#i missed him SO MUCH this season i need to rewatch everything cause the whole time i was just trying to summon him with pure will

[p4nishers]

i know we aren't supposed to have favorites but matthias will ALWAYS be my number 1 no matter what

[fae-of-prey]

sugar plums ⏾ ˖ ࣪⊹

inspired by this + me rewatching obx before the new season

warnings: barry’s little sister reader (kinda naïve + v sheltered); w*rd cameron; brief mentions of murder as per canon events of the show; forced kiss but reader doesn’t mind; i think that’s it? feel free to lmk if i missed any *1138 words*

notes: this is v much baby’s first official fic so pls be nice to me:3 i also wanna thank my beautiful beautiful moots for supporting me + beta reading this for me, love y’all to death<333 (ao3)

rafe loves nighttime; it’s peaceful, quiet, it feels like he has the whole world to himself, and most of all you. he fights hard to keep you as blissfully ignorant and unaware as humanly possible, so you can sleep peacefully next to him. rafe can’t sleep tonight though, how could he? he’s haunted by the consequences of his own murderous actions. he lays awake watching you instead just to feel a tinge of pride from how well he’s kept you safe and happy despite everything.

rafe always thought you were an angel, his angel, sent straight from the heavens just for him, and you‘ve never looked more heavenly at peace than you do now.

you’ve certainly come a long way from a drug dealer's little trailer park princess sister, busting your ass working at the country club hoping you’ll eventually save up enough to afford college someday, to spending your days living the kook life at tannyhill and being spoiled absolutely rotten.

although your big brother was apprehensive at first to your courtship with the kook king himself given the fact that he knows rafe, he eventually came around to the idea; he even lets you live with rafe now for the most part, i mean you get to live in a mansion more comfortably than he’s ever been able to provide, so he had to be a little selfless. barry’s always been a little overprotective and very strict with you to keep you safe from the dangers of his lifestyle, but now so is rafe and he’s happy to be responsible enough to keep you out of trouble.

on the surface it seems like the most dangerous place you could be (well, right next to the dingy trailer of your drug dealer brother), but rafe promised your brother you’d be in good hands, a promise he fully intends to keep even if those hands are now covered in blood. all so you can sleep soundly in his arms dreaming of sugar plums, while rafe’s father pulls into the driveway with a dead body in the trunk.

‘rafe’ even just his whisper startles his son and causes you to stir a little bit when he jumps, though he quickly rubs your arm with his thumb soothingly as he turns just slightly to face his father, careful not to wake you in the process ‘what? what is it?’ so eager to help, yet there’s a small part of him deep down dreading leaving the comfort of your presence for what he’s sure can’t be anything good. but ‘i need your help’ is still enough temptation from the devil for him to get out of bed and smear a kiss to your hairline before following his father out to the driveway ready to do anything for daddy’s approval.

sometime in the middle of rafe carrying gavin’s body to the druthers, you stir from your slumber, searching for rafe in the covers only to come up empty, prompting you to open your eyes in hopes you’ll have more luck with your sight, but he’s still nowhere to be found. you creep into the hallway ‘rafe?’ nothing but an echoing sense of unease. not just at rafe’s absence, but the feeling of trepidation in such a large house; you’re still not quite used to it from growing up in a tiny trailer (because despite rafe’s efforts, you’re still not quite a real kook just yet, and other kooks don’t shy away from making it known behind rafe’s back). that and you can’t help the nagging sense that something is wrong.

you go downstairs for some water while you wait for rafe to come back from accessorizing a murder wherever he is. and as soon as you’ve finished filling your cup you turn around to see your boyfriend walking in suddenly scaring the hell out of you, you didn’t even hear him come in ‘hey baby, what’re you doin up?’ his voice still so raspy ‘i woke up without you, where’d you go?’ you pout, setting the glass down to wrap your arms around him but you still look up at him with those big doe eyes, and he can’t help but feel a familiar pitter patter in his heart at your clinginess; he quite literally just buried a body but less than a minute with you sends him right back to cloud 9 because fuck you’re the light of his goddamn life, and more than that you’re the only light in his goddamn life ‘just uh, had to help my dad with som‘in on the boat, nothin fancy. let’s getcha back to bed, yeah?’ you smile and nod before taking your water with you as he leads you back upstairs.

once you’re all settled in again, so does grim reality when rafe remembers he still has to find the gun in the drain ‘shit, i’m sorry baby, i gotta go take care of somethin else’ ‘what? more boat stuff?’ you’re joking but still he’s never been more grateful for your lack of knowledge on boats before ‘yeah, yeah, uh, i’ll be back soon as i can though okay?’ ‘okay’ you’re pouting again ‘aw c’mon don’t give me fuckin that look’ he starts rummaging around in his closet for some real clothes to wear just to avoid it ‘what look?’ you feign innocence ‘those fuckin bambi eyes you give me whenever you want somethin’ ‘i dunno whatchu mean’ ‘yeah sure you don’t, fuckin smartass’ you giggle at his grumbles, he comes back dressed for the day since it’s morning now and he still has to go find a murder weapon after all.

‘cmere gimme a kiss fore i go’ ‘promise not to be gone long?’ you look up at him with those big doey eyes once again, you need to make him promise so you can sleep easy knowing he’ll be there when you wake up again, but rafe just sighs ‘ion know how long this is gonna take baby, i said i’ll be back as soon as i can, can’t make any promises okay?’ you’re still just pouting at him so he rolls his eyes and grabs your face, squishing your cheeks, and kisses you himself, grumbling about how he has to do everything himself ‘just go back to sleep and i’ll see you later aight? promise’ ‘okay’ you huff in defeat ‘good girl, i love you’ ‘i love you too’ when you kiss him once more he has to refrain from kissing you again or else he’ll never leave the damn house.

eventually he manages to leave you and rides off on his motorcycle while you watch from the window. after he’s gone you flop back into bed sighing, maybe you can at least dream of him to keep you company while he’s out wondering how the hell he’s gonna explain this to your brother.

thank you for reading! if you enjoyed, likes / comments / reblogs of any support or feedback is the best way to show your appreciation, either way i’m so happy to have you here; i feel like there’s more i can explore with this so i’m down to write more of it if you guys want; but other than that i hope you have a lovely night, muah!

© FAE-OF-PREY 2024

[sammygems]

Things I Have Noticed/Remembered from my MCDiaries rewatch

I will be updating this as I continue my rewatch, currently everything listed is out of order, cause I've started writing this as I am on episode 64 of season 1 and I don't feel like fixing it to be in order, so sorry!

What the fuck was Garroth's "plan" he mentions to Zenix in the first episode 😭

Zenix seems to be younger then Garroth in Diaries, considering the way that Garroth talks about him, but I think in MyStreet, Zenix is either the same age or slightly older then Garroth, so far this is like, the only obvious age difference between the series (besides Travis and everyone else of course)

I forgot how entertaining Brendan's character is, he's far less annoying then I remembered

ZANE AS AN ACTUAL BAD PERSON, I LOVE HIM

I love Vylad, but I legit forgot how much he was in Diaries season 1, I thought he was in it far less

Currently at the stage of Diaries where there is no lgbt+ people, i'm very disappointed by this (we haven't even reached the queerbaiting)

KC's character is....not as bad (racist) as I was expecting, still not great though. I'm choosing to believe that KC is from Tu'lu and Maid Cafes are a thing there, and "Kawaii~Chan" is just a stage name for her work.

Y'all know how Cadenza went missing and she was actually turned into a chicken? Yeah, the way Hayden, Castor, & Laurance talk about her to Aphmau makes it sound like Cadenza is a small child. But then it turns out she's the same age, if not older, then Laurance and Aphmau.

Aphmau should've just made Joh and Hayden lovers, I'm so serious, it would make the whole Cadenza and Laurance being "close like siblings" in season 1 to I think actually being called as siblings in season 2 and in MyStreet a lot easier to understand and make a lot more sense.

Why does Kenmur have like, some sort of romance with all the girls from Meteli??? He was engaged to Sasha and is stated to have feelings for Cadenza.

I love when the episodes open from Sasha's POV, and she goes and talks to Gene and there's just no voices. I love having to pause to read what they're saying. (this point is sarcasm)

The way literally everyone reacted to learning Laurance was blind was....icky. Like, I understand Cadenza and Aphmau reacting as like "we need to find a way to bring his sight back", but the fact that it was literally EVERYONE who decided he needed to get his sight back was so weird.

I don't mind Laurance ACTUALLY getting his sight back, but I wish it was done differently. Like, personally, I'd have him like, have to wash his face with the water of the fountain of Lady Irene.

Emma & Corey, Dale & Molly, and Logan & Donna are very sweet couples.

After Zoey and KC were able to turn Cadenza back to her human form, Zoey mentions that she "recognizes Cadenza from somewhere", but I don't think this goes anywhere???? I'm assuming it was supposed to hint at like, Cadenza's backstory.

ngl, I kinda wish we got more of Zane and Kiki's relationship, I really wanna know what side of Zane Kiki actually saw.

Anyway, Kiki is currently expecting.

Nicole (my beloved) has showed up. I've decided I won't question the logic behind her iron fists being able to break bedrock, and instead say that her referencing her iron fists just made me think of Ace from One Piece and Natsu & Gajeel from Fairy Tail.

I COMPLETELY FORGOT ABOUT NICOLE'S FOX, ROXY, AND ABOUT THE WYVERNS IN GENERAL 😭

I need to mention that in one episode (before Aphmau went to Scaleswind and learned about Lady Irene), Garroth says to Aphmau "by the seven", which I think she was hurt, but the use of "by the seven" is similar to how the same phase would be used in Game of Thrones or to how irl lots of people say "oh my god", so I'm really wondering if there were originally supposed to be 7 Divine Warriors instead of 6.

The way when Aphmau found Levin and decided to keep him and Garroth IMMEDIATLY decided he would be Levin's father figure.

The way when Laurance found out that Aphmau had a kid, his response was to play with Levin and say to Aphmau "you didn't tell me you had this little buddle of joy/energy".

That's all for now, I'll like, update when I have more to add.

[cosmiccdivinityy]

The way I was obsessed with enemies to lovers/rivals to lovers as a kid 😭😭😭 my top pairings growing up ranked. Canon/Fanon included.

Can you tell I’ve been on a nostalgic rewatch.

1. Logan/Quinn from Zoey 101. The OG teenbop enemies to lovers omg I stan. When they pronounced their love for each other at the season finale at the prom, screaming crying throwing up. The way they get together is so random lmao he calls her hot and they kiss then Michael rides by on a horse like what? But the pay off and ending was so *chefs kiss*

2. Courtney/Duncan from TDI. They were everything to me and Cartoon Network ruined it. First season the bantering, the flirting. When I tell you I was hooked. The scream I scrumpt when they finally kissed (also me didn’t she just throw up but whatever I guess) then she left and it was all downhill from there.

3. Rose/Jake from ADJL. The Romeo and Juliet of this paring needs to be studied. They were so down bad for each other. When Jake found out she was huntsgirl then when she found out. Their first kiss being right before she had to ‘kill’ him for sport in an arena. Her giving up her life to keep him and his family safe, him giving up her to keep her safe. 😭😭😭 they don’t make em like they used too

4. Draco/Harry from HP. The ship that started it all. Before this I’d never read a slash fic before is it even still called that. Anyways this right here is my longest going ship I’m still into only reason it’s not higher is that I love the other ones more. You get so many variations of this, from the super toxic fic, to the I’ve always secretly loved you, to the meet up after the war is over and so on and so forth. Ugh I love it. There’s like 50,000 fics of them on a03 and I know I’ve read like half at least 🤣

5. Zuko/Katara from Avatar. My second non canon ship on here. When I tell you I was obsessed with them. Sigh then I discovered other fandoms and by the time I came back to them I was just done. Which I think comes fromm just not being as much of a Zuko fan anymore. This ship was gold, tho, I mean come on I’ll save you from the pirates how can I not. The way he jumped in front of her (obviously he’d do the same for everyone but like listen it ate down bad) the whole crystal caverns episode was fuel to the fire, the writers/creators knew what they were doing

6. Jake/Miley from Hannah Montana. Another OG omg she hated him so much. The flirty the snark then they had to kiss and both of em were like oh hot damn. They were so cute together and I will forever hate Disney for making her choose Jake just for him to cheat on her like what was the reason. What was the reason 😭😭

7. Alejandro/Heather from TDI. Woo child buckle up. This is one of those slowburns cause it’s not until like a quarter in to the season you’re like hold up. Are they going where I think they’re going and then they did. I don’t like the ending cause seriously wtf was the point. But the lead up and bruh the stuck in a hole song I still sing that on a daily. They were literally made for each other.

8. Chad/Sonny from Sonny with a Chance: one thing about Disney they ate down when it comes to enemies to lovers, or annoyance to like, whatever you wanna call it. Chad Dylan Cooper and Sonny omg the drama was beautiful, they hated each other so much and when they started dating I bout passed out. Lol they were so hilarious together I miss it.

9. Raven/Beastboy from TT. This and next two aren’t super enemies to lovers, more live annoyances or belligerent sexual tension. But I really was obsessed with this, like I was the girl reading Terra bashing fics 😭😭 they were so cute, the Beast Within was ship gold, Nevermore, the fact that she holds onto to the penny he gives her when she ‘dies’ and oh he only turns into the Beast again to protect her from Slade and never again. Beautiful

10. Jimmy/Cindy from JN. They may have only been nine but sheesh the rivalry to lovers or in this case crushes was intense. Cindy was down bad since day one but she hid that shit so well. The Valentine’s Day episode still makes me giggle like a kid. And the last episode where they’re legit just straight up flirting with each other I can not. When she almost confesses when he’s the orange hulk. So cute.

Honarary mentions:

Jinx/Kid Flash from TT. They were cute but I hated it solely for the fact that it shoulda been me 😭😭🤧🤧

Sam/Freddie from icarly. Ok so I used to love this one and as I got older, Sam was just so fucking mean that I couldn’t ship like damn. At some point it’s not cute anymore, it’s just down right abusive, early seasons yes, later seasons where they’re actually together no.

Bakugo/Deku simply cause some days I think it’s cute other days I hate it

Mindy and Josh from Drake and Josh. Cute and amusing but didn’t care for em much.

Bailey and Code from Suite Life on Deck see above.

[louiseazy]

thoughts while rewatching rvb season 17 of course none of this really matters because the retcon but whatever

-Honestly not having church back feels like a missed opportunity. -So Donut part Ai now cause Chrovos save him? Okay. -Despite everything Donut still hasn't forgotten he's almost died. -I still don't think it was a good idea for Chrovos to tell Donut how to fix things but at least they explain it. -Doctor Grey commits insurance fraud -Wash please don't explain in front of the enemy -God 17 is so cringe -stop with the speeches and get on with it -Genkins pretending to be Epsilon is so mean, I need more angst fics -Wash having to shot Donut over and over

Time travel doesn't help with Wash's character disconnect, nor with setting up the tragedy of project freelancer. They make so many chances and then turn around and do fuck all with it. I get Carolina but Maine has the bruteshot they should be "friends" by now. Nor should Wash be so low on the leader board. I cannot believe that Wash was ever 'forgot to pull the pin out of the grenade' bad in freelancer.

-Time travel and they still don't show the Dinos vs Robots fight :( -Caboose is the first one to get it again - They literally had a whole Wash bounces back bit, but sure Carolina the one who survives things that would have broke most people (shaking my head) - I seriously just have god I hate this god I hate this in the notes -yay Doc help's Donut -Donut say pink instead of lightish red around 1:13, but he couldn't keep it since it's noncanon -'Church this will make much more sense if you go to bed'

I think Tucker moment to fix time would have been more gut punching if it was the point where he toss Felix the grenade. They could still have Genkins temp him, it would be fixing his mistake in trusting Felix, making it so much harder for him. But nooo they can't take the chances that they fucking made.

-Nice job breaking it hero/ fixing it villain, Donut giving Genkins the push to betray Chrovos first. -So much shipping fuel 'if he's single there's no hope for us' 'everybody out I'm gonna fuck him!'

The fear thing was another missed opportunity. They could have done so much more and better. It Should have gotten more time instead. I mean Sarge loves violence, he betray the team for war, expending on the office bit would have been more interesting. Him having face that he is tried and still not being able to handle it. Grif's is exercise really? And Simmons's is a Joke.

-I get the pride thing but come on we shit to do Carolina, and they ended up helping anyway! Didn't something like this already happen? but it was Tex? Twice!? -They should have saved the budget for a Chrovos and/or Genkins fight - the ending was kinda mehh, being retcon twice doesn't help

-'I'll sure miss knowing what's going on' ~Caboose

[twd-obsessed-bitch]

Is it just me or does 6 episodes not feel like enough for the amount of story building they were tryna do. I feel like a lot of things went unanswered and like I know thats the point of a cliff hanger and that we're getting a season two but

Spoilers

We barely know who this woman is that the Croat took Negan too, we met her TWICE one of the times being when Negan met her.

And yet we're supposed to be concerned and scared of her, and the hold she has on Hershel, even though she cut off his toe?? And kept it???

Like I can see her becoming like the other mother in Coraline and playing a part of a doting woman who cares solely for Hershel, and how that would make Hershel kinda stockholmed into liking her etc. But you can't start that by cutting off his toe. Actually cutting off his toe at any part during the process would kinda fuck it up, would it not???

Speaking of Hershel, he's so angsty, and I love it to an extent but like where's the background for it? Where's the reasoning why he feels so cut off from his mom to borderline hate her for everything she does, including saving him?? Why does he feel the way he does. He's got about as much development as RJ in the main series and just is coming across as a whiny teen to me, I might be reading his character wrong but it's my opinion atm

And then you got new Babylon, and we have literally no explanation about them, barely even spoken exposition being like "oh yes new Babylon the people who are trying to bring back the old world and it's rules and are succeeding" like there's just barely that. That's all we know about them.

It doesn't help that pretty much the whole of episode 5 was just them walking through the sewers and not really doing much else, and that was mostly just to kill off Tommaso and Amaia, and to see the walked king. It was an hour long EP that got like a good 25 minutes of anything done besides walking.

So they basically wasted it.

And like don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the series, this isn't me saying I hated it or anything. Im just... Underwhelmed? Like it's been so hyped up as something newer than the main series, in a city that nobodies explored, that they made to be an epicenter for the whole thing. And its just kinda the same plots as the main series done a little bit differently by giving the viewer less knowledge of what's going on.

Like we kept getting that flashback to when the croat took Hershel, and he's screaming for Maggie and Maggie is screaming for him, and I thought they'd give us more, show us the conversation they had or something along those lines. But the extension of the scenes is just a wider angled shot of Maggie looking upset. It's underwhelming

And maybe that's on me for expecting more from AMC than what they've given us, and maybe I need to rewatch it to pick up on the things I might've missed the first time around. But like, overall, I'm underwhelmed and wished they used the 6 episodes more to their advantage or greenlit them for some more episodes in the season.

Cause like season one of the main series, that was 6 episodes, and every single episode was stuffed full of story telling and character building and exposition. It threw you into the world from minute one. Dead city is kinda just relying on you knowing the characters and their backstory and using that without expanding any further even though we have no idea who the Croat and his people are, who the marshals of new Babylon are, no clue who Hershel has grown into, or what happened in the time jump with Negan and Annie and their son.

This is really long, so anybody that's read it thanks lol, it's all kinda just word vomit so I hope it made sense.

[variousqueerthings]

And here’s the “Trapper????” part -- also now in my head as the “I can’t believe Trapper’s ghost just made an appearance out of nowhere like that, it was like watching a horror movie!!????”

This is way more ramble and more about… Feelings and Questions I have, because I certainly don’t have answers...

So BJ punched Hawkeye. As we all know.

In-story, I don’t thiiink he’ll ever be violent like that at Hawkeye again, but what can it mean for Hawkeye’s Belief in him as an entirely Good Person (as explored in the previous post about This Episode)? He’s seen BJ’s anger (he’s caused that anger), he’s seen BJ railing against the unfairness of the world and people, he’s seen BJ intensely disappointed in him, he’s seen BJ violent in his defence, but he’s never been the recipient of it…

And the violence was on the surface a build-up of a lot of things that didn’t have anything to do with Hawkeye, while also being catalysed by Hawkeye’s Just Not Getting Why He’s So Upset, however!!!

But!!!

Then!!!!

this brings us to the other Thing… BJ… is jealous… of Trapper…… I don’t remember when the last episode was that actually said Trapper’s name, but also invoked like this???? Off the top of my head was that when Hawkeye said that Trapper left???? Back in season four?????

And he broke the still! He broke the still that Hawkeye built with Trapper??

I think I’m more amazed at this than the actual meat of the episode, not because that’s not amazing character analysis and writing and acting! (Mike! Mike how could you cry like that!!! Why would you do that to me???) but because I didn’t see it coming at all even a little bit!

The rest of the episode was a fantastic slow build into exploring BJ’s grief about missing his daughter’s life (lifetime!) with a lot of interesting ideas about BJ’s character/role and masculinity.

And then the scene came and I was Transfixed, I was fully in it... and then he said he was jealous of Trapper!

I need to rewatch the scene when I’m brave enough, because it really was heartbreaking and beautifully acted and contained so much Depth, but the Trapper bit threw me for such a loop that I almost missed what he said next, which I believe was in relation to Trapper getting to go home and see his family, which… yes, yes okay.

But. 

When did that jealousy start sir???? How long have you been thinking about Trapper??? The ghost of Trapper??? In this tent you share with Hawkeye the best friend you ever had who was Trapper’s best friend first, in which you just broke the still he made with Trapper and then punched him in the face????? What did Trapper mean in the story versus what you mean to the story????? And of course this mainly in relation to what the two of you mean to specifically Hawkeye?????? 

(sidenote: episode right before this BJ kissed Radar on the cheeks and said to give those kisses to Peg and to Erin... which... is what Trapper asked him to do for Hawkeye).

What does it all mean?????????

I

You know?????!!!!!!!!!!!!!

In the same episode we obviously have Klinger compared to Radar, and then Potter addresses an old elephant in the room and compares himself to Blake, and then, all of a sudden, without any warning… Trapper to BJ. And in my last post about this episode I did talk about the ways in which, as an audience member, I was putting a lot onto BJ because of Trapper, and how that's a reflection of… possibly… the fact that Hawkeye does the same.

Has BJ been carrying the ghost of Trapper with him this entire time? 

And now everything is spilling over, his grief over missing out on his daughter’s life, his sense of uselessness in the role of father and husband (and man), and… the fact that Trapper was there first perhaps? That Trapper escaped the narrative, which is the reason he’s in it? That some element of him is always filtered through a perception of Trapper – Hawkeye’s perception of Trapper?

These are all questions that currently have no answer, and I’ll just have to revisit them when I’ve finished the whole story.

Haven’t been this haunted by the ghost of narrative past since season 4 (although, mildly and consistently taking radioactive ghost damage throughout Margaret’s narrative these past two seasons as well!)

And as for how Hawkeye might feel about all of this? I can’t even begin to guess (well, I can, but it’d be so biased and flimsy I’d just be fully in headcanon land and again… I want to see if this thread gets picked up on again, or if Trapper was simply invoked in tandem with Radar and Henry, but even If, I cannot... fuck... this is too much).

But there’s a lot of factors in how to see the violence against Hawkeye -- in lots and lots of media there’s violence between men and it’s portrayed as fine and normal, even admirable. Heck, Hawkeye once punched Frank and it wasn’t portrayed as That Big Of A Deal. I actually had to reassess Hawkeye because of that happening, and in other episodes violence is treated in much less blasé ways, for example when Hawkeye loses his temper with the guy who does statistical analysis on how many wounded will come in, and that was “just” a shove... anyway -- I think this show is generally different in how it goes about violence, but there's a definite boundary between the guys bein guys ritual violence (and Margaret! who is always right!) and what is unacceptable violence. 

We make jokes about weakling Hawkeye, and he’s not technically, but he isn’t the kind of guy who engages in The Rituals Of Masculine Violence, and he’s shown several times to react quite loudly to pain, and he’s not that strong... look, he’s a scarecrow, we know this, he knows this, he’s a lover not a fighter, etcetc. 

And BJ is very much not that. There have been several deliberate comparisons made between the two in terms of physique and interest in sports and working out and the like. BJ punching Hawkeye feels... wrong. Not just because it’s not guys bein guys and we’ll laugh it off later in That Manly Way, but that Hawkeye can’t actually defend himself if BJ decides to get violent with him... fairly certain he knocked him unconscious actually. 

The framing of it felt different than what you usually see between two men in a story, hence why it’s so shocking -- not just because they’re friends, but because BJ shouldn’t hit Hawkeye. It’s wrong for him to do so, in a way, say, it’s not quite as wrong for Zale and Klinger to get into a fight (although Zale is just kind of a dick and a bigot, so there’s a different wrongness happening there, but Klinger can fight back and the narrative is framed in a way that makes you want him to fight back, because that’s a traditionally allowed and acceptable way for him to react -- not to do so would be situationally more gay/effeminate than wearing dresses, which leads us back to all kinds of interesting reads about Hawkeye).

The apology later on is sincere and full of regret (the best friend he’s ever had). It’s messy, all of it. And since he broke the still and brought up Trapper it can’t help but make me read it as far beyond the rest of what’s upsetting BJ in this episode. He’s not “just” grieving the lost time of his daughter’s life, not “just” the dissolution of who he’s meant to be, he’s also angry... and like the grief, the anger feels long-simmering. 

Does Hawkeye take that in? Does he let himself take it in? How do you internalise all of “waves hands” that??? 

What I’m also dancing around is that one very obvious interpretation is that a non-zero part of BJ’s loooong compartmentalized now spilling over “stuff” is that he has feelings for Hawkeye -- both as an audience member, but also in-story for Hawkeye, if we read Hawkeye as a bisexual man (who keeps falling in love with married people). Which also adds another layer to the messiness of punching him. Because then it’s a (potential) lover punching a (potential) lover. (This also compared to BJ’s last more obvious act of violence being in defence of a Hawkeye who -- once again -- cannot fight back and might have gotten hurt if not for his intervention). 

They’re both men, but Hawkeye doesn’t do these things (except for that one time with Frank). And if BJ feels this strongly about Trapper, in a way that suggests he’s felt this way for quite some time... can Hawkeye begin to imagine why? Can he let himself potentially imagine that read? Can he talk with anyone about it? (no). Regardless of the actual why, there’s all the potential reasons why and Hawkeye’s going to just have to live with that. 

And of course, lastly... how does Hawkeye feel about the still being destroyed? (again, that BJ destroys something that’s Hawkeye’s in a fit of anger has connotations. They could have had him breaking it by accident, or it no longer working, or... but no, it was BJ, it was deliberate, it was right before he was violent with Hawkeye, and it was not long before he admitted to being jealous of Trapper). 

That was something he made with Trapper. 

And now it’s something he’s remaking with BJ, but off the back of a series of very horrible events for the both of them. Not quite the fairytale Second Chance one might have pictured way back in s4 when BJ appeared like some kind of vision right as Hawkeye was about to fall to pieces. 

Oh so very very messy, all of it. 

Hawkeye’s mind is already so scrambled, I don’t think he needs all of this mess on top, but, then again, BJ never asked to be the Second Chance. He never asked to be perceived as perfect. It was going to break, eventually. And all the reasons why may just go right back to simmering... 

[boldbrash-fandertrash]

Ignore me, unless I’m right in which case I fucking called it

So I was rewatching the episode for the fourth time and one I realized that Remus is much much smarter than we give him credit for and two I can generally predict how the rest of the story is gonna go.

We’re gonna have another aside video with Patton and Janus before the big season finale, and that aside is going to be one of the most important videos to the general progression of the plot.

I’m sure you’ve noticed the pattern so far, two sides who diametrically oppose each other being forced to work together on a problem they vastly disagree about, usually turning the small issue into something much messier than it ever would be and them learning something about themselves in the process.

Each pairing exists to point out to the viewer exactly what issues exist with each side that need some form of resolving, and the big unifying theme amongst them is “you’re not listening to me”. Roman and Virgil dragging Thomas across the cafeteria in favor of or agains him talking to Nico, Logan and Remus deliberately ignoring and working to undo the others work in an attempt to break Thomas out of the depressive funk he found himself in. Nobody is working together here. The only side to even remotely cooperate with the group was Virgil body checking Thomas into Nico, and it took him and Roman bullying each other and Thomas for an entire video to even get to that point.

Watching Logan and Remus interact, one, brought me immense joy and I will be chasing that high for weeks to come, and two, after an ounce of critical thinking was frankly painful to watch. Any critiques Logan offered to Remus were immediately discarded with absurdity and any critiques Remus offered to Logan were discounted as absurd.

During the obvious scene at the end with the Eyes™️, Logan claimed he wasn’t pretending Remus didn’t exist, but honestly, he kinda was.

The Dunce Cap Scene really accentuates this point. Logan pulls a holier than thou, why won’t you learn I’m always right, bullshit passive aggressive remark, Remus does his dramatic repenting student shtick, starts singing directly into Logan’s ear, and makes a kink joke. Literally the words Remus sings are “can’t fix this guy, all by yourself”. Remus is saying this inches from Logan’s personal face and even still the logical side ignores him outright, because of all the fluff around the message. Hell, in Remus’s introduction video, Logan likens him to a screaming baby on a plane, essentially saying “well eventually he’ll stop screaming so just bear with it for a while and you’ll be fine”. He’s ignoring Remus outright due to a preconceived notion and missing out on valuable information because of it.

The dunce cap scene indirectly calls back to learning new things about ourselves, where Logan is completely unreceptive to the puppet bit because of its perceived absurdity and absolutely refuses to acknowledge any potential the medium might have for learning until he physically cannot anymore.

Remus is capable of, and does often, make valid points and offers genuine critiques of shit happening in their lives. In Forbidden Fruit, almost every single line harkens back to some idea the other sides had been trying, and failing, to communicate to Thomas. “Good and bad is all made up nonsense”, “if you shared those musings with your friends i doubt they would forgive you”, “why deny yourself knowledge, say, knowledge of yourself” “people don’t like me much, Thomas, but that only just cause I’m honest”, “these sorts of things are only thought in the mind of a man who’s soul is truly rotten.”

Despite all of this, he is ignored outright because of his medium. Just like Logan is ignored due to his monotone cadence and large volume of content, just like Roman is due to his flair for the dramatic and artistic display of ideas, just like Patton is due to his playful and childlike nature, just like Janus is due to his perceived role as the Villain, just like Virgil /was/ due to his perceived role as the villain.

They all have become accustomed to being stepped on by the other sides because of who they are and how they communicate, and have in turn learned some less than ideal methods of being heard again. Logan yells and gets passive aggressive, Remus ups the fear factor for everyone around him, Roman shuts down anyone who tries to talk through bullying and raising his voice, Patton manipulates the others into feeling guilt and covers it up with a smile, Virgil whips out the tempest tongue and incites fear in Thomas, and Janus physically silences anyone in his way.

And here’s why I say the next asides episode is going to be the most important one developmentally. Patton and Janus are going to be forced to work together. Patton, who is in the midst of an identity crisis, and willing to listen to any new ideas provided they offer a valid solution to the shit he’s found himself in, and Janus, who knows a lot more than he’s willing to let on, who concerns himself exclusively with Thomas’s self preservation, and loves to talk when given the opportunity. Janus is gonna have a thing or two to say to Patton when they’re inevitably faced with their moral dilemma, and Patton is going to be in just the right mindset that he’s willing to listen. And Janus is going to end up being right, and the small issue they’re facing will be resolved, which will therefore strengthen Patton’s trust, and his openness to changing for the better.

Patton is goofy, and childish, and kinda ditzy sometimes, and because of that we as a fandom tend to overlook any of his moments that are anything but that, but we are not giving this man enough credit. When Patton sets his heart on something, he throws his whole self into it, and is willing to stand up for his beliefs in the face of extreme opposition, and would gladly do anything in his power to defend his family. Once Patton decides that he’s willing to grow, and if he believes that this growth will help put his family back together, nothing can stop him, and that will be absolutely crucial for the growth of all the other sides around him.

Whatever him and Janus discuss during their aside will absolutely give Patton the information he needs to help stitch together the rift between everyone.

I predict the next official Sanders Sides video is going to be the longest one yet, possibly over an hour long, because there’s a LOT of work that is going to need to be done, and Everyone is going to be in it. The big issue of “you’re not listening to me” won’t be resolved, but it will be acknowledged in a serious light by everyone. We won’t be getting any appearances from the Orange Side I don’t think, that would end up just complicating matters even more when each character is already incredibly shaky in their own identity.

Something less than ideal is gonna happen between Thomas and Nico, he’s gonna summon the initial three to deal with the matter but the other lads are gonna worm their way into the discussion, everyone’s gonna start screaming at each other, and Pattons gonna do something that stuns everyone else into silence (I’m guessing he’ll start crying, considering the start of season two was all about him repressing negative emotions and what better way to show character growth than to sob openly on camera).

Once everyone just fucking stops for ten seconds that’s when the apologies start. None of the sides are ever the first to apologize, we’ve seen that time and time again. Their desire to be in the right as well as their pride will always get in the way, however if someone starts the apology train everyone will eventually follow suit. We see that in Alone On Valentines Day, My Negative Thinking, Growing Up, Accepting Anxiety, Fitting In, Moving On, actually in pretty much every video where an apology actually takes place, once one person apologizes the other will immediately follow suit.

Patton is gonna be a goddamn mess, he’s gonna apologize to everyone in the room for anything he thinks he may have done to wrong them, and that’s gonna be what gets everyone to acknowledge all the shit they’ve put each other through, and the others are going to jump between trying to console him and trying to apologize to each other. They’re going to come to the unified decision that they need to work together more on future issues, the group is all going to offer up a solution and decide together on a remedy to whatever happened together between Thomas and Nico, and that will be that. Season three will be about them finding the balance between stepping on toes and being stepped over, while also working out how the orange side fits into everything.

Thus marking the end of my rant.

I started writing this at 2 and it’s now 4. I have to be up in three hours. I have an essay due at 3pm tomorrow that I haven’t started, but instead I typed up all this bullshit. I hope any of this made any sense, and I hope this is a suitable replacement for my emotions essay that’s completely untouched because chances are this is what I’m presenting to my therapist tomorrow. Wish me luck.

[dimonds456]

*sees your tags about being salty about suf spinel*

YOU CAN'T JUST SAY THAT AND NOT SHARE YOUR SALT /LH

Okay, but I'm warning you, you asked for it.

LONG POST WARNING.

LIKE A REALLY, REALLY LONG POST WARNING.

Dimonds456 Presents: How They Did My Baby Dirty: An SUTM and SUF Analysis on Steven and Spinel (Told by a Progressively More and More Angry Narrator)

THE CONTEXT: There was a post talking about how you think a character will fix everything, but then they wind up making it works. My tags were "#*looks at suf spinel* #I am still salty about that like the bitch I am fghdjskgfa"

Grab some water, guys.

Let's start by talking about Steven for a moment. In the original show, when we were following him as a 12-14-year-old, we watched as he built up trauma and then learned how to hide it expertly well, to the point that most of the audience didn't even realize he was struggling.

You can actually pinpoint the seconds he makes those decisions, too. The best example is in "The Test," when he's storming up to the gems. He's pissed. His fists are clenched, he's got that anime eye shadow overlay on his face, he's frowning, all that. the Crystal Gems are clapping for him and lying to his face, and he KNOWS they are because he overheard them talking about how it was "impossible for him to fail" that test (- Garnet).

And yet... he also overheard them saying that they're just trying their best. They don't know what he needs. They never really have. No one is sure. So, Steven realizes that by picking a fight, he would just be making it worse for them because they would know they messed up, and nothing gets solved, and everyone gets more depressed and Amethyst and Pearl go back to fighting each other and- well, you get the picture. He doesn't have a full understanding of what's going on, so his kid brain went "so I can either be angry at them and cause problems, or I can tell them I did a good job to make them happy."

"I can lie to make them happy."

He storms down there angry, still mulling this decision over. He drops to the floor, frowning and pissed, and says "I can't believe you guys." He is so close to yelling at them, and yet, when he looks up at them...

"That was so... INSANE!"

You never would have been able to tell. It was right there. That moment. And then he never stops. For the ENTIRE REST of the series, he NEVER STOPS. He puts the Crystal Gems above himself every time. Think Rose's Scabbard, The Message, The Return/Jailbreak. The Cluster. Peridot. Dealing with Jasper. The zoo arc (ESPECIALLY the zoo arc). Aquamarine. Then pretty much the entirety of Season 5.

(NOTE: I went back and rewatched that scene for the screenshot. There is a blink-and-you'll-miss-it lip tremble in there too! D,: )

He lives for the people around him, and not for himself. Almost never for himself.

Put a pin in that.

Now, let's look at his maturity. People thought that was just him being mature, right? That he grew up. No. That was not it at all. He was learning from his own behaviors as well as the people around him, and building up this idea that he had to "fight to be everything that everyone wants [him] to be when [he's] grown" (- Steven, the extended intro).

Yes, he matured, but not because of that. He started making various decisions to benefit the group that oftentimes he wasn't fully comfortable with, but something he believed would be better for everyone.

Put a pin in that.

Then, later in Future, we see it all manifest. He is selfless to a fault, to the point that he can't think of himself in a positive light in the sense that he's good. We see it a couple of times, but especially in "Prickly Pair," when he vents to Cactus Steven about everything that happened. He feels useless, which is taking a toll on his mental health.

"Why do I need to be needed?" He needs to be needed because that's everything he was as a kid. His entire IDENTITY rests on his ability to help other people, no matter what happens to him. He literally sacrificed himself for them countless times (the big one of course being the Aquamarine incident), and now as a teenager, his whole sense of self is wrapped up in this need to get up and do something to make the world better.

And when he can't make the world better, his world falls apart.

Put a pin in that.

Now, let's talk about Spinel, the moment we've all been waiting for.

Spinel, as a gem, was made specifically to be a friend. That is her niche, and her purpose. Her reason for existing. At first, she and Pink Diamond got along very well, as shown in the flashbacks right before Drift Away plays (I headcanon she has illusion powers and was literally projecting her trauma, but that's a completely different post).

She and Pink vibed together for who knows how long, until one day, Pink started to not like being around Spinel anymore, finding her annoying and childish. We don't know what really caused the switch, just that it did happen (but of course, I have headcanons for that, too). Spinel never realized until it was FAR too late.

Steven actually describes his younger self as annoying at one point during the Diamond Days arc, when he decides to throw the ball, so I'm legally allowed to make this comparison.

Steven and Spinel were the SAME. They were both young and dumb, and something that at least a few people found annoying. People put up with their BS though, since they cared about them. But, while Steven realized this and matured because of it (or bottled up his emotions, to each their own), Spinel never did. She never matured. She was never given a chance.

In the movie, we saw her as a child, and watched as she played with Pink and never tried to be or do anything else, to the point that Pink Diamond thought to realize she might be struggling (and maybe Spinel didn't, either!).

She lives for the people around him, and not for herself. Almost never for herself.

And when she can't be friends with this one person, her world falls apart.

Sound familiar? It should. I literally pulled from things I said earlier lol.

Spinel and Steven are mirror reflections of each other. Reset!Spinel is 14-year-old Steven, completely devoting her entire self to one idea. Steven's was helping others no matter what, Spinel's was serving Pink no matter what. Spinel is like a combination of 14 and 12-year-old Steven in this sense, honestly. Goofy, without a care in the world, except one thing: the people around her. She would do anything for Pink, just as Steven would do anything for his family.

Now, Pink Diamond left Spinel. We all know this story. She left Spins there in the garden for 6,000 years because she grew more mature and started a rebellion, effectively forgetting about this one gem she kinda stopped caring about standing there.

Personally, I don't think Pink had any malicious or even intentional intent in that, but this ain't about her. This is about how Spinel continued to sacrifice herself for Pink, even when Pink didn't need her to anymore. She wanted to please Pink 24/7, all day every day, to the point she self-sacrificed and stood perfectly still for her for millenia.

Now, back to Steven. The gems don't need him anymore in Future, right? They've all grown up and matured and headed off towards their own futures, effectively stranding him alone in terms of self-identity and self-worth. But he stays there, ready to assist at the drop of a hat, or- in Future's case- the call of a phone.

Episode 6 anyone? The one everyone says shouldn't be in Future? That it should have been cut to allow more focus on Steven himself? The fusion episode? YEAH. THAT. He is running himself RAGGED to try and help others, to give himself a purpose. He is self-sacrificing. (He's a professional, don't worry. /j)

Steven metaphorically planted his feet down and decided that he was going to devote himself to the people around him.

Spinel's feet were literally tied down soon after she made that very same decision.

Okay, enough with the backstory. Time for the salt.

In Future, Steven is at his lowest low. He is running to the Diamonds for help, to see if there is SOMETHING they can do to help him. And we first see Spinel.

Spinel has been through the ringer on a lot of the same mental problems Steven himself is facing. She self-isolated, watched as everyone grew up and left her, and then began to lash out because of it. She understands what he's going through. We even see her concerned as Steven starts to tell her why he's there.

Spinel takes him from Diamond to Diamond, until he's running out of White's room in a blind panic. Spinel is able to catch up with him, and Steven realizes the same. SHE GETS IT. He turns around and says "Hey, you used to have vengeful thoughts!"

Spinel replies "Ohhhhh yeah, but I don't have 'em anymore."

"How did you make them stop?"

She then goes on to sing Change to him, effectively cutting that conversation short.

On paper, that sounds very in-character for her. She's goofy! And that is what worked for her! But the problem is that they had to dumb her down in order to make that character decision work. In the movie, she was shown to be observant and able to put two and two together, even if she often jumps to conclusions (see her being the one to figure out that the gems needed to remember their "pieces," as she remembers the Garden, her re-realizing what Pink did, and her meltdown later when she reactivates the injector).

Spinel is smart. It should have been in character for her to realize that Steven was panicking just as she had been, and needed to be talked to gently. But no. Instead, she starts belting out Change, which given Steven's situation, would not work for him.

At the very least, she would have started doing little tricks or started trying to get him to join a game, which would have taken his mind off of it (to her anyways, that wouldn't have worked either), which then could have prompted further discussion.

Then, once they finally start talking, Spinel could have been able to share some legitimate advise. She was hurt and lashed out. What worked for her was opening up to others and letting them in, learning to trust again (which Steven also has problems with- he can't trust that the Gems won't break down the second he turns his back. Trust does NOT equal love, there is no doubt he loves them to no end), and allowing other people in.

That is what Steven needed, too. He needed to let his guard down and just talk to someone. Sure, Spinel was not going to be a fix-all, but she could have at least offered some insight on what to do.

She UNDERSTANDS him. They are a reflection of each other.

But instead of offering help, Spinel made it worse. She was dumbed down to allow the rest of Future to happen, to make Steven feel even worse. Because- and here's the kicker- because the one person who MIGHT understand him doesn't, that means there's no hope for him.

At least, that's how he sees it. And so, the denial- and "Everything's Fine"- begins.

Here's the thing, though; they DIDN'T NEED to make that decision. If the Crew wanted to have Spinel not understand Steven, then draw the line of her being a Gem from Era 1, used to the Diamonds shattering people.

Steven has killed Jasper and revived her at this point, so maybe Spinel offers that at least he's trying to get better, just like the other Diamonds! See, they're doing so great now! And then that makes him feel worse since he IS trying to do better, but is only failing, while the Diamonds- who were MADE to be nasty dictators- are doing better than him.

The Diamonds shattered a lot of people, and they're doing better than Steven, who has only shattered one person, and not even on purpose. How horrible is that?

Then boom. THERE'S your angst, with a much smarter, more helpful Spinel.

Look, I knew going in that Spinel wasn't going to be able to help. The finale had to happen somehow, and we hadn't seen Wormy Boi yet. I have always been a storng believer of the corrupted Steven theory, so I knew it was bound to happen. But I was hoping that Spinel would at least try. But she really didn't. She just brushed him off, offering really loose advise that didn't even fit his situation and thinking that would be enough.

No. It's not.

I can see where the Crew was coming from. I still love that episode, and I love seeing Spins in it (until that exact moment). This is probably the only thing in SU that genuinely gets me mad. Or, well, maybe not mad, but definitely annoyed and- you guessed it- salty.

I have an unfinished fic where I kinda delve into Spinel's head for that episode called "A New Start". If you really want my thoughts on where Spinel's head was at, there's a bit in there that really explains it. In the fic, Steven decides to rejuvenate himself and brings Spinel along with him, and that's all the context you need for this.

I cannot explain that moment in the climax of the episode, though. Maybe she thought it would make him feel better, or that maybe he really did just need to open his eyes and see the error of his ways (which doesn't make sense, he KNOWS what he did). Maybe she thought that being silly would help somehow.

But you'd think she'd learn from her time with Pink as she grew more annoyed with her, but apparently not. Or maybe she would realize for a second that being loud and annoying was bad. Or maybe she doesn't learn.

Either way, it- and she- was dumb. And they did my baby dirty.

*drops mic and walks away*

[obxfics]

puppybowl sunday

summary: you spend the day cuddled up watching the puppy bowl

pairing: john b x reader x jj

word count: 1654

a/n: i got inspiration watching the puppy bowl so... here we are lol also when tf is season 2 coming i want more motivation to write and shit please anyways enjoy (also this could technically belong to the “you against the world” universe but also... idk where it would fit lmao so if you want to imagine it like that have at it)

Masterlist

john b groaned as something woke him up. he had been deep in sleep, something he appreciated considering how many late night grocery or food runs he had to do for the residents of figure eight, when he felt someone shift as they laughed. he blearily opened his eyes to see you, sitting up with your back against his headboard and one of his arms flung across your waist, frozen with your hand clapped over your mouth. obviously you hadn't been meaning to laugh that hard.

"what are you doin' up so early?" he rasped, his voice kinda scratchy from sleep.

you smiled down at him and ran a hand through his thick hair, giggling when your fingers got all tangled up in it. "hon, it's two in the afternoon."

he lifted his head real quick and pouted when he saw that jj wasn't included in the cuddle pile. "shit, did i miss jj going off to work?"

"mhm. don't worry, though, i got some food into him and made sure he was wearing his mask. also put the fear of god into him if he didn't wash his hands throughout the day."

john b breathed out a laugh as he imagined you yelling at jj to stay safe at work. almost a year into the pandemic, and jj and john b had spent the whole time quaranting in the chateau to the best of their ability. it had been months since they had seen kie or pope in person for longer than a few minutes, and usually that was only when john b pulled up to the wreck to pick up delivery orders or when jj and john b helped pope's dad with grocery deliveries. at the beginning of everything, you had been spending quarantine with your boys since school was all online and your parents' restaurant was closed. a month or so in, however, regulations had been lifted and the people of figure eight all but demanded for them to reopen, and so you went back home to help your parents with the restaurant and to keep jj and john b safe from anything you could have possibly brought back to them.

you had practically locked them in the chateau, leaving them threatening voicemails if they even thought about going out, but as two months turned into three turned into four turned into five, you realized that the boys needed their jobs as there seemed no end in sight to the pandemic. so jj returned to his job at the country club, and john b got a job busing tables at your family's restaurant. you moved back in to quarantine with them as school started, and you spent practically your whole savings on getting a backup generator and high speed wifi for the chateau so if anything happened, you all would be good. and, despite living through a worldwide panda express, you were quite happy.

beside you, john b shifted his head to rest on your lap so he could see what you were watching on your laptop that had you laughing so hard. a smile grew on his face when he saw the puppies running around on the "football field" and jumping all over the "ref." he looked up at you and felt his chest blossom with warmth at the way you smiled at the puppies and giggled when they flopped over.

"did you really wake me up watching the puppy bowl?"

"hush up," you laughed, "it's a tradition, and you know it. 'sides, you can't tell me you aren't enjoying this as much as i am. i've seen how you and jj get with dogs. y'all may love them more than you love me."

"aw, honey, that's not true," john b cooed. "you know how much we love you. obviously i love you more since i didn't go to work during the puppy bowl, but you know, that's to be expected."

you shook your head and lightly swatted at his stomach. you knew he wasn't being serious. john b loved jj just as much as he loved you, and the feeling was mutual from jj. the three of you had a good thing going, a relationship full of understanding and compassion, and it had taken y'all a long time to get there. you all had things to work through, like jj's daddy issues, john b's abandonment issues, and your trauma from your previous relationship with rafe cameron, but you had gotten through it together, and this quarantine had actually brought y’all closer together which had surprised everyone.

“jj’s gonna be sad that he missed it,” you sighed.

“we’ll just rewatch it with him,” john b assured you. “and we can watch the old ones too.”

there was shuffling as the both of you wriggled around to get into a more comfortable position. at one point the two of you had to lunge to catch the laptop from falling to the floor, but eventually you settled in with john b curled around you and the blankets and pillows providing a sort of nest and elevated stand for the laptop. the room was filled with the soft sounds of puppy barks and whines, and your giggles when one of the dogs did something particularly cute, and john b let out a quiet sigh as he allowed himself to relax against you.

“i think we should get a dog,” you mumbled sleepily as john b clicked on last year’s broadcast. “we can add another cutie to our cuddle pile.”

there was some incoherent whining on your part before you dozed off in his arms. he did his best to focus on the puppies on the screen, but soon he too fell asleep with his face buried in the crook of your neck. that was how jj found you two when he stumbled into the room later that night as he yanked his tie from his neck. he stilled in the doorway, a soft smile pulling at his lips when he saw the two people he loved most in the world all snuggled up together. and then he saw what was pulled up on the laptop.

“oh you assholes!”

the both of you jolted awake, your hand smacking john b in the face as you moved to make sure the laptop wouldn’t fall off the bed. john b rubbed at his eyes and turned to blink up at jj.

“hey, how was work, babe?”

jj shook his head as you rolled over and made grabby hands, obviously asking for cuddles. he put his hands on his hips and frowned down at the pair of you.

“i cannot believe y’all are watching the puppy bowl without me.”

“um... in my defense,” john b started, “they were already watching when i woke up.”

“dude!” you turned your head to scowl at your boyfriend. “jj, baby, come cuddle with us, and we can turn it back on.”

as he kicked his shoes off and rifled around the dresser for comfy clothes, jj shook his head. john b let out a laugh when he realized what he was getting at.

“no can do, babe,” jj told you, smirking at john b as he let his work shirt slide off his shoulders. “the superbowl starts soon, and we’re watching it.”

you fell back on the bed and let out a loud groan. you had been hoping the boys would be too tired to watch the football game. you lifted yourself up on your elbows and glared at the two of them.

“i am legitimately only watching your stupid sportsball for the weeknd. after that i will be passing the fuck out.”

jj laughed and wrapped his arms around you as he flopped down between you and john b. you couldn’t keep your glare on your face when you felt your cheek hit his bare chest. you had missed him all day. there were a few laughs and giggled--and a couples groans of pain--as the three of you got all comfortable on the queen sized bed. finally you and john b sandwiched jj, john b spooning the blonde boy as you nestled in within the warmth of jj’s arms.

“don’t he kiss his kid on the mouth?” you mumbled as one of the players ran out on the field.

a wheeze left jj’s chest as john b shouted his laugh out, causing you to smirk. you had absolutely no clue as to what was happening in the game, or even had any idea as to who the teams were, because like you told the boys, you were only watching for the weeknd concert, and you were getting more and more anxious waiting for it.

“wait, i thought both teams were supposed to be good. why does one team already have like three touchdowns and the other doesn’t have any?”

“honey,” john b said, attempting to hold in his laugh, “just watch and enjoy the game.”

you rolled your eyes, making jj smile fondly. “hon, how am i supposed to enjoy a game i don’t even understand?”

“do you want us to explain?” jj offered sweetly.

“absolutely not. i appreciate it, baby, but i’m too pretty for that.”

jj snickered and pressed a kiss into your hair. “of course you are, babe.”

you nuzzled your nose against his collarbone and tugged your hand from between the boys to gently scratch at john b’s scalp. a hum rumbled deep within the brunette’s chest at the action.

“i love y’all,” you whispered into jj’s skin. “even if y’all make me watch football.”

“well we love you too,” jj returned with a kiss to your cheek and john b’s arm.

“even if you make us watch the weeknd,” john b teased.

“hey! you better appreciate abel or i swear i’m moving out!”

taglist (ahaha heyyy it’s been a while so tell me if y’all want to be removed): @damndunner​ @scandalousfemale @shawnssongs​ @kikifromtheblock​ @write-from-the-heart​ @kurtsconner​ @thatjohnd​ @abbiesthings​ @heavenlymama​ @strangerthanfiction713 @alexis-marrt022 @brithedemonspawn​ @obxsummer​

[fannishcodex]

So I was just gonna finally share my thoughts on a little moment of c/// that always rubs me the wrong way about her, something that's worsened by what ultimately happens with her; and I was rewatching the scene to try to take a screenshot (which I apparently can't do, so I just took a photo), but...well, I rewatched the scene.

And I think the dialogue really does suggest c/// is aware that her triggering the portal caused the loss of Angella? This is the scene I was thinking of, from S4E1; this is the dialogue (with italics for emphasis):

c///: We need to talk about plans for--

Hordak: Plans? (Bitter laugh.) Your last plan was to set off the portal machine before it was ready. Do you remember how that ended?

c///: Whatever. It worked out for us, didn't it? (Gloating grin.) The Rebellion's a mess. Their queen is gone.

It just really sounds like Hordak and c/// know that c/// activating the portal machine led to the loss of Queen Angella. (Does anyone else read it differently?)

It’s not perfectly explicit, but it really seems very close. Not every word is said, but their connections seem clear. It really seems to read to me that both c/// and Hordak know that c/// starting the portal caused the loss of Angella, and c/// treats it as a success/something to take advantage of (while Hordak seems more stuck on, y’know, c/// activating the portal apparently starting to rip the world apart--but then he’s very depressed over the belief that Entrapta betrayed him because of course he was never truly worthy of affection from anyone let alone someone like her; so it feels like he loses a grip on his pretty valid point to sink back into despair).

Like, I always thought c/// knew, but there’s been some fandom talk that she might not, as part of general fandom talk wondering how many characters actually know the specifics of what happened to Angella and who was directly responsible for it--and I honestly wasn’t buying that c/// didn’t know, though I was buying that Glimmer didn’t know because I keep thinking about that for salty post-S5 fic

[more discussion under the cut, and warning: even more spop salt below. i was late to the fandom and finished the show early this year, it still feels fresh to me--that, and this dialogue ended up reminding me of things.]

(fic where Glimmer freaks out after learning it wasn’t just vaguely the Horde in general that got Angella trapped, it was specifically c///--and that’s the only reason she’s been weirdly chill with c/// in S5, Glimmer didn’t know what c/// actually did to her mom--but Glimmer flips out when she learns). But I thought the show might not be as explicit as I thought. But then I rewatched the scene I was thinking of, the one from S4E1, and it seems like both c/// and Hordak know c/// triggering the portal caused the loss of Angella.

Like even if looking at the on-screen events doesn't seem to make sense (c/// finally gets destroyed in portal disaster before Angella steps up to save everyone [even c///], c/// doesn't know Entrapta ended up foiling c///’s portal plans after all by figuring out what can be done to save everyone from the portal disaster), the dialogue seems to really say differently. Like the dialogue doesn't seem to comprehensively consider what was shown and just suggests that c/// and Hordak actually are aware of this piece of information after all.

Here’s some more analysis of the dialogue, again with italics for emphasis and my notes in brackets:

c///: We need to talk about plans for--

Hordak: Plans? (Bitter laugh.) Your last plan was to set off the portal machine before it was ready. Do you remember how that ended? [It sounds like Hordak is very much directly talking about what c/// activating the portal caused, and his tone (that bitter laugh, etc.)/the context implies it was not good in his mind.]

c///: Whatever. It worked out for us, didn't it? [This directly follows and responds to Hordak bringing up how c///’s last plan with the portal ended, and it sounds like c/// is acknowledging what Hordak said, that her activating the portal had consequences, but then she suggests they turned out to be good for their side. And look at the next few sentences that directly follow this.] (Gloating grin.) The Rebellion's a mess. Their queen is gone. [This part directly follows “It worked out for us, didn't it?”, suggesting they’re all connected, suggesting it’s c/// then elaborating/specifying on how it worked out for them. And due to the context of their conversation, it feels like she also implies that it’s because of her it’s all worked out, she’s claiming ownership over what happened--the rebellion in disarray, the loss of their queen, and those are all good things for their side in her mind, and they’re results of the portal machine she activated, as pointed out by Hordak and seemingly acknowledged by c///. It’s not quoted here, but as the scene continues, Hordak doesn’t seem to dispute these last lines from c///, he doesn’t deny that c/// activating the portal led to the loss of the queen, he just seems to silently acknowledge her last lines as fact and continues their conversation. It feels like meaning is in the order of the sentences, how they seem to respond to each other and connect.]

It just feels less ambiguous, and more clear to me. It actually feels harder for me to read the dialogue as c/// and Hordak not knowing the portal c/// activated led to the loss of the queen; it really feels like they talk like they know who’s responsible and what their actions caused, it really feels like they talk as if they know c/// activating the portal machine led to “the rebellion [being a] mess” and to “[t]heir queen [being] gone.” Their conversation actually starts feeling odd if it’s instead read as if Hordak and c/// don’t know c/// activating the portal didn’t lead to the rebellion in disarray and the loss of the queen, because the text of their conversation really suggests the opposite to me. 

I noticed in some of the same fandom talk wondering about how many people knew the specifics about Angella’s fate, I remember there was someone who suggested that maybe the rebellion just sent out news that Angella sacrificed herself to prevent a critical disaster. And now I’m thinking maybe they even more explicitly said Angella did it to close a disastrous portal; either way, c/// and Hordak could’ve heard about that and put two-and-two together and realized c/// “set[ting] off the portal machine before it was ready” led to the loss of the queen--and now that they know that, they can have a conversation where Hordak criticizes c///’s plan with the portal and can ask her “do you remember how that ended?”, with c/// just responding with “it worked out for us, didn’t it? the rebellion’s a mess. their queen is gone.”

The dialogue feels like it’s missing a few words that could make it even more explicit, but they’re only linking words, and the meaning is plain enough without them. Like (bolding example of more linking words/phrases):

c///: We need to talk about plans for--

Hordak: Plans? (Bitter laugh.) Your last plan was to set off the portal machine before it was ready. Do you remember how that ended? Do you remember what you did?

c///: Whatever. It worked out for us, didn't it? (Gloating grin.) Look what it did for us, look what I did--the Rebellion's a mess. Their queen is gone.

And the dialogue as “screenshots”/pics here:

Again, it really feels like c/// and Hordak know that c/// activating the portal led to the loss of the queen, and it’s something that c/// sees as a win, something that makes her smile.

Even before rewatching this part, I felt other things still pointed to c/// knowing what she did to Queen Angella, or suggested she knew even on a thematic level (like, it would be thematically appropriate if she knew). Again, as mentioned above, maybe the rebellion/royal alliance shared news about what happened to Angella, and c/// could put two-and-two together and realize she was responsible. I also was thinking that c/// was aware that the portal disaster was literally destroying/killing everyone, and she still didn’t care to stop it--

Adora: Catra, look what’s happening! You’re going to destroy everything!

Catra: I don’t care. I won’t let you win. I’d rather see the whole world end than let that happen.

So, kinda feel like, with the timing of it all actually, c/// could connect the dots--the portal’s somehow fixed (Adora’s won after all, again), Adora looked murderously furious, probably not long after there’s news of the queen’s loss...I feel like with that, with the close timing of those moments and with the knowledge of the portal’s destructiveness, c/// could put two-and-two together and even assume that not everyone was able to escape the portal’s destruction even after the portal was apparently fixed, that the queen couldn’t escape the destructive portal c/// caused. And tbh feel like the show makes other sorta jumps in logic anyway, and I feel like going “forget it, why not make my own jump in logic about spop then?”

But then I rewatched the S4E1 scene, and...well, again the dialogue really seems like it suggests that c/// knows what she did. And that Hordak knows too.

In any case, I think it works better that c/// knows she caused the loss of Angella, even if S5 doesn’t follow up on it with any sort of satisfying narrative payoff. I feel like c/// not knowing would be another poor writing choice. I feel like it would take away too much emotional weight if c/// doesn’t know and never knows by the end of the show that she caused the loss of Angella. And season 5 already ends up taking a lot of emotional weight away from the previous seasons, so I wasn’t looking forward to more getting discarded. Like...it’s okay c/// actually appears this knowingly cruel. So much of her character really does end up like that. It’s less okay when S5 tries to ignore that and sweep it aside.

And after everything, it would just be...jarring if on top of everything, on top of no character essentially being allowed to express negative feelings toward c///* and on top of S5 ignoring Angella, if c/// also apparently had no idea what she did to Angella. It would just feel like another thing artificially bending to give c/// a very unearned and flat “happy resolution.” Like so much in S5 is artificially forced to cater to c///, the show artificially forcing c/// back into a being a punching bag instead of acknowledging/honoring her ascent in power in a very artificially forced attempt to make the audience Sympathetic for c/// without addressing what c/// did and her twisted behavior (i.e. it really feels like the show tries to force, “ohno look at what’s happening to c/// forget-everything-she-did-before look at what’s happening to her now and-definitely-don’t-think-about-how-c///-activating-the-portal-brought prime-to-etheria-and-she-literally-summoned-her-own-defeat-while-trying-to-destroy-etheria-out-of-spite-for-adora-and-successfully-trapped-Angella-between-dimensions-or-that-c///-tried-to-brainwash-adora-in-season-2-or-that-c///-electrocuted-adora-in-season-4-and-how-for-most-of-the-show-c///-has-very-willingly-and-maliciously-fought-adora just forget all that”), so many characters don’t get to have more natural-feeling reactions to her, it feels like too many of her actions are clumsily swept under the rug, so tbh I don’t like the idea of “c/// also didn’t know she caused the loss of Angella” added to that.  

(*It’s just so...weird/unsatisfying/monotone and frankly boring that ultimately only c/// gets to wallow in negative feelings with ultimately little consequence while no other character ultimately gets to feel as negatively as her. Why is that by the end, only c/// got to absolutely lose it? And that’s a lot of “ultimately’s” since I find it a pretty good one-word adjective for how I feel about spop canon, like there are things it does before but then ultimately a lot of it is undermined and negated in the end.)

(And even if c/// really didn’t know, feel like in this context it would not lessen the harm she did--though it would very much ditch a lot of emotional weight and lead to even more weak writing/an even weaker story. It would just be another poor writing choice.)

And tbh I don’t mind venting/criticizing c/// because canonically she’s fine. She gets everything she wants, every character given screentime and dialogue time with her pretty much just accepts her, no one ultimately rejects her, no one ultimately gets to be mad at her. She’s fine in the show and she has a large fanbase. I feel pretty much zero compunction over criticizing her and not caring for her because it’s really not gonna cause any problems, she’s fine (poorly written, but fine). I’m not about to enter the c/// tag (and I’ve been trying to avoid her name for partly this reason) with my criticism for a character they like.

...And it’s just weird, because I was, I really was thinking “I guess c/// knowing what she did to Angella could’ve been less explicit than I thought, but I still think she knows, and I guess it’s my headcanon now--” and then I rewatch the S4E1 scene I’m thinking of and I’m just surprised and thrown by how it does seem to actually more explicitly/clearly suggest that c/// and Hordak definitely know c///’s responsible for what happened to Angella after all. Like even if the visual scenes don’t add up, the dialogue suggests c/// and Hordak know that c/// activating the portal led to the loss of the queen. It could be like contradictory info, but it’s there on the screen (and spop’s contradicted itself before); it’s viable enough to just go by what the characters are saying/their dialogue. And I can headcanon all I want about the specific logistics of how they know. I think that’s kind of already happening with more talk about how much characters actually know about Angella’s fate and who’s directly responsible for it, and it feels like it’s partly a way to rationalize why Glimmer ends up so bizarrely chill with the person directly responsible for the loss of her mom. And the S4E1 dialogue at least does more to address c/// and Hordak knowing about the consequences of c/// activating the portal than all of S5 largely ignoring Angella and c///’s role in her fate and how Glimmer should really feel about that.

And tbh, I’m more inclined to believe/headcanon that Glimmer didn’t know in S5 that c/// is directly responsible for the loss of her mother. So except for the idea of c/// not knowing, I’ve been finding the talk about how much characters actually know about the portal disaster to be interesting. Again, think Glimmer might not know c/// activating the portal led to the loss of her mom. It again makes me wonder if like all of Etheria’s citizens remember the portal disaster almost destroying them and if they have some existential dread, or just passed it off as an awful dream because they had no context for what was happening, what was that if not a bad dream? But it was so terribly strange, and so many seemed to have had the same or similar nightmares... Can you imagine the portal disaster happening and you have zero context for what the hell is going on? Adora and co. had context/more understanding; most of Etheria did not. Kyle and the Horde Trio touch on this a little, but it’s sorta...more a gag and I kinda wish in retrospect this had been explored more too. This may be yet another instance of the show nonsensically holding back to cater to c/// and avoid any natural follow-through on plot/theme/character threads in favor of ultimately ensuring everything’s too easy for c/// and she doesn’t have to deal with any real emotional consequences. But this might further fuel the idea that the rebellion did make some announcement about Angella saving everyone from a portal disaster for everyone’s peace of mind, to try to explain to them what the hell happened.

Anyway, did like how this all made me think of some new spop ideas, and it felt like it personally clarified more things about spop for me.

[cupcakegirlpower]

I haven't posted in ages so I thought I'd post a "Why Fredric Was the True Villain in S1 of TTS" and "Why Rapunzel Is Innocent". Aka, "Why I Love to Hate Fredric 2.0" This a rewrite of a Character Analysis I did on Wattpad.

Fredric Analysis 2.0

I am going to explain who the true villain of Tangled the Series Season 1.  No, it's not about Varian, we know what he did was obviously not good, but I don't see him as the main villain.  So who am I talking about then?  I'm going to talk about the person's decisions that caused the entire issue that led to Varian's downfall.

When I first watched the series I put the blame on Rapunzel; but as I rewatched it, the true villain was suddenly waving in my face in plain sight.  He was hidden before because I hadn't priced everything together and had forgotten minor details.  New things appeared before me that I had missed.

I am convinced that the true villain is none other than King Fredric.

I didn't hate Fredric at first.  In fact, I actually only saw him as an overprotective father.  A typical Disney father.  In the beginning of the series, I understood why he was like what he was and I realized that he just needed to learn to let Rapunzel breathe.  However, once he locked Rapunzel in the tower with iron bars on her window, I was done giving him excuses.

Rapunzel is an adult that has been trapped her entire life.  Now that she was free from the tower and her abusive kidnapper, she was being held back by a stranger.  She didn't actually know Fredric, but here he was keeping her in a castle.  Rapunzel basically traded her tower for a bigger cage.

Fredric had good intentions to protect his family, specifically, Rapunzel.  But there are times when you can take it too far when protecting the ones you love.  One way is by literally locking them away.  Another is when you harm innocent people for the sake of keeping them away from your family.  And there are more ways to cross the line (pun intended), but I want to discuss these two in particular.  Two boundaries that Fredric overstepped big time.

Fredric, by the end of season 1, has eventually made it to the point where he's no longer protecting Rapunzel.  Rather, he's no longer doing what's best for her, but doing what's best for himself without realizing it.  And he has very good reasons to want to protect Rapunzel, but he's recreating the very thing that kept his daughter from him.  Fredric basically imprisoned Rapunzel, which is absolutely awful; but the worst thing Fredric does is what he does to the people surrounding Rapunzel.  That is what we're going to talk about.

1. He took the sundrop flower after being warned what it would do to the kingdom.

Because of this, he decided to risk the lives of his kingdom for the sake of his wife and daughter.  Although he had good intentions to save two people, he also threw out the fact that he was willingly hurting good and innocent people for the sake of two.  Now if the majority kingdom had been in agreement with this decision, then it would be fine, but this was a hush, hush ordeal.

This act, I can forgive, though.  I really do understand how hard it is to choose between your loved ones and everyone else.  Putting myself in his shoes, I would have tried a different way, but he was honestly desperate.  However, it doesn't exclude the fact that he was hurting innocent people for the protection of Rapunzel.

2. Fredric killed people and was a tyrant king.

Although these people were criminals, they were given way too harsh of punishment, such as death.  Lady Caine's father is merely an example.  No doubt that there were others from how the people talk in the series. He was a petty thief, probably stealing for the sake of keeping his daughter alive.  Jail time was fine, but his death was uncalled for.  Fredric was a hypocrite to do this if this was true.

3. Fredric blames Varian, a mere child (his currently dead friend's son) for a crime he did not commit.

The series doesn't actually say this specifically, but the facts lead to it.  Fredric uses the rumor to give him the excuse to send the undercover guards to keep Varian and Rapunzel apart.  He did this because he read Rapunzel's diary, therefore learning that Varian had knowledge about the black rocks.  Thus, Varian was seen as a threat to Rapunzel's safety, even though he was not a threat at this time.

I originally thought the rumors were spread by Nigel, but when I thought about it, it doesn't make sense.  Fredric was the one that sent the guards after Varian, which means Fredric probably got the rumor from Nigel, but it wasn't exactly Nigel's fault.  Nigel gave the king his side of the story, and no doubt Fredric had Rapunzel's side of the story.  Fredric knew Varian was innocent.

It was important for Fredric to keep Varian away from Rapunzel, because the prodigy knew too much.  He had information on the black rocks, and black rocks meant danger for Rapunzel.  This is where my next point comes in.

4. Fredric lied to Rapunzel and manipulated her so that she wouldn't think about going to see Varian.

Fredric obviously had to keep Varian away from Rapunzel, but he also had to keep her away from Varian.  Originally, I was super angry at Rapunzel for not going to Varian directly after the storm, but I realized she didn't have the chance or choice.

Fredric told her that Varian's situation was taken care of.  He then tasked her with "Important Royal Duties".  Things that weren't actually important.  In fact, Nigel was even super confused and asked Fredric why he was making such a big deal about the Griffin.  Of course, Fredric gave an answer, his true reason was to make Rapunzel think that the fate of Corona depended on her to make Griffin agree to their terms.  He was also very forceful about the painting. He did this to keep Rapunzel from going after Varian, so I can't exactly blame her since Fredric made it sound like both these events were important for the entire kingdom's greater good even though they actually weren't that important.

Fredric made it very clear that he had no regard for helping Varian or even his own friend.  He was willing to lie and manipulate his own beloved daughter to keep her from doing so as well.

5. He sends Cassandra away.

Since he read Rapunzel's diary, he learned that Cass was the reason she learned about the black rocks.  So he sends her off to a covenant (which doesn't end up playing out).  This, much like what he did with Varian but not as extreme. The plan was to keep her away from Rapunzel, due to the black rocks.  Of course, this was under the agreement of the Captain of the guard.  However, in doing this, Cassandra's whole career that she wanted was ruined.  If this had played out, her dreams would have been utterly crushed as she was forced to live the life of a nun.  The life of a nun is something you should choose not be forced into, because once you commit yourself, there is basically no getting out.  Which is basically just unofficially locking Cassandra up.

Cassandra was a threat to Rapunzel's safety in Fredric's eyes.  She could sneak his daughter in and out without his knowledge, and he probably assumed that Cassandra influenced Rapunzel to want to go out.  He probably thought that separating them would solve Rapunzel's wish to explore beyond the walls of Corona.  The latter is more of a speculation, but I think that it's fine to assume that this was going through his head.

Season 3 was wise to erase his memories.  This gave us a new start with Fredric's character, and I like him much better in that season.  He was fun and even a little relatable in the Queen of Hearts episode.

[lilyclawthorne]

Escaping Expulsion Thoughts (once again very stream of conscious-like while i rewatched the episode so there’s a bunch of stuff here)

i fucking knew odalia was gonna be an oracle, i knew and i hate that for her family. i’m not sure if this necklace thing is specifically a form of oracle magic or not but im assuming it is, and either way the second i saw it happen that made my stomach twist. the fact that she just keeps this direct line to her daughter at all times feels so disturbing

so, i get that the joke with glyph lessons here is that eda and lilith are probably acting the exact same way they did when they were younger, but it does also feel a little odd for me. in my post for episode 1 i talked about how it felt like lilith probably missed the structure of the coven, and maybe even having an authority figure, and it does concern me a bit that it could be projected on to luz here. 

also, i saw someone mention that they thought lilith could be regressing a bit, which is interesting seeing as she’s been in the coven since basically being a child and now that she’s out, she could be going backwards because that was probably the last time she had a personality of her own instead of one that was carefully crafted to be socially acceptable for others. and to be fair, the few moments in season 1 when we see glimpses into the true lilith, she is pretty childish.

anyways lilith has such pretty handwriting i love it

gus!! witch puberty!! do not worry buddy eda will get your name eventually. probably.

amity went out and murdered those fairies for luz didn’t she

i need to know why the heck bump has no choice in the matter of the expulsion. typically a pta (or pca in this case) wouldn’t have power that much stronger than the principa?? so i wonder if the blights have something over bump, or if its even just something such as donation money they’d withdraw

odalia blight you gaslighting bitch “I’m appalled you’re not in class right now what are you thinking” YOU MADE HER COME HERE

PLEASE i know gus and willow are sad here but the whole “live off the land” thing and “water you one last time, with my tears” are so fucking funny ok

GO LUZ, YOU TELL OFF ODALIA

i feel like alador doesn’t really care what’s going on and just wants to be back home making his abomination inventions, also he seems to have an affinity for different creatures as well which is an interesting detail

i love that willow stated they would get back in on their own right in front of alador and odalia. these people fucked up her friendship and caused her a lot of trouble that she shouldn’t have had to deal with so i love that she’s unafraid to speak like that in front of them

between the first & second episode, and some of the seasons trailer, it seems like Lilith may have an affinity for ice magic? which is interesting seeing as eda was always a fan of her “spicy toss” aka some fire magic. interesting to see the two of them as fire & ice basically

i LOVE how much bump loves luz, willow, and gus. it’s kinda really sweet, but again it feels so concerning that he had no choice in the matter. makes me think he’s more likely to eventually rebel against the standards that have been in place for so long at some point. (also abominations coven for bump!! interesting!! i appreciate seeing the coven marks included on the adults so far)

what is it with these kids and being dragged off by their hoods in this episode

love that the blights address includes “right arm”, also i took a quick look up of the word “bruegal” which is boulevard they live on, and it’s probably just a coincidence but the first google result was actually for a european think tank that specializes in economics

yknow i actually have wondered about layering glyphs on top of each other and making a super glyph the way eda did, so good to know that would NOT work out

luz you’re really gonna give the blights their own flowers??????

it goes by so fast but please take a moment to take in and appreciate the design of that blight entry room/living room-esque area and it’s combination of abomination and oracle decor. also the blight family portrait.

i could talk about alador and odalia and their relationship dynamic here, when luz is meeting with them, but i think it’s best to save for the end, but i will say i don’t think it’s just odalia controlling everything (though she does control a lot) and alador just suffering and being silent. 

the more i stare at odalia’s hair the more i feel like she has an odd receding hairline

love that the abomination kept the cat shape luz gave it and that amity knew immediately from that

WILLOW’S DADS!!! I LOVE THEM! I love how much they want their daughter to have a great education even if they have to be the ones to do it! (even if it could come across as a little intense) Although, the fact that they’re prepared to teach plant magic to her makes me question why they put her in abominations once again. (wish we could’ve gotten a glimpse of their coven marks!)

odalia is definitely the one who handles more of the parenting and alador is more distant. at least that’s what i get based on the twins specifying to amity not to tell their mom specifically

absolutely insane that odalia is just letting the abomiton destroy the whole place to kill a child

“stay away from my luz!” oh my god,ohmy GOD 

i like how lilith can’t tell if these are normal noises or distress ones. really sums up life in the owl house. also lilith? kicking doors in?? this combined with “I AM A WITCH, UNHINGED” tells me she’ll be as chaotic as the rest of the owl house in no time and i am here for it.

the music when amity jumps in to protect luz is absolutely killing it here i need a soundtrack now

YES AMITY DESTROY THE NECKLACE (and oh god please don’t let odalia give you something even harder to remove or destroy)

Luz is blushing!! The feelings are starting to be returned!!!

“Luz, Willow, and Gus are my friends!” love it. love the open declaration. love that she’s telling her mother off. love that i have something to check off my bingo board already.

okay, i know a lot of people have already suggested that alador is smiling here because he can tell luz and amity like each other, but i’m pretty sure it’s only because he’s noticing how much amity’s magic has grown and improved

small detail but i love the smoke from the units order sign filling the background while odalia is fuming herself

oh? alador has had the ability to tell odalia off and successfully calm her down this whole time? and chose not to use it till now? yeah he sucks too. he very clearly has a plan for amity as much as odalia does as well, but he’s much better at seeing the long-term goal

“the glyph combo, copyright me, lilith” im screaming, lilith you DORK

ok i really wish eda or lilith asked where luz had been. i’d kill for these sisters to go off about how much they hated the alador and odalia in school, as well as threaten to hurt them for hurting luz.

the statue lilith made and her reaction to the gold star she received re-emphasizes my concern about her need for approval and for an authority figure. (ok but her noise at the gold star WAS very cute tho)

alright lets get down to business on the blight parents. so far i definitely do not view their relationship as being one-sided with odalia in control. honestly, i think they do have a sense of mutual respect for the other. to me it seems like all alador really wants to do is focus on his work and nothing else, and odalia seems not only more than happy to let him do so, but willing to take care of everything else the company needs, and he seems fine with that and going along with whatever because he only has to do his part. and clearly his abomination tech combined with her showmanship/advertising (and honestly probably some oracle magic) has clearly made them successful. 

so what im saying is that i think their power in their relationship is actually pretty balanced, if it looks otherwise that’s just because that’s how they best function together, with odalia being more forward and alador being more distant, and therefore they’re very much both to blame for shitty parenting. 

also I know some people have joked about the blight family name coming from odalia (which is also a dumb joke like why is it funny if the family name comes from the woman and not the man) but anyways I definitely do think blight is aladors family name and odalia married in simply because he takes the whole blights keep up their end of the deal thing much more seriously than odalia. probably something that’s been taught to him since he was a kid yknow, whereas she was super ready to ignore it when it inconvenienced her.

as for the very final scene with them and the golden guard, i had an interpretation of it that i saw, but it seems that everyone else ive see react to it so far saw something different than me so maybe i’m just plain wrong. but like, i have this feeling that maybe the blight parents, while they do want power, might not be as aligned with the emperor and his coven as we may think?? not saying they’re good people, just that there could be more going on here. but idk, i’ve seen no one else interpret it that way yet so i won’t go off about it unless either someone wants to know more of what i thought or if i ever actually make myself get around to making a separate post about it. 

[1ddiscourseoftheday]

🥂Thurs 31 Dec ‘20🕛

Liam did a live this morning to announce that due to the continuing high level lockdown status in London he's postponing his show (originally scheduled for this Saturday) to the 9th(with rewatch available for a whole week after). He says they've prerecorded most of it but will need to push it back to get everything he wants to do done with the current restrictions, “this is the last one, the big crescendo, so I wanna make sure I get it right for you guys”. He tells us he's going to have to learn some new things so he can do more of the stuff himself, and that he already recorded himself singing FIFTY SONGS in two days and that yeah, it's going to be REALLY LONG, which is saying something cause his previous ones were already long, wow (he says we should get snacks ready and stay hydrated-- oh how the turntables, next he'll be the one asking us how we're sleeping lately!) He also says they'll release the fan voted 1D setlist soon, and that there's a special guest “who he's related to” that even his sister doesn't know who it is yet. Other things: that since you asked, in fact he hasn't been sleeping well, he's been up all night and sleeping til early afternoon lately, IDK where else to put this but btw I made a mistake yesterday, Maya did say he took the pic of her she had previously posted so never mind no shadiness there it just wasn't new, he said that doing the live shows really got him through the year he “would have gone nuts without them... maybe I did anyway though” plus they were able to take care of the crew financially for the whole year (by keeping them employed), that for his music plans for next year he's got a “new old team” to work with, and that he has no plans for NYE and do we have any ideas as he doesn't know what to do with himself. Liam sir didn't you uh have a performance for that Tik Tok thing?! Well I guess him having prerecorded as part of that marathon couple days and not ALL 50 songs being for Act4 makes sense. He also pulled a rubber band from his wrist to do a little half ponytail without seeming to even realize what a tizzy that would put the fans in, silly Liam, and as usual he says he's just spoken with Louis, that “he's always there”- AWWWW.

He's always there for a lot of people, our Lou-- sister Daisy also shares a little Louis loveliness, showing messages from him saying “so lucky to have you, miss you all the time,” and “you are so perfect both of you.” Australian comedic mathematician Adam Spencer thirst posted a Louis fanvid, Eleanor's best friend posted about their “year of dog walking,” the Wall Street Journal joins the Harry fashion discourse, writing about his “non-binary style” and comparing him to various other queer artists, and the traditional seasonal greeting harrylouyear trended. Aside from that, nothing much doing, but if you're sad about what promises to be a (so) lonely New Year's Eve for many of us, take heart, not ANYTHING would be better than quarantine. Consider for example the recently unearthed video of Harry and Taylor Swift ringing in 2013 with the most unspeakably awkward 'kiss' of all time! If that's midnight smooch #goals (I wouldn't put it like that, myself), we'll be all right getting the drinks in at home alone thank you very much.

[lukesperfectharmonyhair]

im rewatching jatp instead of studying for the 3 tests i have tomorrow and i thought i would share my thoughts and reactions with each episode so enjoy!!....

wake up

- hearing the “1, 2, 3″ at the start of the episode gives me more serotonin than my antidepressants ever will

- julie’s slippers...that’s it...that’s the thought

- that dry ass pasta the molina’s are eating for dinner??? someone needs to give my man ray some cooking tips or a cookbook... something

-the looks the boys give julie when she says it was an OLD cd she found. as if they could be old??

-the entire julie and luke kitchen scene i mean there are no words to describe how much i am in love with scene. the banter, the flirting, luke giving this girl he literally just met an actual PIECE OF HIS SOUL so she can get music back into her life. not a single time have i watched that scene and not felt my heart literally grow cause of how cute they are. 

-the entire scene when julie is singing wake up. that scene is what made me literally CRAVE watching the other episodes. like of course i was going to watch them cause i wasn’t gonna just stop watching a show after one episode, and yes the show was good already but seeing the lighting and her voice, and just everything about the scene,,,,*chef’s kiss* 

bright

-flynn drinking seven sodas....SEVEN??? i would be throwing up if i drank more than like 2 and she drank seven,,,no ma’am.

- flynn and her trumpet. talented queen

- “ i wouldn’t have given you the song if i didnt think you were gonna rock it.” lmaooo im crying:)

- i start tearing up every time julie goes to play the first notes of bright,,, and then i’m full on bawling when the guys come in and play with her cause...they weren’t playing to be seen they were playing to be there for her and play to comfort her. pls i love them<3

- nick vibing in the front row

- the tech guy deserves so much more praise

flying solo

- reggie’s little butt shake or whatever you wanna call it!!

- julie’s little laugh when she yells at the guys to stop it

- “and we’re on the runway again” GENUINELY one of my favorite lines of the whole show pls i love luke’s humor

-this is the first time i noticed this but reggie’s face after alex says “DONT TELL ME HOW TO GHOST!”

-WILLIE!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LOVE YOU<3333333

-the slow mo helmet take off,,,,me too alex me too

-willie’s little giggles:))))

- “oh-oh!”

- “no clue” alex i love you baby<3

- next season better give us a scene of flynn throwing eggs at someone’s house because i think it’s safe to say we were robbed of that experience. 

- the flying solo performance is just amazing

i got the music

- just the whole opening scene is so cute ....the dancing, singing, happiness RADIATING from julie 

-nick in an all white suit and fedora

-WILLEX MUSEUM DATE YEAH BABYYYYY

- carefree skateboarder bf and anxiety ridden drummer bf

- yelling. in. museums. 

-alex thinking he’s literally dying again because of the salt... zero braincells in this band.

- another scene we were robbed of that i need to see in season 2...reggie singing “home is where my horse is” while alex and julie sit patiently and attentively listen to him but luke looks like he’s about to commit murder

- i get SO MUCH second hand embarrassment for julie when she looks through luke’s songbook and says “ wow luke I didn’t know you were such a romantic” julie baby i love you but...eekkkkk

- “he looks like a substitute teacher”- where did he come up with that like so many other things he could be compared to but a substitute teacher??

- “luke introduced you to rock” heck yeah it did.. literal soulmates

- would like to see a picture of the raccoon in Flynn’s backyard

- wee woo wee woo police sirens://///

- julie’s outfit ughhhh i love it

- the poster that im pretty sure says “sexiest role” behind caleb... why was that necessary 

the other side of hollywood

- THE ENTIRE PERFORMANCE OF THE OTHER SIDE OF HOLLYWOOD 

- i lose my absolute shit over this song omg literal chills

- the cape grab i cannot physically do this rn

- willie being so excited the entire performance and looking over to see alex’s reaction

- reggie being in awe everytime one of the girls performing does something.. me too reggie

-”well i wouldn't really call it mAAgiCcCC bUT”

- nick and his fedora again

- alex has a crush, alex has a crush on.....WILLIE

-the boys eating food for the first time in 25 years is honestly so realistic

-alex shoving a whole slice of pizza in his mouth

- lukes ‘OH MY GODDDDD’

- reggie kissing his meatball sub that looks painfully dry but also delicious 

- the continuation of the other side of hollywood performance and everyone dancing

-reggie imitating caleb’s evil laugh and owen trying so hard not to break

-me getting mad at the boys for not showing up for julie and being sad with her but at the same time i’m obviously not mad at the boys just...disappointed?? idk 

finally free

- how did julie get to the school if she missed the first three classes?? wasn’t she still at flynn’s house from the night before cause she slept over so did she walk to school or was she just sitting in flynn’s house by herself and one of flynn’s parents was like you gonna go to school or???

-dance class with nicky poo<3

-reggie fixing his amp in the rain

-julie’s blue dress outfit in this episode is my ABSOLUTE favorite 

- the birthday candle scene makes me sob like a little baby,,,and rightfully so

- julie smart, smart to be taking calculus as what a sophomore??

- all eyes on me yes queen iconic

- alex dancing is how i dance in my brain whenever the song comes on 

- finally free as a song is NEVER given enough credit and why not?? it’s my favorite song they do as a band AND the madison’s vocals and the echoing part omg i loveeeee

- and the whole performance with luke’s heart eyes. i count this performance as the moment luke like fell in love with julie...like full on just blown away with how much awe and admiration he has for her in that moment and all the time.

 - julie and luke singing “and you’re a part of me” while staring directly into each others soul,,,yeah that’s love kids

edge of great

- carlos being the ghost hunter he is and tía being done with him

- luke’s pouting face 

- reggie and ray making breakfast together is so wholesome. reggie really loves and seeks comfort in ray and i love that

- luke just waiting next to julie’s locker and his little “hey”

- the first time i watch this scene i thought charlie was from new york cause of the way he says “ i can't do this without you” and then i watched the cast interviews and just realized he is somewhat joey tribbiani 

- jealous luke hehehehehhehehe

- “well dont you look shARrP”- yes he does luke thank you very much

- “uh oh i think someone has a crush on julie” yeah you do you little shit,,, now admit it to her

- the proud look on luke’s face when he realizes julie is still paying attention to HIM even though she’s supposed to be having a full on conversation with nick

- the shoulder push ( as someone who has had their own shoulder pushed in the middle of a high school hallway as a weird way of flirting,,,,i can definitely somewhat attest to how luke is feeling in that moment and i too continued to flirt with the person who shoulder shoved me while we were still standing in the hallway)

- the flow from whatever the hell dance nick and julie are doing and the perfect harmony dance is so special to me and i love it

-ADOANCLOBNAOVBCOAB THE HAIR PLSSSSS

- EVERYTIME THE SCENE COMES ON AND I SEE HIM WALKING THROUGH THE MIRROR I HAVE TO PAUSE THE SHOW FOR LIKE 10 MINUTES WHILE I DIE LAUGHING BECAUSE THE HAIR IS SO BAD EVEN THOUGH I SHOULD BE USED TO HOW IT LOOKS AFTER WATCHING THIS SHOW LITERALLY 30 TIMES

- i think people see my username and assume i like his hair in this scene but...ummm fun little fact i do not like it

- the dance is so good though ugh my babies

- the hair

- madison is gorgeous 

- another season 2 scene i need: julie teaching this dance to luke and they perform it in front of alex and reggie so they can see luke roll on the floor like that

-the hair

- the lift i loveeee

- the voices at the end of the song *chef’s kiss*

- the way julie spins out from luke and into nick omg so good

- “thAnKs pArTnER”

- luke denying his feelings for julie,,,babe pls

- the whole edge of great performance is so good and beautiful and the colors are SPECTACULAR 

-julie avoiding luke’s gaze lolz

- can't believe my mans really tried to deny he didn’t have feelings for julie like 5 hours earlier even though he’s getting upset because she hasn’t looked at him in 2 minutes

- THE. GUITAR. RIFF. SOLO.

- when i finally learn how to play the electric guitar well enough to learn the guitar solo... it’s over for everyone

-nick just came to watch the girl he likes perform not watch her flirt with a hologram plssss can we give this man a break next season.

- “we have to say goodbye to julie”- that’s literally more important to luke than not playing music anymore because julie is music to him now

unsaid emily

-already crying and the episode hasn't even started

-willex in the orpheum

- alex literally being OVER reggie

- nope too emotionally unstable to watch this scene right now

- my therapist will be hearing about this tomorrow

- show us the baby picture of luke cowards

- this is such a beautiful song that makes me cry every fucking time gosh damn it

- everytime i watch the flashback scene of luke on his bike i think of “christmas song” by phoebe bridges and i cry even more

- i tried to learn how to play this song on my electric guitar (because i dont have an acoustic guitar) and i ended up crying half way through so i do not think i will be playing it anytime soon:/

- the harmonies *chef’s kiss*

- THE POLICE LIGHTS ....i cry

- FAT tears rolling down my face

- there's literally not a moment i don’t cry during this episode

- interesting little relationship :0

- when i played percussion in 7th grade i used to lay down on the couch in the practice room at school ( which god knows what people did on that couch...ew) and stick my drumsticks up my nose too,,,, just another similarity between alex and i 

stand tall

- willie really drove a bus 200 miles into the desert for his crush

- WILLEX HUG 

- i love willie no last name so much,,,i just wanna hold and protect him

- alex’s ballerina dance

-julie’s overall outfit i love<3

- “im swimming”

- the way carlos hangs up the iPad on tía makes me CRACK UP he’s just lmao bye girl

- another julie outfit i love

- “anything julie. you know that.” AHHHHHAASIDSJFPACISN love bitches

- the suits

- luke’s hair in this episode is so much better than the perfect harmony hair pls

- YOU GOT NOTHING TO LOSE

- the way luke looks so restricted and confined in his suit... but at the same time he looks like a 10 week old puppy

-luke’s AGGRESSIVE but small foot tapping leading up to being on the stage

- the solos:)))))

- crying again over julie’s monologue to her mom

- julie really was brave enough to be ready to perform by herself

-the way Trevor looks at carrie when she says “been here before”

-ALEXXXXXX

-REGGIEEEEE

-luuukkKKKEEEEEEE

- this performance makes me cry

- especially the first time when i saw luke flickering...sobs

- he finally looks free in his suit:))

- alex’s solo is so pretty i love him

- reggie’s solo too 

- nick just straight up vibing the entire performance

- alex and luke holding hands...hehehe cute besties

- “thank you, guys” NO THANK YOU 

- the way julie begs for them to do something about the jolts for HER cause she knows luke would never say no to her

- “no music is worth making, julie, if we’re not making it with you,” I JUST SCREAMED AND IM PRETTY SURE I WOKE UP MY ENTIRE HOUSEHOLD...whoops

- going back to that line i could say so much about it but....for someone who’s life was literally MUSIC for the 17 years he was alive, and after finding out he could play music again even though he was dead and saying it made him feel alive, he would give that up- he would give up playing his guitar, playing in a band with his friends, give up writing and singing music- if he wasn’t doing that with julie. that’s more than saying i love you,,,that’s literally like saying i’d give up my ENTIRE LIFE and what i love to do if i dont get to do it with you

- i just made myself cry with that description...wow

-the hug<3

-also imagine how luke felt in that moment,,, hearing this girl, once again that he would give his life up for, saying in his ear that she loves them. i would motherfucking glow too, luke

- *passionately but gently holds each others faces*

-HANDS OFF MY BABY NICK, CALEB

- caleb’s outfit is....something

- the head turn plssss

this was so long and i am so sorry but if you read this far.....leave some of your own reactions or thoughts:)))

k goodnight im gonna, ugh, finally go study ://

[incorrectsnkships]

OKAY OKAY OKAY! I CAME TO THIS CONCLUSION LAST FUCKING NIGHT! CONNIE THE MOTHERFUCKING SPRINGER IS GAY!

So at first I just thought he was a really confident and comfortable heterosexual, y'know? BUT NOW! NOW!? oh no, no, no!

Reason numbrero uno! He has feminine hips. Straight boys don't strut like that, straight boys don't fucking be flexible like that.

Reason numbrero duex! He says bitch waaay to much. So if you don't know the history of the word bitch, bitch was also used a a gay slur for y'know twinks. You don't see Jean or Levi OR EVEN EREN going around going bitch, bitch, bitch, fucking crazy bitches. Sure maybe once in awhile, but Connie use it like a sister y'know?

Reason numbrero drei! Look at who the fucking hell he's hanging 'round with! Ymir; the fucking bitch lesbian. Christa/Historia; the lesbian or bi girl dude. He's the fucking second lesbian protector (next to Eren). You see that gay ass gay homie grab in like what season 3? Or was it 2? He's friends with Sasha, who does she hang out with most of the time!? Ymir and Historia! Sometimes Jean and Mikasa. Speaking of Jean, he ain't sleek either! Connie hanging 'round with a fucking bi-saster a bi disaster! Not to mention Reiner and Armin! We see him worry about Reiner and Bertholdt when they “missing” asking someone to check on them to see if there alive! Man looking out for his gay homies! Also in one of the games he asks Armin why he spends so much time with Eren, to which Armin shoots back with one of the most gay awakening responses, “Hm well what about Ymir and Historia, or Reiner and Bertholdt?” Like yo.

Reason numbrero shi! He mom picks out gay ass fucking names! Sunny, Martin, Connie. Fucking gay dude. (everyone seems to think Sunny is a girl but judging by there titans I actually think Sunny was a boy dude. That’s just a hunch tho~)

Reason numbrero five! He seems like the kinda guy who would wear jewelry. Not really necessarily gay BUt~ I think earrings would so be he thing, and if he we’re to come out he’d probably start wearing one earring!

Reason numbrero six! Look at the kind of shit this man does! He fucking carried Armin princess style, put him down like a prince, bruh he fucking CHOSE to he CHOSE to. He knew what he was doing. And that one official art where he’s wearing that blonde lopsided wig with makeup on. That dress with the fake boobs in it!

Reason numbrero 7! My mama always say, that if a boy is best friends with a girl he will almost always usually fall for her. Connie is close as HELL with Sasha. And while I LOVE springles. This know discovery is D A W N I N G on me! Connie don’t really seem to show that much interest in women. But not necessarily to men either. And that factor being. I think bby Connie is shy!

Overall I think he’s a great fucking character! I love Connie, but this just made me open a whole new chapter for him. I’m currently rewatching AOT with my mom ‘cause she done wanted to watch it and I couldn’t let her watch that cringey dub so yee. I’ll be paying attention for other Easter eggs and clues. I never researched Connie to much but now that I have I’m made some pretty interesting discoveries! In conclusion Connie Springer is probably fucking gay. SO in other words you were RIGHT! ATTACK ON TITAN IS FUCKING GAY! 😍

( j u s t l i k e m e l o l )

srry for the late reply, but you’ve actually convinced me

mans comes across heterosexual but he definitely had a crush on every single male member of the 104th. literally every one. and like many others, one of the older scouts was his gay awakening. and im not saying that connie had a crush on them or anything, and this is definitely not a ship post between connie and any adult in the show, but im just saying that he admired them. a lot. too much. and had to look away when they got changed in front of him.

“connie why do you offer to go kill titans with captain levi whenever we have a mission?”

“i admire his skills!”

“connie, you do realise that erwin doesn’t have time to have tea with you right?”

“no i know i just wanted to talk about stuff with him. professional stuff. as a soldier.”

“connie, you know that moblit doesn’t need an assistant right? he is the assistant”

“WELL SUE ME FOR WANTING TO BE HELPFUL JEAN-“

he’d simp for armin so hard. every week he has a crush on someone new, and then it goes in a loop. and he’d “practice” kissing too. like he’d occasionally bring the topic up in conversation and then go from there based off of the persons reply. “hey uh, jean, so like- have you had your first kiss yet?” and then jean would tell him no and connie would go full internal gay panic. “o- oh yeah, thas- thas cool, um, well, i havent- had mine either so like- would you wanna practice? it doesn’t count-“

connie would have his first everything with jean and it would be so funny because it just happens all at once. like hed get asked if hes ever kissed someone and hed just glare at jean and be so flustered

connie finds it so difficult to tell romantic and platonic feelings apart and thats why hes fallen for all of his friends

armin: oh, connie, thanks for doing that favour for me! i dont know what id do without you!

eren: wait! hurry, where do they keep the extra blades?!

connie: in the cellar!

eren: great- connie, i love you!

marco: see connie? if you just fold the paper a little more, youll get there :) youre a pleasure to teach and i love spending time with you :)

also why do i feel like connie and marco dated for a little while? not even dated then, had a thing going on for a bit. like besides from jean because he doesnt count, but connies first romantic encounter was with marco, fight me

and i definitely feel like connie went to hange for some advice about his sexuality. he was so confused and liking everyone at the same time, so who else better to go to than the person who tried to convince erwin to start an lgbtq+ youth club right?

but when eren and armin announced that they were officially dating, that was an eye opener for connie and it made him realise that its okay to be yourself

and it took him a while to actually realise that he was gay. hence the fact that hed physically gag whenever someone suggested for him to date sasha, and all those times in the boys changing room that hed have to turn around or leave completely

so yes, i can see where youre coming from, and i agree with you. but if we were to list the people connie has simped for from most-least?

marco

armin

jean

eren

levi (not really simping, more fanboying/celebrity crush)

reiner

moblit (same as levi)

bertholdt