#i miss the redemption arc ngl

[rystiel]

he killed herself then she killed himself ❤️

[scooterpengie]

My prediction for their next meeting 😭 (Gravity Falls reference)

[dokiyeom]

AYA’S SEVENTEEN FIC RECS

note: ngl i meant to post this in dec as an end of 2022 sort of thing and as a bit of an apology for my inactivity,, but my mental health has not been fantastic,, but here are some of my favorite seventeen fics that i’ve read !! also ps pls feel free to send me some of ur own favs bc i miss reading fics && i’m begrudgingly admitting that i’m not great at finding fics,, like sm of these i have to thank yeona for sending me :00

ot13/multi/love interest revealed later on !!

UNDER THE SUN - @wooahaes (series // fantasy/darl+ing au // multi ot13 part)

i think i’ve rbed almost all the individual parts if ur interested in my more specific thoughts but this series has been an absolute comfort series for me for a while !! the relationships between the members and the reader - both platonic and romantic have been so lovely to read !! it’s such a genuinely warm series and the worldbuilding is also just soso fantastic !! it is a fantasy sort of au,, so it’s a bit daunting to get into just because the logic of the universes created in this genre is a bit difficult to grasp,, but uts has such an easy to comprehend world and everything is explained so clearly !! it’s genuinely one of the most comforting fics i’ve read this year and one that i’d highly recommend to pretty much everyone,, even if u aren’t a carat :D

APARTMENT A5C - @suhnshinehaos (smau - college au)

my favorite svt smau that combines some of my fav tropes/aus (housemates and uni) !! ++ i’d argue there’s a found family aspect that just melts my heart soso much,, like the reader’s relationship with the 96 line, both platonic and romantic are insanely heartwarming and comforting !! the banter is so entertaining && all of the additional friendships are just to die for !! esp sana and yuta with the reader !! but honestly this smau is just soso sweet and a story where u really root for the main couple to get together bc they just fit each other so well !! def another fic i’d recommend to anyone !!

LOVESTRUCK @/suhnshinehaos (smau - college au)

short endings for the reader’s other housemates !! has the same entertaining banter and cute relationship buildup that is just soso perfect to read after apartment a5c to treat ur post fic sadness <3 all the relationships are formed in a shorter period of time, but with just that same amount of investment !!

CHOI SEUNGCHEOL

OBVIOUS - @leejungchans  (0.9k words - wedding florist and baker au) 

so stinking cute !! the reader and seungcheol having related businesses and appreciating each other’s dedications to their respective crafts is soso endearing :D genuinely my fav seungcheol fic bc hello ? good writing + sulky cheol + established relationship ? an absolute 10/10 and must read that i revisit way too often :D

YOON JEONGHAN

ORDER UP - @/leejungchans  (2.4k - cafe au)

half of these r gonna b recs from sol’s masterlist,, but her works r just too good !! this fic is so darn cute and entertaining, with jeonghan’s antics + his classic attention n care for those in his life were captured so well !! him remembering the reader’s order and his sheer dedication to orchestrating an opportunity for a conversation outside of the reader placing their order was just so fun to read && is genuinely a fic i reread time and time again :D

CAUGHT @/leejungchans (1.1k - preschool? teachers au)

this. this is so insanely endearing hello ?? jeonghan as a preschool teacher is absolutely perfect, and the banter mixed with such tender love that the reader and jeonghan share is just so <3 it’s a relatively short read,, so i’d highly, HIGHLY, recommend giving this a read because it’s soso worth it,, esp if ur feeling a bit down and in need of something fun and sweet to read :D

REDEMPTION @/leejungchans (11.5k)

such whirlwind of emotions but soso insanely riveting !! bad boy jeonghan,,, oh my gosh a concept i (YOU !!) never knew i (YOU !!) needed in my life. him driving a motorcycle. him w tattoos. insane. amazing. fantastic. and a redemption arc ??? reader holding him accountable for wrongdoings ??? genuine efforts to change ?? go read it rn !! u must !!

CANDLELIGHT @/leejungchans (1.2k) - a fav bc its own of my fav tropes :D (blind dates)

my all time favorite jeonghan fic. literally so sweet to read and had me grinning ?? in the middle of the night ?? at my phone !! that’s outrageous !! but so insanely understandable bc this is such an enjoyable read && just so easily heartwarming to hear about the setup of the blind date. honestly,, i don’t think i can understate just how charming and worth reading this is !! 

THE MOST PRECIOUS THING @idyllic-ghost​ (3.6k - hospital/secret relationship au) 

another charming and lovely fic !!! i’m such a sucker for the secret relationship trope,, and this fic had such a fantastic take on it !! i adored the dynamic that jeonghan and the reader had, esp how much they cared for and rooted for each other :DD the banter at work and the tender love they share at home was also just,, absolutely chef’s kiss !!

HONG JOSHUA

LOVE ON THE AIR @suhnshinehaos​ (smau - college au)

i was. so invested in this smau LMAO but the reader and joshua’s friendship was soso lovely to read !! the buildup and tension were absolutely insane and genuinely had me so excited every time i logged onto tumblr to check for any updates :D the side friendships were also just so lovable and endearing,, and i found this smau to overall b super super charming :D

GOLDEN HOUR @dkfile​ 1(2.4k - summer vacation/bffs2l au)

joshua and the reader’s friendship is just so insanely sweet and endearing to read !! this fic is so reminiscent of a sentimental and fun coming of age romance,, which i feel like fits joshua soso well !! the whole time ur rooting soso hard for the main couple to get together, and just reading the buildup is incredibly entertaining !! and also the banter ?? literally so amazing && funny :D

WEN JUNHUI

HOW HARD MY HEART’S BEATING @adi--writes (3.3k - travel/photographer au)

the prose,, oh my gosh !! this fic played out so cinematically !! i loved jun and the reader’s friendship so much,, and how the fic progresses just naturally makes u root for a confession scene regardless of them being the main couple !! everything flowed so organically and their travel stories made for such a beautiful and compelling journey of love :D

KWON SOONYOUNG

(UN)TRADITIONAL @neonun-au (1.8k - wedding au)

the alt title >>> this fic was so full of personality and the premise just fits soonyoung so well !!! the bond that the reader and soonyoung share is just so insanely heartwarming,, esp their mutual understanding and respect for each other’s values !! in general,, the love in this fic is so genuine and lovable :DDD

JEON WONWOO

FLOWER @wonwoonlight (13k - exes au / editor+writer au)

this premise. my gosh it’s perfect !! this fic was such a great take on the second chance trope and the emotions were so fantastically fleshed out !! the progression of wonwoo and the reader’s relationship felt so natural and overall so enjoyable to read :DD

PLAY AGAIN @shuarush (37k words - coworkers au)

the pining !! the tension !! the friendships !! the anecdotes !! the prose !! go read it !! rn !! overall this was such a beautiful journey to read and i enjoyed it soso much :D aside from the main relationship,, i found the reader and jeonghan’s friendship to be soso sweet and endearing !! i also loved loved loved !!!! the writing style in this fic !! everything was so well paced and patient,, which made for such a compelling and beautiful journey that i absolutely loved !!

LEE JIHOON

LIVE @wondernus (1.24k - est relationship au)

so stinking cute !!!! i’m such a sucker for fics like these where the love interest is live and everyone’s also swooning over how sweet the relationship is :DD the love jihoon has for the reader is soso heartwarming and fuels my unending yearning for this sort of cute partnership <//3 this fic is just so enjoyable and the ending. it’s perfect :DDD bc same soonyoung,, same

HEARTACHE AND A LATTE @dkfile (9.3k - cafe au)

read this after not reading any fics for a WHILE and this was just such a chef’s kiss fic :D like the friendships with seungkwan, soonyoung, jeonghan, and wonwoo ?? amazing !!! but the buildup w jihoon !!! my gosh it was so genuinely cute !! i absolutely adored their friendship and the little indications of jihoon’s feelings for the reader :D just such a cute and lighthearted fic that i’d highly rec !!!

LEE SEOKMIN

SOMETHING SWEET @wonwoonlight (2.1k - cafe au)

your honor i love this fic !!!! w all my heart !!!! this fic captured just how lovable seokmin is && had such a cute pining plot :DD this was soso heartwarming and i was so easily invested in their relationship !! overall,, just such a sweet and enjoyable read :DD

KIM MINGYU

MY DAISY @wonwoonlight (series)

this. this was so fantastic. genuinely,,, everyone needs to read this when they can bc it is soso worth reading !!! i loved the friendships and the reader’s relationship with mingyu so much,, and gyuri !!!! gyuri !!!!! honestly i don’t think i can explain just how much i love this fic,, but pls,, pls read this bc this series is so insanely fantastic and had me so invested the whole way :DD

FIVE SHOTS AT LOVE @wooahaes​ (8.5k)

one of my favorite fics !! one of the first fics i read and i just absolutely fell in love with the setup of this fic,,, like the friendship with wonwoo just absolutely won my heart,, and the deepening relationship with the reader was the cherry on top !! such a beautiful and emotionally vulnerable fic that i found so much joy and sadness, but ultimately such an insane amount of comfort in :D def read and check out some of the warnings beforehand just in case !!

TRIAL AND ERROR @/leejungchans (2.9k - cafe au)

SUCH a cute little fic about mingyu trying to approach the reader but failing so miserably each time :D i had such a great time reading this and rooting for mingyu in each attempt !! his genuine earnestness was so adorable to read the way the ending panned out gave me so many giggles :D

XU MINGHAO

ACADEMIC INFATUATION @berriesandjunnie​ (2.5k - professor au)

i love a college setting, workplace romance, and any au where everyone around the reader/main couple are just rooting so hard for them to get together !!! and omg professor hao AND flustered hao ?? like bc of his feelings and nervousness ?? omg literally such a lovely read !!! i had such a good time reading this && got a bit of a giggle which is so 10/10 when reading a fic !!! def read !!!!

AVANTE GARDE @hoyoungy (4.1k - uni/artist au)

tbh as someone who really loves art,, i found this fic suuper enjoyable !! and black mullet minghao ?? hello ?? overall,, i loved the development of minghao and the reader’s relationship soso much and the general nature of how they get to know one another :D like i was soso invested in their journey and just really loved the appreciation both of them grow and have for each other :DD vv worth reading and would highly recommend :D 

BOO SEUNGKWAN

CLASSMATES TO LOVERS @/leejungchans (2.1l uni au)

bulletfics are def such a gem to read,, like short n sweet,, just perfect for a cute little fic :D i adored seungkwan’s impression of the reader and his sheer admiration for them !! like the chemistry was so on point and executed so well in this format too !! AND THE CHOCOLATES gosh this is so cute i love how seungkwan was written in this fic !! 

CHWE VERNON

WORK HUSBAND @wondernus​ (8.8k - teacher au)

my gosh this was soso cute,, like literally i’ve reread this more times than i can admit :0 the reader and vernon’s friendship is just so endearing and felt so genuine !! i really enjoyed reading the buildup of their relationship and just found this to be such a charming story !! like what i would give. to read this for the first time again PLEASE read this !!!

OR WOULD YOU RATHER IT BE ME @thepixelelf (7.9k - soulmate au)

a whole journey of emotions that had me on the edge of my seat and waiting for the reveal !!! the relationship between the reader and vernon were established so well,, like their genuine care and desire for each other to stay in their lives just straight up tugs at my heartstrings !!! this was such a wholesome and hilarious love story that i thoroughly enjoyed :D

LEE CHAN (aka leejungchans chan fics :DDD)

THE SECRET LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS (6.5k words - flower/tattoo shop au)

i loved the contrast between the reader and chan’s character soso much,, and how that ultimately made their relationship soso much more cute and lovable ?? like how intimidated he was and his little crush that he tried so hard to squander !! i love the progression of their relationship soso much and how genuine chan was written in this fic !!!!

OF STICKY NOTES AND STRANGERS (3.8k words)

every time i sit in a library, cafe, or park, i’m waiting for this to happen to me. i adore the premise of this soso much and how the reader’s friend group schemes to catch the perpetrator :DD like overall this fic was so lovely and i def understand the little crushes you get in public on attractive people in your vicinity while working in a public space :DD just so cute,, so heartwarming,, and def fuels my yearning

SCORED! (12.4k words - uni au)

athlete chan,,, oh wow,,,,, this fic was one of the first chan fics i read as i got into seventeen and definitely cemented him as one of my biases in the group :DD i love the banter that went on between the reader and chan,, as well as all the hilarious little details of the other columns !! like project vernway is forever ingrained in my mind whenever i see pieces christiano siriano or any other contestants from project runway !!! overall i just love how this fic played out and all of the hilarious interactions between everyone involved !!! def a super fun read :DDD

[lotus-pear]

bro i’m ngl dazai slander is funny (ie “i am boiling him alive in soup” or “i’m kicking him down the stairs”) but dazai haters piss me off sometimes bc they’ll find the most invalid reason to degrade him like congrats on missing the entire fucking point of his character

“dazai abused akutagawa” yes we are all well aware however it’s the cycle of abuse that he was stuck in and he thought aku would find a reason to live by being exposed to carnage and violence, just as how mori brought him up. it’s unfortunate bc around that time dazai met chuuya and discovered that life wasn’t dross which also happened to coincide with his first mission in the mafia, leading him to believe that it was the mafia that gave him a reason to keep living. he believed the exposure to violence and seeing humanity in its most primal violent stage would help him feel less alienated from his own humanity. he never realized that was not the case.

oh another one is “he’s manipulative even to those he loves”. what do you even want me to say about this one. dazai manipulates chuuya. dazai manipulates ango. dazai manipulates atsushi even at times. but that’s also how he is intrinsically??? that’s how he survived for a long time?????? god forbid he’s still going through his redemption arc and still clings onto the same habits that kept him alive in the pm 💀

[authenticparanoidghosts]

hey, found your blog by accident. i see that you have many opinions on chess. what are your thoughts on freddie's arc in the obc? ngl, i kind of love that he never improves. he's a hysteric diva to the end. i think that's so fun but it's also so interesting how he gets a weird sort of redemption arc in every single revival i've read the summary of lol. florence vassy you just haven't got the instincts of a winner!!!!!!!!!!

okay first of all we need to understand two things. 1) I received a CD of the original concept album for christmas, which I promptly loaded into my car's CD player, and 2) it took me a really long time to guess what OBC might stand for. I'm still not totally convinced it isn't Original British Concert, but enough about Chess in Concert! enough, I say! I don't care what Tim Rice said in 2009, Chess in Concert is the coward's way out!

Original Broadway Cast Freddie is a great Freddie because he sucks so bad. it is so important that Freddie sucks. it is, I would argue, fundamental to his character that he sucks like crazy and is generally unpleasant to be around. Broadway Freddie is so weird and dramatic and pathetic. he throws a big fit about the yogurt, he ditches Mountain Duet to do One Night in Bangkok, he's Walter's babygirl who is so so easy to manipulate. they don't let him in on the big plot to get Anatoly back to Russia, they don't even let him win at chess on his own merits!! Anatoly has to outright throw the match for Freddie to finally become world champion, which I find a very funny choice for the American version of the musical.

within the swirling multiverse of Whatever Chess Is Supposed To Be, I like Freddie a lot. I like when he acts weird and bad, because the point of him is to be a flawed human being whose faults reflect on himself rather than the material success of his country/capitalist ideology. Freddie gets to be annoying and misogynistic and hurtful and childish all out in the open because he is Anatoly's mirror, because Anatoly is not a paragon of Russian ideology/communist superiority, he is also just some guy who sucks and is hurtful and misogynistic and childish. Anatoly fighting for his right to be judged as an individual invites this comparison by default - as rivals, they are the only truly "equal" characters in the story - so when Anatoly becomes a man who is not the Representative of Everything Russian, it makes the viewer aware that Freddie is not just a boiled down extraction of what it means to be American. and therefore, when Freddie does something lame and bad, we know this is because he is lame and bad as an individual, and that Anatoly is also lame and bad on his own merits.

I don't think Freddie needs a redemption ("redemption" or maybe, like, "minor improvement") arc to be an interesting character, so I don't feel like I'm missing anything from the Broadway version of him where he doesn't really grow or change as a person. the MOST important thing about Freddie is his positioning relative to Anatoly (men will hurt every woman who comes into their life because their real [NARRATIVE PARALLEL] is another man), so as long as that's interesting, I'm having a great time. in the original Broadway production Freddie is unaltered by the events of the plot, and therefore Anatoly is pulled, magnetically, back to his starting position. the board resets, same as it ever was, with Anatoly back in Russia, Freddie chasing fame as the American champion, and Florence alone, with nobody on her side.

[potatoesfuelthesoul]

You ever just have the artistic need to revisit old fandoms? No? Just me ok

Ngl, have to say I really miss Yugioh, both as a story and just the early fandom. Story wise, there’s so much potential in Yugioh, and while I really love the anime and manga, there’s still so much to write about. Yugioh got dark at times, and I love seeing how dark some fanfiction artists can go with it, just exploring relationship dynamics and just the history of the Millenium Items. That’s not to mention the complexity of the characters in the show and their actions involving literal murder/attempted murder, brainwashing, mutilation, themes of depression/ptsd, and a lot more (that’s just the literal anime and manga too)

But!! Most importantly, I miss what could have been for Bakura, both the TK/Zorc Bakura, and Ryou. Ryou was such a background character despite being a character with his own spirit that had its own intentions throughout the entirety of the series. He was such a sweet character that deserved so much more screen time and more development. Maybe some more explanation/story about his deck or his past, or even more about how he struggled with the ring.And, despite him serving a key role for the big bad (Yami Bakura/Zorc) he was just pushed to the background as a barley present character. Plus, still wish Yami Bakura got some kind of redemption arc, even as “villainous” as his character was, seeing as he was just as much a victim of Zorc as everybody else (plus having to watch his family die as a child, and being stuck with a literal god of darkness for 3 millennia, feel like he should have got retribution of some sort)

Idk, probably just me. So, being bored and all, I’m attempting to write a redemption fic, so we’ll see how that goes. Thus, random Yugioh fanart filled with our favorite characters + some OC work for story. Story is called Emissary of Ra on ao3 if anyone wants something to read. Its not the greatest and starts off mainly oc centric, but I’m hoping that it turns out pretty decent and well updated in the coming months 👍👍

[accidentallyadramablog]

Ngl, I really hope the older half sister Choi Seung Ah in Wedding Impossible gets a redemption arc. I hope her meanness stems from missing her mom and feeling the burden of trying to protect her little brother after the mom left and taking it out on the two youngest half siblings because her bio dad wasn't shit and she had to be the "oldest daughter". I hope she ends up getting all protective of Do Han and Ji Han. I hope they hug and talk about their mom together. I hope she beats up that reporter. I know this is a short drama which leads to one dimensional antagonists, but I can hope. I just want the siblings to hug. Choi Seung Ah has such strong noona energy how can she not go feral when she switches allegiances and she protects the two youngest.

Choi Min Woong, on the other hand, can go suck an egg.

Also she can be a lesbian and date Yoon Chae Won and they can merge their companies and be a power couple.

[skyland2703]

Now that I have access to good quality pictures of The Coinless #1, I believe I can give it a proper review~

SO LET'S GET STARTED!!

I'm gonna start with saying the art here was fucking gorgeous. And I’m not gonna cover the basic points, too many people already have. Just lil things that held MY attention, knowing all the plot twists and spoilers~

Does this mean Drakkon DID have public executions in the street??

Bulk/Kim crumbs!!! Bulk is such a Simp man. OHHH

and and and— he tells Skull everything. Every part of his day. And I think skull hears, Skull understands.

This might get a little out of order now, but

It’s so sad the way she sits here bundled up like this. It also melts my heart. And she misses Zack So MUCH. And the guilt is swallowing her whole.

SHE IS NOT YOURS—

You know what I’d be up to kill him too if I were in this world.

ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE MOMENT OTP DOUBLE TEAMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!! Please I love THIS SO MUCH.

Bro deserved this shot ngl.

…now why do you have this stowed away like this, huh jason? Are we keeping the trauma like a trophy?? Are you going to wear that when you leave your little recluse’s hut???

Untreated PTSD made worse by more incoming trauma. This guy got so fucked up and yet he finds a way for ME to be annoyed at HIM.

Baby. Baby. Babyyyyyyy. Ultimate himbo Simp. BBY!!

These women are in LOVE by the way. For the record. Just so you know. And every single scene they had deserved a post of its own because HHHHH

But this one in particular. They’re SOFT but they’re pretending to be so tough. They just need a HUG. That’ll fix like 99.9% problems.

Also does anyone remember what did happen to the scorpina of that universe??

This is so funny to me and I don’t even know why

Iconic shot. Could hear the BONK noise in the background.

Glad finster got this moment. Even if it was short lived~

Zack what are. You. Trying. To. Achieve. Why does he keep calling her out like this?? Like he's ridiculing her for what happened to HIM?! WHAT. IS. THIS.

Also does this mean we get lava zombie kim???

HE SAID HIS NAME HE SAID HIS NAME HE SAID—

oh he betrayed them.

oH buLk is hurt.

aSDFGH

Like i said, the art was GORGEOUS. Drakkon was annoying as fuck. I needed to punch him in every single shot he was in.

This feels like a potential redemption arc for him, and I don’t LIKE IT. I don’t like redemption arcs. 99.9% of them. They’re almost never done right.

Obviously, this COULD be something really good, but I feel like

Also the fact that all of the characters not explicitly mentioned are all zombies now saddens me beyond explanation. It somehow kills scope for fanfiction to me?

But on the bright side, Bulk’s development is some of the best of the BEST. He’s the glue that’s holding the team together, he’s also the guy who thought he’d never get this, the underdog, the guy who thinks he doesn’t deserve any of this, and yet, and yet in every interaction of the team, he shines through. He’s the one who’s holding them all together, even though his own world— aka skull— is collapsing.

and i hope we get more development for him.

And please please PLEASE can we have everyone turn back to normal when this shit ends?! These people need a goddamn break.

[stood-onthecliffside]

(Major princess diaries spoilers below for anyone who cares)

OMg so I just finished that book what the HELLL 😭😭😭😭 the ending of the previous book bled into the beginning of this one (some contrite shit about new love being right around the corner BOOOOO in this economy??? When Michael moscovitz exists??????) and JP seemed to be such a stellar boyfriend (at least when not compared to Michael) I was so scared it was going to be permanent it had me literallyyyy googling to make sure Mia ended up with Michael 😭

and I was soooo close to tears throughout like first Mia’s life had so many dramatic changes in such a short span of time, losing her best friend lilly, the binge eating/depression, losing Michael, feeling so stuck and lost and ngl it hit a little closer to home than expected 😭😭

and as soon as Michael showed up in the book and Mia started talking abt how his shoulders were so much broader now and how much more grown up he looked but he was still MICHAEL I started tearing up from the longing/heartache in her writing because SO REAL!!!!!!!! AND HE WAS SO SWEET TO HER AND EVERYTHINGGG HHHHH

AND THE ANGST OMMGGG the will they won’t they with Michael 😫😫 the first cracks in her relationship with jp, her birthday party when MICHAEL LEFT AS JP WAS “PROPOSING” TO HER??? killed me killed me I died DEAD rip me forget Mia MY heart was breaking 😭😭😭

And jp!! Oh goddd I thought it was just going to be an amicable falling out/falling out of love I did nottt expect him to turn out so repulsive?? 🥴 usually I’m against authors villainising characters to justify emotional cheating (like it’s a grey situation, why oversimplify it by presenting a clear cut villain to pin all the blame on yk) but smth abt his rlly was off putting in the recent books, I can’t believe I ever in any sense kind of rooted for him in the first book he was introduced ughhh

Also the whole jp thing was um. very sobering. (I had smth pretty similar happen to me like a while back and this has like fully killed any desire to maybe fix things with him cuz as nice as a guy is u rlly can’t help it if ur just not like attracted to him yk)

Anyways after my wayyy too long book review I leave u with 2 lines that had me crying for like 5 minutes before I could resume reading 😭

(Side note; I also rlly rlly liked Lana’s redemption arc! Didn’t feel forced or out of character, and I felt it was a very smooth depiction of the transition from that immaturish preteen/early teens petty mindset :)) )

i was a jp hater from the start and i am proud if it???? like something was off from the start!!!! i am sorry a jp situation happened to you, i will kill them if you want. honestly michael is so messy and dramatic truly missed his calling in drama! the lily thing was just i didnt NOT like it, makes sense for her character but she was straight up bullying like i would tread lightly with her lmao. the carriage scene btw cinema. like that is a masterpiece right there. anyways live love laugh meg cabot <3

[seth-shitposts]

Get To Know Me (Tag Game)

Thank you for the tag @lost-in-derry & @rel-the-frog

Rules: Answer & tag 9 people you want to get to know better and/or catch up with!

Favorite Color: [Lexie- phthalo green] / [Seth- idk orange or blue???] / [Alice: Pink and a golden wheat]

Last Song: Cradles by Sub Urban

Currently Reading: A New Dawn by John Jackson Miller

Currently Watching: Grey's Anatomy , Star Wars Rebels , & Loki

Currently Craving: a coffee and undisturbed writing time.

Coffee or tea: its a tie between coffee and matcha. Lean Coffee, I believe

A hobby you would like to try: furniture making. (Ngl would love to make sci-fi-fantasy/star wars themed furniture)

An AU you're working on/thought of: au where Minister Tua and The Grand Inquisitior narrowly missed death instead and later down the line cross paths with Kallus while he's in the midst of starting his redemption arc. In one way or another, he convinces each of them to pursue their own paths of redemption. I haven't thought of any other story since February. And we started working on this back in October. When I tell you I am actually obsessed with this story-

No pressure tagging @heart-0f-a-rebel16 @mxtr3ssquickly @horatio-fig @foxxxtransformer123 @not0a0mundane @killermaxaroo8675309 @princesstadashi @mayawakening @thatonegreyghost & @inquisitor-apologist

[castalianspring]

Putting behind spoiler tags, because...yeah.

Okay, so upon first viewing I'm not thrilled with it. The first half was great, some funny moments and excellent performances as usual, then so much was crammed into the back half that the emotional whiplash of it all was just too much for me.

As a fan of the Crew and not just of Stede and Ed, I'm sad that so many characters got barely any lines or screentime. They got cool action scenes, but that's about it.

A few positives: I loved Zheng, everything about her and Auntie was perfect and I adore them.

Loved Jackie and her saving the day like she did, so glad they brought her back this season in such a great way.

I'm glad for Pete and Lucius, but honestly it was hard to be excited about a wedding directly after a death that, again, was rushed due to time. I was still crying over that and the tonal shift was too much too fast.

Honestly, everything was rushed this season. Yeah, sure, that's partly Max's fault, but not adjusting the writing to take it into account just feels like a missed step. I don't feel like the state of Ed and Stede's relationship was earned just yet, the difference in the things they wanted that broke them up in the previous ep weren't really addressed enough for me, but ymnv.

I miss tealoranges, ngl. I wish they'd had enough screentime to really explore what happened and where things were going re a potential polycule, not just leave it up to speculation.

Re Izzy, I'm pretty devastated, I won't lie. I'm not against killing off queer characters, especially in a show with so many queer characters, but to kill off the older, physically disabled queer feels...not great. I would much rather show that growth, that redemption arc, and then let him actually thrive and enjoy that new found family. Not to mention, having other characters survive fatal stab wounds and transform into birds and all sorts of things then a bullet kills this one, after you called him an indestructible little fucker...sure, whatever.

If they wanted to "kill Blackbeard" so Ed could move on, no one actually had to die to make that happen. They could have pulled a fuckery off and we could end the season with another fake death, just with Ed instead of Stede this time. Ed and Izzy could have buried Blackbeard together and each moved on. Ed to his Inn with Stede, Izzy as the new captain of the Revenge.

Idk, it just didn't feel narratively satisfying to me. Maybe with time and a rewatch I'll feel differently, but rn all I feel is sad.

[jackwhiteprophetic]

Ngl I genuinely thought they'd do a Bi Buck arc with him and Albert. It would have been perfect - ex roommates, brothers-in-law, Buck is more tight-wound between them and Albert can tease him but also be sweet, Albert broke up with Veronica because of Buck (she didn't like his friends and Buck was the main friend). Both of them understand feeling lost and keep trying to find themselves in different ways. It would have been connected to the 118 too because of Albert and they also had history of their own. And them breaking up, whenever that happened, would have come with a significant realization for Buck about what he already has.

I never thought about this before, I had always wondered who if not Eddie they could have done the bi buck S4 arc with, I guess there's a potential it would've been Albert? Idk why I always assumed Albert was wayyyy younger though...

Slightly unrelated I MISS ALBERT AND I WANT HIM TO COME BACK AND IT'S SO WEIRD HOW THEY JUST DIDN'T MENTION HIM AT ALL THIS SEASON? and also not fair that last season they essentially just used him to push the parent redemption agenda being all like "you have no right to deny jee a grandfather" what the actual fuck Albert would never say that???? Also does not make sense

[hughungrybear]

Me watching Laws of Attraction Ep. 4:

1. This has no bearing to the plot whatsoever but I think the actor who plays Tanthai somewhat looks like Fiat Pachata. He is just a whole deal taller than Fiat 😅

2. Ngl, if somebody bullies any of my nephews (like those kids did with Tonkhao), none of them would go in their own homes without experiencing a sharp smack in the head. 😅😅😅

3. What are you doing, Tin? Also, nice fighting skills lol Although, I don't know why none of Tanthai's bodyguards have a gun 😅😅😅

4. Yeah, who the fvck had the sense to lock Tanthai's car before the fight went down??? 🤣🤣🤣 <after five seconds> so they do have a gun. The fvck did they waste their time with baseball bat and knife then???

5. Tanthai's main bodyguard (don't know his name) is kinda decent, but also dumb. He could have teamed up with Tin and Charn to help release Tanthai from Thattep's clutches.

6. Again, Tin frustrates me. Yeah, moral beliefs are great, but so far, it hadn't helped bring justice to his niece. He wants to play fair but his opponents and the playing field are not. If I'm his grandma, I would have smacked Tin's head until he comes to his senses. Several times, in fact 😐😐😐

7. These rumour mongers.....it's like they don't use their brains. Also, Charn unintentionally showing his weakness (Tin) to Thattep is not smart. What will Charn's next move be?

8. At least, Tin is now self-aware. Better late than never, I guess. 😅

9. Ohhh. I haven't had lunch yet. That bowl of noodle looks delicious. So, are Tin's and Charn's smiles to each other. 🤭🤭🤭🤭

10. Maybe, there's a rat in their side. How did Thattep knew the frameup, otherwise.

11. The fvck? Did they paid somebody to take the fall on Tonkhao's hit and run? Also, I'm with Charn. Why didn't they used a fallguy in the beginning? But Tin also makes a great point - maybe Tanthai is guilty of something else. What the fvck is happening in this series???

12. Miss Clubowner being a fan of Birkin is such a letdown. All their bags look the same lol.

13. Yeah, that's what I'm talking about! Tanthai's bodyguard is not helping his young master. If he really cares, he should consider flipping sides.

14. Charn turning his charm on all the way up to trick Tanthai's friend to spill all the beans is 🤌🤌🤌

15. So, if Tanthai did not kill Tonkhao, why did they say that Tanthai did it in the first place??? What would they get from it???

16. Got distracted by Silvy's voice. I'm okay now lol

17. So, I guess Tanthai and the bodyguard are a side couple, which means a redemption arc somewhere in the later episodes.

18. Where did I saw the same premise that if you looked back, that means you are romatically interested with the other party??? Because that is what's happening in that goodbye scene with Charn and Tin.

I can't with the preview. Charn is still concerned about gaining money and power, justice be damned. Also, at this rate, it looks like Thattep killed Tonkhao. I just don't know why put the blame on his son and not the gardener, in the first place. And it also seems I'm right about Charn's assistant being sus. I am kinda excited for the next episode.

[the-owl-tree]

Yeah, the Discord episodes were...very hit and miss post his original debut in S2. I think ignoring the Grogar related stuff and the problems with that, A Matter of Principals was one of the worst ones imo. Like okay, sure. I can believe Discord being bad with intrapersonal relationships what with him being a ex-villain and being stone for thousands of years- but it's not okay for him to harrass both Starlight and the students, the latter of which he literally almost got hurt because he summoned a bugbear during PE class. But you know when you really think about it, it's all okay because he was left out, and Starlight was wrong not to include him :) (SARCASM, but that's also the moral :/) Like it would be one thing if he was just being disruptive in a class trying to hang out with everybody, something minor that while it is annoying, we could see that it was him earnestly trying to connect with them- rather than going off the deep end with him summoning an dangerous animal and making the students think they're all being haunted. And y'know, actually have him apologize for being a nuisance? have him actually learn something from this?

the best discord episodes are where he gets his ass handed to him in the end after causing shit (make friends but keep discord) or gets to fret and actually veer away from his usual confident demeanour (discordant harmony). i don't know why the writer's thought that the noodle being a dick to people was what got people invested in the idea of a discord redemption story but got damn they loved it. reeaaallly wish we got more to his arc, i would have loved if he had spent an episode with each of the mane 6 respectively and learned more about their element! it would've been really fun to see the dynamics (also because i do think twicord is kinda cute ngl gimme some crumbs!)

[aprillikesthings]

okay one more tonight

Which according to netflix is s3 ep1 but ehhhhh it's really a continuation of s2 imho

The Price of Power

(ominous)

I told myself I'd make this post shorter than the last few and I'm 99% I completely failed lol but this one had a LOT of lore and shit

AAAUGH

Angella's protectiveness is usually annoying but tbh I would feel the same way here in her situation, anyway Glimmer got it from somewhere lol

low blow, Shadow Weaver

I couldn't figure out why she woke up gasping so hard even though I just watched the last episode like three hours ago lol (Hordak had cut off her air until she passed out, and this is where she woke up, poor thing)

Catra: "It doesn't matter what I do. I don't get to win." :( but also "winning" should not be the objective of your life and you will spend the next season and a half being forced to learn that

Once again Scorpia's obvious one-sided love is painful to watch.

I hate that she's not entirely wrong!!! Like given her life up to this point of course she'd come to this conclusion. D:

Glimmer: The Horde is evil, and EVIL PEOPLE DON'T CHANGE Adora: I'm standing right here. Like you're literally talking to me.

(Okay but it's often true in the case of abusers, especially in romantic relationships. If you haven't read "Why Does He Do That" you should. Majority of abusers don't change for long--he talks about the circumstances under which they do, but repeatedly notes that it's very very rare and that a lot of them are good at faking improvement just for the amount of time it takes to get you under their control again. In any case that's why if people believe your partner is abusing you, the universal advice is "you need to leave.")

uggggh and the worst part is, she's actually right about a number of people in the Horde! I always knew it was a matter of time before Scorpia left the Horde, for instance.

But Shadow Weaver? Adora wants to believe this because Shadow Weaver was her mom, basically.

that's not how it works!!!

NOT REALLY.

I know I'm going to end up referencing this post again later, but it's worth a read:

"You think Shadow Weaver should have had a redemption arc? From her perspective, she DID." It also compares her arc to Catra's.

(spoilers for the rest of the show obv)

Anyway Bow and Glimmer offer to go with her, which is a good thing to do if you're ever going to try to talk things out with your abuser, because 1. they behave better in front of witnesses, generally speaking 2. other people are more likely to spot manipulative bullshit

yeeeurgh the way she says it is so icky

seriously she lays it on thick "oh I've missed you my child" eat dirt. Even after Adora's like "lol nice try" she's still like "oooh, so clever, I always knew you were smarter than everyone else" like you're still doing it.

"I was special only as long as I obeyed you" damn right

Compassionate to a fault as always, but also, I know there's still that bit of hope in there, the same one Catra had, of making her happy and finally getting loved. Adora has a huge advantage Catra didn't, though; which is that she has a great deal of love in her life from other sources. :(

Hordak: I am Evil and Scary!!! And I want Catra GONE. Entrapta: Yeah, okay. So anyway like I was saying, Catra's improved everything, but also, we need her to get us this thing!!! Hordak: No. Go away. Entrapta: :( k but I'll leave the info here for you to read on your own

The sad thing is, Shadow Weaver can be a good teacher.

ngl that's cool

also ugh. Shadow Weaver is in fact honest here: she's got nowhere to go, she wants revenge, helping Adora's the best way to do that.

plotty stuff I want to remember later: Hordak's goal is opening a portal into space to get Horde's armies through and defeat Etheria forever--and this is the first time a bunch of characters find out the Horde is bigger than one army on Etheria, and the reason he's close to getting that portal now is that Entrapta is helping him, and that once upon a time Hordak did succeed in opening a portal for a moment, and Adora was the result--she wasn't born on Etheria.

Glimmer: you're a fuckin' liar Shadow Weaver: I mean usually yeah lol. But like, why would I bother this time, what would I get out of it?

has anyone written an essay/post/paper about Adora as a bit of a Jesus figure

(I mean a LOT of people treat She-Ra like she's a messiah equivalent? But uhhhh that's also just how The Chosen One trope tends to go. Plus Jesus didn't resurrect himself so he could kiss a girl--though he did choose to show himself post-resurrection to Mary Magdalene first, so interpret that as you will.)

Anyway Adora kinda flips out at this information (she knows in her bones that Shadow Weaver is telling the truth) and bolts from the room

airbrush THAT on the side of a van lol

The way she screams "answer me!" at Light Hope is so good

Adora: babies don't remember shit????? Light Hope: oh.

There's a "vaginas are portals to another dimension bc childbirth" joke in there somewhere.

plot plot the First Ones came from beyond the stars, the sword is made to only respond to "one of their own kind," congrats Adora you're literally a different kind of person than every other person on Etheria.

(the timelines on this are confusing to me, I can't remember if Mara taking Etheria into another dimension also fucked with time passing, OH HEY I FOUND A FAN-MADE TIMELINE no idea how accurate it is tho especially considering the number of typos/misspellings, also elsewhere someone said each season of the show is apparently meant to be a whole YEAR?? I was thinking a few months at most??? I need to find if that's Word of God anywhere)

Theoretically yes but Netflix doesn't have the rights to any of the He-Man stuff, sorry

When Mara cut Etheria off from the rest of the universe she destroyed the portal capabilities. If you open a portal now bad shit will go down

(uh oh)

Adora: omg Mara's from the same place as me???

LIAR

Light Hope: being She-Ra is an honor!

Oh look it's one of the major themes of the show! Being The Chosen One sucks, actually!!

GEE, REALLY??? you think maybe people like getting to fuckin' cHOOSE

Adora: man I am tired of people not telling me shit!! Fuck this I'm gonna see what I can actually figure out on my own

She wants to know why Mara stranded Etheria. Remember that constellation being over part of the Crimson Waste that was in the whole "Mara portal Serenia" message bullshit? That's where she's going

Glimmer and Bow: road trip! road trip!

i'd be pissing myself in fear ngl

Hordak: this bitch is a failure!!! Catra: no u

everyone's reaction to that is priceless omg

LOL SHE'S RIGHT THO does Hordak want to spend his day looking at files listing how many bits of armor they need

I was gonna make an Entrapta joke but the next line is "and that's why you can't defeat a group of teenagers" and damn she's got a POINT

BAAAHAHAHAH

"My girlfriend doesn't want to do stacks of paperwork and shit either, it turns out; anyway you're going to get us some old spare parts First Ones' tech from the Pick-n-Pull Crimson Waste"

(I just realized people might not know what a Pick-n-Pull is--it's like a junkyard of cars where you can go and just take parts off of things for cheap. You have to find and take the parts off yourself.)

Catra: dude nothing lives in the Crimson Waste??? Hordak: heh heh I know :)

AAAND END OF EPISODE

Sadly I have the energy for another one but my headphones are killing me and I can't do it in the bedroom without headphones because Daci is trying to sleep. Which is a shame because the next episode is Huntara!!

ALSO y'know that timeline I linked way earlier in the post? parts of it are kinda iffy but I'm lol'ing because good lord as bananas as the lore can sometimes be, I'm still thinking that one for Steven Universe would be even wilder (and we know Rebecca Sugar actually had one, written out on paper, with a ton of color-coding). But also this summary of Adora's first convo with Light Hope is WILD because IT'S NOT WRONG (hardcore spoilers ahoy? but also if that's an issue you shouldn't be reading these posts lol):

Adora encounters Light Hope and is given the quest to "balance the planet". Light Hope attempts to isolate Adora from her friends my saying that balancing the planet requires her to let go of her attachments to her friends. This bears remarkable similarity to cult-psychology isolation tactics. It is especially worrying once you know that Light Hope is a Paperclip Maximizer and "Balance the Planet" is a euphemism for "rebuild and rearm the Weapon of Universal Genocide".

And if you've never heard of "paperclip maximizers" the wikipedia page about them is awesome but also I once wrote a post about the gems from Steven Universe also being paperclip maximizers. Here's a quote from the wikipedia page:

Suppose we have an AI whose only goal is to make as many paper clips as possible. The AI will realize quickly that it would be much better if there were no humans because humans might decide to switch it off. Because if humans do so, there would be fewer paper clips. Also, human bodies contain a lot of atoms that could be made into paper clips. The future that the AI would be trying to gear towards would be one in which there were a lot of paper clips but no humans. (Nick Bostrom, “Ethical Issues in Advanced Artificial Intelligence”, 2003)

[notmoreflippingelves]

Eoa 5, 6, 9, 16, 24?

5. 3 favourite characters?

Esteban, Elena, Naomi. (Though it's a very close call between Naomi and Valentina ngl and sometimes, Elena annoys me a little and gets bumped down a place or two).

6. Least favourite character?

Shuriki in the sense that she's the one who personally evokes the most angry feelings in me. But I also thinks she's a particularly good and effective villain and a very effective means of creating high stakes and woobifying Esteban further, so she can stay in my book.

I also really dislike Cristobal Castillo a fair bit for obvious reasons, but I think he also works fairly effectively in the context of the show as both a temporary baddie and as foil to Esteban (even if I wish we could've seen them interact more).

I think Fiero and Zopilote are both really interesting conceptually but were largely wasted in the show itself. Maybe they would've worked better if they were combined into a single character. Ash's evil mentor who serves as a foil to her and to Mateo, allies temporarily with Shuriki for POWAH (but always plans to betray her) in S2 and is both very proud of and very demanding of Ash. But in their current incarnation, they're just kind of there and largely pointless to me.

In terms of characters who weren't specifically designed to be villains, I am not particularly fond of Flo, Charoca, Luisa, or Mateo. I wouldn't say I "hate" them exactly as all do have some moments that I enjoy and have a role to play in the story. But even at their very best, I am decidedly "meh" about them compared to the others. Particularly Mateo. (I recently made a post about what I see as pretty clear writer's bias/favoritism toward him and why it aggravates me).

9. Favourite season and why?

It's difficult to say, since I think each of the seasons have their own particular strengths and weaknesses.

S1 is most consistent on an episode-by-episode level. At this point, the show is mostly filler/world-building but its much less glaring and disruptive here than in the later seasons. Also "Island of Youth" and "King of the Carnaval" have my whole heart.

S2 is best at pacing and balancing filler with the main plot. Shuriki is also by far the best villain on the show, and while there's still a lot of missed opportunities with that (which I'll get into at the next question), her return and defeat are handled reasonably well. I also feel that S2 has the best Dia de los Muertos episode (" The Jewel of Maru") and the best holiday episode ("Snow Place Like Home"). That being said, S2 is particularly aggravating to me as an Estefan since he does pretty much nothing of substance for an entire season--with the exception of an (admittedly great) cousin rap battle and a bit of (shared) focus in the Navidad episode.

S3 is probably my favorite and there is so much to love about it. the show finally gives Esteban the characterization and plot focus that he has deserved all along--and as a bonus, they gave him magic powers, a (reluctant and fortunately temporary) villain era, a redemption arc, a sparkly magical outfit( that pairs with Elena's) and an extremely stupid new hairdo to boot. I also love love love Elena's emotional magic (particularly as a parallel with Esteban's teleportation and just the aesthetic of her dress changing colors with her mood). I also love Victor and Carla redemption (even if I wish we could've seen more of them). In S3, we were introduced to Chloe, Antonia, Ixlan, and Rebecca who are some of my faves of the supporting characters. I love everything about "Dreamcatcher" and most of "The Magic Within" (except for Flo and the mood whiplash she brings with her) and "Coronation Day" as well.

But for all that is great about S3, there are some notable flaws as well. The most obvious of which is pacing. (Granted that this is probably unintentional and a lot of the problems are due to Disney airing things wildly out of order). We will go from some of the most devastating and emotionally exhausting episodes on the show to just super low-key filler episodes without any preamble and it's so frustrating. That being said, S2 did a much better job integrating the main plot even into filler episodes. (Ex: There was a little bit Victor and Carla shenanigans in "Royal Rivalry" and a few scenes of "Carla-as-Rita" even in the mostly filler science fair ep). It's also wildly funny to me how we will go through multiple S3 episodes without Esteban appearing or even being mentioned, yet the moment he does show up--either in person or conversation--he is accompanied by the affirmation that Elena is 110% incapable of being normal about him. It's like he either doesn't exist at all to her OR he is one of the only things that exists to her. There is absolutely no middle ground. It's hilarious.

I also have mixed feelings about Ash, Chatana, and the Four Shades of Awesome as villains. Chatana in particular seems underdeveloped and underused. While I mostly like Cahu as the final Big Bad, the other Shades seems kind of random and out of place, and I also think Cahu should've been introduced an episode or two earlier. Even if she doesn't appear, we could've learned that summoning her was Ash's plan and what she expects to accomplish. As well as the stakes of what they are risking by doing so.

16. Most ridiculous plot line?

The absolute nonsensical timeline/episode airing order throughout the whole show but especially in S3. Honestly, ridiculous is not at all the right word, but the plot arc--or at least plot element--that I find most aggravating is Esteban's plot during the S2 "Shuriki Returns" arc. Or more specifically, the complete and utter lack of Esteban plot during said arc. More than anyone else on the show except possibly Elena (and even that is debatable), Esteban's entire character has been shaped by 41 years of Shuriki's reign, coupled by his own guilt for enabling that reign in the first place and his lingering fear and trauma from the Dark Times in general.

As such the Shuriki returns arc should've been nearly as crucial to his character development as it was to Elena's. And yet...all we get is "The Right Thing to Do" and a few tiny little moments in "Song of the Sirenas" (him hiding behind Francisco on seeing Shuriki again and wanting to be rescued first from the tower). That's it. Three little moments, two of which are specifically played for laughs and all of which only really contribute to Esteban's character development if you really stop and think about them beyond the surface level.

Esteban uses his body as a shield multiple times to protect Elena from Ash (and later Cahu) in S3 and yet, he sees Shuriki and he immediately darts behind his grandfather for protection like a scared child. He literally does a song and dance to try to persuade (and then force) Elena to stay as far away from Shuriki as possible. He jumps the line to try be the first to be rescued from Shuriki and then his second thought is to protect the youngest and most vulnerable person in the room (Isabel) instead of himself. It's almost (sarcasm) as it he knows better than anyone exactly what truly horrendous things that Shuriki is capable of and wants to protect himself and his family from them.

I mean, I understand that the nature of this being a children's show discourages them from delving too much into Esteban's trauma and what exactly the Dark Times looked like. If they reminded the eight year olds watching that 41 years is an insanely long period of time to live alone without family, friends, or freedom, they would probably get so many angry letters from parents. Yet in the very first episode of the show, they just low-key reveal that Shuriki enslaved the noblins .

I don't think it would've been too much to have Esteban be like "Remember the noblins. Remember your parents. Remember the amulet. These are only a few examples of the terrible things Shuriki has done . I've seen them all firsthand and I've seen countless more equally nightmarish so I will not let you go after her now" before he breaks into his Hamilton audition piece.

Or even just there be a brief moment during the "Shuriki Returns" arc where someone is like "How are you holding up, Esteban? This must be so scary and stressful for you too/ you in particular." But no, this was apparently too much to ask for.

24. Favourite song from the show?

My favorite songs from the show are always the random ones with guest characters as opposed to the actually plot-important ones with main characters, lol. So my top 5 would probably be: "You Can't Catch Me," "A Little Bit More," (Val, my beloved) "More, More, More" (which is probably the most underrated song on the show imo), "You Want to Live Forever," and "The Gift of Night" and probably in that order.

If you held a gun to my head and told me I had to pick a more important song that is song by a series regular, it would probably be either "Something I Would Never Do" or "Let Love Light the Way."

Ask Meme