#it’s just a screen. it’s basically a tv that only has one channel and a heater & fan behind it

[izzyspussy]

the fact that they made it illegal to make ads louder than programs on tv in 2010 but haven't updated it to apply the same regulation to streaming. who do i have to call.

[icewindandboringhorror]

Various images from the past year or so... posting my evil little photo diary collections once again..

[fingertipsmp3]

I approach spiritualism the same way I approach driving. Everyone who’s less spiritual than me is a stick in the mud skeptic, everyone who’s more spiritual than me is delusional

[onesidedradiostatic]

Concept: Vox actually has a TV remote connected to his head. He keeps it mostly confiscated so no one can control him, although the only people who know where the heck it even is are The other Vees. Sometimes they take it out of the confiscated area and use it on him just to fuck with him, and in doing so, can scroll through his different thoughts/parts of his brain/sides that, delightfully enough, get projected on to his screen. Some nights they get drunk and Val + Velvette take it out of Vox's hiding place, scrolling through the "channels" in Vox's head (which all may project his different emotions in the moment -- it goes from his usual rage, to begging for mercy, amusement, to annoyance, and so on) and laughing their arses off every time they see a side that Vox wanted to keep hidden. And here's the sugar on the cream (/ref); the One Sided Radiostatic addition to this is that one of the channels ended up being LITERALLY nothing but lolligagging about while going on and on about Alastor. Like. They're continously switching his channels and suddenly he exclaims "ALASTOR WOULDN'T DO THIS TO ME!" oh-so-hopefully, and continues to whine similar things, as well as declarations of hatred towards Alastor. (Basically spotlighting how this guy lives so rent free in his mind there's quite literally a 24/7 Alastor channel there)

For obvious reasons, the Vees find this hilarious and keep him on this channel for the rest of the night, as Velvette records it and posts it on social media.

The news eventually gets to Alastor and and thus he broadcasts the audio from the video across hell through his station one evening, literally only because he just thinks it's too funny, and he wants to spite Vox. He's completely repulsed by anything even remotely romantic or sexual within "the Alastor Channel" in Vox's mind, and he just does not give a shit.

Vox is reasonably fuming so much that he crashes, although no matter what, if you switch to that one channel in Vox's TV, he'll always be talking about Alastor.

((THIS IS MY FIRST TIME ASKING SOMETHING ON THIS BLOG SO HOPEFULLY THIS IS GOOD -- TA DAAAAA))

-🐇Rabbit Anon

I think vox is an absolute idiot if he didn't just break the remote immediately. see personally I think it makes vox even more pathetic if he looked pathetic when he does things of his own volition, but he does also probably deserve this all things considered LMAKASOFGKO. next time he should learn to just not be an idiot and break the remote before his stupid colleagues can abuse it

[likedovesinthewindd]

2:54 AM

tasm!peter parker x fem!reader

summary: you want to know why peter's been distant lately.

warning: injuries, mentions of typical spiderman violence yk, my inability to write a crime accurately (don't look into it too much), reader's a little oblivious to the obvious.

wc: ± 3000

a/n: i hate this endingg!!!! but i need this out of my drafts. let's also pretend that this trope is so original and not overused at all lmao. requests open:)

The incessant ticking of the clock above your head was beginning to piss you off.

The small restaurant was fairly busy, no one would've even be able to hear it, but you'd chosen the table next to the window–the one with the clock hanging on the wall adjacent to the big glass pane. You'd chosen this table because it was Peter's favorite. He loved watching the bustling city outside as the two of you enjoyed your meals.

You'd think that after living in the city as long as he has, that the scenery would have bore him by now, but he absolutely loved people watching. He could spend hours sitting outside on the rooftop or by the big window in your bedroom, just staring down at the people and cars going about their day or night. He could find entertainment in some of the most mundane activities, and that was one of the many things you adored about your boyfriend.

Right now, however, it was hard to think of how you much you adored him, but rather how mad you were at him. Tonight was your and Peter's six month anniversary, and although you weren't one to celebrate every little milestone, Peter had insisted that you go out for the night. Ironic, since he's not even here right now you thought.

You looked down at your wristwatch, almost in a way to spite the big one that hung right above you, and checked the time. It was a forty-eight minutes past eight. You'd been sitting here for almost 50 minutes waiting for Peter to show up.

You checked your phone, praying he had left a message saying that he was on his way, that he was just running late, but the empty lockscreen staring back at you only made a knot form deep in your belly.

Wait till nine, your mind tried convincing you. He's probably just really caught up at work. So you waited impatiently, your heeled foot nearly tapping a hole into the restaurant floor. After a few more minutes, your waitress approached your table. This was her second time at your table; she had come around first at around twenty minutes past eight, and you had kindly asked her to give you some more time, because you were waiting for someone.

You could see the pity on her face, her probably thinking you got stood up. But you weren't getting stood up, because Peter was just a bit late, and in a few minutes he'd walk through the door and the two of you'd enjoy a wonderful dinner. At least, that's what you were trying to convince yourself.

"Are you ready to order ma'am?" the waitress asked politely. You shook your head, putting on your most convincing smile. "No not yet, I'm waiting for my boyfriend, he'll be here any minute," you said. The pity on her face only seemed to increase. She gave you a weak smile and a nod, and went on her way to help another table.

You glanced up at the small TV that was displayed against the wall on the other side of the small restaurant. It was replaying an old football game from the previous week, before being interrupted by a local news channel's lives broadcast. The TV was muted, but you could see the headline at the bottom of the screen in big bold letters as the reporter stood gesturing at the scene behind her:

SPIDER-MAN TO THE RESCUE ONCE AGAIN

The fact that the city quite literally had it's own superhero always amazed you. Here this random guy was, jumping around in a blue and red suit, fighting bad guys and catching criminals, basically doing the cops' jobs and for free.

You've never had any personal encounters with the elusive hero, but you've heard enough stories from people about him, about how charming and slightly cocky he was and how they so desperately wanted to know who hid beneath the mask. You'd be lying if you said you weren't a bit curious to know too.

On the screen you could see Spider-Man lowering people from the second floor of some building by his webs. After lowering everyone to safety, he dissappeared back inside the building. It seemed to be some kind of hostage situation, people scurrying around confusedly and police cars surrounding the building.

You were so enthralled by the scene playing out on the screen that you hadn't noticed how much time had passed. When you looked at the little clock being displayed in the corner of the TV, your heart sank once again.

21:05

It was five minutes past nine, and no Peter in sight. You could feel your cheeks burning up from anger. A whole hour. Peter made you wait a whole hour, and it didn't look like he was gonna come any time soon. The anger was quickly replaced by sadness, the tears of frustration already fighting to fall from your eyes. You made your way over to the counter of the restaurant, apologizing for wasting their time and tipping your waitress for her effort, before making your way to the door.

It felt like everyone's eyes were on you. They could all probably tell you've been stood up too. There was no other reason for a girl to be walking out of a restaurant after ordering nothing for an hour with her head down and tail between her legs like a kicked dog.

The air outside was refreshing. You took a deep breath, trying to calm down your racing heart and somehow will the tears away. It was no use; after months of forced stoicism and pretending like Peter's recent negligence didn't hurt, the dam finally broke. You decided to take the walk to your apartment rather than hailing a cab, reasoning that the cool city air would do you good.

On your walk, the sobs continued to leave your mouth quietly. You missed your boyfriend, you missed being able to spend time with him and just be around him. The two of you worked at different times and lived on different sides of the city, so it was already hard to find a time when both of you were free.

The two of you hadn't been together for too long, but it truly felt like Peter was the one for you. When you first made things official you couldn't stay away from each other for too long. You always went on little dates and would meet up whenever the both of you were free, but recently your boyfriend's been very distant and you've been seeing less and less of him. Tonight had been the third date where he'd stood you up, and you couldn't help but think the worst.

What if he was seeing someone else? What if he didn't enjoy being with me anymore and this was his way of asking to break up?

The thoughts left your mind as soon as they were conjured up in your brain. Peter would never do anything like that to you. Not your Peter. He was the sweetest guy you had ever been with and there wasn't a day he wasn't telling you how lucky he was to be with you, or how pretty he thought you were and how much he loved you.

Even on the days the two of you weren't together (which were almost always lately), he'd still send you messages telling you how much he missed you, or would send flowers to your apartment when he knew you were feeling down and he couldn't be there.

Peter was a sweetheart, but you still couldn't help but wonder why he'd been so distant lately. You pulled your phone from your purse, quickly checking to see if he had left a message yet, but still nothing. You shoved your phone back into your purse angrily and started walking faster. All you needed right now was a hot shower and your bed.

As you entered your apartment you hastily toed off your shoes at the door and threw your purse on the nearest table. After a long, piping hot shower and a bowl of leftovers (you still being hungry due to your failed dinner plans), you decided to head to bed, where you cried some more before falling asleep.

A loud banging woke you up in the middle of the night. You checked the alarm clock on your nightstand, and when it read 2:54 AM, you turned yourself back around and ignored whoever chose to bother you at this ungodly hour.

Not even a minute passed before the knocking returned, this time followed by a shout of your name, not loud enough to wake up the whole floor but loud enough for you to hear. When you recognized Peter's voice, you groaned, kicking the covers from yourself begrudgingly before dragging yourself to the door.

You pulled it open aggressively, and when you were met with Peter's silhouette slouching against the doorframe, his head hanging low, all the angry words you had for him sat stuck in your throat. He looked up at you and his big brown eyes found yours in the dark of the hallway. He gave you a weak smile and you had to fight everything inside you to not smile back, reminding yourself why you were mad at him.

"Hi, sweetheart," he whispered. All the anger suddenly returned, and you found yourself slamming the door in his face, but before it could fully close, he blocked it with his foot and invited himself in. When he got out of the dark hallways and inside your apartment, you noticed the bouquet of flowers he held tightly in his hand. They looked like they had been through a lot, and the dress shirt he was wearing (most likely for your date) was untucked and heavily wrinkled.

"I don't want to talk to you," you said, turning your entire body away from him and crossing your arms like an arrogant child, trying to get him to leave, but he was stubborn, putting the flowers on the nearest table, gripping your arms and turning you to face him again. You refused to make eye contact, rather looking down at his pair of dirty sneakers. "I know, but let me explain myself please—"

"And say what?!" you snapped. You hadn't realized how loud you were until you saw Peter flinch slightly, his grip on you still not loosening. "What are you gonna say Peter? You got caught up at work? You had an 'emergency'? You—" when you finally looked him in the face, you got a good look at him in the warm light of your living room/kitchen.

He had a lot of bruising around his face, a rapidly darkening black eye and a busted lip. You looked down at the arms still holding onto you, and you could see similar marks lining his arms. Most of them looked very fresh.

This was another part of Peter that added to up sleepless nights, worrying yourself sick over your boyfriend. He always seemed to have some sort of bruise whenever you'd meet up. Sometimes it was something small like a cut across his eyebrow or a nasty gash on his cheek, and other times it was way more major, like the one time he showed up to a coffee date with a broken arm after being just fine three days prior.

The best part was how fast he'd heal too, no less than a weak and he'd look perfectly fine. It didn't make you feel any better though, and you'd still worry about where he was getting beat up like this.

You tried asking him about it, multiple times, but every time he would just cover it up with a lame joke or just completely try to change the subject. You stopped asking after a while, but that didn't mean you weren't concerned about his safety and curious about what was causing all of these injuries.

"Peter what happened to you? Your face? Are you—" you wanted to reach out and touch his face, but he stopped you with a hand that quickly caught your wrist. "I'm okay," he said, smiling sweetly and giving your wrist a quick kiss, before letting go of your hand. "No you're not. C'mon lemme clean you up," you said grabbing his hand and dragging him to the bathroom, almost completely forgetting about the argument.

The patter of your socked feet filled the quiet of the apartment as you led Peter to the bathroom. You sat him down on the toilet seat and quietly moved around the almost-too-small bathroom, opening up the medicine cabinet above the sink to retrieve the first aid kit. You started to clean the small cuts and gashes on his face.

His hands hesitated before making their way to your waist, holding onto your hips. Every time one of the cuts would sting, his grip would tighten slightly. The silence stretched on while you continued to patch him up, and after a while you decided to speak up.

"Look, Peter, I understand if you don't wanna, y'know be with me anymore, but even if we were to break up I'd still be concerned about you. I don't like seeing you get hurt and i can't help if—"

"Woah, hey what?" Peter interrupted your rambling, "I don't want to break up." "Then why do you keep canceling our plans, how come I never see you anymore?" you asked, pausing the work on his face. He winced slighty when he noticed your anger had returned.

"I've just...I've been busy, sweetheart," he said softly. "I've been busy too Peter, but I make time, because I wanna see you, and because I miss you like crazy. Do you even miss like you say you do? Because it surely doesn't show."

"Of course I do!" Peter said, the grip he had on you unconsciously tightening again. "Then why don't you make time?!" you said, the tears of frustration quickly returning to your eyes, "and what about all these bruises, huh? Every time I see you you're hurt somehow and I don't like that, 'cause I don't like seeing you hurt, Peter." By now a few tears had already unwillingly fallen, and you tried to swiftly wipe them away with the sleeve of your sweater.

It both warmed and broke Peter's heart to know that you were so worried about him. He really did miss spending time with you; you were his best friend and he loved being around you. He didn't want you knowing about him being Spider-Man, because he didn't want to put you in any danger. He wanted to keep you as far away from that part of his life as possible, you meant too much to him and he wouldn't forgive himself if anything happened to you.

He wanted to tell you on many occasions, he'd come close too many times to count, but he'd stop himself each time.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, not knowing what else to say. "Don't apologize, just talk to me, please," you said brushing your fingers through his soft brown hair. The action calmed both you and him down, and he closed his eyes for a moment, appreciating your touch. It was then when he realized how much he missed your touch, how much he missed you, and being close to you. He felt like he hadn't talked to you, or really even seen you in forever.

Peter didn't know what to say, he wanted to be honest with you, wanted to tell you so bad, but he wanted to protect you above all else. The silence between the two of you stretched on until you sighed, removing your hands from him completely and sighing.

He started panicking, he knew what this meant. You were going to break up with him, tell him to get out and never talk to him again, and even the thought alone made his heart sink down to his feet. He braced himself for the inevitable, retracting his hands from your waist and getting ready to get up and leave.

"It's really late, would you like to stay the night?"

He was definitely not expecting you to say that, and the look on his face certainly told you that. "Are you sure?" he asked, not knowing what else to say. "I don't want to taking the train at this time. You can take a shower while I reheat some leftovers for you," you replied dryly, making your way out the bathroom and to the kitchen.

Peter took your advice, still not sure why you weren't screaming at him to get out of your apartment. After a brief shower, he found some of the clothes you had borrowed from him folded neatly on the toilet seat. He put them on and made his way over to the kitchen. After a much appreciated meal the two of you made your way over to your bedroom.

He found himself immediately moving towards the small plush chair that stood by the big window, lowering himself into it and staring down at the city. You stood next to him quietly, placing your hand on his head and running your fingers through the strands once again.

"I promise I'll tell you one day," Peter whispered, turning his head to look up at you. "I know," you replied, "until then, I'll just patch you up when needed."

You wanted so badly to understand what was going on with Peter, but you knew that there was no getting through to him now, because he was stubborn as hell. So you'd take what you could get for now. And in return he'd try and be there more for you, because he missed you, and the selfish part of him loved you too much to let you go, even if that were the right thing to do.

"How about you move in with me?"

[maygrcnt]

Your post about the loft is so true but also it hit me that this is another thing that made me pause when Tommy actually LIKED the loft in 7x04. He clocked it as expensive and appreciated the big empty nature of it. Which is interesting if we apply it to perception of homes and people needing to match.

im hijacking this ask to talk about something else but i promise its related and ill circle back to what you said bc ohhh anon your mind i LOVE this. it relates so completely perfectly to a meta i was talking about the other day with @treasurehuntbuck that has to do with the phrase “fake mouth static”

official disclaimer: it’s called meta because it digs into the meta textual implications of on screen elements that aren’t explained explicitly. i’m not grasping at straws, it’s just a personal analysis so pls, preemptively shut up about how unfounded this is because: that’s the point

anyway, i was mentally stuck on “fake mouth static” for a while because idk its such an important turn of phrase and moment in the bt relationship and a phrase that was not only said but repeated a few times in that pivotal first kiss scene. and now maybe im just fresh off my hispanic literary analysis course but i seem to remember that repetition in storytelling is basically just pointing a big red neon sign at a concept and saying THERES SOMETHING MORE HERE to the reader.

first the word fake, exactly what’s there. pointing to phony, dummy, not real. it may feel new and exciting but it’s not quite the real thing that we know buck is searching for. fake also makes me think of “i guess” because… if it feels like a lie to the viewers, if tommy was surprised by the fact… well maybe it was fake?

and then static rly gets me because what is static but the absence of content right? when a radio isn’t tuned to a station there’s static. when the tv is on a dead channel there’s static. it’s placeholder fuzz for something that should be entertainment. so take with that what you will.

and i bring THAT personal analysis up because it fits very well with the idea you bring up about the loft. tommy likes the loft; the void, the static, the fake. tommy being interested in the loft seems like one more to add to my growing pile of reasons they seem to be more of a fascade than a relationship. what they represent is more than what they are.

[puhpandas]

Decennial

(2,396 words)

Evan and Gregory, now age twenty-two, celebrate the tenth anniversary of their meeting in the comfort of their shared apartment.

Its already the afternoon when Evan meets Gregory at the couch in their shared apartment, smartphone in hand. Gregory glances up from whatever he was watching on TV, quickly grabbing the remote to pause the channel.

He doesn't even have a chance to greet him before he notices Evan's face. Worry quickly creases his brows, and he moves to get off of the couch. "Evan? Hey, what's wron--"

Evan tries to convey that everything's fine with no words. Because it's true. He just can't muster any up right now. When Gregory seems to understand enough, that's when Evan thrusts his phone into Gregory's line of sight.

Gregory shifts on the couch, taking the phone and studying the screen to no avail. Hes pulled up the calendar on his phone, the date reading March 4th, 2045. Gregorys brows furrow, then, "Uh. I dont understand."

Evan would have rolled his eyes if he weren't so emotional right now. He scoffs, tapping the screen and mumbling "The date. Look at the date."

It only takes another moment for Gregory to understand. Evan can almost see the gears turning in his friends head in the moments before he gasps sharply. "Oh!"

Gregory doesn't look away immediately, just taking it in as if it surpises him. "Its ten years since we met today."

Evan nods at that. A small smile stretching on his face when Gregory finally turns to look at him.

But he should know by now -really, it's been ten years after all- that Gregory knows him. Probably better than Evan himself.

"What's with that look?" Gregory questions, seemingly noticing how Evans smile doesnt quite reach his eyes. "You look sad."

Evan shakes his head immediately. "No-- that's not it." He replies, feeling a bit more fit to speak. "Its just..."

"Ten years?" Gregory prompts, and Evan nods. Gregory seems to get it. He sighs a bit, and Evan can tell hes not alone in reminiscing. "Jeez. Thats..."

"...A long time ago." "A big number." They say at the same time.

Evan joins Gregory on the couch, taking his phone back. Ten years. Ten years since he met Gregory. Ten years since Evan had been that little ball of anxiety. Ten years since the best thing that ever happened to him.

Nine years since their first holidays together. Eight years since they started high school. Four since they graduated. Three since they started college.

One year since they got their first apartment together.

Evan chuckles all of the sudden, loud as a jet engine in the seemingly silent room. "Do you remember what we always wanted to do as kids?"

Gregory only has to think for a moment. "You mean what we made a reality?"

"Yeah." Evan replies. "We got that apartment. Not exactly the college dorm we imagined, though."

"Psh. Are you kidding? Our apartment is way better than any dorm we could have gotten." Gregory scoffs. "We would have like. One room to our name, and we would have to share."

Its Evan's turn to scoff, this time. He smiles, the memories coming back easily. "You're acting like we didnt basically share your room when we were thirteen."

"You were always there." Gregory agrees, but Evan knows by now that Gregory doesn't mean it in a bad way. Never. That's one of the things that have changed since they met. Evan doesnt assume the worst first, and ask questions later anymore. "You got that right."

"Thank god we had Vanessa to tell us what to do." Evan says. "We would be lost without her."

Gregory snorts, shuffling on the couch. Evan glances over, and strangely, being here, in this moment, even though its nothing differnet from what he and Gregory do every day, reminds him so much of when he and Gregory would just hang out together on his bed. Drawing, watching videos, talking and laughing... all of it.

"Its a good thing she told us to get an apartment while we still could." Gregory says. "We would have burned down the entire dorm."

Evan giggles at the thought. It wouldn't be the first time he and Gregory would make a mess in the kitchen. He still remembers how scared he was as a fourteen year old, when he had burned some of the food meant for Vanessa's 'Welcome Home' dinner Gregory insisted they make. The Fazbears house had stunk of char and smoke for days afterwards.

He was terrified at the time. If he had ever done anything like that at his old house...

He shakes that thought away. He does that often. Thinking back to his time alone with his father and brother. His biological ones. It's been a challenge, shutting down his brain when it tries to recall the memories.

Its another thing that's changed. As a kid, he knew nothing about helping himself and his anxiety. He didnt want to. He never saw himself as worthy of deserving relief, and it was so subconscious, little Evan never even realized it.

Now, it couldn't be more different. Hes never been healthier.

Who knew all it took was a best friend for life?

He looks over at Gregory. Who's still recounting some of their old childhood memories. Evan doesnt talk to Michael anymore. The damage he caused is too much to ignore. Evan... Evan doesnt want to see him anymore. Despite Michaels wake up call, it had been all too late. The damage had been done.

Michael missed his chance. Evan had decided that a long time ago. Maybe he should have had his change if heart earlier if he didnt want Evan to find the brother he always wanted in someone else.

Because that's what Gregory is. Its nothing new, they were having these revelations when they were only teenagers. Probably even earlier for Evan. But Evan never stops thinking about how much Gregory truly is his family.

That suprise and shock of the kindness hed received from Gregory from little Evan ten years ago is hard to shake when all hed been taught his whole life is how to hate himself. How he deserved to be treated badly, because if he hadn't been the way he was, he could have made himself worthy. A respectable man. Tough. An immovable rock. Real men dont show their emotions, or even experience them. Real men can defend themselves. Real men start to toughen up at the ripe age of twelve.

Evan is twenty two, now. So is Gregory. This life they'd built for themselves, with such a bright future... little Evan never would have even dreamed of. Little Evan had thought there was nothing there for him. Little Evan had thought there was no light at the end of the tunnel. That he had been doomed from the start. That his nature nipped his figure at the bud before it could begin.

This life theyve built for themselves. When Evan had ran to the Fazbears as soon as he'd turned eighteen with only a bag of clothes, a binder full of drawings, and yellow bear to his name. When he'd shared the room that felt like his own as well growing up with Gregory. When they'd spent those few months together until getting into the same college and choosing an apartment.

This life theyve built for themselves. That Evan would have only seen as a fantasy when he was eleven.

Theyve changed so much. It always shocks Evan every time he sees an old photo, or really remembers what it had been like pre-Gregory. Evan is growing out his hair, now. Before, all hed ever had was a months overgrown generic slickback. But he gets to choose now. Like how he paints his nails. Gregory has never really cared about his appearance, but he saw a photo of his Dad as a college student and immediately went to go replicate the blue streaks in his hair when it was time for himself to go off to college.

Evan almost laughs sometimes when he thinks about how much Gregory really is just an older version of who he was when he was twelve. He's different, like Evan is, but he's the same as well. A constant.

He knows hes the same, as well. Just with longer hair, bolder clothes, and the power of experimentation. Gregory has never been one to care much about his clothes, but to Evan, its everything. To be able to wear what he always wanted as a kid. To not be confined to whatever annual clothes his Father would buy him from the back to school section. Its freeing.

It's in that moment that he thinks back, really thinks back to his life pre-Gregory, and the contrast of the before and after.

It's all too much, in that moment. The memories and the sentiments and the nostalgia. In true Evan fashion, he cries about it.

Gregory has long since learned how to differentiate Evan's tears between his emotionality and a genuine issue. So when Evan begins wiping silent tears away, he just smiles one of those smiles he does, and pats him on the shoulder, pulling him in for a side hug.

Its digging a hole in Evan's chest, this feeling. It's not bad. But it's not exactly good either. It's some kind of a loss, but a hope as well. Remembering how much he loved back then. As much as he loves right now.

"I--" Evan stutters, sniffling. Gregory hands him one of the many boxes of tissues they always have on hand in their apartment. "It... It feels like we need to celebrate, somehow. I mean... ten years is big."

Evans mind floats to a cake. Or a two person party. Or a collaborated drawing. Evan's mind floats to many things. Many options. Ten years is big, right? Something that big needs a big party. Something big to commemorate it.

But Gregory just hums, and lays eyes on the thick shelf of DVDs they have tucked by the wall right by their TV. "How about a movie night?"

Evan's about to interrupt, say something about the milestone, but Gregory continues. "Do you remember all our favorites as a kid?"

Evan stops himself short, almost scoffing, because of couse he does. How could he not, when he and Gregory had stayed up so many times to watch them together, alongside stifled giggles and ice cream straight out of the carton? "Of course I do."

Gregory gets off the couch, crouching by the bookshelf and picking out a select few movies. Evan catches the titles on the packaging from all the way were hes sitting. Every single one of them is special to him.

Gregory deposits the movies on their coffee table, three DVDs spilling out onto the glass surface. "Then I can't think of a better way to spend the night."

Despite Evan's attempts, he cant either. Despite watching these movies almost regularly with Gregory even now, opening the casing feels different in this moment. It feels special. Evan feels like hes thirteen again.

Before starting their marathon, they make a huge bowl of popcorn, pouring caramel on it just how they liked it as kids. As they continue to now. Evan gets the carton of ice cream out of the fridge, handing Gregory his spoon and taking his own.

All they need is a throw blanket and they're ready. It's the exact setup they've done for years. Starting ten years ago today. This tradition has lasted this long, and it will outlive the milestone.

It feels so familiar, Evan cant stop thinking. His emotions are dialed up to eleven tonight. It only increases when the sky darkens outside their windows. He remembers coming home from school with Gregory and just. Immediately piling onto his bed with snacks and pillows and turning the lights off before they'd dive into another movie. Only going to bed when Freddy forced them to.

Because that's what it was. Thats what it still is. Home. All Evan feels right now is home.

They laugh at all the same parts. They cry as well. They cheer. They point out the same things. Nothing has changed.

Sure, ten years is big. But Evan can't think of a better way of spending the anniversary than continuing to do what hes loved to do with Gregory throughout the years. This doesnt mark the end of an era, or a big change. It marks how long hes had the gift of his brother. His family. His real family. The fifteenth mark will, as well. So will the twentieth.

All the tenth mark says is hes had ten years worth of joy and growth. and He'll continue to do just that.

After the third movie, Evan takes a quick look at his phone. The numbers 12:03 look back at him from his lockscreen, a picture of him and Gregory. The date has switched to the 5th.

"You're my brother." Evan says suddenly to Gregory at the beginning of the fourth movie. Gregory pauses in stuffing his face with popcorn to look over at Evan's earnest face. "You know that?"

Gregory chuckles wetly. It seems Evan isn't alone in the sentimentality tonight. "Only since we were preteens."

Gregory pulls him into that same side hug he always does. "You're my family." Gregory tells him sincerely. "You always will be, too. Hell would freeze over before our family would ever say you aren't one of theirs."

Evan chuckles, eyes misty, because he knows its true. He can imagine his family's reactions so vividly. "I know."

They only sink further into the hug after that, the movie continuing on. Theyve long since stopped with the thank yous. Not since they got it through Evan's thick skull that they arent doing him a favor. They just love him.

It's in that moment that Evan realizes that tomorrow is another day. And there are more after that and after that. Theres more milestones to reach, more years to spend with his brother and their family, and he cant wait to experience them.

But right now, he's content continuing a ten year long tradition as a mundane celebration for a non-mundane achievement.

It's not mundane to him at all, anyway. It means the world to him.

Besides, he can't imagine a world where his family doesn't throw a suprise party for him when he and Gregory visit them tomorrow.

ao3 link

[hamsterbellbelle]

undefined

Dance Club Ultra-Thin Flat Screen TV  and Modular Wall Panel

[DOWNLOAD - TV] || [DOWNLOAD - Panel] ||

alt. DOWNLOAD 2

- polycount: TV - 22 || Panel - 80 - basegame *TV may requires Get Together pack... - swatches: TV - none || Panel - 56 (7 color x 8 modular style) 

⚠️The TV only plays ONE channel - DJ dance channel.  ⚠️The TV has no audio, sims will not stop to watch. It is basically just a background screen with dancing silhouette animation (and a Llama...) 

⚠️TV and Panel will not show when walls down. 

⬆️some lines will be visible at certain angle when afar for the modular panels

⬆️Panels and TV are thin so you may place objects in front of it with bb. moveobjects on

⬆️TV for short wall and medium wall only. TV can be resized with “[” and “]” key.

⬆️Two types of panel

⬆️swatches

⬆️only blue, pink and green panels have stickers.

⬆️how it looks when placed at corner

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

Kaiju Week in Review (October 15-21, 2023)

Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong #1 is metahuman-heavy, establishing how the Titans of the Monsterverse found themselves on the same Earth as DC's finest and ending with Superman flying off to face Godzilla. It's early days, but the conveniently deserted Skull Island base the Legion of Doom storms into makes me pessimistic that any of the Monsterverse's human characters will show up. Rodan is also absent from the Titan line-up, despite appearing via flashback in the short Godzilla: Fight or Flight comic included in the Monsterverse Omnibus earlier this year. (Toho must be overcharging for Godzilla's supporting cast again.) It should be fun watching D-listers like Behemoth, Scylla, and Camazotz tangle with some of the world's most famous superheroes though.

Sales data for DC comics is effectively unavailable now, but anecdotally this one is doing gangbusters. The downside of snagging it now over waiting for the trade paperback is that DC disperses ads throughout the comic, instead of just at the end like IDW.

Toho announced a ton of U.S. Godzilla merch launching in the U.S. on November 3. Your mileage will vary, but the most interesting baubles to me are the Godzilla Minus One promo cards from UVS Games (to be sold on TCGplayer.com) and the trading cards from Surreal Entertainment (to be sold at Five Below). Very few Godzilla trading cards have been produced in either Japan or the U.S. since 2006, and most of those have been cross-promotions with Magic: The Gathering and Battle Spirits. I have a small collection of random cards from older sets (a couple of them signed), and it'll be cool to expand it a little.

Toho's Godzilla Day announcement also included some news on Godzilla Minus One's U.S. release, which I thought deserved its own section. Tickets go on sale November 3rd—including for "special Early Access Fan Event Screenings on Wednesday, November 29, 2023, in IMAX and large format theaters across the country." So Toho International has outmaneuvered Beyoncé in the competition for IMAX screens, if only for one night.

In other Minus One news, a couple new TV spots are out (and translated by the GODZILLA OFFICIAL by TOHO YouTube channel). One shows off a new Godzilla ability, if you're wary of spoilers. Its world premiere was held beneath the Godzilla Head in Shinjuku on October 18, where the incredible Godzilla Attack Truck also debuted.

IDW's Godzilla Valentine's Day Special, due January 31, dares to ask, "What if the old 'kill the monster or study the monster' argument was foreplay?" Zoe Tunnell, who I suspect is a Godzilla 2000 fan, writes, and Dani Pendergast illustrates. I'd like to thank them both for making a comic specifically for me. The logline:

Is there anything as romantic as seeing the world together? Hopping from country to country to take in the sights and splendor in the fleeting seconds before Godzilla smashes the skyline? Truly, there's nothing like the thrill of an international game of cat and mouse between an intrepid amateur kaiju researcher and a global kaiju-response lieutenant. But when you're up against Godzilla, it's hard to have a bigger "CRUSH."

SRS Cinema has picked up War of the Ninja Monsters: Jaron vs. Goura, the latest no-budget spectacular from Shinpei Hayashiya. The two monsters are basically Godzilla and Gamera, one-upping Giant Monsters Appear in Tokyo, which never showed its Godzilla and Gamera expies outside of the poster. Hopefully it'll be less headache-inducing than God Raiga vs. King Ohga: War of the Monsters. SRS is aiming to release it on Blu-ray and VHS in early 2024, with a DVD to follow later in the year.

Hoshi 35, Megumi Odaka's return to live-action film, opened in Japan on October 21. A new trailer is out too. SRS Cinemas has an existing relationship with production company 3Y, which previously made The Great Buddha Arrival and Nezura 1964, so I'd expect them to license this one too.

This Netflix ad for an online convention of sorts includes the first snippets of footage from Ultraman Rising, the Tsuburaya/ILM animated film it's distributing next year. The animation is miles above the Netflix Ultraman anime, that's for sure.

[killian-whump]

Identity

Okay, so all jokes and fun aside... Let’s talk about it!

What do you guys think? What did you like? Not like? Do you think it should’ve been picked up? Or do you agree with it being passed on? Let me know!

In the meantime, I’m gonna tell you all what I think, because I love to hear myself talk talking seriously about Colin’s work :)

First off, I want to remind everyone that this is old work. It’s from 2011, 12 years ago, so we can’t really compare it to his more recent projects, because Colin’s always growing and improving as an actor. I think he did a great job here, but I feel like he would do even better in a role like this today. I feel like Colin has a lot more confidence now, and also allows more of his own natural charm to shine through - things I think would make John Bloom jump off the screen.

That said, John Bloom is a great character and I can definitely see why Colin was attracted to the role. They lined him up to be a brilliant good guy and bad guy - all at once. And you have the suspicious co-worker and the trusting co-worker... and the nuances and hints and secrets being revealed throughout the episode. Great stuff!

Unfortunately, I think the problem with the show itself is that they buried too much of that stuff in a completely unremarkable police procedural. The intro to John’s character, the expensive watch, the badge, the getting ready for work bit... It all lays a solid groundwork, but then they mire that down with a not-too-exciting identity theft case until the last few minutes of the show. Then they one-two slam you with a cryptic clue said by the Perp of the Hour and a reveal of what the whole deal is with John Bloom (and, additionally, what they were actually showing us in the beginning of the episode).

Now that whole cryptic clue in the beginning, slow burn subtlety, and abrupt cliffhanger-esque reveal at the end can work in some cases - but I don’t think a TV pilot is necessarily one of them. Or, at least, I don’t think this TV pilot was one of them. Gods know we don’t need yet another police procedural on TV, and we definitely didn’t need more of them in 2011. There has to be a really good hook to a procedural for it to get picked up and see success. And John Bloom’s nefarious double life would’ve been that selling point. Yet that opening sequence and the hints and comments made throughout the show did little to really sell that point. They point out that John used to work undercover, that he helped bring down an Irish Mafia ring or whatever, and that there’s suspicions and hints that he might not have left everything behind.

THAT’S NOT WHAT THEY HAD THERE. Bro did not have some baggage and residual issues left behind from his undercover days. He had a whole fucking airport operating out of his backyard without anyone noticing or filing a noise complaint. Dude was straight up living two opposite lives with different wardrobes, occupations, and accents (yay!) and that shit would’ve been fucking interesting as hell to watch.

They shouldn’t have even tried to sell this as a police procedural with an enigmatic former undercover agent. This should’ve been “John Bloom is fucking wilding out here and he might solve a crime or two each week if you’re lucky.”

Instead, they basically spent 40 minutes trying to sell us on a used bicycle only to go “Actually... it’s a brand new car!” at the last second. Only problem is... when you’re a network TV pilot, your audience has already gone, “But I don’t need a used bicycle” and changed the channel before they even get to the big reveal. Which is why I think the pilot didn’t get picked up by anyone.

So yes... my final conclusion is, as almost always, “Needs more Colin.”

Except, to be honest, it didn’t really need more Colin. He was in the show a lot, and they used him quite well and he did wonderfully at the role. They just needed to show us more of John Bloom’s other side in the pilot, rather than saving it for the last minute shocker reveal. Don’t bury your most interesting part of your show under an entire episode of run-of-the-mill case-of-the-week nonsense! Let that beautiful Irish Mafia Bastard shine!!!

Addendum #1: I have to admit that I have never met a “___ actor playing an American pretending to be ____” scenario that I didn’t like. This one included. I would’ve watched the fuck out of Colin playing an American pretending to be an Irishman 😂

Addendum #2: I would bet my entire life that John Bloom's undercover persona was originally in the Italian mob, but Colin showed up like, “Maybe he could be Irish? Maybe? Irish? Think about it? Yes?”

Addendum #3: I know he wouldn’t and doesn’t, but I will forever picture Colin showing up at directors’ houses at 3am, popping up unannounced in their kitchen windows, coming in their pet doors, etc, etc, just being like, “Maybe he could be Irish??” “Irish?” “Did you consider the Irish thing?” “Iriiiiiiiish?”

[primatechnosynthpop]

Ok since @urineedward asked here's the vision I have so far for my Mel Venkman au (that's what I'm calling it even though that wouldn't actually be her legal name in this concept... also despite me calling it an au it's not not canon compliant, technically)

Mel's mom realized too late after having a brief relationship (or possibly just a one-night stand) with Peter that he was kind of a creep and a jackass and generally not good father material, so she didn't tell him she was pregnant (he didn't reach out to her again either; if he had she might have told him) and generally wants nothing to do with him

Mel starts asking if she has a dad and if so who and where he is basically as soon as she's old enough to grasp that most children have two parents. Her mom is pretty evasive, but that only drives Mel's curiosity further

When the Ghostbusters' commercials start airing on TV, her mom would always sigh and change the channel, which got Mel's attention (she'd be about 5 or 6 at this point). She feels oddly drawn to one of the men in the commercial, and would loudly protest that she wants to see. After finally getting the chance to see their commercial in full, staring right at the screen totally blissed out the whole time, she proclaims that she has a crush on Dr. Venkman and wants to marry him. Upon hearing that, her mom is like ohh ok I need to nip THAT in the bud before things get really weird around here, so she finally sits Mel down and explains the situation

Of course as soon as she knows the truth Mel immediately insists on meeting her father. Her mother argues with her about it, but Mel ~always gets what she wants~ and so her mom reluctantly agrees to take her by the firehouse to meet the ghostbusters-- but acting like Mel is just a random kid who happens to be a big fan, NOT telling Peter or any of the others the truth

It's kind of a secret test on her part to see if Peter is worth giving another chance, not romantically but in terms of being a part of Mel's life. Unfortunately he fails this secret test miserably by A) not remembering Mel's mother, and B) smoking and making rude jokes around the small child. Mel's mom vows to never take her back there again, but for Mel it's one of the best days of her life

Just as Mel and her mom are leaving Janine comes in and says "aww who was that Dr. V? Your niece?" and when Peter says no, it's just some strange weirdly clingy kid, Winston narrows his eyes and is like [mystery fan mode engaged] "y'know I wasn't gonna say anything but she does look a lot like you" at which point Ray gets a worried look and goes "uhh yeah Peter I think I recognize that woman, didn't you go out with her once?" And ok I've seen conflicting headcanons on this but if Egon knows about Callie at this point he's sweating through the whole conversation. And when Peter goes "what, no, if we had a kid together the lady obviously would have told me" Egon kind of wants to strangle him

Over the next several months Mel keeps trying to meet her dad again any way she can, from making phony calls saying her house is haunted to trying to jump out of her mother's car and run after the Ecto-1 if she sees it on the street

Between GB1 and GB2 when they're shut down, Mel's mom tells her something like, "see? I told you he wasn't a good person. He and his friends were just scammers trying to take advantage of people" but Mel is NOT having it because in her father-stalking efforts she's seen them at work and knows they were legit. During this time she watches World of the Psychic religiously

When Mel hears the former ghostbusters are available to book for birthday parties she jumps at the chance. When Ray and Winston show up instead of her dad she's sooo pissed off and tries to blow them up with her mind, but for them this basically confirms the theory that she is in fact Peter's daughter or at least really thinks she is. They tell him to try talking to Mel and her mom but Peter is like "what am I supposed to do? Show up at this woman's house unannounced? Or would you prefer I tried talking to her ten-year-old daughter in private, on the schoolyard maybe?"

...Alright I haven't really nailed down how it would go from here-- maybe after the events of GB2 Mel's mom finally comes around after seeing that Peter really has grown and changed; maybe something happens to Mel's mom (possibly even orchestrated by Mel herself) and she ends up in Peter and Dana's care; or maybe nothing changes aside from Mel slowly gaining more freedom as she grows up. One way or another, they form a more reciprocal father-daughter bond over time, but it always stays a bit messy (because really, how could it not)

Mel came to resent her mother for keeping her away from her dad (willfully ignorant of her mother's very valid reasons) and latches onto Dana as a sort of replacement mother figure in her teenage years, although not quite to the extent of a full-on stepmom. She doesn't really form a familial bond with Oscar, but she does babysit for him a fair bit, and is jealous of him getting to have her father as a stepdad

I feel like this goes without saying but Mel studies psychology because she's inspired by her dad <3

Peter gives her tips on how to seduce people which she uses on Doug when she meets him. When he gives her these tips he does not realize that Mel has her eye on someone considerably older than her and is not happy when he finds out. He never really gets over this and continues to hope that Mel will wisen up and leave Doug eventually

Mel talks to her dad on the phone about the conchords like "...and one time I snuck into their apartment and went through their cupboards and guess what? Bret has a mold collection <3 isn't that sooo cute? Just like Dr. Spengler!" And Peter is like *melancholy slightly bitter sigh* "yeah just like Spengs huh... well listen, if those kiwi boys of yours ever start going on about how the world's going to end, you get the hell out of there, okay sweetie?"

It's absolutely imperative that Jemaine and Bret have no idea who the ghostbusters are. Mel introduces them to her father and they're just like "??? Who's this guy?" Both Peter and Mel are obviously scandalized; Mel is like "umm excuse you he literally saved New York in the 80s!!" to which the conchords point out they weren't in New York in the 80s, they were in New Zealand

(Murray thinks he knows who the ghostbusters are but he's actually got them mixed up with the men in black. Dave absolutely knows who they are though-- Dr. Venkman was his idol growing up-- and he's almost as scandalized as Mel that the kiwis don't know about him)

Idk exactly how close Mel would be to the rest of the team especially since this is movie verse and the ghostbusters as a business were never around for all that long in the movie timeline the way they were in the cartoon or the comics... but I think she's at least enough of a figure in their lives and vice versa that she convinces Ray to attend a FotC concert at some point. He ends up loving it and becomes their second biggest fan

[stevenbasic]

Growing into the Job Post 283: Late Night TV, p2

I…hadn’t seen TV for a while. I just plain old hadn’t had one since Sheryl had kicked me out, since I’d moved into this tiny little upper-floor studio over the office. Even before that, though, I was never a big television watcher. I’d generally rather entertain myself with a book, a movie…or these days perving over pictures of Melissa. But earlier today I’d come home after work to find that Marisela had set up a big-screen TV in my apartment for me, perched precariously on a stand, sitting atop an old dresser in the corner. She’d hooked me up with a bunch of streaming services and channels, and connected it all somehow to a plain little black box and an old-timey looking remote with what were certainly not English command symbols. Cool, I guess…it looked sorta fishy but there’d be no bill or fee or whatever, she told me, and therefore I didn’t ask too many questions. Pirated? Probably. But I couldn’t afford subscriptions, let alone the 72” flat screen that now dominated my apartment and at which I now stared from my threadbare couch at 2am. 

TV was weird, these days. I watched the network news for a while, earlier. Everyone was talking about these three missing teens, disappeared since Trick-or-Treating on Halloween night.  They suspected foul play from the kid who was with them, the one with the crazy story about witches with tentacles. In fact I’d seen an interview with Sheila Frances, the new medical director at Riverview Hospital, the place from which I’d recently had my privileges suspended and where the boy was currently being held for observation. “We expect the toxicology reports to come back positive,” she’d said to the interviewer, a busty brunette, “but in the meantime the policewomen are still with him.”

I found it funny how she made a point to say ‘policewomen’. That when talking about the investigators, or the team of docs working with the kid, she referred to them all as ‘she’ or ‘her’. I found it unusual that the interviewer, the news anchors, the sports reporter, and the weather person for this local news squad…they were all women. Most of the actors on the ads, the main leads on the majority of the shows I flipped through: all female faces. Young and attractive, lots of times shapely. Had this trend, this fixation for the tall and buxom, already changed TV’s landscape like this? Or was I just imagining things? I mean, I wasn’t complaining. I mean…wow. Look at the knockers on her…this new sitcom about life on Mars? Apparently NASA has new standards for its astronauts haha. Or the girls on this 24-7 reality TV show? “Celebrity House of Trouble”? Wait…did I recognize that one?

Yikes, 2am. I'd been straight-up channel surfing for hours, now bleary eyed and exhausted but unable to look away, sitting in the dark, bathed by the ghostly, flickering light of the screen. I chalked it up to its newness, made my excuses that I was just checking out what sort of stuff Marisela had hooked up for me, told myself I could sleep in tomorrow. But I was basically like a zombie - click, click, clicking through the channels I’d been given. Networks and streaming services: some I knew, many I didn’t recognize. Cooking channels, travel channels, sports channels. Weird stuff, on the outskirts. Foreign languages, broadcasts from overseas. Special interest channels like…dog grooming. A ‘Men’s Network’…what’s this, now?

It was labeled as ‘Men’s Special Interest Television’ on the guide, and by the looks of it was a pretty new addition to the channel lineup, deep in the high channel numbers, broadcasting only late at night. But…wow. It caught my attention. Jesus - the host for whatever sort of show they were playing, something about video games, could be a porn star with hipster glasses. I actually watched it for a bit, raptly absorbing their review of some new entry that involved, holy shit, look at the jugs on that enormous vampire lady. She’s huge…

The segment was over, and suddenly now it was a cooking show. “Dani in the Kitchen”, whose bosomy, MILF-y chef coo’d at the camera like she was talking to a little lost child. Christ almighty Dani can make dinner for me any time. Now it switched to a sports report, now coverage of women’s bodybuilding, now just straight-up tits on the beach. Camera shots lasted moments, scenes and programming changed quickly. Whatever this channel was, it obviously pegged its audience as having attention spans measured in moments and IQs in the double-digits…and I couldn’t look away. 

Even the ads…lord, especially the ads…were filled with content playing into man’s basic instincts to just flat-out stare and lay docile when shown the right curves, the proper swells and smiles. Cleavage and soft-core and busty political candidates pitching themselves before the election bulged from my screen and I caught myself with my mouth agog, even at the political ads. Had I been watching this channel for more than two hours already? I don’t remember much, now, as I was eventually drifting in and out of sleep, but could still probably recite word-for-word that voice-over from the self-promoting station-identification piece that played in nearly every commercial break, layered over imagery that seemed custom crafted for someone like me…

======================================

Thanks to Ray Ridley, a new contributor, for her voice work on the MSIT promo audio, and AgeOfTheGiantess for lots of inspiration on this entry. 

Ray Ridley tiktok

[ur-local-demon1]

My thoughts on the Owl House finale

So you guys got the silent treatment from me for a while, sorry about that lol. I’m finally back (sorta) to briefly talk about the Owl House Finale, and I might dive deeper into analyses and shit as a future video on my YouTube channel. I’ll talk both about what I didn’t like, and what I did like in that order so we can end this post on a good note. Here we go!

If you click keep reading, you’re okay with seeing spoilers for watching and dreaming.

I didn’t like:

Not getting to know more about the whole Caleb - Belos - Evelyn - Hunter situation. Hunter still doesn’t know that Flapjack used to be Caleb’s/Evelyn’s palisman, that he is technically related to the Clawthornes, or that Caleb stopped being a witch hunter since he legit dated one. I would have given an organ to live in a universe where in the five seasons this show deserved, there would have been an episode where idk, Hunter would have communed with the dead and got moral support from great great great great great [...] Grandpa Caleb and Grandma Evelyn. 

The close to no explanation as to why the Titan was trapped in that in-between space, why was Luz here and not actually dead, and why couldn’t he use the last of his magic to go back himself. We don’t know a lot about papa titan and it’s sad because I really like him. The past of the boiling isles as a whole is still a very abstract concept, even the characters don’t know a lot about it, or the truth anyway. 

Willow’s body in the time skip. Now I believe this is the point where people are rolling their eyes at me, but that’s okay I stand by what I’m about to say. If you write in representation in any piece of media you are creating, you can’t just write it out afterwards. Allow me, a mid-sized girl with a body shape similar to pre-time skip Willow, to deconstruct the arguments used against the people who spoke out about it. “Isn’t losing weight a good thing?” --> It depends on why someone lost weight, but in Willow’s case, no since she isn’t a real person. She’s fat rep. She was written to be fat to represent fat people, especially potential fat kids who watch the owl house and want to see people like them on screen. “She works out everyday, and she’s a flyer derby player, of course she lost weight” Skinny ≠ healthy + Fat ≠ unhealthy. You can be fat and an amazing athlete. Wrestlers are often fat and it gives them an advantage. You can be fat and also have visible muscles in other parts of your body like your legs or arms. If she was a real person, that wouldn’t be a problem obviously, but she’s not. The only reason she is fat is for us to have representation and see ourselves on screen. We would have went crazy if a tv show announced that the main character is a lesbian, only that in the final season she starts dating a man because she found out she was just confused or some shit. That’s basically what happened with Willow. Anyway, much love to the animators who tried to fix the damage and draw her with an accurate body type in some scenes here and there of the time skip.

What I did like: 

Belos’ death. A pathetic death for a pathetic man. The panic settling in him as he slowly realises that there is no way out for him, the last futile attempt at fooling someone in hopes of getting his power back, the growing frustration the more he understands he has truly lost all control over everything, even his own body, while still refusing to admit he inflicted this fate upon himself for absolutely no logical reason. He isn’t given a death where he breaks down and sees the error of his ways with terror as the end closes in on him, no. He is crushed, much like his dreams of being the brave martyr witch hunter general who saved humanity through any way possible. 

Luz’s death. A slow, quiet, painful yet still beautiful moment that she somehow accepted. Much like Luz, no one knew what to say, and the small moment where we didn’t know what would happen to her were genuine torture. I’m a sucker for MC’s who die but not really (Hi Anne, Adora, Magnus, Hazel and now Luz.)

Papa Titan. Follow up, Papa titan being genderqueer/nonbinary idk, a Quing. 

The fact that there is a way for Luz to go back to the boiling isles and the human realm. Really happy they didn’t pull a second amphibia parallel lol. 

LILIT’S HARPY LOOK AAAAAAH-

Alador x Darius, I see you (Darius’ blush, him shaking Alador like a ragdoll). I have a thing for ships that barely get talked about in canon and are about old gays.

WAFFLES ToT

Amity’s new hair. Some of my friends don’t like it but oh well. The little Grom Queen crown crystals fit her. 

THE COUPLES EXCHANGING JEWELRY

The ending scene. We got to see Luz’s quince (kinda, I still would have loved a full episode but oh well). The fourth wall break where everyone says bye to the collector but also to us, seeing all the characters we’ve loved for years grouped together to celebrate this. It’s bittersweet, mostly sweet.

[artsyjesseblue]

So Safe and Warm

I don’t know about you guys, but when I finish watching an episode of a show and they roll ads right at the end - if I can - I skip immediately to the next episode, or change the channel, or whatever, I turn off the TV if I’m too tired to watch more episodes.

So, what if I told you there’s an episode in VLD where there’s a “commercial” right at the end, but we’re tempted to skip it, because, well, the bulk of the episode is already over. After all, it’s just an advertisement, like the other silly ones, peppered across the 23 minutes of the episode. Only it’s not so silly.

You probably guessed it - I’m referring to the episode called “The Feud”. Right at the end, after Bob says goodbye, the Paladins wake up, Coran tells them Bob is an all-powerful inter-dimensional being, after Keith calls Bob a “jerk”, after Lance complains he’s “not that dumb”… right after that, the screen switches to another ad! And I’m not sure I skipped it before, but in any case, I don’t remember it, maybe I just didn’t pay attention to it.

This one is basically not an ad in Bob’s show, because they already got out of there. It’s an ad inside the regular VLD episode; so it’s addressed to us, the real audience, not Bob’s fictional audience. An invitation to Queen Luxia’s underwater kingdom! And just about at the end of the ad, there’s a big group photo with all the pretty merpeople surrounding Luxia, and a big-big illegible text in mer-alphabet pops up above their heads. Supposedly it says something about Luxia’s kingdom.

Only it doesn’t… literally say “Luxia’s Kingdom”.

Check this out:

Does that actually read… A…l…t…e…a?

Holy mackerel!! ”Luxia’s Kingdom” is in fact “Altea”.

What’s also lighting up my bulbs is the similarity between the muscular mer-guys flanking the queen and Lotor’s loyal sentries from the colony. Look at those face masks they wear, the ear designs, that white protruding thing on top of their heads, the large shoulder pads, also - the white pockets!

So, following the good spirit of inserting hidden messages into the episode**, this one tells us not only who is behind all the meddling in VLD (World Events or WEP - see this TPL article by Crystal Rebellion), but it points directly at what we are supposed to know (and which, unsurprisingly, we never found out, because Bob interfered). We’re supposed to go figure out the meaning of the episode “The Depths” - yes, the one with the mermaids, because it basically points to ALTEA. The underwater world of Queen Luxia*** is the hidden colony of Alteans and Lotor is the mer-queen. And we find out that the mer-theories about Luxia are false, the queen was actually one of the good guys after all, and the story has a happy ending. And it’s so safe and warm, you’ll wanna stay forever.

**Another way to emphasize that the creators really meant to insert meaning into that alien alphabet (so it’s not just a random coincidence, we’re not making this up), is to take a look at the other ads inside the episode. Take for instance the Vrepit Sal’s ad - which is easier to figure out. If you rearrange the symbols, it’s really Vrepit (and there might be a little Sal’s, too, but the symbols are too small on my screen to figure them out). The “Terra II” guy is really a piece of cake and there’s no doubt it’s what it says, but if anyone has the time and courage to tackle the techno-babble symbols written underneath in blue… be my guest. It’s intriguing enough that the text starts with “IP”…

*** “The Depths” has been already deciphered by Leakinghate: go read this meta.

[keepingmyoptionsfluid]

Look, I love 9-1-1 so very very much but coming at it objectively (and as someone who works in TV, and has done for several years), I would not be surprised if this was the final season. I would be gutted if it was canceled but not surprised. Shows which I never thought would be cancelled have been left to dry up, over a decade of production has ended. I worked for two and a half years for a flagship show on a major global network (not giving specifics cause I ain't gonna dox myself when I've seen the behaviour of some people on this tag) and they are really struggling at the moment.

911 simply does not have the viewership it once did, the actors are all getting more and more famous (thus more and more expensive) and the hugely negative reactions online are super damaging. It's one thing to have people complaining about the show while still watching but the drop in viewership combined with bad press, and review bombing (literally what the fuck guys... If you didn't like it, you don't need to ruin it for everyone else? How vindictive and nasty can you be?) can be seriously damaging.

Channels are leaving things to the last minute to renew shows because they are running out of money and this uncertainty can be seen in the writing - season five ended in a way which would be a reasonable final ever scene - and there is only so much that you can do when every season ends with the same vibes of "this could be goodbye forever".

Also, the show is just changing - which is natural over time. Whether you are a buddie fan or not, the Buck & Eddie relationship was a huge part of the show and the writers have basically nuked their screen time for whatever reason which is causing a lot of issues with fans. The human stories are just starting to struggle as storylines aren't being explored and the repeated refusal of the writers to ever have on screen make-ups after issues leads to a lack of trust. If two characters have problems that are a huge plot point, you cannot simply have all make up and big moments off screen (see chimney punch, madney breakup, buck parents make up etc). Characters are making increasingly OOC decisions for reasons which are never explained which leads to the conslusion that either the writers are trying to desperately avoid certain situations with specific characters, or they simply do not understand their characters and aren't willing to try and explain things that don't make sense.

They're running out of storylines too as we see with them getting frankly more and more ridiculous. Now I for one don't mind this, it's a fictional show and I've read fanfic much more bonkers than canon, but for a casual viewer, there's a limit to how much people are willing to let go. (I will take literally anything because I am long past the point about caring about reality in fiction. I like liking things and you're not gonna stop me).

This isn't meant to be a negative post (although it's come out more depressing than I thought) but realistically, I'm not holding out hopes because TV is a numbers game and bad ratings and bad reviews lead to cancelled shows. If you don't like an episode, don't rate it. Would you genuinely prefer the show cancelled because your fave didn't have a big role in an episode? It's literally an ensemble cast so everyone gets their own big storylines.

Anyway, here's hoping I'm wrong and I can joke about this miserable post in the future. I'm off to read 911 fanfic 🤣

[badedramay]

No but actually, your assessment of how people lack appreciation for nuances in dramas is so true. It’s not just acting; people can’t appreciate subtleties in writing, either. People always complain of Saas-bahu dramas yet they can’t handle anything besides the overt nature of good Vs evil.

Mein is a good, recent example. Mubashira is — for Pakistani TV standards — a sort of well-written character with bipolar disorder. I say this as someone in the medical field and with family members with BPD. Ayeza has even said mubashira has BPD, but if you read the comments the majority of people are saying Ayeza is “overacting”. Like no bro she’s not overacting (imagine saying Ayeza khan can’t act lolol) she’s having manic episodes, and pretty good ones for PTV standards, but people aren’t willing to appreciate how much work she has put into this character because this character can’t easily be boxed into a category. (To be clear the writing of mubashira isn’t totally flawless like they confused a psychiatrist for a therapist but again it’s the best I’ve seen)

Slightly related but wahaj recently wore a pink Kurta for his MayaPret shoot and the comments under there are filled with demasculinizing wahaj, and this is coming from all genders. Like appreciating nuances are one thing. We have a longgggg way to go if men are still made fun of for wearing pink.

you said it. from what I have observed in terms of how acting is termed by the reviewers as "good" or "bad" very basically falls under the description of, "was it obvious?" even then it has to be obvious at just the right decibel. otherwise it's loud and overacting.

another thing that is often not taken into consideration is how much of a say TPTB have about how a project is executed. i know for a fact that different directors demand different kinds of acting from the actors. some directors specifically WANT the loudness because to them that's how a particular emotion will be best show on screen. some directors go for the subtlety. some want silence to do its job while the actor just occupies the space. and there are cases where the directors are instructed by the channel heads to shoot the project on a certain frequency. no project is made in a vacuum. there are so many decision makers operating behind the doors whose names we don't even know. we only see and react to what we have access to.

khair, acting is an art and while it can be studied and critiqued, there's no set-in-stone parameter by which we can judge its quality. or you can if you really want to but god i am just so tired by life in general to want to get into all that. so, I just stick to the very basic rule for judging an acting performance - did it move me? if yes, then it's a good acting performance. if not then bhale hi uss insaan ko laakhon oscar kyun na mile ho, for me it will never be good. for instance, Iqra Aziz was the best part of Ranjha Ranjha Kardi even if Imran Ashraf continues to make Bhola his entire personality. i won't sit and argue with anyone about it - that's just how my heart works.

AND OMG YES PLS TELL ME ABOUT HOW *FINE* WAHAJ LOOKS IN PINK?!?!?! THE MAN CARRIED THE COLOR BEAUTIFULLY!! SUCH A WELCOME BREAK FROM ALL THE MONOTONY OF BLACK&WHITE!!! FUCK ALL THE HATERS! HE'S A BEAUTIFUL MAN AND THE SOFTNESS OF THAT PINK WITH HIS UNDENIABLE CHARM CREATED AN ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL PICTURE!!! the ones hating on him are only jealous cuz they know they cannot carry the color well.