#honestly i tried not to make this one so much about spoilery because i just wanted to talk about hashtags alt mode

[sleepdepriveddoorknobs]

Now that I'm thinking about it. I wish hashtag didn't get a virtual assistant. I know that part of her power comes from her love of technology but I feel like after getting hacked from mandroid she'd want to take a step back from it. Or try to at least use fire walls or more- less hackable tech. Part of me really wished that she didn't get her alt mode by accident in that car wash or because they were getting rid of all that ghost tech in the beginning of the episode but instead, going to Dot for advice. I would have loved to see hashtag change from a ghost van to a Dot's ranger truck so she could accompany her mom and stuff and also learn to enjoy nature. You would think that Hashtag would want to have less internet all around her but nooooooo. Also like, i feel like it'd be dangerous to be so distracted driving with all of those pop ups from Hashtag's assistant. Just gonna be honest I was so mad they gave Hashtag an ai I had to step back and pause the episode.

[lesbianboyfriend]

hiiii jules ^_^ if u could have any media in the world that u steal frm its creators’ hands and remake in ur more worthy and capable ones what wld it be and what do u think u wld do with it ❤️❤️❤️❤️ LOVE U

Transcript: Hi Eli, thank you for this ask because this is a really good question, and I have been thinking about it really, really hard, which is why it took me so long to answer this. Um, honestly, still not sure if I have a good answer, but this is what l've come up with.

Well, firstly, I would like to say—there's a lot I have to say about this in regards to Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but I don't want to spoil you for anything, and I tried to record this a couple times, like saying things that weren't spoilery, but it wasn't working. So I think always to talk about that when you finish the show, because I think that could be a great conversation.

Um, and move on to the meat of the thing, okay. Now this is going to surprise no one. Un, Ace Attorney. Okay, politically speaking, I don't even want to get into it right now. There's a lot there that, uh, I mean, you know. We all know. Okay.

I just want to talk about, narratively speaking, 5 and 6 because what the first four games do really well is that they are really strong, for the most part, narratively speaking and in regards to the interpersonal relationships, which is where I think the games really shine. Um, and then 5 and 6 flop.

Now, this might be a controversial opinion. I do not know. Um, I think that 5 and 6, the order of the games, should be swapped. And then, obviously, we'll have to make a—[stumbles over words]—oh my goodness. Couple minor changes. Stick with me here. I don't think you have played past the original trilogy. So, I'll just try not to get too into the weeds of things. But, so...

4 obviously introduces Apollo, and then 5 introduces Athena. I think it would make sense for Apollo to have another game that's just him. I love Athena. But, I think because she was so like randomly brought in, I think neither her nor Apollo got their chance to shine, really. Especially Athena, because they were so fucking misogynistic towards her. Which is another thing we would have to change about the games. In my hands.

So, I think that if we take 6 and cut Athena from it, because honestly, she barely got any time in that game anyways, and we put it after 4. Now, okay, I think we keep—Phoenix is still disbarred, but he can practice law in Khura’in, um, because obviously their legal system is kind of fucked anyways.

Um, now the sort of individual plots of each games, that's—there's a lot there, like, there's a lot about spirit of justice in particular that's, like, we gotta shift this around, but I don't need to get into all that. What I just want to say is, um, yeah, so l think Phoenix should be there for Trucy's case, but I think he should still be disbarred so he can't practice law, and so Apollo still gets to take the lead on that.

Um, Athena's case. I think, should be replaced with a case about—where Apollo really gets to take the lead, and I think that it should introduce his friend Clay, who just kind of randomly shows up in the fifth game and is sort of nothingness. And then I think we need Spirit of Justice to, while it's sort of working through Apollo's thing with Dhurke—which I think he should get to on screen work through more—that should coincide with him sort of working through the Phoenix Kristoph thing, and then we can kind of give more attention to that than—because it didn't get, it was completely ignored in Dual Destinies. Um, and then, yeah, so I think we should kind of work through that there. Then we can get to 6, which is now 5. Um, then we can introduce Athena, really give her her time to shine. This is where we should bring back the jury trial, um because I think her abilities would make so much sense with like a voir dire mechanic, um.

Yes, um, then Phoenix can get his badge back, but it can be like he's kind of being a mentor, he’s working with the jury system, so he's not as involved and we can stop sidelining Athena and making Phoenix the attorney instead of Athena because they hate women. Uh, get rid of that. Um, yeah. And then I think this would give Athena more time to shine. I think also because Apollo stays in Khura’in after Spirit of Justice, that would make sense to also, again, kind of get him out of the way for Athena to have more screen time, and then he can come back for the whole Clay thing. And that can be much more emotionally impactful because we've actually been introduced to Clay as a character in Spirit of Justice now, which is now the fifth game, and it's not just, like, a weird substitute for him working through the Phoenix Kristoph thing, because we've already touched on that.

Um, I fear I’ve been talking for way too long, um, especially since I’m pretty sure you haven't played these games, uh, but that's my stance, that's, where l’d take it. Like I said, there's also some individual work we're going to have to do with the,—spirit of justice and dual destinies as just internally within the games. That's a whole nother conversation—politically revamping the games. I mean, to an extent, there's only so much you can do. I will say in regards to that, I think if the games approached it less as like, this is our sweeping stance about justice and what it should look like, and more like, let's explore why these characters think this is what justice looks like. Because that's how I prefer to approach it. I think that's a lot more interesting and a lot less shitty. But yeah. Thank you for the question. I hope this was interesting, in any way. Um, and yeah. I love you!

[astro-b-o-y-d]

I AM AT MY COMPUTER AND READY TO SCREAM ABOUT FINAL DESTINATION BLOODLINES (in more detailed and spoilery talk):

Okay so as I said before, it was good. REALLY good. Still not sure if it's topped 3 in terms of my favorite, but 3 also has the nostalgia factor so we'll see what happens after I watch it a couple more times. Still, I was having a LOT of fun with it.

Also even with the less-practical elements, I still think they did a good job with the deaths. They weren't 4-quality bad by any stretch, and they were just as elaborate and over-the-top as you'd expect. I was squirming uncomfortably in my seat the whole time, and I LOVED IT.

Also I was absolutely chanting "KILL THAT KID!" in the beginning. Both because he was an annoying little shit (he's not real, it's fine) and also because while the franchise has been known to off a 15-year-old, I wasn't sure if it had the guts to go younger. And between that kid and the other one, this film said 'Yes, we are!'

SPEAKING OF THAT OTHER KID, I fucking KNEW it was Bludworth the moment I saw him. I saw that boy and went 'Ooooooh, that's baby Tony Todd' and I CALLED THAT SHIT. Honestly there was a LOT I was able to call ahead of time, minus ONE BIG THING that Roman actually called and we were cackling in our seats about it. I only didn't call it because I thought they were going the usual 'death just skipped him' route, but the other route they took was SO MUCH FUNNIER.

And speaking again of the guy in question, the trailers I saw did such a good job at faking out how Erik was actually going to die. And the death that finally got him was just INCREDIBLE. Horrifying and also fucking hilarious because damn, death by dick piercing. I know it wasn't the only thing to do him in but come on, that's funny.

Also I just really loved the cast in general. They got people who felt like a real family and interacted off each other so well. Loved that, loved them.

And also loved Tony Todd's scene, which left me in my seat going

There's so much more I could talk about, whether it's how this film in particular decided to tap into some VERY specific phobias of my own (the main disaster was situated in a Space Needle-esque building and that sent me back to my youth when I had a panic attack about going up to the top, and also there's a death via crushing in a garbage truck which scares the SHIT out of me, so that was fun <3).

Or how this film really leaned into the callbacks to Final Destination 2 a lot (the log truck, a namedrop of Kimberly and how she apparently survived, and they tried using her death and revival as a means of saving the last two members of the family) and how fun that is when compared to the 5th movie which leaned into callbacks for the first film. So here's hoping if they make another one, they call back to the third one (which would appeal to me specifically).

But honestly, I don't know how much I could say without just spoiling the entire movie. I just. GOD. They did the franchise justice and in an era of shitty remakes and reboots, it's all I could've asked for when it came to my favorite horror franchise. We're so fucking BACK, baby.

[fallloverfic]

Thoughts on Solo Leveling Episode 7: Let's See How Far I Can Go

Excellent ep!!! Spoilery thoughts for the anime, novel, and manhwa before Ragnarok below, CW: blood:

Jinwoo and Jinah are so cute together T-T I love them being close sibs. I mean obviously he helped essentially raise her since he was 14, when their dad disappeared and their mom was too ill to do everything, and then fully did so after he graduated because their mother was comatose, and I just... think about that a lot. This kid who has to raise another kid and never got to finish being a kid himself and had to immediately go into the workforce and give up going to university and he just wants her to have the opportunities he didn't and I just T-T

I feel like I accidentally am vibing with this because I got fried chicken on the way home from errands today, completely unaware this was going to be in the episode.

I love Jinah asking about him and how he's doing. Makes up for calling him a cheapskate >.< I mean to be fair to her, I grew up in a household that struggled for money and I was completely clueless about why we often didn't get stuff, though my parents really tried to spoil us to the extent they could. I do get it. It's realistic in my experience to react this way, especially when the younger person is kept clueless about finances. It's just T-T sometimes. But I do love that she cares about his mental health.

Jinwoo just processing his first murder(s) essentially alone cause he certainly didn't confide in Jinho and he is the older brother with a sister in high school who is just living a normal life and wants her to be happy and so cannot confide in Jinah and it kills me he kind of doesn't do this with anyone, ever T-T Sort of when the Hunters manager warns him, but not on an emotional level. I mean to be fair he's also kind of just, "I resented them for thinking they had a chance against me," which is pretty dark lol But he's obviously really conflicted about that cause these were humans.

Jinwoo has one goal and that is protecting the people he loves. He's pragmatic. I think it's interesting he doesn't focus as much on "they tried to kill me multiple times, it was self-defense and defense of another person". Just... "My family is what's important and I'd do it again if I have to." Which, yes, that's a consideration you can have.

I mean he "could" have incapacitated the Lizards, maybe, rather than killing them, but he's not trained to do that, lacked equipment for it, and in the moment it's hard to process that. It just bothers me he doesn't really do any actual emergency training or whatever other than just building up muscle, EXP, and fighting/movement skills. Even his healing solution is just... shove a potion in people's mouths and it's unclear if he has literally any training in first aid of any kind outside that time he helps Song Chiyul wrap his arm.

Also Jinwoo is still really cute :3 He's animated well.

Hehe learning about the detox, poor guy lol I honestly do love the detail that the system detects alcohol as a harmful substance. It's fun when stories add it in.

Jinah worried about him drinking too much T-T They love each other T-T I love themmm

(just skip down three paragraphs if you don't care about my rant about cellphones lol)

One criticism I have because I always focus on the appearance or absence of mobile phones in modern stories where they should be there: the novel focuses a decent amount on how Jinwoo's cellphone broke in the double dungeon, and he has to get a replacement specifically from the Korean Hunter's Association, and that is completely absent from both the manhwa and the anime, and the anime is compensating weirdly. The novel explains, "Hunter-issue smartphones used specialized technology, so Jinwoo had to put in a request directly with the association." (Vol 1, Chapter 4). So the phone does more than just allowing the Hunter's Association easy access to hunters (I think at one point it's shown it works inside the dungeons, when most technology does not, so I imagine it's powered somehow by mana/essence stones). Jinwoo doesn't have the money to speed up the process, so he has to wait for multiple weeks for them to provide him with a new one, and he forgets to take care of it until I think after he's out of the hospital, so that puts off the process even longer. This means: the association cannot contact him except via landline, and anyone with his cell number cannot do so either, unless, presumably, they have his landline number. In the novel, Jinwoo demands an explanation from Jinho for how Jinho has the number on the presumed landline (it's just called "phone" in the Yen press English translation, I don't know why he wouldn't have his cellphone if he has one in the anime outside his bedroom where Jinah is, and I can't imagine Jinho getting Jinah's cell number, or why the Association would have it other than maybe as an emergency contact, which, again, why would he get that number and I feel like Jinwoo would kill him if he did lol), and Jinho explains that he knows someone at the Association.

Most of this revolves initially around various people trying to contact Jinwoo during this non-cellphone time and not getting to him because he literally does not have a phone and, presumably, they don't have his landline number. The nurse whose number he got tries to contact him via his mobile and nearly gives up by the time he gets his phone back to see her messages. Like many related subplots, this is also part of showing that Jinwoo is just... bad at keeping in touch with people lol I mean he explains, sadly, in the novel, "No one ever calls me anyway." (Vol 1, Chapter 4). But he gave this woman his number and ultimately decides to ignore her/not respond when he sees all the messages she sent him rather than saying literally anything like, "Sorry I was out of touch" or whatever, or just politely turning her down. He does this for most people: most of his interaction with his cellphone is to decide not to use it lol I can see why the manhwa dropped this plot nearly entirely (except for a later modification, which I really like) because it feels clunky. But it creates this weird scenario where... it's South Korea, Jinwoo doesn't have a ton of money but he's doing fine-ish enough to have a giant TV and a computer, and he needs his phone for work. Phones and mobile phones in particular exist in the anime (e.g., we see Woo Jinchul use one, Dongsoo crushes one). So one would ask: why does he not have a cellphone (and when/how did Jinho get his number)? And unrelated: why doesn't his email almost ever get used? The webnovel released in 2016, both would have been commonplace things then; I mean the guy goes onto a forum to ask if other people have leveled up in the novel; it would have been a lot simpler to have Jinho send him an email, though I guess I appreciate the added Jinwoo & Jinah bonding created by keeping this to some extent.

It doesn't ultimately matter in the grand scheme of things. It was really one of the weaker elements of the story and it's really incredibly minor. I can, again, see why the manhwa dropped it and why the anime is side-stepping it when considering what to adapt. But anyway, that was my aside of "how cellphone usage/lack of it when it should be there changes stories". (Also for the record, I think it's good he didn't respond to the nurse, in the end, because that entire plotline is really creepy and probably violates some ethics, but it's also so completely unnecessary).

Jinho pointing out the fight with the Lizards was self-defense :3 Good!

The "this cafe sells coffee" glamour shots are making me laugh, I don't know why lol

One thing that's always intrigued me with this series, and I don't know if this is common to the genre or something, maybe it is, is how much buildings are used as collateral. Like it is a simple truth that buildings are a very core part of value for wealthy people and organizations. Real estate is where big money is made. A lot of people in power literally control large chunks of your local real estate. But a similar story would probably just say like... "I can wire x money to you as needed". Instead this just upfront goes, "I'm rich, but here's this really big money item you could have: a building." It's just neat.

O.o Jinwoo doesn't take Jinho's offer. That's interesting. He does take the offer in both the novel and the manhwa, so I'm unsure about why the change? Maybe it combines into his realization that he needs to level up to face enemies past Cerberus and Jinho is a convenient way to do that.

Dongsoo's Japanese voice actor (Junichi Suwabe) has too pretty a voice for Dongsoo alkdjaldja Like he sounds unfairly beautiful aldkjalalkj (Unsurprising for the guy who voiced Viktor in Yuri on Ice) I don't precisely know what I expected him to sound like, and I'd love to see who they picked for the Korean dub, but alkdjal dang. To be fair... he did also voice Jaeha in Yona of the Dawn, and Grimmjow in Bleach, so I'm not that surprised the actor sounds good... I just. Wow. Salud. I don't know that this works for Dongsoo (at least for me) but he does at least sometimes play annoying dudes lol (I love you Jaeha and Grimmjow, and Viktor and Oda, but still aldkjalj).

Stop fatshaming your sister Jinwoo. You deserved that kick even if you did not at all feel it.

Bonding time ruined T-T

The way the buttons on the system get clicked is such a satisfying look/sound.

O.O oh, Jinwoo's learning about the Elixir of Life way early. That's intriguing! In the novel and manhwa he doesn't learn until way later. The anime is really focusing overall on making his goal centrally about caring for his family rather than more about improvement for the sake of improvement (I mean in the novel it feels kind of like 60/40 trade-off with the former being improvement). I get why the change: it makes him more sympathetic. And it also makes him look less strange for trying this difficult dungeon early, and for why he focuses so hard on getting back to it, even before he knew about the elixir. Also gives him a solid goal for season 2.

The gentle piano is lovely, and really sets the mood well. Jinwoo has a lot on the line: his mother's health, caring for his sister, beyond his own survival. The juxtaposition is really good.

As someone who loves Greek myths, I have seen a lot of designs for Cerberus (I have two plushie three-headed dogs, including the Cerberus from Hades the video game). Can't say I'm a fan of this design lol It's fine. It's functional. It's a very good remake of the manhwa design. I guess it just... didn't look as eh. It moves well and works, and the team did a good job. I think just... seeing more of it highlights how I really don't care for the design lol Dubu/the team were really good at designing some monsters, but not others.

The fight is really amazing and well-paced, though. Though it's an interesting change that the system is the one reminding Jinwoo about the gland during this fight, rather than him doing it on his own (he figures it out after discovering the detox in both the novel and manhwa). I like him making the connection on his own. Jinwoo can be a little thick a lot, but he is pretty intelligent, and that was one of his smarter moments. Ah well.

Will never get tired of his eyes glowing in shots. His wounds steaming as they heal is also a neat effect.

He's getting the Elixir of Life recipe early too :3 That makes sense. Would be weird if they bring that up early and don't reference it again for... goodness I don't even know that they'll come back to it before the season ends. I don't think we will, because I wouldn't be surprised if the season ends with the Igris fight. But it gives something to look forward to for maybe season 2.

Also he gets the dog collar :3 BUT... like the manhwa we don't see him put it on lol In the novel he's really nervous about people seeing him wear it, but canonically speaking, particularly since he never seems to take his armor off other than to exchange it for improved gear, he puts this on and wears an invisible dog collar through a good chunk of the story (until he gets a better neckpiece) lol Love it. Ah well. Would have been funny to see animated but they are generally sticking to the manhwa, so. It would be funny if I was proven wrong <.< Have him put on the collar, anime!!

All in all, a really good episode, with some great animation, some more lovely music, and some lovely moments between Jinwoo and Jinah. This continues the trend of modifying stuff in interesting ways. Looking forward to episode 8!

Other thoughts:

Season 1: Episode 5, Episode 6, Episode 7 (you are here), Episode 8, Episode 9, Episode 10, Episode 11, Episode 12

Season 2: Episode 13, Episode 14, Episode 15, Episode 16, Episode 17, Episode 18, Episode 19, Episode 20, Episode 21, Episode 22, Episode 23, Episode 24, Episode 25

Where to read Solo Leveling by Chugong in English:

Novel: Yen Press (ebook, physical book, audiobook), Tapas

Manhwa adaptation by Dubu: Yen Press/Ize Press (ebook, physical book), Tapas, Tappytoon

Ragnarok (sequel novel written by a different author): Tapas

Ragnarok manhwa adaptation (drawn by a different artist): Tapas

The Solo Leveling anime adaptation is available on Crunchyroll. Solo Leveling: Arise, the video game, is free to play and available on PC and as an app via netmarble.

[unsettlingcreature]

OC Questions per wife's request

i can't deny my wife, guys. i can't. I'll probably do a mix of Perseus, Liliane (non-spoilery) and Lina. very Long post below cut.

[ post being referenced ]

1. What was the first element of your OC that you remember considering (name, appearance, backstory, etc.)? / 2. Did you design them with any other characters/OCs from their universe in mind?

For Perseus, he was made with backstory and character sheet in mind (as he was a D&D character). Since he was the brother of another player's character, we ended up making a few decisions together - I think we decided pretty early on that we were going to go with forenames from Greek mythology (and same for the shared family members of our backstory) and we exchanged backstories, tweaking bits to fit with what the other person had written. I enjoyed it so much and Persy remains one of my favourite OCs ever, even after almost five years.

For Liliane, I struggled a lot to come up with her. I ended up starting with her class (again, she's a D&D character) which I then tried to think about how I could make it space/spelljammer themed. I immediately stuck to stars as a running theme and focused in on them HARD.

For Lina (skyrim oc), I think I actually started out in the character creator, just messing around to see what I liked. I ended up really liking the idea of her having shaggy hair and then the details started falling into place. I realised she was a very "average" looking person and thought it would be nice to write her as very normal and well-adjusted, unlike most of my other tes OCs.

3. How did you choose their name?

As I said, Perseus was named from a shared decision but I originally chose Perseus because I planned to have him use a shield. That's it.

For Liliane, I actually named her after a character from a manhwa called The Little Lady Behind The Scenes. I had joked about doing a french accent for my character and I really liked how Liliane rolled off the tongue in it. For her surname, I was referencing Joan d'Arc/Joan of Arc.

Lina.... Her full name is Pauline Dupont. Originally, it was meant to be Dumont because her family were from a village near the mountains... but I kept writing it wrong and by the time I realised, Dupont had already stuck in my mind. There wasn't any particular reason behind Pauline as a name, other than to be shortened to Lina (which I just liked the sound of).

4. In developing their backstory, what elements of the world they live in played the most influential parts?

For Perseus, it was likely his time with the templar order. It shaped SO much of how he behaved early on, to the repetitive attempts at getting things right to his view of himself as a not-special person, no different from any other soldier.

For Liliane, it was (obviously) her time with her fellow acolytes at the Vigil. I can't say too much because my wife is RIGHT THERE and she's got to crack Liliane's secrets out in-game.

As for Lina, I would say her time away from the College was the most impactful. It was where she discovered just how valuable Restoration was as a school of magic, especially during wartime.

5. Is there any significance behind their hair color? / 6. Is there any significance behind their eye color? / 7. Is there any significance behind their height?

Perseus was meant to be rather... average looking? So he got dark hair and brown eyes. He was meant to blend in with the crowd/background characters. He's tall because I am not tall and I like to live vicariously through my characters.

Liliane has golden eyes for... story significance. I gave her dark hair for a bit of contrast in her design and I don't remember how tall she is.

Lina also got dark (brown) hair because I wanted her to blend in with the crowd. However, she got green eyes because... honestly, because they looked really pretty in the character creator. It ended up becoming one of her main colours. As for her height, she's quite tall for a breton due to her Imperial lineage. Still short compared to most nords though.

8. What (if anything) do you relate to within their character/story? / 9. Are they based off of you, in some way?

For Perseus, I'm not sure. I was in a pretty bad place mentally at the time and eventually that leeched a bit into some of my out-of-game interpretations of him. By the time the game came to an end, I was doing a lot better - as was Perseus. So I think that in a way, I relate to him from the perspective of someone who found meaning in life through the people around them.

Liliane gets my religious trauma. That's it :)

10. If they have an LI, how much of their character is tailored to be compatible to that person?

Liliane is probably the only one I can answer about this. There are two potential romances with players that could happen. However, I made her with a very key concept in mind that absolutely clashes with both of those players. It was unintentional, I swear.

11. Did you know what the OC’s sexuality would be at the time of their creation?

I always knew Perseus was going to be bisexual, purely because I myself am bi. And I knew I didn't want to limit potential for romantic or sexual relationships.

Liliane is... complicated. If you asked her, she would say "Eh, I am, of course, straight. Why would you think otherwise?" and she wouldn't even realise she was lying. We're two sessions in and she is so violently in the closet that I can't really say for certain what her sexuality is. A lesbian? Bi? What about when gender comes into it?

Lina is... probably straight. I could see her being the kind of person to experiment with her sexuality as little bit (since what else are you meant to do in Winterhold as a teenager?) and realised that she wasn't into women.

12. What have you found to be most difficult about creating art for your OC (any form of art: writing, drawing, edits, etc.)? 

Body hair for Perseus. I hate the detail work but it feels wrong to see him without any body hair. After that, it's his scars. I feel like I'm never consistent with them.

Liliane... her overall design. I didn't have a strong concept for how she should look initially - she was originally going to have a mature face with sharp edges and a soldier-like look. But it didn't feel right and I kept thinking about her having a rounded babyface. The juxtaposition between that and her supposed purpose with the Vigil are really interesting, I think. She's very young, in many ways, despite being an adult.

Lina... hm. I think also her scars. She has a burn scar on her arm and it's still a learning curve on how to draw them.

13. How far past the canon events that take place in their world have you extended their story, if at all?

Perseus is the only one this is relevant to at the moment. I do have an idea for what he'd do after the campaign and have actually written a few scraps down for the years following the end of the campaign. He'd likely go searching for Aegis, who went missing shortly after the campaign's end, with Yesriel by his side. Even if he gave up temporarily, he'd eventually resume the search as many times as it took. Outside of that, he'd start up a smaller sect of the templars focused on the templars who became corrupted/tempted by Caedis and have them work on redemption and freeing themselves from the god's contracts. He would 100% be fighting the "Lumen's Champion" allegations and constantly insist that he's only holding onto the sun god's two artifacts until the actual champion comes along.

14. If you had to narrow it down to 2 things that you MUST keep in mind while working with your OC, what would those things be? 

Perseus:

He will do anything for his (chosen) family.

He easily gets swept up in a good time.

Liliane:

She wants to believe in the Vigil and its teachings.

She wants to be good.

Lina:

She is not an adventurer by any means.

She will compartmentalise every emotion until she cracks.

15. What is something about your OC can make you laugh? 

Perseus is tomato soup boy. Also sword go thwack.

Liliane... has little to no filter. She tries so hard but it rarely works out.

16. What is something about your OC can make you cry? 

Sometimes I think about Perseus and how he turned from this depressed little man who I wanted to kill off into one of my most cherished characters that inspired so many pieces of art and writing, as well as introduced me to so many awesome people. It makes me emotional.

Liliane knows so little. It's like she's grown up in a tiny little fishbowl her entire life and was suddenly thrown into the ocean. She doesn't even realise that the apex predators are back at home in her tiny little bowl.

17. Is there some element you regret adding to your OC or their story? 

I think the only thing I regret (and even that is a strong word) is that I would often talk about Persy with a certain player in that (large) game and we discussed an AU where our characters would get together and it ended up being that every conversation about Perseus with them ended up being about shipping our characters together, even when outside of that AU.

18. What is the most recent thing you’ve discovered about your OC? 

With Liliane, it's really her ability to just ramble. I know part of that is me nervously rambling while caffeinated but it's so fun to do it as Liliane.

19. What is your favorite fact about your OC?

Perseus is a good singer. He doesn't often have reason to sing but his voice is deep and resonant and loses a lot of its scratchiness while talking. He's one of the few characters who I actually have a voiceclaim for: Nathaniel Howe (voiced by Simon Chadwick) but slightly pitched down.

Liliane would have a strong tolerance to alcohol if she actually drank. She didn't realise that cocktails were a mixture of ingredients until recently. I think she'd like the idea of cocktails but doesn't yet realise that you can make them without alcohol. Also she can't swim.

Lina likes to walk around with a very meagre attempt at disguising herself (which somehow always works due to her mostly plain appearance) so she can listen in on the city gossip. The Thieves' Guild often try to convince her to do more work for them (which she waves off because she "already almost got expelled once" despite that being years ago and her now being a teacher at the College).

[agathabridgerton]

hey I'm the previous anon!

I kinda logged off for a while but seeing your answer made me want to ask so really, I'd love to hear about it from a screenwriter pov.

hope you don't mind all these questions!

as per the hot takes of this season, how do you feel about them? so fa the ones I've seen are:

pen not deserving forgiveness and being the villain of the show

the queen and the ton being too easy on pen

colin needing to grovel more

eloise having to be kinder to cressida and have her become besties with penelope by saving cressida together

eloise and cressida having to be endgame and eloise being the queer bridgerton instead of francesca

benedict having to be w a man or w a crossdressing sophie because he's bi

and, what do you think of the choices made by the team this season?

what do you think of franchaela? was it a fun twist or should they have avoided giving francesca the gay storyline?

what about benedict? his gay storyline this season and why just this season?

why do you think the mondrich are so important? could it be (like some people speculate) because lord kent is gonna be hyacinths gareth?

how you feel about the very modern twist on makeup and style this season?

what do you think of penelope continuing as lw and using her name and potentially putting herself in danger?

I've tried to ask as much as possible but if there's anything else you want to elaborate on feel free!

I don’t mind the stack of questions at all! It’s very exciting to dissect it all and answer them. Honestly, I have a whole document dedicated to unpacking and debunking lots of the hot takes I’ve seen because it’s so annoying to see people type with their brains off. Like, no shame if you don’t think while watching stuff—lord knows I watch something for the first time without much in the way of higher thought happening. But I also recognize that and take the time to organize my thoughts before I speak on anything. (Although that might just be a bit of a coping mechanism I developed because of my anxiety disorder that serves a good purpose generally.) This post will also be spoilery because I reference events from the books a lot.

Pen doesn’t deserve forgiveness/Pen’s the real villain of the show/QC & the ton were too easy on her.

There is no “actual” villain of the show. It’s fucking Bridgerton, like, be honest! That claim just makes me laugh because it’s like... You can’t fool me. I know a lot of people who say that are just indulging their internalized fatphobia. And in the instances when they’re not, it’s still plain old misogyny. On the topic of forgiveness, I personally did not read what happened as anybody forgiving Pen for what she wrote in Whistledown. I think, just like when Colin said he would never court Pen, though he had a change of heart, he never did forgive her.

The people that matter to Pen—the Bridgertons and the Featheringtons, her family—accept what she did and understand that Pen recognizes that she was wrong, would do things differently if she could, and not only resolves to do better but already in season three has demonstrated that effort to do better numerous times. Pen never asked for forgiveness, she requested clemency from the queen.

She gave her speech in front of the ton because hiding that she’s Whistledown implied that some of her best qualities—her cleverness, her passion for writing, her humor—were things to be ashamed of. But they’re not and in embracing her full potential, Pen defied the misogynistic idea pervasive in the ton—which her mother repeats throughout the show but especially in season three—that all women are meant for is bearing children. No, women don’t just have to be mothers and gossips, they’re full human beings.

Pen continuing the column is a good outcome for the ton because they eat her writing up. I remember how, at the beginning of episode six, everyone’s upset that she hasn’t published! They love her writing so damn much. And as Genevieve explains to Alice in “How Bright the Moon,” they all “feed off the nouveau.” They love having new information to gossip about, and what is better than the reveal of who Lady Whistledown is? They probably talked about that reveal all the way through Pen’s maternity leave (or as they called it: confinement) until she published her next issue of Whistledown as Penelope Bridgerton.

Some people just hate to see a woman succeeding. “I don’t care that your spouse worships the ground you walk upon and that the job you love is very lucrative, that should’ve happened to me instead,” sorta attitude is what I’m getting from Pen’s haters, lol. Anyways, all that to get to the screenwriting part of this: Pen becomes Whistledown as an outlet for her frustrations with society. All of her mistakes are reflections of the terrible treatment she gets because she doesn’t fit the ton’s ideal. As Colin said, it makes sense that Whistledown would reflect, at times, the cruelty around Pen.

It’s part of the mirror motif of the season because Pen as a character is a mirror for society. She reflects people’s best and worst qualities. She wants to be more than a wife and mother like Eloise, she shares Colin’s loyalty and kindness (someone has to specifically do her dirty for her to not be kind to them), and she is also deeply critical of herself like her mother, sisters, mamas, and debutantes. She also amplifies all those qualities; for example, when she writes about Colin adopting his rake persona, she’s taking the cruelty of him declaring that he’d never court Pen and turning it back on him but with a megaphone.

I mean, I completely understand why (and I can’t remember where exactly I learned this but I think it was in a live interview she gave during season three promo but I could be wrong) Shonda Rhimes wanted to adapt the Bridgerton books because of Penelope. Obviously she saw something in the other aspects of the series, but Whistledown/Pen is a captivating way of conveying information and examining the ton. Putting Colin and Pen’s season before Benedict and Sophie’s (and, of course, all the other siblings) allows the writers to even more thoroughly use Whistledown to examine and criticize the ton, which will go hand in hand with Benedict marrying Sophie in spite of her being a bastard.

Colin needed to grovel more.

I completely understand where this idea comes from but at the same time... Please give it some actual thought if you believe this. 😭 Not knocking Kate and Anthony, as an oldest sibling I have no choice but to stan them, but it is greatly to Colin’s credit that he approaches Pen the the very first episode of the season with an apology. Anthony isn’t able to do that until the last episode of season two because he’s spent every day since Edmund died repressing his feelings in order to effectively carry out his duties as viscount.

Colin never had any of that sort of pressure and because he’s also significantly younger than both Anthony and Benedict, he’s one of what I call the “sibling-kids.” They’re Ant and Ben’s siblings, yes, but in many ways they are also Anthony and Benedict’s children. It’s kind of like a teen parent relationship with C through H. Anthony, Benedict, and Violet are very much the parents: Anthony nurtures their minds, Benedict nurtures their souls, and Violet nurtures their hearts. Anthony preaches logic (advising Colin to straight up tell Pen he loves her, going on a second honeymoon with Kate since the estate is in good hands and love is important), Benedict preaches freedom (encouraging El’s rebellious pursuits and trying Colin’s drug tea), and Violet preaches wisdom (advising her children to follow their hearts).

Kind of a tangent but as a screenwriter I greatly appreciate the careful construction of the interplaying relationships in this show. With all that, Colin has the benefit of having three advisors in his life and is able to be a very sensitive person, so he doesn’t completely freak out and not know how to approach the situation. Therefore, he doesn’t go overboard with the groveling, which would end up making it Pen’s responsibility to lift him up and set him straight. Instead, he calmly approaches Pen and offers a very thought out apology. The onus is entirely on him and earning Pen’s forgiveness requires no emotional labor on her part. (And this is forgiveness because Colin doesn’t stand by what he said, whereas Pen does, she simply regrets the way she said things.)

It’s such a beautiful scene when he apologizes, partly because it shows the true nature of their relationship: when Colin’s hero complex, his rake persona, Pen’s wallflower persona, and her Whistledown persona are set aside, they are complete equals. They are their truest selves around each other with no need for duplicity or grandstanding. Colin doesn’t need to grovel before Pen for her forgiveness because he takes a mature route where he says his piece and gives her the space to accept his apology or reject it. He truly listens to Pen when she speaks and, as proof of his regret and dedication to their friendship, he offers to help her catch a husband—something she obviously seeks to do but which he didn’t previously know about her.

Honestly, if Colin had just done a bunch of groveling, it would’ve been boring because it means we wouldn’t have the Colin who took Pen’s silence to mean that even the person who was most interested in his travels no longer found them—and therefore him—interesting or worthy of her time. Because he came to that conclusion, he changed everything about himself in the hopes that both Pen and the ton would like the new him better and would take him seriously. The ton certainly does but Pen, who matters more than anybody else, doesn’t.

Colin has always been the type of person who thinks before he acts. The times when he doesn’t are in opposition and that’s on purpose. When Marina seduces him into proposing and agreeing to run off to Gretna Green, she’s manipulating him by using his hero complex to override his thoughtful nature. But we see Colin in his natural state with Pen a lot in season two, especially “The Choice” when they have their conversations about purpose.

Colin and Penelope have also known each other since they were kids, which is why they’re able to be their truest selves around each other. It’s why Colin picks up on Pen’s melancholy and probes her on it, and it’s why Pen immediately understands that Colin isn’t simply growing up when he returns in season three but is putting on a persona. They bypass needing Colin to grovel over his comment in season two because they don’t need grand gestures between them to convey that they’re being earnest.

Eloise should’ve been kinder to Cressida and should’ve worked with Pen to get Cressida a better ending.

If Eloise actually developed the maturity to recognize that Cressida simply wanted to escape her unhappy and tragically doomed life and went about achieving that with unsavory efforts, El wouldn’t have much of a character arc left for her season. As for Pen, she doesn’t owe Cressida shit after all that bullying, and she still didn’t decide to be vengeful. She didn’t disparage Cressida in her column, despite very clearly wanting to. Cressida not getting an HEA serves the same purpose as the Mondriches having to sell their club: only Bridgertons get happy endings. We see this concept even more in Queen Charlotte where there are no Bridgertons and none of the main characters’ situations are happy endings. We know how Charlotte and George’s story turns out, Lady Danbury and Lord Ledger cannot be together, and Violet’s home life is a far cry from the abundance of love she nurtures amongst her children.

Creloise should be endgame and Eloise should be the queer Bridgerton instead of Francesca.

All this nonsense about “the queer Bridgerton” is annoying at this point and I’m so glad that I haven’t had to see it personally surrounding season three. Now, aside from Phillip already being in the show, Creloise was never going to be endgame because neither of them are mature enough for that. Eloise is too focused on how different she feels from everyone else and trying to reconcile that with the idea of everyone having interiority and not being automatically lesser for wanting to get married and have kids. Cressida is too focused on finding a solid marriage and then escaping society for good. Eloise may not like society, but she loves her family and could never leave them behind. However, I do very much read their friendship as queer and think it was probably on purpose that it read that way to us. It’s just that it could never work out in this universe. (There’s always Creloise fics on AO3, it’s fine.)

Frannie’s story is perfect for a sapphic romance, which I’ll talk more about later, and Benedict is obviously also queer, which I will also talk about later. Additionally, from season one, both Benedict and Eloise have been thought of as queer, so I honestly have no idea where people are getting this idea of El being the only queer Bridgerton from. As if we don’t have multiple!

Benedict needs to end up with a man/Sophie should cross dress.

Every person I see saying that Ben needed to end up with a man gets blocked. I don’t need that in my life, especially not when Benedict is representation for me. I don’t think Sophie needs to cross dress in season four because the show has already dedicated a lot of time to Benedict going to little parties and experimenting. Benedict meets Sophie as the Lady in Silver at the masquerade ball at the beginning of An Offer from a Gentleman, yes, but he meets Sophie the maid while he’s leaving a house party. I imagine that he’ll start off the season having a pretty grand time hooking up with people, embracing his sexuality, and then he’ll be hit with the Bridgerton lovesick-itis where he won’t be able to stop thinking about his Lady in Silver. Sophie doesn’t need to dress up as a man to incorporate Benedict’s queerness into the season; he’s queer regardless, and there are much more tasteful—and likely—ways we’ll see that in the show.

Is Franchaela a good change?

I’m so excited for Franchaela I don’t even know how to express it. Like, yes, Polin is my favorite ship and they’ll never be topped for me, but Franchaela is a very close second. I was on board with the gender swap from the get-go because after the first two seasons and Queen Charlotte, it was clear to me that the people making these shows know what they’re doing and aren’t in danger of fucking up the stories they’re telling (despite what some may think). But it was reading When He Was Wicked that I really got excited for Frannie’s season. It’s the perfect book to genderswap because Michael and Francesca spend most of the book dealing with their grief for John and their guilt for falling in love with each other; they perceive that as a slight against John. Using all that guilt in the book and adding in all the emotions that come with discovering that you’re queer—for Francesca, because I assume that Michaela already knows and embraces that about herself. In the book, Michael accepts his feelings for Frannie a lot earlier than she accepts her feelings for him, and I think that translates well into a sapphic version of the story—then Michaela has to deal with Frannie not accepting her queer feelings for her. It’s delicious and we’re not even there yet!

I will say, though, that I understand the worry some people have that the writers may be mishandling Fran and John’s relationship by having Fran immediately have feelings for Michaela and seemingly display some doubts when she kisses John at their wedding. Personally, I think it’s too early to go around decrying the way Fran, Michaela, and John’s story is going. I don’t think Fran and John’s dynamic will be ruined, I think it’s simply a matter of taste when it comes to the book. Francesca and Michael are at the park together in London when Frannie very suddenly starts to view Michael in a sexual light and she gets very flustered, which is obviously brought to the show. But I felt that it was very random and not constructed very well; there was no reason given as to why specifically at this point in their lives, at this moment, Francesca started to view Michael differently. I’ll be happy with how it turns out in the show as long as Francesca isn’t secretly pining for Michaela. I think it’s for the best if she’s immediately attracted to Michaela, so then it doesn’t feel sudden later, but that she doesn’t actually fall in love with Michaela until after John dies and we get to their season.

What is the point of the Mondriches?

I talked earlier about how the Mondriches serve as contrasts to the Bridgertons, where the leads get HEAs but no one else does. In season one, while Daphne and Simon have their issues within their relationship, they ultimately solve their issues without completely compromising their morals. Meanwhile, Will has to completely compromise his morals in order to provide for his family. In season two, Kate and Anthony are struggling to meet their expectations for themselves, just as Will is struggling with expectations vs reality for his club’s success. Where Kate and Anthony are able to step back, accept that they were going about everything wrong, and have their HEA together, it’s only through Colin’s kindness that the club is successful. Although, in both cases, those outcomes are dependent on spokespeople using their influence to rectify the situation: the queen for Kate and Anthony, and Colin for Will and Alice. In season three, while Colin and Penelope don’t have to give up their literary pursuits to have success as the parents of a titled son, Will and Alice have to give up the club.

How do you feel about the very modern twist on makeup and style this season?

I don’t mind it at all. Some of the costumes are irksome (mostly when it comes to minor characters) but for the most part I liked them or at least understood their purpose. I mean, Cressida and her mother’s looks were insane but it fits the fact that they’re trying really hard. I heard somewhere that it’s not so much trying to find the perfect look for Bridgerton but that each season purposefully has a different look that fits with the story being told through the lead romance. So for season three, they take a page out of Portia’s lookbook and the ton goes a little OTT—even Charlotte goes for it (I don’t think she should have but my opinion doesn’t much matter lol).

What do you think of Penelope continuing as LW and using her name, potentially putting herself in danger?

I went into the season expecting Pen to continue writing the column and that’s the outcome I wanted. In Romancing Mister Bridgerton, she simply retires it, but I think it means way too much in the show and also has too many uses as a screenwriter for her to stop writing it. But it’s important that she starts writing it using her real name instead of the moniker. She’s claiming her writings and not hiding from herself anymore. In terms of danger, I think people are very much going overboard. Firstly, nobody is in danger of being beheaded, because in Queen Charlotte, Charlotte melodramatically wishes that she could still behead people because a servant had her woken up in the middle of the night. Secondly, the worst punishment would be imprisonment, but this is Bridgerton, and the queen’s rivalry with Whistledown is a fun game of wits, not a game of “how fast can Charlotte unearth this treasonous snake?”

As for everyone else, they don’t have enough power to actually threaten Pen. She hasn’t written about anyone in a way that would make them want to put her in physical danger, just efforts to stain her reputation, which is why she offers Colin an annulment. What Pen doesn’t know—and what we do know, alongside Lady Danbury—is that the queen wasn’t just in a good mood when she went to the Butterfly Ball, she went with a plan. She wanted to display her power in front of everyone to keep the ton in line but also preserve her rivalry with Pen so that she has something to occupy her time with.

It’s Bridgerton. The romantic leads aren’t actually at risk of death.

I hope I answered all of your questions satisfactorily! I had so much fun dissecting everything!!!

[everythingwasnormalhere]

…don’t mind me :D

STYLE: 🌺🌷🌲🌳

BUNNY: 🌵🪴🌱🌻

SHIP OF YOUR CHOICE: 💮🍄

Please don’t feel pressured to answer these all, but have fun answering what you choose to!

Style:

🌺- Have they have any comforting or happy stories around their disabilities?

YES ACTUALLY<3 ok so, this is kinda spoilery but also really fucking cute so :3 when kyle got his feeding tube, it included a 1-2 weeks long hospital stay. He was super insecure about it, also worsening his already bad relationship with his scars, which made his mental state pretty fucking shitty... Stan stayed at his since he was let out because he's a codependent bastard, and at one point kyle broke down and told him about what was wrong, and our lovely staniel just. Told him he still found him beautiful and that he was glad Kyle was there and a bunch of super sweet stuff that made kyle feel so much better about himself<33 idk man they're so cute (also im writing the fic that includes this lmao)

🌷- How does being disabled imapct their love life? For example does it impact their date nights, activities they can and can't do as a couple, ect.

First, going to restaurants is a No. Unless they have been previously deemed Safe by Kyle, they will Not have dates there (because they can't know whether a restaurant's food will or not trigger an episode as they haven't made it themselves and all). Also Stan's whole depressive episodes make going out harder, because whenever it's a Bad episode he won't even leave the house so like... but they still manage :)

🌲- How do they accommodate eachother? Do they have a routine that helps with this? Do they do this consciously or subconsciously?

I WILL NEVER NOT TALK ABOUT STAN BEING THE FIRST PERSON WHO KNOWS KYLE'S SAFE FOODS !!! This is something he does almost subconsciously but he will not make anything Kyle has trouble eating, and even when they were younger he remembered to bring to school something Kyle could eat (orange juice usually) just in case his mom packed stuff he had trouble with. Kyle meanwhile knows all the signs Stan is falling back into an episode, and he's slowly learnt the ways to pull him out of it before it gets bad :)

🌳- What would happen if they were to break up and/or loose eachother for any reason? How would this impact any party involved, would this trigger their disability?

Stan is So codependent he'd probably not survive without Kyle. Ever. Like, he tries not to make it obvious because he doesn't wanna trap Kyle in an unhealthy relationship, but he's so bad at dealing with Kylelessness he literally couldn't survive by himself. Kyle too but Maybe not to that level because my boy has a permanent layer of mild dissociation that would maybe protect him from the breakup ;w; (but like, they're both codependent as fuck, they're not breaking up ever 😭)

Bunny:

🌵- If they were to have a date that incorporated their disability what would this be like?

When he's having a bad day, Kenny usually can't even leave his bed (and less home), so as stubborn he is he lets Butters pick their plans for the day because he's so much better at accomodating Kenny than Kenny himself 😭 Usually their dates those days will be cuddling in bed/the couch and watching a movie, playing videogames, reading comics... depends on what they wanna do tbh, but they both like those dates a lot :) Also, honestly all their dates incorporate Butters' sensory issues in some way, either him wearing his headphones when they go to loud places (arcade or the movies) or making the TV quieter and dimmer, they incorporate their disabilities in pretty much everything they do even though they never mention it XD <3

🪴- If they plan on having a family how does being disabled effect this and their decision? Alternatively do they plan on having pets, of so how does being disabled impact their collective decision?

First, SHADOW !!!! Well, she wasn't really in their plans originally... she was more like a "yup she's coming with us alright" kinda split decision, and Lemon and Kafka were just an extra XD But they would've gotten pets either way, Butters is the biggest animal lover and Kenny is close to that position too lmao<3 About having children, this was a harder thing because Kenny wanted to be a foster parent, but realistically they wouldnt be able to care for that many children :( in the end though, they adopted a girl and they aren't the best parents but they're pretty great<3 (this happens in their 30s tho XD)

🌱- If the ship were to get married how would their wedding accommodate their disabilities? Alternatively what would their house/appartment/whatever accommodate them?

"No Ken, we are Not getting a house with stairs" -Butters Stotch (he's learnt after their old appartment, Kenny+stairs aren't the best convo 😭) - Their wedding didn't have that many accomodations, quieter music and not that many people invited (Butters' parents had coming in Forbidden. btw.), not that much but they had a great time still :)

🌻- Do they ever have to deal with ableism in regards to their relationship? How do they deal with it?

Short answer: yes 😭

Sadly, they get ableism both ways ;-; Kenny is the one who's most visibly disabled out of them, so Butters gets a shit ton of "you are sooo inspirational for dealing with this, i could never" (insert confused Butters noises, he doesn't get tf they mean by that 😭) and "are you Sure you want to live with That your whole life?" (yes he does he loves kenny with his whole life fuck off 😔✨), and also obviously a bunch of assholes talking to Butters instead of Kenny whenever he's pushing his wheelchair (insert butters being nonverbal atm so Kenny's the one who gotta do the talking 💀). The opposite way too, mainly the times when Butters is having meltdowns - for example, once they were at a party and Butters got really overwhelmed, and instead of helping a lot of people told Kenny horrible things I'm not repeating, and even though Butters was mid-meltdown he still remembered all that stuff and Kenny had to reassure him so much as soon as they got home :(

Ship of my choice:

💮- If one of the characters in the ship are having a bad disability day how long does it take the other(s) to pick up on the fact that they're struggling? Are they good at picking up on the signs, if not, is there a point that they do notice without being told?

You're getting another bunny answer because they're my beautiful boys<33

Butters picks it up pretty soon, but whether he mentions it or not is another story. When they were in school, in case Kenny didn't skip Butters would not say anything until they got home or at least they were alone, instead sending Kenny disapproving looks every time he lied about why he looked so tired TwT then when Kenny started using aids, Butters (and pretty much anyone who knew him) could tell in what lvl of pain he was in depending on what he was using :3

Kenny has a bit more trouble telling, as a teen he usually had So Much stuff in his head so he couldn't catch the signs (as much as he cares, noticing your friend is having a bad day while you yourself are running on 5 energy drinks and 2 hours of sleep isn't the easiest task 😭), which meant Butters usually had to let him know in some way - tugging at his sleeve most times, as he struggles with speaking on bad days. If Butters didn't do that though, Kenny figured out by seeing how he looked much more anxious and was looking around all the time, and he'd make sure to keep him safe and stay with him till they could get home. As adults, Butters had the whole "being out of a dangerous environment means PTSD gets Bad" era, and it was a lot easier to tell as during bad days he didn't wanna leave their room at all, which most times caused Kenny to stay there too till Butters felt ready to go outside<3

🍄- Free question!: If one of the characters disabilities is a progressive disability how do they plan their future? Does this impact their relationship as a whole?

Aaaand another one for bunny cuz I'm not shutting up about them ever (srsly i need help 💀)

This wasn't something they discussed much, Butters was aware Kenny was getting progressively worse because he's good at noticing that stuff, but it wasn't until they got older (40s-50s) that they had a "it Is getting That Bad" moment. Kenny hadn't been dying for a Long while, so he had no idea what was wrong with him this time till he (finally) went to the doctors - basically, huge spoiler ahead lmao, his deaths had just been speeding up an already existing chronic pain condition, so he probably wouldn't have had the whole dying pains thing if he hadn't had that condition in the first place. This whole thing Fucked Him Up, he hid it from Butters for as long as he could, he would lock himself in his room for days on end, he didn't know how to deal with knowing there was no way to stop it besides permadeath :( as soon as Butters knew, he comforted Kenny, because his worth didn't depend on the stuff he could or couldnt do and his love wasn't affected by Kenny's disability at all (🙌!!), and they did their best to get used to the whole thing and manage it, together<3

[fudan-no-nijiiro]

New Audio Drama Announced: HE★VENS as the Shinsengumi!

We know all of nothing about the CD aside from the announcements on the website, which fortunately includes the casting! The Shinsengumi, who are actual historical figures that have showed up with different levels of prominence in many popular Japanese media franchises (such as One Piece, Touken Ranbu, and Golden Kamui, among others).

Personally, I'm mainly familiar with the Shinsengumi through a couple of more niche pieces of media that focus on them directly, and so I was immediately very excited to see this announcement. That said, my spotty knowledge of the Shinsengumi as well as the relatively little information we have so far means there's a lot I can only speculate about at the moment.

Some potentially spoilery speculation below the cut!

General thoughts

First, two things about the Shinsengumi as a whole that make them a great choice for the HE★VENS boys to play:

They have an inherent anti-villain vibe due to their original role as rivals to ST☆RISH. The Shinsengumi were similarly on the "wrong" side of history, being on the side of the military faction that opposed opening Japan's borders to the West…though ultimately, the political dynamics are more complex than that, which most good Shinsengumi adaptations play with to great effect. It's a fitting role for the team that was originally created as "antagonists" to Shining Agency that are nonetheless sympathetic in themselves.

The tragic element: Honestly, a group that is might be best known known for romantically, tragically (and often sexily) dying young is right in HE★VENS's more intense, melodramatic wheelhouse.

Relatedly: one key question is when in the Shinsengumi timeline the story will be set. I would guess from the chapter titles that this story is going to begin near the beginning of the Shinsengumi's founding and continue through the Ikedaya Incident, which is admittedly one of the Shinsengumi's most famous exploits. However, the subtitle (which scanned to me as something like "the path of the setting sun," not that I'm at all sure of that translation) hints at the Shinsengumi's ultimate fate: infighting, political betrayals, defeat, and ultimately dissolution, along with the tragic fates of several of its core members. Their tragic ending seems to have done a lot to cement the Shinsengumi them as sympathetic figures in Japanese popular culture more broadly, and I feel like HE★VENS would handle the pathos of it all beautifully, so I'm a little sad that it seems like it's only going to be hinted at. But still, there's theoretically hope for a second drama down the line if this one is successful, or fanworks if all else fails. (I feel positive that I'll see some excellent doujins coming out with this theme over the next several years, for instance.)

And in the meantime, there's also the video to be excited about! It'll be interesting to see if the video gets integrated into Live Emotion, and if so, when. (Possibly at the same time as analogous past ST☆RISH and QUARTET NIGHT projects, perhaps? 👀)

Cast List

Anyway, it's time for some near-baseless idol-by-idol analysis, based on my very limited Shinsengumi knowledge! Feel free to let me know what I've gotten wrong, because I'm truly just winging it for fun over here.

Van as Kondou Isami: This is a SUPER interesting choice, and how much I think Van stans will enjoy it depends largely on how much screen time Kondou actually gets. On the one hand, he's the leader, which is a fun change of pace, and since the story seems to start early in the Shinsengumi's history, there's a good chance he'll be playing a central role. I think it's a great role for Van, who's the oldest and has displayed a strong protective streak towards the other group members. Plus, since he's a bit of a jokester and usually tries to fade into the background, I think I'll enjoy seeing him playing an important role at the center of the group. That said, though, he's usually relatively absent in depictions of the Shinsengumi that I've seen, either because he traveled places separately or for, well��other, sadder reasons. Regardless, if he mainly shows up through flashbacks or something, there's a risk that he'll be severely underutilized.

Eiichi as Hijikata Toshizou: This one seems like an inevitable casting choice. Eiichi usually gets a lot of the spotlight as a passionate-yet-controlled leader who's a cut above the rest, and that fits Hijikata to a T. The most exciting part about this for me is going to be watching him play of Eiji's Okita, as their close (and literally fraternal) dynamic is definitely going to add some pathos to Hijikata's storyline.

Eiji as Okita Souji: THIS. THIS ONE. I was SO excited to see this casting!!! Okita's is an inevitably melodramatic, very dynamic, and ultimately tragic role with a wide variety of possible interpretations. It has the potential to really push Eiji's acting chops. (I don't know if we'll get behind-the-scenes depictions of the actors responding to their roles as a part of this drama, but sometimes it happens, and it'd be a treat to see Eiji's this time.) There will be more on Okita after this list, but basically, this is breakout role territory and I'm so hyped to see that Eiji's the one cast for it.

Kira as Nagakura Shinpachi: I'll admit, this character hasn't left much of an impression on me from the adaptations of Shinsengumi media that I've seen. Given both that and Nagakura's role as next in command under Hijikata, it looks a little bit to me like the role is going to be crafted to fit Kira rather than the other way around, or perhaps utilized mainly for plot convenience. I thought at first he was going to play Saitou instead and I was very excited about it, so I'll admit to some probably-unfair disappointment on that front. I think he's might play closely off Yamato's character, though, and if the plot includes any inner-party conflict, they're likely to be on the same side of it. That would be interesting to see.

Shion as Saitou Hajime: I'll be honest, I originally misread the names and thought that Kira had gotten this role, and I was very excited about it. I'm less excited for Shion to play him, partly for a silly reason: the cover art has him drawing his katana right-handed, and one of Saitou's prominent traits was being a left-handed swordsman. (Then again, maybe that will be a red herring, and Saitou revealing his true skills to the rest of the group will be part of the plot? Or perhaps they didn't do a lot of research for the cover art. It could go either way.) Still, it's usually fun to listen to Shion acting regardless of his role; I feel like I'm never sure what sort of performance we're going to get from him.

Nagi as Toudou Heisuke: At first, this seemed like a fairly straightforward choice, but then I looked into it a bit more and now I'm not so sure. (I've seen Heisuke depicted as one of the younger members of the Shinsengumi, but when I checked Wikipedia, he had the same birth year listed as several other core members.) Regardless, however, It'll be fun to hear Nagi play what will probably be a fairly openly violent and macho role, as opposed to his usual faux-superior brat facade (/affectionate). …And also, if I'm right and the climax of the story is at Ikedaya, then he's going to get a chance for some extra melodrama then as well.

Yamato as Harada Sannousuke: I mean, this role is fine, I guess? He's far enough from the "core" of the Shinsengumi as typically depicted that he gets regularly cut out from some adaptations, or at least lumped into the background with Nagakura. It's not a bad casting choice from the vibes I remember from elsewhere, in that it seems true to type. I just don't know enough about Harada to know what to get excited about. It's also possible that he'll be close with Toudou as well, so that could be fun.

Hang on, what do you know about the Shinsengumi anyway?

Despite the length of this post so far, truly not a lot! What I do know, I learned from Japanese media with a relatively low barrier of entry. In my experience, only devoted fans of either history or manga/anime know about the Shinsengumi, even in Japan, and it seems to me like their popular depictions are an important part of cultural impact. If you'd like to get a feel for those depictions and how these figures have been mythologized in popular culture, one good starting point might be the Hakuouki franchise, particularly the first game and/or anime.

Hakuouki is an old and VERY successful visual novel series. It bastardizes the Shinsengumi's actual history to hell and back (what if they were VAMPIRE-ZOMBIE BERSERKERS who were the victims of UNETHICAL MEDICAL EXPERIMENTATION?!) for kitschy dating-sim purposes, but it's silly and melodramatic and fun, much like the original UtaPri VNs. Plus, the characters are caricatured in a way that makes them very distinct from one another, so it's quick and easy to get a feel for their personalities. (Better yet, if you play the visual novel version, it lets you focus on one character at a time and get a feel for the role you're most interested in…though Harada and Shinpachi are a bit of a package set, with only one route between them.)

To give you a sense for the impact of this series, I've been to a collab cafe for Hakuouki that was running at the actual real Ikeda-ya Inn, a place where a significant battle of the Shinsengumi's took place, within the past 5 years. The game first came out in 2008. And UtaPri, which launched in a similar format (PSP rather than PS2) 2 years later, is undoubtedly very aware of the Hakuouki franchise and its popular impact.

I found an emulator version of the first game something like 10 years ago to play on PC and Mac. I couldn't tell you where, since that was several hard drives ago, but it's almost certainly still kicking around someplace. And the anime should be even easier to find.

Overall, Hakuouki's characters seem matched in a decently intuitive way with the HE★VENS members cast in each role:

Kondou (though usually not on-screen much) is the benevolent leader who'd do anything for his men.

Hijikata is the leader on the ground.

Saitou's reticent and mysterious.

Toudou's the youngest.

Shinpachi and Harada were kind of off doing their own thing. (This one is a little off, notably)

And then there's one great big notable exception.

Hakuouki's Souji Okita is sardonic, critical, and at times outright aggressive, with a mean sense of humor and an intentional bad-boy vibe. This seems like a stretch for everyone's favorite cinnamon roll, especially playing against a Hijikata played by Eiichi. So instead, I'm going to guess the Okita we'll get will be a bit different. Perhaps something like this:

(Yep, that guy is based on the same historical figure!)

The shoujo manga Kaze Hikaru's Souji Okita is a light-hearted jokester with a sweet disposition, who plays the airhead to Hijikata's more serious attitude…unless he's in a fight, in which case he turns into a bit of an amoral killing machine. He's also the romantic lead of the series, which totals 45 volumes. (It seems as though the licensed volumes are still being released in English, and the manga's serialization only ended in 2020. Gotta respect a long-running franchise!)

What do both of these otherwise very disparate depictions have in common? Three things stand out to me:

their near-fanatical loyalty to Hijikata and Kondou,

their determination to never surrender, and

their refusal to give in to their impending fate. (I don't think said fate will show up in this particular drama—though I could be wrong!—but either way, I won't go into it for now. You can find out about it easily enough if you go looking.)

So yeah, I think you can see why I'm very interested to see how Eiji's Okita turns out! Whether it's closer to one or the other of these two, or its own thing entirely, I believe it'll be fascinating.

In conclusion, as someone who's enjoyed the Shinsengumi stories I've encountered in the past, I'm very excited to listen to the drama and watch the music video when they come out in October!

[docholligay]

Yellowjackets S2 E3: Taissa

Hello! This is about up to Season 2, Episode 3 of Yellowjackets, and ONLY that of Yellowjackets. I have not seen beyond this spot, at all, and know NOTHING about this show. Please do not spoil it for me.  Things that are spoilery in nature, for me, include: saying things like  “Just wait!!” confirming or denying anything I put forward, outside information about the cast interviews or creator statements, leading questions like “Do you think “blank moment” means anything?” etc. Remember  that Y’ALL HAVE SEEN THE SHOW AND I HAVE NOT. This informs the way you  talk about things relating to the show. Just be really careful is all  I’m asking. Also: If there is LITERALLY any stance I  could take on this show or character that would make you upset, please  just fucking block the tag

If you WOULD like to discuss the show and my takes on it, the Discord is right here! I don’t go there, so it’s a great place to get every emotion out.

Please thank @sailorsunspot and @moonlight-frittata for backing this odd way of doing a liveblog, and remember my tip jar is always open

Oh Tai, my frustrating beloved.

Taissa wants to be the good leader. This is why she’s running for office, is she wants to be the law and order, by the book, lawful good, leader. But there is a half of her, a buried part of her, that is a predator. That is grasping, and dangerous, and honestly acts much more like a feral dog than a wofl, but I digress I know we’re trying to do a whole “Call of the Wild” type horror theme here. 

This appears to be quite literally splitting her in half, and I am obsessed with it. I am so into the way that Taissa, then and now, is desperately trying to keep the dark half on a chain, and how it’s pulling out her goddamn shoulder by the joint. It’s a jekyll and hyde type story, where she has this half of her that represents everything that is dangerous, everything she wants to keep underneath, and because shew tries to hard to separate it from herself, it ends up being able to take over, and entity of its own. It’s amazing. 

But we see just how vicious it is. Not only does she eat Jackie--they all do--but she eats her face. That is personal. There’s something aout that, which drives beyond the taboo of eating someone, and into consuming what they are. Jackie lost her shine as leader, a girl who could not create a new version of herself and had to die for the crime, but still the echo of that leadership remains on her, and in eating her face, Taissa is symbolically consuming that mantle. And she’s wholly disgusted by that! She throws up with the knowledge that she is capable of that kind of consumption, that bleeds over to the personal. 

Taissa and Lottie seem to be in a standoff for leadership of the girls, and I think Lottie will win, because Lottie can offer order and a clear direction forward, which is often more tempting to people than the truth. This has been true for a million years, and will continue to be true forever. People like a clear answer to a problem, whether it’s true or not, and if that answer is, “We have to appease the spirit of the forest” well, you would be shocked how easy it is to take that bet. I don’t think I’m above it, in extremis, and neither are you. 

Anyway, so, Taissa, consuming a face in the woods. Taissa now. So, I think it’s pretty clear, at least to me, that the dark half of Taissa, who is still Taissa, wants to be rid of Simone. Simone and her son represent that chain, the one that keeps the bad one tied up, and it wants out. “Is this what you wanted?” Dream!Simone asks. In a sense, yes. How I feel about the whole Simone come thing, hm, I’m not yet sure, it remains to be seen. I’m mostly neutral on it for the moment. 

That mirror scene was the worst, and by that I mean actually perfect. You know how there are horror ‘things’ that everyone has, that just make them go, “Nope. Fuck that. Fuck it forever”? Well, mine is mirrors being ‘wrong’. It absolutely fucks me up. Undoes me. I am creeped the fuck out sitting here in a fully lit room in front of a fucking word document. But! I love it! It is so thematically perfect for what is going on with Taissa, how she can see the worst possible version of herself, the one that is pure aggression and drive, one that denies the softness and love Taissa is capable of. And she can see that it is taking over. She is being hunted by herself. 

I can’t quite tell what the Shadow Tai is saying in the mirror--I’m no lipreader (and please don’t tell me!)--but I have my guesses based on the hand gesture that we’re going to see her hook back up with Van, which, boo hiss I guess unpopular opinion I know. ALternatively, is the man with no eyes asking for her eyes? I can’t decide if it’s pointing out Tai’s eye or replicating Van’s mummy look when she was injured. (again, please please do not tell me) 

[loominggaia]

Question: Why did Jelani keep slaves after becoming king? And shouldn’t the fact he kept slaves mean that Azura logically should have him on her shitlist?

That's a good question, but to explain it properly I have to talk about the history of Uekoro for a second.

In ancient times, the Matuzan cities we know today used to be totally separate kingdoms. Each had their own laws and cultures. Then, when Matuzu Kingdom rose to a Great power, all these little kingdoms were absorbed as cities/holds under its jurisdiction.

This means Uekoro used to be its own kingdom, and slavery was legal there. But when it was absorbed by Matuzu Kingdom, Matuzu said, "We don't like slavery in our great kingdom. You have to abolish it because you're making us look bad".

And Uekoro said "kiss my ass lol".

So in the end, they made a compromise: slavery was abolished for everyone in Uekoro...except the royal family. The Uekoran royal family (in this case, the Fanakas) could continue keeping slaves legally under Matuzan jurisdiction. To abolish slavery or not can only be decided by the Uekoran royal family, with a caveat: once slavery is abolished in Uekoro, it cannot be reinstated. This was part of the terms they agreed to with Matuzu Kingdom.

Slavery is a very longstanding tradition for the Uekoran royal family. Some family members throughout history disagreed with it, but they were not brave enough to be the ones to end it, because the rest of the family would have them by the throat. So, the old tradition continued in the palace while the rest of Uekoro progressed into more modern, sensible ways.

Okay, history lesson over! Now, on to your question...

As the Uekoran King, Jelani could certainly abolish slavery in his palace if he wanted to. Some of his relatives might be pissed, but the most dangerous and volatile of them (his mother) is dead, so it doesn't really matter.

However, Jelani carries a personal grudge against the palace slaves because of the way Itanya chose the Kaconenans over him. This "betrayal" cut him so deeply that it still hurts him decades later. His pain manifests as anger, and he takes his anger out on the rest of the palace slaves so that they may never "betray" him again.

Long story short, the palace still practices slavery because Jelani has emotional issues. See a freakin' therapist, dude...

During the 2 years they were together, Evan tried to convince Jelani to release his slaves many times. But it was a sensitive subject that made Jelani upset very quickly, so he was never able to push it too hard.

Azura, however...She has charisma and intelligence that Evan lacks. She successfully convinced Jelani to abolish slavery in his palace and replace all of his slaves with paid servants. This means that as long as Uekoro is under Matuzan jurisdiction, it can never reinstate slavery again. This was a huge historical event for the city, and Azura is credited for it.

Yes, as a slavekeeper, Jelani was on her shitlist. But Azura is too smart to just assassinate him and watch another slavekeeper take his throne...she went a hundred steps further and married the guy to influence his kingdom instead. Classic Azura move, honestly...

Evan does deserve a little credit though, because Jelani admits that it was his time with Evan that softened him up before he married Azura. Evan showed him what empathy and goodness looks like, Jelani respected him a lot, and wished to be more like him. So, I would say Evan and Azura both contributed. (Dr. Asha deserves some credit as well, because Jelani does mention that she's been counseling him through his grief about Itanya.)

An upcoming story pretty much opens with this scenario, so I don't feel like it's too spoilery. We'll explore this situation more when we get there!

*

Questions/Comments?

Lore Masterpost

Read the Series

[theknightlywolfe]

Spoilery rambling thoughts on The Marvels under the cut

I am so happy we're getting Maria Rambeau content, even if it is mostly alt reality Maria. It would be interesting to see X-Men pulled into main Marvel by America going over to bring Monica back to her home universe. Which means does SABER know about America? They're well informed but she ended up with the wizards. I'm sure there's a file after the attack in New York in MoM but then to the rest of the world she would have disappeared. Or is that going to be the plot of Young Avengers 1, Kamala meeting a trained America and then going to get Monica back?

I know why Kamala goes to Kate (is that a new apartment Ms. Bishop? Smart) but while Kate no doubt knows there is a saviour of Jersey City, not that it is Kamala. Where was the power demonstration and how long does Kamala think she can run things with 1) Kate's penchant for ignoring orders and 2) the fact that she is a high school kid. Again, child soldiers much? And really at some point Kamala is going to blab about how she snuck the tablet in the chaos of the initial fight in her house. And while Kate would respect the guile it also would reveal that Kamala doesn't have the safety net/backing she implies.

Goose! Mama Goose! Do flerkens reproduce asexually or is there a male flerken she hooked up with while catching a ride on Carol's shoulder? Where are the babies? I can't imagine Goose being happy with being separated from them for long so quickly, but they are a menace in quantity and no way the crew will accept them on the SABER platform. Are they in Louisiana with Carol on the farm? Did they warn the neighbors?

Did they touch up Hailee's face to make it more angular? I had to do a double take when they showed her face because it looked off. Not oh she is losing the baby fat off, but like cgi off. I know I mentioned before that I hate her uniform because it is zero protection but I hate Kate's uniform because she might as well wear a t-shirt.

I thought Dar Benn was a good character. Completely wrong casting, but a good character. I just couldn't take the actress seriously and half the times the camera cut to her it just threw me out of the movie. Not that she is bad actress, honestly she didn't do much acting in the role and was emotionally written very one note so its not like she could show any range. But she tried to be menacing and it was laughable. And she had no presence, she was just there saying lines and swinging a reused prop. Maybe if Ronan hadn't been the only person with one of those battle hammers maybe I would accept it as a "universal weapon". If it is meant to convey rank, why did Ronan have it before the fall of Hala when he was taking orders from Yon Rogg?

Secret Invasion makes both more and less sense if this was supposed to be before it. It makes more sense for the Skrull presence on Earth but less sense for Fury's arc. It makes more sense if it is after for Fury's arc and it explains why Carol had to call King Valkyrie to get the Skrull survivors instead of Fury and why the Skrulls manning SABER in Spiderman FFH are now gone but also, why would anyone trust Fury after the very public fuck up in SI in the square and his very literal going rogue for the whole of it? Why do Carol and Monica never bring up him getting Talos killed? Or anyone warning Carol about the very real political shit storm relating to Skrulls on Earth? Why did they even bother making Secret Invasion if it so clearly doesn't fit in to their own storyline?

And really, how funny would it have been if they hadn't done SI with all its bullshit and at the end of the Kate scene Maria Hill walks in and is like "gimme that tablet back" and Kate and Kamala both go full fangirl.

Speaking of fangirls, I did like the nod of Monica acknowledging she not only knows Kamala write fanfic about her Aunty Carol but also that she had read some of it.

[aquadestinyswriting]

'Shipping thoughts

tagging: @druidx, @sparrow-orion-writes , @blind-the-winds because I know you guys live for this drama.

Edit: tagging in @philosophika as well

I've been re-reading through the writing I've done for 'The Wizard's Tale' and have been listening to the playlist I made for it. Gods damn I am obsessed with Edwin's pining after Selene. The man could not be more obvious if he tried. And yet. Because Selene is the most AroAce person in the existence of Titan, she is (seemingly) totally oblivious to all of it.

Even when she has Chrackle dropping hints in her head pretty much from the minute Edwin arrives in Toreguarde, somehow Selene insists that he's just making up for not being in regular contact for almost ten years.

Slightly spoilery stuff under the cut

I mean, I know Selene has a lot on her plate by that point. She's just had to watch her niece fight off one evil dark wizard and his army and has just sent her off to go deal with a problem that Selene feels she should be dealing with personally. Not to mention the fact that Toreguarde could be going to actual war with Fangthane at any minute. But in all honesty? I think by that point, it's become wilful ignorance. Or just a stubborn refusal to acknowledge her own feelings on the matter.

I mean, think about it. Schreiber has been doing everything in his power to 'gently encourage' those remaining Heroes of Toreguarde to leave the city.* Selene has been trying to fight him on this, but can't get rid of him herself. Egrim, who was a far more passive man when it came to getting involved in the politics of Toreguarde, has just been replaced by Edwin. A man that is much more proactive and willing to speak his mind. Selene knows that Schreiber is likely to become pretty damn dangerous if he feels cornered. If Schreiber were to find out that the new Abouna of Galana and the Grand Magus had feelings for one another, then, oh boy, he is definitely going to use that against both of them.

Best case if that happened? Both Edwin and Selene are forced to leave Toreguarde without permission (thereby breaking the Edict) and leave it defenceless while Schreiber works to put his preferred people in charge of the wizard's tower. Worst case? Schreiber arranges to have one or both of them killed, most likely by members of the Cabal so that he doesn't have to get his own hands dirty. Then Schreiber puts his preferred people in charge of the wizard's tower. Either way, Toreguarde is done for.

So Selene does the only thing she thinks is sensible: pretends that she doesn't notice Edwin being a very persistent lost little puppy around her and stamps down her own burgeoning feelings for him because, of course, he's the last friend she has and he needs protecting at all costs. Besides, surely anyone would feel the same about their closest friends, right? (she's so aro, she doesn't even realise that what's she's feeling is romantic love, even when Chrackle is basically spelling it out for her in every last way he can. The poor bird has the patience of a bloody saint for having to deal with that. I'm surprised he doesn't go insane, honestly).

It does not help that Edwin refuses to actually, you know, tell Selene that he's caught feelings for her at any point throughout all of this. Probably because he's just as painfully aware that doing so could put them both in jeopardy. Not to mention the crushing guilt he's feeling over not being able to tell Selene what happened with Alexis (even though, once he arrives in Toreguarde, he has every opportunity to, because he doesn't have the threat of being kicked out of Fangthane hanging over his head any more). Edwin may be a lot more emotionally intelligent than Selene but.... gods, he is a complete dumbass about this.

Seriously, neither of them are being smart about any of this. And I love it! I hate it just as much, but the drama is just too delicious to not have them both be dumbasses that are somehow constantly talking past each other until the incident happens.

*Note: Schreiber had no involvement in Alexis leaving. He was just happy that she, apparently, did it on her own volition instead. Publicly though, he rips Selene to shreds in front of the rest of the Council for "letting" her go, because why waste the opportunity?

[petrichoraline]

I binge-watched this into the dark hours of the night and I had a lot of points I wanted to make but I'll just vent (a bit spoilery)

this show is funnyyy, it had me laughing at points I wasn't supposed to (like when dome would appear standing in the distance out of nowhere like a horror movie character but sweet music played on top) and it also does endearing very, very well.

the main characters' dynamic is interesting. they're a very lowkey couple in a way, domestic and sweet but when the conflict is conflicting the tension is palpable. thorn can be very sassy and petty (kind of despite himself) and fah tends to need direct guidance - their fights remained consistent in nature and the conflict though frustrating made a lot of sense. these are young men with a lot of doubts about their future, their goals and relationships. theyre put in kind of impossible situations and acting out, saying the wrong thing, having trouble with controlling emotions are normal - it's difficult to watch but not because it's nonsense as is the case with a lot of forced conflict in media.

ai and saen had the best only one bed scene I've seen in A WHILE like I couldn't think of a better one, it had beautiful sound design, enough time dedicated to setting the scene and building the tension AND some lovely acting that made the switch in their dynamic so romantic and natural. they also had a cute development, even when softened up ai maintained that sharp tongue and saen kept looking at him with the same adoration and handling his comments with patience (the graduation gift reaction wouldve hurt me but not saen, that man is so used to it 😂)

dome and vee had me going crazy in the first episodes, I really enjoyed the tension but I was rooting for pan the whole time. i was yelling about girls in bls lmao like these dudes had me stressed for a girl I was so sure was gonna be sweet about it AND SHE WAS. at one point I was like "if you grab that empty beer bottle and take revenge I wouldn't be mad tbh", that girl was GRACIOUS. also "I told him that if he found someone he could leave anytime" girlll 😭💗

honestly vee didn't seem too remorseful at the beginning so his guilt really taking over in the second half felt a bit out of nowhere but also right. I think hes usually a playful guy and the consequences didn't really dawn on him at first, not to mention he didn't expect to actually fall in love. dome is a cutie but that man pissed me off, I think the reason he struggled his much being hes now into a guy made the conflict compelling and understandable but it still was so unfair towards his girlfriend, I was screaming BREAK UP on like ep.2 not because I cared about his rs with vee but because he clearly doesn't want to be with her and he should set he free (and ironically it turned out she was the one who tried to give him that type of freedom)

also the hyperventilating scene..I felt that, it was so good.

the colours, cinematography, music choices, humour and drama are really engaging. I started the show a while ago (quite a bit after i had decided to watch it due to good recommendations), stopped for a bit, got to the end of ep.3 and put it on hold for a while because tbh the first episodes weren't too much fun, they had this one single flashback happen like five times in an episode like they were making sure those kids got their exposure 😂 but it really picked up from there, i binged 9 episodes at once, i didn't skip scenes, used the speed up button only once and didn't feel the need to check my phone which is a lot lol

it's fun, it's sweet, there wasn't much basketball after all (which was good for me cause I wasn't in it for the sport, I thought it was a volleyball show 😁) but there was plenty of tenderness, the way characters display affection is so nice and thought out. there's a nice squad, the friendships are not really a main focus? but you can feel the support (glad we got an aii/thorn moment, I was sure those two would get along)

I recommend it even if the first few episodes are a bit on the dull side, what it does well it does really well and it's a worthy watch 💖

[zerolostwalks]

⭐️

Hey Bethany!!! Thanks for the ask!! ^_^

So since no fic was specified, I decided to yell about A Matter of Time. (It's kind of all over the place, so if you haven't read it yet, it may be spoilery?? I will try to keep the commentary restricted to up to Chapter 9)

So to start with I know I said it in one of the Author's notes but each chapter has an associated vibe song, the thing is I honestly don't know WHEN that started to happen. . .like it was very accidental. I was messing with the playlist I had at the time and I noticed that each song I'd had so far(it wasn't that many at the time) each fit a specific chapter really really well. In fact, so far, with the exception of Owl City's When Can I See You Again, every music/musical reference has been accidental/unplanned to some degree.

Chapter 8: Dreaming was actually one of the earliest to be like 80-90% complete. The only bit that wasn't done from the very beginning was the Rosemary conversation(because again, Rosemary accidentally became a bigger thing than was in the original plan/outline) and a good chunk of the conversation with the rest of the band. . .which ended up much shorter than I thought it'd be.

Chapters 4 Bad Bad Breaks and Chapter 9 Our Time is Running Out were both not in the original outline. . .sort of. The bulk of the content of Chapter 4 was outlined however as mentioned in the author's notes Chapter 3 just did not want to end so I eventually made the decision to split it up. Chapter 9 however was not outlined at all, I don't remember when but at some point I realized I had a three month gap in the timeline(which included Reggie's birthday) and that didn't sit well with me. Like the bare bones, very first original plan for this fic was something like 8 chapters at roughly 3000 words each. This is not what ended up happening

I am kind of irritated that I now remember the term "next of kin" because I so would have used that rather than emergency contact. Like seriously at the time of writing that chapter I was staring at my screen going "emergency contact isn't right but what is the right phrase?!" for far too long. 

I also kind of wish I could rewrite some of the early Reggie stuff. Even though I don't know how I would. Mostly because some of the comments make feel like I didn't do as well of a job at making it clear when Reggie actually starts falling in love. (Granted I am also trying to filter through Julie's perspective too) The true catalyst for him actually starting to fall in love (in my perspective) is the pizza apology. Up until that point Julie is a friend, maybe he's a little flirtier with her and maybe she's someone who he could see himself having feelings for. However, (I tried to insinuate this and sort of confirmed it in Chapter 7) Reggie has some serious relationship fears and commitment issues. Like he's probably self-sabotaged a lot of relationships because (at least in this verse) he's terrified that every relationship is doomed to end up like his parents, or more specifically HE is doomed to end up like his parents. 

So like (inny kind of mentioned it in her comment on the chapter) Chapter 5 is awful from Reggie's perspective. Because up until the pizza apology it's like every fear of his is being confirmed but he can't run away because he still needs Julie's help. So yeah mini rant short: Reggie doesn't start actually falling for(or start letting himself fall for) Julie until the pizza apology. 

And finally for this particular commentary I need to make sure I thank @daintyduck99 and give her a really big shout out!! She's been awesome with cheerleading and reading and helping to flesh out areas of the story.

[mothmanslovechild]

I'm losing my mind over GO2

Okay, so I'm having a lot of feelings about Good Omens Season 2 but I know not everyone has seen it yet so I'll hide this a bit, even if I am trying not make it as non-spoilery as I can and also I need to talk to people about this

First of all, if I see anyone trying to fucking boycott or get pissed at Neil Gaiman, you can go straight to hell. Or worse, heaven. And I hope Terry Pratchett makes fun of you. Neil has said that this is act two of three (I'm paraphrasing and act three is not definite just a hope) and to leave these characters on this cliffhanger? If we don't get a season three, it will not be by Neil's choice. Boycotting will only hurt chances of getting that season three and a (hopefully) happier ending. I was bawling my eyes out and am still a mess over the end of the last episode but I also firmly believe that this is not the end. Keep it together, people. We're not going down the toxic landslide of blaming creators and causing a fuss and demonising ourselves as fans and making people hate us and destroying something we all love.

Secondly, I need to talk about that ending. I do not and will not hate Aziraphale for it. Our Angel is definitely being manipulated but it also shows the depth of religious trauma. If anyone has religious trauma, it's Aziraphale. Throughout both seasons he speaks party lines of Heaven even when he's clearly unsure about them. Even when he disagrees, he keeps repeating that god's plan is the right way and if (insert whatever monstrosity) is god's plan than it must be right. Look how far he pushed it with Job - he kept checking and double checking and questioning to be sure that Heaven was doing the right thing. And when he sided with Crowley and helped instead, he genuinely thought he was going to hell for it. Even though it was a good thing and he recognised that it was a good thing. The same goes for the situation with Elspeth to a degree. Aziraphale kept trying to take the moral high ground with her and ruin her chances until it became clear that doing bad things now meant good things later. Like god, he was focussing on the big picture instead of the small one. Not about Elspeth and her needing to eat and survive, but that humans will learn more and be able to survive better as a whole.

Someone else worded it much better than I will (I'll try and link their post later if I can!) but there's also the fact that Aziraphale and Crowley are having two different conversations at the end of the last episode. Go read their post to get the full story because I wholeheartedly agree with them and it really is worded much better, but long story short is that "nothing lasts forever" means two different things. Crowley hears that they don't last forever, that the bookshop doesn't, that nothing does and it's not worth it because what's the point (which has been in Crowley's own thoughts), while Aziraphale means that they can't continue like this forever, they can't be static, they need to adapt because what they tried hasn't worked. Honestly, just go read the post. Please.

NOW FOR NICER THINGS

I'm genuinely not sure some scenes were even real. The dance (the ball and sorry), the Bentley, just some of the lines where I just wanted to melt and live in that moment forever. Seeing their love spanning centuries and the ridiculous mischief they get into. Jim in the fucking fur coat. BEFORE the fall. The fact they all REMEMBER before the fall and the war. Bee being goals, honestly. Them and Gabriel. I just...Oh my god.

Also, you have no idea how much I lost it when I saw posts comparing to the end of Supernatural. I can't with you guys, my neighbours probably heard me cackling.

AND and that was the queerest shit I've ever watched. And there was no bury your gays, nothing homophobic, nothing like that even mentioned. And not just our three main couples, but in the background too. The magicians partner, so many generally NB angels/demons, tough bloke with grindr, it's all over the place. I love it. All I ever want is queer media that doesn't make queerness the main part of the plot. And by that I mean that it's just two people falling in love or just queer people existing without things having to revolve around traumatic/uncomfortable experiences or reactions. All I ask for is happy queer media.

And Michael Sheen's twitter picture....Boy, you're killing us. Not to mention Neil and "wait and see"

I have a lot more feelings so, anyone, feel free to message me and become internet friends because I NEED TO TALK ABOUT THIS SHOW.

[dreamerdagn]

also before too much more time goes by I want to unpack some of my spiderverse feelings. vvvvv all spoilers vvvvv

~~~~~~~~~spoiler warning in case the readmore doesn’t load~~~~~~~~~

~~~~my thoughts on spiderverse 2 pls don’t read if you don’t wanna ~~~~

so I’m not sure exactly how I feel about if a tbc was an appropriate ending, but either way I kind of respect them for like, trying it.

Like, movies, esp franchise movies like oh idk superhero movies, often have sequel hooks. But they also try to be self-contained movies. 

This isn’t a “try to force the audience to come back” kind of sequel hook. This is a “this is a two-parter, we always envisioned it that way, the two movies are complete and separately they are not and that’s how it is.” I’m not explaining it well but in any event I find it way more respectable.

in terms of visuals, last time they were praised for how each frame was beautiful and they rocked the industry by releasing a successful movie with non-realistic models and textures.

this time when deciding how to push the envelope they went hard on like...non-diagetic visuals I guess? Like characters do remark on how like for example Vulture looks like he’s made of paper so that’s actually diegetic, but what about like, the colors changing and melting during Gwen’s scenes with her father? I’d need to watch it again to get more examples but it’s like...everyone watching can see something weird’s happening with the visuals, and the artists trust are trusting the audience to recognize that it’s not literal.

and pretty much none of that was like, too much or not necessary or something.

and on TOP of that the story and characters are still great. All the new characters are good. Even tho the story isn’t complete it’s still 100% coherent.

and I watched a vid that pointed out one of the themes that they’re setting up seems to be “does it have to be our pain that defines us” and I feel like that’s what Miles is being set up to challenge and like. yes. good. I mean both in the story and irl bad things are going to happen to people, but specifically Miles is challenging the antagonist’s belief that he suffered because he tried to be happy, and you have to resign yourself to certain sacrifices. Again, bad things are going to happen, but you can keep striving for the ideal, and when those efforts pay off, it’s worth it, even if it’s not every time. At least I think that’s what they’re going for. The “I can do both!” thing seems to be setting up the “no you can’t and trying will only make neither work out / make something worse happen” vs the attitude of “I’ll solve the problems in front of me and if that triggers another problem, I’ll solve that too.” (I’m not implying the antagonist like, didn’t try hard enough to solve his original tragedy, heavens no, he didn’t know that would happen and it was just tragic, but that after that he resigned himself to the “this means sacrifices must always be made” mindset.)

oh and even more spoilery things...

I kinda thought it sounded like a Prowler-like sting was playing when Miguel was on screen, and Miles has some line like “are you sure you’re Spiderman??” when Miguel breaks out his very Prowler-like claws...so with the reveal at the end of the movie I think that’s definitely going to be somehow part of Miguel’s backstory. We honestly didn’t see much of his backstory, it was a very quick setup of what his damage was and not much else. We know he universe-hopped and we don’t know almost anything about what his life was like in his original universe.

also defo think he’s going to have a redemption arc, they went hard on making him scary and I think that’s because they wanted a suitably dramatic fight, and it worked. not sure what’ll happen to Spot, he seems to have gone full “inhuman monster,” but the harder the redemption the more I like it if they pull it off

oh and also the “you’re the original anomaly” was a huge emotional gut-punch for Miles but as for me I was like “HECK YEAH” because it’s supposed to position him as a problem, but it just means that problem has to be solved and he’s going to solve it.

I know we’ve had a bunch of multiverse movies lately, it being a concept that’s been talked about a lot in other media but generally not movies, but I think this one solidly earns its place for its use of them. The Spiderverse series and EEAaO can stay.