#I'm gonna try making my notes 6 eps instead of the 4 I was doing before

[just-a-random-person24]

More more Stark's Mind notes eps 9-14

Episode 9

“Have you guys ever heard of Felix Freeman?” FELIX MENTION. Talks about him like they were friendly/friends

“Just don't get discouraged by that man's words.” I stg it sounds more like he's telling that to himself than the little survivor group he has

“Just keep going. Whether you have to help someone, or kill someone, there's one clear goal in mind.” Oh 💔

“Just don't let up, Stark. Don't give in.” He's trying to make himself feel better </3

“We would've been out of here if someone had one god damned key.” Key's would help if the locks were on your side of the door

“Just don't mind the neurological stress this whole thing has had on me.” And it's gonna get WORSE from here

“People like them are counting on me. And I swear, I will get through this, I will. I have to. It's my responsibility.” He's putting so much on himself god

Episode 10

“What do they use? Echolocation?” I have no clue about the Black Mesa headcrab models, but the og Headcrab models do actually have eyes! They're on its front pincers(?) and are pretty small

“I wish I knew how to do a pull-up.” Again, twink.

“You can never hate Mr. Whiskers.” CAT PERSON 🐱 (cat-bo💥)

“Sorry, insects and arachnids.” Very important to make that distinction

“I concur.” STUPID FUCKING NERD ASS (/aff)

‘can you access the mail server?’ “That's not helping!” I just found that interaction funny lmao

Episode 11

“So as of right now, when I get to the surface I'll have to deal with being an imposter, PTSD, the deaths of several employees, and an alien invasion. Oh and that whistle blowing thing from back then.” The whistle blowing thing???

“I can already see the headlines. ‘Charming physicist saves entire facility.’” Sir, your ego is showing.

5 grenades used before he gives up on trying to blow the turret up with one. Please learn to conserve your shit I'm begging 💔

Gets shot somewhere by the turret (probably on face? He says he felt it)

“Once I get out… Well, if I get out. Correction.” Give yourself some more credit man </3

Episode 12

“I might be overthinking this whole thing!” About seeing someone from the ‘rescue team’ shoot a scientist

2 ear injuries! Both ears are injured

“Christ my ears…” There's no way he doesn't have some form of hearing damage from all of this

“Somebody should supply the military with a fucking thesaurus.” *cough* Yore dead Freeman *cough*

“I still don't know how I'm doing this!” Fear and adrenaline is one hell of a combo

“I was at the wrong place at the wrong time, and somehow… I really shouldn't dwell on that kind of thinking too much. Usually that kind of thinking leads you to your death.” Oh ☹️

Episode 13

“I'm being a bit overdramatic, aren't I?” HAVE YOU SEEN THE SITUATION YOU ARE IN?

“There's also no point fighting scared civilians either!” sir you are way past the point of being a civilian?

“It's kill or be killed.” No actual comment, I just like how he says it

Episode 14

He's… so, so dumb sometimes (presses a random button without knowing what it would do)

“This is how I would envision a railway system set deep underground.” That's… so specific cause what else would that be.

His reaction to the actual tram is so <3 cause it's the only time in this whole series he finds something amusing (which I mean, fair tbh)

“My nose is bleeding because of the sheer amount of rage and frustration that I am going through right now.” Fun fact, stress can actually cause/worsen nosebleeds! So rip man

“I am the embodiment of anger.” I am so sorry but he's so cringe sometimes please shut up (/lovingly)

“See! That's not real- it's real.” I have so many questions. Why does Black Mesa just, have that much toxic waste??

“Until I become suicidal or something.” You… aren't already?

[absolutebl]

This Week in BL - Many Tiny Idiots, Some Irreverent Hotness & an Engagement

Organized, in each category, with ones I'm enjoying most at the top.

Oct 2024 Week 4

Ongoing Series - Thai

Fourever You (Thai Thurs YT) ep 4 of 16 - OK so Hill has really been trying to pick him up from the beginning? I don’t understand why there’s any doubt around girls at all. He Gay everyone. Why is Tatch (2 Moons Ambassador) the only seme in Thai BL history allowed to actually just say "I don’t date women.”

Why is that so hard?

This show is definitely frustrating me, but I must admit that it’s the one I look forward to the most each week.

Love Sick 2024 (Thai Sun iQIYI) ep 6 of 15 - I am now only watching the uncut version, and I gotta say it makes all the difference. Please don’t watch the cut version of this show if you can possibly help it. It’s like cliff's notes of cliff's notes. I love the tiny side couple of tough kid + the dork of the music club. Ah the beach sequence. Condenced WAY DOWN, I see. We lost one of the most iconic lines in all BL but i think everything is improved by how much tighter the plot is in the remake (6 episodes became 1!). So I’m enjoying it. Weirdly, I'm not sure I would be enjoying it, if I hadn’t seen the original.

Is anyone watching this on iQIYI who hasn't seen the original? Just out of curiosity. Tell me how it's going for you, would ya? 

I'm doing a face-off style watch along of this new version versus the original 2014-2015 version.

Kidnap (Fri YT) ep 8 of 12 - I don’t entirely get it. They were apart for approximately 11 minutes. I would’ve thought GMMTV would’ve drawn it out for longer and more angst. Smiley face kiss was cute, but the star of this ep was that gorgeous pale blue waffle sweater on Q. What a great color for Leng! 

Jack & Joker (Thai Mon IQIYI) ep 7 of 12 - I do like that we’re seeing an honest exploration of poverty and hopelessness. I’m not sure how I feel about it inside my BL, tho I’m willing to persavere for this pair.

Battle of the Writers (Sun YT) ep 12 end - Someone said recently "just imagine what TutorYim could do with an actual script." And you know what? I agree. Because they sure as shit haven’t gotten one yet. And it’s getting quite frustrating. I’m having JaFirst flashbacks. Frankly, 2024 has been a year of unmitigated BL nonsense narratives. And I’m tired of it. I know it’s bog standard for the genre, but it feels like there’s been more than normal faff this year.

Summary 

An incredibly convoluted, disjointed, and badly-paced drama that is about(?) some writers writing a thing and some boys who knew each other when they were kids, lots of pretty sexy times, and not much else. The visuals are gorgeous, the side couples are overly appealing (with little to no screen time), the dubbing and sound is absurdly bad, and the fantasy novel (play within a play) makes no sense whatsoever while also managing to be the show that we all actually wanted to see instead of what we were given. 6/10 

In conclusion, I have no interest in attempting to understand or revisit this show, and I certainly wouldn’t recommend it, but if you have nothing better to do…… the sex is good (frankly I have exes that satisfy all the same criteria). So there it is: this show is like a bad but still hot ex.  

Every You Every Me (Thai Mon Gaga) ep 3 of 10 - Nice to see Fiat in something again. Namping is very angel baby.  This episode made me think that this pair would do a great Thai remake of Love Tractor, and now that’s pretty much all I want in life. I enjoyed wardrobe in this episode. It looks like we get the same characters next week. Cool. 

Bad Guy My Boss (Thai Sun Gaga) ep 6 of 10 - I guess everyone is messy slutty bisexual in this show? Do I care? Not even slightly. BLabies, I don’t think I’m gonna make it. I might have to drop this one.

Ongoing Series - Not Thai

See Your Love (Taiwan Weds Gaga) ep 1-2 of 13 - I adore it, what a wonderful meet cute. I love a Taiwanese BL that starts with a gratuitous kidnapping, some chasing, and a bit of a fight sequence. We in OLD fashioned territory. 

Teenager Judge (Vietnam Sat YT) ep 5 of ? - I continue to enjoy it very much.

My Damn Business (Korea Sat YT) eps 4 of 7 - Oh! Is the sleazy boss gonna turn out to be actually a sleazy player? That would be an interesting twist.

Let Free the Curse of Taekwondo (Korea Thurs Gaga) eps 3 of 8 - I’m really not a big fan of my pain coming from Korea. I’m getting a whiff of To My Star 2 from this one. And that does not make me happy. I know: high quality high angst yada yada blah blah blah. But also unnecessary pain? No thank you. 

First Note Of Love (Taiwan Mon Gaga) ep 12 end - Of course, I love the part where Reese and Orca spoke each other’s languages.

Conclusion

Had this been produced a mere 3 or 4 years ago, I would’ve been quite enamored. But by comparison to what we’ve been getting, this is a lackluster offering. A has-been musician and a much younger composer meet, fall in love, and attempt to rectify his stalled musical career. Cute side couple of a Thai popstar + his Korean manager. Everyone is very fine and it was a fine show. I wasn’t disappointed, but I wasn’t impressed either. 8/10 

Love is Like a Poison AKA Doku Koi: Doku mo Sugireba Koi to Naru (Japan Tues Netflix?) 6 of 10 eps - It was a fun little confession and climax, there was crying, and a bridge kiss (been a while) all of this appeals to me even if they are tiny idiots (in the immortal words of @heretherebedork )

Eccentric Romance (Korea Weds Viki) eps 5-6 of 12 - More tiny idiot boyfriends who don’t realize they’re boyfriends. That’s it, that’s all that’s happening. Ostensibly there’s some kind of murder. But it seems to be acting more like set dressing than plot.

It's airing but...

The Hidden Moon (Sat WeTV) 10 eps - Supernatural romance (my ghost boyfriend trope) by Violet Rain (I Feel You Linger). A man is hired to write an article about an old mansion. He sees the ghosts of people who died at the mansion, falls in love with one of them. Was substantially recast. I loved IFYLITA except the ending so I think I'll let this one run it's course you can tell me if it's work tracking down... if they managed to land it. I have my doubts.

In case you missed it

Mew & Tul legit engaged.

Love in the Big City (Korea Viki) 8ep - Vicki dropped them all at once which means I did what I do under such circumstances and skipped to watch the final episode. (I am well aware that this makes me a monster. ) Anygay, that told me that I’m not gonna be bothering to watch the series. Now y'all can tell me how amazing it is and what I’ve missed and blah blah blah. But I’m comfortable with my choice. It’s ICRY 2.0 + HIV. And I’m not willing to play its literatti game. At some point I might watch it on fast-forward for the sex scenes, but I’m not at that point yet. 

Next Week Looks Like This:

Upcoming BLs for 2024 are listed here. This list is not kept updated, so please leave a comment if you know something new or RP with additions.

Still Coming:

10/27 Perfect 10 Liners (Thai Sun YouTube?) 24 eps! - New directing yet another university BL with engineers + their mentees. Based on a Jittirain novel. with a massive cast and massive run time. We will be watching this until APRIL of 2025!

ForceBook playing the same old characters = enemies to lovers tsunder/sunshine jock/nerd thing.

PerthChimonSanta are doing the cohabitation cool guy/dork trope.

JuniorMark are doing popular sunshine meets lonely sad boy (the only interesting pair IMHO).

I think Blue Canvas of Youthful Days has started on iQIYI but I only get it on Viki and that doesn't drop for a few days, plus...... CBL......? Not sure I'll report on this one unless it's really good.

THIS WEEK’S BEST MOMENTS

From Uncle Unknown which is truly terrible but this was so SO funny. I'm still chuckling when I think about it.

The first representation of shipping in a BL that I actually enjoyed. Also Dat's clear approval of being shipped didn't hurt. (Judge)

(lask week)

The tag BLigade: @doorajar @solitaryandwandering @my-rose-tinted-glasses @babymbbatinygirl @babymbbatinygirl @isisanna-blog @mmastertheone @pickletrip @aliceisathome @urikawa-miyuki @tokillamonger @sunflower-positiiivity @rocketturtle4 @blglplus @anythinggoesintheshire @everlightly @renafire @mestizashinrin @bl-bam-beyond @small-dark-and-delicious @saezurumurmurs

Sigh, Tumblr in its infinite wisdom doesn't like too many at-ings.

[oscconfessions]

Coming OUT as a Samuel Thornbury arm rider(NOT dick rider that feels wrong to say that)

I swear to god people will shit so hard on his writing (imo) only because Tpot 8 wasn't rhe most amazing and perfect episode(or post split but I'll talk about it later). You all will see a tpot episode you loved and go "OHHH MY GOD BEST IN THE SERIES!!!! CARY AND MICHEAL COOKED!!" and whilist usually they are a BIG part of why the episode is so god(credit where credit is do), Sam will be the one to write it. You all will talk about how well writeen a tpot episode is, or how fun was that episode to watch and never give him credit for writing him.

Why do you all hate him? Because he wrote a good Chuck of post split? Look I barely finished post split, I didn't like it at all. But that was 3 years ago you realise writing can improve? Don't get me wrong it wasn't good(imo) I'd say it was shit, but do you want JNJ to hire people based on "OH! you did a Poopy episode once, were gonna have to remove you from this communtiy forever!" I know this might sound Wild but writing a shitty season of a bfdi isn't a warcrime.

Do you all hate him because he gave tpot a plot? No hate to Cary I do enjoy his writing, but tpot 4 -tpot 6 are honeslty kind of bland. Like full on regression to the first season of bfdi. Cary can write good modern bfdi episodes, he has enoguh whimsy to do so. However tpot 4-6 feel like filler to me, they aren't filler but they feel like it. I don't want to sound rude but as the biggest object show bfdi should at least try to standout/live up to your Legacy. (Basically I wouldn't shit on a smaller object show for having this format) instead of having a filler full on season. I also think it dosen't align with their vision for tpot. But eh I won't go too deep because I feel like Cary and Micheal are aware of this, and that's why they gave the writing Staff to someone else. (Also I feel Cary knew his wiritng wasn't suting tpot, since it was ment to be the more serious show. Like Sam did not stab Cary and Micheal 40 times and force them to make him the writer for Tpot, that's kind of not how projects work guys)

Going back don't a lot of you LOVE satomi for bfb?(Dgmw I love satomi for bfb too) But why is Sam suddenly this iredemmable writer for DARE putting plot in your bfdi!! (That's not say satomi dosen't have her detractors but they are on reddit I don't think satomi is a r/bfdi reddit user b) MOST OF THEM whilist kind of annoying don't go out of their way to Harras satomi(from what I've seen))

Be cirtical all you want but don't harass him for it! IF this matters to you THIS MUCH go and take a shower and watch something else then bfdi/object shows or watch a smaller object show. If you can't praise another bfdi project without feeling the need to mention him in a negative light YOU MIGHT BE OBSSED WITH THIS MAN, if you can't help but think about how much you hate that guy and his writing 24/7 you might need to touch grass and watch something else (adventure time is really good! I recommend it.<3). If your going to harass somebody over a show about A ice cube who seeks revenge mabye you should step away from the keyboard and find a different way to get your rage out.

Quick "Notes" incase anyone takes me out of context/makes assumptions aboit me:

It's perfectly FINE to dislike Samuel Thornbury's writing or him as a person whatever reason you have! It's perfectly normal to be critical of public people! I'm slightly cirtical of a few of the Bfdi writers/team memebers myself. BUT DON'T HARASS THEM, ESPICALLY OVER THE WRITING OF ALL THINGS.

I am not saying he should be the only writer! Or that he is the only good one. I'm all in for more people writing main episodes or more episodes with cowriters. I thoguh the new tpot 10-11 were amazing and those episodes had 4 writers! Shit the newest tpot ep was enjoyable and it had 2.

You can be critical of post split, Just don't blame EVERY single issue with it on him yada yada.

I don't know Sam personally, I do not have a parasocial relationship with him. It's just some of you are wayy WAYYY to harsh/weird when it comes to critizing him. And I think that kind of vaugeposting only makes the communtiy worse/dosen't help anyone

Thank you<3

(Sorry for grammer mistakes, also tell me if I got any info wrong this is ask on a ask blog I'm not doing the work to check if I got every small detail right. on this to watever mod reads this I'm so sorry)

.

[charmixpower]

🌊 Aish hairstyles 🌊

Literally oh my fucking god the designers can't think of more than three fucking hairstyles for Aisha, if I never see her with twin puffs again it will be too soon. Put her in a unique fucking hairstyle you assholes. This anger at the complete lack of interesting hair for Aisha is what sparked me to do this series in the first place. Just so I can show how fucking cool her hair could be if they weren't fucking cowards about it. Unsurprisingly this one took me the longest, with all the braids I had to line and color (tho it didn't take as much time as expected), but it was a lot of fun to do. I was easily the most excited to this one for obvious reasons. She looks great. I went a little ham on the gold jewelry but Aisha deserves it ok?? Her hairstyles in the show are so dull, she needs some fun

Side note, Aisha has the second longest hair out of the Winx, longest naturally, but it isn't visible due to how coily Aisha's hair is. My hair goes from barely toucing my shoulders to below my sternum, and my hair is curly as where I draw it Aisha's the 4 range. So yeah, her hair gets like at least 6 inches when straighten, going all the way to her butt. I also challenged myself to style her edges differently with every drawing djsjs which you can probably tell

Anyways on to the individual styles

Classic Aisha: this is the hairstyle I've started to usually draw Aisha in. Sporty and practical meet fun and feminine! I also gave her a nose piercing bc she, Musa, and Tecna have the vibes, and to fit the slight vibe of Andros. Aisha's hair in canon usually looks like it's on the low side of curly, and the reason why is made p clear by the miss magix ep and s8/WOW, so I decided to give her tight coily hair. Btw yeah that's her s2 camping outfit

Twists Aisha: this was my first foray into drawing this hairstyle, I usually draw dreads and box braids in this area, so it doesn't look super good but hey I tried jdnsjs. I wanted to stylized them so I'd didn't spend years trying to finish them, and you can visibly see me give up on that with the next drawing, but I think if I were doing a comic or quick doodles this is what I would go with. Anyways, I did this one because it really makes me think of Aisha athletic nature. Idk they just look super athletic to me, and I gave her a little extra ponytail for the fashion of it. Sporty chic

Mermaid-y: When I first drew these braids with the flat bottoms, they kinda looked like Mermaid tails to me?? So my brain was like, Aisha in her mermaid era <33. So my heart is set on her having this hair during s5, mermaid season, mermaid hair. It's literally perfect. Also I thought this top was super cute. This is where I really went overboard with the gold, but she's in her mermaid era, princess, guardian fairy, and dame. She can have a little (lottle) gold, as a treat. She deserves it, she's been though a lot lately with her family and Nabu being in a COMA. Some fun hair is good for the soul

Date night: light rage. They put Aisha's hair into pigtails for every causal event that happens and it inches across my last nerve like you wouldn't believe. Much like how that uniform outfit ruined one of Musa's hairstyles, pigtails feel ruined for Aisha, but making the. Apart of a braid really lessoned the blow. Half of me wishes I did a head wrap instead, but I can't just not include them. The outfit is super cute tho. She's going on a date!!! Yess!!! So pretty. I'm so happy with her earrings and dress. She and Nabu are gonna go have a picnic together, it's gonna be great

Box braids: I just got my braids taken out this Friday, which was fun (it hurt a lot, especially taking the small ones out ;-;) and I think it's a really good hairstyle for Aisha. I used to think that they'd be super impractical due to being so long, but because they're so heavy they're not actually annoying to deal with at all. They don't move all that much and they don't really get in the way. These would work perfectly for Aisha. Giving her the long hair, and the practicality. Absolute win! Of course I had to go for her outfit from her date with Musa. These kinds of braids always make me think someone has an important event coming up or they're trying to look cute, and a first date is a perfect occasion. I had so much fun with the earrings and braid decorations

Work out: I wanted to go for something simple, less fancy, and that doesn't require braiding, for of her hairstyles to just like her hair be itself and vibe. Here it is in a classic half up half down look, completely unbraided and vibing. Outfit slightly inspired by Serena Williams's entire aesthetic, including the headband. I didn't wanna put her hair over her shoulders, which admittedly looks a little weird but I wanted the high low part to be clear fjsjdnd

Poodle puffs: Personally I think Poodle puffs are really hard to styles, because it's hard to get the size of the puffs right without going too far in either direction. I think I got it right here? I think four is a good number of puffs. This is probably one of my favorite looks, mostly because of how warm and royal it looks. I'm a sucker for shiney jewelry and warm colors. I think this one came out especially well, I love the earrings, and the dress looks really good! I was worried it was gonna look silly but thankfully it doesn't

Bantu knots: She just looks gorgeous here. It adds so much to her orginal red carpet energy. Her hair is now all done up and fancy. Her nose ring also adds to the energy. I really like the earring, despite how lopsided it is lol, but I do wonder if it was a little too much for such a elegant outfit? Idk. Either way I didn't do anything to this look because I love it and she looks amazing. Not thoughts, head empty, bantu knots pretty

Princess Aisha: Hehe this one is probably my favorite out of all the hair. Not the outfit top XD. I don't like poofy European dresses rip. I got to go as fancy as I want!! I feel like Aisha usually tries to stay away from super fancy and complicated one event only hairstyles (which is why she usually goes for protective hairstyles she can wear for a while with low maintenance before needing to change it), but she's making a formal appreances, which means I can loop a gem into her hair. I also got to put big gems on her outfit and earrings which was super fun. This perticualr hairstyle always looked super royal to me and I had to include some proper beads on the look too. They match the gem she's wearing. Extra royal look. Her headgear as a child did something similar, but now that she's older she can just get proper braids put that do what the head gear was doing but better. Also can you tell that I was worried about getting too close to the edge of the page XD

[lunararcher]

I'M BACK!

And I finished Voltron Season 3 (all seven episodes of it…) and I actually took notes while I watched because you know what? You only get to watch something for the first time once. I had fun recording my feelings and (erroneous) predictions as I went along, not knowing how it would end.

I had a good time, so I’m gonna share them with you under the break! Most are probably vague, so let’s hope you get what I mean…

Ep1 At first kind of impressed by how calm Keith was at the beginning. “Tailgating” Love it!! HUNK! MY MAN! YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL! Keith not calm anymore. Though the “fight for themselves” is a good point. Lotor is a freaking creep

Ep 2 Seeing eye cat is COOL! What the HECK! “I’m the leader now, dangit!” XD Keith’s “Please, no” almost made me cry. Lance?! Respecting Keith?! O_O Another hint that Alfor was the Red Paladin! Okay, seeing cat lady is REALLY COOL! Lance tried FLIRTING with his LION. Wat. Yep, Alfor was the Red Paladin “This is…deeply disturbing” I know Allura didn’t mean it that way, but that’s hilarious, them cringing at the idea of Zarkon procreating.

Ep 3 Hunk really makes an excellent point. Can’t they at least…run some drills? Or, like, question why Lotor’s ship is just chilling in orbit? Okay, so not a trap, but still not a good idea. Buff general makes me think of Stith from Titan AE AllURA flirting with the Blue Lion!! *dies* Yes, I am watching this episode in the dark, under blankets, like a kid. Family reunion late at night or not, I am watching this. I really like how the Lions’ motions are more catlike and agile. Instead of just flying and running, they’re using more natural-looking abilities. “Hunk! I’m a leg!” ADORABLE.

Ep 4 Coran’s “NO!” breaks my heart Calling it now, that’s a time rift and they just jumped through time. Wait wait wait, so they DID all trade Bayards and the black sword looks AWESOME SHI. RO?! YOUNG. SHI. RO?! NO!! Don’t you DARE say your name is Sven!! Also, Slav kicking butt?! Noooooo! It IS Sven!! DX Okay, so alternate reality. That’s…kind of more fun than time travel Squint-eyed glasses makes me think of Kabuto. Gross. Blade of Marmora=Guns of Gamara?? Yup. Gross. Okay, I LIKE this Slav and Sven. DOGPILE!

Oh crap, there’s only seven episodes. Oh crap! There’s only seven episodes!!

Ep 5 I really don’t know what to make of this episode. Flashbacks of the past? His hair could have gotten that long in the year. But it doesn’t line up with other flashbacks. Wait, no, he says he’s a Paladin. What is going on. Experiment?! How the heck long has he been missing?! NOOOO! Poor stranded Shiro!! Nooooooooo you’re gonna make me CRYYYYY!! Yup, made me cry.

Ep 6 SNIPER RIFLE LANCE I wish Allura’s Bayard wasn’t quite so much like Pidge’s. If she’d had a staff it would have been some variety to the team. Also, why do the sentries look so different? Shiro’s new haircut looks weeeiiird Well, at least Keith didn’t immediately disregard Lance. And Lance still feels like Keith is the leader? “Can someone Altean come move this castle?” XD Awkward cross-leadership. Pidge’s Bayard also looks different. Oh crap, the giant teladav Are they trying to use the comet and teladav to wormhole though dimensions?! The pretty general did collect a bag full of scaultrite from the weblum. Bayard changing hands was slick. Like Daylight! Oooohhhh, Keith let HER shoot the teladav. Hahaha, Shiro played into the “pick your battles” meme!

Ep 7 Young Alfor and Zarkon are weeeiiird An advanced race like all of those and NONE of them could have detected an incoming comet strike?!?! Zarkon is afraid of cats!! XD Oh crap, Honerva gonna get infected by the evil mote. Oooooooor the whole planet is gonna get infected Why is there already battle damage on the Lions when they’re still fresh in the factory?! Ahahaha, the old Paladins are freaking out the same way! That’s adorable! Is it just me, or does Old Voltron look somehow different?

[shineyma]

1st, I am beyond excited and grateful that you took the time to write all this!! I asked for a rant, Amy, you delivered. 2nd, /I/ should apologize because my reply's probs gonna be long. (Half an ask already. Ugh, I'm hopeless, and you extremely polite.) I'd seen Fitz said Deke's the worst to be their grandson, but not that he persisted! GO, FITZ!! Didn't Iain use to say back in S1 that he didn't want FS to happen? I loved him for it, esp when Liz can't seem to do anything other than wax (1/9)

the rest go under the cut because it’s a lot of asks XD

poetic about FS. (Whyyy, Liz?? Seriously, does she talk about anything other than FS?) LBR though, Fitz is #relatable here. I’ve watched 3 S5 eps and seen many spoilers, and Deke’s 95% a dick, right?? I think TPTB might’ve been going for that particular FS brand of determined, unapologetic, do-what’s-necessary but their compassion and drive to protect were always evident even in their “harsher/colder” actions/attitudes/treatments. (I’m missing the right words but you know, right??) /But/ (2/9)

they missed the mark by 100 miles. Anyway. Frankly, Amy, Jemma fighting viciously Fitz’s pessimism and fatalism, esp by putting forth a positive twist on fatalism (for lack of a better word) has rubbed me so wrong for so long. It’s not necessarily ooc?? But it’s also not Jemma in a right mental and emotional state?? (You’re getting a terrible description of what I mean but I’m no good for anything else right now.) Like she’s broken, resigned, fighting for some thing that just happened, (3/9)

that she didn’t consciously choose, it was forced on her through guilt of her own and of others’ making, and through others pushing for it, and she’s sort of accepted it, it’s just part of her life now, vaguely, automatically placed under the “good stuff” category, and everything around her is in chaos, so she just fights for /it/? I don’t know. There’s a difference between “the universe says we’re gonna be together, look at the signs!!” and “we want to be together and we’ll work for it”. (4/9)

About the logic fail, Jemma probs grabbed onto that “my mom told me the ‘right direction’ thing which her mom had told her”, ergo she raised her some, and coupled with the need to make Fitz feel better and the talk with yet another always unhelpful team member (😒), she just went for that stupid line. Does that make it not ooc? Well, /no/. *makes a paper plane out of your last 3 bullet points and shoots it @ TPTB, yelling “TAKE NOTES!”* Amy, in the AOS house we don’t perform surgery to the (5/9)

tune of melodies that calm and steady and help us concentrate. In the AOS house, we perform surgery while conversing on things that test our ability to hold back tears and shouts and shaking and violence, because we’re hardcore. So, the dog thing. @ Hydra WTF??!!?! Yeah, I’m glad I missed that. And OK, can someone finally confirm if Ward shot Buddy??!! It’s getting ridiculous. I say probs nah, because John used to prod him too often for not being cruel enough, but… I don’t know. Also, (6/9)

I’m so glad Ward didn’t attend Hydra’s School for Young Octopi!! I mean, everything does point to that!! :D Teen!Ward busted out at 17 and dumped in the woods, switching to Brett!Ward still in the woods, John alluding to Ward shooting Buddy and finally leaving the woods as the end of his training and immediate beginning of his SHIELD career… If he attended any Academy, that was SHIELD Ops. It’s canon! New Ward backstory! I LOVE IT!! OK, because Hydra has that elitist vibe, I’m imagining (7/9)

more of a posh-secret-club-inside-the-academy kind of thing?? You know, like the actual Piggate scandal with the UK PM, and there’s many a movie too that show secret societies inside colleges etc, whose members are wealthy kids of old families, and their fathers were members before them, and their grandfathers, and they have weird, twisted rituals. You know the kind. Malick, his daughter and the council of people they had brought to meet Hive, they remind me of that. Anyway, I’m still not (8/9)

forgiving Ruby for what she did to Elena, but the dog thing and the Hydra-engineered super-baby thing are something…?? I’d have to watch S5 to pass judgement and LOL NO, I ain’t about to do that. I thiiink I’m done. Man, I hope that was some damn good strawberry shortcake. I’m gonna need all the favor I can get. 😇 ❤❤❤❤ Also, what’s a strawberry shortcake and why are people discriminating against its physique??? Ah, and why do you use that squiggly line (~) at the end of some words??? (9/9)

Okay! Here we go! XD

First off, I…..go back and forth on Liz’s support of fs. On the one hand, it’s silly to hold it against her; it’s not like attacking her own storyline would be a smart move, either with fans (who for some reason overwhelmingly support it) or with Jed&Mo (who, after all, have made clear that they based fs’ relationship off their own). Sure, Iain got away with it, but look at the way the show treats Fitz vs. Jemma……he’s clearly the favorite. *side eyes aos* Plus, fs being together gets her more scenes with more people (gotta have everyone reminding her how destined~ she and Fitz are after all!!), so it’s understandable she’d like it.

That said….HOW CAN SHE NOT SEE HOW TERRIBLE IT IS? I DON’T UNDERSTAND.

And we could talk about that all day so…moving on!

Deke started out as the harsh/cold/doing what’s necessary to survive in a terrible environment character (he SOLD DAISY TO KASIUS because he was afraid her search for Jemma would endanger the rest of them), but the show kind of….dropped that? And tried to switch him to the lovable moron instead? It’s weird.

As for Jemma’s optimism……I guess I can’t totally blame her. Like, she does love Fitz, that’s clear enough. I personally don’t think she’d have gotten there if she hadn’t been constantly pushed towards him, or if he hadn’t made a big deal of “I can’t be just friends,” therefore forcing her to choose between a romantic relationship with her best friend or NOTHING AT ALL of him, but. Whatever.

My point was, she loves him. And he is CONSTANTLY going on about how they’re cursed and they’re never gonna work out and how ‘doesn’t sound great for the girlfriend’ and ‘I don’t deserve you’ and blah blah negativity. And it is just super not fair to her that she has to forever fight this attitude of his and try to keep him positive about THEIR RELATIONSHIP, something he should be excited and positive about ON HIS OWN. Ugh.

So from that perspective, I guess I can see why she’d cling to this, as evidence~ they’re not doomed and they’re gonna be okay. Good point, nonnie!

And another good point: I’d forgotten about the daughter saying that her mom had said the steps in the right direction stuff! to her That makes Jemma’s logic fail a little less egregious, I feel better now.

Oh, right, silly me. Of course aos is way too hardcore to want to focus on the situation at hand when surgery is underway!

I think the show kinda confirmed that it was Grant who shot Buddy? In 2x21 when Bobbi was trying to talk Kara out of the whole….torture thing that was about to happen, she tried to convince her that Grant was grooming her and that he probably started small and probably was started small himself, and Kara was like “yeah, Garrett made him shoot his dog.” So that probably counts as confirmation.

(But I am all about #denial so I choose to ignore it. Alternate explanation: Garrett was the one who did it but Grant wanted to use the story to connect to Kara, so he was creative with the truth. See? It still works!)

And yep! Garrett said, when he finally got Grant from the woods, that he’d gotten him into the ops academy! Which admittedly was four whole seasons before this mess and probably they didn’t know yet they were gonna give Hydra its own Academy, but why would Garrett make Grant do the dog test in the woods if he was about to go to Hydra and have to do it all over again? Doesn’t make sense! So yes, definitely Grant went to SHIELD Academy.

As for the “posh” sense you get of Hydra, nonnie, you are SO NOT WRONG. Hydra’s Academy was seriously SO prep school vibes, I can’t even fully describe it. They had UNIFORMS, nonnie! Suit and tie uniforms with HYDRA LOGOS on the breast pocket!!!! It was…….ridiculous. Ri. di. cu. lous.

And right? TOTALLY NOT COOL that Ruby cut off Elena’s arms, but I have some sympathy for her now. Some.

And thank you for asking, the strawberry shortcake was DELICIOUS! And it’s not discrimination (XD; I literally lol’d, nonnie, thanks for that)—strawberry shortcake is a dessert with sliced, sugared strawberries, whipped cream, and a kind of cake that’s called “shortcake” because of its crumbly, sometimes crispy texture. It is THE BEST and I’m so sad it doesn’t exist in your life. I’m sorry, nonnie.

ETA: sometimes people use spongecake instead of shortcake when making strawberry shortcake. these people are wrong and should not be trusted.

As for the squiggly line, it’s hard to explain! 

Sometimes, I use it to add a note of sarcasm or mocking. Since tone is hard to convey online, it helps me get my meaning across (and feels necessarily mean, in such statements as “Jemma and Fitz are destined~”)!

Other times, it’s more…..hm…..like a gesture, maybe? Like in my rant I wrote “the glory of Hive~” and the sguiggly was meant to convey a kind of handwave, like “the glory of Hive and all that stuff the Hive-worshiping parts of Hydra would concern themselves with.” Does that make sense?

I don’t know, it’s kind of like the tumblr habit of randomly capitalizing words in the middle of a sentence, you know? Sometimes it’s for emphasis, sometimes it’s for sarcasm, sometimes it’s just because it feels right. I hope that makes at least a little sense. XD

Thanks very much for the conversation, nonnie! Sorry it was such a struggle getting your thoughts to me!