#i think it was a really rushed redemption but holy shit

[hobartsaglet]

PEOPLE WHO HAVE SEEN ALL OF POLDARK:

s5 George Warleggan huh

[hbyrde36]

Times Like These (The Anniversary Edition)

Chapter 1

Chapter 2: Hold Your Peace

WC: 4695 | AO3 link

“Are you sure you have it?”

At the sound of Chrissy’s voice Eddie’s eyes snapped open, though he didn’t exactly remember closing them. For some reason he was a bit more disoriented this time when he–

…This time?

There she stood in the middle of the room again. Chrissy—alive, and breathing, and beautiful, and…

Holy shit!

Was this really happening again? 

Had he, despite his own stupidity, earned another chance at redemption?  

In an instant he was across the room, placing gentle hands on either side of her face. She blinked up at him, eyes wide, too surprised at the gesture to move away. Eddie knew he only had a few precious moments until Vecna would take her again. There was no time to explain anything, but he had to ask the one simple question that’d been plaguing him since the beginning of the last loop.

The last loop. 

Jesus, he was really buying into this thing wasn’t he. Hard to deny it when the proof was standing right in front of him.  

“I’m so sorry, sweetheart, and I know this isn’t gonna make any sense right now, but I need you to humor me, okay? Can you tell me your favorite song? Please?” 

He wasn’t above begging. At this point he would do just about anything to not have to watch this poor girl die again in the most awful way imaginable. 

“Oh!” Chrissy squeaked, furrowing her brow and sputtering for a moment before answering, “We Belong? By P-P- Pat Benatar?”

She said it like a question, as if she were unsure that it was the right answer, but Eddie knew it had more to do with the odd circumstances of the situation at hand.

He smiled broadly, pleasantly surprised at the answer—surprised to have gotten an answer at all, really. He stroked a thumb across her cheek once, still in a bit of disbelief that she was real, and let his hands fall. 

“Pat Benatar, huh?” He said, raising an eyebrow.

He nodded to himself, already thinking furiously about how he was going to pull this off.  "Okay, yeah, I can work with that. Stay here, I’ll be right back.”

Eddie bounded to his bedroom, bypassing the black and red Warlock hanging from its place of honor on the wall, and instead grabbed for his old acoustic guitar that was sitting in the corner collecting dust. 

He rushed back out, unsurprised to find Chrissy already in the enemy’s thrall. As her feet slowly lifted off the ground he did his best to recall the song. It still played on the radio all the time but Pop-Rock wasn’t exactly his style, and he had a habit of switching stations whenever the ballad came on. He hummed out what little he could remember and strummed a few chords to get a feel for the notes, working in the few lyrics he knew as he tried to muddle through his own uniquely awful rendition of the song. 

He faltered for a second, almost dropping the guitar as her first limb bent back with an audible crack. He choked on a sob, but did his best to continue to sing and play through his tears and the tightening of his throat. 

It wasn’t working. He knew it wasn’t working but still he kept on. It was the only help he had to offer now, and on the off chance that she could hear him, he hoped it would give her some comfort to know she wasn’t alone in her last terrifying moments.

He didn’t stop until her lifeless body fell, landing hard on the carpet in front of him.

Eddie screamed his frustration wordlessly as he knelt down beside what was left of Chrissy Cunningham. A girl he had barely known, who he hadn’t shared more than two words with before all this shit started, but who he would give anything to be able to save. 

She’d done nothing wrong. She deserved to live, and selfishly he yearned for the opportunity to get to know her. They hadn’t shared much, a brief conversation at the picnic table that had mostly consisted of him goofing around to try and make her smile—to cheer her up because it’d been obvious to him right away that she was struggling with something. He thought they could be friends, given the opportunity. The Freak and The Cheerleader, weirder things had happened.  

“God.” Eddie gasped, gripping onto her hand that was already growing cold. “I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry I didn’t do better. I… “ He trailed off, letting her hand go as he rose stiffly to his feet, rubbing aggressively at the wetness on his face.  

“Next time, I- I’ll learn the song if it kills me.” He let out a wry laugh at himself and the irony of his choice of phrase, looking back at her one last time before walking out the door. 

-

He’d promised Dustin that he would tell him as soon as possible about the loops, and briefly Eddie considered heading straight to the kid’s house. But, it was getting late. He didn’t want to scare Henderson’s mom, and truth be told he needed a little time to get his shit together anyway. 

Might as well let the little guy get one last good night’s sleep in before all hell broke loose.  

Eddie parked his van in the woods and walked the short distance from its hiding spot to Rick’s house, just as he had twice over, using the key under the mat to get inside. He knew he should probably get some rest himself, having not had more than a few scattered hours of sleep here and there in… christ, like two weeks now? 

Did sleep debt accumulate in a time loop or was the gauge on his fuel tank reset each time he went back? Not that it mattered, he was too keyed up and nervous about how in the hell he was going to explain all this to everyone tomorrow to sleep.  

Instead he tore through the drawers in Rick’s kitchen until he found a notebook and a pen, and spent the rest of the night writing down every single detail he could remember about what had happened, or would happen, over the next few days—committing it all to paper in case his nerves got the best of him and he forgot something important. 

At dawn he reluctantly moved to the boathouse. From all his time spent here so far he knew it was unlikely that anyone would notice him sneaking around, at least not until Jason and his goons showed up, but at this point he was running on autopilot and figured, better safe than sorry. 

Eddie paced inside the small shack restlessly until finally he heard them, voices outside, Dustin, Steve, and the others calling his name. This time when they approached the door he didn’t hide, he called out, “yeah, Henderson. It’s me… uh, come on in.”

Dustin barged right in at his reply, but was quickly pushed aside by Steve, moving past to get between him and Eddie. Max and Robin eased in behind them and closed the door.

Steve eyed him warily, taking on a protective stance, and Eddie couldn’t really blame the guy.

He also knew exactly how fucked up this was about to get, so he took a big step back and raised his hands, wiggling his fingers to show they were empty. No reason to make Steve more skittish than he already was. “See, Harrington? I’m unarmed.”

“I told you.” Dustin grumbled as he muscled his way past Steve, walking right up to Eddie and throwing his arms around him without hesitation.

It knocked the wind out of him in more ways than one. 

Eddie was a touchy guy by nature, always ruffling his friends’ hair, or throwing an arm over their shoulders, and it wasn’t like Dustin hadn’t hugged him before, but somehow this felt different.

He hadn’t even explained himself yet. Dustin had absolutely no proof of his innocence and yet here the kid was gripping him tight, face buried in his chest as he mumbled something that sounded like, “I’m so glad we found you, I know you didn’t do it.” 

There was also the fact that he’d died in this kid’s arms twice now, and Eddie was pretty sure he’d be hearing those heartbreaking cries in his dreams for the rest of his life, however long that might be. 

Eddie slowly lowered his hands as he kept eye contact with Steve, trying to convey with his eyes that he was okay, that he wasn’t going to hurt anyone.

“I’m glad you found me too, buddy,” He said, smiling sadly to himself as he patted Dustin’s back.

The kid pulled away a moment later, gesturing at everyone else. “Eddie, these are my friends Steve, Robin, and Max”

“Yeah,” Eddie snorted. It was funny enough to ease a bit of the tightness in his chest. Even if he hadn’t been through multiple rounds of hell with these people, Dustin had to realize he never shut up about them. ”Yeah, Henderson. I know who they are.”

Steve was looking at him apprehensively still, like he might snap at any minute. He wished he knew what to say to make the guy chill out. 

“No need to look so stressed, Steve. I swear, I didn’t–” Eddie paused, swallowing past the sudden lump in his throat, voice shaking when he went on. “I didn’t kill her.”

The feelings that he’d been swallowing back all night started to bubble to the surface as he thought about Chrissy, and he honestly wasn’t sure how he was going to do this without falling apart. 

“It’s okay.” Robin said, stepping out from behind Steve for the first time and approaching him. “We just want to know what happened.”

“We want to help.” Max added.

Eddie nodded absently, clearing his throat. “I know,” he said, and couldn’t help noticing how Robin and Steve shared a confused look at that. “And I'll tell you everything, I just, uh– I need a quick word with Dustin first? Alone.”

The kid tilted his head, but shrugged and motioned to the far corner. 

Before either of them could move, however, Steve stepped between them again. “I don’t think that’s such a good idea.”

Dustin rolled his eyes. “Dude, come on! It’s fine. It’s just Eddie!”

Steve gave him an unimpressed look and assumed what Eddie had begun to think of as his– mom stance—hands on his hips accompanied by a disappointed glare. “I don’t see why he can’t say whatever it is he needs to say to you in front of all of us.”

“You’re being an asshole.” Dustin spat. “Eddie is my friend. He doesn’t know you, and maybe there’s something he doesn’t want to share with the whole class, hmm?” 

Steve pursed his lips, his face and body language making it clear that he had no intention of budging on this. “I’m sorry. I know it might seem harsh, but it’s my responsibility to protect you and I can’t do that if he’s keeping secrets.”

Eddie sighed heavily, this whole thing was already so fucking exhausting. 

He got where Steve was coming from. To him, Eddie Munson was still nothing more than The Freak. A drug dealing super-senior who regularly stood on lunch tables to perform tirades about the dangers of conformity. He didn’t know yet that they would come to trust and rely on each other in a way neither of them would have ever expected, Or, how Eddie had, against his better judgment, jumped into Lover’s Lake and helped save him from a swarm of Demobats– twice. Steve couldn’t know that they bonded a little when they were stuck in that awful place, or that before he died, Eddie had started to consider them friends.

He understood all of that, but it still sucked. 

“Fine, we’ll do it your way.” Eddie said, and plopped himself down on the floor. He was too tired to do this shit standing up.  

The others joined him, sitting in some semblance of a circle as Eddie began his tale. 

He started off easy, matter-of-factly telling the same old story about Chrissy approaching him to buy drugs, and how he hadn’t had what she was looking for on him, so they made arrangements to meet later after the game. He detailed most of what happened at the trailer, keeping the part about trying to play the song for her to himself for now. 

The silence was thick when he was done, and Eddie let it settle around him for a moment as he prepared for what he needed to say next. He saw Dustin open his mouth to speak and it gave him an idea about how to convince them of the truth.

“I know what you’re going to say,” Eddie said quickly, before the kid could get a word out.

“You really don’t. Look, you know how–”

Eddie cut him off. “Actually, uh, I do. Fuck… “ He trailed off and took a deep breath. “This is gonna be, like, really hard to believe, but I need you to let me say it– all of it, before you ask any questions. Okay?”

The foursome all turned, looking away from him for the first time since he’d started talking, to share a loaded look with each other. Eddie, on the other hand, only had eyes for Steve, knowing it was his approval he needed. That he would likely be the hardest to convince.  

“Okay.” Steve said with a little nod. 

Eddie dropped his eyes to the floor and let it all out in a rush. “I know all about the Upside Down. I know Will Byers was taken by a demogorgon in ‘83. I know about the mind flayer and Billy Hargrove, and that …something happened with Steve and Robin involving some Russians at the mall. Though honestly, I’m still waiting to get more details on that one.” He paused briefly, chancing a look up to see how everyone was taking his little monologue. 

“I know all these things because you told me, before.”

Steve looked absolutely livid, but the fire in his eyes wasn’t aimed at Eddie, it was Dustin he was staring daggers at. 

“Damnit, Henderson!” Steve shouted, running a hand through his hair roughly. “I can’t believe you told him all that stuff, man! You know we can’t do that! Think of the danger you put yourself in by blabbing, not to mention the danger you put Eddie in by telling him! I mean, shit! Did you not stop to consider what sort of threats were included in those NDAs we all signed?”

Eddie was more than a little taken aback by Steve’s apparent worry for his safety. 

“I’m touched by the concern, Harrington. Really I am, but Henderson didn’t tell me all that stuff until I was already involved. You all told me things.” Eddie hesitated, raking a hand down his face. This was getting messy, he needed to just spit it out. “I… I’m stuck in a time loop. I’ve lived last night and the next few days twice over now. This is my third go-around.”

He slipped the little notebook that he’d filled from cover to cover out of his pocket, and tossed it to Dustin, who caught it clumsily.

“When I got here last night, I wrote it all down. Everything that’s going to happen. Well, the stuff I was there for at least.” Eddie chewed nervously on his thumbnail, darting his gaze to each of them in turn and taking in their disbelieving looks.

“I know this is crazy, and you probably don’t believe me, but I swear it’s the truth. I didn’t tell anyone last time until near the end because–” He stopped abruptly, blowing out a long breath. If he told them what he’d really thought they’d think he was certifiable for sure. “Because, I honestly wasn’t sure what the hell was going on. I told you, Dustin, at the last minute and you made me promise to tell you again as soon as possible if I got another chance. So here I am, telling you.”

A long moment went by where no one spoke, and Eddie was sure that he had botched this whole thing. There was no way they believed him. He still had Henderson’s family secret in his back pocket, and he’d pull it out if he had to, but not in front of all of them.

“What resets the loop, Eddie?” Dustin asked suddenly—quietly, a slight quiver to his voice. 

Eddie looked the kid in the eye and knew without a doubt that not only did he believe him about the loops, but he had already done the math, figured out the catch. Too smart for his own good sometimes, really, but in this case it was almost a relief. As much as he would have liked to protect Dustin from this particular truth, there was no way around it. 

“I died.” Eddie said, eyes falling once again to the floor, unable to face Dustin as he confirmed his suspicion. 

“We go into the Upside Down to fight the bad guy, and I die. Then, I open my eyes and I’m back in my trailer, minutes before Chrissy gets attacked.”

Dustin said nothing else in response, quiet in a way Eddie had never seen. Max and Robin just looked like they wanted to throw up, and Steve looked skeptical, obviously gearing up to argue, or at the very least ask some follow up questions. Which was fair, he supposed.

Before Steve could so much as open his mouth though, Dustin shoved the notebook in his face.

“You read it first, Steve. Just give him a chance.”

“Fine.” Steve said, snatching the book out of Dustin’s hands and cracking it open, taking one last hard look at Eddie before starting to read through it. 

As Steve read, Eddie could almost see the animosity draining out of him. The scowl that had been stuck on his face since arrival smoothed out into a concerned frown, and worry lines appeared at the corner of his eyes. It was a good sign, but as the other boy turned the final page, an awful thought occurred to Eddie, and he realized he’d made a huge mistake. 

“Wait. Steve, stop. I think I fucked up here.” Eddie said, wringing his hands. “I shouldn’t–I shouldn’t have told you any of this. Not yet.”

“Wait, what?!” Dustin shouted. 

“Why?” Steve asked.

“I swore to Chrissy that I would save her, I have to go back. I have to–” He cut himself off leaving the word unsaid. “I shouldn't have burdened you all with this shit, not when I knew I had to do it all over again. I just… I wasn’t thinking. I promised Dustin right as–”

Steve cut him off mid-spiral, scooting across the floor to sit in front of him. 

“Eddie, man. Listen, I understand, believe me I do.” Steve paused, fidgeting with the notebook with one hand while reaching out with the other to place it tentatively on Eddie’s shoulder, and even through all his layers of clothes he could feel the other boy's warmth sink into him.

“You said you know about what happened to Will in ‘83, but what you might not know is… that same year Nancy’s friend Barb was also taken by a Demogorgon. She– died in my pool, the Upside Down version of it anyway. She died on my watch and-” Steve hesitated, taking a deep breath before going on. 

“I get the kind of guilt you must be feeling right now, okay? I lived it– am still living it, but if we have the chance to save you and kill whoever this Vecna creep is? We should take it. What if this loop thing has a limit? What if this time you don’t get to come back? Do you know what that would do to us when we’ll know we could have saved you?!”

Eddie couldn’t help feeling a certain way about Steve sharing that with him. In all the days, and repeats of days, that they’d spent together so far, it was the first time the other boy had told him that story. 

“I get what you’re saying, Steve. Shit, it’s pretty much the same thing I'm trying to say. I'm sorry that happened to you, but tell me something, and be honest. If you had even the slightest chance to go back and save Barb, even at your own risk, wouldn’t you take it?”

Steve’s eyes, which had hardened again in frustration by the end of his own speech, softened as he took in Eddie’s words. He gave a single reluctant nod of agreement and squeezed his shoulder before letting go. Eddie missed the contact immediately. 

“But you can’t! That’s like, suicide!” Dustin screeched, probably feeling a little, or a lot betrayed by Steve taking his side. 

“Not if I plan on coming back it's not. Sorry, Henderson, I know you don’t like it, but this is my choice, alright? I’m not leaving Chrissy behind. End of story.”

“B-b- but...” the kid sputtered.

“Stop.” Steve cut in. “He’s right, Dustin. I hate it, but it’s his decision. This thing is happening to him, and even if we want to help, we have to respect that and hope we get another do-over.” Steve sighed, turning his attention back to Eddie.

“So, how do you wanna do this?” He asked, looking deep into his eyes, the air between them suddenly impossibly heavy. 

Because Steve knew what was coming now. 

He’d just finished reading about all the fucked up shit that was about to happen and now he was looking to Eddie for direction. Jesus H. Christ, he was really regretting not thinking this through, because the only answer he had was to do nothing… keep everything the same to make sure that the outcome was the same, and that meant putting them all through the ringer. It meant Steve getting hurt, nearly drowning, nearly dying– again.  

“I know it’s not fair to ask this, now that you’ve read that.” Eddie said, gesturing at the little notebook still resting in Steve's hand. “but I think the best thing to do– the only thing to do, is to let things happen the way they have been for now. Not tell the others, keep it between the five of us.”

“I’ve been through worse.” Steve shrugged, seemingly unbothered save for a tightness around his eyes that Eddie might have missed if he wasn’t paying attention. 

“Besides, if it works we won’t remember any of it anyway, right?” He continued. “And then we can finish this for good. You save Chrissy, and we’ll save you.”

“If you're sure.” Eddie said, offering him an out. If Steve really didn't want to do this he wouldn’t force him, he could always try and find another way to… cause the reset.

“Yeah, I'm sure.”

-

Dustin continued to argue with both of them for a while, but now that Steve was on his side Eddie knew that was it. Eventually the kid quieted down, accepting the fact that he wasn’t going to change anyone’s mind. 

As the others prepared to leave, knowing they needed to find Nancy and Lucas to let them know the Upside Down was back, and maybe try calling the Byers in California, Steve lagged behind, using giving the notebook back to Eddie as an excuse. 

“Do you need anything?”

“Might be a long shot, but could you get me a walkman and a Pat Benatar tape?”

Steve pursed his lips, thinking, but it only took him a moment to put it together.

“Chrissy’s favorite song?” He asked.

“Yeah. I went into it this time knowing I had a second with her before the attack, so I asked. I did try—to play it for her, I mean. I didn’t have the tape, it’s not exactly my type of music, y’know? I'd heard the song once or twice though, so I gave it a go on my guitar, but it wasn’t good enough.”

Steve gave him a small sympathetic smile. “Robin likes Pat Benatar too, and I actually have a few of her tapes in the car. Headphones too, but how will that help? You won’t still have it with you after–”

“No, but I learn a lot of songs by ear. if I listen to it over and over again now while I can, when the loop restarts I should be able to play it for her, get her out like you’ll do for Red.”

Steve raised his eyebrows and actually looked a little impressed. “You’re-” He cut himself off, as if changing what he was about to say at the last second. “You’re not anything like I thought you’d be.”

Eddie let out his first genuine laugh in far too long. It looked like they'd be doing the same song and dance every time. Of all the things he had to repeat, getting to know the real Steve was the one thing he didn’t mind. 

“Right back at ya big boy.” Eddie said, throwing Steve a wink before he went back out to his car.

-

Eddie listened to the song dozens of times over the following days, concentrating on learning every single word and note as a distraction from everything else that was happening around him. 

He was worried at first, when he was finally brought into the fold with the others who weren’t privy to the conversation in the boathouse. But Steve was true to his word. Neither he or Dustin, Robin, or Max, said anything about Eddie’s predicament, and he never once complained or so much as gave Eddie a dirty look, even when he was grabbed by those vines and dragged through the lake, down and out the other side. He did catch Dustin giving him a few sideways looks here and there, but the kid said nothing. 

Eddie was grateful for that. He didn’t exactly want to die. He certainly wasn’t looking forward to feeling the bats gnawing on his skin again, and he didn't need any outside influence making him lose his nerve when they were so close to the end.  

When the time came, Eddie considered not cutting the rope. It wasn't like it stopped Dustin the first or second time, not to mention that he hurt his leg dropping down from the hole without it, but what if that small delay was the only thing that kept the kid safe? It wasn’t worth it, just in case. If something went wrong he could live with, or rather, die with knowing Dustin would suffer only a sprained ankle and not something worse. 

It was a bit more difficult this time to find the will to fight so hard against the oncoming hoard, when all he wanted was for it to be over so he could see if the third time would be the charm, but he was too worried that any deviation from what he knew would change things. Maybe he had to die in just the right place, at just the right time, to set things in motion to send him back.

So he ran, and he fought, and he bled, and found that the pain didn’t bother him quite so much anymore. He was getting used to it. 

It might have been his imagination but Dustin’s limp looked more pronounced this time as he approached Eddie’s broken body. He felt horrible for causing this kid, his friend, so much suffering.

Dustin fell to his knees next to Eddie and began to sob uncontrollably, and for the millionth time Eddie wished he could somehow spare him this. He could only hope that the loop would start over again and no one but him would have to remember.

“Don’t cry, buddy. Please.” Eddie forced out around the blood filling his mouth. “I’m gonna fix it.” He coughed, struggling to take his final breaths.

“I love you, man.” Eddie said. 

Dustin bowed his head. “I love you too.”

Chapter 3

Thanks to @penny00dreadful for being the best beta, friend and cheerleader.

Reblogs are always appreciated and if you want to be tagged, just let me know! I'd be more than happy to do so 💜

Taglist: @hitlikehammers @pearynice @cranberrymoons @thoroughlycollected @blubblesandink @finntheehumaneater @brbsoulnomming @estrellami-1 @hellion-child @mentallyundone @manda-panda-monium @spicysix @kikidoesfanfic @dreamwatch @lawrencebshoggoth @stillfullofshit

[traintomoon]

BIRTHDAY REDEMPTION

summary: where tangerine finds himself at your door, with an apology and some other unintended confessions.

In the dimly lit room, Tangerine and Lemon meticulously scrubbed away any traces of their misdeeds. In a rather odd nature, the music blasting from the radio made the scene unserious. Tangerine sighed, holding the bloody mop in his hands. The floor looked decent now after hours of scrubbing. But the heaviness of metal sat solid in air.

Lemon looked up with a different look in his gaze. "Oi, it was y/n's birthday a few days back. We completely missed it."

Tangerine, usually unflappable, froze for a moment, his expression revealing a rare vulnerability. The look of your face flashed in his eyes, making the knot in his stomach tighter. "What? Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

Lemon, scrubbing harder as if trying to cleanse more than just the crime scene, continued cautiously. "Didn't think it was a big deal to you, mate. But I've seen the way you look at her. You might wanna make it right."

A wave of guilt washed over Tangerine's face. Without another word, he abandoned the job and dashed out, driven by a sudden urgency to make amends. The cold exterior that usually surrounded him melted away as he raced to your place, his embarrassment outweighing any lingering reluctance.

You hadn't thought much about your coworkers missing your birthday. You had eaten a cupcake after long works of stalking people suspected of smuggling drugs. You had thought of Tangerine and Lemon while blowing out the single candle too, but you won't accept it. Not even in your deepest emotions.

Just as you were preparing to get some sleep, there were loud knocks on your door. You were annoyed at the clamour. You tied a robe around your waist, cursing at the uninvited guest.

"I'm not fucking deaf. Holy shit."

The door creaked open, revealing Tangerine standing there, disheveled. He looked like he had abandoned a war to get there.

"Tangerine? What's... what's going on?"

His gaze briefly met yours, and for a moment, you saw vulnerability in his eyes—something you hadn't witnessed before. He shifted uncomfortably.

"What the fuck am I doing? I must have lost my fucking brain." Tangerine muttered under his breath.

"Tan, what's going on?"

The man in front of you took a deep breath, gathering his composure back. "Oi, listen here, I'm sorry. Forgot your bloody birthday. My bad, love."

Confusion mingled with amusement as you processed his unexpected admission. Tangerine, the enigmatic figure with a guarded demeanor, was standing on your doorstep, practically unraveling. The same person who didn't blink when you got shot in the leg last year.

"Are you sick? You came all the way here to say this? I appreciate it, Tan. But it's just a stupid birthday."

The air suddenly was filled with tension you didn't expect to feel.

"Look. I care about my apology because we work the kind of job that doesn't guarantee the security of life." If the lights were dim, you wouldn't have witnessed a small blooming colour cover Tangerine's cheeks.

"You could've texted."

"Texted? Blimey, love, I'm more of a face-to-face bloke, ain't I?" Tangerine refused to meet your eyes. You felt like he was hiding something more. That was until you saw some blood on the side of his forehead.

"I really hope this isn't yours." You held his hand, pulling him inside, closer to you. He felt a rush of heat reach his head when you pressed your thumb on his skin, wiping away the red.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Tangerine's voice came out low. You met his eyes, something hidden flashing in them. This handsome man looked even better close up.

"You tell me. Why are you acting weird? You like me Or something?" You surprised yourself at the bravery of your questions.

Tangerine blinked, refusing to put distance between you two. He drew slightly closer. "Why? Do I need to ask your parents' permission, love?"

"No." Your eyes moved down to his lips. Your hand now rested on his chest. The thumping inside his chest vibrated against your fingertips.

"Shall I bloody kiss you then? Because this is frustrating me."

Before you could process it, Tangerine, typically a man of few words, let his actions speak. In a sudden, daring move, he cupped your face, his lips meeting yours in a feathery touch. You kissed him back, making him melt in your wordless answer.

[lolkitkatbar]

Sorry y'all but this episode was the WORST murder drones episode EVER :(

Strap in folks. This is gonna be one LONG complaint...

(Sorry for the bad screenshots. I'm so fucking tired idgaf) SPOILERS UNDERNEATH THIS LINE GIRLIE! I REPEAT! SPOILERS UNDER THIS LINE!

Okay, positives (Don't worry. There isn't much) First of all, animation is GREAT. A bit zany and exaggerated but definitely not BAD. Voice acting is great. Cyn is great, Music's good....uh, Nuzi?...yeah that's it

Okay so we start off with Copper-9 exploding and the teacher giving zero fucks. I thought that was pretty funny. Then we see Uzi in space, currently tweaking out until Nori just basically spells out how to defeat the solver. There is no realization about how they can defeat the solver, it's just given to them. And no real reunion scene with Uzi and Nori. Sure they meet each other but there is NO closure. They act like they've been together for YEARS! Why doesn't Uzi freak out about meting her mom? Why doesn't Nori freak out about seeing her daughter? Or bring up N? Or how her life is? I get we're on a time crunch but COME ON!

Then N just swoops in to save Uzi. We kinda just skip past his reaction to Uzi's sacrifice which is a disappointment. He just says that he was mad about that and that they'll talk about it later, but they never do. It's just brushed over and done with. Then the solver comes in and throws them into space and then they're falling and burning up and then Nuzi becomes officially official.

As a Nuzi shipper, I should feel happy. My favorite ship was just mentioned of course, but it feels so shoe horned in and rushed. I was hoping it would have a bigger impact but it's just shoved in there without a celebration and the abruptly ends because Uzi want to slap a demon

You might also notice that it's been four minutes and SO much is happening in such a short amount of time. This will be a problem for the ENTIRE episode

Next we cut to J, Thad, Lizzy, and Khan and holy shit I am SO upset because they do NOTHING with them in this episode! They were setting them up for a fight but now everyone is just laying on the floor and doing jack.

Also SURPRISE, J is evil! Did you want more J screentime. Did you want her to be important to the plot or even have the SMALLEST redemption arc by the end? WELL TOO BAD because J being evil is all you're getting before she's kicked into the void forever :)

V also comes back and she has befriended the sentinels. I don't think anyone really believed she died. She basically just fights J and realizes how horrible of a person she is. She then says sorry to N for lying to him and stuff. That's cool. Don't exactly have anything to say on her. She's a good part of the episode but she suffers from underutilization like the others

Something something hot drones. Something something NxUzixV canon (My Uzi's Bi headcanon is REAL! YIPPEE)

Then they have an admittedly good fight scene. I have to say tho. There are a LOT of times where it seems like the characters are actually going to die and then the story just doesn't let it happen like some twisted game of hot potato and it gets annoying after a while. (Like when Cyn pulls out their hearts and stuff)

Then N and Uzi make up a handshake mid-fight and it just...stops the momentum of the fight. IF YOU DON'T HAVE TIME TO MAKE A JOKE IN THERE THEN JUST DON'T MAKE A JOKE!

Then Uzi just...kills the solver? Or at least Cyn? Not because of something she did btw, but because Cyn went too crazy with fazing around and shit. ARE. YOU. SERIOUS! This character has been set up to be a strong a challenging foe and she just DIES because of an OOPSIE!? It's Doll's sudden death all over again but somehow WORSE. But of course we have to make Cyn's death rushed! WE ONLY HAVE 20 MINUTES IN THIS DAMN EPISODE!

And then Uzi, like, eats her heart? And then solver is just...inside her? And there's no consequences? It's just treated as a cool accessory? Holy shit this episode was rushed

Nori saves Khan from dying. I thought they were also going to have a heartfelt moment or something. All sobing. All tears. But no. For some reason Nori gets nervous about seeing her hubby again and runs off (Honestly if I was a fleshy spider heart, I would be nervous too). Then Khan calls the flesh heart hot because he's a freak

And then....that's it. They go back to the school like nothing happened. They don't really adress that the world is currently broken, or that N, V, and Uzi still got that dawg in them (Solver). They're all just like, YEP! THAT'S THE END OF THE STORY NOW!

N says that Uzi's his girlfriend, V and Lizzy are shown to be friends even tho we've only ever been TOLD that they're friends, We get a cut away to Doll's dead body that only makes me sad they didn't do more with her, and V gets turned on by N's anime drawings, the end.

Oh yeah, and there's an after credit scene of Uzi looking miserable, probably still having issues with the solver, so clearly not EVERYTHING is resolved by the end of this season. Uzi having to battle with the Solver inside her body is a cool concept and NOBODY can tell me that Liam was TOTALLY going to do another season with this premise, but then by episode 7, decided to stop mysteriously

Okay, not part of the episode but N's merch don't make no sense. V and Uzi's make sense because they have something that is related to what they did in that episode. V fought against the sentinels. Uzi got corrupted by the solver and dragged into the hole. But N's stand shows an event that happens in episode 2. Yes! EPISODE 2! At first, I was confused why this was but it's probably because unlike the other 2, N did nothing significant in this episode except get beat up and have panic attacks. (I did feel bad for and sympathized with him the whole time ngl). But I guess getting beat up and having panic attacks wouldn't make a cool stand now would it.

Yeah, all in all, I'm disappointed. So disappointed that I might just make a fanfiction rewritting episode 8 for myself and then make it canon out of spite. Honestly the lowest ranked episode for-

Wait

Hold on

CAT V PLUSH!!!!!!!!!!!????

NEVERMIND Y'ALL THIS EPISODE WAS AWESOME 10/10!!!!

[peachpopfizz]

yk the first couple of episode drops were a bit ehh to me but like.. these two just hit Right. maybe bc i knew what to expect pacing/story wise now? either way, they're def my faves so far, especially ep 5. that's my Favorite favorite :]

spoilers for both eps under the cut, mostly just me blabberin abt what i liked (warning: its alotta alastor)

for ep 5, at first i thought charlastors/radiobelles were winning (and while i don't ship it myself, i was happy for em) but then the realization of 'wait wait wait this isn't romo at all, alastors tryna be a FATHER FIGURE?!' hit instead and i went WILD bc thats 1000% my preferred dynamic for charlie and al. so uh.. yippee dadlastors, sorry charlastors..? gsjahafdaj

also the "Ha! Fuck you." im normal im normal im NORMAL im SOOOO FUCKIN NORMAL (IM CRAZY IM VRAZY I CRAZY IM CRASTY IM FUCKI)

mimzy!! (mimzie??) her intro was abrupt, but she seems like a doll, and her hug with al was real cute. tho i do think she needed that metaphorical kick in the ass abt al's thoughts when it comes to her leeching off his strength for protection. about that..

ALASTOR ACTUALLY CARES. HE CARES. (seemingly, at least). LIKE, HE ACTUALLY LEGITIMATELY, NON-FANONILY, GIVES A DAMN ABT THE HOTEL. HE WENT OUT OF THE WAY TO PROTECT THE PLACE AND TOLD MIMZY TO LEAVE IF SHE DIDN'T COME FOR REDEMPTION. MAYBE ITS IN HIS OWN WEIRD-GUARDED-PETTY WAY BUT FUCK FUCK HOOOLLLYY FUCK ALASTOR CARES

and one more thing b4 i move onto ep 6, i've already seen some ppl comparing what al did to husk in the hall to angel and val's dynamic, and while i do agree the two are both trapped in unsavory deals (loser, baby literally confirms this) i don't think al's ANYWHERE near as bad as val. was what he did fucked up? oh, yes, definitely. but it really?? shouldn't be surprising??? al's in hell ‘n has all this status for a reason, so i was really just waitin for a moment like that to happen. however, it didn't do any lasting damage. at least i really wouldn't say so. most it did was scare the shit out of husk for a minute, nowhere close to what val does to angel on the daily (see: episode 6). tho im willing to admit i might be lookin thru rose colored glasses bc i love al as a character. my opinion might change when/if the actual conditions of al and husks deal are revealed, but as of rn, i think al acted as he did there bc husk attacked a reeeally sensitive subject. he would've just been the petty bitch he always is if husk said like.. anythin else. oh and uhh yeah im abt 85% sure he and lilith have SOMETHING goin on. idk who the hell else would be powerful enough to have alastor on a leash

..oh yeah, lastly, lucifer was cool :] silly silly guy (with lotsa trauma) that hit me right in the daddy issues. funny tho, i rlly dont have much to say abt the guy despite the ep literally being focused on him. his song with charile was spectacular though, i need to listen to it on its own immediately

okokok, episode 6, finally, hopefully shorter than the mess of text above

first off. vaggie = fallen angel theorists, i would like to bow down and apologize for ever doubting you. i was one of the skeptics, i really was, but the show did it in a way that (albeit rushed, but what hasn't been so far?, thaaanks, 8-episode limit..) made it seem believable, with assdam calling her out for it..

but putting adam aside, uh, lute?? maam?? holy fuck, step on me??? please???? i mean uh. sick character design yk ahah ^^

whats her name.. emily? the younger seraphim girl, i liked her, she was a cutie. she really did just seem like heavens version of charlie. and the older seraphim woman i (expectedly) have mixed feelings abt. i feel like all would've be great it adam got outta her damn ear cause she might've actually be down to try the hotel with em gone.. angel was doing so well

speaking of angel, ANGEL!! oh lookit that character development, charlie's gonna be so fuckn proud!!! also, CHERRI!!!! saw someone else say cherris the devil on angels shoulder while husks the (heh) angel, and i have to say i agree. they both want the best for him, they just have different ways of goin about it.

unsurprisingly, fuck Valentino. although i did notice he was wearing a dress today, so. (through gritted teeth) slay.

thiiink that's all i gotta say for today?? besides the fact that next week is gonna be agonizing, ofc :] buckle up ppl we might get a genuine, emotional chaggie fight come next thursday

..oh yeah!! molly!!! we briefly saw molly!!!! i hope youre absolutely thriving girl, you deserve no less <3

[herobrinna]

ok so ive spammed my friend with toh thoughts a bit to much so time to ramble here i suppose. (sorry in advance thisll be very disjointed and go from one random point to another).

my main take away from the finale is that it felt a bit... hollow?

like dont get me wrong, the animation was so fucking good. getting more titan and collector lore was also so cool (and hellooo The Titan being such a genderqueer royal? absolutely love how natural toh rep is, like its just thrown out there and no one questions it, just how shit is, absolutely bangers- *gets shot*). and aaaa, the aged up re-designs of all the characters are so good, especially like the detail how all the hexsquad have a flapjack tattoo.

yet there are so many bits that just feel off? like they couldve been handle better (even with the cut runtime the show had).

first lets start with the Collector who just got done dirty, like their whole arc was about the fear of being alone again, yet at the end they decided to leave? just like that? like would it not make more sense for him to stay with Eda, to learn to control his powers better and make new friends. especially them leaving to "mature" or whatever doesnt really make sense, like how can they grow as a person if they dont interact with others, if they dont get exposed to different opinions and believes and all that.

and i dont really like Collie, but it still feels like he deserved better, especially after taking up so much runtime.

actually you know what wouldve made the show better? not introducing the Collector in the first place.

no but think about it, why waste so much runtime on a character that didnt even exist before the show was cut (and thus had very little foreshadowing and buildup to his introduction) and then to not even give them a sweeter ending?

if anything the show shouldve stuck with the Day of Unity being the true finale. like honestly if DoU happened over the 3 specials they actually had plenty of time to flesh out all the existing characters further, maybe there could have been even a little more time for more slice of life moments. but then the whole bit with Collie just feels likes taking away precious time, that his character could have only worked if the show wasnt cut, but if it wasnt cut he wouldnt have existed in the first place, so man idk.

and on the topic of the DoU, holy shit Belos got done dirty, im actually mildly mad at his demise.

like it just overall doesnt make sense thematically.

like, ok this is gonna be hard to phrase, and i would like to straight away say i dont think Belos should ever be redeemed, just gonna use other characters redemptions as example.

so toh throughout its enite runtime is really set on showing that everyone deserves a second chance for as long as they want and are willing to change. we see this with Lilith who was pretty much immediately redeemed at the beginning of s2, and whilst many people say it was rushed, or she didnt deserve it, i think otherwise. like throughout s1 she only tries to get Eda into the Emperor's coven out of the belief that Belos will cure her, cuz yknow, she feels really fucking guilty for cursing her sister, and even then she doesnt really force Eda that much into joining, like there are many moments of weakness were Lilith couldve dragged Eda to the emperor, but she didnt, she gave Eda many chances to join on her own. and again the only reason she even wanted Eda to be in the coven was to right her mistake of cursing her. so after going through that guilt for years of course shed be forgiven quickly, as she showed that she wants to change, be better and all that.

we see this with Hunter as well, though his redemption was more gradual, yet still his past wrongs arnt brought up, like how he patronised Eda and Luz during his first meeting, or attacked Amity in eclipse lake, cuz he was also doing shit out of the belief of helping people, and clearly wanted to change for the better, so why bring up his past wrongs when hes a better person now and all that.

why bring this up?

well with Belos toh brought up an interesting dilemma, what do you do with a person that doesnt want to change, thats stuck in a loop of his short sighted beliefs in a system thats ready to accept and help anyone that tries to change regardless of their past?

and the answer to that being to just kill him?

like how does that solve anything? he died thinking he was in the right, that witches are still spawns of satan or whatever tf. it just feels like it goes against what the show established.

now dont get me wrong, the scene of him trying to manipulate Luz for the millionth time and her just staring him down completely unfazed is amazing, it says more than any actual words could ever. what isnt is then Raine, Eda and King immediately stomping him afterwards, which again, just proofs Belos' point that witches are "evil" from his perspective. (how did he even die from that when even mf Collie wasnt able to kill him? and ne got hit by a car and that *still* didnt kill him either, it just feels like he shouldve survived that)

so imagine if instead of them stomping him down they decided to imprison him, that will of course also have the effect of saving him from the boiling rain. so now Belos has to live with the fact that it was witches that saved him, the same witches he'd never show that kind of mercy to, the same witches he would murder the second he got the chance, and what makes it worse is the fact that the human, the one he oh so creepily obsessed over didnt even do anything, wouldve left him suffer in the boiling rain if she had the choice.

and just generally, letting him actually *live* with the consequences of his actions would have been so much more fitting. like dying is easy, wayy too easy, an escape from consequences, but actually living with said consequences, well thats delightfully horrific.

and his death isnt the only way that they done him dirty, the Titan also basically just said that Belos is just evil and theres nothing more too it, when there literally is?? like hello what were all thos Hollow Mind paintings for if not to show that Belos aint just pure evil, how he is a victim of shitty circumstances, yet how despite that it doesnt excuse the extent to which he took shit to.

and the just forgot about that?

... oh right, they forgot the memory paintings even existed untill someone posted their own redraws of them, no wonder they fucked Belos' character up so much :/

man im getting tired from rambling this much lol

but overall its just toh has so many missed opportunities, i could go on and on about them, although not like my rambles make any sense probably, and many people have def explained similar point much better so im just gonna shit up now.

(and of course im gonna rewrite this for my oc x Belos au <3 )

[belokhvostikova]

Holy shit. I'm done in. This was epic. I'm so glad posting it all together won in the polls. To break that up would have been criminal.

The structure of this was fantastic, I've said the same thing about a previous chapter I think, but it paced the story so well. Building up to her arriving at the trailer while simultaneously taking us through her being at the trailer, it created such suspense. Her staying the night at Eddie's being broken up by the lead up to, and then the actual date, kept it from being too much though, like little pauses of slushy goodness to combat the angst. There were a lot of time jumps but I found it easy to keep track of what point we were at.

The date. I loved it. Couldn't stop smiling. Them both freaking out getting ready 'why the hell do people let him walk out of the house like this?!' I snorted at that whole section 🤣 the bickering over music and the Shrek reference were hilarious but his reaction to her teasing and flirting was my favourite part. the hand holding in the van! I nearly expired. that date in theory should have completely tanked. both of them rushing from other plans, creepy old men, the hideout in general, but it worked so well! Them being so into eachother has overridden any scetchy date locations.

Wayne! I'm so happy they met, I like when he's a bit standoffish with Eddie's love interest in fics, at first at least. He's not used to many people being nice to Eddie, so the drill is to be protective from the get go. Especially with that he knows of their history. But then they make Eddie cook the pancakes and sass him the entire time 😍 absolute gold.

Urgh then her dad. Feels like he needs his own essay to deconstruct everything wrong there. He's interesting in this though, because it's not as simple as just 'good' and 'bad' people. Good people do bad stuff sometimes and vice versa, it's hard figuring out which way round people are sometimes. Like he sees himself as a good person for not leaving, not hitting her, pushing her for good grades and college, and doesn't see his emotional detachment, cruel words and punishments as being a 'bad' person. It's so sad that parents see their children as just an extension of themselves and everything comes back to how it affects them or how they are seen. Seems very narcissistic. Although his teeny tiny reaction to her words imply that there's something there, maybe of who he used to be, or who he could be, but refuses to explore it like Eddie is doing. That Harry potter quote about our choices defining us comes to mind. Her dad isn't choosing to try and change anything, whereas Eddie is.

Chrissys redemption arc remained fully intact and she was major comic relief at times in this, the 'get real, Eddie's probably wearing that t-shirt he doddled on with markers' line got me 🤣 and stopping the kiss, then her bickering with Eddie later on for the suprise date. 'just give me my food' yes Chrissy. you eat that burger. And then her being completely oblivious to 90% of what's gone down between them, and still hitting the nail on the head. She's great.

But obviously my favourite thing thoughout the whole chapter was the build up of love. It's like he's completely dismissive of it at first with the strike through text. But then it's becoming harder to ignore, finally coming to a head right as he thinks she's leaving him. When she goes to him at the lake, that whole section was gorgeous. He's come so far, he's just accepting so readily that she's going, the Eddie from the beginning of this fic would have been pleading and manipulating and trying anything at his disposal to keep her. And her reaction, her cashing in on him making it up to her. Really beautiful.

And then the thing through this whole chapter of 'being ok' Eddie asking her at the start and her being anything but. And then him being far from ok himself being heartbroken over how she's been treated and the college news. They both say to eachother 'its ok' for situations and past actions that really aren't. But by the end they really are.

I'm so sad it's all over, loved this so much and really had to edit myself on not commenting on every tiny detail (her calling him mean so many times this chapter when it's the least mean he's been this entire time 🤣) stuff like that! Loved reading and commenting on this so thank you for sharing, so glad I found your blog 🖤🖤

I love you *literally screaming* You were one of the first people to comment on chapter one when I was new to writing, and ever since then, I have anticipated your thoughts every time I update, because you are quite literally one of the only people who gives me commentary on my series! AND I LOVE IT! You are a writers’ favorite type of reader, and I hope you know that. I’ve seen you give your thoughts on other writers’ fics, and it’s such an incredible feeling seeing someone take genuine interest in our work. Your commentary is heavily appreciated to me and this fandom!

I’m so happy people were okay with it being a long read, because I was panicking wondering if it was too much, but I’m so glad you and everyone else enjoyed it!

Thank you so much for the structural feedback, I was a bit hesitant with it, thinking it may have been too confusing, but hearing your thoughts, it’s great knowing that it provided some relief from the angst. I was heavily focused on the buildup of the story, and mapping out the events that lead to the catalyst of the story was my main goal, and I’m so happy it worked out! 

And the date! It was literally one of my favorite parts to write. Getting to see their dynamic when it wasn’t revolved around their personal issues was so comforting to delve into. Particularly knowing how bad the setting was, but seeing them triumph through, because moments like that are so scarce for them- ugh! And I got the idea of reader meeting Wayne from you! You had suggested it after chapter five, and I fell in love with the idea, so all credits to you! Thank you so much! If anyone has seen “The Notebook,” the scene where Allie meets Noah’s dad is exactly what I was going for. Just that homey vibe.

And meeting Wayne would end up opening reader’s eyes to how much she just yearned for a great relationship with her father. I really wanted to show how something so simple, like wanting to eat dinner together, could transpire into a huge argument, because of how strained the relationship is. And thank you for picking up on his subtle emotions, it was so important! Her father’s ego has essentially tainted everything for them. I wanted people to see how different their forms of love are; reader desperately wants the little things, and her father believes superficial support, like basic care, is enough. But because he refuses to believe he’s in the wrong, it ultimately destroys them. But, of course, there’s still an underlying love for her, it’s his daughter, he’d just rather be right. I loved your comments on that!

And we love our best friend Chrissy over here! A pure friendship between teenage girls was heavily needed, and Chrissy truly provided that support. Her and Eddie working together for reader, because they love her is everything!

And truly, I cannot thank you enough for paying attention to the minor details. They played a big part in the buildup to their relationship, especially the question of “being okay.” The whole journey was them realizing the severity of their mental and situational state, and going through the path of finding happiness. 

Again, I can’t say it enough, thank you so much! You and everyone else have been so kind with the feedback, and I’m so glad people like you enjoy my work enough to share your thoughts!

[squadron-of-damned]

you have... seasoned thoughts (that is to say, not too on the extremes) and if I may ask more questions...

what do you you think of the diamonds as an authority and as like... individuals? Lol I thought their sort of redemption in 'change your mind' was a done too and it was like only having a sip of a good, scalding soup and being told to move on with the menu

also it's okay if it gets a separate post but what do you think about pearl? as in our pearl

Honestly, I don't know enough about the Diamonds to have some well-baked thoughts. With that being said, let's have some half-baked ones, shall we?

If you think about it, really think about it, it comes out as obvious what I find the most intriguing about the Diamonds: Their faked perfection. (This is a connection I am making right now, the entire von Karma thoughts are staring at me like "glad to know you're catching up".)

Each Gem is supposed to embody an ideal or more of them. The Diamonds are not an exception to it, in fact they are a precursor to it if they created all the other Gems. In theory Diamonds should be able to perform everything any other Gem can do just as well. They have to be the shining examples. But... they aren't. By the Stars they do try, but they aren't.

And I agree with you that their redemption was done in Change Your Mind, for Blue and Yellow even before that.

All the Diamonds knew that they weren't perfect and they had spent aeons masking it by profiling and specializing themselves. Hell, White went so far as not to meet anyone in person unless it couldn't be avoided, and then she did not even let them speak.

Thing is that the Diamonds held themselves to an impossibly high standards, and to this standard they also held everyone else. So they redemption doesn't come when they realise that they aren't perfect, they already knew that, but when Steven & co. shows them that they can never be perfect... and that it is fine. That by trying to match themselves to perfection they are, in fact, harming themselves. And the Diamonds, moons bless them, are smart, and when they processed this thought, the reached the only logical conclusion: Holding anyone to the standard of perfection is harmful for them to the point of breaking.

Honestly, the Homeworld, in my opinion, was a few moments (like, from Gem point of view, from our short-spanned POV it was several millennia) away from an absolute collapse. Regular Gems having a breakdown could be reset and replaced, but it was increasingly hard to do so because the Homeworld was running out of resources even with all the colonies at their disposal. But sooner rather than later one of the remaining Diamonds would break on herself. Blue might have poofed and never emerged again in grief. White would have over-exerted herself in spreading her control, like that's the point the other Gems exist, because the Diamonds can't be everywhere at once, controlling more people and lager area had to be draining. Not sure what would happen with Yellow, actually I think she was the closest one to have an actual rebellion within her ranks.

So, uh... from the POV of a viewer, sure, the Diamonds' redemption looks rushed, but I think that from their POV we just see the scales tipping. They just needed to be told that they could change, that it was allowed, or rather that it was not forbidden, that it was in fact encouraged. It's not "got a taste of soup, told to move along with a menu". It's "got a taste of soup and realised 'holy shit, I could have been making soup all along!'" But we don't get to see that because it's not a story about them and most of this goes on inside of their heads. At least, that's the way I understood it. But I think that in SU:F where Steven visits them and sees them using their powers the other way around (making forms, making people happy, letting people be heard) confirms this thought.

Thoughts on Pearl later.

[sonicphobia0601]

Um, she turned them to stone but that’s because of the “look at my eyes and I’ll turn you to stone” thing. I’m 90% certain that she tried to get innocent people to look away.

I have seen people say, “Don’t look at me! I don’t feel pretty!” I’ve seen it with my brother’s girlfriend. Beautiful lass, but also painfully camera shy.

And other people saying, “You’re not ugly. You’re actually pretty!”

I think that’s what happened after Medusa got cursed. Except the other people didn’t listen to the “don’t look at me” part.

What happened to those who tried to slay Medusa (outside of Odysseus) is really “fuck around and find out.”

Innocent people who got turned to stone? I’m pretty sure it’s accidental. I’m going to have to reread The Odyssey.

And she does get redeemed after death. Because in the Odyssey, Odysseus is married to Penelope, y’a see. But Odysseus had to go to war. So… after Odysseus was done dealing with other monsters, he got wind of Penelope being hounded by suitors and he had to figure out how to stop them. That’s where Medusa comes into play. And yes, she did turn people into stone, but I leave benefit of the doubt and say that a good portion of them are either accidental or self defense (because you know, heroes). So Odysseus takes off Medusa’s head and brings it home. He sees that assholes are hounding Penelope so he disguised himself as a suitor and tells Penelope to close her eyes. Then Odysseus gives Medusa a redemption by having her look at the suitors.

So Medusa (as far as monsters go) is actually morally grey. Like those who want to cause harm to her? I totally get it (especially in this day and age). But innocent bystanders who see her? It’s sad but it’s the wrong place at the wrong time.

Holy shit, I remembered that from high school. I remember making Sugar Rush fanart of the Odyssey because the assignment was to make a film poster. Huh.

[lanomin]

Alright my 2 cents on arcane, esp the last season bc I didn't rewatch the first and it's been too long

Rambling under the cut

Season 2 was rushed, everyone can agree on that. I'm not sure where the claim that the last episode was supposed to be 1.5 hrs came from, but true or not it would've helped a lot. I think they really should've just...not done any of the witch/black rose plot at all, or maximum just do mel breaking out, maybe only barely activating her powers? Idk it just felt so shoved in, and as cool as Mel is I really would've liked more focus on the other main characters. It really felt like execs forced the writers to make sure there was a clear plot connection from here to the next Noxis show.

Ambessa invading the city was under explained and bizarre, it took up so much time that really should've been used for every other storyline. And yet even with so much time dedicated to it I still barely understand why she did it? Was it using the gates to get to the black rose? General power takeover? Why didn't she just do this when she was still good with caitlyn? idk! It wasnt well explained!

It really does suck that the zaun/piltover class war stuff got benched, the first few batches of episodes really felt like they might actually hold some of the upper class accountable for their actions against zaun and there might be a little societal reckoning. But no, unfortunately the liberal to fascist pipeline character had to survive to date her class traitor gf. #jinxfireanothermissile #caitlynshouldvediedyesimserious

No actual hate to vi, I think she's a pretty good character that deserves better than caitlyn lol. But that's a whole other post needed for caitlyn as a character, I really think dying for like idk isha or violet should've been her redemption.

Extremely funny how that guy loris is just...no one? He's not a league character at all? And then he died? ok girl give us nothing. Also the rebound girl being a spy was just like...well ok. What did she do? How was her being a spy impacting the plot, or anything? And then she dies. Ok girl etc etc

Oh god you could esp feel how rushed writing wise this was with that sex scene, holy shit. I knew people didn't really like how it was handled but it really was just vi going "Hey I'm mentally breaking down bc I feel like Im responsible for losing my entire family multiple times due to my choices" and then her and caitlyn just fuck right there in the jail cell, no transition or dialogue that would make this a sexy charged moment lmao

I've seen some people say victors turn is ooc, and I think this is one of the hardest hit plotlines with not enough time. But i do disagree with this being ooc, I can absolutely see him going this way. I don't think him turning away from humanity is out of the question or even that far off of a possibility, but there really needed to be more examples than just jayce shotgun blasting him in the chest as the catalyst before he starts controlling hundreds of people. It wasn't bad, but I wish he got more time. Also I wish he got more time bc I'm deeply attracted to men who have dark bags and sunken eyes.

Hey speaking of Victor was it related that the character with the russian accent started making a communist utopia and talking about glorious """evolution""""? But ruh roh communist utopia too good to be true? Like is that too on the nose? Who can say

Jayce was just down in a ravine eating chaos rats for like 3 weeks, I guess it's fair he was acting weird and aggro and didn't try to talk to Victor more about what was going on before just assassinating him. Thank god for that beard though, sorry to be a hater but I thought he always looked goofy with how his lower jaw is lmao

Ekkos episode was so good like. No notes. Don't really understand why heimerdinger had to get evaporated but sure w/e, so maybe like 0.5 notes

I really liked jinx this season, like I know people have analyzed her writing much more effectively than I can but she really is the platonic ideal of the harley quinn archetype. It's so important for her character that even though her style is very quirky she as a character is still grounded and serious. Also I just really love her facial design features? Like looking at her in game model vs her arcane model is so wild bc arcane jinx looks like a real person vs in game that's a fantasy elf for how realistic she looks. I know that's the case for almost every character compared to their league counterpart but jinx always stands out to me for it.

The music is dog water. Truly incredible how it takes me out of the scene EVERY time a modern song plays. Yes even Enemy. Especially Enemy

But listen. Despite all my gripes with the 4/10 writing and the stupid music, the characters and visuals bump this to a 7/10, even an 8/10. I really can't think of any other media where the visuals and animation are so good I really can almost fully tune out the bad writing, it's incredible. Worth every penny spent on this show. Give Fortiche $500 million and a decade to work on their next show idgaf. I cannot believe any show, let alone a league show, looked like this, absolutely wild.

[thedeadlyrobot]

Gaming recap of 2023

holy shit, i have been meaning to post something in here for a while now, but with personal issues and working constantly, it's been a little bit difficult to do.

so, i just wanted to take a moment to write about some games I've been playing, some games I've played, old ones, new ones, red ones, blue ones, and everything in between. 2023 has been stacked with games so far, so keeping track of everything has been a little difficult on my end. but i'll try and keep the descriptions and everything here a little short as to not overwhelm with gratuitous details.

Starfield

Surprise, surprise. I'm one of the million or so people who are currently playing Bethesda's new RPG. Without getting too into the weeds, it's a fun game. Generally speaking, anyway. It still has some of the annoyances of past Bethesda titles, but this one breaks the mold in so many other ways that it's easy for me to forgive some of the bigger design shortcomings. The UI, visual bugs (surprisingly, very little overall), inventory management and the lack of maps are the worst of the bunch here, but hopping planet to planet and running into other spacers trying to make their way in the universe is what keeps me coming back to it. I think this game nails the emergent gameplay that previous Bethesda games have attempted.

I won't really spoil much, but I did rush through the main quest after learning what the scope of NG+ is for this game, and I have to say that I think it may be in everyone's best interest to mainline the story first, then do most of the side content within the second NG+. I understand that there's at least 10 NG+'s that you can run and it's one of the primary ways to advance a progression system that is revealed mid-way through the story. I don't really think I'll end up running that many NG+ saves, as it will wipe most of your material progress, sans your skills and research... I have to admit I'm not fully in love with the way NG+ is handled here, and I imagine once the Creation tools are out, we'll probably see a major mod release that condenses the number of NG+ runs down to a couple VS the 10 they want you to do.

But that's really my biggest gripe I have with it. I think I'll go through my 2nd NG+ and just wait after that for some major overhaul mods, which are apparently right around the corner in 2024.

Baldur's Gate 3

Admittedly, I have set this game down right at the start of Act 3 so I could play Starfield, but I think I'm going to crawl my way back to this one sooner rather than later, just so I can see how it all concludes. I understand Act 3 has some interesting bugs and issues, but the scope of the final act of the game is something to behold. From what I gather, Act 3 is nearly twice as long as both Act 1 and 2 combined, which is a shitton of game to behold for sure.

From release, this is the only game that I really played for a long time. Up until Pikmin 4 released, this was my go-to daily game. I'm not sure how much more I can praise this game that most people haven't already done, but just know that this is most likely my favorite game of the year, even though Tears of the Kingdom is in a hot contest for that spot as well. BG3 is just as good as you've heard, and if you have the means to play this, I highly recommend you do so. Probably the best CRPG I've ever played.

Tears of the Kingdom

Breath of the Wild turned out to be one of the greatest Nintendo games, not just Zelda games, of all time. The depth of exploration, the feeling of discovery, the mystery of the world, it was all so brand new and fresh-feeling. Not a whole lot of open world games could contend with it for a very long time, as I believe that Nintendo's design philosophy has paid dividends for the genre. Let me just say that BotW was so good, that it ruined open world games for me for a very long time. I just had nearly no interest in them up until Red Dead Redemption 2 released.

Fast forward to 2023, and Tears of the Kingdom delivers on every promise that Breath of the Wild made, but doubly so. I sometimes miss the abilities from Breath of the Wild, but Tears of the Kingdom's weapon / shield fusing, ultrahand, and autobuild abilities are some of the best mechanics for any game I've played in recent memory. Think Banjo Kazooie Nuts & Bolts but with the added depth of open world design and the classic Zelda feeling of discovery. Sure, combat is very simple, weapon durability can be frustrating, but that feeling carries over from the first title. I would have loved a little bit more innovation in these areas, but for what's here, it's a great fucking time.

Story wise, the game exceeded my expectations, even if some of the story beats are a bit repetitive. I would love to see them expand even further on what's been introduced here for the new game, and I'm willing to bet that this series concludes with a third entry in a trilogy, then it's onto whatever is next for our Hylian adventurer. If the world and quests feel overwhelming, I recommend blitzing through the main quest just to see what unfolds here story wise. Collect all of the Tears, then start conquering the different regions and temples to get the full picture of what is happening. What you'll find is, in my opinion, one of the most climactic and breathtaking finales of any Zelda game I've ever played. 10/10 game, easy.

Lunacid

Lunacid is a very mysterious game. It's a spiritual successor to the King's Field series created by FromSoftware, and it is doing an incredible job of replicating the way those games felt, in terms of combat and exploration.

It's currently in early access and created by a single person. It feels nearly feature complete, but it still has plenty of potential and room to grow. I recommend playing what is here, as your second playthrough may feel completely different than your first. I don't want to get to into what the game entails, as I feel the mystery is what makes this game the marvel that it is. Highly, highly recommended.

Jef

Jef is Jef, and that's what makes it special. Just play it. You can beat it in a single sitting but it's just batshit insane. Unironically one of my favorite gaming experiences I've had this year.

Chibi-Robo

Chibi Robo is an expensive game these days, but with a little bit of luck and a couple clicks, you can play this yourself. The internet is wonderous!

A hidden gem of a game, I wish I played it when I was a kid. I'm playing this on a modded Gamecube with all of the feeling of playing on original hardware and being sucked back into that simpler time. It's a game about making people happy by cleaning up their house and giving them presents. You meet an assortment of characters of all types, shapes, and sizes, and each of them has their own little story that you get to take part in. I'm also playing this on the Steam Deck totally real retail copy I have and it works great. It's a shame this never really took off here in the states, as I feel like subsequent sequels would have made good use of evolving the mechanics and scope of this series down the line. Try it out, I think you'll have fun with it.

Street Fighter 6

I suck at a lot of fighting games. I even suck at this one, but, I feel like I'm actually getting better each time I play it. I was pretty into Super Street Fighter IV when it came out, but the online scene then wasn't nearly as big as it is now, so playing ranked matches with people somewhat as skilled as me has been fun to learn and grow within the game.

I haven't played World Tour mode at all, as I mostly wanted to just git gud and fight other people, but eventually I'll make my way back around to it. If you're new at fighting games, I can't really think of a better way to get into them than this.

Project Zomboid / 7 Days to Die

They are both zombie games in perpetual Early Access, and I played these pretty much simultaneously with different groups of friends, which is partially why I lumped them together like this.

Zomboid with mods is something else entirely, and it's one of the better multiplayer games I've played in a long time. The difficulty curve is steep, but if you have a friend that can show you the ropes, it becomes a lot easier to grasp over time. I recommend playing it in a Vanilla state first, then working through the modlists and seeing what you may like.

7 Days to Die is a lot of fun as well, but admittedly the second pick of these two games. Getting the boys together and completing missions and staving off the horde is a lot of fun... for the first several hours, then you start to see how repetitive the game becomes. Quests are rinse and repeat, there's no real overarching goal or story at play here. It's been in early access since 2013, 10 years if you want the quick maths. That's a long long long early access period, and my hope is that they eventually "get there" with it, but maybe another 10 years will tell.

That's all really... there's several more games I've picked up in between, but these games left the biggest impression on me this year so far. I also started playing Lies of P once it released, but I haven't sank enough time into it to decide one way or another on how I feel about it. Plus, the year isn't over, there's still several on their way.

Also, I did not forget about Pikmin 4. I want to do a longer writeup on the Pikmin series as a whole, and where I think Pikmin 4 falls into as far as "the best" Pikmin game debate.

Go play some damn video games!

[sidsinning]

This is not going to be an extremely thorough essay about why my opinions of mlb are completely right from every angle you could ever think of its 10 am and I'm running on 0 hrs

This is just what I've been thinking about the show

I feel like every time the show defies a gender stereotype it doubles down on like 5 more at the same time

VERY unpopular opinion: sometimes the stalker trope can be funny but I feel like the creators don't do it well which is why everyone shits on Mari for it so hard + they overdo it

I really don't think Mari's shtick is actually making kids think diving into trashcans to spy on your crush is ok to do- everything she does is cringe on purpose so I don't see kids aspiring to be like her in this way

Felix's intricate arc felt so abruptly cut after he became Kagami's boyfriend; I feel like it's a shame Feligami were so rushed bc a slow development of their relationship could've strengthened his character arc even further. I feel like it merced both their characters by having it be so quickly put together. Bc why is Kagami saying she loves him enough to defy her mom already and why are they making out all the time. Like I didn't need that personally

Lots of missed opportunities in general regarding Felix

Kagami telling Felix Marinette is Ladybug after 1 ep he got with her like what the hell kind of insane betrayal??? They try to brush off???? Hello????

The way she found out was so stupid too

Man I will miss the -will they, won't they- Ladynoir; I feel like they were the most entertaining and well developed pair in terms of the LS, with the most addicting dynamic

I'm pretty sure most of us were drawn in by "cute flirty cat boy simping for our badass heroine who playfully rebuffs his advances" in the first place

Season 5 was batshit and filled with plotholes like holy

Idek what to think about Chloe now it's messy

The most corrupt adults getting abrupt redemption arcs (principal, mayor Andre, arguably Gabe)

Sabrina just decided to. Turn. Morality somehow appeared when the plot needed it to. Soccer

"I need to break up with Luka bc I am LB"

Tikki and Plagg: "Adrienette can't be together bc of the burden of LB and CN"

Then they get together just fine after becoming superheroes again where nothing about the stress of the job changed, so I guess Tikki and Plagg took away their miraculous for nothing

Luka in the guardian fit 💀

Idk man Kagami's resurfacing feelings for Adrien made me sigh ngl like did I really need this filling up screentime

Kagami being easily manipulated by Lila for plot bc their friendship was built off screen after their terrible interaction in Oni-chan

Lila in general

AI Adrigami taking over Paris' mind via fake AI video kidnapping on glorified apple watch starting the big finale 🧎‍♂️ like what even is this

Adrien being literally asleep for the finale- I get the message. Adrien shouldn't have to fight his dad. Adrien fighting his dad wouldn't be a moment of triumph for Adrien, only sadness. Adrien is a victim of abuse who wants to be rescued and that is ok. Mari rescuing him from his prison is beautiful.

But idk. Maybe have him help in a significant way before he gets neutralized for the whole finale besides providing Maribug with his ring? Idk I love love love Mari getting the spotlight in her show but. Hm. Cutting him off so clean like that is a lil weird considering how important he is, and how Ladynoir's relationship is so essential to the show? I'm still kinda torn on this

Bug Noir slayed at least

Other shit but yeah I'm just rambling

holding back on the surge of ml criticism my brain just produced

[pregnant-javert]

Swinging a bat at a hornet's nest #blessed

Buckle up because I have brakenight thoughts, that one ask wasn't enough, and I just wanna rant about them for a little while…if you like Audrey/Till/brakenight/not being annoyed about stuff I would suggest you don’t read the rest of this. (Ok but please read. I spent a long time making this look nice and reasonable and not like a raging chaos gremlin wrote it, so…) @train-pirate did this first and honestly their's is better but im still gonna say my thing now.

By the way, these are all MY OWN OPINIONS, and don’t count against anyone in the fandom! All my criticism is levied against the writers who made these characters this way. Frankly the writing of the fandom is often better than what the writers put out, so there’s that.

I have problems with this ship and they have only gotten more intense the more I think about it, and the more I see gifsets and the more I see the ways the show could have gone, I’m made more and more mad about by the goddamn day! I need to rant about it and then I won’t say anything more about it (at least not like this). But here are three valid/maybe not so valid reasons I don’t like this ship:

It represents how damn LAZY the writers have gotten.

Honestly nothing about this relationship makes sense and it is so egregiously rushed. in 3x01, Audrey and Till really don’t like each other. Audrey is firmly on Wilford’s side, she’s bitchy and backstabby and generally isn’t very nice to anyone around her. Till doesn’t like her in return; she’s constantly sniping and acting like Audrey is an annoyance (which she is!). And yet, contrast that to 3x10 when Till gives up her CHANCE TO NEW EDEN with all her friends and all her supporters for one girl who a few weeks ago she didn’t even like - and disliked enough to conk her over the head with a hammer, even! And this is the crux of it; the relationship is rushed and unbelievable and hastily cobbled together to give Audrey and Till character development which they couldn’t be bothered to take the long way around for.

Audrey needs a redemption and to become nice again - so instead of apologising to those she has hurt, trying to be better, she just gets slapped with a girlfriend so she can become a soft uwu lesbian. Yay, she's good again, because she spent a few days sadly playing guitar and doing therapy with Till! Yuck. 

Till…not sure what they wanted for her but she is the epitome of wasted potential, holy shit. Again I think they just wanted to tie her down a little more, so they give her a relationship that a) she never really gave an indication of wanting and b) with someone she does not deserve to be saddled with. LIKE HELLO? Also she got turned into a soft uwu lesbian as well, like yeah she was a bit naive and innocent before but where the fuck has her character gone?

Fucking…I just…don’t like the soft uwu lesbian trope.

I don’t know why but that trope drives me up the damn wall, and I don’t even have a good reason why. It just icks me out, which is ironic considering that was pretty much all I wrote for a solid six months, if not a year. Idk like…it just seems antithetical to their characters. But that’s just me. Too many puppies and kittens and shit, lol. I don’t like happy stuff (jk)

Way too much! Way too fast!

WHY??? They’ve known each other for six months, sure, but why are they all getting cuddly and deep about their feelings so soon? Honestly they should have made Brakenight be a thing in the pirate train arc, that would have made more sense. Also it just feels like a waste of screentime - so we don’t get Asha but we get this? Sorry, dislike it!

I don't exactly want either of these characters to be alone. That's not a good feeling for any character! (as any Ruth-lover can attest) however I want the characters to be in considered, realistic relationships that seem more respectful to their arcs and journeys and not just shoved together because they happen to be the Only Gays in the Village Death Train. Honestly this is weird because I do actually care about these characters; I wouldn't be so mad if I didn't care about them this much, I just wanted so so much for them and it kills me that they've become the new casualties of lazy and unconsidered writing.

[centaurianthropology]

The Babylon 5 reboot, what I would change (and keep)

So apparently there are talks to reboot B5 (thanks for the heads-up @ncfan-1), and now I’m thinking about rebooting B5.  We’re going to set aside the fact that it’s going to be on the CW, of all places, and I really don’t see how an old-school space opera is going to fly with their core demographic of teens.  It’s just an odd fit.  

Instead, I’m going to focus on things that I would love to see change, and things they better keep if they’re not cowards.

To Keep (You Cowards):

- Centauri hair.  It’s one of the most distinctive silhouettes in sci-fi.  In fact, lean into it.  Really get into the sense of fading opulence in their dress and mannerisms.  Outrageous hair and fashion, hell yeah.

-Accents.  Lean into this one, actually.  Everyone is speaking English without a translator, so accents should be everywhere.  I love the Minbari being Balkan.  I want the Centauri to be Eurotrash as hell.  The Narn ... who knows?  I just really love the sense that people had to work to communicate in the original series, and it really fed into the themes of the show.

-Grand, Shakespearean tragedy.  One of the things I love most about B5 is that it’s large.  It’s expansive in its tragedy and its gestures.  Things are heightened, a bit melodrama but a lot of Shakespeare.  Give me plenty of that.

-The Cartagia Arc.  Holy shit, everything about that arc was perfection.  I get that most of my Keep-It stuff is Centauri-related, but hey, that’s my jam.  

-Lockley.  I know she wasn’t the most popular, but if you’re still going to take John Sheridan on his whole messiah thing, I want someone from the other side to be given a sympathetic and interesting voice.

To Change (Sure, why not?)

-Gay it up.  There was a ton of subtext and hinting text in the original.  Some of it didn’t work out because of actor changes, some because the network wasn’t going to go for it.  Now that we’re in the 2020s, give us a proper relationship between Ivanova and Talia.  Give us Londo and G’Kar doing the proper enemies-to-star-crossed-lovers thing (and if we want to throw in Vir and Lennier, I personally would be over the moon).  

-Cultural differences and relativism.  I would love to see a space opera really explore cultural differences in a respectful and interesting way, where each species has different cultures and politics.  I know it would be complex, but I would love each faction to be fractious, with different religions, cultures, etc.  B5 sort of explored this, but I want to see way more.

-Give the denouement of the Shadow War proper room to breathe.  I get that they thought they were being canceled, so they had to rush through the end of the Shadow War so they could get into the Earth War, but after two seasons of killer build-up, it sort of felt anticlimactic.  So, a full season of end-of-Shadow-War stuff, with the Cartagia arc dovetailing into it, and then a full season of Earth War to wrap things up (we’re keeping a few things about season 5, but that season needs heavy revisions beyond what I can discuss here.  Just ... so many).

-Complicate John Sheridan.  His whole messiah arc always stuck me as off.  I was honestly on Garibaldi’s side for a lot of it, thinking there was something seriously wrong with it, and I would like to see that explored in way more depth.  Have him be flawed.  Have him not be messianic, but someone struggling and failing with expectations and ‘destiny’.  

-Complicate all the things even more.  The best thing about B5 was the muddiness of ethics and politics and the hard decisions and terrible consequences everyone faces.  So lean into that.  Make things even more complicated.  There are people trying to be good, but they will fail.  There are people who make terrible decisions and have to find some way back to salvation.  Londo’s redemption arc is pitch-perfect in the original, and I would love to see more of the characters get these sorts of arcs and these sorts of falls and slow crawls back to the light.

I’d love to hear other thoughts and ideas about things to change and things to absolutely keep.  Feel free to add your own!  As we all wait with mixed feelings to see if this reboot even gets off the ground, we can at least have a little fun.

[paint-music-with-me]

ok i saw a post and went on a rant and now im actually gon see how i wouldve redone this ep (no offense to any of the writers/p’aof) cuz this gon bite me on the ass for the next TWO WEEKS (FUUUUUUUCCKCKKKKK) 

basically: this shouldve been a slow burn in pran’s & wai’s pov towards each other & their friends with the sprinkling of korn’s acceptance, inkpaa, and couple moments 

(im basically doing this scene by scene split between the parts so this whole post is about ep 9 1/4 so here we go!) [i hope i don’t regret it ;0;] 

Wai’s discovery: keep it - i was thinking of changing it to a genuine accident but nope this is important wai purposefully did wrong onto pran and we need to discuss it so 

Riam & Kwan play: tbh i think it should’ve been stewed in for a bit longer - put a strain on the energy of cast and crew. maybe some ppl congratulated patpran on them getting together (not really caring abt the feud or are just blissfully ignorant abt it). maybe some are a bit cold to them but they’re professional. but honestly? maybe it wouldve went smoothly but in pran’s pov, he is an anxious mess and constantly searching for wai or spacing out leading up to the performances. pat calms and reassures him. then the play goes well (i would not have kept wai in sound - he already gave his job to pran so why he there in crew?) so after the play, pran caught sight of wai in the audience or leaving and rushes after him to talk -- ALSO w/ safe and louis maybe they were asked to help out (this is their faculty play anyway) & they cast glances at patpran but always look away or avoid pran which stresses him out (i’m sorry bby for putting thru that) - btw safe is a bit more guilty abt avoiding pran than louis cuz tbh louis also a short fuse like wai (ep6)

wai & pran talk: keep it - “i need to forgive you, don’t i? otherwise i’m the asshole. it must be nice to be the one who makes mistakes. you just apologize and it’s all good.” i really wished they paralleled this line later in the ep cuz omg the tea - i really really like this scene bc we finally get to see how they’re both gauging the other. “okay or not, i should be the one to decide” - i think this line was a weird one cuz i read it differntly than others. i read it as ‘i should be the one to decide if i’m okay or not with what you told me’ but ive seen others read it as ‘i should be the one to decide if i approve of your relationship or not’. idk maybe they’re the same but different anywayyy so that’s wai’s defense (to my understanding): that pran didn’t trust him or “care” about him enough to think that wai could handle the truth (even went so far as to say “if i were you, i would tell” hmmm) and i think they shouldve used that angle as a starting point towards his redemption bc it’s clear he is ignorant about patpran’s situation obvi

pat & co. (ft. good boy korn): keep it - i love this scene so much! the friends were dynamic in their views abt the situation in a self-aware kind of way like they understand that patpran’s relationship is way more complex than they know. onto my beautiful boy korn (im sorry i’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to youuuu) ngl when he said “the seniors pressured us” lowkey i thought ‘bruh what seniors? you guys are literally the only ones in the cafeteria??’ anyway that line “people shouldn’t bring your personal life into this” in reference to pat possibly leaving rugby to avoid discomfort for others was really potent like holy shit he gets it (that parallel with pran&wai’s talk is uhmmm interesting) 

patpran lunch break: keep it!! - omg i love this scene as much as the previous one! i think this can still flow w/ the slowburn aspect bc it reveals more abt their supportive dynamic with each other when facing against their friends - also pran taking that step of putting their relationship FIRST before Wai (which i think should’ve been brought back around later in ep) 

rugby practice - so replace it?? - rmr how i said the show should’ve stewed in the play just for a while? so here’s an idea: imagine this is another dress rehearsal for the next showing & for some reason wai has no choice but to come in. this allows for wai to be a bit out of his element bc in the rugby field, he doens’t have to talk to pat, he can just use his body/fists as usual which will ultimately get us nowhere w/ his redemption i think (i mean man can fight anywhere anytime but hope against hope ig). so here he does see pat rehearsing lines & Doing His Best as well as pran nervous but also Doing His Best. maybe he causes a bit of mischief here and there, targeting pat a bit. pran notices, tries to intervene but wai avoids him. then when rehearsal is almost done & the show is about to start, pranpat have a moment together. maybe pat is a bit nervous or is worried that wai might do something but pran is like ‘dw you’ll do great’ or ‘dw i’ll handle wai’ but ultimately it’s a tender moment that maybe might also open about their parents just a smidge. maybe a ‘shit if wai can’t handle this & is causing us trouble what will our parents do?’ (ofc im thinking this in the hopes of wai not getting ideas to out pran to his mom but again hope against hope anywayyy) maybe wai overhears this (ofc not meaning to) but this could be a symbol of how he mentally is still in that sound booth, above with this superiority that he thinks he knows all, but he doesn’t. he doesn’t know the behind the scenes, he doesn’t understand and bc of that he destroys the curtain instead of peeling it back to see the whole picture. so overhearing this, wai is curious - he goes through flashbacks of what PRAN HAS ALREADY REVEALED TO HIM BUT NOT COMPLETELY and tries to piece it together (if man could do that about pat then bitch can do that about pran’s fam dynamics, the idiot). this begins his journey to understanding a bit of pranpat’s world

okay so that ep 9 1/4. in summary: wai needs to be observant, he needs to start reflecting, if there’s an added scene of him getting rough with pat fine do it, but for pacing’s sake, get ‘er done quicker. i’m only doing this bc there’s a better way to show his ‘redemption’ without that rugby guy idk anywayyy i’ll write the rest later cuz holy shit im dead tired

[fandomsnfluff]

Hey dude!! I'm loving all your content!

I was wondering what your opinion was on the last episode of Sk8? I don't think you mentioned it yet and if like to hear it. No need to make it short, I love reading. :)

thank you so much!!! i actually have a lot of thoughts on the episode that i want to share haha. i do want to say before i start, however, that i am NOT interested in ANY discourse regarding the episode, so don’t drag me into it.

anyways, here are my thoughts below the cut (spoilers obviously!!)

1. the very FIRST thing that came to my mind was the fact that it had a completely different vibe than the other episodes. perhaps it was because of all the hues of purples and blues and the fact that adam was so goddamn extra with the whole setup of making the theme about death like???? that shit was intense but also frightening to watch

2. I SHIT YOU NOT WHEN LANGA’S DAD APPEARED I LIKE AAAAACTUALLY BURST INTO TEARS??? UGLY SOBS??? LIKE I GET THAT IT’S KIND OF A COMMON-ISH TROPE BUT I SHIT YOU NOT THAT REEEALLY GOT ME HELLA EMOTIONAL FOR SOME REASON. AND THEM SPEAKING ENGLISH TO EACH OTHER??? DESTROY ME. BURY ME IN THE GROUND TODAY

3. REKI AND LANGA FINISH YOUR DAMN SENTENCES CHALLENGE. “after the finals are over...” WHAT??? AFTER THE FINAL WHAT MOTHERFUCKER??? HONESTLY

4. tbh part of me expected an adam redemption arc but like??? i wasn’t the biggest fan of it tbh. for me it’s not like he’s COMPLETELY irredeemable, but he has a LOT of work to do on the whole assaulting other people in races and making suggestive comments and moves on fucking MINORS like, it all felt completely rushed to me.

5. SHADOW DESERVED SO MUCH BETTER I AM SO SORRY FOR YOU SWEETIE WTF HOW DARE YOU #JUSTICEFORSHADOW2k21

6. i personally don’t think the episode was SUUUPER baity???? like i 3000% why people think it is but there was waaaaay too much queercoding for it to be 100% bait. langa literally said he LIKED reki and at the end he said reki was his happiness (ik some people are gonna say skateboarding but as he said “my happiness is...” there was literally a shot of reki like come on), so i gotta be real the whole bro and not lover energy was a bit disappointing, but i’ve heard this is pretty common in a lot of sports anime anyway and we were also never explicitly promised or told renga had a shot in canon.

7. THAT HUG WAS A GODDAMN GAY HUG IF I’VE EVER SEEN ONE HOLY FUCK. LIKE THE THOUGHTS OF REKI AND HIS FUN SHIT LITERALLY BROUGHT LANGA OUT OF THAT COMPLETELY WHITE SPACE THAT ADAM PUT HIM IN SO OFC HE WAS THINKING ABOUT HIM THE WHOLE TIME AND OFC HE WAS EXCITED THAT REKI WAS THE FIRST THING THAT HE SAW AT THE FINISH LINE. LIKE LANGA JUMPING INTO REKI’S ARMS AND BOWLING HIM TO THE GROUND WAS E V E R Y T H I N G I’VE EVER WISHED FOR IN MY FUCKING LIFE. THAT SHIT DID THINGS TO MY HEART

8. last thing: i personally think the series is good with just one season, i don’t think we really NEED a second season, but if it ended up happening i’d be so down to check it out!! also drama cds/mangas/extras/etc would also be good to see!!

so yeah, those are basically my thoughts!! i want to reiterate that i’m not interested in getting involved with ANY of the discourse surrounding the episode. i totally respect differences of opinions and i want to keep it peaceful around here!!