#and... i'm sort of very on board with it?

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

One of the problems I had with the online radicalization of Jalil in reunion is how it actually occurs. Jalil is supposedly radicalized by a message board, but it’s provided by alliance and the AI mascot he uses is Lila. So it’s left muddled on what exactly is happening here.

Is there really an internet based opposition to LB and CN? You wouldn’t think it since Paris enlarge is shown to still support them. But the presence of message boards would imply at least some support for monarch even if it’s mostly trolls. Or is alliance fabricating it for Gabriel to upset people in a targeted way? Or is it just Lila with a bunch of alt accounts? It’s really hard for me to tell just how wide spread this is as a problem for Paris considering it’s dropped after this one episode.

I'm also not sure how seriously we're supposed to take the criticism shown in that episode. It feels very much like the sort of BS we get with Su-Han where he points out a legitimate concern but in the most obnoxious, inflammatory way possible so that the audience feels forced to disagree with him. It's terrible writing that isn't very fun to watch. Reminds me of all the awful live-action Disney reboots that try to engage with every critical take anyone has ever had, leading to a lesser story. They would be much better off to just ignore the criticism they don't want to properly address and have fun with the story even if there's an arguable flaw. That's what suspension of disbelief is all about!

You want Paris to support Ladybug and Chat Noir no matter what they do? Cool! That works! Just don't take an episode and introduce the idea that there is actually criticism out there because that makes us start to question things like anon is doing here.

Another great example is the "issue" that Gabriel never uses the butterfly miraculous to heal his wife when it feels like that should be within its power. The show was totally correct to never address that on screen because the butterfly probably should be able to heal her! The reason it can't is because then the show would end. If the writers tried to explain an in-universe reason, then it would be as nonsensical as their explanation of how the rooster works:

Gabriel: There! (to Orikko) You! You can grant me any power I want! (closes the Grimoire and walks toward Orikko) You will give me the power to travel through time! Orikko: No, you're mistaken! Time travel is Fluff's power and I can't grant the power that already belongs to another Kwami! Gabriel: Are you trying to deceive me?? Orikko: (nods) By all means! Read the Grimoire again! (Gabriel reopens the Grimoire.) Sass: Each Kwami represents a concept, and a concept can only exist once in the universe. Xuppu: Too complicated, Sass! Let's use an example to make things simpler. Take Tikki, she is the Kwami of Creation, and creation is creation, and if there's another creation than creation, then it's not "creation", it's "replication"! Gabriel: Then grant me the power to locate Ladybug and Cat Noir's Miraculous! Orikko: Trouble is, that's not a power; that's a wish! Xuppu: For instance, if I asked Santa for a pair of socks, that's a wish. But if I want Santa to grant me the power to knit socks, then it means Santa needs to know how to knit socks in the first place so he can teach me! Gabriel: (groans angrily) Grant me the power to unmask Ladybug and Cat Noir's secret identities! Xuppu: No can do! Orikko: (shoves Xuppu away) I cannot give a power that would disrupt another Kwami's magic. And being able to conceal the person behind the costume, well, that's part of the magic of their Kwami. Gabriel: (enraged) So you're utterly useless!

If all of this is true, then how do the goat and the peacock make things? Isn't that Creation? And how was the butterfly able to make a time travel villain? That's Fluff's power! And how was Gabriel able to offer to make Marinette into a villain who could unmask people via the butterfly? That's going against the miraculous' powers!

The answer is simply that the lore was not thought out in a way that stands up to even the most basic questions. When that's the case, the only way to handle the problem is to just ignore it. Keep your on screen explanations as shallow as your lore. Don't try to add depth that isn't there. Trying to address it just highlights how shitty your world building is.

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s5 episode 20 thoughts

last episode of the season!!!

things have seemed… tense lately between my best friends mulder and scully. i hope they can work it out. 

anyway, it says here that there is a boy with psychic powers… another child case. they deal with these so often!!!

but maybe he can unlock the secrets of the x files?? how?? i guess i will have to tune in!

post-episode thoughts: scully, i want to hug you. CSM, count your days. destroying information is a crime in my realm, and it will be punished with banishment. mulder, you need to learn how to talk about your feelings. i am no longer suggesting this politely. it must be done. now. skinner, you are the star on top of my metaphorical christmas tree. spender, my feelings towards you are pretty neutral.

we begin in vancouver, where a chess tournament is going on between a grown man and a child. there is a very large crowd and a guy who seems to be up to no good in the ceiling. 

the kid hears voices in his head as this sniper loads up a bullet… can he figure out what is about to happen?? but the voices just sound like weird noises!!!

noooo, don’t kill this little boy!!! he wins just in time, stands up, and the bullet hits the other guy!!! 

so he knew it was going to happen and won just in time to stand up…

leave this little boy alone!! don’t piss me off!!!

OHHH shortened intro AND new words on the screen today… “THE END” <- now there is a movie coming up shortly so i KNOW this is a lie!!!

i am preparing myself for some sort of cliffhanger….

ohohoho kryek is here today, according to the “guest starting” list…. getting ready for some rat-like activities

CSM is buttoning up his shirt as some people arrive upon his frosty property. they have guns… and his alarms are going off… 

BLAM! he shoots one man dead right then and there!! you really cannot underestimate this guy!!! unless we’re talking about his abilities to write fiction!!!

so he’s running barefoot into the snow??? yowch! bloody feet!

the guy in the mask catches him! OH SHIT! IT’S KRYCEK!! “go on! take your shot, alex” <- HOT DAMN! not the first name usage!

he says he was sent to being CSM back…….. by whomst?

there is a sticky note on mulder’s poster. i can’t tell what it says!

OH mulder has a picture of him and scully pinned to his board🥹that's fine that's super fine and i'm not gonna cry!

it’s skinner poking around their office!!! what is he doing down here??

HE WANTS TO KNOW MULDER’S LONG TERM PLANS?! and mulder says they’re right in his hands, referring to the x files

skinner loves his most special and difficult agents. it's true!

“what do you hope to find? i mean, in the end” (mulder looks at skinner suspiciously) “whatever i hope to find is in here. and maybe i’ll know when i find it”

now what is going on…..? something is afoot. somehow i doubt skinner just got randomly curious and started reading through the x files for the funsies.

skinner has a case for him: the assassination of a russian chess player. and agent spender was put in charge of the case by someone from OUTSIDE the bureau!! oh, that must be what has skinner so freaked out. who tf is just putting people in charge of cases?

(i mean, we, the audience, know the answer to this. but if i were skinner, i would be deeply uncomfy at the thought)

“he was very specific that you be excluded” (mulder smiles) lmaoooo

skinner's messy for that!!! and i giggled!!!

BAHAHA scully is in the room listening to spender debrief, and when mulder walks in, spender looks SO mad!! “please continue”, mulder says, after spender gets so caught off guard by seeing him that he literally cannot finish his sentence

you can try to separate mulder and scully, but the universe will find a way to reunite them. like a bonded pair of kitties. 

mulder asks him to rewind the tape and spender says basically no LMAOOO

“let me get through this, if you have any questions, we can talk later” “i-i don’t have any questions, no, i just think you’re wrong” <- LMAOOOOOO i’m at once giggling and cringing in second hand embarrassment 

mulder hates this dude, i'm crying!!!!

scully asks wtf mulder is doing, and he explains he thinks the killer was aiming for the boy!! spender reluctantly does rewind the tape, and mulder points out that the kid pushes back right before the bullet is fired. 

who is this random lady agreeing with mulder that the kid could sense the bullet coming…? he looks utterly shocked to hear her say this!!

and skinner says rewind it again so we can all see for ourselves LMAO everyone hates this spender mfer

(listen. sorry to this man, but i think it would also piss me off if some random guy got put in charge of an investigation because outside forces decreed it to be so)

sure enough, when spender rewinds the tape, the kid looks right at the camera!!! mulder turns to this random woman again in amazement 

meanwhile, krycek is bringing CSM back to the syndicate on a random side street. OH SHIT!! CSM calls them out right then and there for trying to kill him LMAOOO

that had to be awkward as hell! i'm giggling

CSM moves on from that pretty fast. he seems like the type to hold grudges, so perhaps this is part of his secret plot for revenge.

the well-groomed man (and i know that isn’t his name, but i can’t remember what it actually is, and when i tried to google it last time i got spoilers so: to me, he is WGM) says: the boy is a problem to us!! and i say: leave him alone!! let him play chess!!

CSM offers to kill the kid and well-groomed man says “dear god”... umm, well y’all were just trying to do that, so why now are we getting squeamish...!!!

this other dude is called “first elder” by the subtitles! good to know

CSM says he’ll do it… and walks off.

so this lady that was sticking up for mulder is named agent fowley, and scully is making polite small talk as mulder drives them... somewhere. she requested reassignment. hmm…

“1991, that’s about when you started work on the x files”, scully points out. “more or less, yeah”, mulder says. and does not elaborate.

(long lingering eye contact between mulder and fowley)

now… is this woman who i think she is……?

the boy (named gibson) is watching the simpsons. OH SHIT!!! “my name is fox… this is dana and diana”

SHE IS WHO I THOUGHT SHE WAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

oh man. oh man. okay, so i know a tiny bit about this. going bonkers rn.

what i DO know is enough to realize that diana is a controversial topic among the fandom, but i vow to speak my truth. as i always do. and i hope you will treat me with the grace you typically have afforded me.

gibson says he lives in the philippines, that mulder has a dirty mind, and he does NOT want to play any chess. yes, he truly is a psychic.

scully is like wtf is he going on about…. and mulder accuses the boy of being able to read minds

“i know what’s on your mind. i know you’re thinking about one of the girls you brought” (mildly amused scully look) “one of them’s thinking about you��

diana laughs and asks which one�� gibson says mulder doesn’t want him to say.

(shakes head) hey! what’s going on?

mulder declares that gibson needs around the clock protection

oh, a canon-typical fight in the hallway between our agents on if this is possible or not… diana is listening in…. “you know what to do, diana”, mulder says before leaving <- hey. i don’t like that. the tone with which he speaks nor the implication of there being some pre-scully lilith-like figure.

“so you two know each other”, scully points out. “it was along time ago” (long lingering scully glance)

OHHHH spender is NOT letting mulder talk to the assassin… “you’re insulting me when you should be taking notes”, he says <- DAMN!!! the ego on this man! he isn't entirely wrong, but there is no humility about him!

he pushes past spender and gets into the cell, where the shooter claims spender hasn’t given him food or water. mulder orders him off to go get some. 

ohhh he’s playing hardball… he tells the dude that he’ll tell spender he fessed up to the kid being psychic… and if he cooperates with him, maybe he can get him into the witness protection program… does mulder hold this kind of influence?

mulder steals the food that was being brought for him. mulder! you're being a dick! on many fronts!

AWWW, scully and gibson are holding hands as she walks him down the hall :( he didn’t like the tests! poor kid! and he says scully’s wondering about “that other girl” and “she’s wondering about you, too” 

hey…. i get the sense we are pitting two bad bitches against each other via this little boy's mind reading. not a narrative choice i am fond of.

now a group of people are testing gibson for psychic abilities by holding up cards only they can see.

diana says she’s seen clairvoyants, but never of this skill level. she says she spent time with mulder is psychiatric hospitals?? scully.exe is not working 

she has to leave because she is weirded tf out…

(i don't blame her, though. i would also be very weirded out if my partner of 5 years had another partner he very evidently has a history with and never bothered to mention until she suddenly materialized. if i were scully, i'd be like hey mulder... remember all those times i tended to your wounds and held your sobbing body and broke the law for you? yeah, that was super cool. i love how we trust each other. anyway, wtf else are you hiding from me?)

((and i'm not saying that is necessarily the RIGHT or RATIONAL thing to feel, but c'mon. you can't look at me and tell me you wouldn't also be equal parts stung and curious))

shooter guy is being handed a note. it’s on a cigarette pack!!! and it says "you’re a dead man"!!! oh brother... not the CSM on the loose! how is he getting into these buildings still?!?!

LMAOOO???? WHAT IS SCULLY DOING WITH FROHIKE?!?!

look at her looking up into his camera system... she is just so PRETTY!!

bro is in his pajamas and has an absurd number of locks on his door. and i'm giggling!

she’s bringing the whole crew scans of gibson’s brain!! “and you want us to what?” “analyze the data. with an eye to the parapsychological” <- OHHH they’re gagged by that... and i am too! scully opening herself up to extreme possibilities?! or simply trying to anticipate and counter mulder's argument in favor of the kid's clairvoyance?

OHHHH.... SHE WANTS TO KNOW WHO TF DIANA IS LMAOOOOO 

i can’t tell if she’s jealous, or nosy, or both. but i can tell you that i love when scully is nosy. 

frohike says she was mulder’s “chickadee” (LMAO, crazy phrasing) out of the academy. she was with him when he discovered the x files. and she has some sort of background in parascience. whatever that means.

NOOOOO scully looks so sad 💔💔💔 MULDER, DON’T HIDE THINGS FROM HER!!! SHE’LL CRY

stop. stop!!!

gibson is watching cartoons while diana watches him. and here comes mulder. OH, she called him fox. don’t like that. i thought he was adamantly anti-being referred to as fox! is that a development from the past 5 years, or does she not care about what he thinks?

“i sense you could have used an ally, though- someone who thinks like you, with some background” HEY. WATCH HOW YOU TALK ABOUT SCULLY!!!

“oh, you mean scully?” now is that defensiveness i see in his eyes? he doesn’t sound like he’s laughing.

“she’s not what i’d call an open mind on the subject” <- well, diana, you don’t even know her!!! and just because you're right doesn't mean you should go around judging her!

he laughs, but it doesn’t feel like he really means it….

(i was trying to psychoanalyze everything in this godforsaken scene and i had NO idea what the vibe actually was LMAOOOO)

“she’s a, uh… she’s a scientist. she just makes me work for everything” <- HEY!!! what happened to her being “rigid, but in a wonderful way”??? defend her honor in her absence!

“yes, but i’m… i’m sure there were times when two like minds on a case would have been advantageous” <- well girl, from what i've heard, it sounds like you left and went to germany!

“i’ve done okay without you” okay. are we setting boundaries now? is this progress?

NO. it does not appear that this is the case. she is grabbing his hand. “hey. i’m on your side” side eye. from me. sounds like she is implying scully is NOT on his side, which i loathe. and please don’t kiss... i don’t want to see all that. 

where is scully going….? OH NO!!! she walked by and saw them holding hands!!

oh my god, she is leaving….. and i don’t blame her!!

the sad music!!!! stop!!!!! look at her sadly getting in her car!!!!! sadly staring at the wheel!!! sadly buckling up!!!! 

she sounds like she’s going to cry as she calls mulder and says she wants to show him something. and she doesn't want to show it to him there.

now why is agent spender rolling up as she heads out?! we have enough problems to deal with at this time that aren’t him!!!

OH SHIT!!! CSM IS TALKING TO HIM!!!! saying he gave him the case!!!!

he’s trying to give him some fatherly advice despite the fact this dude has no idea they are related. “you’re a bright boy” okay… well that is certainly an avuncular thing to say. perhaps uncomfortably so when coming from a guy you literally just met. “know which men to sacrifice and when” <- now that's some standard CSM advice.

OH SHIT!!!!!!! MULDER SEES HIM!! CSM retreats into the shadows. “i was told he was dead”, mulder pants. “well obviously whoever it is, he’s not” spender has literally no idea who tf this guy is………..

(laughing even harder at his response as i edit my notes. spender must think this mulder fellow is the weirdest dude alive)

i’m kinda laughing, because spender has no idea wtf is going on, while mulder’s world just got rocked upside down and inside out. that’s the devil that killed his dad and took his scully and killed scully’s sister!!! he thought the evil was defeated and it is back!!! poor spender is just here to chat with a stranger. he truly doesn't know anything about the situation! it's comical!

scully and mulder and all of spender’s team are in skinner’s office!!! she has the brain test results from gibson… and she is finding the results hard to believe…

something something about him having intense brain activity in the god something or other. maybe he is the next einstein??? well, that would be cool! yeah, get the little boy into nuclear physics!

but mulder thinks that maybe this intense brain activity will allow him to also explain all sorts of unexplained phenomena. 

i guess i can see the correlation between intense brain activity and psychic abilities, but how will it let him explore the jersey devil?

mulder proposes giving the killer immunity to explain wtf is going on, which spender immediately shoots down: “you want to give a murderer a free ride for the secrets to the pyramids?” <- well that is an oversimplification!

ANGRY SCULLY!!! “you mischaracterize what i’ve said” <- GET HIM AGAIN FOR ME!! “this would be quantifiable scientific proof of everything that agent mulder and i have investigated over the past five years”

i don’t really see the correlation from a plot perspective but okay ❤️ yay ❤️

oh diana, i am suspicious of you…. “how do you quantify the spiritual? it can’t be done. you ask for immunity for a killer on that basis, the attorney general’s gonna go off. you’re allowed to investigate the x files as an indulgence. but draw the wrong kind of attention and they’ll close you down”

okay………… rude. but not necessarily wrong. in fact, she seems quite right, at least about the attorney general shutting down the case part. clearly, some levels of spirituality can be quantified if the results show up on brain scans; scully will use science to find a way. scully glances at mulder, who is staring at diana

“put an end to all your work. something i happen to have an interest in myself” WELL NO ONE ASKED???? girl! it isn't your project!!

perhaps i am the one who will need immunity from the attorney general as i bravely ask the question i am thinking: am i bad feminist, or is diana supposed to piss me off?

scully’s watching mulder stare at diana……. skinner says, everyone go take a break. but you may absolutely NOT leave my office, mulder. 

he says that diana is right. if they poke around too much they’ll get shut down- but mulder is willing to risk it!!!!!

“if what agent scully’s found is true- and i have every reason to believe that it is- then the answers i might have spent a lifetime searching for may fall together like a million puzzle pieces” <- OHH!! FAITH IN SCULLY!! FAITH IN SCULLY GIVING HIM THE TRUTH!

“you’d risk the x files?”, asks skinner.

“how soon can you call the attorney general?” 

so, there is your answer.

mulder is always having some sort of power struggle with skinner. hey. can mulder, buddy. can we use a "please" and "thank you" every now and then? your old pal skinner has put up with a LOT of your nonsense!

bro is in his cranky era.

ohhhh, so he goes and tell the shooter that he gave his request for immunity, but the attorney general needs more information before she can make a decision… “i need answers from you” UH OH!! will he have them before CSM breaks in? because we know he is stalking his prey!

he says the kid is a missing link; he’s genetic proof. spender wants to know of what, and this is very convenient, because so do i. so he thinks the kid is part alien….. spender is heckling him for this. but CSM is on the prowl… we don't have time for interpersonal conflict!

(so, maybe he's part alien but distantly? or maybe they made one of the alien hybrids like emily, but this one didn't die? why did emily die, again? because we know there are plenty others of the alien hybrids because they had that whole bit about saving "their mothers" back in... i think it was s3? maybe a bunch of them, like emily, die, but some of them do survive, and gibson is a son of the half alien? so he is a quarter alien? or maybe he is from a different alien race?

everything is a bit foggy when it comes to mytharc, i suppose. i guess it all comes down to the writers wanting to torture my best friend agent scully)

well-groomed man and krycek pull up to heckle CSM, which is an important part of their job description. they’re saying he failed them, but CSM says it’s all part of the plan. take their pieces one by one. 

hey, you’re gonna kill the kid, aren’t you?

at least JFK was a grown man!!!

do you think he bulk ordered the cigarettes from like, the cigarette equivalent of sam’s club, and had them sent to his snowy canadian hideaway? i mean, the number he goes through, it should have raised some red flags for the people trying to find him!

scully is watching the boy watch cartoons. she is pondering. 

“how do you do it?” “i just hear you thinking… like on a radio. and sometimes there are lots of radios, and i want to shut them off and watch some TV” <- you know what, that is entirely understandably.

gibson says that scully doesn’t care what other people think… “except for her. the other one”

is she trying to impress diana…..? has she moved beyond vying for people's approval after the horrors of cancer and emily, or is it manifesting in a new way as she hopes this mysterious figure from mulder's past will approve of her? does she think that if diana likes her, mulder will let her in about his past? does she feel a solidarity despite their differences in belief because of the fact they are both women in a male-dominated field?

the implications... i must explore them.

ah. and in diana comes. 

scully says they’ll talk about that stuff later. queen of knowing the time and place to have a debrief. and he says “they want to kill me” OHHH poor little gibson :( just let him watch cartoons!

scully promises no one will hurt him :( and he says “i know you do" :(

is diana going to kill the kid…..?

(author's note: LMAO!! listen... i thought they were going with the double agent angle for about 2 minutes. in my defense, i'm still shocked from the whole krycek and marita thing, so i'm trying to expect the unexpected. this is not the most wildly incorrect plot point i have guessed!)

the shooter gets another note…  this time it’s an empty cigarette carton, and BAM!!! CSM SHOOTS HIM!!!

well. there goes any possibility of an explanation.

diana fell asleep watching gibson and he’s looking out the window!!! he says there’s a man with a gun!!! and he says he’s aiming at her!!!! and BAM!! she gets shot too!!

hey guys! once again i ask what’s going on.

mulder and scully are pulling in while diana gets taken into an ambulance. and mulder’s grasping her hand while scully just wants to know where tf the kid is!!!!

the shooter was killed!!! skinner shows mulder the cigarette carton!!!!! 

NOOOO!! CSM has the boy and is bringing him to the well-groomed man. gibson called him a liar when he said he won't get hurt.

“you’ve never had the stomach for our business”

“just not for your practices”

“i’m a necessity. the complement to your cowardice” <- omggg……..

the dichotomy between CSM and well-groomed man... were the girls writing old man yaoi back when this aired? because i bet they would if this show dropped now.

(i was about to joke that if we all work really hard now, we can make that ship trend, but how tf can you write romantic fanfiction between two nameless characters? yeesh. that has to be a pain. "the well-groomed man moved in closer towards the cigarette smoking man, inhaling his burnt, acidic scent; he knew he was as bad for him as the cancer coursing through the other man's bloodstream" <- yeah, i didn't enjoy typing that, and it isn't fun to read either)

“your work is done now” SO WHAT ARE THEY GONNA DO TO THE BOY???

“my work is just beginning” nope. do not like that. 

well-groomed man leads gibson into the car driven by krycek, who says he has a nice straight shot at CSM!!! but well-groomed man says not to shoot. you may need him in the future.

krycek is the last man i would trust with a child.

WOAHHHHH mulder is ATTACKING SPENDER saying he will get him PROSECUTED FOR MURDER!!! “you’re wrong, agent mulder, it’s your days that are numbered” <- NOW WHAT DOES *THAT* MEAN??

is he collaborating with daddy to kill mulder or lead him down an incredibly intricate path leading to his peril?!?

NOOOOO, skinner is on the phone with scully in mulder’s apartment 💔 spender is going after mulder and there are talks of reassignment!

his first question when she gets off of the phone is about diana….

NOOO, the justice department wants to close down the x files 💔💔

mulder says this is all part of plan he couldn’t see and walked into

“this time they may have won” NOOOOO💔💔💔💔you have to find some faith!

CSM is in mulder’s office………. looking at the files….. PICKING OUT THE ONE ON SAMANTHA………… WHERE IS HE TAKING IT???

TO SPENDER?!! “who are you?” “i’m your father” <- YOOO, I DIDN’T THINK HE WOULD JUST OUT AND SAY IT??

DID HE LIGHT ALL THE OTHER FILES ON FIRE???

HOLY HELL, HE DID???

mulder is here in his t shirt and scully is here in a lab coat and they find their whole office burnt to a crisp!!!!

she grabs his arms and leans in, putting her head on his chest as he looks around in fury

woah…. woaugh……….

the end.

CSM ruined the work of their whole lives!!!

this is why archivists are so important. because they always keep files saved on at least 3 sources. inshallah the good FBI archivists had them on a bunch of floppy disks. please please please.

(i started to type “on a bunch of flash drives”, but then i realized idk if those were popular, effective, or invented at the time. and a floppy disk really couldn’t hold much. maybe there is a huge cardboard box in one of the back rooms with all of them backed up! i like the ones that were colorful!)

well, now there’s a damn movie i need to watch!!! but first i have to get all of my s5 content sorted out!!!!

i have many questions. i have a terrible feeling that poor boy is gonna end up another sacrificial lamb. and i know that CSM saved the file on samantha to keep the fire burning beneath mulder, just enough so he meets his dastardly plans. damn. this guy really is an evil genius. which does not translate to literary talent.

what is spender going to do? is he going to believe that CSM is his father? will he follow him in dastardly deeds, or will he reject them? i mean, he sure isn't a believer in aliens like mulder is, so learning his father is basically a diplomat to the alien people isn't going to go over well. or is he going to stand up to daddy and save the day, probably nobly sacrificing himself in the process?

what about scully? i just KNOW she blames herself for gibson getting kidnapped because she promised him he would be safe, and she's all torn up about mulder hiding things from her!!! poor scully!

and mulder, what is he going to do about the reappearance of diana and then her sudden death or near-death? will he stop being so cranky anytime soon? it doesn't seem likely, but a girl can hope.

and i wanna know what is going through skinner's mind, too. because he really is like an uncle to me. i remember my earlier posts about not trusting him, and i think that narrative was intentionally cultivated by the writers, but now i'm thinking, man. that's my ride or die. skinner, i should have never doubted you. not only that, i love your little house buddha and desk globes and i wish i could slap mulder across the face for the way he acts towards you!

well, i have a lot of work to do with the s5 wrapups before i can dive into this film, and so work i must. and perhaps i will save the film for next weekend when i can focus appropriate attention.

i also expect that the movie writeup will be VERY LONG. and my writeups are already SO LONG. i tossed around the idea of splitting it up into parts, but i think it will be better to just do it all in one go. unless there is a very clear midpoint spot where i can divide the post in two, which i doubt???

will diana grow on me? will the movie be enjoyable? will scully get a damn break? will CSM and WGM kiss? will krycek continue to be a problematic bisexual?

hmm. well, stay tuned, and share all of your thoughts!

[derschwarzeengel]

I'm assuming that since you, seaweed-water, replied to a post that's tagged #anti sterek in a pro Sterek manner, you don't mind if other people chime in, right? 'Kay. Cool. Otherwise, if you're tired of seeing anti Sterek posts on your dashboard, blacklist the tag in question using XKit and stop deliberately going into the tag to be pro-Sterek on posts correctly tagged #anti Sterek. That's just rude. The block button is also right there to use free of charge.

there was a time, when the show was still airing, that *everyone* was on board for sterek, even the actors who played them. this post might enlighten you, if you're interested in reading it. if you want the tldr; jeff was setting them up in s3 to be end game by s5, but that fell out of favor when jeff realized the show would do just fine without the sterek fans (before season 4, the venn diagram of teen wolf fans and sterek shippers was basically one circle)

I watched Teen Wolf from the very beginning when the pilot episode aired back in 2011 and engaged in the fandom right when the first season was airing.

All of this is blatantly incorrect and rewriting Teen Wolf fandom history. The fandom didn't really start picking up steam until the hiatus between season 1 and season 2. Sterek didn't explode into popularity as a fanon ship until the second season. During season 1, the majority of Derek-centric ships were Scott/Derek, Jackson/Derek, and Derek/Original Female Character. The vast majority of Stiles-centric ships were Scott/Stiles, Stiles/Danny, Stiles/Lydia, and Stiles/Original Female Character. This is going off of FanFiction.Net data + my own recollections from being in the fandom at the time.

Was there Stiles/Derek fic written shortly after the pilot? Yeah, sure, obviously. But it didn't gain juggernaut popularity as a ship until season 2, when the fandom gained a lot of new members through more people watching the show. (That being said, the first Stiles/Derek LiveJournal community was created two-and-a-half months after the show began airing.)

Second: Jeff Davis was absolutely not setting Sterek up to be endgame in any way whatsoever if you look at the actual show and not the out-of-universe polling and official fanwork contests (which was literally just MTV/the cast engaging with/acknowledging the fandom, not teasing whether specific ships were going to be canon). Throughout season 1, Stiles was obsessed with Lydia and getting her to see him as a potential boyfriend since he'd been crushing on her for years; Derek was completely fixated on Scott and only barely tolerated Stiles because a) Stiles is Scott's best friend; and b) Stiles kept inserting himself into werewolf business through his friendship with Scott. (Stiles also initially treated Scott being bitten as though this was some sort of cool video game he could live vicariously through his friend, even though it was inadvertently Stiles's fault that Scott was bitten by Peter in the first place, and he canonically dehumanized Scott during the latter's second full moon solely because Lydia [the girl Stiles had a major crush on but didn't give him the time of day] kissed Scott earlier that day.)

In season 2, Derek and Stiles's interactions are still antagonistic more often than not, with Stiles mistrusting Derek and Derek, again, focused more on getting Scott into his pack now that he's an Alpha while they (Scott & Stiles + Derek's pack) are forced to work together to solve the Kanima mystery.

dylan and tyler have some of the best scenes in the show. the pool scene? the potential cutting of the arm scene? point is, if you look for it, it's there. if you don't, it's not. that's just how ships work.

There is nothing romantic about the scene between them in the pool when Derek is paralyzed by Kanima venom & Stiles has to keep treading water a) to keep them both from drowning until the paralysis wears off; and b) to exploit the Kanima's fear of water through its master. (Both of them complain about it the whole time and hate that they're even in this position to begin with.)

There is also nothing romantic and zero ship tease in the "nearly cutting off the arm" scene from Magic Bullet. Take off the shipping goggles. Stiles was with Derek in the first place because Scott was busy trying to steal a wolfsbane bullet from the Argents without getting caught (and kept getting distracted by Allison), and Derek had to threaten Stiles to drive him to the vet clinic. Stiles cutting off Derek's arm was an absolute last resort in case Scott didn't get there in time, Stiles flat-out admits he's squeamish at the sight of blood (anybody would be reluctant to saw off another person's arm without using local anesthetic beforehand), and it's all moot because Scott does show up and saves Stiles from those nightmares. (Stiles even says this in relief over not having to saw off Derek's arm.)

Third: the "Venn diagram of Teen Wolf fans and Sterek shippers being a circle" claim is, frankly, bullshit. Sterek shippers harassed and shut down anybody else in the fandom who dared ship Stiles or Derek with any other character, let alone their canon love interests (which were, hint, not each other). They sent death threats to Tyler Posey, who played titular Teen Wolf Scott McCall, all because he expressed dislike for the ship. Sterek shippers kept harassing the actors and writers and pushing for the ship to be canon, to the point that Tyler Hoechlin in 2014 flat-out refused to sign Sterek fanart at conventions, despite accepting the Sterek fanart book in 2013.

to answer your question, it's so popular because when this show aired, it was during a time when gay characters did not have a lot of screen time. bitches were THIRSTY for gay boys on screen, and the smallest spark is enough to set anything off. it stuck because, well... the chemistry is there. the actors have said repeatedly how much they enjoyed doing scenes together. i think that really came across in their performances on screen.

Except Teen Wolf HAD queer characters from the get-go: Danny Mahealani (who is Native Hawaiian, to boot); Ethan (from the Alpha Pack, who is canonically in a relationship with Danny during season 3); Jackson was revealed to be canonically bisexual, having been in a relationship with Lydia during the first two seasons and then later hooking up with Ethan in season 6b. Hell, one of the early Stiles ships was with Danny, and Stiles' other major ship is with Scott — but Sterek shippers flat-out ignored this in favor of their white non-canon slash ship.

(And since Stiles forced Derek to go shirtless in order to distract Danny during one s1 episode while all three of them were in Stiles's room for plot reasons—not for Stiles' own need to see Derek shirtless—I can see Derek as a sexual abuse victim having major issues with that. Hence Derek slamming Stiles's head into the steering wheel for retaliation later that same episode and when Stiles protests, saying Stiles knew what that was for.)

The actors themselves soured on the Sterek ship the longer the show went on (most of the cast flat-out treated it like a joke to begin with and never seriously acted like it was going to be canon), largely due to harassment from fans. Sterek fandom was pissed when Dylan O'Brien refused to return for the 2022 movie and still somehow managed to make a film centered around Scott, Derek, Derek's teenage son Eli, and Allison Argent (who returned from the dead) all about their fanon ship.

yes, derek is creepy... believe it or not, that is a part of it for a lot of sterek shippers. (!!just because we like to see it in fic or on screen, does not mean we condone it in real life!! same goes for age difference) yeah, derek's a fucking creep, he probably got fucked in the head when he was molested and then lost his entire family in a fire by his abuser's hand. i'd be highly suspicious if he wasn't a little weird by the time he and stiles met.

And again, the reason Derek and Stiles met in the first place is because of Scott being bitten and transformed into a werewolf. Derek immediately started stalking Scott, became a mentor to Scott, had no problems with getting up close in Scott's personal space (or Jackson's or Lydia's; this is not something Derek does exclusively with Stiles) multiple times, and eventually Scott and Derek learn how to trust each other and are on good terms from season 3a onward -- Derek is all in on supporting Scott once Scott becomes a True Alpha. That never happens between Stiles and Derek. When Derek shows up again in season 6b, he still treats dealing with Stiles more like an annoyance than anything else and flat-out says he returned to Beacon Hills for Scott McCall.

Get outside of the Sterek bubble when interacting with the Teen Wolf fandom, I beg you. The general fandom does not ship Sterek. From the Sterek fanworks I have seen, everyone is wildly out of character and I hate Sterek fandom's tendency to take Scott's--the Latino protagonist and titular werewolf--canon traits and personality + events that happen to Scott and give them to Stiles -- who is white as mayonnaise and would not at all be out of place as a potential UnSub in Jeff Davis's other show Criminal Minds, given how Stiles's go-to suggestion when investigating anything with Scott is kidnapping and/or murder.

Be so for fucking real, Sterek shippers created the “Scott is a Bad Friend” tag on AO3, which, gee, wonder why they completely flip around Scott and Stiles’s canon personalities and label the sole Mexican-American protagonist in the show “a bad friend” when in canon Scott and Stiles view each other like adopted brothers & Scott is The Most Caring Person in the whole show—whereas Stiles repeatedly mocks Isaac’s abuse, Liam’s IED, and has consistently shown he doesn’t really give a shit about anyone outside of his small circle of his dad, Scott, Scott’s mom, and whoever he’s dating at the time. (More than once he even tells Scott to leave Derek to die.)

Given Sterek fandom’s tendency to give Scott’s Red Riding Hood moment to Stiles, write AUs where Stiles was bitten instead and where Stiles also becomes a True Alpha, Stiles having this “spark” that enables him to do magic (which only comes up once in the whole show—and during a later scene Derek ordered Stiles to break the circle Stiles worked so hard on because Scott was in danger and dying and Derek just knew it and had to get to him right then), and how many Sterek shippers openly hate Scott, just admit that the majority of Sterek fandom wishes that Stiles was the protagonist instead of Scott.

And considering how Sterek shippers crosstag to hell and back and have infected other fandoms with their nonsense to the point of pissing off those fandoms, who do not want that ship in their tag—for over a decade now—I’m convinced that a) Sterek is the Destiel of the Teen Wolf fandom (this is not a compliment); and b) there are several people engaging in Sterek fandom who never actually watched the show.

Ship what you want, but don't act like the Sterek fandom doesn't have a very real history of racism, death threats, and harassment when dealing with the larger fandom/non-Sterek shippers and people who were involved with the show itself that got them to where they are now. The (very) vocal minority does not speak for the overall fandom.

Here's some random Teen Wolf on my blog:

I HATE Sterek the ship. I despise it so much I filtered the tags. I don't think I have ever disliked a ship more. And I probably wouldn't hate it as much if It wasn't so damn popular.

I got into Teen Wolf around early 2023 so I was late to the party. I watched much of season one without really knowing how people ship Derek and Stiles so much. And guess what, I loved their scenes. They reminded me of almost like a big grumpy brother and the young very annoying brother. Or cousins like Stiles lied about. Then I learned about the AMOUNT of shipping there was (like 60,000 fics on AO3) and every scene after that was tainted for me. I'd see something funny with those two and I'd like it but I couldn't help but think, man, most of this fandom is probably using this scene to prove that a 23 year old man and a 16 YEAR OLD are in love.

How the holy f*ck did the ship between the 23 year old and the 16 year old even become so popular??? Especially seeing how they barely interact after season 3. Even in season 3 it's minimal.

Also, there is like no evidence that they like each other but people act like there is.... Like come on.

I laughed my head off after seeing this Derek x Stiles tiktok cause it was during the Void scene in Derek's house and it was like 'Derek is always protecting him'. And all Derek was doing was standing there staring. He didn't even seem that worried.

What I kinda got excited for was in season 4 and Derek got miniature, I was like okay I see, a sixteen year old Derek and a 17 year old Stiles, I can get behind this. Then Derek became old again in one episode so that was disappointing.

They don't have chemistry, Stiles is 16 when they meet, and they barely talk after season 3 or even 2. I can only think that the reason people ship them is because they are both attractive or something. I cannot see how Derek is attractive and Stiles is more cute to me but you know you do you I guess.

It's just, why is it everywhere? How is it so popular?

All the fanfictions have to wildly make them out of character to even work! Derek is also creepy, he just shows up at high schools and breaks into Scott's house. He should not be near Stiles for any romantic reasons.

[kulvefaggoth]

.

[cyanorhis]

some reference studies from pinterest pics I've been doing...

[ratwithhands]

I had an idea a while ago of Emmet getting white hairs from stress after Ingo disappears, so here's the sketches that came out of that. Little man so tired he looks like he got bleached. Also long hair just because :)

anyways have a good day and see you later ^^

[the-busy-ghost]

I have finally emptied the blue bench of all the library books I need to hand back, even though they were terribly photogenic in there, and instead have filled it with all the old children's books I've been keeping around for like fifteen years or more, even though the chances of me ever having children or even passing them on to nieces/nephews/cousins etc is vanishingly small. These are less photogenic but at least it's one way to start clearing the living room of boxes.

Currently strategising how to fit them all in but also wow this is a list of Problematic Children's Authors TM

[fayeandknight]

My current boarding dog is a Toller and I'm absolutely smitten with him. He's so fun and sweet, just a bright, happy dude.

[ellenchain]

Hitman fam board game night. Which game do each of them bring and how well do they play it?

Uhhh that's a difficult question for me because I have no idea about board games 🙃

I can imagine Olivia being the leader at game night! Maybe she's even a D&D fan and always wants to persuade the others to play, but none of them want to read up on the lore. In the end, they end up playing a slimmed-down variation perhaps? Or she just brings Twister because it's fun to watch old people twist and turn

Maybe Diana is like me and doesn't know much about board games? She'll certainly take what comes along. Or she'll bring Trivial Pursuit because she remembers it from when she was younger.

47 probably brings chess. And has fun with it. Maybe Lucas does too, but Diana and Olivia fall asleep at some point or swap the board for a cell phone/tablet.

Lucas probably hates Monopoly to the core and brings other games like Ludo, Werewolves or Taboo instead. He loves Taboo when he plays with 47 because they always win.

But I'm really bad at knowing board games and imagining how the Hitfam plays 😅 So I definitely need help from the fandom here!

[itwoodbeprefect]

flashbacks to dialogue that happened less than a minute ago are annoying and a little insulting for obvious reasons, unless it's in bad buddy episode 5 [2/4] and pat is having entirely serious sepia toned flashbacks to fifty seconds ago while almost shoving a set of drumsticks he hasn't even paid for yet up his nose. then it's brilliant and world changing

[greatspacedustbin]

Someone took down all the EU election posters in my town 😩😩😩. (well, only 4 out of 10+ possible parties were represented so far, but still)

Like.... what are you trying to achieve here? Don't want people to vote? Jealous that you didn't think of putting up a poster yourself? Hope that people won't vote for left and centre parties? Grow up.

[cator99]

The Owl House anon, I just sent my ask because you sound like someone who watched Steven Universe, back in the day. I thought you might be watching TOH then

another one of those "damn the hate mail game on this website is insane" moments

[emile-hides]

I'm working on drawing out most of my Mario Elementals designs, but my current art skills leave a lot to be desired.

So in the mean time here's some aesthetic boards I wiped together to convey the vibes I'm going for.

[sturionic]

Activism is not cold-calling.

Activism is not cold-calling, and this is critically important to understand.

I'm seeing a lot of posts on here about 'building bridges' and 'finding community,' and then (extremely valid) response posts saying "BUT HOW??" And I'm going to explain something that can be very counter-intuitive: there is strategy involved in community.

As a longtime volunteer labour organizer, I’ve taken and taught many trainings on the strategy of talking. Something that surprises a lot of people is the very first thing you do in a union campaign. You sit down with your organizing committee, take out pen and paper, and literally map it out. You draw a physical map of the workplace: where are the entrances, exits, break rooms, supervisor offices. Essentially, ‘where is it safe to have a union conversation.’ Then you draw another physical chart of your coworkers. You sort out who is union-friendly, openly hostile to unions, or somewhere in the middle, and then you plan out very deliberately and carefully who talks to whom and in what order.

Consider: If Vocally Leftist Jane walks up to Conservative David and says "hey what do you think about unions," David is going to shut down immediately. He's not inclined to listen to Jane. But if Jane talks to Moderate Jason and brings him into the fold, then Jason is a far more effective strategic choice to talk to David, and David may actually hear him out without an instant reaction.

IMPORTANT CAVEAT: If Conservative David turns out to be Alt-Right David, and could be dangerous to follow organizers, we write him off. We are not trying to reach Alt-Right David. We are trying to reach Conservative David, who may actually be persuaded to find solidarity with other employees as fellow workers. Jason is a safe scout to find out which one he is. It does no one any good if Leftist Jane (or even Moderate Jane who is a visible minority) talks to Alt-Right David and puts herself on his radar. Not only has she done nothing to convince Alt-Right David to join a union - she's probably actively turned him against the idea - but now she's also in danger and the entire campaign is at risk. NOBODY WANTS THIS. Jane was NOT a hero for doing this. The organizing committee was foolish and enacted a terrible strategy to everyone's detriment.

Where you can make a difference is with people who will listen to you. You having a conversation with your well-meaning but clueless Centrist Democrat Auntie, and maybe gently helping her understand some things the media has been glossing over, is way more strategically useful than you marching up to MAGA Neighbour You've Met Once and trying to "build community" or "understand" them. They don't care. They're impervious, dangerous, and cruel. But maybe your beloved auntie will think about what you said, and then talk to her friend Anna who IDs as "fiscally conservative" but didn't vote because she can't bring herself to get on board with Trump. Then perhaps Anna talks to her brother Nic who has MAGA leanings but isn't all the way there yet. Proto-MAGA Nic would not have listened to you, nor would he have listened to Centrist Democrat Auntie, but he might absorb some of what his sister is saying.

This is not a cop-out or an echo chamber. This is you spending your time and energy strategically and safely. You are not a useful activist to anyone if you’re dead. Anyone who is telling you to hurl yourself directly at MAGA assholes like cannon fodder has no understanding of the strategy behind community building, and you should feel comfortable writing them off.

Last point: If you are tired, emotionally devastated, and/or in danger: take a break. This post is for people who would feel better jumping into action, not for people who are too overwhelmed to even think about it right now. You are worth so much even if you’re not actively Doing Activism, and your rest is worth more than “a break period so you can recharge and Do More Activism.” We all deserve the individual dignity of being worthy of comfort, rest & safety just on the basis of being human, outside of whatever we're doing for others' benefit. To deny ourselves that dignity is to devalue ourselves, and that’s the absolute last thing any of us should be doing right now.

[elastica1995]

been playing cult of the lamb but most of what i've been doing is playing knucklebones. i sent a file to my library today to 3d print a board for it so i can play irl cos it's so fun for me

[problemswithbooks]

Oh hey are you into one piece now :D

Yeah, I'm working my way through it slowly. So far I really like the characters the most. I generally prefer more grounded world building in the stories I read, but when it comes to One Piece I find the over the top and silly stuff more fun because Oda makes it clear from the get go that's the kind of story it is so I was prepared for it going in.

Right now I'm still pretty early on--they just got Chopper (which is about where I stopped reading OP back when I was a kid ironically). I know a lot of what happens later on though because before I even watched the live action and got back into it, I watched video essays on the characters because I love video essays.

I've also been reading parts of the Fishman Island arc because my brain decided Arlong was my new favorite minor villain to love. It's been really hard to read parts of it though because sometimes the way it deals with the topic of oppression when it comes to the Fish-people/merfolk really bugs me and I have to put it down for a while.

But yeah, for now my posts will probably be about One Piece, particularly Arlong and the other fish-men because I find them neat. I still keep up with My Hero, but nothing in it lately has really got me to write about it.