#he is- in fact- not big boi

[demaparbat-hp]

She will (and he'll let her)

[thelolarahaii]

Sister Sage? Hell no. She was with me in Teenage Kix for, like, barely a year before they canned her ass. What's her power? She's the world's smartest person. She's not smart enough to know when to keep her mouth shut.

A-TRAIN and SISTER SAGE in THE BOYS SEASON FOUR

[uniiiquehecrt]

Voice actors are NOT the same as actors.

It takes a specific kind of skill-set and training to be able to warp and meld the voice. It takes a certain kind of talent and dedication to hone that talent into the ability to meld the voice and invoke emotion with one's voice alone. Actors are used to using their voice secondarily to their body language and their facial expressions. It's all mirrored back on camera. They do have nuance. But it's a different kind of nuance and a different kind of training to produce that nuance.

Voice actors might get their likeness transposed on their character's design, and maybe their mannerisms might seep into the character's animation. But when it's all said and done: their presence is in their voice. They are bringing a character to life, showing that emotion in their voice, trying to keep a specific accent, drawl, pitch, tone in that voice and keep it consistent for their recording sessions.

The voice actor is like a classically trained musician who can play first chair in a competitive, world-renown orchestra. The actor (who fills the voice actor's role) is like a moot who played violin in beginner and intermediate high school orchestra and thinks they can get into Juilliard with that 2-4 years of experience.

This doesn't mean that the HS orchestra moot can't play. They can even be really good at it. Maybe they won competitions and sat first chair. But they are not in the same league as the person who's been training their whole lives and lives and breathes to hone their craft using the instrument and all of the training they've ever acquired to perfect it. They are not meant for the same roles. They are not in the same caliber. You do not hire the HS equivalent when you want to play complex music in a competitive orchestra.

Actors are not the same as voice actors.

And furthermore, actors - especially big name actors - taking the roles of animated characters for big budget films or TV pilots makes no sense anyways when - at least in the case of TV pilots - there's not a point to hiring a big budget actors anyways. That money could be used elsewhere (like paying your animators), and the talent that is brought onto the screen for X character could then be hired on to voice said character no recasting required.

I wouldn't say voice acting as a profession is in danger exactly, but it's certainly being disrespected and overlooked for celebrity clout, and this has ALWAYS been an issue. Shoot, even Robin Williams knew that much - which is why he tried so hard not to be used as a marketing chess piece for Aladdin and got royally pissed off when it happened anyways. People shouldn't go to any movie (but especially not animated films) because "oh famous actor is in it". People should go because it's a good movie and the voice acting is good.

People who honest to god think that voice actors are replaceable because "oh well anyone can voice act" or "I like xyz celebrity so naturally it'll be good" ... Honestly I just wish you'd reassess your priorities because you're missing the point and are part of the problem.

Voice Actors ≠ Actors.

[moeblob]

Impulsively shoving a guy's hand in your mouth after having the thought "oh just like when my little sister used to prick herself on a rose thorn" and then immediately being treated like a pet who ate something they shouldn't have? Wonderful. Thank you, Thane.

(also not pictured is Thane apparently trying to scrape your tongue with his hand BEFORE pouring the holy water down your throat because NO. BAD.)

[revrads]

I can’t stop thinking about this btw

[necrotic-nephilim]

jealousy really is the driving force of DamiTim as a ship. love that for them. love how Tim has the Robin mantle ripped away from him and he has to suffer the jealousy of watching Dick and Damian bond. how possessive over Dick Tim can be, to have him stolen by Dick.

even more so though, is the jealousy from Damian. how on earth do you cope when you finally get to be Robin, a role you've convinced is your birthright, and no one really likes you? every prefers the Robin who came before you? Dick regularly reminds you that he can always go and call Tim back when you act out? like the complex Damian has over Tim is unreal. Tim, who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and had everything handed to him his whole life. he never had to struggle or fight for his place like Damian did. Damian has spent his whole life fighting and proving himself, and yet he can't ever seem to truly claw the mantle of Robin away from Tim. even when Tim lets it go, becomes Red Robin, they seem to share it. Tim can slip back into the role of Robin whenever someone like Dick or Bruce need him to, because *he's* the Robin who they need. he's the Robin who was able to find Bruce. he's the Robin that Ra's wants an heir out of. he's the Robin who even Jason respects. in Damian's eyes, everything Damian has fought tooth and nail for, was handed to Tim.

so of course he's going to react to Tim with violence and aggression, especially after finding out Tim has contingency plans for him. no matter how much Damian proves himself, he's never going to be enough, especially not to Tim. and so his deep refusal to see Tim as family, to acknowledge Tim's legacy is all driven by such an angry jealousy. Tim understands aspects of Bruce's legacy that Damian doesn't, like the need to sweet talk and play nice with the elites of Gotham, even if they're corrupt. they exemplify different aspects of Robin, and the aspects that Tim exemplifies are the aspects that Damian knows he'll never fully understand and therefore holds such a deep contempt for. he wants to fight criminals, not play nice with politicians. Tim understands the side of Gotham that's utterly foreign to Damian. if anything, he represents that side of Gotham, to Damian. a pretty little rich boy who's nothing but a know-it-all and not a real son of Bruce. he can't be a Wayne. he can't be Damian's family.

and all of that angry jealousy leading to unhealthy obsession turned a weird, angry crush from Damian is just my bread and butter. that is how DamiTim should be. to me. Damian obsessed over hating Tim Drake so much he accidentally ends up sort of in love with him and that only makes Damian angrier. because he can't prove everyone right by *also* liking Tim. he can't let Ra's win like that, because frankly why wouldn't Ra's be delighted by Damian and Tim getting together. and it builds and builds with angry passive aggression towards Tim that culminates in angry hate-fucking-that's-not-just-driven-by-hate. love and hate are always viewed as opposites in shipping and i think they're the same intense passion just in different directions. and for the best ships, they're very intertwined. what is DamiTim is not the peak of that. "i put so much of myself into hating you i had no choice but to fall in love with you somewhere along the way" core. love that bleeds into hate and hate that bleeds into love. "you make me so angry i regularly passively try to kill you but not with any real effort because who would i obsess over if you were actually gone" core. murder attempts as a form of courting. contingency plans to take each other out as a love language. they're unwell.

[enden-k]

Another question. Can I cuddle monster Kaveh to sleep? I'm 120% sure cuddling him will solve all of my problems.

hes. um. hes a little big for cuddling AHA

(he loves nudging hthm or being close to him in general since having him, his familiar comforting presence and smell, nearby soothes his nerves and lessens his fear of the unknown. soooo, i dont think he would want to be touched or approached in this form by anyone but haitham who he trusts and loves)

[skitskatdacat63]

I went to go look at Mark on the f1tv pre-show and oh my god.....Will Buxton referenced to Oscar as "your boy" and Mark had Oscar's phone clutched in his hand the whole time, I'm !!!!!!!!!

[aroaceleovaldez]

non-exhaustive list of canon powers Nico di Angelo either has shown or is heavily implied to have:

Shadow-travel

Manipulation of shadows/darkness (also possibly use of shadows as a pocket-dimension a la Magicians using the Duat in The Kane Chronicles)

Becoming intangible/shadows

Complete control over skeletons/bones (dead or alive, including summoning, reanimation, and/or changing shape of them) and being able to sense their presence

Summoning, reanimating, commanding, and dispelling the dead/undead (Skeletons, zombies, ghosts, etc & varieties) and being able to sense their presence

Ability to understand/communicate with the dead/undead and potentially other beings of the Underworld

Inherent complete comprehension of Latin

Ability to perceive the usually unperceivable/possibly look upon a deity’s true form without repercussion (at least moreso than the average demigod, though possibly is restricted to chthonic beings) (ex: Tartarus, potentially also interacting with his parents, etc)

Interacting tangibly with ghosts (implied to be a Ghost King thing rather than a Hades/Pluto thing)

Partial or complete immunity to different effects of the Underworld/things within (can consume food/drink of or in the Underworld without repercussions, effects from the Lethe wear off over time instead of being permanent like usual for mortals, etc)

Astral projection/”Walking in dreams”

Dream manipulation and projection (Sending dreams to others, etc.) (presumably includes sharing/projecting dreams with others) alongside inflicting sleep upon others even from a distance.

Illusions

Manipulation of emotions/aura that inflicts specific emotions on others (ex.: radiating fear/death onto enemies)

Projection of emotions and memories onto others (can be so forceful it causes physical damage like a shockwave)

Geokinesis (all forms but also specifically generating black marble) (presumably also specialized control over precious gemstones & non-paper currency)

Temperature manipulation (seemingly only lowering temperature)/creating frost)

Control/manipulation of souls, including living beings (ex: ripping out Bryce Lawrence’s soul)

Perceiving/reading/judging of souls (most likely also a Ghost King thing over Hades/Pluto thing, but possibly both)

Converting living into dead/undead, aka instakill (ex: disintegrating monsters to bone with one touch)

Lowering or manipulation of own vitals (breathing, heart rate, etc)

Death Trance/pseudo-hibernation (possibly also general control over states of consciousness at least for self, in combo with control over vitals & dreams)

Sensing death (impending or when it occurs, sometimes receiving dreams/visions of it occurring)

Able to sense other children of Hades/Pluto (potentially also other chthonic beings in general/able to identify based on sense alone) and also just living beings in general, such as mortals (possibly via souls).

Improved navigation underground/in the Underworld and ability to traverse restricted or normally unnavigable parts of the Underworld

Enhanced strength/abilities when in the Underworld

Inherently unnaturally quiet (possibly able to silence sound on a designated target)

Hiding/shielding self from being perceived (seemingly related to shadows/silence)

[skeletonshower]

now why are these the faces he decides to make

[chirpsythismorning]

Fun fact: In the original pitch for Stranger Things, El had a little brother.

After being rejected by almost 20 studios for the Montauk pilot, the Duffers were finally green-lit by Netflix. It was at this time that they began casting and then writing the first season officially, which included reworking a lot of that first episode.

This led to the removal of the brother reference, and with it, removing any sort of arc El could have had about her apparent brother.

But the thing about this moment, is that it might not have been scrapped entirely...

Going into the final season, no one can explain why or how El recognized Will back in 1x02. And while there are plenty of things on the show that are left unexplained, with a small portion likely left that way with the intention to uncover it later, what sets this moment apart from the rest is that there are very few possibilities here.

Because for starters, the story presents El's ability to see people in the void in s1 as requiring either a picture of that person for reference, or having met that person before.

But when El see's this picture of Will, she's never met him before. Or maybe she has, but we wouldn't know because they never showed us. They could have just not done this scene at all, given that it's clearly a copy/paste/edit of something scrapped from the pitch. Or they could have even still included it, but explained it.

One explanation could be that the lab had shown El a picture of Will before, similar to what they did with the Russian agent they wanted to spy on. But then that begs to question, why would the lab show El a picture of Will? Why would they want to see what he was doing? That alone is incriminating in and of itself, implying that Will is more connected to the lab than we realize.

The only other, and frankly most likely explanation, would be that El stumbled across Will at some point on her journey between escaping the lab and Will going missing. This is actually something that happens in The Other Side comic, which explores all the things Will may have experienced during his time in the Upside Down.

Though it’s worth noting the comics aren’t technically canon, and I highly doubt they would outright spoil everything in relation to Will’s time there, years before it was intended to be revealed. But still, let's humor this for a moment given that I do think Will's time in the UD is going to be very relevant in s5, which means it's highly likely they will finally address how exactly El saw him.

Basically, in the comic, Will see’s El walking through the woods, almost apparition like, glowing as she passes by, while also sporting the Benny’s burgers shirt. This means they would have crossed passed within a short span of time, between when El escaped Benny’s when the agents arrived, but before she was found by the boys.

Though it’s worth noting that we’re seeing this all from Will’s perspective. This means from the UD, Will was capable of seeing El on the other side, despite them being on different sides. And not only that, but she also looks back at him.

What confuses me about this, is that it doesn’t make sense for El to be in the woods, only to randomly decide to pop in to the void for a moment. She was trying to escape the lab and everything that came with it. I doubt she had any desire to lurk back there for some reason, not until someone encouraged her to. Not to mention, it would make no sense for her to go there and see Will if she wasn't even looking for him in the first place. And so this would mean Will and El could see each other, with Will being in the UD, and El being on the other side.

While it does seem pretty far off, given that you would think Will and El wouldn't be able to see each other from different sides, it is true in the story that El not only recognizes Will, but knows that he is in danger. She mentions that he is hiding specifically.

Which means she has likely seen him within the last 24 hours regardless.

This, in combination with Will being able to respond to El in the void at the end of the season in Castle Byers, when no one else outside of Terry and flayed-Billy have been able to, seems to imply that there is indeed something special about Will that makes him capable of communicating with El from the UD. Not only that, but El also seems to have an ability to be in this constant knowing state of how Will is doing, without even checking again to confirm. She's just certain of it. And she seems terrified about it.

Going forward, El never uses a picture of Will to find him. She never did. And more often than not, they don’t show us what she see’s either, not until the very end. And that’s the moment they reveal that he was able to communicate with her.

Again, there was really no reason to have El recognize Will. If anything it complicates things. But the fact that they chose to introduce this concept, with a scene from the original pitch that was related to El’s younger brother, with her pointing at his name cryptically, startling Benny, only to revamp it and have El not say anything at all while pointing at the picture of Will, startling Mike… It just really makes you stop and think.

Which brings me to the other aspect of this that might have people doubting, which is that El’s brother was originally younger than her.

We know Will is not younger than El, so how could this apply to him?

Well, it might be helpful to consider that in the original script, El was actually 10 years old, while the boys were always 12. Meaning that for some reason, they decided to age her up to the age of the boys, aka the same age as Will…

Ever since @erikiara80 shared this brother discovery with me, I have been sort of reeling. It then led to other little discoveries of changes they made between Montauk and Stranger Things.

It’s important to understand that the Montauk bible and the original script precedes what we ended up with in the final product, with it finally changing and evolving months, maybe even a year since that original vision. Even casting occurred before writing started for the first season. We know this because casting announcements were made in June and August of 2015, with writing not starting until August going into early 2016, simultaneously while they were filming.

And believe it or not, what I've discovered is that a lot of the changes they made between their original plans and what we see in the final product, have to do with not only Willel, but also Byler.

If you've read the original script for Montauk, you'll know that Mike's crush on Jennifer Hayes was focused on right from the jump, along with the birthmark on his face being focused on, which was the main cause of the bullying he experienced.

This has actually been talked about recently, and some of the claims people make do fit with what I am genuinely starting to consider here, which is that the initial plan for what makes Mike an outcast shifted.

I think when they completed casting, and started actually deep diving into what they wanted this world to look like, both from a short-term and long-term standpoint, they were presented with some pretty interesting discoveries, arguably already hiding in their initial plans without realizing it.

And this is where it sort of becomes a 'chicken or the egg' situation. Because which one came first? Byler or Willel?

I can't say for certain, because obviously this is all just speculation. But in the case that Willel came first, I think Byler would come very naturally after that.

The Duffers themselves are twins. Then they hire Noah, who is a twin. Then they're thinking and planning for El's past and how her family all fits into this, and they're thinking... wait a damn minute... We could totally Star Wars this bitch!

And then when they think it couldn't get any better, they uncover another layer that they hadn't planned or really considered in their initial plans.

While Will was always going to have sexual identity issues according to the Montauk bible, meaning that the writing process for him likely involved sitting down imagining scenarios that encapsulated this arc for Will from the beginning, they were simultaneously now finding very interesting aspects of Mike's character that made it hard not to at least consider the possiblity that Mike is not exactly straight.

Just think about it. The Byers and Wheelers are basically polar opposites on the spectrum of what a family looks like. While Will's discovery and acceptance of his queerness is interesting to explore because he comes from a low-income, single-mom household, all while having been bullied for years based on his perceived queerness, he also has a mother and brother constantly reinforcing that they will accept him no matter what. They've been sort of hitting us over the head with it for years, and so it wouldn't be very satisfying for his entire arc to merely lead up to something we've known all along. It's pretty much a given at this point.

On the other side of the spectrum, Mike comes from a more upper-middle class family at the end of a cul-de-sac, more aligned with what a nuclear family looks like. Mike's family is also presented as being more conservative, and while Karen does give that very queer-coded speech to Mike in s1 (I'm convinced they only wrote this after deciding to explore queer-coding more heavily with Mike), it also comes with comments from Ted and even still Karen that hint that they are probably not as open-minded and accepting as Will's family is to him. Which means Mike's arc would be a lot more about acceptance around him from his loved ones who we have been led to believe might not be as accepting of his queerness in contrast to Will.

And so as they're putting this story together, and they're being presented with something very interesting. Two similar experiences that play out in different ways because of the characters circumstances.

Will goes missing, and his twin sister with a buzzcut pops up and has the ability to help them find Will.

This leads to several moments where El is being compared to as not only a boy, but Will as well.

Now suddenly, their initial plans to have Mike's arc be about having a girl be interested in him and to hopefully have his first kiss and feel like less of a loser, starts to look a lot like what the experience a queer kid in his position might encounter growing up in the environment that he did.

And if you don't want to take my word for it, just hear the Duffer's themselves hinting at what they initially planned for Mike and the fact that it changed.

The changes don't stop there.

Believe it or not, 'It was a seven', did not exist in the initial pitch. When the boys went outside bickering over Nancy, they leave right after that.

Another thing that changed from the first script, was Scott Clarke's introduction:

And so you might be thinking, who cares? What does that have to do with anything?

Well, it's interesting because the line we end up with on the show is arguably one of the most on the nose Twelvegate proofs to date. Mind you, this is from the first episode:

Why chuck the original version, which was arguably more interesting and fascinating in terms of it hinting at the mysteriousness surrounding this story, only to replace it with him listing off tips about their upcoming test?

Well, I think it's the irony of it all. Here Mr. Clarke is practically telling us where to look to figure stuff out for ourselves what is going on, with all the kids filing out and ignoring him...

I relate to Scott a litttle too much in this shot here, any time I try to drop Willel evidence.

And the changes go on, as they obviously would.

Things like Terry Ives not even being El's mom, but actually a man who more so aligns with the characterization of Murray.

And one very interesting one I almost overlooked was in Hopper's introduction, where instead of a kids drawing done by who we assume to be Sarah, we actually see a picture on the wall of him and his wife and daughter... Interesting that they decided to switch it something that is a lot less definitive in presenting what Hopper's past looked like...

If you've made it this far, congratulations.

If you still think I'm out of my mind, just remember that El was going to have a brother in the original script, but they scrapped the scene and gave a near identical one to introduce her connection to Will instead 😘

[dukeofthomas]

"Angry robin" "violent robin" "misbehaving robin" shut up and accept my alternative; spunky Robin. Determined and head strong, can out-stubborn the Batman, has a strong moral-backbone and does what he thinks is right regardless of what anybody else says, Robin. Jason who was sassy and quippy and made crude jokes with a smile on his face. Jason who hid in Bruce's cape and whispered gossip to him. Jason who, if Bruce refused him something, could keep bothering endlessly until Bruce caved. And also dramatic Jason. If Bruce tells him no, it becomes a whole theatrical show; a monologue, a narration, embellishments, and falling onto the floor in his grief upon the fact his cruel father has denied him once again.

(Jason who has suffered through abuse and homelessness and poverty and starvation, who is the Fight out of Fight or Flight, who's built up defenses and walls and when pushed and triggered responds with the thing that's always protected him; anger. He's sweet and kind and funny, and when he sees a pimp hitting a prostitute he gets furious and responds with violence.)

[starrystevie]

steve likes to drink. nothing in too much excess, nothing too terribly terrible, nothing to really worry about. he likes a beer that turns into four, he likes to throw back shots and see how long he can last without grimacing. he likes to go to the dance floor in seedy little dives or bigger clubs or house parties and twist around with his hands on someone's hips. he likes the floaty feeling he gets when his blood feels warm and his face is flushed and the voices in his head quiet down to a murmur, how he can just be without any inhibitions holding him back.

eddie isn't too big of a drinker. it's a bit of a downer really, but after watching his mom drink herself away and hearing the angry echos of his dad's screams in his memory once he'd had a million too many, drinking never really seemed fun. and it's not like he needs anything to loosen his limbs or his tongue or his spirits, he's already wild enough as it is. it becomes an unspoken rule that eddie will be the designated driver whenever the crew wants to go out even though no one likes his driving anyway.

he's ordering a shirley temple at the bar when an arm slings over his shoulders, pulling him close into the soft side of someone who smells heavenly, all musky and spicy and enticing.

"eddie," is all but yelled against his ear against the music, lips brushing over the sensitive skin there, and yep, that's steve. "hey, we going home soon?"

steve is warm from either dancing or vodka and eddie finds himself drawn in like a lovestruck moth obsessed with a bright and shiny lamp. he shuffles even closer and covers steve's hand on his shoulder with his own before throwing a grin his way. he likes how steve's eyes zero in on his mouth and the way he licks his lips before he mirrors his smile back at him.

"you done dancing?"

steve mumbles in affirmation and nuzzles his face into the side of his neck, coming around to press himself against eddie's front and wrapping his arms around his waist. there's a hint of lips at the column of his throat and fingers digging into his sides that decide to travel down, down, down and-

with a chuckle, eddie regretfully pulls away the hands that he wants around him at all times and motions for the bartender to close their tab.

"okay, stevie. let's get you home." eddie laughs at the overdramatic frown he gets in response and drinks in how steve's arms pull at his too tight t-shirt as he crosses them over his chest. he presses his hips against eddie's to get as close as possible, causing eddie to stumble back. "geez, you're needy after a few cocktails."

"cock... tails," steve mumbles after a few seconds before he snorts out a laugh and the facade of anger is gone, leaving only a wide toothy smile and pretty pink cheeks that eddie could stare at for hours. "i'll show you cocktails."

his hands reach for eddie's waist again who has to wiggle away from his boyfriend to grab his card from the bartender with an apologetic grin. eddie shoves steve towards to the door lightly, both of them giggling and happy, and admires the view as he walks behind him.

"yeah, yeah. you can show me at home, big boy."

[skylie-spiderlillis]

Long time headcanon of mine:

During the super sons era Damian turned Jon vegetarian. He lectured Jon the farm boy that he is that he's eating his animal friends and terrify Jon.

"What do you mean I'm eating a cow?! I have a cow in my family farm I know😭"

"Yeah by eating that stake you're eating your Nancy! And also Batcow!"

Damian would definitely use Jon's big heart and his shared love for animals to get him stop eating meat (good for him!).

[fountainpenguin]

Riddle watches New Wish - Post #31

The Battle of Big Wand

Part 5 of reacting to this episode (spoiler-free)!

And we're back! Anti-Cosmo and Anti-Wanda have run off and Dev is eating his feelings through pudding.

Good to note Wanda says it's been weeks since Peri granted a wish. They're so stressed out...

Their son is dying!!! Their precious baby boy they were denied for thousands of years and have only had for about 22 years!! Whom they left behind to go on vacation through time for 10,000 years!!! oh no, he's got anxiety...

From a story standpoint, I like that Cosmo and Wanda aren't "just" in a cage, and even if they were freed, they wouldn't leave their dying son to interfere with the rest of the plot if they can help it. That works great.

Aw, Peri's mumbling about bringing Dev food from the cereal bar and that's the one thing he told his parents he was excited about at Dev's house. And Dev's affected... He's wobbling...

Dev recently turned 10 and he is dealing with really heavy situations.

I like his "Aha! There!" as he's looking for excuses about why he's not interested in saving Peri.

Dev: Always with Da Rules! Holding me back; keeping me from getting what I want!!

I wish Da Rules had been emphasized more in New Wish because we barely saw them and I really think the weight they carry would make this scene stronger, but I like it!

He is having a ROUGH day...

I don't personally love the art style for Dev's tears... I think it's a bit silly for the heaviness of the scene since it doesn't seem to be dripping off his face, just kinda going into the void... It looks more like light than water, but it has a unique aesthetic and I admire that.

Something something, Dale's tears in "Lost and Founder's Day" were huge gushing fountains as he had a breakdown and Dev has rivers...

Oh, I'd know THAT look anywhere... It's how Timmy looked in "Meet the OddParents" when he was losing Cosmo and Wanda and we got "It's okay, guys... It was worth it. I'll be fine. It's all good... IT'S NOT ALL GOOD; I'M NOT FINE; I'M GONNA MISS YOU!!"

Dev is holding it the flip together if he can mirror the devastation of Timmy torn from his fairy family after 51 years...

... especially since Dale's level of tears exist in this show:

Local billionaire forced into 7 years of underground child labor, starvation, and other abuses has a complete breakdown whenever he's at risk of losing what he has now, more at 11...

And the crown is OFF... Dev once again slipping away to work things through by himself. I expect no less than him seeking solitude when things are hard... It's definitely his pattern by now.

I... didn't know there was a key, so it pulled me out to try figuring out what that item he threw down was. I think it might've been a punchier moment if that had been a bigger deal, but that's nitpicky. Alas, Dev will not be jumping in the pit.

I think it would be funny if Dev panicked and jumped into the pit and then he couldn't get out, and Irep just left him there, so he's yelling for his dad and Dale's just standing there at the top, clearly Going Through It at the sight of "deep dark torture pit hole beneath the lid that swings open like a trapdoor." Dale's been okay so far, but I feel like seeing his lookalike son in The Torture Pit would definitely be a trigger for him... Not necessarily something that would kick him into gear to save Dev, but I think it'd spook him. -> I think the Anti-Fairies should push the cage lid shut after Dev jumps down so he's trapped and screaming for help, and that really snaps something in Dale :)

Wanda still taking shots at Dev, oh no. I... don't love that, actually? He's clearly going through stuff. Hmm...

Okay. I liked the show-don't-tell we had when Dev questioned Irep why the other Fairies were here (and not just "the usuals"). And I liked how he and Irep were arguing and his dad cut in to tell him to "listen to his business partner," leading Dev to protest that they're not partners if they don't listen, etc.

This feels off? It's both a tell instead of show (Wanda telling us "I think deep down, he has good in him," which we literally just saw and have regularly seen throughout the series since he started letting down his walls), and it's kinda victim-blamey tbh?

-> Maybe I'm wrong on that, but it just... surprises me to hear that from the mouth of someone who's been in the godparenting line of work for 50,000 years. She's clearly seen this kid has issues (as early as "Peace of Pizza" when Dev hugged Cosmo who was disguised as Dale and Wanda was disguised as the boot).

-> I get that he's currently taking over Fairy World and that her son is dying on the floor... I just expected more sympathy from her, especially since she's seen Dev at his best (joking around with Hazel) and Timmy caused both her and Cosmo back-up in the OG series multiple times by complete accident and/or Cosmo and Wanda's failure to communicate their needs. That might not be canon here, though... but even if it's not, she's seen Dev at his best when he's kind, playful, imaginative, and generous towards Hazel, so I'm just really surprised.

-> I think it throws me off because Dev just saved her son's life and instead of saying thank you, she's making a point of emphasizing that she doesn't think he's a good kid unless you delve incredibly deep inside him. Oof...

OG series Wanda (actual dialogue from "Playdate of Doom"): You have to learn how to forgive people after they try to destroy you! New Wish Wanda (emotionally): This kid actually sucks. We should spit on him.

To be fair, in my second post for this finale, I did say she tends to have a black and white view of things and I cited her bitterness towards Foop, even knowing he's a baby of a wildfire species who was raised in Abracatraz. She really seems to struggle with people having facets, which was interesting.

Come to think of it, she also did this with Blonda back in the day- She was either furious with her or apologetic and accepting, but then she went full savagery again. I guess it's just her thing.

??? She also totally ripped the gold stars off Poof's Good Baby chart when she thought he was acting out against Foop during their playdate, and she made Poof watch her do it, and she and Cosmo eventually took him all the way down to zero, and... that's kinda messed up, actually. He's a good boy :( Also, something something, Wanda forcing Poof to hug Foop after Poof made it very clear he wasn't comfortable with it, Wanda too afraid to stand up to her dad in "Talkin' Trash," something something...

I think during "Certifiable Super Sitter," Foop told Wanda he was sad that his parents had "moved away without leaving a forwarding address again" and he wanted to play with dogs and fire, and Wanda immediately wanted to handcuff him, then a moment later grabbed him by the collar and yelled at him... hey Wanda. what on earth. he's bein' vulnerable...

-> Wanda stop seeing people as only Good or Bad challenge (impossible).

Cosmo keeps cutting her off about it?? She sees the bad in Dev and Cosmo seems to see the good. That's interesting.

I'm glad Cosmo is once again reaching his magical back-up threshold sooner than Wanda. He did that in "The Same Game," and his magic drains way faster than hers or Poof's according to the meters in "Grow Up, Timmy Turner." It's kind of his thing (to me).

Oh, apparently my worldbuilding notes say male Fairies drain fast and hard because their bodies are designed to release a ton of magic during childbirth, so they can't hold it in well when it's being actively drained out of them.

Yeah, that tracks. Sorry, Poof.

HEY!! I was just joking when I said Anti-Cosmo and Anti-Wanda were slipping off to canoodle and using "chasing Puppet Hazel" as an excuse, but why is Puppet Hazel here and they're not??

She gave them the slip and they really said "oh well; we tried. Time to snuggle" and this is why Irep hates them. sdfkl.

Peri is dying (This IS about him).

I like how they have to power the Big Wand with electricity kind of like how Jimmy Neutron had to rewire it back in Power Hour 1 (and forgot to plug it in).

Although, I do like how in "Crocker Shocker," Fairy World is powered by belief in Fairies... "Battle of Big Wand" AU where this episode goes exactly like "Crocker Shocker," which means Fairy World losing power also removes its ability to float, so it plunges towards Giant Bucket of Acid World and Dev has to do a total 180 halfway through his scheme to avoid a horrific death.

Actually, that's freakin' HILARIOUS. Maybe I'll write that. I just really want him and his dad to be scrambling to higher ground and freaking out. Stupid. I hate it. I need this so much.

?? I may be misremembering, but I think Wanda makes lemonade from Cosmo's sweat / dust again in this episode similar to "Nectar of the Odds" which is... hmm.

Y'know what, now that I think about it... We should never let the man who spent 7 years perfecting his skills of squeezing juice out of things get this close to Fairies. TERRIBLE idea.

[cnt'd - It would be wise to prepare yourself for Opinions (TM), and if that does not sound up your alley, no shame in that]

Ooh, there goes Hazel's rule-free wish! Restoring Fairy World to normal.

... Eh, it's not as funny as my secret hope that Hazel would be too anxious to use it and wish for something silly, but I was right with my "use it to save people when they're dying from magical back-up" theory. I'll take it.

Aw, Dev with his arm on his chair. He looks goofy for someone having a terrible day. He looks exhausted.

Mind-wiping the planet? NO! My Club Redheads Who Didn't Get Mindwiped!!

Oh my flippin' gee, it's a really, really good thing I didn't set Happy Peppy Gary up as under Pixie protection and therefore immune to mindwipes and then write a whole arc about him raging against Fairy World and hoarding all his remaining friends in this club!! It's a good thing I didn't do that!! Oh no...

It's a good thing I don't have to treat New Wish as canon in my 'fics if I don't want to. I think he's suffered enough. He would flip out. skldjf.

... Actually, I guess he's not on the planet during this part of the timeline... So he'd be fine even if he didn't have immunity. but the rest of the club is toast.

Cannot express enough how funny it is that this is the equivalent of Gary coming back with pizza and his entire world is on fire AGAIN... Jorgen stop mindwiping Gary's friends challenge... plz, no more...

They're okay!! Peri looks so tall. He's all grown up!

?? So... Huh. Hang on. Why is Peri okay? Dev didn't get involved. I thought he was dying from magical back-up because he hadn't granted any of Dev's wishes for weeks.

Can Wanda just Do That... Can she do that... That doesn't sound right.

Huh! I cannot believe I was on the right track (in my first theory post for this episode) when I said that the alt ending I thought was funny (but doubted would happen) involved Dev losing his memories and Peri, but how it would probably be a good thing for both him and Peri...

... I just thought he was going to start working things out with his dad (maybe with Dale realizing he messed up in hiring Vicky and regretting he wasn't there) and Dev might be deemed un-miserable, and... not so much because he outed magic to the world :'D

I had high hopes for you, Dev... Sorry, kiddo.

I'm so surprised. I genuinely didn't think we were going this direction?? Did... did we get any foreshadowing for this?

Fingers crossed this means more Daddy Issues episodes for Dev if we get more seasons, as I wouldn't want that resolved too fast considering how deep both their issues seem to go.

omg, is the window design behind him a copy of his game tablet?

But he's ready to face his punishment, taking accountability and accepting his consequences like a mature adult, even though he's young and broken...

... Uh, big yikes for Dev here being like "Well, maybe I deserve [to lose my caretaker and magical memories], Hazel." Big abuse cycle vibes... Uh-oh...

I hope we get a Season 2. I'd really like to see him work through this; it's a dark place to leave off ;;;

Wow. Is this really the route we're going? Dev's slipping towards "I deserve punishment and I'm going home without magic - or Peri - to live with my dad," and Hazel laughs in his face & tells him "Oh yeah, you definitely deserve it." ??

Holy cow, that's brutal. I write dark stuff all the time, but that gets to me for some reason?? Hazel, why would you say that?

Timmy "I forgive H.P. & Anti-Cosmo" Turner & Chloe "I forgive Kevin and Foop" Carmichael & Hazel "get wrecked" Wells. omfg?? I guess Timmy and Chloe making excuses for people who did bad things is also saying Something about them (which is Chloe's Thing in multiple episodes), so it's not necessarily good, but... I mean, H.P. and Anti-Cosmo did leave him alone after this point in the series apart from Anti-Cosmo kidnapping Cosmo while thinking he was kidnapping Timmy after Timmy downloaded critical life-changing info to his brain, and Foop became very fond of Chloe, so...

... Huh. I did not think I was this invested in Dev. Now I just feel... weird? Played.

Okay, so... First of all, kudos to Hazel for not throwing her morals away to chase a guy who wronged her. Respect. I said in an earlier post that I wanted boundary setting and... I guess I got it.

But... are we doing this? So, why didn't Jorgen mindwipe people after Dev became king of America? The news reporter clearly still remembered him. What's the plan if someone greets him as "former king" again? Surely he'll question that.

Why ?? is Foop still allowed to attend school in the main series despite harassing everyone, but Dev gets dunked on ?? Is it just because Foop lives in a world of microaggressions about how people don't expect him to be capable of being a good person because he's an Anti-Fairy? lmao??

It can't be that they're scared of Anti-Cosmo... School straight-up yoinked Foop's summer camp privileges.

- This is hilarious? iirc, Jorgen stopped erasing Crocker's memories after Season 7 because the benefit of him knowing (i.e. Fairies sucking power out of him) outweighed the benefit of him not knowing (which is why we get my favorite joke in Season 9 where Cosmo blatantly tells Crocker he's a fairy), but Jorgen took one look at Dev and said "Bad boy. Dangerous." -> Okay, I guess I'll just be normal about this :') - I feel like Dev would be really mad if he found out how all the other villains have gotten off easy in the past - I'm scratching my head, but the only villain I remember being punished this severely was Crocker, who suffered as a child despite doing nothing wrong (plus his multiple offenses as an adult, but he was trying to kill people) - Arguably the Anti-Fairies suffer by being locked up, so... I guess there's that. And yeah, I get that Norm doesn't like his lamp. - Okay, I guess Foop broke so hard that he developed an alt personality who sticks with him from his second appearance in Season 7 all the way through Season 10, but...

I know Dev took over Fairy World, but he clearly expressed remorse and saved Peri. So I feel weird about him going back to his dad, this time without a godparent to look after him...

... but it's horribly in character for how the Fairy Council - and Jorgen by extension - see their world. Their canon has literally always been "we use humans as a power source and dump them when they get scary," which is heavily implied to be the reason for the hard rule of leaving when they're adults, so idk what I expected...

Like, they booted Crocker to the curb and it literally wasn't Crocker's fault he lost Cosmo and Wanda as a kid. This is extremely in character for Fairy World.

Actually, I should be cautious about saying it's in character for Jorgen, who has huge issues about erasing memories and stress eats his feelings.

Huh. Y'know, this reminds me a lot of the first half of "Timmy's Secret Wish" when Poof and Foop get sent to the Hocus Poconos, but I love that scene; it's one of my favorites in the series. Maybe I'm anxious about this plot point because if there's no Season 2, this is Dev's finale. I feel pretty confident that if we had a Season 2 that builds on this, I'd like it more- It would be a step in his journey rather than the end. It just worries me to know they did this when there's no Season 2 confirmed, because that's a wild thing to drop on us in the final minutes when there's been no memory erasure foreshadowing in this episode (and not much in the series as a whole). Like... I straight-up did not see this coming. This is a total tone shift from the OG series where we had fluffier endings, so I... genuinely am caught off guard. I was not set up to expect this, even with the drama of "Lost and Founder's Day" and "Operation: Birthday Takeback." -> ?? Even with multiple days spent analyzing this episode as I liveblogged, I saw no foreshadowing for this... I don't think. I mean, sure, actions have consequences, but wowza. Maybe I'm just biased because I've been bingeing the OG series again while doing art and there are plenty of episodes that do a great job of foreshadowing (Ex: "Anti-Poof" depicting Foop sleepy and Poof taking naps before the climax where everyone sings a lullaby to put Foop to sleep). This... feels weird after days of analysis. I feel like I've been played? I did not see the set-up for this. Ah, well... can't win them all. I think I'll like this much more when there's a Season 2 that can build on this. But I'm very "Hmm" because throughout my liveblogs, a theme for me has been "I wish they'd emphasize Da Rules and consequences; I'm very unclear what New Wish's lore is" so I feel... irritated that this got dropped on us with so little foreshadowing. Alas... -> Tbh, maybe this is what Dev needs? (To not wonder if he's friends with Hazel only because "she wished for them to be?") A soft reset for him where he remembers their fun and fights without the magic might be a good move for his character to look inside himself and try to solve his problems without magic. but holy flip. holy wow, Hazel. omg, I think Timmy would be stunned if he met you. Hazel confirmed down to torment H.P. and Anti-Cosmo on international TV?? Hazel confirmed ready to dropkick baby Foop into a black hole because he's a bad little boy??

:o We never saw Hazel's mom (a therapist) work with Dev. Is that what we're setting up for Season 2? Because if that's true, I like that part.

?? I think Hazel is trying to communicate that actions have consequences, but her laughing and saying he deserves it just doesn't feel right to me. Dev (for all his many red flags) is one of the nicest bully characters I've ever seen; he clearly regretted snapping at her earlier in the season and apologized to her of his own choice.

He even came to his own conclusion in this episode that he didn't like what Irep was doing (hurting people), AND he realized his dad doesn't care for him and started working through that. No one had to carry him through that. His dad didn't have to monologue about not caring about his son. Dev put those pieces together himself.

If he'd been a harsh bully in front of the audience the whole time, I think this wouldn't feel so shocking, but considering what a loyal friend he's been to Hazel in the past (Ex: Willing to lure his dad's robots away from her & being friendly to her when she came to his birthday), this is a lot to take in right now.

I'm gonna have to sleep on this (and rewatch it without pausing; I've been working through this episode for days).

I feel bad for not loving this, but... ?? Wow. That's... a lot to take in.

So... we're losing Peri; is that right? That... kinda shocks me because we barely got any episodes of them together. Oof :( That's a super engaging dynamic... Just gone? Oh, my heart. I hope they get back together in a future season? I said earlier I liked the idea of Peri realizing he's not ready to godparent, but this doesn't give me that vibe. I wish we knew how Peri feels.

I like that Dev's taking accountability- something I remember him not doing back in "Lost in Fairy World" and stuff, and it does feel right that there would be severe consequences for his actions. I do think he admires Hazel a lot, but he needs to work on how he treats others- I agree I cannot in good conscience say he's "doing well" if we've only seen him be truly kind towards Hazel, and everyone else is unclear (and he bullied those kids in the past).

I understand why it's dangerous to allow him access to magic now that "taking over Fairy World" and "locking up and nearly killing his assigned fairy" are on his track record.

And I'm not really surprised that the Fairies, who are deeply concerned about their personal safety, are willing to take magic from him even if he has to go home miserable. I get it. but holy cow.

?? I think it makes me feel better to think about it in terms of "Yes, he'll go home miserable, but magic is a privilege, not a right". omg tho. holy flip. Actually, Fairy World did also erase Timmy's memories multiple times, both for worse and better things he did than this ("Timmy's Secret Wish" & rude clone in "Fairy Idol," which wasn't technically Timmy but they still dropped consequences on him). So... it is in character. tbh, this is incredibly funny?? It really shines a light on how Timmy's biggest strength was often said to be his imagination and creativity, and he showed this over and over. He'd dodge and weave and spin his little gears like mad, taking down the big players in the magical world left and right, and I honestly like how Chloe, Dev, and Hazel don't do that. -> Chloe managed to win Foop over because reaching out was her strength. But imagination was Timmy's. Timmy was a master at his craft. He worked hard on it. We regularly saw him take the time to think, plan, and outwit his antagonists... but the Fairies mopped the floor with Dev. omg?? that's hilarious? Dev didn't even try to argue his case, or make an effort to appeal to anybody? Incredible, actually. No notes. -> I... hope it's maturity and not learned helplessness. but... considering I said his pattern was that he kept withdrawing and relying on himself without reaching out to others for help... uh-oh..... I don't feel so good about where this is going for his mentality...

I think the Pixies should make a move on Dev and I'm not joking. The Fairies clearly don't want him and the Anti-Fairies have had their fun. I desperately want to see Dev ricochet between the entire magical world.

- World's biggest plot twist: Dev ends up fawned over by multiple species and we bring back the deleted scenes of magical dudes bugging Timmy in "Fairly Oddlympics"... Dev's now the one Anti-Cosmo bothers because he NEEDS to know if he's a good cowboy, and H.P. asks Dev if he's prettier in his dress than Jorgen and Anti-Cosmo are <3 - Seriously though, since Timmy used to play the role of breaking gridlocks when the three races argue (because he knew them all), I think Dev should do the same. Dev and his many weird uncles...

I wish we could see Dev's eyes in this scene. I personally would've liked to see his eyes the whole finale because I think it really would've gotten to me and made it hurt.

I get that he usually wears them when he's being devious or sneaky or closed-off, but it does make him feel more distant. Which is probably the point since this is a children's show and you don't necessarily want him to be seen as "the good guy" to little kids, but I would've liked to see his eyes and connect with him more.

Hm. I guess I shouldn't be surprised this was his ending. I've been told by agents that "you can't have messy moral grays like [my writing] in middle grade," and it IS a kids' show... They probably can't write him behaving THIS badly and let it go unpunished. But... hm. I guess this tracks? Foop is a non-human baby whose evil is over-the-top (laser guns, nuclear warheads, black holes, boxes full of magical spiders), so it's probably okay to play with it and still let him stay in school. Maybe Dev can't be "too relatable" with bad behavior like that. I wonder if that's why they kept Irep's cube head? I know kids' shows generally opt for simplified protagonists and complex villains (often with facial hair) to make it easier for young kids to connect with the nice protag and harder to connect with the evil villain. Maybe Irep needed to be emphasized as non-human and that's also why Anti-Cosmo, Anti-Wanda, and Dale had mild behavior in this episode.

Ooh boy. I'd like to see a Season 2, though. This is one heckuva plot twist and cliffhanger to drop on us for a season finale? For a possible series finale??

AND! HE'S! DOWN!! Memory wiped! ... unless his shades saved him, which be really funny considering how Jorgen's wearing shades to protect his eyes and Hazel had her eyes closed.

I think shades are pretty standard across the series when memory wipes come into play?? I think Jorgen wore those when erasing Crocker's memory, playing into why Cosmo and Wanda (who didn't) also lost their memories of being Crocker's godparents. Is that what we're going for? That would be funny.

No good-bye with Peri? No taking off his shades? :(

Oof. It hurts to hear Hazel write Dev off as a jerk. He IS a bully; I'll give her that. I think he should have to fight uphill to win her over again, but Hazel's thing definitely seems to be blocking out people if she doesn't want to talk (Ex: closing off when she was upset she and her friends scored poorly on the friendship test, annoyed at Dev at the end of "Lost and Founder's Day" and then walking off without giving him the chance to explain, no on-screen decompression after the "Operation: Birthday Takeback" drama beyond her very quick "Dev, what are you on about? We're still friends even though I literally yelled at you and walked off" bit in "Battle of the Dimmsonian"), which is ?? ... I mean, that is a choice for a protagonist. Huh.

-> Can't stop thinking about how in "Battle of the Dimmsonian," Dev recontexualizes what happened by claiming they had an argument, even though we definitely saw Dev being quiet when talking while Hazel snapped at him and walking off without him getting to say his piece... Like, it's been haunting me ever since I saw that episode but I wasn't gonna say it, but now I'm... hmmmm..

When people yell at ME and I don't get the chance to speak, I don't consider it an argument. That happened not long before I watched this, in fact, and I consider it the other person being rude while I held my cool and waited for them to wind down their rant. I don't consider it an argument if it wasn't mutual bickering on some level.

I... I'm sure I'm overthinking it, and I'm maybe biased by that recent yelling experience, but since we KNOW Dev has issues about thinking he's not good enough to make / keep / deserve friends, it's hard not to read this as "Dev accidentally internalized the belief that he and Hazel blew up in a mutual fight." oh boy. I'm dying, squirtle...

-> btw, I think it's fine that Hazel walked away after "Lost and Founder's Day"; proud of her for doing that if that's what she felt was best. I do think she should've told Dev sooner that she was over the fight tho, considering he clearly didn't know and legit thought she broke off their friendship. And meanwhile Hazel was like "??? Friends can fight; it doesn't mean we stopped being friends."

Hilarious. Girl, he cannot read your mind. You KNOW you snapped at him. You KNOW you didn't tell him you were over it. You KNOW you two didn't talk until he approached you first even though you were at the museum from daylight to sunset and may have even had classes together. Super interesting dynamic (and Hazel is VERY justified in thinking Dev relapsed, called her a mean name, and mugged her)...

But also, she did not let him explain the part about how he wasn't part of his dad's brain-zapping scheme or that he saved her from robots with ill intentions by taking her hat and running off, we NEVER see him explain onscreen what actually happened so she might still think that now, and furthermore... oof.

- Fair judgment or textbook case for fundamental attribution error? You decide! (Again, Hazel is allowed to be annoyed... I am just Shook). Oh, that is an INTERESTING way to differentiate her from Timmy and Chloe... holy COW... - Actually tbf, Chloe backstabbed Timmy multiple times, sold out Mark's alien identity for extra credit, and she does hate Kevin's guts, but...

Cry... S1 Dev "Maybe I deserve this" Dimmadome vs. S1 Timmy "I did something bad and I don't deserve sleep" Turner forcing himself to stay awake multiple days... ruh-roh......

I'm probably reading this wrong, but this is setting off all my alarms...

Holy flip, Dev. I've never seen a more "Aliens Exist"-animatic-coded character in my life besides Dib, and I was gonna draw it with the Crockers. I have a new vision... Like this:

... Okay, I actually REALLY want this 'fic now :'D Dev and Dale go home and both hang out in Dale's lab puzzling over the weird notes about fairies someone left behind... Theorizing together... Ya Boix sparkling water cans all over the floor... Dev making progress while Dale is doing work business, then catching him up when he comes back... Youch.

Well, all righty!! Wow. I...... Huh.

The rest of my notes have been split into several subsequent posts. They're very long as they cover reactions to the rest of the finale (Yes, I was very confused to learn the thing I thought was Hazel's rule-free wish isn't her rule-free wish) and then I'll post my reflections on the series as a whole. Enjoy, and thanks for coming on this liveblog journey thus far! Not done just yet... Heads up- If you didn't like the dip into critique this post took, you may not want to see the upcoming posts for this liveblog series, which are both positivity and critique alongside comparisons to the OG series.

Also, if you're interested in a sideblog exclusively for my FOP worldbuilding, detailed character bios, 'fics, and fanart (without liveblogs or this type of critique), you may like my @riddledeep blog.

-> I just finished tidying it after hiatus- My new public announcement (pinned post) is queued for the day after this post goes out, and maybe you'll like it. I'm open to self-advertisement for people's FOP AUs / worldbuilding blogs or AO3 series to follow, so read that post for more info!

-> Here's the sideblog masterpost if you want to browse my character bios and worldbuilding posts.

Thanks again for reading my liveblogs!

[itspileofgoodthings]

my romantic self-esteem is just absolutely rock-solid. for whatever reason!