#it almost sounds like I'm hate posting but honestly I don't hate her lol

[nutelloona]

damn I really couldn't care less about Izutsumi

[batrachised]

20 Questions for Writers

tagged by @librarylexicon, thank you thank you!

I chose to focus on the star wars side of things for this game because I thiiiink I've answered it before with more of my LMM stuff??

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

41 in total on my star wars account, 7 on my other ao3 account!

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

532,349 on star wars, 72,041 on other! honestly I'm kind of surprised because I'm someone who struggles with meeting her word count goal most of the time, i've almost never had the problem of fics ballooning

3. What fandoms do you write for?

star wars, lmm, and bridgerton, although with bridgerton it was a brief foray that I doubt will continue

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

star wars wise:

a rose by any other name

And if Our Paths Should Cross Again

And if Our Paths Should Cross Again part 2

the quiet lies we tell ourselves

yesterdays and tomorrows

other than that it's all my bridgerton fic because I was writing and posting in anticipation of the new season so it was bit like drinking from a fire hose in terms of the response!

5. Do you respond to comments?

i used to be really good at this, and now I am TERRIBLE at it. suffice to say I do read all comments and very much appreciate them!!

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

HEHEHEHE it was The Horrendous Space Kablooie (de-aged Vader goes on a calvin and hobbes adventure through the executor as ghost obi-wan fretfully comments), second remember me. I love getting comments on those fics because people are always like HOW COULD YOU once they get to the end.

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

uhhh, probably a surprise of roses?? jane of lantern hill meets star wars so it has the coziness one for sure

8. Do you get hate on fics?

nope, occasionally I'll get a weird comment or very rarely a nasty one, but it's never been a problem writ large. i tend to find them more funny than anything else. i did once get a hate anon on my long defunct star wars blog and that irritated me to no end (mostly because I was like FACE ME LIKE A WOMAN)

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

nope, never have never will because I'm very uncomfortable with it lol. I did once write a long romance fic and swore never to do it again (even as I then proceeded to write bridgerton fic) because the comments made me so uncomfortable. it was very pg rated, but the comments were not sklsj. anyway, it is now safely tucked away under the anonymous tag and will remain there!

10. Do you write crossovers?

no, they rarely interest me - i have mentioned I liked reading merlin/harry potter crossovers but that's about my level of interest

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

I've had fics copied to other sites without permission but never to my knowledge straight up stolen

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

yup, a couple I think!

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

nope, i'm a loner when it comes to writing. I think it would be fun to co-author a fic one day but right now I don't have a lot of creative energy for writing in general so it's a future, not a present, goal

14. What's your all-time favourite ship?

i don't really have one tbh, sometimes I'll get super invested in one for a bit but then my interest always fades. right now nothing is coming to mind

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

any of my bridgerton fic, except I don't really want to finish it lolll, season 3 killed my interest so effectively I don't really care about it at all anymore

16. What are your writing strengths?

I have the ability to be very silly, which isn't necessarily always a strength but it is something I'm good at

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I don't really do it, sometimes I'll throw in a fake sounding star wars word (or been like "the droid went beep beep") but I don't have enough knowledge of other languages to do this well

19. First fandom you wrote for?

star wars!

20. Favourite fic you've written?

HMMMM. It's usually the most recent. I think my best fic is probably A Ticklish Business or Two Suns Burning, while one of my favorite fics is Meadow Lily, Desert rose

tagging @dandelionsandderivatives @shannyh25 @mollywog @capablecapybara

[vexic929]

For the song prompts: Straight Through my Heart for Ricki (or, if there's another character that fits better, feel free to write for a different character)?

yesssss it's perfect honestly lol

I looked down and my shirt’s turning red, I’m spinning around, felt her lips on my neck and her voice in my ear like I missed you, want you tonight (Straight Through My Heart) from this prompt list

info on Ricki here (Sloan Wilson and Barty Gordon to be posted)

Ricki had not expected to get shot tonight. Granted, breaking a murderer out of Arkham to get answers was probably not her best idea, but she was certain things would have gone more smoothly if Barty hadn't decided she was having some sort of psychotic episode and tried to stop her. If he hadn't told the damn GCPD her location…well, it wasn't worth dwelling on now. There was a villain on the run and Ricki was rapidly losing blood from the wound in her shoulder. She needed to stop the bleeding and fix this. Now.

She passed out instead. Because of course she did.

When she came to, someone was digging the bullet out and Ricki was momentarily concerned she'd been arrested by the GCPD. She pried her eyes open but was blinded momentarily by the lamp aimed at her wounded shoulder.

"You really did a number on yourself, little bird."

"Fuck." Ricki groaned. Sloan Wilson. Of all the people to find her, she'd have almost preferred Brie. Almost. "What are you doing here?"

"Here?" Sloan echoed, sounding amused. "We're in my safehouse. You're the odd one out, Grayson." She removed the bullet, causing Ricki to hiss in pain.

"Okay, fine. Why the hell am I here then? Why are you," she gestured vaguely to her shoulder.

"Would you have preferred I left you to bleed out?" Sloan asked dryly, dousing the wound in antiseptic.

"No, but-"

"Then shut up and let me work." Sloan interrupted. "Did Mommy Bat never teach you not to look a gift horse in the mouth?"

"I don't trust you to do anything without payment." Ricki said, ignoring the teasing jab.

"We'll call it a favor owed, little bird. Now hush." Sloan said as she began stitching the wound closed.

Ricki fell silent, surveying the safehouse, or what she could see of it from her prone position. It was sparse and dark and most of the furniture that was there had a layer of dust from disuse. It didn't seem like this was a safehouse Sloan used often. That was likely intentional, she probably didn't want Ricki knowing the location of any other safehouses.

Ricki was so distracted she didn't notice when Sloan taped gauze over the wound and shut the first aid kit, nor did she notice when the older woman took the opportunity to kiss her. Ricki's brain stopped working for far longer than she'd like; Sloan's lips were surprisingly soft and Ricki didn't even try to stop her as the older woman shoved her tongue into her mouth. She didn't come to her senses again until Sloan started trying to undress her the rest of the way.

"What the fuck?!" Ricki demanded, shoving Sloan away hard. Sloan just laughed.

"Are you really so surprised?" She asked as she stood. "You and I have been dancing around this for years, Grayson."

Ricki flushed with anger and embarrassment, tugging her shirt back on properly and moving to stand. "Thanks for the patch-up." She muttered.

"Leaving so soon?" Sloan asked, walking over to block the doorway. She reached out to caress Ricki's cheek in a way that sent chills down her spine. "You can't resist this forever, little bird. We both know it."

"I'm taken." Ricki said flatly.

"For now." Sloan purred, leaning in close enough for their lips to almost touch.

"I hate you." Ricki spat.

"Likewise." Sloan replied easily, before closing the gap between their lips and kissing Ricki harder than before.

Ricki was torn between hating herself for responding to the kiss and not wanting it to ever end. It took all of her willpower to push Sloan away with a growl. "Get out of my way." She muttered, shoving past her and stalking towards the door.

"I'll be seeing you again soon, Grayson." Sloan called after her, laughing as Ricki slammed the door shut behind her.

[celiaelise]

Helloooo I have been avoiding posting about this but I think it's reaching a form of denial so I figured I'd better rip the bandaid off 🙃

I got fired the weeks ago!! I am now unemployed!

I'm pretty bummed about it. I liked my workplace a lot, and I liked most of the people I worked with a lot, too! There are several people I've become pretty good friends with, and, while some have shown a willingness to continue being friends, I know it won't be at all the same as casually seeing them at work several times a week.

Finances are a concern, but not a huge concern. I have a little bit of savings, and my family helps me out when I need it. (I can also probably get unemployment if I ever get around to applying for it)

That does bring me to what is possibly the most stressful part of this for me right now, which is that I still haven't told any of my family. At one point, a few months ago, I mentioned to my dad that I'd been written up for attendance, and he was basically like, "yeah, you should stop being late. There's literally no benefit to being late." Which is so frustrating, because obviously i KNOW THAT!!!! I don't have poor attendance because I think it's cool and fun and good!! In fact, almost every shift I was late to or missed, I was hating myself for it the whole time it was happening. So, yeah, I'm pretty sure he's gonna ask what happened, and, if I decide to answer honestly, I'll have to try an explain how sometimes I just do no-call/no-shows in accident, by, like, oversleeping by a LOT, and then lying in bed for six hours, thinking about how I need to get up and get dressed, or, at the very least, call in to say I can't make it, but not doing either of those things because anxiety and executive dysfunction have me by the throat.

And then he's not really going to understand, and it's going to be horribly, horribly awkward and embarrassing. He's consistently demonstrated throughout my life a lack of sympathy for people who struggle with mental illness, or who deems unintelligent. Though it seems like his fatherly love historically overrides such biases, it's still, like, not encouraging. Also I admit that I have an inflated sense of the importance of my father's opinion, but also he, like, pays my bills, so.

My mom's a little less complicated in that my reasons for not wanting to tell her this are the same as for not wanting to tell her most things about myself that I withhold: she always does too much, and she'll remember it forever.

I feel like the best case scenario is that everyone agrees Elise is Unwell and Needs Help, which sounds unbearable and idk how productive help would even be from that quarter.

Anyway, I was gonna say more about this topic, and I'm sure I will later, but I'm getting tired lol. But hopefully, now that I've broken the seal, it will be easier to vent about it here.

[friend-of-giants]

Lines Tag Game

Tagged by @elfinismsarts to post some choice lines from my fic! I guess I will tag @mareenavee @paraparadigm @thana-topsy @boethiahspillowbook @wildhexe @archangelsunited @rhiannon1199 @rainpebble3 @snippetsrus @thequeenofthewinter @thelavenderelf and anyone else who wants to participate, consider yourself tagged! I'm pulling lines from both Into Ash and Ascent from the Ashes.

Also most of these lines are actually snippets and this got super long sorry not sorry

A line from your fic that makes you laugh

Into Ash Ch. 5 "Realizations"

“I didn’t ask for your help, but thanks,” [Wren] said, giving [Teldryn] a little smile.  Her teeth were goofy and uneven, almost rabbit-like, and she rarely let them show, but Teldryn thought they were an endearing feature of her otherwise plain face.

“It was nothing, sera.  Now, let’s get going before Neloth pisses himself.” 

Neloth’s face contorted as if he had just smelled a fresh pile of netch dung.  “What?  I do not piss myself, you fools!”

A line from your fic that makes you sad

Into Ash Ch. 6 "As Hermaeus Mora Intended"

"These people you lost, who were they?  If you don't want to answer, I understand."

Teldryn’s question struck like a slap to the face, though it did not hurt as much as it once would have.  Time had dulled the sharpness of the pain and left only a hollow ache in its place, an ache she was trying to forget.  She blinked, then fixed her eyes on an unassuming mound of snowberries at the table to gather her thoughts.  

How much should she tell him, if anything?  Why did he even want to know?  He was only a mercenary and likely didn’t care, but something about him had changed over the last week.  She felt a new sense of security with him, and had found herself speaking more openly with him since that day at Nchardak, when she had proven to him exactly who and what she was.

He had changed, and she almost felt as if she could trust him.  She supposed there wasn’t much to lose by opening up a little. 

"My family," Wren began after a long moment of silence.  "Not the one I left behind, but…”  Her attention turned from the snowberries back to Teldryn, to the light from the fire shining off his goggles.  He remained quiet, the only sound around them being the crackle of the flames and the angry wind rushing against the roof.  

A low, gravelly whisper broke the silence and cut her off before she could even open her mouth again.  “The one you were trying to make?”  

His words caught her off guard, spoken as if they were plucked straight from her own tongue.  She nodded slowly, and blinked back tears that were beginning to form.  “Something like that.  They’re gone because of me.  I’m not meant to have that kind of life, not with what I am.” 

A line from your fic you're proud of

Ascent from the Ashes Ch. 7 "A World Worth Living In"

There was something about the vast Rift forests that calmed her in a way that nothing else could quite compare to.  Perhaps it was the trees rising around her, white-gray trunks reaching for the skies topped with quivering clusters of leaves in every fiery shade imaginable.  Or maybe the sweet scent of old, decaying leaves that covered the ground in a soft blanket, or the crisp mountain breeze that swept through to rustle them.  

Far from those who hated her, who cared for her.  From those who saw her but did not know her name, and from those who did not even know she existed.  She was one with the wilderness, everywhere and nowhere all at once. 

The forest was hers today, there to stand guard and keep a vigilant watch, to take in her secrets and let them blow away in the wind, never to be heard by anyone except the Gods.  

And Dagon, of course. 

A line for your fic you think could have been better

Uhhhh most of the first 3 chapters of Into Ash, honestly. I'm planning a rewrite as I had absolutely no idea what I was doing at the time of writing those chapters lol

A line from your fic that makes you want to punch a character

I hate Rolff, alright?

Ascent from the Ashes Ch. 10 "Respite, Part 1"

“You make me sick,” Rolff snapped. “Don’t take kindly to women talking back to me, ‘specially not some disgusting gray-skin whore.” His cold, hateful eyes fell upon Teldryn once more, who was still flabbergasted that Wren was handling the situation with such a level head. Teldryn himself resisted the urge to leap down and beat him, but she was right. Rolff wasn’t worth the effort. “How much you pay for her? I'd ask for my coin back if I were you."

Wren's posture stiffened and she scooted away, putting a small gap between herself and Teldryn. "I ain't doing that anymore, now get out of here."

A line from your fic that makes you go 'aww'

Into Ash Ch. 7 "Awakening"

Wren nodded again and turned away to head into the bedroom, whimpering softly.  Teldryn tsked.  "Great job, n'wah, you made her cry."

"I did not try to," Frea said, confusion showing plainly on her face.  "What I said should not have hurt her."

"I don't think you hurt her.  Something tells me she doesn't get thanked very often."  

"Oh," remarked Frea, glancing in the direction of the bedroom, where the occasional sniffle could be heard floating out.  "I thought she would be used to the praise.  She has defeated Alduin, yes?  I do not understand." 

Teldryn got up and stretched.  "You'd be surprised.  People can be very ungrateful to heroes.  It's a sad truth that wears you down over the years."

"We were planning a feast in the event of her safe return, but I do not want her to cry again."  Frea grinned slightly.  "Perhaps we can find another way to thank her." 

"No," Teldryn said softly, peering around the doorway to check on the Dragonborn, who had made herself at home in the bed once again.  He saw a smile on her lips, despite the tears trickling down her cheeks.  "I think the feast will be fitting.  Make sure there’s plenty of salmon."

A line from your fic that's full of symbolism

Ascent from the Ashes, Ch. 8 "What Guides Us"

There were a thousand things to be said about [Teldryn's] relationship with the Gods and Daedra, with Azura in particular. He hummed thoughtfully and gazed back out over the waters, to the torchbugs that still flickered and danced along the shores. Most people were small and insignificant in the eyes of the Gods, just as the bugs were to men and mer.

But as the mortal races would often catch an exceptional specimen in a jar and hold it dear, so had Azura chosen Teldryn, her champion, the savior of Morrowind and all of the Dunmer people. Through all of his trials, from the shining, glorious moments to the times where the darkness had surrounded and suffocated him until he had screamed for the merciful release of death, Azura was there. She always was, and always would be.

A line from your fic that contains an Easter egg

Ehhhh, without being too spoilery (as the scene itself is super graphic), have this single line. Inspired by a similar line in Stephen King's Misery, which I thought might perfectly describe the feeling of having ones leg chopped off lmao

The pain was screaming, and so was she.

A line from your fic that's shocking

According to Kel, it's this scene since I'm not a fan of horse death lmao

Ascent from the Ashes Ch. 10 "Respite, Part 1"

Giving a hasty tug on his horse’s mane, he wheeled his mount around and rode hard back the way he came from.  He had to make it to her before the guards did, he had to.  

The pounding of the gelding’s hooves against the road and the rush of wind in his ears were the only sounds he could hear, until a sharp twang caught his attention, followed by the sickening sound of bone shattering and a squeal from his horse.  The gelding staggered for a few steps before he crashed to the ground, and Teldryn was thrown from his back and tumbled to the dirt beside him.  

A line from your fic you want to talk about more

I know this scene got people thinking and theorizing of what the Thing is. I want to talk more about it but i CAN'T! Not yet! Absolutely down to hear peoples guesses though!

Ascent from the Ashes Ch. 5 "Withered Away and Crumbled to Dust"

"I was cleaning up one day and found this.  Thought you might want to keep it."  

Wren squinted at Lydia's closed hands, and her fingers parted to reveal a piece of soft golden cloth.  Upon recognizing the gift, the blood in her veins froze instantly, and it was as if something had forced the breath from her lungs and replaced it with ice.  She knew exactly what this thing was and where it had come from, but she did not want to acknowledge that it was here, right here in front of her.  

“W-what makes you think I want this?"  Her voice was small, weak.  A shadow of what it could be.  Her vision blurred as tears welled in her eyes, and she blindly reached out, grasping at nothingness, until Lydia's hands found hers and pressed something soft into her palm.  

“You need this," Lydia whispered, her voice crackling.  Wren felt fingers comb through her hair and warm lips on her forehead.  It did little to comfort her.  “Take it.  It belongs with you."

Wren clutched the piece to her chest, kneading it between her fingers.  It was incredibly soft and should have been an object of comfort, but now only served to suck the life from within her.

[snowmaze1969]

Just finished totk and boy do I have some thoughts. (no i totally didn't watch someone else do the ending after i had completed all of the other main quests because i got impatient. totally......)

anyway totk spoilers for the whole game below. also my thoughts will become less conherant as it goes on lmaoooooo have fun o7

I'm going to put it frankly, I disliked the ending. (for the most part) while there were some amazing parts that I loved (cough, the sages, cough) I feel like the whole zelda part could have been done better. Just a disclaimer I DO NOT ship botw/totk zelink. that's a whole other post i'm not going to do rn but just thought i'd put that there. The first part in the depths was great. It was brilliant even. I loved the sages and I loved the whole Gannon swallowing the stone just to kill like. It is SO in character. It is such a Gannon thing to get rid of all traces of his humanity (hylianity???) just to kill his fate entwined nemesis. like, oq3ighbqpeifjnqpirjgnpqieugnqpithjnpiqgn. omg. Amazing. then dragon Zelda came in and I was like ok. That makes sense. some instinctual part of her dragon self must have realized that Darkness = bad and link = trying to fight darkness = good. so I was like ok. and honestly that fight was pretty epic. It was something new. I was really well done. Then I feel like it started to go downhill. I can say that I almost cried when you were able to rewind time for Zelda. I was like omg they can bury the body, give her peace. The whole shabang. And then Zelda woke up and I was like ugh. I hate it because its so tropey. The classic good beats evil the princess falls in love with the knight in shining armor everything is great. botw did better with this. while the whole loz series is that trope, botw felt more like an, we made a lot of sacrifices and things wont be ok for a while but maybe someday it can get better etc. nothing lovey dovey there. but then totk gone and did the everything turned out great ending. I would have loved a Zelda died ending. i'm not a zelda hater but I feel like it would build off of the whole oh boy everything is shit rn but it will get better given time. They don't need the monarchy anymore link can be free etc. When zelda lives it gives off a very happy everything is great vibes. despite the fact that uh. no???? It's not????? Mineru was obviously sad but I feel like they ruined it by trying to do more zelink shipping. It gives off very I know I was an asshole at first and I know you has a fish gf but now shes dead and i'm nicer too you now but I was also only mad at you because of my destiny/things out of your control lol lets date. Like what????????? idk but that just sounds weird to me.

anyway i'm going to compleatly change topic and talk about future lozs/ and endings.

This is a brilliant place to end this timeline. there are many theorys about what timeline/ where its placed but I feel like this game is the end. The whole Gannon gets consumed and finally destroyed etc perfect ending. It has a very clear air of finality about it. And honestly I feel that if Zelda had died it would have added A BUNCH too it. It would cement that finality. Gannon is gone fr this time (power) Zelda would be dead (wisdom) and there is no proof that link has the triforce of courage so idk man but that feels like nothing but the ending of a timeline. (but of course Zelda HAD to live because of their precious good always triumphs evil/ knight in shining armor & princess love intrest trope but ya know. whatever)

Talking about a future game, I would love to see something in the ww timeline (no it's not cause it's my fave game who said that.) I think it would also be cool if they gave the new game an open world setting like botw/totk but added a linear story line. (kinda like ww but with a lil more open worldiness) but idk thats just my opinion.

Anyway feel free to yell at me or have a convo in the responses i'd LOVE to hear your opinions. Just dont hate on me plz just cause I have different opinions than you. i'd love to hear an avid zelink shipper give me their opinion but anyways bye yall.

[deep-hearts-core]

2002

originally posted 3/8/21

my formatting actually survived this one wtf

Happy new year, if there's anyone who actually reads these! It's, uh... been a while. School started back up for me in August and I got really busy, and also I got really into tabletop actual plays and got a little bit distracted, lol. Real talk, I started watching this back in January but then school started AGAIN after I'd finished the songs and then I procrastinated on watching the voting sequence for uhhh literally two months lol

Cyprus Overall this isn't a bad start? The verses seem to be too low for the main singer and I would have liked to hear some more harmonies or for the other singers to have parts. I think it's catchy, though, I especially like it after the key change.

United Kingdom Jessica definitely has a great voice, and I appreciated how simple the staging was here. Unfortunately, I really REALLY hate the part of the chorus where she sings "come back" and then the entire track stops. Maybe it's because that's the part that's always in the recap videos, but it really gets on my nerves and honestly brings down the entire song for me.

Austria I love the energy on this one, both in the song and in the performance! It's not the, like, most artfully composed song by all means but I really enjoy the instrumental and I think Manuel really brings a lot to the song. He's not the most technically perfect singer but he's performing really well, just having a great time, you can tell he's happy to be doing what he's doing and that makes what would otherwise be a mediocre song really appealing to me.

Greece The actual song sounds nice but the vocals on this are just bad. I could be persuaded to like this if they, like, had a different singer and replaced the "sagapo S A G A P O" line with something else because that also sounds dumb. I think the staging looks kinda cool and I could get behind the outfits, even, but the vocals here just suck.

Spain This is a fun one. Rosa has a really lovely voice and I almost wish they'd sent her with a more serious song to show that off a little more, but as is this is still pretty good and I like it a lot. My only real issue with it is that weird things keep happening with the key? I don't know enough music theory to be certain if this is the right word but it keeps modulating weird and going in funny places melodically.

Croatia This singer has a really nice tone when she belts, the song is okay, and she looks great in that outfit. Unfortunately, it looks like she doesn't know what to do with herself when she's not singing. They have her walking around the stage and being tryhard sexy and it just isn't working for me. I could also really do without the backing singers.

Russia My thoughts on this are really similar to my thoughts on Cyprus' entry. Idk, it's alright, the vocals suck, I like the chord progression in the chorus I guess?

Estonia I think this is really cute, really fun. I like the guitar and I'm really impressed by Sahlene's high notes at the end. My main problem here is that Sahlene's stage presence is almost too energetic or too sweet.

Macedonia The song is incredibly forgettable. Like I was listening to it and thought to myself, wow, I really am not going to be able to remember the melody at all. I also think Karolina was holding back vocally a LOT, especially at the beginning. Her dresses were nice and I think the staging was overall not bad.

Israel Sarit's voice works really well with the song here, and the backup singers blend well with her. Like I said about Austria, the right performer can really elevate an otherwise unassuming song. The build to the chorus is really good, probably the best part of the song.

Switzerland Not a bad song, reminds me kinda of Disney Fairies almost? Which isn't a bad thing, I was a Disney Fairies kid. But it fails to hold my attention, even though the vocals are good.

Sweden This is some of the best staging of the night IMO. I love a well-executed dance routine. Their voices are also a really nice contrast to the singers before them which really helps the song stand out!

Finland Considering this is a disco song performed in the 2000s, it's a pretty catchy and well-polished number. Definitely one of my favorites of the night.

Denmark This is actually pretty good. Malene doesn't seem very sure of herself onstage, both physically and vocally, but beyond that I actually really vibe with this. It's not a huge standout stylistically so I guess I understand why it placed last but in my opinion it's way better than a number of these other songs.

Bosnia & Herzegovina I love the style of the song! It gives me 50s-60s vibes even though that might not necessarily be right. It's nice and upbeat and I think Maja's voice suits the song very well. The staging was kind of weird though, everyone was weirdly spaced out onstage.

Belgium I don't dislike this necessarily, but it is really repetitive, and I just kind of get bad vibes from Sergio. Nothing more to say here.

France In terms of vocals and the melody line this song is probably the best. I'm a fan of more upbeat songs generally, unless they really hit emotionally, so this slower song isn't really my thing. But Sandrine's voice is really just stellar.

Germany Whoa. I hate this. Corinna's voice is alright and she's on key and everything but I just hate her tone, it's weird and nasal and vibrate-y. The ending is really abrupt and makes no sense, and it looks like the backing singers weren't given enough instruction on how to move, they kept doing different things and weren't at all in sync with each other and it was just a bad look.

Turkey Overall not bad. I'm not a huge fan of the traditional Turkish style of singing, it's too far back in the throat for my taste, so this one doesn't vibe with me. The English lyrics are also especially clumsy here. But there's nothing glaringly bad about this song.

Malta The appeal of this is mostly in seeing little baby Ira Losco. I super enjoyed her 2016 entry and ngl I'm a little let down by this? It just feels empty, there isn't that much going on and while simplicity is great for some Eurovision songs it just doesn't work here.

Romania I've found one of my least favorites, I think. The singers blend well together and that's about the only good thing I have to say for this song.

Slovenia This is nice. Idk, it's nice to see a drag queen in early-aughts ESC that isn't being played for a joke, you know? Like Conchita was taken seriously in 2014 but before that... nah. So this is nice to see. I also appreciated the female backing singers in their sailor suits. Good vibes all around.

Latvia Sooooo visually appealing! Not just because of the quickchanges or because Marie N is hot (although her in the white suit and little hat is INCREDIBLY gender), but just the overall staging and choreography was great here. I'm not a huge fan of the song or the vocals but Marie is just such a performer that I can totally get why this won.

Lithuania Uncertain what Lithuania was aiming for here. It's certainly wholesome. But there isn't much more I can say about it without being plainly mean about this guy's vocal abilities.

My top 24

Austria

Estonia

France

Spain

Latvia

Sweden

United Kingdom

Malta

Finland

Bosnia & Herzegovina

Denmark

Israel

Lithuania

Cyprus

Turkey

Slovenia

Croatia

North Macedonia

Russia

Switzerland

Belgium

Greece

Romania

Germany

Thoughts after watching I really had a hard time with this one, as evidenced by my having NO comments about the hosting and literally taking months to watch the votes. I don't know if it was just the audio quality or the hosts or whatever but I do think that part of it was that I had the misfortune to watch it with Terry Wogan commentary. God I hate him. 

Who knows when you'll get 2001 from me (if anyone even reads these!) but idk. Eventually. There may also be a 2021 review. [shrug]

[soartfullydone]

The way my sheer EXCITEMENT for every new FFVII: Rebirth thing is quickly soured by how badly I cringe at the new English voice cast. Part of it is about how they sound, which is middling to bad, but there's something even more crucial missing from all their performances and that's personality.

Hearing Tyler Hoechlin strain to hit the register George Newbern could've nailed effortlessly, to the point where it sounds like he's just listlessly reading Sephiroth's lines, is painful. George's performance had levels, so much arrogance and suggestiveness, vulnerability and authority. Tyler just sounds like he's desperately trying to imitate George and failing, which tells me they should've just hired George.

Tifa's and Aerith's VAs make them sound like nails-on-a-chalkboard anime girls instead of the grown-ass women they are. I watched in real time as Aerith's Advent Children VA turned one of my best friends gay and the remake VA turned her right back straight again lol

Do I even need to mention Zack's VA and how awful he's doing? Rick Gomez, I'm so sorry. You made so many people love Zack and be moved by his story when they were convinced they would hate Zack because he wasn't Cloud. You should've been allowed to keep telling his story.

Trading Wally Wingert as Rufus for whoever is attempting it now is a personal blow I'll never get over. Throwing the range of the Riddler right into the garbage, smh smh.

The fact that they have to put extra bass behind Rude's VA when Crispin Freeman is still accepting work, like c'mon.

Reno used to drip sex thanks to Quinton Flynn, but I literally could not get up that tower fast enough to shut up his new whiny little bitch ass voice.

Losing Steve Blum to some dude who makes Vincent sound indistinguishable from Sephiroth is par for the course by now, but I'll mourn it forever anyway.

Cloud's new VA is probably the only one I can stand, but tbh, anything he can do, Steve Burton could've also done, sorry.

Fact is, this was almost a perfect project, and I will FOREVER have it out for the clown at Square Enix USA who made the decision to not even TALK to the legacy cast and brought in a bunch of television actors who don't have the chops for voice acting work. I don't know if that person is the same as the Voice Director, but omg, they need help with their job, too, if not. Honestly, fuck all the new "VA's," too. They knew whose work they were stealing. I'm done giving them a pass if they can't even make me believe their performances nearly three games deep. "PERSONALLY I like the new VA's better—" This post is not for you. This post is for me to bitch, but just in case: They suck. They replaced talented voice actors who already knew and embodied these characters and who didn't suck because they know how to voice act and not just read lines. Next.

[thatonemothboy]

So that just happened

I did gather up all my courage to go to that little village party, it was for christmas. I mean it's not even December yet but why not lmao. Took Slucky (my dog, don't judge her name it's an hommage) with me, I figured she'd make an amazing excuse to pass by without looking that interested.

What ? Me ? Wanting to come here ? You little goofy prankster, I'm just walking out my dog !

Plus, scary dog privileges when walking hooome.

Anyway...

Forgive me for no pictures of it, forgot my phone at home and was terrified about it for the hour but hey. Food was great ! Could have been cheaper.

Everyone love dogs, a bit too much... At least it starts the conversation.

I still get so nervous while talking to people, it will never change but I think I perfomed my social duties pretty well, call me a professional now.

I was starting to think maybe I was paranoid to think I have a bad reputation, until I was reminded that : No. It's true. I have a bad reputation.

It almost seems like it's always the people who are part of that church collective, I don't really know how to call it. They mostly organize events for charity (including the one I was at) and other "good stuff" ... You get me. They don't like me much. Most of them.

If I'd have to be honest, to me they very much sound like a cult. The "we're a big family" vibe ain't doing it for me. No one will ever call it for what it is... Am I too judgemental ?

They do be looking like that sometimes lol

Anyway.

I came around a corner between a few stands, tried to eat my hot dog in peace while giving Slucky some space from these filthy kids hands.

"Tried" is the keyword, never got to even get a taste of that heavenly food. Because she saw another dog, a small one. She hate those, I have no idea why it's probably a vendeta from a past life. The leash tied around my leg and to not die I had to sacrifice my only will to live (the hot dog).

It went flying just like in a movie, a very bad movie, straight in a pot (good soup) one of the church boy was keeping hot. Honestly would have been funny, if it wasn't me and if I did not exist in that space and time.

I never have the reflex to say sorry immediatly, so I just standed here, looking absolutely flabbergasted (is this how it's written ?)

I'm glad it made him laugh, I was already ready to never get out of my appartement again. He did gave me a coupon for another hot dog for free, which was really kind indeed. I just ran away with it. Gave it to a kid and went home to die. Regular stuff.

I swear, it always happens to me.

To be honest, it actually felt good to be out. I should do this more often.

Enough posting from me, I gotta be ready for work right away, goodnight y'all !

Bonus picture I got quickly reporting for duty ☆

[ljpaul95]

indigenous day!

Good morning! This is the first time I am waking up at 5. I sort of enjoy waking up this early it's in the middle of being a midnight junkie and an early bird. I'm not gonna lie, my body does not like being up this fucking early, but this is my challenge for the rest of the week. My mind likes it and is still waking up. I want to make coffee. You know your girl does not eat or breathe coffee. It's still early, I don't care. My true self comes from writing this shit out. I want to eventually incorporate comedy eventually in my work. Tumblr is usually my output. Or is it called that? Input? I take angy out is what I am trying to say. I almost didn't want to wake up. I almost considered waking up at 6 which is in 6 minutes. I am still yawning. I drank almost a whole bottle already compared to yesterday when I couldn't really drink any. I hope that is a good thing. If I had a treadmill or a gym in my room, I think I would be walking on it right now to wake me up cuz at work that's what I do.

Anyways, indigenous day. HAPPY MF INDIGENOUS DAY! Honestly, I am happy for the steps our people are taking. It was just last year, I believe, when they had it start being that instead of that other name. You know, before he inflated our shit. I'm not political, but I'm just throwing anything around. I really really hope my blogs do not affect any part of my being towards the near future because I CAN be very blunt with things especially when I know I am a nobody. I just bring in bypass and kiss my bf watching Netflix and fucking.. pls don't :)) don't cancel me. It got close with job corps tbh that is another story to talk about in the future. Fucking hell man. The one thing I hate more than sugar killing teeth or whatever, is sneezing. Fuck allergies man. I can't even think right now. This is too damn early for a body whose mind thought "itch me violently" the night before. I'm still learning so I think many shit are interesting. Do I think indigenous day was a good thing? Absolutely fucking yes, but I think they used that shit to pacify things that were going to get worse especially Alaskans was that inflation. This gave 9/11 vibes. Not exactly the same, but I don't matter so throw that shit in the rest of the conspiracy pile like the rest of my damn blogs. It makes me wonder what our, YES OUR, principal in the local school has planned for today. I was told she was supposed to be gone yet is still lingering around. Hire me dammit. Do you know how nice it sounds to work at the school right now? Summers off, yes baby. I'm happy for OGs.

I've been avoiding speaking my own language. Not sure if I should talk about it on tumblr. It sounds more like a book content cuz it has so much things to cover than on a damn blog. Fucking bullies man. That's all I have to say. I might start cooking my shit, it's been almost an hour since I started writing this. It's not the best work but what is when you're used to waking up this hour thinking about how cold I am right now that is keeping my eyes from shutting and how I'm gonna have to pee soon and how fucking.. I need to eat and am thinking of making breakfast quesadilla. I'm sorry :)) GEE EM <3 tumblr has all of my shit posts ask her. Think I found my new title lol

this is me after fkn posting this sad shit: I'm sorry :)) this is a half assed writing. This is what I don't like about forced writing. My neck hurts, this keyboard sucks from using mac almost all my life. Life sucks is what I should post from how dirty I feel. Meh. I think I am just.. shy? It's always been me. It's fucking me. Writing by myself has been what I am yet since I posted that I do post on my tumblr, the anxious feeling of having someone read my shit is just absolutely fucking terrifying because as a fellow Capricorn, I do not take criticism easily. My mind automatically thinks FAILURE. I'm hungry now, so.. I'll talk more tomorrow.. hopefully :)) tumblr was and always a part of what takes my anger out and using it as like a daily vlog is almost crucial to me but I do my best to bring out vibes. ok ;)) gm.

[alexandy99]

Hey, I’m going to answer my NSFW # asks in one post. Thanks everyone who sent them in ❤️ Warnings for weird kink talk

6. First time having sex?

I was 15 and I thought I was very smart and sexually mature. I snuck him into the house and we made out on a mattress on the floor of my room with a Fall Out Boy album on. It wasn’t good at all, neither of us had any idea what we were doing. I distinctly remember him saying, “A little help here?”

7. Biggest turn on?

Watching a belly get big and full😌

8. Biggest turn off?

Hmmmmmmm. Someone not being interesting enough. You better entertain the shit out of me.

10. Weirdest thing that ever turned you on?

Welllllll lol. I mean it’s weird, but you asked. I’m kind of into seeing people swallow stuff lately. People will like, swallow marbles, and then they make little marble shaking sounds in their belly. The endo cams that show inside the stomach. More stuff in that vein, but I’d say those are the weirdest. I also keep getting turned on when my friend tells me about her GI problems and how much it makes her burp.

23. What is too big for you to take?

I am big but I can’t take big. I’d say average to large is good. Not into xl cock/toys. As for the clear second meaning of this question, I enjoy every size fatty, and I really don't think there's too big.

31. Do you like spontaneous sex, or do you need to be in the mood?

I'm always a little horny honestly. Spontaneous is hot. But I will still take some foreplay, thanks.

84. Do you trim, shave or leave pubic hair untouched? How do you prefer partners?

Sometimes I trim. I am hairy in general. I hate shaving lol, so uncomfortable. Partners can do whatever.

96. What’s the weirdest porn you’ve ever seen?

Hmmmmm the weird beastiality and clown porn my friends showed me in middle school?? Some of the other stuff I like is weird, but that’s really the height.

100. Do you have any friends you’d sleep with?

I would sleep with genuinely almost any of my friends. Is that not normal? 🥵

[stevesnailbat]

Jen you're so right here and honestly should say it. In my opinions all her relationships (romantic or platonic) she ever had were semi toxic to some degree.

It never set right with me how she treated Barb before she went missing, like I would never leave my friend for some dude (sorry Steve I love you) especially if I had dragged them to a party where they were clearly uncomfortable.

Or even after Will was missing, she got pissed at Mike for "ruining" her date with Steve just because he was clearly upset about it. And I know her parents don't love one another but her being so bitchy to Mike when he was grieving his best friend was so out of pocket, she should be able to emphasize with her little brother.

Same goes for Robin, Nancy was so unnecessarily rude to her in the beginning, especially after Robin clearly asked her if she upset Nancy because she has trouble reading people. Nancy only tolerated Robin after she became necessary to her. Not to mention she treated Fred in a similar way, idk if they were friends but they way she talked down to him was icky.

What you said about Steve feeling inadequate for a while in that relationship is so true, before she started the whole bullshit speech he was already apologizing and he sounded so tired, as if they were constantly fighting. Him taking the blame for the break up and her letting him believe only he's at fault never fails to make me angry. She literally cheated on him (emotionally and for real because when she slept with Jonathan they weren't clearly broken up) but yes he is the shitty boyfriend. I'm just saying if the roles were switched people would constantly bring this up when discussing Steve as a character, they wouldn't even question if he cheated. I just hate that he, after almost two years, still loves the idea of her that she still has power over him when he deserves someone so much better, who isn't condescending, isn't insulting his intelligence and actually loves him.

Jonathan also deserves better, Nancy needs some serious self reflection before she thinks about dating. In my opinion she never grew as a character she's still the same person from s1 plus some trauma and the ability to shoot guns, but everything else, her entitlement and attitude towards others stayed the same. I don't know if it's poor writing or not. I wish other characters in the show would call Nancy out of her behavior, like I can't believe she manipulated everyone into thinking she's perfect and never wrong.

I'm sorry for this long message I just saw your post and it made me feel things lmao. It's frustrating to criticize her because people just jump down your throat and call you a misogynist, like the anon mentioned. And I get it, some people take it too far but blindly saying oh Steve deserved this treatment because of s1 Steve and she did nothing wrong with how things ended is just stupid on my opinion. Like do those people realize they dated for a year and Steve in s2 is nothing like s1 Steve? I'm sorry I will stop now lol.

i will just post this for everyone to hear because you have taken the words right out of my mouth about every nancy relationship 🤍 these are all true facts and i have nothing to add

[robotslenderman]

👀 if I can submit another ask meme... what about Rose? Love me some Salubri <3

I don't know how well I can do one of these with my own OCs instead of a canon character but I will try, lol

favorite thing about them

I keep forgetting that she's not this cute, innocent cinnamon roll. Sometimes I write her and she'll just do something mean or be quicker on her feet than I expect her to be, then I go through my notes, and then I'm like "oh RIGHT, of course she'd act that way." Or I'll suddenly remember that she was the expy of an evil necromancer's girlfriend and be like "oh right, they're the same character." She does have naive goals, but she knows they're naive, and if you're a Salubri that's survived nearly two hundred years you can't be completely sweet and innocent, even if your favourite Tzimisce thinks you're a god damn saint.

least favorite thing about them

I have yet to figure out how the fuck she spent sixty years in a Tremere chantry without bleeding out of the forehead and making them all Frenzy once while doing blood magic rituals.

favorite line

"Oh dear. He hid you the Tzimisce way, did he?"

Spoken to a fledgling covered in dirt, lmao.

brOTP

Her and Roger de Camden. She didn't know who he truly was until post-WWII (and even then she wasn't 100% sure if the rumours were true or not), but basically he took her in because as a Cappadocian who survived the genocide of his clan, he could relate a lot to this little neonate who was surviving the genocide of hers and had never met another one of her kind.

I also like her relationship with Sascha but I find hers with Roger more compelling.

OTP

Used to be her and Sascha but I'm not so sure any more. In any case, at least on a queerplatonic level, they will always be very close friends.

nOTP

Honestly can't think of one.

random headcanon

Rose spent her childehood isolated from Kindred society, protected and hidden by her human mother. She'd spend her nights healing the sickest people in the hospital her mother worked at, the one she used to work at when she was alive. After her mother died, she struggled to survive in Victorian London without her.

During the events of the Victorian Trilogy Roger de Camden, in the guise of the Malkavian Thomas Beckett, returned to London to find Mithras very, very sick due to the machinations of Valerius and the Tremere. While trying to find out wtf was going on, he found out from the dead that there was somebody that sounded an awful lot like a Salubri in the city. He retrieved her and had her heal Mithras -- it almost killed her, but she made it.

After that he took her in as an unofficial, adopted childe, introducing her to Kindred society, teaching her their customs and mores and about their world, and, eventually, post WWII, helped her infiltrate the Tremere.

As for Mithras, he was happy to spite the Tremere by also mentoring her and guarding her vehemently against any Tremere that so much as looked at her funny.

Rose is apparently very good at getting adopted by very powerful Kindred who hate the Tremere, lmao, because she has a list of at least four.

unpopular opinion

Can you have an unpopular opinion about your own OC??? idk lmao.

song i associate with them

Don't really have them! I listened to "Our Truth" by Lacuna Coil on repeat while noodling at ideas for her, but the lyrics are not Rose-y at all lol.

favorite picture of them

This one that @missn11 did for me!!

[babygirldennis]

This shit is fake bby!!!

Here she is.. My masterpost of all the dumb, illogical bits of info contained within these s15 “leaks” that make me fairly confident they are complete bullshit. It also includes my little tinhat theories that have absolutely no evidence.

I will be putting it all under a Readmore in case you don't want to risk it or if you simply Do Not Care

First up, I'd like to point out that these call sheets repeatedly give very detailed backstories to characters that have few lines which conveniently paints a picture of each episode's plot. And I'm not an expert so correct me if I'm wrong, but after looking at other similar casting calls, they only ever include the demographic and necessary skills.

Basically who in their right mind would write up casting calls that give away so many spoilers? Seems like that could cause and issue if they were leaked lol. But anyway that's my 1st point. But onto the actual content

So the conceit of this episode as a whole is that during the pandemic, the gang "gamed the system" and received three (3!) Loans to start businesses that went bankrupt. One of these businesses is implied to be the one started by dee and charlie who end up selling to Qanon shaman. Already this is so impossible baby.

1. We've already seen the gang try to get a loan and it didn't work. They don't have good ideas. Ur telling me, they managed to finagle 3 separate loans for 3 separate business ideas from an actual bank?

2. Maybe I just have bad reading comprehension but how does one have a business that is both fictitious and bankrupt?

3. If the customer is supposed to be Qanon shaman, an actual real life guy, why are the only descriptors white and male? They say he's shirtless so are they going to paint on all of the tattoos he has? And if so, doesn't that kind of ruin the dramatic reveal when charlie "throws in" the viking helmet? Why would he do that anyways? Sus.

Moving on

Alright this episode would fucking blow for obvious reasons but im going to refrain from looking at this through my gay dennis thruther lens because im biased.

Purely from a narrative standpoint, a woman hasn't been shown to be interested in dennis in nearly 5 years during the wade boggs episode. Ever since, every single woman he approaches has been actively creeped out by him. And now I'm supposed to believe that 3 "smart, passionate woman" (In Their Twenties!!!!!!) agreed to go on a date with him? And Anna even slept with him! Just because he what? Agreed with her? I'm not buyin it.

Plus the concept of this scenario lacks any potential for comedy. When iasip gets political, they always discuss a very specific topic using hyperbolic situations and flawed metaphors. If this is supposed to be a political episode, what ultimately lukewarm point would rob be trying to make here? So far we know they're ranting about

The patriarchy

Privilege

Socialism

No more personal responsibility(?)

The... nature of power in society(??)

How on earth would an episode like get approved? This shit sounds like a Ted talk. It sounds like it was written specifically to sound like a political episode so boring and pointless it would generate outrage and mile long essay posts from Tumblr users and reddit users alike. Almost like this one lol.

On a completely unrelated note, do not try and convince me that Frank "casual cock ring wearer" Reynolds is unable to perform.

Jeez this is getting out of hand fast. Let's move on

Ok now we're starting to getting into the Ireland of it all. Let me go on a bit of a tangent here about all this.. Now I thinq there are just 3 possibilities. Either this is all a publicity stunt and there is some truth to the Ireland rumors, the entire thing could be bogus from some weirdo fan (ps, if a fan did write this I want you to know I fucking hate you. You did this to me), or it is a publicity stunt but Ireland is just more bullshit.

I am going to assume it was a publicity stunt, otherwise I just wasted my entire evening and I can't have that kind of mentality rn. Additionally, I'm Going to tinhat here for a second and say that the Ireland rumors are true, but the details are different.

I say this because if they were going to do filming in Ireland, they probably figured that that information would be impossible to hide. In essence, my completely unfounded hypothesis is that this leak was their fucked up little way of controlling the situation while simultaneously messing with us.

Ok tangent is over, returning to the casting calls. From the looks of it, dee starts a "scam" acting class and has some very devoted students (Note that Tony was also the name of the porn shop owner. Seems weird!) Presumably after the gang replaces her with a monkey as the title suggests.

Honestly, there isn't too much here that's a red flag to me... seems like a nice little dee-centric episode that is the link to the Dublin angle. Assuming I am At All right, this could be a genuine plotline for Dee. However, the monkey could be a red herring and there could be a whole different side plot with the guys. who's to say. Next one!

Ah yes this is the dennis we all know and despise.. no red flags for me here really, I'm also running out of steam because idk if it shows, but I am majorly sleep deprived atm. Anyway I'm going to the next one

Okay this is where things start getting weird again ough a migraine just hit, anyway back to my earlier point about how casting calls would never contains major spoilers bc the people who see these wont be under any kind of NDA..

These ones reveal that bonnie dies. Again, that info wouldn't be in a casting call.

But also they suggest charlie has a irish penpal named Shelley who is his biological father. First off charlie is illiterate, although as pointed out by @undeadbreeze shelley could also be communicating in symbols. However, this scenario is still unbelievable to me for a couple reasons:

1. Bonnie's last name is Kelly obviously, and we know it's her maiden name because Jack's last name is also Kelly. But Shelley's last name is... also Kelly? In the context of this big ol hoax, it feels like it was written to show that look! his last name is the same as charlie's! That's how you know that's his dad! But It would be way too big of a coincidence if charlie's dad happened to have the same last name bonnie.

And 2. There's the whole mystery of charlie's long-lost sister from 'charlie got molested' but never any mention of a brother which according to this, shelley has been pretending to be his brother for years. And we all know how much rcg loves their continuity, it seems uncharacteristically lazy to just tack this on without any prior buildup.

And finally let me talk about mac for a second and specifically the line in gus's summary "both are gay men who are attracted to the priesthood for all the wrong reasons"

Iasip has commented on pedophilia in the priesthood many times in the past which leads me to believe that they are implying that mac is a pedophile? Please let me know if I completely misread the implications of that statement, but if not, then that is completely insane and one of the biggest indictators that this is fake. Mac is awful, just like everyone in the gang but he is definitely not a pedophile.

However even if i did completely misread that, it's still proof this is fake.. For all his faults, Rob put a surprising amount of care and effort into mac's coming-out. It hasn't been perfect, but Mfhp in particular firmly established that mac's faith is integral to his identity so Its unlikely that rob would throw all of that away for a cheap shot at priests.

Ok my brain is irradiated sludge at this point, but in conclusion. I hope that 1. I'm right, at least about it being fake (Otherwise damb that'll be so humiliating for me) And 2. This eases ur fears a bit. I don't want to lose all faith in future seasons bc I love iasip and miss the gang. If you read this far youre insane but I literally love you so goddamn much because I spent so so long tapping this out on my silly little phone

Please feel free to add on or message me your thoughts and opinions I need to know I'm not the only one who uhhh went a bit insane. And finally: whoever made these is a cunt. Mwah.

[thinkingisadangerouspastime]

(pt 1) i really enjoy all your atla analyses & you've done a great job breaking down the usual arguments re how eip shows that kataang shouldn't have happened. i'm curious about your take on one specific argument that i just saw today, in an analysis of the show by a zker that was otherwise quite good and respectful (i know you've already talked about eip a lot, so no problem if you don't feel like rehashing). the premise: aang didn't just pressure katara in eip, he threatened her.

(pt 2) they point to when katara joins aang & asks if he’s alright: “aang: no, i’m not! i hate this play! katara: i know it’s upsetting, but it sounds like you’re overreacting. aang: overreacting? if i hadn’t blocked my chakra, i’d probably be in the avatar state right now!” the suggestion is he’s threatening her when he says ‘i’d probably be in the avatar state right now’ to describe his anger. i think this take exaggerates and oversimplifies it, but interested in your thoughts on it.

Hello my friend!! It is true I am Old inside and don’t like rehashing dhdlksjslks BUT your comments on my posts are always incredibly kind and insightful so I am more than willing to do a bit of rehashing for you 🥰 Besides! I’ve seen this general take before a few times and it’s always irked me for the exact reason you point out - it simultaneously exaggerates and oversimplifies the situation (and honestly that’s an impressive duality since it’s seemingly contradictory, so hats off to them lmaooo) - and now is as good a time as any to address it. So, for starters, let’s go ahead and get the excerpt they love to focus on so much:

Cut to Aang standing alone on a balcony. Katara enters and walks up to him.

Katara: Are you all right?

Aang: [Angered.] No, I’m not! I hate this play! [Yanks his hat off and throws it on the ground.]

Katara: I know it’s upsetting, but it sounds like you’re overreacting.

Aang: Overreacting? If I hadn’t blocked my chakra, I’d probably be in the Avatar State right now!

Here’s the thing about so-called analyses of this excerpt: in a manner extremely convenient to the poster, they never seek to contextualize this moment. (I mean, to do so would deplatform their entire “argument” - perhaps that’s why they avoid performing a full analysis?) So let’s avoid that pitfall from the start.

Firstly, below are some links to related posts; I’m going to do my best to summarize the most relevant parts, but for anyone who desires greater detail, I gotchu 😤

This post explains why EIP (the play, lol) is imperialist propaganda and is intended to belittle the entire Gaang.

This post explains how Aang never acted “entitled” to Katara’s affections, particularly in regard to EIP.

This post breaks down the infamous EIP kiss like Snopes Fact Checker, covering common misconceptions, important perspectives to consider, etc.

Alright. With that out the way, it’s time for some context.

Aang and Katara have this conversation on the balcony after watching 95% of “The Boy in the Iceberg,” a play chock-full of Fire Nation propaganda that demeans the entire Gaang in order to prop up the Fire Nation as superior (hence why the play ends with Ozai’s victory). Here is my general breakdown of Aang and Katara’s treatment in particular from a previous post:

- katara, an indigenous woman, is highly sexualized and portrayed as overly dramatic and tearful, because the fire nation objectifies women not of their own people and views them as less intelligent and less emotionally stable

- aang, the avatar, the sole survivor of the fire nation’s genocide of the air nomads who is incredibly in-touch with his spirituality and femininity, is portrayed as an overly-airy and immature woman. the fire nation portrays him with a female actor to demean him (like, that’s classic imperialistic propagandist tactics) and furthermore writing his character as a childish airhead reinforces the fire nation sentiment that the air nomads were weak, foolish people who did not deserve to exist in their world

In other words, these kids have just watched almost an entire play that preys upon their insecurities and depicts them using racist and sexist stereotypes about their respective nations. It is completely understandable that tensions might run a little high and that their interactions would not be as balanced as usual (Katara and Aang have a great track record of communicating well with each other, as it happens!).

So we have to keep that in mind when examining the aforementioned excerpt. But there are other factors to consider, too! Namely: they are kids. Children. Teens. Aang is 12, Katara is 14.

If we want to be scientific, a person’s brain doesn’t finish developing until they are 25, lmao, and the preteen/teen years are when the prefrontal cortex that controls “rationality,” “judgement,” “forethought,” etc. is still developing. This doesn’t mean Aang and Katara are irrational and make poor decisions 24/7 (obviously not), but it does mean that in an intense, highly emotional situation, like after watching a play that intentionally demeans them and depicts them as inferior, they are more likely to overreact, more likely to be emotional, and more likely to make mistakes. Like, I’m serious, lol. “Teens process information with the amygdala.” That’s part of the brain that helps control emotions! It’s why teens sometimes struggle to articulate what we’re thinking, especially in situations that require instinct/impulse and quick decisions, because we’re really feeling whenever we make those choices. Acting more on emotion. Our brains simply haven’t finished developing the decision-making parts, lmao.

In sum: Aang and Katara are both kids, not adults, and should be interpreted as such. This doesn’t negate their intelligence, because they are both incredibly smart and Aang is arguably the wisest of the Gaang, but they are human. Young humans. They have emotions, and we should not be so cruel as to assume they’d never act on them.

So taking that all together, we can now acknowledge the high stress Aang and Katara are under, understand why they might be upset (*cough* imperialist propaganda is hurtful *cough*), and examine how their youth might play into their emotional reactions. And funny thing - all analyses that come to the conclusion of Aang “threatening” Katara here do not usually bother with this context. I can’t imagine why!

And you know what, let’s add one more piece of context: Sokka states that Aang left the theater “like, ten minutes ago,” which is what cues Katara to go look for him on the balcony. The reason I mention this line is because to me, it suggests Aang knew he was more worked up than usual! He chose to separate himself from his friends so he could process his frustration! He did not take his anger at the play out on them; instead, he purposefully took time and space to be alone.

With that in mind, I don’t understand at all how Aang’s Avatar state quote could be interpreted as a threat? Canonly, Aang is someone who was aware enough of his frustration to separate himself from the others - yet the logical next step is him threatening Katara as a result? He knew his intense emotions were because of the play (which he says himself), so the logical conclusion is that he then pinned the fault on Katara? What?? Sorry, that interpretation has no textual basis, lmao. But I digress!

Aang tells Katara, “If I hadn’t blocked my chakra, I’d probably be in the Avatar State right now!” As you said, this is the line people point to in an attempt to justify their (baseless) conclusion that Aang is “threatening” Katara. So let’s bring in the two key pieces of context: imperialist propaganda and age. Given that Aang is 12, and given that Aang has just watched almost a full play that demeans him and everything his people stood for (and let’s not forget it also mocks his and Katara’s love for each other)…

His reaction is understandable. An exaggeration and needlessly dramatic, but understandable. He feels vulnerable and insecure and Aang is human. He is human and flawed and he overreacts here and I love that A:TLA shows how even our heroes, even people who are truly good at heart and in soul, can get overly upset (especially given the aforementioned circumstances!). Would Aang actually be in the Avatar state at that moment, had it been possible? Of course not! He’s young and he’s hurt and as such he says something dramatic to convey his anxieties and frustrations. The line is not meant to be taken literally, and seeing people do so despite all the factors that should be taken into consideration when analyzing it… Cue a long, tired sigh from me and so many other A:TLA fans.

And to be honest? I cannot fathom how people watch this episode and come to the conclusion that Aang is “threatening” Katara. To me, this episode - besides being a recap episode - is one that humanizes our cast even further. Aang snaps at Katara, kisses her when he shouldn’t (which the story appropriately treats as wrong). Katara pushes down her true feelings and retreats into herself, afraid to start a relationship with the boy she loves because she’s already lost him once before and can’t bear to do so again. Zuko further confronts the hurt he’s enacted upon others, especially upon Iroh. Toph practices being vulnerable and accepting vulnerability from others by conversing with Zuko. Sokka witnesses how others have erased his contributions and labelled him as nothing more than the token nonbender in the group. Even Suki learns that she is not the only person who holds a place in Sokka’s heart and that she can never replace what he has lost.

To watch this episode where our heroes must come to terms with how the Fire Nation deems them inherently inferior, with how they have more fights to overcome in the future with the Fire Nation than a single war, and to come to the conclusion that… that what, Aang is abusive? A monster? Irredeemable? That he would threaten his best friend, someone he loves in every way?

Wow. That says more than enough about the viewer, doesn’t it?

[myth-carver]

Brief thoughts on c3e1 and the new folks........

Overall: Eh, it was okay. CR has a winning formula with their style of actual play, they're almost always a joy to watch onscreen and that was no different last night, but I came away feeling more like I was watching a oneshot or another ep of ExU rather than the new Critical Role campaign proper. Not super into the new cast and very disappointed that literally half the table is reused people we've seen before -- I enjoyed ExU's cast but that was sold as a separate thing and seeing them here is jarring, especially absent the rest of the Crown Keepers. Between reused characters, all the new permanent changes to the format, not even being 100% certain who in this cast is going to stay or later go at this point... It just kinda feels weird :/ But I'm excited for the Marquet setting and it took me a really long time to warm up to the c2 cast too, and it's early days yet. So I'm willing to have my mind changed, and fortunately for me, I'm more a fan of the cast themselves than any particular characters they've played anyhow. Taking a wait and see approach overall.

Imogen: She seems sweet, I love her character design, I'm very partial to purple hair lmao. Other than that I don't find her that interesting so far but Laura is a good RPer so she'll probably be fun to watch. Maybe she'll be able to join Orym in stewarding the group's brain cell lol.

Laudna: Marisha's doing an accent??????? She sounds amazing and I love the performance. Laudna certainly has a lot of intriguing stuff going on, I enjoy a character with mysteries to dig into. She doesn't inspire me fannishly but I'll look forward to finding out what her deal is. I'm ngl I'm super disappointed that all three of our girls this time are really femme though.

Ashton: Kintsugi earth genasi is an absolutely inspired concept that I hope Taliesin patted himself on the back for a lot because he Earned It. That said, aggressive punk with anger/authority issues is a trope I find super super annoying and he's already rubbing me the wrong way constantly :/ I hate that I'm just not into the only human-adjacent nonbinary character on the main cast, it really sucks. It's also driving me crazy how much the colors of his costume intensely do not match his green and purple and gold body even slightly lmao, it's really unpleasant to look at.

FCG: This is now an FCG hate blog, lol not really but holy shit I hate this character so much, Mr. Riegel I'm literally already tired of your joke character after less than 1 episode idk how I'm going to endure a whole campaign of them. Liam why would you do this to us 😩 a lot of people seem to love them a lot so lmao I'm anticipating for me this is going to be a Caduceus situation where my resentment of the character increases due to never being able to get away from posts about him. I don't want any more robots on my fantasy show, if I wanted robots I'd go watch an actual play of a sci-fi tabletop game instead...

Orym: Best boy from ExU returns, which is cool since I super wanted to know more about him in ExU, but wow does it suck they decided to actively make ExU a worse show by not going into half the cast's backgrounds and leaving it literally an incomplete story to accommodate bringing these cast members into c3. If that was the whole purpose of ExU why not just announce that instead of being coy like this??? The way ExU ended left a really bad taste in my mouth and honestly dampened my interest in seeing more of these characters. That said though, my love for Orym at least somewhat remains and Liam is usually the cast member whose character taste matches my own the most, I look forward to seeing where he takes Orym in the future. Also, if our speculation about his OOC origins during ExU turn out correct, cool to have the first gay male character on the main cast.

Dorian: Other best boy from ExU and a surprise appearance by Robbie! All three of the ExU folks I thought meshed with the CR style amazingly and it's fun to get to see him again. Very curious what dirt FCG apparently seems to have on him. And I wonder when we finally get to learn his real name... 👀

Fearne: I overall don't like Ashley's RP, which I know is ironic because I love Yasha so much lmao. But I feel like Fearne is, of everyone Ashley's played on stream, the character that seems to most match with her personal style and comes most naturally to her, it's fun to see her RP with such confidence. She's really good at invoking the fey vibe, both the sweetness and comedy and the undertone of menace. That said, Fearne's general behavior hammers my secondhand embarrassment squick absolutely like crazy lmao and it's going to be rough to have to watch that for an extended period, I find her frequently almost painful to watch tbh. I'm excited that a fey in the main cast means we'll be seeing Feywild stuff though!!! Maybe even my eladrin warlock's old patron Lady Elmenore 👀

Bertrand: Sorry man I didn't care about you in the oneshots and I still don't lmao, too obnoxious for me. It heavily seems like he's here as a guest though -- I just hope this doesn't herald something weird like Travis finishing his appearance and then bowing out of the cast, please bring a second character when you're done being an NPC Travis don't go away :(