#it was so fucking sad/funny when **SPOILERS FOR END OF BOOK**

[loop-lover-central]

At least one(1) person asked for it. SO-

We'll start with some stuff from the isat spoiler Q&A

Let's get started!

-There is only one canonical straight shot timeline that technically erases the prologue from existence. When looping back the previous timeline is completely overwritten, like saving over your save file in a game! It's all gone! Despite this, when you start a new game you're making an entirely new Siffrin to torment. So at least you're not making the same Siffrin go through hell again and again! *sweeps Loop under rug* Don't look at that. Don't worry about them. They're fine.

-While wish craft and other craft types are described to have a smell, time craft does not! I mean, what would time craft even smell like anyway? Clocks???

-Mirabelle's time freeze immunity will wear off eventually!

-Loop could actually be still comfortable with He/They. While the time loops did put them through it, the They/Them was mostly for anonymity. But there WAS some sort of identity shift. So you can and should have fun with Loop pronouns. Do it! Do it!!!

-Despite the island being forgotten, it's still physically there the entire game and before that! So it being lost is purely anti-memetic fuckery. It is just censored out by the universe.

-Loop and Siffrin sitting quietly together was originally a bug where ID5 accidentally softlocked Siffrin and trapped him at the tree. They thought it was a sweet moment of respite and implemented it.

Let's Switch it up! Reddit AMA

-There was originally a love triangle between proto Mira, Isa, and Sif before Mirabelle was made aroace. It probably would have ended in an OT3/polycule situation. So QPR MiraIsaSif truthers out there, enjoy this one.

-The idea of Loop being Siffrin came about during saap's developement. Originally the guide for isat was going to be one of ID5's ocs.

-Change God knows everything about meta because they are a God. Loop only gets a smidgen of meta knowledge, however.

-Loop's ability to see what Siffrin is up to works the same way their calls work! The farther Siffrin is, the harder it is. So Loop calls stop working past snack break 3, and Loop can barely see past the King.

-Isabeau wouldn't play video games. He touches grass.

-Siffrin was subconsciously inspired by Snufkin, from The Moomins. So we wouldn't have Siffrin as he is if everyone wasn't rabid over Moomins a few years back.

-Sadnesses ARE are a constant in the world of isat. They only become more common and poweful during times of great duress, like war or Insane False Monarchs with timey wimey powers

-The doppleganger wish in the selfcest book happened "a long time ago" and is only a child's tale now.

-Odile's name is her given name. Kinda. (No elaboration on what the fuck THAT means.)

-Siffrin only got memory issues after leaving home. They were not a forgetful child.

-At one point before they had names, Isabeau was just called "dude".

-While only called scrawny in game, Adrienne calls Siffrin "deathly thin". Metabolism monarch out here. (Probably all the casual wish craft.)

-The reason the party stops reacting to Sif's poking is just because it's tragic and makes things worse for him. That's it. The universe just hates him.

-Everyone but Odile would like rollercoasters.

-Just... this. This is so funny. Also Loop being the final boss while Siffrin is the secret final boss... Also Loop confirmed deity looking!!!

-"comic!siffrin is a whole different siffrin than game!siffrins sadly. rip to them. still stuck in time" WAY TO FUCK ME UP ON A MONDAY? Comicfrin is still stuck in time.

-The characters have official voice claims but not a single one is serious except for the King's. Mira sounds like Animal crossing isabelle(isa.belle. hm.). Bonnie sound like a inkling from splatoon (ID5 specifically used the female inkling as example). Odile sounds old. Isabeau quantum mechanically sounds flamboyantly gay or like All Might from MHA. Loop sounds like stock glitter sound fx. No Siffrin voice claim. Siffrin has video game protagonist voices which means they sound like whatever you want.

-Loop's glow is comparable to a lamp. Not enough to hurt the eyes.

Siffrin and Friends Q&A time!!(Beware these are SEMI-CANON)

-Siffrin isn't really a trap master. They're just fast enough to activate and dodge the traps.

-Odile doesn't like fennel.

-Fave flowers! Bonnie=Sunflowers, Odile=Orchids, Mira=Lavender, Isa=Roses, Siffrin=None, dubiously answered with dandelions however.

-Sif is a night owl, Bon and Mira are early birds, and Odile and Isa are average.

-Siffrin and Odile have probably eaten crabs and would tempt Bonnie with their sinful ways of consuming crustaceans.

-Odile has been traveling for about 2 years.

-Odile knows how to play a shamisen. It's one of her favorite instruments as well.

-When prompted with competition Loop and Siffrin stare each other down like "kids about to throw hands".

-Loop would like to eat a pastry if they could. GIVE THEM YOUR BAKED GOODS NOW!

-Kill the King day is a Tuesday.

And finally random trivia I found while sniffing through the wiki!

-Salty broths actual cure 6 cooldown, instead of 2 like the dialogue implies.

-Chateau means castle. The cursing of castle castle...

-The Change God face with six eyes and a cat-like mouth is inspired by ID5's oc Eye Gal

-The only time tears can freeze Siffrin with no warning is in saap. By using the second Star Crest to clear one of the rows of Tears, you can just walk into the second row and freeze.

-The dev's older notes mention specific shades being used for hair dyes but they're never mentioned in-game because of the an unadded event.

-In ACT 2, there's a small chance Siffrin says "Heheh… Bonk." when activating the switch for the rock trap

-Saap Bonnie thinks nuts are gross according to some unused dialogue, but enjoys raisins.

-During early development in saap tears were originally intended to be spike traps. A left over sprite of Siffrin being impaled does exist, including minor blood spurt. This was probably changed because it was a little too gruesome, ID5 definitely tried to reel in the darker concepts and has stated they went too dark sometimes.

-Loop turning back into Siffrin was considered long enough for them to get an entire animated walking sprite.

[bhaalstemple]

i finished the game and veilguard was a disappointment lol

spoilers below

the way they butchered solas' character by just making him be led by the memory of mythal; no self-righteousness, savior complex, it was all done bc he wanted to honor mythal

why are the venatori worshipping elgar'nan and not a single elf. ????

how they made mythal far more important than lavellan to solas to the point for a moment i thought she was solas' ex (thank god it was clarified at the end she was only "solas' oldest friend")

the companions are so... lifeless. cheers to bellara for being the only one that feels like an actual human being and not an agglomeration of bad executed tropes (even if at the beginning she was)

the way mythal didn't end up being a villain, when she actively abused and groomed solas (and also morrigan btw) and it made all the sense in the world because she yearned for a reckoning and bring her revenge, a thing she has yearned for and been planning for a millennia because her anger is that strong... but no she just gave it up

the way morrigan's themes of parental abuse (breaking the cycle of abuse) go to shit after she embraced mythal's memories like.... as someone who has also an abusive mother that i broke contact with this made me want to fucking scream lol

morrigan's character also doesn't sound like her AT ALL, why is this woman smiling and being cocky, she's a scholar, a professional, a woman who carries knowledge that burdens her and trauma at the hands of a mother who should've cared for her. and how protective she was a kieran shows how private she is. what the hell. she would not be THAT friendly with strangers lol

and mythal being the only one who truly could change solas' mind at the end (just thinking abt it makes me want to punch a hole in the wall) + the anticlimactic departure of lavellan to the fade with solas is so fucking bad; because of the message it gives (this world is not worth-living for + a woman should spend the rest of her life and sacrificing herself for a man who put another random woman before her) and its joyless execution

if you get any other ending, the inquisitor doesn't even appear. lmfao. bye.

and lets not talk about the post-ending credits scene bc thats actually the thing that i hated the most. it makes all the themes and writing of bioware completely meaningless lol

the funny thing is that i have known for years where would bioware go with dragon age's story and 95% of my theories were correct, but me, someone who is not a writer, would've made a far more compelling story respecting dragon age's themes and nuance. i even predicted that mythal abused and groomed solas, but they executed it so badly that i can't believe these people get paid to write stories lmfao

i literally feel so betrayed, so hollow, so sad, i don't know what to do. i literally just uninstalled veilguard after finishing it. i spent 10 years imagining how the story would go, but id never imagine it would be THIS BAD.

the books, the content, so well-crafted, and so well-executed, just to make a stupid game that breaks all of its themes and leaves them meaningless. what the hell was happening in bioware when all the side-content has so much complexity and nuance (mostly tevinter nights), what happened lmao

[staceyflin]

(Spoiler TGR) The ending of TGR was so damn sweet, i couldn’t believe when he told Laila about his sister and then they finally get a dog���

Actually, for all its dark, sad moments this book is full of funny/iconic moments:

- jean’s interactions with Kevin, I love how deeply they know each other, in a way nobody else can

-"I bet he hit his knees the first time you said it. I would've."

- the fireworks lips-grazing-cheek moment🎆

- the whole “I’ll do this” “you wouldn’t” “but I’ll think about it” thing

- “How someone so warm had survived such a cold place, Jean didn't know.” Tell me I wasn’t the only to think about Sirius fucking black here

- "For the record, it was the sexiest thing I've ever seen, and I don't even like men. It would have done you so much good to see that bitch humbled, Jeremy." Oh yeah

- “”Is it really that offensive?" Knowing it had come off another man's body made it twice as terrible. "Yes."”

- "Does that really matter?" Jeremy asked. "I'm not learning French for anyone but you."

- the thing with the half-buttoned charcoal dress shirt, you know what I’m talking abt

- "Give me a name," Jean said. "I will kill him." And also "They are not your partners” aaaaajencjenfns

- the first trojans’ game and our golden raven kicking its ass👊👊

- those moments with Rhemann and Adi, and the garden, can’t they adopt him already😭

- “How Jean's kind heart had survived a place like Evermore, Jeremy wasn't sure.” I’m not sure either, the guy literally read fairytales to his little sister, what kind of teenage brother does that😭😭🥺🥺

- “But I will choose you every time. You, and Cat, and Laila, every time.” Someone ought to check on Jeremy after that.

- “Brown”🤎

- the portrait he chose🌼🌼

- “Andrew clocked Jeremy immediately, and three of every five messages you've sent me this past month are about him."” Andrew miniard you will forever be famous

- Jabberwocky Moreau.

😮‍💨 am I forgetting something?

[wherebettertoescape]

Thoughts on The Outsiders Album

Okay, as I said yesterday, I have a LOT of thoughts on the album and I decided to revive this page so I stop bothering everyone IRL with my thoughts about it 😂 I figure there must be a good amount of people on tumblr who are down to listen to my rants about the album, so here goes.

I'll put it under a cut so there aren't any spoilers for anyone who hasn't listened yet, and I know there's one or two things which I've heard about the prouction via other posts and such. But I will stress that I haven't actually seen it, I've only listened to the album and obsessed over it 😂

It's also below the cut because it's fucking LOOOOONG

Please reply to this or send in your own thoughts - I have so much I want to talk about to do with this album and I'm like... shaking with the need to talk about it with people who actually want to listen 😂

(sad times living in the UK 🥲)

I'm gonna go through the album sequentially, like track by track, because that feels like the thing to do, even though I will say right off that I definitely have more thoughts about some tracks than others. And I will also give my favourite line from each song. But for a just, like, general overview to begin with - I love the album so much?

I will fully admit that I was kinda preparing myself for it to be bad - it's a book that I love and I wasn't the biggest fan of the movie adaptation for a few key reasons, but I was so pleasantly surprised by the musical soundtrack.

I'm in love with the style of music, I love the entire cast (all of them have such different singing voices and styles and I think that they merge together so beautifully), and it has most of the things that I love in a musical - for me, it's got the right balance of the talking sections included with the singing, as well, which I know some people aren't huge fans of, but I might be biased because Soda is and always has been my favourite character and most of the talking is by him 😂 (I love Jason Schmidt, but we'll talk about that later), and as well as that the style of music and singing like gives me a good picture of what the actual choreography might look like, which I'm obsessed with, since I probably won't get to see it unless it somehow gets to the West End (🤞🏻)

Tulsa '67

Okay so this song is just like ✨exposition ✨ but it's done in a fun way, and I've decided it's worth it just for the finale reprise

I was also like stupidly emotional the first time I heard it and it opened with the opening line of the book

I was wary because of the immediate characterisation of Sodapop as being the brother "with a broken heart" (side note - does this mean Sandy broke his heart before the show rather than after it? I've goes QUESTIONS) - I'll go into it again when we get into Grease Got a Hold for obvious reasons, but I was worried that Soda was gonna be reduced into just being a womaniser again, which is something that bothered me about the movie adaptation

Favourite line: "all the girls are pretty there, and all the guys are mean"

Grease Got a Hold

right so it has no right to be as much of a bop as it is, it's been stuck in my head for the past week since it came out and I can't even be mad about it 😂

It's essentially just a typical "gang" song to introduce and characterise all the different members

Dally always saying "Little brother" got me so emotional like immediately

And I know I just said that I was upset with Soda's characterisation as a womaniser, but considering later songs, I will say I do find it really funny that he basically just goes "yeah I'm a greaser bc I love women 😊"

I LOVE TWO-BIT MATTHEWS - I would die for Daryl Tofa, just something soooooo good about the line he gives after Soda's verse

I have to admit, I was a little worried that they were gonna be pushing some anti-Darry propaganda, but I had no cause to worry, as he's an actual angel. Also it's so funny how fucking Done he is the moment he starts speaking

Something really funny about Steve not getting a verse, but something really sad about Johnny not getting one, but I don't have fully fleshed out thoughts yet so I'm gonna leave that there

But also there's just something about all of them trying to act tough, but all of them just have the voices of angels

Favourite line: "I'm a latch-key kid but they keep changing the locks" and also "you wanna be a fighter? then know just what you're fighting for"

Runs in the Family

I'm upset because this song has been such an ear-worm for me, but it's actually just so sad? There are a couple of these, but this is one of the main ones for me

It immediately makes Darry just such a sympathetic character - it's well documented that Ponyboy doesn't feel like he's enough of a greaser, but I don't think we talk enough about Darry is a reluctant greaser

Side note: but I'm really glad that they included Darry having dropped out of school to look after Soda and Pony, because that was kinda glossed over in the movie, which I felt did Darry a disservice

I just want to hug Brent Comer and tell Darry that he's doing a good job and everything will be okay 🥲

Favourite line: "I don't know what them boys would ever do without me - and what would I do on my own?"

Great Expectations

honestly this song deserves a post all of it's own, and maybe one day I'll do a full analysis of it

but in the meantime, it's fucking GORGEOUS, like Brody Grant has NO RIGHT to sound like this I'm so mad

THE FUCKING HARMONIES I WANNA SCREAM THEY'RE SO GOOD

One of the things I've loved about the soundtrack in general is how Pony in particular draws parallels and comparrisons between Johnny and the other greasers - here it's between Darry and Johnny, and I love it because Pony references in the book that he feels like he and Johnny are the outsiders in the greasers, he feels like neither of them really belong there, and they convey that so well in the musical with these constant comparisons in the songs and music

The continual return back to this idea of a self-fulfilling prophechy - trying to prove that they're not all the same just because they're greasers (like with the different verses in Grease Got a Hold), and this striving for individuality despite the overarching label they've been given

Favourite line: "It's hard to write this story, when this story's writing me"

Friday at the Drive-in

they all just sound so young - that's my main take-away from this song

I love songs in musicals like this where you're forced to be reminded how young the characters are and you have to humanise them a bit more - a bit like with "Drink with Me" in Les Mis

Also anytime that a soundtrack includes the dance-break it makes me so happy 🥲

Favourite Line: "Got no more stress, nothing to worry me - no more teacher's pet or trigonometry"

I Could Talk to You All Night

I need to say that I love this song, but the opening from Cherry is so fucking savage - like fucking hell there's no need to do that to Pony 😂

Again obsessed with Pony not feeling like enough of a Greaser

I'm a sucker for two people who feel lost in their own worlds finding each other and bonding because they can be themselves in a way that they can never be around their other friends

It's just such a pretty duet, and I want more of Brody Grant and Emma Pittman singing - we could have a million songs of the two of them and it wouldn't be enough

Favourite line: "I'd rather read then fight a rumble, but Greasers have to go along"

Runs in the Family (Reprise)

Dude it's such a serious song, and I'm obsessed that despite that there's just Soda being a little shit in the background

"I'll fold your laundry - I'LL FOLD ALL OF IT"

I love that even in this song it's like you can tell he's just so worried about Pony but it's coming out so angry and frustrated

So full of grief for the life he almost had

He's just so angry at Pony for still being able to dream, and it's like he feels like he needs to prepare Pony for real life, because he feels like he can't dream or wish for things anymore

And then just the screeching violin at the end of the song followed by DEAD FUCKING SILENCE, and then it switches to the next song where Pony starts singing acapella it's just herugighadlsiughukdhjsak, y'know?

Favourite line: "Whats the use in dreaming, about a life I'll never know? That ship sailed long ago"

Far Away from Tulsa

okay so I've already said that I'm obsessed with it beginning with Brody Grant acapella, and I know that the songs probably don't flow straight from one to the other in the actual production, but for the sake of the cast recording the effect is incredible

But also, there was absolutely no need to make this song so gay 😂 - Ponyboy, the bisexual icon we all need

It's very reminiscent of Santa Fe, with just kids dreaming for a life that they could have outside of their big city. Especially with the line "this place is real, it's not just in my head", which is VERY similar to "just be real is all I'm asking, not some painting in my head", but I'm okay with it because Brody Grant is incredible

But that line, as well as the one "'Ponyboy you're just a dreamer', that's what both my brothers say" are also really great links back to the previous song with the references of him being a dreamer, and that being what sets him apart from the other Greasers

I also just wanna say that I think it's criminal that there weren't more Pony/Johnny duets. Sky Lakota-Lynch and Brody Grant own my soul

Also catch me being emotional over Johnny's dream being wanting a family - he doesn't realise that he's already got one in the gang 🥺 (I could write an essay about this and Dally's continued use of 'little brother')

OKAY ALSO OBSESSED WITH THE CIRCLE BACK TO GREAT EXPECTATIONS, AND WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT HOW THE LYRICS CHANGE FROM

"Torn between what is and what could be. It's hard to write this story when this story's writing me"

TO

"It's all becoming clear, there's no way we're gonna find that here"

GOTTA ESCAPE TULSA TO ESCAPE THEIR FATE, SOMETHING AGAIN ABOUT SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECIES, I JUST CAN'T

Favourite line: "I'm tired of blindly watching as we're inching towards the ground"

Run Run Brother

There's so much to say about this song, but I literally can't formulate the words, so it's probably gonna be one that I come back to and properly analyse later. so in the meantime, here are my key take-aways

right from the beginning, it gives just an "oh-shit" feeling, just so much urgency and desperation

All three of them have such different singing voices and styles and the combination of the three just makes me so happy and I don't even know how to like express what I'm feeling

Back to the thing about Dally always calling Johnny (and Pony, but we're emotional about Johnny here) "brother"

the music is just so fitting - I feel like I need to be up and moving every time I hear it, like if I ran ever this would be on the playlist 😂

And I'm going insane over the echoes of what has been previously been said - the "grease isn't given it's something you earn", and "let's leave this behind, let's just get up and go" like you're FORCED to face that they are being given what they want but in a really terrible way

Favourite line: "I hate to make you go, but there ain't no other way"

Justice for Tulsa

okay so I know that this is a really important song and everything, but I will admit this is the one I tend to skip most

I will say I think this song would hit harder if they kept with the themes of police brutality that there are in the novel and movie with regards to Dally's death (going off what I've heard about the script changes from people who have seen it, I can't verify myself)

The song feels very claustrophobic, with everyone just trying to blame everyone else, which I think is really well done. Especially with the multiple voices coming in with "you know just what you did"

And it does show the bias of the world trying to blame the Greasers just by reputation alone, which is thematically nice

and also just the kinda mob mentality of the whole thing, especially at the end, with a declaration of war

Favourite line: "or we could send them back a message, take an eye for an eye"

Death's at My Door

I think I've seen somewhere that this is the opening song for the second act and I just - fucking hell, what an opener 😂 they really just wanna destroy all of us, huh?

EDIT: I've been corrected, and it's Justice for Tulsa that starts act 2 - my bad guys, I don't know where I saw otherwise. JfT starting act 2 makes soo much more sense 😂

I wanted to like reach through my headphones somehow and hug Brody Grant, like holy shit

The first time I heard it all I could think about was how much he's going to blame himself when Johnny (and Dally) do die - especially with Johnny having comforted Pony about it

And I'm just emotional about the exploration of Pony thinking of himself as a burden on everyone he loves, especially going back to what Darry says to him in Runs in the Family reprise, just confirming everything that Pony already worries about himself

Favourite line: "I don't believe in the death that you're bringing - the reason I'm living is you"

Throwing in the Towel

I just love brothers okay? This song made me want to like message all my siblings and tell them I love them

I loved that we see Pony's inner thoughts and fears about being a burden on his brothers, immediately followed by seeing Darry's own thoughts and feelings - the two of them being so similar in how they blame themselves for everything

All three of the Curtis brothers being terrified of losing anyone else

AND THIS IS THE SODA CHARACTER REDEPTION I NEEDED - he becomes more than just the womaniser, you can see him having like actual thought and feelings, and the amount of emotion in Jason Schmidt's voice as he's trying to reassure Darry, like this song and Soda's letter gets across everything that makes Soda my favourite character

And there's something to be said about how they're finally like communicating their emotions 😂

Favourite line: "I know your head is full of doubt, but brother that's what love is all about"

Soda's Letter

Musical letters my beloved ❤️

I love songs like these - they're always just so vulnerable

It links to Tulsa '67 Reprise with the reference to how Soda kinda keeps the family all together. This song you can like see the strain that it has on him, trying to keep the brothers who he loves so much together, by trying to tell Pony that Darry does love him even though he shows it in a very different way

also anyone who has seen it and made it this far in the post can you tell me whether they keep in the bit about Pony reading this really heartfelt letter only to go "Soda's so dumb he can't fucking spell" because it's all I could think about when I listened to it for the first time

Favourite line: "Your brother needs you just as much as you need him, and brother we ain't doing to good alone"

Hoods Turned Heroes

The triumphant return of my beloved Two-Bit, and he's doing some king shit

I love him, okay?

This is another song where I know it's really important, but I actually don't have much to say about it, other than I do really enjoy it

Favourite line: "It's time to celebrate Greasers, take pride in the Greaser name"

Hopeless War

I love that it's just Cherry begging Pony not to change, and hoping that he's still an outsider of the Greasers like she is for the Socs, a hope that the two of them are still kindred spirits even after everything that happened

She knows that the rumble is gonna be where Pony loses that last bit of dreamer in him because he's holding just so much anger at the world - I dunno, there's something there I'm sure 😂

it's such a smooth transition into "Trouble" and I wanna SCREAM it's so good

Favourite line: "even if you win, it doesn't change a thing"

Trouble

It feels like a war chant or something

The music is just so agitated

It's like Run Run Brother where I feel the need to be up and moving

Favourite line: "Do it for Johnny, even the scores, time to rally the crew"

Little Brother

I get chills every time I listen to it

Something about Joshua Boone's voice guys, I don't even know like how someone goes about beginning to talk about it, but whoever takes over as Dally has got some big shoes to fill

It's a lament to Johnny, and I feel like I listen to it and I feel the same anger and indignation that Dally feels

It's a song where I listen to it and I know, even without having seen the production, how I'd stage it and that always makes me excited

The longer the song goes on, the more uneasy you feel listening to it

It links him and Darry together again, with how he blames himself for everything that happened to his little brother, he feels like he should have been able to protect Johnny, the way that Darry always tries to protect Ponyboy

The final tempo increase and the discordant violin at the end, and it feels like even just listening to it you're watching him fall into a grief-led madness, and his certainty that there's only one way that his story can end

Favourite line: "They can't take anymore from me - if I ain't got you, then I ain't got nothing else"

Stay Gold

It feels somehow criminal to put these songs next to each other, but I mean obviously they have to be - that's how they want you to feel, but it doesn't mean that I'm not mad about it

I've listened to it like a million times and it still brings me to tears every now and then

There's something about having the hopelessness of "Little Brother", with Dally bring so apologetic at having failed Johny, followed by Johnny asking Pony to tell him that there's still good in the world

Just how much everyone in this story needs each other and they don't realise that the others need them too, yknow?

Johnny being Dally's "gold" - a lot to say about that but yknow, this is already long as fuck

The simplicity of the music itself (same as with Soda's letter - makes them thematically the same blah blah blah with them both being letters and all that), but it makes the song much more vulnerable than some of the others - nothing for Sky Lakota-Lynch to hide behind

Also that line: "I have looked into a thankful father's eyes, telling me I've saved his daughters life", and how that links to what Johnny says in the book about the little girl's life being worth more than his - I dunno, it just got me emotional, okay?

Favourite line: "I hold on to the good 'cause I've made my peace with all the bad" and also "It's easy to forget when you're trying just to make it through"

Tulsa '67 Reprise

WE MADE IT BOYS (seriously though, for real, if you made it this far, thanks for reading through my descent into madness 😂 and please send your own thoughts and such, bc I'm desperate to hear other people's thoughts)

I said it at the beginning, but I think the reprise of this song makes the exposition at the beginning worth it

At the beginning we hear Ponyboy as a dreamer, and at the end he still has that, but rather than idolising and making everything spectacular, he sees beauty in the mundane - he sees it in his brothers, his friends, all of that

The call backs to the original song as well, which allow us to go back to the theme of looking at individuality - the Greasers wanting to be seen as more than just characatures, and by the end they are like fully-fleshed out people rather than just the basic stock figures we initially get them introduced as in Grease Got a Hold

The clearest examples are, of course, Darry and Soda

Darry goes from being "could have been a football star, people say he had a ticket out" to instead being "the toughest guy I've ever known"

Soda goes from "suffers from a broken heart" to "this family's life and soul"

and then it goes from "got no parents, we fend for ourselves" to "can you imagine how proud mum and dad would be"

just something so beautiful about that, I dunno

There's more I could say about the themes of brotherhood and individuality ("grease as their disguise", for example), but I'll spare it for now

Favourite line: "Just too damn good for growing old, and in his memory I stay gold"

(finally - if you've stuck around to the end, I've also recently set up an instagram account, just for me, so please also check that out if you wanna hear more about my thoughts about random musicals and stuff!)

Freddie 🐸 (Instagram)

[snakeunderyourboot]

Finished reading “Under the Whispering Door” by TJ Klune and I need to scream about it, so beware spoilers ESPECIALLY under the cut

okay, so I have read 2 other TJ Klune books - The House in Cerulean Sea and In the Lives of Puppets, and while the first was an easy and happy read, the second is my top 5 books EASILY. I love In the Lives of Puppets, I love the world-building, characters, narration, ending, every little thing that is there - I love it.

So I was looking into some other TJ Klune books and I was considering reading Under the Whispering Door before and the only thing stopping me was the premise. You see, when you read the short description of the book, the first impression you will get is that this book is about asshole character that died but then brought back to life and now has 7 days to become a better person while living in the tea shop with this strange guy. And you will think how now this asshole character would try to change his life in 7 days, but also will fall in love with this strange guy and its going to be very sad, because they cant be together and then something will happen and they will get a chance to live happily ever after. Also the asshole guy will change himself completely in just 7 days. The premise is sort of interesting, but also seems so unoriginal and predictable, that I pulled off reading it for a long time.

BUT I was going on a stressful trip and I needed some nice cute book, to better my mood and I knew that TJ Klune books are always very funny and have a good moments, so I decided fuck it. Even if plot was going to be predictable at least there are going to be cool characters and it would do a fine job of keeping me company during this trip.

LET ME TELL YA HOW WRONG I WAS

Not about the characters, they are amazing and I love all of them, but about the plot. The premise is totally lying, because the book does start with a main character death and he stays DEAD. The whole deal with “7 days to live” comes only in a second half of the book and I was so shocked when it happened, because I completely forgot about it.

In fact, we spend huge deal of first chapters just getting to know Wallace(main character) and how the death works(really cool concept by the way, love it). The other characters are also great and I loved each and every of them. From Hugo who is such a patient and nice and encouraging, but at the same time so troubled and hurt, but he cant afford himself to break because other depend on them; to Mei who is actually pretty funny and a deep character, who experienced a lot and it shaped how she behaves, but she still chooses to be better; to Nelson, who is the best old man ever, the guy made me laugh so many times and cry, like Nelson is such a cool grandad(I didnt met my grandad, he passed when I was little, so I got attached to Nelson so quickly); to Apollo who is the best boy ever, the best dog; and to every other small character that appeared in the book. TJ Klune always has great characters, but my god in this book they are all amazing.

Wallace was also interesting character, that I grew to love with every chapter. His change from asshole to an actually nice guy felt a little bit rushed? Honestly, I noticed in TJ Klune’s books, characters who start as assholes but then changed to a nice guys, always have a good start and good finish but a little meh middle? Like Wallace was presented as such a big jerk and by even a middle of the book he become a completely different character which threw me off a little. On the other hand, considering that he died and then put into an unknown situation for who knows how long, maybe it is understandable why he changed so much. Still, I would prefer if he stayed a little bit as a jerk, just a little. A nice amount. Still, I liked him and his progression.

Remember what I said about Nelson making me laugh? This book is so funny, I laughed so much. Genuinely, the jokes are almost always hitting right in the center, especially the running ones. People who read the book - Walce truly does have a legs for it;))

The only thing that I a little bit disappointed about was the ending AND HERE IS HUGE SPOILERS DONT READ IT IF YOU HAVENT READ THE BOOK GIVE IT A CHANCE PLEASE GO RIGHT NOW AND READ DO NOT LOOK FOR MORE EVEN IF SOMETHING THAT I SAID BEFORE INTERESTED YOU EVEN A LITTLE GO AND READ IT I PROMISE YOU ITS REALLY GOOD

okay okay here the ending

I knew that Wallace wasn’t going to really go, even if book truly tried so hard to make me feel like that(and did a very good job with it, BUT I JUST KNEW he is going to be alright) and I thought that by the end he is going to remain a ghost but will now be allowed to stay in Tea Shop.And it sort of happened, expect he was also resurrected and made into a ferryman. Which felt too good to be true. I think I would prefer if he stayed dead but was allowed to stay in Tea Shop and they still had a relationship with Hugo even without touching and kissinf. I dont know, I feel like it could have been interesting and not as nice as the actual ending is. For all the talk in this book how life is unfair and we need to deal with it and try to get the best if it, the ending kind of undermines it. Maybe thats just aroace talking in me._.

Also can I talk how amazingly Wallce and Hugo fot for each other? Hugo who always put everyone first and then himself, who never allows himself to have something good, sometimes that he truly wants and Wallace who always took everything for himself and never thought about anyone. And how with Wallace, Hugo allowed himself to care and fight and ask for nice things for himself and he still cares about people, but now he cares about himself too. And how with Hugo, Wallace learn to care about other people and putting their needs first and how it culminated into him basically sacrificing himself for the good of others, because he truly learned how to love. They are such a good fit together, perfectly combining their strengths and weaknesses, like damn, my poor babies

TL;DR this book is amazing, olease read it, I love it so much

[stabbyfoxandrew]

im in the middle of reading Carry On right now and I fully plan on spending a significant amount of time scrolling through the snowbaz art you've rbed once i finish, but i wanted to ask if you read the rest of the series and if they were good, cause I've gotten mixed answers from other friends I've asked!

ahh hi!! :D <3

ooooh i hope you had fun! (i see you in my notes >:3)

also! i have read the other two books. it was just last summer actually. which is stupid since i read carry on in 2019 and had owned them for a long ass time. BUT they're very good in my opinion. there's lots of sad and upsetting but also it's simon and baz and they love each other. there's funny stupid shit going on as well??

(SPOILER!!! >>>>>>> simon understandably gets fucked up after the events of Carry On and shit gets really... :(((( for a while but honestly i think i rainbow rowell does a nice job showing what it's like to be in a relationship with someone who is Majorly Depressed??? like you love them and try to help them and it hurts when they won't let you and- i have never been in a relationship and p never will BUT peak romance to me is loving someone no matter what?? idk idk i just love them spoiler over)

book 2 felt like a fanfic to me at times?? BUT. i think this is simply because it had been Years since i read the first book? like you know? i was Used to carry on. i knew what happened in it. but 2 & 3 were so new?? i don't know how to say what i mean here. but despite that feeling i did LOVE THEM. i think wayward son might possibly perhaps be my fave honestly? i dunno though i have such a hard time picking favorites TWT uhhh there's vampire stuff in WS though if that's a selling point at all?

anyway! i highly recommend them both! they give simon and baz (and penny and agatha) the happy hopeful endings they deserve. : ) and i'm p sure the last book made me cry <3 lol i'm a wuss though i just love LOVE okay!!! also hi again i love you<33 please read them and come back and we can be insane together<3

OH!!! I ALSO HAVE SOOO MANY FIC RECS FOR WHEN YOU'RE DONE WITH THE SERIES BABE!!! :D

[fictionfixations]

book 7 part 9 spoilers

i usually play immediately after it drops but i was sleepy lmao so im up like 4 hours after it drops (or it mightve been earlier i forget how long it takes when theres maintenance i just remember normally it resets at 2 am for me)

also is it just me or are we getting book 7 updates faster (no wonder considering jp FINISHED BOOK 7 LMAO)

LMAO VIL

vil acting anything less then composed always catches me off guard a little

wait

can idia's tablet be broken??? what happens then? does ortho have like another one he can take out or idia doing some dream technology magic whatever and makes another reappear ????

dude i should just stop pausing and continue he literally says the line after that he can give his tablet infinite lives because its a dream (where you imagine shit to life)

it just occured to me that the school uniforms are black and black tends to hold heat more so like oh dear

KALIM

...can ortho have water ????

oh well i guess we'll see because kalim just used his signature spell sobb

ortho seems fine? can he drink and eat?? im like pretty sure he cant is it just that the cold water touching the outside is helping cool him down?

vil: can you put it in a cup kalim: *gets distracted and doesnt, talking about something else*

i was curious if kalim could do it smaller scale and with more precision but i guess we'll never know...

i find it interesting how the villain and hero's stories are separated so they do still exist in those stories just not with the same identity, so that both versions get admired and like have their happy ending or something

JAMIL

i still find it endlessly funny how at first we think oh shit is jamil gonna be mean and then hes like nah

parallel to i think back when we meet kalim (in scarabia's book) and we think ahh he must be awful and then no he happy cheery boy

'jamil?' 💀

?? BATTLE???

best friend... 😭 they make me so sad man

on one hand hehaha goofy funny jamils so out of character

on the other hand if i think too hard on this i might actually cry LMAO

people talk about having a second stomach for desserts but dude ive never had that 😭 then again desserts arent really up there as my favorites so shrug

why are we talking to kalim about how jamil ls really like while JAMIL IS RIGHT THERE 💀 i mean no actual good guard would let these strangers be with kalim alone but like at least do it without jamil RIGHT THERE

NO

ah fuck we've gotten on the wrong side of jamil

guys.....

GUH

STREET RATS???

im sure thats a reference to the movie but damn wth

the fights not hard im just anxious every time because what if its malleus (but i KNOW its not malleus ive seen jp)

ah god why fight back to back nooo

also considering book 6 fights im really expecting book 7 fights to be so hard

IM GONNA PERSONAA MYSELF

'You're my best friend, right? You wouldn't betray me, right?'

this gives me same vibes as when like kailm was like hey.. jamil. you wouldnt right? i was just blacking out as usual getting distracted and stuff right?? and hes like

in denial

and like desperately hoping for an excuse like. like its all my fault right? not yours? right? because you cant. you cant have betrayed me. we're friends, arent we?

its so out of the realm of possibility for him

and then it happened and i jujsthusfid

crazy that the dream guards are okay with jamil using his signature spell on kalim but it is a dream so like well fine darkness can take creative liberties to make sure he keeps dreaming

oh shit it just occurred to me i should be taking screenshots

oopsie

theres just not a lot of moments that occur to me to screenshot i just yap about it

taking a screenshot rn so you can see how they look

oh no sweetie

(i actually cant recall at what point his groovy would fit best in but it still sad)

i know its soul crushing of like ignihyde of oh fuck orthos dead or like oh no malleus

but scarabia is like a weak spot straight to my heart dude i love kalim so much THIS HURTS

i think im mostly over the laughing every time they say 'dreamy magical makeover'

although maybe more that its just the same group now, vil's good enough at magic he doesnt need to say it

this month we're getting fairy gala remix right? isnt the remix the one where kalims actually like uhh actually i need some time to consider this (because jamil keeps telling him to say that instead of immediately accepting) LMAO

wonder if they ever detect for a moment why are there two [of one student] because of like the dummy data and the actual student before they go diving like ??

or maybe its like a i know youre doing this stuff but i bet you wont get anywhere, what are you trying to accomplish by waking everyone up? they will still be stuck in this dream world

the time they split up and its because they already know who the dreamer is so they dont need silver right there to identify them

valid theres only two members of the dorm lmao and we already have kalim

😭😭😭😭😭

ah.....

the role reversal is CRAZY

i find it unfortunate there havent been cards of the overblotters outfits in their dreams so far. like dude there are genuinely some really cool ones i want

like i mean i get jamil cause his outfit is very similar to kalim's if recolored but there are other unique ones that are so prettyyy

NOT THE TEXT BOX CUTTING OFF THE SCREEN

'i have a mister and water prepared'

whats a mister

oh wait. like a mist-er ????

i was just so confused like what mister as in the honorific??

i love you kalim but im gonna be honest

jamil i dont know what you were expecting making kalim be the one who did stuff for you hes not even half as competent as you are in what you do 😭😭😭and thats fine he excels at other stuff but so i dont really think hes good at being in your shoes. like at all

i think it might turn out worse actually

SHABBY ATTIRE??? whats with jamil flaming the school uniform? like i mean the first one was a dream but like JEEZ

street rats then shabby attire......

jamil you really need to get your speaking your thoughts out loud to not happen anymore

LMAO

i know its like so role reversal dream where kalim is the servant instead but seriously like what is kalim in the dream suddenly good at that kind of stuff?

i wonder, if given the chance to be taught, kalim would be able to do those kinds of things (im sure hed be more than happy to do work thats usually done by servants, i just question the quality that will come out of it), but on the other hand this is kalim who hasnt done that stuff before

ah well i guess it wasnt jamils choice to have kalim work for him (and it doesnt seem dream kalim is that great either just probably a bit more used to it)

????

kalim is mentioning stories of when they were younger doing stuff together but jamils like ?? when did that happen

so like. then the asims losing money and the vipers being rich and hiring them, that happened pretty early on then?

like i mean there was at least a period of time where it was as usual and then the roles reversed and so these stories never happened in this dream

huh

OHHH MY

*stare* is there any way we could get rid of the dream versions of ourselves before we start using their identity like oooh my god

no wonder kalim suddenly changed outfits without saying dreamy magical makeover ??? i thought he was like suddenly good at it even though he said he had trouble with it when not entirely focusing so hed end up wearing outfits backwards thus why idia made it so kalim could use the spell but

so its so you can tell who tf is who LMAO

why is dream kalim acting like dream jamil wtf

saying hes gonna bring him to the doctor and then calling for guards

and then accusing them of being assassins

and then telling him to look him in the eyes

what

AND THEN CALLING US STREET RATS >:((((

not kalim jumping straight into darkness for jamil

i wonder what jamil was thinking during this moment though

cause like say they get kalim kicked out (though id say there have been housewardens who are worse then mind controlled kalim, pre-overblot, like for example how riddle acted towards the students and being so utterly unwilling to anything less than perfect)

wouldnt his family like retaliate or something

or pull jamil out of school so he can continue wherever kalim ends up?

or would they just be like well aw shucks well jamil can stay there (even though hes like kalim's personal servant right?) and kalim can go elsewhere... like. ????

okay so you kick out all the housewardens what then

do you not think there are others who will take on the role of housewarden?? like either cater or trey (although likely trey and cater will be his vice), i know vil i think wanted epel to be housewarden tho for now itd prob be rook, if lilia stayed in school and not also left if malleus left housewarden would prob be him instead.. like ??

what is the plan here will they not be suspicious like oh the other hosuewardens got outed but oh only jamil is the one with as clean slate like ??

i think this jamil zeroes in one thing and thinks ah as long as that obstacle is gone nothing can stand in my way and forgets about every other issue hed have to deal with along the way

BWAHAHAHHA

THE BOYS ARE FIGHTING 😭

calling each other names....

💀💀💀 silver--

wait can jamil just keep using his signature spell on darkness ?????

wh

??????????? can you overblot in dreams???

LMAO

kalim runs to jamil, jamil avoids being grabbed by him

actually its kind of sad everyones getting invitations except malleus

except the location of the 'party' IS malleus so like

and thats it!

okay so the art for the next cards of the next part is really really pretty.... but i realllly need to save for another main story card i really like

but like srsly theyre so pretty (especially the groovy) when i first saw it i thought they were like fanart or something like wHAT thats REAL

[bekkachaos]

BRIDGERTON THOUGHTS PRT 1 !

Okay so I've got me some thoughts about season 3 and I'm just going to get them all out, please come talk to me and tell me if I'm wrong, if I'm right or just make incoherent noises at me.

If you don't want Bridgerton season 3 part 2 spoilers it's time to look away!

Imma start with just Polin then do another post for the rest, this is too long 😅

Okay, so I'll start with the music, I'm sure we all knew POV was going to be during the mirror scene and oh my god it did not disappoint. It was perfect.

Then we've got yellow, now I knew, I knew, this would be their wedding song. It had to be their wedding song. I was ready to boycott if yellow was not their wedding song (this is a lie but that's how confident I was) and it was so goddamn sweet with him looking at her coming down the aisle and she looked so beautiful!

And let's not even talk about you belong with me when they're dancing. Let's not even talk about it.

The Portia and Colin scene was perfect. Everything about it was perfect and you won't change my mind.

I really loved that we got a lot of parallels and nods to the things that Portia has done for her family and the things that Penelope has done as Lady Whistledown, and that it finally allowed them to be closer because Penelope has spent all this time thinking her mother doesn't care about her and that she's vapid but then by the end she realises that they aren't all that different and it really mends the gap there.

It was kind of sad for Colin when he was showing Penelope their new house and she just wasn't getting as excited as him. But then him telling her that he loves her right after defending her honour was so beautiful and just made my heart do little flippies.

And like obviously I've got to mention the mirror scene. I've got to mention it. I've just got to do it. It was so soft and loving and Colin just spouting his feelings was the most wonderful thing and they did it so beautifully with the way that they changed the camera and it went from voice over to him talking real time.

Unpinning her hair? Why the fuck did I find that so romantic?

And I love that they kept her self-conscious and he just kept telling her that she didn't need to be because he loved everything about her and he found her so beautiful, and then he undressed her so slowly and I love her little cover up because it showed how nervous she was.

But can I just say? Lie down? Lie down?? Damn okay Colin. Yes sir right on that.

And then him undressing just as slowly and her watching him and my god the little noise when he took off his breeches, her face was so cute the whole time I can't even tell you how adorable and perfect it was!

And I love how much it nodded to the book in the dialogue and her asking him to tell her what to do.

The whole scene was just so tender and real and it felt so different to the other love scenes that we've had in the previous seasons, which were very much driven by passion. Even Daphne and Simon in season 1. Where there was that vulnerability it was different, he had already told her how she could feel pleasure whereas this is all new for Penelope, and Colin just made sure she was okay the whole time, made sure she wanted it, and the way they were able to smile and laugh... It was so comfortable and sweet and simply incredible!

The dancing in the church was just so cute and throwing in the line about him not being punished as a child was such a good book callback

Kinda glad Colin found out the way he did in the book, but fucking ouch!

The silence that came after? Fucking heartbreaking. But Portia and Violet noticing and wondering wtf happened was actually kinda funny, I like them together.

The wedding was incredible obviously, but also it felt wrong to go from the silence to such sweetness and then back to Colin literally sleeping on a tiny ass couch? Like WHY?

Also we were deprived of Colin and Pen waking up in bed together and being soft and sweet and laughing and just generally being so fucking in love?? If I don't get that at least once in season 4 I will riot!

imma make a part 2 this is so long!

[contributingtothechaos]

Saw The Outsiders musical yesterday and thought I'd share my notes app rambles I wrote on the ride home after. These are just my favorite parts I'll make a separate one abt the things I missed/didnt like if anyone wants it. Spoilers below the cut

everything I loved abt it

• Intro almost exactly like in book

• Amazing singing from everyone

• The understudy who it was her first show was so good for her first time 

• The music was based off accurate music style for the time folk, bluegrass, Americana, rock

• They actually said fuck instead of "and than he said some words which aren't appropriate to print" or something like that

• Dallas>>>

• The slow motion was so so cool

• Repurposed the car for everything. Bed, table, concessions stand

• The girl greaser was great and really funny, could tell she was strong and had funny lines

• Drove a second car on stage??? Need to figure out how. Very cool

• Actually projected the movies onto back

• Reminded me of newsies alot

• The drowning scene actually insane

• The pounding sound when they were drowning him and the slo mo fighting from everyone else>>>

• The ringing every time he got knocked out 

• THE FAKE BLOOD oml

• Dude the party when they went to find dally was sorta crazy

• Dally is such a mom he's amazing

• The boards and tires for the train!!!

• Using the boards and tires so well for everything!!!

• Omfg the way they showed jonny's parents fighting projected shadows on the window

• The broken church window <3

• Ponyboy's hairrrrr nooooo the bleach blond😭😭😭

• THE LETTER FROM SODA OH MY GOD SO SAD, SUCH A GOOD SONG

• The smoke over the whole stage during the fire

• THE REAL ASS FIRE

• the way they use the boards and tires as a hospital bed

• OH MY FUCK THE FIGHT

• IT WAS SO COOL

• THE SLOW MOTION

• THE FLASHING LIGHTS

• THE WAY THEY ACTUALLY HAD IT "RAINING" ON THE STAGE

• THE MOVES TIMES WITHTHE FLASHING

• THE WAY THEY MAKE IT LOOK LIKE FIGHTING AND DANCING AT THE SAME TIME 

• hey hey hey what the hell was stay gold? That's what got me to start tearing up fr

• WHEN JONNY DIED

• all their reactions had me tearing

• WHAT THE FUCK DALLAS

• that train scene definitely didn't get me as hard as the book but it still hit

• THE FUCKING ENDING OF LITTLE BROTHER WHAT THE HELL

• DUDE THE TIME THEY DID SODA THE MOST JUSTICE WAS IN THAT SCENE WHERE PONY AND DALLY WERE FIGHTING 

• THATS WHEN I ACTUALLY STARTED CRYING WAS SODA YELLING AT THEM

• cherry bringing the letter from Jonny oml

• Them forgiving each other amd eating dinner together>>>>

• Him saying he started writing a story and letting darry read the beginning of it, it being the beginning of the book was so great

• And the the reprise with the last words of the book was so good

• All the other actors leaving the stage after bows and then ponyboy doubling back and grabbing green beans off the table and eating them idk just funny to me

• The actors were so nice outside and so was the crowd I was holding by playbill up in like the back of the crowd of like 20 ppl and he had ppl pass it up for me

• They were all nice and took pictures I felt bad and didn't want to crowd them or follow them it they were trying to leave

• Sodapops actor having a Soda bottle tattoo that I'm not sure was fake or to commemorate his first Broadway role. Also had the hat Soda wears in movie

[chibitorra]

I am actually so fucking mad at how Coral Island handled Charles.

They showed us a gourmet meal of potential angst-with-a-happy-ending and they served us fucking day-old McDonald's.

Huge rant and kind-of spoilers under the cut

Charles was introduced as someone who was disowned by his parents in his youth, and was previously cheated on by his ex-partner (and for some reason I'm remembering a wedding night in that too but I can't find the source for that rn) and struggled to find love ever since.

But all we got was Charles being a doctor, losing a book, getting his hair dyed, and-- we started getting somewhere when scott threw that party at the seaside place-- how no one would talk to him about anything but his job, how upset that made him, and his little 5-second-long snippet of angst where he was crying alone on the couch. He even said in one of those events that "if love were to find him it would march right through his living room and into his lap" which I was CERTAIN was going to be foreshadowing of the PC doing just that.

But instead we got more of Charles being a doctor, but to kids this time, and the abomination of pt2 of that where you two just garden. Which, afterwards, he admits to secretly liking you for a long time (which is EXTREMELY funny because Charles honey it's not a secret I've been dating you for a quarter of a month now skdhfkjdhad) and he also admits to never feeling this way for someone before like the man didn't almost get married before having his heart violently ripped from his chest!!

Like, his backstory got left behind and forgotten like cargo luggage that fell off the roof of your car on a long road trip. He only mentions Brooke like... once (twice if you count the book with their name on it in his room) his whole ordeal is treated like an afterthought. All he became in the end was a doctor who's sole personality was just... being a doctor.

and I KNEW someone like Charles, who was cheated on by someone he trusted and that shit stays with you forever, the pain from something like that doesn't just go away, even for a doctor like Charles I imagine.

I wanted so badly for Charles to be this secretly broken man who the PC warms up to, and slowly over time teaches him that it's okay to love to love again, teach him how to trust again. Show him that they love him for who he is, he doesn't have to change his hair or worry about how he looks because they will always love him for him.

God I am so actually sad over the state of his heart events.

And like, it's FINE if anyone else doesn't have a problem with them, I'm not out here trying to shame people for liking the direction they took, it's just not at all what I expected with what info we were given on him.

[bee-named-alex]

So episode 6 of IWTV s2. My thoughts? Many. Enjoy them, I'll try to make it as coherent as possible in my current state. Spoilers and my mental breakdown below the cut

Fuck this. I cannot wait for a week after this episode, how am I supposed to be normal after this???

So I guess I'll start from the start? The tension is in every word and I get why Daniel's getting afraid for his life, I mean I am afraid for his life rn and he's not even real.

The Dubai scenes, they contrast really well with the first couple episodes of this season. The cracks in Loumand relationship are very apparent now, they can't even decide on what painting to have in their house. And I read a post that was like "season 1 was music, season 2 is art" and it's so true and this means like their relationship is empty i guess or something. Maybe just that it's falling apart.

And the way they began this season holding hands and sitting so close, acting like everything was perfect, ready to fight Daniel and now they sit as far away as possible, fight like all the time about everything and Louis and Daniel (and even Rashid I think) keep on further unionizing against Armand... I think that's just great.

And Armand knowing that they know and from the start trying to spin it. I'm not sure how the sentence "Why do you ask, love?" from Louis is like the coldest thing ever but it just is.

I'll talk more about Dubai later.

But now to Paris. Claudia's diary "Fuck these vampires" - girl's so right (in both meanings of that word btw). Claudia was never really my fave, but out of everyone I feel like she deserves a happy ending the most (not counting daniel here) and fuck, she's not getting it. i know but it still hurts like hell.

Her and Madeleine's relationship is great. Inbetween all the plotting and manipulation and murder this feels like one of the only peaceful things. In the scene where Claudia reveals herself I though that she's like Madeleine's guardian angel. But also an angel of death. But Madeleine doesn't mind and I think that's very important, that she doesn't really see Claudia as a monster - or maybe she does, but it doesn't change what she feels (after all, she thinks that she's a monster)

Then the turning. First Louis trying to convince Armand and him not obeying- as Daniel says "maitre only when it's hot or convinient" (it was hot in the art room btw and it's so not fair that we didn't get to see at least a little more i mean that whole scene was inexplicably so hot and i need moreeee).

But it also reminded me of another post, the "Armand is a willingly leashed tiger" because like yeah, Louis has the power up until the point when Armand no longer wants him to have it. (also Louis persuasion being "imagine me without the burden of her" sucks, like sorry but this hurts, even if you didn't mean it and yes it matters if you meant it. But his later method - aka kiss to shut him the hell up - seems much better.)

Then I got a little pissed or perhaps confused at his "Are you asking or making me?" because we know that Louis can't actually make Armand do anything, not when he is 100 % sure he doesnt want to. Because if he could, Armand would've turned Madeleine. (speaking of, Armand not having turned anyone is pretty interesting, but i guess that that's how it was in the books and it was important so sure why not)

Also Louis' "It's ok, it's ok" here reminded me of "Of course, of course!" and also "It's fine, he's fine, we're fine" and it's just so funny how they all think that if they say things over and over again they'll convince themselves that they're true.

The turning itself was beautiful, as Louis said it would be. Like it wasn't violent, there wasn't fear, no tears. Just love and devotion and I'm so sad that Claudia's and Madeleine's beautiful dream didn't last longer.

Louis not caring afterwards is just another exampke of his dissociative state and I worry about his mental well-being. (All of their mental and physical well-beings tbh)

In Dubai again, Armand finally talking about the erased memories and how they both hate on him for it and they're right. Like what do you mean Daniel doesn't have the right to be angry, of course he does. It's fun to see Daniel delighted about fighting Armand.

But also... Louis asked him to get rid of those momeries (if he believe him. And I, in this episode more than ever and despite my better knowledge, do believe Armand. Maybe it's just because of Assad's phenomenal acting but I believe his words and I believe his tears. Which actually makes this all worse btw.) and that makes the whole situation suddenly much more complicated.

Other Paris plot - Santiago (fuck Santiago) and his coup -, yeah that kept me on my toes for the entire episode. Like Armand says that he was in love and Louis says that he got lazy but I just think he must've been blind to not see it.

I feel like Dubai kinda reflects this (Louis and Daniel unionizing as we've said and so it's like Armand losing his power over his people again) but also. Paris and it's aftermath was the biggest crisis of their relationship, must've been (followed by San Francisco and Daniel I'm sure). But now as the recount it they are also reliving it and are also in a full-blown crisis and i hope this one doesn't end in a fire.

And the ending of it all. Fuck. I was near tears watching it.

The double-date in the cafe felt like a dream, they even said in the episode insider that they wanted it to feel surreal or something like that, like a romantic comedy. And for a few minutes it does. They let you believe that they could be happy. You know they won't, you know that shit's about to go down and everything will end in ruin but this single scene makes you beg, no please, no don't fuck it up, just stay happy, like this, it can be good. And despite knowing what's coming, you stick your claws into this idea of happiness like a lifeline.

And then it hurts that much more when this perfect bubble pops.

I admire all the actors because idk what Armand was feeling the moment he stepped outside but through Assad's acting I felt it too. And as Louis looks around, seeing the world stop, here I know exactly what he must've felt- the realization hits, the betrayl and then the immense worry for Claudia and Jacob portrays it so beautifully.

"He chose." This breaks my heart. Because what did he choose exactly, or better yet, what did he choose over? I mean this is terrible, the trial, but what was his other choice? He calls himself a coward so maybe it was Louis and Claudia and Madeleine or him that the coven would go after. But maybe this was actually the better choice idk.

But like you see the regret in Armand's face in Paris but especially in Dubai and I trust him. I believe him that he regrets it, I believe him the tears and as I've said that just makes it so much worse. Because he chose this and now they suffer for it and he suffers for it too and blames himself (rightfully so), but it still hurts.

And then Lestat. Fuck. I knew this was gonna come (I just couldn't help myself and because of my recklessness saw a spoiler, that he's gonna be there) but that in no way did that knowledge diminish what I felt when I saw him. Because, hell, idk I'm just so excited to finally have him back because I love him but also I hate him and am so scared as to what he's gonna do. He's gonna testify against Louis and Claudia sure but what if he won't? Does he want to kill or fuck Louis? Will his and Armand's past play part in this or is that a box to remain unopened until later?

"You cannot script a hurricane" they said and so this means Lestat will go off script. But to what extent? At least to which it results in burning the theatre down.

The preview didn't help my state, quite the contrary actually. Louis in Paris is scared that Lestat's gonna come. Santiago's laughing. What does Armand feel? Who knows not me, I'm just scared. And excited. I feel like I won't fall asleep for two days after this but it's fine. I'm fine, everything's fine.

[dailydegurechaff]

fav light novel only characters? like not animated or drawn in the manga yet

So this has been in my inbox for a couple months now and I think I can finally confidently answer it bc I have a couple of characters who I wanna talk about.

Spoiler warning: Due to this ask being related to characters only seen in the light novel there’s going to be spoilers under the read more! I talk about content as far ahead as novel 11. I think we’re safe on stuff from 12 tho!

If you want a no-spoiler summary: Colonel Calandro (not depicted here), Counselor Conrad, and Major Joachim

OK SO,

I think the main two that I like the most and are LN-Only so far are Colonel Calandro from Ildoa, who is the observer that ends up attached to the Salamander/Lergen Kampfgruppe on the eastern front and Counselor Conrad, the imperial diplomat that Lergen talks with a lot.

In Calandro’s case, he’s introduced I believe as early as book 6, so I think he’s probably the one of my favorites who is most likely to be in season 2, so I hope Studio Nut does well by him with a good design. In the sketches above, I decided against trying to make a design for him because 1) I got no ideas man and 2) I think (hope) he might show up in the anime soon so I’d like to hold off on drawing him until there’s an official one.

Anyway, a lot of his scenes are great when he’s attached to the Kampfgruppe. If I recall correctly, there’s this scene in one of the books (Book 7?) where he’s talking to Tanya as she’s making preparations to bombard what is obviously a church and he’s like “What are you doing? Isn’t that a war crime?” And Tanya just goes “No, no, it’s fine. They’re not openly displaying anywhere that this is a building used for religious purposes and even if they were, the other side hasn’t signed that treaty so it’s not like we have to adhere to it if they won’t.”

It’s such a funny scene. Tanya’s like, “Oh he’s concerned that we’re committing a crime. I should assuage him by telling him not to worry, we’ve managed to legally justify it.” And instead of any relief he’s just like “Oh my god what the fuck is wrong with them? Why would they ever think to circumvent treaties like this?”

They're funny as hell together and Tanya’s constant griping that she has to babysit him is so good, I hope we get to see it.

Also also a good scene with him is from the end of LN11 where Lergen calls him in the middle of the night, demanding to speak to him because it’s of vital importance. That ensuing conversation where Lergen’s basically like “I can’t say who’s calling, but you recognize me from the sound of my voice, right? Something’s going to happen. I’m really sorry, I can’t say anything more. Please just remember that I called, okay?” I’m so sorry… but it’s giving ‘Tragic Lovers Doomed To Breakup By Circumstances They Can’t Control’ vibes.

It is now my firmly set headcanon that Lergen and Calandro were lovers throughout and in spite of the war and when the time came for Lergen to choose whether to betray Calandro or his country, he chose to betray Calandro, something he feels immensely guilty about. I know it isn’t what Carlo Zen was trying to convey at ALL, but unfortunately that’s what I got from it. Thank you for coming to my TedTalk, moving on.

I guess next up is Counselor Conrad, the Empire’s diplomat who we first meet in LN10 I think? If we don’t get any content of him, I’ll literally cry. Depending on how far season 2 gets us in the story, we may not end up seeing Conrad and that’s so sad to me. There is a scene from LN10 that I absolutely need adapted into the anime. It’s like 160ish pages in. It’s that scene where Tanya, Lergen, and Conrad are talking with each other and Conrad turns to Lergen and gestures at Tanya and says “How did you raise this?” and Tanya’s like “????”

There is another scene where Lergen describes Conrad as handsome, and because of these two scenes, the delusional headcanon has sprung up that these two eventually end up in a relationship and Tanya is their daughter. I’ve mentioned it in another post. A friend of mine actually talks about Conrad (& Lergen and Tanya) in more detail in her post here. And hey, while I’m recommending posts about Conrad, look at all of these too okay?

Conrad actually has an official design in the novel artworks, so I based my above sketch around that. Here are the few canon images we have of him. Interestingly, in the text he's described as having blue eyes at some point, but the colored version we have has them as brown. These drawings come from Books 10 & 11 I believe?

Ok, last one, for minor characters, there’s Major Joachim who we meet around the end of LN11, who becomes Lergen’s subordinate. I think the best way to describe him is that he’s kind of a boyfailure in the way that Grantz is (that is to say before Grantz got some character development and became somewhat competent). He’s a cutie, I do hope we get some scenes of him.

I did actually do a little sketch of Joachim as we saw above. That one for some reason just came to me very easily, unlike Calandro. Here was my prelim sketch idea:

And I think that’s about it for now. If you note that all of these characters are in some way related to Lergen, um… Well, I can’t help myself really. We know by now he’s one of my favorites so I like characters associated with him too.

[4ngelmutt]

Everybody likes sex. It's a gas. We're just not afraid to admit it. Queer, straight, black, white - it's all disco.

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE X TRILOGY

So, during the few days of break from work I watched THE Holy trinity of films for perverts, in preparation for the Ethel Cain winter (since Perverst comes out soon.)

These movies are everything any southern gothic freak movie dreams to be.

It's like The Substance and all the Hostel movies had an orgy and these are the offsprings.

The message is crystal clear, they are wacky, perverse, satiric and funny and soooo intentionally bad.

Albeit if you analyze the plot of the movies alone you can recognize it is a little weak, I don't feel like recognizing it as a con to the movies as they are made to be analyzed as a broader a spectrum of things -

The aesthetic, the colors, THE MUSIC and the costumes are all so fucking disco, the raw analysis of sex under so many different povs, the frustration of an old man unable to satisfy his (even though insane) wife.

If we never end up getting a Preacher's daughter movie/book/serie I feel like these movie come as close as it can get without it being the actual source material - (considering who's Maxine's father is...)

( Also fuck Pearl and Howard but also I was genuinely fucking sad when he dies on her I hate seeing old people in pain 😭😭)

I highly recommend the entire trilogy to any of you freaks.

[duchess-of-oldtown]

HotD Thoughts Season 2, Episode 4 "The Red Dragon and the Gold"

Just clarifying, these are my own thoughts, you don't like them, don't bother telling me so. Also, I'm not a book purist, I like adaptions taking putting their own spin on things - if it makes sense to do so. So, here were my thoughts. Obvs, this post is dark and full of spoilers.

Daemon's nightmare sequences are top notch for ambience but can we dispense with the whole Daemon vs Rhaenyra?

We are getting The Lads.

Just Oscar being Oscar. Simon patting his lil shoulder.

I love Rhaenys hair this season.

Also her interaction with Alyn was excellent. There's so much unsaid but relayed and it's masterful.

The Grand Maester being slick af.

But Alicent firing off loaded questions, girl why are you trying to get the man beheaded??

Baela and Jace, serving face and the country.

BAELA READ THAT OLD MAN

Did we really need Corlys stepping into the Council just when Rhaenys was about to headbutt that old man?

I would have really liked to have seen Duskendale.

Lord Darklyn, reading that Cole Bitch, is top short king behaviour

Gwayne still being a lil bitch is iconic

Aegon throwing a tantrum at the Small Council, you kinda have to feel sorry for him, he is trying his best.

Aemond and Aegon fighting over the pins was peak sibling behaviour.

Aegon not knowing better Valyrian just makes me sad.

The Small Council watching them fight was hilarious, it's like Judgement Wimbledon

Alicent making ye olde heating pad

Larys "Feet Finder" Strong is really giving "m'lady" vibes today and it's giving me the eugh.

I did not care for the "Daemon-Aemond".

I just got to say it, Alys is too funny to end up with Aemond.

The Small Council are hilarious, they just don't give a fuck

Aegon vs Alicent was cruel because on one hand, he's really trying to do his best but he doesn't know how to do better and then he tells his mom and she just reads him, because she's hurting. It's giving Nero and Agrippina.

Criston Cole is that one manager who sees you finishing up early and decides to do a deep clean

Rhaenys, the Queen who never Was but Stood on Business.

Rhaenyra telling Jace about the Song of Ice and Fire is just *chef kiss*

This is why we needed more dragon time. Meleys and Rhaenys bonding, Sunfyre and Aegon bonding, it makes us care about the dragons too. We need more time with them.

Vhagar just needs naps, let her sleep. But the scene of her waking just reminds me of Jurassic Park.

Sunfyre is so pretty.

Rhaenys deciding to fucking end Aegon

ACTUAL DRAGON FIGHTING

The size difference of the three dragons, it just shows how terrifying they all are.

RHAENYS, I know how this ends but still, you're throwing fucking down, Visenya, Rhaenys, Rhaena and Alysanne would be proud of you

The little belt thing, FORESHADOWING

Meleys looking at her Rhaenys and Rhaenys looking at her 😔😔😔

FUCKING AEMOND AND HIS STEALTH ATTACKS

RHAENYS YOU DIED ADMIST FIRE AND BLOOD AND WE NEVER COULD REPLACE YOU

A thousand arrows, a hundred fleeing soldiers, two dropped dragons, a decimated field and CRISTON COLE IS STILL FUCKING ALIVE

Sunfyre protecting Aegon 🥺🥺🥺

Rating: 9.8/10

[vibingandthrivingouthere]

thoughts on episode three of percy jackson:

spoilers ahead obviously

seeing smelly gabe give the prophecy made me laugh ngl in my head the oracle is stuck as carrie compere from the lightning thief musical so it was a bit jarring to see gabe say the lines but it was funny

they executed the oracle scene so well tho

walker as percy is literally so perfect

annabeth and percy look so small next to all the other campers

THE PEGASI

grover 🥺

he's so anxious and just wants peace and i feel him so hard

i loved annabeth just picking all the snacks trying very hard

i think the show is adding so much more nuance with the satyr paths and all the small details about what a monster smells in a demigod and stuff

I'm sad they changed the way grover told percy about thalia, it seemed a lot more emotional in the books in the zoo truck, but it was still good

i'm not sure if i liked what they did with medusa-- i was really excited to see it, and i love the concept and this version of medusa's story but i'm not sure i love how they executed the idea and did the whole medusa scene as a whole, i'll have to sit on it and rewatch it before making an opinion

i did like the conflict between percy and annabeth and how grover was trying to mediate and then blowing up at them and how they resolved it

i was surprised when percy revealed the last two lines of the prophecy to grover and annabeth

"I am impertinent" YESSSSSSSS I'M SO GLAD THEY KEPT THIS LIKE

LIN MANUEL FUCKING MIRANDA NOOOOOOO

I thought i could grow to like him but no seeing him on screen just fills me with rage lololol totally get luke because if i had lmm as my father i would also rebel

although i did like how it ended on hermes saying "guys you're not gonna believe this"

That's all for now but i definitely will have more thoughts once i sleep on it. Overall, wonderful episode, i love percy's humor, i can't wait to see more of percabeth's relationship as it evolves, i love the relationships between the gods and demigods (or how they're portrayed), can't wait to see more

[theeminentlyimpractical]

ALRIGHT I HAVE SOME CROWLEY THOUGHTS that are LONG and UNHINGED buckle up kids //// MILD SPOILERS(?)

Essentially - knowing Crowley's angelic rank recontextualizes a lot of the first season. Hat tip to @moonyinpisces for inspiring this madness with their Pre-Fall Thoughts.

BLUF/shitpost TL;DR:

God machinated the not-pocalypse, including manipulating both our idiot angels (this is canon, fight me)

Crowley Fell out of necessity in The Plan, knows that as a higher ranking Angel and both resents God and still believes in Her Plan

When foiling the Antichrist initially fails, my man has a crisis of Faith, thinks God has abandoned him yet AGAIN, and is like WELP FREE WILL IS ON THE TABLE NOW BABYYYYY 

LET’S RUN AWAY ANGEL NO ONE IS WATCHING THIS IS MY ACTUAL SELF HELLO NICE TO MEET YOU

Aziraphale, having been a heavenly plebe*, still believes in the hierarchy of Heaven and blah blah blah

Crowley, still a Believer at heart, makes one last plea to the Almighty OR HE WILL RUN AWAY SO HELP HERSELF

My Guy is successfully manipulated by God into staying and also rescuing Book Girl’s Book

Great Plan fails successfully 

Oh. OH.

They survive thanks to another divine intervention.

Crowley muses on the ACTUAL Big One, which like, my dude, how do you KNOW?  👀

Aziraphale is entirely unaware of this whole process and is fully on team Free Will and is all “our bookshop” this and “our car” that; meanwhile

Crowley is now a full time existentialist and part time Sad Keanu because if his entire existence is predetermined, why do anything, including love?

*this also makes it super fucking funny that Aziraphale insists on standards. Crowley is quiet luxury. Aziraphale is nouveau riche.

ACTUAL META WITH CANON CITATIONS (yes the above is the short version):

I’ve always assumed that Crowley falling was part of The Ineffable Plan, similar to how it was necessary for Aziraphale to give away his sword. God accepts Aziraphale’s babbling excuses, and 6,000 years later the sword shows up in the hands of War. When he returns to Heaven, he is reprimanded only for losing his body - the sword has ineffably disappeared from Heaven’s requisition roles. He HAD give it away in order for it - and him - to play their respective parts in The Great Plan.

And that was thwarted only by Aziraphale and Crowley collaborating for the good of humanity, and (selfishly) for themselves, rather than angels and demons. For it to work, there needed to be an agent of the Ineffable Plan on each side.

We now know Crowley was fairly high ranking in heaven. Would he have had insight on the Plan, or some part of it? Or merely assumed, truly believed, as he still seems to, that they would all play a part? We also know he is somehow wrong about how the hierarchy of Heaven works - what if his error was in assuming his role in the Plan meant maintaining his status as an Angel? [EDIT GIVEN NEW INFO: seems plausible he went to God and asked for a stay of execution on the Earth, and he got it, whether knowingly or not.] And instead God sends him away to fulfill his role in Hell, when that comes to pass. It could be why he’s not too concerned with the day to day of demoning - it will all work out as intended, in the End.

Does he know, suspect, or just truly still believe that they were meant to thwart the Apocalypse, which is why he is so confident in their cockamamie scheme? And when that apparently fails, he feels betrayed by God again, because the Plan he felt entrusted with seems to have been scrapped. He rages: 

“For the record, great pustulant mangled bollocks to the Great Blasted Plan!”

That may be why he’s so ready to run off with Aziraphale in that moment. If the Plan is off, then he can finally make his own choices, and he chooses Aziraphale and freedom. Aziraphale doesn’t choose him back, and Crowley moves to run away anyway, with one final plea to God to not let this come to pass, a Psalm 22 of his own.

Crowley is the only demon we see who still seems distraught over his Fall, rather than out for vengeance. He resents God for damning him, but often seems to believe in Her ineffable game.  He still addresses his final pleas directly to the Almighty -

“God, you listening? Okay, I know you’re testing them, you said you were going to be testing them. You shouldn’t test them to destruction. Not to the end of the world.”

Only he never leaves, because of a fire started by a gust of wind and the sheet music for Her favorite musical. 

And then they do thwart it, and survive, thanks to Agnes’ note fluttering inexplicably right into Aziraphale’s hand. So many little details demonstrate divine intervention. 

So now what’s the Plan? Crowley was ready to run away when the Plan was off, but now? He muses on the nature of The Big One before they dine at the Ritz. He says it lightly, but how does he have this insight?

What, exactly, is their role in the Second Coming? Because, it appears, they do have one.

Aziraphale seems blissfully unaware of the divine intervention in successfully averting the Apocalypse. He is now All In on Their Side, finally feeling free. Crowley, on the other hand, seems painfully aware. My man had the full free will he finally grasped in that bandstand burned away in a bookshop fire. 

Do I think he necessarily knows their exact role in this? No. And they still have free will in the small things, naturally. But I wonder if we will see Crowley resigned to his (and Aziraphale’s) fate being predetermined, a foregone conclusion. So why do anything, including love, if in the end, nothing really matters.