#i'm rewatching them so yeah

[nikscaps]

The Goldfish Problem (1/3)

[essektheylyss]

I'd thought I remembered, in the Knights of Requital planning, someone mentioning the gala being moved, because it gave the Nein an extra day to prep, and Dolan did specify that it had been unexpectedly pushed back a day, but doesn't suggest he knows why. (It's not clear to me based on the conversation when this change happened—it's possible Dolan has simply heard this update recently, but it also might've been a last minute change.) I was wondering because the timing of the Zauberspire attack coinciding with the gala seemed odd.

It is very narratively convenient, of course, and certainly the Kryn spies could've been using it for the same reason that the Knights of Requital were—important figures of the city were distracted and otherwise occupied, and Thuron does give an indication that Ulog was feeding them information as well, so he certainly could've suggested that timing to both.

But two things about the attack struck me: first, that the Zauberspire does not seem to be very far from where the gala is held, which makes it less of a distraction and more of a liability for covert military operations; and second, the Assembly reacts instantly. Moreover, Trent is already there, though he normally resides in Rexxentrum. He doesn't exactly seem the type to show up for annual holiday festivities, given he doesn't stand to gain much if anything from hobnobbing with a bunch of regional socialites, and Ludinus later suggests he is not exactly being dispatched to events as a diplomatic entity. Of course he can be in another city quite quickly, but this all happens so quickly that I find it unlikely that there would've been time to inform someone in another city prior to apprehending the infiltrators, given the immediacy with which the mages respond.

The point being, I think they were warned.

[bagheerita]

So I read A Stitch in Time and one result of that which I was certainly not expecting was that I feel so much sympathy for Enabran Tain. Garak's life is a tragedy, but Tain's is a fucking black comedy.

I mean, he's a terrible person and an absolute shitbag, but can you imagine? You have this kid. You go to all the trouble of arranging for him to be raised in a family situation where he won't be rejected from society for being your bastard. You get him into the nicest indoctrination school where he can hobnob with plenty of uppercrust kids. You get him a job in your Order and all the proper training. And he's actually, like, really good at it. But he has this fatal flaw of being completely incapable of not making stupid, short-sighted, emotional decisions.

A scene I imagine has to have happened just prior to Garak and Tain's confrontation at the end of part II:

Like goddamn. When Tain asked "what's your plan for getting rid of her husband?" and Garak's just like "plan what plan." Dude. I'M disappointed, I can only imagine the guy who's job it is to know and plan for everything isn't at least as disappointed.

I know he didn't actually, but do you think there was ever a time when Tain wanted to be like, You know what. Just go back to Tolan and become a gardener. Join that illegal hippie cult. It's fine.

[ban--tam]

yangtober day 17: julian “Admiral, let's go back to Iserlohn. Let's go home...”

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

my favorite scully and mulder moments from s1

the evergreen classic mulder reaction to a terrified scully knocking at his door in the very first episode- how he checks over her, holds her close, and brings her into his room

(and then ANOTHER instance of examining each other for aliens in episode 8 which was wild. if i had a nickel for each time they had to look at each other's bodies for evidence of aliens, i'd only have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but its weird that it happened twice)

him playing with scully's necklace in episode 3, while admitting he feels "territorial"

the first time he calls scully "dana", right after her father dies- which surprises her so much she mumbles her name back to herself- and he follows up by grabbing her face and gently running his finger over her cheek

(and the first time she tries to call him "fox", after he had been awake for 3 straight days on a stakeout, and she begs him to go home- he laughs and says he even made his parents call him mulder)

((still, she brought him a sandwich and a drink- “if there’s an iced tea in that bag, could be love” “must be fate- root beer”))

scully in Doctor Mode™ after mulder got stuck in the fire in episode 12, trying to give him water as he lays in bed, while he gets all emo and pushes her hand away

when scully gets kidnapped in episode 15 and mulder calls her "dana" again over the phone, her first name slipping out in his fear, then he tells the kidnapper "listen to me, you lay one hand on scully, and so help me god..."

(and THEN he tells everyone going on her rescue mission that this is a very important mission to him, so please everybody do their best)

the endless banter: "i still don't get it. what does this have to do with us?" "robbing a jewelry store is a federal crime" (flatly) "thank you."

when he is at an autopsy with scully in episode 18 and makes it very clear he does Not Want To Be There (but she still is sad he won't join her on her next one in episode 22!)

"happy birthday scully!" (pause of confusion) "you're two months early!"

when she finally listened to the psychic to get evidence for a case in episode 13, trying to make mulder proud- "i'd thought you'd be pleased i'd opened myself to extreme possibilities"- only for him to yell at her for putting herself in danger

(later in the same episode she screamed at the criminal, saying that if he did anything to mulder, she'd kill him herself)

((AND their conversation at the end of that episode when mulder is laying in a hospital bed: "why can't you believe?" "i'm afraid"))

the very empire strikes back coded fighting in the arctic compound in episode 8

"you think it's remotely plausible that someone might think you're hot?" (stunned silence. scholars are still trying to figure out what was going on here)

oh, this one made me weepy: "i have never met anyone so passionate and dedicated to a belief as you. it's so intense, sometimes it's blinding. but there are others who are watching you, who know what i know, and whereas i can respect and admire your passion, they will use it against you. mulder, the truth is out there, but so are lies" aka the episode 17 monologue… what if i melted into a puddle? how would you react to this news? how about mulder the protector turning into mulder the protected?

(also, episode 17 had a moment where he grabbed her shoulder and leaned in and i had to restrain myself)

them having hand signals to indicate watch what you say, we’re being listened to

in episode 18, the preacher’s kid tries to taunt mulder with information about his sister and scully tries to shut him down Immediately

they’re looking for each other in the dark in episode 19 while a wild beast is on the loose and mulder finally kicks open the door and finds scully while she whispers “it’s okay, it’s me, it’s okay”

episode 20, when he shows her a bunch of lumberjacks, which he describes as “rugged manly men in the full bloom of their manhood” and he says she should look for anything unusual or a boyfriend among them... and she laughs

scully losing her mind when the evil cocoon bugs get on her, screaming at mulder to get them off of her, while he holds her still and explains it’s okay as long as they're in the light

(and then they sit on the bed, side by side, talking through the night)

when mulder’s friend dies and she kneels and says to him, “you’ve been through a lot… more than I think you realize” and encourages him to take some time for himself

any episode where they both wear big coats (for the snow in episode 8, or the rain in 20) is an instant classic to me

“mulder, you’re rushing me out of the room… is there a girl coming over?” from episode 11... yeah I laughed. and then laughed even more when he was just hanging out with deep throat in the next scene!

episode 23’s “how was the wedding? Did you catch the bouquet?” “maaaaybe 😊”

and who can forget the finale! she apologizes for doubting his alien leads; “I should know by now to trust your instincts” “why? no one else does” (both smile and i, once again, collapse)

there's so much to unpack here and i could spend a lifetime doing it, but before i watch s2 for the first time i needed to make note of the things that especially made me happy or brought great angst to the forefront; i am studying their dynamic and putting it in a bottle <3

[pynkhues]

I will die on the hill actually that Grace was a good sister, and it's Louis, not her, who killed that relationship.

[etoilesombre]

[id: a set of eight images from Black Sails. The first image shows Mrs. Hudson speaking to Woodes Rogers, with the text "She said you should trust that her commitment to you remains inviolable." The second image shows Flint and Silver together in Madi's house after her presumed death. The third image shows Eleanor in the fort firing on Rogers' ship, with the text "and that this is no betrayal..." The fourth image shows Flint taking the cache ashore on Skeleton Island, viewed through a spyglass. The fifth image shows Eleanor and Rogers talking in bed, with the text "...but an act of love." The sixth image shows Flint's face during the Dragons speech. The seventh image shows Eleanor lying dead in Flint's arms, with the text "An act she is determined to see through to its end." The eighth image shows Silver pointing a pistol at Flint on Skeleton Island. /end id]

[loisfreakinglane]

the cangel crumbs i got in buffy season 2 just made me more in love with them than i've been in a long time. LOOK AT THOSE TWO. THEY DON'T EVEN KNOW THEY'RE GONNA BE BEST FRIENDS THEY DON'T EVEN KNOW THEY'RE GONNA FALL IN LOVE THEY DON'T EVEN KNOW THEY'RE GONNA CHANGE EACH OTHERS LIVES FOR THE BETTER

[radiantaerynsvn]

johnaeryn: to build a home

happy 25th anniversary to farscape and to these two

[somerandomcockroach]

@keferon OKAY BUT LISTEN YEAH I would loved if it was just fun ehehehe and sassy flirting with the demon no one sees pfffht, literally summoned a demon just to flirt with, and I guess it could have been going for a long time, just little strips with their funny adventures and then plot can go to the fact that he wants to give him a body and Shockwave would agree or that they just stay the way they are and just hang out like this together (Alo I remember that you wanted to put Ratchet (I keep writing Ratched instead of Ratchet buuuh) and Drift in it as another demon and their summoner thing whghweghgwe but I like how you made two separate stories for them that happen at the same time, okay I am actually PRETTY MUCH invested in this story, I like a lot how it goes and gets tangled and how mixes up with idw ideas and other stuff a lot)

BUT NOW that you changed it that way, you made a few more things that reader might be interested a lot in, like that promise he made and you mentioning that he will regret it, how their relationship progressively develops, plus the fact that Blurr was a frivolous slob gifted with dark magic AND how the tables turn upside dow and he get consequences for what he did in the most unpredictable way for him and how he surely changes in his behaviour, getting more and more concerned about his promise and maybe truly loving someone for the first time in his life and wanting to change something. And then figuring out that that same demon actually was a person before, someone he knew, someone respectable, kind, shiny, absolut sun of a person, who died (I am still on my knees waiting to know how exactly he died...) miserably to the point that he absolutely can't stand his life as a demon and NOT EVEN being able to kill himself!!! And Blurr was a pupil in his school, he saw him, he gifted him an ability to make his magic work for him, gave the freedom to live among everyone to all who was poisoned with this dark magic. OH WAITA HGSDHAG the thing that beastformers can't walk among transformers and the fact that dark spellers also could not, and how these events happen at a close times, OKAY so dark spellers got their kind of freedom thanks to Senator Shockwave (OH MY GOD what if Orion can see Shockwave and will recognise him right away COUGH) BUT I am wondering if beastformers will get some kind of an official declaration or some kind of school to be educated in and I wonder if Deadlock/Drift (I think after leaving he will change his name from the last episode...) will volunteer to be a teacher t be something more, or he will just end up with Ratchet wandering around the world, or maybe there will be a whole damn revolution where all monoformers and beastformers leaded by Drift go against the system, and maybe these events happen at the same time as a Senator Shockwave fighting for the rights of gifted... Okay I'm getting carried a little bit ahsghag excuse me... OH I GOT carried away A LOT I wanted to get back to the point that Blurr, now figuring out the past of Shocwave, dealing with all the events, dealing with what he has done and find a way to free them, at the same time STILL having adventures and fun since I'm sure he can be a good mood lifter to moody Shockwave and even see him in a really good mood since he is... well, not just a demon made of hatred but the wonderful kind of person in his previous life... (okay being carried away but what if Orion might declare the freedom to beastformers (AJHGAJHSDJAH OH MY GOD I IMAGINED JAZZ AS A PANDA HAVING A ROMAN WITH PROWL AND PROWL NOT KNOWING ABOUT IT OKAY SORRY) after seeing what it lead to after Senator Shockwave. And maybe Ratchet will be able to get his sign back freely after revolution will be successful or he will be forever blind just to be free and safe with his husband OKAY LISTEN I think it is obvious that I really like the thing you do....

[nnnn99999]

I refuse to believe Bison is as naive as he comes off as.

Although Fadel is very protective of him and nags at him all the time, he does not restrict him too much. He lets Bison live his life, he just makes sure to remind him of their reality from time to time. And that too because Bison tends to get carried away and forgets that they are, in fact, assassins and they need to keep a low profile so that they don't get caught. But it's not like Fadel is following Bison everywhere all the time. He keeps tabs on him, yes, but only when he thinks Bison is going too far. Fadel doesn't actually interfere in Bison's life unless he feels Bison is putting himself in danger.

During his first meeting with Kant, Bison immediately knew what game Kant was playing. And why wouldn't he? Bison is no stranger to men lusting over him. If he has acted as a bait for his missions as often as I assume, there is no reason for him to not understand that Kant's affection for him is not that deep yet. I do believe Kant genuinely likes Bison, but nowhere near as much as he is trying to show. Professional assassin Bison, who kills people for a living, and seduces his targets to facilitate said killing, has to know the difference between passing interest, lust, like and love right?

After their first night together, it was Kant who was reminiscing and savoring his experience with Bison. It was Kant who wanted more with Bison. Bison, on the other hand, was completely normal. He probably wouldn't even give Kant a second thought had he not showed up to his workplace and started pursuing him aggressively. Because Bison knows and fully understands his own circumstances. He knows the rules set up by the mother. He knows how dangerous it is for him to fall in love. He knows all of that too well. And not just because Fadel makes sure to remind him 5 times a day. But because Bison himself feels trapped and suffocated by this lifestyle and just wants to break free. Who could understand his situation better than himself?

So why is Bison such a lovestruck, giggling mess? It's because he is living in a fantasy. Unlike Fadel who has completely accepted the life he was dealt with, Bison cannot accept his reality at all. Bison would rather delude himself to believe that what he has with Kant is love. He would rather live in a fantasy than face the grim reality of life. He does not love Kant. He only loves the idea of being in love, a love that could potentially free him from his prison.

Why Kant and not anyone else? First, because Kant does have genuine affection for Bison and I think Bison can feel it. Second, because Bison realises Kant is willing to let go and let Bison take control, albeit in very particular situations and in very limited amount. However, just the fact that Bison can gain some control in his relationship with Kant must be exhilarating for Bison. His desire for control makes him want to indulge in this relationship that allows him to be free and take control, even if it is just a little.

So I think Bison knows Kant is not as genuine as he seems. I noticed that Bison has stated multiple times that he just wants something casual, it's Kant who is constantly pushing for a serious relationship because of his own agenda. Bison is not in love. Bison is just living in a fantasy. And he knows that it is in fact, just a fantasy. So when the time comes and Kant's true intentions are revealed, I think Bison will go crazy. Not just becasue Bison truly likes Kant and wanted to experience a proper relationship for the first time. But also because Kant shattered Bison's lovely fantasy. The fantasy where Bison is just a normal guy falling in love with another normal guy. Bison is purposely ignoring Kant's shadiness because to him it doesn't matter. As long as Bison can hold Kant in the palm of his hands, does Kant's initial intentions even matter?

[justalittlebluetiefling]

Sometimes I try to write down thoughts about this campaign but I admittedly have not been paying enough attention to feel confident in my character analysis so I write an incoherent text post and then delete it because I don't know if I'm actually making the correct judgments.

[pleucas]

good evening. it is me again, skk hater - no air quotes because i am completely genuine in my hatred. this will be a long one.

i shall first begin with a thanks. i do write pretty often, and my ego has been sufficiently stroked. i suppose even the most despicable people have taste - at least in matters besides ships.

you have asked for my reasoning behind my vehement hatred of skk, and i think it's time for me to provide.

i'm going to be completely truthful - it's all Akutagawa's fault. i love him and his stupid victorian child fashion and british accent and dumb haircut deeply. so, naturally dazai is the bane of my existence.

now, even though i hated dazai more each time Akutagawa appeared, i actually didn't mind SKK for some time. i didn't get it cause Chuuya rarely actually shows up in the manga, which i read straight through without detouring for any of the light novels, but i was fine with it. they're fruity in most all their interactions, i shall never deny that because it's clearer than glass and i'm not that delusional, but i didn't see much substance beyond that.

then i read the novels and slowly came to the conclusion that i actually hate dazai even when Akutagawa isn't in the picture. and when i say HATE i mean HATE. he is the pebble lodged in my shoe, the lego on my cousin's floor, the table leg i stub my toe on, and so forth.

Chuuya, on the other hand, i love. he's great. amazing. stormbringer? peak. so, OBVIOUSLY, he could do much better than dazai. soooo much better. i mean, look at him

every time dazai and Chuuya have their objectively gay moments with each other, i feel like im watching my friend crawl back to their toxic ex.

that's how i feel with most dazai ships, and this is because dazai is always a smug prick towards the person he's being shipped with, and because i love Akutagawa i am not amused by this in the slightest. feels like he's rubbing salt in the wound. i actually like dazai more as a character when he's on the back foot. a (nonromantic) example would be him in The Day I Picked Up Dazai (A Side). dazai and Oda's dynamic is probably the best one dazai has in my eyes - though i don't ship them in the slightest. additionally, i think i, if only for a moment, actually liked dazai when he got ""killed"" in that one chapter. because it was a loss for him. in that moment, he (well, at least we're led to believe) got what he had wished for so often during the series, though it was not on his own terms. therefore, it felt almost like poetic tragedy - i thought it would have been a fitting end for him, and if it truly had been, i might like him now. this, as you know, was not the case.

furthermore, dazai is a fruitcake with or without Chuuya. it's not specific towards him, so i don't think anything real can be drawn from the vaguely homoerotic behaviour. i mean, dazai ballroomed danced with Sigma five minutes after meeting him. man just likes men, i don't know what to say

in conclusion, i feel like their relationship is unbalanced. dazai is never really shown to be all too worked up by Chuuya, even when he seems to be on the losing end of their bickering, but Chuuya is constantly harassed. while it's admittably funny, i don't like it in a romantic sense, nor do i see it in anyway that's different from Kunikida or Sigma.

that's about everything i can say without going on an unorganized tangent. i could bring up more specific issues i have that stem from Stormbringer and the Fifteen novel, but i have actual things ive been putting off writing - there's a whole book being sidelined by SKK right now. this has been a good way of procrastinating, but it must come to an end eventually

as for titles, you can call me Rimu. like the tree,

so, with an abundance of hate, Rimu <3

(ps: you might noticed that dazai's name is not capitalized at all in this ask. this is because he does not deserve that level of respect.)

holy hell Rimu. Hello, formally I guess — I will follow in your footsteps and leave dazai's name uncapitalized, because that was very funny

i've been putting off responding to this for a while but please believe that i have been thinking about it and periodically re-reading it. it's one of the most entertaining asks i've received LOL

to actually respond without completely proving your point of skkers procuring essays (though i'm sure you realize the irony upon review of your own accolade), i'll keep it brief. you had me in the first half, ngl, cuz i'm pretty sure 89% of us [skkers] agree, on a generalized scale, that dazai is the worst and Chuuya deserves everything and more (and better). he's the type of character that i enjoy as pure fiction, bc i know that if i knew him in person i'd hate him. same goes for my opinions on irl dazai — so asagiri did a (rare) justice for his authors there ig

abt everything else tho (imbalance, not being as affected by chuuya, similarity to other ships, and lack of intrigue)... i had a lot of responses prepared but really all of it can be summed up here as this:

like ngl man. LOL. i do blame the anime and its horrendous adaptation of dazai's character and skk's interactions, but that's another can of worms... that i have... opinons... about.

thank you for sharing your thoughts Rimu, i enjoyed reading through it a lot. keep it going!

with a mutual abundance of hate, Cas <3 <3 <3

[camellcat]

just finished crush on my s5 rewatch and oh my god I NEED to know what the general opinion was when that episode first came out. how did y'all og buffy fans react to that??

[iceclew]

...sooo... As threatened mentioned beforehand, I did a thing that might be awefully specific ...? (☉౪ ⊙)

...

... Listen, I took our Kaiju blorbos and squished them onto Markiplier, like this is literally it, there was like one other guy that was like "Omg, Kafka is literally Markiplier" and I was like "YES!! THIS!!" and we were like "AARGH!!" And you should know me by now, that I am very unrational about my doings when there's someone else sharing my obsessions and/or stupid ideas about smth, so here is Markiverse...

And... I am very unsure about the way I pulled this off, like.. I feel...you need the original screenshots for context...? Or maybe not? ...but I mean I can always get rid of them later on..

Moreover better to link the videos as well, I guess?

Goat yoga and The Saddle - Unus Annus (best of compilation)

Family Friendly - Markiplier LP

[nattikay]

ahh I feel like I've made a bunch of rant-y posts this week, sorry about that y'all, but I've got one just one more to slap down real quick 😅

This video came up in my YouTube recommendations, and while it makes some interesting points, I fundamentally disagree with the assertion that "Avatar's story wasn't very good because it wasn't complex enough".

Here's the thing: The good/bad scale and the simple/complex scale are SEPARATE. A story does not need to be super complex to be good. A good story can be complex, certainly! But it doesn't need to be. A simple straightforward story can still be a good story. And so it is with Avatar, in my opinion.

Same with the character criticisms. Sometimes we just don't need to know every minute detail of a character's life for the character to work within their story, we just need to know the parts that are relevant. Selfridge, for example...do you really think we needed to have part of the runtime set aside to flesh out every little detail of what led him to become a greedy corporate middle manager? Would that tangent really have inherently enhanced the story being told here? Or would it just have taken time away from the intended focus, that being the wonder of Pandora and Jake's journey?

More complex does not automatically equal better. A good story is one that is told well: the audience can follow what happens, they resonate with the emotional beats, there are no gaping holes or inconsistencies in the plot or worldbuilding, characters grow and change in a believable way. And that can be done in complex stories AND in simple stories!! Just because your story doesn't have a gazillion wild plot twists and intricate 10-page biographies justifying every decision every named character makes doesn't mean it can't be well-executed enjoyable story!

Avatar's story is not a bad one. It's simple, sure, predicable even—and if that's a turn-off for you, hey, that's totally fair—but it's executed very well. No, we don't know how Quaritch became head of RDA security, we don't know how Norm came to be part of the Avatar program, we don't know what inspired Grace to become a botanist...because we simply do not need to. Those details just aren't all that relevant to the core story being told. Could they make for interesting trivia? Sure. But is it needed to understand the heart of the movie? The message? The story? Not really, no. In fact, depending on how it's implemented, adding extraneous details like that could actively bog the story down.

Simple movies can be good. Simple movies can be bad.

Complex movies can be good. Complex movies can be bad.

"It's too simple" is, therefore, a rather silly criticism. Totally valid as a personal opinion! But kinda meaningless as an analytical criticism.