#finished s1 rewatch. she is little

[doomdays]

"hey jv, didn't they tell you? new blood's gotta earn a seat."

it was a joke that instantly made akilah more comfortable once mari immediately said she was joking, except it really is something she took to heart the whole time. it seems implied that she's the only jv member on the trip (elevated when allie was injured / and not long after rachel was), and it's also implied that at least most of the girls are seniors. she's one of if not the youngest girl there, she hasn't been part of this team up until now; she's surrounded by people she's always looked up to and has seen as role models within the sport, so she wants to impress them, and she wants to be good enough to do her part along side them, and that translates to the way they're living in the wilderness too.

she has spent the entire time out there doing everything she can to be valuable in whatever way she can. there's pride in using her girl scout skills to spot what to eat and what to avoid, because she can protect people that way. stitching up van + helping with the labor were both terrifying and overwhelming, but of course she was quick to help with both because it's just instinctual for her, and she may think she doesn't know enough, but she always does know what to do anyway. so she plays her role, because she's afraid that if she's not doing enough, they'll notice that in her before anyone else because she assumes that, despite the respect she does have from the team, they'll still see her as jv / younger (as if that matters anymore) and expect her to do more.

but it goes beyond that too now that they're forced to do worse things out there. akilah has spent these 9 months so far working to be more open with the group + speak up where she can. she's finding places where she belongs and letting herself be more vocal when she thinks can be - in ways she likely wouldn't have done yet if they really had made it to nationals. but by episode 2x08, she kind of shuts down again. she hates the decision they've made to use the cards + what it means, she hates that they're about to willingly kill one of their own, she hates that she has to watch someone die + one of her teammates kill, but she doesn't speak up. what started as her trying to mark her importance despite being younger / jv (again, doesn't actually matter, just her assumption), turns into her needing to self preserve because she's on the outside in a different way. so she doesn't speak up, she doesn't disagree with it openly; she silently goes along with it because that's the only option here. same with lottie being beaten; none of them were going to step in at that moment because it would've made things worse, and it was a sign of the way violence has turned into a language for them.

she's back to keeping her head down and not disagreeing because while she did find her voice out here, it's no longer about being ostracized. it's literally about life or death. i do still think it's possible that she's the one who eventually refuses to draw a card -- but i also think that right now, she's not in a place where she's willing to do that, because she's trying so hard to go along with these things (quietly picking a card, not intervening but looking away anyway when there's a knife to someone's throat, running with them all in the hunt despite not picking up a weapon herself, trying to save javi but not fighting for it when people tells her to stop, etc.) something may have to happen eventually that finally makes her speak up again.

[welcometogrouchland]

Strategizing my silly show rewatches to see what will produce The Most Emotion in me. And then soundly debating on whether or not that's actually a good idea

[somedayillbepeterpan]

I made a post about a side by side of Pen and Colin's first and last dance (so far) from S1 and S3 and now I'm drowning in the feels of it.

LOOK AT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESE TWO LAST SHOTS

S1E1 - Vauxhall ball dance

Them being such babies. Them jumping around, utterly caught by the energy of the dance. This is the first dance that Pen ever has after she's come out in society and I want to say that this is the first time that she's actually seen Colin as a man after he "rescued her". This is when the rose-coloured tinted glasses are shining brightly on her face as she looks at this boy she grew up with dancing with her in public, laughing and holding her in his arms. This is the first time she was held by another man in her life (I don't think her dad was ever affectionate towards her). Her first physical encounter with a man and it's with Colin no less (Colin really is first in everything where Penelope is concerned).

Even though there is a closeness between her and Colin already at this time, there is always Eloise in the middle. We think that Eloise being away in S3 gave them a chance to be alone together but Pen's 1st season out in society actually also gave the first chance of being alone with Colin (and then Marina came and ruined it all).

I also want to note that Pen is utterly cute in this scene. Ladies aren't supposed to wear their hair out the way Pen has it here. This alone should have told us that she is a rebel but also of how invisible she is.

Last thing to note (and this maybe just because of editing or this very beautiful but challenging height difference these two have blocking wise) is that we don't really see their faces clearly (I checked the actual video and it really is shot like that). We're only meant to feel the amusement these two have over this brief dance and I'm sure Pen went home on Cloud 9, thinking about this dance over and over.

It was her first romantic core memory.

Now we go to this scene:

S3E8 - Dankworth - Finch ball dance (Butterfly dance)

I have so many feelings about this dance. Firstly, their hand size difference!

Their smiles! Them overcoming such a huge obstacle! Colin just blasting every other love confession I've seen on this show! Them accepting each other fully, finally seeing each other for who they are. Them now ready to fully embrace their married life. I could go on and on and I will.

Both looking so ridiculously happy in this slow, intimate dance. Both looking so sexy and powerful, showing their acceptance of their maturity. It took them a while and a whole angsty journey but watching them take each step towards each other spoke to my heart and soul deeply. Their smiles in this dance was such a treat after being subjected to heartbreak.

In comparison with the shot in S1E1, we see both from their heads to their body (heart) but behind other dancers. I'm just thinking that this is the director saying this now will be your POV of Pen and Colin-- at the start of living their lives openly.

(I'm feeling sleepy now but I want to finish this)

It is so rewarding to see the journey that Pen and Colin goes through. I've been rewatching all 3 seasons and catching the growth between these two is so fascinating. The parallels, the clues, the subtle performances that Nic and Luke have been presenting on the table since S1. All so overwhelming at times at how privileged I feel to see their story laid out so beautifully.

What a gift Pen and Colin's love story is. I love their love and I'll stay here just for a little bit.

[nostalgicmiscellaneous]

Rewatched everything carefully. And i stand by my opinion: i love season 3. Do i have things i wish we had more and things i wish we had less? Of course, but it's the most satisfying one so far. I'm always not one to justify things much, if i like, i like it; if it touches me, it touches me. I cheered, i cried, i was upset, frustrated, i smiled and i finished with a soft smile on my lips and happy for the characters and hopeful for what's to come for them. And when a show does that, it worked. Sure, we all wish we had more Penelope and Colin together but what we did get is so touching and theirs was a season about the depth of love and the idea of keeping oneself while still giving everything you can to love. About loving and accepting yourself and the realities of love. I also like they kept the integrity of Colin as a character. He's an introspective character, he needed to handle a lot of feelings by himself, and his struggle, turmoil is important to understand everything, including himself. He's very vulnerable and his insecurities were very well portrayed by Luke Newton. He was so compelling to me, with his eyes shining with love for her but trying to repress it, because of his own self-doubts, but eager to protect her. As for Pen...Nicola, the strength you gave Pen within her own vulnerability, her traumas and her apparent conflicted aspirations. I love how Pen never lost who she is, she let her personality free and she didn't settle for what could be easy. Because she learned to love herself, she was able to love Colin deeply, better, without losing her sense of self. Her identity and her courage to take her life on her own hands. I think we could've had at least one more scene of them with real intimacy, i don't even mean steamy, i mean intimacy, with a deep conversation about them. But his love confession was, in my opinion, flawless. I also think the way they conducted Eloise and Penelope's friendship was beautiful. The Featheringtons were a welcomed surprise, Portia and Pen finally trying to see eye to eye, trying to understand each other was something i really needed to see. I love the little nods to the book and the focus on the letters Pen sent Colin, how he missed her and how much she influenced his decisions and actions. I love the very end, their little family. As for Cressida, Benedict and the Mondrichs. I understand Cressida was not to be given a redemption, just that we could understand her better. But i think less would've been more with her. Same with Benedict, we get it, no need to have so many scenes with him having threesomes. The Mondrichs...i'm sorry, but completely irrelevant to the story. With that said: I enjoyed very much and i'm really happy. Because i think compared to S1 and S2, it was a much more engaging season. It had deeper conflicts and romantic love, profound discussions that elevated the plot.

[kneworder]

I FORGOT MALIA IM SO SORRY MALIA

hate when the fic is so mean spirited towards one character that it doesn't matter how much it focuses on my fave i absolutely have to click off immediately

[noangeleither]

yin and yang: carmy and sydney's creative processes + menu planning

what i love about analyzing carmy and sydney is the way they mirror each other. their similarities and differences, and how they have the potential to complement each other well. truly make each other better at this.

this is most evident with the way they approach creating a dish.

sydney's creative process

evidenced by sheridan (s01e05) and sundae (s02e03), sydney is very imaginative when it comes to creating a dish. the editing in these episodes gives us an intimate view of her creative process. recipes often come to her in dreams/daydreams.

sydney gets inspired by her passion for cooking, her family history and her city/world around her (architecture, nature, other restaurants in Chicago). this really fits into sydney's motivations as a chef.

Sydney uses food to make people happy. She likes to take care of people. someone on here explained the significance of sydney wanting exactly one michelin star, which would signify affordable high quality food that normal everyday people have access to. in braciole she mentions to marcus that her dad and her didn't really go out to eat so when they did, they made it count and it was special. she wants to create an experience like that with her own spot (the Bear).

so naturally that is reflected in her food. its not simply a great meal, but a fabric/archive of her culture, history, worldview and entire character.

while sydney has a very imaginative creative process, she often just jots down her ideas in her little notebook(s), for later reflection.

carmy's creative process

carmy has a more tense relationship with cooking. while sydney and carmy are both amazing chefs, carmy seems to be more jaded and detached from his work.

for carmy he grew up in a household where food was a big part of his family. his mom, mikey, and nat can all cook well. he is naturally very great at it. he uses food to be closer to the people he loves. thats why in the face of rejection from his brother, he goes off and becomes one of the best chefs in the country out of spite. why he uses the beef to try and fix his relationship with mikey. why he was so devasted when syd quit and why he started his dream restaurant with her after she came back.

because we dont get an intimate look into carmys psyche when creating a dish, its harder to say but based off his monolouge in braciole (s01e8) and the way he uses food to connect with people he loves rather than having passion for it independently i can surmise that carmy isn't imaginative as sydney. food is more like a math equation (ironic)/a science.

“he’s the best bc he didn’t have any of the bullshit”, emotional ties/relationships of any kind. his career esp at EMP were isolating, rigid and cold. he was the best bc he was calculating, precise and competitive. which breeds excellence in his field while straying him further away from love and true passion.

i imagine carmy to be more pragmatic with creating a dish.

but carmy is a creative person at his core and while creating a dish might not be as colorful as when sydney does it. we do know that carmy can draw and visualize his ideas onto paper. "Sistine Chapel" level drawings according to syd.

sydney + carmy - potential true partnership

on my 3rd rewatch, i couldn't help but feel so dissatisfied with their partnership. granted this is on purpose since the show is only 2 seasons in and they are trying to do a slow burn in all aspects, not just romantic.

it really hit me that carmy and sydney have never - at least on screen - created a meal together. in s1, we never see the risotto come to fruition, we just get carmys input but never the finished product. in s2 finally, carmy and Sydney work together now that their dynamic has changed from boss and employee to partners. we get like what? 4 scenes of them creating the menu, and having this amazing professional chemistry but ultimately leads to two failed dishes, which would be ok if they worked together after that. but they dont...

instead for the rest of the season, we see them (mainly Syd) working on the menu separately. the menu is....alright. mainly has carmy written all over it (he has a the seven fishes + cannolis, weird homage to one of the worst nights of his life).

*putting on another pair of shipper goggles to say this makes the whole "you make me better at this" confession, even more mind-boggling bc better at what? you guys haven't even worked together all season. this = life , i rest my case*

in s3 and beyond, im excited for them to truly start working together as partners and actually see them create a dish together.

i want to see how their approaches to creating a dish can help the other.

how sydneys creative process can help carmy

besides the obvious romantic implications of the palette cleanser outing, the potential for them to understand each other on a deeper level in regards to food is something i mourn everyday.

after sydney goes on her trip solo, we see her ride the ferry and just take a look at her surroundings. shes thinking about the food she ate, shes looking at buildings, windows, looking at the snow. all inspiration for a dish.

imagine if carmy was there with her. he would be curious about what she's thinking about, get insight on how she creates and maybe want to learn to see food in a less practical way.

i mean he hadn't drawn in years it seems until he was inspired by sydney and the chaos menu to draw again....now imagine if he didn't ruin the moment by bringing up claire (LMFAO). the point is, sydney naturally sparks creativity and passion in him, even when they aren't together.

i know many people are theorizing that carmy will leave the culinary industry (and i agree most of the time) but i also think sydney is slowly but surely helping him discover/re-discover a passion for cooking. i think that carmy likes that sydney likes to take care of people because subconsciously he knows he does the same thing or has the potential for it (i.e making tiff sprite from scratch when she was experiencing morning sickness). evidenced by fishes (s02e6), care often feels like an obligation (he takes care of drunk donna when shes going through an episode) but it doesnt have to be this way. and now carmy wants to get a star for her....their interests are slowly aligning.

how carmys creative process can help sydney

this isn't as concrete as the one above but i found it interesting thinking about how carmys more pragmatic approach and sydneys idealistic approach can work in tandem.

first scene in pop (s02e5) shows sydney and tina late at night working on the tasting menu. later in the episode we find out that carmy has been pushing back menu planning leaving sydney on her own. she trying an elements concept which is extremly creative and impressive but even tina says, which sydney later agrees, that its a lot for a tasting menu.

im stretching maybe....but based on carmys comment on her risotto from the season before (needs acid) + his practical approach, it seems like he acts like a buffer when sydneys ideas get "a lot".

*in chemistry buffers are solutions added to resist pH changes when acidic and basic components are added*

so if carmy needs to be more creative and sometimes sydneys ambitions gets ahead of her....

sydney is the heart, while carmy is the brain (???)

one cannot work without the other. when they truly come together to create the menu, they both need to learn from one another to elevate the restaurant. not to mention with carmy's italian american roots and syd's Nigerian-Caribbean/southern roots, they have the potential for amazing fusion dishes and real partnership. i and others want the menu to physically reflect both of them.

conclusion

i literally dont know where im going with this. sorta kinda meta but its more like hopes and dreams for next season and me wanting to type my ideas down.

they complement each other well ok? and have potential for a great partnership once they communicate better. i like this part of the definition of yin and yang:  Their interaction is thought to maintain the harmony of the universe and to influence everything within it.

carmy and Sydney are the leaders of the bear, their relationship is foundational to the success of their restauarnt and team, once they work together truly, play to their strengths and weaknesses, then will come true harmony in their universe.

bonus

more sydcarm parallels/similaries/differences/yin yang moments:

carmys gold chain, syds silver earrings

carmys white t-shirts, syds white button ups

carmy is bad at math, syds great with numbers

carmy wasn't really great at school, this is sorta fanon but i can imagine syd excelled in school

both wear birkenstocks (more a chef thing but i still think its cute)

sunshine x grumpy trope but like better...usually the sunshine (syd) is more emotionally vulnerable making a space for grumpy (Carm), but they switch positions. carmy allows sydney to be more emotionally vulnerable often initiating deep conversations, while syd is more closed up/guarded

overall tho i think its cute that they are both shy/emotionally stunted but i do think purely aesthetic wise, sydney has a softer exterior ( doe eyes, colourful scarves, awkward) while carmy is more intimidating (tats, smokes, looks angry all the time)

both fight dirty - i.e their individual fights with richie (review, the bear)

carmy tho is more prone to outbrusts of anger/violence while sydney lets that shit shimmer until she explodes on you

both their passcode being 11111

carmy having dark mode on his phone, syd having light mode in s2

their matching clothes moments earlier in the second season and in bolognese

if theres more, pls comment/reblog, bc i always think of this shit and need more to cry about

fin!

credits: gif 1&2 , gif 3 and gif 4

[dullgecko]

(Just finished s1 of my fantasy high rewatch)

Headcanon that during the time stop Fabian let Kristen heal all of his wounds except for the scar on his eye (he still felt like he sort of deserved it after everything with his dad) and Riz managed to convince him to let him be the one to heal it with his medkit (he said he felt bad not doing anything but really he just really did not want Fabian to get an infection from the crusty ass eyepatch)

Riz was the first person Fabian told about his dad dying because the battle started so fast that Fabian never even had a chance to mention it and Riz’s immediate reaction was “do you want me to help you fucking destroy Dayne’s body once this is over” and Fabian felt just such immense pride in calling Riz his best friend

Riz actually ends up doing a really good job on the eye but he does insist Fabian at least go to Kristen after the battle to make sure everything’s clean and he doesn’t like die of sepsis a week later

Sklonda walks in on just Riz grinning extra feral (Fabian had just told Riz his intentions on chopping off Dayne’s hand later) while adjusting Fabian’s eyepatch and she pulls Riz aside a little bit afterwards like “is there something going on between you and Fabian that I should know about” and Riz almost dies of embarrassment insisting that it’s not like that but Fabian had asked Riz to not tell anybody else about his dad because he wanted to be the one to tell everyone so he can’t tell her what is actually going on so she’s just like uh-huh sure kiddo whatever you say

Afterwards over the weekend Fabian invited Riz over and they just chat about their dads being dead (they both cry a little bit but neither of them mention it)

After that any time Fabian or Riz are missing their dads they just call each other and talk about it

🩰

There were worse injuries to heal anyway and it wasn't like she could bring his eye back so it didn't matter. Plus it was going to end up scarring anyway, it had been too long since the injury occured for him to do anything about that little fact. Ohter than his eye he wasn't too badly hurt at the moment, nothing that a long rest couldn't sort out, so he shoo'd Kristen away when she came after him trying to heal him. He leaves her looking after the rest of his team and sits down to brood a little distance away and tries not to think too hard about everything that's happened so far today.

He's not left sitting by himself for too long though, Riz appearing beside him (making him jump because 1) he'd come from his now blind side and 2) little shit was damn near silent when he walked) carrying a stolen medkit that was nearly as big as his whole torso and thunking it on the ground beside him. The goblin had insisted on, at the very least, cleaning some of the soot and dirt out of the wound and putting a dressing over his eye under the eyepatch. Fabian grumbled but Riz was right, there was no way the eyepatch was sanitary so he took it off (which hurt quite a bit since it was stuck to his face with coagulated blood) and let the rogue clean up the ragged wound.

The medkit wouldn't do as good of a job healing as a cleric would but it certainly wasn't mundane by any stretch of the word. Magic-infused wipes helped to knit together the ragged slash across his cheek and eye and smooth out the skin somewhat as Riz, pupils slitted and tongue poking out of his mouth slightly as he concentrated, did his best to clean and sanitize the worst of the damage.

It hurt a lot but Fabian felt like he deserved the pain so he tried not to flinch away from it. His eye socket had been the worst of it and he'd had a hard time not flinching when the goblin started to clean there too. He got a sharp hiss of warning when he tried to lean away, Riz actually grabbing him by the hair (no do not awaken anything in this moment not with The Ball of all people) to hold him still as he carefully picked a few bits of debris out of the hole with his dexterous fingers, rinsed the worst of the blood out and slapped a healing gauze pad over the top before securing it in place after cleaning the inside of the eyepatch.

Fabian grumbled but had to admit it did feel a lot better now, especially with the magically infused bandages helping to dull the pain somewhat.

Riz, for his part, is doing all this because he's trying not to think too hard about all the things he's learned today. Turns out his dad didn't get sick and die, he instead got eaten by a fucking dragon. Poor Fabian had to kill his dad himself, which sucked for a whole bunch of reasons even if it's what his dad would have wanted.

[teenitrash]

I just finished my rewatch of AOT and one thing I noticed is how different Connie is after Sasha died (or just Season 4 in general)

We know him to be an idiot and a joker even in serious situations, like in Season 3 where he made a joke even though the rest of the Survey Corps was literally dead (honestly he was so real for that. I, too, use humour to cope lmao) and then Sasha hit his head as a result.

Obviously, all of the younger main characters had drastic character development after Season 3 and it makes sense because of what they've been through. For example, Armin spoke up more and wasn't as timid as he used to be. Jean's leadership skills really showed itself in Season 4 and he became less of an asshole.

So yeah, they all changed quite a bit, but in my opinion, Connie changed more obviously because it sort of went in a "negative" direction. Him changing is not bad but because he became a little more aggressive (something we don't really see in S1 - S3) and he lost most of his joking nature (something we DO see in S1 - S3), it was more noticeable to me.

He became more angry or defensive in certain situations and he kind of lost his joking nature after Sasha died. It's not a bad thing at all BUT this just shows us how much Sasha meant to him and how much of an impact she had in his life, just as he did in hers. He really meant it when he said they were like twins and that she was his other half that died. The only joke I remember him making and the only time he ever laughed throughout the entirety of Season 4 is when Annie was stuffing her face with pie and that's it. Here are 2 examples of when Connie got really aggressive that, for me, felt out of character for him compared to Season 1 - 3:

When Onyonkapon released them from their cell and Connie's first response was to choke him against the wall and shout at him. It doesn't ONLY have to do with Sasha's death, but I feel like if Sasha were here, he wouldn't react as aggressively

Same here where he demanded that they feed Falco to his mom and even went as far as kidnapping him. If Armin and Gabi hadn't shown up the next day, there would be a higher chance that Connie would've made his mother the Jaw Titan. Even when they were camping in the forest, Connie started talking to himself, saying that he misses Sasha

I'm not entirely sure about the reason behind Connie's character development, but Sasha was definitely a huge part of it. Even if he didn't become angrier because of her death, it was definitely that that made him joke around a lot less and made him become more serious

[steviesbicrisis]

Stranger Things S2 rewatch thoughts

I finally finished rewatching S2 and this is everything I've written down as I was watching lmao

KEITH USED TO WORK AT THE ARCADE?? Also the arcade is right next to family video so Keith just moved next door in season 3 lmao

Steve omg you’re so cute stop

FINALLY MAX IS HERE

Okay Billie is bad, yes? We all agree Billie is bad, right? But Dacre IS SO HOT I CANNOT HE TOOK A “PORCA TROIA” OUT OF ME LIKE IT WAS NOTHING

Honestly they’re so dope for dressing up as ghostbusters and going to school with matching outfits

Ugh Nancy and Steve are so terrible for each other

Steve’s face during the bullshit scene really broke my heart 🥺

People being annoyed at Joyce for being super protective of Will like what?? That boy was proclaimed dead, they had a funeral and he turned out to be in another dimension??? I dare you to not be at least a little paranoid

I’m getting the gayest vibes ever from this basketball + shower scene I’m not even joking, Harrington 100% felt what it is like to be a girl objectified in a nightclub

Billy calling Steve pretty boy is so fucked up like are you Eddie Munson? No so imma need you to back off ✋

Jfc no wonder Vecna chose max she’s a walking gold mine for therapists

One drive with Billy would be enough for me to become a target for Vecna I swear

A part of me will always blame Dustin for the cat’s death 🥲

Stranger things is so good I cannot fucking believe my eyes sometimes

First Nancy, now Hopper… can they like, stop going inside creepy ass portals all by themselves? FFS

OH MY GOD ERICA WAS SO SMALL HOW CUTE SINDFKJDF

Lucas telling Max “if I tell you the truth, you could be arrested or killed. Do you accept the risk?” Hits different now

FINALLY THE DUSTIN/STEVE DUO IS BORN

I was today years old when I realized Nancy broke up with Steve in S1 for a month but then she got back with him because she got tired of waiting for Jonathan

Dustin’s proud smile when Steve told him “good call dude” I CANT IM WEEK IM CRYING ON THE FLOOR

I will never get over Dustin’s pure adoration for Steve in this season

JUSTICE FOR BOB

BOB NEWBY THE SUPERHERO 😭😭😭

Everyone: it’s like the mind flyer! Steve&Max: don’t speak nerd in my presence pls

I’m sorry but Mike holding that small trophy as a weapon LOL

I CANNOT BELIEVE THE KIDS WERE AT THE WINDOW WHEN BILLY CAME ARE STUPID

I cannot believe they wanted to leave a beaten-up and concussed Steve behind, are you crazy???

I totally forgot that Steve, in a span of a couple of hours, pushed his girlfriend to be with another guy, got beaten up defending kids he barely knows and then went down - all beaten up and concussed - the upside down tunnels just for said kids?? ARE U EVEN REAL MAN?

Will turning to Mike when that girl asked him to dance 🥺

Nancy is so fucking right, those girls are so stupid turning Dustin down like fuck you who do you think you are????

Jopper at the end, I love my parents so much

Here my thoughts on S1!

[sunnydaleherald]

The Sunnydale Herald Newsletter, Saturday, November 9

WILLOW: By the way, are we hoping to find a body, or no body? XANDER: Call me an optimist, but I'm hoping to find a fortune in gold doubloons. GILES: Um, body would mean flesh-eating demon, no body would point towards the, uh, army of zombies thing. Take your pick, really.

~~BtVS 2x02 “Some Assembly Required”~~

[Drabbles & Short Fiction]

Red Moon (Darla & Drusilla, not rated) by SeleneBlue

speaks volumes (Buffy/Faith, M) by storiesfortravellers

Surprise (Buffy/Angel, E) by MeTheMermaid

Chemical X (Fred, Maggie Walsh, E) by Kittenwritings

[Untitled] (Giles/Reader, M) by romeactivelycries

[Chaptered Fiction]

Okay Dad, Chapter 1/6 (Ensemble, T) by Work

Tears of the Slayer, Chapter 1/? (Buffy/Angel, Buffy/Spike, E) by MadMaster

You're a Beautiful Person, Chapter 3/? (Willow/Tara, M) by firagasauce

The Comedown, Chapter 2/2 (Buffy/Angel, T) by Descended_from_Hufflepuffs

Maps, Chapter 4/6 (Buffy/Faith, E) by thisyearsgrrl

The Right Swipe, Chapter 15/? (Buffy/Giles, E) by DancingAngel0013

The Phoenix, Chapter 1/? (Buffy/Spike, ensemble, E) by OffYourBird

Firebell in the Night:, Chapter 50/150 (Willow/Tara, E) by TheLightdancer

With Sprinkles, Chapter 44/? (Xander, anime xover, M) by dogbertcarroll, Narsil

Little Light, Chapter 16 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Melme1325

Oh My Goddess, Chapter 11 (Buffy/Spike, R) by Maxine Eden

Incarnate, Chapter 21 (Buffy/Spike, NC-17) by Sigyn

Oh My Goddess, Chapter 11 (Buffy/Spike, R) by Maxine Eden

[Images, Audio & Video]

Gifset: Cordelia Chase + Outfits (Season 2) (worksafe) by clarkgriffon

Artwork: “She’s cold, she’s dark, she’s cynical (Buffy/Spike, depiction of blood, mostly worksafe) by o-cm-draw-o

Artwork: Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, S3 Ep8 “Lovers Walk” (worksafe) by nightheartcomics

Artwork: Collage #228 (Buffy/Spike, worksafe) by thedecadentraven

Artwork: Collage #230 (Spike, worksafe) by thedecadentraven

Video: Drusilla's Diary Entry 1 by Slayin It with Juliet Landau

Crafts: Fun little embroidery project I made for my friend’s birthday [Scenes from Gile’s slide show in ‘Hush’] (worksafe, depiction of show-typical violence/blood/death) by littlethingstitching

Crafts: I’m creating an art piece for every episode of Buffy and Angel: BTVS 601. Bargaining Pt. 1 (worksafe) by tmcarlee

Nail art: My friend did Buffy nails for Halloween and I finally get to show them to this sub! (worksafe) by Confident-Smoke-6595

[Reviews & Recaps]

Season 4 first time viewing! by Specialist-Orchid-80

I am SUFFERING through Angel season 4 by Anna3422

PODCAST: You Said Glice! (S5E4) by It Stakes Two

PODCAST: Big G and The Slaymaster General (S5E5) by It Stakes Two

[Fandom Discussions]

i just finished watching buffy s1-s7 for the first time and like. s6 is good. not perfect, but still by beets-are-not-green

Look I’m just saying if we got to see Spuffy have explicit sex multiple times we deserved to get to see when Spike and Angelus did by thequeenofsastiel

i do find it immensely boring when your interpretation of spike’s complexity involves dumbing him down to some variation on “human good, demon bad” the same way the show tried by slugessence

I don’t think we give Cordelia enough credit for driving a car through the school by aphony-cree

more on Faith and dog parallels! by juanabaloo

[anon ask] So, apart from how it happened, what’s your take on the Spike soul thing? answered by thornfield13713

Were the slayers a good idea? continued by multiple posters

Buffy Season 2 rewatch by Btvs fan, multiple posters

Lilah and Cordelia were Outstanding by Nostromo87

Very minor criticism that drives me crazy whenever it happens by Agvahl

The Beast is by far one of my favorite baddies/demon/monster of the Angel verse by moses616

S7 E6 "Him" by distortionisgod

The Inca Princess by opmdl6

Anyone else wish Buffy and Willow didn't become roommates so fast in season 4? by jdpm1991

Angel finale by anthonycaruana

When Groo left, after realizing that Cordy did not love him, what do we think happened to him? by jengafat

tell me you’re a BTVS fan without telling me you’re a BTVS fan by perfectmoonwalker

How do you feel about every season having its own unique feel to it? by precita

Demon Sports Team by No_Introduction_4136

[Articles, Interviews, and Other News]

PUBLICATION: The Best Fighters in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Franchise, Ranked by CBR.com

PUBLICATION: How an Iconic Episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Explores Queer Issues by Tell-Tale TV

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Join the editor team :)

[housewarningparty]

okay i'm finishing up my s1 rewatch and this moment with lilith and the explosives was actually very funny and also wholesome like okay! we're working together now! lilith is a type A proactive control freak on a good day and right now we're also dealing with some brain interference vis a vis magical brainwashing from the otherside SO! it's a little complicated. but she's been talked off the ledge and she wants to help!

HOWEVER. probably not actually a great idea to let her impulsively blow through a bunch of rock with all those explosives! BUT THE GIRLS RECOGNIZE AND RESPECT THE INTENT. AND THEY ALSO KNOW THAT IF THEY DON'T REDIRECT LILITH'S MANIC ENERGY SOMEPLACE THINGS WILL GET BAD AGAIN. so they take her explosives away and she lets them bc she's On Their Side now but she's SO SAD about it and then bea lectures her quite gently and asks her to help drill a hole! A TASK! FINALLY! A PURPOSE!

LOOK AT HER SHE'S HELPING AND SHE'S SO SO SERIOUS ABOUT IT

[mdhwrites]

The issue with Owl House is that it’s cliche in the most boring way. A show can be filled with overused tropes yet still be entertaining yet the Owl House just…isn’t.

This is why I can’t rewatch the show because it’s just not exciting enough to do so.

So I'm mostly going to focus on the rewatch value of the show here rather than the trope elements, I feel like I covered that only a couple blogs ago. For why it's a bad rewatch though: I've said before that TOH is REALLY good at introducing elements and TERRIBLE at follow through. Amity was presented with a lot of great potential in just two episodes because of how clear it was that her current relationship with success was toxic but that you also didn't necessarily want to see her fail in her goals. Then she becomes just a love interest who entirely forgets her goals and has pretty much everything we had introduced in the first two episodes she appeared in swept under the tacky rug named Odalia. Literally two of the first 5 episodes... Wasted. Almost entirely pointless because you could jump in at Lost in Language and her character reads WAY more consistent... But less compelling. She wants to be good at school but it isn't consuming her mind, even at that point despite Luz not really having discussed that part of her at all. She's much closer to a normal, driven girl rather than one demented by the need to succeed. That is frankly just less interesting, at least without ANY explanation as to why besides 'girl crush'. It's akin to how by Escaping Expulsion, she's let her grades slip and only seems to care because her parents are saying she's not allowed to have friends because of it. Or, more importantly, Luz.

That's the thing: Most of the character arcs and elements in TOH don't build on one another. Instead, you start with this really well built house that could use a few additions but it's quite serviceable as is... And then each episode takes a sledgehammer to it. Even the world counts for this. An interesting dystopia fueled by greed where being normal is prioritized over being good? Where everyone is looking for a dime and would threaten to kill you for their own gain because they know they'll get away with it so long as they do it in a normal manner? That's FASCINATING. And that is explicitly the Isles we get for about three episodes.

But then with Covention, it shrinks. Suddenly people are just a little suspicious of Eda but you start realizing that she does run a market stall in the middle of town. That without posters, people practically don't care about her bounty. Cheating is seen as unacceptable rather than what should be the norm with the lack of morals on the Isles. All while it hasn't actually examined the world it implied early on besides honestly a pretty normal con artist and the fact the school was willing to kill an intruder.

Just think about any element really. The EC/Lilith? Presented as really cool and something that could genuinely be a philosophical debate against Eda. Then their second episode is Once Upon a Swap, where they end with their leader as a dog and can't control a witch who has pretty much no control over her magic. So interesting. -_- Hunter is FAMOUS for this. The Golden Guard is an entirely different personality from Hunter himself and implies a LOT of fascinating things about him... And then they're all immediately dropped by Hunting Palisman, even small details like him being a prodigy respected in the EC. Willow is an unexpected one as her first real return is Hooty's Moving Hassle which bungled her power issues so badly, it took Sport in a Storm for the majority of the fandom to realize they were resolved in the sixth episode.

It's also why the show keeps having to add elements rather than having anything to actually expand on. Eda gets pretty much her entire character finished up by the end of S1. She could still teach Luz about potions and genuinely examine the struggle she has with the difference between little magic and no magic but... Instead she gets glyphs and a super form rather than proper character development. Then she gets a love interest that is what she focuses on for a couple episodes of the season. They even have to escalate the curse, despite it being toned down being part of the S1 climax, just because they have so little to actually do with her at this point. They've accelerated her character so quickly past all the things she supposedly cared about that they have to grasp at straws for what can be pulled back. It's why Willow and Amity take effectively an entire season to follow up on the end of Understanding Willow because at that point, they're desperate for Amity to be able to do ANYTHING that isn't just Luz. It's why she suddenly gives a shit about her father out of NOWHERE. It's why Gus has to have the same problem rehashed three times but tackled at with his only two character traits and then sudden anxiety issues that technically aren't out of character but still feel like they came out of nowhere. Because if the show isn't adding something to a character, it only has so much room to go, at least from how the writers seemed to have thought.

It's actually part of why Luz is so incredibly stagnant in S1. Her character is actually really basic and the show itself has NO INTEREST in multiple elements of it. She can be described in the first episode as a bullied girl who is an outcast from normal people with a desire to live out a fantasy instead and has a good heart. Now that first half, the bullied girl who is an outcast, is jettisoned for the sake of making Luz's transition into the Isles easier/selling the idea of the Isles as a place she/the viewer want to be in easier. She never has social anxiety or the like, or even struggles to make friends and connections, because that would get in the way of seemingly what the writers actually care about like their romance plots and her wish fulfilment. So if you don't have those elements then all you have is her desire to live out a fantasy and that she has a good heart.

And for like half the show, that pretty much doesn't change at all. It's why a lot of the episodes with her effectively come down to her making a mistake because she wants to live out an Azura book, implicitly (Teenage Abomination) or explicitly (Covention), but then her good heart makes her set things right. And that is fine for your MC. It actually worked to keep her unobtrusive from the other characters as they worked through their arcs and lessons. MCs like this work well in general honestly. I've referenced Danny Phantom and Randy Cunningham as characters who fit this archtype, who also are pretty basic as both are teenage boys who would like to be popular but also have good hearts that will cause them to do the right thing even if it humiliates them, and those shows are great! There are issues with the style, and Luz has PLENTY OF THEM, but they work for a base.

But part of her stagnancy and issues with the trope is that she never seems to learn anything. That's because of TOH's problem of only tearing a character apart... Until it replaces. Lilith isn't Lilith anymore. She's now the cool aunt. Eda was practically never criminal or anarchist. She's just Momma Eda. The Golden Guard never existed, there's only the sad but mad boy. Etc. Etc.

The old character and their history do not exist and the new one... Is usually summed up really easily. Usually just with the statement of "A generally nice person." But having excised all of that old potential also means they can't do a lot with these characters without seeming to go back on their character development. This is why we get Hunter as a new Amity so someone can do her angst a second time since they decided to race past it all. It's why we get romance added more heavily because there are still tropes they can do with that genre and even love interests they can add. Why nothing gets explored because the show was so impatient to get to the big moments it wanted, even before the shortening since that mostly didn't affect the first half of the series so stuff like Amity's rushed development was not something forced on them, that it lost out on the chance to do the actually interesting ideas they pitched in the first place. Remember how Luz and Eda were pitched at the beginning as student/mentor? Theoretically, as the two main characters? And how after Adventure in the Elements, they have two plots together where they speak for more than like a minute with each other. Stranger Tides and Titan Where Art Thou, the latter of which actually rehashes a concept from literally a season ago (Grom) because they just forgot about Luz wanting Eda's approval until then.

All of this, all of this rambling, makes it so that while I am a firm proponent for the journey meaning more than the destination... It's hard to want to go back on that journey. To constantly be like "This is the best this character will ever be," through the first half of the show, if that, and then have only a couple character climaxes to look forward to. Worse yet is that even these introductory episodes HINGE on payoffs down the line, like Understanding Willow. That potential was part of what made them good when honestly a lot of them are kind of boring without the novelty of the potential story they're setting up. Knowing there's no payoff just makes the setup INFURIATING.

It also makes it really easy to understand why so many praised it so much harder early on. It comes out of the gate swinging but its punches have no follow through so when S1 was done and everything was introduced, the potential for the show was laid bare, we got HUNDREDS of animatics. We got thousands of comics. The fandom has NEVER thrived harder.

But by even the hiatus in S2... There's a reason why a LOT of people jumped onto Clarvee like ravenous hounds. A reason why a lot of people jumped onto Huntlow when it started being teased. Kept jumping to new elements being added because the old ones were left to rot, if they weren't actively sabotaged.

And the finale for a lot of people so actively contradicted one of those early statements, one of those early novelties people pointed to for why an okay episode was better than it was, that it really feels like it fractured the fandom. A lot of people saw Luz become a chosen one, literally empowered by God with no consequences and little work, and one of those things that people praised from episode 2... Shattered.

And suddenly they realized that strong house they thought they'd lived in the entire series had so many holes in it from the sledgehammers that it all simply fell as if it were always a house of cards.

======+++++======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

[hacash]

I know you’re a huge Nate supporter and love to talk about all the microagressions against him, and one I noticed when rewatching is that in 2x3, when ted tells Jamie he’s starting on the reserve, he’s immediately playful with Will (“Mr. Kitman! Hit me!”) and it got me thinking how badly Nate must have felt seeing the ringleader of his bullies come back and immediately be nice to his replacement. Sort of like, “oh so you were capable of being a decent human being to the kitman this whole time but you just chose not to”

I think there’s such nuance in the way the the team getting nicer grates on Nate, who put up with their bullshit for years, especially since no one ever offers him a real apology. I think he’s definitely crossed lines, but when you look at it from his perspective, it’s easy to see how he got there. Anyway I just appreciate your nuanced takes on Nate and I can’t wait to see nick mohammed pull off another stellar performance in season 3!

Absolutely!

To be fair, I think Nate's aggression from Will stems a lot from power going to his head and being a perfectionist in his work; I'm a big fan of Nate but my God, the man is flawed. However I also think Will is a walking, talking reminder of how the team used to treat Nate, simply by dint of how they don't treat Will. He comes to Richmond and immediately gets handfuls of cash from them at Christmas, he's included in their little bonding rituals, he's part of the gang...whereas we all know the treatment Nate got whenever he tried to help the team.

(And that only finished after a particularly brutal show of strength from Roy. Which, uh, certainly gives Nate an interesting impression of what tactics do and don't work with the footballers.)

So yeah, from Nate's incredibly damaged perspective, having poor Will around must be unbelievably frustrating. He's pissed, and though he handles it badly, it's obvious why he's pissed. It's the moment when Eleanor in The Good Place, seeing her emotionally abusive mum parenting a new daughter, tearfully says that if her mum was capable of parenting the little girl then she was capable of parenting Eleanor but just chose not too. It's the moment in How I Met Your Mother when Barney screams at his absent dad 'well, if you were going to be some lame suburban dad, why couldn't you be one for me?!' - because clearly the team were capable, they were willing to be nice, they just didn't want to be nice to Nate, it must be about him, how they see him, he needs to change to earn their respect, he needs to perform those shows of strength....

...Of course, an outside perspective would tell you that the team's change of attitude from Nate to Will has absolutely nothing to do with Nate, and everything to do with how Ted's philosophy has impacted the team. (If Will had joined Richmond at the beginning of S1 I've no doubt that pre-reformation Isaac, Colin and Jamie would have eaten the poor boy alive, and the rest of the team would have been egging them on or wouldn't have dared stop it.) But Nate's not in the right place to see that. And considering all the history between him and the team, I don't think he should have to just 'man up' and accept that; he deserves that acknowledgement and those apologies. Which I am very much hoping we get this season.

[cringelordofchaos]

top 3 of your biggest kins and why!!

Yayayay someone sent me an ask !!!

Sorry for my lack of response! Will get to it now!

Also I assume you mean fictionkin - sorry if you didn't!

Luz Noceda

Dvdhnfjdjd WHERE DO I EVEN BEGIN? I've been so fucking obsessed w her and could relate to her WAYY too much since I started watching. Just... Ugh. So much of it. Being "the weird kid", inconsistent and lackluster grades / performance, being overly obsessed with a specific franchise (though mine come and go and return every few weeks lol), having a mom who really cares about you and wants the best for you and has had similar experiences growing up and being isolated or cast out but accidentally made you feel like you had to conform because that's what she kinda had to do??? idk but still encourages her child's true self and feels super guilty Abt it all yada yada. having little to no friends (I have one! (Speaking of offline) before visiting the demon realm. Fanfic writer (I never have the patience or motivation to finish anything I start though), being impulsive, not knowing whay you wanna be, being into witchcraft, feeling like you're somewhere where you don't belong (the human realm) and would gladly escape into a whole different realm, Bisexual (I'm questioning this though), gender nonconforming, being told that you just have to "apply yourself", insecure, similar clothing style, considers herself a "dummy", poor attention span for things she's uninterested, indecisive, etc etc, THIS SCENE THIS SCENE THIS SCENE

(ps the way camilla hovered her hand above the screen / luz when she saw how sad she was 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺)

It's just. Everything.. I remember the first time I watched it I was like "Luz is so me in almost every single way. Except she makes a ton of eye contact, I don't rly do that" lmao... I would rewatch s1 and S2 on loop every day for the whole summer, I am NOT exaggerating. I rly love TOH I'm so.glad I got the opportunity to watch it and it means sm to me and I keep rewatching the scene from thanks to them and auhggjt.

"all I ever wanted... Was to be understood!" HEJDJFJDIDJRUJDJEKF DJJFFJNFB FIKF

AARON MITCHELL

oh my GOD when I saw this movie for a few days I'd cry sm just bc of how much I related.to him. He chews his shirt. I used to do the same when I was twelve and a bunch of my shirts had holes and still have holes but I stopped and now I just grid my teeth instead lmfao and they hurt ouch. a piece of gum is a lifesaver for.me. He's OBSESSED with dinosaurs - for me it's not dinosaurs specifically but like I've said earlier I tend to get OBSESSED with things way too much to the point everyone knows me for that thing. He's implied to have ZERO FRIENDS before meeting Abby who shares his obsession w dinosaurs (just like me and my one n only friend fr) (why do I keep getting attached to characters who previously had zero friends wtf.) LOVES to talk Abt his interest. Obsessive. Shy. Awful social skills. Takes things too literally sometimes. Calls his dad father sometimes cuz why not ("Thank you, father." after he gave him his phone back "just as promised" (except he broke it in pieces but he.kept his promise so aaron doesn't care lmao.) carries a notebook and pencil w him randomly?. his older sibling and parent argue abt the siblings college choices and you're just forced to watch and the tension is rising and you're feeling anxious and Uhm yeah. SOMETIMES KINDA ROBOTIC IN HIS SPEECH? I've noticed? Blunt. Has a TON of things related to his obsession. (For me I have primarily a tonshit of sonic themed things.) dislikes being alone. Dislikes admitting his feelings. Nerd. Uses obsession as a way to understand, contextualize and communicate with the world and his surroundings. Also chews his fingers. Always wearing sweatpants. Fidgety. Ect etc. Just lile arhghfhfng. HIM.

Things I don't relate to - wearing shoes in bed. What the actual fuck Aaron. Also he wears socks. I don't do that unless I'm nailed down to the floor until I succumb to their nonsensical rules. Ok they KINDA make sense but I don't like them. I don't care that my shoes or feet will smell afterwards get those fucking socks away from me.

. anyway sorry. There's probably more but yeah I forgot. I actually got the urge to cry when just thinking about him a couple of times. Like wowza dawg he's just like me fr and I mean it. I can really really relate to him and I act a lot like him and I acted even more like him when I was about his age and was obsessed with exclusively sonic for like a year straight. lol

Enderman

Ok this one's a short one but yeah I can relate to them. They're just minding their own business, in their own piece, picking random things off the ground (or ground itself..), DESPISE eye contact and will get really violent if you make eye contact with them (I am not exaggerating I actually get really angry and uncomfortable with uninitiated eye contact from ppl I'm not comfy with like don't look at me stop looking at me stop looking at me.) makes random sounds sometimes, such as screeches and hisses. Unlike them I DO like water and I LOVE rain HOWEVER I DO NOT LIKE touching smaller amounts of water on surfaces where I don't expect water to be and get really grossed out and uncomfortable from it. Unless they're with their own kin they're just kinda going around, alone, minding their peace unless provoked. Like most mobs - both hostile and peaceful - acknowledge your existence, hostile ones attack you, peaceful ones like horses and sheep and pigs and wolves and cats and whatnot may look at you if you look at it and pay attention to you and some can be befriended, enderman is neither like them, they're minding their own business, they don't initiate contact like, ever, and only engage w the player when having to defend themselves... when feeling threatened EVEN if the player didn't mean to scare them, like idk I'm.noy.really used to strangers having good intentions with me so I get defensive easily .... that is irl, on the internet I definitely don't get ever scared from social interactions ahaha 😎 yeah.

So yeah the only thing I KINDA can't relate to is not liking water - I only dislike water in a very specific context so yeah. And I do make eye contact w family members usually like I've mentioned earlier - I don't know, do endermen make eye contact with each other? I'm not sure, I don't remember. There might be more to them that I relate to but I can't recall anything at the moment

Everything I've mentioned about these characters in This post - I can relate to. These are just my feelings put imperfectly into words.... but I feel a lot about them and have felt a lot about them for quite some time.

Ducbfjrj there's also a list of characters I relate to (link in intro post) but these were the ones I related to the most

[othervee]

Season 3

On my rewatch though not finished yet. I had to take a break. Thoughts so far:

In the opening scene the queen doesn't even LOOK at Wilhelm as she comes in. Not a glance! Although she certainly watches Simon when he comes back after the little recess.

Boys! Why didn't you pre-warn your respective mothers about the drugs, at least? Sitting in front of August and his stepdad at a mediation is the second worst possible way for them to have found that out, and surely you would know he would bring that up because that's the only leverage he has apart from being the spare.

LOVE Wilmon boyfriends era. I love the soft little smiles and touches, the heart emojis, the way they say "puss" when they say goodbye. The fact that when they see each other for the first time they kiss in front of everyone and all the Hillerska background noise and chatter completely fades to nothing, because there's nothing else but them in the world.

Happy Wille is so adorable, decorating his bedroom with the poem and the polaroid of Simon... and then sitting down and being restless. Everything has changed and nothing has changed at the same time.

The way it cuts from the fight scene to Wilhelm and August sitting silently in Boris' office is LOL forever.

They are actually talking about the racism and classism. And again, it has to be the elites who find out it exists and what form it takes, to see that change should happen. August, who scoffed at Wille's "socialist safari" in season 1, is now angry when Vincent talks about them "sitting on the bus to the slums". Felice is not just aware of the microaggressions but actively pointing them out to the other girls. So glad that she points out the hair thing - and Stella's utterly tone-deaf reaction.

(There's at least one scene back in s2 where the housemother tells her to put her hair up and then Stella or Fredrika, I forget which, also puts hers up. Is there one in s1?)

And Felice's reaction when she hears about her father's experience at Hillerska. He started out as himself and ended up a complete cookie-cutter perfect upper-class Swede, and he thinks that's OK. And that it's important for her to do it too.

The Wilhelm/Kristina and Sara/Micke parallels they are drawing this season are really interesting. They represent potential futures for their children. Micke is Sara if she retreats from the world and from trying to form and maintain true relationships. Kristina is Wille if he retreats from himself and continues to put up a facade.

Micke has some pieces of childrens' art on his walls and a photo of a little girl... Sara as a child? Sara and Simon's artworks from their childhood? If so, that's really powerful and sad.

Wille's frog prince has the YR stylised crown:

Loved the kids all partying together. Kids are kids, whether rich or not. But oh, Fredrika, you are such a naive little nuffnuff.

Wille's SSSHHHH! to Simon in the tent is so like Kristina.

I am not surprised by the Erik thing at all. But I am curious about how that particular initiation went down, and how the homophobic taunting was stopped. Nils says, "I didn't dare to speak up". August says, "Hey, at least we put a stop to it. We kept our promise. We didn't do the same thing to our first years." Did one or both of them react? Who was it who promised to stop it, and to whom?

I have not forgotten that in s2e3, when Wille asks Boris whether Erik used to come to him, Boris says, "It can be useful to see someone like me, so that you don't feel you have to risk hurting somebody." We see that panic attacks run in the family; do violent outbursts, too?

I have so many thoughts about the royal family this season but that's going to take a longer post. "Not in my family", eh, Wille?

[angelsdean]

re: /710631118215495680/sooo-funny-ladies-man-dean-winchester-takes-the?source=share

I just finished a S1 rewatch and it is CRAZY to me how much the fandom misremembers/misinterprets S1 Dean as this huge misogynist who has never so much as taken a sip of respect women bc it's just not true! We get that impression at first glance because he's flirty and talks a big game, but sooooo many of his interactions with women in S1 are like. him making one (1) flirty comment and then proceeding to empathize deeply with the girl of the week and developing genuine emotional bonds and advocating for women like... repeatedly. It's genius sleight of hand from the writers (and on a narrative level, it's a brilliant performance from Dean that Sam swallows hook line and sinker) but it's hilarious that going on 17 years since S1 finished airing people who dedicate whole blogs to SPN still buy the falsehood!

literally !!!!! god i wish i could make spnblr do a mass rewatch and then hold post episode discussion forums where we engage analytically with the text and dissect the character behaviors and motivations and deep-dive into themes and symbols and SUBTEXT. because all of dean's character esp in the early seasons is literally. subtext. what's on the surface is what we're seeing from main character sammy's pov and it's one dimensional and it's a performance and it's a mask and if you literally want to know anything about dean you HAVE to look deeper and read into the parallels often being drawn between him and the victim or monster of the week or read between the lines of what he's saying versus what he's actually doing or feeling. dean postures and overcompensates SO much. he'll flirt (often badly) and shoot charming little smirks and smiles and he'll openly check out women often in a very over the top way and then turn to sam and say something like "she's hot" and then in the next scene he'll be blushy and awkward or so so sincere and empathetic to the girl he's talking to and he gets all flustered and shy over cheek kisses and simple pecks.

And it's just so clear once you're really looking that all of his "ladies man" behaviors are just. this over the top act. It's a caricature. And sam just, takes it for face value and thinks that's all there is to his brother because he's never really questioned it. And that's not all sam's fault because the whole point is that dean is trying to hide a lot of his true self to fit into a certain image and persona, one that he thinks john would approve of, one that keeps him safe. And while Sam can't really see it, we as the audience can once you start really paying attention and peeling away at those layers. It's like, there's Dean Winchester, ladies man hunter in john's jacket. And then when you take off the jacket, that overcompensating persona that covers conceals his true self, you start to see the there's a lot more hiding underneath.