotel is painfully average so far, probably a 6/10 so far, expecting the show to probably get worse, goodbye.

[bibbityboppitybillyharvgrove]

Holiday Blues - S.Rogers

Summary - Steve Rogers loves the holiday season, going all out with baking cookies, blasting holiday music and watching a constant stream of holiday movies. Y/N, his floormate and teammate, never celebrated the holidays and he wanted to know why. It takes her time but she finally opens up to him after an impromptu sparring session at midnight.

Word Count - 2117

Author's note - Welcome to Day 8 of my 25 days of fics! This is getting uploaded later than I usually do because it was not written in advance. School has been crazy with the end of the semester coming next week so I have been very busy. I hope you enjoy!

Warnings - Hydra, mentions of torture and brainwashing, Steve is a very patient man, not proofread, vulgar language, use of Y/N, Female Reader, (let me know if I missed any!)

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Feedback is welcomed and encouraged!

Enjoy!

not my gif

not my gif

As she got older and the world became an increasingly worse place, it was hard to get into the Christmas spirit. She had seen most of the horrors of the world, alien invasions? Check, more than once. Half the world disappearing? Check. Meeting 2 men that were born during World War I? Check and check. She herself was much older than most people assumed, she was born during the late 20s so she knew how the two men felt.

However, only one of them embraced the holiday spirit and that was Steve. Steve who had probably seen worse than most of them, other than Bucky and Nat of course. Steve who was used as propaganda during the war. Steve who was ‘America’s Golden Boy’. Steve who was Captain America. A majority of the world never thought of Captain America as Steve Rogers, no, they thought of a strong man who had been a world protector starting with the second world war. Sure he was frozen for nearly 80 years but that didn’t matter to them, what mattered was the image America attached to him.

Y/N, who was a bit younger than Steve, still understood him better than most. She knew what it was like to be used for the ‘betterment’ of society. She knew what it was like for nobody to truly see the person she was. She knew what it was like to be frozen in time for decades and wake up confused and lost in a world filled with all this new kind of technology. She knew and Steve understood that. He understood that they went through similar things in their lives. He understood what she felt deep down but never let it show. 

Speaking of the horrors she had faced, well there was more than just alien invasions. She had faced escaping from Hydra, who was thought to be dormant. She had to face constant brain washing and memory wiping because no matter how often it was done, there was still a little piece of her inside that was fighting. That little piece was fighting for everything it had which wasn’t a lot. She was poor, her parents had died and her sister had moved to another state with her husband. She was left alone and Hydra saw this, Hydra saw a girl that was lonely and needed somebody so they became that somebody. She was manipulated into becoming a pawn in their game.

She had lost her faith in humanity long before she had woken up in the 21st century. But as she lived in this new century, she felt more out of place than she ever did. Because of this, she hadn’t felt the need to celebrate any holidays or any of her own birthdays. To her, these were miniscule things in a huge world of issues that needed to be resolved.

With living in the Avengers tower, it was quite hard to get away from holidays. Almost every inch of the tower had been decorated for the holiday season, Christmas lights and Hanukkah candles staring her in the face every time she left her room. She had even told Tony that she didn’t want her floor to be decorated but he ignored that request and her floor was decorated anyway. 

Even Bucky, who shared her floor, didn’t want the decorations up. He too could care less about the holidays after all of the horrors he had seen. The two of them brought up the point to Steve who was the other person on their floor. Tony thought it was funny to keep the three of them together and call it the glacier floor but that’s besides the point. Steve admitted he was the one who wanted the floor decorated. Bucky and Y/N knew that Steve had a particular love for holidays, no matter what kind of holiday it was.

The two couldn’t be mad at him so they ignored the decorations the best they could, ignored the constant baking the best they could and ignored the constant holiday movies and songs the best they could.

Steve, on the other hand, was trying to get the two of them excited for the holidays. He couldn’t understand why they hated holidays so much so he took to asking. Bucky was okay with the holidays but Y/N would almost disappear during them. He had asked Bucky first and all he said was he was too old to celebrate holidays to which Steve scoffed at his life-long best friend. Steve knew it was an excuse but he brushed it off since Bucky had started watching holiday movies with him and helped him with his baking.

Steve couldn’t seem to get a straight forward answer from Y/N though. It was like she hated talking about the subject of holidays all together. But Steve watched as her walls cracked a little bit and her true feeling shone through. 

“I used to love the holidays, especially when I still had my parents around and my sister. We had so many traditions that I couldn’t keep track but as I got older and my parents' health deteriorated, we stopped our traditions because they were becoming too much. After they died and my sister and her husband left the state, I was alone so I didn’t feel the need to celebrate the holidays anymore. I had nobody to celebrate them with, I guess I just never went back to celebrated after waking up,” She explained to Steve, but he knew there was more to the story. Her voice changed a lot as she spoke about why she stopped celebrating but it wavered the most when she said she stopped celebrating. He could tell she was lying to him just by her voice but she also avoiding his eye contact and was shifting from foot to foot. Those were her usual tells that she was lying.

“There’s something more that you aren’t telling me, isn’t there?” He asked her.

“There is but let’s save that for another day.” So they did save it for another day, Steve brushing it off until she looked particularly off, more than usual during the winter holiday season.

“What’s going on? You seem upset,” Steve asked her quietly one night in the kitchen. He was cleaning up after a baking disaster with Bucky, the other super soldier going off to bed after. It was just the two of them as it neared midnight, the only light being the gentle ceiling lights that hung over the island.

“Just thinking about my life back in the 30s. I couldn’t sleep so I spiraled a bit and needed to get out of my own head for a bit. Wanna head to the gym with me?” She offered him. He put the rag he was cleaning with down and followed her to the elevator so they could go to the gym.

“You wanna talk about it?” He questioned gently, not trying to pry the information out of her.

“Maybe after I get some energy out.”

So as they entered the gym after getting off of the elevator, it was quiet. He had never heard the gym so quiet before, usually music was playing or someone was in there training but it was desolate. Y/N loved coming to train at this time, enjoying the quiet and the privacy it provided. The two of them sparred for a bit, and by a bit that really means nearly 3 hours before one of them got even remotely tired. 

“You wanna tell me what’s going on now?” Steve asked as they both laid on the floor of the ring, panting and sweating from their long spar session.

“I was taken by Hydra 75  years ago today and tomorrow will be 75 years of me having the serum in my body. It’s why I hate the holidays so much, they remind me of Hydra and what they did to me. Reminds me of times when I was younger and able to believe in my family’s traditions. When I was innocent and not a monster that Hydra created. When I was me,” She explained absently. She was staring at the ceiling as she talked and continued on as he spoke back.

“So Hydra took you on Christmas Eve and you got the serum on Christmas day? Why would they do that to you? You were so young!” 

“Because I was alone and sad. My parents had just died, my dad dying of cancer and my mom dying of a broken heart, my sister got married and left to some southern state with her husband. They saw that I was vulnerable and alone so they used that as their opportunity to take me. I went willingly because I thought that I was doing the right thing, they really knew how to play mind games. Then I met Bucky, he was still Bucky but he was getting tortured and brainwashed right next to me until he wasn’t Bucky anymore. I was the next in line, getting the serum hurt like a son of a bitch, I didn’t think I would live but I did. Then came my torture and brainwashing. I put up a hell of a fight, nearly 40 years until I gave up fighting.”

Steve’s heart was heavy as she talked, not knowing what to say so he just listened. “There were a few times I almost died but they never let that happen, I was a winter soldier, one of two compliant soldiers they could use and abuse however they liked. I was in and out of cryo just like Bucky, when I was in he was out and when he was out I was in, that made for the consistency that they wanted and craved. The last time they sent me on a mission with Bucky was to kill Howard and Maria. I spent so many years of my life frozen in some unclaimed territory so when I escaped right before the issue with SHIELD, I had no idea who I was or what I was doing. I had such a hard time adjusting to everything going on because the last time I was out of cryo was the 90s where technology wasn’t as advanced. That’s probably why you found me so quickly, I didn’t know how to lay low and in the shadows in this new world.”

“Come with me,” Steve said, getting up and holding out his hand for her to take. She grabbed his hand, pulling herself up and followed him. He hadn’t let go of her hand and neither did she. They left the tower, both of them in sweaty pajamas, and walked through the streets of New York City. She had no idea where Steve was taking her but she willingly followed. They finally stopped right in front of the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree, brightly lit and holding the winter snow in all of the right places to make the view even more breathtaking.

“That’s beautiful, I haven’t seen this in person ever. I never realized how pretty it actually is,” She rambled about the beauty of the large evergreen. 

“I know holidays are tough and trust me I understand what it’s like to spend them alone, but you don’t have to, not anymore. You have me, Bucky and the rest of the team. We can start new traditions, just me and you and go from there. How does that sound?” Steve asked her, his eyes lit up with joy and wonder, he looked like a kid in a candy store.

“Can this be one of them? Seeing the tree at 3 in the morning on Christmas eve?” She asked innocently as she looked into his storm blue eyes.

“Of course it can. We can add a new one every year.”

She smiled a real smile for the first time since November had rolled around. The two of them enjoyed the view of the tree and the company of one another as the sun started to rise. They stood there until the sun was up and the streets were getting busy before making their way back to the tower. The two of them happy as could be, hands intertwined as they practically skipped through the tower and to the main kitchen floor where they had breakfast as a team every morning. 

Y/N was happy to be starting new traditions with someone she loved dearly, someone who cared about her but never pried her for anything that was on her mind, someone who let her take her time opening up and going to him in times of need. Someone she needed in her life.

[rockinlibrarian]

Post-Umbrella Academy S4 Reaction Part One: Reacting More to the Fandom than the Show (only vaguely spoilery)

I would like to state for the record that I enjoyed The Umbrella Academy Season Four. I had plenty of issues— things that weren’t to my taste, abandoned or neglected plot or character threads, plot contrivances and wasted opportunities— and I wasn’t satisfied with the ending AT ALL (it COULD have worked if done…completely differently?)—but I enjoyed myself, minus the downer at the very end (and I mean VERY end, I was hoping for more post-credit redemption than we got, and that could’ve fixed it for me). It’s like that post I reblogged this morning goes— there’s enjoyment, there’s in-universe sense, and there’s art-of-storytelling sense, and they can all stand separately.

I’d love to chew over the stupid bits and gush over the brilliant bits, but it’s kind of hard right now, because so much of the reactions online are not, well, objectively balanced discussions? People’s issues erased any of the enjoyment, and now the whole thing is trash and I think we all agree this never happened.

I’m not writing this post to call anyone out for that. All our reactions are valid. It just feels like the angry voices drown out the other voices, and it’s made me uncomfortable, and that is ALSO a valid reaction to have, so I just want to put my voice out there, too.

The weird thing about me and The Umbrella Academy is that this is the first fandom where I’ve ever been more invested in fanworks of it than in the original show (and in the comics, not at all. Though I still want to see Viktor and Diego start a punk band). So I think that’s why I’m not Ragey. I wouldn’t say I COMPLETELY didn’t care what happened in the show, but I know that there’s a thousand other AUs of it out there ALREADY. So I honestly went into it almost as if reading a fic of it. In fics there are inevitably interpretations I don’t agree with, ships I don’t care for, things I would have done differently, but the writer loves the same characters as me so let’s see where they go.

And then I leave a comment about all the positives. “Oh, I love what you’ve done with Viktor!” (I won’t MENTION that I think you should have let him get back into music and spend a LOT more time with Five, because it’s not my story, and hey, you have done some LOVELY, thoughtful things with one of the characters that is dearest to me so let me tell you that in this comment!) “I’m REALLY enjoying your Allison-and-Klaus partnership, we don’t see enough of that but it’s so obvious in retrospect that they should be friends. They probably bonded over fashion as children when Viktor was like ‘Sorry Allison you know I REALLY DO want to be friends with you but I JUST DON’T GET IT’.” (I am thinking about how you never really resolved the huge emotional thread between Allison and Viktor in your last chapter, but that’s not what we’re talking about here). “This is admittedly not my ship, but you’ve successfully captured my own beliefs about HOW this character would behave in this situation” (shouting out to @stephsageek for that one, who did it, and did it well, before canon even thought to attempt to. ;) ) I could write lots more in my theoretical Comment on “Season Four of the Umbrella Academy” on AO3, but I don’t want to be too spoilery in this post and I’m just being metaphorical.

Honestly, I’m more upset now after a day of discourse than I was about the ending, and I think it’s because I’m afraid of people rage-abandoning the fandom. Because Legion, the show that started me on Seriously Writing Fanfic, was a mess after season 1. I personally didn’t enjoy MOST of season 2, but I DID enjoy season 3 even though so much of it made no sense, and I can rant about it (Legion did a variation on the same terrible ending as TUA, actually! I have to say that the emotional beats were handled better, but the plot itself was way way stupider). But I didn’t start writing fic until after the dreaded (but not without redeeming qualities) season 2, when quite a lot of people had given up on the show. I’ve written fix-its, mostly ones that embellish on the canon of the later seasons, fixing it without actually throwing it away. I’ve been playing in the whole sandbox for six years now, and “Magic Man of Oz” uses like every grain of sand in it, and it’s my favorite fic I’ve ever written, and I am genuinely sad about all the people who rage-quit that show so will never read it. I am mostly sad that the person who got me on AO3 to begin with abandoned the Legion fandom the moment they finished their epic How Season Two Should Have Ended fic (or before— pretty sure the last few chapters were written with gritted teeth determination to just be Done with the whole thing) and so THEY never read “Magic Man of Oz.” And they were my biggest cheerleader when I started posting fanfic! Honestly, is this whole paragraph just me freaking out about TUA fandom just because not enough people read a fic of mine from a different fandom that was fairly cult to begin with? It might be. Sorry. I apparently have issues?

(That first sentence is really the thesis statement of this post now. The moment I wrote it, I reread it and said, "Oh. THAT'S what's happening with me, isn't it?" My 11th grade research writing teacher is yelling at me in my head to move the dang thesis statement to earlier in this essay, but too bad, this is Tumblr).

I can’t help comparing Legion and TUA, not least because the latter only got bumped up my watch list by someone describing it as “Legion-Lite”— and it really is, in so many ways! But they’re also my top two most-written-for fandoms, and I’ve been toying with a crossover or two— which I feel even more compelled to write now, because it’s post-canon for both shows (even though both shows claim there IS no post-canon— I have found the way!) And it honestly helped ME emotionally to accept the end of TUA when I could immediately say, “OH, well actually, that flows right INTO how I was already going to start working-title A Legion of Umbrellas!” I originally started this paragraph in parenthesis because it seemed like an aside, but it’s really not, because all I’m saying is fanfic flows eternal! and so forth.

So, hi, out there. Just letting out my feelings and hoping someone out there feels the same way (maybe not about Legion— I keep TRYING, but can’t find any takers), and I may still write a more detailed and spoilery reaction post to the show ITSELF, but I had to get this off my chest first.

[fujosh1dreamer]

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur season 2!!!

Alright so episode 12 of mgadd was the school dance episode and I have some thoughts.

This applies mostly to this specific episode but some of it applies to the whole season so far. I understand and appreciate the overall message being conveyed by the episode. About how you should start dating when you're comfortable and how there's no rush.

However the message gets undermined by the simple fact the Marvin exists to be Lunellas love interest.

I don't dislike Marvin but him being exactly like Lunella is annoying. I don't like it and this happens a lot, when shows introduce a love interest who is exactly like the main character.

Once again nothing against Marvin but it's just annoying. Especially since it is the second season. If you want a character to have a love interest introduce them in season 1.

I get it they're both socially awkward and Don't understand social ques but still they're the same person only difference being one is a boy and the other is a girl. Marvin being an alien with daddy issues was interesting until it gets resolved immediately. Other wise these two have no conflict and no obstacles to overcome they're boring.

Now onto my personal gripe about the episode in question.

They did my boy eduardo dirty.

Why???

Eduardo has been a reoccurring background character since the very first episode. Now I've never shipped him with Lu but it was established early on that he had a crush on her.

If ed was a bully type character then I wouldn't care about him. But that's not his archetype he's a misunderstood class clown.

This is episode 12 of season 2 and this is our first time even hearing him speak. Reminder Marvin was introduced in like episode 4 or something. In the episode Lunellas friends tell her she should go with them as a group to the dance, but when they all end up with dates Lu feels left out and also tries to find a date. And she asks out Eduardo who tells her he's already been asked.

It has a very cute sequence where he images them as sailormoon and tuxedo mask.

In the end Lunella goes alone which is fine. Her outfit is very cute. Then Marvin shows up and we get jealous Eduardo. I also want to say that Mar didn't show up to be her date to the dance he needed help. Anyway Ed is jealous and upset everytime we see him on screen.

Which I really hope isn't what his character is going to be boiled down to especially after they developed him so well in season 1. I don't want him and Lu to end up together I just want this character to have the respect that it had in season 1 instead of making him miserable.

Just look at who he's at the dance with that terrible blonde girl who insulted Lunellas hair in season 1.

I just can't get behind Lunella and Marvin because it feels forced and rushed. It's annoying that they just made a carbon copy of Lu for a love interest. That's kind of lazy.

Otherwise the season has been fun so far.

[sarcastictissy]

It is actually not unreasonable for people to be making comments such as “the qsmp should not come back for a season 2 within a few months” because from just a financial and legal standpoint, they are going to need a lot of time to get everything sorted out. I expected when the initial news broke of the issues behind the scenes that they wouldn’t have everything resolved until 2025 anyway. These things take time to do right, and it’s not unreasonable to want them to actually take that time.

In the end that is what a lot of people are talking about when they react with those sentiments. Some are venting frustrations and being dramatic, some have a general idea of just how long fixing a mess like this takes. But chastising us for expressing our desires that the qsmp team really take the time needed to set everything right is a bit unnecessary. Please extend some of the understanding you give to Quackity Studios to the fans who also want to see this project continue but are deeply concerned about them rushing the process of solving their internal issues.

As I said in the post, I completely agree with people wanting the studios to take their time in organising things behind the scenes. Unsure if it was a translation error or If I worded things wrong etc, but what's unrealistic is people assuming when things will get resolved. Like I said, we don't know what is going on behind the scenes and to say things like "qsmp better not return before 2025" is an unrealistic statement as we don't know how far along they are to beginning a new server. I don't honestly believe they have even started reconstructing/ creating a new server yet, but I don't know. None of us do.

I do apologise if my post seemed ignorant or rude. It was not my intention. I was merely trying to get through to people that putting expectations on when the new server should or shouldn't be up by, is unrealistic.

I do genuinely hope for a better future of qsmp and I'm willing to wait as long as necessary. Please do not think I am trying to rush this process or anything like that. Trust me when I say this server deserves to be successful but only if the admins are treated fairly and respectfully.

Hope this helped cleared things up. You're welcome to ask further questions if not and I'll answer as clearly as possible :)

TW: suicide!! Below cut

I've also seen doomposting such as "if qsmp returns within 5 months I'll ki11 mys3lf." And things like that which is heavily concerning, even as a joke. Those sorts of posts are very damaging and are often not tagged correctly.