#I really REALLY need to rewatch season one with hindsight

[armandismywife]

Reflecting on her role in the story during the infancy of Loustat having me spiraling into a full meta. Does anyone else think it’s Something to be analyzed that Lily vaguely physically resembles and narratively parallels Claudia? I guess it could be considered foreshadowing, in that Claudia essentially steps into the role Lily had after Lily gets chomped by Lestat off screen.

Lily existing to be the sexual prize object Loustat fought over in their first conversation, serving to establish Loustat’s initiation of desire for each other and facilitate their first consummation, and becoming an ultimately expendable accessory to their relationship. A Black woman that Louis seeks comfort in, sex worker he would go to see just to talk. I mean, you had him barging into the snazzy brothel absolutely desperate to see her when he was emotionally fucked up by Lestat, only to be informed that she died, pathetically. Certainly Lily had never been on Louis’s mind and the object of his concern when he didn’t need something from her, as that’s not how the transaction works.

Then, Claudia wholly and truly being created to serve as a bandaid for Louis’s sorrow, a comfort thing to help him manage his anguish about how many of his own people got hurt because of his lone act of racial vengeance. Balanced perhaps by Louis’s act of compassion to save Claudia’s life by begging Lestat to turn her, but also a desperate act of altruism to counteract the psychic weight of the harm Louis has caused. I feel like people forget the reason that Claudia was even trapped in that burning building came back to Louis crashing out thanks to the racism he endured breaking him.

And you go on to have Claudia to be the ornamental third to Loustat; ultimately getting extinguished because she tried to free herself from their toxic circus. Lily may have been able to enjoy herself and get her share out of being a pawn in Loustat’s blossoming game, but like Claudia she did not get to consent in being booted from this reality as Loustat’s collateral. Claudia later getting SAed, and in season 2 again being objectified in the infantilization of her by the Theatre des Vampires harem; having to debase herself in a way, just like how the prostitutes to an extent have to to humor their clients’ whims.

Something something Lily and Claudia were both doomed from the start and that their stories depict how BW get used and abused by BM trying to nurse their own egos and have their pain muddled.

Louis might have been a ~Good Pimp who wanted the best for his girls, but he was still a pimp. For all we know in the present day he could be a hotep. I digress. Claudia and Lily were both victims of Loustat’s batshit bullshit.

the worst thing lestat did was kill this queen all she did was be an ally and fujo out

[plutoswritingplanet]

Ring Of Fire (Lucifer x Female!Reader)

a/n: again, no one asked for this, but i've been rewatching supernatural and there is something about season 5 Lucifer that just hits the spot for me. this one will be multiple chapters (i swear), a bit on the darker side. Cross-Posted on AO3

Warnings: Dub-Con (nothing too scandalous), Soulmates (but not really), follows season 5 storyline, Kinda Depressing, Strongly Inspired by "Preacher's Daughter" by Ethel Cain

Summary: Knowing God has an actual plan for you would be comforting for most people. You, however, seem to be always down on your luck.

PT.2

The foliage is damp with the night's air, water seeping into the fabric of your jeans, as you sit in the low bushes, watching. Smoke still fills your lungs, and grief still fills your heart, Jo and Ellen's faces etched just beneath your eyelids. Tears stain your cheeks, drying slowly on your skin, forming an uncomfortable crust. It's been such a long time since you've experienced loss such as this. One that rips something out of you and refuses to give it back. You must've grown too comfortable since Dean has been brought back, life needed to bring you back down. Your hands hurt from the tight grip you hold on a branch of a nearby tree, nerves locking you in place, as you watch Dean approach the Devil. Except, you're not there anymore. 

It's warm inside Bobby's home, and you've changed out of your past outfit, scattering it on the floor, never to be used again. Still, you can feel phantom moisture on your knees, elbows, on the palms of your hands. Coldness, like nothing you've ever experienced, seeps deep into your bones, taking root within you. No candle, no prayer, no ancient exorcism can cleanse you of the revelations you've seen tonight. Your head feels heavy, when you drop it onto the pillow, as if some weight is pressing you further down, through the comforter, through the bed and the wooden floor. Through all the layers of Earth, until you're right where you're supposed to be. 

It's unfortunate, you thought back then, compelled to reveal yourself from your hideout by one command you couldn't ignore, he looks just like any human. Tall and lean, with a little softness to his body. His clothes were unassuming as well, casual. As if he just took a stroll through the woods from a supermarket. No one told you the name of his vessel, who he was before he said yes, why did he do it. His eyes were ordinary as well. Blue and gray, aged, tired. Human.

It would've been so easy to pass him on the streets, not knowing. He could've been one of the patrons in the countless bars you've visited while on the hunt. Handsome, yes, with an aura of a beaten dog around him, that, in any other circumstances would've made him irresistable to you. You could never refuse a hopeless case, now you supposed you knew why. 

Sam made you tea. It sits untouched on your night stand, steam flowing in dancing ribbons into the ceiling. Somehow, you can't seem to force yourself to drink it, even if you know the intention behind it has been kind. You couldn't eat as well, the smell of cooking coming from Bobby's kitchen reminded you too much of the smell of smoke coming from the exploding hardware store. And his smell. 

Burning coals, cedar wood, jasmine, all of them were pleasant once. Now, you know they will always be stuck in your head with only one association. Lucifer. 

Even thinking of his name brings a wave of shivers running down your back, as you curl into yourself on the bed. Your fingers scratch at skin of your jaw, trying to regain some sense of autonomy. Still, you can feel a phantom of his icy touch, where he grabbed your face like his hands were meant for it. And in a way they were. At least, that's what he told you. 

The demons gathered around the mass grave didn't even react, as you ran out of your cover, pushed to reveal yourself by the sight of Dean's flying body. Because how else would he coax you out, if not through the hurt of your boys? In hindsight, you were glad Dean was unconscious for the most part of this ordeal. After the night's events, it was hard to look him in the eye, you didn't need him witnessing your downfall over your head as well. Sam tried to make his way over to you, feet sliding cautiously through the grass, but suddenly Lucifer's eyes were on you, and you could feel your fate get sealed then and there. 

He clasped his hands in front of him, pursing his lips as he took you in, cowering on the ground, trying hard to find Dean's pulse. 

- You boys brought me a gift - he mused, eyes crinkling with some strange emotion - You shouldn't have. 

One gesture later, you're up on your feet, limbs trembling as he abandoned his shovel in favor of making his way towards you. You're frozen, fear seizing you in a tight grip, and you can't seem to think straight, as you watch him approach. Last day on Earth, you muse, life flashing before your eyes, when he raises both his hands. And then he grips your face, gentle yet confident, and the world around you spins. He's cold, so cold it's unnatural. Your lips fall apart in a silent gasp. 

- Do you know who you are? - he asks in a quiet voice that suddenly makes you understand why he's temptation incarnate - Do you know why you were put on this Earth?

All you can do is stare, confusion creasing your eyebrows. His breath reaches your collarbones, as he lowers his head slightly. You can hear him chuckle to himself. The sound makes you shudder, fear and anticipation mix within your gut. 

- All those years of hunting, struggling... - your life seems so trivial, coming from his lips - It all lead you here, to me. Doesn't that sound lovely?

It doesn't. It most definitely doesn't. Tears of confusion prick at the corners of your eyes, your breathing quickens. Panic settles into your nerves like a paralyzing blanket. Because here stands a threat of magnitude you couldn't even dream of. The Satan, the Devil, Bible's biggest villain. And he knows something about you, that you cannot comprehend. 

- It's really quite pathetic, when you think about it - he muses, hands leaving your face in a flash, as he starts to pace in thought.

Swaying in your place, you risk looking at Sam, his confusion mirroring your own. Dean is still unconscious beside him. There's a thin smudge of blood running down his forehead, and you want to move so badly. You've spent years caring for these boys, being there for them, whenever they needed you. Yet, at this crucial moment all you can do, is stare in horror.  

- My Father's last ditched attempt - Lucifer turns to you with a tight smile that doesn't reach his eyes - To give me my own special little bag of worms. To own, to care for, to change my mind. 

- What?

Your own voice sounds foreign to your ears. Lies. Those had to be lies. He's Satan after all, manipulation was his forte. Yes, that had to be it. Just another, messed up way at getting an upper hand over Sam. 

This time, you nearly scream when he advances towards you, his cold hands immediately finding purchase on your face, covering your jaw and your cheeks. He presses against your face so hard, you have to take a step back as he comes closer still. Sam's figure flashes out of the corner of your eye, and suddenly you feel the rough surface of a tree bark digging into your back. 

- You - for the first time you can hear some tension in his voice, something more than cold indifference - You were made for me, Honey. Just like Sam is destined to be my vessel, you're destined to be by my side. To own, to care. - he repeats those words like a mantra, and you want to throw up at how genuine he sounds.

He smiles at your terror. Tears start to flow freely from your eyes, falling on his cold fingers, skipping down his arms in smudges. His hands start to move, a perversion of a caress, as he ruffles your hair. Your head bounces off the tree, and you try with all your might to free yourself out of his grip. Your limbs flail at your sides, and you crane your neck so far back, your muscles start to strain. He doesn't let go, pressing himself closer, one of his hands coming up to grip your hair. Your nails dig into his cotton shirt, as you push against his chest to no avail. 

- No - you whisper, your rejection falling flat against his unaffected stare - I'd never...

- See, but that's the best part - his sudden enthusiasm scares you deeper, than any passive stare ever could. - Unlike Sam...

You backpedal into the tree again, as he leans closer still. His cold breath mixes with your short, panicked ones, and your stomach churns, when he tilts his head in curiosity, as if he's experiencing this intimacy for the first time. And in a way, you suppose he is. Then, his eyes meet yours, gray captivates you, and you hold your breath on instinct.

- You don't have to say yes to me. 

You're not even allowed the decency of taking a gasp of air, when his lips press into yours. It feels beyond weird. He's unnaturally cold, and there is a sort of unpracticed sloppiness in the way he fights for your mouth to fit against each other. Reminding you of your first, inexperienced romances, he smashes your faces together until you feel both sets of your teeth through the flesh. Then, he pulls back just a smidgen, taking in your terrified face. Something flashes through his expression, and he sighs, leaning back towards you, stopping just short of your left ear. 

- Kiss me like you mean it, or I'll make Dean eat his intestines. 

He looks at you, just once, letting you know this is not a game. Your heart stops. 

Dean's unconscious body starts to move by the tree, and never in your life have you felt so helpless. So, when Lucifer unavoidably leans back down, you give him all you've got. Your body arches, hands come up to his hair, and you will yourself not to feel grossed out by the feeling of his cold tongue slipping past your teeth. It's a fight for survival, you remind yourself, as his hands move to your back, rubbing your skin like a horny teenager in a bathroom stall. The short supply of air you've been granted runs out quickly, and as pressure builds in your lungs, you start to push against the Archangel's chest. He doesn't register what you're doing, not at first, confusing your sudden unwillingness as some sort of late attempt at rebellion. That is, until you bang your fist against his shoulder, letting out a muffled scream. 

Finally, he detaches himself, hair even more disheveled than before. You take a heaving gasp of air, as you brace yourself against the tree, your vision swimming ever so slightly. Lucifer watches you, his body hunched over, as if he's observing some middle schooler's science project. There are new tears in your eyes, just waiting to fall. Your hair is disheveled and your lips are puffy from his unpracticed assaults. His right hand comes up to his face, and he bites on his index finger in thought. 

- You really are human - he muses to himself, and with every fiber of your being, you try to explode his head with your brain - That's no fun, you'll break so easily...

- Fuck you - your words make his eyebrows raise, and he straightens out with a flourish.

- Fuck you - he repeats, mocking your tone - Yeah, I probably will - you watch, disgusted, as he sends a wink towards Sam.

Then, he's back to his shovel, back to his mass grave, where he completes the ritual. 

You can't move, not really, even when Sam tugs on your shoulder. Your head runs empty, realization of your current predicament far from registered in your brain. You stay frozen in your spot, when Castiel arrives, taking the three of you back to Bobby's house. Only, when the Angel's hand pushes against your rib cage, only when you feel Enochian symbols burn into your bones, do you lift your gaze. Apologetic doesn't really cover the way Castiel looks at you, and the pity painted on his face drags you down more than any Devil could.  

Sam is the only one to truly understand, when you fall to the floor, shock, anger and dread spilling out of you like a broken faucet. He's the only one that truly knows how it feels to have your bodily autonomy stripped away by the literal Devil. How it feels to have a threat of such magnitude hanging over you, every day. Which is why, he's the one to lift you in his arms, and get you to the guest room, lead away by the concerned glances of the rest of the men. He's the one to make you tea, bring you fresh clothes. He opens the window when the smell of dinner makes you retch. And finally, he's the one to explain, what really happened back on that hill to the rest of the group.

From your fetal position on the bed you can hear Dean curse, throw something somewhere. All the ways he knows, how to show he cares. Despite everything, it makes you smile, face pressed to the pillow that smells like cigarette smoke and beer. You're doomed. There's nothing you can do against God's plan, and you can feel that thought take root in you like an invasive species ready to destroy every crop in it's path. Still, despite it all, a sense of security falls upon you like a decieving blanket. 

- What sort of a messed up game is this? - Dean screams somewhere in the house, you assume it's at Cass, the only one even remotely aware of your destiny. 

The idea, that God made you specifically to be Satan's personal therapist sounds far fetched at best, but given how the last couple of months have been going, you're more inclined to believe in the absolutely worst scenarios. You don't even need to hear Castiel's response. The sound of glass breaking is telling enough. Then, a door slamms somewhere, and the house falls into heavy silence.

You can't think. Can't allow yourself to fall apart more than you've had already. So, you focus on the sound of your own breathing, interlinked with your heartbeat. Steady, alive. Your eyelids are heavy, eyes burn with drying tears, so you close them and sigh. Exhaustion pinns you in place, sinking you into the blankets. Darkness welcomes you like a long lost friend.

Your boys will find a way, they always do. And Lucifer can't find you, not with the wards Castiel has put on you. You'll have to thank him i the morning, you think, and it's the last conscious thought you have, before slipping into sleep, shivering like an abandoned child. 

[bonbon-acide]

KLANCE MOMENTS THAT STILL LIVES INSIDE MY HEAD AFTER 8YEARS BUT WITH THE EYES OF A 20YO

1. We are a good team

Remember how we were all so moved up by that one scene where they just stare at each other and say something meaningful AFTER A FIGHT (where Lance was severely injured). We were all freaking out but it was totally normal that Keith would be emotional by the fact that one of his teammate was okay, we were just freaking out bc the scene was in purple bc the spaceship was infested by the galra which means everything was totally not trying to say anything else, it was just coherent :,)

2. Lance and Keiths drones scene

We were so thirsty for anything that even just a little fight (which was totally a daily occurance) would be turned into something else. Like yeah they were bumping into each other but people were freaking out by saying they basically accidently kissed like what????

3. The elevator scene

Okay imma be honest this scene is quite suggestive especially when your primarly audience are teenage girls that are into shipping boys. But now that i look at it with my adult eyes i just cant imagine how incomfortable that must been to be back to back topless with someone you can't stand. Like the friction of the skin it itches my brain. Also the shot of Keith's foot? Was it really necessary

4. Keith? My man

Again what were we thinking??? They just bonded over a little something ofc Lance was happy that Keith was being nice with him bc he thinks that he hate him (which he don't). I dont even know what to say but dear god that scene was so important to klance shippers. Anyway we were thirsty god

5.Scene where Lance goes to Keith to talk to him about not feeling like he belongs in the crew after Allura piloted the blue lion

Basically just a normal conversation. They've been through so much together and Keith is their designated leader, so ofc hes going to talk to Keith about his place in the team and ofc Keith is going to reassure him that his place is with them bc he actually cares about him since they need to bond to form Voltron??? But yeah this scene is cute and it still makes me go aaawww

6.Blaytz (original paladin of the blue lion) being implied that he might be queer

Okay Ive only remembered this while rewatching the show but i remember everyone went crazy bc if the original blue paladin was queer (implied during one scene that didnt even last 3sec) that means Lance was queer as well. Like what were we thinking??? Were we out of our minds (yes definitly and im still ashamed) (but shoutout to Blaytz for being the best original paladin nothinh can makes me hates him)

7. The sunset scene

OKAY LISTEN IDC WHAT YOU SAYS IDC ABOUT ANYONE'S OPINION BUT THIS SCENE HAS ME BAWLING

AS A 20YO WATCHING THE SHOW NOW, THIS EXACT SCENE CONVINCED ME OF KEITH'S FEELING FOR LANCE. IDC ABOUT ANY OTHER "SUGGESTED KLANCE" SCENE BEFORE THIS ONE, THIS SCENE IS THE ONLY OFFICIAL KLANCE SCENE AND IDC IF ANYONE SAYS THAT KEITH SAID THAT BC THEYRE JUST FRIENDS.

AS A GAY MAN WHO HAD AN HOMOEROTIC SITUATIONSHIP WITH ANOTHER GUY BEFORE, I CAN TELL YOU THAT YOU ONLY SAY THIS KIND OF STUFD TO THE GUY YOU LIKE BC YOURE TOO AFRAID TO TELL YOUR FEELINGS TO YOUR FRIEND IN FEAR OF REJECTION AND BECAUSE YOUVE JUST LEARNED HES GOING ON A DATE WITH AN AMAZING GIRL AND YOU ONOW THEYLL BE HAPPY TOGETHER WHILE YOU JUST WATCH WONDRRING WHY YOU NEVER SAID ANYTHING

(this scene hits too much home than it should be and i think i only speaks with my feelings for this one)

ANYWAY

As a 20yo person with 8years of hindsight I'll say that Keith definitly had feelings for Lance, the sunset scene was placed on a perfect time while this dialogue could have been said anywhere else in the season or even the show, and Ive just recently refinished the entire show and Keith never said something so emotional to someone except Shiro (but he considers him as a brother and he was about to kill him so i understand the whole emotional dialogue).

As for Lance, I doubt he has feelings for Keith canonically but hey that doesn't mean we can't imagine things.

Looking back now, I realize how fucked up some of us were for this ship and we probably bored everyone of the cast with this freaking ship. Honestly Voltron is such a good show with good animation and well written characters and we shouldnt have been so angry that a silly little ship wasnt endgame while they gave us such beautiful content for two years(except the end of s8, sleep with one eye open).

Be fucking grateful you dipshits. We werent queerbaited, we had others queer reprensation throughout the show (alien lesbians my beloved) and Voltron isnt a romance show

But still kind of sad that Klance isnt canon but thats my 12yo talking i guess

[mochi-kitty]

Being an impulse fan is like walking the edge of a knife sometimes

Rant about cartoon impulse that morphs into complaints about the young justice show itself.

Please scroll I just needed to complain a little

cuz on one hand that’s my boy. My complicated driven and violent creature who sometimes doesn’t understand that danger is realTM… and to see him animated is a dream but the only place he’s really animated is in a half anime half cartoon low effort art style series that sorta got him right in the season they introduced him in but then when the show got rebooted they turned his cringe dial allllll the way up and it’s kind of painful to rewatch because they didn’t hold onto a single bit of his story in the reboot after season 2 and if you thought they hated writing him in the newer comics well they also hate to do it in animation (as said previously they just never know what to do with the flashes hence why Wally barely appeared in Justice league unlimited). Season 2 impulse was okay, I was happy with what I got. Season 3 kid flash was unbearable. Season 4 kid flash was better but not as good as season 2 and they brushed over his involvement like nothing.

It just sucks so much because an impulse series is never going to happen. The TV Industry is too far into other genres like Harley Quinn and kiteman to even attempt spending money on adapting the impulse comics even if it would find a small audience, the fandom is just too divided between the multiple interpretations that were created for Bart Allen over the years. From aging him down when he shouldn’t have been to making him more adult and then never using him or killing him off to make him young again.

And it SUCKS so much because was keeping his comic personality in the young Justice show too much to ask for? Could the writers really not find any use for him past season 2? Could they not be bothered to read up on his lore? Not even from the wiki?

I keep thinking of what it would be like if the show directors had just a little more wiggle room to work with. Like if they didn’t HAVE to keep a central plot involving 30 different characters to wrap up a 24 episode season with a big battle at the end only to remember in hindsight that they A. forgot some characters still had holes in their plots and B. no one got character development that was substantial enough to matter. We had up to nearly a decade between season 2 and season 3 and it was a miracle in itself that it even got this chance in the first place. Even I admit I was too excited to care at the time but now it’s kind of painful to find all the faults in it when it’s been left again on the back burner of a greedy studio. From the time skips to introducing SO MANY new characters all in one season,,, the show practically dug itself in a hole and I will die on this hill. I understand the time constraints, the money issues, the audience reacting to a new season years after the last one when we’ve turned the internet into a harsher judgement zone. They wanted to include every character DC ever created, if only to please that one DC fan who even knew about Halo or dolphins existence and then add in real world issues on top of that to make it relatable.

IMO they bit off more then they could chew. Despite what redditers will tell you, the time skips were a cheap way to avoid certain parts of the characters development and they hindered more then they helped. Not only did we not get to grow with our original team of hero’s, we had to accept that we wouldn’t get to see 7 years of their growth (not even in flashbacks). And it just kept happening in a lesser volume with each season. Add on top of that we had the 20 new people they’d introduce who’d get the same no development treatment. Season 4, of course, tried to course correct and made little arcs for the original characters to get developed. Almost 9 years within the story later and with one of the original dead for no reason.

I just keep wondering if they hadn’t done any of that, what it would be like. Even the big rolling up hill plot of 24 episodes that crests 14 minutes into the last 20 minute episode with the remaining 6 minutes being the down time. If we had it more like the original Justice league cartoon with part 1-2 episodes focusing on one major plot or issue with all or most team members showing up. Or if we had kept it like season 1 with the monster of the week style of episodes (see supernatural season 1 to know monster of the week better) would we have gotten better character development? Would it have paced out the big bad reveal at the end more efficiently? Would it have forced the writers to actually read up on the characters they were adapting past their surface level personality? We’ll never know.

I can’t even hate the young justice plot that much either because it’s not terrible, it just the way they play dolls with the characters that hurts because I want to love it. My fav has been animated and I can see them move past their still comic pages and hear them actually talk on screen, that alone should be enough but it’s not.

Not when I can’t rewatch any of it without the high chance of getting second hand embarrassment if I don’t pay attention to when I have to skip ahead. An issue that wouldn’t even be a thing if the writers had JUST ORGANIZED THEMSELVES A LITTLE BETTER AND READ THE DAMN CHARACTERS COMICS A LITTLE.

I can’t even talk about the outfits or art style or the battle animations or the relationships or the specific character based plot holes or the change of priority the reboot brought or idk maybe Wally’s death??

[andreal831]

in TO season 1 during Rebekah's "trial", she has this line to Klaus about how Mikael ruined her too and it always sat with me because it pushes back on this notion Klaus (and the fandom) has that he was the only kid being abused in the house. we even see this in one of the flashbacks where Mikael hits Rebekah when she has the sword (i always loved that it was Rebekah who actually took up arms to defend her brother). it even ties to how even Freya, the sister raised by someone else also grew up in an abusive household.

unrelated but back in TVD s3 when they are looking at the viking cave paintings about the Originals, it gives the eldest child's name as Aaron which i just find amusing in hindsight (my headcanon is that Ric spilled bourbon on the papers)

i've been rewatching Lucifer recently (talk about a show that had a really shitty ending that also involved a guy abandoning his daughter for his own character development) and i think Linda Martin and Cami would be excellent friends. someone should write that crossover where they bond over being therapists to dudes with massive daddy issues, sexy accents, and immortality.

I've talked about this so much! Just because Klaus is the only one who talks about the abuse, it is very unlikely that he was the only one who suffered under Mikael's hand. This is emphasized considering the reason Mikael gives for abusing Klaus is because he was trying to make him a warrior. So it would make sense that he treated all of his children like that. We even see how aggressive his training is with Davina. Like you point out, Mikael did not hesitate to swing at Rebekah.

To me, the reason it's not talked about is because the show centers around Klaus. Everything, including flashbacks, are told through a Klaus centric POV. We don't get any flashbacks that don't center around him. Even Rebekah and Elijah's flashbacks are only shown to center Klaus. We don't see Elijah turn Tristan or Elijah creating the Strix, because it doesn't center Klaus. Kol was gone for decades meeting with witches, but we don't get any of these flashbacks because Klaus has nothing to do with it.

Not only are the flashbacks used to center Klaus, but how the characters talk. In TVD, Elijah states that Klaus loved Tatia as much as he did, centering his Klaus even in his love for Tatia. This is also something we don't really see. Klaus essentially SA'd Tatia and that is the only interaction we see. Very far from love.

All of this just shows that the language and POV of the show is to center Klaus. Just because we didn't see the abuse the rest of the siblings suffered, doesn't mean it didn't exist. Klaus was either just unaware or felt his abuse was worse so he only spoke about that. In reality, it's not mentioned because it would undercut the entire justification to Klaus' behavior. He didn't actually have it worse, but he still behaves worse.

Even if they didn't directly experience abuse, which I find unlikely, they still lived in an abusive household which has great impacts on development.

I never noticed the change of the name but I love that headcanon. Sometimes we just have to ignore the lack of effort the writers put into planning.

Lucifer is such a good combination of Klaus and Elijah. And I completely agree, Linda and Cami would be such great friends. Cami really needed some non-supernatural friends. I know one of my mutuals does Lucifer/Elijah cross overs but I don't think there is anything with Cami and Linda yet! It would be so good.

Thanks for opening up this discussion!

[katherynefromphilly]

Are you still doing the DVD commentary ask thing? This is one of my favorite scenes from the story, I've always loved how it acknowledged that Arthur really loved Gwen but there was always something between Arthur and Merlin. But I wanted to hear what you were thinking when you wrote it.

Scene:

“As I said, a battle wound,” Arthur told him.  “It needs time to heal.  Though even when it does, I’m certain I’ll still awaken some mornings expecting Sir Leon to burst into the room with word of an attack. Or one of my Counsel to be waiting for an audience.  Or for Guinevere to be here in…”

Merlin flinched before he could catch himself.

Arthur noticed.  He began to speak, then hesitated, uncertain.

“You expect Gwen to be here instead of me,” Merlin said, so that Arthur knew he still had a friend to confide in about such things, no matter what the two of them had become to each other.

“Yes,” Arthur said softly.

“Of course you do,” Merlin assured him, ignoring how strange he felt to speak of this while Arthur was stretched out half naked at his side in the royal bed.  “Gwen was your wife, sire.  Your queen.  I’d-“  He swallowed, forced a smile.  “I’d never think of trying to take her place.  I know I never could.”

Arthur smiled at him, a small thing in the dim daylight that still set a sparkle to his blue eyes. “No, you couldn’t,” he said.  “Just as Guinevere never could take yours.”

“As… your servant?”

“No, Merlin,” he drawled out, putting overtones of ‘idiot’ into his name.  “Not as my servant.”

“Well what, then?”

Arthur pushed himself up to an elbow, his blond hair mussed and his cheeks pink with the heat of their bed.  “I did love Guinevere.  As much as I knew how at the time.  But you…”

“Me… what?”

Arthur touched Merlin’s face, fingertips sliding down his cheek before tracing his lips.  First the top, and then the bottom, and then the top again, all the while watching his own fingers with a wistful smile.  “I remember staring at your mouth.  From that first day we met.   I remember telling myself it was because you had the pretty lips of a girl.”

“I do not have the pretty lips of a girl-”

“You have seen your lips, haven’t you.”

“You’re one to talk.  Your mouth is-“

Arthur silenced him with a kiss, right where his fingers had been, before resuming his soft touches.  “Do you remember what you said our first night together?”

It was difficult to remember anything at all with Arthur touching him as if he were something precious and rare, whispering as if sharing a secret.  “I… No?”

“You said that in hindsight, it was obvious how you felt about me.  You just didn’t recognize it for what it was at the time.”

“You mean… you…”

“Yes.”

“Even then?”

“Even then,” Arthur said.  “So you see, right from the very start, before any of it, before all of it, your place was here.  In my life.  In my heart.  In my bed.   I’ll not hear of you doubting that.  Not even for a moment.  Do you understand?”

I’d be happy to talk about this scene. :)

Because I like to write in canon, I needed to keep Arthur’s love for Gwen in tact. In Season 5, Gwen’s character representation is all over the place (don’t get me started on the whole Evil Gwen thing), but in Diamond of the Day especially, which I rewatched A LOT, Gwen was smart, brave, and Arthur clearly loved her and respected her with all of his heart.

Merlin’s friendship with Gwen was really downplayed in Season 5, which sucked, but fundamentally she cared for Merlin, and he did for her as well. I also wanted to respect that in my story, especially because it added a nice layer of internal conflict and guilt for Merlin at taking her place.

So in this scene, we have Merlin and Arthur laying naked together in Arthur’s actual bed from Camelot, after they’ve just had sex the first time. As I wrote them finally talking to each other about how they felt, I could feel Gwen’s presence with them.

I wrote the little exchange between the two of them to give Gwen her place as friend and wife and queen to Arthur, and to also settle Merlin’s insecurities about who he is in Arthur’s life. I also wanted to show that Arthur has been doing some reflecting on his life back in Camelot (through his new understanding of his own sexuality), and acknowledge that he actually was attracted to Merlin all that time, only didn’t realize it, just as Merlin hadn’t either.

There are a lot of stories out there with a lot of different takes on Arthur and Gwen. I’ve read a bunch of them, but of them all, the one that I think influenced me the most — and influenced the different way I see Arthur loving Gwen and Arthur loving Merlin — is probably “Lights Go Out, Here I Go Again” by halffizzbin. Just take a look at this beautiful passage from that story:

“Arthur loved Gwen in his other life, of course, with as much of himself as he possibly could—and that was enough, at the time. He misses her, a gentle ache in his heart that eases a little when he thinks about the long life he’s told that she lived when he was gone, ruling well in his absence and surrounded by loyal friends. He’ll love Gwen forever, probably, but.

Merlin is something else. Merlin has always been more than forever (something they’ve already proven by sitting across from each other eating curry right now). Merlin is sunlight and flame and clear, rushing water, too much for Arthur to control and never enough to quench him, and maybe it took Arthur dying for him to realize it but oh, he wants. He wants things he never realized he could have, before, when his life was all planned out for him and his servant still seemed like this wild, unknowable thing even after all those years, beloved and strange and always slipping out of Arthur’s grasp.”

DAMN I love that last bit in purple. If you want a good read, hit the link up above. It’s short and sweet and rated Explicit. Still one of my all time faves.

[fedorah-the-explorah]

I saw a take that said the family dynamics between team red (especially shadowsan + carm) are somewhat exaggerated by fandom and there's not actually a lot in canon that supports a lot of popular head canons or attributed roles. And it's like, first of all, please keep your hurtful truths to yourself. Second of all, I'm probably going to need a read more.

Despite myself, I really cannot disagree with the points made by this particular poster. It's a sound argument. Carmen Sandiego (2019) is an adventure series. It's fast paced, action packed, and focused a decent amount on edutainment. This is understandable, this is after all, the point of the franchise as a whole. The characters have enough sustenance that they are likeable, though they are most noticeably flat.

I'd argue that Shadowsan and Devineaux are the most dynamic characters, but even then the handling of their respective character arcs leaves something to be desired. Much like the rest of the series, their storylines feel rushed and added in as a second thought. I get the impression that the show was envisioned simply as an adventure of the week type of thing. They had a premise and a gimmick and they wanted to run with it. This is fine. But then came the overarching story lines and... Well. There were no master pieces.

We'll take season one as an example. The first two episodes were pretty solid. They had a coherent and well executed story line supported by characters with personality and potential for growth and depth. The pilot episode of a series serves to set up character arcs and overarching themes without having to go too into depth because of the fact that it's simply the beginning. The first two episodes of this series fulfilled their purpose, and they were executed well. I will even be generous to the rest of the season's story line and say that there did seem to be at least the minimal amount of foreshadowing and groundwork laid for the twist at the end of the season.

The problem then comes into play with the remaining episodes. From episodes three to eight, the story line is episodic and self-contained. There's a formula and it works well without there necessarily being a greater need for depth. I was perfectly invested simply with the caper by caper formula. It was never thought-provoking for me nor did it need to be. It was just a bit of fun. And then came the final episode and it was... interesting! I was pleasantly surprised by the sudden inclusion of an overarching story line, if not scratching my head a little.

Shadowsan's reveal made a decent amount of sense in hindsight, but didn't come across as particularly expertly crafted. It was a sudden shift to the status quo with little build up, and it felt vaguely out of place. It's an episode that could have been executed better if the narrative had started to shift earlier in the season or if there were more episodes between "The Chasing Paper Caper" and "The French Connection Caper." Instead it's everything all at once and I found myself thinking, "Oh! Okay! So we're doing this now."

Upon rewatching, there is some build up that can be noticed and recontextualizes, but it's not much. Even knowing how the season concludes, episodes 3-8 still feel episodic and disconnected from any greater story line. You've got some angst about Carmen's origin, and Shadowsan's insistence about sending Tigress for a second time reframes itself as a calculated decision rather than misjudgment but that's about it. They have the bare essentials of story telling, but they're not skillfully crafted. And that's... fine! This is children's TV. I don't actually hold it to the same standard as adult television, and I do think it's a pretty decent show for what it is.

My point then that I want to address is this idea of bare essential story telling. Carmen Sandiego doesn't lack the elements needed to tell a good story. They're there, just not expertly executed. The post that inspired this spiel mentioned that Team Red reads more as friendly coworkers. I don't fully agree with this, but I see their point. I will also say that I don't think this was what the writers had in mind. I do believe they were meant to be read as Found Family, in fact, it is more or less explicitly stated in "The African Ice Caper." It's just that, like every other aspect of the show, it's handled in a way that gives hints of further depth while not fully conceptualizing the theme.

This is not a smear campaign against the series. No, this is very much a product of passion. It's an entertaining show with beautiful animation and captivating fight sequences. I was hooked from the first episode and I continued to be so through the end of the series. I'd say one of the greatest draws of this show lies in its weakness. We're only given impressions of characters' further depth and personality. With the obvious exception of Carmen, we're only given glimpses of characters'back stories. In regards to over arching story lines, we're only given bare bone elements. This isn't great from a critical standpoint, but it does open the door to a large array of fan interpretation and transformative fanworks.

Because of the flaws in canon, fans are not bound by strict limitations. They are free to come up with their own unique interpretations of characters, they can flesh out back stories however they see fit, and otherwise flimsy storylines lend themselves to deeper fan-driven exploration.

Frequently on Tumblr, you'll see posts that disparage fanon for the way that it tends to flanderize and flatten characters. And yeah! This is bad! Unsurprisingly, flattening complex stories into easily recognizable tropes and clichés is actually the devil! A lot of times in fandom, you see this sort of corporate brain rot that simplifies stories into familiar and easily consumable pieces of "media" ("Consuming media," my beloathed)

Fanon gets a bad rep. Is it deserved? Mm. A good majority of the time, maybe. But where is the discussion for fanon in the other direction? What about when fanon expands a work of fiction? When it assigns more complexity than canonically given? There's something innately human about connecting with a piece of fiction and wanting to do more. We don't so easily let go of things, you know? When you love a piece of art that's otherwise disappointing, you have this desire to see it do better. To meet its potential. I think that's where fanon in the opposite direction stems from.

I think the fandom surrounding Carmen Sandiego (2019) is a decent example of this. The characterization is admittedly lacking, but that's done nothing to stop fanartists from coming up with their own rich interpretations of characters and their relations to others.

Carmen and Julia are two characters that share a decent amount of screen time, but their relationship otherwise suffers from the amount of time stretching between interactions. This has done nothing to deter fans. It seems I can't throw a stone in this fandom without hitting beautiful pieces of fanart depicting the two, or multi-chapter fics exploring the two's dynamics, or impassioned ramblings about them.

The same thing can be said about Graham and Carmen. They share a decent amount of screen time and their interactions are compelling, but they're too far and in between. What's there is not fully developed. Again, bringing it back to the idea of bare essential story telling. They have what they need to hint at the intrigue of both these dynamics, but they're not satisfactorily executed and both relationships suffer as a result. Their relationships, and indeed, the show as a whole, kind of feels like a completed puzzle with various missing pieces.

I chose Julethief and Redcrackle to use as examples, but similar things can be said of every other relationship in this show. Player and Carmen have moments that hint at a dynamic friendship built on unwavering trust and care, but it's only in a few select scenes, (though, the scenes that do do this are phenomenal and make me want to cry-- and I'm so sorry shippers-- but Player and Carmen have a monopoly on the hard hitting emotionally impactful moments in this show. I don't make the rules, I'm sorry.) and the majority of their interactions are reserved for getting down to business.

However, because of the glimpses we do see, you see countless fics detailing their friendship and building on to what we see in canon by going behind the scenes. I myself have extensive head canons about these two and honestly, what I've written and published is only the tip of the iceberg. Player is a bit of a tricky character to get a grasp on because of his limited role in canon, but what we do see opens up all sort of interpretation. I have such a fun time writing him because I can use what I see in canon to shape my own ideas about how he would act in various scenarios. My version of Player is far more dynamic than what we see in canon, but it's only like that because I love the canon character so much. I want him to do more, I want him to be more. My creativity is piqued with this character.

Moving on, let's focus on Shdowsan and Carmen, my other beloved dynamic. I have so many ideas about these two's relationship, and I especially enjoy delving into the dynamic between him and Black Sheep. They suffer the same problems as prior discussed. The scenes building on their relationship are sparse, but they are there. Take for several examples:

Shadowsan interacting with little Black Sheep in the "Daisho Caper," Shadowsan's stated remorse at not being able to tell Carmen about her own family, Shadowsan nursing her back to health after "The Stockholm Syndrome Caper," his stated motive for hiding the truth of her lineage from her, Shadowsan telling her he'd be with her till the end of the line, Shadowsan reminiscing about little Black Sheep when he visits the destroyed VILE Island, Shadowsan's dedication to finding Carmen's mother for her, Shadowsan telling her she can finally rest, and, and, and, and.

There is certainly a reason that fans have interpreted he and Carmen as being father and daughter, and I am in no way surprised by the beautiful and extensive explorations that certain fans have taken into these two's shared history (@frozenwolftemplar my beloved)

After all, you really do have to wonder about the hardened assassin who couldn't bring himself to harm a child or her father. Could there have been more done on the show writers part to really cement their relationship as adoptive father and daughter? Yes, absolutely. Does the development of their relationship leave something to be desired? Yes, absolutely. Do the existing interactions inspire me to delve further and call up melancholy memories of me and my own father, thus making me want to extensively detail their shared history before expanding on their present relationship so that I can process my own feelings about my own father? Yes, absolutely. Is this type of connection a deeply valuable faucet of story telling and kind of the whole point of creating art to begin with? I think so!

Carmen Sandiego doesn't necessarily set things up just to drop them so much as it strives to create compelling story lines and interesting characters before ultimately failing to delve deep enough or dedicate enough time for these things to fully come into their own. They're there and they exist, but it's like... Drinking water with oranges in it. I can taste the oranges, but damnit, now I want orange juice.

It utilizes story telling techniques, but not enough so that the show fully benefits from them. There's an impression of character dynamics, back stories, and personality but they're not fully recognized.

However, it is because of these flaws that fans can take the source material and go absolutely bonkers with it. By engaging with the story and characters, you really get the chance to flex your creative muscle. It's like a sandbox. The sand is there, the box is there, and the tools are there, but what you make is up to you. I've seen some deeply moving pieces of writing come out of this fandom, and it's insane to me how some authors can do so much with so little. In engaging with fanworks for this show, I've drawn connections to my own life and my own relationships. There are lines of writing that have been engraved into my brain. I've met wonderfully creative people and I'm glad to be an active member of the community.

No, the show itself is no amazing piece of story telling. It's fun and it's entertaining, but it doesn't fully realize everything that it set out to do. It does, however, open the door to community as well as inspiring creativity and transformity, and that means the world to me.

[jade-kyo]

RvB 20th rewatch: s12

Aaaagahhahhsjshaj the mid point to the end…. Fucking agony

I never noticed the cabose written in bullet holes on the wall. Nice reference.

“I AM FUCKING AWESOME” that single moment made me fall in love with Felix…. Yeah that didn’t last

“Yay I have friends!” Me too Caboose

“You’re oddballs that don’t exactly fit in” I feel like the Chorus trilogy is just a love letter to what these characters represent to… well people like me who found comfort in a group of loser assholes finding strength and connection in each other

There is a warthog that is absolutely freaking out in the background AGDKHAKSHS

AYO Ray and Michael cameo!!!

SURPRISE MOTHERFUCKER

Grif’s mental breakdown

Hmmmm thinking about Locus and Felix not being able to return to normal life after the war…

AAAAAHHHH THEIR STRENGTH IS THEIR IDIOCY

I do feel that sometimes they overuse animation in this season… I think animation should be reserved strictly for the most necessary and funniest of bits and bad ass action scenes

Caboose gets to be the one with a good bad idea!!!!

WHY SNOWMAN

DR GRAY!!!!!! MY BELOVED

It really was a big brain move to make the feds actually not evil at all and kinda just as pathetic as the rebels

HOLY SHIT HES BILINGUAL PLEASE DONT KILL ME

“You give meaning to meaningless objects and meaningless people and then risk your lives to protect them, where’s the sense in that” I’m telling you this arc is a love letter to what this show means

Gray is unhinged- she fits right in!

Bro just got incinerated

FELIX YOU RAT BASTARD

I felt so betrayed- in hindsight I really should’ve seen it coming but I thought Felix was funny

Yo I never actually caught that Locus hands the grenade to Carolina- for some reason I always thought she just had a grenade on her

CAROLINA BABYGIRL!!!!!!!

YOU FUCK!!!!! (Just so we’re clear that was an absolutely necessary animated bit 👍🏼)

AAAAHHHH EPSILON AND CAROLINA MY BELOVED AHSKHAKSHSKHSKSH

THEYRE SO SILLY

DELTA!!!!!!

THETA!!!!!

I love the fragments ajkdhakshksh

“Just you and me sis” I AM SO NORAML ALANSKLA IA AMANA SNORNSMNSK JAKAHSNLAJANKSJSKSHWKBSKSNKSHWKSHMSK

PSYCHOANALYSIS FOR EVERYONE!!!!!

Love that Caboose is the only one who didn’t do something to the ship

I AM AN EMOTIONAL TIME BOMB Jesus Christ

“I believe he said he was paid in babies”

Lopez a real one for being the only one to remember Doc

Love the conversation between grimmons back at the crash site. nuance about Simmons and leadership or something… if you catch what I mean… Restoration (what who said that)

“MY LIFE JUST FLASHED BEFORE MY EYES!! IT WAS AWESOME!!!” Quoted line

AAAAAHHHHHHH TUCKER AND WASH!!!!!!!!

Dr. Gray my beloved

TUCKER CABOOSE MOMENT!!!

Wash was pretty dumb to just accept Freckles without question but also I never questioned it either so I can’t exactly judge

CABOOSE MY BELOVED AHAJSJAKDHKSJSKDN

SO SHUT UP AND GET OVER IT!!! Caboose finally gets to be the one to tell someone to shut up!!!!!

“Just say you’re sorry” agskahkshskjsksAJGDKAHSKHDKSGSKVDKDJKSN THEY CARE ABOUT EACH OTHER SO MUCH

CHURCH TUCKER MY BELOVED!!!!!

“Seriously? That’s it, no ‘I’m sorry’ nothing?” Carolina I feel you but also if these guys weren’t completely emotionally constipated at all times I probably wouldn’t love them as much

Also Tucker and Church’s little moment of poking fun at Carolina is so cute omg

Trocadero you are truly something to behold

TUCKER YOU ARE THE BEST OF THEM!!!!!!!

Imagine if Tucker and Church had also gotten caught in Locus and Felix’s teleporter… wouldn’t that have sucked please god I already have a big fic I’m planning I don’t need another

COLONEL SARGE

Why is Carolina so damn BIG next the chairman in that picture ajhdkahsj

P.S. suck our balls

Being completely honest I do think s12 is a little bit of the weak link in the chorus trilogy. It’s not bad but I just find more enjoyment in s11 and s13 but it is possibly Tucker at his best GOD I love him… anyway, pain 🙂

[nicolos]

been rewatching clips from S2 and thinking about silverflints big fallout which basically starts when flint lies to silvers face and ends w silver lying to flints face

and I think it's so interesting that it's resolved only in 303 when silver says fuck you, im smarter than you think and also we should be friends . because in hindsight I don't think it's we should be friends that gets to flint.

like look. silvers whole thing is using what he knows about people and watching them to get his way. flints is being convincing through power of will and belief. when flint tells silver the gold is still valuable, after silvers watched him convince people things with lies for a season and a half AND been his partner in crime for half a season, he's like cool cool cool, I thought we had a thing but guess not :) this is obviously made worse when Max calls him one of flints men. he's not one of the crew, max, he's his evil little buddy! he doesn't get taken in by flints little ideas and speeches?

ofc right after flint does this again twice in the season: once when he asks him where the fuck else he has people who care what he says (even though it was also true) and again when he was all "hello ~mr quartermaster"

and I think combined w the loss of control and the fact that flints "where would you even go" has become more evident than ever w the leg, silver *has* to get his own back. sure, the truth about the urca gold would out as soon as they got back to Nassau, so he does need to seize control of the narrative, and pretending it was the mens' idea (men whom he chose!) is saving his own skin, but this is the actual moment of fracture for flint. not - i think - because he thinks silver is lying, but because if this is true, silver isn't who he thinks

from his pov silver is useful (and funny and hot) because of his observational skills and ability to see the truth of men. one of the wildest things he does early in the season is ask silver what he thinks of him! and immediately gets upset when silver can identify his problem! SO he's been having a fun and flirty time right until he wasn't (for other plot reasons). i don't think he can fathom that silver knows he's being lied to, because he doesn't think that he's lied; flints whole thing is believing himself very much, to whatever end. but if silver couldn't tell that those guys were (1) unsuitable for their task and also (2) lying to him about the gold being gone, then silver isn't really as good as he thought. and if he can be taken in by one of the crew - that means his being able to read flint and match him isnt because he's partner material, it's just guessing and hoping. he is - after all - just one of flints men!

it's not about usefulness because obviously silver is doing the quartermastering fine, and it's not Quite about the loss of the gold, the whiplash between 210 and 301 - it's because from that pov silvers silly little asides look like trying to be something that he's not. (also because of the grief and rage and depression that he's not interested in looking at, but *is* willing to talk about like a month later after their shark-based heart to heart)

silvers upset because flint is underestimating him is obviously layered, but it's the evenness lost that he seems so deeply aware of. "he had me there, Billy" "i see him! (and he doesn't even acknowledge it!)" theres fear and paranoia and wanting to do his job right, but he is, i think, aware of the reason for this underestimation, and knows and hates when flint is playing him because flint thinks he CAN. the solution to both can only be the awareness that yes, we can deceive each other, no, no one else in our immediate vicinity can, and yes, this is best when we're working together

i think after 303 is also the last time they have any serious lies between them - which is also why the 410 flashbacks bother flint so much, because silver tries to tell him an easy story and a lot of silvers lies are about being small and helpless (in contrast to flints self-beliefs about being big and powerful), and also why nothing flint says after silver finds out madis alive could convince him to do anything but take the most direct way out - because it sounds a lot like "the gold is still a priority"

[hydrasaura]

I've seen a lot of new Voltron discourse pop up again (and now I know why) and I was just thinking that I am truly impressed with how I managed to isolate Hira from this show for so long, as to not constantly remember about the way my other faves ended up in the last seasons.

This show left such a stain of disappointment that I never even re-watched it again, despite having it saved somewhere. The only episode I would occasionally gloss over was the Hira one just to take screenshots of her, and every time I watch it I am more and more enraged by the disgusting way in which they treated Allura. I wrote this in a yt comment recently, but imagine you wake up from a coma to find out you and your uncle figure are the only people of your race left and then find out that one guy on your team is half the race that destroyed your own people. I remember so many fans hating Allura and treating her as some racist for having mixed feelings abt Keith and I found that so damn insane. But THEN the SHOW decides to punish her itself by having her meet other Alteans for the first time since she woken up, just for them to be evil. I also remember how fans were calling Allura naive for blissfully trusting everything Hira spoke instead of trusting Keith, her own teammate. And sure, I get that they were trying to show that you shouldn't judge anyone by their race, not all Galrans are bad and there are evil Alteans too but this allegory doesn't work in the context were everything in Allura's life was literally taken away by Galrans. It kinda felt like telling a black person who has been persecuted all their life by white people that not all whites are bad. Even if she is well-intended, the trauma of losing everything to them would be enough to make her wary of them and it would probably be needed a lot of work for her to trust them again. So the way they literally punish her for having these emotions feels utterly disgusting to me especially since she didn't do anything extreme like to suggest throwing Keith out of the team. The producers constantly made her suffer and threw her around like a rag doll, they taken away everything from her until she was so miserable that it basically felt like she committed s*icide rather than heroically sacrifice herself in the end.

What I'm trying to say is that, I only rewatched 1 episode out of this show and hyper-analyzing it made me realize how it was already destroying the characters I loved, so I can't imagine the mental torment it would be to re-watch the entire show. Especially since I really feel like almost no character had a satisfying development and ending to their arcs. + the rage I'd feel of watching again those 2 child abusers being redeemed and siting side by side with Allura and Lotor at the end

So in hindsight, I can't feel sad or angry for them removing the show from their platform. It's the most elegant thing to do, to forget this mess ever existed. So sorry for the people who put their heart and soul into it as the show had amazing art, music and voice acting. I can only hope that those people have found better environments to work in, especially after all the unjustified hate they received from the fans back in the day.

[chaosandstardust]

I was thinking, maybe things could have worked out if only they had made Rin really an adult in hny. Maybe if they had said that Sesshomaru wasn't visiting her or if they had explained their relationship...I don't know. It would still gross me out but maybe... I could not feel the vomit reflex?

What do you think? ses*in was a good idea but poorly executed?

To be perfectly frank, no, I don't think that making SessRin a thing in Yashahime was a good idea. Was it poorly executed? Yes. Could it have been executed better? Yes. I've spoken about different alternatives that could've been done at length on this blog, such as giving Rin a bigger role as the twin's mother in Season 2, but I personally don't think that SessRin would ever be a good idea. I see these posts as a "gun to my head, this is what I'd do" moment rather than "this is what they should've done". (BECAUSE WHAT THEY SHOULD'VE DONE IS BRING KAGURA BACK!!!!!!!!!)

Mostly because I find the concept of Sesshomaru being changed by a small child with whom he has no reason to be aligned much more interesting without romance hanging over it. I still think his "redemption" arc is absolute shit, but Sesshomaru at the beginning of the story is hated for abandoning a child he had a responsibility to and he ends the story by taking responsibility for a child that he had no responsibility towards. It's at the very least an interesting beginning to a redemption arc. (SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP OVER HOW MUCH RUMIKO DROPPED THE BALL)

And even in a world where SessRin was written absolutely perfectly, you'd always have that hang-up when it came to the ship, and it would give a weird vibe to the scenes from the original. I admittedly haven't rewatched Inuyasha in at least half a decade but I remember when editing I would watch clips of the two of them and it's just...weird. It's weird thinking about it, seeing this adult and this child alone together and knowing that they're going to end up married.

I'm not saying it couldn't be done well, I'm sure there are fics that have done it, but personally, my take is "Do we need to do it that way?" I've definitely said in the past that I could wind up shipping them, now, in hindsight, I doubt it. It's just weird to think about it.

Then again, I can't picture Sesshomaru getting married to a human for the life of me. And if he was ever going to be in a healthy romantic partnership it would need to be someone who'd call him out on his bullshit regularly, and I can't see any version of Rin doing that without an insane character shift. She'd be completely unrecognizable from her child self, which isn't a bad thing but I'm still not crazy about the idea.

Kagura is the only one who comes close.

[nym-wibbly]

I celebrated Doctor Who's 61st birthday by watching the most recent season again over the past few days, while mother's been doing Twelve, Eleven, and now Ten in reverse order.

Fifteen and Ruby - *chef's kiss*, I still adore them and how they click while knowing so little about each other. Ace performances.

I enjoyed most of the individual eps more the second time around, some of them very much (still not the Bridgerton one, alas, and the talking babies still got me right in the uncanny valley and made me hide behind the sofa for all the wrong reasons), but I still don't 'get it' as a season. I don't get what RTD is aiming for as showrunner, this time around - I'm not grasping the vibe, the vision, or even the visual design approach - and I say that as someone who's always loved RTD's storytelling, even when it was mostly made of whimsy and handwaves like Dark Season. On the face of it, the Doctor suddenly dropping musical numbers is functionally far less daft than a creature made of energy sucking people's faces off while eating their brainwaves, or the Earth surviving being towed across the universe like a boat on a rope - yet I'm struggling with the new stuff when I grinned delightedly at the old. New-New Who isn't doing whatever mystical thing it needs to do to make me willingly suspend my disbelief like that. The Fourteen specials did, though. Why??? What's so different?

What's the takeaway from this tiny, blink-and-you-missed-it season of TV? Or if I add on the Tennant 60th specials for a longer run at it? "Belief can do/create anything", maybe, Pratchett-style? Is the cryptic, fanbaiting and audience-aware Mrs Flood the answer, or will that be another, "Okayyy..." anticlimax when All Is Revealed?

Here's hoping hindsight and repetition will do the trick for me, as it (mostly) has with the Moffat/Eleven era. That took a while, and a lot of rewatches.

Either way, I'm looking forward to Christmas (and have been since that tiny season ended). Christmas wouldn't be Christmas without a Doctor Who special, anymore. RTD brought us that, starting in 2005, then Moffat got really good at hanging up his brain-bending arcs to write a festive romp. I never fully adjusted to Chibnall's "hell no, give me New Year instead thanks, and it'll be Daleks," play, despite quite liking them as individual eps.

Meanwhile, I'm now watching The Sarah Jane Adventures for the first time since it aired. Whatever RTD magic disbelief-suspending ingredient I can't quite find in New-New Who was all over Sarah Jane. Buckletloads of it. I wish I could figure out what it is.

[true-blue-sonic]

Good morning/ afternoon/ evening Blue :D

(for the hot take)

Honestly Sonic X is not as good as many people say. And not because of Chris (that for some reason gets a lot of hate). I just think that the concept is cool but the writing is messed up. Especially of some characters like Amy and Tails. Instead of Sonic's friends they made them his #1 fans😭 as if they wanted to make these characters annoying on purpose so that Sonic's the cool guy which really didn't make the show very enjoyable for me. But ofc it's sega

Good morning! ^-^

Strongly agree | Agree | Neutral | Disagree | Strongly disagree

I haven't watched Sonic X in ages, but I must readily admit that the first episode is one of my favourites... because Chris isn't in it for most of it, haha. (The actual most favourite is Defective Detectives and I just skip the part about the two worlds causing time to freeze or whatever lol.) I think that the whole premise inherently provides issues: naturally they'll want to give the humans attention (why else would they be created?), but that draws screentime away from the game characters, who I'm far more interested in. (Related to your statement, I think that is one of the reasons Chris is so disliked: he takes up roles that were filled by game characters, like at the end of the SA2 arc. Considering the fact X!Amy isn't the most charming of portrayals, a scene wherein she tells Shadow about how the world is good and people are inherently worth protecting could have shown a good side of her. But instead Chris got it, and I feel like people experience that as leeching a much-needed role from a character already not presented so well throughout the series.) And the incorporating of the game stories in the second season became rather messy, resulting in quite some unanswered questions (e.g. how Eggman was born on the human planet yet transported to Sonic's world and how Gerald managed to create an anthro hedgehog. Have those ever been addressed?). Furthermore, from what I remember, Sonic just spent a lot of time lazing around or doing his own thing before coming in at the end to help out. I don't think it's unfitting for him, but I agree that it feels like the other game characters thus often got the shaft to give Sonic his big hero moment.

But here I must once again reiterate that I just haven't watched it in ages and this is all from memory. I do enjoy puns and stuff and iirc the English show was riddled with them, so that's at least a point in its favour! :> But overall, I think I'd much rather have gotten an anime entirely about Sonic's world and the adventures to be had there, instead of incorporating the "real" world in it. But then also not how it was done in Season 3, with a lot of grimdarkness and stuff XD In that regard, I think the first season was "better" than the second: the stories were entirely original, whereas the second season was kind of "game plots but now with the humans put in them". I really enjoyed watching X when I first became a fan (it greatly helped with my English!) and I'd be more than happy to binge-rewatch it again one day, but in hindsight, I can also see why people dislike the show so much.

[happilylovingchaos]

Last @lonestar-s5countdown Beginnings and Endings Week Post

I have a new work schedule now! And Lone Star is ending with season 5 real soon! That’s been fun getting used to… (/s) so I’ll post my fanfic/ music recs as one post tomorrow. Let’s see how much I can post w/o this becoming a complete image-less wall of stream-of-consciousness… but it will still be inevitable to everyone in the LS fandom who follows my handle and welcomed me. And if I haven’t said it yet, or enough, or sincerely in the last almost-year, thank you. Just thank you for your niceness, all your everything you’ve expressed, letting me be part of the fan group! I really really hope the end of the show doesn’t mean the end of this community, but whatever happens, it’s been a hella exhilarating, emotional, and lively experience.

(1) Which 911 Lone Star season premier is your favorite?

It’s a draw between seasons 2 and 4– I like the season premieres of 1 and 3 as much as everyone but holy hell I was not ready for the emotional twists in them to hit me the way they did. I am still in emotional recovery in both the good and bad ways. Both 2 and 4, until their respective cliffhangers, were quite light-hearted and self-contained with hints at the storylines to come, and those were easier for me to enjoy. Plus, Tommy, Gwyn and Iris (re-debut, in Iris’ case) had some colorful debuts! (I will always wish that Owen and Gwyn’s characters had a little more time together outside of the wit/ playfulness/ vitriol, and a couple more scenes with TK without their son always needing to be middle-man. But Rob, Lisa and Ronen played off of each other so well!) Gina’s portrayal of Tommy was just magnetically charismatic even without Michelle there— ‘Nuff said. And while I had issues with Iris’ bluntness (especially since it sorta re-opened some of TK’s emotional wounds), I could relate to being on both sides of a conversation in a similar situation to her— seeming hard to read/ confusing to most everyone around her (sometimes even with trusted family/ friends), and being confused/ offended by the delivery of what we convey.

(2) Which character do you think had the best introduction or first scene in the show?

I’m gonna say… it’s a toss-up between Judd and Grace for their natural first integration into the story and the first successful show>tell moment about them (specially Judd) in the series, Marjan (social media firefighter Muslim badass, in a description), and Mateo (for his own intro as unassuming but more than capable— Julian nails the portrayal of this character archetype in LS and The Long Game). Confusingly honorable mention goes to Michelle in hindsight, though? To me, she’s okay as a character, but I do understand where some fans were put off by her personality/ Liv’s portrayal.

(3) What is your favorite moment of 1x01?

Judd officially starting his end of the friendship with Owen by strong-arming him into accepting a chocolate chip cookie— you try saying no to a big Texan guy played by Jim Parrack and a mom and daughter holding a platter of chocolate chip cookies. Really, it’s tricky and you will probably get on their respective neutral if not shit lists. And Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” was quite a bop to end on! (Though, how did people find that wild? Just a little confused.)

(4) How did you first start watching Lone Star and how did you find out about it?

My aunt showed my mom and me the first parts of season 3– I saw… looking back on it, I’m a bit fuzzy on details but sometime in 2022 (def not consecutive days tho), I think I saw part of 3x04, then 3x07, and all of 3x08. And that last episode made me sob, I’m not ashamed to admit it now or in my grief week post. (My mom, grandma, uncle and aunt were watching it with me at dinner and were very confused about why I was crying.) Then I saw the last 3 eps, and it got me curious/hooked, so I went into season 4 kinda blind. Then I downloaded Hulu to catch up on the series proper, and the rest is rewatch history.

(5) What is one wish you have for the season 5 premiere?

Mostly that the overall narratives don’t feel too rushed or forced should there be a timeskip? I hate that Fox couldn’t get the show renewed… but on a lighter note? I’d like a solid explanation/ in-character reason for Grace’s absence that IS NOT a character death, a breakup, or anything relating to misblaming Wyatt.

Open tag to everyone as well!

[hertwood]

dts s1e3! AND e4

-while they first showed the baku maxiel crash in ep2, i'll talk abt it here bc its more focused on in this episode: -now that i've seen the 2010 turkish grand prix, this to me is so so reminiscent to mark & seb's crash. long term driver vs fresh faced golden boy, red bull ~trying~ to be neutral but clearly favoring the younger one, while in MY opinion in both cases it was max/seb more at fault -so daniel's choices make so much sense through this lense, seeing how history was repeating itself -i must say, 🙌 RESPECTFULLY 🙌 claire williams is a milf. hope she's doing wonderfully nowadays -the way sergey sirotkin is literally invisible i was even like who tf is that. sorry u got chewed up and spit out by the f1 machine buddy -in monaco qualifying its an interesting rewatch bc i actually know how things work, so the lil radio snippets actually make sense to me. interestin -this is the first episode where they have a truly well set up victory narrative. real life doesn't usually fit into this good cookie cutter narrative, but daniel's story in this episode really does that and it rly sets the bar for good dts episodes IN MY OPINION -i know that max in this episode gets pointed to a lot as see???? dts edits max to make him look meaner than he is!! and i just dont think thats the full picture. sure, they only show him being grumpy and rash and immature and they dont show any of his goofier side, but 2018 max WAS a big hothead. i honestly think it makes it narratively better to see how immature and short fused he was in season 1 to compare to how he is now!

episode 4!!

-CYRIL COME HOME THE KIDS MISS YOU -oh my god love being reminded of the iconic daniel conversation with his MOM "have a good race love you" "yeah alright. gangster ✌️" -now knowing hondas history gives so much more insight into the nuance of the red bull-honda deal. with them struggling a team and then selling to brawn, to the mclaren honda deals that went horribly, i see it as so much more of a risk than i ever did first watch -which leads me to DANIEL'S CHOICE MAKING SENSE. sure, in hindsight we can see how it failed horribly but it made sense! from the bottom of my heart i dont believe that red bull wasnt gonna prioritize max, and i'd wanna get out of that too! sure it was risky, but if daniel didnt make the jump, would we be lamenting that he didnt instead? i think either choice would've likely gone downhill anyway :( -the exes trying to be amicable bc they still work together vibes are Hilarious -christian's whole 'cyril is an emotional guy' is fascinating because christian is SO emotional!!! the difference is his main emotion is anger, which men tend to convince themselves ~doesnt count~ -'he needs a driver AND an engine 😂😂😂' ate left no crumbs king behavior

[mojsvijet]

The Tragedy Of Wie Is De Mol 2023

Spoilers below the cut for seasons 23 and 13 of Wie Is De Mol?

Look, I didn’t want to be disappointed by this year’s season of Wie Is De Mol. It just sort of happened organically. I didn’t want to get spoiled on who the mol was, either, but RTL Boulevard did it for me, so here we are.

In hindsight, it all started when South Africa was announced as the location. A repeat location hadn’t been done since 2005, and even then, it was for only half the season. And season 13, the original South African season? It’s got some of the best opdrachten of all time and one of the best mols. Kees, you’re a real one. I watch the train opdracht when I’m in need of a pick-me-up a lot. Needless to say…the bar was high.

And then came season 23. Someone (can’t remember who) speculated that South Africa wasn’t the planned location initially and was a backup, and honestly? I believe it. Everything felt half-assed. From the weird executions to only three episodes having the traditional three opdrachten to the one episode where there was really only one opdracht composed of several small ones on a road trip…yeah, it was a mess. I tried to find out if there were, indeed, budget cuts at Avrotros, but it seemed their proposed budget had actually increased in 2022, so there’s that.

When it came to the mol, though? Jurre was a suspect of mine from the start, and not just because of my ‘Mols during the time Rik’s hosted pattern’ theory. Was production even trying to keep the cameras away from him? I’m starting to think that I suspected Soy for so long solely because he and Jurre were around each other a lot of the time.

Another thing? I didn’t care about spoilers a lot of the time. I'd just go 'eh' when I heard who got executed. As @mikolasjosef said while we were talking about this season, “I used to cancel everything to watch it live, and now I’m like ‘yeah I’ll watch it on Monday or something’.” It just felt boring. I stopped playing this one video game I’d played for six years because it felt like a chore to log in and do tasks, and honestly? Watching Wie Is De Mol 2023 felt like that, too. If this is Rik’s final season like I’ve been suspecting it is, I hate to say it, but it’s not a proper send-off. Now, season 18? That was a proper send-off for a host.

All I’m saying is, Avrotros needs to do better. This is the worst season I’ve watched since season 16, which I’ve never even attempted a rewatch of because it was just so boring. If we get another repeat location next year…I will be leery at best.

To conclude, this is me manifesting a better season next year: