#idk i need the main scene done and i need to clean up some of the other unfinished scenes and then revise it | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

chibigo-ma · 1 year ago

Text

Review of Sex Education. I Guess.

Well, I've just finished the last episode of the last season of Sex Education, and I'm sad that it's over, but everything has to have an ending.

I'm going to share what I like and dislike about the show overall from S1 to S4.

So... spoilers.

Scroll away immediately. RUN AWAY FROM THE SPOILERS.

Ready? Ok.

I might not say every bad or good thing I think about in the show since some are already obvious. For example, "Mr. Groff was so bad! He showered all the personal problems of his students by stealing Jean's journal AND berating poor Adam. Obvious bad." or "OMG, it represents LGBTQIA+. It's a slayyyy ✨," y'know?

Adding what I love below the likes and dislikes.

Likes

Despite having dozens of sex scenes and the like, I like that the plot is engaging, and it made me want to watch more and see the characters grow.

The characters are all unique and everyone makes you "feel," you know? Characters that come into mind that are unique to me are Lily, Rahim, Erin, Isaac, Cal, Jean, Joanna... it's a long list. You can really connect with the characters. It's sad we couldn't see everyone off.

I love Adam's development and his newly-found self-worth of his sexuality. I'm glad he's pacing things slowly and coming out when ready. Even when he decided to stay away from school, he seemed to know that he needed to heal first from the breakup and the broken family he had. The ending for him and his family made me happy to see.

The center relationship that got repaired for its ending was Eric and Otis. It's great that it's a platonic one, and it's the characters that we first "grew up" with. (Romantic endings are overrated! /j)

I CRIED a lot. Especially at S4. Goes to show that this show really can hit you in the feels when you least expect it.

I felt happy for Maeve when she decided to go back to America and let her teacher's comments slide. Not everyone can agree with what you're doing, but there is always someone who absolutely loves the work that you have done. It's sad that the main romantic couple is gone, but it's all for growing to be better people.

How they show people grief can differ, depending on how close the person was to them. Sean sees the negatives since he is the eldest and sees his memories with Erin badly, while Maeve sees it in the middle of both positive and negative since she's the middle child, but gives a respectful and proper farewell to Erin. As for Elsie, since she's the youngest, (just my assumptions) probably sees Erin in a good light since she's been trying to come clean for her and her older siblings.

However, what happened to them in S3 maybe traumatized her, but who knows? They're just my assumptions. We don't know if Elsie knows Erin is dead since Elsie is still very young. Maybe she does since S4 doesn't tackle more of Maeve's relationships with Elsie and Anna. Only briefly in S3, I think. Still in shock and sad that Erin died.

Dislikes

O is quite the problematic character, but I'm glad to see that character development. At first, I thought she mentioned she was asexual as an excuse to answer why she ghosted the students/clients, but it wasn't at all. I still stand that your sexuality shouldn't cloud your mind while you're trying to be professional, especially when talking to someone who needs help. Even when you're asexual or queer, and you know your stuff, don't let your sexuality cloud you too much. Keep doing what you're doing best.

I never liked how Otis can also be problematic, despite being a good kid too. I know that teenagers mess up (from what I call it, the "messing up/fucked up" stage in your life), and here's a word of advice: Think before you act and don't over/underthink.

I didn't like that Eric cheated in his first two relationships. There would have been a better way instead of full-front cheating like... idk... communicate. I mean, Eric did speak to Adam about it, but after Eric cheated. I still felt bad for Rahim. Even though, imo, I thought the relationship was too quick.

There's a lot of couples that get into relationships quickly.

Despite being the main antagonist for S3, I felt horrible for Hope. Maybe it's just the Asian in me talking, but she was only trying to clear the school's reputation of being called "Sex School." Who would want to let their kid attend a school that's being called "Sex School" by the locals? Especially if it was your alma mater. Yes, there's stuff she did wrong as the principal (weird promotion of abstinence, disrespecting the LGBTQIA+, humiliating punishments, manipulating students, etc.), but was she entirely bad? Maybe. If only she was more open-minded and kinder, S3 would have been different. Then again, she was very stressed since she was infertile and wanted to have a baby with her husband, but wasn't successful.

There was a lot that happened in S4. Lots of new characters we will never see again. Old characters we never saw again. A lot of experiences were compiled together, but it's a good pacing, at least. It would have been bad if the entirety of S4 was compiled into one big movie. The pacing would be way off.

Loves

I love the ace representation back in S2. A few months after discovering I was asexual, there was a lot of ace erasure back then, and I felt relieved to see that representation and not to be ashamed to be who I am.

With Otis and Maeve breaking up in the end, it gives us an open-ended interpretation of what happens to them. For me tho, I'm glad to see that representations that breakups can also be a happy yet healthy end (It's always hard for me to share that, and people kept saying "sanaol" whenever I shared that half of my breakups ended nicely).

Breakups are always shared as a negative, but they can be positive if both parties agree without any malice or unshared feelings. Despite missing and still having feelings, both don't want to hold each other back to the objectives the other is trying to achieve. I love that.

Talking about breakups, let's talk about Michael Groff and Maureen. I love that Michael improved himself, not only for Maureen but for Adam as well. I love that the once-broken family is now back together and learned from the experiences they went through.

Aimee finding herself and now standing up against men (cat-calling, abuse, harassment, etc.) through her actions, and a new perspective on art is outstanding, and I'm happy that she can be assertive (in a good way). The same goes for Viv with her latest ex. After that one jealousy moment and it kept coming up, I had the suspicion he'd be toxic AND HE WAS. BROOOO (So proud of them)

Also, proud of Ruby for having the "feels" because of the school. She even declined Otis' offer to be friends again, cuz she knows far too well that it would lead her to heartbreak again. YOU GO GIRLLLL

All the inclusivity represented is powering for everyone who watches it. Addressing the lack of inclusivity made me so proud of Isaac and Aisha. Still made me mad that they left Aisha there (even when there was no fire), and the lift being broken for who knows how long. Not a lot of schools can afford that, but at least others try by adding in ramps. THEY HAVE A SLIDE LIKE 👁️👄👁️...

Despite O being problematic, when she expressed her life and how she felt as a closeted ace, it made me relate to her because I had forced myself to fit in like her but not to the point of bullying others or someone I was close with (My school advocated kindness and being helpful to everyone and anyone, and there weren't any reports or acts of bullying at all).

I wasn't upset when a "crush" rejected me, and we remained close friends. Thanks to the media, I found it bizarre why my response was more chill than the *crying and sobbing like a middle schooler* so I began to pretend around 4th grade. I didn't feel like myself and felt something was wrong with me. Hearing heartbreak, crushes, love lives, and the drama of it drained me, and I didn't relate to the topics. Now that I think about it, I was all alone in my little bubble, and I relate to guys more than girls because of similar interests in video games. To this day, I still regret forcing myself to give this pendant I bought (for myself) to my best friend/ex when I was in 7th grade. My dad asked about it the day after I gave it away, and I pretended to not want to give it to him. Between my dad and the ex, I would have given it to my dad in a heartbeat because he was going abroad, and I didn't know when I would see him again. I love him to bits.

I think that's all I could think about right now. I've been writing for three hours like I'm Alexander Hamilton. That's my review, go watch the show as its final season came out two days ago. If you disagree or agree with my takes, let me know 💖🫰

#chibigo_ma #asexual speaking 🗣️#sex education #sex ed netflix #netflix #thought about sex ed netflix

5 notes · View notes

myristicisms · 2 years ago

Text

@valour-bound sent;;

🖋 for Chris and Squall for Zacks RE verse 👏👌

for plot ideas! Still accepting!

SOL,,, u do not know what you've done today bestie!!! Basically lemme just,, hehe okay!!

For Chris

So basically because I'm such a gene ass with my foresight or whatever I have multiple RE verses for Chris and Zack to interact in or whatever, so we'll go chronological!!! Kinda!! More or less I do have a revelations verse where Zack works with the B.S.A.A (just made sense) and so there's the possibility of Zack being in contact with Chris and Jessica (shit talking Jessica in his mind because something's off abt her to him and he does not trust her), possibly giving more details or even exchanging information with one another some time between the sinking of the Queen Semiramis and Queen Zenobia and the exploration of the last ship that I cannot remember the name of, ofc that'd be around the point where Zack has to kill Angeal.

THEN there's the in between of the prequel DLC to re5 and re5 itself where Zack briefly ends up paired up with Chris on the occasional mission, both of which sort of help each other grasp that they're not responsible for their partner's deaths (or ig death for Angeal and Jill's going MIA bc we know she ain't dead LMFAO)

Ofc there's also re6, where Zack could briefly cross paths with Chris and Piers (me when I bust out my Piers knowledge and hcs bc I wrote him for like two years) or Zack communicating updates to Chris as captain of the team beta or whateva, also possibly helping Chris cope with the loss of Piers or being the one to help with getting Chris out of the ocean and chatting about the after math in the "haha that didn't happen" kind of way or whatever, maybe dinner together like in Chris's ending scene because two dudes having steak hehe

And finally there's also the re8 verse!!! Zack is No Longer affiliated with the B.S.A.A and is now a mercenary that takes on jobs he feels people need his assistance or whatever and so he's chilling in the village trying to protect the villagers or whateva, this one is Not Developed Much but I could see some odd little "hey I know you 🤨" shenanigans going on, possible reminiscing before they blOW UP THE VILLAGE LFMWJDBS idk idk

Anyways for Squall 🥰

This one could def be a little bit on the harder side since it heavily depends on which part of the timeline you're wanting him in but??? What if after revelations (where Zack kills Angeal bc gotta fuck up his life somehow) Squall ends up being assigned Zack's new partner on missions or whatever, be it for basic recon or straight up clean up of B.O.W shenanigans or whatever, something something opening up to a new partner + working with someone who I imagine prefers to work solo being new (me when they'll probably end up kissing on the mouth idk/j) or we could def have them bump into each other in raccoon city, establish them kinda already knowing each other (Zack getting separated from Angeal??? Crazy but so very likely LMFAOOO) and then going from there? Or they could be mercenary pals for 7/8 too, lots to do for them and it's very flexible which is why I'm struggle bussing!!!

But those are my main ideas for them!!!

#ganna's ooc!!!#• answered ooc!#muse;; zack fair #verse;; to fight for honor #valour bound #grieverled #sol my beloved thank u for enabling me

3 notes · View notes

selkiefinalist · 1 year ago

Text

weekly freakout: 8.26 edition (wherein i feel real bad for myself for no reason)

friends i have to find some more effective way of handling the crippling anxiety of writing this fic. or a way to balance what still needs to be done against my desire for it to be finished, and come to terms with the fact that it’s going to take as long as it takes, regardless of my hope that it would be done/published in early october.

so here’s where we are. it’s currently the longest thing i’ve ever written. by the time it’s done, i have this fear that it will just be this wild mess, tangled vines dangling off a wrecked bridge. there’s so much still to rough out, if i’m going to do it justice. can i have that done in the next five days? i don’t know. I wanted to have the whole month of september for editing, which felt sooooo luxurious as a concept. and now i’m sure that i’ll still be drafting while editing, which is fine - it’s fine. it’s just not how i envisioned it or whatever.

and idk. i’m committed now to the main concepts - how not? and just determined to finish as-is. but, like. what if the premise sucks. the world-building is so light, i don’t know if I’m gonna pull it off.

and also also. what if the writing also sucks? i keep swinging between very different styles and then trying to hit that sweet middleground of show versus tell, i always have this impulse to have so much subtext but i never know if it’s too much, what if i haven’t left the breadcrumbs placed where the birds can even find them? idk a hallmark of fic is often openly confronting pretty sweeping emotions or emotional scenes and i’m like: what if these emotions happened but the only way you know is because someone gently touched a button on their coat as the last light slipped from the sky or whatever.

so then i’ll end up with 50k (60? please no, god help me) of fic where the core concepts suck, where the structure sucks, and where the writing also sucks, six months of writing down the drain!! all that time i could have been doing literally anything else. like cleaning the fish tank. running. sleeping.

and also this is supposed to be fun. an enjoyable process. I know it’s part of growth or getting better, honing the skills or whatever. but what if instead of growth and getting better, i just…don’t? what then ahahahahahahahahaha

okay anyway. currently sitting at 38k and part of my despair is i thought the rough draft would come in around 40k and i am now at a point where i have to acknowledge that there’s a lot of writing left, and i write SO SLOWLY right now that i can’t just bang out an extra 10k in two weeks, like that’s another month almost of effort. someone send me that ‘girl help i am once again attempting things above my skill level’ post, i am its living embodiment right now, despair despair blah blah.

#avert your eyes fth #what is writing?#i don’t know her #hockey rpf #weekly freakout

1 note · View note

lovecolibri · 2 years ago

Note

SaL anon here friend to (belatedly) celebrate the success of our "zero expectations" attitude for 911 this week!! We got a lot of fussing over Buck and a whole Buddie scene on OG (honestly I would easily skip most 6x11 and go straight to this episode if I could) and some amazing backstory for Marjan and family moments over on LS. So yay to keeping our expectations in the ground!! I have nothing to expect for the next OG episode since every plot line seems kinda closed right now (I guess not the Denny stuff but its barely been around so 🤷‍♀️) so keeping that up when it returns seems easy enough (knowing KR I'm sure we'll get some promo eventually to sink them) but I'm actually looking forward to seeing a paramedic focused episode on LS (not that there's been much of a firefighting focus lately 🙄) so I should start tempering that.

Anyway, the main point right now is that its finally song time!! And look, I know we've done this one a LOT, but you cannot convince me that the Buddie of last episode was not the literal embodiment of Two. Its almost word for word perfection from "sweetheart, you look a little tired" to "calm waters if that serves you best". The way Eddie doesn't push, just gives the space he Buck needs and says what he needs to hear when he wants to hear it, and the little hints of their shared traumas and both want to "get around to fixing myself too", I couldn't resist, so enjoy!!

Hello my friend! I'm glad there's no episode today because between having my niece visiting and the head cold I have, there was no way this was getting done before tonight. 6x11 letting me down SO HARD in regards to Buddie/firefam focus and feels meant that 6x12 was so much sweeter when I was watching. (It still had some issues, one of which being that after telling us all about how Bobby and Buck are father and son we got nothing with Buck being worried or concerned about Bobby. I swear the pacing and planning is just all over the place with no consistency, but that's for another post.) I'm also confused about what we're doing for the rest of the season because everything but the Denny thing seems to be in a good place (I'm steadfastly refusing to think about the sperm donor thing because it's stupid and I hate it and IDK what the point even was if they weren't going to have Buck struggle at all. Still manifesting it's not his baby because I need this plot to GO AWAY and NEVER. COME. BACK.), but I know we have Ravi's return and some good Madney stuff to look forward to! Aside from the whole thing about L coming back (seriously, that more than anything else TANKED my excitement for the season. I hope they cut absolutely everything possible. Zero dialogue, just let her be present in the background and then fuck off forever), there looks to be some exciting stuff and the finale looks good! So it's a mixed bag. (I'm still not convinced that Buddie poker picture is real and not something that person did to show off some editing skills 🤷🏻‍♀️

For LS, oh man that was an EPISODE! I think I would mind less about them doing one-character focused episodes if they were more spread out so we got lots of everyone, every week and then once in awhile we got a "begins" type episode but I'm taking all the Marjan content where I can get it because we never get enough! And I'm excited to get back to the team responding to emergencies and tomorrow's episode looks really exciting on that front!

Okay, song time!! And look, it's not our fault Two is such a banger! It's just sooooo good! And if the show would quit robbing us of opportunities to do songs like Learning Curve and January White, we wouldn't be in this position, but here we are 🤷🏻‍♀️ So lets get to it!

sweet heart, you look a little tired. when did you last eat? come in and make yourself right at home- stay as long as you need. tell me, is something wrong? if something’s wrong you can count on me. you know i’ll take my heart clean apart, if it helps yours beat.

it’s okay if you can’t find the words, let me take your coat and this weight off of your shoulders.

Okay but YES this is EXACTLY the kitchen scene!! Eddie noticing Buck looks tired and welcoming him in, letting Buck make himself right at home, and not minding that it's already late and dark out. Then the whole "Am I allowed to ask how you are now?" because Eddie was going to give Buck space, but he is also desperate to know and to help and to be there for Buck like Buck was there for him after the shooting. AND THEN you have Buck bringing up the shooting and Eddie being willing to confront that memory, to take his own heart apart, to give Buck some peace of mind, and being willing to listen as Buck struggles to find the right words, and helping carry the weight for a bit so Buck can rest. I just... *screams into pillow* this whole first verse just...perfectly captures that whole scene. And there's something to parents often mis-typing as Twos because that's the state they revert to in times of stress and needing to protect their loved ones, and the Chris of it all being present in the food Eddie is making and Eddie taking that care and applying it to Buck too. Hold on a minute, I need to go cry about this scene again.

like a force to be reckoned with, a mighty ocean or a gentle kiss, i will love you with every single thing i have. like a tidal wave, i’ll make a mess. or calm waters if that serves you best. i will love you without any strings attached.

Ahhhhh, this is the 6x10/6x12 parallel just laid out in front of us too! When Buck was suspended in air, Eddie was a force to be reckoned with, fighting to get him up and when that failed, getting him down to safety, and forcing Buck's heart to beat until it could do so on it's own. When Buck spent the whole day hosting people and putting up a front that he's fine (because he doesn't want to be a burden), Eddie is the calm waters Buck retreats to where he can rest. Eddie sees what Buck needs and makes sure he's able to give what serves Buck best in the moment. And how "love me anyway" coded is "I will love you without any strings attached"?!

it’s okay if you can’t catch your breath, you can take the oxygen straight out of my own chest.

Oh man, we were just missing a scene of Eddie giving Buck mouth-to-mouth and this would have fit PERFECTLY but they knew they would never recover from that 🤣 This also fits the shooting conversation scene (both this one and the one from season 5 at the stables but in reverse), where Eddie sees that Buck is struggling and pulls his memory of that horrible day from himself to give Buck a moment to breathe.

i know exactly how the rule goes: put my mask on first. no, i don’t want to talk about myself- tell me where it hurts. i just want to build you up, build you up ’til you’re good as new and maybe one day i will get around to fixing myself too.

Oof oof oof. I'm thinking about that little wrinkle in Eddie's brow after he says "you DIED, Buck" like he can't bare to think or talk about that moment. Which is fine because right now it's NOT about him and how he's feeling, he wants to get to the bottom of where Buck is hurting so he can help him feel better. I would LOVE if this comes back around later because Eddie has been doing so well, but I would strongly suspect something like this, especially with him being the one holding the rope, to throw him for a loop. I don't expect to see it, but it's what makes sense in the narrative.

i don’t even know where to start, already tired of trying to recall when it all fell apart. and i just want to love you, to love you, to love you well. i just want to learn how, to somehow, be loved myself.

This is just...the Buddie thesis statement. I want to love you well, I want to learn how to somehow be love myself. That's it! That's Buddie in a nutshell.

like a force to be reckoned with, a mighty ocean or a gentle kiss, i will love you without any strings attached. and what a privilege it is to love, a great honor to hold you up.

like a force to be reckoned with a mighty ocean or a gentle kiss, i will love you with every single thing i have like a tidal wave, i’ll make a mess. or calm waters if that serves you best. i will love you without any strings attached, i will love you without a single string attached.

While 6x12 made this chorus very much fitting for Eddie, it's also just so true of both of them like, all the time. They are always there to balance each other out, to give what the other is needing in the moment, whatever serves them best, and they love each other. Full stop. Without a single string attached, that love is there for the other's taking. Aaaaaaand now I'm crying again.

PERFECT choice this week with everything we got! Fingers crossed we can get at least one more song out of this season!

youtube

#my sweet nonnie friends #sleeping at last anon #911 #911 spoilers #buddie #sleeping at last #two #911 lone star #lone star spoilers

4 notes · View notes

herorps · 4 years ago

Text

shadow and bone and racism

shadow and bone just came out so i can now finally break my silence bc holy shit do they go ham on the racism and me being me, i just have to tell you all about it. possible spoilers and triggers for anti-asian racism and microaggressions.

to preface, i was very privileged to receive a screener for the entire first season last month and i was actually excited to watch it bc i have friends who love the books and the show piqued my interest since it was announced. and i also have to say that i never read the books and i probably never will ( tho i’ve been told i would like soc ) but i did like the show overall.

i think sab is a good adaptation and that the fans will like this show. i thoroughly enjoyed it and as someone who had very little to almost no knowledge about the books, i didn’t have trouble keeping up with the fantastical world.

however that doesn’t mean i can’t be critical of it.

i think the show can actually benefit from people being critical about it because so far, it feels like they took a very tone deaf direction and ran a marathon with it.

what i’m talking about, is alina starkov being half-shu.

now, i said before that my interest was piqued for this show when it was announced and one of the major reasons is the casting of biracial actress, jessie mei li, in the role of alina starkov. i can’t tell you how happy i was to see that a half-chinese actress was cast as the lead in a series based on such a beloved ip, especially since the creators of the show consciously changed alina’s ethnicity to be half-shu before casting calls were even sent out. ( for those of you who are also non-book readers, shu is the race of people from the country, shu han, and is based off primarily mongolian and chinese cultures )

so i was endeared with the idea that this character, that is coded white, was deliberately changed to be coded asian ( and coded mixed race to boot ) because the producers wanted to include diversity into the show. i commend that, i love that, i support that. but i believe the way they handled it, shouldn’t have been the way they handled it. and it’s because alina’s race is constantly brought up.

obviously of course race is going to be brought up at some point. alina in the show is surrounded by white people when we first see her, and her home country of ravka does have a hostile history with shu han----i get it. racism is going to play a part in alina’s story. but it doesn’t necessarily need to go so far as to constantly remind the audience that she is shu in almost every interaction she has with someone she meets.

and that’s a big part of the issue, is that nearly everyone she meets will bring up the fact that she’s part-shu. and a lot of the time, it’s said with hostility. now i’m not exactly sure if i’m just being particularly sensitive because of certain recent events, but the anti-asian racism hits differently these days. idk.

because that’s what it is, at the end of the day. it’s racism. alina is often the target of very hostile racism and it seems to mainly be directed at her character and her character only.

and honestly, on a surface level it makes sense, i sort of understand what the producers are trying to do. ravka has a turbulent history with shu han and were involved in wars with them and they’re often seen as the enemy so obviously that would affect a shu-mixed person growing up in ravka, a very white country. but on a deeper level, it reminds me a lot of the anti-japanese sentiments during wwii. the production team even created a banner that i felt called back to those anti-japanese propaganda of that era. ( mind you it was shown multiple times, in main focus, and acknowledged by characters that were coded shu )

but on the other hand, they’ve done a considerable job to diversify at least the ethnic makeup of ravka. there are black and brown grisha at the school and there are people of different cultures ( noted by costuming, etc. ) in ketterdam and there’s even a shu-appearing trainer that teaches the grisha to fight. so my question is, why is this very hostile treatment primarily geared toward shu people and geared toward alina specifically? it just doesn’t make sense to me.

and when i say it’s specifically geared toward alina, i mean that it’s very apparent that they’re targeting her specifically, because mal ( played by a possibly mixed-race archie renaux ) is also coded to be of mixed shu blood. while it is not explicitly stated that mal is shu, it is heavily implied that he is mixed, but he is never subject to the treatment that alina is, and the only times he is subject to racism is when alina is also present. in scenes where we see alina and mal as kids, they are often both referred to as “mutts” or “half-breeds”. but when they are older, only alina is continuously called those things.

this isn’t even touching the microaggressions she faces after she’s at grisha school and this one line that made my gut wrench so viscerally i had to pause the episode and replay the part so i could confirm what i heard. [ episode 3 spoiler warning ] i’m trying to avoid posting screenshots or from spoiling parts of the show but there’s a scene where alina is being cleaned up and made presentable by servants and one of them says “I’d start by making her eyes less Shu.” [ end episode 3 spoiler ] i don’t think i have to explain to anyone how offensive that is. and i understand that the intention was to show how racist this servant is, that the entire point of of this weird racism plot is to show how the people of ravka can be racist and ignorant, but to have that line be written by a white writer, approved by a white showrunner and said by a white character to the face of an asian actor/character feels very tactless. it feels like another antagonist alina has to go against is racism itself.

what also turns me off about this scene is that jessie mei li revealed that this scene is what actresses had to audition with. “...the sides that they sent for the audition, like Alina is talking to Genya and they’re talking about her eyes and they’re talking about her Shu ancestry.” having actresses of mixed-asian ancestry come in and act out that scene for white producers doesn’t really sit right with me. and i know that there’s an argument to be had about how it’s important to show the minutia of what it’s like to be ethnic in a world ruled by white supremacy and that it’s important to show how alina’s race affects her story, but i don’t think that going this far is necessary to the development of plot or character.

and i don’t personally know jml, i don’t know how she feels about the show apart from what she’s probably briefed to talk about in interviews, but it is perfectly valid for me to feel iffy about the microaggressions while she feels that it’s necessary for character development ( again, this is just an example, i have no clue what she thinks of the racism ). our experiences are different, our upbringings are different, but we’re both happy to see representation and i’m happy that she’s happy to see an actual mixed-chinese character on screen as the lead.

i’m glad that the producers were open to diversity and were open to making the lead a person of color, but it’s things like the treatment of shu characters and exchanges like “Tell her...Oh, I don’t know...good morning.” “I don’t actually speak Shu.” and “I didn’t know the Zemeni had such talent.” “She’s Suli.” ( zemeni is a race of “dark-skinned” people and suli are coded south asian/mena/wena so this exchange is just white people mixing the brown people up ) that remind me the majority of the writers and producers are white.

now i’m not saying that you should boycott the show or that this show is the most problematic thing to ever grace my retinas, because i really enjoyed watching it and i want to see what season 2 has in store ( more crows content please ). but, i want you all to please keep all of this in mind when you watch the series and think critically of what kinds of unconscious biases these producers had. you’re allowed to have nuanced opinions, you’re allowed to be critical of the media you enjoy so long as you understand where some people’s criticisms are coming from---where my criticisms are coming from. i just hope in future seasons the treatment of alina gets better and that she actually learns to love her shu side because otherwise it’s just going to be problematic as the show continues.

#shadow and bone #grishaverse #six of crows

372 notes · View notes

fae-fucker · 2 years ago

Text

Breaking Time: Part 3

Chapter 11: Callum

The scream for help rang off the walls. Callum looked up again at Aion, but the man had vanished.

Strength will come on swift wings.

Callum had always believed the words when Thomas spoke them. They won him countless fights, allowed him another strike when his body burned and only defeat seemed possible. But when he needed it to be true—like when his friend lay dying in front of him—it had proven false. Or rather, strength had come, but not enough.

What’s Sasha’s/Shinsay’s fascination with establishing some weird creed or epic quote, saying it’s always been something the character believes, and then going “um except this time and these other times it didn’t work.”

Also, what does that even mean. What does it matter in the grand scheme of things? Does it add anything? Not really. I looked it up, and this is the only time this quote is used in the whole book. Remove. Sasha, hire me as your editor. I don’t have formal experience or education but I have eyes and a willingness to hurt your feelings.

Callum finds some old tiny door in the room, except it’s barred and he needs to pry it open.

He looked back up at the torch sconce. Though old with age, it could possibly be of help to him.

Old. With ... age. Aight. Feel like there could’ve been a better way to describe that.

Anyway, he manages to get it open, goes through it and finds Klara being attacked by the monster. They have a little fight. The monster sort of throws them around without really doing anything actually threatening. Callum rips his shirt off in order to grab a shard of rock (??) to stab with, because of course. He defeats it while Klara is mostly unconscious, because of course, and then the monster’s remains disappear mysteriously.

Chapter 12: Klara

Did I ever tell you guys that Callum has heterochromia? No? I forgor. Well, he does, and Klara keeps describing his eyes as “mismatched” and I keep going “Wait what? Why?”

There’s some really ill-timed yet predictable shit where Klara is all discombobulated but still present enough to be really horny for Callum when they have the usual accidental touch. Idk man, something about tropes I enjoy being done badly really fiddles my sticks.

They find just ... a random hole? And climb through it? And then there’s a scene cut and suddenly they’re outside on the streets again. Convenient!

Klara leads Callum to her grandma’s house, because Grandma is all mystical and shit.

Callum tells her how he found her through the tunnel in the apothecary and what he was doing there in the first place, and says that he’d like to go back to ask Aion a few questions.

Klara cut him off with a glance. “Let’s skip that stuff for now and get somewhere safe. After that beast, we don’t know what else is waiting to kill us.”

I’m not gonna say this is wrong, per se, but you’d think she’d say something like “Let’s get ourselves cleaned up first” or “Let’s talk to my grandma first so we’re more prepared and have better questions to ask Aion” or even “Can we please take a break and a snack, we nearly just died.” She says “Let’s skip that stuff.” As if “that stuff” isn’t ... this stuff? Like, it’s inherently tied to the main issue you’re dealing with right now, it IS the main issue. The way this is phrased just makes her seem really dismissive and rude, and it reads more like the author coming up with a bad reason to keep the clealry more interesting stuff for later when it logically doesn’t make a lot of sense to do so.

I’m sorry I keep harping on incidental phrasing, but words and sentences make up the book, that’s how books work. Making choices about phrasing and what words to use is important. “Let’s skip that stuff” just tells me, the reader, that either Klara is a huge dismissive bitch, or Callum’s previous chapters didn’t fucking matter.

Callum gets startled by a plane and it’s painfully unfunny. They get to Gram’s house and she’s a mystical cool grandma who’s tough as nails but has a heart of gold, as per usual. Bonus points for being bisexual I spose. Klara and Callum take showers. Klara has a little stress cry.

She decides to try to keep her grandma safe by saying she and Callum watched some documentary on mysticism and need some advice. Then Callum comes in wearing 70′s clothes that used to belong to Gram’s last ex before her current wife. It’s still painfully unfunny.

Grams gives them a little lecture on stuff we honestly mostly knew already. Mystic centers being portals and shit. Then we get an infodump on Arianrhod, the Welsh goddess, and Grams then translates the pics Klara took of the mystical book, which confirms that she is a Pillar of Time, and they’re all associated with Arianrhod.

Grams gets all sad about all the trials and tribulations Klara will have to face, and asks Callum to give them a moment in private. Once he’s gone, Grams tells Klara that “[Callum] may not know much, but he can guide you -- and maybe your heart -- in the right direction.” Which, I dunno, for someone who claims not to know shit, you do seem to be very sure about this part. Do appreciate the dunk on Callum, though.

Klara’s all “why me!!” and Grams is all “ur special uwu” and then the chapter ends.

Chapter 13: Callum

Callum finds photographs of Klara’s mother and honestly, you can guess how the scene goes beat for beat. You’re smart like that, I respect your vast knowledge of book clichés and huge meat.

Callum: Owo what be this! Such excellent lifelike portraits the likes of which I hath never seen beforeth!

Klara: Lmao you poor little meow meow! These are photoed graphs! Don’t ask me how this family vlog freezeframes are made, I went to school to study the SJM lights in the sky, not to Steve Jobs academy for iPhone warehouse work.

Callum: Pray, whyst was thine mother plagued by evil spirits?

Klara: Well you see, she had ADHD before it was invented by TikTok, and because she couldn’t post back in the day, she was called sussy despite never venting. But that only made her girlboss harder, so when I got dunked on with dyslexia, I could gaslight and gatekeep with her support!

Callum: Yourst mother must haveth been the most holy of all women, pray? Such strength and power is truly remarkablest and could only come from the light of God!

Klara: Oh she served cunt for sure, easily the most pogchamp boss babe to ever upvote on that grindset.

Okay I’m being mean. This is what actually happens.

[...] “What were her troubles?”

“She had undiagnosed ADHD—a disorder that means she learns in a different way from most people. I’m dyslexic, which is different, but also means I learn differently from others,” Klara explained. “At that time, not much was known about it. So instead of helping, her classmates all called her stupid, which only made her try harder.”

Callum’s heart tweaked. He had no education himself, but he knew how cruel children could be. “She sounds like an incredible woman.”

“She was. That’s why she wanted me to go to college so badly—to feel that purpose to succeed even when hurdles were stacked in front of me. She told me to leap past them.”

And here’s why I have a problem with it.

I think, or rather, assume, that this is based on Sasha’s own life? I don’t know, but that’s how it reads. And while I do genuinely admire anyone who’s willing to be vulnerable in their art and putting it out there, this just isn’t ... how people talk? It reads like something out of an awareness pamphlet. I think it’s important to put parts of yourself in your art, to be genuine, but you still have to do it purposefully. We think a 13-year-old with an edgelord wolf OC is cute and fun and an important step in their creative and emotional development, but we don’t put that shit in museums. Instead of having this actually matter or impact Klara in any way, it reads like “ADHD is a learning disorder, but people are mean ignorant bullies about it, and actually people who have it are so brave and strong and, in this case, tragic victims who perservered through it all and rose above it!”

Like. We know this already. People who will read this book will already be aware of what ADHD is, the stigma around it, and how people treat those who have it. Statistically, a significant part of the book’s audience might even have it themselves. This is just empty air for the author to use to send a pretty banal message, not two characters actually speaking to each other. You know what I mean?

You could still have this conversation happen and make it sweet and poignant at the same time, without it sounding like a teen girl monologue in a Netflix original.

Also it kind of sends the harmful message that if you have learning disorders, all you have to do to be appreciated and to “win” over your tormentors is to be better than everyone else and to excel in a system that isn’t made for you and is likely a big reason behind your difficulties. That, you know, you just have to be better in school while having a disorder that makes it hard to be good in school, by definition. But what do I know. I’m just a silly little guy.

Anyway, Klara and Callum sit down to do some detective work, and by that I mean they once again go over information that I feel has been repeated multiple times already. Thomas was drawing mystic centers, he visited them, Klara and him are both connected to Arianrhod who has dominion over time yadda yadda. Klara figures that in order to leap between worlds, like Thomas said, one needs a lot of energy, which is what she felt that time in the forest when she blasted the evil man. Based on the fact that Thomas was a weak bitch and took down guys in the ring using his wits, they somehow conclude that Thomas was looking for his enemy’s weakness at those mystic centers, and that their next step should be to go to one themselves and ... do something, idk.

I love how their little connect-the-dots session consists of them recapping everything the reader has probably already figured out thanks to the repeated info dumps, then concludes with them pulling an entirely new plot point outta their asses based on one thing Callum says about Thomas.

This plot is less an intricately woven spiderweb and more a plate of spaghetti.

Klara calls her dad and comes up an excuse for why she needs to leave. Then Grams urges her out of the house, but not before letting them take her car and GASP! Giving Klara a family heirloom SWORD! Wooow, so cool! Soon, Klara will truly become the girlboss of our dreams! And not only that, but it’s a magical sword, that “knows” Klara!

“You said it knows her...?” Callum couldn’t take his eyes off the beautiful weapon. The blade was as long as Klara’s arm, the hilt formed like a Scottish thistle. Spiny leaves twined its way up the cross guard, which flowed into a handle made of twisting stems that bloomed into an amethyst-studded pommel in the shape of the prickly flower. Though it was a prickly flower, the handle looked comfortable, smooth even just enough for a hand to fit comfortably around it. Excitement welled in him at the sight of such a finely made weapon. He could not tear his eyes away from the gorgeous blade.”

Yes, those stray quotes are in there, and yes, he really really can’t take his eyes off the beautiful weapon/gorgeous blade, you guys.

Chapter 14: Klara

They travel at night to another mystic center and of course stop at a big fancy castle.

Klara liked to think that in Scotland, people wouldn’t have balked at a young woman carrying a sword.

Yeah, because Scottish people are, like, badass medieval warrior people, like in Braveheart! Not just ... normal guys. Who at most will think you’re an out-of-costume LARPer and give you a mild curious glance. Aren’t you from New York? Aren’t you used to ignoring people doing even weirder shit? Why this weird Scottish fetishism? Oh sorry, forgot which book I was reading.

ALSO IT’S FUCKING BUMFUCK O’CLOCK BEFORE SUNRISE IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE. I get you’re the literal main character and all but Jesus.

And just when I thought Klara was done being fucking annoying, we get ... whatever the fuck this is:

Callum strode ahead of her and whirled around, walking backward to speak to her. “Do ye ken how to wield a sword, lass?”

The flirty, musical lilt to his voice made the butterflies in her stomach stir, but she knew it was only an act—the tension plain on his face revealed the truth of what was lying underneath. Fear. Danger. But if she thought of what actually might lie in store for them when they reached the mystic center they were heading to—another scaled beast, the flash of fangs, or worse, the man who’d tried to kill her, or even worse , some unknown threat—she wasn’t sure she’d be able to keep going.

“If you can travel through time, I can figure out how to use a sword,” she said. “Have you ever heard of mansplaining , Callum? Maybe you can take the concept back to your time and spread the word. It would spare womankind a lot of trouble.”

This is what true feminism looks like, ladies. Pack it up, Sasha’s got it figured out.

I don’t think she wrote this to make feminists look bad, but it certainly seems like it, doesn’t it?

Klara and Callum let out some therapeutic screams, then Callum starts making a fire.

He clashed two stones together. A spark jumped out and into the sticks. Within seconds, the fire was blazing.

He clashed two ... just, stones? Just two rocks together? And it produced a spark? And it took him mere seconds to make it blaze? My man’s more magic than Klara herself. I’m surprised her Scientific Mind doesn’t question this at all.

They sit down to talk. Callum notices Klara’s bruises.

Klara caught her reflection in her phone camera: under the flickering firelight, she looked like death incarnate. Everything looked worse on pale skin. Veins, bruises, pimples. And that’s not even taking sunburn into account.

Yeah man. When will people finally realize that white people are the real victims? Especially pretty, skinny ginger girls. They just can’t catch a break :(

Klara challenges Callum to teach her to use a sword. Hey, remember the way she swept his feet out from under him in the beginning of the book, flawlessly and casually? Well, here’s Sasha explaining why it was totally random and not at all Klara’s usual MO, because she doesn’t know how to do anything at all, so Callum can swoop in and have a sexy training scene!

She had a handful of talents. Crashing essays at the last minute. Executing a decent cat-eye. Making a perfectly bitter cup of iced coffee. Fighting was not one of them.

Growing up in New York, it was a rite of passage to learn how to defend yourself from a bag thief, or worse. Unfortunately, aside from knowing not to tuck her thumb in her clenched fist when throwing a punch, the self-defense class she and her mom had taken together at the Y was a hazy memory. She had been just surprised as Callum was when she knocked him down in the grove days earlier.

Ain’t that convenient! And yeah, she really was surprised back then, wasn’t she? With the way she was gloating and telling him how unfeminist he was being? She’s just funky like that.

They train for hours and it’s predictably horny. It’s whatever. Probably the least awful thing in a while tbh, because it reads bland in a way that makes it untouched by Sasha’s particular brand of originality.

We get the usual thing of Callum being impressed with Klara and saying he can tell she’s a fighter, because of course. Then we get the obligatory bit where she straddles him and holds the “blade” (stick) to his throat, because of course. What’s funny about this is that their movements in the scene are so inconsistently written that she straddles him, and then they continue talking and doing other shit and other movements, but it never says she gets off him? So it’s really funny to imagine what the fuck is supposed to be happening.

There’s also this:

Klara removed the stick from his throat, heart pounding in her throat.

Brilliant.

Anyway, they’re having a conversation about how Klara makes Callum feel “free” or whatever, when they get interrupted by something coming out of the fairy circle mystic center thing.

Chapter 15: Callum

Ohmigoddess, it’s Arianrhod herself! She’s very hornily described as having perfect pale skin and wonderful blonde hair and nice curves, because Sasha grew up on SJM and can’t imagine powerful women who aren’t fuckable. The text does unfortunately describe her eyes to be above her lips, which, while technically true, conjures up very interesting images in my mind.

Arianrhod is deeply uninteresting and uninspired, saying some mystical nonsense about how humans don’t see the world as gods do, which, duh, but ok.

If the woman in front of [Callum] were human, she would have blinked. But she only continued to appraise him as she spoke, her honey eyes aglow—the night sky aflame, encircled in two sockets.

Ah yes, the night sky, which is ... brown and sometimes transluscent but other times opaque and sort of grainy? And it’s aflame. The ... For ...

I dunno, man. Sasha’s just on a different level. She’s on that word association shit.

Arianrhod does at least explain that the man who attacked Thomas was after his blood, which is very special and precious, because it can control time or some shit. She explains that Thomas (and by association, Klara) was “chosen” by Arianrhod, and that she split up her powers and gave them to ten people across time, who became the Pillars of Time. She did this because other gods were jealous and kept beefing with her, so she gave her powers away to humans who couldn’t be touched by the gods because they were in a different realm. Not sure how she touched those humans, but maybe that will be explained later. Along with how Klara found that book that had these supposedly secret Pillars of Time written down, and who wrote it. I honestly thought it was a sort of family tree, but apparently it’s not, and since only Arianrhod knows who all the Pillars are, who wrote it? One of the other Pillars? A different god? Guess we’ll find out.

Anyway, the Pillars of Time had Arianrhod’s magic in their blood, but it was dormant and they essentially couldn’t use it. Eventually, the magic would pass into the earth itself. I guess ... when they died? It’s really weird and vague.

She tells them that the Bad Guy has been killing Pillars using ancient weapons from the gods in order to harness the power in their blood, which makes him more and more godlike with each Pillar he shanks.

She then explains that he’s not human, and that he was born with some sort of aberration in him which ended up consuming him, then finally reveals that his name is Llaw, and he is her son. He wants to become a god and live among them, which he can do by harnessing his mom’s powers and ... breaking the barriers between the worlds? Or enhancing the barriers between worlds? Arianrhod says that the gods all live in different realms that barely and rarely connect, and this is good and normal, but Llaw would change that by going into the Otherworld with his impure powers, which would affect both the human world and the Otherworld, but also the different realms of the gods?

She says that if he succeeds, then he would break time (title drop!), which would collapse reality in on itself. But she also says that she won’t really be affected by this. So are gods in their own separate realms, but also there’s an Otherworld on top of the regular human world, and Llaw is trying to collapse the line between the Otherworld and human world? But if Klara survives past Samhain then Arianrhod’s powers can be restored, somehow? That’s not expanded upon.

Klara gets her next quest marker after Arianrhod tells her she must deepen the connection with what’s inside her by going to the mystic centers and “unlock her powers” with each one.

The question went unanswered, because with a tilt of the goddess’s chin, a tendril of mist rose and encircled Klara’s head. Her mouth parted slightly. She touched her ear. As she did, the mist lost its form and came at her like a wave.

She flew back, hair whipping around her before landing on her back staring up at the sky.

Head spinning, she loosened a long groan.

Taking a deep breath, she picked herself up just as Callum reached her. “I’m fine,” she said, warding him away with her hand.

Sasha keeps forgetting whose POV she’s in and also being unable to write any sort of coherent physical actions. What else is new?

#eff reads: breaking time

3 notes · View notes

purplerose244 · 4 years ago

Text

My thoughts on Seabound!!! 🌊🌊🌊 (1/4)

SPOILERS ALERT!!!

Finally Nya's season! Our queen, our water goddess, our amazing girl gets what she deserves! 😍😍😍

What I know about the season beforehand is that Nya's powers apparently are getting problematic for some reasons? Which is a pretty common topic in other shows but it's a first in Ninjago, usually the elemental powers don't have focus and I LOVE that we now get to see stuff like that 💕💕💕

I know there should be Wojira involved, trusting The Island to deliver that little foreshadowing at the end of the episode 🤷‍♀️ Also Maya is back... MAYA IS FINALLY BACK AFTER SEVEN SEASONS YES!!! 😭😭😭

I have nothing else to say, I have no idea what this will bring, hopefully something as good as Master of the Mountain! 🖤

Alright, here we go!

GENERAL THOUGHTS

Warning reader, I might be fangirling to an extreme because I love mah girl Nya and I've been wanting Kai and Nya's parents to be back ever since Hands of Time ended. So yeah... screaming alert 😅

At this point I don't doubt that the intro is great, we reached such a level of animation and we got The Fold 😍😍 Love the marine vibe and how it's similar to The Island, because it's a great intro 👌

NOW I like the writing! Maybe they rushed the dialogue's quality for The Island to get here? It's just fun and in character, maybe it's just me but I'm enjoying it a lot for now

How many episodes are in this? Wiki says ten, then I checked again and it's sixteen like with Master of Mountain... eh, it looks good so far so it's fine whatever happens 🤷‍♀️

A BIG SPLASH

Oohhh, new villain! One that uses... flames... huh, does she know there's literally a master of fire in the ninja team? Eh whatever she looks cute, give it up for Miss Demeanor!! 👏👏

Wait... OMG IS THAT ERIN MATTHEWS??? WE GOT MACY!! ❤❤❤

Whoa, we're finding out where did the order of the vengestone from season 13 come from?? YAS! CONTINUITY!

Yep, there it is, Nya lost control... her attacks look so cool 😍

Lol that kid trying to be a nindroid and Zane being offended 😂😂 Sorry hun, you're that popular

Aaahhh, thank you Ninjago! You gave me back Nya the perfectionist 😂 I was worried her reaction to her powers wasn't going to be in character but it looks fair so far. Brings me back to Possession, my favorite season 💙💙💙

WE GOT BACK THE FACT THAT SHE CAN MAKE IT RAIN!!! YAS!!! I might be easy to please but I love these details 🤩

🤯🤯🤯 Okay they are definitely going somewhere this time and I LOVE IT, because wow. WOW. Are we actually addressing the forever questioned fact that wind and water weren't elements that Chen needed at the Tournament? Are we giving a reason for them to exist outside the main set of elements and the elemental masters?? Duuuude, season 15 don't let me stop you, keep going 😍

Mm, so water and wind are connected to Wojira (now I see the connection with the special). Are we setting the ground for a new master of wind? 😏😏 It's risky going for a Morro replacement but it's a super intriguing idea! Oooor Edgy Boy TM might come back? WHO KNOWS I'M CURIOUS ANYWAY 🤩

Love how it is universal knowledge that Nya is super indipendent 👌

YES YES FINALLY WE'RE TALKING ABOUT MAYA!!! 😍😍😍 Is it too much hoping into a Ray cameo as well?? Pleaaaase? Also addressing Krux after so many seasons, this feels exciting!! 😊

This is what I'm talking about, training, fighting scenes, show me everything that water goddess can do! 🌊🌊🌊

Aaahhh, Nya flexing her mightiness through anger, just to remind us that she is the descendant of a water master as much as of a fire master 😅

YES YES YES YES IT'S HAPPENING FINALLY AFTER SEVEN SEASON THE FIRE WATER PARENTS ARE FINALLY BACK!!! 🔥🌊🔥🌊🔥🌊 I'M SO HAPPY I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR SO LONG!!! 😭

RAY IS THERE TOO HECK YES!!!! 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍 I shouldn't get this excited at only the first episode... WHO CARES RAY IS BAAAAACK!!! ❤❤❤

Omg Maya is definitely different from what I expected, turns out Kai's enthusiasm came from her 😂

Oh look at my flame babe 😍

He's so happy his parents are here, he's a total family man ❤❤❤

Nya is maaaaad... 😅

THERE SHE IS

WELCOME BACK JILLIAN I MISSED YOU 💚💚💚 Would it be too much having a "Your voice sounds familiar" moment with Maya and Lloyd? 😂

I'm so stoked for this! I want all the interactions I've missed for all of this time, asap!! HECK yes!! 😍😍😍😍

Oh, are we looking over the Miss Demeanor, vengestone situation? Mm... for now at least... WHO CARES FIRE WATER PARENTS!! 🔥🌊🔥🌊🔥🌊

THE CALL OF THE DEEP

Imma just slow clap for The Fold because this is another amazing intro, one of those things in this show that stays awesome no matter what happens 👍👍

So Maya gave Nya her discipline and perfectionism, but not the passion behind it 😂 I like this, it's not your conventional master of water, although I'd say it's different from the impression she gave me back in HoT. Maybe this is how she is when she's not trapped for fifty years? 😅😅

Is it too much asking for Kai and Ray bonding while the water women get the work done? 😅😅

Is this the sequel of Green Eggs and Ham?

Green Pancakes and Ham? 😂

Oh it's seaweed nevermind... at breakfast? I'm all for sushi rolls but this is a little 😅 Although since Maya missed their childhood she probably never cooked meals for them... how did I get myself sad 😢

Whoa, Maya is a strict teacher! I got flashbacks from my first and only dance lesson, teachers nitpicking every single pose, uuurrrggg I feel ya waterlily 😡

Again, not a fan of Misako, but coming from her the whole speech about wanting to be there for her child makes a lot of sense

Yes. YES.

YEEEEESSSS KAI AND RAY FAMILY BONDING THIS IS EVERYTHING I'VE EVER WANTED I'M GETTING ALL OF MY WISHES GRANTED FOR THIS ONE ❤🔥❤🔥❤🔥❤🔥❤🔥❤

AND MY FLAME BABE IS SO GLAD HE GOT HIS PARENTS!!! 😭😭😭

Lol with Kai's new hair they look even more related 🤣

Ray also sounds so happy he gets to have his moment with his son 😢 I feel so blessed in this moment 👍

Also this scene makes a lot of sense. Nya grew up to be indipendent, one that succeed in most of stuff without problems, she built her life without any help and doesn't look for it. Kai grew up more insecure, he got some walls up but loves to take care of others and be taken care of. With a childhood lost he looks forward to a bit of softness ❤❤

Did Maya make real bacon for that sandwich? Do I smell some favoritism? 😅 Or maybe she really wants Nya to get onto the water mind setting idk 🤷‍♀️

Little tiny complain, why isn't Jay doing the fixing? Did he give up mechanics completely? It feels like we haven't seen him do tech stuff in so long, I miss techy boy in action 😞

And no, having to check on the bathroom doesn't count 😅

Aww robot date 💜🤍💜🤍

AAAHH ROBOT DISASTER 😱😱😱 ZANE DANG IT YOU WERE DOING SO GOOD NOT TRYING TO DIE IN THE LAST TWO SEASONS!!

Oh that was weird, weird magic purple wave thingie?

I DID NOT ASK FOR A SEASON WITH A BEST GIRL AT THE EXPENCE OF ANOTHER BEST GIRL PIX DON'T YOU DARE DO THIS TO ME 😱😱😱😱😱

"Well this is troubling." I love this samurai so freaking much 💜💜💜

GUYS THIS IS ONLY THE SECOND EPISODE, I'M A LITTLE SCARED NOW 😢

Okay Nya admitting that something's wrong looking so apologetic, girl you don't need to do that you already own my heart 😭

Alright, I'm guessing this is Wojira's power or something, and they will have to go down below and find out why... just throwing this in, maybe Maya did something? Because she wanted to finally be with her family and needed an excuse? JUST A THEORY WITH NO BASE I REALLY HOPE I'M WRONG!!!

Okay, two episodes and I'm BEYOND engaged, let's keep it up! 😍

UNSINKABLE

Getting an idea how this episode might end already 😂😂

Look, I love best girl Pixal, but I'm kinda sad that she seems to be the only one tinkering at this point. Like, I saw Nya fix little stuff, while Jay dropped engineering altogether, I miss my engineers team 😭

Aww, the guys didn't want to crush Pixal's dream of an unsinkable boat 💜 But honestly yeah, I agree with Cole, this might end badly 😅😅

Thank goodness

I was worried they forgot about Jaya ❤💙❤💙 Jay is such a cutie omg

Nya: Mm, going on a potentially dangerous mission with unstable powers in the heart of my element or... mom's tofu pancakes... *yeets herself over the ship*

I'm making too many screenshots of the Smith family... WHO CARES THEY ARE BACK AND THEY ALL LOOK SO GOOD!!! 😍😍😍😍

Aww Ray wants to play with his son and his friends so CUTE ❤❤❤ Still can't believe they play Prime Empire after everything that went down 😂😂

Whoa whoa whoa, Kai and Cole are sitting this one out? That's actually interesting, I'm pretty sure I saw Cole's scuba suit in the sets though so I didn't expect it... lol it's actually kinda fair that the two that used to be afraid of water aren't going 😂😂

Bet Kai is happy to stay behind because he gets to spend time with his dad 😭

Also studying the fire elementals?? Uhm, yes please?? TELL ME EVERYTHING ABOUT MY FLAME BABE!!! 😍😍😍😍

I'm sure this one scene...

... made so many lavashippers happy ❤🖤❤🖤 Cole you got Ray's blessing

Ninja team acting cool while Jay is being Jay, it's how it always goes, it's the entire show's description and I absolutely love it 😂 That wink though 💙

PIRATE ZANE IS BACK 😂😂😂 Haven't seen him since Possession, and this time he's not even malfunctioning 👌 Pixal is so done with his dorky boyfriend 😝

Of course Jay already has a ghost butler theory going on 😂

OF COURSE IT'S MAYA 😂😂

To be honest muffins would sold me too 😅 Not sure if she will make them out of tofu again though...

It's actually really interesting that we still haven't met the actual enemies, it does build up excitment! Very curious about these squid guys 👍

Well what do you know, the Unsinkable sank. Who would have thought?

... yeah same, sorry Pix 😅

FIVE THOUSANDS FATHOMS DOWN

Aaaahhh, Nya fixing stuff! That's more like it!! 😍😍

Oww, that one speech, I've been waiting for so long for that! Maya just wants to catch up with her daughter and it's not her fault she was separated from her children, but Nya did everything on her own with Kai. Only fair she isn't seeking for her help right now... still sad 😢

Pff, with this ninja team there's not a moment of privacy 😂😂

Maya cleaning his future son-in-law's laundry what the HECK 😂😂😂 To be fair Jay has a bit of a history of having to change underwears during sea travels 😝

Zane was attached to a battery? When?... are you talking about that one scene in Prime Empire? Cause that's not really a flashback I wanna ha- whoops never mind got the flashback 😱

Maya looks more calm now, I think she's trying to act more reasonable and she's got good points 👍 I know people were a little weirded out by how more cheerful she looks in comparison to Hands of Time, but I think she gets the most serious and rational when time needs. That's actually fascinating of her 🤔

CALLING OUT AN ATTEMPTED MURDER

THIS GIRL IS TOO GORGEOUS MY HEART CAN'T TAKE IT 🤩🤩🤩 Like my gosh that smirk, what the heck Pix 💜💜💜

Okay but Jay looking at Nya until the doors are completely closed?? CAN YOU FEEL MY JAYA HEART BEATING?? ❤💙❤💙

Whoa green gas I thought this was Nya's season 😂

MAYA WHY ARE YOU SAYING THIS STUFF YOU'RE SCARING ME 😱😱😱 I SWEAR LEGO IF YOU BROUGHT BACK WATER MOM JUST TO KILL HER OFF I'M GONNA SUE YOU 😭😭😭

I really REALLY like the atmosphere of the entrante of the temple! Super sealike and ancient! 🌊🌊🌊

Maya: off we go, into the spooky old temple! (Why does it feel like something Kai would say? 😂)

Oh gee, someone sleeping in the deep, who could that be? Coff Wojira coff

Whoa the jellyfishes look pretty lifelike!

HERE HE COMES

WELCOME BACK GILES!!! ONCE AGAIN ON A LEGO SHOW I MISSED YOU SO MUCH YOU AND YOUR GODLIKE VOICE!!! 😍😍😍😍 Gosh he's a villain but he's got Clay's voice, how can I even try to hate him?? 😅

Alright, knocking down my water girls, that is pretty hateful material... BUT CLAAAYYY 💙💙💙

So they need the two amulets to wake up Wojira? Isn't one on the island? Fire dad and son coming to the rescue? WHO KNOWS BUT I'M ENJOYING THIS A LOT SO FAR KEEP GOING SEABOUND 😍😍😍

111 notes · View notes

shinsouskitten · 4 years ago

Text

Shinsou Hitoshi nsfw alphabet

damn kat back at it again with the thirst i hate myself

Idk how I haven’t done a nsfw alphabet for my KING yet but I’m disappointed in myself for it

this post was mostly finished before the whole ‘this cold makes me feel like im dying’ thing so i just had to add a few and it was ready for publishing (bonus points if you can tell which ones were added in my cold-induced craziness)

Warnings: you know it, you love it, the thirsting of a lonely writer

---

A = Aftercare (what they’re like after sex)

Shinsou is a king when it comes to aftercare. Hot baths, massages, cuddles, you name it. You mean the absolute world to him, and he’ll go out of his way to show that, both in and out of the bedroom

B = Body part (their favorite body part of theirs and their partner’s)

Shinsou can be pretty self critical, but if you pushed for an answer he’d probably say his hair, cause he knows how much you like it. For his partner, horny Shinsou would immediately go for your neck (literally too). He loves how a single kiss can turn you into putty in his hands, and he’ll leave marks in places he knows you can’t hide just to prove to the world that you’re his

C = Cum (anything to do with cum, basically)

Inside you, on you, he doesn’t really mind. Whatever you prefer, he’s happy with. If you want to get messy, he’s more than happy to help, but if not he’ll keep you clean (ish). Although he’s unlikely to admit it, seeing you swallow his cum ignites a fire in Shinsou, and sets up quite a few more rounds so he can give you a reward for being so good

D = Dirty secret (pretty clear, a dirty secret of theirs)

Shinsou’s pretty open with what he wants, but when you first start getting intimate there’ll be a few things he doesn’t really want to say in case he scares you away (he could never, but he still worries). He wants to experiment, but he makes sure he knows your boundaries before he suggests anything too out there. The thing he keeps secret for the longest is the desire to wrap your neck in a beautiful collar emblazoned with his name, simply cause he doesn’t want you to think it’s weird

E = Experience (how experienced are they? do they know what they’re doing?)

He does his research, but hands on experience is pretty limited before you. It’s a learning curve, both of you learning what makes the other tick, what causes you the highest amount of pleasure, and what to steer clear of

F = Favorite position (this goes without saying)

Loves to see you ride him. It gives you the power to control the tempo, but also gives him a beautiful view to tip him over the edge of ecstasy. More needy Shinsou (aka when he’s in hornball mode) likes doggy style, cause it means he can pull your hair or hold you up against him and kiss your neck

G = Goofy (how serious are they in the moment?)

He’s not going to whip out a joke book in the middle of sex, but he’s also not going to act like an uptight secretary who’s only able to follow the rules (well, not unless you ask 👀)

H = Hair (how well groomed are they? does the carpet match the drapes? etc.)

Keeps himself trimmed, possibly even shaved. It’s no nonsense and means it’s also more enjoyable for you if you’re giving him head

I = Intimacy (how romantic are they in the moment?)

He’s an intimate guy, but he’s also not above teasing (though there’s another letter for that so I’ll keep on intimate for now). Like I mentioned in B, Shinsou can be pretty self critical, and sometimes he can get scared that you’ll leave him if he doesn’t prove how much he loves you, which to him means intimate sex and reassurance (aka, saying ‘I love you’ every two seconds)

J = Jack off (what are their views on masturbation?)

He does it when needed. He’s not insanely horny, so chances are if he is you’re there to deal with him. But if you’re not, and he’s especially needy, he’ll most likely call you up for a little phone session. The thought of you is incredible, but being able to see and hear you is even better

K = Kink (one or more of their kinks)

I think we all know the phrase kitty, right? Well inference leads me to believe that Shinsou would be down for trying out pet play. And yes, as I mentioned before, he would 100% have a collar for you with his name on it. I don’t take criticism for that one

L = Location (favorite places to do the dance with no pants)

More traditional. Sex between the two of you means intimacy, so he’d prefer privacy. You have yet to find a surface in your house he hasn’t tried to fuck you on. That being said, your comfort is of the utmost importance to Shinsou, so if he’s going to fuck you over the kitchen counter, he’s going to make sure you feel comfortable while he does it. So yes, that means he’ll take pillows off the sofa’s just to make you comfy

M = Motivation (what turns them on, gets them going, etc)

You. Simple as. There are certain things that especially turn him on, such as you biting your lip or being extra attentive to him in what would seem like a normal scene to anyone else watching. Put your hand on his thigh when out at dinner and pay the price when you get home. Or maybe that was your plan all along

N = No (turn offs, something they wouldn’t do)

Shinsou never wants you to be in pain (well not unless you want to be in pain). He’ll leave hickies all over you, but that’s about as far as he’ll go with marking you. Maybe a spank here and there, but he won’t scar you or leave any marks that won’t be gone in a few days

O = Oral (do they prefer giving or receiving? how skilled are they?)

Shinsou prefers giving, but he’ll never say no to receiving either. He wants you to feel good, but if you decide to turn the tables he’s not going to deny you. Once you’re finished though, he’s repaying the favor tenfold. And just as a note, pull his hair when he goes down on you. He adores it

P = Pace (are they fast and rough? slow and sensual? etc.)

Yes and yes. It all depends on the situation, his mood, the usual things. He’ll do whatever provides you with the most pleasure (while also allowing him to tease you)

Q = Quickie (their opinions on quickies)

He doesn’t love them, but if they’re the only way to get some gratification then he’s willing (only if you are though). He’s careful about location, he doesn’t want someone walking in and ruining the whole thing, even if the risk of being caught makes everything a little more exciting. Chances are he won’t engage in quickies unless he’s been to the place at least once before (he wants to know which wall you’d look best pinned to). He has to feel slightly comfortable in the environment

R = Risk (how risky are they willing to be?)

He’s down for a little risk, but nothing that would be too mortifying for you. If he’s going to screw you somewhere other than your home, he’s going to vet the place over a lot, and find the best place where you have the comfort of being private but the thrill of being caught if someone were to venture too close to your hideout

S = Stamina (how long do they last? how many rounds?)

Freaking hell where does he get it from? Like, he just doesn’t stop. Not that that’s a bad thing, mind you. Most of the rounds consist of him pleasing you, and he’ll only give in and finally fuck you when your throat is hoarse from begging, or when he feels the smallest amount of pity at the tears rolling down your face (did someone say crying kink)

T = Toys (do they own toys? do they use them on a partner or themselves?)

Vibrating panties. I said he doesn't physically act on desires when in public, but touching a remote isn’t the same thing as touching you, so he makes an exception. He’s not insanely cruel. For him it’s more about teasing that mortification, so if someone senses something’s wrong, he turns off the remote until they give up. But the moment they’re gone, it’s back stronger than ever

U = Unfair (how much do they tease?)

*roblox oof sound effect*

Once Shinsou gains his confidence with you, he’s not going back. His teasing is often coupled with praise, telling you how good you’re being for him while he denies you pure bliss again and again. He’ll edge you to hell and back if you give him the chance, but don’t worry, it’s worth it in the end

V = Volume (how they sound, how loud they are, etc)

Small moans and louder grunts are the main sounds coming from Shinsou when he’s enjoying himself. He swears a lot, and it’s always easy to tell how close he is to the edge by how creative his swears become. As for his partner, he wants to know how well he’s doing. He wants to hear you whine and beg while he edges you, and the pornstar-like moans that fill the air when he finally gives in and gives you what you really want

W = Wild card (a random headcanon)

You think I forgot about his quirk. Ha, I could never. I said in my hcs that it takes a while for Shinsou to integrate quirk use into sex. As much as you assure him you’re in full trust, he’s anxious about the inability to say no when he has you under his control. The longer you’re together the more willing he is, but even when he does use it it’s usually a way to make edging even more dangerous, with you unable to resist his words when he tells you you’re not allowed to cum just yet

Okay maybe we have 2 wild cards this time cause I also wanna mention his capture weapon. Again, it’ll take a while for it to be available in a less-than-pg manner, but he’s more willing to use his capture weapon than his quirk. Main reason being, you can still use a safeword when tied up. But tying up goes both ways, so even if he prefers to be the one giving the pleasure, he’d never deny your wishes

X = X-ray (let’s have a looksee in those pants)

I’m trying not to be biased cause I love him so much but I feel like Shinsou’s kinda packing. A good 8.5-9 inches (no, I won’t take criticism) and on the skinnier side. But the amount of attention he gives you before his pants are even off means taking him is never difficult

Y = Yearning (how high is their sex drive?)

Not the highest, but when you’re around it increases significantly. He’s not going to fuck you every time he sees you (I mean, he thinks about it) but he also isn’t a nun. It’s a good level, cause most days you can walk, and then on the weekends you’re a little bedridden

Z = Zzz (how quickly they fall asleep afterwards)

He’s a bit of an insomniac, so screwing the energy out of him is one of the best ways to get Shinsou tired enough to sleep. He likes to hold you, so once he’s satisfied with the aftercare, he’ll crawl in bed for cuddles until the both of you pass out

#my hero academia #boku no hero academia #boku no hero #hitoshi shinsou x reader #hitoshi shinsou #hitoshi shinsou smut #bnha shinsou #Shinsou #shinsou x reader #shinsou smut #mha x reader #mha smut

446 notes · View notes

jaekaicx · 3 years ago

Text

so ive had this idea for an amphibia fangame for a lil while now-

(LONG post)

its based around the idea that sometime after anne got sent back to earth, she decides to sneak out one night to visit sasha and marcys bedrooms and poke through their stuff. this causes a bunch of memories to come back to anne through flashbacks while she tries to process everything thats happened and her feelings abt their friendship.

i was thinking itd be mostly a visual novel type thing. maybe with a few small choices, but the story would be mostly linear. thered be around 3 main story beats: a prologue bit w/ anne sneaking out of her house, marcys bedroom, and sashas bedroom. also one of the main mechanics would be looking at one of their bedrooms and clicking on random objects of importance and triggering a flashback sequence.

it came from the idea that anne will probably try to just shove all her emotions down and try to ignore her feelings abt true colors and everything that went down then. especially with what we saw in the sneak peek, anne will probably try to hide her emotions and bottle them up, which is obviously not healthy. so eventually shes gonna have to work through her emptional baggage and try to process everything.

i havent thought through EVERYTHING just yet, just some more major plot points and maybe one or two ideas for flashbacks. nothing too solid yet. but heres a bit more detailed runthrough of the plot

summary - prologue

so it would start off with anne at home. she and her mom are talking outside annes room. her moms concerned abt how annes been handling everything that happened in amphibia but anne keeps brushing everything off. her mom tries to get her to open up, but she keeps dismissing her and eventually shuts herself in her room. after taking a bit to cool off and think anne decides that shes gonna take the night to just ride off her emotions and stop repressing them for once. she also makes an impulsive decision to sneak out and check out marcy and sashas rooms.

anne goes to gather her stuff in her room, and just as shes about to climb out the window, sprig walks in to check on her. hes still rly concerned abt his big sis but he knows he cant stop her. he tries to go with anne, but she tells him she needs to do this on her own. so, sprig lets her go and tries to cover for her while shes gone.

so at this point i’ll probably give the player the choice of whose house to visit first. it doesnt rly impact the story or whatever, but i guess it might have a small emotional impact depending on whose house u choose to go to first??

(quick note: after this bit, there arent too many specific details for the plot and stuff like that. its largely just an overall idea of how the plot is gonna go. and even then, there isnt much to it. i didnt think that far ahead yet, which is why there isnt as much refinement yet. so far i just have general ideas for how annes gonna get to the bedrooms, with a couple of vague flashback ideas. just keep that in mind; this whole thing is still being thought over and planned as im typing this out)

summary - sasha

with sasha, annes still rly conflicted abt how she feels abt her. of course shes still rly hurt by being backstabbed by her twice and swordfighting her as many times. but as much as she hates sasha she cant bring herself to fully give up on sash. she hates her guts but deep down shes still willing to give sash another chance.

there may or may not be a small sequence where anne has to sneak into sashas house, but eventually she works her way into sashas room. im not entirely sure abt the details of sashas house n her family yet. im probably gonna wait for info from s3 until i solidify anything, but for now i do know that sashas family has a big house n theyre probably rich.

so anne goes into sashas room and its been left pretty much untouched ever since annes birthday, save for the few times someone came in to dust things off. again, dont rly have all the details for sashas room, but it kind of has a vibe of controlled chaos, with organized clutter and a bit of a touch of a rebellious teen girl. one detail i do want to have is a calendar opened up to the month the trio disappeared, with annes birthday circled and highlighted so much that its impossible to miss.

the calendar itself might include a flashback. im thinking of also having a varsity jacket and some old stuffed animal be different “artifacts” that trigger their own memories. there’ll be a bunch more, but those are the only ideas i have so far fjsbndnd

summary - marcy

ok so i want to be rly mean about marcys segment: this is going off the theory that marcys parents moved away while the trio was in amphibia.

anne doesnt know this yet tho, so shes in for quite a surprise when she turns onto marcys street to find a realtor sign on the front lawn. the clues are all there: an empty driveway, sign on the lawn, an overall empty vibe coming from the house. but it doesnt completely register at first. its not til anne actually comes up close does she notice the sign.

anne tries to deny it, and decides to prove to herself that “no marcys parents wouldnt do this. theyre not that cruel. im just gonna check marcys room myself.” the front doors locked, so she just goes over to marcys window and climbs in.

but its completely empty.

ok not totally empty, but a lot of marcys furniture and stuff is gone, except for a few stray toys and other “junk.” the home guys (idk what theyre called????) are still kind of in the process of cleaning everything out, so theres still some stuff left here and there around the house. but its still way too empty. and its yet another gut punch for anne.

anne searches the rest of the house a bit more, hoping that shes just hallucinating. but no, marcys parents are really gone. she tried to deny it before, but now she has more of an idea of how shitty the wu parents are. so anne decides to just mope around in marcys old room, checking out the stuff their parents left behind.

maybe she finds an old blanket marcy liked when he was rly young. or an old rubiks cube from marcys vast collection. a cnc figurine, some cards, a pride flag, and old diary? a couple of other old toys, an old report card or two, or maybe even some stray clothes. whatever anne finds, its all thats left of marcy, at least in LA.

it really doesnt leave anne in that much of a better emotional position. she already felt conflicted enough about what happened in true colors and what she found out abt marcy. but seeing even a small glimpse of what marcy was dealing with, it just makes her more confused. marcy was such a sweet kid! theres no way they couldve done anything wrong. yet here anne was, betrayed by both of her childhood friends.

only now is anne really taking the time to process the fact that marcy essentially kidnapped her and sasha with the calamity box. he didnt mean to do it, and theres no way they couldve known the box would actually work, but it doesnt completely excuse marcy. his actions still hurt anne and sash, and while they meant the best of intentions, it didnt rly come through that way.

and now marcy was dead. stabbed in the back by the newt king.

and now annes curled up in an empty bedroom, wrapped up in one of marcys old blankets, trying to wrap her head around her feelings about marcy while reminiscing in the past.

summary - extras/epilogue??

i kind of like the idea that anne ends up drifting off in which ever bedroom ended up being the second one she visited. she slowly comes back to consciousness, with her surroundings feeling somewhat familiar, only to wake up in horror bc “OH SHIT I FORGOT TO GO BACK HOME” im not completely sold on the idea tho bc it feels a bit abrupt and like too much of a tone shift?? idk it doesnt feel exactly right

but anyways, im also playing around with the idea of a small epilogue scene with the calamity trio hanging out in annes room, a good amount of time after amphibia ended. dont know what theyre doing in there, but theyre just chilling and feeling a bit nostalgic i guess.

but uh yeah thats pretty much what ive got for the overall idea. it doesnt feel too out of reach, but somethjng like this would definitely be ambitious. i could mayyyybe handle writing out the vn and drawing the character sprites, but i have no idea how to code a vn or draw detailed backgrounds, both of which would be pretty important to this fangame fjsndj. so i might consider having help with this.

THIS ISNT ANY SORT OF PROMISE OR WHATEVER. id rly love to follow through and make this fangame a thing, but im not making any guarantees. i have no idea if i’ll actually follow through, but i would definitely love to.

who knows. maybe in like a couple years this might actually become a thing. but for now i have no idea

36 notes · View notes

normal-thoughts-official · 4 years ago

Note

Ur take on a malec beauty and the beast au please

ugh you got me in a difficult position here because on the one hand, i do love the idea of a beauty and the beast malec au. i just think the idea of a socially isolated person who thinks themself/is perceived as monstruous and who has locked away their heart and doesn't believe they could ever be loved fits magnus like a glove. but on the other hand, i don't want to make magnus, a brown character, animalistic, for obvious reasons. and i can't really think of a way to make him monstruous that doesn't fall into animalization/beastification (both racist tropes) or ableist tropes

so i'm thinking... maybe the spell is just that people are repulsed by him/fear him automatically? like it just creates this horrible almost impossible to ignore repulsive/fear/"fight or flight activating" aura around him for absolutely no reason and makes ppl be repulsed and/or hate him. even if it doesn't change his appearance at all. it's not really a changing or shifting spell, more like a spell of hatred

which like.... i know doesn't sound like anything poc/queer people don't already go through but there is a main difference which is that it makes it impossible to find a community. like even other brown and queer people look at him and feel this... huge disgust and even fear and might even hide and so the isolation is absolutely total and it fucking hurts. and besides it is one thing (a very bad thing) to walk around and have to be on constant alert because you never know if someone is going to be violent, and have to deal with occasional comments and disgusted reactions... it's another to consistently have like, children screaming and people cowering 100% of the time without exception, you know? he's basically living the life ppl with social anxiety think they live and he has nowhere to turn to, no one who understands or who's more likely to actually want to talk to him because of his differences. there's no one to lean on. even the people who love him aren't immune to it, even if of course they are not turning their backs on him

so anyway here are my thoughts: this was totally done by camille lol beacuse the whole backstory about being mean to an elderly lady doesn't fit magnus anyway and also i just like sprinkling camille angst where i can. so after magnus finally got himself free of her and her stupid claws she hexxed him back into isolation. both as punishment (a kinda "if you don't want me, then you have no one" logic) and just to make him more vulnerable because again, abusers want you alone and isolated and away from a support network so you are more dependant on them and more likely to buy into their thwarped logic if they can immerse you in it. so she's just trying to manipulate him into getting back with her, because she wants him and most of all his power

and basically you know the drill, if he doesn't find anyone who will love him romantically until the rose withers yada yada he will die. and again she just wants to make the spell so it constantly drives home how alone he is and how he can't find anyone who will love him (except for her), and make it so he's more and more likely to come back to her as time goes by because then the spell will be broken

(sidenote: camille obviously doesn't actually love him, because anyone who does that to someone doesn't love them. but as the one who cast the spell, she can lift it whenever she wants. so all she has to do is kiss him and lift the spell and be like "see, magnus? who else would love you like this, but me? even after all these years?". and honestly if it had come to that magnus would know she was lying because there is no way this is love, none. but anyway it doesn't come to that, that's just what her plan is)

anyway it still doesn't work because magnus is done and he won't get back to her, and he particularly doesn't want to get back with her after, you know, all this trashfire. and he just sets his jaw and is like "fine" and accepts that he will live however long he still has with his friends and people he loves and away from her, basically

and like gosh sidenote but this would have been so painful for his friends. camille very deliberately made it romantic love because she knows magnus has so many fucking people who love him, but him and the immortal squad have found family dynamics, not romantic ones. so there is nothing they can do even though their love for magnus is just... so real and pure and they hate to see him like this, hate to know that right when he finally got rid of her she made sure he still couldn't go out in the world. especially since magnus has always been so damn sociable, loved to be surrounded by people and to meet them and care for them. but here he is, walking as hidden as he can and with his head down avoiding eye contact because he knows the horror is there and some children run away screaming when they see him

and i just picture this desperate little scene with raphael in particular where he's just like.... "i'll try to kiss you. we have to try" and magnus is all, "my boy, you don't even like kissing, and she was very adamant that it had to be romantic" and raphael is almost in tears like "but i do love you, goddamn it! i should be able to undo this spell" and it's so sweet that he's trying and willing to be in this really awkward position where he kisses (yikes) magnus (which is just weird especially since magnus is kind of a father figure to him) because he's just... so desperate to have him free of her, finally, once and for all, you know?

but obviously it doesn't work, not even with dot, who had a kinda fling with him in the past but doesn't really feel Romantic Love™ for him even though she does love him, it's just... not what the spell requires. and it's unfair as hell and there are lots of tears but just the fact that magnus falls asleep surrounded in a teary cuddle pile after some of the absolute worst kisses of his life because his friends/family love him enough to put themselves in such an uncomfortable position in the hopes of making him free, is enough to make him feel a little better. and the fact that they are still there for him and obviously still love him so fiercely even though looking at him now literally evokes fight or flight instincts in them is already more than anything camille could ever give him. if anything, she's proven how loved magnus is

and that helps him get through it that day and is something he tries to hold unto in the worst days, but still, it's hard and it just... sucks. it's tiring to go out in the street and always have people staring at you and to see the horror in their faces and be so isolated and never really know what might happen, if he will be attacked or harrassed or what exactly will happen. so he isolates himself more and more and soon the only people who ever see him or visit him are his friends. and fuck, do they hate seeing him like this

things settle in a weird kind of way. magnus is still living his life and working as a wizard and etc and in a way the spell even helps him have some more credibility because you know, isolated scary person is kinda what ppl expect from wizards. but he avoids having contact at all costs and mostly sends the potions they request and stuff their way, and the only ppl he sees are his friends unless he absolutely can't avoid going outside. and he's fucking miserable. and every once in a while camille will come back to be like "so, magnus, are you ready to stop with this little tantrum of yours and come back to me now? how is the rose doing, by the way?" because god forbid he catches a break

also it turns out that magnus' adoptive streak becomes even stronger because he is 1- extra lonely; and 2- empathizing more than ever with the outcasts. don't get me wrong, he always has, he's a fucking brown, bi trans man for fuck's sake. we all see ourselves in the stray dogs and lonely people one way or another. but now this is turned up to a thousand, so, you know

so he has one (1) extra kind of contact in his life which is basically with stray animals (particularly cats cuz u know, this is magnus) that he finds around in need of help. they can all leave if they want, but a lot of them stay, particularly the black cats, disabled animals, and others that have a particularly hostile environment outside. you know

(not me again with my very specific hcs about deaf pitbulls who fall in love with my faves but LOOK pitbulls are very sweet and caring animals who don't deserve the fame of monsters that they have and if the idea of one being best friend's with magnus and them having a loving and caring relationship doesn't appeal to you then idk what the fuck to tell you)

this of course doesn't help his image cuz this guy is just going there and collecting black cats and snakes and has a huge pitbull around with him at all times but it's not like it can get any worse so magnus doesn't care, and besides, he can't just leave them out to die in the cold and harrassment of middle ages white ppl who think black cats are the worst possible thing but rats carrying deadly diseases are fine (and look, i know rats are also animals that get a lot of shit and persecution, but like, seriously, clean the streets)

and every once in a while there will be a person in need too, like a homeless person in need of a place to stay or some sick person who has been abandoned or something of the sort, so magnus brings them in as well and cares for them as well as he can, but also tries to maintain minimal contact because he's been burned too many times, okay

so like, cue alec! i know in the original BATB belle ended up with the beast to save her father's life but fuck that. i lowkey consider making it "izzy ran away from home so alec comes after her and they both end up staying with magnus" but i think i like it better if it's just alec who decided to leave. like he's done with the abuse both towards him and his sister and he wants to be able to live his life even if he's gonna have to start over in some other village all alone. anywhere but here and all that

and of course alec used to be plenty rich and he has a lot of skills that help him pass by - he's a good archer and hunter, he's a good leader and organizer so he could do wonders for a failing business, he's smart and cunning - but he also has, like, 2 gold coins to his name. maybe some more from stuff he took from home and sold, but still

initially he is living at a tavern and i guess i'm making simon, raphael, and maia tavern owners again! i don't even care anymore, it suits them. rapha is the cook and the three of them run the business and simon also makes musical appearances during dinners every once in a while, and they are living the happy queer polyamorous life of their dreams. we have no choice but to stan

anyway alec is staying with them and he becomes friends with i think maia in particular since, you know, she is the one with the most contact with the customers since rapha is in the kitchen and simon is up the stage most of the time. plus they are both the same brand of bastard and they have an easy understanding between them that just works

and look! simon, raphael, and maia are 3 trans, non-christian/non-white (unnecessary addendum: the concept of whiteness didn't exist until around the 17th century, but whiteness as a concept came basically as a substitute for christianity [link to source], so i'm counting the fact that simon is jewish and raphael and maia are not culturally european as equivalent to non-whiteness in this context) people, so it's not like they would ever kick a gay man running from an abusive home out. but you know what they also are? magnus' friends. and after a while of talking to him maia thinks he is trustworthy enough for them to send magnus' way, because magnus needs as many friends as possible. plus, he wouldn't kick a person in need out, so unlike with them magnus can't really push this newcomer away so he'd have more company. plus, the possibility that he might fall in love with magnus and undo the stupid spell is there, i'm just saying! i'm not saying it WILL happen but why not give it a fucking shot?

raphael in particular is of course super protective of magnus and he swears to god that if this guy gives him half a bad look raphael will end him, which earns him some pats on the shoulder for his troubles and "rapha, we don't want magnus to be hurt either"s. maia says that she's been assessing him for quite a while now and she's pretty positive that he won't be terrible to magnus, but if she's wrong, she'll kill him personally too. and rapha trusts maia. how could he not? she's maia

so, they send alec magnus' way. "i'm sorry alec, but we are struggling to make ends meet *hides gigantic gold stash* and the tavern is packed *raphael upstairs stomps at maximum speed to make it seem like their 13 empty rooms upstairs actually have people* and we really need your room to give to this customer *simon in a wig* BUT we have a friend who we're sure will give you shelter if you ask, it's not very far away, and once we have a free room we will let you know". and alec is just like, okay, because he's been staying there for free or considerably less than the usual fee/in exchange for some stuff he hunts for quite a while now, and they are nice, so it's not like he can complain

and they don't tell him about the spell exactly because it is not their story to tell but they do let him know what to expect re: magnus' vibes and say it's a spell. and alec's like ok i guess. alec's very practical, he doesn't really care, and it's not like it's the guy's fault anyway. which is exactly why maia is sending alec there

so they send magnus a heads up ("magnus this guy is HOMELESS and we are SOOOOO packed can you please give him shelter for a little while thx xoxo"). alec arrives there a while later carrying like 3 prime rabbits he has hunted as a thank you gift because he hates being dependant on people but it's not like jobs abound in the middle ages, and he is actually a little embarrassed to go in and ask this guy he doesn't know for shelter but he IS kinda desperate. for now

anyway he is standing there with his 3 rabbits debating whether or not to knock on the door and magnus just opens it magically like "i know you're there, dear, just come in" so alec does and awkwardly presents him the rabbits and shit and is all "thanks for letting me stay, uh. i can help you with food and taking care of the house and stuff" even though, you know, magnus has magic and doesn't need it

(and magnus appreciates it deeply, because it is tiring to do it all magically on his own but most non-magical people don't even consider that)

and like... it is very awkward at first because magnus does NOT trust at all and he mostly just wants to keep away from anyone who can... look at him. but they ARE living together (oh my god they were roommates!! just kidding they each have their own room but you get it) so it's inevitable. but like magnus' insecurity makes him keep to himself for long times and makes things awkward, kinda like how the initial days with the beast and belle the beast was rude and kinda shitty except magnus is not shitty, just... private

and maybe the subject even comes up like "thanks for the meal alec. i'll go eat it in my room" "i mean, you could eat here if you want" "and ruin your appetite? no thank you" and alec is just like "*shrug* it won't ruin my appetite. unless you are my parents, the concept of failure, or some girl wanting me to marry her, i don't think there's a lot the spell can do to make me scared. besides, you literally have a kitten on top of your head right now and you refuse to remove it and are using a spell to keep her from jostling when you move" "her name is Fluffy, and she is sleeping!" "right, my bad" "wait did you say the concept of failure?" "yea"

it's not that the spell doesn't work on alec; it does, just like it works on his friends. but he is willing to go beyond that initial repulsive reaction that he knows is illogical anyway (and alec is the kind of guy who is just like "if my feelings aren't logical, i don't listen to them" which in this case is useful lmao). and the thing is that once you get to know magnus there is nothing about him that is scary, and the feeling just becomes completely ignorable, because humans are nothing if not adaptable. but most people don't want to go through the trouble to try, and magnus himself doesn't want to let himself be vulnerable enough to give them a chance because there IS a great chance that he will be met with some level of aggression, even if it's an unintentional microaggression

and eventually they grow closer and build trust. i think this happens particularly when camille steps in for one of her regularly schedule shoving-it-in-magnus'-face visits and alec is just like. "hey why don't you just use magic to keep her away?" and magnus realizes that he never even THOUGHT of that and like, jesus, how much has he been unconsciously torturing himself? so he does it, and he ends up telling alec about the story of the spell, which might be the first time he's told someone that didn't know him before the spell was cast

(alec: "so she's basically just killing you slowly?" magnus: "don't be silly, alexander. torturing me first is the most important part". and he sounds self deprecating and almost resigned and god alec feels murderous)

ohh but wait bonus: magnus says that she will only undo the spell if he gets back with her, he doesn't mention that it technically can be undone by romantic love or whatever bullshit's going on because he doesn't believe it can happen anyway, so, who cares

anyway! time goes by. fun fact: alec and magnus get along really fucking well. magnus is so so smart and knowledgeable and he shows alec many of his inventions that never got to see the light of day or that were stolen by someone else who wasn't cursed and took all the credit. he also fascinates alec with his magic, but mostly with his personality. there's something just endlessly endearing about this guy who is so fucking proud of his puns and so so nice and gentle to every creature he encounters, be it a kitten or a pitbull, who's letting alec stay with him for no reason other than that alec needs it

and alec is so goddamn appreciative of it because like he IS and we stan! and he's always trying to give back to magnus which is kind of a rarity, but most of all he's also extremely funny beneath the whole no-bullshit attitude, he's caring and fierce and resourceful and strong (so's magnus) and they click so well. they can also talk about their similar experiences with like, abuse and trauma without making it super heavy and they're just,,, so supportive of each other. so like yeah surprise surprise they fall in love

but they don't really say anything because (on magnus' part) that's just fucking ridiculous, he's a monster; and (on alec's part) he will put magnus is a way too uncomfortable position if magnus doesn't like him that way and they will just... be living together. and magnus will feel like he has to compensate to alec somehow and alec doesn't want that. it's just complicated when one of them is dependant on the other, and besides, alec has had very little to offer magnus so far

(no, he has no idea how much his company means to magnus and has brighted his depressed ass life. he is stupid)

sometimes magnus' friends visit and they're always just so happy for him, to see how he's hanging out more and let someone into his life after so long. it earns him a lot of forehead kisses and "i'm so happy to see you like this". and over time he starts to invite them over more as well as just open up back to the people in his life :')

angsty but also kind of fluffy sidenote: i picture that every time they kiss his forehead or cheek or whatever they linger for a little while and then open their eyes slowly and sigh like "i had been hoping that it would work this time. magnus, you know i love you, right?" and magnus is all like "i know just from you saying that, darling. it's just not how the spell works" and aaa

and like to be extra clear im not saying that alec fixes him or romantic love heals him or whatever, just that having let someone in, someone who didn't know him before the spell, and have them completely accept him and realize how much he had been missing out re: touch and human contact helps him realize how much he misses his friends and how pushing them away is stupid when they've never been anything if not supportive of him. they don't care that he's cursed. and obviously magnus was already on the way to that if he even managed to let alec in anyway

anyway! dramatic healing scene. LOOK. usually i'd be all for "they don't change back actually because people don't have to look beautiful to be lovable". like the original BATB disappointed me sooo badly because i had just been hoping that he'd stay the same way and still be loved. but in this case it's not that magnus doesn't look beautiful! it's that the spell has made him be hated by people for no reason other than existing. and breaking the spell is not changing magnus himself, it's changing that hatred. so, yeah. i'm not saying it's a deep metaphor or anything, just, you know daudhasdja it's different from the usual monster thing

and i'm torn here because on the one hand i LOVE the drama of the original BATB where everyone decides to gather to kill the beast and belle saves him and shit, but idk if it fits with the vibe ive been building here. no actually @ me shut the fuck up. you know how i mentioned that they kick camille out with magic finally? i actually had no intentions of following through with this in any way but like of COURSE she would be absolutely pissed out of her mind and want to get back in some way, we already know she's vindictive. so i'm gonna use that. this is what neil gailman meant when he said that writing is just making a rough draft and then writing it again but like it's on purpose this time

anyway! so after they yeet her camille is obviously furious and fuming and it might have finally dawned on her that magnus will NOT fucking cave and she is losing power over him, not gaining it. so she decides to play a last card and get him to almost die so he kind of HAS to take her bid, you know? so she makes up some shit about how magnus has kidnapped the lightwood heir and she's only now hearing about it, and no one else is safe and yada yada. and she has "proof" because alec IS indeed there and again the spell just helps everyone easily agree with her that magnus is That Kind Of Guy or whatever, and middle ages ppl weren't exactly waiting for a good enough reason to grab their pitchforks. and they don't even KNOW about the spell, really. all they know is that he's very powerful, secluded, and they all fear and almost hate him just from one look

so camille makes up some bullshit story about how he made a deal with the devil to become extra powerful, and that the source of his powers is the rose, so they have to get rid of the rose to kill him. (sidenote: i never understood why the hell the rose was never used as a weakness against the beast. like was he keeping it super guarded and safe just for the fucking shits?) so they devise an attack so someone can sneak up and get the rose, and camille makes up some bullshit story about how they have to destroy the rose a specific way so it takes longer and she has time to manipulate magnus before he dies. man, it's easy to be a villain when your target is secluded

anyway! big attack at magnus' house. magnus' friends don't hear about it until it's too late because camille knows exactly who they are and warned them that they were on "the witch's" side. alec is maybe away hunting when it happens? camille obviously has magic in this AU so she can check for that information. maybe she even says that she will be the one responsible for finding the lightwood heir so there is minimal risk of him revealing that she lied lmao

oh no, violence! they battle and yada yada. catarina is probably the first one to realize what is happening because i figure she, madzie, and dot are the ones who live closest to magnus'. they send fire messages and get ragnor, simon, maia, raphael, and meliorn to help. oh yeah, and alec i genuinely forgot trust me to forget about romance in a romance-focused au. but alec is the only one of them without any magical resources and he's far away and on foot, so he's gonna be the last to get there, which camille had been counting on

but alec or no alec, they can keep the attackers at bay because they're all powerful and smart and shit and a lot of them have magic as opposed to the mundanes who don't, but of course that's mostly because they are holding off on attacking and the invasion is mostly a distraction because their PLAN is to use the rose. and camille tells them all to leave once the petal puckering starts so she can "protect them from any lashouts" (have her big villain speech). and it's not like any of magnus' friends is gonna leave to go after them when magnus is dying, bUT they also won't attack camille because she's his only hope. and they won't be able to get to stop the rose plucking in time because that's in another room and while she made it slower than something that the person can use to kill him in a second it's also not slow enough for them to get there on time (maybe there's a spell against magic use near where magnus keeps the rose? just for extra safety, so the ones with magic can't portal there or whatever)

anyway. big villain speech. magnus screams in pain every time a new petal is plucked. his friends are either running to the rose thing desperately or trying to get camille to stop this madness, she's going to kill him for fuck's sake. i don't know which chooses to do what so you can figure that out i guess. and for that extra drama, right when the last petal was going to be plucked, wee woo alec lightwood arrives! and he went straight for the rose because magnus had told him about it and he figured that there was a good chance the attackers might go for it. so he shoots the person's leg or something and gets them away from the rose and yay, day saved! mostly. because now there is only one petal left to fall before magnus dies, so at the very least, his lifespan has been shortened considerably. also, he is still in pain

i'm torn about what happens to camille then. on the one hand, i love killing camille! bonding activities for the whole family. on the other, she kinda is the only one who can save him now. they all know magnus won't want to get back with her, but hey, it's not like camille wants a relationship! she wants magnus to be her asset. a relationship was just the best way to get him to do that she had initially. but magnus doesn't want to cave and be dependant of her, so, you know. but maybe they can try to convince her to stop this fucking madness, god knows how

so okay yeah no camille-killing yet because they don't want to jeopardize magnus' safety, so she just leaves convinced that either way, she wins, and this might be the best possible scenario actually because magnus will have lots of times to think it over and be real desperate and come to her and strike a deal. so, yay her! she just needs to lie to the mundanes that the mission was successful or whatever, and it's not like that's gonna be hard because magnus won't want to be seen there again, so

we are all running to check up on magnus now. he's kinda like, on the ground coughing blood, but he'll live for as long as the last rose doesn't fall. still, they all settle on trying to help him, getting him in bed, tending to his wounds, etc. and thinking about what the fuck they are all going to do now. so you have raphael and maia making magnus soup, simon running his mouth as he throws around ideas on how they can fix this, ragnor, cat, dot, and madzie (who is here now that the danger is over ofc) checking and rechecking magnus' vitals for the billionth time and trying to figure out how much time they have, meliorn using their fae powers to stop his pain. and madzie is all snuggled in bed with magnus holding his hand and asking if he wants her to tell him a bedtime story, and magnus just... feels cared for and loved

alec meanwhile i think would tell what ACTUALLY happened to the person who was doing the rose thing - i actually have thought about it and think it might make sense for it to be luke. just because i love him and it kinda fits the whole "initially sided with shadowhunters, lately became a downworlder" thing. and like luke genuinely believed he was saving a person/people so alec brings him in too and magnus is all "catarina, dear, can you help heal his leg? i would, but i don't think i have enough magic right now" because he is the sweetest man immediately wanting to help the guy who almost killed him. and luke is in awe

(and alec brings him on purpose, too, because he knows that anyone who actually talks to magnus for a little while will see what an amazing person he is. and he hopes that luke, as a mundane, can tell the others that and turn them against camille)

and after that, of course, alec sits down by magnus' side and Does Not Leave. he's just there holding his hand and talking to him and magnus' friends, who are all also kind of. sitting there, trying to snuggle up in a gigantic pile of like 10 ppl to cuddle close to magnus and make sure he feels loved and cared for and that they know he is real. madzie gets special privileges in that sense because she's smaller and also a kid, so she gets to be kinda snuggled up with him. so alec has to be content with holding magnus' hand lmao (which he is, he's just happy that he's alive and okay. and he has a whole plan to get camille to undo the spell, mostly involving getting the mundanes against her and telling her that she is only safe for as long as magnus lives, because once he dies, she will have a bunch of ppl who will hunt her down to the faces of the earth to make her pay for what she did to him. the only reason they didn't do that yet is because she can still save magnus' live, so is she really going to let him die knowing that she will be next?)

so alec takes his hand and tells magnus that they will fix this, he promises, and give a little kiss on magnus' hand. just a little peck, no deep intentions, but magnus gasps a little because he feels something, and his eyes water a little bit because he's so touch starved and tired and hurt and alec kissed his hand and he can feel this kind of ache inside him, somehow a good ache, but he just can't explain it. and so alec notices his watery eyes and he very tenderly wipes his tears away and tells him that they're all on his side, will always be, and kisses him on the forehead. and this kiss? this kiss is full of adoration and love and purpose, and magnus gasps and the wounds that hadn't been healed suddenly mend together, and the petals that had fallen go back to the rose before it disappears in a beautiful flash of light, and suddenly magnus' magic is back full force and he just looks at himself for a second, and everyone erupts into joy because holy shit, the spell is broken

and alec is so confused because again! he didn't kNOW about the whole true love's kiss thing or he would have asked magnus to let him kiss him as soon as he learnt about his feelings, because even if magnus didn't feel the same way, alec could undo the spell. and he's like "why the hell didn't you tell me?? we could have fixed this months ago" and magnus is like "i didn't think it would make a difference. wait, you're in love with me? have been for months?" and alec is like "first of all, yes. second of all, i have nothing else to say, i just said 'first of all' because i was so indignant"

and magnus laughs and jumps on him and kisses him on the mouth this time and they are both smiling and laughing into it and so so happy. and raphael is kind of just peppering kisses on maia's face too, like, "you were right, he undid the spell, thank you" and maia was never sure that this would happen but she will take the credit actually please and thank you

and they all live happily ever after and kill camille together the end i guess. god this post was so long i'm so sorry

27 notes · View notes

jockvillagersonly · 4 years ago

Text

2020 Drama Round Up!

Jock’s Alphabetical Watched List

~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~**~~

Ancient Detective

Rating: 🧣🧣🧣🧣🧣 5/5 cozy winter garments

Watch Status: done! ✅

The Good Stuff:

The MC is, objectively, the coziest man alive

MC said “simp rights” and honestly...good for him

I guessed the ~final twist~ really early, but it didn’t dampen my enjoyment of each individual case or the show as a whole!

Any Bad Stuff?

The last few episodes are like...oddly homophobic? With a queer-coded character presented in a somewhat grotesque stereotype? SAD!!

🌸 more reviews under the cut 🌸

Ever Night (S1)

Rating: 🌂🌂🌂🌂 4/5 inexplicably magic umbrellas

Watch Status: ...like 30% done

The Good Stuff:

Some of the BEST fight scenes I’ve seen

Lots of interesting world building!

My queen Meng Ziyi 👑

Any Bad Stuff?

God the MC’s hair is UGLY 😔 pour one out 😔

Guardian

Rating: 👬👬👬👬👬 5/5 gays

Watch Status: done! ✅

The Good Stuff:

It doesn’t get any gayer than this folks

Really this is some of the queerest media I’ve ever seen

Also the main and ensemble characters are all endearing and fun 🐍

All I know is have diarrhea and be hindrance

Any Bad Stuff?

The middle portion of this show DRAAAAGS

Also ZYL’s hair makeover is awful and someone needs to say it !!!!!

Legend of Fei

Rating: 🌰🌰🌰🌰🌰 5/5 dog safe chestnuts

Watch Status: still airing

The Good Stuff:

The pure yibotonin in this show could power a city or at least one depressed viewer (me)

Zhou Fei could and frankly should kick my ass

I love her your honor

Any Bad Stuff?

Has the odd effect of each plot arc feeling both way too long AND like you’ve been crammed way too full of information

Maiden Holmes

Rating: 🕵️‍♀️🕵️‍♀️🕵️‍♀️🕵️‍♀️🕵️‍♀️ 5/5 superior detection skills

Watch Status: one night and 15 episodes in

The Good Stuff:

The main pairing is so fucking cute guys. He loves her so much. He thinks she’s so smart 🥺

Includes one of the purest archetypes of a himbo on screen today 🤌

Crime solving! Hidden identities! Bisexual panics!

Any Bad Stuff?

One episode includes a pretty long assault scene / near r*pe of a main character - the scene is flashed back to throughout the episode, as well

Oh My General!

Ranking: 💪💪💪💪 4/5 beefy lady biceps

Watch Status: like 25% done because FUCK it’s long

The Good Stuff:

Literally EVERYONE in this show is bi. I have the screenshots to prove it. It’s glorious

call me old fashioned, but i was raised to serve my general. clean for her. cook for her and everything i do is for her. and if she cheats? that is on me! she caught me slipping and i will apologize and do better.

Any Bad Stuff?

My only complaint so far is the romance takes awhile to pick up? I’m pretty tired of the main love interest being rude to his objectively incredible wife >:(

S.C.I.

Ranking: 🐭🐭🐭 3/5 mouse archetypes

The Good Stuff:

The pacing is quick! Sometimes too quick? I got lost a lot @___@

Bai Yutong is simply TOO ripped

Any Bad Stuff?

Honestly this show is a bit of a poorly edited, problematic dumpster fire with not even a passing understanding of what psychology is

...but god if it isn’t fun to watch

Silent Criminal

Rating: 🥸🥸🥸🥸 4/5 conveniently disguised emperors

Watch Status: done! ✅

The Good Stuff:

They’re gay and in love your honor

Honestly the two leads really grew on me! I found myself wanting to rewatch their interactions

Not a whole lot of actual crime solving :(

Any Bad Stuff?

Yet another example of the tragic underutilization of female characters with potential 😔 justice for the ladies of this show

There is an assault scene (a character straddles a main character and forces a kiss while he protests). Easily skippable and not referenced again

Sword Dynasty

Rating: 🐛🐛🐛🐛 4/5 divine silkworms

Watch Status: just started (like 3 eps in)

The Good Stuff:

The fight scenes are very wuxia and very fun

Idk what the fuck is going on, but I’m pretty sure the emperor deserves to be stabbed, so go off I guess!

Any Bad Stuff?

Honestly I have barely begun this so ... idk yet!

Tale of the Nine Tailed

Rating: 🦊🦊🦊🦊 4/5 immortal foxes

Watch Status: mostly done

The Good Stuff:

Lee Yeon is very hot and that’s a fact

Nam Ji Ah (main female lead) is SO powerful and SO amazing and LITERALLY my queen

She stabs her fake mom when she’s , like , 5!

The communication b/w the leads??? Iconic

Any Bad Stuff?

This is just me, but I truly cared so little about the Imoogi. I just. Wanted an episodic monster of the week with all the same characters. Pls

The Lost Tomb Reboot

Rating: 👨‍🦰👨‍🦰👨‍🦰 3/5 bad mustache disguises

Watch Status: I stopped watch once [SPOILER] Wu Xie was cured, because I just ... don’t care about the mob politics? So for me that was where the show ended

The Good Stuff:

Zhu Yilong is like ... way too fucking pretty

Also the Wu Xie & Pangzi friendship is so FUN in this show!!!!

Everyone is 2 hot 2 handle

Any Bad Stuff?

Not nearly enough Iron Triangle hangouts >:(

Shockingly large amounts of white collar crime, shockingly few tombs

Every lady is CHRONICALLY underused and/or murdered. Yawn.

The Sleuth of Ming Dynasty

Rating: 🎩🎩🎩🎩 4/4 detective hats

Watch Status: I’m always on / off with this show 😔 I’m like 2/3 done now

The Good Stuff:

Crimes !! Solving crimes !! Gay domesticity !! What more could you ask for

One of the best OT3 set ups in the business

Any Bad Stuff?

Silly hats

For folks with secondhand embarassment issues, the main lead can be ... hard

The Untamed

Rating: 🐰🐰🐰🐰🐰 5/5 soft bunny metaphors

Watch Status: Done! ✅

The Good Stuff:

Everyone in this show is so pretty I’m convinced it’s illegal

Like if this didn’t pass censorship it wouldn’t be because of the obvious gay longing but rather because it’s setting unrealistic expectations for beauty

Also: the gayest longing around. And murder!

Any Bad Stuff?

Nothing this show is perfect in every way

(Except like maybe don’t kill or write off all your women ... thoughts)

69 notes · View notes

rinisbowen · 3 years ago

Note

I know that you are indifferent about Portwell and Rina which is fine but I am just curious Do you think there will be a love triangle between EJ, Gina and Ricky in Season 3? I am literally scared that there might be one and I don’t want it if they make Rina the endgame I will literally stop watching the show. I don’t want Ricky to be the reason why Portwell breaks up.

tbh i don't mind talking about either ship at all! and i do appreciate the ask :)

i really do love talking about this show, it sits very nicely in my brain as of late.

and i genuinely don't know if there's going to be an explicit love triangle between ej gina and ricky this season. i don't think it will be so much of a both boys love gina she has to choose between them thing at all though if that's what you're wanting to avoid. though it's kinda funny just how much we've circled back to season 1 in some ways.

i think if anything, once ricky and lily are over, we might see ricky really paying attention to gina and her relationship ej. (maybe before he's done with lily, idk, but my perspective holds more to the idea of him genuinely trying to give that a go beforehand). he's decided to try to move on from nini, and while lily's not his endgame, i think she's going to be a great building block for him to accomplish that goal.

i don't think rina is quite dead in the water right now. this season will decide whether or not that ship is a possibility for a future season.

as for your concern about ricky being the reason why portwell breaks up, i think the writers are cognizant of the fact that that would be a big no-no. if they do break up gina and ej, that absolutely has to be on their own terms, and have absolutely nothing to do with ricky bowen.

i'll be the first to say that if tim wants rina endgame, using college to break up gina and ej is the perfect way to keep ricky's hands clean so that it's not such an affront to anyone's character development. the college thing is most likely to be their biggest obstacle, and i think his past experiences with girls will be the other, and i think val's probably going to hit both marks in different ways. i don't know what role val is going to play exactly, but i think she's going to be putting a wedge between these two. it could make them stronger, we just don't know yet what the goal is.

but then that's not to say ricky couldn't pine for her in the background before the two break up. i think that's something that rina shippers are placing their bets on rn, and as long as he doesn't act on it prior to ej and gina's breakup, i think it's fair game to not be a repeat of season 1's love triangle with ej nini and ricky. it's always going to be amusing to me how much promo that had.

i think the main thing that the show would need to do to make rina work this time is to have ricky put in the effort first. i think everyone can agree on that point in particular, regardless of what they ship here. she put the ball in his court in that flashback scene, and as far as we know he just never picked it back up again. the impetus is on him to initiate whatever's between them, and as much as ricky's the oblivious type as we've seen, i'm almost positive he's not so stupid as to pursue gina when she's got a boyfriend. especially when it's the same boyfriend he attempted to take nini off of in season 1.

he even gave up on pursuing nini when he realized how unfair it was. so i personally don't think he has to relearn that lesson. but then this show LOVES to retread old ground, so we'll see!

whether gina decides she still likes ricky or not isn't something i think we're going to see really this season so much as people are expecting. this is the biggest thing for me about this third season not giving romantic rina in an explicit sense of them getting together. i don't think we get to see gina's side this time. we've almost exclusively gotten gina's perspective on the rina situation. it's why rinas have so much room to work with at this point. there's a lot we just can't know.

gina's head this season will be focused on ej, and whether that keeps them together throughout the season, i don't think we can know just yet. i think there are still reasons to keep them together, but i also think the college situation is... going to be a problem. i mentioned that earlier, so i won't get into it too much, but these characters could work through their differences.

it's either going to make them come out stronger, like jack and jamie, or it's going to be the catalyst for the breakup like lily was for rini. i will say that lily's not actually the reason ricky and nini broke up, she just expediated ricky's thought process about the rose song which exacerbated the tension between them. if it's something like the latter but with val, i'd expect it to similarly not be a breakup because of val, but rather she just helps put the issue into focus. catalysts don't create the reaction, rather they aid it, speeding it up.

if the writers assume that this is the last season, i'd say you're probably pretty safe to anticipate a portwell endgame, or at least that gina and ricky won't get together this season. if they set up rina in the season 3 finale, it won't be a clear moment of them getting together in my mind, regardless of expecting another season. they can't rush this if they want to execute it well.

if they expect to get more seasons, i honestly don't think it's so cut and dry. regardless of what ej does for college, i think that there's a very real possibility that they break up due to something involving that, his life experiences are changing and becoming more different from hers. that's unavoidable even if he stays in salt lake, so if it's not this season it could still be next season. it just depends on how resilient they are as a couple.

i do admittedly believe that with olivia rodrigo presumably out after season 3, rina becomes more and more likely to be the show's endgame the longer we progress until we hit like season 7 when portwell could become more logistically viable again as gina graduates, and i don't think any of us want or need 7 seasons of this show.

#hsmtmts #hsmtmts: speculation #ship: ej x gina ( hsmtmts )#ship: ricky x gina ( hsmtmts )#answered #anonymous #//tbh this post sways in both directions but i do have more thoughts on what they could do with rina that i didn't put bc less relevant #//but i also have another ask about something similar in my inbox

2 notes · View notes

ceterisparibus116 · 4 years ago

Note

Daredevil scenes / plot points you would have done differently? (I get a suspicion a lot of them have to do with the law stuff, Frank Castle's trial especially. 😉 )

Aaaaa I love this question! Warning: VERY long response:

DEFINITELY the Frank Castle trial. Man, it could’ve been SO GOOD. I have a lot of issues with it, obviously, but the main one is that Matt treating Frank as a hostile witness could’ve been amazing (character-driven, emotionally-charged, also at times hilarious), and we were ROBBED.

I also wish Matt could’ve been involved in more trial prep. The show makes it seem almost like Matt’s skill is limited to courtroom antics, but charisma and the ability to think on your feet in the courtroom mean next to nothing if you haven’t laid a foundation with good legal research and legal writing. I would’ve loved it if the legal plotlines showed us more of that. Like, you know Matt and Karen’s date night in S2 where she helps him come up with witness questions? I would’ve loved it if: a) they’d gotten, like, ANY part of that scene correct from a legal standpoint, and b) if we could’ve gotten MORE. I know that kind of thing might seem boring, but I don’t think it would be. You can really show off characters’ personalities in that kind of environment, and then the audience gets the reward of seeing that hard work pay off at trial.

Speaking of, I know we’ve talked before about S3 splitting everyone up. I still think that could’ve maybe been worth it if we’d gotten a S4 where we could see how everyone learned from how disastrous the S3 isolation was, but without S4, everyone’s isolation in S3 is really unfortunate. I would’ve loved to see Nelson, Murdock, and Page working together for at least half of the season, instead of just the last 3-ish episodes. It would’ve been fascinating to watch, since Matt would still not be in a great headspace, and Karen would still be hurt, and Foggy would be just Trying To Deal with his idiot best friends. (But since we don’t have that, at least we have my S3 canon-divergent retelling thing: Take A Deep Breath – shameless plug.)

I also would’ve generally kept the stakes lower in S2 and S3. I think you agree with me that both seasons would’ve been more powerful if we’d had more lower-level villains. But one of my favorite things about S1 is that we get to know the people who are at stake. Unlike in the Avengers where it’s just “the world” or “New York” or something, S1 showed us a little boy who wanted to go back to his dad, and Elena, and that one juror who was being exploited, and Melvin, and even a bad guy like Vladimir, and they’re ALL sympathetic. We really understand who Matt’s fighting for, but with the exception of Grotto, Jasper Evans, and Julie Barnes, I don’t feel like we really get that in S2 and S3.

Related: our S2 ninjas needed a clearer motivation. (That goes for Defenders, too.) Imo, they needed personal stakes. Fisk’s mission to clean up Hell’s Kitchen was personal. Frank’s mission to take out bad guys was personal. Everything about Elektra was personal. Dex’s desperate attempt to find a place for himself and find people who care about him was VERY personal. But the Hand? Not personal at all.

With Elektra…I’m torn. Part of me really wishes Matt could’ve told her no and maintained his boundaries all along, because a) I hate love-triangle-type drama and drama that could be resolved if people just stopped keeping secrets, and b) it would’ve been so refreshing to see the femme fatal trope subverted, and c) it would’ve given Elektra more agency. That being said…that might be veering too far away from comics canon. Matt is canonically a disaster with relationships, and he and Elektra have this whole…epic…magnetic…thing. I personally would argue that the show isn’t beholden to the canon in this specific way, but I can see how people would be upset if Matt and Elektra hadn’t turned out the way they did in S2.

I would’ve liked Marci to have a smidge more character development. She was so sweet and supportive in S3and I don’t…quite…know where that came from? Oh, well.

Speaking of character development: I wish Matt and Foggy could’ve had some real conversations. Aside from when Foggy found Matt at the gym in S1 and they talked about moving forward, I don’t feel like they had deep conversations that weren’t arguments. Matt’s S3 apology is good, but I would’ve loved to see Foggy apologize for how he contributed to the problems in their friendship. I also wish we could’ve seen Foggy explicitly thank Matt for, y’know…SAVING HIS LIFE.

As for Karen, I wish her revelation scene to Matt had been more about HER. It says a lot about how selfless she is that she used her own pain to try to convince Matt not to kill Fisk. But even though I know Matt’s super depressed and everything, I would’ve loved to see him put his own angsty issues aside for a sec and just be there for his friend and the woman he loves. Even the fact that she is the one who crosses the room to be close to him is telling; he should’ve gone over to her when she started crying and been there for her.

Although if I’m talking about Matt’s romantic relationships, I wouldn’t have minded if the show went a Clairedevil route. Although that would require A LOT. I do wish, if I’m being really fanciful, that we could’ve seen Claire in S3. Or, at minimum, seen Matt and Claire interact in Defenders.

FATHER LANTOM TELLING MATT THAT GUILT IS A SIGN THAT HIS WORK IS NOT DONE. I cannot with that scene. I love Father Lantom, but that? Really? I mean, I get it. That’s a common way that Catholic doctrine is interpreted, and it’s what Matt basically wants to hear anyway, but it is SUCH a dangerous thing to tell Matt (and I feel like Father Lantom should’ve known that???) and it’s also, as I understand it, not even the technically correct Catholic interpretation of guilt. Like, that’s literally not what guilt is or how it’s supposed to work. (Although who knows. I’m not Catholic, and as I understand it, Catholics themselves vary a lot in their interpretations of doctrine. So idk.) If I were writing that scene, I would definitely not have written Father Lantom to say that.

On the religious theme, I wish S3 had circled back to Matt’s original objections related to the book of Job. He gets quite a few things wrong in his recap, and I’m not sure if Maggie didn’t correct him because she didn’t know better, or because she didn’t think a Biblical literacy lecture was what he needed at the moment, OR because the writers couldn’t be bothered to read the book. (In fairness…it’s a long and complicated book. But they couldn’t have been bothered to read a commentary on it?) I wish S3 had not stopped at giving Matt an abstract tapestry analogy to heal his faith when it also should’ve addressed his specific complaints.

I wish we’d had more time to see Matt and Maggie repair their relationship, or start to. And I wish she’d hugged him at Literally Any Point.

I wish the whole Matt-hallucinating thing had been clearer. Was he actually hallucinating? Or was that just his internal monologue manifested through other characters? If he was hallucinating, did he just...stop? Is he not freaked out about that? What was going on????

Oh, and if only they could’ve gotten Dex’s psychological diagnosis right.

Other than that, there are a couple scenes that I feel like drag on way too long (S3 especially has an odd amount of monologues that generally strike me as OOC anyway—except with Fisk; he’s just Like That) but I don’t want to go into all of them. It would be hypocritical, given how long this reply is. :P

So yeah, I think I’ll stop there, although I’m sure there’s more, haha. Thank you again for the ask and the excuse to ramble about Daredevil! I look forward to your thoughts as well.

#daredevil #daredevil meta

44 notes · View notes