#i Cannot wait to see their arcs in s5 & their happy endings :)

[ice-sculptures]

i am normally such a byers brothers kind of gal but today i've been in such a wheeler siblings mood for some reason

[localfanbaselurker]

Watching Voltron: Legendary Defender for the first time and recording my thoughts

S1-2 | S3 | S4 | you are here! | S6 | S7 | S8 |

_________________________________________

This one is not as long because I literally finished it like two days ago as I write this so the thoughts are still simmering down but I need to remember them before I watch s6

Pre-S5 thoughts

-> I hope we get Keith back, his near sacrifice really scared me at the end of S4. I want my son back.

-> pLEASE let that poor girl get her father back. Oh my lord. Give him back. Pls. I can’t wait anymore. Will the real Sam Holt please stand up? Please stand up?

-> FRICK Lotor I know they’re probably gonna give him some backstory or whatever on him being a good guy but I DOOOOONNNNNNT CAAAAARRRREEEEEEEEE. I do NOT like him and they can never make me. he is EVIL and you cannot tell me otherwise.

->^“but laura-” idc. I don’t trust him. His voice is too American-Psyco-y. He is a little scheming cunty little elf. He’s onto something. He wants something out of this.

->^I will miss his team of lesbians tho. They ate.

->There seems to be a lot of hints towards allurance! I hope they get a good arc. They are very sweet!

-> I hope we see more of Matt! It’s like that one quote from Brooklyn 99. “I’ve only had [Matt] for [an episode and a half] but if anything were to happen to him, I’d kill everyone in this room, and then myself”

—~—~—~—~—~—///////|||||\\\\\\\—~—~—~—~—~—

Post-S5 Thoughts

-> my suspicions of Shiro grew bigger and bigger as this season progressed. I think I have it figured out by now. 🔍🧐☕️

->^Lotor low key ate her up with this

->^i think that’s her main arc: she needs to let go of the thought that all galra are evil (which she has fair reason to do so), as it is a war, and things aren’t all black and white. As much as I hate to admit it, I feel like having Lotor around this season will help her character development.

->^I wrote that at the beginning of s5, I was right, it did help a little (though then they brought up the fact that Lotor was half altean so maybe she just thinks he’s good because of that—let’s hope not)

->They did not, in fact, bring Keith back. Very upsetting.

->WE GOT SAM HOLT BACK!! THE HOLTS ARE BACK!!! THEY HAVE FOUND THEIR FATHER!!!!

->^That was an emotional episode for me. I cried when they didn’t find him in the “prison” thing and I cried again when Pidge ran into the hologram thing. They make me feel so weak. I was so happy when they got him back fr.

-> And then I cried again at the end of episode 3 cus he was like “I decided im leaving, good luck out there, kids”. Bawling.

->Speaking of episode 3… 🔍🧐

->^and episode 4…and episode 6… 🧐🧐🧐🧐

->^🧐🧐🧐🧐🧐🧐🧐🧐🧐

->^me rn vs. you guys probably.

->^He’s 1) been listening to everything Lotor says, ignoring the team and going behind their back/without consulting them. And 2) Being uncharacteristically hostile to everyone. I swear I felt like I was reading a really OOC fanfic nearly the whole season.

->^Yes, Shiro is leader-y, but he also (s1-2) tended to listen to his team and have unserious moments. I feel like he’s lost all of that. And I think that last picture is all I need to know.

->(moving on)There seems to be a big focus on Lance this season (yay!) I really hope it’s not for the usual reasons characters get extra screen time (because I would die). I feel like they have been leading him to be the black paladin with how leader-y he has been this season but even if that’s not the case I do still feel they are going to do something really important with him for the next season and I am so excited to see what they are going to do with him! 😊

-> if Keith doesn’t leave the Backyard of Malnutrition next season im going to make myself go inside the show and personally take him out

->/j/j/j…or is it? ☕️🧐 (someone needs to take this emoji away from me it’s made me too powerful)

->WE GOT KEITHS MOM!!!!

->^I was so shocked I literally slammed my computer shut (not that hard, im not a psycho dw)

->^HE GOT HIS MOM BACK!!! I cried after that episode because can you imagine? He just got her back and he thought she was dead/abandoned him for like his entire life. And now he has her back and oh my god I need to open ao3 where are those “first time calling <someone> mom/dad” one shots.

->^AND KROLIA. SHE JUST GOT HER BABY BACK!! Stop im fr crying as i type this. guys. Fuck. I genuinely can’t handle family-related stuff in shows like I will cry so hard. It doesn’t even have to happen on screen my brain just makes the scenarios for me and I obey and bawl my eyes out.

->They are trying to make me like Lotor and Allura together…it is almost working. Almost. I still don’t trust him. And I like allurance better.

->^i just KNOW she was internally kicking her feet and giggling at this. “Then you’re…🤔😯 Half altean 🤭🤭😍😍😍”

->^speaking of that ep, I was sooooo happy for Allura because she finally found a way to still be connected with her dad/culture after having to lose him in s1 and not being able to pilot red in s3, absolutely overjoyed for my best girl!! 🤍🩷🤍

->I absolutely LOVED episode five’s subplots. We have: A-plot) Keith+ his mom going on a mission together, B) Lotor +Allura finding altean stuff in Haggar’s lair, and C) my personal favorite, The garrison trio getting up to shenanigans with a galra robot thing.

->^Later Pala-dudes is my hero, too, lance

->^^Look at those dorks. I love them so much.

->^See this is proof that Lotor is actually Evil™️ and Not Good™️ because he immediately went to violence and trying to fight to greedily get what he wanted while Allura saw the right path and allowed the secrets to be shared with her willingly in this essay I will-

->When is Lotor gonna find out his mom is haggar?? Hopefully s6 cus I can’t take this anymore. the evidence is RIGHT THERE, bucko. Figure it out already.

->If they want me to like Lotor they better work extra hard next season. I’m beginning, BEGINNING, to actually, kinda-sorta-maybe actually like him. BEGINNING! And it is a rough start at that. But im defrosting my built-up dislike for him. It’s a burn slower than 300k words but it’s getting there. They’re gonna hold hands any chapter now.

These are thoughts I’ve been compiling for a while. I will continue to post my thoughts on the tag “laura’s first vld”

I finished Season 5 on 07/13/24. I have not yet started season 6. Stay tuned!

[thethiefandtheairbender]

Thank you so much for answering my anchor question.

I’m happy to see aro rep but I think I’ll headcanon Myuna to be bi if that’s ok. I hope she ends up with Chen though. I’m a sucker for romance.

I stopped watching the dragon prince after season 4 cause I disliked season 4 so much. I’m afraid of picking up season 5. I loved the first 3 seasons though especially season 3 had lots of rayllum scenes.

Honestly I’m tempted to rewatch the whole thing just to get to the pirate arc. I remember loving Callum and Rayla as a couple in season 3 but again season 4 really wasn’t my cup of tea.

I think she can definitely be a bi oriented aroace (I don't think the gender of her partners would matter to her) so why not both? I'm pan and ace and aro spec myself!

Honestly I loved S4 but that's because I liked what it did with stuff theme / character wise (i.e. love isn't always good and you will do awful things for the people you love), and I always expected Callum and Rayla to begin to have to jump the hurdle of "Rayla's trauma makes her hyperindependent and that's detrimental to her core relationships" so I like that we're finally getting to it cause I'd been waiting for it since like s2. It's not the happiest part of their arc by far but it's absolutely something they've always needed to address. (I also like filler and I think S4 was a great season for Ezran). I know most people (even ones who didn't like S4) LOVE s5 and have it as their favourite or 2nd favourite season (usually with s2 or s3 as their other fave); it's my second favourite as well after s3 and S5 has my favourite Rayllum scenes / development by far.

These are just some of my fave moments from the first two episodes and I don't want to give away more spoilers but like. S5 is so freaking good on like all counts but particularly for these two, and I cannot wait to see where everything goes - it does a great job at offering pay off for S4, developing its own thing, and steering things ahead for S6. Also has some of the most interesting imagery / development for the show thus far in terms of dreams/nightmares, and Kim'Dael is a treat all on her own as an antagonist in the Sunfire elf plot line

Some of my best stuff on AO3 is also just post S4 if you're interested like "older but just never wiser" and "this fall just might kill me" both of which ended up being predictive of S5 in some ways, which is just chef's kiss

[treecakes]

VERY BELATED THOUGHTS HALFWAY THROUGH S5

the dub has come so far over the past few seasons a lot of the actors have gotten really comfortable in their roles and it’s lovely to see i think it’s slowly becoming less awful as it goes on and i do enjoy the dub and look forward to it immensely

natsume: he does such a good job now i’m so pleased with his VA even though still he is always yuki tsuritama to me 😭 but i was so happy with this week’s episode that it inspired me to actually write a follow up to the 2022 post.

baby natsume: great! 10/10 performance in childhood home arc. looking forward to s6e01

nyanko: as always he’s the best voice actor in this whole show.

catgirl: sorry i don’t like her now i don’t think the voice is right for catgirl nyanko. it’s too monotone it’s the opposite of what catgirl nyanko-sensei should be

reiko: dub reiko is great 👍 i will probably have more nuanced opinions after gomochi’s benefactor because that is my favourite reiko episode and it hasn’t been dubbed yet

touko: i need to wait for touko & shigeru. but i am anxious i don’t think that va can pull off the emotions of that episode.

tanuma: i still cannot stand his voice it hasn’t grown on me at ALL. that is not my friend tanuma. omibashira was awful he didn’t even sound upset during his migraine emotional breakdown how do you fuck it up that badly.

taki: taki my friend taki her dub is great they did so well with her. i love her VA and they wrote her lines perfectly. this latest episode (it must not be bound) was phenomenal i think.

natori: i love dub natori he’s easily one of my favourites i’m so excited for world unbent

matoba: FAVOURITES EVER. holy shit. they did his character so right that’s the perfect casting for him. is he slightly ooc? yes. is it still fun? absolutely. he’s so sarcastic and his lines are always so funny truly dub matoba changed me fundamentally. whoopsies /_^

hiiragi: I STILL LOVE HER. she’s fun though not as monotone as she should be. but i’m fond of her voice anyways.

nanase: i love dub nanase. she did great. i’m out of words. end post.

okay! natsume dub thoughts now that s1 has finished airing:

this is a mess and i love it.

i have no clue what the dub director was doing. this is a shitshow.

i cannot hate it because it is natsume and it is still entertaining but. *gestures at it*

i will never take this dub seriously and it will be the subject of my mocking for years to come probably

ALSO can they PLEASE release a full cast list i want to know who is voicing who. we only know the vas that appear in episode one 😭

okay individual va thoughts:

natsume: i didn’t like this va for him at first but he’s come a long way over the course of s1 and i’m looking forward to seeing his performance over the next five seasons and hopefully the movies too. overall i think he did a good job!! but this will always be yuki from tsuritama’s voice. i literally cannot stop thinking abt yuki from tsuritama when he speaks.

baby natsume: i think this va did a good job but there’s not many baby natsume scenes in s1… s4 is the real test with the childhood home arc.

nyanko-sensei: my absolute favourite casting choice. that is nyanko-sensei/master kitty cat. i also loved his progression over the course of this season there is a clear difference in performance between episode 1 and episode 13

cat girl nyanko-sensei: she barely appeared but i like her voice

reiko: same as above. i think her va fit her well.

nishimura: barely appeared but i think he did a good job

kitamoto: same as above.

sasada: i love her va it is perfect for her.

touko: i’m sorry i really wanted to like this casting choice 😭 i know her va was excited for this role but it’s so. i have no clue what directions she was given she started out okay then progressed to the fakest old lady voice i’ve ever heard and then in episode 13 it was a more believable old lady voice but i hated it more. but i’m trying to be nice. 😭

shigeru: he barely appeared 😭 but i like his va more than touko’s

tanuma: LEAST FAVOURITE i literally hate it so much that is not my friend tanuma kaname. that is a completely different person and i’m so mad. it is so entertaining though. but i’m so mad. i laugh every time he speaks. it is so bad.

natori: i Love this voice it sounds like an off-brand j michael tatum and it’s so funny. it’s exactly what i have been joking about for years when talking abt a hypothetical english dub. i am so happy with this. it’s so entertaining. his deliveries are really off but again. it is so entertaining to me.

hiiragi: hiiragi my BELOVED i love her voice. i can’t wait for her to appear in later episodes the moon-splitting festival arc will be so fun.

urihime: had like. two lines. she was fine 😭

sasago: same as above. i probably won’t be able to judge either of their performances until s6 takuma arc gets dubbed.

fox child: technically a recurring character and i love his voice. it’s so cute. excited to see him again in s3 :)

hinoe: yes!!!! she sounds so obnoxious and i love it

misuzu: his voice fits but i have no other opinions

the midrank youkai: they’re fine but they will never be the japanese vas.

[mymostimaginaryfriend]

QoTS 5x02 Reaction Post

My brain has basically been Jeresa airhorns since the episode aired lmao but I’m going to try to add some Thoughts to my liveblog from last night.  Here goes:

First of all thank you to @gild-and-fire​ for making this tag meme for me that is ALREADY coming in handy.

Iiiiiiiinteresting that the moment James’ name is cleared the Ice Queenpin of last week thawed quite a bit, right?  Sure the trademark cool under pressure business dealings were there for Teresa (including a bit of ruthlessness) but in very calculated, ultimately successful way rather than terrifying.

James is back like what? 48 hours and already throwing up speed bumps for the descent of Teresa’s soul.  It’s gonna be a tough job, but if anyone can do it....

How to say I love you without saying I love you: Some guys bring you flowers, some bring you a personal army.

This episode was a Jeresa Callback All U Can Eat Buffet

There were SO many from the greatest hits: Take Care of Yourself, You too / “Smart” / You Deserve That / I Want You to Stay etc.  to even visual cues from past Jeresa scenes - the talk outside about going to NYC / 2x04, the lunge into the kiss from 3x09.  And of course the cigarette scene that @medievalraven​ goes over in her great meta.  It was an episode tailor made for parallel gifsets. 

I’m kinda shocked they didn’t add a driving together scene for old times sake.  Still holding out hope for a S5 Jeresa adventure episode too.

These two, as ever, are so so soft and so so stupid lmao.  But even with the interruptions of their private scenes, they packed SO much in. And I loved how you could both tell they’d learned from their past miscommunications.

They were a little rusty at first - doing that thing they do approaching it from an angle instead of head on - T: “You didn’t have to come back.”  J: “Yeah I did.”   T: “Are you staying?” J: “Do you want me to stay?” But right out of the gate James is like this is what I feel, I need you to verbalize what you want from me. Which by end of the episode Teresa does.

But then he says “these Russians are animals” and you can practically SEE Teresa visualizing his death in her head so she’s like "you should go”.

LOL at James playing the emotional game of chicken with THE master of the game Teresa Mendoza.  Him being like “Okay I’ll pack...this is me walking to the bed slowly...packing...to leave...this is me leaving....and I’m going to wander around the house...slowly... in case anyone needs anything...just in case...do a shot with Pote...get to know Chicho...oh hey, I’m already packed let’s go to NYC” lol.

“I’m a quick healer” If only, my friend.

The laugh!!! the smiles!! the heart eyes!! the “people who you love” meaningful eye contact!!

The KISS - THE LUNGE - THE WAY JAMES CUPS HER HEAD WITH HIS HAND AND THEY TILT THEIR FOREHEADS TOGETHER - THE WAY JAMES TOUCHES HIS LIP AFTER LIKE WE’RE IN GODDAMNED PRIDE AND PREJUDICE!

The smoking scene.  Poor James was probably thinking of a victory celebration a la 3x09 like “will my stitches hold for that?? Lets find out” and then

Teresa comes out with a CLEAR “I want you to stay”!!!! growth.gif

Only to  drop the (albeit heart eyes included) hammer of “You and me can’t happen.”

I love how James didn’t technically agree.

Can’t wait to see if Teresa caves physically or emotionally first....

Just gonna leave these lines here: “I thought we could be like normal people” / “Get lost for awhile, get these hands clean” / “[change] is the only way to survive in this life” / “we can’t happen...maybe in some other life but not this one.”  Mmmhmmmmmm.  

Non Jeresa stuff:

I really like Oscar the Dominican so far.

Teresa’s “We can double our business or go to war. These are my terms.” CLASSIC Teresa smarts with Queenpin power...I loved it.

The judge: “You’ll be the next Mexican I set on fire”. He can’t just die now, his death better top Cortez’s death by chainsaw b/c this had me ready to drive to NOLA and do it myself.

I loved the expression on James face when Oksana said “[Kostya] wasn’t sure you’d save my life.” LOL like saving other ppl’s lives is kinda what Teresa does, if only I could get Teresa to save her own.

Is the Oksana stuff legit?? It felt really convenient that the “sleeper cell” was dead before Teresa could talk to them.  Were they really rogue or did Oksana just kill off everyone who knew otherwise?  We’ll see. Kostya agreed to her new terms for now.

I loved that of all the many conflicts introduced in the first ep (James, NYC Russians/Dominican rivalry, waterfront $$, the kill team, etc) so many had some sort of resolution or solid movement FORWARD in this episode.  That’s something I really missed from the earlier seasons: mini conflicts that had a 2-3 episode arc instead of *cough* dragging out all season (s4).

Speaking of which, Boaz’s sixth sense of when things are going too well for Teresa remains unparalleled lol.  But I can’t wait to see what JT does next. He’s killing it. Maybe literally...

And now.....the baby news.

At first I was too happy to get an extended James and Pote conversation to care but is anyone else kinda irked that it was POTE who shared the Tony story? I get it story wise w/ his own Tony redemption opportunity on the horizon with KA’s pregnancy they wanted to get that “this world is not for a child they make you weak and vulnerable” ominous foreshadowing in there but oof.  I wish it had been a Teresa/James convo first. 

A baby can be a catalyst for a lot of things (as if Teresa isn’t already feeling the pressure to get legit fast) but what I’m wondering is this:  If it comes down to protecting pregnant Kelly Anne or Teresa, in the heat of the moment, who will Pote choose? He violently reacted to the incarcerated teen boys and that was before he knew KA’s news.   

I’m glad James stayed.  Teresa needs someone who is focused on HER safety alone and as evidenced many times this episode, she definitely will need it.

CANNOT WAIT TO HAVE MARCEL BACK NEXT WEEK!

[tuiyla]

She-Ra’s like, really good, people

It’s been over a week since She-Ra season 5 came out and I binged it and this is not going to be coherent but I just want to rant about it a bit before writing some more structured metas. I deffo wanna write about Catradora and how I think SPoP is the true spiritual successor to the Avatar.

But first, let me just scream about how good this show is. I already started rewatching it, pretty much straight after finishing it, and I don’t rewatch tv shows often. The exception is Avatar (seen it like 15 times) and sitcoms. But She-Ra is so layered that I felt like I needed to watch it again just to appreciate the dynamics even more.

I already enjoyed the first season but it kept getting better and better. I’m not in love with the art style and it’s definitely for a younger demographic overall than my other favourite animated shows, but like any good kids’ show it balances tone well. It doesn’t talk down to its target demographic but also includes more traditionally mature themes in a digestible and entertaining way. Not all the jokes landed for me but as the series went on I learned to appreciate the tone and the type of humour She-Ra goes for.

It’s funny to me because this is definitely the type of show I would have rejected as a kid, with all the princesses I would have deemed it “too girly” and therefore not for me because screw gender roles. There’s a degree of internalized sexism to that, for sure, a rejection of the feminine because it’s always been seen as less somehow. But there’s also a truth that, at least in my childhood of the late 90s and early 00s, children’s media targeted at girls often had a poor quality to it, at least when compared to “boys’ stuff”.

She-Ra is not only a clever, heartfelt, complex story, it also transcends that binary of having to be either for girls or boys. I know most of modern animation rejects that as well, but She-Ra embraces so many traditionally feminine qualities while also going beyond gender roles and even the gender binary. This show is so queer, man, and I love it. It’s especially impressive when you consider the source material that was literally just the girly version of He-Man. I have no beef with 80s She-Ra, haven’t seen much of it, but this is such an upgrade.

That being said, I would have loved to watch She-Ra as a kid. I’m so incredibly envious of kids, aged around 10, who get to watch this show as they’re growing up. But I am so, so, so happy for them and for the future of animation that shows like She-Ra can be made now, that they’re being made. I’m going to go into spoilers soon, but just before that: She-Ra’s a perfectly enjoyable show in many aspects. I think the worldbuilding’s pretty cool, the story feels coherent and planned out, it’s lighthearted and so genuine. That’s the word that I ultimately choose to describe the series: genuine.

I feel like so much of TV aims to be dark and gritty nowadays, animation included, and though that’s slowly turning to dark comedy or a balance between fun and serious, it’s still the norm. At some point in the last decade, creators became terrified of being judged as cheesy. Even something like the MCU bathes in bathos to avoid being cheesy. But She-Ra proves that creators shouldn’t be afraid of being genuine, of basing characters and storylines on the simple power of love. Like, it’s such a cliché trope but I think that’s mostly because it has become stale.

Noelle Stevenson has talked about the importance of love in her story and I’m so grateful for that. Through, She-Ra, she’s truly proven how powerful love can be in a story and how it doesn’t have to be cheesy. It’s just so unabashedly genuine. The power of love and friendship literally saves the day several times but it’s always so genuine and more importantly it always makes sense that it doesn’t get boring. If the foundation wasn’t there, then I’d say “well this is just super cheesy”. But the show makes a point of building relationships and making them the focal point of the story.

Alright, so, spoilers because I need to talk about character arcs and THAT KISS and just everything. I really need to write more in depth about Adora and Catra and their relationship but for now I feel like it’s so important to appreciate how they’re developed. Everything from their shared childhood to their trauma with Shadow Weaver and the finding their way back to each other, it’s just *chef’s kiss*. It’s so well-written and believable. Ngl, I do have some minor issues with Catra’s redemption arc. Let’s just say that on a scale from Kylo Ren to Zuko, she’s definitely closer to Zuko. I also appreciate Shadow Weaver’s death scene and how it allows them to move on. I didn’t see that one as Death as Redemption and it shouldn’t be. Again and again the show made it clear that she was abuse towards both girls and nothing will negate that.

From what I can tell, the fandom really latched onto Catra, even when it wasn’t clear whether she’d get a redemption arc. I think that’s important, because unlike some characters in animation, Catra’s actions were almost always framed appropriately. There was always an understanding as to where she’s coming from, how she’s acting from a place of hurt, and yet her actions weren’t justified. They weren’t suddenly all okay just because she’s hurt, too. I especially loved in the season 3 finale when Adora was allowed to finally say no, to say that Catra’s actions were not her fault. That season as a whole was beautiful, like, episode three when Adora’s struggling so much and Catra has the opportunity for a better life but she still fails to choose her own happiness because she’s too bitter over SW and Adora? It’s poetic cinema. I love that angst, so well done.

It would be so easy to misfire in Catra’s storyline and either a) write off all the awful things she does because she’s just “misunderstood” or b) irredeemably stuck in her abusive environment with no hope of escape. They balanced quite well there and managed to handle such a complex character with delicacy. I’m quite happy with how Catra was portrayed because on the one hand, she’s painfully relatable to me and I assume to many others. The audience can see their own mistakes reflected in her character because we’ve all been too stubborn, done things out of spite, refused to acknowledge that we were wrong because we were hurting so much. At the same time, I always felt like the show gave me enough space to judge Catra’s actions and acknowledge that she was in the wrong. I honestly think I would have been a better adjusted teenager is if saw this show just before my angsty years, lol.

I’m going to write more about Adora at some other point but I love how vulnerable she’s allowed to be. Protagonists never used to be my favourite characters because they all seemed the same, with two major categories: the stereotypical male hero who can do no wrong or the angsty boi who can be shitty and the text still frames him as awesome. It’s only recently with series like The Legend of Korra and She-Ra that I go “damn, protagonists can be like that, huh.” Adora is a dumb jock who tries so hard and she deserves all the hugs in the world.

Also, Catradora? Breathtaking, amazing, groundbreaking. No doubt She-Ra needed shows like Adventure Time, LoK, Steven Universe and the likes to pave the way but still, it went there. I saw people be anxious about whether they were gonna be queerbaited, but I always, idk, knew? Trusted? That She-Ra would follow through. I didn’t wait six years for Bubbline to happen for Catradora to not get their big damn kiss. The series has been so effortlessly queer from the get-go that it just made sense that they were always heading there. I did see a gif of the kiss before watching s5 and ngl, that spoiler kind of bummed me out in a way that I wanted to be surprised. But even before I saw that I wasn’t worried. And the context of their journey in season 5? That cannot be spoiled by a simple gif. You have to experience that to fully appreciate it and that is the marker of good storytelling.

I understand that, though this should be the norm by now, Noelle Stevenson still had to be smart about how she approached the execs and she wasn’t sure this could happen. I cannot tell you how happy I am about what she said regarding how Catradora was so integral to the story that the execs couldn’t not allow it. That’s so brilliant, and it feels so natural in the story. Queer love saves the day and it’s not ambiguous, it cannot be censored because you lose a part of the story without it. You did it, Noelle, you funky little lesbian, what an icon. I can’t wait to see more stuff from her.

In other news, I appreciated other characters as well, like how all the princesses got to be different and awesome in their own unique way. Season 5 was great for so many characters, Mermista got so much to work with and Spinnerella and Netossa got so much more characterization than in previous seasons. Glimmer continued to be the third most important character in the story and I’m happy about all the relationships that also got to be canon. Good characters and dynamics all around, no wonder since the show is built on that.

Such a satisfying conclusion and one that makes you feel like this is just part one of a much bigger story. Such genuine, heartfelt moments, well-developed characters, complex themes explored in a respectful and digestible way, and such an unapologetically fun show. Melissa Fumero as a side character? Yes please. Catra’s new haircut? Heck yeah! She-Ra’s new design? Oh my.

I’m not even like, super into She-Ra, and I usually don’t write so much about things I only watch casually. But this show is so good and important that I had to rant. And I will write more about it eventually, but for now I needed to get all of this out. I’d give it a better structure but if I really get into I might never end up posting it so for now here, have this ramble of love. She-Ra, of all shows, deserves that.

[amwritingmeta]

This season we’ve had so many “You’re dead” or “Thought you were dead”s going on.

First Lilith returned. She had to die to get what she wanted. I mean...

Then Eileen. For her, love saved her and death didn’t stick. I mean...

Then Rowena, though, granted, not exactly alive - she’s just not out of the narrative. Her sacrifice brought her into her truest self, though, which I find interesting.

Then Jack! Forgot Jack the first time around and he also was brought back from the Empty. Hmh.

Plus our Kaia was brought back from the Bad Place and reunited with Claire. I swear, this season just brought it, didn’t it? :)

Then Lucifer, who, like Lilith, was brought out of the Empty itself.

Now, both Lucifer and Lilith were brought out of the Empty by God.

Plus we learn that, yes, Sam did bring Eileen back, he did save her, but it was thanks to God’s nudging.

Rowena went badass down in Hell and claimed the throne for herself (rightly so and hot damn still makes me dance) but on a throne is where she truly belongs, so her getting that for herself just fits her arc beautifully.

I’m just musing on all the ways Cas may come back.

If Eileen’s return turns out to have been foreshadowing that would be beautiful af, but with all the God interference I wonder if Jack will grant one final gift to both Cas and Dean and give them both what they want most...

It would make sense for Jack to give a nudge.

Dean may still need a gentle push into feeling ready to open up. Having Cas return as if out of the blue would be fascinating to watch tbh.

And look it, I would love for Dean to play a role in Cas getting out of the Empty, but perhaps what he needs most is all to do with him daring to tell Cas he wants him to stay, once Cas is there with him again.

I also wonder if we’ll get Cas in the Empty at all in 15x20. I kinda hope we don’t. I don’t know if it’s something we necessarily need to see again, you know?

I keep thinking about the S5, S7, S8, S10, S11, S12, S13 (by jack they’ve lost each other or been afraid they’ve lost each other a LOT eh?) reunions between these men, and though Dean praying to Cas (every night) to wake him in the Empty would be *chef’s kiss*, the simple belief that Cas would come back was enough in S7. Holding onto that trench coat. “Part of me always knew you’d come back.” To have that line finally fit in with where the characters are at would be quite satisfactory. Of course, Dean actively praying would make it fit as well. Faith-based action isn’t deal-making or spell-finding. Know what I mean?

Not that I would mind. I genuinely don’t care how Cas comes back, I only care that he does and that we get Dean in reciprocation mode like hells to the yes, Dean loves Cas back BOOM BABY! :P

As for Cas’ arc, being brought back to where he truly belongs, to be with the man he loves, is gravy. Because he’s faced his deepest fear—happiness, rooted in the belief that he’ll never be enough just as he is—through finding self-acceptance and self-love and knowing that him feeling his feelings and knowing the truth of his feelings is enough. He’s been so comfortable in his own skin all season. So sure of himself. So tired of the miscommunication and blame and bullshit. It’s like a visual thread, him slowly having to admit to himself that Dean doesn’t love him back, given to us through how he behaves around Dean, his reactions to Dean, his wanting to break through that wall and finding himself unable.

It’s damned beautiful acting.

And it’s not like I hadn’t noticed, it’s just knowing that Misha knew going into this season where Cas was going to end up lends such weight to it all.

And of course Cas is wrong. Dean loves him back with all his heart. And Dean needs to face his deepest fear—happiness, rooted in the belief that he’ll never be enough just as he is— if he’s to live a long and happy life. And since Cas is the embodiment of Dean’s happiness, perhaps Cas needs to come back for Dean to face and embrace how little he can take losing happiness EVER again. Better to risk it all than to not have happiness around.

Gah! I cannot wait to find out so I’m just very much happily and excitedly on the edge of my seat waiting to see what we actually get!

It’s the finale tonight.

How crazy is that??

[sometimesrosy]

Did you ever see the B/E relationship coming, or did you find it a big surprise? I know we can only speculate, but in your opinion, what has been Bellamy’s mindset about E and C since finding out Clarke was alive? What do you think his mindset is about the situation/them throughout season 6, going into season 7? I feel like he will be very focused on O since the anomaly took her, but what’s a way you think the love triangle could be resolved? Or if it will be?

I’ll be honest, I saw the B/E relationship coming from the cages. Not that it WOULD happen, but that it could. I wrote fics where she was cast in a romantic capability. When s4 happened and she went to space with spacekru leaving Clarke behind, I thought yes b/e would probably happen, but it didn’t bother me because that was one way to tell a love story an the end result would still be bellarke endgame. THAT is why I put a moratorium on b/e questions for the whole hiatus, because I wasn’t freaking out about b/e possibilities and I didn’t care to freak out about it and fandom was FREAKING OUT ABOUT IT. And it’s healthy boundaries to not take on other people’s freak outs. 

You have to start with season 5 to understand this love triangle I think. Because the 6 years apart created a new relationship for Bellarke that was based not on reality, but on memory and fantasy. Clarke created Bellamy as a fantasy boyfriend that she could talk to and kept her sane. He was a hero who could do no wrong and would always be there for her.  Bellamy created something similar, but because he thought she was dead, she was more like a ghost haunting him, he was the widower and she was the dead wife that lived in his head with him and guided his actions. He never thought he could have her again, because she was dead, while SHE thought that when he came back, he would be hers for real. They both took about all of season 5a to reconcile to the fact that the other was real, and then that their fantasy of the other had to make room for the real person. 

I’m not gonna say I know how Bellamy felt about having clarke and echo alive, but I’m gonna say, since this is how the story and scenes shook out, that he couldn’t *mentally* embrace having both echo and clarke in the same place. He couldn’t think about them TOGETHER, because that was not something he had dealt with yet. That these two women he loved were now both in his life. His old life of the ring was the real one, but suddenly Clarke was there, too, and everything changed. This is how the scenes were shot. He focused on Clarke OR Echo, and when he was with Clarke and brought up Echo or his “family,” tensions arose as Clarke and he circled around each other with their new alliances. Octavia made him face it. And then we saw with him choosing the sword over the earth, he was thinking about it. The smart thing to do was choose Echo. Then why does Clarke keep coming back into his heart? Why does he even want to choose Clarke when he’s committed to Echo? And yet he does. And he’s not able to process that when Echo is around. (which might be why she all but disappears once he gets to the ship where Clarke is.)

Season 6 is different. Clarke and Bellamy have become real to each other again. She is part of Spacekru-- although not easily. Clarke, Echo and Bellamy are all in the same shots, constantly, same scenes, Clarke watches b/e together. Echo watches Bellamy give all his attention to Clarke. Bellamy is “together” with Echo, but his primary emotional attachment seems to be Clarke. And as s6A progresses, he is more and more drawn emotionally (and physically!) to Clarke, to the point where, after an intimate conversation with Clarke about forgiveness and family, he sees her with Cillian and is JEALOUS, and then picks a fight with Echo about how she isn’t open or intimate enough and basically calls her not human. Really rotten, Bellamy. And it hurts Echo because she’s dealing with her own issues he knows nothing about... which means Bellamy is right. She isn’t open or intimate enough with him. She is getting ready to face it, finally, starting with the eclipse psychosis which correctly identified her relationship with Bellamy to be king/spy. This is a theme for Echo. This is her storyline in s6. How to face her past and identity as a spy CREATED by her relationship with the ruler, and reconcile that with her relationship with Bellamy. For Bellamy, his storyline is facing his feelings for Clarke and understanding what they mean. The season starts with B/E as an acknowledged relationship, but as Clarke and Bellamy try to rebuild their relationship as “platonic” partners, their damn feelings for each other keep getting in the way of the platonic part. When he is jealous of Cillian and takes it out on Echo, who didn’t deserve it, and Echo bares her soul (part way) to him, and he commits to moving forward with her and forgetting about the past, which clearly means Clarke, that is Bellamy making the ‘logical’ decision, the head decisions. 

But when Clarke is discovered to be bodysnatched, all his intentions of being committed to intimacy with Echo are forgotten. He doesn’t turn to her. He pays no attention to her. All his attention is on Clarke, who he feels he’s lost. He cannot reconcile losing her with moving forward. And when he finds out she is alive, HE is alive again, focused only on getting her back, canonically caring more about saving Clarke than what is happening to Jordan, Madi, Echo or spacekru. His focus is, again, on Clarke. And heading into the woods with Clarke’s body/Josephine, as she digs and digs at him about his feelings for Clarke. OMG what a romantic narrative. Your enemy in the body of your great unacknowledged love forcing you to recognize how much you love this body she has stolen and this mind she is trying to erase. AND THEN YOU SAVE HER. Bellamy has FACED how much he cares for and needs Clarke. He is SOFT for her in a way that he has been soft with Echo, only moreso. He is ROMANTIC with her. 

When Bellamy and Echo reunite in Sanctum, after not knowing whether or not he had left her for dead, their reunion is relieved and loving, but not intimate or passionate-- as Bellarke’s reunion was when she was brought back from the dead. Clarke watches them hug, and actually interrupts their hug (which she’s never done before. in s5 when she saw them hugging she stepped back and mentally let him go, but this time she interrupts “platonically.” maybe jealously idk.) Bellamy, meanwhile, looks at Clarke over Echo’s shoulder. The way he’s dealing with Echo and Clarke in the same place has changed. And when Clarke and Bellamy reunite after the battle is all over, Echo, who is right there (we see her in some of the background shots) essentially disappears from Bellamy’s attention. Echo gets a pat on the back, while Clarke and he run to each other, fall into each other’s arms, he rocks her while she nuzzles him, they have direct eye contact and talk about deep feelings of self worth and intention and then hug again while the light is buttery and romantic. *sunflare* And this ends the season. 

When we get Octavia disappearing, Echo is back. Yes. And there is no intimacy. And when Bellamy loses Octavia, Echo is not there for emotional support, she is, as usual, the spy, taking care of capturing Hope while Bellamy’s world changes.

Going into s7, we have the final season, which means we’ll have to see a conclusion to all the loose narratives. There is, of course, the saving humanity storyline, from the apocalypse and from themselves, which would be a redemption. Salvation and Redemption are offered. That’s the larger over all story. BUT that story HANGS on the backbone of the story, which is, both evident in the narrative and STATED by JR, Bellarke and their relationship to each other. There is finding Octavia (which no doubt will lead to the major plot of the anomaly/salvation/redemption) There is Raven and her self worth. Murphy and his fear of dying alone. Echo and her identity as Ash, Clarke and her needing to be the good guy and Bellamy with his...

Ah. What’s Bellamy’s main struggle? It’s about saving the person he loves. (first O, then Clarke) No wait. It’s developed. I think it’s about LIVING with the person he loves. After saving comes living. As Murphy said, “We get everything we want. We get to live.” “Not Clarke,” Bellamy responds. “Not Clarke seems to be an answer to both ‘everything we want’ and ‘we get to live.’ although, no the right way to answer that last one is ‘clarke doesn’t.’ Bellamy is CHOOSING Clarke. It’s still an active storyline, he hasn’t chosen her yet, but he is actively doing so. Also, when seen in the light of Monty’s orders to not only be the good guys, but to live a good life as happy as he was, Bellamy’s Book 2 goal is the heart part of Monty’s statement. Live a life that is happy. He needs Clarke for that.

When I take these narrative threads, the knowledge that Bellarke is the center of the story, the understanding that their relationship MUST be resolved in order to offer a satisfying conclusion, and then I consider all the related character arcs, the only way it can fall out is like this: Clarke (who is in love with Bellamy) saves humanity and is willing to sacrifice her happiness to do it. Bellamy (who has accepted that he loves Clarke) saves Clarke and won’t let her sacrifice her happiness.  Screw that. He won’t let her leave him again. 

They’ll redeem humanity by being the good guys (Clarke’s goal) do it together (because unity is the only way it gets done, also head and heart have to be together,) and they will live the rest of their lives from a place of love (Bellamy’s goal.) Raven and Murphy I’m not 100% sure on, but Echo needs to face Ash, to BE Ash, and that means she has to reject the king/spy dynamic and therefore NOT be with Bellamy. It’s not about Clarke at all, it’s about her. Which means that Bellamy will be able to stop sacrificing his love for his commitment to be the good guy with Echo. And Clarke and Bellamy will be the winning angle of the love triangle. 

HOW? IDK. Yes. They’ll deal with missing Octavia, but he’s let her go. She doesn’t run his life anymore. And besides, Clarke has ALWAYS been the person who understands the blakes the best. He will go to her for help on that, emotionally, even if Echo is the lieutenant in battle. Also, my guess is they’ll get O back either in 7a, or in the first few eps of s7. The real battle is going to be what happens after. 

The love triangle will DEFINITELY be resolved. This story REQUIRES Clarke and Bellamy to be together. It’s their “thing.” But also the head and the heart is part of a system that doesn’t work without each other. During their time apart, they each found a way to carry the other with them, Clarke with her fantasies and Bellamy with his internalizing her voice. But now they get to BE together, and choose each other, and work and live and love TOGETHER. 

After hakeldama, I realized that this story HAD to have them getting together. And they held off on the romantic togetherness for most of the show, but as we get closer to the end, s5 and s6 have brought the romantic nature of Bellarke out of hiding. So yes. The culmination of the Bellarke story will, finally, be romantic. Not just together “platonically” but as true loves. In all the ways.

[kakakakashi]

Omgggggg Cherry!!! Happy new year!!!! Just finished season 4 of MHA and I cannot wait until March!!!! Eeeeeeeeeek! Hope you got some time off to relax 💕 -🍡

HAPPY NEW YEAR! You finished the MHA anime? That’s awesome! *side eyes the current manga arc that is an on fire garbage can with all the pain & joy & sadness & everything I can possibly feel all in one* I’m super excited for season 5 too. I need some sunshine and rainbows rn. I can’t wait to see Tokoyami get animated in S5 because of certain reasons, but I’m not gonna spoil it for you. 

My friend & I were talking the other day, and I was like “I’m so excited for March!” & she was like “Wait, I thought you hated your birthday?” & I was like “I’m talking about Season 5 of MHA. Why would you bring up that shit?” So, you know I’m in the same boat as you. I just... I’m still gonna be dancing in hell in the meantime.

I officially ended my job today, so I’m really happy. Tomorrow is going to be my first official rest day. I have A LOT to do since I had to put almost everything on pause for work. I’ve gotta do laundry, clean the house, reorganize some stuff I messed up while working, finish a few projects I started, clean up the Christmas stuff, and help my body physically and mentally recover from the labor I did. Then, I’ll officially be back. I’m hoping to complete the Christmas gift I mentioned previously, though. So, hopefully, while I’m completing my to do list, you guys will get that. I also want to celebrate a belated Christmas here because I didn’t even really get to celebrate Christmas in person or on here thanks to work. I did all the Christmas work without actually celebrating Christmas, so it’s kind of ironic. Lol! 

I hope you’re doing well too! I feel like it’s been forever since I’ve been able to talk to you guys. I’m so happy that I have the time to spend here again. I missed you so much! 🤗❤💕💖

[jq37]

The Report Card – Fantasy High Sophomore Year Ep 15

Love Wins!

Welcome to an insanely chaotic episode of Fantasy High--even by the very high standards of this show.  How chaotic you may ask? Well, the first thing that happens is that Bill Seacaster point blank shoots Gilear to death for being in a relationship with Hilariel. Full dead. He is full dead. Strangely, his plan to bring him back as a janky devil does not do much to comfort Fig. Imagine that.

Bill’s pirates are looting the Bottomless Pit (Gorthalax’s domain in Hell) and Vraz orders Fig to make them stop. When she instead orders Vraz to eat her ass, Vraz nullifies all warlock deals Gorthalax made and brings none other than Johnny Spells (and his greaser pals) to join the fight!

Really, this fight is insane and it’s better served by a highlight real than a play by play so I’m just gonna give you some bullets:

All the PCs rolled super low initiative this fight which really kinda screwed them. Like Fabian was down to 16 HP one point and it was like, “Lol, this is the end of round 1.” YIKES.

A big part of this fight was just surviving long enough to get to the second level of hell and rescue Riz’s dad which I think was probably good for morale because the thought of this fight dragging on for more than a couple of rounds exhausts me. 

Fabian rolls off against Johnny right off the bat for the Hangman’s loyalty and Fabian wins with a 25 (and by coming out the gate with the word ENSLAVED which isn’t the word *I* would have used but a 25 is a 25 I guess).

He also has to contend with fighting Allistair who has a massive hole in his head filled with fire from Wicklaw eating his brain. It seems like Chungledown Bim is in hell too based on how Allistair keeps saying he’s gonna get him so he can shit in Fabian’s mouth. Of course, Fabian gets the better of him, but not before he deals out a fair bit of damage. 

Adaine uses an Arcane Hand plus her portent roll to just whole-ass throw Johnny off the ship. Like, he gets back up but it’s so funny to instead of fighting an enemy to just throw him off a set piece (see eg: Bloodkeep ep2).

Kristen Revivifies Gilear and Bill, the mercurial sunuvabitch is like, “We love the same woman! I just want her happy!” and gives him a gun. Kristen immediately is like, “Bro, you need to hide,” and Gorgug protects him while he does so (in a sarcophagus that has a 50/50 shot of being launched as ammo). 

Penelope shows up to the fight, eyes all black, wearing a shredded prom dress, and with shards of silver embedded in her forehead like a crown. Dayne and Daybreak also join the fight as messed up Harvestmen! It’s a veritable Smash Bros lineup of people the Bad Kids have killed!

Adaine and Fabian are christened the “Posh Squad” which is important to me, not to the fight. 

Adaine gets to counterspell a counterspell from Penelope, one of the sexiest things you can do in D&D.

Fabian declares toxic masculinity dead. Shortly afterward, he makes Brennan eat a die when Daybreak tries to Frighten Fabian, a condition he is immune to due to his eyepatch I gather based on the table reaction. 

Daybreak’s punishment in hell is a complete lack of self-awareness of why he’s there. He still thinks he should be sipping Mai-Tai’s in corn heaven with Helio while Kristen and Ragh are attacking him with gay spit (their words, not mine). Gay spit and, also, a ton of radiant and thunder damage.

Ragh gets some emotional catharsis by getting to body Dayne before Gorgug decapitates him. Very important step in the stages of grief. Decapitating the source of said grief. 

Penelope gets Sparta-kicked off the edge of the boat by Fabian after Ayda dispels her protective globe and Riz shoots Daybreak again for old times sake. Unfortunately, Penelope Misty Steps back up and Daybreak is hurt but not killed. Ayda does a cool Dr. Strange teleportation thing and does a bunch of damage to both of them. Fabian finishes off Penelope with a sheet/sword combo and between Booming Blade and a Psionic Blast (does she have this ability as a Bard or as a Warlock? Relatedly, when she felt something leave her was that her Warlock deal being nullified or was she feeling the deals leave her since she is sort of the temporary Gorthalax?) Fig destroys Daybreak. Johnny just falls off the ship with no PC intervention because he sucks. 

Bill also falls off the ship but Fig (with an assist from Gorgug) saves him and steals a scroll from Vraz on the way back up. By the by, earlier in the fight, she also had Baby Invisbly steal a random item from her. 

Anyway, as they reach the end of the end of the fight, Bill loads Riz into a canon (!) and shoots him into the city, hopefully towards his dad (to the distress of his party). He crashes through the window in a familiar looking building and, when he finds a hallway that he’s pretty sure leads to his dad, he goes towards it. 

He sees a familiar light coming out of a doorway (the interrogation room light) and a doorway next to it that is slightly open with steel thrones in it. There’s a two-way mirror between the two rooms and if he goes into the open one, he can see who is in with his dad. After checking for illusions and finding none, he stealthily walks in and sees, in the other room, his dad with a hulking pit fiend (30 ft tall, winged, almost dragon-y devil).

The pit fiend is questioning Pok about any regrets he had in life and Pok answers very uncharacteristically from the man we saw in the video saying he had nothing but high hopes for baby Riz. He says he had no regrets, his job was just a job, and that he only had a kid because Sklonda wanted one before going into a snarling goblin rage. The pit fiend smiles at that and says that Pok has promise so they won’t create a lemure out of him (a lemure is a weak, blobby devil). Two devils in the room with them whip him unconscious and then leave the room to go send more people to deal with Bill.

Riz Misty Steps into the room and does a self-imposed Wisdom check to steady himself after what he just heard--Nat 20 baby. Then, he opens his Briefcase of Holding, ready to scoop his dad into it when, the two lesser devils open the door and catch him in the act. But Riz persists in the scooping. They try to grapple him and he rolls a Nat 1 to avoid it. He *still* tries to get him dad. But then he notices, his gun is missing.

BLAM. The devils heads are blown clean off. He turns and he sees his dad has taken the gun--his gun originally--and shot the devils. Pok, who is amazed that Riz is there and no longer feigning apathy for the situation asks for an extraction into an earpiece, causing a halo to appear over his head and a beam of holy light to come down like a tractor beam.

“Wait,” says Riz. “You’re an undercover angel?”

“You got it, kid.”

Murph goes feral. The table goes feral. I go feral. What a way to end an episode!  

And now for an all-Dad round of superlatives:

Detention

Bill Seacaster for KILLING GILEAR 

I feel like I shouldn’t have to explain myself here. 

Honor Roll

Pok Gukgak for Officially Joining the Fantasy Fathers of the Year Club

Here either. 

I will, however, add a Hell Yeah!

Random Thoughts

If you haven’t seen it yet, the trailer for S5 of Dimension 20 just dropped and I won’t spoil it but, from the looks of it, it is gonna be a doozy.  

“Do not metagame with my freaking Dad!” Oh to have the support of an NPC Emily Axford has decided to imprint upon.

Gorgug: It’s been one year. We’re sophomores. 

“We support you as a DM and as your friend but also you’re our enemy.”

I think it’s very interesting that with just a little space and time from his dad, Fabian is finally having the proper reactions to his dad doing what I will charitably call shenanigans.

The level of distress and outrage from Emily when Gilear got shot was just *chef’s kiss*. I aspire to create an NPC that provokes that level of reaction from one of my players. Similar energy in a different direction from Ally when Daybreak attacked Tracker.    

“Adaine, the jocks are being feisty! Get out of there!”

Vraz calls Fig “the Faithless” as her devil title and she insists on instead being called, “the InFaethable”. I wanna know how long Emily’s been sitting on that one or whether she came up with it on the spot. 

Fabian upon seeing Johnny: Fuck off dude. I have too much going on right now. 

Brennan being the eternal DM mood: How do I get out of this?

Very wild how little time has passed since Leviathan. Like, Fabian’s had this whole arc and grown so much but, like, OF COURSE Allistair still wants to murder him! It’s been like two days. 

“I want to crumple up Gilear like a wrapper.”

A seven is a Murph 10.

The very specific way Brennan does foley for sword fighting (“Clang! Cling! Clang!”) is so funny to me. 

Cannot overstate how much of a power move it was for Kristen to go, “I’ve been PRAYING FOR YOU,” at Daybreak and knock him on his ass. 

I feel like I bring this up all the time but I love when Brennan is counting dice for a ton of damage and all the PCs are BSing reasons that it’s not a big deal like, “He’s just getting D4s,” or “Well I should get advantage for the reason just made up,” with everyone else fully playing along. ”

Allistair Ash, man. He is fascinating to me. I am so curious about what Brennan had planned for him originally because I feel like we barely scratched the surface before things took a TURN. He had two little moments in this ep that made my heart break for him a little: (1) When he says to Fabian, “If I die, I just come back a little bit worse but, if you die, you’re stuck down here with me.” and (2) when Fabian kills him and Bill grabs his soul and is like, “You know it’s gonna cost you X gold to revive you,” and he sighs and says, “Put it on my tab I suppose.” Like, I know he spent all ep trying to kill Fabian but I can’t help but be like, poor guy. He just has this pathos in his haplessness. I’m surprised Fabian didn’t make more of an effort to connect with him instead of being like, kind of like, “I will throw hands if I must.” Talking is a free action my dude. Anyway, I would love to see Brennan’s DM notes for this guy.   

Lou was really doing some expert D&D with all the second winding and bonus actioning and burning spell slots for extra damage he was doing. He was like, “My initiative is trash so I have to do approximately a million damage per turn.”

Lol at Ayda asking if it’s weird to talk about sex stuff in front of friends in a group that involves both Kristen and Adaine. 

Fig wishing she could do something cool in front of Ayda as if Ayda didn’t try to flood Hell on her behalf last week. My girl. You’ve already locked that down.

Not really an issue that’s we’ll run across during the run of FH but tieflings live 20-40 years longer than humans according to the official D&D lore. So lets say Fig lives to be 120 years old. And let’s say she sticks with her high school girlfriend and marries her. It’s possible they die at around the same time and then Ayda has to Deal With That in her next life but that’s not what I’m interested in. What happens if you’re a full elderly woman and your partner phoenixes into a child? What are the ethics of that? How do you deal with that? Chronomancy?

The horrified, “Love wins!” from Daybreak.

 Is there a reason the viewing room Riz was in had thrones in it or is Hell just very about the ~aesthetic~

Every time a DM asks for a HP total, my entire being clenches in prep for a Power Word Kill. 

“I’m gonna need a Dexter--”/”Counterspell.”

“You guys murdered me too but we hashed it out.”

I totally forgot that the Bad Kids lied that Ragh had shat his pants until the moment Adaine was saying it this episode. Freshman Year was WILD.

Also, just wanna take a second to talk about the elevation of Ragh from this side-note bully to a fully fledged, likeable character with depth and and an arc and gay spit. D&D is crazy. 

Summoning Boggy via Bloody Mary is such a delightful image. 

So, Kalina is the one that led Riz down the path that led to him finding out Pok is an Undercover Angel (!!!), which means one of three things: (1) She knew but miscalculated hard, (2) she didn’t know and made a different but also big miscalculation, (3) she did know and she’s doing some kind of 4-D chess thing we don’t know about yet. 

Ayda hitting Fabian with a portent and then swooping in and saving Adaine. So clutch. What a good NPC to befriend.

Speaking of, I think we all kinda figured, but Brennan officially said on Twitter or the Discord (I don’t remember which) that Ayda is autistic. Like, I was pretty sure but I didn’t wanna assume.

Lol at the absolute lack of respect Kalvaxus got in this episode. 

Pok as an Undercover Angel is SO GOOD. Like, I didn’t think he was really bad for a second but I never could have guessed he was an UNDERCOVER ANGEL. That’s such a dope combination of words. Undercover Angel (which my computer keeps trying to correct to undercover agent which isn’t wrong to be fair). Man. I love this. I love this for me and I love this for Riz. Riz deserves this. After so much crap in his life and so many mind games from Kalina and all this turmoil, he deserves to know that not only is his dad a good person who loved/loves him, he’s SO good that he’s an ANGEL and he was such a good spy in life he still is a secret agent in death. God, what a reveal. I can’t believe Riz got Spy Kids-ed TWICE by the same parent. Can’t wait to hear what exactly is going on with him.

Wait, what’s goblin heaven like? Which god is sanctioning this? Who is he working for exactly?

This episode, Kristen and Gorgug rolled 1 Nat 20 each, while Riz, Fabian, and Brennan each got 2. On the flipside, Adaine got 2 Nat 1’s, Fig and Fabian each rolled 1 that was cancelled, and Riz rolled 1 (in addition, Murph rolled two more which were lair actions and one of which was cancelled by a luck point so they don’t really count but it was very funny so I wanted to note it).

[ginmo]

Hi. I was wondering, if Cersei had lost the baby and Jaime was told about it, do you think Jaime would still have gone back to her and left Brienne as he did? Bc he didnt seem to want to go back bc of the baby but mostly just to see Cersei "addiction"?

This is a really difficult question to answer because of how inconsistent Jaime was written in regards to that pointless af pregnancy plot. I’m going to try to answer this in two parts.

1. “he didn’t seem to want to go back bc of the baby but mostly just to see Cersei addiction” 

- In the books it’s made clear that Jaime is wanting to be a father to his children, especially with Tommen. In S5 they attempted to adapt that element of his arc by having him bond with Myrcella before she died in his arms. He even revealed to her that he was her father, which he didn’t have to do but he wanted her to know because... he... wants to father. So yes, there were hints of Jaime desiring that on the show as well. (this is also a clue that they had a different endgame in mind for him but I’ll save that for another rant)

- S7 he get C pregnant and seems kinda happy? But then also wtf about it? Nikolaj explained it as Jaime being happy for a brief second because he never got to father before and he’s excited to openly be able to father his children but then Cersei says “don’t ever betray me again” and then he realized “he was fucking Darth Vader”. (seriously, bless this man) So he’s happy? But conflicted? 

- Then in the finale of S7 he’s arguing about the future and life of his unborn child? So... he DOES care? 

- But then in episode 2 of S8 Tyrion asks if the pregnancy is true and he’s like “LE SIGH yes” AND THAT WAS LITERALLY IT? Like... they didn’t have him be all “I’m fighting for my unborn child” or whatever. 

- THEN in episode 5 of S8 he tells Cersei that THE BABY DOESN’T FUCKING MATTER- JDFGHSLDFJGHSD. 

(Nikolaj’s pre-season interviews about Jaime and his motivation with wanting to protect the baby contradict what was actually shown on screen because there was literally no scene in S8 that showed he was thinking about that baby)

So he went from: not being a father figure and not actively trying -> wanting to father enough that he decided to be risky and tell Myrcella the truth -> briefly happy -> conflicted -> not giving a shit about the baby. Why the fuck did they even try to adapt his fatherhood arc on the show with Myrcella if they were just going to drop it like that and do nothing with it? .....................

So yeah. From what was shown on screen in S8, he didn’t go back for the baby. 

2. “if Cersei had lost the baby and Jaime was told about it, do you think Jaime would still have gone back to her and left Brienne as he did?” 

If I was trying to keep him consistent with their addiction bullshit, then yes, but my answer is NO. He wouldn’t have gone back. Why? Because I firmly believe that the miscarriage plot was tied to a completely different endgame. 

It’s pretty damn obvious that D&D were writing season by season (they even admitted to changing shit because fans started to catch on like...?!) and they already proved that they made some critical endgame changes between S7 and S8. We know Nikolaj was told very early on that Jaime’s arc was going to get adapted and that he was going to leave Cersei because SINCE SEASON 4 he was bothering the writers about their adaptation changes and asking them when the fuck he was going to leave. 

Like… fucking look at this from a 2014 interview. 

“With Tyrion, although Jaime is different, their relationship at its core is the same. Of course things have changed with Cersei.

Jaime’s whole life has been planned out so he could be close to Cersei. Now he's coming to the realization that the love he thought they had didn't exist. That doesn't mean he can just shut out his own feelings – because he can't. But Jaime is becoming the man that he's meant to be. It's a constant struggle for him, but he's trying to learn who he is. He knows that he cannot continue to live his life on Cersei's terms or his father's terms” [x]

Poor Nikolaj thought they were adapting the break-up way back then (like they should have). This interview was done when there was NO REASON for anyone to think that show!Jaime was questioning their love because D&D didn’t even adapt their break-up that season and even MADE UP A SEX SCENE from a book scene that actually had him reject her. This was also around the time GRRM had spoken to Gwen about her character and Jaime/Brienne, so I’m assuming he had to have spoken with Nikolaj as well, which would explain why he bothered D&D for years, starting around S4. 

Because Nikolaj speaks so confidently in this interview about his interpretation, and his interpretation doesn’t match what was shown on screen at all, he HAD to have been told something different. So in the S6 commentary, before he read the S7 scripts, when he’s talking about JC relationship being abusive and he has no fucking clue wtf is up with that relationship anymore while gushing over Brienne and giving his heart away to Brienne, Nikolaj is saying that because he was made to believe that’s where his arc was going. He wouldn’t be saying that stuff so confidently as if it’s fact if he wasn’t told it! Just like he did in S4. He thought for SURE the sept explosion would be the thing to leave for good. He got the S7 scripts, realized that wasn’t the case, complained, they told him to wait until the finale, “never looking back” in the scripts, played it as “I don’t love you anymore,” read S8 scripts and then we get contradictory interviews because he became confused af. 

It’s clear as day they were originally seeding for a JB endgame but then started to sit on the fence about it around the time GRRM left, and this continued season by season. They kept seeding it, just in case, but continued to waffle back and forth until they finally decided last minute to get rid of it because of BTS politics and the imagery of ending on twincest supposedly being good for  visual medium. They reworked their last couple of episodes, thinking they could get away with it without changing anything that came before it, so nothing was consistent. We need to also take into consideration that Lena confirmed they filmed the miscarriage and then implied that it would have taken her character down a different path. I’m assuming they got rid of the miscarriage last minute, because they decided to not make her go mad. If she had gone mad, that would have impacted Jaime’s story as well. Tyrion sure as hell wouldn’t have been convincing Jaime to go save her and escape with her because... she… would have been the Big Bad in the episode… This fits the rumored original outline. It’s important to note that the rumored outline came out before Lena’s confirmation of them FILMING the scene, cutting it, and changing the direction of her character. 

So imo it’s very possible that:

Cersei Miscarriage = JB Endgame 

Cersei Pregnancy = What We Got

[janiedean]

What are your thoughts on Sansa becoming queen in the north?

+

I know you said you were gonna shut your mouth about Sansa but I've been dying to know what you think of her queen in the north moment T_T

*deep breath*

okay guys I waited a few days to see if my feelings somehow mellowed, if anything the contrary happened so at this point I’ll just go with it.

premise: book!sansa is one of my favorite characters. show!sansa is imvho not at all her book self anymore and I have disliked her writing and openly said it since S5 so please don’t take this as bashing because it comes from loving sansa, not the contrary. if you liked that scene or thought she had a nice ending please stop reading now and skip this post.

this say: I hated it, I hated how they framed the starks’s ending and I loathed how she was written this episode even moreso than this entire season which is saying all. specifically:

of course no one held her accountable for having betrayed jon’s trust and basically pulled a lf on him, but then again she had to be framed by the narrative as ‘she was right’ re dany which I found... really... in bad taste because I don’t think book!sansa would have ever done it, but I wasn’t expecting that;

her asking bran for nothern independence when the iron islands and dorne have been wanting them for centuries and no one batted an eyelid and it went like WELL SURE THE NORTH IS INDEPENDENT GO AWAY WE’RE COOL esp. when the king is a stark is out of this world ridiculous, but never mind that;

the fact that she basically went ‘lol shut up’ at edmure, her UNCLE, who has been hostage for years, who was the only arse lord in these books who risked a lot to have the smallfolk inside his castle and save them when everyone thought he was too *soft* and it was a bad political movie, when her mother’s house words are fucking FAMILY DUTY HONOR, in that frankly unsufferable smug way, about made me lose every last inch of fucks I had when it came to giving her writing some leeway. like, sansa stark ‘courtesy is a lady’s armor’ does that to her goddamned uncle who has literally bled and lost family members for her family and who ended up caught in the red wedding to help robb and cat and who has been a hostage for years also because he sided with them......... and she doesn’t even let him talk? when excuse me but he wouldn’t also have been a bad choice whatsoever at least he cares about the people? like fuck that noise that was it for me, that’s not sansa, that’s a bodysnatcher they made out of cersei/lf and dusted with some vague book characterization when they remember it and forgot it, and honestly I’m not here for that.

on the queen in the north scene:

.... it was fucking depressing?

and ooc?

I mean, I should believe that sansa stark, who in the books has spent all the time wanting her family back, who wants to name her children like her brothers, who does want children, who wants still her brave strong and gentle knight (btw, GOOD JOB FORGETTING THAT ROMANCE IS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF SANSA’S SL and that half of it is about finding out that *beauty* on the outside =/= inside, but hey, we went for the feminist TM narrative where strong women need no men and we forgot that it’s a fundamental part of what sansa wants), who only wants to go back home and be with her family........ gets her crowning achievement becoming queen in the north at a coronation where there’s literally no face she knows present, where her family isn’t present, where she’s utterly and totally alone doing the ice queen business when she’s not an ice queen in canon, with no friends at her side and no relatives and........ nothing? that’s it? I should be happy she’s on her own ruling the north without her sister or brothers or anyone she knew because she got her badass crowning moment and the north is independent when literally no stark in these books wanted it ned first and robb later, robb only took it because they elected him and couldn’t say no? because......... that was the only way for her to come out on top and having a throne is it when the entire underlying messages of these books is that thrones don’t mean shit and political power on your own is useless and corrupts you if you want it specifically and no one helps you with it?

sorry but I can’t buy that. I cannot. not at all. that’s not the character I signed up for, I didn’t sign up for the starks getting scattered in all four winds as if they don’t care at all for seeing each other again ever (THE PACK SURVIVES WHEN???), and the fact that it was a beautifully shot scene doesn’t mean I liked it for one second.

also: this entire thing reeks of a book storyline they most likely cut off with ten hatchets. specifically, that robb’s will exists and it had disinherited sansa and arya and made jon heir thinking bran and rickon were dead. like, you know what’s way more likely to happen? that jon gets hailed kitn because ROBB MADE HIM IT, davos shows up with rickon who DOESN’T DIE, jon then gets the show ending because that actually felt like a thing grrm might do, bran gets it the same (I’ll rant on it in another ask I’ll reply to asap) even if better-written, and sansa, who at this time has managed to come back to wf, has come into herself and has her family, stays there being rickon’s regent along with arya unless arya gets with gendry which I also think is endgame (this stark/baratheon marriage has to happen or not??) and plays a leading role without this bullshit single ice queen in the north storyline, possibly along with whoever it is the brave strong and gentle knight she ends up with, because that is not a thing d&d have realized, but a lot of *good* and strong female characters in these books have storylines that revolve about getting both what they want and the romance, but apparently it makes people weak? we just don’t know. that is a *sansa rules* ending that would make sense to me. not whatever the hell I watched in the finale, and believe me I’ll forever dislike it. the only good thing about it tangentially was that they didn’t drag brienne into it, and that’s everything I have to say on this subject. sorry but it wasn’t earned, it was built on giving her someone else’s storyline and on forcing sansa into being basically the nice/ethical version of cersei/lf and ignoring 85% of the themes in her arc and giving her an ending that’s all the contrary of what her book self wants, and I can’t bring myself to like it.

also, the edmure thing was really out of this world the most ooc thing in existence and if edmure doesn’t talk to her for the rest of his life no one would blame him, me first of all, and sure af catelyn tully was tearing her hair out in the afterlife asking herself where did her daughter end up. end of story.

ps: I know this is an unpopular opinion and I don’t have much interest in discussing it any further, so like.... take it for what it is. sorry but whichever way I look at it I can’t find any positives in it. :/

[omghealthdrink]

Bleach LA Notes: As I Watch

The first ten minutes of the movie where a direct copy paste from the first manga chapter. If only the rest of the series remained that cool...

Isshin Kurosaki cooking for his family was not only homely, but made 100% sense. Better than have a 9 year old cook for a whole household.

Masaki’s poster was replaced with a gigantic photo. I approve.

I will never understand how Rukia never recognised Isshin. He is from the same shinigami clan of Kaien right? Rukia’s first love? (It’s been a while.)

Maybe Isshin revealing himself as a shinigami wasn’t planned from the start (otherwise why did he do nothing in Fisher’s original attack) but I like that in the LA movie he was stopped from the rubble of the house’s ruins. A normal human would be stopped by such a hazard. Also, the wardrobe scene. Knowing Isshin IS a shinigami, it makes it extra hilarious. Also he still needs to be called out by Ichigo if a movie sequel is ever made.

Yuzu’s line changing from ‘run away’ to ‘I’m scared’ makes sense. SHE’S A NINE YEAR OLD KID FOR CHRIS-

If Masaki was a Quincy why was she defeated so easily by-

Did the movie just skip the Sora scene?? But it was so VITAL for the series as a whole! Like the life chain detail that went absolutely nowhere!

Speaking of Orihime.... why is she acting like she and Ichigo are dating? You like him, we get it. At least it’s because he’s funny this time. (Not because of his ‘funny face’. Changing it to grumpy was good too.)

Tatsuki, what have they done to you??

Ishida was in Ichigo’s classroom? Boy what are the odds.

Renji, don’t act like Envy from FMA, you just can’t pull it off.

Wait. Wait wait. Wasn’t Rukia caught by SS because of the Sora incident? Byakuya and Renji just found out Rukia miiight have shared her powers with a human because....?

The Marauder's Map turned into a Smart Phone for Reapers is cool.

This Ichigo is kinda into being human, he didn’t embrace his shingami powers as easily as his manga counterpart did. I like that change.

Byakuya and Renii’s meeting spot looks like an abandoned theatre.

Tatsuki is coddling Orihime quite a lot. Again, not an item.

Ishida looks like he needs some sunshine. Ulquiorra is that you?

Could you imagine how cooler Bleach would’ve been if Ichigo’s Quincy powers were awakened from the start? No? That’s silly? Okay then. “Is there anyone sane around here?” - 100% good shit, right there. It feels something annoying is miss- NO KON! Ah, feels good man. 

Okay that Ishida intro was cool, waay cooler than the manga. Somehow that arrow hit Aizen’s backside, he says thank you. Second one killed Mayuri, instant death

“Wait this is too complicated!” - The scriptwriter after reading spoilers.

The bait scene is still here. Why did people say it was given to Renji and Byakuya? Ishida still used the same Hollow bait.

And the first thing Renji tells Rukia after 40 years is... ‘You didn’t dodge that, I went easy on you.’ Err.... movie? You DO know he doesn’t stay an enemy right?

Rukia bowing the moment she saw Lord Fluffy expy Byakuya.

That Isshin/Ichigo moment.. excuse me. *sniffs*

That died on the spot joke got as old as Mayuri’s welcome very quick.

Will the real Tatsuki just please stand up?

Ichigo being grateful for the shinigami powers was a nice touch. (I always thought Urahara was gonna turn out to be the real villain before the whole Aizen reveal.) Speaking of them, man these shinigami being all haughty and above it all towards humans. You’d think there was a reason why this was challenged in the SS arc. Hmm.

MOAR training - this time following flirty mirks and a pouty stoic face!

Didn’t Renji and Byakuya take Rukia away by now? I don’t recall them visiting the human world three times like this.

Chad casually listens to yet another pointless McDonalds scene.

Does Ichigo even attend class anymore?

This training montage is a far more satisfying answer for Ichigo’s sword skills than the ‘I know karate’ explanation we had in the SS arc.

Byakuya: ‘People die when they are killed.’ Renji: No fucking duh boss...

Aww, Rukia is not wearing that Sabrina esque outfit in the anniversary scene, I miss that hat. And Isshin.... you’re a soul reaper. Like, soulphone your wife? Text message? Pay her a visit to SS sometime?

But Masaki’s soul wasn’t eaten by GF... right?

“Chad, protect them.” Unlike manga, Chad and Orihime still cannot see Ichigo. But the movie is hinting their spiritual power is slightly awakened?

ISHIDA BEING ON GRAND FISHER ACTION ON YEAAAAH

YEEEEEEEESH ICHIGO BEING THE ONE TO SLAY GRAND FISHER FUCK YEAH 1000000% GOOD WRITING AWW YISS!! (Sorry the Isshin reveal shouldn’t have been at the cost of Ichigo’s CD.)

Aww, Ichigo is really happy at the idea of Rukia staying after all.

Syke! Knuckles with a vengeance shows up!

Nice to see that the gatekeepers of death cannot uphold a promise.

Ichigo your level needs to be 20 before dreaming of defeating Byakuya.

At 8:26 remaining from the end of the film, I’m getting FB vibes.

It’s okay good Shining twins, big brother loves you both.

The minute Ichigo sees the class + Orihime, he turns to see Rukia’s empty desk. Hooooooooooooooo-

Wait this is how it ends? Ichigo smiling towards a book?

No stinger? That’s it? Ah, bollocks. I’ma rewatch Bojack S5.

[punchdrunkdoc]

5x20 aka:  Olicity heaven (with a bit of hell in the last 4 minutes)

It's official, season 5 of Arrow has started! It's a shame the season is so short (starting at 5x17 for some reason. Weird) but I'm enjoying it so far!

I'm only slightly kidding. There was very little about the previous 16 episodes of the show that remotely interested me, and I doubt I'll ever watch them in full; I saw all the 'best' parts in gif-form and short clips and that will do as far as I'm concerned. And you may think that disqualifies me from giving my opinion on the final 7 episodes of the season...but I'm going to anyway. Because what I have to say about 5x20 really only concerns one aspect of the show.

Olicity

This episode was amazing for us shippers. So many wonderful moments. And a few terrible ones as well, but I'll save them for last, lest I be accused of harshing people's buzz or being overly negative.

So first, the positives.

This is gonna be nothing groundbreaking. You've all seen the episode; you've posted and reblogged and tweeted the gifs, with all the appropriate accompanying squeeing. But let me break down my favs:

The flashback scenes were DELIGHTFUL! 

(gif by @just-me-and-the-tv) 

Tipsy Olicity was on my wish list for Arrow for ages (I ended up having to write my own scene to satisfy my desires) - its so clear that they're FRIENDS first and foremost. They enjoy spending time with each other, and basking in the other's actions and reactions. 

The whole salmon ladder sequence was a joy, from Oliver's earnest teaching technique to Felicity's babbles, then the slooooowwww slide she took down Oliver's body, to her initiating the kiss... 

(gif by @whoeveryoulovethemost)

And the kissing was uber-hot. I don't know if it's because we were deprived of new material and the old kissing gifs had become a bit too familiar, but man those kisses were on another level! You really felt  how much they'd missed each other's lips. How much sinking into those kisses was like coming home; so familiar, but with a new edge of longing and tempered joy.  

Perfectly captured in this moment, which was my favourite bit of the whole flashback:

(gifs by @ironstarkasm)

And when Oliver grabbed her and spun her around...I swear I gasped out loud thinking we were gonna see a whole 'nother dominant side to Oliver.  But we ended up with Felicity on top again, which felt really fitting. The girl really likes the view from up there!

I loved the present day interactions as well; so much harsher and layered with new pain and frustration, but still with that unshakeable core of love and respect. The EW recap said it best:

THIS is the Arrow I love to watch. Characters working together, supporting each other, facing conflict drawn from their differing view of the world - not from contrived plot points and 'shock value' moments. And, most importantly, confiding in each other:

(gif by @felicitys)

This moment was heartbreaking, not least because to Oliver it was almost a deathbed confession. He NEEDED her to understand where he was coming from. It was imperative that she knew that his apparent lack of trust was not because of her. It was because of him.

The concept and execution of this confession was beautiful; the content...that will be in the negative section.

For now, more positives. I loved the tension and physicality of the bunker sequence. The stunts were incredible - and it was obvious why SA was hitting the gym hard in the lead up to filming. The dude was hauling EBR all over the shop. My absolute favourite moment was after Felicity injects Oliver with adrenaline. SA's comic timing and delivery (something we don't get nearly enough of) was on point! Why aren’t there a million gifs of this! I can watch this on a loop!

And after is slightly crazy-eyed ‘Good’, he just matter-of-factly Oliver pulled Felicity on to his back. He would carry her to the ends of the earth if need be.

And she would sacrifice herself so he wouldn't need to:

(gif by @felicitys)

Goddam, this is how you OTP!

Which is why...I'm kinda bummed the episode was brought down from potential 'best episode ever' status by some questionable writing choices that have more to do with other episodes rather than 5x20.

First up, the issue of break ups and apologies. Oliver has still not uttered the words 'I'm sorry for lying and sneaking behind your back' to Felicity. I know some people in this fandom feel his actions and his vows in the fake wedding were an apology of sorts, but its not enough for me. And I doubt we'll ever hear him apologise properly at this point.

Because the party line of the show has always been that the lies themselves were merely symptomatic of bigger issues: trust and judgement.

Trust

Felicity feels that Oliver doesn't trust her. Oliver explained that the problem was never with her, it was with him. This is the content of that scene I eluded to above, when Oliver confesses his secret. It just feels like a convoluted leap in logic to me. Oliver's convinced he enjoys killing..ergo Felicity feels he doesn't trust her.

Oliver likes killing = Oliver is bad = Oliver is not deserving of love and trust. 

THIS logic I can understand (I don't agree with it, because Oliver is good and deserves all the happiness in the world), but I can see the thought progression. I don't understand how that equates to not being able to trust others.

Oliver likes killing = Oliver is bad = the team should not sacrifice their souls in his name = he doesn’t want Felicity going bad

Fine, this works for explaining his objections to Helix. But the scene after this confession immediately switched to the flashback where Felicity said:

(gif by @felicitys)

In the context of William, that explanation makes little sense.

Oliver likes killing = Oliver is bad = Oliver cannot trust himself = how can he trust others if he can't trust himself.  

Maybe this is what they're getting at?  Still feels a little flimsy. But that's Arrow-logic for you.

Judgement

When I first watched the scene in the hospital I was severely pissed that Felicity apologised (AGAIN) for the break up. In the flashback she apologised for walking instead of talking things out. This I can (grudgingly) understand.

But then she apologised for judging Oliver too harshly and holding him to a high standard she herself fell short of in S5. An understanding she gained by joining Helix.

Because joining Helix = morally questionable = difficult decision made for the right reasons, even if people get hurt =  the same as lying to your fiancee about your secret son.

Okay, Arrow. Fine. 

I'll accept your premise: Oliver didn’t tell Felicity about William because he enjoys killing and therefore doesn’t trust anyone...and Felicity broke up with him because she hadn’t yet joined Helix and therefore didn’t understand the difficult position lying points you in. 

I give in. 

It's done, you've addressed it (and retconned it to fit in nicely with your S5 arcs) and we should just move on. I’m willing to ignore all of that INCREDIBLY FRUSTRATING AND INFURIATING MESS OF A STORYLINE and just look forward to the reconciliation.

And I will...after one last point, which is more to do with the S5 writing disaster.

It was explicitly stated in 5x20 that Felicity's motivations for joining Helix and going hard for Prometheus...was because of Billy. This just felt like Wendy finally getting the chance to put her head canon on screen after giving interview after interview explaining Billy as the motivation for Felicity’s ‘dark arc’. It doesn’t matter that, until now, Billy was barely mentioned, and it was much more obvious to the viewer that Felicity was gunning for Prometheus because of OLIVER.

I would have LOVED to have seen a moment like this:

Oliver: I know you joined Helix because you wanted justice for Billy-

Felicity: No. I mean, yes. Maybe that was the start of it. But, Oliver...what Prometheus did to YOU - the kidnapping, the torture, the mind games...I was doing all this just as much for you. You've suffered enough over the past 10 years. You've sacrificed for everyone you love, I couldn't bear to see you in any more pain. And if I could stop Prometheus - by whatever means - I was going to do it. For you.

But no. It was all for Billy. The guy we didn't even see her meet, or know when that was, or how their relationship started, or what she liked about him (apart from being bland and nice)...Despite the flimsiness of that character, HE was her driving force.

The Billy-of-it-all, also leads on to my next gripe.

I STILL DO NOT UNDERSTAND THE POINT OF YOU, TINY-HANDS MAN!

Going into this episode, I posted some thoughts on the supposed intentions of the flashbacks, i.e. to explain the Olicity interactions in 5A. As I mentioned in that post, the success of 5x20 would depend on its ability to make sense of 5A....and I think it did the opposite. Don't get me wrong, I think the flashbacks worked, in terms of paralleling the present time (Felicity wasn't ready to talk, now she is; Felicity didn't understand why Oliver couldn't trust, now she does).

But they do NOT explain 5A. Because I still do not understand why Felicity was suddenly in an established relationship with another man. The flashbacks ended with Felicity basically saying she needed time before talking about the breakup, and Oliver said he would be waiting for her when she was ready. The only reason to bother talking about the reasons for the breakup would be to reunite! So this scene, to me, was Felicity very much leaving the door open to reconciliation.

Begin Rant:

Which makes her relationship with Billy (a handful of months later) so inexplicable! When/why/how did she decide she was just going to push aside her relationship with Oliver and try with someone else? And she KNEW he was waiting for her, so her incredulous ‘No!’ when he asked if she was keeping the door open for them in 5x05 was insensitive at best, when viewed in the context of 5x20.

Similarly, how does Oliver's 'I’m totally fine you’re seeing someone else’ make any sense given how they left things after Bunker!Sex:

He should have been PISSED! Because she never gave him the courtesy of telling him she was moving on. And waiting until she knew if it was 'real' is bullshit. The fact she started dating in the first place, even if only casually, was a MAJOR step that he deserved to know about.

I didn't understand 5x05 the first time, but figured Felicity wasn't obligated to tell Oliver anything because she firmly closed the door on him in 4x16. They were O.V.E.R.

But she opened that door during that flashback. And she knew Oliver was waiting on the doorstep.  

So why did she sneak out the back door and start fooling around with a cop? IT DOES NOT MAKE SENSE! 

Plus this all gives credence to my assumption that 5x20 was never in the original plan. Otherwise, 5x05 would have been written differently, to incorporate the 5x20 FB dynamic better.

End rant.

So those are my thoughts. 

Well done if you reached the end - I did ramble on a bit, but I needed to vent. 

And it’s turned out to be therapeutic. I’ve since rewatched the ep after writing out all these grievances (and with my ‘giving in to the narrative’ frame of mindI) and it actually made the episode even more enjoyable! Arrow is never going to fix the mess they made, so I’m going with the out of sight, out of mind approach by just concentrating on the goodness to come.

Bring on the rest of the season!

[florencefolly]

Sacre Coeur in the Rain

July 6, 2017

Back in July of 2015 we made a short trip up to Paris. It was right at the beginning of August when most Parisians go on holiday. We had climbed to the top of the Arc de Triomphe and spied this church on the hill. Robin’s sister, Beth, had told us about Sacre Coeur and there it was with its Arabic turrets and white stone façade. I had marched the trio the top of Montemarte to get a closer look. It had not gone well with the oldest one. He was tantruming and therefore, so was I.

Today I rise around 7am. I have a mission to complete. I have a new mistress. For years it was my motorcycle. Now it is this church. It spellbinds me. I somehow missed it 25 years ago when I first visited this city. I am completely drawn to it but not because of its religious purpose but its architecture.

To get to it I will need to unlock the puzzle of the metro lines. I go with the intent of blogging. So, I slip my laptop into my backpack and head out. No coffee, no toast. Just shoes on and out the door. In the metro it is busy but not like rush hour. That is around 9am. At 8am it is manageable. I find my lines, create my recipe and I am off. It is overcast and threatening rain but it is still hot. Please rain, perhaps it will cool off the city. The cool air flowing through the car’s windows as we snake through the tunnels is welcome. I arrive at Abbessys station in Montemartre. I begin my ascent to the street. One turn. Another. Then another and another until I start to dizzy from the spiral staircase that leads me out of the ground. I had forgotten that the church on the hill was, well, on a hill.

Out on the street, the rain has made good on its threat. I stand under the cover of a tall tree with a Parisian as we attempt to wait out the bigger drops. She has forgotten her parapluie at home. Mine is in Castro Valley. It’s only a two-minute wait and we are off in opposite directions. The S5 has directed me up the narrow street to the first long staircase. I surmount it only to find another two blocks later. It spills me out into a small square where the day is beginning for the vendor and restauranteurs of Montemartre. Just beyond the square, the basilica shyly presents herself between the tourist shops and art galleries and restaurants. I only catch a sliver of it but she does not disappoint. I move towards her. I am sweating. The climb has me drenched. Turning the corner, more of the iconic church presents herself to me. The routine of the day is played out before me with the garbage men connecting full cans to the back of their truck and commuters making their way down from the mount. There are military personnel milling about at the back entrance to the basilica.

On the front side is the twin attraction to this destination—a sweeping panorama of the city of lights. It comes into view as I circle the building, moving towards the entrance. I pass through the gate but not without submitting to a search of my bag. Inside the church, I am one of only a handful of visitors. I make my way into the center of the nave and find a seat. Staring up at the 30-foot-tall mosaic of Jesus with the golden heart at the center of his chest. I have seen many mosaics but this one is special and I cannot describe it adequately. After a few minutes, I tour the remainder of the building. Moving from the nave to the transept via the ambulatory. The stained glass is amazing in the morning light. I move back outside to take in the vista and then I remember there is a dome that can be climbed. Now, if I tell you that I have climbed every tower and dome in Italy, I would not be exaggerating. It became a game with the kids during our 2015 visit. Counting steps.

I wait for it to open with about 6 other early morning visitors. I pay my fee and make my way into the tiny spiral staircase and begin the 300-step climb. I keep a steady pace circling towards the ceiling. There is an elderly woman and her grandchild ahead of me. They succumb to my pressure and let me by. Turning, turning. The legs begin to burn. The breath gets heavier and now I am really sweating. I allow a young couple to pass me. I spill out into the rampart of the dome. The view is not better but different. The city flashes in the porticos as I circle the dome. There are stone benches and I sit, taking in the view. It has started to rain again and you can see the rain shafts in the distance making their way across the city towards the church. There is a flash and then seconds later a large boom. The thunder announcing the static of the storm. It is pouring and now have no reason to descend, so I sit listening to the drops fall peacefully.

I am hungry. I have forgone caffeine and food to make this climb and now I need something on my belly. I make my way back to the square, descending the slippery marble steps of the sanctuary. There are more people now and I am happy that I was among the early group to see the white church on the hill up close. In the square, there are a number of restaurants but one in particular is filled at its front with older Parisians. This is the one. I sit waiting for the waitress. “Je voudrais un petite dejuener. Sil vous plait.” I request. “Classique o Americain?” she replies. “Classique, sil vous plait avec café au lait et du l’eau,” fumbling through my beginner French. I sit quietly next to an older couple eating a warm croissant and toasted baguette with orange and strawberry jam. A small bird flutters in to steal a crumb and I shoo it away and the wide body of a pigeon waddles out from beneath my table. I finish my food washing it down with the last of my coffee and begin the descent to the metro station. It is nearly 11am now and I need to get back to the quintet. They are likely waiting on me.

In the apartment, my sister and niece are getting ready to head out. Robin is in the shower and the kids are screening out. I am on fire, having worn long pants to my rendezvous. The rain has made the heat worse introducing humidity to the party. Great. The ladies are off to get some medicine for Claire. The stress of travel has taken its toll and she is feeling a bit under the weather. They’ll be gone for about 90 minutes they say, closing the door. Robin appears a few minutes later. She’s been working since I left. No one has eaten. It is obvious and I am paying for it. Nope. This is not my issue. They all had opportunities to eat something and chose to pursue other things. I lose my temper in response to their cranky temperaments, complaining that they should have eaten. No matter. What is done, is done. I take them down the lane for lunch. We step into an empty café. It is a gamble but one that pays off. The kids order cheeseburgers that are the size of their heads. Good thing too because they cost 16 euro each. Robin and I split a prosciutto and melon starter and the sea bream main. In French, this is the entrée and plat principal. Whereas in the States, the entrée is your main dish. The meal finished, we are all happier and head back to the apartment to meet the girls. I am sleepy now and have a coffee. In the heat this does not seem like a smart idea but I am flagging and need the boost.

We make a plan to metro over to Paris Sainte-Chapelle. The sweet tiny little gothic church next the Palais de Justice de Paris filled with 30-foot-tall stained-glass windows end-to-end and side-to-side is not to be missed. Afterwards, we will travel over to Musee D’Orsay. We jump on the train and begin the journey towards Il de la Cite. It is crowded but not terrible and luckily our stop is only a few minutes away. Up on the Pont de Neuf the heat of the sun is blasting us all. We move towards the opposite side and duck into the shade of the tall buildings. We arrive at the entrance and pass through the omnipresent metal detector. It seems unfamiliar. I have visited the chapel each time I have been to Paris but this time it does not look the same. We descend into a basement that is dark and welcomingly cool. The gothic ceiling arches dramatically lit. I wander about while Robin and Ryan find the restroom. The girls are in the gift shop. I finally cop on the fact that we are not in St. Chapelle at all but rather Conciergerie, the 14th century palace and prison. Hundreds of prisoners during the French Revolution were taken from the Conciergerie to be executed by guillotine at a number of locations around Paris. A happy accident because it is a beautiful space, despite its grim past. No matter, we are back out on the street and headed towards the stained-glass marvel. Again, there is no line, which is probably why I so easily went with the Conciergerie. This security check point is a little stiffer. Bags must pass through the xray machine and we also go past a metal detector. I am wanded as an extra precaution. We breeze past the line with our museum pass. This alone I worth the 62 euro. Once inside, the beauty does not immediately reveal itself. For that you have to climb a short but dark spiral staircase. Once on the deuxieme etage, the heat of the space is placed aside to drink in the sights of the glass. Claire has succumbed to the heat. I am standing in front of a small fan running in the center of the room. When she comes close to me, I get her to stand in front of it for a few moments. This helps. I think. We need a cool down of some kind. Cold soda, ice cream, ice water. Something.

Out on the street we make our way towards the left bank. There is a small touristy street that I know will have what we are looking for and it is nearby the train station that we want to take to our next desitination—Musee D’Orsay. We step into a glacier (ice cream parler). Scoops are 8.50 euro. What?! There is a smaller vendor across the street. We step across and get our cool down for 25% of the price. Much better, all the way around.

In the metro, we find our train and jump on. It smells like oil and diesel in the tunnel. One stop and we are at our destination. This once upon a time train station is a perfectly preserved 18th century Beaux-Arts masterpiece and it is filled with masterpieces—mostly impressionists. Roudin, Van Gogh, Renoir and Monet are among the works that are on display. I have always wanted to visit but have never been able to squeeze it in. The artist among us, Claire, has requested it, so it make a higher place on our list this time. We spend a couple of hours inside going from bottom to top. When I reach the top floor, I am welcomed by the inside of the large clock that adorns the outside of the building. Through the glass and past the arms of the movement I spy my mistress. Sacre Coeur sits conspicuously on the hill above the city. The building is so freaking beautiful and as it sits framed by this timepiece, I am even more struck by it.

I turn the corner and find Whistler’s Mother. I am sort of shocked. I had no idea it was in this museum. The iconic work is larger than I expected, much in the same way the Mona Lisa is much smaller. Ryan and I make our way through the many impressionist works that hang. We take in their beauty, even though neither of us really get their significance. We look for the girls but keep just missing them. As we head downstairs, having received a text announcing their descent to the gift shop, we just miss them dropping in the glass elevator. Ryan and I head down the staircase that surrounds the shaft and as each floor passes, we continue to catch glimpses of the girls in their glass box.

I am alone back on the first floor, Ryan having ducked into the elevator when it stopped on one of the floors. I am wandering solo and admiring both the art and the building. I meet up with the rest and we make a plan for dinner. Retrieving my bag from the coat check, we exit the building into the scorching heat. Rani wants to Uber. I say that it won’t be faster and since we are all starving, we agree to jump the train back to where we started on the Il de la Cite. Once on the island, we join the Metro line at Pont Neuf station and growing rush hour crowd towards Palais Royal for dinner. This train is more civilized. The one we hopped at Musee D’Orsay was filled with drunk teenagers who reeked of body order, teen angst and booze. They are singing loudly and badly in French. As we get off the train, what looked to be just a few drunk hooligans turn out to be a large crowd. They are as loud leaving as they were sitting. The rush hour commuters mixing in at the turn styles with the drunkards who are looking for a free ride. We hold back and let them clear the station exit. I do not want to have engage with them. One or two were sizing me up on the train and I was being mindful of what could quickly escalate. Let the idiots pass. Someone else will engage, I’m sure. With luck it will be the gendarme.

Back on the surface we head towards the restaurant du jour. Robin has been here a few times and swears that it is the best Chinese food in Paris and the fella that runs Dave’s, Dave himself is a character. We leave the light and heat of the street for the cool dark of the restaurant. The older Chinese man seats us in the back of the restaurant. He does not allow us to order off the menu, even though they lay on the table. “Does anyone have any food issues?” He asks. We tell him that Claire is vegetarian. “Are you vegetarian or further?” He continues. Nope just no meat. He spouts off several options as each of us “oohs” and “ahhs” at his description. Hunger has set in. We would eat old shoes if they were properly seasoned. Claire is in heaven because Dave is providing special treatment to her. “This is for you, not them,” pointing to the rest of us as he sets down some sautéed vegetables and fried rice with egg. The rest of us eat shrimp and chicken and duck and veg and are all satisfied after several rounds of deliveries. Dessert comes in the form multiple scoops of ice cream.

We leave after settling the bill and getting a picture for the walls of fame. They are covered with pictures of famous and not famous guests. We may or may not make the wall but we get the photo anyway. Each of us also gets a Parisian “Bissou” from Dave as we pass over the threshold to the street. The bissou is a very European thing where you give a light kiss on either side of the face as either a “hello” or a “goodbye”. This can either be cheek to cheek or it might be just kissing the air near the person face. It depends on how well you know the other person. A short mero ride home, where we pack and collapse. Tomorrow we head to the coast, where, with luck it will be cooler. Please god. Please.

Epilogue Paris: We rather enjoyed our short time in the city of lights. Each got to see something of importance to them and we came away richer for the experience. As we went to sleep that last night the heat had taken its toll on each of us. At 2am it took hold of some people on the street, as the heat tends to create conflict. We are awoken by shouting in French. There are two or three people in the street below our apartment windows. It goes on for several minutes. “ARRETTE, ARRETTE, ARRETTE,” the man shouts “STOP” again and again and again. I want to open the window and pour water on them. It eventually ends and we get back to sleep, reluctantly.

[sometimesrosy]

I am your fan 1 month I follow you and it was a light in the dark I was very frustrated with s5 and at the same time happy, I think a little because I did not recognize Bellamy in some moments and I had some moments of the Bellamy that I fell in love with, and by the fandom being toxic, I think when JR created the CL he had no idea of ​​the repercussions he would have. I've seen some assumptions that perfectly match what's on the screen, I was wondering if there's any chance of JR keeping B / E

for over half a season or even the entire season. I know the show is not selling b / e, but it still causes me discomfort when I watch 5 years since I watch the series, 5 years I wait for Bellarke and watch b / it is distressing but I still stand firm as Bellarke and I see the love story being shaped by iron and fire. But once thanks for being patient and thoughtful to Bellarke fans, thank you for the comforting and enlightening posts. Sorry for any mistake English is not my native language.

I’m glad I could help you in fandom. Don’t worry about your english, I can understand you. It was really hard in season 5. (actually it’s been really hard every season in one way or another. i guess fandom is just hard.)

From what I can see so far, the romantic story arc they are telling right now in early season 6 is C/B/E. Not b/e and not c/b. But rather how c/b is stopped because of the commitment between b/e and b/e is stopped because of the love between c/b. It’s a tangle that needs to be solved because neither ships can move forward until it is.

They have been telling it for a season and a half now. They only show us enough of B/E to make sure we understand that it’s real, but all the emotional focus goes to c/b. So can I promise they won’t keep b/e going for a half season?

I can’t promise anything, it’s not my show. But also, the way I look at it, they never HAVE done b/e. B/E would need there to be no Clarke in the middle, and from the moment we saw B/E after watching Clarke alone and pining over Bellamy and wanting him to come home, B/E has NEVER had any screen time without our knowledge of Bellarke as real and profound. 

I have never been worried about b/e because to me, it never was. It was always c/b/e. And knowing what love triangles do, this one will sort itself out into Bellarke, because they are the main ship of the show, soulmates, and she’s been calling him for 2199 days. 

So, of course this is my own interpretation of the story being told, but what I saw, of the romantic story arc, is Clarke longing for Bellamy, and being in love with him for 6 years, which was pretty explicit, I thought, and underscored with the 2199 calls, while Bellamy has been traumatized by her loss and ALSO focused on her for 2199 days. This has NOT been made explicit as love, but there have been implications that he is doing the same kind of (pathetic) longing for the fantasy of her, but he’s moved on to Echo, which is a relationship that is comforting and sweet but not as secure as one would want to see, which Echo is concerned about and Bellamy ignores. Clarke and Bellamy reunite, and their connection is immediate, but Clarke holds back and so does Bellamy and when Clarke discovers B/E she withdraws immediately and actually tries to run away. B/E becomes a part of Bellamy’s trauma as Octavia wants to banish her and then for the rest of the ep Bellamy is desperate to save her. In the end she leaves to be a good spy and he is left with Clarke, who needs his help and they begin their non-romantic partnership again, Which is the “safe” place for them to be. But they grow closer, and then choices have to be made which include deepest betrayal for both of them. Bellamy makes the choice to risk the prior love of his life, Octavia, for Clarke’s life, his relationship with Clarke for the life of all of them. Because it’s been made explicit that Clarke is who he loves, along with Echo. That is an explicit love triangle. There is no ambiguity there and the people trying to make it platonic are denying canon. Clarke leaves him to die, so, pathetic again, he decides to choose Echo and fight for his people. But Clarke, in conversation with Echo, Madi and FlameLxa recognizes that Bellamy is alive, faces her love for him, and faces the WRONGNESS of betraying the person she loves, so she reverses her decision frees Echo to save and be with Bellamy and risks Madi to do so. Notice that at the end of this, both Bellamy and Clarke have chosen B/E while Echo does not even KNOW there’s a choice to be made. But Praimfaya, instead of being about B/E which both Clarke and Bellamy have chosen, is ENTIRELY about Bellarke, and their relationship snaps back into place, as soulmates, partners and friends, aligned and on the same path towards a commitment to being the good guys.

Which brings us to season 6. In which we have reinforced that B/E are still together, but also reinforced that Clarke and Bellamy are a team, supportive of each other, and unable to keep from giving each other heart eyes. So C/B/E is reinforced. Still happening. No resolution. Both are in play, committed b/e and in love c/b. AWKWARD.

In 6.02 we bring the problem of C/B/E to the fore. First, Bellamy brings up the 2199 calls. This is to tell us that the now three season story line is important and is NOT going away. And Bellamy is ready to deal with it. Clarke is not however and runs away. The eclipse psychosis happens, b/e are separated for Echo to go do her duty… again, and Bellamy and Clarke trade keys to their hearts… I mean cuffs. Meanwhile, Echo is dealing with her solo nightmare and it’s about who she is and how she is just a good servant/spy and puts Bellamy explicitly into the role of her master, like Nia and Roan before him. This is a problem for her, but she hasn’t dealt with it yet.  Bellamy goes crazy (while trying to get in to kill echo) and says he doesn’t need Clarke anymore, despite having NEVER telling her or anyone else that he needed Clarke. (you’re over me? when were you under me?) Then he goes homicidal and attempts to kill both Murphy and Clarke, who finally remember they’re family and save each other AND Bellamy from having the horror of murdering the people he loves. HOWEVER, Bellamy wakes up and KNOWS what he’s done that he tried to murder Clarke (we’ll stick with her because that’s who he looked at horrified at the end of the episode) and told her he didn’t need her.

We also know that the 2199 calls will come up again tied to feelings, and being left to die. So there’s MORE coming. We also know that Bellamy and Clarke are going to work through her leaving him in the pit and move their relationship forward in ep3, We know Clarke will watch him leave on a mission with Echo and Octavia. So we know that ep3 will have time to address BOTH relationships, Bellarke and B/E. Which has not happened before. We know bellarke will, but we don’t know that B/E will… although with Octavia present chances are good. 

Can I be certain  that this love triangle is coming to a close? No I cannot. It’s a narrative choice. Do I see them setting it up to come to a close. Yes I do. I don’t see it getting soapy and melodramatic. THey tend to save the melodrama for trauma and death, and keep the romance simple and subtle. So do I see them suddenly having Echo and Clarke getting into a fight for ‘my mans?’ no i don’t. Clarke has already stepped back and that is in character for her. Echo is loyal and wants Bellamy to be happy, that is her character, part of that is forgiving Octavia, but when she realizes what’s happening with Bellarke, chances are she’ll step back. Especially when she’s being faced with her own issues of identity and loyalty and independence, which they have just now made explicit during the psychosis. They just gave her a reason to break up with Bellamy that has NOTHING to do with Clarke. Set up. Clarke might be the impetus for her, or not. We don’t know. Let’s find out. Yes I expect something about this mess to happen in episode 3.