#his actions in season 4 are nowhere near as bad as hers turned out to be | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

imthepunchlord · 3 years ago

Note

Do you have any thoughts on how the guardian role is handled lore wise? Would you change much about being the guardian?

Oh yes I do and there's so much that I would change up.

The more we see of the Guardians, the dumber they are and the more pointless they are. To a point it's a wonder if they were worth the inclusion as they don't amount to much and are just useless. I'm putting this undercut as I just go off.

- Lore wise, they set it up that adults are naturally more powerful, so why did Fu pick two kids to fight his battles for him? Why not adults? Why did he leave them on their own instead of offering them some means to have an edge over HM?

- Of the Ladybug and Cat, we have yet to see anything unique that the Cat brings to these fights that the other 15 miraculi that Fu has with him couldn't do. You need a distraction that's going to mess up the akuma? Monkey and Fox. You need a protector/aggressor? Bee, Turtle, or Dragon. Ladybug is a must as its the only cleanser so far and has ML to boot, but Cat doesn't need to be out there, and as soon as HM had quite publicly stated that he wants LB and Cat, Fu should've reclaimed the Cat immediately to secure its safety and that HM won't get both. Another or two could go out to replace it.

- Why was picking Adrien a good idea? If Fu had just arrived in Paris, ok, but Backwarder reveals he's been living in Paris for a while. And with that, he's seen Adrien's face everywhere.s Adrien is potentially the most well known kid in Pari. Technically, for Fu's want of secrecy, why pick the most iconic face in Paris to get a miraculous? That sets up one of your heroes to always have attention on him. Fu picking Adrien doesn't make any logical sense.

- Why is Fu ok with endangering one kid but not the other? Why does Marinette get a test set up that risks her life and Fu's if it hadn't gone well and Adrien just helps an old man up, a common decency that most would do. It's like two extreme differences that don't work well in comparison as Marinette gets the risky test and Adrien it looks like he got his miraculous on a silver platter as he got the far easier one that takes the least effort to be a decent human being.

- Fu being a terrible mentor and hero picker in general and the whole shebang with Syren. If Adrien is not meeting his standards or if he doesn't trust Adrien at all, why is Adrien being allowed to continue as a hero? Or if he really wants Adrien to stay, why isn't he doing anything about Adrien? Why isn't he telling Plagg to encourage Adrien to step up and get serious? If he can take on the role of being Adrien's Chinese teacher, why not do that to try and guide Adrien to improvement so he can also be trusted with Guardian secrets too and truly help Marinette out. He's got two options when he doesn't trust Adrien or finds that he's meeting his standards: he takes the miraculous back or he addresses this issue himself.

- I also call big BS about him not doing anything at all when he comes upon Adrien detransformed on the roof with Plagg. Cause he's risking himself going out to find Chat Noir only to find him detransformed. That realistically should raise some brows and concern him. Adrien at least should've gotten a lecture or warning.

- Also the reveal that kwamis aren't allowed to know about their own power. that to me is off putting. It really stresses that kwamis are beneath them, these very ancient and powerful beings that have probably seen a lot. And canon validates it by making them children (which to me is the writers being lazy so they don't have to do complex characters).

- The whole thing with Fu's backstory. Dumbest backstory I've ever heard and it just paints Guardians in a really bad light, and by extension, real life monks. Monks didn't go to people's homes to take children. If they did take kids with them, those kids had nowhere else to go and offered them a place to stay until old enough to be on their own. And that test, omg, wtf. Ok, I can get the idea of a test of temptation, but there are other ways to perform it without starving a kid. Especially leaving said kid alone unsupervised with 19 powerful miraculi two of which have wish granting abilities. How would the Guardians even know if Fu used a miraculous as they left him alone with mriaculi. If Fu wanted to, he could've made a wish to never be picked.

- Fu didn't even do shit when he finally had a chance to face off against HM. He just sat in his damb ball and allowed himself to get knocked around. At least try and roll over him! Be a ping-pong ball! DO SOMETHING. Like, why did you even pick Turtle??? Turtle wasn't able to do anything against Butterfly! I thought it could as Fu had been ready to go in Origins, plus the 5 are based off Wu Xing, by set up, Fox and Turtle should have some sort of an edge over the Butterfly. But I guess that means there could be other options aside form LB and we can't have that, Marinette's miraculous needs to be the only thing to take on the Butterfly to really stress on the fact that it comes down to only her.

- The memory wipe thing that's an apparently must when you retire from being the Guardian. Honestly I think that should've been saved as a last resort if you're ever captured and could be forced to leak info, not when you retire. Doing so removes a valid source of advisement that a new Guardian can rely on. History is there to learn from it and this tradition removes a source of history to learn from, either from having guidance or seeing what the old did and how you want to change things. This also makes me concerned as I see Adrien taking advantage of an amnesiac Marinette.

- I went off about the NY Special revealing there's more Orders here.

- And lastly, Su-Han, the other Guardian to see aside from Fu. And with him, it solidifies how stupid they all are. When the Butterfly is being misused in Paris, why is someone aggressive and judgmental coming to Paris? Why is this guy even working with kids when he doesn't like kids? And the reveal that Guardians don't use miraculi at all. That just makes that test all the dumber with testers being unsupervised. And for Guardians not meant to use miraculi, how come Marinette gets a nice perk as LB that she can pull a miraculous out of her yo-yo? They're probably playing that she's "the first" to do so but realistically, I'm pressing x to doubt. In the long history of miraculi and when Guardians were around, you expect me to believe that Guardians never used miraculi themselves? What if there was no one to turn to, do they just the disaster happen? ...Well, based on how terrible canon is setting them up, I wouldn't be surprised.

SO.

There is a lot I would change up about the Guardians and for this, I'll adjust canon.

- Adrien gets the ring another way, maybe a gift from his mom or aunt or grandparents. Realistically, there's no logical reason for Fu to pick Adrien. He just has too much attention on him and Chat being an unexpected miraculous user can make him wary, adding to him only trusting Marinette.

- I'd have Fu be more present in Marinette's life, a customer who comes in a lot. This way he can offer advise when needed but not take away from Tikki. And this has him more closely keeping an eye on things.

- I'd change up Fu's backstory. He got separated from his family in a flood, the previous Turtle saved him, tried to help him find his family and with no luck, took him to the Temple, but only the section where other orphans are where they work to help take care of it, oblivious to the miraculous near them. After a year, Fu is one of the few selected to be entrusted with miraculous knowledge. He's surprised but not all that for it as he'd rather go find his family still. Idk how Temple falls but its not that. That was just dumb and avoidable.

- I wouldn't have Adrien meet Fu at all. In truth, it actually could've been cut out entirely as Adrien meeting Fu didn't amount to anything. He doesn't help with Guardian duties, doesn't help pick heroes, hasn't stepped up at all in his role as a partner. And he's not as torn up about Fu's loss as Marinette is. Adrien meeting Fu was pointless in the grand scheme of things. Nothing was progressed or changed from Adrien meeting Fu.

- I'd have HM ONLY getting an edge on Fu because Mayura was there to help him, catching Fu off guard. I want to see the Turtle truly in action, to see what else it can do cause sitting there to be smacked around was just unimpressive. And if Asstruck even did as much research as he could, he'd know that in Chinese mythology, the Turtle is a boss. It's the keeper of history and symbol of immortality, and it's up there with Tiger as an animal that can go toe to toe with the Dragon. And of the Four Symbols (associated with 4 seasons), the Black Turtle is also known as the Black Warrior. There should've been a lot more to Turtle than just sitting in your shell and allowing yourself to be knocked around.

- Su-Han I'd drastically change up. I'd keep in him being critical and stern, but he approaches things smartly and patiently. Before he dives into aggression and accusations, he wants to know what's going on. Why does this 14 yo have the Miracle Box? How was the Butterfly obtained and misused? And what the hell is going on??? How are these people so small and how did they get into this thin glass box?? Computer? What's a computer??? Essentially, have fun with the fact that Su-Han is essentially a time traveler and one great bonding experience to have with Marinette while also offering some good comedy is him learning about the modern time and her acting as his guide. Su-Han can give her guidance that Fu hadn't been able to give, and Marinette can offer her own in a way that Su-Han will need. Which by extension could remove Marinette having a near mental breaking point and revealing herself to Alya, and could avoid some of that drama of what's coming.

- Speaking of which, Adrien. I'd use Su-Han to finally address the issues with Adrien as a hero and partner. Su-Han prioritized Marinette as she has the Miracle Box, but Adrien is someone he'd take the miraculous away from. Adrien would get a very clear warning and call out for his actions and role.

#ask Punchie #long post #Adrien salt #Fu salt #Guardian salt

96 notes · View notes

shoichee · 4 years ago

Note

teiko manager anon back ~ my juicy part 2 will disappoint bc guess what: we're skipping two years into the future. akashi never found out what happened, and by third year the gom were the epitome of cruelty. so reader picks a fight with them after meiko game, only to collapse out of stress after. they graduate, she follows kuroko to seirin and they train to defeat gom. but why is she so insecure and easily sad when gom is mentioned? they get their answer when they catch her overworking

oh teiko anon, so so bold.... really out here stirring the pot of chaos with this part 2 huh KEK alright folks BUCKLE IN YOUR SEATBELTS IT”S TIME FOR PART 2 and part 1 is right here ! part 3 will be here ! update: part 4 is here !

Akashi x Reader

Part 2

[Teiko!manager Headcanons]

remember how I said in part 1 how Akashi would find out sooner or later? this would normally be the case, but in this exception…

you came back to school pretty quickly and restored, only to be in shock when Akashi himself confronts you about where you’ve been… like hello? YOUR CRUSH?? is? talking? to you? about your wellbeing?

here’s the thing, Akashi can easily detect lies through body language because he has an extraordinary sense of kinetic vision and critical thinking, but he’s still a human, not to mention… a middle schooler, and he’s not a true mind reader as some teammates would wholeheartedly believe

still, after some easy sleuthing he easily drew out confessions from some teammates who badmouthed you, although every single one were some type of half-truths and inconsistent testimonies that didn’t really make sense in painting a big picture

instead of incorrectly assuming things, he wanted to hear what’s been going on from your own mouth (keep in mind, this is still Oreshi, the guy who’s still cordial and wants to confirm this with you out of respect)

when he asks you some questions, he doesn’t detect any physical signs of lying from you, which only makes him believe that there wasn’t anything wrong to begin with other than you being under the weather and the other teammates saying utter nonsense either out of fear in his presence or using you as a scapegoat to cover up other delinquencies that he may have yet to discover

“(l/n)-san, I take it that you’ve been resting well? I heard from Kuroko that you were absent due to the seasonal flu.”

“Ah, y-yes! I’ve actually gotten plenty of rest and proper meals, so I’m back on my feet quicker than expected.”

“I actually also wanted to ask you something, if you don’t mind?”

“What is it?”

“Has anything odd happening to you lately? Anyone who has given you trouble or has been uncooperative with you as head manager as of late?”

at the question, you only frown in genuine confusion before you answer no; you genuinely believed that these teammates weren’t in the wrong for “speaking their mind” and if anything, you felt like you were the problem in not being capable enough in managing your own job and your health in the process (despite being knowledgeable in health yourself)

because Akashi saw that you weren’t lying, he dropped it completely out of respect and asked you that if there was anything troubling you that you could reach out to him

oh how he was so, so close to finding out the truth

this wouldn’t be brought up ever again because you and Akashi only continued to grow busier and busier with your own duties; eventually, your fears came true when the Generation of Miracles had in fact “left” you behind when their talents blossomed too fast and left unchecked

honestly, you developed a horrible habit of overworking despite Kuroko’s and Kise’s constant checks on you

what do you know? of course the coaches and faculty members would ignore your opposition against putting the GoMs in every game; after all some of them had been quite dismissive of you already

it’s kind of ironic because if Bokukashi was the one interrogating you back then, he would’ve either easily (correctly) assume based off of the teammates’ testimonies alone, or he’d be a lot more insistent in discerning the truth of the situation and nipping it right in the bud to stop the “nonsense”

but at the same time, Bokukashi has a lot more pressing priorities than a few poor-attitude teammates when he has the entire reputation of Tekio’s legacy on his shoulders; anything pertaining to you never crossed his mind ever since his domineering side emerged

you were really excited for Kuroko since he was gushing about playing against his old friend, since his friend couldn’t make it to finals the first time // needless to say, you were also Kuroko’s mental support when he felt really down at that time

after Kuroko sustained an injury in the game before Meiko, you immediately accompanied him to the infirmary

there, Kuroko requests you to go watch the game and you only reluctantly agree because you wanted to see the game just to relay back to Kuroko just in case if he couldn’t make it, and you were still a manager with a job to fulfill; you’d figure leaving Momoi to watch over was sufficient enough

when you walk out the door though… you bump into Akashi, which is the first time in a while where you two were face-to-face like this; your heart sank when you realize that you had to accept the fact that he’s changed and allowed the distance to grow between you two

but a small part of denial makes you quickly turn and flee out the hallway, but you really begin to evaluate your crush on him as you scurry away; Akashi just stares at you for a moment before he enters into the infirmary where Kuroko is

you’ve distanced yourself from other people (GoMs in particular) in basketball out of denial of the fact you were really left behind (plus, you already dread attending to their games because it’s always a cruel reminder that you’re not working hard enough to achieve results of the same level), which is why reality slapped you in the face after the aftermath of the Meiko game… when you witnessed the full extent of their cruelty on the court

you were really hurt—in fact, you looked more distraught than the Meiko teammates themselves

especially, since the fact that Kise himself, who you thought of him as someone you can trust in, partook in this as well (this is actually your first time in seeing his cruel side in action, since he’s always been very sweet and helpful to you because he respects you)

you first confronted Kise when he was alone for a bit, sounding absolutely heartbroken and on the verge of tears; you shocked him out of his cold side and he immediately becomes a mother hen and asking if you needed water or a seat to calm down before you overexert yourself

after telling him your feelings about the game and your growing distance in the friendship, he sincerely apologizes for making you feel in such an awful way and tells you to let him know next time before a game, so that he wouldn’t suggest this type of entertainment for the game again.

you were in complete disbelief… the fact that your best friend suggested this himself? You dumbly asked for his reason, and he only says that you wouldn’t understand it because no one ever gives the GoM a proper challenge

even though he didn’t intend anything bad when he said this, it just made you feel worse, but you still accepted the apology to get it over with

the other GoMs come and you immediately become angry again and tension just skyrockets; Midorima simply looks away and says nothing, and Murasakibara and Aomine do most of the talking back/arguing… and Akashi only impassively stares at you

later, when Kuroko himself confronts them while everyone was walking in the hallway, you completely lagged behind on the group, tearfully staring at the backs of the GoMs and how you felt really alienated and unmotivated to continue being a manager for a team you don’t even recognize anymore

you grew dizzy again, and you knew your body was dealing with too much at once but you willed your body to at least last the trip

at least you gave a warning when you assumed that you were away from the GoMs at Teiko before you went unconscious; Kise happens to catch you before he brings you to the school infirmary

he does stay with you the entire time, knowing the reason for your collapse was all the extreme emotional and mental toll accumulated in such a short time; he feels absolutely guilty, and when you were about to stir awake, he simply leaves a lighthearted note and a cutely shaped bread before he leaves, knowing that you’d be stressed again if you saw him (around this time is when Kuroko confronts Akashi to quit the team, which is why he was nowhere near you at the time of your collapse/rest)

you felt better that at least Kise still sees you as a close friend when you see what he left behind

you still feel awful, to say the least

it felt wrong of you to quit mid-season, since you felt that you were simply giving up and further perpetuating the fact that you weren’t doing the most that you could

but you didn’t feel like staying for the rest of the season, so you decided to overwork yourself again to get the rest of the paperwork and training plans out of the way for the remainder of the games; you even left detailed instructions to Momoi in how to relieve certain pressure points and muscles for instant relief in case someone hurts themselves

a little timeskip where you decided to tag along Kuroko in attending Seirin High, but you were more reluctant in joining basketball again because you didn’t want to re-experience the stress and burdens in Teiko

well, until you made friends with Riko, and her story in how she was skeptical about basketball at first too inspires you to give it a try again

Kuroko feels really happy that you’re at ease again for the first time, but he definitely notices how you grow gloomy when the Seirin teammates praise the GoMs

you slowly relapse into the habit of overworking to “compensate” for your lack of contributions to Seirin’s team, but this time, every member DROPKICKS you to stop working and relax sometimes (Riko and Hyuuga are the main culprits)

even though you never tell them the reason for your poor habits, the Seirin team members just SENSE and KNOW what to say to make you feel like you’re doing more than enough to support the team in their own unique ways (Mitobe giving really cute shoulder pats and thumbs-ups… Koganei giving you slaps on the back and high-fives… Riko bluntly telling you to relax and giving you encouraging winks… Hyuuga being a roundabout in his praises… Teppei openly praising you… and Kagami telling you that you were doing too much LOL)

Kuroko gives you the SOFTEST SMILES (everyone freaks out every time he does that, it’s hilarious)

however, wounds slowly reopen more once again every time Seirin goes against schools that the respective GoM plays for

after every win Seirin achieves against the GoM’s respective school, each GoM would eventually learn a little tidbits here and there about your tendency to overwork and collapse and possible speculations of why, but you never confirm anything with them

even though you easily forgive Kise after the Seirin vs. Kaijo match (seeing how he interacted with Kagami and Kuroko in the park), for the others… you weren’t so ready to confront…

… particularly with Akashi

#knb #knb x reader #knb headcanon #knb headcanons #teiko #knb teiko #akashi x reader #akashi seijuro #akashi seijuro x reader #kuroko tetsuya #kise ryota #kise ryouta #aomine daiki #midorima shintarou #midorima shintaro #murasakibara atsushi #teiko middle school

291 notes · View notes

queer-crusader · 4 years ago

Note

How do you think Silver & Flint's relationship would have evolved if things hadn't ended the way they did in S4? How do you think things would have progressed through time? I tend to think about the what ifs a lot. I'm just curious what your thoughts are on it.

OOFT. I mean i have many thoughts! It’s... very hard to say really. Because i think one thing Black Sails does incredibly well is the way it builds a story and a character. Many choices made in this show are so dependent on what the characters want and who they intrinsically are and how they influence each other (willingly/knowingly or not), and i feel like there are many very complex interwoven roads that led them to the conclusion they got to. Which is one of the many reasons the finale felt like such a tragedy; you know things are going to end badly because you kind of see it coming. And dear god it does hurt, even with Flint being reunited with Thomas.

So. I think there are two ways to answer this question, and you can sort of divide them into canon-ish versus fanon wish. These may not exactly be clearly indicated bc like i said i have Many Thoughts, and i apologise in advance 😅 Another thing i’ll be looking at here is something we had to lay out for our characters when i studied acting - the goals/objectives/motivations of the character, and their emotional/mental state. None of this is meant to be critical against any character. I simply adore analyising them and the paths of the story, and I love each and every character i talk about here deeply.

So, looking at that finale. There’s several things that i could take from what you say about things not ending the way they did - for now, i’m looking at the confrontation between Flint and Silver in the woods, where Silver forces Flint to quit his war and reunites him with Thomas.

Firstly, let’s analyse what we get from the canon, and what i believe motivates these characters to bring them to the point they end up at. There’s that famous line i think of Silver where he says he doesn’t know anymore where he ends and Flint begins - their thinking patterns have become so intertwined, they basically share a braincell. The tricky thing about this is, just because he and Flint think similarly, share tactics, and a knowledge of how to use people in their means, just because they understand each other well, doesn’t mean they share opinions and morals. Flint especially seems to forget this. He believes Silver is with him in his cause to end Imperial rule. But from Silver’s final actions, it’s clear Silver values his personal wants and needs above that of this abstract crowd of people. He’s not oppressed - or hasn’t felt the effects of Imperial/religious oppression (as far as we canonically know) like Flint and Madi have. And that means he doesn’t have the same drive. He’s driven by his personal connections to these people, i believe, purely from his own point of view. Like, i suspect he struggles to place himself in the shoes of Madi or Flint to feel their pain and motivation. He can see it, he just... doesn’t fully grasp it. (There’s also a question of whether he wishes to, but i feel nowhere NEAR qualified on answering that, nor do i think the canon gives us enough material to give a perfectly cut & dry answer.)

So you have this big miscommunication. Flint believes that, because he and Silver have basically become one shared braincell, they have the same goals, while Silver is still driven from a point of selfishness. (Side-note: there was a moment in the show he became selfless! He wouldn’t give up his crew when faced with torture from Vane’s quartermaster! But then he lost a leg over it and it seemed to dampen that selflessness. I think from there on, moments where he seems to be motivated by the good of the crew come instead from an internal need to belong and be loved more so than a genuine sense of brotherhood. That brotherhood may still have been there, but i think he might have suppressed that instinct a little and instead let the more selfish needs take more of a front seat. Understandable and not bad/evil, like that’s super valid of him. But my point is, he’s not exactly ready to fight for another man’s cause he doesn’t have as much of a personal emotional profit in, especially when he knows it’ll end in certain death for everyone he cares about and he knows cares about him.)

So that’s sort of where the characters are mentally in that climax. I may be skirting details and summarising a bit hastily, but it’s also been a GOOD while since i’ve watched season 4, so i apologise. Flint (and Madi as well - she plays an equally important role i think!) is fuelled by a mix of rage born from oppression/discrimination, and a protectiveness for others who may suffer the same fate. Silver meanwhile is fuelled by a need much closer to home - to be loved and to keep those he cares for and deems important to him alive and around. I’ve framed it as their emotional drive, but really it is also their goal, their objective in that finale. Flint and Madi are looking to burn down an oppressive system while Silver... isn’t. For him, their goals stand directly in the way of his. And by the end of the show, he’s gained enough power to prevail in his objective, cancelling out those of Flint and Madi.

So, could it have gone differently? I think, if we wanna play with canon and keep it as close to canon as possible... It seems almost impossible. These people’s goals just do not align. (There’s that sweet sweet tragedy again.) So what you need for it to go differently in short is for one of, if not several, of these people to change their goal. But we’re talking their MAIN objective, their main driving force at this point in the show - so like, the chances of that are slim. ESPECIALLY if we’re talking about the canon characters. After all, for that, the characters would need to look inside themselves and fucking face up to some of their issues and work on them. (This is something which these characters are not very prone to do, bc jesus it’s a mess in there and if that were me i’d preferably not turn introspective either and be forced to look at all that.)

So if we wanted Flint to change his goal, he’d need to come to terms with the Empire being untouchable - which is bullshit bc like my man has a POINT, just because they seem to be able to be brought down doesn’t mean they ain’t - and to accept the homophobia and oppression they treated him and Thomas with, which, yeah fuck that, absolutely not, his rage and his goals are valid as FUCK. If we wanted to change Madi’s - lmao like listen i understand wanting her and Silver happy together bc we ship EVERYTHING in this house, but she’s poc and proper royalty and wants to end slavery. We ain’t touching her goals. So that just leaves Silver. Silver would need to face a part of himself that keeps him from placing Flint’s goals, or Madi’s goals, over his own. (I suspect we circle back to that insecurity and need to be loved, which defo stems from whatever trauma he swears doesn’t affect who he is today.) So for that he’d uhh... need therapy. And a shit tonne of it. But then you still have the issue that Flint and Madi will likely fight their war (bc they DESERVE IT), which may lead to what Silver considers inevitable - that they will die early and horribly, and he ends up all alone.

So, looking at playing with the canon-ish to change things? It’s gonna end in tragedy. There’s doesn’t seem any other way about it, i fear; not with the way these characters were written, with who they are and what drives them and what they want. If it doesn’t end in tragedy in one way, then almost certainly in another.

So what are our other options? What if we look at the fanon wish - whether it’s silverflint, or silvermadi, or madisilverflint, or just to have these kids be fucking happy? Well, you know what? Maybe it DOESNT have to end up in tragedy. Maybe, if Silver does align himself with the goals of the people he loves - after learning to communicate and place himself in other people’s shoes and prioritise the needs of his loved ones and compromising and all that jazz (god this boy needs therapy that only the fanon can likely give him, rip) - he could join them in their war. And maybe, his genius and creativity and quick wit will in fact propel their cause forward and help so much, none of them dies an early gruesome death. It’s not impossible! It just requires that sweet sweet character growth he doesn’t get the opportunity for in canon.

Another option, and this one is perhaps a little more plausible if the show had no episode limit or a desire to end in tragedy and “align” itself with “history” (they’ve played fast and loose with real history i’ve learned, and like,, it’s a story about fictional characters so why did it have to align itself with history?? Okay fine, as a prequel to Treasure Island, it still needed to end in tragedy for Silver bc we know where he ends up. Were there no Treasure Island and no rules and we could do what we wanted with the show and write a new ending, then what?). This one is more popular, you see it in loads of fics and i like it a lot. Silver sends Flint to the plantation. Flint and Thomas break out and get their war anyway. They’re pissed at Silver for a bit for being a selfish dick shitting on Flint’s dreams, but like,, it’s not as if it stopped Flint. (We can even look at it like Silver knew they’d probably fight their war and have better odds with Thomas in the mix, giving them a better opportunity - but like, that’s just a fun headcanon to play with that i don’t think aligns with what he explicitly states to want in canon.) And then, after some years, everyone learns to communicate and talk things out and maybe, maybe, Silver grows a bit and things become healthier between him and Flint.

Listen, the moral of the story is this. I love all the ships in this show. I think they’re all neat, and i love the different iterations in which people bring them to life and try to align them with canon. Do i think that with the canon we’ve been given, silverflint could happen? Maybe. Would it be healthy?? I mean... Probably not 😅 but like, that doesn’t prevent me from shipping it. (That’s not the point of shipping - sometimes you just wanna see that sweet sweet chemistry pay off, even tho u know it ain’t healthy. The characters are fictional. It’s okay. No-one will get hurt - apart from maybe you if you end up romanticising it and taking that into real life but ooft that’s a whole other kettle of fish.) But god, that’s the fucking JOY of fanfics ya know?? It may also be why i enjoy writing my modern au so much xD therapy is an option, and canon means even less than usual. All im saying is, when it comes to the relation between silver and flint, the fan community are a fucking godsend. You want them to be friends?? We got fics for that! Want them to bone? SO many fics for that! Want a sort of father-son role?? Uhh nowhere near enough fics for that, but the fandom’s still active so you never know! Partners in crime?? Hell YEAH that has potential, even in canon i think if u just stretch out fan-written episodes far enough!! (God can you imagine the POTENTIAL?? Ignore the war, the grittiness, the drama. Get me some pirate hijinks where the stakes are low but they’re still sharing a braincell.)

(Hmm. Now i need to add another idea to my WIP list lmao xD)

Anywayyy, hope this satisfies ur curiosity anon!!

#sorry it took me 2 days to answer #i just have Many Thots™ and i wanted to give this the care it deserves #i swear when i saw this question i was like 'you ask MOI???'#thank u so much tho this was so much fun to delve into #analysing character objectives and obstacles was one of my favourite things i learned studying acting #black sails #black sails meta #anne speaks #questions answered #anon #also id like to point out once more that jusr bc im critical of these characters doesnt mean i judge or hate on them #i ADORE a flawed character like thats literally the sexiest thing #okay okay im off to bed #writing ideas

29 notes · View notes

itsd-man · 4 years ago

Text

My retrospective on the Star vs. the Forces of Evil Series Finale, 1 year later.

One year ago today on May 19, 2019, the Series Finale of Star vs. the Forces of Evil episode “Cleaved” aired, thus marking the end of the series. I just want to let you know that Star vs. the Forces of Evil was one of my favorite animated shows during the latter half of the 2010s during my late teens into my early adulthood, I loved the characters and the storytelling and if I’m a bit biased, Starco, but despite a few hiccups, I do think that overall It was a good series that I believe that people should watch. You may not entirely agree with everything I have to say, but I want to talk about my further opinions on the episode Cleaved and a few episodes before that as a whole, and why I didn’t think the episode is bad as some people have said.

Some fans and critics felt that the ending was rushed, and incomplete and left many plot points open, many accused of Star committing a “Multiverse Mass Genocide” and only Destroyed Magic, all because she thought she’d never see Marco again and that it’s the only way they’ll be together, which rubbed some people the wrong way, with some thinking it’s the “Worst Series Finale of All Time”, or something like that somewhat making me feel guilty, but I wanted to give an in-depth, level-headed approach to this, and why I think there’s some good in it.

I just want to let you know that while I thought for the most part Season 4 was okay, I would be lying if I said it was far from perfect, or downright terrible. One of the many plot points during Season 4 was Mina Loveberry becoming the big baddie at the end of the series, while I did like Toffee during Season 1-3 his arc was pretty much over when he was defeated by Star in “Toffee”, I felt like Mina wasn’t exactly a competent villain, but okay, given the whole Monsters are evil towards Mewmans. It was interesting to see why a Mewman like herself doesn’t like monsters from a Mina’s point-of-view. It’s not uncommon for a series to have more than one villain and Star Vs. is no exception.

The whole Mewmans’ prejudice/racist against Monsters was a thing all the way back in Season 1 of the series, Star hated Monsters at the beginning, and that’s why she kept fighting them, prejudice towards something doesn’t happen immediately, it’s taught, which Star learned that it wasn’t right as the series went along.

Now, one of the other reasons why some think that people didn’t really like Season 4 or Season 3 to an extent, was the somewhat fast-paced, Romantic Relationships like with Tom and Star, and Kelly and Marco. Really, I didn’t mind it, but I mainly didn’t really think that Kelly and Marco’s short stint was very necessary down the line, and the break-up in “A Boy and His DC-9000XE” felt underwhelming, to say the least. It was the show’s way of portraying that in Most Teenagers like Marco, Star, Tom, etc the first person you meet or date isn’t necessarily going to be the perfect match.

Next, one of the other aspects I want to talk about is when Star’s Mother, Moon Butterfly, conspiring with Mina Loveberry to overthrow Eclipsa’s reign as queen, helped the Magical High Commission and freeing Globgor in “Cornonation” and betraying Star and Eclipsa’s trust, but I want to explain why this isn’t completely out-of-character for her.

Moon when she was about Star’s age, was a carefree young teen until her Mother, Comet was tragically killed by Toffee, and that forced her to make a decision with her life, and that’s the starting point of when she had a grudge against Monsters. Moon only did what she thought was best for her people as Queen even if it wasn’t her intention of risking their lives in doing so, which gave her the nickname “Moon the Undaunted.”

You kind of have to look at this at Moon’s perspective, she was fully accepting of Eclipsa being queen, relieving her of her stressful life of being queen, even at one point rejecting Mina’s plan overthrow Eclipsa, until she saw Mewmans being kicked out of their homes, that and she Inadvertently caused the Realm of Magic to be partially corrupted after that fight with Eclipsa’s daughter, Meteora in Season 3′s “Tough Love”, it made Moon struggle with herself in that she was no longer the queen anymore and being a commoner, that made Moon decide that she should take back the title of the queen because she Eclipsa was being incompetent as ruler of the kingdom. She explicitly said to Star and doesn’t trust her and distanced herself from her all because of those past events.

To further drive that idea that Eclipsa was “unfit” to rule Mewni, was when she used the Spell With No Name on the Solarian Warrior in the episode “The Right Way”, in which really took a lot of energy to use, but Eclipsa didn’t mind doing it, but Star was hesitant of her decisions as well.

I just want to let you know that Moon is not an “Evil, Heartless Person” who wouldn't do something like this, just for the sake of doing so. It’s well, she felt separated from her family, especially from her daughter, for trusting Eclipsa, and in a way, she felt like Star liked Eclipsa more than her, but she what she didn’t expect when trusting Mina in trying to make Eclipsa stand down as queen was she underestimated Mina’s mental health when making those Solarian Warriors.

Moon didn’t want Eclipsa hurt, or any other Mewman or Monster to get hurt, she thought she had everything under control when she tried to undo the Solarian Spell, which ended up backfiring on her causing Mina to turn on Moon. I think that the writers were trying to convey that Moon is a complex, flawed character and that even good characters can make mistakes, but I think it could have been explained much more in my opinion.

I love Moon, she is one of my most favorite characters in Star Vs., behind Star herself. Honestly, I was shocked it happened, it wasn’t particularly my favorite aspect from Season 4 to say the least. But that didn’t stop me from not liking her near the end, which I’ll get to soon.

All of these events ultimately decided for Star to reconsider if using Magic was worth it after all, as she claimed that Magic causes more harm than good, and while I didn’t think the aspect was terrible, it was just that it was sudden.

Magic was a core aspect all the way at the beginning of the series, and the sudden misconception that all Magic is evil was based on Star’s tough decision can come across as a misunderstanding, and in Star’s mind, she thought if no one had the ability, then she can be able to defeat Mina and her Solarian Warriors as a last-ditch effort, and that no one including Mewmans and Monsters can use it for evil purposes anymore, but she also thought that while also doing that, her best friend Marco, who is now her boyfriend, may not be ever seen again.

This is probably one of the more divisive opinions here, in “Cleaved” when Star ultimately decides to destroy the magic, and doing so would also mean the Magical High Commission (Rhombulous, Omnitraxus, Hekapoo) and most notably Glossaryck, and the First Born as well as most likely some spells in the wand would cease to exist.

People compared Star’s actions to Toffee’s attempting during “The Battle for Mewni” when he attempted to get rid of the wand, when really, Toffee only wanted to destroy magic, not for the good of Mewni, but to get back at the Mewmans for the generations of prejudice against them (and to a lesser extent, Moon in particular) for severing his finger on his hand, saying that She fulfilled Toffee’s goal, but really, Star’s reason for doing it was completely different.

This was considered a “controversial” aspect in the series because critics and fans thought it implied that Star intentionally caused a “Mass Genocide” and not just a Mass Genocide on Mewni but implied the entire multiverse in the show and that ideology somewhat alienated the fanbase after that and people were extremely upset about it. It was, in my opinion, based on misjudgment.

In my opinion, I don’t believe Star is a genocidal maniac, I’m sure the wasn’t the writers’ intention to imply that Star did something as barbaric just because she was angry, or that she’ll never see Marco again, which it’s just simply not true. It was more the lines like a “Sacrifice for the Greater Good” with the past Mewni Queens helping Star, Moon, Eclipsa, and Meteora helping her. It upsets me and it still does that some would think that, but this is the internet where you’re free to make an opinion. It just doesn’t mean I have to agree with it.

It was meant to symbolize the end of the troubled history of the most particularly, the Age of Monarchy and Magic in the Butterfly Family, and as far as we’re concerned, all of the Magic Spells were tied to Mewni and the Butterfly Family reign, and nowhere else in the Multiverse, and with the Former Queens who aren’t alive anymore, their souls could finally be in peace now that it’s over.

Also, the scene where Star went back and left her family to be with Marco on Earth, but she sees Marco hasn’t left even after the portal to Earth closed. It symbolizes how much she cares about him and is willing to leave everything being just so that they can be together, and that even that without Magic that they belong together, so what happened was their love (and a last bit of magic) caused this blue portal to surround them causing them to go back to their respective dimensions.

After they destroyed the Magic, Star is back on Mewni with her mother, Moon finding her. The Monsters were free from the Solarian Warriors, and Mina was defeated. Although Moon tried to help her out, she still didn’t learn her ways after that, and said that there will always be people like her who think differently from one another, and escaped into the woods. What I think was an important message learned while watching the series, is that no matter how hard you try, whether in fiction or non-fiction, racism and prejudice will always exist.

After that, Moon apologized to Star for everything that she’s done and Star and Eclipsa ultimately decide to forgive her, which if I’m gonna be a bit biased here, that aspect is really why I loved “Cleaved” the way it did because Moon as a character means so much and it shows that someone who seems to be a stuck-up, uptight, queen at the beginning of the series who’s had issues with monsters can have a change of heart at the end. Star and Moon although not always seeing eye to eye, still deeply love each other and I couldn’t have it other any other way.

I don’t think I could ever like the Series Finale is that wasn’t the case with Moon, even if the pacing was a bit fast in that matter.

They also showed Kelly, Jorby, and Talon in their respective dimensions which to some may not find very satisfying considering they are now stuck in their own respective dimensions.

Later on, it shows what happened to the Magical High Commission when Magic was destroyed and we see that they were only reduced to Inanimate objects like Omnitraxus which only his skull remains, and Rhombulous’ Crystal Shell and the two snakes he used for hands are just normal snakes, which shows that yes, they’re gone, but they’re not wiped from existence, although Hekapoo and Glossaryck’s remains were unknown.

Then in Mewni, we see a blue portal glowing in the air, similar to the one that Star and Marco created when they hugged each other in the Realm of Magic. Marco now in Earth recovering from being impaled from a Warnicorn, but now that Magic is gone, it was healed, and that’s when he also saw a blue portal.

That’s when Star and Marco race to the portal as it’s shrinking, and while Star did, Marco misses and there was a big explosion, devastated that Marco may never see her again, but nevertheless, he sees Star and they both see a new world among them where both Earth and Mewni are Cleaved Together, and they’re happy to see each other once again, knowing they’ll be forever happy thus concluding the series.

The definition of Cleaved means to split or divide or to adhere closely, stick, cling, or remain faithful to, or to put it simply: to take Something (or Someone) apart or bring them together, and that’s exactly what happened. Star thought the only way to solve her issue was to Destroy Magic and risk never seeing Marco ever again, which technically did, but their love eventually, caused their worlds to combine into one. So no, Star and Marco didn’t intentionally destroy magic just for the sake of being together with Marco, when it was actually the complete opposite of what happened. Again, she destroyed Magic so that no one could use it for harm anymore. It was meant to convey the idea that solving one problem, creates another and overall it created new beginnings for the characters.

Star could have chosen to not go the Destroy the Magic route and Star, Eclipsa, Moon could have used their magic to try to defeat Mina, but Star didn’t want to take that risk, possibly towards the Monsters losing their lives. What I like about Star of how she evolved as a character is that she is willing to take risks in her life, for better or worse. Star only wanted to live a normal life as a Teenager and didn’t want to deal with the stress that came from her family’s history of Magic anymore.

I know some people liked the Series Finale and the two characters Marco and Star being together at the end, while some didn’t really care for that particular aspect (Starco or wanted a different/no ship for Endgame), which is understandable, but that’s the kind of story creator, Daron Nefcy wanted to tell, even if the pacing felt a bit too quick, and unfortunately some critiques didn’t really catch on to that kind of storytelling. Nefcy stated that the would love to do more with Star if Disney ever decided to make a continuation of the series in some form.

Then there’s the idea that Earth and Mewni cleaved together being a bad thing, because of the supposed consequences it may bring like “Will Humans respond kindly or unkindly to the Monsters from Mewni?”, “Will society crumble in this new world?”, “Will Humans try to retaliate against the Monsters?” Basically, having a pessimistic approach to this, and while it’s not an issue to have this kind of conception, I think it’s mostly just overthinking it a bit too much, which again, rubbed some people the wrong way. I guess there’s some questions we’ll never have an answer to.

Obviously, if you’re looking at this from a realistic point of view then yes, you would have some questions regarding that issue, but in Star’s world, it’s not particularly meant to be taken all that seriously. It’s only a fictional cartoon, not everything has to make complete sense.

They’ve even hinted at the idea that Earth and Mewni would be cleaved as far back as Season 2 in the episode “Into the Wand”.

Again, the idea of Star creating a multiverse Genocide spanning the entire multiverse in the show is absolutely ridiculous, as the series never implied it one bit near the end of the series, we can see lots of other Mythical Creatures still exist like the Dragon Cycles still there, Warnicorns, Mermaids, Monsters, the Ponyheads, are there, the Laser Puppies are just regular puppies, meaning they haven’t completely vanished, again the Magical High Commission may no longer exist, but again they’re reduced to mostly inanimate objects.

I would be totally lying if I said “Cleaved” was the worst series finale ever, or that I absolutely loathe it, I’m more upset that I’m kind of in the vocal minority, though you have every right to agree or disagree. Were there some aspects in Season 4 or the series as a whole that I wished could be different? absolutely. You have to understand that no series is perfect no matter what you watch, I don’t care what anyone says, all they can do is try, The crew is aware of the criticism the finale got, and they’re not happy about it, the writers tried to do their best, and unfortunately, not everyone liked it A.K.A. they’re sorry if you weren’t satisfied with it.

If you think “Cleaved” could have been longer or was rushed, it’s okay to think that, but if you want to make it Technical, the last four episodes of the series were all connected together starting from “Mama Star” all the way to “Cleaved”. So think of the Finale as one big 2-Hour Special similar to how the first four episodes of Season 3 was labeled as “The Battle for Mewni”

In conclusion, if you were happy with the series as a whole, then good for you, if you weren’t then I’m sorry to hear. Maybe try to look at the Series Finale episode differently if you weren’t happy, and take my thoughts' and opinions into consideration, and maybe you’ll see it in a different tune. This took nearly two months for me to type this, but I think it would be worth it in the long run.

This show meant a lot to me in my late Teens going into my early adulthood, and I’m sure there people who still love it today, even with its shortcomings for generations to come. I can’t imagine living without it, and I’m sure others feel the same way too. This series, in my opinion, has some wonderful characters you can probably relate to like Star, Marco, Jackie, Janna, Moon, River, Eclipsa, Ludo, Toffee, for example. They’re far from perfect and that’s exactly why I love them so much.

I’m not saying your opinion on the Series Finale will change, I’m saying maybe don’t take it too seriously. Maybe see it in a different light. After all, it’s only a fictional series. There’s nothing wrong in discussing and giving thoughts about it, but at the end of the day, it’s only a cartoon, they don’t have to be 100% realistic. Once again, I think Star vs. the Forces of Evil is a charming series with fun, loving characters an interesting story, and important life lessons along the way. This is one series that will forever hold a special place in my heart.

#star vs. the forces of evil #star vs the forces of evil #svtfoe #star vs foe #disney #disney channel #disney xd

112 notes · View notes

jamiejohnsontalk · 4 years ago

Text

LGBT Representation in Jamie Johnson as Compared to Other Kids’ Media

Pinned to the top of my blog because I’m quite proud of this post, and I still want newer followers to be able to see it.

From what I know, LGBT representation is relatively new in media. Not just kids’ media, but media in general. I don’t even think I knew what gay meant until I was like 11. And I didn’t know that religions didn’t exactly have the greatest opinion of gay people till my GCSEs. In that sense, I was lucky. I knew I was gay before I knew what homophobia was, so I have always been comfortable with who I am. But others didn’t have life that... Well, simple I suppose. I’ve always known who I am, but other people, well, in the worst case scenario, gay people can become homophobic themselves and grow to hate themselves. This might seem like a sidetracky introduction, but I think it shows the importance of LGBT in media. For someone like me, it can help to start to normalise gay people to my family. Even though they’re still homophobic, at least they’re able to watch programmes with LGBT characters in. I met someone who’s dad wouldn’t watch any shows with LGBT characters in it. And for how rare gay people used to be in media in general, they’re even rarer in kids’ media. Why is it that Disney Channel only had their first gay main character in 2017 when homosexuality was legalised in... 2003 in the US. Wow, I can’t lie, I looked up that statistic expecting it to be way earlier. OK, but it was legalised in 1967 in the UK. So why did I never see any gay characters in my childhood? I’ve known I was gay since I was 9, but I must have first seen a gay character in, OK, it was Doctor Who. Captain Jack was pansexual. So I did have some LGBT representation. But there wasn’t much. And again, not in kids’ media. So, let’s look at some of the kids’ media that changed the landscape for LGBT rep in kids’ media. Sarah Jane Adventures and Wizards vs Aliens We’ll start with what I think is probably the worst types of LGBT representation. First of all: Wizards vs Aliens. Benny came out. But I can’t remember the show ever talking about it again after he came out. Sarah Jane Adventures. Yes, it’s not Russell T Davies’ fault that he never got the chance to let Luke come out in the show, and yes, he got to have Luke come out in the memorial episode for Sarah Jane on YouTube, but even before Liz had... Luke had left the main cast, so his coming out would have still meant less to audience members. Gravity Falls had a coming out at the very end of the show, and I believe so did Adventure Time, so they fit in this category too. Compare that to Dillon from Jamie Johnson. Yes, there’s a reasonable chance we won’t see him again after this season, but if it is, he gets to leave on a high. We get to explore his coming out journey. Steven Universe Steven Universe is great for LGBT representation, and it’s great for normalising LGBT representation. You’ve got a huge variety of LGBT characters, because the Gems are all gay (Except Rose). So you can understand that there are different types of gay people (Love Victor did that too, but I’m not sure how many people would watch it). Steven universe is definitely the gayest kids’ show. High School Musical the Musical the Series fits in this category too. Carlos is out and proud. And we don’t see his coming out, more his love life. Again, great rep. Normalises gay people. Jamie Johnson is nowhere near the level of gay that Steven Universe or High School Musical the Musical the Series is, but I think that it’s less meaningful than other shows I’ll mention and Jamie Johnson. It’s the same reason Victor said “Screw you” to Simon at the beginning of Love Victor. We don’t want to see gay people who have it easy. We want to see gay people who are like us. Who have been through stuff and have come out the other side alive. We want hope, but that doesn’t come from seeing gay people who have it easy. I see people playing football and risking corona and I’m jealous. I want to play football again. I see gay people have it easy: Same. I wish I could have it that easy, and it makes me sad. Steven Universe is a great show, and has great rep, but I think even kids’ media should have something closer to home. Andi Mack and Diary of a Future President I love how they portrayed Cyrus and Bobby. We got to see Cyrus’ story from realising he liked guys to being able to say “I’m gay” to showing his crush he likes him (though homophobes can pretend the bench scene was just a friendship scene). Cyrus’ arc was great, and the bench scene was perfect and the only problem with it was that it deserved a fourth season so we could see Cyrus and TJ in a relationship. Diary of a Future President though. I was heartbroken when Bobby didn’t come out to Liam. But then I found out there was a season 2 and I was OK, because it’s hard to come out. It’s as if all the shows make it so easy to come out to the first person, but it’s not. The first real life person I came out to, I came out at 22. And they had come out to me first. And I had to write it down on my phone. I couldn’t say it out loud. So yeah, seeing Diary of a Future President take it slow is amazing, and I love it, and it’s also what they did with Dillon. Some people think that they only really intended for Dillon to be gay from season 4. But, I think that they’ve known since the beginning. I plan to do a character analysis on Dillon after my rewatch, but I think I found something that shows they must have known since at least season 2. (I expect the analysis will be a lot shorter than this. Sorry for the crazy length. And if it’s a crap read. I don’t essay well). But if they knew from the beginning, that was a brilliant move on their part. The only thing that makes me unsure is how Dillon took 3 years to realise he might be gay, but it’s possible that he denied it to himself until he realised Elliot was gay. Because there’s no way he wasn’t thinking he was gay in season 4 episode 5. He didn’t think he was asexual, his reaction to Ruby’s foster mums suggested that he was interested because they were gay. But regardless, I love that they took it slow. Not everyone can come out as easily as others, and having someone like Bobby, or like Dillon, is so much more meaningful than Cyrus, even though Cyrus is an amazing character. Bobby and Dillon are more relatable because they’re finding it tough to come out. The Dumping Ground I kept trying to decide whether I thought the dumping ground or Andi Mack/Diary of a Future President had better LGBT representation. In the end, I decided that I preferred the Dumping Ground’s representation. Yes, in Andi Mack and Diary of a Future President, we get to see the coming out journey of Bobby and Cyrus, but even though Andi Mack touched on homophobia, a lot of people didn’t even realise Kira was blackmailing TJ, making him afraid of how people would react if they found out he was gay. A number of people just thought TJ was being an idiot. But the Dumping Ground had a gay couple wanting to foster Gus. And IIRC, Johnny thought it was wrong because they were gay. Something like that would foster (see what I did there?) potential discussion between parents and children about gay adoption. Some kids watching the show might have been gay and if they watched it with their parents, they could talk about it with them. Gage their reaction. Maybe even come out to them. The Dumping Ground’s episode was great. And then May-Li came out. And we never got to see her full journey, But we did get to see her journey to being accepted by her grandmother I think. And that’s something. And Now On To Jamie Johnson Just like the Dumping Ground, Jamie Johnson has been able to tackle serious issues. I mean, season 1 dealt with Jamie’s cheating father. You’ve got Zoe being a carer, Dillon getting diabetes. But in terms of LGBT representation, it’s season 4 and season 5. Season 4 episode 5 was incredible. I remember telling all my friends about it, and how amazing it was that CBBC were doing this. To recap: Ruby said her heroes were her foster parents, causing Dillon to ask Ruby about it. She thought he was being an idiot, even though in actual fact, he was excited that someone else was gay and trying not to show it. Dillon told his dad that Ruby had foster mums while he was telling him how Ruby’s biological parents weren’t in her life anymore. Liam, Dillon’s brother, used it to rile up Ruby’s sister Alba until she attacked him. She probably would have gotten expelled from the club, but Sienna filmed the incident so everyone found out what really happened, and it was Liam who got expelled. I think Alba only got excluded. What I find really awesome about the storyline though is not just that they had it. It was that the consequences of Liam’s actions set the course for the rest of the season, aka Dodgy Duncan. Liam’s actions caused the club’s image to go down the drain, and sponsors to leave, and that’s what made Duncan turn to the dark side. And it’s a subtle way to just say “Homophobia is bad”. Because Liam’s homophobia caused all the problems in the rest of the season. The First Time Dillon Let Himself “be Gay” Dillon took a long time to come out. And, like me, I think for a long time, nobody really suspected he was gay, in real life or in the audience. He never really showed it. I’m pretty sure when I was a kid, I would act super offended and upset if someone jokingly called me gay. So, yeah, it’s a slow burn. And we didn’t get any hints that he was gay, but that happens. Gay people are good at hiding, I think that’s why gay kids are often portrayed as loving theater. They already have to act their whole lives. It’s not easy to be in the closet. But I think that once Dillon was able to leave his father’s shadow, he was able to be more comfortable with himself, leading to him coming out to Elliot in episode 7. I think he had crushes before, specifically Michelle from season 2, but Elliot was the first time he felt like he could be himself. So here we have two massive points from other shows, but they haven’t been done together. The discussion of homophobia in the Dumping Ground, and the Slow Burn from Diary of a Future President. Social Media Presence Andi Mack made a huge deal about Cyrus being gay, like a week before the episode where he came out aired. HSMTMTS had Carlos be a gay stereotype from the trailer, and OK, Steven Universe was always gay. But Jamie Johnson, and the Dumping Ground didn’t make a big deal about it beforehand. They didn’t scream to the world “Look at us! We’re woke!” They showed it. They let people see for themselves, they let people debate for two weeks on Dillon’s sexuality, and they didn’t tell everyone that this was the episode Dillon would come out (though they made sure that everyone knew they should watch this episode). They just let people see for themselves. And after the episode aired, they made their move. They had the Jamie Johnson logo in rainbow colours to celebrate pride, they had a guide on how to react if someone comes out to you, and they had a history of pride, and I expect they’ll do even more on their social media after this week’s episode. @tkstrand reckons the Delliot post is Jamie Johnson’s most liked instagram post. I don’t know whether the other shows did this, but it’s a great gesture regardless. Oh, and there’s the fact that they’re doing a Bafta zoom conference on how they tackle issues. Choosing the Right Character and Breaking Ground for CBBC A lot of people on Instagram said that they thought it was Boggy who should be gay, and while I think either storyline would be great, I think that the writers made the right decision. 1) Boggy is an amazing person. He’s not afraid to be himself. I think, if Boggy was gay, then he wouldn’t have as much trouble coming out as Dillon is having. Of course, Boggy is going through stuff right now, but I still think he would have been a lot braver than Dillon and so we wouldn’t get the storyline we’re getting now delving into homophobia 2) If Dillon does have a minor or major role in season 6, we might get to explore homophobia in professional football, which would be super exciting 3) While Boggy is an amazing character, I’d reckon kids tend to gravitate to the coolest character as their favourite. And while Boggy radiates cool. (Seriously, check out the two posts I made on how sarcastic he is. And just look at his hat at the beginning of episode 1!

But Dillon is the more traditionally cool character, so he’s more likely to be a fan favourite (that and the fact that he’s the best developed character in Jamie Johnson). So for those who aren’t necessarily homophobic, but don’t really understand homosexuality, Dillon is the perfect choice to have written as gay. Because after next week, the people who don’t believe Dillon is gay might leave the episode with a new understanding of LGBT people. It’s been done with TJ, who’s also a cool character, but people who want to ignore the gay subtext can because it was never said out loud in the show. And I reckon Dillon is a groundbreaking character for CBBC. Benny left soon after he came out, Luke left before he came out, May-Li is part of an ensemble cast, so in terms of a small number of main characters (the core 4 in JJ being Dillon, Jamie, Zoe and Boggy), so I think Dillon is the first gay main character (not ensemble character) on CBBC who has gotten a major gay storyline. Could be wrong, let me know if I am! Groundbreaking in General From what it looks like, the next episode is gonna focus completely on Dillon’s coming out storyline. Forget kids’ media, I don’t think I’ve seen an adults’ show that has an entire episode solely dedicated to an LGBT storyline. (Even Reunited from Steven Universe wasn’t completely focused on Garnet). Love Victor was jam packed with side stories and I think even Real O’Neals always had side stories to it. If another show has done this, I’d love to hear, but if Jamie Johnson really has the whole episode dedicated solely to Dillon, I think it’s huge. I only hope it doesn’t mean that the storyline will be forgotten about in the last 4 episodes, but since the head writer of Jamie Johnson is LGBT, I have no doubt they’ll do it justice. Does Jamie Johnson Have the Best LGBT Representation in Kids’ Media? No, I don’t think it does. Andi Mack has 2 seasons where we follow Cyrus on his coming out journey and Steven Universe has a lot more LGBT people, including a non-binary character. But in the aspects Jamie Johnson does well, it excels at. The homophobia storyline(s), and Jamie Johnson’s instagram presence. And having the best developed and best defined character be the one to show kids how to treat gay people. Thursday could be a historic moment for Kids’ television if they do this right, and I think they will. So I hope that everyone enjoys the episode! No, I swear this wasn’t a long promo for the next episode. No, I am not sponsored. Yes, this post was extremely long, I’m really sorry about that. I hope it’s worth the read. If not, don’t worry, this will almost definitely be my longest post. No, I don’t know how to have a “continue reading” button. Does anyone happen to know how? Thanks! Edit: Apparently 4 O Clock club had a gay main character first, so I got that wrong, but I still hold that Jamie Johnson is groundbreaking.

#jamie johnson #delliot #lgbt representation #analysis #long post #Seriously this is a super long post

44 notes · View notes

coplins · 4 years ago

Note

(1/3) Thanks for responding. I totally see the queerbaiting/kill your gays criticism - it's clear from Misha's comments after the fact that he really thought he was doing something supportive and didn't get how it was the opposite. I wasn't upset with ignoring Eileen because that whole plot was so badly written, and I didn't mind blurry wife because that was a story they'd never have time to tell, so leaving it to be your choice of wife/co-parent (Jared's words) worked for me.

(2/3) I don't see Dean's lack of reciprocation as a problem because Jensen and the showrunners have continuously said that is not their intent in writing/acting that character, so anything folks read into it is subtext. Again, Misha thought it would be better rep than it was. It was a bad call. John isn't canonically a child abuser, just a lousy parent. Both Dean and Sam have done so many crappy things as well that honestly, they shouldn't be there by that metric either. 3/4) But I don't think the finale (awkwardly written as it was) cancels out their character development at all. They are different people - back at the starting point, but not the men they were when they started. Dean is emotionally open; he's dropped acting tough and can talk about his emotions. He can be alone and be okay. Sam is no longer afraid of his blood or turning into John; he can be a good dad. I wish we'd seen Jack and Cas, or heard them at least wish them well, even just a prayer. (4/4) But even though that was crappy to leave out, I don't think it negates the show or the characters. 19 added Cas and Jack's names to the table, and I can be happy with that as the final episode. I was prepared to pretend it didn't exist before it even aired. I AM really glad you're anti-harassment. The shit that even folks like Kripke have been getting on their pages has made me so sad. Dabb posted something about baboons and folks even thought it was about them, not his new show! (Also, sorry to dump like a huge text thing in your inbox. It's totally fine that we disagree on things. I've just seen so many crazy things like people blaming Jared and saying the episode was an ad for Walker and to boycott Walker - a ton of Jared hate in general, really. Or saying Jensen "Destiel Isn't Real" Ackles is secretly a heller who's been viciously silenced by the powers that be for years. And now Misha's getting dogpiled for trying to interact and understand how he fucked up.)

It's fine, Nonnie. :)

Okay, so, just to make one thing clear. If you enjoyed the finale, then I think it's great. For everyone who didn't get their joy sucked out of them, that's awesome! I got to see the Wincest side of my Tumblr dash go apeshit from happiness and I'm happy for them. I've since had to unfollow some of those blogs when they turned bitter and hateful towards those of us who didn't like the ending. I curate my Tumblr (internet in general) experience to avoid seeing hate thrown at ships, actors, characters, fans, or people in general. I unfollow people if they post too much toxic stuff no matter if they're Destiel shippers, angel fans, or whatever part of fandom they're in.

I try not to reblog too much angry/bitter crap either. There are a lot of posts on my dash that I wholeheartedly agree with but don't belong on my blog. And I've written my share of wank and rants over the years but seldom hit post because I don't want to ruin someone else's positivity. When I do hit post I tag it "spn wank" so it can be avoided. If I need to angry-rant I do so in chat. Sometimes I mess up. There are undoubtedly some less than nice posts in the Buckleming wank category on my blog.

Generally speaking, my M.O. is disengaging and/or vote with my wallet. I will never condone cyberbullying. No matter how famous the person, or how nasty they are, harassment isn't okay. Actions have consequences and I try to think of what they are before I act. If I vent hurtful opinions about an actor, it'll be kept in chat, with someone who understands that particular frustration. (Not related to the current situation.)

When it comes to canon, it doesn't matter what showrunners or actors tell us about how it's meant to be interpreted or how they meant to act it. Canon is what's shown on screen, period. As curious as I am about what the actors have to say about things, it isn't important regarding canon at all. I'll stan my boys no matter what their characters get up to on-screen. <3

Yeah, I've seen the theories and the dogpiling. Luckily, I've avoided seeing the Jared hate but I knew it would be there because the internet is a cesspool of people lashing out aimlessly or misdirecting their anger. Even IF they wrote the finale in a way that they thought would put a spotlight on Jared's upcoming series, HE was nowhere near a position of power to make that decision and should be left out of it. I just figured, if it was true that that's what they thought, then the Wincest bunch was their target audience for the new show. *shrug*

Interesting to hear your take on the finale. If I follow people who have your take, they're not vocal about it, or I'm simply missing it because I don't stalk Tumblr. All it takes for me to stop scrolling and go back to my writing is 3 unknown anime posts in a row or one reader-insert fic and I'm nope-ing the hell out of here. X)

I'm not going to argue against any of your points. It's great that you saw it that way. Fuck, I wish I did too.

I kinda feel like I need to address the child abuse comment I made, though. Some separate neglect and abuse like those aren't the same, some only count physical abuse, others include verbal abuse. Too many of my loved ones (both close friends and family) have experienced all three of those categories and the one who was left alone to care for her little sister as a child, definitely has a lot of mental scarring from it, so I'm counting neglect as abuse. That said, I fucking love John Winchester. So it might be Jeffrey Dean Morgan's charisma, so sue me. But John canonically neglected the hell out of his sons. We got proof of that even in this season when John drops his son off for days in a town where kids have gone missing recently. So, yeah... But, on the other hand, of course both he and Mary should end up in Heaven. Like, that wasn't even a question.

I think my strong reaction against it was how every part of the found family the Winchesters had gathered over the years was erased from the narrative as soon as Dean died. The only one who is shown as important is Bobby, a found-family member that initially was connected with John, not someone the brothers had found and connected with on their own. Bobby is also the only non-Winchester in the photos Sam has over his bed when he's dying. I don't know, man, "Everyone's here," simply doesn't do it for me.

"Family ends with blood" like the finale implied, only works if the greatest monsters in life haven't been family members, and my best friends (twins) growing up, just like my mother, were abused, mentally, physically, and sexually, by parents. I've seen the aftermath of those hellfires, how long it takes to assemble the fractures of your being and become, if not whole, at least functional and happy. For them, it was the friends they made along the way, those who loved them when they couldn't, who really mattered.

And that was one thing I really loved about SPN (and still do). Team Free Will. Wayward Sisters. All the people that they met along the way and connected with. I've loved to see Sam and Dean develop their bond by taking it from unhealthy, destructive co-dependency to step by step with several setbacks become their own individuals with lives outside of each other, yet still having the strong bond full of brotherly feels where the love they had for each other was rooted in respect for each other's differences and not who they "were supposed to be for each other". And unlike you, I can't see anything but regression in how the finale played out.

Okay, I gotta stop talking now. ^^ I have one scene my betas told me I need to rewrite in my next chapter, and another chapter half done, and I'm itching to post so I need to get on with it.

I hope I didn't put too much of a dampener on your enjoyment of the finale. My opinions don't matter. We all come from different life experiences and therefore find different things compelling and important. I don't begrudge anyone their happiness. <3

*Hugs*

#anonymous #spn finale #supernatural

7 notes · View notes

filthyjanuary · 4 years ago

Note

7-12 and 16-20 for the asks!

7. What do you dislike about your favourite season?

i think season 2 is the best, but as i’ve said before, my favourite is 4 solely because the first few eps i watched were from s4. i think season 4 is very solid and even though it’s a season that HURTS BAD because of everything happening between sam and dean, i think the show earns the conflict for the most part. the literal only thing that still haunts me is that the STUPID VOICEMAIL THAT GETS ALTERED IS NEVER ADDRESSED. like i hate more than anything that sam still thinks dean said those things. like i know jared’s said that sam knows dean loves him but i don’t care!!! sam /and/ dean deserve to know the voicemail was changed.

OH also literally everything with anna milton. she deserved better <3 sorry the fridged you and gave part of your arc to a man, queen.

also sam and dean should’ve found out cas let sam out of the panic room.

8. Thoughts on Sam’s demon blood arc

i love sam’s demon blood arc. his hot girl summer! in all seriousness, it makes perfect sense. mystery spot sets it up that sam goes dark when he doesn’t have dean, and s4 is the natural progression of that. i love sam being hellbent on revenge, and the blood drinking was hot sorry not sorry. like obviously the end result wasn’t stellar and the handling of the demon blood as an addiction was handled rather shittily in the show, but overall this arc is near and dear to me and if i couldn’t have the boy king, i’m glad i got this instead. and it brings up some really interesting concepts that get explored really well in fic.

9. Thoughts on the Moc arc

i hate this arc mostly because like dean was terrible...which makes sense, but even after the mark was gone it’s like... he never /really/ pulls himself out of that place. it also just dragged on for FAR too long. like it didn’t need to be like 30 episodes or however long. i do like that it gave us demon!dean being like sexythreatening, and that scene of sam cradling dean’s face and begging him to tell him that he had to kill all those people and just the general sam is dean’s colette of it all. also the end of s10 with sam on his knees and dean telling him to close his eyes is deeply fucked up and i love it for that reason and obviously that happened bc of the MOC storyline.

10. Fave underrated ep

i am highkey obsessed with 1x04 phantom traveller, 2x07 the usual suspects and 4x19 jump the shark and i feel like most people don’t really care about those episodes or bring them up much. phantom traveller is just interesting bc i think the character moments are fun and i am obsessed with plane crashes for some reason. the usual suspects i just adore because it’s really a great exploration of HOW WELL sam and dean know each other and just how alike they are. and unfortunately i really like the cop lady in this one. jump the shark was the second episode of supernatural i ever saw and for some reason something in my brain latched onto adam and never let go. i love him so much (i know it’s not really him in the ep but ukno) and i love how much you learn about sam and dean through it too.

11. Thoughts on BMOL

boring. like...the actors were not good at their accents. they wanted what bela talbot had in s3. i just didn’t find ‘the british are evil’ a compelling storyline in a supernatural show.... like girl i live in real life you don’t need to preach to me about the british. also like they set up ketch to be evil like worse than toni who i already hate because she tortures/sexually assaults sam by having him kill magda i guess? but then they end up redeeming him and he survives longer than both mick (affectionate) and toni (derogatory), like seriously one of the worst Big Bads they’ve ever had.

12. Thoughts on Mary

to be honest, i think bringing her back was kind of a stupid idea in the sense that the ENTIRE SHOW starts because of her death. but i felt like HAVING DONE THAT, trying to deconstruct her image as like this nuclear housewife was compelling and the whole clash of sam and dean who just want their mom versus mary who left her kids as a an infant and a small child and now has these grown men who are older than her needing things she doesn’t know how to give was very interesting. and i wish they’d done more with that.

16. Any criticisms of their world building/lore

well i think everyone’s said it better than me that they can’t seem to get their stance on monsters straight at all and the show suffers for it. i also hate how like the later seasons especially just blatantly retcon so much. the prime example is the garden of eden in s5 vs s15.... the s5 version was so much more interesting and i hate that they brought it back just to destroy their own lore. the whole concept of the abrahamic god being like the ‘real’ god vs other gods just being minor annoyances didn’t like...make sense or feel good either. i also would’ve loved more exploration of like what the fuck it means to be a vessel and also exploration of other monsters/urban legends. like ok we get it ghosts/demons/vampires/werewolves sure w/e but there’s so much to pull from. it got repetitive and there’s so many other things they could’ve tried. hell the SECOND EPISODE of the show mentions black dogs and we never actually encounter one. or like chimeras... like there’s just plenty to dig into and they just get lazy.

17. What did you like about s15?

15x20 <3 also just...jack....that’s my son! MICHAEL/ADAM IN 15X08!!!! i think there were a couple moments i liked in like...the gambler and last holiday, and i thought belphagor was funny. oh! also sam’s nightmare visions were kinda fun even tho they led back to lucifer :/

18. Thoughts on Lucifer

he was a really excellent and intimidating villain in s5.... and frankly i enjoyed hallucifer as well because sure he was presented comedically but he was a deeply dark presence hanging over sam as a reminder of what he suffered. everything after that...sucked!!! it sucked!!!!! overstayed his welcome, letting him out of the cage again totally nullifies sam’s sacrifice and frankly he lost every smidge of intimidation factor he ever had. he was just annoying and whiny and pointless and sam should’ve killed him <3 fuck that guy.

19. Most uncomfortable moments throughout the show for you?

answered here

20. Define the different eras in a few lines or words (s1-5, s6-7, s8-11, s12-15)

this was meant to be short... and then it wasnt... sorry.

kripke: PEAK SUPERNATURAL. racist AND sexist but like i frankly do not care because the actually storytelling is so GOOD. COHERENT. i long for what could’ve been had the strike not kneecapped s3 and we’d gotten boyking, but hell the arc we DID get... so good. so fulfilling. aesthetics go off the charts. character dynamics so good!!! conflicts are earned!!!! there was a fucking vision here and it was unique and interesting and the show was COMMITTED TO IT. literally iconic television i love her so much. eric kripke needs a therapist but i’m glad he wrote this show instead of going to see one.

gamble: sera THEE gamble.... overarching storylines kinda weak, but SO FUN! i had fucking fun! soulless sam is a comedian, godstiel was the last time cas was remotely interesting, like!!!! she gave us everything!!!!! gets slandered way too much by this hell fandom like yes the leviathans were stupid but the were FUN and the character moments in s6-s7!!! so good!!!! lots of excellent MOTW eps as well, which... as we know...i love. when the show lost gamble, it lost something great, i’ll die on this hill. i love u #girlboss.

carver: there’s a lot of good here and a lot i despise. dean steadily grows darker throughout the show but there’s like a real VEER into being awful in s9 that the show never recovers from. it makes dean very unlikeable for the rest of its run, mostly by virtue of the show not realizing how unlikeable it’s made dean because it needs him to always be right so the fact that he’s basically turned into john is never like....addressed in any meaningful way. some storylines (MOC!!) dragged on for too long, while others were way too short (TRIALS!!!) but ultimately i think there were some good ideas here and moments i’m fond of. season 11 is Beautiful. i love her so much. there’s some really excellent eps in s11 and the character moments are good.

dabb: i literally hate it here (jack sweetie you are not included in this assessment you’re doing great). it was just stupid. the characterizations of EVERYBODY sucked and fell flat. way too obsessed with pandering to the loudest faction on twitter. took the wreckage of dean that carver left and full destroyed him. like straight up could’ve done something meaningful if they’d bothered to address it at all but they literally didn’t ever make dean be accountable for his actions??? can’t tell u what cas was doing it was so forgettable he obviously had no purpose literally the only scenes i remember were a couple where he’s being cute with jack and that one ep where he and sam go to that old-timey town and sam gets brainwashed. sam like... exists, and his character is intact but it’s only intact because the writers that were left didn’t want to bother giving him anything meaty to do to so the were like *spins wheel* leadership arc that goes nowhere, and he just exists being kind and compassionate and putting up with too much shit. BUT HE HAD REALLY FUCKING EXCELLENT MOMENTS WITH JACK and that alone is why i think it’s worth the slog. sam/jack is my favourite dynamic on the show following sam/dean so...unfortunately based on that.... i can’t just burn the whole dabb era but seriously... way to make every character a hollow, one-dimensional shell.

send me supernatural asks

#ALLISON THANK U I LOVE U #asks #spn #long post #so-excuse-my-tantrum

3 notes · View notes

b-listbadboy · 5 years ago

Text

Castlevania Season 3 was disappointing

(Spoilers for Castlevania Season 3, if you haven’t seen it yet it’s out now on Netflix. I suggest watching that first before reading this review)

I won’t say it was an awful season by any stretch of the imagination but man was it a drag to get through.

Almost nothing of significance happens for the majority of the season and the things that did happen felt extremely off and weird. 10 episodes, 25 to 30 minutes each, and every single one except for the fucking TWO LAST EPISODES were spent dicking around with a mystery that had little to do with anything from season 2 beyond a really out there twist that I’m sort of iffy on. Top that off with a lackluster arguably stupid ending to leave us off on a needless cliffhanger, and that’s the magic remedy that will leave me feeling pretty damn frustrated.

The best parts, in my opinion, were with Isaac’s massive undead crusade he was waging throughout his journey for revenge, and Trevor and Syph’s interactions with each other as well as with the little villagers. Isaac’s arc going from a servant of Dracula to slowing evolving into the master of the damned felt genuine, intriguing, and badass! I really wish he was the next main villain instead as it makes sense thematically. He carries out Dracula’s nihilistic views of humanity in a similar but now more direct way and that can lead into something really intriguing. However, for some reason, this season left him and his whole journey on a back burner, and virtually everything else that is implemented into main villain role fell flat on its face execution wise.

For example; The new vampires of this season are Camilla’s three other empress sisters, and while they do have a plethora of personality at the very least, that kind of comes at a cost of the main threat being extremely diluted. We go from this hurting sympathetic undead overlord with the power of an anchent GOD, to a couple of wicked sassy sisters who just wanna eat people forever? It’s a bit lame of a progression from what we once had, we know Vampires like to eat people that’s nothing new or exciting. There’s no real twist to it besides it being “led by women in the dark ages” and granted that makes sense here since it IS the dark ages, but come on we literally just had arguably the BEST adaptation of friggin’ Dracula! This shouldn’t be all they got moving forward from that.

Now, I have ZERO issue with the main antagonists being female or even two of the four sisters (not by blood don’t worry) being a lesbian couple. I hate that I have to emphasize this, hell I often defend Cinder Fall in RWBY more than anyone in the fandom at all despite her issues as a complex and sometimes flat out badly written character. However, The four of them in this season have the most basic of plans that it seems arbitrary status quote fluff at best. It felt like just because it’s Castlevania, we HAVE to have the vampires as the villains. Even though in the games the Belmont’s were literally fighting werewolves, dragons, skeletons, and the GRIMM REAPER??

Therefore, the sense of urgency and tense calculating plans of ‘survival vs extinction’ is completely gone. And yknow in a way, I can kinda initially SEE that working in a sort of “Empire Strikes Back” esque plot. Yknow, with Alucard and the gang go around cleaning up Dracula’s leftover horde only for Isaac or even Camilla to have this huge vengeful comeback of dominance? But there’s no one exactly “striking back” or even taking any kind of immediate initiative after Dracula’s death. It’s been MONTHS after the whole event and no one seems like they really care about that world changing event from the last two season’s. Everything is fine and dandy, no one has a single worry in the world! How enthralling...I miss Godbrand 😑

Besides the plan the four empresses have as well as Issac’s revenge, which I hope will both be more explored in season 4, no one really has any goal to warrant THAT kind of length of a season. This is more of a Netflix problem that I have with most of their shows and it’s one of the reasons why I don’t like watching them. Almost every singe show Netflix produces now, feels the need to overstuff itself with needless filler that gets us really nowhere until the very end where it SUDDENLY all comes together. But because of the nature of binge watching and considering how Netflix wants to desperately keep their subscriptions in fear of intimidating competition, they make these shows 12 episodes long with HALF HOUR OR MORE amount of filler content that’s supposed to satisfy us cause it’s “cute”?! No, stop this shit! Granted, Castlevania wasn’t nearly AS bad as the live action shows, but honestly, what exactly was shown to us that couldn’t have been reduced to like 5 solidly paced episodes focused on one or two plot lines ONLY like before? It worked perfectly back then, why change what ain’t broke?

As much as I don’t like the immediate rush of Trevor and Syph’s out of nowhere sexual relationship, I didn’t overall mind it too much since they still somewhat felt consistent. Their characteristics play off very nicely with one another and it’s pretty easy to see the chemistry between the two....HOWEVER I’M STILL GONNA COMPLAIN ABOUT IT SO HERE WE GO!

I get that they were setting them up as an endgame ship of the series, there’s no denying that, but they start fucking for what feels like (to the audience) two days after and I think that’s a bit ridiculous! Even if Alucard states that it’s been at the very least a month worth of time since the events of Season 2, there’s no real physical signs showing that statement to be true. Hell, Trevor’s beard and hair remains the same despite a HUGE passage of time where it would naturally grow out to indicate said time passing by. But both him, Syph, Alucard, and damn near everyone else looks the exact same as last season. So for all I know it could have been like a week since Season 2 and that to me doesn’t feel exactly earned. The Season 2 finale didn’t explicitly leave off Trevor and Syph officially a couple, they felt more like partners in crime more than anything else. Not to say that there wasn’t any chemistry there to develope INTO a relationship GRADUALLY, but going from a little spark of interest to the immediate jump of them sleeping together naked all comfortably as if they’re a goddamn married couple is a STRETCH! Even Trevor himself thinks so too so don’t jump down my throat about not being immediately swooned by the shipping fanservice given to us. I don’t dislike them as a couple at all, in fact I think their dynamic is cute! However, I would have also liked to have this couple feel natural and earned. They most certainly do not feel earned this way, at least to me.

Oh god, then there’s this out of nowhere sexual tension between Alucard and his new two recruits from another region hinted at in the previous season? Mind you, Alucard was doing literally NOTHING throughout the entirety of Season 3. Yep, literally the ONE DUDE WHO BASICALLY KILLED DRACULA gets about fuck all story progression afterwards out of the three. But what they DO give him are these two new vampire hunting student’s who look identical to one another (no racial they just literally look like fraternal twins) so I assumed they were either siblings or a couple, which makes it REALLY WEIRD WHEN THEY BOTH FUCK ALUCARD OUT OF NOWHERE?! I’m NOT making this shit up I promise! What makes even less sense is that it was really just a ploy for them to steal the Belmont knowledge of killing vampires to show to their people who have been enslaved. Which of course ends with them being killed so it really makes this entire conflict in his character damn near pointless besides “sad vibes check”, but here’s the thing...why didn’t they just keep doing training with Alucard?? There were virtually no downsides to having him teach you how to kill Vampires to save your village from being enslaved, he was teaching you both very well and gave you like the eternal knowledge of how to kill literally EVERY MONSTER and even let you live in the castle FOR FREE, food and wine included! What was the turning point for them to want to kill him all of the sudden? Cause he’s a vampire?? THEY FUCKING KNEW THAT ALREADY!!! Why was is suddenly not a problem at first but then coincidentally a problem now? If they wanted to use this to somehow depict this notion of “Oh my dad/Dracula was right humans are the worst” mindset, trust me, it was better conveyed with Isaac. These twins side plot not only made no sense, but also felt unjustified for Alucard to be an emo boi. I get that it’s supposed to be symbolic of him going through the same issues that both of his parents went through, but none of that really showed how bad human’s are. Just that those two twins didn’t think things through apparently. So the point of Alucard having this odd character convenience shift feels by the numbers cliché, and most importantly CHEAP.

It really makes no sense to me why they’re adding so much of this filler for such a long time, especially with some of this filler being oddly sexual. I don’t mind honest depiction of sex between consenting adults of course, but it just felt so misplaced and awkward at parts where it showed itself. I felt like I was reading a mediocre fanfic of Castlevania instead of the actual show itself! Granted, Season 2 had somewhat of a similar dilemma but the lull in between was still showing the character specifically doing things to further the story along. Towards the end, it gave us a way more satisfactory closure of that saga with Dracula that felt natural and well earned. This season however, felt like they were scrambling with different ideas here and there and didn’t know which to go with. Alucard training new recruits in his castle, Trevor and Syph figuring out an estranged (and BORING/GENERIC) cult of Dracula’s plan, Camilla setting up an army with her fellow sisterhood of evil vampires to gain ultimate power, Hector surviving captivity by using his wit and charm, Isaac raising up the dead for revenge on his deceased master, a new character introducing an all new world to the lore of Castlevania as we know it, all of these interesting concepts and ideas that could easily make up for a good season alone! And instead of focusing on one or two ideas to develope into something natural, they ended up saying “FUCK IT! Fucking I dunno what to- WE’RE DOING ALL OF IT I DUNNO!” and mixed the whole thing in a blender of different flavors that don’t necessarily blend together well enough for a tasty satisfactory meal. It just ends up being a mesh of okay at best, and gross at worst.

IN CONCLUSION, Castlevania Season 3 had a rocky start, an okay middle, and a kind of cool end. There was definitely some cool and exciting ideas implemented in here, but not enough to warrant that lengthy amount of time that Netflix seems to love to give to most of their TV shows. Sometimes less is more, and all that shiny cool glitter isn’t necessarily going to turn out to be gold. I’ll give this season a 5/10. It’s not the worst I’ve ever seen but it certainly could’ve been a lot better.

P.S. “Who Do Ya Voodoo” from Dead Island is Isaac’s new theme song, you can’t convince me otherwise.

#castlevania #season 3 spoilers #spoilers #unpopular opinion #review #netflix castlevania #critique

22 notes · View notes

perfectlywisedelusions · 4 years ago

Text

A Diagnostic Almost-Essay On The Last Airbender Movie

The Last Airbender is one of the many bad book and/or anime adaptations that have plagued the 2000s. Like all of these rage-inducing two-hour long torture sessions seemingly designed to make fandoms crawl into a corner and cry, The Last Airbender was incredibly unfaithful to the beloved source material. But there are two differences that set this movie apart from all the other depressing studio flops-namely, the fact that the show was made in America, and the fact that the movie fails as a movie and an adaptation. It has always been a divisive factor among ATLA fans on whether or not the show is an anime. It’s made in the anime style, but it was also made in the US. Most anime adaptations that fail miserably can probably be attributed to the fact they were made by studio executives who would never want to watch the source material and as such completely miss the point of the original. For the Last Airbender, though, it was a massive hit in the US. M. Night Shyamalan said he took on the project because his daughter was a big fan. The show has a clear plot and tone, and it’s even in English to make things easy for the screenwriters. (Except that there were none. It was written by M. Night Shyamalan.) So how did a $150 million blockbuster manage to fail to successfully adapt a children’s Nickelodeon show? By putting M. Night Shyamalan in charge. Shyamalan had only really made horror movies, and his most recent ones had been less than successful. A struggling horror director whose trademarks are a bunch of characters staying in one location in a realistic setting as they undergo internal struggle and mounting suspense seems a great choice to direct a fun action adventure movie that relies on different locations in a fantasy world, right? Needless to say, Shyamalan was out of his depth, and it really shows in the movie. It starts out strong, with the Nickelodeon logo and the classic shots of 4 benders bending their respective elements against a red background. And then, rather than transitioning to the iconic opening narration, we get Nicola Peltz reading a bunch of exposition in the same manner than an embarrassed elementary schooler would read an essay in front of the class. And then, as if we weren’t tired of listening to this girl talking, we get voiceover from her explaining who the characters in the scene are and what they are doing. This does not go away. It is in the entire movie. You will become very sick of Nicola Peltz’s voice by the end of the movie, but you don’t notice it because you have either a.) turned the movie off and/or left, or b.) you are too distracted by everything else. If the incredibly amateurish opening exposition dump isn’t enough of a red flag for you, then the sight of our two main heroes should be. Avatar: The Last Airbender is a very diverse show, representing Japanese, Chinese, Inuit, and Tibetan cultures as well as others. The first shot shows white actors playing characters who are decidedly not white. It would be slightly more forgivable if the actors were decent. But they’re not. Nicola Peltz, who plays Katara, supposedly got the role because her father was big in the production of the movie. And the actor who plays Sokka, Jackson Rathbone, is perhaps best known as a background character in Twilight. Clearly, this movie has a high caliber for acting. When we eventually meet Aang, he is also white and played by Noah Ringer. Noah Ringer was cast as the lead role in a $150 million dollar film because he could do martial arts. He landed the lead in a blockbuster movie with zero acting experience. The awful acting is a lot like the Phantom Menace, except nowhere near as funny. Every single character in the movie acts strangely. One noteworthy thing about the show is that it develops every character, giving them realistic traits and flaws that allow us to see them grow as well as giving them lovable personalities. (Except Azula and Fire Lord Ozai. They’re just evil. But they’re really good villains.) In the movie, everyone just says their lines with varying degrees of emotion. (Or lack of it.) Things like character traits or, you know, personality, are completely forgotten about even though we need to see these things on screen. It’s not like they had to write a whole cast of characters from scratch. M. Night Shyamalan was literally given characters with traits, backstories, flaws, conflicts, and motivations-basically everything needed to make a movie. But he failed spectacularly. What’s really sad is that Noah Ringer is apparently really friendly, and played jokes on the cast offscreen. Sounds like a certain beloved character, doesn’t it? If M. Night Shyamalan had just let Noah be himself, we could have had a decent Aang. I mean Ong. Because not only are the character’s appearances and personalities butchered, their names are too. Aang, Sokka, Iroh, and even the word Avatar are all mispronounced. M. Night Shyamalan said that this was to be true to the Asian pronunciations of the name, which could be understood if he hadn’t whitewashed the cast. Not to mention the fact that the lore of the show is completely changed for no reason. This lore is very important in later seasons, but M. Night Shyamalan decides to just change it. After the initial rage over the blatant disrespect to the show, viewers may notice the incredibly rushed pacing. 5 minutes after finding Aang, Katara decides he is her responsibility, despite the fact she doesn’t even know his name. 2 minutes after that, they are best friends and traveling the world together. Then Aang gets captured without a fight and is taken to a camp designed to imprison people who can control rocks. This prison consists of low, naturally occurring walls made of rocks. After an amazing fight scene were six men do an intense dance to move a tiny rock very slowly toward one firebender, the movie, unfortunately, continues. They rush through one of my favorite episodes, the Blue Spirit, and what is a great fight in the show is, again, incredibly lame. Then our group of “heroes” make it to the Northern Water Tribe, and Sokka and the princess “become close friends right away”. Basically, rather than showing these two characters becoming friends, we are told exactly this line this by Katara. After exactly one scene together, which is really just exposition (again) Sokka and the princess fall in love. Then the bad guys attack, with drill helmets, another really dumb battle happens, a fish is made into fish sticks, and the princess, who we have known for literally five minutes, dies in a very moving scene because we all care so much about her. Then Aang makes a giant wave and lets it down gently rather than turning into Koizilla and the movie ends. And just as you are about to sigh in relief because it’s over, we see Azula in a cliffhanger because the creators of this abomination thought it was good and they were going to make a sequel. Then we get the best part of the movie, the end credits. The credits not only mean that the movie is over (thankfully) but the animation they added in isn’t bad. The movie is awful and no one likes it. It’s a bad adaptation and a bad movie. Either it’s the movie version of the Ember Island Players play or “there is no movie in Ba Sing Se.” There’s supposed to be a live action show on Netflix but the creators left and almost no one has any hope for it anymore. Long story short, this movie was doomed because they left out the most important character, the Cabbage Merchant. Although even he and his ill-fated cabbages could not have saved this movie.

#movie #avatar the last airbender #the last airbender #m night shyamalan #movie reviews #bad adaptations #anime

1 note · View note

tonysopranosfeverdreams · 6 years ago

Text

31. “Can I kiss you?”thank u @hyruling 💖

“Mac,” he starts, slowly, like explaining something very complicated to a very small child“it’s the middle of August. It’s going to be warm. It’s North Dakota, not the North Pole. There is literally no reason for me to bring a jacket.”

***

Dennis exhales heavily as he feels the muscles in his back relax slightly underneath the heavy stream of hot water. He had been on edge for the better part of the day, having woken up at barely 5 in the morning, short of breath and only half-remembering his dream. He thinks he had been playing with Brian Jr. in a park that Dennis vaguely remembers from his own childhood, from countless afternoons spent with Dee on a pair of rusty swings during the summer days that their mother would sleep away with a bottle of gin (or wine, or Valium, depending on the particular day) on her pristine designer couch, leaving the twins to find their own sources of entertainment.

In the dream, Dennis remembers hearing Brian’s delighted laughter, chasing him around the perimeter of the bright red slide that used to be Dennis’s favorite, remembers the sun glaring down so painfully bright that Dennis could barely see, the scene sun-bleached and searing in front of his eyes. Remembers turning the corner where he expected to find Brian, only to find his son was nowhere to be seen.

After trying in vain to fall back asleep for at least another hour, Dennis had resigned himself to consciousness, opening his eyes to see the curve of Mac’s slightly curved back, inches away from where Dennis himself was resting. Bathed in the gray morning light, Dennis thought he could make out dozens of patterns in the smattering of freckles that covered his strong back and shoulders. He had wondered, absently, why anyone considered them imperfections, even as he remembered always covering his own with a generous layer of foundation, whenever a stray freckle dared to make an appearance after he accidentally spent too long in the sun without his sunscreen.

Looking down at his soft, wrinkled fingertips, Dennis sighs and steps out of the shower, using a towel to dry off before stepping into a soft pair of sweatpants and a worn shirt from some High School Baseball team (it must have been Mac’s, he realizes), before emerging into his bedroom.

He is greeted by the sight of Mac, hunched over the bed, fussing with the contents of Dennis’s navy vinyl duffle bag. He raises an eyebrow.

“Dude,” Dennis deadpans “what am I looking at here? Is this, like, some weird panty raid situation? If you were looking for some action, all you had to do was ask.” He ended the sentence with a playful smirk, the corner of his mouth twitching upward.

Mac snorts, looking up at Dennis and grinning at him brightly for just a moment before quickly turning his attention back to the somewhat overstuffed suitcase, already filled with Dennis’s somewhat extensive collection of skincare products, along with all the other essentials for a couple of weeks out of town. Normally, Mac would tease Dennis by saying that he needed at least three suitcases of his own just to hold his beauty regimen. Dennis, however, knew how Mac liked to watch him sometimes, when they were in the bathroom brushing their teeth for bed or getting ready for the day, how his eyes would linger over Dennis’s reflection in the mirror as he lightly spread his night moisturizer over his face. Once, when Dennis had gotten really drunk at the bar, but refused to go to bed without finishing his skin care routine, Mac had actually done it for him, sitting Dennis on the edge of the bathtub as he used the pad of one finger to softly, softly, dab his eye cream under his eyes. He couldn’t remember ever seeing Mac so concentrated, so still.

“In your dreams. Nah, man, it’s just I noticed that you didn’t pack a jacket yet, so I wanted to make sure you had one. I know you get like, cold, sometimes. So. You know.” Mac shrugged easily, like it was the most natural thing in the world, although Dennis could see a patch of red coloring the tops of his ears. Mac cleared his throat and took out one of Dennis’s plaid button-downs, refolding it somewhat uselessly, before placing it back in the bag. Dennis furrows his brow.

“ You never know, dude,” Mac plows forward, stubbornly, placing his hands on his hips as he fixes Dennis with his most serious look. “I’ve been looking up a lot of weather forecasts for you and it’s like fucking russian roulette. One day it’s sunny, the next it’s snowing. I swear to God man, it’s like they don’t understand seasons out there or something. It’s fucked up.” He pats the neatly jacket lying at the top of the suitcase for emphasis.

Only then does Dennis realize Mac had packed one of his own leather jackets for him, which, although it does somewhat clash with Dennis’s own more elegant, refined fashion sensibilities, is bound to still have the scent of Mac’s cheap body wash and cologne lingering in the lining, and Dennis suddenly doesn’t feel so keen to press Mac further on the subject. Dennis raises his arms in mock surrender.

“Besides,” Mac continues, somehow managing to flatten out Dennis’s belongings enough to pull the zipper shut and flop himself down on the edge of the bed “you’re going to be out there for three weeks, so it’ll most likely be getting colder as time goes on. You’ll thank me later.”

Dennis sighs, sitting next to Mac at the edge of the bed. He didn’t appreciate the reminder of exactly how long he was going to be away. He knew, objectively, three weeks wasn’t a long time, and he had been the one to accept the invitation when Mandy had mentioned the possibility of him maybe coming up for a few weeks to spend some time with Brian before he started preschool. Brian was his son, and he was charming, funny, and pretty fucking intelligent for a creature that who still wasn’t capable of putting his own shirt on right-side out. And Brian was kind. Even after it had gotten bad, and Dennis locked himself in his room all day, even after he had skipped every therapy appointment for the past three months, and come home at 4 in the morning reeking of alcohol and self-loathing, Brian, for some reason, still wanted to be near him. Brian was probably one of the only people in the world who, no matter what kind of mood he was in, no matter what new extravagant way he managed to fuck up, still looked at him like he was one of his very favorite people in the world, like he knew that Dennis had something good inside of him still, even when Dennis couldn’t see it. He was the only person who had ever looked at him like that, except for-

“Hey,” Mac mutters, snapping Dennis out of his thoughts. He runs his fingers softly through Dennis’s hair, just pushing it back, before lightly tapping the side of his brow with two fingers . “Everything okay in there?”

It’s hard for Dennis to put it into words. For the past few months, ever since he and Mac had crossed this unnameable, unmistakable line that they’d been hurtling toward for the past 25 years, Dennis has had a hard time articulating exactly what it is that he is thinking or feeling. The strangest part was how natural, how inevitable it all felt, waking up with some part of Mac’s body touching his, an arm flung over his torso, or his shoulder pressed against his chest; Mac’s hand wrapping around his during their Lethal Weapon rewatches, thumb running soothingly over his knuckles. They don’t talk about it, and it’s not something they flaunt in public, simultaneously too different and too familiar for them to define, although Dennis suspects the rest of the gang must have picked up on it to some extent- must know them both too well not to have done. It would be easier to explain, comprehend, maybe if it had been more difficult, had come less easily to him.

That year he had been away, he had missed so much.

It’s hard for Dennis to put into words. So he lowers his forehead, resting it on Mac’s shoulder. For a few minutes they sit there in silence, Mac soothingly stroking through the hair at the back Dennis’s neck. Finally, Dennis lifts his head, stifling a yawn with the back of his hand. He’s hit with the sudden reality that the night is about to end, that this is the last time he’s going to get to be alone with Mac for weeks.

“Wanna watch a movie?” he asks, groggily.

Mac glances at the clock on his bedside table, which reads half past midnight. Late, too late for a movie, really, considering Dennis needs to be at the airport by 7 AM for Dennis to catch his flight. Mac looks back at Dennis, studying his face for a moment, considering.

“Sure.” He stands up, offering Dennis his hand and leading him to the living room where he pops in one of their DVDs, some generic 90s action flick. Dennis doesn’t mind. Dennis falls asleep, faced tucked against Mac’s shoulder, during the opening fight sequence.

***

Dennis jolts awake, heart fluttering and bile rising in his throat, remnants of the same dream from the night before floating around his mind; Brian’s laughter, the bright bright light, the incomparable panic, realizing he had vanished. On the other side of the bed, Mac sleeps soundly, his chest rising and falling in a peaceful rhythm. Not trusting himself to lie still, Dennis pads out of bed to the kitchen, where the oven clock informs him it’s just turned 3. Only a couple more hours until he has to be awake.

Dennis pours himself a glass of water, and gulps it down, paces as he regulates his breathing, trying to remind himself how to inhale and exhale in a normal fashion.

“Dennis?” a soft, groggy voice calls him from the bedroom doorway, where he sees Mac. Confused, sleep-ruffled, Mac, features softened somewhat from the moonlight pouring in through the bedroom window.

Dennis is still, waits for Mac to walk over to him, wrap one gentle hand around his wrist.

“Okay,” Mac says.

Mac walks him back to the bedroom, pulling back the covers on Dennis’s side and waiting for him to crawl underneath before he climbs in beside him, folding one arm carefully around Dennis’s waist.

“Mac,” Dennis whispers, an edge of panic creeping into his voice. The arm around his waist tightens.

“Go to sleep, sweetheart.”

Eventually, he does.

***

This time, Dennis wakes to an alarm blaring, and to the smell of freshly brewed coffee wafting in from the kitchen. The other side of the bed is unusually empty, for a change (Mac would always swear to anyone who asked that if God had intended for man to be up before 10 am, he wouldn’t have made it so fucking miserable). He dresses quickly, and emerges to find Mac sitting across from a cup of coffee, presumably for Dennis, while yawning into his own. Mac had apparently snuck out early to pick up blueberry muffins from the bakery down the street, and Dennis picked at it on their way to the airport, mostly to appease Mac, who was insisting that the only way to fight motion sickness was to fly on a full stomach, something about an article he had read somewhere. He kept one hand on the wheel, resting his others on top of Dennis’s where it lay on his knee.

They end up making it to the airport just in time for Dennis’s flight to board, which was quite honestly a miracle considering the amount of time that Mac had spent fretting over whether Dennis had forgotten anything in his suitcase, almost insisting they stop at a pharmacy to buy Dennis a travel toothpaste before Dennis managed to convince him that Mandy was, in fact, a human person, who almost certainly had toothpaste he could borrow at her place until he managed to get out and get his own.

Their hands stay linked on the long walk to the main entrance, where Dennis instinctively drops Mac’s, noticing the small frown cross his face, unable to quelch the slight pang of regret he feels at the sight. Dennis has never understood the rules, with this type of thing. Dennis has never had anything like this. Maybe someday, he will be better at it.

They make their way to the security checkpoint nearest to Dennis’s gate with relative ease, the airport filled mostly with business people in crisp suits, and families heading south to their beach houses for their last trip of the summer, desperate to savor the last few weeks of freedom before they return to the dull drone of their daily lives.

“All right, well, this is it,” Dennis coughs, lightly, the two of them standing there, facing each other, seemingly at a loss for words. “Thanks, man, for like. Driving me in and stuff. I’ll text you when I get in?”

Mac’s wringing his hands, and he’s got this look on his face as he gazes back at him, like he’s taking in as much of Dennis as humanly possible in case he doesn’t get another chance. It makes something in Dennis’s chest ache. He has to look away.

“Yeah, dude.” Mac chokes a little on his words, “Of course. Any time.” He tries to play it off as casual, but his eyes are unmistakably sincere.

“Anyway, I’ll be seeing you soon? Don’t you guys get too used to life without me again.” Dennis grins, very slightly, seeing something in Mac’s posture change, soften, with the joke. Mac gives a small, startled, genuine laugh. Dennis would make Mac laugh like that everyday, if he could.

“Never, man.” He promises, joking at first, but tone turning surprisingly serious when he adds “Not even if we tried.”

Dennis nods, wiping his nose with the back of his hand as he turns to enter the checkpoint, only making it a few steps before he pauses for just a moment. He turns back around, somewhat wildly, making his way back to a very confused Mac, who’s currently looking at him like he’s lost his goddamn mind.

“Dennis, you’re going to miss your flight! What the-”

“Can I kiss you?” Dennis blurts out, interrupting him, before continuing, deliriously, like he can’t help himself, can’t keep the words from rushing out. “I really want to kiss you right now. Can I?”

In the span of approximately 3 seconds, Dennis swears he watches Mac’s face go through an abbreviated version of every phase of medical shock, and just when Dennis is about to slink away with his tail between his legs, and quite possibly begin a new life as a recluse in the woods where no one will ever be able to contact him again, he sees Mac’s expression change into something so reverent, so happy it’s like he’s looking at one of the 7 wonders of the goddamn world, and Dennis thinks it’s the most beautiful thing he’s ever seen.

Wordlessly, Mac nods, and the kiss is a quick, intense, thing, with Dennis clutching at Mac’s back like he’s the last thing anchoring him to this planet or else he’ll drift away.

Dennis boards the flight already dreaming about coming back home.

#macdennis #macdennis fic #iasip fic #what am i doing #who knows #my writing #my fic

63 notes · View notes

rkheejin · 5 years ago

Photo

‧ ₊ ˚ ♡ MGA SEASON FIVE, EPISODE FIVE— TRIOS PERFORMANCES!

• • • bringing to the stage dna + bbom bbom w. minho & kyulkyung ❪ 0:00 — 1:55! ❫

it's odd how okay she is, how easy it is for her to accept defeat towards her own personal goals this time around, yet another week going by with her name being nowhere near the top of the ranks— deep down, heejin believes she knew it'd turn out like this ( with every episode, results get tighter and tighter, outcomes easier to predict, and despite the motivation she has to break through the ceiling as she'd done once before, she understands the hurdles that entailed. she understood that, no matter how hard she worked, there would always be someone else working just as hard, if not harder ).

she hates the predictability, hates how stagnant the top seems to be, but heejin is no fool— those at the top, for the most part, are there for legitimate reasons. a bitter taste settles on the tip of her tongue, hidden by a honey smile.

maybe it's me.

it's a fleeting thought, one that hits her from the shadows of her mind, and it's all heejin can do to push it far away as she steels herself. rarely were there ever times where the brunette felt any sort of doubt in herself, in her capabilities, but every once in a while, they'd appear. they'd fester in times like this, her mind restless with dissatisfaction, hoping to take grasp and knock her far down from where she knows she's should be.

silently, she's grateful for the crowd that surrounds her, the judges voices breaking through the self-induced haze she hadn't realized was there, and she tunes in just in time to catch the names of her two new partners for the coming weeks' performances.

there's a sense of instant intrigue, relief washing over her, and there's no point in denying her luck any longer— minho and kyulkyung, two powerful competitors, both of whom she'd had her eyes keenly trained on almost from start. immediately, any festering worries she'd briefly let cross her mind fade into the background, and for a moment, all heejins mind can conjure up are visions into next week. if she's meant to win, meant to earn praise as part of a team, the brunette was more than confident that it would be with this trio.

she can feel her fire begin to rekindle, growing with intensity, morphing into something far greater than the simple heat it'd diminished into.

she would stand a better chance now.

♡

the atmosphere is easygoing, open and inviting the longer the three of them are sat together, and heejin feels more at ease than she'd originally thought she'd be.

oh, the wonders something as simple as having good food to bond over could do.

it's a location unfamiliar to her, just as unfamiliar as her partners are, but the brunette has never been one to shut herself out from anything new— maybe that's why she says what she does, words leaving her after very little contemplation once she'd made decent progress on her plate, her willingness to do whatever it took for the three of them to secure the best results they could pushing through entitled pride.

"over these last 4 performances, all i've done is sing," she starts, eyes flickering smoothly between her older companions, fingers idly playing with the straw in her cup of water. "it's what i'm best at, so it made sense for me to focus on showing off my vocals, but i don't want people to think singing is all i'm capable of doing." she stays silent for a moment, thinking before she continues. "i'm open to trying whatever ideas will work for all of us— singing, dancing, whatever it may be...just don't make me rap."

heejin is sure that, had her partners been anyone else, she might not have brought up the idea of potentially putting herself so far out of her comfort zone, but it was a thought that had been weighing on the back of her mind the moment they'd decided to spend this time together. they were different than her— their performances were different than hers, valuing contrasting skills when it came to their strengths thus far on the show, something she'd taken note of easily. while she'd been paired with rappers before, heejin hadn't been paired with any of the dancers ( they were a whole new territory this far in, one she couldn’t afford to get lost in ).

while it seemed somewhat daunting, she was well aware that an opportunity like this could help show off another side to herself, one that wasn't strictly rooted to her vocals.

with that in mind, it’s easier to put aside her worries. if she was the one who needed to bend a little in order for their team not to break, so be it— she would bend as much as she could if it meant they'd have the best chance at success.

♡

walking through the halls of sphere entertainment, she feels a plethora of emotions swirling in the pit of her stomach. heejin is excited, eyes searching up and down each hall they passed, taking in just how professional and experienced everything feels. she's determined, motivated to work her hardest, kyulkyung by her side as the two make their way to their appointed practice room. she's expectant, ready to experience only a fraction of what she knows is to come not much farther down the line ( the only difference, however, is in location— sphere wasn't her end goal, but being there was interesting, enlightening on what to expect when royal came for her ).

she's anxious, eyes darting with every turn of the corner, waiting to see if, by some chance, she'd catch sight of painfully familiar purple locks traveling down the other end of the hallway ( heejin isn't sure what she wants more— to see younger now, or wait for a better time. her confusion had only grown the longer things seemed to drag out, but that doesn't stop her from wanting to keep a watchful eye out for signs between bathroom and water breaks ).

heejin shakes her head gently. she needed to stay focused— for now, her private life could take the backseat.

what couldn't be put off any longer, however, was minho. for as early of a bird as heejin tended to be, it had surprised her when she'd heard he had shown up before her and kyulkyung, waiting patiently for them in their borrowed, shared practice room. she was happy, though, taking his early eagerness as his determination to do well and practice hard. it was something she was inspired by, a quality she couldn't help but feel admiration for, and it only reaffirmed what heejin already knew— she had good partners.

just as they had already proven themselves to be good to her, she would prove to be just as good to them. they deserved that much from her, if not, more.

♡

from the very moment they properly begin their practices, there's no shortage of enjoyment.

the earliest incident? walking in on minho all done up in his fanciest clown wig— it had been quite the sight to see so early in the morning, heejins eyes still puffy out of dwindling tiredness, and for a moment she'd thought she'd been dreaming. it had only been once her pink-haired companion addressed it as well that she realized it was real.

her eyes had widened considerably, any semblance of sleepiness gone from her body, brows raising in question, and it's all she can do to fight the giggles that threaten to leave her. she can only vaguely process the other girls' words, barely latching on to her question ( how long have you been sitting there like that? a valid question, one heejin wanted the answer to as well ) before she finally lets a laugh out.

"you're an interesting guy..." is all she can say as she'd set her bag off to the side, casting a glance at herself in the wall mirror, and it isn't long until they start.

as time goes on, heejin finds herself warming up more and more to the reality of cameras following their every move.

it's different, more uncomfortable at first, knowing anything they did, any interactions ( good or bad ) within their own group or the other trio they were made to share with would be recorded and possibly shown to the public. she's not sure what to do, where to look, how to speak— before, when everything was recorded on-site, it was easier to prepare herself beforehand, to get herself into a certain mindset and put on the best image of herself. now, there's none of that.

there are no breaks, no timeouts to recollect and strengthen the mask. no, now was the time for blunt honesty, a time for viewers to see everything that goes on behind the scene.

she's the most plain she's ever been, makeup-less, hair thrown up into a loose ponytail for as much comfort and ease as possible, oversized comfy clothes finishing the look, and it's certainly the softest version of herself the public could ever hope to see ( she's sure that, had she worn her glasses instead of contacts, that would have added only to the image, but glasses would have been too inconvenient for now ).

but, as time goes on, the cameras seem to fade into the background.

they become an afterthought within the rooms pleasant, hardworking atmosphere— it shocks her, then, when her hair is all messed up thanks to some experimentation with props, that minho and kyulkung act as shields, keeping her new and odd look out of shot, helping her fix herself, and heejin can't help but laugh the whole time.

running her hands through her hair as she finished fixing herself, makeshift goggles still in hand, heejin can't help the smile that persists her on her lips at the olders actions, and it's then she thinks they aren't just good anymore— she thinks they’re amazing.

♡

sat between her partners comfortably, heejin can't help but feel excitement creep up her spine. she's restless, both eager to perform and nervous for everyone to see what it is the three of them have come up with. it's weird, her foot tapping to a gentle, silent rhythm as she waits, eyes seeing ( but not really picking up ) others take the stage and show off what it is they've prepared— for as long as she could remember, heejin had never found herself letting her nerves wind her up this much, but the longer she thinks, the more it all makes sense.

it's nothing like what she's done on the show before, nothing like what she's done ever, a performance she would have never thought of doing on her own.

despite this, though, she's happy— happy that her team had been able to come up with something so fun, while also managing to balance out different ways in which they'd all shine while sharing the stage.

letting her eyes fall on the two separately as their names are called up to the stage, heejin wholeheartedly believes that, regardless of her nerves ( regardless of if they also felt nervous ), they would do well.

taking the stage, their voices ring clearly as they give introductions. "hello! we are the royal court!"

once they're given their queue to begin, they take their positions, and as heejin settles herself before the makeshift vr headset that had caused such a funny ruckus during practices, their track begins.

the performance is a rush, one full of fun and expert timing, and by the time it ends, heejin no longer feels the nerves she'd had before the start. no, all she feels is satisfaction, gratitude towards the other two who stand on stage with her, having given it their all to ensure nothing but the best was shown on stage. reflecting, she can say she'd given it her all as well— when it came to her vocals, there was nothing for her to really worry about, her voice having been strong and stable, just as it always was. her biggest worry had been more towards the end.

dance had never been her forte, but she could only hope her pleasant attempts were recognized.

it's with a wide smile and heavy breathes that she exits the stage.

#˚ ♡ ‧₊˚✧ › THE SOLOS.#˚ ♡ ‧₊˚✧ › MGA5.#˚ ♡ ‧₊˚✧ › WC: 2064.#rkmga5 #rkmga5trios #rkmason #rkkyul #rkyerim #( don t re ad this its so b ad esp the en d oh ygod #( i was stressing bc i've never cut it this cl ose and i cant think ; u;#( click the heart to see line dist+just like everything about their performance!

3 notes · View notes

travllingbunny · 6 years ago

Text

The 100 rewatch: 1x01 Pilot

I’m a new fan of The 100, who first binged it last year, August to November. This is my first full rewatch of the show. I was planning to start it anyway and finish it before the season 6 premiere on April 30, and when I saw that Fox Serbia was airing a rerun (Monday to Friday, 40 min. after midnight, with repeats the next day), starting on 1st February, it was a great opportunity to start my rewatch in HDTV on my beautiful new TV. I decided to do write-ups and tag other fans on SpoilerTV website, as I did when I was first watching the show. But my posts turned into full blown essays. So, finally, after over a week, I’ve realized: Why don’t I post them on my Tumblr blog, too? I’ll copy my write-ups of the first 7 episodes, and then I’ll post my rewatch posts after I watch each episode. (The next one, 1x08, is on Monday’Tuesday.)

Spoilers below for all 5 seasons of the show. I go of on a tangents and make a lot of references to future events.

Rating: I'd give the Pilot 4/10, maybe 4.5/10 if I'm generous.

Episode opens on Clarke's voiceover. The first mention of how Ark came to be. There were "12 nations" with stations in the beginning, 97 years earlier, and the current Ark is "one station forged from the many". Which begs some questions: how did they manage to make everyone on the Ark speak English (and in American accents), why are they so culturally uniform? Did they try to do it by force? And why did big powers like China and Russia go along with it? But world-building has never been this show's strength. The opening scene shows Clarke drawing, and focuses on her father's watch. Some facts I had forgotten - the cells on the Ark were called "Skybox". Clarke says she is turning 18 in a month. This means she turned 18 sometime in late season 1 and was about 18 and a half year old in season 4. In season 5, she should be about 24 and a half year old. Abby is the first other major character to appear. Abby to Clarke "Your instincts will tell you to take care of everyone else first, like your father", stressing that this is the similarity between Clarke and Jake. "I can't lose you, too, I love you so much" First appearance of Jaha - on the video played to the Delinquents on the dropship. The kids comment: "your dad's a dick, Wells". Yes, he is. "If we knew for sure the Earth was survivable, we would send others. You are being sent down because your crimes have made you expendable". Oh god, he's awful. He became a more enjoyable character in season 4, just because of his interactions with other characters, but he's always been an a-hole. Jaha tells the kids to go to Mount Weather, explains what it is and that it has supplies for about 300 people to survive for 2 years. I had completely forgotten that there were so many Mount Weather references. This was clearly a storyline that was planned from the beginning. The first casualties on the show - 2 Delinquents who imitated Finn's stupid behavior on the dropship, but, unlike him, were killed when the ship crash-landed. When they land, it turns out they landed on a wrong mountain, instead of Mount Weather, due to a technical error. Who knew that this was the luckiest thing that ever happened to them? Clarke and Wells later insist that the kids should go to MW ASAP and find supplies. Every time someone in the episode talks about Mount Weather and says things like "We have to find Mount Weather to survive", it's so ironic now. No, you need to run as far from Mount Weather as possible. Run, run, fast, and don't turn back. At the end of the episode, they try to cross the river, and Jasper even finds a Mount Weather sign. In retrospect, they are so lucky they did not go through with it, after Jasper got speared, but who was to know? Kane looks so young compared to his season 5 self. And it's funny to see early Kane, who was kind of a bad guy. He's so pessimistic and insisting on ruthless solutions as necessary, a total opposite of where his views end up later. But the one consistent trait is that he's always been so stubborn about sticking to whatever course of action he thinks is best, and even naive about it. At this point, he's all about sticking to the rules. And here's Shumway, who seems to want the culling to happen even more than Kane does. I never understood what the supposed difference in policy was between Diana and Jaha. Diana was claiming to be fighting for the rights of the underprivileged? But Shumway is working for her, and wants the culling to happen, Jaha and Kane are intending for the culling to happen... What's the difference? They're all the same. Shumway is also the one to tell Kane about Bellamy's shooting of Jaha - and Kane says they have a traitor. Shumway close-up, he says nothing. Foreshadowing. Scene between Kane and Abby near the end of the episode. Kane says he's the only one willing to do what needs to be done so they survive. Abby: "That's the difference between us, Kane. I choose to make sure we deserve to stay alive." Ironic how they'll end up switching positions during the Dark Year. But then Abby starts hating herself over what she has become. The thing I liked best about the Pilot the first time was that it was really good at explaining the premise and getting a lot of info across, without clunky exposition. Oh god, about half of the Pilot was sooo cheesy. Most of the scenes with kids on Earth are so teen-soapy. That's why I initially preferred the stuff on the Ark (but then a few episodes later, I felt the exact opposite). Especially 90% of Octavia's lines in the Pilot are so cringey,I remember I only found it to be 'just OK' at the time I first watched it, good enough to keep watching, but I only got hooked around 1x05 when it started losing most of its CWness. But now, after having seen the rest of the show, the tone is so weird - so teen-soapy. I guess the first time, I expected the show to be like that, because of the channel it's on - a teen-soap take on post-apocalyptic SciFi. The pop songs and the scenes with kids enjoying the Earth were so corny but I guess they were meant to be, to make the contrast bigger when something bad suddenly happens, like Jasper getting speared at the end of the episode. Or that mutant deer, that was a good scene. Funny that we never get to see any of the scary nature stuff again. What happened to the man-eating water snake? The show pretty much forgets all of that later, because we get human antagonists on Earth. I also probably blanked out a lot of the cheesy teen-soapy stuff the first time, because I wasn't interested, since I didn't even remember some of it. All the potential pairings and flirtations that went nowhere now seem so random and funny. They were clearly just throwing anything to the wall to see what sticks. Who remembers that Octavia used to have a thing for Finn in the Pilot and said "Finn is mine" to Clarke, and he briefly flirted with her? Then there was Jasper's crush on Octavia, but that one actually did last a bit longer in season 1. The show really seemed to be trying to make Finn the main heartthrob. Of course, Finn's main interest was flirting with Clarke non-stop and following her around all the time. The fact he started hitting on her immediately in the dropship really makes him look bad now (whether or not that was initially intended - since they probably still hadn't planned for Raven's character to exist.)

And look, here's Kelly Hu as Kane's girlfriend/Abby's best friend, who was clearly supposed to be one of the mains, and then completely disappeared without explanation after the Pilot. Kelly Hu was even in the main credits for the Pilot, right after Bob Morley, who was credited 6th - after Eliza and Paige and Thomas McDonnel and Eli Goree and after Marie. Which pretty much fits their screentime in the Plot. I doubt they were expecting Bellamy to become the male lead, Finn and Wells were clearly treated as the male leads. Speaking of Bellamy - AARGH, that terrible slicked-back hair! My eyes, my eyes!!! I remember now why I had such mixed feelings about him in the Pilot, unlike others who said they hated him. I mean, he was clearly meant to be seen as an antagonist at this point, but most of the things he says about the privileged and the elite on the Ark is true. I still think that the Ark leaders were the first villains introduced on the show. They sucked. Even if we weren't supposed to see them as villains, and even if some of them later changed and developed (Kane). I wasn't sure how much of what Bellamy said was just him using that rhetoric to manipulate the kids. but the first time he says "let the privileged do something for a change", he said it before he learned about the wristbands. So, some of that anger was sincere. (And it was certainly justified.) A bit later we see Bellamy listening carefully and formulating a plan as Clarke is explaining to the kids that the wristbands are transmitting their life signs to the Ark.

I don't know where the later idea of Bellamy as a completely hotheaded guy who can't act in a strategic or manipulative comes from. One of the first things we saw him do in the show was manipulate a bunch of younger people into something that would help him not get caught and executed by the Ark leaders, so he could stay and protect his sister. That's what he's doing for the fist few episodes. The first kids he convinces to take the wristbands off and make others do the same are Murphy and John Mbege. It's funny that Mbege's role was at this point almost as big as Murphy's. We still haven't seen Harper or Miller.

So many scenes of conflict between Bellamy and Wells in this episode. It seems like they probably meant for that dynamic to be an important one going forward, with the two of them as foils. "See you on the other side". Oh, god. Those lines will never be the same. It's actually Finn who said it first when he was about to cross the river by rope, but then Jasper went first to impress Octavia, and said that line for the first time. And here comes the spear. "We are not alone". Well, duh. But Clarke had to say that line for a very Lost-like ending to the Pilot. Geez, I can see how this bunch of clueless, silly kids with no weapons, fooling around, looked like such a dangerous invading force to the Grounders who saw them. Yes, the season 5 comparison between them and the heavily armed mass murderers from Eligius who immediately tried to kill the first people they ran across, was soooo apt... *sigh*.

#the 100 #the 100 rewatch #the 100 1x01 #clarke griffin #bellamy blake #octavia blake #abby griffin #marcus kane #jasper jordan #wells jaha

10 notes · View notes

howtodrawyourdragon · 6 years ago

Text

The Sound of Silence: Chapter 1

Summary: An alternate ending to 'Dire Straits'. Hiccup seemed fine when they returned to Berk. All he needed was to rest and stay warm. Fatal complications soon arise. A deathfic requested by @ashleybenlove and @bitter-feat-dragons.

Author’s Notes: This idea was spawned while watching @hello-em75‘s Httyd 3 countdown stream two weeks ago when the episode ‘Dire Straits’ from RttE season 4 arrived.

Also-

"I'm excited for the one where he dies" - @ashleybenlove

For a moment, Hiccup did not breathe.

He just lied there on the wooden deck of the ship. Soaked in sea water, limp, still, pale. It was the way they had dragged him out of the diving bell, his own creation, which had been ruined by a Submaripper. It had been riled up by Viggo Grimborn and his men, the Dragon Hunters, in an attempt to get rid of him. An attempt that may be successful.

The Riders all stood there in disbelieve, no one moved a muscle as they simply watched. The dragons, very much an equal part of their team, were quiet and waited for a single sign of life, no matter how small. It were Astrid and Toothless who sat by their leader's side and pleaded for him to awaken.

"Please breathe. Please breathe." Astrid begged with him aloud and with the Gods silently, one hand placed gingerly on his chest. It did not heave.

It would be much too soon for him to go to Valhalla. He was only eighteen years of age, just barely a man, much too young to go, and fighting a war for a cause they thought just. They needed him. She needed him. He couldn't leave them yet.

And what a way it would be for him to go. Not in an epic blaze of glory befitting the Heir of Berk, the Dragon Master, but alone in the dark depths of the ocean, slipping further and further away in the freezing cold, knowing that death was inching closer and unable to do anything about it.

Toothless crooned in desperation as he came closer and nudging with his snout against his Rider, licking his chin, his jaw, his face. As if the action was to remind him how to take a breath.

And he did.

Out of nowhere his body seemed to shock itself back into action. Hiccup's eyes flew open and he began to cough. His lungs were trying to expulse all the water he had breathed in from his system and it was doing it violently so.

Though the Dragon Riders were overwhelmed by relief, each wearing looks of varying degrees, Tuff even sagging against his sister and Fishlegs muttering a quiet 'oh, thank Thor', Astrid fought hers as she helped Hiccup turn onto his side. It was what she had to do to help him keep from choking on the saltwater he had coughed back up.

Toothless warbled in worry as he moved to Hiccup's front, nudging him again as he lied on his side and panted once his lungs had been mostly freed. He had folded in on himself by now, curled up and made himself so small for someone so tall. He trembled terribly and seemed barely aware of his surroundings, staring at his hands. But he was awake. He had made it and for now that was all that mattered.

"Is he...?" Snotlout wasn't sure what he wanted to ask as he and the others approached carefully, the dragons attempting to do so quietly as they came to see how their lead Dragon Rider was doing. Stormfly let out a short chirp.

They only felt truly at ease when Hiccup reached out a shaky hand to settle on Toothless nose, who crooned softly and closed his eyes at the touch.

"Hey, Bud. I'm okay." The Night Fury purred.

"How are you feeling?" Astrid softly asked what they were all wondering and then helped Hiccup sit up with the little bit of strength that he had.

"I'm..." He didn't seem sure what to answer, shaking his head when he didn't find the right words to use. But he was okay, he was breathing, he was awake. That had to mean nothing but good.

Astrid, still kneeled and losing all feeling in her lower legs, rested her hands on Hiccup's shoulder as he found it in himself to smile at her as she did at him, sandwiching a hand between hers. His was chilling to the touch and she noticed that his nails were a worryingly blue colour.

Toothless settled behind the two and roared out his gratitude to the Submaripper, who had stayed at the surface and awaited news on the well-being of the Viking who had freed it. It had also been the one to bring up the diving bell after the metal contraption had sunk to the bottom of the ocean, what had anchored the bell destroyed by an enormous rock catapulted to their ship by the Hunters.

The Ripper had realized only just in time on who's side Hiccup really was when it noticed its chains were no more.

It let out a gurgling roar and with a flip sank back into the sea to search for the deeper open water it once called home.

Despite many protests from the Riders to be careful and to conserve his strength, Hiccup had gotten Astrid and Fishlegs to help him on his feet. That was when a pain in his chest took his breath away and he laid a hand on the leather that covered him, gasping quietly.

He couldn't stand on his own. Fishlegs kept one large, comforting hand on his back while Toothless urged him to use his head as a pillar of support. Hiccup wasn't about to argue with them on that. He felt ready to fall over at any given moment.

"What... happened?" He asked, panting and genuinely confused. Though the diving bell wasn't exactly the safest of his inventions, there simply hadn't been enough time to test it out properly and work out the kinks, Hiccup was still puzzled as to just how his plan could've gone this wrong.

Astrid left his side to join up with Stormfly, as did the others with their dragons. Hiccup was safe and now there was something else she and the other Riders needed to do before they could return to Berk.

"Viggo happened." Snotlout growled, it was the first thing he had managed to say since Hiccup's awakening.

The Jorgenson had already climbed into his saddle and both he and Hookfang's worry had been replaced by anger, by rage even. It was a feeling all of them shared after what Viggo and the Hunters had tried to do to their friend and heir.

Hiccup only momentarily glanced at the opposing ship before his weak self jumped into action.

"Viggo... No, no, he can't... escape." He tried to get into his saddle, but his legs just wouldn't cooperate. They gave out underneath him when he tried. Fishlegs' strong hold on him was all that kept him from falling down to his knees.

"Easy, Hiccup, I got ya." The husky young man eased him with his words. It wasn't a good idea for him to climb onto Toothless and chase their foe now.

"Don't worry, he won't get far." Astrid promised with determination in both her voice and her very pose. She, too, had already gotten up on Stormfly. The Riders were ready to rain down fire and destruction on the Hunter ship for what they had almost done.

Fishlegs, Meatlug, Hiccup and Toothless watched them go. One of the latter two helplessly so. Being vulnerable and unable to do anything had always left a bad taste in his mouth.

The Dragon Riders were on their way and they planned on leaving no one alive.

As they approached, the skin of their dragons grew hotter than ever before as if their very blood was boiling as much as theirs', they were witness to a small confrontation happening on the deck. They were too far away to hear what was being said. All they knew was that Viggo had not taken kindly to being outsmarted and defeated again.

His loss did not quell the flames of their anger.

"Okay, let's wrap this up!" Astrid spoke, keeping a hold of herself in favour of a clear level-headed mind.

They were ready. All four of the Riders and the three dragons were ready to get this over with and go home.

Just then a dinghy with only Viggo and Ryker Grimborn left the ship and halted them in their tracks.

"What the?! Dinghy?" Tuffnut was as bewildered as they all were.

"Why would they just leave themselves exposed like that?" Astrid questioned, concerned of what the sudden appearance of nothing more than a small rowing boat could entail.

Why would the two brothers take such a risk knowing that the Dragon Riders could blast them to Valhalla right then and there? Something did not add up.

"No time for questions! Let's hit them with everything we got!" Snotlout was not in a mood to wait for their next move or discuss the meaning of these sudden turn of events. Viggo was going to get it for nearly killing his cousin and he was going to get it hard.

The others agreed. Without another word said, without even so much as a nod or a look at each other, they all agreed to Snotlout's possibly very reckless decision to just open fire without reading the situation first. Astrid, though usually more cautious and strategic in her thinking, seemed to have no qualms on following Snot's plan.

The dragons themselves followed the thoughtless plan without protest. They didn't even need to be told to fire. They gladly opened their maws and ignited their dangerous fires in the backs of their throats. Or in the Zippleback's case, Belch was ready to spark and Barf was already leaking gas.

When the dinghy turned out to be pulled by innocent Seashocker dragons, that put a hold on their plans again.

"Seashockers? Hold your fire! We can't risk hurting those dragons!" Astrid shouted her orders upon spotting the captive creatures of the sea and they all felt the discomforting sensation of frustration creeping in the backs of their minds and hearts.

Using living, breathing beings as shields. How disgusting, how cowardly.

And yet there was nothing they could do about it.

They could chase them and waste time trying to free them, but just how beneficial would that be when one of their own was still in need of medical care?

So the Dragon Riders had no other choice but to watch them go and retreat.

It meant leaving dragons in need behind. It meant that they could not avenge Hiccup for his near drowning.

They returned to their Berkian long boat to haul it all the way back home. It would be much faster than to simply sail it back.

On the deck, now lacking his leather and his tunic, Hiccup was sleeping up against Toothless with a blanket covering him and the dragon curled up around him.

"Keep an eye on Hiccup." Gothi's message had been clear.

He was to stay in bed and rest. He was to be kept warm and watched over in case the inhaling and swallowing of all that cold saltwater would make him sick. That is what their healer had said.

It was not something Hiccup agreed with.

"I can't just rest now. Not with Viggo still out there and the village still starving. I can't just lay in bed all day when others are suffering worse than me!" He was the leader of the Dragon Riders and he was often wiser than his age suggested, but even he could be incredibly dense and much too stubborn sometimes.

Astrid released a sigh as they argued at his front door.

"Hiccup, you didn't just swallow a bit of water or just passed out, you stopped breathing! Everyone saw it. We were scared to death that we were going to lose you!" She argued back, the events of earlier that day still fresh in her mind. In all of their minds. It probably would be for a long time to come.

"But, Astrid, I can't just-"

"Scared to death, Hiccup!" Hofferson made quick work of another attempt at protesting, he needed to sleep. He still looked so ghostly pale.

"I know that and I do get it, but-" For a moment it almost seemed like he wouldn't give up.

"Do you? Hiccup? Do you really get it? Because it looks like to me that you're not getting us at all." Astrid shot him down again and Snotlout crossed his arms behind her, quickly getting tired of his cousin's stubbornness. One look at his Riders told Hiccup that they all felt the same way.

Still...

"Guys, I can't just-"

"Hiccup, will you stop whining and go to bed already?!" The Jorgenson Rider had enough of this.

Toothless, who was the only dragon present for this conversation, seemed to agree. He growled disapprovingly at his Viking's want to act so difficult.

"What is that supposed to mean?! What about Berk?!"

"What about you?! What about us?!" Fishlegs was having none of it either.

"Hiccup, they almost watched a friend die today. I almost came home to the news that one of my best friends was dead. Doesn't that count for anything?" Heather had not been there to see the plan with the diving bell be sabotaged by the Hunters as she and Windshear were out searching the secret off-Berk storage house for anything that they might have missed.

That was her part of the mission and she had the displeasure of hearing all about what happened in the Straits of Baldur when she had returned and Hiccup, still barely conscious at the time, had been taken to Gothi.

The Dragon Rider fell silent upon hearing her words and gazed at each of them again to see that, yes, they had truly been terrified to lose him today and all that would ease their worried hearts now was the knowledge that he would rest and take proper care of himself. His stubbornness seemed to hurt them.

Hiccup sighed and he did so out of both guilt and defeat.

"Do me a favour then? While I stay here on Berk?" His friends visibly relaxed, knowing that he had finally caved in.

It lasted for a good second.

"What do you mean with 'while you stay here on Berk'?" Ruffnut asked and her brother followed.

"Yeah, 'cause it almost sounds like you're sending us away." Tuffnut could not bring himself to smile, even though the very notion of them leaving Hiccup as he recovered seemed completely ludricous.

Astrid glared at Hiccup, her hands settling on her hips. It was a warning to not answer that question with what she believed she was thinking of.

"Listen, Berk is still in trouble and Viggo is out there. I need you guys to go and find whatever trader is in the area. Find Johann, find someone. We can't wait around for weeks until word spreads that the Straits are clear again. People could start falling ill or even die if they go without food for too long. Especially young children or the elderly." It was true, the Hairy Hooligans were starving and it could take a long time for salvation to come in the form of a seafaring merchant.

"Please, Astrid." They all seemed doubtful about leaving him here, although he was far from alone. So Hiccup turned his attention solely to his second-in-command as he grabbed her hands, who he hoped to convince.

"If I'm gonna rest and ease your worries, than please ease mine too. Take care of Berk now that I can't." His hands were still freezing, his nails had barely regained their original colour, but she just couldn't say no to a face so genuinely worried.

"Okay, fine. We'll leave and find those traders. And we'll keep an eye out for Viggo and the Hunters." So Astrid gave in aswell. There was an uproar of protest behind her, but at least her leader looked back at her with a smile, tuning the others out.

"Thank you. Leave whenever, but please don't wait too-"

"But!"

Hiccup had a surprised and wide-eyed look to him when he was suddenly shut up again.

"But one of us stays. Just to keep an eye on you." That was their condition. They would go out and find help, but one of them would need to stay behind with him. At least they wouldn't try to lie about taking care of themselves.

Hiccup let out a slightly hoarse chuckle. His voice hadn't been quite right ever since his near-drowning.

"Okay, who?"

In the end Snotlout had been chosen to stay behind.

Astrid, as second-in-command, had to take Hiccup's place as he recovered. Fishlegs was their navigator and knew the locations of certain islands where they might find help. Heather was most familiar with trading routes due to her old habit of raiding ships with her Razorwhip not too long ago. And the twins, it was simply better to have two extra pairs of hands instead of just one.

Besides, Snotlout was family. A blood relative of Hiccup's from his mother's side. He seemed like the obvious choice in this situation.

They had decided to leave that very afternoon. Because the sooner they left, the sooner they would be back. And they weren't just going to search for merchants. The Riders had hoped to visit allied tribes that could trade some food they were willing to part with.

Best case scenario, they'd be gone until tomorrow evening. Worst case scenario, they would be gone for days. Either way, they were in a hurry.

But not before seeing Hiccup disappear through his front door.

Knees quaking, clothes still a little damp, growing weaker every passing moment, the Haddock heir had been holding onto his dragon as he was helped inside.

Stoick, who had arrived near the end of their conversation and almost had his fury return to him when he noticed his son still wasn't bed, was keeping the door open.

"I'll see you guys later!" Hiccup had shot them the most reassuring smile he could muster in his condition. Astrid vaguely noted how even his freckles weren't as lively as they used to be anymore.

He disappeared from sight with Toothless helpfully by his side and they left, expecting to return to a brighter smile as their greeting than to the one they had been send off with.

They had no idea.

Snotlout had stayed true to his promise to keep an eye on Hiccup.

After leaving the Haddock home for no more than an hour to check up on his parents and younger sister, he got himself some of the reserves that were being served as a soup at the plaza.

Word about what Hiccup had done in the Straits for Berk had spread quickly and Snotlout had been given an extra bowl upon mentioning that he was visiting him later. They wanted to make sure their heir would eat and regain his strength.

It was with two bowls of soup that he returned to their Chief's abode and with the rude boldness that only a Jorgenson could have did he enter.

"Hiccup, you better be hungry 'cause I got- Oh hey, Chief!" And all that bravado vanished into thin air the second Snotlout noticed Stoick sitting at the dinner table with Gobber. One looked mildly amused while the other looked like someone had just spit in his mutton and then tried to deny it.

"He's upstairs. Count yourself lucky I hear that my son is still awake, Jorgenson. Or you would've been out of here faster than you can blink." The Chief's hands balled into tight fists at the less than modest entrance Snotlout had made.

The teen counted himself lucky indeed and muttered a quick apology before ascending the stairs to Hiccup's room. Gobber let out a laugh at Snot quickly retreating like a skittish little mouse and joked about something with Stoick that he couldn't quite hear.

With no overbearing fathers glaring at him with a look that could almost kill, Snotlout could hear Hiccup's familiar voice coming from his room, backing up Stoick's assumption that his son was still up.

"-You know what? That is just unfair. Terrors have their strengths and Night Furies have their weaknesses!" Toothless warbled in disagreement and rolled his eyes. It was a human trait he had picked up after spending the last three years with Hiccup.

Snotlout almost groaned after entering the room as he had walked in on another animated discussion that this particular dragonriding duo often seemed to have. To him, they were even worse than those Hicclegs lovefests. You could at least understand what Fishlegs was saying. No one, sometimes not even Astrid, was sure if Hiccup could truly understand his dragon or if he was making it all up.

"Snotlout! Come to check up on me, huh? Well, I've tried falling asleep, but... Well, an annoying aching in my chest is kind of keeping me up. And my stump is cold. I'm waiting for the willow bark to kick in. Hopefully I'll be able to get some shut eye soon." For all his talk of jumping right back in the saddle earlier that day, Hiccup did look genuinely exhausted.

It was what helped Snotlout believe him as he walked over and offered the fullest bowl to him. That and the fact that Toothless didn't feel the need to 'convince' Hiccup to tell the truth with a tailfin to the back of his head.

"Thanks. I'm still a little full on seawater, but thank you. I appreciate it." The heir spoke gratefully as he accepted the meal and held it in both hands seemingly more to warm up than anything else.

Besides the leggings he wore, the young man was mostly nude, lacking his leather armour, his tunic and his boot. His metal pegleg had also been discarded, his stump hidden by a pant leg and held onto by Toothless in an attempt to give it warmth.

The Night Fury had his head on the Viking's lap with him draped over it and a thick fur around his shoulders. Like this, Hiccup was between a wall and a dragon to soak up some of his warmth.

Snotlout would've made a comment about his friendly gesture not getting the appreciation it deserved by not having him eat the soup and normally he would've kept the fuller bowl to himself, but these were special circumstances.

"Figured I could bring you some. Didn't know if you got to eat yet or not." There was a softer side to the stouter young man sitting before him on a stool he had grabbed after offering the soup. It was one part of him that he would only show privately and during situations such as these.

They were some of the moments that made Hiccup realize that, maybe, they tended to take him for granted. He had already made a mental note to rectify that.

Snotlout could be a jerk, everybody knew that, but he had his good moments. And anybody who didn't see that didn't know the real Snotlout.

Hiccup brought no attention to it as he had seen this once or twice before, though particularly when his leg was involved.

This was, to him, nothing new.

"Dad tried to feed me earlier, but... You know." He was referring to another bowl that was cooling on his nightstand and shot it a look of guilt. His village was starving and here he was wasting two valuable meals.

"Maybe you should give this to someone else while it's still hot. I know that the traders should return soon, but there are other people who need it more than me. I'll eat when I have less water in my stomach." It wasn't meant to be taken as a joke as Hiccup handed his bowl back, but he was still the one who let out a dry chuckle.

"Have you tried to eat? Maybe you're hungry and you just don't know it yet." Snotlout suggested honestly, though he was a bit miffed that he went through all this trouble just to end up giving the soup to someone else when it was meant for Hiccup.

"Snotlout, the very thought of eating anything right now is making me physically ill. So no, I haven't." It was an acceptable excuse, the Jorgenson boy supposed, but all it had done was make him feel even worse.

"Fine, I'll give this stupid bowl to someone else. Be right back or whatever." Snotlout got back up again from the stool to move out the door, a little bit disappointed and showing it too. Perhaps there was a kid or something somewhere who wanted some soup.

Hiccup smiled tiredly at him, his chin resting on top of Toothless' head.

Snotlout did stop at the stairs, however. And he took a moment to look back at his friend.

"We're gonna get Viggo for this. I know you're not all that vocal about getting revenge and such, but we're gonna make him pay. No way is he gonna get away with this." He wasn't sure if he was telling this to Hiccup or to himself.

Hiccup didn't quite respond in any way. He didn't condone revenge, though he had almost made himself guilty of it aswell. What was important to him, was that none of his Riders got hurt. His own health did not matter.

With silence as his only answer, Snotlout walked out the door. He didn't need to tell Hiccup and Stoick that he would return later.

He would come back to spend the rest of the evening with the heir in lighter spirits. They would joke, they would talk nonsense, it was a conversation like any other. Forgettable, really. Nothing special. There were supposed to be many like them after that day.

Snotlout left with an eased heart that night because of this quiet reassurance. Hiccup was still pale, still cold, still tired, but as he had fallen asleep somewhere in the middle of one of a Jorgenson's typical animated tales, Snotlout had thought nothing was out of the ordinairy.

Honestly, why should he?

With a gasp did Hiccup Haddock startle awake in the middle of the night. Jumping upright, gasping, sweating, from a different position than the one he had fallen asleep in. Toothless must have moved him somehow in his sleep without rousing him. He found himself lying up against the dragon's side instead.

The Night Fury heard him easily, purring as he woke up and lifting his head to meet his Rider's gaze with a look of worry of his own. One that urged him to speak about what was troubling him.

Hiccup looked back at him as he panted, near tears. A hand was on his chest and Toothless wondered if it was bothering him again, if he needed his dragon to wake Stoick so he could prepare willow bark for him again.

"Bud?" The Viking started with a voice that could only be called scared. Like a little boy's after he woke up from a terrible nightmare.

"Do you ever feel like... like something is wrong with you? Physically?" The question alarmed Toothless as he heard it, and rightfully so, as he got up on all fours and seemed to warble his concern. He pushed his snout against Hiccup's bare chest, sniffing up and down as if it would help him identify whatever 'wrong' he was feeling.

"Tooth-Toothless-" Hiccup found himself caught in a coughing fit when trying to address his Night Fury and he pushed his nose away from him.

Toothless respected his want for distance and drew back, watching with narrowed pupils until the coughing ceased.

As he finished, Hiccup sat there and panted , staring down at his lap before glancing up to Toothless.

He stared at the Night Fury and suddenly there was something subdued about him, as if he was calmer.

"I'm fine, Toothless. I'm fine, Bud." His breathing evened out and he looked down again, offering his right hand like he had done so many times before. Closing his eyes and releasing a sigh, he felt the warm familiarity of a dry, scaly nose against his palm. It was reassuring.

Toothless had momentarily closed his eyes aswell, but when he opened them again, he noticed some tear streaks on his Rider's cheeks.

He crooned softly.

"I'm fine, just a little startled, Bud. That's all." Hiccup answered with a sniff, though he stared entirely too long at his dragon, who wasn't quite sure what to think about this strange... exchange.

"We should get some sleep. I'm... really tired. Like I could sleep for ages!" Toothless purred at those words, agreeing that Hiccup needed to try to doze off again and get the rest that his healing body so desperately needed. They could always request a visit from Gothi tomorrow and have her find this 'wrong' that the Rider was feeling and his dragon could not find.

He would probably have to make Hiccup let the elderly woman examine him as the young man was often too stubborn for his own good, but those were concerns for later.

Toothless lied down on the stone slab they had chosen as their bed for tonight and Hiccup snuggled up next to him, trying to take in all that warmth the reptilian scales provided for him. With his head resting on a foreleg, he found a comfortable position and closed his eyes. Sighing, he could feel Toothless curling up around him, protecting him from the cold.

"I love you, Bud." Hiccup muttered, a hand on his other half's scaled hide.

It was a typically human phrase, but Toothless knew what it meant, knew its significance, and warbled something back that sounded quite similar. He had taught it to himself, just for his human boy.

The next morning, these strange couple of minutes made all the more sense.

When Snotlout woke up as the sun rose for once, the first thing he did after a refreshing morning stretch to wake himself up was going out to see if the other Riders had returned with new reserves and new traders on the way.

They hadn't yet, which most likely meant they could expect them to come back to Berk somewhere in the afternoon or evening at the earliest, and Snotlout decided to grab himself some breakfast.

Though it was still so early in the morning, the kitchens just might still have some leftovers from last night and he was determined to get his cousin to eat today.

The soup was all gone. And if there still was some, it would've been cold and Snotlout did not fancy the idea of heating it back up again. So he settle for an old biscuit that was still somewhat soft and moist that Hiccup would somehow already get his fill from. He didn't know how someone could eat so little, but it was true.

Besides, who even wanted to have soup in the morning?

It was with one biscuit and one apple, the former for Hiccup and the latter for himself, that Snotlout made the trek up to the Haddock house, which stood on a hill overlooking the village.

It was a short walk, one he knew by heart for years already. For anyone who wasn't as used to being at the Chief's house as him, the way there would've almost seemed long.

All of Berk was still quiet at this time of the crisp morning and a soft layer of fog was his only companion. The baker wasn't up yet due to a lack of ingredients he could use and that gave this particular day almost something lonely that went right over Snot's head.

He arrived at the Haddock household and entered, quietly for once. Chances were, Stoick was only just waking up and he did not feel like angering the Chief once more.

Call it instinct after all the battles he had fought the past three, almost four, years or perhaps it was something else entirely, Snotlout could sense that nothing was right the second he stepped inside the house.

The fire place wasn't lit, which made it as chilly as in here as it was outside. There was no sign of either father or son having had any sort of breakfast this morning. It was something he expected for Hiccup, but not for Stoick. There was nothing to indicate that the Chief had risen early to tend to his duties as he normally had every single day for the past twenty years.

It was quiet. Too quiet. And too cold.

And was that... sobbing?

Fear clenched its cold unforgiving grip around his heart and Snotlout almost forgot to breath as his confused and hesitant gaze trailed upwards to where he knew one specific room to be.

It was soft, but he definitely heard it. And he knew it was coming from up there.

It was with a sense of foreboding that he walked up the stairs, praying to the Gods that whatever fear that was gnawing at the back of his mind turned out to be false, that it wasn't even deep, foreign crying that he heard.

Climbing the stairs as quietly as he could, he never noticed just how long it took to get to the upper most floor. Reaching Hiccup's room seemed almost painfully endless and yet much too quick at the same time.

Snotlout did not feel ready when he reached the opening and could clearly identify the noises he heard as a grown man weeping softly.

Yet he had to see. He had to know for sure.

He steeled his frightened heart and made the final climb.

"Oh son." Snotlout heard Stoick speak before he had even gotten up to Hiccup's room and to him was revealed a large man kneeling on a stone slab, hunched over with something deathly pale clutched to his chest.

Or rather... someone.

Snotlout froze in place as he stared, his grip on the breakfast he was to share with Hiccup this morning slipping from his grasp to fall almost soundlessly to the wooden floor. He easily recognized the limp figure in the Chief's arms to be his heir, who was not responding to his father's cries. The Jorgenson boy felt himself growing cold on the inside.

"Oh Hiccup... Please, son, don't do this to me. Wake up." Stoick, usually an impenetrable wall of stoicism, was begging his only child to finally open his eyes. He was the only one who could speak, who could move, while Snotlout stood there frozen. Unable to even announce his presence.

Toothless was here too, he vaguely noticed. He was blending perfectly with the shadows of this barely lit room. He sat in the corner, facing away from them, unmoving, silent. It barely seemed like he was even breathing himself.

"Chief?"

Snotlout didn't know where the courage to speak up came from, he hadn't even felt his lips move or heard sound leave his vocals, but Stoick's broken gaze met his scared one and they confirmed what he had feared.

Silently, without a single goodbye, in the middle of the night, Hiccup had passed away.

48 notes · View notes

bluephoenixdruidicprincess · 6 years ago

Text

SPN 14x13, Lebanon (Yes, That One) -- Thoughts (Spoilers)

It's finally here, guys. The big 300. I've now seen 300 episodes of Supernatural. Phew...what a crazy ride its been. But let's dive into this, shall we.

I'm going to be a little different with this one. This is going to follow a little more of a recap structure. It's the big 300, so of course I had to change it up a little. As I recap this episode, I'll be inserting thoughts I have here and there. I will be recapping from memory so things might get a little out of order. It should go without saying but there will be spoilers. And keep in mind, this is just how I feel and how I interpret things. You may have a completely different interpretation and that's perfectly valid. These are just MY thoughts.

We open up with Sam and Dean in the midst of a hunt. A hunter friend of theirs died and Sam and Dean are trying to recover what was stolen from their friend as well as avenge him. They corner the murderer and in a really cringey fight scene, the murderer meets his maker. Typically, SPN fight scenes are, while not fantastically well put together, but at least put our heroes in a competent light. Honestly, I don't think I've seen such stilted choreography since season 13 in the vamp cave. But anyway, the murderer uses dragon's breath (which is essentially a flamethrower) to escape from Brothers Winchester and it sends them flying in different directions but apparently dragon's breath isn't that hot. Just a small little thing, but if you're standing that close to the fire, you should've had some burn marks, I'm just saying, at the very least, soot on your face. But whatever. Dean gets thrown across the room, Sam ends up on the floor with our villain monologuing to him and I'm uncomfortable with just how incompetent Sam appeared to be in this scene. The villain is monologuing and Sam is just sitting there and doing nothing. What happened to Sam's gun? Why didn't Sam sweep the leg or go for a gut punch? So many things he could've done to get the upper hand in the situation especially since the villain only had a sword. While swords can be very deadly, they're also easier to dodge as opposed to bullets or throwing daggers. But Sam just sits there in fear for a good 5 seconds (and 5 seconds is an eternity both on screen and in a fight) and Dean then shoots the guy and talks about the villain monologuing problem. I'm not mad that Dean got the kill or anything. I don't believe in "staning" culture but if you could at least have made Sam appear competent, that would be nice.

But with the murderer dead, Sam and Dean find out he has a lot of magical junk so they decide to take it back to the bunker. In the files, they find a magical pearl which apparently will grant your greatest desire. Obviously, the boys think, "this is great. Our greatest desire is to evict the douche currently residing in our nagen." But before this greatest wish can be made, we have to make a little side trip because one of the teenagers in Lebanon (the town where the bunker exists) stole the impala. Sam's all, "that kid is in danger, we gotta find her, there's dangerous shit in that car" -- and much to my annoyance, Dean is all, "how dare she take Baby, she better not hurt Baby". *Takes a deep breath* This is an aspect of Dean's character I find super irritating. This weird romance he has with the damn car. How he places the car above things that, realistically, are a little more important. Maybe he should be less concerned about Max scratching the car and more concerned about the fact you have a teenage girl you don't know (or barely know at the very most) in a car with deadly objects and deadly weapons. I get it, this is supposed to be a funny quirk of his and at one point it was but now it's been so overdone that it's more irritating than it is endearing. I really hope the show goes into Dean's character development, and approaches the car as a mirror of how Dean feels about his father and his childhood and as he grows to accept his father more, he'll eventually realize that just like he doesn't need his father, he doesn't need the impala. I'm sure I said something absolutely sacrilegious in the fandom but I'm not going to apologize for it. This whole obsession with the impala is immature and creepy and it makes me worry for Dean's mental health.

So they find the girl but not before the girl's actions releases a serial killer clown ghost (because in an episode dealing with past fears and insecurities, of course it's a clown). They kill the ghost but three of the teenagers see and therefore they get the "talk." And these three also appear to be seen as mirrors for Sam, Dean, and Cas. They weren't very subtle about it, let me tell you.

So after leaving the kids to process the information that the sounds you hear in your closet may actually not be in your head, Brothers Winchester arrive back at the bunker and try out this magical pearl. But behold! It would seem evicting au!Michael is not Dean's greatest desire because Father Winchester is yanked from the past (sometime before the pilot) and dropped into their time. And, I'm not going to say this a lot about this episode, but I like the cinematography used here. It was an excellent usage of the color red symbolizing Brothers Winchester's own repression and isolation they experienced from their father as well as John's revenge focused aggression, blindly lashing out at anything that moves even if it's his own children. And the scene was also shot in a very choppy way meant to be seen as a little confusing...also symbolizing the thoughts of confusion the boys harbor towards their father and much like the confusion John no doubt feels with the turn his life has taken.

Everyone eventually realizes what's up and they fill John in on what's been happening for the past 14 years. And it's a very nice, very touching reunion and then Momma Winchester shows up. John and Mary have a wonderful reunion kiss, its so beautiful. I completely understand how Dean got swept into the moment here. Witnessing something he probably only barely remembers from his childhood, thinking he'll never see it again, and there it is. And just like that it takes him back to a time when life was seemingly perfect. When he had hope, when he had dreams. His parents were alive, they loved each other, they loved him, he had an adorable baby brother. It gave him something he never thought he'd have again. And just the kiss in general, you know. Just so reminiscent of past lovers who never thought they would see each other again suddenly seeing each other and everything they used to feel all coming up at once. It was wonderful. Think Celine Dion, Its All Coming Back to Me Now and I think you'll have the tone of this moment nailed down.

But Sam and Dean leave these two to have their moment and Sam tells Dean there's going to be repercussions for this. Time travel is a funky thing. But they decide to have one family dinner and think about the consequences after that. Dean asks Mary for the ingredients to make her Winchester Surprise and John and Sam have a really touching moment. John feels the need to apologize to Sam about everything that happened between them. And Sam tells him it doesn't matter. Their fight happened a long time ago, he's put it in the past and moved on. Sam also tells his father that the biggest regret he has is never having the chance to say good-bye. Their last conversation being an argument and then Sam finding John dead on the hospital floor. This scene got me so choked up like you don't even know. I've been through this. Lost someone while we were on shaky terms, I never got the chance to say good-bye, so many things were left unsaid and I would kill for an opportunity Sam has here where I can finally tell that person it's okay and rectify the bad blood that occurred between us. And Sam acknowledges it as well. This opportunity he has right here and now is all he's ever wanted.

Sam and Dean go off to buy these ingredients but this is when they start noticing the time travel problems. The future is starting to change, but it's more of a ripple effect right now. They haven't changed yet, but time around them has and eventually the ripple is going to smother out and their new future will take hold. Sam calls it a time paradox. And because of the paradox, we're treated to season 4 Zachariah and Castiel. But in regards to Castiel here, it's important to note that he's more pre-season 4. He hasn't delved into hell yet to get Dean out so he doesn't really have any of those rebellious feelings yet. And no, I'm not going to quote THE Destiel line. In all honesty, I've come to hate the line. It's been over-used so much that it's basically lost all meaning to me. Fandom and canon just keep on poking at it, now it's just something I roll my eyes at whenever I hear it. I am sad that we got season 4 Zachariah. When they were saying we were going to get a different Zachariah, I was so hoping for a role reversal kind of situation but apparently the "different Zachariah" is meant to be interpreted as "different from season 13 au!Zachariah" who actually isn't all that different. PR is not show running, people. Take a grain of salt with everything they say. But the Wing Team is on a quest to find out who meddled with time. Even going so far as to threaten to murder a diner full of people. Thankfully, Sam and Dean stop that from commencing but are in a real shock that with this time paradox, it now means Cas is no longer the Cas they all know and love. That if John stays here, they're going to lose their best friend (in Sam's case) and potential lover (in Dean's case). But the scene plays out how you would expect it to. Zach is his usual douchey self and is giving Sam cancer just like he used to (good times, let me tell ya) but Sam remembers he has an angel blade on him and kills Zach. Nowhere near as badass as it was in season 5, but still cathartic. And next we get to see a re-creation of the tomb scene from season 8 with Dean and Cas in a match of fisticuffs. But this Cas has never met Dean so Dean really has no chance of reaching Cas. But Sam in some quick thinking rembers the sigil that will cast angels out and uses it. The boys make a break for the bunker and everyone gets filled in.

Sam and Dean realize that in order for everything to go back they way it was, they have to smash the pearl. Everything will be forgotten but everything will also revert back to the way it once was. Sam wishes there was a way John could remember everything but Dean tells him he prefers that John doesn't. John going back with knowledge of the future could change who they are and Dean doesn't want that change. He wants to be exactly who he is right here and right now which is just so much progress. John tells them to do it because if the timeline changes, Mary's resurrection could never have happened and she'll eventually disappear. Even though he's going back to a time where he will die, trading himself for Mary is more than worth it. He'd rather have Mary exist in the world and himself die as opposed to living the rest of his days without her. And maybe it's because I have so much Kingsom Hearts nonsense floating through my brain, even if he doesn't remember, this will have left a mark on his heart. It'll leave him feeling something even if he doesn't understand why he feels that way. Everyone has the family dinner they always wanted, John also apologizes to Dean for everything, he tells both of his sons just how proud he is of them, he and Mary have another moment and the pearl is broken. Father Winchester disappears and everyone is crying. Our most beloved Cas returns and remarks on why everyone is acting so weird and Dean tells him they have a story to tell him. I kind of wish we got to see them tell Cas but I understand why we don't. Story-Telling 101. Don't repeat information the audience already knows, instead, insinuate the character is being filled in off-screen. John wakes up in his time in the impala and remarks on the good dream he had and drives off to his dark future. And the episode ends.

So what did I think of this episode? Honestly, I'm of two minds on it. Narratively and character-wise, this was a really good episode. But structurally and production-wise, not so much.

It had a really good narrative, the acting was fantastic, but on a cinematic level, My Chuck, was this episode dull to look at. The directing was just extremely stilted, apart from John's entrance, I don't think there was a single scene I thought was visually appealing. The musical score was very bland. It makes me really sad that there was so much hype for this episode but so little effort put into the production of it. Of the milestone episodes, 200 is probably my favorite.

I also say this episode kind of faltered on a structural basis, as well. While I appreciate the use of the Lebanon characters, I feel like they were largely unnecessary for the actual plot. And when they were first pitching this episode to us last year, I was imagining the Lebanon townsfolk being more of a primary aspect of the episode. While I enjoyed the themes and the mirrors with the Lebanon element, I feel like this would've been a better structured episode without them and given the episode more time with the family reunion and the Wing Team.

But I do love the narrative themes in this episode. Choosing between your past family and your future family. Putting your past behind you and acknowledging yourself as an individual. I've seen a few posts lamenting about how they dislike that Dean didn't yell at John or anything along those lines and honestly, I feel like that's the point. Dean has grown past that. He's acknowledged that as part of his past and has moved on from it. We all have trauma we associate with our parents. And while yelling at our parents might make us feel better, will it really heal us? Will it give us what we really need? And that's the whole thing with Dean, isn't it? Want vs Need. Dean's greatest desire was never to face John again and tell him how much he hates him -- no, Dean's greatest desire was to face his father again and not see himself in his father. To realize he's become his own person that isn't his father and that he likes that person and he doesn't want that to change. That's what Dean wanted. That was the self-acceptance Dean needed and I'm really excited to see where this all heads for Dean as a character. Now that he's accepted himself, is he going to allow himself to be happy now?

Essentially, this episode was a beautiful episode about family, about the progression of family, about finding acceptance and forgiveness and being able to put it behind you and look towards the future and I thought that was extremely beautiful and well done. I'd give this episode a B+. Sadly, I do knock it down because of the production value.

#spn 14x13 spoilers #spn 14.13 spoilers #spn episode 300 spoilers #spn ep 300 spoilers

3 notes · View notes

hela-avenger · 7 years ago

Text

No Light

Author: hela-avenger

Word Count: 2860

Prompt: “I loathe you, with every fiber of my being!”

A/N: This is my contribution for @true-queen-of-mischief writing challenge. Congrats on the 600! Hope you like this!

Hela-Masterlist

It was 4 am and you’re still awake with a mind full of endless thoughts that would not rest. Your heart ached within your chest and you hated the compromising position that you placed yourself in just because you had let yourself believe in something that had never existed.

Your own desires made you blind to the reality and now you were suffering the consequences because of it.

You shove the comforter away from your body and swing your legs to the side of the bed. You run a hand through your hair and let out a tired sigh.

All of this could have been avoided if you just hadn’t listened to her.

All of this would have never happened if you had skipped cleaning duty like you had originally planned.

“You didn’t see it, did you?” Natasha asked you as you stayed behind to clean up after the team breakfast.

You glanced at her confused and continued to pick up the leftover plates.

“See what?”

“The way he looked at you,” Natasha states as she took the plates out of your hands and forced your attention on her. “It was different this time.”

“Nat, what are you going on about?”

“He looked at you,” Natasha repeats as she tried to get her meaning across. “He looked at you like he just realized you were everything he ever wanted… everything he ever needed.”

“Natasha,” you whisper as you realized now what had her so excited. Your heart was ramming against your chest at the possibility of your heart’s desire being true. “Who looked at me like that?”

Natasha smiled widely knowing that her suspicions of your secret crush were finally confirmed.

“Loki.”

You shook your head and knew that sleep would not come tonight. The emptiness of your room only served to remind you of your solitude and you suddenly felt trapped between the four walls. Quickly, you pulled a cardigan over your pajamas and escaped the confinement of your bedroom.

As expected, the halls in the Avengers tower were void of anyone which was relieving. You didn’t want anyone asking why you were up so late in the night. You didn’t know how you would respond without breaking down.

“Ms.Y/N,” FRIDAY calls out as you enter the living area.

“Jesus,” you respond in alarm at the AI. “Way to startle a girl, FRIDAY.”

“I’m sorry, Ms. Y/N,” FRIDAY responds as you take a seat on the couch. “Are you in need of something? Would you like me to call on Steve or Tony?”

“Why would I want that?”

“You show signs of distress,” she responds.

“Fuck Stark technology,” you mutter under your breath not realizing that the AI was this perceptive.

“I’m fine FRIDAY,” you respond after a while. “Just can’t sleep due to personal issues. Don’t need Steve or Tony to be dragged into this.”

“Are you certain?”

“Yes,” you answer quickly. “I just want to be left alone right now.”

FRIDAY remains quiet after that and you’re once again left alone to your thoughts.

You could feel his eyes on you and it made every nerve in your body flare at the attention. You didn’t dare look up to meet his gaze because the moment that your eyes met his, he would look away. Instead, you let him watch you train with Wanda as your experience with Inhumans made you the most capable when it came to her.

“Is there any chance we can postpone this practice?” Wanda asked a few minutes into the training.

“Why?” you ask genuinely confused.

“Because we have an audience,” Wanda states as she nods towards the direction of Loki and Thor causing a grin to grow on her lips. “And you seem distracted by it.”

You rolled your eyes at this and let out a groan.

“Have you been reading my mind again, Wanda?” you exclaim.

“Can’t help it,” she chuckles. “You think really loudly when it concerns him.”

You could feel your face heat with embarrassment knowing that Wanda now knew about your crush too.

“I don’t know what you see in him that has you so enamored,” she comments.

“Funny,” you respond. “Natasha said about the same thing to me the other day.”

“And?” Wanda prompted you for more information. You shrug at her, not knowing the answer yourself.

Maybe it was curiosity that had started it all. The dark-haired prince with an even darker past claimed to repent for his past evil actions. There was a story there that you wanted to unfold and the more you heard from Thor, the faster you came to understanding the enigma that was Loki.

Loki’s history didn’t pardon him for all the bad things he’s done, but it gave you a new perspective in seeing the world. You could see what had driven Loki to a dark path and had it been you in the situation, you could see yourself doing the same. It made you realize how thin the line between good and evil was and how one can easily succumb to the latter.

“Wow, that’s a lot to take in,” Wanda states out of nowhere.

“Can you stop invading my thoughts!” you exclaim in slight annoyance. “Curiosity killed the cat you know!”

Wanda laughs it off and you smile too. Your eyes then shift towards Loki and you see him instantly turn away.

Yeah, it was your damn curiosity that was killing you at the moment. You should have known better than to let yourself be drawn in by the grand illusions of love. It didn’t help either that Natasha and Wanda were pushing you to do something about it. They were the ones who motivated you to stop daydreaming and to take action.

You ignored them as long as you could and continued as you were. You continued to be nice to Loki and tried to engage him in conversation while everyone else continued to ignore him.

Besides Thor, you were the only one who could see the effort Loki was giving in attempting to redeem himself.

Maybe that’s why you fell for him.

He acted like he didn’t care about what they thought of him, but if you looked closely you could see how he was always the first one in their training sessions and the last one to leave.

You could also see the genuine care he had for his brother. Though they had quarreled immensely in the past, Loki prioritized Thor’s protection over his own.

It was admiring the many layers of Loki’s character that you seemed to unveil after paying close attention. It was no wonder that you fell for him this hard so fast.

“I saw that,” you state with arms crossed and an amused smile on your face as you caught Loki off guard in the pantry.

“Saw what?” Loki asked with indifference.

“I saw you shelving Tony’s favorite cookies in his hiding spot and then restock Thor’s poptarts,” you tell him as you move to stand next to him. “And I bet if I keep searching, I’ll find that you got Steve his favorite cream soda and Clint’s caramel popcorn.”

“Don’t,” Loki states as your eyes start to scan the shelf.

“Don’t what?” you ask him innocently.

He remains silent and your eyes find the box of Girl Scout cookies that was hidden behind the cereal boxes. You quickly reach for it and couldn’t believe your luck to see that it was unopened and new.

“How did you even get these?” you ask in amazement. “It isn’t Girl Scout season for another two months!”

“I have my ways,” Loki comments quietly.

You couldn’t help the smile on your face and the warmth that spread along your body.

“Thank you,” you tell him. “Thanks for thinking of me.”

Loki remained silent and his eyes avoided your own.

“Don’t worry, Loki,” you say in hopes that would engage him into speaking to you. “I’ll keep your secret.”

Loki smiles at you and you swear for a moment there that you see some resemblance of what Natasha had claimed to you once.

It was there for a brief second.

Just a simple second.

You really should have thought before you acted. Maybe it would have saved you from all of this embarrassment. At least the team expected this blowout due to Wanda’s incapability to keep a secret. The moment that you and Loki finally confronted each other had been awaited for, but the results were what threw everyone off.

You wished you hadn’t let Loki become this big part of your life. You should have known better than to fall for a God who was known for lying and manipulating to get the things he wants.

And yet, even though these were the rumors that Loki spread around him, you knew that wasn’t who he really was. That there was more to him. That there was good in him.

Or maybe you were lying to yourself in order to not have your perception of him change.

Maybe you wanted there to be good in him so that the pain you felt in your chest would be relieved by the hope that he might change in the near future.

You let out a sigh and stood up from the couch. You couldn’t let yourself fall into this rabbit hole without knowing what you would find at the end of it.

You make your way towards the large glass windows and watch as the city slowly started to wake. A herd of taxicabs were driving through the streets and few people were walking to work. Truck vendors were setting up around the block as they waited for the morning rush to begin.

The lights in the living room turn on suddenly and draws your attention away from the city below.

“FRIDAY,” you exhale slightly annoyed. “Please turn off the lights. I want to surround myself in darkness as much as I can before the sun comes out and I’m forced to face everyone.”

The lights don’t turn off and the AI remains oddly silent.

“FRIDAY?”

You turn away from the window and freeze as you find Loki standing at the entrance of the living area. He seems shocked as you to find you here as well.

“I didn’t think anyone would be awake at the moment.”

“Yeah,” you respond quietly. “Neither did I.”

The quinjet had just landed in the hangar when all hell decided to break loose. You had made a quick decision without consulting anyone which led for you to get shot on your shoulder. The bullet went through and there had been a lot of bleeding and a lot of pain, but you were fine. You knew a speech was coming, but you had expected it from Steve, not from Loki.

“What you did out there was incredibly reckless and completely idiotic!”

“You were the sniper’s target, Loki!” you shouted as you held a towel to your chest that was staunching the wound.

“Yes, I was!” Loki exclaimed. “You shouldn’t have jumped in front of me when that shot was taken!”

“That would have killed you!” you scream at him. “Asgardian or not, that shot would have killed you. You would have died!”

“I am a God and you are just a mortal woman!” Loki pointed out.

“I don’t care about you being a God and me being human,” you shout at him. “A gun is a gun. A bullet is still a bullet. I saved your life and this is how you say thanks?”

“I did not ask to be saved,” Loki exclaimed. “And if I had to, I would have never asked it of you.”

“Why not?”

“Because I…”

The sentence remains unfinished as Loki silences himself. The anger was still evident as his breaths were short and heavy and his shoulders remained tense.

Everyone waited with anticipation for the overdue confession.

“Just say it, Loki,” you whisper this time hoping that this would be enough for him to let his guard down once and for all. “Say it, please.”

You see a flicker of insecurity flash through his eyes before he takes a deep breath.

“Because…” Loki begins to say before his whole being changed again. His face hardened once more and his eyes became cold as he glared down at you. “Because...I loathe you with every fiber of my being.”

A stunned silence fills the hangar and you let out a surprised chuckle at his answer. Natasha attempts to pull you away from the conversation. She could tell from the pain written on your face that the next move you made would be unpredictable. Trying to avoid any unnecessary assault, Natasha puts a hand on your shoulder and tries to pull you back, but you shove her hand away and instead take a step towards Loki.

“Funny,” you mention to him as unshed tears burned in your eyes. “Because I love you with every fiber of my being.”

You don’t dare to look at Loki’s face and ignore the team’s shocked murmur after this love confession of yours that they had been waiting to hear. You walked out without another word and locked yourself in your room refusing to go to the medical bay. Instead, you blocked everyone’s access to your room and remained there on your own.

The gunshot wound would heal on its own due to your mutation, but you’re heart... no, you’re broken heart was on its own.

You two stared at each other allowing the silence to grow tenser as you waited for the other to make a move. Loki’s the first to break away from the shared gaze and lets out a sigh. He gives a quick wave and the lights dim around the living room. Of course, he used his magic that explained the lack of warning from FRIDAY.

“What are you doing awake?” you ask as you watch him from his side of the room.

“Couldn’t sleep,” he answered. “What about you?”

“I couldn’t sleep either,” you said with a shrug.

Loki watches the movement and his eyes land on your bare shoulder. You quickly pull up your cardigan up, not realizing it had slipped down your shoulder. Loki immediately shifts his focus elsewhere and you let out a sigh of your own.

“How’s your injury?” he asks.

“Healed,” you answered just as curtly. “I just needed to rest a bit before my body restored itself on its own.”

“That’s good to hear,” Loki mumbles as his hands nervously fidgeted against one another. A nervous tick that you had noticed with the time you had spent with him.

“I should go,” you finally state not bearing the suffocating atmosphere in the room. “I wouldn’t want to bother you with my presence.”

You tried to walk around him, but Loki was still stationed at the entrance of the living room. Before you could even take a step out into the hallway, his hand latches on your wrist and tugs you slightly back.

“Don’t go,” Loki pleads silently. “Just don’t…”

Tears started to form in your eyes again and you tried to keep your breathing even.

“Why?” you whisper to him. “Why would I spend time with someone who loathes my entire existence?”

Loki remains quiet and you should have expected it, but once again you hoped that something had changed from this afternoon and you were disappointed that it hadn’t.

“Let me go,” you plead as your voice cracked.

“No.”

“Please,” you whisper to him as the tears began to spill.

Loki watches as the tears continued to stream down your face and he released his hold of your hand in pursuit of holding you instead.

“What are you doing?” you ask as you found yourself in his arms but the only response you got from him was his grip on you tightening. “Please, Loki. Let me go. I can’t…”

“I’m sorry,” he whispers next to your ear. “I am so sorry.”

Loki’s forehead leans against yours and his eyes were closed so tightly as if he was in pain himself.

“You have only loved. The faith you placed in me was based in love, what you placed your trust on was love,” Loki goes on. “And I hurt you because you came to the conclusion before I even could and for that, I am sorry.”

“It still hurts.”

“Then tell me how I can heal you,” Loki pleaded. “Tell me how to fix this.”

“Say it,” you whisper to him as your eyes met his. “Say what you couldn’t say before.”

Loki takes a deep breath and wiped away the stray tears that remained on your lovely face. A broken smile was on his lips but his eyes shone brightly into yours.

He looked at you as if he had just realized that you were all he would ever want in his life, all he would ever need.

“I love you,” he tells you. “I love you with every fiber of my being.”

You let out a sigh of relief and Loki pressed a long kiss on your forehead.

“And I love you with every fiber of mine.”

A/N: If you’ll like to be added to my Loki Tag List please COMMENT/MESSAGE me!

Tags: @unicorniorosacomefrutillas @what-didido @thesilentbluesparrow @oddly-drawn-muse @josiehosiedaninja @hp-hogwartsexpress @jmb959 @astudyoftimeywimeystuff @hellocookiecutter @teresaoliva20 @steve-rogers-personal-hell

355 notes · View notes