#also mad respect for putting the into half way through the episode

[korixae]

stoppp i’m rewatching good omens and i’d forgotten how, fucking-.. asjwdz pining they are 🥹

[mdhwrites]

Luz makes a lot of mistakes in season 1 but fandom barely talks about it. I hate the mistake she makes in Adventures in the Elements the most. She literally steals Amity's training wand, uses it without permission, ignores Eda's advice and triggers the Slitherbeast. Eda, along with Amity's siblings get captured and almost killed. I remember Luz doesn't even apologize for what she did to any of them. Seeing Amity get mad at her is totally deserved, and she rightfully gets to feel angrier at Luz. It's like a backward in Lost in Language in which Luz apologizes Amity for trespassing her secret hideout and reading her diary.

Adventure in the Elements is one of the most fascinating episodes of TOH for me because you talk about all of her mistakes... And that episode is a culmination of a lot of them. Literally a minimum of three different lessons are retaught in that one but instead of Luz being punished for these things, she's rewarded with a new spell. It is a perfect encapsulation of why TOH sucks ass as a kid's show.

Because let's break down some of this:

"Steals Amity's training wand"

Episode 4, The Intruder, features Luz stealing from Eda to get a leg up in magic to terrifying consequences. One could also argue that Luz was reminded that one should respect other's boundaries and the damage betraying their trust can do in Lost in Language, episode 7, by how it devastates Amity to have Luz have invaded her space and seen her diary.

"Ignores Eda's advice and triggers the Slitherbeast."

In episode 3, Luz is taught to at least try and listen to Eda about magic because Eda, you know, might know what she's talking about. Episode 2 even reinforces the idea that Luz needs to listen to Eda because her mentor will help her grow up. Thrown out here.

"Along with Amity's siblings getting captured and almost killed"

Selfish bravado to impress others leading to people almost being murdered? It's not Luz's lesson, except that one could argue it's a part of Once Upon a Swap where she learns why Eda doesn't show off, but Willow's from Hooty's Moving Hassle where her need to prove she's better than Amity, that she's a strong witch, gets Luz, Willow and Gus captured and almost killed.

And Adventure in the Elements is episode 12. I just listed HALF of the episodes that come before this one. And yet instead of showing us how much Luz has grown midway through the season, she repeats as many of her past mistakes as she possibly can.

HOWEVER

She does apologize... Kind of. She apologizes in the same way she does for a lot of things in S1 by setting it right. She made up for things by trying to fix the damage they did, such as going to Amity after the witch's duel or saving Eda after causing her to transform or going after Amity in the library. It's part of why her deciding not to fix her mistake in S3 is so abhorrent to me because her saving grace was to try and fix things but apparently in the end she can't be bothered when fixing it is too hard.

No, the bigger problem to me than the lack of apology is that most of this stuff goes unaddressed. She fixes that the siblings were killed but the rest? Amity joins the Azura Book Club and she gets a new glyph. In fact, she is put in time out and the only one she admits to having been wrong about is that Eda was right about magic being everywhere because she gets her glyph because of that. The rest though? Just normal children's show protagonist things!

Which would scan a lot better if A: TOH didn't despise being a kid's show and B: if it were a better kid's show. If it were like Amphibia where it teaches constantly new and evolving morals about different parts of life instead of constantly going back against basic behavioral things like whether or not it's okay to lie. Instead, it ignores a lot of that to claim it's more complicated and more mature when in actuality it uses every last excuse of a kid's show when it's convenient for itself, such as people ignoring when the main character does awful things to them.

You can't have it both ways and you certainly can't have a hero who only knows how to make the same mistakes all the time while claiming they're doing nothing wrong. It's a shame the fandom learned to ignore Luz's mistakes because the show has no interest in thinking Luz did anything wrong.

======+++++======

Another problem to all of this btw is just that it's boring. Like S1 has a reputation for being boring because of all of this repetition and it deserves it for that reason.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[queenofmalkier]

Queen Nynaeve is nowhere to be seen in the second of the season

Interestingly, the showrunners seem to be favoring Egwene by making her the hero in both season finales. However, I have high hopes for Nynaeve's character development in the next season, depending on how the writers handle her storyline. One thing that I don't enjoy about the books is the lack of Nynaeve's point of view in the later books and the disregard for her safety by her friends. Nynaeve is my favorite character, and it's disappointing to see her become an afterthought to move the plot forward at times in the book, so I am happy with the show expanding her storyline. With that being said, I was disappointed with the finale, but I do see a path forward in season 3 and future seasons. What are your thoughts on the lack of focus on Nynaeve in the second half of the season? What is your expectation for season 3 and future Lan and Nynaeve moments?

I love this ask because I have so many thoughts.

To start with, I have felt disappointment with Nynaeve in the show not being straight up BAMF. I want to see her get hulk!mad and blow stuff up! SHE ANGY!!! But when I take a step back from my violent need to see Nynaeve commit violence of all forms, I'm actually left pretty satisfied with what they've done so far?

Season 1 was about establishing everybody, including Nynaeve. We needed to see that she came from a position of power and respect in the Two Rivers despite her young age. People trusted her because of her knowledge, because she'd proved herself worthy of that trust.

As she's older in the show we don't see the outbursts she's known for in the books nor does she whack people with a stick, but that's too be expected. She's grown past feeling like an imposter as a wisdom - though she still feels the sting of it, as evidenced by how she interacts with Moiraine.

We see her do some incredible things, and then we see she's capable of wielding some truly awe-inspiring power.

Season 2 takes that Nynaeve and scares the hell out of her. I think Ishamael said it best - she's afraid of power. I have a whole schpeel on the arches that I want to do because I think that episode (mostly) hammered home that pure terror she has about wielding the one power, but that's for another day.

Contrary to the books, Nynaeve isn't treated as another novice. Instead these mythical, powerful women she does not trust are borderline obsessed with making her channel . They keep talking about her potential, about her gift, about what she'll do... but none of them is really talking about Nynaeve al'Meara doing those things. They're thinking about the woman they want her to become: Nynaeve Sedai.

They don't even ask what she wants.

The fact that she has a block and cannot control her power is explored more in the show than it is in the early books, in my opinion. Later books she breaks down and admits just how afraid she is, but instead we're getting that earlier - in the arches, she can't heal Tam, then later she explodes in the same rage she did in season one but nobody is healed, nobody is saved.

Close your eyes, think of a flower. We've seen Nynaeve react negatively to that statement more than once, and I think that's a really, really good way to demonstrate just how unlike the other Aes Sedai she is. "It doesn't work for me like that!"

It's heartbreaking to see, and it's why Liandrin is able to manipulate her, because she doesn't treat Nynaeve like everyone else, nor does she really put her on a pedestal. She challenges her, she shows her the possibilities, she tells her there's no one way to be an Aes Sedai. She makes Nynaeve feel seen. (Putting aside the stolen Siuan scenes.)

Ryma is also able to break through Nynaeve's fear because she approaches it on Nynaeve's level, from a place she'd understand. No flowers, no soft petals. Healing.

Without Ryma there she cannot heal Elayne's leg, and she's so hurt and upset that she can't, but she can still help. She still has all the knowledge of a Wisdom inside of her. It lessens the blow of being unable to channel through her fear.

As much as I want to see Nynaeve channeling like a beast, I'm enjoying watching her work her way through her fear in a way that will make her channeling later on feel earned.

I'm hoping in Season 3 that she acknowledges that fear, as well as her feelings of being a failure to those around her when that imposter syndrome comes back in full - and that she gets past it with the help of Egwene and Elayne, two women who see her for her, and not for the power she can wield.

In regards to Lan/Nynaeve if we don't get the ring scene in Season 3 I'm gonna be so upset lol. It's really difficult to judge where they're taking things from here - how's Tear going to fit in? The hunt for the Black Ajah? Are we staying together? My guess is the 'better together' theme of Season 2 is going to expand to Rand breaking up the gang again because of his own fears, but I really don't know and I'm trying not to overthink it.

[presidentdisastraofgallifrey]

Ranking Companions I've Seen So Far

(Because I can)

(Purely from memory so is possible I forgot someone)

(They are bulleted instead of numbered because there's a character limit for blocks and it restarted the numbering when I broke it up. They are, however, in order from favorite to least favorite)

Sarah Jane: She hides it under professional veneer, but she is autistic chaos personified. She has the most chances of anyone to just go home, and even when she claims to be fed up she always gets back in the tardis. She is high on adventure. She thinks the Doctor has died at least once per story, and for the first 3/4 of her run they never actually get to take a fun break from constant danger, and she is hooked. She eats an orange without peeling it. She met the Doctor because she snuck into a scientific conference to investigate disappearances and then walked right into the tardis to look for him. She had no trouble believing she'd moved in space and it took only the barest evidence to have her fully on board with time travel; I think she always half believed in magic. She's excellent at bluffing but only for very short periods. She's very much about the ends justifying the means and always a little confused when people are mad since everything turned out fine, which is very Doctor of her. And their dynamic really was silly best friends.

Leela: Everyone else was either kidnapped or invited along. She pushed the Doctor aside to invite herself, because she didn't want to have to stay home and be a leader (and she too craves adventure). She never completely understands what's happening, but she jumps into every situation fully anyway. And asks a ton of questions. And, once she's been taught about something, she maintains a good understanding of it (no one in-show acknowledges how smart she is and how hard she works to catch up from not having the same education as every other character). I enjoy how ready to stab and shoot people she is, and how often she winds up with guns no matter what the Doctor says. But she's also so genuine and protective and their bickering is sweet and she's best friends with the dog even before she's left alone on Gallifrey with no one who respects her but the dog. (The whole noble savage trope is problematic but I still enjoy a great deal of her character)

Donna: She's outspoken and best friends with the Doctor and no one has ever thought he was less hot. With her the dynamic really is just we're flying through time and space playing dress up. Her fear response is indignant anger. She's a temp who has been told by her mother her whole life that she's a failure, and she's the most important person in the universe. She has terrible self esteem but never lets that get in the way of speaking her mind. She loves and supports her trans daughter. She forgot it all for 15 years and then, married with a teenager, casually moved in with her old best friend.

Bill: Even when she couldn't go to college, she was so determined to learn that she just appeared in the Doctor's lectures and was excited when she didn't initially understand things. She was his student, and his friend, and once or twice his protector, but she never did the Clara thing of putting all her time into keeping track of the Doctor and protecting him from himself. On her first alien planet, robots that spoke emoji tried to kill her, and she still kept traveling. But she never gave up her life at home or her education, either. She had a gay crush in her first episode that she never even got to go on a date with, and then ended up spending eternity together as noncorporeal beings by the end. She helped rehabilitate the most evil Time Lord. She's iconic.

Romana I: She is the sheltered excellent grades autistic. She's so baby and innocent, but also knows more about what the Doctor is talking about than any other companion (and sometimes the Doctor). She can fly the tardis, because she read the manual. She plays dress up constantly but rarely in any sort of context appropriate to where they're going. She wanted to be called Fred. She literally can't lie to save either of their lives. She's charming and beautiful and capable, but might think she's even more capable than she actually is. She was horrified by what a failure of a Time Lord the Doctor was until she realized he was happy, and that that was an option.

Yaz: I love how she seems so normal and together, got involved by chance doing her job, but slowly it becomes clear that she was never ok and somehow this was the best thing that could have happened to her. She was kidnapped into this but instead of missing home she fell in love. She gets stuck on Earth without the Doctor twice and spent both times (1) pining and (2) taking charge to save the world. She talks like she knows what to do better than any other human in the room (and often does), but still works well on a team. She ran into a kid she'd vaguely known in elementary school and his step-grandfather and then ended up traveling with them for years and becoming best friends. She should not have been a cop, however, and would have made a better social worker.

Ryan: He can't ride a bike at 19 but has yet to give up trying. It doesn't come up as much as I'd like, but he is casually disabled. He has a temper, which sort of led to him allowing a murderous alien onto Earth, but he is also so full of compassion for every random person in need they meet. He actually had a life at home and, though he stayed willingly (after getting kidnapped), he struggled with missing his friends and the normality and comfort they represented. It took running around saving worlds to make him admit he should forge a familial bond with his dead grandma's husband. He also made up with his dad (he really did the opposite arc of starting with a strong family and pulling them apart when he left). He got to leave when he chose and be safe and happy, but never stopped trying to protect his world.

Jamie: He also never understands what is happening, but he's mostly fine with that. He's just happy to be along for the ride with the Doctor, being gay and Scottish throughout time and space, ready to stab people (he would have gotten along with Leela tbh). He's good at drawing connections between things he has no context for and the closest thing he understands, and I love it because my brain does that thing too of drawing comparisons to things I've seen. If the Time Lords didn't take his memories, he would have stayed with the Doctor until eventually dying for him.

Susan: She is sensitive and autistic and not cut out for so much drama. Sure, she understands what the Doctor is talking about, and she wasn't technically kidnapped, but she was happy pretending to be a human girl in 1963 and I don't think she ever particularly wanted to keep going adventuring. But she's still enthusiastic and outgoing and just doing her best. She sort of adopted Barbara as her weird protective aunt.

Clara: She was never a normal person. She is naturally manipulative, bossy, controlling, and a bit ruthless. She didn't use most of these traits overmuch until she met the Doctor, but they were there. Luckily, she also has a fairly strong moral compass, so she isn't really a horrible person. But watching a human person surprise the Doctor by out-Doctoring him is delightful. She is also addicted to the thrill and adventure of it all, and no matter how much she likes the idea of having a normal life on the side it could never compare. I don't think she'd have survived going back to a normal human existence like Sarah had to.

Zoe: "The Doctor is almost as smart as me." She is somehow a teenager and a space librarian with a perfectly normal education level for her time that makes her a genius nearly everywhere she goes. Important to note, she is also an actual genius. She helped fend off cybermen one time and got adopted by a gay alien and his historical boyfriend, both of whom are determined to protect her but both of whom are also considerably less competent than she is. She would never have gone home if she wasn't forced to.

Martha: She is one of the most normal people on this list: a hardworking medical student with a loving but mildly dysfunctional family. Her choice of one trip in the tardis after the hospital situation is actually a pretty normal one even: who would say no to a chance to time travel? But she makes herself extraordinary through pure kindness and determination. She's so full of caring, but won't put up with people walking all over her or allow any sort of cruelty. She is one of the only ones with the strength to leave when she needs to, to take care of herself, but even so she can't forget what she knows and abandon people and quickly ends up working for UNIT and then on her own to save and protect people.

Barbara: Omg she's so weird. She's a history teacher who gets to travel through history, and is understandably delighted and horrified by this. But her response to being concerned for a student and unable to contact her family was to stalk this child to her home and then into a police box in a junkyard; it's kind of her own fault she got kidnapped, though the throughout time and space part was unpredictable. She saw an autistic alien teenager and realized no one else was going to parent her, so took that responsibility upon herself. Despite never stopping trying to get home (and eventually taking a great risk to do so), she really was delighted by so much of what they ran across. She is one of four people who know that the Doctor's manipulative curiosity is responsible for the daleks threatening the universe. She's so great.

Jo: Assigned companion because no one knew what to do with her, not even really liked by the Doctor at first, but threw her entire self enthusiastically into the job. She did not believe the Doctor could travel through time and space and really thought it was just a quirk that he was always trying to fix his time machine, but she liked him anyway. I'm not convinced she believed he was an alien, either, or knew enough about science to realize (at first) that his was more advanced than it should have been. But she was happy to help, and to learn, and just generally be along for the ride.

Liz: Thought she was too smart to be working as the Doctor's assistant, and she was right. A proper scientist who absolutely understood that his science was alien and advanced, but also how ridiculous these situations were and wasn't afraid to challenge the science that shouldn't have made sense or refuse to believe something until she saw proof. Left, of her own choice, without anything horrible happening to her; a minor miracle! Also counts as a historical queer icon, even though technically that didn't come up in the show. It is canon and I like to imagine between the lines her life as a queer lady in the 70's.

Vicki: Not a genius by her time's standards, but her standard education makes her one almost wherever she goes. Left to her own devices stranded on a planet and orphaned, she adopted a giant alien creature as a pet and set up a routine for survival. Tried to go on a relaxing Roman vacation once and ended up poisoning Nero. Adventurous, clever, and easily bored: no wonder the Doctor liked her.

Victoria: The daughter of a scientist who couldn't care less about science. Orphaned by the daleks and immediately adopted by the weird gay alien and his boyfriend who was historical even to her. Later more permanently adopted by a very nice couple in a century she's not even from. She taught Jamie to read.

Ian: Ok, so stalking a teenager into a junkyard wasn't his idea, but he did go along with it. A science teacher who got to see futuristic space science, though I don't think he enjoyed a lot of it as much as Barbara did. He was a good practical balance for everyone else in the tardis, though.

Graham: He's so ordinary, in the best way. I love how consistently his job as a bus driver is plot relevant. He brings sandwiches because the Doctor can't be bothered to feed them regularly. He's down for adventure but also practical about it.

Ruby: She has such a fairytale quality. She loves her mom, she isn't running away from anything, but she sure is running. She's running around the universe playing dress up. And I suspect that with more time separation, she will start to seem less normal and well adjusted and weirder in her own way.

Dodo: I actually only saw her in like 2 serials because so many are missing, and her departure felt sort of forced, but I liked her. She was SO enthusiastic about everything, and had no intention of listening to anyone who told her what to do.

Dan: I like him fine, and although it wasn't for fun he did sort of choose to stay and then to leave when he was ready. He's not the most interesting, though.

Rose: She is my line between companions I like and companions I don't. She's both caring and imperfect in ways that can be fun, but she was a little too consistently mean to Mickey (and her mom) for my taste, and had a habit of worrying about her own enjoyment above all other concerns, at least when people weren't actively being killed. Was definitely addicted to the adventure. There's nothing strictly wrong with a character with any of these traits (except for writing in Mickey just to have him bullied constantly), but she's not really my thing. Still, she's mainly THIS low on the list because I'm tired of the fandom focus on shipping her with ten constantly and also smoothing out all of her flaws.

Steven: His backstory and initial appearance were so cool, and then his actual character was kind of a wet noodle.

Amy: Yes her backstory was interesting too, but she mostly could have bee replaced by a lamp and it would have made no difference.

Rory: Like Amy but worse; he could have been replaced by a hat on the lamp.

Harry: He did have a personality, and it was the wrong one. I don't even usually include him in my companion lists because I disliked him so much. 50% of his personality was being sexist to Sarah while she coped more competently than him, and the rest was just being annoying.

[orionsangel86]

Welp. Okay I watched the last episode of ofmd.

To sum up my thoughts on this season I will say that whilst I enjoyed it and felt the love and passion and respect for its queer fanbase throughout, it didnt hit me the same way the first season did. It felt like maybe a little bit of that season 1 magic was missing and for that I very much blame Max's cutting off 2 episodes and slashing the budget. They had a lot of story they wanted to tell that would have worked so much better in 10 episodes.

I consider the last 3 episodes of season 1 some of the best TV I have seen in my life. From the use of The Chain in ep 8, through the dramatic highs and lows of eps 9 and 10 it was edge-of-your-seat drama and I was in awe at the creators that put it together. But one of the reasons why those 3 eps were so good is because the drama and the pivotal moments were given time to breath.

If those 3 eps were given the same lack of time and budget as season 2, no doubt they all would have been crammed into 1 episode and it would not have had the same impact.

If anything that last episode should have played out across two, with Izzy's death being the half way point and cliffhanger ending leading to a final battle and somewhat happy resolution.

I'm not mad at Izzy's death. If anyone was gonna die, it was gonna be him. His status as Blackbeards enabler and sometimes mentor is over. For Ed to truly be free, I think Izzy always had to go. From a storytelling perspective it makes perfect sense, even though I am sure a lot of fans are absolutely heartbroken about it.

Another casualty of the reduced screentime meant certain original cast members weren't given anywhere near the amount of screentime they should have had. I was expecting a lot more focus on Jim as they were basically the third lead of s1 due to them getting the same backstory as Ed and Stede. All of the crew appear to have had drastically reduced parts which does feel like a big loss to me.

Its funny actually, OFMD S2 suffered from the opposite problem to GOS2. OFMD had too much story to tell in a limited timeframe, GOS2 had very little story to tell outside of the flashbacks and probably too much time given to it. Both shows season 2s suffered from tremendously bad pacing issues.

Also, the one thing the final episode made so obvious to me, is the uncertainty of getting a s3 renewal. It is so clear in the way they tried to wrap things up in a happy bow as best they could, so that if they do get cancelled it leaves fans at least somewhat satisfied. I hate this though. I hate that studios are so fickle and ruthless that creators have to gamble with good quality writing and avoid cliffhangers because of asshole executives who dont actually care about the stories.

Because of the fast pacing, and the fear of cancellation, it felt more like a rush happy ending instead of a part way point in a bigger story, with important character development still to come. Perhaps I need more time to absorb the story in a full rewatch, but im not exactly itching for more at this point, whilst also not really being satisfied with what I got either. I wish we had left Ed and Stede in at least some minor peril, like have them captured and threatened with hanging but at least in a good place romantically, so that we can start speculating about what kind of escape plan they will come up with in season 3. Leaving them in a dilapidated old inn somewhere just felt wrong to me. Instead of ending the season with the stakes sky high (like season 1) it feels like they left season 2 with zero stakes at all, instead of at least a happy medium. At this point we should be turning to fanfiction and wondering what happens next, but instead I'm left thinking "okay then. That was good. What can I watch next?" I don't need to bury myself in fanfic and fanart to feed the hyperfixation this time around, and that is where I feel the most loss.

I'm sure others will have hugely different reactions to me though. Perhaps my expectations were too high? Perhaps my GO obsession just isn't leaving room for OFMD this time? But then again, I think if GOS2 hadn't ended the way it did, I wouldn't still be so obsessed with that either.

Sigh. I dunno. It was a good fun show and will no doubt still be hugely popular with devoted fans, but for me I just can't say it cast the same spell over me as it did last year.

[k0sch-31]

Are we gonna talk about the dr who scheduling clownery, specifically Disney changing the release time for dr who. Like why is it releasing at 12am for people in London (which is 7pm for those in New York). It really seems like they’re prioritising Americans with their release scheduling of the episodes, and I don’t have the math but I’d bet the majority of dr who fans actually live in the uk. Assuming that is true then they’re putting the area with the largest amount of fans with the biggest disadvantage timing wise. I’m not British but isn’t tea time dr who like a thing, if you’re really into dr who you’re probably gonna be up at 12 watching which isn’t really a good time to watch it with family or friends. Of course it’ll be on the TV later but y’know spoilers. Just feel like if I lived in London I’d be real mad about the timing.

I mean I shouldn’t really be complaining because I’m Australian and technically the new scheduling works better for me because dr who comes out at 9am and not 4:30am. But tbh waking up at 4:30am to watch dr who has kinda become a tradition for me and I’m sad to let it go. Also 9am isn’t that great either (or maybe it is it’s just my opinion) because even if I didn’t get up at 4:30am I’d be asleep anyway so I wouldn’t be prone to spoilers and I could get up and watch it at a more reasonable time like 6 or 7. Atm I’m lucky because I don’t have a job but most people in Aus would be at work by 9 meaning they’d have to watch dr who later when they finish work. So really I don’t think the new release times are benefitting anyone other than the Americans

- I realised half way through writing this that dr who comes out at 1am for those in CEST so technically y’all have it worse F for respects -

[livsoulsecrets]

Fire/Dynamite Fic - You saw me start to believe for the first time

Summary:

An alternative take at Fire and Dynamite’s relationship after the end of episode 7: Fire goes after Dy sooner.

“When he woke up half naked only to find out he had made a complete fool out of himself – in Dy’s own words, he lashed out. He lied and denied everything because that was all he ever learned to do with his own feelings.

And the worst of it was that Dynamite listened.”

Read on AO3.

-

Fire was used to being told what to do.

The first clear memory he had of his childhood was of his fifth birthday.

His mother had picked the cake flavor, the decorations, and the balloons. He had asked for a Spider-Man figurine as a gift, but she had waved it off as silly. Fire had begged her time after time to invite over his friends from school, but only family members were in attendance.

Kids make too much of a mess, she told him in a condescending tone. All he had heard was that he was too much of a mess for his opinion to mean anything at all.

His whole life felt like a replay of that faithful birthday party.

His mom chose which sports he’d play in high school and who he was allowed to be friends with. She decided he’d go to med school and that he needed to live at home for the first few years.

His mother had already settled his future many years ago, even before he was born. He’d grow up to be a respectable doctor, marry a respectable woman, and have some respectable kids that would visit their grandmother every Sunday.

Half the time, he could convince himself it was for the better, that this made-up version of him was worth much more than whatever lay beneath it all.

The other half, he didn’t even know if there was a difference between the two.

The one thing Fire felt he was actually good at was lying.

He had perfected it like an art over the years. At thirteen, he had plotted a fake study meeting at his best friend’s house so he could attend his birthday party without his mom obsessing over every detail. At sixteen, he knew how to tell when his mother was in deep sleep, so he could sneak out to see his friends. At eighteen, he had learned to climb through his bedroom window in order not to get caught.

All that effort just to steal away moments of freedom was draining, but Fire could handle it most of the time. He had even grown comfortable in it, protected underneath all the walls he built.

It had been better when he got into college, put some distance between him and his mother’s control, and met Metha and Ten. He thought it would only get easier. There would always be the shadow of his family’s expectations hanging over his life, but he’d have some room to breathe. He’d graduate, have his own money, get married, build a family, maybe even have kids that weren’t terrified of him.

Fire held on to that plan with all he had, and it seemed perfect on paper. Med school was on that plan, girls like Jane and friends like Ten and Metha were as well.

Dynamite wasn’t.

For he was neither a girl nor respectable.

Dynamite was impulsive and inappropriate, genuine and hilarious. He drove Fire mad with his flirting and innuendos and his refusal to be anything other than himself.

It was no surprise he couldn’t stand him at first. Dynamite was free in all the ways Fire could only ever dream of being. He lived on his own, he laughed as loud as he pleased and befriended whoever he wanted to. He was smart underneath his nonchalant demeanor, but he was also intelligent in the traditional way – he wouldn’t have skipped a year in school otherwise.

For the love of him, Fire couldn’t tell when annoyance had shifted into curiosity and interest, and then, so God help him, fondness.

Metha saw it, and so did Jane. Dynamite himself seemed to know, but Fire was a creature of habit.

When he woke up half naked only to find out he had made a complete fool out of himself – in Dy’s own words, he lashed out. He lied and denied everything because that was all he ever learned to do with his own feelings.

And the worst of it was that Dynamite listened.

He disappeared completely from Fire’s life. He couldn’t even steal glances at him anymore. It was like Dy had never existed at all, like they had never met, and their lives had never intertwined.

Fire was always good at lying, yes, but he had never come so close to something true, only to give it up. It proved more painful this time, more than any other.

He had tried to put it into words when Mehta cornered him to ask why he was so miserable, but nothing Fire said made sense.

There was only one way to put an end to his misery. He needed to see Dy again. He needed to-

Tell him the truth? Which version of it? Did Fire himself even know what that was?

The questions remained unanswered for the days it took Fire to track Dynamite down on their campus.

Fire learned his schedule after enlisting Metha’s help in following Dy around. He was not proud of himself for the breach of privacy, but he figured Dy of all people would understand his desperation.

That was how he found himself lurking behind a potted fern as Dy said goodbye to his classmates in front of the culinary’s faculty.

The irony was not lost on him: after the lengths he went to in order to get rid of Dy’s lurking, there he was, relented to the same position, desperate to catch Dy’s eye.

There was no time to hesitate, though. When Dy walked away from his friends to enter the building, Fire forced himself to leave his hiding spot to follow him.

Dy navigated through the halls with ease, his fingers tapping against his leg and his face relaxed. When he turned right and entered a desert hallway, Fire seized his chance.

He exhaled deeply and rushed closer to him.

“Dynamite,” he called out.

The boy turned around, his face paling considerably when his eyes landed on Fire.

“Can we talk, please?”

Dynamite remained still for long seconds – that Fire could have sworn stretched into hours.

Then he had the audacity to laugh. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

Fire flinched. “Please, I just need to-”

“Oh, you need something? So, I just drop everything and rush to help?” Dy echoed, his tone vicious. “You know what, Fire? I’m done here.”

Dynamite turned on his heels and began to walk away.

Overcome by some instinct he couldn’t possibly name, Fire rushed forward and blocked his way.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you,” he spat out before the courage slipped away from him. “I know you didn’t lie that day. I said and did all those things. I called you there. I asked you to stay.”

Dy’s face was bright red when he replied, “I know that, dumbass. I was there. You were the one in denial. Is that all? Can you let me go now?”

Fire shook his head immediately. “No. It’s not just that.”

Dy rolled his eyes, none of his usual nonchalance present now. “I’m sure you have better things to do than talking to me. Why don’t you go back to Jane and leave me alone?”

“What does Jane have to do with this?” Fire nearly screamed. He was too frustrated now to be reasonable.

“She’s your girlfriend, for fuck’s sake!” Dy jabbed at his chest in fury, and his other hand tightened around his backpack’s strap.

“She’s not!” Fire denied, grabbing his hand, “We’re not back together.”

That gave Dynamite pause. “What? I saw you in the market and…”

“We’re just friends,” Fire interrupted, “not even that anymore, I think. Her girlfriend doesn’t like it.”

Dy’s eyebrows shot up so high it would have been comical in any other situation. “Jane has a girlfriend?”

“That’s not important right now,” Fire exasperated.

“It sounds pretty important to me,” Dynamite fired back.

“I’m not here to talk about Jane,” he laced his fingers around Dy’s wrist, praying to whatever God was listening that he didn’t ruin everything again.

“What are you here to talk about, then?” The annoyance hadn’t left his tone yet, but Fire had to trample down the treacherous hope blooming inside his chest at the fondness he heard mixed with it.

“I’m here to tell you that…” he started, suddenly distracted by the softness of Dy’s skin under his fingers and the shape of his mouth as it moved around his words. He swallowed dryly. “I meant what I said that night. I didn’t want you to look away from me in the market. I didn’t want you to ignore me, even when I asked you to leave me alone.”

Dy’s jaw clenched. “Is this some ego boost to you? Jane dumped you, so now you want me to keep chasing you so you can feel better?”

He retreated his wrist with a hard pull, but Fire didn’t let him go far.

“That’s not it!”

“Then, what the hell is it?” Dy shouted back, and Fire saw tears welling up in his eyes.

It all came to him rather quickly after that.

He realized that hurting Dy felt a hundred times worse than disappointing his mother or abandoning her plans for him.

Being a good son would mean turning his back on Dynamite and the fire he ignited within him.

He had been good for so long. Right now, he just wanted to be honest.

Resolve settled deep in his heart. He’d tell Dy all he had kept secured before. He’d bare his soul for him and allow Dynamite to judge whether it was worth his time or not.

There was no one telling him what to do now. It was terrifying, but Fire pushed through the paralyzing fear to try and fix what he had broken.

“I want you to care. I want you to care about what I’m doing and who I’m doing it with. I want you to drive me crazy with your questions and your rambling.”

He gulped some air, stilling himself for how irreversible that moment would be.

“I want you, Dy,” he murmured. “I just want you.”

He grabbed Dynamite’s face with both hands and kissed him.

It was nothing like those passion-filled kisses he saw in movies. He was pretty sure he had knocked his nose too hard against Dy’s. There were not butterflies in his stomach, just a sureness spreading through his body that Fire had never felt before.

He had barely processed that knowledge when the magnitude of that situation dawned on him. Fire pulled away just as quickly as he had pulled Dy into him.

“Sorry! I shouldn’t have just kissed you like that. I didn’t even ask you. I spent so many days thinking of what I was going to say, and I fucked everything up,” he rambled, desperate. He backed himself into the opposite wall from where Dy stood.

Dy hadn’t moved yet, and he was eerily quiet – both features that didn’t fit him at all. He brought two fingers to touch his lips and stared at Fire in disbelief.

“Did you mean it?”

Dy’s voice was small and contained, with just a hint of hope that fired up his insides.

“All of it,” Fire confirmed, biting into his lip to stop himself from moving towards Dy again.

It had to come from him this time.

He had to make the call. Fire needed to know if Dy was willing to put up with his messes. He wouldn’t force it upon him, not again.

Dynamite dropped his backpack to the floor and rushed forward. Fire felt his feet moving of their own accord and they met somewhere in the middle.

Dynamite threw his arms around Fire’s neck and kissed him properly. He had to lace an arm around Dy’s waist so his knees didn’t give in. He was lucky there was a wall under his back, or Fire was sure he’d have made an even bigger fool out of himself.

He ran his other hand through Dynamite’s hair, mesmerized by the softness of the strands. Late at night, when he was already in bed, he had allowed himself to wonder what this would feel like.

His imagination had nothing on the real thing, though. When Fire scrapped his nails against Dy’s scalp, the other boy whimpered against his mouth.

“You’re so beautiful,” the words spilled out, unrelenting in their honesty after so many months of denial.

Dy’s ears burned red, and he hid his face in Fire’s neck. “Shut up.”

“You really are. You sound so-”

Dynamite pressed a kiss on his neck, and his mind forgot any words he had been about to say. He had to place all his focus on getting his mouth to work again.

“I need you to know,” he tried again, determined to ensure Dy believed him completely.

This time, the menace bit into his collarbone. “Dynamite,” he mumbled, trying to reprimand him, but his voice sounded pleading, and his back arched involuntarily.

Dy lifted his face from his hideout, smiling the troublemaker grin that had haunted Fire’s mind for days after his failed date with Jane.

“I believe you, moron.”

“You do?” Fire exhaled in relief, resting his forehead against Dy’s.

He kissed Fire in lieu of an answer – a quick brush of their lips against each other – but it was enough to allow all the tension of the last few days to leave Fire’s body.

“I’m really sorry,” he said again.

“I know,” Dy answered, still smiling broadly, “but I forgive you. Better late than never, huh?”

He chuckled, and Fire watched in awe. “I thought I was too late.”

“You were just in time, Firefy,” Dy laughed, caressing his cheek with his knuckles.

Fire brought Dy’s hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to it.

Dy tilted his head and frowned. “Actually, how did you know where to find me?”

Fire released his hand very slowly and tried to search his brain for a reasonable answer. “I was just walking by,” he said, but the sentence sounded too much like a question, even to his own ears.

Dy lifted an eyebrow and said, “Really? So far away from the Med school building? Exactly when I had just finished a lecture?”

“Yes?” He tried again.

“Fire,” Dy bent forward, which only made Fire more nervous. “Did you follow me?”

“No!” He denied away too quickly, and Dynamite let out a victorious screech.

“You totally did!”

His shoulders slumped down in defeat. “Maybe a little?”

“I can’t believe it!” Dy exclaimed, far too entertained by his despair. “All that talk about privacy and boundaries, only for you to do the same.”

“I was desperate, okay? I couldn’t find you anywhere.”

“I know the feeling.” Dy wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Fire groaned and shoved Dy playfully on the shoulder. It only made him laugh harder.

“You’re so annoying!”

“Yes,” Dy agreed, “and you like it.”

All the fight flew from his body. He traced the curve of Dynamite’s chin with the tips of his fingers and said, “I like you.”

Dy pressed a kiss to the back of his hand. “I like you too.”

“I’m sorry it took me so long to admit it. I was so scared,” said Fire.

He feared he’d find more hurt in Dy’s gaze when he said those words, but there was just openness and understanding mirrored in his eyes.

“It’s hard to explain, but I’m not used to feeling so much. I can handle lying to my mom when I sneak out for a party or a date. I’m good at finding time for my friends and to play tennis.”

For the first time since he laid eyes on Dy this morning, Fire felt like he actually knew what he was doing. The words kept pouring out of his mouth, but now he knew they were truthful. There was no risk of saying the wrong thing because this was for Dynamite’s ears only.

He had said and done much worse, and yet he was only ever met with Dynamite’s honesty and kindness in return.

“I’m not good at wanting things too badly. Or fighting for them. It was so easy before,” he confessed, and the sight of Dy was a canvas of possibilities he had never dared to paint before.

“It was so easy before I met you. I didn’t know what to do with what you made me feel, so I pushed it away.”

Dy’s hand found its way to his neck, landing there as a comforting weight.

“And why did you change your mind?”

“You know why.”

“I want to hear it,” Dy insisted, titling his chin up.

Fire relented, “I missed you too much.”

Dy smiled, satisfied. “It’s okay. We’ll talk more later, but we’re fine. Just hold me, will you?”

He was nodding before Dy finished talking. He pulled him against his chest and kissed the top of his head.

“You can want things for yourself, Firefy. You deserve it,” Dy told him.

And Fire finally believed in it.

[colorcodedbeanies]

S2 E4: "Down"

Listened to the Insider podcast for this episode while travelling. They are so excited about how they got that port-a-potty to work.

TW: Smoking, violence, ableism, homelessness

So we've now shifted from Walt attempting to share the blame about Tuco to just abdicating all responsibility in the matter. Something he insists over and over again in this episode when denying Jesse access to his money is "[why should] I suffer from your carelessness?!" Undoubtedly Walt needs the money. But he refuses to even acknowledge the fact that it was his over-ambitious strategy that got Jesse in this situation to begin with. When Jesse points this out, he instead pivots to personal attacks, asking him if he "smoked the entire 600", calling him a pathetic junkie, and asking him what he even contributes. He's unwilling to ascribe Jesse the degree of personhood to where he can acknowledge he's in equally tough circumstances, and he's also too proud to admit that he feels vulnerable without the money.

BREAKFAST ARC BEGINS. Like most boomer/gen xer dads, Walt's tactic to soothe his wife is to take on the barest degree of "women's work" and act like the novelty will make her forget why she's mad at him in the first place. (Fascinatingly this will also be something he does to Jesse after their wrestling match in the RV). There's something wildly grating about his attempts at conversation. It feels like he's trying to "bring himself down to their level". I love Anna Gunn's facial journey during his long rambly lie about cellphone alarms. The realization isn't just that he's lying, but that he's lying poorly and expecting it to work. He respects her so little that he thinks this half-cocked story will assuage her doubts, and in my opinion that's what ultimately drives her away. We see through their discussion later that Walt still primarily conceives of Skyler's anger as being emotionally centered. She feels neglected, worries that he's cheating, worries that he doesn't love her, and so he attempts to fix it by engaging emotionally. She's the little woman back home, and can't she see all of this is for her? Why on earth would she have questions about WHERE you are and WHEN (and there's such a poetry in her giving him a taste of his own medicine this episode).

That entitlement to Jesse's space reaches its ultimate conclusion with his parents kicking him out onto the street. We never see flashbacks to Ginny's last months, but I do think its notable that his mom doesn't really push back on Jesse's interpretation that she wasn't there for her when she was dying. Jesse's not wrong that he earned this house, even if not legally. More than that, punishment via homelessness isn't exactly an effective way to coax someone OFF of using, or even dealing. The Pinkmans ultimately aren't attempting to put Jesse on a better path, but washing their hands of him completely. So fed up with him they don't even want him on a property associated with their names. And while I don't necessarily fault them for making a decision to cut ties, through wielding the law as a tool between them they are contributing to the classification of Jesse as a Criminal by Class. More that that, it reinforces more than ever his dependency on Walt, as he has to go to him pleading for money just to acquire a spot to sleep at night.

The entire driving lesson is an exercise in Walt's ableism and also a specific expose on where it stems from: insecurity. Flynn's need for mobility aids, for alternative strategies to go about doing tasks, seems to brush right up against all of Walt's medical based triggers. He sincerely seems to expect Junior to bootstraps the cerebral palsy, telling him "there's the easy way and the right way" and more absurdly "your legs are fine, you just have to stick with it". Much like Jesse, Flynn is being set up to fail and then has to deal with the embarrassment and shame surrounding that. He has at least enough self-assurance to say I told you so, but its undoubtedly rough for a teenager to feel like his body is something his dad thinks he has to get over, rather than something to live with.

He's not the only family member with Jesse parallels this episode, as Skyler seeks comfort for her distress in a substance that she feels she has to hide. I'll dig more into this when Walt finds the carton, but for now I want to draw attention to the lady who glares at her. The presumption is irresponsible parent, not struggling parent. Junkie, not addict. Obviously this individual lady has no responsibility to check on the stranger she sees doing something potentially harmful to her future child. But that reaction of judgement before empathy is something that's going to echo hard with Walt, and I'd argue is a microcosm of social attitudes towards addiction as a whole.

After a frustrating argument with his wife, Walt meets his younger associate in an RV and immediately gets in his face to provoke him. Jesse and Walt wrestle, culminating in Jesse straddling him with his hands on his neck and Walt taunting him. He then rolls off him and Walt offers to make breakfast. This is a sex scene by proxy if nothing else.

[sweetescapeartist]

I had watched Velma (for free cause I aint helping them get views) and theres this trend I hate. That's when they make the white people idiots & always insult them. I'm black and I find that offensive. There's a way to make fun of everybody in a smart way (In Living Color is a great example) but these modern shows are just hateful or not funny or both. They just want to trigger ppl without any kind of positive message.

And I can't be mad at only the ppl who write the shows. The companies who allow it and advertisement and ones who distribute it are at fault too. And when you look at the history of propaganda, I'm pretty sure this is intentional. The United States makes money off of ravial division. This is why we dont have shows like Weekenders, Statick Shock, Doug, Hey Arnold, Xaolin Showdown, Totally Spies, Darkwing Duck, Recess, El Tigre, 6teen, original Teen Titans, Justice League, Kim Possible, The Proud Family (original not the new one), Jackie Chan Adventures, or other shows like that anymore. Those shows brought too many different ppl together. Racial division is profitable but also useful in controlling the minds of the ignorant. And behind it all is politics. One side complains about this while the other complains about that. Then both sides make a profit while controlling the masses through artificial hate.

I wish we could go back to shows that had positive portrayals of all races & both sexes. A group of friends of different races with both guys and girls just happily hanging out and dealing with everyday struggles and how to overcome them with help from your friends. Cause this modern stuff just makes everyone hate each other.

I want shows like Statick Shock where Virgil finds out that his best friend Richie has a racist dad & it upsets Richie so much that he runs away from home. And the dads of both have to work together to find Richie as Richie's dad learns he is misjudging others. And episodes later, Richie's dad is friendly with Virgil and his dad.

Or how in Teen Titans, Starfire was being called a troq by a "heroic" racist. Then Cyborg thinks its just a nickname and calls Starfire that and she gets upset. Then after Cyborg finds out, he says he can relate because he's half cyborg (subtext is that he can relate because he's black). Then all of her friends stand by her and give the cold shoulder to that guy who called her that slur. They weren't gonna put up with that.

Or even in oG SpongeBob when they say Sandy can't do stuff they can because she's a squirrel while they say "sea creatures rule!" That episodes teaches a lesson about both racism and sexism. Sandy is the only girl against a group of guys who thing they are better. Sandy is from a different group of people against a group of water people who thing they are better. Sandy thinks she's better too. Then in the end, they give the lesson that nobody is good at everything and they should value the differneces and what the other person is good at as they apologize to each other.

We peaked in the 90's and 2000's. Sadly, I think its all downhill from there now. Not just with TV shows, but with music and everything else. The good things we get nowadays are just leftovers from a better time that didn't over politicize race, sex, gender, religion, and policital leaning as they do now. Respect is lacking. All ppl want to do is trigger someone. What kind of society is that?

[missezramay]

Hey there! I read your post on the Ted Lasso finally and you didn’t ask, I guess, but I want to share my opinion because I’m one of those that are not mad with the ending.

For me the show has always been about Ted affecting the people around him and how some of them change for what we understand as “the better” but not being ready to make those changes on himself. This time, going back home to his son, I think he did choose to make those changes. He’s kept up with therapy, he has been working through his feeling towards his dad and how that affected him as a father and by choosing to going back to Henry he’s making the difficult decision of being a dad even though he has stated that he feels he’s gonna fail at that because of his experience with his dad. That’s why I’m ok with the ending. He moved to London on a whim and was not sure if he was making the right decision, he was just running away from something that was making him feel uncomfortable. This time though, he’s sure of the decision he’s making, whatever the outcome is he’s doing it, he’s believing in himself as a father, he believes he deserves to be a good father.

As for his reaction to the rest of the people being emotional about him leaving, truth is he’s always been really loud and excitable but about thing relating to other people, not his personal feelings. To me he’s not acting any different and he receives what the others do or say to him, and he replies in his own way. Is not like he doesn’t say anything to the team, he does before the second half, he also talk to rebecca and hugs her before leaving. He answers in the way he shows his vulnerability, leaving “excited ted” on the side and actually being vulnerable.

The thing with saying no to his name appearing on the book, for me, is also amazing and really smart. If it says “The lasso way” it makes you think that what happened to the team was only because of Ted and for it to happen anywhere else you need Ted there. If it’s “The Richmond way” it includes everyone on that club, which is what happened here, everyone was important, everyone put a part of themselves in building this amazing team and club, and this way you’re saying it can happen anywhere people work together and are good to others. It’s the ultimate “believe” to anyone reading the book.

Rebecca asking him to stay, to me, is also based on fear, fear about what will happen if this person that has been here for me from the beginning goes away. How am I going to handle things without him. She even says it, if you stay I stay if you go I go. She need to make a decision about the club for herself, not about her ex-husband and not about the only head coach she has work with. About herself and what she wants. And she does. And she likes being a part of the club and decides to stay and keep making it better.

I’m sorry for the long message, and the typos (it’s late here 🤦🏼‍♀️) and I’m sure you’ll still feel cheated by the finale and I get it, it has happened to me with other shows, but I wanted to share my thoughts in case, I don’t know, it makes sense to someone… 🤷🏼‍♀️😅 as you can see I also have a lot of opinions and not a lot of people to share them with

Hi! Thanks for your message and willingness to share your thoughts. Kind of sad you're anon, because you're hiding from me. Please don't be scared. I don't bite, promise!

Now that I've had a week to process, I've gone through all stages of grief and can now think rationally. It was definitely rough those first few days 😅

While I'm not completely on your side yet, I respect your opinions and there's definitely a lot of truth to what you're saying. As I mentioned, it wasn't the worst episode ever, just not an ending that left me fully satisfied.

I've come to the conclusion that I'm more of a visual person and so my impressions of the episode were mostly how I personally interpreted what was shown, which I truly felt was lacking not just in this episode but throughout the season as whole. So many unnecessary scenes and lacklustre dialogue that could easily be fixed. Overall, I truly feel like that there was room for improvement.

I actually would love to respond to more of what you said but only if you DM me! Happy to discuss further.

[kitakashi]

yea turns out he was an arrancar so 😃 but then again something told me it wasn’t real.. his “performance” was off putting and I’m glad rukia didn’t let her guard down completely. she was half and half. I knew it was too good to be true. as for the spoiler it wasn’t something that I needed more investigation on bc if I keep watching I know it will get answered or mentioned… but the spoiler was a certain someone and his family are related to the shibas 🤯

NOOOO but hold up… I’m currently like on episode 164 and I wanna talk about it.. so by the looks of it ulquiora technically killed ichigo right? like he’s dead but if it wasn’t for grimmjow breaking orhime out to turn time back and revive him then it would have ended with our MC dead. that’s what I want your opinion on. that he died. that’s what it looked like to me. a certain show I’m watching has the same thing that the mc died but gets revived by a miracle.

as for the orhime ask i do hope this arc turns out the way I’m imagining it. if if doesn’t you’ll hear it from me again haha. also I was totally unaware of how the fandom treats her. she has a huge hate club and I was so surprised. they call her all kind of names and I was like wait hold up I’m bout to fight everyone on her behalf, orhime get behind me!! lol like the men mostly don’t like her and I’m like?? that’s a first bc y’all usually ogle over the women’s figure and stuff, but it also made me realize that at the end of the day that’s all they see. a fucking object. they don’t respect the person. it’s like for them it’s “damn she’s fine af, but fuck her i can’t stand her ass. she’s so useless” and that gets me fucking mad. I’d like to punch them through the screen if I could 😒

Kaien being absorbed and technically still existing but not sentient… it awful but at the same time a good guy like him would waste away with guilt had he been aware of what the hollow was doing. It gave Rukia some closure tho.

I mean 🤷‍♀️ Ichigo technically dies a lot? The hollow protects his mind in a way while Hime heals his body. If he wasn’t the main character I’d be concerned.

Shōnen anime doesn’t typically have a lot of strong female characters. Hime isnt alone. Sakura from Naruto. Lucy from Fairy Tail. Noelle from Black Clover. Nobara from Jujutsu Kaisen. Anzu/Tea from Yugioh. The list goes on and on. The leading female partner always receives hate. The funny part is, if you read interviews with the authors they say the FMC they created is their dream girl. I think a lot of people are unintentionally misogynistic. And others are simply jealous.

Another reason I don’t participate in fandom discussions. Too much hate. Don’t like a character? Scream to your bff if you have to and then just leave it alone.

Also, the anime typically cuts a lot especially in older animes and where do they cut it? First from the FMC. So people who only watch the anime are missing so much of the story. Maybe not plot wise but the actual depth of the characters. I’m stopping myself from ranting about how the Naruto anime ruined Sakura. And Yugioh anime making Anzu so useless. 😤

[ginjointsintheworld]

“After breaking up with Leyla and allowing her to stay in the apartment in the finale, Lauren relies on her friends for a place to stay and it doesn’t go as well as she hoped….Leyren fans should be prepared, there is a big shocker at the end of the episode that even I didn’t see coming.”

Okay the negative bitch in me says Leyla ends up moving back home to Pakistan or being married? Idk but with how much they love to spring surprises on the audience instead of building on current stories(also by how generally bitter the review is lmao)I’m guessing it’s something insane. Moving back would be heartbreaking but at least give us closure while a husband would just. Destroy any hope I have of the writers being sane and actually caring about Leyla/Leyren. Plus it’ll make Leyla haters act even weirder about Leyla than they already are. I know hardcore Leyren fans see some kind of plan but their storyline last season left a sour taste in a lot of peoples mouths(mine included but I personally felt like everyone was written OOC so I don’t even blame the characters like it’s just terrible,terrible,terrible writing. I mean giving Lauren money in a paper bag? What the actual fuck lmao. But yeah let’s say things go the hopeful route. Maybe Leyla asks Lauren to try again? Idk how that would be surprising unless they’re in a really bad place the entire episode though. Also, it’s been a year and a half(Luna was 3, she’s 5 now)and Lauren hasn’t found a place yet? Yeah NYC is expensive but Lauren the millionaire hasn’t found a place and has to room with a friend? Yeah ok😂the writers might as well just be honest with us rn and admit Bloomnolds is on the horizon LOL!!

anon 2: Leyla seeing someone else right now is terrible. Literally terrible I mean even if they get back together in last couple of episodes it will feel so cheap. Yeah she’s allowed to date whoever she wants but damn them together in Lauren’s apartment hurts. And knowing Lauren is still so in love with her? Since when would she do that! I guess this is the opener for Lauren to stay with her sister but they couldn’t think of anything else? anon 3: Lololol what a shame about Leyren. They could've left it open ended at 4×22. 🤷🏻‍♀️ anon 4: I’m so very disappointed in how Leyren ended up. I didn’t have a ton of hope after the bribe but I thought there had to be a method to the madness instead there was just more madness. I don’t get it, why put them through all that for such a useless ending? The bribe was one thing but the other issues they kept dumping on them was insane. Not to mention trashing Leyla in the end which makes me so sad. They could’ve let her go and had her be the one that got anyway but they decided to do this instead and I don’t get it.

let me just say, i emphatically agree with all of you about how disappointing it was that they wrote leyla out that way. i don't think the time between s4 and s5 was a long as 1.5 years, likely a couple of months. but agreed, leyla is allowed to date whoever she wants but did she have to bring the woman back to the apartment that belongs to her ex-gf who she knows is still in love with her 😭 doesn't this lady have her own place y'all can go to 😭 leaving that moment as the last time we physically see leyla too??? the next tidbit we get is that her visa cleared and she moved out and also transferred residency to a different hospital in NYC. it felt so sweeping things under the rug and move along for a relationship between two characters that spanned almost half the lifetime of the show. at least floyd and evie got a proper, even if melancholy, goodbye. i agree that if this was going to be the way they played it out, should've just left things at 4x22 and start 5x01 with leyla written out offscreen. the writers really did their best to leave us with a bitter taste in our mouths as a last impression of her character smh.

also how am i suppose to believe that leyla shinwari, who was always so conscious to be careful and respectful of lauren's apartment, the space that leyla once was part of the beginning of building a life there together, is now fine and dandy bringing over a new woman to the place that she knows she's staying as a guest??? i could've lived with this if they had kept her character around and actually let them slowly repair the foundation of their relationship through working together in the ED. but alas. then to throw salt in the wound, that interview from schulner after the episode that was just like 'yeah nvm the bribe irrevocably fucked them up.' like fuck off dog then what was the point of us going through the back half of s4 and the shitty mess that spiraled from that 😭???? you know what, maybe it's actually a small blessing that the writers didn't approach leyren getting back together in the finale episodes of the series. god knows how they would've fucked that up. i just hate that they fucked up canon so much that the fanfic writers lost all motivation to even do a fix it 😔✊

[universallywriting]

Angry Steven Essay 1 - Ignoring Your Kids and the Consequences

A lot of people have been wondering why Steven is so angry, and where their sweet baby boy has gone, and I think people are struggling because they don’t understand how little they respected Steven before.

Because I don’t think that Steven has undergone a huge character shift. Admittedly, he’s angry more frequently now, but I don’t think his anger is bigger or more intense or any worse than it’s been at other points in the series. Steven’s feelings haven’t gotten bigger…

But Steven has.

I counted up all the times Steven gets angry in the series, being fairly charitable and not counting more minor moments of annoyance of frustration. I’ve got about 21 moments out of 160 episodes for the original series. Granted, that’s only once every seven episodes, but it’s not insignificant. The idea that Steven never gets angry is factually wrong. 

We see his temper the first time in Steven the Swordfighter, and it’s not a very wholesome look at the boy. He’s frustrated because Pearl is gone and Holo-Pearl isn’t a good replacement. And, already, I bet you’re starting to tune out a little. Because Steven’s being a stupid little kid, isn’t he? Pearl’s coming back. He’s just throwing a tantrum.

Tantrum is the word we give to anger and sadness we don’t respect. It’s a word we use to belittle and ignore children, even when their feelings are justified.

We see something similar in Rose’s Room. He screams at the gems because they ruin the ending of his video game. And, sure that’s a bummer Steven, but it’s just a game. There’s a big space opera out there, so why are you so worried about this? And yeah, you got mad that Greg lied to you in House Guest, but he just wanted to spend time with you. It’s a cute father/son moment, really. Steven is angry, sure, but it’s just kind of pitiful, isn’t it? Poor silly kid. He’s wrapped up in his little concerns when the world is so big and scary.

But you were on his side in Warp Tour. Because he’s right this time, so it’s not a tantrum. And you’re mad at the gems because they’re treating it as a tantrum. But here’s the thing - the gems should never treat him this way. Because so far? Every single one of Steven’s fears and struggles are valid and worthy of respect. Steven isn’t pitching a fit because they brought him a scarlet firetruck and he wanted a cherry firetruck. He’s hurt. That deserves respect and attention and apologies.

In Steven the Swordfighter, he’s struggling because one of his guardians is really hurt. Not only that, but she’s hurt in a way that she can’t talk to him, can’t let him know it’s going to be okay, and in her place is the thing that hurt her. You’ll also note that Amethyst and Garnet are conspicuously absent during all of this, because apparently the boy doesn’t need comfort and care after watching Bird Mom get wasted and spending days hovering over her unhatched egg. Steven is going through all this grief and fear alone.

In Rose’s Room, Steven is denied his chance to spend time with the gems after they promised. They don’t respect or value Steven’s time. Why would they? He’s a child. And clearly he proves his time is worthless by putting so much value in his silly video game he interrupted. What’s the ending of your stupid golf game matter when the plot it rolling along, Steven? Big, important adult things are here. Drop what you’re doing. Ignore your interests. What the gems are doing is more valuable than what you’re doing every single time.

This is a general trend. Warp Tour is the perfect encapsulation of the problem, because it’s finally important enough that Steven fights to be heard. The first thing to remember about this episode is that we, the audience, are placed on Steven’s side because we’ve seen what Steven has seen. We know he’s right. The gems, however, believe what Steven is saying to be impossible. From their perspective, Steven is saying that a masked man broke down their door last night. Be honest - if you knew a kid making that claim and the door was fine, are you going to take it seriously?

The problem in Warp Tour is not that the gems don’t believe him. It’s reasonable not to. The problem is the way they react to it. Amethyst groans and complains about how long it’s taking to make Steven feel better, making him feel like a burden. Pearl aggressively confronts him with evidence, treating him like they’re in a debate and he needs to be proven wrong. That makes him feel stupid, belittled and ignored. Garnet says that it’s important to make Steven feel secure, but even that is condescending and quietly insists that Steven is being irrational.

Even at the end, Garnet is the only one who even slightly makes amends, saying she should have listened to him while also not apologizing. Pearl and Amethyst don’t make amends at all. But do you know who does say sorry four times? Steven. Steven has been taught and continues to be taught that his feelings are secondary. The things in his life that are important aren’t really important compared to the serious grown up issues. 

The lack of apologies are consistent. In Keystone Motel, Ruby and Sapphire realize Steven is upset and make up with each other, but don’t make up with Steven. Don’t apologize to Steven. In Maximum Capacity, Amethyst never apologizes to Steven for shapeshifting into his dead mom. (Which, always and forever - What the hell, Ame?)

The gems brushed off these feelings and due to that, I think a lot of the audience did too. But the gems do occasionally ask Steven what’s wrong, and he shuts them down.

So why does he do that? Why doesn’t he work it out? Because they spent his entire life ignoring his problems, disregarding his fears, not knowing what’s important to him. I’ve seen a lot of talk about Gemcation and how the stuff with Connie was Steven repressing his trauma over space and… no. It’s not. It’s really, really not. It’s yet another example of how the gems (and the fandom) ignore the things that matter to Steven in favor of what they think he should care about, and it comes down to this one extremely painful moment.

Garnet: Steven, I know what’s troubling you.

Steven: You do? (huge relieved smile) Gosh. I really messed up, didn’t I?

He’s so, so excited for someone to understand him. He’s so thrilled for someone to understand what’s wrong, and value his problems and his life. And what happens? Garnet talks about Pink Diamond. He’s crushed again.The most important thing to Steven is his relationships with other people, his friends. Literally his entire problem solving method is to go make more friends. He’s not worried about getting hurt or how scary Homeworld is, he’s scared that his family is going to stop loving him because of the mistakes he made.

But the gems don’t take the time to understand what Steven truly values. They don’t take the time to respect his interests. They don’t take the time to know him. And we’re still seeing that. They don’t understand what movies he likes. They don’t understand how his taste in food has changed. They don’t realize he’s been a vegetarian for a month. That’s not a little change. And, what’s more, that’s a value. That’s something extremely important, a sacrifice you decide to make because you think it’s a big deal.

And the gems don’t know.

So why would he talk to them? If someone was so uninterested in my life they couldn’t figure out I’d been a vegetarian for a month, I wouldn’t be opening up about my deepest problems. And when have they ever guessed a problem right? When have they ever taken an interest in things that matter to him? When have they ever told him that his human half is just as valuable, that he deserves to do whatever he wants, that he doesn’t have to be the son of Pink Diamond and can actually just be Steven?

But why bother when you can just cheer him up with s’mores and camping and Dogcopter, right? Steven doesn’t get angry! Our precious baby boy pouts. He throws some tantrums. The only time his anger matters is in Warp Tour, because he’s right about these big adult things. Steven is a child and he is small and cute and funny and his voice cracks when he shouts. It’s funny, isn’t it? He’s just a little kid. Little boys get angry and they scream and they holler about stupid things, and who cares, right?

Until one day they’re not so little anymore.

And now it doesn’t seem so funny, does it? Now it’s kind of scary. Now, the little kid that you rolled your eyes at and ignored the emotions of is big. He’s got a deep voice. He’s got broad shoulders. When he screams at you, it’s not something to roll your eyes over. It’s kind of terrifying now, isn’t it? Because there’s real power in that bigger body, and even the lizard part of your brain at the base of your spinal chord knows that. There’s a real, destructive power when he screams, and you have to listen.

The gems still think he’s a kid, and the audience is starting to realize he’s not. And the audience is already scared of what a kid as angry as Steven, with no coping mechanisms, is going to look like as a grown man.

It’s really easy to ignore a little boy with a weak grasp of his strength. It’s a lot harder to ignore a man whose screams shake your house down.

Value your kid’s feelings. They’re going to be grown some day. And what’s more? They’re people. Their feelings mattered all along. Steven’s feelings mattered all along. 

The only thing that’s changed is that you can’t call it cute anymore.

[tsukkisbean]

cuddling | headcanons

genre: fluff!!

characters: kuroo, bokuto, akaashi x gn!reader

warnings: none

a/n: idk how i feel about these but,,, inspired by conversations i had with some mutuals!! read under the cut for bokuto and akaashi! also sorry i got really soft for akaashi and ended up having a lot of dialogue hahaha,a,,

original request here

kuroo tetsurō

i know most people see kuroo as a super tough charismatic dude but sometimes he just wants to be coddled like a baby don’t even try to change my mind on this

after a particularly rough day at work he comes home with a tiny grey cloud over his head : ( he gives you a quick hug and kiss but doesn’t stick around for long

you finish up whatever you’re doing grab a bag of chips or something from the pantry and run up to your shared bedroom to find your boyfriend laying in bed on his side, under the covers

you peel the covers off his body and dangle the chips in front of him

“baby, do you want me to feed you?”

he can’t help but smile at you, tugging on your arm gently to pull you onto the bed with him

you happily oblige, immediately climbing in and snuggling up against his back

you prop yourself up onto your elbow, your hand gently threading through his messy bed head and he lets out a content sigh

he leans his head to rest on the crook of your neck, while you have one arm slung lazily around his waist, occasionally feeding him a chip or two

you throw one leg over his hip, and automatically his fingertips finds your leg, mindlessly tracing patterns over the fabric of your pajamas

he’s holding his phone in one hand, randomly playing through cute cat videos that show up on his recommended

“y/n should we get a cat?”

“if you really want one but why do you need one when you have me?”

his body rumbles with laughter in response to your snarky comment

before you can get mad at him he turns his body to catch your lips in a kiss

he sits up, pulling you up and into his lap, your legs automatically straddle his hips, and arms encircling his neck

“are you feeling better now?”

“y/n i never have a bad day with you in my life”

bokuto kōtarō

bokuto is away for a game so you’re at your shared apartment all by yourself for the weekend

to help pass the time you start a new show and you end up getting really into it

hours pass and now you’re wrapped up in a big blanket, sitting on top of a bunch of pillows on the floor in front of your tv, so into the show you don’t even hear the front door open, or the approaching footsteps or even the booming voice of your boyfriend that’s been calling you since he left the elevator (sorry neighbours)

being the impatient, excitable man that he is when you don’t respond for the nth time he decides to try to get your attention a different way

just as the show is about to hit it’s climax, your body is shoved to the floor, face stuffed into the pillows and you completely miss the big reveal

when you try to get up, your body is held down by a heavy weight that is your beefy (<33) boyfriend

“bo get OFF before i hurt you”

“you already hurt me when you ignored me for the past 5 minutes”

“wait when did you get home?”

“exactly my point y/n”

you have nothing to say to that so you just let him lay on top of you, his head resting on top of yours, arms and legs sprawled out

you reach one arm out, slipping it under bo’s  and automatically his hand curls around yours

your other hand reaches behind you, gently curling and uncurling against the nape of his neck

while the two of you watch tv (mostly you because he has no idea what’s going on) he’s placing kisses all over your neck and on your cheek and jawline

“bo i’m trying to watch”

“pay attention to me :-(”

“the episode is almost over, i’ll pay attention to you after, okay?”

the episode comes to an end, and your half your body is asleep from being stuck in one position for so long and so you call out to your boyfriend to get him to move

when he doesn’t respond you notice how slow his breathing and how still his body is against yours in contrast to his usual energetic behind

then you realize he’s fallen asleep on top of you but you don’t mind because you know how hard he’s been working with his team

akaashi keiji

recently, akaashi’s been working late nights at the office so that he can meet deadlines so the two of you haven’t spent much time together

so when he gets home just after midnight he’s surprised when you come running to greet him at the front door but he immediately pulls you into his arms, and buries his face into the crook of your neck just drinking in your presence because he missed you that much

he knows he really should wash up and get ready for bed, but he can’t bear to leave your side so, still holding onto each other, the two you shuffle over to the living room, plopping onto the couch

you’re sitting between his legs, one of his hands intertwines with yours, the other holding one your favourite books, flipping to a random passage

his chin rests on your shoulder, whispering each line into your ear, occasionally pausing to place a chaste kiss on your cheek or temple

“i am nothing special; just a common man with common thoughts, and i’ve led a common life. there are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten. but in one respect i have succeeded as gloriously as anyone who’s ever lived: i’ve loved another with all my heart and soul; and to me, this has always been enough.”

his voice is so soothing, and you can feel yourself teetering between consciousness and sleep but you try your best to keep your eyes moment, not wanting morning to come where he’d have to leave you again

he shifts your positions, all while still holding your hand, so that the two of you are now laying down and this time your bodies are facing each other, legs tangled together

you hear a soft thunk as he places the book down on the coffee table, his now free hand making it’s way to rest on your back, tracing small patterns, mostly hearts to silently show you he loves you

his mouth is busy placing gentle kisses on the knuckles of your hand that’s still locked with his

“keiji, where do you see yourself in 10 years?”

he lets go of your hand, and you can’t help but feel sad at the sudden loss of warmth but the feeling quickly fades when both his arms hold you tight, your head meeting his chest

“here with you, just like this. only thing that’ll be different is that i’ll have put a gold band on your finger”

though he can’t see it, he can feel your lips part into a wide smile against his chest

the two of you lay there in your peaceful bliss, his steady heartbeat lulling you to sleep

[galactichoneybee92]

Disorganized Thoughts on Sex Education Season 3

I binge watched the entirety of season 3 on Friday, and after sitting with it for a couple days, I have composed myself enough to offer some thoroughly disorganized thoughts on what I’ve seen. 

     While I did enjoy many things about this season, I don’t understand the people who claim it was the strongest. In fact, I believe that it was the weakest. I don’t know what exactly happened during the delay, but I swear they have to have lost staff. Writers, perhaps editors? Whoever usually reins things in a bit, keeps the show grounded, and everyone in character. Whoever had that job, they’re either gone, or they’ve just stopped giving a fuck which, while relatable, is unfortunate in regards to this show. Now what do I mean by that? Let me elaborate:

1. This season was gross. And I don’t mean in general, like I didn’t like it. No, I mean that the writers decided that being sexually explicit wasn’t funny enough and decided to add just a fuck-ton of fart jokes and toilet humor. And I get it, okay? This show prides itself on being crass. But you can be crass without being disgusting. I acknowledge that this comes entirely down to personal preference, but I can’t stand toilet humor and I feel like this season really ramped it up. Every episode was someone farting or talking about shit, or that god forsaken thrice cursed bus scene. Sex doesn’t gross me out, talk about sex all fucking day I don’t care, but I don’t need to watch an extended scene of someone digging their own shit out of a bus toilet in a sock and chucking it out the window onto someone’s car. And even just smaller things, like Aimee talking about the flour constipating her or her taking a massive shit in Jean’s toilet when she and Maureen were there. Those scenes weren’t necessary for the plot in any way, which leads me to believe they were just there because someone thought they were funny and if that’s you’re thing go off, but it most definitely isn’t mine. 

2. Ruby and Otis. And more importantly, what was the point of Ruby and Otis? Now don’t get me wrong, I like Ruby as a character and I found their relationship interesting. And I think that it would have been even more interesting if the writers had devoted more time to properly developing it- Ruby was getting better as a person but she wasn’t there yet. I liked it once Otis started standing up for himself more, and demanding respect in the relationship and as she started to actually care for him she did come to treat him more respectfully. I think with more time they could have been really good. But they didn’t get that time- she said she loved him and they didn’t even work through that fiasco before he was kissing Maeve at a gas station. Overall it had a lot of potential but the way they played it left me just sitting here like...why? Like from a narrative standpoint what was even the purpose? Because from where I’m sitting it really only served as yet another roadblock standing between Otis and Maeve and even though I shipped them like CRAZY in season 1 and 2 the constant unnecessary roadblocks are getting a little old. Which leads me to my next point...

3. Why was Maeve and Otis so unsatisfying? That’s not actually a rhetorical question, I can tell you: Because the writers put so little effort into what is supposed to be the main couple on the show. I feel like they put more effort into keeping them apart and then when it comes time to put them together they’re just kind of like NOW KISS, they only talk like once after and then they ship Maeve off to America. Now I’ve heard rumors that Emma Mackey might not want to return to the show for season 4 so if I had to guess at all of this I would say that both this point and the last was a sloppy attempt to cover their asses in the event that they can’t get her to sign back on. If she does return, they can explore the relationship between her and Otis in season 4. If she doesn’t, they’re probably going to put him back with Ruby. But they couldn’t just write her off without at least touching on the relationship they spent the past 2 seasons building, even though Otis and Maeve barely interact in this season, which is frankly another reason why it felt so shoddy. They spent exponentially more time talking to other people and then half the time when Otis was talking to her he was super cringe. 

     Overall, despite loving their relationship initially, the characters have changed so much from their original dynamic, and have interacted so little, that I really don’t even know what’s pulling these characters together. It’s disappointing to admit that I’m kind of over it but honestly even the writers don’t feel invested. it kind of feels like they put them together because the audience expected it and after 3 seasons of anticipation the payoff was generally underwhelming. 

4. Otis. Just...Otis. I understand that Otis was introduced as being a very nice helpful character in season one. He was the quintessential good guy. And then in season 2 he got to explore being a douche for a bit- which is fine. He is a teenager and he was going through some shit. But I really felt that by the end of season 2 he should have resolved that particular plot point. And he was a little better in season 3 I guess? But he didn’t really progress until the end of this season and from a writing standpoint I feel like they really dragged that out for too long. 

5. What’s with this show and it’s hard on for cheating? Like seriously, why does almost every relationship have some kind of infidelity. Like, were Otis and Ruby officially broken up when he kissed Maeve? Maeve certainly hadn’t broken up with Isaac, and this was almost directly on the heels of their very emotional sex scene. There was the issue with Jean and Jakob last season, and Eric cheating on Rahim with Adam. And then Eric (for some reason) cheating on Adam this season with random Nigerian dude whose name I can’t remember. Just...why is this a thing? 

     But also can we just talk about how weird the break up was? And out of left field? Like they literally spent the whole season developing their relationship, and then they get to Nigeria and after hiding the whole time he is subtly able to talk about Adam to his grandmother. And he sounds so proud, and so nice when he’s doing so, and not at all like he’s planning to end this wonderful relationship he’s describing. And then when he gets back, guilty after cheating on said boyfriend (like he should be) he asks Adam, seemingly as a test, if he would go out to a club with him. And Adam says no because that isn’t his scene and like...Eric knows that isn’t his scene. But at the same time, I feel like if Eric had sat him down and been like “You don’t have to wear makeup or dress outlandishly, just come to the club with me because it’s important to me” I really think Adam would have gone. And if the clothes and make-up were a dealbreaker like...why? You know who you’re dating. And while wanting him to tell his mom isn’t an overwhelmingly outrageous request, when you start getting into his physical appearance then that’s just actually trying to change him as a person and that’s just a really shitty thing to do. 

6. I promise there will be some positives in this list at some point but before that...what the fuck Eric? Like, I understand that Eric wants to get out there and explore his options, find someone more comfortable doing the things that he wants to go do. That’s realistic I guess, your high school relationships don’t work out and just because Adam came out for him he still isn’t obligated to stay in a relationship with him. But from a fictional narrative standpoint? What the fuck is this? Adam and Eric were one of the most popular ships on the show. They have been foreshadowed since season one, and had so so much effort put into developing them both as characters. Adam has come such a long way. They have brought him so far out of him comfort zone that Adam in season 3 is almost a completely different person to Adam in season 1. They spent so much of this season further developing the relationship they established last season, and for what? To break them up at the very end? WHY? 

7. Following on the heels of point 6, Aimee and Steve. They didn’t need to break up. I understand the direction the writers were taking this- Aimee wants to be single for a while to fully process her trauma and get to know her own body again. And that’s valid. I just don’t like it because I very strongly suspect that she will have a new love interest next season and that all her stuff about being single isn’t going to be shown. It will all happen off screen during whatever time skip they employ between seasons and then they’re going to use the fact that she is single to introduce a new more dramatic love interest for her since golden retriever boy Steve wasn’t interesting enough for them. Maybe that’s just me being cynical but if anyone can come out of season 3 NOT feeling a little cynical it would probably be a miracle. 

8. A positive! Finally a positive! I love the relationship between Adam and Rahim. Do I want them to date? Not particularly. I wouldn’t be mad if it happens, but I really just like them as like awkward begrudging friends. Some of my favorite scenes this season were the interactions between the two of them (Once again, the disgusting bus ride notwithstanding) I like Rahim a lot more when he isn’t interrupting my ship (which is a habit of mine. I liked Ola a lot more once she broke up with Otis) 

9. I don’t think Viv was out of character. Some people have been saying that she was, but I don’t think so. She has always been ambitious and even Jackson understand that about her in the show. And even when she was working for Hope and carrying out her rules, she was never an antagonist because she never gave up her personal morals to do it. For example, when Hope had them divided into boy and girl lines, Jackson asked her where Cal should go. She told him that boys went to the left and girls went to the right but as soon as Cal was like “Im not a boy or a girl,” Viv was immediately like, “ Oh! Right! Let me ask Hope.” She approached the situation in a way that made it clear that she recognized this issue as a legitimate problem and when she went to Hope it wasn’t framed like “This person is being an issue refusing to choose,” but instead like “We didn’t account for this possibility, that was our bad. How should we fix it?” Later on, on the class trip, Viv even lied to Hope and told her everything was fine because she didn’t want to get anyone in trouble. Viv took the opportunities presented to her, but I never interpreted it as her being an antagonist in any way. 

10. I love that Viv and Jackson remained friends, and I love that Viv has her sexy long-distance boyfriend who sexts about wheat XD Her sexting was one of my favorite scenes- well written, laugh out loud hilarious. No complaints. Sexy boyfriend was indeed very sexy and honestly, Viv absolutely deserves him. 

11. Mr. Groff better apologize to Adam next season, or at the very least have any kind of fucking conversation with his son at all or else why the fuck did I watch SO MANY scenes developing him as a sympathetic character? They could have spent that time developing ANYONE, but instead we were focused on him so like...I’m going to need some kind of payoff. Make it relevant

12. I want more bonding scenes between Adam and Maureen. I love Maureen- I love her friendship with Jean and I love how she always chooses her son over  her estranged husband (as she should) I especially love her very loving and supportive relationship with Adam, even though Adam is terrible at communication. It’s a self indulgent wish, I’d just like to see more. 

13. Isaac. I made many posts after the season 2 release, about how much I despised Isaac. Unlike Ola, I find that I didn’t have a complete change of heart but I don’t hate him AS MUCH as I did before. I still don’t like him though and while you might think “Yeah but you hate anyone who stands in the way of Otis and Maeve” no. This is historically accurate and yet, this season? Not true. For example, I don’t hate Ruby. Do I think her inclusion in the story was handled poorly in a way that made the entire plot point unnecessary? Yes I do. I also feel that way about Isaac, but less so because I feel like the relationship between him and Maeve deepening was better foreshadowed and was kind of the natural conclusion given the events of the previous season. As a character though, I still don’t really like him, and after 2 seasons of him I don’t think it has anything to do with him interfering with Maeve’s relationship with Otis- I just legitimately don’t like him. And I don’t like him with Maeve. I think the biggest irritant this season was the way that, after confessing about deleting the message he was like “yeah I fucked up but only because I like you so much, just forgive me” And then at one point I believe I remember Maeve apologizing to him for her reaction to everything. But then when he found out that she kissed Otis (admittedly a shitty thing to do) he got so mad and like, held a fucking grudge about it. And I get it, he has a right to be mad, but also boy you were the one groveling like 2 episodes ago get over yourself. They both fucked up in different ways but he acts like he has the moral high ground all the time and it gets really annoying. I don’t know, maybe I’m letting my general dislike of the character color my perception of events, but this show has managed to change my opinion on characters before but it still hasn’t made me like him so I think it’s just not going to. 

14. What the hell were they trying to do with Hope? Like legitimately, what? Because I can’t quite figure it out. And that’s mostly because I feel like they were trying to make her a nuanced and sympathetic villain, but they broke a cardinal rule- To make a villain sympathetic you must also ensure that nothing they do is inherently irredeemable. For example, principal Groff. He was a grade A dick for the past 2 seasons but I still feel that, now that we have a sympathetic backstory, if handled properly he could still come back from this. He can see the error of his ways and if he works really really hard to make amends to his family he could perhaps have his character turned around. In Hope’s case however, I would argue that they did makes her nuanced, but failed to make her sympathetic because as a character she went too far. If they had stuck to her just being a general tyrant of a headmaster - enforcing strict rules and regulations but doing so out of insurmountable pressure from her own bosses -  and then softened us towards the character by showing us her willingness to help Maeve get a scholarship, her troubled marriage, and her inability to conceive, it could have worked. The trouble is when they brought in her racism and general bigotry. Those weren’t flaws brought on by stress, those were deeply rooted character flaws that the character isn’t going to overcome because by the end of the season the character hasn’t even admitted them to herself. The issues were addressed by others, but not by Hope herself, leaving me to believe that the character herself still views them as a nonissue. I would be very surprised if she even appears in season 4 and moreso if they manage to even half-way redeem her. I’m relatively certain we won’t see her again, which makes me question the effort put into her character development. 

15. I like Jakob as a character, I don’t like him as a love interest for Jean, but I LOVE him as a father figure for Otis. It’s very conflicting because I want him to stay in Otis’s life, but I don’t like him as a romantic interest for Jean. also it’s pretty clear he isn’t Joy’s father so that’s going to be an awkward fucking conversation. If she even tells him. The way the show is going I kind of feel like she won’t, or will at least put it off for as long as possible. 

16. I want more interaction between Otis and Jean. Positive interaction, not just her being intrusive or Otis being a little bitch. I like their mother-son dynamic when they’re getting along so I just generally want more of it. 

17. Adam. Adam has become my favorite character in this show and I just generally want more of him and his relationships with others. I love his relationship with his mother but I want more if him and Emily, and him and Ola and now him and Ruby. I want to see him and Ruby discussing the Kardashians. I want him to train Madam and enter her in more competitions and just ultimately grow his social circle. Get all the love and support for god’s sake this boy needs it. 

Im sure there are plenty of things I’m forgetting and you can ask me about them if you like but for now it’s late and I’m tired. 

[veryimportantsparkles]

I really need to do more shilling for Josh the Boyfriend’s project!  Neon Divide (formerly Callous Row) is a giant VRchat roleplay, played by over a 100 players and streamed by most of them.  It’s so hard to explain that.  Imagine a tabletop game like Dungeons and Dragons, but done over a 3d chat client.  So some interactions are pure improv acting, based on the players being able to speak and gesture to interact with each other realistically.  But occasionally the game mechanics require a DM to roll a dice (mostly for technical skills).  But also, Neon Divide has a dev team that coded a bunch of custom stuff into their maps so that they can use functional weapons and track damage and effects.

I’ve talked about Neon Divide a little, and done art for it (hmmm, I should update the tag to reflect the name change) but I can never figure out a good way to explain it.  I’m not an expert; I’ve never used VRchat myself, nor do I follow any of the players other than Josh.  It’s a huge setting, you can follow one player’s streams and never encounter half the other players.  They’re spread out across four separate maps with their own overarching storylines, there are several factions in-world, and of course there are little cliques of characters who hang out with each other.  I could probably give a good summary for Josh’s season 1 and 2 character, Johnny, but he’s DEAD and it’s TRAGIC.

For season 3, Josh is one of the DMs of the Upper City map.  ND is a space cyberpunk setting, taking place in a galaxy divided up between seven megacorporations.  Each corp has a branch office on the planet Hellion, which is a distant, backwater dump planet, and they’re fighting over resources and exploiting the residents in order to prove themselves to their respective main offices.  The Upper City is where (most of) the corporate characters live and work, meaning that Josh is the dungeon master of villain town.  Josh wrote a bunch of new systems for them to use, he calculates out their company stock prices and officiates “bureaucratic combat” (sneaky contract deals), a long with a bunch of other stuff that has yet to come.  The image above is my art for his character, a mad scientist doctor dog.  Every DM gets ‘DM hands,’ an avatar that’s just two sinister floating arms that can roll dice.  Josh put a skull pattern on his, because that’s how he does everything.

You could watch Neon Divide through nearly any of the gajillion characters.  I’m not familiar with a lot of them, but now that Josh is a DM if you watch his perspective you can see him jump around between characters who need dice rolls and lore info.  Sometimes he voices NPC characters (through a phone or through a generic avatar) to push the plot.  So watching him is a decent intro to the other characters on his map.  ‘Episodes’ happen every Friday, and we’re two weeks in.

Episode 1

Episode 2

Ep 1 had a lot of fussing around with technical stuff and was mostly just characters introducing/establishing themselves.  A slow start, as to be expected.  But episode 2!!!  I’m surprised by how many shenanigans are kicking off, the villains are all villaning at each other and it shows so much potential.

This is my long-winded plea to take a look at Neon Divide.  I’ll probably start posting here when episodes start, so take this as the main explanation of what I’m talking about.  Even if you don’t end up following Josh (we also use the Hundera account for streaming normal video games, in which I usually appear as well), check out some of the other players and see if anyone clicks for you.  It’s way more interesting than I can fully explain!