#I was like 'i won't start the show because i'll want to binge watch and I have assignments due...i'll just watch the movie'

[bookwyrminspiration]

okay I have to hear your thoughts on the how to train your dragon series (movies, not books)

You are asking a dragon fanatic what they think of the critically acclaimed immensely popular highly beloved dragon movies, what do you think i'm gonna say? Obviously I adore them!

Storylines about learning to love monsters are 100000% my thing, and when those monsters are dragons? No contest, one of my favorite movie series of all time. Will always have a soft spot for stories about coming to love what you once found monstrous, even though nothing about it has changed--the dragons are the same as they always were, they've simply changed their perceptions and reactions to them and opened a whole new world.

And just!! the relationships!! I'm thinking specifically between Hiccup and Toothless, as that kind of unconditional support and love, complementing each other in ways only those involved will ever truly understand get to me. the bond between the boy who downed a dragon and then saved it and the dragon who learned to trust him and defend him like a part of himself, who become something more through the combination of selfs, is something that can actually be so personal.

Ambivalent on the third movie, though I understand what it was going for. On the one hand, love dragons. On the other, they were quite...ridiculously characterized and also all left. so. also maybe it was just me, but they seemed more anthropomorphized in the third? or at least toothless was, and I would've preferred him a little more draconic.--but the first two? absolutely lovely <3

actually currently rewatching the first movie and I AM losing my mind over it

[bcacstuff]

Day 2 Highlanders 7 con 20 July 2024 at the Hilton Metropole Hotel, Birmingham

Fan Meet with Richard:

If he's a betting man there will be Rebus 2 (with a wink)

Hasn't read more than 4.5 books (of OL) couldn't get through the Gathering in Fiery Cross

Everyone's really sad about it ending

Doesn't like the stickers chosen for the Rebus books but the author did so he was outvoted

Charles & David Q&A

As part of training for the roles, they were taught them how to stand and sit using the "Alexander Technique" Demonstrating the "Alexander Technique" of how to stand up straight 18th-century style 👇

Question: if you could play another character who would it be: David - BJR; Charles - didn't know - fusion of LJG and Jamie

What won't you miss after OL ends - David travel; Charles didn't answer the question but said he'll miss his friends in Glasgow

Who would you go to a convention to see - Charles Eddie Vedder & Robin Kimmerer (author); David couldn't name anyone

Richard, Charles and Jamie Roy play Magic the Gathering (red: a card game) together almost every day when not working

When asked about a LJG series, David said if people want it he'd be up for it and people need to speak up about it

David and Charles singing O Canada 👍

Charles can walk on his hands - went back and forth 3x

Richard & Sophie Q&A

What song would describe your relationship on the show: Sophie - Lover (Richard joked Tolerater)

What role would you like to play: Sophie - Black Swan; Richard - Wolverine or Iron Man

Richard & Sam made different animal noises each take during the birthing scene

Hardest scene they had to film: Sophie - physically the ones with the horses; Richard - one where Brianna tells Roger Jemmy might not be his

If you could take a character ahead in time to see something - Sophie BJR to see Frank; Richard Jamie Fraser into the modern world - Richard loves Sam's reactions to modern things

What are you binge watching? Sophie - The Bear; Richard - Queen of the South and BBT

Sophie spoiler: Joey and I were in a tent (Richard adds "in the 80s")

Who would you go to a convention to see? Richard - BBT, Peaky Blinders: Sophie - Friends

They don't really get recognized in the UK but yes in the US "people in England don't really watch Outlander" (Sophie) - when they started in S2/3 it wasn't really "present", especially in Scotland.

Taken anything from set? Sophie very tempted to take the pearls but hasn't taken anything yet; Richard not yet either (made a joke about the musket balls and Lallybroch in the 80s trying not to spoil anything)

What song represents your character - Sophie "Girl on Fire" because she powers through things

Ed Speleers & Steven Cree

Favourite role so far - Jack Crusher (Ed)

Cree - best part of Outlander is the conventions

Favourite scene was when Bonnet kidnaps Brianna and they explain how he became what he is

Ed read for LJG and they came back to him the next year with Bonnett

Cree auditioned for Dougal (who's the guy who raised $250K for a film then never made the film? - ouch!!). Then they cast Sam and had to make Dougal age appropriate

What era would you time travel to: Ed - 60s: Steven - his early 20s

Sam created MPC and whisky "unlike the guy who embezzled $250K" (ouch again!! Cree used the word "embezzled")

Cree to Sean - how does it feel to be a millionaire? Sean - pass me your phone I'll call Sam and ask him

Cree was offered roles in Bridgerton 1 & 2 and said no after he read the scripts

Cree went on for 5 minutes about how Claire brought Jamie back to life in Monsters & Heroes - it was hilarious

Seems that the 2 of them (Cree and Ed) go way back and are good friends (Ed said Cree was the most excited when he landed the star trek role. They wouldn't ever have crossed paths on OL. They know each other's families too.)

Caitriona

Funniest lines she couldn't get through - where she asks BPC if the bite was from a monkey and when Ian offers to go looking for Jamie and Claire says "but you don't have a leg"

Prefers to be called Caitriona

They talked about the ending of the books and someone yelled "Sam knows" then she said Sam THINKS he knows

Will be odd knowing they're not going back to Scotland when they finish filming. Couldn't say if they're staying but her husband is from Scotland and her in-laws live there so they will be there in some capacity

Costumes in S8 are her favourite since S2 Paris

Thanked everyone and said how much doing the show has meant to her

Asked if she and Tony share the same musical taste. She thought they said Sam and Steve said "no, your real husband" (she does with Tony, "definitely not" with Sam)

To prepare for Claire & Frank since they had a history, she and Tobias wrote each other letters. Tobias would redact his because he was in MI6. They didn't do anything to prepare for Claire & BJR because she didn't know him

During the rapid-fire someone asked "Sam's whisky or Graham's bourbon". She said Sam's whisky but hasn't tried the bourbon (she doesn't really like bourbon it's too sweet)

All credits to my reporter at the con (who chose to remain anonymous), including the pics.

[akq96618]

[ 💜💛🖤❤🤍💙]

+

(this is just my rambles , pls scroll if u dont want to read jdakjsa ;-;)

ok i'm not good at it, but i'll try to be more serious.

King Ohger is my first sentai after about…10? 11? years since i watch toku as a kid (for sentai, i used to watch shinkenger and power rangers dino force). I start to watch toku again last year because of KR Den-O, simply just bcs i want to rewatch one of my fav childhood tv program. And i cried a lot, not just because of den-o's story but also I remember that I still love toku as much as little me back then

after finished den-o, i crave for more toku to watch, then my older sister told me there's this super sentai that all of the sentai is leaders/kings ((SHE HAVEN'T WATCH KINGOH UNTIL THIS VERY DAY DESPITE BEING ONE OF MY REASON TO WATCH KINGOH, I HATE HER////jk i love u sis)). I didn't watch kingoh while it's ongoing, i binge watch it from ep 1 while it's around eps 20-25. And i regret nothing, i feel a lot of emotions, be it's the good one or even the bad one. I laugh and I cry. I didn't live for 2000 years like jeramie, but i relate to him about dealing with grief and keep everything to yourself bcs you don't want others to worry about you. And the happiness of finally found someone you can rely on, someone that won't say anything but will pat your shoulder and reminds you that they will be on your side no matter what.

I learn a lot of thing from other king too, i learn to be kind from gira and himeno, i learn that it's okay to not care about what people say and be myself the way i am from rita, i learn to stands for what's wrong and didn't back down like yanma, and kaguragi uhm…* shake hands with kagu * yes ur my buddy bro (i swear i have one thing i relate to kagu, i just don't want to tell what it is-)

people can call it 'childish show' (my friend said that when i tell them abt kingoh and kr ;-; that's why i stopped telling abt toku to others and just keep my excitement to myself) and they're still right, but still, kingoh is special to me.

I was ready to be alone on this (I always be), i draw fanarts because i want and i like them so much, and didn't expect at all that i'll found other people that excited about the same thing like me. thank you to everyone who liked, reblog, comment, send asks, i can't always answer everything, but pls know that i appreciate every single of you,

artist, writers, gif maker, friends, everyone.

one day will come the day that my interest maybe will fade away. Until that day come, I'll enjoy my time here and drawing what i want. (((actually this applied to my other fandom too ;-;))))

for you who read this so far, thank u again <3

+ pls have this happy spiders, they're my favorites from all of the finale moments ;-;

[doyouknowbtsswag]

I Found You |Su-Hyeok|

(Spoilers)

I tapped my pencil against my desk listening to whatever the teacher was saying. I looked at the board and saw some notes to take. I took my time writing wanting it to be neat. I try my best to look presentable, wanting to meet my parents proud. It's not like they were strict I want to make them proud even though they aren't pushy. It's nice hearing my parents talk to my family about my grades. It wasn't just for them, I wanted to impress Su-Hyeok. We've talked before and we're pretty good friends but I want to be more. Will he know that? Absolutely not, I like being with him and I don't want to ruin our friendship even if I wanted more. I smiled to myself waiting till the bell rang so I could talk to him on the way to the cafeteria. He'd go sit with his friends unfortunately for me, I lost a friend because I wasn't cool enough so I end up talking to random people every day. I wasn't that talkative but I managed to talk to two other girls I wanted to show her I didn't need her. Once the bell rang I packed up my stuff and went outside the classroom to wait for him.

"Jesus, you scared the shit out of me," I said looking at Su-Hyeok grinning.

"Your so easy to sneak up on" He chuckled as a smacked his chest lightly.

"I am not, I just didn't expect a random voice to be right behind me," I said as we made our way to the cafeteria. "How was class?"

"Boring"

"Fooling around?" I asked jokingly raising an eyebrow.

"Maybe," He said smiling.

"Well my class wasn't that great either, I felt like I was going to fall asleep" I sighed. "But I have to work hard"

"No, you need to relax a bit." He said putting his arm around my shoulder in a joking manner, unfortunately. "You need to do something fun and not spend all your free time studying."

"I'll have you know I binge-watch shows and listen to music"

"Didn't you dance and sing in middle school?"

"Yes"

"Do you miss it?"

"Every once and a while I regret quitting," I said. "But there's nothing I can do now"

"You could still sign up," He said. "I'll even watch you perform"

"Maybe" I smiled.

"That should be a yes," He said. "I want to see you dance at least once"

"Like I said maybe." I smiled as he took his arm off my shoulder as we made it to the cafeteria.

"Can't wait for you to say yes later today" He said before walking over to his friends.

I sighed and looked for On-Jo and I-Sak. I saw On-Jo wave her wand to signal me over. I walked over and sat next to her.

"Why is your face all red?" On-Jo asked as I brought out my lunchbox.

"Su-Hyeok" I mumbled. "He's so oblivious"

"Everyone knows about your little crush except him," I-Sak said pointing her chopstick at me. "Just tell him"

"Absolutely not"

"Oh come on," On-Jo said.

"I don't want to lose him," I said taking a bite out of my apple. "I'd rather suffer"

"Don't be overdramatic" I-Sak said

"I'm not"

"Anyways how did you do on the test in Science?" I-Sak asked.

"I got a 95," I said proudly.

"I'm surprised it's not a 100" On-Jo joked

"Oh whatever," I said nudging her smiling. "And you?"

"Looks like we've got to clean up," She said changing the subject. "We'll be back we're just putting our trays back"

"Alright," I said watching them leave.

"Hey, Y/n? I know we don't talk much" I looked up and saw Cheong-San standing in front of the table. "Could you help me out with something?"

"Uh, sure? Depends on what it is" I said packing my lunch box.

"Can you tell On-Jo to meet me in front of the school later, I have to tell her something"

"I think I know what it is so of course" I grinned as he blushed.

"Don't tell anyone okay?"

"I won't," I said standing up. "Good luck"

"Thank you"

"Don't mention it" I smiled and watched him walk away.

I stood waiting for On-Jo and I-Sak to come back. I started to daydream till I heard a bunch of steps. I looked over and saw a bunch of students running in the cafeteria. Someone closed the door on the rest and banging was seen through the glass that it shattered open. Students flooded the cafeteria as chaos quickly spread. I was getting bumped into left and right. I stood up on the table to see what was truly going on. My heart dropped at the sight. People eating others and quickly turning into monsters to spread whatever was going on. I looked around for a place to run but it was almost impossible to leave. The sprinklers went off making everything worse. I saw Cheong-San help On-Jo go through a window and sighed in relief at least one of my friends will survive. I felt an arm tug on me and saw Su-Hyeok pulling me down by my hand.

"We have to go," He said as he grabbed a chair as if it was a shield to run outside. I almost slipped on but quickly caught myself

We ran to the stairs and I followed Su-Hyeok. I wasn't bothered to pay attention to the fact that we were holding hands. We stopped seeing a man on top of a ladder before falling down. As they were distracted we moved the ladder so we were able to get to a window.

"Be careful" He said as he climbed up The window opened and he was pulled through. I started to climb but the ladder started shaking. I looked down and saw a few zombies grabbing the ladder. I felt a hand grab mine as my breathing became shakier. The ladder officially collapsed and the only thing keeping me from the ground was Su-Hyeok's hand. "Don't let go! I've got you okay?"

I looked up horrified and Su-Hyeoks face mirrored mine. I had nothing to grab onto and my hand started to slip from his.

"Hold on a little more okay?" He said panicking. "I'll pull you up I promise! Guys help me!"

I felt more force pull me up but it made my hand slip more. His eyes were tearing up as he looked at me. He was using both of his hands but they kept slipping. I looked down and saw that the zombies walked away from where they just were. I could make a run for it and find someplace to find safety.

"I'm sorry" I whispered as my hand slipped from his.

I fell to the ground and quickly got up running for my life.

"Y/n!" He yelled trying to get down the building but his friends pulled him back.

His scream drew all of the zombies to that building point but I still had to close calls. I never looked back as I kept running forward. I looked at the big tree coming up close that led to a classroom window.

"Here I go" I whispered and did my best to climb the tree I yelped as I saw my foot being grabbed at.

I stomped on it with my other foot holding the tree branch for my life. Once the hand let go I made it to the top. The branches kept creaking as I slowly made it to what looked like the music room window. I looked through the window and saw the coast was clear. I carefully opened the window and climbed in. I sighed in relief until I heard the piano go off. I looked over and saw a girl trapped underneath the piano. I slowly moved back until I fell out of the classroom. I closed the door and noticed that she wasn't going to escape from under the heavy object. I sighed quietly sitting against the wall closest to the window. Fear finally had time to take over as I sat and watched what used to be my classmates bang against the window of the classroom or walk away bloodied with no emotions. I dug my head into my knees crying softly. A day passed by and my head hurt from crying all night and not sleeping. I was too scared to close my eyes just in case a zombie came in. The hallway silence was filled with a bunch of noises and I quickly got up. Before I could do anything the door opened and shut as I started to climb out of the window.

"Y/n?" I heard a familiar voice say. I turned around and saw a person holding a guitar in a bloody uniform.

"Cheong-San," I said stepping down from the window. "You're alive"

"I thought you died," He said as we whispered back and forth looking at the door in front of us.

"Is Su-Hyeok okay?" I said urgently.

"He's safe, don't worry," He said putting his hand on my shoulder.

"Thank fuck" I whispered.

"Stay back," He said referring to the girl under the piano.

"Don't worry she hasn't moved since yesterday."

He just nodded a few minutes later we heard voices come from the intercom. I flinched and hid behind Cheong-San as the Zombies ran to the speakers.

"Cheong-San are you there?" Dae-Su said over the intercom.

"Cheong-San do you hear us?" My heart rate spiked hearing Su-Hyeok's voice over the speakers.

"Told you," Cheong-San said rubbing my back.

"It's me Su-Hyeok. We'll come to you so stay put got it?"

"Don't come here Moron, you can't come here" Cheong-San said walking to the speaker as if it actually does something.

"Shh," I said and continued to listen to what he was saying.

Su-Hyeok kept reassuring Cheong-San they were coming but little did they know it took my whole power to get him to shut up to listen to the announcement.

"And Y/n you better be safe okay? I still have to get that yes from you so I can see you perform."

I nodded to myself but saw Cheong-San planning his escape. I grabbed his hand and pulled him away from the window. "Stop it!"

He was about to fight back till On-Jo came over the speaker.

"Cheong-San please stay still," On-Jo said making him stop fighting my grasp to leave. "I know you never listen to me but listen just this once"

This took Cheong-San out of his dazed state and sat on a desk his head in his hands.

"They'll be fine," I said sitting across from him. "Believe in them okay?"

"Yeah...."

This time music did blare in the speakers as I watched the zombies run to either side of the hallway. My leg bounced anxiously waiting to see if anyone ends up coming to get us. After what felt like forever we heard footsteps coming from the hallway and the door opening. I looked up and saw a group of people. Dae-Su went up and hugged Cheong-San and On-Jo looked over.

"Y/n?" Hyo-Ryung said. "I did see you on the drone camera"

"Drone camera?" I asked confused.

"Never mind that I'm glad your alive" She smiled.

"Where's Su-Hyeok?" I asked as On-Jo hugged me I started to struggle in her grasp trying to leave. "Where is he?"

"He was behind us," Dae-Su said.

Suddenly the door started to bang frantically. There was a voice telling us to let them in. Cheong-San hesitantly opened the door as Nam-Ra and Su-Hyeok ran in. I made eye contact with Su-Hyeok who ran up and hugged me.

"Thank god your okay," He said his voice shaky. "How did you do it, I thought I lost you"

"I thought I lost you too," I said I pulled away from the hug to look at him directly. His face was bloody and he had a bruise on his face. "What happened?"

"That's not important" He smiled gently. "What's important is that I can see you again"

"I should've told you this before but I really like you, when I was stuck in here I thought that I would never see you again and you wouldn't know my feelings. I got scared that I wouldn't be able to tell you and-" my rambling went off as I felt a pair of lips on mine.

"It's okay, I'm here" He cupped my cheek. "And I really like you too so don't scare me like that"

"I won't ever again"

"Promise?"

"I promise," I said hugging him and he let my hair. The soothing made me feel like collapsing from exhaustion but my happiness kept it away. I heard two people clapping at our confession.

"Shut up," Su-Hyeok said.

Even though this is one small moment in the hell hole that we have ahead of ourselves that I'm not sure I'm ready for it. This moment was the happiest little did I know the chaos that was just beginning.

[youmakethelight]

I actually might delete this blog tbh. Not that anyone asked.

I made this side blog 2 months ago bc I loved season 10 of TWD so much that I got really invested in rewatching the whole series for Carol and Daryl, and I wanted to write my thoughts somewhere instead of continuing to annoy my friends who never watched the show. But all my thoughts then were really positive and fun and brought me joy. And now, ever since I've seen the reality of the turn things took in real life, it's just so depressing.

The way Carol and Melissa McBride are treated makes me feel truly fucking horrible. And I've tried to channel that into activism and using my voice in solidarity, but I'm finding it more and more depressing honestly. Most of the voices that made me feel stronger have disappeared, and I'm starting to feel hopeless. And that's especially when I realise how much shit already went on in the past few years before I was here.

It's been a whirlwind few months for me bc I stopped watching TWD years ago and just caught up and binge watched from season 9. After I finished, I found out about everything the fandom, Melissa, and Angela Kang went through regarding the spin-off. Knowing that even after that, we got Melissa back, gave me hope. But seeing how much AMC has ignored other issues and fans' voices makes me feel disheartened. It feels a bit like I'm exerting emotional energy only to be shouting into a void.

It feels wrong to try to move on and leave because the issues remain, and Melissa McBride, in particular, needs and deserves support. But I honestly don't know what I'm doing here anymore.

A week or so ago, I signed up to a website to write fan reactions, reviews etc. about tboc because I thought that could have some positive impact. So, maybe I'll do that... but to be honest, I don't think I've got it in me anymore. I guess I just feel like I'm doing significantly more emotional labour than will have positive impact.

Even when I try to consume feminist progressive media instead, I just keep being reminded of how shit it is that AMC can't do the same for Melissa and her fans, and anybody who works on or watches the show who isn't a straight cis white man. So, then I get upset by a thought I have and go on here or twitter to try to do something positive about it, but it feels sort of pointless. So, now I'm at a point where this blog doesn't bring me joy, and I don't feel like it helps anyone, so I just don't think it's worth it anymore?

I'm literally so bad at giving up on things, so there's a decent chance I won't leave. But to be honest, I want to. I'm tired.

[the-words-we-sung]

Discovering Young Royals

So now that I've lurked a bit around the Young Royals fandom I wanna try and be a bit more active ^^ It feels a bit weird to arrive so late because it seems like everything has probably already been said >< So I hope my little thoughts here and there won't just be redundant for fandom people! I've been thinking about it and I think I wanna write my thoughts, and questions and various comments about the show, probably going episode by episode! And I'll add some pretty pictures (I should learn how to make gifs :o)

For tonight though I'll just write up kind of my first thoughts and reactions while watching the show for the first time ^^

ᴥ I'm not proud of admitting it but I started watching the show because I was a bit bored, a bit sick and wanted to kind of "hate-watch" something >< I thought it would be a very elitist kind of show with insufferable royal people! Boy was I wrong...

ᴥ Wilhelm is a cutie pie and made me love the show so much, almost right from the start. His image of angry teenage prince got replaced so fast by just the reality of an anxious (soft) boy, in the span of an episode! His interaction with Simon at the end of episode 1 sealed the deal for me...

ᴥ The show is so so so well made!! It's beautiful and the music is absolutely phenomenal!! All the young actors are incredibly talented (and gosh is Edvin so very good ><) and it's just such a pleasure to watch :o

ᴥ I love love love how "real" it feels!! The actors look the good age for their characters, they look so fucking real, like I 100% believe that these characters are teenagers! I love the choice of not putting lots of make up on them and letting them keep their "real" skin. It's so freaking refreshing!! I don't really know of other shows who do that!! (Also I come from the Glee fandom so: the actors playing teenagers were definitely not looking like teenagers, they all had flawless skins and were ""perfect"" (aka in the beauty standards) looking so having skinny boys and girls with different and real-looking bodies feel so good! Maybe the difference also comes from the fact that Glee was a US show and YR is a Swedish one?)

ᴥ I feel very lucky that I was able to watch season 1 and season 2 back to back! It must have been so hard for you guys to wait for season 2 >< And I'm lucky again that season 3 will probably be there in not too long!

ᴥ August is such a well written character!! A truly interesting "villain" who makes me feel almost some sympathy at times o_o

ᴥ I have very mixed feelings and complicated thoughts about Sara...

ᴥ The chemistry between Edvin and Omar is insane.

ᴥ Yuk Marcus!

ᴥ But all the love for Felice <3

ᴥ And Omar is the prettiest human being ever. I am now officially a fan. (He gives me SO.MUCH gender envy...........)

These were all kind of scattered thoughts going through my head while I binge-watched the show the first time!

(Also it made me want to learn Swedish so I've started doing that on Duolingo and I'm now obsessed with this language xD (But gosh, pronunciation is a nightmare...) So if any Swedish people wanna chat, I need training :p)

Gonna stop there for this freaking long-ass post and keep my rantings and chattiness for another post :D

[howlingday]

Why I love One Piece

An essay made at the request of @superbkryptoniteavenue

One Piece is an anime about pirates at first glance. I first found the series when I was in the third grade. When I started watching the anime, I couldn't get enough of it. Years later, I'm still watching it, and I'm finding new things to love about it. Okay, the first paragraph is filled out, now let's get to some One Piece. Now come aboard and bring along all your hopes and dreams.

When I first found One Piece, it was a manga sitting in my school library. Nowadays, I usually start a new series from either the first episode or the first volume. However, One Piece was different in that I started from Volume 3, when Luffy, our main protagonist, meets his future navigator, Nami. The volume also introduced the first major threat Luffy and his crew faced off against; The Buggy Pirates. However, the one scene that I love more than any other in this manga was something that showed me how different Luffy was from the other pirates.

Before getting into that, let me give you a basic run-down of One Piece, and I mean VERY basic, because getting any deeper can be as troublesome as diving for treasure. First, the setting of One Piece is a world that is best described as one big ocean with islands dotting here and there. The world is in what's referred to as The Great Pirate Era, starting from when Gold Roger, the most famous pirate, was executed and with his dying words, declared that he left a treasure to be found, sparking the era. Whoever finds this treasure becomes the King of the Pirates, which is the end goal of our main protagonist, Monkey D. Luffy, who is a rubberman with the powers of rubber, which he gained after eating the Gum-Gum Fruit, a Devil Fruit.

I'll save you the long list from there, but it all makes sense as you go along. Anyways, the part that made me understand what kind of pirate Luffy is happened in the first volume I read, where there's a dog guarding a pet store for his dead master. A pirate with a giant lion attacks it and burns it to the ground. Luffy hunts down the pirate, easily overpowers the lion, then knocks out the pirate. He then comes back to the dog, handing him what's left of the pet store; a box of dog food. It's for this reason, among others, that Luffy is my favorite protagonist.

If I could find more One Piece, I wanted to get it. Bear in mind, this was back in the day when anime was only on the internet if you were lucky enough to find it. Especially if you were living outside of Japan and the USA. So when I found the anime, I hopped into as much as I could. I remember finding a website of just One Piece, and I binge-watched it for about a week. Ever since, it's been one binge-watch after the other.

East Blue, Baroque Works, Skypeia, Enies Lobby, Thriller Bark, Saobody Archipelago- I'd seen them all and I loved everything each one of them brought! Thus far, the best arc is Enies Lobby, since I felt like everyone was fighting as hard as they could and has probably some of the best, most tear-jerking moments in the entire series. Not to say the other arcs don't have their moments, but this was the one that cemented One Piece in my heart. Heck, I'll sometimes go back and rewatch the scenes because they're so good!

I find it funny, actually, how a series about such a simple character has developed into this huge world with its own intrigues and deeper lore. And it can all be pretty much summed up as, "And then Luffy happened." There's a secret shadow plot involving the World Government; there's a pirate running around stealing other people's powers; there's a talking skeleton, a giant dragon, and a living cartoon character as a god! It's all so awesome!

So, why do I love One Piece? Well... I love it because it's fun! I love it because it brings up interesting questions! I love it because it makes me laugh with joy, clench my fists in rage, and wipe my eyes for... reasons. I won't say it's perfect because it does have its flaws, but that won't stop me from enjoying Luffy and his crew making these short pit-stops that devolve into colossal battles that reshape the islands, if not the entire ocean itself!

So... Yeah. That's why I love One Piece.

[yanban-san]

Binging the Eldritch Submas for that sweet sweet fluff with a dash of nervousness and not-quite-understanding-but-eager-to-learn-about-humanity monster content. 👌👌👌 That's the good stuff right there.

It's been said and written many times before that the twins tend to leak their true forms when flustered/in love/~spicy times~ happen, but could the same also be said when they're angered? Not annoyance or impatience, or "Gods not this twat again", but actual, unbridled pissed off anger.

Scenarios abound because brainrot real.

Emmet happens across a small group of onlookers while doing his rounds, curious to what caused the gathering. Lo and behold, Darling is there, dealing with a rude patron. He goes in to take care of it, but gets a front row seat to a sucker punch at Darling. He can feel his form starting to split as he not-so-gently shoves the attacker back towards the other Depot Agents, barely holding it together as he gives orders. When they leave and the gathering is ushered on their ways, he briskly leaves to the employee only areas, away from humanity's sight. Darling follows in concern, knowing that Emmets is barely held together with only force and will, and finds him cracking out of his human shape. Both travel to his office away from prying eyes, where Darling thankfully manages to convince him to not kill/erase the attacker or to not cause grevious harm, and comforts him with care and reaffirmations.

Ingo and Darling are in the tunnels for safety checks and maintinence, Darling on lights while Ingo's on the tracks. The light to their left's alright, the second one just started, when rapidly approaching footsteps catch their ears. Darling looks down in time to see a trio of troublemakers approaching before their ladder gives way with a shove. The world is alight with pain and stars in the air when they collide with the railing. When the world is clear again, they hear retreating footsteps and screams fading to the distance, and can feel the darkness surrounding them. Ingo's form is cracking, threatening to swallow the tunnel (perhaps beyond) with the little that's already out. Darling pushes up off the track, and Ingo is instantly next to them, focusing on them with the troublemakers pushed out of mind. His upper face is stuck in shadows with a few too many silver eyes, and is hugged all the same. Legs having turned to jelly, Darling is swept up by Ingo and carried down the tunnel. Reaffirmations carry down the tunnel softly as the pair travel down.

Put it under spoiler tag 'cause is long ^^

Emmet didn't bother walking, in truth. He took a step forward, and his destination became a far closer than a single mortal stride ever would take him.

An unruly passenger. Someone whose heart was overtaken by anger, over what? A train running late? A missing pass? What silly things to be so upset over.

They would have far more pressing concerns soon enough.

"…and FUCK you!"

"Please, Sir, I'm just following procedure- We can replace your pass, but I need to see your I.D-"

Oh?

The sound of your voice surprised and alarmed him- Weren't you on break?

And the way that mortal spoke to you-

"Out of my way." Emmet demanded, briskly moving towards the sound of your voice and across the clusters of customers and would-be passengers in front of him.

All that mattered was you-

"For the last fucking time, I ain't showing you shit-"

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave, sir. You're causing a disturbance-"

"Like hell I am! I'll cause as much of a disturbance as I want!"

You sighed heavily, trying your best to maintain your composure. Though to be fair- Would Emmet and Ingo even punish you if you didn't? Given how they treated you now, and especially now that you knew- Or well, sort of knew- What they were, they'd probably think it very endearing-

"…All because YOU won't do your fucking job!"

You shook your head, looking around, and barely paying attention to the insults being hurled at you- Few customers were watching, and fewer still were even in the area. You'd already called Gear Station Security, and all that was left was to wait the few minutes it would take for them to arrive. One way or another, this man wouldn't be getting a free pass, or even another ride on the train. How unfortunate. Not.

And then you heard a familiar clicking of heels. Not like the any of your coworkers walked, but a strange rhythmic, distinctive clicking- Of a man who was more like a oricorio then any human.

But who really wasn't a human at all, was he?

"Oh, Emme-!" You shouted, gesturing for him to come over- Anyone to deal with this slimeball- But your words faltered, looking at the glint of venomous ire in his eyes.

"Fucking pay attention-!"

And out of the corner of your eye, you saw the man approach- And specifically you saw his fist.

And closed your eyes, turning your head away in anticipation of the blow- That connected with your face, but far lighter than you'd thought he'd strike-

"What the- fucking-"

"Oh my. Someone isn't following proper safety procedures."

You turned to see not your attacker, but Emmet- Standing between you and the customer, holding their fist in his own hand-

Crack.

"Fucking- OW!"

The man winced, and Emmet kicked his legs out from under him- Still holding his clenched hand.

"Shut up." He continued, his voice as icy and dead as seemingly possible-

"Who the fuck-"

"I said. Shut up." Emmet repeated.

The man opened his mouth to speak- And nothing came out. His frame trembling, his eyes wide-

"Sir!"

"We're so sorry, we were responding-"

Your coworkers- And two security guards- Stopped when they saw you, lying on the ground with a slowly blooming bruise on your cheek- And their awe-inspiring Lord and Master holding down the worm had injured you.

"Em-Emmet-"

Emmet's attention lingered on the man a moment more before he shoved him backwards- Falling down to your side.

"My poor love-" "Are you alright?"

"It's- It's just a bruise, it'll heal-" You spoke carefully. If you made too light of it, they wouldn't pay attention to your words- If you made it too serious, they wouldn't be as merciful as you were trying to train them to be.

His smile was pained as his silver eyes scrutinized the blemish on your face. His hand caressed the corner of your face, squishing your cheek and making you wince. His eyes narrowed.

"You've been hurt." He remarked. Yes, you wanted to say, but that doesn't mean you need to erase this guy-

You pushed his hand away, making him flinch. "I'm fine, Emmet." You retorted. He opened his mouth to protest, but decided against it, turning his attention to the Depot Agents behind you.

"Ramses. Remove this man. He is not allowed in Gear Station. Or any station for that matter. Ever again. You three. Assist him."

Ramses nodded, and the rest of the depot agents followed his orders- And Emmet picked you up, dusting you off.

"You alright?" Ramses asked. He may not have been a particular kind Agent, but he wasn't apathetic, either- And the bruise on your cheek was turning an awful shade of reddish-brown, and rather quickly.

"I- I'm really okay, that was just a bit of a shock, really."

Emmet grabbed your shoulder tighter. His mouth split open again, but no voice came out.

"Emmet." You warned, noticing the dangerously bright glint in his slit-like pupils. His gaze turned back to you.

"Daaarling…" he pouted. "Fine. You need medical attention. Come with me."

"Wait-"

But he would not listen to your protests, and in a flurry of movement you were in the back hallways of Gear Station being lead away with your beloved, most likely towards a med station or something-

"Emmet," You began, trying to get his attention.

He kept walking, drumming his free hand against his lips- His mouth wordlessly opening and closing.

"Emmet-"

His stare intensified down the hallway, his pace picking up as he muttered to himself in a voice quite unlike the voice of Station Master Emmet. "He shouldn't be ali-"

"EMMET!" You raised your own voice, grabbing his arm with your free hand.

Emmet stopped walking, looking at you out of the corner of his eye.

"…Yes?" He finally answered.

"I- …I'm okay. You already banned the guy from Gear Station, you don't need to do anything else." You explained. "I'm okay."

His grip on your hand tightened.

"But that man hurt you."

You sighed. "Y-Yes he did, but that doesn't mean he deserves death."

Emmet's head tilted away from you. "He deserves worse-"

You shook your head, squeezing his hand back. "No, he really doesn't."

You continued on. "You don't need to react so strongly, Emmet- Yes, that guy did something bad, but- He's going to suffer enough being banned from the Subway, don't you think? Look at me."

He shook his head.

"Emmet… Please look at me."

"…No."

You looked down at his hand. One, two, three… Four, five, six- Seven- fingers? Clothed like the glove, but different.

"I don't mind what you look like." You offered. "You have extra fingers on your hand right now, you know."

He tried to pull his hand away. You held on. "All that means to me is I have more hand to hold. And I'm not letting go."

You squeezed it harder. "You were really cool back there, you know."

His body relaxed. Oh?

"It was thanks to you that this bruise wasn't worse. And it was super cool how you leapt out to save me. And how you grabbed his hand. And you shut him up just by intimidating him."

The face of your beloved began turning towards you.

"I'm so glad to have such a wonderfully strong boss who works so hard to protect me."

You leaned against him. "And I'm very glad you listened to me,"

"So won't you please look at me?"

Emmet turned his face to you- His smile pursed, his eyes- Cracking. Like dried up, ancient plaster, revealing a shadowy shape underneath- His mouth came open a little bit, the maw darkened within- His sideburns giving way to feathers and fur and silky-shimmering-ribbons of white and silver. His pupils were slits, glowing with the smallest hint of light- Yet still bright enough to make the lights of the hall seem dim and dull in comparison. You grabbed his cheek, holding his face in front of you.

"L-Love," He stuttered out, as you rubbed the corners of his cracked face.

"Shh. You've done good, Emmet." You remarked, gently tracing the edge of the visible feathers- They were soft, and cool and warm and perfect to touch. Your hand shivered as you brushed them, and he closed his eyes gently and slowly, watching you the whole time.

"You did good. Thank you."

---------------------------------------------------------------------

"Stay close to me," Ingo ordered. You nodded quietly and cautiously, and Ingo's arm went around your shoulders, pulling you close to him.

"We don't know what exactly is down here- You wanted to see what it might be?"

"…Yes." You nodded again, looking up at the Subway Boss. Despite the darkness, his silver eyes shone brighter than the light around you. It was frightening- The tunnels of the Subway were dark, twisting- And ever-shifting and ever-turning. Ever since you learnt the truth of your bosses, you'd learned the truth of Gear Station too- And how the tunnels were constently the subject of attacks from… Other things.

And your curiosity got the better of you.

You wanted to see these Other things, if you could. Besides, if Ingo and Emmet were as powerful as they said they were, resassuring you that you would never be hurt by those Other Things- Would it be such a problem if you wanted to encounter one? Especially with them to protect you.

Ingo wrapped his arm around you, even tighter. "I won't let you go."

You hugged him back.

The two of you walked carefully in the dark tunnels- Your footsteps clicking, yet not echoing- The light illuminating the edges of the tunnels seemed dimmed, somehow- Offset by the brightness of the fire-lights of Ingo's dear chandelure, floating around the two of you in contentment as it moved back and forth around the tunnel.

You stayed mostly silent, listening carefully as you approached the strange sound, echoing down the halls of the Subway Tunnel. It only grew louder and louder, a horrible screechy-groaning-grinding sound that reverberated in your ears and left them ringing. Ingo grabbed you harder, stepping forward- His silver eyes blinked slowly under the brim of his hat, less like a blink and more as though he were paying attention to something-

"Ah." He remarked- And you turned your head up to him, tilting your head curiously. "A T-junction is stuck, it seems. …I don't believe it's anything… Supernatural, my dear."

"You can tell all that, just from closing your eyes a second?" You asked, raising an eyebrow.

"…I can tell you anything I like about these tunnels, my Love." He drummed his hand along your shoulder, making you shiver. "Here, let us deal with that racket, first. It must hurt your ears."

You nodded, and the two of you approached the problem area, rounding the corner to see the T-junction beam bent out of shape, and several of the tunnel lights humming and flickering-

"Hmm." Ingo noted. "I'll handle the rail. Will you take a look at the lights?" You nodded in response, already rolling up your sleeves. The lights didn't seem to be out, but were certainly behaving strangely- No doubt due to some Joltiks having themselves a feast, you guessed.

Ingo hopped down over the railing of the maintenance trail and you settled in front of the circuit box for the lights, and- Yup, chewed through, frayed wires. Nothing a little electrical tape, and a few replacement wires, wouldn't fix, you were certain. You couldn't help but turn to Ingo while you taped some of the exposed bits up- Ever curious as to what he was doing. He looked down at the bent, twisted rail, grinding against itself, and suddenly it was engulfed in shadows- And a loud clunk and bang later, the shadows unraveled, and the rail was- Fine. Better than fine- It looked brand new.

You were about to ask him what exactly he'd done, when suddenly you heard a shuffling in the darkness of the tunnel- And you turned your head to see a large, heavy thing rapidly moving towards you- Falling on top of you. A ladder. What was a ladder doing here?

Ingo heard your yelp in surprise, and you flinched, unable to move.

"Holy shit-" "Bolt!" "Go!"

The impact never came.

"Are you alright?"

You opened your eyes nervously- The ladder that had been threatening to squish you like a wurmple was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Ingo was holding you. Tightly.

"A monster-!" "Holy fucking shit-"

You craned your neck to see the shadows of- Teens. Of course. Bolting their way up an access ladder back into a street above the tunnel, where sunlight poured down- But was blocked by a shadowy shape, reaching out into the rays, almost looking like they pulled at the light- Covering the walls and undulating like a living mass of darkness- Which is what it was, wasn't it?

"Darling?"

You turned your head to look at Ingo again- A shadowy figure dripping with darkness, with silver lights of eyes looking down at your figure. You felt the cold, smooth tentacles wrapping around your skin and cradling you tightly.

"I-I- I think I'm okay," You breathed heavily, feeling your heart beginning to settle from the shock. The shadowy figure picked you up, cradling you tightly against his chest-

"Y-You're a lot larger like this," You remarked. "All the better to protect you, my Dear." He purred back. "I would hate to think about what might have happened had you been injured…"

"Thank- Thank you, Ingo."

Your boss-turned-Sweetheart-turned-inhuman-monster cuddled you tighter. "Let us return to the safety of Gear Station… I would feel better if you were there, especially to recover…"

And off he went, carrying you- Settling back into a more human form, silvery-eyes looking at you from out of the darkness, closing the moment you made eye contact with them. "You're cute like this."

Ingo stopped for a second, the eyes shutting around him as the ones on his face widened. "W-What? What do you mean?"

"Your eyes. They're pretty. Like starlight. And your shadows, they're very comforting-" And you craned your neck, kissing him on the cheek-

"But not as comforting as having such a protective sweetheart like you around, Ingo."

"I- I-"

You almost giggled at how flustered he sounded, stuttering out words as his fingers dug into your sides where he carried you- And other hands grabbed, holding you tightly.

"That- That is, it would be- Expected, I would think-"

"Expected or not, thank you for protecting me, Love."

He took a deep breath. "Of course, My love." He gripped you even tighter- Almost painfully so. "Be a little cautious with your words," He breathed out, his voice strangely calm. "I have quite little patience when it comes to being so tormented by your affections, My dear."

You could feel a blush spreading across your face- And if there was any light left in the tunnels, you would've been able to see that Ingo had much the same across his own human features.

[soniabigcheese]

Sorry

Under the cut for ... reasons

I'm not begging for sympathy or seeking attention here, I may even delete this post later on.

I just wanted to give folks a heads up.

If I go inactive, it's because I'm using all my spoons up very very quickly. Even for chatting.

Most days, I find I'm just existing. Getting up, letting dog out, taking meds, having breakfast, making sure hubby is fine (he is, he can be a lazy sod when he likes)

I play my Sims Freeplay but only because of the challenges. I've stopped playing the other games on my phone and kindle.

Now, my phone is for ordering shopping - the big stuff I cannot carry - and the occasional takeaway (not enjoying those as I used to)

So yeah, I'm on this hamster wheel now.

Don't be offended if I don't reply back in PMs or just trail off. I've probably fallen asleep (not your fault, this happens a LOT, just ... suddenly drop off, can't seem to fight it at all)

I'm trying to get back some of my interests - binge watching TAG and hopefully TOS, Stingray etc. But struggling to do that as I have a limited time with the TV and when the opportunity arises, I'm no longer interested or too tired. Even trying to pick up my crafts is so hard. I have books with patterns that are sitting there.

A memory on Facebook showed a book that I bought 10 years ago that i eventually sent to charity because I never read it.

I may update you on my MRI scan but it's a standard thing. Been there done that. Can't wear anything metal, got to wear earplugs because it is VERY noisy and have a contrast injection.

Yeah, no biggie

Then it's a wait for the results and how to move forward. That could be a while. This is when I get to choose whether to go ahead with surgery or not and discuss a few things. You know. Whatever.

You're probably bored with my rants against Bossy, so I've curbed that - for now. Until she starts again ... most likely the end of April or whenever hubby let's it slip that he can sell the house right now. Yadda yadda yadda . .. getting old now

It'll be a while before hubby can start walking properly. So there's no news yet. It'll be his 1st ampuversary on the 21st of this month. And what a hell of a journey he's had, and there's still a long long way to go

I'll finish off with a thanks to everyone - won't tag folks here you know who you are - for being very very supportive. With your encouraging words, both in replies/reblogs and PM's

So yeah

Sorry. Just so tired out nowadays

[biconickyoshi]

hey there!

this might be like a weird ask, but i've seen you post a lot about the legend of korra, so.

do you think it's worth watching the show? i've been avoiding it for a while now simply because i'm afraid it's gonna disappoint. i know it is a separate narrative with entirely new characters, but from the few scenes i've seen it just looks sooooo different from the gaang's story that i'm just afraid they've butchered the original universe. plus, my favorite character from atla is aang, and i do not know if any character from korra will have that same kind of charm.

on the other hand, i know it attracts a lot of fans. what do you think?:)

(btw, amazzzzzzing job on both your zukaang fanfic and the artwork for it !!)

Hi anon! :) This isn't a weird ask at all, I'd be happy to help!

So the short answer is: yes, I think it's worth watching! I know exactly how you feel - Aang is also my favorite AtLA character, so I was also very apprehensive when LoK was first announced way back in like 2011. But my apprehension didn't stop me from looking forward to and eventually enjoying it, mainly because AtLA was/still is my strongest and longest running hyperfixation to date, and I (especially at that time) was willing to consume any scrap of media related to it lol. We were very starved for content in the olden days :')

I'll go ahead and give you a spoiler-free breakdown of the four LoK seasons - this might help you decide:

Book 1: Air is definitely is quite a bit different from AtLA (which was done on purpose by the creators to differentiate it so it wouldn't just feel like the exact same show). Book 1 is still my least favorite of the LoK seasons for this reason (as well as for questionable writing decisions), but there are still some great moments. You may notice that Book 1 ends very "neatly" - this is because LoK was originally supposed to be a miniseries before Nickelodeon picked it up for 3 more seasons (which I think was a large part of why the writing suffers a lot in the first half of the show as a whole).

Book 2: Spirits also starts out pretty rough (with more questionable writing decisions), but it picks up about halfway through. Some people say this is their least favorite season, but I've always enjoyed it overall a ton more than Book 1. While some of the additions to the lore of the Avatar and the Spirit World are polarizing amongst the fandom (and there are some things I wish they'd done differently), I still ate that shit up when it first aired lol.

Book 3: Change is where, in my and many others' opinions, the show suddenly rises to the same level of quality as AtLA. There's a lot of traveling, we get to see some familiar faces and several classic AtLA locations from Book 2: Earth, the villains are the best villains in any Avatar media, and the plot and emotional core of the season are just so, so good. I can't say any more because I don't want to spoil even a little bit of it. I personally think LoK is worth watching just for this season alone.

Book 4: Balance is not as good as Book 3, but I enjoyed it a lot more than Book 1 and Book 2. It does a really good job of exploring trauma/PTSD and the relevance of the role of the Avatar in a modernizing world, and is a decent followup to Book 3. What happens at the end of Book 4 is also SO culturally impactful (not sure if you know why, but I won't say anything specific), especially for queer AtLA fans such as myself.

While LoK definitely isn't perfect, I still accept it as canon for the world of Avatar, and it's still a show I've rewatched several times (though I tend to skip a lot of Book 1 and the first half of Book 2 when I do lmao). If you decide to watch it, go in with an open mind knowing that it is not going to be exactly like AtLA. Even in the not-as-good seasons, there's still some gems to behold. And what's also nice about LoK is that each season is about 12ish episodes, so you'll get to the really good stuff (Book 3) pretty quickly if you binge lol.

Feel free to send me another ask if you have any more specific questions about LoK! :)

[mtdthoughts]

Migi & Dali Final Episode Reaction Pt. 1

Note: This post was written on Dec. 25, 2023 when the episode just came out.

Wow, I can't believe it's finally over. It only felt like yesterday when I watched the first episode back in October and then proceeded to binge the entire manga, and now the anime has concluded. I'm left wanting more, but ultimately grateful to Sano for creating such a wonderful work, and may her soul rest in peace.

Anyway, since it is the last episode, I wanted to give my reaction to some parts that I found notable. There won't really be any that much deep thought or analysis here, and it goes without saying that *spoilers* are covered.

Here's a list containing the links to the other parts:

Part 1 (this post)

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Nice dog. When did Akiyama get a dog?

Poor Eiji, he really didn't deserve what happened to him (though to be fair, he did commit murder and arson). Akira, as dumb as he may be, really did try his best to be a good father. Wish we saw some closure with him and his other two sons.

More bird symbolism. It's one bird, showing that the twins are still acting as Hitori.

I like how Fidélité is a part of their family now. I feel like a bit of explanation is needed, but I get that the dog is needed to represent Dali.

Dali is clearly depressed, and IMO it's definitely related to Eiji's arrest.

This was quite heartbreaking to watch. "You understand, right?" definitely refers to the fact that they can't pretend to be one anymore because of the scar, but I feel like there's a hidden meaning, i.e. another reason why Dali can't come out, which I'll probably write about in detail at some point I've written in the discussion titled "Shadow".

I think that it's guilt over what happened to Eiji. Dali originally wanted revenge because his family was destroyed, but in the end, Eiji's family was destroyed and Eiji's life was ruined, and the scar was a constant reminder of this. He likely hated himself for what he started and saw himself as unworthy of love and happiness.

He then tells Migi that Migi's happiness is enough with a fake smile, hiding his feelings from his brother once again.

As he tells Migi that he'll live as his shadow (note the light and dark imagery here), the music from when he sacrificed himself in Episode 9 plays, showing that Dali chose to die in obscurity, to imprison himself just like Eiji did, and to never experience his own happiness.

[heartfullofleeches]

Howdy! Gonna be honest I'm so nervous sending an ask but I'm gonna try n be brave here. I love the things you create, your writing and characters are all absolutely wonderful.

Also, if you don't mind, may I request some Salem?? She hasn't left my brain since you first introduced her I love her so much fjdjja

Maybe like, some kiss hcs or somethin? Or if you feel like it, a scenario with something like goin to the 7/11 with her at 3am on what may or may not be a date(and maybe if you wanna add a little spice some jerk tries to start trouble)

"Psst, Y/n. Wake up."

You turn over. The covers are yanked off of you; body shaken by a force you deem too early to deal with, but she won't let up.

"I'll eat a star from your favorite constellation if you don't."

You're fairly certain she's bluffing, but knowing there's no way you'll win this battle in the long run - you sit up. Salem pumps her fist in triumph.

"Finally- Don't worry though, I wouldn't have done that. Gives me heartburn." She tosses you a ball of clothes and your shoes. "Get dressed, we're going on a date."

Salem is already rearing to go, mainly because you've never seen her out of a casual tee and baseball cap - which you were sure was somehow her flesh in someone way.

Formerly your co-worker at a local convenience store, it turned out that was all a comatose dream and she was a reality devouring abomination that saved you after a cult had sacrificed you to bring forth the destruction of your world. Whether through memories she had implanted in your head, she was now your partner and the cause of at least one five more people vanishing of which only you remembered, as well as the reason you hardly slept at night due to her random binges - or waking up to her watching you.

"Does this date have anything to do with a gas station?"

She pauses. "Maaaaybe. Don't sweat the deals, let's just get going."

"It's 2am."

"And it's 2am somewhere else. What's your point?"

-

Reality smacks you in the face the moment you walk inside the store. On the store walk there, you hoped it was another dream, but seeing someone else behind the counter and the busted air conditioning told you this was all real. Salem walks through the ideas grabbing the things she liked, along with a few she knew you enjoyed. At the end of her run, she looked like a child who's parent had left her without supervision and an alarming addiction to energy supplements.

You step outside as Salem pays for her things. You don't know where she got the money since she spent majority of her time at your house or loitering around your workplace, but it's probably better if you didn't. She walks outside with a pleased look of her face, which quickly turns to horror as she remembers something.

"Wait- I forgot something. I'll be right back, take these." Salem shoves her bags in your arms and rushes back inside. The weight topples due to how overfilled they are, contents spilling over the road. You're able to pick most of them up just fine, but a stray can rolls a few feet away while you pick up the rest. You go to retrieve it, but someone else grabs it before you could.

"This belong to you?'

You look up at the stranger. You saw them outside when you first showed up, but didn't pay much attention at the moment - despite them watching you the entire time you were in the store. You hold out your hand for the drink, but they pull it away before you can grab it.

"Can I have it back?"

They grin. "Depends on what you'll do to get it back."

"I'll just buy another then."

"Aw, don't be like that. I don't want much. A phone number would be nice." They reach out to touch your shoulder, but a hand blocks them from making contact. Salem leans on your opposite side, pulling you away from the stranger and distancing you from them by stepping between you. She smiles a little too brightly for your comfort, but it only irritates them rather than set off any red flags.

She waves. "Hey there! Nice night isn't it? What's going on here?"

"Nothing, we were just talking so-"

"Haha, I don't really care. The conversation is over, so now I'm gonna take my friend here home and make out with them while you go fuck yourself or jump off a bridge. Whichever's more convenient."

The stranger yanks her by her collar. "You-"

"You're scared of possums."

Confusion flashes in their eyes as their muscles go lax. "What did you just say?"

"You're afraid of possums. When you were eight, your dad hit one and you thought it would be a good idea to hit one, and for some reason you thought it would be cool to touch it - but it wasn't dead."

They let go of her. "How... did you know that?"

Salem shrugs. "You just seem like that type of person- or does that fear stem from the fact they remind you of the guy you hit a few years back."

The stranger flinches as she hits her open palm while making making a crashing noise.

"Just barreled right through him. Didn't even stop to see if he was alright, but you saw the news reports didn't you? Wonder how that full ride to college would go if they knew you splattered some old dude's brains against the road, or the same happened to you."

Salem stares at the stranger as they begin to hyperventilate. Their eyes meet beyond her shades - and they scream. They break off into the night while Salem picks up the can they had dropped during their escape, pouring the remaining contents of the busted lid into her mouth. Having witnessed similar events before, you're unfazed - but curious.

"Did they really kill someone?"

She shrugs again. "I dunno. I just started bluffing after a while. Gets a little hard to pinpoint the full details the further you go, but I'm about sixty percent sure there was some truth there."

"Hm... What did you forget by the way?"

"Oh! Right." Salem pulls out a snack box and rips it open, digging through the bag until she finds a silver painted plastic ring. "Let's married."

[canonicallysoulmates]

Much like s3 this is going to be all over the place because I need to vent about the newest episode and the season as a whole because I have really tried to remain optimistic and positive but episode 6 is pushing my limits. And if you liked the episode, and are enjoying the direction s3 is going in that's great, love that for you, there's a reason why this post has a critical tag keep it moving it ain't for you.

I am starting to get so annoyed with this show, and the more I think about it the more annoyed I get, and ultimately I'm left at a place of dissapointment and disillusionment with this season. It had so much potential, so many roads that could have been explored, and it started out so well! Then turned into a sloppy, inconsistent mess that made what used to be the main character into a side character and seemingly forgot all about his journey. And I won't pretend like there haven't been things that I've enjoyed this season because there have been, there's even things I've really liked in this latest ep, and there's been episodes I've liked, but six eps in it's time to accept the fact that this season is not as well written as the past two. The episodes by themselves are inconsistent in tone and quality, and the season as a whole doesn't flow as smoothly and cohesively as seasons one and two did. I'll be fair to the show and say that maybe this season should have been dropped all at once because maybe if it's binge watched instead of week to week it's different but I doubt it, I'm pretty sure that when I do binge it I'm just gonna notice the issues even more.

I've never made it a secret that I would love to see Din as Mand'alor, I think he'd be a great leader and think the show has shown that even giving us a glimpse of that this very season with ep 5. But, I'll echo what others have said, if he wasn't meant to be Mand'alor, if that's not the direction they wanted to take the character in that's fine but take me on the journey with him. Let me see him struggle with the decision, with the weight of possibly having to rule his people, let me see his journey as he decides that ruling would not be for him, let him actually use the darksaber, let him try to learn to wield it and not just in a training scene of the spinoff. But don't give him this weapon that's so important for his people, tease us about him becoming a leader, only have him use it like 3-4 times, not properly adress that he has it, and then have him give it back to Bo-Katan through a loophole. Because let's not lie to ourselves it was a loophole. And then expect me to be okay with it!

My problem is not that Din is not Mand'alor. My problem is the way that it's written.

We are not getting to see and know his feelings and thoughts, on anything! I'm gonna bring up an issue I had with the last episode which was the Armorer suddenly being okay with Bo-Katan removing her helmet. For some reason, a lot of people failed to understand why some of us found it sus or didn't like that of her. She had known Din his whole life, he had dedicated his whole life to his covert yet she didn't give him a chance to even explain why he had removed his helmet in the first place. And maybe the Armorer has realized she's wrong, maybe she's had some character growth and she's changed her opinion. Fair. Valid. Show me. Show me her reaching that growth, show me what her thoughts are, better yet show me her talking to Din about it, she doesn't have to tell him about the Mythosaur but show me them talking about this, show me what Din's thoughts and feelings are towards this. Din removing his helmet was made into a big deal but I'm supposed to take this at face value and not want acknowledgement of it in any form because...it was solved within the first two eps? No.

The thing is also that I could deal with the season storyline being inconsistent and not cohesive if it at least the magic and emotion and personality was still at the same level. But because we're not actually going on the characters journey, and we're not seeing their thoughts and feelings explored more than a surface level, and we're barely getting Din and Grogu which was the most special part of this show a lot of that is lost.

The writers either genuinely want me to just take things at face value, or trust them, and neither works for me.

And I've been optimistic that it's all been leading up to something, and maybe it is there's still time, but the way I'm feeling right now it's as if the writers are playing with fans - Din fans to be specific - and I don't like that. I'm just very disillusioned with how this season has been handled and I'm worried that regardless of how it ends I won't end up liking it- especially if the rumors are true which I hadn't been paying attention to but now I'm starting to wonder if there's some truth to them and Din will either be fully written off or he'll officially become a side character.

There's still two episodes left, hope is low but not dead, maybe we'll be surprised and they'll do a 180 and reveal everything was leading up to something and it'll be amazing......I'm not optimistic but I really want that to be the case because I do still love this show.

And maybe once the season ends I'll look back on it and- I can't even type it I was gonna say maybe I'll look back on it and see the genius but I'm done lying to myself. But maybe I will look back and like it more, and have a more positive view of the season as a whole.

Show, please, get your shit together.

[popculturebuffet]

Chip N Dale Rescue Rangers: Dale Beside Himself: Dale and Dale Rescue Rangers (Comission For RainbowSixVegasSamurai)

So to start this one.. I messed up. RSVS comissoned THIS episode not Double O Dale. I think I miss remembered the episode as double dale, put it down as double o dale on my schedule and, I made a mistake i'm never making again: asking WHY someone wants to review this. I normally do this as a way of connecting with the client and getting at why. I still do my job fairly regardless, if it's bad even if they like it i'll say as much. But it's nice to know WHY this is beign requested and to avoid people who just want a work to BURN but for the wrong reasons. I'm deeply ashamed of this boneheaded nonsense and thus i'm reviewing the episode they wanted free. They didn't ask for this, didn't demand a refund, were entirely nice. So join me under the cut as I stop beating myself up and get to the good stuff.

So this one's way more my wheelhouse: a weird as shit episode with an intresting high concept premise

In this case in just the show's third episode, technically 8th after the pilot 5 parter since Disney Afternoon Episode numberings are a stygian maze of questionable decisions, in a show that's only diffrence from our world is tha tanimals exist and can make kids next door gadgets.. they bring in ALIENS.

They don't even really ease you into it, the episode opens with three forest animals.. who turn out to be aliens on vacation, Bric.. Brac.. and DTZ

Bric and Brac are preparing to go home, only for DTZ to announce he's not going. The other two forcibly drag him back.... because they don't want to do his share of the work. That's alll the justifaction we get for them not wanting DTZ to stay on earth besides "his faviorite food's not here" which is hastily tacked on to the last LINE of the episode. It's the episodes only real problem: it's hard to want DTZ sent back for more than being a jerk when we can count the reasons he should stay.. but not why he should go. He's fine eating leaves as a squirrel, so a lack of food isn't an issue, he can take up an earth form, and as long as he's careful with their tech he won't really disrupt how earth's progressing. If he was VITAL for going back i'd understand that but later on when Dale, who they think is DTZ, screws up DTZ' job piloting the ship they just.. take it over themselves. They REALLY don't seem to need DTZ to get home and could always come back for him later. They have no trouble contacting him later or actviting his ship remotely. The only reason we WANT him gone later is for doing something terrible.

More on that when we get there. For now we have dale screwing up.. for real this time not just "watching tv and Chip gets mad"... okay watching TV and chip gets mad is part of it but in this case he actually doing something wrong: Dale ate all the walnuts for Montery Jack's Walnut Wallaroos. And all the lingonberries but you REALLY don't need lingonberres for wallaroos it's just an added touch, so Dale goes to get nuts.

While getting nuts Dale encounters DTZ's disguised ship, which he hid as a giant walnut. He decides he wants to bust that nut but can't bust that nut in front of chip so he covertly sneaks his nut in to bust it in private, but before he can bust his nut, his nut busts itself to reveal the ship and DTZ.

DTZ tries to flee in terror, but in a nice turn Dale.. is friendly to the guy. It's partly because he was binging sci fi films earlier, but he offers the guy a spot on the rangers then and there. It shows that while Dale is the village idiot of this team.. he has a heart.

DTZ turns into Dale to avoid deteiction and since Chip dosen't see both dales at the same time tells Dale to go get his nuts. So the two go to get Chips nuts and gather a giant pile of chips nuts with DTZ's telekenisis (Kyle).

Dale naturally decides the best use of this earthshaking power.. is to fuck around a bit, having DTZ use his teleknsis to make chores easier. It's honestly a fun concept: usually when ther'e's a dopppleganger the hero just has them replace him outright and while Dale does have DTZ do most of his work instead of hide off somewhere he's in a hammock watching. Alas the fun ends when Bric and Brac phone DTZ to say their a comin for him, so DTZ tricks Dale into taking his place. And againt his is the only real reason to root against DTZ: ther'es no reason for hi mto you know.. not just stay, take on another earth disguise to hide better and join the rescue rangers properly.

He just goes for the dumbest plan, a plan that only works because Bric and Brac, despite being framed as the smarter ones... are dumb as a post and never bother to make sure they actually GOT DTZ or try and mAKE him shapeshift byf orce, something we saw in the opening they could do. They just assume Dale is him, Dale dosen't bother correcting them because he's got a free trip in a rocket, generally screwing around as usual while on earth the rest of the crew gets annoyed at DTZ!Dale as being too helpful. They also.. TRY to turn this into a be yourself metaphor, as Chip and Monty groused earlier about how much Dale sucks.. but .. it doesn't work for this episode> Dale just goofs off and eats someone else's nuts. Unlike Double O Dale chip has PLENTY of legit reasons to be fed up with Dale's crap this episode.

Meanwhile Dale has to try and return as Bric and Brac think he's gone native, and want to deprogram him... and when just giving him earthburgles, his faviorite food (some one eyed squid things), they decide to go with the resonable, sensible route of conducting some tests to make sure this is actually DTZ because ttheir you know shapeshifters and.. oh nope they just pull out the freeze ray and try to freeze dale till they can get him home. As if becoming another species permantely is a virus and not just.. something that might inevitibly happen to shapeshifters.

Thankfully Dale escapes and confronts his doppleganger, though they can't tell them apart. It's then Bric and Brac arrive and once again decide the best course of action.. is to threaten to blow up all of earth if DTZ dosen't show himself.

I do like this climax, not just the esclation, but the reveal that these aliens LIKE blowing up, so the threat isn't remotely empty. How Dale solves it is also clever: the Earthburgles. They actually set this up well too: we see some escape DTZ" ship when it's revealed to dale, they bring it up to dale later to explain what they are, and dale grabs some to force DTZ to show his hand. The others accept dale and just kinda brush off the first contact, near annhilation of the planet and shapeshifting while DTZ has some earthburgles before his ineveitble execution

Dale Beside Himself is a decent episode. Admitley there's a LOT more they coudl've done by the aliens.. but I understand this is an episodic 80s cartoon. And while it requires bric and brac to share half a braincell between them to work, the plot is fun, the concept is really creative, the idea of having someone work in concert with their doppleganger (Thoguh calvin and hobbes would do this concept way better about 10 months later with the duplicator arc. ), and the hyjinks are fun enough. A bit I didn't mention but loved is DTZ laughing at a knockoff of aliens. IT's not the deepest ep and it's emotoinal arc is messy and makes no sense, but it is a lot of fun to watch. Thanks for reading

[cynder6]

Tag game

Got tagged by @blueduckfiretruck ! Thanks for tagging me. May or may not have gotten tagged weeks ago but a lot of things happened and I may have forgotten for a second there. Finally got around to it though!

Last song: Make a move by icon for hire is playing right now

Favourite colour: Orange! Especially when it's lit up.

Last movie/show: Either Dungeon Meshi or One Piece. I decided I was going to finally commit and watch all of One Piece last june-ish. I'm on episode 691 so far! I wonder if I can manage to watch all of it within a year or not. Dungeon Meshi is also amazing! Definitely recommend that to everyone.

Next on my watchlist: the rest of One Piece and Dungeon Meshi, obviously. But I'd also really like to get caught up on RWBY again! I watched everything as it was released until volume 7. Then I stopped watching for a while when vol 8 came out because I had a bunch of projects and exams coming up that I really needed to focus on, and I just haven't found the time to catch up on everything yet (mainly because I know I won't be doing anything besides binging all of it untill I run out of episodes).

Last game: a link to the past! Managed to get that to work on my 3ds a little while back and it's been so much fun! First time playing that one.

Last book: I finished Mort by Terry Pratchett yesterday! Great book, just like all the other discworld novels. Going to start reaper man in a minute too.

Sweet/savoury/spicy? Savoury! Sweet is also good especially for desserts, but for regular food or snacks I generally prefer savoury and salty things. I don't mind spicy food, but it's not my favourite either.

Relationship status: Single. Something I complain a lot about for someone who doesn't go to events and hasn't got a single dating app. I just hope my future girlfriend runs into me on the street at some point. Or magically falls out of the sky or something? If it's gonna come down to me having to go out and be social? I'll probably be single for life.

Last thing I searched online: Not gonna count what episode of One Piece I was on because I looked that up for this, so then it'd be a recipe that uses as much milk as possible! At my work there's a bunch of milk that's gonna go bad soon so I was trying to find out what I could use it for.

Current obsession: Dungeon Meshi probably. Also Discworld. That one's ongoing but I need more people in my life to read these books so I can yell at them! They're great! So many layers! The wordplay! Just everything about these books man.

Greatest flaw: Complete inability to ask for help with anything. Ever. Which sucks a lot because sometimes I am really going through it, and I don't know how to ask someone to help me. Also sucks when you're getting overwhelmed with coursework and you don't message your professor about anything until it's too late to do anything about it. I want to get better at it, but I don't know how? Maybe I should ask someone, but yeah, that's the whole problem

Fic I'm currently reading: Not reading any fic currently. I don't read a lot of fic most of the time? And the things I'm currently reading or watching aren't really the kind of things I would read a lot of fic about?

Thanks for tagging me! this was a lot of fun to do :D. I'm gonna tag @bluehavenchaos and @riotingspectre !

Hope you have fun doing this and don't feel obligated to do it if you don't want to.

[akwardlyuncool]

Class Favorites: Shows I Finished and Shows I Didn't, But I'm Ranking Them Altogether.

1) Good Trouble Season 5 Part 1?

I remember, not much, about this season but I can tell you that I thoroughly enjoyed it while it was on. I do remember though that due to the AMPTP and SAG-AFTRA stikes that took place for several months in 2023, Good Trouble went on a bit of a hiatus and we didn't know if it was coming back or not. I also remember that it was getting really good right before the strike and I was upset because of timing.

To note: I support the unions and strikes in general, I was just in my feelings cause of timing, but that lasted all of like 2 seconds cause I cared more about them getting paid fairly and not being screwed over by The Man lol. Just to be clear.

Anyway this is MY show and although it was forever ago that I watched it, I don't doubt my choice in putting it at the top. That being said the rest of season 5, otherwise known as the final season 😭 just premiered last week, so hopefully the questions I think I have will be answered and I'll leave the series feeling good. I still haven't put it on though, cause I'm not ready 😭 lol.

2) The Good Doctor Seasons 1-5 ish

This was a binge I started, but haven't finished quite yet, so I won't give my full, full opinion, but I can say that I like it. I think I just wanted something new (to me) and everything I was currently watching I had put on hold. And not to compare the two at all, but I haven't picked Grey's back up yet, and since it's been some years at this point I've probably been wanted a medical drama to fill that void. There were parts of The Good Doctor that didn't give me the full punch that I usually get from these shows, most likely because of how I was binging it but it was still solid and I do recommend. Also Freddie Highmore, enough said.

Side Note: I can't say whether it's good or acceptable Autism representation or not, so if you want that information, seek elsewhere.

3) The Best Man: The Final Chapters

This series for those who don't know is what happened after the 1999 and 2013 Best Man films, essentially following these characters to the "end." In 2022 I did Peacock's Black Friday deal just so I could watch this show. The original Best Man is a favorite of mine and I was excited to see them bring it back. Obviously not without reservations, but excited nonetheless.

I watched this one with my Father and we had a good time. It was fun and messy and the endings made sense. We laughed and maybe wanted to cry a little bit. Quentin (Terrence Howard) was the class favorite for sure. He brought the laughs and the tears. Now it getting the 3rd sport is mainly because of it's shortcomings.

The series tried way harder than it needed to, to show that it was/is progressive. I'm not saying don't join the times, but can you just be natural? In some places it wanted to rise above the fight and in others it wanted to drive the point home. Like I said, it was good, but it featured a common pitfall that hurts a lot of shows these days. They're just "making sure you know" but doing it in a way that feels a little forced. To note, I don't mean this in an "everything is woke nowadays" kind of way, just that I think there are better ways to talk about these things, to where it actually feels genuine.

I recommend the show to anyone that saw the original movies, simply because that's where the entire story comes from and the history of why the characters behave the way that they do is formed. You can still watch if you missed the movies, it just wouldn't be as good without them. That being said, if you have seen the show and want a more spoiler involved detailed review, let me know cause I'm down to talk about all of the characters and get a little deep on em.

4) Paradise City Seasons 1+2 (Sumerian Records)

Paradise City is the series follow-up the film American Satan. (I talked about the movie in my movie ranking for 2023, so look for that there.) The Relentless band has been on a break since reaching peak stardom, after their lead singer got some jail time and was going through drug addiction. Simon (Cameron Boyce) is a "kid" in a band who looks up to The Relentless and is trying make it just like they did.

If you read my review of the movie, you'd know I didn't think it was good, however although I would not give it shining stars, the show was better. I think Paradise City was actually attempting to say something where the movie just didn't or failed if they were even trying. Still a mess, but Cameron Boyce really did carry this thing, along with Mark Boone Junior. Andy Biersack did better here, but his singing voice was still dubbed and I rolled my eyes at some of his scenes, especially with Bella Thorne, but I already wasn't a big fan of the Lilly Mayflower character to begin with. PS: Good Trouble Fans, Booboo Stewart plays in this one as well and he's one of the least offensive characters, so that's a win lol.

Personally the show kept me watching and I was more invested in it than I was in the movie. I don't know that I would recommend this to the audience I'm sure it was trying to target, because of the whole franchise's problematic nature, but I'm sure they've probably already seen it, so it doesn't matter. And for those who haven't or are just curious, watch at your own discretion.

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Where's Riverdale?: I was gonna talk about the few episodes of this last season of Riverdale that I did see cause I do remember them being fairly decent at the time of watching, but I didn't get very far and thought I'd either save my thoughts for a separate series ending post or 2024's ranking. So I did start this last season, the tab's probably still up in one of the 6 browsers windows I have in my doc-bar right now, but it's been months so I thought I'd be a little more fair to it, seeing that it is the last season.