#in episode 10 the more emotional side of the break up is shown

[fuckblizzardbearlover]

LITERATURE FOR DUMBIES

So a huge problem in all fandoms seems to be a server inability to understand basic literary devices/tropes/ and story structure.

Its definately ok to not be an expert, however you all should consider that if something seems off or wrong to try to do what people have done with literature for thousands of years, discuss it.

"I dont understand this story thread" "what was the point of X" "why is the story focusing on this side character"

Almost every "these new episodes/movies suck" rants are basically those but instead of asking, just declaring the trained professional writers are bad or stupid.

Like...its ok. But when i was in school in a classroom or 30 students only half actually did the reading and a fraction of those understood it and a fraction of THOSE understood the nuances. But thats why book clubs and literary events and classes EXIST. To be a safe place to discuss things. And NOT rant and insult the writers.

So here is a few major tips i see as problems for alot of people.

1) in almost all media the characters do not represent the authors opinions. They can align and in some the story is an excuse for the author to speak certain opinions, but most characters have a specific personality. And an authors challenge is to think about how they would interact. So just because a character is giving a speech about, idk , how all people are selfish, doesnt mean the writer thinks that. It means THAT character thinks that

2)related: characters lie, have flaws, motivation and biases. People dont have 20/20 future hindsite . It literally makes no sense to say "this character should have done this ". THAT character? Had 5 seconds to make a decision. If u soent more than 10 minutes thinking about an alternative you have already negated your own argument. People are ruled by emotion and prejudice. Further people propogate propoganda. In Black Panther Killminger wasnt a revolutionary. He was blatantly using propoganda to justify his actions to himself and others. His real goal was to gain control of the worlds most powerful military so he could be a tyrant. This is explicitely shown in the movie by him aalting the earth and using his new power to immediately attack the people he claims to want to free. No killmonger wasnt "right". Nakia was, she was depicted FROM THE START as using wakandan resources to help her kin around the world, killmingers first act was to solodify power and destroy wakanda's culture, independance and people. Thr villain speech is a tool for the villain to trick themselves into thinking they are the hero, or to sap the strength of the hero, or as a mirror for the heroes character development.

3: exposition and character development is not "filler". Filler is trivial screen time meant to stall, usually because the writers are behind or having trouble and is most prominent in anime because they are adaptions of manga which might be unfinished. I.e. naruto shippuden wasnt finished so the show writing team made up a whole au story that wasnt in the manga to stall.

Episodes or movie scenes can do multiple things. They can world build or set the tone, introude story elements. Sometimes a scene in a movie exists just to give a break or give whimsy or an emotional reaction. The opening of the men in black was meant to start the audience with chaotic whimsy to get them prepared for the chaotic story coming, a comical scene in a shakespear play exists to return the audience to a neutral stare between dramatic scenes. Beach city episodes of steven universe exist to focus on stevens character development outside of battle because the story is about HIM not some space war. Non din jarin episodesof the mandelorian exist because the story isnt about HIM its about "the mandelorian" which could be any mandelorian and in s3 explicitely about anyone who identifies as such. The story is about their culture and how it fits in the space opera, not one lone space dads journeys with his new kid.

4: the story exists because of the intent of the author.

You can interpret art how u want, however any criticism has to be made with the understanding of what the author wants. If u want a story to be about something, thats cool but you can be disappointed if its not, but your criticism should not include that. Because the story is what the author wanted, not what u wanted. U want this kids show to have less fart jokes and season long character arcs? Well to bad, thats not why they made it. U want this show to have a positive story? To bad, they specifically made it to be trauma porn. You dont have to watch it, you dont have to like it. But u cannot be made when aomeone gives u free cucumbers and they turn into pickles and not tomatos.

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[namtanlovesfilm]

axelle judges bl shows > Step by Step

summary: Phat is a young worker at Jian Group, who develops a crush on a handsome guy he spills bubble tea on. To his surprise, though, it turns out that this handsome guy... is his new boss.

where to watch: dramacool

grade: 7/10

pros:

my favorite aspect of this show is that it embraces the flaws & feelings of its characters. it lets the relationship between jeng & pat develop very slowly (as it should for this kind of story), it lets pat kiss his ex before he ever kisses jeng & realize he doesn't love him that way anymore, and many more moments that felt very realistic compared to how other shows did it. the writing really cared for the characters' motivations & feelings which I loved.

to add to the realistic aspect of the show, this truly felt much more like a lgbtq+ show than other bl shows, which was obviously really nice & I hope it becomes a trend for more thai bl shows to come.

as someone who usually prefers shorter shows, I actually really enjoyed the longer episodes here? I don't know what it is, but it really added to the show's experience for me & didn't make the show drag on or boring. my issues are more so with the writing, but the length of the episodes actually made me more attached to the story & characters that are otherwise pretty basic.

the acting & chemistry were very good. there were some moments where I thought pat's actor wasn't that great, but jeng's actor did amazing & I really wanna see more of him, as well as jaab's actor & up poompat who honestly slayed in this role. overall the chemistry between the whole cast really was amazing too & contributed to the show feeling more natural.

the show is well filmed & you can tell a lot of care was put into it, which makes the watching experience more pleasant.

cons:

jaab & jane are truly the most underdeveloped side ship relationship I've ever seen??? nothing happened in their story, and they got reunited OFF SCREEN??? this is truly the biggest failure of a side ship I've ever seen, especially since these two had great chemistry. idk what happened here but this was NOT it.

the show really lost me in its second half when it became about pat crying every goddamn five minutes. it honestly made me lose empathy for him after a while even though he was a character I really liked at first. moreover, if a character cries all the time, it lessens the emotional impact it has on its viewers. as an example, we barely see jeng cry at all during the show, yet, when he does, it was WAY more impactful. I think there's a way to write a crybaby character, but this was not the way here.

overall basically all the side characters except chot are useless & served no purpose, also what was the point of beam being in love with ae while she's with kanun?? literally so useless, it ends up being discussed as a non issue & added absolutely nothing to the show.

I fucking hate when there's a one or two year gap in a story for no reason other than to reunite the characters last minute & pretend that ending is satisfying enough, so it's no surprise I hated the two year break in the last episode. it's become so overused in bl shows & it's fucking annoying, we saw no growth from the characters & them getting back together after two years felt very unrealistic, when pat's love for jeng had never even been shown to be that deep.

sorry but the age gap between the actors bothered me. even on screen, the fact that this is a boss/employee story will always bother me, especially since there's quite an age gap, but irl? every time I remembered pat's actor is only 21 years old & there's 11 years between him & jeng's actor, I cringed. I know it's legal or whatever, but it just bothered me during my watching experience.

I have no idea if this is nitpicky or if it bothered other people, but there are very big continuity jumps between scenes in the same episode regarding pat's actor face & haircut. he looks way younger in certain scenes than others, some that even happened one after the other. it's probably bc they filmed the pilot teaser way before the rest of the show but it was VERY distracting to me.

this is very much a me thing, but the english segments were way too numerous & long. we get it, pat's actor can speak english & jeng's actor is half white, but idk... it bothered me.

would I rewatch it: probably not...

Overall there's a lot that this show put out that I truly appreciated. But sadly it really lost traction as episodes passed, and ended up quite disappointing to me. I did still like many things & will remember this show for them, though.

[wily-one24]

Top 5 SVU episodes. Or if you want to break it down more can choose any/all to answer: top 5 overall, top 5 eo episodes, top 5 olivia centric episodes, top 5 elliot centric episodes, top 5 whatever other character or partnership you want episodes

Do you understand what you are asking me to do? Like, there are over 500 episodes. Top 5?!?! That's, like, 1%. I can't... I just can't... I have been going over season by season and I'm up to S13, I already have a list of over 70 episodes and so will definitely have to narrow it down. Scrap that, I'm gonna go into headings.

Top 5 SVU Episodes Overall In SVU 1.0:

"911". Season 7, episode 3. Without a doubt, I love this one. The drama, the suspense, a child in danger, Olivia all dressed up, Olivia showing emotion, Olivia going absolutely feral as she cracks a guy's nose with her elbow, then pushes him down on the bed and threatens his life? Fuckin' A. Will watch that one forever and ever.

"Signature". Season 9, episode 12. Erika Christenson as Agent Cooper, plus Olivia pairing up to hunt a psychotic serial killer/torturer? Lack of Elliot? Yes please. Give me some angst... oh, that's right. You do. A victim that may have lived if different choices had been made. A multi-state FBI case. The moral dilemma of how right it is to kill a purely evil psychopath, which we can all understand, but there is supposed to the law and you can't just go off and shoot who you want. Olivia being slightly (a lot) traumatised because she has over-identified with Agent Cooper and then Cooper shoots herself in front of Liv while saying "Those who hunt monsters should be careful, lest they become monsters". It has everything.

"Zebras", Season 10, episode 22. This is just fun all around. There's a puzzling murder mystery. Inept crime techs we all love to hate. Over protective Elliot almost punching out a guy for suggesting Olivia might be a good victim. Cragen not even caring and telling the guy he'd deserve it. THEN, well, we all know what happens, right? With the hostage taking and Olivia pretending to take sides and slapping the ever living fuck out Elliot and screaming at him? Then fake kissing the perp? Yeah, we know. We love it.

"Locum"/"Bullseye", Season 12, episodes 1 and 2. Originally shown together as a season opener and later edited to be streamed separately. Bailey Madison as a little lost girl (score one more for Olivia's orphanage of lost case children) who tries so desperately to escape her batshit crazy parents (hi Joan Cusack, we love you) and is ultimately left in a bad situation while everyone else around her gets a happy ending? That poor child. I still believe Olivia should have just taken her. Then pad it out with a horrific pedophilia case with Henry Ian Cusick and a bunch of traumatised ten year old girls. Like, it's a lot, but it's a good set of episodes. The angst. The drama. The absolute absurdity of ANYONE calling Olivia dried up and repulsive. (Man, have you no eyes?).

"Behave", Season 12, episode 3. I cannot. Jennifer Love Hewitt. The trauma. Olivia stepping up and lending her power until she can find it in herself again. Olivia being all badass "You're my bitch now". The entire squad getting up in that guy's face, like the absurdity of a bunch of detectives following this guy into the bathroom to watch him pee, and sitting in his medical conferences to publicly ask why he rapes women. And Olivia being all go get 'em and travelling interstate to get her evidence. And JLH at the end, all "Be a good boy". The absolute satisfaction of it. It's a good episode with a good outcome and a good story.

Top 5 Episodes in later seasons, post Elliot:

"Hunting Ground", Season 13, episode 15. Not only do we get a psycho killer abducting young women and taking them out into the woods to drug them and hunt them down for sport (and the odd rape now and again, it *is* SVU after all). This is the first episode that really cements Nick as Olivia's new partner, the building of a great bond. I adore it.

"Institutional Fail", Season 17, episode 4. This will always hold a place in my heart. This is the episode that got me hooked on SVU. I had never seen the show, it wasn't even on my radar, until about November last year when I saw clips of this episode on FB. I was only able to track down what show it was from, because I knew Whoopi Goldberg (I mean, who doesn't, let's be real). It's a good story, it tugs on the heart strings. And it has abolutely no characters from the early seasons (except Olivia, who is radically different seventeen years earlier) which lead me to actually question if it was the right show for the first few episodes of season 1, but then I was hooked so it didn't matter.

"Townhouse Incident", Season 17, episode 11. I mean, let's face it. Olivia being taken hostage (yet again, for all perpetuity, come on girl, you need to have a lojack installed on your person or something... a personal alarm necklace or something... please) yet again is always fun. Bloody her up a little. Bring back her Lewis PTSD. What's not to like?

"The Book of Esther", Season 19, episode 20. This one draws me in every time. I don't know why. I almost always end up hoping it ends different, when I know it doesn't. The way it draws Amanda in and Olivia can tell her time and time again from experience not to get too involved, but she won't listen, and it nearly breaks her. The absolute absurdity of her being the one to take that shot and the cruelty (and necessity) of Olivia being the one to tell her.

"Remember Me/Remember Me Too", Season 19, episodes 23 and 24. Okay, okay, I know it. Olivia is taken hostage again (that personal alarm necklace is lookin' pretty good right about now, huh?). But it's more than that. It's the return of Feral Liv. Like, full out, balls to the wall, screaming red faced and incoherent in the face of a tied up man. And, honestly, the first time I saw this episode, I did not know whether or not she was playing a part to pacify the victim/hostage taker, or whether she believed her and this was honest emotion and it gets me everytime. Because it could have gone either way.

I mean, I'm already at five and there's still five season to go!!! C'mon here. It's not fair. I've already culled so MANY good ones. I'm sad. Sad Jacqui. 😞

Top 5 Storylines:

William Lewis, beginning at the end of S14 and continuing throughout S15. I am a sucker for threatening my favourite female characters. Hell yeah, let's kidnap Olivia and tie her up and get her all bloody and make her fight for her life. Then show us the aftermath and the horrific trial and her therapy and the subtle signs of trauma and PTSD afterwards... and THEN bring him back to fuck up her life some more so that it carries with her for years afterwards and is given to us in small doses of her trauma recall. I am ALL FOR THAT SHIT. Let's go.

Olivia's ongoing child hunt, trawling through all her cases for the perfect baby/child. Like, from a popstar's neglected daughter, to a crack addicted dying baby, to poor fostered Calvin being wrested screaming from her broken hearted arms... YES. Give me more. Oh, you will? A baby sold to child pornographers and kept in a drawer? That turns out to be the love child of a junkie prostitute and the devil incarnate human trafficker/pimp that she gets to adopt? That later turns out to be insane Psycho Brooke Sheild's grandson? This is my crack. Oh, what's that? He has blood relatives and decides to decimate her by calling complete strangers the only real family he has? Mmmmmm, fine wine.

Olivia as collateral damage. All of it. From her tragic conception, the rape of her mother, to her mother's inability to love her, her mother's psychological (bordering on physical) abuse of her, the absolute cruelty of her childhood that leads her to pursue a career in SVU so she can heal people the way her mother (and she herself) were never healed. That she can get the justic for others that she and her mother were always denied. Yesss. Give it. Bring it back in tantalising doses, like her inability to trust others, her inability to let others help, that poor neglected little girl that rises to the surface all the time, that locks herself in an interrogation room and bares her soul to a victim/killer despite Fin and Carisi trying to pull her out... that makes her look women in the eye when they tell her they cannot raise a monster baby left to them by their rapist. The way it leads her to never trust affection and keep everyone at bay. No, Cassidy, she'll never love you. No, Ed, she'll never trust happiness with you because happiness never lasts, not for her. The only one she'll ever really open up to is the ONE PERSON WHO IS UNAVAILABLE forever and ever. In every aspect is he unavailable, her work partner, her MARRIED work partner. The only one she can trust, because she never feels worthy of anything good. It's like they reached into my brain and looked at all the shiny buttons and decided to push them all.

Amanda forever and ever (at least in the early years) putting herself out there as bait, as a potential victim with no thought to her safety, because she refuses to see herself as anything but a victim and carries so much guilt, feeling complicit in her own rape, so she has to try to make it happen again to prove to herself that she DESERVES IT. That it was inevitable. That putting herself there gives her a modicum of control over the narrative. Mmm, delicious, yes, Give me a messy bench. Give me gambling addiction and smoking and the inability to see her family for what they are.

Fin, being Olivia's Ride or Die. He's so loyal. He would anything and he would also kill anyone for her. I absolutely believe he knows enough people that nobody would ever find the body. He has secret connections and knows things no normal person should know. I love it. He's like a secret agent, always there to protect Liv and solve cases. She deserves him.

Top 5 Guest Stars (other than the ones I have already mentioned):

Ally Walker. My old Profiler fave come back as a fucked up psychiatrist that fakes schizophrenia in a young boy so she can institutionalise him and rape him and have him father her baby? Oh, dear lord, fandoms collide. I love it. Bring it On.

John Stamos. You knew I was gonna say this. Anyone with the balls to bring up Elliot's pregnancy kink is a winner in my book.

Mary Stuart Masterson, little gay Jacqui loves her some Idgie Threadgoode and Benny & Joon. MSM coming into CANONICALLY point out the toxic codependency of Elliot and Olivia and how it legitimately effects their ability to work together? YASSSS.

The Rizzoli and Isles group... aka... Sasha Alexander, Jacqueline Bisset and Sharon Lawrence (Maura and both her mommies), my faves, not to mention Angie Harmon and Jordan Bridges, Michael Masse, Bruce McGill, John Damon, Chazz Palminterri, and so many more.

The Orange is the New Black gang, like, so many I cannot even mention. They're pretty much ALL there. Over and over again, in nearly every season. (If you missed Pablo Schrieber, I cannot help you), but even minor roles, nearly all the gang is there. Except Piper and Alex, but.. they were never my faves anyway.

I could keep going all day, fave characters (other than Olivia, because that's a gimme), favourite one liners, favourite relationships, favourite outfits, favourite undercover stints. What's not to like about this show?

[primavera1100]

Mental health tips from Dr. Gorav Gupta

Mental Health Tips for Managing Bipolar Disorder

By Dr. Gorav Gupta

Bipolar disorder is a complex mental health condition characterized by extreme mood swings, including emotional highs (mania or hypomania) and lows (depression). Managing this disorder can be challenging, but with the right strategies and support, individuals can lead fulfilling lives. Here are some essential tips to help manage bipolar disorder effectively.

1. Establish a Routine

Creating a consistent daily routine can provide structure and stability. Aim for regular sleep, meal, and activity times to help regulate mood swings. Consistency in your daily activities can reduce the likelihood of triggering manic or depressive episodes.

2. Prioritize Sleep Hygiene

Sleep is crucial for mood regulation. Establishing a relaxing bedtime routine and maintaining a consistent sleep schedule can significantly impact your mental health. Aim for 7-9 hours of quality sleep each night, and avoid stimulants like caffeine close to bedtime.

3. Stay Active

Regular physical activity has been shown to reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety. Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise most days of the week. Activities such as walking, swimming, or yoga can be particularly beneficial for enhancing mood and overall well-being.

4. Mindful Eating

Nutrition plays a vital role in mental health. Incorporate a balanced diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains, lean proteins, and healthy fats. Omega-3 fatty acids, found in fish and flaxseeds, may also help stabilize mood. Staying hydrated is equally important.

5. Educate Yourself and Others

Understanding bipolar disorder can empower individuals and their loved ones. Knowledge about symptoms, triggers, and management strategies fosters empathy and reduces stigma. Resources such as books, support groups, and online communities can be invaluable.

6. Monitor Mood Changes

Keeping a mood diary can help track fluctuations in mood, energy levels, and triggers. This self-awareness can alert you to early warning signs of an impending episode, allowing for timely intervention. Share this information with your healthcare provider to tailor your treatment plan.

7. Build a Support Network

Isolation can exacerbate symptoms. Surround yourself with supportive friends and family members who understand your condition. Consider joining a support group where you can share experiences and coping strategies with others facing similar challenges.

8. Communicate with Your Healthcare Provider

Regular check-ins with a mental health professional are crucial. Open communication about your symptoms, medication side effects, and any concerns can lead to more effective treatment adjustments. Do not hesitate to reach out when you need support.

9. Practice Stress Management Techniques

High stress can trigger episodes of mania or depression. Incorporate relaxation techniques such as mindfulness meditation, deep breathing exercises, or progressive muscle relaxation into your daily routine to manage stress effectively.

10. Limit Alcohol and Substance Use

Substance use can interfere with mood stability and complicate treatment. If you struggle with substance use, consider seeking help from a professional. Limiting alcohol and avoiding recreational drugs can significantly enhance your overall mental health.

11. Focus on Goals

Setting realistic and achievable goals can provide a sense of purpose and motivation. Break larger tasks into smaller, manageable steps, and celebrate your accomplishments, no matter how small they may seem.

12. Be Kind to Yourself

Finally, practice self-compassion. Bipolar disorder is a medical condition, and it’s important to acknowledge that it’s okay to have ups and downs. Treat yourself with the same kindness and understanding you would offer a friend facing similar challenges.

Conclusion

Managing bipolar disorder requires a comprehensive approach, combining medication, therapy, and lifestyle adjustments. By implementing these strategies, individuals can enhance their quality of life and cultivate resilience in the face of challenges. Remember, seeking help is a sign of strength, and you don’t have to navigate this journey alone.

If you or someone you know is struggling with bipolar disorder, reach out to a mental health professional for support and guidance tailored to your unique needs.

Dr. Gorav Gupta is a board-certified psychiatrist with over a decade of experience in treating mood disorders, including bipolar disorder. His holistic approach emphasizes the integration of lifestyle changes, therapeutic interventions, and ongoing support to empower individuals on their mental health journey. www.goravgupta.com

[non-operator]

okay... let me start off with "I'm sorry" because I lied and I'm bored, gave H*llavu B*ss a go because my feed is full of it and HH now and I have no impulse control and I also can't leave things unfinished. And HB is free on youtube; I can technically pirate hh but I don't want to be in that much effort for that...

And like, I think it's the same as I feel about that one song from HH. It's not that great, though I guess I can see why people like it? But in a "I don't think you people ever moved past deviant art era plot and art". Which, to be nice, isn't bad by itself but objectively speaking, there is better media and stories out there. All in all, I'm giving it a 2.5/10; I think the best way to summarize HB is that it's a show made for people who were already in love with it before watching it, not a show that tries to win over its audience.

Plot

It is episodic, so I will admit that plot isn't that big of a factor in the series. But I will say that it loses sight of its premise pretty fast. Like, it's advertised and set up as a "wacky hijinks in a found family assassination business", but after the first few episodes or so, it stops showing them doing work/killing people and how they go about that, and focuses more on what happens around or outside of work. For example, ep 6 and 7 just doesn't even show them working and skips straight to the aftermath and what they're going to do after work. The Spring Break episode does show them working, but it glosses over it; IMP is more like a plot device than a premise. Ep 2 straight up has them doing other stuff (aka bodyguarding, something that is explicitly said to be not a service IMP offers). Fuck it, even the Harvest Moon Festival ep is not work-related. For a show that is supposedly centered on IMP and the main cast killing humans on behalf of sinners with a grudge, it doesn't actually interact or play with that concept. And I think it basically drops completely out of focus in Season 2.

And like, I can understand if the show wants to make it more about character dynamics than the business, but the pilot (and ep 1 kind of) promises to explore that *through* IMP work. And that leads into the next big problem with HB

Character

I feel like everyone except Blitzo is underdeveloped, especially the women in the show. We get a lot of insight into Blitzo's motivations and emotional baggage and how he copes with that in unhealthy and asshole-y ways. But literally everyone else is kind of thrown under the bus unless it's relevant to Blitzo. The only character that kind of escapes this treatment (but not wholly) is Moxxie.

But Millie is only defined by how she's Moxxie's wife, and basically nothing else. Loona-- does have some more characterization than Millie, but her biggest-- and basically only-- role in the show is being Blitzo's difficult adopted daughter; her character arc about idk getting more in-touch with her feelings and being more expressive is centered around how she feels about Blitzo. And then the side characters: Octavia and Stella. Octavia is also about being a daughter to her father, and that's kind of it! Even though she's struggling with her parents' (incoming) divorce, she's only shown to be interacting/having an emotional connection with Stolas; Stella is never in the picture. Stella is-- just a major bitch, and that's it. That's all she has to her character.

But Octavia and Stella are side characters, so I can accept them having pretty flat personalities, but Millie and Loona? Those two are part of the main fucking cast. How are they being sidelined this hard??

I think a lot of the show revolves around Blitzo, so if the characters don't matter to him or don't bounce off well with him, they kind of get shafted by the writing. Like Millie. She is just generally so easygoing with Blitzo's antics that there's nothing for Blitzo to really react to there, so she's just essentially a background character.

Speaking of, almost all the characters and relationships are kind of built to parallel Blitzo and Stolitz (we'll get to this ship in a minute). Like, Moxxie is supposed to be a nice foil to Blitzo because they're both afraid of rejection, but they deal with that in opposite ways; Moxxie is polite, professional, no backbone because he doesn't want confrontation lest it lead to rejection whereas Blitzo is crass and a dick about everything so he can push people away before they reject/hurt him. And they both want to be loved, but Moxxie has a healthy relationship with Millie whereas Blitzo has no such thing in his life, so another contrast. And also daddy issues.

This is okay on its own. It makes a compelling dynamic between Blitzo as a boss and friend to Moxxie.

But then they do this for almost every character?? Loona (basically) has daddy issues and can't express herself that well because she's under-socialized and Trauma, Octavia is a daddy's girl and is too emo to communicate her feelings, Stolas has daddy issues and also communication issues, Fizzarolli has daddy issues (when he doesn't need to???)

And then there's the fact that it feels like the other relationships we see are supposed to work as parallels/foils to Stolitz as well? Moxxie and Millie and happy and healthy and committed, unlike Stolitz. Fizz and Asmodeus manage to work around that class disparity/power imbalance because they can communicate with each other, unlike Stoliz. They kind of just function as a "this is what Stolitz could be if they got over themselves and talked"

And generational trauma and the desire to be loved can be a major and shared theme, but there should at least be nuance between each representation of it?? These are literally all the same in that it boils down to "I don't know how to ask for proper intimacy".

Ships

There's only one main ship and it's Stolitz, and... I find it compelling?? But it's just not executed well enough. They just rush through the development, so when the show actually reveals that there's mutual attraction, it just feels like it comes out of nowhere and the audience has to do a lot of the legwork to figure out what the fuck happened from point a to point b.

It's also like, it steals a lot of attention from other aspects of the show. I feel like a lot of Season 2 episodes kind of focuses more on that relationship in favor of other characters who need screen time and development (like Millie)

I could give a really long analysis on Stolitz, but I'm just going to say that the problem kind of just boils down to the show doesn't sell that they actually feel genuine affection for each other. I can see them projecting their own emotional baggage onto the other and using each other, but there's no transition from the transactional relationship they have in the beginning to liking each other as people. In fact, I don't think they even know each other outside of sex and work. Which is bad. Because I can buy them fucking up communicating their wants and thus settling for fucking each other for "professional" reasons, but if the show really wants to sell this ship, there has to be something genuine between them that draws them to each other.

Which is to say, Stolitz is a ship for people who already love and want the ship, not for people who are just There. As in, the show seems to make the assumption that the audience wants this ship to happen and that the ship will happen, so they don't really take the time to establish a solid foundation and growth arc for it. It just feels like big emotional or romantic moments without the actual necessary context to make it work. Which is just a problem for the general show.

Pacing

It's bad. It's so bad. I can understand leaving arcs unresolved for a bit so that there's suspense or whatever, but they keep adding more arcs and problems while leaving unfinished plotlines unfinished. Only to then resolve it super quickly. Like ??????? It's all so cramped and rushed-- but then they sometimes slow it down in the worst way possible in that it just kind of ignores previous developments for a one-off episode or something (like S2 Ep 2 where they just ignore the Stolitz drama for wacky adventure in the human world and Stolas and Blitzo are just acting like nothing wrong happened). (And I Know! I know they showed details in the background that explain that this happens because both of them are ignoring the problem, but even so, they shouldn't be acting so casual with each other; it should be made more clear that they're both still uncomfortable but *acting*) (and something that changes the relationship should be shown to the audience clearly? Not just put in as "blink and you'll miss it" text messages??)

And sometimes this rushed pacing leads to info-dumps or telling, not showing. Like with Stolas' focus episode where we learn his backstory. It's not super bad, but it weakens the impact of big plot moments; we just hear Stolas saying he endured his loveless marriage for his daughter, but we. never really see that...? The times he's with her when she's a child doesn't count because Stella's not a picture in that. The one time we kind of see something related to this statement is when Stella's kind of being loud in the kitchen and he checks in on her sleeping peacefully, but like. That's not really and example of him enduring Stella's temper and insults for Octavia's sake. He hasn't even seen Stella at all before he drops by Octavia's room. The next time is when Stella is throwing an imp at him in the kitchen and Stolas is trying to be... nice? reasonable? But at this point, I think it's clear to Octavia that her parents don't love each other. And even then, we never really see him paying attention to her or expressing concern about what Octavia might think or feel during the fight, or trying to reassure her that this is just a normal spat between married couples afterwards as damage control. We can just take his word for it, but it's just not as powerful. I'd say the same goes for when we learn about Moxxie and his father/traumatic childhood. Would've been great to see how he struggles with that specifically or had more clues to that before we see him completely resolve to stand up to his father.

It just feels like the show itself expects the audience to be completely in love with it, so it doesn't really bother to develop its world or characters until Big Emotional Moments and at that point, it just gives the necessary context to pull it off real fast, so everything just feels so... compact and dense and not very natural. It's not trying to sell itself to a new audience, it's catering to an audience that's been supporting them since the pilot.

[deliciousscaloppine]

The Untamed, Episodes 10 & 41 Nie Mingjue & Meng Yao/Jin Guangyao (Wang Yi Zhou, Zhu Zan Jin), director Wai Man Cheng

[jolyneswife-anime-reviews]

Your lie in April anime review

Spoilers for your lie in April and tw for death, trauma and family issues

“Even in the depths of the darkest oceans, some light always pierces through,” - Kousei Arima

Genre: tragedy, music (piano/violin), slice of life, romance, high school

Where I watched it: Netfilx

Characterisation: 9.5/10 ( The characters are all given very distinct, yet believable, personalities, as well as flaws - all of them hesitate and make mistakes, and all of them learn something about what they actually want in the process. Even Kaori, who is always impossibly cheery and energetic, and Watari, who has a light hearted and humorous demeanor, are shown slipping up and getting discouraged. All characters have detailed backstories and well explained motives, which only get better as the series develops them)

Setting: 8/10 (The high school where all the characters go is a pretty standard anime setting. The more noteworthy things include Kousei's house, with the dusty piano room, ever present even when he tries to forget, the hospital where a lot of Kousei's grief is set, and the various very grand theatres where the piano competitions are held and where Kousei makes, breaks and rebuilds his reputation, as well as developing a relationship with Kaori)

Plot: 8.5/10 (One of my favourite anime ever. The plot is full of twists and has quite a few mysteries and side plots, which all link together beautifully in Kaori’s letter in the end, offering Kousei, and the viewer, closure. While some episodes are heartbreaking as the viewer finds out more about the abuse Kousei was forced to endure from his mother, others are quite comforting and romantic, as Kaori makes him realize he can play because he enjoys it and as himself, and that he’s much more than his mother’s tool.)

Comfort: 5/10 (This anime really is a roller coaster to watch- Kousei goes through depressing life situations, which are executed  in a way that makes the viewer feel the pain or fear too. However, there are also several feel good scenes at the start of Kousei and Kaori’s friendship, with her helping him find himself and move past his mother’s death and abuse. Their playing together is also pleasant to watch, but soon, their relationship starts to be tinged with loss and sadness as well. There are quite a few humorous scenes with Kousei’s friends, particularly the playboy and captain of the football team, Ryota Watari.)

Art style: 9.5/10 (I absolutely adore the way the characters are drawn! They all look realistic and developed, with the eyes truly reflecting their personalities. The setting is drawn in a very aesthetic way too, with cherry blossom trees, grand halls for competitions, and starry skies on shimmering waters. This alone made it truly a pleasure to watch! The colour pallet goes from vibrant when Kaori enters Kosei’s life and helps him to move on from everything that happened, to muted and dull when things begin to deteriorate for him, reflecting the mood. Sometimes, in flashbacks about Kosei’s mother, she is shown in black and white, or with no eyes, which makes her appear all the more wicked and terrifying. References to colour are also often made to symbolise emotions and outlook on life) 

Addictiveness: 10/10 (The series is very addictive, with constant twists and urgent mysteries in the plot, as well as mysteries and developments with all the characters. This made it impossible to stop watching- there are major cliffhangers. Luckily, at 24 episodes, it is not too demanding to watch.) 

Philosophy: 8/10 (This anime is quite psychological, with Kousei’s mother abusing him for most of his childhood and dying when he’s 14. This leaves him unable to play the piano- he sees the ghost of his mother whenever he does and can’t hear the notes as a result- and forces him to abandon his career as a piano prodigy. Because of this, much of the anime is about recovery- Kousei discovers himself and his own love for playing, separate from the metronome-like style his mother had forced him to adopt. He also gains more insight into his feelings as he does so, realising that, in a twisted way, his mother ways trying to help him have a livelihood and support himself after she passed. With this realization, he’s finally able to move past the ghost of his mother and  look at life from another perspective. All the characters fight their own mental battles, some putting up cheerful fronts and falling apart later on in the series, and others making mistakes and questionable decisions to find their happiness.)

Originality: 9/10 (I have never seen an anime combine so many elements so beautifully: there’s the music aspect, with the rivalries between the top players and competitions, the romance aspect, with Kousei’s feelings for Kaori, who is dating his best friend and the two growing closer, as well as Tsubaki’s chaotic romantic discoveries, and there’s a more tragic aspect, with the relationship between Kousei and his mother, her death, and what later happens to Kaori)

Consistency: 8.5/10 (The series keeps up a consistently high quality throughout. There are some seemingly less relevant aspects, like Kousei becoming Nagi’s piano teacher and helping her perform for a school concert, but I think these help us build a picture of Kousei recovering and making his piano playing, as well as his life, his own)

The plot 

Kousei Arima used to be a piano prodigy- he was one of the most promising young pianists in Japan, winning every competition he entered and shocking the judges with his seemingly impossibly accurate replications of the score. However, after his abusive mother died, he found himself unable to hear the notes, and remembering her and the physical and mental abuse he went through whenever he played. As a result, he resigned from his career as a pianist. Two years later, his best friend, Tsubaki Sawabe, forces him to come along to a date she arranged between her friend, Kaori Miyazono, and Kousei’s other best friend, Ryota Watari. He gets there earlier than the other two, and is instantly stunned when he sees Kaori. The group later goes to see her perform at a concert, which is also deeply shocking to Kousei- she plays with skill and passion, but instead of sticking to the score, she changes the pieces she plays to her liking. Afterwards, Kaori manages to persuade Kousei to accompany her on the piano at her next competition. Initially, Kousei bails, saying he can’t hear the notes, but after seeing how much Kaori needs him and how nervous she is, he changes his mind and the group rush to the concert hall together. The performance starts off good, but then Kousei stops hearing the notes, resulting in a catastrophic second part. This is just the beginning of his new piano career- with Kaori by his side, he soon falls back into performing, entering competitions by himself and meeting old industry rivals who have all but forgotten him. As Kousei continues playing and starts moving past the scars his mother left him, realising her ghost is just a figment of his trauma and her actions were a form of twisted and misguided love, his relationship with Kaori becomes stronger and the two grow very close. However, Kousei soon learns something life changing about Kaori, which causes him to deteriorate all over again, and this time there is no one but his mother’s old collegue, Ms Seto, to force him out of the dumps and make him carry on playing. 

Masterlist

[bestruction]

How it’d be to watch animes with them

A/N: While i’m working on my Mikasa x reader royal au, this little idea came to my mind. I tried to put the links when i mentioned a specific scene and speak a little about the anime in case you don’t know it.  So here it’s: 

Warnings: Me exposing my otaku self, mentions of 18+ animes (Not hentais) 

Eren -  Kaguya-sama wa Kokurasetai: Tensai-tachi no Renai Zunousen (13+)

A / N: The main characters like each other, but none wants to confess because being the person who takes the first step would also represent being the defeated person. The anime develops in a series of plans that both elaborate to make the other confess their love.

Warnings: None

It was his idea to watch an anime together since the two of you liked it a lot. You saw no harm and agreed to go to sleep with your boyfriend on Friday night. So, you would have the dawn and the weekend to see everything.

“We could watch One piece! Everybody likes"

“In three days ?! We will not finish even if we do not take breaks ”

"Naruto then?"

“Haven't you seen it all five times or more?

"But it is a classic!"

"It is also too long!"

He would sulk when he saw you reject each of his suggestions for being too big animes. The truth was, he was trying to convince you to stay longer. After much searching in the catalog, you choose to watch a short comedy of 12 episodes.

Biggest mistake ever

Eren is already annoying by nature, and after watching Kaguya-sama's two seasons he would spend the day and night trying to get you to confess to him EVEN IF YOU'VE BEEN IN LOVE FOR TWO YEARS AND HE HAS BEEN THE FIRST TO DECLARE. HIT HIM, PLEASE.

"Do you think that using such a low trick will make me give in?"

“Eren, I just got out of the shower. What trick? Wear an outfit? ”

“Showing off your skin won't make you win”

If you wanted to play with him, great. You are going to spend the day in this little game until he gets tired and just hugs you or something because he can't spend a lot of time without touching you. But if you didn't want to, just you could use that touchy side of him against him too.

"Maybe I shouldn't show you anything else then"

"Yes, of course, do- Wait what?"

"You heard"

“NO, BABE! YOU WON! I CONFESS! I LOVE YOU"

Watching anime with him would be quite an experience. For being very verbal, Eren would be the type of person who doesn't shut up watching anything. Especially, something that makes him laugh. You would see him laughing out loud and throwing himself back on the couch or on you, whether you were with him or not. You may even complain, but it would be fun to see him react to everything as immediately and naturally as an unfiltered child.

He will sing ALL the openings for the rest of the days around the house until you are humming some without realizing it.

For some reason, can I imagine him doing Chika dance ?? Yes, please film this big bear dancing like a little girl.

Levi - Death parade 

A / N: Do you want to cry and hurt yourself? This is the right place. Death Parade is a story about what happens after death. The characters are sent to mysterious bars where they will be judged to decide the fate of the souls themselves. (18+)

Warnings: Suicide, depressive themes, mentions of rape and domestic violence

I don't see Levi watching many animes. In fact, I don't see him watching much anything at all. He would be the type of person who can't spend a lot of time in front of the television without feeling like he's wasting time. Which would result in a very selective and demanding taste.

He would always read the reviews about the film, and after watching it, he would make his own. Ever. No exceptions. Unlike Impossible-to-be-quiet-Eren, Levi would be silent to be able to capture and understand all the details. This is interesting because getting his attention is a difficult task. But once it's done, he is 100% focused on the story and immersed in the characters.

So, after reading about it, he would agree to watch Death Parade with you.

He would have low expectations at first, and if the anime failed to hold his very difficult attention in three episodes, he wouldn't even try with the rest.

So when in the first episode, all suspense and doubts left to the viewer entered Ackerman's head, he would finish the other 11 without realizing it.

As a rational person, he would love things that make him think and reflect on the proposed theme. In the case: Life and death.

For some reason, I imagine him as someone who would like to study and read philosophy as a hobby and that he would love Nietzsche? So, you could expect deep conversations after each episode.

But without any arrogance, humanity's strongest soldier might not be the most talkative man in humanity, but surely when he opened his mouth to it, it wouldn’t be to show himself off with something that he knows and you don’t. On the contrary, he would be more than happy to explain if you asked and added your opinion.

He wouldn't cry, but he would be touched by the way the emotions were shown and created in the characters.

He would probably see the scene where Decim cries more than once for being impressed with how the pain of a character who is supposedly not flesh and blood is expressed so well.

And after the anime is over, you would always see him listening to the music of the ice skating scene around the house while doing something.

When you were finished watching everything, you would talk again about the anime. You lying on his chest and he touching his hair, smelling him.

"Do you believe in reincarnation, Levi?"

“If so, I wouldn't go back to this shit a second time. No matter what they offered me ”

"Levi!"

"Unless it was to have you again"

“What a cliché” He would roll his eyes after hearing your response “But I like clichés”

Again, he wouldn't cry, but he would be thinking about how ephemeral things can be, including being alive. Then you can expect a more touchy Levi for a few days.

Jean - Banana Fish 

N / A: Another one to cry and get hurt. Banana Fish is way more than just a story about one character just is hard to define. So in case, you didn’t watch it, here’s the trailer. (18+)

warnings: pedophilia, rape, violence, drugs, your heart being destroyed

You know that guy who says that no yaoi is good, it's just a way to feed a bunch of fujoshi and stuff like that? Jean. It's him. I just know it. So when you suggested Banana Fish and said it was a BL / yaoi, he would probably laugh and ignore the idea.

But after insisting a little and showing him the many compliments that both the anime and the manga received, he would accept.

At first, he wouldn't pay much attention. He really thought it would be just another bad anime. But by the end of the first episode, he would be too involved in the story to stop.

I think he would love crime novels for the same reason that Levi: To think. Try to find out how things are going to end and pick up any clues that the author has left about the ending. So the plot would hold him so much because he would make a ton of theories about the end.

He will ship Ash and Eiji with all his soul. I mean, how can he not ship? To see an anime in which the physical touch between the couple doesn't really happen and still builds a well-developed and healthy relationship would be a new experience for him.

Jean is somewhat similar to Eren in this respect. So you can expect to see him huffing in anger, cursing one of the characters, throwing a pillow away, or using it to hide a tear or two that he would let go of you. The kind of person who gets emotionally involved with the things he watches.

He would cry an entire river after watching the last episode and deny it later.

“I was not crying. The cushion fabric made my eyes itch a lot ”

Show him again and he will cry the same amount and intensity

Armin - Haikyuu

A / N: Considering all the texts on Tumblr for haikyuu characters, I’m pretty sure you know what anime it’s lol (10+)

Armin is an otaku with a license card and no one can change my mind. He would probably start watching it as a child. So, his first animes would be everyone's classics: Naruto, Dragon Ball Z, Bleach, etc.

So it would be normal that as the vast majority, he would continue to have a preference for shounen when he grew up. So it would be your idea to see Haikyuu.

He would have low expectations because he thought it would be just another anime with cute characters for everyone to be thirsty as an inverted harem. And also because the synopsis does not create a strong impression, especially for those who consume shounen daily.

"So we are just gonna see a little boy trying to catch a ball?"

“It's gonna be good! Everyone is talking about it now ”

"Does he have some superpower?"

"No"

"Something scary?"

"Armin, just give a chance!"

He would like it. Did I say he would like it? Because he would love it. The atmosphere created and well developed with such a simple plot would hold his attention well. (Is it possible to dislike Hinata in the first episode?)

It would be a great anime for him to watch because 1. It is different from what he usually sees. Unlike shounen, Haikyuu deals only with real and tangible scenarios. Of course, still with that touch of anime, but it is very easy to recognize yourself in the characters and learn from them and therefore reflect on yourself as well.

It would be great to make him think about his own insecurities and how most of them were inside his head.

He would be so immersed in the anime universe that he would have to pause the game scenes because he would be too nervous waiting for the ball to fall.

You will probably see him taking a deep breath in each drawing scene of the characters and see him truly cheering for the team as if it were a real national game.

More than that, you will see his eyes full of tears when Yamaguchi hit the serve in the match against Aoba johsai.

In fact, Yamaguchi would be his favorite character. No discussions.

"I said it would be good"

"Shut up"

"Make me"

Mikasa - Heaven’s official blessing 

A / N: I'm going to leave the trailer here because I don't know how to define it very well. It's a novel, but the story doesn't focus ONLY on that. (14+)

Okay, you didn't suggest. She did not suggest. So how do you end up watching together? You catch her watching when you come home by surprise lol

Until then, you would know that she watched some anime, but nothing romantic. Never. In fact, that was her little secret.

Although common sense is that Mikasa would be cold even in a modern au (and I agree in parts). I think she would be the type of person who loves to see the sweetest and softest things to melt alone on the couch without anyone seeing. A moment for herself and a part of her that she would not show to anyone.

You would already know about her romantic side, but seeing her under the covers sighing while watching the Netflix special episode is a totally different story.

Please don’t mock her!!. She would be red enough by the time she was discovered.

When she was less shy, she would ask if you want to watch with her. She would say she saw no problem watching it with you again since doing it with you would be a different experience.

If you accept, you would spend the rest of the night in the room sharing a blanket and absorbing the soft atmosphere, the soundtrack, and the Chinese culture so present in history.

She would not speak a lot because she was paying attention, but she would hug you all the time. In the romantic scenes, she would tighten her arms around you a little and sometimes left a kiss on your shoulder.

I think she could relate to Hua Cheng's way of loving. He is always there to protect, care for and see his lover even if sometimes Xie Lian doesn't even know.

And that is what she wants to show you, that more than a girlfriend, she is also someone you can count on.

Days later, you will see her reading the rest of the work around the house because she couldn't stand to wait for a second season.

And later, SURELY melting and vibrating while watching Mo Dao Zu Shi.

[skullinacowboyhat]

Hello! Tell us more about your Star Wars tv series!!!

Hello! Thanks for asking, prepare for waaaayyyy too much text haha (I’ve put most of it under the cut). To clarify, I use a TV series format to organise all the stories in my head, rather than it being a full, actual project, so take the outlines with a grain of salt. Basically this is hypothetical (rip) and just bouncing around in my head like a TV screensaver.  Premise - the series focuses mainly on Nuri and the twins, Leiko and Rin, with the backdrop of the main storyline of SWTOR (Republic vs Empire with the Emperor thrown in). Mai, Varn’ya, Qeeo, Natila and some other OCs also make appearances. In the outlines below, I’m mainly detailing the twins’ storylines, as most of Nuri’s is emotional and internal.  Some deets - there’s 4 seasons, 10 episodes each, 40 mins long. I imagine the animation style being similar to mine, just 3D and...better. Season-by-season outlines are below (this is only a quarter of my google doc, I’m leaving out a lot.)

Season 1 - We’re introduced to Nuri and her Jedi Master Mai Shan as they battle against the Empire.. Nuri is having difficulty controlling her powers (she has the ability to sense and control emotions). Right now, instead of sensing the emotions of others, she’s experiencing them and struggling to define what emotions are hers and not hers. On another side of the galaxy, Rin and Leiko are newly-minted Sith apprentices. Their close dynamic is made very clear from the get-go; they trust each other and only each other. As the season continues, Nuri’s backstory is explored; how she discovered her powers, how she’s always struggled to control her abilities, as well as her childhood friendship with @captainderyn ’s Tacka. Rin and Leiko’s backstory is hinted at, but not shown yet. The main focus of the twins’ storyline this season is their rise to power and how they become the Emperor’s Wraths (it’s also made very clear that they’ve gotten to this point only because they have each other in their lives. Co-dependent sibling relationships, let’s gooo). ALSO, there are many points throughout the season when the twins are forced to be merciless and Leiko struggles with this. Rin does also, but recognises it as necessary and is usually the one striking the killing blow.  Near the middle of the season, Mai and Nuri battle a prominent Sith Lord who is the first primary villain. Since Rin and Leiko have worked closely with this Sith Lord in the past, it becomes apparent that the characters are on a collision course. The 2-Part Season Finale (cause we’re getting fancy) - Nuri, Mai, Rin and Leiko meet and fight! Mai vs Rin and Leiko vs Nuri, with the first pair starting off as equal and slowly leaning in Mai’s favour, as her experience comes into play. Meanwhile, Nuri has difficulty finding vulnerabilities in Leiko, who is also struggling with putting his full focus into the fight, since his guilt at the lives he’s taken already is coming into play. At the peak of the duel, Nuri is forced to the ground and Leiko has an opening. He hesitates, but readies his saber. Just before he can bring it down, Nuri lifts a hand and reaches out to the Force in the hopes of pushing him away. Unintentionally, she forms a bond between the two of them. In a flash, they see each other’s memories up to this point; from childhood to apprenticeship to now. There’s a split second of shock as the two stare at each other with a new, strange understanding, then Leiko is Force-pushed away by Mai, who saw her apprentice in trouble. Rin jumps towards Mai, but underestimates the Jedi’s skill and ends up getting both her forearms chopped off. Angry and in shock, Leiko goes into a rage and forces Mai away. He and Rin flee.  In the aftermath of the duel, Leiko questions what happened between him and Nuri, while Rin adjusts to her new cybernetic arms. Judging her as weak, the Emperor breaks the connection between him and Rin and gives the full Emperor’s Wrath title to Leiko. The season ends with Nuri and Leiko seeing each other through their Force-bond; the full weight of their connection becomes apparent. 

Season 2 - Oh my god, so much happens this season. -  Six month time jump. Leiko is the Wrath, nearly corrupted and wild with power. The Emperor uses him as a puppet, often taking control and forcing Leiko to kill. Leiko and Nuri see each other often through their bond and do their best to explore what exactly it is. They grow to trust each other, as much as two soldiers on opposite sides of a war can. Rin is living in her brother’s shadow and decides to address her past. She begins the hunt for her mom, who left a long time ago. -  Rin finds her mother and learns more about the relationship between her mother and father, while Leiko goes on a killing spree while brainwashed and sees the aftermath, in horror at what he’s done. He tries to hide it from Nuri, but she can tell something happened. -  There’s exploration of Leiko and Rin’s backstory (we learn about their abusive father and their difficult upbringing). -  Nuri heads out on an undercover mission into the Sith Empire. To help her, Mai contacts her old friend, Natila, for information. Nuri goes undercover at an Imperial party and while disguised, runs into Leiko. They recognise each other and Nuri is afraid that Leiko will give her away, but he doesn’t. There is no more hiding his corruption though. Also, Nuri realises that she can’t sense Leiko’s emotions anymore, since he is just a husk now.  -  Rin reconciles with her mother and finds her a safe home. Nuri completes her mission and returns to the Republic with crucial information regarding the war effort. Leiko’s corruption becomes increasingly dangerous (a final kill of an innocent man tips him over the edge). Rin and Leiko meet up again after a long time (they’d been communicating via holos for a while). Leiko nearly tells her the toll being the Wrath has taken on him and seeing this, the Emperor takes over and shouts at Rin to go away (using Leiko as his puppet). - The Emperor orders Leiko to kill Rin and when he refuses, takes control. Leiko makes his way into Rin’s room while she sleeps and begins to choke her to death. Rin wakes up with alarm and does her best to fend against him, finally grabbing a knife and holding it to his throat, begging him not to make her kill him. Meanwhile, in his mind-scape, Leiko is crouching in darkness, being hit by shards of shadow. He sees a light in the distance and reaches out to it. Meanwhile, Nuri (while sleeping) is standing in her mindscape, washed with white light. She sees a shadow in the distance reaching out to her. She takes its hand. With her help, Leiko regains control, sees Rin nearly passed out beneath him with a knife clutched in her hand and draws back in shock. He tries to speak, but Rin just growls/whimpers and cries out at him to leave.  - The mid-season finale covers Leiko as he flees the Empire in the hopes of finding Tython so he can get help breaking the connection between him and the Emperor. Meanwhile, Rin, who didn’t know that the Emperor was controlling Leiko, is grappling with the fact that her brother nearly killed her and has suddenly disappeared, with not even a message to let her know where he went. The episode ends with Leiko crash-landing on Tython near a Twi’lek village.  - The second half of the season covers Nuri and Leiko as they meet in person on Tython and become friends, with hints of romance. The Emperor’s control over Leiko is broken, but Leiko is still just a husk when he first arrives. As he works towards recovery, his skills are noticed by the Jedi Council and he is offered a place in the Order. He takes the offer and begins his training, with Mai and Nuri supervising. He misses Rin a lot, feeling her absence in everything, but he believes that he can’t return to her, as it would make him too vulnerable to the Emperor’s control again. Side-note: despite him no longer being the Wrath, Nuri can not sense Leiko’s emotions anymore, as the scars run too deep. It’s kind of nice for them both though; they’re discovering things about each other at the same pace and Nuri feels especially calm around Leiko, since the only emotions she experiences are her own.  - While Leiko works towards becoming a Jedi, Rin deals with having to survive in the Empire without her brother; she gains power and respect through intimidation. She also receives the backing of a Council member who wants to promote her to the Empire’s Wrath (who also manipulates her to their own ends; using Leiko’s betrayal against Rin, etc.). At this point however, no one in the Empire knows Leiko has joined the Jedi (that angsty discovery comes later). Season Three - the heavy emotional one, with sibling difficulties and LOTS of romance (with Nuri/Leiko and Rin/Varn’ya).  - Another time-jump, about a year. Leiko and Nuri are fully-fledged Jedi Knights now and are going on missions together. In the first episode, they encounter an elite squad of Imperial Agents led by a Chiss (Varn’ya). We learn later that the squad’s commander is Rin. Having been thwarted in their mission by Nuri and Leiko, the squad brings back a recording of the pair to Rin. Rin sees her brother for the first time since his attempt on her life; now a Jedi and working with the former padawan of the Jedi who maimed her. Needless to say, she’s pissed, confused and feeling even more betrayed than she did before. She works closely with the Council Member who promoted to her, in search of her brother. - This season also covers the Ziost storyline from SWTOR, so there are hints of the Sixth Line throughout, including an appearance by Qeeo (my girllllll).  - Nuri and Leiko are attacked by the Council Member’s forces (minus Rin) and Nuri is captured. Nuri is interrogated and tortured by the Council Member. Seeking to find her weakness, the villain uses an ancient Sith ritual to cut off Nuri’s connection to the Force. Her connection with Leiko breaks and he can feel it (because of this, everyone thinks she’s dead, but he refuses to believe it). - Despite building up so much hate for Nuri and the Jedi, when Rin goes to the Council Member’s ship and sees Nuri clearly in shock and on the brink of dying, she can’t help but pity her. With Varn’ya’s help, Rin helps Nuri to escape (she denies that she cares for her brother still, but she knows that Leiko cares about Nuri and can’t stand by while she suffers). That episode ends with Leiko finding Nuri in a floating escape pod, having lost her connection to the Force. - 2-Part Mid-Season Finale - this one focuses on the twins, shows full, long flashbacks of their childhood and how their bond kept them alive throughout the years. Rin and Leiko, in current time, finally collide after the year apart. Leiko tries to reconnect with her and explain what truly happened, but all Rin sees is red. She attacks him and an intense duel commences. The battle also takes place in the rain, in the middle of a heavy thunderstorm, cause I’m all about the aesthetic and the imagery. As the fight continues, it becomes clear that even though they’ve both gained new abilities, Rin and Leiko know each other too well to be able to defeat each other. It ends with the both of them disarmed and grappling on the ground. Rin brings out a knife and slashes Leiko’s knee, forcing him beneath her. Mirroring their positions from their last interaction, Rin now is above Leiko, knife to his throat, with Leiko helpless underneath. Seeing the pain in his sister’s eyes and realising how much he’s hurt her, Leiko stops fighting and simply lifts a hand to cup her cheek (like their mother used to do when they were young and she was actually present). Rin hesitates and finally breaks down, embracing Leiko instead. She demands answers; why he chose to leave, etc. Leiko explains in full and apologises for abandoning her. They FINALLY reconcile in full!! - The rest of the season is dedicated to the Ziost arc and Nuri regaining her powers (she also discovers new aspects of her powers, like her ability to force emotions and memories onto other people). Nuri, Leiko and Rin join forces to save the planet and encounter the Sixth Line. Nuri is forced to fight and incapacitate her childhood friend, Tacka (read this fic please for all the emotions, it’s excellent and still makes me cry). Ziost ends up getting destroyed and as it does, Nuri reaches out to the Force in full and feels the full weight of everyone as they die. She has the choice to shut it out, as she’s gained control, but chooses not to, determined to feel it all.  - The season ends with the Emperor being hyped up to be the final primary villain, with the secondary villain for the final season being the twins’ dad for a fun little painful plot twist.

Season 4 - my least established season, no idea exactly how it ends, but here’s some vibes. - HEAVY focus on the romances: Leiko and Nuri fully address their feelings for each other and officially become a couple, while Rin and Varn’ya have been an established couple for a while now, so they’ve mainly got fluffy scenes and random makeout sessions in hallways.  - As the Emperor becomes more of a threat to everyone, the Republic and Empire temporarily join forces, which means Rin and Leiko go on missions together again. Varn’ya and Rin’s squad struggle with their loyalties, but remain true to Rin. - Rin and Leiko take down their father and are forced to address the effect his abuse had on them. Nuri (with the twins’ consent) uses her powers to give the father empathy (i.e. he is forced to feel everything his children and wife did when he hurt them).  - Throughout the season, recurring characters return and help out in the fight.  - The season ends with Nuri, Leiko and Rin taking down the Emperor. Also, Mai dies, sacrificing herself to take down one of the Emperor’s main henchmen, rip.

Oh god, end of wall of text. If you’ve stayed this long, thank you; have a virtual forehead smooch. There’s a LOT I’ve left out, like Leiko learning healing powers, Nuri exploring her abilities and her place in the galaxy and most of the storyline for Rin’s squad, but this post is long enough.  Thanks for asking, anon, you’ve enabled me to spend 2 hours gushing over my children <3

[emwritesfootball]

I Want You | Dominic Calvert-Lewin

Word Count: 2,051

A/N: Yet another piece for @footballffbarbiex's On The Big Screen Challenge. Since I'm on the midseason finale of the episode of Grey's Anatomy that this is based off of, I figured I'd post this now. This is based off of Jackson and April, the scenes from the season 9 finale and season 10 episode 12, altered for the football world. I've had this sitting in my Docs since 1 January lmao. Enjoy xx

- - -

The gasp of the crowd of almost 40,000 at Goodison Park was simultaneous in the 38th minute when Dom was taken down by the opposition’s defense right as he was about to score. The tackle had been brutal and uncalled for, earning the centreback a straight red card from the referee while Dom stayed on the ground.

As if sensing catastrophe the medics and physio were on the pitch almost immediately. You held your breath, one hand clutching the fabric of the Everton jersey you wore while your other squeezed Lucas Digne’s hand. Your boyfriend tried to soothe you as best he could, but you were distraught. Dom was clearly in pain and clearly injured, and you couldn’t do a damn thing but watch him get carried off on a stretcher.

“I have to go to him,” you muttered, but Lucas stopped you.

“He’ll be fine, Chérie,” Lucas said, his voice low as his thumb rubbed circles over the back of your hand. “You know we’ve got the best medical team - they’re gonna take real good care of Dom, okay?”

“Mmhmm.” You nodded, biting down on your bottom lip to quell your unspoken fears.

Your mind was reeling as Richarlison took Dom’s place on the pitch, your stomach sick with nervousness for Dom. When you’d first started playing for the women’s team, Dominic had been your sidekick; he’d shown you around the stadium as well as the surrounding city. It hadn’t been long before you were falling for him, the two of you hooking up after an intense friendly between the men’s and women’s teams.

Over time, you’d started to fall for him, your friends-with-benefits relationship no longer enough for your heart. It had all gone wrong after a pregnancy scare - Dom telling you he was all in and saying he’d marry you and the two of you would raise the kid together. When you’d found out you weren’t pregnant and told him that he no longer had to worry about getting married, Dom had ended things then and there, both of you hurt for different reasons.

Soon after, he started “dating” (sleeping with) one of the physios. You hadn’t had any intention of getting involved with his teammate, but Lucas had come into your life as a friend while you’d been with Dom and things progressed after your break up. Now, you were engaged to Lucas, with a wedding coming up in less than six months - after an incredibly public proposal that you couldn’t say no to - but there was a part of your heart that still yearned for Dom.

The second Lucas let go of your hand, you were up out of your seat, flashing your pass as you raced through the tunnels at Goodison Park until you finally managed to locate Dom. The ambulance was silent while its lights flashed and you knew you didn’t have much time. Emergency personnel were loading him onto the ambulance and you were reacting within seconds.

“DOMINIC!” you shouted, panic racing through you. His name felt foreign on your tongue - you tried not to utter it if you could help it - but in that moment, it was all you had.

“Miss, you’re going to have to stand back,” one of the EMTs said, putting his hands on your shoulders.

The tears started to fall right then and you couldn’t stop them. “I...I need to see him. He’s my husband!” You stammered out the words in-between sobs, barely aware when the medic let you go and you rushed into the ambulance, the door slamming behind you as it lurched forward and started to race to the nearest hospital. You tried your best to stay out of the way while the medics worked, fighting back tears with every concerned look or sentence they shared with each other. Dom looked out of it and you hoped he’d been put on some painkillers, especially with the state of his arm. You hoped and prayed that his arm would be the worst of it, but you couldn’t be sure. You took his good hand in both of yours, pressing a kiss to the back of it as you whispered, “It’s okay, bubs. I’m here.”

***

People didn’t start arriving until almost two hours later, Dom’s girlfriend included. You didn’t know how many tears you’d cried in that timespan, your body physically exhausted from the day’s events. Lucas immediately found you in the waiting area, pulling you into a hug. “I was so worried about you, Chérie,” he mumbled, pressing a kiss to the top of your head.

“S-Sorry,” you stuttered, feeling a new wave of tears coming on. “I just...I panicked and managed to convince them to let me ride in the ambulance with Dom and I…”

“It’s okay,” Lucas said, taking your face in his hands. “I’m glad Dom had you by his side.” Of course Lucas knew about your history with Dom but you’d always reassured him that he was the one you wanted and not Dom. Now, you weren’t so sure.

You snuck into Dom’s room right before visiting hours were set to end for the night. Lucas was waiting for you in the car park, warming up the car. A part of you felt guilty for what you were about to do, but after today you couldn’t stay silent.

Relief flooded you when you saw him sitting upright on the hospital bed, shirtless, his arm in a sling. The relief quickly faded, however, and all the other emotions you’d bottled up for the last six hours came bubbling up.

“What the hell, Dom?!” You screamed, rushing toward him. Tears were falling hard and fast as you shoved him, the nurse in the room who was checking his vitals came rushing over to stand between the two of you. “You could’ve died!” Sure, it was a little over-dramatic, but you had honestly thought you were going to lose him in the moment when he’d been down for over five minutes on the pitch.

The nurse calmed you down, not wanting to cause a scene. You didn’t either, but your emotions were so heightened it was almost like you were back in the ambulance scared out of your mind. “I’m fine, I swear,” you said, reassuring her when your breathing had slowed and you were starting to think properly.

“Okay,” she said, nodding and making her way towards the door. She turned to Dom, saying, “I’ll be right outside if you need me.”

Dom gave her a grateful smile, turning his attention to you. “Don’t,” he said, his voice weary. “Whatever it is that’s buggin’ you, just keep it to yourself, alright?”

You froze, staring at him. Your mind was racing again and you were so consumed with flashbacks of him lying motionless on the pitch that you couldn't speak for a few moments. Dom stared back, lost. He vaguely remembered your presence in the back of the ambulance but up until this moment, he had been so sure that he’d just dreamed you up, the painkillers playing tricks on his mind.

You took a deep breath, needing all the air you could get in order to say what you wanted to say. “I want you...Dominic.” His name was barely a whisper on your lips, but Dom heard you as if you’d screamed it from the rooftops. You ran a hand through your hair, your voice breaking as you repeated the phrase. “I want you.” Your voice wavered on the last word and Dom wasn’t sure what he was going to do.

He said your name, disbelief colouring his tone, but you cut him off.

“I haven’t been fair to you, I know,” you began, stepping towards him until you were standing at the end of his hospital bed, “And I’ve-I’ve really hurt you-”

“You’re getting married,” Dominic said slowly, unsure if he was trying to convince you or himself of the reality the two of you were facing.

It was like you hadn’t heard him. “When I saw you lying there on the pitch after that collision and I thought you were gone, I-”

“You’re getting married.” He said it again, this time with more conviction.

You dried your tears, your resolve returning. When you spoke next, your words shocked both of you. “Unless you can give me a reason not to.”

Dom stared at you, unable to say anything. He internally weighed his options. A few months ago, getting married to you was all he could think about - now, he wasn’t so sure. The two of you had been through unbelievable hurdles in your relationship, but you were engaged to another man who also happened to be one of Dom’s teammates and Dom knew he couldn’t stand by and fuck up the team dynamic or your relationship with Lucas.

***

Ultimately, he’d said nothing that night and the two of you hadn’t spoken about it since. You continued planning your wedding to Lucas while maintaining a stilted version of a friendship with Dom, which was how Dom had ended up in the congregation at your wedding.

“Give them the strength to commit their love to one another. Unshakeable through any storm; unbreakable in the face of any stress; a promise we simply refuse to break.” The pastor spoke, but Dominic barely heard any of it, except when he said, “And you, YN and Lucas’s closest friends and family, are here today to bear witness to their union. Will you promise to love and support their marriage in all the days to come? If so, please respond ‘we will’.”

Everyone responded, a chorus of “We will,” filling the quaint chapel.

Dominic didn't know what to do. He was acutely aware of his physio girlfriend by his side, but even more so aware of the fact that if he didn’t do something right now, he would lose you to his teammate forever. In that moment, nothing else mattered but his love for you and the love that he knew that you had for him.

The pastor continued to speak, but Dom heard nothing. He leaned in to his girlfriend, unsure what to say. “I, uh-” he started, pausing.

“What?” She asked, looking at him with curiosity that quickly turned into understanding.

“I’m sorry.”

“I’m happy to be here today to be able to do this for you. I-” The pastor paused mid-sentence as Dominic stood up, drawing the attention of everyone in the room.

You and Lucas were holding hands, your backs still to him. Finally, both of you turned to look at the commotion, shock written all over your face as your gaze connected with Dom’s. He flushed, giving the room a nervous smile before sitting back down.

The pastor chuckled nervously and for a brief moment, Dom wondered if he’d ever had anyone stop a wedding before. “YN and Lucas, I have known the two of you for quite some time and I’m happy to be here today-” he started again, and that’s when Dom knew he had to say something.

Dom took a deep breath, his mind made up.

“I love you,” he said, his voice deep and sure as he stood up for the second time. “I always have.”

You stared back at him, your eyes wide. If you were being honest, a part of you had dreamed about a moment like this - Dominic standing up and professing his love for you - but you hadn’t been prepared for it to actually happen.

Dom continued, “I love everything about you. Even the things I don’t like, I love.” You could feel Lucas fuming next to you. “And I want you with me.” Everyone was looking around in disbelief, but it was like nobody else existed but you and Dom in this moment. “I love you and I think that you love me, too.” He paused, his voice wavering. “Do you?”

You could feel Lucas’s eyes on you; your family’s, too, but there was only one person in the world you wanted right now and it wasn’t the man at the altar next to you.

“I do,” you said, your gaze fixed on Dom. “I do,” you repeated, stepping down off the altar and running towards the man who had been your whole world for longer than you cared to admit.

[jabitha-endgame]

I don't want to get my hopes up that we're getting Jabitha for the long haul but it would be a really bad look, after Vanessa's call out of the writers, if Tabitha was used as a foil or cheerleader for Jug and Betty. It has been established very early on that Jabitha are attracted to each other, Jug just said he wasn't over the break up,NOT Betty, the trauma of the betrayal, in other words I like you enough I want to work on myself first, so I can be at my best for you, that doesn't say BH to me

I have to put this under a read more because I accidently made this very long lol who knew I, jabitha-endgame, had a lot of feelings about this

I agree with all of this. Vanessa speaking up has already had a huge impact on the show, and I think Tabitha is evidence of that. I actually ranted a bit about this point earlier, so I won’t repeat all that here lol.

There's just nothing narratively indicating that Tabitha would push Betty and Jughead together, especially since she is the one who initiated her kiss with Jughead - and he kissed back! Jughead unpromptedly jumped in to dance and twirl Tabitha and dip her over the table. They both got swept up in that moment, giggling with huge smiles. Even before the kiss they are so close to each other and you can see something has changed for them both.

I don't see any reason to fear that Tabitha would be used as a prop to push Jughead to Betty. Especially in the last two episodes of this season where Jabitha have been growing closer the entire time and Bughead haven't interacted. Betty also told Tabitha that Jughead "wasn't her problem" and that he shouldn't be Tabitha's problem either. Tabitha cares so much about Jughead, why would she push him to be with someone who has outwardly shown disdain towards him. Betty has also played Jughead's voicemail in front of Tabitha and Jessica for the purpose of "exposing" Jughead to them. I know Bugheads want their ship back, but there isn't anything there for them right now. Not a single thing we have seen in the time jump episodes supports their wishful thinking that Tabitha will want them together.

1000 percent Jughead was not ready to be in another relationship, and that's not because he was "still hung up on Betty". He explains to Tabitha that the Betty breakup was rough on him, says he has trauma from it, and that his last relationship was a toxic one. That's why that conversation ends with them flirt-ily deciding to be fRiENdS 😏 and then Jughead says "as your fRiENndD 😏😏😏" before asking Tabitha his favor. They table their potential romance for the time being because Jughead isn't in the right mental space to have another romantic relationship, but their feelings for each other are still there. Heck, when Jughead disappears to go to NY he makes one phone call, and it's to Tabitha with the romantic intention to "finish that dance". Their last dance ended with a kiss! And when Jughead gets back from NY their incoming romance feels so obvious.

In 5x16 Jughead and Tabitha exchange genuine apologies - and Jughead looks shocked that Tabitha thinks she has anything to apologize for. I think the juxtapositions between the Jabitha and Bughead apology scenes are intentional. Same with the Bughead and Jabitha voicemails. By the end of the episode we get the incredible "why are you so nice to me" scene with Tabitha gently reaching out to touch and hold onto Jughead's hand as she tells him that she cares about him and he needs to take care of himself, and this is what prompts him to go back to AA. Not to mention when Betty and Jughead finally have their talk in this episode, Jughead is somehow the one apologizing and while he clearly has fallen off the wagon with his drinking right in front of her, Betty just gets up and leaves him without a word while he’s on a 2 minute phone call. There has not been anything remotely resembling Bughead reciprocation from Betty this season - she’s called his writing cringey, she hooked up with the person she cheated on him with, she told Tabitha he wasn’t her problem anymore, and she sided with his ex over him by giving Jessica the manuscript he worked so hard to write for his deadline. Betty had her own trauma she’s working through this season, obviously, and I don’t hold that against her. But her interactions with and about Jughead simply aren’t forwarding a romantic narrative anymore, that’s just not the story being told between them. 

In 5x17, it’s been 10 days and Jughead is "recovered" - not fully because that's not how alcoholism works, but for Riverdale purposes he seems ok now. And Jughead's relationship to Tabitha is developing further. When Tabitha tells Betty and Jughead that Squeaky is missing, Jughead's eyes are glued to Tabitha and he offers himself up to help her. Previously it had been Tabitha helping him out, and now that has changed. And when Tabitha gets the news in the morgue that confirms Squeaky is dead, Jughead and Tabitha turn towards each other for support, with both of them physically reaching out for the other - and Betty has no jealous reaction to this almost couply moment that happened right in front of her face. Jughead is making himself emotionally available to Tabitha now in ways he wasn't able to before 5x15, where he had to address the trauma that was still affecting him - his relationship and breakup with Betty.

And in 5x18 we get Jughead now being there for Tabitha and supporting her. This makes perfect sense for their development and anyone who is shocked by this simply wasn’t paying attention to what was happening on screen before.

Also, there is just no way that Tabitha is a throwaway girlfriend for Jughead either, because Jessica already fills that role. Tabitha is her own character, and parts of the fandom really need to stop ignoring her. Erinn is a main cast member and is a series regular again next season as well, Tabitha isn’t going anywhere.

Tabitha’s purpose in the story is not to push Jughead and Betty together or to prop them up to the other. In fact, Tabitha the one who is with Jughead during all of his emotional moments this season. She is the one who protected him from the debt collectors, she is the one who gives him a job when he needs it, she takes care of him at the key party, she goes with him to the support group and gets him to open up to her when he runs out of it, she pretends to be his current girlfriend to protect him from his ex, she helps him with the mothman investigation, she let’s him keep weird alien corpses in her restaurant, she is the one who is worried about him when he is missing, she is the one person he calls on his way out of town, she is the person Jughead goes to when he needs someone he trusts to watch over him, she tucked him in on the couch when he passed out, she is the one that convinced him that he needs to take care of, and prioritize, himself - hello?! what’s not clicking for some people? It’s all there, it’s all been there this entire time. 

GIVE ME THE MUSICAL NOW I CAN’T WAIT.

Sorry for this extremely wordy answer, but yeah I agree completely with everything you said. To me, narratively, it’s Jabitha full steam ahead.

[pluviophile-bookworm]

HSMTMTS 2x10: New and a bit alarming... ok, very alarming

I don't even know at this point if I'm more nervous or excited for this episode. I've done my waiting and, well, whatever lies ahead, good or bad, or a little bit of both, I just can't wait anymore, even though I haven't been so scared to press play since... well, since last week. Guess I should just go for it, then:

Ooh, shady Seb doing the recap! We love to see it. Like, seriously, I'm anxious about the Seblos fight, but shady Seb is kind of my new favourite Seb.

I just... Ashlyn's acting is top tier. Emotional connection to the material? Superb! Chemistry with her co-lead... well, he'd have to be co-leading for any chemistry to be possible. I love Ricky, and I feel for him with all he's been through, but he's just not lead material right now. And it shows. Especially next to Ashlyn, who is killing it!

Miss Jenn is on the verge of a bloody mental breakdown and I just... wish I could do something to make things better. She reminds me of my mum when a deadline approaches for her to submit an article, and I just feel for her right now. Gosh, I'm feeling for everybody today. My empathy seems to be at its peak and I might just burst from all these emotions this episode is making me feel even before the 5-minute mark.

Ok, but Miss Jenn being stressed means Carlos is stressed for two, which means... this is a really bad time for him and Seb to have personal problems. My heart just can't handle it.

Wow... I never thought I'd see the day! The two leads are actually talking to each other! This is a mid-July miracle!

Why does everyone keep pretending their HSM was good? It was a flaming hot mess! A child could see that.

Miss Jenn needs a lot of work on her 'gracious face'. I, like Carlos, have quite some notes. Only mine aren't exactly, how do you say... verbally formulated quite yet.

Did Carlos just refer to Miss Jenn as 'mother'? Because yes.

I've been in a couple of local theatre productions in my day, but none of them had actual physical sets — we relied on the audience's imagination quite a lot — so I wouldn't know what a good set is made of... but even I can tell that plywood and Elmer's glue = not good.

Kourtney is a multi-tasking icon and we love her. I feel like I don't say this enough, but she deserves all the love.

Ooh, shady Seb is... well, shady! 'Quit school and get a job at the pizza shop?' — I mean, you don't see Reddy or Kourtney (or Howie, for that matter) quitting school in order to work at the Slices! Those kids juggle it all and, as someone who's never had to balance school and a job all at once, they have my deepest admiration.

Still, I think they should have thought about 'inventing' something re: transformation earlier than this point. The personal drama has taken up too much of their time.

Why does everyone keep inviting people over to Ashlyn's? I mean, it's not like I've ever heard her complain, but the girl needs some rest! And her house is not a public space.

Oh, so they're making this into a contest? I mean, I have never been a fan of competition, but to each their own. And Redlyn are hosting! This is going to be so beautiful! (You know, unless the boys try to sleep — see my post from yesterday about Reddy's background noise machine)

'I'm not worried. But North High should be!' Ooh, I love this look on Ashlyn! See, there's a lead to take notes from! And Ricky should be the first to do so. Take notes about what a lead acts like, I mean.

Oooooh, Big Red claps back! We love to see it. Although, you know, it stems from the fact that he's nervous about coming up with a solution to the transformation problem. 'I get bossy around the power tools' — Yes, sweetie, and I love that look on you. Maybe you should be around power tools more often, if that helps.

Ughhh, look what the cat brought in! Lily (I wish I knew her last name so I could refer to her by it exclusively, but we'll have to make do). I hate that girl. She reminds me quite exactly of the girl who bullied me in seventh grade to the point where I wished I'd die before having to deal with her at school again. She and Lily both bring out my aggressive side, and I hate that about them.

Ricky — 'so good at being a leading man'? I don't know what Lily is playing at here, but Ricky has not shown himself to be a very good leading man this season. He has the potential to be, but he has not fulfilled it by this point. Sure, he supports his friends and they support him, but that's basic decency. Not yet good leadership. No hate on Ricky, just the truth.

'I vaguely remember him' — please tell me this is setup for Ricky leading Lily on and then slamming the door in her face with the truth. The way I see it, he's been given a chance here. A chance to be the supportive, protective best friend Big Red deserves. I just... have a lot of ideas about this and I don't want it to end badly instead.

'I'm just not well-liked here, and I don't know what to do' — well, of course you aren't well-liked, you little— (ok, ok, calm down, breathe, 10, 9, 8...) whatever. I mean, she hasn't even considered basic decency, as it seems. Must be a new concept to her.

'Don't start with me, Carlos!' Wow. As much as I hate it that my two faves' only interaction in so long is so hostile, I kind of like this side of Big Red. I wonder what other sides of himself he's been hiding.

Listen, I don't like Seb being patronised and babied, but... 'Chip, this is your mother speaking: go call your mother!' made me laugh so hard. They're leaning into the on-stage family dynamic and I live for it.

EJ's idea of using old skateboards for the spinning contraption is... a brilliant callback to the fact that Ricky and Big Red were first characterised as skateboarders... you know, before diving headfirst into the theatre thing. And it feels like it might actually work.

Miss Jenn's excitement at seeing Mr Mazzara ('Benjamin!!!') is perhaps only topped by the fact that he was halfway home, got a text from her and instantly went back to the school. I mean, these two have something that's really big.

Miss Jenn referring to the kids as 'my children', combined with Carlos calling her 'mother' earlier just warms my heart so much! Those guys really are family. I live for it.

Ok, but... as clear as it is that the Wildcats are very far behind NH in terms of budget, rehearsal time and who knows what else, I hate seeing Miss Jenn resigned to them losing. I want to see her have faith in them, talk about how they will win, and, in her own words, 'trust the process'. I mean, I guess it's good that, as a teacher, she wants to prepare her kids for a possible defeat (and I mean really possible if they don't step up their game immediately, especially some of them * cough* Ricky *cough *), but a team that goes out to the field expecting to lose has a very minimal chance of winning.

Despite everything I've been saying again and again about Nini lately, the fact that she just delivered a very different 'No, Seb' has just redeemed her. See, this one wasn't dismissive or patronising — this was like, 'no, Seb, don't put yourself down' and I love that spin on the catchphrase I'd grown to hate. See, many things can be redeemed. And some simply cannot. * cough* Devil's spawn Lily *cough *. Also, Seb being self-conscious about the fact that Carlos 'doesn't have many options' at East Hight is the perfect setup for In a Heartbeat — meaning they will either have a chance to talk about their issue, or they have a telepathic connection, in which case, what kind of soulmate stuff is that?

'You're my sister; he's my cousin' — yeah, Ash, putting it like that makes it sound a lot weirder than it should, but I do get what you're trying to say. This is not a drill! Ashlyn is a Portwell shipper (heck, maybe even the captain of that ship) — but I feel like we already knew that.

'Why'd I never hear about this?' — and there it goes. Within the same scene, Nini was redeemed and then made aggravating again. What does she care if Gina thought Ricky sent her chocolates? He didn't. Because he and Gina can't be anything but very good friends. And I feel like good friends is what Gina needs. Maybe that's why I wanted EJ to be that for her initially (or it was because I'm aroace and don't tend to notice romantic attraction between fictional characters — or real people for that matter — unless it's explicitly stated to be there). But I've been on board of the majestic S.S. Portwell for a few weeks now and it's finally about to set sail.

Yeah, Nini, get a root beer, calm the heck down and get over it!

'Your other clockwise!' — Why does this even need to be said? How many 'clockwise's are there? I absolutely understand why Big Red gets the way he gets around power tools. I'd be on edge too, if the people I was trying to work with didn't know what way clockwise is. Still, I feel like by the time I'm 30, nobody younger than me would have a reason to know what way clockwise is, and I don't know if I feel bad or neutral about it.

Oh, so there's no telepathy involved in Seblos' problem resolution — it's been Redlyn's good communication all along. I might have known.

Ooh, Portwell is being discussed on both sides! PORTWELL NATION HOW WE FEELING

Nini? Why is everything about Nini? There's no way everything is about Nini. In all seriousness, though, EJ's worries about letting the next girl go seem valid in regards to Gina, given that she explicitly stated (though not within earshot of EJ or anyone who could have tipped him off) that she needs someone who will show up and stay. But they'll figure it out. They'll find a way. I know it. They will, or I will riot, and I know I won't be alone in that.

Ooh, Howie is giving Kourtney the original blueprints! Looks like Reddy isn't the only one who has a spy on the inside.

Ahhh, Ricky! Not 'Let You Go' again. I haven't cried to it in three days and I was not ready to break that streak. But... wait, this is where Carlos approaches Ricky to ask him for help with writing a song for Seb, isn't it? I am definitely ready for this.

Oh, is it... is it Ricky who suggests Carlos write a song for Seb? Now that is what a good leading man looks like.

'I'm adjusting to being called bro' — me too, Carlito, me too. But... this scene must have been so emotional for Josh, given that he hadn't come out yet. I remember him crying during The Climb and... all I'm saying is I want Ricky to come out at some point, too.

Oh gosh oh gosh oh gosh... they were just talking about love languages and that's when Carlos shows up? Cinematic. Wait, there's Portwell too? This is what dreams are made of.

My oh my oh my! Risotto! For real this time. I might have just teared up. (Full disclosure: I did.) I've only had Portwell for about three weeks, but if anything happens to them, I will... you know how the meme goes. [side note: Wait, when I said 'for real this time', I was not expecting EJ would say it, much less word for word. Am I... writing this show now? It's usually my dad who predicts people's lines in TV shows]

'Not that I know of'... excuse me while I hyperventilate! These two are literal soulmates. They might share a brain, too, for all that I know. Portwell nation you ok guys?

I love that Ricky helped Carlos out with this song and is supporting him through it, but... I just might have preferred for him not to be there. I kind of need Seblos to have this moment to themselves. But, you know, with the way they feel about each other it might as well be like they're alone in the universe, let alone the room.

Ok, but Frankie's voice... brings out feelings in me that I didn't know I was capable of. Make of that what you will. Also, I'm not sobbing my eyes out, you are.

Ahhh Reddy my sunshine my sweet boy I love you but why did you have to cut Seblos' moment short? They were going to kiss, I know it. Oh well, they probably will, later on. Off-screen probably, but who cares? Not everything is for us to see. At least Carlos and Ricky had a moment there... Carlos calling Ricky 'bro' made me more emotional than I expected. It's like Miss Jenn says in s1: 'They're best bros, and that's a sacred thing... for reasons I will never understand'.

Ricky's acting sounds like a cat about to spit up a hairball, and it's so funny... in a scene that is supposed to be arguably the most dramatic of the entire play, that is not a good thing.

Oh my, oh my... you did not! You did not just end the episode with Ricky taking a fall from who knows how high. I was not ready. This episode was entirely too much for me. I will need 10 to 15 business days to recover from this, and we all know there aren't that many. But in the meantime you'll find me obsessively listening to In a Heartbeat for hours on end. Seriously, this episode is too much.

[aslibekroglu]

OMG!!!! Son Yaz and Akmur have completely taken over my life! And it's your fault!🙈😂

But honestly - thank you so much for introducing this show to me! I fell in love with it through your gifs and posts 🙏❤️💓💕

I also wanted to say, after having seen the last episode, that Yağmur has excellent instincts. Have you noticed how, when her and Akgün came to that house, Yağmur was looking with suspicion at the guy who supposedly knew Akgün's mother and told about his brother? I bet she'll figure out that Akgün's brother is evil. I just hope Akgün won't be blinded by his feelings for his long lost bro and will listen to her, if she decides to share her suspicions.

I also want the writers to give Yağmur her own storyline, instead of her just being Akgün's support system.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot and have been sitting on it for a while, so I might go off on a little tangent but,

I’ve been seeing valid criticisms about how yagmur is turning into a bit of akgün therapist and how one sided the relationship is. And don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love the fact that akgün has someone he can open up to, that the thing that made them fall in love with each other was that they can understand each other without even speaking, but there definitely is an imbalance there. And I had to think about it a little bit because the relationship dynamics between cansel and akmur are very similar with akgün and selim always lashing out at the girls when they’re upset and breaking their hearts often and the girls always being there for them no matter what, always standing by their side, always sacrificing themselves. Then I thought about why I don’t see canan in a similar position as selim’s “therapist” and I honestly think that it’s because always Canan has other things going on. She’s got the whole fatih/bedhri thing, she’s got the kids to worry about, and other lawyer-y things happening, but Yagmur’s story is almost completely revolved around akgün. Akgün doesn’t have a chance to reciprocate his love in the same “emotional support” kind of way because Yagmur doesn’t have anything personal going on, there’s nothing that he can really support her with. You know like how we’ve had moments where Selim has helped Canan with work, or has shown his growth (and therefore offered his support) with the kids, there’s not really an equivalent of that with Yagmur.

This is also where I think the writers have kinda written themselves into a hole with how high the stakes have become. I sometimes see ppl saying this akgün isn’t the same akgün that comforted her when she broke up with her boyfriend, or when her parents got divorced or that he’s not the same akgün that selflessly got her back together with kaan even though he was falling for her. Back then things were much lighter, the biggest thing he really had to worry about was trying to leave and go back to Istanbul or whether or not he could betray selim. Since episode 10 really, everything’s gotten much more serious you know, we’ve had death threats and murder attempts, akguns been in jail multiple times, he just found out that his dad has lied to him his whole life and that he has a long lost brother. And not only that, but now it turns out that that long lost brother is working for Halil Sadi which is just going to cause more problems for him. Now, what can they write for yagmur to go through that is going to compare, or at least be enough for akgun to set aside all his problems? I’m not saying that he shouldn’t make her a priority, because he definitely should, but just story wise what could they write for yagmur to go through that competes at the same level of all the other storylines going on?? (Although they could write something for yagmur that is separate from but still related to akgün’s storyline so that they can come together later, similar to the canan/bedhri thing, but idk what that could be) So, of course he can’t exactly be an emotional support system for her, he doesn’t really have an opportunity to. Sure, there are other ways to show his love, but again when the stakes are this high, when akgun has once again fallen into a bunch of problems, when is there going to be any time for him to focus on yagmur, how can they find the time to write a scene were they just hang out or go on a date or just talk, when can they have akmur just be a couple? Again, I’m not excusing the fact that she isn’t a priority, I’m just saying that the writers have made it difficult for akgün to make her a priority, they’ve made it difficult for akgün to really show his love for her.

And maybe I’m just too focused on the present future, like next episode. I’m sure the main focus is going to be on akgün getting to know more about gokhan, falling into halil sadi trap, while yagmur investigates and tries to find out the truth. Once the truth comes out then, of course akgun’s going to be destroyed and yagmur’s going to be there once again to pick up the pieces and comfort him, and unless somewhere in that comforting, they manage to have a actual discussion about their relationship and put their issues aside and try things again, then once again there’s not really going to be an opportunity for akgün to show his love for yagmur, it’s just going to end up being about akgün again.

Ooof, I’ve been wanting to post that on twitter ever since the episode on Friday, but it was just too much for however many characters they allow lol. But yeah, I really don’t blame akgün as character for this imbalance, nor do I really place it as a weakness of yagmur for accepting it. I honestly just feel like the writers have written themselves into a corner where the characters are pretty much stuck in these patterns. Unless they have yagmur actually get fed up with this dynamic and confront akgün about, which I kind of doubt. I don’t know if they’re as aware of it as they are of yagmur constantly sacrificing herself and putting akgün first, which i have some other thoughts on about the whole contradictory nature of that, ama neyse.

[namtanlovesfilm]

axelle judges bl shows > I Told Sunset About You

shitty summary: Through tutoring school, Teh reunites with Oh-aew, his ex best friend whom he hasn’t seen in five years. As they attempt to patch up their relationship, it seems as though friendship is not all there is between them.

where to watch: dramacool

grade: 10/10

pros:

- the acting is absolutely breath-taking. and I know I say the acting is good in almost all of my reviews, but here I’m not talking about good, I’m talking about GODDAMN OSCAR-WORTHY. there is not one bad performance, the emotions are transcribed perfectly, the actors are all magnificent... and even though everything is genuinely perfect about this series, it’s the acting that carries it the most to that perfection. the actors truly all deserve all the awards & recognition.

- the writing is frankly a little insulting with how freaking amazing it is. there is not ONE SINGLE DETAIL that goes unchecked. I’ve already talked on this blog a little bit about the prominent use of motifs (scenes that are linked with each other through visuals & symbolism) in this series, but it truly helps so much in building such an impactful story, when in reality the story is kinda basic taken out of context. it’s the building up and the layers that the writers added which make this drama as beautiful as it is. I have never witnessed a drama with so many references to its previous scenes, with so much symbolisms added in throw-away sentences, and with so much thought put in its every second. truly top-tier & I am incredibly jealous of the writers for being this talented.

- going hand in hand with the writing... the characters, man. I have rarely seen a character like teh, who is almost impossible to describe as he is a walking contradiction. he’s talented but has to work really hard, confident but kind of a loser, theatrical in his expressions and body language yet closed off about his true feelings... the list could literally go on for an hour. there is something about this character that truly touched my heart, in a way not many have done before. again I struggle to describe it but teh is truly a perfect protagonist, in all of his imperfection, facial expressions and mistakes. as for oh-aew, he’s also amazing. cheerful, confident, honest... he balances teh wonderfully in a way that you can’t root for one without rooting for the other. sometimes when dramas showcases fights & arguments, they clearly take a side as to who the audience should side for. but here it’s not the case at all. both characters are written as having important & valid opinions, and therefore it’s never a case of siding with someone, but much more about wanting these two characters to fix their mess TOGETHER. and that’s actually pretty rare. in terms of side characters, they are also equally as lovely. I truly felt for tarn & bas the whole time, and I don’t think one viewer held any resentment towards them bc they are shown as truly sympathetic, honest & loving characters. they were absolutely GREAT as the ‘jealousy creators’ of the show. as for teh’s brother hoon... not only does he look like frank thanatsaran but he’s also a cutie. he can absolutely stay.

- the pace is perfeeeeeeeeect. I think at this point y’all know my love for shorter series, and this one did NOT miss at all! every second of screentime is utilized to its full extent without feeling rushed, which is actually really hard to do. the episodes just flowed right through (except when they were breaking my heart & I had to pause every five seconds to clutch my chest & gasp lmao) and this was such an easy watch. not once did I feel the need to fast-forward, and I’m a bit of an addict of that. truly perfect call to make it five episodes.

- the cinematography was succulent. every shot is constructed absolutely beautifully and delivers the message & emotion of the scene perfectly. not to be dramatic but there aren’t actually that many thai shows released a year that really try to have good cinematography & when I see one like this one it just warms my heart so much.

- the score is freaking sublime. it’s the first time I witness a thai show creating that many songs for its soundtrack, usually it consists of two songs with lyrics and one theme score or two. but here there are so many, and every one of them fits the show perfectly. I also love how the songs are unveiled little by little as the series progresses, just like the relationship in the show progresses as well.

- the setting was such a breath of fresh air. I’m not really one of these bl fans who is like ‘ugh I’m tired of the engineers’, ‘ugh I’m tired of the high schoolers’... but I did not realize how much I appreciate a bl show NOT taking place in bangkok until it happened. sure, there are other shows taking place in the south of thailand (sleepless society: insomnia, the stranded, etc.) & some bl shows taking place in the north of thailand (love poison, a tale of thousand stars...) but this is the first time a bl drama happens in the south of thailand. and goddamn, how freaking refreshing. first of all phuket is absolutely gorgeous and the choice of setting definitely showcases that, but also it just makes this series stand out so much more & I hope more bl series take place outside of bangkok bc it really made the series more special for me.

- the chemistry was sooooooooo good. I truly think it helped that billkin & pp have been friends for a while and have acted together before bc it was so seamless. there was not one awkward moment, and every scene from the silly friendly ones to the ones full of sexual tension felt RIGHT bc the chemistry was absolutely flabbergasting no matter the situation. they did good giving those two another shot at being a ship.

- a sort of minor compliment after the novel I just wrote, but I loved how the series was not afraid to hurt its audience. usually bl dramas will absolutely never build so much of the rival relationship (in that case teh&tarn and oh-aew&bas) bc it could distract from the main ship. here it’s not the case, they make us truly see the potential those two couples have, they show us that they’re perfectly good couples who’d be great together. and it freaking hurts. first of all this whole series hurts bc they cry every five minutes & it’s always warranted so you can’t help but ache for them, but the moments of jealousy & pure pain in the last ep?? I was on the verge of death. usually shows do throw a bit of pain in the penultimate episode of a show to kind of raise the stakes & make the final ep seem more spectacular. but here this show hurts the viewer repeatedly, whether it’s with those rival relationships or simply with teh & oh-aew as characters. and that’s not something we see often, bc that’s a risk of losing viewers who only want a happy bl with no drama. but here it’s particularly worth it as the constant pain only makes this drama more impactful, but also its climax even more incredible. the pain is also not gratuitous but truly makes sense every time. for me it solidies the coming-of-age aspect of the show where it’s just about two guys growing up and making mistakes, being confused and being in pain bc that’s what being a teenager is about. the pain & hurt it inflicts its characters & viewers is exactly why this drama is great.

cons:

would I rewatch it: fifty thousand times

This is the first bl I give a 10/10 to and this one absolutely deserves it. I have nothing more to say I haven’t already said, but gosh watch it watch it watch it!!!

[asian-drama-whump-blog]

Final Life Whump List (Spoilers)

Character: Shi-on (played by Lee Taemin)

Where to watch: Amazon prime or Dramacool https://dramacool.so/drama-detail/final-life

I think what makes the whump so good in this drama is that Shi-on, while he is a part of their team, is sort of treated like their property. He’s an asset that must be protected. It’s clear that he has been mentally altered as well.

Episode 1: (5:30) Shot at, car flipped. (9:00) Attacked. (29:50) [Flashback of when he was experimented on. Manhandled, shoved onto bed while screaming, injected with something, loses consciousness.]

Episode 2: (2:00) [Episode starts with Shi-on getting brain surgery is the past.] (32:00) Jumps out of exploding building, no consequences shown, it’s pretty lame. (36:40) Shot in the head.   

Episode 3: (1:30) Shot in the head shown again, taken to hospital, surgery is successful. We see him in a hospital bed, bandaged up and with an oxygen mask. (6:00) Shot at again while Shi-on is still unconscious. (9:00) He is found  laying in an elevator. Alseep in hospital bed rest of episode.

Episode 4: (6:30) After Shi-on wakes up Ryo visits him and he starts having sharp pain in his head and light flashes.

Episode 5: (1:20, 3:10) Shi-on is in his room looking dazed and out of it, hallucinates seeing a woman. (10:00) Still in his room, Shi-on starts feeling unwell and is clearly uncomfortable or in pain, there are flashes of light, he stumbles around his room, hallucinates, and slides down the wall to lay down on the floor. (13:00) Ryo sees him slumped in his chair and asks him what’s wrong, Shi-on admits he has no memory. (19:20) Stumbling around his room all dazed again, he does this a lot.

Episode 6: (8:30) In his room, holding his head and acting distressed. (17:20) Flashing lights, distressed, pain. [this is all side effects of getting shot in the head] (24:30) Room is gassed, Ryo puts the gas mask on Shi-on, they both pass out.

Episode 7: (4:00) Whump montage, having more side effects. (6:00, 19:00, 21:00, 26:20) Side effects are getting worse and bits of his memory is coming back. Shi-on stumbles around the city looking very unsteady like he’s in pain. Eventually he collapses.

Episode 8: (5:10) They find Shi-on passed out on the street and take him back. When they’re guiding him in the building he looks very weak and unsteady. (11:00) [Flashback of waking up after surgery when they experimented on his brain. He holds his head in pain.] Then he wakes up in his room as if he had a nightmare. Heavy breathing, distressed. (21:00) They go to a club and use Shi-on as bait for the man trying to kill him. As soon he sits down he starts holding his head in pain but no one seems to notice. Collapses, asked if he’s okay.

Episode 9: (1:20) Stumbling around the city again. (4:00) Ryo finds him then Shi-on is abruptly shot in the shoulder. Ryo gets him to safety then Kana tends to his wounds. He’s wounded for the rest of the episode.

Episode 10: Emotional about remembering Kana, his ex-girlfriend. No real whump.

Episode 11: (2:50) Not whump but he looks cute sleeping. (9:20) Head pain and light flashes, Shi-on has another little episode of side effects and loses his memory again. (15:40) Ryo checks on him and sees that he’s struggling. (25:15) Slides down the wall in his room, collapses onto floor. A team member finds him and asks if he’s okay. She then betrays him and almost manages to kill him.

Episode 12: (1:30) Still held at gunpoint. Shi-on’s memory flashes and he starts to sway and stumble. They ask him what’s wrong then he passes out. (This is my favorite whump scene, idk why) He’s shown in bed hooked up to monitors, they realize his brain is really messed up. 

(11:00) He wakes up and they get in the car. Shi-on tells Ryo that his brain is going to break.

(17:10) Suffering more side effects, falls down. Ending is ambiguous.

[elizabethrobertajones]

Did Bobo really create the Wayward Sisters? If so, why weren't Jack and especially Cas included in that episode? That's my biggest issue with that pilot honestly, I mean, the fact that the show abandoned Claire and Cas' bond after season 10 and gave that storyline to Salmondean. Her bond with Cas is more interesting because of their connection to the Novaks. I also think that Claire and Jack would've made a more engaging dynamic and spin off together, I think they're strong characters & actors

Hi there!

Bobo isn’t the “creator” of Wayward so much as it can even have one, as it was a very organic idea, which even involved a healthy amount of fandom input. The original campaign in season 10 was for Wayward Daughters, and the idea picked up so much steam the altered title for, I guess, a mix of copyright and thematic relevance was the Sisters one. I’d say 10x08 was the real genesis of it as something that could be really solid. Once Kim and Briana were put together the chemistry and star power they could have had together was really meteoric as far as our small SPN world was concerned. Phil Sgriccia directed 9x13 and wrote 10x08 and was more of the parent of Wayward than any specific writer in that sense. Jody and Claire were pretty much common property of the show by that point. Claire was really introduced again in relation to plotlines and questions about Cas and less to do with them really going out of their way to re-launch her. I think they’d have been much cornier about it from the start and while YA protagonist diary writing her way through the end of Wayward Sisters was cute, it’s the sort of cutesy that really has to be earned. If she STARTED that way, like maybe me and 3 friends would be stanning her and everyone else would be revolted :P

(I am a YA fantasy novel author, but I do think everyone should make room in their hearts for this level of cheese)

In any case, Bobo just threw his hat into an already crowded ring with Alex, but obviously loving the characters and having his own personal wayward child to contribute did help elevate him to the prospective showrunner seat, but also all the other writers who’d written these characters except Dabb had left at that point. If Bobo was going to shepherd them through to their new show, he’d be the legacy writer, even though he was a new baby writer in the season Donna was introduced... Attrition aside, he did genuinely write them very well, loved their stories and was great with writing Jody when he could get her, so he would also have been a good choice even if all the others were left still... 

But anyway. Season 10′s subplot for Cas was about Claire and learning some stuff about himself along the way, but she was used very much for his personal development and for Dean as well, being a mini Dean herself in a season where he had lost a lot of his sense of self. It’s a total accident of scheduling but Angel Heart (10x20) being the last episode before 10x22 is a nice touch in that regard. And while Cas tried really hard with Claire and awoke his inner Dad side so that he’d be more prepared for fatherhood next time, it was pretty insurmountable between them to have anything more than a bittersweet relationship where the best he could do was make up with her and see her somewhere safe. The fact of him looking like her actual dead father is horrendous the more you think about it and while she managed to see him for who he was instead of a horrible monster, that’s more than enough trauma to inflict on an already traumatised girl for the sake of helping Cas’s manpain and tidying up the sticky question of Jimmy and Cas’s right to the vessel. 

Angel Heart very specifically ends with TFW mailing Claire to Jody because they know she’s already good with Alex in a genuine way and can handle these sort of issues and has done it before. And also because she can be a guardian who will not constantly remind Claire that her father is dead but something is walking around wearing a perfect reconstruction of his face. Carver era did a few things here and there with bodily autonomy and the problem of angel and demon vessels, but it was also really hit and miss. They’d get random waves of feeling guilty about it but then by necessity go back to stabbing angels in their still-living vessels an episode later. Claire was a way to address at the very least that whatever Cas was being put through was only a punishment on Cas and not on Jimmy as well, which is probably why we got such sappy Heaven scenes. We NEEDED to be shown he was in Heaven and largely okay with what was going on so that the show could justify using Cas at all as a character without breaking the code of ethics they tried to make their own characters adhere to. Aside from that it also gave Cas a side plot for when he wasn’t needed in the main plot, and any emotional connection to anything that wasn’t Sam and Dean.

Anyway 10x20 caused this huge fandom high which was followed by one of the lowest lows of the fandom immediately after, and both centred on female characters (in fact, now we know, 2 lesbians even! Though I’d wonder if, The Gay Agenda aside, Bobo spite-wrote that specifically because of the roots of Wayward) and I think that galvanised the whole movement of fans and hopefully some self-reflection in the show. They DID start making an effort in season 11, which shows some of the early signs of better inclusion but also backtracking or edging nervously away from the more intense Carver era stuff. Not just because Dean didn’t have the Mark any more but in general it was like someone had opened a window and let in some fresh air... Even before Carver bailed somewhere around the midseason to go do a different show and Dabb started to step up. 

All this to say that the Wayward stuff was always about the female characters and making up for the past sins of the show. It’s even a riff on the “wayward son” line which obviously centres around male protagonists and their journey. Claire stumbled into being a part of it in the lucky way of being in the right place and time, but the journey had already started even in the season 10 momentum with earlier work and it was that which suddenly made the prospect that Jody had two young women living with her now seem like a starter for the next generation of the show as it was a mirrored format to season 1 in a way, if you took Alex and Claire as the new Sam and Dean. It was exciting but people flipped out after Angel Heart because stuff had been bubbling since season 9 and earlier in season 10, so this was just pouring more candy into an already visibly full bowl of potential tasty gems. It made a possibility seem real that hadn’t before because we already had Kim bitterly complaining that the CW refused to hear the case for a Jody spin off because she was too old. The next best thing was a Jody spin off where she was the Gandalf to some CW age appropriate characters.

(the CW is and always has been garbage)

Anyway in season 13 Jack was introduced as a Claire 2.0 but as a male character with staying power for that reason, but he was filling the space she left for Cas. He couldn’t be a father to her and neither really wanted that set up anyway. But thematically it had created the possibility of Dadstiel and the space he had in his heart for that. Since the show was in its waning years they would be looking for endgame and handing Cas an easy win with a son he could unconditionally love who would love him back unconditionally absolutely filled that gap. It was a non SamnDean thing that Cas could have for himself outside of whatever happened with them. Not sure the memo came back that he was supposed to have mORE than that but oh well it’s not real if you don’t watch it :))) But yeah Jack was always going to be linked to Cas’s endgame, he wasn’t a free-floating character such as Jody who could go where she wanted and do as she pleased. He was main story relevant from start to finish and tied inexorably to another main character’s fate. Because the show wouldn’t do that with its female characters they could be bundled into spin offs but in practical terms Jack was both never what the Wayward as envisioned by fans or writers was about, nor would he have been free to go. 

Since it would have been about centering the stories of people overlooked by the main story, Claire a case in point that she had her life ruined in season 4 and it was a footnote until season ten, and then metaphorically more the concept of having queer and non-white characters in the mix of main characters, it would have represented a future of the story where the main show was unable to tread. Probably because of the CW. Also inherent biases in the writers. Bad cocktail. Jack is both too white and too male to fit the brief to ever leave SPN, and not only that but he is so as a precise mirror to the main white male characters, being passably any one of their sons if you squint, and meant to be instantly instinctively read as such... he was one of the safest bets of representing the show as the network wanted to imagine its target demographic.

So I really don’t think that Jack has any place being in a spin off of the show unless you want more of the same. They tried to give us something different and the CW didn’t like it because it wasn’t more of the same. Ironically a Jack spin off, with or without Claire, would have more chance of being greenlit and more chance of success. But the spin off they put their heart behind was Wayward Sisters as it was. And I think it was absolutely correct that never mind leaving Jack out of it after his work was done in the lead up episode to help set the table, but honestly they could have cut all the middle scenes of Sam and Dean wandering in the woods and gained precious seconds with the girls and still had a functioning story with those guys. It was like some cowardly missive was sent that the show couldn’t actually go more than 10 minutes without showing a flesh and blood Winchester or the whole thing would spontaneously sizzle out of syndication and the money tree would wither on the spot. And in the mean time, we could have been having Banter with the girls. Or Claire and Kaia holding hands some more. The good stuff :P