#crazy things were happening in the 4th movie actually

[arttsuka]

I haven't watched the star trek movies in years but let me try to summarize them. 1st: bad electricity special effects (that's all I remember from this movie), 2nd: Spock dies, 3rd: they try to get Spock back (his soul is in dr Mccoy for reasons), 4th: the one with the whales (literally what I started calling it even before I knew what the fandom was calling it), 5th: mountain camping and 6th: I haven't seen this one actually

[justeeeen]

Challengers: A Good Time to be Bisexual

Just watched Challengers. It's 3 am and I'm still thinking about it.

For starters: I LIKED MIKE FAIST FIRST I LIKE HIM FIRST I LIKED HIM IN DEAR EVAN HANSEN OK I LIKED HIM FIRST.

Secondly, I'm realizing that I'm not into tennis enough to have realized just how erotic the sounds people make when they hit the ball are? Like I could handle the make out scenes, the nudity, the almost sex, but the sounds?? Especially for Art, like why did they have this man to make the most erotic whimpery moaning noise I've ever heard EVERY SINGLE TIME he hits the ball (I know why)? Like I felt like I was intruding and I shouldn't have been there. Convinced they locked Mike Faist in a recording studio, blocked out the windows, and had him do what he had to do in there cause that was OBSCENE.

Thirdly, I cannot begin to express my excitement at the resurgence of loser pathetic men in movies. I think Patrick is a loser, but Art is PATHETIC. Like peak simp behavior. He literally turned on his best friend for Tashi, a woman he had like 2 interactions with. To be fair, he was young and dumb and this was by far the worse thing anyone did in the movie, but it's pathetic man behavior. He literally equates her to Jesus. I'm going crazy.

Fourthly, this movie is so fucking sexy. Honestly it doesn't show any physical sex happening on screen, but just, the vibes? The music?? The noises?? Did I mention the noises?? Zendaya is absolutely stunning, and I appreciated their refusal to let her wear a bra in this. Josh O'Connor, I never found attractive before, but there were some shots in this movie where I was like "Ok, yeah ok, I get it." And Mike Faist, the man that you are (between the two of us I originally only wanted to see this movie to see Mike Faist be pathetic).

Finally, this movie is actually pretty straight forward. Tashi says multiple times that all she cares about is "watching some good fucking tennis" and that she doesn't want anyone to be in love with her. As for Art and Patrick, I feel like the only reason they really love tennis is for the relationships they get out of it. Art played tennis when he was younger because he liked being with Patrick and he even mentions that his Grandma is really proud of him, so that's another person he's playing for. And later, he's playing tennis for Tashi. Patrick plays when he's younger for Art, but I think when he's older he might be playing for fame? He just seems like that kind of person. And in the beginning of the movie he seems a little upset that no one knows who he is. Tashi played tennis because she loves tennis, and when she can't play tennis anymore, she's in love with two people who can. And she knows that what they have is the potential to play a good game of tennis. Which is all she cares about. I mean, I don't think that's true. I think she loves Art, but I don't think she respects him (it's giving TomShiv). I think she has more chemistry with Patrick, and potentially loves him more, but thinks she could never be with him because he challenges her too much, and she's too egotistical to be with someone like Patrick who's also egotistical.

I think Art loves Tashi the most, Patrick loves Art the most, and Tashi loves Patrick, but loves tennis above all.

To be fair, I don't support Tashi erasure, like this is one hundred percent a polycule and not like, a gay romance with a woman getting in the way of it. I just think that above all, Tashi loves tennis. That doesn't mean that she's not deserving of love, and that doesn't mean she doesn't love Art and Patrick, she just loves something else more. Tennis will always be the 4th person in their relationship.

At the end they all get what they want. Art wins the game, and wins Tashi by proxy. Patrick wins Art back by physically catching him in his arms and reigniting their friendship. And Tashi gets to watch some good fucking tennis.

[justlookatthosesausages]

After continuously pushing the day I'd finally watch it, I eventually watched Kung Fu Panda 4 today and... I'm so sad to confirm that it's exactly as disappointing as I feared it to be

Of course it has some little good points and I'm sure that it found its audience. Kids could identify themselves, laugh, adults had their fair share of action and humor.

But everything else was a pile of disappointment. The plot barely stands. There are plot devices at every corner. It's not as steady, original, and compelling as the 3 previous movies, its story and animation quality doesn't even come close to Kung Fu Panda 1, 2 and 3... It's like they decided to make the movie at the last minute, or were forced by Dreamworks execs to do it at the last minute which could... Actually be true?

There are too many tropes that have been seen before and again and again: the splitted screen, the predictable betrayals, the emotional talk under the rain, the adorable kids who actually are violent, the anti-climax end, the easy ways, the pep talk shortcuts... It's crazy that such a resounding and deep and dazzling saga as Kung Fu Panda has such basic fight choreography and scenery in its 4th film.

I've said it before and I'll said it again, this is always what is doomed to happen when a studio makes a movie that 1) literally nobody asked for, not even the biggest fans, 2) releases 8 years after the previous opus, 3) has a story happening after what is generally and objectively seen as the final closure of the main character's story

of course I get the whole "We conclude the saga further with Po choosing a successor" thing but doesn't it destroy the entire premise of the Kung Fu Panda saga? Oogway chose the next dragon warrior when his time was not far off! Why does Po have to chose the next dragon warrior now?

I'm so sorry but I can't let this movie pass, the Kung Fu Panda trilogy is amazing and this is just a masquerade

[aerkame]

I’d like to toss my hat into the ring since that anon brought up AUS. I don’t have any favorites or enjoyment of a lot of them, So here’s a sort list I can think off;

1. A/B/O: It’s just very, very, uncomfortable.

2. Crossovers: 80 or 90% of the time when there’s crossovers, it’s just crossing over for the sake of having your fav characters meet and get up to crazy adventures. There’s no actual reason as to why there crossing over apart from that.

3. mafia: Not a fan as there’s nothing different, but there’s a Mob AU by Clownn (correct me if I spell it wrong,), they put a unique twist by having it be physiological and giving it certain traits to make their AU stand out from the usual Mafia AUs.

4: anesthesia: It’s a pretty cheap way to get characters to fall in love and kinda creepy when you think deeper about how easily bad things can go.

5. Soulmates or Marks: I don’t like the idea of a mark or something telling you who your partner is or who to be with. What if you don’t want a partner tho or not interested in falling in love? Are you allowed to be just friends instead?

I prefer if authors/creators add more unique twist or additional spin on AUs. The down side is, I have seen some pretty unique AUs but they’re not as talked about or popular since it’s not the go to ones that fanbases love.

Ah yeah, A/B/O AUs tend to romanticize toxic relationships a lot from what I usually see. Not liking it is understandable. Ironically though, the whole Alpha, Beta, and Omega stuff that was made by a researcher later discarded his own theory after further study of wolves. (In short, wolves are just large families with mom and dad in charge, the whole A/B/O stuff makes no sense.) So the whole thing is really just made up of disproved theories and is purely fiction.

The others are also understandable. Some of the AUs tend to have repeating themes or they end up being complete copies of each other. The Whole amnesia one is creepy, yeah. I have only ever read 3 fanfictions in my life that did this trope properly and it only really works if the characters knew each other beforehand or they were already in a relationship before it happened.

The soulmate one is kind of okay depending on who is writing it and how it is written. I've seen a handful of very well written soulmate AUs that actually got creative with it, but a lot of the fanfictions for AUs like that just repeat and copy each other a little too much.

To be perfectly honest, I agree that unique AUs are way better because it leaves room for even more AUs to branch off of those one and it also helps other writers get a good idea on how to handle the idea behind it.

My other favorite AU type is one I don't see often but I wish I did, and it's the self-aware ones or the ones where the reader/character ends up in the fictional world of the fandom they're in. My reason for liking those ones is because they can turn into good horror fics or have creepy vibes IF done right. It's like the 4th wall breaking rule in some video games or horror movies. Twilight Zone vibes y'know?

For my own personal Finfolk AU, I did want to add yandere vibes, but not like Wattpad anime fanfiction kind of yandere. I think yandere fics should be taken seriously and treated seriously because of the topics they deal with. I have read so many fanfictions that do it just right where it genuinely scares me and it makes for interesting dynamics between the characters. I haven't gone into full horror with the AU though simply because I'm afraid of people romanticizing what is supposed to be dangerous behavior or dark topics. The finfolk folklore itself is dark when you look into the stories/mythology. I just don't like seeing how often AUs and fanfictions with serious topics get put on a pedestal in a wrong lighting. But, I do plan on eventually trying to go full horror with it at some point. When? I'm not sure yet. Maybe when I have more experience in writing. All I know is that making the characters attractive (that is what finmen/women do regardless in folklore) but obsessive without making it romanticized is going to be difficult.

[zeero1060]

My Descendants 4 thoughts (spoilers ofc)

Okay so the fact that they could only get Uma and Fairy Godmother back because of Cameron... At least they paid homage to him?

First off, I know she *is* a tyrant, but Fairy Godmother made is sound like Bridget was only a tyrant because she refused to join the USA (United States of Auradon) which like- no? Though to be fair the only thing they show about her actually being a bad ruler is her having a curfew and *almost* executing someone.

Immediately the songs are worse than the origional Trilogy. The music itself is okay but the lyrics are terrible. Credit where it's due the choreo all has the same vibe.

"She's painting our whole world red!" - There's an insane amount of red in Wonderland anyway, and she threw one (1) paintball.

Costuming wise, I like Maddox (even tho he's in two scenes), and Red's first outfit is good, but for the rest of the movie she looks way too one toned. Same with Chloe too, why are both of her parents costumed better than her?? I know it's supposed to be that the young people are "cool" but that's not what Chloe's outfit it giving. I feel like the origionals did a better job at costuming as a whole. Also the colours were way less vibrant, this whole movie is an eyesore.

So like, I know people talk about this a lot, but is the implication here that Chad is adopted, or Charming had two kids with two different women (both named Cinderella and with the same story)? Or is he supposed to be their biological child?

Bridget is English? Right?? So why is she American when she's young???

They're doing this thing that was more present in the 4th movie where they talk through the songs.

Where has "love ain't it" come from?? I thought it would be something Bridget heard from someone in the past but it only ever comes up at the start of the movie so like idk.

Uma loml- "What's My Name" being the actual best song in this whole movie isn't a shock but it does piss me off tbh, like that's a reprise (and slightly worse and shorter version) of a song from two movies ago, and actually I think says something about the quality of this movie.

It feels like it's implied in the beginning of the movie that Ella did the prank? But then she is just completely uninvolved. Like I went through the first time fully believing there was gonna be this big betrayal and then nothing even happened at all.

-This is gay

-Every time Chloe mentions the code of conduct I get secondhand embarrassment

-Fucking love young Ella

-(Second) Best song is whatever Bridget's is called it's so cute

-Why is Morgana's son here? Why is he the only vk who has a villain for a parent?

-Why has Hook got a different accent to Harry?

-ALSO is that the Crow from dead boy detectives?

-Regardless I do like their part of the song the most I think

-They're making out like Bridget has no friends but the only people who are mean to her are the vks shut uppp

-Gay again

-You're telling me Chloe doesn't know the story of Cinderella? That's crazy no way

-I like that Ella's class is actually a part of her character, that it impacts her world view, actions, and morals, it's not something that was just ignored like I'd initially expected

-Gotta say the vks are all well cast

-Every single one of the vks are more evil than Ursula's sister why is there she the main one?

-Ella undercutting fairytale morality with logic and reason? I love her

-Scene where a suit of armour comes to life? Knight Fall

-Why are Red and Chloe opening the book anyway? And if it wouldn't have let the vks open it why are these two even there? How did they do it in the origional timeline to begin with?

-They wanna do another one of these? Please don't peace and love 🫶

Anyways Ella and Bridget carried thank you.

[deepfriedb]

You know that plot line in movies/TV where the kid gets asked to the dance by their crush but it was all a setup to like "ewwww, as if! You're delusional." type joke on them?

That really happened to me - twice.

The first time was in 3rd or 4th grade. I hadn't thought too much about what other people saw when they looked at me or how that impacted my relationships with my peers. I wasn't boy crazy yet, they were just other kids, my friends. So anyways, this boy asked me to be his girlfriend and I was like "what would that mean?" and he said we'd hold hands and eat lunch together and stuff. I said I liked where I sat at lunch and stuff, so no thanks. He was sitting in the middle of a group of giggling boys and started laughing, saying "ha! You believed me? You're fat and have chipmunk teeth. No one would want you as their girlfriend!"

I know that kid was protecting his own ego and reputation and probably did want to hold my hand. But still, kids called me 'Chubby Chipmunk' for a little while after. And, while I didn't actually want a boyfriend at the time, I started to worry I'd never have one.

The second time was in 7th grade. I had the biggest crush on this kid Matt. I wasn't good at hiding it, everyone knew. He was as popular as a kid can be in middle school. I wasn't. So when he asked me to the dance, I should've paid more attention to his friends watching and laughing. He let me believe it for a few days. My mom took me shopping to get a new outfit and lip gloss. I was so excited and feeling very confident. I went to talk to him, to work out logistics like were we meeting there or my mom said she'd take us both to Old Towne Pizza beforehand if he wanted. He and his friends busted up laughing. I heard "I can't believe you actually believed I'd want to go to the dance with you!" and then not much else as my ears began ringing in embarrassment.

I didn't go to that dance. Or many after that. I don't think he remembered that whole thing because he was real friendly our senior year of high school when we had some random class together. I still think of it sometimes, 20 years later.

It made it harder to trust anyone 'really liked me' going forward. I still sometimes felt like I was being setup for some cruel joke when people expressed interest or attraction to me. I find 'confidence' nearly impossible to attain. I've felt glimpses of it, but quickly disillusion myself... like I'm playing the "as if!" joke on myself now.

Example.. I got married last year and there was the teeniest part of me worrying he'd change his mind when he saw me that day.. I was supposed to be as pretty as I could be, I'd probably never look better. And while I felt beautiful and confident most of the day, anxious whispers creeped up every so often... "even this isn't very good - you're fooling yourself - people *have* to tell the bride she looks beautiful, but they're all laughing behind your back"

I don't think those moments created that anxiety and insecurity on their own. But they definitely contributed to it's growth and power. It's like it added this validity to those thoughts. The 'remind yourself it's a lie' advice to quiet anxious thoughts never worked for me growing up because I could just remind myself of those times.

[rockytamtam]

autism be damned i have seen the lion musical again !!!!! : a lion king musical review

this was supposed to be the third silly review but in the end it's gonna be the first ^-^' anyway, this was the second time i went to the lion king (last time i went was on may 4th), this time i had restricted view front row tickets &&& u can read more about this under the cut !!!

jsyk these go everywhere and aren't just abt the show i do talk abt the sillies that happen before and after it :D warning this is like. very long. like insanely long. no part 2 we die like men

saw the show on : june 18th 2023, théâtre mogador

first things first that was my first time going alone in paris and all went well until i tried to find the theater and kept getting lost, i made it tho !! and in time!

the cast changed a little but i saw stanley kassa as simba again (understudy), simon gallant played ed this time (saw him as zazu last time and he was crazy proud of himself at stagedoor, as he should he was awesome), & a new nala actress (paola fareri), new timon (romain apelbaum), & other kid simba & nala

my seat was ! much closer to the stage than expected it felt like i was IN the stage, but it's still not bad at all even for a restricted view seat !!!

during the circle of life, this time, there were no technical difficulties with the elephant so i got to see it ! i thought it was going to hit me with its tusk lol, & i saw zazu run so i was so happy

cried again during the key change 💚

olivier (scar) does change his energy depending on which kid is on, it's pretty different from last time!

also it's VERY impressive seeing him act from so close

it wasn't until the lioness hunt that i realized that i just Could Not see the entire back of the stage and when actors were there i could just see the top of their head

anyway. the lioness hunt 💕💕 i just love the choreography

during i just can't wait to be king it felt like the lyrics changed? like they were singing the movie version? and i couldn't tell if it felt this way because they changed them since the 2007 french cast recording or because i just didn't remember properly

anyway i love zazu. zazu my beloved. i just love this bird.

hyenas time i love them theyre my favorite characters :DDD i actually picked this seat because it's on the side of the stage they go to during the other song >:]

first time seeing simon as ed and he's got a really cool energy !!! shenzi (mélina mariale) & banzai (abdel-rahym madi) killing it as always

actually got startled when mufasa (noah ndema) roared

(skipping they live in you bc i have nothing to say sorry!!)

BE PREPARED TIME. MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE SONG. olivier is wonderful, the hyenas are wonderful, this is starting so so well.

and then. before the breakdown, the hyenas start walking around on set, as they do ! they go right in front of my spot, AS I PLANNED! AND I AM SPOTTED (lime green hair helps!)

im having a main character moment wth. banzai is like "i love your hair color! he needs the same" while grabbing the puppet's hair, and im just "AA THANK YOU???!!" and shenzi and ed gave me a high five im just. that was a "and everybody clapped" moment but i was having a blast okok thank u

BANZAI WAS LOOKING AT ME WHILE SINGING FROM THE BONE STAIRS THINGS I WAS SO HAPPY???

the stampede made me sad, but i wasn't exactly looking at it bc i was curious about what was happening in the wings

there was this small child in the crowd who was crying LOUDLY and everytime everyone else would go"awwww :("

rafiki mourns is still one of the songs i find most beautiful, i especially love when the lionesses cry bc i think the tear effect is so cool

end of act 1 (sorry timon, sorry pumba. u guys are awesome too) !!

i could see more actors & dancers up close it was so cool i love looking at the costumes & makeup

kept making eye contact with the hyenas it was a little awkward ESPECIALLY when they werent the character u were supposed to focus on

second time seeing ntsepa as rafiki and she's still awesome. i love her sm :(((

THE LION HEAD IN HE LIVES IN YOU REPRISE. THATS IT THATS WHAT I HAVE TO SAY.

son oncle oscar? is still my fav thing idk if i put this in the right order but its whatevs

the same little kid yelled "SCAR!" during simba confronts scar

curtain call / finale moment !!! pumba (cyril romoli) was smiling at me but i didnt notice until the end (< - too busy looking at the hyenas)

this guy's about to go stage door alone (he's very faceblind and he's me!)

i dash i fly out the theater . im gonna see simon, mélina, and abdel. i repeat endlessly. and i'll try to see stanley and olivier again

this time there were more people than last time, but it was also night last time and now its sunday

i got to see mélina !! she was so so sweet and signed my notebook, i was too scared to ask for a pic

all goes well, UNTIL i start feeling rain on my arm and next thing u know it starts pouring

30 minutes in olivier breitman comes out of stage door holding the smallest carboard box over his head, he hides under the franprix with us and he signs my notebook too before running to another spot (he was so sweet i love him sm)

the rain stops after an hour, only dancers came out and . i suspect it was abdel but i cant besure bc this one girl told me he left when the rain started -, and i go back near the actual door

ten minutes pass still no one, but i still want to see simon or stanley; two dancers come out and are like "hey you can go inside if you want to hide from the rain"... WHAT. anyway i go inside stage door

i heard the girl who was waiting with complain that i got in, i dont know if i should move or not so i decide to stay near the door

stayed there for maybe 15 minutes and then this guy came to close the gate that led to the theater and i was like. yeah okay these guys are not coming out or already left

AND THEN I HAD TO WAIT ANOTHER HOUR FOR MY TRAIN TO START. anyway i got home at 10 thank u

THE END !!!!!!! im so sosrry i am Very talkative

[strawberrybyers]

if you’re interested pls read! i think everyone will find this post interesting! this is going to be one long post about time in stranger things and it’s relation to back to the future. also somewhat theorizing that will is going to get stuck in the upside down and how that could be time traveling?? or how the characters will time travel?? also mentions of pocketgate, birthdaygate, and the blue meets yellow in the west theory. anyways this will probably be a bit messy, but i have a lot of thoughts and i just want to write all of them down and i really feel like i’m onto something lmao

ok so i have been thinking about what the significance of time in stranger things is which led me to remember when robin was explaining to steve about why back to the future was called back to the future. she explained it as “he has to go back to the future because he’s in the past. so, the future is actually the present, which is his time”. i immediately thought back to when i have said in a couple of other posts how i think in s5 there will be time travel because the upside down is stuck on the day will went missing. so while trying to see what scene came after robin’s explanation, i found this article detailing all the parallels stranger things has to back in the future in s3. and that led me to two other articles. the last image is a screenshot from the article about the original pitch for stranger things which mentioned time travel.

so really the rest of this post is now going to focus more on the back to the future stuff. first i want to talk about this part of the vulture article i linked in the beginning of this post. i have seen all the back to the future movies, but a really long time ago, so i don’t remember much, but when i saw “save the clock tower” all i could think about were the clocks in stranger things.

i googled more info on the clock tower and idk i’m about to become a real crackhead theorist, but it makes sense to me considering all the parallels this show has. anyways let’s look at what is said about the clock tower in back to the future.

i started freaking out while reading this because s4 has a big emphasis on time and CLOCKS. vecna’s mind lair thing has clocks everywhere. when a character is about to get vecna’d they hear a clock and see a grandfather clock. also, the clock being struck by lightning?? there’s lightning in vecna’s mind lair thing AND in the final scene we see lightning in the sky!! so in back to the future, the clock got struck by lightning which caused it to be stuck for years at 10:04 (and this is probably just making something out of nothing but the clock being stuck on the 4th minute and vecna wanted to open up 4 gates and you hear 4 chimes symbolizing that). now guess what else is stuck in time? the upside down. the upside down is stuck on the day will went missing which is november 6, 1983. will was stuck in the upside down for a week. what is a week away from nov 6? november 13. the ‘save the clock tower’ flyer mentions the date november 13 on it. also, in back to the future, doc gets the idea for the delorean (the thing that helps him and marty time travel) when he was hanging up a clock and hit his head on november 5, 1955. this is also the day marty ends up traveling back in time to (marty’s present time takes place in 1985 and s3 of ST took place in 1985 lol).

NOW what gets crazy is that on november 6, 1955, doc learns that because marty interacted with his parents which messed up his parents initial meeting, he is now telling marty that he needs to get his parents back together otherwise marty will be erased from existence. WILL GOES MISSING ON NOV 6 AND BECAUSE OF BIRTHDAYGATE WHAT DO WE THINK IS HAPPENING TO WILL?? THAT HE’S BEING ERASED/FORGOTTEN FROM THE TIMELINE!!! and throughout back to the future, the more time that is being prolonged of getting marty’s parents back together, the more him and his siblings disappearing from the timeline is becoming reality (he knows this because they start disappearing from a photo he has of his family). there’s also this post that was made that mentions how the memories that were mentioned in the shed in s2 could be altered or are being forgotten and if that’s the case then it makes sense those memories would be forgotten if it’s a sign something is happening to will. anyways because of the lightning strike that strikes the clock, it powered the delorean on november 12, 1955 and was able to send marty back to the future. marty was stuck in the past for a week. will was stuck in the upside down for a week. vecna begins his attacks on hawkins on march 21 and hawkins is split in half by the upside down on march 28 making that a week (a week that includes the day of will’s bday). that’s why there’s a 2 day time jump because the timeline of s4 needed to last a week. i’m just thinking about “the week is long” part of the blue meets yellow in the west code… and speaking of blue and yellow, the ‘save the clock tower’ flyers are in blue and yellow…

i’ll say one last thing about the flyer, so i can shift more into pocketgate and how mike has a letter written to will. so marty keeps the flyer because his girlfriend wrote her grandma’s number on it and “i love you” and he puts it in his pocket. because he kept the flyer it ends up helping him get back to the future because of the info it contains about the lightning strike. what do we think mike has in his pocket? a letter to will that says “love, mike”. something he couldn’t write to el. there’s been an emphasis in stranger things with letters and yes i know it’s the 80’s so that was one of the main forms of communication, but they’re also a part of the plot, so they mean something significant! like joyce receiving the letter from hopper which makes her go to russia to save him. hopper’s letter to el about not wanting things to change (i will write more on this). max writing letters to her friends for them to read in case something happens to her. max writing a letter to billy that expresses how she has been feeling since he passed. el being upset that mike can’t write “love,mike” in his letters. season 4 opening up with el’s letter to mike that mentions time travel. will and mike have an argument that mike didn’t write enough to will and that “el has a book of letters from him”. now back to the future also has letters play an important role in the storyline. for example, here’s info on the letter that marty gave to doc that he stuck in doc’s pocket in 1955 that saved doc’s life.

now in back to the future 3, doc in 1885 wrote a letter to marty to be delivered to him on november 12, 1955 which marty ends up showing the doc in 1955. the letter ends up helping them.

in the letter up above, doc writes how much marty means to him. obviously the relationship between doc and marty is NOT romantic at all, but if stranger things is paralleling back to the future the way it is, then isn’t it possible mike has a letter to will explaining his feelings? and considering in back to the future, the letters were helpful to the characters, could it be that mike’s letter will help will and save hawkins? could mike’s love for will be the motivation to help will survive the upside down if he gets stuck there again? i’m thinking it’s possible will gets stuck in the upside down, which would basically be him time traveling in a sense. i’m wondering if maybe will will be in possession of mike’s letter before he gets stuck in the upside down and will decides to read the letter while he’s stuck there (maybe paralleling back to the future when marty has the flyer that has “i love you” written on it from his girlfriend). OR do mike and will get stuck in the upside down together and mike decides to give his letter to will then (maybe somewhat paralleling back to the future 3 when 1955 marty gives 1955 doc the letter 1885 doc wrote 1955 marty in order to help them get 1985 doc back to 1985 from 1885). there’s also this tweet from the stranger things writers account. so could it mean that this is parts of the letter mike wrote to will that he will give to him on november 6, 1983 because they’re stuck in the upside down together???

now moving on. i said i’d talk more about hopper’s letter. here’s what the vulture article wrote about hopper’s letter:

the article is comparing the letter marty wrote doc to save his life to the letter hopper wrote to el. so couldn’t the other letters featured in the movies somehow foretell mike having a letter in his pocket? they paralleled a stranger things letter to a back to the future letter once they could do it again. here’s more of what the article wrote on hopper’s letter:

we know what hopper meant by telling el “to maybe stop that change. to turn back the clock. to make things go back to how they were.”. we also theorize because scenes of mike looking back at will’s house and hugging his mom while this part of the letter is being read, we think it relates to mike wanting things to go back to the way they were with will. we even think it could potentially be the moment mike realizes he loves will and doesn’t know what to do with that which leads to his weird behavior in s4. BUT couldn’t this part of hopper’s letter also have a 3rd meaning? s4 does deal with clocks. hopper mentions “to turn back the clock”. when nancy see’s henry’s backstory, there is a scene of henry changing time on the clock. is it possible that time travel has to occur where they are able “to turn back the clock” in order to save hawkins? and if will is stuck in the upside down maybe having to do that to save will? or maybe because he’s stuck there and it’s stuck on the day he went missing then that could be turning back the clock as well…

now for my final analysis of the vulture article and how it relates to back to the future, this part is going to do more with byler. let’s look at this part of the article:

first things first, it mentions back to the future wants to preserve the status quo and how that relates to stranger things. in s4, eddie mentions how forced conformity is killing the kids. finn said in an interview that mike is trying to stay as normal as possible. looking at these things, it makes me think about mike and how he’s trying appear as heterosexual which therefore would be “normal” and fitting the status quo. this also fits into hopper’s letter and the scenes of mike while the letter is being read. mike is losing will and if that moment when will moved is when he realizes he’s in love, then he knew that things would change and if he’s trying to fit in, then he’s going to do what he can to make sure nothing changes even though as we see that backfires throughout s4 because his relationship with el is on the rocks and things with will have been rocky as well. and we know will is being forced to conform as well as he mentioned feeling like a mistake and we can only assume he is afraid to come out as gay due to homophobia.

so back to the future is about marty going back in time to 1955 and having to fix the timeline where his parents fall in love and get married because when he went back to 1955 he messed up the initial meeting of his parents. if he fails to get them together, then he will cease to exist. marty is struggling at first to get his parents together because his mom has developed on crush on marty (weird i know but to me this shows how the right people need to be in a relationship in order for things to get resolved). if we think of how that could parallel to byler, then we know that mike’s love confession did not help el or save hawkins. we know el can defeat vecna and we know that what makes her powerful is love. she was able to banish vecna to the upside down when she remembered her mom saying “i love you”, but with mike it didn’t work— why? because it’s a lie. he doesn’t love her romantically like he says. hawkins isn’t in desolation because of mike, but i think if we want to make a parallel then we can say that mike being with el isn’t what’s supposed to happen because they aren’t right for each other. this also fits in to how mike and will’s love would save hawkins. just like marty’s parents falling in love preserved the timeline and allowed marty to continue to exist. now if we think that will is starting to cease to exist from the timeline due to birthdaygate and coincidentally marty learns he will cease to exist if his parents don’t get together on november 6— the same day will went missing— then could it be that mike’s love saves will?

like there’s just something about the upside down being stuck on the day will went missing… something about el’s letter mentioning time travel and time feeling like it speeds up or slows down based on emotion… something about the duffers saying they’re going back to s1 dynamics… something about vecna’s entire thing revolving around time… something about vecna making his victims visit their past traumatic memories… something about one of the ways to block vecna from getting to your mind is by thinking about past happy memories… something about vecna saying thinking about a past memory that makes him angry or sad makes him more powerful… something about hearing the sound of a clock being slowed down when a character is about to get vecna’d… something about “the week is long. the silver cat feeds when blue meets yellow in the west. a trip to china sounds nice, if you tread lightly”… something about spring break being a week long… something about will being in the upside down for a week… something about vecna saying “seconds. minutes. hours. days. weeks. months. years. decades. each life a faded lesser copy of the one before.”… something about will’s birthday being forgotten… something about will being sidelined from the plot or shall i say fading from it… something about the back to the future parallels such as marty starting to be erased from the timeline starting on nov 6 the same day will went missing…

anyways i know this was long AF, but there was so much to say! i could be grasping at straws, but this was fun to write and analyze! i love the back to the future movies, so seeing how all of this parallels and could potentially continue to parallel is cool. all in all i don’t think it’s far-fetched to think will is going to get stuck in the upside down, some form of time travel will occur considering that was a part of the original stranger things pitch, and that mike and will’s love for each other will save hawkins. if you made it this far, thank you for reading all of this <3

—

back to the future poster parallels x

back to the future november 21st parallel theory x

cars on set of stranger things vs the delorean x

[bbyboybucket]

Thoughts on Multiverse of Madness (contains major spoilers!!!)

- I’ll start by saying over all, I liked it. It was fun, crazy, definitely visually stunning and captivating, it some insanely awesome scenes. It was very enjoyable. BUT I had some big issues with it.

- first, I feel like it was rushed in the beginning. Things went too fast and there was no build up, it was just kinda like “hey this is happening” and it was especially that way with Wanda’s villain arc and I’ll be talking about her first.

- literally it was so rushed and felt ooc because it was right off the bat. Her villainy and motivations originally felt very shallow. It was all so surface level and lacking for like the first half of the movie. Once again, she felt so out of character to me, like it wasn’t even the same character I know and love.

- I will say though that it was FUCKING AWESOME to see what she was capable of. I lived for seeing her power be so great and loved that the movie gradually continued to show us more of her ability. Seriously, the further in we got, the more awesome she was.

- also will say that I liked it being pretty comics book accurate.

- however, I really just don’t understand why they chose this story line for her. It was so unnecessary and undid every bit of character development in Wandavision. It would have been better if there was some kind of build up to her realizing what she could have from America’s powers and she’d slowly getting more corrupt. But she went villainous off screen and it was shown within the first few minutes of the movie. I didn’t expect it to happen so quick. And I understand the whole thing of her being corrupted by the dark hold, but that just felt like a cop out. An easy way to justify making her like this when there was potential for real depth and dimension here.

- also gotta say I LOVED HER BREAKING THE 4TH WALL

- but, towards the end, there were some real good character moments for Wanda. The line of“I wouldn’t ever hurt you, I wouldn’t hurt anyone. I’m not a monster.” hit so hard. And just that whole scene in general. It made me feel so much, and honestly it was super in character and very well done. I loved it.

- but I’ve gotta say I’m kinda surprised they didn’t make Vision a more important point here. I know she let him go in WV but if they were gonna undo most of that development anyways, why would she not care more about him. Like really, if she’s going to a new reality where her kids exist, why would she not go to one where she has her kids AND vision. It doesn’t make sense and that would be infinitely more in character.

- I also don’t think she’s dead. There’s no way in hell she is. 1. If she actually was, it’d be much more emotional, especially since she’s such a well liked and huge character. It has almost no emotion to it, even less than previous mcu “death” scenes where the character turns up later (ie. Bucky, Loki, etc.) 2. They wouldn’t kill off one of their most popular and most profitable characters, especially not in her prime time. This is Wanda’s golden area, the hype is all hers, she’s pulling in awards, she’s getting tons of talk. She’s too valuable for the mcu to lose.

- now, I do like what they did with strange here. I feel like they have him a lot more depth and made him much more likable than before. Not that he was unlikeable, but more so you feel more connected to him after this movie, like you got to know him.

- I love that they took his worst traits and exaggerated them in his variants. Why? Because it’s very interesting to see this cool, all powerful superhero, humbled and not be portrayed as perfect by the narrative.

- But even more than that, it shows that you don’t have to be perfect to be good. It’s all about what you chose and how you try to be, and owning up to your mistakes. Because even though the other Stranges weren’t so great, our Strange made the right choice and did the right thing over and over again. He tried to be the best he could and proved everyone who doubted him for his flaws, completely wrong.

- I also liked seeing the more emotional side of him. I liked seeing have so much love for Christine, but putting hers and everyone else’s best interest above his deepest desire.

- I also really really loved the father-daughter like thing he had going on with America. Some may see it as more of just a mentorship or something, but I definitely feel that parent relationship and I could feel that he really cared for her. It reminds me of Tony and Peter, but 10x better.

- I have mixed feelings on the reveal of Donna. Idk. I do like the insight it gave us into his character. But I feel that it was dropped to quickly and it was a shame it wasn’t explored just a bit more. It almost felt random and irrelevant. Like yes, I do get the thing of them both saying “we don’t talk about that.” and it showing how much Strange bottles up inside (kinda a small theme in this movie, hm?). I like that and I felt so bad for him when he said “I couldn’t protect her.” But also I just wish there was more of a pay off to it, I just wish it didn’t feel so misplaced because it could’ve had more impact.

- also liked the growth of his magic in this, he had quite a few new tricks up his sleeve.

- I’m very curious about what the screaming was at the end. Also wondering about the end credits, when he suddenly was fine? Was that a time jump, different Strange? Also curious to see where his character is going from here and how it’s going to play into the bigger part of the phases 4 and 5 of the mcu.

- also super cool that we have a new character introduced that I’d never heard of till today and I wonder what role Clea is gonna play from here on out.

- speaking of new characters, I fucking loved America. Like love love love love loved that girl. God she was such a little sweetheart. Her powers are awesome for one, but who she is is awesome too.

- I think she had great development in this movie, I loved that they made her not be able to control her powers. Is it a bit cliche? Maybe, but they made it work so fucking well. I felt for her, because she couldn’t help any of this, she was just a young and innocent girl who was scared but tried to be brave anyways.

- my heart hurt for her when she said she killed her parents. imagine, growing up with that heavy of guilt and fear of your own capabilities. That poor bby. 💔

- but once again, loved the relationship she built with Strange. I also love how as time went on, he helped her have more faith in herself and really gave her that needed boost of confidence. But fuck, I also felt terrible when she was going to sacrifice herself. She’s such a sweet kid omfg.

- also, I love love love love that she had the idea to show Wanda the horror of what she actually wanted. America sat up that powerful moment. Her badass fighting scene was followed up seamlessly with one so emotional.

- also love her spunk, and sass, and she was so cute trying to learn other magic and in her robes. I’m so excited to see more of her in the future.

- I was so worried about the cameos in this movie. Like going in, I was anxious that the movie would be relying too heavily on them….but I was wrong. It was very well done.

- first, I loved seeing John Krasinski as Reed Richards. I LOVED IT!!!! Like literally he was so perfect for that role and it was just fucking great. Perfect in all senses. (Also very sexy)

- Maria was a bad bitch, being the one to survive longest and gave Wanda a run for her money.

- I have mixed feelings about Captain Carter. I originally was not excited about her being in it because of the fact that she was such a huge role in “What If?” And I didn’t want a repeat of that. But I truthfully didn’t mind her too much in this.

- however, I fucking HATED!!!! AND I MEAN HATED!!!!! The fact that she said “i can do this all day.” No. No. No. No. No. I will not accept that. I’m not even a big Steve stan, but that is his and only his to say and they should not have made her rip it off and take away the value. Steve says that iconic line so many times because he was a disable bullied kid, showing his bravery and putting up with hell to stand for what he believed in. Peggy Carter was not that. She’s not the same.

- also I just don’t even really understand why she was a part of the Illuminati in the first place because she is way less powerful compared to all the other characters that surrounded her. Also don’t understand how she didn’t die sooner. I feel like they just wanted to give her as much screen time as possible here but I don’t feel like she should’ve been an Illuminati member at all because realistically, there’s nothing that special about her to be in such a position. I didn’t mind her, but it would’ve been better to see a different character, especially since we already got our fill of Captain Carter in “What If?” and I feel like the more she pops up, the more it undermines Sam.

- anyways, continuing on, the scene where Professor X enters Wanda’s mind has to be one of the coolest fucking scenes in the entire mcu. It’s one of my new favorites.

- the visuals in this movie were just so good omg.

- also liked the further explanations of the dark hold and the souls of the damned. That was cool as was the antithesis, the book of Vishanti. Once again, the magic in this movie was amazing across the board.

- The cinematography was amazing too by the way. Not just the CGI but the way things were shot, the way it felt almost like a horror movie at some points, the way it was just so pleasing to the eye the entire time. I loved that.

- also i was kinda expecting Mephisto to appear at some point. I never have taken that seriously before but for the first time I actually wondered if he’d appear because of how much talk about the dark hold, the forging of the scarlet witch, etc.

- also was kinda thinking Shang-Chi was gonna make a cameo and Loki too but neither happened.

- last thing I can think of right now, is that I kinda wish we would’ve gotten another post-credits scene that had more connection to what’s coming up in the mcu. Bc that short little one about just what’s next for Strange, isn’t enough for me 😩. I fr was hoping for something new to freak out about.

That’s all.

[midorisudachi]

May the 4th Be With You!

I love this day! How exciting that it is Star Wars month! I have been a SW fan since day one...seriously! My Mum saw the original trilogy in theatre, and me & my siblings grew up with SW. We were lucky to have seen the Prequel trilogy in theatre. And in the past decade, I have been totally amazed at how much SW content we are getting. Growing up, I would have never thought there would be so much SW shows, movies, and goodies! What a great time to be a SW fan!

I really do hope you like this piece! And before anybody gets excited, this is not necessarily a "ship". I imagined Boba Fett & Fennec Shand just enjoying their time together after all the crazy events that happened...good friends can hug each other! Or maybe they like each other more than partners/friends...who knows...that's up to the viewer. Whatever the case, as long as you enjoy this, that is what makes me happy!  

This was actually quite the challenge for me to draw, due to the proportions, the angle (which is slightly above the two), and all the details on Boba & Fennec outfits. Especially Boba...too many details! And I also drew him with those pants/trousers/whatever-you-call-them (with that sash thingie) that he wore in The Mandalorian (because I liked the look a bit better than the BOBF pants/trousers...yes, I am using artistic license here!) 

I originally had a background (similar to the room where Boba has his Bacta tank), but I messed up on it so badly that it totally destroyed the piece. That's the one thing about traditional media: once you mess up, that's it! Luckily I can always use Photoshop Elements to add in a plain background! 

Drawn with Sakura Pigma Micron pens, then coloured in with a mixture of Copic Markers & Ohuhu Markers. White highlights/accents done with a gel pen.

[beepboop358]

A Prom in S4 Theory & Music Coding Predictions

Some leaked set pics indicate that there MAY BE a junior/senior prom at Hawkins High, which they are calling the "Lover's Ball". It's unclear if this prom will be included on screen, or if it will just be mentioned as an event coming up at Hawkins High because this flyer could just extra set decor. Regardless if the prom happens on screen or not, there will probably be some tension about 'who's asking who' to the prom that we will see in s4. Given that this picture was just leaked a few weeks ago, it probably falls closer to the end of the season sequentially.

Having a big school dance in s4 is suspiciously close to how they had the Snowball scene in s2. This would certainly follow the even/odd season patterns, (and actually add to the list of the patterns), which kind of makes me think we will see this prom on screen, or at the very least it will be mentioned in the course of the season.

The Duffer Brothers love Steven King and reference his work and especially 'IT' a lot in the show, but they haven't done anything with Carrie yet so maybe we will get a Carrie moment this season at the prom...

Carrie was on the video store fridays movie inspiration board for ST4.

At the "Lover's Ball", there will be definitely be some music coding relating to Byler. Since music coding is kind of a key thing in the show, I've been rifling through 80's songs to try and find some that may fit with s4's themes/character storylines (and I may do a seperate post about that later), but for this post I'm just gonna focus on what they might use at the prom for relating to Byler.

Since the season is most likely going to take place in 1986, I only selected songs that had a compatible release year so it would be historically accurate. (these songs would also be great for a byler playlist!)

Some strong contenders for the songs that might play at the prom to reference Mike and Will's relationship could be:

"True Colors" by Cyndi Lauper (1986)

This song is honestly too good of an option for them not to use. I'm reallllyyy crossing my fingers for this one.

It's hard to take courage In a world full of people You can lose sight of it all And the darkness inside you Can make you feel so small

"And I see your true colors Shining through I see your true colors And that's why I love you So don't be afraid (don't be afraid) To let them show your true colors True colors are beautiful (you're beautiful, oh) Like a rainbow Oh oh oh oh oh like a rainbow"

If this world makes you crazy And you've taken all you can bear You call me up Because you know I'll be there

"Heaven" by Bryan Adams (1984)

This first verse is literally just the story of Byler... 😭 The rest of the song applies but that verse verse is just sooooo accurate. (I'm crossing my fingers for this one too)

"Oh thinkin' about all our younger years There was only you and me We were young and wild and free Now nothing can take you away from me We've been down that road before But that's over now You keep me comin' back for more

Baby you're all that I want When you're lyin' here in my arms I'm findin' it hard to believe We're in heaven And love is all that I need And I found it there in your heart Isn't too hard to see We're in heaven

Oh once in your life you find someone Who will turn your world around Bring you up when you're feelin' down Yeah nothin' can change what you mean to me Oh there's lots that I could say But just hold me now 'Cause our love will light the way"

"Take My Breath Away" by Berlin (1986)

This song is on Will's Spotify playlist, and I thought it could also be used at the prom since it's a romantic song. I see it as an 'entrance to the prom' moment song, almost like a 'first look' - like the Mike and El moment at the snowball when she first walks in, but with Mike and Will this time. I think the lyrics clearly hint to this kind of 'first look' moment as well.

"Watchin' every motion in my foolish lover's game On this endless ocean, finally lovers know no shame Turning and returning to some secret place inside Watchin' in slow motion as you turn around and say...take my breath away"

Watchin' every motion in this foolish lover's game Haunted by the notion, somewhere there's a love in flames Turning and returning to some secret place inside Watchin' in slow motion as you turn my way and say...take my breath away"

"In The Air Tonight" by Phil Collins (1981)

This song was originally meant to be included in the snowball scene from s2, but it ultimately was not used and "Every Breath You Take" was used for this scene instead. Since it was intended to be a part of the s2 dance, that's why I think it may be used at the prom this season. (you can read the scripts on 8flix)

——— I forgot to include this explanation originally BUT, I think this song might be used to show some anger/resentment between the two, and to show a decent amount of tension, depending on their development this season. Like maybe Mike is kind of leading Will on in private by continuing to initiate intimate scenes between them, but in public Mike is still trying to put on his “straight boy act” and kind of being a jackass about it, and this song could be used to show the tension between them that has caused.

"And I've been waiting for this moment, for all my life, (Oh lord)

Well, I was there and I saw what you did I saw it with my own two eyes So you can wipe off that grin, I know where you've been It's all been a pack of lies.

Well I remember, I remember don't worry How could I ever forget It's the first time, the last time we ever met But I know the reason why you keep this silence up

No you don't fool me The hurt doesn't show, but the pain still grows It's no stranger to you and me"

"In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel (1986)

Some of the lyrics in this song just SCREAMS byler, just look at the 1st, 2nd and 4th paragraphs. I would be suprised if they didn't use this song in either s4/s5.

Love, I get so lost sometimes Days pass and this emptiness fills my heart When I want to run away I drive off in my car But whichever way I go I come back to the place you are

All my instincts, they return The grand facade, so soon will burn Without a noise, without my pride I reach out from the inside

In your eyes The light, the heat (in your eyes) I am complete (in your eyes) I see the doorway (in your eyes) To a thousand churches (in your eyes) The resolution (in your eyes) Of all the fruitless searches (in your eyes)

Love, I don't like to see so much pain So much wasted and this moment keeps slipping away I get so tired working so hard for our survival I look to the time with you to keep me awake and alive

"Heroes" by David Bowie (1975)

David Bowie was bisexual. A cover of his song “Heroes” is used in the show twice already, sung by Peter Gabriel. The song plays when they pull Will's fake body out of the water in season one and Mike cries in his Mom's arms, with some very queer-coded lyrics in the background, and after Hopper's letter in s3 (which is very Byler-centric)

"I will be king. And you, you will be queen 'Cause we're lovers, and that is a fact. Yes, we're lovers, and that is that. Though nothing will keep us together. We could steal time just for one day We can be heroes forever and ever. What d'you say? I, I wish I could swim, like dolphins, like dolphins could swim I, I can remember (I remember) Standing by the wall (By the wall) And the guns shot above our heads (Over our heads) And we kissed as though nothing could fall (Nothing could fall) And the shame was on the other side. Oh, we can beat them forever and ever. Then we could be heroes just for one day We're nothing, and nothing will help us Maybe we're lying, then you better not stay But we could be safer just for one day"

I just thought the above songs might be some highly likely possibilities given that they fit the year of the s4 and also make references to not only love, but the idea of hiding, pain, shame, longing, etc., and can make some (partially stretching here) references to other things in the show such as:

RAINBOWS and TRUE COLORS, SHINING THROUGH (rainbows imagery is always associated with Mike & Will in the show and a is symbol of lgbtq+ pride, True Colors shining through = who you really are on the inside finally coming out)

IF THIS WORLD MAKES YOU CRAZY ("crazy together", "only love makes you that crazy" and references the "world" motif in the show)

YOUNGER YEARS, ONLY YOU AND ME, YOUNG, WILD AND FREE (references "not wanting things to change" and wanting "to make things go how they were" part in Hopper's letter, and the "But we're not kids anymore" comment during the Byler fight)

ENDLESS OCEAN and SWIM, LIKE DOLPHINS (references water's significance in the show)

FLAMES (Will in front of the burning car in s4 teaser?)

LIES and LYING (Mike lying to El about how he feels)

INSTINCTS RETURNING, FACADES BURNING, WITHOUT MY PRIDE, I REACH OUT FROM THE INSIDE (Mike's feelings for Will are his instincts, the facade is the act he put on in s3 to seem straight, burning could reference Will & fire, and I think the last 2 lines of that 2nd verse reference vulnerability- perhaps in an apology/confession)

I GET SO LOST (confusion about his sexuality, feeling lost without the other) and SO MUCH WASTED TIME (known each other since kindergarten but were unaware the other felt the same way/was dealing with same things, they could have been even closer)

KINGS and QUEENS (the d&d game mike wrote where he has king Tristan give him a medal in s1)

STEALING TIME (references "turning back the clock, to make things go how they were" part in Hopper's letter and the time theme in s4 and time is central to the s4 plot)

AND WE KISS - AND THE SHAME (references the shame they both feel about being gay since it was so stigmatized in the 80's)

Byler @ Prom Possibilities:

If Mike and Will did dance together at the prom, they will probably get bullied because they live in a small conservative town. They will probably either run out, upset, or Eleven will step in to protect them which could lead to the Carrie moment.

Or Mike and Will will not dance together in the actual dance room, but instead sneak off to somewhere else in the school and have a private Byler dance moment where they can't be teased and it's just them together.

OR Mike and Will are still acting weird at this point in the season because neither of them is communicating what needs to be said out of fear, or one of them has confessed or done something to indicate how they feel, but the other hasn’t so everything is weird between them. There would be lots of tension from this and we would get lots of longing looks and adoring moments between the two of them from the sidelines. (I think this one is the most likely)

[racheloveyunho]

Till death do us part - 4

Y/N grew up in a wealthy family, she always was seen as a beautiful   and smart kid and was most likely to take her father’s place as the CEO of one of the most important companies in South Korea. However, after   the death of her mother, Y/N’s family slowly started to break apart. Her  father was always working to forget his uncalled pain while his kids   were left alone at home.

She was 17 years old when her life took a  sudden turn when she met him in a dark alley. He was a bloody mess,   bruises everywhere but behind blood and dirt, she could see his   beautiful features and his addictive gaze. Maybe she should have walked away, maybe she shouldn’t have helped him, but the moment his gaze   locked with hers, she was already his.

Choi San was his name.

Genre: Mafia AU, smut, angst, fluff, stranger to lovers

Words: 1883

TW series:  Y/N is described as an OC. Please be aware that this story will contain  a lot of triggering content such as smut, blood, death, murder, drug,  kidnapping, etc. Do not read if you are under a legal age!

TW chapter: Obsessive behavior (from Y/N’s and San’s side), threats, swearing and a hint of jealousy.

Here it was, the silhouette I liked the most

"San..."

He hugged me tightly as if there was no tomorrow. I noticed how he was sweaty and out of breathe, probably from running to get to me faster.

I breathed in his unique scent, it was woody scent, something fresh but still manly. I felt safer with him, everything was easier when he was by my side. I didn't want to let him go and my feelings seemed mutual as he tightened his grip on my waist.

I was like a piece of metal attracted to a magnet.

We sat down on the bed and he let me cry my heart out, listening every word I had to say. I told him my story, my conflictual relationship with my father, how harsh he was with me and my brother since my mom passed away and my arranged wedding with this Hwang Jinyoung.

We talked for two good hours about my problems but also about the future we both wanted.

As time went on, I started to feel sleepy, my eyelids were heavy and my mind was cloudy. I slowly closed my eyes until I fell into a deep sleep into San's arms. He gently patted my head to help me fall asleep.

"Don't worry Y/N, I will protect you from now on."

San hummed a song before falling asleep by Y/N’s side.

----------------------

Chapter 4

I woke up in the same room I felt asleep on. The unusual walls made my heart ache at the thought of what had happened between my father and I. I knew deep inside me that there will be no turning back with my relationship with him but strangely enough, i didn't feel bad about it, I was more concerned about my brother than anything.

"Did you sleep well?"

I looked up and was greeted by this angelical face of his. San was laying on the same bed as me, one of his muscular arm holding my frame tightly. I smiled back and hide my face on his chest, smelling his addictive scent at the same time.

"I did."

It was a weird feeling. I knew almost nothing of San, I met him three times and still... I felt as if I could give him my whole body and soul. I couldn't help but think about what my mom told me when I was still a child.

"Someday you will find someone you can rely on, someone who doesn't need words to know how you feel, someone who understand and cherish you as the most precious thing in the world. You will find this person one day Y/N, I'm sure of it."

My lips came upward in a smile as I remembered my mom's word, they had a new meaning to me since I met San.

His grip tightened a little around me while his other hand was busy, gently petting my hair.

"You are acting like a boyfriend"

"Do you like it?"

"Very much" I smiled, looking fondly at him and before I knew it, San leaned on and kissed me slightly.

His lips felt like feather, there was nothing but sweetness and love in this kiss, his right hand cupped my cheek and rubbed his thumb against the soft skin.

When our lips finally moved apart, I looked up to meet his - oh so lovely - gaze.

"You are so beautiful"

"Say the man whom is beauty itself" I giggled softly.

This moment was almost perfect - almost.

My mind was quick to remember about the bitterness of the situation I was in. I looked down sadly, avoiding San's intrigued eyes.

A lot of questions were running on my mind. What will happen from now on? I was still minor and my dad was stubborn, he would never let me escape from his grasp so easily. How will I survive? I didn't even had enough money to stay on this hotel for more than a week.

Unconsciously, I sighed heavily. San took my chin between his thumb and his index and lift my face towards his.

"What is it?" San asked me in a whisper.

"Did you bring your phone with you? I have to call Hana, she must be worried."

After a few seconds, he nodded and gave me his phone. I entered the familiar number and quickly enough, Hana's voice was heard through the phone.

"Y/N!! Is everything okay? I was worried sick! I thought you were coming early in the morning?" Her voice cracked at the end of her sentence. I frowned my eyebrows. She was whispering yelling and it was odd since she was always a loud girl.

"Sorry, I didn't wake up. Why are you this quiet?" I suspiciously asked.

"Y/N, I don't think you should come here, your father was there one hour ago and he was beyond furious! He threatened me and my family, saying that he will ruin our lives if he find out we are hiding you from him!" She cried out.

This sentence came before a long and heavy silence where no one dared to talk. My mind was processing this new information while my heart was scolding me for bringing my best friend and her family into a delicate situation.

San was quietly listening to our conversation, his right hand on top of mine while his thumb was gently rubbing the back of my hand.. 

"I'm so sorry Hana... I didn't mean to bring you into this mess..." I lowered my voice, guilt eating me alive.

"Hey sweety... It's okay. You didn't do anything wrong but... I don't think this is a good idea to go against your father will. He is really scary."

"Are you telling me to came back home and let my father do everything he wants with me?" My throat felt suddenly dry and my heart heavy in my chest.

No answer.

I knew she was just afraid of what could possibly happen to her and her family, she just wanted to protect her loved ones. However, I couldn't help but feel betrayed. She knew how my father was and how hard it was for me to handle this situation.

"I see. Don't worry for me, I'm gonna find a way." I finally stated with the coldest voice I could muster. I didn't let her the time to give an answer and hung up right away.

I stayed silent for a while and so did San.

After what seemed like an eternity, I finally looked up at him and sighed with a small smile "Thank you for what you did to me. I owe you one"

"Why are you talking as if you are going somewhere?" he arched his eyebrows before leaning close to me with his signature smirk of his "I'm not planning to let you go away from me, love."

I gasped in surprise "L-love?" I asked stuttering, embarrassed by this sudden pet name.

"Why are you embarrassed about? We just kissed a few minutes ago"

I avoided his gaze and coughed slightly to get rid of the awkwardness "I can't stay here San... You will be in trouble if my dad find out you helped me and I don't want it to happen."

This time, it was San's turn to sight.

"Y/N. Listen to me. I will let you two choices" I frowned but stayed silent to let him continue "You don't know who I am but I can help you. However I won't take you with me if you don't want to. It's up to you. Do you want to stay with me, where I'll promise to keep you safe by my side, or do you want to go back and be toyed your entire life by your father against your own will?"

Silence again.

His face was serious and his voice demanding, It actually made me think I couldn't choose the latter choice - not that I wanted to choose this option anyway.

"Why are you doing this.. I mean, we don't know much about each other and-"

"Kim Y/N, born in Seoul the 25th September 1999 at 3:48. You like horror movies and all kind of sweets, your mother passed away the 4th June and since then, your father had changed completely, leaving you and your brother behind" San said, never breaking visual contact with me "You are the student with the best grades on your class and you are the teacher's favorite and even though you want to attend the prestigious Seoul national college, you don't know what to do in your life yet"

I was astonished, how did he get all his information?

As if on cue, he slipped a hand in my hair "It's been two years now Y/N, no one know you as much as I do. I know every single details about you but now, I don't want to look at your life from far away, I want to be apart of it" He smiled but frowned as I slowly stepped away from him "were you stalking me all this time?" I asked, heart beating fast.

"Come on, I know you are as obsessed over me as I am over you" He laughed before standing up and quickly doing his hair while looking his own reflect on the mirror “I was there every time you talked to your friend about me”

I watched his every move and couldn’t find anything to say. No matter how crazy it sounded, I knew he was right.

"And how are you gonna help me?"

"Your dad isn't all white, quite the contrary" He said "I know enough to tell him to let you be" He added.

"Are you going to... threaten him?" I looked at him through the mirror.

"Why? You don't want me to?" He smiled at me, his back still facing me.

I took a deep breathe.

"No... He deserves it"

He turned around and came closer to me with the widest smirk.

"So... Are you coming with me?"

I watched as the landscape kept changing from outside the window. The spacious car was moving in slow pace in a part of Seoul I never went in.

I knew it was the beginning of something new but everything seemed so unreal, the only thing that kept me back to reality was the warmth of San's hand intertwining with mine.

I quickly take a glance at the driver, his sharp nose and strong eyes made him look cold, a perfect contrast with his tanned skin. I was surprised by how young he was, probably not much older than San and I and obviously both of them were getting along with each other.

I was so focus on looking at the man and wondering who he was to San that I didn't took notice of my staring until I felt San squeezing my hand.

"Y/N...I'm not sure of how I feel about you looking at another man" He pouted cutely to grab my attention back to him. I laughed lowly and gave him a apologetic look "I'm not sure how I feel about you being jaleous while we are not in an official relationship yet" I smirked at him.

"The kiss wasn't official enough for you?" He smirked back "should I give you an other one then? " He asked, his face coming closer to mine.

His lips ghosted over mine but we were interrupted by a loud cough before we could properly touch each other.

"Please San, can you keep your hands for yourself until you both are alone? I don't especially want to see you guys kiss in the back seat of my car" The driver said in a rather annoyed tone.

"Look who is talking" San scoffed "Should I remind you how many times you made out with your girlfriend in front of me?"

The older man let out a dry laugh, his eyes still on the road.

After a few minutes of a comfortable silencex the driver looked at me from the front mirror.

"Your name is Y/N, right?"

"Yes... And you are..?"

"I'm Seonghwa. Park Seonghwa" He said "I'm glad to meet you, San wouldn't shut up and talk about you every fucking day" He laughed, earning another loud scoff from San.

"Watch your mouth, you are older but I'm still the boss here" San growled.

Suddenly, the car stopped abruptly.

"We safely came back to your home sir~" Seonghwa politely stated, not without a hint of teasing in his voice.

San pulled me out of the car, hand still holding mine firmly. I followed him and looked up at the huge mansion in front of us.

My mouth fell agape, this place was way bigger than mine.

"Welcome to your new house" San smiled.

----------- 

-----------

We are finally starting to introduce the others members!

Also this chapter is a bit shorter, I didn’t even noticed until I checked the number of words but I thought it was better this way, there was nothing to add since the next chapter was already done lol.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it!

See you next time~

Tag list:

@hijirikaww @pinkchampagne2 @xduygu-arsx @joongiebug @leicy0756

[heloflor]

So I wanted to make a short thing grouping the SP seasons by “eras” along with a list of what’s in each of these eras (story elements, characters, topics) because I’ve been categorizing the seasons this way in my mind for a while and if I make a few SP posts, might as well share this.

Obviously this is a personal opinions and I’m sure there are many different ways to split the show and its seasons. Besides, I’m not good at recognizing American politics so yeah…

 Era 1 : Seasons 1-4 + Movie

- The very beginning of the show

- The kids are 8 years old and don’t know a lot of things (they don’t see to fully understand religions aside from “we have those holidays and Kyle doesn’t”, they don’t know a thing about sex aside from Kenny, etc)

- Only a handful of characters have a personality and most are adults (Main 4, Tweek, Craig, Wendy, Bebe, all teachers/school faculty, some of the parents like Sheila and Liane, Jimbo and Ned, the Mayor)

- Cartman was nothing more than a bratty spoiled jerk and hated Kenny more

- Stan and Kyle were assholes

- Kenny dying almost every episode

- For some reason, while all seasons can have pretty crazy plots, the ones from S1 stand out more to me on the crazy/unrealistic level (aliens, mecha Barbara Streisand, the thing with the turkeys, Damien aka some kid being the son of Satan etc). But given how crazy shit still happens in recent seasons, I think it might just be the overall tone of these seasons being different ? 🤔

- It’s more about shock value than actual commentary (I think ?)

- Stories focused on the kids

   Era 2 : Seasons 5-9

- What people call the golden era ?

- Still centered around the kids

- The kids are 9 and start to mature a bit but still remain rather innocent --> they still rely on Chef

- “Scott Tenorman Must Die” basically starts off this era by changing Cartman’s character into the monster we now know him as

- Most of the school kids become characters and some episodes focus on them as a whole. Most notably, Butters becomes a character

- Basically the birth of the “12 main kids” as I call them, aka the main 5, Craig and those guys, Timmy and much later on Scott Malkinson. They’re basically the names you’re most likely to hear if you ask someone who casually watches the show to name the 4th grade boys

And yeah you could add Kevin and Jason to this list but Kevin doesn’t have that much personality beyond the “he’s a geek”/”Kevin Goddammit” jokes and I’m not even sure if Jason even has a personality. Could also add David Rodriguez from “You’re Not Yelping” much later but aside from S19 he's more of a background character

- Most parents also get a set personality, most notably Randy

- The show becomes more satirical and a bit more political

   Era 3 : Seasons 10-14 (more precisely up until “You’re Getting Old” in Season 15)

- Started off by the death of Chef, leading to the kids maturing more now that they don’t have a mentor

- Overall a direct continuation to the previous era with the main differences being that 1. Randy becomes a lot more prominent and starts having secondary plots and 2. More and more political jokes

- Tbh the line between what changes from seasons 8-9 to 11-12 actually feels very blurry, like there’s not one specific moment where the tone of the show shifts, hence why Chef’s death + Randy’s new prominence were chosen here

   Era 4 : Seasons 15-17 (more precisely post “You’re Getting Old/Assburgers”)

- Still a continuation from the previous seasons but the personalities of the Main 4 are what evolves :

- Stan becomes cynical due to his depression + starts caring more about his image. He also starts having to deal with addiction and copes with it through board games

- Kyle is taken less seriously as the voice of reason (and starts being put on the side a bit by the other boys ?)

- Cartman chills out a bit (key word here being “a bit”) and seemingly starts seeing a therapist since T.M.I. (though it doesn’t really help, partly because adults in SP suck and partly because Cartman doesn’t seem to want to be helped) + later down the road (“Buddha Box” + the beginning of the first episode of S23 when he vents to Stan + S25), it seems that the trauma from all the shit that happened to him is starting to catch up to him. Also the episode “1%” happens (and I don’t think I know enough about psychology to talk about how Cartman acts in this episode)

- Kenny becomes less and less relevant and mostly seems to show up for episodes centered around him or the main 4

- The adults/Randy plots also continue

   Era 5 : Seasons 18-22 (up until “Tegrity Farms”)

- The serialized seasons

- Starts with minor continuity (like in Season 6) with two-parters as a finale, followed by seasons 20-21 that are very plot-focused, before going back to minor continuity

- The stories seem more down to earth compared to the former seasons ? Like, crazy stuff still happens but the overall tone feels a lot more realistic. In a way, there’s that feeling of “man, life’s so fucked up right now that even what SP portrays feels accurate despite the show usually exaggerating everything”

- A lot more focused on politics and current events/how society evolves ?

   Era 6 : Seasons 22-23 (starting with “Tegrity Farms”)

- The “Tegrity Farms” era

- Very focused on Randy, leading to the kids’ plots being secondary (with the second half of Season 23 feeling more like “specials” than normal episodes, probably not helped by the middle of the season having an episode called “Season Finale”)

- Less overall continuity (the events of the episodes aren’t back-to-back. Like we go from vaping to evil scooters to Amazon in Season 22. And in Season 23 we go from vaccines to vegan food to board games with very disputable “representation”) but the stories still follow the trend of the previous few seasons

   Era ??? : Season 24 + Post Covid/Return of Covid

- The Covid era

- Not even sure if it can be considered an actual era “within the continuity”, it’s more like a parenthesis to talk about Covid before going back to a South Park where Covid “doesn’t exist”

- Nothing much to say here, it’s South Park’s take on Covid (with the bonus of seeing the future that awaits those kids, which was pretty neat and open some very interesting doors for fics)

   Era 7 : Seasons 25-…

- Current era

- So far, looks like they try to go back to what we had in former seasons with the kids doing kids’ stuff, though the adult characters are still majorly present

- Not that much Randy/Tegrity farms overall but random other adults

- The adults might be a way to have a take on political stuff while keeping the kids out of it ?

- Still keeping minor continuity, with no serialization but plot points changing the status quo (Cartman and Tolkien moving)

- We’ll just have to wait and see what comes out of it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[spnasylum]

My notes while listening to Misha’s comments on the podcast: (grab a snack!)

In light of the most recent fandom drama I decided to listen to *that* podcast and take notes as I went along about what was actually said and then give my take on it as objectively as possible. This is basically an essay so strap in!

He complains about not getting a trailer on set that’s the same as Jared and Jensen’s. Even though he has one that can accommodate 3 people. This was the first point of discussion inspired by opening up the interview with a brief chat about Misha currently being in his camper van and how he’s sleeping in it even though he’s still home in Bellingham. The whole hour and 26 minutes has an undertone of complaining and ego stroking by all involved. 

 Says he’s sad he didn’t get to be there for the final days of filming.  

 Seems a little nervous about if friendships made during the shows run will last now it’s over. 

 Admits he has no plan in place or anything coming up career wise and he’s unsure of his future. This is where he brings up Walker and The Boys and says if he had shows like that to go to he wouldn’t feel SPN ending was so monumental. It is said with a slight tone of bitterness. 

 Side note: the hosts Alaina and Malik seem to be fine with running with the narrative that Misha was part of the show it’s entire 15 year run. Misha clears this up eventually by saying he joined in season 4. 

 Misha says that he realized about six years ago that SPN could run as “we”  wanted it to, implying he has any say in keeping the show going or not. He asserts that he would have been on the show up until the very end in any case. But he didn’t feel that way the first few years he was on the show. So that makes me think something or someone involved gave him the feeling he could be confident in being in the cast for however long SPN aired. Maybe this was after Sera left? Maybe this was when he agreed to a significant pay cut and demotion? Either way it seems he felt SPN = job security. 

 Misha doubts he’ll have the feeling of job security again. 

 Says from around age 11 he wanted to be a politician. 

 Says he saw “successful, untalented” actors and decided “I can do that”. He realized that was naive and it’s actually not easy to be that successful and by the time he got his career going he was basically just in it for the fame it’s not anything he took seriously. 

 We find out his wife did a doctorate in gender history... for some reason. 

 That Marilyn Monroe was some sort of baseline for him about creating a public persona (🤷🏽‍♀️) except for getting cosmetic surgery he points out. 

 Talk about how he got started. Acting classes, improve groups. Moving between Chicago, DC and LA. 

 Discussion about the differences and similarities between Hollywood and Washington. 

 States he got a consultant to help him cultivate a fan base and image to connect with an audience after getting on SPN. Admits that was a double edged sword because an anonymous public start thinking that they really know you and things start getting weird. 

 Mentions trying to find a balancing act of being authentic and having a private life but still keeping your fans. 

 He admits that the fan base he grew for himself by seeming accessible has caused him to attract people who don’t have any boundaries. This is when he claims the “dialing it back” in regard to how much he shares and mentions his kids specifically as something he doesn’t feel comfortable with putting out there. Uses the word “unhinged” to describe them. 

 Malik mentions “crazy fans” who seem to know too much about you and finding out where you are etc. Using the example of fans turning up at an airport wanting autographs and you wondering how they even knew you’d be there and what flight you taking. He asks Misha to share experiences about his own crazy fans. 

 This is when Misha uses the example about having fans who think that when he tweets something out he’s communicating with them personally. 

 Alaina then says that in the Supernatural fandom people fight each other to protect Jared, Jensen and Misha and it’s “very bizarre”. She volunteered that people think Misha secretly hates Jared and that it’s not true. Not sure why she decided to direct the conversation to a place that would cause drama and give Misha a chance to play victim. 

 And then...

 That’s when he claims that he was public enemy number one with super fans of the show because he’s taking attention away from Jared and Jensen. 

 That’s when he brings up the alleged organized attack to take down his Facebook account. He says they reported him for... *pauses... claims to not know what. But that whatever it was “Facebook bought it and took it down”. Facebook deleted/deactivated his account but he eventually got it back. 

 Side note: Facebook (like all social media) have always been bias when it comes to people with leftist views and let them have free reign on the platform. So he must have done something that they would decide to suspend him. I don’t think J2 fans can be blamed for the content he posts and if it violated any ToS. As we know he can post some inappropriate things on social media. 

 He then brings up the allegations of him taking money out of his organization. Stating it’s “categorically untrue” is all he brings forward as evidence to the contrary. 

 Side note: I don’t know why then that there’s no receipts or transparency. Why is his mother a beneficiary, why do people who mention he owns Stands get blocked, why set everything up in Delaware and have your for profit and so called non profit interests so entangled etc etc) I guess fans are just supposed to have faith and take his word for it. 

 He says that ALL of them (Jared, Jensen and himself) have people who hate them in the fandom. But overall the fandom is lovely and supportive of the cast and each other. Makes an attempt at stating there’s no kind of competition or animosity between he and Jared. I think this is like the 3rd or 4th time in the interview either he or Alaina bring up Jared but keep the focus on how Misha is the one facing “character assassination.”

 Finally says that all of them have nasty things done to them and they all have had to consult security because of threats to their families etc, doesn’t specify which faction of the fandom that’s coming from. Mentions people filing police reports in the fandom but doesn’t say regarding who or what. Alaina reacts like it’s the first time hearing of this happening. Misha just goes “yeah!” Then they move on to talking about living situations. 

 Apparently Alaina and Misha were neighbors in LA but didn’t take advantage of that. She doesn’t live in LA anyone, wants a new adventure. 

 Misha mentions Bellingham is another thing about his future he’s unsure about and how his kids flourished there. 

 Brings up not being present with his kids even when he’s home because of work and side projects and that the one thing he’s enjoying right now it spending time with them. That he used to operate from a place of guilt because his kids felt like they only have one parent. He and Malik briefly spoke on how their careers have negatively affected their love lives. 

 Misha says he’s not really involved with Random Acts or running it anymore. (Ummm... what) 

 He and Alaina discuss Haiti and Nicaragua for a while. 

 Says he may try to get into directing. Says he likes having creative control. Mentions he likes doing his art installations. 

 Admits that getting a bit of success made him very entitled and wanting of special treatment. But claims he’s trying to keep that in check (where?) and he’s just like everyone else (well duh!). But he “trades on his celebrity” to get stuff and it makes him feel dirty (I think everyone with any kind of following does that though so nbd)

 Talk of how TV/film is more diverse in telling minority stories these days. 

 Was asked by Malik if he has any kind of chip on his shoulder career wise and Misha says the chip on his shoulder is being bored. But says he needs to work on being more engaged. 

 He then abruptly wants to end the interview. Saying he has to pick up his kids. Malik wants another question. He asks how Misha has been hurt or healed by his career. 

 Misha then brings up the movie Karla. Again admitting to becoming more like Paul psychologically irl. But says knowing he has that type of evil in him somewhere (and says that we all have that in us) made him more empathetic to the human condition. 

 They then say their goodbyes. End of interview. 

 ——

 My takeaway. The worst thing he can think to say the people who don’t like him in the fandom did was trolling to get his Facebook deactivated? Also that people can see the suspicious nature of his businesses? It would be really easy to settle that with actually being transparent about the finances, which they aren’t and not having close family as benefactors though. Also, I can only speak for myself. But I never hated him. I actually loved Castiel (before his character was there just to be there in recent seasons and Cass wasn’t Cass anymore. I think Misha’s need to pander to shippers/stay on the show was a great disservice to Castiel and his arc) I was a huge Misha fan, and participated in RA and Gish a lot. I absolutely adored Misha, I led myself to believe he was the most amazing person in the world, obviously that’s the reaction he wanted to cultivate from us. Unfortunately I learned too much, experienced first hand and heard too much to be able to keep cheerleading for him. I feel bad for the people still under the spell of feeling like it’s their job to keep being defensive and unreasonably loyal to someone who you can’t and don’t really know and only have a superficial “relationship” with. Seeing the ever more unhealthy and toxic lengths people feel they need to go to to prop up his ego etc. The constant investment emotionally and financially that goes into it and the “sunk cost” if you let reality in makes it hard to let go I guess. Even he knows that what he’s done to gain and maintain relevance has attracted what he called multiple times an unhinged fan base he has to try and balance without losing his influence. I think he maybe had or has good intentions but his fame hungry drive and narcissistic personality traits win out in the end. The Heller’s seem to have, as always, taken what was said and blown it out of proportion, twisted things and created their own narrative. I do see them using key words from the interview a lot suddenly though to bully for him. So, I guess the dog whistle to the sycophants worked out. I hope that a time comes where they can have a more healthy relationship with the media and public figures they choose to gravitate towards. We can all get over zealous with things but there’s lines that shouldn’t be crossed. For some that seems sadly unlikely. I hope that Misha does indeed one day get himself in check as he calls it and I can feel comfortable to support him again. But so long as he’s being enabled and not held accountable again that seems sadly unlikely. Even though I do occasionally find myself being drawn in by the facade again a little and quickly retreating because the issues remain the same. There is a problematic dynamic in the Supernatural fandom for sure. That’s why for a long time I opted out and just watched the show separately from fandom. It’s why when I found out it was ending I had this odd sense of relief I wasn’t expecting to feel and it made me sad. I hope that now the show has aired its finale we can all reflect on things, hopefully be more self aware and objective and most importantly honest about what really has gone down and why. When things started turning sour there have been plenty of times it could have been nipped in the bud yet wasn’t. People who used this silly yet special show in selfish ways, times when walking away would have been better than sticking around trying to make things and people into something never intended to be, giving into tribalism while claiming we’re a family... for that I think we all hold a little piece of responsibility. 

  You can listen to it yourself on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0m07her5JUf0JGGtDVohtJ?si=c-RdyZzFQmSzffgNzZhkQg

[witchyintention]

Deities: What Are They, How to Work With Them & How to Find Them.

As a beginner witch deities are exciting and most want to jump into it right away. As someone who works with 7 let me tell you it is draining. Most people will simply tell you a big fat NO! At the mention of deities and not really tell you why it's a no for beginners. For one it takes a lot out of you. For two deities are a big step in your practice and you must work on the fundamentals before you even think of working with them. If you don't work on your grounding, shadow work, mediation and basic knowledge of witchcraft things can spiral out of control. This can get very dangerous very quickly. Deities are gods (or simply higher beings. I refer them to gods often so just keep this as a note) after all and someone weak trying to handle something powerful is disastrous. 

Think of tv, video games or movies. When someone who doesn't know what they are doing trying to summon something they have no business summoning it turns into a horror shit show. 

This is kinda how you should think of deities. However you are more than capable of worshipping them just like any other religion. Pray and leave offerings. You can even ask for guidance from them and that's perfectly fine. But do reframe from actually using them in your spell work.

Let me tell you about the difference. I have yet to go into spell work but you always cast a circle. So working with would be talking with a guide during any point of a spell. Your circle is a sacred space that's intended for your energy. By inventing other beings into the circle you are allowing them access to your energies.

When seeking help you pray and ask for a sign. Remember to keep this way from any sort of spellwork, you do not want just anyone to have access to your energies. 

Any time that you invite them into your circle, they are able to use your energy and feed off it. Now inviting them can be as simple as saying their name. From that point you are working with them. Because once they can work with your energy they can effect your spellwork. If it's an entity, that can then cause potential harm. By allowing them in your circle you're opening up the chance of that happening. Spells could go wrong or you could end up in the hospital. There are many stories of novice witches opening their circle to these entities because they don't know any better. Many ended up in the hospital and even dead.

I have said witchcraft, as fun and exciting as it is, can be very dangerous. I do not tell you the things I do to scare you but to educate you. You need to know exactly what you're going into. And that is the purpose of this series.

Though I have been saying deities this also includes spirit guides such as the Fae, Angels Ancestors and everything in between. When you do get to this point in your practice you can in fact have a mix of all of them. I primarily work with the greek pantheon however I have called upon others to aid me in the message they were trying to give. For example I do not work with Apollo however a friend of mine had been seeing signs of him along with the name being whispered in the back of their mind. 

(I'll take any chance to include anime. 😅)

This friend came to me to see if it was realy Apollo or something else that was pretending to be the god. This also frequently happens with beginner witches. They are more prone to believing something that isn't a god when told it is. This friend knew that and consulted me about it. As a result I found out it was Apollo and had him aid me in the message he wished to tell this friend through tarot. 

This was an example of me working with a god who I do not usually work with. However it is very much okay and actually encouraged to do some reading into Spirit  guides such as deities, Angel's and so on. Read about their lore and things associated with them. This will help you later or even now if you have been seeing signs from them. 

However if you anything like me you'll fall far down the rabbit hole of deities. I have been studying on greek and roman mythology since the 4th or 5th grade. Later when I moved halfway through 5th grade I was thrown into a group where we would choose a topic and do research on it. The theme we chose was greek mythology. The god I chose was Hades. I had always felt Hades had a bad reputation. With that I had this crazy goal to try and explain to everyone in my class he wasn't a bad guy. That he was just a guy who loves his wife and dog. 

Here I am nearly ten years later working with him. Did it take me a while? Yes. Will it take you this long? Maybe not. For me most of the years I have spent being a witch was studying rather than actual spellwork. You learn by doing, sure but when you already know the knowledge, putting it into action is much easier. Not to mention not all of us could do actually spell work due to this and that. Whatever reason you might be in the broom closet for.

Now once you have done your research keep an eye out for potential signs. It's best to look into all the gods. I had a witch who had thought she was dealing with Hades when it actually turned out to be Anubis. They both similar for what they rule over so getting them confused as a beginner is understandable. Especially when you only do research on one type of lore like greek. It's best to explore all the lore of all the different types. You have Egyptian, Greek/Roman, Norse, Celtic, Japanese, Angels, Fae and so many more. Do you have to read up about all of them? No but you probably should.

But let's be real here. Not everyone is going to. So pick maybe five that stand out to you then most and go fall down the rabbit hole of spirit guides. Also do keep in mind that if you see signs of one they could simply have a message for you rather than being a potential deity to work with. Like I had explained earlier with Apollo. He had a message for my friend and it was nothing more than that. Spirit guides of any sort can come and go as they please. Some might only come because you need them then in that moment.

What I have noticed is most don't have more than three spirit guides. I'm sure there are many who have more but from what I have seen in finding them for people they have had three or less. I find the hardest ones to figure who exactly they are, there the ancestors. I've had a few witches ask me to help find their guides and it was an ancestor who dated back 500 years ago. At that point I have absolutely no idea how to tell you exactly who this person was. Especially since not everyone in the world was written in a history book for doing something worthy of being written in books.

Also not many can actually trace their family tree that far back anyways. I sure as hell can't. 

Now you're probably asking when is the right time to actually start working with them? Well it differs from person to person. You can ask a more established witch like myself. Other times you just know. But I wouldn't trust that "I just know feeling" until you have strong intuition skills. I have many of my Protégés and regulars asking if they are ready all the time. How do I know? Easy divination. I have a strong bond with my deities so they always tell me the truth even when it might hurt me. Sometimes I have to tell them that when I notice a hesitation in their answering.

And truthful you will know when you know. Meeting mine just happened out of the blue. I was doing tarot readings during a live broadcast when I was suddenly hit with fatigue. I had the sudden urge to ask my pendulum if my spirit guides were present. I had a hunch of who they might have been and went through the list. If they said yes I then gave a true or false question about said deities lore. Let me tell you meeting all seven of them was exhausting. That night I did 8 readings with 8 different gods. One wasn't even my spirit guide or Patron God. Zeus just felt like hanging out.

And though I say you will just know when the time is right many will still just take that leap even when they are not ready. When it comes to deities you need to be cautious and actually ready for it. Don't just jump in because it sounds fun and you want them now. If you are uncertain about things in regards to them simply ask for help. I have built a community for exactly that.

Everyone needs help from time to time, even me. Do not be scared to ask for help because it's better you ask then things going wrong. I am always open for you to ask questions about the craft. I am always willing to help. If I do not know the answer I will however find it for you and the information will be trustworthy unlike the internet most of the time.

Witchcraft is exciting. I know. Yes it's a lot of fun. But please, you know yourself better than you think. Do your shadow work, meditate, learn your history and if you need help seek it out. 

That's all I have for today so until next time stay witchy! Blessed Be.

✩ Don't Steal Other Peoples Work ✩

Written:

June 28, 2020

By:

Reine Alicis

[dalekofchaos]

Why Voldemort is a terrible villain and how I’d improve Voldemort as a villain

As much as I like Voldemort, when you look back on the books. Voldemort is a terrible villain. Yes he has the Horcruxes and has loyal followers...but that’s it. In this post I will be examining why Voldemort is a terrible villain in Harry Potter and how I would improve Voldemort as a villain.

Let’s look at Voldemort’s track record

No clear motivations. The movies do absolutely nothing to flesh out Voldemort, but that's understandable, they're the movies. But even in the books, there is no clear reason for Voldemort doing any of the things that he does. During the flashbacks in the Pensive, Tom is a disturbed child who has a tendency to torture animals, lure other children to creepy caves and steal stuff - all of this is bad, yes, but why? Why is Tom Riddle "evil"? I know the explanation that the canon somewhat provides: that Voldemort doesn't know love/friendship/connection because he was conceived under the trickery of a love potion, and his mother was abused But, even if you accept that explanation, that does not justify Tom Riddle being innately evil and monstrous. Why is he racist/supremacist? If he really is a natural genius with a detachment from human emotion, shouldn't he also be detached from things like blood supremacy, ancestry and mortality? Just because he's a sociopath doesn't mean he will automatically turn into Hitler.

Wages a Wizarding war, but couldn’t even conquer his own Wizarding Nation

He couldn’t become Minister Of Magic. Instead he dicked around in Borgins And Burkes and instead wanted to become Defense Against The Dark Arts Professor.....for reasons. He could’ve used his power as Minister Of Magic to gain followers, especially the fanatic pure blood families and the impressionable Slytherins and cover for his Horcrux murders. But nooo.

When Voldemort DOES take power by force during the second Wizarding War, he does barely anything with it. Voldemort owns the government and has an army of evil. Where does he plan to launch his attack on the world? At a god damn highschool. Yes I know he attacked Hogwarts because of the last Horcrux. Didn't need to get that far if he didn't act like the world's worst Bond villain and monologued for enough time to let Harry either escape or for the Deus ex machina to arrive on que. The first two times it happens, yeah I get it. You're a villain who is up himself, shit happens. But by book 5 when he is still doing dumb shit it's unforgivable. How hard is it to issue a kill on sight order to your hordes of evil? I mean FFS you have legit werewolves on your side, who can sniff out a drop of blood miles away and yet you do nothing with them? Not only do you fail to kill a defenseless baby but you can't evil kill the kid when he's locked up in your second in commands basement.

He isn't particularly charismatic or a decent leader. He does have tons of followers, for reasons. Seriously, except for fear and opportunism I can't understand why anybody would want to fight for him. I mean, I get that he is basically magic!Hitler, but actual Hitler could at least hold speeches. Actual Hitler had arguments why his rule would be good for the German people. Voldemort doesn't. Voldemort treats his followers like shit and tortures or kills them if they aren't useful any more.

He didn't do his homework and doesn't knows the magic lore good enough. He manages to kill himself two times because of lore he really should have known about. The first time he fails to see the magic love-charm, the second time he doesn't recognizes the arcane rules of wand ownership. Those are stupid, avoidable mistakes for somebody that is supposed to be the greatest dark mage of his time.

He isn't even a particularly good mage. He manages to get statemaled by Harry and defeated by Dumbledore. He never does anything truly remarkable with magic that we haven't seen other characters do the same or better (the cave in book six is pretty good, but that's already has best showing). All we see is “AVADA KEDAVA.” Cool, I’ve seen every damn villain use that stupid fucking spell and yes it is a terrible spell.

His plans are... well, they are shit. If your plans get permanently foiled by a bunch of meddeling kids, you should think about retirement, not world domination. The plan in "Goblet of fire" only works out because of dumb luck. "Orden of phoenix" works out because of Harrys incompetence. The plan to kill Dumbledore only worked cause Voldemort used logic and had one of his followers do the work for him. The rest of his plans fail gloriously.

Voldemort's goals. He... wants to be immortal, but why? Because he's afraid of death? Why is he afraid of death? He literally spent his childhood cutting open rabbits. He excelled in all fields of academia and is arguably very intelligent; intelligence tends to negate superstition. Okay, fine; let's assume he's afraid of death. But even if we look for another explanation: maybe he wants to live forever in order to stay in power.

Voldemort wants power...Why does he want power? Why does he want to, quite literally, take over the world? It makes no sense. He has no reason to care about any of that. Even if he's prejudiced against Muggles, what exactly gives him the willpower to actually gather followers, build a legion of darkdoom evil squad and kill everyone? His motivations are never explained, and he is introduced to the story as a 2-dimensional "bad guy". Even from the 4th book onward, Voldemort is never actually fleshed out. He simply goes from bad guy to "extremely bad guy/"super fucking evil". It's shallow. It's a bad character. He isn't even a character. He has no depth, nuance, relatability or layers to him. He's just a textbook douchebag who exists simply to give the protagonists something to do, because otherwise the stories would just be about magic school.

Let's look at the closest and most obvious reflection: Adolf Hitler. It's painfully obvious that Voldemort's movement is based on Nazism. But if you read Mein Kampf, Hitler actually believed what he was doing was justified, and provided reasons for it which he thought made sense. Even if it was objectively flawed, he believed it. That's what makes a good character in fiction; even if they're actually batshit fucking insane and critically evil, you can make them relatable if you go inside their head and show the audience why they're doing what they're doing. Even if the audience doesn't agree with the character, the audience understands why the character thinks this way. Unlike Hitler's diary, Voldemort has no level of self-introspection, no actual justifications. He's a walking plot device, and that's ridiculously bad for a 7-book-long story where he's the main antagonist. I don't remember a single interaction, scene or exchange where Voldemort is shown to have any degree of self-awareness. The youngest we ever see him is when Dumbledore visits him in the orphanage, and by that point he's already evil as balls, for seemingly no reason. Even when Harry is talking to him in their final fight, Voldemort only hisses and spits out superficial threats and a shallow understanding of the events around him, and actually has no idea who he is, or why he's doing what he does. . If he were a realistic character, this lack of self-awareness would build up over time, would create self-doubt in him, and he would go through a character arc where he "found himself" and learned what he really wanted. And then, maybe he comes back and does some crazy shit, but this time he does them with glorious conviction, and has no shame in admitting it. The audience knows him now, and he's a great villain. But that's not what we got. Remember the 13-odd years Voldemort spent floating around like a puff of gas, possessing rats and squatting in Quirrel's turban? Why did his character not develop? HE HAD THIRTEEN FUCKING YEARS TO REFLECT ON HIMSELF. He literally had nothing else to do. He could've become such a complex character. Think about it: a bland, textbook villain gets cucked into infinity and now can't actually do anything but bide his time. It would clearly affect his personality, especially if it lasts 13 goddamn years. But when Voldemort is revived in book 4, he's still just "look how evil I am.exe". He had literally no character arc of any kind. That's actually impossible. No sentient human being can have the same personality, goals and motivations after over a decade of exile. He's a badly-written villain, plain and simple.

It seems like a very poor decision to make the antagonist of 7 thick books this unrelatable and bland. It also makes no sense because Rowling has written consistently excellent characters throughout the series. Why not make Voldemort a real character?

So here is how I would improve Voldemort as a villain

Motivation. So since it's universally accepted that Salazar was against Muggleorns because he grew up in a time where Wizards and Witches were being burned at the stake. What if Voldemort had similar intentions cause he grew up in a time during WWII and the Cold War and saw how powerful and dangerous the Muggles were becoming with their nuclear weapons and wanted to protect magic kind from the Muggles and viewed the Muggles invading a possibility. So he became Lord Voldemort and formed the Death Eaters to finish Salazar Slytherin’s work to protect magic kind against Muggles and Muggleborns. It could’ve started out as noble, but turned racist and evil in the end.  

As Tom Riddle, he becomes the Minister Of Magic or given a position of power secondary to the Minister Of Magic. The Lord Of Magic. It’s important that prior to becoming Lord Voldemort, he should hold a position of political power within the Ministry Of Magic. In Hogwarts, it is said as a student Tom was charismatic, charming and a wolf in sheep’s clothing. So why not use all that for politics? He could use his charm and political power to turn the Ministry Of Magic against the Muggleborns and against the Muggles. He would write a book explaining in detail why he believes in what he believes and that gives him the following he needs. The Book in question would be called “Magic Is Might!” The old Pure Blood magical families and impressionable young Slytherins would follow him like moths to a flame.  He could use his newfound political power to research all forms of magic and even the dark arts. He could make Horcruxes in secret. As Voldemort he would gather allies who were rejected by society like Werewolves and Giants. But despite what the Horcruxes do to his face, he could use magic to keep up appearances. He wouldn’t just be seeking to wage war with the muggles and muggleborns. First Voldemort has to take over the Wizarding world. 

Treats his followers like allies. Voldemort does not use fear and the threat of death and torture on his most trusted allies. Tom Riddle’s the Knights of Walpurgis hold key positions in Tom Riddle’s administration and then the Death Eaters are born and Voldemort treats them with respect and admiration. In a sense, he treats the Death Eaters like family.

The First WIzarding War should have been about Voldemort waging war on the other Wizarding nations. This would truly show how terrifying and powerful Voldemort really is. Would also explain why the other nations did not interfere in the second war, cause they were that terrified of Voldemort. The Order Of Phoenix was barely able to win and drive Voldemort from power. 

Voldemort’s fall was because he was desperate. He was ousted from power and Dumbledore, the OOTP and Aurors are on his trail. His body is failing him, so he desperately needs to create a new Horcrux. So he kills The Potters. He fully knew that Lily used the love charm to shield Harry from him. So He saw a way out. Voldemort purposefully destroyed himself so he could gain a new Horcrux. 

Plus, we can have Voldemort hide the Horcruxes in the nations he conquered. So Voldemort can hide them in -Russia -Germany -America -Hogwarts -France Obviously Nagini would be by his side at all times and well Harry is the last one. For context of how Voldemort conquered these nations. Imperio, subterfuge, and mass hysteria. He took out the Wizarding governments and implanted them with his thrawls.

Make Voldemort as hated as Umbridge. Here’s how.

In my hypothetical scenario where Voldemort hides the Horcruxes in different Wizarding Nations, make 8 books. Book 7 ends with everyone graduating from Hogwarts and the fall of the Ministry. 

This way, after graduation, the Ministry has fallen and it ends with the Big Seven on the run. In Book 8 they are all on the hunt for the Horcruxes. Not just for Horcruxes, but international allies to unite the Wizarding world against Voldemort. It ends with the final confrontation being at the Ministry. Voldemort's endgame plan is not just to wipe out the Muggleborns, but wiping out the Muggles. He has the Magic equivalent to a Nuclear bomb. Voldemort wants to destroy the Muggles and recreate the world in his image. Magic Is Might! He plans on using it and Harry has to stop him before it's too late

Voldemort fails because the Horcruxes are failing him. It isn’t immortality, it is only temporarily longevity and every time one of his Horcruxes gets destroyed, his body breaks down and his soul is in an even worse shape.  When Nagini is destroyed, it is over. Voldemort thinks if he can kill Harry, he will live forever as the prophecy states “only one can live forever.” so he believes if he could just kill Harry, he can win. But Harry deflects his curses and sends it right back at him. Voldemort dies as he did in the book. Powerless, alone and human.