#it does a lot to sadi imo

[romances-not-tragedies]

Lt. Sadi Ratan: It is as if you know the tricks of the trade.

Jo Gar: I was a police officer once.

Lt. Sadi Ratan: *SadiRatan.exe has stopped working*

[intheholler]

the appalachian murder ballad <3 one of the most interesting elements of americana and american folk, imo!

my wife recently gave me A Look when i had one playing in the car and she was like, "why do all of these old folk songs talk about killing people lmao" and i realized i wanted to Talk About It at length.

nerd shit under the cut, and it's long. y'all been warned

so, as y'all probably know, a lot of appalachian folk music grew its roots in scottish folk (and then was heavily influenced by Black folks once it arrived here, but that's a post for another time).

they existed, as most folk music does, to deliver a narrative--to pass on a story orally, especially in communities where literacy was not widespread. their whole purpose was to get the news out there about current events, and everyone loves a good murder mystery!

as an aside, i saw someone liken the murder ballad to a ye olde true crime podcast and tbh, yeah lol.

the "original" murder ballads started back across the pond as news stories printed on broadsheets and penned in such a way that it was easy to put to melody.

they were meant to be passed on and keep the people informed about the goings-on in town. i imagine that because these songs were left up to their original orators to get them going, this would be why we have sooo many variations of old folk songs.

naturally then, almost always, they were based on real events, either sung from an outside perspective, from the killer's perspective and in some cases, from the victim's. of course, like most things from days of yore, they reek of social dogshit. the particular flavor of dogshit of the OG murder ballad was misogyny.

so, the murder ballad came over when the english and scots-irish settlers did. in fact, a lot of the current murder ballads are still telling stories from centuries ago, and, as is the way of folk, getting rewritten and given new names and melodies and evolving into the modern recordings we hear today.

305 such scottish and english ballads were noted and collected into what is famously known as the Child Ballads collected by a professor named francis james child in the 19th century. they have been reshaped and covered and recorded a million and one times, as is the folk way.

while newer ones continued to largely fit the formula of retelling real events and murder trials (such as one of my favorite ones, little sadie, about a murderer getting chased through the carolinas to have justice handed down), they also evolved into sometimes fictional, (often unfortunately misogynistic) cautionary tales.

perhaps the most famous examples of these are omie wise and pretty polly where the woman's death almost feels justified as if it's her fault (big shocker).

but i digress. in this way, the evolution of the murder ballad came to serve a similar purpose as the spooky legends of appalachia did/do now.

(why do we have those urban legends and oral traditions warning yall out of the woods? to keep babies from gettin lost n dying in them. i know it's a fun tiktok trend rn to tell tale of spooky scary woods like there's really more haints out here than there are anywhere else, but that's a rant for another time too ain't it)

so, the aforementioned little sadie (also known as "bad lee brown" in some cases) was first recorded in the 1920s. i'm also plugging my favorite female-vocaist cover of it there because it's superior when a woman does it, sorry.

it is a pretty straightforward murder ballad in its content--in the original version, the guy kills a woman, a stranger or his girlfriend sometimes depending on who is covering it.

but instead of it being a cautionary 'be careful and don't get pregnant or it's your fault' tale like omie wise and pretty polly, the guy doesn't get away with it, and he's not portrayed as sympathetic like the murderer is in so many ballads.

a few decades after, women started saying fuck you and writing their own murder ballads.

in the 40s, the femme fatale trope was in full swing with women flipping the script and killing their male lovers for slights against them instead.

men began to enter the "find out" phase in these songs and paid up for being abusive partners. women regained their agency and humanity by actually giving themselves an active voice instead of just being essentially 'fridged in the ballads of old.

her majesty dolly parton even covered plenty of old ballads herself but then went on to write the bridge, telling the pregnant-woman-in-the-murder-ballad's side of things for once. love her.

as a listener, i realized that i personally prefer these modern covers of appalachian murder ballads sung by women-led acts like dolly and gillian welch and even the super-recent crooked still especially, because there is a sense of reclamation, subverting its roots by giving it a woman's voice instead.

meaning that, like a lot else from the problematic past, the appalachian murder ballad is something to be enjoyed with critical ears. violence against women is an evergreen issue, of course, and you're going to encounter a lot of that in this branch of historical music.

but with folk songs, and especially the murder ballad, being such a foundational element of appalachian history and culture and fitting squarely into the appalachian gothic, i still find them important and so, so interesting

i do feel it's worth mentioning that there are "tamer" ones. with traditional and modern murder ballads alike, some of them are just for "fun," like a murder mystery novel is enjoyable to read; not all have a message or retell a historical trial.

(for instance, i'd even argue ultra-modern, popular americana songs like hell's comin' with me is a contemporary americana murder ballad--being sung by a male vocalist and having evolved from being at the expense of a woman to instead being directed at a harmful and corrupt church. that kind of thing)

in short: it continues to evolve, and i continue to eat that shit up.

anyway, to leave off, lemme share with yall my personal favorite murder ballad which fits squarely into murder mystery/horror novel territory imo.

it's the 10th child ballad and was originally known as "the twa sisters." it's been covered to hell n back and named and renamed.

but! if you listen to any flavor of americana, chances are high you already know it; popular names are "the dreadful wind and rain" and sometimes just "wind and rain."

in it, a jealous older sister pushes her other sister into a river (or stream, or sea, depending on who's covering it) over a dumbass man. the little sister's body floats away and a fiddle maker come upon her and took parts of her body to make a fiddle of his own. the only song the new fiddle plays is the tale about how it came to be, and it is the same song you have been listening to until then.

how's that for genuinely spooky-scary appalachia, y'all?

[total-feminism-takes]

I've been very negative so far so nows time for some positivity! Here's some things I like about every total drama girlie:

Eva is just super interesting. I think her character flaws are intriguing. I like her attitude and I think she's fun.

Katie and Sadie are super sweet. I like their often aloof attitude and I love their bond, their so cute and work really well off eachother.

Izzy is really fun. I love how off the walls she is and Izzy is probably one of the most consistently written and consistently funny characters in total drama.

Beth has tons of potential. She's interesting and is probably the most realistically teenage character out of all the cast.

Courtney is really head strong and I love it! She's also really malleable, being able to be a good protagonist and antagonist imo.

Bridgette is basically who little me wanted to be. I love the fact she is a surfer and I love how chilled out she is.

Lindsay is so sweet. I love her and I think she's very fun. Her voice actor does a great job at portraying her. Also her friendship with Beth is so sweet.

Leshawna is so cool. I love how she stands up for herself and knows who she is, I find that really admirable.

Heather is great. I love her in action she was really funny and in world tour she had a great arc from antagonist to anti hero.

Gwen is so freaking cool. I love her voice and think it suits her well. I love her attitude and how she also fights for the environment.

Sierra is such a cool concept. I love the idea of her being a total drama superfan and I think the scenes where she isn't obsessing over Cody is fun.

Blainley is just so fun. I love her design, her song, and I find her to be an interesting character. She's just so fun.

Staci is intriguing to me. Why does she lie? What caused her to lie compulsively? Is there a reason? There's a lot of intrigue for me surrounding her.

Dakota is fun. Her style is impeccable and I love the lesson she learns that she can be loved no matter what even if I don't like how that revelation occurred

Dawn is basically Luna Love good and I think that's great! I love Dawn so much, she's so silly. I like the storyline we got with her.

Anne Maria is one of my favs. I love everything about her. I love how she acts and I think she is one of the funnest characters in the show.

Jo is important. I love how she presents more masculine and how she is a bit insecure about it, I think it's a realistic flaw.

Zoey! I love her in roti d so much. I love when she goes all commando Zoey, I think it's an interesting contrast to her regular self (which I also love)

Amy and Samey are fun. I like the contrast between the pair of twins and I loved it when Samey stood up for herself against her sister.

Ella is cute. I love her Disney princess like self. I find her interest to be fun. I also like her friendship with Sky.

Scarlett was fun up until the twist. I wish we got to see more of her. Her design was neat and I think her voice is cool.

Jasmine is great. I love her personality and I like how she stands up for Samey, I think their friendship was sweet.

Sugar is fun. I think she's neat. Her costumes are pretty cool. I think she has tons of potential if you wanted to explore it.

Sky is good. I like that she isn't a stereotypical depiction of a native woman. I love her friendship with Ella.

Ellody and Mary are really fun. Their designs are great and it's a shame they were booted out at third place.

Laurie and Miles are interesting and are also wasted potential. Their designs are great. I also love the voices of the characters.

Jen is a sweet reference to one of the creators of the show. I love the fashion influencers trope for her.

Kelly and Taylor are fun. I love the growth from them and I feel they have tons of untapped potential.

Crimson is great. She is very stereotypical goth and I think that's super fun. I love her "I'm allergic to the sun attitude" and her design is great!

Stephanie has a cool design.

Carrie is really sweet and has tons of potential. Her voice actor does a great job with the role and I love her. I think she's sweet.

Emma and Kitty are great! I love the contrast between them and the contrast between Amy and Samey. Their great characters together and alone.

Macarthur and Sanders are fun. I think their both really neat and interesting characters. Their potential was pretty well tapped.

Alex is super cool. I love how hardcore she is and I love her attitude. I also find the fact she is preparing for the zombie apocalypse to be enduring.

Nichelle is a interesting character. I love her design, her voice actor does a great job. She has tons of potential.

Scary girl's fun. I love how much she treats the skull she gets, it reminds me of how doll collectors (me) treat their dolls. Her design is fun also.

MK is so fun. I love her so much. I love her design as well, I'm also glad they listened to fan feedback and made her skin colour not yellow!

Emma is so cute and silly! I love her design so much and I love the fact she is a YouTuber. I love the fact she is away from chase in season two!

Julia is a fun villain. I love how unabashedly mean she is. I love her fake kind and zen persona and how she cracks and shows how she truly is, it's neat!

Millie is great! I love how she develops from someone who projects her insecurities to a person who works on herself to improve.

Priya is an interesting character. I think she's the only total drama character with a fleshed out backstory. She deserves more.

Anyways, I love every total drama girlie so much, their all so silly and fun and just great!

- ☄️

Congratulations comet anon for maxing out all the tags! 🥳

- 🧡

[pinescent-and-gingerbread]

This is just a question, not counting oc's, who do you think would be the best girlfriend for Arthur? Do you think it could be Mary Linton, Mary-Beth, Sadie or Charlotte Balfour? You can also mention Charles ^^

In my opinion, I love the story Arthur had with Mary, but with Charlotte he was so sweet; I don't see him with Sadie (especially since she still has Jake very much in mind) and I think Mary-Beth looks better with Kieran (although I feel that she did have a crush on Arthur but he respected her because of the age difference, I mean he was 36 and she was 21.)

But what do you think about all this? Who do you think could have been the perfect pair for Arthur in canon? <3

Hi Crystal! Sorry I didn't answer your question sooner! Here is my very long rambling about this.

My reasoning is as follows; Arthur needs someone who can see the best in him as he usually can't see it in himself. Someone who could bring him up and find virtues in him he can't see. I think he would also need some physical affection and someone able to calm him down when his bitterness or angriness wins the better of him. Most of all, I think he expects loyalty from his s/o, and if not unconditional love, a serious relationship at least, maybe a deeper connection at best.

With all this in mind, my first choice would be Charles. I know Arthur isn't canonically bi but you said I could mention him so here we are. There is a reason why this ship is so popular in the fandom: Arthur and Charles definitely have a deep chemistry. The thing that struck me the most about them was the immaculate respect they have for each other, and their trust is beyond any level! Never once does Arthur suspects Charles to be the rat, never once does his opinion of him flattens; Arthur cares about him, is interested in his story, in his wellbeing... Charles definitely is one of the few who sees the good man Arthur can be, who sees beyond his tough facade and "dumb brute enforcer" role. Charles is also a quiet and very calm man; I think his natural demeanor could really match Arthur's more anxious way of thinking and heated actions.

Mary-Beth is a very sweet girl, I like her character but she doesn't strike me as the perfect match for our outlaw. We know she doesn't believe Arthur is a cold-hearted killer and he takes the time to talk with him at camp, so it's a plus, but it ends there imo.

Same goes for Sadie; her loyalty and the trust they share is very meaningful for Arthur. What bothers me is that we don't see Sadie before her loss. During the game, she's a changed woman; even in the epilogue. Losing her husband clearly has impacted her and I think she wasn't that cruel/impulsive before. To me she's really good in the role of Arthur's best friend/sister. She's a bit too much like him, more as a reflection of himself (both share losses from loved ones, both are very action-based and brave, both can be impulsive and brutal).

Charlotte is an interesting one to think about. I love her missions and how Arthur is helping her without judging her life choices (you want to live on your own in the middle of nowhere knowing you would probably die from starvation to honor your dead husband? Okay, I'll show ya how to hunt). I think she could fit pretty well considering her loyalty, her determination, courage, and sweet personality; but we don't have a lot of material to work with, sadly.

Finally, I know Mary has a lot of haters around the fandom but I'm definitely not one of them. She, like Charles, is one of the only ones who saw the good in Arthur, and probably one of the first ones in his life, ever. From what we can see in the missions and understand from their relationship, I see her as a caring and devoted lover even though she had to end their relationship. Arthur is a criminal but she didn't see him as just that. Until the very end, she wanted to believe in his better self, and to me it's one of the most important things: Mary was there to bring out the good in Arthur and lead him to a better path. We sadly know he chose not to follow it, but Mary was still there after all this time, trying to make a better version of him, and save him from this circle of violence he's stuck in. Mary will remain imo, even though their story is tragic, one of the best choices for Arthur.

NB. These are my personal opinions! I'm not claiming that it's absolutely true, feel free to disagree and argue with me!

[milkbreadtoast]

still on my reread of early twsb and... the inn mini arc is so good/important... i didnt realize how much when i first read... but like... (ch 46 thoughts IM PLAGUED BY THE #YESSAYS AGAIN)

the MC trio's personalities are all SO diff and up till now theyve had a lot of friction and only rly interacted together bc they were kind of forced to... But despite their stark diffs one of the main thing that unites them is they all have the same strong moral compass... like their morals r in alignment. They all can't stand seeing injustice... and their diff personalities give them diff approaches to solving the (same) problem; diff strengths filling in what the other lacks... but they have the same goal/their hearts r in the same place... I rly think this is the strongest thing that binds them together🥹 theyre all good kids...

This inn mini arc is the first time the MC trio r all united in thought and working together completely of their own volition (while they showed teamwork before, it was still in situations where they were basically forced to be together, e.g. training lessons or punishment)

But here they witness the same event and they all feel the same rage at the injustice and put aside their differences to make a plan...

yeseo's had a lot of misunderstandings/misreadings of cedric's behavior and saw him p unfavorably up to this point but thats slowly starting to change... im just gonna drop some liveblogs here skfjd

(+ u wouldnt think much of it but the fact that he observes they all make the same expression "at the same time" means he's glancing at each of their faces...)

the fact that hes constantly checking cedric's reactions + trying to read what he's thinking/feeling in the moment... yeseo's empathy is 1 of his strongest traits imo and this an example of how he extends this to everyone (including the guy who he has thought of as a huge jerk all this time + is trying to avoid)

(and this is something I RLY rly love about yeseo... even w ppl he tries not to get close to/doesnt particularly like he still cant help but empathize with them? like even way before this when he concludes cedric must be entering the tournament to help his "son" who is in pain... and reasons that he must feel angry seeing chris freely mooch off yeseo's ether bc his "son" suffers from ether depletion... and when the 3 are assigned to clean the portal as punishment, and he's waiting outside w ced... notes that "he looks serious even from the side" and blurts without thinking "um... it will be okay, your royal highness." "...i am talking about Sadie." all these are examples of him extending empathy to cedric/thinking of him sympathetically (even tho he has the wrong idea)... He doesn't have to, but he does anyway, because that's the kind of person he naturally is... I really do think his strong empathy is 1 of his most prominent chara traits. 🥹❤️‍🔥)

🥹... this moment is rly cute skfjsn but yet again!! another small ex of him trying to understand what cedric is thinking on some lvl and relate/connect w him (EVEN THO ITS ALL SUBCONSCIOUS... AND HES THINKING THIS IN LIKE A LIGHTHEARTED JOKEY WAY... STILL TRUE)

(^the fact that he describes how cedric's eyes look means that he looked over & checked cedric's reaction in this moment, even tho ced didn't give a verbal rxn like himself & christelle...)

^^^^^🥹🥹🥹..!!!! AAAAH... also i talked mostly abt cedyes here but he definitely grows closer w christelle bc of this too (and the 3 of them as a whole)... and again its bc their morals r in alignment here + he's starting to understand what kind of ppl they r... but its ESP important w cedric bc he never rly thought of chris as a bad person? but up till even just the day before he's thought of cedric as being a huge asshole... witnessing all these tiny little moments that together signal a (gradual) turning point in how he views cedric makes me WANT TO FUCKING SCREAMMM AAAA!!!! AAAAAAAAH.

[cornfields-td-nonsense]

wanna know the mods most unpopular and controversial opinions... cmon give us the scoop!!!

alright, idk how controversial they are but here goes

While TDWT is very good, it's kind of overrated

TDPI is NOT that bad y'all are being dramatic

Cody is such a nothing character, it actually fascinates me how he's so popular. he's alright I guess? sometimes he is funny? idk I feel so little about him it's insane

on that note I don't rlly care for Noco (though that's becoming more of a common take)

More of a fandom take but people care way too much about what ships and characters other people do and don't like. whatever happened to like and let like, guys

While All-Stars is bad imo, it's still enjoyable for me. mostly because Mal is so ridiculous it's funny. also TDAS likers/defenders I salute you

Sky. Is. Not. Zoey. They are not the same. Like even slightly.

While it is true that TD is a parody, that doesn't mean it's exempt from things like shitty writing and character derailment

I would say something about Duncan here but my opinion of him changes so frequently that whatever I said would be outdated in like five minutes

okay that was a lot of negativity, let's have some more positive stuff

Max is the funniest character alive, like I do not agree with the idea of him being 'annoying'. he's such a gremlin and he ruined the word Wyoming for me /pos

Katie and Sadie deserve the world actually

Beth is my pick for canon winner of TDA

I have changed my mind about Sugar and Leonard, I love them actually I have been stupid this whole time

Nemma isn't my favourite but it does not deserve the hate, it's a fine ship

I LOVE the Zeke episode of TDAS (though I am very biased)

The reboot cast is probably my favourite TD cast, I like literally all of them

Tbf I don't?? think there's a single TD character I hate??

hope this doesn't disappoint, lol

[fanfic-inator795]

I've talked a lot on here about my favorite characters, but what about some of my LEAST favorite characters?

Honestly, I don't have too many characters that I just hate with a burning passion or anything like that... but there are def characters that truly get under my skin. So let's have some fun and rant for a bit, shall we? Starting with least hated to most:

Sadie Miller (Steven Universe): Gonna be honest, a big reason why I dislike this character is because of her voice. No disrespect to Kate Micucci, but MAN her voice is just so grating to me personally (tbf, I feel the same way about Greg Cipes). As for the character herself, she's just incredibly whiny and annoying imo. I couldn't really relate to her frustrations with her mother, and that whole mess with her and Lars was just... yeah. Still can't really overlook the whole Stranded Island incident. Say what you will about how terrible Lars can be, but at least Lars can be funny and interesting sometimes. I just don't care for Sadie at all.

Mo Morrison (Lightyear): Laying out my biases here, I really don't like Lightyear in general, it's a very frustrating and agitating film to me personally, I could honestly rant about that movie for hours. But beyond the story/plot issues, Mo is just a very annoying character to me. They try SO hard to push him to be the comedy relief, and it just does not work. Then, when they try to push him as the team screw-up, they push too hard and just make him frustrating to watch since he literally can't do anything right and doesn't get a win until the payoff with the stupid spacesuit pen. Literally every scene with him just ends up making me go "goddamn it, Mo, why are you even here??"

Mr. Herriman (Foster's Home): As a kid who was a big fan of Frankie growing up, it shouldn't be surprising just how much I hate this rabbit. I think what really gets me is how callous and unfair he can be, with stuff like "Imposters Home for uh Make-em-up Pals", "Crime After Crime" and "Setting a President" showing him at his absolute worst. An all-around VERY frustrating and unsympathetic character to me, worse so than Bloo or any of the show's actual villains. Honestly, it makes me sad that we don't get to see more of his softer side - i.e. the life-long friendship he has with Madame Foster/the stuff that makes Madame Foster love him - as that easily could have saved his character. But for the most part, he just comes off as a huge jerk.

Stickler (The Cuphead Show): Similarly to Herriman, I think I just get incredibly annoyed with characters who put rules and procedure above everything else. What makes Stickler worse though is the voice they gave him, as while it's kinda funny in his first couple appearances, by season 3 I'm cringing just as much as Devil does whenever he pops up. They also amp up his jerkiness and pushiness in the later episodes - and while I get WHY they need to, given how distracted Devil gets, it's still a tad annoying imo.

Dr. Owen Hunt (Grey's Anatomy): Literally my least favorite character EVER. This guy... he really is just the WORST. And yes, I know there are in-universe reasons for how he acts, but when he continues being a shitty person to his wives and others, I stop caring about those reasons. He's a huge hypocrite on most things, has a 'my way is always right'/'My way or the highway' mentality, and he's just such a baby whenever he doesn't get his way or when he has to face consequences. YES, I KNOW, on Grey's pretty much everyone is a shitty person in some way because it's a dramatic medical soap opera and they need drama, but Owen really does just get under my skin the most with how stubborn and 'holier than thou' he acts a lot of the time.

...That being said, if any of my followers actually like these characters, no disrespect to you. In fact, I'd love to know WHY you like these characters, as perhaps I can get a new perspective on them.

[idontliketomatoesleavemealone]

if you can live anywhere in the world where would it be? why?

favorite tv show?

3 favorite boy names

3 favorite girl names

how many times have you been to the hospital?

do you sleep with your door open or closed?

do you believe in ghosts?

summer or winter? 

day or night? 

dark, milk, or white chocolate? 

favorite month? 

what is your zodiac sign

 who was the last person you cried in front of? 

Here bc home is here and home is good

uh I used to watch Yakari. Does that count. I miss Wissen macht Ah. My sister and I still quote that sometimes

Anton, Jakob, and Johann are really nice imo

Phoebe, Sadie, and Josephine are pretty :] (god I wish I was named Josephine) (yes if I ever have kids I probably want them to be Anton and Phoebe)

idk. Been at a lot of. Never stayed over night. Id say for injuries maybe 4 times since my birth?

usually open, I just can’t be arsed to close it tbh

not really but I wouldn’t say they’re not real

winter, not a fan of heat

day but I like night too. Dusk is good

milk; I like white too but milk is actually chocolate and dark is too bitter

um. Widder. Male sheep. No fuckin idea what that is in English sorry lol. The one after fish and BEFORE TAURUS FUCK YOU

my mom I think, like six months ago

[paperstorm]

What did you think of Gwyn's death? Do you think it added anything, or was it necessary?

I don't know about necessary but yes I think it added a lot. As a character, coming close to a relapse is something I think TK really needed to go through, because other than the episode in season two where he got his sobriety chip, they never really showed any of the struggle that addicts go through (usually for the rest of their life) to battle over their addiction. It was important for TK's character, imo, to show that he does still struggle and to have something devastating happen that leads him to a place where he almost throws away everything he's worked for but then he doesn't. It also leads into Sadie taking that choice away from him, which is the catalyst for TK going back to NA meetings and getting a sponsor. I really like that arc in the second half of season three, I think it was much needed character development for TK.

[leighlew3]

Are you going to watch Girls On The Bus? I want to but Im scared of the producers behind it theyve hurt us enough

I plan to. I always enjoy Benoist's work. She's a phenomenal talent. And her being an EP on this one gives me a lot of hope, as does the fact that it's an HBO show, and they don't usually miss.

Also, I am personally holding out hope for queer Sadie, based on her whole vibe and the fact that it would just elevate the show a lot IMO to have an arc around her having something big with one of the other "girls on the bus". I think they have a ripe opportunity to explore ALL the various dynamics of female relationships here: sisterhoods, mentorships, rivalries, platonic friendships, and yes -- wlw romance. 

[ryanatwoodenthusiast]

okay it's time to talk about marissa cooper bc i've read so many hate posts about her today and that really annoys me

she did nothing wrong (okay, yes, a few things, but she's not the most flawed character in the show by far) i'll mention some things people say about her and say my opinion on them

"she trusts people too easily, like oliver and johnny"

yes, that is true and imo it's her biggest flaw but who's fault is it really - is it her fault they ended up liking her? is it her fault oliver became creepily obsessed with her and johnny ended up dying? she was just being nice to boys she met and enjoyed being friends with, and the reason she trusted them is because she sees good in everyone - isn't that a positive trait?

"she spent all of season 3 doing drugs"

that is not true - let me talk about s3 marissa for a moment (bc this was actually my favorite time of marissa and when she became my favorite character)

the first half of the season she's dealing with what happened in s2 and is at her new school, making friends: casey, johnny and chili. she is close friends with all of them immediately and is there for johnny when he needs someone to talk to and when she can't talk to ryan easily even though she tries. all she does is listen to him and it's not like she's meeting with him secretly but she's waiting for casey, his girlfriend, to come - who's the problem there? the guy who is falling in love with her even though he has a girlfriend or the girl who's been through a lot talking to a friend who understands her and who she understands? also, even though ryan often misunderstands the situation, they talk about it every time and end every episode on a good note. she always tells him the truth about what happened and doesn't lie to him about it (remember that episode where she fell asleep watching a movie with johnny while ryan was getting a lapdance at a stripclub? they both were honest with each other about it and weren't angry). after johnny gets in the accident, which marissa feels very guilty about, she helps him because she's a good friend. so does ryan and so do seth and summer, remember ryan's honorary bar mitzvah to raise money for johnny's operation? they all help him, not just her then kaitlin comes and tries to cause chaos by flirting with johnny. marissa feels strange about that because... okay to be honest i still don't quite understand that plot, but either way, 14-year-old kaitlin shouldn't be flirting with 17-year-old johnny. all marissa wants to do is look out for her friend and when ryan tells her to decide, she writes johnny a letter, telling him she isn't in love with him because she's being asked to choose between her boyfriend and her best friend. honestly, that plot was sad bc she didn't want to be mean to johnny but she also didn't want to break up with ryan because she loves him. then johnny dies, which is partly her fault, and she's obviously sad bc he's one of her best friends and what does ryan do? he doesn't comfort her. he's almost happy that he died and starts kind of flirting with johnny's cousin, sadie (who is one of my least favorite ryan love interests btw). ryan and marissa break up bc it just isn't working between them and the second they break up, ryan is laughing with sadie. marissa talks to volchok but he's the one who's actively seeking her out. bc of all her problems, she starts hanging out with him more and more. there's one episode where she's not nice to summer and where she does drugs (in one scene, i don't know why people act like she's doing it the whole show) and in the episode after that or two episodes after that she apologizes to her family and breaks up with volchok. she apologizes for everything and is ready to work on the boat with jimmy and then she dies. imo, her only problem is that she's too trusting, but that's a good thing in general.

also, in season 1, her father loses all his money, she's kind of forced by her mother to stay in a relationship with luke when she likes ryan, then breaks up with him and when she thinks something's happening between her and ryan, she sees him hooking up with a 24-year-old woman and then goes back to luke. after she's lost her virginity to him and goes to mexico with her friends, she finds out her parents are getting a divorce and then sees her boyfriend she just lost her virginity to cheating on her. then she overdoses. once she's back at school, everyone knows what happened. later on, she meets oliver. she befriends him and ryan doesn't trust him, which he is right not to, but she still trusts him bc they're friends. but ryan is breaking into the school and marissa's locker bc he's suspicious and marissa is understandably uncomfortable with that and breaks up with him. then oliver holds her hostage in his apartment, threatening to shoot himself. afterwards, ryan is cold towards her, which i also understand, but that's still sad for her. then her mother has an affair with luke and obviously marissa is sad about that. then ryan and her get back together and her friends give her room a makeover, which she likes, and then her future stepfather blackmails her into living with him and with her mother and, to top it all of, luke gets in a car accident and i'm sure she feels responsible for that. and then, ryan's ex-girlfriend, theresa, comes into town and she finds out she might be pregnant with ryan's child and then ryan leaves.

i could analyze her s2 journey too but tbh i don't want to rn but i might some other time.

anyway, marissa cooper deserves better

[yumeirochaser]

finished all of steven universe (show/movie/shippuden)

okay so stewing on it. this show as a whole is very good. great, even!! i feel like a lot of the criticisms thrown at it online are kinda bullshit, and it is way more nuanced than i remember. it is VERY flawed, but ultimately good.

i'll start with the pros of the whole project:

-really impeccable art direction and music. this show is a feast for the eyes, esp since it's a 2010s project

-very nuanced discussions of complex emotional topics (outside of one big case)

-REALLY good cast, there's only like 3 bad charas, but everyone else is really really good and compelling

-actually really good diverse and lgbt rep. i love yuri fam. we got so much yuri here.

-really good drama and jokes. it's actually very good at balancing both tones

-brisk and nice to watch

-REALLY good complex characters. rose/pink is unironically one of the tragic toxic woman all timers

-the songs rule. lotta bangers here

-i love the character designs a lot!!!!

so yeah it is VERY good!! but also really flawed. here's the cons:

-really bizarre show pacing and episode placing, which tbh i can't blame too much on them bc it WAS CN's fault for making the insane idea of stevenbombs

-the fuck it we ball planning is REALLY apparent at times

-the wide majority of the cast is very underfocused, despite the show constantly setting them up to have bigger roles. i would say the quartet of jasper/bismuth/lapis/peridot were the most prominent victims of this, but it's in general since it is the result of...

-steven himself being a VERY weak lead, with the insistence of everything being in his POV limiting the show and contriving plots more than anything. he is in fact imo, the show's biggest flaw, severely hurting it by the end of future. they really struggle with making him likeable and interesting, and the way the show insists to focus on him makes a lot of major character beats depend on him being on screen or just. happen completely off screen. certain plots also get REALLY convoluted to have him in places and private situations he really shouldn't be in for us to actually see what happens to other characters at all. he's also very one note and not really allowed to be as complex as the rest of the cast, with him constantly being exonerated of any wrong thing he does, by either being right all along or a woobie. this does get real uncomfortable with plots like the lars body swap ep, the lars/sadie ship eps and the entire second half of future bc. he gets reaaaal weird and possessive with the rest of the cast there and it's more or less glossed over. he also kind of is limited to One personality trait per season, being one walking fat joke in S1, fluctuating between funy permachild and messiah complex guy in the rest of the main show and the movie and becoming just walking whump material in future. it's weird bc he DOES improve and develop in S2, esp with the peridot arc, but then they more or less reverse his development for the rest of the show after the cluster arc ends??? it's a bizarre choice. his presence really looms over this show, like a black hole. like conceptually he's really good and he has moments where he can shine, but his execution in the majority of the show is very poor imo. like i get what they wanted to do with him in future and i agree it's a necessary topic to discuss. but also they should have made him like. an actual character people would like for that to work lmao

related to this we gotta talk about. connie. man. she was hit with the shonen jump love interest stick since very early on and she never recovered. her training arc kinda ends on nothing, she kind of only is there to fuse into stevonnie a bunch of the time (with their uh. weird ass early eps. why fanservice the little kid fusion.) and she more or less is just reduced to being steven's loyal emotional support woman by the end of future. honestly it's weird how nobody talks about the way she is treated bc it's oddly bad for a show that usually treats its diverse charas really well. like damn she really got done dirty.

but yeah i wish we were able to have eps with the rest of the cast leading bc they are really good characters. i think my faves are garnet (she actually got focused on the most out of all gems, which i don't really see fans mention either. she's great), rose (she's so fucked. i love it.), amethyst (more femmes should be allowed to be gross weird assholes in tv.) and peridot (rancid moe...). but i love all the gems they are great. the townies are also really fun!! (outside of ronaldo & kevin). i wish we could have actually seen more of the cast's lives, thoughts and interests outside of steven...i just really like these characters a lot

it's kind of a shame the show kinda goes down the gutter with future's second half bc the majority of it is really good shit with really nuanced handling of themes like chains of abuse, unorthodox families, familial abuse, trauma, abandonment, war and grieving. i legit think this show was something special and bold for its time, and i wish it ended in a better way. i had a really good time with it and i still love the cast a lot, but yeaaah they shouldn't have turned steven into the center of the universe. that really hurt it by the end. it's a good show that left me with a really weird feeling by the end. i will still cherish the time i had with it but yeaaah. it is a shame bc i really dig the concept of future, but the execution was like ehhhhhh hmmm not very good. the rest of the show clears in these topics tho we love screwed up girls. objectively tho there is way more good aspects to this show than good ones. it's just that the one big bad thing it has is the main focus of the whole dealio lmao

i wish future didn't screw up at the end but i am glad this show exists and it did pave the way for other shows! so at least there's that!! i will miss the crystal gems and their funky friends a lot....

[dangeles]

also! - hi again - something that really comes to the forefront i think in the college tapes is how good the ensemble writing is? with all the college kids now there are way more scenes with way more people and more happening than just two people in a room talking. we had a bit of that in the original series but honestly im just so impressed with the ensemble writing.

like i was just relistening to episode 12 and that scene with all of them at the apartment? there is So much going on in that scene and theres so much, like, relationship writing? idk what to call it. the relationships between characters are being developed super efficiently with very little words. AND it's all under the cover of getting them all to the next plot point basically. like how many people are in this scene? like eight? and all of them are active participants. thats amazing. like:

OLIVER: We've come to storm the-- oh my God we invaded a preschool.

CALEB: (annoyed) Nice. (then) Everybody, most of you have either met Mark or have heard me talk about him. This is Dr. Bright's brother. (we already know caleb and mark are friends but this places that relationship within the context of all calebs other friends for us. plus the mention of dr bright. fills in a lot about calebs relationships. not necessarily stuff that we couldnt have guessed, but it's so nice to, like, idk, these two sentences do a lot imo)

MARK: Um. Hi. Sorry about him.

OLIVER: Him is Oliver Ritz, pre-eminent alchemist, you've probably heard of me. (adhsgjhg i love how he just assumes everyones heard of him like yeah the general population is totally aware of pre-eminent alchemists like thats even a real profession to have 😂 also i think it's interesting how hes switched from identifying himself as a chemist to an alchemist. i think in the am archives he calls himself a pre-eminent biochemist. makes sense that hes switched now that hes not working in that field anymore but it really changes, like, the focus on a big part of his identity from something he does to something he can do, you know what i mean?)

SFX: Oliver walks further into the apartment.

OLIVER: Did we walk into a party? Do kids play beer pong this early?

SADIE: Kids?

MARK: Oh god, there are... so many of you. (reacting in part to being exposed to a electropath and whatever ben's power is called, im assuming, in addition to caleb and oliver also there)

CAITLIN: No kidding. Want to take a couple of them off my hands? (unaware of mark's power, restating her relationship with all the bu people)

FRANKIE: (playful pouting) Even me? (making his move on caitlin because he has incredible timing adsghhsfg)

MARK: I don't think our hotel has the space.

CALEB: That's actually not a bad idea..if you guys are willing to share a bed, it shouldn't be a problem... (then, as if just thinking of it) Unless... there's only one bed? (interesting realisation for caleb to have. out loud. like he knows mark well. he knows of oliver, but this is only like the second time he sees them together, i think?, after the hectic introduction in the library? and hes immediately like 'wait a sec')

anyway sorry i dont really have a point i just love the writing in this show xD later on when theyre with beck too it's just the ensemble writing is so lively and efficient

I agree that this is literally one of the best things about the show, and I think you’ve pointed out of my favourite scenes! 

A single line of dialogue from each character and you get this understanding of them that isn’t too direct or unidimensional. It was much more intense in TBS because its a one-on-one exploration of the characters which is awesome because it needs that level of detail to work as a story. But in TCT, the ensemble writing, as you dubbed it, works perfectly for the story its trying to narrate. 

In this single scene there's so much, like you’d pointed out. Especially when you have a set of young adults and actual adults, and they all just bounce off of each other so splendidly. Its like having pop-rocks go off in your mouth all at once, but you can still distinctly tell who’s who :

Oliver being both condescending and overwhelmed by the ‘children’ which is just hilarious in itself, because he’s also in possession of a haunted artefact and he’s clinging to Mark while also not clinging to Mark,

Mark trying to be the middleman for Oliver while also worried Oliver will run off again because, lets face it, he’s attached AF to Oliver to the point even a stranger comments on their domesticity,

Caleb trying to be a middleman for the squad while also distracted by Adam every two seconds because he’s still hopelessly in love with him but does not trust the new facets of his ability after it pokemon-evolved out of his hands.

Sadie actually trying to get answers because she's grounded and practical, as has been handling atypical shenanigans for a bit, despite being nonatypical herself,

Caitlyn, completely unaware of the Atypical, tired with her exams, and confused at the sudden ensemble, and concerned at Adam hanging out with his ex’s posse after she’d spent a long time helping Adam through the breakup,

 Adam wanting to get to the bottom of things as his own person on his own merits despite being nonatypical because he’s insecure and feels he’s not special enough or good enough to help, while also doing the ‘will-they-wont-they’ tango with ex Caleb who he’s still hopelessly in love with, 

Frankie shooting his shot with Caitlyn every chance he gets because he may have just found The One like Caleb did Adam even though his timing is just notoriously obtuse, 

Ben still shell-shocked that not only do they have atypical friends (yaay) but they survived a kidnapping by an atypical cult (yikes) and they can’t remember anything of how they escaped/were let go.

All in one scene. Its a lot. 

And it feels just right. And so much fun to follow along and doesn't derail from the story itself. 

The fact we have the overarching story of the Twisted Empath Blackwell and his scheme with the Book, running parallel with the romantic tension of Adam and Evolving Empath Caleb who doesn't trust himself? The combo would have been distracting, but the way it was constructed makes it meld together.

And when the whole group goes to Beck and his ability activates out of the blue, we get to see a peek into what transpired between Adam and Caleb without actually taking us out of the current issue at hand with the cult and the book. And it think that’s clever use.

The whole thing is just *chefs kiss*

[motownfiction]

will, daniel, sadie, elenore ☾♥☼∇

for ✨will✨ (the LOVE of my LIFE)

☾ - sleep headcanon

will folds himself up really small when he sleeps. it's funny, too, because he's such a tall man. subconsciously, i think he's making room for someone (read: lucy) on the other side of the bed. this is even before she's his girlfriend. he's so monogamous he's saving himself for a girl who's not even his girlfriend. i love him.

♥ - family headcanon

growing up, will's hero is his big sister, sarah. she's his only older sibling, and he thinks the world of that. sarah is tough, takes no prisoners, and knows exactly who she is. she always seems so secure. will, as an insecure person, thinks the world of her. imagine being type cast as "the sister guy."

☼ - appearance headcanon

will is taller than fridge; what do you want from me? no, lmao, there's gotta be more ... i picture will wearing jeans almost exclusively? like will is the kind of guy who gets so comfortable in his jeans that he falls asleep in them and wakes up with these really painful marks all around his pasty, pasty skin (we love one irish boy from detroit). dallas winston also does this imo.

∇ -. old age/aging headcanon

will continues to have great hair forever and always. no hairlines were receded in the making of an ideal husband.

for ✨daniel✨ (who gets around ...)

☾ - sleep headcanon

daniel is a light sleeper. he's the kind who will wake up if a proverbial or literal pin drops. it probably has a lot to do with the way he used to wait for his dad to come home late at night ... the way even the slightest roll of a tire in the driveway would give him peace. really a shame that frank could not love daniel and lola the way they loved him!

♥ - family headcanon

although he doesn't have a favorite child (he's not inclined to think that way, and he sees what damage that can do to a family), he is probably closest to rosemary, his middle child and his only girl. they can talk freely and frequently in a way the boys don't necessarily need, want, or look for. he is close to the boys, but he talks to rosemary every damn day now that she's an adult.

☼ - appearance headcanon

he is a short king, as we know (5'6"). but i think daniel probably looks like raviv ullman, or phil from phil of the future. so handsome.

∇ -. old age/aging headcanon

so, daniel stays in detroit his whole life, right? and since michigan is the state with the highest retention rate, so do most (if not all) of his high school girlfriends. he continually runs into them, even in their sixties and seventies, and it's always like that line from say anything: "you might be sixty, walking down the street, and you'll talk to her about something, whatever. but what you'll really be thinking is, 'we had sex.'" poor daniel.

for ✨sadie✨ (the sweetest girl in the world)

☾ - sleep headcanon

sadie drools. she has really vivid dreams, and she drools. at first, she's embarrassed of it, but she gets over it. it's just one of those facts of life.

♥ - family headcanon

even though cutting charlie out of her life (with some exceptions, of course -- he is still her little baby brother) was the right thing to do, she misses him everyday. sadie loved charlie. she still does love charlie. she thought he was a great kid -- so smart, so funny, so deep. and all of those things are true. it's just he's also deeply selfish and put sadie's own goddaughter at risk. in the end, she can't really uphold that relationship. but she misses him so much it hurts.

☼ - appearance headcanon

she has a chipped front tooth from an incident at the park when she was about five. eventually, she gets it smoothed down, but she has a chipped tooth for quite some time in her childhood. people are really mean about it, but trust me when i say she looked adorable. we're the chipped front tooth fan club, actually.

∇ -. old age/aging headcanon

sadie absolutely becomes the old lady who has a dish of werther's originals. it's not even that she likes them. she's really lukewarm on them (in the end, it's still vaguely caramel, and sadie likes caramel in general). it's that she thinks it's really, really funny to do this. she's right.

for ✨elenore✨ (a sweet baby who doesn't deserve this)

☾ - sleep headcanon

after the birth of her daughter, veronica, elenore is prone to nightmares. she had a terrible birthing experience, and coupled with the fact that charlie wasn't there (too busy becoming a father to his son at the same hospital on the same damn day), she's haunted.

♥ - family headcanon

like lucy before her, i think elenore is a perfect amalgamation of both of her parents. she thinks she's more like will (sweet and sensitive), but that's just the obvious stuff. she's got lucy's work ethic and her biting sense of humor. and the toughness is from both of them. lucy and will are both extremely tough, albeit in different ways. her parents taught her how to fight for herself, and she took those lessons to heart. i love her.

also, much like will, elenore really admires her sister ... except her sister, emma, is eleven years younger than she is. but when emma grows up into an adult, elenore is continually impressed with how together and independent she is. she's also deeply protective of emma, but that comes with the territory when you're significantly older (5+ years, imo) than your sibling.

☼ - appearance headcanon

elenore looks like lucy -- like almost exactly like lucy. she frowns like will, but she also has his laugh. but other than that, when you look at elenore, prepare to see her mother. the genetics are too obvious with this one.

∇ -. old age/aging headcanon

in two years, elenore will absolutely celebrate her fortieth birthday by going back home to michigan, setting up a projector in sadie's backyard, and marathoning the original star wars trilogy. it said aging, not necessarily old age. aging could mean anything!

[fa-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-liar]

@Community fans, I just thought of this while eating dinner, and it was too cool (at least, IMO) not to share. Have fun with it!

Okay, so, remember the brightest timeline from “Remedial Chaos Theory?” This episode made me wanna find a group of strangers to be a found family with and solidly cemented found family as my favorite trope in all of media

Well, obviously, the lesson to take away from that is that Jeff can (and does) often go overboard in shutting others down. Kinda like an anchor - he can tell the study group when to stop and reign them in, but sometimes he’s too intense and ends up dragging everyone down instead. 

Some people even jokingly say that this is the best timeline because Pierce doesn’t get to tell his Eartha Kitt story. And he even has the perfect segue to do so - whereas in the other timelines, Pierce has to kinda shoehorn the story in there, he doesn’t have to for this one because Troy literally says that Jeff sucks harder than an airplane bathroom. And yet he chooses not to tell the story! 

And while I believe that this timeline is the best because of those reasons, I also believe there’s one major player being overlooked: Britta.

Britta is a buzzkill. The show has established this (though personally, I don’t see it) continuously, ever since the season 1 episode “The Science of Illusion.” (leading to one of the most tragically funny lines in the entire series for me - “Knock knock! Who’s there, cancer? Oh, good, come on in, i ThoUGht iT wAS bRitTA”)

But a surprising thing to note is that the best timeline, this timeline, is the only one where Britta is allowed to be herself. Britta, the notorious buzzkill, actually starts the fun. Britta, who is constantly dunked on in the show for ruining things, is the one who lifts the group’s spirits. 

I guess one could take that to mean Britta is, actually, the heart of the show, to paraphrase from Jeff in “The Science of Illusion.” 

And this is what makes me so upset about the Britta haters in the fandom and the way her character was treated by others in the show. Britta brings so MUCH (the group was basically/indirectly formed because of her) but she still gets so dunked on by the rest of the group and a (significant minority) of the fandom. 

But I guess that’s also what I admire about Britta. Her determination. She gets hated on day after day after day (thanks for that, Dan Harmon & co.; look, I love the guy’s writing, but...like...he’s not perfect), but she still comes back, day after day after day, ready to love and wanting, at her core, to be a good person. She could have become so jaded and cynical after being constantly hated on, but she still wants to do right by her friends and be good. 

Britta has her flaws, sure, but people often forget that Britta brings a lot to the group because she’s low-hanging fruit to laugh at. And I think the fandom needs to hear this every once in a while: Britta is more than a flawed, hypocritical soapbox Sadie. Britta is a kickass role model, overcompensating for what she lacks with her heart. 

I know Britta would hate this comparison, but I’ve always felt that Britta is the Cinderella of Community - a kind and caring female badass trapped in a place that doesn’t (always) appreciate her worth, even though she’s making said place so much better. And “Remedial Chaos Theory” is a good reminder of that. 

[tthankstoyou]

YAY OKAY

First up: a good girl's guide to murder by holly jackson. I highly reccomend this one, it's probably my favorite book i've read this year. It's about this girl named pip who uses her senior capstone project as an excuse to investigate a murder-suicide that happened in her town a few years ago: a popular girl named andie bell was murdered by her boyfriend, who had then killed himself. But pip didn't believe that actually happened because she didn't think sal (the boyfriend) could have done something like that. So she investigates (at first mostly to prove him innocent) but ends up uncovering a lot. The book is so good and i could not stop reading it.

NEXT i read the sequel for a good girl's guide to murder: good girl bad blood. This one was also really good, but i loved the first book better tbh. Basically, pip is recovering from trauma (can't say much about that cause spoilers from the first book) when one of her best friend's brother disappears. She agrees to help figure out what happened to him, and uncovers stuff while investigating. However this time, she's semi famous, and dealing with some trauma. There's a third book, i just haven't read it kahdks.

Hmm other than that the only other than those there are 3 other books I remember reading lately? They all are mystery books too kshdkdls this ask just got kinda long oops

OMG I READ THAT FIRST BOOK!!! IT WAS AMAZING. I LOVE I LOVE!!! i wasn’t planning on reading the second book, but if you say it’s good then i just might have to 👀

if you like that series, then i HIGHLYHIGHLYHIGHLY recommend sadie by courtney summers. and if you like that then i also recommend wilder girls by rory powers, which isn’t a murder mystery BUTTTT it does have similar vibes to sadie imo (i read those two back to back in one day so i just always relate them to each other ahsjsj)