#but ava thinks he's basic looking lmao

[softerpixels]

doing nothing but working and practicing her craft has left ava with some major party withdrawals so she hit up the warehouse with her girls francesca and bria. it's not a night out if ava doesn't end up cuddled up with her longtime friend and dealer max, tho. she's... not that into him but he's very into her and this girl's gotta afford her vices somehow!

[gutsfics]

🔴🔵🔮 for baxter and avalon my beloveds <3

omg yayaya my best friends <3

🔴 Red- What is a trait your OC has that those around them don’t see very often? Is it seen by a rare few or completely overlooked?

Baxter is afraid of the ocean and doesn't like to/doesn't know how to swim. the ocean is because they like knowing about things, and the ocean by its nature is very largely unknown. fucking anything could be down there, we really know very little and it scares them. (they dislike space to some extent for similar reasons, although they're more okay with it bc they can't accidentally step into a dangerous part of space like you can w an undercurrent in the ocean) the swimming is because growing up in a hospital basically means not learning certain "common knowledge" abilities like swimming or bike riding, although swimming kinda goes hand in hand w the ocean to some extent. neither of these really come up ever bc they're almost never in a context where its relevant (they were lowkey SO stressed during Inez's wedding though)

i think for Avalon, it would probably be that he's a catty bitch. he's usually pretty outgoing and friendly (HWU) or quiet and polite (RCD) and all around a bit of a people pleaser that when he says something that's more God's Favorite Hater than World's Nicest Family Man Dad Friend people can be pretty surprised when he decides to let his Opinions be known. most of the time ppl think it's Thomas rubbing off on him, but no actually that's just who he is. he just prefers to take the high road most of the time, and/or look on the bright side of things, or do what he can to make sure the people around him are comfortable (sometimes to his detriment, but that really depends on what's going on in his life)

🔵 Blue- How would your OC spend a single day of interrupted peace? Where would they go or who would they be with?

Baxter would go to a zoo and beeline (lol) straight for the bug exhibits. most of their time there would be spent in the butterfly garden bc its like the stingray bay of the zoo insect exhibits, and they really like bugs :3 they'd take Reigan, Rafael, or Gwyn with them or they'd go by themself. just chill w the butterflies all day <3

Avalon doesn't really care where he goes or what he does, so long as he's with the people he loves <3 so most of the time, that means chilling at home watching movies with Thomas or, in the case of HWU!Ava, spending some good ol family quality time w Janey and Dawn & Lily (Thomas is also there lol lmao)

🔮 Crystal Ball- What kind of future does your OC want to have? What would they do to make it real?

Baxter doesn't know how to answer this question. for the longest time they thought that they'd die somewhat young due to their poor immune system & various other medical issues they experience and had come to terms with that, but sometime after the maitoxin attack (or maybe because of?) they realized that actually No, they're going to live. there's people they love who they depend on and who depend on them and there's still so much good in the world they can do so No They Are Not Dying Anytime Soon Thankyouverymuch. but despite that realization, they're not entirely sure what's in store for them in the future. they're in a good place right now and they have their ups and downs but for the most part they're just going with the flow of things (at least as much as they can while being very autistic & liking to have a rigid day to day routine)

since there's two different versions of Avalon, this question kinda has two different answers for him

HWU!Avalon wants to make sure his daughters have a good life as unencumbered by the typical entrappings of a capitalistic society as they can be and also he wants to Create Art, and what better way to do that than entering the film industry? i mean theres probably better ways to do it, but this is the way he thought was best for him and his family

RCD!Avalon wants a future away from all this. something small and quiet and maybe full of love.

he's not sure how to achieve this.

[vacantgodling]

💬💬 + 🖊 for Thei or Nevaeh !!!!

OMG bless u for asking about god eater. i’m still in the planning stages so i haven’t written as much as i’d like to yet however thei and naveah have a funny lil relationship so have some of those memes with just the two of them as compensation:

navaeh and thei are such tired big brother with concerned younger sibling energy. they get really close it’s adorable tbh 🥺

now for some fun facts about them individually!

NAVAEH

navaeh is a beacon of paradise, a young one. before they left the upper their name was actually heaven and along with their coloring, it was reversed when they entered the under. beacons of paradise are basically the personifications (sorta) of utopic realms who take turns cradling the sun in a deep dreamlike hibernation state to influence the appearance and vibe of the upper every few thousand years. it’ll be a long time before it’s navaeh’s turn, which is why they were sent to the under to retrieve the sun

navaeh is the shortest one of the group! they’re about 5’5” lmao

the reason they’re extremely curious is because until they’re tasked with retrieving the sun they have never left the upper in their life; haven’t left the sundial or anything like that. they have no concept of what the world is like. they aren’t fully naive or scared they just want to learn about things and it’s a trait that tends to endear people to them

they’re scared of fish. they think they look funny lol

is a sweetheart but will actually try to fight you if they need to. you’d think it’d be like a chihuahua buuuut they’re pretty competent

they get indignant easily. not angry per se, just indignant lol. they could really swing the “i’m disappointed in you” angle

THEI

favorite color is amaranth (which is a dusty pinkish color)

loves sleep and bed and soft things and comfort. doesn’t like moving if he doesn’t have to lol

thei is the second shortest djdjfjf he’s 5’7”

he has to cry in order to activate his True Form

he relies on taj a lot to help him do things and hates asking people for help unless it’s taj. it took a long time to get to that point tm

he knows lucifer & ava and he’s pretty close with the two of them which is good for later on in the story!

he has enough hair to put it in a tiny ponytail

[hard-core-super-star]

no because literally, in a single ask there are many different topics and the answers just get longer. I imagine you opening your inbox and seeing some aks that look more like the digital bible itself😶

I'm telling you! I'm behaving now. I changed.

I'll wait, and I already have my doubts about something but I don't know if it's a reference. the 119% thing.

totally, just like they did when they guarded at all costs that Kate would be played by hailee. It would be really funny if the Nightwing phase hadn't just been a phase.... unless...👀 I also don't know how well-known this mafia game is, but I've literally never heard of it until now. you're good at FIFA? for further scientific research. i- i never played GTA, my mom was ok with me playing mortal kombat and seeing the most graphic and merciless deaths, but not with me stealing cars and running away from the police 😔

okay, if I go watch it for the gay shit and I come out of it sad I'll blame you and you'll pay for my therapy. If she's supposed to be an irredeemable villain then she did something really fucked up, right? because I'm kind of more of a fan of villains..... to a certain point... um yeahh..of course

I'm literally eating myself up because I want to know what this cliffhanger is, I mean, the show was cancelled... knowing this isn't going to ruin my experience, is it?

queerbait, queerbait is everywhere- oh, the denial, it's okay, thinking like this can keep you sane, but it's between ava and sara? wait, I got lost hwjakksskskk you defend flash until you possibly can't anymore, but only watch for caitlin? how does it work? RIGHT? It took me a while to like caitlin exactly for that reason. and don't judge me, but it got tired to a point where I wasn't even rooting for barry and iris to get together anymore. they almost made my hair gray for a while, but I recovered.

now I understand why there's SO MUCH supercorp fics, these people are drooling and surviving on crumbs- think with care <3 hdjskjsk

– 🌟

i’m happily surprised and impressed that we've managed to talk about so many things at the same time and, despite the slight confusion sometimes, we still have MORE to say. it's not often i find someone so willing to read my paragraph-long responses and then RESPOND with their own paragraphs. [and needless to say, i absolutely love reading your responses, even if they're long]

mhmm, we’ll see about that.

it technically is a reference but i don't know if you're thinking what i’m thinking. and if you're not one of us is going to end up looking like an an idiot 😶 [it’s me, btw]

i mean, he's technically still my favorite superhero so i guess the phase still isn't over. i’m just too gay to obsess over a man the way i obsess over kate. i don't think it's that well known but i love it. idk what kind of research you're doing that requires this knowledge but yeah, i’m pretty good at FIFA. not like super amazing or anything but i’ve played it all my life so i think i’ve developed some skills. funnily enough, my mom was the opposite way. mortal kombat was too violent but planning heists and stealing cars was fine. [but not until i was like…10 or something]

babe, i hate to break it to you, but i can't even pay for my own therapy so you're on your own. stop asking questions because i WILL write an essay on her. basically, she does do fucked up shit BUT she's also heavily, HEAVILY, traumatized. i can't get into it without giving out too many spoilers but as the show goes on, we learn she's genuinely just a heavily messed up person and NOT a Joker type of villain who causes pain for the sake of it. [she's also not a sociopath, no matter how many times the characters say she is smh. she's also queer-coded af so there's that]

it's probably my fault for bringing it up everyday lmao. it doesn't ruin anything at all, it's just frustrating. they do finish the plot of season 7 nicely so that's why i just ignore the cliffhanger. it was supposed to tease season 8 but then season 8 never happened. the thing that pisses me off is that the CW didn't bother to tell the writers or the producers or the ACTORS that they wouldn't be getting another season.

sorry, i phrased that weird because it's technically a spoiler. the queer-bait is between zari and a new character hence why i didn't give many details in case you decide to watch the show again. sara and ava aren’t queer-bait at all, they're just queer 👍 it doesn't work very well but like the flash still has some really good things in between all the shitty writing. [that's another reason to watch batwoman, btw, their writers are out of this world] plus, like i said, caitlin snow was part of my gay awakening so it's not like i could just ditch the show even while it was going downhill. i don't judge you at all, i hated their relationship in the last few seasons. idk how they did it but they made me dislike barry at some point which is a crime because he's my boy!!!

akdkkdkskk that's a perfect way to put it, no further comment is necessary. i’m definitely not thinking about it 😶

[flodaya]

I think I read that you had experience with toxic friendships and I just wanted to ask this, i feel like people are already simplifying the topic a lot? Like it feels like they believe if constantin was kicked out that the instas would immediately be the best friendgroup ever, and idk but there's a reason why all of them became friends in the 1st place aside from constantins alleged problems and that is imo that all of them are/were a bit toxic themselves, I feel like some people think that constantin was forcing them and dragging them to things with him and especially for him from the beginning, and while there's no doubt constantin is the most toxic right now, its just because the others already acknowledged their (past) toxicity, like zoe on NYE, kieu my with the ava bullying, and ismail partly aswell with expressing that constantin is a bad influence, and imo now many took that statement and ran with it, as if the others can't make their own decisions anymore. And also imo if they kick constantin out, their whole dynamic is going to change aswell, because for a quite amount of time it was to appease constantin, but now they have to build up a new one if that makes sense. I have zero experience with toxic friendships so idk if what I'm saying makes sense or is valid so I'd hoped you'd be able to give your own view on it

Also what i forgot to add, fatou really did a great job to make the instas likable, without her I wouldn't want to know anything about them

you're lucky that you have no experience with toxic friendships!! i hope you never will, but yes i do have quite some experience with it, tbh since the moment we've met the instas they reminded me eerily of my own friend group in like 8th through 10th grade, i've had a friend who is a lot like consti and another one who is (and looks!!) a lot like ismail, and then there was me and my bestie and her on and off boyfriend (who was the most unproblematic and most quiet one lmao)

and yeah i definitely think people are oversimplifying the situation but at the same time i don't know if i want them to make it more nuanced? because in reality even the most toxic friends can be the kindest and most caring people towards you. my c-equivalent friend was at times my favourite person to hang out with, he cared for me, he made me feel safe, he was funny; but other times he would become controlling possessive and a literal bully, either towards me and our friends, or a random "victim", yet we never really stopped him, we were more glad he wasn't directing his viciousness towards one of us on that day. tbh we never really tried to cut him out, it didn't really ever cross our minds, we just accepted him as part of our friends - not just accepted we loved him as part of our group because it isn't as simple as to say he was a horrible person all of the time, honestly, most of the time he was awesome, and even 5 years later i still miss him and his friendship while also getting anxious by the mere thought of ever hanging out with him, you just never knew what you were going to get: kind caring friend or bully

in my case we all just drifted apart, after i left the school their friend group kind of crumbled because i was the glue who held him inside our group in a way, i'm glad it happened like that, i think if we had "broken up" in a traditional sense it would have been a lot harder on all of us

so TLDR, this got long and personal lmao, basically toxic friendships are very individual experience, no two will be the same, and while i do think some nuance is needed and contrary to what everyone else seems to want i don't think it would help anyone if they just portray c-man as a pure villain or if he simply vanished by the end of the season, but i also don't think druck should make the situation too complex because the message should still be clear enough for everyone to understand

[sharpe-lances]

7.08 Paranoid Android

i don’t think i’m gonna be able to organize my thoughts about the episode and put them into words??? like it was so good and it was a great midseason premiere. the only thing i didn’t like about it is that robo!avalance didn’t kiss haha jk unless,,

INTRO

HOW WONDERFUL WAS THIS INTRO?!?! i like the quotation marks they had in their names 😂😂😂 probably nodding to the fact that they thought they were the real legends lmao (also i liked sara’s narration at the beginning)

EVIL!GIDEON

evil!gideon is so sick like she programmed the robo!legends to believe that they’re the real legends and the ones they’re going after are the robo ones who are evil 😭😭 she’s really the mastermind of them all with the help, of course, of dr. sharpe

DR. SHARPE

at first i thought she was the most evil of them all, with all her manipulations and secrets. i thought she was time mistress!ava who got thrown out to the temporal zone but it turned out she was also a robot.

ranking the robo!legends on the evil scale, dr. sharpe is most definitely just below gideon. she knew about gideon’s plans and she was okay with it???? she literally said, “don’t you see? we can’t die.” she’s all about protecting the timeline no matter what (kinda like our s3 agent sharpe but not quite)

again, jes’ acting was superb !! (everyone’s actings were). i don’t know if dr. sharpe was actually written as such, but the way jes portrayed dr. sharpe as an emotionless android, with her monotonous voice and poker face, was so good.

ROBO!LEGENDS

i never thought robo!behrad would be so fond of violence. he’s a total opposite of our behrad. he even competes with spooner about guns and fights with her over who gets to shoot the target. like when he wanted to avenge zari, he wanted to shoot people.

on the other hand, spooner’s love for guns and shooting was only amplified lmao.

I LOVED ROBO!ZARI AND ROBO!ASTRA SO MUCH. i missed seeing them together bc they have a really good dynamic even with their robot counterparts.

zari and her stress ball???? hilarious. zari hacking with one hand while holding her stress ball in the other??? hot. also, the way she called gideon ‘gidget’ 😂 maybe gideon left it in her programming bc she secretly liked it lol. i also never expected that she’d double-cross sara and get manipulated easily by evil!gideon (it kinda made me sad) but at least we got lots of sara and zari interaction, even if it’s with z 2.0.

astra caring for the timeline by saying the people needed to die the way they did in the original timeline???? unexpected. astra in this episode was basically serving looks while quarterbacking and betting on how sara would kill the doctor lmao.

gary this episode was just him going to a buffet 😂😂😂😭😭😭

nate and his “red ain’t good” and his hilariously ginormous arms and his incessant need of punching or kicking people 😂😂 the way he was programmed, like he was all body and no brains, was so funny along with the fact that he didn’t care about history as much as our nate did lol. plus, he speaks very funny 😭😭😭 tho his beard is very sexy

lastly, but definitely not the least, robo!sara killed me with her white canary suit and her other outfit. the ponytail???? the knee-high boots???? like omg my heart couldn’t handle it. the part where she pretended to be asleep during surgery and stayed silent the whole time through the pain reminded me of our assassin!sara 🥺😭 and the fact that she started to question everything she was doing to preserve the timeline just proves how much of a good person our sara really is (because, you know, the androids were programmed after our legends’ personalities). however, robo!assassin!sara was very hot though ❤️‍🔥❤️‍🔥

they really were programmed differently by evil!gideon. she turned them into murderous psychos in the guise of fixing the timeline and protecting history and that was so twisted of her 😭 7.03 has a whole new meaning now and makes so much more sense because it showed that after everything our gideon has been through with our legends, they created a special bond that made our gideon a lot more than just an AI whose primary purpose is to serve the timeline. (maybe rip’s program has somehow helped but i believe it was mostly due to the family they created through time)

i initially thought that the robo!legends were gonna side with sara after dr. sharpe told them the truth but instead they laughed it off and didn’t even give it a second thought. i think the path they’re going with the robo!legends is that they’ll probably become self-aware and question their actions and have existential crises as the season goes and our legends are gonna help them sort themselves out??? (if this is what will happen, i hope our ava and gideon have big roles to play, seeing as they’re more familiar with being programmed and could relate more to them). and maybe then robo!avalance would get together 😏😏 i could only hope lol.

also, i’m looking forward to when our legends find out about the existence of robo!legends and how they will react. i just wanna see our legends fighting their robo counterparts. it would be so cool.

SOME MORE THOUGHTS

i seriously believed at first that robo!avalance were secretly dating because how the hell do you explain those meaningful looks™️??? and the sexual tension™️???? oh god

my s7 eps ranking!!

7.07

7.08

7.04

7.01

7.03

7.05

7.02

7.06

also,, i’m waiting for all the robo!avalance fics to come. can’t wait 😆 the “sorry to interrupt, doc” line really got me eidosjaaoakaj

[lgbtqlegends]

I adore every angsty thing you write, so I come to you with this request:

Headcanons for if Bishop had brainwashed Sara and made her either forget the other Legends or just turn against them? Bonus points for the aftermath after she’s back to normal.

aww thanks!! i'm glad you enjoy all the angst i write!! thanks for the ask n hope you enjoy! (ps sorry it took a while to answer)

also okay so like,, I'm not sure if you wanted these headcanons to be like,, "sara was returned to the ship already brainwashed & clearly turned against the other legends" But,,, reading this prompt has sparked,, a bit of a different, more angsty idea (still the same premise, just a bit of a twist on the when). and, well, i'm sucker for angst so,,

-okay so like. bishop altered her when he cloned her. we Know this. he spliced her DNA with an alien's DNA, obviously, but like. also. we know he has the capability (and no moral or ethical objections at all) to alter other stuff, ie he altered his own pain receptors. so like, it begs the question: what else could he have changed? what else could he have altered that sara didn't notice?

-like, okay, let's be real, bishop would have absolutely No qualms about coding sara's brain to make her turn against the legends at any given moment. and sara would have no idea. like,, he could've coded her brain to make her turn on the legends at the snap of his fingers. he clearly has no moral objection to doing so, and with the way the whole thing has been thus far explained, it sounds like a plausible thing that he couldve done

-so, anyway, onto the rest of the headcanons, assuming that this would be the reality: bishop altered sara's brain and 'coded' it to make it so that he could make her turn against the legends at any given moment

-he lures her into a false sense of security, gives her time to start thinking/believing that the only thing he changed was the alien DNA. he lets her get comfortable, being back with her team and especially being back with ava

-he does it in a moment where everyone would least expect it, in a moment where they're all together, hanging out, and all their guards are down for the time being (because. y'know. Of Course he would choose a moment like that)

-it's like,,, they're all having a family dinner or like,,, having a team movie night or smth. one moment sara is laughing and smiling with her team, thinking about how much she loves this and how there's nowhere else she'd rather be, and then the next minute the switch has flipped and she's been turned against her team, and suddenly she's attacking everyone with like,,, full force, not holding back bc why would she if her brain's been turned against them (think like,,, okay so i'm pretty sure it was divergent that i remember this from: without like,, getting into the specifics of divergent, basically sara's brain, i guess, would be altered so that instead of seeing the legends as friends they become the enemies. i mean like,,, obviously,, but i mean like,, okay idk where i'm going with this whole divergent thing but-)

-so anyway, she starts pretty much full-on attacking them out of seemingly nowhere, and no one knows what the hell is going on, but they know this is Definitely Not sara (like,, okay the Know it's Sara but they know it's not necessarily like,,, her,,, in control)

-the more,,, observant,,, legends noticed a split-second before she started attacking that something in her changed, first by the look in her eyes, and then immediately after how she went from laughing and smiling with the rest of the team to just,,, like,, nothing at all, and a second after that is when she started attacking

-now like,,, anyone on the ship who was there during the whole death totem thing would know like,,, sara when she's not in her own head and not in control of her body,,, is Very dangerous and could be very lethal if they're not careful, so,,, they mostly take an,,, avoid and tactical retreat type of strategy rather than like,,, offensive/defensive type thing (because they know how that turned out last time and they know that they'd most likely lose)

-none of them really know what to do because none of them are really sure if this is something that can be fixed, they don't know if there's any way that they can get sara back to normal,,, and that Hurts them, because they all love her and they really don't wanna think about what would happen if this couldnt be reversed (and also like,,, the fact that they would have just somewhat-recently gotten her back from outer space it's just like,,, it's a lot)

-eventually (and it was,,, Not easy) they get her to the brig or w/e it's called now (i think ava's called it a dais?? idk lmao) and they get her inside and like,,, trap her in there until they can figure out how to get her back. they probably also maybe like,,, take extra precautions and like,,, chain her up or smth (bc like,,, they'd still have to let the barrier down to give her food n stuff so,,,)

-since she's chained up n can't exactly do much, ava decides to go in there one day, "just to see, because we've tried everything we can think of so far and there has to be a way to get her back, there Has to be, and she's strong, alright, and maybe if she just,,, Feels me, maybe she'll come back to us. i have to Try"

-so she does. she lets down the barrier, steps inside, puts it back up. the rest of the legends are in the room for back up (just in case), and they watch as ava steps up to sara, who's struggling against the chains, trying to break free. ava puts a hand against sara's chest, right over her heart, and then leans her forehead against sara's, and she talks softly to her, saying whatever she can think of that might get sara to come back, to Remember

-sara struggles against her at first because she's still brainwashed, but sara is nothing if not strong and stubborn and persistent, so of course she ends up fighting through and remembering who she is and who the legends are

-she's confused for only a moment before she remembers and looks around at her team, and then she loathes herself with every fiber of her being, and she kinda just,,, loses all the fight that she has in her for that moment and just kinda,,, falls so that the chains are the only thing holding her up

-ava undoes the chains and then pulls sara into her arms so she doesn't fall completely. sara tries to push her away because she doesn't think she deserves this and also she's Terrified that she'll end up hurting ava anyway, even though she's back to herself. ava just holds her tighter though and they kinda both slowly sink to the ground

-the rest of the legends let the barrier down and kinda like,,, step closer to her

-normally sara would Hate anyone but ava seeing her this vulnerable but this isn't really a "normal" situation and also she's like,,, a little too wrapped up in self-hatred to be able to make sense of much, so the rest of the team kinda just like,,, piles in n surrounds her in a group hug to like,,, try to get through to her and show her that they all still love her

-it kinda works for a little bit and sara just like,,, lets herself sit there and break down surrounded by her team, but as soon as the night comes and she's laying in bed with ava all the self-loathing comes back again full force. at some point she manages to fall asleep, but not for that long bc she wakes up from a nightmare soon after

-she kinda just,,, shuts herself down for a while and like,,, isolates herself/pushes everyone away as much as she can

-the legends know it's a lot for her to deal with and they can't imagine the guilt and self-hatred she must be feeling (bc they know sara is Like That) but they still like,,, wish that they could get her to see that itll be okay

-it gets so bad one night that none of them get any sleep because they're all really worried about sara (and also because sara is in the gym, working herself out to the point of exhaustion and collapse and,, well,, she's not being very quiet about it)

-so they all end up in the gym with her that night, watching her break Another punching bag. and because nothing seems to be working, she grabs one of her throwing knives and throws it back into the wall farthest from her (nowhere near where the legends are standing) and then she kinda just,,, sits down,,, doesn't do anything else or say anything else, just sits down n puts her head in her hands n her shoulders start shaking

-one by one the legends all go n sit down with her and they get into as much of a group hug as they possibly can. its then that they finally get through to sara, even just a little bit, and nothing's really like,,, okay,,, because sara's still very much Not Okay about the whole thing but like,,, they all have a feeling that like,,, maybe,,, maybe itll start to get better from there on out

[maxbernini]

Hi! sorry to bug but i havent really been able to find the answer in the tags, ive seen people reference that there may be certain topics that new gens are supposed to hit, do you happen to know what some of these are, please?

hey anon!! not bugging me at all!! ❤️ you probably know most of this but just in case (and for anyone else wanting to join the clowning): there's a theory that any original* remake season must cover certain topics, most likely because of a. the old skamfr showrunner saying he had to send all scripts to nrk for approval before shooting, and b. the amount of similarities between the original seasons. this got long, so i’ll put it under a cut

the obvious similarity is that both skamfr & druck started their new gens with their vilde's youngest sister (vilde herself infamously being a ~blocked~ character which is another conspiracy theory lol, but maybe connected bc if you can't make a popular character a main, why not invent a sibling she can pester?). then, both nora m & lola's seasons featured:

depictions of mental illness & self-harm

the impacts of an alcoholic mother

fractured family (esp. sibling) dynamics + having a single parent

the process of finding your true friends

antagonists who are the mean, popular cool kids

the main having a breakdown and being rescued by their sister

a love interest who isn’t white

the main being interested in street art + photography

several similar shots, including the first clip, this, and this

so those might be some of the topics you’re looking for re: what they have to hit in their first original season, buuuuuuut i’d say most of these are just coincidences: the cinematography, and the LI not being white - skamfr don’t explore race beyond a surface level mention and in maya’s case, not at all, so i doubt they were specifically looking for a French-Japanese actress and simply cast who they thought best fit maya’s vibe. ‘the popular cool kids are mean, find your own squad’ is also like, a very common thing in teen media lol. imo, the vilde sister thing is just a coincidence too bc she’s simply an easy character to start your new gen from: she’s never been a main so inventing a sibling won’t conflict with og canon or remake canon tooo much, it’s basically a blank slate + she’s still fairly popular so it’s a way to draw people in + she (and her family) are white & cishet so there’s broad appeal etc. i can’t find it but when people were theorizing about wlw!nora at the start of s5, there was a post about wanting her to stay cishet bc it’d be far more interesting if the wlw character (we knew there’d be queer characters bc of a casting call) wasn’t white, and then that week we got confirmation fatou was gay, so.

(*the reason i'm saying original over new gen is bc kato's season actually hits some of these too: iirc, she had a fractured relationship with her mom; self-harmed and struggled with mental illness; her LI was Black; she had some issues with drugs/alcohol bc of her fractured relationship with her brother; she was interested in dance aka something artistic.)

most of the theory dies when you consider skamfr 7 vs druck s6 lmao BUT there’s still the whole ‘dating someone who has hurt one of your friends’ thing - i don’t mean this literally but in the easiest terms: tiff as kieu my, max as fatou, lola as ava (and lest we forget maya’s cameo). also, a movie featuring in both tiffax (titanic) and q2 (romeo & juliet)’s arcs. i could probably dig up more but i have repressed most of tiff’s season and have zero desire to rewatch it.

but ismail and bilal again have had some similarities: a fashionable main who potentially could be muslim who also unintentionally inspires their younger brother to steal. there’s also a love triangle, but those happen every french season so, we’ll have to see where s7 goes! personally, i don’t think the remakes contractually have to hit specific things, i think most are just fun coincidences but because they’re usually specific details (eg: nora and lola photographing street art, or the stealing brother) over generic ones, it’s easier to connect dots. but who knows! crack theories are the backbone of the skamverse fandom and most of the time it’s fun to put a tinhat on  🤡 hope this is what you were looking for anon! 

[thetruthaboutlovecomesat3am]

Lmao Mari is dating Vi and isn't interested in Jay. What a plot twist lol.

I mean, they fooled them all. Even Sara and Amaya were like “oh no. oh no no no. What now. If she’s in love with jay how do we keep them apart they’re attached at each other’s hip, do we institute an open door policy? What if they fight? What if they break up? What if omg jay doesn’t love her back?! Omg. Oh no no no no no...”

But I like to think maybe Ava at some point saw Mari and Vi holding hands under the dinner table and dropped off of the panic but didn’t say anything bc she didn’t know if they were ready to come out n everything, and when Sara tells her she told Jay to let Mari down gently Ava looks her in the eyes and goes “I somehow do not think she’ll be inconsolable”

One day she’s drinking a beer with Nate in the backyard while Jay and Mari are talking in hushed whispers a few feet away and Nate goes: “so... I think our wives are in a bit of a panic about... that,” he points at the kids, “But uhm, idk how to tell you this but my daughter talks an awful lot about how amazing your daughter is” and Ava without thinking goes like “yep, talked with Vi, doors open during sleepovers, feel free to never talk about that with me ever again,” bc honestly the less Ava thinks about her sweet princess dating the better, she loves Mari but her children are... her babies. At least she isn’t dating Jay, that would’ve been a mess, they are NOT compatible like that.

Sorry, this got so long it’s basically bonus headcanons, im a mess about this fic 🙈

[liliplayschoices]

Do you have any headcanons for your ILITW MC?

My giiiiiiiirl 😍

I have a ton of headcanons for her ^^ most of them also include Andy though I gotta be honest so he might pop up a lot here 😂 also this is absolutely ramble-y because I just dumped all my thoughts here so... sorry about that lmao (also im on mobile so I can't use a read more, sorry xD)

Okay so I know in the events of the book, we don't see her interacting with other people at school but I think these weeks aren't representative of what her life looks like normally. I see her as an introvert, she won't enjoy big parties often or anything but she still has a really amiable nature so people tend to be friends with her easily.

I think Devon is a pretty artistic girl. She loves to read fantasy and sci fi, she loves to cosplay, maybe she's a theater kid, too. I think she draws too, but I don't know what kind of art she prefers (as in, digital, street art, painting,.... I don't know haha)

When the story starts she's had a crush on Andy for a little while now. Nothing major, mind you, but yeah, teenage crush, blushing when she sees him, that kinda stuff, you know ^^ so when they start hanging out again it comes naturally between them pretty fast.

When Andy is in the hospital after the events of the book (and after that when he's stuck at home until he gets better), she comes to hang out with him a lot. More often than not, Tom is there too, so the two of them become pretty close, they realize they have a lot in common so they hang out at school too and become close friends (yes I am ignoring the ILB canon that Tom doesn't know her well. I don't care.)

Anyway so the three of them play a toooon of video games during that time which leads to a tradition of game night for the three of them and it gets pretty intense, cause Andy gets super competitive 😂 ( @the-unconquered-queen and I talked about game night a few times and now I can't let go of this HC ^^)

And of course there are also a lot of times when Tom isn't there, so they basically have little date nights together, watching movies and shows. Devon brings junk food to him when he's in the hospital (the nurses know but they let it happen lmao) and she curls up on his bed and they watch movies on her laptop (cause the hospital tv never has anything interesting) and it's soooo cute cause they didnt really... get official at that point you know, but then they just start dating and falling in love and all 😍

Anywayyyyy back to Devon. So I think she never truly heals from what happened. She always felt like Jane's death was her fault, and even if rationally she knows that what Noah did isn't her fault, she can't help but feel guilty over it. So that's why she starts going into the woods again.

I think she never really held Noah responsible for what happened, because of her own guilt. Like, objectively she knows what he did was wrong but she also feels like it's her fault if Jane is dead so that's why she forgives him for his actions pretty quickly

She starts doing a lot of research into how she could help him, and the Power in general. She doesn't go to college after high school, but she starts working at the local library pretty soon and gets a little obsessed. After a while, she does starts college (to study graphic design), but she doesn't seem to be able to move on from Noah and wanting to free him. She doesn't focus much on studies because she can't get rid of her guilt and obsession to make things right.

She ultimately tells the rest of the group and it does not go well. Especially with Andy. They've been dating for years at this point but this is the biggest fight they ever have. I think Andy is the kind of guy who holds a grudge so he would still be pissed at Noah, and there's the added layer of him feeling like Devon didnt trust him and put herself in danger needlessly and he's scared that he might have lost her without knowing it. They do work it out after a while because ultimately they love each other enough to work through it but yeah, that happens and it's a pretty big fight.

I feel like most of the rest of the group are mad but they come around to helping her at some point. Ava is immediately jumping at the chance to help Devon with all the supernatural research and stuff.

Dan has another approach. He can see that what Devon does is pretty unhealthy because of how she's clinging to the past, so he tries to help her work through her guilt and her trauma. It does help, and she becomes less obsessed after a while (she's still hell-bent on freeing Noah's spirit but she also starts moving on in other aspects of her life, paying attention in class, thinking about the future,...)

Oh total change of subject lmao but you know how Andy is in college on a basketball scholarship? Yeah so I think Andy would be a total frat bro 😂 like, he'd go to frat parties and do keg stands and stupid harmless dares and stuff. You know the type of guy. So Devon goes to frat parties because she knows he loves it despite it not reslly being her scene ^^ but she stills ends up having fun and does make friends with Andy's friends too

Also she gets into the habit of stealing and wearing his basketball jacket ( I got @kingkangs on board with this one and i will get the whole fandom to accept Devon wearing Andy's basketball jacket) and he says he minds, but... you know... He really doesn't ;)

To be honest, I feel like Devon would never truly be able to move on while Noah was still trapped, she would still feel obligated to help him. So I imagine that after a long time, they do manage to free his spirit (I don't know how okay I'm not writing IL3 😂 let's just say they do!)

So after that, she starts truly thinking of the future. She starts looking for a long-term job, Andy and her move in together after college.

They still have game nights with Tom on the regular (Harper, my ILB MC, joins them cause her and Tom are dating ^^) and Andy is still super competitive cause that hasn't changed 😂

Devon still loves cosplay so she convinces Andy to go to conventions with her and he's like "....fine I'll do it" begrudgingly but once he's there he's having a blast 😂

Anyway I think that's pretty much it for now! I rambled a lot, sorry... But you did ask! That was super fun so thank youu for your ask!!!

[kindkindling]

End of Year Faves 2020!

rules: it’s time to love yourselves! choose your 8 (ish) favorite works you created in the past year (fics, art, edits, etc.) and link them below to reflect on the amazing things you brought into the world in 2020. tag as many writers/artists/etc. as you want (fan or original) so we can spread the love and link each other to awesome work!

I was tagged by @wayhavns and @ejunkiet, thank you both so much!! I'm incredibly flattered that y'all would include me, considering how humbled I am anytime anyone in this fandom posts anything. Like damn, people, seriously.

Given that I only just started writing, like... two months ago? And most of it is drabbles, ha. This is basically just a list of what I've written, ordered by how much I like them :')

1. crying for help. Billie & Ava. The detective has some things to work through, and Ava is there to help.

My post-book 3 demo fic, and the one I am most proud of so far! I haven't really showcased it in my works yet, as I'm trying to nail down how my detectives' romances will actually play out in my canon, but I love seeing the detectives interact with the non-romanced UB members. Ava is going to be Billie's BFF route eventually, and this really helped solidify in my mind how they might act together.

Plus, it actually came out pretty close to how I imagined it! Sometimes I cannot word the way I want, but this time, I felt like I worded well :D

2. better me than you. Mason/Billie. Billie takes a blow for Mason. He isn't keen on it.

This one feels really basic and bare-bones to me, but it gave me hell because it wasn't supposed to be over 1k, and I was really stressing over how I just couldn't describe the action at the start in a way that flowed nicely, and it put me off my a-drabble-every-other-day schedule, so it just made me feel like I'd failed before I'd even started.

But I looked at it again the next day with fresher eyes and found the bits that I liked and expanded them, and wrote the hospital bit at the end in Mason's POV, and I ended up being proud of making even something kinda basic out of the mess it had started as, so it gets to be number 2. :)

3. "You're in love with her." Felix/Rami. Felix is jealous of a dog.

My first drabble! I just think Felix is cute and people should know it. And I think I showed it well. 😤

4. quiet, together. Nat/Cheyenne. Nat and Cheyenne spend a quiet moment together.

One thing I know about myself is that I am not very good at descriptive or poetic writing, and this was an attempt to work on that. No dialogue, no action, just setting a scene. It's definitely not on par with some of the amazing stuff the rest of y'all put out (some of you could describe a table cloth and I'd probably weep. my god.) BUT for me, it is good, and I am happy with it. :)

5. "Do you regret it?" Ava/Cass. Ava finally kisses the detective, but she isn't really ready for it.

Ahhh I just really wanted to see Ava suffer a little, I think, haha. Even though it's just a drabble, I think it helped show me how different Cass is from Billie; Cass was shaken when Ava stormed off, but they went right after her and asked about it. Billie would probably have either ran away or died on the spot lmao. Billie was my first detective and is my main, so I'm always concerned I'm not differentiating the others enough to make them interesting, but this one really helped settle my fears there.

6. i need you like you need me. Felix/Rami. The detective is laid up after a mission and Felix decides he needs to come comfort him.

The first time I got to show off Rami! I love him, he's such a sweetie. Bobby is his ex-boyfriend, and I really liked being able to contrast Rami's past relationship with him with his current one with Felix. I also got to show a bit of him hanging out with Nate, also a win for me, lol.

The only reason this isn't higher on the list is because I feel like I got too... mechanical near the end? Like I was wayyy too concerned with where their hands were at all times. But I still think it's good, and I will definitely make good on my insinuation that I will write Part 2 one day. Rami and Felix deserve to bone. 😤

7. thinking about my feelings never did me any good. Mason/Billie. The detective accidentally spends the night in Mason's room, and almost has a conniption over it.

Here it is, the first thing I've ever written. :')

It's a little stream-of-consciousness-y, but I was still riding that high of having just finished all the routes for the first time, and I was just... really needing to put something out there, to show how much I really loved reading this series! So I wrote it while I was at work, and I didn't put any thought into it at all, and I'm still fond of it, even if I wince while rereading it now lol.

8. what i want is to be with you. Mason/Billie. The detective and Mason dance, and talk about stars.

I don't dislike this one overall, but it does contain my first try at writing any kind of smut at the end, aaaand that's more than enough reason for it to be at the bottom of the list lol. It was still fun writing though (I actually went into it thinking Billie wouldn't know how to dance at all and they and Mason would just be an embarrassment on the ballroom floor, but that's not how it shook out!), and I'd like to revisit it one day and rework it to be better!

There have been so many of these that I have no idea who has or hasn't been tagged at this point, and I'd hate to annoy people by tagging them again. But absolutely anyone who wants to show off their stuff should do it!! Especially if you feel iffy about your own work. Having to think about my fics here made me realize that even the ones I'm less fond of have something in them that I like, and finding even one thing means that making it was a worthwhile endeavor! :)

[punksarahreese]

any fun thoughts about the teen!au you’d like to share? 👀 - 🦈

Ooh yes!! I’ve been compiling my plot for this

Sarah is your stereotypical “I hate the world” Emo-punk teen

Like she listens to MCR and BVB and all that lmao and wears lots of eyeliner

Also I like to think she has her nose pierced and a lot of earrings too 😌

Ava is somewhere between hipster and egirl

Short skirts or ripped jean shorts, fishnets, chains, flannel button ups even when it’s too hot for them, impossibly blonde hair always in some kind of half updo

Ava is literally addicted to monster energy drinks (which she will eventually grow out of once she decides to become a cardiothoracic surgeon because she knows it’s horrible for her heart)

So Ava and Sarah meet in South Africa because Sarah’s mom has a boyfriend there and he invited them on vacation

And Sarah does NOT want to be there because she’s missing her friends back home and her mother basically got her a hotel room and went off with her boyfriend for two weeks leaving Sarah alone in a new country

So one day after a phone argument with her mother she storms off to one of Cape Town’s beaches and plops down on a rock overlooking the water

Like the normal angsty teen she is ofc

And sarah hears this deep but feminine laugh behind her and turns around to see this gorgeous blonde teen who looks about her age

And she’s speaking to Sarah but her accent is too entrancing and the cut outs in the sides of her dress too distracting

So the girl has to repeat herself before Sarah snaps out of her gay panic

“You’re out here on a beautiful beach in a thick jumper by yourself? Bit dramatic, don’t you think?”

Sarah still can’t find a response in her mind so the other girl laughs and offers her hand

“Ava Bekker,” her smile was so goofy compared to her attitude and it made Sarah’s heart feel unexpectedly warm, “And you?”

“Sarah Reese.”

“Oh! American?” Ava got excited, “I love the accent”

“I don’t have an accent, you have an accent!”

They ended up bickering and chatting like they’d been friends for years

They exchanged numbers and Ava promised to show Sarah around Cape Town because “the beach isn’t the most exciting thing around here.”

So they spent the next week meeting outside Sarah’s hotel every day, going to arcades and nature trails and even a science museum one day

And Sarah thought it was absolutely adorable when Ava got super excited by the anatomy exhibit

When Sarah had to leave South Africa both girls were heartbroken because they had become so close so quickly despite their contrasting attitudes and everything else

They had a bit of a dramatic goodbye outside the hotel, with Sarah’s mom looking rather inconvenienced the whole time

Before she left to go back home, Ava pressed a light kiss to Sarah’s cheek, “Text me lots okay? Don’t you dare forget about me”

Sarah’s cheeks were redder than the lipstick mark left on her skin but she nodded, “Wouldn’t dream of it, Aves.”

And maybe Sarah spent the whole flight home with her hand on her cheek, remembering how Ava’s lips felt on her skin and how she smelled of lilac when she hugged her fiercely

[some-days-we-get-sundays]

Sara was scared to die...

This is the first time since arrow I believe that we’ve really seen Sara Lance truly be scared of dying. And it wasn’t really like she was scared of dying, it was that she was scared of leaving Ava and scared of leaving her family (the legends). She’s died a lot and been in the face of death a lot but this is the first time since she was on the island on Arrow that she was able to sit with the fact that she was going to lose her loved ones and they were going to lose her. And the magnitude of this was far greater than when she was on the island because she didn’t have close friends, she didn’t have a true love and now she does. 

Sara has always had quips in the face of death, she literally at times laughs in the face of death and makes a smart remark. She’s died multiple times. She doesn’t care that much. But now she’s got love in her life and she cares a whole hell of a lot. There were no remarks this time. No quips. She was solemn. She was pensive. Behind those glasses she was sad. Caity did a brilliant job of still showing Sara’s sadness when we couldn’t see her eyes. You could see it in her body language, hear it in her tone of voice, and see it on her mouth. Ava could see it too. But she let it slide. Ava waited a while to ask Sara what she was hiding because Ava knew Sara had her reasons. And Ava wasn’t accusatory or mad, she was concerned. Their relationship is beautiful that way. And I don’t blame Sara one bit for “keeping things” from Ava. If she had told Ava her vision, they would not have been able to concentrate on the mission, Ava needed to focus, they all needed to focus. They probably wouldn’t have let Sara come with if they knew. And they needed to be at full strength. Remember what Sara said in season 4, she needs to be out there with her team. Sara does things out of selflessness and love. Sara has been through more trauma than any of them. It’s not an easy burden for others to carry if she just starts unloading it all on them. They can’t handle it like she does. She can compartmentalize and make the best overall group decisions. It’s why she’s captain. Yes Sara and Ava are a couple, they are in it together “co-captains for life” but I think Sara was right to hold off on telling Ava and the others.

I want to go back to Sara Lance for a minute. This episode was the moment that hit her about how much she loves her life, the legends, and Ava. Other times she is just like ah fuck it! I’ve died before! But I think these powers and going blind have given her a new perspective. She’s not invincible and neither are her loved ones- despite all the close calls and times that she has died. This is why Sara never wanted to get close to anyone in the early seasons. It’s why she pulled away from the nurse Lindsey’s kiss in the early season. It’s why we can argue that she had all these one night stands. She wasn’t ready for anything real. Because with real love and feelings comes real hurt and pain. But our baby grew up right in front of our eyes. THE GROWTH.

I feel like it wasn’t up until this point that we saw just how deep Sara’s love for Ava is and for her legends family- so deep that for the first time, in the face of death, she isn’t scoffing. She’s not making smart remarks or sassing her way through it. Even when she went to purgatory for Ava, the seriousness of it wasn’t there. Sara’s vibe is always just like “I got this”. This was the first time that she realized she didn’t have this. The second she dropped Ava’s hands in the beginning and slightly stepped back after she saw her fate BROKE ME. The fact that she had to keep it to herself BROKE ME! The look she had on her face behind those sunglasses when they were on the bus and she looked up at the ceiling to gather herself after they said co-captains for life BROKE me because Sara knew she was gonna die. That “for life” had a whole new meaning but she couldn’t tell Ava because she wanted them to focus on the mission.

What killed me even more was the fact that Sara had just accepted this as her fate. She just accepted the fact that the legends would go on without her and that Ava would take over and do a fine job. BXTCH YOURE NOT GOING ANYWHERE STOP THIS RIGHT NOW. And then that final kiss. And Ava’s broken little “Sara...” as the zombies were breaking into the room and Sara with a small smile on her face still trying to reassure Ava that everything would be alright, “co-captains for life” ... “always”. LIKE FUK ME! She was still putting on a brave face for Ava. Sara just being so chill about it for the teams sake and Ava’s sake even though we could tell she was terrified did something to me. 

Also when she stepped away from the legends and drank her beer by herself right before Ava came over I was fucking SOBBING! Like she tried so hard to just keep this all to herself because she loves them all so much but I hated that she even fucking FELT this way and had to go through this. And how about that scene when they all are sitting there and Sara says there’s no place she’d rather be. It’s basically her saying “this is how i’m going to die, I’m surrounded by my friends and the love of my life, not bad.” Fucking Sara Lance breaks my heart. 

Also Ava’s scream for Sara as she sees her dying. I’m not ok. I won’t be ok. Don’t fucking talk to me ever again.

I also like Sara telling them to hush when they said Ava was losing it, “shhh she’s thinking!” lmao. Supportive girlfriend <3 Sara has the biggest fucking heart and I can’t get over it. Her love for Ava runs so deep. And her care for the legends runs deep too. Unlike Rip the legends isn’t about her. She doesn’t screw them over for personal gain. And even in the early seasons when she would run off and try and kill Damien Darhk and get revenge for her sister she was always apologetic about it and made amends. She’s just an amazing, amazing character. I know Rip helped them in the end by sacrificing himself but that shit wasn’t consistent. He was mostly selfish and self righteous. Sara doesn’t think the ship and the team revolve around her. (even if we think it does and she’s the soul of the whole thing) Sara acts like a captain when she needs to but she also puts her faith in so many of the other members and she doesn’t think it’s all about her. She makes connections with the other legends she guides them and gives them courage and confidence- they’re actually her friends and family not just pawns in a game like Rip treated them. 

I also really like how real Ava is as a character. Sometimes I feel like they haven’t figured out if she gonna be a full on bad ass, if she’s gonna be scared and fearless like Sara, if she’s gonna be cold and business-like... But I think they’ve been going a route of Ava being unsure but still doing what she has to do. Like we all know Sara is the fearless bad ass one, but Ava will do what she has to do even if she’s crying about it. Ava is me. Ava is us. Ava kind of fumbles and grumbles her way through things and I love it. Because Sara is so sure of herself and Ava’s like ugh honey idk are you sure about this. And then when things go poorly she flips out where as Sara is like ah this is what we do best. lmao. But then Ava will randomly remember that she was a director ;D and get all hard nosed again. She’s literally a muffin. Her crying to Sara during the zombie fight- and not being afraid to show that she’s crying and Sara with a small reassuring smile that says, we got this babe, and Ava finding the courage because of Sara- is literally their relationship. It remind me of when Ava finds out that she’s a clone and Sara has to reassure her that she’s extraordinary and a bad ass and Ava pulls it together. Gosh. I just love the time and effort that they put into these characters. 

Anyway I’m obsessed with Legends of Tomorrow and they continue to bless us. 

[sammysreelreviews]

Counting Down My Top 10 Underrated Films Of The Decade

Let me start by saying it’s a fucking miracle I made this list because I’ve switched and changed it so many times I got whiplash. I really hope you love this list because it took months and months to make this. It’s so sad writing this because I love these movies so much I wish everyone saw them! I decided to cut this list down to ten because I might take the left over movies and throw them on a list in 2020 because I can’t focus on this to save my life. I’m posting this on Christmas Eve as a gift to all of you who follow this blog. To be honest these last like 4 months my mental health has been so bad I’ve barely left the house so this is one of the only things that’s been keeping me together. Anyone who reads this blog, you give me a reason to live and create and I love influencing y’all to watch my shows lmao. Happy holidays to anyone who’s having a shit time at home or has lost a loved one or has been having a bad time mentally. This list may not be the best to lift spirits but my top animated of the decade probably will which you can read here! Love y’all so much hope you enjoy your present! Usually I would say there are spoilers but since many people haven’t watched these I’m going to put where to watch them so enjoy these amazing but very vaguely described movies! Kisses! Oh and one last thing, the average Rotten Tomatoes score between all these movies is 85.2%!

10. Atomic Blonde (2017)

I saw this in theaters and it was quite the experience with all the twist and turns this film has. Atomic Blonde not only has a top tier cast but it’s also one of the best spy movies ever made. I don’t wanna give anything away but can you really go wrong with Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, Sofia Butella, and Bill Skarsgård? Don’t think so!

Where to watch: Anywhere you can buy or rent films

9. Anna Karenina (2012)

Directed by Joe Wright, the brilliant mind behind Atonement, Anna Karenina brings the famed novel to life in this romantic and dazzling rendition. I really thought this movie would be racking up the awards when it came out but it didn’t. Either way this film about a 19th century woman (Keira Knightley) who has a lustrous affair with a cavalry officer (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) is hot and just beautiful to look at. If you like period piece films you’ll love this!

Where to watch: Anywhere you can buy or rent films

8. Widows (2018)

This movie about a heist gone wrong that leaves the men’s widows to finish the job should’ve won an Oscar for ANYTHING. I mean Viola Davis running a lady gang to finish their husbands crimes!?! The FLAVOR!!! Please watch it there’s one scene in it with Daniel Kaluuya that is literally the definition of CINEMA.

Where to watch: HBO Now, HBO Go, and anywhere you can buy or rent films

7. Annihilation (2018)

Ok I can’t say much about this movie besides that it’s sci-fi and that it has Oscar winning actress Natalie Portman movie in it but please please please PLEASE watch this movie! It’s one of the best sci-fi films I’ve ever seen and it’s honestly one of the best films that came out in 2018! I wrote a little about it here! 

Where to watch: Hulu and anywhere you can buy or rent films

6. Nightcrawler (2014)

Lou Bloom (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a news reporter who likes to get a little too close to the action. It’s insane to watch just how far he goes to get a story. He is actually a sociopath and Jake should’ve won or at least been nominated for an Oscar for this role. It may be one of his best performances ever!

Where to watch: Amazon Prime and anywhere you can buy or rent films

5. Prisoners (2013)

When two girls go missing a father (Hugh Jackman) does everything in his power to get them back. The ending of this film is so fucking annoying but genius I still argue about it wigg my friend claire. Please let me know if you know what I’m talking about! Also this movie should fuking have 7 Oscars!!!

Where to watch: Anywhere you can buy or rent films

4. Ex Machina (2014)

When a programmer (Domhnall Gleeson) wins a contest to spend the week with the company’s genius CEO (Oscar Isaac) he gets a lot more than he bargained for when he meets Ava (Alicia Vikander) the robot. All I’m gonna say is it should be illegal to have not seen this movie. Like should be a federal crime. I know this is on Netflix so watch it NOW!

Where to watch: Netflix and anywhere you can buy or rent films

3. Logan (2017)

The last chapter in Wolverine’s tale is not only riveting but surprisingly heartbreaking. I watched this on the plane ride to Vegas and I sobbed I ain’t gonna lie! If you love the X-Men you’ll absolutely love, or maybe hate, this Oscar winning super hero movie.

Where to watch: Anywhere you can buy or rent films

2. The Place Beyond the Pines (2012)

It’s kind of hard to believe that a movie with Bradley Cooper and Ryan Gosling didn’t get much buzz but here I am giving it the justice it deserves! This movie that’s basically a lesson in karma and breaking the cycle of familial bullshit is one of the best and most heartbreaking films I’ve ever seen. It also features a career defining performance by Dane Dehaan. I won’t give anything away but I suggest y’all watch pronto!

Where to watch: Netflix and anywhere you can buy or rent films

1. Looper (2012)

This time traveling mindfuck of a movie never left me the second I finished it. I really wish I saw this in theaters cause I feel like it would have been epic. I don’t wanna give anything away because I really want people to watch it but if you love time travel, twists and Joseph Gordon Levitt this is the movie for you. Looper is number one because I’ve been begging people to watch it for about 7 years now.

Where to watch: Anywhere you can buy or rent films

[thethirdwheel404]

Med Rewatch Series (#1)

Right, monkey brain said no sleep no rest, only suffering at the hands of med.

I am going to start with the first episode of S2: Soul Care. Reasoning? I need to check if Latham references Ava in his first interaction with Connor.

If my memory serves me right, when Connor is passed over to Latham for his fellowship, Latham says that he was not his first choice. In fact, his first choice was a brilliant surgeon from South Africa. In the first episode of S2, a season where Ava Bekker is only introduced with one line at the end of the last episode.

If I remember correctly and Latham does actually say that in the first ep of s2, it will be huge for the continuity (and my theory that I came up with today, if you’re interested in following this you should really read that really long post that came a little before this where the basis of the theory is laid out). 

Also in rewatching this I see more of Sarah which, again, I have not seen in two years, and she was the reason I became invested in the show, and the reason I stopped watching after she left.

And all of this even before I start the episode.

There are so many emotions and thoughts running through my brain it literally hurts. I think i’m getting a headache. I’m already really regretting this, this cannot be healthy for me.

(btw, this will basically be a train of thought type thing, I’ll do my best to keep it coherent)

- omg its starting

- i completely forgot how s1 ended but its not importnat in anyway

- just, why are they in a helicopter

- how fast does the episode move ive forgotten and i need to know

-JESUS CHRIST SO DRAMATIC

- THE BEGINNING WITH WILL WHY

- it is at this point where I apologize to all those who made it this far bc we’re literally not even 30 seconds in yet

- i just have a lot of med thoughts

- oh god save me

- i am laughing hysterically

- JESUS CHRIST THE APRIL TB STORYLINE AND TATE WTF

- god that feels like a lifetime ago it was relevant holyshit

-remember when she was pregnant?

- literally what have I missed

- side note, i really like the cup april drinks out of.

-THERE SHE IS

-SARAH

-SHE’S HERE

-and she’s a barista

-literally wtf is this show

-and the dramatic music is still going literally chill man god

-THE WAY SARAH SMILES HOLY SHITTTT come on man there was literally no way i’d survive this but fuck not even a minute in...

- okay but i never understood charles’ family scenario but this is already too fucking long for a minute in so i hope we can just skip past that

-hahahah sharon’s fucking divorce? holy shit, this is too dramatic for the first ep literally save me (at least she acts well)

-yeah the one thing I will say about med (thats a lie ive already said a hundred but yk) is that for the crap storylines and all, the actors take what they’re given and give it their all and i appreciate it so much

-the helicopter’s number is N365UCC and just... succ

-ethans bird (!)

-also the fact that’s so big for ethan to be chief resident is so weird to me. like the last medical drama I watched was greys and they are all like grizzled veterans and have been doing that stuff for actual decades and i tend to put med and greys on like the same level bc they are the only medical dramas ive watched but.. holy crap the people on med are so young?? half their main cast is med students and residents. when nearly every main character on greys is a department head. its wild.

-proud of ethan. proud of my boy (did you know that adam jacobs who played aladdin on broadway was in a s3 episode? fun facts) (fun fact: did you know that ava is the only main character on the show who’s status is now deceased? I’ll shut up now.)

-oh my god i say roland buck III’s name and GOD noah jesus

- i find noah incredibly annoying, especially bc he tries to overshadow reese (my fav) but also just bc hes spoiled [that thing that said that one of the biggest mistakes med made was not having sarah get the emergency med residency at the end of s1 comes to mine, and the fact that noah got his residency easy peasy] - but, i will say that the moment at the end of this season where noah and reese dance together at the party is very adorable. (pre reesker brain showing lmao I really did love sarah with my whole heart) (moreover my snapchat memories were filled with just recordings of reese scenes lmaooooo)

-okay at this point I need to stop once i get to the potential ava thing bc what is happening we’re not even two minutes in why is this so long. (so many thoughts)

- i find will annoying but,,, he is kind of nice to look at. and what i mean is like facial acting (i am a lesbian). like. just. don’t speak. and when he’s being a good character he’s fine. it’s very few and very far between ig

-natalie annoys me so much and shes only had one line, and it wasn’t even a character line, it was mainly exposition.

-EW

-FUCKING EW

-ITS CONNOR HE’S HERE. god i forgot what he looked like in red scrubs and his poofy hair. child compared to s3 and s4. hopefully we see latham soon so we all don’t have to suffer through this. and he looks so angsty. he definetly glowed up in the later seasons.

- i have no clue how to spell definetly. I am guessing literally everytime.

-latham please come and end this all.

-oh haha there’s downey hes dead.

-okay so i actually watched s1 after i watched s2 which is so weird to think about. like that means that i liked s2 so much that i BOUGHT THE DVD FOR S1. yeah. I liked it that much (it really only means I was that much of a simp for sarah). but it also means that technically i watched s1 after i met ava?? like i honestly had NO CLUE what was in my future. did young me ever think she was going to stay up late at night, avoiding history hw while analyzing a defunct character from this show on a whim? a character i was super annoyed with at the beginning? who has no become a huge part of my personality? honestly? no. no she did not.

-and the story with downey was so jarring. and the story with zanetti. like i think i first started watching with the first ep of s2 (the one im talking about rn) and i was a bit lost. so going back and watch s1 to like connect the dots. but i never expected the dots to look like that. its like each season of this show is a completely different show from all the other seasons. like i’ve said before, this show is a headache. but literally latham please come and end this for now.

-GOD CONNOR LOOKS SO YOUNG WHAT THE HELL thats so weird lmaooooo

- like i had absolutely no clue who downey was going into this. and they they started talking like ‘oh yeah he killed his attending’ and i was just like ‘damn bro ill cheers to that’

- that’s literally ava’s first line actually. “i heard your girlfriend went insane and you murdered your attending.” - which was why she was hated at first. that was literally her first line to connor which is like, so hilariously rude that it was instantly iconic.

-also HAHAHAHAH CUE FUCKING ANGST ABOUT CONNOR HURTING EVERYONE AROUND HIM WTF BRO THE EFFECT YOU HAVE ON PEOPLE

- but i’m also sad now. --- “I heard your girlfriend went insane.” Oh. Oh, sweetie. Ava... No. --- but why does s2 ava (all two lines) foreshadow s4 ava in so many ways. like literally what were the writers on.

-baghdad.

-ah yes. the return of baghdad. been a long time since i heard that one, but it is easily one of my favorite running things about med. its just a little detail but the nick name is like perfect. (when i read fanfic where the chars are actually doing doctor stuff in the hospital it makes me light up) the WORLD BUILDINGGGGG. but whatever

-this is the girl who has the fake baby right? that was a really good ep (bc sarah content. can you see my favorites? for the same reason the one where the girl has split personalities easily ranks high with me.) oh wait this is the one where the dad like dies but then comes back for a split second to see his grand child. there’s not really a lot I can say about that, but the fact that i remember it vividly is... weird.

-okay but I actually love the ED in this show. I love how the show is centered around the ED and not the OR like greys. its fast paced, you see a lot about the characters really quickly (one of the reason’s connor’s intro to the hospital in the pilot is certified iconic in my mind [his interactions with will are gold]). the team works well together (usually, when things are good. - which is another reason I hated the show more as time went on. The personal lives interfered more and more and more with their work as time went on. it got so annoying). but like right here will just calls maggies name and maggie is just On It. I love it. I love the fast pace. it’s why this show got me to come back. so many things happen, it overloads my brain, like the way a video game works y occupying all of your attention.

-when is the dad gonna pass out i’m just waiting

-AHAHAHAHAHA JEFF NOOOOO. what even was the deal with jeff that storyline annoyed me so much I never got it. he was friends with nat’s husband (who died) and they were both named Jeff? and she actually ended up getting with Jeff a few times?

- the more you watch med and see how the characters get with each other, the more jaded you become

-omg they’re transferring the girl to the bed i love it when they count

-maggie was great but from what i heard/read they ruined her character too??? just not the same

-lmao only real g’s remember the chicago fire backdoor med pilot (if you want an explanation ask me lmao it was a ride)

- i was a real med simp bc I bought that episode on apple video.

-ahahaha this is so stupid. Jeff tries to do things and Will (being a fucking asshole and jealous, doesnt’ let him). he’s a med student let him fucking learn. also i remember why i hated will

-okay but if you look at greys vs. med, greys literally gives their med students no rights. scratch that. they give they’re interns little to no rights. (i only watched the last three seasons bc lesbian, but in those seasons they introduce the bottom of the totem pole, the sub I’s, who are a step ahead of med students, yet they are jokes on the show.) its just a weird juxtaposition is all.

-”lungs are wet.” dramatic music intensifies.

-OKAY BUT I LITERALLY FORGOT NATALIE SPECIALIZED IN PEDS. LIKE I COMPLETELY 100% FORGOT. HOLY SHIT THATS SO FUNNY i can’t believe in my mass hyperfixation i forgot, just more proof that she doesn’t deserve anything.

-why did will make nat do that call? also idk why but is it weird to anyone else when the characters call each other but just.. their names.

-ahahahah i laugh literally everytime i remember that will is supposed to be in charge like he is threatened by anything that MOVES. (also more juxtapositon to greys bc here the attendings are treated as a joke!)

- hly shit i just remember monday mourning and god damn the angst literally never takes a day off but whatever.

- i dont usually get like this but the dad’s acting here is actually making me sad lol. Usually i get annoyed when family members get emotional (im weird uhhhh)

-why did we have to watch the tube being put in for so long - med is so dramatic this fucking show whyyyy

- i bet u the dad is gonna pass out

-oh ig not oops

-OKAY FUCK ME THAT LITERALLY ONLY TOOK US TO THE TITLES HOW DO I HAVE THESE MANY FUCKING THOUGHTS.

-wait latham introduction we may just be able to call it here.

-haha i fucking hate him (connor). he just... comes off so fake-charming its annoying. i cant get over it lmao

-okay but literally every gives connor shit and I am here for it. Latham: “did you kill him?”

- it is literally so funny but annoy how connor throws hands with literally everyone in his path (like dude just chill come onnn)

-okay. okay. okay. finally the part i was waiting for.

- Latham: I preferred a young woman from Groote Schuur, but I was outvoted.

That’s an actual quote, from Latham. For those who are wondering, Groote Schuur is a famous hospital in, you guessed it, South Africa. This is where I’m calling the episode. This is all I needed.

I just want to restate. This is the first episode of season 2. Ava Bekker is introduced to the show in the last episode of season 2. What does this mean, my friends? It means everything.

For those of you who stuck through to the end, I am very thankful. Here we have probably the first piece of evidence to my theory, at least chronologically.

I, personally, think it’s absurd I remembered this point, but I did. That point, that line, presently, watching this episode with no idea of what the future holds, is only there to tell us that Latham and Connor are not going to agree. But this is the single greatest piece of foreshadowing med has ever done.

Med has never planned anything. I feel confident when I say that. Look at their storylines. They are literally on fire, and every decision the characters make reads like the writers going ‘we have no idea how we made it this far, we thought we would get stopped like ten steps ago.’

When has med ever planned things more than a few episodes in advanced, honestly? Almost never, and going a full season sitting on a plot point, that’s major. This was the first time med has ever planned something miles in advance.

In all honestly, yes I am probably giving the med writers a lot more credit than they deserve. It’s quite possible that as the season progressed they just decided connor needed a new love interest or at least a new dynamic, so they could have just easily looked back and thought ‘oh, hey, here’s a fun little thing we said earlier in the season, wouldn’t it be fun if it paid off?’ That could be true.

Here’s why it probably isn’t. The med writers have no respect for their own continuity. you really think that, in order to come up with a whole new character, they went back to the first episode of the season and paid off a line that is said in less than 2 seconds? no way. Bull. Shit.

honestly, it is probably equally unlikely that either of these things happened. The med writers don’t look back at their story. It’s true, but they also don’t plan things in advance either.

here’s the thing, the more i write, the more absurd it starts to sound. Yeah. Sure. the med writers sat on a character for an entire season, that’s totally a thing that happened and not sarcasm. When pigs fly. everyone knows med is impulsive and messy. But what I am saying is that they planned one thing. One thing.

Ava has an accent. That was a commitment. A pretty uncommon one too. South Africa is such an out of the box choice that god its barely on the map. It asks a lot of someone to act hard while also doing an uncommon accent. If the med writers just decided they needed to give connor a new dynamic, they could have made it a n y o n e. Yeah, sure it would have been nice to have the latham dynamic with the new character, but it would have been so much easier to just create a new character that doesn’t have such a commitment. We all know people who play opposite of Connor Rhodes do not stay around that long.

There is absolutely no reason Connor’s s3 love interest had to be the girl from South Africa. It could have literally been anyone. They could have kept Robin on. They could have made the new character not have so many specific requirements.

At this point, I’m pushing this really hard. Yeah, obviously Ava was planned from the beginning of s2. She had to be. It’s way too specific to be anything else.

What I’m pointing out here is med has never done that before. (at least to my knowledge, if i’m wrong please tell me i don’t want to be a fool) They have never had such a concrete plan for a character, so much as to tease them a full season before they were introduced.

I’m saying, that Ava was special. She was the only character who was teased ahead of her arrival. The one who they knew they wanted, other than the originals, and honestly saying the ‘knew what they wanted to do with the originals’ is being generous. But Ava was different. They had big plans for Ava.

It’s undeniable. Ava was the only character who was planned and teased ahead of her arrival. Ava has such a different style and character than anyone else on the show. She was always planned to be, even when she was just being teased, a rival to connor, meaning she could stand her own against him (or without him).

Now of course, the med writers forgot this when writing s4 and s5. But for the purposes of the important things, all that really matters are the two mentions in s2, and what happens in s3. (for the theory at least).

In conclusion: think about how odd it is that Ava was the only character that was planned over the course of the show. Like sure the characters are planned, but never this far in advance. Med writers don’t really plan anything. I would be shocked if they did anything but through a dart at a spinning wheel. But they had plans for Ava, and they had plans for s3, when she was good.

Think about how odd it is that the med writers had a character planned from the start of s2, that they sat on for a whole season. They never, ever did something so slow and deliberate. Never. It goes against their formula. Like a fucking shark, they have to be moving or they die, at least in their heads. But Ava was always a change to the formula. They had a plan for s3.

that’s it for now. we will see what happens when i watch the last episode of s2.

read the next parts:

Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4 / Part 5 / Part 6 / Part 7 / Part 8 / Part 9 / Part 10 / Part 11 / Part 12 / Extra

[oodlyenough]

aight... here’s a pretty long yet tip-of-the-iceberg collection on my overall thoughts on bl3 now that i’ve finished the damn thing, every main mission & every sidequest (dynasty dash don’t interact). 

obviously mega spoilers

the good

aside from that one infuriating difficulty spike when i arrived on promethea, i had a lot of fun playing. i found the gameplay a lot smoother than the others in the series (as it should be), i liked being able to climb stuff, i liked having an easy mode tbh!!

i really liked playing amara and i like the flexibility of action skills and being able to swap on the go without having to respec. the brawl tree ended up being very well suited to my type of play, it hindered me only during boss fights and even then at least i could switch to phasecast y’know

i had a lot of big fears about what this game would do and it managed to not do anything that makes me want to, like, burn and salt the earth, so that’s a win

i thought it was pretty funny! or at least on par with the other main games, which always kind of ride the line between funny and obnoxious and sometimes misstep

i enjoyed a lot of the cast, both new characters and characters who were returning but who i had no particular feelings about before, hammerlock, zer0 and ellie as particular examples

hammerlock and wainwright were cute af and it’s nice to see a gay couple in a triple-a game 

thought the twins were fun and funny af i liked them. because fandom is Like That i was a little exhausted by troy before he even showed up but even then, like, idk i liked them as a duo and i liked the break from jack honestly 

a lot of the new gun quirks were fun. i’m not like a big... gun person... but i found some cool ones i enjoyed playing with. 

loved getting to see different planets, it was a nice break from pandora all the time. and skywell was super fun! love the low-grav playfulness from TPS without the infuriating oz kit nonsense

the little quality of life improvements from previous games were great, like fast travel from anywhere, auto-refilling ammo, etc

some of the side quests were really fun. i liked the ratch quest for rhys, the birthday party quest for mordecai, the claptrap dancing quest was sweet, the buff movie buff quest was fun, the quest where i killed grandpappy 2 seconds in and got a reward was funny as hell esp because i drove off a cliff by accident, etc

lots of people had really bad glitches and stuff but... honestly can’t relate the game ran very well for me. advantages to not marathoning it before they’ve released their first couple patches, i guess, lol 

the less good

i played a solo amara and there are some bosses that seem like they would’ve been pure hell to do alone... i was lucky and able to phone a friend for a lifeline in those scenarios (shoutout to @heavybreathingcatt and @valoscope) but if i couldn’t do that idk i would’ve just broken my controller in rage i guess lmao 

why is resurrecting each other so hard? i don’t think i’ve ever done it successfully, because it takes too long and more importantly bc while i’m doing it some enemy will just toss a grenade or punch me and i get knocked away from the ally, rendering it useless

rest in peace maya, the best res AI in the whole damn game, got me through the rampager fight her damn self

there were a lot of characters and themes and ideas that i liked in theory more than in practice... because in practice they felt like a first draft. very often i felt like i liked a thing, and then on reflection thought about nine hundred ways it could’ve been better, deeper, more emotionally resonant, more developed, whatever. 

the angel stuff was kinda nice but... also... my longest deepest sigh ever @ Poor Sad Jack Some People Terrorize Entire Planets And Abuse Their Daughters To Cope With Their Fridged Wife

like the siren lore... wish i coulda heard it without having to backtrack across every map post-game

while i found the game generally pretty funny,  almost all the emotional scenes fell completely flat for me and there were a number of scenes that SHOULD have been emotional that just were not 

for eg i am actually not upset about maya or lilith dying (or turning into the moon as it were) -- i am ok with those beats for those characters, especially lilith getting a heroic sendoff. however... both of those scenes could’ve been more impactful than they were. maya’s i think was better than lilith’s, but both of them felt flatter, either in the moment or in the aftermath, than those characters deserved. 

related: NPCs reacting to major events is fun. i liked to do the tour and check in with all my buds to get their couple custom lines after a big plot thing happened. HOWEVER... those lines are obviously timed which is *mostly* fine but in some cases really, really weird? the lines about maya should stay in rotation for a lot longer. ava shouldn’t go back to LOL LET’S STEAL two seconds after maya’s gone. i missed zer0′s maya lines entirely bc i didn’t track down zer0 on time lol. stuff like that 

the bad

i miss my girls :( we really did keep only the white men huh

the last act felt severely underbaked. i have to wonder how many rewrites this game went through, and how much the back end was slapped together last minute, or cobbled together from various drafts. a lot of this felt very first or second draft, where the characters and themes are *there* but not refined at all, or they contradict each other. the family theme that goes basically nowhere and says nothing. the way the story handles atlas vs the way the story handles jakobs vs the way the story handles corporations writ large. 

for the twins -- lack of proper emotional resonance or development for them is one of the biggest failures imo, because i think they WERE very enjoyable villains and the core concept of like... evil video game streamers is honestly on-brand and funny af for the franchise... but as soon as troy died everything went downhill? tyreen’s non-reaction to her brother dying isn’t even a reaction, it’s not even “tyreen doesn’t care she’s evil lol” which would’ve been a boring direction to take anyway) it’s just.... “we barely wrote a response don’t worry about it”. her endgame is to be a big monster because... she’s ... fame hungry? huh? her motivation fell apart.w whether they went with “troy and tyreen are shitty people who get caught up in a power struggle but ultimately love each other” OR “troy and tyreen are shitty people who turn against each other in individual bids for power” could both have been interesting stories but they did neither. 

i’m def missing some echos on the twins which brings me to another thing i hate although it’s endemic to the series and not to bl3 specifically -- hiding important lore and characterization in random echos in random places on the map without even an indication of how many there are total, how many you’ve collected, where to find them... frustrating as hell. a lot of those echos are some of my favourite material in the game! at LEAST tell me “1 of 5 echos on this map” if you don’t wanna tell me where they are! why is major lore like the twins’ backstories hidden?????? 

and bc i haven’t heard them i don’t know if it’s fandom doing what fandom always does, or if it really is the game implying tyreen is The Evil Mastermind and troy is poor manipulated brother, but either way fuck that entire noise lmao of course the women of colour in the series are just Born Evil but jack and troy and whoever else are just Sad :( fuck off actually 

typhon... sucks... what an irritating character. irritating to retcon him in as The First Vault Hunter, irritating to have him talk about shit and sex all the time, irritating to have every established NPC be like oh wow my HERO typhon deleon what a HERO i LOVE him, irritating that we skate over his parenting failures, irritating that he has a fridged beloved wife, ESPECIALLY irritating he gets a memorial sidequest and maya didn’t . just. bad.

aurelia is evil now cause reasons... bad... 

vaughn also bad lmao i can’t believe they made amara yell “blood feud”... disgusting... 

the playable had no role in the story. they’re just a fly on the wall in every cut scene. this is whack in general, and a crit i can apply to all of the main borderlands games, however it is extremely jarring to play amara in a siren-heavy game and have no one acknowledge it. 

OVERALL... I guess like a B-? Maybe a B. I had fun playing it and I’m still having fun running around in Mayhem Mode and I am def looking forward to the DLCs. Gameplay is great. But while I had hoped this installment would take the storytelling of the main games a step further, it actually felt like a step back in virtually every respect.