#best crossover episode in the history of the universe if you ask me

[moiroloi]

Sotiria Bellou and Christopher Lee, circa 1980

A journalist had been horrified when, upon coming into Bellou’s house for an interview, he caught sight of a framed picture of Dracula. “Don’t be scared now,” Bellou had soothed, “Dracula’s my fan!”, then went on to explain that Lee had been an avid collector of her records ever since the 1950s.

[blade-liger-4ever]

So I've been bored/running ideas in my head lately......

I know, that's dangerous coming from me - especially considering how I can start and then go on and on about a topic (see my post on my fanon history for Smokescreen for an idea.) That said, ever since I've started watching RWBY, I've been hooked, though I will be stopping after Volume 4 as I've heard...let's say mixed opinions on the show's writing after the fourth installment's conclusion. Because I've been hooked, I've also noticed that some characters - in particular Mercury Black, my favorite character outside of the main and side characters - were underutilized, in my own personal opinion. That, in addition to my fixation on Transformers, has led me to this crackpot idea:

RWBY x Transformers Partnerships.

What is this, you may ask? It's Blade saying, "What if there was a crossover between these two franchises I love and, more specifically, who would bond with who in a hypothetical crossover?"

I know it's been done before, but I mostly want to just pit characters together for the sake of fun, especially since life has been a bit much lately. So to unwind - and pass around some fun - I'm going to be starting a series of RWBY characters buddied up with Transformers characters.

Of course, that also means I have to set the stage for how this would all work. I'll summarize it as best I can, and leave open enough doors that things won't be too convoluted, or have too little substance to be able to feasibly work.

In a twist on Volume 2, I would have Mercury be used by Cinder to get close and learn about Team RWBY and gather info from them. However, he and Ruby would hit it off, and over time, Mercury would grow to care about her and the team before he'd defect - with the added benefit of having Pyrrha not only survive, but also be pushed on to the path to becoming the Fall Maiden.

Now, shortly after the Fall of Beacon, and before Ruby wakes up, I would have had Watts working with...let's say Team BRIR and Bram Thornmane (yes, I did research on relatively obscure characters connected to a RWBY game) to develop an interdimensional portal. Who knows what it was for, but Salem gave him this job, so he may as well do it, right? Well, turns out, in a Transformers: Prime-styled universe, the Autobots and Miko (see here for details that will be carried over to my mad little crossover) are in a battle with the Decepticons when - an ancient Cybertronian artifact, I suppose - activates at the same time Watts' machine does. The two groups are sucked through the wormhole, and are practically scattered across the world of Remnant, but because the CCT is down, hardly anyone realizes that Something is amiss.

And so the story begins!

Now, I'm sure I'll be asked about this, so I'll say it right now: the ship QuickSilver (Mercury x Ruby) will be a subtle part of this series, as well as Combat Goggles and BlackSun. I'm not the biggest fan of RoseGarden (having Oscar sharing living space with Ozpin gives me a major case of squick), and if I'm being honest, I love the idea of Ruby's purity pulling Mercury out of the darkness his father drowned him in. I also adopted love Mercury as a character, and his potential just screams at me to be recognized. Combat Goggles is another I love for how they interact in that one episode in Volume 2, and I can see Neptune with Yang more easily than with Weiss (plus I can't find that much content for them, so I gotta do it myself.) And BlackSun, while it isn't my favorite, I do love a good ship of Brooding Girl and Sunshine Boy in stories, so it's staying. And as a Hummingbird shipper/Qrow is Ruby's dad theorizer, I will be making references to that as well.

If this turns anyone off, I apologize. This is done primarily to satisfy my own wants, and to just goof around and find my favorite 'Bots friends from Remnant. If you are interested, though, welcome to RWBY x Transformers Partnerships! Let's have fun together!

See you around, folks!

[andreajingling]

Howdy. ~ | I'm Andrea, a Trans Female, I run this ship that is this blog, so let's get some introductions out of the way: | ~ ~ | If you're looking for RP intros and such, scroll down it should be there, but it would be much appreciated and valued if you would read the entire intro. | ~ ~ | Asks are, of course, open when labeled to be. Please try not to bring anything absolutely heinous in there that isn't in character of some sort. | ~

~ | Primary Interests { ones you'll see the most of around here } Include: | ~ Five Nights at Freddy's { This includes Fangames } Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends Trains/Locomotives in General Model Railroading Cars Planes/Aviation Team Fortress 2, Valve Games in General Pokémon

The Christmas Season { hence the branding practically year round }.

~ | Secondary Interests {ones you'll see every once and a while, the odd like and such} Include: | ~ MLP Minecraft The Nightmare Before Christmas

~ | I have a Youtube Channel of the same username which also posts stuff relating to interests, linked here: | ~

~ | And if you choose to support me in any way, be it Kofi, Patreon {both linked below}, or just simply interacting with posts/videos on my channel, it is extremely appreciated and valued. | ~

~ | Roleplay Info Below the Cut! | ~

~ | Now, onto another side of this account, the 'Semi-Character' Aspect. | ~

~ | I've been performing characters in online spaces for over 10 years now, starting in 2013! | ~ ~ | Let's start with the most important piece of any RP related account, the timeline they live in: | ~ ~ | The Andreaplex | ~

~ | To try to explain the entirety of the Andreaplex is to try to explain the entire history of the world I guess. There just isn't enough time, so let's go over some bullet points of the basics:

Multiple Franchises are present in the same universe, each corelating with one of my largest interests. It's basically the crossover episode of the multiverse, except they don't interact very often.

Most of the locations and popular places regarding events in the series are placed in the region of the Pacific Northwest, mainly Oregon however as it's my own home state.

The Timeline is made up of 3 others, each with different franchises present within, Timeline A holding 'Real Life', Timeline B holding FNAF, MLP, TF2, and others, and Timeline C holding TTTE and Pokémon. This is an event that occurred in the past, though does still haunt the present in multiple ways, including the way the three merged in an event called 'The Collision'. Three Into One, A Grand New Creation.

A LOT has changed from the norms of the franchises present, such as my own headcanons, major events IN my own AU Headcanons {such as the North Western Railway closing and eventual relocation to Oregon, again it's wild}, and changes to different elements of the franchises present {such as the added element of spiritual and physical aging in ghosts and spirits who choose to remain down on Earth. Example of this can be if someone dies when they're 5, and choose to remain down on Earth for 5 years, they would be 10 by the time those 5 years passed. Physical aging can go however the spirit wishes to present themselves, unless they have a body that more tangible than their spirit.}.

There are sort of, omnipotent beings that can sometimes be at the head of things called 'Writers'. Mainly it's just me and my friends personifications of ourselves, though most have chosen to allow their characters free will. Speaking of which:

Each Character is of their own free will in this Timeline, disconnected from 'Strings' that once held them in control of the Writer. Andrea being a part of this world said it best, 'I've seen their perspective. And I'm going to fix this.'

There are characters of varying power levels within the world, each harnessing a different brand of it. Speaking of that though:

One of the most common groups of power is Magic, though it has several subvarients, such as 'Equestrian', 'The Knowledge of the Fourth', 'Gold Dust', 'Witchcraft', 'The Black Arts', and other such examples that exist. Anyone can harness some types of magic with enough training, while others are only genetic or given to a select few.

The biggest fact by far is, since Timeline A was 'Real Life', and merged into the Timeline that is The Andreaplex due to the collision, by proxy, Y O U are canon to the Andreaplex Y O U exist!

~ | Next, let's take a look at the colorful world of characters that make the world what it is, specifically the ones that have this account's login info, starting with the Brunette herself, | ~

~ | Andrea 'Goldsmith Shores' Bliss { She/Her } | ~

{ Massive credit to @kilusion2011 for the ref sheets, and Kennith Stoker on Twitter for the other assorted pieces, check them out here: https://thegamefanatic.carrd.co . Trainer Card made with Pokecharms. }

~ | Andrea is a sort of, self insert in a sense. A being of practically unlimited power and energy due to one of the timelines merging to form her being one of a Writer {self insert moment i know}, as well as many other sources of power being pumped into her in the other 2 timelines that collided. And yet, she just owns a massive rail company, delivering promise to all in Oregon via the Pacific North Western Railroad Company. | ~ ~ | Andrea's presence is represented by a 🎄 on the top of posts. Her brackets of choice are { }, and preferred color is Red. | ~ ~ | A short list of key events, powers, tidbits of info, and drawbacks for her include: | ~

Andrea is 30 years old, born on April 30th. Due to timeframes getting absolutely FUCKED in the Collision, the year is uncertain but they put it down as 2003 as that's the one date that Andrea remembers as her birthday.

Andrea's 6 foot 1 inches.

Andrea is canonically a trans female. During her time she had to have breast reduction surgery due to their size being too painful in combo with Pectus Excavatum.

Andrea is pansexual, and happily married to Cassidy, told about below. Though in recent times the two have gone through some issues regarding their relationship due to both of them kinda not knowing how love works sometimes. They struggle but they're important to one another.

'Shores' was originally her selected last name {as she had several due to several of herself colliding into one another}, but eventually she settled on Bliss when adopting her second child.

Andrea's childhood {at least for her} is a blur. She doesn't remember much of it thanks to The Collision messing with things regarding her long term memory.

She holds near infinite amounts of power, being able to twist a timeline to nothing but red code if she wanted to, but after several events, have led her to not use it a lot, if even at all.

Most uses of her power is out of desperation, or extreme measures that would cause harm to those around/very close to her, such as family, and innocent bystanders.

Holding all of the cards at once for her is extremely overwhelming, and has resulted in her already present feelings of depression, anxiety, and extreme emotional tendencies to rise at extreme rates at times. Time has helped her slowly cope but it, it's a very slow process.

Andrea was gutted at one point by some very hostile robot bear spaghetti, a burnt clown, a burnt rabbit, and a burnt black bear, leaving the large scar on her torso. Like I said before, it's wild.

Andrea's only wish, if she were to get one that is guaranteed to come true, is to possibly experience what Death feels like, as she could never achieve it herself in any manner.

Andrea has adopted two children, ones you'll be seeing later in this thread.

Andrea's bond with her locomotives is like family, she grew up hearing their stories, and now she gets to make new ones with them. It's an honor to her.

Andrea's favorite season is Christmas. I mean, why else would the branding exist? Regardless, she loves the warmth, happiness, and above all, Hope that it gives the world. Hope for a brighter tomorrow. Hope that there is still good on this Earth. Hope that will last for eternity.

One of Andrea's first true friends in her younger days was the fourth in command of Mr. Kris Kringle himself, Vixen. The two are still best friends to this day, and often have one or the other come to their home to celebrate the holidays, at least up until Christmas Eve, then Vixen's got work. Maybe she'll pop in every now and again year round, but most of the time she appears during the holiday season.

If you were to give Andrea a theme, it would be the Rapture Rising Remastered piece from J.T. Music.

~ | Now that's my girl. My little woman. Now onto her beloved spooky ghost woman. | ~

~ | Cassidy Dani Goldsmith { She/Her/They } | ~

{ Credit to PalaKeda on Twitter for the ref sheet, and Kennith Stoker for the large piece of Andrea and Cassidy together being the women lovers they are. Trainer Card made with Pokecharms. }

~ | Ah Cassidy, the vengeful spirit turned business owner turned, back to vengeful spirit for a while, turned back to business owner with the addition of being a mother of two. Girly has been through a L O T , from her own death, to the entirety of the FNAF Timeline, to the shenanigans that brought her here, to even a near divorce with the woman she wanted to spend eternity with. Let's get to it. | ~

~ | Cassidy's presence is represented by a 👻 on the top of posts. Her brackets of choice are { }, and preferred color is Yellow. . | ~

~ | A short list of key events, powers, tidbits of info, and drawbacks for her include: | ~

Cassidy, much like her wife, is 30 years old, however she was born at some point during the mid 1970s, meeting her unfortunate death at around the age of 11. This is a reminder here that souls can age in this timeline, hence her appearances on her ref sheet including a teenage and child version.

Cassidy has genetic origins in Asia, specifically Japan and Korea. And yet her family chose to live in Utah. Curious. /lh

Cassidy stands at 6 foot 3 inches, around two inches taller than her wife.

One of her greatest hobbies is ironically dancing to her own music. She often pulls Andrea in for dances when she wants to, or when a situation is perfect for one.

As hinted at in the opener piece above, yes, this is THE Cassidy from the FNAF timeline, but my own rendition of her, as well as the timeline itself. Maybe one day I'll go into that can of worms.

Yes, Cassidy is dead. Not Andrea type dead no, she's just. Dead. She's a ghost. Can phase through walls, haunt things, possess her broken up Fredbear animatronic to scare people, that stuff.

Cassidy is a full on Lesbian and is currently in a loving marriage with Andrea, lasting from December 25th of 2021 { I believe the year's right can't remember exact dates } until now. Sure there's been scares and possibilities of divorce here and there, but hey when does that not happen.

Cassidy owns and manages 'Fredbear and Friend's', a restaurant literally right next door to the house she and Andrea own that both provides good old fashioned animatronic entertainment, but preserves vintage equipment and creating replicas of said equipment from Freddy Fazbear's Past, from Fredbear's all the way to the most recent restaurant, the Mega Pizzaplex. Each era of Freddy's has it's own gallery as well as subsections for different historical sections { such as an exhibit showcasing both the Security Breach and Ruin elements in full context }, so for example in one you can see Roxanne wolf, then walk to another and see the Toy Animatronics. This is ALSO another huge can of worms. Currently, this restaurant is Post-Ruin, so The Mimic's in a glass case, and the Ruined's are around on static display.

One other element about the Restaurant she has a more close connection with is 'Cassidy's Game'. Basically, take Ultimate Custom Night, and put every single animatronic from every single game in there { with a few exceptions ofc we ain't letting the mimic hunt people, that's just, no. }.

Cassidy is the backup vocalist { though does get some main vocalist chances } and lead bassist of 'The Missing Ones', an indie band comprised of the original five spirits involved in the Missing Children Incident back in 1985. They mostly do covers, but recently did a rock/metal cover of 'The Northwest Passage' sea shanty, heavily inspired by Johnathan Young's own cover. This was for a special celebration Andrea asked them to attend, as well as providing her own vocals as a special guest.

Cassidy's favorite holiday is, of course, Halloween. Her idol is Jack Skellington, for his expertise in scares and how to get them out of people in the best of ways.

Speaking of Halloween, Cassidy also goes a bit scare crazy around that time of year, due to the Mortal Plain being closest to the Spiritual Realms of Heaven and Hell, as well as Limbo and The Land Between. At this time of year, she opens the Restaurant later, as a sort of Haunted House experience, like that one FNAF Haunted House down in Vegas. Fun Fact I went to that. Was a WILD time. She also pops out and scares anyone she can for that sweet feeling of scaring someone.

Cassidy sort of dislikes the Christmas season for it's overwhelming forcing into your home type attitude. She wants to be spooky but then as soon as November comes around, Mariah Carey is free. She isn't a full on Grinch though. Yet. That arc's coming later. In the past when the two were just dating, Cassidy went out of her way to buy Andrea a full on sleigh for Christmas. Like. Full Sleigh. Full stop no additions. She just bought her a sleigh cause she noticed Andrea loved the season so much.

~ | Well ain't that lovely. Now let's move onto someone with a LOT less info about them, then to someone else small, but first let's get, | ~

~ | Maddie 'Shores' Bliss { She/Her } | ~

{ Used a Picrew for her, will eventually figure out WHICH this was from but honestly i might never cause i'm kinda lazy, and Trainer Card made with Pokecharms. }

~ | Maddie, a close relative of the Brunette known as Andrea, was originally part of another side of the family before being thrown to the curb due to a demonic possession. Eventually she found herself in the state of Oregon, and finding the Residences Andrea calls home. | ~ ~ | Maddie's presence is represented by a 🔪 on the top of posts. Her brackets of choice are [ ], and preferred color is Green. | ~

~ | A short list of key events, powers, tidbits of info, and drawbacks for her include: | ~

Maddie is an Asexual Biromantic.

Maddie stands at around 6 foot.

Maddie is 23 years old at the time of this original post {September 20th 2023 PST}. Her birthday is November 16th, 2000, one of the few birthdays in the family with a direct year confirmed.

Maddie is one of the few members of the Bliss Family that isn't immortal.

The results of Maddie's Possession gave her a demonic form she can shift into and out of whenever she wishes.

It also, however, gave her a specific Iron Intake she needs to meet with each thing she eats, which cannot be met with any supplements on the market at the moment, rather with human blood and flesh {think something like something from Tokyo Ghoul, except she CAN eat other stuff, just has to have that flesh and blood/iron intake factor} .

Maddie's Possession is a family curse, her mother held it before her, and her grandmother before her, and, well you get the drift. Blame her Great-Great-Great Grandmother {who may pop into this account every so often as a cameo} .

~ | Ain't she a gem. Now, onto our {currently} last individual that can access this account, | ~

~ | Mary Bliss { She/They } | ~

{ Again made with another picrew I can't remember the link too i am sorry, and Trainer Card made with Pokecharms. }

~ | Mary, the youngest of the Bliss Family, was adopted after she was tagging along with the embodiment of Death {one that tries to get the ghostly residents to ascend}, yet chose to stay behind with the family rather than moving on, gaining an approving family they never got. | ~ ~ | Mary's presence is represented by a ❄ on the top of posts. Their brackets of choice are ( ), and preferred color is Purple. | ~

~ | A short list of key events, powers, tidbits of info, and drawbacks for them include: | ~

Mary is 14 years old as of writing this original post {September 20th, 2023 PST}. Their birthday is March 17th, 2009.

Mary stands at about 5 foot 7 inches.

Mary is NonBinary and AroAce.

Mary is a Freshman in High School.

Mary's has a gunshot scar on her skin where her heart is, which she keeps hidden under her clothing as best as she can. It brings up bad memories of her former family.

Mary's father killed her in cold blood for her own choices of who she was. I will not be going into detail, as honestly it makes even me upset to recall that bit of her. Might retcon it honestly. Who knows.

Mary is the character with the least amount of story built up for her, so she is very experimental at the moment.

~ | Well that was fun! Got to know each of the funnies on here! Now onto the last bit of the matter, their current status! This is just a way for people to know WHO is able to access the account at a given moment. This WILL be edited over time. | ~

~ | Characters that have Access: | ~ ~ | Andrea | ~ ~ | Status: Home. | ~ ~ | Able to Access: Yes | ~ ~ | Cassidy | ~ ~ | Status: Home. | ~ ~ | Able to Access: Yes | ~ ~ | Maddie | ~ ~ | Status: Home. | ~ ~ | Able to Access: Yes | ~ ~ | Mary | ~ ~ | Status: Home | ~ ~ | Able to Access: Yes | ~

~ | And with that, at LONG ass last, this post is OVER!! Thank you to anyone who read this far down, and hopefully I can both enjoy some fun moments on here regarding roleplay, as well as spread a bit of positivity regarding other topics! Might even bring in some actual like, accounts dedicated to stuff in the future, who knows! | ~ ~ | With that, time for me to go have a rest god this took way too long. Andrea, out! | ~

[blocksruinedme]

ask anything? :D we talk empires n aus stuff a lot in the discord already so Im gonna ask: what were the best (and worst. if youre feeling the urge to be spiteful :3) parts of your last fandom before this? and what are the biggest difference, and similarities, between it and ur current mcyt fandoms!

Alright let's go. The fandom is The Untamed/Mo Do Zu Shi, and I will love it forever. If you've seen long hairedtruly beautiful chinese twinks in long robes in swords, it's probably then. the original source is a web novel written by an anime fic author, and I'm really into the live action version (there's also animated, comic, audio drama)

It caused me to learn a LOT about chinese culture language. Like, a lot, I tried Mandarin for a bit on duolingo but I can't even explain how much I learned about history, food, culture, forms of address, poetry, just, so much. The fandom is full of fancy smart bitches, one of my fave tumblrs is someone who majored in ancient china, and the analysis etc was just chef's kiss amazing. i wouldn't be doing chinese brush painting, and that's bringing me a lot of joy, i've never done visual art before.

I would not have learned so much about culture if it wasn't for my very tightknit group chat. I mentioned I'm on a plane to see friends? It's one of them & their spouse (who i've known since college) and one of the other people in the groupchat, who only knows them because I watched the untamed and introduced my friends. last spring us and the 4th member of the gc went on vacation together. I'm the only person who is fully monolingual, and the only one who isn't an immigrant or child of immigrants from taiwan. I've learned so much about so much of those experiences, and I didn't consider myself ignorant before, but you really need to get to know someone to understand some things (as much as you can without living it

the fic is FUCKING AMAZING. idk how many unread bookmarks i have of fic that is professional publication quality - partly because some of the authors are pro writers. I've been lucky to get to read a loooooot of fic by professional writers, cause my fandoms and ships overlapped. There is so much fic, closer to 100k than 50k i think.

i bonded with other friends by getting on calls and watching with them. i was maybe pushy lol. sadly i'm not gonna try and get anyone into mcyt

canon queer canon queer like deeply canon queer like there are extensive sex scenes in the novel and the entire thing is a gay/bisexual love story it's so good IT'S SO GOOD I CRIED SO MUCH IT'S SO GOOD. SOB SOB SOB.

xue yang my insane psycopath blorbo fuck i love him i got a painting printed on canvas hanginf over my bed.

the canon is closed. the script is a script and the actors are actors and nothing like feeling weird about the crossover can ever happen. i never got as much as i wanted with my side character blorbos but it is what it is.

Downsides

tha canon is closed ;-) I'll never get more than my 50 episodes, unless

Some drama and.... discourse has become such a loaded term. But sometimes you have things like conflict that comes up between the feelings and desires of chinese diaspora and jewish people about how things are portrayed in fic, right? And it's not fighting over nothing, it's (afaik) not fighting to fight, not fighting for clout or because you want to look cool or because you're unhappy with your life and think lashing out will help.

Also, there is fighting to fight and for clout etc. If I ever see top/bottom discourse again it will be too soon, i've got enough of that to last till the heat death of the universe

translations, man. translation is an art and i am glad to know so much more about translation but it's so frustrating to know you'll never really get it, and to try and tell people things like "i know he sounds very brusque but he's speaking ina. very fancy linguistic register and sounds fancy to the other people, and the way he said all those sentences there and they were all four characters long, that's poetic and significant and and and"

I was not inspired to write in general, I wasn't getting ideas. That wasn't notable because I've never ever ever written regularly, i wrote one yuletide fic a year for awhile, i old wrote novely. I am not someone who pops into a new fandom and writes 6 fic in 2 months cause that's the kind of thing that've done in other fandoms. this is insane. And now that i have the writing bug... well, the fic is so amazing, and plentiful, i'm not going to get much attention. i just wrote an exchange fic, my first time writing in the fandom, because my mcyt fic writing encouraged me. I am glad i did it, i made my recipient happy, and it will never get as many kudos as my least popular mcyt fic. I think it has 8, and I'm happy to get that. Here's the thing, i have so many things i *can* do with my creative energies, and multiple that i do to reach and touh other people, and i'm not going to prioritize things where i know I'm not good enough to get read. It's not that i'm choosing writing vs nothing because i want people to read it, i'm choosing writing vs. other things

Comparisons

Okay i think a lot can be pretty obvious from what I said above. We don't have that much fic, we don't have canon smut, afaik we don't have pro authors - not that you have to be pro to be good! or that all pro authors are good! but they usually are pretty good.

other people i knew irl or from my long fandom past got into it. i would get ao3 fic notification from people and eagerly check to see if they'd gotten dragged in. i do not expect that to ever ever happen here. i have ventured far away from the fandoms of my past!

For me... I was a pretty normal age in the untamed fandom, and i am wicked old here. I'm an elder millennial. When I was in my 20s I met fans in their 50s, including at cons that make it really real. I don't see any reason people should drop interests cause they age??? It's bizarre and incomprehensible to me and I always wonder how people will feel when they age. I don't think there's anything inherently childish about this source, and i am happy to talk to younger people, but it's different when you know you're at a similar level of life stuff, and the privileges that come with age. i try to be careful and aware of this with my interactions with younger people. power imbalances etc and i think i do a good job. (my fandom before the untamed, that i was much more casual about, was other youtube and that was maybe even younger?)

The canon! oh my god! LOOK AT THIS SHIT. I majored in media studies and focused on fandom and what was at the time new media and this is... y'all if i was in college now i would be writing desperately about this. As a media studies person, as a larper, as someone who is obsessed with watching the ways people can express themselves and connect and stuff grow... fuck man. SMPs????? fuck yeah!!!!!! gah!!!!! catch me sober and i can be more coherent.

connecting with people has been slower, but it's picking up. <3

the untamed had so few female charaters. empires being so female is just so amazing to me, and i *am* working on f/f, it's just. the problem is jimmy, okay? no women throw themselves at jimmy, it's not *my* fault.

i can't fucking vid it. i just. can't. i can't draw and i never finished any vids for the untamed but i have so many unfinished ones. i'm not a great vidder but i love it, and not even having the possibility... it makes me sad a lot, actually. but i need facial expressions and more dynamic footage.

in conclusion fandom is great. before the untamed i hadn't been seriously into fandom in years, i've always been in and out. it was insane how into it i got. i started watching as i recovered from major surgery, and was still deep in the pandemic blues.

mcyt has unlocked creativity in me I never ever ever expected. i'm an elder millennial and i started reading fic when i was 12 and fic writing was never gonna be my thing. in 2021 i beta read over 100k words to contribute, in 2022 i started podficcing to have some creative expression of my own. my therapist and i talk about it all the time (i've been with her since i was 19, we talk about everything, and fyi what you love can say things about what's up with you and therapists know that, talk about your blorbos). I've determined i'm not getting an answer anytime soon. The medium is a lot, right, but it's more. I don't know, but I fucking love writing like this, the satisfaction, the fact that i made someone *cry* with my silly cave ranchers fic. I've made people cry a lot with my larp writing, but that intended to make them cry, not something i wrote in a fever dream in one day.

So thank you everyone who is part of my experience, it's been really great and i hope to keep being so happy and fulfilled and encouraged in my creativity etc!

"hope that's what you wanted". i am only ever concise due to extensive editing lol :)

[mystery-moose]

Books - 5, 10, 11?

book asks!

Answered 5!

10: do you have a guilty fav?

Yeah, I got two particular flavors. The first is what I call "airport books," those potboiler doorstops that are usually about some Hard Dude doing Cool Things and being Right All The Time. In my mind these are like, the Jack Reacher genre. I don't read them often, though! Been a long time since I've been in an airport, y'know? But I do enjoy Dan Simmons' Hard Case series, or what I've read of them.

The other flavor, the one I indulge in more often, is licensed novels! Love me some licensed novels. I've read my fair share of Star Wars books, and I'll stand up for some of those Timothy Zahn and Matthew Stover books as having some genuinely great writing, but most of them are some kind of trash or another. I've read a few Star Trek novels, including some by the very good @dduane that I thought fit perfectly into the TNG episode mold (I really liked the one that included the dolphin scientist!) but frankly her work cannot touch the perfection that is the Star Trek/X-Men crossover novel, Planet X.

Look at it. Gaze upon its majesty.

...honestly I remember very little about it except that Worf and Wolverine were fight buds, and also I think there was a fun moment where they acknowledged that Picard and Xavier looked extremely similar? This was prior to the movies, too! Good stuff.

I've also got a list of Aliens novels that I intend to check out at some point, and I've started the dark journey of reading some Halo books as well, so y'know. I love me some trashy military sci-fi schlock as well. That's probably my "guiltiest" pleasure, given my feelings on the military as an institution? But hey, what're ya gonna do.

Let's be real, though. The first thing that always, always springs to my mind when someone asks me about a guilty pleasure should be obvious.

I love these fuckin' things, man. I can't help it! They're too cool!

Warhammer 40k is the biggest, dumbest, silliest universe that somehow creates this incredible cross-section of original-flavor grimdark, straight-faced absurdist parody, catholic-tinged deathmetal aesthetic, and genuinely compelling fantasy-adjacent space opera worldbuilding. At its absolute best, it's all of these things at once, managing to be evocative, interesting, and Totally Badical at the same time. That's rare! But it does happen!

Admittedly I've stuck pretty closely to the ones authored by Dan Abnett, who I genuinely believe to be a skilled author (and who is composed of forty percent Warhammer novels by volume) but even the ones he didn't write are usually entertaining in some way, shape, or form. One of these days I'm going to crack open my Kindle and dig right into the Eisenhorn trilogy and then get into Ravenor's whole thing, and slowly work my way through the Gaunt's Ghosts books, and then maybe at some point they'll eventually arrive at the big moment at the end of the Siege of Terra and I'll probably read that too.

Oh and also I hope Roboute Guilliman actually gets the Imperium's shit together. Moving the plot forward? An incredible development!

11: what non-fiction books do you like if any?

Non-fiction isn't really my thing, despite being a huge history nerd, so I don't dig into it as often as I should! Which is extra strange because I'm way into documentaries, too. Weird!

Of the ones I've read? I really enjoy the audiobook of The Lost City of Z, by David Grann, and Tokyo Vice by Jake Adelstein. I know there's at least some amount of conversation as to the technical accuracy of both of these, but they are both a ton of fun to read/listen to! (Maybe avoid the audiobook for Vice, Adelstein is a very compelling writer but a public speaker he is not.)

[dakotafinely]

What current rottmnt AU do you like the most? Or at least list your favorites

A reason to gush over my favorite stories? HECK YEAH:

Neurodivergent Turtle Family by belizaster: It’s a one shot but it’s really good and I’m a SUCKER for family softness and this delivers

Sleep Over At April’s by @fluidfox123: CAN I TELL YOU HOW GOOD THIS IS?? THE STORY, THE FEELINGS?? THE FRICKIN’ ENERGY!!! LEO IS TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HIS IDENTITY AND WE LOVE IT!! IT’S SUPER WELL WRITTEN AND I RECOMMEND THIS TO EVERYBODY WHO LOVES ROTTMNT!!!

Save Your Tears (For Another Day) by cxlesstial: It’s a Rise/2012 crossover. It’s taking place in the Rise universe and for sure leans more into Rise’s humor and energy. I’ll be honest, I think this persons newer to writing but the concept is great and the execution of it ain’t half-bad!

Dimensional Differences by goldenspecter: This is ALSO a Rise/2012 crossover but it takes place in the 2012verse. I think it’s very intresting and actually follows a bit of the continuity of the 2012 episodes without being ooc or weird with the Rise bois in it. They write such a large cast of characters seemingly with ease and it makes me a bit jealous. They do use Rise’s energy to their advantage but stick to the 2012verse atmosphere and blends them in a way it works. I will forewarn you that they do have Rise!April x Sunita x Rise!Casey but the way is written isn’t shoved down your throat.

A Shared Fear by Marron121: Another one-shot mainly focusing on Raph and Leo. And covers the idea of Leo becoming leader at the end of Rise. It’s a too fast-paced I feel but not so much so it’ll take you out of the immersion. They do a great job with the characters and it’s more of a fluff piece then an angst one.

(It won’t let me share the link on that one, but I had to add it)

LIKE A DAD! by LazyLuc: Wonderful fluff one-shot shared with me by an anon. But I bring it up again because it is SOFT it is SWEET and I can’t help but add it to my list of stories.

The Best Type of Kidnapping by JustAndrea: A Draxum centered one-shot focusing on him integrating into a member of the Rise bois family. I don’t really read Draxum - based stories because they’re not my cup of tea. But this one is a well-written fluff piece I just have to share with you! It’s a part of a series but I’ve only read this one of it. But I do recommend checking out the series yourself if you like Draxum - based stories!

Head, Shoulders, Shell & Tum (Shell & Tum) by CringePhase: A FANTASTIC one-shot with lovely discoveries Splinter makes as he learns how to be a father. It’s so sweet and the fluff is to die for. An instant favorite and one of the first few fanfic’s I’ve read from the Rise fandom. It deserves a lot of love and attention!!

Take Care by OneThumpAway: I debated for a bit on whether I wanted to add this one. Because it’s about the Mud Dogs and not the Rise Bois. But I added it anyway because I’m a sucker for it. It’s a hurt/comfort type of fluff and the writings a bit clunky but I like it a lot. I think it does well in portraying these character’s in a realistic way despite how little we know of them. It’s really only Danny and Leonard centered so I’m sorry to all those Mickey stans.

And of course, the entire series called Charmy’s Fantasy Stories by both CharmyWizard and VoidInkedPen: because how could I not recommend these bad bois? This entries series is one of the best and I’m sure everyone who’s been in the fandom for a hot minute already knows about it. But I gotta praise it because the entire series is to DIE for. In both it’s fluff and angst, the story and the world it’s created in is fleshed out and wonderfully thought through if you haven’t given it a read yet. Please do! Each story and be read on its own but it’s so beautiful to go through the list because it works so well. You’ll love it I’m sure!

And that brings my list to an end! Sorry this took so long, I went through my history just be sure I didn’t forget one! I personally love all this stories and I hope you will too if you choose to read ‘em! Give the writers some love and some kudo’s because all of them deserve it! They’re all amazing in their own ways and deserve a read through.

Thanks for the ask!

[waystobuild-blog]

Top 7 CN Shows That Would Work Better in Live Action than PPG

So I think everybody’s talked about why CW Powerpuff Girls doesn’t work, whether or not it’s a real thing or not? Who even knows. But while thinking about how this:

is kinda awful for Powerpuff Girls, I got thinking what shows that this style of a reboot would work for. In which it’s live action, the character is depressed and has sort of resentment towards their childhood now and that sort of thing. 

So what are the top 7 shows that I think this

Number 7:

Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends

At Number 7 we have Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends. Seems fitting that we’d start the list with another one of Craig McCracken’s biggest hits. Why do I think the premise of “Oh, life sucks now and I kinda wasted my childhood” would work for Foster’s? For the plain and simple fact that for a few episodes of the show, there was a focus on Mac growing up and whether or not he should leave his friends at Foster’s behind him. You could play a lot with that concept combined with the live action reboot thing. Maybe an older version of the character is dealing with whether or not to let go of both Bloo and the past and move on with his life. Frankie being a young adult during the time of the original show could also be a pretty instrumental character since it was a matter of living there, caring for the friends, having that job and balancing this life with the life that she had outside of the house.

Not quite a coming of age story but a sort of “Hey, my life has gone nowhere and where could I go with this now? Do I keep the friends I loved and cherished as a child or move onto other things? Is there a way to do both?”

Only thing I wouldn’t want though is CGI monstrosity friends. Those would be kinda the worst…

Number 6: 

Okay, let’s actually talk about a real superhero show this time around. Or would this count as a superhero show? Well, they certainly do a lot of cool time travelling so I’m gonna say it’s a superhero show. Of course, I mean Time Squad.

Now if you haven’t guessed, I don’t have the most experience with this show but I know enough to think that this is something that could actually work well. I mean, Otto was a kid who was basically running around all over history protecting the balance of time with a stuck up robot and a dude who is a little too into all of this. Imagine if he just sorta did this for all of his childhood and realizing as a young adult that “Crap, I didn’t really have a childhood.” With the dynamic of the squad, the potential to expand the greater organization as a whole and just all the time travel shenanigans that could happen, I don’t see a reason not to do it.

Plus, CW already has Legends of Tomorrow and that’s awesome so even less likely to screw it up if they’ve already got a model to do it off of right?

Number 5: 

The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack

Yo ho ho, it is a sailor’s life for me. And in this sailor’s life we’re coming in with Number 5: The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack. Now this is a bit of an odd choice, right? But hear me out.

Flapjack as a child kinda had only Bubbie and K’nuckles as guides for his life. While they mostly spent their lives at Stormalong Harbor, they also constantly spent their lives looking for Candied Island. What if they never stopped looking and eventually, little kid Flapjack is a grown up now and he’s like “Oh wow. I wanted adventure but I was kinda manipulated to follow this creepy old man’s dreams of candy.” I think going heavy and hard on this sort of found family between them would be kinda fun. How K’nuckles wasn’t the best role model and how they’ve still only got each other in this world, that sort of thing.

Plus, a live action Stormalong would be sooooooo cool.

Number 4:

Ben 10

As the old saying goes, it started when an alien device did what it did, stuck itself upon his wrist with secrets that it hid, now he’s got superpowers he’s no ordinary kid, it’s Ben 10.

And unfortunately in CW’s Ben 10, he’s not a kid who just wants to have fun. Nah, he’s got a lot of emotional stuff to deal with and all of that depressing stuff. Isn’t it great? Now I do think that this could work especially if you work it in where maybe Ben enlisted into the plumbers after his summer vacation and it just kinda escalated from there to the point where here he is now.

Say what you will, but at least with Ben 10, we’ve seen it hit a more grounded and emotional place with Ben 10 Alien Force and Ultimate Alien so I don’t believe that this would be too far of a stretch with how that show worked and a lot of people happened to really like those iterations of the show.

Granted, I actually do want a CW styled Ben 10, but less edgy Arrow style and more along the lines of The Flash, but I’d still take this too.

And now before we get into the top 3, let’s get into a few honorable mentions.

First up, we’ve got Steven Universe. Now honestly, this could work really well, the only issue with that is that we’ve kinda already seen this story told and that was with Steven Universe Future. Good stuff and a lot of potential, but we’ve seen it and I don’t think we need to see it again with a live action coat of paint.

Next up there’s Codename Kids Next Door. Honestly, I think the only real spinoff we need for Kids Next Door is Galactic. That’s it. Anything else is unnecessary. Still, with this sort of concept an older KND who has been decommissioned and feels like there’s something missing in their lives that they just don’t understand would be really cool. Although maybe that would work as like a movie or special or somethin’ I don’t know.

And finally for the last of the honorable mentions we’ve got Teen Titans. While I am trying to keep this list to CN Originals, I couldn’t help but bring this one up. How Long is Forever is one of my all-time favorite episodes of the 2003 series so I think seeing a series taking place in that timeline or something similar would be a lot of fun maybe for like a miniseries or something. And honestly, anything’s better than Titans.

With those three out of the way, back to the list.

Number 3: 

The Life and Times of Juniper Lee

In a world full of monsters and demons, June is the only one who sees them. This is the Life and Times of Juniper Lee and it makes number three on my list.

Now, like Time Squad, I didn’t watch much of this show. But what I do know about this show is that June is cool and she’s got this whole legacy and destiny by being the newest Te Xaun Ze, which are basically the magical protectors of her town. Only problem, and why I think that this direction for this show would actually be kinda cool, is the whole thing that the Te Xaun Ze is never allowed to leave the town at any point in their lives and oh boy, you could actually go really hard on that with this format since it’s literally built into the show.

Juniper Lee all grown up and just straight up depressed because she’s got the cool powers and grabs all the monsters but everyone around her has moved on in their lives. Friends have gone off to college and started all their lives and she’s got nothing but her family in Orchid Bay. You’d have a story of someone who once was big on their destiny who has accepted it but wishes that it wasn’t theirs anymore. I do know the show dealt with this a bit but with a new continuity and an older version of the character you really could just go in and deep on this.

I stand by that this would actually be pretty cool and kinda want it. Honestly, I like this idea so much that I wasn’t sure whether to put this in the number three or the number two spot, but y’know what? The next show told me a little secret that gave it the edge.

Number 2: 

The Secret Saturdays

That’s right, it’s the Secret Saturdays. 

Zak Saturday went all around the world with his parents discovering ancient cryptids, protecting the world and everything. He got some cool siblings in Fiskerton, Komodo and Zon. And then to add on top of that that he’s also the reincarnation of an ancient cryptid set to rule and control all the cryptids in the world? Yeah, that’ll do it. Definitely not the type of life he asked for and kid went through a lot because of it especially after losing those powers and apparently getting them back if we’re to count the Omniverse crossover TGIS to be canon.

But having parents like Zak��s, everything with the community of Secret Scientists and not really having many friends his own age or well, his own species will do that.

Exploring Zak and maybe Argost coming back for powers he might not want anymore and learning to embrace his destiny while also trying to patch up the Saturday family would be awesome.

Number 1:

Dexter’s Laboratory

Now while I know we already have a live action Dexter and it was an incredible hit, I- Wait, not the same show.

Ahem, Dexter’s Laboratory makes the top of this list. Partially because of it being PPG’s sister series but also partially because of the whole thing of there’s a lot you could do with Dexter’s character in terms of depression. If someone with such a high intellect were to somehow lose it all or just in some way, never really got forward in life, that would do it. Dexter could be a type of character that’s too stuck inside his own head in order to move forward. Alternatively, maybe Dexter is highly successful but has found there’s something missing in life or something. I dunno.

But whichever way you decide to go with Dexter’s character, you could have Dee Dee be pretty much the opposite of that. Maybe she’s found herself a place in life that she’s content with and Dex doesn’t understand why but wants it. I think going deep on this sort of emotional aspect of his life while also having all sorts of fun crazy science stuff would be a good watch.

All in all, gimme a Dexter’s lab show but we gotta make sure he keeps some form of an accent. No accent is a dealbreaker.

Although, I think that at the end of the day, animation should really just stay animated and that we don’t need to go live action for anything. All of these ideas I’ve presented, I’d of course rather prefer as cartoons with a more balanced tone more than anything but I figured with the announcement of a PPG show, this would be a silly but fun idea to talk about rather than ranting about it like most have. Granted, I’ve got some rants of my own since I still think it’s a bad idea. Haha. But you know how it goes.

At any rate those are all the shows I think would make better CW PPG style reboots than CW PPG. When it comes to the edginess and potential for drama, I feel these shows fit the bill better than the innocent, buttkicking action that was the Powerpuff Girls.

But what do you all think? Do you have any shows in mind that I haven’t mentioned? Do you think I’ve opened Pandora’s Box and given The CW more awful ideas? 

Now, this was originally a YouTube video so you can probably see that in the way that this post, especially the ending was written, but I just still don’t really have the energy to edit stuff so have this post instead. It’s something I really wanted to discuss and just decided, hey, why not make it a Tumblr post?

[cienie-isengardu]

Hi!! I was wondering if you could help me with starting the Star Wars comics? I don’t know where to start? Thank you!!

Sure, I will do my best! Though please keep in mind that star wars comics, like all longstanding series, are tricky by nature. Over the years, canon in more or less way was rebooted few times, with the current change happening around 2014 thanks to Disney. There is also matter that star wars is very general term in the sense there is plenty comics series about different eras and with that, a different tone of storyline. The most well known and exploited is the Empire/Rebellion era (Old Trilogy), but there are also times of Clone Wars (Prequel/Episode II-III) or histories set in ancient past or far future, not to mention the whole division into Legends (previous canon) and New Canon. And frankly, every era is a good point to start. In my personal experiences, usually fans start with comics related to movies alone and proceede with other stories depending what character(s) or era interest them the most. In my case, it was Vader and later, Mandalorians who literally took me in all possible timelines.

Anyway, I’m gonna give you the most general series and if you will want anything more specific (era/character), lemme know and I will try to narrow it down in more detailed way!.

So, if you want to start with the current canon, there is Disney/Marvel reboot STAR WARS (2015, 75 issues) focusing at Luke Skywalker & Leia Organa and their friends and set between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back, followed by STAR WARS (2020).

Sadly (or not, depending on who you ask, I guess), Marvel likes to keep its series crossovering with each other and at some point STAR WARS series will be tied to STAR WARS: DARTH VADER (2015-2016). But in general, those two series (later switched from DARTH VADER 2015 to 2020) are the basic ground covering Old Trilogy era and from here, You can get into additional, shorter stories and explore the universe with less known / famous characters.

There are also LEGENDS series covering the same era, like:

STAR WARS EMPIRE (2002, 40 issues) and continued in the STAR WARS REBELLION (2006, 16 issues), or

STAR WARS (2013, 20 issues), all published by Dark Horse.

Like I said, Empire/Rebellion era is the most exploited timeline and there is plenty of long and short series and one-shot. I’m biased person, which is why I prefer Legends myself, but all series have their good and bad points; some art styles or storytelling works better than others depending on personal taste.

When it comes to Prequel era (the twilight of Old Republic and/or Clone Wars), STAR WARS (1998, 83 issues) by DARK HORSE is pretty good place to start. It was covering events from before The Phantom Menace to after Revenge of the Sith, exploring less known characters like Aayla Secura, Quinlan Vos, Asajj Ventress, various members of Jedi Council. From issue 49, the series was renamed as STAR WARS REPUBLIC and was heavy focusing at Clone Wars. The series can be divided into specific story arcs, focusing on different characters, so one doesn’t need to read every issue to understand what is going on. It also explore Anakin’s war experiences and in contrast to The Clone Wars have more toned and, I dare to say, realistic approach to clone wars as military conflict.

There is of course much more series and one-shots worth to try but I don’t want to overload you. If you have any more questions or want more specific stories focusing at certain characters/events/themes, let me know, I will try to help as much as I can! Don’t worry if the legends and new canon clash with each other, the continuity is just one big mess. Also, starting with shorter series or one shot or chosen at random stories is as good start as any other. Here is a list of some stories me and @padawanlost recommended back in the days, who knows, maybe something will catch your attention and help to pick something to start? Oh, I almost forgot. You can also check out volumes of Star Wars Omnibus series (here list of different volumes) that organize various comics in particular theme or setting.

Hope you will find something interesting to yourself, have fun! :)

[tammyhybrid21]

Do you think that in the Tadeo Jones universe, some people (average or rich people) think living mummies aren't persons but some creatures they can capture and claim as their own 'cuz they have no rights? (as mentioned by Tad in Movie 2) Kind of like the Apex's view of denizens in IT. I think this could be adressed in Tad 3. But I'll be sad because Mummy is going to find the hard way that for powerful people, his feelings and opinions doesn't matter (Twice, if we count the Spanish conquista)

Ohhhh man!

I have been-- stewing over how best to answer this since I saw it yesterday, because part of me has IDEAS-- the other part has a rant that has kind of been building for a while in general when you just examine the movies and the setting and even the actual community represented in reality(that being Archaeologists not-- well)

And LOOK-- I have TEA!

Frustrated, frustrated tea regarding other aspects of how this all could play out that basically boils down to the one major issue that a lot of those groups has is the issue of "But WE all know!" and the we've boxed this in already.

Which-- Debatably, Tad isn't the only one with some issues... But Sara has-- at least insofar as her reactions to Mummy in movie 2, come to terms past her more nebulous in concept repeated line.

"Mummies can't be alive, it's a contradiction in terms" 

Which-- actually might be an issue that's just on the question of the life/death binary more than it is actually a question of whether someone is human/a person or not. And we ALL know she's definitely got Major Respect over Tad--

Like, I will write a proper analysis over their "Mummy gives advice/pep talk" scenes later-- but--

Sara doesn't just take it and run how Tadeo does-- and she doesn't get hyped about it either. It's soft and subtle and just ARGH--

--

Which, okay beside the point, but I have-- so much on this idea of how people view Mummy-- Because let's for a moment consider what Tad actually says-- in answer to Mummy's "What is with you?" and I want to also talk on what people tend to associate with and call monsters... and how... that might also factor into this whole mess.

"Listen you're a mummy, you scare people. In my world you're a zombie!"

Which-- okay, on the surface this is just an on the nose point about how well, Mummy is undead. Ahahah, the living dead and I suppose living mummies are their own form of zombie-- although really it's more like they're cousins as zombies are usually more... in process of decay while mummies are preserved/petrified... Buuuut in any case... not the point here really.

But rather...

Let's talk about how "Monster Movies" come in here. And what zombies tend to be synonymous with nowadays. You know-- for the most part. Mindless, brainless, sometimes killers though not always-- But ultimately-- Does... anyone actually watch zombie shows for in-depth exploration of zombies ever anymore? Aside a few exceptions, and same in games-- Zombies are relegated to just brainless/mindless monsters.

Which--

On the other side of that-- monsters.

Tad never quite uses that word but--

"First, you're not human"

Mummies-- are monsters. In stories and fiction. Used to scare, used to awe, used to add scenery dressing, spooky, freaky, creepy-- and when they're not-- well it's rare. But if they're not the villains, they're not "human". Which think about that for a moment, in all the monster stories we have but a few where the monsters aren't outright put in that position.

But a monster is usually in a story put into one role and box. And if they're not outright there just to be spooky, or the whole new misunderstood monster trope-- which well, that's a whole other thing. But we all know the usual "monster shtick".

Violent, scary, simple, dumb, driven by base impulses, nonhuman, Very, very often as lesser, other, and something to be feared/hunted/destroyed.

And while modern day does move away from that--

ISSUES still prevail.

And I have-- just got to aside here, but like, thinking on this but-- the Phone Mummy sign outside of Tad's window as a child has some... other weird things. Because as a wild aside, my dumb brain has decided to A - B link this with a series I watched on television from 2005-2007

Because of THIS stupid Mummy Scam Artist character. And it's dumb, has nothing to do with the issue of mummies(and other potential beings and creatures of myth and legend) having less rights. But this whole phone billboard-- with the Mummy, it's legit right up this character's kind of scam alley and I may or may not one day just rewatch his two villain episodes to get his personality clear in my head JUST to do a dumb crossover.(And for nostalgia, but that's not news)

BUT--

Advertising does tell us some things already. In how people possibly think and could respond/react.

Yet still-- there is something more I think that we're missing in this conversation on how people will potentially treat the discovery of a living mummy. Or really any supernatural being. If not with fear(which look-- fear the unknown, fear different, fear of monsters), arguably those who're intrigued, interested could be far, far worse.

Also-- I just have, much tea on other responses for even those who might briefly "respect" him. Because look-- Mummy would be a priceless artefact in a way, treasure and discovery all on his own-- BUT also a new potential source of information of a culture that for the most part has been lost and erased by history.

People could and would ask questions.

Whiiich is where I have doubts about how they will accept the answers to those questions. Because here's the thing, for all the Archaeology community loves to act as if they let discoveries speak for themselves, and even I suppose historians-- There are just-- so many times I watch and listen to documentaries and get SO FRUSTRATED-- because they're stubborn IDIOTS, who actually refuse to take in the evidence in front of them of any truths outside of what they're SO SURE has to be the TRUTH!

For those who speak of learning all about history and it's secrets, they're so damn high and mighty to reject anything that doesn't immediately fit with already established "facts". It must be an anomaly, aliens, can't be what we're actually seeing right--

And well even people today interacting-- Like-- I've seen people try to correct someone on the pronunciation of their own name before.

So I am almost certain there would be at least one idiot who'd be all high and mighty and just-- Mummy has LIVED it. It's his culture he grew up in and some idiot speaking over him saying his lying, which I just-- I am certain would happen(but probably not in canon because who would DARE?!)-- Just "EXCUSE ME?!"

Which is it's own kind of disrespect and hell, crash Tad's pillars again. Yes please!

Which... on that account--

I kiiiind of want to talk about how Tad needs a smack on this... and that wake up to the truths of the high and mighty and bloody prideful issues of the community. BUT more than that-- I actually want to think about that point you made about how Mummy's supposed transformation in movie 3 comes across and the further themes of this question of humanity and rights is in regards to this whole issue.

Because yeah, there's the issue, front and CENTER.

The question/implication of this resembling Ammut, and implied loss of humanity. Along with the fact that Tad's the likely TRUE CENTER of the curse-- since he's the idiot who opened the sarcophagus in the first place...

WHICH CAN I JUST SAY--

There's a very good possibility in regards to that issue-- potentially having to do with some of Tad's more... subtle issues. Or even the ones that are close to the surface and yet not. I've screamed already on Tadeo's Internalized Ableism... along with some small nods to Mummy's own less severe cast with that but-- This is directly playing into that image of monsters and nonhumanity--

And I could probably add an additional few pages of speculation onto this but--

I actually am... also worried for the pets. If only because uhhh, have you seen the original two Tadeo Jones shorts from before it become movies? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2XxhNMbpE2A & https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uoJBzI2AUOw

I mean not assuming anything, but I can definitely believe they wouldn't be above having that threat present at the least.(I mean just that second one... with what I guess is concept-Jeff) Even if Mummy is most definitely going to be the one at the MOST RISK. But with that-- comes the question of humanity.

And while yeah-- I do imagine, all too easily there will be many people more focused on the discovery-- I think there's an interesting mess that Tadeo is going to be FORCED to confront with this-- in how he has that displaced view.

Because here's the weird thing.

I've kind of mentioned it before but not really expanded or explained very clearly-- but for all of Tad's issues... he cares about Mummy probably more than he even really realizes. It's in small to big things as well. Again-- for all his trash behaviour in movie 2, I do think a lot of it is very, very misplaced attempts at some form of protection...

Which I also really want to at some point make a post that's just...

"Tad's I'm Helping moments and how they made things worse for everyone"

But that's for later... For now...

I kind of want to grab a few things.

"You're already dead, RUN!"

I also actually counted how quickly he ran back to Mummy for this moment, and it's LITERALLY two seconds, from when Mummy collapses to Tadeo's check on him. Also I'd like to mention with this-- he's supposedly tunnel visioning on Sara(and he ruins it within the next scene pretty quickly)

...

And for all they're kind of dumb decisions.

DEBATABLY-- when he's trying to hide Mummy.

"Hide"

Ugh-- BUT Tadeo has a very... complicated issue here really. Because yes-- Tad very much has that nonhuman issue, but he CARES. And then-- there's how the whole Ammut thing feels set and the symbolic meaning there(ALSO INTERESTING SARA SEEMINGLY ISN'T CAUGHT BY THAT). But here's the thing--

With Ammut kiiind of come those scales and the feather.

It's not like that mythology isn't unknown-- but more to the point-- it feels kind of like force Tad to confront his mixed up view. On Mummy's humanity or lack of-- But really as the audience Mummy feels the most human at this point in time-- whiiich we can get into a debate on what even is human nature later-- but--

I am kind of hoping that we get a callout of a number of things regarding Tad's behaviour.

With some primary focus on this dynamic between him and Mummy and really seeing how he responds to that idea that Mummy is nonhuman to really be thrown into full view and scope. And listen...

You cannot cheat the scales.

...

As an aside generally, if he is turning into a form or version of Ammut even if initially the community is a danger because he's a living mummy that creates a whole other issue of how he'd be viewed as a danger due to the role that's possibly growing more and more of an instinct.

But yeah... I will probably now make a more formulated rant on this later, or like, minor expansions on the topic but-- yeah.

I have been CHEWING on these thoughts, ideas and concepts for a while.

With additional tea. Because when people think they know something too often they refuse to see differently.

(Also at some point I am going to make a personal rant on duality verses binary due to insistent terminology issues I have but ugh)

[popculturebuffet]

The Casagrandes Reviews: Croaked!

Halloween Havoc rolls on as we shine a light on the other beloved holiday on October 31st, Day of the Dead! Sid and Ronnie Anne’s well meaning plan to help Sid’s sister Adelaide move on from her frog’s death ends up convincincing the small child she has power over life and death. I’m sure all big sisters do that at some point. More about the whole being dead thing under the cut. 

I’ve hyped this one up in both previous Casgrandes reviews, so as you can tell i’m excited for this one. As i’ve mentioned before but will repeat for anyone new here, I absolutley love this episode and when I did a binge a month ago for labor day of this show, it was one of the standouts by a wide margin. I only held off so long because why should Halloween be the only holiday I cover during spooky season huh? I mean yes it’s in my halloween coverage’s title but  there’s always room for incusivlity. Like jello or Wolverine. 

As for if i’m covering this show’s paired episode, the show’s episode for halloween itself...

Yeah I have nothing against the episode ITSELF, it’s just.. eh. I mean we do get bobby as a dracula and sid as a lobster, a cute dance sequence and Stanley griping about not getting to wear his costume at work, which is valid, and then wearing said taco costume at the end... it’s just wrapped around your standard “character blows off a family engagment for something that turns out to suck” plot, the only diffrence being Bobby being the best brother ever is supportive of Ronnie Anne going to a 6th grade party and gladly helps salvage the night at the end. And it wasn’t a plot I liked to begin with, so it had that going against it. And I Know, I tend to zero in on i’ve seen it before a lot.. but that’s because .. it’s OKAY to do a tried and true plot tha’ts been done a million times as long as you can do something entertaining with it.  Both She Ra and Avatar the Last Airbender are about a world tha’ts long been conquered whose long lost savior comes to turn the tide of the war.. but that’s about as much as they share in direct comparison and both are fucking fantastic for diffrent reasons entirely.  But as rehashes go that episode wasn’t BAD , just eh, and i’d rather focus on things I can write more about frankly. 

Speaking of which, yeah I love this episode, and like “Mexican Makeover” it comes from Lalo Alcaraz of La Cucharacha fame, a comic strip writer whose also the show’s consultant for mexican culture, and is part of why the former episode disapointed me: because this one was REALLY fucking good. So enough hype , pitter patter let’s get at er.  The episode opens with Rosa setting up a day of the dead altar for her Father, with Sid and Ronnie Anne wondering what’s up, with Sid out and out wondering if Day of the Dead is mexican halloween something i’m ashamed to admit I thought of it as for years and years, because i’m as white as I am dumb, and most cartoons didn’t go much beyond “the dead come back for a day” and get into the more metaphorhical aspects we get to here. I assume Coco is the exception, as is the book of life I just still need to watch both. And yes you may boo me over this, I certainly deserve this.  I do however like this line as it’s a common misconception, and gives a  lot of kids likely thinking the same about the holiday in the audience a surrogate.

Ronnie Anne also wonders what the altar’s for. Rosa, while minorly annoyed at the two is happy to edcuate explaning it’s a day for honoring your loved ones and inviting them back, metaphorically though the metaphor was lost on young me since both Mucha Lucha and El Tigre had the dead literally come back, via an altar with offerings of their favorite things. It’s a nice bit that not only explains the holiday for those in the audience who either forgot a lot of that (raises hand) or didn’t know any of that, and also helps explain how the holiday is metaphoircal, something I didn’t think about before because as we’ve established i’m kinda dumb. The point is I like it.  Sid however gets an idea: Her sister Adelaide has been down in the dumps since her Frog, Froggy died, likely named after Big the Cat’s frog but this Froggy’s penchant for running off probably just got him ran over since Adelaide lives in the city and Frogger is sadly inaccurate, as George Costanza leanred the hard way. 

So our ambigiously gay duo visit Addy, who being a 6 year old who just lost her pet is bawling her eyes out. So our duo tells her about day of the dead and they set out to get froggy’s faviorite things: From shoelaces to the hoppit, a frog themed version of the hobbit I both wish is real and belives is probably better than the second two hobbit movies, flies (with help from a dirty diaper because this show and it’s sister can’t resist poop jokes.. go with your audience I guess), and a lilypad. The result is this. 

I”m.. not going to ask why a 6 year old’s frog has the frog equilvent of a naked burt renoylds on a bearskin rug photo, froggy’s sexy secrets died with him. But unfortuntely nuance is lost on a 6 year old, so Addy assumed Froggy was actually coming back and just grieves harder now. So Sid comes up with Plan B B: bring froggy back from the dead at the old pet semetary. Though since they don’t want to defile his body they try a dead ally cat first instead.  

One Zombie Test Cat later, they decide sometimes dead is better and just go with plan b: Sid once had a goldfish that died and her parents got her a replacement, and since it worked on her, and apparently still works on Bobby, they decide to pull that. They rent a frog from the pet store. And if your asking “wait pet stores , even fictional ones, do that” and suprisingly.. no they do not, but Pete, the guy at the pet shop which is also named after him, likes Sid’s mom’s tour. Okay two questions: one is that little pete from the adventures of pete and pete all grown up? I mean I know what happend to his actor... 

But in universe we have no idea. And Brendon Small, the character and the actor, showed up on Clarence so it’s plausable. And secondly where can I get the job as owner of my own pet store near melissa joan hart doing a gator show. I may have a career goal now. 

So they sneak in subsittue froggy, and we get an adorable montage of Addy hanging out with Froggy the Second: Getting some son, eating flies (though Addy spits her’s out. She’s not Lana.), and watching the Hoppit.. as I wish to one day. I mean we see a trippy bit of it but not the actual thing.. I guess I can add seeing a full version to my small list of things related to this franchise that I only I want along with my a diffrent world-esque spinoff show following Lori and Bobby. 

Addy happily sleeps after that giant ball of adorable, and Sid and Ronnie Anne take Froggy 2 back to Creepy Guy at the Pet Store.. I mean Pete.. I mean Future Me. So Sid pats herself on the back metaphoircally for the plan.. which this being a sitcom, naturally has kinda snowballed. Now Addy thinks she has power over life and death. Guess she has the same Christmas LIst as Crow

As not to break a small child’s heart for the second time in two days, our heroines decide they have to bring back her wish list: Great Aunt Milly, Old Mr Woodburn, and Abraham Lincoln. 

Since they don’t have a time traveling phone booth, they’ll have to go with the next best thing, my boy Tio Carlos. Seriously why they don’t use this adorable nerd more is beyond me. But Carols being an adorable history nerd gladly agrees to play LIncoln for what he thinks is a play.. I mean greanted they could just tell him the truth. He’s a dad, he gets this kinda thing. Meanwhile our girls dress up like said aunt milly and shenanigans insue. It’s a really funny scene.. until it falls apart with the mr. woodburn impersination, revealing it was all a hoax, and sending Addleaide crying to her room understandably not wanting to talk to either of them. Still we got Carolos as lincoln. That’s not nothing. 

But yeah having made things worse by accident, the girls go to Rosa for help who while understandably annoyed at the mess they made, is more than willing to come with and help. Because Rosa is fucking amazing ,that’s why. She sucessfully coaxes Addy out and then takes her down to the Casagrande’s place to show off her altar and explain the true meaning of day of the dead: Thinking about your loved ones.. keeps the memories alive. Thinking about who they were, what they loved, what they meant to you.. it’s not raising the dead.. but honring them. It  not only made the real value of the holiday sink in for me but i’ts a good message for kids, and a good way to teach them about a holiday most probably didn’ know how it worked if they even knew at all. It’s a really sweet powerful moment, and the combination of alcaraz’s writing and Sonia Manzano really brings it to this scene. It’s easily the show’s best. Good stuff. 

Froggy II interupts the scene.. turns out a trail of bacon bits, that we saw left earlier, lead him back, and Pete’s been following him the whole way and is winded because of course he is. We’re in the same blobby shape I get it man your fine. So with Addy already liking the second froggy, and having fully come to terms with the first’s death, Sid offers Pete tickets to her mom’s show in exchange for Froggy II, whose named that in this scene and who we saw in uptown funk. As long as it’s the splash zone he’s fine with it and Sid knows her mom enough well enough to know Becca would probably gladly trade a ticket for her daughter’s hapiness. Plus it’s easier to get someone to willingnly sign the wavers about getting gator blood on them when they already want that so win win.  We end on a Day of the Dead party with the whole cast in day of the dead makeup, eveyrone happy.. except Carl who’se subplot of spreading marigolds everywhere I missed and he ended up at the Loud House. Why this didn’t lead to a crossover I dunno. I mean if Steve Urkel can jetpack into the family from step by step’s yard,  why not? I know the 90′s were a diffrent time but this was a missed opportunity. Funny gag anyway. And scene. 

Final Thoughts: I was pretty transparent with this one: I think it’s a wonderful, heartfelt, and well done look at day of the dead tha’ts educational without cramming the education part down your throat, like any good cartoon that teachs you something should do, and it’s also really funny and endearing.Not much else to say, it’s just really good and I was glad to highlight it and if you haven’t seen it, please do it’s perfect viewing for the season. If you want more Casagrandes I have two reviews under the nick tab on my blog, and will be covering the second batch of Halloween/Day of the Dead episodes later this month, along with the new loud house halloween special Ghosted. And if you can’t wait for either of those, monday i’ll be covering the new ducktales halloween special. Until we meet again, viva la muretos. Play us out Nimoy...

[purpleheatherdream]

A Happy Halloween Outlander Fan-Fiction Reading List

Trick or Treat! Here’s a Halloween reading list for your enjoyment! 

Witches

Draco (chapter 12 of the Constellations Series) by @kalendraashtar

“Witches all to burn at the stake.”

The Evanora @bonniebird17

The full moon hung over me, giving me the strength to keep me going and I was heading east, leading the witch hunter further away from my home and my sisters.

Part 1

Part 2

An Leabhar Dìlseachd by @thetranquilteal

Claire Fraser had always known she was a witch. Her affinity for healing hinted at it and her ability to time travel confirmed it. What she didn’t know was that she would come into her full power the day she became a mother. Concerned with how her pregnancy is progressing, she's seeks the help of apothecary Master Raymond in the hope that he will be able to teach her how to utilise her newfound power and protect her family from disaster. A canon-divergent AU told through the pages of the Fraser Grimoire ‘The Book of Faith’.

Bewitched by @julesbeauchamp

Jamie and Claire Fraser are like any other young married couple, except for some tiny detail: he's a mortal human being and she's a witch, something which she does not divulge to him until after their wedding.

Jamie just wants them to live a simple, mortal life, to which Claire agrees, meaning no witchcraft and no telling any of their mortal friends and relatives of her being a witch. However, that no witchcraft vow is more difficult to maintain than Claire had expected.

Brujerìa by @julesbeauchamp​

Being a witch was a detail Claire Beauchamp omitted to tell people. She was determined to live her life as normally as possible and she was doing a pretty good job of it. At least until her meeting with a stranger sent her life into a spiral and revealed secrets about her past she never suspected.

The Witch and the Red Man by @lady-o-ren

He was a man meant for a life of loneliness but was relentlessly hunted for the darkness lurking within.

To Kill a Witch by @owlish-peacock36​

Jamie doesn’t know much about women. Even less about the strange Miss Beauchamp. Outlander AU. One-shot.

Three Witches by @westerhos​

An AU where Claire, Jenny, and Geillis are three modern-day witches. A big ole house, a "No Men Allowed Policy", rituals in the woods - the usual witchy norm. When Jamie shows up, things go to hell in a hand basket.

Three Witches Stories by @westerhos​

Little ficlets set in the Three Witches universe, where Claire, Jenny, and Geillis are modern day witch friends with hilarious love lives.

The Thief, the Whore, the Witch, and the Strange Woman by @westerhos​

An Outlander AU in which a 22 year old Claire Beauchamp Randall travels back in time on August 1st (Lughnasadh), 1941/1739. Ellen and Brian Fraser, both alive, offer her shelter in exchange for help in aiding Ellen's recovery. The growing attraction between Claire and Jamie leaves Claire torn, while suspicions arise regarding her past...Soon, it becomes clear that the Frasers know more than they let on.

The White Witch's Gift by @sapphiresassenach

A Christmas gift is given to Jamie and Claire during their twenty-year separation. The gift of each other.

I am a Witch by wongirl

What if after the witch trial when Jamie asks Claire if she is a witch she says yes?

P.S. Don't take it too seriously it's just a bit of fun

This is a Harry Potter/Outlander crossover story.

Witches by @whiskynottea​ at @otheroutlandertales​

1739 -Fort William has a new garrison commander - one who is decided to break the Scots’ spirit. Will Jenny and Claire be able to save the tenants of Lallybroch with their magical powers, while staying safe?

Red Jamie and the White Lady by @takemeawaytocamelot​

Claire Beauchamp is dragged by her best friend and flatmate, Geillis Duncan, to go visit a powerful psychic to prove once and for all that true love exists. Claire is a practical woman and finds the idea of true love pointless. Jamie Fraser is a powerful psychic who can glimpse the future. When he meets Claire, something changes. Like they were destined to find each other.

Legend of the Faerie Wife by DiverseMediums

A legend from the written history of Clan Fraser.

While this is a stand alone story, it is intended to be a companion piece for takemeawayocamelot's Red Jamie and the White Lady. There are no spoilers, but it adds a bit of depth to the brilliance she's creating over there :)

The White Witch by BlackStarNYC

The Scottish matriarchal family—known as the "Thomson Witches"—have a long and forlorn history... As the youngest of the clan, Claire’s life turns to chaos at a young age due to the power she has inherited. Pulled into the 18th century, she becomes bound by love that is threatened to be torn apart by castle intrigue, a 100 year old clan feud, war and a man possessed by a spirit that has haunted her family for centuries.... what could go wrong?

This Life by @calliopemoonbeam​

Claire is a healer from a very young age. She trains in the mystical arts around the world, as well as the traditional medical field. She finds herself in London as a surgical resident in the late 1980s and early 90s. She starts having dreams of a past life. Where will they lead her?

Philomene by @ianmuyrray​

Jenny -- thought dead by the rest of the world -- has lived in quiet exile since her king brother betrayed their family by allying with Black Jack Randall, who is on a mission to weed out any and all women who possess magic. Execution now waits for any woman who shows herself to know and use magical powers, or any woman merely suspected of being magical - no matter her rank, her family, her influence, her children, or her own desire to live.

Jenny was supposed to be the first in the rising storm of murdered women, but, by some miracle, she survived. And has lived in hiding. But now she has been found.

Vampires

Exsanguinate by @owlish-peacock36​

Exsanguinate: to drain of blood

No one ever asked for his name anymore. They gave him a wide berth, avoiding him at all costs. Whispers of rumors filled his ears, closer to the truth than they realized.

Monster. Incubus. Strigoi. Upyr. 

No. His name was Jamie.

Step Into the Night by LadyRevolution

An Outlander AU where Claire didn't fall through the stones, she was on the run from the vampire coven that has been trying to enlist her for centuries. In her reprieve at Castle Leoch, it has been a challenge to both hide her vampirism and stay away from Jamie. He smells good, too good, and for a thousand year old vampire with steel control, that's worrying.

"Ye need blood, Claire, I can tell ye do," Jamie whispered, backing her into a wall, a hand on either side of her head. Breathing heavily, he leaned forward and exposed his neck, "so take it from me." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the moment Claire gave into her desires, her almost black eyes zeroing in on his neck.

Scottish Vampire in Boston by sunshineduckies

After Culloden, Jamie is turned by a vampire with a political agenda. Now he must find his way through his new life without Claire and his new burden, vampirism.

Post-Apocalyptic

Scalamandre by @futurelounging​

An outbreak of a contagion causing violent psychoses across the globe sends the world into chaos and destruction. A scientist and a mountaineer meet in the wilds and join together to try to stop the men behind the madness.

Dawning in Dust by DiverseMediums

The Last War has ended. Civilization is no more. For Claire, solitary wandering is the only way of survival. What if it didn't have to be?

Ghosts

But I love you until the end of time. by   @maybeimdoingsomethingright

With her husband constantly away not long after their marriage, Claire lives mostly alone in their house at the Scottish Highlands. However, she is not exactly alone and there is quite more to this house and her future -or is it her past?- than meets the eye.

Endless-loop theory and ghost!Jamie with a wee spin.

Reaching Through the Veil by @westerhos​

Prompt: Imagine that Jamie somehow travels to Claire's time when Bree is still a baby and drops in on Claire randomly like she does in Voyager.

The Far and Distant Places by @westerhos​

After fighting with Frank, Claire goes to a nearby church for a moment of peace. On her way home, she runs into a certain red-haired Scotsman...

The Haunting at Mrs. Baird's by @frasersridgeforever

The kindly hostess of a bed and breakfast notices some ghostly activity in her establishment, as the culprit sees his wife for the first and last time. A Halloween tale of Mrs. Baird and Jamie’s ghost as the Randalls arrive in Inverness for their second honeymoon.

Through the Magic Lantern by dielle

He didn't know how it worked, how he could float across the flow of the time and be there. - Ghost!Jamie, as seen in the first episode.

Purgatory by suspiciousteapot 

Anonymous asked: what if because Claire's in the future Jamie as a ghost got to see her grow up or see bits and pieces of her life

Ghosts in the Daylight by @owlish-peacock36​

"It's easier to dismiss ghosts in the daylight..." All Jamie wanted was quiet loneliness to work on his novel. But, are we ever truly alone? Ghost AU

Through the Door by @ianmuyrray​

Proper Highland protocol held that the door must be opened at once after a death, to allow the soul to leave. - An Echo in the Bone, Chapter 2, "And Sometimes They Aren't"

Ghost!Jamie AU by Mod Eloise @imagineclaireandjamie​

Story 1

Story 2

Other Magical/Fantastical/Horror Stories  

Scotia by @kalendraashtar​

An AU based in Myths and Legends. Written for the Tumblr 2017 Secret Santa challenge.

There Is More Beneath The Surface (Than We Can See) by   @maybeimdoingsomethingright

When she was young, Claire saved a boy from drowning. Meeting again eleven years later, their worlds are forever changed. (Mermaid)

Thrush by @ianmuyrray

Roger goes sailing to meet mermaid Bree. (Mermaid)

A Fairy's Stone by @sapphiresassenach

Prompt: I was thinking if you could come up with a fanfic where what if Claire actually was Fae and revealed it to Jamie but stated that since she was bound to Jamie because they were soul mates and whatnot and thus she became fairly human when the deal was sealed and whatnot. If you get inspired maybe by this it would be cool to see what you come up with. (Fairy)

An Infinite Variety by orphan_account

Challenge on Infinite Earths, Outlander style 

The Shape We Take by @westerhos

An AU inspired by Black Mirror's slightly dystopian "Hang the DJ," in which a dating app pairs you up until it finds your perfect match.

Just Happen During Halloween

A Costume Party by @sassenachpetals

Jamie and Claire ring in the Halloween holiday by attending a costume party. Claire has surprised Jamie with their couple costume idea and it's one that they'll never forget: Gomez and Morticia Addams…

Across The Hall by @thetranquilteal​​​

Growing up in Scotland, one of Jamie Fraser’s all time favourite things to do was carve turnips on All Hallows Eve. Having recently relocated to the United States of America, Jamie assumes carving pumpkins on Halloween is no different and finds himself in a situation that he never expected.

The Doctor’s Companion by @theministerskat

After coming back through the stones, Roger and Bree get ready for a Halloween party.

Back To You Ficlet - Halloween by @balfeheughlywed

Set in the Back To You world, Jamie and Claire spend their first Halloween together at a costume party; smut ensues.

Halloween At the Ridge by @abbydebeaupreposts

Four Part Halloween Fluff set after MOBY imagining what traditions Jem and Mandy bring with them to Fraser’s Ridge

Halloween Through the Years by @takemeawaytocamelot

Claire and Jamie participate in a costume contest every Halloween.

Year One

Year Two

Year Three

Year Four

Year Six

Halloween, 1955 by @westerhos​

Prompt: After [episode 305] with the making the 'batsuit' scene you should totally do a story about the first time Claire made some sort of costume for Bree.

****If an author whose work is listed is actually on Tumblr but is not tagged, please let me know. 

[dansiere]

THE POSITIVE & NEGATIVE; Mun & Muse - Meme.

fill out & repost ♥ This meme definitely favors canons more, but I hope OC’s still can make it somehow work with their own lore, and lil’ fandom of friends & mutuals. Multi-Muses pick the muse you are the most invested in atm. tagged by: @breselin, & @citialiin; thank you for the tag! I was planning on stealing it. tagging: @rosiqe, @noirtux, @goldgliitters, @ndeavor,  @reminiscentsky, @battleshell, @ettards & whoever else wants to do this. Just steal it & tag me. -- go wild.

My muse is:   canon / oc / au / canon-divergent / fandomless / complicated [loosely affiliated mainly due to the fandom’s size. I am quite open to crossovers of any kind, really even if it takes me a while to open up.]

Is your character popular in the fandom? YES / NO. [she is one of the deuteragonists; has been around since the pilot & while she has been sidelined during the epilogue, she was usually at least around with her story arc / actions having a huge impact on the overall story as such.]

Is your character considered hot™ in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK. [I guess so? Then again, that’s an objective statement so I am just? Assuming? I personally find her general aesthetics to be quite amazing; she is a dance battler, graceful & elegant; a ballerina with a classical theme that runs through her design & attitude like a red threat. I have a weak spot for stuff like that.]

Is your character considered strong in the fandom?  YES / NO / IDK. [surprisingly, Pearl is considered to be the strongest non-fusion Crystal Gem according to the show (until Lapis Lazuli comes around). -- I assume prowess wise Pearl is high up next to Garnet & Rose whenever she can actually get her crap together due to having fought countless battles &, most importantly, survived the war in which she fought & shattered opponents thrice her size.]

Are they underrated?  YES / NO / IDK. [partially yes, partially no. She is controversial for sure but just as popular. At some point, the show delved deeper into her issues & actually had her mess up quite severely; the fandom’s reaction was so harsh that the showrunners had to interfere by “apologizing for making her human”. Pearl has always been a target for extreme criticism; some of it justified, some just straight down ridiculous.  -- It’s easy to forget what kind of complexity a character can offer when her resolution arc happens literally ten episodes before the show ends.]

Were they relevant for the main story?  YES / NO.

Were they relevant for the main character?  YES / NO / THEY’RE THE PROTAG. [Pearl becomes Steven’s guardian / mentor after the death of his mother Rose Quartz & can later be considered his stand-in mother alongside Garnet. It is safe to say that her actions have influenced Steven the most, both negatively & positively.]

Are they widely known in their world?  YES / NO. [she earned herself the title ‘The Renegade’ during the war for being the first (& arguably only) pearl that broke out of her conditioning; she used to be a wanted criminal / traitor to her own kind for 5000 + years until her record was cleared upon the beginning of Era 3 (aka official end of the Gem War). She is still being referred to as ‘The Renegade’ now & then; while she used to be proud of the title she has grown to resent it a lot these days.]

How’s their reputation?  GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL. [it depends on who you ask; Homeworld Soldiers? Well, they despise her; she is a defective Gem & a war criminal. She stands for all that is wrong with the rebellion; I mean a pearl who refuses to serve & calls herself an individual? a warrior? THE SCANDAL!! Some soldiers are afraid of her, call her ‘Rose Quartz’ terrifying renegade’, even. However, in her ranks aka the rebellion, she is being seen as a silent heroine. A celebrated war hero, Rose Quartz’s right hand & sole confidante (some even whisper that there is more between them).]

How strictly do you follow canon?  — uh... well. Not really but... kinda? Steven Universe’s canon is messy & occasionally QUITE inconsistent. -- while it gives you vague details, some lore can best be compared to a gaping void. Thus my reason for partial divergence isn’t lack of good character writing (because Pearl is very, very complex even on screen), but rather inconvenient lore holes & SU’s habit of leaving important facts uncommented, “unshown” or just stuck between the lines. While I don’t mind deep analysis, some of those “buried facts” fly other people’s heads which leads to terrible, terrible fanon takes. -- in order to distance myself from that, I usually take canon & expand it with my own headcanons & metas based on lore / show analysis. I often alter / cut what does not fit my narrative BUT I always root my stuff in actual canon occurrences.

     Sometimes, I just straight down change certain things that canon messed up in my pov. For example, in order to make it explicitly clear that she fell in love & rebelled on her own volition (even if it has been confirmed like ten times by now), my Pearl is around 1500 years older than the original & (in)directly served White Diamond before being handed to Pink (not the only reason for that change but well I will elude on it eventually). She was a default pearl with no customization & usually spent most of her time with organizing matters in the palace until Pink accidentally broke her customized pearl; Pearl was then 'poofed’ & handed over; she possessed a more sensible personality & a strict rule protocol that was supposed to help her “raise” Pink Diamond into the ranks of a ruler. Most other changes are rather minor but very important or essential to my portrayal (for example whenever “A Single Pale Rose” is concerned: Pearl suggesting the “sealing of the secret”, her not wearing the dress from the beginning, her not calling Pink “my diamond”, her arguing with Pink long before the fake-shattering took place, etc etc.); the epilogue series is another can of worms I will get to eventually but lemme just say I didn’t really like the way Pearl behaved / the plot-bound ooc-ness she sometimes yielded to & other stuff. 

SELL YOUR MUSE! Aka try to list everything, which makes your muse interesting in your opinion to make them spicy for your mutuals.  —  well, she is a lesbian space rock from a strange universe; whose body is basically a manifestation of light? She is probably the most passionate being you will ever meet. -- if you are looking for a speedrun through human history, she is your gal. If you need someone to beat up some bullies, she will gladly come & smack sense into people; if you want to learn everything about Gemkind, sit down & listen because she won’t stop talking any time soon. 

     By definition, Pearl is a good person; the extreme loyal kind, absolutely & helplessly dedicated to a cause. She wears most of her emotions on her sleeve, comes off as genuinely caring, protective & trustworthy. She is empathetic & observant, she will always be there for you in one way or another. She is smart, loves to read & indulges in the higher arts such as (romantic) poetry, singing, painting, music (violin, piano, bass) & dance (predominately classic ballet / waltz but she has grown rather fond of jazz lately). Her knowledge about Earth & all that lays beyond is vast & if you ever want to see whatever is out there, she is the type to take you on a space tour with no questions asked. She fences, has learned to wield a lance, can engineer very well, has a very peculiar but... sorta adorable kind of humour that can either be hella obnoxious or super funny. There is no in-between. Pearl loves science, baking, housekeeping, ice-& roller-skating & is more than willing to take people along whenever she visits the rink. If you ask her for advice, she will gladly give it; if you need help, she will be the first to raise her hand. Pearl is orderly, has a strong sense of justice & a fierce, dedicated kind of resolve. 

Now the OPPOSITE, list everything why your muse could not be so interesting (even if you may not agree, what does the fandom perhaps think?).  —  Pearl. Is. A. Mess. No questions asked. She is an introverted, nervous, neurotic, grief-- & trauma riddled mess who loves to pretend & rationalize things to death. Her self-esteem is abysmal, she is extremely jealous, obsessive & possessive [to the point where she straight up murdered men just because they dared to be around her girlfriend]. Her mind is a compartmentalized mess of repressed memories & heavy, untreated cptsd woven into it; Pearl lives too much inside her head & gets overwhelmed by her emotions far too easily; she feels too much all at once & lets her temper get the best of her. 

     She is self-centred, does not seem to understand that words & reckless actions hurt people, believes that only she deserves to grieve Rose & willingly destroyed relationships just to soak in her own misery; self-destruction is her forte & she will indulge in it no matter the consequences. She is often high-strung, judgemental, always has to be right, overachieves & overdoes whenever a chance is given. -- she can be petty, arrogant & desperate for validation. --  Needless to say, Pearl is the kind of person that pretends to be fine for years but once she cracks she reveals that she is anything but. -- she cannot move on, hates men, & just is a lot to deal with. Getting in touch with her means you run the risk to get dragged into her mess, whenever you want it or not. 

What inspired you to rp your muse?  —  first & foremost, my love for complex, purpose-driven female characters. I am a sucker for the “introvert, plagued lady” type & once parts of Pearl’s past were revealed during Season 1 I was sold. Pearl seemed relatable to me, extremely human & raw in her behaviour. While I love most of the SU cast equally, Pearl just wouldn’t let me go. Her aesthetic is amazing, her past intriguing. -- her connection to ballet & classical music, her elegant & graceful design just spoke to me. 

What keeps your inspiration going?  —  music. music. oh, and music. Poetry, long walks (I am not kidding), analysis, meta & hc writing, discussions with writing partners or my rl partner @rosiqe.

Some more personal questions for the mun.

Give your mutuals some insight about the way you are in some matters, which could lead them to get more comfortable with you or perhaps not.

Do you think you give your character justice?  YES / NO / I SINCERELY HOPE I DO? [ despite my emo peculiar take on the character, I do hope that people hear her voice whenever they read my replies. ]

Do you frequently write headcanons?  YES / NO / SORT OF? [ I wish I could post more but I am very, very slow & a perfectionist at heart. -- I try to compensate for my lack of actual hcs by rambling in my tags. Most part of the time said ramblings include personal headcanons or analyses of specific scenes that include personal takes on pivotal situations; while I gather & write them down eventually, it can take me a long time to get stuff done. -- it is easier for me to jus blabber on & on in the tags. ]

Do you sometimes write drabbles?  YES / NO [ all my ask replies are drabbles, ngl. ]

Do you think a lot about your Muse during the day? YES / NO

Are you confident in your portrayal?   YES / NO / SORT OF? [... a sore topic. While I love my headcanons & have gotten quite proud of my writing over time, I constantly doubt myself regarding the “ic”-ness of my responses. I like to believe that I am doing rather well, but I am not confident, no. ]

Are you confident in your writing?  YES / NO. [ it took me a long time to develop my style; while I always struggle to believe in my portrayal I am quite confident in my writing as such. I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea but in general? I am proud of it. ]

Are you a sensitive person?  YES / NO. / SORTA.

Do you accept criticism well about your portrayal?  —  Well, yes. As long as it is the constructive kind. I love receiving feedback, may it be negative or positive. I will most likely try to discuss criticism with you; aka if you (i.e) tell me that Pearl shouldn’t have (C)PTSD, I will deliver canon proof & state my reasoning for my decision to implement it in my canon, etc. What I will not do is tolerate character hate or unreasonable hate towards my writing. Be assured that I will never headcanon something that has no solid footing in canon.

Do you like questions, which help you explore your character?  —  ABSOLUTELY. Send me random hc / meta asks, I beg you.

If someone disagrees to a headcanon of yours, do you want to know why?  —  sure. As stated above, I will probably discuss stuff with you. The chance of me dropping a headcanon however are rather low.

If someone disagrees with your portrayal, how would you take it?  —  Hm... it depends on what they don’t like. If it’s my writing, well, why are you following me to begin with?? If it is my take on things... well again, why are you following me? I stated in my rules what you should expect & that I will not water down specific aspects of a complex character. Disliking my portrayal is fine since I know that my kind of writing / analysis isn’t necessarily everyone’s tea but... again, why would you keep following me?

If someone really hates your character, how do you take it?  —  um. Not... well? While I will never excuse my muse’s actions, I dislike groundless bashing. In regard to Pearl... well. As stated above, I expected backlash the second I created this blog. Pearl is one of those characters the fandom either loves or hates; her canon relationship to Rose was branded toxic by a ton of people, people call her uncaring, salty, insane & straight up manic, she seemingly has no redeeming qualities, she is a bitch, too perfect (LOL) or arrogant & apparently has no character? I love it when people say stuff like that because... did we watch the same show? Is there a version of SU I don’t know? Please tell me, I wanna see it for myself! Some hot takes in this fandom are atrocious & make me want to commit a crime. 

     -- but I digress. I have spent too much time in her tag in 2014 + & I have seen quite the fights over the most ridiculous things; Pearl, in particular, got quite the flack for stuff that eventually got resolved in season 5 [which, again, was way too late but well]. In the end, clowns will be clowns, no matter what you do. I just don’t get why you would follow someone if you hate their character to begin with.

Are you okay with people pointing out your grammatical errors?  —  yes, but please don’t be rude about it. I am German, English is my second language. I am currently learning Swedish / improving my Swedish so mistakes can always happen. Additionally, I am someone who posts her replies in the middle of the night & while I proofread a lot & most likely fix posts after I posted ‘em, some mistakes can still slip through. 

Do you think you are easy going as a mun?   —  ... I like to believe I am but I know that I am overly passionate & I can come off as too strong or too fierce sometimes. I can be too much, I can be too excentric (I’m a Scorpio, Karen); I have strong opinions in regard to my characters & I will not hold them back. I criticise shows mercilessly & I will plough through canon as much as I please. Stans & I usually don’t get along. HOWEVER, I am a meme. I love lame jokes, I am awkward, & sometimes very, very insecure. In the end,  I just wanna talk about my favourite characters & develop sth wonderful. I keysmash unironically, I use old memes unironically. I mean I have been writing for ten + years & I am about to smooth sail post the 24 age border aka I will turn 25 soon which renders me old according to tumblr standards. I am just here to have fun before the staff comes to lock my account down due to my status as an rp-senior. -- yeah... that is the kind of stupid ass humor I mean. I digress but... please, I am an awkward, rambling mess, just hit me up via dms & you will see what I mean. 

[myhahnestopinion]

THE AARONS 2019 - Best TV Show

Last year, I said that I had become content with knowing that there are far too many streaming service with far too many great TV shows for me to ever watch everything worthwhile. This year, I signed up for a bunch of free trials and canceled immediately before they billed me. I’m not sure where the contentment went, but I do know that I found a bunch of great contenders. Here are the Aarons for Best TV Show:

#10. Evil (Season 1) - CBS

Why, yes, Evil is good. The rare CBS show able to make such a list, the procedural hailing from The Good Wife creators Robert and Michelle King twists the languishing network-TV formula into the devil’s playthings. A spiritual spiritual-successor to The X-Files, Evil blurs the lines between skepticism and belief as its trio of investigators unravel a series of uncanny phenomenon, while asking the viewer if supernatural malice looks any different from human cruelty. The show’s attempts to incorporate modern technology can sometimes be a bit clueless, but overall the show is sold by its ambition. The devil’s not in the details. 

#9. The Good Place (Season 4) - NBC

Why, yes, Good is good as well. The NBC comedy had questionable long-term sustainability when it first premiered, but thanks to nimble inventiveness, it’s tough to imagine saying farewell four seasons later. The Good Place has been a safe haven during uncertain times as an exaltation of the virtues of forgiveness, kindness, and self-improvement. While less structurally ambitious than past seasons, the fourth season was the show’s most thematically ambitious as the creators played god by crafting a whole new afterlife. In this philosophical debate over the concept of justice, the show more than justified its long-term existence.

#8. Arrow (Season 8) - CW

Arrow truly became something else over the course of its run, growing from a gritty Batman Begins-inspired melodrama into a network-dominating superhero universe that just powered-through its most ambitious crossover yet. With a shortened season order and an ominous prophecy of death hanging over its hooded head, Arrow pulled out all the greatest hits from its quiver in a rapid-fire revisitation of settings and reunion of cast members. Bringing Oliver Queen face-to-face with his adult children from the future, the show finally made its litigating of legacy literal. The Green Arrow is gone, but the hero left quite a mark.

#7. When They See Us (Limited Series) - Netflix

Representation matters. The stories we choose to tell and the stories we choose to listen to make a powerful impact on the betterment, or worsening, of equality and justice. When They See Us shows us a failure, and hopes for an uplifting. Director Ava DuVernay’s intimate, authentic recreation of the tragedy of the Exonerated Five, boys wrongfully imprisoned for a violent assault in Central Park, unravels the prejudice, malice, and laziness that upend our justice system and destroy lives. The story’s true-to-life intersection with the currently-in-power, forever impeached President is all the more reason that now is the time to see When They See Us. 

#6. Mr. Robot (Season 4) - USA

The early episodes of Mr. Robot were met with trepidation that it would be little more than an infantile Fight Club rip-off. In its final episodes, creator Sam Esmail codifies that he is no hack. The show’s well-researched technological thievery is as thrilling as ever (Experimental episode formats this season include an entirely dialogue-free heist), but its real endgame boils the conflict down to one of mind and soul. With its final season, the ever-elusive show finally brings all its various string-pullers into the light in gut-wrenching yet deeply-empathetic reveals. Who could have guessed Mr. Robot possessed such humanity? 

#5. Dickinson (Season 1) - Apple TV+

I would not have stopped for Apple TV, but I would gladly stop for thee, Dickinson. Though inspired by the life and poetry of Emily Dickinson, Alena Smith’s comedy mixes the artist’s love of the macabre with a sense of millennial malaise. Throughout its 19th Century-set trials, tribulations, and guest spots from John Mulaney as Henry David Thoreau, the cast behave as modern teenagers and are backed by a contemporary soundtrack. The approach laces the sitcom’s situations with a delightful ironic wit, but, more preciously, forges a sense of camaraderie across eras. In the relatable burdens of past lovers, we find ourselves, and Dickinson find immortality.

#4. Tuca & Bertie (Season 1) - Netflix

While its shared style caused many comparisons to a certain other Netflix series, Tuca & Bertie was in fact a horse of another color. Confident in its voice, and the voices of its stars Tiffany Haddish and Ali Wong, from the get-go, the show stretched the wings of its animation with more substantial surrealism than its sister show. While a scintillating showcase of cartoon buffoonery, the series’ content is not just for the birds; Tuca & Bertie find courage in the face of addiction, power in the face of trauma, and persistence in the face of sexist power structures. Coupled with Bertie’s boyfriend Speckle, perhaps my favorite character from all of TV, these birds of a feather have impeccable chemistry and insight. Who knows what heights it could have soared to had it not been cancelled after one season?

#3. Green Eggs and Ham (Season 1) - Netflix

With unusual grandeur for a project its size, Green Eggs is a show that’s one of a kind. It’s hand-drawn animation (Expensive, I’m sure) gives this adaptation a can’t-miss allure. With an all-star cast, cute jokes, and surprising twists too, you’ll want to follow the Chickeraffe’s road-trip escape from the zoo. And don’t forget the very best part! This TV serves up a whole lot of heart! If you want a show whose theme song is a jam, you surely will love Green Eggs and Ham.

#2. Watchmen (Season 1) - HBO

The original graphic novel has long been an essential read for the genre; the new sequel TV show is now a must-watch, man. Respectful of its source material but not beholden to its ideas, Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof’s ‘remix’ revitalized Watchmen’s power by substituting Cold-War nuclear anxiety for the insidious threat of entrenched white supremacy. With a harrowing recreation of the Tulsa Massacre and ingenious retcons to a few comic characters, Watchmen provoked complicated questions on race relations. In true Lindelof fashion, it also wisely left many things unanswered. The quality is good enough that the comic’s writer might just have to rethink his stance on adaptations of his work, and good enough that the viewer might want HBO to rethink their decision to end the show after one year. Yet the retroactively limited series ends on a perfect note, and there is no more.

AND THE BEST TV SHOW OF 2019 IS...

#1. You’re the Worst (Season 5) - FXX

Evil is good, and The Worst is the best (What a list I have this year!). Of all the series on this list that capped their run in 2019, You’re the Worst has always had the lowest stakes, but its ending by far hit the hardest. In season five, the whirlwind will-they/won’t-they resistant romance between narcissistic writer Jimmy Shive-Overly and self-destructive PR executive Gretchen Cutler reached its decisive culmination. To suggest the show reached an ending, though, would be a disservice to the beautiful decisions made. Such decisions were a perfectly imperfect solution for two imperfect people, striving each day to be better and do well by one another, meeting each other where they are. In the end, the show’s initial billing as an “anti-rom-com” was proven a mismarriage; the laugh-out-loud show had a profound outlook on what it means to love another person. Hilarious and heartful from beginning to end, You’re the Worst will go down in history as one of TV’s greatest.

NEXT UP: THE 2019 AARON FOR BEST TV EPISODE!

[spooner-the-trinity]

How Infinity Train pulled from Infinity War’s Playbook for Doctor Who’s final curtain

Funding for Shaffrilas is provided by: Skillshare, the sponsor of today’s video. Stay tuned for a train ride to discountkosh at the end of the video.

O hai, Tetsuya Nomura. That’s a nice hole you’re digging with your Kingdom Hearts, what do you wanna do with it? Keep digging? Why thou? O for a production company? That’s great, whacha gonna do with it? Name and develop the town the Toy Story flicks take place in? Yeah, alright. Add the goofy jock from Glee as a best friend for Andy that the Triceratops assumes is just a Dinosaur Toy down the street? What a funny joke idea! Nix the final playtime they’ve hoped to cap off the film with and save it for a later project? A tad disappointing, but alright. Make Sora a vessel for Xehanort? Whoa, that sounds hella har- A sexy Genie of the Rose who grants a wish for every petal on that collar-mounted rose of hers? Unique concept, but I smell some Hans Christian Anderson shi- The genie’s life force is bound to the Rose so she croaks when the last petal falls ala Beauty and the Beast? And there it is, Color me unsurpri- The Genie finds Andy and drags him into a sex scene to the tune of Aladdin’s Friend Like Me? I don’t think the parents would be okay with their kids watchi- Toonami’s airing this show? Wait, isn’t it on a competing networ- Lewis from Meet the Robinsons is Deleted by DOR-15 Ala the Nanobots from Jimmy Neutron? Mister Enter would be insulted on how you did his favorite Disney flick dirty like thi- Andy is shot into a wormhole and is mutated into a photosensitive Beast? Guys, It’s starting to look like a bad ide- The Genie is an aged-up Bonnie and she’s pregnant with Shantae!? Get me off this crazy tr-

Infinity Train Productions is one of the boldest associates Disney has in its corner right now, from wrestling away ownership of three Gainax originals to collaborating with competing animation company Dreamworks, the IT guys are pretty renowned for their kooky crossovers and kookier cinematic universe. And they’ve made sure to make their acquired goods count towards that universe instead of burn it to the ground LUCASFILM. Starting off by stating this is a universe where Second Impact prevented the assassination of JFK by means of tanging up 13% of the world’s population and weaved a few stitches of train tracks across the globe, naturally the space race escalates exponentially and they begin to develop new technologies and elect Walt Disney himself to be the President of the United States with Nixon as his running mate. That alone resulted in a Sequel Show to Brigadoon where a 24-year-old Marin Asagi boards the Challenger and ends up cast into the future with Melan, a retelling of the first arc of Gurren Lagann that featured Yui Ikari as a supporting character that saves Kamina from death, a twenty-six episode miniseries featuring Andy from the Toy Story gaining a magical genie bound to an enchanted rose, and that’s just the first half of its initial decade. I could go on about its repertoire of shows both original and acquired: Twelve Forever, Evangelion, both Arcadia trilogies with the elder of the two being started by the aformentioned show with that genie of the rose titled, erm… Genie of the Rose, but the one I’m aiming my sights on is the latest acquisition, one that they made in secret. Doctor Who and how they pulled from the playbook of Infinity War to bring the story to its last stop. 

Now, quick recap on how Infinity War makes a powerfully heartfelt mass market appeal joyride out of a thoroughly depressing story about failure. Where most Marvel Villains are merely obstacles for the characters to overcome, Thanos acts and reacts as a real person. Where most conflict have certain factors that tip the scales in the favor of who’s tipping them, the conflict is one where either side could come out victorious, where the Comedy of the Last Farcebender ended with the good guys laughing off their failure, Infinity War ended with a content smile from Thanos and our heroes dead silent save for a minor peep of: “Oh, god.” Where the bad decisions in Farcebender are made from genuine stupidity, Infinity War’s stem from worrying whether or not certain sacrifices are worth it. With that crash course out of the way, let’s dig in.

First thing’s first, is the villain a compelling character? Well, although Sacha Dhawan has the same unhinged energy expected out of any incarnation of longtime enemy, the Master, complete with moments of geniuine affection to his former best beff, he’s ultimately not the main baddie of this piece, that honor goes to Alrick. Believed to be dead after a dirtbike accident, it turns out that he had been picked up by the train and has spent a good three decades or so fucking with the systems to construct an empire starting with the crazy world of Elmore all the way to the Lanes Between and yes, he has shown himself to be a caring father figure to Grace and Simon throughout the second half of Cracked Reflections which leads into the episode, he’s concerned for his future as he’s clearly not as lively as he was when he first climbed aboard and even expresses hope for Jesse returning to the train after taking the exit and getting seperated from MT. And oh, look! He returns after the big moment, that’s nice. 

So yeah, compelling villain, that’s one tick. Is there equal opportunity for either side to win? Well, MT and early on Jesse before his aformentioned exit have the additional assistance of the Watterson family, Banana Joe, and seemingly Penny for a scene only to reveal her in a new shell complete with mind-control and reflective surface to sick the Po-Po on MT. But despite being the protagonist of his show of origin, she’s not the opposing side to Alrick this time around, it’s the wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey biatch herself and man, does it set up a curious comparison. Alrick is focusing his will into projecting his consciousness into the Doctor’s heart, an alien with countless eons worth of memories under her belt compared to Alrick’s measly sixtysomeodd laps around the sun. Not only that, but the Doctor is able to expel regeneration energy to fry the shit out of him if he feels the need to get a little messy. But with her locked up in the Time Lord Matrix which the Master has already skimmed through, there’s nowhere for the Doctor to run or even hide from Alrick. Throw in the Master’s ability to have his mind occupy two hearts at the same time whilst he’s chatting it up with the Lone Cyberman and the Doctor’s pretty pinned but still has a chance to outfox Alrick at the end of it all.

Bad decisions, the Doctor doesn’t trade lives so she keeps asking about the Timeless Child, what it’s supposed to be and why it drove the Master into absolutely butchering Galifrey after all the hard work each incarnation of the Doctor had. It turns out that this Timeless Child was a Pheonix Denizen created by Alrick to create a perfect world but One-One cast it out in hard-light beam form, striking Takeru and Ryou from This Ugly Yet Beautiful World from 2018. From the clipped wings came Hikari and Akari respectively whilst the main body crashed out of a wormhole into the sights of Tecteun who adopted the kid in time for a spaceship of highly-evolved snake people to crash land due to Kate and Leopold rules of time travel causing their machinery to get mucked up by Time Police in an episode of Rick and Morty of all shows, causing the child to fall to its doom and promptly regenerate, making her the first to do so in Galifreyan history. One of the survivors offers the gift of Time Travel in exchange for the power of Regeneration and Tecteun, scientist and explorer, jumps at the chance by means of tearing out the child’s soul for every three days that elapse. Obviously, she’s a fucking monster and she eventually does crack the code and test it on herself and the results allow the gift of time travel to bestowed upon the newly minted Timelords by Omega. Wow, all of this from a formally great show, (Doofenshmertz: what are the odds.) The Doctor is obviously unsurprised that Omega dangled the keys to time travel over the heads of the Shobagan race, but what horrifies her is that the very thing she and every other Time Lord we’ve seen had taken for granted was pilfered from a denizen that she learns after the life of abuse was created by some dude who hijacked some Train Car manufacturing equipment to build a perfect world. And it’s here where we see the main lynchpin of Alrick’s character: Perfection.

Those of you who’ve seen the whole series of Cracked Reflections will know that Alrick is an obsessive perfectionist first and foremost hence the plan to transform every Denizen of Elmore into full-blooded humans with leftover energy from this same Timeless Child. But not many of us recognize that this is only part of Alrick’s shtick. A simple man with complicated motives, a futurist in the trade of nostalgia, a conservative obsessed with progress, a gentle mentor with an impatient temper. These are just a handful of the ways to describe Walt Disney that were used by Ben Bouqulet, Mic Graves, and Owen Dennis to depict Alrick over the course of the last two seasons of Gumball leading into Cracked Reflections and Garrick Hagon truly gives his all portraying all the various shades of this man especially here when he is sharing his story of how he created a literal god only for One-One to cast it aside upon regaining control of the train from the very woman he spent the past 33 years building a perfect world for, a woman he cherishes like his older sister cherished his girlhood friend, a woman that even now still believes him to be ‘One-One: Gone forever?’ That is some next level tragic shit right there. 

Of course, the Doctor is still concerned for this child and it’s here where a familiar face crashes the party to let the cat out of the bag, Morbius from the Fourth Doctor Adventure Brain of Morbius outing himself as the infamous Timeless Child as well as harboring his disembodied heart in the Doctor after his ill-fated Mindbending Battle. This swerve may have served to provide added tension towards his motives, is he really wanting to go back to his home and views traveling with the Doctor as his only way there, or is he biding his time, waiting for his chance to overwhelm the Doctor when she’s not looking. As we see more of Morby’s checkered past in excruciating detail, slavery to the Division with everything down to his personality programmed and dictated into a mind-melded Morby by an enigmatic cult dubbed ‘The Master Writers’ An organization build solely and specifically for Infinity Train Productions to use in their portfolio of works. And when they were done with their enslaved progenetor, the Division in which they served lined him up for an execution from the Fugitive Doctor, during the 2nd Doctor’s orientation. Then they promptly merc poor Ruthie to regenerate her into the 3rd Doctor, closing the gap between Troughton and Pertwee. So yeah, The Division, they’re run by total assholes and Numero Dos only agrees to work there if his first assistant is longtime companion Jamie McCrimmon. But look at his face, does this look like the face of concent and tolerance to you? ‘Joe (Help, I’m a Fish!): Of course not!’ Props to Sam the Man with a Plan Troughton for filling his father’s shoes in this emotionally tense scene. And this ain’t the chilling twist that shocked the fandom. 

Alrick: “Whoever harbors the heart of the child is the child in of itself.“

Doctor: “Wot?”

Alrick: “It means that I will have my prize whether you like it or not!” (Punches through the Doctor’s Chest, crushes the Smash Ball within, causing the Doctor to turn into a pheonix before dissipating into Alrick’s body with the Smash Ball. Alrick’s Number skyrockets as his body regresses to his prime, the man laughing maniacally as the Timeless Child’s ultimate power rushes into him)

So yeah, Morby’s been reconstituting his powers over the centuries the Doctor had lived hence the golden energy during the later regenerations. How we find this out is by the titular character of the BBC’s last remaining reason towards that sweet TV Licence Money getting outright merced by Alrick in front of a guy that deep down still admires his childhood friend. This closes out An Untimely Caviat, the final episode in Doctor Who’s revived series, and leads us right into the finale of Cracked Reflection where he goes full on Disney Villain. Mercing the Master to make him a conduit to gijinkafy the entirety of Elmore, Co-Opting his Cybermaster drones as a mechanical army, ludiccrous speed incubating a pocket-dimension frog to house the Train Cars his empire had conquered via that same energy he channeled through the aformentioned Master, yeah, this does not sound like the man Amelia planned to marry if not had already married outright. Well, that’s the point. He’s drunk with power, it’s more likely that this is his ambition talking. No doubt he’s relishing in his own arrogance much to Marnie’s horror. Oh, yeah, Old Marnie’s doing her astral projection thing to react to her younger brother’s madness and watches on as MT gets roughed up by Super Alrick in front of an audience of his adopted children.

Of course, MT does find some santuary in the Number Car and re-unites with Jesse, resulting in the now sempailess Agent Sieve phasing through the glass screen whilst the train is figuring out how to solve Jesse’s seemingly unsolvable problem of getting a denizen off the train. But that just gives the Fleck some time to witness the madness of this rumored Apex fella as he ankleholds MT and gijinkafies Gumball and Darwin to demonstrate his final offer, her response is to break out a Denizen Ex Machina by prompting Alan Dracula to slice the monkeyfigher in half, causing him to regenerate into a pair of innocent, mindless little babies that will never bother anyone ever again… The Crown grieve for their master, Sieve calls off the manhunt for the rouge slither, the companions go their seperate ways with Graham staying on Earth to deliver the bad news the two youngest raising the two babies up to the Doctor’s standard… or at least one of them due to Yaz getting arrested by a Judoon Platoon before she could legally adopt Zarc. The expression of the companions are grim, and rightfully so, the one guy-or-gal that has kept the 21st century from falling into tyranny is no longer around to do the job they enjoyed doing whenever there was a sitch to see through. But after the wide shot of Yaz getting locked up in Shada we cut to MT, off the train and safe with Jesse in Arizona. Jesse’s brother Nate comes up to find his older brother with the very Chrome Girl he met on a magical train, Nate asks for the girl’s name and her answer?

Jesse: Dracula 2?

MT: (looks to the Lake, concerned that the Flecks would come after her but eases up when its clear that there are no Flecks coming.) I’m Lake.

We get a nice little callback to close out the series as the song Kibō plays in the credits, indicating that Hope is still out there in the cosmos, Doctor or No Doctor. And that is a powerful message to send to the audience and I have a pretty good feeling that whether or not the Doctor ends up getting revived in Kingdom Hearts III alongside all the absent heroes that Infinity Train productions had raked in over the years doesn’t quite matter, the studio does not need Doctor Who and its universe does not need the Doctor. And I have a pretty good feeling that the Doc may end up giving up their ticket back into the land of the living, leaving the universe to all the other champions of the cosmos that Toonami has flaunted over the decades. The Doctor has overcome many frightening, haunting, tyrannical, violent and downright Orwellian things in life and man, oh, man have we got a whole plate of them to overcome even now. Would I go back to this expansive world for further analysis, sure, if the views get gud. But the impact of the Doctor’s Death is a pretty big deal that actually caught a bunch of us by surprise despite the minor hints scattered throughout. (One-One: All aboard for emotional maturation on the finest freighter in all of Trenzalore) The Destiny of the Doctor News heard around the world, and the outpour of memories and grief rivalling even Mr. Peanut but unlike the legendary legume, our favorite timelord will probably be gone for a lot longer than just a couple of weeks and the time it takes will show how deep the rabbit hole goes. It will also show who’s willing to step up and find ways to make a difference in the lives of others, and they’re going to need to learn a thing or two to do so. (Cletus from the Simpsons Movie with the Skillshare Logo slapped onto his face in post: My time to shine.)

[dancewithyoutoday]

Rules: Pick 5 shows, then answer the following questions. Tag however many people. (I was tagged by @beckyharvey29, thank youuu, I enjoyed doing this so much!! ❤️)

Shameless

The Vampire Diaries

Queer As Folk

Outlander

Brooklyn Nine Nine

What’s your favorite character from 1?

Oh my god why do you hurt me so much. Okay. Okay. If I /have/ to choose... I choose Ian. I love Mickey, I ADORE him, he’s my child and I would walk through literal fire for him, but idk... Ian Gallagher makes me wanna protect him with my life from everyone and everything. I have a super soft spot for him, always did. I could never leave him out... so yeah, Ian.

What’s your least favorite character from 2?

Hmm... I can’t really say Katherine, because yeah I hate her guts but she’s one of the best characters in tv history, so I’ll go with Matt. His ‘vampires ruined my life etc’ thing got reaaally infuriating at the end.

What’s your favorite episode in 4?

There are sooo many good episodes, but I think it’s 3x06, the one where Claire and Jamie reunite after twenty years :’) Yeah, that one is special (I love 1x11 SO MUCH too. Omfg the tears in Jamie’s eyes when Claire comes back from the stones and chooses to stay with him 😭).

What’s your favorite season in 5?

I only watched it once, so I’m not sure... maybe season 6! Season 5 is also great! Ugh who am I kidding, I love them all for different reasons ;_;

What’s your favorite couple in 3?

Brian and Justin, 1000%.

What’s your favorite couple in 2?

Damon and Elena, always and forever.

What’s your favorite episode in 1?

10x12, definitely. Ian and Mickey getting married goes beyond my wildest dreams, it’s literally the most important thing EVER, no episode can top this. I mean, the /whole/ episode revolves around their wedding!! What more could I ask for?!?! I’m so happy I still can’t fully process it. 

What’s your favorite episode in 5?

ALL their Halloween heist episodes!! They’re spectacular 😂

What’s your favorite season in 2?

Season 3.

How long have you been watching 1?

I started watching while they were shooting season 5, so... 2014! 🥺

How did you get into 3?

My housemate of university years showed me a few Britin scenes on YouTube... the rest is history 😁

Favorite actor in 4?

Sam Heughan.

Which do you prefer: 1, 2, or 5?

Oh god, this is tough. Especially between Shameless and TVD, they’re both in my top 3. I’ll go with TVD, though with an heavy heart. Shameless gave me Gallavich (which is my favorite couple ever, they are my life) and all the characters are my beloved family, but TVD has so many meanings to me. It’s the first show I’ve ever watched in English, and I met so many people I’m still friends with thanks to it! I was part of so many fun and interesting discussions, it’s the first show I’ve ever became obsessed with, and it gave me Damon and Elena, the best het couple of all time and the best fantasy love story I’ve ever known ❤️ (imo, of course lol)

What show have you seen more of? 1 or 3?

I rewatched QAF a couple of times already, but Shameless has more seasons and I watched some episodes multiple times (Gallavich, ahem), so Shameless I guess!

If you could be anyone from 4, who would you be?

Definitely Claire. She’s a great doctor, she is strong, confident, honest, brave... a super woman really. And she gets to kiss Jamie every day, lmao.

Would a crossover of 3 and 4 work?

Hmmm... not really 😅

Pair 2 characters from 1 that would make an unlikely but strangely okay couple?

Can I say Frank and Sheila? They cracked me up lmao

Overall, which show has the better storyline, 3 or 5?

Oh wow, they’re two very different shows and they’re both great to me, so I don’t think one is worse than the other, but I choose QAF in general! I'm more attached to it, I’d rewatch it every day and never get tired, and Brian & Justin are one of my OTPs, so...

Which has a better theme song, 2 or 4?

TVD doesn’t have a theme song, but Outlander’s is SO beautiful I think I would have chosen it anyway 😍

I tag: @sickness-health-all-that-shit, @thisfeebleheart, @whatyouandihave-makesmefree, @mickeys-gonnagetrealbitchy, @itwasnttheplanokay

[asarahworld]

multifandom ask meme!

what was your first fandom? harry potter or star trek tos.  hp I went to the movies, went to a DH release party, and I remember when ootp was released.  trek, on the other hand, was the first fandom i was involved with online, starting with a ‘personal log’ from the perspective of doctor mccoy.  no, it’s no longer online.

what’s your most recent fandom?  community.  I recently finished the series and very much enjoyed the group’s dynamics.  It reminded me of my own group of friends, except with even more chaos.

are there any fandoms you joined without meaning to?  not really?  I watch/read something, I like it, I seek it out on the internet.  or I see something online, seek out the original source material, and then find more fandom stuff.

are there any fandoms you’ve wanted to join for a long time? I’ve got a ton of stuff that I just haven’t gotten around to watching yet.  ATLA, Anne with an E, Stranger Things, and The Witcher are all still on my Netflix for later list.  I am also looking to watch a few more ‘classic’ DCOMS - Lemonade Mouth, Avalon High, Cheetah Girls, and probably a few others/sequels.  As for actually joining new fandoms, I’d like to get into the X-Files fandom here soon.  My next episode to watch is the S2 finale.  Maybe we’ll start to see some action over @mulderandscullyfbi

do you have a fandom you wish you interacted with more? I’d love to be more involved with the Trek fandom again.  Star Trek was the first fandom I was involved with online and it was a great place for me as a young fangirl.  My first fics were all TOS with the triumvirate.  And, as stated above, TXF.

which fandom is your favorite to create fanworks for?  originally, I was all about Star Trek TOS.  Then, I discovered Rose Tyler/The Doctor.  Now I’m all about Zeddison.

are there any fandoms that you would never create fanworks for?  most sitcoms that I’ve watched.  Community, ODAAT, Arrested Development, anything with IRL people.  Someday, maybe.  (except for IRL)

which fandom do you have the most ideas for?  I don’t usually come up with my own ideas.  And again, it cycles.  Whichever fandom I’m currently invested in is the fandom I’m’ going to have ideas for.

do you prefer fandoms of tv shows, movies, books, or some other medium?  ...are any of them actually different?  fandom is fandom, no matter the medium.

do you wear merch for any fandoms? is it obvious merch (with the title/logo) or subtle (like the main character’s favorite backpack)?   so...I have a TARDIS backpack, a bunch of DW/Trek/SW/Marvel/HP shirts.  I used to wear them more frequently when I was in school, but now I’ve stopped bc I can’t wear them to work.

out of all your fandoms, which two would make the best crossover?  ooh...I don’t know.  I once wrote a HSM/Star Trek TOS crossover.  (sadly, this no longer exists.  I went through a cringe phase and deleted every copy; although nothing is ever really gone on the internet, I still can not find it.)

out of all your fandoms, which premise (plot/worldbuilding) is your favorite?  Doctor Who obviously has the most options for in-universe worldbuilding.  I can take anything I want and it’s probably a feasible option.

out of all your fandoms, which would you like to see adapted into a different medium? what medium?  I would love to see a Harry Potter tv series that follows all the subplots, showcases all the foreshadowing, and takes the time to develop everything properly.

recommend a fic from [insert fandom here].  go to any of my blogs /tagged/fic-rec

recommend a blogger from [insert fandom here].  oh god, that’s literally picking friends.  if I follow you, I recommend you.  heck, there are even people on this site I don’t follow whom I would rec for some fandoms.  tag tracking is where it’s at people

recommend a non-fic fanwork (fanart, fanvids, filk, etc) from [insert fandom here].  too many great ones and I don’t have the time to dive deep into my history

what’s your favorite trope from the fanworks of [insert fandom here]?  I’m just going to go for my main fandoms here.  Doctor/Rose - anything to do with Tentoo/Rose starting over in Pete’s World.  Zeddison - delicious height difference.  Trek - friendship between the triumvirate.  Basically anything to do with found family.

for [insert fandom here]: au, canon divergent, or canon compliant?  it honestly depends on my mood.  All have the potential to be great.  I think my favourite is canon compliant, to write anyways.

what’s your favorite au for [insert fandom here]?  The most common au I read by far is simply human!au.

name a song that reminds you of [insert fandom here].  Zeddison - Someday.  Doctor/Rose - Once Upon a Dream.  Trek - Phasors on Stun.

have you made any friends in [insert fandom here]? oh god, so many.  my zom fam.  the doctor/rose crowd.  and the sherlollians.  romiones.  literally if I follow you or you follow me, I’ve probably thought you and ‘friend’ in the same thought.

name two characters, from different fandoms, who you think would get along.  Abed Nadir and Data. 

which fandom’s setting/world/time period would you like to live in?  nah.

if you could meet the characters of one fandom, which one would it be?  this time last year, I would have said ZOMBIES no hesitation.  two years ago, Doctor Who.  A few years before that, Star Trek.  I don’t think I could stick to one.

if you could take creative control of one fandom’s source material, to fix previous canon and decide future arcs as you see fit, which one would you choose? what would you change?  It would be nice to wade through all the crap JKR has (retroactively) put out there as source material and fix everything.  get rid of the plot holes, get rid of all the extraneous stuff  (Delphini who?)