#definitely a zone of genius for you btw

[thessaralka]

babe i'm so high on my own gas it's unreal 😂

but i also think everyone else should be high on their own gas as well and know their own genius and applaud it, even if they aren't perfect bc that's what empowers other people. people who know their own genius aren't hating on other people or being whiny little bitches, they're creating things that empower/ inspire/ entertain other people.

sorry to make this deep but you made me feel things, ily.

...how much of a bastardass solas is to rook vs how sweet-loverboy solas is with vhenan gives me whiplash and makes me both horny and physically ill

he would never show vhenan that side of him. like he tried so hard in trespasser and he physically couldn't do it. he called her vhenan and almost choked to death holding back his tears and self hatred as he kissed her lmfaoaofjilhbleiuhb

and then with rook he's like

"yeah i hate blood magic >:(" *blood magics rook to get his way*,

"varric, yeah? at least you still have him to chat with. lol." *literally kills varric and uses blood magic to fool rook about it*,

*traps rook in the fade with the full intention to leave them there to rot and die in the worst fucking prison imaginable to him specifically*,

"i swear 2 god and on the lives of all my friends (leaves vhenan out of it) the veil won't come down by my hand sweetie pie :) love u. we've made such good memories together, yeah?" *because the veil will come down by rook's hand, the chesspiece solas uses to win the game, doesn't give a single flying fuck about rook other than that they are his foil and he begrudgingly respects them*.

i love pookie so much. he's so dastardly and pathetic at the same time

[11queensupreme11]

OH MY GODS HADES WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU 😭😭😭 I am killing Persephone like lady mind your business you are already divorced. But like the fact that Percy swallowed those twelve seeds won’t be a problem? Technically she has to remain in Helheim (still can’t spell it probably never will). THIS IS YOUR CHANCE BELZEBUB MARRY PERCY YOURSELF YOU LIVE IN HELHEIM AND SHE WILL STAY WITH YOU FOR THE WHOLE YEAR (i fear for belcy’s future your kitty reaction is scaring me)

But the mental image of Belzebub being his usual emoself minding his goddamn business and hearing Percy pray to him a literal “911 SEND HELP” is so funny lmao

Loki got that text hauled his ass to helheim, you know he was sweating and screaming crying throwing up inside his head

Poseidon ain’t gonna leave her out of his sight no more xD

Anyway thank you for a chapter queen ❤️😚🥰 Love you hope you have a good day/night, your genius mind needs all the rest it can get so you can produce more of this wonderful chapter

Please don’t die I love you (don’t let wuwa swallow you i’m begging 🙏)

^ me waiting for a new chapter every time you say you are updating

Btw what time zone do you use ?

the funny part is that loki is not a supreme god so he needs permission to use the bifrost first. he obviously had no time to do that, so he just went straight to the bifrost, barreled through all the guards (they need better security), and teleported to helheim straight to hades' palace 😭😭😭😭

BEELZEBUB WAS DEFINITELY PANICKING TOO LMAO!!! LITERALLY AFTER SHE SENT THAT 911 PRAYER, HE WAS THERE IN AN INSTANT 😭

and it's sooo ironic that she prayed to the literal DEVIL for help of all ppl, but that just shows how much she loves and trusts him 🥺

and i use the pacific time zone!

[pieofdeath]

ok my liveblog of the first spiderverse movie below the cut because its fuck off long. its 6 pages on google docs. for people who don't wanna read that- I had a very good time and I thoroughly enjoyed it, I'm gonna queue up the second one here shortly. i legitimately cried several times.

Intro fucking slaps

Miles’ dad using the cop sirens and car speaker to make miles say ily back. I hate that i find this incredibly funny.

ARE THOSE NIKES. DID SONY GET THE RIGHTS FOR NIKES.

MIDDLE SCHOOL. Oh my god. Middle school. Hes a kid. Hes at most 14. Oh my god.

DOC OCK <3

GWEN SPOTTED!!!!!

Fisk family foundation. Is this the time i should mention my extent of spiderman knowledge comes from my faefriend (very little they just show off the cool suits) and the snapcube fandub.

Uncle aaron rules and i think hes gonna die

Alchemax. Wasnt that the name on the spider from the intro. 

I THINK I GET IT NOW

SPIDER IN THE CEILING SPOTTED

This movie is so pretty btw i know everybody says that but its simply true. It is. Its really pretty.

The graffiti slaps

I've switched to typing these on my phone so I don't have to keep pausing

SPIDER BITE

THAT WAS THE COOLEST THING EVER. INCREDIBLE TRANSITION. LOVE HOW MILES BARELY CARED AND JUST SLAPPED THE SPIDER 

Yeah those are actual Nikes 

THE VOICE IN HIS HEAD POST SPIDERMAN BEING REPRESENTED AS COMIC BUBBLES

HOLY SHIT THIS MOVIE IS GENIUS.

Why doesn't she want people to know her name is Gwen? Why is she lying about being south African 😭

gwanda. Wanda. 

THE SHOULDER TOUCH. MILES YOU ARE SO SILLY 

“I don't think you know what puberty is”

STICKY SPIDER BOY.

SHE FULL THREW HIM HOLY CRAP

“No one saw” literally everyone saw

the double take for the super tall girl. that's incredibly realistic/gen I think this movie is awesome 

OUT LOUD BARK-LAUGHED AT “play dumb.” “Who's Morales” “NOT THAT DUMB.”

Idiot spider smashing into windows. obsessed with him.

the zoom in on the eyes. this art style is incredible 

THE INCREDIBLY SICK LAND AFTER HE GOT HIT BY THE CAR!!!

page break 1

“It's like. boring how normal this spider is.” and it immediately glitching in and out. INCREDIBLE.

The SPIDER SENSE. HOLY SHIT. 

THE GIANT LOOK OUT ON THE WINDOW.

SPIDERMANNNNN

“Brooklyn is not zoned for that” 😭

The little squiggles as Peter RealizesTM

who the fuck is purple guy genuinely 

MILES RECORDING THE FIGHT I LOVE HIM

KINGPIN 💖

I genuinely don't have words for how fucking incredible that was

“Can't you get up?” “Yeah, yeah I always get up.” Hm I don't think that's gonna be true for much longer

Is spiderman blonde I thought he was a brunette 

DID HE JUST FUCKING KILL SPIDER-MAN!!!

Ok purple guy is cool as hell

HE IMMEDIATELY RAN HOME. I'm going to cry. 

This kid is 14. I'm going. 

SO YES HE LEGITIMATELY DIED.

STAN'S COLLECTIBLES. HI MR LEE. AUGJDJAKAKC…. 😭 (these r agonized noises)

“I'm going to miss him.” EUFHFJSKAK

We were friends, you know.” SURIEJSKAKDUFUA

“It always fits. Eventually.” EURUFJDKAKDJCJK.

you can't fucking do this to me. 

This is just a kid with a party city suit that doesn't fit and untied shoes.

THE AAAAAAA AS HE FALLS

oh shit he broke the drive thingy

The suit still has the fucking tag on it.

EVERYTHING AROUND PETER'S GRAVE.

“I'm sorry Mr. Parker.” AUDJFJDJDJAK…..

LIGHTNING POWERS

PETERRRRRR THE PETER IVE SEEN

THE INTRO DEFINITELY HAD OFF BRAND COCA COLA AND THIS ONE HAS LEGITIMATE COKE

HOLY SHITTTTT

he's divorced and aunt may is dead D:

Crying in the shower in the spiderman suit with a piece of pizza on the tub rim I think this is the most spiderman img ever

“I'm pretty sure I broke her heart”

Nick Kroll and John Mulaney “hi, hello” but they're super old 😭

YEAH OK OK IT WAS KOCA SODA. 

“I don't think my atoms are real jazzed about being in the wrong dimension”

“With great power comes great-” “Don't you DARE finish that sentence”

Miles crouching on the side of the wall

page break 2

ITS THE MEME IMG YAAAY

CLACKITY CLACKITY CLACKITY-

MILES CAN TURN INVISIBLE 

HER INSANE DESKTOP

HES JUST TAKING THE WHOLE COMPUTER!!!

GWEN ALCHEMAX INTERN

“let me tell you the good news. We don't need the monitor.” 😭

BAGEL! guy!!!!!

GWENNNNNNNNN

Ok I paused during the swinging scene to go get some food and get dressed and then came back

It was oatmeal btw

OHHH THIS IS NOT THE GWEN HERE

The fact that all of the intro shots are the same is very fun to me

Peters her best friend AWWW

OH IT IS THE GWEN HERE!!!

I THOUGHT IT WAS!! BECAUSE SHE WAS WEIRD ABOUT HIS STICKY POWERS

AND SHE TIME TRAVELED TOO… SO COOL

“I like your haircut.” “You don't get to like my haircut.”

“How many more spider people are there?” “Save it for comic-con” “what's comic-con”

Every time we cut to kingpin I lose it 

AW VANESSA AND RICHARD :(

why is this guy blue btw they haven't addressed it at allllll 

Fascinated by Gwen’s universe where Peter Parker isn't spiderman.

AWW PETER AWAKE IN THE BACKSEAT 

AUNT MAYYYYYY

I'm literally obsessed with aunt may 

ALL THE DIFFERENT SPIDERSUITS!!!!!

my faefriend has told me about all these I think. like a good chunk of these I recognize. No idea what they're called or what they do but.

THE IMG OF MILES LOOKING UP AT THE SPIDERSUIT.

THE NAME TAGS FROM THE INTROSSSS

SPIDEY SENSES

SPIDER NOIR HEHEHEHAHAUD

PENI AND HER FUNKY LITTLE MECH!

HIIIIIII SPIDERHAMMNMM!!!!!

LITERALLY OBSESSED WITH SPIDERNOIR. 

the dichotomy between noir peni and ham is so so funny

Noir is so cool

Augh… Them talking about how he isn't ready when he's right there…

HIS DAD CALLING HIS UNCLE… 

Why is he writing a letter in marker

Fucking prowler. looks so cool

OH SHIT PROWLER IS UNCLE AARON!?!?!

page break 3

NO LONGER WORRIED ABOUT HIS SAFETY HOLY SHIT

DID HE BRING HIM TO THE TUNNEL WITH THE INTENT OF SPIDERMAN?!

Uncle Aaron HAS to know that it's Miles

This is so fucked

Peni doing her fun thing!

Noir trying to identify colors!

Does that mean noir can only see grayscale. that's hilarious.

I love the different art styles

Aunt may like please let's not fight in my house

“We don't pick the ballroom, we just dance” noir I'm obsessed with you

Did ham just crack a plate over his own head

I love that he can turn invisible that's so cool 

Especially when he keeps flickering in and out when he's scared. Miles my beloved 

OH HE DIDN'T KNOW IT WAS MILES OH THANK GOD

I mean this is really really sad but also good because it means he isn't knowingly  homicidal towards his nephew 

HOLY SHIT. 

KINGPIN SHOOTING UNCLE AARON BECAUSE HE DIDNT KILL MILES

I'm going to sob on the fucking floor

HIS DAD 

HIM TURNING INVISIBLE BECAUSE HE DIDNT WANT TO FACE HIS DAD AIGHSJDKA…

HIS INVISIBLE POWERS ARE LITERALLY THE MOST HEARTBREAKING THING IN THE WORLD

HE THINKS MILES KILLED HIS UNCLE FUCKKKKKKKK

THEM NAMING ALL THE PEOPLE WHO THEY WATCHED DIE. AUDJFJCJSKAF…

IM LEGITIMATELY TEARIN UP GANG FUCK THIS MOVIEEEE

if you can't tell I love it

“Miles, the hardest thing about this job is… you can't always save everybody.” SAID BY A LITTLE CARTOON PIG VOICED BY JOHN MULANEY. 

ALL OF THEM CRAMMED ON THE CEILING OF MILES DORM HOLY SHIT 

Noir is really funny to look at in the light

I don't think noir is in the second one which is 😭

The relationship between Miles and his Dad is literally going to make me cry

THE LIGHTNING CRACKLING IN HIS EYES AND THEN HIM BURSTING THROUGH THE WEBS AND THE PATTERN ON HIS SKIN!!!!!!!!!!!

Aunt May waiting for Miles in the basement!!!! 

HIS EYES LINING UP WITH THE SPIDERMAN SUIT WHEN THEY HADN'T BEFORE.

The what's up danger scene really is that fucking incredible. oh my god. I got chills.

He spray painted his suit and the spider is drippy!!! I'm literally about to go feral.

The hoodie and jacket and Nikes and shorts still over the suit. 

The WOOOOO as he goes up the place he fell before.

The incredible shot of him stationary mid-air that I think was the poster

This is literally the coolest movie ever

page break 4

HIS COMIC JOINING THE PILE.

THEM DRESSED AS WAITERS DJDJDJJAJAJC

PETER AND MJ…

DRAMATIC CUT TO NOIR HOLDING A PLATTER AND GWEN SO GODDAMN TIRED

MJ is so pretty in this art style btw. 

The Doc Ock tentacles creeping in through the ceiling right behind Peter…

MILESSSS

“I love you I'm so proud of you!” AUDHFJDJAJAJDK!!!!

MILES MAKING PETER RE-EVALUATE IF HE WANTS KIDS…

NEW YORK BREAKING APART

Noirs fight is SO COOL. Putting the hat on the guy and then punching him in the face.

sorry I love film noir as an aesthetic and spider noir is so cool

PENI V SCORPION 

THE FUCKING ANVIL. 

FUCK THEM UP HAM!!!!!

PENI HITTING THE GUY WITH A ROBOT ARM AND IT BRIEFLY FLICKERING TO HER ART STYLE!!!!

PENI’S ROBOT FRIEND D:

DOC OCK GETTING HIT BY A DAMN TRUCK

obsessed with Peni and Noir's friendship.

NOIR SAID HE LOVES THEM

HE TOOK THE RUBIX CUBE

EVERYTHING FLICKERING BLACK/WHITE WHEN NOIR ENTERS

HAM SAYING “THATS ALL FOLKS” AND PETER ASKING IF HE WAS LEGALLY ALLOWED TO SAY THAT 😭

GWEN AND MILES FRIENDSSSS

MILES HOLDING ONTO PETER'S SUIT AND DROPPING HIM IN. 

“It's a leap of faith.” FUCK YOU

“Not bad, kid.” FUCK YOU 

Miles taking kingskins gun and saying “that's cheating” 😭

VANESSA AND RICHARD LEAVING THE SAME WAY THEY DID IN THE FLASHBACK BECAUSE KINGSKIN WAS DOING THE SAME DAMN THING. FUCK ME DUDE.

MILES DAD IS WATCHING

THE ENTIRE FUCKING BRIDGE. 

This is the coolest fight scene ever btw

HE ELETROCUTED KINGSKIN WITH THE FUCKING SHOULDER TOUCH

the fact that the interconnected universes look like a spider's web. fuck dude.

HAMS ANVIL

THE BUILDING FUCKING EXPLODED. IS MILES’ DAD OK!!!

IS HE FUCKING OKAY!!!

OK THANK GOD HE'S ALIVE

HIS DAD OFFERING TO PUT UP SOME OF HIS ART AT THE POLICE STATION

C-MOBILE 😭

THE HUG!!!!!!!

page break 5

IM FULLY CRYIN BTW.

KINGSKIN HELD UP BY THE WEB. “FROM YOUR FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDERMAN.”

THE UNCLE AARON ART. FUCKING HELL DUDE.

Omg miles finally has friends

PENI'S ROBOT FRIEND!!!

NOIR SOLVED THE CUBE!!!! I proud of him

PETER GOING TO SEE MJ WITH FLOWERS…

GWEN CALLING OUT TO MILES ACROSS DIMENSIONS!!!!

THE SPRAY PAINT SPIDER

the credits are fucking INCREDIBLE

the different art styles I'm going to scream

NOIR SHOWING OFF THE CUBE. 

Did that just say Nicholas Cage.

Who the fuck is voiced by Nick Cage.

NOIR?!?!?!?! WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN HE'S NOIR HOLD THE FUCK ON.

N O I R?!?!

Incredible movie.

“That person who helps others simple because it should or must be done, and because it is the right thing to do, is indeed without a doubt, a real superhero. -Stan Lee” FUCK ME SIDEWAYS WITH A CHAINSAW DUDE

Literally crying again over that.

Ok yeah that was a really good movie. I'm gonna start the second one in a bit. I think I need some recovery time 😭

Wait I skipped to the end to see if there was an after credits scene and. Ok obsessed with Spidey-Bells. 😭😭😭

MIGUELLLLLL I KNOW THIS GUYYYYYYY 

THE SPIDERMAN SCENE. THE POINTING SCENE.

IM GOING TO CRY THIS IS SO FUCKING FUNNY

INCREDIBLE AFTER CREDITS SCENE.

end of liveblog! as you can see I really fucking liked it akjdfskajf I had to put the pagebreaks in otherwise tumblr got mad about like. 4096 characters per text block limit? ok wild. it provides checkpoints which I think is nice. onto the second movie.

[nyxronomicon]

Waiting patiently for the new werewolf lore 😊

I'M SO GLAD YOU ASKED

not to be shockingly predictable but I've made him a divorced detective/DILF type because I'm tricking myself into being obsessed with him to motivate me to actually make a visual novel/dating sim with him as the main (only) love interest .....

anyway here's a very prototype picrew of him (i want to make him look a little less basic. i'm thinking maybe some red in his hair. tattoos & piercings seem a little off vibe but i might sneak em in anyway lol)

and also some very very WIP ideas i am thinking about:

he isn't actually divorced but he is definitely deeply troubled and full of regrets lol (possibly a widower though?)

i have something more eldritch horror in mind than werewolf but he will be very wolflike, just not exactly a werewolf in the traditional sense

he wears reading glasses (the horrors were not meant to read 12 point font)

doesn't take good care of himself. definitely lives in one of those bachelor pad style apartments (no bed frame. fridge full of beer and takeout. chain-smokes cigarettes. seedy neighborhood)

he often works long into the night. he's got bad insomnia and sleeps very irregularly (he passes out on the couch in his office just as much as his own bed at home)

somewhat of a tortured genius when it comes to solving crimes, but he has a bit of a one track mind and doesn't leave his comfort zone

for the reason above, he struggles to relate with people and comes off as apathetic at best (a complete ass at worst)

often ends up pushing people away when they get too close.

btw the picrew image is also like he absolute best dressed day. like his hair is never that polished, doesn't often wear a tie, doesn't really smile much either (i wanted the mouth with the fang, sue me lol)

he uses musky forest-type scents for soaps. despite being A Mess in general he keeps a pretty regular bathing/grooming schedule (if only so he doesn't REEK of cigarettes and whiskey at work lol)

[melancholysway]

TMNT Headcanons: Music! (Bayverse)

okay yall I’ve been wanting to make this hc but I decided to split it up bc some versions of the turtles would definitely like different kinds of music

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️Doing this bc I can⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Leonardo

-Okay, he loves some R&B.

-I’m talking old school R&B!

-Sade, SWV, New Editions, Gap Band!

-Also fleetwood mac

- this man loves Sade fr fr

-1000% would play Sade in the bedroom with his s/o

-also listens to this music to de stress him, if he’s had a long day, or just got back from patrol

-he has an unwind playlist with these on it for sure

-shares his playlist with…Raph!

-a list of songs he would listen to:

Ordinary Love - Sade

Outstanding - Gap Band

Right Here - SWV

Nasty Girl - Biggie

Mr. Right - Mary J. Blige

Rhiannon - Fleetwood Mac

Chicago - MJ

Back in the Day - Erykah Badu

Raphael

-I’ve said it already, he likes rap.

-bayverse Raph doesn’t seem to me as someone who would like metal for some reason

-he hates mumble rap btw, he loves the lyrical genius part/double entendre rappers use on their words

-will sit & listen to a song, hear some lyrically advanced line and go “OH SHIT THAT WAS CLEAN, MIKEY COME HERE”

-WORKOUT PLAYLIST

-HE HAS ONE

-One for lifting, the other cardio

-no in between

-gym rats know what I mean bc my lifting playlist is different than my cardio one LMAO

-shares his playlist with…Mikey!

- Kendrick, J.Cole, Kanye, Drake

-Da list:

A.D.H.D - Kendrick Lamar

Nonstop - Drake

Neighbors - J.Cole

Devil in a New Dress - Kanye

Father Stretch my Hands - Kanye

Power - Kanye

Way 2 Sexy - Drake (yes, this song yall LMAO)

Heartbeat - Childish Gambino

Donatello

-I’ve said that Donnie LOVES Japanese city pop for while he’s working, but I also think he’d love some chill soft tunes as well!

- Mariya Takeuchi, Junko Ohashi, Miki Matsubara!

- city pop bc it brings him back to the 80s without all the time travel mess

- 1975, Steve Lacy, Harry Styles!

-soft tunes because it puts him in the zone while he’s working

-Shares his playlist with…Leo!

-Listy list for Donnie:

Plastic Love - Mariya Takeuchi

Midnight Pretenders

Shyness Boy - Anri

1999 - Hitsujibungaku

Stay With Me - Miki Matsubara

About You - The 1975

Dark Red - Steve Lacy

Music for a Sushi Restaurant - Harry Styles

Paris - The 1975

Michelangelo

-80s.

-Bayverse Mikey is an 80s turtle no doubt

-Tears for Fears, Alphaville, A-Ha, Van Halen!

-He definitely would play 80s while he's cruising skateboarding tell me I'm wrong bro

-shares his playlist with…Donnie!

-Da list:

Jump - Van Halen

Take on Me - A-Ha

Forever Young - Alphaville

Everybody wants to Rule the World - Tears for Fears

Head over Heels - Tears for Fears

Africa - Toto

Super Freak - Rick James

September - Earth, Wind, & Fire (technically a 70s banger but I'm letting it slide bc the song slaps)

Jump - Van Halen

Take on Me - A-Ha

Forever Young - Alphaville

Everybody wants to Rule the World - Tears for Fears

Head over Heels - Tears for Fears

Africa - Toto

Super Freak - Rick James

September - Earth, Wind, & Fire (technically a 70s banger but I'm letting it slide bc the song slaps)

Masterlist

[letarasstuff]

Reid!reader with ADHD

(A/N): This was requested by an anon and is based of this and that

✨Masterlist✨

you are the definition of being an organized mess

which is funny, because your father is the definition of organized genius

As soon as you showed signs of not only forgetting basic things without writing them down (like drinking and eating regularly) and started to show other signs like zoning out and hyperfixation all the time, Spencer gets you tested for adhd

The diagnosis isn’t really a shock, but it’s definitely helpful, since you can work on many things in therapy and can improve your situation

Still there are bad days. Some feel like you can’t focus on anything, your mind and eyes restless, unable to do anything useful

Spencer totally supports you if you decide against taking medication. Many people say that their thoughts go quieter and are much slower, but to you it seems scary.

Spencer also doesn’t mind your seemingly endless rants about things you were hyperfocusing on. Usually he is able to add something and occasionally learns a thing or two himself

There are many weird post its at home. Sometimes they are designed like a scavenger hunt. An example: You put a post it on your magnetic board to remind you to drink. There is another one on your water bottle, telling you to get a snack or stretch your limbs. Then there is one on the fridge, demanding to either get the trash out or empty the dishwasher. It’s a weird system, but it’s working

Of course a few things really make your father go insane. The times where your room is layered in clothes and school books, for example. He often uses his freetime to clean the mess you left

Or when you blast a band in the middle of the night, because you forget that time is a thing people go after. Your neighbors doesn’t exactly like you for that

The magnetic board. Spencer got you one and put it in front of your desk (actually Derek did). So whenever a thought pops in you head you can just write it down and follow on that later

He really is creative in finding methods to keep your attention on him or anything.

The team also tries really hard to help you. Emily and Penelope always give you new fidget toys or some you already have in different colors, because you might want to switch it up a bit (btw does any of you know about this chewelry? I’m considering getting some of them an- Oh, I went off track on an adhd hc)

Your father is strict about how you use your phone, because for you TikTok is the biggest reason you don’t get anything done (it’s perfectly designed, I mean the videos aren’t longer than a minute and the algorithm is really good)

One thing: Everything has a specific place in your apartment, because Spencer knows those places and can tell you where you put it when you think you lost it (glasses, pencils, headphones, earrings, everything)

Yeah, I think that’s it. You two are good at adapting to the situation and try to be creative, it’s a thing that helped you booth

Taglist:

All works:

@dindjarinsspouse

Criminal Minds:

@averyhotchner @mggsprettygirl

[buffysummers]

idk if you've answered this before but do you prefer the gilmore girls series finale or the a year in a life finale? i didn't like season 7 but i actually prefered that finale for rory than the one we ended up getting

I selfishly like "A Year in the Life" better bc it kind of hints at a Rory and Jess reunion someday. But for Rory's character, I MUCH prefer the season 7 finale.

The fact that ASP originally intended for "Mom, I'm pregnant." to be the last line of the series is just really fucked up because Rory would've been 23 and just starting out in life. (Because she didn't agree to do season 7 because she wanted them to guarantee her a season 8 and they wouldn't so that's why she walked away.) It just makes the entire series feel kind of pointless in some ways.

So much of the show, especially the earlier seasons, was about ensuring that Rory wouldn't have a life like Lorelai's. That she'd go to Harvard and have a career. Lorelai was SO weird about Rory having sex because she was ALWAYS paranoid she'd get pregnant and that her pregnancy would prevent her from achieving her dreams. And yeah, there is a huge difference between being 16 and 23, but Rory ends both season 7 and AYITL alone. (I'm not saying that Lorelai doesn't have a life she can be proud of btw, because she definitely does. But it wasn't ideal and she struggled so much at first. She literally lived in a shack.)

ASP's original ending (so, AYITL) just makes you question what the message of the show was. That you're doomed to repeat the mistakes of your parents, no matter how you're raised? It's one thing if Rory was trying for a child and prepared to have a child, because 23 is an adult. But she wasn't. And she wasn't at 32/33, either. Yeah, she has her mom and Luke, but she doesn't have Logan (because for SOME reason Logan randomly feels like he MUST marry this woman his dad wants him to marry like I'm sorry but his characterization in AYITL makes absolutely ZERO sense and to me, just solidifies that ASP was trying to make him out to be the Christopher of Rory's life, and Jess is meant to be the Luke.) I'm really convinced ASP never watched season 7, she may have even said she didn't? I can't quite remember, but yeah, it was messy.

I really don't like how either ended, but at least in season 7, Rory was embarking on an adventure, and stepping out of her comfort zone. She was getting out of Stars Hollow which is what she always wanted, even if she loved the town dearly. The message of the show was ALWAYS that Rory is a genius, a true talent who has huge aspirations, who will become a brilliant force of nature, someone that would rectify her mom's mistakes thus proving that Lorelai WAS and IS a good mother. That despite her running away, she was strong and smart and did what was best for her and her daughter. Ultimately, both endings kind of contradict the message of the show. And I'm not saying I agree with the message of the show, either, because I think that's an insane amount of pressure to put on a kid. And it also raises questions of entitlement as well as creating a near-perfect self-image that will nonetheless shatter eventually.

Wow I did NOT mean to rant so much.

tldr: I prefer the season 7 ending, yes.

[kn1feinthec0ffee]

thief! - spencer reid

spencer reid x reader

summary: spencer’s not leaving any time soon if you have anything to do with it. 

warnings: pure fluff nothin else :)

word count: 527

notes: i needed some quick ideas and inspiration struck w this one so i hope you guys like it!!

also spence and reader are not dating yet in this i just wanted to clarify bc its pretty important to the plot lol

********************

  “y/n!” spencer whined petulantly. “give it back right now!”

despite having advantages in neither the height nor wingspan categories, you were pretty agile. and you did not plan on affording the genius any mercy on this early october morning. 

you had spent the night at spencer’s to watch a movie together; your choice, so of course, you chose a rom-com to lighten the mood. last time it had been his choice, and he chose a rather long - albeit entertaining - sci-fi flick, and you wanted to push him out of his comfort zone.

this morning, however, you were in a playful mood. due to the nature of the film you watched last night or the lack of sleep, you weren’t sure. all your sleep-deprived brain had seen was spencer heading towards the door, and you wanted anything except that, so you quickly lunged for the first available manila folder you could reach to stop his exit. 

  “those are confidential files important to the documentation of a recently apprehended serial murderer, y/n.” spencer stated sternly.

  “well if they’re that important i guess you’re gonna have to figure out a way to get them back then, huh?” you grinned evilly. you held them above your head, only to quickly move them out to the side as he grabbed at them. “come on, you’re a genius! you should be able to get them back!”

you shoved them behind your back, giggling as he reached his arms around you while still managing to keep a respectful distance. if you were paying more attention, you would’ve blushed at the lack of space between the two of you. 

  “y/n, what do you want me to do? beg?” he groaned. normally, you’d give in to his obvious annoyance at the situation, but this was nothing like normal. 

  “hmm,” you hummed in contemplation, tightening your grasp on the files as you watched his hands inch closer in your peripheral vision. “while begging would be nice, i think a simple kiss would suffice.”

  “a kiss, really?” his tone definitely seemed surprised, but he didn’t seem as nervous as you expected. “that’s it?”

that’s it? if he was so nonchalant about kissing you, why hadn’t he done it before? you thought. 

  “well i had no idea you’d be so cocky, so maybe i should ju-” before you could finish your thought, his lips were on yours. your eyes shut as you let out a squeak of surprise at the sudden action. much to your dismay, the moment didn’t last as long as you’d hoped; mainly due to the fact that you’d loosened your grasp on the all-important files, giving spencer enough time to to grab a hold of them and shove them into his bag in record time. 

  “gotta go, i’m really late for the briefing. stay as long as you’d like, but just remember to lock up when you leave. bye!” you hardly had enough time to respond with a breathless ‘bye.’ before he was out the door. as it shut, you raised a hand to your lips as crimson red painted your cheeks.

one thing’s for certain: you were glad you grabbed those files. 

********************

ik this is short but i had literally 0 inspo for any of my wips and i really wanted to have something out by tonight and this prompt def got the creative juices flowing

i’m just now realizing after writing this i could’ve taken this in a whole other direction 😳 n e wayze 

btw my requests are always open bc my little pea brain can only come up w so many ideas and i’d love to write something you guys asked for!!

tags: @sojournmichael @bxbyspxncer @stinkyelf @crazyfore3 @cal-ifornication @eggygorl02 @howdycharlie @eosprincess @mortallythoughtfulgurl @illuxions-x​ @unlikelyempathpruneauthor​ @blankets-for-bees​ @holycandypizza​ @flyingbabyunicornnamedangel​ @minnie-bby​ @rexorangecouny​ @fantastic-fans​ @ashwarren32​ @elitereid​ @keomoon​ @achieveonyourown​ @whogirl7​ @jjtheangel​ @carol-danvers-wife​

[entertainment]

Entertainment Spotlight: Tyler Labine, New Amsterdam

Tyler Labine, who you may know as the voice of Hunk from Voltron: Legendary Defender, plays Dr. Iggy Frome on the NBC drama New Amsterdam, which returns for season 2 on September 24th. He also starred in BBC’s Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, Hulu’s Deadbeat, NBC’s Animal Practice, and The CW’s Reaper, among many other things. On the big screen, Labine’s most recent film was Escape Room, and some of his additional credits include Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, and Flyboys. Tyler took some time out his his extremely busy schedule to answer our hard hitting questions.

How has Dr. Frome changed from the beginning of Season 1 into Season 2?

In a lot of ways actually. The scrutiny he was under at the end of Season 1 and the reflection about his methods deeply affected him. Maybe more than he will let on. But as an actor portraying a man who had his beliefs rocked to the core about how to deal with his young patients, it really resonates with me. So you will see some very different tones to Iggy. Maybe not on the surface but there will be an undercurrent that I’m bringing to him this season that will feel quite trepidatious at times; a little gun shy if you will. Also, Iggy is feeling some BIG feelings about expanding his family. That will be a big thread this season.

If you had a catchphrase, what would it be?

“Welcome to The Frome Zone” Haha. It’s supposed to be pure cheese btw. Ironically bad.

Without any spoilers, what scene or moment from New Amsterdam Season 2 are you most excited for fans to see?

I have a big moment with Martin, Iggy’s hubby, in episode 1 that I think is great. It’s very sweet and telling. I think we all have wanted more of Iggy’s family. This is definitely the kick off point and early indication that more IS coming! I also have a case with an 11 year old psychopath in episode 205. Intense and difficult material.  

What advice would you like to give to Dr. Frome?

Learn to let others help him when he needs it. He’s always so busy helping everyone else that I feel like he neglects himself. That doesn’t lead to anything good in my opinion.

If you could take a masterclass on any subject, what would you learn and who would you want to teach you (e.g. a cooking class with Gordon Ramsay)?

I would want to take a masterclass on beat making. Hip hop production. I already do that and have done that for almost 15 years but I feel like I still have so many technical questions and problems and walls that come up for me. I would love to be taught by the greatest to ever do it. Jamie Meline. Otherwise known as EL-P. One half of the run the Jewels and the most influential hip hop artist in my life. A genius.

What’s the most memorable thing that’s ever happened to you on set?

Getting buried alive for my series Deadbeat in Hulu. If you haven’t watched that show, you really should. It’s brilliant in so many ways. I had to do a scene where we were paying homage to Kill Bill. That infamous burial. And they put me in a casket made out of particle board and just....buried me. Under about a foot of loose soil. It was surreal. I then had to punch my way through the lid of the casket and break out. It was already scored so I could break through easily but on the first take they got about half way through covering the casket and I discovered that I am claustrophobic. Or maybe I just went to a very dark place. I freaked out and had them stop and get me out. Then we did it all over again. Haha. It’s in the show. It’s all there. It’s all real.

If you were to come up with an alternate title for New Amsterdam, what would it be?

The Little Medical Director that could. Too wordy? How about The DamFam? Too brief? I give up.

What’s something that most people don’t know about you?

That I’m a rapper. I know that sounds funny and like I’m joking but I’m not. I am a rapper. Have been since I was 15. Not gonna stop anytime soon either. Also that I’m a lefty. And I’m Canadian.

Thanks so much, Tyler! Season 2 of NBC’s New Amsterdam premieres September 24th at 10pm.

Photos by: Jeff Riedel/NBC, Virginia Sherwood/NBC

[amwritingmeta]

21 Supernatural Questions

I was tagged by @deletingpoint - thanks for the kind words, girl!! Made my day! You rock the block! And yes don’t mind if I do join in, this looks fun. :P

1. When did you start watching Supernatural?

I’d seen stray episodes before - I’ve absolutely no clue which ones - but then I binged S1-6 in 2013 while being ill with the flu and I was hooked before it came up, because I loved S1-3 and the brother dynamic and thought it was a really awesomely well-written piece of television, but when they introduced the will-they-won’t-they-make-this-uber-masculine-guy-be-into-guys-and-specifically-the-guy-with-wings I was pretty much gone for. So I caught up on the show and watched it until a few episodes into S9 (don’t judge me, I was surface watching and couldn’t get with the program at the time because why wasn’t Dean gay already??) and then I quit watching for a few years because I couldn’t stand the grey area and the uncertainty. I also wasn’t invested enough to stand it, tbh, and felt, naw, I’ll get back to this if it ever seems like they’re actually gonna do anything with this thing they’re hinting so strongly at. Picked it back up while S12 was airing and here we now are.

2. Who is your favorite in TFW?

But the other two might get jealous!

(okay, it’s Cas)

3. Who is your least favorite in TFW?

They’re the holy trinity and none of their character progression works without all of them taking up their allotted space in the narrative and how can you not love them all what is wrong with this question why am I hyperventilating why aren’t they beloved equally gaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh

(but Cas is my favourite)

4. Tag your top 5 Supernatural blogs!

I sincerely can’t, but I can tag a few people whom I very much appreciate and whose answers to this questionnaire I would be intrigued to see: @godshipsit​ @charlie-minion​ @mad-as-a-box-of-frogs​ @waywardliliana​ @natmoose​ @purgatory-jar​ @myed89​ @inacatastrophicmind​ @rustling-pages​ @angelneedshunter​ @nerdylittleshit​ @obsessionisaperfume​ @assbuttboyfriends​ @misskittyspuffy​ @starsinursa​ @postmodernmulticoloredcloak​ @casismybestfriend​ @mittensmorgul​ @elizabethrobertajones​  - you’re all like bursts of colour and glitter glue and I’m happy you’re around! :) (btw I always find it awkward to tag specific peeps because there are so many of you lovelies that I would honestly tag so just know that this most likely includes you) (yeah that’s right) (YOU) <3

5. Who is your favorite character (not including TFW)?

Jack

6. Who is your favorite woman in Supernatural?

Rowena

7. John or Mary?

Mary

8. What were your first opinions of Sam, Dean, Cas, and Jack?

Sam: my first impression of him was very coloured by my impression of Jared as Dean on Gilmore Girls, so to hear someone call Jared Sam and then this Sam call someone else Dean was a bit jarring while watching the pilot. My earliest opinion of Sam was that he was kind, good with people, skilled, independent and, yes, haunted by past choices.

Dean: Immediate impression was oh, he’s one of those guys, and then almost straight away that first impression was blown to bits and everyone knows that he’s very, very easy to fall in love with quickly, so my love for him grew strong within a few episodes, for sure. First opinion formed holds until this day: someone who’s lost and who’s searching for a way home. In every sense of that sentence. 

Cas: Holy shitballs, who’s this now?? was pretty much my first reaction to Cas’ entrance. It blew me away. It was an absolute game changer. It made me sit up. It made my brain go... are they... are they going to make Dean Winchester... is Dean Winchester into men?? And because on my first watch I’d not seen the little hints of this that now are so damn glaringly obvious, the chemistry between Dean and Cas literally made a lot of shit click into place for me regarding what I was potentially actually watching, and raised my emotional investment sky high considering the possible social commentary baked into the overall message of family and identity, and yeah, that still holds true to this day.

Jack: I was ready to fight tooth and nail for him after 12x19. That episode is still one of the best 42 or so minutes of television I’ve ever seen. The plant of Jack as a needed push for Cas’ progression hit me in the heart, and once it clicked that Jack represented the holy trinity of Heaven, Hell, Humanity, and how he might narratively prove a knitting point for TFW, something for them all to rally around, well, I was pretty much done for.

9. What’s your favorite season?

This is a really hard question because watching a season from start to finish means taking all of it in, and all of them - when start-to-finished - I feel are rather outstanding, but twist my arm and I’ll say: S1 or S4 or S5 or S8 or S9 or S11 or S13 (I can’t narrow it down to just one season alright?) and S14 and looking at what we have so far with this unfinished season I’d name S15, definitively.

10. What’s your least favorite season?

Oh, man. Make a girl sweat. So, here’s the thing, I genuinely see each season as adding something valuable to the whole, you know? I suppose S6 drags a bit, but I really like the tone and the noir sensibility of it, so I wouldn’t really call it my least favourite, but if I were to choose one season to binge over a weekend, S6 wouldn’t necessarily be first pick.  

11. Opinions on Destiel?

Ah, yes, the obligatory essay question. Please see attachment. *points to blog*

12. Do you believe Supernatural queerbaits?

Look, to my mind, the reason Dean and Cas aren’t together yet is character related. They need to get their fucking ducks in a row. (and then those ducks will hopefully be fucking all over the place) (okay that’s graphic bird sex but you know what I mean) (not literally Dean and Cas dressed up as ducks and fucking) (but like... good stuff for the eyes will be happening that isn’t necessarily fucking feather related) (wait) (oh ffs brain!!) (you HAD to go there didn’t you??) (moving on) (or rather answering the question) --> I don’t believe they queerbait, no. 

13. Seasons 1-7 or 8-14?

8-15x03

14. Favorite villain (plot wise)?

*chills are multiplying* 

I love Chuck as the Big Bad, sincerely, but oh mannnn Michael.

15. Do you think they should end the Lucifer plot line?

Yeah, this questionnaire has been in drafts for a while now so um... I mean, the Lucifer plot line as it pertains to SAM should reach a satisfactory conclusion, but as it pertains to Lucifer’s play for Jack and breaking God’s toys etc. yeah, no, done.

16. Who do you think has gone through more trauma (Sam, Dean, or Cas)?

That’s too relative to their highly linked, and yet wholly individual relationship with their past and lingering sense of trauma. I think @deletingpoints reply was something along the lines of: Can you measure trauma? And I agree. They’ve all been deeply traumatised at different stages of their life and they’ve all dealt with their individual trauma in different ways. 

17. What’s your favorite Supernatural episode?

I’m sorry, what? I thought you just asked me to pick one favourite episode out of 3678916236363487236783 times infinity. This is mathematically impossible and since I’m sadly not fluent in math and have absolutely no access to any type of calculator or abacus or, I don’t know, a neighbour who happens to make amazing fucking latte and dresses in knits and is attractive in a non-conventional way and also happens to be a math genius, I must reject the question outright and plead the 105th. (i.e. I cannot possibly)

18. Do you like case episodes?

Where’s that gif of Dean going Dude Yes?

^^^

19. Who do you relate most to in TFW?

Darling Cas. Socially awkward and lost but growing into his own skin Castiel. My God, I love him so dearly. There are not words for how much I relate to him, or for what he’s done for my personal self-reflection, or how much I’m now re-relating to his need to push himself out of his comfort zone and dare. I owe him. *hugs into oblivion*

20. Why do you like Supernatural?

Ohhhhh, goody, one of those multi-choice questions. Is it:

a) because of the absolutely stunning character journeys 

b) because of the absolutely smashing world and all its mythology 

c) because of the underlying social commentary and the intricate use of subtext to effectively, though subtly, bring ideas linked to the conscious/unconscious sides to us into not only the use of already mentioned mythology, influencing the world building, but also wholly guiding, impacting and giving momentum to the already mentioned stunning character journeys

d) all of the above

e) all of the above, and a little bit more that would take an actual book to relay

E. It’s E. All the way the answer is E. 

21. If you could bring back one character and kill off another who would they be?

I’d bring back Eileen and holy moly Shoshanna is coming our way. And I don’t have a character to kill off tbh. Let them live, I say. :)

I genuinely tag EVERYONE. Go on, everyone, you know you wanna!  :) xx

[traincat]

i'm admitedly not as good at continuities as i'd like but i always wondered about the timeline of the American Son fight 'cuz i feel like it would massively mess up Jhonny if he ever found out he dated Daken AFTER he used his freaky pheromones on Pete to hand him over to Norman for torturing, even if he never found out about the whole Skip Westcott bit of awful

I’m going to teach you my trick for lining up continuities. It’s not perfect, especially currently when Marvel is doing this thing where it’s publishing content out of order – ie, an event will still be going on, but we’ll know how it basically ends because the solo titles will have moved ahead of it, THIS IS NOT GREAT, MARVEL – so sometimes you have to fiddle with it a bit, but it generally works okay. Google your issue number of choice – in my case here I did Amazing Spider-Man #597, the issue where Peter and Daken fight – and bring up its page on the Marvel wiki. Underneath the cover image, you’re going to see some dates:

You want released, not published. Click on that and it’ll give you every comic published by Marvel in that week/month. Published first doesn’t always mean happened first, but it’s a good starting point. 

Now we go to Dark Wolverine #75, which is the first issue where Daken makes contact with the Fantastic Four:

So these two events – Daken and Peter’s fight in Avengers Tower during American Son, and Daken making contact with the Fantastic Four – happen very close together, regardless of which one comes first on the actual timeline. I could probably piece it together with a little comprehensive Dark Reign rereading but I don’t have time for that because I’ve taken on eighteen other different rereads. 

I do want to clarify a couple of things, though. While I think the Daken vs Peter fight is an interesting one due to the combination of their skill sets, and while Daken’s pheromone abilities often take on a sexual connotation with their use, that’s not what’s happening in the Daken vs Peter fight. Daken specifically is using his powers in the context of this fight to throw off Peter’s depth perception and visual acuity, which means Peter’s hits – and let’s remember Peter has the superior strength – don’t land:

Nothing about Daken’s powers sounds like something pheromones can do in real life, but this is a comic book about a guy who got bit by a radioactive spider and can lift trucks as a result, so whatever. So there isn’t any sexual coercion component to this fight. Daken doesn’t even flirt or use innuendo during it, like he does in matches with, for example, Gambit and Ben Grimm. This is purely a professional battle on his part. Peter also, I should note, wipes the floor with him as soon as he figures out how to get through the fight without relying on his vision. I’m sure if Daken had won he would have handed him off to Norman for the gold star sticker and extra Dark Avengers points, but he doesn’t personally get that opportunity. And if we’re going to talk sexual innuendo, it’s actually Peter-disguised-as-Mac-Gargan who casts aspersions on Daken, telling Norman that they fought because Daken was “after” Harry and “pulled him from his bed.” Peter ends up being tortured after Bullseye shoots him through the legs – and after Norman shoots him in the head. (He had a special mask made by Reed so it wasn’t that big a deal, sans the torture.) Daken is out cold on the ground at this point.

(Amazing Spider-Man #597)

But even without that Dark Reign reread, the fact that these two events happen very close together actually works in the favor of providing Johnny with an explanation he could accept over Daken fighting Spider-Man. Johnny knows Daken’s on the Dark Avengers. Daken specifically comes to the Fantastic Four in Dark Wolverine #75-77 seeking a secret alliance with them against Norman Osborn – one that ends with the Fantastic Four feeling in debt to Daken. If this fight between Peter and Daken came to Johnny’s attention, it’s easy enough for Daken to explain away that he was working to keep Norman from suspecting he might be anything but a good little Dark Avenger. Also, like I said – there’s no sexual manipulation in the Daken vs Peter fight. It’s a regular ol’ superpowered battle. There is, however, a sexual manipulation note used against Ben when Daken taunts him into beating him into the ground in Dark Wolverine #76, which was a move engineered to gain the sympathy of the Four towards Daken, and one that worked really well on Johnny.

(Dark Wolverine #76) Daken’s a good chess player, is the thing surrounding his interactions with the Fantastic Four. I think there’s quite a bit about this setup that, if Johnny knew, would have messed him up incredibly – after all, the entire interaction starts when Daken shoots Johnny in the leg with an arrow and then frames someone else for the deed. (Johnny never finds out it was Daken, btw.) Then there’s the faked kidnapping attempt on Franklin in Daken #4, where Daken appears to “save” Franklin from an intruder – but really orchestrated the entire attack himself. Finally, there’s the incident Johnny very much does know about because he was there for it at the end of Daken’s solo in Daken #22-23, when Daken drugs Reed and attempts to kill him by throwing him off a building. That incident alone I think would be enough for Johnny to look back on the relationship with some regrets. 

Marjorie Liu confirmed on twitter that Daken and Johnny had a sexual relationship, but mapping the timeline of that takes a little poking around with the canon. They almost definitely had no sexual contact during Dark Wolverine #75-77 – which takes place either concurrently with or after Peter and Daken’s fight – because there’s just no time to account for it within the book. Daken definitely engenders Johnny’s sympathies and some affection for him during this period, though, which leads me to place the period where the sexual contact took place as between Dark Wolverine #77 and Daken #1, during which Daken has a bit of a charged phone call with Johnny that suggests a certain closeness. Shortly after this, Daken fakes his death, which Johnny takes very hard. They most likely had a last sexual encounter in Dark Wolverine #4, based on this staging:

Daken doing up his belt, Johnny on the bed with his legs spread – it doesn’t take a genius to read this scene as something of an aftermath. After this, Daken and Johnny don’t see each other until Daken #21. Note that Johnny’s stint in the Negative Zone was between these two things. 

I mean, if Daken had used his pheromone powers on Peter to mess with him in a sexual manner, and Johnny found out about it after he’d slept with Daken, I do think it would upset him incredibly, but that’s not what happened in the Daken vs Peter American Son fight, and the laundry list of Things Johnny Would Be Upset About If He Knew Daken Did That is so long that I can’t see what is a fairly straightforward superhero vs villain fight (that Peter won) ending up particularly high on the list. On the other hand, I do think Peter would have a total fit if/when he found out Johnny had slept with Daken, but that it would be more on the “sleeping with a dude Peter’s fought/Wolverine’s 70yo son” side of things at least initially. 

[momoyomaki]

Could Five realistically be autistic based solely on what we see on the show?

I stumbled across the theory that Five is autistic, and as someone with autism I find that very interesting. I’m not yet convinced he does have autism, but I’m not convinced he doesn’t either.

So let’s take this apart. :cracks knuckles:

First off, a couple things to keep in mind:

-No two autistic people are exactly the same.

-I am drawing on my own experience living with autism, and what I’ve witnessed from my sister and the kids I work with.

-Disabilities that affect the brain overlap. Many different things can affect the same areas of the brain, and we just categorize things for ease of assigning coping mechanisms. For example, if you were to take a brain scan of my brother who has PTSD, my sister who has brain damage from childhood trauma, and myself with autism, the scans would look very similar.

-Whether or not Five has autism, he most definitely has PTSD.

-Please chime in with your own theories and experiences, I’d love to open this TED talk up.

Ok here we go:

Klaus calls Five addicted to the apocalypse and he’s not wrong. Through an autistic lens, obsessing and hyper-fixating is like our bread and butter. My hyper-fixations have driven me to all sorts of extremes, like staying up for 24 hours, and giving myself heatstroke by hyper-fixating while outside. Whether Five is autistic or not he can obviously relate. His obsession with stopping the apocalypse drives him for 40+ years. He carries an eyeball around the entire time. His fixation on returning to his family keeps him going through his career as a hitman, something he makes clear he didn’t enjoy. On that note, he spent an episode walking around with a goddamn bullet wound. Talk about mind over matter, and also another tick in the hyper-fixation column. Again, when he checks on Klaus after he time travels to the Vietnam War, he’s clearly concerned for him, but gets sidetracked once again by his need to stop the apocalypse. Which is honestly valid, I mean, it’s the apocalypse.

Dolores. Anybody whose seen a decent therapist will probably have been told “yeah I know it sounds crazy, but try talking to yourself.” Being your own sounding board is a very healthy thing believe it or not, and Five uses Dolores for this purpose. Those with autism in my experience have crazy good imaginations. If I try hard enough I can fabricate fake memories to the point where I can’t quite remember it’s not true. I think this has a lot to do with the way autism thinks in pictures. Imaginary friend anyone? So Five finding Dolores and talking with her as if she were real for so long that he actually sees and hears her as a person? Totally believable and something I could see having happened to myself under the right circumstances. That being said, I feel he’s probably perfectly aware that she is, in fact, a mannequin. Dolores can be seen as a sign of Five having snapped or as a brilliant way of keeping his sanity while isolated for decades.

Coffee. Five’s caffeine addiction is probably not related to autism in anyway whatsoever, but boy can I relate. Coffee is my holy grail because it calms my personal blend of brain chemicals down enough for me to focus on things like driving. Of course that’s my ADHD talking. It’s not uncommon for those with autism to also have ADHD, but that’s a whole other post. So let’s just say Five’s relatable and leave it at that.

Sarcasm and Snark. Possibly the most common coping mechanism ever for any problem in existence. Probably just a part of Five’s glorious personality, but let’s say he developed it the way I did. As a way of taking on the world, sarcasm makes everything more bearable. It’s also a form of humor and nothing is as good as humor to cover social missteps. It takes you from being a weird outcast to being the Funny/Sarcastic Friend™️.

Five and routine. The first thing Five does when returning to the past is make his signature sandwich. Here he is, back with his family after all this time, and he doesn’t allow himself to bask in that, because the count down to the apocalypse has started. There’s no way he isn’t thrown off though, come on. 13 years old again with his family alive. When feeling shaken, most people with autism will absolutely fall back into routines even if they’re old ones. And who wants to bet he drove past at least one other perfectly serviceable shop with coffee on his way to Griddy’s and ignored them in favour of familiarity? And of course he works to get Dolores back right off the bat. When upset over the lab getting blown up he returns to what we can assume was home during the apocalypse; the library.

Five and his ability to take people at face value despite his overactive paranoia. From my experience working with those with autism, autistic people are some of the most forgiving people you will ever meet. This doesn’t have to come from a place of kindness. It’s more our black and white nature. Something used to be this way, and now it’s that way. We tend to just accept it where others might have a million questions. This goes hand in hand with our people sense. Oh we suck at reading social cues, but our instincts in regards to a persons trustworthiness are generally bang on. You see this in Five’s chat with Hazel. He doesn’t seem to have a problem buying what Hazel’s selling. Same with Klaus, who he acknowledges more then his other siblings even if it’s in a snarky manner. (He didn’t shoot Klaus down when he talked about conjuring their dad unlike Luther, and despite his angry reaction he took Klaus’ point about being addicted to the apocalypse seriously.) He gets angry when Vanya doesn’t believe him about the apocalypse but when it becomes clear that her disbelief is not malicious he doesn’t take it out on her. In contrast he doesn’t buy the Handler’s bullshit. To sum it up, Five is a practical people person, with good instincts but an outdated copy of Social Cues for Dummies. Is this autism or an effect of 40+ years alone? Both?

Five, the pragmatist. As the Handler says, Five is a first rate pragmatist which fits how a lot of those on the spectrum are very blunt, black and white thinkers. Where my family can debate politics for hours, my opinion is always the straightest path to whatever outcome I’m arguing for.

Five and clothes. Those on the spectrum tend to be hypersensitive, and clothing can be a Thing™️ for us. Certain materials feel like they're made of needles as opposed to just itchy, jeans are too tight, turtlenecks feel like a noose, etc. This is common, but sometimes it’s less about comfy sweatpants and more about familiarity. I have an undercut and if I don’t have time to get it shaved at the usual point, I get panicky. My hair feels slightly different, it looks slightly different, and it all just doesn't feel right. Five grew up wearing the academy uniform, and while he didn’t have the luxury of a suit and tie in the apocalypse, wearing a suit was clearly important to him during his time with the Commission. Even the Handler took notice, and gifted him a suit. And the second thing he does after making a sandwich in the past is find a suit that fits him. Ok, he didn’t have any options, but he didn’t have to wear the whole outfit. He could have mixed and matched. He could have stolen something from the department store. But no, he’s got to wear a suit jacket and tie. He even grabbed his tie off the guy he strangled at Griddy’s before he took care of the last dude. (Badass power move btw.) So I find it believable that the uniform was partially about appearances and partially about Five’s comfort zone, physically speaking.

(But wait, I hear you say, how can you throw in hypersensitivity when back up this post you claimed Five could have ignored his bullet wound via hyper-fixation? Here’s the thing, hyper-fixation basically mutes the notifications our bodies send us. We can be uncontrollably hypersensitive and still not clue into our bodies screaming at us while we fixate on something. But boy, we sure notice when we snap out of it.)

Five is all or nothing, ride or die. Oh boy is he ever. And most autistic people are too. We put our all into everything we do. Doesn’t always translate to doing it well, but we definitely give it our all. (In fact, we tend to over do things and need some serious recouping time after.) This can cover things already in the hyper-fixation section, like his obsession with the apocalypse. But going all in for something is different from the magnetic pull of hyper-fixation. It’s a conscious decision for one thing. The biggest example for Five is his commitment to his family. The Hargreeves are a dysfunctional family, and Five didn’t escape this by jumping to the future. He’s hardly the perfect brother but he’s the most invested in his siblings nonetheless. He became a killer for them, threw morals out the window for the slim chance he might be able to save them. And as is established pretty quickly, he put his all into being a hitman, becoming the best there ever was. That fight scene in the diner speaks for itself. And slicing up his own arm to get at the tracker? Well, it’s pretty clear that when Five commits to something he doesn’t mess around.

Five and math. Here we hit a stereotype about autistic people and their ‘special interests.’ Yeah, it’s really common, but what most people don’t know is that the majority of those on the spectrum are not math geniuses, or geniuses of any other kind. My sister’s ‘special interest’ is still relatively useful, being science, but she’s not a genius. Mine is ‘stories.’ Books, movies, theatre, music, etc. I can devour fiction forever. It’s basically useless to society though, because I’m picky af. But okay, Five fits the stereotype and is a math genius, or at least where it applies to time travel. We see this in the flashback already. Ok, time travelling didn’t work out as he’d hoped, but he managed it at 13 when even Reginald didn’t think he could. This makes me think that his tendency to spend hours working out equations didn’t start in the apocalypse.

Does Five stim? If so, we don’t really see it. That doesn’t rule out autism though, because, well, it’s a spectrum. I only stimmed as a toddler. Some people don’t stim at all.

Vanya. Another theory I’ve seen thrown around is that Vanya is autistic. I’m not going to address that here, but I do want to say that if she is, that wouldn't affect whether or not Five is autistic. Autism is not personality after all, and they are very different people. Again, autism is a spectrum and nobody displays all the same traits. If you’re thinking it would be unrealistic for Reginald. To have adopted two kids with autism, think again. That one autistic sister of mine? Adopted as a baby before we had any idea that she was a mini me.

Five doesn’t appear obviously autistic. What most people don’t realize is that autism is at the end of the day an invisible disability. Most people will know someone at some point on the spectrum and never even realize it. Because sure, sometimes you’ll see us rocking under the table or otherwise displaying what movies have stereotyped as autistic behaviour, but most of the time you won’t notice. We’re the slightly overly bright cashier at Walmart, the quiet bookworm at school, your favourite author that writes emotions so well, the person at comic con who can recite their favourite movie line for line, that kid that gets along best with those older or younger then them. If Five is autistic we may never know, because he’s perfectly functional, but that's hardly and argument against autism either.

And finally; people relate. Nobody knows autism better then those with autism themselves, so I’m inclined to take all the posts I’ve seen about Autistic!Five as a pretty big point on the autism column.

To summarize; none of these points taken alone indicate autism, but together well.... it’s an option at least.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk, I will now open the stage to audience input before this monster grows any longer.

[comicteaparty]

May 15th-May 21st, 2019 Reader Favorites Archive

The archive for the Reader Favorites chat that occurred from May 15th, 2019 to May 21st, 2019.  The chat focused on the following question:

From any webcomic, who is your favorite couple?  Please elaborate on your choice!

Desnik

My favorite couple, hmm...Platonically, I love Annie and Kat's relationship in Gunnerkrigg. Romantically, I'm interested in Agatha Heterodyne and whoever she wants from Girl Genius

haven't caught up with the latter in a long time tho haha

Nutty (Court of Roses)

Going back to @deo101 's Millennium again because the love between Luzio and Sage is so pure I could Die.

Kabocha

A few that aren't romantic ships, but they're... pairs. XD Silver and Vlad from @Mharz's The Angel with Black Wings -- YES, I like the evil guy okay. XD I think they have an interesting teacher/student dynamic that just spirals out of control and. Yep. This flashback has been nice to see just how twisted this dude is. I also liiiiiiiiiiike Felix and Stabitha from @Respheal's Galebound... ... We haven't met them yet in story but I can only imagine how much they'll hate each other. And then? Taci and Mizuki are pretty hilarious as a not-romantic couple. Taci's a condescending jerk, and Mizuki's incredibly stubborn, so it's an entertaining team-up. @snuffysam, thank you for writing a pair I find incredibly entertaining~.

Mharz

OMG

Respheal

>:D

Kabocha

Stabdad pairing is a go

rikirinka

Fav couple is Jane and Tala ofc >:3

Mharz

Silver and Vlad is a very unlikely couple tbh

tbf, they do balance each other

snuffysam

there are people who actually ship Taci and Mizuki romantically, oddly enough

Kabocha

Huh. I don't see them as a viable romantic ship... Taci loves himself too much, and Mizuki and Zaxaty need to go on a date...

deo101

I'll put that down for a fave couple for me, for sure

keii4ii

I really like the relationship between Kara's parents in 7" Kara! Not in the "aww what a cute ship" sense, though. They're just so... real. They have problems, they don't always see things eye to eye (and the narrative takes that seriously), but they very much care about each other. In fact, their love for each other (and for Kara) is what complicates the problems. I'm a sucker for that kind of non-abusive, genuine, but seriously flawed dynamics.

Kabocha

They're very human!

I know Becca worked hard to achieve that

RebelVampire

MOD REMINDER @everyone People, please remember to link the comics you mention. For the couples question: Gunnerkrigg Court: https://www.gunnerkrigg.com/ Girl Genius: http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/ Millennium: https://tapas.io/series/Millennium The Angel with Black Wings: http://blackwings.mharz.com/ Galebound: http://www.galebound.com/ Super Galaxy Knights Deluxe R: http://sgkdr.thecomicseries.com/comics/ Champs: http://champs.mharz.com/ 7" Kara: http://nattosoup.com/

I'm going to say my favorite couple is Ron and Roxy from Cosmos Song. I really enjoy how different they are, and yet despite the culture clash they still manage to make it work. But more than anything, I love the natural chemistry between them. IMO chemistry is one of the hardest things to write when it comes to couples, so I respect any romance where I can read it and actually see it and understand why the couple is together. (edited)

https://tapas.io/series/Cosmos-Song

ShaRose49

Tyrne and Shila from Tale of A Disappointing Land Shark! We’ve only seen them together in one scene but it was so beautiful and simple. (THE HUG OMG) Also I just really like Shila’s design. I can’t wait to see more of them! http://landshark.thecomicseries.com/comics/130/

Draco Plato

I don't have a favorite webcomic couple as of yet, oop

most comics I've read the characters haven't actually hooked up yet

keii4ii

It can be a "I can't wait till they hook up" kinda thing, if you want! Though wanting to stick to canon couples is a valid preference.

Draco Plato

actually I think Iji and Arina are my favorite from @Kabocha 's Linked http://linkedcomic.com/

they're adorable

I do generally stick to canon couples, haha, I have a poor imagination in regards to other people's work

altho if the couple seems like it could be probable then I may ship it XD

Kabocha

Thank you Draco! ... ... coughs I need to show them interacting more in the future.

Draco Plato

aaaaaaah, you do v

They're the couple that most fits the bill for what I'm looking for out of my couplings, hahah

a more mature kind of relationship

I agree with Rebel that Ron and Roxy from Cosmos Song is also a good one

I mostly just need to catch up on it

I really like how @Darkhalo4321 does relationships in general too

but that goes beyond couples there

Darkhalo4321

... i was summoned.

Draco Plato

just saying I really like how you write characters

Darkhalo4321

Awwwww

Draco Plato

I also like Cali and Zage from Psychteria by @CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

they have a really good balance for each other and are well written

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

thank qwq

Draco Plato

ship ship ship

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

yisss ship ship ship >v<

i havent been able to really keep up with many webcomics lately cept for like one or two, but i do like lyall and damon's relationship from draco's Zenchav (found here http://khyatix.com/ )

Draco Plato

;3;/ awwww thankies

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

>w</ they're cute and i like seein them grow as a couple

Draco Plato

it's a cautionary tale really

beware Stockholm syndrome

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

truuee

but still

lol

CalimonGraal(Fenauriverse)

link to psychteria btw https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/psychteria/list?title_no=13754(edited)

Draco Plato

aaaaah omg oops, yeah

Mharz

I thought I was summoned rip but might as well answer the... My favorite couples are Big Sis and Sil~ slaps self I mean... Blackbird and Veloce from Caricphona/Amongst Us by Shilin (nobody says it should be made by someone from this server so yeah) links: http://carciphona.com/ http://amongstuscomic.com/ They were always my dream lesbian ship ever since I found out about her. I love their dynamics and their opposite personalities (Blackbird being the happy-go-lucky troll and Veloce being the serious-angsty bitch) They were one of my biggest inspirations for Bis Sis and Silver. Another one that was stuck to my head was Aster and Fox from Linked by @Kabocha http://linkedcomic.com/ Idk they just really look so good together. If I hadn't known better, I would totally mistook them as a couple.

Nutty (Court of Roses)

Oh, sorry i forgot to link!!

Kabocha

Mharz, I... I can't say much of anything on that front but... one day...

You know, I kind of am into the idea of Ara and Oziel as a couple in Zenchav. .... I mean, they're not necessarily romantic, but they're definitely a pair with chemistry, and the way they interact is pretty entertaining for the little we've seen. You can find Zenchav at: http://khyatix.com/ (Volume 3 is where the two appear first, iirc)

ALSO ETHAN AND LUSHAKA I have only five words to justify this: Tiger hugs in the rain https://www.heartofkeol.com/

Delphina

Yessss, that tiger hug in the rain was so sweet T____T

Mharz

5 years later, kabocha will reveal that Aster and Fox are stuck in friend zone or worse, some stabby stuffs happened (edited)

Draco Plato

ffffffffft Mharz laying down truth bombs

I read Ara and Oziel as Amai and Oziel and was like that'd be a hateful pair

I do like Ara and Oziel's relationship. I'd like to explore it some day in a special.

Desnik

Sorry, I'll link comics that I discuss next time

Kabocha

Ouch, Mharz. XD but... but... how will I get to draw my OTP! ...wait, that does not discount them being in a friendSHIP, bwahahahaha

[illmakethemloveme]

GoT Preferences

Thank you for the tag @arin-arryn So so sorry for taking so long, been swamped with exams, so been waiting to catch a break. Alright lets get to it.

Do you watch the episodes when they air?

Hmm, I try to, but I usually end up watching them the next day online, that is when I’m at uni. At home, I record it, cuz everyone wants the TV.

How often do you rewatch it?

I haven’t done any marathons, and because I have such a busy schedule, whenever I’m eating, I go onto youtube and watch random scenes, depending on whichever season I’m favoring that particular day. Its just easier to get through them that way.

Do you rewatch the previous episode before the next one airs?

Nah

Do you eat anything while watching? if so, what do you eat?

Since my meal times are the only free time I have, I’m always eating when I watch it, breakie, lunch, dinner, coffee, you name it.

One character that everyone seems to like that you don’t care much for:

I love Miss Tangerine, because of how beautifully tragic her arc is, but I hate that so many are oblivious to her glaringly obvious flaws. Sansa and Dany have had similar struggles and yet people hate Sansa, simply because her quiet strength lacks the entitled, stubborn arrogance that Dany exudes, which with the right background music, comes across as “empowering “ and “ cool” . The show has emphasized time and again, political smarts and intelligence, are what enable the characters to survive, which people seem to think Dany has by default due to her dragons.

Your 3 favorite pairings:

Braime, they were actually the first people I shipped on the show. They’re both so stubborn with their ideals. But they bring out the best in each other by pushing the others limits,while simultaneously maintaining a level of respect and affection towards each other. They’re constantly reminding the other that sometimes more than adhering to a certain code, stepping out of their comfort zone is whats required to really get something done. 

Gendrya, I had always loved the bond between them, but the scene where Arya bids good bye to Gendry is what sold me on the ship. Btw if we don’t get a recreation of the Jonsa hug with them, IMMA SUE!

 And ofc Jonsa, because of how beautifully they complement each other. I think I’ve reblogged enough of material for people to know why I love them.

Favorite scene:

Ooh this is a really really tough one, I love all the actors on the show. Ok imma try and narrow it down:

1) The bath scene with Jaime and Brienne, is one of my absolute favorites. Beautiful acting between Nikolaj and Gwen. We get to see a hint of Jaime’s true inner workings.

2) I love Michelle Fairley, so I’m torn between, the scene where she prevents Lord Karstark from Killing Jaime and the one where she talks with Talisa about Jon. I think I’ll have to pick the one with Jon, cuz you can see how shes torn between her love for Ned- so hence the cold shoulder towards Jon- and her basic maternal instinct.

3) The Jonsa reunion, again one of my absolute faves, especially because there are no words exchanged in this scene. The array of emotions communicated between them just via their looks, plus the Stark theme in the background which always tugs at my heart strings, ugh its heart wrenching!!

4) The wildfire at the Sept of Baelor, I mean cmon, that scene was absolutely perfect!! First cuz Ramin’s a genius he truly is. If the tune wasn’t enough to give you an eerie feeling, the organ he incorporated into it, hammered it in. Second, the sequence of the scenes, was brilliantly done.

Consolation : 

>When Theon jumps off the ship, mainly due to Alfie’s brilliant acting. The PTSD switch that Euron triggers in Theon is so very real, its evident hes still not quite in control of himself and taking baby steps to recovery

> Any interaction between Tyrion and Cerseii

> When Sansa kills Ramsay, how she just wants to be done with him, but still stays to watch her captor undergo an excruciating death, its almost poetic.

One character you wish got more appreciation:

Other than Sansa? Catelyn. Many people hate her just because she was cold to Jon, but honestly its very understandable why she did what she did. It wasn’t right, but its understandable. Her character is the epitome of the constant battle between mind and heart. There’s a reason why Jaime and tyrion admired her.

Fanfic or Nah:

Fanfic ftw!!! I’m a sucker for angst, romance and emotions 🙈I’ve read fanfics before, but I swear, I don’t think I’ve ever seen such talented writers before joining the Jonsa fandom. They don’t just capture the emotions and smut  but they stay true to the characters personalities and behaviors, which tbh in a flurry of excitement many seem to throw to the wind.

Favorite Quote:

Haha, I love my starks, but I realized most of my favorite quotes just happened to be from the Lannisters. 

1) "The more people you love, the weaker you are. You'll do things for them that you know you shouldn't do. You'll act the fool to make them happy, to keep them safe. Love no one but your children. On that front a mother has no choice"- Cerseii

2) “ Any man who must say ‘I am the king’ is no true king. “ - Tywin

3)  "No need to seize the last word, Lord Baelish. I'll assume it was something clever " - Sansa

4) “ -What sort of imbecile arms an assassin with his own blade? 

- Do you want me to gag him?                                                                              

- Why, am I starting to make sense ?” - Tyrion

Do you avoid spoilers:

No, but neither do I actively look for them. 

Favorite House words:

House Martell - Unbowed, Unbent, Unbroken

One character you’d bring back from the dead:

Hmm, I want to say no one, but I really enjoyed watching Oberyn, so yea maybe him. 

Direwolves or dragons?

Direwolves, they’re basically giant huskies!! 

Wildlings or the dothraki?

Definitely wildlings. The dothraki are savages.

Favorite Stark?

Papa Stark. 

Would you rather be able to be resurrected anytime, but gain scars and all like Beric, or become a faceless man?

Neither. I don’t think I could handle the trauma of dying so many times, neither would I want to give up my identity.

Would you rather have the rebellion tv show or the conquest tv show?

Rebellion, I WANNA SEE HOW HANDSOME EVERYONE CLAIMED ROBERT WAS.

Passing it on to @alczysz17 @theblackwolfking @cassandradiabla @roonil-wazlib79 @thefandommama @wendynerdwrites

[miyukitsubaki]

Why is Miyuki Kazuya so great💜 Masterpost~

*For starters, we can safely say that he is one of the best captains in sports anime history. Don’t we all agree on that?

-Recorded one of the most (if not the best) profound and thorough character development of the series. He was a snarky, full of himself and arrogant little first year when we firstly laid eyes upon him (bless that particular face btw) and gradually evolved by being in contact with his old and new teammates, building himself, nurturing his own knowledge and vision while he stood firmly by his pitchers' side, assissting and helping them as well in their own development.

-An adorable, dorky, awesome, self-sacrificing, twisted, sarcastic, a little bit egoist and immensely kind genius that doesn't let other people's judgments and mean glares rule his life, follows his path with his head held high, without losing sight of his objectives and sends flying all of his troubles with a smile and a swing of his bat.

- One hell of a hard worker, I'm sure he was training just as hard as his pitchers and from everybody’s eyes, maybe even harder than them, but doesn’t like to show it openly. Always prompt to irony, faithful adept of the “Me? Using sarcasm as a defence mechanism? Naaah”, gay for Kuramochi but everyone knows it, soft spot for his pitchers, able to show adaptation in every situations, hardly feels fear and is always daring, his playstyle being described as very agressive.

-Had no choice but to grow up on the spot, following their fated defeat against Inashiro. Accepted the pain and the regret in the short span of one night (in which he probably didn't sleep much) and used his bitter frustration into a plateforme from which he propelled himself and took the reins of this team in his own hands.

-A lot of meaningful character development for him at the beginning of season two, among the chaotic confusion that was the reorganization of the team, with a lot of characters who themselves evolved. Let's not forget that he genuinely lost his confidence a couple of times, especially when he got into this argument with Zono about Nabe. He literally painfully learnt from his errors in the spot and, regretting some of his words, apologized to Nabe from the field.Which was absolutely cute as Nabe knew how much it meant for Miyuki.

- A lonely child, who probably lost his mother and had to educate himself almost on his own. Getting his ability of learning quick from that, always had to fend for himelf as well as to tend to his wounds... I mean, go and try to find a bravest kid than him, he is also so relatable and an example for all the children who had to get through this kind of hard moment in their lives. And despite of all this shit, his huge grin wasn’t budging from his face, even if he was feeling down inside he didn’t show it on his angel face, stood up and move forward, purely motivated by the love of the sport (”I don’t care about everything if baseball is fun!” episode 46). Fate awarded him by making him meet wonderful teammates an rivals.

- Found the best bro he could have hoped to have in the person of Kuramochi Yoichi (They’re soulmates, fight me rn). They just fit perfectly together and won’t have it any other way. (If those two don’t go in the same university or pro team, I’m gonna lose it). Kuramochi’s the one for him.

-Had the courage to go out of his comfort zone and talk about his captain insecurities (which is something he wouldn’t have considered to do in middle school) to one of his mentors, nonetheless being a very proud person who hates showing his weaknesses. And offered us one of his most pure and emotional face.

- Did an immense effort on himself by hiding his pulled muscle from everyone, and showed again his incredible iron will.

As Mochi so perfecty said it, it was a mix of ego as talented and key-player and sense of responsibility as the captain, but also the catcher of his team since his first year. I had so many feels it hurts during the couple last episodes (and so did all of you don’t lie;)) but it really pulled some sensible strings in my heart because this boy...*sighs from fondness* ...is just a plain closet tsundere as he finally lets us hear the voice of his heart in episode 50 of the second season. When he laughs that very specific voice, and that everyone just looks at him and he thinks: “ I don’t want to give up such a fun position to anyone! I’m not suited to be a captain, am I?”. Knowing perfectly that he won’t be giving up this position either. Everything about this scene was perfect; from the movement of his bangs under his helmet, his arms widely expanded to his teammates as he was welcoming them for the first time, face stuck between exhaustion, pain, euphory and pleasure of playing here and his favorite position.

-I think there is not a single trait of his personality that id don’t absolutely love, because he is a perfect representation of what’s good and fragile in the human nature and can be considered as the archetype of what human beings can draw from their hardest time, as long as they don’t give up and keep on rising  themselves up, struggle, struggle, and struggle again to get their hands on what they deeply want. Be strong physically and mentally. This golden boy is the definition of harduous determination, the embodiment of honed and overflowing talent and wits, the perfect marriage between a genius and a hardworker (reminds me of Shin Seijuro from Eyeshield 21 in that respect), but who possesses a underlying fragility and a strong sense of responsibility growing each day. Special mention in the final scene (which made my fangirl kokoro go aazertyuisdiojezfyuysqhi) when Kura and Zono got him to the taxi on the way to the hospital, the pain got his tongue loose and he let out his most buried anxiety, his fear of not being able to fit the position of captain, the I’m not good to be a captain having a completely different tone from the euphoric one he had used at the end of the 50th episode. Exhaustingly proposing his position to his vice-captains, telling them to taste what it’s like (”It’s haaaaard”).

-Never takes for granted what surrounds him, as he is used to fight for what he wants and probably still thinks the number he is proudly bearing is not fully his own, constantly having the image of Chris in head. Having a goal on an individual level is what motivates him the most I think. “I have a feeling I will never win against this person”.

-Another special mention at the end of the first season, when they played against the retired upperclassmen.

He told Furuya to stop thinkng about his pace or rhythm and to give it his full power. Surely, at this moment he also had an epiphany as he realized that the only way for them to cut through their problems of coordination and lack of power was to do like always; train hard again from the start and everything woud click in place. Their trainings didn’t betrayed them, and the upperclassmen showed them that amazingly. “Let’s shut down the senpais by force!”: his carefree tone of the moment was in perfect contrast with the seriousness his words dripped of afterwards: “If we win the fall tournament, we’re secured to go to Koushien.” And he was one hundred percent aware of the weight and meaning of his words. And they managed to did it.

There is to much things to develop and say and fangirl about this perfect guy but I thin that I got pretty well resumed here! My gift on this special day in our hearts, and have a nice evening! 💜 Happy birthday Kazuya~

[jifsy]

Exploring the Philippines: Bicol, Naga City, and Caramoan

Another long bus ride in the Philippines

It’s time for me to pack my bag and get out and begin exploring the Philippines. That means heading out on a few buses for many hours to get out of the city and into the countryside.

Manila to Caramoan

Although I didn’t take one bus from point A to point B, there are buses that go direct from Manila to Caramoan that take a mere 16 hours.

Bicol

Manila to Bicol

My first stop is Bicol, nearly 200 miles from Manila. I took a bus that left Manila around midnight, which was definitely unusual for me. I never travel overnight by bus so this was a new adventure for me.

TSG Tip: There’s Bicol the city and the Bicol Region, which is where I visited. My bus ride was about 6 hours long.

Carabao

This green landscaped area is covered with farmland that includes rice fields and carabao.

Carabao in the mud

Unfamiliar with carabao? I was, too. I thought they meant caribou, like reindeer, but nope — these are carabao (sounds like cara-bow). This domestic water buffalo is native to the Philippines and is an important asset to any farmer. And they really like taking mud baths.

Standing in the rice fields in Bicol

The carabao also take bets to see when and where I might slip into a rice field. Sure enough, I did slide in and once in, it’s like quick sand trying to get out. I’m sure I have rice growing between my toes right now.

Riding the skate

Trying not to obsess about the rice field incident, I gladly took up an offer to ride a skate nearby. Now notice I didn’t say “skates,” but skate. Think of the trolleys contractors use at Home Depot to bring supplies out to their trucks like drywall.

Riding the skate

These trolleys don’t carry supplies but people from one end of the train tracks to the other. When it’s time to turn around, the driver actually picks up the skate, puts it on his shoulders, and turns it around.

Snacks for sale in Bicol

You can do a little shopping and even grab snacks before heading back on the skate.

Cagsawa Ruins and Mayon Volcano

Mayon Volcano from Cagsawa Ruins

What’s left of a 16th century church called Cagsawa Ruins stand in front of the still very active Mayon Volcano.

Mayon Volcano

In case you’re like me and didn’t know, the volcano last erupted in January 2018, requiring the 40,000+ residents in the area to evacuate. Mayon Volcano was named after the legendary princess-heroine Daragang Magayon which means “Beautiful Lady” in English.

Cagsawa Church

Located in Albay, there’s not much here to see or do but the volcano and the ruins, but if you’re an outdoors fan, consider ziplining or taking an ATV tour for some real fun.

Sili (Chili) ice cream

TSG Tip: This region is known for liking their spicy food. I’ve learned while exploring the Philippines that spicy food is definitely not the norm. So to discover “sili ice cream” was a real treat. “Sili” means “chili” as in hot. I chose level four and my tongue still won’t forgive me. It was cold and sweet while also being ridiculous hot and spicy. Addictive? You bet.

Naga City

Naga City

If you’re ready for a little more night life, shopping, and bright lights at night, then head over to Naga City.

Naga City

This city is a stopover point and where the main bus terminal is for most destinations in the region. To get to Caramoan, my ultimate destination while I continued exploring the Philippines, I was going to have to stop in Naga City.

Naga City

Luckily, there’s a mall only a short walk from the bus station so you can grab something to eat, do a little shopping, and enjoy the air conditioning.

Church in Naga

You can also grab a pedicab or tricycle over to Central Naga City for even more shopping and street food. Look for the “ukay ukay” stores, which are thrift stores selling used items, which have become more popular in the Philippines. You can find luggage, clothes, shoes, pretty much anything, which is great especially if you’re packing light for the road. There’s also beautiful architecture to admire, like this cathedral in the city.

Caramoan

Naga City to Caramoan

My next stop on my road trip while exploring the Philippines is Caramoan. I took a death defying bus ride at 6 am from Naga City to Caramoan and it’s one I won’t ever forget. I had to hold onto the two seats in front of me to prevent myself from sliding around and off the seats. It was raining hard and the bus driver was fearless as he drove downhill near the edge of the road overlooking the water as if he had nothing to lose. I felt like I was on the world’s longest roller coaster ride, but once I arrived in Caramoan, it was all worth it.

Survivor props being built in Caramoan

I’ve never heard of this city, but if you’ve watched Survivor you might be familiar with it. Apparently, they’ve shot a few seasons here for various versions of the show for different countries.

Survivor game

Where I stayed was close to the prop shop where they are still building sets and puzzles for the current season that is being shot. BTW, I still can’t figure out this puzzle.

Day One: Caramoan

The beach in Caramoan

I decided to do a two-day island hopping tour via boat and I’m so glad I did.

Island hopping boat in Caramoan

Caramoan is just beautiful. I could use crazy descriptors and adjectives to try and explain how incredible this place is, but nothing, including my pictures, will do it any justice.

View from rock climbing in Caramoan

At my first island I went rock climbing up to the top of this mountain to catch this view. Going up was scary, but going down was even harder, but I did it.

View from the boat while island hopping in Caramoan

I was able to catch a few more of the little islands and swim in the water, which on a hot day in the Philippines is a necessity.

Day Two: Caramoan

Arnell, the tour guide, napping

On my second day in Caramoan, my tour guide, Arnell, and the boat driver escorted me by boat on the hour long boat ride to Cutivas Island. Arnell was smart and napped for most of the long ride.

Gogon in Caramoan

We stopped off on the way at Gogon to go up to the lighthouse and to take in this spectacular view. How there aren’t hotels or houses up here yet is beyond me. The views are beyond million dollar views.

Cutivas Island view

Cutivas Island in the off season became my private island. That’s right. One entire island just for me and a few stray dogs. One dog has three legs because crabs ate off one when he was a puppy. Can we all say “Awwww.” I certainly did. But look at this view and tell me if life is good here or what?

Cutivas Island

The island even has little cabanas where you can sit to escape the sun and eat or drink if you choose to do so.

Caramoan island hopping – Cutivas Island

I highly recommend sunscreen even in the rainy season as I forgot mine and that was a big, big mistake. I got a horrible sunburn and didn’t even know I was burning. I looked like a snake peeling two weeks later, but I wouldn’t trade my time here for anything in the world.

Boodle fight – sounds scary but so good

Arnell even cooked up lunch that included roasted eggplant, sweet potato, and rice. I purchased a salad from the woman working on the island, which was made from seaweed, tomato, onion, and calamansi, the Philippine’s citrus fruit that’s a lime. All was enjoyed on the table in a “boodle fight,” which is a military style of eating where the food is placed on banana leaves and eaten with bare hands. And for dessert we devoured some of the sweetest and most delicious mangoes I’ve ever eaten in my life..

TSG Tip: This trip to the Philippines has pushed me so far out of my comfort zone and pushes me to grow on a daily basis. Who would’ve thought I’d be eating a meal with my hands on a beach with stray dogs?

A real sand bar in Caramoan

After lunch we had to wait for a while as it was low tide and the boat was stuck in the sand. Afterwards, we headed back, but made a quick pit stop at a real sand bar. Basically, they’re little floating bars on a real sand bar. Genius I say!

Back to Manila

Food vendor on bus

I absolutely loved exploring the Philippines and the countryside and beaches. While the bus rides may be long and arduous, they certainly are entertaining. I love watching the vendors come on and sell their goods and seeing how people in other countries live. Someone got on one of my buses with a rooster inside a laundry basket. How often can you say that you see that?

Do you have any ideas, suggestions, or comments for me for my visit to the Philippines that you’d like to share?  Leave your comments below. Discover some other great destinations and travel ideas here on the Travel Shop Girl website.

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