#I really did love this episode the end just threw me because we didn't get all the information and I'm like '?????'

[mozart-the-meerkitten]

I got thrown off by the ending so I didn’t give a reaction post right away but here ya go, spoiler FILLED reaction to the EPIC Wingfeather Saga finale!

GIANT NUGGET!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THE BEGINNING BEING LIKE HOW I WROTE IN ONE OF MY FICS?!?

Peet being SO FREAKING EPIC

PEET RIDING NUGGET INTO BATTLE LIKE A BOSS AND ADDRESSING THIS TERRIER LIKE HE’S A BATTLE STEED

“Courage Artham” AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

NIA SINGING MY LOVE HAS GONE ACROSS THE SEA?!?!?!?!?!?!

NUGGET COMMANDING THE HORNED HOUNDS

Kids know who they are now!!!!

“It’s said songs played on it (Madia’s whistleharp) protect Anniera.” “But it didn’t protect Anniera.” “That’s because we didn’t have a Song Maiden” HELLO FORESHADOWING FOR SEASONS 6/7

JANNER READING ESBEN’S NOTE

ALSO JANNER USING ESBEN’S SWORD AGAIN I’M!!!!

“What are the Jewels of Anniera?” Peet, excited, can’t wait for Nia and Podo’s sense of drama anymore: YOU ARE

just everything about Nugget. Everything about him

THE FAMILY IN PEET’S TREEHOUSE

Leeli talking to Podo like I wrote in my stories!!!!

EVERY SCENE HAPPENING WHILE NIA’S SINGING MY LOVE HAS GONE ACROSS THE SEA. IT WAS BEAUTIFUL AND PERFECT OKAY. AND IT WAS FULL OF FORESHADOWING. IT’S GONNA MAKE THE END OF BOOK 3 SO MUCH WORSE. I LOVED IT

FORK FACTORY TEASE!!!!!

[loycos]

my head's a bit clearer, some thoughts about act 3

-my biggest gripe is episode 7- cool idea, love the concept of peaking into a different universe and seeing what our characters couldve been under different circumstances, but a WHOLE episode. when you only had 9 episode in this season, that already feel like theyre moving at a neck's pace. for a universe that ultimately doesn't matter to the main universe where the story takes place. the fact it had timebomb made it feel extremely fan service-y.

-no emotional resolution to a lot of characters. viktor and jayce are the only ones i can think of that felt like they got the screen time and care for an actual emotional closure.

-isha wasn't even mentioned in this act. in general she was already a martyr for jinx's character development but guys can you make it less obvious.

-it started in act 2, hence why i was so jaded on it, but it continues here: just where the fuck the political drama between 2 cities go? the conflict between zaun and piltover took a back seat since episode 4 and never came back. the resolution to it isn't bad per say, but when u got so little focus on it in the finale it just feels rushed.

-i loved the cait and jinx scene. but like, that was the resolution to it??? after act 1 thinking about it disappoints me. im not against a conversation being the climax to a story, but that is, and im not joking, the ONLY conversation these 2 have in the show one on one. in general the jinx\cait\vi arc ends with 1 conversation per duo (well caitvi got one fight and one very steamy sex scene but u won't catch me complaining). and after act 1, idk i think i wanted just a little bit more. im biased though- the jinx\vi\caitlyn dynamic is my favorite part about arcane. the teasers for s2 always had them front and center so i assumed it'll play a bigger part in the story???

-i felt like what the show was at its core, which is the conflict between the sisters and the cities, was completely sidelined this season. in general i can't really tell what the main theme of the show is anymore. but yeah look at the resolution to the jinx and vi story.did it feel like it had the emotional impact u expected? cause i felt like it was underwhelming.

-sevika?? didnt speak since episode 4???? huhh???

-maddie was pointless. why was she there?? i don't understand the point of that character. i dont understand her motives. she ended up not mattering at all to caitvi's story. the only thing i got from her inclusion is "caitlyn fucks" but is it that THAT important??? of a character trait??? to add to caitlyn of all people?? in THIS season??? this belongs in the realm of fanfiction.

-a lot here felt like fanfiction actually. every silco inclusion (except of him in the cell with jinx), the whole "nobody dies au" they threw in the middle, even the caitvi sex scene (IM NOT COMPLAINING THO). the caitvi scene at the end was dialog out of fanfiction, wtf was that.

-why did caitlyn lose her eye? im not like against the idea on a base level but losing an eye is very symbolic, and im not sure what its supposed to represent here. caitlyn is an observant person, its a big character trait for her. so youre basically saying she sees less now? that she's more laser focused? i sure hope not. wasnt her whole arc with giving up of revenge about seeing the "bigger picture"? her sacrifice didn't feel in character, because caitlyn is not really a "fight to the death" type of character like ambessa is. if she made that sacrifice for something like love, or for the betterment of other people, that would be more in line. idk, you couldve made me on board with it but im just very meh on it. also caitlyn only really emotes through her eyes, it sucks that we get even less of it now?? though i guess it doesnt matter at this point.

-what was the point of the enforcer that looked like vander?

-ambessa was so wasted in these last 2 acts its crazy. where's the "you have to be the fox and the wolf" mindset from her? she felt like she was wolfing only with no wit anymore by the 3rd act.

-mel????????????? it was. uhhh. maybe you shouldve saved it for another series, riot. but in this show, waste of time. the fight she had with caitlyn against ambessa was cool tho.

-i sound like im a hater but u have to understand. s1 of arcane was a political drama and a character study show. seeing all this discarded for magic and time travel shenanigans on like 4 different fronts was so jarring it took me out of the show multiple times.

-cant believe im saying that, but i wish they'd try to stick closer to the characters' current state in the source material (the cursed game). someof it felt out of left field and done for shock value, which isn't why we love the story or these characters to begin with.

good stuff:

-caitvi sex lmao ill take it babyyyyy

-jayce and viktor's scenes at the end were powerful.

-as usual, the visuals were phenomenal. the animation is gorgeous. fortiche u made this show what it is and youre still its saving grace.

-thank god they dropped the warwick\vander plot

-i liked the implication of the conclusion to jinx's story, even if it felt a little inconsistent with the character.

-the ending to jinx\vi\caitlyn was poetic and i did love it, even if it was rushed and didn't really hit the emotional highs i wanted it to.

[fandomsandflyingstingrays]

Full thoughts on season 7! (Or at least, as many as I can remember, sleep-deprived and emotional as I am)

Starting off positive: things I liked!

THE RUTHARI REUNION WAS EVERYTHING

Runaan's gentle kiss to Ethari's hand? The way the camera rotated around them for their kiss?? Their hug afterwards??? Ethari's little "my heart"???? This was worth the six-year wait

The moonfam in general was one of my favorite things about this season. Runaan calling Rayla his daughter again, his and Ethari's unconditional support of her, the way they interacted with Callum... it was exactly what I dreamed of

And speaking of Runaan: his speech to Ezran in 7x09 will be living in my head forever. The way his tears weren't pretty, they were real. The was he said "I'm alive". It was such a stunning conclusion to his arc

On that note: the voice acting? Spectacular. Callum and Soren had me in floods of tears when they met in the ruins of Katolis. And don't even get me started on Zubeia during her fight with Avizandum

The lighting and music were also so on-point

TERRY'S REDEMPTION ARC LET'S GO

His speech to Claudia was stunning

Also, his "hello, Zuko here" moment made me cackle

I love that he and Soren are on their way to friendship, I always thought they'd get along

I also really liked that Aanya was present throughout the season! Every time she was in an action scene I was screaming

I thought the plotline with Miyana being pregnant was really interesting, because it presents a moral dilemma that isn't explored a lot. Plus, the way Karim reacted, calling the baby his heir and never his child, was very telling of his mindset and priorities

This is going to sound really weird, but I loved the moment of Rayla taking up Runaan's bow to fulfill his promise. Like, obviously it's tragic and I was in tears, but also, it really shows her respecting Callum's agency? She was able to respect his choice and put his wishes above her own needs, and it was cool to see

I'm so glad they addressed the bird theory. There was way too much of a focus on Pip for it not to go somewhere

Things I disliked:

There were times when the animation really threw me off. Like, after Callum froze all the guards in 7x02 and they were trying to break free, they were just... tapping the ice with their weapons. Really slowly. It kind of axed any urgency. And during Ezran's speech at the end, some of the characters in the background were just... done in a completely different style? I'm sure it was a reference to something, but as someone who doesn't know what that was, it really took me out of what was supposed to be an important scene

There was a lot of explaining things over and over. Yes, we know Aaravos never lies, you don't have to keep telling us. Yes, we know the Orphan Queen wielded the nova blade, you don't have to keep telling us. Yes, we know people are not all good or all evil. You used to be really good at showing that instead of making speeches about it once an episode

Also just a lot of monologuing? Like, why did Callum have to explain in detail to Aaravos his plan to trap him before he did it? I know we the audience needed to know but from a strategic point of view, it was... not the smartest he's ever been. It would have made more sense if he was trying to explain it to Rayla, I think

It didn't really... feel like a finale. They left a lot of loose ends open, and beyond that, it felt like there was very little payoff for things that had been set up throughout the arc. Why did we spend two seasons looking for the nova blade if we were never going to use it? Why did we spend all arc foreshadowing Callum's corruption if it was never going to happen? I get that they left it for arc 3, but even so, the resolution of an arc should still feel like a resolution, much like arc 1 did

(Also, are we ever going to come back to that hallucination Callum had? Like, is he not at all concerned by the fact that he had a conversation with himself with seemingly no magical involvement?)

I wish we had gotten to see Anya act like a person. It was great to have her around, but it felt like she was in queen mode the entire time, and I'm really curious about who she is beyond the crown

Finally- the thing that I disliked the most was the way things with Callum, Ezran, Rayla, and Runaan were handled in 7x02, because it made it very hard for me to root for Callum and Rayla afterwards. I totally understand that Rayla has an attachment to Runaan and Callum has an attachment to Rayla, but neither of them seemed to actually consider Ezran at all. Like, here is this twelve-year-old boy, who just lost the home he lived in his entire life. Who lost his father at a very young age and, as a direct result, was forced into a responsibility that he absolutely should not have had to carry. I feel like at the very least the people who are supposed to love him the most could say, "hey, I understand that you're angry" instead of treating him like he's totally unreasonable. And then! They just leave him! A twelve-year-old who just lost his entire home! Who has literally no other family! And whenever they talk about mending things, it's never, "oh, I'm sorry I left, I'm sorry I never took time to validate how you were feeling", it was just "we're family, we'll find our way back to each other eventually". That's not how it works. When there's a hurt like that, you don't just stop being angry without coming to an understanding. I love Runaan, and I wanted him to be free and happy, but I also think that he did in fact commit a murder (yes, technically just of a bird, but he didn't know that) and it's reasonable to expect him to face some consequences. Even if it's just, like, community service. You can be merciful without condoning

But just to be clear: I have absolutely no ill will for anyone with different views on this plot point. My frustration with it is more from a personal perspective than a writing one- my dad was killed a few years ago, so I'm siding with Ezran from an emotional standpoint. But I thought the plot was worth mentioning, since it really affected how I viewed the rest of the season

Overall, as a season, book 7 had a lot of moments that I really loved and will be rewatching very often. But as a potential sendoff, it didn't really leave me with much of a sense of closure. Fingers crossed for arc 3, I suppose!

[stripedstarsblueflags]

i didn't win the wheel: episode 2

much shorter episode this week! probably because it consisted mostly of golf so they decided between this and team torque they would have mercy on us and cut most of it. still lots to work with though. obviously. because it's them.

love a little throwback to episode one, we've got "genuinely trying to go along with the program and introduce the gist of the show" and "so completely zoned out you'd have better luck getting the attention of a cat chasing a laser" except this time it's switched up. i'm pretty sure alex does like a maximum of three introductions out of the whole series, if that, so you just know they said, "Logan, do you want to go first?" and he put on the most nonchalant amiable expression and said "Hmm... I think Alex should go first since I did it the last time" and then alex just glares daggers at him but knows he can't throw a fit about it in front of the crew and logan's smiling ear-to-ear like "what you gonna do about it?" oh, and also, last week they were even leaning back on the same couch and literally giving "two bros chillin in a hot tub five inches apart cause they're not sure if the other is gay" BUT here we are standing up no couch no excuse and logan's just "you're my new center of gravity now". okay. okay sure.

Alex (already done with this, looking GENUINELY distressed): "It's windy out here, we don't have real golfballs so it's gonna go everywhere..."

Logan: "You're a lot better at golf than me, so I expect you to do well."

WHOA alright. first of all from everything we got so far (not a lot) the main dynamic seems to be: logan acting confident and cocky and arrogant just to annoy alex and also gazing at him with the most endearing/loving/shit-eating expressions, and alex being awkward and out of his comfort zone and taking it too seriously but eventually losing his focus because he can't help but smile back at logan. which i LOVE. but alex is already getting frustrated before the challenge begins and logan is like what... comforting him? reassuring him? boosting his confidence? "i expect you to do well" whole body turned completely to face him. like dammmn alright breaking the theme a little but that's honestly so sweet... also should i mention that we are literally less than thirty seconds into the video and they're already facing AWAY from the camera and TOWARDS each other. and in a few seconds they'll literally turn around to talk to each other looking at the game setup like this is not how you do media you guys know this and yet

(Golf session ends, Logan wins because Alex spent the whole time grappling with the wind)

Logan: "Alright, well... as you saw, little bit of a dominant display there..."

and then he has to abandon that sentence immediately because they both start laughing, like straight up giggling almost breathless like "wait did i really just say that out loud" "did he really just say that out loud" and logan turns RIGHT into alex AGAIN because he's watching every possible reaction plain on alex's face 😂 like alex is both startled and amused and endeared and very incredulous. at one point he straight-up looks at the camera and raises his eyebrows like "oh yeah? WAS it though? can you BELIEVE this guy look at him he doesn't even believe himself" like I CAN'T MAKE THIS SHIT UP. honestly i'm just gonna have to make a gif of it because it's so- it's just so obvious.

oh my god, that's just– this is just adorable. this is gonna be my lockscreen i swear because look at them. alex is still laughing trying not to but that earlier comment just threw him off and logan is leaning into him purposely pushing his arm against alex's (he does it twice) and he's just so happy he 1) made alex laugh 2) made alex FLUSTERED jesus christ get that boy some water and 3) got away with it. this is what i meant about logan being alex's turnaround point. he literally lost at the golf game just like he was worried he would and yet here he's the most happy and comfortable he's been all video

okay let's round it off with– alex what the FUCK is this posture. i was going to take a ss already because of how close he leaned into logan (we know you can see the goddamn ipad alex you aint slick) and THEN he did this. shoulders slanted. hand on the hip. face like the gay best friend about to judge the shit out of the guy you're falling for. what in the actual fuck is going on here i mean i was so not ready for the amount of cunt that was served in a literal shift of position. also can we talk about how alex is literally built like a spaghetti noodle and the height difference is very very obvious but here he's throwing out ✨that hip✨ and they're definitely closer to the same height? that is both adorable and just absolutely ridiculous and i'm loving every second of it. the fact that logan is entirely oblivious just makes it funnier.

the smiles, guys. the smiles. i'm breaking my own heart rewatching these but god fucking dammit james vowels i'll take what i can get.

episode 3

[fromkenari]

I know some of y'all are devastated about Buck and Tommy breaking up. Still, Tim, Oliver, and Lou have all been harping on it being "fresh and new" since they started talking about the season, which is why I have been holding off on throwing it all down for the ship because, yes, I DID want a place to talk about whatever was going on between them without getting bashed for it. It took me a WHILE to find that, and I don't plan to just leave those spaces because it ended.

Still, this relationship only existed for 13 episodes and was shown in less than half of those episodes. I didn't even understand why and how they were in a relationship until 8x05. I was prepared for that dinner to be their one- or two-month anniversary, not SIX, with the way Tim, Oliver, and Lou have played it in interviews, insisting they're still in the "honeymoon phase."

Six months is a long fucking time for a "honeymoon phase," which is why that reveal threw me so hard at the beginning of the episode. And for how long have we been saying Abby's ex was named Tommy since he showed up and kissed Buck? And then that's not even the reason they broke up. They had Josh give Buck a pep talk before they broke up. This episode was a shitshow, yes, but are you honestly really that surprised they had another Buck love interest do him dirty? And come to find out that Oliver wants Buck to get dirty?

I'm kind of pissed about how all of this went, yeah. Still, I can't imagine what it's like going through the character you've played for seven seasons being the goddamn scapegoat for the relationship-ending trauma nearly every single season, which makes the fans put your character on a pedestal and the one time you finally get to have your character screw up and cheat SINCE his life-changing relationship in season one, your character not only does not get to fall off the pedestal, it gets higher because he doesn't get a single bit of the blame from the fans. No, they're too busy trashing your character's love interests for what your character did to them, mainly because they're women.

Y'all can say, "Wow, that must be a breath of fresh air for Tracie to have Karen not be the unmoved, understanding wife and be petty for once," but say you're "betrayed" by Oliver wanting a piece of that same nuance for his character? I mean, unfollow and block him if you must, but fucking christ y'all, the man has to be tired of being the golden retriever. No wonder he fully leaped into this arc. Let him have some fun, and Buck get a little tarnished. He's made of solid gold. He's gonna still shine in the end.

No, I am not in any way condoning the biphobic implications of the shit Tommy said to him at the end. I can see why Lou didn't want it to end that way. It's an incredible disservice to the bisexual community, and I do take offense to that. But they can't erase that now. So fine. Let this new Buck break some hearts. There's nobody (except maybe Eddie) that can doom spiral like Buck can. He's going to be impulsive. and (for once) he's not looking for a relationship. And he even said in this episode, he kind of worshiped Tommy so as shitty as what Tommy said was, it's going to go to Buck's head and heart for sure.

The Daddy said "you're just gonna break my heart" to guy with Daddy Issues. Y'all keep calling Buck a brat. Maybe he is. And maybe we're about to see it on blast. That affection-starved man has never done anything half-measured in his life.

[cassiebones]

Character Analysis: Alice Wu Gulliver

Disclaimer: I don't read Marvel comics, so I don't know if Alice is mentioned in the comics and, if so, I don't know her role there. I am only talking about the Alice Wu Gulliver from the MCU (played by Ali Ahn), who is a precious baby who was rightfully protected by her mother, who loved her so much.

Okay, so first up: Alice has mommy issues. They've gotten better, I think, after episode four, but she definitely has a whole new batch of mommy issues, too. I have a pretty contentious relationship with my mother, but I know that she loves me and I love her. Alice, I believe, didn't really know that. She grew up thinking that her mother was "unwell" and that she cared more about her fans than she did about her own daughter, that her obsession with this curse was putting up a wall between them. And maybe it was, in a way.

But Lorna Wu did everything she possible could to ensure her daughter's safety. She probably tried dozens, hundreds, even thousands of protection spells before realizing that if she just had a popular enough song, then the spell might never have to end and her daughter would be protected for as long as possible. And she made that her legacy; protecting her daughter to the very end--and past--of her own life.

The fact that Alice didn't know that is heartbreaking.

And that's nothing to say of the lyrics of the song, which make a lump form in my own throat because all Lorna really wanted Alice to know is that she loves her and she would do anything to protect her, like any good mother should.

Example: "If I can't reach you, let my song teach you, all you need to keep our love alive. If I can't hold you, remember what I told you: it's the only way we survive. We survive!" This part specifically has me fucked up, because it's so filled with affection (holding her daughter? I'm crying) and implication that Lorna spent all her time with Alice trying to convey her love for her and how much she just wants her to be protected. It's very powerful. It's why I have listened to this song no less than 5000x over the last week (also to protect Alice ofc).

Also, Alice, despite having a complicated relationship with her mother, knew how to play every note of that song PERFECTLY on the piano. I bet you anything that her mother taught Alice herself how to play as many instruments as possible when she was little, so that she could play the song herself if need be. It's probably muscle memory for her at this point. This was probably their bonding time. I can see why Alice may have resented it (if I was forced to take part in a hobby by my seemingly neurotic mother, I would definitely be bitter about it), but everything Lorna did was for her. Lorna didn't even care about herself staying safe; all she wanted was for Alice to be protected.

Alice, herself, is also pretty remarkable. She was a cop, I think? So she got through the Academy and training and all that, but probably got canned because of this damn curse. She says that everything she touched turned to shit, so I can only imagine how hard her life must have been. I'm not sure that Lorna left her much else but that song and the tattoo she forced her to get at age 13.

But she's also incredibly kind. She talks to Teen with affection, talks to him like he's her equal, which is not common for a lot of people. She praises him and worries over him. She was the first one at his side in the booth after her curse threw him through that window. She helped dig Sharon's grave. She and Jen share some moments (am I the only one that ships them, btw?) And she and Lilia seem to have a good rapport going, as well.

Alice Wu Gulliver has a lot of baggage from a misunderstood childhood and a pretty shit life, but she's probably the person in that group with the biggest heart. She is very compassionate to all around her and I love that about her.

I really hope she makes it to the end (I hope they all do, but I'm trying not to have too much hope. Marvel has broken my heart before.)

We love Alice Wu Gulliver in this house. May she stay protected forever.

[theawkwardanglophile]

Ranking The Rookie's season finales

I tried to be fairly objective, but yeah, that didn't really happen. Oh well, here we go!

6) SEASON 2 (The Hunt): When this first aired, it felt like huge stakes and was so stressful, but now, it just doesn't hit as well. I hate Armstrong was a dirty cop. Nolan was just acting dumb in this ep (shocker, I know). 😂 I didn't like Tim's sudden change of heart to make things work long-distance with Rachel, although we all know how that worked out. So yeah, it goes in last place.

5) SEASON 1 (Free Fall): They definitely weren't going as big with the finales yet, although this is a great Chenford episode, and there was a little cliffhanger with whether Tim would be ok. I wasn't as invested with the show yet when this aired. Tim was still my least fave character at the time, and I almost didn't come back for S2. I'm so glad I did, though!

4) SEASON 6 (Escape Plan): I might feel differently over time ranking it here, but for now, this is where it lands. It was...good, I guess. The truck scene was *chef's kiss*. But SO MANY VILLAINS. I couldn't keep up because every two minutes there was a new name or new character. I still don't know how it ties back to the beginning of S6. 🤷‍♀️ And while I never expected Chenford to get back together here, I'm still sad they're broken up in the first place. The elevator scene was sort of hopeful, but I think we deserved a little bit more.

3) SEASON 4 (Day in the Hole): If it wasn't for the insanely boring Nolan desert plot that went on FOREVER, this one would be higher. Because the Dim & Juicy doppelganger plot was the most delightfully unhinged story they've created, and it was so much fun. And our very first Chenford kiss! That kiss saved my summer that year. I had butterflies for weeks, and was just so giddy.

2) SEASON 3 (Threshold): This is how you do a season finale. I love this ep so much. Lots of high stakes. I loved the flirting scene. And even though I've never been crazy about Lucy being UC, she does an incredible job throughout the ep. I love Tim being Man of Honor and trying to save Angela's wedding. And of course, SAVE ME A DANCE. GEEZ, that scene is everything. 🫠 Then Angela being kidnapped at the end as the cliffhanger. I literally threw a pillow at the tv when this ep ended because those last few minutes were just SO MUCH.

1) SEASON 5 (Under Siege): This one has the highest stakes out of any of the finales, and a huge cliffhanger. So many scary moments for the squad, especially not knowing if Aaron would be ok. Tim and Lucy's hug was beautiful, as all of theirs are, and their fight scene was incredible. "I'm happy it's you at my six." ❤️ This finale just feels the most cohesive, and it works really well.

I'd love to know your rankings, too!

[tremendouskoalachild]

i already respected the shit out of Leslye Headland but... ma'am...

"I got some feedback when we were writing and prepping the episode that said, 'Gosh, it's just so much fighting. Don't you think the audience will tune out at some point?'" laughs Headland. "And I said, 'No, I feel really confident that they're going to love this.'"

The showrunner anticipated many would figure out the Qimir/Stranger connection before the unmasking, and was totally cool with that because she wasn't trying to fool anyone in the first place — intentionally leaving breadcrumbs along the way. "I think a good twist is not about hiding everything from the audience and then throwing it on them like, 'Hey, this is what you didn't see! We hid it so well that you didn't see this!'" says Headland. "I think a good twist is telegraphing what's going to happen, and then once it does, executing it without an ounce of pity or sentimentality."

"That's what I loved about starting with the red shirts," she explains while momentarily slipping into Star Trek parlance. "You're kind of like, 'Oh, he'a just going to kill a bunch of red shirts, and everybody is going to be fine and… OH MY GOD, JECKI'S DEAD! Okay, I'm listening.'"

"I just figured someone would stop me and nobody did," she says with a laugh. "I figured someone would say, 'This is too far!' But they didn't."

Whatever happens in the last three episodes, do not expect Headland to slow her Boonta Eve Classic pace. "Something that I've noticed is first seasons will end on what should have been the break into act two," she says. "It feels like everyone's really expecting [their shows] to get a second season, and I don't feel that's a good idea. I threw everything into season 1, because who knows what's going to happen?"

[my-rose-tinted-glasses]

You know what is really bothering me about these last couple of days in Thai BL land?

Yes there were a lot of tears, but none of them were mine. (the exception being cherry magic. that sequence of Karan taking care of Achi and then being heartbroken. My heart wasn't ready)

These are my personal and maybe unpopular opinions so just let me explain. Spoilers galore as usual. We had some heavy episodes this week. Starting with 7 days before valentine and ending with the sign.

7 Days Before Valentine Look, was it heartbreaking? Sure. Did I feel sorry for Sunshine? Nope. Not even a little. Because for 8 episodes we've seen a selfish, self centered human being make a mess of the world without an ounce of remorse. Just picking people off one by one for his own selfish desires. So even if this episode was actually good, because he finally confronted his selfishness, I was watching wearing a big neon sign saying - you had it coming... the world's smallest violin etc... Also we know he's not actually gone so. (this is the recurring theme of the week btw)

Pit Babe I mean Pavel did a great job and this show is doing a great job at showing men being vulnerable and crying. But let's be real. Charlie is not really dead. We know that. Omegaverse or not, this is Thai bl and we don't play that here.

So the idea to leave the audience in the dark is an attempt at a cliffhanger but ultimately void of any real suspense. If the audience were to be let in on the plan, I'm sure there is one, then we could've felt Babe's suffering in a more profound way. Because, in my opinion, that would be more powerful. We could've seen both sides of this and felt bad for both of them. What's the point of leaving us in the dark? Am I suppose to gasp next week when Charlie appears? When what will actually happen will be that as soon as we know Charlie is alive we will get angry at him for making the person he loves suffer and next at Babe because they will get right back to the papa and mamma talk before the I'm sorry leaves Charlie's lips.

Twins I mean, there wasn't really a lot of suffering left to be had here. I was the only one suffering due to the fact that this show really waited until the last episode to make Sprite come clean. And to top it of, making First feel even more like a door mat by forgiving Sprite so fast. What a waste.

Last Twilight I've already said my peace about this show a couple of times. I did feel Mhok's pain. Him alone crying outside the house was heartbreaking. But the problem is how it happened. Idiotic. The catharsis didn't have the time to actually be cathartic for Mhok. The noble break up was not noble. So in the end I cannot emotionally connect to any of this. They threw Mhok's nightmare in there in case we'd forgotten about his baggage, or maybe because they had, so that sudden confession of Mhok had diminished impact as it was followed by the break up which of course is the real heartbreak I guess.

The Sign What is up with the editing of this show?

I already said somewhere last week that I thought the editing of the rescue was terrible because it was not done as to invoke any emotional impact. The same happens this week.

What the hell was that cut after Phaya woke up? We had like 15 seconds of them looking at each other and Phaya reaching out before they cut to Dr ican'tkeepupwiththenamesatthispoint and then to the police story line that let's be honest, it's taking space from everything else that's more interesting and it's not giving us anything of value in return. Stop putting everything but kitchen sink into shows if you can't manage it properly. If you don't have space for these stories to breathe and give me something I'm missing in the main story lines. Look I love that Phaya got up from his hospital bed and immediately went for it, but I mean what am I suppose to feel about it? The show is not letting us settle into any one emotional state long enough to feel anything at all.

And, I'm really asking. Is anyone at all interested in the police investigation? You can have a police investigation as backdrop to a story. But if you're also gonna take it upon yourself to have this massive mythological, past and present lives star crossed lovers story, then something's gotta give. Maybe just make it a case that doesn't also span generations and brings secrets and lies along for the ride.

I'm so mad at Thai bl at the moment. Not you Cherry Magic, you are my precious ray of sunshine in the middle of all this rain. Please be good till the end.

[Thank you @twig-tea for being my proofreader. You're the best. 💜]

[destinygoldenstar]

🍀This Is My Fault, Guys...🍀 - Total Drama Viewer Reacts to Disventure Camp Season 2 Episode 10 “Popping Trust”

Hello and hope y'all had a Happy Thanksgiving!

I know I wasn't too big on last episode. I will definitely say I prefer Season 1. But some of y'all told me it gets... interesting from here on out.

And since we're at four episodes left. Maybe.

NO I DON'T HAVE PTSD FROM ANOTHER EPISODE 10 WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!

Also, I got informed that Aiden DID in fact apologize to Karol.

If you saw my answer to that ask, I basically said: "Cool. Too bad I had to be told that outside of the show to know that."

It does, you know, tell me that Aiden doesn't apologize on the show at any point.

And hey, IF I'm wrong, I'm wrong, and he at the very least SAYS he apologized to her in a later episode.

But I am going to say this:

I KNOW these greetings exist as Q&As.

For right now, I do not care about these, nor am I watching these.

Any information I SHOULD know about the story and characters should be IN THE SHOW. Whether shown or told. It's gotta be IN THE SHOW.

Because otherwise, I'm convinced the writers are just making excuses.

If it's about any leisure stuff or stuff that isn't relevant to the plot, that's fine. But if you have to give away vital character information that helps me understand them in a supplemental material thing like a greeting, casual viewers like myself WON'T see these and WON'T know these.

That's where I stand with this.

I don't think that person was lying about Aiden apologizing to Karol. I think that was legit. I just wanted to clarify why I responded the way I did.

Good for Aiden for not being the worst though.

(Jake is still my best boy)

The two I'm the most interested in is Rosa and Riya. They have the plotline I care the most about. Especially Riya after last episode.

Is it bad I don't care about the others...?

Maybe not 'don't care' as in 'dislike'. Hunter's okay even if I'm disappointed he wasn't actually aro. (Not a deal breaker) I want to see Aiden not suffer for once. And James... yeah no he can fuck off.

Anyway, that's enough of me babbling, let's get into the episode:

Oh wait are we final five?!

Oh shit I didn't realize that...

Oh.

Oh I hate it.

I have something for cuddling, okay? I see art of a couple cuddling, I am in awe. (I wouldn't say a kink cause I'm asexual, so I don't really feel turned on by things)

So I'm CONFLICTED right now cause I'm torn between "Oh this is so cute" and "Oh I hate it let go of him James"

"It seems like we fell asleep watching the movie."

What movie? Where'd you get a movie screen in the cabin?

"If we hadn't watched that cheesy drama movie, that wouldn't have happened."

"Oh sorry, some of us like art and not just those bloodbaths you call horror movies."

Oho! They're bickering like an old married couple! That MUST mean they're in love!! That must mean they're healthy now!

"Have you seen my phone?"

"I made you watch the movie so you'd fall asleep. Then I stole it. And SMASHED IT. AND BURNED IT. AND THREW IT IN THE LAKE. AND TOOK IT TO THE HOSPITAL WITH KAROL!!"

"Hey man, didn't your mom ever tell you that you shouldn't play with your food?"

Rosa, I don't think that's how you greet people.

"Are you okay, Hunter?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. You just voted off my not girlfriend. That's all."

Idk, I feel like they were so close to making Hunter's story interesting by subverting the plotline a bit. By making him aromantic and struggling to feel the romance the girls feel about him.

But no. It was just a typical love triangle of which girl he wants.

All I'll say is that while I'm not offended by the in paper route they took with this storyline, if I was writing this season and this plotline, I would've had Hunter have a queer crisis and realize he's aromantic, struggle to come out to the girls, and Allyson and Tess bond and find love in each other, bis gotta stick together, and in the end the three accept each other as one happy consensual polycule. Not in the norm of what you expect from a straight relationship, but a found family that satisfies all of them.

"I'm not in the mood to talk right now."

Wow. Don't do Rosa like that. She offered to listen.

"How is the best intern in the world?"

Oh she is desperate to be nice XD

She even feeds him! She's already better than Chris!

"Om."

XD

Okay the way he sounded when he took that bite was not normal XD

Omg the voice acting in this show sometimes XD

I think since I expected it to be bad, I'm not AS bothered by it, except maybe a few lines. Sometimes it's so bad it's funny, you know what I mean?

I mean it's better in Season 1, obviously.

"All this good treatment feels kind of... strange..."

I KNOW. A boss treats their co-workers fairly and kindly?! Who ever heard such a thing?!

I mean I shouldn't talk. Cause in my work place, my bosses actually consider my feelings and make sure I'm doing well!

"But I think if I win, I will invest all the money in my daughter's future."

And that's why I'm routing for Rosa to win. She deserves it.

"I'm here."

Oh geez.

"I HEARD YOU WERE TALKING TO SOMEONE ELSE, HUH AIDEN?!?!? WHAT'S THAT ABOUT?!?!"

Every time, I swear. Aiden CANNOT talk to ANYONE else besides James.

"I was looking for my perfume, but I think I lost it."

Awwww, honey, nooooooo, I'm sorry.

Okay so there's a thief running amuck.

I thought it would be Riya, but if she lost something too, then maybe it's Hunter and he's trying to get the two alliances to turn on each other so he can stay in the game.

Or Riya or James are bluffing.

"Hunter can't win today's challenge."

Yes. Thank you. He's the only guy that's won immunity all merge.

For bullshit reasons very time.

"Wouldn't that be playing dirty?"

Rosa, no. That IS a valid, impersonal, and good game strategy to have.

It's not like we're killing him.

"I know how to differentiate the game from friendship, but that doesn't mean we should play dirty. And the way everyone accepts so easily scares me a little."

Omg Rosa I love you.

I LOVE how genuine she is compared to everyone else. It's so refreshing.

She's genuine but she's also not stupid, you know?

*Gets a golf ad*

XD

Rosa, you don't want to play the game dirty, go play golf instead!

"Excellent work Oliver..."

XD

"Yaaaaaayyy, that's so great, I LOVE safety..."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH"

Same, girl.

"James, Aiden, and Riya have agreed to align the challenge for you to be eliminated."

YO WHY ARE YOU TELLING HIM THIS?!

"I understand. I would have done the same if I were Tess and Ally."

Oh, he's cool.

GIRL YOU ARE TOO GOOD FOR THIS WORLD.

"James, I know you're just upset about losing your phone, but we need to focus on finding Hunter."

Yeah James, it's called withdrawal!

If their plan fails because James is too pissed about his phone, that's ANOTHER point against him.

"What if I told you I didn't lose it?"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"I mean I didn't lose it."

XD

I'm sorry XD

I KNOW what he's about to say, but I get this out of context thing in my head.

"You didn't lose it?"

"I didn't lose it."

"What are you trying to say?"

"I didn't lose it."

"I know you didn't lose it. how did you not lose it?"

"I mean I didn't lose it."

"Can you say SOMETHING besides you didn't lose it PLEASE?!?!"

"...pumpkin pie."

Idk.

"That's a very serious and rushed assumption."

Yes it is.

One time in school, I lost a highlighter, and I immediately came to the conclusion someone stole it.

Turns out whoever did it smashed it on the floor so I couldn't find it.

And I got accused of false accusations.

I had an AWFUL school life and EVERYONE HATED ME.

Yes even teachers hated me.

"And who do you think did it?"

"You tell me. Who is the only person in the camp with that background."

😨

NO.

UH UH.

NO.

DON'T YOU DARE.

She has an idol! She can just play it!

OH GOD HE'S FERAL.

"What's wrong with that guy?"

YOU'RE TARGETING HIM, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!

"Your stress levels say otherwise."

Wait, is being nice KILLING her?!

Holy shit, THAT'S why McCleans are sociopaths! Because if they're nice they DIE!

"I felt bad that the four of us were attacking him."

You're too good for this game!

"This is ridiculous. It's like Hunter had prepared beforehand."

Let's be fair.

Even if Rosa DIDN'T tell him, if Hunter had a brain, he'd figure out that the others would be targeting him. So he'd play like this anyway.

"Excellent Rosa! Just like we planned!"

"So when Hunter is distracted, we all attack him at the same time!"

Oh wait that's smart on Riya's part! Holy shit, SLAY QUEEN!!!

"It's just a game. You did what you thought was right for you and it doesn't bother me at all."

Aw that's sweet.

"You warned me of your joint attack even if it hurt your alliance. You're a good person."

Yeah, about that...

ARE YOU SERIOUS YOU GUYS ARE BAD SHOTS

"It's time to hunt down Hunter!"

👏

HEY QUEEN

HEY QUEEN, I AM NOT WORTHY

SLAY!!!!

SLAAAAAAAYYY!!!!!

UH, HE DROWNED.

How do you keep the balloon underwater?

"The camper with the most intact balloons wins."

Oh okay, so don't shoot. Rosa and James have two.

Sorry, Rosa and AIDEN have two, my bad.

I'm not high this time, I swear.

"Let's wait for time to run out, and let Aiden win."

That is a perfect plan.

YOU FUCKING BITCH

YOU MOTHERFUCKING HYPOCRITE

Murder him. Murder him. Murder him.

Don't actually murder him, but slay him! SLAY HIM!

THAT IS THE OPPOSITE OF WHAT YOU JUST SUGGESTED YOU BITCH

SHE IS YOUR ALLY!!

JAMES, I FUCKING HATE YOU!!

"And that was for stealing my phone!"

YOU DON'T KNOW THAT SHE STOLE YOUR PHONE

YOU JUST DECIDED TO ACCUSE HER, WITH YOUR ONLY PROOF BEING "Well she shoplifted before"

I HATE YOU JAMES

If James gets away with this, let alone wins, I fucking hate this season.

Okay maybe that'd be too mean. But I wouldn't like it.

And now you all lose.

Good job.

Good FUCKING JOB.

...wait what?

NO WAIT I KNOW WHAT'S GOING ON

IT'S RIYA, IT'S GOTTA BE RIYA BECAUSE RIYA WAS THE ONLY ONE WITH ROSA THE WHOLE TIME AND COULD SHOVE THAT STUFF IN HER BAG-

SHE SABOTAGED ROSA

OH MY GOD...

DID MY QUEEN SLAY?!??!

DID SHE MISUSE HER SLAY PASS?!?!?

Wait... how many slay passes did I give her again?

No no, I don't care that Hunter won. Big whoopty do. I need to see how many slay passes I gave Riya throughout the season.

THIS IS TOTALLY MORE IMPORTANT

"I... want Yul to go to the Orange team."

YUUUUUUUUUUSSSS

SLAY QUEEN

SLAY QUEEN👑

DUMP HIS ASS ON THE LOSING TEAM AND GET RID OF HIS ASS

Counter: 2

"We can dominate the game together and you can beat the shit out of us in the semi-final."

Oh so you WANT to lose to Riya?

Heyo, don't tempt her to slay, Rosa. SHE'LL DO IT.

"Huh, now that you're encouraging me to slay, I think maybe I should slay, you know? Helps with my broke-ass career. People LOVE IT when people SLAY."

Counter: 5

I'm sorry for the disrespect, Riya! You can slay! This is my way of saying sorry, queen!

I love Rosa and don't want anyone to slay her, but I'm also like "DO IT YOU WON'T. DO IT YOU WON'T."

Counter: 7

"Karol is right. I must not forget my goal. I haven't stopped failing in my work, that's why I came here. This is my last chance to be someone! And I don't want to return to India with my family!"

SLAY GIRL!! SLAY!!

Counter: 9

"So when Hunter is distracted, we all attack him at the same time!"

Oh wait that's smart on Riya's part! Holy shit, SLAY QUEEN!!!

Counter: 10

HEY QUEEN

HEY QUEEN, I AM NOT WORTHY

SLAY!!!!

SLAAAAAAAYYY!!!!!

Counter: 12

I mean, it wasn't as many times as I said 'Steal The Idol'

Which, I'm pretty sure THAT counter is a meme on my Disventure Camp Blogs now...

(Either me or someone should do a counter of how many times I said something along the lines of 'steal the idol' throughout these reaction posts)

BUT STILL.

HOLY SHIT THIS WAS MY FAULT

I MEANT SLAY AS IN FLEX HOW GORGEOUS AND SASSY YOU ARE 💅

I DIDN'T MEAN SLAY AS IN BETRAYAL🔪

I could be babbling about nothing cause they didn't say she did this yet. Then I'm making a lunatic out of myself.

BUT DID I FREAKING CALL IT FROM WHAT, EPISODE 3? (Yes, it was Episode 3)

"You better pack your bags, because you're leaving tonight."

GODDAMMIT BUT I ALSO LOVE ROSA AND DON'T WANT HER TO GO.

I'M SO TORN.

I mean, she has Hunter on her side, right? So if Riya doesn't flip she's fine and they can boot James here.

GEE, IF ONLY ROSA HAD AN IDOL OR SOMETHING THAT COULD NULIFY THE VOTES.

IF ONLY, AM I RIGHT?

Add that to the counter.

UGH HONEY NOOOOOO I DON'T WANT YOU TO GO

I THOUGHT SHE WAS GONNA WIN

WHAT ABOUT HER DAUGHTER?!

"It's about Tess and Ally, they both like me. I think I feel the same way about them too."

HUNTER THEY'RE GONE, I DON'T CARE

I'M CONCERNED FOR ROSA

"If the three of you are happy together, why change it?"

THANK YOU ROSA.

"I don't know, because it's normal, right?"

This man doesn't know what the LGBTQIA+ Community is, I swear.

"Connor said I had to pick one."

Well screw Connor, who cares?

"Maybe it was inappropriate to bother you with my problems."

You and Jake would get along.

And you and me, probably.

But YEAH. I want the focus to be on ROSA.

"I wouldn't worry about that."

"Yeah, unfortunately, I don't have any advantages on me that had the power to negate the votes against me... you know, like an immunity idol or something. It's very unfortunate."

YEAH, SHE'S DYING. SHE'S ACTUALLY DYING FROM GOODNESS.

"If someone has a totem..."

SAY NO MORE!

"Me! I have an immunity totem and I want to use it now!"

LET'S GO!

"It's right... here? What?"

YOU DIDN'T CHECK YOUR POCKETS BEFORE YOU GOT TO TRIBAL?!?!

WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!?!?!?

ROSA NOOOO

I WAS SARCASTIC

I WAS BEING SARCASTIC BACK THERE, I THOUGHT SHE ACTUALLY HAD IT

THIS IS MY FAULT, NOOOO

"Did someone steal it from you?"

Of course no one steals idols around here. Because nobody here takes my advice ever.

Also fuck off, James.

'ROSA'

🎵I fucking hate my life and everyone here...🎵

'JAMES'

🎵I hope it's James but I think it won't because🎵

🎵Because these shows fucking hate me...🎵

🎵Why the hell am I singing? I have no idea🎵

'ROSA'

🎵Maybe cause I don't want to listen to this BULLSHIT🎵

🎵Lalalalalala I'm not listening...🎵

'JAMES'

🎵PLEEEEEEEEEEESSEEEE OH BAAAAAAAABBBYYY DON'T GO🎵

🎵SIMPLE AND CLEAN IS THE WAY THAT YOU'RE-🎵

😭

I'm not actually crying, that's just the emoji. Imagine me making a whining roar that sounds like a dying cat.

I THOUGHT ROSA WAS GONNA WIN

I WAS ROUTING FOR YOU

HER DAUGHTER TOO, OH MY GOD

SHE CAME HERE FOR HER DAUGHTER

"I just want to say that I'm leaving with a clear conscience. I played fair, I did the right thing, helped everyone I could, and didn't steal anything!"

Tell em.

GIRL HAD A FOOLPROOF GAME STRAT, AND SHE STILL LOST.

She had a secure locked in alliance. The team swap did not shake her. She got along with everyone to prevent herself as a target. She was a strong player. She was finding idols.

SHE HAD EVERYTHING GOING FOR HER.

AND SHE STILL LOST.

"I don't know what happened, but you have to be careful of James."

I know, right?

"Don't worry, I have a plan to deal with James."

AS SHE SHOULD SLAY.

"Riya, I didn't steal anything."

"I know, Rosa. It was me."

*I got up and paced around*

BITCH WHAT THE FUCK

I KNEW IT!!!! I FUCKING KNEW IT!!!! I CALLED IT!!!!!

I FUCKING CALLED IT!!!!!!

OH MY GOD NOOOOOOO

I WAS RIGHT?!?!??!

Guys, I swear this is blind. I swear. I swear on my oath.

Look. There's NO BAR ON THE FUTURE EPISODES.

THIS IS BLIND. I SWEAR. I DID NOT KNOW.

THIS IS PROOF.

DON'T THROW ACCUSATIONS.

RIIIIIIIIYYYYAAAAAAA

WHY DID YOU SLLAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY?!?!??!

WHY DID YOU LISTEN TO ME?!??!?!??!

I'm torn.

I'm so torn.

HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO FEEL ABOUT MY BEST GIRL SLAYING MY OTHER BEST GIRL?!?!

Do I side with Riya going forward??? I-I don't know-I feel like I have to! I feel like because it's my fault, I'm OBLIGATED to side with her!!

She has me wrapped around her finger!! I don't know what to do! Because I want to hate her, but I JUST CAN'T!

I don't know what the popular take on Riya is. I only knew what the takes were on Ellie and Jake. I knew people hated Jake. BUT I LOVED HIM. I knew SHIT about the Season 2 cast.

But I NEED to PROCESS THIS...

RIYA I DON'T KNOW IF I LOVE YOU OR I LOVE HATING YOU OR I HATE LOVING YOU, YOU HAVE ME QUESTIONING MY SANITY, GIRL!!!

ARE YOU EVIL?! IS THAT IT?! Or are you just playing the game?

"I stole James' phone and put it in your backpack along with my perfume. I also took your immunity totem."

...

Okay?

Idk what you want me to say. I have nothing to say about that.

"Did you frame me?!"

What do you think she's trying to say? She's coming clean.

"Did you make me look like a thief in front of everyone?"

I mean that SUCKS because Rosa had to steal to survive, so this is some TRAUMA for her.

But also, getting pissed over a PHONE, I think is still on James.

Holy shit I'm defending Riya right now-holy shit I AM stanning her still, oh shit...

Oh no... oh no what has happened to me...?

"I was acting, Rosa. The boys didn't doubt it for a second."

I mean she's right. I can't say that's invalid of a strat.

"Riya, why did you do this to me?"

"We can betray each other inside the game and still be friends outside of it. Just like you betrayed the alliance by spoiling the plan to Hunter."

I... SOUND. Okay. That's sound.

CAUSE HEY, JAMES CAN PUT PEOPLE IN THE HOSPITAL AND CALL IT A STRAT, BUT RIYA CAN'T? LET'S BE REAL NOW.

"These are things that happen in this game."

Yeah. Yes it is.

Don't hate the player, hate the game.

"The problem isn't the game. It's you Riya."

OH SHIT.

"You let the competition change you. You may win the million, but you will be alone again."

OH SHIT...

SO THAT'S WHERE THIS IS GOING...

"Come on Rosa! Don't be mad!"

"Hmph, I am not mad, I am disappointed."

SHIT...

And that's it.

She lost her ONLY friend here.

SHE'S SO UPSET ABOUT IT, OH MY GOD...

"Everything went as planned. When I stole the things, I didn't know whether to blame Hunter or Rosa, but I came up with a plan that could take me far, and unfortunately, I had to sacrifice Rosa."

I mean, I have to give mad respect that she's owning up to it.

"Yeah. I played dirty. Whatcha gonna do about it? I AM A QUEEN AND I HAVE GOLDEN'S SLAYING SUPPORT. I HAVE A RIGHT!"

Oh the goodness killed her. Well, RIP.

Okay, after thinking about it... HOLY SHIT RIYA IS SMART.

Seriously, think about it!

Final FIVE. Hunter KEEPS winning immunity no matter what they try.

Sure, she's allied with James and Aiden as well, BUT if Hunter wins immunity, which is what ended up happening, James and Aiden WON'T turn on each other.

So it'd either be her or Rosa. And since everyone likes Rosa, then Riya would go 5th place if she did nothing.

So her best move was to pin the blame on Rosa and get everyone to turn on her.

And if they find out she did this or Hunter wins immunity again? DOESN'T MATTER. SHE'S GUARANTEED FINALS ANYWAY.

IT'S ACTUALLY SO SMART.

I mean, I HATE this plan because it sacrifices Rosa, WHO DESERVED TO WIN OUT OF ALL THESE GUYS.

BUT

I HAVE to respect the hell out of her.

Oh my god I love Riya... I-guys, I think I might be supporting Riya.

I genuinely want Riya to win this season.

I get she might be evil, but it's Total Drama so who cares look what show you're watching, BUT THAT WOULD BE SO POETIC AND BRILLIANT.

She came here as an outsider outcast with no social life and desperately wanted it. But because of the game and what her career needed to succeed, she had to ditch both that and her morality so she could find success.

SHE WINS AND SHE SLAYS, BUT SHE WON'T BE HAPPY. HER LIFE WILL BE MISERABLE AND AN ENDLESS CYCLE OF ACTING SHE CAN'T BREAK FROM.

I WANT RIYA TO WIN NOW. THAT WOULD BE SUCH A GREAT ENDING. TOTAL DRAMA WOULD NEVER DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

As much as I would LOVE it if Julia had something like that, but you know, Season 2 of the TDI Reboot fell off the deep end at the third act. I KINDA warmed up to it, but I still don't like the last third of that season. (Episodes 1-8 were great though)

I feel like I'm obligated to as well, because I'm the one that kept telling her to slay. So I've been pushing it XD.

But yeah, RIYA SUPPORTER AND I DON'T GIVE A SHIT. THIS WOMAN SHOULD WIN AND THIS WOMAN SHOULD SLAY AND THIS WOMAN SHOULD GET HER UNHAPPY ENDING.

YOU WANT TO WIN THIS GAME, YOU DO IT SWEETIE.

YOU WANT TO DESTROY THESE BOYS, YOU DO IT SWEETIE.

YOU WANT TO BE A COMPLETE PIECE OF SHIT GOING FORWARD, I WILL PROBABLY BE TOO STUBBORN TO HATE YOU.

I'm a damn hypocrite for this, aren't I? How the fuck is James still here?

Also NOOOOO ROSA I'M SORRY

Rosa was so good too... it sucks. It sucks so much. I LOVED Rosa. She deserved to win, too. And I thought she was gonna win.

She was kinda giving me Owen and Wayne energy. Except she was actually a bit strategic with her alliances and finding idols and making good terms with everyone. She would've been a GREAT winner.

AND SHE HAD A SYMPATHETIC MOTIVE TO HELP HER DAUGHTER. LIKE, WHYYYY?!??!

Though let's be real. Riya hurt her personally. Riya could donate the ENTIRETY of the million dollars to Rosa if she wanted, and Rosa STILL would not forgive her or accept her back.

So props for Rosa having a backbone.

Alright, this show got my interest again. I want to see how this plays out. I'm supporting a mastermind, oh my god...

[zvtara-was-never-canon]

I mean to be fair the writers in the latter half of the show were fully aware of all this fanon madness and threw them some bones. Katara and Zuko were trolled 2 times at being together, Toph hinted at katara having a secret thing with haru (whatever that means) amd she herself seemee very needy and jealous being the only one without a zuko field trip,suki and sokka did it.

When people watch the show without any social media or fanon influence after netflix aired atla all the canon pairings make total sense but when i think bryke indeed did some fanservice (the way zuko jumped in slowmo into the lightning) so the writers definitely knew what they were doing.

I really liked kataang in the first 2.5 seasons but the fact that tsr and eip are both 2 episodes in a row and we never see katara apologizing to either sokka or aang even had me like wtf (tsr is a good episode but still.) Then aang disappears on the lion turtle and katara is pretty chill compared to all the times before. It would be prob better to have a book 4 where they grew apart for a few years and saw how important they were to each other to give them the proper development but it is what it is.

While I'm all for a book 4, splitting the Gaang up would be a HUGE mistake. "This could ruin the whole show" kind of mistake. They all are at their best and grow the most when they are TOGETHER. Hell, that's the whole point of the life-changing field trips with Zuko. Let's not "fix" what isn't broken.

I wouldn't really say that Katara was "chill" after Aang disappeared. They were on the edge of the biggest battle of their lives so they had a LOT to focus on, and even Sokka just immediately thinks "He's probably in the spirit world doing Avatar stuff that will help save the day." Mysterious bullshit making Aang be away for a little while, be it physically or just spiritually/mentally, is a Tuesday for them at this point. They spent an entire episode waiting for Roku to be done telling his backstory with Sozin to him. Katara not losing her mind with concern because of something that happens regularly is not the same them growing apart.

And while an apology to Katara for the Ember Island thing or her apologizing to Aang and SPECIALLY Sokka after how she acted on Southern Raiders would be great, Avatar has a tendency of just skipping apologies that are kind of taken as a given - see Aang not apologizing to Toph after how he acted when Appa was kidnaped, or her and Katara not apologizing to each other after the events of The Chase. They tend to focus on apologies for bad behavior that lasted a whole arc (see Zuko apologizing to the Gaang and to Iroh).

And about the writers throwing shippers a bone with stuff like Katara and Zuko being mistaken for a couple - yeah, I can see how fan would like that. I also remember the characters getting visibly uncomfortable with it and that the show basically mocked the very concept of the ship through the Ember Island Players.

More importantly: fanservice is not foreshadowing, set up and/or development. For exemple: I LOVE Tokka as a ship, and I find Toph's crush on Sokka really cute. But it was always VERY CLEAR that it was one-sided and that the writers decided to make him end up with Suki. The fanservice made me happy, but it was not meant to be taken seriously, so I didn't.

Meanwhile Zutarians use five minutes of bait to argue that there was a whole conspiracy in which their OTP was meant to be endgame but evil Bryke ruined it at the last second. They've argued that Ember Island!Katara saying she likes Zuko and thinks of Aang as her little brother was a reflection of the REAL Katara's feelings, even though she explicitly said it was not the case and the show itself made it obvious that it is simply an INNACCURATE fanon take on the show.

No one would have an issue with Zutara shippers enjoying the little treats the writers gave them if they weren't so hellbent on claiming that those little moments somehow invalidate three seasons of Kataang, and one season (plus a few book 2 episodes) of Maiko. Not to mention the constant "If you dislike the ship/say it's not canon, then you're sexist/racist and I get to harass you."

You can't be "fair" to people that are asking to be allowed to be unfair to everyone else. They need to grow the fuck up first and realize that, if they want to be left alone, they shouldn't go around picking up petty fights with people then complaining when they get punched.

[raayllum]

im new to the fandom, so I miss a lot of the discourse (helped ofc by the fact you're kinda the only dp blog I follow), so everytime you mention the s4 backlash I'm like....how in the world could people hate that season or rayllum in it? It doesn't compute for me!

The last ship I was particularly engaged with, has a lot of similarities with rayllum. They were best friends, life partners before they were ever /romantic/ life partners. And they went through a /lot/ of trauma, miscommunication, and being on opposite sides of the same fight, etc etc.

the difference to rayllum was that they never rlly gave each other the grace they need. They also never talked on screen, but unlike rayllum it wasn't because it was the best option for them, it's just that the writers didn't want to include it ever - to the point that when they finally did an episode addressing it, it landed...very flat? Because it was about six seasons in, addressing things as far back as the second season, that they'd apparently never spoken to each other about before (they were tragically engaged when this happened).

Rayllum GENERALLY but especially in s4 have a really special place in my heart, because they feel very realistically messy - but it doesn't feel like it's there so there's some drama to keep audiences hooked. It feels authentic, and is one of those rare cases where it strengthens their relationship. I definitely could buy that rayllum would survive anything that hit their relationship by the end of s3, but getting to actually SEE that and see how much they're willing to work through out of love and respect for each other? Fantastic.

(also like it's such good character development....i am with u in the s4 defense squad. is there a squad? If there is I'm in it)

First off welcome to the fandom and I hope you're having a good time!!

The fact that my blog is mostly discourse free cause while I tag accordingly (fandom nonsense and dragons gets salty for potential blacklisting purposes) I always worry I can dip too far into that on occasion (I do my best not to unless being called out by name, and even then mostly do my best to ignore stuff), but there's not too much discourse within TDP in general — at least not in the Rayllum corner, luckily.

I think that's why the S4 backlash really surprised and threw me for a loop, because my partner and I finished the season at like 7AM on release day and while different than expected, we loved it and thought it was great from the start. Then we went online and people in the fandom who I'd largely always agreed with were having a really hard time with the season and it was disheartening at least to not have many people to talk to about why 1) S4 is TDP's thematically strongest season thus far and that's still true, 2) it's Ezran's best season imo, and 3) it does a lot of things really really well in really interesting ways.

I always try to never come down Too Hard on the s4 backlash just because people are of course entitled to their feelings/opinions then as well as now (even if some people's tunes have definitely changed), but a lot of it did feel sometimes short sighted if not immature.

Like soo many people are still mad that Rayla and Callum broke up in an offscreen graphic novel, when S4 would still be S4 regardless of whether TTM existed and like... if Rayla worrying that she failed (again) and went off on her own (again) to protect Callum was a big logical leap, then that person honestly just wasn't paying attention; there's not much else to say there. I also think it's just a strange choice to assume that Nothing Major would change the second you find out about a timeskip; like, almost everything else is status quo, Rayla being gone is the One Major Change and people couldn't handle that being a Surprise?

Like you said, conflict between a couple is not inherently a bad thing; it can be good and interesting, and this was always a relationship hurdle I think a lot of Rayllums (myself included) expected Rayla and Callum to have to tackle. Not liking how extreme or 'dramatic' it was (ie. season long arc > just a few episodes, or Rayla leaving > just trying to leave) is fair enough, but given that it's rooted in so much of Rayla's character, I'd much rather take a long way around approach that's in depth. I'm also just Glad and Grateful that the show is tackling it and treating it like the issue it is rather than sweeping things under the rug.

The fact that Callum's version of anger wasn't the one people wanted is another issue, but again — his anger went the way I'd always thought it might if he just went through enough trauma, and even if he had yelled at her, I don't think the season would've necessarily gone any different than it did other than them crying more early on. Which I've written and wouldn't have minded, but I also don't dislike the alternative route canon took — of course they were never going to get all variations out there, but Callum is cold as hell and being a bit of a jerk while also being valid and tempering himself because he doesn't want to hurt her anymore than she wants to hurt him (and Callum has always been very very bad at being/staying mad with Rayla or Ezran anyway).

I saw a lot of pushback against Rayllum being 'platonic' (which was annoying as an aromantic person lemme tell you, as though platonic is lesser), being "broken up for no reason" (Rayla being hyper-independent was not a secret and always going to be what threatened to rip them apart; they are also still Visibly and Repeatedly In Love with each other how is that broken up), or that they didn't get to have a Big Feelings Time in S4.

With that in mind, there's a lot that also matters in a relationship beyond just Open Communication, tbh. There's going to be times in life where you're not able to or unwilling to talk about certain things (given that S4 is maybe a week, I think that's reasonable; especially when Rayllum still haven't talked to each other about it as of s5 and no one I saw have an issue in S4 about it has complained about it there) and like... how do you treat each other when you're still mad or confused and haven't talked everything out? Do you still take care of each other, are you still doing your best to be considerate of each other (even if you're also not going to be perfect)? That shit matters just as much if not more as people able to sit down and hash things out.

I think the truth is a lot of the things that pissed people off about S4 would've been true even if the opposite things had happened:

N'than is flat and under developed unlike Ellis → N'than is more developed → why is N'than taking away from screentime for other characters?

The Sunfire plotline feels disconnected from the rest of the story (nvm that Viren's arc from 1x06 onwards doesn't affect any main character again until 3x04) → the Sunfire plot line has more connections to the main cast crammed in → more complaints about pacing and things feeling overly stuffed, as scenes already change from one to the next quite clearly

Callum and Rayla have a big talk sometime between 4x03-4x07 → this doesn't give Callum enough time to be angry / makes him seem unreasonable because he's admitted he was mostly worried but is still not fully letting her in despite her spilling her guts to him (and in what world would Rayla give excuses, again, when she knows he's the one hurting and taking priority in her mind)

S4's humor was bad because there were fart jokes (in one episode) → the crowlord's joke is so much worse than the fart jokes imo and is on par with the walnut joke in 1x06. also 1-2 scenes with jokes that didn't work for you out of 9 whole ass episodes is like. you're just a wuss i'm sorry

The Sunfire plot line is boring → will never not feel like "I just can't connect or be interested in politics and religious disagreements when it's mostly about Black people for Some Reason (racism)" to me tbh

There was no way to please everyone especially after a three year hiatus (because people think, For Some Reason, that how much time it takes for a story to come out should change how that story is written and it really, really doesn't) but yeah. The internet showed their asses and I was Not Impressed lmao

TLDR; a lot of the S4 backlash was "I'm mad this isn't happening now and I'm stressed out/worried that it won't be" as opposed to "this is only a problem if it never happens at all, but I have faith that it will," and I will love S4 forever. The Callum-Viren parallels being ramped up, the theme of duality and moving "doing terrible things for love" to the forefront with multiple characters (Rayla, Terry, Viren, Claudia), seeing Ezran step into his role as king, Callum's arc being shown > told, the set up for the possession plot line, Janaya's engagement and relationship development + Amaya and Janai's independent arcs? Chef's kiss. S4 is my best friend and its Rayllum dynamic is on par with S3 for me, and I am very grateful the fandom's attitude towards s4 and s4 Rayllum is a lot warmer / more reasonable now

When Callum says "unconditionally" in 5x01 and all their stuff in S5 we know and believe it because we've seen them fight and work so hard to come back from some pretty terrible brinks in imperfect ways, and I'll always love s4 for that. The most aspec Rayllum season by far

[finalfantasyx]

Thoughts on Dashing Youth - Blood of Youth

I HAVE THOUGHTS AFTER FINISHING BOTH DRAMAS. Spoilers ahead if you haven't seen them.

First things first: I heard of The Blood of Youth when it first came out and have had it on my backburner to-watch list for a long time, but I never got around to it. H O W E V E R, I didn't hear peep about Dashing Youth until it was airing and youtube threw it into my face. Dashing Youth automatically got bumped to the top of my watchlist because I will die before I miss a period/xianxia/wuxia drama starring Neo Hou, just saying.

Ergo, I watched Dashing Youth before I watched The Blood of Youth while thinking, "huh why does every drama have [Shao Nian] in its name nowadays?" only to find out later when I was watching the first few episodes that it was the PREQUEL to The Blood of Youth when my mom walked past and casually asked what this was because the names that were mentioned were in The Blood of Youth (she watched it a while back and recommended it; she's been right on the money so far with good recs--Mysterious Lotus Casebook was also hers and both of these dramas ended up on my top 3 favorite dramas list). A quick google search later told us as much.

That meant I had no context to the world we would be in for the next 80 episodes prior to watching Dashing Youth, and I had no idea who these people were and what would happen to them in The Blood of Youth (which, thank goodness. I would have been in tears the entire time if I watched it the other way around).

To begin--Dashing Youth sucked.

I said what I said; Neo Hou couldn't save this one. The story was bad, the CGI was...not great, and the pacing was THE WORSTTTTTTTTTTTTTT. The *only* thing the producers got right were the characters, because those were A+ spot on. Neo Hou and Xia Zhi Guang and He Yu were SO GREAT in this, and Zhang Chen Xiao was a welcome familiar face after Cang Lan Jue.

Side plug, did y'all know there was a scrapped romance subplot between Dongfang Xunfeng and Dan Yin in Cang Lan Jue??? I am so angry; we could have had all the good things, but no, we're not allowed.

I also absolutely adored the other disciples of Jixia Academy, Baili Dongjun's shixiongs. Lei Mengsha, oh my GOD he was so funny and I laughed every. single. time. he did his gremlin laugh on screen. The others also really grew on me, like...hold on, let me check my notes.../looks at scribbles on hand

The da shixiong who showed up for one arc and like two episodes, after which he was dropped like a sack of potatoes and never seen agani, third shixiong--the sword one with the badass wedding arc in the beginning who we don't care about, the fourth shixiong--Liu Yue, the pretty one, the fifth shixiong--the "ugly" (??? he wasn't???) one who I'm not convinced isn't in some sort of relationship with Liu Yue, the sixth shixiong--the music one whom we know nothing about--OOOH OOOH OOH I KNOW THIS ONE, the seventh shixiong--Prince Langya, Xiao Ruofeng!

Yikes. I wish the show would do these characters more justice, because the actors did GREAT in bringing them to life only to have them nuked because of screentime restrictions and lack of dialogue if they weren't Lei Mengsha, Liu Yue, or Xiao Ruofeng. I literally have the most barebone ideas of who they are. And even Liu Yue got nuked later on. Ugh.

Speaking of characters, I really loved Yue Yao and her drive to do what was right as the story progressed. She was so interesting when she decided to take charge of things instead of letting them happen to her, and then LOOK WHAT THE PRODUCERS DID WITH HER. Sidelined her and made her arm candy to Baili Dongjun when they could have been a badass fighting couple. A N D based on the timeline we got in the drama, they were together for like seven years and you're telling me they didn't get married until post-drama??? I don't believe you~

I literally powered through this drama, though credit must be given for the soundtrack, which I thought was overall better than The Blood of Youth's (save for a few songs, but I would sooner listen to the full OST for Dashing Youth without skipping songs than The Blood of Youth).

There was a lot of story and a lot of characters to cram into this drama so that it would set up for The Blood of Youth properly, which was by then a very established drama. Retconning is a nightmare, but the producers and screenwriters somehow MADE A PREQUEL WORSE because there were a lot of details and characters that dragged on for too long, took up too much screentime for NO purpose whatsoever (like Baili Dongjun learning the sword and dao technique that he maybe used like once?), and then caused the rest of the actually important details that need to set up The Blood of Youth to be SUPER rushed.

The pacing. Dear GOD, the pacing. If your drama requires multiple voice-over timeskip cuts, you're doing it WRONG (see: shoving in the Four Guardians of Tianqi without actually letting us see this badass team interact even once...nuking the seven disciples of Jixia Academy while then bringing back Liu Yue and Mo Xiao Hei at the end to fight Nanjue with Lei Mengsha ALSO without actually letting us see them together and then saying that they went back to jianghu after the battle without mentioning how Lei Mengsha died while fighting Nanjue in The Blood of Youth...how on earth Li Hanyi became the second City Master when Sikong Changfeng was explicitly namedropped by Luo Shui, the previous City Master of Xueyue...I could keep going).

This is bad writing at its finest and I am angry that the drama turned out this way when source material was actually so good.

--Then, The Blood of Youth.

This drama was everything Dashing Youth wanted and tried to be, but even with a template in front of them, they still managed to get it wrong. The audacity and freedom and shackles of youth, the adventure and the beginnings of romance, the court politics and the complexity of jianghu--The Blood of Youth did it RIGHT, and with excellent pacing and development.

[kimwxler]

I think my biggest problem with Izzy's death (aside, from, you know. Izzy is dead) is that it felt completely disconnected from the rest of the story. So many things in this episode felt like they had branched from an alternate universe season 2, or maybe a planned season 3 and they'd just squeezed the ending to that in. Which may actually be what happened; why they'd think it was a good move, I have no idea.

In the death scene, Izzy said things about needing Blackbeard to exist because it was both of them, that he had been encouraging Blackbeard to exist for years, etc. That's interesting and everything but where is it in the text? You can extrapolate from season 1 that some of this may have been happening, but then instead of expanding on it in season 2 to make Izzy's apology really hit hard, they went in a completely different direction. Season 2 Izzy wasn't preventing Ed from being himself and he didn't seem particularly invested in Blackbeard existing. In episode one, he had been pushed to his limits and tried to get through to Ed as a friend, and when he couldn't try with Ed anymore he focused on protecting the crew and mutinied. Then he spent episodes 4-7 trying to move on and strengthening his bonds with the crew, and only started interacting with Ed at all in the last few episodes. Ed, similarly, has been trying to figure out what he wants and who he wants to be. Where exactly is the emotional impact in Izzy ~finally~ encouraging Ed to just be Ed when the last episode had a scene where Izzy encouraged Ed to follow the feeling he had when he threw his leathers away, and then Ed went off to try and become a fisherman?

Izzy's death representing the death of the Blackbeard role and also the golden age of piracy, etc, is fine I guess. I'm not going to pretend I'd like it but if it had been set up as those arcs driving the season for Ed and Izzy, that's a different story. But looking at what actually happened in Season 2 and the Ed/Izzy arc in it, it was more about grappling with what had happened in the first two episodes. So following from that arc, what does Izzy's death symbolize? Ed being free from accountability and guilt over what he did to Izzy?

Don't get me wrong, that's not what they were going for at all. I actually don't think it symbolized anything and was just (unsuccessful and badly done) emotional manipulation, which is what happens all the time with characters dying. But it really does make Izzy's death far more upsetting, and not in the weirdly enjoyable way that you can love a tragedy. They went so far with Ed's actions in the first two episodes, and at the time I loved it! But it's become clear that OFMD doesn't really have the emotional range to handle a storyline like that. So they just didn't, for the most part.

So now we have a story arc where Izzy got mutilated repeatedly, got shot, got his leg amputated, attempted suicide, started to heal and move on and form meaningful connections outside of Ed while adjusting to his disability, and then dies. While spending his entire death scene apologizing to and reassuring Ed, and while the whole crew he'd been bonding with just sort of stand around looking vaguely sad. And mind you the timeline of this whole season has been like two weeks.

[toujokaname]

Mischief / Episode 10

Characters: Rinne, Niki, HiMERU, Kohaku  

"That's right! I wanted to be loved by everyone too! Because I'm an idol!"

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[ Read on my site for a better viewing experience using Ois~su ♪ ]

Season: Spring

Location: An Apartment Room

Rinne: .........

Niki: Nahaha. Looks like you really were scared, Rinne-kun. You've been clinging to my clothes and won't let go.

There, there... You're alright now~ Just learn from this, okay? Maybe don't do anything so stupid again—

Niki: UGYAAAH?!

Rinne: SHUUUUDDUUUPPP!

HiMERU: Oh, what an impressive German suplex.

Kohaku: Niki-han... If you hadn't gone and said somethin' unnecessary, you wouldn't be gettin' hit with wrestlin' moves right now...

Rinne: You fuckers! What the hell?! How could you just ignore me and toss me into the storage room like that?!

HiMERU: Actually, it was the staff who threw you in there, not us.

We had asked them to move any furniture that wouldn't be used in the filming out of the way.

Rinne: So then, don't buy shit you're not gonna use to record! Plan your shopping better, dumbasses! How many goddamn years have you been in the workforce, huh?!

Thanks to you, I was freaking out and legit thought I was gonna die?! It scared the living fuck outta me, wondering if I'd just slowly rot away with no one finding me...!

Kohaku: And now he's pitchin' a full-blown tantrum... Serves you right, though. That's what you get for stickin' your nose where it don't belong.

HiMERU: What were you thinking to begin with? While your behavior is generally incomprehensible, this instance is particularly baffling.

Rinne: I spelled it out in the video, didn't I?! I wanted to take you pricks by surprise!

HiMERU: And what exactly was the point of this prank?

Rinne: I said that in the video too! Pay attention and watch it properly, damn it!

Niki: Wait? Just a basic question, but Rinne-kun, you were locked in this storage box this whole time, right?

So, who posted the video?

Rinne: Moooron, there's a little something called scheduled posting. I filmed and edited the part where I hid in the storage box in advance and scheduled it to upload.

Here's how it went: I crawled outta the box, went all the way back to Seisoukan, edited the footage, then dragged my ass back here just to hop back in the box.

Niki: And here I thought all you were doing lately was just holing up in your room... But nope, you were actually off pulling weird stunts like this.

HiMERU: It's behavior that resembles the culprits in detective novels. When viewed objectively, it's nothing but ridiculous—one can't help but wonder why anyone would go to such lengths.

Kohaku: I get it now. So you posted that video of the prank ahead of time and planned to reveal the results later—that was your whole plan, huh?

Rinne: Exactly! And look how that turned out—a complete disaster! Ughhh, just goes to show this is what you get for trying stuff outta your wheelhouse, huh?!

I blew it, even though I brought gear like cameras to capture the prank's moment!

But I didn't have anything to connect to the internet, so I couldn't call for help!

I was so scared I ended up shouting myself hoarse, and I couldn't even yell to you guys for help!

So I desperately tried to make noise, but you bastards just ignored me?!

Thinking, is there no god or buddha?! I even got all sentimental and left a will on camera!

Niki: Oh, like those guys who get lost in the mountains and leave a last message...

HiMERU: Won't you please try not to get lost in a residential area's storage room. Really, good grief.

Well, in hindsight, it's fortunate that nothing serious happened.

Currently, it would be inconvenient for HiMERU if you were to die.

Rinne: That so? No, that can't be right, hm? As it stands, our Crazy:B is PBB—in other words, it's you and Kohaku-chan's popularity that's holding it up!

So let's be for real. Niki and I are completely unnecessary, aren't we?

HiMERU: Are you saying that you did something so foolish out of bitterness and a desire for attention?

Rinne: That's right! I wanted to be loved by everyone too! Because I'm an idol!

Rinne: —And also. At first, I thought it was fun to watch, but the longer this dragged on, it hit me. "If this keeps up, things are gonna get real bad."

HiMERU: What do you mean by "this"?

Rinne: The abnormal popularity of PBB and JoyLife, that's what.

At first, it felt like we hit the lottery—just like I said a million times. Though really, it's more like landing on one of those lucky spaces in Sugoroku.

But you've heard the stories, right? About people who won the lottery. How their lives went haywire after that.

It ain't just "happily ever after" when you hit the jackpot.

Life goes on after that. And that "excessive good fortune" distorts the life and personality of the person it's given to.

Rinne: I realized we're facing a shitty situation like that.

Kohaku: .........

[ ☆ ]

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[somethinglikethatyeah83]

I'M HERE: Campbell Bain

Pairing: Campbell Bain x GN!Reader

Warnings: Reader has a breakdown so detaul description of said breakdown

Summary: Campbell is always there to help out when you need it <3

Word Count: 1.3K

A/N: First Campbell piece! Last piece for a while though since I've got exams coming up but I should be back on them in a week or so, depending on how well the exams go lmao

Everything hurt. Each fibre of my being was crying out for help, and an unbelievable amount of pain was coursing through my veins, and between synapses in my brain. I couldn't breathe, I couldn't see, and I just wanted everything to end. I wanted everything to go away and for it to never come back again. 

I couldn't narrow it down to what had started it. One minute I had been fine, the next I was in another horrid state. I wasn't even in an episode. I had been fine for months, everything had been okay and then this happened.

Campbell was in the studio. Somewhere in the distance, I could hear his voice as he announced a new song, but it was fuzzy. Whether because it was too far away or because I couldn't hear anything either, I couldn't answer. I wouldn't have gone to him but he always got upset when someone interrupted one of his sessions, and I couldn't dare make him upset. His happiness brought me happiness, and I wouldn't ruin it.

He's going to kill me when he finds out I didn't go to him in this state. Campbell was always insistent that I went to him to help whenever I got like this. Not that he was forcing me to talk when I didn't want to, just so he knew. Just so he could understand what I was going through and ask if there was anything he could do. Normally, there was. 

I really did appreciate Campbell. Unlike him, I wasn't the best at showing it. Campbell was an unbelievably affectionate person, constantly showering me with hugs and kisses and compliments, which somehow I just couldn't reciprocate all the time. I love him, more than anything else in this world, but I couldn't always do the same.

We had, of course, spoken about this. Manic depression was very different to clinical depression. He understood that as much as I wanted to show him how much I loved him, the depression meant that I couldn't always. He was okay with it. He said that just being with me made him feel good enough. I still didn't believe him, after all these months, but there was no changing it. 

I had been curled up in my bed for the past hour. I couldn't take all the noises from the common room and so ran to my bedroom and threw myself onto my bed, curled my knees under my chin, and slammed my eyes shut. The nurses didn't follow me, knowing that soon enough, Campbell would come bundling in and help me, which he hadn't yet. The show hadn't ended yet, that was all. 

Campbell was probably the only person in the world that could calm me down. The other patients knew it, the nurses knew it, and even Eddie knew it. When I was having a problem, someone always went and got Campbell.

And it was the other way around, too. When Campbell would get a little too hyper, I was always called on. I couldn't always make him better, and he would have to be stabilised sometimes, but the majority of the time I could calm him down. We were the perfect pair, even if we were loonies. 

Everything in my surroundings was so fuzzy that I didn’t even hear Campbell enter. I only jolted in my curled-up position when I felt his palm against my back. He apologised softly, my hearing a little better with how close he was, even if he was still slightly fuzzy. I sat up where I was, seeing his features pulled into a sympathetic frown. 

“Hey.” I murmured, running a hand through the matted hair at the top of my head, trying to tidy it up. “You alright?”

He sent me a soft, calming smile. “You’re not.”

“Cam, I’m fine.”

“Don’t lie to me, love, I know you too well now.” He spoke, velvet voice bringing me that sense of tranquillity that no one else could. “Hug?”

My eyes watched his for a few moments, hesitant on whether it would help at all, and endlessly deciding that Campbell’s hugs were just too good to pass up, ever; even if I wasn’t in this state. There was never a time when his cuddles didn’t do anything. Even if I was completely content, being surrounded by sunshine in human form was just… perfect. 

I nodded, and before I could speak, he swiftly pulled me into his lap on the bed and wrapped his arms around my shoulders, one hand against the back of my head while his lips were pressed against my hair. My hands pulled into my chest as I laid sideways against his. I was completely shrouded by him, having the outside world completely shut out, and for the first time today, it felt like only Campbell and I existed. Finally, I felt safe. I didn’t feel like everything was pushing in on me, and I felt so safe that those tears that had been kept behind my eyes spilled. 

“Darlin’.” He cooed, rocking us back and forth slightly. “I’m here, you’re safe. You talk to me if ya want but I’m not gonna force you, yeah?”

I gasped a deep breath, trying to find air in my heavy sobs. It was always tiring when I finally let everything out. I had a habit of bottling everything up for months, and it always ended up in a Campbell hug, where I completely broke down and couldn’t even speak. I was so grateful that he put up with me, every single time. I never had to worry about him being annoyed or angry and I loved him so much for it. 

“I don’t know what happened.” I told him, speaking into his favourite multi-coloured hoodie which I had almost definitely stolen more than one time. “I just… couldn’t take the noise. Then I came in here and couldn’t take anything at all. Everything went fuzzy and I couldn’t hear or see and I just wanted to curl up into a ball and disappear. You were in a show, I didn't want to interrupt you.”

He looked down at me and cupped my cheeks. “You can always come and find me, whether I’m in a show or not. Eddie barely needs me anyway, and you’re more important, especially when you’re like this.”

“I know, I just get nervous. And the worst part was it felt like I was getting better.” I admitted, licking my lips and looking down at my hands which were now settled in my lap. “I hadn’t had an attack for months, and I wasn't even in an episode, it just happened suddenly.”

“Aye, but is anyone really getting better here? I’d say you’ve recovered the most out of all our loonies. And you get panic attacks a whole lot less than when you first came here.” He smiled slightly down at me, reaching a hand up and wiping the tears that ran down my cheeks. “Now, I’ve got nothing left to do for the rest of the day, how about we stay in here until dinner and mess around? Just us two, doing whatever we want.”

A wet chuckle spilled from my lips. “Sounds perfect.” I spoke, sniffing and wiping my nose against my sleeve. Just a second later he pulled a tissue out from practically nowhere and handed it to me. When I pulled away and looked at him he just smiled. 

“They told me you stormed off. I thought I’d come prepared.”

A small, minuscule smile curved into my lips, and I took the tissue. “Thank you. For everything. Not just the tissue.”

“S’what I’m here for, isn’t it?”

“I love you, Campbell, and I’m sorry I don’t say it as much as I should.”

He smiled down at me, pressing a soft kiss against my lips. “We talked about that, honey, stop apologising.”

“Alright.” I agreed hesitantly, nuzzling back into his arms.

“I love you, too, by the way.” He murmured into my hair, pulling me deep into a hug that I never wanted to leave.