#but fuck i also love the former because that's such a *huge* plot point and something he'd openly discuss with doc because who else

[doctorbrown]

❛ My whole world turned upside down. I can adjust. ❜ - Marty

The sarcastic note to his best friend's voice doesn't pass him by, but in the wake of feeling the hands of the clock squeezing his neck more and more with each passing second, he chooses to ignore it to focus on the imminent and impending.

❝Nobody is going to have to do any adjusting, Marty,❞ comes the hurried reply, pitched up slightly by the anxiety creeping up he's trying to swallow back down. ❝Certainly not to this wretched hellscape of a present! There isn't one redeeming aspect to this corrupt town and everything I dug up in the archives only confirms that.❞

Only a Tannen could be responsible for such depravity.

❝But this isn't permanent, as you know. So long as we have the DeLorean, we can stay ahead of the changes and fix all of it before it finally catches up with us.❞ And then there is no going back.

BONES S6E9 STARTERS

[selenitesdawn]

Temperance (2/3)

pairing: wanda maximoff x female!reader plot: Your best friend Kate convinced you to do charity work in Sokovia with some of your old classmates, including your former bully Vision and his girlfriend Wanda Maximoff, who you inconveniently took too much of a liking in. warnings: 18+ !! minors dni. wanda is with vision... bad words, allusions to suicidal thoughts, angst. mild sexual content. that’s it. i think <3 word count: 2500

: Part 1

Once again, you laid awake at night, thinking about Wanda. Ever since you've met her, she's been the only thought on your mind. Well, not quite literally. Of course you still had time to worry about other things. But as soon as you laid in silence, it felt like your brain was broken. No matter how hard you had tried, in the end it was all Wanda. You were sure that after this trip you'd have to put yourself in a mental hospital. Or at least have a bunch of therapy sessions. How else were you ever supposed to return back to your normal life after you met her?

“Time to get up you fuckers!,” roared Bucky from the ground floor. His raspy voice echoed through the halls of the huge building you were sleeping in. Still half asleep, you turned to the side and looked at the time.

Fucking hell.

You felt like you've been hit by a truck. Before you even had a chance to sit upright, the door swung open.

“Get up, princesses. You don't get paid for lying around.” ordered Bucky, who was still standing in the doorway in his pyjamas.

“Bucky, we're not getting paid at all. Besides, it's only 6 o'clock. Since when do we get up so early?” you replied, obviously annoyed.

It wasn't that you didn't feel like helping anymore. Making a difference was a nice feeling, especially because you felt like you hadn't contributed anything meaningful to the world in recent years. You might as well have not existed at all, you always thought to yourself. The days were all just a blur. But now you were here and everything was different. Getting up earlier also meant seeing Wanda for longer. You didn't quite know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. You wanted to see Wanda. Of course you wanted to see her.

“We are getting paid with love and gratitude, so get up,” Bucky said firmly. He grabbed the first object he could find, in this case luckily a stuffed animal, and threw it at Kate, who was still asleep next to you.

“You too Kate!,” Bucky warned.

“I'm awake!!!,” Kate grumbled and threw the stuffed animal back in a heartbeat, right against Bucky's head.

Wanda and Vision were asleep in the next room. On your first day here, you thought that would be a good thing. At least you'd be close to Wanda. However, Vision wasn't included in your calculations. The first time you heard banging against the wall between your room and theirs, followed by dampened moans, a cold shiver ran down your spine.

No fucking way.

You had met Wanda for the first time less than 24 hours earlier. When you and Kate were standing in front of Vision's luxurious private jet, you almost failed to see the vehicle. You were busy working on your suitcase when you looked up and saw her. Wanda was standing just a few centimeters in front of you, talking to the pilot, when she looked over and smiled at you. In that very moment, your world has been turned around. You don't know if you imagined it, but she wasn't just quickly grinning at you. It felt like minutes were passing, the pilot next to her engrossed in a long monologue. You don't know what he was talking about. All you know is that at some point you had to break eye-contact because it felt like she was starring right into your soul. Almost like she was reading your mind. Since then, it's been all going downhill. Getting up early means seeing Wanda for longer. And seeing Wanda is probably not good for you. You can't bear a broken heart right now. You just wanted to help dogs.

“Vision get your ass up and put some clothes on man, that's disgusting,” you heared Bucky shout from next door.

Why am I still doing this to myself?

By 8 o'clock, everyone had managed to get out the door reasonably fresh. Vision had rented two extremely expensive cars from his daddy money, which you used every morning to drive to an animal shelter in the north. The journey took about 40 minutes. Something that could have been easily avoided if you hadn't had to rent the only available mansion in Sokovia. But who were you to judge.

“Babe, I think I want to drive the Lambo today and give y/n a ride. Please?”

You turned to your right and saw Wanda looking up at Vision with an innocent smile, her arm wrapped around his bicep. You didn't know what to say. Whether you should say anything at all. Why would Wanda want to give you a ride? Does she want to be alone with you? Would you even survive being alone with her? Vision looked at Wanda critically, then his eyes drifted to you.

“Um…sure,” Vision replied, somewhat perplexed. He seemed just as surprised as you were.

“I'm going with you guys,” Kate said almost in the same breath and put her arms around Steve and Bucky.

Of course Kate knew how you felt about Wanda. You told her straight away, otherwise you probably would have gone mad. Now she grinned mischievously at you.

And suddenly you found yourself alone in the car with Wanda. You don't remember how you got into the car, but you could swear your heart was pounding in your throat. Wanda, on the other hand, looked calm. She always looked calm around you, as if nothing could faze her. She had her left hand on the steering wheel, her right arm resting loosely on the center console. You couldn't read her. Not even close. Her eyes were fixed on the road, a small, satisfied smile on her lips. You, on the other hand, were nervously playing with your hands and tried to keep your focus on your surroundings. While you started counting the trees you were passing in a desperate attempt to not lose your shit, you noticed that the ride was already halfway over and Wanda hadn't said a word.

Why did she want to drive with me if she wasn't going to say a word to me? Does she expect me to say something?

But what could you say? You didn't know much about Wanda and you got incredibly nervous around her. It's not as if you had nothing to say. The contrary was the case really. You wanted to know everything about her. What her favorite books are, what movies remind her of her childhood, what perfume she wears. What perfume does she wear? Whenever Wanda was close to you, you felt almost bewitched. Her smell was definitely etched somewhere into your brain. But you couldn't ask that. Sometimes it's better to say nothing than to break something. Something that doesn't even exist yet.

But then you looked to the side. And Wanda smiled at you. You hadn't noticed that you were standing at a traffic light. The first rays of dawn shone into her moss-green eyes and you couldn't think straight. You had to take the chance.

“Hi,” was the only word that left your lips. You said it quickly and energetically, as if you had just met each other randomly on the street.

Wanda smirked and returned a somewhat confused “Hi?,” before the traffic light turned green and her gaze went back to the road.

Great y/n, really great.

After you managed to somehow compose yourself, you tried again. “I-... wanted to thank you. For letting me see the Lamborghini from the inside. That's really kind of you.”

Wanda chuckled, her eyes still focused on the road, “Don't be silly. It's my pleasure.”

Usually either Wanda or Vision were driving the Lamborghini to wherever you guys were needed. But it was always the two of them, alone, together. The rest of you would take the other car. At first you were upset about you and Wanda never driving together. Sure, Kate, Steve and Bucky were probably a lot more fun to drive with. But you were wondering what kind of music Wanda was listening to. If she had a certain playlist she would put on in the car. Now you were sitting next to her and the volume of the music was too quiet to hear much.

“What song is this?,” you asked quietly. It was supposed to come out louder, more confident.

Wanda turned her head slightly towards you again.

“Excuse me?”

You could already feel the blood rushing to your cheeks. She didn't understand you. And now that you had to repeat the question, you realized how stupid it was. You could have asked something, just anything else. Show that you're interested in her. But instead-

“Y/n?,” Wanda asked with a worried look. Her head tilted a little to the side. You were getting so hot it was almost unbearable.

“Sorry, did you say something?,” you asked, your cheeks flushed.

Wanda was silent for a moment and then smirked again.

“Y/n, you were saying something.”

“Oh, I'm sorry. I-. Just asked what song is playing. But that was a stupid question-”

Before you could finish, Wanda firmly put her hand on yours. You hadn't realized that you were nervously tugging at the hem of your jacket. Now her hand was holding yours still.

“You don't have to say you're sorry sweetheart,” she said with a calm expression, her eyes fixed on the road again. Wanda lifted her hand from yours and turned the volume up. You immediately missed her touch. How intense it felt. As you looked to the side, you saw Wanda smiling.

“This song is one of my favorites. My brother and I listen to it all the time when we hang out.”

“You have a brother?” you asked, genuinely interested.

“Yes, a twin brother," Wanda replied, her smile only getting bigger. “His name is Pietro. We were attached by the hip when we were kids.”

You spent the rest of the journey talking about Wanda's family and why Pietro wasn't in Sokovia to help the street dogs. Wanda had suggested it to him, but according to Wanda, Pietro has “more important things to do”. It turned out that Kate was right; it was Wanda's idea to come here. As a child, she had always wanted to take all the street dogs home with her, but her parents didn't have the money or resources for a pet. They could barely support the family.

“Today I'm in a position where I can really make a difference. I guess that is all I have ever wanted. Changing something for the better,” Wanda said, her tone carrying sincerity.

“You should be really proud of yourself Wanda,” you responded, the admiration you felt for the woman in front of you written all over your face.

“Thank you y/n. I really appreciate it,” Wanda retorted, placing her hand gently on your knee. Even through the fabric of your jeans, you could feel how soft her hand was. Her index finger began to circle around on your knee and it took a lot of self-control to not let out any inappropriate noise. You bit your bottom lip to suppress your building excitement, your eyes everywhere but on Wanda. You two just had your first decent conversation and you weren't about to let it go to waste. But before you could collect yourself, the hand on your knee lifted and you felt two fingers under your chin. Wanda turned your face effortlessly in her direction. One could think that the look on her face was innocent and sweet. That her thumb didn't intentionally brush against your bottom lip, trying to get a reaction out of you. But you knew better.

“You don't have to hold back y/n. You can't hide from me anyway,” Wanda murmured, her grip on your chin slightly tightening.

And before you could process what situation you were in, your alone time was over. Wanda couldn't even bring the car to a halt, Vision already knocking on the window with a smarmy grin on his face. He had once again shoved a toothpick between his teeth, probably because he thought it would make him look cooler. When Wanda got out without looking back at you, Vision took a good swing and slapped Wanda on the butt. You didn't understand how Vision had managed to pull Wanda. You wondered if Wanda knew how Vision treated you back in school. How could Wanda fall in love with such an asshole?

“Y/n?,” you suddenly heard from your right side. Kate had opened the passenger door for you and was grinning in your face.

“Are you ready?” she asked with a sly smile.

Without Kate, Vision would probably have bullied you into adulthood. But rich people always have to play nice with each other. Being friends with Kate has at least always guaranteed that no one dares to put you down. And somehow she's become your anchor ever since.

“Sure, I'll come,” you said a little frantically and got out of the car.

Today you were just on site, making sure that all the new arrivals were bathed and cared for. It was actually a relaxing job, but your mind was racing. You kept losing your focus when the redhead crossed your path. You tried to stay cool, to pretend that you hadn't been up all night because your thoughts about Wanda wouldn't let you sleep.

“And? How was the ride?” Kate asked excitedly as she sat down next to you on a bench, a little away from the others.

“Good, I think.”

“Good, what else?”

“Nothing more.”

Kate sighed and looked at you critically.

“Come on y/n. You've wanted nothing more than to be alone with Wanda all these days. And now you're saying it was good?”

Kate had this way of not leaving you alone until she heard what she wanted to hear from you. And in the end, you couldn't hide anything from Kate anyway. So you started to tell her. What you talked about, that Wanda told you about her family. And, of course, that her hands had found their way to you. Once again. She's been driving you crazy the last few days. Sometimes it's a light touch on your arm, sometimes a hand on your shoulder, sometimes her hands end up on your hips. You wondered if you were just imagining the magnetic bond between you two. Maybe Wanda was just a touchy person in general. It wouldn't be the first time you imagined someone liked you more than they actually did.

“Well, Wanda hasn't touched me, as far as I know, in the last few days. Or at all,” Kate recalled.

“Do you think I'm imagining things Kate?,” your concern clearly written on your face.

“I don't know y/n. But either way, you should be careful. We don't know Wanda well and I don't want you to come out of this hurt.”

You really wanted to listen to Kate. But deep down, you knew it was already too late. You were too deeply invested in this. Wanda already had you wrapped around her little finger. And it wasn't just you who knew that. Wanda was aware of it too.

: Part 3

[ceilidho]

Can you give us a summary of Bear for those who don't watch the Six? Because I read the bear fic cause I love you're writing, but I'm kinda lost about him I'm general lol

yes of course!!!

basic synopsis [stole from wikipedia lol]: Six chronicles the operations and daily lives of operators who are part of SEAL Team Six.

(spoilers below)

the overarching plot is about the kidnapping and eventual murder of Rip Taggart, a former member of Team Six. the show also goes over the personal lives of each of the men on the team and how their military careers affect their personal lives

Barry plays Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator (E-8) Joe "Bear" Graves a.k.a. Foxtrot Delta 1/FD1

most important plot points to help you get into my fic:

Bear is married to Lena, a school teacher (they were high school sweethearts); in the first episode (which takes place i think about a year and a half or so prior to the actual start of the show), they just found out that they're going to have a baby girl

Their daughter ends up dying at just a couple months old; it's hugely tragic and has a profound impact on both characters, but Bear is outwardly struggling a lot

Bear is a very religious man (like the kind of guy that can quote scripture from memory), but throughout the show, his relationship with his faith is becoming more and more strained as he feels like he's being punished for all of the killing that he's done as part of Team Six

Since the death of their daughter, Bear and Lena have also been having a lot of trouble conceiving (hence, the fertility clinic scene with Bear jacking off) - we later learn that this is due to a fertility issue on Bear's side (another thing that he takes as a sign that he's being punished - this guy is having a rough fucking time)

All of this is obviously also having a profoundly negative impact on Bear's and Lena's marriage; through the two seasons of the show, they gradually grow apart and eventually separate. Bear is fighting this the whole way through; he's intensely jealous when he suspects her of dating someone else and also struggles with the idea of moving on himself.

(I don't think it's confirmed, but we all imagine he's like Baptist or something; again, I emphasize, deeeeeppllyyy religious.)

As mentioned earlier, his former team member and close friend, Rip, dies at the end of season 1, which is just another thing causing Bear to spiral. Earlier in season 1, Team Six also lost another comrade named Buckley.

I mentioned earlier that Bear struggles with the concept of moving on from Lena and finding someone else. At one point in season 2, he does eventually sleep with someone after a night out at the bar, and to me this is a crucial moment in his character development because it shows just how far he's drifted from the church and from his religious beliefs.

Things that happen in the show but I'm not putting in my fic:

At the end of season 2, Lena is shot and killed. I'm not super interested in putting this in my fic, so in my fic, they've just officially gotten divorced and she's moved away.

[beebopboom]

ok. ok. ok. i’ve sat with it, processed, went to bed, woke up at 5am fiending for water, couldn’t go back to sleep and processed some more. Starting writing this and then had to go to work and now i’m back.

(skip this section if you just want my very limited 90min predictions for rn and not my rant lol)

i’ve been disappointed, sad, angry and just so tired.

and yet i think ive hit some form of acceptance. Don’t get me wrong I will mourn what six episodes would have gave us, even 90 minutes is shorter than most movies now days, but at least it’s something. That it doesn’t end with them not talking and a single angst filled kiss goodbye.

and it sucks to even say that because with so much queer media that seems to be the conclusion, “at least we get something.” That’s the reality we live in and it sucks that it has touched good omens.

Amazon was going to cancel, no way around it, and while it would have sucked I would not have blamed them (ok I would have a bit.) What happened with Neil is serious and there should be consequences. As much as I love this world and how much it has helped me, real people come first. He was such a huge name behind the show and a large part of the production process, that I would not have been surprised if they pulled the plug completely.

But they didn’t. We had so many people working behind the scenes to convince them to continue terry’s story because of their love of the story and because they know of our love the story. And for that I am thankful.

(also i’m pretty sure they kept the set pieces around this time instead of destroying them so that probably helped in green lighting something, yknow on the money side of this)

I’ve been through a devastating end season kiss that then didn’t get renewed before with aloto, which was also produced by amazon and they do not give a fuck. They were not lying when they said it was a miracle to get this renewed.

Which let’s talk about aloto, or a league of their own, real quick. Yknow do some comparisons even if it’s in reverse. This went from a little over two hour movie into an 8 episode series. And guess what it worked even if people had their doubts.

The movie version is a classic in its own right, I feel like everyone at least knows of it maybe can even quote some of the more iconic lines. It’s amazing and has a good story line. The TV show probably never would have went through without the backing of this movie.

and yes with the TV show they were able to go more in depth with the characters storylines, that’s just TV and that’s specifically the idea they went into filming with, to show the queer side of history within this girls baseball league, less about the actual baseball that the movie more focused on. They even pulled in Maybelle Blair, a former all American girls baseball league player, who helped tell the story of the show through her own experiences. (ok sorry for the rant, moving on)

but the movie (especially for the time period) had well rounded female characters with nuisances that we had never seen before on screen.

and before it even gets pointed out that aloto needed a s2 to finish their story I just to point out that even though it was a different story with different character arcs, both ended after one baseball season with the girls. Fully fleshed out characters with backstories and futures and a satisfying plot to match. It really was just the shock factor of their kiss being discovered right at the end that pushed their story to continue.

and yknow if numbers help you visualize more,

120min=8eps and 6eps=90min

feels proportional, idk if it is exactly cause this particular section was never my strong suit in math and i’m still tired lol

My point is for the most part, besides like a catch up in time between s2 and this movie, this 90min time frame is not going to have to squeeze in time to introduce characters and their motivations like we are used to with movies, besides if they introduce new characters which I don’t imagine would have been a lot anyways.

We have 2 seasons of backstory and plot. This is doable, even if may not be quite as elaborate as we were expecting.

Just like what we went through with the Owl House who also had a shorter air time than projected. S2 of the Owl House ended on a cliffhanger and even with the shortened time the ending was still well thought out, compelling and was able to be pulled off, very successfully.

We did not lose set designers or costume designers. Those important people behind the scenes that actually bring the world to life (as far as I know) are still there. And of course we did not loose our beloved actors that actually bring the characters to life.

and as for the new writer, we are at the end of October and they are still set to start filming in January, they are not writing completely new scripts in two months. They are reconceptualizing the already written scripts into a shorter form and editing where it is needed, perhaps adding scenes that better fit this form of media to help the narrative flow. They are also, I am sure, are getting help from the people who fought so hard to kept this thing running, if they even need it tbh. If they were trusted enough to get the script in their hands by the people who fought so hard to continue, then I guess I can give them a bit of my trust too.

So while the unknown is scary the community is strong both behind the scenes and in the fandom, I have faith, even if may not tie up every single loose end that I doubt a full s3 would have accomplished anyways, that their story will get told and will have a satisfying ending. Maybe with less trolls now too (because let’s be honest that’s what the kiss was).

And! think of all the fan made projects and fanfiction that could come out of all this. Cause really it’s always been the fandom that’s been the true heart and soul.

(ok rant now over)

and prediction time!!

a cold open, preferably something with Crowley’s Fall. I don’t see them moving to far away from this idea tbh.

a title screen, not sequence. i HOPE peter anderson studio still works with this project after everything. I think they will end up giving this movie a subtitle and they will work something out here that is short and sweet.

Now for the actual plot I’ll theorize about another day because I realized I haven’t really done that yet??? and that deserves its own proper post. oops

but ☝️ i have a few ideas of the set up,

the pacing will be a lot more like s1 than s2, which I was already anticipating and might even work out better in long form media.

there will still be minisodes, probably not as many and will probably be more incorporated like s2 where it had a direct correlation with the plot.

number of storylines may be reduced, GO is normally set up with 3 stories that all meet at a single point finale point. I would not be surprised if it was cut down to 2 main storylines, us vs them kinda thing, that will still really work out well.

all our beloved wacky easter eggs will still be there, a lot of those were references to Terry so I don’t see those going anywhere anytime soon.

south downs is still a go, i also don’t see them getting rid of this at all. It was always the goal. Give them some goddamn peace and quiet.

the end credits, this is where Peter Andersen studios could pop off again but the important bit is….

end credit scene!!!! really this is just something I would like to happen and it’d be really cool if it was the actual actors, hell throw in the whole crew, just as a little send off.

ok wow I thought I had more…um obviously this could be all bullshit but I feel pretty good about it.

but really all this to say that to just breathe, experience your emotions as they are all we got right now. We got an answer, finally, so no more waiting in the unknown. 🫶

[tyrantisterror]

One thing that’s interesting when comparing Beast Wars to G1 Transformers is how often the later gets wildly reinterpreted in adaptation while the former stays relatively the same.

The G1 characters and conflict have been adapted so many times.  There are dozens of Optimus Primes and Megatrons and Starscreams and Shockwaves and Soundwaves and so fucking many Bumblebees, so many iterations of the Autobots vs. Decepticons, and either out of necessity or sheer creative boredom there have been some wild reinterpretations of them as a result, sometimes even from the same writer.  One of my favorite examples is Ultra Magnus, who in the Marvel comics was written as a very uncertain character who constantly second guessed himself and his ability to lead, but in the IDW comics was written to be this hard-lined rules-obsessed character who was always certain what he was doing was right, specifically because Simon Furman, a writer for both comics, wanted to keep from repeating himself and decided to invert Magnus’s characterization to force different stories out of him.

G1 has a ridiculously huge cast of toys characters to pick and choose from, and because of all these adaptations, almost all of them have juicy personalities and character arcs to play with.  You’ve got the A-Listers, of course, but even z-listers like Ironfist and Swerve have at least one story where they get to shine.

Beast Wars, by contrast, is almost always focused on the original main cast when it’s brought back.  Beast Megatron, Optimus Primal, Dinobot, Cheetor, etc.  Where G1 adaptations will play with new settings and conflict wrinkles (Animated puts it in the somewhat distant future, the Unicron Trilogy really emphasizes the Cosmic Horror of Unicron, etc.), Beast Wars always (with one exception) takes place on prehistoric Earth.

And I theorize this is because of the different between their first cartoons.  Both are character focused - because the whole point of a toyline-based cartoon is to get kids emotionally invested in the toys their buying, and you do that by making those toys interesting characters - but because 90′s CGI animation was a SHITLOAD more expensive than 80′s traditional animation, G1 Transformers could make the cast ENORMOUS while Beast Wars had to kill off a cast member before they could afford to bring another on, and as such the cast remained pretty damn small - which in turn meant that those characters were even more focused on, given more development, and defined in a depth that the original cartoon iterations of the G1 cast weren’t.  G1 Megatron is a defined character, yes, but that definition is loose enough that he can be wildly reinterpreted while still feeling like Megatron.  Beast Wars Megatron, though, is cemented.  He must be a schemer, he must be theatrical, he must be gleefully beyond redemption yet still charming as hell.  The characterizations and plot twists of Beast Wars are so iconic that they almost loom too large, with re-adaptations often ending up feeling like just pale imitations of the original.

Except Beast Wars Uprising, which is creative as Hell and it’s kind of a shame that the only way to read it requires you to look at an eye-searing website.

Anyway, it’s kind of fun to think of how Beast Wars could be reinterpreted.  It technically has a huge cast like G1 - there were SO many Beast Wars toys, which means there are a lot more characters than those in the original show, and as the recent-ish IDW comics show, nothing’s to stop you from adding new characters to the mix (I mean, they only added two and still stuck to a lot of the same beats as the cartoon, but still).  You could do some big shakeups.

And hell, even among that core cast, there are characters that could use some more love.  Tigatron and Airrazor got screwed by Hasbro’s requiring new toys on the screen, their arcs cut abruptly short to make way for new product.  Terrorsaur and Scorponok were similarly eliminated but also had the problem of never really defining themselves in an interesting way, they could do with entirely new characterizations.  And as Beast Wars Uprising showed, there’s  a LOT of potential in Transmutate, a character written to die in her debut episode.

Here’s hoping 90′s nostalgia will do for Beast Wars what decades of 80′s nostalgia have done for the G1 cast.  I think it’d be fun to see the franchise get weird with these beasts.

[transyurikatsuki]

not that anyone really will see this BUT if i dont talk about this man I will fucking explode, anyway this is one of my tavs Azrael and i have about a million and one feelings about him because he has an overly complicated back story and I just think hes neat.

anyway hes a high elf sorcerer draconic bloodline (cold) and he used to be a fairly chill (ha) 'adventurer' for hire in baldurs gate, he wasnt super passionate about helping people but his power allowed him to work and that was that for him. anyway heres where we turn a little ridiculous but thats okay because I love him. basically he was killed (see scars: slit throat) and he doesnt know who or why, but he does have some fleeting memories to know that they then took his body and raised him from the dead and used him/controlled him as a puppet for years, and he woke up again on the nautiloid, in control of himself for the first time in years with basically no memories of all that time. basically hes got this story because I wanted him to have a lot of parallels and connections with the companions and these themes of trying to have control over yourself for the first time etc.

well when he woke up he definitely had some more necromantic powers whereas his original magic was mostly related to ice cause of his bloodline. and anyway because of the whole being a possessed corpse for years he kinda has a bit of a sore point with necromancers and the death gods and i hadnt even finished act 2 with my first character when I made Azrael so I had no idea just how relevant and bad act 2 would be for him. needless to say he immediately slaughtered balthazar upon meeting him. and also he felt calm and ready to fight with ketheric until ketherics line about killing you and raising your corpse and using it. at which point azrael went ummm a little berserk mode. all this to say he was in a very bad place at the end of act 2 learning about who is actually behind all this plot and so even though he was initially very anti tadpole, because of the whole "my body just became mine again and i have been dead before and I refuse to do it again" deal he has going on. well lets just say he was scared and not thinking straight and decided to eat a certain tadpole. he possibly regrets this already because people already thought he looked a bit scary and dead but whats done is done. hes a bit numb as we have entered the city.

anyway hes romancing astarion it was a bit of a rocky start for those two and they had a huge fight about the necromancy of thay but they eventually worked their way through it. and now they bond about being scared of their former masters finding them and a strange mixture of fear and gratefulness that the tadpoles broke the control. also for what its worth he had a hard time with gale initially but the scene where gale helped him reach into the weave like a wizard would was incredibly healing for him, considering he was a little scared of the way his magic had changed when he woke up.

now were in act 3 and hes a bit freaked to be in the city and his new camp best friend (he barely talks to her his emotional intelligence is not very high) is isobel because he is so excited to have someone to bond over being dead and then raised against their will.

if you read all this im giving you a kiss on the face and im telling you to please ask me questions about him because i care him so much

Edit: guess what I also want to show you all how he looked alive. I've made myself sad creating this. Note: more freckles, alive person skin tone, bluer eyes.

[msommers]

1, 3, 4, 14, 18 for riya, meredith and ellana!

thank youuuu xoxo we ignore how long this took between forgetfulness and having no braincells xoxoxo // questions about creating your ocs

1) What was the first element of your OC that you remember considering (name, appearance, backstory, etc.)?

RIYA — because we knew the campaign at large would span the 15-year long third blight, the first thing i landed on was the base concept of a character who could grow into the type who would willingly brave that ultimate sacrifice to end the blight when it came down to it. obviously with no guarantee of Give Me That Death It's All I Want or even reaching that point, i was just interested in exploring what type of clown i could force into this inevitable character development. 

MEREDITH — god. it's been so long. it was probably her appearance because i went into origins as a baby da fan and didn't know what to expect. which is kinda funny now because her appearance is the biggest change she’s ever had thru all these years. 

ELLANA — on my second playthrough when i knew at least a little bit of what the fuck i was doing in the setting, i believe the first consideration for her was whether i wanted to double down on my interest in the elven culture in thedas that'd i'd developed during my first run of the game or if i wanted to try focused on other aspects (fairly obvious nowadays that i went with the former). 

3) How did you choose their name?

RIYA — i went back into dms with the dm and turns out i chose the name because of the cute nicknames you could get out of it. so pretty much nailed it first try because riya is iconic tbh

MEREDITH — she's one of my oldest characters which means i didn't do Any research before picking her name, meredith was chosen purely because i've been in love with the name since i first read the vampire diaries books when i was a tween. its meaning being “great ruler” was pure destiny, i'll never get over that discovery. 

ELLANA — default name pretty 🥰🥰 and no i still haven't landed on an extended version of her name, don't talk to me about it i have problems making decisions (someone send help).

4) In developing their backstory, what elements of the world they live in played the most influential parts?

RIYA — without a doubt the fact that mages in nevarra were given an absurd amount of freedoms compared to countless places, i loved that. i believe soon after that i stumbled upon the vague history tidbit that a duchess had donated her “palatial estate” to become the new college of magi because she had a mage daughter, and that became a solid base for the new pc right quick. riya was shaped so fast between that initial concept and these two discoveries it wasn't even funny. somewhere in there i found the grand tourney business, dunno when. 

MEREDITH — okay so take literally every element of the human noble origin story and its plot through the game and there. you got it. the entire laundry list that had me fucking obsessed with mere since the jump because everything there ticks my boxes. the politics, the family ties and history, the kingdom pride, the sense of duty that's matched in intensity only by the inescapable desire to enact justice (bordering on violent vengeance lmao) for your family and people with your own two goddamn hands because nobody else is going to get it for you. also you have a cute dog right off the bat, that rules. 

ELLANA — her creation is so. muddled to me because she was the first character i ever played a da game with, so most of the influential elements likely just popped up in inquisition at some point or other and nothing stands out there. my best guess would be that the vallaslin and god domains played a good part tho, because there being a goddess of motherhood and justice has been huge for her.

14) If you had to narrow it down to 2 things that you MUST keep in mind while working with your OC, what would those things be?

RIYA — it physically pains me sometimes, but the first is that i have to remember just how privileged this woman was and try to reflect that in what she says and how she reacts to things (i took psychic damage when she blatantly was judging every bit of that little village). second would be that i have to remind myself how much pain and trauma is gathering up in this mage, unhealed and unacknowledged, because sometimes i can forget while caught up in all that’s going on just how fucking bad it really is. i’ll go quiet here and there during a scene not because i can’t think of what riya would say, but because i realized something would’ve triggered her to spiral into the negative feelings and all she’d be capable of is a “hm” or clear i want to get the fuck out of here one-liner lmao

MEREDITH — number one is that she’s putting noble responsibilities above all else always, sometimes to the detriment of other priorities and even relationships. second is that “canon” doesn’t matter at all and i can have fun with her story however i want, who gives a fuck. follow the fun and all that. i have to keep this in mind for her out of everyone because she has some Strong negative opinions on certain characters which have some,,,aggressive fans and that held me back for a good while lol

ELLANA — first is that she approaches things with gentleness and empathy 99% of the time, even if it’s not advisable and she has people pushing against it. second is naturally Legacy, because that fuck haunts her past, present and future. she's constantly musing on it for both herself and others, and its influence on her can't be noted enough. i have a vivid memory of pausing the hakkon dlc to repeatedly bash a pillow against my face to let out the emotions i was dealing with because the plot was trying to end my fucking life with ameridan and ellana.

18) What is the most recent thing you’ve discovered about your OC?

RIYA — the first thing i can think of was a few months back with the callout that correctly identified riya’s lowkey desperation to get warden-commander satine’s approval as her having mommy issues. blatantly obvious fact, yeah, but it had gone without being commented on and it took me tf out for a few minutes after hearing it. as you can imagine she’s thriving after each positive response from sending updates sent the warden-commander’s way.

MEREDITH — ooooh, a few things because of that long ass warden sheet i’ve been slowly chipping away at in the docs. i believe the most recent is that i never gave this poor woman some hobbies outside of a minor interest in map sketches, so i’ve been on-off thinking about that for a little while. who knows what i’ll land on, i’m lazy. embroidery was a contender because it's the Classic for noble ladies and also i think she deserves arts & crafts fun, just look at her life she needs it

ELLANA — nothing really, she's been consistent for a long while ���‍♀️ closest thing is that i did very briefly revisit the ancient idea that i think she deserves one or a few kids to fulfill her “mama bear” energy to a more literal degree but that's mostly a goof. 95% a goof. maybe 90%. if she ends up w kids at the end of this week i can’t be held accountable-

[archduchessofnowhere]

Why do you hate Versailles so much? I haven't seen it, but from the point-of-view of someone who knows fuck all about the plot, it looks fine - at the very least, nothing to inspire the kind of violent hatred I have for Maria Theresia. I even considered watching it at one point, but there was always something better on TV or Netflix, so I never got to it. So I guess I just want to be forewarned before possibly throwing myself into it?

Speaking about bad period drama - have you seen that Maria Theresia show that premiered on RTL in 2017? Because for me, it's what Versailles is for you. Except I don't know how much you like Louis XIV., but for all her flaws Maria Theresia is an icon of the former Habsburg monarchy, so I kinda took this show personally.

Hi! Well, that's the thing: Versailles looks fine. I like watching period dramas in general so I had it on my radar, and since I had mostly seen positive reviews of it I went into it with the impression that it was a good historical series. Not good as in "is trashy but in a fun, good way!", not good as in "inaccurate but in a self aware, entertaining good way!". But in an actually good way. So I was almost shocked when I watched the pilot because it is legit one of the worst pilots I've ever seen, like I cannot believe they actually green-lighted the series after that. I kept watching because many series I love have mediocre to bad first episodes so I didn't want it to judge it solely on that, and since it did got better (not hard to achieve, since they touched rock-bottom with that pilot) I ended up watching the whole season. Which in defense of the series, was ok. But season 2 wasn't ok, and I had to force myself to finish season 3 (which I regret, I should've just dropped it).

Ultimately if I had to boil down my dislikeness to one thing it would be that it's just very badly written series, period. When you're watching it you feel as if the series had over fifty screenwriters who never read each other's writings. There is an incredible disconnection between episodes, so many plotlines are introduced to never be properly explored and eventually abandoned only episodes later. Every season felt like a soft reboot of the previous one (season 1 finishes in a HUGE CLIFHANGER... that is immediately solved five minutes into season 2 and then never mentioned again. This was the moment I realized I was watching truly bad TV), the original characters dragged the story and stole the screentime that the historical characters painfully needed, and SA was used for nothing more than shock value more than once (not to Outlander extremes, but still felt very unnecessary).

It is also very historically inaccurate, and I wouldn't mind it (I've read one book related to Louis XIV in my entire life, I don't care much about him as a historical figure) if it wasn't the worst type of historical inaccurate: the lazy type. Inaccuracies not because we think that the real history is boring and needs to be more bold and sexy *looking at all the recent Sisi adaptations*, but because we were just too lazy to research beyond the very basis and thus we accidentally end up creating dozens of plot-holes. Exemple: Philippe Duke of Orléans (Louis XIV's brother) was married to Henriette of England and they had two daughters. During season 1 the daughters are never EVER mentioned, not even once. Henriette even gets pregnant at one point and everyone acts as if this were her first child. So I thought the daughters had been written out of the series (terrible move if they were planning to reach to the point in history where Louis XIV married off his niece to Carlos II of Spain). BUT THEN in the first episode of season 2 when Philippe's second wife is introduced she says something along the lines of "I brought presents for Marie Louise and Anne Marie", the two daughters who had never been introduced to the audience up to that point!! Which is just a terrible way to revel that the two most important supporting characters of season 1, whose relationship had been a key plotline, had had children all along and was just never brought up. At the end the series did reach to the point Louis XIV arranged his niece's marriage so Marie Louise make an appearance, and it showed that never properly writing her into the series before was a terrible move, because suddenly a sixteen-years-old girl popped out in the middle of season 3 and we just had to accept that we had never seen her until that point because her father didn't remember she existed?? Don't you just love how well researched and written this series is??

Versailles is just personally frustrating to me. I've watched The Spanish Princess, which is probably one of the worse if not the worst period drama ever written, and it doesn't make as angry as Versailles. Because with TSP we all agree that it's bad, but with Versailles I feel that I watched a different series that the one everyone else saw because it cannot be that no one else noticed how goddamn bad it is.

And I haven't watched the Maria Theresia series but I probably will, solely because there's not that much Habsburg related media out there. You spoiled me something about it and I remember I actually said WHAT out loud when I read it because I couldn't believe they would get her SO wrong. I'm glad you told me because if I had gone into the series without knowing it would've punched me in the face lol.

[relicsongmel]

Introduction

Welcome! My name is Mel and this is my place to shout into the void about things I'm way too obsessed with. I'm in my 20s, female, pan(demi)romantic asexual and also autistic/ADHD as hell. I post about a variety of things but here are the fandoms you're most likely to see (in no particular order):

Pokemon/Pokeani

Ace Attorney

Bleach

Inuyasha

Animal Crossing

Stardew Valley

Love Nikki

Undertale

Other things to know about me:

Personal posts will be tagged as [#mel's musings].

I have two tags [#little songbird] and [#forest for the tree] for my OCs Sylvia and Denise, respectively. They're my two pseudo self-inserts reflecting different aspects of my personality that I can throw into whatever fictional universe I'm hyperfixating on in the moment for my own enjoyment. If you're curious I have overviews for each of them in this post—I'm somewhat selective about sharing plot details for the various AUs I have but if you have questions about the characters themselves I'm more than happy to answer them! I love my girls <3

In addition to the fandoms listed above I am also EXTREMELY autistic about music—I have a background in piano/classical singing and have been in choirs all my life since 4th grade. I have been bestowed with the blessed (and sometimes cursed) combination of absolute pitch as well as pitch-color synesthesia. The former is the ability to identify pitches without a reference note and the latter is a phenomenon where my brain associates certain musical keys with certain colors, temperatures and scenery among other things. It is a HUGE special interest of mine—ask me questions about it and I will literally love you until the end of time I'm serious. Even if it's as simple as sending me a song and asking what color it is or asking me for thoughts on video game OSTs because I have a LOT

A follow-up to the above point: I love all things music theory and analysis and whatnot but in my excitement I have a tendency to get a bit TOO technical sometimes. I will do my best to make things as accessible as possible in my personal posts or when answering questions directed towards me (unless you specify it's not needed) but if that's not your niche any posts of this nature will be tagged as [#music nerd shit].

BE WARY OF FOLLOWING IF:

You are weird about multishipping. I like many ships for many different reasons and there's a lot of overlap between characters (just as an example: for Ace Attorney I am primarily a Narumitsu/Wrightworth shipper but I also enjoy Krisnix, Feenris, Gumworth and Langworth and I will make posts about all of them). All ship posts are tagged as such but it's something to be mindful of

You dislike long tag ramblings. I tend to do that a lot, so if that's not something you can just Ignore than this blog may not be the place for you (side note: if my tags on a post ever don't make sense there's a decent chance I'm just having a conversation with one of my mutuals through tags because some of them Do That. Deal with it)

You are overly invested in pro/anti discourse. I have things that squick me out just like anyone else but if I see something I don't like I just block and move on. It is not my job to police the behavior of random strangers on the internet and I don't need any of you weirdos trying to convince me it is please for the love of god go outside

KEEP YOUR TERF/RADFEM BULLSHIT, EXCLUSIONISM OR BIGOTRY OF ANY KIND THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME. IF I SEE ANY OF THAT SHIT I WILL BLOCK ON SIGHT

If you follow me and need anything specific tagged (whether it be for spoilers or other reasons), shoot me a message and I'm more than happy to oblige.

My askbox is always open if you'd like to talk about anything at all whether it be fandom shit, music nerd shit or otherwise. If you'd prefer me to answer privately please specify as such when writing your ask.

I do not condone the use of generative AI or reuploading art without express permission from the original artist. If I accidentally reblog AI/stolen art please send me a message letting me know so I can delete it accordingly.

If we are mutuals and you'd like to get to know me more, feel free to message and ask for my Discord! I'm not a part of any servers at the moment because that sort of thing intimidates me, but I do enjoy talking to my friends there and you could be one of them. If you'd like. But you need to make that clear to me first so hmu if you're interested <3

And that's about it, really! Enjoy your time here and I hope something nice happens to you today <333

[tranquilspot]

Examine Room.

[This is a rewriting of a post that has been sadly deleted, as such this version will be different and modified since I only recall the broad outlines]

This ‘young man’ is now officially John, and the tags will reflect the name change from now on. Both for convenience and non-spoil policy in case new readers happen to come across this blog.

Aaah~ The all-caps words, it’s been pinned down as a Homestuck thing. I saw a post once from someone who innocently wrote in this format. The Homestucks were on the lookout on that one x) Don’t you love it? For me it’s such a treat for my dyslexic eyes. Why can’t all writers write more like this, it’s not rocket science! Bold, italic, space between paragraphs, colors and quotes to draw the attention to the important parts. So please, no more HUGE BLOCKS OF TEXT. It’s ugly, it’s annoying, you spend 5 minutes on a paragraph cause you were reading in diagonal then went back as you didn’t (mis)understand the whole thing and read several times the same sentence/word until you finally get something. And now your head hurts/you’re irritated. Anyway, back to Homestuck proper.

Who the fuck has cakes in their room, hell SEVERAL CAKES with cream and all dripping on the furniture?! Yes I get it, I too like to bring snacks to eat in front of the computer but dude It’ll attract ants! DAD might be a better guardian than the others, but you can’t deny that behavior and parental choice wise there’s something off about him. Don’t get me started on having a HAMMER AND NAILS just sitting on the floor waiting for an unfortunate fool (tool hehe) to step on it. Well, we’ll get back to safety hazard a bit later.

You like to program computers but you are NOT VERY GOOD AT IT.

One thing that I find interesting and just noticed is that John not being good at programming isn’t really important nor relevant, what is on the other hand is that it introduces two significant elements to the story: data structures, and ~ATH (until death). The former focusing on FETCH MODI and CAPTCHALOGUE CARDS, while the latter on VIRUSES (mobius double reacharound starting in act 5). I highly doubt that it was a foresight on Hussie’s side, taking into account the ~ATH is a Problem Sleuth reference (the symbol on the cover is the face of DEATH) and him incorporating those elements in his, at the time, brand new webcomic was a flex on their computer knowledge and skills. Still I think it’s nice to point it out, as it doubles (triples?) as a soft introduction to concepts that will follow the readers far into the adventure and even pop back in as a Chekhov's gun.

You have a fondness for PARANORMAL LORE

This sentence is awesome and irks me, because paranormal shit is so cool but sadly people tend to overlook it and focus on the shitty movies and magician parts.

Which is so lame! John even gave a speech about ghosts and science in Act 6 Intermission 2 that was interesting and I will definitely talk about it when we get to this conversation.

Though maybe I shouldn’t talk about stuff before they’re actually brought up by the narration? Whatever I’m my own boss, I can still develop before or when it happens. You guys tell me in the notes what you think about it.

You also like to play GAMES sometimes.

Funny how among the group of 4 friends, only John and TT have ‘play games’ mentioned in their introduction. TG plays on Xbox alone or with his Bro, GG as far as I know doesn’t own any game until SBURB came around the corner.

Perhaps it’s because the author already established that those two planned to play together. Or maybe it is pointed out by the narration because it is a relevant piece of information for establishing the plot. Or even maybe it's part of Hussie “I’ve put writing rules then soon after will discard them” hijinks. Or all of the above.

John however does own games in his disk rack, and later in the adventure plays at one of them with two of his friends. But I’ll wait and develop my thoughts on the matter when we get there (for the disk rack, very soon). —>

[dragonsbone]

Hi!! I've fallen in love with your GoT oc Joanna and I was wondering if I could please be added to the tag list?

I was also wondering if you could say how Joanna's going to get along with Elia Sand! What's their relationship going to be like? Oh and is she going to have any time with the Tyrells? Or Sansa? What's her relationship going to be like with Oberyn? I'm so excited for all the edits and gifs you make!!

hi there !! and yes ofc i can add u, thank u sm for asking !!

so i haven’t met elia sand in the books yet ( i have just started reading the series too so it may take me a while to get to that point ), but from what i read on the wiki, josana and elia would definitely bond over their love of horses. josana grew up loving horses because of her mother, laissa. she takes the time to read and learn the different breeds, diseases, best ways of riding, etc. it’s one of the many things that sets her apart from her uncle and it’s a part of her childhood that remains untouched and tainted after years of tywin crafting her into being his pawn. elia is definitely no lady by any means, so there would obviously be a difference in that aspect, but i think their dynamic would be interesting to reach at some point !! elia seems super fucking cool and i absolutely love this quote from her “i am almost a woman grown, ser. i'll let you spank me, though ... but first you'll need to tilt with me, and knock me off my horse.” like how iconic !!

funny how u mention the tyrells because i am in the process of really deep diving with brainstorming to formulate their dynamics. i will be including willas and maybe garlan, but probably only by mention. not sure yet. most definitely willas bc he’s the heir to highgarden and josana was former queen of the north and bore a male heir. now that sansa is wed to tyrion, josana is the next option for the tyrells to undermine the lannisters. it doesn’t go as far at all like it’s quickly snuffed out by tywin and gives josana a truly awful match, but it’s all part of my plans ehehehehehe. anyways, for the rest of the tyrells, the dynamics are still tentative as i need to understand who these characters are from show vs books. once i have those similarities and differences figured out perfectly, then i can easily plot it !!

so,,,, sansa,,,, this one is complicated bc i made a huge change to josana’s story ( for the better to reinforce my themes, but it’s an even angstier change ). starting off in the beginning when they’re both in winterfell, sansa wants to impress josana as she does with princess myrcella, joffrey, cersei, etc. josana is to marry her brother and they would become family, so they are spending time getting to know each other and bonding! josana always liked sansa and vice versa !! very very good terms. and then the war happened. sansa being alone in king’s landing surrounded by lannisters is not pleasant by any means. and her opinion on josana changes drastically over time bc of all the scandalous rumors, but most importantly,,,, the red wedding. a cliff note’s version: josana is outed by lord walder frey for her treason against the starks, which he knew bc of tywin. he makes a toast to her after everyone’s been slaughtered except robb and catelyn and says “this is the fruit of her labor” and from then on, she is known as a traitorous bitch, the queen who lost the north, the widow queen, etc. though sansa is never present at the red wedding, word travels fast and rumors spread like wildfire. i do have positive plans in the future for josana and sansa, but i really need to plan out the best and most realistic approach to tackle my changes since i didn’t initially plan on josana’s betrayal to ever be revealed, especially in that horrible situation. it’s tricky, but hopefully i can come up with the best option to have a brighter future for their dynamic bc i love sansa so much. her and josana go through similar ( yet still wildly different ) paths and female friendships mean sm to me !!

i LOVE josana and oberyn SO MUCH !!!!!!!!! my partners in crime and sexy fwb !! i have a whole ask dedicated to them here, but i’ll happily talk about them more if u have any other questions specifically !!

i apologize for how long this is, i got carried away. but thank u so so so much for asking all of these questions !! i am super tired so i apologize for any rambling or spelling/grammar errors, but i hope these provided some insight on josana’s story !! if u would like to know anything else, feel free to shoot another ask, and i’ll happily answer anything <3

[sarah-dipitous]

Hellsite Nostalgia Tour 2023 Day 3

“Dead In the Water”

Would I Survive The First Five Minutes?? Mmmm, I think so. I don’t think I would go swimming alone like that. I love a good lake swim (or a good wading into the lake maybe up to my knees. Lake Erie isn’t the BEST at being clean...), but thankfully I didn’t compete in swimming in high school and wouldn’t feel comfortable with the kind of swimming our victim of the day did 3/3

I don’t know if it’s just my disdain for Jared Padalecki or just being an older sibling, but I stay on Dean’s side in nearly all of their arguments

...and I also love when he horribly fails at flirting.

HIS VOICE CRACKED WHEN HE SAID “THAT’S MY MOM” IN HIS DRAWING. I CAN’T.

(why did i think that the fish that dude was gonna cook was a rat at first??) GET THE FUCK OUT OF THERE DUDE!! WHY ARE YOU REACHING IN THIS WATER??? No. No. No. Well, damn.

Dean...I don’t think you need to do this monologue. I think Lucas is drawing you something to help just on his own. Or is this monologue really more for Sam?

Spoiler alert: it was.

(I thought part of the second drawing was a dalek...so, there’s that)

What did you DO, Bill?

Oh no, girlie...what are you doing taking a bath right nowwwww??

Okay, the makeup on the actor playing the kid who originally drowned is creepier than anything in either of the previous two episodes.

I’m not saying it’s their job to save the town from going under when the lake dries up, but it was a weird plot point early on that everyone just seems okay with??

“The End of the World”

Okay...here’s the thing. Either the Doctor has really good intuition on Rose that she’d still travel with him after this episode, or he didn’t really want a companion at this point because..............no, I’m making myself sad about this because even though we (or maybe just I) don’t know exactly how much time has passed since he regenerated from being the War Doctor, taking your new companion to see the end of THEIR planet is a HUGE test of whether or not they can hang with everything you’re going through at the moment.

(Side note: isn’t one of her first outings with Ten to New Earth? God. This show can be REALLY GOOD)

I did watch the preview for this episode the other day, and the cast of characters is just...amazing. The Face of Boe? Cassandra the Last Human?? To quote Nine, fantastic!!

Rose accepts everything very quickly. I love that for her.

We don’t use The Adherence of the Repeated Meme (is that how they spell it in the show??) enough...with how often we repeat memes???

The “iPod”!!! God...it’s so good.

I take back Rose accepting things quickly. I’m glad that she’s questioning him, I’m glad this is hitting her pretty hard.

HANG THE FUCK ON. The Doctor saved a family from going on the Titanic and then he WENT ON THE TITANIC ANYWAY??? MY DUDE. And then later went on aNOTHER TITANIC?? WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!

A BITCHY TRAMPOLIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINE!!! GWORL!!! How did I overlook Rose so much all these years??

I love traditional Earth ballads lol

I also appreciate how Cassandra finds time to make quips about her former husbnads in all of this

“You lot, just chill!” as the temperature rises and the heat death of Earth is imminent?? Sure.

It had been years since I last watched this episode, and I remembered next to nothing about it, but I was right about his motivation for bringing Rose to the end of the world.

[helpicant-stop]

this is just a theory (and also take it with a grain of salt because i'm not an expert [also i am taking a lot of this from sideways' video on cats]) but i think it might have to do with the format of cats the musical as well as its parallels with the btb story. many other musicals follow the classic three-act hero's journey structure that can be seen in many classic disney movies--but cats is an exception.

typically you start off with an introduction of the world and the hero with a couple intro songs, followed by the hero's big "want" song (sometimes these are combined like in avenue q), and then the plot progresses with them and their goals. the villain's song is usually shallower, more of an introduction and announcement of who they are rather than their hopes and dreams. you can also see this for shallower characters who aren't necessarily antagonists.

subversions of these two songs are seen in musicals like chicago, where billy flynn states that he "wants" love only to turn out to only care about money. you could say his true number is Razzle Dazzle, which though sung to roxie, is the closest "i am" song other than maybe When You're Good to Mama.

so what about cats? well there are intro songs yes and there's the introduction of the plot with the jellicle ball. but between those is victoria, an instrumental solo dance. this gives off the false impression that she's the protagonist; but you'll also notice she never gets to sing her own song. it's just a red herring. you could possibly connect this to btb by either saying the plot itself is the red herring (like it starting off like a regular clown foodtruck and now having insane lore) or that the btb employees are the red herrings because they seemed like the main characters, but in reality it was steve. i prefer the former over the latter because personally i think all of them have equal importance in the show though.

after the "exposition" songs you get like two hours worth of intro songs for cats in the hopes that they'll be the ones to reach the heavyside layer, which is referenced directly in the song. we're introduced to this old cat nobody likes called grizabella the glamour cat. after that there's a brief stint (in between cat intro songs of course) where old deuteronomy is briefly kidnapped by (the insanely hyped-up) macavity. after that, there's more cat songs before we're hit in the face with the emotional climax that is grizabella's "i want" song, revealing her to be the true main character all along. victoria's only narrative purpose was to be the first one to actually touch her after all these years. then, of course, grizzabella gets sent to the heavyside layer because SHE'S the one who deserved it all along.

the entire plot structure of cats is also similar to btb s1 & the 2 ending in that there's an establishing point, a bunch of fucking around, a single foreshadowing emotional moment (back on broadway yet again), a single encounter with rival/villain characters, returning back to the fucking around and then the huge emotional twist in the end.

then there's old deuteronomy: while he's also a candidate, he's more like the leader of the jellicle cats who chooses who gets into the heavyside layer. he even gets kidnapped in the middle for some reason, a lot like how steve was hammered directly into florida townhouses(?) by cesare. of course, old deut has his own song too--and it's moments of happiness motherfucker

so what's special about his song? the second line "we had the experience but missed the meaning" in the musical is to refer to how they all got caught up parading the cats around, but still ostracised grizabella the glamour cat because they lost the meaning of the jellicle ball, which is to find a worthy candidate to bring to the heavyside layer.

when in context of btb, this could mean that whatever fanaticism the clowns have surrounding cats makes them lose the meaning of the musical altogether. when steve makes a single mistake, he's immediately banished to... the heavyside layer. steve is effectively both old deuteronomy and grizabella in this narrative, meant to be the leader but banished for a mistake he made

however, steve's role as old deuteronomy comes back in an unexpected way when he starts bigtop burger. now he's the leader of the employees, like old deut was the leader of the cats, and in his words, he's "back on broadway yet again"

of course, we should complete the metaphor by discussing the climax of the musical: memory, grizabella's song. a brief verse appears in moments of happiness; it could be steve's perspective after he was banished

but here's where my theory gets a little wacky: i think grizabella might also thematically represent cesare. cesare is implied to not have a very good standing with upper management, or at least not be very well liked, just like her. his theme of undeadness and having "friends in low places" also seems to match the vibe but that could just be me. this verse could be cesare's introduction to steve's story and where their hunt begins, since cesare mentioned he'd been chasing him for a long time

in the end, grizabella gets chosen to go to the heavyside layer. given the newest poster of the zomburger and bigtop burger cast together, if we believe--and this is like 100% speculation on my end--that cesare's upper management also resides in the heavyside layer, this could mean steve getting him back in the good graces of upper management, maybe through all of them having to work together somehow. again this is just me making an absolutely insane theory but take it as you will

my alternate, more likely theory is that steve is still also grizzabella, and in the end he'll be sent back to the heavyside layer and to clown planet(?) as he's been wanting to all these years.

TL;DR: cats has a lot of narrative and format parallels to bigtop burger

…Cats…

I just finished watching Bigtop Burger and I’m just filled with so many thoughts and emotions….WHY CATS???!!!??? Don’t get me wrong I loved the art style and the humor was peak especially with the animation improvement from season one to season two….BUT WHY CATS???!!!????

[korn-y-copia]

I am so, so excited to share this beautiful artwork that I commissioned from @jaxx29nyr over on Instagram (and here on tumblr too)!!!

This is my sister of sin oc Mara, with Cardinal Copia of course 🥰 I am so, so in love with how it came out, and just how beautiful they both look.

I like to call this the “look of a woman who is so, so in love and so proud of her man for rising in rank, and being granted the position of Papa (when the time is right, of course), yet so, so ignorant to the fact that two of her dearest friends and mentors (plus Terzo, but there’s stuff 2 unpack there) have literally just been murdered ❤️❤️❤️”

So little scenario: This is after that meeting Copia has with Imperator and Nihil in “Chapter 2,” and within the hour in which the three papas are killed in “Chapter 3” (the chapters submitted over on Ghost’s YouTube channel). Copia, I like to think, knows. Personally, I like to think that he didn’t have a say in it, that Imperator, and maybe Nihil by extension, were still patronizing him in this situation and kind of being like “we know best, and what’s best is to kill the other three papas.” So, this is a moment where he should be happy, but he’s left with a bitter taste in his mouth because it’s at the expense of the other papas. (I also like to think that he was friends with Terzo to some degree—I think a lot of people headcanon this too—and so this really fucks him up—as does posing with his severed head later. And the guilt of it all of course, leads him to eventually becoming obsessive, and his sanity slightly wavering as he discovers that they were his brothers, but that’s a whole other plot point to a huge extensive work I want to write based around Copia and Mara that I probably never will because my brain has many ideas, but doesn’t ever feel like writing them down.)

So anyway, Copia is being tailored for his new suits for his upcoming debut tour with Ghost, when Mara receives the news of his promotion, and is just over the moon, and so proud of her Cardinal. So of course, she goes to visit him, and he shows off his new suits, and is all “you like what you see, eh?” Seeing her so happy, he decides to just suppress the bitter feelings he’s dealing with, and relish in the moment with her, as she places her head and hands on his chest. As the paranoia and anxiety of being Papa already begins to set in, he wraps his arms around her, holding her to him tightly, unable to free himself of the conflict stirring within him, but savoring the comfort and calm that she brings to him, while she remains in ignorant bliss—only for a moment longer (as soon after, she stumbles upon a group of ghouls, transporting the corpses of the former Papa’s to the mortuary in body bags) hopeful for the future, for her and her lover.

Hope you all enjoy this, and thank you thank you again to @jaxx29nyr!!! ❤️

[lord-squiggletits]

🌻

I'm familiar with Chris Metzen's writing style because of his work on World of Warcraft, which is the first media I was ever a huge fan of (started playing in the single digits of age, was making fanart and OCs and participating in gift exchanges before I was a teen). That might give me some bias in favor of his writing in IDW, but I honestly don't think so. The first time I read his trilogy was 2 years ago and I found it good if edgy at times. Then I got into the fandom and found out people didn't care for it, eh maybe they're right. Reread the Metzen trilogy again and NOPE I actually like it even more now that I understand more of IDW's story and don't get how it's supposed to be edgy or out of place.

The primary reason I love them is because I love Metzen's Optimus (I am not taking criticism on this), but to set aside my special boy for a moment, I just like Metzen's writing in general.

Autocracy/Monstrosity/Primacy have super high stakes. It feels dark and gritty and horrible (which I guess is why people call it edgy), but considering that the books cover the collapse of a tyrannical regime + the chaotic civil war and exodus from Cybertron + the worsening energon crisis + massive parts of Cybertron being destroyed, it's not edgy??? It's literally just depicting governmental collapse, impending war, and famine as seriously as they are??? Complaining about the Metzen trilogy for being edgy is like going to the beach and complaining that the water is salty, like bro this is what the environment entails

But besides that, it's NOT just about how horrible war is, the stories show the Autobots and Decepticons both being cool as fuck. Optimus is precious and trying so hard but not able to hold everything together on his own. Megatron is fucking brutal and absolutely unstoppable and I also love him. The narrative is perfectly balanced between action, character reflection, and some fucking COOL early war politics.

The character interactions are so fucking interesting. Dai Atlas is a cunt but I love how he serves as both ally and critic of Optimus at different points (until he leaves on bad terms with OP). The Dynobots are SO COOL: they're literally FORMER GLADIATORS but then Optimus convinces them they can be saved instead of isolating themselves as monsters! That leads to Grimlock having cool "jaded veteran + young rookie" interactions with Hot Rod! Megatron talking to Penitus which leads to him refining/doubling down on his already existing philosophy of monstrosity and tyranny! Starscream being evil but also lowkey being one of the only Decepticons with braincells who raises an eyebrow at pointless destruction!!!

Even the news media and general populace of Cybertron get to have their viewpoints represented! And it's fucking good representation because it makes Optimus a more believeable character! The news media is still unconvinced what Optimus' primacy will bring, normal civilians are scared the government won't protect them, fuck there's even a scene where Optimus shows up to a riot and people are terrified of him!!! It really fucking shows that Optimus fought an uphill battle with the existing populace knowing him for his role as Zeta's right hand man! When Cybertron goes to shit people leave instead of staying to fight!!! I fucking love how the Cybertron populace's reaction to Optimus/the Autobots reflects the tumultuous history that preceded the Autobot/Decepticon war! I fucking love how Optimus tries to protect everyone, tries to appeal to people to stay and fight for freedom and their homeland, but fails to keep most of the population from leaving! I FUCKING LOVE HOW IT'S MESSY AND CHAOTIC JUST LIKE IT WOULD BE IN REAL LIFE. I LOVE HOW OPTIMUS HAD TO STRUGGLE TO BE A LEADER AND STILL FAILED TO GET MOST PEOPLE TO HAVE FAITH IN HIM!!! I LOVE HOW ALL OF THE ACTION AND PLOT AND CHARACTERIZATION ISN'T JUST COOL IN ITS OWN RIGHT BUT IT ALSO MAKES OPTIMUS FEEL LIKE A COMPLEX AND FLESHED OUT FIGURE!

I fucking love the Metzen trilogy!!!!!!!!

[allthebestcowboyshavedaddyissues]

listing all my extremely unpopular opinions as i remember things that piss me off:

i shipped MSR but also didn’t really want them together? they to me were like THE queerplatonic relationship dynamic, tense, suffocating, comforting, meant to be in every way. couldn’t really picture either mulder or scully in actual relationships, and that’s fine, because who’s to say that is the only important relationship dynamic or the endgame in life is romantic partnership? (but also scully/skinner, mulder/krychek just for fun…)

supernatural in general….i pretty much hate everything about it but i also love it to death and it was a phenomenal show but also sucked really bad. sorry i would have made it grungier and worse and killed more and made it more hbo style the way kripke probably would’ve if WB was into his The Boys style shit back then. hammer home family dynamics , religious horror, add more freaky MOTW eps with a longer overarching story arc of sam’s powers. probably would’ve stretched it past s5 just from that last plot point, would have kept the 2000s sleeze throughout. would redo the s6 soulless sam arc & tied the s7 hallucinations into REAL horror. godstiel arc would’ve had a much larger build up and cryptid freaky shit handled better. unhappy ending for everyone as god intended! or possibly have the series have multiple possible endings in certain seasons, and each seasonal run after the previous ending be called a spin-off and marked as optional canon.

buffy season 6 sucked. not because it was dark and twisty and fucked up. i have always liked complicated character dynamics and messy situations. putting the wh*don bullshit aside because he’s a pos, having such a horrific event be caused by a main character was crazy. many shows now are doing this exact plot (without the horrible cast treatment mind you) because it is POLARIZING. buffy was never scared of exploring awful situations. the domestic violence allusions with the buffy/angelus plot was very hammer on the head and i enjoyed the exploration of that as well. the main issue following season 7 was the shitty writing with no redemption in actual story by romanticizing what should have remained a disgusting plot point. spike’s redemption, if you choose to believe was even possible, should have been long winded and not done as a show of his “love” for buffy. which was made very clear in s6 was not love. his character would have had so much more success going into AtS with this in mind. buffy season 6 = bad because it could have been good. buffy season 7 = bad because…jesus christ you call that a final season?

stop treating buffy like shit. god. the tons of slayers plot??? umm okay. sure. faith’s growth being done ENTIRELY on AtS and then mindlessly transferred over…give me a break.

xander was annoying and a typical 90s nice guy trope. aggravating as shit, sure, but way overhated. there was growth there but they also refused to stop making him and willow be shitty friends to buffy at the WORST moments.

even more controversial. i am an angel s4 fan. and defender. yup. AGAIN the behind the scenes were horrific and inexcusable. i enjoyed the plot though and it’s very common trope to me was not a huge deal. it is supposed to be gross, that’s why it’s called horror. the grooming of connor, his constant abuse, and manipulation were what made this storyline so compelling. yes connor was whiny and got on your nerves. he was not the perfect victim nor was he one you could really cheer for. but GOD his scenes and exchanges with angel were some of the best most compelling works in the series. cordelia needed a much better ending than the half assed coma shit, and if it was better rounded (perhaps split into two seasons or spread out better) this would have been so much higher regarded than it is.

AtS s5 exploring the former main antagonists as the new headquarters was SO much fun and we were robbed of a longer series because they had so much more to explore. yes there was a prominent tonal shift but i think it could have been corrected with a longer show run. would not have killed fred, at least not like that. gorgeous ending though.

cursed to be in the unpopular opinion crowd in every fandom i’m in. born to be in fandoms in the first place.