#idk why but that just hit me as the most meaningful thing anyone’s ever said to me in that regard

[kavehater]

I was looking at a slideshow and it just hit me that nobody ever said to me that they don’t actually want me to kms and that it genuinely felt that they meant it except one person very recently

[scandalsavagefanfic]

Hello! I am a huge fan of ur writing. I've loved everything I've read of yours. I've read alot of what you've posted, except for a couple of the tags that are squicky for me (so I'm very thankful you tag very thoroughly). No judgement for the squick, it's just not for me. & when I'm having a bad day, I usually just go thru ur ao3 and find something to reread. I think about Therapy's Bruce & Jason every damn day. While I obvs appreciate ur darker more "problematic" content (I really vibe with some of the themes you write about bc of my own trauma, & so it's very cathartic to read about in a fictional setting), I am truly a sucker for ur more happy content. The Happily Ever After verse also lives in my head rent free. Idk more wholesome stuff just seems more special when you write it. Anyways. I would die for you. But the point of this ask is cause I'm curious as to why you don't like Urban Legends? I'm sorry if you already talked about it here or on twitter and I missed it. I was just wondering because I really enjoy your take on things and would love to hear why you dislike it. I've been enjoying it so far personally, but I am always open to DC comics criticism.

Aw thank you so much! I'm so flattered by everything you just said. You're so sweet ❤❤❤❤❤

I haven't talked about Urban Legends here or twitter (I haven't been very active in either place lately. Just a lot going on and no energy 😔) but I'm happy to do it here.

Before I start though, I just want to add a standard disclaimer and make it clear that if you like it, there's nothing wrong with that and you don't have to let me ruin it for you lol. Like what you like.

That said, since you asked...

I said this when I was talking about it on discord, that there is a difference between hope and expectation. I always hope that a new story centered on Jason (or anyone really, but things have been especially egregious for Jay for 15 years) will be good or at least treat the character with a minimal level of respect (to be honest, the bar is super fucking low). But my expectations always temper my hope, to keep it from getting unrealistic. Because my expectations are based on experience.

The long history of Jason Todd, since even before his resurrection, has been one of retroactively trying to make him "a bad seed" in order to absolve Bruce of any responsibility in his death.

I don't even expect DC or their writers to start honoring the fact that Jason was not an angry, reckless Robin (and less of the later than Dick or Tim and definitely Damian). There plenty of ways that retcon can be folded into his history and be compelling and sympathetic. And if they're going to stick with that retcon, I'm only asking that they do it in one of those compelling and sympathetic ways because Jason was 15 when he died, heroically, in one of the most selfless acts in comics, to save a woman who literally handed him over to be brutally murdered. He was 12 when Bruce plucked him off the streets, he'd been homeless and fending for himself for at least two years. I personally think that Jason's story hits harder for him and Bruce if their original, canon relationship, of Jason as starry-eyed and eager to learn and absolutely devoted to Bruce and Bruce to Jason, is preserved. But Jason's origins does leave room for a meaningful interpretation of him as angry and frustrated at the lack of meaningful results of Bruce's methods.

And that's really where my irritation at stories like Batman: Urban Legends, Cheer and Batman The Adventure Continues has it's roots.

Every time one of these stories comes out, I think (or hope, rather) that this will be the one that remembers and respects the origins of the Jason and the Red Hood, that takes into account the changed sensibilities of comics readers in the 30 years since Jason's death and the subtle, 20 year, retroactive campaign to make him the "bad Robin". The "born bad" trope is played out and literally no one likes the message it implies. That some kids are just bad eggs and there's nothing parents or the adults around them can do. Especially when it's played as the kid's fault. If Jason's time as Robin is going to be characterized by anger, then it should be rooted in anger at the social injustices he witnessed as he grew up in an impoverished, crime-ridden, area and the horrors he faced raising himself when every day was a battle for survival. There are topical, meaningful, stories to tell with that backdrop.

But those are never the stories we get.

⚠⚠ Spoilers for Batman: Urban Legends, Cheer ⚠⚠

I'm particularly disappointed in Urban Legends because for the first issue, it looked like that was the kind of story we were going to get. I was put off by the first flashback of Jason being mesmerized by Bruce's guns, and I got that feeling in my gut that it was a bad sign. Jason depicted as impatient and overconfident and the scene with the guns is heavy-handed foreshadowing that got my spidey-sense tingling. I had a inkling then (in the first three pages) of how this story was going to play out, but it was early and I could still see many narrative paths that could lead to a satisfying story. My concerns were soothed somewhat and the little flame of my hope fanned, with the flashback of Alfred scolding Bruce, with Barbara's concern for Jason. A bit of worry returned with the way Jason ruthlessly pursued an addict who didn't appear to be a dealer and with the ending of the issue. The stuff with the addict sat wrong with me but the ending was tempered some by how despicable Tyler's dad was written. The scene was clearly set so that the reader could sympathize with Jason's decision and the scene with the addict could be brushed aside as a side-effect of comics over-the-top need for constant action, so I still held hope.

Issue 2 made me uncomfortable and it's where my hope starts to take a backseat to my expectations. I can dismiss Jason's self-deprecating internal monologue as unreliable narration, except that the flashback reinforces his thought process to explicitly show that it's not unreliable narration, and should be taken at face value. Jason faces physical abuse at the hands of his mother's drug dealer and when the flashback continues later, Jason kills the drug dealer. To be clear, this is a pre-Bruce Jason. His mom is still alive. He's like... 10. He kills this guy for shoving his head into a wall and implying Jason's mother paid for her drugs with sex. This is a scene that serves a single purpose. To show that Jason has always been prone to violence.

In the spirit of full disclosure, there is the small chance the drug dealer might not be dead. But the story obviously wants the reader to think he is, and it hasn't done anything to change that yet.

Starlin already did this story with The Diplomat’s Son in 1988 and he did it infinitely better. AND that’s still technically canon. So now I’m supposed to believe that Jason lost his cool bad enough to kill two douche bags before his sweet 16? Like it’s totally normal for abused kids raised in poverty, who’ve led hard and heartbreaking lives to just... haul off and kill people? That’s bullshit, and when taken with the Jason in the third issue, who is little more than an idiot thug, this story is really doubling down on some fucked up stereotypes.

Which brings us to the most recent issue. I went into this installment with very low expectations. I thought this story was going to be about Jason, through this experience with Tyler, a young boy with a similar background to Jason's, coming to the realization that Bruce's way is the best way and that Bruce did his best by Jason.

That would be annoying (in no small part because it takes increasingly absurd levels of plot armor to keep Bruce's no kill rule relevant, let alone irrefutably right). But I can probably live with that, if only because maybe if Jason officially falls back into line with the Bats crusade, maybe I'll get stories that treat him with respect, stories that don't relegate him to comic relief, dumb brute, or a background body with no lines in a story about the Joker burning Gotham (like Jason would just fucking stand there quietly for that).

And that may still be where the story is going, Jason realizing Bruce is right.

But holy shit do I not have the right words to describe how fucking insulting and gross issue three is.

From start to finish--including the flashback--Jason is written as cruel and fucking stupid. Like straight up dumb.

The entire issue is Bruce explaining the fucking basics to Jason like it's his first day. And Jason flies off the fucking handle and terrorizes a doctor he knows isn't a part of making the Cheerdrops, beats the shit out of some random addicts, and finally, when he can't accomplish anything on his own because he's a dumb brute he calls Barbara for help and rushes in with no information where he's promptly incapacitated and must now wait to be rescued by Batman.

This panel is the least of the issues sins but I can’t screenshot the entire story but it’s representative of the tone for the whole issue (and retroactively tainted the prior two issues).

This is beyond insulting. The only conclusions Jason comes to in this issue are the ones Bruce leads him to by talking to him like he can’t make the simplest connections. And like... in this story Jason can’t make the simplest connections.

This (and the Jason throughout the entirety of this issue) is a far cry from the Jason we fell in love with in Under the Red Hood, who was competent and strategic and intelligent enough to seize control of Gotham’s underworld from Black Mask (who’s no fucking slouch, he’s the first and only person to unify organized crime in Gotham) AND elude and manipulate Bruce until the time and place of his choosing.

This is a far cry from even the Red Hood and the Outlaws Jason who is competent enough to fight the League of Shadows and Ra’s al Ghul (among very dangerous and skilled others) and smart enough to create antidotes for mind control nanotech viruses.

As he should be, by the way. Jason Todd is one of the best, most comprehensively trained fighters in DC’s stable of non powered vigilantes. He’s not irrational or hot headed. He’s pragmatic, tactically minded, and patient. He’s a detective. Right now. Has been since he was 12. Bruce doesn’t have to make him one because he already is. 

Jason is not a stupid thug who uses his fists because his brain doesn’t work. And I can’t tell you how so very exhausted I am by this narrative. 

This is actually the most egregious example of Jason’s skills and intelligence being not just undermined but dismissed entirely. Even Morrison’s Jason had some degree of competency. 

The one, single redeeming factor of this story is the art. It’s beautiful. And Marcus To is a godsend he seems to be one of only a couple of artists who remember that Jason was a child when he was Robin and I’m literally only buying this book because of him. 

Anyway, I’m sorry. I didn’t want that to come out so... um... passionately lol. I’m just very very tired. My intention with this isn’t to ruin it for you, if you like it, that’s fine. 

But this issue shot this story to the top of my "Vehemently Despise” list. 1) Batman: Urban Legends (Cheer), 2) Battle for the Cowl/Morrison’s Batman and Robin, 3) Batman The Adventure Continues.

I hope the next issues somehow salvage this dumpster fire. But I’m not expecting it.

(Damnit. That sounded harsh again. To reiterate, I’m not trying to judge anyone who enjoys it, I just personally hate it and you asked me why lol 😅)

[parachutingkitten]

Y'all suck at dissecting Kai's character, so I guess I have to do it.

And I'm not even a Kai stan. He's a bottom tier ninja for me, which I guess means you can trust me, cuz I'm not biased, but also why am I the one doing this? I don't know about y'all, but recently on my dash, the method by which Kai fans try to make him sound good is... saying the writers hate him, ignore him, and that he isn't written well? Which... I mean there is a little bit of truth to, but like yikes guys, is this the best you got? Kai is a wonderful character with plenty of attention from the writers, a meaningful piece of the cast when put in secondary rolls, fairly consistent character writing with actual progression and valuable qualities that help the team without having to be the smart one- despite what some posts might tell you.

Let's get one thing cleared up: Ninjago isn't the best written show. By high level Hollywood standards, most the character arcs are kinda weak or too heavy handed, character consistency can be iffy, and most things serve the plot rather than the characters. There is no character you can point to and say "wow, this character is written so well! No complaints!" Nya and Jay were butchered by their weird love plot, Cole's one season doesn't actually give him an arc, Zane's been nothing but the robot numbers guy for like 10 seasons now, and Lloyd seems to be incapable of doing anything but relive the same one piece of dad angst for depth. Sorry, it's true. All the characters suck when you look at it from a large scale writing perspective. So when I say Kai is well written, I mean by ninjago kids show standards- cuz that's the scale we're working on. No, you couldn't drop Kai into a well written drama, but as far as ninjago goes... he's got a lot going for him, and by no means is he the biggest victim of poor writing.

(fair warning, wall of text below)

The title is a bit disingenuous. There are plenty of good Kai character break downs. What I am presenting here is a more positive perspective. On the whole, I will tend to give the writers the benefit of the doubt, and credit for what they do right writing is hard guys. That's what I'm doing here. I don't see much sense in getting mad the writers on behalf of Kai, or any other character. Ninjago is a simplistic ensemble show that works because of the identifiable simplicity of its main characters with some deeper layers hidden underneath if you keep watching. They've given us a damn good show with some damn enjoyable characters, so here are some criticisms I feel are a little flawed:

First, let's get the 'focus' thing out of the way. Apparently there are people saying Kai doesn't have a season yet? Which... what? I mean, I get that the pilots aren't a full season, the first two seasons, though he is the central protagonist, aren't "Kai seasons" as we've come to define ninja focus seasons, season 7, though he gets majority focus, he shares with his sister. But like... did y'all just forget about season 4? You know, the season where he had the title card, was on the box sets, got the love interest, and the majority of the A-plot? not to mention it's the best season don't @ me Like... if season 4 isn't a Kai season, I can make a damn good argument that season 3 isn't a Zane season, and I doubt anyone wants to go down that rabbit hole. I really can't wrap my head around this one. And I get that the fandom hates season 11 for some reason, but like you can't just pretend it doesn't exist. Kai has a consistent arc across 30 episodes in which he takes his powers for granted, loses them, and learns that, not only does he have value within the team without them, but that his element is intrinsically a part of him that he reclaims, bringing them back more powerful than ever, and with new respect for them. That's one of the most solid arcs in the whole series- the location is even thematically connected to his element. That's some good stuff right there! (Quick plug for season 11 if you haven't watched it in a while. Give it a rewatch, you might be pleasantly surprised)

Not to mention the writers give him fun side stuff all the time. Lots of fears of tech and water to overcome, a deep protective streak with Lloyd, becoming a chancellor, having a true potential actually relevant to the plot as a whole, blacksmith responsibilities, befriending dragons, hanging out with his dad. Not to mention actual focus stuff we haven't talked about yet, like his whole "my dad is evil" phase, and his "I might be evil" phase with him and Skylor. And on top of that, even when he doesn't have an explicit side plot, he's always just a fun and dynamic side character to make jokes or give exposition.

Now, into character stuff. Let's start with Kai's hot headed-ness. Some people say he's been loosing this quality, and I will admit, that's true! But those that claim this makes him inconsistent... I strongly disagree. In early seasons, Kai's temper would lead him to snap at his friends or make stupid decisions that set the team back (see episode 2 Zane freak out)- these are bad things. These are character flaws, yes? Now, in newer seasons, people say that he's inconsistent, cuz sometimes he'll be hot headed, and sometimes he won't. I'd say, this is exactly how being hot headed... works? It flares up without warning, and as an individual gets control of it, it'll pop up less and less often because they're channeling it into productive things - like say directing the anger towards an enemy (see season 11 end freak out). Kai has gained control of a character flaw, and though it still pops up on occasion, the fact that it's a once in a while kind of thing speaks to his growth. I have a little brother who has this exact personality, and watching him grow up, I can tell you, this is how it is. He used to snap all the time, and he still does sometimes, but much less frequently, because he's a more mature person with better control of his emotions. This is a good thing. This is overcoming personal flaws. This is progression we're seeing.

And while you're hyper focused on this one aspect of him, things like his cocky confidence haven't changed a bit. I mean, that season 3 bit between him and Pixal, and his season 11 "fire maker" streak have the exact same energy. You can not convince me otherwise.

Another adjacent quality that hasn't been dampened is Kai's impulsiveness. This can be a good quality of his, he'll get into a fight without thinking, getting the jump on the enemy. Good stuff. But, this has become such a well defined trait of Kai's that it has been used in a comedic capacity. This is what happens when a character is extremely consistent to the extent that both the audience and the characters in universe would be able to predict their actions. Kai's impulsivity used to be a more serious quality that put himself and others at risk, and was a big power move whenever he did something rash, but it's become such a staple of the show that it's now being used for comedy. That isn't Kai's impulsivity going away, that's Kai's impulsivity being recontextualized for the sake of the show. The season 9 "Who's stupid enough to jump on that thing" isn't a joke at the expense of Kai just for being dumb, it's a joke at Kai's being so predictably impulsive that everyone already knows he'll be the one to put himself in an insane amount of danger without thinking twice (you know, something stupid that might get him killed). But because in this instance, the danger is warranted, this is bravery. It's a complement to his character- it's what ends up defeating the colossus. Why are some people so bothered by this joke?

Oh right, cuz for some reason people want to peg Kai as the smart one? Look, Kai isn't stupid, none of the ninja are. All of them have smart moments (all of them have dumb ones too) and Kai can certainly handle himself, but "smart" is definitely not one of his defining characteristics- I think some people are confusing smart for his actual strength. Connected to his impulsivity, Kai has very good simplistic instincts. He sees the big picture and looks at the most surface level solution- which when the situation calls for it, that does indeed make him smart. But the same logic that led him to think "This snake has a glowing target on its head, lets hit it" also led him to think "I'm in a video game, therefore I am immortal." Are you really going to look at me and say he figured out Lloyd was the green ninja through logical deduction and a careful consideration of the facts? No. He had a gut feeling, and he trusted it. Instincts- instincts paired with his impulsive following of said instincts is what leads him to solve problems- and sometimes, that can be extremely effective. This goes for other ninja too. Jay isn't the smartest ninja- I would really only classify Zane and Nya as having intelligence define them (hence their ship name). But Jay is extremely creative and crafty. He also knows his was around mechanics, and as such, this will lead him to come up with creative tech based solutions which are smart. But, idk about you, if I had to point to another ninja as being 'dumb' it would 100% be Jay. Kai is a lot of things. He's passionate and determined and confident and persistent. He's a good improvisor, he's powerful and he's charming! These are all wonderful qualities, he doesn't also have to be the smart one. I am the worlds biggest Pixal stan, and she's a smart, sassy, powerful character, but I'm not gonna sit here and tell you she's also hilarious and adaptable and strong willed. She's a straight man to all the ninja's antics, extremely tied to her samurai x suit, and lets people push her around all the time. That doesn't mean she can't be funny, or self interested, but when she does act these ways, it stems from her other more prominent qualities. That make sense?

And while we're clearing up what Kai isn't, please stop characterizing Kai as an overly protective brother - especially romantically. The only two times he's been romantically protective to Nya are in Wu's Teas which I mean, come on and in the pilots when Jay is literally a stranger. For crying out loud, by the end of the pilot, he's smiling when Jay and Nya hug. That's not overly protective, that's just normal, any reasonable person would react this way, protective. And it's such a great stereotype break for a kids show like ninjago, having an older brother who actually trusts his younger sister to be her own independent person who can make her own decisions. I mean, I guess it's fine if you HC differently but like... idk, I don't buy it.

Now, is there still room to criticize the writers? Yes. Hell yes. But not to an extent greater than any other character. Could he have had more of a defined reaction to events of the most recent season that I won't name for the sake of spoilers? Yes. But could Zane have reacted for more than .5 seconds at being an evil war lord for apparently 60 years? Yeah. Has Kai taken a back seat in the past 4 seasons? Yeah. But so has Lloyd- and he's literally the main character of the show. Not to mention two of those seasons have gone to people who had to wait over ten seasons to get one to themselves, and one of them is a 40 minute special. Kai's doing just fine.

Anyway. Kai is great. He's a fun, stereotype breaking, impulsively driven, ball of energy and confidence who gets a good amount of screen time and some fun side plots.

One last thing to clear up: no hate to anyone. This isn't targeted at anyone specific, this post has been a long time coming, I've just seen some weird overblown claims on various platforms over the past few months and I finally sat down to write about it.

I like the Kai content we have. After all, if the writers were really that bad at writing him, then no one would like him.

Wow this was so much longer than I thought it would be. Um... if you have other long winded rants you'd like to see from me... let me know I guess?

[lizacstuff]

SCK / Edser Asks - mostly 31

(Asks under the cut, there are some spoilers and speculation in there so tread carefully if you don’t want to read that)

Anonymous said: Based on the photos of epi 31 that were released, I saw a theory online that said maybe Deniz bought Eda a star (picture she's holding a certificate paper). Gosh I hope not. That's an Eda and Serkan thing.

It seems to me that buying a star is so specific to Serkan and Eda it either can't be it, OR if is it then they (Eda and Deniz) are doing it to purposely troll Serkan and push at his jealousy buttons, since even if he doesn't remember it, he knows he bought her a star.  I can't imagine Deniz sincerely buying her a star and surprising her with it, because there is no way that goes over well with her, but who knows. I'm done pretending I know the limits of what this show will do, lmao.

Anonymous said: A lot of fans think that Deniz is proposing to Eda but that's one huge box for a ring! I feel like maybe he's been keeping things that are from their friendship over the years and is gifting her that. But I hope not, because I like to think of Serkan being the sentimental one over things related to Eda. Thoughts?

This scene may have to do with Deniz letting Eda know his real feelings, maybe, but why would he propose so soon, in public when they're already fake engaged, and when he knows Eda is still in love with Serkan?  And you're right, it's way too big for that, perhaps it's something from their childhood? idk. I'm having trouble working up any interest in what Deniz might put in a box, because zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.  He's boring.

Anonymous said: Although I have no context for the situation that leads to Serkan asking if Eda is happy in the next episode, I still need her to answer honestly. Now that they both have calmed down, had time to adjust to the current situation and he is clearly interested in getting to know her, she needs to tell him exactly how she feels about everything. Heck, totally okay with a comment that “she would have fought for him and their relationship if he had ever given her a chance.” He remembers their kiss, he is having flashes of her and wants to spend time with her, her expressing interest & opening up has to hit differently this time. And if he still says he is going to be with Selin then I do not even what the point of this storyline was 🤷🏻‍♀️.

Yeah, I'm pretty in line with you on this. I would love it if Eda was completely, emotionally honest with him in a moment like that. But my fear is that Eda's pride, understandably wounded by his engagement to the psycho, will get in the way. Our girl doesn't like to appear vulnerable, we've seen it too many times. And being honest about their feelings is NOT how they fell in love the first time around, is it? Nope they were both too terrified to admit it, until push came to shove. 

As far as the point of the storyline, its to show us that Serkan will fall in love with Eda even when the circumstances are completely stacked against them. To that end they have STACKED everything they could against them. So I think the only thing we can do is have patience. There’s no doubt what the endgame plan is, in show time it’s only been a few days, we need to give Serkan a minute to let the war between his heart and brain play out.  I think this episode is going to show us a Serkan who is drawn to her and SHOOK by her. And Selin seeing all of that.

Anonymous said: yeah, i think the amnesia plotline is especially hard to watch rn because of selin's presence and her and serkan's "relationship" and that's where most of the frustration around current eps stem from. altho, i have seen ppl get mad that he's not remembering from "key moments" in their story and somehow it ruins a part of their story and idk.. i just disagree bc clearly there's a plan there for what triggers his memory and when it happens.. and i feel like something has to be coming soon there

Oh, yes, I completely disagree with anyone who thinks that he needs to be remembering moments to prove his love. What bullshit. HE HAS A BRAIN INJURY. It’s AMNESIA. It’s not a choice. It’s not a diss on their love. I’ve noticee that there are legions of fans out there who don’t get the, “If I lived 100 lives, I’d fall in love with you 100 times,” and keep thinking that him recovering his memories is going to be the silver bullet that fixes thing. I don’t think so. I do think he’ll get them back eventually, but seems to me he’s going to need to fall in love first.  Which hopefully will become more fun to watch, because that’s pretty damn powerful. 

Anonymous said: I was just thinking, it kinda sucks we never got to see what Serkan's other two wishes were. Obviously that's all gone and forgotten and the way the story is going now, Serkan may have to offer Eda 3 wishes for hurting her after the memory loss. It would be interesting to see how that would go (it could be for humor purpose or could actually be meaningful for their relationship). Your thoughts?

Oh, yes, I wish we could have seen what the rest of the wishes were. It was a really fun construct that they didn’t play out. Probably a victim of the change in writers around that time.  Since none of the wishes could violate the contract, I really don’t know what Serkan was going to ask for. I think when all of this is said and done, Serkan’s going to have to grant more than 3 wishes for Eda...

Anonymous said: Think I will take my lead from you and stay positive about SCK. And I am going to believe the next episodes is full of great moments between Eda & Serkan that are actual steps back towards each other. Totally get that it has only been 3 days in the show but the weakest part for me has been how tightly Serkan is holding onto his relationship/engagement to Selin...yikes! It makes me cringe seeing his arm around her. I get that was his defense mechanism but it left Eda heartbroken with nothing to work with. Now he has softened, acknowledged her talent and his interest in her and after realizing he is totally jealous about her being with someone else then he needs to put an end to his engagement with Selin.

Oh yes, CRINGE CITY. I can barely look at her. Ugh. The arm around the waist is the worst! But I think you’re right, it’s his defense mechanism. He’s using it to keep distance with Eda who scares the CRAP out of him. Poor dummy. 

Anonymous said: “the barnacle on the ass of this show” 😂😂😂😂 Thank you, I needed that laugh, and never has Selin been better described. Those spoilers I’m reading better not be right 😤

Okay, I'm loath to get into spoilers, but are you talking about the Selin fake pregnancy rumors? I think those are more speculation than spoilers (however the last two weeks the end of the ep hasn't been in the spoiler drops, but then leaked out as prevalent rumors, so.... maybe happening again?)

Anyway @echoapothecary and I talked this through with the spoilers yesterday and I think this rumor does work with the spoilers and it might not be so bad if it happens the way we speculated. Of course all of this is predicated on these spoilers being correct, and who the eFF knows. Spoilers:

The end of the episode is not in the fragman

The end is a bomb

The final scene is bad but it will come in handy because it will serve to unmask Selin (the start of her downfall)

So with those spoilers... I do think the cliffhanger bomb could be Selin telling Eda she's pregnant. But notice that key point... telling Eda.  

Selin is going to be freaked out after seeing Serkan's interest in Eda grow all episode, and she’s supposedly going to witness something that happens between Edser on the boat. So by the end of the episode she probably feels him slipping away and will be beyond desperate. So I could see her dropping one big bomb, a hail Mary pass, that she thinks might drive Eda away and even out of town.

So if she did that would definitely be a “bomb” and it would also be “bad” from the audience perspective.  Now to it “coming in handy because it will serve to unmask her.” I’m pretty sure she and Serkan have not had sex since the accident. The show went out of their way three times to show us they aren’t sleeping in the same bed. So once Serkan finds out what Selin said, he’s going to instantly realize she told one whopper of a manipulative lie to Eda.  And if that happens it suddenly calls into question every single thing she’s told him since he called her after the accident. Hence, unmasking begins. 

So if that happens, and Selin tries to manipulate Eda into giving up, I could see Eda deciding to leave town. Selin might even tell her Serkan doesn’t know because its too much right now on top of the amnesia, so it’s up to Eda to step back and so Eda won’t mention it to him and expose her lie. Who knows. If it happens I expect it would be resolved in 32 after some angst and some dramatic Serkan and Eda moments (imagine him going after her if she’s trying to leave and he finds out why from someone like Melo or Deniz). 

Anyway, is this what’s going to happen? WTF knows. Speculation is never correct, it could be anything, but it seems right in line with the melodramatics this show has been going for since the plane crash.  Selin is rumored to be leaving soon, so if this is how we get rid of her soon, fine by me. I just want her off this show BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY.  

[chaotically-cas]

I slightly rewrote my tombstone essay. I’m crazy.

I did not obsess over and enjoy a western cowboy movie that fucking much???? But I did??? I don’t even know where to start. I’m not sure if the acting from Wyatt Earp’s actor was good or bad. I genuinely can’t tell. It was kinda off putting & uncomfortable at times. But I thought that Val Kilmer fucking carried that movie because he so beyond talented oh my god. He is so good in these kinds of roles (Jim Morrison) I swear I literally got goosebumps so so many times. I think he is an incredibly underrated actor & that movie is an exact example of why. Jesus fuck he was incredible it felt so real. It was one of the best performances I’ve seen on that type of role from anyone I can’t. The acting overall was for the most part down right magnificent.

The absolute heart wrenching showing of tuberculosis too omg. And in lines as small as ‘forgive me if I don’t shake hands’ to his beautifully the makeup department & Val did with showing how physical the disease was. I’m not sure what else to complement besides the fact that ‘the dying man’ is such a common character but I don’t think you can really do much better at all in this case. Top marks.

& the way it was filmed & the shots were so beautiful. It was so timely & cinematic oh my god I can’t describe it. They used close up shots & far away shots both so beautifully & in such a meaningful way. Especially the scenes where everything was so briefly shown just through eye contact.

Jesus even Johnny Ringo’s character was absolutely perfect. I don’t remember the actors name off the top of my head but he is absolutely brilliant as well as the rest of the cast. Even Russell, in some parts, who practically directed the entire thing. Even Ike was a fantastic character I’m sorry but I can’t lie.

I could talk about the scene where Johnny Ringo & Doc Holliday first met forever I think. Not only did they put probably two of the best actors in the movie the same room together. But it’s probably one of the most well known scenes too. Just the belligerence & the absolute wit between the both of them, especially Holliday, is mesmerizing. I love the way he turns to his girlfriend & talks to himself over whether he should hate him or not. & he ends up deciding to hate him because he reminds him of himself. Which is again brought up so fucking incredibly later on in the movie. I think it’s amazing they didn’t let that aspect of their characters fall though. I think that scene is just magnificent. The way Doc is so sly & coy with a simple shot glass. Just the way their own shots are mocking themselves as well as the characters in a way is just. God. It’s unmatched. & the way they bring back the ‘he’s drunk’ later in the movie too as such a juxtaposition is just. Shit man. It’s beyond brilliant.

The scene where they all were at a draw & then Doc just winks. & you can see the other actors face go from fear to anger. & then wyatt realizes. Good it’s just a greatly filmed & directed scene everything about it is perfect from the reactions to the shots.

It’s even possibly a love story between Earp & Holliday. I said it. From the very very beginning when they first see each other again I could tell that Holliday was pining, in one way or another. & Wyatt was too except he didn’t know it. It was in the ways he cared for his well being & if he needed anything. They both just supported each other & were such good friends throughout it all even in the small things. But the big gestures is where it gets me.

The first being the multiple times Holliday stood up & actually took a deadly fight for Earp. All whole literally dying himself. He was literally willing to do fucking anything for him. & the second being the scene where he is saying goodbye oh my god. & Earp gives him the fucking book ‘my friend Doc Holliday’ speaks volumes on its own. That’s when I started crying. Cause it was Doc saying that if Wyatt really loved him he would have to let him go & be happy. & then he died clutching the little book his best friend gave him. I cried. & of course Wyatt had to fulfill his best friends last wish too but I don’t think I’ll get into that.

There was even a deleted scene between Doc & his girl where she is asking him why he is leaving again. & she is like ‘it’s Wyatt, isn’t it? It’s always Wyatt’ or something to that effect. & dear god I wish that scene was included because it only further shows how close they were. Both did & his girl also went to the lengths of pushing at the fact that he could & wouldn’t mind dying from him. I just think that’s interesting. He literally would do anything for his friend & his girl knows it (as she called herself.)

But what strikes me most is both times Wyatt was walking away from Doc, thinking he would never see him again, he gives him something. Like pretty important too. Idk it really got me in my feels & I’m kind of glad it was so subtextual as well as implied through the clearly more than friendly gestures. I don’t think they could have portrayed the fact that they were & the fact that they stayed by each other. The. Whole. Time. Through literally everything. I can’t describe it. They deserved better but at the same time it was so perfectly heartbreaking.

The first being the multiple times Holliday stood up & actually took a deadly fight for Earp. All whole literally dying himself. He was literally willing to do fucking anything for him. & the second being the scene where he is saying goodbye oh my god. & Earp gives him the fucking book ‘my friend Doc Holliday’ speaks volumes on its own. That’s when I started crying. Cause it was Doc saying that if Wyatt really loved him he would have to let him go & be happy. & then he died clutching the little book his best friend gave him. I cried. & of course Wyatt had to fulfill his best friends last wish too but I don’t think I’ll get into that.

There was even a deleted scene between Doc & his girl where she is asking him why he is leaving again. & she is like ‘it’s Wyatt, isn’t it? It’s always Wyatt’ or something to that effect. & dear god I wish that scene was included because it only further shows how close they were. Both did & his girl also went to the lengths of pushing at the fact that he could & wouldn’t mind dying from him. I just think that’s interesting. He literally would do anything for his friend & his girl knows it (as she called herself.)

But what strikes me most is both times Wyatt was walking away from Doc, thinking he would never see him again, he gives him something. Like pretty important too. Idk it really got me in my feels & I’m kind of glad it was so subtextual as well as implied through the clearly more than friendly gestures. I don’t think they could have portrayed the fact that they were & the fact that they stayed by each other. The. Whole. Time. Through literally everything. I can’t describe it. They deserved better but at the same time it was so perfectly heartbreaking.

The way he looked down at his feet at the end & laughs right before he died breaks my fucking heart. Because he thought he would be dying down the road or honestly anywhere else. With his boots on. With his friends. I can’t it just kills me. It’s such a small & missable detail but holy shit if you notice it it hurts like a bitch.

I can’t describe it. It just adds onto his self hatred so much because several time he went dangerously close to seeing himself as Johnny. Like the Latin scene & the scene in the bed where they discuss how Johnny ended up the way he was, and Doc was able to almost sympathize with him. Because in a way he is him. Like “The last charge of wyatt Earp and his inmortales” It’s so sad because he knows he is literally in the process of freaking dying that’s why he says it like the snarky sarcastic bastard he is.

Doc calling Wyatt self deluding but still the only man that ever gave him hope hits so hard. Again. Because it just shows how fucking lonely he was and how reliant he was on his best friend even in his death bed.

“There’s no normal life. Wyatt. Theres just life. Now get on with it.” “Don’t know how.” “Sure you do. Say goodbye to me.” “Live Wyatt. Live for me. Wyatt if you were ever my friend. If you ever had the slightest feelin for me. Leave now. Please.” God then the single fucking tear that slides down his face as he watches Wyatt walk away for the last time. It hurt so much.

Umm anyways. I’m obsessed with this movie now & I think I’m going a tad insane.

[asocialoverthinker]

I already see hating myself for writing this and @finefeatheredgamer I apologize in advance if it's too.. idk personal, but your vent post hit too close to home and I haven't really been able to stop thinking about it today, so I'm just going to leave this here since the comment section is too small for my too talkative self:

I don't want to give a lecture or pretend like I know what you're going through or why but given I saw too much of myself in that post and I clearly have boundary issues (🤦) I feel like I have to give some, call it advice or a look at my way of dealing with this sort of.. idk mood?

When it comes to the good ol' imposter syndrome, there are times when I feel like shit about everything I've done, no matter how much I've accomplished or been told I've done well; I keep thinking that it's just a matter of time before people "figure out" I'm not as good as they think and will just move on to others who are worthy of their time and attention. That's BS. And I know it is, but it doesn't stop my mind from reminding me of that fear every other day. What does help, however, is taking up any simple, mundane task you can think of that's preferably not people related: reorganising my desk, throwing out old clothes, deleting unnecessary screenshots off of my phone because I'm a meme hoarder and I'm working on it. 🤦😂 Basically, anything that gives you a sense of accomplishment, as small as it may be, without needing anyone's reaction or opinion. Do something for yourself that, as ridiculous as the task is, can make you feel good and make you feel like you've got control over your life and that you've done something *right*, without a doubt. Soon, that feeling will pop up when you do something that you're anxious about and make the IS a little more bearable. (And I know this doesn't do much when you've convinced yourself otherwise but dude, you really are awesome at your writing and art so no, you most definitely aren't bad at everything.)

As for the people around me and their perception of me, along with their willingness to interact with me and in what way.. *sigh* ... There's something that I keep trying to make myself remember and that's the fact that.. we're all different, we all have different upbringings, different personalities, needs, views, attachment styles, etc. All of that results in everyone having different expectations, triggers and way of interacting with others and showing their affection.

That means, IMO, just because someone doesn't have the same view on say friendships as I do, that doesn't mean they value our friendship less than I do if they idk call less often or don't pick up on everything I'd want them to. I talk a lot, I text even more, I often feel like I'm overwhelming and I've even had a moment with my now best friend (a chill, quiet introvert whose every word is worth as much as gold, given how little they talk, especially compared to me 😂) when I've asked them, years ago, why they were friends with me (an ENTJ btw) since I was so obnoxiously loud and talking their ears off. The answer? "I like listening to you, it's fun". In their mind, we were having great time together, while I drove myself mental thinking I was suffocating them.

(Fuck, where was I going with this... Right!) Point is, relationships of any kind are a two way street and affected by both parties and what I've realised is key for them to work is to figure out what you are and aren't comfortable with and communicate.

If you're angry or upset with someone, you can't wait for them to figure it out on their own. Anger (when it's healthy ofc) is a cry for change and channelled properly can result in a conflict with whomever it is that's upsetting you that's going to result in either your relationship growing and changing for the better.. or falling apart which, tbh, if it's causing you distress, it's bound to end anyway.

I've already written far too much so I'll try to cut it short.

People are as complicated as they are simple (fuck that sounds so stupid but I'll try to explain what I mean). You (I'm talking to the both of us, leaving this as a reminder for myself too) can't really affect the way people perceive you or what their natural behaviour is like. You need to figure out what works for you when it comes to human interaction and look for it, but also accept that we're all virtually bound to disappoint each other in terms of fulfilling all the expectations people have of us. As my friend likes to say "if we were all the same and behaved the same way and believed in all the same things, the world would be a very boring place". So don't let your mind overthink every interaction, every relationship, every conversation you've ever had or every mistake you've ever made or someone else has made.

Do people enjoy being around you? Do they want you around? If you're unsure, ask and please remember this: whatever the answer is, it's not just defined by you or caused by you.

Some people are idiots that will treat you like shit no matter how awesome you are. That's not your problem, it's theirs and you're better off without them.

Some people have their own issues and reasons why they behave certain ways and even upset you, yet those reasons have nothing to do with you, so again, they're not your fault.

Some people just don't click well with you, it sucks sometimes but hey, that's life.

Some people are clueless and unaware of the fact that they're making you upset and need to be told that because, no matter how much they care, they could still be causing harm without knowing it. Hell, I'm writing this with the best intentions and could be doing something that doesn't sit right with you and for that again, I'm sorry.

That all being said, I do believe that as different and complicated as we are, deep down we're also simple. (In general, most of us anyway) We want to feel good, we want what works for us and we don't stick around in situations or around people that we don't feel like they are meaningful to us in any way. All in all, you do your part, show the people you care about how much you do, communicate with them and be honest about the things that upset you and finally, let them be responsible for their choices and behaviour too: they wouldn't be with you, whether it's a friend, a partner, a stranger on the internet enjoying your work, if they didn't want to. As for the people who leave, hurt you or cause you anxiety? Fuck 'em, you're better off without them.

.... I said I'd keep it short, didn't I? Oops. *Sigh* I've probably definitely rambled too much but I hope my sentiment was clear. Sorry if this was too much and feel free to ignore it, but I wish it helps you remember that you are great and capable of working through the shit that comes your way. 💜

[comicteaparty]

March 14th-March 20th, 2020 Creator Babble Archive

The archive for the Creator Babble chat that occurred from March 14th, 2020 to March 20th, 2020.  The chat focused on the following question:

How do you react to readers predicting your plot twists?

chalcara [Nyx+Nyssa]

Depends when they do. A page or two before it happens? Both of us get to feel clever. Yay! Months ahead? Well, obviously the thing I thought a a big twist ain't it, so I get to decide what other thing to focus on. I usually don't change the plot on reader predictions, but I can always change how a twist is presented from "Big surprise! Bet you didn't expect that" to "Well, ain't it neat to FINALLY have confirmation about that thing?"

Funnily, the best plottwist I ever wrote was in my now defunct comic. I thought it was obvious, but my few readers went "WOAH, didn't see THAT coming." So these days I try to just write the story and let the twists fall where they may.

Pistashi

ASDFPHIaewpf a friend of mine was reading my comic and he was making a lot of theories, a bunch of them was way off but he managed to be 100% accurate about one of his theories and I just started laughing nervously when he talked to me about it before it happened in the comic. This was years ago and the thing already happened and it's not a big deal anymore, but at the time I felt proud to write something that was obscure enough to not be on the reader's face but at the same time having someone figure it out after connecting the dots

I have little twists that happen in a more funny way, and it's usually used for comedy, and my readers seem to like it

but that's probably because of the expectations in humor coming from my writing style

which is usually bad puns and character reactions to absurd situations

and I agree witch chalcara, sometimes we can feel like we failed a plot twist when people see it from miles away

which is true, but sometimes even when they figure it out it's best to leave it as it is

I've seen a lot of writers fucking up their stories by changing plot twists that were stablished just because "people found out too early", and retconing a lot of the story in result

like, making a plot twist consists in creating some kind of foreshadowing

to make the twist not seem too forced and taken from nowhere

also to make it rewarding for those who searched deep for those clues

idk I love these little foreshadowing/clues we can leave for our readers

to make the twists even more powerful and meaningful

RebelVampire

I want to second a lot of the above. A plot twist should not be completely unguessable. Because if nobody guesses it, it means to most readers it's gonna feel like it makes no sense and came out of nowhere. The goal of a true twist is to have as few people as possible guess it but then when it's revealed, the reader smacks their head going "how could I miss all these clues."

Pistashi

exactly

Deo101 [Millennium]

Readers predicting things usually makes me lead with "oh no, I'm predictable!!!" And then makes me thing "wait, no, it means they're picking up on the hints I've left behind." Though sometimes it's predictable, like if someone guesses the actions of the next few pages, that's less of the readers picking up on hints and more just guessing right. But guessing big plot things, j think, is a reflection that I'm making things as clear as I need to, and I'm rather fond of it

Tantz Aerine (Without Moonlight)

99% of the times I am delighted if they guess the plot twist. I like it when I feel like my readers are on the same page as me (pun ...maybe not intended?) and see where things are going. Since my stuff is character driven, it tells me they can read the characters and their personalities well enough. However there was this one time when I had intentionally depicted something that was not going to be the historical norm (namely the p-51 mustangs' coats of paint on a cruiser in the opening scene of my WWII webcomic Brave Resistance). A war history buff called me out on it IMMEDIATELY saying "wait, these aren't how they're supposed to be!" and nearly spoiled the entire plot on page 2! I had to DM him to tell him to tone it down, and explain to him why the planes where the way they were. He apologized and stopped, but I'd wanted to throttle him for a while there

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I agree with Rebel re: the purpose of a plot twist. In that sense, though, I don't think my story even has plot twists. There is no moment anywhere in the story where I want the readers to go "how could I have missed all the clues!!!" ... On the spectrum of brainy vs hearty, my story is very close to the extreme end of hearty. Like, think of stories like The Little Prince or My Sweet Orange Tree. Even when unexpected things happen, it's never about the brilliant reveal. The most shocking thing in My Sweet Orange Tree comes out of nowhere, and it works for that book. Heart of Keol is a lot like those two in this regard. Not exactly the same, but pretty dang similar!

So back to the question, honestly? I want people to be able to guess. The usual bane of my existence is the opposite problem: people not knowing wtf is going on. My story isn't supposed to draw its strength from its surprises, so guess away (edited)

eli [a winged tale]

I love it when the reader guesses the gist of the plot twist a few pages just before the reveal. I sort of follow the novel structure idea that the reader should see what’s coming next right before it hits them, hence rewarding their investment in the story. Wild speculations without the clues I’ve planted are interesting. It does make me wonder if I relied too much on tropes or left too big of the crumbs. That being said, I’m not too fussed by readers predicting the general directions of the plot because it’s all about the character reactions. Could they predict that too? Maybe, to a degree. But there are a lot of subtext I try to write in my characters that give some nuances that I feel may entertain even those who guess correctly how the story would go. TL;DR: guess away. Love reading theories. The story is set so I won’t be changing anything big but perhaps layer the reveal with subtleties.

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

I've actually never had readers guess what's coming next. I mean, unless you count obvious, broad stuff (such as "the MCs get together"). I mean, it IS a romance. But in regards to big plot events, no one has gotten remotely close with their predictions (which kind of surprises me, because I drop clues everywhere). To be fair, I'm only a chapter in, so I guess it makes sense. But I am excited for the day when people finally guess

eli [a winged tale]

Same Cronaj! The predictions I’m speaking of are from my betas reading the entire script I love it when then go—- “omg this [plot point] must mean [reveal!]” .... right before the reveal

Feather J. Fern

If anyone does pick out certian plot twists I will be like "Yesssss people do think like me, I am not crazy" XD because most of my twists are all shown from the start through hidden background things so if people found them I am excited they took time and effort to figure out twists

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

I love it. I haven’t been disappointed about it yet, and I don’t think I will be. It doesn’t make me change the twists at all - in fact, I’ve even shifted some story elements around to give the readers even more confirmation that they’re right, earlier on in the plot. I want to reward them with a treat, and now they can revel in their cleverness a bit longer Hee hee.

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I love it too, but I don't change things to make readers more right like LadyLazuli does. Sometimes I'm tempted to, though! My readers have good ideas!

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

I like plot twists so I like to set a hint of them off early tbh (edited)

but I try not to make it too obivous :3c

tho for those who like to guess, I welcome it. I like hearing folks and their interpretations even if it's not what I'm going for too lol

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Admittedly, a lot of it is due to the nature of the medium. I know that webcomics take ages to get to major reveals or spoilers - I can wait to totally-confirm things, but I can't wait to... almost-confirm things? I don't want people to get tired or frustrated. I know I've gotten angry at anime shows that take 20 episodes to confirm something we guessed at episode 1, so I like when these things are all but confirmed early on. It can be really fun to know a secret that, maybe, the heroes don't know. It gives an extra layer of STOP, NO, DON'T GO IN THERE! in times of danger

But given my propensity to practically s c r e a m my spoilers to people who I can trust with the plot... a lot of it is just me bursting at the seams wanting to say YES YOU'RE CORRECT.

Patience and restraint. Essential things in webcomics

eli [a winged tale]

Indeed! So much patience needed I do love some excellent plot twists executed just chefs kiss

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

Yes! I just want to tell readers, "Oh God, you're right! Good job!" But instead I usually respond with a ":)" or "I like this analysis!" Which I think is basically just confirming it. But if it's a real life friend? I cannot resist from telling them everything. I've even spilled spoilers in this chat before, trusting that most people here haven't read my comic. Kind of backfired when I reached a major plot point and someone commented, "She's been waiting to bust out this plot point for so long." Oops, guess someone did read my forum posts. But even if I did spoil things in the comments, is it really that big of a deal? I'm the kind of person where spoilers don't detract from my experience of things and sometimes even adds to it. But some people care about spoilers, so.(edited)

eli [a winged tale]

Haha yeah it’s honestly so freeing to just tell someone about the spoilers

Here’s what I have planned that will wreak the readers muahaha

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Past me could super relate to that! But these days I don't really want to TELL people? I'm not sure if that's because I've changed as a person, or if it's because this story is different from my previous ones. That being said, my patience is not infinite. I am itching to SHOW people. Can't wait to get to those Big Scenes

"Big" is a weird adjective here because they're very small scenes in some ways. Very intimate/personal

But... you guys know what I mean. The scenes that every longform webcomicker is dying to get to

Mei

Oh gosh, I agree that plot twists shouldn't be entirely out of the blue, since it's nice to have the hints that give people the crumbs to follow a trail. But like, since I write a lot of these chapters way in advance, and if I had the chance I'd love for them to be readable in one go as opposed to a page per week, I fear that I'm boring people with a predictable punchline? That being said, I get so many comments that predict the end of the chapter or the punchline or the joke. And I'm always like "haha maybe????" but inside i'm like "oh my god, they got me, THEY GOT ME"

Ohh yeah keii I get what you mean

the scenes you're like, checking your watch, checking your current pagecount, and thinking "soon I'll get to draw it, and it will be marvellous"

eli [a winged tale]

Oh gosh those scenes for me are at the finale

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

TBH last time I got to one of those scenes (which was very recent), my anxiety skyrocketed because I was expecting someone to say something harsh. Because it happened in all of the previous ones. But this time it went well, so hopefully the future ones will, too?

eli [a winged tale]

Yay!

Deo101 [Millennium]

I think for me, I worry more than anything that it will ruin things for other readers, rather than me worrying so much about someone guessing right or me sharing spoilers.

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Someone DID say something harsh, but it was right before the actual scene and not about the scene and a lot of people got fed up with their attitude so I felt like it wasn't my fault, lol

eli [a winged tale]

Ruin things for other readers? Oh like someone predicting correctly in the comments?

Deo101 [Millennium]

Also yay! I always get anxiety about those kinds of scenes

Yes, someone predicting Something

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Well thought-out predictions are a lot of fun to read though, as a reader going through the comment section

eli [a winged tale]

I guess I stopped minding it and now embrace it they could be wrong or right and who knows until we get there~

Oh totally!

Deo101 [Millennium]

Oh I don't mind so much, but that doesn't mean I don't worry a bit too!

J like reading them for me, but I still think "I wonder if this will ruin it for someone else"

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Occasionally there are problems with Korean webcomics that were originally webnovels? Because people who've read the novel version sometimes spoil things in the comic comment section, and that's not cool. They're not even theorizing, they're straight up spoiling.

Deo101 [Millennium]

:(

eli [a winged tale]

Oh no that’s bad

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

But if people are theorizing, and the theories turn out to be right, that's all very fun IMO!

Mei

ugh when people spoil things it irritates me to no end. Let people enjooy it for what it is!

and yes!! that's one of my fave things too

Deo101 [Millennium]

Yeah, every reader is different though. I have some people who explicitly have asked me not to share spoilers, and others who kinda beg for them! So I worry if some people don't like to see predictions (I know my dad doesn't like when I guess things in a movie)

Mei

theorising, discussing with other fans, just chatting about what you think may or may not happen

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

Sometimes you even see comments like "Hurry up, Konans! I'm too tired to think, so post some good interpretations/theories!" lol (Konan as in the detective... in Korea, it's a term for hardcore theorizers in webcomic comment sections)

Oh, I think movies are different

I don't want any form of verbal remarks while I'm watching a movie

Or like, if I'm marathonning a show with my bro, we're entirely silent except between episodes.

But comment section is like, you have to actually go there.

Deo101 [Millennium]

Some people might be like that for comics, too. Idk. I'm not trying to say i don't like to see theories I'm just trying to think of everything that makes me worry about them is all.

And for me, the biggest worry would be that someone seeing a prediction would make them enjoy my comic less. It doesn't mean I necessarily think it's all that common, but I refuse to say it won't happen I think

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

Personally, I think that's not an issue unless you confirm the commenter's theories

like I've seen theories for things online where my first reaction is "that's dumb, that would never happen" and then it happens

some people will latch onto another person's theory, others will reject it, but i don't think people will take it as a spoiler in advance

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Yeah, theories are just theories

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I mean I know some people don't even want to hear other readers' theories, but if they are that extreme, they need to avoid the comment section on their own IMO?

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

^^

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

like... cool, I respect your preferences, but you can't hold me responsible, pal!

Deo101 [Millennium]

Again I'm not trying to say I don't like theories or I don't want them I'm just trying to think of all potential issues with them

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Granted, I'm one of those people who will scroll through the comments and read theories because I like to see all the smart people reveal the clues to dumb people like me

keii’ii (Heart of Keol)

I can relate to that

@Deo101 [Millennium] Understandable! Just don't be too hard on yourself for things that you can't control

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Those geniuses that remember details from 30 chapters ago and somehow manage to connect the dots

Mei

Exactly! The comment section is there, but it's their choice to read it, and also like it's not your fault either? like they're not YOUR comments

haha in our RPG games sometimes people drop character plot hints way at the start of the campaign, and my friend will turn up, 7 months later, " remember when Character A said this? I remember"

and everyone's like "what the heck?!" some people are just detectives

they can see it, they see the matrix

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

Anyway, I love when my readers theorize! I don't believe any reader has guessed any of the major plot twists in the first two books, despite there being enough evidence beforehand to make a guess (closest was "whatever zebugu's doing, it's not evil this time" but not the specifics of what he was doing). Though, if they had, I wouldn't mind, since that's max two years they gotta wait before the reveal (and that's assuming they guess it on the cover page lol). Book 3 is a different beast - strictly speaking, there's enough evidence for someone to predict both twists at the end of the book, right now. And... that may be an issue, given that this book will take over three years to reach those twists. So... we'll see if anyone guesses them. What's weirdest is when people guess things almost correctly with absolutely NO hints. And it's some super specific and minor thing like "Mizuki is secretly the reincarnation of a thousand-year-old dragon". Like... there haven't even been dragons mentioned in the comic up to this point. Nor any events from a thousand years ago. And like, that's not exactly the truth, but how do you get THAT close???(edited)

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

They see E V E R Y T H I N G

eli [a winged tale]

Sometimes it’s a trope thing? But yeah wild speculations can be so wild but so spot on

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

but there aren't any fantasy creatures in the comic, at all!

except a squid with feet!

eli [a winged tale]

Lol whaaaat then yea not sure where the dragon part came from then

Cronaj (Whispers of the Past)

Sherlock Holmes readers lol

eli [a winged tale]

Yeah detective Conan lol

Deo101 [Millennium]

Joke gone awry

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

basically

Feather J. Fern

Well I mean I have crack theories about random people being random things too so...

I can see where they come from XD

sagaholmgaard

tbh I think my comic is fairly easy to predict as it has a pretty straightforward narrative xD but I don't have that many readers yet so maybe in the future! I would have fun reading people's guesses and predictions :D

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

AAA my readers right now are so accurate. They're so smart. They make me want to post my entire buffer right now and prove them right.

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

I wonder if anyone would be able to predict the next things happening in joe is dead

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

I at least have no idea what's going to happen next but am looking forward to it anyways(edited)

🌈ERROR404 🌈

i know that it's only because TH is still quite new, and I haven't gotten to the meat of the story yet, but i like reading some of the really out there predictions and worries i get in some of the comments lol

AntiBunny

I will never tell someone if their guess is right or wrong, but if they do guess it, it probably means I'm foreshadowing well.

Then again I also find myself writing by the seat of my pants, so plans are subject to change.

kayotics

The original question mentions “plot twists” but I’m never trying to make a plot twist personally. I may intentionally obfuscate things, but I don’t ever try to do wild twists and turns. So when a reader predicts what will happen, I actually don’t mind, and I’m pretty happy that it’s following a logical chain of events. On the other hand, when readers are totally off base, I think that’s REALLY fun.

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

Most of my readers feel that my comics are twisty and surprising, but I often get at least one reader who correctly guesses what will happen, even if sometimes they’re joking or think their theory is wild and out there. Honestly it feels pretty awesome to have a reader shrewd enough to puzzle out the clues, because that means they’re really paying attention. I don’t have a very big audience and most of the time they’re silent, so anytime someone leaves a comment that is carefully thought out, it makes me really happy. As for the times readers joke or wildly speculate but inadvertently hit the nail right on the head, I find those very amusing. I really love stories with well done twists and turns, and so I try very hard to execute good plot twists that have enough foreshadowing to be ‘Aha!’ moments rather than ‘Where did that even come from?’ moments. So I love when readers are both properly misdirected AND when they pick up on the clues and deduce the twist.(edited)

DanitheCarutor

Does my comic have plot twists? I don't really think about it. People have correctly guessed things that will happen in a chapter, someone even guessed correctly on the climax when a character named Daniel was introduced... well, it was more like "I hope things don't turn out like -blank-!". I don't mind, just because they guessed something correctly doesn't mean they know how the story will go for sure, it just means that they're theorizing and that is something I always encourage. I don't think that means the story is boring or predictable either, some people are just really good at that stuff. Even though I don't think my comic is very mysterious/unpredictable it's still impressive when someone pays attention to all the little visual and dialogue details, then guessing correctly about a future event based on them. Nothing more flattering than someone enjoying your comic enough to analyze it.

Lmao! I can't tell you how many movies I've ruined for people because I guessed a plot twist correctly.

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

Haha, honestly same. I’m not allowed to make predictions during movies or TV shows anymore bc I almost always get it right. XD Webcomics I find a bit more unpredictable, though, because most of them aren’t nearly as formulaic as mainstream film.

DanitheCarutor

Yeah! Even if it's not obvious most of the time movies go by a pattern or set of traits, once you learn how they go a film or TV show becomes a lot more easy to figure out right away. The only time I'm stumped is when the movie is really surreal or absolutely awful. That's the nice thing about webcomics in a way. I assume a lot of creators haven't had professional training, and we want to tell a story more than be entertaining to the masses, so stories are less predictable. They don't always go by a formula, which can be refreshing.

Capitania do Azar

Aw man I would love to have some theories, but for the time unfortunately I don't I'm always super curious about how readers interpret things given they don't have an inside view of things

[yorhaemployee]

all of the cottagecore asks! 🌸

1. ���� - favourite season and why?

spring! everything comes to life again, the temperature is just right, nature is at its prettiest and so on. most precious time of the year

2. 💐 - which do you prefer, flowers or trees?

i’ve never really thought about it but trees i think? i love both but trees just hit home

3. 🌾 - did you pick up any hobbies because of the cottagecore community? which?

an interest in growing my own veggies (there’s already a big garden in the new house we’re moving into in 20 days (!!!)), a new found love for taking walks, cooking more home made food etc. not entirely thanks to cottagecore but it made it feel more meaningful

4. 🥧 - what’s one thing you genuinely, truly love?

dogs

5. 🍞 - cooking or baking?

cooking! i’m not that good at baking nor do i like baked goods that much. cooking is a much wider field and i come from a family of cooks so it feels natural

6. 🌟 - what’s one memory you will always look back to fondly?

my graduation will always be the default answer for this one. or pretty much any day from my ireland trip

7. 🕯 - do you like the night? why/why not?

not that much. i’m a morning person so it’s the best of both worlds (day and night) - it’s light outside but still very quiet and i can think clearly

8. 🍒 - patterned or plain clothes?

i think most of my clothes are plain but in some kind of pretty color, but i’d like to wear more patterns

9. 🎻 - choose three songs, one each to represent your past, your present, and your hope for the future. why did you pick them?

in order; helplessness blues - fleet foxes, silver city days - rachel zeffira and bluebird - miranda lambert. the lyrics sum it up in general but the vibes as well

10. 💫 - what’s one thing you wish you could tell your past self?

that it’s actually gonna be ok one day and you just have to be patient and kind to yourself while waiting

11. 🌿 - forest, mountains, or fields?

forest

12. 🍂 - which song do you feel best suits the cottagecore community?

honestly any fleet foxes songs.. yes i’m a huge fan stfu!! but they really do fit

13. 🍄 - what’s the kindest thing anyone’s ever said to you? Has it influenced you in any way?

this sounds so melodramatic but i actually can’t remember.. like i really don’t want to sound like i pity myself BUT i really don’t get a lot of compliments or kind words from anyone and i can’t remember the last time someone told me something that really stuck with me. maybe a lot of things my teacher said when i was in 9th grade.. he really made me believe in myself

14. 🧶 - how does your favourite song make you feel?

my current favorite song is futile devices (doveman remix) - sufjan stevens, it was in call me by your name and i still haven’t let that movie go.. it reminds me both of the film but also of a person i no longer speak to but that was very precious to me. and just unrequited love/feelings in general, longing, etc

15. 🥐 - what colour do you think most represents you?

lilac i think.. i asked my boyfriend and he said the same thing lol. lilac or green, maybe because practically everything i like/buy/make is lilac, purple or green :-)

16. 🍯 - what’s one food that will always remind you of home?

cabbage soup or jambalaya. my dad always made it for me growing up and i love him so much for everything he’s done for me. he made me jambalaya last year when i was feeling bad about some things and i almost sobbed because i felt little again. he has a hard time expressing feelings just like i do so he does it through cooking instead

17. 🌰 - knitting or crochet?

crochet!! i used to crochet so much as a child, i never learnt how to knit but i prefer crocheting anyways

18. 🧵 - what’s one thing you’re looking forward to at the moment?

moving from this dumb apartment into a big house

19. 🍑 - sweet or savoury foods?

savoury!! always

20. 🍀 - what’s one thing you wish people knew about you?

1. i really really wish i had friends but like. i never click with anyone and i have a hard time opening up.. i’m very friendly however and if we’re mutuals i’m more than willing to dm or something but i can seem super rigid at first sowwy

2. i have crohn’s disease and it affects my life so much but i never write or talk about it anywhere!! idk if it annoys people but sometimes i wish more people were aware of how it affects me and others that have it, practically 80% of my day/night is affected by it in some way

[chromsai]

5Ds Review

Wooo... another Yugioh down, just 2 more to go on this challenge... (yeah, just a reminder that V//r//ains will not be included in this challenge).

This one I was very excited to get to rewatch... at first. I’d only seen this once before all the way through, and halfway through I remembered... that I only actually really enjoyed about half this show. My last attempt at rewatching this show failed completely (yes, I admit that I abandoned ship as soon as I hit about the halfway mark... or even a little less), but this time, by some fucking stubborn as hell and definitely worn out miracle, I succeeded. Barely. But I did it. I may have... lagged it a bit here or there (even worse than when I watched GX, surprisingly), but I finished right on schedule.

And right on schedule, here’s my honest review of what, for a short period of time back in like mid-2014, used to be my favorite Yugioh spin-off: 

Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds.

(Note: Before you skip through all this and just scroll to the bottom to read my final rating of this show, just know my breakdown, because I tried to be the nicest reviewer I could when reviewing this, for the sake of... idk, my sanity, or whatever. The breakdown I chose is:

1. Season 1 2. Season 2:

a. filler episodes b. Crash Town     i. Bonds Beyond Time (BBT) c. WRGP + Ark Cradle d. Finale

Why in the hell am I making this so complicated this time?! Reasons. Reasons to be discussed...

And don’t worry, as always, I’ll do my best to keep it short and just my overall thoughts.)

Season 1 - Fortune Cup + Dark Signers (Episodes 1 - 64):

We start off with something that’s very promising and fast. I don’t necessarily mean “fast-paced”, per say— the show, at least right here, doesn’t seem to struggle with pacing much at all— rather, 5Ds exudes the sort of energy that it’s set a course and it knows how to get there. Where is it going? It doesn’t know yet and it doesn’t care, and honestly in this first Season, that’s completely fine because it knows how to make each pit stop into a memorable detour worth paying attention to. It doesn’t waste your time, is what I want to say. 

The first leg of the Season, the Fortune Cup arc, does a great job establishing its main cast and their reasons for being involved in this dystopian mess of plot. Regarding said dystopian mess, rest assured that the show’s world is pretty well established within the first few episodes, so world building is not an issue either. It’s already going pretty great, and then we’re gifted with the excellent Dark Signers second leg which builds on character’s backgrounds, establishes relationships even further, and raises the stakes just enough that things actually matter. That’s right. Consequence finds its way back to Yugioh... or is it introduced into it, actually? It’s been so long since we’ve had some consequence in Yugioh and yet its existence is so fleeting, as we soon realize, right at the end of this arc. 

It’s something to get used to for the next... a while.

Regardless, Season 1 of 5Ds is without a doubt an enjoyable watch with some solid presentation (for the most part). It’s something that’s an incredible breath of fresh air for this anime franchise. Though perhaps a short one...

Overall rating for this arc: 4/5 - very good, but still lacking on that much sought after umph that we crave from a lot of shows, an element we’ll keep missing in this franchise for a good while...

Season 2 (Episodes 65 - 154):

Here comes... this. Mess. If you;re getting the impression by now that I’ve been procrastinating talking about this, you’re right. I’m going to go pretty fast on this... or ‘least I’ll try...

a. Filler Episodes (Episodes 65 - 85):

Although, yes, we are indeed introduced to a “new threat” this season, we spend the majority of the time these 20 episodes exploring the daily lives of the 5Ds cast and crew, introducing new (95% useless) side characters left and right. At first you might think, You know what this is kinda fun, but actually you are wrong. The only episode in here that anyone ever remembers is that one where Yusei and Aki go on a roller skating date. Because it’s cute. But superficial. None of these episodes carry much weight at all, perhaps baring, like, those two or three episodes that introduce Sherry and, later, Bruno. But otherwise? None of this matters. Harmless tho? Mostly.

Season 2a rating: 1.7/5

b. Crash Town (Episodes 86 - 92)

“Wait, I watched this show and these episodes were also filler, what gives?!” You’re absolutely right, my friend. But you’ve forgotten one thing:

That’s right. Yusei’s classy ass.

No, but in all seriousness though, Crash Town offers some weird, old-western-style fever dream. It’s ridiculous; It has nothing to do with 5Ds at all. It’s like the producers decided to just drop us in an AU without warning, and honestly? It’s not terrible.

Season 2b rating: 2.8/5

i. Bonds Beyond Time (BBT - movie)

So this movie was canon to 5Ds, but was it 5Ds? No. As such, I won’t rate or review it here, but I’ll admit it’s not not a fun time for a fanservice movie. Is it of good quality, though? Not really, aside from its presentation. Do I have to mention that it’s canonically a part of this show? Yes. Do you miss out on anything important later on if you skip it? Aside from a small mention of its antagonist’s existence in one line of 5Ds’ climax later on, nope.

c. WRGP + Ark Cradle (Episodes 93 - 153):

*Sighs groaningly infinitely*.

This leg of Season 2 is, easily, the worst part of this entire show.

Before I continue, I need to mention that, as you might have guessed by now, the show has resorted to talking endlessly and vaguely about “destiny” and “zetsubouuuu” in place of its original, wholesome themes relating to self-worth and the intricacies of the relationships between people called “bonds”. But I’m sure that was a given by now; hopefully I didn’t have to clarify that.

The WRGP and Ark Cradle comprise a total of sixty-one (61) episodes and a shit ton of duels, but only exactly one (1) of those duels is decent-good (and it’s still very skippable. I know. Because even though I remembered I liked it the first time I ever watched this show, I decided it wasn’t worth it and still just skimmed it, much like I did for most of this Season).

The WRGP itself is an incredible drag to watch through. The pre-duels are cluttered with unnecessary exposition, Yusei becomes the only useful character through the end of the show, we’re met with uncharismatic and unoriginal teams characters that make Doma’s goons from DM Season 4 seem interesting in comparison. Every duel goes pretty much the same: Team 5Ds is losing... until Yusei takes the reigns and wins for them... again.

Of course I won’t forget that the main group of antagonists don’t ever use a lick of logic, and their plot unveils always resort to a mix of shock and un-awe, recounting “oh woe is me” tales that not a single person could ever care for, much less remember, all for the sake of “justice, destiny, and redemption”. All of which falls flatter than if this show was called YuGiOh 1D.

Lastly, I will absolutely not end this portion of the review by not reminding everyone that, no matter what they say about that-one-spinoff, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds had, unarguably, the worst plot twist of all time *mic drop*. That’s a fact, not an opinion. This is my review, not yours.

Season 2c rating: 0.4/5 - I’d rather watch GX Season 4 than this because at least that one ended quicker.

d. Finale (Episode 154):

I won’t waste any more of your time here, I’ll just straight up say it: This episode, directed by the series’ original director (who had been absent since the end of Season 1, mind you *cough*), was, as they say, pretty damn good and had me feeling a tinge of that emotional umphness, but only just a tease. It exudes actual care for the cast of this show, something that hadn’t held its presence in this show for an unfortunate amount of time. It’s a satisfying ending and leaves us without a doubt in our minds that these characters will go on to continue meaningful and fulfilling lives. A gentle, but firm send off. Nice.

Season 2d rating: 4.6/5 - wonderful ending, irked only by the distasteful amount crap preceded by it.

Season 2 overall rating: 2.375

Final Thoughts: Right, I usually add on something after I give my final overall rating, but before I do that, I just wanna say this: people talk about wasted potential all the time, but confuse nostalgic presence with excellence. What I mean by that is, this show had all the major markings of a narrative that conveyed meaning, and yet that got terribly lost along the way. The Finale brought it back up, reminding us why these characters were so endearing and why we bothered to stick through it all with them to the end, despite distasteful ventures. It took a few creative twists at first— in approach, most notably, throwing us into the action before building up its world and characters, and it paid off early on— but the obvious shift in direction less than midway through the series did not pan out well for it overall. Instead, 5Ds left us with a satisfying ending, sure, but about 2/3rds of its journey was just crashing and burning, and we just sat there feeling the bruises of the characters we watched, urging them to just get to the finish line already so we never have to experience this sadly mediocre trip ever again.

Final Overall Rating: 3.2/5.

[bettsfic]

Whaaaa have u finished s5?????!!!! THOUGHTS???

i mean overall, critically speaking, it was probably one of the best single seasons of any teen tv show i’ve ever watched. like top 10, up there somewhere with buffy s2. the plot was tightly wrought, most things that happened made sense (which is something i’ve learned to let slide with this show), and every character had a reasonable motivation for doing what they were doing. granted, the bar was painfully low after s3 and 4, but i think if i picked up this show at s5 without seeing any of the prior seasons i still would have loved it.

THAT SAID, because i have seen the rest of the series, some of the OOC elements bothered me. i only saw a few glimpses of clarke’s history as the great wanheda (that quick knife to niylah’s throat? NICE). i didn’t like that all of her motivation had been reduced to motherhood when we’ve seen her in the past as a leader and lover and fighter and healer. BUT i also really loved the clexa moments, which didn’t feel cheap at all to me, and made clarke’s relationship with madi much more interesting after several cringey moments of “i’m willing to torture you to protect you.” similarly i didn’t like that abby’s character was reduced to her addiction and that guided everything she did. i like addiction narratives, but only when they’re not a plot device, which this very much was.

conversely, i think bellamy became more complex somehow, and his arc made sense -- he had six years in space to think on shit, and that changes a person. he continues to be probably the only truly trustworthy character on the show (i mean trustworthy to the audience) because his sense of loyalty is consistent and overrides all other traits, and his conflict (like captain america’s) always involves the compromise of his loyalty. in the case of this season, the people he’d spent six years with, or his sister, who is only a shadow of the person she once was. bellamy remains one of my favorite television characters of all time. (also note, i LOVED his fight scenes this season -- i can’t tell if it’s bob or the choreographers but all of them were really beautifully done, and it was a refreshing change of pace to not see him constantly beaten down every other minute. his face was only bloodied in one episode all season!!). 

BELLARKE?? the bellarke moments were so good and so infuriating. as much as i appreciated them, i just kept thinking about what the show would be like if they’d gone canon at different points earlier on, and how that would make their relationship so complex. if they’d been together during praimfaya and bellamy spent six years thinking she was dead. if they had the same ride-or-die loyalty of monty and harper or the passion of murphy and emori, and how much more interesting that would make the show and the characters and -- well, i also firmly believe that any romance arc shouldn’t stretch over 5 seasons, so at this point it’s looking more like a gimmick to keep people watching, and i think if it were really confident in its quality, it wouldn’t need to use slow burn romantic tension to engage its audience. too much build-up ruins the breaking point, ya feel? five seasons is enough.

anyway. raven, sadly, never gets a character arc in order to let her either grow or shrink because, being the engineer, she’s always forced into a function of plot. in every season, her job is to move a machine from point A to B, and her obstacle is always physical torture. it’s a shame because i think lindsay’s performance is so good. i dug zeke’s character and their romance, though, so i hope to see more of that in s6. 

and murphy. wow. for the first time we get an actual internal arc. even if it’s as blunt and heavy-handed as a brick, murphy had no clear-cut external goal, and everything about his growth this season was his internal acceptance of usefulness and heroism. as i type this i’m seeing a pattern, though, because emori, despite having a very interesting potential arc as grounder-turned-engineering-apprentice, was reduced to a function of murphy’s self-realization. i would have liked more development for both characters, because i think they were really close to something epiphanic that never got fully formed and had the potential to advance the moral cornerstones of the story.

ugh, echo. fuck echo. i think the only way she could be redeemed to me is if she showed bellamy the same loyalty she had once shown roan, and bellamy, rather than turning that loyalty romantic, would have dismissed it as being forced and toxic and destructive, so echo would be forced to actually consider herself as an individual rather than a member of a unit. but everything about their relationship was so sloppily done, and i found myself looking away whenever she was on screen. (which is not at all about the performance, which, again, was stellar.)

monty and harper provided a fraction of a wider perspective toward fixing what i think is the ultimate problem of the show, which is that the writing seems grossly unaware of its own moral assumptions. and maybe i’m projecting because i recently got that same feedback from an author i really admire (and he was right) but i may have internalized it so much i see it in other things now. monty and harper provided a much-needed “we don’t have to participate in this, and there are other solutions to be found” pacifist perspective which really helped round-out the season and provided a breath of fresh air to an otherwise exhaustingly dark plot. 

diyoza? stellar. perfect. wonderful. 10/10. a competent, lawful neutral to act as a foil to octavia’s chaotic neutral leadership. i liked that she was pregnant, but i disliked that her motivation and mcreary’s weakness was reduced to their feelings about that pregnancy, so it felt like just a gimmick to manipulate the plot and tip the scales against mcreary. 

kane is always fab, but i’m biased because i think henry ian cusick is the second best actor on the show. i wish he was more coherent as a character. as it stands he’s just kind of silly putty that gets formed into whatever he needs to be. i would be SO HERE for a kane/diyoza/abby triangle (which i would turn into an OT3 immediately). the daddy vibes this season were great. 

one of the most understated characters has always been indra, played by the best actress on the show, adina porter. this season i really adored her relationship with gaia. i don’t think i’ve ever seen a mother/daughter relationship as formal and loving as theirs, and how it seamlessly encompassed their respective love/worship of octavia. they’re a good example of characters how further the plot but also get to be actual characters. idk why it’s so hard for this show to figure out the difference between plot devices and characters but it’s really hit or miss.

aaaaand then there’s octavia. i was pissed earlier in the season that jaha was killed off just for the sake of landing some leadership advice, because i really liked jaha’s character and (like many of the more competent characters who are put into the hands of incompetent writers [see: lexa]) thought he’d been poorly utilized the past 3 seasons. i don’t get why octavia was the leader at all?? like, kane, indra, abby, and jaha were all more qualified, and they were all in the bunker together. i think there was supposed to be some commentary on charisma and loyalty or something but it got lost in the heavy-handed “we do what it takes to survive” and “we pursue violence for peace” rhetoric that oversaturates the entire show because jroth can’t think of anything deeper or more meaningful to say about the complexity of being (and it’s what will probably get the show canceled in the next year or so -- no growth in moral reasoning = no new drama to be found). the only part that really sold me was octavia’s decision to shoot the people who refused to eat, even though i thought it was a dumb premise to begin with, because the flashback was well-placed and the performance was great, and it showed a genuine breaking point between octavia and blodreina. 

if i had written the season, there were a lot of things i would have done differently (we get this ominous shot of the worms that doesn’t amount to anything, and a twist ending that felt cheap even if it was emotionally compelling), but in comparison to the prior seasons, i commended this season on not pulling its punches on the practical details like it’s always done (clarke eating windshield bugs to survive), threading in the consequences and details from all the prior seasons and the show’s own canon (abby using The Blight to motivate octavia into forcing everyone to eat), and overall slowing the fuck down (the entire season leads up to one [1] battle). 

i don’t think the show will ever fully recover from lexa’s death, which decimated its fanbase and lost trust in the writing, but s5 put up a decent mulligan of s4 to wrangle the juvenile moral quandaries the show attempts to assert. if s6 can advance the philosophical implications of its own world, lose the “our people” bullshit jargon, and focus on the fucking characters which is the only reason anyone watches the damn show, then i think it could really be up there with the other cult faves like buffy and star trek and supernatural. 

[schtroumpf-a-lunettes]

under cut because long!!! this is roughly a discussion of like, children’s media (or something propped up as children’s media/parodying a kid’s show) being depicted with grimdark and/or mature content or w/e. I both agree that these ideas are often completely unoriginal and boring and stuff and bad. but also it can be done right and have plenty of merits. and in saying that, that’s not what my fic is trying to do as well though

I think I’m edging (relatively) closer to looking like a little bit of a hypocrite if I agree with the notion that portraying characters from children’s media in dark situations tends to be boring/unoriginal/edgy and I don’t know how to, fully express how much that I... well for one thing that’s not.. what I ever really want to go for. many of those kinds of portrayals are generally irreverent, wildly OOC, edgy for the sake of being edgy, purely for shock value. Sometimes the person doing it doesn’t rly know anything about the source material beyond the most basic surface level, and it furthermore can be boring if it doesn’t offer any meaningful commentary. ofc those things don’t usually intend to offer meaningful commentary, they just want the shock value of something like “haha the SMURFS but VIOLENCE/ADULT CONTENT, wild right???”, and they achieve that very basic goal, and it can be boring. it doesn’t tell us anything, it’s just, shock value and that’s it.

Ok I mean... it DEPENDS, sometimes (plenty of times) I actually find the Subverted Kids Show trope incredibly enjoyable, but like, hm. some ways of going about it are more tasteful than others. I guess part of that is personal preference though I do think there is a small amount of objective guidelines involved too

and you can still make insightful commentary on a text aimed at children through a Subverted Kids Show Format while having the characters be ooc! Robot Chicken smurfs (which I will discuss more in other posts) for me oscillates between making a surprisingly good commentary sometimes and mindless (but fun(ny)) scenes to, very tasteless/bad scenes that don’t do much imo. well its goal is to be funny and that’s it I guess, and it hits that goal some of the time

I guess the exact opposite of the surface-level shock value joke can also be super boring though. a text/theory that takes itself super seriously and tries to explain to you how Actually This Kid’s Show Dark! can possibly be even worse. e.g. “characters in kids show are just trapped in purgatory/it’s all a coma fantasy!!” or whatever. But I think, part of what would make a thing like that Bad is a fundamental misunderstanding of core parts of the canon and/or a... lack of regard for canon in the sense that you’re really willing to sit here and write of everything that the characters have ever been through as being Meaningless because it was all just one character’s dying memories? that completely robs the text of its power. Like saying Homer’s been in a coma since like season 5 of the simpsons. As a certain podcaster that won’t be named said because I have, a lot of bones to pick with them lol - there’s something so redundant and pointless about saying “everything that’s happening in this fictional show isn’t real”. what does it realistically.. add, kinda thing.

But I don’t think there’s cause to be automatically dismissive of anything that tries to.. approach children’s media from an angle where you can construct it as being just a little bit more sombre than it looks like on the surface or something? idk. because there can be worthwhile things to explore that make interesting commentary on the text, where you NEED to introduce less-than-happy concepts to derive them. (Sometimes the kind of commentary that deconstructions try to make is, not so good and misses the mark, although it’s not always the case.) there’s one argument against this which is like, Why can’t you just let kids have things? It’s not that deep. You’re trying to put a sinister spin on something when... it’s just not necessary. Why add to the darkness of the world. let people, especially kids, just have this bright and pure thing.

And I completely agree with that sentiment, honestly. The smurfs are good, happy, innocent, that’s the way they are and should be, don’t try to take that away from kids or people. Like 80%-90% of my enjoyment of the smurfs is all about that, I’m in full agreement, I just want happy little innocent elf society adventures and I’ll be happy. Although. It’s not like smurfs was always happy. there are plenty of tearjerker moments in the show, plenty of disasters and bad things happen to them (that they readily overcome by the end of the episode). and here I guess you also have to avoid patronising kids in thinking that only happy and nice stuff can be for them. as in, the smurfs does have really sad and upsetting moments but that Obviously doesn’t make it Not For Kids.

I think that in addition to that, slightly darker themes can be explored and exposed under certain extreme circumstances if smurf society was subject to it. And I think this in no way invalidates their tranquil, happy status quo and good nature as a society as we know it. Also it just so happens that my inspiration for fic happened to revolve around negative ideas instead of positive despite me, in fandom, just enjoying the positive/light-hearted usually (I think?). whoops. but these kinds of outside-of-canon things don’t do anything to the canon, canon stands as it is. I try my best to stick as close to canon as possible kind of, as a kind of canon purist, haha, in terms of characters and realistic reactions.

another thing is, for a positive kid show like smurfs, to have something really bad happen might seem off, but, one of the things I want(ed) to explore is “if x thing happened, how would the characters deal with it?” (I think this point will be, more pertinent to the next smurfs fic I have lined up once I finish the current one I’m working on. heh, heh, heh.)

I mean really bad stuff happened in the cartoon but it was never too extreme and it was resolved by the end of the episode normally. so for something long-term... yeah.

I also think occasionally I’ve done like. stupid smurf stuff that is kinda ooc over the years. and part of why is I think something happened where I was so anti-doing that that it kind of looped back around to the point where I Did it because, of course, I acknowledge how far-removed from canon it is that it therefore doesn’t mean anything, or something like that. and It Amused Me. and sometimes shock value smurfs at least done Somewhat tastefully is amusing to me too for that same reason because (if) it’s harmless fun or something

now this whole thing I’ve written up is mostly general thoughts and not actually much related to my fic. just, writing the fic has got me thinking about this kind of stuff so some of it is vaguely related. But fundamentally I don’t want my fic to be super dark. in fact, there are many very dark storyline paths that I could have taken which I actively chose not to, because those paths were not what I wanted this story to do. I just want it to be a fic where the smurfs experience a lot of hardship that they struggle to overcome, and I want to keep it very closely aligned to canon where I can, while other stuff changes, with.. time. Like yea there are definitely some dark elements though haha. But I’ve read some dark smurfs fic and haha.. don’t think mine really shapes up.

Like this whole post might sound like me being defensive or something, but it’s not because the premise of my fic isn’t “Edgy Grimdark Smurfs” or anything like that, and therefore that’s not a concept that I need to defend for my fic. and I don’t need to be on any kind of defense because nothing anyone else has said has prompted this post, haha. I didn’t set out to write Dark smurfs fic, I set out with an idea of some challenges the village could face and followed through with how I thought the village and its inhabitants would/could react to them, or some of the possible ways the village could react to them. And IF the results turn less-than-smurfy, I still follow up on them if I think it is realistic to the canon for it to happen and an interesting path to explore. Like I’m not really taking the world and adding/forcing dark elements in, I’m bringing out underlying currents that I already saw present when observing the society in the cartoon. Maybe I added some stuff to flesh things out, but the core ideas I bring out have basis in the cartoon imo. Anyway yeah like 70% of this post isn’t related to my fic, just kinda general thoughts type thing as I said lol.

Oh yeah also it’s like - I want my fic to still remain mostly in-tune with the show, I want to do my best with that. I don’t want darkness-induced apathy or for it to feel like it’s too far out of line from what is plausible. in-tune with the universe and the characters, but exploring stuff you wouldn’t necessarily pitch to young children at the same time type thing. And I’m not going out of my way to do that, moreso I’m not imposing that restriction on myself in terms of what I write. I’m tryin’ my best, haha. like, setting out to write grimdark fic is fine, but it possibly requires a different audience and authorial approach compared to what I feel is the approach I want to encourage for my fic. both approaches and writing styles are valid, just different type thing. I’d hate to turn people away if they’re not into grimdark stuff when it’s not what I was going for or w/e

[parachutingkitten]

Season 1 Analysis

STANDARD DISCLAIMER: I am going to be applying the concept of criticism to a TV show you presumably love and adore as much as I do. If you do not want your idea that the show is immaculate to be challanged, I would not advise reading past this point.

Mood for this season: Logic? Nahh...

I'm taking three film classes right now, I only rip it apart because I love it! (Sry, if I seem a little overly critical at times)

So, let's start with some background (you get to learn about me, yay! This is what you came here for. Right?). When the original series (seasons 1 and 2) came out in 2012, my little brother, at the age of six, was THE target audience for lego ninjas that you could battle and spin really really fast. I... am five years older than him. He collected sets, and he even bought me a spinner pack with the "girl character", the "blue one", and one of the skeletons so that I could play with him. To this day they are the only legos I own, but they sit in an altoids tin in my night stand. It was right before our family moved to Germany (we're a military family btw) that our parents purchased the disk episodes of seasons one and two. When you live in Europe, you tend to want to do a LOT of traveling. Every weekend, I kid you not, we went to another country. Which means road trips. And road trips mean movies. I would always let my brother choose what we watched, because he was the one who would get fussy and upset, so we watched a lot of Kung Fu Panda, and Madagascar, and a LOT of Cars (as in plural movies. I quote Cars 2, regularly), but the thing we watched most often was those niniago DVDs. Because you could just auto play those episodes one after another for a seemingly endless movie that would last until you arrived. So, I've seen these episodes a few times. Like, A LOT of times. Drilling these episodes into my mind over and over is what made me obsessed with it later (but we'll talk about that when we get to season 3).

Upon rewatching... they are exactly as I remember. There were no real surprises, so I don't feel like I have too much to say shock value wise, but that doesn't mean I don't have anything to say.

Plot

I've made a joke post about this before, but season one does fall into the treasure hunt formula. Find a fang blade. Lose it. Look for next one. Repeat for the next few episodes. Same thing can be said for the true potential. Find what holds them back emotionally, overcome it by the end of the episode to save the person/people you needed to fix your relationship with, glowing orb/pillar to make you certifiably awesome. For four. Episodes. Straight. Even if you space out the episodes where the ninja get their true potential, or when they find the fang blades, it would keep you on your toes a bit more. This being said... it does greatly help to give every episode a PLOT purpose. Every one of those "previously on ninjago" recaps was shoving a bunch of stuff in there. Most ninjago episodes do serve a purpose (except of course the atrocity that is the first half of season two - we WILL get to that next time) at least character development wise, but it is nice to have meaningful plot development too and keep a consistent pace throughout the season. This season certainly keeps up the pace. There is not an episode you can just miss. Even with the recap, you would still probably be confused. One thing that NO OTHER SEASON has over this one, hands down (aside from season 9 maybe, idk yet) is flow from season to season. Planning benefits this season GREATLY. It carries over things from the pilot, and sets up more to come in the next season. Watch them all together and it flows more naturally than any other season bookends. (Although I will say all the ninjago season transitions are smoother than any of Chima's [I will not touch that rabbit hole EVER again])

Characters

Character interaction is AMAZING this season. You really get to know the characters and feel all their growth equally. Every. One. Of. Them.

Think about it, Wu has an arc with his brother, Lloyd has an arc with the green ninja, Nya has an arc as samurai x, and it goes without saying that all of our regulars have an arc. And... that's about it. Those are all the characters. And I think that's why this season works so well.

You have four main characters, a handful of side characters, and they all get time and focus. Everyone has something to do during this season. As the season's go on and we accumulate more and more characters there's less screentime to go around, and the characters can suffer for it. There's a reason by season 6 they were literally REMOVING characters from the show. They don't have time to get distracted by Kai and his petty problems and drama this season, cuz Jay needs some focus for once, and we'd like to give him a little development gosh darn it! But I'm getting ahead of myself. This season works really well. Just because I feel like I should, I'm going to give you a breakdown on my feelings on new characters as they pop up or change dramatically, and because this is the first season, that means we get to do it for... all the characters! So here we go.

Nya

She's good this season. She's the most responsible in the group. The samurai x reveal was handled really well. Making all the ninja jealous of her really worked to give her credibility. She's just the right amount of strong and independent while still retaining her femininity. It goes WAY down hill when season 3 hits, but as for season 1 Nya I actually really enjoy her.

Wu

I mean... what are you going to say? He's Wu? Anyone have a problem with Wu? No? Good, moving on.

Kai

So... this is where my bias comes out. Quick piece of info, my elemental personality is water... so like the opposite of fire. I see a little bit of myself in each of the ninja... except Kai. And I think that's why he's my least favorite. Don't get me wrong! I don't hate Kai or anything! He's got some good lines (episode 5 comes to mind) he's adorkable enough. It's not hard to play or to write a hot head, but it's hard to play or write a hot head that I personally enjoy. I think what Kai is missing for me personally is the tripping over himself because of his attitude, and sarcasm. Sarcasm and sass. It's there, it's just not as prevalent as I personally would like it. He has a lot of opportunities and theoretical development, I'm not sure too many of them were taken advantage of fully, or maybe they just didn't read the way I personally can grasp it, but none of it felt very completed or meaningful. Like I said, I'm a water gal, so maybe I just can't relate and that's why it's not as powerful. I'd be interested to see your rankings of the ninja and how they line up with your own elemental personality. There's got to be a correlation there, right?

Conclusion, just not for me

Cole

Cole and Jay are tied for second favorite in general. It fluctuates from season to season depending on what's going on, but for season 1 Jay has Cole beat. I think the only reason just being screen time. Goodness knows Cole has been a bit neglected in that category, but hey. He's still really good for what he's got. I think in real life I probably act the most like Cole. I try to be serious, responsible and a leader and then I just get goofy sometimes. I love his true potential episode! It's funny, and heartwarming, and the only episode actually about him, so it's fun to see!

Conclusion, just needs more love

Jay

Jay is then, my second favorite for the season. He's funny. What else can I say? Personal opinion; Jay freakouts are the best this season. Especially at the climax. He just has that pure goofball-ness to him this season that makes his humor not annoying and actually relatable and funny. I also love his family to death! He loves them, he knows it, we know it, and the interactions between them are precious! It really is the way he plays off of other people that makes him enjoyable. He has a lot more dry humor here than other season, which I am partial to. I've got some kinks to work out with this one in later seasons but for now, he's good.

Conclusion, No, I'm the real Jay!

Zane

...My baby! Especially this season he is so innocent, loving, caring, and mysterious that I can't help but love the heck out of this guy! I am a sucker for a good mystery! He has this whole other world he's a part of with his "sixth sense" and falcon and running away at night. It's unique and special to him and it's really cool! Plus, there is SO much ATMOPHERE that comes with this guy and MAN I LOVE it! It's all just so beautiful. I love interactions between him and Jay, I love his mutual respect with Cole, I love EVERYTHING. This season and the next have the most growth for him, and it shows.

Conclusion, there's a reason we call him the pure one

Romance

Kinda adding this one last minute, but I think it needs to be here. All we got this season is Jay and Nya but BOY has their relationship changed! This is the single one thing that caught me off guard. I forgot what their relationship, especially before Jay's true potential, is like. Honestly, I love it! They're so awkward and clumsy around each other at first, and then grow into this understanding couple of one another. There's not too much emphasis on it, but it's sprinkled in everywhere. I like it! Maya approved!

Villians

The devourer arc is one of my favorites. Maybe it's the nostalgia tingles at work again, but the snakes are ninjago's quintessential villains. Nothing can ever hope to replace them. It feels natural in the plot, they have their own culture and beliefs, and their motivation makes sense. You have your legitimately scary villains and bumbling comic villians in perfect balance. Scales starting as second in command was an amazing call. It proves he has power he's earned, is not easily put down and sets up his lust for power to be explored later. Pythor. Oh man oh man Pythor. I am a sucker for ATMOSPHERE and his introduction is BEAUTIFUL. Utilizes the rule of 3s and completely subverts your expectations with that eerie empty tomb. I love it! So manipulative! So sly! They aren't my all time favorite villians, but they're certainly among the best the show has to offer.

Garmadon is also there. He's half good half bad... sorta. Idk. He's not especially interesting, at least compared to the snakes and what they're up to. Let's be honest, he's just waiting around to get awesome in season 2 ;) I do like when he comes in with all the skeletons like, "yeah, no one likes you. Screw snakes!" Only to walk that COMPLETELY back next season, but you know. Whatever.

Lloyd... should I put him here? He's enjoyably annoying for a little bit... and then just annoyingly annoying. It's not too bad. He has some redeeming moments. Once he's the green ninja and has some responsibility on his shoulders, he gets a lot better.

Climax

... I love it. I don't know what else to say. It's tense, it has proper build up, the threat is real, they get desperate, they come up with a creative solution, they work together, there are stakes, there's good action, good drama, good humor. I don't have any complaints. I can't touch this one. There are minor things, but I don't think they're worth bringing up. Go watch it. It's freaking awesome. Enough said.

Humor

Pretty good this season. There are a few eye roll lines, but that's in all the seasons. Things can get kinda stupid, but for the most part, especially some of the more subtle humor really works.

Favorite line of the season, Cole's "I don't like metaphors" episode 11 - All of Nothing. You're welcome.

Drama

Not overly saturated this season, which is kinda nice. I mean, there's always "drama" but as far as heavy stuff, we have Zane's whole crisis thing, and then the Garmadon family reunion. I'll get to how I feel about the Zane stuff down below. As for the Garmadon stuff... it's fine. Gets a lot better next season, but for now... fine.

Spotlight Episode

So for every season I'll choose one episode that stood out to me to either praise or criticize in detail. There are a lot of episodes that come to mind for season 1 for one reason or another. The one about the power of rumors (also known as the pink ninja episode), lloyd rescuing the team, Cole's true potential is a classic episode with a good mix of heart and comedy, and of course THE FINALE, but because I am biased, and because I am a sucker for personal drama, season one's spotlight episode is episode 7, Tick tock, Zane's true potential. This was by far the episode me and my brother watched together the most. Aside from the movie Cars, it's probably the one piece of media we have scene the most times together. The episode begins by establishing Wu leaving, the ninja are at a loss of what to do and then... THE FALCON. Best character this season! XD seriously, the falcon theme is one of, if not my favorite piece of music in the show. Certainly the most memorable. And most importantly it kicks in the ATMOSPHERE! Have I mentioned ATMOSPHERE?

ATMOSPHERE

I am a sucker for some good ATMOSPHERE (no, I will not stop spelling it in all caps), and BOY the falcon chase scene! Zane is slowly taken away from his team members in order to reflect upon himself, and as he runs through the snow by himself to follow this bird you can see his determination, curiosity, desperation, and just that Zane factor that makes you go "awww, my child! He must be protected!" (Even though, you know, he was built to protect and all that) but just AGHH! I can't put into words for beautiful this whole sequences is! Go watch it right now! Look at that beautiful Zane! Listen to that music! That FREAKING MUSIC AGGHHHHHH! I LOVE IT SO AGGRESSIVELY! LISTEN TO IT! LIKE SERIOUSLY, LISTEN, HERE'S THE LINK!

https://youtu.be/2p07cgwwYws

It makes my heart SO happy! Idk if I'm the only one who feels that way about this scene but oh... oh how it gets me. Every. Time. Michael Kramer and Jay Vincent are freAKING GODS!

Okay. I'm done with the falcon chase. Now onto, like... the part of the episode people care about. The tree house, again, an amazing location. Unique, and mysterious, and as soon as he walks in, you just get this sense of memory. The flash back is ADORABLE and the others finding him... I think this was handled pretty well. Their reactions seem genuine (I mean, I would want to get out of there as soon as humanly possible too XD) and you can feel the genuine concern from all of the ninja, trying to help their buddy out in their own ways.

Zane's true potential feels really earned, and his thing that holds him back was established as soon as the series began. He was different and weird and he didn't know where he came from. Coming to accept what he is, accepting his past and finding an identity of his own is what gives him the power to unlock it.

Now, just for fun and because I know I'm going to hear it in the comments like "why is Zane's discovery of identity more valid than anyone else's? What about Kai! His true potential is entirely based on finding his purpose!" And yes. Theoretical commentor you make a valid point, but I think the key difference is in the identity they find when they unlock it.

Zane accepts his personality, his past, and his robotic nature as himself and can be proud of who he is as his own person. The thing that held him back was vague and sort of indefinable, and what he became afterwards was concrete, solid, and dependable. That's why you feel like the character has gotten stronger.

Kai goes in the opposite direction. The thing that holds him back is that he wants to be the green ninja. That's solid and concrete. The problem then becomes that you know exactly how the potential will play out. He's going to face something, discover he's not the green ninja, and come to terms with it. And his ending identity is much more vague. His purpose is to protect the green ninja... okay, what does that mean? What kind of a person does that make you? He didn't change as a person, his views about a certain topic where changed. Those are two very different levels of progress.

And I know you can argue that it wasn't the green ninja thing he needed to get past, he needed to get past his pride and all that, but even if you make that argument that conclusion is harder to reach and less apparent than Zane's progress as a character. Zane's progress is entirely centered on him. Kai's progress will never be separated from Lloyd. Just watch the episode. It feels like a Lloyd episode. I remember thinking the first time I watched it when he came out of the volcano "wait... what was his true potential? Why is this happening?"

Anyway, that's my little soap box rant. I hope I didn't offend too many Kai fans. Again, it's probably just my water bias coming into play. I know there's a frame work in place for development of all these characters, and every single one of them gets an arc and theoretically everything should work out and make sense and work beautifully and perfectly, but sometimes when you step back and look at it, it's just a matter of "but does it work?" And maybe it's a matter of opinion, but Kai's potential didn't work for me.

I've been on this way to long. I'm stopping now.

Misc

I really like the suits this season. They're all unique and the masks... compliment the Lego head shape nicely? Does that make sense? It makes them look a bit cuter. Anyone else see that? Idk, maybe I'm just going crazy.

Watch this season thinking about how the snakes become good in season 3...

I want more of the Pink ninja.

I love scales and his slight incompetence. Not total, just slight.

This exchange:

Pythor: I hardly have any friends

Lloyd: Woah! I hardly have any friends too!

Pythor: You don't say!

All together I really like this season. Light hearted, funny, good action and characters. Not super compelling or anything, but it doesn't need to be. Second best season for nostalgia tingles in general, third best for me personally. Most of this is a matter of opinion, so don't fret too much over anything I say. I'd love to see your thoughts/rankings/comments/disagreements in the notes! That's the point of this thing!

If there are any aspects of the season I skipped, let me know, I'm not perfect.

Thanks for reading! And if you got this far... I don't know. Work the word saxophone into your comment. Bonus points if it makes sense!

-Maya (a.k.a. parachutingkitten)

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #131

“demolition woman, can i be your man?”

Do you know if you were a planned child? I've no clue. What's your favorite gem? Mexican dragon's breath opal. Do you like Oregon Trail?  I loved that game.  Although I only won like maybe once or twice lmao. As an adult, do you want to live in an apartment or house?  I wouldn't mind an apartment if it was just a starting point, but once my spouse and I were financially stable, I'd definitely want our own place. Do you like the stem or leafy part of the broccoli?  Steam. Do you believe in the "innocent until proven guilty" idea?  As far as imprisoning someone goes, yes, I believe you shouldn't be put away until there is substantial evidence you are indeed guilty.  This sadly doesn't get all criminals, but I think just saying "this guy is guilty because I say so" is far more dangerous and more people would see jail time. Do bats frighten you?  No no no, they're high on my list of favorite animals, especially flying foxes. <3 Does Paris appeal to you? I'd loooove to visit! What’s the song that reminds you of your special someone?  I think maybe above all, the acoustic version of "If You're James Dean, I'm Audrey Hepburn" by Sleeping With Sirens <3 Are you a KPOP fan? No. Who is the 6th person in your contacts?  My friend Jax. Do you believe in the phrase "If it’s meant to be, it will be"? Honestly... I don't think so.  You can't tell me a young child dying from a disease is "meant to be." How long was your longest relationship?  Three years and seven or eight months.  Considering it was a legitimate trauma, I'm very surprised I don't remember the exact date we broke up... I just know it was August or September. First time you kissed the last person you kissed?  We haven't kissed on the lips yet, but the first time I kissed her cheek was because she was crying. Do you have to really know someone to kiss them?  Me personally, I think you should love someone before kissing.  S/os, family, friends... Were you anyone's first kiss?  No. Will you keep your last name when you get married?  If I marry a man, no, but if I marry a girl, depends.  If I marry my current girlfriend, nope. Which would be more meaningful to you: I love you a lot, I love you so much? The latter. Where was the last place you held hands at?  In a car. If you could live in any home on television, what would it be?  The Munsters' house. <3 If you had to be named after one of the 50 states of America, what state would you WANT to be named after?  Dakota. What is your heritage?  I know mostly German, Irish, and a bit of Polish, but I think that's only Mom's heritage, I think.  I wonder if Dad has Scottish roots because our last name is Scottish. Do you think morals are universal or relative to the beliefs, traditions, and practices of individuals or groups?  Universal. Is torture ever a good option? If no, why not? If yes, when?  No.  It's just... excessive to me.  Even criminals, just kill them quickly. What do you think is one of the most undervalued professions right now? Teaching. Have you ever seen anyone have a heart attack?  NO THANK GOD. Have you personalized your answering machine/voicemail? No. Have you ever had Fiji brand water?  No. What’s your favorite horror movie?  The Crazies, The Blair Witch Project, and The Blair Witch Project 2: Book of Shadows. Would you say you have a high sexdrive or not so much?  It's normal, I guess? What animal is the scariest in your opinion?  Hmmm... I'll put animal phobias aside and acknowledge those with legitimate danger.  Probably African killer bees.  Fucking terrifying. How do you feel about people wearing fur coats? are you for or against it?  I am completely against that shit unless you're like an Eskimo and need to wear animal coats for survival. What’s the worst thing a friend has either done or said to you?  Preach me the "pick yourself up by your boot strings" mentality while I was fucking suicidally depressed. What’s your favorite memory with one or both of your parents?  Ha ha oh boy, this question just made me remember this...  With Mom, it was probably that one time we drove to Chick-fil-a at night, got some milkshakes, and rocked out hardcore to Judas Priest.  A lot of laughs...  As for Dad, hm.  Probably childhood fishing trips. Something you feared as a kid but don’t anymore?  Uhhh... unsure?  Well, my phobia of dolls isn't as bad as it was when I was a kid. What’s your opinion on girls who become obsessed with their boyfriends?  DO NOT DO IT, but I understand it much too well. Are you biracial?  No. What was the most unique pet you’ve owned?  Probably my champagne ball python I have now. Do you have a fence?  In the backyard. When was the last time you got mad and broke something? I've never done that, but I've come close. How long do you think you will live?  I don't know the average life span of my family, but maybe like... early 80s?  Idk.  I don't WANT to live past the point where I can't care for myself. Favorite nonliving musician?  Uhhhhh... probably Ronnie James Dio. <3  WAIT NO.  FREDDIE MERCURY. Favorite album? "Black Rain" by Ozzy Osbourne.  Introduced me to metal. What color dress did you wear to prom?  Sophomore year was maroon, senior year was black Ever have an ultra-sound performed on you? What was it for?  Yes, on my liver.  Apparently nothing was wrong. How many people of the opposite sex do you fully trust? Only my dad. Does your family use coasters? Is anyone in your family excessively tidy? Nope. Do you still have your tonsils?  Yeah. Do you think making out is slutty?  No...? Do you have any traits that you obviously inherited from your parents? I pace like my dad. Have you ever hit your significant other or ex-significant other? Has he/she ever hit you?  No to both. Would you say that you have a nice smile?  No, I will without fail look high. Do you get motion sickness?  Never have. Are men more attractive with longer or shorter hair?  Long. *swoons* Would you ever keep your favorite animal as a pet?  No, they are not meant to be pets.  I have an acquaintance in the U.K. who has two and they're perfectly loved, but it's just not right for them.  They in general are very destructive pets, too. If you had the power to end the world right now, would you? No. Have you ever been in an ambulance? No Have you ever had the flu? Thank goodness, no. What's worse: Depression or anxiety? My answer hasn't changed: "WOW that's a hard question. But. Depression. Because imo it's easier to become suicidal when depressed. And I'd rather be afraid than wanting to die." Have you ever made out with someone you weren’t dating? No. What’s one of the most difficult things you’ve ever had to do?  Get myself to see holding onto Jason was the most detrimental thing I'd done in my life thus far. If you were reincarnated as a sea creature, what would you want to be? A bottle-nosed dolphin. What is the wallpaper of your cell phone?  My lock screen is Sara and me, and my home screen is Markiplier. What's your favorite high school memory? Art class with three friends. Should ANY country be allowed to have WMDs?  N o. Should schools give out condoms?  No. Should all people have access to medical marijuana?  All people, no.  I have mixed emotions on anyone having medical marijuana. Ever considered cannibalism?  No. o_o When’s the next time you will consume alcohol?  *shrugs* Do you address older people by their first or last name?  It depends on the person and what they prefer.  When I first meet the person and I know their last name however, I'll use Mrs./Ms./Mr. Whatever. What is your guilty pleasure (make it SFW)?  Markiplier in dresses kms. Do you want children/how many? At the time I'm taking this, I'm questioning if I do, but I HIGHLY doubt it.  I would NOT want more than two.  Maybe even just one. You find out your wonderful one-year-old child is not yours because of a mix-up at the hospital. Would you exchange for your own?  Yeah, honestly.  One year old is still young. Are you a good kisser?  Idk? Ever made out in the bathroom?  No like that sounds so uncomfortable and unsanitary. On the floor?  @_@ Who was the hottest teacher you ever had?  Omfg so I had a band teacher that all the girls were crazy for, but then a good number of years back, he got charged for sexual relations with a student o o p s. When's the last time you've been sledding?  E o n s ago.

[theratprince]

idk why i’m so melodramatic

i guess i’m kinda just facing the inevitable? like i guess it hit me last night that i was just falling back on old shitty patterns and i had completely lost control of myself but god. i really tried. i really tried not to be so fucking nuts but honestly? it’s been a long time of being single after an even longer time of making myself miserable just so i wasn’t single. and like, i guess i should just accept that people are going to say whatever they want just so they can get sex. like i don’t get it. like i was totally all for just fucking and that’s what i signed up for and that’s all i needed. and i just really fucking hate that everything was fine until they started saying shit that was way too sweet and i don’t know why i’m such a fucking humongous idiot.

love is actually the worst, most useless emotion. i felt pretty dead inside and i went around just dissociating constantly. and then for a second i felt something and i finally felt okay, and honestly i am trying so hard just to be fine on my own but i just feel like my life is constantly falling apart. i fucking hate my job. i don’t know if i actually have fun anymore. my parents are losing the house. i feel overwhelmed by everything. i’m really depressed. i’m so passive and directionless that i don’t know how to function without someone giving me constant validation. what’s the point?

the next time someone says they love me i’m going to laugh in their fucking face.

i’ve been dying to go to ireland for over a year now. i was just like fuck it i’m going to go travel because i never do anything for myself because i never know what i fucking want and right now i just want to be somewhere else. i’ve never really been the kind of person to pick a direction and, by some miracle, i have held on to this plan for the longest i’ve ever thought of doing anything. and so i’m just praying that it’s actually meaningful, and that i’m not just wasting my time doing something that i hope will make me happy.

and it’s literally the day before my trip -- this trip that has kept me trudging through my miserable existence for so long -- and i’m having a meltdown just because of some fucking person that i can’t even get angry at for being another shitty dude because they’re not a dude so like what criteria can i even use anymore? why do people only ever seem to want to use me?

the last time i traveled anywhere exciting, i was going through a really stupid break up and i let it affect the good time i should have been having and WOW it would be really nice if i could muster up some trademark Libra apathy right now. I should be fucking excited. I should be happy right now, and I’m not and I’m pissed.

So this is my attempt to unpack things and get on a more rational track of thinking. Because the more i try to tamp it down, the more out of control it gets.

I’m angry for a lot of reasons. I’m angry because I feel disappointed. But I am expecting things that I was never promised, and I have to accept that. I let someone get my hopes up and I can only assume it’s because I haven’t been honest with myself in the first place. A long time ago I asked the universe to let me find true love because I have been poisoned by Disney but it’s a dream that I never let go of no matter how angry of a feminist I was or as independent as I forced myself to be. I wanted to fall in love, and it consumed me. I had this dream that I’d somehow find it if I left Kentucky, and I postponed leaving for a long time.

So I got to a point where I was okay. I was depressed a lot, but I had a vacation to look forward to. I had a huge breakdown back in February because I felt so utterly trapped in my situation, so I said fuck it and booked a trip because life will just have to figure out how to go on without me. I still mostly felt nothing, and I felt lonely, and I wished really hard that I could give a shit about something. I worked on trusting people a little more, and tried to trust myself to receive affection. I asked for a reminder of how it felt to be sexual again, how to touch another person, and promised myself that I’d remain in control and wouldn’t let it hold me back. LMAO

So, I guess I find some comfort in knowing that I got what I wanted. And I mostly didn’t lose control. I’m not self harming. I’m in control of my behavior. As much as I hope that this is a sign that I can have some sort of affect on my reality, it seems unfair for some reason. Like, loads of people never “find love” or they do find it and then it ends because it always ends. Life is shitty and then you die. To hope for anything more is selfish.

So that’s where I’m at. Just... being melodramatic.

There’s not even really anything to be upset about. I’ve literally been going back and forth every other day because I can’t deal with having something good. Maybe that’s my problem.

When I was a kid, there were days when my dad would randomly buy me gifts or give me money or praise me for no reason, and then the next day or even the next hour he would turn on a dime. He called me fat and lazy a lot. He would threaten to hide his money so that me and my mom couldn’t buy food. He was under a lot of pressure and worked constantly, and he took his anger out on me because I couldn’t leave.

My first boyfriend lived four hours away in Ohio. I could only see him once a month, but we talked on the phone all the time. He would get jealous of all of my friends, even girls. When I confided that I thought I was bisexual, he was dismissive. He told me he’d hit me if I cheated on him. One time, he dreamt that he walked in on me fucking some rando, and that he shot me. We broke up for a short time, and I had sex with a guy friend, which I told him about at some point when we got back together. In response, he  said a lot of hurtful things and cut off contact completely.

My second boyfriend was twenty-four when I was seventeen. He was interested in someone who could be a full-time slave, and coerced me into trying more than just BDSM. He would constantly compare me to other people. He made me talk about him fucking other people when we were fucking. He tried to coerce me into having a threesome with some ex-girlfriend of his. He would call me stupid and spoiled, and he constantly made me feel like I was nothing. I let him fuck me in a janitor’s closet at the hotel where he worked. I didn’t enjoy it.

My third boyfriend was as passive as my exes were abusive. He was kind, and he did anything I asked him to, but I’m not sure if he cared about me. He never defended me when his friends put me down. When I confided to him about being trans, he skirted around the issue and wouldn’t call me Nolan.

I cheated on him with the person who ended up my fourth boyfriend. He had gay parents and appreciated me no matter how I identified. I don’t know why I broke up with him. Self-sabotage maybe. I still think about him a lot. I don’t know if I was always happy, but I think for the most part I was. I think he deserved better than me.

There was a stretch of time where I fucked a lot of random people. I met them through other friends, or on dating apps. I didn’t enjoy it. I don’t know why I made the effort.

At one point, I dated this married couple. I even babysat their two-year-old once. I think the wife really loved me. I think I loved her too, but as we can see I have a history of not actually believing that people are capable of finding me important. The husband was just trying to get as much pussy as he could. He made a big show of supporting my trans-ness, but when I was blowing him he didn’t think of me that way. He was one of many men who tried to coerce me into participating in orgies. I think I enjoyed it some of the time, but it was abundantly clear that I did not matter to him.

I had another relationship with this trans girl and I think it was one of the few normal relationships I’ve had. I don’t think I was very good to her, but at least we’re still friends.

I’ve already visited this part of myself. I’ve revisited it a lot. I have tried to work past it. I’ve tried to get away from it. It feels like I can’t escape it, and I think perhaps being in the same place that I’ve always been has contributed to this. I’m sleeping in the same room where my dad has yelled at me, where I’ve cried my way through break ups, where I laid awake and wondered if I’d ever actually matter to anyone.

I dunno why I do this to myself. I don’t know why I do this to anyone else.

I guess it’s just particularly disheartening because I thought that I’d done a really great job of moving past it. I used to think I couldn’t survive being single for a year, let alone two. Also a month ago I thought “Wouldn’t it be nice to literally feel anything at all?” and WOW am I eating my words.

I’m really just feeling way too much and I hate it, and I wish I could say I’m hopeful for the future but like... just, fuck it all. I keep waiting for things to change and they just never fucking do. I wish I could blame my completely shit feelings on being hungry or tired or stressed but like? I’ve taken my T-shot, I’m hydrated, I still felt like steaming shit after I had something to eat. I’m literally about to take a trip that I’ve been anticipating for a really heckin’ long time but instead of being overcome with joy, I can’t stop crying?

What the hell is wrong with me? Why do I let this happen? Why is it like every time I try to stop this from happening, I’m just like “lol it can’t be helped” and let it fucking take over my life?

I guess....... what I’m really trying to say..... is that if I get back from this trip and I don’t have some semblance of clarity and a better sense of direction that I’ll be fucking pissed. Best case scenario: My gut was right all along and I do somehow find true love. Like, trying to be realistic has literally never helped me before so why start now? Yeah, maybe in two weeks time I somehow meet someone or have some magical experience that changes the course of my life forever. Or maybe the universe is chaos and I’ll be forced to live out my existence in this flesh prison until I am suddenly and painfully no longer able to perceive anything at all. Maybe the plane will crash and it will be very tragic but ultimately irrelevant to the grander scheme of things.

Whatever happens, I just hope I never fucking feel this way again because I’m so god damn sick of it.

AND FURTHERMORE I just want to say that I think it’s completely unfair that Chris could be so completely everything I want and to literally read my mind and to look at me with their stupid fucking googly eyes like they actually give a shit lmao who the fuck decided this? i want my god damn money back. love is bullshit the end

[theclacks]

Buffy Thoughts - (S7 E20-E21)

AKA Touched and End of Days

AKA:

(and also pain)

I don’t know if I can put my thoughts for these episodes into coherent words. But IDK, I’ll try. They’re pretty much 90% shippy, 10% the rest of the actual episodes, but whatever. Also they’re both technically several months old because I’ve been procrastinating on watching the final episode out of fear. What else is new?

BtVS & AtS Recap Master Post located here

Episode 20 (Touched)

Oh my god. Oh my god. It is official Buffy/Spike is my favorite ship of all time.

OF ALL TIME.

Like my god, I think I’ve said it before that I’m glad I’m only seeing this series now because if I was younger and less fiction-ly jaded, I think it would’ve destroyed me, but seriously, WHY DID IT TAKE ME THIS LONG TO WATCH BUFFY? I don’t know where my heart is going to be when I finish, what I’ll watch next to fill the void, if there will BE anything to watch next (which is why I’ve been stretching out these final episodes for so, sooooo long) and yeah.

Spike’s speech. AKA quite possibly my favorite scene ever. I discussed this ep a bit over at EF with the Spuffy crew right after I’d watched it and there were some back and forths over opinions of this speech, namely that it sounds like something Riley would’ve said, not Spike, right down to the “you’re a hell of a woman” line from As You Were and I stand by what I said then:

The line is the same. The context is not.

Riley made his “you’re a hell of woman” line as he was leaving to return to his wife, right after he basically said “yeah, you have a shit job that makes you smell funny but you’re still a hottie and you’re better than this.” And I want to put those other two things aside and focus on the “you’re better than this” sentiment, because that’s something that’s been fucking with Buffy’s emotional health for a very long time. This idea that there’s a better Buffy out there somewhere that she’s not currently being and therefore needs to try harder to be that Buffy because if she’s not that Buffy then she’s doing something wrong.

Spike on the other hand. Best line hands down = “I love what you are, what you do, how you try.” He loves her for who she is in that moment, not some idealized version who she could be. Lets her know that trying and failing is fine, that if she fails she doesn’t lose any of her worth as a person (something that Buffy punishes herself frequently her).

And I also love how Spike’s speech begins and ends with humor. Not “you smell bad but you’re still hot” humor, but audience-directed humor in the vein of:

BUFFY: Fine. The stage is yours. Cheer me up.

SPIKE: You're insufferable.

BUFFY: Thank you. That really helped.

It’s like… blah, my brain is refusing to connect words right now, but basically a lot of people in Buffy give her complements when she’s feeling bad for the sake of giving complements vs seeing through the angst and getting frustrated at it. Not like “why are you trying harder” frustrated, but IDK, it’s the difference between letting someone mope because you don’t want to upset them more vs giving them what they need (AND THAT’S NOT RUNNING AWAY TO ENGLAND, GILES). IDK, the speech was a perfect blend of emotional lightness, followed by an emotionally raw sucker-punch, book-ended by yet more lightness.

So yeah.

And as much as my shipper self could’ve skipped out on the other “love” scenes of the episode, I think they really do work well as contrast, particularly the Faith/Robin sex scene. There’s practically no emotional connection there, just the need to physically connect to someone, anyone. And IMHO it represents a growth in the way BtVS handles relationships? Unlike the Faith/Xander scene from Season 3, it’s not played for laughs. There’s nothing “wrong” or “bad” about it.

But, at the same time, contrasted against the Spike/Buffy cuddling scene, it really highlights that sex doesn’t automatically make anything more “meaningful.” Which has been this huge hangup for Buffy (the “need sex to have a complete love” thing). First there was Buffy/Angel which basically culminated in a single night of sex, and then he ultimately broke up with her because he didn’t think they could ever give each other a wholesome relationship without sex. That translated into her jumping into sleeping with Parker, perhaps to get the post-sex skeletons out of the closet ASAP (which, admittedly, she did). And then Riley… well, Buffy/Riley had a fuckton of issues that broke them apart, but she definitely felt like she couldn’t trust him until they’d had sex, not in terms of the actual act but him not leaving before she woke up.

...and then Buffy leaves Spike before he wakes up and oh my heart. It will never be whole.

Anyways, yeah, Andrew/Spike friendship remains beautiful. Spike growling like a cat/dog is canon (has he growled before this episode and I just haven’t noticed?). I loved the camera direction in the chaotic Scooby Meeting sans Buffy. I really loved Faith period, even (especially) through all her leadership failures ; it’s ridiculous how much my opinion on her has done a 180 since season 3.

And then Buffy finds a red scythe which I know is important because it’s on all the comic covers, and Faith finds a ticking time bomb and I actually laughed because of the clichéness of it all.

Episode 21 (End of Days)

Ugh.

Ugggggh.

Ugggggggggggh.

So this review, despite being for End of Days, will have lots of spoilers for Chosen and AtS S5. Because lots of spoilers are a thing that happened to me over the course of watching this series.

If for whatever reason you’re reading this blind and not as a vicarious feelings recap, stop reading now.

Good?

Okay, good.

So, I know pretty much all the basics of what’s going to happen in the last episode: Willow does a spell that transfers the Slayer powers into all the potentials, Anya dies (gets hit by the equivalent of a Stormtrooper blast? you were a leaf on the wind, Anya. a leaf on the wind)...

...Angel gives Buffy an amulet that can close the hellmouth but Spike has to sacrifice himself in order to use it, Spike does so but not before Buffy confesses her love to him…

Which okay. Pretty much the only thing I’m NOT spoilered for is how that scene goes down. Like does Buffy tell him that she loves him before or after he makes the decision to sacrifice himself? Does he believe her? If it’s before, does he think she’s just saying it to convince him to sacrifice himself? If it’s after, does he think she’s just saying as a consolation prize?

And it’s like, I REALLY WANT HIM TO BELIEVE HER, BUT I AM FILLED WITH DOUBTS. Because I know what happens in AtS S5, and yes, SMG not wanting to do the show anymore is pretty much the reason why she doesn’t make any cameos, but in an in-universe context, the only reason Spike WOULDN’T hightail it across the world to wherever Buffy was upon re-achieving corporeal status is if he didn’t think her declaration of love was genuine.

And if that’s the case, I think Chosen is going to break me. Which is one of the reasons why it’s actually been about 2 months now since I watched End of Days and I still haven’t gotten the courage to watch Chosen. (That and I have a thing about watching final episodes of shows I love. There’s something about knowing there’s always just a little bit more content waiting for you. IDK, I’m weird.)

But yeah. So.

If Spike doesn’t believe Buffy’s declaration of love, then there’s only one reason why he wouldn’t.

And that’s fucking Angel.

I shipped Buffy/Angel during my initial watch of the earlier seasons. I really did. But now I just want to PUNCH HIM IN THE FACE. He swoops in all smirky and condescing and then just INSTANTLY starts making out with Buffy, going all forever love with her despite what should be his fucked up emotional state re: loving and losing Cordelia and also his son. And the fact that he instantly, INSTANTLY, goes for the make out session without clueing Buffy into any of this… it just feels really, really, REALLY scuzzy.

Like, it’d be feeling scuzzy even if I wasn’t a Spuffy shipper (which I am, disclaimer). That’s how scuzzy it is.

And really, there’s very little difference between Angel swinging into town and sweeping Buffy off her feet with no mention of his other recent relationship, and what Riley did in As You Were.

And I think everyone knows my opinions on As You Were.

So anyway, back on topic. What’s the point of shoving a sudden love triangle into the FINAL EPISODE of Buffy, especially when it’s going to (I think) end with Spike not believing that Buffy truly loves him. Like was it fan service for Bangel shippers? (I mean, it very well could’ve been, but their ship had sailed FOUR YEARS AGO.) Was it to introduce last minute drama between Buffy and Spike? (to which I said, they already had an Atlantic Ocean’s worth of drama between them, they didn’t need anymore). Is it to make Buffy realize by seeing her options face to face, that she prefers being with Spike? (this would be the option i’d be most okay with, but am majorly doubtful because of all the post-series lists of “Top 15 reasons Buffy should’ve chosen Spike”).

And it’s just like… why?

This is the final season. You guys KNOW it’s your final season. So why?

Buuuuut, this is all speculation on my part due to incomplete spoilers, so maybe my hunches are all wildly off base. I sure hope so.

Either way, it’s January 1st, 2018, and I’ve put off watching BtVS’s final episode long enough. This is the night it ends.

Or… you know, kind of ends for the readers who’ve been reading these. I’ll come back sometime later this week to put all of my Season 7 thoughts + BtVS series as a whole thoughts into some sort of written cohesion.

Oh, and then I have all of AtS S5 to watch, which FUCK YEAH, SPIKE INTERACTING WITH WESLEY AND LORNE AND GUNN AND FRED, I AM STOKED. (You guys have no idea how scared I was that one of them would’ve died before the end of Season 4 and they never would’ve been on screen together.)

Also, paddlin’ back in circles as a last minute thing:

WHY? WHY WOULD YOU BRING ANGEL BACK IN AFTER THIS? THIS WAS PERFECTION. THE DICTIONARY DEFINITION OF PERFECTION.

Until then, Cassie is my last remaining ray of hope:

Happy New Year, everyone. See y'all at the finish line.

[renee-walker]

Yet another super incomplete, entirely incoherent, and most definitely not chronological list of my thoughts, this time on Stranger Things 2 eps 4-7

I will never be over my feelings about Joyce Byers and her love for her children. Obviously Will is the focus at this point, but omg the raw ferocity of her love and concern just leaps out of my tv and murders my mom heart. And wow, I could do this in every ep, but the most major shoutout to Winona Ryder’s acting chops. She never overdoes it for a second, which I think is a feat when she constantly has to convey so much desperation and terror. Amazing.

ALSO. Noah Schnapp, holy shit. I mean we didn’t honestly get to see hardly any of him in the first season, but wow I will never stop yammering about what a great job this show did in choosing the kids who make up the main cast. There’s not a weak link, and the scene where Will tells Joyce that the monster/shape/what the fuck ever that thing is got him pretty much broke me.

Ew, Dustin’s bizarre affection for his slug toy turns out predictably badly, but how awesome is it that by pure serendipity, he winds up with Steve? The second they got in the car together, S says, “I love the way this show always sticks together the characters you wouldn’t really expect to hang out,” and YEP, he is so right. And I mean, can we talk about Steve’s face when he asks Dustin how he knows it’s not a lizard and Dustin’s like, “I know because it’s face opened up and it ate my cat.” STEVE’S FACE. Just like, “Okay, fair.” I am die.

Tbh I really don’t see the point of Max’s brother. He’s a dick and apparently a giant racist and I guess he could be there just so Max can have that heart to heart with Lucas on the bus but idk. I just really don’t find anything about him interesting or compelling and I’m super confused as to why he’s always so goddamn shiny. Also did I just hang with the wrong crowd in the ‘80s or did all parents just let their kids sit around in their living rooms, smoking and drinking beer while lifting weights? I didn’t know any of these parents, but my best friend’s mom did let us have wine coolers when we were 13 so clearly I was a giant fucking rebel.

Hopper and El’s fight sucked a whole lot of ass, and although I love Hopper, I seriously wanted to hit him myself when he called her a brat. Yes Jim, I get that you have manpain AND I LOVE YOU but holy fuck this is a traumatized child who’s entirely isolated from the world. I don’t blame her for taking off.

And then of course we have another episode of Poor Life Choices With Jim Hopper, in which he decides the best idea ever is to dig into the upside down all by himself, without telling anyone what he’s doing or where he is, and that’s bound to turn out super great, RIGHT? Spoiler alert: It does not turn out super great. I still freaked when the vines got him, ngl.

Omg, Bob. I know what’s going to happen to him and I hate it so much I can’t deal. HE’S SO FUCKING CUTE. And as @faith5by5-1013 said in a comment on my last post, I just love that there’s no love triangle bullshit here. Like Hopper is (more or less) happy for Joyce and Bob and Bob accepts Joyce’s history with Hopper and it’s just refreshing is all. ANYWAY Bob breaks me because of course he figures out the map since he’s Bob the Brain and his ridiculously adorable instant acceptance of all this wild fuckery is the stuff that dreams are made of. Get yourself a guy like Bob Newby, is all I’m trying to say.

The entirety of everything with El and her mom was just well, the worst. I’d assumed that Brenner had done something like electroshock on Terry, but assuming and watching are two different things. And for fuck’s sake, Eleven is a CHILD, which I think is something that’s very easy to forget with Millie Bobby Brown’s precociousness and her wild acting skills. Watching Eleven pretty much relive her mother’s horror is the worst, and it only makes Eleven’s eventual choice NOT to kill Otis (oops wrong show, lmao) even more meaningful and poignant.

Erica Sinclair is everything. The end.

MAJOR ASIDE. I could not get over the gajillion ways in which this show is using Paul Reiser’s character to remind any viewer familiar with Aliens of that movie. I mean, shit. He repeats phrases that are almost verbatim dialogue from Aliens, there’s the motion tracker stuff when the demodogs attack the ambushed lab dudes, there’s the “Stay frosty.” Yeah, Aliens was 1986 and this is supposedly 1984, but nobody can convince me that all this wasn’t intentional. That said, I’m starting to have the feeling that Dr. Owens isn’t going to turn out to be as awful as Carter Burke.

I used to use Faberge. Like, I was DYING.

SO, both my kids pretty much hated ep 7, and while it certainly isn’t my favorite of the eps I’ve seen so far, I really appreciated a number of things about it.

Like, I never stop thinking about the fact that Eleven has spent her entire life in a lab. Her face when she sees the city lights at night is just everything. There are so many aspects of life this child has never had the chance to touch, and it makes me hurty inside just thinking about it.

I do think the ep was too long, but whatever, this isn’t the kind of issue I’m gonna be mad about. Since the beginning of the season, the show has been riffing on what could possibly be “home” for El. This ep is so important if only because it answers that question for her in a deep and final way. Kali’s gang was honestly pretty dull and I didn’t give much of a shit about them, but I did give a lot of shits about El finally answering some very specific questions about her past and learning to make her own choices with this new information.

Look, one of my greatest fictional kinks ever is That Person Who Chooses To Be A Wonderul And Good Person Even Though Every Single Thing In Their Life Suggests They Should Absolutely Be An Axe Murderer. And of course El is exactly that. There’s nothing in her past that should make her choose mercy, but when it counts, that’s exactly what she does. And I could not love her more.

Also lbr. I pretty much died when she figured out that Mike, Hopper, and everyone else were in danger and was just like, peace out motherfuckers, I gotta save my friends and family. Not all heroes wear capes. Some of them wear a lot of eyeliner and hair gel:)

Final thoughts: I’m super surprised they waited this long to reunite El and Mike. I really do not want to watch Bob Newby die. I’m glad Jonathan and Nancy are together but I still find my interest waning whenever they’re the focus. Omg WHY AM I LOVING STEVE HARRINGTON?