#i just wish they'd done the teasers like that too

[theprotagonistisdead]

Listened to "Birth" by ARTMS and let me just say, it's a great song! I did not expect such a dark song from them, but it's so cool! The song definitely has that ~ LOONA sound ~. I LOVE their vocals in this (literally angelic) and the mixing has certainly gotten better since Air Force One. The music video is drop dead gorgeous (LOONA Print!!!) and oh, the lore implications. I adore the slighty creepy and very weird vibes of the drawings, it's something I'm really into lately.

I generally love the whole vibe of this and I am very excited for the upcoming pre-release singles and the eventual full comeback.

[bugsbenefit]

i'm actually so looking forward tudum next week, ST making Some appearance in there is essentially already guaranteed, with it being used in promo images for the event and getting mentioned on some lists of fandoms that will allegedly get featured and all. and like 👀

but we also just got a bts production trailer a month ago, i really wonder what they'd drop now. it could either be kind of lame (opening theme and s5 logo drop, which they did for every other season up until now, but usually at the beginning of filming and not 9 months in, so it would really be a let down now), mediocre (episode titles maybe? (also usually get dropped in a separate teaser for every season), OR maybe a few frames of actual s5 footage (wishful thinking)

bc even the over a minute long teaser last month was purely production footage, no shots that actually looked completely done/from the actual cameras povs, so technically we Still haven't gotten a look at what s5 will actually look like

but also ST day is right around the corner too and with it being the final event before the show is over i'd expect them to go pretty big. so an actual s5 teaser teaser would make more sense to drop then (the way they started dropping minute-ish teasers for season 4 after the 9 months of filming mark) (even though we're already at the 9 month mark so Technically they could also start dropping something now, but idk if they'd release proper teasers back to back like that with barely a month in between)

so idk idk, i want Something next week but i'm not sure if they'll actually go into real s5 teaser territory yet. with filming being 9 months in they'd definitely have some footage they could already show but saving it for ST day would also be a logical move

[anemone-ships]

yesterday was a very good day

months of not a lot and then suddenly everything on the same day (the day the teaser for the movie was released last year)!! this all really cheered me up!! 🥹

i can't believe we have a confirmed date and tagline for the 2nd movie, everything i've heard and seen about it seems so promising and i'm just stoked to see all the characters again, plus some more of my favourite anim.atronics like the p.uppet!! manifesting mi.ke being alive and well for the entire runtime please god

i probably won't be getting mi.ke's yo.utooz figure because i'm not super into figures and i hate to be negative/nitpicky, but i'm not crazy about how they did his facial hair 😭 i wish they'd done it as little lines like the plushie and pin!! but everything else about him looks so cool, that sequence in the movie always gives me chills (even though it involves my f/o in peril HGFKDHFKJDG. it's about the score it's about the setup and payoff it's about the poetic cinema of it all)

the plushies are ADORABLE and i am for sure preordering mi.ke!! part of me wants to get ab.by as well (her :3 face is everything to me) but i don't want to go too crazy 😅 but we'll see!! i can't wait to hold mik.e gentle like hamburger /ref /silly

and the pins!! i already have far too many pins and nowhere to put them besides my work lanyard, so again i'm in two minds. but once again mi.ke and ab.by's are SO cute and i'm absolutely in love with all the design choices for everyone!! what a lovely set!!

thank you for reading!! next time on I Treat My Selfship Blog Like A Diary, /silly

[badedramay]

I AM DECEASED over the new Mushq photo shoot. Our girl got hate for doing a phone ad with wahaj? Well she went and did possibly the most filmy shoot I’ve ever seen for a clothing brand. The way she was introduced with that back shot! What panache, grace, while still knowing it was her even though you only saw her face for the last 3 seconds of the video— no other actress could’ve done that as well (maybe mahira?) our girl is in a class of her own. No competition.

Secondly the ACTING she’s doing - wow. She’s getting a little bit of recognition (finally!) for the way she’s conveying emotions while still displaying the outfits. How she can go from that sultry look to sly almost without a transition. How does she do it, seriously.

Let’s the haters seethe. Some of them are openly saying they wish it were Yumna. Some are disguising their bitterness under the guise of “no chemistry!” (Lol r u blind) “the hype is for YumHaj!” “Yaar what will sana think?”

Stay mad, cry more, haters. Our girl ate and left zero crumbs and looked beautiful while doing it, all with an actor who’s been her best friend for over a decade and who will never know your name. And she’s trending in India, too. Love this unbothered queen and how she makes these detractors shake like zeera in oil. I hope another casting director sees this and instantly books these two again just to make the haters seize.

jalne walon ki khooooooooob jali. humein bada maza aya :')

i for one am still in SHOCK that 1) we even GOT this shoot and 2) OH MY GOD DID YOU SEE THE SHOOT?!?! LIKE ITNI CHEMISTRy!? ITNI AAG LAGANE WALI CHEMISTRY?! HELLO?? WHAT THE FUCK?!?! this is the same Maya and Wahaj who had once swore they'd never work with each other cuz they'd be too busy laughing to take it seriously. and now we have them romancing in a way ke MUJHE dekh ke blushing agayi. forget me squealing and crying..main laal tamatar hogayi thi watching the second teaser that was released today. the one with the flowers? that was cute and nice and mischievous. BUT THE AFREEN ONE!??! KYA KHAA PEE PE BETHE KE YAHAN MERI MAUT HI HOGAYI!!!

this campaign is truly special for me cuz they decided to make this SOMI!!! THE LOVE THEY HAVE FOR RUMI AND SONIA AND THE WAYS THEY HAVE KEPT THESE CHARACTERS ALIVE. this makes it all the more precious to me. what's the cherry on top is the reactions i am seeing on my twt TL. just this genuine happiness and excitement of us JBG fans and SoMi truthers all gathered when we thought ab koi mauqa nahin milega aise mil bethne ka...IDK ABOUT OTHERS BUT I FUCKING DESERVE THIS!!!

ABHI TOH AUR MILNA HAI! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA RIP ME!!!!

[goldlightwriting]

How do you feel about the void event mass delusion?

Where even after the negative reception of Sentinels people where upset a imagined event didn’t happen in 2022.

Also Kai’sa would be the main character and her design is just the worse.

I'm honestly not sure what to think about that whole situation, if I'm being real. It feels like we, as a community, kind of just gaslit ourselves into assuming that the Bel'Veth teasers were leading up to a proper event rather than just a new Champion reveal. I don't think the backlash from Sentinels caused Riot to cancel or back down on making a Void event; you gotta realize that these sorts of things are in production for months or even years and planned well in advance, so if Riot DID actually plan for some kind of proper storyline to come out Bel'Veth I doubt they'd cancel it last-minute because of getting cold feet. That would just mean they'd wasted time and resources on something that would never see the light of day and no competent business would ever allow that if it can be helped.

Now, do I wish we'd gotten a Void event? Eh. As I've said in my videos: a proper Void story arch would have to be one of the most ambitious projects Riot's ever done. You cannot half-ass something like that. It would need bring together pretty much every Shuriman and Targonian Champion, MAYBE even some people from the Freljord, just to stand a chance. Could they do it? Almost certainly. Will they? Most likely not... Not in the near future, anyway.

My biggest worry is that the Void will just be turned into a raid event for the MMO, which I already have mixed feelings about. You say Kai'Sa is the main character? Nah, the ones who will TRULY "defeat" Bel'Veth will be NoobMaster69 and their party of over a dozen nerds who spend way too much time and/or money decking out their characters with stupidly high-level gear.

[zoe-oneesama]

is there anything that you would have changed about the earlier chapters of scarlet lady, now that you’re so far into it?

I would've made Marinette less OP in the first few seasons, like her being able to kick Timebreaker's butt. I think I thought that since I took away her plot armor in episodes like "Darkblade" and "Befana" that it was okay to boost her normal abilities, especially when there'd be no other way for her to not get caught by an akuma. But it feels OOC and too over powered in retrospect. OR or I wish I'd built to it more so it didn't feel like an asspull. I should've shown her practicing with her mom before she needed to judo flip an akuma, cuz then it wouldn't feel out of no where.

I'd probably have introduced Fox Trot and Koki Marina earlier so that I could've used them more. I wanted them to be special compared to the other temporary heroes since when I started they were going to be the ONLY temporary heroes, so I'm a little put out that they're on the same level as the Zodiac Heroes. I still have a plan to make them special, but if I'd been able to use them in more episodes earlier on, then they'd be That Much More Special.

One other change that I'm not 100% regretful of but think I'd have liked equally was not introducing Lila. I've stated before that the only reason I "redeemed" her (or rather never let her get evil enough to need "redeeming") is because, next to Chloe, she was superfluous. But instead of stopping her from being evil, I could've made a new akuma to work around Adrien sneaking out with the Grimoire and just not had Lila in the AU at all. That way when Chloe/Scarlet Lady is out of the way I could leave the series on a little teaser cliffhanger with Lila coming in as the new girl after Heroes Day, as a hint that she'd take Chloe's place. That could've been a cheeky fun deviation.

But I also like what I have done with Lila so I'm not regretful that I couldn't go this route. Plus "Volpina" is still my favorite episode of the whole AU.

[transpat]

prediction for ep 12??

ik everyone's clinging onto the last thread of hope bc the "teasers have always been misleading" but i genuinely do think they broke up and this just suddenly occurred to me bc i can't stop thinking about it, but i find it v interesting how thru out the show pran keeps reiterating he's quit guitar, he's left that behind when we all know where his heart is and then there's this thing this ep:

thru out this ep they've made it a point to particularly point out just how much pran loves the guitar (that scene where he's watching someone play in awe and pat's staring at him in turn). and verbally, thru out the show pran's kept saying he quit he quit, but then comes clean with pat and admits becoming a musician is in his future plans.

for the time being, pran has entirely given up his guitar and music, bc as much as he loves that he loves his mom too and he doesn't want to go against her wishes. thou its really more from his fear of the consequences than love for that ass, bc pran also knows it's unfair, but he knows he's still under her roof rn, that she has full control over him and can uproot his entire life on a whim, so he has to obey her, has to forsake what his dreams and desires.

still, this is the first time we see pran admit that although he's given it up right now, it doesn't mean he's given it up forever. it's still his dream, it's still in his plans for his future.

so i think that's the same thing him and pat have done. pat can't hide, pran hates lying, if things go badly pran's mom will transfer him again, so they cave in for the time being, do as their parents desire. the 'break-up' is only a 'break', until they're free and independent and can find their way back to each other without constantly watching their back, constantly fearing consequences. pat - like the guitar - is a definitive part of pran's future, once he's removed from his childhood environment.

i mean, this is the only explanation that makes sense to me after every talk they had this ep, about fighting for each other, about going anywhere as long as they're together. i don't see pat simply accepting this fate, or pran emotionally manipulating him into it, bc this very series was about them fighting against that?? pran decides on it bc he knows his mother needs to be babied, that despite what the words he threw back at her, he will be held responsible for her feelings. pat accepts it bc he's seen pran and the guitar, bc he knows pran will never give up on him, bc he's positive he is part of the future pran wants.

(also pran and pat seemed sad but relatively chill about the breakup in the preview. if it was a breakup that was set in stone i think they'd be much more heartbroken and dramatic about it. narratively also it doesn't make sense bc a) its out of character for pranpat b) there's also pha and wai (if that asshole has any remaining conscience) that do have the some power to change things??)

[magalidragon]

**moodboard pending)**

Brother for Sale | a Targling fic | teaser

I’m still dealing with residual migraine issues, work that sucks, and now a fucked up wrist from carrying too heavy boxes that typing is painful lol. But I will try to get this done by Fathers Day.

Lyanna Targaryen Snow wanted a new toy.

In particular, she wanted the new Night's Watch Ranger Force Queen Nerys "Night Queen" special edition moveable action figure with accompanying dragon, dragon riding accessories, weapons, and changeable outfit from Nerys's traditional black and red ensemble to her 'Snow Queen' ensemble of white and gray, which occurred during the episode when she accidentally succumbed to the evil Night King curse and had to be saved by her stalwart hero Ranger Cregan Snow.

If she was really lucky, she maybe could get the action figure and accessories set, plus the Night Queen costume. She already had the regular outfit because that was what she wore for All Hallows' Eve at school earlier that year. Now she wanted the Snow Queen one. She could wear it all summer long and maybe even to school on the first day, because that was a special day and she wanted it.

"Dadddddy," she began, holding his hand as they crossed the parking lot from their car towards the stupid hardware store, where sometimes Daddy took her and she didn't want to go because it was boring. Last time they went in she got in trouble too. Sh ewas bored and went to the big wall of pretty colored pieces of cardboard and decided to take a couple, just for fun. She knocked it down-- ON ACCIDENT.

But hey they got to leave.

The thing was, the toy store was right next to the hardware store, so while Daddy got to play with his "toys"-- that's what Mommy called them-- she didn't understand how come she couldn't go play with the toys that she liked. She grabbed his hand tight, sinking down and dragging her feet a bit. "Daddy pleeeease can we go to the toy store?"

He sighed, glanced at it and then at her. "Well..." he trailed off, biting his bottom lip.

Sometimes Daddy was easier to ask questions to than Mommy. Mommy would say 'Nope' and then they'd go do what they had to do. But she knew if she made her eyes all big and stuck out her lower lip and asked maybe another time, Daddy would probably let her. "Please?" she whispered. She blinked up. For extra, she smiled brightly. "Please Daddy? I did my chores!"

He wrinkled his nose and then gave a curt nod. "Alright, but first we go to my store, I need to get the right screws for Aemon's fan."

Aemon sat in the sling that Daddy wore on his chest, gurgling up in the gross baby way. Lyanna wrinkled her nose at him. He was fun sometimes, other times he smelled, and she didn't like how he always got to sit in the chest backpack thing slinging with Daddy and Mommy. She wished she could, but they said she was way too big, she was a big girl and big sister and at six-years old she tended to agree, but it was still unfair sometimes. They wouldn't even push her in a stroller anymore, she had to get out and walk.

Aemon smiled over the side of the sling, drool coming out of his mouth and dribbling down his chin. He waved at her and she smiled up, just as the drool came right out and landed on her face. "ew!" she shrieked.

"Aw Lyanna, it's just drool."

"Gross!"

Daddy wiped her face with his shirt-sleeve and then used some of the sling to wipe at Aemon, who laughed at her horror, shaking and kicking, making huffing and puffing noises. She made a face. At least Aemon would be with Daddy while she could look at her new toy. She sulked, traipsing after Daddy into his store.

He did what he needed, got what he needed, and a few minutes later they left, going next door to the toy store. The moment the doors opened, she took off for the aisle with all the Night's Watch Ranger Force toys and accessories. She knew that it would be right there.

And it was.

And it was beautiful.

"Ah!"

It was so pretty.

And there was SO. MUCH. MORE.

More than what the things on TV showed or the pop-ups on her iPad or anything she could have dreamed. There was a life-sized dragon stuffed animal to ride, accessories including Queen Nerys's jewelry and crown, more action figures, stuffed animals, and other dolls. She pushed by some of the more girly things, because Queen Nerys was a true queen and did all her own stuff herself and even when she wore dresses she wore pants with them. She grabbed a couple of the boy toys of Cregan Snow-- ignoring his stupid dumb sidekick Stewart Larty-- also a plastic copy of his sword.

She could hardly dream of such things. She wanted them all, but knew that would be impossible. no way she could get them all. Her eyes landed on the set she wanted, ignoring the rest and picking it up from the shelf. It had even more. It also had Cregan Snow in his nice outfit, not his usual furs and armor, but a black ensemble and he was wearing a crown.

Her eyes widened, wondering if that was going to be what happened in a new episode or maybe a new movie. "Is he going to be king?" she whispered.

Aemon screamed somewhere near her. She heard Daddy's footsteps. "Find what you wanted?" he asked. He sighed. "By the way, we're just looking."

Looking!?

[bex-pendragon]

I guess now is as good a time as any to collect my thoughts about the Loki series because I have very mixed feelings about it.

I want to start by saying thank you to the wardrobe department for letting this guy run around with his sleeves rolled up for multiple episodes. It was very much appreciated.

Spoilers to follow...

I also want to preface this by saying that I was never one of those hardcore Loki stans. I've always found the character compelling, but that's more down to the actor's portrayal than anything else. This is one of those cases of exactly the right actor for exactly the right role. (And yeah, I think Tom Hiddleston is attractive. What do you want from me, I'm superficial.)

After enjoying WandaVision and TFATWS, I was feeling pretty low-key about Loki. Just watch the show, they said. It'll be fun, they said.

WELL.

I was not expecting to have all these feelings about it??!

Let's start with some complaints:

I thought the pacing was a little off compared to WV and TFATWS. Episode 1 dragged. Things picked up in ep. 2, then things got WILD in episode 3, then episodes 4 and 5 were both solid.

I kind of wish it had ended right there because I, for one, was having a pretty good time.

This show was different than I expected it to be. When they first announced it, I had a grand vision of Loki running amok through the timeline and the TVA cleaning up after him, like an even more chaotic version of Legends of Tomorrow. After Thor: Ragnarok, I was hoping for some fun shenanigans. But, as this is an earlier version of Loki, we got existential angst instead.

We did, however, get Old Man Loki and this hilarious alligator:

I had a feeling that they would leave us with a fractured timeline for the final episode because that's the direction the MCU is moving in. I also saw the betrayal coming, even though I was really hoping they'd surprise me.

The series suffers from being the first chapter in a larger story. I think it would've been more affective to end the series with Loki and Sylvie venturing into the Mansion at the End of Time and then hit is with a post-credits teaser of the Big Bad. That way it would've felt a bit more wrapped up and we could've been left feeling good about a second season instead of being ANNOYED that we have to wait however long to see how things work out. However: the actor absolutely nailed it! He's going to be an amazing villain in future movies!

They balanced the self-contained story/piece of a larger story aspect much better in WandaVision. They wrapped up the story. It was sad but cathartic. Wanda's journey was so deep and I still get emotinoal thinking a bout it. And we still got the multiverse tease in the post credits scene.

TFATWS also told a self-contained story. Yes, it left us with plot threads to pick up later, but the main story was wrapped up. The characters got to learn and grow and it was so well done.

Loki was also on a great growth arc. I'm not complaining about that. They managed to take a character I've always had mixed feelings about and make me care about him! And they acknowledged that he’s bi! (Not that they did much with it, but I wasn’t expecting them to. This is the MCU, not the Arrowverse. I’ve learned to expect nothing more than blink-and-miss rep. That’s all they’re willing to give us at this point. The MCU is woefully behind when it comes to LGBT rep. I know I should be mad about it, but in this case, I’m willing to let bicons be bicons.)

But they just left way too much stuff up in the air for my liking. I don't mind an open-ended season, but it's so much better to wrap up the current plot and introduce the next thing! They... kinda did that? But with more questions than answers and in the most heartbreaking way possible!

There were a lot of interesting new characters introduced. Hunter B-15 was a standout, and it was awesome to have Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Owen Wilson rounding out the cast.

But SYLVIE! Sylvie broke my heart, y'all.

She's got everything: tragic backstory, powers, a dramatic lowering-the-hood moment. It's such a gamble to put an established character up against a newcomer. At this point, we've been watching stories about Loki for a decade. His name is the title of the show! And yet, Sylvie stole the show.

I hope this character sticks around, because I want to know more about her backstory and her exploits.

It's so wild to me because I (and many people on the internet) envisioned Katie McGrath as the gender-bent version of Loki. I'm a diehard fan of hers. I was never expecting it would actually happen, mind you. It was just a nice thought. And typecasting because, y’know, she looks like THAT.

I’m glad they went in a different direction when they cast this role. As much as I love Katie, I think it would’ve been too distracting. I was glad to see an unfamiliar face in the role. It skewered my expectations in the best way. I thought Sophia Di Martino had great screen presence and she held her own against the cast of more well-known actors. I also liked her dynamic with Hiddleston.

"And speaking of which…

Guys, I ship it.

This is probably an unpopular opinion, given the fact that they’re variations of the same person, but I was really rooting for these two! They totally snuck up on me. This is not the kind of ship I usually go for. I mean, it’s weird, right?

AND YET.

There’s something to be said about learning to love yourself. It’s heteronormative that Loki’s "self" ended up being a girl, but I liked them, ok? I can’t explain it. Maybe it’s just me being bi and thinking they’re both cute, but here we are. All aboard the chaotic bi express!

After Sylvie's big reveal in episode two, I was like: wow, look at her! I can’t wait to see Loki get his ass kicked by his alt-universe self! Then in episode 3 they were fighting and going off on an adventure together, bickering all the way. Then with the singing? And the eye contact? WTF?

Then we get the hand-holding in episode 4:

Then with the hurt looks, the back-to-back battle couple fighting, the EMOTIONS. When Loki thought she was pruned? OUCH. The acting! When he actually DID get pruned? The heartbreak! He was so soft with her in that last scene and like an idiot, I fell for it.

Then they meet up again in episode 5 and he RUNS TOWARD HER like he hasn’t seen her in years?! Getting past the enemy with the power of friendship? Them SHARING THE BLANKET??!!

Yeah, I’m a sucker. I’m a clown. I played myself. They gave me all the tropes. All that was missing was a dance scene with UST. *slides a 20 dollar bill to the writers as a bribe for season 2*

I totally saw the betrayal coming. And it HURT. I really don’t need any more tragic ships in my armada and these two are probably doomed, right?

Probably. Am I still going to ship it? Definitely.

And speaking of ships: it doesn’t have to me Loki/Sylvie OR Loki/Mobius. Loki has two hands!

Anyway, I just needed to ramble about all of that because my emotions are doing a thing. I really wasn't expecting to feel this way! I know it will never happen but I kind of want to see Loki, Mobius, and Sylvie to go to New Asgard and meet up with Thor. Imagine the shenanigans!

But most importantly: I think someday, when they meet up again, Thor will be proud of the man his brother is growing into. He's still got a ways to go to get there, but he's further along in his path than Sylvie is. I hope she gets there too.

What is love? Lady thou woundest mine heart.