#if mike was more human. it would literally be them lol

[thenormalenjoyerr]

oh my fucking god mike and vanessa sbau are house and wilson house md

[rustedhills]

Somewhat articulate Kris thoughts, ch. 3+4 edition. Heads-up for spoilers and discussion of the series' themes of familial abuse. And why "Kris is evil actually" sucks.

Man, the ending of ch. 4 is genuinely kind of heartbreaking, and even more terrible in a way than any of the others--because it's so obvious that Kris is just a kid dealing with way too much.

Beyond the Knight stuff, the delta warrior stuff, the prophecy... Kris is just the town weird kid who came home with a friend, saw their mom dancing wine-drunk with the convenience store guy (after an entire Divorce Gameshow Extravaganza and a Horrible Visit to Noelle's Household ft. her abusive mom ft. horrible soul hockey, not to mention all the exhausting darkworld adventuring), and who just has to deal with all that. Unrelated but someone noted that Susie saw a drunk parent and immediately left and I can't stop thinking about it.

Kris is pulling their soul out more and more--maybe we just haven't seen it until now, but it seems like they've had to do this for a while (Toriel mentions that Kris just runs the tap and acts chaotic on impulse sometimes, lol how quirky amirite anyways) and no-one has recognized or been able to help, except now Noelle (hopefully that proceeds well?). But of course, monsters don't have souls--and Kris needs a lot of help with a lot of things that their parents etc. just can't handle. Toriel checking out that book on human care so much speaks to that lack of resources / knowledge.

Even amongst their family, Asgore is a complete outcast, Asriel is away at college, and a lot of the adults in town are nice but ultimately unable to help them. Take away the fantasy, and you're left with a community of friendly but ineffectual guardians who can't--or won't--recognize that Kris is dealing with chronic mental and physical issues. Susie is the bad kid, Kris is a nobody, and Noelle is the nice girl. They all have to fight to be seen as anything other than the stereotypes people envision them as.

Maybe that's why the dark world is so fun(?) for Susie and Noelle--you can literally fight the things that hurt you. Lancer's dad sucks, so Susie gets to have her big arc by telling him off. Queen is controlling, so Noelle triumphantly says "no" to her. But Kris...?

HOLY [[Cungadero1997]]!!! KRIS, YOU [[little sponge]], YOU'RE FUCKED!!

Every character whose insecurity ties into Kris' own--Tenna's desperation as a tool turned to trash, trying to keep a drifting family together, Spamton's garbage life as a puppet controlled by a voice on the phone... they fucking fail. I think they're ok on some level? Even Berdly gets to have a more cathartic end-of-chapter arc than Kris!

Kris isn't Evil, or the ultimate secret bad guy, or whatever. They're a traumatized kid clinging to any guardian figure they have, even when that guardian is overly controlling and potentially abusive towards them, just so long as they promise a way out of the present situation. Especially Carol and Mike (if the voice on the phone is indeed Mike).

Like, with all the marionette strings and fucked up families in the previous chapters, it's safe to say that Kris is in a bad situation (thematically and narratively), and deserves empathy--even when / if they do hurt others. In the next few chapters, they'll likely lash out in some really nasty and terrible ways, but... so would a lot of people.

So would a lot of [[BIG SHOT]] [[puppets]]

[dungeon-master-mike]

disclaimer: this is a really wack theory, i'm aware. but bare w me, or don't lol.

All of Mike's closet is blue. All his blankets are blue. His basement carpet is blue. His bedroom walls are blue. Almost all his outfits the whole show contain blue including his shoes from S3.

He even wraps himself up with a blue blanket at the Byers. (mike is gonna fucking love the song i'm blue)

I would think this was typical color coding... If this show wasn't about a group of people exploring a dimension that's you know, entirely fucking blue. This is what initially caught my attention. It's just.. Too much to not mean something.

Mike's nickname is 'Frogface,' which is strange. The rest of the kids' nicknames are all discriminatory, but frogface? What makes this more interesting is the fact within the life cycle of the Demogorgons, the first two stages are frog-like. They're even given names based on that. This is from the Upside Down section of the S1/S2 BTS book. Dustin and the group have a discussion on this in show. This nickname may serve as foreshadowing.

and then.. there's this on the same page... alright.

(i am just now realizing how much this picture reminds me of The Thing, in a way lol)

Mike in season 5 is wearing a sweater with literal democreature heads on it. It's not subtle at all.

During their tunnel mission in s2, Steve says this. Very weird wording. I go into that a little here.

Every film/story hung up or mentioned by Mike are all about an alien or someone from another planet (except Conan). In superman, the dark crystal, star wars and conan the barbarian, the main characters are all orphans. Even in Lord of the rings, another story brought up by Mike, the main character is an orphan. Really would be a big coincidence if this wasn't intentional.

I've made a separate post discussing it, but The Thing being in Mike's basement and staying for the entire show really intrigues me. I do think, in some way, Mike is the show's Thing.

Star Wars is a new poster for Mike in S5 as well 👀 (assuming at least)

Now, I'm not saying that Mike isn't human and is from the Upside Down. Except, that's exactly what I'm saying. I hate saying it because it sounds so fucking bizarre LMFAO. but that's kinda what i'm getting from all this? Like, once you connect all the weird things about Mike and his place in his family, it begins to make sense. It explains almost everything I've seen people mention about Mike in regards to the supernatural.

(get ready for a bunch of whys and hows cause it's a fuck ton, i apologize)

It's why/how:

- He literally drowns himself in blue. Maybe on some sort of subconscious level, it reminds him of the UD. Or perhaps it's just foreshadowing.

-Smalltown Boy is in his playlist. It serves as double meaning. The show would essentially be tying his queerness with the sci-fi/supernatural side of the story. Mike realizing why he's felt different his whole life - He's gay, but also an alien. Because he's a humanoid alien, no one suspects a thing - not even him. Because he's not visibly queer, no one suspects a thing.

- Karen treats him differently compared to Nancy. (Do Karen and Ted know where he's from? That's another discussion. But I think they're hiding the fact he's adopted). It's there if you choose to acknowledge it. This feels like one of the biggest pieces of evidences because of the way the show avoids addressing the reason why.

- Mike is there in the demogorgon life cycle for some reason. If it were for scale comparison, a height would've been provided. Height isn't mentioned anywhere in the book. The section is called "monster morphology"

- Mike was so sure Karen would take El in.

- Mike's wearing that fuckass sweater next season (foreshadowing)

- Vecna calls Mike "his friend" and knows who he is.

- Mike is suspiciously in frame when the others talk about people being flayed and who is the actual source of everything. Will mentions trapping something up there with them when El closed the gate. Hm. "If the brain dies the body dies." Well, a heart's also important. And who is that again?

- all these shots exist (+ fuck ton more). Mike is consistently framed as being part of the UD or "a monster" all along that nobody is seeing, fitting in with his whole invisibility

- He somehow reaches into the UD on Halloween

- He manages to pull Will out of his visions so easily

- Mike is always there when Will senses something connected to the UD approaching or nearby.

- He saw El in the void (the same way that Demogorgon did),

- He intuitively knows so much more than he should about the UD despite not even having gone there, and when he eventually does, it's only briefly. And he just so happens to get grabbed by the vine while he's escaping.. Just to be okay? Change nothing narratively? Okay.

- All the stalker shots

- Mike looks nothing like his family

- He's visually set apart from his family consistently. Giving very much an orphan not fitting in.

-Why they posted this picture of Mike during s5 filming. The same photo that's meant to be with the rest of the family photos but is for some reason singled out... and sat over a children's version of a story that is about a family.

- There's two episodes that feature the name "Monster." "The Monster" 1x06. Mike makes El feel like a monster. "The Monster and the Superhero" 4x03. Mike and El fight in this episode. El is the superhero... So who is the monster?

- My mutual @bobokahn also brought up that Mike may be hearing things others aren't in these scenes. Mike already has his ears covered before Lucas and Dustin..

- The demogorgon imagery in his basement and his weird looking lamp that suspiciously looks like a demogorgon egg or something alike (not saying it actually is though lol. imagine that tho).

-He also has a board game that remains in the same spot the entire show called "Upwords." "Family Fued" is taken away after s1 while the stack remains the same..

Upwords....

- Mike seems like he's missing something. My mutual @brionysea explains perfectly here what I mean.

The list goes on and on but you get the idea.

@madwheelerz also made a post about this a while back. it's actually what first made me look into this more.

(referring to a kid literally named Mikhail. fucking MIKHAIL!!!)

essentially mike next season:

[artisticbarghest]

A defense of William Afton as a villain (not as a person though, lol)

Because of all the new Dead by Daylight Springtrap voicelines, a lot of people are starting to realize that William Afton really always was a theatrical villain, with very little strategy in his plans (outside of the Funtime animatronics, of course). But they're also saying that this makes him a disappointing villain, which I heavily disagree with. It fits his character to be like this, honestly. Afton was an abusive father with a fragile ego, and he preyed on children solely because they were vulnerable and easy to lure. As Springtrap, he's ecstatic. He's in pain, but the pain is worth the power that the springlock suit has given him. He doesn't have to be careful anymore, he doesn't have to go after kids only, he can do whatever he wants, and it's very hard to stop him.

It's shown perfectly in every canon appearance of Afton, too. In The silver Eyes, as a human, he was theatrical, and also negligent, because he was able to get away with his crimes before. In The Twisted Ones, he was very powerful and ecstatic as Springtrap. In The Fourth Closet, he wasn't as energetic, but he had an even bigger ego, and that was his downfall. In Pizzeria simulator, he literally fell for the trap at the beginning, and immediately lied about falling for it to Mike, to make himself look smart.

William Afton isn't the smartest villain ever, but he's still a cruel one, and the cruelty is the point for him.

He eventually got curious and experimented (for example, when he placed the children's bodies by the Toy animatronics to see if they'd become possessed, and also the whole concept of the Funtime animatronics), but overall, his motives were very much implied from the start to be pure cruelty. Not every villain needs a dramatic and sad origin story, and Afton is a great example of that. William is a pathetic man and he knows it, which is why the springlock suit makes him feel so much more alive than before.

His ego and sadism drives his entire being. He's reckless in his methods because of it, and that's one of his only weaknesses. He's disgusted by "William Afton". He can't feel powerful without the suit in the games, the books, or the movie. He hates his own guts, and he doesn't mind them being torn to pieces by springlocks, if it means that he gets to be Springtrap.

Personally, I think all of that just makes him a better villain. FNAF is all about hidden lore, and for the longest time, people tried way too hard to see what made the main villain the way he is, but it was in plain sight the whole time. There is never ONE scene with any version of Afton that paints him to be a tragic character. He's pure evil, but realistically so. Springtrap is still a great villain, because only the worst kind of person would prey on the most vulnerable, and then take it up to the next level as soon as they're able to, all because it's fun.

THANK YOU FOR READING THIS! :)

[stormythalamus]

My take on Mileven vs Byler debate:

Since the new teaser dropped and we’re all back at each other’s throats again, I’ve been thinking about how I want the couples to play out in the next season and thought I’d share my thoughts here weee

Okay here we go:

Just to be clear, I don’t care if you like Mileven or Byler or whatever else. These characters are not real, it's not that deep. Mileven’s and Byler’s can exist in peace and harmony I promise. A fair warning though, this post is definitely more anti-Mileven because it’s not my cup of tea, although I would love to hear Mileven’s thoughts on these points!! I personally have always hated the Mike x Eleven ship, mainly because I thought it was gross how this young girl had no concept of friends or family before being thrusted into a long-term romance at the age of twelve. After being controlled and used by men her entire life. I didn’t like how Eleven asked Mike to be her brother the same day they started dating, I didn’t like how overly obsessed they were with each other in season 3, I really didn’t like having to watch them make out for multiple minutes straight. That being said, I understand why people do enjoy it; they follow the classic Damsel / Savior trope to an extent, with who being what changing depending on the season. However, in reality, their relationship has done nothing but negatively impact them both in the long run. 

Jumping to season 4, their objectively worst season as a couple, we have the internal thoughts of these two characters and what they want for themselves laid out very clearly: 

Mike wants to be needed by someone/feel useful. 

Eleven wants to be normal, and later, grow into herself/her duty. 

Already, these motivations clash. We already saw this in season 3, when Mike gets insanely jealous over Eleven and Max becoming friends. Mike needs to feel needed by someone, and that someone has always been El. That was literally the foundation of their relationship; that Mike saved Eleven from the bad men, therefore becoming a hero in her and his own eyes. However, as Eleven begins to grow away from Mike and into herself as a human being, Mike begins to stress about losing her completely. In my opinion, this is why I believe he said he loves her in season 3, moreso out of fear than out of true love (maybe fear is too strong a word; more like inadequacy on his own part). 

Now, going back to season 4, this insecurity has grown substantially. Mike is now unable to tell Eleven he loves her, and Eleven constantly lies to Mike in order to be good enough for him. However, the most telling part of this season is Mike and Eleven’s relationship in relation to Will. Will does need Mike, and has expressed this time and time again over the course of all the seasons. Eleven, on the other hand, wants to grow away from Mike, and into a person outside of her relationship. I think people tend to overlook how insane El’s story is in fear of infantilizing her, however I think it’s very important to note that El’s life has been:

Raised in a lab until she was 12

Met Mike and Party, knew them for a week, began her relationship with Mike

Didn’t see Mike (or anyone, or anything, other than Hopper) for almost an entire year

Immediately resumes relationship with Mike, barely acknowledging her other friends, or doing anything with Mike other than kissing

Meets Max, gets a taste of what it’s like to be independent, immediately breaks up with Mike lol

Gets thrown into another life or death situation, forcing their relationship back together

Moves away and doesn’t know how to talk to him about how horrible her life is in fear of messing something up

Do you notice a thread here? Eleven has been constantly controlled and influenced significantly by those around her for her entire life. The closest she ever got to true independence was in California, but she was still being tethered by stress about Mike’s view of her and a complete lack of awareness of how school works (which, Joyce, homeschooling really wasn’t an option??)

People get dogged on all the time for saying El isn’t ready for a relationship, and I genuinely cannot understand why, because she clearly is not. She is a strong character with a good heart, but her complete lack of solo personal development makes the dynamic between the two feel odd and imbalanced. This is further emphasized by the insane pedestal Mike places Eleven on, calling her a superhero, something that she is, at least in my eyes, not fond of at all. Eleven hates having to be a savior all the time; she just wants to be normal. One point people like to bring up is how Mike is overly protective of Eleven in season 3 when he believes her to be over exerting herself, blaming Max for treating her like a machine. But… is this not just another form of control?? Let Eleven decide what her limits are! That is not Mike’s call. His overprotectiveness borders on obsession, clearly stemming from his need to be needed. If he isn’t there to help El, who will? Or… if he isn’t there to help El, what use is he? 

Now, back to Will, more specifically his painting for Mike. As we’ve established, Mike needs to feel important. He tells Will about his worries that Eleven won’t need him anymore, as she is growing and becoming even more powerful and important to the world than she has ever been. Will then presents Mike with the painting, saying that “these past few months, she’s been so lost without you. She’s just so different from other people, and when you're different, sometimes you feel like a mistake. But you make her feel like she's not a mistake at all, like she's better for being different. And that’s what gives her the courage to fight on.”

Interestingly, this is exactly what Mike wants to hear! Eleven loves him, she needs him, she feels lost without him. And this whole speech is what motivates Mike to tell Eleven that he loves her. Except… literally none of it is true. Mike is literally telling Eleven he loves her on completely false pretenses. He can finally say I love you to a version of Eleven that Will created. Even better, Will is just talking about himself in this scene! None of what he said even applies to Eleven. Eleven does not need Mike. She has made that clear. She loves Mike, but she does not need him. There is a clear distinction there, one that is very important when discussing Mike’s feelings. And the cherry on top of this nightmare sundae is that Mike and Eleven do not speak for the rest of the season after this confession. We literally end the season with El ignoring Mike and Mike going to talk to Will. Like??? I am so sorry but the fact that Mileven shippers consider this romantic or promising is laughable to me. Mike confessing that he loves Will’s fictional caricature of Eleven is NOT romantic!!1! And I’m pretty sure El knows something was up with that confession, too. I’m excited to see how they deal with the fallout in season 5. 

Okay, now for a slightly unrelated point: let’s compare Mike and Eleven to Lucas and Max. Now I think we can all agree Lucas and Max have a much stronger relationship than Mike and Eleven. If you disagree, I implore you to rewatch the show with your eyes open. From the way they handle disagreements (ex: Lucas confronting Max about ignoring him vs. Mike confronting El in season 4) to the way they are written, to the way that the actors talk about them, Lumax is clearly meant to be a much more serious, stable relationship. While we see them have disagreements, there is no doubt about how strongly Lucas feels for Max. And there never was; that was an intentional writing decision. Something that always stood out to me as noteworthy was the fact that in season 3, Lucas mentions how Max has dumped him multiple times, but that he was able to win her over every single time. These breakups are not shown on screen. Whereas with Mike and El, their breakups are literally all we see. Clearly, the writers want us to focus on how Lucas and Max have stayed a strong couple by honing in on their resilience and care regarding their relationship by mentioning, but not centering, on their teenage breakups. However, the exact opposite is true for Mike and Eleven; we are intentionally being shown their silly teenage drama and breakups, because that is what the writers think is important about their relationship. I’m honestly surprised more people don’t talk about this. And yes, Mike and Eleven do come to resolutions after their fights, but they are never very… strong, or taken seriously. People have talked this point into the ground, but Mike crumpling up two of Eleven’s letters on screen, and even throwing one in the trash, is like… wow. Interesting choice if he’s so in love with her. Especially with the way he reacts to Will’s painting. All this to say, Lumax solos. 

At the end of the day, I don’t really give a shit if Mike ends up with Will or El. I would honestly prefer neither just because the absolute outrage on both sides would be funny. But I do think he’s much more compatible with Will. I will say, I think the Duffer Brothers have dug themselves into quite the deep hole here. I genuinely cannot see a way where everyone will be happy with the outcome of this season. On one hand, Mike and Eleven could resolve their issues, Mike would friendzone Will, and Will’s entire character for the past two seasons will have been dedicated to suffering and uplifting a straight couple at his own detriment. Not a great look. Especially since in season 4, literally all Will did was be sad about his feelings for Mike, while simultaneously trying to help his relationship. Maybe I have too much faith in Netflix, but the fact that the writers decided to make Will gay and in love with Mike makes me believe in Byler being canon more than anything else, solely because there was literally zero reason to include that plot line other than to make Will’s already miserable life even harder. They could’ve very easily introduced a new character in season 2 or 3 as a love interest for Will, while exploring his isolation and self-hatred by having Mike and the rest of the Party help him feel more comfortable in himself. The fact that a large portion of his character is his feelings for Mike is going to make it look very bad if they don’t end up together in the end. 

nOn the other hand, if Mike and Will get together, I imagine the reaction from the GA is going to be… horrific. Not even considering the staggering amount of homophobia, the confusion alone from a casual viewer may be enough to not make them have Byler become a couple. I will say, it would be a lot to have in one season, especially since Will hasn’t even come out as gay yet in the show. I actually had to tell my mom he was gay after finishing season 4; she didn’t even pick up on it. I can’t imagine how confused a casual viewer would be if Mike suddenly broke up with his four seasons long girlfriend to get with her step-brother in the last season. But in that case, why would you let it go on this long??? And who is telling Finn Wolfhard to look at Will Byers like he hung the stars???? And why is there a One Way sign pointing to his closet????? And WHYY are they letting their cast members (ie Noah) hype it up so much if it’s not happening!????? I literally need the next season because I cannot even fathom what the plan is to fix this absolute mess of a love triangle they’ve created. It’s either gonna go down in history as the best queer slowburn ever or the worst queerbaiting case in existence. I bet I’ll enjoy it either way, since Will has been my favorite character for a while and he’s clearly taking center stage this season! Very exciting. 

Congrats if you made it this far, hope this all made sense. It’s like 3am and I just wanted to write about this for some reason lollll. I havent done a rewatch in a minute so hopefully there’s nothing inaccurate in here : )

[yaseraphine]

RANT ABOUT THERAPY AND WHY IT'S NOT MY CUP OF TEA 🤡

+ trying to guess the therapist's rising and our synastry and ranting about it cause I am tired man (and too sensitive lol)

Really messy post btw just a disclaimer lol

(Update 23/11/24 : I might have slightly overreacted 🤡😀😁 lol plus maybe the therapist was actually a Taurus rising lol idk man I am confused as fuck about everything bye 😝🤪🫡)

Just had my first therapist appointment since 2021 and what can I say....it was REALLY awkward. I don't know how people are able to spill their deepest traumas like that bro she just sat down and told me to talk 💀 like what I thought she would interview me or start the first appointment with pre-made questions to make a profile, regarding my background, family relationships,etc .. It was really messy and I was so confused throughout the whole thing.

I understand it's a privilege to afford therapy (it was 60euros for 45 minutes lol of course it is) but it is much more complex than just spilling your guts to a random with a degree.

Something about me is that I always thought i didn't really need therapy, no matter how painful a situation was for me. And it wasn't only therapy, it was also opening up to my own friends 💀 i could take care of myself like i always did anyways so whats the point of paying for it ? I understood people who needed it and felt helped by it. But it just wasn't for me. I have realizations on my own consistantly thanks to my self-awareness and trained and developped intuition.

What pushed me to go back to therapy even though i was , and still am, very skeptical in its effectiveness on me, is that this year, I realized asking for help won't actually kill me and that i have my limits as a human being.

I fear this appointment just unfortunately kind of validated my initial more negative feelings towards therapy and the idea that I don't really need it.

As a really introspective and painfully self-aware person who has a hard time asking for help (but is actively working on it), I really don't know what kind of therapy could help me, really. I know I probably have a few blind spots, but it's so out of my comfort zone to open up like that. I kind of hate it.

I want to keep an open mind, and probably try another therapist but damn if I don't f*ck with any, it just feels forced .. I trust divine timing for that because I don't really want to put myself in such a situation again.

Right now, I feel dirty knowing a random woman knows about my deepest traumas in a really messy and all over the place way. She has fragments of my soul, and despite me having somewhat giving my consent for it, it was too fast. Maybe it's my 8th house moon conjunct Lilith (1181) in Leo that is speaking but I feel literally violated. Strong words but this how uncomfortable it was for me.

Guessing the therapist's rising sign and ranting about 12th house synastry...

Random but I think the therapist in question had a Virgo or Leo rising... I already said it's the most common rising signs (especially virgo) and I am losing patience. We probably had a 12th house synastry that's why our exchange was really weird and scattered. She kept on making weird faces while I was talking telling me she didn't understand what I was trying to say.... I know it all too well because EVERY single person I knew or had interacted with that had a leo rising, my interactions with them were like this. I was saying stuff and it felt like it went in one ear and got out in the other. Like they could hear me but not listen and understand what i was trying to say. This kind of reminds me of Willy Wonka's relationship with Mike TV or wth his name is, in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory Tim Burton's movie. Wonka always said stuff to him whenever he opened his mouth like "I cannot hear a single thing you say because you're speaking gibberish"or whatever. (Me being Mike TV and Leo risings being Willy Wonka).

This is how every single one of my interactions with Leo risings went, no matter their gender or age. It was always like that.

[freeeggbailiffcash]

Appreciation post for my favourite art-ISTS

Im the kind of person to hyperfixate on a fandom for extended amount of time and am stuck between wishing that artist/creator to make more works (songs/films/novels) and wishing I get amnesia so I can fall in love with it all over again lol.

#1 Guy Ritchie

There's a lot of Guy Ritchie works that I adore; from Lock,Shot and Two Barells to Man from UNCLE to the Gentlemen Universe. I love the signature cinematography, the comedic quips and sleek setting of gangster/mob trope.

The female characters he created were iconic; Roz and Susie Glass are my favs😍😍😍 honestly queen icons. I also loved the inclusion of combining Americana flair with posh British drama.

I honestly can't wait for the next season of the Gentlemen series (kinda bummed that we dont get to see more of Mickey and Roz but Eddie and Susie's chemistry and tension are to die for ngl)

#2 Mike Flannagan

I think I've watched all series by Mike Flannagan, (sans Midnight Mass, I've tried three times starting from episode 1 and still gets kinda confused so I dont enjoy it as much as the others)

Haunting of Hill House and Haunting of Bky Manor are both heartwrenching. I love the symbolisms, the damning parallels the devestating ending for some of the characters. Between the two, I loved Hill house more—the horror element was really exquisite.

The plot twist where Nell was the ine haunting himself, the doomed narrative and Poppy Hill subtle manipulations were all beautifully executed. I would love to see more of the victims of Hill House.

The Fall of the House of Usher is another fav of mine!! Generally, I really like the way Mike Flannagan adapts the series he does from famour author's like Shirley and Edgar Allan poe. I love how he combines Poe's works; while I don't extensively follow or read ALL of Poe's works, I do recognize the little details and honestly it's so satisfying seeing it brought to life.

In all the series that he does, (aside from the similar actors bsing re-casted) I kinda like how he ties up the storyline with a neat plot twist and I know several people have mentioned this, but I love that in the horror stories he does, the ultimate device is not gore or indulgant bloodspill or jumpscares. Instead, the plot device, Flannagan uses is the inherent element of love being the binding tool that led people to their doom (Nell's love for her deceased husband, Eleanor's love for her children fueling her paranoia) and human's greed (in midnight mass and Fall of House Usher) that makes the story so grounded.

Another series that I love and am honestly surprised was not directed by him is The Residents because the style and twist were kinda similar to Flannagans.

#3 Lin-Manuel Miranda

Credit video to its owner: theplayerslist

Miranda did a lot of banger for Disney (Encanto, Moana etc) but I absolute love Hamilton and In the Heights. The man's a lyrical genius, enough said.

Hamilton was a game changer honestly, and truthfully he really suited Hamilton's character (sans the cheating part😅😅) because Alexander Hamilton was depicted as this eccentric genius whose tenacity and resilience made him him distinctive and Miranda kinda have those qualities.

In the interviews, how he's kinda this awkward successful theathre kid but the way his mind works is honestly astounding and I kinda hope he does more work outisde of the Disney films (Disney's recent films kinda suck)

#4 Mamat Khalid

One of the best Film makers in Malaysia. I like the Kampung Pisang Universe—the iconic Hussin character and all the kamoung people (will forever miss pak abu and seriously? I wanna live in Kamoung Pisang so bad)

The ambience he brings in his films, the comedic plot and hilarious dialogues as well as amazing execution from them all are literally just chef's kiss.

I like the Perak accent? (Betul kan perak? "Kome ingat teman tahu ke bende ni?") I love all the local elements here and it's honestly so unique and I feel it does bear some semblance of resemblance to P Ramlee's works but distinctive in its own way.

Personally, I kinda detest certain parochial and crude themes that was tossed in it but had to chalk it off as just part of the jokes inserted there.

Hantu Kak Limah and Zombie Kamoung Pisang are honestly my go to comfort shows.

#5 Anuar Darwisy

I feel like Anuar Darwisy is a bit similar with Mike Flannagan in that they both really utilizes the exact momentum to execute their plot twist.

Though in Anuar Dariwsy's case, the horror and supernatural element is inherently scarier and I absolute love all the historical Malay culture within his works.

Amukan Jembalang Tanah—Kedah's lores

Ngauman cindaku—Pahang's lore

The Story Of Maria-an amazing masterpiece combining Western horror takes and the added setting of Covid era was honestly a nice touch. Lagi2 bila dia cerita pasal kat Bangi kan, so sis kat UKM tu dah meremang dah lol

Anuar Darwisy is honestly so underrated and his works are simply spectacular. Reading every paragraph is like having a frame by frame cinematic shot happening inside my brain and honestly couldn't helo but wanting more.

The details, the amount of research he did are always astounding and lowkey excited for his newest novel (AAAHHHH DIA BUAT PASAL DANCER HANTU WEYHHH IM SO FREAKING EXCITED SEBAB MY KAKHRI SOULMATES AU PON ADE PASAL ULEK MAYANG SO I CANT BELIEVE MY FAVOURITE AUTHOR WOULD WRITE A STORY ABOUT THAT)

#6 Linkin Park

I have nothing to say except that Linkin Park is like my coping mechanism anytime I get depressed. I love all their albums especially Meteora and A Thousand Suns.

#7 Eminem

I don't like Eminem just for his Not Afraid song. I think as a whole Eminem is lowkey kinda little shit but that's the energy Im going for in life sebab life's a bitch and sometimes being too nice is kinda taxing.

I think Eminem songs are kinda what got me into liking rap a lot enough that I delved into other rappers like NF, Altimet, Malique, Joe Flizzow and Kmy Kmo.

Eminem and LP are lowkey the songs I turn to whenevr I hit my more depressive moods (which makes my sister argue sebab why the fuck does my sad playlist have Eminem's Killshot and Kamikaze in it🤣🤣🤣)

[otakween]

Digimon Frontier: Island of Lost Digimon

This was actually pretty fun! It wasn't the strongest Digimon movie by a long shot, but it was good as a Frontier side story. It was nice to see them revisit the whole "beast digimon vs. human digimon" conflict that they didn't do much with in the show. Also, I got to see my Digimon World 3 friends again! They were super cute.

Notes:

I enjoyed Izumi humming Funiculi Funicula in the intro to the movie. For a split second I thought it was Bolero and was about to throw hands lol.

What the HECK were they riding on in the opening? It wasn't really a Trailmon it was more like a Mike Wazowski themed rail cart. They, of course, never explained.

This movie's aesthetic was really weird. I don't know if it was necessarily higher quality animation. It kinda looked like they took the usual level of quality and put a "cinema" filter over it or something. Also some of the "shots" were weirdly cropped and almost blurry. IDK if that's just because there isn't a clean copy on the internet or if it was a stylistic choice. At least the characters are super on model, which is more than I can say for the show!

Speaking of animation quality, they were a little too obsessed with using CGI in this movie. It looked really bad and added nothing lol. Also, what was with the neon disco rave tanks? They felt extremely out of place.

Once again we get a lot of unnecessary focus on Izumi's butt...

So many new (or new-ish) background digimon! I kept being like "ooh, who's that?" I really liked the bunny-with-razors-for-ears design. It's funny how they debut new digimon in the movies and games, it almost feels like they're testing them out.

The original title is more like "The Revival of the Ancient Digimon." I can see why they would change that cuz it sort of feels like a big spoiler.

Kotemon and Bearmon were super cute. It was exciting to see their anime forms. They had really nice voices as well (in Japanese and English). Kinda wish I had watched this before DW3 instead of the other way around, whoops!

They used the exact same plot of "evil character encourages war to resurrect evil monster via the sacrifice of many" in the isekai series I'm Standing on a MIllion Lives. Makes me wonder how many fantasy series have used that. It must be a more common trope than I thought.

Why does this one digimon look like Impmon and My Melody had a baby?

The whole "beast vs. human" thing still feels silly when half of the "human" side doesn't actually look that human. I could totally see Dinohumon be considered a "beast" in a different series. (Maybe it's a metaphor for how racism is dumb and makes no logical sense).

The visual of digieggs flying and baby digimon being all over the place due to the ongoing war was interesting. I guess they couldn't go to the Village of Beginnings because the island is blocked off from the rest of the digital world?

One CGI scene literally looked like the 3D maze screensaver from Windows 98 lol

Kinda rolled my eyes when Bokomon said that Murmukusmon (what a mouthful) could turn into any digimon. What OP power will they think of next? Also, we only saw him digivolve into two digimon, so I'm not that impressed.

That final battle was pure chaos and I had a lot of trouble following wth was going on. I didn't know why AncientGreymon/AncientGarurumon were suddenly there so I googled it. Apparently it was due to "the power of Kotemon's sacrifice and Bearmon's tears"...riiiight. Shounen movie logic.

AncientGreymon looks amazing and AncientGarurumon looks..aight lol. I'm totally biased to prefer beast-like digimon

Kinda anticlimactic to have two "spirits" do the dirty work instead of our heroes, not gonna lie. Maybe if we had met AncientGreymon and AncientGarurumon before and had some level of emotional attachment to them it would have been more impactful.

The new mural with the Frontier MCs and Bearmon/Kotemon at the end was cute

[rogers-attic]

unpopular american dad opinions:

((im not saying my opinions are right, this is just how i feel personally about certain things in regards to the show))

- raptures delight is SEVERLY overrated. while it is an okay xmas ep, the apocalyptic part had a cool art style/music, and a quick golden turd callback, i just personally think some of the other xmas eps are better and its just really over hyped

- hot water is another ep that i feel the same way as the ep mentioned above, as well as daddys gone, which occurs in the same ep. its just not that great of an ep imho and it was kinda a weak series premiere. i think the hurricane ep wouldve been a better series premiere (the ep after hot water).

*side note: i have watched both these eps more than once and tried to give them a chance. they really dont do anything for me, im sorry*

- fox era was WAAAY better. while the tbs era has its bangers, it seems like its hit or miss for good eps in this era. they just dont seem as funny to me sometimes as the fox era ones and i feel like its a chore to watch a lot of eps from this era. while its still the same show, i also feel the vibe and quality changed after the switch too, if you get what im saying.

- while am dad has a LOT of original songs that are bangers, like b12 and good not great, some of them, like cilantros song and daddys gone (like i previously mentioned), are just too overrated. they get so much love and attention and are just overused/over hyped to the point where its not enjoyable and like the eps I mentioned about, arent that spectacular imho.

- the season 4 to present intro is my favorite! while some may call it lazy to just reuse roger personas, i think its a nice callback to previous outfits he has wore. i like to play a game with myself every time i watch those intros and try to remember which ep he wore said disguise in. yes, the newspaper ones were cool, especially the office spaceman one, and they could probably come up with more headlines than personas, they would run out of those eventually as well, and the roger ones are more eye opening and catchy.

- jeff is the best bf for hayley. now this is def an obvious one but avery was waaay to old for her and only dated him bcuz jeff wasnt assertive enough, reggie is a freaking animal, and that ian guy was so they could double date. plus, hayley had been with jeff way before any of those others came into the pic. while jeff has his flaws, so does hayley but at the end of the day, they are very much alike and have unconditional love for each other.

- klaus is a great character! while it can be cringy a lot, doesnt always get the spotlight, and is the meg of american dad, in his words “he is the glue that holds the family together” and the show wouldnt be the same without him.

- roger is NOT overrated, annoying, or unfunny. while some may say that roger is overrated and too used, he is a main character of the show after all and gets a lot of screen time because the crew know he is a fan favorite. his mischief, promiscuous behavior, costumes, and having no filter is what makes him hilarious. for an alien, he is very human and makes us all relate to him heavily. in an old interview i watched, mike barker stated roger is like the guest star every episode because of his hundreds and hundreds of outfits. and to ppl out there saying he is annoying because of the way he acts, that is literally his character like wtf grow up and learn lol

[imunbreakabledude]

resident alien 4x04

for some reason this ep wasn't available online until today but yay here i am! (spoilers below as i type out thoughts while i watch)

not sure how I feel about the "harry is no longer attracted to heather because he is human now" bit. on one hand, it is funny. on another hand, I don't like the implication that humans can't be into aliens cuz humans are freaks! on a third hand, I like a wrench between them because no hate to heather but her and harry like, settling down together, is not exactly what i wanna see. on yet another hand, this whole thing almost makes it seem like they wanna set up harry ending up with a human, but then - are they ACTUALLY SERIOUS about that or just teasing, part of me would be happy to see a serious relationship arc with him and asta but another part of me wants it to to stay just out of reach in secret "romaplatonic" territory... and ALSO, even if i want to see them together, I want it with harry as an alien! that's part of the sauce that makes it special! I dont want it to feel like "now i love you because i am a human and it's no longer freaky to do so". but we'll see how this all plays out...

am i crazy or has Dan not been in s4 like, at all, yet? i've just noticed in diner scenes he hasn't been popping up as much? maybe he was there briefly and I missed it? but now that I've thought about it I miss him a lot! I hope it's not just oversight because he's a great character - i went to look up Gary Farmer to see if there was a reason he's otherwise busy but idk. i would be sad if there's no real reason and they just kinda forgot about him

as much as it made sense to draw out the aliens being secret from most characters thing for a while, it is fun to see more people drawn in the know. to have cleaning up alien guts be a fun Girl Group activity (weird Kayla doesn't wanna do that!!)

also I especially enjoy d'arcy and asta having not much else going on other than managing alien adventures together it's extremely girlfriends of them. let's keep it this way forever. no more romance or character arcs for either of them, let them be frozen in this state of "have their shit together a little bit but not completely and remain attached at each other's sides" for all of time

"maybe not in front of the kids" "they know where they came from!" "maybe not in front of ME" - this show continues to get at least one genuine LOL (literal) from me each episode

if i had the right extensions to be able to screenshot web video players rn i would be posting so many screenshots of d'arcy and asta just girlfriending about, making sassy faces together or clutching each other. but alas i do not have such extensions right now

lmao at d'arcy and asta being like "we'll go bury that alien!" and then making judy do the whole thing. they don't even have shovels! also "does kissing a girl once make you gay?" way to call out your friends standing right there judy. does kissing your friend probably on and off for most of your adult lives make you gay? big for d'asta if true

okay.... lena talking up her lesbian colleague... WILL this go where i hope it goes?

lena's judgy face @ mike after he mentions aliens immediately awakens something in me LMFAO because ALL the best maevelena moments have her lookin judgy like that

still holding out small hope for ben/kate/d'arcy throuple situation - that would be my one acceptable divergence from "d'arcy and asta both have nothing romantic going on with anyone else and are just attached at the hip"

harry using asta's jacket as a blankie... and thus my squirrel-like attention span flips back to hasta mode for the next 2 minutes

i love how every single alien on earth in this show wants to propose to someone after hooking up for a few weeks... EXCEPT harry, who has sired ??? absurd number of children from different parents and not married one (well except the wife he didn't want from real human harry)

no but like this isn't gonna last, right? what's gonna go wrong now...

oh ok that went wrong fast lmao

contrary to what i am saying about rooting for lena to go be with the lesbian FBI agent i am not actually rooting against he ran dmike, their dynamic has grown on me. just, if it is not going to last forever, her being with a woman would be my preferred way for it to to be written out. for... reasons.

also i just have to say. nicola looks so fucking good. she always does, not news. but fuck she is sexy!!!!!

big news, kate spotted actually taking care of her son for the first time in years

it's kinda hilarious how ben and kate are going thru this whole "omg aliens are real we need to learn everything we can" thing and seem to have completely forgotten how their SON had a phase where he claimed to see aliens in their town. haven't followed up on that whatsoever. i will say it's also a LITTLE funny that max hasn't picked up on the fact that his parents are getting all weird and whispering about aliens now, but that's more understandable given he is the child and they are his parents. like even aside from the whole "being good parents" thing (seems almost intentional at this point that ben and kate don't give a shit about max lol) you'd think they would remember that it might be helpful for their new mission to find their baby, to realize their elder child actually knows more about aliens than they do. like i do hope the writers have some plan to deal with this family at SOME point because if this is setting up some gag when they mutually realize they're mucking in alien stuff it might be funny but if it's just a lazy way to extend the arcs of this season because things would be "solved" too fast if parents and child spoke to each other, then it's kinda lame

anyways, another enjoyable episode, yay for this show :)

[midoribleak]

You are so welcome! All that's left is B tier, then.

youre right anon. placing a kiss on ur head before we begin.

The super-nice are super-annoying:

I like this book! I like that Mike Pinsetti wanted to stop being gross, I like that we find out Hudson is a rich boy acting out, I like that we see Angeline tired of being seen as a well mannered creature of grace, and I like Sebastian. The jokes are fine, obviously some good ones here and there as always. The art isn’t crazy stand out, the story isn’t insane. I like that Jamie and Hudson are partners on a project, and Isabella being with Yolanda is nice as we don’t see much of her (which is the joke). It’s a solid 7. I’m not crazy about it but Angeline definitely solos this

Can adults become humans?

I actually really like this book because of how focused it is on adult drama!! I liked reading about Aunt Carol and Uncle Dan’s love story, and Miss Anderson’s jealousy. I liked Bruntford and Isabella’s bonding and Angeline being able to do an oil change apparently??😭 Again nothing special but a pleasant read. It’s also an early-ish one so I feel like again the identity isn’t exactly on par with all the S or A tiers. Also i had to read this book in French online before English check this out

Am I the princess or the frog?

I liked when Mike had a crush on Jamie LOL and then him switching up and sending a love letter to stinker? Anyway. The shining star of this book is honestly—-you guessed it- a moment between Angeline and Jamie. It’s when they learn they were friends in kindergarten, and Angeline was trying to play a friendly prank on Jamie by swapping her baby photo with bruntfords. Also Isabella is pretty fucking funny and devious in this one. It’s probably the most interesting/ funniest read out of all of them, and it’s only in B tier because ummm the art is kinda loose(?) looking and it’s not too remarkable but would also recommend for people trying to get a feel for the series.

Never underestimate your dumbness:

As I write this now i can barely remember what this book was about and i literally skimmed through it last night to remember it for the tierlist. Now that I just checked 10 min later Its the book where theyre trying on the wedding stuff for aunt carol. It’s fine. Has some funny jokes. Kind of a boring read and I usually only pick it up when i go poo on the toilet but Ive owned a copy of this book for a long time so I might just be tired of it yk.

School, hasn’t this gone on long enough?

I believe this is the one where Jamie is afraid she’ll have to go to summer school? Yeah and theres a spelling bee. I like Isabella in this, shes trying to teach Jamie to be better at math so they can hang in the summer, and she’s also teaching Angeline. Angeline is also really cute in this (-: I love this frame shes SO CUTE IN GLASSES!! Theres some good jokes the style is kinda revamped bc i think its the first book in the year two series? Again dont quote me on that idc. Anyway Isabella solos here and Emmily makes a cameo but she moved awayyy why did jim bentom nerf her😔 I also owned a copy of this for a while so it’s just not my favorite. Good book though.

Just to save the trouble, the reason why the very first book is in tier C is because I dont like the art style, I find it kind of boring, and Angeline looks weird LOL.

Thank you for coming to my tierlist talk!!!! If theres any more questions my box is always open ^^

[estrellami-1]

I saw your post and I decided, why not? I've never done this before! (I'm no good at thinking of prompts). Currently I have one thing on my mind: Good Omens. And maybe this is weird to ask, but could you maybe take a scene from it and steddie-fy it? I don't care who's who.

There's a scene, which is my personal favorite, where Crowley asks Aziraphale to hang out after having dinner, and Aziraphale, with a soft voice and a longing look, says "You go too fast for me, Crowley."

And of course the "just a little demonic miracle of my own" scene. That ones a bit longer to explain, so I'd search it up for a better experience. This is the one all of us, including the author, speculate is when Aziraphale realized he was in love with Crowley.

Uhhhhhh yeah peace out ✌

Okay yes I know exactly what you’re talking about, I’ve seen the show and I’ve read the book (more than once actually lol) BUT it’s been forever and right now I’m not remembering anything besides the vaguest outline of the scene in the forest, when he starts going by Crowley. And then a few random scenes that I had to look up 😩 strangely enough I couldn’t find the “you go too fast for me, Crowley” scene anywhere which SUCKS because now I need to see it just to see it 😂

Also side note I would LOVE to Steddify the entire thing, I feel like Nancy would make a great Anathema, and Robin would be a fantastic Madame Tracy, esp considering the fact that Aziraphale/Steve (that’s what I’m imagining, at least) literally inhabits her body. And there’s even a Party what with Adam and them! I’m thinking Dustin as Adam, Max as Pepper, Will as Wensleydale, and Mike as Brian.

Anyways. Yes I love this a lot, thank you 😂

“Didn’t you have a flaming sword?” Eddifer asks, tilting his head

“Uh- oh, uh-” Steve stutters. It’s embarrassing, angels don’t stutter, but he’s caught wrong-footed, not sure he did the right thing anymore, and with Eddifer looking at him like that-

“You did! It was flaming like anything,” Eddifer says triumphantly. “Lost it already, have we?”

“I… gave it away,” Steve mumbles.

“You what?” Eddifer asks incredulously.

“I gave it away!” He shouts.

Eddifer looks at him for a second. Blinks. Looks away.

Steve’s left with a feeling he did something right. It’s more comforting than it should be, coming from a demon.

~~~~~~~~

Steve tilts his head. “Is that you under there, Eddifer?”

“‘S Eddie,” he grumps, lifting his helmet and sighing. “‘S Alright, lads, I know him.” He shakes his head. “What the heaven are you doing here?”

“I could ask the same of you!”

~~~~~~~~

“Animals,” Steve hisses, locked in a dungeon. This is a pickle if ever there was one.

“Animals don’t kill each other with clever machines, Angel, only humans do that.”

“Eddie,” he says, can’t help the excitement in his voice. Then he sees what Eddie’s wearing. “Oh, good Lord.”

Eddie’s lounging against the wall, arms crossed, looking Steve up and down. “What the deuce are you doing, locked up in the Bastille? I thought you were opening up a bookshop!”

“I was! I got… peckish.”

“Peckish,” Eddie parrots flatly.

Steve huffs. “Well if you must know, it was the crepes. Can’t get decent ones anywhere but Paris.”

“Angel,” Eddie says, “you’re really something else.”

Steve can’t quite figure out if that’s a compliment or not.

~~~~~~~~

“Y’know,” Steve says, almost certain Eddie’s going to push him up against a wall again for it. It’s half the reason he says it. “I think, deep down, you really are quite a nice person.”

Eddie doesn’t push him up against a wall, only smirks into his drink. “Only because you’re just enough of a bastard to be worth knowing.”

[prince-simon]

AIGHT I thought DBD was gonna be a fun lil show. You have: two dead boys with AMAZING chemistry (I LOVE their different accents/slangs/outfits to reflect the times they're from), two living girls with AMAZING chemistry (deadass thought Crystal saw the lights around Niko because maybe she liked herrrrr and the lights were psychic related instead of LITERAL SPRITE INFESTATION), two wildly horny demons who I believe need to get it on and leave Crystal and Edwin alone please and thank you (David and the Cat King), TALKING CATS, a witch cosplaying as Cruella de Ville (I thought she was MURDERING her poor bird Monty!!!!), the cutest adorable most precious little astrology nerd I've EVER SEEN (the aforementioned Monty who wasn't a victim of animal abuse after all), a cursed walrus (still salty Edwin interrupted Tragic Mike's story of how he was cursed, I was INVESTED) OH AND A SUPERHOT BUTCHER LADY!!

ANYWAY this show was supposed to be fun. I watch Supernatural and yeah there were scary episodes but I can't think of anything as traumatic as the Devlin House episode! 😭 Just... watching the dad murder his poor family over and over was awful, seeing how affected Charles was broke my heart, the dad having a secret room to spy on his family was creepy and disturbing and OH MY FUCKING GOD?!?! THAT MISERY WRAITH?!?! I ALMOST THREW UP!! I NEARLY DIED!!! ABSOLUTELY AWFUL TERRIFYING 0/10 WOULD NOT RECOMMEND I NEVER WANT TO SEE IT AGAIN!!!!!

I can't wait to watch more DBD tonight!

PS sorry for the essay

okay okay first of all. i'm so excited about this ask. don't apologise haha i've got things to say!!! (i hopeee i'm not spoilering you for anything with this longgg reply lol)

the chemistry between all of them is soooo insane i'm so happy about it!! and yeah lol i think the entire fandom thought it was gay lights for crystal and niko lmao (and you know what? just bc it was parasitic lights who's to say it's not ALSO gay!! sksk i was spoilered about this particular thing before i watched the show and when i saw that scene i STILL thought it was gay lol

sksk thank you for clarifying that by demons you mean david and the cat king bc i was like ??? david and edwin's demon??? interesting take but sure. let's go with it slfjsldfj but yeah calling the cat king a demon works too lmaooo i just love how pathetic the cat king is kssksk

the talking cats are sooo iconic hahaha

omg i totally thought esther was killing monty too. when i first watched it i did a bit of a live reaction with friends and i literally was like noooo not monty!!! he doesn't deserve it!!! i was FLOORED when he turned human skjdflsj in general esther is such a good villain. like i fucking hate her so so so much but man. i LOVE to hate her she just steals every scene she's in ("ouch my ghost skin" lives rent free in my head tbh)

SUPERHOT BUTCHER LADY yesss i love jenny so much. her "oh my fuck" cracks me up every time. fun fact before i watched the show and only saw stuff on tumblr i thought she was gonna be the bad guy sksksk

the show is so camp one second and then soooo devastating the next!!! the devlin house absolutely broke me!! fun fact- or actually not fun at all, idk if you noticed but when the camera is on charles when they're watching the murder happen, you can hear him begging his father to stop hurting him in the background. also another not so fun fact i was listening to jayden revri's charles playlist and the song that's playing in that episode is on there and when it came on i literally had to skip it after a couple seconds bc it triggered me sooo much lmfao but yeah omg don't get me started on the misery wraith!!! the first time i watched it, i was binging and i'd started pretty late already so when i got to that episode it was already dark and i was supposed to go to bed soon and i literally had to cover my screen bc i usually can't do horror at all!! so i was like nopenopenope this isn't happening nope

enjoy the rest of your watch and you're always welcome in my inbox for more yelling!!

[brionysea]

'the obsession with w*ll by*rs on this website does confound me because he was literally designed to be a majority off-screen character whose survival you only care about because OTHER characters care about him. like. why are you looking at me weird for thinking of him as mike's boyfriend and joyce's son and not much else? that's what he IS! that's the entire character concept and they haven't really done enough to make me care beyond that'

wow! i've never seen anyone on this site who doesnt like will before, but i've heard lots about them! i'm going to read more of your stuff to see more of your opinions and perspective, but my first reaction was this:

well, i think you've said it there above, that you do indeed care for will and yes, the show is trying to make you care for him. through the prism of these other characters, sure, but thats because he's fictional and therefore needs an entry point for you to care about him - in this case, his going missing. for example, you could say we only care about mike because will going missing, and finding el, exposed his caring side, his crisis mode, and that if ST was just a slice of life show with no major supernatural conflict, we wouldnt give a shit about mike wheeler either.

you might say you personally still would because you connect with him for some reason, but then that shows that the connection has occurred between your mind and the character of mike and is very personal to you. fair enough - visual storytelling requires both a creator and an audience to connect with a character, but that connection is usually built on what the creator has laid down, because at the end of the day a show is emotionally manipulating you, the viewer, in order to tell a story. they hope you connect with their story in a certain way, and therefore understand it.

the writers created what they thought was an empathetic character that viewers would care about with will, and they thought that they only needed a few access points in s1 for you to deeply care about this character: flashbacks + a soulful actor + the love of other characters. you not clicking with will as a character is perfectly valid, but it seems the overall idea of emotive storytelling has been lost on you if you think the duffers don't want you to see will as anything beyond a boyfriend or a son. at this point its not even about characterisation, but human empathy: even with only a few moments on screen in s1, they hope that you as a human can suspend your disbelief and view will as a real person, that you can empathise with him and treat him as a whole person that contains multitudes. no human and no fictional character is ever just someone's boyfriend/mother/son bla bla. they are a human, an individual.

to misunderstand this is either reflective of how you view people irl too, or a simple misunderstanding of the duffers intentions. will is not, for example, the guy from bennys burgers who was on screen for 5 mins in s1. he's not an extra. he's a core character so I'm sorry that you didnt connect with him emotionally because your experience watching the show really would be much richer if you had.

sorry but i just woke up and im not reading all that lol. i never said i don't like him (not until season 4 anyway, due to being played by That Man), he's just. there. there are more interesting characters

[mangleschmidt]

That's great, thank you!! <3

Regarding design, does Mike have hair in your AU? I remember seeing some speculation regarding recognizability, and I wasn't sure. Is it the viewer's choice? Also, are the mermaids in your AU more fantastical or grimdark? As in, are they pretty faces with sharp teeth hidden underneath, or are they peaceful and helpful (think Little Mermaid)?

Regarding lore, how do betta fish mermaids usually act (assuming that different species of mermaids act in different manners)? Would Mike be considered an outlier in terms of behavior? In an earlier post, you mentioned that Mike thought Axel was interesting, what caught his attention? Or did Axel literally catch him?

ALSO, how flexible is your AU? Do you have anything set in stone or any preference for how characters act? You seem very cool™ and I do not want to accidentally step on your toes! <3

Wehehe, you're very cool too 😁 Isokie btw

I have talked about the au in the Parlourverse Server so some of your questions have answers in there and also in the fanfiction though I could properly compile it here

Does Mike have hair?

Yes, he does! I have decided that it will stay long as it is first created :}

Avec helped me a bit in deciding since Mike isn't like bitten by Foxy or something, he'd still have his hair and long hair is beautiful and pretty. He is considered pretty after all.

Are the mermaids in your AU more fantastical or grimdark?

I feel like it's a mixture of both, leaning more into fantasy. (I mean, the fic did start like the Little Mermaid LOL)

Merfolks can sometimes resort to eating humans by luring them with spell songs like sirens (each have their own reasons) but most of their diet consists of marine life (plants and fishes) and are generally peaceful and sometimes helpful to those they trust. Since most of the merfolks that sailors encounter are schools of merfolks that attack ships and merfolks acting out of self-defense by looking scary with their sharp teeth, it's widely considered that merfolks are as dangerous like in grimdark fantasies. Helpful, friendly and/or peaceful mermaids are ones like in the fairy tales.

Mike himself has some sharp teeth that can cut through meat with ease, for fishes and stuff and sharp nails.

How do betta fish mermaids usually act (assuming that different species of mermaids act in different manners)? Would Mike be considered an outlier in terms of behavior?

Betta fish merfolks are natural territorial, but not as aggressive as their fish counterparts so they are capable of hanging around other mermaids and other betta fish merfolks without breaking into a fight (but they can easily break into a fight when provoked). They also do typical betta fish things like the masc flaunting their fins and creating their bubble nests (they can't really store their kids in there but they do it out of habit).

Basically merfolks have the habits of the fishes they are based on but have their own societies/communities like humans do.

Though Bettas (especially the masc/males) have grown more defensive, isolated and stray far from the surface because of the mermaid hunters seeking them out. It is a little like betta fishes seeking out hiding places, but this one is out of fear.

Technically yes! Mike is... bolder than most, just because of his color being one of the first colors that disappear underwater in the color wheel and the fact that he's also insanely strong. He's just built different.

In an earlier post, you mentioned that Mike thought Axel was interesting, what caught his attention? Or did Axel literally catch him?

Like in the Parlourverse AU, Mike and Axel were childhood friends, though instead of Mike, it was Axel that got his ass almost died and lost his memories... and the fact that his village got raided because of pirate mermaid hunters. Mike considered Axel/Foxy as interesting because he's mostly checking up on him and seeing this guy as a pirate captain, he's like "wow this fucking idiot, what is he doing... I want to know". He doesn't trust him fully but like, the curiosity. It's a bit too tempting.

There's not much set in stone why Mike feels this way, he is confused himself on why he should still care about his friend. Also no but Panther did.

Tbh, if Foxy did catch him, he would have broken the hidden test that Mike gave him and the merman would have stayed away from him, branding him as dangerous and "no longer the guy he knew".

How flexible is your AU? Do you have anything set in stone or any preference for how characters act?

It's a bit of both I think? I have some of the characters set in stone, I think. Especially with Mike and Foxy. I need to unscramble my brain

They're still the characters we know and love (in my own interpretation anyways), except the fact that it's Mike and Foxy Yaoi AU. I haven't exactly explored the other characters yet though.

I don't have much preferences, other than that Mike should at least be mellowed down than he was originally, though still as feisty and sharp tongued.

I did cook up some relationships that are taken from the stories like with Mangle (Navigator) being a on and off caretaker of Jeremy (half whale/half human) as she promised Jonathan. Freddy being Foxy's first mate and is being teased a lot by Foxy. And stuff like that.

[local-diavolo-anon]

Just watched the fnaf movie and honestly? The community rating is very appropriate, 8.5/10 is exactly what i would have given it.

Definitely one of my favorite movies to date but also likely because of my autistic brain waited it for 8 years lol

This i liked about the movie:

The robots are active characters in the story and not just enemies the mcs run from.

They are not framed as evil or as the villains of the story either, and are actually shown to be very human and expressive.

Which is also very much a middle fingers to all the annoying assholes who were just a "unga bunga those are murder robots and shpuld stay as such" like no that's just bad writing and characterization, these are murdered children, they were human, let them act as such.

It is not game-lore accurate but an au, but it also perfectly works in its own context, a very good re-elaboration of the story to me.

William afton did not got the Vanny treatment! He appears at the end yes, but the 2 minor reveals about him were very good and made sense.

And he is an active threat! He does not get his ass handed to him immediately and is not just some guy who stands around with the knife as Vanny ended up being, but rather he is shown as actually dangerous!

The cupcake has also an active role! Which makes sense because i doubt chica has that much of a bite force, and the little guy being literally a head with a mouth would work well as her attack dog

Also the little guy had a body count as well and was batshit feral, which is hilarious for a thing that small

We get to see aftkn get his ass springlocked so we could say that he truly said 'it's springlock time' and springlocked all over the place

The only thing i would change is add like, 1 minute of dialogue between the scene where Vanessa tells Mike that someone broke into freddy's and him talking about his brother, and just to give the dialogue more continuity, rather than making it feel they just jumped from a topic to the other

Anyway i loved the movie, loved how active the robots were, how expressive they were presented as, and how much they actually influenced the story

Would love to see more of this saga as movies!