#its honestly so underrated in the shows meta

[kilucore]

i feel like we all talk about crossroads of destiny, day of black sun, and zuko alone as pivotal moments for zukos development, but can we get some commotion for the seige of the north??!!? seeing zuko so desperate to capture aang to the point he almost dies because of his determination, and the fact that we are rooting for him as he infiltrates the northern water tribe despite him being the villain. his monologue about azula and him trying to justify his fathers actions to himself and an unconscious aang. its so good, its the culmination of this tension about his character throughout the whole season and its a heavy precursor to his turning point at the beginning of book 2.

[utilitycaster]

Unpopular Opinion: far too many CR fans enjoyment of characters is based only on their romantic relationship with other characters.

Hardly anyone talked/cared about FCG until they were shippable with FRIDA. 95% of discussions about Laudna are in reference to Imogen (and vice versa). Caduceus got a little attention from fans, but that dried up a lot once he was confirmed aro/ace.

If you only seem to care about a character when they're paired up with someone else, do you really care about the character?

Also a like...half agree. maybe more like 1/3.

Things I agree with: I think there's definitely a culture in fandom at large (not limited by any means to CR) that is only interested in shipping. This is a whole conversation I am not going to have at 10 pm while lightly drinking, but I do think this shapes a very large amount of discourse that goes beyond mere shipping, and might even possibly impact the TV industry in that a lot of shows that only blow up in their second or third season (sometimes after they've already been canceled on the back end for low viewership) do so because that's when the romance happens. I also agree that if your enjoyment of a character is solely centered around a ship and not the character on their own then yeah, you don't actually like them. (and yeah, while the 95% figure is probably an exaggeration for effect, it is true that Imogen and Laudna often get folded into each other in fanon such that it's frustrating if you're looking for meta on them as individuals).

Things I disagree with: Caduceus was still extremely popular throughout C2 including when he was confirmed aroace, and while there's definitely more interest in FCG at the moment there was plenty of discussion before. Like, that's just straight-up false and you're welcome to plumb my blog's FCG and Caduceus Clay tags to find no shortage of posts (and many are reblogs, to be clear, not just my stuff). I also think that like...look, I'm a meta writer and a general one at that, I'll talk about whatever character comes to mind, but a lot of people are just out here reblogging and making little liveblog comments, at most, and there is in fact just simply more to comment about when a romance happens because it is an important and significant dynamic!

Also like...god. I am, to quote Brian Murphy, almost entirely made of salt. I'm a hater and proud of it, I love criticism, I'm actively skeptical of nonstop positivity, but also, in the end, I've had favorite characters who were fan favorites, and favorite characters who were imo seriously underrated, and favorite characters who fell somewhere in between, and obviously more content is great but popularity comes with its own challenges (more terrible fanon, for one). The one constant is that even when being a massive fucking hater I have always had more fun when I don't get mad that my faves aren't more popular. Honestly? That's maybe the top thing I hate on - people getting mad that their favorite isn't everyone's favorite, and that people are talking about other things than their favorite.

[fictionfixations]

American Arcadia

American Arcadia is a cinematic puzzle game that combines a 2.5D platformer and first-person game to tell the tale of a thrilling escape. Experience the extraordinary story of Trevor, an average man escaping from the world's most popular reality tv show.

Realize that this game is kind of criminally underrated, so here's a game recommendation. It's really fucking cool. It's basically.. A guy realizes his life is being streamed for people's entertainment. And then trying to escape it. Anyway it's kind of like.. really.. meta..? (I honestly can't tell if I'm using that word right.)

I don't really think I can do it justice trying to explain it and convince you, but it's honestly really funny in its own right.

Alternatively: An ordinary guy becomes the protagonist, stumbles into crazy shit and has a reasonable 'WTF IS GOING ON' reaction.

also VAs are great. it's very nice to listen to.

anyway my last words:

…THEY'RE LYING TO YOU… …DON'T BE A FOOL 🎶

[be-my-ally]

@vintageshanny, thank you again for asking/setting up these prompts - they make my day when i see them + get to read the responses!!! I also love how I’m starting to guess the movies or even songs that people will say!!!!!

I feel like I've been thinking about this for a week, so my discovery this is only from yesterday was a true surprise.

similar to you, and I think it's been pretty documented throughout these questions:

Return to Sender (Girls, Girls, Girls)- I used to buy my dad a new elvis album every year at Christmas specifically because he used to play this in his post van picking me up from school when I was little.

Who are you? (Who am I) (Speedway) - I honestly don't know why I'm so obsessed with this song, objectively there's better ballads but I just love it - it makes me feel all lovesick and like all I can do is *dreamily sigh*.

I think then, since I've listed it so often in my general favourites, I have to go for Edge of Reality but I'm gonna combine, since its the same film (Live a Little, Love a Little) with A Little Less Conversation - both are, imo, sexy and show off Elvis' talents and both are combined with some of the best scenes used for songs in his movies.

Honourable mentions that almost made the cut - which i know is kind of cheating but they were really very close to making it so why not share!!!

Trouble - enough said really.

Blue Suede Shoes - specifically because I love the meta-ness of the jukebox.

One Broken Heart For Sale - objectively not that great. But for some reason it is CONSTANTLY in my head????

Relax + Do Not Disturb - they're being classed together even though not the same film but both are, imo, sexy af.

Bossa Nova Baby - I just love this song, it makes me wanna dance.

Catchin' on Fast - an underrated bop in my opinion.

Lonesome Cowboy - i’ve listened to this in the past + enjoyed, and watched clips of the scene but only (very) recently watched the movie all the way through and christ it in context is somehow even better???

Rubberneckin' - I just really enjoy it, feels like a jam session, maybe because I just associate it so strongly with that scene in coh.

Elvis lovers! The question for this week is…soundtrack songs! What are your top three songs from Elvis movies? Don’t forget to say why they speak to you! I love reading all your choices and the reasons why they mean so much to you! ❤️

Return to Sender (Girls, Girls, Girls) - This is a song I’ve loved since I was a little kid, long before I became an official “Elvis fan.” Even though the lyrics are actually kind of sad, the music for this is so bright and cheerful that it always makes me smile. I love the percussive part that sort of sounds like someone is tap dancing. And after seeing Girls, Girls, Girls, I can’t help but picture him doing his cute dance moves with that big smile on his face.

In My Way (Wild in the Country) - I love the simplicity of this song. This really lets the beauty of his voice shine through, and it is just magical to hear that. ❤️

Trouble (King Creole) - Elvis does so well with bluesy songs like this, and I love how you can tell that he loves them and really gets into them. I love his cute accent on the spoken part, and the way his voice goes up and down when he sings the word “name.” I also love King Creole and New Orleans from this soundtrack. The style is just perfect for him.

Honorable Mention goes to basically the entire soundtracks for Jailhouse Rock and Loving You, especially the song Jailhouse Rock because it is just absolutely iconic from the opening notes on. Another one that I’ve loved for years and at one point would have said was my favorite Elvis song (back when I could probably only name 10-15 lol). “If you can’t find a partner use a wooden chair” was always my favorite line.

Tagging past participants but anyone feel free to join in!

@whositmcwhatsit @be-my-ally @thatbanditqueen @ellie-24 @plasticfantasticl0ver @lookingforrainbows @prompted-wordsmith @flwrs4aust @iloveelvis @argeriant18 @loving-elvis @presleysdarling @alienelvisobsession @ab4eva @manebioniclegali @deke-rivers-1957 @rjmartin11 @c-rosenn @elvisalltheway101 @satninroses @doll-elvis @devilsflowerr @missmaywemeetagain

[iamnmbr3]

Hey! This is a bizarre ask but hopefully a welcome one after *gestures at the destruction and fire*. I’m completely new to the Loki/thorki fandom, having essentially come in via the exit door by watching the Loki tv series first. I was honestly just watching it for junk value to have something in the background while I knit. However, when I realized that I didn’t understand anything by the middle of Ep. 1, I went back to watch Thor 1 so I could get what was going on. And HOLY SHIT I was utterly captivated by Loki’s character in the original movie, as well as by the Loki-Thor and Odin family dynamics. I’ve now watched through the films and have been increasingly disappointed by the portrayal of Loki (since Avengers 1 frankly) save a few glimmers of good characterization here and there.

I can’t believe that I’m getting myself into another queer coded (and now more than coded wtf) “villain” with a tragic backstory who’s done dirty by the fandom at large, but here we are! I’m also super into thorki because goddamn… they sure do have a Dynamic™.

So I guess my question is, what is actually good here? I feel like I’ve been trying to fight my way back to Kenneth Branagh!Loki, and have been largely unsuccessful within canon content. Do you have suggestions for a newcomer re: fics, fanart, and meta that actually treats Loki seriously? (and thorki as well?)

Hey! Welcome! Sorry about the mess *gestures at the garbage fire that is the TVA Show The Larry Show The "Loki" Show*

And this isn't a bizarre ask at all. It was really nice to receive actually! And yeah! I'm so glad you went back and watched the originals. The TV Show character is a completely new character played by the same actor who has nothing in common with the original character (who yes is absolutely fascinating and captivating and multilayered). Honestly I just think of the tv character as Larry, Loki's dumb lookalike cousin bc they have nothing in common lol. So glad the show led to you discovering good content...and thorki. And yeah Thor 2011 is amazing! It's so underrated. If you want meta relating to that and also just gushing about the film you can def check out my Thor 2011 tag.

My thorki tag of course has thorki stuff including art etc. I've also got an art tag which has both thorki and non-thorki works. If you want fic recs you can look in my fic rec tag which has a bunch of good stuff both thorki and gen.

Also here are some good thorki fics to start out with that I've really enjoyed. Most are ones I read early on when I just discovered the ship. Also @illwynd has a great thorki blog btw that you should def check out (and also their sideblog @throwbackthorki). Edit: I’ve also added some gen fic recs.

Thorki Fic Recs:

Chaos War by astolat (words: 34,203 | rating: E)

It was never easy to find Loki when he wanted to hide, but he wasn't doing a particularly good job of it at the moment. Probably he didn't think anyone from Asgard would be wasting their time hunting for him while the shining ones churned their way steadily through all the realm.

Loyalty at Any Price by seidrade (words: 22,663 | rating: E )

“This whole time, I’ve been searching the Nine Realms— alone— for answers to questions I barely know how to ask. I thought Heimdall at his watch, our father upon the throne, and most grievously… I thought you lost to me forever.” Thor’s resurgence of anger gives way to something like despair. He can’t tell whether he wants to pummel Loki into one giant bruise, or hold him and weep like a child.

When Thor returns to Asgard and exposes Loki’s deception, his demands for answers and Loki’s reluctance to give them soon bubble over into a cathartic confrontation.

Born to be Kings by Kadorienne (words: 66,618 | rating: T)

When the princes of Asgard made their ill-fated jaunt to Jotunheim, Odin arrived to fetch them before the frost giant grabbed Loki's arm. Odin was able to carry out his plan to make Loki his puppet king of Jotunheim. But how long will Loki remain an obedient puppet?

Yidrigar by epistolic (words: 5,174 | rating: M)

Sometimes I am envious, but never doubt that I love you.

The Heavy Crown by orphan_account (words: 10,024 | Rating: M )

Odin is dead. Loki must take up the mantle of King even as war threatens Asgard, Thor remains bereft of both Mjolnir and his immortality, and stress coupled with the knowledge of his heritage drives Loki to the brink.

No Common Thing by ravenbringslight (words: 8,283 | rating: E)

Loki follows Thor to a brothel and gets the shock of his life.

On the Eagle's Wings by illwynd (words: 2,975 | rating: T )

After Loki falls from the Bifrost, Thor begins to write him letters every day.

How long we were fooled by Ark (words: 28,227 | rating: E )

Loki is not a good man, he knows; there is something rotten in the core of him; and even a much better man might let Thor kiss him, since Thor still tastes of sizzling lightning, like gathering rain, like a desire so fierce and so awful to him that when released it could bring Asgard to its knees.

sunshine by thorvaenn (words: 18,257 | rating: E )

A post Infinity War fluffy piece.

Thor and Loki are among those who are trying to pick up the pieces, but must first fix each other.

Edit: And Some Gen Fic Recs too:

lose my idols to find my voice by Lise (words: 1,548 | rating: T)

This is no homecoming.

monstrare by Lise (words: 1,174 | T )

Loki is Asgard's second prince, brother to Thor, son of Odin and Frigga.

Isn't he?

farewell hope, and with hope farewell fear by Lise (words: 3,113 | rating: T)

Loki and the terrible, horrible, no good, very long delayed reckoning.

Five Times Loki Could Have Been A Villain by Kadorienne (words: 3,344 | rating: G | Character Death)

Five AUs where Loki is not a mere antagonist, but an actual villain.

He would have acted very differently.

When It Sings, When It Lies by dreamsthebirds (words: 14,145 | rating: G)

Thor AU, based on an awesome norsekink prompt for a scenario in which Heimdall doesn't open the Bifrost to Jotunheim, Odin doesn't ride to the rescue, and Loki is forced to take matters into his own hands.

Interdimensional journeys, shattering emotional revelations, and walking trees ensue.

Ichor in Violet by tirsynni (Words: 14,574 | rating: T)

When Thor learns that Loki can travel to other realms without Heimdall seeing, of course he convinces Loki to take them both to Jotunheim to hunt Frost Giants. There an accident unravels centuries of lies and threatens to unravel Loki, too.

The Sinking Feeling of Anticipation by JaggedCliffs (words: 8,624 | rating: G)

When Æsir come of age, they receive a gift from their parents, one meant to aid them in their adult lives. When a prince of Asgard comes of age, their gifts are not just for themselves, but for the realm.

Loki watched Thor receive Mjolnir at his coming of age ceremony – one of the greatest weapons in the realms, for one of its greatest warriors. Now, it's Loki's turn, and he knows Odin will grant him something just as magnificent.

Won't he?

Exsanguination by Lise (words: 8,610 | rating: G)

exsanguination /ex·san·gui·na·tion/ v.intr. To be drained of blood. (And all the rest.)

[unimportant-ramblings]

Star Wars for the blorbo asks! (Optional hard mode: Only classic EU characters!)

I'm doing both because I love attention

Star Wars, for the normals (normaler) (most of these could be- they could be just the one guy)

Blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most): there's this fella, his name is ben, but not that one friend. But for basic pics I also love Leia, Padme, Ahsoka and Din Djarin who's just a very good boy

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped): I mean, baby yoda, or "action snacking grogu" as hasbro would like for me to refer to him as, well, he is baby after all

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave): Ventress! also Hera! Qira! the list goes on

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week) do you remember when Rukh showed up in rebels? I remember when he showed up in rebels. also mon mothma, breha organa, rose tico in anything after TLJ....

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave): this one is also kylo ren. are you sad you ever became friends with me.

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason) : those fucking droids in the endlessly long droid arc of season 5 of clone wars, waste my time 2012

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell) Palpatine but in a more meta sense chris terrio who I would bite with my real human teeth if possible <3

HARD MODE

blorbo : I'm 1) basic and 2) a woman so Its Mara everyday of the week. Also Thrawn, because I have eyes

scrunkly : the twins + anakin. Really dig me some sequel series offspring. I preferred reading EU that were temporally not that long after the movies so I never really knew Ben Skywalker or Allana Solo that well, but what little I read of them I liked pretty well, but it's hard to mess with the originals, as disney has discovered. honestly I maybe reading this question far too literally but come on, it's me

scrimblo bimblo: I think as dope and rad as thrawn is, Pellaeon does not get the credit he deserves. he's a good watson!

glup shitto : I don't know if people remember Winter? Winter Celchu, Leia's friend who basically raised her kids for their protection and MAYBE had sex with Admiral Ackbar? but kin

poor little meow meow tbh there are not enough meow meows in legends, I'm going to say the dathomir witches who in canon imo are mostly creepy while in legends they were FREAKS :)

horse plinko Post dark side jacen solo for killing my girl and my innocence, in addition to the fact that I he's the walmart to bens gucci beloveds

eeby deeby: the Yuuzhan Vong! waste my time 2006. also whoever said "we can have no gay people in star wars and mara jade should be fridged." super hell for homophobic crimes

[woulddieforperrytheplatypus]

If Perry were to go rouge, I think his best bet would be to go to Dennis the Rabbit. He's just as dangerous as Perry and almost succeeded in hacking into the mainframe of the organization, so they'd be the perfect team to take down OWCA. Plus, since I think Dennis is a severely underrated character, I like to think he went rouge because of something to do with his own host family and lost sight of what was really important.

There should probably be a rogue Perry tag at this point because it’s kinda become a theme lmao but I think (?) this was the first rogue Perry post if y’all wanna see some context, but this is kind of independant from that. There’s so much to unpack here that the formatting is a little all-over-the-place, but hopefully it still makes sense.

I’m not gonna lie, the thought of Perry going to Dennis crossed my mind very briefly, but I kinda dismissed it as a “that wouldn’t happen so why dwell on it?” type deal. Now that you’ve got me thinking more into Dennis’s character, though, you might actually have a point. I don’t think Perry would actively seek Dennis out -- he may have gone rogue, but his OWCA training is still in tact and he’d likely still view Dennis as the bad guy -- but I can see Dennis seeking him out.

Dennis and Perry may be more alike than they let on. They are both incredibly skilled, which makes them either an incredible threat or an incredible asset depending on the situation. That’s what made No More Bunny Business what it was -- a damn near even match from an agent who historically has never had any real on-camera competition. Plus, between Sidetracked, Elementary My Dear Stacy, and OWCA Files, it’s incredibly obvious that Perry prefers to work alone, and that he gets frustrated when he’s forced to work with others. Dennis seems to be the same way -- he takes what Doof has to give, causes probably thousands of dollars in unnecessary damage to DEI, and peaces the fuck out -- basically the evil version of Perry taking OWCA’s tools and going about his business with as little contact with the agency as possible.

I’m sure that just seems like useless meta at first glance, but to me, it looks like motivation for Dennis to seek Perry out as soon as he heard that Perry went rogue -- and I have no doubt that he would hear Perry went rogue, just like I have no doubt that he would be able to escape on his own and the only thing keeping him from doing it earlier is that there was no reason to yet. 

I think that how they would connect relies pretty heavily on Dennis’s character and his past, so before I really get into what might happen if he tracked Perry down, I wanna talk about that. I love the idea that he would have faced the same type of shit Perry did, though I do feel like it would have to take more than a simple reassignment to warrant the type of anger Dennis has towards OWCA. I can’t help but wonder if somehow OWCA fucked up, and Dennis’s host family paid the price. Whether they got hurt or killed, I don’t know, but it would have had to be something serious, and probably something that kept Dennis from ever seeing them again. That would explain the grudge he has against OWCA, possibly to the point where his attempt to hack into the OWCA database wasn’t that extreme; he might have been genuinely trying to destroy OWCA in its entirety to keep other unsuspecting host families safe from OWCA’s carelessness. 

Now, Dennis has fought Perry before. In fact, he’s fought Perry twice. He’s been to Perry’s house; he’s met Perry’s family; he’s even been in Perry’s lair. He’s seen Perry think on his feet, and he’s seen Perry’s reflexes in action in a desperate attempt to hide any evidence of their fight from the Flynn-Fletchers  He probably knows Perry as an agent better than any of his peers (with the possible exception of Pinky because I’m sure they’ve run into each other a lot thanks to Phineas, Ferb, and Isabella), and I’d be surprised if he didn’t realize Perry was a lot like he was when he worked for OWCA -- cunning, hard-working, always looking out for his family above all else but still determined to get the job done. The only that that separated them was that Perry was still loyal to OWCA and Dennis was not. Once that barrier was out of the picture, this would be Dennis’s perfect opportunity to try to take down OWCA again, this time with backup. 

I’m writing this on the assumption that they can communicate pretty easily, whether it be through animal speech or pantomiming, but here’s how I think it would go down.

Let’s assume that Perry doesn’t have any sort of plan. He doesn’t immediately run to Phineas and Ferb or to Doofenshmirtz, partially because he doesn’t think they could help but mostly to keep them out of danger. Those would be the first places OWCA would look for him, which makes them the last places he would go. He’d have to find someplace to hide that OWCA wouldn’t even think to look in, and what better place to drive his coworkers away than the sewers? Sure, the kids have been down there a bunch, but that’s just because they’re weird; no one else is going to hang out down there cut to Scott in Subterranus. And, honestly, OWCA is just stupid enough to pass right by the sewers because surely no self-respecting agent would hang out in that dump, and no one wants to be the one to lead that fruitless search.

Then Dennis shows up, and Perry is immediately on the offense. He almost lost last time they fought hand-to-hand, and this time there are no carrots around to save him. And even though Dennis would claim he’s not here to start a fight, Perry wouldn’t necessarily believe him. Perry may have gone rogue, but he still views himself as the good guy and he’d still view Dennis as the bad guy because that’s what OWCA had told him, and going rogue doesn’t immediately negate everything OWCA’s ever taught him. 

Dennis would expect that. He knows what it’s like to be one of OWCA’s best and brightest, and he knows the uncertainty that comes with turning against them. That means he would know exactly how to explain why he went rogue, and he’d know exactly how to convince Perry that he’s right: OWCA is too far gone to save. Whether he is right or not is up for debate, but Perry is still reeling from OWCA’s impromptu decision to send him away in the middle of the night with no warning, so Perry might go for it, if only to give him a free pass to hang out with his family again.

Between Perry and Dennis, OWCA would not stand a chance. Sure, the fact that OWCA is on high alert looking for them and is definitely monitoring the Flynn-Fletcher’s, DEI, and Perry’s lair throws a bit of a wrench in their plans, but they’d get around that and they’d take OWCA out. 

I don’t know what would happen after OWCA fell, though. Perry would probably just want to spend time with his family and thwart Doof, and he’d continue to do that in whatever capacity he could. Maybe Dennis would rebuild a new version of OWCA, one that’s hopefully fair and gives their agents and their host families the respect, protection, and time off that they deserve. Then again, maybe he’d rebuild OWCA and it would be genuinely evil and Perry would have to pull an Uno reverse card and team up with the Phineas and Ferb Save Summer gang to bring back the old OWCA. I just really think that Perry and Dennis would be such a power duo and I’m so glad you brought that up because I am totally going to work Dennis into my swearing!Perry fic now lmao

[stella-monstrum]

Bobby Roe’s ‘Underestimated Gem’, “The Houses October Built”; [1hr 31mins, Rated R] (2014)

Admittedly, there is a lot to unpack in this review. 

I found myself at the relatable point of endless scrolling through horror films on streaming apps, hoping to find something that really challenged and rattled my thinking afterwards. Obviously, film taste is different for everyone, and I am CERTAINLY way too easy to scare. But this wasn’t a film made to elicit jumps—or screams for that matter.

I went into this viewing with a couple expectations. First of all, Hulu’s trailer for the movie was enough to grab my interest by itself. The clips of this group of friends exploring haunted horror attractions and the brief introduction to the eerie actors along with it pulled me in.

[Anecdote; Around the same time that the film came out, I’d gone to my first haunted house. I was separated from my group, and thrown into a “butcher shed,” and proceeded to have the living shit scared out of me. One of the actors knew that their mates had gone too far and pretty much came in to save the day. Afterwards, I thought it was the coolest thing and started to laugh at my own fear—which plays massively to the appeal to watch.]

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Before I go into the review... 

I will say that the thriller theme to this film made me squirm and made it difficult to watch all the way through. So if you’re squeamish, have trauma-like responses, or have epilepsy, proceed with caution or skip this one altogether. 

This film also contains a bunch of NSFW themes, torture, and graphic images (which basically delivers its main purpose, I guess).

(Written by Stella. Edited by Jacob J )

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The Cast:

Brandy Schaeffer as Brandy

Zach Andrews as Zach

Bobby Roe as Bobby

Mikey Roe as Michael (aka Mikey)

Jeff Larson as Jeff

The casting is fairly straightforward, with the actors playing overly exaggerated versions of themselves. Though technically under the lead of director Bobby Roe, the cast all had a hand in writing the film. Pulling double duty is a feat in itself. (It was unfortunate to find in my research that, after the 2017 sequel, the majority of the cast just dropped off the face of the Earth.)

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Summary:

The five childhood friends from Ohio seek out the thrill of the Halloween season, traveling through the deep south of Texas in an RV. They’re stocked up on junk food, booze, drugs, and pure joy that they’re setting out on this journey. For the six days leading up to Halloween, they visit six attractions in the Lone Star state. (technically) 

The team begins at a bar in Tyler, Texas, to celebrate the beginning of their trip. In their wasted stupor (and even while sober throughout the film), they make light and joke about how these “haunted attractions” are tame and as fake as the horror films they strive to represent. (Meta as hell, right?)

With each visit, the attractions grow scarier and freakier. Somehow, they piss off a whole gang of creepy-ass characters. Despite being essentially in the middle of nowhere, the aforementioned creep squad (we’re talking clowns, bloody bunnies, backwoods Vorhees groupies, etc.) stalk and terrorize the traveling quintet. The group moves on toward the ultimate attraction, The Blue Skeleton, which they desperately try to find. This leads them on a mystery hunt through word of mouth (and an online horror attraction forum, to the secret location). They eventually wind up heading towards the deep, dark heart of Louisiana, where The Blue Skeleton exceeds every fear that they wanted in the first place—and ends up being their worst nightmare.

The film also gives a small nod to George Romero, the man who changed the way that zombies were seen in pop culture and films, during their visit to a zombie-themed paintball attraction. On top of that, the creators made the film on a very small budget (allegedly). It was given a brief theatrical release in 2014, but years later became a niche gem with a continuing following amongst horror film fans.

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[Likes & Dislikes]

It was incredibly hard to want to complain, consider how the film left my state of mind after watching. But, ultimately, I had to find something for the sake of this review. So I’ll start with the dislikes first, because it’s so worth saving the best for last in this circumstance.

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[Dislikes]:

1.) The first-person filming: Although capturing themes and moments perfectly to keep suspense, it made me super queasy.

- Now, this nitpick isn’t an end-all film-ruiner. With any first person/found-footage deal, there’s a guarantee to feel the rollercoaster like adventure in your gut. (I recommend having a good bowl of ramen or some ginger tea on hand.)

- The filming style 100% captures and cranks every moment of fear, suspense, and terror. It makes you feel like you’re a part of the team. (Found-footage/first-person filming was the original VR, fight me.)

2.) The full on disrespect that the group shows to the attractions.

First attraction: They find a ladder (that’s conveniently left unsupervised, despite not being for patron use). Mikey decides to climb it and steals a megaphone as well. He causes a scene atop the ticket booth and attempts to get a crowd shot for their film at the Haunt House in Caddo Mills, Texas. This pisses off an entire group of creepy-ass clowns that follow them back to their RV. Living up to his unspoken title of Mister Dumbass, Mikey tries to confront them.

● Second attraction: One of the clowns and a broken porcelain doll actress proceeded to follow the crew to this location in Eureka, Texas. Mikey confronts the “doll” when they find her on the side of the road. She follows onto the bus, screams, then slowly leaves.

● Third Attraction: As the group enters Phobia, located by US Highway 248, they’re told not to film past the point of entry. The camera shuts off. When the camera (one that Bobby set up on the RV) comes back on, we see Mikey trying to hook up with one of the contortionist girls. Afterward, when Zach finds out more information about the acclaimed Blue Skeleton, they get confronted by yet another pissed off clown accusing Mikey of filming when they were told not to.

There’s an entire slew of other incidents that I won’t dive into, but I will say one final con:

3.) Brandy just minds her own business the whole time, yet gets the backlash and crossfire from the boys’ shenanigans and dumbassery. 

- Honestly the more she got caught in the middle, the more I felt looming dread. 

◤━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━◥

[Likes/Loves:]

Amidst the (albeit small) annoyances, there was so much that I loved and enjoyed about this film. 

1.) Complete out-of-the-gate blurred lines of the entertainment-yet-fear that we seek out in haunted houses.

● Starting from the opening scenes, there’s VHS like footage of fun and upbeat tours from haunted attractions, which evolves into a slow burn of much much darker and horrible secrets/tragedies from them: 

- An employee found hung, mistaken as a prop;

- Houses allegedly hiring murderers and criminals without background checks; 

- & Actors going as far as breaking bones (but not killing) to scare patrons.

2.) Continuity that never strayed from the film’s theme and/or purpose. 

● Through all six attractions that the crew visit, the actors that they seemingly managed to piss off (looking at the real male hubris issues here) follow and stalk them whilst traveling in the middle of nowhere—even all the way to Louisiana.

● With each haunt, the scare level increases, starting with fun and simple baby-type scares and progressing to pure anxiety and nightmare fuel. 

(As an aside, I’m honestly still mad that there was no seizure warning for the amount of strobe lights they filmed in the name of fear.)

3.) Consistent foreshadowing

● At the very beginning, they show a gut-wrenching video of a bloodied and tied-up Brandy being shoved into a trunk

● Also, the film seemingly always lingers on Brandy, which gives a small clue as to the haunt creeps having an unhealthy obsession with her.

● At the first attraction, The Haunt House, while the crew films with high spirits, they convince Brandy to playfully get into one of the prop coffins, thinking it’ll be funny. Then the actor nearby shuts the coffin until she screams to let her out. 

      - Deeper into their travels, they joke about how much they’d want to get paid to be buried alive. At the end, that’s exactly what happens.

���━━━━━━━━━━━━━

(Final Thoughts)

There are so many heart- and gut-wrenching moments that force you to never look away from the screen. If I’m being honest, the style and story that Bobby Roe created is honestly on par with something you’d see from the acclaimed likes of Kubric and Zombie, among others.

 This is such an underrated find. Minus my nitpicks, I’m giving this [9/10] stabs.

 (This is the most I’ve been shaken up by a film in a good while.)

Want to get lost and vicariously (not literally) shit your pants? This is the film for you. 

[Just don’t piss any clowns off on your way there,K?]

[dwengolyn]

Dwen Reviews: Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!

yeah imma be doing reviews on things that i like from now on, in case you didn't know i like to give my thoughts on things, can't remember if i did something like this before, but LETS GO!

Eizouken ni wa Te o Dasu Na! / Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! has got to be one of my favorite animes of all time, without any exaggeration whatsoever.

It breaks the mold on what people normally view anime as, don't get me wrong, i like Shounen, but i've seen so fucking many of them that there's nothing new you can do with them, so seeing a anime like Eizouken is more refreshing than taking a cold bath after running on a hot ass day.

Things that i liked:

1: For once, FOR FUCKING ONCE, THE GIRLS ARE NOT OVERSEXUALIZED, ITS A MIRACLE!!! sadly though, it still won't stop people from making porn of it, oh well...

2: Talking about the girls, i love all of em, however i feel like Muzusaki is underrated, all art ive seen of her so far is just her with Asakusa and Kanamori or being gay for Kanamori, sometimes Asakusa, well i love that shit but cmon gimme more sole Mizusaki content! well, after the last episode i think more people will start appreciating her, which is good.

3: THE ANIMATION THO? THE FUCKIN ANIMATION THO?!?!?!?

4: None of the girls are neurotypical(you cant tell me otherwise) which is great!

5: The way that they describe animation while being in a anime is so fuckin meta and wholesome, i love it, and im sure the creators had a lot of fun!

Things that i didn't like:

0: NONE.

I can't think of any flaws whatsoever, this show is fucking perfect, and the people who made it knew EXACTLY wtf they were doing, i dare say, anime of the year, it honestly deserves it.

I give it a 10/10!

[mtt-brand-trans]

What's up gamers today we're taking a stab at guessing why and how in the world a depressed, unhygienic, ketchup-chugging skeleton like Sans became an internet sex symbol if you like this video don't forget to like and subscribe to my channel and click that bell button to get notific

Here's a question for you: if you played all of Undertale without knowing anything about the fandom, and after you were done I asked you who you thought the fan favorite was, who would you say? No really, I'd like to know, because I have no good or honest answer to this question. Because the more I think about it, the more sure I am that, while in many fandoms it's clear who the fan favorite is going to be(and that character may even have been designed to be the fan favorite), Undertale doesn't really have that.

Most times, the fan favorite is a young guy with good looks(a specific kind of look too, usually what you would describe as a "pretty boy") that has a good sense of humor and/or is flirtatious and/or is flippant. Sans is a jokester, sure, but he's not a pretty boy. And as I said, he's depressed and chugs ketchup at local diners and is a slacker, and his jokes aren't flirty or insulting(aka "attractive" jokes), they're just bad puns. These things certainly makes him feel more like a real person(or as real as you can get when you're a skeleton), but they don't make for a good fan fave to drool over. So why was Sans chosen to be transformed through fanon as the fan favorite? I think the answer lies in the no mercy route.

I'm pretty sure we all know this is the biggest contributor to his popularity. Although nowadays I prefer the pacifist route, even I was fascinated with the no mercy route back in the day. And there's a perfectly good reason so many felt the same, for a lot of us(myself included) it was an introduction to "darker" stories, where bad things happened and they didn't get better, or were previously fans of games like fnaf. A lot of the fandom was my age at the time(14) or younger. And since the no mercy route was the main focus for so many fans, what, or who was the staple of it? Sans. And honestly, the sans fight really was made to make an impact. It takes a lot of tries, sometimes even more than undyne the undying, the music is the fourth iteration of Toby's signature song Megalovania, and Sans' dialogue reveals more about his character and opens up a possible mystery by saying strange things that he doesn't explain(remember how I said a lot of people were previously fnaf fans? Well it and similar games became popular largely because of the mysteries they presented. So Sans' popularity also grew because of his connection to the larger gaster mystery). So Sans ended up being the most popular character in Undertale, and Undertale became insanely popular, so by proxy Sans became a very popular character in general.

So here's a summary of why Sans is the fan favorite, even though when just looking at him by himself you'd never guess he'd have risen to this level of popularity(aka the TL;DR): Undertale has a distinct lack of characters that fit the typical "fan favorite" mold, and Sans was the character that most closely fit it. His popularity was largely helped by his significance in the no mercy run and his ties to the gaster mystery, which made him more appealing to young fans in particular, who loved the no mercy route because of its darkness and gaster because of the unsolved mystery. Thus, he became the most popular character in Undertale, and since Undertale was so popular itself, he got a huge fandom.

I also want to take this time to look at some other characters who had the potential to be the fan favorites had Sans not taken the role. Most/all of them fit other, "lesser" fan favorite archetypes that I will explain. A lot of these characters are still pretty popular.

Gaster

This one's pretty obvious. If Sans didn't have ties to both the no mercy run and the Gaster mystery, then Gaster himself would be the fan favorite. Even with Sans(or sometimes because of him), he's inescapable. If he was the fan favorite, the loud part of the fandom would largely stay the same, there would just be less focus on the no mercy run.

Undyne

There's two ways Undyne would've become the fan favorite: being a lesbian icon like Catra from spop, making the fandom a lesbian haven, or through straight weeb men who fetishize lesbians. Those two types of fans already make up the Undyne fandom in our quiet little corner, but we would've seen this on a much larger SCALE(lol) if she had been the fan favorite. And let's be honest, what does Sans have that Undyne doesn't? Let's just look at the facts here: A glowing eye that only shows up on the no mercy run, of which they have one of two of the epic battles for that route that are famously hard to beat, both have a mysterious part of them that's not really explained(Undyne's missing eye, why she melted/came back to life instead of turning straight to dust, determination motif, UNDYNE'S MYSTERIOUS TOO GUYS), connections to a royal scientist, I could go on. I can really only think of one reason that Undyne, the buff angry wlw who isn't conventionally attractive, isn't very popular.........

Asriel

Asriel falls under another type of fan favorite archetype that I like to call, "HOLY SHIT CUTE CHILD." The only other example I can think of right now is Niko from oneshot, who is the fan favorite of their game. And Asriel is indeed a cute child! I would've liked to see him be the fan favorite, because I think the Chara & Asriel subplot is underrated in this fandom. Asriel is fairly popular, but he's mostly seen either as flowey or by fans of the KFCA gang nowadays.

Frisk

Frisk being the fan favorite would be a combination of "HOLY SHIT CUTE CHILD" and "protagonist that I can project onto," with a side of mystery due to their ambiguous backstory. So pretty much how they're portrayed now. They're best done by fans of the KFCA gang, but they're seen more often than Asriel, either as a prop in cool art of a place/another character, or to be the kid in those post-pacifist works.

Mettaton

He's another one that's already fairly popular, this is just about what the fandom would be like if he was The fan fave. And if I'm gonna he honest, I'm kinda surprised Mettaton isn't the fan favorite. He's pretty much exactly what the fan favorite archetype is. He's a pretty boy. He's one of the more popular characters in the fandom, sure, but compared to Sans he hardly shows up. And I honestly don't have any good guesses as to why this is. It could be that he's gay and trans coded, but too "flamboyant" and makes the cishet fans uncomfortable, but even that doesn't check out considering how much people fetishize him being trans. If anything, they like that, even if in the most gross way possible. So yeah, I've got nothing.

Chara

They were probably the fourth most popular character back in the day, after the skelebros and gaster of course. And just like Sans, it's because of their ties to the no mercy route. If they were the fan fave, the fandom would probably be a much darker place. Which is sad, because if you look at how KFCA fans depict them, they're great! But anyways, the fandom as a whole has always focused more on "demon" Chara than looking at maybe a more nicer side of them, so if they were the fan favorite, the fandom would be even more focused on the gritty and dark parts of the story. Oh, and people would keep misgendering them, too.

So there you have it, an in-depth analysis of how Sans became the fan favorite, and then what other fan favorites might look like I guess. Even after writing all of this, I still can't quite comprehend Sans' popularity. Fortunately I've found a good niche in the fandom that appreciates all the characters equally. KFCA fans, waterfall gang fans, gorls fans, etc. Everyone is good! But I've stayed holed up in that little community for so long that I don't know the fandom at large's current condition regarding aus, sans, etc., so really this meta is written from my memory of the fandom back in 2016, which is probably outdated somewhat lol. Anyways, hope you enjoyed the read!

[quarterfromcanon]

1-4. For the asks

Thank you so much for sending these! <3 

Once I started to answer them, I realized there were comparatively few recent television shows appearing on the list. I seemed to keep gravitating toward older ones I remembered from years ago. I took a handful of days to mull it over in case I was forgetting something, but nothing else comes to mind. Maybe my ongoing list of Shows to Watch During Quarantine will turn up some fresh results but, for now, it looks like I’ll be taking a little trip down memory lane. :) 

This turned out to be a pretty long and rambly post, so I’ll stow it under the cut!

Top 5 TV Shows 

1. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend - I can’t imagine this surprises anyone who has been following this blog for the past two years or so. It brought fellow fans into my life, got me back into writing fic, and prompted countless tags of meta. It’s the show my mind drifts to on a weekly basis (if not daily) even a full year after the finale. Just when it seemed I’d reached an age where that level of intense fandom involvement and character attachment might be fading, it proved that quite the opposite was true. I’m very thankful to the series for that, and for the people whose paths have crossed mine as a result.   

2. Schitt’s Creek - This is my #1 Feel Good show and, though I’ve been dodging spoilers for the final season until it gets uploaded to Netflix, I get the impression that it will remain in that top spot. The world feels softer and more hopeful there. It’s healing for my soul. I’m going to have a dreadfully difficult time saying goodbye, but I’m glad there are six season to revisit whenever I want. 

3. Stranger Things - The theme song alone sends such a rush of excitement through me. I love the aesthetic and the atmosphere. I sometimes have mixed feelings about the romances but the FRIENDSHIPS sure do have a direct line to my heartstrings. I think the way they’ve combined media influences into their own story is really neat. You get something that’s new and engaging, but you can also go back and enjoy the sources of inspiration with fresh appreciation. 

4. Joan of Arcadia - I can’t help it. The snark, the jackets, the early 2000s songs, the performances -- the nostalgia for this show is so strong. It’s not without its problems, but it did have some really good things to offer as well. I remember an episode that was one of my earliest introductions to the concept of a trigger, and the effect it could have on a person if exposed to one of theirs. The series dealt a lot with grief and the many forms it can take (I STILL can’t hear Fiona Apple’s cover of “Across the Universe” without getting misty-eyed). I’m also surprised, looking back, at the somewhat positive way I recall them discussing homosexuality on the several occasions that it came up in the show. Not to give too much credit since I don’t think there were recurring canonically LGBTQIA+ characters but, for a kid who spent most days around closed-minded people of a certain religious leaning, it was meaningful along my individual journey. I’d like to provide the several examples that are most vivid in my memory:

A. A girl with short hair, short nails, little to no makeup, and a bulky leather jacket is generally assumed to be a lesbian by the bullies at school. The show directly confronts the fact that “gay” should not be used an insult, that identity should not be assumed without the person telling you so, AND makes sure that the character in question never pushes back by saying harmful things about lesbians despite not actually being one herself. 

B. A boy who is questioning is able to confide in his big brother and have a fairly calm conversation about it; the awkwardness mostly comes from neither of them being accustomed to openly discussing emotions, not from the possibility of a negative response regarding the subject matter. 

C. Another character is accidentally discovered to be gay (he only appears in the one episode, if my memory serves), and some of the leads have the opportunity to share that for personal gain. However, even though he is a popular jock who is a bit of a jerk in the hallways, the show makes it clear that the right choice is still to leave the telling of that information up to him and him alone. 

Like I mentioned, it can’t be said that representation was in abundance here - for instance, I don’t believe anything other than straight or gay was presented as a possibility - but any accepting acknowledgement in a faith-centric series was something for me to hold on to in my still-deeply-closeted days. As a final Very Important personal side note, this show brought Judith Montgomery into my life (pictured below on the left), and that feels like it merits a shoutout for being what I consider a rather significant marker in my awakening. 

THE OVERWHELMING CRUSH I HAD - and still have - is one for the books. 

5. Pushing Daisies - This is another show with an aesthetic I adore. The series has such a fun, whimsical energy. The crime-solving! The clothes! The cast! There's a lot to love. It’s the kind of world I wish I could visit... well, minus the evidently rampant murder rate. 

Top 5 Overrated TV Shows

1. Once Upon A Time - *deep sigh* I tried to stick with it for so long. I think I’ve seen five out of the seven seasons in their entirety. It just felt like everything got mired down by excessive (and increasingly convoluted) subplots, often for the purpose of tossing in as many fairytale and/or Disney characters as possible. Plus, quite honestly, there was too much emphasis on romantic love. For a show whose first season involved a curse being broken by [potential spoiler, I suppose] a mother kissing her son’s forehead, I ultimately found myself up to my ears in romantic ships. It reached such a stifling extent that, if you were not particularly attached to those pairings, there wasn’t a whole lot else to entice further viewing. 

2. Under the Dome - I don’t know for certain what the general public opinion of this series was, but it felt like the commercials always featured alleged rave reviews, so I figured I could include it here. I was vaguely interested in Season 1, mainly as a fan of Rachelle Lefevre’s work. Season 2 pulled me in with the introduction of a new townsperson and I threw WAY too much of my heart into that attachment, which backfired when that character was killed. I made quite the spectacle of my heartbreak, so much so that my family doesn’t let me mention this show around them anymore. :P Season 3 was, to phrase it delicately, not a great time. The series did introduce me to a few new-to-me actors, though, so that was cool. 

3. Bates Motel - Even the incentive of learning that the two characters I liked most share a lot of screen time later in the series hasn’t been enough to call me back to this one. I don’t know if it was the pacing that put me off or what, but the prospect of finishing the remaining seasons feels so daunting. There are evidently five seasons in total and I believe I’ve only seen two of them thus far. I will probably muddle through it someday just to see how it goes, but the fact that I am so disinclined to prioritize it made this feel like a fair addition to the list. 

4. Lost - My interest in this series unfortunately waned right before fervent fandom spiked. I don’t have any specific complaints that come to mind about what I saw; I just sort of drifted and then stayed away. Teachers I liked and peers I spent time with were starting to latch on to the show and I couldn’t find even the slightest inclination to give it a second try. However, did I still dutifully read all the latest installments in my friend’s Sawyer Ford and Kate Austen fanfiction when she passed me handwritten copies at lunch? Sure. I was glad it made her happy, even if I was no longer a viewer. 

5. Hemlock Grove - I say this as someone who still mourns the fates of some characters in this show, so I wouldn’t go so far as to claim that the series stopped being able to make me feel anything. I’m just of the opinion that, in some ways, it might’ve been better off stopping at one season. That’s where the book it was based on ends, and things just didn’t feel as cohesive after that. Season 3 especially was - borrowing from my above review of Under the Dome - not a great time. That being said, there are also certain elements from the book that I could’ve done without in the Season 1 adaptation but... well... here we are. 

Top 5 Underrated TV Shows

1. Picnic at Hanging Rock - Another one that won’t surprise followers of this blog. I have rhapsodized about it quite frequently since I found it a little over a month ago. It’s a period piece mystery miniseries with LGBTQIA+ representation, gorgeous costumes, and Samara Weaving. This felt specifically designed to wedge its way into my heart, and I’m quite content with the space it now occupies.

2. Dark - I’m so intrigued by the overlapping timelines with all of the morally gray characters. It’s possible to like one of these people in the timeline where they’re young but dislike them as adults, or vice versa. It also makes me think of Rant by Chuck Palahniuk a little tiny bit with the idea that time travel, specifically tampering with your own timeline, might make you physically and behaviorally unrecognizable to yourself. And the SONG CHOICES! I have gotten some solid new music selections from this series. 

3. Sense8 - I still need to watch the finale. I really do. But I knew it would make me sad so I’ve avoided it for... two years now? Pretty close, I think. The concept is fascinating and the cast is so strong. Plus the cinematography! They came up with some of the coolest ways to depict the link these characters share and what it’s like when they connect over distance. The planning and careful editing it all must’ve taken... I remain in awe. 

4. Penny Dreadful - There were definitely some story/writing choices I didn’t particularly like along the way, but I did get engrossed in the creepy goodness and the performances -- Eva Green’s Vanessa Ives most of all. It left me wishing for more period piece “monster mash” stories, because having all those classic characters in one place was a blast. It also helped me understand why Helen McCrory was once slated to play Bellatrix Lestrange because she can be terrifying. Oh and Sarah Greene in her Wild West outfits? Perdita Weeks with short red hair in fencing garb, and later in all leather with boots and a long jacket? I WAS NOT PREPARED AND I HAVE STILL NOT RECOVERED. I NEVER WILL.

5. Wonderfalls - There’s some cringe-inducing handling of certain representation in the series, but I have such a weak spot for quippy outcasts who become reluctant chosen ones (Joan Girardi in Joan of Arcadia, Wynonna Earp, Jaye Tyler in this series, et cetera). I also really love the sibling dynamics here. They bicker, tease one another, help each other out of trouble, and have rare but genuine heart-to-hearts. Caroline, Lee, and Katie all did such a great job blending their characters’ adult personalities with certain childhood attributes that rise to the surface in the presence of family.  

Top 5 Movies

1. Addams Family Values - I’ve rewatched this movie at least once annually since I found it in Media Play at age 13. Usually, I’ll play it around Halloween or, at the latest, Thanksgiving. It’s mouth-along-with-every-line level ingrained in my memory. I find myself leaning forward in my seat before favorite parts because I’m still that excited to relive them. Why this movie, and why this devotion to such a degree? It’s hard to explain, even to myself. I can tell you, however, that I hold up every other portrayal of the Addams characters to the versions found in this. Everybody in the cast just feels that perfect for their part. 

2. Clue - I was already pretty fond of this movie to begin with, but then my sister got older and claimed it as a favorite of her own, so now she just supplies me with further excuses to watch it repeatedly. It’s also been a bonding piece of media with a couple of close friends and such through the years. It’s incredible to think not everyone in it was the first choice for their roles; what everybody brings to the table is so top-notch that I wouldn’t have it any other way. I also LOVE knowing that it originally went to theaters with different endings depending on which showing you attended. I gather people weren’t terribly thrilled with the stunt back then, but I kinda think some moviegoers would be into that approach these days? Then again, one hit that tried something different tends to start a fad, so maybe I’d end up regretting the suggestion after a while. :P

3. The Craft - This. Movie. Yes, Act III is a major bummer even though I know it’s coming, and I’ll always wish it ended differently. Even so. This. Movie. I tend to headcanon mostly for shows and sometimes books, but The Craft is a beloved exception. I love so much about it: the magic, the music, the clothes, the settings, the dynamics within the friend group, the performances. I had no idea when I first got the DVD at 17 that it would become such a part of my life, but I’m so glad it found its way to me. 

4. Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion - The soundtrack is a glorious ’80s and ’90s treat for my ears. The colorful costumes are perfectly suited to the main characters’ version of the world. There are so many great lines and it feels like everyone is having a lot of fun in their roles. I LOVE HEATHER MOONEY SO MUCH. She’s my awful, scathingly sarcastic, little grungy grump and she fills my heart with joy. 

5. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King - I was pretty sure at least one of the three had to appear on here. I think, if I were to tally them all up, The Return of the King features most of my favorite moments, so it wins the spot. “I can’t carry it for you, but I can carry you!”, ‘Edge of Night,’ Éowyn in battle, The Army of the Dead, ‘Into the West’... I end up crying during the end credits every time. So, yeah, ultimately, I would choose the third part of the trilogy if I could only watch one. 

Phew, that’s it! All the questions answered, all the shows and movies listed! Thank you to anyone who takes the time to read it all, and thanks again to @monaiargancoconutsoy for sending in the prompts! <3

[spaceorphan18]

TDB Rewatch: The New York Arc

I was originally going to do a post for each episode - but you know what? I think I’ve talked about this particular part of the series more than any other part - and even though it’s been seven weeks since I’ve even seen an episode of Glee (!!) - I’m not entirely sure I have anything new to say about these episodes, so here we go with one big post for you. 

New New York

Is this still the best episode of the series?  Yes - I think it is.  The entire episode is completely watchable, the music is great, the Klaine stuff is great, everyone gets something interesting to do, Rachel is interesting again, Mercedes re-joins the cast, and even Artie has some funny lines.  This episode almost feels like a pilot of a spin-off series, and I’m a little sad we didn’t get to see more than this arc, because these characters still seem fresh and interesting - and this episode is clearly all setting up the status quo for living in New York.  

I’ve seen the episode so many times now that this one flew by, and while I’m always here for the amazing Klaine stuff - the nice thing is that watching the episode as a whole, I’m not bored with any of it.  I have no new meta to add to the piles of things I’ve already written and said on the podcast, but I’m glad this episode remains enjoyable even after a million rewatches.   

Btw - I still say they should have asked Adam Lambert to be a regular - he adds so much and I’m sad that this is his last appearance on the show. 

Also - I can tell it’s been a while since I’ve watched the show - Chris and Darren are really pretty.  Just thought I should remind you ;) 

///

Bash

So, while Opening Night might be my least favorite of the bunch, but I think as an episode Bash might be the weakest? And actually - I think it might have been better if the Kurt being bashed story line was a) more prominently in the episode or b) not in it at all.  It feels like it’s almost an after thought to Rachel’s (absurd) story - and there’s such a rich story with Kurt (and Blaine) that feels wholly untapped because it’s more about Rachel Berry and her feelings. :P  I do like the little bits of it that we did get, Kurt and Blaine are superb as they are in all of these episodes.  And I mean - it’s nice that Rachel gets yelled at twice for being a moron - even if the whole thing doesn’t hold together very well.  

Meanwhile, I’m not sure how much I have to say about Sam and Mercedes - I enjoy them as a couple, though I can’t say that I’m riveted by their story line. It is nice, though that Amber Riley gets a chance to shine since she’s been away from the show for so long.  I think the awkwardest thing about this episode, (besides Sam’s impressions) is the fact that that the two story lines don’t mesh well, and it feels like the episode starts off as one thing then pivots and does something else entirely in the second half.  

That said - the music is great, as always, everyone sounds really beautiful on all the Soundheim things.  And while I didn’t need two Mercedes solos - she is lovely as always.  

///

Tested

Who knew Artie having an STD would be such a fun episode.  Honestly, I think this is the best episode the show does about sex.  Yes, even over The First Time (even if I like TFT just a smidge more).  Each of the characters are in a unique situation, and come at sex in a different way - and it’s actually pretty cool the way the show handles it.  They’re not usually great with these kind of topics, but I really have no complaints about how they handled anything in this episode.  I especially like the fact that a) Mercedes gets to choose how she wants to deal with sex and b) they let Mercedes and Rachel be actual girl friends when it comes to a topic - again something the show doesn’t always handle the best.  Yes, for all the sex positive conversations in this episode.  

Also, the ‘I’m slut shaming you’ scene might be one of the funniest things the show ever did.  

The only one weighing this one down, and why it isn’t passing NNY by on my favorites list - is that the music just isn’t good.  I mean, all the songs fit the episode fine, and the performances are great, I just don’t like any of the songs.  

Also - Kurt is super extra in this episode - which really reinforces my headcanon that Kurt not getting regular sexy times is super grumpy. 

Anyway, I give kudos to the show for doing an episode that has some actual layers to it in all of its plot lines.  Usually, Glee’s pretty anivilish about everything, but there’s some actual nuance in this story - good job show.  It’s nice to be not spoon fed everything all the time.  

/// 

Opening Night

Well...  This remains the worst of the NYC Arc - and really, only because the stupid and a bit convoluted Sue plot.  Rachel’s arc is a bit silly too (really - I roll my eyes at the whole ‘oh no NYT reporter’ bit, especially when the dude just waxes praise on her like everyone else on the show) - but are some legitimately entertaining things going on during the Rachel side of things.  And I dare say the episode is a little underrated?  There are some good jokes and nice music, and it is exactly what you’d expect from Rachel’s first night (even if I still think Funny Girl should have been placed at the end of the show) and Rachel has been rather held back and used well during the NYC Arc so I don’t mind her spot light here.  

But man, the Sue stuff is tedious.  I kind of forget Will is apart of it (and did logic take some time off again? Because the Emma having a baby thing is...  let’s not get into it).  Sue actually has already arrived at her season 6 self - and even some of the early sequences with her kids aren’t bad, but there are really two scenes that drag this entire episode way, way down -- the date with Mario the restaurant guy, and the last five minutes with Mario the restaurant guy.  Oh my god - why is this the only thing they could think of to do with Sue?  I mean - everything about this plot line screams contractual obligation - needing to give Jane Lynch one episode during this 7.  But could they really not think of anything more interesting for her to do??  DId she really need a date so she and Rachel could sing that song together??  Ug - it is really frustrating that this takes up a third of the episode.  What a waste.  

But, I mean, as a whole, it’s not terrible in the way the worst of Glee is - and really, everything on the Rachel side (mostly) works for me.  It’s a good thing all that Sue/Mario stuff is pretty easily skipped.  

///

The Back-Up Plan

Hey! Another solid episode! It’s weird - the focusing only three story line lets the episode breathe - a lot - to the point it seems strange, lol.  But anyway...  

First there’s Rachel’s story - which I know people were annoyed that Rachel bails a month into Funny Girl, but idk - this seems like Rachel.  And this is the one and really only time she faces serious consequences for her actions.  It’s refreshing really.  Also - Jim Rash is a delight, and that audition scene is priceless.  

Meanwhile - Mercedes and Santana have a great story that I kind of wish there was more of.  Santana’s been gone for most of the arc so far, but I don’t mind her coming back - she’s rather civil and low key during these last few episodes, and it’s a bit refreshing, honestly.  Anyway - I like that pop business is treated with a little more realism than Broadway, as D’Shawn (Mercedes’s producer) seems to tell it like is.  But more so, I feel like there’s a genuine friendship between Mercedes and Santana and that’s pretty refreshing, too.  

And then there’s the June story line.  You know what? I really do not like June.  Sorry.  And I find it a little creepy she wants to mold Blaine into something of her own making.  I’m also... not sure what the purpose of this entire story was? Ah well...  At least we get some really lovely Klaine moments out of the whole thing.  

Bonus - the music in this episode is all pretty solid.  

///

Old Dog, New Tricks

You guys ever notice Artie’s eating dog biscuits in this? Weird things you notice when you watch the whole episode.  Anyway...

Hey - it’s that episode that Chris wrote.  And yeah, it’s a little awkward - in a - you can tell this is a new writer for TV kinda way not in a - this sucks kind of way.  I really wish Chris had stuck with TV writing, I think he showed some real promise, and writing for other shows would have been great experience.  Ah well.  It all just makes me miss Chris actually doing things that are not related to middle school fantasy novels.  

So, for the record, if you guys ever wonder who Chris is, seemingly, frustrated with? Watch this episode - and how he writes Rachel.  She’s been almost acting human in the rest of this arc, and in this episode, she really is back to being really awful.  At least multiple people get to tell her off again - it’s, again, refreshing.  How many times as she been told off during this arc? Not enough, but it’s been kind of nice when you string them all together.  

Anyway - this episode, as you’ve probably heard me say before, works pretty well.  Santana as a publicity is brilliant (and perhaps the best aspect of Chris’s writing), Sam and Mercedes relationship issues are handled rather maturely, Chris as Peter Pan is incredibly inspired, and the music is pretty solid (even if it’s not my personal favorite).  There’s even a sweet Klaine scene (though - I still maintain it was wise not to have Chris write too much Blaine).  The only thing that really doesn’t work to for me, and maybe we’re far enough away that I can say this honestly without feeling like there will be too much repercussion - I don’t think June Squibb is very good.  I mean, yeah - part of it is the awkwardness of the story itself.  But - Maggie just doesn’t work for me.  Sorry :(  

///

The Untitled Rachel Berry Project

I know a lot of people say that this episode feels like a finale for them.  And I kind of get that, I do. But, honestly, it feels more like a chapter break.  This episode is incredibly bittersweet - as if it knows (and it does) what’s coming in season 6.  But, also, it’s the ending of a show I kind of wish we had much longer, and I guess it feels a little sad to get to the end.  

The episode itself is solid - there are only really three plot lines here, and they all work pretty well.  The music might be the weakest element (I only like about half the songs in this one) but it’s got comedy and drama and warmth and sadness, and does make for a great season finale.  (It’s the best season finale the show did -- really, it is.)  And I guess - everyone ends up where they’re supposed to end up, and it works for me.  

I don’t really have a lot to say about it, or at least anything new to say.  It’s good, it’s solid, and while I’m super tired of watching TV all day, it’s a great ending to a really good chunk of TV.  

///

Final Thoughts: 

I am a little saddened that we didn’t get those two episodes that were taken from the season.  I feel like another couple of beats in the story lines would have worked wonders, and of course, selfishly, we’d have a little more of my favorite part of the story. 

Interestingly, though, I don’t know if this makes any sense - but I got the feeling the writers were always more comfortable writing stuff back at McKinley.  Like - they did this because they had the time, but they wouldn’t have been able to sustain an entire season writing it.  I know we could all come up with great stories, but I think it’s better that they were wrapping things up at this point, because the show feels like it’s headed towards an ending. 

I thought I’d get more insight about things watching them all in one sitting - but I’m not sure I did.  I think the show almost works better as a week to week so you can sit with each episode.  I think when strung together the arcs don’t seem as fluid as we have them in our heads now that we’ve spent years talking about each episode individually.  

Weirdly - the music of this arc is really hit and miss for me.  It’s interesting, to me, that a lot of times when the story is stronger, the music isn’t always as good.  A lot of other times, it’s vice versa.  The really, really good episodes can balance the two.  

I feel bad for Kevin McHale - who really had nothing to do other than be a giant STD.  

That said - one of the most refreshing things about this arc was the lack of toxic masculinity crap, as well as some of the best writing for the women ever on the show. 

I enjoyed the little bit of Santana and Brittany that we got - this was, like, the prefect amount of them.  

One of the downsides of everyone being paired off is that we didn’t get to see interesting mixed-up pairs - one of the draw backs of the show having such little time in New York.  

One thing that stood out to me, and god I hope I don’t get too much hate for this, is that Mercedes and Sam don’t really work... at least at this point.  Seeing the entire arc all together, it’s very apparent that while I don’t doubt how much they care for each other, they’re definitely in two different places in their lives.  And while I applaud the maturity that the relationship was handled with, it’s clear that they’re not ready to be in a long term relationship (yet).  

Rachel! Was bearable for most of the arc.  Yeah - there are still a lot of special snowflake Rachel moments.  But Lea Michele can do comedy well, and they let her do that.  

I didn’t find anything wrong or unusual about Chris’s acting choices.  **shrug**

Kurt’s mildly unhappy through a lot of these episodes - but much of that is at Rachel.  And really at his own place in life.  And the one episode where he’s super sexually frustrated.  

The Klaine stuff is delicious - and of course, discussed many other places that you don’t really need me to rehash it.  

It’s also unfinished.  

They should have made Adam Lambert a regular. 

Alright - bring it Season 6.  

[ambitionsource]

S1 Rewatch: Lena’s Take [1.07]

whew! what an episode! also, i hope it’s no trouble that i send my rewatches in a day late... sorry!

favourite scene: this episode has SO many good scenes... my god. I have to say the paint balloon war scene, though, just for the a) pure chaotic energy and b) good character moments. farkle getting absolutely HAMMERED with paint balloons. isadora screaming war cries (if you imagine this scene without music it would be HILARIOUS), riley being so scared of getting hit she pulls a me back in third grade playing dodgeball. dylan taking a dramatic slow mo paint balloon to the chest. zay and charlie working perfectly together as a tactical team 🥺, ending with both of them absolutely MUCKING lucas as he tries to choose between the revolution and his blooming feelings for riley.... they have NO time for straight nonsense. plus charlie having an ANEURSYM when zay literally HUGS him is so funny (i literally said out loud “charlie sweetie”)... the “intricate rituals that allow you to touch the skin of other men” energy it has... WERE YOU AWARE THAT I LOVE THEM? a good scene on so many comedic and emotional levels! it really demonstrates the boxes the students are stuck in, and how hard they’re going to have to work to get out of them by the end of this ep, and, on a larger scale, the end of the season.... the Nuances.

favourite performance: the amount of ICONIC performances this episode makes it SO HARD TO CHOOSE! maya leading the performers with team.... riley’s melodramatic but still heart-wrenching rendition of cry and you cry alone... farkle’s emotional struggles showcased in control... honestly, it’s a so close for me between thnks fr th mmrs and come out and play... but despite the incredible power of thnks fr th mmrs and the fact that i LOVE the techies’ family dynamic the MOST, especially when they perform together because it’s so few and far between, i have to give it to come out and play. a) i LOVE that song, b) it undercurrents my favourite scene in the episode.... and c) its a zc duet. im SORRY but like i think it serves REALLY well to highlight the frustrations and core of the scenes: a taunting, frustrated battle between two sides who want nothing more than to be kept separated. also, for two characters who still don’t know each other SUPER well... zc really work excellently as a team, directly contradicting the isolation and separation from others they both discussed feeling last episode... They CLICK... n that hug.... i love them so much. however i must point out the POWER thnks fr th mmrs has to be led by dylan and asher. like PLEASE. theyre baby. i love them so much and the joy pumped into my soul whenever asher gets to sing? unmatched.

favourite character this ep: lucas fucking friar ABSOLUTELY RULED this episode. king stomps back into school in his giant stompy boots and stages a giant stompy revolution. lucas’ ability to just show up and throw places into chaos is WONDERFUL, and focusing on it means he ran this episode. outnumbered by enemies and returning late, he staged a full-fledged week-long revolution... and it was successful. he also had some of the best lines this episode, and i love how, despite the fact that he pretends not to care about ANYTHING, he has such a dedication to his friends that makes it only obvious how much he actually cares about everything. this episode was lucas in his element, showcasing the way he’s softening around riley (i LOVE they) and how steadfast and determined he is in his beliefs, stances, and endeavours. lucas cares, okay? he cares a LOT. i love lucas a lot and if i had more energy i would go into an unnervingly deep psychoanalysis of him... but i don’t, so i’ll say i love him the MOST and i’ll leave it at that.

favourite line: lucas: It’s like they say, you know. “If we burn, you burn with us.” That’s classic literature, right? jack, deadpan: The Hunger Games. | also “white nonsense”. EXCELLENT, zay.

an underrated moment: yindra and nigel being absolutely iconic this episode. the two of them plus jade are the three side characters i feel unfairly attached to. the moment where they go to meet lucas and isadora to straight up say they’re tired of the bullshit.. they were actually real standouts this episode and it really goes to show how much main character drama effects the sise characters, which isn’t discussed very much and is ALWAYS nice and refreshing to see. plus nigel as mulligan made my little heart sing.... HIS BREAK DANCE JUMP UP!! get nigel on america’s got talent, i DARE YOU.

something i missed the first time around: FARKLE STARTING TO RANT AT ISADORA WHEN HE FEELS UNFAIRLY TARGETED, FORESHADOWING HIS DIVA MELTDOWN IN THE FINALE... BRILLIANT. ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT. we get a subtle warning that we do NOT heed. i also think i overlooked how clearly farkle’s mental health issues are showcased this episode, which improve as he gets friends later on, but are ripped wide open again in the finale.

first impression vs your reread impression: loved it both times, more this time. this episode is a major turning point for the main conflict of the season (techie & performer divide) and is SO goddamn intense, especially with the end scene... the bit where we get shots of EVERYONE alone on their phones, ensuring it could be anyone at school? INCREDIBLE. SHOWSTOPPING. love love loved this ep.

--

literally NO TROUBLE AT ALL lena dear, we love to read them regardless of when you send!! the fact that you’re being so diligent about participating is like impactful as it is <3 and lucky us bc your thoughts are always so GOOD. i literally don’t even know where to start because you just said so many good things. what i WILL say is that you may get the chance to talk to nigel or yindra or jade v soon... and also i WILL be looking forward to that deep psychoanalysis of lucas james sometime in the future,, but SHOUT OUT to you pointing out another foreshadowing moment... but also ma’am your descriptions of things are just so poetic. like where is your aaa fandom blog in the fake aaa universe so i can follow and reblog all your meta posts as the seasons unfold being like damn... yeah... points were made,,,,

[gothammite]

zinda, helena, and charlie

ZINDAAAAA

favorite thing about them

i love my southern babey!!!!!! what a babe. i have so much love in my heart for her idk where to start. she’s super underrated. my favorite thing about her, in all honesty, is how fiercely loyal she is!!!!!!!!!! like bitch!!!!!! thats my fuckn… babey!!!!!!!!!!! when she comes back to the team after spy smasher’s bullshit……. god. and her strength, in her heart, is just so unparalleled. thats a legend right there

least favorite thing about them

her whole thing about not being told what to do is sometimes kinda annoying but at the same time too…. mood! men dont get within ten feet of me and immediately tell me what to do or ill kill you.

favorite line

i mean everything she says is basically. fuckin gold. but i mean the classic one is the ‘well butter my butt and call me a biscuit’ yknow

brOTP

her friendship with babs and dinah…. 👌👌👌

OTP

HELENAZINDA PLEASE THANK YOU. also bardazinda is big valid

nOTP

people ship her with guy. i hate that. and dont even fucking look at her @ killer shark

random headcanon

i would like to imagine that she has a crash course of piloting with all of the birds of prey (including barbara) and it just goes horribly wrong and she just gives up and they go out drinking instead 

unpopular opinion

i dont know if there is an unpopular opinion for her really since so many people just IGNORE HER but if there was an unpopular opinion to have ig it would be that shes an important part of the team since APPARENTLY everyone else is sleeping on her

song i associate with them

i feel like she deserves some gothic southern vibes so im feelin some brandi carlile, specifically raise hell (i love this song so im adding a link)  

favorite picture of them

i cant help it……… i love the otto schmidt design………….. shes so cute

dsljkfn i make these too long so helena goes under here now 

favorite thing about them

a bitch gotta love a hard-headed, strong willed woman. ive grown to really like her rebirth iteration/her grayson(new 52) reboot……… i really liked seeing her sorta in charge in spyral because she’s usually portrayed as this hot-headed, spontaneous spitfire and that was super fun to see her being in charge!!!!!! but also i felt like the characterization was inconsistent between grayson into rebirth. and birds of prey rebirth…….. bleh.  but her spunk is just. undeniable !!!!!!!!!! legend!!!!!! shes so cool

least favorite thing about them

her temper is like. sometimes not the greatest thing in the world. just because of the fact that i feel like sometimes in bop everyone’s just staring at each other like >:-( all the time

favorite line

it’s stereotypical but i do love ‘the hunted becomes the huntress’ thing. i cant help it

brOTP

her relationship with dick in grayson when theyre NOT being pushed romantically is nice! and i like her friendship with babs a lot. i feel like the respect there is really great

OTP

dinahhelena legend. also helenazinda is p great too. 

nOTP

hmmmmmmm i dont love her with dick romantically. it feels really forced. also remember that time she was with penguin? sorry to remind you. 

random headcanon

anyone else feel like they could catch her yelling at an hgtv rerun of house hunters like: ‘are you fucking kidding me? a beach house with that budget? yeah sure uh huh’ and ‘ARE YOU JOKING??????? HOUSE 2??????? GET FUCKED TERRY AND AMY.’ 

unpopular opinion

stop shoving her with men and putting this weird emphasis on her sexuality……….. it’s annoying

song i associate with them

im feelin bury me face down by grandson………… i fuckin love that song. im linking that one too flkjsdnfjk

favorite picture of them

i love her super curly hair……. and ig dick is there too

i fuckin….. love charlie

favorite thing about them

the time when charlie came around was like. fuckin dark. so for me personally my favorite thing about charlie is what a lot of people didnt like…… the fact that shes so fuckin peppy!!!!! barbara showed her stephanie’s fucking…… autopsy…… and she’s still out here doing her best. she’s unstoppable. i love her. she deserves to be brought back and i feel like she wouldve had a legit place in the new birds of prey lineup if dc wasnt like. yknow. cowards

least favorite thing about them

i will honestly say that sometimes her energy felt a little bit misplaced when standing next to the bop. however……………………… idc i love her (also her inexperience is a little like OOF sometimes)

favorite line

i dont really have any in my head that stick out but i know shes got some really good one liners 

brOTP

i would really like to have her hang out with steph and cass :-( ALSO i could see her and duke getting along really well. especially as metas surrounded by nonmetas

OTP

i dont really have any ships for her! in my head she’s like. a whole child 

nOTP

people shipping her with any of the bop…………… theyre like her moms……. maybe dont do that

random headcanon

she for sure plays dnd. i know it in my soul. i dont know who but i know she does. ALSO i really like the idea that shes huntress in the future. i know thats not a headcanon (since it was in teen titans) but it’s like. too good i love it 

unpopular opinion

people dont really have many opinions i think on charlie but like……. she should be in current continuity and be adopted by bruce. he sucks but like. she deserves a fambly and also see my notes above about duke

song i associate with them

RANDOM BUT fear by x ambassadors. maybe it’s because of its BOUNCE………… do you get the joke

favorite picture of them

I KNOW but she looks so cute

[anistarrose]

More Alike Than They Realize (Gravity Falls One-Shot)

Word Count: ~1700

Summary: Stan finds a jittery, apologetic Ford up late one night, and the following conversation doesn’t go anywhere near where he thought it was going. Post-Weirdmageddon.

Warnings: None

Contains a lot more fluff and meta jokes than the summary suggests.

For the first time since Weirdmageddon, Stan woke up knowing exactly who, where, and when he was. The bulk of his memories, especially the enjoyable ones from the past summer and his childhood, had returned within about forty-eight hours, but six days later he was still having occasional lapses, the worst of which occurred upon waking up – until now, apparently. He hoped it would last.

He rolled over and looked at his clock. 12:15 A.M. Well, that was less cause for celebration. His head hurt – not unusual lately – and his mouth was dry – not anything to worry about, but still unpleasant.

Careful not to make any sound that could wake Ford or the kids, he made his way down to the kitchen. Warm milk usually helped him get to sleep.

I hope there’s still some left, he thought. The kids and I have been going through a lot since –

“Stanley, is everything alright?” Ford had been sitting at the kitchen table in complete darkness aside from the multi-colored glow of his laptop screen. “Do you know who I am?”

Stan hurriedly rushed to the fridge. “Don’t worry, Sixer, I remember fine. Just wanted get somethin’ to drink before I go to back to bed.” Ford’s concern was pretty reasonable given the state Stan was usually in when he wandered the Shack at night, and had Stan actually been in the middle of a lapse his brother’s presence would have been appreciated, but at the moment he didn’t want Ford worrying about him. He wanted to sleep.

“That’s great to hear,” Ford told him. “But Stanley, we need to talk.” He put himself between Stan and the door. “I was a fool, I realize that now. I hope you’ll forgive me.”

“Ford, you already apologized,” Stan replied. “About a hundred times. I promise, I’ve forgiven you –”

Stan suddenly noticed Ford’s eyes were bloodshot and his hair was even more of an unkempt mess than usual. “Stanford, are you feelin’ okay? You look… paranoid. Do you need to run more tests to make sure Bill is –”

Realization dawned on Ford’s face – and then he chuckled sadly, like he was laughing at himself rather than Stan. “Oh, no, Stan. This isn’t about Weirdmageddon. I didn’t worry you too much, did I?”

“Wait, then what is it –” Stan noticed the bowl on the kitchen table next to Ford’s laptop. “Is that popcorn? How the hell did you make popcorn at midnight without waking up the whole house?”

“It’s just simple sound-wave cancelling technology I picked up in Dimension B-56,” Ford replied automatically. “But the point is, I need to completely and sincerely take back what I said to you and about your… taste in entertainment on my second full day back in this dimension. I made a hasty judgement based on the show’s… target demographics, and I see now that I was wrong. So very, very wrong.”

“Sixer, you’re not making any… wait.” Stan suddenly remembered what had aired on Ford’s second day back in Gravity Falls. “You started watching Ducktective, didn’t you?”

“I did, Stanley! And it’s so much better than I was emotionally prepared for! After you saved me from Probabilitor that one day, I asked Dipper if I could join you watching the new episode, but he said it would be full of spoilers and showed me how I could stream it from the beginning when I had the time – and now I’m addicted! I can’t believe I called it a kids’ show; the mysteries of the overarching story transcend age demographics like nothing I’ve ever seen before! I’m nowhere near caught up and I already have so many theories! I’m not even sure if the younger Ducktective we saw in the time travel episode was actually him!”

“Whoa whoa whoa, Poindexter, slow down.” A grin was spreading across Stan’s face. “How far in have you gotten? Ten episodes?”

“Twelve,” Ford corrected. “I just finished the one where his rival Pete the pelican was wrongly accused and came to Ducktective for help –”

“Hey, that’s a really underrated one!”

“Wait, who didn’t like it? That was some of the finest comedy I’ve seen in the entire multiverse!”

“Dipper said Pete’s change of heart was unrealistic! Can you believe it?”

“If I wasn’t indebted to him for introducing me to the show in the first place, he would be dead to me,” Ford agreed in an overly dramatic tone.

“You gotta watch the next couple episodes right now, Sixer. Episode 13 is a goddamn emotional journey, and Episode 14 – well, I don’t want to spoil it. It needs to be seen to be believed, anyways. And then rewatched multiple times after learning what happens in the season finale.”

“Are you going to stay to watch alongside me?” Ford asked as he sat back down in front of his laptop.

“And miss you tearing up?” Stan pulled up a chair. “Pass the popcorn, would ya?”

“We’ll see about that,” Ford replied, but when Ducktective was finally reunited with his long-lost partner Steve, he couldn’t help but shed a single tear. Stan shed quite a few more, despite having seen the episode at least twice before, but Ford didn’t rub it in his face.

Ford was a bit confused, however, when the town erected a hyper-realistic statue of Ducktective to honor him for his continued work, and Stan bawled his eyes out seeing how Ducktective refused to look at the monument for longer than a few seconds.

“He’s just not used to the attention! What’s so sad about that?” Ford asked.

“You don’t understand,” Stan sobbed. It took all of his willpower not to explain that the statue reminded Ducktective of his long-lost twin gone evil. Ford had more or less guessed the twist already thanks to the time travel episode and the extra room in Ducktective’s childhood home, but Stan was drawing on all his con man power to act like Ford’s theory was crazy.

During a lull in the action in Episode 17, Ford paused the video and said: “I’m getting a little tired, but I can’t stop watching yet. Do you mind if we go sit somewhere where I won’t wake up with back pains in case I do fall asleep?”

Stan was also very tired, but there was no way he was going to miss Ford’s reaction to the next episode’s reveal. “While we’re at it, let’s go someplace where you won’t wake up the kids when you scream. There’s a big plot twist comin’ up.”

Ford closed the laptop. “I’d suggest the basement, but it’s probably pretty cold down there. We can go to my private study.”

Stan frowned. “Not exactly a lot of comfortable furniture in there, is there?”

“No, especially not after I cleaned it out. I was thinking we could bring blankets – wait, you’ve been in there? It’s supposed to be a secret!”

Stan snorted. “Sixer, I lived in this house for thirty years. Now go get those blankets.”

“Great Uncle Ford? Grunkle Stan? Are you guys okay? What are you doing down here?”

Stan tried to sit up, but something above him slipped, and several surprisingly heavy blankets fell on his face. Besides, he didn’t really want to get up. He was reminded of the good old days when he and Ford would hang some blankets from the top bunk, then sit on Stan’s bed together reading comic books, telling ghost stories, and generally making a mess with snacks.

“Morning, Dipper,” he heard Ford mumble. “I’m sorry we didn’t make breakfast…”

“Grunkle Ford, we were so worried about you!” Mabel yelled. “We thought you got kidnapped by gnomes or one of the last few eye-bats or something! But this whole time, you were just down here in your secret room?! You even built a whole blanket fort without us!”

“Oh, I’m so sorry.” Ford pulled his laptop out from under his blankets. “I didn’t even consider the possibility that you wouldn’t realize where we were. We just didn’t want to wake you with our reactions to Ducktective.” He glared at Stan. “I can’t believe I predicted Ducktective’s twin brother almost a whole season in advance and Stan just pretended that my theory was ridiculous.”

“Hey, what was I supposed to do, spoil the ending of the best episode in the whole show?”

“How about simply not making fun of me for ‘looking too deep’ into everything?”

Mabel shook her head. “I can’t believe you nerds.”

“Hey, you can say that about Ford, but not me,” Stan complained. “I’m not like him and Dipper, not at –”

“You kind of are, though,” Ford told him, trying and failing not to laugh. “Obviously not to the same extent as myself, but we did just stay up until three in the morning watching a children’s show and discussing elaborate conspiracy theories about it. We’re more alike than you realize, Stanley.”

“So? It was one time!”

“I seem to recall we did this kind of thing pretty often when we were kids. Obviously not on a laptop, but with equally nerdy works of fiction nonetheless.”

“You’re an honorary nerd now whether you like it or not, Grunkle Stan,” Dipper added.

Stan shook his head. “Ya know, I was gonna apologize for making you worry, but now I’m not so sure.”

“You should apologize for ruining our blanket fort, Stanley,” Ford chided jokingly. “It was an absolute marvel of engineering before you decided to drag down the roof.”

“A real marvel of engineering wouldn’t let its roof get dragged down that easily!”

Ford frowned. “Uh, let’s go get breakfast. Kids, do you know if there’s any pancake mix left?”

“Ha, so you admit I have a point!”

“Honestly,” Mabel interrupted, “I’m not mad anymore that you guys disappeared into the basement to build a blanket fort and eat popcorn and watch your show. I’m just mad that you didn’t invite us.”

“Yeah!” Dipper added. “I wanted to see Ford’s reaction to the season finale.”

Ford smiled. “Well, we still have about… ten episodes before I’m caught up?”

“Eight,” Stan corrected. “Plus the shorts. But yeah, you kids could join us.”

“Will there be popcorn?” Mabel asked.

“Of course!”

Mabel and Dipper exchanged a look.

“Are we forgiven?” Stan asked.

The kids nodded in unison. “You’re forgiven.”

Thanks for reading! Ford’s reaction to Ducktective is loosely based on my own reaction to Gravity Falls: skeptical when first learning of it, then genuinely interested after hearing good things, then way too emotionally invested in it.

[96percentdone]

☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕☕ dispense the truth

THAT IS A LOT OF TRUTHS. Okay

1) dangan ronpa as a series literally cannot ever successfully pull off being about meta commentary and I’m not just saying this because v3′s chapter six is an incoherent dumpsterfire. I mean this because dangan ronpa is a series about themes and characters interacting with and embodying those themes, and “meta commentary” is not something you can embody with characters without fourth wall breaks all the time, and that would honestly just break dangan ronpa completely. 

Meaningful fourth wall breaks, particularly in video games, come when you have a choice and you don’t have meaningful choices in dangan ronpa because it’s linear and a visual novel. The same people will always die the same way in the same order because that’s just how Kodaka does things and unless that changes, it won’t mean anything. The fourth wall breaks and commentary will only come off and cheap and flaccid and then making that discussion the epicenter of chapter 6, the culmination of the game’s themes will ultimately come from left field with such lackluster build up. 

The only way it would work in the format it’s in is if we actually saw the people running the fiction make it work, but you can’t as much as you would like or need to without risking accidentally revealing your mastermind ahead of time. And given how badly Kodaka seems to handle writing a mastermind that isn’t a last-second plot twist he couldn’t do it. So it wouldn’t work.

2) meta-commentary doesn’t make something good or interesting. honestly meta-commentary as the center of your work just for the sake of it being meta-commentary which is “automatically clever writing” is not ever actually good.  It’s always shit and it shows its just being done to win points with the “good content either addresses every minor nitpick I have or pokes fun at itself all the time” crowd. It’s boring. It’s not interesting. It’s overdone. Write about something else. the topic is pretty tired.

3) If you’re aware doing something is bad and you choose to do it anyway and justify it with “I’m aware it sucks” you don’t actually give a shit that it’s bad. Saying you know xyz is bad and then doing it anyway shows active malicious apathy to the people it harms. Being aware is not a get out of jail free card.

4) if you can’t handle people making valid criticisms of your fave maybe you should just not have faves anymore. liking a thing doesn’t mean it’s exempt from criticism.

5) Tanaka is super overrated. He’s not a bad character. But he’s overrated.

6) People don’t hate ya//mada and hana//mura because they’re fat. They do it because they’re creepy and exploitative. stop acting like this is valid discourse. Yes, Kodaka writing them as fat and portraying fat people like this is a problem, but stop pretending that’s why no one likes them. 

7) You’re allowed to like problematic things. You’re not allowed to romanticize problematic things. (this one goes out to all y’all fucking antiantis who can’t seem to grasp this fucking concept).

8) a lot of bigotry comes from a place of “this experience is not like my own therefore it’s not valid.” y’all gotta get your heads out of your asses. not everything is about your fuckin pov. 

9) Nidai Nekomaru is criminally underrated.

10) Shi//rogane is boooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooring. lame. uninteresting. terrible mastermind. terrible character. literally nothing I have more interest in an empty white wall.