#but after his arc the season was kinda mid...

[maelswife]

Oomfies... important question.

Can be any reason (。・ω・。)

For me it was definitely s3 if we dont include the animation. There was just so much happening there and Nakaba dropped so many lore bombs that it's gonna stay my fav for a loong time even with 4koa releasing.

[hazelnut-u-out]

Do you think about the whole Rick Prime thing? Did it kinda feel anticlimactic???

Yeeahhhhhh, but... I think that's the point!

At first, I was a little bit disappointed with how they handled the arc. I really thought Prime was going to be the Big Bad! Having the whole climax of C-137's arc with Prime as a mid-season episode felt oddly... dismissive? It was like it wasn't even a major event.

After sitting on this for a bit, I think I actually love how they've handled it. I think this is the first time I've really seen the show take something that perfectly fills a 'Television Run' format (i.e. big events at the ends of the seasons for cliffhangers, and so on) and subvert those expectations into something more like 'Real Life.' In my opinion, a lot of the show is shown as how characters involved view the events, especially in terms of tonality. That's why so much of the show fits these media formulas-- Rick views his life as a show.

I often refer to the majority of the show as 'Rick's Director's Cut' because we get events skewed from his warped perception of his own actions. (You can even think of 'Morty's Mindblowers' as Rick literally editing footage into a better story.) Of course, we see why he's sympathetic. As the viewer, we understand why he's doing what he's doing, even if we don't agree with it. He views himself as the 'sitcom dad'-- comically fucked up and abusive, but secretly caring. Rick believes that he's got just enough heart for his actions to be excusable, forgetting that the people he hides his intentions from aren't getting the 'full picture' like the viewer is. From Morty's perspective, Rick does these things for no reason-- unless you count not liking, caring about, or valuing Morty. Of course, we know that's not the case, but Morty doesn't. His family doesn't.

The Prime arc is fascinating to me because of the contrast between how Rick viewed it versus how it happened from the perspective of the viewer. Rick went into the Prime arc thinking it would be a massive, badass epic where the underdog comes out on top and the audience is satisfied with the conclusion. As the audience, this is probably the first time we haven't really been able to click with that, you know? It was unsatisfying, even for Rick, and now he's sort of saddled with, 'Oh, shit. This is real life. What comes next?'

Sure, they're little guys on our television screens. To them, though... that's real life. Real life is messy. Real life is unsatisfying. Real life is disappointing, the editing is sloppy, arcs aren't linear, and dysfunction and substance abuse aren't silly character traits.

The whole point is: What happens now?

In real life, what happens after your abusive parent passes away or you finally get revenge on the person who tore your life apart? In real life, what happens after you beat the shit out of the guy who assaulted you? Or after your dad apologizes for walking out on you?

There's actually a Malcolm in the Middle scene reminiscent of this concept. Francis was blamed by Lois from the time he was born for ruining their relationship. Throughout the entire series, his arcs deal with their broken relationship. When she finally apologizes, the pinnacle of his hopes and dreams-- the only thing keeping him alive, it doesn't help. It doesn't fix the years of psychological abuse he suffered, or the fact that he's as broken as he is because of her failure as a parent.

Another great example is in Adventure Time, when Finn thinks he's ripped Martin's arm off for causing him to lose his own. The revenge doesn't help. (Sorry, not digging for a link to the scene lmao.)

Those things aren't satisfying on their own. The fantasies and daydreams we barter through aren't feasible cures. That's real life. What happens afterward is what you do next. That can be a tough pill to swallow. There's no quick 'fix-all' for everything that's fucked you up. What helps? Hard work. Dedication. Time. Therapy. Grief. Acceptance.

Rick never really worked through the grieving process, you know?

There was Denial and Anger:

And where he got stuck... Bargaining:

After Prime's death? Depression:

Four decades later, we're finally on the cusp of Acceptance.

That's what that look into the hole was. That's what putting up Morty's picture was. That's what choosing to walk away was.

Acceptance.

In conclusion of my long-winded rant, I liked the Prime arc. Fits nicely into the season after the finality of 'Fear No Mort.'

Well done, writers.

Thanks for asking! <3

[gingergofastboatsmojito]

It's all in the side notes

I can’t believe why is not painfully obvious for everybody else too, it's like everyone notices everything around it except this huge elephant in the Sydcarmy room.

Let me explain:

The side notes on the script are what the actors play, not just the script itself. The subtexts, the nuances, the silences, all of that is indicated by the director and rehearsed over and over before shooting at least 2 takes of every single scene.

02X01 was about teamwork towards The Bear's opening, that's why the director opened and closed the ep with that, to make that point. The side notes were all about playing every single scene with a SOU, fast-paced dialogues, etc, because every second counts and that's why a clock was ticking on pretty much every scene.

When 02x02 ends with a close-up of Claire smiling after Carmy gives her the wrong number, that´s not the point the director tried to make, but that Carmy TOOK HIS FUCKING TIME in giving her the wrong number, he almost gave it to her in slow motion, meaning that as he was giving it to her he was deciding what he eventually ended up doing with the last digit. He was on the fence the whole time and ended up deciding to "cut her off politely" in a very Carmy way. That was a side note in the script (the speech rate and the "decide as you go", and "be doubtful first" part).

In 02x03, the Sydcarmy vs Clairmy battle really began and it continued throughout the whole S2, all side notes because the script was barely obvious about Claire until he said: "I have to call my GF" after passing the gas inspection. Notice a pattern here? Or is it just me?

02X04 was mostly focused on Marcus in Copenhagen and introduced us to Chef Luca, raising the question, on purpose leaving it as an unanswered question - that will probably be answered in S3- on whether Luca was talking about Carmy when he was talking about a chef that was way better than him and that inspired him to become the chef he is today and up his game as much as he could. In other words: Not Sydcarmy material. Except we buy into the whole SydMarcus shipping they tried to insinuate with the Facetime call, which I won't get into because I feel dirty even typing about it. How dare they? Is it because they are both black? WTF?!! Well, my point is this is probably the least Sydcarmy episode of the season and we need to make a mental note about who directed it.

02x05 This episode's arc is all about the script's side notes: "Who's Claire? / I'm saying goodnight!" is all about the intonation, not the actual words. This is the bridge of the whole Sydcarmy song, that's why it's mid-season. Notice something? I have...

02x06 The masterpiece, it's all about the side notes but again, super non Sydcarmy, it's just supposed to show us The Berzatto's background story so Syd is not part of the equation. Claire is, in a way that will later make a lot more sense during Omelette's panic attack, of course.

02x07 AKA: My favest, is also a non-Sydcarmy kinda ep. Is all about Cousin's arc. BTW: I 100% ship these 2 and I hope S3 brings more RichJess fluff and stuff:

02X08 is all about the side notes again and takes us right back into SydCarmy vs Clairmy territory. Carmy had to call his new GF after passing the inspection to give her the good news.

02x09 I shouldn't even have to say a damn thing about this ep. Other than pointing out the obvious: IT'S THE MOST SYDCARMY EP OF THE WHOLE FUCKING SEASON, TYVM!

All I'm gonna add is that Carmy is laying awake after having sex with her:

I already talked about the common blue light in this scene here.

I'm not even gonna get into his panic attack. I mean... Do I have to? Seriously?

Anyway...

Storer finally joined the ship Calo was sailing since the beginning of the season here and all the side notes in this script are HIS.

The cinematography is his, the music is his, and every line, because he co-wrote it with Sydcarmy CEO: Joanna Calo herself.

And so we arrive to 02X10 where Sydcarmy is eaten alive by The Bear but ironically enough the one who doesn't survive is the Clairmy team LMAO! Sydcarmy on the other hand keeps going strong (Ayo was promoted to co-star for a reason, she's no longer part of the cast, she's the female lead of the show now) and in S3 we'll get to see how exactly will that play out.

My point is: The director and then the editors in the ER with the EP's sign-off can change what the writers write if they choose to and the actors have to perform the side notes according to the director's instructions.

In this case, since Storer joined the Calo Sydcarmy ship as I previously mentioned and usually they co-write and always co-produce the seasons those scripts, side notes, musicalizations and editions ARE ALL THEIRS. Every time Calo touches something, she turns it into Sydcarmy gold, and Storer and her are on the same page. That's why most Sydcarmy eps of the season were hers or his or directed by both.

June can't get here soon enough.

Remember to follow my tag #Gingerpovs 💋

[batsplat]

speaking of smallville now that was certainly a show. how many seasons did you manage and when is it best to stop? I am currently at s2 and already I would kill every other character for lex, wyd it’s only gonna get worse 😭

lmaooo okay so I got to. six. which actually kinda kills me because I swear I poured my heart and my soul into that stupid show, it drove me insane it left me a lesser person and I BARELY GOT HALFWAY

my basic analysis of the default journey with that show that I'm going to pretend is universal is like. it hooks you with something compelling in s1 and you still have enough naive faith to give it benefit of doubt that the writers actually know what they're doing, because you just wanted to have a bit of fun but, hey, these characters are actually more interesting than you expected!! then in s2 you're starting to get doubts but you're already kinda too deep. then s3 breaks your sanity and makes you scream and at this point you just see how far this shit goes. then s4 is.... mid..... but is also in a way the last remotely palpable season? and then at some point in s5 you're just like. wow I don't even enjoy the hate watching any more. and s6 is. yeah. eventually there was one storyline that is so insanely uncomfortable that it's just. enough. enough!

[mild spoilers to follow]

if s2 drives you insane on lex grounds then!! boy!! s3!! the thing about s3 from lex's pov is that. okay it's extremely angsty and does increasingly radicalise you... I have to say I started this show in a very innocent jokey 'oh ho ho I heard they have some good superman/lex luthor queerbait in that noughties show!!' and was ready to be a lex fan like. as a bit. and y'know my readiness to adopt morally dubious characters is pretty high anyway. but the first few seasons made me go?? okay but he genuinely isn't even the villain?? like I'm not even saying this for the bit, he LITERALLY is not the bad guy in this story?? guys??? and then by the end of season 3 I had been completely radicalised to the 'Actually Lex Luthor Should Turn Evil And Kill All Of You People And I Will Cheer Him On' stance. but what really, really, really kills me is that after all that, they still manage to bungle his transition to evil. like, they ignore all the very obvious reasons for why lex would turn evil after all that, and just come up with completely new ones? that have fuck all to do with this character you've been writing up to that point?

and the worst bit. the WORST bit. is that after all that, he literally does not even have fun being evil. like, you know that season one episode where he's being mind controlled and does his gay little swagger. this scene, yeah:

first of all, again, they ended up erasing lex's canonical motivation for turning evil, which is being so queer-coded he might as well be wearing a sign with slurs around his neck while he's stuck in a small town in fucking kansas. like "you think I don't see the way your parents look at me? the way half the town looks at me?" okay, great, love how this entire arc is eventually concluded by having the show say the entire town including clark's small-minded parents were 100% right to be suspicious of him, that there was something fundamentally defect with him basically from birth and he was always going to turn out to be evil. I feel like you definitely thought through the implications of what you wrote here!

but never mind all that, my actual point is that lex is having fun here!! this is one of several episodes where they're 'foreshadowing' lex turning evil by 'having a paranormal reason to make lex evil for a few minutes' (some subtle writing, this), and he's generally having a lot of fun with it!! he's leaning into the camp of it all!! he's freed from all his nasty and completely unnecessary inhibitions like 'not killing everyone in smallville' which. good. and he's just having a great time. and then he becomes a villain and he's literally just miserable all the time!! it sucks!! like omg if you're going to butcher his writing and ruin the character then at LEAST let him have some fucking fun?? at least let him experience joy at his own depravity or whatever? like he doesn't even get to do any fun villain monologues at clark, he's literally just sad clark isn't his friend any more while clark is giving him the homophobic dog slur. and then also about twice a season something paranormal happens to clark and he physically assaults lex to the point where he like, almost kills him, and then after that everyone pretends it didn't happen and clark never apologises and continues to burst into his room demanding answers. like omg?? lex, they hate you anyway, can you please just attempt to shoot clark?? also, obviously the turn to villainy should have been in large part motivated by lex finding out clark's secret and going?? the fuck is wrong with you for not just SAYING this?? (plus finding out everything clark did to lex in season three to keep his secret like it's genuinely so fucked up #lmao) but. I hate to break bad news to you about where we're at with the whole 'does lex know clark's secret yet' situation at the point where I gave up. genuinely what is the point of all this building and perfectly interesting character work if you're NEVER gonna deliver

but quite possibly an even worse sin of the later seasons that genuinely broke my brain was the treatment of lex's father. like, not to give the game away too much here, but the show's philosophical stance on rotten apples ends up being.... well. it's interesting which characters this show feels is worthy of redemption!! also interesting when they retcon several seasons of writing for the show that already very much set up why a character would actually perfectly legitimately go insane and instead settle for 'well his father sure did know there was always something wrong with him'!! watching some season 3 and season 5 episodes back to back would leave your face scarred from the amount of whiplash in the writing. the whole thing's kinda incompetent and dumb but is also like?? actively a little bit evil when you really think about the implications of what they're writing here

anyway. it's a brave stance on superman to go 'okay but what is being a superhero really about if not a whole whole lot of gaslighting'. and I do love the clark stalking room!! but the problem is, they could've played the clark/lex dynamic in a kinda tragic 'wow clark really has been so blinded by his parents that he's gonna end up destroying his relationship to lex because he just can't be honest with him and lex really needed one person in his corner who actually trusted him but clark wasn't the right person to provide that' way. they could've played it in a sort of fun 'yeah this is kinda fucked up and weird and toxic how they simply cannot stop doing dubious shit to each other' way where you just kinda roll with how terrible the whole thing is. but they don't go for either of those!! they're so stuck with treating clark's parents as the moral centre of the universe, with their "marriage is SACRED, clark" schtick and all that (yeah, there's an episode where clark gets lectured about the importance of the bond of marriage, this is a thing that happens) that they're blatantly unaware of what story they're telling but ALSO just refuse to lean into the batshit insane elements and just have!! fun!! and it's one of those things where you really do feel like an idiot for even thinking about this stupid fucking show so!! much!! but I swear, I swear they had a dynamic that hit like crazy in season one... also some of the fic out there for them is CRAZY like it kinda does make it all worth it but still!! still!! this shit infuriates me!!

anyway, here are some bonkers plot bits I remember happening in this show for you to enjoy if you continue in this endeavour:

the lex luthor slut shaming episode

clark kent slut shaming lex luthor, which is conceptually funny anyway but becomes funnier if you just read it as clark being unable to figure out he is actually just subliminally attracted to his friend. like, okay, clark being disappointed at lex for sleeping with thirteen different women, I see you

like. multiple lesbian lana moments. she's constantly getting herself in lesbian situations. and I get this is some kinda weird fanservice-y shit from the showrunners but, sue me, I thought lesbian vampire lana was cute

which is a thing that happens

they get spike from btvs to tell clark vampires aren't real, which is the one funny thing they wrote in about a season

the native american stuff is always deeply uncomfortable but it becomes even weirder when they invent some native american prophecy *deep sigh* to explain how lex was always evil

clark steals a car from lex several episodes after committing like, one of the most obscene acts of betrayal it is possible to commit against a friend (lex is unaware of this and possibly never finds out? I think the writers maybe forgot about this.) and lex is just like. it's fine <3 I know friends sometimes have to do crazy shit for other friends!! you're my friend, right?? and clark goes... yeah. sure

I vaguely remember lex buying stuff the american football high school team at some point and showing up to the lockers to give a speech and it's just?? this is right after the friendship break up and it's basically lex talking right at clark and he's talking about the importance of fresh starts and it is so fucking funny

the one episode where lana is in paris. they had built up to this for ages as like a whole thing where lana finally frees herself from that miserable town and all the people in it (don't ask how the 'lana knowing clark's secret' situation develops. it doesn't) and then she's there for. one episode

martha kent tells clark how they can't harbour illegal immigrants at one stage?? she eventually changes her mind I think but what even was that all about

the papa kent goes into politics arc. shoot me

lex becomes like. possessed by zod. which somehow manages to make everyone involved more dull

silver kryptonite makes clark paranoid, which ends up being pretty funny because he genuinely talks the exact same way

lex thinks clark can throw him across the room because he's been hypnotised

lex starts capturing various clark super powered friends and delivers these gay villain monologues to them (like genuinely, in one of them he's got shirtless aquaman strapped to a gurney and he's like, leaning over him, teasing him with a glass of water) and they're some of the best bits of the show

clark discovers the clark stalking room, which I will say was very funny

chloe basically saying lex always sends clark these massive gifts as a way of keeping his affections which?? clearly true but I thought we were keeping that the subtext

clark gatecrashes lex's wedding high on red kryptonite

one of lex's old bullies gets killed by like, a statue falling from the top of the building they're standing next to and stabbing the guy and then some of the blood splashes on lex and he's just like ?? bleh. fantastic scene

and THEN there's several scenes with his father where lex is like 'well that sure was a nice shirt :(' and lex's father is berating him for his lack of humanity. or something

there's an episode where lex is split into good lex and evil lex and it's genuinely the only worthwhile thing the show did that season. like the writing is still kinda incoherent but, crucially. it sure is fun

the spirit of lex's mum tells him she thinks he sucks

worst show in existence. I'll never forget it

[sam-is-my-safe-word]

Demon Dreams

Demon!Dean Winchester x Jensen Ackles

Rating: Explicit

Tags: Non- AU, Alternate Universe - No Girlfriends/No Wives, Season/Series 10, Character Bleed, Jensen Is Not Okay, Jared is Jared, Jared Is Worried About Jensen, Demon Dean Winchester, Demon Dean Is An Asshole, Emotional Manipulation, Identity Crisis, Possession, Sort of? - Freeform, Wet Dreams, Oral Sex, Rough Oral Sex, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Strangulation, Exorcisms, Sexorcism If You Will,

Word Count: 3,201

Summary: Jensen is no stranger to character bleed. But it's not meant to take over your life like this, right?

Notes:

I'm participating in @jacklesversebingo and this part will fill my "you fed my demons" "you created mine" square.

Okay, this is the most fictional thing I've ever written lol. This is an utterly fictional Jensen set in an AU with no wives or children. I am not implying for one single second that anything in this fic actually occured. Nor am I implying Jensen is gay or bisexual. Please don't sue me lol. Also, first time writing RPF/RPS. Still feel some kinda way about it. Be gentle with me (even though I am not gentle with you, my dear readers)

Endless thanks to my beta @runawaydr3amerao3 for all her help in making this so much better than I could have & for her comma wrangling <3 Endless thanks also to @talltalesandbedtimestories for getting me involved in this whole bingo thing & cheering me on <3

Jensen is no stranger to character bleed. It’s happened before. Some characters are just too heavy. 

It’s happened with Dean a few times. Hard scenes that invade his dreams for days afterwards. Character arcs that refuse to leave when he sheds Dean to put Jensen back on and leave him snapping at everyone. 

This is different, though. This is like the character has taken on a life of its own in his head. 

Jensen is no stranger to sex dreams either. He’s a healthy guy in his mid-thirties with no long-term partner and a job that takes up almost all his life. 

Jerking off at 3am because he woke up hard from a dream of some faceless someone riding him like a mechanical bull, and his alarm is going to go off in just over an hour and he’d really like to sleep a little more and sleep won’t happen until he deals with his cock, is just another part of life. 

This is different as well. This isn’t a faceless stranger. He knows the person haunting his dreams. 

Intimately. 

Jensen has dreamed about Dean lots of times. He’s an old friend. 

This is not his Dean. 

~~~

Demon Dean was a challenge. He started out fun to play, a nice mix-up. A chance for extended scenes with Mark, to let out Dean’s inner asshole. A sex scene - awkward - and a fight scene - awesome. The black contacts weren’t fun but overall it was a good time. 

Up until filming the third episode, when he had to act against Jared again, and suddenly Demon Dean wasn’t fun anymore. Then it was hard. Then it was fighting against every acting instinct that came with ten years of Dean, ten years with Jared. 

Not Dean, Sam’s brother anymore; Demon Dean, Sam’s enemy. It was a hard headspace to get into. Chasing Jared around the bunker with a hammer was brutal. He couldn’t even truly lose himself in the character because he still had to direct everyone else. 

Then it was over. Just three episodes and he was free to lose the murder shirt and style his hair properly again. 

And he’s proud of his work. Especially ‘Soul Survivor’. It’s always a challenge to balance actor and director, but he’s thrilled with how it turned out. He made Demon Dean a true threat to Sam, and as long as he doesn’t examine that too closely, it’s okay. 

But it’s been a couple of weeks since they finished ‘Soul Survivor’, and Jensen is still waking up sweating after dreams about black eyes and the words ‘do it’ ringing in his ears. 

~~~

Look, Jensen is a perfectly sane guy. He has a great handle on his mental health, knows the signs of when he needs to reach out. Hell, after ten years of helping Jared, Jensen would say he probably knows more about mental health than most people who don’t actually suffer with mental health problems. 

So while he knows that his dreams of weapons, black eyes and the thrill of the chase are just character bleed, he also knows that he needs to be aware in case they develop into something serious. 

But nothing he knows tells him what to do when he starts to look forward to his dark dreams. 

Jared might be able to help, though. 

So a few days later, when he wakes up hard and aching after dreaming about Demon Dean fucking his throat raw - all while holding a knife to it - after he’s taken care of the problem, he texts Jared - once he’s washed his hands, of course. 

It’s still early, but Jared gets up hours before he needs to, to work out and walk his dogs and generally become a person. A far cry from Jensen, who falls out of bed after four snoozes of his alarm and downs coffee until his eyes open. 

Jensen: You up?

Jared: Yeah, lol. Why are YOU up?

Jensen: Can’t sleep. Can I ask you something? 

There’s a pause and Jensen thinks maybe Jared’s sitting down or something. No one asks to talk at 3:30am. He isn’t expecting the phone to ring in his hand. 

“‘Lo.” 

“You okay? Not like you to be up at this time, never mind asking if you can ask me something.” 

This is exactly what Jensen didn’t want. Now he has to try and explain himself with words instead of text. 

“I’m okay. Just… Do you even dream about Sam?” 

Jared lets out a small laugh; Jensen can hear the relief. 

“All the time, man. All the fucking time. You don’t dream about Dean?” 

“Yeah, I do. I mean… like, weird dreams about Sam?” 

Jared hums. 

“I had a recurring dream that he kept showing up to my high school graduation and glaring at me. Like I was an asshole for finishing school, y’know.” 

Jared chuckles.

“Or when I’ve gone a little too hard on the candy and there’s Sam, staring at me from across a table with a pile of salad in front of him. Like, okay, dude. You’re a health nut, I’m not. That kind of weird?”

God help Jensen, Jared is going to make him spell it out. 

“Not exactly…” 

Jared must hear something in his voice because he starts to laugh, far too loudly for the time of day. 

“Ohhhh… that kind of weird. Jackles, you pervert, you.” 

This was a terrible idea, why did he even message Jared? He’ll never live this down now.

“No, not like- I mean, that kind of weird but not… Stop fucking laughing, Jared.” 

Jared has gone from laughing to belly laughing; Jensen can hear him fighting for breath. 

“I’m sorry...”

“You’re not.” 

“No, I’m not. This is too funny. Hollywood hot-shot Jensen Ackles all in knots at 3am because he had a wet dream-” 

“I fucking DID NOT!” 

He did, though, night after night. 

“Why are you blushing then?” 

“I’m no-” 

Damnit, he is. He can feel his cheeks heating up. 

“It wasn’t a wet fucking dream, Jared. I’m not thirteen, for chrissakes. It was just a weird dream and it kinda freaked me out.” 

“A weird sex dream, you mean.” 

“Yes.” 

Jared is still laughing but it’s starting to die down now. 

“Okay, calm down. Yes, I dream about Sam. Yes, sometimes they’re weird. Yes, sometimes they’re sex-dreams-weird. Hell, I dream about fucking Sam more than I dream about fucking anyone else.” 

Jared sounds perfectly at peace with this revelation, and if it was regular Dean that Jensen was dreaming about, he might get it. 

“I mean, it’s either dream about fucking Sam or dream about fucking you . I’ll take Sam any day.” 

Jared starts fake gagging and Jensen is over this entire conversation. 

“Okay, good talk. Thanks, Jared. I’ll see you in a little while. Let’s just forget this ever happened.” 

“Wait. You know I’m only messin’ with you. You can talk-” 

*Click*

Well, that was a waste of time. Jared sounded sincere at the end, but Jensen is too embarrassed to even try to talk now. Hopefully by the time he has to face Jared in the car, Jared will have found something else to talk about. 

~~~

Jared was smart enough not to bring up the early morning phone call, and after a brief hug and a nod, they were all good. 

Demon Dean, though? He’s dining out on the call, milking Jensen’s embarrassment for all it’s worth. 

It’s a special kind of humiliation when someone is three fingers deep in your ass and you’re moaning like a whore, and they bring up an awkward 3am call you had with your best friend a few days ago. 

“So you think this is weird, huh?” 

Jensen never doubted Dean’s swagger was well earned, but Demon Dean turns it up to eleven. Jensen hasn’t come this hard since he was a teen, and it’s part of the reason he looks forward to these damn dreams, even though they freak him the fuck out. 

“‘Cause you sure seem to like it.” 

Demon Dean twists his fingers and Jensen howls.  

“You like being here, at my mercy. You like when it hurts, when you’re scared. When I take it.” 

Jensen’s hips buck. God, he’s so close. 

“This is where you should be. That pretty face needs to be sucking cock or face down in the sheets.” 

Jensen isn’t eighteen anymore, he’s not new to the scene and insecure about himself. He knows he’s a good actor, a good director, a fucking professional. But something about Demon Dean cuts through all that and suddenly he’s a kid again, doubting everything. It makes him even harder. The pitch black eyes and the waves of menace rolling off Demon Dean make Jensen legitimately scared of him, even though he knows it’s just a dream. 

“Does it feel weird , Jensen?” 

Jensen can only moan in response. It’s so fucking good. 

“Answer me!” 

There’s the cold and heavy weight of a hammer pressing into his Adam's apple, and when Jensen opens his eyes, Demon Dean’s own ice black is all he can see. 

“N…no.” 

He’s rewarded for his answer by a hard thrust in and upwards. He’s right there, he can taste it. 

“N…no.” 

Demon Dean mocks him. 

“No, it doesn’t look like it, either. Looks like you’re having a blast. Cunt so tight around my fingers. Looks like you’re right where you should be.”

Jensen can’t breathe. 

“Say it. Say you feel right here, cunt stuffed full of me.” 

“I…”

“Say it, Jensen. Or I’ll stop.” 

“Fuck. Fuck… I feel right.” 

“That’s it. This is what you’re good for, isn't it? Just a pretty boy to get fucked.” 

“Ju-just a pretty boy to get fucked. Fucking… please!” 

Demon Dean smiles coldly. 

Jensen wakes with a groan, hips still thrusting into the mattress as he soaks the sheets.

More laundry. He should buy more sheet sets. 

~~~

Jared pulls Jensen aside a couple of weeks after the call. They’re out with some cast and crew from that week's episode, just relaxing, having some drinks and blowing off steam after a difficult shoot. 

Jensen really doesn’t want to be there, doesn’t want to be anywhere, really. But he couldn’t refuse, not without prompting more questions. So he paints on a smile, sticks to beer and tries to let the conversations happen around him without getting involved. 

Jared must notice his discomfort and grabs him on a trip to the bathroom. 

“You alright, dude?” 

Jensen sighs internally. He doesn’t want to do this. 

“I’m fine, just tired, y’know.” 

Jared cocks his head a little; looks at Jensen too closely. 

“You wanna get out of here? I’ll split an Uber with you?” 

God yes. But then it will be questions on Monday and he can’t with that. 

“No, I’m good. Besides, you’re having a good time. You don’t gotta leave on account of my old ass.” 

Another head tilt, Jared really can be a puppy at times. Normally, Jensen adores this caring side of his friend. But he’d give anything to have that focus aimed away from him right now. 

“Jen…” 

“I’m fine! Okay. I’m fucking tired, it’s been a long week. Let’s just… get another drink or something. Okay?” 

Jensen didn’t mean for Dean to come out of his mouth then. It happens, but not usually in temper like that. Jared holds his hands up in surrender and lets Jensen walk past him, back to their group. 

~~~

He’s on his knees, Demon Dean’s cock buried in his throat. It hurts, he can’t breathe, but it feels so good. 

“Fuck, that’s it. Choke on it. Gonna get that throat all fucked out.” 

Jensen moans and digs his fingers into Demon Dean’s hips. 

“Gotta help you find Dean’s voice somehow. Know you’ve been having trouble with that.” 

Demon Dean runs a hand through his hair as he says it and Jensen forgets to be offended.

“That’s it. That’s it. Pretty mouth on my cock. Just like it should be.”

~~~

Something isn’t right with Jensen. Everyone can see it. He’s just not present anymore. Not totally at least. He gives it his best on set, but he just can’t seem to find the right headspace anymore. Scenes that he would knock out in two takes, max., are taking six/seven/eight now. 

Jared is beside himself with worry. 

“Jensen, please. If you won’t talk to me, talk to someone, anyone. Please!”

“I’m fine, Jay.” 

Weary smile. Tired eyes. 

“Jensen. Is this about those dreams you were having?” 

“No! Of course not. Anyway, I’ll see you in the morning.” 

“Jen…” 

“Night, Jared.” 

~~~

“I should just keep you here, Jensen. In your mind with me, all the time. Think how good it would be, nothing to worry about. Just pleasing me.” 

“Please…” 

“So fuckin’ pretty. Made to be laid out on silk sheets and just fucked . Over and over and over. This is where you should be.” 

“Fuck…” 

“Too much pressure out there. Acting, directing, managing your life. Wouldn’t you rather stay here, just us?” 

“Yes. Fuck yes. With you.” 

~~~

It comes to a head during the filming of ‘The Executioner’s Song’. An absolutely pivotal moment for Dean, and Jensen just cannot get his head in the game. Everyone is frustrated, including Jensen. 

But as always, it’s Jared that breaks the spell in the end. 

“C’mon, dude. Get it together. I’m sick of redoing this scene.” 

It’s said with humour, but Jensen can hear the tension and frustration underneath. 

The words spill out of him, without thought.

“I think I’m gonna quit…” 

Jared just looks at him, slack-jawed. There’s silence for a minute. Thankfully they’re in a quiet corner of the set while the crew resets the equipment… again. 

“What?” 

It’s said so softly, Jensen almost doesn’t hear it. 

“I think… I’m not cut out for this. I should quit. This isn’t what I should be doing.”

Jensen says it calmly, as if he’s pondering what to have for lunch. But when he looks at Jared again, he’s floored by what he sees.

Jared is crying. His eyes are full of tears, one is tracing its way down his cheek. He’s clenching his jaw, but Jensen can see the wobble. Jensen is reminded of filming ‘All Hell Breaks Loose Part II’, wiping away the stray tear that fell as Dean mourned Sam. 

It’s like the fog lifts from Jensen’s eyes. He realises what he just said. 

“Jared…” 

He reaches out to touch his friend, but Jared turns and walks away without a word. 

Jensen just watches, unable to move, as Jared goes to the crew and tells them he needs to go home. The director tries to beg Jared to stay, saying they’re already so behind schedule - a glance in Jensen’s direction at that. Jared is unmoved, though. Jensen hears him say that even if ‘he’ - meaning Jensen again, of course - can get it together, they won’t get anything usable from him today, and he’ll be back on set bright and early tomorrow to get it done. 

Shame, hot and sick, fills Jensen. What has he done… 

Jared has already left by the time Jensen gets his things together. The car that usually drives them both to and from set is waiting for him, though. Jared had said he was going to make his own way home. No one wanted to argue. 

The ride home for Jensen is smothered in thick silence. Not even a goodbye is exchanged with the driver when they pull up outside Jensen’s apartment building. 

What has he done…

What has he let himself become? 

He spends the evening drinking bourbon from the bottle and stopping himself from calling Jared. Even with the early finish, it’s still late - by normal standards - and he’s tired from the day. The bourbon speeds the process along and it’s not long before his head is hitting the pillow. 

Jensen is well into the dream before he realises this is one. It’s almost like lucid dreaming, these nightly visits with Demon Dean. But he’s never tried to control them, just takes what Demon Dean gives to him. 

Tonight, though, tonight he sees through the veil. So to speak. 

Demon Dean is above him, watching him with those blank, black eyes and that cold smile, distorted by the grimace of effort he’s putting into fucking Jensen as hard as he can. He’s got two fingers buried in Jensen’s mouth at the same time and he’s spouting the usual shit, but this time, Jensen knows it’s shit. 

“God, wish I could fuck your mouth and cunt at the same time. Both so fucking tight and pretty.” 

He thrusts deeply and Jensen groans around the fingers before spitting them out in disgust. Demon Dean doesn’t seem to notice. 

“Fuckin’ perfect here, right where you’re meant to be, getting this tight hole fucked sloppy. Just what you’re good for.” 

Jensen snaps, or breaks free. He’s not sure. 

With a roar of anger, he bucks his hips upwards, uses the momentum to shove Demon Dean over onto his back. Jensen goes with him, ends up straddling his waist, feeling Demon Dean’s hard cock resting against his ass, no longer inside him. 

With the demon beneath him, Jensen raises a fist to punch him, break his nose, his cheekbone, his jaw, anything. But those depthless black eyes and that cold fucking smirk stop him. Demon Dean would welcome the violence. Jensen is not a violent man, not unless he has to be. 

He has to be here. Has to take back control in the only way Demon Dean understands. 

He wraps his hand around the throat beneath him, squeezes just a little. Just to test. 

“You fed my demons long enough. No more.” 

The laugh that comes from below him is a little strained, a little wheezy. Jensen brings his other hand up, wraps them both around Demon Dean's neck, thumbs crossing over the Adam's apple. 

“Fed your demons? Jensen, you created mine.” 

Jensen squeezes. Hard. Tight. His arms shake with the effort. The face beneath him goes red, then purple. But the body never fights to break free. The hips under him squirm and thrust. 

Tighter. 

Harder. 

Jensen is sure something is going to pop, unsure if it will be him. 

Right as his arms are about to go limp, unable to hold the tension anymore, he feels the cock behind him twitch, kick and then shoot hot over his ass. When he looks into the face under him, the eyes appear to roll back. 

But instead they just morph to green, the same green eyes he’s seen in the mirror every day of his life. 

His hands fall from his own throat and the body under him takes a deep breath. 

Not Demon Dean anymore, only Jensen. 

Jensen wakes with a shout, his hips churning into the sheets and mattress below him, cock still spurting cum into his boxers. 

He’s soaked in sweat and when he realises what woke him - strangling Demon Dean and watching him morph back into Jensen - he feels new cold sweat break out all over him. 

Is it over? Is he free from Demon Dean’s spell? 

He needs to call Jared… 

But first, where did he put those new sheets?

[icy-watch]

I'm not going to be done crying for a good while.

I'm not really sure what I'm supposed to say rn, but ahhh? I haven't been this way since Rebooted. My coworker will have to deal with me being emotionally devastated for a while. Again. (The worst was after I finished the Wolves of No World series by Romina Garber.)

This was a very good season, despite it being short.

I don't think I can really make any predictions for the next season. My brain is short circuiting rn. So, Siri, play the Linkin Park and VITAS mashup so I can feel something again.

So, tomorrow, it's movie night. Which means, Thursday I'll watch Tales from the Monastery of Spinjitzu and, if the time allows, the first episode of the next season. And, technically, the next series. Until then!

Below the cut are the predictions I got right and wrong.

Correct

Jay is planning on proposing to Nya. He did and I'm so proud of him.

Garmadon is struggling to decide which side he's on. He was struggling against his oni self and his love for his family.

Incorrect

Kai's arc will be very similar to his arc in the early season. It was not. And I'm actually kinda sad about that.

Wu will give up being a master this season. He actually didn't. I'm surprised he didn't pass the mantle down to Lloyd or the other ninja.

Zane will have to say goodbye to Pixal mid-battle. Nope. Only had to say goodbye before a rescue mission.

Pixal will be left behind in a battle or sacrifice herself to save the others. She did go above and beyond to save Lloyd and Garmadon after they destroyed the Realm Crystal and retrieved the Golden Armor. But she was not left behind, and she didn't sacrifice herself.

Lloyd and Garmadon will be kidnapped or something by the oni. They were not.

We will get Wu in episode 3. Episode 4.

Ray will help Kai reforge the Golden Weapons. Bruh. I miss him and Maya. Where are they? What are they up to?

Partially

They're going to lose Cole to the darkness. He did fall into it, however they did not have to fight him to save Ninjago.

Lloyd is going to die. He got better.

Unconfirmed

None :D

[jade-kyo]

RvB 20th rewatch: s12

Aaaagahhahhsjshaj the mid point to the end…. Fucking agony

I never noticed the cabose written in bullet holes on the wall. Nice reference.

“I AM FUCKING AWESOME” that single moment made me fall in love with Felix…. Yeah that didn’t last

“Yay I have friends!” Me too Caboose

“You’re oddballs that don’t exactly fit in” I feel like the Chorus trilogy is just a love letter to what these characters represent to… well people like me who found comfort in a group of loser assholes finding strength and connection in each other

There is a warthog that is absolutely freaking out in the background AGDKHAKSHS

AYO Ray and Michael cameo!!!

SURPRISE MOTHERFUCKER

Grif’s mental breakdown

Hmmmm thinking about Locus and Felix not being able to return to normal life after the war…

AAAAAHHHH THEIR STRENGTH IS THEIR IDIOCY

I do feel that sometimes they overuse animation in this season… I think animation should be reserved strictly for the most necessary and funniest of bits and bad ass action scenes

Caboose gets to be the one with a good bad idea!!!!

WHY SNOWMAN

DR GRAY!!!!!! MY BELOVED

It really was a big brain move to make the feds actually not evil at all and kinda just as pathetic as the rebels

HOLY SHIT HES BILINGUAL PLEASE DONT KILL ME

“You give meaning to meaningless objects and meaningless people and then risk your lives to protect them, where’s the sense in that” I’m telling you this arc is a love letter to what this show means

Gray is unhinged- she fits right in!

Bro just got incinerated

FELIX YOU RAT BASTARD

I felt so betrayed- in hindsight I really should’ve seen it coming but I thought Felix was funny

Yo I never actually caught that Locus hands the grenade to Carolina- for some reason I always thought she just had a grenade on her

CAROLINA BABYGIRL!!!!!!!

YOU FUCK!!!!! (Just so we’re clear that was an absolutely necessary animated bit 👍🏼)

AAAAHHHH EPSILON AND CAROLINA MY BELOVED AHSKHAKSHSKHSKSH

THEYRE SO SILLY

DELTA!!!!!!

THETA!!!!!

I love the fragments ajkdhakshksh

“Just you and me sis” I AM SO NORAML ALANSKLA IA AMANA SNORNSMNSK JAKAHSNLAJANKSJSKSHWKBSKSNKSHWKSHMSK

PSYCHOANALYSIS FOR EVERYONE!!!!!

Love that Caboose is the only one who didn’t do something to the ship

I AM AN EMOTIONAL TIME BOMB Jesus Christ

“I believe he said he was paid in babies”

Lopez a real one for being the only one to remember Doc

Love the conversation between grimmons back at the crash site. nuance about Simmons and leadership or something… if you catch what I mean… Restoration (what who said that)

“MY LIFE JUST FLASHED BEFORE MY EYES!! IT WAS AWESOME!!!” Quoted line

AAAAAHHHHHHH TUCKER AND WASH!!!!!!!!

Dr. Gray my beloved

TUCKER CABOOSE MOMENT!!!

Wash was pretty dumb to just accept Freckles without question but also I never questioned it either so I can’t exactly judge

CABOOSE MY BELOVED AHAJSJAKDHKSJSKDN

SO SHUT UP AND GET OVER IT!!! Caboose finally gets to be the one to tell someone to shut up!!!!!

“Just say you’re sorry” agskahkshskjsksAJGDKAHSKHDKSGSKVDKDJKSN THEY CARE ABOUT EACH OTHER SO MUCH

CHURCH TUCKER MY BELOVED!!!!!

“Seriously? That’s it, no ‘I’m sorry’ nothing?” Carolina I feel you but also if these guys weren’t completely emotionally constipated at all times I probably wouldn’t love them as much

Also Tucker and Church’s little moment of poking fun at Carolina is so cute omg

Trocadero you are truly something to behold

TUCKER YOU ARE THE BEST OF THEM!!!!!!!

Imagine if Tucker and Church had also gotten caught in Locus and Felix’s teleporter… wouldn’t that have sucked please god I already have a big fic I’m planning I don’t need another

COLONEL SARGE

Why is Carolina so damn BIG next the chairman in that picture ajhdkahsj

P.S. suck our balls

Being completely honest I do think s12 is a little bit of the weak link in the chorus trilogy. It’s not bad but I just find more enjoyment in s11 and s13 but it is possibly Tucker at his best GOD I love him… anyway, pain 🙂

[gx-gameon]

I really love your Jaden Muto AU, and think that your ideas are amazing! I am wondering, in the post you had about Jaden bringing home friends and his family subsequent taking them in, you mention Aster was one of them, which I love. What event's led to Jaden deciding "yes, fellow hero lover, you are now my family as well."?

I’m so glad you’re loving my au!!

Oh I’m still thinking about this and I have to rewatch season two. (I will be able to go way more in depth once I rewatch Aster’s arc because I forget a lot of it so right now this is kind of vague and fluid)

But Jaden likes Aster. They bond throughout season 2 and in season 3 Jaden has a lot of respect for the kid.

But aster is a year younger than him but has lost his father and his guardian was a monster. The kid needs a stable home life.

After the cannon once Jaden’s identity gets revealed, he’s hanging out with Aster. Maybe they get into some trouble and they have to fight their way out. There deck obviously play off of each other really well and they can handle it but it’s touch and go their for a while.

And all Jaden can think about is Aster sacrificing himself in the dark world. How he already lost his friend once. And aster is special. He’s the other hero duelist. They need out about superheroes. Once aster learned that Jaden was adopted the two got close. It’s nice to have someone else who understands what it’s like losing a parent, even though their situations are completely different.

But I think it’s after a little adventure where they bail each other out and work together that Jaden realizes oh this kid is family. Because he can’t imagine Aster getting hurt or not making it though. (He’s actually realized this a while ago. He started seeing aster as part of the group mid season 2 but after the end of season 2 he had already kinda melded Aster into their melting pot of a family. This is just the moment his subconscious and conscious mind combined and he’s like ohhhhh)

They are close to the manor so Jaden drags them home for the night.

Asters exhausted and worried about being on his best behavior because yes this is Jaden’s family but they are also dueling legends. But they are so nice and loud but also relaxed. It feels like home.

They pass out and in the morning Aster is trying to leave and Jaden’s like where are you going? You’ll miss breakfast

And asters like “I don’t want to intrude on your family time.” And Jaden just gives him a bewildered expression because “you are family.”

[extasiswings]

As someone who never watched bones, the bones blueprint???

What is the Bones blueprint? WELL, LET ME TELL YOU. So Bones is the show with one of, if not THE hetero slow burn ship of classic Fox procedural shows in the mid-2000s-early 2010s. (Pretty much every main network had at least one major procedural slow burn at a time. Fox had X-files, then Bones. ABC had Castle. CBS had NCIS and The Mentalist…you get it). So, let me set the stage with our characters:

Seeley Booth, played by David Boreanaz. Booth is an FBI Agent and former Army Ranger (with a Bronze Star and a Purple Heart and a certain amount of PTSD that he doesn’t like to discuss). Catholic. Complicated relationship with his family. More than a little repressed. Definitely needs therapy (and gets it eventually—at first when he’s required to go, and voluntarily in later seasons). Good at and devoted to his job. Single Dad who feels like he missed out on a lot of the early years of his son’s life and worries about being a good father (he asked his ex to marry him when she got pregnant, but she turned him down even though she loved him—at least early on in the series even though they aren’t together it’s discussed that they have a tendency to fall into bed not infrequently) [I swear I’m not making this up]. Anyway, you get the picture.

And behind Curtain No. 2, we have:

Temperance Brennan (Bones), played by Emily Deschanel. Brennan is a forensic anthropologist. Super smart, super scientific, doesn’t have great social skills, but definitely has the whole “perceived as cold but actually feels things very deeply” thing going on. Tragic backstory. She’s also a novelist.

So! Booth and Brennan. They work together, they’re partners, they solve murders. And, naturally, they have the whole opposites thing that works for them—she’s very book smart, he’s very street smart, she believes in facts and science and logic, he believes in intuition and gut feelings and faith, etc. etc. As is often the case with the aesthetic of the crime procedural slowburn ship, they start out sort of reluctantly working together, but eventually develop a real partnership built on trust and friendship (and love!).

Early on, she has some things in her past with her family that she asks for his help investigating so that she can get answers. There’s also a time in the second season where Brennan gets kidnapped by a serial killer and buried alive while Booth is stuck trying to find her, which in addition to still being just An Episode(™) remains one of the great, classic, early-in-the-slowburn “I almost lost you and it made me feel Some Kinda Way, but no no we’re just friends really, nothing to see here” defining arcs, especially since Brennan starts dating someone not too long after. The same serial killer returns in season four and snatches Booth that time, and then it’s Brennan’s turn to find him (with the help of Booth’s younger brother). Anyway, classic slow burn—there’s a lot of Implication that you could read into if you wanted throughout the first several seasons, but not necessarily super concrete (although they get caught under the mistletoe once), and there are several rounds of saving each other in various ways as over the years they just become closer and closer until they’re Partners(™) in every way (even when they’re dating other people).

What’s making me yell and scream today though, is: the S4 finale and S5. In the S4 finale, Booth is in a coma after having brain surgery. He has a wild coma dream where he and Brennan are married and they run a nightclub, but there still ends up being a murder—ANYWAY, irl Brennan basically spends the whole time he’s in a coma at his bedside, but then he wakes up and he has no memory of who she is. Pivot to S5, Booth remembers her again, and also feels like he might have romantic feelings for her, but (in part because of some third party commentary) questions whether they’re real or just a side-effect of the surgery. He sort of tells her anyway, but flubs it massively. Later in the season, we get Booth’s son being concerned that his dad doesn’t have a girlfriend, both Booth and Brennan separately getting relationship advice from third parties, and Brennan getting asked out by a new guy. And then! The 100th episode.

The 100th episode, which reveals the start of the series wasn’t their first case, they worked together once before and kissed and almost slept together, but hadn’t ended up going all the way. And after they’re done telling their story, Booth finally stops and kisses her and gets to give his big damn love confession, lays it all on the line, tells her he’s always known she was the one and wants to really try…and she freaks out and cries and turns him down, and he accepts it but says he has to move on. And then they both date other people before fully running away from each other for many months (Brennan on an anthropological dig, Booth back to Afghanistan for the military). (And then, when they come back, she’s ready to put on her big girl pants and give it a shot, except that he went and got a girlfriend who he seems happy with so we all get to suffer through a season of angst and pining while he proposes to someone who isn’t Brennan etc while everyone else is like “you’re still in love with her though” but they do sleep together by the end of S6 and ultimately get married and have two more kids (not in that order)).

So, yeah—the blueprint! Making me especially crazy because here we are with Buddie on a Fox procedural, 4 seasons since they really started trying it seems to make Buddie something potentially real, and Buck is heading into a coma where he's about to hallucinate another life, and the 100th episode is coming up near the beginning of next season (and I really hope Fox learned from Bones that there's such a thing as dragging out the slow burn too much and just lets them be happy after the big damn feelings reveal but XD).

[mapizb99]

SPOILERS!

Thoughts on the awakening movie

Ok so I have thoughts, not very organized thoughts but thoughts nonetheless

1) why was Marinette’s voice actress when she was singing SO DIFFERENT from her speaking one??? It took me out of the movie every single time.

2) there were too many songs and the fact that none of them were Ce mur qui nous separe is heartbreaking. At the third Marinette song I was rolling my eyes. Plus they all felt pretty same-y and I didn’t think any of the, were particularly good.

3) the scenes felt SO disjointed! Like they had some cool storyboards but weren’t quite sure how to join them together.

4) the whole story felt kinda like that to me, like they couldn’t quite explore all the elements they wanted to include and relies a lot on the fact that we already know (and love) the characters, like if it was my first approach to the universe I’d feel like the movie was rushed and shallow.

5) on a more positive note the animation was incredibly beautiful, a few characters felt a little too baby faced but the lighting and textures really made this very pretty to look at.

6) what was Gabriel’s villain song? It’s like they had an interesting idea but they just couldn’t deliver (which unfortunately rings true for most of the movie)

7) related to Marinette and her many many songs was her character arc, it felt kinda all over the place, like her whole “gotta face my fears” lesson was learned like three different times and not once in a fulfilling way.

8) Alya was kinda mean at the beginning? Did anyone else feel that way?

9) Tikki’s rap was SO CRINGE and the bit in Hawkmoth’s song where he gets a hat and poses un a rap-y way was so weird as well. Like come to think of it they were probably referencing “friends in the other side” but it only makes this song seem way worse by comparison.

10) the movie had serious issues with its rhythm and pacing, with the whole story but also in every scene.

11) kinda related to that but their mouths sometimes would not move with the dialogue? At first I assumed it was because it was made for French first but I could very clearly read their lips in English just not in sync with the sound.

12) the kwamis (genies in this movie apparently, ugh) were characterized in such a weird way, it was like trying to be Tikki but not quite getting there. I did enjoy when she got all wide eyed and musterious, it kinda goes with her being super old and powerful.

13) Plagg??? Being mostly just a fart joke??? 0/10

14) that and Chat feeling so unimportant.

15) Chat also fell in love way to fast, and like it didn’t feel genuine? Like they barely knew each other and Marinette wasn’t like particularly impressive yet for him to be fawning over her.

16) after the little montage tho? I loved their dynamic and relationship, and I really liked their little fight on the roof

17) the movie was sprinkled with little scenes and moments that were enjoyable and well crafted, but even if they were emotional moments they just didn’t feel earned and were kinda buried under a bunch of mid scenes.

18) I did like that Hawkmoth was dealt with in the spam of one movie, 11/10 much more realistic for his abilities than 5 seasons.

19) most of the jokes didn’t land because the timing of them was so weird, like long pauses or they were delivered too fast.

In general there were some bits that I enjoyed and the animation was obviously gorgeous (even if the pacing brought it back a bit) but maybe I had too much hype but I was disappointed. Still I’m certainly inspired to try some fan art and will save stills from the movie cause they were so beautiful.

I probably didn’t make a lot of sense but I needed to get everything out there!

P.S. HOW COULD THEY CUT JUST BEFORE THE KISS?!! UGHHH!!!

[unrealisticlea]

my brother started watching 911 and I need to record his reactions for posterity:

He absolutely refuses to learn names. He’s on season 3 and keeps calling Eddie “GI Joe”. I’ve told him Eddie’s name like 3 times. Hen is “paramedic with glasses” and chim is “paramedic without glasses”. Athena is Athena. Bobby is Bobby.

he LOVES Bobby and his favourite episodes are “Bobby begins” and “Bobby begins again”. He’s sometimes right about stuff.

he also loved Micheal and I told him he doesn’t stick around because of covid related reasons and he said “too bad :(((“

he watched “Chimney begins” after he finished season 2 because he was too worried about Maddie. Maddie is his second favourite character after Bobby because he’s a huge Criminal Minds and Ghost Whisperer fan.

he doesn’t like when story arcs take more than 3 episodes to wrap up. I said “well. You’re definitely not gonna like season 6 then”.

Mid season 2 he straight up came up to me and asked me if the firefighters ever responds to calls about, you know, fires. I thought about it for like a moment and then said “…I don’t think so??? It’s very rare, they have more calls about water than they fight fires”.

he then proceeded to ask me if I’m sure they are firefighters because he thinks they are an EMS team. I pointed out “Buck isn’t a paramedic” and he said “but everyone else it. maybe he’s just. there.”

after Taylor Kelly s2 episodes he stopped the show and asked “is Buck gonna date the annoying reporter?” and I said “no” (you know, like a liar). I really didn’t expect him to not like Taylor.

He sent me a picture of Ali and Buck’s first date and asked me “who is this girl”. And I said “earthquake girl” and he went “am I supposed to remember every girl Buck saved because he dates them all?” and I said “yeah, kinda”

he hates cold openings. He said “I usually don’t mind them but they are usually not two minutes long about the victim whole life. I don’t care about that”.

asked me multiple times why the music is so loud in the show. I have no idea how to answer this question.

[popculturebuffet]

Next up for Nickelodeon era of shows, who is your favorite character from each of the mid-late 2010s Nicktoons shows (where quality improved and got better again, despite only one from this set thriving in Nick's success) you've seen like: Harvey Beaks, Pig Goat Banana Cricket, The Loud House, Bunsen is a Beast, Welcome to the Wayne, The Adventures of Kid Danger, Rise of the TMNT, Pinky Malinky, and The Casagrandes?

Harvey Beaks; Piri Piri. She's adorable, tends to steal most scenes she's in and her shipping episode with Harvey was both an unexpected treat (I shipped them after the mouse book episode but I honestly didn't expect it to actually happen). The show itself is one of Nick's best, and like all but exactly one fucking show here, got treated like crap by the network. I"m heading that off now as wether I liked a show here or didn't, nick's already bad habit of screwing over shows has reached it's absolute worst since the 2010's. I only think it's slowed down slightly due to streaming (with big nate and rebootgrats getting the shovel to the head instead), and nicktoons not being nearly as viable a dumping ground due to the changing landscape of television.

Ranting aside yeah, Harvey Beaks is a masterpiece, a really sweet , kind slice of life show with a wonderful cast, great art design and a lot of heart. Out of CH Greenblat's three shows it's the best, and Jellystone and Chowder are no slouches but it's hard to make a show this wholesome, wonderful and itself. There will never be another show just like harvey beaks but maybe one day we'll see something close to this level of warmth. For now though at least the chaos present in it is alive and well in jellystone.. for now. I don't trust it's future beyond this run. Warner is even worse.

Pig Goat Banana Cricket: I liked Goat. I just think she's neat. Yeah this show is fine. It';s not as mediocre as some of the "trying to homage classic nicktoons shows" before it. It has a neat ren and stimpy style art direction and setup so there's effort I just feel the shows central premise, the characters getting split up to individual adventures, while neat on paper... hurt what I saw of the show. Since the characters only interact in drips, it prevents your cast from developing a lot of chemistry. It was a novel attempt it just didn't work for me.

The Loud House: Luna. This blog's proud history makes that clear as my bi adopted daughter was the centerpiece for my first pride month on the blog and I shall return to her other spotlights again at some point. The show itself.. is fine. Ther'es a lot to like: I love the comic strip style to it: as a fan of the medium in a time when adaptations are either rare or keep getting canceled (Phoebe in her unicorn ) or left in limbo (Bloom CountY) i'ts nice ot have something like that. The show is far from perfect: adressing the elephant in the room the creator is a sex pest and while much like ren and stimply I don't let that affect my enjoyment as he was thrown out on his ass and thankfully unlike John K caught way sooner. (If sadly not nearly soon enough) and the current showrunners being doing the show for longer than Savino was on board at this point. As for the show itself it's status quo nature can be frustrating as after a while the show kinda gave up on doing story arcs or romance arcs for better or worse. Luna's relatoinship with sam is great.. but you COULD do more with it now their together, and instead she just kinda got rolled into the moon goats. That said the show's still charming I like it a lot and I request the creepier parts of the fanbase stay 50 feet away at all times. The show gets a lot of backlash for it's popularity, epsecially over some of these other shows.. but like say teen titans go (Which I have less respect for honestly), it's .. not it's fault. It's a solid show with some good laughs, not as good as it COULD be, but still better than it has any right to be seven seasons in and going. Will we get a magical dog who talks awkwardly? Possibly. But while the show somehow won the "not getting cacneld lottery" it's at least hung in their gracefully. Though I do think it should end at some point.. and also the live action version does not intrest me. If you wanted to do lincoln romance plot lines do them in the fucking animated show. and yes that's a sore spot with me.

Bunsen is a Beast: Hadn't seen this one, don't intend to. All the impression I get for this one is it's the most hated of the butch hartman quartet and the last thing he made before he burnt up allllllll his good will by being a raving jackass.

Welcome to the Wayne: Sarline was both entertaining and had a nice character arc. I wish i'd seen more of this show an di'td got a proper conclusion. That being said while I do think it's neat, I also think while not hte gravity falls ripoff it got shit for, Sarline and Ollie aren't exactly the same as captaion anxious and mablepalooza, I do feel the creators were trying to follow in it's footsteps, and did an okay job, the worldbuilding just felt like it was trying a bit harder than the effortless way gravity falls did it and the golden trio all taking after it in some way.

Ultimately I think Time is what's kinda hurt this show a bit: soon after it we got said golden trio of ducktales, amphibia and owl house, while around the time of this show cartoon network had steven universe still going and ok ko. I also hear great things about Dead End: paranormal Park and STILL need to get around to tha tone (and reading more of deadendia). This show isn't bad.. but it kinda pales to the shows following that kids solving mysterys in a spooky setting genre gravity falls helped explode in popularity. It's not it's fault, and it's admitely my own bias: the golden trio are some of my faviorite cartoons period, and Ducktales might be my faviorite and is certainly my faviorite disney channel show at this point. It's not bad but it just dosen't wow me the way it did when it first aired.

The Adventures of Kid Danger; I never watched this one. I don't intend to any time soon. Also haven't seen pinky malkiny and don't intend to just to get ahead of it now.

Rise of the TMNT: One of the best nick shows of this era and one that's honestly gotten better in my eyes the more I think about it. While Welcome to teh Wayne aged ehhly, Rise of the TMNT has only gotten better to me it's rough edges sanded over by it's talent, being one fo the few action shows of it's era and being one of the mos tunique versions of tmnt ever

My faviorite.. is Raph though it is very hard as I love all the boys this verison, I just love him as the cuddly big brother though Donnie as a mad scientst is a close second, leo is a close third as ben schwartz is a god and mikey is dead last but still adorable.

Rise excels by deciding to try something diffrent a move kinda needed since the previous two cartoons ahd done the most obvious directoins to go in with a reboot: the 2003 cartoon (still possibly my faviorite of the four, now five though at the time of this review I haven't watched tales yet), was a truer to the text version of the mirage comics after the goofy and fun 80s cartoon, and 2012 split the diffrence, having neat character arcs and some really dark turns, but also having a lot of the uhinged madness of the 80s cartoon and rebooting a lot of it's unique ideas for a modern audience.

So rise instead was it's own weird little bean, deciding to throw out the script as far as tmnt went with all four brothers having their personalities changed completely: They still kept parts of their cores with it: Raph's still a brusier, donnie still duz machines, mikey's still the joyful goofy one and Leo is still the most skilled.. but they shake it up a bit to great effect; Instead of a rageful hot head or a sarcastic asshole, Raph is a kinder frinedler big brother who actually gets to lead even if he's really bad at it. Donnie is a mad scientest and has no moral compass to speak of beyond a love for his brothers and an ego the size of the sewer, and Leo is radically cahnged to be a sarcastic goof off whose scared of his actual potetial. Mikey.. is jsut nice and kind which he's been before but works for me especially after the more manic cloud cuckoolander of 2012. April likewise kept her role as voice of reason (and her teenage status, which now seems to be the default going forward and i'm fine with that), but got a lerooy jenkins strength, a string of jobs that would make jonesey jealous and a desire to have one friend who isn't related to the werid whirlwidn that is her life. She fails at that but she got a goop monster for a girlfriend so that kinda compesnates.

The show took tons of other big swings, with most of the familiar rogues absent for most of the show (With only shredder having a major roll and only Baxter being a recurring threat out of the returning enemies) , magic being the focus instead of a side dish or something they just had to put up with, unique weapons, Casey being a girl and their enemy at first, and an emphasis on comedy that seemed like it might sink the show.. but instead worked in it's favor as it's humor generally worked and made the action and character moments hit harder. Rise is a show that had me a tad nervous to start.. but won me over easily with the first episode and kept me on board on and off for it's run. It's got gorgeous action, great humor ("STOP EATING POISON"), one of the best splinters in the franchise, JOHNNN CENNNAAAA, and a satisfying ending.. and then another satisfying ending with the movie, which still holds the crown as second best tmnt movie and only lost said crown because mutant mayhem happened. And while MM goes back to the more traditional personaliteis for the core 4 a bit (with leo being the exception being extra super awkward if still the responsible one, even beyond the 2012 cartoon), it keeps the "let's see what we can do with this" mindset and feels like a worthy successor to this universe. i may miss rise, but it stil lstands out as one of the most unique and fun entires in the canon.

The Casagrandes: Bobby. Loved him at first sight on the loud house. Granted it helps Carlos was awesome on Big Time Rush (Which despite having mostly noped out of live action nick at that point, I watched any time I caught it. IT's a big stupid cartoon and a nicktoon in all but being live action. ), but Bobby is nature's second most perfect himbo behind hank venture, a kind thoughtful young man who despite being dumbber than a sack of hammers, is still far more resourceful than he seems, a good son, a great big brother (both to his sister and to his Primos) , and the best man. Give me a bobbi and lori spinoff now. The show itself was great and during a mild slump honestly suprassed the original show. I'm sad it's gone and wish it'd gotten to stay longer. It's got a great cast, tons of diverstiy and while similar to loud house, has more than enough to set it apart and avoid being their clevland show: the urban setting, diverse cast and gay as hell main friendship (YOu can't convince me ronnie anne and sam are straight. Bi yes becauase they are but straight no), and lots of fun. I honestly need to watch more. Good stuff.

[whovianwatchingstartrek]

A Whovian Watches Star Trek for the First Time: Part 069 - Arriving at the Weapon

Star Trek: Enterprise - Season 3 Episode 18 - Azati Prime

We've finally arrived at Azati prime. Everything is quiet and tense. Degra is celebrating the completion of the weapon with the Xindi Council.

The planet is protected by a dense sensor field of satellites, which Enterprise won't be able to pass through. The plan to get through it is to use one of the Insectoid shuttles we previously picked up to get through. That plan however, requires Mayweather and Trip to figure out how to fly the thing. Easier said than done, but they get the hang of it. Meanwhile a monitoring station picks up Enterprise. Enterprise launches a strike on the station to keep their secrecy.

Trip and Travis get the scans of the Weapon's production facility, then head back aboard. Apparently blowing up the weapon would be a suicide mission, so Archer offers himself up. Which is when the future people intervene once again. Daniels picks up Archer and drops him on another Enterprise (I'm assuming it's from one of the Other Star Treks, kind of like that one time the 10th Doctor Console Room showed up in the 11th Doctor era), 400 years in Archer's future.

Daniels urges the Xindi to make peace, because apparently the people who built the spheres will destroy the Galaxy if Humanity is destroyed or Archer is killed. It's fun to see that Archer and T'Pol's positions on Daniels and Time Travel have reversed. It's now Archer who doesn't believe him, and T'Pol who's fully accepting of what Daniel's has to say. And T'pol pulling an emotional argument of "I don't want you to die" is a beautiful but subtle peak in her arc of embracing her emotions.

Archer's goodbyes were touching. Him switching his usual "look after porthos" speech from "don't give him any cheese" to "Slip him a peace of cheese every now and then" hit me harder than I was expecting. I kinda knew he was going to go back on it, killing of the captain mid-season just isn't how TV works, but honestly they sold it hard enough to have me question if they were actually gonna do it.

Archer however is captured before he can blow up the Weapon. We're then treated to Archer sassing the reptilians while being tortured which was fun, his banter and insults were great. Archer convinces the reptilians that he'll only talk to Degra. Meanwhile, T'Pol decides to talk diplomacy with the Xindi. Archer tells everything he knows about the Spheres to Degra, in an attempt to convince him to abandon the weapon project.

While this conversation is ongoing, Enterprise is being shot out of the sky by the Reptilians. Communications are down, and the Reptilians are transfering Archer to another prison. Things are left on a pretty dire cliffhanger.

Unfortunately, like most of the main story-arc for this season, I've found it a bit dull. The Time Travel stuff was interesting, and I liked that it continued down Degra's kind of Oppenheimer "I am become death" arc from Stratagem. He really doesn't want to build this weapon, and I can't wait to delve into that more. The ending struggle aboard the collapsing Enterprise was also some really good action. I am excited to see how this cliffhanger is resolved.

[wooglebear]

What's up with our friendly neighborhood janitor (aka Mr. Ree)?

in tetocu23, the changes made were less outright going from scratch as it was reorganizing a bit of his arc, plus giving him a girlfriend as a bonus.

Ree debuts in Erica's monster of the week episode (read this post by one of the AU creators for further details on that).

Ree used to be okay with Melvin. Then Melvinborg took over the school. Needless to say, he couldn't look at Melvin the same way ever again. It only worsened when the second half of the season rolled around.

I'll probably reorganise his plot a little to do this, but after that his plotline progresses like canon, with the big differences being Erica being his protege, Ree being a bit shy and getting a confidence boost after Vil Endenemys takes over the school.

Other than that, he's the same ol' badass janitor. He'd still have his first name, Toilette. He'd still have his brother, Lavatore.

And he has something else.

Meet Ms. Clarissa Mystery. She's the mysterious new history teacher at Jerome Hortiz. Not much is known about this lady. Her pupils both adore and fear her.

COOL AS ICE CLARISSA HAS BEEN ALL OVER THE WORLD, KNOWS ALL THE BEST BANDS, AND IS COMICALLY INDIFFERENT. She's dating Mr. Ree.

She became Ree's research partner after Lavatore quit.

She takes Dante as in her protege, and teaches him to be a detective!

Clarissa is very quiet, which… has been known to stifle her relationships, to put it lightly.

For example, the river of mid that are her interactions with Cash. whatever relationship that could have been budding between them has become strained.

Clarissa kinda hates Lavatore for quitting.

She’s not too happy about the situation with Melvinborg, to put it lightly.

While she and Ree have kissed sporadically (they did five kisses over the course of a six year period), Ree has stated that he has no intention of breaking up with Clarissa. Their kiss is actually very low in his priority list.

The tetocu23 version of the Splotch episode is basically just like canon tetocu… save for one change. Clarissa gets possessed by Splotch instead of Mr. Ree.

Understandably, Ree spends the entire episode mad. The episode goes mostly the same way as canon, but Hazel also tries to join the society of robes.

Friends with Alice and Bluebell (despite the drama teacher being evil).

(Tetocu23 belongs to @infini-tree and @cartchytuns)

[mirohtron]

HEY GIRL

Watched / read anything good recently?

was watching dungeon meshi but then that gay ahh bath scene came on and my moms in the room w me so like 💀💀💀💀 reading 1984 rn bcs assignment, im ten pages in bcs i keep fawking playing honkai star rail 😭😭😭 omg, but i was in the midst of watching dil se before i realised i was getting distracted too easily and it was keeping me from enjoying it properly. was only watching it bcs i couldnt find bombay (1995, not the city 💀💀) anywhere. probs bcs nobody gaf abt archiving desi movies 😭😭😭😭 its tough out here, but like for dil se honestly i rlly liked the screenplay and the way it was directed even tho like . i literally only got to the first song of the film 💀💀 even then. also oh my god srk has not a SINGLE dancing bone in his body like ive bitched abt it before but oml hrithik roshan and tiger shroff are actually carrying the reputation of bollywood's male actor's dancing abilities on their back....now if only theyd stop FAWKING taking up propaganda films 😭😭😭

i actually kinda need to leave a separate paragraph for how bad srk dances like its not just when he was young...in chaiyya chaiyya literally EVERYBODY is on beat except him....and it KEELS me because ure telling me u cant keep tempo ??? brother 😭😭😭😭😭 but ok even in the present like, he stays on beat (barely) but hes SO STIFF?? i like saw some clip of him dancing with an actress, it mightve been deepika padukone in happy new year ??? oh my god it was SO bad. he was SO stiff. it KILLED me. bollywood actress go through HELL but sanjay dutt srk and a bunch of other male actors get away with not being able to dance well 😭😭😭😭 my queen kareena kapoor took dance classes before filming k3g yet srk and amitabh bacchan got away w shava shava....Sick and Twisted world we live in like....anyway i actually dk if thalapthy vijay is a bhakt but this is y he solos even tho i have verithanam trauma....sings n dances well etc, this is y bollywood flops consistently actually

pls take that paragraph lightheartedly if ure desi 💔 ok anyway

the god of small things by arundhati roy is good....i only read like 20 pages tho but ik plot 💀💀💀💀 i think the seven moons of maali almeida might also b good, its by shehan karunatilaka

ok last unfinished thing im gna recommend....Hot Tkae but....i liked saltburn...i still have the 2nd half of the movie to finish (stopped some time after the reveal) but again, ik the plot 😭 i still have some problems w it tho but its not rlly abt the hypersexuality. cinematography fucked. 4:3 aspect ratio choice? ATE. SO BADD. but ill also need to finish the film. but tbh its obsessed boy x rich boy trope wasnt rlly handled well in my opinion, micah nemerever's these violent delights solos in that area. and i think the story is flawed

ok NOW. i liked fleabag. actually i LOVED fleabag. think its a masterpiece. both seasons but esp the 2nd one (felt more refined but compared to other shows, s1 SOLOS). the boys s4 is dropping!! invincible s2 was alr i bet the animation studio suffered hard tho bcs wtf was that style change mid season 😭😭😭. and i don't rlly think the direction in which Nolan's character arc is gna go to will turn out that great? also, i loved gerta gerwig's ladybug! its actually crazy how she made ladybug and barbie both . one is amazing. the other is well uhm.

oh also i liked inglourious basterds and pulp fiction . quentin tarantino kinda looks like a walking talking serial killer mugshot tho i saw an interview where he was asked why kill bill had so much violence and was honestly surprised by how girlypop he was. not forgetting him choking diane kruger on set tho !

watched batman begins. it was aight 😭 rewatched matt reeves' batman right after. liked it betterr. i LOVEDDD heartbreak high, s1 and s2 !! usually with shows i only like s1 best, but w heartbreak high i literally ADOREDDD s2, the finale was so good !!! im also watching the gentlemen (the show) rn, and i rllyyy like it hehe. tried watching tick tick boom again bcs I'd actually dropped it midway when it had first released bcs that one scene where she was like "you're thinking of a song rn aren't you" was so stress inducing that I had 2 click away 💀💀 n then i forgot abt it. picked it up again and omg it's actually so good how did I miss it the first time 😭😭😭

oh yeah I also liked the fall of the house of usher . also ! another incompleted thing but im also in the midst of watching the three of us (film). its so good !! i loved the atmosphere and cast performances can't wait 2 see how it turns out :))

[sir-adamus]

It’s such a shame because, outside of all the behind the scenes awfulness present in most productions, there was a lot of cool potential with T/DP, and even with a very mid first season that potential kept investment. But season 3 was…. Rough.

The pacing is one the biggest issues, and it doesn’t help that they literally had Ez separate from the group, be king for a couple days, then meet back up with his bro and Ray/la.

I’m not interested in the main ship. Don’t even get me started on how fast that moved!

Sor/en was great but man… everything else felt like such a chore to get through. Like you said, never have I lost interest in a show so fast. Couldn’t even watch the fourth season, maybe it was somehow better, but… part of me is doubtful.

Soren was the only redeeming part of the third season, his actor Jesse Inocalla just has great line delivery in general - he's also in i think episodes 15 and 16 of Sword Art Online Abridged and he's great there too - and Soren's arc was the only one that didn't feel like it was firing all thrusters out of nowhere because it was happening in a realistic timeframe

Rayl/lum goes from 'complete strangers' to '"in love"' in the space of three weeks in-universe and it makes zero sense (which is made even worse because they eject Ez from that main throughline and so the 'romance' takes over the entire plot). and then it rapidly shoots into 'the war that has been brewing since the first season started and is tied to multiple inciting incidents starts and is over in the space of like half an hour and now Everything is Fine'

also Callum goes from a tolerable if kinda bland protag in the first two seasons to an utterly insufferable overpowered ass in the third - his eidetic memory only ever comes up when he needs to pull magic out of his ass, he destroys a precious locket that had been passed to him by Rayla after she herself had received it from one of her adoptive fathers, simply so he could prove her wrong and win an argument with her, and then he pulls off bullshit flying magic that is noted to be incredibly difficult and rare for the naturally magic elves to do