#just finished s05

[caityjay13]

ugh I love lower decks so much I'm crying I would watch fifty more seasons

[do-androids-dream-ao3acc]

Okay, I'm extremely late to this party because The Rookie s05 took ages to get to a streaming service I use. So, I just finished the last ep, and ... I don't get it. For an entire season, the writers made me believe their drugs had gone bad or they'd gone on vacation or whatever, because the season – with a few exceptions – was so strange. And then, boom, the last episode. Which would have fit at least into TWO eps, it would have made an amazing cliffhanger. Instead, they rushed this very very good idea into one episode with no real solution. And still, it was somehow the best episode of the entire season. Man. What we could have had!

[writebackatya]

Director's Cut for 'Indie-Quack' (What'd I Miss?)!

Before I begin info-dumping there are two things I’d like to start off with:

1. This group I have in this story (Della, Fenton, Gandra, and Gyro) is a fun group and I think a lot of great stories could be made with just the four of them. They all are fun characters on their own and have these similarities and differences with one another that make them play off one another really well. Plus I feel like none of them are the true “adult” of the group since they have characteristics that make them in some ways more mature than the others as well some that makes them more immature than the others. Also I could totally see Della say, “Pfft! White birds, amirite!?!” to Fenton and Gandra whenever Gyro acts up or something

2. This interaction between Gina Linetti and Rosa Diaz from the episode Game Night (S05 E10) of FOX’s NBC’s Brooklyn Nine-Nine:

Okay, let’s talk about Della and Gandra!!

So this is a story I’ve had in the back of my head for a long time. How long? Well I think it’d be safe to say since I wrote the story Under the Influence of Gandra Dee! where I had Gyro tell Gandra that she reminds him of Della

And it's a funny thing on how my stories come to be, 90% of the time they start off as a funny interaction or joke between two or more characters and then if I am too tickled by my own sense of humor I'll be like, "Well now this has to be a story". For this story it was the interaction Della and Gandra had where they both joked about being fired by Gyro for getting high in his lab

Finding a reason for them to be there was not too hard, I did always love the idea of Gizmocloud and since it was never really completed in the show I just felt that could be a good side story to have in the Indi-Quack! series (yeah, I do plan on having a story where it is completed, the main characters of that story will be Huey and B.O.Y.D.). And having Della join the team for the Gizmocloud just made sense to me cause: 1. Della is my favorite character and I'm biased, 2. Someone like Della who is not only handicapped but also missed out an entire decade of technological advances on Earth could offer a unique perspective on the Gizmocloud and help the team make the program and make it more accessible to everyone which I'm sure is the goal, and 3. Della actually is an intelligent duck and could make good use out of it

I never really talked about this since I'm pretty sure this is the first time someone has asked me to talk about Indi-Quack! but the presence of weed in these stories is one of the elements that I tend to overthink (at least in the ones where the characters actually use it). From the very beginning I always told myself these stories need to simultaneously be about the weed but also not about the weed, if that makes sense. I feel like if these stories were just Disney characters getting high they'd wear thin real fast so I try to have some sorta heart in my stories (I'd say the stories Legalize It! and Often Imitated; Never Duplicated! are just straight up goofy stories that are just jokes) so far this one I figured a story about Della and Gandra catching each other up in what the other has missed out on while being isolated while also being able to embrace their chaotic side around one another would make for a sweet story

I always have fun putting two characters together that never really interacted in the show and figuring out how they'd be around one another. Things I always consider when doing that is figuring out their similarities, their differences, the type of adventurer they are, the people we've seen them interact with, and the kind of comedy they produce in their episodes

When it came to thinking about the kind of comedic shenanigans for these two, I knew right away I wanted the story to be about Della and Gandra spending most of their work hours just goofing off with one another and then eventually finishing the job they were supposed to do at the last possible second

When writing these two, I feel like I took a lot of inspiration from Della's "friendship" with Penny and the friendship Gandra has with Fenton. Della being more on the extroverted side with Gandra being more of an introvert brings a nice balance to this dynamic

Something I always make sure I do whenever I write for Gandra is to include a lot of facial reactions to whatever the hell is going on or whatever is happening to her, because a lot of her comedy comes from that. (Seriously. Watch any episode with Gandra in it, she has some hilarious deadpan reactions. My personal favorite is in the finale when Dewey was happily talking about how often this adventure stuff happens to the family and Gandra has this face that's like "What the FUCK is wrong with this family?!?") And having someone like Della is just perfect for her to play off of, for how in-your-face Della can be whether she means it or not. Not to mention I love making puns and snarky jokes, so some of the dialogue for Della and Gandra just comes natural to me

Besides jokes, I did really want to a moment where Della and Gandra reflect on their own lives and what they struggle with because I think they would understand one another and know where they other is coming from. Della is often seen as unintelligent and I know that Gandra would be able to find the brilliance in her that others might not see (kinda like with Fenton). And honestly, Gandra has done a lot of cool things but I don't think anyone has ever told her they were proud of her and I always felt that Della would be the one to do that if they were to ever interacted with one another.

A line I really wanted to include in the story (and I was glad when the right spot for it) was Gandra telling Della that they weren't built to live that 9-5 lifestyle, because when I think of those two I think just that

Della doesn't really have a job, she's an adventurer. She knows how to do adventure stuff. If she were to have a job, I like to think she'd take over Launchpad's responsibilities once that pilot moves to St. Canard and marries Darkwing Duck like he always wanted to do. Plus when it comes to adventuring, Della's never really in it for the monetary gain, she's just there for the adventure. (Which the more I think about her time on the moon, the more I realize how much of a cruel ironic punishment that is. Just a decade long adventure alone by yourself trying to get home)

And when it comes to Gandra, sometimes I feel like I'm one of the few people that doesn't want her to work at McDuck Enterprises. Like collaborate with them, sure. Definitely. She can still work with them, but when people act like that her part of her character development is getting a corporate job, it just doesn't sit right with me. It just feels like they're making her be more like Fenton or Gyro when she's her own damn bird, damnit. Her being a freelancer is not a bad thing

There were a lot of stuff I wanted to include in this story that just didn't make the cut because it would've gotten the story off track, not really add anything to the story, take away from the story, etc. I might as well share some stuff:

When Della was talking about the friends and family she'd hang out with are all over the world living their lives, one I was thinking about including was the penguin character Skittles from the '87 DuckTales show who befriended Webby in the original show. That scene would've ended with Gandra asking a couple of times "Her name was Skittles?!" and then BOOM cut to vending machines where they're snacking. But I like the ending to that scene because it does bring up Launchpad who I already knew I wanted to appear at the end as well as Della telling Gandra "Fuck you" after Gandra did the same to her moments ago. I love a good friendly "fuck you"

Speaking of the vending machines scene, originally I wanted to Gandra to just vent about ALL the F.O.W.L. members she worked with, but I figured it'd be best to just focus on the main two, Heron and Bradford, her bosses. Mainly because I'm already working on another story where Gandra shows her disdain for Steelbeak and I always had this headcanon that Della was never a fan of Bradford Buzzard even when he was "on their side" due to his bureaucratic and anti-adventure attitude.

I think at one point I wanted to the two drink a whole bunch of energy drinks (think stuff like Bang or Monster) but that idea didn't really go anywhere

In the story I had the two sing The Sweet Escape by Gwen Stefani, but originally I thought they should sing a song by P!nk, but the more I thought about it I felt that the P!nk song reflected Della more than Gandra, and I wanted the song to capture a side of Della and Gandra they both share. I will say this, Della will sing that P!nk song in another story I'm working on that does star Gandra

Originally the Gizmocloud scene would have been nowhere near as entertaining. I did want to do a joke about the Gizmocloud being similar to the Holodeck from Star Trek which then would have lead to the two jokingly using technobabble to explain what they were going to do to Della's leg to improve it, but that would've just ripped off a joke Futurama did ("Like putting too much air in a balloon!")

Speaking of the Gizmocloud scene, once I knew I wanted the two to fight in there I thought it would be funny if they started generating friends and family to fight on their sides, but that would've been way too much. I might write that someday here as a little bonus, but for now, I have no plans

At one point I thought it'd be funny to cut to them in the middle of building Della's leg where out of nowhere Della asks Gandra if she tops Fenton and then Gandra casually replies with a quick "Oh yeah." And then Della responds with a "Nice" and then the scene ends. But I didn't want to do too many sex jokes in this story and I felt the cut from the two fighting to the two finishing their work was funny enough. (Also I'm surprised with the amount of Ace readers I have when I write sex jokes that'd make a 7th grader roll their eyes)

I did think it would be funny if the two did do some damage to lab such as Della and Gandra actually attaching rockets to her leg and that leg getting itself stuck in the wall or something, but I wanted the two to be true to their words about being responsible for Fenton and Gyro

Not really something cut, but something I almost cut out of the story was the final scene with Launchpad. My mind kept going back and forth if I wanted to do that scene or just end it at Gyro's final line of the story because it would've made for a sweet little ending, but I love the Launchpad scene way too much to just drop it

Well I hope you enjoyed reading all this, I'm sure there's other stuff I wanna write. But I really wanna go jogging right now.

[telltalebatman]

i finished the boys s04 last night

i will definitely come back for s05, because now i am deeply invested.

i need them to stop putting hughie in situations stat. i am not even joking. hadn't he been through enough? he had to euthanize his own father. he was raped twice in one season. jesus fucking christ.

i fucking hAaAaAaAtE firecracker. yes, i know that's the point of her, but she is not even FUN to hate. she is just a generic American conservative to me. i could go on tiktok and easily find 5000 people with her exact talking points. where's the fun in that?

sage, on the other hand, is stellar and her mind literally feels like the last piece homelander had been missing as a villain.

speaking of homelander: he is still a very fun villain to watch, but i feel like he lost some of that je ne sais quoi when he moved onto more realistic conservative talking points like "nonbinary socialists". he was more fun when his villainy was purely about the fictitious concept of literal superhuman supremacy over mankind, not when he was ben shapiro but with laser eyes.

the acting in this show is just *chef's kiss*. no notes. stellar performances all across the board.

i know it's terribly cliche, but i love a-train. his path to redemption was long and bumpy and complicated, but i think he finally got there.

why is the deep there? and i'm being serious here. what purpose does his whole storyline serve? it's not interesting, it's not funny, and the shock value of "he fucked that octopus" wears off very quickly. which is saying something, because usually a guy fucking an octopus is something shocking indeed, but... nah.

the fucking batman and spider-man parody got me good, i'm not gonna lie.

once again giancarlo esposito delivers the performance of a lifetime. i could listen to him read out a phone book and i would still be enthralled.

billy butcher, the man that you are.

look at me very bravely avoiding the topic of homelander and uhm. milk. from uhm. a natural source.

[chibihao]

i was tagged by @jerichoes 💖

last song: V.G.G.G. (Very Good Glenn Gould) by La rappresentante di lista fav colour: teal (?) currently watching: catching up with Brassic S04 so i can watch S05 when all episodes are out! last movie: No one will save you currently reading: "Tutto chiede salvezza" by Daniele Mencarelli but very slowly as it's my first time reading in italian haha and also "My Cat Yugoslavia" by Pajtim Statovci (read "Bolla" last year and liked it a lot so i wanted to read more books by him) sweet/savoury/spicy: savoury relationship status: single current obsession: i don't think i'm really obssesed with anything rn? maybe käärijä? last google: pasco (i was searching for the guides of some of the stuff i use in one of my labs) currently working on: not much... just academic stuff 😭 between trying to finish an article and preparing the lessons for my classes

[curestardust]

Dust Watched: Aikatsu! 10th Story: Mirai e no Starway (1) (2)

Genres: Idols // 1.5 Movie (3 Parts) // S01 (x) | S02 (x) | S03 (x) | S04 (x) | S05 (x) | M01 (x)

The release of this "movie" is quite a bit confusing so: it works more like a 3 part OVA. The 1st part was released alongside the "Aikatsu Planet" movie while the other 2 were released together. I'm not sure if this is only for the BD but all of these have an OP/ED and an episode title as well.

✧  story  ✧

The 1st Part of "Mirai e no Starway" starts off with Ichigo and Akari doing their Unit debut concert for "Cosmos" which neatly connects it to the finale of the original Aikatsu season. Afterwards the main 3 plus the Pururin girls, Yurika, and Kaede start to discuss their graduation during the afterparty. The rest of the episode is spent on focusing on what the main 3 want to do after school and we finish off with the gang deciding to hold a Graduation Concert.

Part 2 does a timeskip to the future where get a gilmpse into the young adult life of the characters and how their future pursuits are faring with a surprise appearance from Yurika and Kaede.

Part 3 then goes back in time and we get to see the Graduation Concert with a heartfelt speech from Soleil and the ending showing a new beginning for our now grown up characters.

✧  characters  ✧

It was an obvious choice to put almost all the focus on the main 3. This movie feels kind of like a goodbye to the fans of the original series and they'll obviously be more attached to them. Aikatsu 1 already has an insanely huge cast so I didn't expect *everyone* to show up but the amount of characters that did was a bit disappointing. My favourite from this movie was Part 2, where we see them as adults but only Kaede and Yurika (married???) make an appearance. I really wanted to see Otome and Sakura too at the very least.

✧  art  ✧

For a movie, and for what it's supposed to represent, it's a bit low quality. There's nothing outrageously bad about it, it just felt like it could've used a bit more time to cook in the oven. The CGI looked good though.

✧  sound ✧

I believe there was only one new OST which is also the OP and the title of the movie. It's... fine? Not really my style but does make me a bit sentimental.

✧  overview ✧

Honestly, I kind of feel a bit sad for the missed opportunities that could've been in this movie but for what it is, it's fine. And I KNOW that if I've grown up with Aikatsu as I did with Precure, Akari's speech at the end would've made me cry.

My Rating: 6/10

[fadebolt]

Personal room rankings:

1 - Shoreline: B02 (9/10) 2 - Garbage Wastes: A11 (9/10) 3 - Garbage Wastes: A22 (8/10) 4 - Outer Expanse: RAIL05 (8/10) 5 - Silent Construct: S14 (8/10) 6 - Looks to the Moon: O06 (7/10) 7 - Barren Conduits: S05 (7/10) 8 - Outer Expanse: RUIN22 (6/10) 9 - Garbage Wastes: B09 (5/10) 10 - Desolate Fields: M02 (2/10)

Extra comment: Oh wow, half of these rooms just straight up didn't get a vote. That's certainly something.

RUIN22 being the highest is interesting, and I sort of get the idea, though I do think the room is a bit too visually cluttered for my liking. Yeah, I get that it's part of the point, but I just think the other "ancient structures overgrown with plants" rooms simply look nicer (granted, those also likely got a boatload of votes, too).

B02 is a bit of a bias pick, since I usually get to Shoreline through Shaded, so I see this one a lot. But it's also just a really solid design, and is a really nice sight, after spending all that time trudging through the dark chambers (especially seeing it for the very first time was a treat… it probably wouldn't shock anyone that I was stuck in Shaded for quite a while on my very first run xd). So not only do I fondly remember this room, but I also have pretty much no game design related nitpicks about it (despite the fact that it's not one of those basic tiny rooms), so yeah.

The other rooms that got voted are also ones that I somewhat like, and I think they all do their jobs relatively well, while still being unique in certain ways. Like O06 having those inaccessible areas to drive home the "this world was not made for you" point, A22 having the Pearl so far out of the way, so that the Scavengers wouldn't accidentally grab it, and A11 just being an overall very creatively designed shelter room. There's a lot to like about these, and it's nice that they got support.

Oh, and by the way, I wish you the best in recovering! If you have indeed prepared so many polls, then I wouldn't worry, cus from my experience, it's very rare for an illness to seriously weaken someone for over a week (unless it's something extremely serious, like meningitis, which I truly hope is not the case). But yeah, it was a very smart choice to finish these ahead of time, and I'm sure everything is gonna be alright.

Pick Your Favorite Rain World Room, Day 123

This is not single elimination! Every room with at least 10.0% vote will move on to the next round.

There is a hidden slugcat in one of the rooms (they can be in any color). If u can see it comment or reblog with where they are and if u are first, u get a cookie!

Credit for game screenshots goes to: Rain World Interactive Map and me

[esoraluco]

bike story

[ahhrenata]

Hello again! I was the person who messaged last week loving on your drawings of happy Anakin just as I finished S05 of TCW. Update - I’ve now officially finished the whole series & you were right, the feels are. IMMENSE. In hindsight maybe I should have paced them out a bit more cause I’ve been randomly crying whenever I think about the finale for too long ever since 🥲 ANYWAY, your beautiful disaster trio drawings continue to be a v strong balm for my disproportionate emotional reactions! But please know I would very literally pay you for drawings of an au where Anakin is saved & gets that hug from Ashoka 💔

Hii!! Oh yeah, I cried for a while and still can’t rewatch some arcs that were just waaay too sad. The pain is real. And I still get the chills and tear up when I hear that last song Burying the Dead 🥲 it was too powerful haha. Hopefully you feel a little better! You’re too sweet! 🥰💕

[pippin-katz]

Finished S05 E11 and I just have to say:

FUCK KARA FOR RUINING LITERALLY EVERYTHING

All the bitch had to do was lay low and she would’ve been out of Camelot in a few days. Arthur wasn’t going to hurt her. He was literally going to help her, but this bitch is just like “nah lemme do something super stupid that will definitely not endanger my life or Mordred’s if I fail”

Not only that but she continues to fuck up every chance she and Mordred get. Arthur gave her a chance, all she had to do was swallow her damn pride and apologize for KILLING PEOPLE IN COLD BLOOD WITHOUT MAGIC, and she would’ve lived.

She’s like “yeah I love Mordred too much to give up his name, I never want any harm to come to him” but she’s also like “nah imma just get myself killed cause that’ll be good for Mordred, yeah”

It is straight up infuriating to watch her ruin everything by being a stubborn, selfish brat. She loves Mordred so much but completely ignores everything he says. He tells her Arthur’s different, that they’re friends, blah blah blah but instead of trusting his word at all she’s like “no I’m the right one, let’s kill them all”

God I wish they had brought Mordred into the courtroom when Arthur gave her the chance to repent her crimes. I would love to see his face as Arthur offers her mercy. He offers mercy despite Kara being so certain he wouldn’t, but despite his mercy she refuses and condemns herself to death. I would’ve loved to see Mordred witness that, to have him see Arthur give mercy like he thought he would and see Kara throw it away out of spite. I think he would’ve had a very different reaction had he seen her do that.

Long story short: fuck Kara.

[james-stark-the-writer]

just finished S06E16/E129, and it was a good episode, most of the runtime was setting up the stakes and backstory backfill and it was fun to see how Hawks came to be and how the distrust for heroes is growing and how that's causing more collateral damage etc etc even though I don't like the overtones and messages of that bc it's giving "only these people are qualified to protect us" in a weird fashy-authoritarian way of placing trust in "authority" and like yes they undergo training to understand how to minimize damage from their superpowers and shit, I just don't like the messages that it's sending as they reflect on our world but let me not get into all of that for fear of never shutting up. it was just a fun, fine episode like better than the last one for sure. it was mostly just set up to show you where the rest of the season's going to go so they've got my attention for now at least. the opening stinger with Bakugo was severely misleading tho. made me think we were gonna explore his shit with Midoriya but it was recap that had nothing to do with anything, really. finally saw the panel (pictured below) put to screen and it's not as funny as an individual moment or panel but I think they pulled it off in a way that both maintains the comedic nature of the panel and also like maintains the show's serious tone and the tone that the scene needs to come across as by supplementing it with a funny scene immediately after he says the line but anyway, it was good, I had fun. I don't really have much to say bc there's not much to talk about, it was just set up and backstory stuff which I enjoy but I do have to wonder where it is leading and if it'll be actually interesting or if we're gonna have another S05 on our hands bc frankly I do not give a fuck about Endeavor.

you know, after considering S05 of My Hero Academia mostly a waste of my time (I despised most of the "forgive your abuser" vibes of the Endeavor storyline and some of the other writing also just wasn't as good as before), I was truly hesitant on starting S06 of MHA but goddamn, I'm five episodes in rn and my heart rate is literally over 100bpm rn and I'm hooked again, this show is so fucking good, they do so much with such fundamental storytelling stuff like wow. so beyond hyped to see where this season goes. guess I'm back in for the ride. also glad I decided to wait on watching until at least a few episodes were out bc I would have gone insane if I had to wait a week between this arc's episodes.

[barbarab1707-blog]

About Dany the Dragon, chains, and how Jon sealed his fate at the Dragonpit meeting

Daenerys is a dragon. I think no one can argue with that. She calls herself the Mother of Dragons, people call her the Dragon Queen. 

She also sees herself as a dragon, as per this:

And this:

Olenna even tells her: “You’re a dragon, be a dragon” which is also the “counsel” Missandei gives her before her death, “Dracarys” (=be a dragon).

And at the end the showrunners show us this:

Dany has finally completely embraced her inner dragon.

How does this tie in with the Dragonpit meeting? Well, this scene is full of foreshadowing of what is bound to happen in season 08, especially regarding Dany the Dragon and Jon’s fate.

Before the dragonpit meeting, we have this piece of dialogue: “Dragons don’t understand the difference between what’s theirs and what isn’t. Land, livestock, children. Letting them roam free around the city was a problem.”

So, dragons don’t make the distinction between what’s theirs and what isn’t. Dany being a dragon, she is the same. 

Which is shown by this (land):

Dany not making the difference between which lands belong to her or not, could be further illustrated when Dany tells Jon this in s08: “what happens when they demand you press your claim and take what’s MINE.” She considers the 7 Kingdoms to be hers, when they are, by right, Jon’s.

This (livestock):

And this (children):

The second part of the sentence about letting dragons roam free is more important though. The Dragonpit was built in order to contain the dragons and control the damage they could do. 

In Dany’s case, what prevents her doing too great a damage, what controls her inner dragon and prevents it to “roam free” are her counsellors. They are her Dragonpit if one could say. Jorah, Barristan, Tyrion, all helped at one point or another to stop her unleashing her inner dragon, which manifests as anger. They also all failed at one point or another.

From the beginning of season 04, Dany herself started slowly slowly fearing her inner dragon, her own power and anger, which coincided with the moment where she started fearing her children’s power and wildness. This culminated with her locking and chaining Rhaegal and Viseryon in s04e10 and thus, trying to repress her nature.

However, trying to repress her nature didn’t seem to work all that well for her.

Besides, while his brothers were in chains, Drogon was still “roaming free”, which could mean that, as much as Dany tried to repress her impulsive and prone to anger nature, she still couldn’t fight it completely. Something that is confirmed when she feeds Meereenese nobles to the still chained Rhaegal and Viseryon mid-season 05, after Barristan’s death which angered her. 

Moreover, at that point of time, she doesn’t have anyone to keep her in check anymore, as Jorah is in exile, and Barristan is dead. Instead, she has Daario and Missandei encouraging her to embrace her inner dragon. Dany starts reconciling with it when she escapes the fighting pits on Drogon’s back. She is free again to be who she is. She embraces again her inner dragon when she burns the khals and takes over the khalasar (something that isn’t hers to begin with but feels entitled to have).

She wants to go full on dragon when she makes that speech to Tyrion when she returns to Meereen:”I will crucify the masters, I will set their fleets afire, kill every last one of their soldiers and return their cities to the dirt. That, is my plan.” Tyrion, who has taken Jorah’s and Barristan’s vacant positions, manages however to temper her first impulse. 

But, it’s interesting to note that he was the one to set Rhaegal and Viseryon free from their chains which was 2 episodes prior to her unleashing her anger on the khals.

Tyrion freeing them from their chains is interesting on a symbolic level and as foreshadowing as well, as in season 07, Tyrion’s bad decision making is what provokes Dany’s anger more and more, progressively awakening her inner dragon.

That’s when another comes in to help keep it in check once again: Jon.

From mid-season 07 until the end of s08e04, Jon is the one to act as Dany’s chains/Dragonpit.

However, s05 Dany, Jorah, Barristan, Tyrion, Varys and Jon all forgot something important:

You are damn right, Jorah. No one can tame Dany’s inner dragon, not even herself. (Sorry about the typo in the picture, I got it elsewhere, I’m too lazy to make my own).

And they forgot this:

Interesting we got reminded of that at the Dragonpit meeting. I think we heard that one before, didn’t we?

Hey, look! Drogon is in chains…Kraznys is at the other end of the chains, thinking he is in charge. But Dany is actually the one holding the whip in that scene. She is the master, the one with power. And hey, Kraznys even calls Drogon “a beast”. Doesn’t that remind us of something?

I’m not saying Jon is Kraznys, I’m just pointing the fact they both see dragons as beasts and both think dragons can be controlled, bound to their will, or in other words, chained to them. In Kraznys’ case, it was an actual dragon, in Jon’s case, it was Dany. Kraznys fell into Dany’s trap, failed in controlling Drogon and Dany unleashed her anger on Astapor. 

In s07e06, we also have this:

Another dragon in chains! I’m starting to think now that this ridiculous scene had a symbolic purpose. The only one who could actually bind a dragon to his will is the Night King. And it makes sense, doesn’t it? After all, Dany bound her dragons to herself with blood magic and the NK bound Viseryon to himself with his magic. Only Dany’s Ice counterpart to her Fire could do it. No one else.

Let’s have a look at another moment at the Dragonpit. This is what Jon told Cersei when he refused her conditions:

“I am true to my word, or I try to be. That is why I cannot give you what you ask. I cannot serve two queens. And I have already pledged myself to Daenerys of House Targaryen.”

And this was his speech when Tyrion told him he should have lied: “I’m not gonna swear an oath I can’t uphold. Talk about my father if you want, tell me that’s the attitude that got him killed, but when enough people make false promises, words stop meaning anything. Then there are no more answers, only better and better lies, and lies won’t help us in this fight.”

What does that have to do with anything? will you ask in a Sansa fashion. Well, the interesting thing about Jon’s speech on promises and lies is the chain on the floor while he does it.

The chain looks like this after Jon kills the wight:

Then, just before he starts his speech about oaths, promises and lies, it looks like this:

The chain has been rearranged on the floor by the staff, as we can see that on the second picture it is further away from the wight’s remains than on the first picture. Also, its spiral shape looks better. It is supposed to mean something.

Jon steps inside the spiral shaped chain right before his speech about promises and lies. The photo below is taken after he’s finished though:

What does it mean then?

The first meaning I spoke about was the obvious one, Jon is still chained/tied to his mission, as the wight’s remains at the end of the chain show us. Which leads him to:

Fall into a trap he creates for himself. 

When he “bent the knee, but” on the boat, he lied to Daenerys, or, as Tyrion put it so well in s07e03 (when he convinces Dany to let Jon mine the dragonglass), he gave her “something by giving her nothing”. However, at the Dragonpit, Cersei puts him on the spot, and he has to cover up for his previous lie and assure Dany of his loyalty to her. By pledging himself and the North to her in front of everyone, he is swearing an oath he cannot back out of. Even less after talking about upholding oaths and words meaning nothing when false promises are made. Those very words chain him to his public pledge to Dany. That’s what the chains are showing us, Jon, in season 08, feels he has no choice but to be true to his word, it is a matter of honour. This, in turn, leads him to:

engage himself in a spiral of lies and events (spiral shape) he won’t be able to get out of (chains). The only thing that finally frees him of this spiralling is her death.

He thought he could bind her to his will, control her. Instead, he got himself in chains, like the shot below shows:

Jon is inside the spiral while Dany stands at the other end of the chain. Dany, like in the scene with Kraznys, is actually the master, the one in charge. Jon, through his decision to pledge himself to her, has made himself her prisoner. We can say that from the moment he stepped foot on Dragonstone until the moment he killed her, he never ceased being her prisoner. Sansa was right, by going to Dragonstone, Jon walked into a trap. Not only the one he created for himself at the Dragonpit, but also the one Tyrion had set up for him when he invited him to Dragonstone without mentioning he had to bend the knee. 

Anyway, he walked into a trap, then failed in controlling Dany’s inner dragon, and she unleashed her anger on King’s Landing. Just like in the scene with Kraznys really.  It’s worth pointing that Dany is standing in KL (a city she will destroy) when she repeats the same words she told Kraznys in Astapor (a city she destroyed). She freed the people of Astapor, and later on, she “freed” the people of KL (albeit in a tiny bit extreme way). It looks like a kind of echo to me.

For those who would like to say that Jon becomes the dragon in chains, I will say no no no. Jon’s personality has nothing to do with Targaryen mentality, he is a Stark through and through!

Well… except maybe for… falling for his sister? Alright, alright, maybe he is the chained dragon here, but just a little bit, okay? Let’s say he is a winged wolf in chains, yes?

Seriously though, I wonder if, by showing us the two scenes displaying chains in season 07, they weren’t trying to draw a parallel between Viseryon the dragon being bound to the Night King’s will (Ice), and Jon the dragon being bound to Dany’s will (Fire). Without Viseryon nor Jon having a real choice in it either. 

One other thing that I feel foreshadows Jon’s fate in season 08. Before the Dragonpit meeting, Tyrion says: “but in the beginning, when it was home to Balerion the Dread, it must have been the most dangerous place in the world”. Jon in season 08, acts as Dany’s illusory dragonpit/chains, he prevents her from doing damage as best as he can. But she sees him as a threat and he is afraid of her which is understandable, as being too close to a locked and/or chained dragon is still a dangerous position to be in:

It’s interesting to see that the Dragonpit, which is the place where Jon sealed his fate, is a ruin. Jon, who is Dany’s last metaphorical Dragonpit, ends up broken. A dangerous position to be in indeed. 

Am I going too far here?

To conclude this thing, I’d like to mention another scene in that same episode that foreshadows as well Jon’s fate as a prisoner of Dany’s. It is the one with Theon. 

Theon mentions his time as a prisoner of Ramsay’s and how Yara, his sister, was the only one to try and save him. In season 08, Sansa is the only one who tries, in a desperate move, to save Jon, by telling Tyrion his secret. Most importantly, she goes to KL with an army to try and free him at the very end, while he is still a prisoner (but of Grey Worm’s now. Geeez, poor Jon…). The parallel can even go on, as Yara failed in freeing Theon and bringing him back home, and Sansa, although she manages to free Jon, fails in bringing him back home too. Jon is a broken man, Theon was a broken man. In season 08, Theon chooses love for the Starks and Sansa over duty to Yara, his Queen. Jon at the end chooses love for Sansa over duty to Daenerys, his Queen. 

Anyway, those were my latest messy ramblings and that’s all for now.

Thanks for reading!

[whumpypepsigal]

OH MY GOD I JUST FINISHED STRANGER THINGS AND YOU WEREN'T KIDDING ABOUT THOSE TISSUES

This season was SO GOOD. The Master of Puppets sequence had my inner metalhead screaming; it was so satisfying hearing a classic metal song on TV. The separate storylines were balanced very well too, which surprised me. I did feel like Eleven's segments dragged on a bit, but that was only because I had all the "mysteries" of her story figured out pretty early on. I also LOVED the score and their use of trademarked songs (the Running Up That Hill motif? Brilliant). And the cinematography and CAMERA ANGLES AND SHOT COMPOSITION I AM IN LOVE.

Gaten Matarazzo has grown into one of the strongest actors in the cast, imo. It's a delight to watch him on screen.

ALSO STANCY BETTER BE ENDGAME I SWEAR IF THE DUFFER BROTHERS PULL A FAST ONE ON US IMA BLOW.

I've been hearing rumors that someone is going to die in season 5, and I'm so conflicted! On one hand, I want Johnathan to die because he's just kinda been... there. Yes, he's fun to watch, but out of all the characters, I'd be the least sad to watch him go. But narratively speaking, it would make sense for Steve to die and that PAINS me, but it would make more sense and fit the story better than Johnathan. BUT STEVE DESERVES HIS 6 LIL NUGGETS WITH NANCY.

AND DON'T GET ME STARTED ON POOR MAX.

On a side note, I'm still salty that the Duffer Brothers never seem to follow through with their Steve whump XD. Like, seriously, it wouldn't have been all that hard to have Steve struggle a bit after nearly being eaten alive by demobats, violently dragged by the ankle, and choked twice! It wouldn't have derailed the plot or affected pacing, but it would've increased the tension even more! Oh well, that's what fanfics are for, haha. It takes a lot to fully satisfy a whumper xD.

YAY! you finished s04.

yeah, this season had a better pace and storyline than s03 (even thought i love s03 too). but s04 was top tier! i am not into metal/rock songs but that scene was SO HOT. lol it’s iconic… the fact that joseph quinn really plays guitar irl and he did all that sequence by himself is just spectacular. made me love him even more. like you said, the whole production in this season from the music score to cinematography… everything was perfecto!

hmm… they did say someone “big” is gonna die in s05. I don’t think it’s jonathan tho. might be steve(?). i don’t know. i’m tired of duffer bros killing off lovable characters right after they introduce them. if they bring in a new character in s05 just to kill them off, I AM GONNA RIOT!

i’ve read so many theories online of how eddie can come back in s05. hope they bring him back because joseph quinn did such a good job embodying the character eddie munson and he deserves to continue playing the character. i love him so much!

and yeah, i agree with you about the steve whump lol. his whumps are always good but short lived. i want some aftercare, some close calls, some painful surgery or field medicine action, etc etc etc. i haven’t still got the time to search for fanfics… but will do soon. haha!

[kuekyuuq]

Gloria, Jet-lags and Imps [6x11]

Let’s jump right in:

Kinda love how Kara lamp-shaded addressed the fact she didn't tell the gang about her adventures in the PZ. She’s not wrong, tho.

...what do I want to say about Mxy using what's basically a well-known gay-anthem to tell his tale? I mean, it didn’t lead anywhere. The original song is about freeing oneself, liberation, stepping out of a (gone bad) relationship and moving on, stronger for it - empowerment. The only connection I could make, is that originally it was Nyxly’s aim to just do that (freeing herself and her kind from an oppressor), but in the way Mxy performed it, that part of the parallel was long over before he even reached the chorus. It’s also a popular Karaoke song, tho, so... he chose it because it’s catchy? I’ll try not to overthink it for now. At least, the Superfriend’s reactions were fun.

Nia exiting the elevator, "And what's this Old Stone?" I love it when ppl enter a room / situation and pick up on words that they couldn't have possibly heard. I think cinema sins ding such... Are we to assume, she dreamed Mxy's rendition of ‘I will survive’? Or is the elevator not sound-proof at all? (If it’s the latter, Nia later apparently telling Brainy “in private” between scenes / during the elevator ride about her Nyxly adventures, was a silly thing to do.)

So, "Jared" created the ring Old Stone to rule them all, it got shattered into the Paragons totems? Nyxly needs the totems and to get them she needs a crystal which also belonged to "Jared" - who happens to be Mxy's ancestor, which is why she needs Mxy / his blood, too.

I have one important and incredibly relevant question here, tho... 

With the introduced imps and their names... Why’s dude named Jared of all things?!

Really, did I mishear that? If so, I’ll leave it as is and never edit, bc that would be hilarious in its own right 😋

...

Not sure what to make about Supergirl paraphrasing a Dirty Dancing quote.  "Nobody puts Mxy into a power crystal on my watch."  ...is he Baby now? (Seriously, though: Which of the writers thought that was a fitting quote to use in that particular context?)

...now, is the exposition section of the episode over yet?

Sensitive Brainy sensed something was up with Nia. He can relate... Nia doubting Kara would understand, too, is ridiculous. But I get it... insecurities and all. But, I mean, just 5 minutes later Kara announces she wants to save Nyxly despite her wrongdoings. And yet Nia still remains convinced, Kara wouldn’t forgive her own personal mini-me... After having witnessed Kara forgiving Lena for a whole season of the writers being stupid messing up to the nth degree. But I digress, Lena’s Lena.

...how old is Nia meant to be again? Just asking out of completely unrelated curiosity.

F*ck. They really went with NewFoundland...

Imma assume it was an executive choice after realizing they couldn’t find enough actors and actresses with a convincing Irish accent... maybe. Again, no offense to Newfoundland! Just... we got the insinuations of Ireland, not Newfoundland... And truthfully, when I think of magic, Ireland is an easy association. Whereas I only due to this whole debacle learned Newfoundland has Irish ancestry. So, okay, the show forced me to learn something new... I give ‘em that.

An easy journey, she said.

Lena's been off-screen for two whole episodes, Kara announcing at the beginning of ‘Dreamweaver’ [6x09] Lena being “back east” (at least insinuating Lena’s left the west-coast already), which span over at least one full day (feat. a scene at night), and ‘I still rise’ [6x10] at least another a whole day (the whole Nia’s mom back for a day deal). And, now, after at least 48 hours she barely just arrived.

Lemme check how long a regular plane would need to fly from California to NFL......... ... .. .. So... approx. 10 hours with at least one layover. 

Yeah, using a private jet made it easier, but apparently also much, much slower...

Or, Lena randomly went some other places / did some sight-seeing in NFL before she decided to finally visit her mother’s hometown...  [Either that or the timelines don’t match up and Lena’s scenes are flashbacks of sorts.]

Optimistic and relaxed Lena is a sight to behold. I rewound 3 times, just to enjoy it for as long as possible. We all knew it was going to be short-lived... 

Let’s check off a few more items...

OMG, Kara hiding behind Alex at the mere sight of the PZ-projector broke my heart!  😢

"Elisabeth Walsh" is the new 'the one you shall not name'. ...poor Lena. 😭

Oh, so Mxy wants to be Patrick Swayze instead of Baby... gotcha.

...is this going anywhere?

KITTY!!! Okay, this must be the best opponent in the history of CWSG. 

Despite the horrible CGI, SG using her heat-vision to project a laser-beam to distract the cat had me in (happy-) tears! 🤣

Gotta love the civilians of National City quickly returning to business as usual once the giant cat is gone. Even the police officers looked rather chill...

Nyxly did look fabulous this episode ^^ 

Andrea being Lena's rock is both great and annoying. I can't fault Andrea. It's just, that we still have to see an on-screen interaction between Lena and Kara and that bugs the heck out of me. I can’t help it. I’m sorry, Andrea.

Nia: "...is my fault." Kara: "Nu, is MY fault!" J'onn: "Stop fighting, kids!" Space-dad has spoken.

Mxy used an LuthorCorp copy machine... and of cos it's faulty. It's not an L-Corp product.

Kara forgiving Nia came as a surprise to her... Oooookay. I mean, the show has been writing Kara a bit inconsistently the past two seasons... so, yeah, maybe being unsure which of her traits apply this week was not such a far stretch...

Maybe it's the hair, but I wished, Florence was played by Alex Kingston.

So, not-Alex-Kingston shows Lena herself with a funny wig and tells her how her mother was still watching her...

If it wasn't for Katie's acting skills (I love her.) I would have already hit my head against the wall repeatedly. Something about these scenes had me constantly cringe and I made it through 5.5 seasons of this show already... Can’t quite put my finger on it, but it was highly distracting from the story that explained Lena’s mom was special even to another witch, where there was domestic abuse, and an accidental murder. Y’know, important stuff, deep-cutting stuff! 

At least, poor widddle Lena got some closure there. Elisabeth was a good cookie. And filled with magic. And Lena’s gotta have that ‘spark’, too... 

....so... Lena’s gonna stay in NFL for how much longer, to train becoming a witch?  Please, just hand her a how-to manual and send her back home, to figure it out on her own, please... (Yes, that would be horrible decision-making, but I need her back with the team!)

On to the finish line: 

So... Mxy IS Nyxly's brother? Wait, that doesn’t sound right... then Nyxly would have the same blood... Did I miss something? Can someone explain, please? Or is he her ex, and that’s where his rendition of “I will survive” makes sense?

Hnn... I can't help, but think Kara's speech for Nyxly was 85% based on her experiences with Lena in s05.

Awww... he said "stronger together"... Mxy... I hope, you'll be okay!

Lena believes in magic now. And I absolutely love how Lena wants to science magic XD

...but apparently magic isn’t science that hasn’t been explained yet, but parallel... powers? concepts? ether strings?

Nyxly has a loyal henchman now. Which was a bit heavy-handed. Took way too much of screen-time, so it better leads to something interesting.

And Kara is on a warpath now. Wooooot! Girl’s got enough.

...what else? 

Did I miss a third Patrick Swayze hint / quote / mention?  I learned, these things come in threes... Y’know, basic writing rules... 

I guess, for once the episode title was meant to be taken literally, Mxy popping up between characters, to try and help. (I need in-show footage, of Mxy sneaking up on ppl, without his powers, on all fours / crouched, just to get the desired effect.) I mean, I’ve never really watched Malcom, but wasn’t he like what Mxy usually is? A bit of a trouble-maker, prankster, chaos-ensuing wherever he goes? ...well, in that case, the episode title didn’t hold up, as Mxy’s scenes were not fun or really goofy. Yes, there was some superficial humor, but just to serve Mxy dealing with not being able to use his powers, which in turn was only barely scratched at (although it turned out to be his final character development crisis, appreciating not having powers and - in turn - facing consequences for once). Again, a whole lot going on in the episode, so a lot of that may have ended up on the cutting-room floor.

...where’s Kelly? Secretly adopting a kid, maybe?

...Kara’s still a reporter, right? I mean, whenever it serves the immediate plot, yes? ...Not even a throw-away line, that she has to pop up at CatCo for appearances sake? Since Andrea is already upset with her AND looking into her friends’ identities? At least, Kara should take a peek to make sure Andrea hasn’t uncovered anything yet... No?

Well, that’s all I’ve got for now. Kue out.

[notholaenas]

📺: finished season 4 today 🎉 and lemme just say a few things because ??? one of the most annoying aspect of this season was the amount of firearms used or not used. whenever there was like a big fight scene or whatever not a single soul took down a hunter and picked up their gun to use to defend themselves afterwards like ??? i get that most weapons aren't easy to use but like not even trying?

another thing was kate. her new powers were kinda cool but the whole grooming thing and the do-over was kinda creepy, also she became somewhat annoying and pointless in the end as a character..

romance !! these kids were being literally hunted down for sport (and money obv) and their highest priority was to GO TO PARTIES OR GO ON DATES LIKE ?? i can't be the only one who thought this was a little irresponsible. not to mention it lead to so many accidents/injuries etc. in the past as well. like we could have gone without scira's first official date for a little longer......

speaking of scott...... the amount of times he got his ass kicked was diabolical. isn't the whole true alpha thing also comes with .. yk... being an actual alpha ? sharper senses, bigger strength etc. even with a beta of his own, he spent a good portion of this season laying on the floor lmaooo

it's safe to say that this isn't gonna be my favourite season :)

onto s05 !!

📺: i finally gave in and started watching teen wolf !! 2 episodes in sofar and i forgot how creepy derek was in the early episodes 💀 all he did was standing menacingly in the bg like a creep..

[dystopiandramaqueen]

Enjoying every little detail of your recent story Gaurdian from the series of Grease (1950's AU). I found it poetic, symbolic and very entertaining.

- I loved the detail of Nick "breathing out the smoke through his nose with his lips shut" just like the way he smoked outside on the day they raped him with forcing eden into his life. With this symbol, did you mean watching June being raped (by Luke in your story) gave him the same amount of pain as if HE was being raped (by Serena and Fred in THT)?

- Nick telling Luke, "Happy to finish it, now or later, your choice". Creates this new interpretation of THT for me that Fred choose to not stop, so Nick finished him a year later in the no-man's land.

- “You ok? The words die on his lips when he sees who’s inside."

Is this how <your Nick> feels everytime he walks into the room and sees June in the waterford's house? Aweeee, that's very sweet.

- Your description of June's growing crush for him is very poetic: "she imagines pulling the white cylinder from his mouth and kissing him. Worse than that, she imagines pulling him on top of her, kissing the taste off his tongue"

- Aah this part when he holds his hand out to her, saying:  “I’m sorry this happened to you.” and your flawless description of how strong they connect to each other when they are physically close. This part heals the entire pain of watching that scene when she said: "you wish what? What do you wish?" and refused to hold his hand. Even though I am very much on the same page with June when she does that, because those reactions changed Nick, made him do something. But still it is very painful to watch. Loads of thanks for rewriting this scene. Your version is very meaningful and convincing. Because this time Nick has already done something.

- "She lets her lips linger on his skin, long enough to let him know she wishes there were time for more." Reminds me of the ice scene, when HE lets his hands linger on hers. Reading your line creates this new interpretation of that scene: maybe they were wishing there were time for more?

And finally this beautiful symbolic/poetic move in your words:  “June. My name is June.”

in the show she says: "it's June. My name is June" but when Nick meets Luke he says: "Nick. My name is Nick". Which one are you referring to here? I first thought your intention was to change Nick's dialouge to June because they are basically one soul in two bodies to an extent that if they travel back in time to 50's June may use the same words Nick used 100 years later.

It is very entertaining for me to find these elements in your stories. I am not sure if I remain a THT fan. It depends on whether they stay on the right track in S05 or not. But I will always remain a fan your stories. Pain, healing and hope, your "emotional hurt comfort" brand as you named it, are very proportionate in your stories.

🖤 Yea it’s like painting. When I write a ch it comes out all at once.

I sit down knowing what major beats need to happen. “Nick hears June’s distress and saves her from rape/ intimidates Luke/ they share a moment”

It’s like watching TV in my head, I just write what I see, and the little Easter eggs are like seasoning.

Like - ok I’m gonna make an omelet. Sit down- follow the basic steps, then *ah-ha* I realize that some fresh basil from the garden would be the perfect garnish.

So the lines from the show are just extra flavor sprinkled on at the end.

Sometimes I go back and watch a scene to get the wording or imagery just right- usually not bc I’m lazy. 🥰

But ur right. The major beats are all built to heal hurt from the show. We have to watch Nick’s torture bc he’s helpless- and I like imagining him in the same scenarios in a world where he CAN do something.

I can’t wait to talk about the main trope of this one- a story mechanism I LOVE and seek out in other fandoms and haven’t seen in THT yet. Maybe I’ll try to get to to it sooner than later so I can gush about it.

Final thought bc I can talk forever about fic- I like this Nick bc he’s fearless. Until it comes to June. He’s terrified of how out of control he feels around her. I love that duality- that the only thing that breaks Nick is June.

I didn’t watch S3 after episode 6. Every week I’d ask @splitscreen if Nick was in the episode. When she said no, I’d go about my business, watch Irena’s fanvids, read fic updates- bc ur right- the world that I like is the one we build with Max’s character. We’ll cobble together a happy ending no matter what.

But I 100% guarantee you the show is an epic slow burn romance. I think S5 will be like S3- painful and dark but setting the scene for a euphoric ending S6. Like in my story you need the bad shit to make the good shit FEEL bigger.

I wish it was S6 already so we could watch them on the run. 😔it’ll be worth it. But I 100% agree and recommend maintaining emotional distance from the show and the internet hysteria unless it’s helpful or healing for you. It’s not for me so I’ll be here with lovely ppl like you, waiting for my happy ending. 🖤