#kinda unexpected in the sense that it's really different from the other ones in terms of genre yk

[lilacpaperbird]

About Sam's music taste

Okay so I've always been really intrigued by the kind of music Sam might like, since we seemingly didn't get much information about it in the show. So I did a deep dive, and this is everything I could find/remember in relation to Sam and his taste in music:

Kripke, interview from 2007

From the Supernatural Wiki - There's a small mistake here. I checked the video and Jared said "Jack Johnson", not "Jackson"

Good catch, thanks anon whoever you are! - I checked and yep there it is! I added a pic of the poster so you could see what it looks like

11x04 Baby - Sam knows the lyrics to the song "Night Moves" and sings it enthusiastically, like he did with "Dead or Alive" in 3x16

14x20 Moriah

Bands/singers mentioned:

Green Day

Red Hot Chili Peppers

Fall Out Boy

The Killers

Jack Johnson

Death Cab for Cutie

Jason Manns

Bon Jovi

A Wilhem Scream

Bob Seger

Elvis Presley

Celine Dion

[bengiyo]

top 5 bl in terms of cinematography to you + (because i am greedy) top 5 intimate scenes

We've been friends for a long time. I'll do two for you.

Best BL Cinematography of 2023

This is probably a question you should direct to @respectthepetty as well. I like her taste when it comes to cinematographers, and she often knows their names, too.

Tokyo in April is...

I really love how boxed in and tight everyone feels in this show, and I really love the way they shot the trauma sequences with the young actors to protect them.

If It's With You

This show really is gorgeous, and the way they shoot the locations makes this town feel like a character in the show. I gotta find that post someone wrote where they talk about how the left side of the frame is darker as Amane runs away in this scene because he's running from his own light. Incredible stuff.

Edit: It was @my-rose-tinted-glasses here.

The Eighth Sense

This show looks so different from everything else that released from Korea this year, and you can feel the blending of Korean and German sensibilities in so much of the framing. It's hard to search for this show on the Tumblr gif search, so I can't find some of my favorite shots.

Moonlight Chicken

Aof and them put they whole foot in this show.

I Feel You Linger in the Air

This show is beautiful, uses lines well, and actually uses distance pretty well for a Thai show. The rain scene stands out a lot.

Top 5 Intimate Scenes

Oh, this one is kinda hard. (zing!)

Jom and Yai Have Sad Farewell Sex (I Feel You Linger in the Air)

This was really unexpected. They managed to show lovemaking that was deeply tender and also melancholy.

Saengtai Blows Patts (La Pluie)

As I said in earlier responses, a big thing for me with La Pluie is the aftermath of intimacy. What I like about this scene is that Tai is choosing to do this for Patts because he wants to assure Patts that he is into him and is into what they have. While he isn't ready to do acts that feel overly intimate, he still wants to give pleasure. I also like that they show that giving head is a way to maintain control if you're nervous while also taking care of your partner. You should check out the extended version of this on iQIYI.

King and Uea Have Kinky Sex (Bed Friend)

I don't know that this is the best performed one between the characters, but I like that a big part of this scene is King being open with Uea about what he wants and Uea wanting to give that to King.

Masumi and Ritsu in the Car (The End of the World With You)

Their flashback scene was way hotter and I love it so much ("You're soaked"), but the way Ritsu stares at Masumi, who is injured, and is so careful about trying to please him has sat with me ally ear.

Ritsu and Fumiya on the Couch (Jack o' Frost)

They did this like they knew each other well. They also let the actors build the emotions between each other. There's very little editing over this scene, which makes it feel so natural.

Ask Me Top 5 BL 2023 Anything

[loregoddess]

002 with Ochette?

Ochette, my beloved (some spoilers in the "wish would have happened" and "headcanon" sections at the bottom):

How I feel about this character: LOVE HER, LOVE HER, LOVE HER, she's my favorite character from the game, which was unexpected since I didn't have any strong opinion on her going in, aside from a vague sense of apprehension since "animal people" tend to end up being poorly-to-clumsily written fantasy racism allegories in a lot of fantasy stories I've come across (which wasn't entirely off the mark for how the beastlings were handled by the writers overall, but there's enough okay to decent writing here that I still think Ochette is one of the most compelling characters with a ton of potential complexity depending on how the text is interpreted).

All the people I ship romantically with this character: No one, but mostly for lack of any romantic chemistry with any of the other characters, main or NPCs. Which is really funny considering I headcanon Ochette as kinda sorta basically pansexual, and she's one of two characters from the main playable cast that I don't headcanon as some variation of ace. I definitely think she's had crushes before and will probably find a partner at some point in the future of her life, just...not from any of the named characters we meet in the game.

My non-romantic OTP for this character: I think she remains on good terms with all the other main characters even when they go their separate ways after the story concludes, and I just love how varied the dynamics she has with everyone are. Love her dynamic with Mahina/Akala too, Ochette and her bestie for life. I also think it's possible that Ochette takes over for Juvah well before he dies, and that he acts as her mentor/advisor for a bit while she gets accustomed to the role of island warden, but that he also enjoys his early retirement--and once Ochette's really grown into the role, Juvah begins to dote on her a bit as if she was his child/grandchild.

My unpopular opinion about this character: I think Ochette gets done dirty by the writers and general fandom. Moreso the general fandom than the writers, since I've seen a lot of fans write her off as the goofy, childish genki (fox)girl, and despite the writers also kind of doing this, her canon writing at least has the potential to be read as deeper than what appears on the surface. I'm of the opinion that she's actually one of the most emotionally intelligent and mature characters of the main cast, and that she's actually way more in tune with all the other characters than even they realize. Like, she knows who she can joke around with and who's a bit more serious, and where everyone's personal boundaries seem to be, and often it feels more like she's navigating a cultural/linguistic barrier than being naïve or childish (in my opinion). I mean she's totally got a lot of energy and is goofy at times (i.e. "PARDY-HARDY!!"), but that's not the sum total of her character either.

As mentioned earlier, all the beastlings kinda suffer from iffy writing, bc it seems like the writers were genuinely trying to explore the "what if there were people who had literal animal characteristics; how would their communication be different, how would their physiology be different, etc." questions, but the writing veered into a lot of tasteless "island savage, noble savage" tropes, which...kinda happens a lot with animal-people in fiction. So I'm not trying to hand-wave the racist tropes or anything, but it also seems like the writers made an attempt (however poor) to give the beastlings a culture, and that culture's different enough that part Ochette's character arc and interactions with other characters can be read as her translating what she encounters to try and make sense of it, or otherwise trying to translate her own experiences in a way so that the others understand her.

(i.e. the "girls talk about love" tavern banter, Ochette doesn't really understand what the other three are talking about at first bc they use the words "like" and "love" which honestly, in English at least, have several meanings and would be confusing to someone coming from a language where the differences between the English definitions of "like/love" were more obvious; but when Throne mentions loving dogs and how they wag their tails, Ochette draws the connection that they're talking about "like/love" the same way a dog who's wagging its tail likes someone bc it's implied that beastling communication is more like animal communication--i.e. based on body language, scent, etc.--and so after doing the mental translations Ochette's like "oooh, gotcha, yeah that's super embarrassing for me when that happens" as she does understand what the other girls are talking about even if there was a slight disconnect about what topic they were discussing at first).

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon: Would have loved to see at least a conversation or something between Ochette and Temenos regarding the Dark Entity and Roi's last words bc there's...a lot of unpack there for the two of them. Also I think Petrichor should have appeared at least once in Ochette's story, I think it would have been interesting to see how the two interacted, especially since they're supposed to be narrative foils. Like the "dark hunter" gets name-dropped a few times and then we never get much past that, and Ochette's so focused on finding the creatures of legend that she doesn't do her own investigation or anything, which leaves it all sort of...way too open. I kinda wanted to see Ochette have a reaction to the memory at Toto'haha's flame as well, the way Partitio and Hikari react to the memories they see at the Crackridge and Hinoeuma flames like...you're telling me Ochette saw the Darkling maul the person who had tortured it for years and doesn't have anything to say on this? After how her battle with the Darkling ended??

a headcanon: Hmm, aside from things I've already written...I don't think Ochette met Ori until waaaay after the events of the main story arc. Like I know all the traveler arcs are kinda separate in the sense of like, "no, the second Prince of Ku who currently has a hugeass bounty on his head is not apparently just sitting on the bar stool next to Partitio as he talks to the richest man in the west" or anything like that, but we do get the travel banters and insofar as I can recall Partitio never has a travel banter with Ochette where Ori gets brought up. I feel like that was intentional given Ochette's ability to clock exactly what is going on with a person given their scent (she figured out Osvald was still a loving father before he did, she could smell the shadow in Hikari, she could smell Claude's evil on Pirro's tomb, etc.) so like, I get why Ori isn't present around Ochette (although imagining a "Hey, Pardy, that girl smells like Sadness Incarnate" would be a crazy conversation that could have existed), but it also means she was apparently just...doing other stuff and literally managed to miss Ori Every Single Time which is wild. Like I can imagine Partitio telling Ochette about this weird girl who keeps popping up seemingly out of nowhere, and Ochette's just so frustrated bc she wants to meet Ori but keeps missing her, and how do they keep missing each other when Ochette can track a squirrel halfway across a gulch.

Speaking of Partitio, since he comes out of his Ch1 coming straight out of a poverty-stricken town and lifestyle, I imagine he's really underweight when he joins up with the others. Given that Ochette's the main hunter/provider at her home, she probably just shifts those duties to making sure the party is well-fed, and was extremely concerned about Partitio when they first meet.

Also she gives nicknames to everyone...except Temenos. Going back to my "Ochette seems to be in tune with everyone and know their boundaries" thing, I think this might indicate that Temenos just doesn't really do nicknames for whatever reason. I'm thinking Ochette had a conversation with him about this (maybe suggesting a few nicknames that he shot down, and she got the sense that it made him uncomfortable--although Throne gets away with calling him Detective, but that's also a far cry from like, Temmy or Tem), and she respects his boundaries enough not to push the issue. Although on the topic of nicknames, I think it took her the longest to come up with Hikarin (and by longest I mean maybe a few extra minutes as compared to everyone else), simply because nicknames for "Hikari" aren't as intuitive.

[quillheel]

ALIAS / NAME: Captain! I used to be called Honey, Lovely, and Nyx in the past, though that was LONG before Tumblr. Twas my amino days, baby. ( I also semi-recently tried out 'King' but the vibes don't quite fit yknow! prefer the vibe of that as a term of referral - ex: my liege - rather than a name weirdly enough BHGKTRB )

BIRTHDAY: july 7th!

ZODIAC: cancer! i forgot my exact stuff, like rising sign or the like, but i do know that! i got into zodiacs when i was like 13 i think so I know at least MY sign by heart lol

HEIGHT: 5'6! something like that, I think :] which is also 167 centimeters

HOBBIES: drawing, writing ( I have an ao3 I've been neglecting for so long ), dungeons & dragons / general ttrpgs which take up SO much of my week <3, video games, content analysis ( kinda? ), baking, penpal, learning ukulele, learning to sew, learning crochet!

FAV. COLOR: im terrible when it comes to this question because i love a lot of very specific colors because artist brain BUT... If I had to pick one. Probably a red-y brown-y color. I REALLY like warm and neutral colors ( though Quillheel's pallet probably wouldn't invoke that thought ) though i also like a lot of neutral and cooler colors. you can basically reference a rainbow for my preferred colors but even with blue at the bottom ( I'm a big purple-enjoyer ) i still enjoy what good usage of it can do <3

FAV. BOOK: the long walk by stephen king, inkheart by cornelia funke, or frankenstein by mary shelley <3 love different aspects of all of them, though inkheart was a big part of my childhood so i'm biased BHHGTR

LAST SONG: be nice to me by the front bottoms :] i've been listening to a lot of Hozier lately though

LAST MOVIE / SHOW: UHHH wolfwalkers! VERY good i really liked it <3 i wanna rewatch song of the sea eventually, too! that ones also a favorite. the last show would probably be season 3 of infinity train ( I still resist the temptation to add Simon sometimes. he is such a terrible yet interesting little man ) or finally finishing watching hisuian snow :]

RECENT READ: if fanfiction doesnt count ( if it Does then wander boy by poptod, which is surprising its not one of the HUGE amounts of disco elysium fanfiction i've been chewing on lately ) then probably i think frankenstein by mary shelley, which i picked up and began reading but didn't finish :( still the most recent though! I wanna actually finish that + reread the long walk + read a bunch of other books, like the song of achilles by madeline miller, circe by madeline miller, orange world and other stories by karen russle, memorial: a version of homers illiad by alice oswald, the haunting of hill house by shirley jackson, good omens by neil gaiman and terry pratchett, the city & the city by china mieville, etc etc etc! ( if you guys have any suggestions actually, feel free to send em my way! )

INSPIRATION: horror! especially slashers, psychological horror, and 'bloodbath' horror ( selectively! carrie's got the vibes, saw does NOT ), psychological writing in general, a bunch of the books i have or plan on reading, mythology & legends, fanfiction and composition, music ( especially the weakerthans, the narcissist cookbook, hozier, etc ), poetry, and just!! learning methods of how things Generally are made, ig! how people paint, how people make clothes and make fabric, how people grow plants. i take a lot of inspiration from unexpected places, but a lot of those places are the act of creation in of itself. my writing might only be writing, but i try to embody a sense of color to it, of an artstyle you can almost taste, yknow? the composition in shows where blues look almost green and its like the world is basked in paint and there's just a feeling, indescribable, contextual but potent in of itself, the feeling of small moments everywhere, all at once, all the time. THAT SOUNDS REALLY PRETENTIOUS BUT LIKE... its true, yknow!! i like to embody a feeling in my writing, and i go to a lot of places to find it.

STORY BEHIND URL: once, a long time ago, my oc multimuse @cassiopiia was named orphic-ruin, and quillheel came second in my blogs list. i wanted them to match! so i thought of storytelling, which went to writing, then to pens, then to quills! and the 'heel' part comes from achilles heel, or the achilles tendon! as well as having ties to hermes' winged feet. in a way, its kinda saying 'vulnerable storyteller' or 'half-divine legend' or even kinda like a title or epithet vibe wise like you might find on a mythological figure ( ex: quill-heeled ) or something like that, which i think still fits the vibe p well to this day! if i did change the URL, idk what I'd make it now! i might eventually, but yeah!

tagged: @disassnbler ty ender!!!! <333

tagging: uhhhhhhhhhhhhh @littlelonesomestars @slaughterlocked @underworldslibrary @rebellionhearted aaaand anyone wearing blue, green or red <3

[myenemystolvrs]

April 2021

completed fics that i read this month.

~read the tags~

▶ more than 1 chapter

Sasunaru

1. Left in the Past (Rewrite the Future) by Lohrendrell [T, 20K, 2ch]

“By pure chance, Naruto comes across a little book. It has no title, no author, not even a signature, but it does contain long lost memories of a romance that could have been. He can’t help being drawn to the story on those pages, neither could he imagine how much finding the journal would influence his own life.“

2. Idioms and Idiots by cyberflamingo  [E, 53K, 10ch]

“The transfer student is a country hick—which is just a nice way of saying he doesn’t belong in the private boarding school where Sasuke has calculated his life’s trajectory. It’s fine if the idiot steals all his friends, it's absolutely bearable if he’s forced to partner up with him in gym class, and it's definitely not a problem at all that his dorm room is right next door.

But joining the soccer team where Sasuke is team captain? That’s where he draws the line.

And if Naruto could stop calling him a pussy, that would be great.”

3.  A World of Truth by luchia  [E, 23K, 10ch]

“The world is trapped in an illusion which removes anger, hate, and death. It's paradise, giving everyone everything they've ever wanted and reviving anyone they've ever lost. Nearly two years into the illusion, Sasuke snaps back to his senses and must decide whether to keep the world in false bliss, or return it to war-torn reality.”

-------------------------------------------------------

▶ one shots

1. Almost, Not Quite, Us by xxjinchuurikixx [E, 34K]

“Sasuke gets an unexpected heat, and his oldest rival and once best friend Naruto is there for him.

“I promise I won’t… make things awkward.”

“It’s already kinda awkward, admit it.”

He relinquishes his hold on Naruto’s hand and sighs. “Alright, well then, I promise to be a very good omega and not claw your dick off.”

“Do omegas do that?”

“This one will.”

2. A Night of Poor Choices by KinomiAkai [E, 13K]

“Sasuke is sober, tired, and bitterly regretting letting his friends drag him out to a bar. At least he can pet this dog, though.”

3. Underwater by Dae [E, 12K]

“Sasuke didn't really need therapy, but he figured he'd give it a try. It wouldn't have been so bad if the annoying blonde didn't keep showing up with his damn crosswords and magazines and stupidly attractive smile and bright blue eyes.

Whatever.”

4. Adoption by Defenestration; or, A Family Can Be A Fox Demon, Its Jinchuuriki, and Three Dozen Highly-Trained Assassins by elumish [T, 4K]

“He will not be the ANBU who let the jinchuuriki plummet to his death out a fourth story window. Let that be another ANBU’s legacy.”

5. How Naruto and Sasuke Became Friends by prettypriestess [T, 5K]

“The heavens have chosen the accidental kiss as their running gag.”

6. head spinning thinking about this boy by sausegay [T, 10K]

“Sasuke continues, “it’s different when it’s your best friend you’re trying to ask out.”

“You sound like you speak from experience.”

Sasuke takes a moment to respond, gaze shifting to a spot over Naruto’s shoulder then back to his eyes. “Just casual observation.”

or where sasuke has a really bad crush on naruto and he thinks it's unrequited until he finds out it isn't. featuring soccer practices, cheer stunts, a shared bento, and other events taking place over the course of a school term.”

7. on the verge of things like truth, things like love by PurpleClouds_001 [M, 16K]

"Whatever I've done Hinata, I assure you I'm sorry"

She laughed again, bitterly "You must say that a lot" then she caught her cruel tone and blushed "I'm sorry, I mean, you don't even know what you're apologizing for"

"I've done a lot of things I need to be sorry for, I've learned not to ask"

or... Naruto has died, so Hinata and Sasuke talk for the first time.”

8. Funny Way to Fall by Atanih88 [E, 9K]

“Naruto's favourite late night customer has a set of wings. Yeah. Big ones.”

[blueflyingturtleontheway]

Now then let's go with... oh 21 and 37

What's funny is that I didn't even plan to take this ask game XD

But those questions are too good to pass up, so let's go:

21. What’s one secret of theirs that could potentially ruin a relationship they have?

This question is perfect for Aleksandr... Because it already happened to him. We've already said that he was responsible for Stanislaw's (temporary) death and kept it a secret for many (around 27) years, so maybe I'll tell a little more about the effects of when his secret got revealed.

What's important is that he told Lyudmila himself (which kinda made it better? But not really x)) and at that moment she was too shaken to say anything more than just to get out. But her next thought was to bring him back and just execute him without court, with only Stanislaw to stop her from that. Obviously Aleksandr lived but Lyudmila took away almost all of his titles and privileges, he got cast out from the capital and forbidden from ever take any official roles again - and that's quite a downgrade from being the closest person to the knyaz with the exception of her literal husband.

Though Lyudmila's actions might seem drastic (they were) given how long ago it happened and, Stanislaw being alive again and the fact that Aleksandr spent all those years serving her and the kingdom, but from her perspective? She just learned that her best friend who majorly helped her put herself back together after her love's death and whom she has trust with his life many times later, was the same man WHO KILLED HIM. And it felt to her as if their whole friendship was built on a lie, as if Aleksandr not only killed Stanislaw but also used it to get closer to her. And she really trusted him like no one else, she thought they had no secrets before each other but he's been keeping such a major one for such a long time?! Lyudmila is also a very lawful person (as the ruler she literally is the law to some degree) and this also put doubt on him not only as her friend but as her right hand man too, how can she trust him with national matters if he might be hiding other murderous secrets? If he lies to his ruler?

She judged him for what she could and tried to just cut him out of her life, but to some degree the worst punishment came from other people. Because of Lyudmila's violent reaction, an avalanche of gossip erupted and some of them were even worse than the actual crime Aleksandr committed, pushing him even further into his solitude and ruining the life of his son as well...

37. What’s their favorite thing about their significant other, if they have one?

You didn't specify which pair this refers to, so we'll just tell about both XD

For Stanislaw he definitely admires Lyudmila's passion and dedication, how she puts everything into ruling the kingdom, caring about her family and basically everything she does without exhausting herself, whereas Lyudmila loves how open he is, both in terms of honesty and a kind of simpleness he still carries in his life.

Michał and Maria are actually quite different from each other, which makes it both easier and more difficult to answer, but Michał admires her bravery, both in the physical sense that Maria isn't a fighter but she isn't a coward and she's ready to protect herself and people she cares about (this is kinda what made him fall in love with her in the first place) and also in the way that she isn't afraid to speak her mind and back her words with actions. What Maria admires in Michał is, surprisingly, his sincerity. At first he appeared to be really pompous (I mean he kinda is) and fake, willing to do everything for attention or his personal gain, but in time she realized that he actually has a very strong sense of justice and even if he can be dramatic he never plays with people's emotions to hurt them and at the end of the day he always strives for honesty and truth.

Thank you for those (unexpected) questions and letting me babble about our beloved Lachians a little more ^^

Ask game

[booksandwords]

People From My Neighbourhood by Hiromi Kawakami. Translated by Ted Goossen

Read time: 1 Day Rating: 5/5 Stars

The Quote: "Of course there's music," Kanae's sister said cooly. "That's why they call it the Music House." "But what kind of music?" "It depends. Everyone hears different music. The music that rules their destiny. It's no joke — music really does determine your destiny you know." — Kanae's sister and The Narrator (The Elf)

Warnings: Bullying, animal abuse, abandonment (it's debatable)

Let's start by saying this is a perfect book for someone who commutes on public transport. The chapters are only three pages long and they are engaging but simple enough that if you read early in the morning or later in the afternoon it is followable. The stories appear to be written from primarily one perspective, an unnamed narrator, or at least that is how I perceive it. I do refer to the narrator using she/her pronouns even though we are never given a gender, I draw the gender from the author's gender alone. I think that in Japanese the gender would likely be infered by the language used, that doesn't translate to English.

Have some comments on some of the stories

I read Chicken Hell and had a moment. M*A*S*H fans will get the same reaction.

"Deep-fried buns are yummy." — It was with this line that I realised that the narrator doesn't know the impact the she has on others. (p.10, The Office)

The School Principal is entirely unexpected to me. It was the first time I picked up that time is kinda fluid. At least I think it is. I do not like Kanae. I'm not certain we're supposed to. She may have been the narrator's best friend but she was also a bully. (The Juvenile Delinquent)

Hachirō made me laugh even while the idea of The Hachirō Lottery makes me kinda sad, especially the neighbourhoods reaction to it,

The ongoing stories about Kanae's sister (starting in The Six-Person Flats) are fascinating. She is a lot of things, none of them normal. All of them, a little eerie but more accepted in Japanese culture than western. The interpretation of faith is different. She has some perhaps disturbing come bizarre moments, see The White Dove.

The Rivals feels like an allegory I don't understand. Yōko One and Two are representative of a message but what?

The English translation of the song the narrator hears in the Music House (The Elf) makes Saigō Teruhiko's Hoshino Flamenco/ 星のフラメンコ very difficult to find. It's rarely if ever called flamenco of the stars when performed by him.

The Buriers is an interesting concept. Asking the reader to decide what is a raw thing?

Uncle Red Shoes is a great inclusion. I will say it makes more sense once you see this. (Kawakami uses a technical term. Banana)

What a fantastic literal interpretation of Lord of the Flies.

🤨 is my only real reaction to Bass Fishing. Aside from WTF? I feel like we just jumped the shark.

Pigeonitis... I do like the side effects of it and Kiyoshi Akai's bitterness.

A Sport's Day without any physical activity is a unique proposition. But a good one. (I present to you chess)

"Her life is perfect" "Yeah. She even married a prince." "And made a pile of money." "And walked all over men, but they still followed her everywhere." "But isn't a princess supposed to be no bigger than your thumb?" "They say it's cos she got as big as a regular human being after her wedding that she and the prince broke up." "No way," Kanae's big sister put in. "You mustn't believe in fairy tales," — This is the narrator and Kanae talking about The Princess. I love this interpretation of what a princess is supposed to be. (p.73, Fruit)

Damn Dolly... Did not see that coming *insert any good for her gif here* (Fruit)

No discussing Eye Medicine because spoilers.

Baby is a lot to take in and I'm not certain I understand it. There is something there I know I am missing.

Sōkichi Nashida's story is sad. One of success, yet a feeling of emptiness leading to an ultimate feeling of unfulfilment. It is just really well written. One of the few that doesn't use the main narrator's point of view. (The Family Trade)

It was thanks to Kanae's big sister that we learned the shacks were actually 'emotion rooms'. She had put the question directly to her class teacher, and he had explained that, of the four shacks, the pale red one was 'the sadness shack', the pale green one was 'the anger shack', the white one was 'the hate shack', and the yellow one was the 'shack of joy'." — Briefly the shacks expand when someone who enters them is experiencing purely that emotion. I appreciate the colour alignments. Aside from yellow, they all feel different from the norm. I also just like the idea of them. They're cool. (p.114, The Shack)

The woman who runs the Love is the focus of two stories The Love and The Empress, the final story. I like her. She is an unexpectedly confident and self-assured woman. Her actions lead to unexpected but wonderful final lines.

I do recommend this to people. There may be something lost in the translation but not enough for it to be off-putting. There is a whimsical element to it that was unexpected coming in and as it goes on it gets more so. Everyone is connected and the characters thread through regardless of what is going on in the wider neighbourhood. Both The Secret and The Empress (the first and last stories respectively) are strong. They are kind of the two ends of the scale, as strange as The Secret may be (though I did enjoy it) it has nothing on The Empress. It is a little different for me, I have started looking for other books by Hiromi Kawakami, I like her style.

[alyjojo]

Love Reading 🦥 - September 2023 - Capricorn

Singles:

Overall energy: Wheel of Fortune

How you will meet: 7 Wands

How they will treat you: Ace of Cups rev

Long-term Potential: The Lovers

Oracle:

Camera 📸

- Reminiscing

- Making memories

- Learn from the past

- Perception

Healthy Choices 🥬

- Self-love & Self-care

- Being happier

- Love & Life

I’m dying over here 🤣 Just the first few cards, you have to have known this person for some time, because there is a separation time period between you, and growth & change in that time apart. You do NOT like this person when you first meet them, and they do not like you either 💯 I heard “witcho stupid head ass” and about choked laughing. That was unexpected. You could meet through friends, or are in different social groups or something like that. One of you finds the other to be incredibly arrogant, bossy, full of themselves and on an ego trip basically. 9 Wands could show you being mean to their friend or saying something that hurts them, like they have a reason to not like you first.

How they treat you is “nope”, missing an opportunity that never existed in their mind, one or both of you could be already involved or in love with other people, and those are genuine connections, soulmates even. This could be a very strange Twin connection, those cards haven’t come out anywhere, so maybe not, but it feels like a long time you’re both elsewhere, in love, happy, doing you separately. Long term is The Lovers, Judgement, and Ace of Wands. Pure passion, soulmates, twins, whatever you are, Wheel of Fortune shows divine timing, a meant to be separation, a growth period, and this is your person 💯 Their cards show “they always knew”, but at what point? Not sure. The messages show what this will be, and it’s a beautiful thing. Guess yo stupid head ass is doing something right 🤣🤣🤣 I’m done.

Messages -

Their side:

- I KNEW the moment I met you.

- New Beginning

Your side:

- I am ENTRANCED by you 😵‍💫

- You are my best friend.

Signs you may be dealing with:

Leo, Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces & Sagittarius

Couples:

Overall energy: Knight of Wands

Current: Ace of Swords

Challenge: Ace of Pentacles

How they feel about you: Ace of Cups

How you feel about them: Queen of Wands & 7 Wands

Outcome: The Hanged Man & Page of Pentacles

Okay this one is kinda confusing, because there are a lot of people here and I’m not sure which of these the reading is actually for. Three stories here. The first is dealing with an ex spouse or partner…and a new one. The second has rushed into love to now realize this isn’t who they really are, but no outside people are involved. The third is you and your partner dealing with outside people that cause conflict between you, particularly parents, more specifically, a mother.

The first and second stories are similar, you rushed into a very loving connection with a very loving person in the past, or the one you’re with now either/or. There are very deep emotions on both sides, you see each other as soulmates, King & Queen of Cups. That may be true even if it’s not working, I do get a sense of this WAS your person, that was genuine. But now, either you’re realizing that you’ve changed inside, possibly grown up if you were young at the time, or have met someone else that makes you feel like more of yourself. You feel that you’ve outgrown this first connection, in either story.

For the parents, Mom could be very supportive and Dad is more concerned with the truth, the reality of your situation, and all of the things you can’t and don’t see, being blinded to love and all of that. He’s trying to talk “sense” into you, and in this story, it hurts deeply to be separated from your mother, or you feel like this new love is dragging you away from family, or they already have. For some, you had to due to conflicts, but it’s made you deeply unhappy to be alone, without support, your fault or not. It’s possible there’s been a loss or an illness to trigger these feelings now, if this was all in the past.

The challenge in either partner story is that no real potential to heal has been reached or attempted because you’ve never spent time alone. A dark night of the soul could be necessary with The Hermit, and possibly triggered by a mother, an ex, your new person, a past you now see clearly, an illness and circumstances surrounding that, maybe even being a parent yourself makes you realize things you never did before. Ace of Swords can simply be the lightbulb in your head having a “eureka!” moment, and you suddenly understand a lot of feelings you’ve been confused about or pushing deep deep down.

I’m getting you are more of the King energy in the partner stories, could be wrong, but either way it’s like you’ve swapped faces with people. With the Queen of Cups, you were King of Cups, it’s something you rushed into with enthusiasm and excitement…FAST. Now you’re realizing you’re more of a King of Pentacles with this Queen of Wands, that’s the reality, you’re more focused on work, stability, the long term. These all could be the same people just 10-50 years later, you’re realizing you’ve changed. Grown into yourself. Your “person” (whoever comes out here as your person anyway) is upset and defensive at this “change” you’re suddenly making to jump into a whole new situation, with a whole new person in some cases. They see you at a new beginning in love, being excited like a child, and that’s it, some part of life is over, The World. The situation is different for everyone.

You have every Ace here except Wands. That’s good, except Pentacles is your challenge. Real. Substance. Something to build on. The thing this King of Pentacles plants, grows, and cultivates for the long term 10 Pentacles. It’s all about the NEW, the NEW, the NEW, and then tomorrow you’re NEW. You’re not who you were yesterday and can’t answer for that. There’s a vibe of you not really meaning what you say or do, it’s all an impulsive & spontaneous Knight of Wands energy that can/will change tomorrow if you decide you’ve changed. And then see ya, whoever knew me as Cups. Or Swords. Or Pentacles. A person of many faces, is the conflict with your partner, parents, ex, etc. Who even are you? On some level, this is saying they’re right, because of the dark night challenge here having not been faced yet. Because of your messages, maybe you recently have, and you’re looking over old experiences and realizing how much you’ve really changed - The Butterfly.

Outcome for mid-Oct is wanting to apologize for leaving things and people behind, 9 Swords energy of mental stress and anguish, sleepless nights and worry, and any Towers that have been caused. Because of this energy, Wise Spirit, and Ace of Swords, I’m not sure what avenue this comes by, but many of you are receiving spiritual downloads and messages that are like WAKE UP, and then you do, because you have to. Very intense energy. For those not yet in dark night energy, you may have waited and planned on making an “escape” only to realize you brought down a whole Tower, for a family, possibly children involved, for an ex or parents, at some point for yourself too. Some of you have realized with this wake up call that where you are isn’t where you want to be. And others of you are racing as far away from this contemplative “substance building” Hermit energy as you possibly can - that’s why it’s the challenge. Or maybe your person is, because you have Wise Spirit here. Soul Mates comes out with the oracles, and I’m not sure who that actually is in this reading. It’s possible you’re deciding that it’s no one, or it was someone else, or that you chameleon to whoever you’re with and don’t actually have one yet. I do see this Cups person as having been one, at one time, but you were different then and that wouldn’t apply anymore anyway. Who are you now? In this space, how you feel is King of Pentacles, which is more your lane. And then who is the counterpart to that person, what does that person need to be to make you happy? There’s a Queen of Wands here, could be a particular person that you can feel more like yourself with, or “the lover” with no real identity or definition in your life yet, and you’re trying to figure that out. Doesn’t have to be signs, just energy, I get this reading being more about you, and whatever it is that you want & need. The real you, and all of the sides and aspects of that person, good and bad. Finally? Some of you have avoided yourself for a long time.

Messages -

Their side:

- I don’t want anyone else.

- I don’t know how to tell you how I feel.

Your side:

- Wise Spirit

- Darker skin tone

Oracles -

The Butterfly 🦋

- Evolving & Growth

- Next phase

- Healing inner child

- Releasing the past

Soulmates 🫂

- Soul connection

- Partnership

- Soul contract

- Life partner

Signs you may be dealing with:

Every sign, heavy water 💦 especially Pisces

[anarchy-and-piglins]

When Technoblade is dreaming, the time between Quackity pulling the lever and the anvil hitting him passes much slower than it has any right to.

Nightmare logic works like that sometimes. The mind can take realism and warp it through the lens of fear until seconds stretch out into infinity. He spends hours just watching it come down, dark iron shapeless against the sky.

When it actually happened, the anvil's descent was way too fast for him to have time to do more than look up. In his dreams, Technoblade stares at it in silent contemplation and comes to terms with the reality of death.

His fingers are closed around the cold, sharp gold of the totem but it brings him no comfort. There is no certainty it will even work like he hopes it will. Techno has only heard tales of the talismans' supposed powers, he never has seen one at work. Maybe - he has time to think - maybe it's a myth. And he's really about to die.

And if that's true, then Phil will have to witness him being reduced to a smear of gore on this stage. Then the last they've seen of each other will have been a moment ago, panic-stricken faces and shackles around Techno's wrists.

It's hard not to fear death. Maybe even impossible. Techno wouldn't know, he hasn't tried. He's always been so unbearably terrified of dying, he just covers it up with false bravado and a repeated lie meant to soothe the voices. He does not have to dread that which is unthinkable.

(Technoblade never dies, does he?)

He always wakes up right before it hits, and Techno is glad for it because reliving the emotions of that day is one thing but he doesn't think he'd be able to handle the physical pain on top of it.

Note to all: totems reverse only the act of dying. You'll still feel your bones snap like twigs and your blood vessels bursting from the pressure and your brain being crushed into the corners of your skull.

When he flinches awake, his entire body feels wired, redstone currents running through every vein. Technoblade gets up because all the walls feel like the cage and then he stumbles down and out and it's still too much, still too real, the planks of his house underfoot no different than the stage he was standing on thinking he was about to die. Nearly slipping on the sleet of the wooden steps, Techno can't stop until there's snow beneath his hooves and the cold air burning at his skin. He's not wearing more than the clothes he went to bed in, which aren't at all appropriate for the arctic climate.

(at least he can blame the shaking of his hands on the cold)

And then he stops because he isn't alone, somebody is there.

Instinctively, he wants to reach for his sword. He left the weapon inside though, he doesn't have his armor, he's defenseless and exposed and that fear is still so fresh - so potent in his mind.

(they took everything from him when they arrested him. left him vulnerable as can be. he won't allow himself to be put in a position where he can't fight back ever again)

Until he sees it's Tubbo staring back at him.

Something too close to irony creeps up Techno's spine. He can't pretend not to notice a similar sentiment reflected in Tubbo's eyes, the same vague sense of remembrance drenched in the suffering of the past. Techno is not an idiot, and he notes the fact that Tubbo is also without a coat or outer layer, and his hair is a mess as if he just rolled out of bed and strolled outside. His shoulders are drawn back and his feet are set a bit too far apart and he's looking at Techno as if he's looking at a bad memory.

"Uh… hey," Techno says. Not before considering he could just go back inside and pretend this never happened, but his options are either exposing himself to the claustrophobic panic attack being in his house would surely cause him right now or the most awkward unexpected meeting in the universe. "I kinda forgot you live here now."

Tubbo still has the flowers in his hair, white petals and green vine. And at that moment, it reminds Techno oddly of the crater they saw on their trip, L'Manburg growing over when reclaimed by nature again. A sign of healing. A sign of progress.

(Techno doubts these flowers carry the same meaning)

"It's weird, isn't it?" Tubbo asks, in complete seriousness. "Sometimes I forget I'm not back home anymore. It's like, man this place is so much smaller than I remember."

Home. Snowchester. It will probably be a while before those words lose their connection, their shared meaning, if they ever do. Tubbo has chosen safety over home.

"We could probably expand it," Techno offers stupidly. That's how he operates isn't it, fixing the smaller issues instead of addressing the bigger problem?

(if Techno knew how to turn places into homes he'd have started doing it a long time ago)

Tubbo nods. "There's enough room for me but I think Michael would like some space to run around. Keep him from breaking things when running after Benson." There's a laugh there, fond and small.

"We'll bother Phil about it tomorrow."

There's silence then, they're not looking at each other.

Tubbo is the first to break it. "Why are you out here, actually?"

"Why are you out here?" Techno shoots back. "It's my backyard."

"It's mine now too and I asked you first."

"You were out here first so."

"That literally doesn't mean anything," Tubbo says, derisively exasperated. "But fine. I couldn't sleep."

"Yeah, me neither," Techno answers, candidly. "Doesn't explain why you decided to stand around in the snow though."

"I had a bad dream. I don't-" Tubbo touches the scars on his face, a nervous tic. Techno saw him do it before too, when they were talking about the festival. When he apologized. He doesn't have to be a genius to connect the dots. "Just don't feel like being boxed in right now, yeah?" There's a kind of self-deprecating humor in there.

"No kidding. At least outside it doesn't feel like there's some big weight dangling over my head," Techno quips back.

And really, there's a lot more understanding between them than either of them expected probably.

Or at least a shared trauma.

(does the source matter anymore? is the fact that they could trace these memories back to each other of any consequence?

maybe being tired of the animosity could be enough moving forward)

"Also," Tubbo says, "do you have any idea how fucking weird it is to live in a house haunted by your dead husband? It's uncanny."

"I don't. Do I strike you as the type of guy to get married, Tubbo?"

"You could be divorced. Like, you could be the 'take half of what they own' type. I could see that for you."

"Woooooow. I'm hurt. I'm an honorable man, I'd pay alimony." The response comes in perfect, droning monotony.

Tubbo shakes his head, smiling a little.

"Do you wanna go on a walk?" Techno asks him. "I'm freezing over here."

For a moment Tubbo's face scrunches up, and Techno thinks he's about to point out the much more convenient solution that is going back inside. Or even just getting a cloak to put on. He doesn't though.

"Yeah sure. Let's go on a walk."

(somewhere beneath the snow, there must be poppies and dandelions sprouting, stubbornly breaking through the frost. both flowers tended to be known for their endurance, their ability to grow in even the harshest of circumstances.

to be a survivor.

Techno thinks maybe in the summer they could pick some together)

[pizzee]

What are some of your favorite behind the scenes details, parallels, themes, or processes that went into creating sudden unexpected guitar solo that you want to talk about/point out?

Ok strap in because this is gonna be a longy cause I love talking ab my writing and I feel like I went a little off my rocker writing this one. I’m gonna work backward from how u asked because I feel like it’ll work better that way idk.

Processes: i always start a fic with one scene, then build the rest of the story around it. This fic though, was very very different. Id originally started writing a megalong, CYOA fic (yea I know crazy right) that I got like 20k words into then dropped. It was shit, and boring. But I didn’t want to waste the material. So I ditched the old idea and went back to my original concept: Jake character study. And from there, I built.

I had a tooooon of leftover scenes I wanted to use so I kept those and made a little outline. Just general story beats I wanted to hit on. Then I went looking for inspo, which came from the usual sources. Kendrick Lamar, particularly the song ‘Mirror’, second main inspo was from an unreleased Kanye song. I went back to these lines a lot for the vibe I wanted, which was kinda lightly melancholy, a little angry, a little hopeful.

Here’s a bit of the planning process

Then, then I started writing. Well, a little before that I picked out the bits of scraps I wanted to include and put them in some sort of order that made sense, choose a story structure that would make sense (this was the hardest part. I was originally going to do completely linear but it was not working, so I went with linear intercut with extensive flashbacks which I don’t think I’ve ever done but i like experimenting with structure anyway so it worked out alright), then I started writing. First scene I fully wrote out was the last one of chapter one, the scene with Layla. That’s actually the least changed scene too. Then from there, I wrote in order. Some scenes like Gena’s diner I wrote all the dialogue first then went back and added on. Others like the trip to Chicago was just all flow time baby. I edited some of the scrap scenes to fit the context of the story, did a few changes, then was pretty much on my way to finishing.

Oh and the title. That was actual the very first thing I wrote for this. I always write titles first cause I’m a madman, and I had this one sitting in my drafts for the longest time. I know it’s kind of the opposite vibe of the fic but I really like it and I think it kinda works. Chapter titles were also fun. I got the Jakob’s Ladder one while reading the Wikipedia page on the historial Jacob and found the themes fitting. The great Chicago fire one I remembered from a project I did in like 9th grade.

Themes: ok another way this story was super different: I actually wrote out the themes. Wooow I know I’m so organized. Main thing I wanted to hit on was that there would be no grand conclusion. No big confessions, no huge reveals, none of that. Even though the fic is long, I didn’t want it to feel big. In terms of scale of story but also how the themes are handled. Plus, it’s a Jake fic. So themes of personhood, self worth, belonging come with the cab driver.

That’s not to say there aren’t kind of major moments. I try to keep most of those in the past. The Passover flashback (and god damn were wendy’s lines hard to write), the whole military etc flashback. I think there’s only two moments of palpable anger in the present day sections: when Jake is half angry at Steven in Gena’s diner, and when he’s half angry at Marc in the headspace gym. I wanted to reserve the present for quieter parts. Some of that good healing in the present from past traumas thematic through lines, ya know?

Little domestic moments are my faves to write, mostly because Im allergic to actual intricate plots, also because I like contrasting the somber tone of the flashback scenes with the more gentle present. (Ah but I’ll save that for the parallels section, and speaking of…)

Parallels: most clear one is between the past and present. There’s a permeating sadness ab their childhood in a lot of fics I read I really wanted to capture, and I wanted it to be kind of… settling in? In the flashbacks versus easing up in the present. I really love making loops in stories, like linking the ending themes to the beginning, but this fic is more of a spiral outward. Things start in one place and circle around but don’t ever really end. Ok other parallels.

His name! The Jacob name story. That section was a segment of one of the Jake routes from that CYOA scrapped project that focused briefly on his name. I’ve lightly mentioned Jake’s Hebrew name in previous fics, or what I headcanon it to be, and when I was researching Hebrew names and their significance, I came upon the name Jacob. Then searched up the significance and thought that’s be a cool thing to weave throughout the story. Something something, the significance of names in defining our personhood and the power of having one and knowing someone’s name. And I like characters figuring out their names. Steven gives him Jakob (Steven with a v, Marc with a c, Jakob with a k), Marlene gives him Jake, he gives himself Lockley, then Jake gives Frenchie his full name, exchanges his name with Gena. And doesn’t give Elias anything. I liked that.

This is a bit of a smaller parallel, but the Jake Reveal and the final scene. I purposefully kept the Jake Reveal vague and short because again, no big reveals or anything was my rule, but I wanted the vibe to kind of parallel the vibe of the final scene. It’s Marc and Steven talking over Jake, picking him apart trying to understand him vs them talking around and with him, just naturally going with him. Them asking his name vs them saying it again and again. That was fun to write.

Oh and the parallel between the locket, the box, and the gloves. Keeping things safe, protected in a locket close to his chest vs a ground box in a city he hasn’t been to in decades that has all of their worst moments stored vs the chosen, physical barrier of the gloves. It’s just protection in different fonts.

Details: can we talk about the box? I wanna talk about the box let’s talk about the box. It actually came to me from this cigar box my mom gave me that I was trying to make into a jewelry box. I saw it and was like, “hm putting things of sentimental value in a box, compartmentalizing taken literally?” I think that one was one of the more obvious metaphors.

But my fave one was the locket. That was a thing I’ve had in my scraps forever and was actually inspired by the lock and key metaphor thing I’ve read in a lot of other fics for Jake’s last name. I loved the idea and had it spinning in my mind when I was writing but I didn’t want to use it like that because something something originality so I was like “Lockley… lock… locket.” and ran with that. And honestly? I really like it :) oh and the poem inside, I’d never read it before this fic but it fit the themes and vibes pretty good. Oh shit and

Boxer Marlene! So I really love the whole Marc is a boxer thing from the comics.I also really don’t like Marlene. Which yea not a hot take but I wanted to like her without like girlbossifying her. So I wrote her as a boxer because a) I needed a way to incorporate her into the story without fucking up the timeline and b) I think that’s cool as fuck. Thus, Marlene Arlaune became a woman from New York who’s attending the university of Chicago and really likes boxing. And she’s real fucking good at it too (which was inspired by comics Marlene learning some martial arts).

The happy endings line came from a tumblr post I think. I don’t remember which one exactly but I read it and immediately jotted it down because it was really fucking good. Anyway, I just wanted to write Layla again, because I adore her, so I wrote that little scene between them. Which is one of my faves.

Speaking of fave scenes, the Passover scene and Elias scene are up there. The Passover scene was pretty easy to write, minus Wendy an Jake’s exchange because I had to make sure my Spanish wasn’t completely grammatically incorrect. That section was inspired by the Lemire run, cause I really like the idea of them running away. And the Elias scene. I really really love it. Idk I feel like that’s the most Jake Jake I’ve ever written. It works ta me. Khonshu was also going to be a bigger part of the story and link up with the themes surrounding Elias and their parents but there was already so much going on shoving him in there would’ve been overstuffed.

Extra things:

- Sudden unexpected guitar solo was inspired by the Fooly Cooly ending song and the music battle in Doctor Strange in MoM. Really love those guitars.

- This was going to be part 2 of a three part series, all with obnoxiously long music related names and focusing on Steven, Jake, and Marc each. I was gonna call the series interior crocodile alligator. No I’m not kidding

- The gym I had in mind while writing that Jake vs Marc scene was the one from daredevil. I love my dumpster diving disaster diva daredevil

- The big tree in the headspace field was originally going to be a massive astrolabe, cause space. I changed it last minute.

- The dialogue between Marlene and Jake in their first flashback sequence was leftovers from a Jane/Valkyrie fic I started before going to see Th4r then dropped after watching it💀

- There’s a little section in the Chicago visit scene that I just ripped from an irondad fic i abandoned. the part ab trying ice cream for the first time

- Crawley was supposed to make an appearance. I might’ve forgotten ab that

- I had the last scene written for months. It was one of the first things I wrote. The last thing I wrote was the final flashback with Marlene. I added it last minute to tie things up a little neater.

- Repetition is my best friend, my soulmate, I couldn’t live without repetition

- LET STEVEN SAY FUCK!!! I think I got that from a fic where Marc was more hesitant to su duck than Steven. I really liked that

- My fave scene: the Elias talk and immediate aftermath in the backyard. It was originally going to be a grand confrontation where Jake gave a whole spiel and proudly proclaimed his name but… him asking for more sugar instead seemed more fitting

- Fave line: "Did you just say the f-word?" Sometimes, very rarely, I make myself exhale sharply through my nose in a mimicry of a laugh

- Fave moment: the “you’re not dodging” bit in the headspace. Kinda broke my own heart there ngl

- Yea there’s a reference to another one of my Jake fics, “quizás, quizás, quizás” in there.

- Yea there’s a Dane Whitman cameo

- Yea this was an extremely elaborate way for me to promote my Jake lockley has a sweet tooth agenda

[godtrials]

deaged sam fic!

I know I’ve done this before but I missed some and I was just talking to friends about this <3

Childish Things by Refur Dean's little brother is suddenly kinda... little. (Sam is little but has his grown-up mind.)

Goodnight, Moon by dragonflysoul Leaning further into each other, they stood their ground. It was how they had survived every storm they’ve ever weathered. It was how they would survive this one too. (Sam is little but has his grown-up mind..... mostly.)

Time held me green and dying by anyplaceisbetter (Espoir) Sam wakes up aged 9 and with zero clue who the weird man in the bed next to his is. They deal. (NEW! and absolutely incredible!)

Snow Days in July by beekeepercain While organizing the bunker's storages, Sam touches a cursed object. The aftermath isn't quite what either of the brothers expected - but for Dean, it comes like a much-needed vacation. 

Degeneration by lanri In which Sam turns into a kid and Dean flails a lot. (Baby Sam with grown-up hallucinations.)

My Ghosts Are Not Gone by longingparadise AU – Sam has died in Cold Oak and Dean couldn’t bring him back to life. For years after, Dean manages to drag himself from one hunt to the next, not sure why he still forces himself to stay alive and keep on doing the family business when there’s no family left. Fast forward, he is confused when Amara tells him she’d give him what he desires the most. But when he meets a 24-year-old Sam stumbling through the woods, it all seems to make sense. (Not technically de-aging, but it’s close.)

As You Were by KatZen Dad said crying was for babies. Dean Winchester was not a baby. (Castiel deals with the fallout when Dean and Sam are de-aged by a curse.)

Monster by foolsdance Following the disastrous events in Colorado, Sam and Dean encounter a new problem. An unknown creature changes Sam into his twelve year old self. Going from bad to worse, they are soon after caught by the FBI, who believe Sam has been kidnapped by Dean as a replacement for his missing brother. It's up to Sam to break Dean out of custody, not easy when you're suddenly a pint sized foster kid.

Lethe by Goldmonger Sam is a twenty year old law student living in Palo Alto, glad to be free of his dangerous past. When he opens his eyes in an underground bunker, encountering two weirdos and his grizzled older brother, he’s understandably freaked. 2020 is a bad time to be out of the loop. Especially when you’re supposed to be hunting God.

Out of Time by mentholpixie In which a thirteen year old Sam finds himself in a strange bunker with a fever of what feels like a million degrees and a stranger claiming to be his brother. Set during the Trials.

A Moment Like Forever by RiatheMai (Summary is very long, but tiny little Sam + adults Dean and Jody!)

The Respectful Size by Bloodless Igby And all Dean can think, as he rises to his feet with his distraught brother in his arms, is that Sam is right. Dean is bigger than him. And that's pretty much the only good thing that can possibly come out of this situation. deaged!Sam, protective!Dean (Unfinished, but very cute)

Panda Onesies and Ugly Bunnies by beautifulboysincars At a time when the brothers are not on the best of terms, Sam is bewitched into an infant. For a while, things are good between them, even if they're different. Set sometime after 9.13.

time travel, which ik is different but has similar tropes:

And Beats High Mountain Down by The_Bookkeeper Sam is concussed and hallucinating; Dean is crippled and drugged to the gills. It is, in short, about the worst possible moment for sudden, unexpected time travel.

We Mortals Be by Debbie L Angry fairies cast Sam and Dean into a deadly forest where they come face to face with what it really means to be brothers. (season 5 brothers meet their 11- and 15-year-old selves)

[lesbianrobin]

What do you think are the good and bad aspects of each season of ST?

ok 1. thank u for this question omg and 2. this answer may or may not be a mess, but either way it’s long (almost 7k words lmao) bc i’m insane, which is why it’s under a cut. it’s still by no means an exhaustive list but these are the things that just kinda came to mind.

also i realize you asked “good and bad” and i wrote this whole post as “strengths and weaknesses” which um. is not Exactly what you asked. but close enough <3 i also ended up including a lot of au ideas ksjdckmn bc like i personally hate when people say a certain plot or whatever was bad without suggesting anything that could have improved it yknow so whenever possible i tried to provide Some idea for fixing the issues i had with the show!!

season 1

strengths (this is probably gonna be the longest section but that’s because a lot of these strengths also apply to s2/s3 by default)

nostalgia and authenticity

this one’s pretty simple, but i think that season one did a good job of blending classic eighties media homages (such as the many many e.t./el parallels) with explicit pop culture references (such as mike’s yoda impression, mentions of the x-men, etc) to create a show that’s essentially dripping in early eighties nostalgia without it feeling too forced. before st, i think the most popular depiction of the eighties in mainstream media was that overly exaggerated neon scrunchie aesthetic from the mid to late eighties, and it was usually done in a comedic sense first and foremost. st took a different approach, instead focusing on the early eighties, a time that’s often ignored in favor of going either Full Seventies or Full Eighties, and i think that this choice likely resonated with adults who lived through the eighties and hadn’t yet seen something that felt quite so accurate to their own adolescence. a lot of young people who watched st were totally unfamiliar with this period of time, unfamiliar with books/movies like “stand by me” that st borrows from heavily, and i think st lent more seriousness to the eighties than most young people had experienced so far, and this was refreshing and interesting!

the use of dnd in the show is also quite genius in a way i’m not sure i can articulate?? it isn’t something Everyone would have played at the time, but it’s something that existed within a different context back in the eighties than it does today, and it really lent a sort of authenticity to the naming of the show’s sci-fi elements. like, of course these kids would name parallel dimensions and monsters and superpowers after these similar things in their favorite game! it just feels so real and it grounds st in our reality moreso than you might expect from the typical sci-fi or horror universe.

utilization of existing tropes

almost every single character in st clearly originates from some popular trope. the plot itself is riddled with classic eighties movie tropes. almost every single element of stranger things can be clearly traced back to some iconic eighties film or just to, like, overused horror/sci-fi/mystery/coming-of-age movie tropes in general. this might sound like a bad thing, but it really works in st’s favor! starting off with familiar tropes gives st the ability to easily create a lot of complexity and make a big impact by selectively deviating from those familiar, comfortable tropes!! while el’s whole plot, hopper’s character, etc, are all examples of this in action, i think the steve/nancy/jonathan plot is the greatest example. even from the start, the fact that good girl barb dies while nancy is off having sex with her asshole boyfriend is an incredibly thorough inversion of the most well-known horror movie trope in the book. how often do girls in horror movies have sex for the first time, walk home alone in the dark of night, and live to tell the tale? nancy and jonathan’s dynamic at first glance is a sort of classic “good girl meets boy from the wrong side of the tracks, discovers he’s actually got a heart of gold” thing, but instead of following this well-trodden path, st diverged. nancy is brash, impulsive, and at times downright insensitive. jonathan is angry, bitter, and actually a bit of a creep at first. while they have the capacity to emotionally connect and support one another, they can also bring out each other’s darker side, which is not what we’ve come to expect from that initial tropey dynamic.

in addition, steve, the popular rich asshole boyfriend, is actually... a human being! unlike the cartoonishly evil jocks that we’ve come to expect (especially from eighties movies), steve has complexity. despite his initial immaturity and selfishness, he’s also kind to barb, he backs off when nancy says no, he’s gentle and sweet when they sleep together, his first big Dick Move of the season is in defense of nancy, he realizes the error of his ways after the fight and does what he can to fix it, he’s worried about nancy when he sees that she’s hurt at jonathan’s house, and to top it all off, he ends up saving both nancy and jonathan’s lives when he could have just walked away, and the three of them all work together to fight the demogorgon. like... steve began as the most stereotypical character of all time, and by the end of the season, he had one of the most compelling and unique arcs among the whole cast!

finally, at the very end of the season, instead of dumping steve for jonathan as expected, nancy ends up getting back together with steve, and they’re both on friendly terms with jonathan. i realize that i just kinda. summarized s1. but my POINT is that i don’t think the dynamics between the monster hunting trio would be nearly as fun and interesting had the characters of nancy, steve, and jonathan not been set up to follow certain paths that we already had charted in our own heads. like, within the first couple episodes of s1, it’s pretty obvious that nancy and steve are gonna break up, nancy will get with jonathan, and steve will either die or go full evil or just never be seen again. like, duh! you’ve seen this story a million times! you know that’s how it’s gonna go! so, when the story DOESN’T go that way, the impact of each character’s arc and the relationship dynamics become stronger due to their unexpected complexity and authenticity. 

distinct plotlines separated by age group

this one’s rather obvious, but the way that the adults in s1 were essentially in a conspiracy thriller while the teens were in a horror flick and the kids were in a sci fi power-of-friendship story and all three converged at the end... wow. brilliant showstopping etc. not only was it just really well done and unique, it also gave stranger things near-universal appeal. like, there’s genuinely something for pretty much everyone in season one!

casting

obviously this applies to every season sorta by default, but when i think about what made season one So successful, i always think about the cast, and not just winona ryder. yes, she’s absolutely amazing in the show and it’s very doubtful that st would be as big as it is today without her name being attached to it from the start!! however, i think the greatest determining factor in st’s success is the casting of the kids, particularly millie bobby brown. like... el is just absolutely incredible. she’s amazing. this has all been said many times before so i won’t harp on it, but millie and the other kids are all So talented and charismatic and i think their casting has been instrumental to the show’s success.

strong visuals

the way that multicolored christmas lights which have been around for decades are now kinda like. a Stranger Things thing. jesus christ. those lights are probably the biggest stroke of stylistic genius on the show.

atmosphere and setting

this is probably like. the least important one here for me sdjncdsc because i think s2 and s3 both had like Even Better atmospheres and shit but s1 was good too and it laid the groundwork!! i know a lot of people would have preferred st be set somewhere more Spooky with lots of fog or giant forests or whatnot, and while i do enjoy thinking about alternate st settings and how they might alter the vibe, i think hawkins indiana was a good choice. as the duffers have said, placing stranger things in a fictional town allows them more flexibility than if they’d gone with their original plan of using montauk, new york. besides that, i think the plainness and like... flatness... of small-town indiana just Works. like, the fact that hawkins is never really scary on the surface is a big part of the horror in the lab’s actions and their impact. hawkins isn’t somewhere that people just disappear all the time. it isn’t somewhere known for strange occurrences (prior to s1, that is). it isn’t somewhere shrouded in mist and secrecy. hawkins on its surface seems like the sort of place with no secrets and nothing to fear, and that’s the point! the lab is out in the open! it’s right there! everything is so close to the surface, yet so far out of the public eye, and i think that really works.

the byers family’s whole deal (specifically the joyce/jonathan dynamic)

this is going here bc i miss it so bad in s2 and s3. i’m not one of those people who believe The Byers Are The Whole Point of the show, because st is and always has been an ensemble, and el, hopper, and the wheelers are just as instrumental to the plot as the byers, but ANYWAY, i do think the byers were one of the most interesting aspects of s1. joyce’s difficulties with supporting her sons as a poor and (implied mentally ill) single mother, jonathan’s stress as a result of having to earn money, care for his brother, and keep the house in order when his mother is unable to do so, and the resulting tension between them when will’s disappearance and supposed “death” brings the situation to a tipping point? holy shit! it’s so good! that argument after they see will’s “body” is just incredible and gut-wrenching. their relationship feels so real and messy and i think it’s just... good. also winona ryder REALLY acted her heart out and she carried a lot of s1 which i think people often forget to mention so i’m saying it here.

weaknesses

pacing/timing

ok so pacing is probably going to go in each season’s weaknesses, to be honest, because i think they all had a blend of some good and some bad pacing. good pacing is invisible pacing, though, so i probably won’t be putting it in any of the strengths sections and will only be focusing on it in the weaknesses. i’m also probably not going to talk about weird day/night cycle things, just because i don’t want to get nitpicky on timelines because that would require going back and rewatching things to double check timing which i don’t wanna do at the moment lmao. anyway, when i think of bad pacing in season one, i primarily think of two things: nancy’s little trip into the upside down and subsequent sleepover with jonathan, and the sort of staggered nature of the climax in the final episode. the latter is simple so i’ll explain it first: while i understand that each group’s respective climax is like part of a chain reaction and that’s why each big moment happens separately and at different times, i think that st is strongest when the whole group is together, and i think that makes the stakes feel higher too, so i’m not In Love with the way s1 separated everyone and gave each group their own climax. 

okay, now on to the nancy/upside down thing! idk if i’ve ever talked about it before, but i think the worst decision made in s1 by far is the inclusion of nancy’s brief trip into the upside down, wherein she dives headfirst into another dimension with absolutely no backup, watches the demogorgon chow down, freaks out and runs around for a minute, and then leaves. like... what the fuck? even putting aside what an idiotic decision this was (because i do think nancy’s tendency to rush into things headfirst is an intentional and consistent character trait), it just kind of destroys any remaining suspense surrounding the demogorgon and the upside down, and it accomplishes basically nothing besides scaring nancy enough to have jonathan sleep over, which is lame. i will break it down.

like, first of all, nancy just getting to waltz in and out of the upside down and get a good, long look at the demogorgon makes the entire thing far less mysterious, and by extension far less scary. like... before this scene, we the audience haven’t got a good look at the demogorgon. we’ve seen its silhouette briefly and we’ve seen a blurry picture of it, but nothing more, and i think that is far more effective at building fear than this jaunt nancy goes on which gives us a full view of the thing and makes it into less of a horrifying nightmare and into more of a humanoid animal. like, maybe this is just me, but i found the demogorgon far less intimidating after that scene than before. it also lets nancy and jonathan know For Sure that they’re right without providing any crucial information that they need to fight the demogorgon (aka it’s unnecessary to the plot), which removes a very compelling story element (the faith nancy and jonathan need to have in order to keep going against a vague and poorly understood enemy, the doubt they might have about each other and their own sanity, the possibility that they might be wrong, the trust they need to have in each other) a bit earlier in the plot than i believe is ideal. at the end of episode 5, nancy goes into the upside down and jonathan doesn’t know where she is and it’s intense!!! you’re thinking like, oh fuck, not only is nancy missing and fighting for her life now too, jonathan might be implicated in her disappearance!! some people already think he’s the one who killed will and people know that he took creepy pictures of barb and nancy before they both disappeared, maybe this is gonna cause some serious problems for him!! maybe nancy will find will in the upside down and she’ll help him survive!! fuck, maybe she’ll actually die!! this is huge!! and then episode 6 starts and they’re immediately like oh nevermind jonathan found the tree and got nancy out and she’s fine. my point with all of this is that nancy entering the upside down could have done A Lot in the grand scheme of the plot, but all it did was just... get jonathan to sleep over so he and nancy could have some awkward romance moments and steve could see them together and pick a fight. which could have honestly happened at Any point while nancy and jonathan were working together to hunt down the demogorgon, without ruining the demogorgon’s and the upside down’s mystique. so yeah <3

weird behavior and dumbass decisions that make no sense (aka the whole camera thing)

gonna go off about the teen plot again sorry but: why was nancy so unbothered and quick to forgive jonathan for taking those pictures? girl what the fuck are you doing? why wasn’t that a bigger deal? why was jonathan’s motivation for doing it so weak and why did they just kind of forget about the whole thing? why did nancy TRACK HIM DOWN AT THE FUNERAL HOME while he was PICKING OUT HIS BABY BROTHER’S CASKET to be like hey can you tell me what’s in this creepshot you took? it’s insane. it’s so insane. i mean i think the funeral home thing is hilarious and i don’t mind it being in the show necessarily but like my point here is that i think a lot of character decisions in s1 just kind of.. happened because they Needed to happen for the plot. like, they wrote this plot that required jonathan to be secretly taking pictures of the party and required him and nancy to work together after seeing something odd in the pictures, but they didn’t like... really consider what that event would mean for their characterization and relationship. the whole thing was sort of just dropped with minimal discussion and i think it did both nancy and jonathan’s characters a disservice and was really mishandled.

lighting and saturation/color grading

i am literally begging horror/sci-fi shows to let me see shit. i GET IT okay i understand that when you’re doing cgi effects it helps to keep the lights down and i’m not mad at any of the lighting in the demogorgon/upside down scenes!! i’m really not i think the demogorgon scenes in s1 all look sick!! but like... dude. the colors. where are they. why does everyone look like a vampire. i know blah blah this was probably an intentional stylistic choice intended to mimic film at the time blah blah but dude a lot of old movies are very colorful!! please just let people have color in their faces so everyone doesn’t look like a sheet of paper!!! also i’m white and not a professional lighting designer so yknow grain of salt but i think lucas was kinda poorly served by the lighting sometimes in s1. not Hugely so, not to the degree that i’ve seen poc be poorly served by lighting in other shows, but there were some times where it felt kinda like the lighting setup was just not designed with darker skin in mind. 

horror

i just personally don’t find s1 very scary like... ever. i don’t think they were really Trying to be extremely scary yknow so i’m not counting this as a big deal, but i do think that each season has improved on the horror aspects. i think s1′s horror lies more in the mystery and the unknown than in what’s seen onscreen, and as i’ve said already, i think s1 kind of fumbled that suspense ball.

season 2

strengths

the possession plot

i’ll warn u rn this whole s2 strengths section is probably gonna be really short bc idk like. how much there is to really say i feel like it’s all so self-explanatory skjncmn. anyway yeah the possession plot!! eerie as fuck, and noah OWNED. so did winona tbh and finn and sean etc but like. noah. wow! i think the possession plot helped the show maintain a good amount of tension and suspense throughout the season, and a lot of scenes with possessed!will are flatout disturbing to watch. in a good way. i think the mindflayer and will’s possession were far more genuinely frightening than s1′s demogorgon, and it provided a new layer of depth and intrigue to the antagonist besides just “bad monster want eat people.”

tone and aesthetics

halloween season... literally halloween season. halloween season. that is all.

actually i will elaborate a bit and just say that i think s2 did a good job of having the sort of foreboding vibe that s1 was often going for, but without the annoying darkness and desaturation. so points for that.

also st2 is like one of the best Autumn pieces of media ever like it just. like steve and dustin on those train tracks with the fallen leaves all around them.... god. god the vibes are unparalleled. all of the halloween stuff also really contributes to the nostalgia st runs on yknow it makes you think about childhood and trick-or-treating and you kind of get transported like damn... i remember going to the rich neighborhoods to score the good candy..... idk i just think the whole thing is incredibly effective. 

“babysitter” steve

by sending nancy and jonathan off together, the show created a problem: what to do with steve? this problem pushed them to create the unconventional and unexpected duo of steve and dustin, and the world is so much brighter for it. seriously though we all know steve and dustin are great i don’t need to argue that point. all i’ll add is that i think allowing steve to grow in this way, serving as a mentor figure and becoming genuine friends with someone so unexpected, really took the originality of his character to the next level. no longer content just to defy his archetype, in s2 steve begins branching out in ways that never would have been considered in s1, creating an incredibly complex and interesting person from the sort of character that most shows would have simply written out or killed off for convenience’s sake. and it works and steve and dustin are such a joy to watch and i love them. <3

the lucas/max plot

so first of all max mayfield is the most perfect baby girl on god’s green earth and idk what i would do without her but anyway. i think lumax is the best romantic relationship in the show and not just because they’re the only ones with like an age-appropriate approach to the whole thing. it’s also because their relationship accomplishes more than just putting the two of them in a relationship!! lucas and max spending time together motivates billy to do his evil shit, providing more conflict in the narrative, and it also helps establish max as part of the group in a relatively natural way while giving both her and lucas a great subplot. lucas (and dustin) has a crush on the new girl, they start spending some time together, and lucas ends up needing to decide whether he’ll keep the secret of the upside down and lose her, or risk both of their lives by telling her the truth. that’s a pretty big, character-defining decision that he gets to make!! max has to choose whether to trust this boy she barely knows and endanger herself, or to walk away and stay safe, yet another great character-defining choice that also contributes to the sense we get as an audience of max as somebody who’s incredibly lonely and desperate for love and connection. this post is way too long already and i have a ton more to say so i’ll stop now but yeah i think lumax really Works in the show without ever distracting or detracting from the overall plot and narrative in the way that some other ships (coughjancycough) often do.

balance between the normal and abnormal

s2 i think did a pretty solid job of melding daily life with more fantastical sci-fi horror elements. i enjoyed seeing so much of the kids at school in the first few episodes!! you really get a strong sense of where they’re at in life, what their daily lives are like, and you get a sort of gradual shift into madness that makes everything feel more grounded than i think it would if they had just leapt straight into the horror shit, yknow? 

the el and hopper dynamic

go back and rewatch s2 and tell me that’s not one of the most moving portrayals of parenthood and trauma and growing up that you’ve ever seen. you can’t. or well you can but i won’t listen. i really can’t imagine stranger things without el and hopper’s relationship, and it’s my absolute favorite part of s2. their whole dynamic is so beautiful and complex, and gives them each amazing personal arcs in addition! the black hole scene is literally one of the show’s greatest moments of all time. any given scene between the two of them in s2 is just guaranteed to be heartwarming as well as heartbreaking, and i think that makes for an incredible show.

weaknesses

flashbacks

okay this applies to Every season they All have too many flashbacks but in s2 specifically... please stop showing me shit from season one. i watched it. i know what happened. you don’t need to spoon feed everything to me!! flashbacks can be a really helpful way of delivering information to an audience, but st has a bad habit of not only being kinda demeaning in how often they flash back to shit that the audience already knows, but they also have a bad habit of using flashbacks almost as a crutch to avoid having to deliver information subtly and naturally. 

you know i gotta say it... the lost sister

this is so sad. the lost sister really is like a great concept for an st episode, and i’m not mad about the idea of st taking a break from the normal action to focus on one story for a full episode, but the execution of it was just dreadful. kali and her crew feel very over-the-top and stereotypical, and its placement in the season totally kills the tension and excitement that was built in “the spy.” 

i think the lost sister honestly could have gone over far better, even with the stereotypical fake-feeling gang kali has, if they had just swapped it with “the spy” like... ok, the end of episode five has el setting off to find kali and will collapsing on the ground seizing. right? imagine if, instead of immediately following will to the lab, we’d followed el. we don’t know what’s happening with will, but it’s a very simple cliffhanger that leaves us on edge without making us feel cheated by the show cutting away. we follow el on her little journey, everything happens much the same as canon, and then at the end, el sees hopper in scrubs. she sees mike, screaming, sees that they’re both in danger. holy shit!!! what the fuck!!! what’s happened since we left will seizing on the ground??? we feel el’s fear and confusion. she decides to go home. and then... boom. “the lost sister” is over. now, we rewind, right back to will seizing on the ground, and “the spy” commences. we learn how they got into the danger that el saw in the end of “the lost sister,” and we sit on the edge of our seats all through “the spy” and “the mind flayer,” KNOWING that el is on her way back to save them but not knowing when she’ll arrive!! idk i don’t think that would have necessarily saved lost sister but i think it may have alleviated some of the issues that i and many others have with it, timing-wise.

the nancy/jonathan sidequest

once again, the idea of nancy going off on her own little mission to find justice for barb after s1 is like. amazing. genuinely i love that plot for her and i can’t imagine anything better for her to have focused on in s2. unfortunately though i think her and jonathan’s little trip to see murray was just kind of... lame. the whole thing just felt like an excuse to get the two of them alone together, yknow? which is fine i guess people contrive all sorts of situations to get characters alone together for romance reasons but in this case i think it just really doesn’t work for me because of what it’s juxtaposed with. like, will is POSSESSED, and jonathan is just off on a mini road trip and sleeping with his bestie, and jonathan never seems to communicate to joyce/will that he left town, and joyce never like... thinks to tell him that will is like sick and fucked up and they’re looking at him in the lab??? like it’s so weird i know joyce always forgets about jonathan when shit’s happening with will but jfc you’d think at some point in that like... 72-ish-hour period where jonathan was out of town she would have thought about him. like at least once. maybe i’m forgetting something and she mentioned him sometime and i missed it but even still, i hate the juxtaposition of nancy and jonathan just like cheers-ing at murray’s place and sleeping together and whatnot while everyone else is dealing with possession or trying to hunt down dart yknow? it feels really boring in comparison and i think it could have been done far better. like it was SO insanely easy for them to get into the lab and get an admission of guilt and escape with it!! i think it might have been a lot more engaging if maybe someone from the lab tailed them to murray’s place and they had to like lose the tail and race to get the recording out to as many news outlets as possible before they got caught, or something like that. the tension in their plotline is completely resolved in episode four!! episodes five and six are just them screwing around and addressing envelopes. while there were a lot of strong ideas in this plotline (i really enjoy nancy going out of her way to get justice, and the fact that they have to water down the story to make it believable), i just think the focus on nancy and jonathan getting together hindered it a lot without adding a ton to the plot or their individual characters.

season 3

strengths

starcourt mall as a setting

while i don’t think the mall was utilized quite to its full potential (something i could make a separate post about if anyone’s interested), i do think that starcourt was a genius addition to the series. i’ve said this before, but building a new mall is a literal Perfect in-universe justification for a significant leap forward in fashion and aesthetics, and it provides a great location for characters to just... be characters. idk how else to articulate this i just think that the mall is a great setting to let people interact with each other and to bring people together who may not have been otherwise (i.e. scoops troop). not to mention how sick it was to see the mall get wrecked toward the end kdjncdkm like they were able to do so much more with the mall in terms of like The Finale than they could with just the byers house or the cabin or the school or even the lab. i love all the back tunnels they run through it’s such a fun like acknowledgement of how this glitzy eighties mall is just a real place where employees get shipments and take out the trash and shit idk it’s all about the perfect facade and what’s hidden what’s underneath what’s hiding in plain sight etc etc i’m just saying words now. anyway. 

willingness to experiment and go against expectations

gay robin. neon aesthetics. giant fucking meat monster. i know some people hate both the neon and the meat monster but i personally think they were kind of amazing and like. yknow regardless of personal tastes i think it’s impossible to deny that s3 had a lot of incredible visuals, and they’re all visuals that just wouldn’t have been possible if the show were too afraid to stray from its s1 aesthetic. robin being canonically gay (and her resulting friendship with steve) and the season’s striking visuals are two things that most everyone (besides like homophobes skjncdknm) can agree were great, right? and they were both departures from where the show began and what we all expected!! so yeah i think while some of the experimentation in s3 wasn’t ideal it was also that experimentation that allowed for some of the season’s strongest elements to come about.

the hospital sequence (and the season’s action/horror scenes in general)

this one is fairly self-explanatory. while they may have underutilized the “body snatching” element of the season, the hospital sequence with nancy and jonathan fighting off their possessed bosses did an amazing job of building tension and creating a genuine sense of really intense and personal danger.

in general i think that s3 melded action and horror rather well, particularly in the sauna test, the hospital, and when the mindflayer busts through the roof of hop’s cabin. horror can come from many things, and in this case, st elicited horror largely from the feeling of helplessness, and it was really effective for me personally. i think it worked better for me than s1′s brand of horror because it doesn’t rely so much on a lack of knowledge or a sense of suspense that inevitable disappears upon a second viewing.

the body horror we got in s3 was also really fun! that’s it i just think all the blood and guts and slime were fun and i would like more of them. once again, the impacts of body horror are less dependent upon the viewer being in the dark or unsure as to what’s happening, and as such i think it tends to be a little more effective at eliciting reaction in the long term.

timing and mechanics of the battle of starcourt/finale

i think the battle of starcourt is just fucking awesome, and beyond that personal opinion, i think it’s the most high-stakes and intense finale of all three seasons, and this is for two main reasons! 1. el is out of commission, and 2. (almost) everyone is in the same cental location. this means that (almost) everyone is in danger all at once, and they are all working together at the same time to fight the same threat. s1/s2 have their groups more fragmented for the finales, and while i understand why in each case and i wouldn’t call either season’s finale necessarily weak, i do think the centralized nature of the s3 finale just Works on another level. in s1 and s2, large segments of the cast are already perfectly safe by the time el dispatches the primary threat. in s3, however, everybody save for dustin and erica is still in danger up until the last moment, and el is seemingly (you can def debate how much power she still had in her when she peeked into billy’s mind and whether the memory broke the mindflayer’s hold on him or if she was actually controlling him to some degree) completely vulnerable. this increases the tension and raises the stakes, making the finale a real crescendo to fortissimo as opposed to a series of little mezzo forte moments. i hope everyone reading this knows music idk how else to phrase that my brain is stupid.

emphasis on friendship and adolescence (but in a different way than s1/2)

this is definitely a controversial one but i think that s3 really did like... show a side of friendship that had been more or less unexplored thus far in the show. el and max were amazing, and i think it’s really nice that we got an opportunity to see the kids have some growing pains as well as see them support each other through Normal Adolescent Stuff like boyfriends and breakups instead of just like. death and trauma. this is maybe just a personal preference, but i think it can be really enlightening and provide a lot of depth when you get to see how characters respond to normal everyday conflict and not just how they respond to giant world-ending conflict!! letting el use her powers for goofy teenage shit like spying on boys and messing with mean girls at the mall is not only fun for her and the audience, but it also really emphasizes just how much those powers are a part of el, making it that much more devastating when she loses them at the end of the season. 

weaknesses

tonal dissonance

so this is like. obvious. but it must still be said! i won’t go on and on about it since we all know this so i’ll try to like talk about it from an angle people don’t usually? anyway. it seems to me like they were maybe a little worried about s3 being too dark. while the choice to really lean into humor was definitely driven by the sorts of eighties teen films from which s3 drew inspiration (like fast times at ridgemont high), i think it was also done in an attempt to alleviate the more troubling implications of some events in the season, particularly the russian bunker plot. like, yeah, st can be incredibly dark, but if they’d played the whole “children being stuck inside of a foreign military base, tied up, tortured, and drugged” thing completely straight without the humorous elements that exist in canon, it had the potential to be like... disturbing on a new level. steve and robin don’t have powers like el yknow their kidnapping/torture doesn’t have any sci-fi elements to sorta soften the blow. they’re just innocent teenagers being brutalized and traumatized by grown men. so anyway yeah i think maybe the writers were concerned about this storyline coming off as too dark and they wanted it to be a little more whimsical but they ended up pushing way too hard in that direction and creating extreme dissonance at times. this goes for joyce/hopper/murray/alexei too, but to a lesser extent. i think the ridiculousness in that group felt a lot more like... realistic. but still. 

newspaper plot

once again i feel like i don’t even need to say this skjdncmn we all know it was insane how the show basically ended up delivering the message “while misogyny is a serious problem poverty and classism are not” and i’ve said it on this blog a million times so i don’t need to repeat myself. i’ll focus on another weak point of this plot: the fact that it completely separates nancy and jonathan from everyone else. once again, the show’s preoccupation with j/ancy held them back! like... can you imagine a version of s3 where nancy and jonathan both worked in the mall? i have a lot of ideas about this possible au and like how the plot could play out differently if they worked in the mall but first of all it’s just more realistic, second of all it further utilizes the mall as a central setting, and third of all, it would bring everyone together. as it is in canon, nancy and jonathan were unnecessarily isolated from the rest of the group, and this isolation was detrimental to both of their characters. like, they only ever get to interact with each other! if they’d gotten summer jobs in the mall, they could have had more interactions with the kids/steve/robin, and they absolutely still could have had a similar argument! maybe in this case, nancy notices the rat thing (or something else odd) herself when taking out the trash behind the mall, and she wants jonathan to ditch work with her to check it out bc she thinks it may be related to the lab. jonathan doesn’t want to ditch work because he needs his job, nancy argues that they’re working shitty mall jobs anyway and who cares if they get fired, and we get more or less the same thing as s3 without the cartoonishly over-the-top misogyny. i mean honestly i think the rat shit could have been cut entirely it didn’t rly... accomplish much of anything. in my opinion. like imagine s3 without the rat plot you literally would not be missing anything except it would be more surprising when the dudes melted into goo at the hospital. so yeah i think it would have been better if nancy and jonathan had jobs at the mall, weren’t isolated from everybody else, and were maybe absorbed into the party’s plot or the scoops troop’s plot from very early on, allowing them to interact with more characters and have a less... dumb.... plot. like god splitting up nancy and jonathan between the party/scoops troop would have been So Much better i just. sdkjcnksdmn anyway yeah.

briefness of group reunion/separation of groups

remember in s2 at the beginning of “the gate,” where mike and hopper had a confrontation and max and el met for the first time and el hugged everyone and steve and nancy had their sad little moment together outside... where’s that energy? obviously the s2 reunion wasn’t that long either, but it made space for some significant emotional moments to take place. s3′s reunion had some hopper/el/mike resolution, but besides that... there was nothing, really. i just think that the whole group getting together in s3 was SO exciting and powerful the way they did it (with both the scoops troop and the adults having their own Big Moment reconnecting with team griswold family), but the emotional potential was more or less squandered. 

i also think in s3 at times they were really stretching to keep everybody separated even though it made no sense. and like... in s1 the separation worked bc nobody else knew that (x group) was experiencing weird shit too, and beyond that, each group (as i mentioned in the s1 section) was sort of operating within their own genre and bringing something unique to the season. they’ve stopped doing that though! now, the groups aren’t separate bc each plot is tonally/structurally different, the groups are just separate bc... they need to be, because it’s a big ensemble cast and you can’t just have them all be together for a whole season or it would be way too difficult to coordinate things and keep the show dynamic. all this is to say that i’m excited for s4 because the location differences make it so there’s a Reason for each plot to be separate at the beginning, and i think that’ll work better.

general ridiculousness

i dont mean like i think it’s bad that they made jokes this is just me lumping in all the dumb shit like hopper not worrying about el and not wanting to check on the kids, him and joyce bickering long after they both know they and their children are in danger, max seemingly forgetting that billy is a racist abuser, etc etc. i think many of these are just a symptom of the show 1. trying desperately to keep the groups split up a certain way even though it may not make any sense, and 2. trying to fit into a certain genre/trope mold when their actual characters are more complex than the tropes they’re imitating. this is so fucking long already i am not gonna elaborate further rn but i trust u all know what i mean.

soooo... yeah, that’s about all! i mean it’s not all there are definitely many more things i could talk about and i know i focused sorta disproportionately on the teens which is my bad :/ but i’m done for now. thank you for asking, and apologies for the delay in responding!! i’m sure some people reading (if anyone read this far) will disagree with some of what i’ve said and that’s alright like i’m not The Authority on st or anything i’m just trying to talk about like my own thoughts yknow? so yeah luv u all i hope someone enjoyed reading this!!

[edda-grenade]

Sleep.

Adaar and Solas attempt fadewalking for the first time.

#feral verse, 2000 words. on AO3.

They were lying on a hilltop in the forest, on a fur to keep the cold of fall at bay. Well, Adaar was lying down—Solas had sat up to give her a curious look.

“You wish to leave?”

“No! I mean, yes, kinda—maybe—I don’t know.” She groaned and covered her face with her hands.

“You seem very happy, here,” he said, in that slow, careful way he had.

“I am! I am. I don’t want to leave my family, or this place, or you—”

“Me?” His voice cracked, just a little. Adaar glanced at him from between her fingers.

“Yes, obviously. I know you like to pretend you’re some lone wolf apart from all living creatures or whatever, but you’re my friend, alright? You’re not getting out of that so easily.”

“I don’t—pretend…” He sighed, his skin staining with blush, the faint freckles even fainter. His lips twitched like he was trying not to smile, until he gave up and his mouth crooked. Adaar loved it when that happened. She was pretty good at making it happen, too.

“You do not wish to leave, but?”

Now she sighed and clamped her hand over her eyes again. It was easier in the dark, unwatched.

“The world is so big and so full of things I don’t know,” she said softly, “and I want to learn everything.”

“Adaar…”

She hadn’t figured out if she loved that yet—the way he said her name sometimes, how he looked at her. Like she was the sun coming over the horizon, or a thunderstorm in the distance, or the wind dancing through the fields so hard it sang. At least that’s what she imagined the expression would look like on her face—an expression that was meant for immense and somewhat unfathomable things, not for a single person.

“There is a way I could show those things to you. Not all of them, of course—but more than what is accessible to you right now.”

Adaar sat up so quickly her head spun a little.

“I’m listening.”

He explained, and her head continued to spin, although for different reasons. Lucid dreaming, delving into the Fade like into a cave, how the deeper you went the older the memories imprinted upon the Fade would be…

It sounded ludicrous. Like magic, if she had never heard of it before. It sounded amazing.

“Can we just do that?” she asked. “Right now?”

Solas gave her another weird look; his eyes wide and searching for a brief moment.

“I—yes. Come with me.”

They left the little barren hilltop that poked above the forest behind and instead descended into the small cave Solas had chosen as his resting place. She’d tried often to convince him to join her family at the settlement, but he’d steadfastly refused every time. It didn’t bother her as much anymore—the cave looked more and more like an actual home these days, with a fire pit and cooking tools, shelves he’d carved out of the rock to hold utensils using a spell she hadn’t quite figured out yet herself, and a warm, dry place to sleep.

Solas had a ball of light bobbing in the air above his shoulder, and gazed down at the bedstead. It was cozy: a pallet of hay covered in cowhide, with a blanket and fur to keep warm in winter. It was also not nearly big enough for both of them. At least not if they intended not to share breathing space.

“There’s a bigger bed at home, you know,” Adaar said. “Actual walls and a door, too.”

“I would prefer to try it here. I have set the requisite wards quite often, and I’m familiar with the peculiarities of the Fade in this place.”

She shrugged, glancing around at the runes and sigils he had marked into the walls of the cave. “Yeah, makes sense. I’m just saying, you can get familiar with the farm, too. There’s space for you, it’s not a problem.”

“I’m aware, since you keep reminding me so diligently.”

“It keeps being true.”

She smiled a little at how that statement made his ears dip and his head turn away so she wouldn’t see his face. He cleared his throat.

“I have never… attempted to teach this to anyone else.”

“Because you didn’t want to, or because there was no one you could teach it to?” She hesitated, thinking of his arguments with Lavellan's Keeper. “Or because no one wanted to learn it?”

He let out a low breath. “All of the above,” he replied quietly, “at one point or another.”

Adaar slapped her hands together to resist the urge to hug him, then clapped her palms briefly onto his shoulders because not touching him at all was even more frustrating than being shrugged off. “First time for everything. How do we start?”

Solas showed her how to set the wards—they’d talked about spellwork like it before, but mostly in abstract terms. It took a good while, because she kept stumbling over new questions, like how specific a ward could be, how permanent, how big a space it could cover… They were halfway into designing one that might be used to keep beetles out of the grain, until they managed to get back to the task at hand.

She settled on the bedstead with crossed legs while Solas puttered about by the fire pit and brewed a concoction he insisted wasn’t tea to help them fall asleep. Then she got up again and started pacing, as much as was possible, because her legs were too jittery to sit still. She was just glad most of the cave was high enough that she didn’t have to stoop—she halted, gazing at the stone close above her.

“Solas, did you shape the ceiling, too?”

“What do you mean?”

“The rock here has a different texture.” She reached up to touch it and closed her eyes, searching for that low echo of past magic—and found it. “And it’s been worked with magic.”

“…A little. It is not your fault you are so tall.”

A smile bit into her cheeks. “Aw, that’s sweet.”

“It was a practical consideration,” he muttered, but he didn’t sound like he was actually put out. “You insert yourself into others’ spaces inevitably, it was only a matter of time until you would find your way into this one.”

“That almost sounds like a criticism.”

“An observation. Foremost.” He handed a steaming cup of the not-tea to her, then sipped from his own. She breathed in the smell—chamomile, juniper, and something spicy she didn’t recognize—then exhaled a bit of frost across it to cool it down before taking a sip.

Solas was watching her when she looked up from the cup.

“Something wrong?”

“No, it is simply… nice, to see how certain magic has become easier for you.”

“The frost? Yeah, I barely have to think about it anymore.” She blew a puff of snow into his face to demonstrate. Solas startled, grimacing, and wiped the rapidly-melting crystals from his cheeks.

“Sorry,” Adaar said, very earnestly. “Couldn’t resist.”

He shook his head and grumbled something in Elvish, but he was smiling again. That small, helpless, trying-not-to smile. They finished their cups, put them aside, and regarded the bedstead again.

“I shall take the fur, next to the pallet,” said Solas.

“I thought the point was to fall asleep more easily? And to sleep more deeply?”

“Yes.”

“Then why make it harder on yourself? We just gotta… scrunch up a little, it’s gonna be fine.”

There was a long silence.

“I am not used to sleeping among other people,” Solas said finally, his tone even. He wasn’t used to other people—flesh-and-blood people, that was—in general, Adaar suspected, but she kept it to herself. Right now was probably a bad time to bring that one up.

“Alright, no spooning then,” she said instead and sat down and stretched out along one side of the bedding. Then she remembered she had to get rid of her shoes, untied them, and hucked them against an empty wall. Lying down, the scent of lavender became obvious amid the hay and fur; sprigs had been stuck to the corners to keep bugs away. She’d told him about that trick months ago.

It really was cozy; warm and inviting. She curled onto her side, drawing her feet up, and patted the mattress next to her. Slowly, Solas joined her, folding himself up so he took up even less space than usual. It was still a tight fit, especially since he tried to avoid any real contact beyond the brush of fabric.

“I will attempt to find you once we are dreaming,” he said. “With our current physical proximity it should be an easier task.”

“There’s really nothing else to it? We just fall asleep?”

“It is… difficult to put into words. Question your dreams, if you can. The key is to become aware—awareness begets agency, which in turn begets control.”

Adaar tugged the fur and blanket up to cover them. “Alright. Sleep well?” There was a flash of a smile on Solas’s face before he closed his eyes.

“I shall see you soon.”

It was not soon. Adaar’s mind refused to quiet, anticipation thrumming in her limbs. She kept shifting, unable to relax, and she worried she’d spend the entire night sleepless, when she finally woke up again to a dark, quiet cave. 

She must have fallen asleep at some point, then? So was this the Fade? It didn’t feel different. She was sleepy and bleary-eyed just as she would be when waking up in the middle of the night, and a cursory examination of the cave with a bit of conjured light—a spell that behaved no differently than any previous time she’d used it—told her it looked exactly as it had when they had bedded down. Except…

Solas lay tucked against her front, his body warm, his breathing even. His temple rested against her collarbones and his folded legs leaned against her hips. He was curled up as he’d been before, but now it seemed less about making himself smaller, and more about fitting into the curve of her body.

Adaar stared into the darkness. That was… unexpected. Solas didn’t seek out physical contact. Sure, he usually melted into it for one or two seconds when it was offered before pulling away, but nothing like this.

Cautiously, she tried to brace herself on her elbow to get a better look, both at the cave and at him. She bit down on a sharp inhale when pins and needles erupted in the limb, breathing through it with care until the sensation passed. But even on a thorough second look, nothing changed. The cave was still the cave, nothing remotely immaterial about it, and Solas still slept soundly, curled up against her.

Part of her wanted to wake him up. Let him know it hadn’t worked, at least not yet, and try to figure out what might be changed, because merely the thought of consciously walking in the Fade was enough to make her heart beat faster.

But he looked so much younger in his sleep. His features softened and relaxed, like he might actually be at peace. Adaar wasn’t sure she had ever managed to catch him this unguarded. When they were together, it felt like he hardly stopped watching her.

She let out a small sigh and settled back down, gently wrapping one arm around his waist. Hopefully that wouldn’t upset him, if he woke up before her come morning. Right now at least, a soft, sleepy noise slipped from him, and he rolled even more thoroughly into her embrace.

[lovesanmotion]

Sunrise - Yeosang

Summary: In which the valedictorian falls from the school’s honor roll as his mind is occupied by something else 

Warning/s: Tackles themes about the catholic life, how catholic school runs and works and I’m not even sure if this a warning but I’ll give this as a heads up, exhibitionism (if you squint closely), public sex, fingering, nipple play, catholicschoolgirl!YN x catholicschoolboy!Yeosang ft admirer!San

You’ve known Yeosang ever since you were in middle school. When he was a new student, every girl in your year practically had a crush on him. And you weren’t even immune to it, but you were a +1 from the rest of the girls as you were more confident enough to go up to him and befriend him. Being fairly close to the opposite sex isn’t wrong in your eyes, especially when you only had a sole purpose of friendship in your mind - but the school administrator’s sees this as a threat of a potential relationship. And one day, they walked up to you and threatened you that if you do not back away, they’d be caling your parents. You were young and scared, there wasn’t really anything more happening between you and Yeosang, but you did back away. 

And so for the next four years, you lost the friendship contact with Yeosang. But even though you weren’t talking, you’ve heard stories how he was the top in his class, practically hogging all the medals during his middle school graduation and how his friends tease him about it. Once he entered high school, he was now in a new building different from yours. And for a year you completely saw him less. That is until, you graduated middle school and followed him to the high school department. 

And then, that’s when everything kinda went off, at least for you. You’ve heard from your upper class friends how Yeosang was no longer the top of his class, how he prefers to sleep during class discussions and now he was observed to be less enthusiastic when it comes to group works. Some say it was because his parents gave him less attention when his younger sibling was born, but others said that it was because him and all of his batch mates were all growing teens experiencing high sexual needs. You didn’t know which reason to believe, but you still managed to steer clear away from him. 

But has Yeosang ever looked this handsome? When you two were in middle school, he was the baby faced new student who was so studious and oblivious to every girl who has a crush on him. But now, he completely made a 360 - he grew taller, grew his hair longer, the muscles in his arms outlined and became more obvious through the sleeves of his uniform and he looked more etheral than before. Being around him made you feel uneasy, small and vulnerable, as if the middle school in you is falling for him again. 

One afternoon while you were hanging out with your friends at the mini garden, him and his friends group joined your company. It was...unexpected? surprising? shocking? You didn’t know why he would join on all of you, but you tried your best to break the ice and make him feel involved in the group. Through that encounter, you became close to his best friend, San. Everyday, after school you and San would talk at a chatting app for hours until one of you would fall asleep. You didn’t suspected anything at all. What was there to suspect? 

But in reality, San and Yeosang had a crush on you. San was more confident in talking to you first, virtually and non virtually. Whereas Yeosang was more of the glancing and staring at you type. When you learned Yeosang had a crush on you, you ratted out San for details, completely unaware how you were also crushing his feelings by falling for his best friend instead. And slowly, you and Yeosang were back in speaking terms until you found yourself eyes closed in a heated lip locking making out session at the old library that used to serve as a sleeping quarters for the nuns. 

“Be a good girl and don’t make a sound” He whispers in your ear as he attaches his lips on your neck, sucking and licking a patch of your skin while a hand tugs on your blouse, slipping inside and cupping your breast. A soft gasp escapes your lips, suddenly you grew conscious of your clit rubbing against the tight fabric of your skirt. A hand squeezes your ass while the other hand, brushes his fingers on your clothed clit in a teasing manner. Another soft gasp elicits your lips and Yeosang’s hand rubs your clit harder, sensing your clit throbbing. 

And all of a sudden, the doors to the old library swung open, and the small sounds of feet thumping on the floor and joyous sounds of laughter and cheers from the preschool students breaks in. Yeosang turns his head slightly to take a peak behind the wooden blinds that separates you two, seeing a class of preschool children, a nun and a teacher entered the old library to do some fun light reading. Yeosang turns his head back to look at you, his eyes mixed with seriousness and lust. “Don’t, or I’ll have to stop.” he grips on your chin as you slowly nodded your head. 

“I want to taste you” Yeosang says huskily, and you get so turned on you have to clench your thighs. The one hand that’s not inside you reaches for you your panties, slipping under your skirt. You were about to object, but you couldn’t as you felt his fingers pressing into your clit, his lips slowly spiraling down to your chest as his free hand unbuttons your blouse and unclips your bra. Lifting your bra up, he attaches his lips on your soft, delicate pink buds that hardened inside his warm mouth. It was getting hard to stay quiet, but you bit your lower lip, already tasting the rusty taste of blood inside your mouth. 

“I’ll be taking this off now” he said, pulling your panties down a little when you placed a hand on top of his. “No!” you squeeked out, shaking your head. Yeosang chuckles darkly, lifting your skirt up as he takes a look at your pink panties. “Don’t be silly, Y/N. They look cute. But it’d look cuter if they were on the floor instead” and with that, he harshly tugs on your underwear down before pocketing it. Yeosang crouches down, face level with your throbbing pussy, lifting your leg up and placing it on top of his shoulder. 

“Don’t be scared, Y/N. I’ll take good care of you.” He says, looking up at you smiling before slipping two fingers inside of you, slowly and gently they pump in and out of you until his lips presses against your folds, sticking his tongue out to take a long lick on your clit. Your body buckles as he presses his tongue even further inside of you, his fingers thrusting inside of you at the same time, letting out an inaudible gasp and moan with the burst of pleasure. He sinks his tongue even further down your slit to tease your tight walls. The sensation coursed through too much on your legs and you hear a high pitched squeal as a preschool student played dangerously near to where and Yeosang are hiding at the same time your first orgasm slams into you. 

He stops licking your clit, removing his fingers from inside of you and stands back up, a smile painted on his glistening lips. Staring at him in amazement until he leans in and kisses your lips with a devilish smile, getting a taste of yourself on his lips. He unbuckles his black pants, letting it drop down his ankles along with his boxers, your eyes gleamed at the sight of his peach colored cock that stood proudly before you. Unbuttoning his shirt off and got a glimpse of his toned body. You let out a soft moan in wonderment, stroking his smooth skin. Slowly, he circles the tip of his cock around your entrance before pushing it inside your tight entance. He slowly pumps himself in and out of you, but stops for a couple of times as his cock moves back out and then forwards again and before his entire long shaft is inside of you. Yeosang buried his face on the crook of your neck, his free hand placed on top of your mouth while the other grips tightly under your thighs. He pulls out completely and then slams his cock back into you like a jackhammer, over and over. You wince softly at the pain but moan at the pleasure. Your heart pounding inside your chest, trying to breathe between your moans, body covered in sweat and Yeosang’s saliva. 

You whimper as he slaps your ass, slightly glaring at him in case he ever forgets the fact that there are children inside the old library. “Harder, Sangie” you moan the words out in his ear. And Yeosang remains still for a second before slamming himself into you hard. Your body explodes in waves of sensation as Yeosang’s hand squeezes your throat. Moaning in misery while clinging onto his body as you shudder in relief. Yeosang pounds into you, seeking pleasure at the old middle school crush you’ve had once on him. 

He lifts his head up and stares into your teary eyes, his cheeks staining pink tint. You and Yeosang groan and grunt under your breaths with pleasure as your bodies explode in the climax. The waves of pleasure finally dying down as the two of you snuggle up to each other. Inhaling his scent, you felt a scent of security and warmth. 

While still snuggling onto each other, the preschool children began to mention a prayer in their little voices before happily going out of the room. Leaving you and Yeosang back to your own little world. 

“Did you hear those kids? We’d be having them soon too.” Yeosang laughs, bringing your body closer to his. And that’s when you realize, you both didn’t use protection. 

[cienie-isengardu]

axelzp replied to “The Bad Batch”:

I think most people take issue with Omega and TBB due to concerns over whitewashing. Also, what do you have against the explanation of the biochips? Personally, I always thought it fit Palpatine's controlling nature better than the idea of clones just getting a command from some random guy in a hood, telling them to kill the Jedi.

First off, I apologize it took me so long to answer. I tried to explain my reasoning in a short and coherent way as possible, but apparently the years of frustration about this issue needed more space to be properly addressed. So, in advance, sorry for text length.

From all TCW changes done to star wars, the chip-in-brain is one of my top 3 reasons to dislike the whole TV show, despite many of its good moments. I understand why authors chose this sub-plot that allows them to separate the visibly individual "good" clones (thus making them more likeable for the audience / marketing) from the “bad” that kill the Jedi but frankly, I find it a cheap and kinda problematic excuse. Clones were victims regardless of which version people will accept but I really despite the idea that Jedi were their beloved generals and commanders - so beloved that clones actually had nightmares about killing them waaay before Palpatine ultimately won which undermines the whole point of Order 66. 

Jedi could never expect clones to shoot them in the back because they were used to their unquestioned obedience from the start of war. It was common knowledge, repeatedly mentioned in sources like “Jedi Trial” that clones were “bred to war, bred to discipline, bred to obey without question the orders of the powers that paid for their services”. Clones were made that way by genetic manipulations and years of intensive training; an indoctrination that makes clone troopers believe they have obey, no matter what cost.

Some sources, like Clone Wars Adventures’ “Orders” outright show us the mindset of clones:

and We’ve got nothing but each other ad our orders.

Because of that worldbuilding, I prefer Legends take on clone obedience and the Jedi approach to the problem than what TCW created. I talked about it more here, but the general sense is that I feel cheated by the idea of chips that turn people into some “programmed” machines because in such way, TCW erased the Jedi & Republic part in abuse & enslavement of clone troopers, while at the same time giving an unrealistic idea that Jedi were so liked / respected when most of clones did not have any special bond with them. And this is less about if Jedi were good military leaders or not and more that as generals/commanders they didn’t interact that much with common troopers. Because the chain of command doesn’t work like that. I’m willing to buy the close(r) bond between Anakin & 501st because frankly Darth Vader himself from the start was built as someone with better relationships with common troopers / “normal” officers than with most of the high ranking officers presented on screen. I’m pretty sure some other Jedi were caring and liking clones (and vice versa) but it is impossible for generals to know and be so close to all of their troopers.

Above everything else, Legends created an interesting situation in which the Jedi Council / Order knew clones would follow orders no matter if those were right or not and were aware how dangerous it could be yet they still didn’t do anything about it, because the obedience of clones were beneficial for them. Jedi not only took for granted their obedience, they mistook it for respect.

Which really speaks a lot about Jedi's own moral failing and/or lack of understanding the difference between those two terms.

In the Legends sources, there was no need for chips, really, when from the start Kaminoans tinkered with clone genome, created the effective system of “proper” education to mold clones into obedient soldiers and Republic wasn’t really interested to undo the damage done by such indoctrination. 

Before TCW brought the chips and “nightmares haunting clones” there were officially established Contingency Orders for the Grand Army of the Republic: Order Initiation, Orders 1 Through 150. A guideline for unexpected and/or critical situations, so the Great Army of Republic [GAR] would know how to proceed - especially when troopers were given contradictory orders. The orders (also known as Clone Protocols) weren’t secret and there is a big chance that Jedi knew it, if someone bothered to learn the manual. The whole formula of Order 66 was described as:

"In the event of Jedi officers acting against the interests of the Republic, and after receiving specific orders verified as coming directly from the Supreme Commander (Chancellor), GAR commanders will remove those officers by lethal force, and command of the GAR will revert to the Supreme Commander (Chancellor) until a new command structure is established."

And here how the scene played in the RotS novelisation:

That concealed compartment held a secure comlink, which was frequency-locked to a channel reserved for the commander in chief.

Kenobi nodded and spoke to his mount, and the great beast overleapt the clone commander on its way down into the battle.

Cody withdrew the comlink from his armor and triggered it.

A holoscan appeared on the palm of his gauntlet: a hooded man.

"It is time," the holoscan said. "Execute Order Sixty-Six."

Cody responded as he had been trained since before he'd even awakened in his creche-school. "It will be done, my lord."

The holoscan vanished. Cody stuck the comlink back into its concealed recess and frowned down toward where Kenobi rode his dragonmount into selflessly heroic battle.

Cody was a clone. He would execute the order faithfully, without hesitation or regret. But he was also human enough to mutter glumly, "Would it have been too much to ask for the order to have come through before I gave him back the bloody lightsaber. . . ?"

The order is given once. Its wave-front spreads to clone commanders on Kashyyyk and Felucia, Mygeeto and Tellanroaeg and every battlefront, every military installation, every hospital and rehab center and spaceport cantina in the galaxy.

So there is really no “random hooded guy” calling clones to kill Jedi but Chancellor himself using an appropriately secured military channel with confirmation of his identity to issue a legal order in a critical situation (an opportunity created by the Jedi Council themselves who went into the Senate building to kill Palpatine). So why the clones shouldn’t listen, when the order came directly from the Supreme Commander of the Great Army of the Republic? 

Of course, the movie (and novel based on it) alone has this weird addition like “yes my Lord'', what I personally consider as the cinematic way to show the switch from Chancellor Palpatine to Emperor Darth Sidious. Still, I’m willing to give some benefit of doubt about the modification made by Kaminoans and if Order 66 could trigger anything hidden in clone subconscious. But even if there was something, it didn’t erase their personalities or changed the way clones behaved like it happened in The Clone Wars and The Bad Batch.

One way or another, the Order 66 worked out because clones “have no malice, no hatred, not the slightest ill intent that might give warning. They are only following orders”. Which I guess comes down to how clone troopers were presented - or maybe rather how they were seen by other characters in the Legends. As more detached, combat pragmatic, toned down, to some degree isolated from the outside world, less individual. Regardless of what Jedi or Republic citizens thought about clones, it did not make them any less human beings.

And here comes the paradox of The Clone Wars. The TV show made great effort to humanize clones by presenting them as very individual, outstanding people which in itself is a great thing. The names, the tattos, the different paintings of armours, visible variety of behaviour. All great to make the audience see clones as human beings, to get emotionally invested into them, because the more likeable clones were the better for marketing the story (and the cynical part of me thinks it really comes down to making money, isn’t it?)

But this effort became also the trap and the inhibitor chips is the excuse to make such loved, caring and brave characters into the detached clones gunning down the Jedi in Revenge of the Sith. 

The things that irks me a lot about this situation is the feeling like fans started care for clones because they were made into different type of characters than what they were (similar like Anakin’s movie characterization was thrown out of the window, to make him more suitable for fans who wanted the badass typical male hero instead of introverted, conflicted and traumatized young man). The clones get the visible individuality to make them the heroes we should root for, but then there is the “magical” switch that will cut down their heroic deeds because now they are “bad” and stormtroopers can’t have any personality. Which is just… frustrating. 

Don’t get me wrong, I adore how clone troopers get more visible individuality (even if sometimes if felt too exaggerated), but the “not standing out from the group”  was something that kept clones alive on Kamino and I can see why it was used as coping mechanism (the safe option) during the war. I regret that The Clone Wars didn’t show the transition from AotC nameless troopers into such individuals and how much it happened thanks to Jedi, what may help to build the feeling of supposed strong bond between Jedi and troopers. Because frankly, when we met TCW!clones, they already have names, different colors and marks on armor plates and helmets and for all we know, they could create their own “culture” without Jedi influence.

The final part of why I hate the chip-in-brain sub-plot is how it changed clones. Because even if that was a means to force clones into killing Jedi & ensure that Order 66 will be carried on no matter what, it shouldn’t change them into bullies toward their own brothers. But now in The Bad Batch, the clones don’t speak between themselves, are aggressive toward others and generally act like assholes for no real reason. And yeah, I get this may be a cinematic metaphor for a change from “good” republic soldiers into “bad” imperial stormtroopers and most likely something along the way “Republic/Jedi gave you individuality, Empire takes that away” but frankly, Republic did not give anything to clones. It did not acknowledge their human right, didn’t have any plan for their future, didn’t pay for their service or more expensive medical treatment for that matter, did not teach them they could - should - make their own choices.

Now clones are cheering for the Empire because inhibitor chips! They are assholes, because inhibitor chips! They shoot their *beloved* Jedi generals because of the chips! 

And in a way, I get this resolution, the chips make it clear clones were victims. But even without them, they were victims from the start. Except now clones are “programmed” while in Legends the senate (a power paying for their life) officially and legally renamed Republic into Empire and clones were glad for still having a purpose in life. The war ended (thus their usefulness), but they were still needed - still wanted - instead of being put down or closed at Kamino or whatever. I can see why the uncertainty of the future made clones cheering up for the Empire. And frankly, I personally prefer them not caring for the political change (because why should they? It never was their job to *judge* the rightness of their superiors) instead of being “programmed” like some droids and playing the role of fodder to kill for the “good guys”.

Dunno, if I explained properly my issue with inhibitor chips, it just feels to me as not really convincing and a too risky concept in the bigger picture of the things and the fact that Jedi just like that ignored this suspicion matter of Tup and Fives and biochips doesn’t help either. Like I said, I understand why the chips were introduced to the story, as the excuse in the change of clone troopers’ behaviour but at the end of day, Legends worldbuilding will always make more sense to me. I don’t need overly done differentiation of clones to care for them as an individual human beings (and it kinda seems to me like that, clones suddenly became fan favorite when every looks or act differently but not when the AotC literally presented them as an army created to blindly obey Jedi/Republic) and I don’t blame them for sticking with Empire because what better option they had, considering their upbringing and the pathological system in which they lived all their life?

Dunno, I’m biased and may just have allergy to TCW in general.

As for Omega, I’m not really surprised about this concern, especially after seeing TBB’s version of padawan Kanan (that if not for A) some basic knowledge about his backstory and B) Depa Billaba calling him by name, I would probably never have figured out who he was supposed to be). But for Omega alone, I don’t mind her look, because I’m used to Legends!Jango’s biological family in which his mother and sister were both blond haired women and frankly, some “defective” clones (including Rex?) apparently could be blond too, so it seems like Jango’s genome has a recessive gene somewhere for that color of hair. I try to hold my judgment about Omega and her appearance until the full backstory will be revealed because there is still a chance that Fett’s DNA was mixed with someone else's (still I hope Omega is not force sensitive…). I mean, Hunter has heightened senses while Wrecker has almost supernatural strength and both traits seem to be not really human, so who knows what Kaminoans really did with them.

 I understand people’s emotional response to Disney’s approach to characters and their visual look, especially since it isn’t the first screw up in New Canon (the models for characters in general and New Mandalorians especially). I’m totally okay with people’s criticism of that matter and demanding from Disney more diversity and respecting the already established ethnicity of certain groups. I’m aware I may not be sensitive enough to that matter as some other people (even more with barely watching TV shows to have any current and up-to-date comparison to trends in cartoons) and I’m pretty sure more qualified / invested fans already wrote or will be writing soon great metas about that. But the thing that irks me is hearing people saying that Omega *can’t* be Jango’s clone - I don’t like this sort of exclusion based on someone’s look alone. She may not look like Fett or other (male) clones but it is not something Omega chose for herself and does not erase her connection to the rest of the Bad Batch. Being angry at Disney/creators for her look is a different matter I don’t have any problem with.

[hatterstan-shameblog]

Nobody asked for this but I'm gonna do it anyways...

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Fluff Alphabet: Takeru/Aguni Edition

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A = Attractive what do they find attractive about the other?

Takeru: only reason he let Aguni wear regular clothes and not swimwear is because he saw ARM in that tank top and was like "oh damn okay 😳." So, y'know, that. (And he'll never admit it but he kinda likes how Aguni is a little bit taller than he is....) Also likes that Aguni has a really dry, deadpan sense of humor—he ways finds a way to make Takeru laugh, even when he's not really trying.

Aguni: I think the physical aspect of things wasn't really a make-or-break for him at first—like, yeah, Takeru's a good-looking guy, but that's secondary. He liked how Takeru is such a live-wire, very loud and colorful and seemingly fearless, no matter what kind of trouble they got into. (But also...he likes the hair. That's a thing for him.)

B = Baby do they want a family? why/why not?

Takeru: If they end up with one somehow, then, sure. But, like. He's not going out of his was to make it a thing. (But also, he has his cat, Ziggy, who he calls his baby, so...)

Aguni: Would secretly love to be a dad but is too worried he might mess the kid up or something. Is more than happy to be 'unofficial parent' to the neighborhood kids, though. Handing out ice pops to the kids that show up at the shop, keeping an eye out and telling them to get home before dark, maybe even showing one or two of them how to throw a better curveball...you know. Real Hallmark channel shit. (And yes, for those who were wondering: Ziggy the cat loves him and often curls up on his lap while he watches TV)

C = Cuddle how do they cuddle?

They don't really "cuddle" outside of bed. Just kinda sit next to each other, shoulder to shoulder, no big deal. But in bed, Aguni lies on his back with his arm sorta outstretched while Takeru...well, my man is worm on a string but OFF the string, he just flops all sorts of ways and a lot of them don't look comfortable but he falls asleep in minutes so whatever.

D = Dates what are dates with them like?

I don't think they do "dates"—they've got a long-term thing going on, so they often end up on the couch eating takeout and watching movies. I think they'd go to the movie theater sometimes (and talk shit for the entire film lol) and every once in a while grab dinner somewhere nice...but, usually because they have some cool limited-time-only dessert item that Takeru insists they try. (And Aguni pretends to be upset about having to get dressed up and go out, but is actually rather pleased to have a little romance...and get something to satisfy his sweet tooth.)

E = Everything you are my ____ (e.g my life, my world…)

Aguni: Emergency Medical Contact

Takeru: Co-Signer On The Apartment Lease

F = Feelings when did they know they were falling in love?

Takeru: About a week after Aguni (drunkenly) confessed his crush. Literally spent a whole week like, "Wow, it's a shame I don't love him back. He's so kind and handsome and smart and funny...too bad, I guess..." until one night he sat up straight in bed and said "Hold up." He then immediately called Aguni and began demanding why Aguni didn't tell him he was in love with him this whole time.

Aguni: They had been friends since they were kids, so it's hard to say when his feelings went from "you're my best friend" to something different. But, once he figured it out, he swore never to mention it because that could complicate their friendship.

G = Gentle are they gentle? If so, how?

Takeru: Yes and no. He's got a bad case of "grabby hands" and often yanks Aguni to and fro to look at something or whatever. Just zero respect for the man's personal space. But otherwise...I imagine he's not particularly rough or gentle, just kind of normal. EXCEPT when it comes to the emotional stuff—like, the real heavy things. I think he's very gentle with that, not asking too many questions and just sort of taking care of him where he can.

Aguni: Generally gentle—physically, emotionally, whatever. But I do think that he's confrontational, like when there's an issue, he comes straight out and asks Takeru what's going on. Even corners him, sometimes. He seems like a "no bullshit" guy, and since Takeru is "Mr. 99% Bullshit" he's gotta deal with it as best he can.

H = Hand/Hold how do they like to hold hands?

The only time they "hold hands" is when Takeru is grabbing Aguni's wrist to drag him somewhere (or run away lol) and when Aguni is pulling Takeru's hand back to stop him from touching something...

I = Impression first impression/s

I headcanon that they met very young, like grade school age. After school, in the park, where Takeru was chilling in a tree and Aguni walked by and he was like "Hey, there's a spider up here, wanna see?" and Aguni is like "Not really, I don't like bugs..." Now, Takeru, being "weird bug kid extraordinaire" can't believe his strange little ears and hops down from the tree and starts explaining why bugs are so cool and that Aguni is wrong...and Aguni listens as this funky, tiny firecracker just talks his damn ear off. Aguni liked how excited Takeru got about things, and Takeru liked how Aguni actually listened to him. And they were fast friends after that!

J = Joker are they into pulling pranks?

Takeru fucks around all the time...and doesn't often find out, because Aguni tolerates all his antics. (To a certain point, but still.) Every once in a while, Aguni will tell some harmless little lie just to watch Takeru freak out—he told him once that Lady Gaga was leaving the music scene forever, and Takeru screamed so loud the neighbors filed a noise complaint.

K = Kisses how do they kiss?

I think they most often do quick pecks—at the breakfast table, when they get home from work. You know. Domestic stuff. But when it's not like that...I think 9/10 times it's Takeru initiating, and Aguni reciprocates by wrapping his arms around him in a big hug (because he likes it but also to keep that skinny little weirdo from wiggling so damn much, he's always moving, he can't just be still—)

L = Love who says I love you first?

Neither! I don't think they really say it at all! Why say something that doesn't need to be said? (At least, that's how they see it...)

M = Memory their favorite moment together

Aguni: It's not really a memory, but...just how they have breakfast together some mornings. Sipping coffee, discussing whatever's going on in the world, the general "togetherness" that comes with it is one of his favorite feelings.

Takeru: The time they spent a full 24 hours in a karaoke booth singing 80's hits and knocking back tequila shots and ordering way too much food.

N = Nickel do they spoil? do they buy the person they love everything?

Takeru: Absolutely buys stuff for Aguni all the time. Mostly random snacks, or little knick-knacks that catch his eye. And also clothes, but...Aguni doesn't always approve.

Aguni: Doesn't buy Takeru stuff BUT leaves vases of flowers he grew on the table for Takeru to find.

O = Orange what color reminds them of their other half

Anything bright and obnoxious reminds Aguni of Takeru—red in particular, which also happens to be Takeru's favorite. And Takeru thinks Aguni has calm and soothing blue-green vibes. Like the ocean, beautiful and serene, but also dark and capable of incredible destruction.

P = Petnames what pet names do they use?

Takeru: All of them. Darling, babe, sweetheart (but he calls everyone those lol). Aguni-specific ones are always over-the-top and ridiculous like "brightest star in all of the heavens..." and he always gets an eye-roll for his efforts.

Aguni: Absolutely does not use pet names. Just says "hey you" or something. Once called Takeru "babe" and Takeru had to stop washing dishes and sit down because he was laughing so hard.

Q = Quaint what is their favorite non-modern thing?

Takeru: I feel like he would collect a ton of vintage stuff—clothes, records, just random little bits and bobs he comes across. But his favorite is definitely his record player—it belonged to his dad, and he keeps it in a place of honor in the hat shop.

Aguni: A set of very old and well-cared-for gardening tools. Takeru got them for him for his birthday, and he legit treasures them.

R = Rainy Day what do they like to do on a rainy day?

Lay on the couch and do literally nothing. Takeru gets the left end, Aguni takes the right, and they binge trash TV shows all day. (And also they make box-mix brownies and eat them straight out of the pan. It's "their thing.")

S = Sad how do they cheer themselves/each other up

Takeru: Aside from all his self-destrictive behaviors (binge-drinking, dangerous situations, etc.) he just really needs a good laugh. And Aguni somehow always manages to make him laugh with an unexpected, deadpan comment. Also, he makes Takeru actually talk through his problems instead of ignoring them...

Aguni: if he's in a bad mood, you just need to let him work through it on his own. He hates being "talked down to" and feels that most attempts at cheering up are cheap, so most people don't attempt. Buf...Takeru is not "most people" and breaks out his most ridiculous jokes to try to get Aguni to crack a smile.

T = Talking what do they love to talk about?

Other people! You know Takeru is the "XOXO Gossip Girl" of the neighborhood, but Aguni...he's like a little old church lady and ADORES hearing all the latest drama.

U = Unencumbered What helps them relax?

Both of them have the same method of relaxation and it's...bubble baths! Aguni does a basic, skin soothing soak and just hangs out in the warm water with a book or maybe just his thoughts to keep him company. But Takeru? He's got some fancy bath soaps, and he takes in a glass of wine and lights a few candles and does a face mask and it's a whole EVENT.

V - Very thoughts about each other

Takeru: Thinks Aguni needs to loosen up and take more risks...but also just loves the guy to pieces.

Aguni: Kinda wishes Takeru would calm tf down sometimes...but also knows that it's just how the guy is and wouldn't dare change him.

W = Wedding when, how, where do they propose?

They're not really the marrying type! They just have a mutual understanding of commitment and that's that.

(But if they did have a wedding... I think it would be a relatively small affair with all their closest friends and family. Like a dinner party, but somewhere extra nice and with lots of good food and alcohol. Intimate and meaningful, with just enough "extra" to satisfy Takeru.)

X = Xylophone What’s their song?

"Total Eclipse of the Heart" because they hid out in a karaoke booth (different from the 24-hour event that Takeru cherishes so much) to es ape the Yakuza and Takeru sang it over and over to pass the time.

Y = You the ___ to my ___ (e.g the cookies to my milk, the macaroni to my cheese)

"Breaking" to my "Entering." The "Assault" to my "Battery." (They both hate this sort of thing and try to come up with the worst answers possible lol)

Z = Zebra if they wanted a pet, what pet would they get?

They already have the cat, Ziggy, who is their perfect little angel.