#aww they started s2 already

[chirpsythismorning]

Can we talk about how Jonathan might've been able to clock Mike simply because of what happened with him and Nancy in season two?

This will be a long post, so you might want to strap in or save it for later.

In Will and Mike's case, it would obviously be much different from Jonathan and Nancy's situation, given that you know, they're gay. But we still have Jonathan arguably going through a similar experience as Will, while Mike is going through a similar experience as Nancy.

In s2, we see Nancy confront Jonathan about how she waited for him before getting back with Steve, which is a revelation to him. Then they're at Murray's and she's struggling to say she loves Steve, after a handful of moments between them that felt like she might return Jonathan’s feelings. And you can clearly see it in his eyes, listening to Murray imply that they have feelings for each other, with him looking back and forth sort of in awe of what's happening, like he's starting to question if she might actually like him back.

Will doesn't have that same affordance as Jonathan to really hope, at least not anymore. Which is why these relationships in s2 and s4 end differently for these two brothers.

Based on all the signs he was seeing that Nancy felt the same, Jonathan decided to take the plunge to admit to Nancy how he felt, and at that same moment Nancy had the courage to show how she felt. In Will and Mike's case, Will wasn't ready to take the plunge to admit to Mike how he felt, at the same moment Mike didn't have the courage to show how he felt.

What's so painfully hilarious to me about all of this though, is that Jonathan arguably starts the season in the same shoes as most of the audience, where from his perspective, it's becoming obvious to him now that Will like's Mike, but that Mike does not feel the same way.

First at Rink-O-Mania, Mike appears a little uncomfortable upon hugging Will. Then as the happy couple continues on their adventure into Rink-O-Mania, he watches Will lagging behind moping. And then unfortunately he's out of commission for the rest of the evening...

But once he's sober and back to being an attentive brother the following morning, we see him watching them at breakfast, with Mike barely sparing Will a glance, all while Will is blatantly staring, almost like he's waiting for Mike to look back, only for Mike to get up and walk away.

All of these instances gotta be SCREAMING unrequited gay love to Jonathan. He's already gotten signs for years that Will is gay, these are now just the signs that are instilling his suspicions that Will has feelings for Mike. He could have easily interpreted their relationship in the early seasons as young best friends, with Will seeming to have a crush on Mike, and with them growing up and that potentially including Will's straight friend distancing himself from him because he doesn't feel the same. It's not the most unexpected thing in the world considering.

But then there's a shift.

Suddenly he's creeping up on them talking in his room. And we know he was listening in on the conversation because he brings up Owens when he sits down. As he's eavesdropping, he's probably thinking something innocent like Aww they're making up! And like, hey! Even if Mike doesn't feel the same, which is okay and entirely expected honestly, at least he still cares about Will enough to make things right after acting so out of character. Still, I'm not gonna lie, that sounded a lot like flirting to me--

Then he's knocking on Will's door like 30 minutes or less later only to find Mike and Will back on their bullshit. Mike suddenly isn't going out of his way to ignore or put Will on the back burner. In fact, he's on his bed and they're talking, again! The door is even closed this time, which is interesting. This has gotta be a good sign in Jon's eyes. Nothing to worry about! Right? Right...?

But then suddenly this shift continues, going in a direction he probably didn't expect.

I mean, this is literally an identical jancy parallel we have here with byler on the hood of the car, with Jonathan right there to witness it. Despite him maybe only now subconsciously picking up on the similarities between Will and Mike to him and Nancy here, he's at least taking note (I mean he's even got his gay map out and everything).

It isn't until the van scene happens, that I think Jonathan starts to genuinely consider his suspicions, which is that Mike might actually like Will back.

EVERY time we get a shot of Jonathan looking back at Will and Mike in the van, followed by a shot of his POV from the rearview mirror, we're faced with Mike looking at Will while Will is looking away.

As Jonathan is hearing Will confirm his suspicions about his feelings for Mike, he's simultaneously witnessing Mike not looking at Will with disgust, but something more akin to reverence. All of those moments in the van that we witnessed, including all the ways Mike looked at Will and everything that was said, Jonathan was right there.

And what's even more insane about this scene, is that it circles back to Jonathan as a character himself.

I remember when people were talking about how odd it was that we never saw Jonathan with a camera in s4. After 3 seasons in a row of making his passion for photography a big part of his identity, that part of him was apparently absent entirely this time around... But was it really?

This is the same guy that said, "Sometimes, people don't really say what they're really thinking. But you capture the right moment, it says more."

Jonathan might not have had his camera in s4, but this was without a doubt one of those moments where he captured something more.

Something that I also think get's highly overlooked about this scene, especially when it comes to Jonathan looking back at them, being followed by a shot of Mike staring at Will, is that he could see both of their reactions the whole time, from beginning to end. Will nor the audience had the affordance of knowing because Will was facing the other way at the end, while we on the other-hand were blurred from even having the chance, despite Mike literally being in the frame. But not Jonathan. He even lets us see what he sees, a few times, but not at the very end, which would have been nice after they didn't let us see Mike's reaction seconds before this.

Let's just stop right there for a second though and circle back to what I consider to be the first time Jonathan really picked up on Will's feelings for Mike, which was at the end of s3, in a sequence that is a little too relevant to the van scene if you ask me, given that they are almost direct parallels.

While these parallels are pretty spot on visually, they are also near spot on narratively when it comes to the evolution each of these characters are experiencing.

For Will in the first scene, it's sadness that he's moving away from his friends in Hawkins and also feeling like he's losing Mike, after what looks like him and El making up, which makes him scared he'll distance himself again. For Jonathan, it's sympathy for his brother who appears to have some very deep feelings for his friend, feelings he can't quite grasp yet but soon enough will.

For Will in the second scene, it's heartbreak that he has to accept that Mike will never feel the same, knowing that supporting his relationship with El (encouraging it honestly) will likely turn out just as it did last time, with him losing Mike all over again, for the last time. For Jonathan it's sympathy for his brother who has now confirmed his suspicions that the feelings he has for Mike are more than just that of a friend.

Given that this parallel reinforces the same feelings Will and Jonathan had in s3 to now, why would this not also reinforce those same feelings that Mike had in s3 to now?

In the first scene, Mike was visibly distraught, with dialogue from Hopper in the background applying a little too perfectly with what he was feeling in that moment, which was scared. He’s apparently back together with El now, despite them doing just fine as friends for the last 3 months, as well as him and Will just having finally gone back to them being on good terms again. But now, it’s like he’s right back where he started at the beginning of s3, feeling obligated to be the perfect boyfriend to El, and as a result, having no choice in his eyes but to distance himself from Will. Mike then walks into his house looking like a zombie, almost emotionless stepping into his mother's embrace.

Now, I say almost emotionless because it looks like Mike was trying to hold back showing how he truly felt in this moment. He's not crying like he did in s1 when he lost Will that first time. Time has passed and things have changed (he doesn't want things to change). And he's trying his best to keep it together. But the in-focus close-ups make it clear that he is definitely not okay.

What's so impactful about these parallels is that it presents the inner struggle both of these characters are having, both queer and experiencing doubts, but in different ways and for different reasons.

Will is the one who covers it all up with lies, hiding the tears in his eyes, because boys don't cry.

Mike is the one who has never cried to them, just to his soul (RUN AWAY! TURN AWAY! RUN AWAY! TURN AWAY! RUN AWAY!!!).

If you actually try to get a gage on Mike's in-focus emotions in that first scene vs. his out-of-focus emotions in that second scene, well they're not that far off from each other.

We go from Mike smiling vibrantly at Will, to him now slowly turning away to look back down at the painting, with whatever the hell emotion this is...

It's near impossible to catch because of how out-of-focus it is, but looking a lot closer, it honestly appears like Mike is feeling something akin to sadness that he's trying to mask. For a moment it even looks like he turns his head to wince emotionally, only to correct himself.

And call me crazy, but these shots also low-key parallel each other. Mike looking down trying to keep his emotions in check and failing miserably, only to look up and meet eyes with someone whose witnessing it.

With each shot before this of Jonathan observing Mike looking at Will, with him showing all the emotions Will never got to see and everything else in between, I wonder what Jon saw this time? Probably another thing he didn't expect.

Can you just try to imagine the silence in this van, accompanied by Will's muffled sobs, and then try to imagine Mike turning to look down at the painting, only to sneak a glance, and then go right back to looking at the painting, IN SILENCE, and then try to tell me how the assumption that Mike didn’t notice Will crying makes any sense, like realistically?

Yeah me and Jonathan are confused too.

Right now, Jonathan's probably wondering why Mike was acting a little fruity and repressed during the painting reveal. And that although he may have a penchant for being able to 'capture the right moment', Mike is sticking with his story (despite all the stalling and doubt). He is 100% straight!

And so maybe this is where Jonathan tries to accept what is being presented to him as the truth, despite the contradictions in front of him. It's likely that despite the way Mike looks at Will and acts around him, in ways he would have assumed coming from Nancy in s2 would've been evidence that she felt the same, it probably doesn't apply to Mike.

Maybe Jonathan's ready to accept that it's a lot more likely Will is experiencing unrequited love as a gay kid growing up in a small town, the most predictable experience a gay kid could go through, and in contrast Mike just feels too bad to let Will down easy.

Or who knows, maybe Mike could still be a little bit gay too...

But it doesn't matter anyways. Mike seems to be adamant about this and so there's really nothing else Jonathan can he do besides tell his brother he'll be there for him no matter what. And so he does just that.

But then Mike just has to surprise him one last time.

For those that don't know, the line Mike gives here in his monologue was in part pulled from Will's monologue in the van. Most don't know this because this line didn't make the final cut for the van scene, but in the official script the writers posted, what we find is an almost a direct parallel.

Which makes the reaction shots of Will and Jonathan directly after Mike says this all the more epic.

From Will's end he was probably hearing Mike say this and just thinking 'Damn. Well, that's what you get for using your feelings to inspire Mike to profess his love to El.'

But from Jonathan's end, I don't think his outside POV of these events overlapping was nearly as naive as his brothers understanding of the events. Because why the fuck would Mike need to use Will's feelings to inspire him to profess his love to El in the first place? Is this what Mike has been struggling with? Really? Why before every moment Mike takes action in this scene, is Will's hand literally pushing him into it? Why is Mike being so dramatic about saying I love you, stuttering and rambling about her being a superhero, not saying nearly as meaningful of things as what Will said in the van?

And then it hits him.

Mike is reminding him a little too much of another Wheeler right now...

Nancy Wheeler, who was afraid of what would happen if she accepted herself for who she really was, leading her to retreat back to the safety of Steve. Because Nancy liked Steve, but she didn't love Steve.

And now here is Mike Wheeler, who has went from being incredibly distant with Will after reuniting with El, something that is very unlike the Mike he knew in previous seasons, to something more himself again after they make up, with him looking at Will with adoration after hearing his words in the van, only to turn away and look heartbroken. Mike who is now struggling to simply tell El he loves her with Will right behind him literally yelling at him to do it.

And now it's like all those little moments are starting to add up to Jonathan.

Suddenly all those signs he picked up on from Will when he was younger are now blending in with moments Will shared with Mike. It was Mike who jumped in after him and his mom's speech to Will in the shed in s2, with tears in his eyes recalling the day that they met (without being asked, let alone pushed to). And it's Mike who is now looking like he's at war with himself as he attempts to give encouragement to El, just like he did with Will in s2, but this time he needs someone to push him to do it, and that person just so happens to be Will. After just finding out about Will's feelings and also while assuming El wants him to love her that way still, Mike is stuck.

I don't think it's takes a genius to consider Jonathan is capable of realizing how fucked they all are in this situation.

As much as Mike isn't ready for a sleuth of reasons, Will isn't ready either.

This provides a huge contrast between the bylers ², because while Jonathan and Nancy went through a similar experience to Will and Mike, them being ready to accept it and act on it didn't involve nearly as many factors and risks. Will and Mike also have the added barrier that is homophobia.

Will's internalized homophobia lies in part with assuming Mike could never feel the same based on some of the words he said in their last two fights, with parts being painfully reminiscent of the things his dad and bullies used to say about him. These are also words that contradict Mike's own words and actions from the previous seasons, things that did once give Will hope. The shame and guilt that comes with falling for your best friend, who you now know will never feel the same after being foolish enough to believe it not too long ago, and who might not even want to be your friend anymore upon finding out the truth, is understandable. He can't have hope like Jonathan can. It's just not the same.

Mike's internalized homophobia lies with assuming El wants him to love her, along with their relationship being expected and socially acceptable from everyone around him. Though unfortunately for her he feels abundantly more in love in the moments he shares with Will. Despite trying to make it work with El as hard as he could, because she's amazing and all any guy could hope for in a girlfriend, he can't ignore the fact that the feelings he has for these two people are different. The shame and guilt that comes with you, a boy, falling for your best friend, who is also a boy, and who is starting to show that he feels the same, all while you can't muster up the courage to break up with your girlfriend, nor can you muster up the courage to tell her that you love her, not when she's begging you, dying or even just simply at the end of a letter, is pretty understandable too. He can't have hope like Nancy can. It's just not the same.

Spoiler: They were not ready.

PS: I'm still not over the fact that they low-key confirmed these events elsewhere in the story...

[sidecharactersdomatter]

Thoughts I had during TGCF S2 Ep 4

This’ll be another quick reaction ‘cause I have a desk to clean!

-Oooh!  Starting with the opening!

Previously on TGCF…

-Dim Sum night @ Paradise Manor!

-Man they didn’t even get a sip in

-He reassured Lang Ying

-Dude it was in a really small glass, so maybe it could’ve been to his liking if it wasn’t alcoholic

-Man that expression and tone made it seem like Hua Cheng made a really grave error

That noise when Qingxuan tilted their head

-Qingxuan is the wingman/woman

-For those of you who think he said, “Some sex allow indulgences” in the dub,  it’s actually “Some sects allow indulgences” which references the sects that practice cultivation, and I manage to catch that detail

-Licentious means related to promiscuous and sexual activity.

-A flashback to Ep 2

-That’s the advice on staying balance is basically what every patron ignores in Vegas

-He’s tricking him into getting the information for the dice portal

-“Enough San Lang!  Please stop teasing me.”  *In a sing-song voice*  No he will not~!  And XL said it so gently!!!!

-Man he fell for that favor all too quickly

-Just like transferring spiritual energy

-It’s a 12!

-It’s the music from EP 6 when they were both caught in the sandstorm!!!!

-He offered his dice!!!

-Man, hook line and sinker for XL

-“A few more rounds?” We all know what he was referring to~! ;3

-NYOOOM

-“San Lang, will you ever stop spoiling me?” *In a sing-song voice again*  No he will not~!

-Aww he doesn’t want to take advantage of his Ghost King

-Hi Qingxuan

-This is like removing your belt and getting into comfier clothes after going to town at a fancy restaurant with your folks

-No thoughts just Buff!Qingxuan, and he’s got great fashion sense

-Details~!  That’s literally all of us watching this!

-Yep told ya he’s got great fashion sense and imagine the montage Windmaster did just to sneak in

-This has the energy of seeing your roommate just pass out in your room of the flat

-Salacious means arousing to appeal to sexual imagination

-“I mean he called you his honored guest in front of everyone” “Jealous~?” - Jake the Dog, Burning Low, Adventure Time

-He didn’t forget at all

-They were talking about luck~

-Man that transition with the dice toss

-A really temporary gift

-Another 12

-That’s a lot of stairs

-Firebending

-No need to be savage Qingxuan

-Just like The dragon of the west, the Martial god of the west somehow has that energy and more foreshadowing for the series

-It looks like a Mayan mural

-No earthbending allowed

-The dice and tunnel are confusing them

-He rolled a 7!  Somebody go get Miguel and Tulio!

-It’s the iconic floor trap pitfall

-They made two craters like Wile E. Coyote!

-Oooh right on the skull!

-It’s a narrow tunnel!

-Cave in!

-LEECH WORMS!  

-Another animal hybrid the people in ATLA will get scared sh*tless over

-More firebending!

-Fire beats bug!

-Well those dice tiles were convenient

-Another 7!

-Another trap door!

-It’s a 4!

-The downside of partnering with Xie Lian everyone

-And he just effortlessly helps up Buff!Qingxuan

-I like how he doesn’t badmouth Hua Cheng’s trickery

I’m gonna to skip this next part of the EP because it’s offensive!  (You know the part I’m talking ‘bout)

-That’s gonna be another visit to the exfoliating facial masks

-Welcome to XL’s pain dude

-Dude, you didn’t bring him bad luck at all, he didn’t realize and it’s out of both of your control

-One man can’t sway the Windmaster’s luck, that gonna be another iconic quote

-Get yourself a friend like Qingxuan

-Yay another conveniently placed dice tile!

-Another 12

-Man the whiplash Qingxuan has going from saying ‘San Lang’ to ‘Hua Cheng’ when he got exasperated

-This took place in a time before the Step counter was invented

-*hears Ming Yi speak*  OH NO HE’S HOT!!!

-He melted the metal shackles

-This has the energy of the cheerleader being close with the goth girl but masculine

-From EP 11

-Yep it’s exactly like the popular girl trying to befriend the goth

-And he already knows they’re close!

-And Ming Yi just sleeps to not talk to anyone, valid

-What was the number he just rolled

-Another floor trap

-He didn’t land in his lap like in the novel and man Hua Cheng

-Boo Chinese Censorship! BOO!!! (Rotten tomatoes)

*Hua Cheng gasps in demi* *wink wink*

That’s all for the reaction post, I gotta get back to cleaning me and my sister’s room

[hils79]

Hils Watches In Blossom - Ep 1

Time to start a new drama! I know nothing about this one except my beloved Liu Xueyi is in it and looks excellent. I have definitely watched drama for lesser reasons so let's go.

Oh I know him! That's Yu Mo from Immortal Samsara

There's my boy!

She pretended to be a ghost to scare away a couple of would-be grave robbers. I love her already.

Aww she works as an undertaker and is speaking so kindly to the person she's been paid to bury

Wow more evil little bastard kids. There were some in S2 of Taxi Driver as well.

Ehehe! I love her

Ooh is this a crime solving drama?

It's been a while since I watched a robes drama. I have missed all the blood spitting at any sort of injury

Of course he's swept in in dramatic lighting to save her

Ooh they know each other

Childhood friends to lovers?

HAHA! He's like 'dude I was just being dramatic I didn't expect you to actually throw it into a pond'

It's always 10 years. A nice round number.

Are they going to team up and solve crime? And prob fall in love too? Delightful.

YAY!

Now he's pretending to be cool while she does an autopsy while at the same time trying not to puke. I love this so much already

Ah, so she's the brains and he's the brawn. Love it.

Come with me if you want to live

Ooh is it Emotionally Significant Jewelry?

[nortism]

doctor who liveblog pt 18

s3 ep11 utopia

- jack harkness episode!!!!! he’s back from the war!!!

- always cardiff with these ppl

- AYYY JACKIE BOY

- uh oh the end of the universe

- oh fuck did jack die

- back from the brink of death and already flirting

- omg the doctor is a real dick 😭😭

- glad martha had someone to bond with

- yooo jack’s immortal??

- OMG THE PROFESSOR HAS THE WATCH

- OMG THE PROFESSOR IS A TIMELORD

- YANA YOU ARE NOT ALONE WHATTTTTTTTT

- omggggg he’s an evil timelord

- GET HIS ASS CHANTHO

- HES THE MASTER ?!??!!!?!!? i’ve heard of this guy

- CHANTHO NOOOOOOOOOO

- she’s still alive LETS GOOOO

- oh shit he’s in the tardis

- oh fucj he’s gonna regenerate

- why are u as a man calling another man master??

- oh no the tardis is gone, they are fucked

s3 ep12 the sound of drums

- oh they escaped that’s good

- oh he’s harold saxon

- martha i can’t believe u didn’t vote

- IS A DOCTOR

- idk why he decided that the uk was the country from which he needed to take over the world but that’s doctor who logic 😭😭

- good to see that tish got a nice new job

- oh fuck he’s killed the cabinet

- most unrealistic part of this episode is that an alien became prime minister without being part of one of the two main parties

- who’d call himself the doctor???

- wait what happened to my girl harriet jones?

- oh shit he’s gonna kill the journalist

- lucy ur husband is gay

- oh he’s a hypnotist

- FUCK THERES A BOMB

- good of him to warn her about the bomb he planted in her room

- YES THEN MARTHA’S DAD

- oh martha’s mum u fucked up

- theres a real fucked up homoerotic undertone to the doctor/master dynamic

- what did i say?

- ok i’m kinda obsessed with the master, he’s cunty as hell

- the teletubbies r pretty cool

- starting to think the time lords aren’t great

- oh fuck jack is in torchwood

- uh oh the phones r evil

- oh my poor girl 😭😭

- fucking americans

- oh shit martha’s parents

- oh no the tardis

- oh shit he just blew up the president

- i giggled

- laser screwdriver!!

- oh fuck he was behind the lazarus thing

- sorry the doctor getting old man-ified was a little funny

- OH FUXK YEAH THEYRE PLAYING VOODOO CHILD NOW THIS IS TELEVISION

- bye bye martha

- YES THEN MARTHA

- another fucking bible reference, they r loving those this season

- on one hand, it’s bad that the master is trying to end the world, one the other, cunty queer coded villains are what i come to 2000s television for

s3 ep13 last of the time lords

- this is a lot of pressure on martha, why isn’t it the immortal fucker’s job to save the world?

- ONE YEAR LATER???

- MARTHA MY LOVE

- OH YESS THE SCISSOR SISTERS, THIS IS CINEMA

- oh they’ve crucified jack harkness

- uh oh prison break

- the old man is being old man-ified again

- where’d he go

- oh jesus fuck that’s horrible

- oh this is the doctor at his most pathetic

- at least martha’s parents are back together

- WHAT THE FUCJ IS THAT IN THE SPHERE

- NO ITS THE HUMANS FROM THE FUTURE

- oh shit the professor is a snitch

- oh fuck here he comes

- OH YES THE POWER OF WORDS AND BELIEF

- OH YEAH SAVING THE WORLD WITH A HUG AND FORGIVENESS

- uh oh they telported

- yesss homoerotic fight on a cliff let’s goo

- oh yeah his wife!!!!

- i could do without the misogyny i won’t lie

- omg he fucking died

- rip king, be nicer to women in the next life

- FUCK OFF JACK IS THE FACE OF BOE

- aww the poor doctor alone again

- good on martha for knowing when to leave

- OH FUCK HE DID REGENERATE

- what

possibly controversial but i preferred s3 to s2 despite being a rose girlie always and forever. that ruled and I LOVE U MARTHA JONES

[butterflydm]

wot rewatch 1x8: the eye of the world

I made it before the new season started! <3

spoilers for the first season of WoT and for most of the s2 teasers that we've gotten. For the books... um... honestly mostly stuff from Eye of the World that didn't end up in the show, lol. Oh, and for New Spring, I guess.

@apocalypticavolition mentioned that Perrin's original plot was probably helping Lan track Moiraine - that makes a lot of sense! It would have given Perrin a chance to flex his heightened senses and it might have even given Lan a chance to name-drop Elyas.

Okay, wow, yay! Our Completely Old Tongue scene from Age of Legends. When this first opened and they were just... talking in the Old Tongue... I was so blown away. I was not expecting it. I think they've hinted that we might get more Old Tongue scenes in s2 as well, which would be fantastic.

I'm glad that I read The Strike on Shayol Ghul short story -- they really did pull a lot of the info from that story for this scene, so that was very cool to see.

There is definitely a lot more focus on "Dragon as father" here than in the books (and I wonder if the tragedy of him murdering his family is going to focus more on killing his kids and not solely about killing his wife, once we get into that)

And the reveal at the end that '3000 years ago' was actually futuristic and we're living in a post-apocalyptic landscape, which is a great reframing for anyone who didn't already know.

Love all our Moiraine & Rand ~bonding time~ here (for various values of bonding time, lol). Definitely curious about where that relationship is going to go over the course of s2.

Egwene and Perrin checking in with each other is a sweet moment. Yeah, things Got Weird last episode due to stress and Nynaeve accidentally telling a secret that wasn't hers, but it hasn't wrecked their friendship.

And if Perrin is the one helping Lan here (supernaturally), then Lan and Nynaeve's scene would have just been the romantic goodbye.

Ishamael notes here that he didn't think that Rand was the Dragon Reborn. It sounds like he was expecting Rand to look more like LTT did. I really do love him calling Rand "Lews Therin", poor Rand. The identity issues are only going to get worse, bb. Love that Rand starts their conversation with an arrow to the face.

"Ever since the day I channeled, I hear nothing [from the wind]" is our first allusion to Nynaeve's block, I believe.

Moiraine tapdancing around the truth as hard as possible so that she doesn't have to admit that she physically can't teach Rand channeling. She's even willing to share one of her traumas with Rand in order to avoid admitting it! Also, I do think that Elaida's willingness to turn to violence is going to stand out a lot more in a world where teaching isn't always accompanied by brutality, as it is in the books.

haha, I totally forgot about this scene with Min and the others. Maybe because it doesn't really tell us anything we aren't going to learn immediately even without her (a nod to how pointless Min's viewings mostly are in the books? lol) but it does prompt Min to get out of the city on the wagons, I'm guessing.

Apologies to all the people who worked hard on the battle scenes but I don't ever have much to say about things like that.

Rand already getting memories (and Moiraine seeing him remember) plus Rand trying to protect people from getting hurt because they're standing next to him. (and Rand trying to give an order that Moiraine immediately ignores lol)

yeah if Lan had a companion (like Perrin) then his scenes here would have actually had some dialogue - they may have even given Rand the line about Malkier because they wanted to get the info out but it was originally supposed to come out in dialogue between Lan and Perrin.

Aww, family moment between the Agelmars. It's sweet. I honestly barely remember the Agelmars from the books, so this was an improvement. "Buy enough time to stand a chance" is going to be a big theme, too.

We also kinda get confirmation here that Darkfriends have been more effective in the show-verse than they were in the books-verse (it seems like more knowledge has been destroyed).

18. So, given what we've seen in the teasers of Ishy getting Lanfear from a seal, it seems like this specific spot is where LTT sealed Ishamael in particular (half-sealed?) and he released Ishamael fully when he cracked the seal. Before this, we only see Ishy working in people's dreams and then, in s2, he gets to actually exist in the waking world.

19. While I do see the effects of the covid shutdown and new rules in the battle scenes (and am looking forward to seeing them pop off without those setbacks in s2!); the scenes with Rand in the dream and Rand against Ishamael are perfect and I will hear no arguments against them. Rand is, ultimately, a philosophical hero and not a battle hero. He gets that wrong a lot in the books! But things tend to backfire on him when he tries to force himself into the battle hero position.

20. And we have ~the temptation~ here, with Egwene and little Joiya (and the mention of Mat, which was fascinating at the time and remains utterly fascinating; that fake!Egwene makes a point of mentioning Mat in Rand's temptation dreamworld).

21. The imagery for what Ishamael does to Moiraine is pretty much exactly like the shielding on Logain and not anything like when Logain was severed later in the episode, so I will (one last time before the new season lol) put my bet in that she was shielded. Ishamael is just able to do a lot faster than the Aes Sedai. Also when Moiraine is right behind Rand like this, you can really see how similar their shirts really are in color.

22. Min is jetting out of Fal Dara as fast as she can -- show!Min actually seems aware that she's not a fighter. #goodforher

23. But they did use needing to have Perrin in Fal Dara to give him a nice little scene with Loial that fed into the violence vs peace conflict.

24. Ishy really put in the work here (I'm assuming that it must have all been drawn from Rand's memories which, again, makes Egwene mentioning that Mat is saying he's going to make Joiya a lantern just incredibly fascinating). Ishamael waits until Rand falls for the trap to reveal to Rand what's going on (sorta). And both Ishy and Rand are working the angles here -- Ishy pretends that he wants Rand to pick the dream world and... you know, that would be useful but... he still wins if Rand fights him because that surge of Power will break his seal. And Rand pretends that he's falling for the temptation but actually is looking for Ishy to give him some clues on how to access the Power on purpose.

25. Ah, s2 setup is happening: Perrin learns that the Dragon needs the Horn at the Last Battle; and Fain was given the password to get into the fortress, which means there's a Darkfriend who knows the passwords.

26. I 100% approve of the show making joining a circle dangerous. In the books, circles are so completely underused and it feels silly because they are very low risk. People should be in circles all the time; especially when things get dangerous.

27. Lots of emphasis on fatherhood this season -- Rand's struggle about Tam being his father; Rand's desire to be a father (expressed both in ep1 and here with Joiya). We also had Siuan's relationship with her father being a key element of her character.

28. Rand loves Egwene enough to know that their paths have diverged and it would be wrong to try to force her onto the same path as him just because he loves her.

29. Very cute that Rand thinks he just defeated the Dark One. I want to give him a pet on his fluffy (currently sweaty lol) head).

30. Perrin gets the infodump from Fain instead of it being Mat. It's a good infodump, from someone who definitely, obviously has an agenda.

31. Rand thinks he's succeeded, so he leaves on his own so that he won't hurt the ones he loved. Baby. Off he goes, into the big world of Making Bad Life Choices, bless him.

32. And the poor little girl who, at least, probably died quickly? The show did such a good job with the Seanchan. Both here and in what we've seen so far in the teasers for s2. They are gonna be extremely creepy and heartbreaking and scary. You can definitely see tear-tracks on the face of one of the damane here.

[vidavalor]

I was reading the announcement again and I thought of you. I realized that it doesn't say anything about Aziraphale as the Supreme Archangel in it. Thoughts?

Aww hi. :) Yeah, I grinned at that rather curious choice of wording in the announcement. My hopes for Grand Duke of Hell Aziraphale remain alive.

I'm pretty sure that Aziraphale actually just went Up to get Down here at the end of S2 and that he's a fallen angel now and probably one without his memories. The revenge for S1 was supposed to be that Aziraphale is forced into starting Round Two but (with the exception of Crowley) everyone underestimates Aziraphale and they don't have a single clue what they've done here lol.

Heaven is used to counting on the demons in power in Hell basically doing what they're told by Heaven and upholding the power structure of all of it in the process. Imagine what happens when you put into power the one being you can no longer control because you've already taken his memories, taken his eternal soul, taken the damn love of his life from him, and he's basically gone a little mad and gives exactly no fucks anymore. There's nothing left you can do to him to try to control him and even without his full sense of self, he's a thousand times smarter than most of the demons in Hell so it'd be a hot minute before he's seized control over it and now the demon army you need to start The Second Coming is imperiled because the demons are listening to him and he's not listening to you and well, well, well, seems Aziraphale might be running the whole show after all...

...and he's just the anti-Beez and creating chaos down there lol. No one's manning the dung pits, most of The Dark Council is on his side, Furfur's unionizing half of Hell unimpeded and Processing is just a dance party at this point. Anything to keep them distracted from Armageddon, which is the only plan Aziraphale can think of to halt it so far, not that he's letting on that that's what he's doing to anybody. It won't last forever but it's delayed it for now...

...and into this spectacular mess is dragged Crowley when Heaven gets so desperate that they show up and are all 'so, funny story... we kinda zapped Aziraphale's memories and threw him to the devil but now he's fucking *lost it*, Crowley and we need you to fix him' and they're all 'you can be an angel again, anything, whatever you want, we don't care, it's all bullshit anyway, just don't let him lead a revolution, we beg you' and Crowley's like 'you. did. wut.'...

[stitching-in-time]

Voyager rewatch s2 ep21: Deadlock

Hoo boy this one always packs a wallop. It seems shorter than other episodes when you watch it because it moves along so fast. There's no padding out with subplots or any scenes not directly advancing the story. A combination of disaster episode/spatial anomoly episode, it gets right in there with the emotional devastation and doesn't stop.

We get like one scene in the beginning before the traumatic stuff starts- the whole bridge crew anxiously waiting for Ensign Wildman to have the baby was really sweet. The crew is already like a family, so it's like they're all looking forward to the new baby in the family, aww. But then the ship has to fly through a nebula, and of course things go wrong- the ship is being torn apart and they don't know why! Time for some trauma!

I do distincly remember seeing this for the first time as a kid and being very horrified that they killed off Harry- I figured since it was Star Trek, they had to find a way to bring him back, but still, it was really shocking to see him get blown out in to space, and it still makes me want to cry watching B'Elanna watch him die, despite knowing we get him back. Then Ensign Wildman's baby died, which was also horrifying, and the ship was falling apart, and it was like wow, the horrors are really coming at us! The middle of the episode, where we see the duplicate Voyager that hasn't been damaged, and the two crews trying to figure out what was going on and how to communicate with each other, and two Janeways debating with each other what to do about their reliance on the same depleted supply of antimatter was interesting stuff, and had a sense of urgency and impending doom. (Though it did look a little awkward with how close together they had the two versions of Janeway standing and looking at each other. She's got her usual puppy eyed soap opera look she gets when she's concerned or worried, and it's fine when she does it to other people, but when two versions of herself look at each other like that, it comes off a little weird, ngl!)

Janeway, for at least the second time this season, decides to self destruct her ship so the undamaged Voyager can get home, while the other Janeway wants to find another way. But then the horrors return as a huge Vidian ship moves toward them while they're sitting ducks with no weapons. Hundreds of Vidians take over the ship and start harvesting our crew's organs, which is still horrifying to watch even knowing the other Voyager crew was undetected and still safe. In a reversal that probably shouldn't be too surprising, Janeway decides to self destruct the ship to keep the Vidians from taking it, but she sends Harry Kim to get the baby and go the other Voyager before theirs explodes. Harry's baby rescue operation is nail-biting, and watching the Doctor try to hide a baby from literally being killed for parts is just like wow, more horrors! Harry then telling the Doctor goodbye, knowing the ship is about to blow up and everyone on it will die in a few minutes is just like, the wildest throw away line ever, but Harry's in a hurry, and of course, he makes it to the other Voyager before his ship's Janeway rather gleefully lets the Vidians know they're all getting blown up in a few seconds.

Since the story never does differentiate which Voyager is 'the real one', and it's implied that they both are, it makes it impossible not to get invested in both, so we get double the horrors when both versions have lots of death. It's stated that sending more than a few people from one ship to the other would result in a phase imbalance that would destroy both ships, so I wonder what kind of phase imbalance Harry and Naomi Wildman have because of being from the alternate Voyager, and how that wasn't ever dangerous for them again. And how it was never brought up again! Sure they have the exact same experiences up to that point, so they are the same people, but like, Harry's complaint at the end that it feels weird knowing he's on an alternate Voyager with an alternate crew, and Janeway just smiling and joking that 'haha weird is part of the job!' felt like it was downplaying the situation a little too much- I think Harry would probably need some therapy after that one! But of course, Voyager doesn't have a therapist, and any therapist they had would be insanely overworked if they did, so maybe telling him to ignore it and sweep it under the rug was actually the best policy tbh!

Tl;dr: A tightly written, tense disaster story, filled with shocking moments, that keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time.

[brzatto]

I just wanted to say I love your Carmy/Richie fic.

The way Carmy just feel so safe and grounded when Richie has him wrecks me.

I just love the idea of Carmy having a hard day or knowing he's going to have a breakdown, finding Richie, and just clinging to him. Head buried in Richie's neck, fingers desperately grabbing at handfuls of shirt, and maybe even siting in his lap. Because I really need that or them finally sleeping all tangled up together.

I haven't started the second season so maybe it gets addressed more but also, I like the idea of Richie hovering protectively or even nervously over Carmy a lot. We know that boy is not handling life well and I just think part of Richie wants to hide him away from the world and make sure he's safe and happy.

I hope you continue with the fic and also tight more because the fandom needs stories like yours.

Sorry for the rambling. I just wanted to send some love and let you know I can't wait for the next chapter!

aww don’t apologize this is so sweet!!! thank you so much 🤍🤍 if you didn’t notice already i’m a big sucker for tenderness and emotional vulnerability + intimacy in writing whether it be subtle or not and i think carmy and richie are both desperately in need of Tenderness in their lives so i try to include as much as possible in my own.

for me i actually think of richie being the clingier (or probably handsier is the better word) of the two..? richie’s more open and personable and better with people so in my head he’s never had a complicated relationship with physical contact, it comes easy to him and he doesn’t overthink it and probably doesn’t even realize how big of an impact it can have on someone who isn’t as used to receiving it. in contrast since carmy’s always been reserved and socially awkward he isn’t as well versed in it and won’t initiate it but he does genuinely enjoy it and will let himself reciprocate if he feels comfortable enough. s2 gave us a glimpse of just how dysfunctional his family life was growing up but i don’t think he was touch starved as a child at all—i think he grew up absolutely showered in physical contact from all his relatives during family gatherings and especially from nat and mikey at home, i can see the berzatto siblings being really open and physically affectionate with one another growing up but as carmy grew older + started distancing himself from his family once he started pursuing a professional culinary career he never really developed close enough relationships (platonic or otherwise) to receive that sort of physical contact anymore so for years he just didn’t have it. he definitely craves it but it isn’t something he realizes he misses (or at least not just how much) until he gets it again from someone who he actually trusts and wants it from, and i think richie’s good for him in the sense that he’s pretty unreserved (read: annoying) about that stuff. in my head richie’s the one who greets carmy with back hugs and drapes casual arms over his waist when they lay in bed together and shoves his cold hands underneath carmy’s shirt. in the self indulgent alternate universe where carmy’s less emotionally unavailable i love the idea of him being clingy but don’t worry knowing me there’s a lot more physical intimacy in store between them in the future for this fic so you’ll still get your wish <3

i’m actually obsessed with richie’s protectiveness of carmy it’s the type of protectiveness that comes alongside a lot of insults and a slap upside the head rather than the conventional mother henning (although i def think richie’s that way with eva) it’s there nonetheless. i have lots of fun of writing richie taking care of carmy in bcm and trying to keep it as close to canon as possible as well but carmy also has that stubbornness to him about getting taken care of/accepting other people’s help that manages to make him come off as bratty lol

[dragonselkie]

Hiii!! I feel like I haven’t seen you on my feed in forever, so it’s nice to see you again, Selkie! I’d ask how you’re doing, but I saw you’re sick, so that answers that question. I hope you get better!

What fandoms are you in now? What things are you super obsessed with? Feel free to info dump as much as you want, I’m very curious.

Oh hello!! Glad my stuff found itself back to ur tl hehe. Aww thank you! I hope so too lol

Ooooh well I’m now bouncing around fandoms, but I’m mainly obsessed with genshin and mxtx and link click right now. Mxtx is a damnei (basically the same meaning as bl) author (in case you don’t know!) and I love her book MDZS, and the main ship Wangxian from there, for years. Finally I decided to actually indulge in my obsession lol and started writing fics for them, even if I only have one out so far lol. I love all her other books too sooo tgcf and svsss make an appearance too. I wanna write fics for the side ships from both those series soon! I have written the main ship from svsss Bingqiu, and that was really fun they’re ridiculous in the best way

Genshin Impact I’ve loved since the game first launched but it wasn’t until last year they debuted Alhaitham and Kaveh that I started shipping, they are SO well written and layered and give me so many emotions I’m obsessed with them (I joined a reverse bang for them actually! That fic will be coming in July! I’m so excited) I can’t wait for Sumeru to have an event again they’ve been gate keeping it from us ;-;

Link Click I watched when s1 came out and when s2 FINALLY came out it reignited my brainrot so I’ve been screaming about it since it’s SO GOOD idk if you’ve watched it but I HIGHLY recommend it’s blown my mind and made me cry; it’s not a happy show but it’s a genius one. I speed ran writing a fluff fic for them recently, cause they deserve more happiness

Aaaand I’m still into kiribaku but my brain is now split in many different directions. I’m not emotionally prepared for s7 of mha and it’s already here !!

Also my first fanfic/fandom was Voltron back in 2018 and I was recently hit with my Klance obsession again and I’m kinda wanting to write a fic for them???? 6 years later 😭 they’re still one of my otps fr

I think that’s all! Haha thank u for the invitation to info dump, I hope that satisfies your curiosity! <3

[rosemaryreality]

Sonic Prime S2 EP1 Reaction.

Alright so we are back to the start? but from Shadow's pov

2. Ooooh so Shadow saw all those freaky giant hollograms(? of their friends

3. Ah, i was wondering about that, so there's a barrier Shadow can't pass through.

4. HE LOST THE CHAOS EMERALD????!!!!!

5. !!!! so SHADOW is the reason why Sonic's shoes would act up???

6. Oof, dude's been trying for a while.

7. I had noticed this before in season 1, but god, the way sonic says "home" breaks my heart every time

8. So he still thinks Shadow isn't the real Shadow? really dude? unlike everyone else, he clearly recognizes you

9. "Sherrif shadow of floating rock world" ALRIGHT WE GET IT!! there's no cowboy world, no need to rub it in

10. DUDE HE CLEARLY SAID YOUR NAME. HE KNOWS WHO YOU ARE. HE IS YOUR SHADOW.

11. Oh. speaked too soon i guess. Anyway FINALLY!!

12. SONADOW HUG!!! i'm redrawing this.

13. LMAO. the way shadow slides to the left, feels so extra for me i love it.

14. If those giant shards weren't there, how would sonic move while in there? would shadow have to carry him?

15. Rip green emerald.

16. Aww he missed the palm trees.

17. "Just like home" but it's not.

18. Holy shit he is gonna see the "ghost" version of tails.

19. Oooooh, interesting. I thought everyone except big would be at the cage, but tails is at the beach near his workshop. So it's not about where they where when it happened, it's probably about significant places.

20. Oh, they're ALL at the beach. I'm guessing the palm tree amy's at is THE palm three, so they really must have plenty of memories there, if it's the place they're all at.

21. Omg i love prime sonic but GOD is he slow, they're not you're real friends!! and where is shadow anyway? i bet he is silently judging you.

22. Oooooh i wonder if this is partly why shadow is so quick to dismiss the people from the shatterverses, even if they're clearly more life like than these versions, it's probably hard for him to consider them as much more than this: shallow versions of their friends, their missing pieces, especially since he can't meet them for himself (yet).

23. THE WAY HE HUGS HIMSELF I CAN'T!!!! i know it's his fault but COME ON!!

24. Oooh the way Shadow looked at his shoes, already planning to steal them?

25. EXCUSE YOU SHADOW WHAT DID YOU SAY ABOUT MY BOY NINE?!!! HAVE YOU EVEN MET HIM? WHO ARE YOU TO SAY HE CAN'T BE TRUSTED??!

26. Oh god he really thinks of Nine as "angsty Tails" i'm crying.

27. "He's not tails. he is nine" look at what you've done Sonic, now i have to agree with Shadow just after he insulted Nine.

28. "This is his reality" oh god ummm i don't think I agree with that.

29. Ugh sonic how can i be mad at you when you are defending Nine? still don't like that he doesn't see him as his own person though.

30. Yeah i can't blame Shadow for not trusting Sonic, like, WHO would trust him at this point?

31. "I know what you are capable of" oh? OH? so NEITHER of them trust the other one, huh.

32. OMG HE GRABBED IT WITH HIS MOUTH?? I ACTUALLY LAUGHED OUT.

33. Well, that was fast, let's see his reaction to the fact they do nothing for him.

34. ?????????????????????????? WTF? I'M SORRY DID I MISS A SCENE??

35. OOOOOOOOH HE TOOK BACK THE ONES FOR HIS SHOES.

36. God this Shadow is so extra, couldn't you put that one like a normal person?

37. Wait so they DID help him get out of there, how? maybe those things have some of Sonic's energy on them? whtever it is, couldn't be enough to get past the barriers.

38. I don't know if the place between shatterspaces is a good place to be fighting, Shadow has his airshoes but what if Sonic falls into the void?

39. I couldn't believe Sonic said "come at me, bro" when i heard it, now SHADOW? and he sounded so smug too

40. What happened in new yoke?

41. Oh right, THOSE guys.

42. So sonic can just spindash his way through that place.

43. Man that knocked out shadow BAD.

44. SONADOW PRINCESS CARRY!!!! Sonic prime really is a gift to all ships.

45. OF COURSE he fell on his face, gotta love running gags.

46. Finally got to the "together" part, god is sonic smug about it, on other news, sonadow needs each other, hell yeah.

47. "I won't let you down, shadow" awwwww.

48. For some reason the shadow vision was so funny to me, bro he is not DEAD.

[tiodolma]

I remember you said you hate Arthur 😗 What are your thoughts on Gwen? Do you like Gwencelot?

guinevere guinevere guinevere... RANT INCOMING. Hot takes generator coming along. brace yourself.

hmm i think she had a lot of potential at the start especially in s1. She was spunky. She had really good rapport with merlin. It felt like she and him could have done a lot of pranks and hijinks.

Then when mergana (the whole shebang) started to happen i thnk they pushed her to become more of arthur's voice of reason as replacement for the spot morgana used to hold.

it's still a little weird how she and arthur got together tbh. Like okay, her views on arthur started to change when he began saving merlin's life i in the cup of life episode. But Idk i wish we could've seen more introspection on her part?

She's not like Merlin and Morgana who had high hopes for Arthur from the very start. Both of them had been working on Arthur from the Bottom and Top. Merlin was peasantry and Morgana was nobility and they both pushed Arthur to be the kinda cool dude he was in S1. And I feel like she got pulled along by MM's efforts to see the good in Arthur. Where does Guinevere fit in all of this? In the middle… I guess because it worked! MM's efforts showed that there was hope in Arthur and Guinevere acknowledged that. Then in s2 when Merlin became more focused in thwarting Morgana in and when Morgana's powers truly awakened and her hate for Uther deepened... Guinevere was what? left to pick up the pieces? I think?

I'm saying this because in s2 both MerMor were already stepping into their destinies, the real "I want to do what's best for Arthur and Camelot." phase. Guinevere was stuck in the weird spot of just being the one who truly cares for Arthur as person.

Now I know this sounds ArWen-positive. but on Gwen's side.

The problem with Arthur tho is that once someone is kind to him he he holds that person on a pedestal and only wants to see that version ever. IDEK why in the span of five seasons, he still has a low opinion on women and girls, he still has this chivalric notions that it's a men's world and girls should just be protected and kept in the dark and that servants should just stay as servants. Moreover his attitude with the women Uther tries to make him marry is abhorrent. He doesn't like the girls who challenge and mirror him too much (like Vivian or Elena from The Changeling). For him his ideal woman is the prim proper perfect loyal- looks good as nobility type. He has this like list of what makes a perfect woman for him and it's so incel-like lol. The moment any of these make a mistake, he casts them away (yes even guinevere). He can make all those "I am doing this for the kingdom" "my love can never be" "what would my father think" excuses but what happened when Guinevere became his queeen and chief adviser? He kept things from her and won't listen to her as his voice of reason. He's honestly frustrating tbh. His ego mixes with his notion of being a "King" and a "Man" and he kept pulling rank at both his Queen and Merlin.

This leads me back to Guinevere just being pulled by the story and cleaning up all the messes ArMerGana leave behind. It's complicated. She's a reflection of whoever was close to her. When she was still close to Morgana, she thought Arthur was a prick. When she was close to Merlin, she almost shared his views of Arthur being the "best thing ever." When MerGana decided that Arthur was an okay dude, guinevere also rode that boat. When Arthur was king and was already like "magic users are all lunatics" Guinevere became like, "yass ur right u have a point." Morgana tortures and brainwashes her and she becomes the latter's ultimate weaopn. Merlin lies to her constantly and she's just "fine whatever you say Merlin teehee but i'm watching you OwO." Arthur abuses Merlin even as King and Guinvere is still like "Aww you two are so cute, but i also think merlin staying as ur servant serving you for eternity is alright."

On one hand ppl can say that she can make her own judgement. Ofc she can. But I wish I saw more? just more. What are her hopes and dreams outside of arthur, merlin, morgana or elyan? Did she want to be a smithy? did she want to be a maidservant forever? did she hope to be a lady in waiting? did she want to become an apprentice of gaius? did she want to be queen? was she not upset that merlin and arthur kept secrets from her? (this was a deleted scene from s5 btw) does she even want a kid? we dont even know that! we know nothing!

She was interesting as Queen, I admit, but bruh it was still like watching Morgana and Arthur on the throne (and lets be real she had been their representative on both times). It's annoying. And this is my point. Guinevere is like... a shapeshifter or chameleon. That's why even now we could never tell what she would be like as queen post-series. WE DON'T KNOW GUINEVERE.

it's like she was whatever the narrative wanted her to be. Maybe that's the point then, that it's her destiny to be the boat that tries to keep itself afloat as the natural disasters called Arthur, Morgana and Merlin swirled and raged around her.

the only light at the end of that tunnel i think was Lancelot. His presence made her actually pursue stuff/hopes/dreams. AND IT SHOWS. They remind me of MerGana in their intense moments in s1-s4. GwenCelot chemistry is electric as hell. THEY WANT EACH OTHER, not for the king or queen or knight that they can become BUT EACH OTHER.

When Merlin and Guinevere weren't too wrapped up in "arthur is actually a good guy deep inside, just trust me on this, give him a chance give him a chance give him a chance" moments, when Merlin and Guinevere PURSUE SOMETHING ELSE, I see honesty, I see something RAW, i can see cracks in the facade forced on them just by merely being in Arthur's presence start to fade and break down.

So yeah. Lancelot had to be killed early coz what would happen to the "King Arthur is the best and hottest sht in the universe" narrative if we had actual Mr. Anime Protagonist Lancelot Du Lac in the show?

GwenCelot needed to happen. I was waiting for it so bad. I was so excited for it. It would have been he perfect foil to ArGwen. It would have added a lot more spice to the show. It would have made Guinevere a more well rounded character with her own hopes and wants instead of the "she's the only braincell holding this group together" character. I want to know Guinevere better, all the good and the bad and not just this impossible perfect angel that the show carved her out to be.

overall thoughts on guinevere? started interesting, ended up boring, gave us nothing.

overall thoughts on gwencelot? yes pls give us the dramatic, encompases beyond all reason courtly romance that arthuriana is known for.

[kiirotoao]

S2 rewatch highlights!

(this is like my 7th time rewatching the show and I’m still finding things lmao)

Episode 1

Omg there are a lot of vans in this show, huh? Kali’s gang, Hopper’s police van, Argyle’s van lol

AWW Mews oh no baby

Dustin the mediator, calling all the boys haha

Will’s so tiny AHWGHGEHF 

Hop’s pretending to be clueless about Murray for El oh my heart 🥺

Also I feel like I had no idea what Murray was talking about but now in hindsight I do lmao

AWWWHAJHJHJ Joyce was sewing the Ghostbuster’s costume in the store I missed that OHIFHKD so sweet

OH Bob I miss him. I legit do. He made Joyce happy. :((((((

AWW Nancy already anticipates what Jonathan’s going to do on Halloween night!! Oh the sweet intimacy they’re learning about each other

Also HMMM a slight parallel as Nancy pushes Steve away to stop kissing her like Mike does to El in the beginning of s3?

“I don’t know. He’s quiet today.” MY BABY

OH that car ride with Joyce and Will hurts so much. Can we start a #hugsforWillByers or something I need it

“Peanut butter and chocolate, hard to beat that” - hold up, Owens, Reese’s Pieces are just peanut butter. (However, M&Ms are chocolate. And I wonder what Mike’s favorite candy is…)

Eulogy and Barb ahdjhfdhfjkdfd - and with Mike as he looks over at El’s hideout… my god Mike thinks she’s dead

HAAH I like how Dustin parks his bike like it’s a car

AWHHH it’s Jonathan’s night to pick but he lets Will pick - I bet he does that every time

Hmm I wonder why the Byers’ house interior wasn’t covered in vines when Will had that second vision. Was it always like that? Last we saw briefly in s1, the bathroom had vines. Maybe it’s just Henry being dramatic, but the inconsistency around the Byers’ house might be important? Idk

Episode 2

I wonder how in the world the gash in the chalkboard from the demogorgon was explained lol. Eh whatever, I’m sure the boys found some crazy excuse.

HOLY- Mike’s complicated grief just hit me. Like he saw her, he did, but it could have very well been a trick of the light as far as he knew, and so I really think he was going through depression here as he thought El was dead holy shit

OH the way that the slight scare of Will being gone got me - the emphasis of Joyce’s anxiety was really poignantly done here!!!

AWH Will being the mediator in The Party

Oh my gosh wow, I missed that Joyce took Will to Chicago. I can only imagine how many places she tried to go to help Will. Will must be so tired :(((((

AW Jopper in high school <3

Tell me why I look at Joyce and just want to cry. Every time this season. #hugsforJoyceByers too pLEASE

Oooo the light between Nancy and Steve in that private library room! It’s like they’re so close but so far, a light divides them and is ironically separating them despite being a “light” in between them

Lucas and Dustin are SO iconic omg, both of them made me guffaw this episode

HAHA AW Dustin warning the guys “don’t cross the streams” - reminds me of how Dustin yells at the random student “wear a helmet!” In s4 lol

Oh my heart. Bob doesn’t minimize Joyce’s feelings, and he thinks about her word and her worries, wanting to take her away from the town full of trauma. Just <33333

I literally have nothing to say about the crazy together scene other than they’re boyfriends, your honor. Literally this scene had me on their radar.

UGH Jonathan’s such a gentleman, taking off Nancy’s shoes

Interesting how Mike didn’t stay in the hideout! Did he not really see El??? Mike???

[lehdenlaulu]

Okay, SaB S2. I'm groggy as hell and only have time for a couple of episodes, but here we go. Ep1.

Alina looks fantastic but I have to wonder where'd she find a curling iron in the middle of the sea. Unless the ship had a convenient tailor on board.

Aw, they cute.

I'm still impressed with the visual worldbuilding and production design so far.

Yeah, the Crows' brooding cello 'theme' still makes me immediately think of 'Vodka Inferno' by Diablo Swing Orchestra, if the overall vibe of the show didn't already.

Kaz backstory here we gooo.

Wow, very well-funded police force if they can afford purple uniforms. Assuming dyes work the same way they do in our world. Which I do, since that kind of thing has to be a conscious design choice.

Aw baby.

Hi Nikolai. I don't know you yet but I know who you are.

Huh, I thought Kaz had known all along and Jesper knew he knew. But I guess they needed to spell it out for the audience.

Damn, Mal. I'm not sure if that's just fancy editing or if we're supposed to believe he's Special somehow. (I know he's supposed to be but not like that I guess??)

And these would be the twins, yes? Hello there.

And here's the dude with the Finnish name and the Scottish accent. Hah.

And Wylan. Hi, Wylan!

Nina! Nice save, babe.

"Funny guns and angry hat." 😂 Perfect.

Poor Genya.

Nice acting from Dani on the 'love of my life'. The realization when she said that out loud.

Ep. 2

There's something about Nikolai I'm not buying. Maybe it's the acting, maybe the whole pirate angle is a little much and the balance of the vibes isn't quite right. Hmm. 🤔

Like, I get that the character is probably playing a part to a degree, but... yeah. Let's see how it unfolds.

Well done with the ship, though, it's actually properly cramped instead of absurdly spacious like in many films/shows.

I still really love the lighting of this show. Especially in comparison to so many other things recently.

I like that we're seeing Kirigan in human light as well, not just as the mustache-twirling villain cliché. The scenes with Genya are fascinating and disturbing. Great job Ben and Daisy.

Honestly I'm so glad they've aged these characters up. I would never believe they're teenagers. I mean, Wylan, maybe.

Huh, flashback or fantasy? I was under the impression they hadn't gotten to that part yet in the last season.

I wish the show had explained the amplifier thing a bit better, tbh. And did we even know about the Sea Whip and the Firebird last season, at all? And if she's been dreaming of them, shouldn't we have seen those dreams?

Ooh, an Alkemi! A cute one. Very... hmm. He might make a great Armand, actually.

Am I supposed to be feeling something between Alina and Nikolai? Because I'm not. At all.

And that would be a Tidemaker, I guess?

Well, that one definitely is one.

Wylan's acting a bit like jilted ex, which is weird and sort of funny. I suppose there's a reason.

Okay, no, everyone's apparently fighting like that now, not just Mal.

Ep. 3

Yeah, I doubt you'll take the Fold down in the third episode, my darling.

Okay, Nik, let's see if I buy you better now that the charade is over.

Aww babies.

Nadia! Hi! Wait, is that the same actress? I don't think it is.

Hi Zoya, good to see you.

Yeah, I thought it was something like that about the jilted ex behavior.

I guess Jesper is musiciansexual. 🤭

Kaz and Inej are better this season, I'm starting to buy it. Well, it helps that Kaz is starting to open up a bit, of course.

I love Nina and Inej, though. Inej needed someone like her around.

Well, everyone really is fighting like that, huh? It's getting sliiiightly unbelievable, but at least it looks awesome.

He's hot all bloody and disheveled I must say. 🤷‍♀️

Get it girl get it.

Listen, I love that Mal is supportive and they're very sweet but especially contrasting with the scene immediately after, I don't really care as much as the show probably wants me to. And that's not some shippy opinion, either, I don't really have a horse in this race.

Oh that's a very good shot of Kaz. Good job with the lighting and colors and blocking.

No, I honestly think Kaz is scarier than Kirigan.

Ooh, Tidemakers have green keftas? Yup, that's the one for me then.

Heh. I wrote this. Almost, anyway. Mine was slightly less creepy.

Well, that last scene felt familiar. Hah.

Okay, now some sleep, last four tomorrow night.

[captainanndor]

I posted 455 times in 2022

That's 335 more posts than 2021!

8 posts created (2%)

447 posts reblogged (98%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@maculategiraffe

@rhinozilla

@wardenmages

@drchucktingle

@kick-girl

I tagged 26 of my posts in 2022

#our flag means death - 7 posts

#ofmd - 6 posts

#stede bonnet - 5 posts

#edward teach - 4 posts

#renew our flag means death - 3 posts

#pirates - 2 posts

#i want what they have - 2 posts

#birthday - 2 posts

#blackbeard - 2 posts

#the orange - 2 posts

Longest Tag: 59 characters

#but honestly the most bites i've done are affectionate ones

I sent 1 gift in 2022

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Aww, I knew I celebrated a previous. birthday at a Ren Faire with a bunch of friends, all of us dressed as pirates. Forgot it was my milestone 30th. I rang in my 30s as a pirate & I'll be ringing out the end of my 30s as a pirate as well, cuz I am going to the Royal Feast this summer as a 39th bday treat! Hopefully this time goes smoother, because that was also the same trip where I got pulled over by a state trooper doing 72mph in a 55mph zone (I thought it was 65mph speed limit) and his first question to the car full of gals fully decked out in pirate looks was "you going to the ren faire?" Instead of saying NO for lolz, I said "um, yeah..." like a COWARD. As a "happy birthday" he didn't write me a speeding ticket but still wrote a ticket for my license plate frame because "you'd never get pulled over just for this, but it's technically illegal to have *anything* covering any part of your plate". The ticket was still ~$350 (thanks NYS surcharge). Anyways I got to feed a duck, ride a camel, and spend the day with some of the best people, so it was all worth it and I look forward to a repeat (on a slightly smaller scale, because I am le tired) for my 39th!

See the full post

1 note - Posted June 22, 2022

#4

For my 39th birthday, a friend and I made Roach’s 40 Orange Glaze Cake from Our Flag Means Death! We then set up a little scene and did a photoshoot for it. More under the cut!

See the full post

20 notes - Posted July 31, 2022

#3

I changed the first panel of this meme for a Twitter comment and then immediately had to change the second panel as well. Tumblr I know you will understand this joke.

37 notes - Posted June 15, 2022

#2

And while I’m at it! Putting this energy out there: #RenewOurFlagMeansDeath and cast Kate McKinnon as either Anne Bonny or Mary Read. They already gave us an in with Calico Jack whining he's been mutinied against 3 times recently and they ran with him historically. He’s also already out of the way so there’s no wasted time/boring love triangle drama and we can just have happy badass lesbian pirates co-captaining their own ship.

37 notes - Posted April 6, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Re-posting this from my own Twitter thread: Oh shit! #OurFlagMeansDeath S2 prediction:  Ed is gonna shoot Stede when they meet again. It’ll be dramatic, Ed’ll cry thinking he killed him, etc.  But the half of the fucking petrified orange Stede's daughter gave him will stop the bullet & save him #RenewOurFlagMeansDeath Or Izzy will shoot Stede, but I think Ed would be more dramatic for the story/reunion and needing to really knock him HARD out of The Kraken.  Ed knows Stede knows how to take a stab, or maybe their sword fight will be a draw or with Stede thinking he won and Ed pulls the gun. Ed never used the gun in the show. Only threatened Stede (and started to load it at the party) OH GOD! Actually, Stede will probs just refuse a sword fight. Ed will want one & Stede will refuse & Ed will threaten with the gun (again).Will the shot be intentional or accidental? (Does it matter?) Stede should never have left but the clean break/forgiveness from his family is what will save his life in the end. After also setting him free to love with no doubts or guilts from his old life haunting him. Knowing he's not a curse or a monster.

48 notes - Posted April 6, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[two-sides-samecoin]

i just spent however long reading all of your st posts and you're so right all the time! i adore steve and robin (and vickie). steve is my guy, my bitchy baby girl, my badass loser. robin is my girl, my awkward polyglot, my annoyed loser. stobins dynamic is top notch, they are soulmates, they're drift compatible, they want to combine into one person. and i'm so tired of people acting like anyone else can have this dynamic. i've seen too many posts (which any in the first place but it's been at least 6) in which people put eddie and nancy into the bathroom scene and it makes me want to pull my hair out. and there's so many things i want to put into this post ab how the fandom and st canon treats steve (overall, within his relationship w everyone, how they treat the concept of popularity (bc people like steve! he's a person people enjoy being around! he wouldn't be popular otherwise.), his intelligence (he's framed as stupid but his intelligence hasn't changed and he is, in fact, smart! and he's so emotionally intelligent and aware of everything) and how people say they love him and robin and stobin but don't actually like or understand any of them, etc.) and how vickie is amazing and vibes so well w robin and that she understands both robin and steve bc she has some similarities both personality wise and w her interests, and how people reduce robin to nancys (fanon) love interest or to bitchy autistic lesbian. (extrapolating on any of that would be like 6 asks and you've talked ab a lot of it already). and now i've decided that steves never done anything wrong bc he was genuinely in the right 98% of the time in s1, but people are acting stupid, so now he was always right. and honestly, i consider his s3 actions of letting erica and dustin go w them ooc bc in s2, he absolutely would've never, and nothing that happened between then and now would've changed his feelings on that. maybe i'm wrong on that, but it feels ooc to me. and he hasn't done anything wrong in any other season. also, i loved your post ab how steve became the person he is bc of trauma, how he doesn't freak out bc he knows he can't, he's the one stepping up to protect everyone and if he falters, he dies and everyone else is gonna be in more danger. any posts ab any of this make me go feral, so. anyways, sorry for ranting in your asks, i just kinda lost it a bit as soon as i started typing lol ✨️

thank you so much for taking the time to read all of them that’s so sweet 🥹

also this is long so going to put it under read more! :)

aww i’m so happy that you love these characters! they really are so wonderful and i love how you’ve described steve and robin <3 legit stobin means so much to me and you’re right i’m so tired of people acting like any other dynamic can have their friendship. ahh i hate when people put eddie or nancy in the stobin scene. or like even mention them because no no no you’re totally forgetting the purpose of this scene. which is funny because people have complained about steve stan’s not being respectful of this scene but like we high key are. but people want to make this scene about one of their ships when the whole point is about robin deciding to come out to steve. it has nothing to do with who her crush is on it’s about her own sexuality. and i’m sure you’ve seen me say this lol but it’s funny how the fandom wants queer representation meanwhile they completely bulldoze and ignore the wants/needs of queer characters. just to fulfill a ship they want.

everything you said about steve! i’ve even seen people legit put stars in steve’s name like this: st*ve which i guess do what you want but why can’t you even type a character’s name? i don’t want to keep repeating what you say so yes agree everything you said about steve’s treatment in fandom! i also 100% about vickie! ohh i need to talk about what you said about season 1 steve! people love to act like he was a devil or something but my dude just reacted to the fact that someone took pictures of him and his friends and girlfriend without his consent! then reacted to the fact that he believes his girlfriend cheated on him with the dude that took pictures of them when being a creep. like i would not act in a good way either. also like steve’s actions are on the same level as some of the other main character’s actions yet stan’s of their characters don’t have to say 24/7 the fact that their fav is an asshole.

about letting dustin and erica do that in season 3: i think it may be slightly ooc but also he’s faced against a kid who did go his own demands in a dire situation. i think after that he would realize that he can’t stop dustin from doing this so i think it may be easier to go along with it and steve can try to keep dustin and all of them safe. also we don’t know what happened between season 2 and 3 so i wonder if steve and dustin got caught up in shenanigans before

ahhh i’m so happy that you love that post <3 and yes yes exactly what you said about steve there. don’t say sorry because i love this rant! i love when people rant as i do it a lot lol and i love hearing people doing it. thank you so much for this!! :)

[dolphincormier]

herbymoreau: Aujourd'hui @evelyne_brochu et @virgfortin m'accueillent sur le plateau de tournage de la saison 2 de Trop. En attendant de voir cette sympathique entrevue dans la série #HERBY vite sur @icitoutv pour prendre de l'avance sur la saison 1 parce qu'on a jamais trop de la série Trop ⚡️