#also I feel insane about how this episode clearly states they all need time to heal

[eggthedyke]

Watching ds9 s6,e25.

The Sound of Her Voice

(Also known as “dead women gives the crew some much needed therapy sessions and diagnoses them all with ‘oh my god please get some help’”)

Which opens with a quip about how Bashir doesn’t really talk much anymore even though he used to never shut between Cassidy and Sisko.

“We’ll there was a time you couldn’t get him to shut up”

“I think I like him better this way.”

“That’s mean”

“I was just kidding”

“No. You weren’t”

And Bashir looks like a fucking miserable man and exhausted.

And then he fails at his task of chatting with a women to keep her company.

He’s completely buried himself in work. He’s checked out personally.

He only engages when she words it as her being his patient, and makes him actually fear for her health (life).

And it’s not like no one notices. They all notice the Massive change in Julian Bashir.

It just kinda seems like no one cares. Because They Are All Spiraling Too.

Because they have all changed, because they’re all exhausted. And they don’t have the energy to save each other. Not when they can’t even save themselves

[borathae]

Grief is a funny thing

"Grief is a funny thing. You think that you got over it until you are sitting on a random bench, on a random Monday night and it comes back to remind you that it will always be part of you."

Pairing: CEO!Jungkook x f.Reader

Genre: Angst, married life!AU, Hurt & Comfort

Warnings: OC graduated yaay!!, but it brings up old memories for her and she is in a state of guilt & grief, talk about loss of family and grief that won't leave, tears, but Jungkook is there for her and he is such a comfort, i love him a lot

Wordcount: 2.1k

a/n: sometimes i have the desire to write something angsty for the aaol!couple. listennn, i reread some of the main chapters again and i wanted to write something about OC's grief over her brother and how Kook handles her grief episodes. soo that's why this was created <3

You graduated. You actually did it. You are officially a person with a masters degree. You are something. The degree is at home where you left it. On the living room coffee table next to an empty glass of water. 

You can’t look at it.  

Nobody would get you if you told them that you don’t want to look at it, because it’s insane. You are aware of it. For years, all you dreamt of was being something one day. And then it happened and you were able to pursue your dream education and to graduate. You literally fulfilled your biggest dream, it should make you happy and it does, but it also doesn’t. Deep down in your heart you know the reason for it, but you aren’t ready to admit it to yourself yet. It would make you cry. You hate crying for negative reasons.

Your phone rings. This is the third time it does and you know that you can’t ignore whoever is calling you any longer. 

Your heart stings when you check their ID. 

Your Jungkookie is calling. You pick up, feeling guilty as you do. 

“Yes?”

“Oh my god, finally. Thank god. Where are you? I’ve been trying to reach you for what feels like hours. Are you okay?” Jungkook sounds distressed on the other side of the line. Understandably. It is currently one in the morning and you left without warning. 

“I’m okay, just went for a walk.”

“At one in the morning?” he sounds confused. Understandably so. You are normally sleeping at this time of day. 

“Yeah, well. Yeah, I guess.”

“It’s pouring buckets right now.”

“I guess it is.”

Silence on his side where he clearly tries to process what you are saying. 

“Where are you? I’m coming to pick you up”, he says in the end.

“Paradis. The bench in front of it.”

Another silence. Understandably. You never went back there again after quitting your job.

“Just…just stay there. I’ll be quick”, Jungkook tries to sound neutral, but the anxiety is clear in his voice.

“Yeah, okay.”

“I adore you.”

“I adore you too.”

The call ends. You shove the phone back into your jacket pocket and continue to stare at the sign while the rain pours down on you. Jungkook doesn’t need to worry. You weren’t planning on leaving this bench for quite a while. All of this studying about how to help people and you feel helpless. It almost paralyzes you and makes time pass in a blur.

Jungkook runs to get to you, getting wet even under the umbrella as the water slaps against him. He calls out your name. You turn your head slowly, looking at him with tired, empty eyes. 

“Oh my god, my love. You scared me so much. Why would you leave without saying anything?” he says, falling around your neck to hug you against him. 

Your body falls into him. He is warm and his hug is tight. He cradles the back of your head, twisting parts of your jacket with his other hand. 

“You made me worry like crazy. Please don’t ever do this again”, he says between little kisses all over your face and head.

“I’m sorry.” 

“Apology accepted, my love. Just tell me what’s wrong, please.” 

Now that he is with you and you are in his arms, the state of you is so clear to you. 

“I’m really cold.” 

“No wonder. It’s fucking November and you’re sitting here getting drenched.” He says, trying to warm you by rubbing your back. “Come on, let’s go home.”

“Yeah. Okay.”

You let him help you to your feet. You hook arms with him, hugging his arm with both hands. You even go as far as to rest your head against it. Jungkook holds the umbrella even though you and he are already soaked to the bones. 

“You’re worrying me, my love. What’s the matter?” he asks.

You and he walk back to his car at a slow pace.

“I don’t know”, you say.

“Why did you come here? Out of all the places?”

“I don’t know. I was at my old place too. It’s a storehouse for the restaurant these days.”

“Yeah? Well, I don’t really get why you’re here and what you’re doing. I’m sorry.” 

“I can’t look at it.”

“Look at what?”

“My masters.”

Silence. You can watch him as he processes what you said. You can also see how he is trying so hard to be supportive.

“Please don’t take it the wrong way, but why? I’m not judging, just having a hard time understanding this correctly.”

You cuddle closer. He always knows exactly what to say. It feels reassuring when he is honest. He might not understand, but he wants to. This is what unconditional love feels like. 

“Whenever I look at it, I feel sick. I fulfilled my biggest dream and I’m happy, but I also feel lost.”

“I see. Now I understand. It’s scary knowing that something as big as college is over, but didn’t you play with the idea of doing your PhDs too?”

“Yeah, I did.”

“See? It’s not over yet if you want to. You have all the choices in the world. You can open your praxis or pursue your doctor’s degree. You have all the possibilities in the world. I’ll support you in any of them.” 

“I guess.”

“Unless that’s what you’re lost with. Do you struggle with deciding?”

“I struggle with accepting the reality that I am something.”

“No, my love”, he gasps.

“I feel unworthy of it. I had this life”, you say, gesturing at the general direction of Paradis. “And now I have a Masters in psychology with chances of becoming a fucking doctor. It’s insane. I shouldn’t have this.”

“Yes, you should”, Jungkook insists loudly, furrowing his brows, “you worked so hard for it. I had to carry you to bed sometimes when you fell asleep by your desk because you were so exhausted from studying. Remember?” 

“Yeah.”

“See? You literally worked your ass off for it. You should have it, for fuck’s sake. You wanted it for years and I won’t let you feel like this now.” 

You and he stop in front of his car. He shakes you by your shoulders gently as if to shake you awake from your self-deprecating nightmare. 

“You’re intelligent, resourceful and hardworking, ambitious and resilient and you got your degree because of that. You are amazing and you worked hard for it. You deserve it.” 

You nod your head, but say nothing to it.

“Okay, my love?”

He looks at you. You look at your feet.

“Okay, my love?” he stresses, caressing your cheek gently.

“Jungkook, I miss my brother”, you confess what truly hurts so bad, instantly breaking into tears.

“Oh ___ my love, I’m sorry. Come here”, Jungkook gasps, wrapping his unoccupied arm around you.

You melt into his chest, sobbing into it while he holds you and comforts you. 

“He and I, we always fantasised about how it would be to become something. He always talked about sending me off to college one day. But he’s dead and he won’t ever see that I actually did it. He’s dead. Why is he fucking dead?”

“Oh my love. I’m sorry. Life is so unfair”, Jungkook gets out, crying with you.

“It hurts so bad. He was supposed to see me off to college and, and see me graduate.”

“He was. He really was”, Jungkook agrees, sobbing afterwards which gives you so much comfort. It feels so reassuring and comforting so cry with him. You don’t even mind crying for negative reasons when he is with you. 

“I feel so guilty. He was supposed to escape this life with me. We were supposed to get healthy and be happy.”

“You were, my love. But it’s not your fault. He wouldn’t want you to feel guilty for changing your life for the better.”

“I know, but it still hurts.”

You look up at Jungkook, spilling tears. He does as well, cradling your cheek.

“He was supposed to know you. He was supposed to walk me down the aisle and, and be happy for me because I fell in love with someone like you.”

Jungkook smiles, sniffling. 

“He was supposed to be there on my happiest days. Why did he have to die?”

“I don’t know and it’s so unfair.”

“It is. He, he was supposed to be there for me on those days. He was…” A sob interrupts you. Jungkook soothes it with gentle touches to your arms. “It hurts so much to know that he won’t ever see who I became. I will always stay this little, drug addicted orphan girl to him. It hurts so bad that I never became someone different to him.”

“No, my love no. I’m sure that his spirit is still somewhere out there and he watched you grow up and become who you are today, my love.”

“Do you really think that?” you ask, looking at him with child-like hopefulness in your eyes.

“I do. I’m sure he is currently looking down at you and he feels proud and happy.”

“I hope so”, you say and lower your head. Tears drip down from your cheeks. “Urgh god, I hate crying”, you get out, wiping at your own face aggressively.

“Hey no.” Jungkook stops you gently. “Don’t. You’ll hurt yourself.”

You look up at him while he holds your hands. He caresses your chin with the same hand, using his thumb for it.

“Let’s go home, okay?” he suggests in a soft voice. 

You nod your head.  

“Come on, I’ll drive.” 

You let him help you into the car. You stare outside as he drives off and you continue to stare outside as he drives through the city. It’s late and it's raining, which means that the streets are almost empty for a change. Jungkook doesn’t have the radio on. The purring of the car and the rain against the window are all the noises you hear. He has his hand on your thigh, giving you constant rubs of comfort. It’s warm and it’s nice.

You and he drove for a while when you break the silence.

“I’m sorry.”

He glances at you.

“For what?”

“For running off without warning. For being so ungrateful for my masters. For dumping all of my stuff on you.”

“I’m not even gonna play into this right now because there’s nothing for you to be sorry for”, Jungkook answers you with slight anger in his voice. He isn’t angry at you, but your self-deprecating use of words.

You hold his hand.

“I’m just so messy and you’re so good”, you confess. 

“You’re tired and you’re exhausted. Today was a very overwhelming day. Don’t believe your thoughts anymore, my love.”

You and he stop at a red light. 

“You love me, right?”

Jungkook instantly leans over to kiss you. First your lips, then your forehead.

“I love you so much”, he whispers, cradling your cheek and gazing deep into your eyes. “I love everything about you, even the messiest and darkest parts. I always have and always will.” 

You can’t bear to look into his eyes anymore, lowering your head shyly. The red light switches from red to green back to red again in the time you and he sit in the car and let his words sink in. The rain sounds calming as it hits the car. 

“What are you thinking right now?” he asks in a quiet, gentle voice. 

“A lot. Grief and guilt and, and… I guess, I’m thinking that I don’t feel overwhelmed anymore now that I talked about it with you.” 

“Yes? This makes me happy to hear. I’ll always be there for you. And I’ll always come and get you from wherever you run off to.” 

He makes you laugh. Jungkook laughs with you, kissing your forehead. The light switches to green. He takes this chance and drives off, holding your hand as he does.

“Jungkook, I wanna take a shower and then talk in bed”, you tell him.

“That sounds good. We’ll shower and then we’ll cuddle and you can tell me all about your brother.”

“But I already told you everything.”

“And? It won’t ever be boring to me.” 

“Oh.” 

A deep breath fills your lungs and as it leaves you again, you feel lighter. You rest your head against the window, looking at him. The rainy night city passes him, the changing lights paint the prettiest of artworks onto his face.

“You’re the best goddamn thing that ever happened to me.”

Jungkook squeezes your hand because that is all he can do right now in fear of looking away from traffic for too long.

“I can say the same about you, my love.”

[sapphic-agent]

Let's Talk About How Book 3 Ruined Aang

If you've seen any of my prior ATLA posts, you know that I don't hate Aang. In fact, I quite liked him in Books 1 and 2. He was flawed, as all characters should be, but the show didn't shy away from those flaws or justify them. He was called out for burning Katara and rushing his firebending, Sokka and Katara were rightfully upset when he hid Hakoda's letter, he willingly owns up to the fact that his actions helped drive Toph away, and his entire arc after losing Appa and finding hope again in The Serpent's Path was beautifully done.

(Hell, even in The Great Divide Katara says what Aang did was wrong and he agrees. It's played for comedy, but the show still makes the effort to point out that what he did wasn't the right thing to do. You're just meant to understand that he was fed up and acted off of that)

Those flaws and mistakes were addressed and improved upon and helped Aang to grow as a character.

But for some reason, that aspect of Aang's character was completely flipped in Book 3.

The best examples of this are in both TDBS and EIP. Both the show and the fandom are too quick to brush off that Aang kissed Katara twice without her consent, one of which after she explicitly said she was confused about her feelings.

(And yes, she is angry in response and Aang calls himself an idiot. But after this, it isn't really addressed. They go on like nothing happened for the rest of the episode. Aang's lamentation comes from screwing things up with her romantically, not that he violated boundaries)

The show never really addressed why what he did was wrong. Not only because he wasn't given consent, but also because both times he isn't thinking about what Katara wants. In both instances, Aang is only thinking about himself and his feelings. This is something that persists through a lot of the third book. And by Sozin's Comet it ultimately ruins any character development he had built up in the second book.

One thing I feel was completely disregarded was the concept of having to let go of Katara in order to master the Avatar State.

For me, the implication wasn't that he had to give up love or happiness necessarily. He was emotionally attached to and reliant on Katara, to the point where she was needed to stop him from hurting everyone around him and himself. This is obviously detrimental to his functionality as the Avatar. And the point of him "letting her go" wasn't that he had to stop caring about her, it was that his emotional dependency on her was stopping him from being the Avatar he needed to be and that was what needed to be fixed. I don't even think it's about the Avatar State itself, it's about being able to keep your emotions and duty as the Avatar separate.

(If you look at Roku, he loved and had a wife. It wasn't his love for her that messed everything up, it was his attachment to Sozin. He wasn't able to let Sozin go and not only did he lose his life for it, the world suffered for it. It's the unhealthy attachments that seem to be detrimental, not love itself)

And Aang realizes that in the catacombs, which is how he's able to easily enter the Avatar State and seemingly control it. He let Katara go.

So then why does it seem like his attachment to Katara is not only stronger, but worse in mannerism? He liked Katara in Books 1 and 2- obviously- but he was never overly jealous of Jet or Haru. He only makes one harmless comment in Book 2 when Sokka suggests Katara kiss Jet.

But suddenly he's insanely jealous of Zuko (to the point of getting frustrated with Katara over it), off the basis of the actions of actors in a clearly misrepresentative play. Katara showed a lot more interest in Jet and Aang was completely fine with it.

(Speaking of EIP, Aang's reaction to being played by a woman was interesting. He wore a flower crown in The Cave of Two Lovers. He wove Katara a flower necklace. He wore Kyoshi's clothes and makeup and made a funny girl voice. He willingly responded to Twinkle Toes and had no issue being called that. And for some reason he's genuinely upset about being played by a woman? Aang in Books 1 and 2 would have laughed and enjoyed the show like Toph did. His aversion to feminity felt vastly out of character)

I guess my point is, why did that change? Why was Aang letting go of Katara suddenly irrelevant to the Avatar State? It felt like him letting go was supposed to be a major part of his development. Why did that stop?

Myself and many others have talked about The Southern Raiders. The jist of my thought process about it is his assumption that he knew what was best for Katara. And the episode doesn't really call out why he was wrong. Maybe sparing Yon Rha was better for Katara, maybe it wasn't (the only one who's allowed to make that choice is her). Pushing forgiveness? That was wrong. But the episode has Zuko say that Aang was right when the course of action Katara took wasn't what Aang suggested.

Katara's lesson here was that killing him wouldn't bring back her mother or mend the pain she was going through and that Yon Rha wasn't worth the effort. That's what she realizes. Not that she needed to embrace forgiveness. How could she ever forgive that? The episode saying Aang was right wasn't true. Yes she forgives Zuko, but that wasn't what Aang was talking about. He was specifically talking about Yon Rha.

And that was wrong. Aang can choose the path of forgiveness, that's fine. That's his choice. But dismissing Katara's trauma in favor of his morals and upbringing wasn't okay.

I know it sounds like this is just bashing Kataang. But it's not simply because I don't like Kataang, in my opinion it brings down Aang's character too, not just Katara's. But let's steer away from Kataang and Katara for a minute.

The one thing that solidifies Aang's character being ruined in Book 3 for me is the fact that he- at the end of the story- does the same thing he did in the beginning.

He runs away when things get hard.

Aang couldn't make the choice between his duty and his morals. So he ran. Maybe it wasn't intentional, but subconsciously he wanted an out. And this is really disappointing when one of the things he was firm about in Book 2 was not running anymore. His character went backwards here and that's not even getting into the real issue in Sozin's Comet.

There's been contention about the Lion Turtle intervention. For many- including myself- it's very deus ex machina to save Aang from having to make a hard decision. And that in turn doesn't reflect kindly on his character.

Everyone- Sokka, Zuko, Roku, Kyoshi, Kuruk, and Yangchen (who was another Airbender and was raised with the same beliefs he was and would understand which was the whole point of him talking to her)- told him he had to kill Ozai. They all told him it was the only way. And he refused to listen to any of them, rotating through his past lives until he was given the answer he wanted.

And before anyone says that I'm bashing Aang for following his culture, I'm not. Ending the war peacefully, in my opinion, wasn't the problem. In a way, I think it allowed the world to heal properly. However, that doesn't make up for the fact that Aang refused to make a choice and face the consequences of that choice. Instead, he's given an out at the very last second.

Even if he couldn't kill Ozai and someone else had to deliver the final blow, that would have been better than the Lion Turtle showing up and giving him a power no one's ever had before. It would have been a good compromise, he doesn't have to have blood directly on his hands but what needs to be done needs to still get done. It would also show that being the Avatar isn't a burden he has to bear alone. That when things get hard, he can't run away but he can rely on the people closest to him to help him through hard decisions.

All these issues aren't necessarily a problem with Aang. Aang prior to Book 3 didn't have most of these problems. This is a problem with the way he was handled

[piratecaptainscaptainpirates]

I think the most interesting thing about Izzy in season 1 and early in season 2 is he so strongly considers himself someone who Understands Ed, but this not only isn't true, the more we take him at face value, the crueller his actions become.

Now, obviously, I do not think Izzy actually understands Ed very much at all. He thinks he does, at first! But he consistently fails to understand what makes Ed tick. He's so focused on his perception of Ed, which he's convinced is correct and right, that he can't see past it.

Izzy thinks that Ed is erratic and unpredictable, someone who is capable of great things but in need of being controlled. He consistently interprets Ed's behavior as insane and fickle, and Izzy himself is the force that can shape Ed's behavior into genius. He's so convinced in s1e4 that Ed is just wasting time and dicking around that he spends the whole episode nagging at him to come up with a plan, never once questioning his own unshakable belief that Ed, an extremely gifted sailor, starting to point out something to him in the clouds was just Ed fucking around. He is utterly convinced that Ed will not be able to get anything done if Izzy himself isn't right there making sure he stays on-task, when it's pretty obvious that Ed had his plan worked out from the start of the episode.

The nice thing is that Izzy is self-aware enough by the end of the show to apologize Ed for being abusive towards him for years. But this also means that he knew he was doing something wrong - he says on his deathbed that he knew Ed had long outgrown Blackbeard but he kept pushing anyway, because Izzy's whole deal in s1 is a chase for power. Being the one in control of Ed, feeling like Blackbeard was "us," it gave him that power - even if he wasn't, in truth, actually contributing anything other than stress.

I'm inclined to believe that Izzy understands as little as possible about Ed, because that makes Izzy's growth sit easier with me (he doesn't know about Ed's dad, obviously, but if he's somehow pieced together Ed's trauma related to killing, for example, then trying to get him to kill Stede becomes so much worse). But when he admits that he knew how much he was hurting Ed, that still makes everything in season 1 harder to swallow. It's still pretty clear Izzy doesn't understand Ed well, but he still did things like push Ed hard to kill Stede and threaten Ed at the end of s1 knowing that he was hurting Ed. Izzy's style of manipulating Ed isn't neat, it's quantity-over-quality, pushing over and over to hit the right notes until he gets a reaction, but he still knew Ed well enough to know he was being terrible to him for years (in his own words!).

And that's where arguments like "Izzy was just doing it because he thought he was doing what was right for Ed/because he loved Ed" start to fall apart for me, because not only does Izzy himself pretty clearly state on his deathbed that he was self-serving more than anything, but that's worse. I don't doubt that it's true! To be very clear, I think Izzy did think those things! Izzy doesn't know Ed on the level Stede knows Ed, he doesn't get him, but he knew him well enough to hit him where it really hurt. And that's worse than if he'd done the exact same things never understanding anything about Ed at all.

[yanderespamton78]

WHY ADI IS A GOOD CHARACTER AND NOT JUST AN EVIL SCIENTIST CHILD MURDERER

AAAAAAAAAA OH MY GOD YOU DONT UNDERTAND HOW WORKED UP I GET OVER THIS DEBATE YOU DONT UNDERSTAND ARARRARARRARRA also btw i watched sweet tooth ages ago so i might get some details wrong

(please dont take anything said here personally i am tired and angry and i get so sososo worked up over this debate since Adi is very similar to a character ive been obsessed with for a year)

so after being in a sweet tooth fandom for a bit i found that much to my surprise (and distain) adi is actually a thoroughly hated character, which was surprising after coming from a fandom where the "evil child murderer" character is one of if not the most popular. And i feel that a lot of the people who hate adi do just see him as "evil child murderer" BUT HES MORE THAN THAT!!!! I PROMISE!!!!! get out of that echo chamber and open your mind to a new opinion (please i spent like 40 mins typing this out)

so firstly, adi was actually just a really nice normal guy before the crumble. he was a sweet man, he was a doctor, he was dad material. not a psychopath. he clearly isnt insane or murderous by nature. We can see his love for Rani in the first episode when he starts freaking out and barging past people just to try to keep her alive even when he knew the odds werent in his favour. he clearly loves his wife more than the world itself and would burn cities in her name. This is a man who Loves His Wife. After the crumble we can see that Adi and Rani are living a semi normal life. we see that all Adi wants is some normalcy despite the horrible situation he's been put into. And all he really needs for that is his wife. Evidently the rest of his family is already dead even if its not mentioned so this man is already under a lot of stress, also knowing that if anyone finds out that Rani has the sick he's screwed. but you know what? hes coping. hes living. maybe he's sometimes forced to be just a lil bit sadistic but its fine its fine its okay because Rani is okay. When he first sees Gladys's research he is horrified and refuses to do the things asked. he loves his wife but even he stops at the idea of killing children (like a normal person). When whatserface (forgot her name) is killed by the horse he is horrified but you can even see a bit of Rani's sadistic nature with how quickly she is to be like "right welp hide the body it was not our fault :)" while Adi is moritified but still helps her because shes his wife and she loves him.

In fact, even when abbot kidnaps him he doesnt want to kill the children. Why would he??? He kills them because if he doesnt Rani will die and all he wants is Rani to be okay. Put yourself in his shoes. your whole life was flipped upside down in the crumble and then your second chance at a mostly normal life was also torn away from you. Now the person dearest to you in the whole world (and also the only person you still have) is about to die at the hand of Doctor Robotnik, who is also trying to force you to kill children otherwise he'll kill you too. Adi is visibly shook after having to kill roy. He didn't want to. He even says in his little voice vlog thing that he has done something terrible (iirc). When Gus comes along he is desperate to have a reason to spare him and when Gus talks he is overjoyed that he doesnt have to kill another child. Sure he's kind of forceful and aggressive but my man is under so much stress and has been for the past 10 years let him be pissy. AND his wife is okay (for now)!! woohoo!!! When he finds the cure he is overjoyed. Sure he ignores his wifes wishes but at this point he is numb to the killing. IT IS EXPLICITLY STATED MULTIPLE TIMES DURING THE SHOW THAT HE DOESNT WANT TO BE A DOCTOR BECAUSE HE STARTS TO BECOME NUMB TO THE DEATH. he KNOWS that this whole doctor thing will start driving him a bit cooky and tries to avoid it but he's forced into it. and that is why he doesnt understand the true reason behind Rani's crying and begging. He doesnt fully realise how she feels at this point due to what he's been forced to do and thinks its too late to go back

He goes back into his laboratory and everything's gone. burned away. AND his wife left him. here is when i feel you can really see where he snapped. Everything he has is gone now. the only thing he could ever need, and the person who he did all those terrible terrible things for, is gone. It cant get worse now. He starts spiralling and going down a desperate path to redeem himself. At this point he is completely insane and broken. He really thinks with all his heart that the only way he can fix what he's done ad get forgiveness from his wife is by killing gus. he thinks its the right thing to do. He's delusional. he seems like a hollow shell of himself by the last season but you can still see little sparks of his old self occasionally. he betrays Gus and team because he thinks its the only way he can redeem himself. the only way he can get Rani to forgive him. But at the last second RIGHT before stabbing Gus he realises its not right and he realises that he's become a terrible person that his wife would be ashamed of. HE REDEEMS HIMSELF. HE SAVES GUS. AND YOU LOT STILL SEE HIM AS THE EVIL CHILD MURDERER. DIEEEEEE

anyways TLDR i love Adi a lot and he did the bad things that he did because he was sad and desperate and loves his wife a lot and anyone who thinks otherwise can go suck toes

[voidedaurora]

I apologize that this question wont be about the topic on hand but it was always something that bothered me and I wanted to ask you since you were very close to her. But does she just not like to add diversity into her art and characters? She doesnt have a single dark/ brown skinned oc, the only fat representation she has isnt that good since she doesnt draw her fat. Is this a thing she does on purpose or is it out of ignorance or does she just genuinely not know how to draw these things. And if so then why doesnt she practice? Apologies for this question I hope you and your partner are recovering safely

All good! I'll be answering your question AND stating a few general things after in this reply so anyone seeing this please keep reading after ! Mel doesn't seem to have any personal feelings against having/adding diversity from what I can tell, although she definitely has zero want or drive to add diversity on her own though, she only draws it when she has to or its a friends character and even with those she doesn't do it with accuracy.

And no, I don't think she practices drawing them (or at least she never did when we were friends) From what I can tell overall its Ignorance, not caring, lack of knowing how to, and not putting in effort to learn. - please keep in mind this could have changed but from what I could tell with her drawing Mimzy wrong and how she reacted to the criticisms on Narla I don't think that's the case

A REMINDER TO EVERYONE!!! Please do NOT harass any of mels friends, mutual's, or anyone else around her. I know some people have been sending her friends mean things through asks and such and I absolutely do not condone that at all. Anyone who has been doing that please STOP, if you must say anything then say it respectfully and don't harass/threaten anyone in the process.

!IMPORTANT! Aswell another reminder to EVERYONE, Mel is likely going to just wait all of this out, attempting to sweep it under the rug like last time and then resume her normal activities, not taking accountability, not apologizing, nothing. So please stay sharp, stay aware, hold her accountable, and stand your ground. To the ones talking up a storm about my mental health and specifically bpd (which wasn't info to the general public before this, thanks a lot Khai) in Mels server or anywhere for that matter, I'd like to state that it makes me extremely fucking uncomfortable to have everyone discussing my mental business amongst each other. Khai's gone above and beyond sharing all my mental business and using it against me so thanks I guess, the fact its being used to support the idea that this is some manic episode/me snapping and trying to "get Mel" because "I'm hurting" is also extremely disgusting, using peoples disorders as leverage, excuses, or justifications against them is a terrible thing to do period, not to mention invalidating what I've spoken about because I have a disorder. - Quick reminder that none of this is out of spite and none of this is some bpd explosion. All I've talked about and brought attention to has been SERIOUS and important things, and I've only brought out more details/personal screenshots/etc. when it was absolutely needed (like Mel further lying through her teeth) So to you all doing that, Please stop !👍I don't go around going "(X person) has (Y disorder) so they are clearly lying because of (Y disorder) I hope they get better omg 🥺" Have some respect and stop gossiping about me and treating me like some insane freak, please and thank you. Stay safe and respectful everyone, I hope all of the ones caught up in this are doing okay.

[bronx-bomber87]

Happy Saturday lovely Fandom :) We’ve reached my favorite episode of the season. I explained in detail to that ask I received about my fav eps why I love it so much. Great follow up to the previous episode. So much good content in this one. Married moments galore, growth, all the goodies. The name on this one is apt. Makes me breakdown every time I watch it. Let's get going.

4x09 Breakdown

First off imma need more Lucy/Genny scenes in S6. Their banter and bonding makes me so happy. Idk what Tim was expecting with these two together again. Of course they were going to bond more and chat. Get off track while doing so. Genny trying to reminisce about the house. Asking Tim if he remembers their mom used to make them pose for pics by that window? Lucy jumps in because why wouldn’t she? Joining in saying her mom did the same thing. The smile on Genny's face. She clearly enjoys Lucy's company. Probably thinking why isn't Tim dating her?

Tim doesn’t look amused by this at all. Even huffing a little bit. They continue on like he isn’t there. Talking about wrist corsages they had to wear. Genny saying 'Why was that ever a thing?' Tim cuts off memory lane. Stating they’re just here to fix this place up and sell it. That’s it. Lucy therapy mode is activated by this comment of course. Stating they’re closing an important chapter in their lives. They need closure by doing things like this. Reminiscing and such.

Tim being so very over this turns on the saw. Trying to drown her out saying ‘What? LOL Such a little shit ha I love him so much though. (So does Lucy heh) Lucy screams 'You need closure!' again despite him trying to drown her out. He screams again 'What?! 'She is so flirty when calls him an idiot. Mixture of exasperated and flirty. Like he’s her idiot and I love it sfm. Also let’s note this is clearly Lucy’s day off. How is she spending it?

Renovating Tim’s childhood home and bonding with his sister some more. Not soulmate behavior at all… It’s crazy just like in S2 you forget he’s dating Rachel. It’s the same in S4 only their bond is even stronger now. Where is Ashley is all this? Not here... Their married vibes are insanely high in this moment.

Tim’s exasperated face when she calls him an idiot haha Epitome of Sunshine x Grumpy. All in front to Genny too. Like Grey I’m sure she also knew long before they did. If you needed a future depiction of their marriage this is it. Sister in-law and all in the mix. This is so domestic I cannot stand it.

As they continue to tear down the wall Lucy is telling them how much she wanted a sibling. She begged her parents for one. Instead they got her a turtle ha. Not really the same thing... Saying it was cute but a little smelly. Then Genny comes in with the hilarious sibling slam. 'Cute and smelly sums up Tim’s teenage years' LOL Saying she didn’t miss much at all. Tim returns the sass in full above. The cute family bonding getting me all in my feels. Lucy is so happy to be apart of this.

Written all over her face. Future sister-in law bonding as well it’s so great. Unfortunately while they’re tearing down the wall they find a gun. Tim goes from light-hearted and fun to serious at the drop of a hat. Genny asks how long that could’ve been in there? Tim isn’t sure. That it’s hard to say. He shows Lucy that the serial number has been filed off. Lucy says they need to run ballistics. Tim nods agreeing with her completely. They're so damn in-sync and just a well oiled machine with work stuff. Just comes together so seamlessly.

Genny panics a little. Says they don’t actually think it was used in a crime do they? Tim lets her know it’s THEIR job to find out. Not just him THEIR. I love it. Genny is upset they’re leaving. Wondering if anyone else can handle this? Tim promises they’ll be back as soon as they can. Genny scoffs and says she knew he’d find an excuse to leave. Tim tells her this is serious. They have to go.

Genny doesn’t fight him and tells him to just go. Lucy’s face when Tim exits the room. She’s torn between comforting Genny and rushing after Tim. Naturally she goes after Tim. He needs her more and is clearly so upset. She’s worried about him so he takes precedence. It’s like an instinctual pull to him in that gif above.

You can tell she wants to stay to help Genny but Tim needs her more. Before we delve any further. Let’s talk about seeing Tim in jeans during this. Phew lord. Tall drink of sexy in tight blue jeans. I am here for it. Break me off a piece. Those biceps in that t-shirt too. Trying to kill me good sir. This man can make the simplest outfits sexy af. How does he do it? It's not fair to be this attractive.

Once Lucy catches up to him she says Genny has a point. He could call someone else to handle this. That he still can. Tim gives her a good company line. Saying 'How a good Sergeant doesn’t create work for his officers. Even on his day off.' Lucy of course isn’t buying what he’s selling. Knows this man better than anyone else. Asks if 'It’s not at all about the emotions this house is stirring up?'

Tim not wanting to deal with his emotions says ‘It’s just a house…’ How you acted all of 4x08 would contradict that statement my love. *sigh* Oh my poor Tim. Lucy hit the nail on the head and he doesn’t want to face it let alone deal with it. Lucy doesn’t press him any further. She knows her boundaries with him. That doesn’t erase the massive worry on her face though. If she could hug him right now she would.

We rejoin them at that station. First off how can two people exude so much chemistry just walking next to each other? Tall/Smol gloriousness. The little to no space between them as they walk together. Personal space? Never heard of her. That word is foreign to them and it makes me giddy. How Tim is drawn to her as they move. Looking like he’s reading the file. When really he’s just magnetically drawn to her. He physically can’t help it at this point.

I can’t get over Tim being in street clothes in the station. Mmm. Not only that but being in jeans plus his badge showing? My god I’m a puddle. This man is my undoing and I welcome it. *Ahem* Their dialogue here is married af. It’s so god damn natural I cannot stand it. Lucy being on it with ballistics. Saying she got it already. Tim comments that was fast. Lucy stating above how she achieved said fast results.

Forever love that silent communication they do. He doesn’t even need to say thank you. That cute little smile does it for him in the second gif. It’s his thank you and she reads it loud and clear. Her buying cookies just to expedite this case? Tell me your ship is in love without telling me they’re in love. Gah this ep is doing things to me. It’s like when you see a cute puppy and are overcome with cute aggression. I’m overcome with amazing cute ship aggression LMAO

Lucy gives him the details she has from the report. Saying the ballistics match a 25 year old murder. Someone named Frank Ochoa. Tim freezes and says he lived down the street from them. He also mentions he was 14 when he was murdered. Lucy continues on and says the investigation resulted in a botched home invasion. Tim replies they can rule that out now that they found the gun in their wall.

Lucy asks Tim if he remembers anything from that night? Tim tells her he had football game. His mom took him and Genny. When they got back it was crawling with cops. That his dad hated Frank. Lucy tells him he had an alibi. Frank’s wife. This incites Tim’s anger even more. Saying he was having an affair with her. She was no alibi.

His mom didn’t know but he did. Ugh. Poor Tim having to live with that. To protect his mother’s feelings by living with it. You can see the hurt on his face. The anger welling up inside of him. So much so when Lucy tries to theorize with him he just says I don’t know. So overcome with emotions of his past. I wanna hug him this entire episode.

This next section we see protective/worried Lucy come out. Honestly she’s present most of this episode tbh. She finds Tim in the hallway headed towards interrogation. Asking what he’s doing? Tim lets her know Monica Ochoa is in interrogation. That he’s going to get to the bottom of this. Lucy stops him right away. Knowing he will go in there like a raging bull full of emotions. Tim shoots back she’s his father’s alibi.

She has the answer to whether it was her or his dad that killed Frank. He's so antsy to have answers. His anxiety coming off him in massive waves. Luckily Lucy is well versed in the ways of Tim Bradford. Knows exactly how to handle this. She agrees but says he can’t be the one to question her. That he will have an immediate bias towards her. Lucy does what she does best. Tells him what he needs to hear. Saying he can’t be the one to do this.

They need to do this the right way if they're gonna tackle this together. The best part is he agrees and hands the file over to her. No fight in him at all. My damn heart. I'm bursting. The immense amount of growth in this man. Seeing her reasoning right away, handing it over knowing she’s right and trusts her to interrogate Monica. The levels of growth for them and Tim as a person are off the charts. I adore him pointing to her then handing the file right over. Not giving it a second thought that she is right. Not only is he trusting her to do this correctly. It’s a family matter he’s letting her handle.

I cannot emphasize enough how huge this is. How far we’ve come from where we started. It’s moments like this where we truly get to reap the reward of all the build up. How Tim ‘I don’t talk about my personal life’ Bradford is handing over the most personal thing he could to Lucy. Saying you’re right, I trust you, let’s do this. To have this guarded man hand the reins over to Lucy is colossal. That wall of his with her is in damn near ruin at this point.

Tim watches from observation as Lucy handles questioning. Monica is defensive right off the bat. Dodging all of Lucy’s questions. Lucy gets her back on track though. Has her recite what happened that night. She says she was over with Tom (Tim's father) doing her taxes. He was a CPA so she went to him for help. When she got home their house has been broken into. Found Frank’s body in kitchen. Lucy tries to poke at the affair a bit more. Trying to get her to admit to it.

Asking if she was with the Bradford’s a lot? If so we're the kids there? Did Tom leave the house at any point while helping her? Monica gets even more defensive and gets up to leave. Lucy isn’t able to keep her in the room much longer. Suspicious af behavior. Tim can’t stand her up and leaving. He confronts her in the hallway. It goes about as well as you’d expect. If you think she was defensive with Lucy amplify that by ten with Tim.

When she takes off Tim says she’s covering for him. Lucy says maybe…but they can’t prove that. For first time he’s not looking at something with cop eyes. Thankfully he has Lucy who is. He’s so determined to see this the way he wants to. To nail his dad for something. If he does it’ll be cathartic for him. Almost likes forcing his father to atone for all his sins with this one crime.

Tim goes to see his father and it’s hard to watch. Tim has tears in his eyes from the moment he steps into that room. All his pent up emotions barreling out of him. He tries to keep himself in check and it gets the best of him. You can hear the hurt in his voice as he speaks to his father. I know that hurt well. His father joking the nurses love him. But not enough to give him a shot of patron. Tim is so irritated with him. Annoyed he always finds people to take care of his even when he doesn’t deserve it. Tom asks him if has something on his mind?

Tim brings up finding the gun, Frank Ochoa, his wife. His father denies knowing her cause he’s awful. Tim letting him know he knew about the affair. He tries to deny it further and Tim lets him know he caught them when he was 13. His father finally giving in with an 'Oh crap.' Then Tim says something that breaks my heart. ‘For some reason I still don’t understand. I lied for you. Lied to mom.’ You can see how that ate at him to do so. He was too young for such a burden.

I think the reason he doesn't understand is he wanted his dad to be proud of him. It sounds messed up but I get it. Wanted him to praise him for something. Anything. Give him an 'Atta Boy.' I so understand that. You’d think the relationship I have my own parents their opinion would mean nothing. Now it does less so than it used to. But there’s still something deep down inside me wants them to be proud of me. Praise me. Say I did a good job. Instead of being disappointed.

It’s some crazy DNA thing with your parents. Where even if you’re on bad terms there is still part of you that wants that acceptance. When really it should be the other way around. Tim wanted his dad to recognize what he had done for him. Even now he wanted that and all he got was emotional abuse as his reply. Belittling him and calling him ‘Poor little Tim-Tim’ I bet you Tim was a very emotional sensitive child like me and he was shut down constantly like I was. Hence that nickname. Ugh. I hate his father so much. Tim asks why he did it? Ruining one family wasn’t enough for him?

His father gets out of bed. Tim tells him to get back in. His father being defiant knowing Tim won’t lay a hand. Says ‘Make me.’ Tim can’t even look him in the eye and his father tacks on ‘That’s what I thought.’ This hurts my soul watch. Feels like a glimpse into how things were for him growing up. Anytime Tim stood up for himself or Genny. This was probably the reaction he got. Him goading him into a reaction. Then when he didn’t get it belittling Tim was the next step for not doing so. *sigh* Seeing the emotional abuse in action is hard to swallow. I hate seeing Tim shrink like he does in his father's presence.

That strong confident man we’re all used to reduced in an instant due to his father. Breaks my damn heart. His father confesses to killing Frank. Goes after Tim some more and says screw him. Calling Tim mockingly a ‘big man’ for dragging him away from his death bed. Tim tells him ' This isn't over..' tears threatening to spill from his beautiful eyes. I wanna hug him so much. His father tells him to get the hell out. *heart clutch* When a parent cuts you down like that and you’re too stunned to really reply. It's a helpless feeling. The rage I feel is a culmination for him and what I’ve dealt with myself.

We return to Tim at the station. Ready to write his father up. Man on a mission really. Lucy comes over to talk to him. Tim word vomits all over her. Coming out faster than Lucy can get a word in. Asking her a favor and getting the DA contacted for him. Lucy finally is able to tell him to stop. Let’s him know she brought Monica back in while he was away. Tim is confused and asks why?

One of the two things I adore about this scene is Lucy’s initiative here. She knew from very jump how emotionally compromised he was. He only saw one narrative and ran with it. Blinding him to any other possibilities this case had. Lucy was the one with cop eyes for him. Brought Monica back in knowing she could get more out of her solo.

The second thing I love is once again is the personal growth from Tim. He doesn’t question her doing this. Isn't mad about it. Hears her logic and her telling him like it is like she does best. Letting him know his judgement was clouded. That Tim couldn't see past the version he wanted. Tim doesn’t disagree. At all. She took charge of this case and he’s not upset in the least. Just curious and asks her what she’s found? I’m just so proud of him. It’s not easy to work on yourself and he has so very much. It shows so much in moments like this.

We cut to Tim back at his dad’s room. There is a finality in the air as he walks in. Gives his dad that shot of patron he has been wanting. Like Tim is giving him little something to gain passage into talking him. To say how he’s really feeling. Calls his dad out on what really happened. What he learned from Lucy. Frank was beating Monica. She lost it one night and killed him. Ran to Tom cause she was terrified. He helped her stage the house.

His father goes off saying she deserves a medal for what she did. That he was an abusive brutal bastard. This where Eric should win all the awards. He is so masterful in his inflections, The emotion in his voice, The tears in his eyes, His facial expressions, Everything. How he calls his father out for being the exact same thing. His reaction is the same as my mother is anytime I bring up something from our childhood. Defensive saying they’re nothing like what you’re bringing up.

Being defensive because they know it’s true. Or so deluded they truly think they did no wrong. Not sure which one is worse tbh. Tom trying to take credit for who Tim became. That he turned him into a man. His reply is so so good. The deep emotion’s in his voice as he tells him off. Saying he became who he was despite him. Yeah you did babe. As did I with my parents. His final words an amazing slap to his father's face. ‘Goodbye dad. I hope it hurts.' I hope it does too.

I would like to say first I adore her coming to hospice with him. Knowing he would need it after confronting his father. Knowing him so well. He would never ask for her support directly. Lucy recognizing this and coming for this reason. He needed her and she knew it. She watches him emerge from his father’s room so distraught. Immediately asking if he’s ok? Lucy looks like she wants to cry the minute she see's him. He looks so broken and sad. Melissa and Eric are just incredible in this scene. That look of intense worry on her face. my heart.

Tim telling her right away he sure as hell isn’t. Divulging his feelings and showing how deeply hurt he is. That his father protected Monica. The way his voice breaks as he tells Lucy this. How his father never did anything to protect him and Genny. All he ever did was tear them down. Physically hurt Tim on top of emotionally damaging him for life. The pre-tears in his eyes when he says but he didn’t think twice for his mistress. Broke half a dozen laws for her...

His reply a mixture of incredible anger and deep hurt. Lucy updates him saying Monica is being processed now. That they probably won’t go after his father. Since he’s on his death bed. Tim is so drained and resigned at this point. Says 'It doesn’t matter. He will get judged soon enough..' The worry is still coming off Lucy in waves. She knows he’s holding something else back. Something that is still hurting him. She is just waiting for him to share it.

Lucy is pleading him with her eyes above to share it. It comes shortly after this. The line that circles us back to the one Lucy said toward the end of 4x08. The 'Tim Test' line she let slip. One that has been eating at him ever since. A thought that no doubt was destroying his mental health further. Adding to his overall anxiety about the connection between him and his father. Worried Lucy viewed him the same way as his father. That she associated his tests with training to the abuse his father put him through. It’s heartbreaking to watch Tim say this to her. Almost begging Lucy to relieve him of his hurt. His deep seated anxiety about this.

To alleviate him of the bottomless worry that she’s made an association between how he was abused and she was trained. NEEDING her to let him know they’re not the same. Because if they are it’ll destroy him. To think he hurt one of his favorite people because he was just like his father. It's not a thought he can handle. The fear in his eyes thinking he had done to her what his father had done to him is breaking him. Tim is unraveling at this point.

It’s the way his body language is defense and guarded as he speaks his lines above. Like he’s bracing for impact. Waiting for her to give into his deepest fears. He’s expecting the absolute worst due to his damaged past. Lucy with all the empathy in the world splayed across her face says ‘I know. You’re nothing like him…I...’ Too stunned to finish her sentence. She's hurting right along with him. Because she is seeing the load he's been carrying and wanting to relieve him of it so badly. She truly believe's he isn't like him. Needs him to know this.

I mean back in 1x04 when she defended Tim to Nolan. When she was at the height of her tests. She said he was 'Calculating not cruel.' Lucy not once believed that of him. Always saw his good heart from day one. You can see Tim take a step back from her in the first gif. His body innately trying to protect himself. He looks so broken I wanna cry. He so desperately wants her to assuage him of his fears.

Yet when she does he can’t believe the grace she is extending to him in this moment. The way he steps back instinctively. Like he isn’t sure he can trust this. That last bit of his wall holding him back in this moment. His gut instinct to retreat from having any emotions. Especially this openly with someone. Lucy can’t stand him pushing away when he’s hurting this badly. Doesn’t waste anymore time and encases him in her arms.

Rushing to not only reassure him but to comfort Tim on a physical level. Giving him the solace he didn’t even know he needed. She does this because if she doesn't she'll start crying herself. She has never seen him this vulnerable. This open and its making her emotional too. Lucy is wanting to absorb his pain, his fears and most of all put him back together. She does so with this beautiful embrace. His beautiful sunshine human wrapping him up in her arms is just what he needed. Pushing away his dark clouds with this hug. He is stiff at first with the initial contact then gives in fully below.

Hands down my favorite hug of all time because of the emotions that go with it. She then reassures him once again. 'You're nothing like him.' We watch Tim melt into her arms fully giving into the comfort she is providing. That wall she’s been chipping at since S1. That’s gone now. Utter rubble after this moment. Lucy validating him is everything his soul truly needed. His person confirming he was a good man. Tim’s body finally surrendering and sinking into her embrace once she spoke those words again. Reaffirming it for him.

Her opinion mattering the most. This moment screaming that in every way. Hearing this from her was EVERYTHING to him. Absolutely everything. I remember when I first watched this moment I was in awe of it. How perfectly he fit into the crook of her neck. Once again they fit together like a perfect puzzle piece. I also knew we were headed towards our endgame. This was our pre-getting together season. The emotional depth out of this episode alone I felt it. The hug solidified that gut feeling.

One of the many reasons why this is my favorite episode of the season. These are the moments I love so much because they’re developing emotionally, as characters and their relationship as a whole. It’s why they work so well in S5 when it finally happens. The bond, the growth, the things they went through together before they got together. It’s what created this amazing base they’re standing on now in s5 and what we will get in s6. I love their journey so much. Wouldn’t trade a single thing in this slow burn. Not one.

Tim shows back up at the house. Looks like Genny has done a lot do work solo. You see the guilt splayed all over his face. He apologizes for not helping out more. Genny tells him she’s used to cleaning up messes by herself…Tim apologizes again for that and says he knows she is. He wants to be a better big brother. Genny compliments him says he’s not that bad. When he’s around....

Tim tells her that’s all gonna change. He’s going to visit for every holiday and call twice a week, and he’ll handle fixing and selling this house. That she should get home to her family. Genny replies sweetly and says he’s her family too. I do love their scenes a lot. I need more of this in s6.

She has them make a deal. That they’ll do this together and be done with it. All of it. I love this so much. There is a lot I don’t love about my childhood. But the one thing I’m eternally grateful for is the relationship with my baby sister. You can’t beat that bond. I am so happy for Tim to have it. Her asking about the gun was too funny LOL I imagine he would tell her even if it’s awkward af.

Side Notes-Non Chenford

Gonna be honest didn’t care about anything else in this ep. Other than Tamara owning Smitty’s ass repeatedly in this ep haha

Thank you forever and always to those who like, comment and reblog these reviews. Makes my heart happy. Shall see you all Monday with 4x10 :)

[tenpintsof-sundrop]

Dick went to prison in Titans?? -Rotten Anon

I'm getting ready for bed but this is SOOOOO FUNNY to me and I feel the need to tell you the context because it's just SOOO

Like Titans is a comedy. Strap in.

Also because you haven't seen the show, I could tell you anything about it and you would have to believe me, but please know that EVERYTHING I am about to tell you is 100% canon to HBO Titans and the fucking Wattpad style of storytelling is one of the reasons I love the show SO. FUCKING. MUCH.

TLDR: Dick got himself arrested on purpose because he wanted a big kid timeout. But like this post is SOOO long because once I get chatting about Titans I can't fucking stop 🤭😂

SO - partway through Season 2, the Titans have a Destiny's Child style breakup (but it's really more like a Fall Out Boy style hiatus because they all come back later) because Dick tells everyone that he liked about the circumstances of Jericho's death and they're all mad because he's a liar and because ?? he supposedly got Jericho killed. When Jericho's gay little ass admired Dick so much that he THREW HIMSELF in front of the sword (I can talk more about that in another post).

Anyway, everyone is mad at Dick so they leave Titans Tower and #quittheband (for now) and there is a 2 or 3 episode span where they are all doing very different things, and there is no explicit timeline for how long they are apart in these episodes. When it follows Gar, it explicit states that he is alone for 3 days before Conner wakes up and in those 3 days he gones insane from loneliness, BUT - the time also seems way longer than days (it seems way more like weeks or months) because it is enough time for:

Conner to get kidnapped by Cadmus and have his entire mind reprogrammed so that he is a Cadmus robot

Gar also gets kidnapped and has BRAIN SURGERY performed on him to become a Cadmus slave

Dawn and Hank move to somewhere in the countryside, start fixing up a house, break up, and then Hank relapses in his addiction and joins an underground fighting ring where he gets beaten up for money

Rachel gets adopted by a group of homeless teenagers

Jason and Rose go back to Gotham and break up SEVERAL drug rings as Robin and Ravager

And Dick goes to prison

And the circumstances of Dick's arrest are HILARIOUS to me

The Titans all go their separate ways, and Dick is in the airport, and Dick asks the person at the check in desk for a ticket to the most isolated place possible, which she says is Greenland - so you expect that he's going to do what he does best - emotionally (and in this case physically) isolate himself and cut himself off from everyone

But then he oh so randomly crumples up his ticket (clearly changing his mind about his plans) and he ATTACKS ONE OF THE AIRPORTS SECURITY GUARDS?? And he gets arrested on purpose. Because he basically - he went to prison on purpose because the way he thought of it, he "murdered" Jericho, so he needed to go to prison to pay for his crimes.

Aka - big baby put himself on a time out on purpose.

And the whole point of the storyline is that it helps him mature and become Nightwing. And there is this element of it that feels pretty White Savior - because when he goes into the prison, he vows that he is "done helping people", but then his bunk mates are all from Mexico and they are being deported - and in their hometown, because they refused to join a gang (or because they fought back against a gang? I wasn't 100% clear on that part) they will be killed if they return, so they are going to make a prison break in order to illegally stay in America to avoid deportation. And Dick helps them with their prison break

And one of them spoke of a spirit named Alezule (I am probably spelling that wrong) who is a protector/savior who will make sure they are safe, and it's like a blue bird (like NIGHTWING) - and the symbolism is insisting that when Dick helped them with their prison break, he was becoming Nightwing

There's also this parallel because one of his worst moments was using his costume and skills as Robin to disrupt a prison transport truck carrying the head of the Maroni (again, bad spelling) crime family - and he left him exposed to be killed by his enemies as revenge for his parents being killed. And this came back around and got his entire circus family killed

And this time he used his skills to disrupt a prison transport and saved a family when he had previously vowed not to help them. Idk

Anyway - another thing I find hilarious about it is that after a hallucination of Bruce Wayne that is projected by Rachel (again, I can expand in another post), gathers Dawn, Donna, Kory and Rachel at a diner together and "mansplains them into putting the Titans back together" (Kory's literal words) - there is a news story on TV about Dick helping the prison escape and Donna literally says "he's on his own, we're not helping him. Whatever cross he's on, he nailed himself to it" and like SHE KNOWS HIM SO WEEEELLL

And so Rachel convinces Kory to go 'save' Dick and so they BREAK INTO THE PRISON, beat up a bunch of prison guards, and when they find Dick, his cell is empty 🤭 because he is gone (and that is not even mentioning the Bruce hallucinations HE was having and the fucking weird ass epiphany he had)

Yeah. He just escaped prison and the show DOES NOT GIVE ANY DETAILS. The show completely glosses over how he did it. (Which is something I kind of love about Titans. They gloss over things that are kind of majorly important to focus on joke conversations and dramatic freak outs).

And so Dick has a federal warrant for his arrest on his head for the rest of the show that is NEVER mentioned again - unless Daddy Bruce somehow magically made it go away 🤷‍♀️

[ichayalovesyou]

Tomorrow & Tomorrow & Tomorrow

SPOILERS AHEAD

Oh man you guys! I really enjoyed this episode! I loved it way more than The Broken Circle but I did not love it as much as I loved Ad Astra Per Aspera but that episode was so a cut above the average (as in in the running for best episodes of Trek ever written caliber stuff). That it hardly seems fair to say so because this episode was an absolute JOY to watch! Lol! I love a good time travel romp!

I remembered enjoying Paul Wesley’s Kirk in A Quality of Mercy but I wasn’t sure whether I was just riding the high of the previous season or whether he could pull it off twice. But he did and I really really like his interpretation of Jim. I honestly like it a lot better than Chris Pine’s if I’m super honest with y’all.

I mean he UNDERSTOOD the assignment! He was definitely at his Kirkiest when they initially arrived in the 21st century that body language and cadence was on point despite him not looking too much like Shatner. I mean hats off to the writers too for that one. The passion for chess without being overly cocky. The all of it!

There was something about the hot dogs scene and letting La’an have the bed in the hotel that felt very Tarsus IV even tho that might not have happened in this timeline. It’s still very James Kirk of him. Not to mention the whole bit where his type is overachiever, kinda uptight but also dark and mysterious and dare I say a little out of his league folks. Whom he charms without being pushy into warming up to him and letting their guard down. Also THANK YOU to the writers and to Wesley for recognizing Kirk Drift and acknowledging our boy is a hopeless romantic and NOT a babe hound.

I called the La’an/Kirk thing way before it happened because of it. And from what was implied in the Ready Room interview with Paul Wesley it sounds as though we might get more La’an & Jim content in the future which I certainly wouldn’t object to! Although we are skirting the edge of when Jim & Carol Marcus supposedly met so that might get a lil complicated but the seasons (because they’re sorter) might not be 1:1 with years so they’ve got some wiggle room to work with.

I love seeing the cinematic parallels between Kirk & Jim’s love interest stuff in SNW that clearly draws them to each other later on. Chapel is a lot like Kirk and Spock is falling for her pretty hard. La’an is a lot like Spock by the time we meet him in TOS (not too similar to SNW baby Spock though) and they fell for each other pretty badly too! For example, both La’an & Spock are terrified of Kirk’s insane driving skills (or lack thereof lmao)! But enough about Jim & the whole K/S kitten caboodle! This episode is about LA’AN :D

Holy shit did La’an need what’s been happening with her in these past couple episodes. She got to face her generational trauma headlong, she got to see a mirror in Kirk and further realize the value of enjoying the fleeting and precious joys of life. By both convincing this alternate timeline version of Kirk that her version of the world is worth saving (also not the “Sam’s alive?” 😭 because his older brother dies unexpectedly and tragically in both timelines DONT TOUCH MEEEE, also not the potential Kirk bros content going forward also 😭). To eating the damn hot dog, and presumably letting Kirk talk her into taking the bed and just ugggggh.

And then HE DIES! They fridged Captain James T. Kirk of all people for HER character development lmao how’s THAT for a twist. Historically it’s been the other way around how’s that feel for once Jimbo? Damn!

Sera was an interesting villain, she was a good twist honestly felt like something was up with her the minute she had pics of that romukan ship. Also, I love all the self referential like, “yes we acknowledge this changed a little bit” stuff that’s happened. Like the Temporal Wars are why the Eugenics war is supposed to start around *now* and not the 90s like previously stated and Sera has been trapped trying to fulfill her mission for 30 years. Or how clearly Jim thinks everybody calls his brother George and only he gets to call him Sam when clearly that’s not the case lol. It’s nice little touches like that that really make me feel validated for having faith in the writers when nitpickers complain.

Also PELIA! She’s an art thief?! Incredible! Hilarious! Brilliant! No notes! Although it JUST occurred to me that because La’an went to Pelia before the whole “preventing the timeline from changing entirely” bit does THAT mean that La’an can at least talk to Pelia about what happened?! Because it’s implied La’an is who inspired her to become an engineer and that’s still part of our prime timeline! Maybe it’s like a Guinan and Picard situation! I think La’an should get to sob into the arms of our funky little klepto engineer grandma as a treat instead of breaking down alone in her room, please and thank you!

Anyway, baller episode! 9/10

[therese-lokidottir]

You know mcu really can make favorite and top characters be hateble or they hated by viewers. Like me hate Wanda in MOM. I really hate her in there.

I kidnrhave problem with Wanda in age of ultron, I meant while she told her past (wjy she and her brother hate stark) we never really see HOW avengers suddenly just pardon her and her join. They definitely will suspicious with her first. So that still bothering me

Then in wandavision, I definitely have mixed feelings for that show. Specially with what Monica said and Hayward stupidity and well many. And the ending...... Yeah, no wander many saying that wanda 'too much have free consequences tickets '

And in MOM ho ho ho, it's definitely the worst and before you said she corruption by darlkhold, the book corrupt your moral but not your memories, and in mom Wanda just care with children that she had for 4 days. And before you said they her childrens so of course will want them. Yeah but why she not seaeing vivison, her brother or her parents too? Some viewers said 'she move on fromrthem ao that is why she want the childrens'.

And then wanda go crazy killing spare in ever place while can hypno I first place. My God, what the f&*$ was that? And they said that darkhold in mcu is same like darkhold in agent of shiled. And so far AoS darkhold is make 'evil'/ corrupt but it not make you have killing spare for first chance it got you. Wanda sound very cruel and insane in MOM, and it's too much, and wprse of it she sound like she choose be corrupt, The F

Seriously they manage me hate her so much in MOM

The entire point of WandaVision is that your clearly meant to feel mixed and uncertain about Wanda. For the first few episodes we don't know what really going on. It isn't until the Agetha reveal where it is shown Wanda isn't doing this maliciously or even all that deliberately. It's just something that's happening around her and she's determined to keep it that way.

Here's a point where it's clear we're not meant to be fully on Wanda side. In this confrontation clearly Vision is who meant to be sympathized with. Yes, Wanda fatal flaw in WV is selfishness, but it's a selfishness born out of desperation and denial. She genuinely did not know she was hurting people.

To discuss Wanda in good faith it needs to be understood that she did not mean hurt others and when she found out she tried to get them out if the hex before accepting to take down all together.

My opinion is that Wanda is not a hero but she's also not a villain. She is mealy a broken person with a power she doesn't have a full grasp on.

The no consequences is she doesn't get imprisoned in the end, but she still ends up alone and hated with no one to blame but herself.

By the end there also nothing anyone can do. Not without Wanda herself going along with it and even if they arrested he she would still be owed a trial that took her mental state and powers in mind. She would also still be owed therapy, that would just be for everyone's benefit considering she's a reality warper who's power that are linked with her emotions.

and yeah MoM is bad, but for me I'm mad at the writing not at Wanda. She went from a character not willing go through hurting and killing people who did her no wrong to just no guilt sending monsters through a major city and killing a teenager to get what she want. Not only is she learning the same lesson again that's not the character she was by the end of WV.

It would be like if Tony Stark not only fully went back to building weapons for the government but he himself was dropping them on civilians. Like, I have been critical of Tony, but that extreme would not be in-character. At that point I wouldn't be mad at Tony anymore I would be mad at the writer.

There were ways for Wanda to have a villain arc and it still fit within her character arc from WV and it just need some time and Waldron outright said he skipped over writing an arc he just Wanda to be the villain of the movie. So, she takes this turn from being in tears realizing she was hurting people to just being eh, I just want what I want. To me the end goal, the want or whether her kids or real or not is moot point because it is A) wrong regardless B) a lesson she already learned.

[spaceorphan18]

Glee Musical Retrospective: The Power of Madonna Extras

Well, just like how the episode has an abundance of performances - they managed to stuff Madonna songs everywhere throughout the episode, meaning there's an abundance of extras, too.

Ray of Light

The first Madonna song we hear in the episode is Ray of Light - and it's as Sue is really embracing the idea of using Madonna as inspiration for everything she does. The song itself is kind of about a spiritual awakening or rebirth, and I can see Sue really latching onto this one as she makes her and her Cheerios over.

It's also rather upbeat and engaging, and with the (insane) choreography going on, it creates quite the spectacle visually. It kind of sets the tone for this new version of Glee where everything is heightened and everything is bigger and brighter.

Burning Up

So, this was a fun little find. It's a track they never used, sung by Jesse St. James with Vocal Adrenaline. I'm super curious how they would have used this in the episode. It totally screams Jesse seducing Rachel - but with VA there, it makes me wonder what the context would have been.

Interestingly, the song was still used in the episode - only with the Madonna original version. It's playing in the background during Santana and Brittany's talk about younger men - and then when Santana makes a move on Finn.

It makes sense with both Jesse singing it and underscoring it as Santana reveals her motivations. The song is about combining sex and ambition and using sex as a power move. This is exactly what Santana is doing. And while Jesse doesn't sing it in the episode - you can see how it could have underscored the earlier scene with Jesse and Rachel making out in her bedroom.

Sue and Emma

The episode pretty clearly points this out, but I wanted to note that Madonna isn't playing when Emma is around. As Sue states - she finds Emma weak, lacking self confidence, and lacking the same power and ambition that Sue sees herself having. Madonna is the score in Sue's life -- but it's not Emma's. Usually these kind of things are done intentionally but not usually pointed out in universe. This is Glee, however, and they want you to know how they're doing their storytelling.

Frozen

I could not find a clip for when this is used in the episode -- but it's when Mercedes and Kurt are talking by their lockers -- and Will and Sue come by, and Will insults Sue's hair, causing Kurt and Mercedes to feel something for her.

This is a really subtle, but well done nod to Sue's character. The song is darker and colder and underscores the tension between Sue and Will pretty well. Sue likes to talk a big talk - but as we'll learn, Will still can cut under the facade and get at her -- which Mercedes and Kurt catch onto, and is developed in the next scene when they decide to help her. There's a moment where Sue is seemingly vulnerable, and having this song play underneath just sets the tone speaks to the depth of her character.

You're so consumed with how much you get You waste your time with hate and regret You're broken When your heart's not open

Love is a bird, she needs to fly Let all the hurt inside of you die You're frozen When your heart's not open

The lyrics playing under the scene. Sue is the villain - and as usual, the villain always has some kind of damage to them.

So, yeah, while I do think there's the added bonus of Ryan Murphy wanting to squeeze every famous Madonna song into one episode, they did really well with picking what went there and why.

Justify My Love

Another clip I couldn't find -- near the end when Sue and Figgins are talking, and Figgins tells Sue she's an original like Madonna, this song underscores the whole conversation. It's a song about wanting validation - and everything Sue's doing in this episode is really just that. And finally -- Figgins gives her what she needs to hear -- that she's one of a kind and just like Madonna. So she doesn't need to try so hard, she can keep on being herself.

Rachel, Finn, and Jesse

There is also a song scoring the Jesse, Rachel, and Finn convo and I believe it's the original version of What It Feels Like for a Girl - but I'm not completely sure? It's just the instrumentals - which is nice, but it makes it hard to figure out - especially when the internet isn't being helpful.

But I think it's a good place to say that -- this episode is just infused with music, to the point that nearly every moment is scored with Madonna -- or the regular scoring of the show. There are a couple of moments where it is completely silent -- as I mentioned with Emma, but also after Like a Virgin. Those silences are really, really heard, too, as it grounds those emotional beats even heavier.

While the show isn't going to completely overboard like it does with this one, music will be more infused going forward. We're going to get more performances -- though, interestingly, they're going to pull back on the number of regular pop songs scoring scenes (probably cheaper?).

But like I said when we started this venture -- this episode really turns the show in a new direction (oof, pun not intended) and the music is just going to be more prominent in the story telling than it had been in the Front 13.

[lemonhemlock]

It is said lot that the writers backed themselves into corner with the way they wrote Aegon, because when Rhaenyra dies at his hand it’ll be Daenerys 2.0, and maybe it’s just me but I feel like there’s already enough stuff to suggest that not really being the case: 1. Show!Laena dying a dragonrider’s death. 2. Some accounts in f&b stating that Sunfyre needed prompting and I don’t think they won’t milk that, because ~ah the symbolism~. 3. Episodes 8-9 Alicent. It’s gonna be that x200. I hate the “theory” (more like, the idea) that Alicent poisons Aegon as much as any green, and while I don’t think they’ll write that I must admit the first time I heard it my jaw didn’t quite drop, because yeah. Post-Driftmark Alicent going right back into her Rhaenyra-worship mode says it all. I think the writers overestimated their audience’s ability to sympathise with non-targ women, because Alicent was definitely not intended to be this hated. Blamed and pitied? Maybe. But clearly sympathetic, and therefore, as all Good characters, must know at heart that Rhaenyra is the one, and I’ve no doubt they’ll further utilise her as their Sympathetic Green of Choice to showcase just how tragic and bad of an action Rhaenyra’s death was, just as they have been doing that with her advocating for Rhaenyra, planning for Rhaenyra, threatening for Rhaenyra, thinking of Rhaenyra, asking for Rhaenyra as they’re literally riding to the coronation of her son.

(Can never be a rhaenicent fan, this shit is SO one-sided, Alicent fans STAND UP… ok olivia and emma’s chemistry got me a little so I can’t talk too much)

Ultimately, my point is Daenerys’ death cemented her as the villain, and it’s gonna be the complete opposite with Rhaenyra. Her canonical death can’t ruin or undo what they’ve been doing with her show version.

Maybe I’m just a completely off-base and insane hater, I’ll accept that

the writing and production staff have gone through significant restructuring, though, and grrm has also been involved in some of the writing, as i understand, so it's too early to tell right now how the final season will look like. it's way into the future. our lives will probably look way different by then, so i wouldn't worry about it too much. maybe the tv landscape will be changed for the better by the time the writers' and actors' strike is over and we'll get higher quality storytelling, so hotd will have no choice but to up its game to stay relevant *fingers crossed*

[stormy-caffeine]

Needed more space for my thoughts than replies allow and didn't wanna bog down the thread, this is related to my last reblog (about South Park being terrible and people shitting on its fans).

___________

I genuinely love watching South Park.

If I need something on in the background or just something to watch and turn my brain off to, I will always choose it.

Does that mean its any good? No.

Does it have good rep for minorities? No.

Does it have any good messages directly stated literally ever? No!

Some episodes are pure satire on modern society while others are just intentionally mean, either to a group or only one person, and I feel like both routes are pretty clearly done in each episode. It's fairly rare (though not impossible, obviously) to find an episode of SP in the recent seasons that isn't an identifiable satire on a situation or political climate or pop cultural /thing/ going on. Also rare to watch an episode and not understand exactly what they're making fun of: racists, homophobia, religion, politics, health fads, rich people, bad parenting, poor government oversight, failing education systems, the list goes on.

Keep in mind, even when they're making fun of something objectively bad, like racists and homophobes, they usually only have one (1) voice of reason MAXIMUM in the episode. If any, at all. The rest of the town, or some one-off characters, are usually going to perpetuate some terrible thing related to the plot that day. They may even make it look like the town agrees with the bad take, potentially even making it true for the rest of the series. Canonically, the entire town is extremely judgemental and xenophobic, there is literally no argument for them not being that way. It's shown multiple times.

The reason I don't mind any of this is because zero characters in South Park are inherently good, non-flawed people. Even the "good guys" in the show are very openly displayed as pieces of shit multiple times throughout the series.

Whether it's from the earlier seasons and all the kids are just snot-nosed kids who don't know any better or in the later seasons where the adults, who are supposed to be the good examples for them, make horrific and baffling decisions on how to handle even minor inconveniences in the town.

EVERY person in South Park is a flawed, usually downright terrible, human being. And. That. Is. The. Point.

If South Park wanted to be Family Guy and have "good" protagonists, they would keep all of the flaws in their main cast but back-fill each one of them with relatable and well-meaning traits also. They would be normal, classic, non-malicious but still very flawed and destructive people, just like in Family Guy and American Dad and every rip-off of them ever made. Some characters have that, sure, but sparingly. Most don't even get a single good quality about them, or if they do they somehow take it to such an extreme that it's almost worse than the bad qualities entirely.

They don't want to make a show with a great message every episode (despite also parodying that in some earlier seasons, when the kids acted more like kids), they wanted to make a comedy show that depicts the absolute worst, hell-spawned, unjustifiable, batshit insane town of people that still clearly represent everything wrong in our modern society.

Yes, they have racism directly in the show. They WANT you to see that it's racist and bad.

Yes, they have ableism directly in the show. They WANT you to see that it's ableist and bad.

Yes, they have "insert-literally-any-ism-you-can-think-of" in the show and very proudly display it for all to see and critique and shit on. Because they want you to see it and shit on it and know it's bad.

That is the intention of each and every minute of every episode.

Even in the episodes where it ends with a message that should be encouraging, "just be yourself" "treat others how you want to be treated" "despite our differences we're all the same inside" etc, it's usually undermined by the context being so warped and otherwordly that it basically can't be applied to a normal scenario anymore. The characters learned something but they and the town didn't improve as people or a collective. They are too flawed to ever be redeemed, because they are only ever going to be our worst aspects.

Again, does that make the show inherently good? Absolutely not! You can hate the show, you can get sick of its bad jokes and bad representation, you can wish it stopped airing by now and you can wish that it was never made in the first place.

But shitting on people who even passively enjoy the show is just not a good take. People like things for different reasons.

If someone loves South Park because they feel joy from seeing someone be a racist bigot, yes absolutely call out that person. But liking South Park at all is not a sign of this.

If someone loves South Park because even the worst jokes still point out how insane it is to think that day's -isms are justified somehow, in a lighter tone than we currently get while doom-scrolling, I see nothing wrong with that.

Every day for at least the last decade has seemed like a parade of terrible news and horrific people rising to power or enacting some terrible law/getting out of justice for violating the law. It's mind-numbing and terrifying to think about for extended periods. And sure, we can't avoid the bad shit going on, but at least digesting it in a lighter tone for a short time makes it more bearable while you're still thinking about it.

Aside from literally all of that... It's just a show. It's not trying to be something great and important, it's there to entertain people. LET people be entertained by it and give the people having to sit down and animate it a paycheck.

If you don't like it, just ignore it. Don't watch it. Don't follow people who watch it/post about it. Don't seek it out just to shit on it more. Just. Ignore it.

Even me, someone who likes the show, knows that inevitably it will have to stop being made at one point. There will be a last episode and no more channels/streaming services running it one day. Just wait it out and you'll have one less thing to be mad about.

In the meantime, let people who can find a spark of joy in the bleak void just... have it for a moment. It's not a big deal.

[adultswim2021]

Tim & Eric Nite Live #7: “Tim and Eric HD” | January 29, 2008 | S01E07

A just okay Tim and Eric Nite Live. I love it on paper, but this one doesn’t really have the huge laughs previous episodes did. During, I think the Valentines watch-along, I remember Tim & Eric describing what it was like to make this show by saying that they’d spend all day shooting stuff for Awesome Show and then they’d “go downstairs” to do this show, live. Those episodes might have actually benefited from the fact that they were a little run down. It probably helped them harness the cantankerousness edge that I think yields so many wonderful gags.

None of what I said might be accurate. In fact: there are some insanely funny episodes to come, and I guess I could chalk this one up to more of an anomaly than anything else. For all I know they were busy busting their humps making season three of Awesome Show and were under the same exact conditions. This one is fine, and perfectly amusing; it just feels like it doesn’t come together in a way that produces the sublime moments that make this show incredible. 

This is the episode where Tim and Eric have a little bit of fun with HD technology. They also announce that Steven Spielberg, the world famous director of Star Wars and Jaws 1-4, is here to direct tonight’s show. Also on hand is Richard Dunn, who is overseeing the technical aspects of the show. Tim and Eric ask him pointed questions about the SD to HD conversion we’re about to experience live on the show, I think expecting Dunn to fumble through it. He delivers solidly concise but clearly nonsensical answers. Dunn was on his toes for this one, and his answers are funny, but I feel like Tim and Eric were trying to wring more out of him than they got. 

While Tim and Eric ask Spielberg about Jaws 5, they do their shtick where they mildly berate him for giving bad answers and ask him to tell better stories. This interaction sometimes can yield really amusing results, but this time it just feels like a repeat. During this interview segment an on-screen but appears for FRUMONDUH SODA, which was a sketch from Leon and Andy, another duo that Bob Odenkirk took a liking to. They had a much smaller presence than Tim and Eric, and not a lot of their material is easy to access these days. We wish Leon well. Andy not so much. If anyone knows Andy’s whereabouts please contact the FBI immediately.

The actual HD segment of the show is the funniest bit of the episode. For some reason it requires a 30 second countdown that needs to be performed flawlessly between two men, so who better to not screw that up than James Quall and David Liebe Hart. Of course DLH, the consummate bozo he is, fucks up big time TWICE. I’m sure Tim and Eric were counting on this, and it’s nice that it paid off. The HD tech doesn’t work correctly, resulting in the image to be incredibly squished. DLH performs his song while in this squished state, a song about how glorious it is to be in HD. Great!

The back half is solid on this one, but I do think that the stuff leading up to the actual HD bit is not their best. This could be the weakest Nite Live episode, and it still ain’t bad at all.

EPHEMERA CORNER

Aqua Teen Hunger Force: Volume 5 DVD (January 29, 2008)

Volume Five of Aqua Teen Hunger Force, baby! This has all the episodes from the 2005-2006 season, the one I defiantly call season five even though everyone else calls it season four. Look, I know it’s annoying, but I don’t want to go back and edit all my posts. I’m just going to have to keep being wrong about it.

This one is pretty great as a companion to the Aqua Teen Hunger Force Movie DVD; a LOT of the extras are actually stuff relating to the movie. They also present the 11-minute versions of the Deleted Scenes episode rather than the 30-minute version (that’s on the Movie DVD). There’s also the “Chambraigne” episode of Space Ghost on there, which relates to Carl Wash. My copy of this DVD famously went bad, causing one episode to no longer be playable. Buyer beware.

[clairedaring]

Bright and Nonkul's insane preparation for I Feel You Linger In The Air - An Appreciation Post

Yesterday, Bright and Nonkul went on World of Y Podcast to promote the series and my dear friend Salt on Twitter (huge thank you and shoutout to her) has kindly provided brief translations for their Podcast episode. I'm compiling some of the most interesting tidbits from this Podcast to once again appreciate the efforts and dedication both actors have for their respective roles.

1. Bright's journey to being casted as Khun Yai

For Bright, he was actually contacted by Director P'Tee and Producer P'Boss numerous times (for other projects) but at those times, the timing just didn't work out well for Bright.

For IFYLITA, P'Tee contacted Bright's manager, P'Pear who asked Bright if he wanted to act in this. Bright asked for some time to do his homework and he asked his friends who are into BL novels and series to help him check IFYLITA out. And after 2-3 days, his friend got back to him to tell him that it's actually really good. Bright didn't say that he was gonna play Yai but he just said that he might act in this series. But his friend asked him if Bright would be playing Yai because when they read it, they felt that Bright could really be Yai.

So Bright went on Youtube to watch the spoiler-ish book review videos. He saw that IFYLITA was actually super interesting and so he went to purchase the novel to read, before accepting the role. (Bright spoke about this story before)

2. Nonkul on the challenges of portraying Jom and how he has prepared for the series

Nonkul says one of the challenges he face was how to portray Jom's femininity without being too much. Nonkul said he was used to playing more masculine roles and so, this was a heavier part of his homework. And he already knew that this storyline was a challenge in itself but the series still makes him making me want to act in it -- time travel, period drama.

It was Nonkul's experience and training as an experienced actor that helped him find the sweet spot when it came to expressing Jom's femininity

In reference to Jom's femininity, Nonkul used the women in his life as references (his sisters, diff actresses). He also had a male senior who's LGBT+ whom he observed and adapted for Jom's role.

Nonkul sees being actor as being an athlete but in terms of expressing personality, setting the mood and speaking. They need to train their bodies to be able to do these things without getting tired as an athlete does in their sport. As they are more familiar with their bodies, they can observe and adjust the way they act accordingly. It's similar to dancers who've trained all their lives being able to replicate a dance upon seeing it once.

The MC remarked that in the novel, we can see Jom's thoughts and feelings very obviously whereas in the series, Jom isn't as communicative about his thoughts and feelings

Nonkul says that we need to remember that in the novel, we can see all of Jom's thoughts and feelings really clearly vs the series. In series, it's impossible for Jom to be stating his feelings out in black and white like that. So there's a need to design the character in such a way that they could get the archetype of Jom across as efficiently as possible. While Jom in the novel and series may not be exactly the same, Nonkul feels that the series still captures the essence of Jom pretty well.

Nonkul also felt like he had to lose some weight to fit the idea of Jom in his head. He lost about 3kg but he had intended for about 5-6kg. He couldn't do it as he was filming 4 other series at that time. Nonkul couldn't lose too much weight because for 2 of his other series that was filming at the same time, he needed to be more masculine and muscular (Remember and The Office Games iirc). So it wasn't possible to lose that much weight. Nonkul needed to be fair not to affect his other work but also try to look as close as novel Jom's visuals. Nonkul lost weight by eating only one meal a day and not eating that much.

3. On Bright and Nonkul's hectic schedule in between filming of IFYLITA

The filming duration was long because Nonkul was filming 4 series concurrently and Bright was filming 3 concurrently and there were scheduling issues. But this also allowed them to spend more time with each other and make his speech more natural too. Bright says that the problems that they encountered was really nothing to do with acting but more about logistics like clashing schedules, equipment...

Bright and Nonkul also spoke a lot about being very in sync when working together (helping each other with camera blocking, tacit shared understanding/vision for scenes together,...)

4. On Bright's preparation for the role of Khun Yai

Bright says that he's usually a person who speaks really fast so to become Khun Yai, he made an effort to slow down his speech in daily life. Bright also said he made an effort to pronounce his 'r' sounds more clearly. (T/N: You will notice many Thai people today don't pronounce 'r' sounds or they just replace it with 'l' sounds (B does the latter often in his natural speech)

The way tones are executed in Thai today and in the past is slightly different. So when Bright watched the pilot they shot, he realised that he needed to make some changes to his speech as Yai who is someone who appears very sweet when he talks.

Bright attended a workshop to help with his speech because he was speaking too fast and unclearly. He would also do mouth exercises (a,e,i,o,u etc) while driving. Bright used "olden" language in his daily life to make his speech so convincing in the series. For instance, when he played games with his friends and they were streaming, he'd speak with olden language to practice (see: clip of Bright using "olden" language while playing ROV in this gaming livestream with his friend).

This "olden" way of speaking still sticks with Bright up till today and he sometimes still speaks using some of the olden terms like using chan to refer to himself. Bright thought it was important for him to work on his speech because it would be really obvious if he spoke like today's generation and it would be too similar to the way Jom speaks.

5. On self-rating their portrayals of Jom and Khun Yai in the series

Nonkul gives himself a 7-8/10 for his acting in this series as Jom. He feels that there isn't any way to be a perfect 10, there's always things to improve upon. There's also some scenes which he feels that he could've acted better in.

Bright gives himself a 6-7-8/10 for his performance in this series. He feels that him doing his own homework needs to be coupled with the brief from the directors etc. And he also feels that it'll never be a case of his performance ever being fully perfect too.

With the amount of "homework" they've done for this series, I'm still constantly astounded by the dedication and hardwork both Bright and Nonkul put into crafting their respective characters, Khun Yai and Jom. I really wish both Nonkul and Bright (especially Bright as IFYLITA is Bright's first ever male lead role) in their future projects because one can truly see how passionate and ambitious both actors are from their preparation of the roles.

For my post on Nonkul and Bright's experience in queer media prior to IFYLITA

[nalanzu]

Weiss Kreuz Episode 8: Raubtier

We start today with a city scene and a mugging in an alleyway, except that behind the mugging victim is an apparent werewolf with glowing yellow eyes. The monster makes short work of the muggers as the victim flees and a pair of very conveniently placed cops race into the alley to shoot at the monster.

This ought to be good.

We cut to someone sitting terrified in an apartment, flashing back to being chased by the monster from the cold open. His phone rings.

Cut to the flowershop, and all four of Weiss are there. A couple of high school girls chant a brief prayer, as if at a temple, which annoys Ken, but which I find great. Ouka interrupts, asks Omi for a sweet-smelling flower. There is banter. Yohji says he's not into teenagers, Omi recommends lilies, Ken snarks about Ouka's friend's boyfriend, and their little old lady coworker (Kritiker spy?) takes over the sale as Manx sashays past the shop window and Weiss scampers down to the basement.

Kritiker opines that the monster has had his DNA altered, and was shot by police after killing two people. Persia tells them to do their thing, and that ends the briefing. I don't know about you, but this seems like a very incomplete assignment to me.

Manx has a folder with data and wants to know if they're in. All of Weiss except Aya feels that Kritiker has not given them enough information. Manx feels that they're being little bitches. Aya takes the folder of information. He is also not impressed with the scantiness of their data, and Manx is like, You get what you get. Aya takes the mission, allowing himself to be manipulated. The rest of Weiss rolls their eyes, but they're in.

There's also a little byplay in which Aya semi-obliquely accuses Kritiker of deliberately withholding information and Manx says they would do no such thing. On such exchanges are millions of words of fanfic based.

Cut to the presumable next monster, who has apparently taken part in a pharmaceutical study. Ah yes, skin cream, well known to alter DNA. Said next monster also receives the lilies Omi recommended and goes off, followed by Ouka's friend.

Persia and Manx are having Conversations about Weiss; there are apparently some doubts creeping in somewhere as Persia wants to know how Weiss is handling the current assignment. Manx apparently agrees that they have not been given enough information, which places her in the position of middle management everywhere in her attempts to mediate between the teams in the field and the boss in the office. There's also some commentary about Persia having made up his mind when he formed Weiss, and yet he's having second thoughts as he looks at a picture of Takatoris senior and junior.

The presumable next monster is on a date with Ouka's friend, and he's real twitchy. He asks if he seems extra hairy or if his teeth seem longer, and she assures him that it's fine, but he flashes back to seeing a monster on a gurney in a hospital.

Omi has hacked into the police database and found a genetic analysis. I have many, many thoughts on the state of online police databases in 1996, as well as the widespread availability of genetic testing and analysis at that time, but hey, there's a science fiction edge to this episode and I'm not NOT into it. Omi further strains credulity by announcing that the victim has been turned into a chimera by having bits and pieces of their DNA swapped out. Omi thinks the main problem is how to stabilize such a huge switch, which - that's not the issue, Omi, you just pointed out that the human body has billions of cells, and how are you supposed to alter ALL OF THEM, I just. But ok.

The rest of Weiss beautifully embodies the Dunning-Kruger effect as they posit that clearly Omi just needs to find which scientist is smart enough to figure out how to do that. Omi continues to protest that this type of research is guarded and the people doing it are secretive and that there are SO MANY people in this field and it is going to be insanely difficult to figure out who's doing this. The rest of Weiss, essentially, is like LOL SUCKS TO BE YOU.

Back to Tetsuya and Saya's lily-adorned date, Tetsuya the future monster is having some Anxiety. He now wants to know if Saya would still love him if he wasn't human any more. She's pissed at this weird bullshit. Tetsuya has sudden chest pain and runs off. Now that she's briefly unattended, she gets immediately hit on by a random dude. This part of the episode is INCREDIBLY true to life.

Tetsuya loses his shit and throws the flirt through a window. Saya tells him to stop and they both notice his hairy, hairy hands. As he runs off, his face is now also hairy. We get a very disturbing vision of Tetsuya's greatest fear - turning into said monster with Takatori Jr. cackling in the background - and he runs off screaming that he is still human.

Buddy, you are Manbat. Accept your fate.

Takatori Jr. and his team of lady assassins, meanwhile are accepting a scolding from Aya's Takatori for losing their test subjects and not telling him about it. He's pissed that the media has hold of this, and Takatori Jr. - ah, his name is Masafumi - thinks that there's no problem because the monsters can't speak. Like, they lose the ability to just speak, or their language centers shut down? Because these are different things and have different implications, buddy.

Takatori Sr. is not impressed, because he doesn't want repercussions coming back to him from his kid's weird-ass science experiments. This is not unreasonable, on his part, but he does not express his anger constructively. Very unhealthy family dynamic here. He has his own assassin team behind him, so Masafumi backs down.

Takatori's assassin team leader - y halo thar, Crawford - is polite about expressing his doubts and backs off when Takatori rebuffs those doubts. The rest of the group opines that Masafumi is attempting to ape his father with his creation of his four-man assassin team. They do this without actually speaking out loud, although in this scene it's not clear whether it's for dramatic effect or if someone is actually psychic. We do learn that the lady assassins are collectively called Schreient.

Four, incidentally, is pronounced "yon" in Japanese. It's also pronounced "shi," which is a homophone for the word for death. For this reason, it's often considered bad luck. This does make it perfect for a team of assassins.

Masafumi is doing that thing in which children feel that they're smarter than their parents. His assassin team is 100% on his side, although Hell does want him to be more careful. At least one of them is the embodiment of the Sexy Baby aesthetic, as she calls him Daddy, acts like a child, and then kisses him on the lips. Come on, Japan, why you gotta be creepy like this.

Cut to Tetsuya's apartment, where he is in the shower having sprouted an amazing coat of hair. He's tried shaving it off. It has not gone successfully.

Back to the flowershop, Ken is working in the flowershop alongside Yohji and Aya, as they put the bulk of the investigative work on Omi. Who does not appear to have slept. And also has no information. Yohji, how is this not in your wheelhouse? AS A FORMER PRIVATE DETECTIVE.

Ouka's back, asking for advice about Saya's boyfriend acting super weird. She relays the conversation about hair and teeth and about the fact that he started to grow a pelt right before Saya's eyes. Weiss lucks into a lead yet again; I'm beginning to think their flowershop is actually a very clever cover, as it brings them into contact with many, MANY people, thereby increasing the odds that they stumble across something related to their case of the week.

Off they go to talk to Saya about her boyfriend's weird behavior. She tells them he got a part-time job a couple weeks back to buy her a birthday present and that's when it got weird AF. Ouka wants Omi to go talk to Tetsuya. This is a very weird dynamic. Aya says he'll go talk to Tetsuya to work shit out, because he has more life experience. He's not wrong, but please excuse me while I laugh hysterically at the idea that Aya would be at all qualified to offer emotional support to anyone.

It take Yohji and Ken a few minutes to catch up to the rest of the conversation and twig to the clues of Long Teeth and Extra Hairy being related to the case. Guys. You're not sleep deprived like Omi. There is no excuse for this. (Honestly, I think they're explaining to the audience that there is a connection, which should of course be incredibly obvious, but also the target audience of this show is adolescents. Who tend to sometimes miss things.)

Cut to Schreient standing dramatically on a rooftop, staring down at Tetsuya's house. Because the one thing that Masafumi has apparently done correctly is get the addresses of his test subjects. Although why he didn't haul them back earlier is anyone's guess; I think he might just have wanted to let them loose to see what happened, but the episode isn't about to explain.

Tetsuya, now gone full Manbat mode, assaults Aya as soon as Aya breaks into his house. Aya, for his part, has shown up wearing full assassin gear, because he's not even pretending this is anything but a Weiss assignment at this point. They break through a window. Aya wants to know if Tetsuya can still talk; Tetsuya snaps that he's still human.

Aya says Tetsuya can't be changed back - he doesn't know that! He knows nothing about this process!!!! - but that Tetsuya can get revenge if he'll tell them who did this. Tetsuya's having none of it. He's just screaming that he's still human and it takes all four of Weiss to restrain him. Aya then says that if Tetsuya wants to retain any vestige of humanity, he needs to tell them who did this so they can stop it from happening to anyone else. Apparently he's not entirely emotionally stunted after all.

Schreient appears out of nowhere, kills Tetsuya, and dashes off again like a bunch of bunnies on crack. Tetsuya, with his dramatic dying breath, gives them a company name. It's very, very Weiss.

Omi, now that he has a name, is ALL OVER figuring out what to do and where to go - and that the company is being run by a Takatori. Aya, amazingly, does not immediately turn into a frothing pile of rage. Off they go to murder some people, finding the office building empty at night (because of course it is). They also find the research labs emptied out, and Ken is the first one to hear Schreient stalking down the halls to confront them.

Hey, it's a cliffhanger.

Honestly, I really liked this episode. Aside from the handwaviness regarding the very questionable science and the repeated use of dumb luck as to how Weiss has managed to figure out who the criminals are, it's a lot of fun. I still don't quite believe they're emotionally attached to each other, although there does seem to be a little more easy camaraderie than there was before. We're fleshing Takatori out more as a villain, which I think is a good choice for the narrative to take; setting up The Heroes vs. The Big Bad is very popular as far as serialized stories go, since there's often more emotional weight that can be generated with this type of drama.

Sticking completely to Villain Of The Week stories tends to get stale or repetitive pretty quickly, although there are shows that have pulled it off. The creative team behind Weiss, I think, is not one of those teams that would have done well with that direction. So I do appreciate that we're a third of the way into the series and beginning to get a sense of the shape of the overall conflict. That feels like pretty good timing.

We also get a little more - not much, but a little - of behind-the-scenes with Kritiker. (Have they told us yet that Kritiker is named Kritiker? I honestly cannot remember.) It's not everything I want to know, but there's at least a little bit of acknowledgement that this is in fact a plot thread that will get some attention.

The soundtrack in this episode, by the way, is killer. Full points for effective use of music. We take points off, however, for handing Yohji and Ken the idiot ball as far as the investigation goes. I don't care if we want to make Aya look better because this whole endeavor was his VA's idea, Yohji with his background should have been all over this.

Dammit, I might need to write some fic, LOL