#after episode 7 having this vibe would have been amazing

[ladymorghul]

i've not even watched this but the pictures i see of léa seydoux as isabella of angoulêm give major book!alicent energy

[gffa]

I made the mistake, after episode 7 of the acolyte, to look through the tags (I’ve given up on Reddit for sw discourse lol) and there are so many bad takes out there. It’s like people watched a different episode. I’m glad there are some good meta takes from people like you, or I’d be lost! I think nuance is dead in fandom and people just can’t see things as more than “Jedi Bad!” When there’s so much more nuance than that. Were the Jedi perfect? No! Of course not. That would be so boring. If all Jedi were always perfect, SW would be dull. It’s because they aren’t perfect that they are so compelling. That they try to do the right thing, even if it doesn’t always work out.

A quote that came to mind by Teddy Roosevelt: “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

Anyways, thanks for your continued good meta and cultivating a nice pro-Jedi space!

Hi! I hear you, it can be tough going into the tags sometimes (and I've given up on both Reddit and Twitter for any kind of discussion, I just do not have the time/energy for that when sometimes I still have to fight for my life on Tumblr) but I will say that the best remedy I have for that is to start posting the content you want to see! It's so satisfying to write down your thoughts just to have fun in your own space, I don't need other people nearly so much because I'm having a great time just making myself laugh or cry over my faves or nerding out over worldbuilding. It's a bonus that I've collected a bunch of really great people around me, both ones I vibe with and ones who are chill when our vibes don't match and we disagree on stuff. I've been having an absolute joy of a time after episode 7 of The Acolyte because I've seen some great posts, I've had some hilarious conversations, etc. And part of that is just. Letting go of a lot of fandom. I'm a lot more relaxed about the Star Wars media I consume because it's not Lucas' Star Wars, I can take or leave it as I will and, most importantly, I don't need the Jedi to be perfect to be good. So much of my need for the Jedi to be perfect once upon a time came from that any little mistake they made, ones that were completely reasonable, ones that were simply just "didn't solve everyone's problems instantly", ones that were present in other characters who were allowed to just be instead of being raked over the coals for it, and how fandom would use those as a bludgeon against the Jedi. And that wasn't fun! So, instead, yeah, the Jedi are flawed, because any character ever is allowed to be flawed. The most cinnamon roll character ever is flawed and that's okay. Luke Skywalker is flawed. Padme Amidala is flawed. Bail Organa is flawed. Yoda is flawed. Obi-Wan Kenobi is flawed. Mace Windu is flawed. Ahsoka Tano is flawed. Leia Organa is flawed. Han Solo is flawed. Lando Calrissian is flawed. Ezra Bridger is flawed. Kanan Jarrus is flawed. Hera Syndulla is flawed. And on and on and on. If those characters can have flaws and be seen as good, well, then that's how I'm going to proceed with my Jedi faves, too. Oh, Mace wasn't bending over backwards to smile and be soft when he was having the worst day ever? That's what you're bringing me to show that he was bad actually? Babe, please, Luke started out as whiny and annoying and he's amazing, so Mace is amazing, too. The Jedi were in a no-win situation, not fighting would mean people would die, fighting meant compromising themselves, they had to make a choice, there was no third way out, there was no secret magical answer in Star Wars, so they did what they could to the best of their ability. And it's not on them to fix everything in the galaxy, they're peace-keepers who were drafted into a war, they're not the whole of the government, they're not there to be social service agents, that's not who they are or what they're equipped for. And yet they still tried to help whenever they could. Everyone fucks up sometimes and that's okay, it doesn't suddenly mean they're the real villain all along, because otherwise they would have to be literally be perfect to be "good" and that's just bad writing imo. Ultimately, just take a break from scrolling through the tags if you can and join me in writing your own stuff, it's hard at first to get the words to come out the way you want them to, but with some time and energy put into it, I've found it to be so much more rewarding. <3

[classicanalyzer]

The Acolyte - The Acolyte (Episode 8) Thoughts

"I think the Jedi are a massive system of unchecked power, posing as a religion, a delusional cult that claims to control the uncontrollable...Not the Force. Your emotions. You project an image of goodness and restraint, but it's only a matter of time before one of you snaps. And when, not 'if', that happens, who will be strong enough to stop him?... The majority of my colleagues can't imagine a galaxy without the Jedi. And I can understand why. When you're looking up to heroes, you don't have to face what's right in front of you." Senator Rayencourt.

"You poor girl. You've been through so much. The Jedi have failed you. I am going to make this right. But I need your help...I need you to help me find someone...A pupil of mine before he turned to evil." Vernestra Rwoh.

We end the show where it began chronologically, Brendok.

I love how Rayencourt makes good points about the Jedi trying to claim that they can control their emotions and present themselves as pure good with no flaws. What he said also legit sounds exactly what will happen to Anakin in the future. He's even proven right about the former with Sol given Episode 7 and the latter with Vernestra lying in the end. Props to his actor, David Harewood, for doing an amazing job.

I love how Bazil is the bad vibes checker of this show. I'm so happy that he lived.

MOTHERFUCKING DARTH PLAGUEIS! I legit said what the actual fuck when he appeared. His appearance makes a lot of sense and given how the twins were created using the Force, ofc he would be interested in them. I also love how the music used in this scene was very similar if not a reprise to the choir used in "The Tragedy of Darth Plagueis the Wise." I also legit do not care about if people complain if his age isn't similar to Legends. Well, first of all, there is no set age in Canon. And second of all, I legit do not care.

I also love the ship chase sequence. The CGI looks really well done in there. You feel the ship's weight and the impact of the asteroids.

The show also continues the theme of visions not appearing as they are. The Acolyte killed the Jedi without a (physical) weapon, however, Osha was mistaken. The Acolyte happened to be her.

Also props to Amandla Stenberg for portraying the twins so well. I felt the intense heartbreak and betrayal as Osha realized that Mae was right and the intense hatred then regret after she murdered Sol. The Bleeding of Sol's Lightsaber was so chilling to see.

GOD SOL'S DEATH HITS ME REALLY HARD. I legit got Infinity War PTSD when he told Osha "It's okay" as she was killing him (He couldn't even tell her that he loves her which broke my heart). While we all know it was an understandable accident given what happened (even their mother didn't blame Sol for thinking her attempted protection of Mae was an attack), it didn't change the fact that he killed their mother. Vernestra summed up his character pretty well (despite framing him). Sol's biggest flaw was that he loved Osha so much that he now sees the misunderstanding of killing their mother as something he had to do and covering up Brendok because of the Vergence. I do like how she knew Sol was truly good and well-intentioned despite his flaws and mistakes as she gave him a Jedi funeral.

"He was a kind, brilliant, compassionate man. And he did a terrible thing... A mistake he lived with for so long it twisted his mind. He justified every step with the love he had for your sister." Vernestra Rwoh

THE CHOREOGRAPHY IS SO GOOD! I love the Lightsaber and martial arts fighting in this show. Qimir's change to single blade stance after failing to get past Sol's indomitable defense is so good. Osha's and Mae's fist fight was also amazing and tension filled.

The reveal that Qimi was Vernestra's apprentice was smth I also guessed after Episode 6 which explains why she's in this show. I wonder what she will do when she sees him again.

Despite me knowing how horrifying Sol's death was, I can't help but feel happy seeing the siblings reunite and at peace. It was even more sadder as Mae has to forget Osha to protect her sister. Even I got sad seeing Mae forget the pledge as more of her memories got erased.

Ironically, Mae and Osha switch roles by the end of the show, with Osha being Qimir's Acolyte and Mae being utterly confused about why she's arrested by the Jedi. In a sense my guess about Mae having a redemption arc did come true...but just like the vision, just not in the way I had expected.

I really love how this show critiqued and explored the Jedi without bashing them. We see that they're truly a force of good and have the best of intentions...however those intentions can blind them to what's right in front of them. The Jedi are still sentient beings just like anyone else. We see how their complacency and desire to keep their image good blinds them to the rise of dark forces which includes the emerging Sith Order as the Grand Plan of the Sith takes shape. I had so many chills as Osha and Qimir looked at the sunset with the Acolyte theme playing.

The music in the finale is so good, especially during the fight and emotional scenes. This score really nailed it amtophseric-wise. I love the more creepy reprise of the witch coven's chants from Episode 3 during the credits.

A great season finale and season of SW TV. I really hope Leslye gets her multi-season show because the Acolyte has the potential to be an amazing multi-season show. She truly gave it her all in this season. I also trust her to make that Old Republic show as well.

"Sorry to disturb you, Master. We need to talk." Vernestra Rwoh.

[lemotmo]

:( Thoughts on Ryan (love him) saying buddie isn’t happening in the nicest way he possibly could?

Hey Nonny!

Okay, I'll be honest. I don't know how to feel about this article. It's all over the place and a little confusing.

First and foremost, I love how Ryan shares this beautiful message of inclusivity and acceptance. He is so well-spoken and I just love him for that.

Second, I've been in this fandom since season 1 and I've been rooting for Buck and Eddie since season 2. Both were very heavily queer-coded and their natural chemistry was amazing. It has since come to light that bi Buck was supposed to have happened in season 4, therefore we can conclude that queer Eddie would have also happened eventually. In my eyes Eddie was even more queer-coded than Buck.

I never ever expected Buddie to go canon in all those years. I was more than happy to live in Buddie fanon-land. No worries about canon. I even almost gave up on the show itself after the season 6 finale because of the horrible writing, but I mustered the strength to keep watching.

And then season 7. A breath of fresh air. The atmosphere between the actors was different, there was this sense of anticipation and joy among them.

The first Ryan and Oliver interviews came out, gushing about all things Buddie and I couldn't believe what I was hearing. They were actually talking about the ship I loved so much. They haven't stopped talking about Buddie ever since. Even the article mentioned above is, in essence, still about Buddie.

And then the show began. The first episodes were stellar. I loved the cruise episodes so much. And then 7x04 happened. Buck came out as bisexual and for the first time in all those years in the Buddie fandom, I realised that there would finally be a chance for them. I didn't vibe with Tommy, still don't to be honest (I don't like him all that much), but I accepted he was there for the time being. I didn't quite understand why everyone was so happy with Tommy, but I stuck it out anyway.

Then there was the Marisol situation that was handled as comedy when it turned out she was a nun once and Eddie had so much catholic guilt he couldn't have sex with her anymore. Strange storyline, but it was a great introduction to Eddie's Catholic guilt.

Everything in the narrative, all the nuances, all the dialogue, all the strange and questionable choices they keep making on the show, keep pushing Buck and Eddie together. Tommy and Marisol only appear when the narrative needs them. They are there to serve the plot.

Ryan didn't completely shut Buddie down. He kept a window open. I have to believe there is a reason for that.

I don't have inside information and I can't see the future, but as for now I'm still firmly on the Buddie train, destination endgame. I have to believe that there is a chance for them. I have to believe that they will get there eventually. I have to believe that Eddie will be free as well someday, free to be who he is. I also don't see either of them ever being as happy with Tommy or Marisol as they could be with each other. Them ending up with Tommy and Marisol would be deeply unsatisfying endings for me after 6 years in the trenches.

If, by the end of season 7, they have doubled down on Buck/Tommy and -god forbid- Eddie/Marisol, I will be disappointed, no lies there. And I'll probably wait out s8 for a while, see what the tone is and where they are going. I couldn't stay away for too long, because I love all the characters so much. This is a great show, even without my Buddie-glasses on.

Yeah, if canon Buddie isn't in the cards in the future, I'll go back to my little Buddie-fanon corner of this fandom. I lived there for 6 years. I can do it again. Happily so. Worry free.

But for now, there are still 4 episodes to go. No doubt they will be filled with great characters, actions and Buddie-moments. I'm choosing to focus on that for now. This show isn't over yet.

[respectthepetty]

At the risk of opening a floodgate, I saw you mention Be My Favorite in a GMMTV post; can you tell me what it's supposed to be about? I haven't heard about it.

@slayerkitty, I have never replied to an ask so quickly. I hope you feel the vibes radiating from my computer screen as you read through this because you have, in fact, opened a HUGE floodgate.

I would love to say that the plot of Be My Favorite doesn't matter or I have no idea what the plot is, but that would be a big ass lie because the plot makes this wild ride EVEN BETTER! We *should* get a trailer this week, but as of right now:

Log line - After hearing the woman he loves is getting married, a man travels back in time with a magical item to win her heart, only to find himself in bed with her fiancé.

Krist will play Botkawee, the man who travels through time.

Aye will play Prae Mai, the woman Botkawee is in love with.

Singto, Mike, Fluke will play Pisaeng, Prae Mai's fiancé and the guy Botkawee wakes up in bed with.

So why does the plot add to this messy salad?

In the original 2021 pilot trailer for You Are My Favorite (which I can't easily find on GMMTV's official YouTube channel because of the name change, and I'm sure GMMTV is hiding it), Pisaeng, who was being played by Mike, seemed perfectly okay waking up in bed with Botkawee and seems to pursue him after that. There were also rooftops moments, elevator moments, and fights in the street, so the pilot trailer was serving everything we should want from a BL.

Now here is where you can check out - Safe House is GMMTV's reality show where it throws all its actor into one house so people can just watch them do stupid stuff 24/7. Krist, in season 2 which aired in 2021, was asking everyone how they felt working with a friend in a BL. I mean everyone! It was suspicious, mostly for someone who has already been in one of the most popular BLs. And Krist has already been on thin ice with most people because of comments I don't have time to cover here.

So when it was announced he would be paired with Mike, who is his friend, it all became clear. Mike was paired with Toptap and Krist was previously paired with Singto, but both Singto and Toptap are no longer on GMMTV's roster, so it made sense, kind of? Sort of? Not really.

But then, Krist got paired with Fluke. Fluke (Gawin to most) has played the hesitant person being pursued in his previous BL work (Dark Blue Kiss and Not Me) rather than the enthusiastic pursuer, which is what he will be in Be My Favorite if that initial trailer sticks.

Krist has mentioned a few times that the series has been shot in episode order. Usually a show is shot based on availability of locations and convenience, so most (me) think that this was done in order to build chemistry between the two leads. If you have seen We Best Love, the two actors had their amazing bridge kiss on the FIRST DAY OF SHOOTING. The director of Be My Favorite maybe saw what he was up against, and knew that wouldn't happened here, hence the different schedule.

Krist was already worried about making out with his friends. Fluke hasn't played this type of role in a BL before. The director paid money to change the shooting schedule. The plot sits on the implication that at least Krist's character thinks they slept together the first night. But everyone is a paid professional, so they should be okay, right?

Right?

I'm praying for this to be the best damn show I watch in my lifetime.

Amen.

[sixthsensewulf]

Something just annoys me when people say that Neverafter failed as a Horror Season. .

It was a horror season. It just moved through various horror sub genres. Did the vibe change after episode 3? yes. Did it still be a Horror season? Also Yes.

The Subgenres: Body Horror. Comedy Horror (That was the most one used, because it was 7 comedians in a HORROR SETTING), Dark Fantasy, Folk Horror, Cosmic Horror.

Horror doesn't need to be scary 100% of the time. Horror can just be creating a world of dread and uncertainty. A world where anything can happen. It was tense, it was spooky, it was a horror season.

Fucking hell. .take the video game Alien Isolation. The xenomorph learns how you play, but occasionally you know it's around, but you cant fucking see it or it's not that. That is the horror of the game. That is the tension. The pay off, you get enjoyment out of it.

Also I read a lot of horror books at the moment. The times I have been scared by a scene in a book, i can't count that high, but the reason why? The tension and the building to a reveal. The pay off. It's amazing. For Example: I got creeped out in The Ritual because of the style of writing and descriptions of the forest. You don't even see or read the description of what is chasing the main characters until literally the last chapters. I'm not kidding. That book is pretty much a Folk horror.

I've read some crazy body horror / splatterpunk that I'm not going to describe fully. Been creeped out so often and scared.

Also read some insane haunted house / psychological horror books as well. Those scare you because of the tension, the atmosphere and the build up to a moment. Like I have been fooled by a moment, where I think a scare or a jump is coming then nothing until it actually hits you.

The reason why people occasionally say it failed as Horror Season, just have one view of what a horror style TTRPG is. The common examples I believe are, Call of Cthulhu, Vampire the masquerade and Curse of Strand. Or just think horror is just how much we can scare people, jump scares galore right. It's not.

For example horror moments I loved in Neverafter:

The Spider fight. . Anything and everything could have gone wrong. And pretty much the aftermath. the description of the town being that fucked up because of the spiders.

PiB with the giants at the end - if he rolled badly, who knows what would have happened. But also he is a tiny black cat.

EVERYTHING WITH THE STEPMOTHER. Just my god. The description of her eating her children. Like the description of that moment of the group fleeing from her in the Library. Her treatment of Pinocchio. "I don't even have a name in my own story" speech (yeah that creeped me the fuck out)

Everything about Candlewick. . Yeah it was played for laughs because of Lou throwing away a Nat20 but Candlewick was just terrifying. My favourite Zac moment of that "so Brennan, who is being eaten"

Honestly the whole deal with the world between pages - that's Cosmic Horror, especially with the ink pot etc.. not going to lie, I was on edge with that episode, because my mind was going, something is too good to be true here, something is going to happen.

Ylfa - yes, 100%.. just her story, on one hand it's heartbreaking but the other the description of her eating the wolf to become the wolf..

Rosamund - got to admit I think why people think it failed as a horror season is because they were expecting more scenes like we got at the beginning. That opening sequence is incredible. The other briars moment that sticks in my head is the final fight one with Thumbelina.

Sorry for the ramble rant about Neverafter.

TLDR: THERE ARE MORE SUB GENRES FOR HORROR THAN PEOPLE THINK. BESIDES IT WAS A HORROR SEASON BECAUSE OF THAT.

[slonekaru]

I’m back with another question!! What were your top 5 moments in a BL.

It could be the moment you went from “I kinda like this show to I love this show so much” or like moments that made you swoon.

Wow this one is actually so much harder than favourite BL's of this year! (I also had to remind myself that it wasn't just sex scenes - bad brain)

Love in the Air - Riding (Episode 6)

So we are starting with a sex scene but lets face it that scene left me gobsmacked! Payu may have still been the Dom and in charge but he let Rain reward him for winning his race and take control.

The tongue lick, Rains dirty talk, Payu looking absolutely wrecked.

If I could get pregnant via watching TV, that moment Payu called Rain Naughty Boy, IN THAT VOICE, would have been it.

Then when Rain said he was riding, I was like, he's not, he's not, he is! OMG he did!!!

Cutie Pie - Marriage Talk (Episode 7)

The scene where they are in Lian's club and talking about marriage. I really liked the discussion in general. It's a popular discussion point in BL's now but I liked this one because it had one friend that took the role of 'why is it important you can still be together'. I thought it was important because friends sometimes say things like that without malicious intent they just don't think.

The other reason I love it was it was my intro to BounPrem. I heard people go on about them but had never watched a show with them in. As soon as I saw them I fell in love with their pairing. It was a revelation and I fell down the BounPrem rabbit hole.

I believe my thoughts were along the lines that Boun looked like a vampire (hilarious since I later found he wants to play one) and that Prem looked like he would be really good in bed (again - bad brain). I also like it because it has more PremBoun vibes rather than BounPrem.

Between Us - Boyfriend Talk (Episode 5)

This has been stuck in my head the last couple of weeks.

The fact Win leaves his bedroom door open for Team and that Team is comfortable enough to let himself in speaks to how their relationship is progressing.

But the part that got me was when Team asked Win not to see anyone else at that time. When Win doesn't reply, Team looks so heartbroken.

It must have taken great courage to ask for exclusivity when they are on such unsure footing.

Then the fact they both clearly want to date each other but aren't ready yet.

We Best Love: No 1 for You - Confess and Walk Away (Episode 5)

I love the We best Love series so much. I'm sad Season 3 has never materialised.

Shi De confesses to Shu Yi while he thinks he is asleep and later (after some intervention from a third party) Shu Yi confronts Shi De.

It's beautiful, they are just two guys talking and then Shu Yi says he never wants to fall in love with a man. The camera is focused on Sam Lin's face who is playing Shi De and I feel it every time. The way Sam Lin is trying to hold back the tears but still helping Shu Yu. It's so real. So, so very real. And then he tells Shu Yi to be happy and find a nice girl. So heartbreaking.

I will watch this scene over and over.

Kinnporsche - Apologise (Episode 13)

Lets face it, there were so many moments between Vegas and Pete.

Trying to choose one was so hard! Do I choose the post-credit scene, the sex scene, the talk about their fathers, Vegas being shot, Pete leaving the Main Family, Pete first seeing Vegas torture someone.

But ultimately I picked the scene behind the bar after Pete escapes the safe house.

Biblebuild were so amazing. Pete truly needed the apology from Vegas, he needed the breakdown. It was finally about Pete and not about Vegas like the earlier apology. Vegas is the only person Pete cried in front of during the series. And Vegas needed to truly understand how much he hurt Pete.

[littlespacereader]

Happy Bad Batch Eve!

Any Bad Batch Fans out here?👀🙌🔥

I’m a huge Star Wars fan and one of the series I am OBSESSED with is The Bad Batch!

Being a huge Clone Wars fan for years, I really fell in love with the group of clone since the moment we first met them in Season 7. Now it’s the 3rd and final season of the Bad Batch and I have been so hyped!

Last Wednesday was the first day of the new season with 3 episodes dropping. I live on the east coast of the United States…meaning when the show drops a new episode it’s 3am here for me. Does that stop me? Hell no! I went to bed at 4:30 last Wednesday after watching all the episodes and while I was dead the next day it was amazing!! Here’s my little set up before watching the show:

I’m posting this not only to talk about one of my favorite shows! But also to ask if anyone else likes the show and would like to see content for it? I would love to start writing fics or Headcannons for this show but I wanted to see if there’s an audience for it.

I can totally see all of the Bad Batch, Hunter, Wrecker, Tech, Echo and even Crosshair as Caregivers! Keeping with the clones I can also see Rex and Cody as CGs as well! Omega gives such Little vibes too! They would be so much fun to write with a Little reader!

If you’re a fan of the show, what do you think of the new season so far? I absolutely love the storytelling and can’t wait to see where they take it!!😆 What do you think will happen in tomorrow’s episode?👀

And before anyone asks, yes Tech & Crosshair are my favorites if the photos didn’t give it away already😂

[aceofstars16]

1-3, 5-7, and 27-30 for the Star Wars Rebels ask, please?

Well I forgot to answer this but I saw it now and my brain isn't giving me the writing vibes (even though I want to write) so I will finally attempt to answer! xD

Also apparently I can't just put 1. without it making it a list so...uh...that's annoying...

One: What is your absolute favorite episode of the show?

Oh man....it's been so long hnnng, I might go with Flight of the Defender...that's the one where Sabine and Ezra steal that ship in S4 right? Though a lot of season 1 makes me happy so...honestly a lot of those could fit too...there are too many good episodes xD

Two: Which episode did you not like at first, but grew on you after one or more rewatches?

I cannot remember the name, but the Purgil one, I didn't love it but then my sister just...it's the only episode she remembers and she just says "the space whales one!" and I just...really like it now xD

Three: How do you feel about the Ahsoka show being live-action Rebels season 5?

Ha....haha...ha...I don't really like it...first, it should've been animated and second I...I think the Sabine being force sensitive is the stupidest idea ever I'm sorry but not actually sorry.

Five: If you could change one (non-death-related) plot point in the show, what would you change?

*eye twitches in still annoyed by what they did to Kanan* but aside from that...make Kanera less...weird in the last season, just...have them be secretly married this whole time, because that just...makes more sense than them being awkward

Six: What are your two favorite ships from the show (canon or not)?

HAHAHAHA I'll just...

And Kanera side from the weirdness of S4, but yeah...Sabezra ALL the way, like...if you knew me back in the day...I wrote SO MUCH of them lol

Seven: Who is one character you feel isn't appreciate enough by the fandom?

Uhhhh...bro I actually don't know lol I mean I like Jai so....maybe him? Or Zare cause he had that book series that was actually pretty interesting

Twenty Seven: Which plot point do you wish the show had expanded on?

It's been a while but...probably the loth wolves and...all that, like S4 had so much that was just like "what?" and then we never saw it again

Twenty Eight: Favorite recurring character?

Hahaha....I'm going Hondo cause I love that space pirate xD

Twenty NIne: Favorite piece of music from the show?

Hold on, I gotta find it..."Journey Into the Star Cluster", it's not even my fave episode but like...one day I had it on and it was raining and I literally felt like I was in a Nancy Drew game it was just, amazing

Thirty: Most under-rated episode?

The way I want to say the Purgil episode again lol...but maybe the third episode? When Ezra and Zeb steal the tie fighter? I don't know that one is just fun and I love how the tie comes in at the end of the season again haha

[alloveydovey]

Dramas I watched this past month!

Overprotected Kahoko (jdrama) 8

I'm on a quest to find good jdramas because when they're bad, they're crazy bad, but when they're good, they become instant comfort. The vibes in this one are 100% there. Overprotected by her mother, a 22-year-old meets her complete opposite, and in the midst of falling in love, she decides she wants to become a real adult… all this around her messy (yet charming) relatives. It was a small cute, and heartwarming family drama. I don’t really have much to say other than that I love Kahoko, she’s the cutest.

Queen of the Ring (kdrama) 7?

FL puts on a ring that has the ability to make her crush see her as a beautiful girl. I watched this one because I loved Kim Seul Gi in Splash Splash Love and Ahn Hyo Seop was enough excuse to check it out. I kinda hated it but enjoyed it at the same time? It makes me mad to see how they judged everything by looks (especially both ML and FL) but let’s be honest, It was realistic. It was a bit hard to believe, though, because I didn’t think the FL was ugly at all. What didn’t convince me about this one was that most of the love story happens while she’s wearing the ring and so it kinda ruins it for me.

Jitenshaya-san no Takahashi-kun (jdrama) ?

Kinda good girl x bad boy trope? Except the bad boy isn't really a bad boy, he just looks like one.

I can’t really rate by number because it was too short and, to be honest, I got what I expected. Soft and simple. He fixes bikes and fixes her, they later begin to hang out and get closer. No serious drama, just two people starting a relationship.

Touch Your Heart (kdrama) 7.5

A rom-com drama with Lee Dong Wook and Yoo In Na’s amazing chemistry from Goblin sounds so good on paper. I feel like I should have watched this one right after I watched Goblin, but I never did.

Even though the chemistry between them was still there and strong, the show and both characters felt a bit stiff? They could have used them a lot better but were given a kind of meh storyline that bored me a little too much by episode 12. Still, they had their moments, and… it’s them 🥹 it’s impossible not to like (despite everything else).

D.P. Season 1 (kdrama) 10

I’ve been putting it off because, even though I knew it was going to be good, in drama world, I go to romance lol.

I 100% watched this because of Jung Hae In (and I was low-key curious about Koo Kyo Hwan after watching him in that episode of Attorney Woo.) Neither of them disappointed. In fact, they gave more than what I was expecting. Their dynamic and acting was impeccable. I really have nothing to say about this one because, yeah, it's a 10/10.

W: Two Worlds (kdrama) 8.5

Nothing beats a 2016 kdrama lol. I started obsessed with this one (even though I remember never adding it to my watchlist because I thought it wouldn't be my cup of tea, silly me). The storyline was extremely entertaining, although all in all, I'm not 100% sure it made sense.

I literally feel like I've lived so much watching it. I was on episode seven, and so many things had happened that I had no idea how they would continue it, and yet things KEPT HAPPENING, and plots kept getting twisted. Perhaps that's the reason why I binged the 12 eps of the drama, but it took me a while to finish the three last episodes. At some point, things started to lose sense, and I couldn't understand what was really going on, which resulted in me getting bored. All in all, it was a worth-it drama though. The romance was 11/10 (kept me on my knees) and the soundtrack 10/10 (old dramas have such bangers man)

Perfect Marriage Revenge (kdrama) 7.5/8

I usually don't like watching these types of drama because sinister family members who do shit just to hurt the leads make my blood boil. Like there's no way someone is THAT evil. I did enjoy this one, though. It was nothing out of the ordinary, but I really liked the love story, the ML's family, and the evil people getting what they deserve.

[autisticstevenuniverse]

Rating Every Nu Who Episode: Season 3

The Runaway Bride: 8/10 gets a LOT of points for Donna being so amazing and Ten being so befuddled, because the actual spiders in the Earth plot is a little meh. The star-shaped ship is fun though, and Donna already reigning in Ten.

Smith and Jones: 9/10 omg Judoon!! The rhyming! It's so silly but I still care that people are dying! Martha is just doing her best but is so brave and still kinda excited about the adventure!

The Shakespeare Code: 6/10 perfect aesthetics and the ending with Queen Elizabeth is hilarious. The idea of using words as magic is fun. The alien designs are a little shaky, and the Doctor can be a dick to Martha just for not being Rose, which is my ongoing complaint this season. He cares about her but doesn't make that clear. And I don't love her crush on him the whole time either.

Gridlock: 9/10 New Earth is back!! I love the worldbuilding while keeping it simple here. And the ending made me cry!

Daleks in Manhattan/Evolution of the Daleks: 8/10 now THIS is a proper dalek episode, no matter how ridiculous. Because that's the show!

The Lazarus Experiment: 3/10 but why though? I guess this one was kind of regular silly filler, but I didn't love it. Is a little funny in retrospect that Tish consistently gets jobs working for masquerading villains.

42: 1/10 nothing wrong with it per se but rickety spaceship/space station episodes just aren't my vibe.

Human Nature/The Family of Blood: 6/10 was one of my favorites when I first saw it because I'm obsessed with shows making their own AUs, but upon rewatch I'm actually really upset for Martha. She deals with so much racism and shit, and the Doctor brushing her off while not himself would be one thing if he didn't do that constantly anyway. Plus her one friend, who was very sweet, gets possessed.

Blink: 10/10 no notes one of my (and everyone else's) favorite episodes ever. So creepy in a fun way!

Utopia/The Sound of Drums/Last of the Time Lords: 5/10 I do actually like this plot, it's in character for the Master, and the (for now) death scene is sweet. BUT I can't get over how, after being brushed off and generally not appreciated the whole season, Martha gets even more trauma and her big brave way of "saving the world" is sharing stories of the Doctor who is out to save the world. I feel like if she had gotten more focus on coming into herself here I might have been ok with it. Plus Simm!Master is my least favorite, I just don't like how wildly he plays it. I guess I do appreciate Martha making the choice to do what's best for her and her family.

Bonus Character Ratings:

Ten: 7/10 he's still fun but STOP BEING MEAN TO MARTHA JUST BECAUSE YOU MISS ROSE. STOP IT!

Martha: 8/10 not for her acting, which is great, but for the character getting all the constant trauma and plotlines that make her feel like she's never fully settled in as the companion before understandably leaving.

[meanscarletdeceiver]

Thank you for your amazing answer. I would love to pick your brain on one other thing. My friend says the Strike Trio(TM) are Gordon's best friends. I think Gordon and James' friendship is sort of shallow so I say All three engines are now great friends(TM) are Gordon's best friends. Thoughts? 

¿Por que no los dos?

Ultimately I think you guys have to define what "best friend" means here.

I do think you raise an interesting point about Gordon and James but there are still... a lot of caveats to consider.

(The tl;dr is gonna be point 6 out of 7 under the readmore.)

1. I would emphasize that, overall, Gordon's most important circle is the other five original engines. In the RWS timeline, Thomas, Edward, Henry, Gordon, James, and Percy went through the Depression together. They went through World War II together. They went through Henry's wreck and rebuild together. They saw the beginning of the RWS books' publication together. They faced the huge unknown of nationalisation together. The only other engine acquired by FC1 was Toby and even Toby arrived late in his tenure, after all those formative experiences. I suspect there are others of the Nameless Eighty who were actually there pre-Toby but it's probably no coincidence that we don't know them—I'm sure they haven't broached Gordon's circle of trust.

It's not that I think Gordon is on the whole ill-disposed to newcomers from Toby on. (That's James's job!) Like I'm sure he counts the other characters we know of as friends too but I doubt he ever bonded with any of the newcomers on the same level. (BoCo is a bit of an exception but there is also some ambiguity there as to how much BoCo is humouring him. I hope it's more than that because Gordon really puts himself out there in that relationship in a way that always amazes me but it's hard to be certain from the text that BoCo is doing more than just being polite.) Almost all the other original six are seen to really be able to integrate comfortably with new characters. But I'm not surprised that Gordon struggles because he has that aloof quality. It's going to be hard going for him to emotionally "overlook" a missing twenty years or more of developing trust...

So I think it's better to think of Gordon's relationship in terms of tiers. The original group is all of a tier, and we are in danger of splitting hairs if we try to rank his relationships within that tier. I'd say these relationships are different but they all very important to him.

2. That said, Gordon's "best friend" is pretty obviously Henry. Like, we all seem to agree on this, yes? Beyond that, you guys seem to be trying to rank James and Edward... And again, I fear it's too easy to start getting into splitting hairs. Like to me ranking all your friends is a bit middle school, you know? There are friends that give me different things, that bring out different parts of me, while not necessarily being better or worse than other friends...

That came out more accusatory than I meant, heh. I just like emphasizing this part. Gordon and Henry's friendship is so THERE and so important. Moments like "Henry's not going" and "That's settled, then" and "Tugboat Annie!" are just. I can't. Literally one of the best and most consistent things about the series. ♥

3. On your side, there is something particularly important about the ATEAGF™ (lol) group. It's just a vibe that is obviously felt pretty widely. I mean the original line came from the first RWS book, with all its Pilot Episode Weirdness, and it would have been easy for Awdry to memoryhole it as he introduced, well, James—but he very much didn't. In Henry's and Edward's later books, there is a story in each dedicated to revisiting the Three Railway Engines dynamic over the years asdfk;ladsf; (Arguably Gordon's book at least flirts with it too, though in that case James is also always in the mix—but we'll tackle James in a moment.) In these showcase stories, there is conflict but they're also still undeniably tight. In the Christopher Awdry books he doesn't focus on this relationship but he does throw in one line showing Gordon speaking of Edward warmly, deliberately assuring us that it lives on. This is also why Gordon's panic at Edward and Henry's departure in "Forever and Ever" will always be Andrew Brenner's most iconic moment (even if it's also his most controversial, lol). Like, we the fandom viewers may not have been on board with the concept, but despite our resistance we felt it. It's not like other TVS what-the-hell moments where you can ignore it—Gordon's characterization there DOES resonate.

As I've discussed before—way back when—he can be really brutal at times to Henry and Edward even after he's supposedly their long-time friend and I diagnose this as Gordon just... letting himself be messier with them, essentially? His crushing commentaries at the beginning of "Gordon's Whistle" and "Edward's Exploit" are totally inappropriate. But I don't think he's conscious of any malice in either case, I think he's scared because he's thinking of his friends' mortality and he doesn't know how to handle it, but. BUT. For whatever reason, in these cases he doesn't choose to put on his usual mask of the gallant hero dismissing danger. Instead he's more... honest, I think, than he usually is. (And frankly, when he is being honest I think we can see why he normally keeps all his shit buried because he clearly does not know how to deal with these emotions.)

Anyway I think the significance for all of this is that Gordon (the Loftiest Creation in All Existence, Doncha Know) has, in his heart if not always in his head, bestowed upon Henry and Edward a sort of honorary equality. Like, he relates to Thomas, Percy, and even James in the role of a benevolent patron (whose long-suffering benevolence is sometimes justly tired!) For Whatever Reasons, Gordon seems to really see Edward and Henry as friends in the sense of the engines that he is the most willing to be vulnerable with. And even that degree of vulnerability is... not a lot. But it's something.

I say for "whatever" reasons as I'm not convinced that just pointing to the events of The Three Railway Engines explains it. Then again, perhaps it does. Perhaps it all comes down to Henry and Edward, elated from their success, were very nice about it when they came back to take Gordon home and it was just the first time in Gordon's ultra-competitive life that he was down and another engine didn't kick him while he was there. I mean, we have a sense of what the other Sodor engines were like and honestly it could well be that the Doncaster Prototype Circuit (Gordon would not have been the only one) was pretty cut-throat. So yeah, maybe that was enough. But then again, maybe there's more to it—not least of which, I don't think it hurt that Henry and Edward were not competition for him at the time the way the other Sodor tender engines were—and, ofc, Gordon melted down a bit once Henry was rebuilt and he was, and come to think of it Duck did cite jealousy of Edward as a reason for everyone acting like asshats, and hmmmm... yeah.

Okay, so in short: Perhaps Gordon let his guard down, way back when, partly because Edward and Henry didn't have a go at him after his burst safety valve and were just generally pretty decent, and also they were safe for him to relax around because it's not like they were going to challenge his primacy.

Not the way that, in a couple short years, James would.

4. Which brings us to James, and therefore to Strike Trio.

But I want to note the foundation of the Gordon and James relationship. Because here there is jealousy from the start:

In 1925, James comes back from overhaul. He's new and improved and in a shiny new color and he immediately starts getting attention from passengers.

We do know that Gordon starts in on James right away—in the RWS version of their double-header, James is already fretting a bit about Gordon, to the point where Edward tells him the story of Gordon getting stuck on the hill as a way to reassure him that Gordon's kinda full of hot air. But Gordon doesn't appear till later in the book, where "[he] and Henry would talk of nothing but bootlaces." But this is brought up in relation to the fact that James is rising again in the Fat Controller's estimation. And Gordon in particular feels the need to talk down to him. "You talk too much, little James... A fine, strong engine like me has something to talk about... [boasting continues]... What are you doing? Odd jobs? Ah well, we all have to begin somewhere, don't we. Run along now..."

It's enough to make anyone want to commit murder tbh. But also, as is pretty typical with Gordon, it's not outright insults. It's patronizing.

And then of course James becomes only the second Sodor engine who can pull the express on his own.

And Gordon immediately—while still being patronizing about it!—switches gears into treating James like a chum.

I am not here accusing Gordon of conscious politicking, especially as I don't even think he's capable of it (certainly he isn't in 1925). I think when he expresses warmth it's because he damn well feels it. He's capable of simply being impressed, and he was. But I said all this to sketch out how, throughout James's book, James is clearly a threat to Gordon.

This makes it hilarious how Gordon never seems to quite get over treating James like a junior friend. "Never mind, little James. I'm going to push behind." Like. In this book, James is clearly in the same category as Thomas (and therefore the same category as Percy!)—"protege" or a "little brother"—a little engine who is needlessly rude and disrespectful but whom Gordon grandly forgives.

The dynamic painted so far—Gordon taking James under his wing; Gordon bestowing on James the honor of being his friend, and furthermore James agreeing to this dynamic—continues in Brenner-penned TVS. The scene in S3 "Trust Thomas" comes especially to mind—Gordon pulls the same evil-mentor shenanigans on James that in RWS he did with Sir Handel: "Now, if you were ill, you couldn't push trucks here, or go to the quarry there, now could you?" And again! James is comfortable with it! "What a good idea, I'll try it..."

I guess this point actually circles back to All Three Engines Are Now Great Friends™. James could challenge Gordon's primacy—I mean he'd probably lose out, but he could—and so it seems to me that Gordon never, ever lets his guard down around James. Puts James in the "little engines I've adopted, to save them from themselves" category, because that allows a version of intimacy... but without Gordon risking the loss of any face. Henry I and Edward could not challenge Gordon's primacy, and therefore I'm inclined to think Gordon did let his guard down around them, in the early years, in a way he never had with anyone else before, and wouldn't again for a very long time—if ever.

Gordon can and will verbally savage Edward and Henry if he starts to feel Feelings when they're at their weak points. But when Thomas and Percy and James are at their weakest points, Gordon would never.

It's just two different kinds of intimacy. But I'm eternally amused at the mental and emotional gymnastics Gordon went through to put James into that second category, back in the '20s.

(And why are we focusing so much on the '20s? Well, because I think Gordon grew from there, but at the same time he's very emotionally conservative so whatever dynamics and habits he fell into in the 1920s are still going to be going pretty strong even now in the 2020s.)

5. All this said, I gotta say, on the other side of things: I would not, I would not, underestimate the strength of the Strike Trio™ friendship.

It's a different kind of friendship but I hesitate to go so far as to say it's "shallow." Actually I think it has a very strong foundation—their friendship was forged in fire (I will never believe for a second Henry and James had even really begun to do more than tolerate each other before) when they took collective action against the Fat Controller, who (as he had already demonstrated before, in pretty dramatic terms) has power of life and death over them.

It doesn't matter here how shallow their reasons for doing so may have been. I'm talking here about the way they came together over their complaints. They shared them, they fed into each other's sense of grievance, the sum of their discontent was much more than the individual annoyance they all brought to the table. They banded together and together they faced the lions.

It's unprecedented in the series, and there's never anything quite like it afterwards. It was gutsy, it was seismic, it was huge. They were also willing physically to turn against Edward, whom they had all been friends with before, and again it's not their shining moment as individuals but let's be for real, dramatically excluding others is a very powerful group-building exercise, it's why so many groups wind up doing something like it, it works so far as establishing a collective identity.

Then they were all basically thrown in locomotive prison for a while, together. It must have sucked but also? It would have also really put the final seal on things. Prior to this James was punished in this way by himself, Henry was tunnelled for a very long time but also by himself, Gordon in particular is noted to have been on hand watching Edward's tenure in the sheds and putting allllllll the distance between that and his own reality. Now the hammer falls again on all three alike—but they face it together.

I'm not the least surprised that they would be firm friends after all this.

There's one other factor that I think gives your friend a very strong case. For all I agree that there's a special, particular bond between 2, 3, and 4... 2 isn't around. Not regularly, at least—not every morning, every afternoon, every evening, all night. 3, 4, and 5 live together. That degree of intimacy, that sheer number of face-time hours—multiplied over what is by now one. hundred. years.—uhhhh yeah. That's going to be hard to overtake. There is going to be a Strike Trio closeness that Gordon will not have with Edward and that's about that.

We have been talking lately about the possibility of the Strike Trio drifting apart over the years, and to what degree they did, and what it signifies... those posts were after your ask, but I'm sure you saw them. And to some degree felt vindicated! But I think it's the same phenomenon of The Three Railway Engines after 1923(?) or whatever—there is a drift, there is distance, the relationship itself is not erased. And if that was true for them, it would be even more true for Strike Trio after decades living and working together so closely.

6. So I guess ultimately I agree with your friend, bwaha.

Mostly, though, I think they're all just really lucky to have so long to grow and develop, and to have newcomers arriving to mix things up and help them grow even more, but most of all to be in a position where no one has to lose touch with the friends who have touched their lives. We should all be so blessed, honestly.

7. (Also, the more I think about it, the more I realize that Wilbert Awdry was kinda full of it. Like, yes, I sympathize with his frustration in that 'Thomas isn't the main character! it's an ENSEMBLE SERIES.' But also, this discussion makes me realize '... yeah, buddy, sure, but it IS amazing how much of your series and its beats we preserve even if we boil down the whole RWS to just 'Gordon the Autistic Aristocrat Engine's Lifelong Adventures in Forming Healthy Relationships with Others and Himself 💙'. )

[nicepersondisorder]

What is your favourote and least favourite character from hazbin? Would you change anything about them?

THANK YOU FOR QUESTION !!

i have MANY favorite characters from hazbin !! depending on the traits and the lense we're sorting them by

they're all so interesting and cool!! charchar is amazing and i love how she refuses to give up and sees good in everyone (AND HER VOICE ACTOR IS SO GOOD. SHE HAS SUCH PRETTY VOICE.). she's determined and goal oriented and her dreams are so good and while she has issues and problems, she's genuinely such a good person. i also like the fact that she's a sweet bubbly character, but she still doesn't shy away from swearing and she was shown to lose her cool several times. i love her. i really should reblog more arts with her. okkkk once i finish writing this answer i will go and queue more arts with my babygirl !!!! o7

have i told i love charlie? yeah? i love her. i love her a lot. sorry. next segment

in the next segment we have "pathetic losers", which has two sub-types: "dorks" and "just genuinely pathetic. like. good lord they're so fucking pathetic. (/neg)."

at the top is lucifer ! he's a fascinating critter. he goes in the "dorks" category, but he is really pathetic. dipping toes in the second category even! loser <3 (speaking of losers, i LOVE husk's design. no i'm not biased because he's a cat what are you talking about !!)(i'm lying)(don't have a special opinion on his overall character though, sowwy </3). ANYWAY continuing with lucifer! majority of the scenes with him were Physically Painful to watch due to Second Hand Embarrassment (also i did skip almost all of the episode due to Reasons tm. i need to go and actually watch it. sloooowly). his "TAKE THAT DEPRESSION" lives rent fee in my brain and reminds me of a "could a depressed person make this?" meme. he's pathetic wet beast of a man and while i dislike his absence and flippancy towards his daughter, i understand him (LOL). im also extremely depressed 🤝. that doesn't excuse his actions but i do get why he acts the way he acts. also i don't have "more than anything" playing on repeat. don't look at my music app

second in the "dorks" category is sir pentious! not gushing about him as much as about charchar or lucifer, but he is just so. he evokes cuteness agression in me. i need to make a balloon animal out of him. he is such a nerd. i loved him when the pilot came out (the only character from pilot i drew in 2019 actually!)(you should be honored sirsnake!!). he's not on the list of my favorite favorite characters, i just thought i'd include him since i brought up the "dorks" subtype.

breaking the segment to talk how i find charlie endearing. she's such a sweetheart..... she can do it i believe in her and her dreams <33 (sir pent DID get redeemed after all!!!! the hotel is working !!). she's so silly. love her. ok moving to subtype "pathetic /neg"

the one and only character in this category is vox. he's so fucking pathetic. tearing my hair out i LOVE him for this. okay so i might be a liiiiitle bit unfair to him BUT . his crush on alastor is just so. shaking crying i don't have words for this. he has such bad taste in men (affectionate). AND THE WAY HE ACTS ABOUT IT IS ALSO SO PATHETIC. "oh i learned that the guy who i have love(unrequited)/hate relationship with is back from 7 years absence??? i must broadcast how i don't care about him at all IMMEDIATELY". has the vibe from the joke i've heard somewhere "i've been chasing you for seven miles to tell you how much i don't care about you" or something like that, don't remember the exact wordinb unfortunately 😔. he IS a cool character tho. i love his design, im really weak for tv headed characters. i could run doom on him.sorry. also his powers are sick as fuck!!! but he's so pathetic it's easy to froget how much influence he has an how strong he is.i want to pick him apart on the vivisection table. sorry again. no im not

okay ! next category! "fucking dick holy shit". valentino. he's So Terrible. i need him boiled in oil and i also hate him and i like him and i hope he dies ten thousand deaths and i want to see him suffer. kind of niffty-like type of like for him! he's really fascinating in the worst way possible and he's like. hmmmm im not sure how to put it? he's a genuinely good character (NOT person, two different things) and he can be both absolutely terrible vile etc etc, there are scenes shown that humanize him, which i think is also a good thing, because irl abusers are not one dimensional, and so fictinal ones also shouldn't be, especially in a show that wants to bring up serious themes correctly. controversial opinion but people bitching about how val's design is wasted on him are completely missing the point. yeah.

um! moving on !

there are more characters that i Like, but if i'd be listing them all im afraid itd take years 😭 like you asked for one (1) favorite character and i wrote you a whole essay LMAO

and i don't think i have a least favorite character? it takes too much energy to dislike a character that i don't have XD (i do have a slight distate for alastor, but it's for personal 🍎 reasons so i'm not gonna include him in the post! or in the tags)

nvm i lied i don't like zestial. i Can Not understand what he's saying 💔 bless the subtitles ! that's a silly "least favorite character" don't take it seriously !

ALMOST FORGOT TO ANSWER THE SECOND QUESTION. i don't think i'd change anything about the characters !! except maybe making zestial's speech more understandable. please bitches with auditory processing issues can't understand what you're saying zestial please im begginb you on my knees WHAT ARE YOU SAYING

[set-phasers-to-whump]

Day 7: Post a link to your favorite whump fic of all time (or reblog it and/or make a list of them!)

ok i decided to limit myself to just 10 of my all time favorite whump fics. these are ones that i return to all the time, that i reread whenever i'm having a bad day, you know the vibe. all of them are very dear to me and i hope someone else will enjoy them too!!! i'll put them under a readmore since this got a bit long :)

Caged by Cargo - 911. Cargo is one of my absolute favorite writers and i've been in love with this fic for a longass time. the emotions and caretaking are absolutely top tier, and there's a lovely blend of emotional and physical whump. summary: "As Eddie stands in his kitchen after returning home from tonight's fight, he finally cracks. He starts falling apart and he knows there's only one person in the entire world he trusts to pick up the pieces. It's why he's dialling Buck's number before he even knows he has his phone in his hands."

Bloodshot Soul by OrionLady - bourne series. this one straight up has made me cry i can't even lie. it's a beautiful and very genuine exploration of the characters and the emotional whump is wonderfully painful. summary: "He cannot fathom why a crusty old skipper would care so much about a strange John Doe he fished out of the water, why he would smile and touch his shoulder and feed him pie. Then again, there are many things he doesn’t understand yet. The closer he and Giancarlo get, the less he wants to remember. An exploration into Jason and Giancarlo’s friendship during his two weeks aboard the fishing trawler."

In The Shadows of The Night by MissCrazyWriter321 - grimm. this fic is thee one that i turn to whenever i'm feeling sad. i love nick and rosalee's dynamic and this fic lets nick break down while keeping both of them perfectly in character. i'm absolutely obsessed with it. summary: "A board creeks beneath her foot, and he startles, but calms quickly when he sees her. “Sorry,” she murmurs. “I hope I didn’t wake you.” Obviously she didn’t, but she needs to be careful how she handles this. If she pushes too hard, he’ll just end up shutting down."

Eggs Two Ways by leslielol - law and order svu. something about the writing style in this one absolutely captivates me. like, there was a period of time where i straight up read this fic once a week and i'm not kidding. they're both super in character and it's a delightful read! summary: "It’s not often Barba has a reason to exercise a set of skills separate from those as a prosecutor. While sat in a holding cell nursing a broken nose, Carisi learns he’s as sharp as ever. (A missing-scene fic from 16x15 “Undercover Mother.”)"

Breaking all the things I'd wish to keep and Can't erase, can't rewind by Elisexyz - the man from uncle. ok yeah this is technically two. sue me. ely is like, my favorite fic author ever and i love all of her tmfu stuff, but these two hold a special place in my heart and make me go absolutely crazy every time (they go together btw). if you're into tmfu and for some reason haven't read her fics then uhh. get on that right now bc she's amazing. summary: "Napoleon maintains that attempted murder cannot be classified as an "accident"."// "“I didn’t think it was him.”"

the moon points to the sun by haloud - roswell new mexico. this fic has been making me insane for literal years. it's emotional whump and has a somewhat different vibe to the other fics on this list, but i absolutely adore it. this writer understands the characters so well and their style is absolutely incredible. top tier fic right here. summary: "They don't do apologies, Max and Michael. If they started, they'd never stop."

No Rules, No Winners by April_Valentine - person of interest. this is one of those times where you watch something and you're like 'man i wish they'd addressed this pain in the show' and then you find the absolute perfect fic that does address it. it's so tender and lovely and exactly what the episode was missing. summary: "Set just before the tag of "Baby Blue." After leaving Moretti's safe house, Reese goes back to the library."

The Car Accident by Tipper - sneaky pete. another one i've been obsessed with for literal years. it's on the longer side but it's so good, wonderful family dynamics and a really excellent storyline. summary: "After Julia found out who he was, all Marius wanted was one more Sunday night dinner with the family. It was a mistake. The trusting way they looked at him, the uncertain way she looked at him.... He left early, afraid to sink any deeper. The black truck came out of nowhere as he drove away..."

Too Hot (Hot Damn) by WasteTimeandType - the man from uncle. i loveee some heat exhaustion fics and this one is so good! i reread it recently when i was sick and miserable and seeing illya much more sick and miserable than i was really made me feel better lol. summary: "'Out of all the UNCLE missions, this was by far the worst. He’d been shot, stabbed, tortured with water and forced to run miles in a forest in the middle of Canada. All of that was preferable to this. The damn heat.' Illya suffers from heat exhaustion and Gaby and Napoleon take care of him. Kink Meme fill."

A Little Tender Care by ArgylePirateWD - person of interest. this one's a sickfic, i read it before i actually started watching the show and absolutely adored it, and i still adore it now. true to the title, it's super tender and soft and it's a really sweet read. summary: "The Man in the Suit doesn't usually take sick days. Usually."

and that's 10!! this is far from a complete list of all the fics i adore, but these are the first 10 (or 11) that i knew i needed to rec. if anyone wants more recs, lmk, i've got tons :)

[monkey-network]

Good Stuff: Batwheels

or How to Stop Worrying and Ride with the Punchline

I remember watching the surprisingly kino Teen Titans GO! movie and getting to the scene where they have the trailers for Alfred Pennyworth and then the Batmobile. I of course snickered poshly and then continued watching the film. It was the year after when they premiered an Alfred series set in the Gotham TV universe and I went "Cool." I didn't care for either so I chuckled robotically and moved on. Then in 2020, they announced a Batmobile kids cartoon and the joke stopped being funny. First, the world descends into madness faster, and now we were getting BATWHEELS?! COMING VROOM?!?!?! Felt like I became the joke because I had to know what it would be like. So it's the current year and this was finally released on Cartoonito. What do I think of it? It's actually pretty fire.

Didn't think we'd get two nickels worth of good cars content this year

To preface, yeah this is more for preschoolers but thankfully it's more family-friendly since it's just entertaining you with crime-fighting adventures. I say it's like a Hot Wheels show that has the vibes of Batman: Brave and the Bold. It works like it feels stupid at first but they run with it; it's like 60s Batman or the Lego Batman Movie where things can get serious but it doesn't have to be serious. It's best to watch the first episode to get the origin story which explains how the cars become sentient. Otherwise, the titular Batwheels work like the Batfamily and it's an enjoyable romp about teamwork, leadership, and getting tricky. Speaking of which...

This series looks amazing like hell yes Neon Gotham

The coloring, character designs, and animation of this are phenomenal. I love the use of 2D particle effects and how the vehicles are able to be expressive. We don't reach Pixar levels of uncanny but aren't just static either. Some goofy ass nerd'll go "Oh, this is just to sell toys" and I'd honestly say "Fuck yeah" because the human and vehicle characters look on point. If you're gonna sell a product, make it worth the purchase. I don't know if this'll go beyond a couple seasons unless they expand the roster but I can see kids loving the look of all this. My only issue... is Joker. He looks zoomerfied, dressed like a bedazzled goober, and is the worse looking out of everyone.

This ain't Joker bro, this is The Jickler #NoJoke

I like how this is both about the vehicles finding their place as heroes and the human heroes you know doing their job. We get a surprisingly diverse cast like it's the first time seeing Duke Thomas Robin on screen. Ethan Hawke works well as Bats, though he's not Will Arnett I'm sorry. The show's probably limiting since it's about cars, but they knew better than to just make this Batman™ except everyone's a car for some reason. The cars don't upstage the heroes and villains, it manages to be a great introduction to the Batman universe. I dunno, something goofy like this surprises me in being a competent, fun-loving action cartoon that makes me forget the turmoil I've been having lately about superhero content. Just saying, the last time I said the word "capeshit", ten angels cried and this series is like the fresh air I needed since Peacemaker.

Takes me back to the Bat Credit Card days anew

This and Hamster & Gretel do good in being superhero shows that work more than expected. I admittedly am tired of Batman being everywhere like when will Green Lantern have his turn again? At the same time, this is cooler than I figured. If you told me in 3rd grade we were gonna have a Batmobile cartoon, I would laugh in your face. If you told me this before 2020 happened, I would still laugh. Now that we're here... I have to kneel. I was gonna point this a 7 or 8 out of 10 cuz you know it's a simple, fun time; good for Saturday mornings. You know what though? For actually sticking the landing and proving me as a naysayer wrong...

9 out of 10; A Motorized Marvel

[astromechs]

15 questions, 15 mutuals

tagged by @grimm-lynn and @notyouraveragesofia ; thank you!

are you named after anyone?

fun fact, accidentally! my parents just thought caitlin was a cool name, but i have some distant ancestor who immigrated to america from ireland who was also named caitlin, and my grandpa was apparently SO excited by the idea that i would've been named after her that my mom and dad were like, "yep, sure! we totally did that!"

2. when was the last time you cried?

when i caught up to the most recent episode of succession on tuesday afternoon. it hit very close to home watching the roy siblings go through that, is all i'll say.

3. do you have kids?

nope! just a nephew i'm a cool gay aunt for, and i'm raising him with all the right things (he loves star wars and batman, i'm doing good)

4. do you use sarcasm a lot?

lol never (always)

5. what sports do you play/have played?

i used to do soccer and basketball as a kid before i found horses, and from then on it's just been the equestrian sports babey

6. what's the first thing you notice about other people?

probably whether or not they can take/make a joke. i'm big on a sense of humor.

7. what's your eye color?

brown/verging on hazel

8. scary movies or happy endings?

i vibe with both, and pretty much anything, as long as the story is good.

9. any special talents?

knowing a lot of useless things about a whole wide variety of topics; i was a quiz bowl kid. i also have fun singing and playing piano, and have some talent with it. writing? might have a little.

10. where were you born?

atlanta, ga area

11. what are your hobbies?

writing, reading, film criticism, singing, playing piano. i haven't been horseback riding in a while but i'm looking to change that soon because that's been a hobby very important to my life.

12. do you have any pets?

i have a cat named katniss, and she's my little baby girl!

13. how tall are you?

5'3"

14. favorite subject in school?

god, all of them? i loved school, actually, that's why i'm a teacher LMAO loved my science and english classes, though, and in college i loved my latin, film, and psychology classes. (and was a psychology major and film minor, and now teach psychology for a living)

15. dream job?

i'm pretty happy teaching, tbh. that said, i would still love to make it to a professional level with some writing one day, either through a screenplay or getting to work on an ongoing comic series. but as much as i know i would write an amazing spider-man comic (pun intended), i don't want that job, actually lol; it just seems like you get nothing but grief.

tagging (no pressure!): @gaygingersnaps ; @k2cassian ;@angrygoomba ; @616phyla ; @moprocrastinates ;@flerkengay ; @richardrider ; @flythesail ; @aluvian ; @jaqobis ; @batmurdock ; @sgtjamesrogers ; @kissmywookiee ; @quillsmora ; @lunapascal