#imo it started off great but it starts going downhill in the last two episodes. go watch it yourself and form your own opinions :)

[tianhai03]

[squints at the recent tags] what happened with infinite darkness???

oh y'know. made leon act extremely out of character to the point where it almost ruined him and claire's friendship. y'know it's no big deal

[theenbynightingale]

My thoughts on TDI '23 Season 2

I'm just gonna make one big post about it because I wanna get all of this out of my system so I can focus on other things.

Okay, let me get my verdict out of the way. This season was... fine. It wasn't great but it wasn't bad. It's probably the most middle of the road season, IMO. My now former friend told me that he thought this was shaping up to be one of the best seasons when half the episodes were out. I didn't wanna label it yet because I didn't agree but I wanted to see them stick the landing. They didn't. So while I don't agree that the season went downhill, I agree that its ending wasn't very strong.

Okay, good stuff! MK and Julia friendship (and MKulia nation thriving). Loved that. I kept worried that they'd drop the ball but they never really did. They were a lot of fun and it was great seeing these two characters who outright rejected the idea of making friends grow close.

Nichelle getting better at the physical activities while not actually understanding that she had to have a social life on the island and therefore, not actually knowing how to play the game was funny.

Wayne and Raj. They're always great.

Less fart jokes. Though, it seemed like they were just saving it for the memory episode.

Owen and MacArthur cameos!

Bowie's inner conflict. I think that was a nice arc for him, especially after constantly playing dirty last season. It made sense and wasn't out of nowhere.

Zee being Zee. We love Zee. I wish we saw more of his pet raccoon.

A lot of the challenges were creative (Starting off with a Squid Game parody is very Total Drama) and a lot of the jokes were funny.

Okay, so... I can't talk too much about stuff I like without immediately following it up with "and then it kept going and it got old" so... let's get into that.

Usually, in TD, there's the writing hurdle of what to do with characters after they hook up. Usually, one of the characters leave the episode they hook up or the episode after. I admire this season for trying to break away from this formula but I think they just proved why the formula exists. Because if you keep the story going after they get together, you run the risk of it getting old. And it got old. Twice.

Ripaxel was funny... and then it got old. And gross. And then it was funny again. And then it got much worse and then they left. And then you wonder what the point of that was.

But then there's Caleb and Priya. I actually liked the story between them. And then it kept going. The moment in the memory challenge where they made up? That should have been it. The story should have been over and, as much as I love Priya, that's where she should have left. We didn't need to follow it up with another misunderstanding between them. Their story was run into the ground and it just wasn't worth caring about anymore.

There's a problem throughout the season that was evident when the very first episode leaked. After a whole season, it's revealed that Millie still doesn't listen to Priya. This is an example of the season's biggest problem: rehashing the last season.

Millie has to face the consequences of betraying her friends, breaking their trust and not putting forth a lot of effort in a challenge... again.

Zee gets eliminated because the campers somehow believed letting him in on a secret was a good idea... again.

Damien accidentally screws himself over... again.

Emma seemingly has an interesting story set up, only for it to be dropped as soon as it gets somewhere... again.

Priya grows close to someone only to reveal that they had less-than-flattering thoughts about her, only for that someone to realize how much they care about her, only for Priya to find out about the earlier stuff and a rift is formed between them... again.

Once MK is gone, Julia is the main villain... again.

So yeah. Not a bad season because nothing really upset me. I'd take it over All-Stars or PI (maybe even Action but idk). It had a lot of good stuff. But some of the good stuff either deescalated into a rehash of last season or was dragged out to the point where you stopped getting invested.

I liked Julia's hair. Mullets are terrible but she pulled it off. I'm serious. She's rocking it.

tl;dr Owen didn't age because he was never really stressed. He was the happiest of all the campers so that's why he still looks 16.

[amphtaminedreams]

Farewell to Spooky Season, AHS Style: Lookbook no.12

Hi to anyone reading,

Happy belated Halloween!

I capitalise it because if I'm gonna recognise any day as sacred, it’s the spookiest one of the year! Halloween 2020 obviously hasn’t been as exciting as usual, parties and club nights being banned has meant there’s been far less opportunities to dress up, but I still managed to get out for the night before they announced the upcoming second lockdown and do a couple of spooky movie nights (and carve a pumpkin!)!

I originally intended for this lookbook to be last minute halloween costume inspo but I was lazy and didn’t manage to get it out on time-a lot of these looks minus the makeup and maybe an accessory or two could work on any day or night out so I thought I’d go ahead and post it now anyway. Celebrating the fashion moments of American Horror Story is something I’ve wanted to do for a while; it’s probably not the first show you’d think of for sartorial inspiration but Mr. Ryan Murphy has fucking fantastic taste in stylists and the first five seasons of AHS in particular, which I’ll be focussing on in this post, have given us SO many amazing looks. The man may be guilty of many things-subjecting us to the character of Will Schuester, trying to turn Richard Ramirez into a thirst trap, embarrassing everyone who raved about how good Scream Queens was when he wrote season 2-but costume related laziness is not one of them. We see more consistency in a Ryan Murphy character’s wardrobe than we do in their story arcs and I respect that because honestly, as much as I love joining in when it comes to ripping into his ability to cohesively bring an AHS season to a close when it airs, I’d probably be the same; if you put Lady Gaga in front of me and told me to write her lines I’d probably end up getting overly invested in what her character was going to be wearing in the scene too. 

So! Enough Ryan Murphy bashing from me! I’ll get on with it! Starting with 3 season 1 inspired looks:

Murder House: Elizabeth Short, Tate Langdon and Violet Harmon

-striped jumper from caitlinlark on Depop, kick flare jeans from ellagray-

When it comes to reflecting on season 1 of American Horror Story, all I can say do is thank the internet overlords that Tumblr has moved on from the romanticising school shooters and wearing normal people scare me tops phase to instead collectively taking the piss out of the “GO AWAY, TATE!”, “YOU’RE ALL THAT I WANTTT! YOU’RE ALL THAT I HAVEEE!” exchange. 

In terms of fashion *moments*, whilst season 1 doesn’t stand out as much as the seasons that come after, Violet and Tate’s wardrobes did give birth to a bit of a 90s grunge renaissance with their oversized knits and faded jeans and layering of textures. It did also give us good costumes in the form of Alexandra Breckenridge’s Moira O’Hara and Mena Suvari’s portrayal of the Black Dahlia, Elizabeth Short; unfortunately, I didn’t have a slutty maid costume lying around so I did the best I could at giving the outfit Elizabeth wears when she makes that fateful visit to the Murder House a modern, more party appropriate update.

In terms of season rankings, Murder House isn’t my favourite. It starts off really great but lulls a bit towards the end and I could never get behind Violet and Tate as a couple because you know, one of them is a school shooter who sexually assaults the other’s mum, and that’s a hurdle that I think most couples might struggle to get over irl. That being said, it was the season that started it all and showcased some of the most innovative writing and directing on TV, and it opened up a spot for horror on primetime television which as far as I know was kind of unheard of before then. Back when I first watched it, I had no idea what to expect not only because I’d never seen horror in a serial format but also because it seemed to be able to get away with the kind of storylines you’d expect network executives to fire people over. It introduced us to Jessica Lange and Sarah Paulson and Evan Peters and Denis O’Hare who would go on to make the show what it is today and more importantly, through Jessica’s glorious portrayal of Constance Langdon, provide us with an endlessly versatile meme format for this trying time.

Asylum: ‘60s Lana Winters, ‘70s Lana Winters, and Sister Mary Eunice McKee

-afghan coat from louisemarcella on Depop, red AA skater dress from julietramage, pink gingham co-ord from zshamim-

I think we can all agree: Asylum would’ve been a perfect series of television if it wasn’t for the completely unnecessary alien storyline. Like, I get that they fit in with the whole good vs. evil theme as a kind of non-biblical alternative to the idea of a higher, all-powerful being but there was already so much going on that it just wasn’t needed. Aside from that, I think the general consensus amongst watchers of the show is that Asylum has the best writing of any season and I think I’d tend to agree. It’s not my favourite because it’s too depressing to rewatch but if we’re talking the first time round, this is the series that had me hooked. Lana Winters?

Iconic. 

Sister Mary Eunice? Iconic. The Name Game? Iconic. Remember when you couldn’t go a day on Facebook without seeing that one photo of Naomi Grossman as Pepper used as the go to “what I really look like” photo in one of those “expectation vs. reality” style posts on your newsfeed? Those were simpler times.

Because this season was mostly situated within the hospital, we didn’t get that many proper outfits but when we did, they were stunning; if I had to state my absolute favourite AHS character of the entire show I’d probably go with Lana Winters and the part her wardrobe played in her characterisation would 100% play a part in that. The late 60s/early 70s was such a wonderful period for fashion and through her character we get to see both of those explored a little. Of course there’s also *that* Sister Mary Eunice scene with the red slip dress and suspenders too which yes, could be a perfect halloween costume, but I also strongly believe should be a perfectly acceptable outfit for any day of the year. 

Coven: Misty Day, Madison Montgomery, and Zoe Benson

-chiffon dress from rags_to_riches on Depop, pinstripe corset from hanpiercey, and tennis skirt from mollie_morton-

I hate to be a basic bitch but I have to say it: Coven is my favourite season of American Horror Story. Once you get over the complete waste of Evan Peters’ acting capabilities that resulted from the *choice* to have him play Kyle, the unnecessary rehash of the Evan/Taissa pairing from season 1 in what I can only assume was an attempt to capitalise on the popularity of the questionable Tate/Violet relationship, and the subsequent sacrifice of any interesting character arc we could’ve foreseen for Zoe Benson beyond her obsessing over a resurrected, non-verbal frat boy, it’s a perfect season. A supreme (heh) balance of horror, humour, and character drama, as well as the stunning aesthetics and forever quotable dialogue, make it my go-to season if I’m ever considering a rewatch. And if you disagree, let me jog your memory with the most mainstream (not to get all “normal people scare me” and suggest AHS is not a mainstream show, I literally just mean in the sense that even those who have never watched the show will have seen this)  reaction GIF set any FX show has even spawned:

Buzzfeed employees had a field day, Emma Roberts enthusiasts (I mean me) finally saw her cemented as the pop culture icon Scream Queens has since showed us she deserves to be (because not enough people have seen Unfabulous, Nancy Drew or Scream 4) and the gays everywhere rejoiced at the year’s worth of meme fodder they’d been provided with. It was Madison Montgomery’s world and we were truly just living in it.

And the fashion! I mean, Stevie Nicks meets 21st century teenage witches! Come on! 

Freakshow: Dandy Mott, Maggie Esmerelda and Elsa Mars

-olive green satin skirt from morganogle on Depop, headscarf from tonijordan, platform sandals from elliefewt, PVC skirt from bethpin_, corset top from sadieflinter, beret from house_of_erotique, flame detail platform boots from mad_rags_vintage-

When people talk about the declining quality of AHS, they usually point to Freakshow as the beginning of the end, but I have to completely disagree. I wasn’t a fan the first time round but on rewatch it’s probably the most emotional season of them all; no, there aren’t as many “horrifying” moments as in other seasons and Elsa is probably Jessica’s worst performance (which is still an incredible one by anybody else’s standards), however it makes up for it with the most sympathetic bunch of characters yet, and on the flip side, also one of the most amusingly depraved with Finn Wittrock’s Dandy Mott. Fans usually argue that the season went downhill once *SPOILER* Twisty the Clown was killed off but for me, he really primarily served as the catalyst for the far more interesting devolution of Dandy, who, imo, is the show’s strongest villain to date, rivalled only by Bloody Face. Then there was the episode Orphans too which made me cry buckets, the sole AHS episode to do so. 

We got a lot of great fashion content in this season too: the theatrical opulence of Elsa Mars’ wardrobe, “Maggie”’s nomadic fortune teller costumes, and all those twee suits we saw Finn Wittrock in. Highly underrated if you ask me. It seems an odd choice for me to use Elsa’s Dominatrix look as an inspiration for one of my looks here when we have that Life on Mars performance outfit and all the extravagant robes Jessica got to waltz around in for reference buuuut I didn’t really have anything to do the vibrancy of either of those justice so I went with the black leather option which is much more me. Am I saying I moonlight as a dominatrix? Maybe. Lol, no. I wish. It’s not for lack of trying. WHERE ARE ALL THE GENUINE TWITTER PAYPIGS AT!? Your girl wants to insult creepy men and get some new clothes out of it xoxo

Hotel: Hypodermic Sally, Liz Taylor, and The Countess

-silk white bralet from xlibby_maix on Depop-

Hotel is another season that I liked a lottttt more upon rewatch, once I knew I was okay to tune out the (completely predictable and utterly nonsensical) Ten Commandments Killer storyline that so much of the season initially seems to hinge on. I love Chloë Sevigny but the fact that her and Wes Bentley’s wooden John and Alex Lowe are positioned as the protagonists at the expense of the far more interesting Liz Taylor, James March and Hypodermic Sally really does a disservice to what is an otherwise great season upon initial viewing.

The visuals this season are magnificent and I think if I had to pick one character’s wardrobe to steal from the entire cast of AHS characters, it would be The Countess (a toss up between her and Misty Day tbh, so I kinda just settle for low-key channelling both). No fucking idea where I'd wear any of her clothes to but I’d make it work. Liz Taylor and Hypodermic Sally have some amazing looks too-there’s just honestly so much to choose from; that being said, this post wouldn’t be complete without a specific ode to the vampire goddess Elizabeth Bathory, who is everything I want to be in life minus the murderous qualities:

Everything. EVER-Y-THING. LOOK AT HER!

Lady Gaga is really a fucking goddess isn’t she. And people were claiming before they’d even seen it that she couldn’t act? A patriarchal society doesn’t like women that can do it all. Just saying. 

Anyways!

That’s it for now! I hope you enjoyed the post if you did read til the end! Sorry I couldn’t get this out before Halloween, I was typing and Picmonkey-ing madly from 2 in the afternoon on the 31st but I taking fucking forever to get ready and had to abandon all hope of getting it out on the day by 4PM. I’ve got so much content planned and it sucks because a couple of them are lookbooks which now feel completely redundant given we’re heading into a second lockdown, but maybe I should just do it anyway? The grunge inspired moodboard I just did seemed to get a good reception too so I’ve got some more of them planned. 

As always, hope everyone is keeping well, and feel free to inbox me with any suggestions, queries or even just to say hi if you need someone to talk to! I check here quite a lot so I should see it. Lots of love to everyone in this time!

Lauren x

[askanaroace]

You recently reblogged something from an aro who likes Crazy Ex GF, can you recommend other shows/movies/etc that have aro/ace visibility? Thanksthanksthanks

Hi there! Sorry this has taken so long. ^^;;

I just want to make a clarification here that there’s a difference between aro/ace visibility and aro/ace friendliness. Aro/ace visibility would include some form of aro/ace rep, while aro/ace friendliness would be stories that aren’t super focused on romance/sex (or at least in the normal way we expect) that aro/ace people may be more comfortable watching or just relate to on some personal level as a result.

That being said, I want to clarify that Crazy Ex-Girlfriend has a lot of romance and sex in it! I absolutely adore the show, and it absolutely does play with and flip common romantic tropes, but there’s no aro/ace rep or really visibility in it. But to get to the end of flipping the amatonormative script, our protag spends the vast majority of the show chasing a relationship. So for any who saw that post, do know there’s a lot of romance and sex in CEG, even though it does play with common tropes!

That aside...

A new blog @aro-test has popped up to go over if media has a romantic subplot or not, so it’s definitely a blog of interest! I also suggest @representativecharacters, which has a great tagging system you can use to look for a variety of rep. I’ve also got a variety of tags I try to keep up on: representation, book recs, and comic recs so far. As for things I could think of off the top of my head, trying to hit rep/friendliness in a variety of ways (in the order I thought of them; there’s only explicit rep if I mention it):

Shows

BoJack Horseman - to be honest, I still haven’t tried one, but it does have an explicitly asexual character.

Shadowhunters - another show with a canon ace character I haven’t gotten to watch (but really want to).

Steven Universe - okay, this is a children’s show and it’s definitely not everyone’s cup of tea (I didn’t really even notice the inconsistent art style until people pointed it out), but I’m suggesting it because: a) there is an overreaching plot that runs the course of the show; it’s not just disconnected segments like something like Spongebob may be, b) there’s a lot of episodes to go through, and c) there really is not a lot of romance in it (and as a kid’s show, there also isn’t anything really sexual - I don’t even remember catching any subtle innuendo like a lot of kid’s movies these days have). There are a couple characters in relationships or who are kind of flirty/pining, but it’s mostly background and subtle, and the main plot is more about finding and having confidence in who you are. I’m also suggesting this one because unlike some other kids shows I could cover, the characters here are either human or very human-like. I don’t know about others, but I personally don’t feel very represented by, say, cartoon horses. ^^;;

Sex Education - There’s some debate on this one, but I personally really enjoyed the first season and am going to remain optimistic for any future seasons. There is sex and romance in this show, but the main character isn’t interested in a sexual relationship and is also repulsed by masturbation. The controversy comes in because the potential ace character’s actions are thought by others to be a result of some form of sexual trauma when he was younger (likely coming from living with his sex therapist mother who is not so subtle with the men she sleeps with). However, he’s really the first character who really seems to put my high school experiences on TV, so I think the show is worth it.

Avatar the Last Airbender - okay, another kid’s show, but a great kids show. There is some romance in this, but it’s definitely not the focus, and if you just look away fast enough at the last 30 seconds of the last episode, you can pretend the romantic subplot that never really existed also never got started. =p But seriously, great show that focuses more on friendship and empathy justice more than anything else.

Jessica Jones - unfortunately, the show is really going downhill as the seasons progress IMO, but I’ve easily read Jessica as similar to myself: caedromantic. There’s sex and there is minor romance between other characters, but Jessica herself seems more focused on herself and her semi-superhero-status than anything else.

Black Summer - I’m still very pissed off that (spoiler: they killed off the deaf character of color), but the first season of the show was very much focused on the drama and horror and survival of the beginning of the zombie outbreak, so it was aro/ace friendly.

Pose - there is some hints/lead ins to sex and some characters in romantic relationships, but by and large the focus is on queer poc and the world they have carved out for themselves. I would say the main relationship type is found family, which I adore.

One Day At a Time - I’m honestly purely recommending this one for a moment in s3 (tad spoilery but I’ll keep names out of it) where two characters are thinking of having sex, one freaks out, and the other gives a really heartfelt speech on how it’s okay to take things slow and it would in fact be okay if they never had sex. It’s more of a family show, so there’s nothing very explicit. There is some romance. But s3 completely exceeded expectations with that scene, so I’m throwing the show up here as a rec.

Z-Nation - there’s some on and off romantic (and some sexy times, but I think these both get less and less as seasons go on) subplots, but again, the focus is on zombies. And honestly, I love a zombie take like in Z-Nation where there are still outlets where people come together and they don’t all just automatically kill each other on sight. >.>

Marvelous Mrs. Maisel - our protag is getting out of a marriage, so there are allusions/discussions to and about that, but in the first season (couldn’t watch the second as I moved and don’t have my own prime account) the focus was definitely on Mrs. Maisel finding herself and figuring out how to do things without a husband. And she doesn’t do this by trying to wrangle up a new husband. She does it by chasing a career she enjoys just for herself.

Good Girls - there is romance and IIRC some sex in this show, but by and large, the romantic relationships are kind of broken and falling apart, while the core group of friends must stick together and keep each other together.

Into the Badlands - awesome karate action show with bits and pieces of romantic subplots but largely action-focused.

The X-Files - so Scully and Mulder end up together-ish (I don’t think it really happened until the movies, but I don’t clearly remember), but I’m not alone in seeing Scully and Mulder as really more queerplatonic than anything else. Also the werelizard episode of the re-start is hilarious.

Movies

A Wrinkle in Time - I found this movie cathartic to watch. Really beautiful. Really sweet. Really pure. It was beautiful and the focus was absolutely on familial relationships. I really loved at the end of the movie when the parents got the kiss, not the two kids, who we got to see just being kids still.

Men in Black - I love the MIB series and am very much looking forward to Thompson’s and Hemsworth’s upcoming version. These movies I think are both aro and ace friendly and just super fun to watch.

How to Train Your Dragon - (I’d ask how kids shows/movies keep ending up on here, but I don’t need to ask, lol) while Hiccup and Astrid become a couple, they’re really not overtly romantic (and definitely not sexual) and the focus is on friendship and family and dragons.

Webcomics

Rock and Riot - haven’t started it yet, but I think the entire main cast or close to it is aspec in some way, and it looks really cute.

Mistlands - another one with a ton of queer rep including aspec characters that I haven’t started, but have followed here on tumblr, and really look forward to starting.

Girls With Slingshots - this one’s definitely pretty sexual and romantic, but there is an ace character introduced partially through, and I really enjoyed the run of this comic. It’s one of the few webcomics I actually started and kept up with over the years.

Books

Books I’m not going to get into here not only because of my book rec tag above but also because there are some queer rep blogs out there you can search asexual/ace or aromantic/aro on, and they’ve already done a much better job sharing these books than I ever could! Check out @ya-pride, @lgbtqreads, @harmonyinkpress, and the #books tag on @fuckyeahasexual.

Hope this is something like what you were looking for!

.

Anyone feel free to make your own recs!

x

[venus-says]

Aikatsu! Episodes 21-25

Basically me.

I’m so exhausted today, I feel like I’ve gone through one of Ran’s intensive training session. I’ll try to give some good cooments today but if I sound bland i’m sorry, I’m just very very very tired. 😅 Anyway, let’s go to the episode.

Another drama episode, yes!!! They're taking the audition as a team of four but just two will pass? This sounds unfair.

Basically me with aikatsu and precure lol I'm sorry guys but the plot of this drama seems pretty horrible. 😅 If they need to train their teamwork, WHY ISN'T YURIKA THERE WITH THEM?

Why is everything in this damn city on top of a mountain? XD

THANK YOU 😂😂😂😂😂😂

WHAT THE FUCK????? They made a operation TO LOCK UP THE GOOD GUYS??????? IF THE POLICE KNEW WHERE'S THE HIDEOUT OF THE DUDES STEALING THE CARDS WHY AREN'T THEY FIGHTING THE ACTUAL BAD GUYS?????? I told yall this plot was horrible, cancel this movie. 😅 Okay even though they lost Ran and Yurika are best girls. Let's go to the next!

This whole thing about smelling the scent of an idol is kinda creepy, don't you think? Stop sniffing around, Raichi. Why this whole deal about Ichigo's aura when we've seen it already in performances??? How convenient that now everyone is showing their auras outside performances when till this point we've only seen it happen with Mizuki. Yeah I call bs on this episode. 😅 But hey at least we got to see Calendar Girl, so I'm happy. Next!

This is a Ran episode, my expectations are high.

Yurika and Ran are the best duo, sorry I don't make the rules. Uhhhh backstory. Okay I don't really see why Ran must surpass her senpai to be Ageha's model, but go for it my sweet child, I got you.

AOI IS ME. (How many times have I said this already? XD)((also please give me boyish Ran, it must be so adorable I NEED)) Man these girls really need some therapeutic support, because whenever they fail they just go downhill on a spiral that is just not healthy for them. Orihime, fire Johnny and get a team of counselors for you school, that's what these girls need. It's kinda sad that my fave PR from season 1 debuted in such a gloomy episode. But I'm glad not everything is just flowers and cakes and everyone's happy all the time.

And that's why you should fire him. Mixed feelings about this episode. I think I would've liked a little more if the support for Ran didn't came in the last second so she could work a little better about showing her happiness for being on stage, but oh well. ONE THING THAT I CAN'T FORGIVE THOUGH IS THAT TRAP OF LOVE SHOULD'VE BEEN THE SONG HERE, why yall did this to me???? Vacation episode next? Let's see how that goes.

Performance right at the start? That's new. And new song as well??? I'm shookt.

Off time sounds so good right now. I don't have that in a long time.

Those three brands at the bottom sound so cool. I wish they were official. Man Raichi is really creepy. Even for a kid. Food reports sure are boring, aren’t they? 😅 Not even Ichigo (someone who I like) can make them interesting. 😅 The fact that idols can't even have a healthy tan is EXTREMELY sad. Aoi's trunk is basically Hermione's bag at this point. lol A surprisingly good episode for a filler. The title of the next one is "The April Fool's Promise" and these are two things that shouldn't be put together imo. 😅 Oh well let's see.

I just choked on water with this intro. I wasn't expecting an "AMAZING!" so loud in my ears like that. Good April Fool's joke. Honestly I can't believe Orihime and Taichi are treating each other as completely strangers, SHE MUST KNOW WHO HE IS FOR GOD'S SAKE. Sorry if I sound so bitchy about it but it really bothers me this whole situation.

Does anyone believe in Taichi's stories? Because to me they just sound like bs, sorry Ichigo. 😅 Yeah 5 members calendar girl is great. Love their group appeal. And that's pretty much all I could take from this episode. I don't know if is the tiredness finally catching up again, or if I'm just bitter inside, but this episode was pretty boring to me. Oh well. Can you believe I'm already half way into the season in just 5 days??? I hope I can keep up the pace. I gotta go now so, in Ema's words, jyanee bye o/

[stylinbreeze60]

My “WIPs”

Thanks @sugaandyams. I don't get tagged too often, so thank you!

“The Rules: Post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous.”

Oh my goodness. I had stuffed saved in all different places. I’ll start with the folders that contained fics that are incomplete. Welp, here I go!

Great Galactic War - this folder is the dump for my Haikyuu space/war AU, one of three or four fics I may focus on writing in the near future (first chapter is already published); the folder has very little atm, but I have about two dozen different scenes on my phone that aren't saved on PC

Kenma Project - the dump for my actively ongoing Haikyuu next gen captain war AU. I have a file in here further titled Ennoshita chapter. I wonder what that’s about? ;)

Three Kings - the dump for my Haikyuu samurai AU starring Hinata and Noya, the second possible fic I may commit to writing (first 2 chapters already published); there’s a chapter outline (which is dated because I’ve updated it in my head so much), and there are notes and many chapter tidbits on my phone too

Vice - the dump for a canonverse Haikyuu fic that was borne from a desire to write more Nekoma, so I subjected them to debilitating angst. There’s a rough chapter outline in here, and there are a couple of chapter drafts saved as emails on my phone. It’s the third fic that I might commit my time to (first 2 chapters, starring poor Inuoka, already published)

March of Justice - this folder was the dump for my aborted One Piece/My Hero Academia crossover, in which a couple of One Piece villains travel to the BnHA universe to conquer it

And here’s the rest I found. Some of these are just notes on fanciful ideas I had for a day and then never revisited. Others were never intended to see the light of day whatsoever

Abe dake ga Inai Machi - Oofuri-Erased - oh goodness. I had to stare at that title for a while to figure out what was wrong with it. An Oofuri/Big Windup fanfic that I didn’t play with for very long, but I was surprised to find I actually wrote the first chapter. Like Boku Dake ga Inai Machi (Erased), there’s a murder and then Abe finds himself transported back to the start of the Oofuri series, 10 months earlier. I reread some of this first chapter, and by my standards, it’s awful

Ace of Diamond - scandal fanfic - one of the ones never intended to see the light of day. It’s just notes. Basically Seidou pulls off its own Black Sox scandal and gets nailed, with some drama over whether Eijun is actually guilty

Ace of Iron / Ace of Swords - a Diamond no Ace samurai AU, mostly notes but also including drafts of a first chapter. It grew so huge there was no chance I could ever write it as a fanfic, so I actually converted it into an original story idea that I may do something with some day

Big Windup - cheating ploy disaster - this one is just notes and also never intended to see the light of day. An Oofuri idea in which Nishiura’s defeated rivals suspect them of cheating and kidnap the club boys to force them to confess. It goes even more downhill. (I’m very glad that, since discovering Haikyuu, I now conceive fanfics I actually want to write.)

Day of the Countercoup - I had to dig to find this one cos I knew it existed, but it wasn't a file. It was a tab in an Excel doc I used for my Haikyuu political AU, Coup d’Etat. It’s notes for an aborted sequel (Coup d’Etat’s original title was “Night of the Coup,” hence this contrasting title) that I scrapped soon after starting work on it. So glad too! Coup d’Etat got its due, and that AUverse shall be left to itself now

Haikyu - Gospel of Shouyou - oh goodness. I’m not gonna explain this one. Me experimenting, not intended to see the light of day

Haikyu - Nightmare from Heaven - this one may be the fourth candidate for continuation as a long-term fic but is currently unpublished. A war/occupation fic in which Miyagi Prefecture is conquered during a contemporary World War III, and the Karasuno boys must now live under foreign military occupation. The first chapter and part of the second were written, and I've got several notes on my phone and PC about subsequent chapters. Thank goodness tensions in that part of the world have simmered down since I devised it

Life Hereafter - Chapter 6.5 alternate ending - oh no. Life Hereafter is my darkest and most sensitive fic, published only on FFN, written to process a RL tragedy I was distantly affected by. I struggled with the ending of Chapter 6, which covered Tsukki and Yamaguchi’s coping with the canonverse tragedy. One draft (called “6.5″ in case I ever wanted to publish it, but I likely never will) featured Tsukki, seeking solace and desperately wanting to console Yamaguchi, giving in to poor judgment and kissing him. Only to then learn Yamaguchi doesn't have the same feelings back. Topping off their hurt with this was far too cruel and painful, and even before I started typing it, I knew I wouldn’t actually publish it. Rereading the draft even now made me feel uncomfortable which is why I kept it because it’s perhaps the best friendship-ruining moment I’ve ever written

Oofuri fanfic - Sakura Conspiracy - I thought I wrote a chapter 1 draft too, but this is an outline for a WWII Oofuri AU in which Nishiura, after winning Koshien in the late 20s or early 30s, moves on to military and political careers, one of their former teammates dies under suspicious circumstances, and Mihashi fears one of his old teammates may be responsible. The story stretches from 1937 to 1945

I'm actually surprised I found no notes on my Haikyuu mafia AU idea. I guess I never actually transcribed any, even though the plot is substantially complete in my head!

These four are all notes for gigantic crossovers:

Periods of World fanfic - This was an experiment, in which each century from 2000 BC to 2000 AD was listed out, a different part of the world selected for each century, and then a different anime or manga assigned to each part of the world. The idea was to write a chapter set in that century in that area starring those characters. The last chapter, for the new millennium, would have covered all parts of the world. The file is dated 2013. It never became more than this list

Periods of World fanfic 2 - and so it seems I tried again! This file is dated 2014 and shows just a teeny bit more dedication, with the 20th century further subdivided into decades, then every year from 2000-2009, and then every six months for 2010-2014. There are some different anime choices than the 2013 version. Never went anywhere with it, never gonna

Reborn epic crossover anime tribute layout - yes, that’s the literal filename. This is from my days as a Katekyo Hitman Reborn fan, and I don't even recognize most of the character names anymore. Apparently the villains of Reborn travel to seven other anime universes to kidnap major characters to sacrifice them as part of some weird magic scheme that I can’t properly decipher now

Random multi-anime WWII fanfic plan - yes, that’s also the literal filename. This is an outline for a 50-chapter crossover set before and during World War II, where the main characters of Naruto are Russian, One Piece are British, Bleach are French, Katekyo Hitman Reborn are German, Blue Exorcist are Italian, Fairy Tail are Japanese, and Ed and Al from FMA are American. The plot is emotionally devastating, doesn’t pull the punches on all sorts of WWII-related triggers, and frequently and cruelly denies catharsis.

To be perfectly honest though, rereading it, I swear this is the best story I have ever invented! It has a heartrending blend of tragedy, poignant poetic justice, subplot causality, and social commentary and contains few of the traps I sometimes fall into like cheap shock and subplots going nowhere. I really wish I could do something with this narrative now

And I’ll count the hefty handful of TV scripts I’ve written in an effort to practice and hone my scriptwriting skills. All but the last one of these are hypothetical new seasons of real anime:

Blue Exorcist s2 - 1 episode. My attempt to write the Impure King arc, years before they actually produced the Impure King arc. This was not my best work

Noragami: God’s Secret - 2 episodes for a manga-based Season 3. These were pretty decent imo

Oofuri/Big Windup: The Coming of Fall - 17 episodes. I got really into this one. A speculative season 3 assuming three cours (imo we probably won’t be blessed with that many episodes if season 3 comes), covering everything up until the end of the fall tournament. The first 13 episodes covered the story up to chapter 84 minus the Kasukabe match, followed by an OVA (ep 13.5), and then I was working on the Kasukabe match told in hindsight before planning to continue with the big game of the fall prelims. The third cour would have covered the fall tournament itself

Mekakucity Actors XX - 4 episodes. My own idea for a season 2/alternate ending. Because I was very conflicted with how the anime ended

School Babysitters - this was an original episode idea for Gakuen Babysitters that I enjoyed writing very much but turned out too long (40 pages) and features the babies turning into insects. I wouldn't mind publishing it somewhere actually!

I am going to tag @wire-pudding and @kemoiunder! Anyone else who reads this and wants to explore the abyss that is non-started WIPs, be my guest too!

[twilight-deviant]

Frank/Karen and/or Steve/Bucky?

Hello, Anon. ♥ Short answer: I actually don’t ship ship either of these.

Let me do longer answer in reverse order.

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So Steve/Bucky, I love them. And admittedly, everything is there that would make me want to ship them. They have such a strong relationship and would legit die for each other. They’re the only two people to go through the culture shock of having missed out on the last several decades. That’s just fun. And a sweet way to bring them even closer in the present. Not to mention, “With you to the end of the line,” you kiddin me?! Theater tears. Bless. Also, lbr, they’re both really hot? And that doesn’t hurt?

Sometimes, the heart is fickle though. And even when I feel a ship is perfect for my interests, the last little thump can be mysteriously absent. So for reasons unknown, I like them best as friends, no further. But because I see the appeal, I still do love seeing content for them. There’s some great art out there. ♥

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And then what’s... a good way... to say... I... despise... Karen Page? And that Frank has been through enough already?

And that’s all I should say have to say about that. lol. Oh wait, the question is why I do/don’t ship them. Frick.

Fuller answer under the cut. I’ll try and be gentle.

So I... don’t... like... Karen. At all. I enjoyed her at the very start of Daredevil S1, but it just slowly went downhill after maybe the first two episodes. The end of 1x11 with Wesley was just my last straw in the matter, tbh. I loved him. ToT The evilest of Hufflepuffs.

I find Karen impulsive and incredibly reckless. And she constantly drags others into it. If her friends think her plans are bad ideas, she berates them and guilt trips them until they agree or she takes off to do it herself. Often, someone may have to go save her because of it. And that doesn’t even get into the fact that her recklessness has a body count.

The very first scene we meet her is when she’s covered in Daniel’s blood after going through Union Allied’s financials and taking it upon herself? to look into it? with help? And is it her fault he died? Obviously not. Not entirely. She didn’t think he’d be killed. But here’s the thing: SHE DIDN’T LEARN ANYTHING FROM IT! She just keeps on with this behavior. Like at the end of the season where she takes Ben to visit Fisk’s mother but lies over why they’re going there. He thinks it’s because Karen cares about his wife’s treatment. And we know the story there, it leads to Ben’s death. He dies after lying that he went there alone, in order to protect her, when it’s all her fault to begin with. It really just keeps on, ya know. There’s her brother, of course. Then there’s S3 where she does the incredibly stupid thing of confronting Fisk and telling him she killed Wesley. I mean, that’s a hornets nest for a whole lot of fallout. Not least of all the immediate, obvious consequence that Father Lantom is killed. Trying to defend her. From something she caused. History repeating with Karen never learning the lesson that her actions have repercussions and she should stop and think before she acts. People die, but THE TRUTH! The truth is important! People need to know THE TRUTH, FOGGY!

Yes, I’m aware Fisk is also very much at fault for a lot of this, but he is coded as the villain. We expect him to do bad things. Karen is a hero and she’s doing all of this. That’s my problem. Her actions shouldn’t be celebrated like they are, imo. Karen has dumb Matt Murdock energy but without the skills to back it up, and when everything hits the fan, other people get hurt.

ANYWAY! Yeah, sorry, I know that was a Karen rant. When I actually promised friends I’d stop doing those. But it felt relevant so I could actually get to

The Frank/Karen Ship

Right, so. As explained, I hate Karen. Going into S2, I was genuinely hopeful they would fix some of the problems with her character. They did not. So I was never really going to be in a receptive mindset for this ship, if I’m being completely honest. I came with a pre-programmed bias.

And part of me has trouble seeing how the ship would be anything other than him constantly saving Karen from danger she got herself into. Like how Matt had to drop what he was doing in 3x09 (waiting for Fisk) to go save her. And how Foggy stopped the very important speech he was giving against Fisk in 3x08. To go save her. I just feel like the Frank/Karen ship would be a lot of that, ya feel? He already saved her at least twice in S2. (I’d have to think on if there’s more.) And don’t get me wrong, I may be a feminist, but damsel-in-distress trope still does it for me sometimes. Just not this much!

There’s also the fact they kind of want different things. Frank is tired. It’s true he becomes aimless without someone to kill, that he welcomes a new mission more than he should, but there are also instances where he settles back into a quiet life for brief moments. And he enjoys it. Prior to the death of his family, he planned on retiring from the military to stay at home. But that really isn’t Karen. Maybe later in life she’ll be ready to calm down, but at current, she’s still too active and selfish in her work. Or the flipside where Frank wants to rest, but he’s never gonna. I don’t see how any relationship could be managed.

Speaking of Karen and relationships, she acted like Matt was cheating on her in S2 because Elektra was in his bed. Which might normally be a fair point, but is she just gonna ignore the old man on the couch? How kinky does she think Matt is? Also, yeah, insulting. Gonna abandon everything she knows about Matt as a friend, boyfriend, and good person to assume he immediately started cheating on her. Listen like... Karen be jealous, and that’s unfortunate, cause the ladies be about some Frank Castle. (It’s me. I am ladies.)

Karen’s down to Castle, no mistake. And Frank likes her. I just don’t know how practical it would be if they were actually together for longer periods of time than an hour or two, if anything could make sense or even work past that initial attraction. Relationships aren’t just the adrenaline of gunfire and explosions.

I know I could go on as to why they don’t feel like a good fit to me, but I should seriously end this now.

I Karen ranted.

Uh........ oops.

Ignore this?

I’m sorry, Anon, truly. I’m guessing from your thought to ask me about it that you like Frank/Karen. A lot of my friends do too. I understand. If I didn’t hate Karen so much, it might be my brand of catnip. But I do, so...... my bad. I’m a jerk. Should have left it at the short answer. Heh...

[kyliafanfiction-archive]

How would you rank the TVD seasons from your most favorite to least? Is Steroline enough to elevate the last two seasons in your rankings?!

Oooh, that’s a tough question when you put it like that....

I think Season 6 is actually the best season. It’s got amazing Bamon feels, Damon with his own storyline free of Elena (I don’t hate Delena, but I’m very aggressively meh on it) and genuinely being a better person all season long. It also has the best unity of story.

I think Season 7 is pushed up to #2 because of the Steroline. Like, the first half of season 7 was GREAT, but the second they introduced the Armory it started going downhill, and the Phoenix Stone in general was a mistake. But the Steroline in Season 7, and the Bamon in the first half, is AMAZING. Even if I could do without the out of nowhere Bonenzo and the three year skip.

Season 2 is next. Because I love, love seeing Caroline getting used to being a vampire, and Stefan teaching her. I love Damon in this season as well - his snark, his wit, his general fun is on prime form here. The menacing threat of Klaus’s impending arrival is very well handled, compared to the wussing down of him to varrying degrees in Seasons 3 and 4 (sorta.) Tyler coming to terms with being a werewolf... it’s magnifique!

Season 5 is up next. Like, there’s some really fun bits here - Katherine dying is a classic (look, I’m sorry, I know there are people who like her, and objectively, it’s not like she’s any worse than some of my faves, I could just never stand that bitch and she was always overstaying her welcome), Silas was actually fun, memoryloss!Stefan was great, and the Pre-Steroline in the second half of the season was awesome af. The travelers weren’t half-bad as villains either.

I think... Season 1 goes here. There’s nothing really stand out about Season 1, really, Not compared to some of the later seasons. Good moments, bad moments, just kinda hovers out there in the middle. 

Season 3 - it’s not bad, really, it’s not. But... the way the writers kept bending over backwards to keep Klaus alive (and also, starting to shove Klaroline at us) when it didn’t make sense for him to be kept alive annoyed me. Again, good moments, but...

Season 4 - the whole quest for the cure/Atticus Shane/Silas arc? Lasted too long and not long enough. The Hunters were a wasted opportunity - the Brotherhood of the Five shouldn’t have been about this whole Silas arc to begin with, IMO. (what is the connection between Slaying Vampires and finding Silas’s resting place anyway?) The complicated alliance-switching, the whole unnecessary Sire-bond arc, the way they handled Humanityless Elena... just didn’t work for me. Best part of the season was when Klaus bitches off to New Orleans... and yes, all that Klaroline they kept shoving at us was very... aggressively meh or worse for me.

Season 8. Oh man, Season 8. Yes, the Steroline is AMAZING, and the Bamon in the episode 8x15 was very good, and Damon had some great parts in general (I loved the trip into Damon’s head) and the Steroline Wedding is the stuff dreams are made of, but the majority of the arc? The Sirens? Psychics? Cade? Hell is a Psychic Imprint Dimension? The magical Donovan Bell? SO MUCH BULLSHIT! We didn’t need all that new crap. A finale should be bringing the show full circle (which it did, but could have done better without all the new shit). Katherine as the final ‘boss’ made sense, and I get that they couldn’t bring Nina onscreen until the finale, but they could have done it so many other ways. And killing Stefan at the end, the day of his wedding? Fuck. That. 

Just... so much no, do not want in Season 8. The Steroline can’t save the crappy bits. 

[kimtotes]

Sutter making everything about Gemma was the downfall of the show imo,she had so much screen time,she got away with everything,it became unbearable!She even got a new man who was good one,and let’s not gonna talk about Katey singing!The worst part was how oblivious Sutter and Katey were on interviews about how hated she was,she had fans,but the general public despised her imo,she had so many gross lines,it was imposible to feel anything but hate for her at some point,before what she did to Tara

YES TO ALL OF THIS!! You honestly nailed it! She had waaay to much screen time! She was in everyones story, even if there was no point in her being there! I haven’t watched it, but he even gave her a fucking cameo in the first episode of the Mayans!! WHY IS SHE THERE LOL. It got to the point where she wasn’t even interesting to watch. Like Walter White is an awful person, but god damn he was interesting to watch. Gemma was just annoying! There was nothing interesting about her in the last two seasons. She was completely unbearable! When Sutter started catering to Gemma, things went downhill. He wrote arcs for her that made zero sense and she constantly overshadowed Jax’s story, especially in the finale season! Like who is the main character here? It pisses me off because he dumped the series long storyline in order to make Gemma look good, her involvement in JTs death was never resolved! It was just dropped! I liked Gemma as a character in the earlier seasons, but she completely changed. She had the potential to be a great villan! It’s true and they fed into that!! Sutter catered to the Gemma fanbase and tried to make her likeable after seasons of building her up as the main antagonist. He was always talking about how his writing wad organic, but then he twisted the story to work in Gemma’s favor. There were so many one liners that were gross and were completely unecessary. When she fucking slams Ima’s head on the bar and breaks her nose for no reason?! He’s denied it so many times, but that was honestly why Gemma was the one to kill Tara. He catered to the Tara haters, he death was so brutal and it was at the hands of Gemma! It makes me so mad because he wanted people to like Gemma so much that he tried to make the audience feel bad for her in S7. In the end she didn’t even get the ending that she deserved, she died on her own terms. She got to go out in the most peaceful way on the show, a bullet to the back of the head while gazing at flowers. NO!! She has been an antagonist from the first season and she gets to go out like that. If Sutter wanted to make the show about Katey, he should a wrote a show with Katey as the main