#IT'S ABOUT REDEMPTION. IT'S ABOUT GROWTH. IT'S FUCKIN AMAZING.

[penofwildfire]

Sometimes I feel like people get so caught up in the whole "hehe normal boring human guy dates Oni Dragon son of God such a sillay ship 😝" aspect of Survivalshipping that they completely ignore the depth and beauty of it all. The Dark Lord Himself shows up at a man's doorstep asking for help. Help to become a better man, because in all his years slowly falling to darkness he never learned how to be good. Even when he was good before, it was an unsure goodness, personality copy-pasted from the influences of his brother and father, because that's who he felt he was supposed to be. And now, having fallen again to evil, he crawls back up out of the depths and has the courage to ask for help. And he goes not to his brother, or some great philosopher or teacher, but to an average human man, about as bland as they come. A man who's not sure what he's talking about but speaks in simple enough terms for Garmadon to understand. A man who, despite his fear, puts in real effort to help this ancient beast. Who gifts him a plant that isn't easily killed because he cares that much. And Garmadon is enraptured. Vinny is the wisest man he's ever known, he says. This demon speaks of this small human man with so much awe and adoration and Vinny, despite his complaints about the late nights of talking and asking questions, keeps trying. Keeps helping. Watches Garmadon improve, however slowly. And god I'm getting emotional just typing this out because damn it, it's fucking beautiful.

[johnny-boy-17]

STAR VS THE FORCES OF EVIL or The Art Student’s Awakening (A Review)

Oh hey, it’s another review by me that nobody asked for! Ok, this one is actually gonna mean a lot to me since this show is pretty much the reason I even started posting things on this site to begin with (thank you and curse you Tumblr), so I need to get it all off my chest. 

Short version: It’s really fuckin’ good, and y’all should check it out. The ending could have used a little more finesse, but it’s still pretty damn good.

Long version: *gasps for air*

Ok let’s start with the story. Yeah, it’s certainly a rollar-coaster. What starts out as a fun little-romp-of-the-week type of story...

...becomes this tale of power corruption, racism battle, and a tale of trust in one another and unity among the people.

Whether or not it handles that well seems to be half and half. On one hand, grace under fire this show is not. It does seem a little rushed in the last season, and you can really tell it wanted to be a bit longer, flesh out ideas, but didn’t have time for it (I blame the Mouse on that). 

I mean I dunno about you, but a show that introduces time travel right the fuck out of nowhere in a medium never seems to end well, this show is no exception.

That and they reeeeeaaaaaally try to knock you unconscious using a hammer with all the prejudice allegories.

On the other hand, good characters can make a shit story seem like high-class art. And good characters this show has in spades (no eclipsa-related pun intended).

Firstly, Star Butterfly herself. It seems stupid not to start with her. And... yeah she’s a really fun protagonist. Not only is she basically Sailor Moon hyped up on too much nose candy, but she has an incredible story of growth to go with. She starts as a fun-loving monster battler that’s too eager to run away from her problems to this teenager facing the looming shadow of adulthood head on and ready to ditch her past of monster-ism(?) for good, never to let such discrimination see the light of day again. Not to mention Eden Sher just absolutely brings this character to life, even if it’s just little things she says like “yeah totally totally totally” or “we got burger juice on the wall rug.” Something in her performance just absolutely friggin’ works wonders. I’d say she’s probably one of my favorite protagonists out there that “the big D” has come up with, but my favorte character they’ve created in a looooong time? That award... 

... goes to mother-fuckin’ Marco Ubaldo Diaz. I cannot BELIEVE how much they won me over with this guy. I think it’s because I saw so much of myself in this guy to the point where I am convinced he’s my long-lost brother. This B0I starts out as this paranoid play-it-safe ‘nother brick in the wall type who just wants to get through his teenage life without any kind of trouble, and by the end is a guy who’s ready to shrug off getting impaled by an evil unicorn being ridden by a corrupted version of Star’s half-demon ex just to get him to snap out of it (it just now dawns on me how fuckin’ batshit this show is). I just love how as he’s easing up on his paranoia, he learns to stop taking himself so seriously and let loose every now and then. Adam McAruther deserves praise for playing this guy, and I don’t know who could ever play this guy like he did. If no other takeaways for this show were to be, it’d be that Marco is in a lineup of my favorite fictional characters of all time.

Now I sense some ears (ok fine all ears) are waiting for me to talk about the two together, so I’ll touch on it once, and make an entire post on it later: It’s great. It’s pleasing to the eye, it’s wholesome for the soul, it makes them both into better beings, the opposite attracts thing is done beautifully, the chemistry could make Bill Nye proud, and I think their ending was as good as it could be for them... though I do hate how long it took to get there. 

OK LIGHTNING ROUND GO (can’t get ‘em al, so sorry):

-Tom: I like the guy, definitely a more relatable and visible character arc and his design is neat.

-Jackie: I wish my lesbian venice beach girl got more appreciation, but I luv her none the less.

-Janna: I luv my strange bisexual filipino witch-wannabee (you know what I said is true don’t deny it)

-Moon: Never really gave her full trust, but was not disappointed by her in any way, despite various actions in the end.

-River: I liked him in the beginning season, sorta trailed off by the end.

-Kelly: Not sure why she was there, but she was cool.

-Eclipsa: We stan that queen! Loved the fact that her motives were so grey, and you every could tell if she was going to turn out to be truly bad or not.

-Globgor: We stan that king! I adored how he actually was a threat back in his day, but now regrets everything he ever did then (plus him size shifting in fights is creative as hell), wish we could have had more of him, but it’s cool that we got any at all really.

-Glossaryck: I loved him, true chaotic neutral god. He was such a troll, and he has my respect (and to think all he wanted to do was die).

 -Ponyhead: I hope that sack of shit gets donated to a glue factory.

But what is a good story without good villains? Well, this show wants to have a ton of good ones, but nothing really sticks to the wall too well, though they do leave an impact.

LUDO: This is how to do  a comedic villain right. You have fun with him in the beginning, and then you make him into a legit threat the next, and by the end give him a redemption arc so as to let him go back on his old ways without soiling his actual good moments as an antagonist. He was the one who surprised me the most.

TOFFEE: Ooooohhhhhhhhh everybody loves this lawyer-lizard B0I and so do I. This guy’s plan was 1: not evil at all, 2: his methods were borderline black and grey, and 3: it was still going on in the background of the story of the entire show since his arival. His personality was cool, suave, persuasive, manipulative, downright terrifying sometimes, and he was just so good at it. While everyone certainly wishes we had more of him, what we got and how long le lasted just cements him as probably one of my all-time favorite villains ever really.

Ms. HEINOUS/METEORA: Oh shakespeare where art thou? Such a wondrous work this tragedey is. Heinous just starts out as a villain who pushes the patriarchy so you can say “fuck that shit,” tries to steal youth for herself, wants to kill Marco for ruining her perfection, y’know yahoo. But the moment you realize her name is Meteora, and what her past has been like... yeah, this is a fuckin’ shakespearian villain for certain. It gets to a point where you begin to agree with what she’s doing, and you’re glad thing turn out all right for her in the end, but god-damn she was such a captivating force to go up against. Scar can suck one compared to this.

MINA LOVEBERRY: I wanna say this was a good attempt at an Aku-type villain (humor and terror in perfect balance), but yeah she could have been handled better. For what we did get with her though, I’m content with it. It’s just funny to see hobo-usagi here just hulk out and talk with a southern accent about what is essentially senile racism n’ shit. There are hints to a tragic past that led to this, and that was nice, but overall not exactly a swan song.

In fact, that’s kinda how the whole ending was wasn’t it? It was serviceable, but nothing big to write home about. I could have definitely used a little more polish to flesh out some things, but we got left with enough to tide over I suppose, though I so wanna see more. 

I mean, look at this new world we were left with! Could you imagine a new season just exploring that? It sounds like so much fun! However, the crew have this “leave them wanting more mentality (ha! hope you were paying attention to that foreshadowing!),” not to mention I have seen the creator Madame Daron Nefcy encourage all the creative fans this show has to do all sorts of stuff (of which we seemed to have wasted no time and not even waited for the show to end to start doing *glares at the fan-made-starco kids everywhere*).

Really, at the end of it all, I’d compare this entire series to a friend doing a cannonball from a high-dive. First, you’re amazed that they decided to climb the ladder. Second, you’re in awe of the guts their showing to prepare for the jump. Third, you gawk as they actually did jump off into the water from the height. But fourth, you see them underwater and watch them un form the ball and into a weird janky zero-gravity water thing swimming up for air, not to mention you remembered they didn’t swan dive. But that doesnt mean the plunge was all that bad, you enjoyed watching all the steps to it, didn’t you?

Overall, the score I shall leave it at would be... 7.5/10, and an easy thumbs up approval. It’s ending and other aspects have a lot to be desired, but the story and characters are too good to ignore. 

Check it out if you haven’t already (probably binge it), and to Madame Nefcy (if by some stroke of a miracle you see this) thank you so much for creating this show. I am so glad I saw it despite my gripes, and I’d gladly see it again.

[spellmanmortuary]

CAOS P1 REWATCH: OCTOBER COUNTRY

Harvey is so CLUELESS in the beginning tbh he has asked a confused ‘what?’ like five times and I’m barely in the middle of the first episode tbh his name should have been Harvey ‘what?’ Kinkle

Can y’all really blame Sabrina for keeping magic from Harvey after he reacted like THAT at the mere INTRODUCTION of magic into his life ?

I also lowkey don’t like that he made it all about himself. Understandable but,, wasn’t his best moment

Sabrina used to talk so s l o w l y and soo s o f t l y kiernan must’ve done sO much dubbing

Oh wow so the weird sisters dead ass tried to give Sabrina a slow and painful death with that blood curse and now they’re besties. GROWTH

The production had kiernan walk thru the vancouver woods at three in the morning in WINTER after a TWELVE HOUR work schedule while wet and wearing nothing but NUDE UNDERWEAR ? That is commitment and I salute it

I wonder if they had Georgie Daburas stay silent and barely visible in that little moment in the woods so a) they’d end up paying him like ,, 3 dollars, b) they had him almost faceless in case they needed to pull an Eleanor Waldorf and recast the role

hE hAsNt DeFiLeD yOu HaS hE ?!?!?! No but he sure wanted to, on my birthday, after the eclipse, when it got dark

WiTcH LaWwW

Sabrina is so spunky and smart and also somehow reckless and tbh a lil dumb and I love her

SHE SAID ‘GROOVY’ SMACK IN THE MIDDLE OF 2018 I LOVE MY WITCHY BBY. ADORABLE!

Stolas was such a loyal familiar,,,, madam satan really did him dirty

Sabrina and Roz holding hands and running thru the hallways of Baxter high as ‘Atomic’ plays?? Iconic !

Also the soundtrack slaps

Ambrose with those goggles he uses in the embalming room reblog if u agree

Harvey and Sabrina are adorable tbh. But I still maintain they can’t work if harvey doesn’t like magic

Again, the soundtrack slaps and it slaps hard

Why did harvey ask if her aunts needed more pumpkins they have a SHIT TON of them smack in the middle of their porche and he was literally just there dvmgbkekge

God that fuckin troll is SPOOKY and Salem is AMAZING

This show can be so SPOOKY I love it

Salem and Harvey are a brotp ok

The spellman house is a piece of ART and it should be recognized

Iofsjbjfn I cant wait for auntie z to become high priestess

I am so conflicted about father blackwood. Kinda wanna see a redemption arc, kinda wanna see him become a bigger villain, definitely wanna see him get a better manicure,,,

But ANYWAY that wraps up the first ep. idk it’s not my fave but it is darn ENDEARING in many many ways. I love this show sO much

Episode rating: 🔮🔮🔮

[freetheworms]

IT!

comin right up !

who i will protect at all costs:• eddie freakin kaspbrak. listen, i know he’s hella strong and doesn’t need help from a tiny idiot but i love him and i would die for him okay

who deserves better: • fuckin BEN. my beautiful boy comes to this crazy ass clown town and goes through the worst shitstorm of his life ok leave him alone he’s just tryna read n be a cinnamon roll

who was killed off too early:• EDDIE. i’m a reddie, what can i say my boy deserved to finally get his freedom and his true love and that’s that on that

who i used to hate but now i love: • i never hated ben, mike and stan but like… i didn’t know them from the movie yknow ? then i started seeing content for them and now i would lay down my life

who i used to love but now i hate: • uhhh i mean i still love bill but from what i read on tunglr dot hell, he is in fact pretty lame

who needs to be killed off asap: • pennywise ofc. i was gonna say patrick but we all saw him get his just desserts

who is unfairly hated: • uhh…. uhhhhh, idk, like… richies parents ? they’re not great but they’re not THAT bad (altho i don’t rly care about them either way i just can’t think of anyone)

who is unfairly loved: • i mean i rly don’t get the whole monster fucker thing but hey that just isn’t my fave hentai of pennywise

who needs to sort out their priorities: • pennywise. it’s 2018, eating kids isn’t cool anymore get with the times

who needs a hug: • all the losers bruh. u SEE the shit they went through ??? they all need a hug and some damn therapy

who needs to get out of their current relationship: • imma go with eddie again… sweetie we all know myra is a whole mess, get the hell outta there (and be with richie duh)

who the writers love: • like, stephen king ? probably pennywise lol. fandom writers ? richie 100%

who needs a better storyline: • in the movie ? like everyone except richie, eddie and bill tbh

who has an amazing redemption arc: • gotta go with my girl bev ! gettin the confidence and strength to get her ass tf out of a cycle of abusive relationships to be with the sweetest man on earth, we stan the queen of personal growth

who is hot af: • i mean i am in love with isaiah mustafa so like. i guess future mike’s gonna be a whole snacc

who belongs in jail: • everyone in derry over the age of like 14 tbh. y’all wild

who needs to be revived from the dead:• *chanting* EDDIE AND STAN, EDDIE AND STAN, EDDIE-

[a-rdentlyy]

*finger guns* fuck vld s8 B)

I was incapable to do my final projects until I wrote down all my feelings. VLD is trash, but I’m sadly obsessed with it, dear god just end my suffering. Just to be clear, I also have some (very few) good things to say about this season but those will be at the end.

Cons

lol the whole fucking season

Pretty much everything concerning Lance was about Allura, nothing about his own personal growth except when talking to Keith

Sunset talk was romantic as FUCK and Keith spoke about how great Lance was and was just so fucking soft the whole time

Sitting at the table and confiding in each other about personal growth had me tearing up tbh

Literally episode one was extremely gay

Like, super gay

Lance and Allura have an awkward date, which was honestly pretty cute, EXCEPT for when Lance suddenly tells her he loves her and she’s just like “i mean ok i guess” and they kiss????????????

What the hell??????????

And why the fuck did Lance choose to seek solace in Keith when he was worried about his “date”??????? (hint: its gay fellas)

And then when Veronica asked about Keith and if he was single Lance literally freaked the fuck out for like 67493862988409 years

HUGE queerbait season and episode if you ask me :/

How the FUCK is Ezor still alive, I’m not complaining, but this was out of nowhere

The astral plane episode w the old paladins could have been so cool

Blaytz should have been with Lance, literally his whole speech about people underestimating him and “fucking having greatness within” is LITERALLY what Allura said to him in either season 5 or 6 (can’t remember and don’t really care about their interactions tbh)??????? Like??????? Give my boy some validation that isn’t centered around his romantic life?????

Alfor should have been with Allura. That’s her fucking dad and his whole “my daughter chose you cuz ur cool i guess” speech to Lance felt so flat and awkward, I hated it. Everything about Alfor’s speech would have been so much better if it wasn’t about how Allura liked him.

AND SHE DIDN’T EVEN CHOOSE LANCE, SHE CHOSE LOTOR AND SETTLED FOR LANCE BECAUSE HE WAS HER CONSTANT COMPANION

They did Lotor dirty, my trash son

Not a single bit of actual redemption

In the Honerva flashback episode could see how his parents tore him down. Zarkon destroying his first colony broke him.

Totally unresolved Lotura plotline. I really liked them together and they had genuine chemistry unlike the “main” bullshit ship of the season. Allura first tries to kill him in her nightmare and then immediately trusts him after he says like 2 words????????? Girl ain’t over her ex.

So was he actually evil and was really sucking out quinessence or was that plotline just never touched upon, cuz he tried to explain what was happening in s6 but was never really allowed to speak?????

The Altean colony was never really resolved???????

Like, who’s running it now??????

Altean/Farmer Lance

Don’t even talk to me about this shit

What the FUCK is with him suddenly becoming Altean????? Like, if he had, you know, some Altean descendents and his little markings were suddenly activated then i’d kind of get it

Also Lance has Altean markings now, because we just can’t let Lance move on from Allura and be happy can we

This ending was SUCH BULLSHIT. Lance has always wanted to be a pilot but now that some girl he liked is dead he wants to live on a farm w his family?????

I’m still not done with how they won’t just let Lance move on from Allura and be happy

He lives on Altea, of all places, so he’ll see her people everywhere

He has fucking Altean markings so he’ll be reminded of her every time he looks at himself in the mirror

Honerva seemed like such a good, complex villain but they just made her goal so fucking dumb

I figured she’d want to get Lotor back (which I dug because I’m always here for mother’s love n shit) plotlines, but suddenly she’s trying to get to an alternate universe?????? The fuck?????

And what the hell happened when she actually went to the AU, what the actual fuck

What a bitch, she’s still pissed at Allura even in this alternate reality

Lol AU baby Lotor telling Honerva how she sucks is incredible

Klance

Fucking gypped

So much build up

Where the hell is the “slow burn” endgame for Lance?????? Definitely not with Allura, that shit was rushed as hell

Literally so much chemistry between Keith and Lance

Allurance

I don’t actually hate Allurance

The writers just suck at doing their job and making good romantic relationships

Literally cringed at every scene where Allura and Lance interacted tho, it just felt so forced

When Lance said “my girlfriend” I actually had to stop watching and had to take a solid half hour to recover (I’m not even joking), it was the worst thing I had ever heard

HELLA rushed “i love you” to Allura. Lance, she’s the fucking best, I agree, but dude. You honestly don’t even really know each other that well (the demi in me is coming out lol)

Allura never once responded to Lance saying I love you until the very end, and even then it felt more like a platonic “I love who you are” deal. She definitely didn’t love Lance like he cared for her.

She even ended up dying and walked towards Lotor at the end, she still chose Lotor over Lance at the very end

And we just can’t let Lance have anything nice, can we

Lotura

“He was happy with you” fuckin Honerva speaking the truth for once

Literally one of the best ships that crashed and burned for no reason

Through this entire season you can still see Allura isn’t over Lotor

Allura, they did you so dirty as well

My wife

I’m so sorry for what they did to you

This amazing survivor of genocide that thought that she was the last survivor was killed off

They also ruined ur character tho, the real Allura would never have basically tortured the real Zarkon without quintessence poisoning

And you would have realized you don’t actually love Lance like that

Those goodbyes actually destroyed me at the end tho

“I’m gonna miss you Allura” BITCH ME TOO, THE FUCK

Shiro’s goodbye made me tear up the most

So she can create infinite realities because of her sacrifice except for one where she lives???????

And who’s leading the new Altea????? No one???? They never explain what happens with the actual colony that Lotor made and the current timeline

Holy shit I just realized we never actually found out if Lotor survived the quintessence field or not

I mean, almost certainly didn’t

But still, that shit’s important to tell us

Looked like a hawk carrying away a baby mouse

Shiro’s wedding was fucking bullshit

Like finally he can be happy

But god, give us fucking SOME development that isn’t damage control

At least I liked whoever he married in those background scenes despite never learning his name

MATT’S HAIRCUT IS A TRAVESTY at the end

He looks way better with long hair

What the fuck was with the lions just dipping??????????

Tbh that shit made me cry

And now they’re just chilling out in space??????

Pros

The beginning of the season was actually surprisingly really good? Like, I was nearly invested the whole time up until episode 8?????? And then it got fucking insane and weird with no explanation.

THE ANIMATION IS GORGEOUS

Baby Lotor was so fucking cute, I adore him.

Those small Klance scenes killed me

Keith supporting and validating everything Lance has done and just being a great bf in general

That romantic ass sunset scene (you CANNOT tell me that shit was platonic)

We could have had it all yo :(

Surprisingly really liked Kinkade’s vlog episode, it made me like the MFE pilots

I didn’t care about them at ALL in s7 but now I like them more

Just Kinkade and Rizavi tho

Some tasty VeronicaxAcxa shit

That’s lesbian activity

Thank god Bex was right when she said Kacxa wasn’t gonna be a thing

Old Paladin’s were pretty cool except for the bullshit talking

BAD. ASS. VOLTRON/ATLAS FUSION.

Thank GOD Galra Emperor Keith wasn’t a thing

Coran keeping Allura’s memory alive keeps me alive

HIS TOAST TO HER HAD ME CRYING

THEY REALLY WERE FAMILY

Thank god it doesn’t seem like Lance is insanely depressed a year after Allura’s death, this kid needs closure and to move on and find some semblance of happiness that doesn’t revolve around romance

Small Klance moments at the end

That fucking reunion at the end made me cry

At least we got a mlm kiss, even though it’s garbage :)

List of Those Done Dirty

ALLURA

Lance

Lotor

Shiro

Adam

The Whole Fucking Fandom

All in all, fuck v slur, 3/10 for the season and 4.5/10 for the whole show. Seasons 1-3 are the only canon seasons. Except for parts of Season 5 and 6. Those can stay.

Also Klance is Canon King.

[bartsugsy]

It’s kinda sad though Aaron has to suck it up and not move on at all and accept a baby his husband conceived while he was probably off his head in prison it’s kinda cruel, Aaron would never ever in a million years to this to Rob makes me wonder how people think they’re love is ever equal at all

i mean, he probably couldn’t do this to rob bc any cheating he would do would likely not result in an unxpected pregnancy so

it’s not really fair to argue that, is it?

also, like… this is absolutely a product of robert’s bad decision

but it didn’t happen in a vaccuum - this wasn’t rob sitting around like OH BOY IM BORED AND MY EX IS LOOKING FOINEEEE LETS GO GET SOME OF THAT NO I WOULD NEVER USE PROTECTION HEY BEX LETS BANG

that’s not… what happened… like jfc you’re genuinely skimming over the entirety of what happened in canon

aaron put a guy in hospital, which landed him in prison, which led to him being abused in prison, which led to him doing spice - that’s aaron’s side of things

rob’s side, on the build up, was… he couldn’t sleep in a bed without aaron and was generally a complete wreck, one day the prison didn’t let him see aaron and then liv told him that aaron was doing drugs, he finally went to see aaron who was acting like a shell of himself, was so heartbroken that he got drunk, got really fucking angry at aaron, called rebecca over to rant at her because she was his only friend and someone he’d been able to talk to about how he felt about missing aaron, decided to hurt aaron and came onto rebecca, knew exactly what to say to get her to say yes, she said yes, they banged

like…. the situation was deliberatly not as straightforward as ‘oh hey, it’s rob being a cheat again, knew he couldn’t stay faithful!’ 

it was 100% robert doing the wrong thing, but jfc so was aaron beating up kasim

look how fucking much robert and liv suffered while aaron was in jail - but that never gets held over aaron’s head - and yes, aaron was absolutely suffering while he was in prison and his suffering was moreso than rob’s suffering has been since the break up but that doesn’t change the fact that aaron is still responsible for being put in prison and aaron is still therefore the cause behind rob and liv’s suffering during that tiime.

and i’m not necessarily saying that this should be held over aaron’s head - but i don’t think it should be given less weight than the baby. rob fucked up and slept with rebecca, she got pregnant and decided to keep it, thereby destroying rob and aaron’s relationship. the root of the problem is rob’s horrible decision making, and rob’s tendency to lash out at people in insane ways, but the baby wasn’t a fuckin concious dig at aaron and liv. it has obviously caused them an incredible amount of pain and heartbreak, but the baby itself was more of a perfect storm of awful consequences - much like prison and the horrors was for aaron in a village where people genuinely get away with murder.

so no, it’s not fair to aaron. and yes, it’s a much more long-lasting consequence than prison ended up being - although aaron was supposed to be there for a year, so robert and liv would have had to survive for a year without him - imagine that after how much they struggled after a god damn week. just as they were innocent victims to aaron’s prison sentence, aaron and liv are innocent victim’s to rob’s new baby. 

it’s not fair to aaron, but also it will clearly be something he manages to get over. it’s not about rob winning and aaron losing. robert literally said today that he’s never been more miserable. aaron has been on this amazing journey of growth and come to a place with his mh where he’s much more able to handle this shit and it’s sad and i’m sad for him but… 

this baby isn’t a sign that robert and aaron don’t love one another.

aaron beating up kasim happened because rob called off the wedding, because he’d spent so long thinking he was going to lose rob (and this was again because of rob - i’m not saying he’s an innocent bean or that he doesn’t desperately need to be redeemed, because he makes horrible fuckin decisions at all time)

rob cheating on aaron happened because he was angry at aaron for going to prison and for doing spice and had spent a whole day terrified that aaron had fuckin died - he slept with rebecca because he loves aaron. and because where aaron lashes out with violence, robert lashes out by doing this sort of stupid impulsive thing.

no, that doesn’t make it better and no that doesn’t mean he wasn’t 100% spot on when he spoke about how he destroys people’s lives because he does, he fuckin does - he said ‘i do what i want and it’s always the wrong thing’ (that’s not the exact quote but yk) and he’s so god damn right. it is always the wrong thing. 

but the situation they’re in, much as it is a product of rob’s horrible horrible decisions, is not a product of robert intentionally wanting to destroy aaron’s life. yes, in that moment and fuelled by whiskey he wanted to make aaron as hurt as he felt, but that’s a perfectly human feeling to have. following that fucking impulse was the stupid part. that was where the damage was caused.

they both fucked up this year, anon. rob moreso, to be fair. i’ve said all of this before, but there’s a reason why he’s the one who needs the redemption storyline and why aaron needed the storyline about finding ways to start to heal and better coping mechanisms. but they still both fucked up. aaron having a shitty time with his mh doesn’t excuse him from putting a guy in a hospital or throwing a wrench at robert’s head. and they really really did need their break up. they really did. and rob needs a period of growth, just as aaron needed that time alone, to grow, without robert.

but people always say that aaron will force himself to love the baby and he’ll just have to ~suck it up~ and i just… why is it so out of the question that they could write it in a way where he genuinely realises that the baby isn’t as painful to be around as he thought? that he can be in rob’s life with the baby around and that it doesn’t actually hurt, that he doesn’t mind it, that maybe the baby is growing on him, that he still misses robert, that…. actually, that time apart was more valuable than he realised… especially when we have robert finally facing up to the part he’s played in destorying all these people’s lives, including aaron’s

their biggest issue blocking their happiness isn’t the baby anon

it’s rob’s potential to cause chaos and hurt aaron again, just by making the same horrible decisions and never considering the consequences, by taking ridiculous risks with other people’s lives and well-being and happiness because he has no semblance of self-control

that’s the shit that’s stopping them from being a couple that stays together and is happy, really, not the fuckin baby

that’s what needs to be dealt with. the baby is ultimately secondary to that, in terms of letting them work and getting them to a place where they can get married in the summer

i mean, fine, we don’t know how it’s going to work, we don’t know if aaron is going to warm to the baby or if it will all be an act or whatever, but it’s not a foregone conclusion that he’ll be there at the end of the year, feeling forced to suck up the existence of this child. just the poor little pineapple, constantly shit on by the narrative and by everyone around him. THAT’S NOT THE FOREGONE CONCLUSION FOR AARON’S FUTURE AND I HIGHLY FUCKIN DOUBT DANNY WOULD BE WALKING AROUND SINGING THE PRAISES OF WHAT’S COMING UP IF IT WAS 

BECAUSE WE FUCKIN SAW HIM WHEN HE WAS UPSET WITH THE SHOW ON AARON’S BEHALF AND IT DIDN’T LOOK LIKE HE’S BEEN LOOKING RECENTLY

just… god. canon exists for a reason. robron have so many god damn problems to fix and i’m sure they’ll only fix a small portion of them, but we know that part of the christmas episode is dealing with that and that’s what kicks off the route to the actual reunion so it’s hardly the most out there thing to suggest that they’re gonna deal with some shit that’s not entirely related to the baby

i’m sorry you struggle to see how their love is equal, or how aaron is anything other than a victim of robert but… just because that’s how you view it does not mean that that’s the only way to view it or even that it’s the story the show is telling. i’m js.  

[the-questionmark-kid]

Once Upon A Fuckin Time

Probably gonna post about it now, so if you dont’ want to see this awful thing, just blacklist ‘ouat’ or ‘happy beginnings’ (i’m trash i am actual trash dear fucking god)

I finally finished this hell show and I’ve got a lot of thoughts so yes there’s spoilers this entire post is spoilers i’m so angry-

Alright in all honesty, I truly unironically enjoyed watching Once Upon A Time. The idea is wonderful, it’s everything a younger me would have wanted; fairytales existing in the ‘real’ world, their memories locked away until a fated day, magic existing all around us if only we know where to look. I love it. So many of the characters enchanted me, whether because of their strength, their intelligence, their kindness, or their cunning. The plot WAS interesting, for a time, some arcs better than others, some storylines falling flat while others reignited my interest in the show as a whole. But there was a lot of unnecessary mucking around in some ways, I feel. 

So to start, let me just say I began watching this show last year, it’s literally been over a year since I began this due to my fucked up attention span and work and sleep schedule and personal projects. So my memory of the storyline has always been a little disjointed. However: I did just marathon the last two goddamn seasons so I remember everything with near perfect clarity (aaaand I needed to watch some happy Rumbelle scenes so I went back over those episodes). And there are things I have issues with that like…aren’t even just my opinions, they’re just structurally bad for the series? I suppose that’s still an opinion, but I’m quite positive they’re opinions shared by many.

Now my biggest issue is honestly with how the writers handled Rumpelstiltskin, he himself but also his relationship with Belle, his sons, and his overarching destiny. But that doesn’t truly bother me that much until probably the middle of season 5 (that’s a lie, but this is how I’ll present the argument. I guess.), so we’ll skip that for now. First, I want to talk about the AMAZING opportunity they had to work with “the Moms” and how they threw it into the gutter:

1) Emma and Hook -Okay just….what the fuck. What was the Point. Captain Hook was one of my favorite villains as a kid, and honestly I was on board with this scrappy pirate and Rumple being the bane of each other’s existence. I enjoyed the feud for a little while, and the Emma not being swayed by Hook’s ridiculous attempts at flirting was a refreshing reminder of her true purpose in the show: she is the Savior. She has more important things to worry about than a romance. -Hook’s purpose was… Frankly, he felt expendable during the last two seasons, and when he died, I was thankful that arc was finally over. But beyond his practical uselessness, having to move on from Hook would have been very good for Emma, for reasons I was going to explain but I’m too fired up to get into right now. Point is, Hook’s presence stopped meaning anything beyond giving Emma her boy toy love interest. Given the fact that it’s a show about fairytales, okay whatever, that’s fine, but Emma is SUCH a badass! I actually LIKE this character! But by season 5, by the time Emma is as fallible as she can get as the Dark One*…most of her reasons for doing things are because of Hook. And frankly? That’s boring. Even Snow and Charming**, with their constant sleeping curses and “I will always find you” lines, still manage to be more engaging and keep me invested far more than Captain Guyliner trailing after Emma like a lost puppy.     -**On that note, can I just express my disappointment over David’s total lack of involvement in Emma’s life until season 5?? It felt like up until that point, David was just a side character that Emma never really spoke to and had barely any desire to be around, which I feel is a real disservice not only to the characters but to the phenomenal acting Josh Dallas provided when he WAS allowed to play as Emma’s father, not just Snow White’s Prince.

2) Regina -I didn’t like Regina until well into the third season, I’ll admit. She was a bad person who did bad things for very little reason, and it didn’t seem like her character was going anywhere. But I’m glad she grew. I actually have very little issue with the overall way her story went; she learned to love herself, which I feel was the most important thing for her to learn. That being said, that business with Robin Hood? Pretty unnecessary. Once again, it felt like a pointless romantic subplot meant to create drama and throw another snag in any potential plot building or character dynamic.

3) Emma and Regina - On that same vein of thought; I didn’t understand why my friend shipped Regina and Emma at first, but I sure as HELL do now. Jesus christ, what a missed opportunity. So much about them becoming a couple makes sense, would bring the series full circle; what could be more ideal than the product of true love, destined to defeat evil, falling in love with the personification of said evil? That is…the whole point of the show, I feel. That love and faith in those you love will always triumph over the darkness in the world. -Having them end up together also reinforces the central theme of family, as well as family found in unlikely places, which I got the sense was extremely important to Regina, Henry, Snow, Charming, Rumple, Baelfire, and Belle in addition to (obviously) Emma. -If Regina were a dude, they would have gotten together. Enough said.

4) Rumple -The series spent a great deal of time setting up Rumpelstiltskin’s tragic backstory, making his rage and his pain and his despair relatable, only each time his redemption seemed at hand, it was ripped away from him one way or another. -As frustrated as I am with Emma’s forced romances, Rumple’s actually make me cringe. Holy shit why are all the witches after the Dark One. Like, it’s not even Gold that they want, it’s literally scaly, deranged, conniving Dark One. And it’s not like Belle, who legitimately wants the man she sees struggling within, the witches are quite literally after the mad dog they see. And I am SO disturbed by this. Cora’s entire life did not need to be dictated by her obsession with a madman. Zelena did not need to be tossed away because she became infatuated with someone incapable of love. And that whole business with the Evil Queen in season 6? When he’s MARRIED? When he’s MARRIED to the woman he ACTUALLY LOVES, the woman he has a SON with???? I am. Actually disgusted with the writers for that cheap little drama. It just seems so incredibly out of character? Especially for how Rumple is in that particular moment when the Evil Queen approaches him. -Forcing Rumple to walk the line between light and dark even after he makes decisions that, for any other character, would be a decisive moment of positive growth. The struggle with the dagger and his ultimate decision to give it to Belle, the loss of his power on numerous accounts and the realization he could be strong without it, pulling Ex-fucking-calibur out of the stone and throwing it away without asking for a single thing in return (an act that only someone with the heart of a true hero could undertake and yet he still reverts completely????), finding out he was predestined to be a fucking SAVIOR. My god. You cannot give someone all of this growth, all of this struggle and positive reinforcement, and then insist he’s still the ultimate form of evil in the world. That’s. Incredibly hypocritical. Even when he’s still technically a villain and Isaac writes him his happy ending, Rumple’s deepest desire is to be seen and revered as a hero; he WANTS to be good, to be admired, to know his wife and son are proud of him. Even during this reality where he never became ‘evil’, he struggles with morality, something no other villain in that alternative story did. I am beyond disgusted by this character’s treatment. -You know what, there’s so much that dissatisfies me about Rumple’s treatment, I might have to rant about it in a different post. I was given a fallible character with an intriguing backstory whose reasons for doing evil were the best of intentions; who when approached with any sort of honest kindness or love, struggles daily with concepts of morality, humility, and selflessness; whose deepest wish is for family and heroism, a place of belonging and deep, unbreakable love; but there was no redemption arc. Correction: there were THREE redemption arcs, and each one of them fell flat for dramatic plot defects that served no purpose but to STOP this delightfully complex character from coming full circle and getting the arc he deserves. -I’m going to be salty for a long. Long time.